Amanda on Big Brother - I Worked With Her

OK, I hate the show Big Brother. I mean, I really have no stomach for it at all. It's The Hub's favorite show. He turned it on about 20 minutes ago and settled in to watch 20-somethings act like morons on national television. I walked by and saw a chick that looked totally familiar to me. I couldn't put my finger on it at first, but then it dawned on me. I worked with her at my last job in Golden Valley!

It's true and it's undeniably Amanda.

She's a hopeless romantic and wonders where all the good men are in the world. She sends her friends a daily motivational quote of the day by text message. Her favorite activities include running, shopping, dancing and entertaining. She loves football and played powder puff football in high school. She has two cats, and one, Chloe, thinks she's a dog.(from the CBS website)

I can't find the post I made a year ago about Amanda. I assumed it would be under the "annoying people" tag, or the "stupid girls" tag, but no. I am pretty sure that I wrote about how Amanda stopped me in the break room to ask me why I chose to drink the coffee out of the machines. You know, the machines that you put the flavored package in and delicious coffee comes out? Yeah, well, she seemed to have a problem with me liking it (she looked at me and said "ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" right before plunking change into the vending machine to eat whatever processed bagged thing popped out). She kept asking me "why?" Why, what? Why do I like coffee, or why are you a total moron? From that point on, my friend Tracy and I would laugh at her, especially when she'd wear her clear stripper shoes to work. We worked in a law firm and in would clomp Amanda in her stripper shoes and impossibly tight clothes. We also made bets on how many days she'd go without brushing her hair. Or, maybe, that was the look she was going for? We didn't know. All I know is that she was a sight for sure. I won't even start on how annoying her voice is. Just watch the show and you'll see what I mean.

I guess she won Head of Household so she's on the show for at least another episode. I still hate Big Brother, but I might just watch it to see the train wreck known as Amanda.

Edited to ad: OMG. Listen to Amanda describe someone else as a train wreck. I love how she says she's going to "pretend" to be dumb on the show and use it to her advantage. Uh, what?

Today Was A Much Better Day

Thanks to those who commented about my hand going through the window. It is fine; just a bit sore. I think I got all the glass out of it.

Today was a much better day. Work went by relatively quickly. I got a ride home from a new guy who works in my department. He lives (kinda sorta) in my neighborhood and said he could drive me home. He's picking me up tomorrow morning, too, so I don't have to take the bus. That'll save me $4 a day. WOO-HOO!

I forgot to mention that The Hubs bought a dresser and a TV last week for our bedroom. He also purchased a lounge chair and a new stereo. I swear our bedroom looks more like a hotel room than something of our own. But we just need to add more personality to it, I suppose. Here's a photo of the dresser (which I will be repainting black, ASAP) and the TV.



It's nice to have all my clothes out of the plastic bins and into a real dresser. And to think it only took a year an a half!

Yesterday we got the new HDTV cable box installed. Our old digital one was fried from those storms we had last week. The HDTV is pretty cool, I guess. I mean, I can't tell the difference, so I have to take The Hubs' word for it that everything looks nicer and sharper. The first thing that Phillip said was "Awesome. People's Court in High Definition!"

Seriously, he's the cutest man to walk the earth.

Now I'm going to get my stuff together for tomorrow and then play with Lola. She's been pushing her toy closer and closer to me all night. I think that's a hint.

Today Was A Long Day

I don't know why, but today felt like an eternity. I think it's because I woke up late and almost didn't make the bus. Then I got a blister on my heel from the stupid shoes I decided to wear today. That made me grumpy. I think my general attitude went south after eating my cheese bagel at about 9:30. I LOVE CHEESE BAGELS but I think this one pushed me into a carb coma and I never recovered.

I met up with Brandee for dinner tonight. It was nice. I always laugh til my cheeks hurt when we're together. She bought me these awesome flowers. I have them on the buffet right now because Lola tried eating them...twice.


That's such a glamour shot, isn't it? HA!

I'm exhausted. I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. I'm looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing this weekend. Maybe some baking, but that's where I draw the line.

Oh- I purchased some kawaii stickers and stationery from someone online last week. I got the envelope this evening and when I opened it, I was really angry to find PETA pamphlets and anti-meat stickers with all my kawaii items. So I wrote to the chick and told her that she should keep her politics out of it if she wants to stay in business. Am I right, or what?

Reunited!

Reunited
Originally uploaded by thehoneybunny

So I've made it through the first week back at my job. You know, the one that was supposed to end March 13th? The one that ended up going til June 8th? Yeah, that one. The temp agency asked me if I'd help them out again and I said "sure." I was tired of sitting at home with no paycheck for 2 months. So I'm back.

It's actually kind of fun this time around. I get to work with my friend Katy and I'm on a team of really nice people. I can honestly say that I like every single one of them. That's rare for me, since I don't really like the general public too much. Seriously. Phillip says I should never get a job in retail because I would yell at people all day long. He's probably right. Plus, I have a pretty good boss, so that makes things a lot easier.

But look! There's my blue pen! The one I took out of a brand new box the first day I started - in January! It's still holding up and hasn't let me down yet.

I'm not usually a fan of the blue pen. Black pens suit my gothy* sensibilities, of course. Plus, black pens are so much more mature, don't you think? But I can't seem to find a black pen that's as reliable as this trusty blue one. So I'll keep kickin' it with Mr Blue til he starts pushing up daisies.

Tomorrow is Fruit Day, for those of you keeping score. What does that mean? It means it's the day before Bagel Day. And Bagel Day is the best damn day of the week.

*i'm not goth, but i play one on the internets.

Uptown Art Fair

I spent about an hour at the Uptown Art Fair this afternoon. I was not impressed. I was hoping for more non-professional type people (like me) with booths, but it was all people who charge $100 or more for everything in their shop. So that kind of made me sad.

I did see a couple of cool paintings and sculptures. I really wanted this painting, but it cost $447. Um, no. There was one with a red background that I thought would look awesome in our living room, but sadly, that one was too expensive as well. Maybe it's so expensive (even the repos) because those are swarvoski crystals scattered all over it? I don't know.



I really loved this one, too, but it was too pricey. You can click on the picture to see more detail. It says "A date with mr toilet will teach him never to BITE ME".



And the booth with all Day of the Dead stuff was my favorite. The detail on these boxes are just amazing. AMAZING. You have to click on the photos to see the detail. I wish I could have bought one. One of these days...





I pretty much walked through the whole fair and didn't see anything that I really loved or could afford. I ended up buying a piece by the same artist who painted the shoe above. It's a martini glass with a red background and a few crystals. It was a repo and still cost me $30. It will look great in our livingroom, though.

On a totally different note, I'm craving chinese dumplings/steamed buns. Must be because I watched the Anthony Bourdain No Reservations episode where he's in China trying to find the best dumpling. And if you're interested, here's the Anthony Bourdain Wiki! He's awesome.

I have a lot to do between now and Tuesday when I go back to work. Yes, I was asked by the temp agency to help out again at the place I temped at from January to June. I am not in love with the place, and the commute really bites, but I've not been able to pay bills for the last two months so I agreed to go back. I have a shit load of stuff to mail out and I have to figure out lunches for the week. After seeing/reading about a friend's bento box and bento lunches it makes me want to get one. It just seems so convenient.

Temping Ends In 5...4...3...2...

Today is my last day at my temp job. A temp job that has lasted 20 weeks. Yes, it was 20 weeks ago that I started the awful commute to-and-from Golden Valley. I sure won't miss that.

Today will be the last day that I have to get up at 5:45am. The last day I have to take three buses and spend over an hour traveling 5.7 miles. It's the last day I will get to work with Katy and the last day I'll be using the same pen I've used for the past 20 weeks.

I'll miss the paycheck, but that's about it. Oh, and the cheese bagels I ate every Thursday. They were delicious.

Now I'm on to bigger and better things, right?

Still Workin' Part 2

What's wrong with me?

I agreed to stay on ANOTHER four weeks (although they assure me it's probably only going to be two) at this temp job. The job that was supposed to have ended four weeks ago. You know, the job that takes me FOR EV ER to get to every day? Yeah, that one.

If it's really two weeks, there's no reason I shouldn't stay. That's $800 in my pocket (give or take) and I really need the money. But goddamn...I can't keep getting up at 5:45 every morning. I mean, I could, but it would have to be for a job that I totally love. Not a lame temp job where I beg people to find me work all day long.

I really couldn't say "no" because there's no guarantee that I'd get another job quickly. And since I was unemployed for so long, I'd really like to NOT revisit that time in my life.

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This is one of the funniest videos I've seen in a long time. Watch it and pee yourself laughing:

VIDEO UNAVAILABLE AT THIS TIME


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The rest of the weekend will include:
1) laundry
2) sewing
3) petting lola
4) watching more Arrested Development
5) chocolate cake

Happy Weekend, people.

Don't Dooce Me. This Story Is A Good One.

I think my first post about my temp job mentioned a guy who sits behind me who i thought was my nemesis. He's not my nemesis, he's my archenemy. That's far worse than any nemesis I've ever had. I wouldn't mind having a drink with my nemesis so I could tell her how awesome my life is while hoping hers is terrible. But this guy, my archenemy...I don't want to have to share the air we breathe, if you catch my drift.

Since I have two weeks left (although it might be one week left, I will find out on Friday) I feel I can tell you about this jerkface that sits behind me. I probably could have written about it sooner, since no one reads my blog or anything, but I wanted to wait til now.

I'll protect his identity a little. Or a lot, since you can Google him and, well, I just don't want the trouble. Let's say his name is Justin. Justin has this extremely annoying habit of spelling out his last name whenever he's on the phone. It's gotten to be so annoying and so repetetive that I have his opening introduction memorized. It goes a little like this:

"Hi can I speak to Mister Johnson please? This is Justin Akrub. A-K-R-U-B. I'm calling about...."

If his constant spelling of his last name isn't annoying enough, he's got this super smarmy used car salesman kind of voice. Every time he speaks the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It's really hard to describe how awful his voice is, but I'll try. He sounds like someone who is trying to be all slick and suave. You know, Lounge Lizard Larry type of smarm. The thing is, he's so unattractive that the sound of his voice is even more absurd. Can you hear it in your head? I hear it over and over all day long.

Anyway, one of the chicks I've become friends with at this place (she's also a temp) hates this dude as much as me. She's about three cubes away from the him, but she can hear him all day long too. I see the hairs bristling on the back of her neck when he talks, as well. But today was particularly horrible.

The nature of this job is to call people and get money from their dead family members. I mean, it's not my job (thank god), but the attorneys who work right next to me have to do that. Well, Justin A-K-R-U-B called someone today and was so rude to the person on the other end. He was demanding money and being just so smarmy and rude and disgusting. His voice was dripping evil. I can't even remember the exact conversation, but I do remember him telling the person on the other end (who recently lost a loved one) that they must pay up NOW because the "deal" that "his client" made with the debtor is going to expire at the end of the day and then, well, what are they going to do? The language he uses is totally threatening and if I were on the other end of that phonecall, I would have hung up as soon as he started spelling his name.

He does this kind of thing all day long. It's maddening. And on Monday I listened to him talk to another guy about how he watched "all the stupid bitches" try to dig their cars out of the snowbanks. My jaw just dropped. How is this guy allowed to work in public? He's a foul mouthed, unprofessional, disgusting, mysogynistic asswipe. I hope that karma gets him and when someone HE loves dies, he's harassed by a collections agent who lacks compassion and basic people skills. See how he likes it.

I hate this guy, and I'm so glad I'm out of there in two weeks. I hope I never see that jerk again OR hear him spelling his name. I hope I never meet another person like him again for the rest of my life. He makes me feel like I'm covered in a layer of slime and need a shower to get rid of it. All from the sound of his voice!

Next time I'll write about a woman who is OMG! IN LUV with A-K-R-U-B and spends all her free time talking about absolutely nothing in front of his cube so he has to notice her. I haven't seen that kind of behavior since Junior High.

Oh, how I love working in an Office!

ps) I wonder if Justin Akrub A-K-R-U-B introduces himself like that at dinner parties? I doubt it. I mean, he'd have to get invited to a dinner party first, right?

Is This Job Half-Full or Half-Empty?

I'm in the middle of my fourth week at this temp job. That means I have four weeks to go. Or, to put it differently, 18 more work days. I prefer to count down the actual work days, rather than the weeks remaining. It sounds a lot better to me that way.

Today I stuffed envelopes for 4 hours. I made phonecalls for 2 hours, and did internet research for the remaining two hours. Looks like more of the same tomorrow. I really can't complain about this job. Yes, it's mind numbingly boring, but I get to listen to music and audiobooks. Since I got my MP3 player one week into the job, I've listened to the following unabridged books:

On Bullshit (boring)

Chuck Klosterman IV : A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas (really good)

How I Paid for College : A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater (super good, but parts were NSFW! Glad I had headphones on!)

Nickel and Dimed : On (Not) Getting By in America (OK, but majorly flawed)

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things (Cute. It's a YA book)

Prom (Horrible. Another YA book)

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2002 (Pretty good)

A Cook's Tour - In Search Of The Perfect Meal (I'm in the middle of this one right now)

I've been downloading most of the audiobooks from netlibrary because it's free. I've also got a crapload of audiobooks on hold for me from the library. I just wish it didn't take so long to upload them all to my Vision. I guess it's a small price to pay for being able to get through the workday.

So I'm getting paid to listen to books! If I wasn't able to listen to the books or music, I'd go bonkers. Of course, I can't listen to them when I'm on the phone, so I try and get my phone calls made before 11 so I can do the rest of my job with my headphones on.

So, yeah. 18 more work days to go. I'm hoping the temp agency places me with something right after this assignment ends. Something tells me it will be a while before I get another job, but at least now I have money in the bank so I won't be so stressed out.

That's all for now, folks.

Some Observations

I love how minnesotans use the word "cocktail". I especially like it when I'm asked "Do you want to go cock-tailing on Saturday?" Sounds a lot better than "Do you want to go drinking on saturday?" The former is much more sophisticated to my ears.

Why doesn't the person nearest to the heat lamp button press it when the lamps go out at [enter metro bus stop here]? Why is it that someone five feet away has to walk up, press it, and then go back to his/her spot? Do you know how many times I've hit the heat button in the Uptown station when the person standing 2 inches from it keeps reading/staring out the window/pretending not to notice?

Audiobooks are underrated

I seem to only be able to listen to audiobooks if the story is in the first person. If it's in the third, my mind drifts and I'm unable to concentrate. I can read third person stories just fine. I just can't listen to them.

Lola has "learned" how to get under the covers and sleep in the middle of the bed. This wouldn't be difficult if the bed was unmade, but she's learned how to get up under the three layers of sheets and blankets and sleep there. I was searching the house for her last night, and I found her when I went to get into bed. There she was as I peeled back the covers, sitting in her meatloaf pose, looking up at me like "what?" Crazy cat.

I work with a girl who is pretty young, but mature at the same time. She's 25, but has had a ton of life experience. Much more than I do. Everything she says cracks me up. The other day she was telling me about how she's a champ at badminton. She said she even has a special racquet that she named The Executive. And on Thursday, she spent the day at work asking me my opinions on different drinks she was making for her Office party. She has one every Thursday and she likes to showcase different drinks. This Thursday she was trying to perfect The Dunder Mifflin Martini. She wanted to know if I thought different alcohol combos would work together. Since I'm absolutely clueless when it comes to that, I just listened to her plan it all out. She totally makes the day go by A LOT faster. I'm going to miss her when this assignment is over.

Speaking of, I have 25 more work days at this temp job. I've neither loved nor hated the past three weeks. I DO hate the commute. I like the people I work with. I like all the free perks that come with working there. Like bagels on Thursdays. I'm hoping that the agency places me in a new job right away once this one ends. Hopefully one that will be permanent.

I can't stop thinking about Smokin' Aces. It was THAT good. Yesterday I met Phillip and we went to Block E to it.



Seriously? I think this is one of the best - If not the best movie I've seen in, oh, a year. Jeremy piven is excellent in it and i was surprised at Alicia Keys' performance. She was pretty good! Jason Bateman had the best lines of the entire film, though. He was perfect.

I loved the editing and the way that certain shots were constructed. The music fit perfectly and the cast of characters were unlike anything I've seen since Trainspotting. That was the main thing that kept running through my mind - it's about time that this kind of movie is made again. If you haven't already seen Smokin' Aces, you really need to. Go this weekend! I think it might have been even more enjoyable if there were people in the theater with us, but there was only one other couple and a weird dude that screamed stuff like "LOOK OUT BRO!" at the screen. ha.