SueWorks

I Want an iPhone

1. I want to be the first person to have something and not the last.
2. People will think I need to stay connected and am, therefore, important.
3. I want to search the web with my overly grease-prone right index finger.
4. I won't even need an iPod with an iPhone.
5. The iPhone is THE adult toy and I need one.
6. I will have more confidence with an iPhone.
7. The money is well worth the benefit.
8. I will be entirely Moe-Bile.
9. I'll be cool.
10. People will envy me.

I'm a shallow husk of a real person.

It's Going to be a Long Day

Last week was the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, but today is going to feel like the longest day.  It's only 8 AM, I almost walked out of the restroom at work with my skirt tucked into my underwear and I had big glob of lipstick on my teeth.  I spoke with five people and not one mentioned the lipstick; no there were six people!

Once again I was plagued by insomnia, long story short, Sue doesn't do stress.  Have you heard of diSTRESS and euSTRESS?  All Sue's stress is the EU one.  My eye is twitching and my dog is keeping me company at night.  Rosey is losing weight because she's not eating, which is causing more distress. 

Anyway, it was midnight last night and I really wasn't dead tired but I knew I had to get up early-ish.  This led to sleeping for about two hours and then briefly waking.  Next it was 2:30, and did a few things that don't bear mentioning.  I decided to move to another room to read.  Rosey joined me a short time later, and she was hyper but still wouldn't eat.  She finally settles down, then Craig comes looking for us.  He missed me so I went back to bed to read.  By now it's 4:30.  I finally settle down and try to get a good final hour of sleep.  I had a nightmare about work and it's 4:45, then at 5:45 there is a raucous outside.  I finally get up after fits and starts at 6:30, a bit later than planned, though hopefully my eyes will not be too bloodshot.  Fast-forward to 8:00 and my skirt is in my white cotton, sensible underwear.  It's going to be a long day!

Dress for Success, for Comfort, or for Peace of Mind

I know one person who still does the whole pantyhose, high heels, perfect hair and makeup for work.  I think she does it at home as well, though I've only seen her once in that environment and don't recall what she was wearing. 

She's probably close to 46-50 but could look as young at 38, depending on the light and the outfit.  Her name is Anna and she takes care of herself.  There's the hair and nails of course; she also exercises but isn't one of those emaciated 40-plus women who are trying to cling to youth.  I'm sure you've seen them; they are scary and they end up looking older.  It's actually sad. 

Any way, I will never go back to pantyhose and I think I've even given up on a panty girdle for good.  I gained 15 pounds since January.  Yikes!  I just can't get on track to anywhere but the kitchen; I know it's work related and I'm under tons of stress and I don't handle stress well under the best of the conditions.  Craig and stress equal a near immediate loss of 20 pounds.  I eat chocolate. 

So back to the jeans.  I wore than again on Sunday to a women's lunch.  My Aunt and an intimate group of her friends get together monthly to share quality time.  My Mom, my Aunt and I wore jeans.  The other women were in summer dresses or brightly colored summer capris (all of them.)  Apparently women in my family are not big on being "put together."  We didn't have lipstick on and eye makeup was similarly scarce.  Mom had a legitimate excuse, cataract surgery, Paula and I, not so much.

What is it about our family that yells comfort?  It might be that we just have more sense and aren't going to spend 30-40 extra minutes getting all gussied up for lunch inside someone's home and pictionary, or the like.  I don't know I'm merely proposing an explanation. 

I just glanced at the mirror and know that I "should" freshen up my powder and reapply my lip gloss.  And I could use a teeth brushing as well.  It's 3:05 now and I need to stay here until at least 5:15; I'm doing afternoon work math.  Who do I plan to see in the last two hours?  Should I wait until 4:00 or so and then I'll look better when I leave the building?  Decisions, decisions.  If I ponder it longer it will be time to leave.

Once again, back to the jeans.  If you see a pair of size 16, not tightly cut and not stone washed, jeans and they have slightly longer longs than most, please get them for me.  I'll amply reimburse for time, trouble and the jeans.  I need all the people I can find to help me get out of these old looking, sagging butted, bleached jeans.  I should just plop them into the AmVets box, and not the one in my bedroom but the one at the grocery store with the slid door thing that prevents you from taking things out.

I have the distinct feeling that I'll get home tonight and then find some reason to go out and those jeans will once again be on my rump.  I'm doomed!

What To Wear

I've been watching the TLC program, "What Not To Wear."  Have you seen it?  Stacy and Clinton are impeccably dressed for every episode but really, Can you build an entire wardrobe for $5,000?

Today I'm in almost a funk about my stone washed jeans.  Yes, they are dated, though purchased recently.  I found them on the 50% or more discount rack at Macy's.  The (take your pick on which is worst) plastic, silver woven belt was the first thing to go and then I had to wash the buggers before I put them in the closet.  They are also half a size too large. 

So, why, you may ask, am I wearing these pants?

They are comfortable, but so are flannel jammies, and I won't wear those to work.  They were cheap as I mentioned.  And they were clean when I was getting ready for bed last night and setting my clock for 5:30 AM.  The but, and the butt, is:  Do I look my best in these jeans?  And can I be productive if I'm continuously wondering if everyone is looking at my bottom and thinking the same thing?

Nordstrom sells jeans for big women that cinch you in like a girdle, they have some spandex in them, some cloth engineering dynamics, and a strangely blue jean color that doesn't exist in Levi's world.  Now I'm kicking myself for not buying them in Anchorage.  Of course, had I spent the big bucks I would have been kicking myself for other reasons.

Yikes!  I'm over 40 and am still thinking about my Calvins!

Parental Guidance Needed

Check out the Beancounters, I did and my blog is rated:

This rating is the result of "gay" being mentioned twice and torture appearing once.  Torture referred to my shoes, by the way.

Today on the Wiki World

I like to glance at Wikipedia because you find the most interesting things., like today's note that June 18 is celebrated as Autistic Pride Day.  According to www.wikipedia.org, it is a day of celebration of the neurodiversity of people on the Autistic spectrum.  I really don't know what that means.  The symbol looks like gay pride forever, it's just a first thought:

After a second thought and a read, the symbol and the spirit of the event have been modeled after Gay Pride efforts. 

The other big article on today's Wikipedia front page was about Puerto Rico, which, by the way, has no indigenous people left on the island.  There haven't been any in like 400 and some years.

Technology Deficients

Today I broke a fax machine.  The confirmation sheet got horribly stuck in the deepest, darkest, tightest rollers imaginable. 

There's a whole chain of incompetence that I will illustrate now.  If I could trust some people to respond to emails appropriately I would never have had to fax anything in the first place.  But, as my father liked to say, if chickens had ba lls they'd be roosters.  The second issue is that the fax is a total piece of @$#&% outdated cr$p.  Again, if there were some people who actually knew how to run an office, they would have replaced the piece of cr$p ages ago.  And the final issue is that I have fax capability at my desk but it is not connected because the people you get the device from are the not the people who set up the printer, who are not the people who set up the fax. 

I'm sure there are studies which show a separate procurement process is good and other studies that describe how you need to separate dial tone from network access support.  Right now I need to be sure my fax was sent and the office may need to receive faxes, and that's all I can get my mind around.

Simpleton Sue: Maybe, Maybe Not!

This week has been a series of bad computer technology days.    I think I've created six help tickets in four days.  My personal best!  Yesterday afternoon I lost access to the network for no good reason.  This is the kind of week it's been.

Today a fevered call to the help desk resulted in my being told to plug in the machine.  There is a little bit more to today's adventure.  I took my wonderous laptop to a meeting to be Techo Savvy Sue.  The meeting was good, the technology was needed, and I came back to my desk.  I stick the bugger into the docking station and no lights go on.  Immediately I know this is not a good sign.  I take the machine out and shut down completely.  It goes back into the dock.  Nothing!  I try to print from the wireless network.  Apparently I'm not configured for this functionality, at this time.   I need to print 11 certificates of completion and I need them now.

By now I know I need to call for help.  I've already checked, the devices are indeed plugged in.  Well, the best we can figure out is that the socket (is it a socket?) on the powerstrip no longer likes my laptop plug.  Right now it's plugged into the wall which is a bad thing, you know, in case of power outtages and such.  I don't have the energy to climb under my desk, again today, to make the change and check out my powerstrip's holes.  I just can't do it!

(Poor) Reflections on Leadership

The title of an email I received today:  Are You Better Than Your Boss?

I just had to read it.  Korn/Ferry surveyed executives, a quarter of whom feel their bosses are less than average performers.  Some of this may be big office envy, but it makes you think.

Just Because

You can't help but be affected by what you see in the media.  Apparently, jail makes Paris nervous and international summits give Bush a tummy ache.  When I opened AOL this afternoon, I saw headlines prominently displayed that moved you to both, separate stories.

It's crazy.