Challenging day. Challenging challenging day. First a heart-to-heart with a new colleague. She scheduled a meeting “to talk.” I won’t go into that except to say it was — you guessed it — challenging but afterwards we did seem to understand more where the other is coming from. She did refer to me as a perfectionist, not in a bad way, just matter of fact, and I had to laugh. No matter what I do, I can’t let that tendency go.
Later on, I found out through a trusted source that another colleague thought it was tacky I applied for that manager’s position, like I was trying to push the existing manager out. My source told this colleague that it was a promotional opportunity that I was very well suited for and, after all, it was business and I had to look out for myself. Amen. Mind you, this colleague is one that pushes for open communication, yet can’t say these things to my face. Nice. Or as I like to say, klassy with a k.
Tonight I decreed that the elliptical machine is the devil. No treadmills or bikes were available at the gym, so I set the timer for 15 minutes and hopped on the elliptical. Oh. My. God. Two minutes in, I was sweating. After seven minutes or so, my legs felt weak. After 10 minutes, I said, fuck it, and got on a bike and rode it for 50 minutes. I didn’t think I’d like working out after work, but it’s preferable to getting up at 5:30, at least when the overnight low is in the teens or single digits. Brrrr.
Speaking of the weather, my friend Jennifer and I were reminiscing about the time we were in college, at Michigan State, and they canceled classes for the first time in 50 years because of the wind chill. I can’t remember what the wind chill was, but I think it was at least -40. And these Hoosier wusses think that 25 degrees is awful. Ha.
So. No promotion for me. Not what I would characterize as an unexpected development, but still a disappointing one. But, not to get all conspiracy theory on you, but there were some wranglings that I was made aware of. Ah, the politics of corporate life. On the bright side, my girl in North Carolina got a promotion (a different position) and I just called to congratulate her, and the sr. director was very complimentary during his little declination speech. Sigh.
I was super crabby this morning, with really no reason to be. I had a nice evening and a good night’s sleep … I guess with my spider sense knowing that I didn’t get the job, I wasn’t feeling too charitable. The treadmill helped make it all better, though.
Well, kinda. I’m still bummed about the job. The raise would have been nice but I honestly didn’t do it for the money. I applied because I knew I could do the job and immediately make an impact. But now I can go back to my writing and be all creative and shit. Speaking of being creative, we have this big team bonding thing where we have to “get to know” someone and buy them a $5-10 gift. So I got assigned a colleague that I’ve known for 4 years and we know each other pretty well. He writes short stories, which actually are pretty good, so I am going to buy him a book I saw online about writing by Stephen King. I think he’ll like it. I, on the other hand, may very well end up with a mini bottle of tequila. Not that that would be a bad thing. Not bad at all.
Had my first weigh-in tonight and I am down … six pounds! I was tres pleased with myself. I did 45 minutes on the bike after work today … and I. Am. Tired. Gah. (You can track my progress on my weight-loss page.)
I’m watching Miss America, but it’s just not the same watching it without my mom. The opening parade of contestants is our favorite part, although it’s best in the Miss Universe pageant, and I always enjoy the introductions of the judges. But the best best best best best part is the talent competition. Granted, we are two women without any sort of pageant-like talents, but that doesn’t make us unqualified to sit in judgment. It’s just what we do. And I always root for a brunette. That’s just how it goes.
My friend Gina today tried to assure me that periods of dullness in my life are ok, and reminded me of the drama we both have endured over the years. She has a point. But still this was my day — woke up, watched TV and waited for my headache to go away, got dressed and headed over to Gina’s, then decided it was too cold to run the rest of my errands. I did laundry, worked out then watched the Wings-Avalanche game. (Ha, K., Wings won!) Phew. Can you feel the excitement?!?! Oh, I did have the fun of fixing my site after I upgraded to WP 2.1. I sent a panicky e-mail to my web designer but was able to send another one a bit later with the news that I made it all better. Yee haw.
I have been trying to think of something else to write about but it’s just one of those nights. The fitness center girls at work came up with a contest; exercise for 30 minutes each day this week to win prizes — each day you get a letter and you have to spell “Colts” to enter. I signed up. Yeah, I’ll be doing that after work. It’s too damn cold to get up and get out of here early in the a.m. Tomorrow night is my first weigh-in for Weight Watchers. We’ll see if my points bonanza paid off this week …
I was panicky b/c my theme switcher wouldn’t work — in fact, none of my themes would work except for the nasty WP 1.5 “classic” theme. Finally I had the idea to delete the classic and default themes … and so far everything seems to be ok. I did follow these directions for “tricking” Fantastico — much easier than manually deleting/adding files. I think the changes from 2.x to 2.1 caused my problems, not the way I installed it.
I upgraded to WP 2.1 and it’s all gone to hell in a handbasket. The ugly theme will have to stay up until the bugs are worked out.
Busy few days. I had my interview yesterday and I think it went well, but I never can tell. I’ll know next week.
I am watching figure skating now, which used to be one of my favorite things to watch. I guess that’s because my dad and I would watch it together. Now it’s just … eh. Most of the professional skaters are the amateurs I didn’t like years ago, and the professionals I do like have retired … I have a great love for Robin Cousins. Sigh. But he hasn’t skated on TV in years. The best performance I ever saw was in 1994, when the national championships were in Detroit. My mom and I went to the men’s finals. Rudy Galindo, who then was known really for being Kristi Yamaguchi’s pairs partner, was skating solo. His performance brought tears to my eyes and the crowd to its feet. But Brian Boitano and Scott Davis ended up going to the Olympics, and it was pretty much a disaster from what I recall. That also was the year Nancy Kerrigan got whacked; we missed that by a few hours. A year and a day later I dislocated my knee ice skating, thus ending my late-blooming delusions of ice princess glamour.
I have been so stressed out over this course I am writing, the first one I am tackling from start to finish. I am just about done with it and as I was reading through my text, I had the thought of I am a really good writer. I need to do more than write in this blog. I have so many ideas that I start and then abandon. I need to focus. Not one of my strong suits, sadly. Not at all.
*Who remembers which “classic” skating-themed movie that line is from? The actor just had a birthday a few days ago.
Busy day. I completed a big project at work. Learning how to use the system in a new way was fairly frustrating, mostly because it is so counterintutitive. But I persevered, with a few heavy sighs and eye rolls. Tomorrow morning is my interview for the managerial job. I’m looking forward to the challenge of the interview, because I’m much more excited about this position than the last one I interviewed for, and I want to show that. Feisty Monique is ready to get the party started. So keep your fingers crossed for me.
This Weight Watchers thing is insane. I ate at Chic-fil-A today. Eight points for a grilled chicken sandwich and small waffle fries, and I still had a ridiculous number of points to consume. I was adventurous tonight and made roasted tofu with chiles. I ate about 2/3 of a serving then the rest went in the trash. It was the most tofu I have ever consume in my life, so I suppose that’s a positive step forward. And I got my daily allotment of soy and then some!
This morning I woke up about 5:30 and instead of dragging my ass out into the frozen tundra to go workout, I went back to sleep. Reggie the cat ended up in the bedroom, as I tend to forget to do things, like shut doors, when I am half asleep. The little punkin’ took it upon himself to rub his head all over mine. It was kind of endearing but I really just wanted to sleep. Then he sat behind me with one paw on my shoulder. When did my cats get so possessive of me? Mr. Man will situate himself between me and a gentlemen friend if we are sitting on the couch. Last time I had to throw him in jail aka the bathroom. They didn’t use to be like this. The 1/16 oz of testosterone or whatever they have is out of control.
This popped up on my iPod today. I love love love love the song “Broken Arrow.” I thought I had Robbie Robertson’s version but I can’t find it. When I was in college, some poor lovelorn sap played this song over and over one night. I honestly didn’t mind. I think I was the only person in the four-dorm grouping who didn’t.
I love me some Rod Stewart but his music is class A cheese. This song, however, is different. It’s powerful, passionate and only a teensy bit hokey.
