The Only Parking Sign Bridg Responds To

Memphis

Hey world, how goes it?

It is stil frickin' cold up here (-20 something). Sheesh where is the warm weather we ordered?

Woke up at 8:30 thinking how glad I was it was Sunday.

Then remembered working the day before.

Oh

shit

Fast drive in tho.

Spent two hours in a meeting with some boneheads and some experts in it. The meeting was actually CHAIRED by someone and chaired well, so it wasn't as big a PIA (pain in ---) as expected. That was OK. It's like expecting a root canal and only getting a cleaning. Still a pain but ....

That's about all of note that I have to pass on, other than the jokes posted. Lou dropped by to say goodnight. That's a few minutes' walk from her desk..she was around a lot today. Sigh. Will pass on the word that I"m not going to the follow-up weekend meeting mess with the psychic. Car is a real mess of salt--it looks grey (is dark blue) but it's too cold to wash the flippin' thing. The problem is that I only have a single car garage, and have to so some pretty weird gyrations to not get salt on me on the way out. Well, if that's the biggest prob I ever have to deal with, no biggie!

Did everyone (DMJ) remember NCIS tonight?

Have a great evening! More jokes to come....Bridg

Training for Olympic Men's Hockey 2010

Hurry Christmas, Hurry Fast

This may come as a surprise to those of you not living in Las Vegas, but there are more Catholic churches there than casinos. Not surprisingly, some worshippers at Sunday services will give casino chips rather than cash when the basket is passed.

Since they get chips from so many different casinos, the churches have devised a method to collect the offerings. The churches send all their collected chips to a nearby Franciscan Monastery for sorting and then the chips are taken to the casinos of origin and cashed in.


This is done by the chip monks.

Heavy Fuel

YAY Dire Straits!!!

How are you world?

It is freeeeezing here in the GWN. Have no idea of temp outside but can feel the cold radiating from the windows and I've got the heat cranked up. Brrrrrr. Probably in the -20 something range. It was sunny today which was a blessing. Dark Mondays are a curse...

Could NOT sleep last night. Between being bummed out, menopausal and arthritic....and out of sleeping meds (over the counter), it was 4:30 last time I looked at the clock. 9:00 came really fast, but did manage to stick the entire day out at work, and it was a fairly busy one. Starting with an unscheduled last minute I'm off to Guatemala meeting with Da Boss (NBG). Went really well but sheesh. Meeting with me before I've had coffee is a dangerous undertaking. Anyhow, kids happy and working, we're cooking with gas as a group and it's all good.

All I need now is a nap.

Did see Lou a few times and thank God was busy whenever that happened. Hope this'll blow over but thanks for your suggestions. Am implementing them all (well not sure about the talk, DMJ, but will if the occasion comes up).

Man I can't wait for retirement! Love my job, love the kids/M, but am dearly looking forward to doing NOTHING at all. And sleeping in. First thing I do when I retire is get a dog. Then will sleep for a month. After that, who knows/cares?!

Once again, it was The Most Spoiled Cat In The Universe who got me to work today. Simply wouldn't let me sleep in past a certain point. Started feeling sleepy again right after my coffee, and guess who was there nagging very vocally? Yeppir and didn't stop until I got on my feet.

Little nag. Bless her furry heart!

Have a great evening, world.....I'm off to learn Portugese (ha!)!

Bridg

Beats Swedes!

You Should Be With a Water Sign!

Your best match is a Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces Why? You crave intimacy and connection in your relationshipAnd while most guys can't open up enough for you, a Water Sign canNot that you're whole relationship will be soul gazingA Water Sign matches your goofy sense of humor - and desire to help others.

What Sign Should You Date?

Something Tells Me....

Are the rest of you being driven nuts by that yogurty Cheerios commercial? I can't get it out of my head.

Hope you had a good weekend/Sunday, world. I was so bummed by Saturday that I didn't do much. Didn't even get out of pjs. Did change the linen, do garbage, etc. Made pea soup using ham that's been in the freezer for a while (might be a year?). Will let you know if there are untoward results.

I have a friend who told me earlier in the week that she's had folks think she's gay because she's single. Now it's happened to me too! I see this person (Lou) every day at work, and she's my boss' exec assistant.

Not looking forward to tomorrow, lemme tell ya. Will keep a low profile.

Not that I have anything against gay folk, have a sibling who's gay. Just don't pitch for that team myself.

Anyone have a formula for getting icky feelings out?

Bridg

This Is So Freakin' Wrong.....

You Should Date A Swede!

You're a romantic, albeit an understated and practical one.It's more about a steady partnership for you, not unrestrained fallingYour Swede will give you the unwavering love you craveWhile making up some mean pancakes and meatballs on the side!

Which Foreign Guy Should You Date?

Thanks Poppy Cedes

What Your Sleeping Position Says

You are calm and rational.You are also giving and kind - a great friend.You are easy going and trusting.However, you are too sensible to fall for mind games.

What Does Your Sleeping Position Say About You?

Drift Away

Well world, the psychic/channeler did not show up. Her spirit guides told her to stay at home, and it was snowing like mad at the time. Traffic wasn't moving quickly anywhere. So there the four of us were and no psychic/channeler. One of them, the hostess, is Lou my buddy. The second is Lou's best pal Norma. The third was a lady who scares the living daylights out of me. She's sad looking, smirks a lot, does very little work and is very contrary. They are not renewing her contract after March 31 and frankly I don't blame them a bit (she's pretty senior). She knows that they are not keeping her but she claims to not have any idea of why she's leaving. I'm friendly with her boss, and the sad/scary lady was pumping me to see what I knew (umm officially, I know nothing of course). So Norma had to leave quite early, that left me, Lou and sad/scary. From 2:00 until 9:30. This.was.not.much.fun.

On the other hand, Lou just adopted two kittens two weeks ago. They're sisters and they are DARLINGS!!! Both of them adopted me very quickly, so we played most of the night. Why didn't I go home early? Because Lou made a Chinese fondue for dinner on my account (due to heart/cholesterol stuff, don't do regular fondue). So I kinda had to be there. Before she left, Norma wanted me to look up something on Lou's computer. We found a worm on it, so I updated her virus software, got rid of the worm, and did a disc scan. Now the computer runs halfway decently.

After Norma left and after the food we somehow got talking about vibrators. By this time Lou is fairly much into the wine. Lou wanted to get the one I have (not that she's seen it!). They were too embarrassed to go to a store like I did, so they decided to order them off of the internet. I did it for them, not sure if the order went through but it took the pressure out of being around sad/scary.

Then Lou starts hugging and holding my hand a lot. OK this is odd. Boy I hope it was because she was drunk 'cause I don't bat for that team at all. We were going out the door by then. Drove really fast to get home.

And there's a reschedule date for the psychic.

Argh.

Anyway, glad to be home. Glad to be away from sad/scary. Loved those kittens. But very glad to be home.

Does this sound weird to any of you?

It suuuuure felt that way!!!

Shudder!

Bridg

GWB (the not great one)

Can the English language survive?

"The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country. "
- George W. Bush

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."
- George W. Bush

"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is ' to be prepared '."
- George W. Bush

"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future. "
- George W. Bush

" The future will be better tomorrow." George W. Bush

" We're going to have the best educated American people in the world."
- George W. Bush

" I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."
- George W. Bush

"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe We are a part of Europe."
- George W. Bush

" Public speaking is very easy."
- George W. Bush

"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls."
- George W. Bush

"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur. "
- George W. Bush
"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
- George W. Bush
"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children. "
- George W. Bush
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
- George W. Bush
" It's time for the human race to enter the solar system."
- George W. Bush

Another Prediction!

You Have a Phlegmatic Temperament

Mild mannered and laid back, you take life at a slow pace. You are very consistent - both in emotions and actions. You tend to absorb set backs easily. You are cool and collected. It is difficult to offend you. You can remain composed and unemotional. You are a great friend and lover. You don't demand much of others. While you are quiet, you have a subtle wit that your friends know well. At your worst, you are lazy and unwilling to work at anything. You often get stuck in a rut, without aspirations or dreams. You can get too dependent on others, setting yourself up for abandonment.

What Temperment Are You?

Too Freak'n Cool/Right On

You Are The Moon

You represent the unconscious side of life, what happens in dreams. You are capable of great genius - but also of great madness. Emotions tend to be primal for you, both your fears and your fantasies. Your intuition is always right, listening to it is the difficult part. Your fortune: You are about to embark on a very important journey - and a very difficult one. Some of your deepest dreams will be realized, as well as some of your deepest nightmares. Follow your creativity and visions; stay away from your weaknesses. You are taking a voyage to the center of yourself, and you may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover.

What Tarot Card Are You?

Evil Woman

You Are 20% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

Is This A Repeat?

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have low conscientiousness. Impulsive and off the wall, you don't take life too seriously. Unfortunately, you sometimes end up regretting your snap decisions. Overall, you tend to lack focus, and it's difficult for you to get important things done. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Thanks Flea!

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!"You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up.If only your routine didn't always bomb!You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

Muppet Personality Test

"

I love this stuff! Am taking comfort in the fact that there are no glamorous or sexy Muppets...

One Of a Kind (Love Affair Is...)

HAPPY FRIDAY WORLD!!!

Hope you're enjoying the last day of the working week?

K went back home tonight and I'm still crying in my beer. Speaking of that, got together with Marc and Pauly for beer with M. I do love those guys. Miss Marc & Pauly but glad they're happy and working together. Marc has more white hair than before and he blamed it on Pauly. The whole time we were together tonight the laughing never stopped. They are truly rare guys....the kinds of friends you always have (as friends).

Not much else to add. Mom still has a bladder infection, just delivered her meds on the way home. Hope this goes away, she's had several bouts of it.

Was pretty hard to work today. Did get stuff done but it was so sunny and warm outside (the trees now have buds) that it was very hard to want to do a damn thing. But yahoo the weekend's here.

Am supposed to go to Lou's tomorrow for a psychic reading (she's bringing one in). Usually love those things but when they're scheduled (or when anything's scheduled) usually want to bail out. Sigh. Does anyone else but me go to these guys?

Despite the bright sun and longer days, passed several nasty accidents on the way home. Now there's no snow, it wasn't slippery--what the heck is wrong with folks? Oh well. Had not been on the Queensway in some time and don't miss it lemme tell ya.

OK off to feed the cat before she makes life REALLY miserable!

Enjoy the weekend, y'all! We're supposedly getting 20 cm of snow tomorrow....Bridg

One Good Woman (well in my case, cat...)

Hi world! How was your Thursday?

Would not have made it into work if it had not been for the determined but gentle efforts of The Most Spoiled Cat In The Universe. I kept turning over and going back to sleep...at 8:00 she started tapping me on the shoulder with her paw and wouldn't let up. Fed her, had a coffee, fell asleep and woke up again at 9:00. It's hard to wake up in spring and fall. Have no idea why.

Someone ran into a deer this a.m. on the road that I take into work. Must have happened no more than a few minutes before I drove by. The deer, about 1-2 years old, was trying to stand up. Called 911 and told them to go help the deer. Hope they were able to. Then called my vet to see if they'd work on the deer. They don't do that. Then called the city and got put on hold forever so have no idea what happened in the end.

I'm chosing to believe that the deer was stunned and got up and left on its own.

Anywho, work went really well (again not sure what happened but we made a lot of progress). K was overwhelmed because the passive-agressive type had dumped all the work on K that she was supposed to have explained in the two weeks preceding. So A, I and P got together and divvied up the tasks in a more reasonable way and we eliminated the nonsense tasks. All of us felt much much better afterwards. This is real teamwork and I'm so proud of those guys. Especially A for noticing that K was stressed and bringing up the solution. She's a natural leader.

We all went to dinner together at a restaurant that's in a haunted old house (WC, this is Friday's Roast Beef House). It was cool. No ghosts but the staff had lots of stories. Food was good too, company was great.

M was great of course all day as he usually is. We had our usual share of dirty jokes/wisecracks and horrifying some of the staff. No actually they're not horrified, just probably surprised at the amount of joking that goes on (and how ribald it usually is). Wish I could share some of it with you but that'd reveal where I work, dammit.

We're taking K to lunch tomorrow, and she leaves for the airport to go home to Calgary at 3:00. Will really miss her. We're doing weekly teleconferences. She's made a great friend in A and the rest of the staff like her too.

Mom's making an offer on the condo!! I am thrilled, Sis must be too. Am so proud of her for doing this. YAY MOM!!! You rock!!

OK it's 10:30, off to bed. Have a lovely evening, world.

Hugs, Bridg

Punishment

Thanks Wandering Coyote! These are terrible/great!!

Time out for some silly smiles..post holiday no brainers!

You've probably read a few of these...
1. Two vultures boarded a plane, each carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess stops them and says, "Sorry sir, only one carrion per passenger."

2. NASA recently sent a number of Holsteins into orbit for experimental purposes. They called it the herd shot round the world.

3. Two boll weevils grew up in S. Carolina. One took off to Hollywood and became a rich star. The other stayed in Carolina and never amounted to much and naturally became known as the lesser of two weevils.

4. Two Eskimos in a kayak were chilly, so they started a fire, which sank the craft, proving the old adage; you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

5. A 3-legged dog walks into an old west saloon, slides up to the bar and Announces, "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw."

6. Did you hear about the Buddhist who went to the dentist, and refused to take Novocain? He wanted to transcend dental medication.

7. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel, and met in the lobby where they were discussing their recent victories in chess tournaments. The hotel manager came out of the office after an hour, and asked them to disperse. He couldn't stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.

8. A women has twins, gives them up for adoption. One goes to an Egyptian family and is named "Ahmal" The other is sent to a Spanish family and is named "Juan". Years later, Juan sends his birth mother a picture of himself. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. He replies, "They're twins for Pete sake!! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal!!"

9. A group of friars opened a florist shop to help with their belfry payments. Everyone liked to buy flowers from the Men of God, so their business flourished. A rival florist became upset that his business was suffering because people felt compelled to buy from the Friars, so he asked the Friars to cut back hours or close down. The Friars refused. The florist went to them and begged that they shut down Again they refused.. So the florist then hired Hugh Mc Taggert, the biggest meanest thug in town.. He went to the Friars' shop, beat them up, destroyed their flowers, trashed their shop, and said that if they didn't close, he'd be back. Well, totally terrified, the Friars closed up shop and hid in their rooms. This proved that Hugh, and only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.

10. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot his whole life, which created an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him frail, and with his odd diet, he suffered from very bad breath. This made him ....what? --a super-callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

11. And finally, .. there was a person who sent 10 puns to some friends in hopes at least one of the puns would make them laugh. Unfortunately no pun in ten did!!

Why Don't GUYS Ever Do This?

Thanks Vic...I think. Her high heels are real. The rest is paint.

True

Hey world! Another mostly sunny day, no rain or snow yahoo and it was light past 6:00 tonight! Left at 5:20 too which is two hours early for me/us....

Hard to wake up tho. This happens in spring and fall, just can't get enough sleep. Weird!

The cake and prezzies went over well--did I mention that is was a lemon mousse cake (trying to avoid allergies and did thank heavens). Thank heavens that's over with. K is still working with us, taking over from the passive agressive type that left today but she (K) will be working with us from Calgary starting on Monday. I'm in mourning, she is one great person. Will miss her a lot. But there's always phone and e mail!

Mom is still undecided re the condo. Sis and I are sort of pulling our hair out, but it's a big decision and it's up to her. Frustrating spot to be in, but moving, as Wandering Coyote can testify, is a heck of a disturbing experience that probably does not lose its punch as we age. So guess the key is just to wait. No word from Bro and that's good. Sis has her challenges at work, we talked about them tonight. Work for me/us is going fine. Heard from folks back at the old place today and sure am glad not to be there anymore.

Despite that, didn't feel like work today (I mean REALLY didn't feel like it) so it was kinda odd. Maybe this is more spring fever. Noticed around blog-land that a lot of us are kinda in the spring doldrums.

Come on Spring!!!

Night world....off to send out jokes.

Bridg

Hands Up

Hola world, how goes it? As you can see from the title we are carrying on with the 'beachtime' thingie. Have been playing this song over and over in my car. Sounds dumb unless you've heard this with the volume waaaaay up. Not too bad.

But the snow's still there. Oh well, it did get to 0 degrees today so will keep playing the damn song until the snow goes away. Think it'll work?

Ever hopeful!

Woke up in a not so great mood. This is odd, I am ALWAYS in a good mood. A bad one is like a once every few years event. But knew that the troops were worried about me yesterday and I promised to haul my butt in there so....showed up (late) for work. But showed up.

And was SO rewarded! Greeted by K, who had stayed at work till 1:30 a.m. working (no I didn't know that she was going to do that) AND who came in at 8:00 today anyway (and SHE's worried about ME?). She didn't want to 'get into trouble' by taking the morning off. "A" let her know that there's no such thing in this group and of course I would OK her sleeping in (which I reinforced and thank heaven she went home early). Then got a really cute e mail from another of the gang who sent around a great series of pics of a mom dog who adopted a baby squirrel at the same time that she delivered puppies with predictable results. The pics, which I will post later, are adorable. You can't help but melt when you see them.

OK mood thingie instantly resolved. Now cheerful, happy to be there and so in love with those guys I work with. Actually got stuff done and OK'd but will be damned if I can remember what we did. M was very happy too. He/We finally figured out how to get NBG comfortable with our proposals--we shop the ideas around first and get a feel (for him to know about) whether folks support it or not--THEN talk to him about the ideas. Ta da! And it worked today too. So M is happy, I am relieved that M is happy, NBG is more comfortable with M...love and kisses all around.

Heh I wish.

Know what it's like when you catch the glance of someone you're nuts about, they catch your eye and hold the glance? That happened with M and me today during a meeting. Melt. But I digress. Also had a shrink appointment (once every three months). Passed with flying colors and am not taking sleeping meds anymore. Do use over the counter stuff, but it's been OK (no strong prescription stuff) since last Thursday. This is terrific news.

Went to see the condo Mom's interested in tonight. It is great. She was foggy mentally tonight which scared me. Took her forever to get up the ramp into the place, couldn't remember how to get there--the usual seniors' stuff. But the place is great. Bro of course thinks that she isn't downsizing and that this is bad. That is, "You're a widow, Mom, you should be living in a rented room somewhere." The bozo. Sis and I like the place, Mom does and I think it'd be great for her. But it's her decision.

The passive agressive woman is leaving tomorrow. The last of Evil Witch's acolytes (there were two of them). This one has tried to set me up many times, chiefly by not telling me about things that I need to approve (didn't know that they were pending). Fortunately everyone ELSE told me and we've been fixing them one at a time. Actually went out and got her a farewell present and cake for tomorrow.

Why?

Because K wants to, A thinks it'd be a good idea, and M doesn't want us sinking to passive-agressive's level of unprofessional. Classy bunch, aren't they? Can't help but love them. And soooo glad to see the end of this one. The present I got? A bunch of little kits for a new job: Office Voodoo, Spying On Your Co-Workers, 92 Things Every Woman Must Do In Her Life, etc. (actually that first one is a biggie). Total cost $52 and it's worth it. She doesn't have much of a sense of humor but we do, and it's appropriate for someone changing jobs. Have no idea what she likes/doesn't like, and no one else knows this woman much either. Her choice (she doesn't socialize with others. This isn't an introvert thing, it's a 'don't wanna mix with you guys' thing. Ewww).

Got to see M discussing computer systems with a fellow 'geek' type in French today (the other guy's from Quebec). It was the second day in a row that I was in on this type of discussion with those two guys and it was cool. Nice to see him so completely at ease. The other guy was cool too.

Did you guys notice that there were back to back NCIS episodes tonight? AND CSI afterwards?

Oh what a night (oops that's another song)....

Night all...think beach!!

Bridg

Kocomo

Hey world, don't you all wish you were on a tropical beach tonight?

Had one meeting every hour and lived to tell the tale. It was sunny (thank heavens. How easy is it to pull your carcass out of bed on a rainy Monday?) and sorta cold here today. The meetings passed but it sure makes you feel useless, going from one group of folks to the next. Things are being done but it's hard to feel that when you spend your day talking and listening (not doing).

Tshsmom was right, it was cabin fever over the weekend. M didn't have the greatest weekend either (and he stayed in)--actually most people I know, even the young crowd, stayed in and everyone reported the same type of weekend (eh...so-so).

The eldest of my two bros just got Sis ticked at him. I've been in the same boat as Sis (ticked) since before Christmas for the same reason...with Bro, if he doesn't take on an initiative (e.g. Mom looking at condos) we are doing whatever it is all wrong. He can be very irritating--I've had car salesmen refuse to let me test drive cars because of the way that Bro talked to them (so I bought my car on my own and mighty offended by THAT was bro!). So am going to see the condo that Mom likes tomorrow night.

Which means postponing the accountant. Which breaks my heart. As you all might have guessed.

Girls' dinner (work) on Wednesday.

My trouble-making passive aggressive type is leaving on Wednesday (hip hip hooray) this week. She's kinda refused to train anyone to do her job and I keep tripping over decisions that I am supposed to have made that she didn't tell me about.

Charming.

Anyway...everyone ELSE is doing fine. All the kids are happy, their work is racing along. Mom is happy, Sis is happy but steamed at Bro (me too but it's been so long that the steam is gone), the flu/virus is leaving but slowly...and no more bugs. Most Spoiled Cat In The Universe is happy/fine too.

Now all I/we need is two weeks off on a beach somewhere! Right world?

Have a great night...Bridg

Strange Magic

And a strange weekend it was, right world?

It was frickin' cold here, so I hibernated. No grocery stuff, just took Mom to get her hair done, ran the bare essential errands and that was it. Finally got two weeks' worth of laundry done, having run out of lingerie and pjs (are pjs lingerie?) and all sorts of stuff.

Found strange little black bugs in bathroom, figured that they'd dropped in from the attic, until I found one on the newly-drycleaned comforter. They came from the dry cleaners!!! (sounds like a cheap horror flick, right?). EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. There appear to be no more of them thank heavens. Ick and ew.

Didn't go to Mom's, and that feels weird. She was out looking at condos with Sis (I declined to be up for a 10:00 appointment on one of the two days that I have to sleep in). They found what sounds like a great one, but Mom has to make up her mind about whether or not to move. She usually takes a long time to decide such things. Before she sold the house that she and my late dad shared in the country she waited three years. Three years of cutting three acres worth of grass on my own I might add. No I didn't live there, just drove out there all the time to do the @#$% grass. So...who knows.

The driveway people came over and removed the iceberg from the end of my driveway. Everytime it snows I have to call them--whoever does my drive ignores it. At least now the car doesn't scrape over the ice (and I don't have to take a 'running start' to get in to the driveway). Tried to do it myself but it was pure ice. Hard and heavy.

So all in all this was a very domestic weekend. Tomorrow I have five meetings and a doctor's appointment. MAN that kind of day just makes you want to jump out of bed, right (ha ha ha)? Well, there is the added benefit of being around M.

That's right, she's back to THAT again. He was on my mind constantly. Have no idea why. Here we were doing so well with this pals thing. Well we still are. It's just my mind that slips every once in a while and this weekend was one of them. He said something about a mid life crisis (out of what felt like no where) and was wearing that damn green outfit again. Think that might have helped. Plus staying in all weekend.

Once in a very long while, I feel lost, world. This weekend was one of them. Will find myself soon enough, it's OK. Just a wrinkle in the universe.

Hope wherever you are that you're dry, warm and happy!

Bridg

Bad Moon Rising

"Looks like we're in for nasty weather...."

MAN are we ever. It never got to the 4 degrees we heard about. With the wind it felt more like
-30. Outside of Arnprior (town to the west of Ottawa) there was a 30 car pile-up. To the east near Embrun there was a 60-80 car pile-up before 4:00 today with 8 killed. And tonight it's going to be colder, so everything that melted in the sun today is going to freeze on top of the black ice created by the car exhaust.

Lovely.

Oh well so much for our dinner out, guess it'll wait till next week.

Finished half of what we needed to do today but at least it's over for the weekend. The woman who's leaving is passive-aggressive on top of being a pawn of Evil Witch, so I had a rough few hours. Somehow managed to be calm, professional and not snap but at times it was trying. M asked how he could help and I said for HIM to go in there. So he came in and joked/flirted a bit. It helped! Thank heaven this one's leaving. K, the one coming in, is a darling. Would love 10 more of her!!

Not much else to talk about except the flippin' weather, which IS remarkable. So will go off, eat and crank up the heat.

Happy Friday everyone! Stay safe and warm...Bridg

p.s. M wore that green sweater/pants thing today. Suits him to a T and he is so gorgeous. Sigh. Too bad I'm so stuck into my work but glad we're working together.

Thanks Eric!

Quail Hunting

The Pina Colada Song

Well I might like getting caught in the rain, world, who really doesn't--but not FREEZING rain!! And that's what it's doing. Freezing rain, wind and snow allllll at the same time. At least I'm not in Saskatchewan (or was it Manitoba) where it was -20 something and -40 something with the wind. Yikes this place is a winter wonderland (wonder why these folks live here).

Today was a gallop through hell. Before I ever repeat this experience, would rather yank each of my teeth out with my bare hands by myself, go naked to every meeting on my calendar and be secretary of the groups, kiss TLT, or scramble my own brains. ICK PTOOEY. We only finished 3 out of 12 things today that we had to do. The analysis was painstaking, detailed, and complicated because the people who put this crap together didn't do it. Why didn't they? Because they don't use the info (strike 1), the systems that feed into this thing suck (strike 2), and the deadlines are too short/insane (strike 3).

we.are.not.doing. this.again.

There is not enough money in the world for these poor women to do this nasty work. And we are NOT doing it every quarter.

Sorry for the rant guys.....

Had some lovely if short exchanges with M today. Sigh. Didn't go to dinner after all with K due to the freezing rain etc. so we're going tomorrow and bringing another of the gang with us.

Just had a phone call from an elementary school pal that I found through the Classmates website. Have any of you done that? It is so darn cool!!!

OK off to eat before the cat has a fit.....Bridg

Four-Some?

trevs-INTERESTING-pictures@googlegroups.com

Mouse

courtesy of Trev's naughty pics

Feel Like A Number

Hey world hope you're doing fine? Heading into the weekend yahoo...

It was 4 degrees here and raining. This weather must be confusing the hell out of plants and wild animals. Oh well.

Sis is much better. They gave her Tylenol with codene and the sinus infection is better. Headaches aren't. Her idiot boss called her at home because one of Sis' employees is leaving. That definitely didn't help matters. But she's handling it well. They arranged a CT scan (for Sis) for Friday a.m. YAY. Mom still doing very well, thank heavens. Most Spoiled Cat In The Universe is complaining up a storm. No reason other than I'm on the computer. It's driving me nutty (Ok nuttier).

Work was great except NBG is driving us all nuts. He micromanages something fierce and is going out of town soon (so the volume's turned up). It's done with the best intentions in the world, and we can manage it most days, but today it bothered M, me and S (the big tall good guy) all at the same time, so he must have been particularly bad. Anyway we survived, got good work done and the troops are happy (we shield them from this stuff). A and K are the funniest and funnest team I"ve worked with in a long time. They get along so damn well and their personalities are not quite the same but mesh so well. It's lovely to see and be around. People have been complaining up a storm about the person who's leaving (Ice Queen's acolyte). She goes on Wednesday. Yay.

M is still tired these days but things are going well for him too. I'm very glad he's here, we make a really good pair managerially and as pals. Everyone likes him which is a relief and great. It's making the Evil Witch annoyed but that's even MORE fun. We don't even call her by name anymore. We just put our hands out to the side, about 4 feet from the floor (she's short) instead of mentioning the name. I know that's mean but she's always prowling around the hallways and listens at doors, so it's safer. Arranged for a beer night with Pauly, S (the smart/cute/Keanu Reeves-type guy from old office) and Marc next Friday. Cannot wait!

OK gotta go quiet down the cat, clean out the freezer and eat. Happy Wednesday world, it's all downhill to the weekend from here!!

Yay!

Bridg

Words

Vic, this is shameless. Why I"m putting it up here, GOK:

Two Hutterites walk into a pet shop in Lethbridge Canada and head directly to the bird section. Jacob, the Preacher, says to John, the Farm Boss, "Dat's dem."

The owner comes over and asks if he can help them. "Yeah, we'll take four of dem dere little budgies in dat cage up dere," says John. The owner puts the budgies in a paper bag. Jacob and John pay for the birds, leave the shop and get into the colony van and drive over to the train trellis bridge.

From the top of the bridge, John looks down at the 1000-foot drop and says, "Dis looks like a grand place." He takes two birds out of the bag, puts them on his shoulders and jumps off the bridge. Jacob watches as John falls all the way to the bottom, killing himself stone dead.
Looking down at the remains of his best pal, Jacob shakes his head and says: "Dis budgie jumping is too dangerous fer me."

BUT WAIT!!!! There's MORE!

PART TWO:

Moments later Isaac, the Hog Boss, arrives up on the bridge. He's been to the pet shop too and walks up to the edge of the bridge carrying another paper bag in one hand and a shotgun in the other. "Hey, Jacob, vatch dis," Isaac says. He takes a parrot from the bag and throws himself off the bridge. Jacob watches as halfway down, Isaac takes the gun and shoots the parrot. Isaac continues to plummet until he hits the bottom and breaks every bone in his body. Jacob shakes his head and says, "Ya, und I'm never trying dat parrotshooting either."

BUT WAIT!!!!.....

PART THREE:

Jacob is just getting over the shock of losing two friends when Abe, the Chicken Boss, appears. He's carrying an old potato sack out of which he pulls a chicken -- one of those old layer hens. Abe then grasps the chicken by the legs holds it over his head and hurls himself off the bridge and disappears down and down until he hits hard and breaks his spine.

Jacob shakes his head in sadness. "First der vas John wid his budgie jumping, den Isaac parrotshooting...... and now we've lost Abe from hengliding

Cracklin' Rosie

Hi world!!

Well clearly the cold is going, going, gone. M was in today but his eyes were so damn sad. He'd had a rough weekend with his volunteer job (chief financial officer long distance for some math-challenged types), pressures at home and coping with the stress of the new job and hurt foot. But he was fine when we went home tonight (8:00). Can tell when something's wrong and unfortunately I have this awful tendency to want to make things right. Even when it's none of my business. But M is also a friend, a very good one, and I hate seeing friends or anyone I care about in pain. So glad that we 'talked' it out.

Of course that meant his getting home late on VD, which probably wasn't the brightest idea going. Rescheduled dinner with K to Thursday.

MAN she is good. So is A. We had a meeting today to deal with some operational database issues. Got settled in 15 minutes but everyone felt like yakking so we did. There was so much laughing that the guy in the office next door came over and said he was insulted that we hadn't invited him. So did folks on the other side of the office. A just charged in, settled who'd do what by when. WOW I was so damn proud of her. All of her own initiative. It's was fantastic to see someone who'd been so crushed by previous management spring into life and do a great job.

K was a little worried about being named the leader of her function in our group. So we agreed that A and K are interchangeable, K is the lead, and none of us including M and I will let anyone get into trouble.

Earlier in the day, A and K gave M and I the best briefing (2.5 hours' worth) on the database. It helped so damn much. They did a fabulous job, and M and I got into a bit of teaching of the two of them about our field (the two do go together). There's nothing more satisfying that teaching smart, quick and very interested folks. ALL of us were thrilled after that meeting.

OK back to home stuff....Sis is quite sick. Has been off of work for the last 8 days with stabbing headaches. She's on antibiotics--Bactin (1500 mgs/day) and pain meds--naproxen at 1500 mgs/day. That naproxen dose is unreal, and it doesn't provide any relief from the pain either (at THAT dose??). She switched to Tylenol for migraines and it's sort of helping. Has had a big sinus infection, which I hope is the only cause of her headache. Is going to the doctor again tomorrow and he's arranging for a CT scan. Very worried about Sis. She also works for *ssholes (you know, Dances With Wolves? Poor Sis is Works For *ssholes). Mom on the other hand is great. Sis dropped by, sick as she was today, to give Mom VD chocolates and a card. Isn't that terrific?

So that's all the news that's fit to print, folks. Fortunately NCIS was on late tonight so I got to see it (hope you did too DMJ) despite getting home from work at 8:30. Still doing well on not eating anything but healthy home food. Oh. Did try to make garlic shrimp and peas. But the peas had been in my freezer for years (really) and were little, caved in and looked very sad. Into the garbage went the peas. But the rest of it tasted fine.

I'm learning, I'm learning!! Geez does this mean that you can't freeze beef for years either?

Hmmmmmmmm

Night world! Bridg

For the 5thCircleofcubichell Guys

courtesy of trev's funzine

Who's Guarding Whom?

courtesy of Sunny's Funzine

Don't Worry, Be Happy

DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY
Bobby McFerrin Written by Bobby McFerrin
- released July 1988- reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989- featured in the movie "Cocktail" starring Tom Cruise
courtesy of http://www.elyrics4u.com/d/don_t_worry_be_happy_bobby_mcferrin.htm

Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note-for-note
Don't worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry, you make it double
Don't worry, be happy Don't worry, be happy now
Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo hoo-hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry
Woo-oo-woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo
Be happy
Woo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry, be happy
Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo hoo-hoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry
Woo-oo-woo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Be happy
Woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo
Don't worry, be happy
Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy
The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, (ha-ha ha-ha ha-ha) be happy (look at me, I'm happy)
Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry
Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Be happy
Oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo (Here, I'll give you my phone number. When you'reworried, call me. I'll make you happy.)
Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry
Woo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Be happy
Woo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style
Ain't got no gal to make you smile
But don't worry, be happy
'Cause when you're worried, your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don't worry, be happy Don't worry, be happy now
Ooo-oo-hoo-oo-oo oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry
Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Be happy
Woo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry, be happy
Ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry
Woo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Be happy
Woo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry, be happy
Now there, is this song I wrote
I hope you learned it note-for-note, like good little children
Don't worry, be happy
A-listen to a-what I say
In your life, expect some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy, be happy now
Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry
Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Be happy
Oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry, be happy
Ooo-oo-hoo-oo-oo oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry
Woo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Be happy
Woo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry, be happy
Ooo-oo-hoo-oo-oo oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry, don't worry
Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't do it, be happy
Oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Put a smile on your face
Don't bring everybody down likethis
Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry
Ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
It will soon pass, whatever it is
Ooo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
Don't worry, be happy(fading...)
Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooo
I'm not worried
Ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
I'm happy
Ooo-oo-oo-oo-ooo

How are ya world? It's snowing here but not much. COLD though. Those fakers said that it would warm up. HA!!

M wasn't at work today. Got hit in the foot during a game and it hurt to walk so he took the day off. He's been coming in sick for weeks, glad he finally got time off. NBL was also sick. Their offices face each other, so I started a rumor about them trading illnesses. Heh heh heh. Well as rumors go it could have been worse!

Managed to spill a coffee down the front of a white sweater during a meeting. Not that I was a necessary part of the meeting, was just there to support Marc. So he went on talking while I frantically tried to take the crap out of this sweater. Afterwards I was walking down the hall and one of the guys laughed at me and said "Lactating!" (uh yah, that's about where the stain was). Cute.

Our new lady arrived today. She's in from Calgary for two weeks to learn the very key job of someone who's leaving in two weeks, and then will do the job from Calgary. Cool huh? But the BEST part is that she's smart, sweet, nice, has a few of the quirky interests that I have (we both knock on wood ALL THE TIME--with me it's a reflex), both of us love the ocean and ocean life, and we're (all) smart asses with a warm side. She fit right in, everyone likes her and pitched in to orient her. She expressed interest in our profession, which really made me feel good. Told her of course I'd train her, gladly.

I.love.these.guys.

Had more cooking to do when I got home. Grilled chicken that had been marinating, then grilled more chicken for lunch (I make 2 oz chicken sandwiches. They're tiny but the chicken's been marinated usually), then cooked the shrimp leftover from yesterday's sort of gumbo/creole thing. Most of the recipes are experiments that I've collected from the Net. The soup one worked (lentil & carrot soup). Much better than the blah lentil recipe I'd been using. Have a LOT of recipes, just need the energy to sort through them to find a good one. Not like WC, I bet she's an awesome cook/chef.

Am taking the new lady to dinner tomorrow. She's here all by herself, want to make sure she has some company at least one or two of the nights that she's here.

Missed M being at work (he's nice to chat with/to) and when I called him on the phone tomorrow (to let him know what he's up for, meetings etc.) he sounded so down. Got him to laugh tho. Can't remember how, but it worked. Could have been having an argument with the wife I guess. She has kind of a list of stuff to be done, and it's hard to be incapacitated AND ummm have activities suggested to you while you're laid up.

That's pretty much it. Day 1 of eating less junk worked. Am taking this one hour at a time, like quitting smoking.

Would love to retire and be a beach bum. Honest guys, I could do that. Nooooooo problem. As long as pizza delivery is somewhere nearby.

Ahhhh. Well, enjoy your evening, I"m off to dream about sunny warm beaches....Bridg

59th Street Bridg(e) Song

Hey world, cold enough for ya?

Hope the sun continues on Monday but that would really be pushing our luck. Didn't go anywhere today, too busy cooking. Mostly new stuff, hope it turns out. Found some really disgusting stuff at the back of the bottom shelf of the fridge. I mean disgusting, unrecognizable...

Oh well at least it's gone now. Didn't know it was there. Might have even tossed out a cure for something...

The biggest issue I've run into with healthy eating (well besides the fact that brownies aren't health food) is lunch at work. Usually forget to pack a lunch and haven't had energy to make my own--but the stuff in the cafeteria is really gross. They put mayo on everything in sandwiches, PLUS mustard and lettuce, then whatever else. This makes whatever you buy wet, gooey and definitely odd-tasting.

So today made healthy soup (leeks, garlic, onion, lentils, carrots, tomatoes, celery and herbs de Provence) and yesterday got yogurt-ish stuff (mousse?) and the sandwich stuff is ready AND even got pears. So this week will skip the mayo-mustard mess.

Haven't heard from anyone in my family but Mom today (decided to skip dinner out). Sis is working morning, noon and night at her job. I used to work where she is now. It involved 95 hour weeks for 4 years, and when I burned out was just tossed aside, called a quitter, and the whole thing was very unpleasant. It is hard watching her do the same thing to herself that I went through. She does have her partner to rein her in every once in a while though, that's a good saving grace. D in my office is doing exactly the same thing. Her job is to put stuff together. It's coming in poorly written, so she's re-writing it herself. You can't do that for 5900 people. But she's trying. M and I keep nagging her to quit but she's too 'down in the hole' and needs to crash before she'll listen. The thing is she's adopting a baby and soon is going to have her hands very very full. It's like watching a car crash happen. Helpless feeling.

Hope your weekends were full and happy, world. Watched Bridget Jones' Diary again today (love Colin F) AND The Whole Nine Yards. Love that movie too. The Matthew Perry character reminds me so much of my little brother it isn't funny. Right down to the bitchy wife (check) and mother in law (check) from Montreal (check). The wife's first name is right too! Just howled with laughter when that movie first came out.

Off to search for jokes!

Have a great Monday, world!!

Bridg

There Ain't No Cure For The February Blues

But hopefull these help!
Thanks Peter(s)....

Classic No. 1:
A GUY GOES TO A SUPERMARKET AND NOTICES A BEAUTIFUL BLONDE WAVE AT HIM AND SAYS HELLO.HE'S RATHER TAKEN BACK, BECAUSE HE CAN'T PLACE WHERE HE KNOWS HER FROM, SO HE SAYS, "DO YOU KNOW ME?" TO WHICH SHE REPLIES, "I THINK YOU'RE THE FATHER OF ONE OF MY KIDS."

NOW HE THINKS BACK TO THE ONLY TIME HE HAS EVER BEEN UNFAITHFUL TO HIS WIFE AND SAYS, "MY GOD, ARE YOU THE STRIPPER FROM MY BACHELOR PARTY THAT I LAID ON THE POOL TABLE WITH, WITH ALL MY BUDDIES WATCHING, WHILE YOUR PARTNER WHIPPED ME WITH WET CELERYAND THEN STUCK A CARROT UP MY BUTT?"

SHE SAID, "NO, I'M YOUR SON'S MATH TEACHER."

--------------------------------------------------------
The old man in his mid-eighties struggles to get up from the couch then starts putting on his coat. His wife, seeing the unexpected behavior, asks, "Where are you going?"

He replies, "I'm going to the doctor."
She says, "Why, are you sick?"
He says, "Nope, I'm going to get me some of that Viagra stuff."

Immediately the wife starts working and positioning herself to get out of her rocker and begins to put on her coat.

He says, "Where the hell are you going"?
She answers, "I'm going to the doctor, too."
He says, "Why, what do you need?"

She says, "If you're going to start using that rusty old thing, I'm getting a tetanus shot."
________________________________________________

Someone Exactly Like You

Hey world, Bridget Jones' Diary was on TV tonight, although the rest of the world is prob watching Olympics. That's my life too, without the gorgeous guys, cute bod (BJ) and music. Heh heh heh.

Took Mom out grocery shopping. Both of us had missed doing that for a few weeks. My bill was unbelievable. But hey it got done. First tho, we went to one of those breakfast places that closes mid-afternoon and specializes in fruit/waffles. MAN that was wonderful. Most of the tables in this place are window-side, so we had a great view of a gorgeous (but very cold) day. Lovely. Got all kinds of errands done. Even did cooking/freezing, but not all of the cooking that I'd intended to do. Sat down to rest after got back home, and the next thing I knew it was 8 pm.

My aunt (Mom's sis) had heart trouble first among all of us (well, except Bro). She takes naps in the afternoon. Never realized or understood why she did that until I wound up in the same boat. Feels stupid at this age to be doing that but hey.

Talked to Peggy, she sounded GREAT. Is getting tons of phone calls because everyone loves her. They won't have the tissue results for three weeks, but it is treatable and that's what she and her hubby (and pals of course) are pinning their hopes on. Told her that all of you guys were wishing her well too. Thanks on her behalf. Her mom is staying with them looking after the kiddies, and Peg herself sounded in very good spirits. Thank you God.

Have been having MANY probs with my computer these days, caused mostly by Norton AntiVirus. This.is.driving.me.nuts. Bear with me please....

OK time for sleep. Hope your weekends are going great and your days are sunny.....Bridg

I Like Dreaming

Hey world HAPPY FREAKIN' FRIDAY YAAAAAHOOOO!!!

It is still very cold here but there is light outside until 6:00 pm! Isn't that cool??? Spring's coming!!!

And it's Friday night and the week's over and it's the weekend!! Survived another week, hope you did too. Again got lots done, mostly by the kids. M and I lurched from meeting to meeting (that we didn't know about) today and managed to tread water in all of them. Found out at the end of the day that M's computer is doing something strange to his meetings (like not keeping them in his calendar). Well, that explained a thing or two! Decided that I'd had enough of managing a database I know nothing (much) about and scheduled a 1.5 hour demo of two of the big ones (DBs) for Tuesday. Feel a LOT better. Oh yah also lined up an accountant to figure whether or not I have to go to jail over 2004 income tax (OK to figure out my 2004 income tax). Might be a while between posts (ha ha ha).

There was a drink-fest for an exec who's leaving tonight but did not feel very at ease mixing alcohol with end-of-cold with execs with database frustration, so skipped it. Did take home lots of crap that I'd piled up ALREADY in new office (5 pairs of shoes, a picture that I bought & later decided I hate, that kind of stuff). Then found out that the key for the new lock I had put on my house a month or so ago didn't work. It took about 10 minutes to get into the house. Am kinda worried about shopping tomorrow.

Did eat something for lunch I'd left in the fridge at work for 5 days. Didn't get sick either, so that experiment worked.

Have been crashing to sleep every night this week. Guess it's learning the new job plus the insane pace of it, plus February plus not much sun, getting over cold, etc. Feel much more energetic today, but today co-incidentelly was the first day we've had sun in what feels like forever.

NOW can visit all your blogs and post more jokes....see/talk to ya soon!

Hugs, Bridg

Love Shack

I LOVE THE GUYS I WORK WITH!!!

Hi world, how are you? Tee hee hee just giggling over that first line. All the kids at work are fired up, happy and working their little hearts out. And it's terrific work too. Does your heart a world of good to be with them, it's worth being worn out!

Had 2 minutes instruction and half an hour to do a fast bit of writing first thing today (glad I was in a little early--see it pays off to speed). It all happened nicely. The meetings, even unplanned ones, went well. Wish M (and I ) could get more rest, he is so pale it scares me. He's still putting in time on a volunteer job and playing hockey at stupid hours (11:00 pm), it's February and not too sunny AND he's only been on the job 2 months (did I mention it's a demanding place?). He's doing great except for the energy thing and have to admit I"m in the same boat energy wise. Ahhhh there's a WEEKEND coming up!

Can't find any photos to top bikini-man but am trying...leave it to me (heh heh heh).

Mom is doing well, haven't had a chance to talk to Peggy because when I get home it's 10 pm where she is and am pretty sure she's sleeping a lot these days. Will try over the weekend. But the surgery went well, do know that much.

Got a request to file my 2004 tax return (I don't do that until they ask). Am going to ask an accountant to do it, since it's too complicated for me. Am worried about this one. But can't control it anyway so what the hey....

Well, OK I could have controlled it when it was due but didn't. Bad bad Bridg....

Now stomach's upset. Happens everytime I think about tax stuff. Which is why I wait for invitations.

Gotta go eat....wonder where the tax stuff went to......later!

Bridg

Wonderful World

Let's hear it for Satchmo, world!

Another week whizzed by in one day here. M and I were leaving around 7 (yah early night) trying to remember when it was that we had met with NBG and come to agreement on something. It was this morning at 11 and it felt like it had been on Monday. And BOTH of us felt that way!!

The neat thing is that 'the kids' are really opening up now and it's great to see just how much they can do and how smart they are (and I mean really smart). It's fantastic. NBG is wonderful too. There have been some pretty serious challenges lately and he's sticking to his guns backing us up. The.man.is.fantastic. Today I actually got away with one LESS task. Cool huh? I gotta take off sick more often.

Oh damn I wasn't gonna make 'sick' jokes anymore...

Love working for him, even if the pace is gonna kill us.

It's very cold outside (well OK it feels very cold. It's actually been a LOT colder)-- minus 17. Coldest it's been in a while. That means no snow which frustrates the skiiers but hey that's their problem!!!

Did you guys remember to watch NCIS last night? Forgot to remind ya'll.

Am trying to catch up with jokes, so you'll be seeing a lot more silliness here for a while. It's the time of year where you go south if you can afford it, get sick and grouchy if you can't. Since I can't, will try to cheer everyone up.

Night and hugs y'all....Bridg

Let's Do Something Cheap and Insincere

That really is a song title, world. Johnny Prine.

In keeping with our lovely man pic, here is some totally useless info. Have no idea if it's true or not but enjoy....

The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for Blood plasma.

No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven (7) times.

Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.

Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty (50) years of age or older.

The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.

The King of Hearts is the only king WITHOUT A MOUSTACHE

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one (1) olive from each salad served in first-class.

Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise. (Since Venus is normally associated with women,what does this tell you!)

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

Most dust particles in your house are made from DEAD SKIN!

The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer. So did the first "Marlboro Man."

Walt Disney was afraid OF MICE!

PEARLS MELT IN VINEGAR!

The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.

It is possible to lead a cow upstairs... but, not downstairs.

A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least six (6) feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush. (I keep my toothbrush in the living room now!)

And the best for last..... Turtles can breathe through their butts.(So can Mr. B)

Afternoon Delight

Hi folks/world! OK the 'bather' is back up...thanks for the support. Come visit me in blog jail, OK?

Took today off. Was very tired from not being able to breathe (still the @$#$% cold) BUT woke up at 5 p.m. today with no cold at all! YAY!!!!! Called M first thing today and asked for the day off. His voice was like liquid chocolate. Or else I was very sleepy. Or both. But very welcome just the same.

We talked at about 5 or so when I woke up. He described the place we work as a roller coaster too. That's about the only way to describe what goes on. Exhiliration, despair, fright, happiness, all changing from one minute to the next. It's a trip and a half let me tell you. The end result is good but the process, or lack thereof, is hair-raising. Wouldn't care except for the staff, who are the best. He has got to stay there.

So can't say much about what happened today because as far as I'm concerned, nothing did. Bro has the cold, Mom doesn't, The Most Spoiled Cat In The Universe slept as long as I did. The sun was out which is a change in O-town. NBL who's now back three days a week is going south at the end of the month. That got me wanting to go too. It's been a long long time, but first I have to lose a zillion pounds or so. OK there's something to do near term. Besides I only have three refills left on my cholesterol/heart/bp meds, and if the doc doesn't see some weight changes I"ll be in deep do-do.

So there we have it, double-barreled inspiration (plus Crystal's post on weight, which was fantastic).

Onward and downward!!!
Blessings, all....Bridg

Ya GOTTA Be KIDDING Me!!!

"Courtesy" of trevsnaughtees" <trevsnaughtees@yahoogroups.com>

Where All The Good People Go

Hi folks! Peggy came through her surgery fine and might be home tomorrow (can you believe how fast that is?). Her family planned on a Wednesday return, so who knows. They need to see the test results to know if they got it all. MAN I hope they did!!!! They're talking 'chemo light' maybe. That sounds like a 'let's make sure we got it' move. Good.

Woke up an hour late today. Slept all last night, woke up at 11, couldn't sleep, took an extra sleeping pill so that was bound to happen. Still was only 25 minutes late. Got a lot done and MAN is there a tempest (I think in a teapot) about us (me, M, NBG) dropping out of some work that is not being ethically done and doing it on our own. Big problem for others, lots of drama. Silly 5 year old stuff, easy to fix, hope M can pull it off.

Some other folks asked us for help in a way we don't usually do things (well I did it once a long time ago). We'll try it of course, T bird is working on it. Also inherited more work, and this involves the big database I know 0 about. The Prez likes it. Heaven protect me from having projects that big shots like (especially ones I'm not deep into). This is two in a row. Yikes.

Mom doing wonderfully. Sis is trying to do well, but she gets calls from work at home all the time. That's why I couldn't get hold of her last night to make sure that Mom was with her. That is insane. Another good pal, D, at work got input to her project that is so bad she's rewriting it herself. Bad bad idea. It trains the managers to continue to be bad writers, and she's spent most weekends/nights till 11 at work. It's draining her. She has the saving grace of taking a year's leave of absence soon but that is to adopt a baby--there is NO WAY that's gonna be a 'rest'!

Now I can see how I burnt out twice. Not that I"ve adopted anyone, just by the work habits.

Anyway am trying to avoid repeating history tonight. Fell asleep and just woke up. It's 12:30. Am not taking extra sleeping pills, just took the ones I usually take. And THAT has got to stop soon too.

Wasn't that swimsuit thing an eye opener? I just got it in an e mail and my jaw hit the ground. How could anyone have the guts to wear that thing?

It's a funny old world, world.

Hope that your world is safe, dry, and warm, world and that your ways are softly lit.

Hugs, Bridg

Conga

Every once in a while, things (or is it forces) combine that pull you back to reality, world. I've had this stupid cold since January 16 or so (now going into chest, yahoo head's clear) but noticed that stories of Flight 93 have been everywhere on TV. Have been obsessed with that story since it first happened. Of all flights to try to take over, the hijackers sure picked the wrong one. Am so terribly proud of whatever those folks did, and God bless them and their families. Then the news about Peggy and my other friend Vicky came literally one day apart.

Doesn't that show or highlight how unpredictable it all is? Vicky's one of us (a smart alek) who got into management quickly. We were a duo of pranksters when we worked together, VERY Hawkeye Pierce-ish, who didn't take much seriously. Both of us are single and frankly content as such. Then something like this happens, and in her case, Vick's had to deal with a bunch of nasty family things (serious illness of mother, etc.). Peggy has two little kiddies, I think they're around 10-12 but it's hard to visualize that, I remember her telling me that she was pregnant with the first one like it was yesterday. Pegg's gotten her doctorate, moved back to Newfoundland, found Mike (her CL husband), had kiddies and became an executive also since we first met. I bailed out of management and have gone through six posts since then (and finally found where I should be). Oh by the way, Pegg's DEFINITELY one of us, quiet but a real wit. Since she specializes in bugs, I keep sending her presents for Christmas and birthdays that have to do with insects (amber, soap with red ants in it, etc.). Can't stand the thought that either of these first class ladies is or was seriously ill and BOTH of them are younger than I am.

Mom and I compared notes a while ago. She has two friends who have passed away, I have over 50. Isn't that odd? Most of my pals who died suffered from cancer. Very few from heart ailments.

Have no idea of what, if anything, this means. Maybe it's a function of age, definitely includes, as DMJ and WC said, earlier detection. Perhaps longer living too--in the 1600, to reach 30 was old age.

My dad lived his whole life under pressure. He had no parental examples of how to behave (as a parent, as a professional) so he had to wing it. Being an undiagnosed manic-depressive with a horridly strong sense of drama, this made things incredibly tense most of the time at home and on the job. Am not saying that I'm better than he was but sure have avoided causing the stress that he did and have not passed that on to children and am very very very grateful for that. My poor mom on the other hand had a very selfless father who died when she was young and a career-driven mother with a mean streak. Yet Mom and her sister are two of the kindest, nicest folks you'd ever want to meet. Think that most of what my siblings and I have in terms of people smarts we got from both parents (do like Mom, don't do like Dad).

Am continuously surprised that life wound up with me (a) living in North America (always assumed I"d be somewhere else), (b) not married and (c) childless, even though it was never a strong drive to have kids. Vicky feels the same way, and both of us said that if we had to do it all over again we'd be in medicine (doctors). Isn't that odd? But kinda cool. The man who taught me everything I know about the field I work in (am kinda known in it) did so for no apparent reason at all, Ron just wanted to dump all of his knowledge--and he was a well-respected expert--into someone's head and I just happened along. He didn't have children either, was twice divorced, and you would have liked him world. Ethics up the ying-yang, smarts like you wouldn't believe and a take-it-or-leave it attitude that made folks either love him or hate him.

Why am I blithering on like this? Because things like this make you think ....about what difference it made that you (I) lived at all. Having kids is one big thing, but if you don't, what then? Hopefully, the quote I read somewhere (Erica Jong) plays into it--it has to do with the lives you've touched, for good or bad. The effects passed on to offspring you (I) haven't given birth to but somehow influenced.

Here's hoping that on balance, it's been positive, and that I've managed through teaching or example to pass on Ron's legacy to others.

Maybe this is a reminder to be mindful of that. Have seen (e.g. through Evil Witch) what happens when emotions/power plays rule, and have done my best to correct that simply by being kind/professional. Hope it's taken hold, hope the impact's been good. These young folk I work with are leaders. I know they'll take what they've seen and learned forward. And being teamed with M sure helped amplify the message.

Sorry for the wandering rant. It's just a 'thinking' day today.

Love you all, Bridg

Only In Newfoundland

where's the litter box?

Only In Newfoundland

OK he's brave

Only In Newfoundland

and lonely....

Only In Newfoundland

and looking for a party......

Only in Newfoundland

Where's the litter box??

Only In Newfoundland

Now this is just plain pretty....

Only in Newfoundland (next few pics from Peggy)

and thirsty.......

Ummmmmm

Thank you Peter for this one. Definitely not true in my case but can relate.....

UCLA Study

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of face a women finds attractive on a man can differ depending on when or where she is in her menstrual cycle. For example: If she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features.

However, if she is menstruating, or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with scissors lodged in his temple and tape over his mouth while he is on fire. No further studies are expected.

Every Time You Go Away

What is going on, world? I found out last night that my great bud Peggy in Newfoundland has breast cancer. They're operating Monday, got the news Thursday, doing a mastectomy which is a pretty major thing. MAN I hope she's OK. She moved from O town to St. John's to keep a long time pal of hers company because SHE had breast cancer--a very aggressive form that killed this lady (Pam) in less than a year. Peggy doesn't have that kind, thank God.

Anyway, got my hair done today because I'm tired of everyone looking at my big white roots (trust me they were hugs), and heard that another pal, the person who referred me to this salon, had breast cancer recently too.

What're the odds? Are we just more aware of the beast called cancer or is it truly more prevalent?

Will post more positively later...I'm just in shock.

Bridg

Nena Nana

Let's hear it from the Feliciano fans out there, world! And how are you all tonight?

Today was yet another rollercoaster ride from one thing to another but it all worked, people are quite happy, and stuff's getting done. Somehow. And yet, we pick up more and more work every day. And believe it or not, there is a woman in our group who works much much harder than I do--she's in on weekends and every night till 10-11. Can't figure out if it's because she's taking a year's leave in April (guilt) or if this is her normal thing.

One of the guys at work decided that M looks like Henry Winkler (as he currently is). The guy cut out a pic of Henry and stuck it on M's nameplate. Since the office/nameplate is on a main corridor, EVERYONE saw it. Man the laughing, rude remarks and suggestions!!!! Hilarious!! (sit on it, heeeeeey, see ya in the office). Cool. Definitely cool.

A new person is coming to work with our group from out west and she sounds like us. I called her to welcome her (she arrives on Feb. 12). She has the same superstitions that I do, same sense of humor, nice personality, can't wait till she gets here! Oh yah there are 2 MORE people coming but we also inherited two major functions that they get to do. Am really hoping to get Scott to come over too. He's such a sweetie and we definitely need someone with his skill. M is going to call him tomorrow a.m. (or I will strangle him).

Marc is turning into quite the star. Everything he does is great, and he's very realistic about what the success is due to ("it could just as easily NOT worked, the guys were just happy to ......"). Really neat to see that combination of energy, talent and modesty/realism. T bird has it too. The other two ladies who have recently joined us, A and P (no really those are their initials) will be in the same league soon.


Ya know that Shania Twain song "Man, I Feel Like A Woman!". WEll, in my case it's "Man! I Feel Like A Momma!"

Speaking of mommas,Mom is happy, I am feeling much better (think cold's finally breaking up), M is looking a bit better but he's finding it physically hard doing a new job and playing hockey 3 times a week (at 10-11 at night, I might add). Tonight we left at 7. Became 6 before I knew it, and we yacked for another hour. Sheesh. But it's a way to unwind. Most Spoiled Cat In The Universe was starving to death (HA!) by the time I got home. She is now nagging me very vocally to get off of the computer. Nag.

Have noticed that the arthritis pain is going away from all the walking that I have to do at work.Hmm. Might be something to this exercise crap after all.....

Gotta eat, I'm starving. Have a most excellent night, folks!!!

Hugs, Bridg