Random Nothings

Disconnected
My modem at home conked out. It kept phasing in and out for a few weeks. All of sudden I wouldn't have Internet access and there would be a screen saying "you have a billing error". First, I yelled at Larry since he's in charge of this bill, but he proved it was being paid. So I would reboot and connect again.

Yesterday morning...nothing. Yesterday night...still nothing. So at 6:00 AM this morning, I called customer service (oxymoron) and after waiting 35 minutes, connected to a person who was able to tell me the problem. We tested everything including creating a new password. He actually wanted me to wake up Larry since "it is Verizon policy to only reveal the password to the primary account holder." I first explained that Larry doesn't even have his own log-in and could do nothing with a new password. Then I explained that I was Larry's partner.

"Partner in what?" he asked.

God help me.

"Partner like as in a wife, but I'm a man." Get it? (I almost said 'like a wife, but with a penis', however 35 minutes is a long time to wait for another tech person.)

"Oh.......I see," he responded.

After 25 minutes, he tells me that the modem is broken. "I can see that through our network."

I sighed heavily. "Ummm... if you can see that through your system, couldn't you be proactive and email or call me to let me know it was broken? Then you could just order me another one."

"No, sir. You'd have to order one through the billing department. Here's their number but they don't open until 9 AM."

Verizon, you could have a monopoly if you only had thinking people.


Moving Out
Our office moves tomorrow so as of Monday, I'll be in the same building I was back with Imagine. This time I'll actually have an office with a window, but I still feel like I need to do another exorcism. The last one I did was with Jennie and Penzy spices. This one might just kick off with bagels and orange juice.

This new building also has a fitness center. I'm going to definitely be hitting that....for at least the first week or so.


Getting the Boot
Melinda Doolittle voted off? Another reason why I'm glad I stopped watching American Idol this season. (OK, I did watch LaKisha's and Melinda's performances on YouTube the next day. Sue me.) I'm just getting tired of America being so stupid.


We Finally Meet
Due to the move, I'm only working a few hours tomorrow. And then... I have lunch with Sarah. It's like meeting a legend.


Don't look for much from me this weekend. With no modem or office, I'm destined to be at coffee shops or stealing wireless from the neighbors.

Evolution

Sometimes things just have to change.

Back in 2003, I was watching the American Idol final. As I went to work the next day, everyone was a buzz about Reuben winning over Clay. We all talked about the other idols as they returned to the stage to join the finalists. Remember, this was the 2nd season and the producers hadn't learned how to milk the excitement with Kelly's win.

As we chatted about the finale, I realized that I was missing golden opportunities to be witty with my friends who were outside of the office. So I wrote a recap and my 'career' as a writer was launched. I began writing my American Idol Recaps.

I ventured out into Rock Star: INXS but nothing ever matched the AI ones. I would send out an email early Wednesday morning to over 300 people who had subscribed. People would sign up year round and the list kept growing.

But when the AI season would end, I found there was no real way to express myself. I then discovered the world of blogging.

The chicken and the egg. I can't even remember if the blog or the recaps drove creating the web site, but last year, I bought www.hygienechronicles.com and merged both. Some folks read the recaps; others the blog, but it enabled me to really build my writing skills (and semi-build my proofreading ones).

Last week, I announced the end of the recaps. After three solid years, I was laying my pen down. My job, my family and my impending education have made it too much to handle. It was a labor of love; getting up each Wednesday at 4:30 am to write a recap of the night before. Yet it was one of my favorite things to do.

I will miss it immensily. But I also know it had to go to make room for bigger and better things.

So in the next few weeks, that site will go away and I will route that URL to the blog. This is my #1 source of written word and it's not going anywhere.

I promise!

Random Nothings

Do you ever have those days...er, weeks when you get online with the sole intention of blogging and then you loose focus? Yeah, me too. Sure I did the massage story the other day, but that was like passing a kidney stone. I always have these great ideas and when I sit down at the keyboard, I just look at porn read other blogs (admiring how witty you are) and surf random shit.

Some stories aren't worth their own posting, some sound so much funnier in my head, and some I just don't think you'll care about. However, I find that writing is therapeutic for me--as opposed to massages--so my Jan 1-8 resolution is to blog more. (I like to only schedule my resolutions for as long as they will most likely last. It just seems to disappoint less.)

So here's my random nothings for the Christmas week.

All You Have to Do is Dream
Everyone wrote up their thoughts of Happy Feet, but I have yet to see a posting for Dreamgirls. Am I the only one who saw this? Larry & I went to the theaters three times to see this. (OK, the first two times it was sold out. And yes, we now know how to buy tickets online. Gimme a break, I still can't hook up the fucking wireless router after two years.)

Now I'm programmed to like musicals, so naturally I loved the show. However, let me just say that Jennifer Hudson is a complete lock for Best Supporting Actress. I am just tickled that she went from being kicked off 6th in American Idol Season 3 and then landed AND delivered one of the most coveted roles in Broadway. Take that Simon and Randy.

Even if you're not going to see it, you should at least listen to her sing And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going. It will send chills down your spine.

Movin' On Up
It's no secret I love my job. After the 4½ year disaster at Imagine, it's nice to actually be thinking , creating and feeling valuable again. I have never worked so hard in my life and the only thing I can think of as I go to bed is what I can do the next day..welll, that and will Jason Statham ever read my email, leave his wife and whisk me away from all this madnesss. (Stay tuned on that!)

Seriously though, I could easily spend 60 hours a week doing everything I want to try. Between my current role and this impending grad school, I barely have enough time as it is.

So 10 months into this career, they promoted me. My new role will have me running marketing and membership for our association. Honestly, I was floored and elated. I can't think of a more exciting way to begin 2007.

Jack of All Trade; A Masters in Business
Speaking of Grad School, I'm floundering on getting this preliminary application done. I have to write a Statement of Intent which essentially says why I want to subject myself to the lunacy of getting an MBA in my early 40's. Why is it that I can write about myself so much here, but can't do it for the application?

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Christmas Eve was my son's big debut in the theater world. OK, technically he was a sheep singing "Away in a Manager" at his church's Christmas pageant, but it was his first time singing in public.

We got to the church and sat with all the other video-camming parents. We got chatting with other parents and discovered that were we were sitting directly behind Tony, who was 'Jesus's' dad. I made light of his daughter's casting,

"So you're Jesus's dad? You must be a carpenter," I chuckled.
"Nope. I'm an accountant."

Irony is totally wasted on Christmas Eve.

Me Thinks You Do Promote Too Much
In a weird twist of fate, I had to look up Imagine's address and visited their web site. It had been recently redone and I stupidly surfed through it.

Last year, as I was in the process of being left in a corner looking for a new job on their dime, they were doing a big push to make sure people knew what a great place it was to work. They had won DC's "Top 50 places to work" twice (though many of the perks listed in the Washingtonian Magazine were greatly exaggerated) and won "Top 25 Small Companies to Work for" (after putting anonymous NUMBERED surveys in our mailboxes for us to complete and return to HR).

Now, their web site is filled with over 20 videos of employees telling why it is their favorite place to work. The management couldn't come across as more insincere in their videos. The 'team leaders' were absolutely hysterical as well. All of these folks, which had privately talked about how disappointed there were when I was there, now preached to the world the benefits and joys of being at Imagine. If you look closely in the video, you can see the tip of the gun pointing at them. And for the record, two of the folks have already resigned. (For one of them, this is her second time resigning.)

It's hard to Envision a company who has almost a 20% yearly turnover, trying to tell folks it's a great place to work. So if you're considering a job at an educational company in Tysons Corner, VA that needs 22 people telling you how great it is working there... run.

(As you know I won't share their real name, but you can always email me and I'll send you the link.)

Selling the Drama

American Idol is done for the season. You can find all my recaps here.

While I'm not happy with Taylor winning, I was overwhelmed to see the hot Idol and the even hotter lead singer of LIVE sing together. Man, to be a cordless michrophone.

Long live male pattern baldness!