I was dreading going into work this morning. I had almost a week off because I was sick, and then had a few days off anyway, and was really getting into the Christmas spirit. The spirit was killed when I put on my black tennis shoes and khakis, but I headed to work anyway. We had a busy lunch, which is always great - more money! But as I was refilling the parmesan cheese at the end of my shift (yes, I have to do this) I started staring at a girl at one of the tables. I asked my co-worker, "Doesn't she look familiar??" I couldn't place her but just kept staring. Jokingly, my co-worker said, "Maybe she is some famous movie star...." My reply: "I really think she is!"
I discovered we were making a scene when a lady, who I assumed was the girl's mother starting nodding and pointing at her daughter. I went over and asked her, "How do I know that girl?" She whispered back, "She is Erin on 'The Office.'" The following was a show of what I can only call embarrassing behavior. I started talking to her mother exclaiming how much we love "The Office" and how we Tivo it when we are not available. (That was not important information for anyone to know.) Somehow or other, "Erin" got dragged into the conversation and started talking with us. Just three besties hanging out. Me, Erin and Erin's mom. I have to say, she was incredibly nice and apparently a great tipper as well.
I trapped her for at least 5 minutes while we talked, and discovered that her family lives in St. Louis and she is home for the holidays. (Mike later suggested that we find out where her parents live and stop by the house with some cookies.) I did consider asking for her autograph, but held myself back. As she left, we shook hands (I know - I touched her!) and I was still in awe of how nice she was. Then in a moment of weakness, I ran outside and yelled, "Erin! (So not her real name.) Tell John Krasinski I love him!" My cool factor may have plummeted after that, but the entire interaction made my day. Now I wonder who I will see at dinner!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Holiday Card Dilemma
How long is long enough for a Christmas card to be sent out picturing you and your significant other? Remember on Friends when Mona wanted to send a Christmas card out together with Ross after dating for two months? In the book of Michael Cherbonneau, Rule #64, "Thou shalt not send picture Christmas cards until thou are engaged." And so, after 6.5 years of dating, the photo shoot began.
Don't get me wrong. I always send out Holiday cards, and over the last two or three years have included some of our mutual friends. The difference is the PICTURE. Somehow or other, this makes the relationship more real and maybe begins to question the future. Regardless, Mike and I decided to send out Holiday Cards/Save the Dates together in one. Perfect idea - people have to stare at our faces for a month while reading over and over again when they should be planning to arrive at our wedding. The only problem is...December got a little crazy. By the time we got the tree up and decorated, it was December 15. Keep in mind, I like to have my cards out by the 5th of December, and was feeling extremely anxious with this 10 day extension.
I changed into my red dress, while Mike dressed in a button down and slacks. (Does anyone say slacks anymore? I am bringing it back.) As I applied the last touch, some red lipstick, I realized, "We have no one to take this picture!" If you recall, we don't have a lot of friends in the building as they all have at least 30 years on us. I trudged next door to our neighbors who we do see in passing, but I did back into their car. Things could go either way. After knocking twice, I considered who else's life I could interrupt for 30 minutes. The lady down the hall with a seeing eye dog and "prescription" marijuana? Our nosey friend Cookie, who would surely then believe she was invited to the wedding...or Elyse, the immigrant from West Germany who told us she likes to kill the rabbits with her shovel in the spring because they ruin her garden. Thank goodness my normal neighbor, Cathy finally opened up.
She looked me up and down and I watched the wheels turn in her head. "Why is she so dressed up at 2:30 on Tuesday afternoon?" "Do you think they want us to go get dinner with them? We hardly know them." "Are they going to make me keep their dang cat again?" When I finally explained that we needed a photographer, she jumped at the bit. She even offered her tripod, but I thought that would be a bit much. She entered our condo to find all the ornament boxes pushed to one side of the living room so they would be out of the way of the picture.
I gave her my camera, which she quickly took two or three shots from and decided it was not worthy. She informed us she was going to her camera because it was "easier to operate." The camera was a monster, but took some great photos and left us with a lot to choose from. She had us standing up, sitting down, beside the tree, etc. She was so helpful and later dropped off a bottle of champagne to celebrate our engagement. I have decided they are our new best friends in the building.
I uploaded the pictures to my computer and then realized that is about as far as my knowledge extends in the world of pictures and creations. I finally figured out Snapfish and ordered 300 Save the Dates. Wow!? You may be thinking. 600 guests is a lot to expect. Well, yes it is, but I continue to want to send an invitation to everyone, rather than just one part of the couple. I tried to do the same thing with our actual invitations, but my mother was there to stop me. So now we have 150 extra pictures of us hanging out by the tree. If you want to frame one in your house, you are more than welcome to it!
Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season and not putting off your shopping until the last minute like me!
Don't get me wrong. I always send out Holiday cards, and over the last two or three years have included some of our mutual friends. The difference is the PICTURE. Somehow or other, this makes the relationship more real and maybe begins to question the future. Regardless, Mike and I decided to send out Holiday Cards/Save the Dates together in one. Perfect idea - people have to stare at our faces for a month while reading over and over again when they should be planning to arrive at our wedding. The only problem is...December got a little crazy. By the time we got the tree up and decorated, it was December 15. Keep in mind, I like to have my cards out by the 5th of December, and was feeling extremely anxious with this 10 day extension.
I changed into my red dress, while Mike dressed in a button down and slacks. (Does anyone say slacks anymore? I am bringing it back.) As I applied the last touch, some red lipstick, I realized, "We have no one to take this picture!" If you recall, we don't have a lot of friends in the building as they all have at least 30 years on us. I trudged next door to our neighbors who we do see in passing, but I did back into their car. Things could go either way. After knocking twice, I considered who else's life I could interrupt for 30 minutes. The lady down the hall with a seeing eye dog and "prescription" marijuana? Our nosey friend Cookie, who would surely then believe she was invited to the wedding...or Elyse, the immigrant from West Germany who told us she likes to kill the rabbits with her shovel in the spring because they ruin her garden. Thank goodness my normal neighbor, Cathy finally opened up.
She looked me up and down and I watched the wheels turn in her head. "Why is she so dressed up at 2:30 on Tuesday afternoon?" "Do you think they want us to go get dinner with them? We hardly know them." "Are they going to make me keep their dang cat again?" When I finally explained that we needed a photographer, she jumped at the bit. She even offered her tripod, but I thought that would be a bit much. She entered our condo to find all the ornament boxes pushed to one side of the living room so they would be out of the way of the picture.
I gave her my camera, which she quickly took two or three shots from and decided it was not worthy. She informed us she was going to her camera because it was "easier to operate." The camera was a monster, but took some great photos and left us with a lot to choose from. She had us standing up, sitting down, beside the tree, etc. She was so helpful and later dropped off a bottle of champagne to celebrate our engagement. I have decided they are our new best friends in the building.
I uploaded the pictures to my computer and then realized that is about as far as my knowledge extends in the world of pictures and creations. I finally figured out Snapfish and ordered 300 Save the Dates. Wow!? You may be thinking. 600 guests is a lot to expect. Well, yes it is, but I continue to want to send an invitation to everyone, rather than just one part of the couple. I tried to do the same thing with our actual invitations, but my mother was there to stop me. So now we have 150 extra pictures of us hanging out by the tree. If you want to frame one in your house, you are more than welcome to it!
Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season and not putting off your shopping until the last minute like me!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sweet Home Alabama
If you ever move to Alabama, be prepared for the following two questions: "What team do you support?" and "What church do you go to?" (In that order.) When you move to Alabama, be aware that what people are asking is whether you favor the University of Alabama, or Auburn University. My parents are from Virginia, and while some may consider this the south, as it is below the Mason Dixon line, it really isn't. If you have been living under a rock, the University of Alabama just won the SEC Championship. Now, if you live in the south, you care about this. If you live in St. Louis, you are hard pressed to find any SEC games on television. Regardless, back to the beginning.
My parents like to remind me of the first Iron Bowl (Alabama v. Auburn) that I "celebrated" when I was enrolled in school. I had no idea of the rivalry as my parents went to Virginia Tech and my dad is more engrossed in the Red Sox. When I was told during gym class that I would have to show up on Friday wearing my Alabama or Auburn gear to determine which kick ball team I would be on, I freaked out. I'm really not sure what reaction my mother had, I was too young, but I ended up at school in a white shirt and a red bow in my hair. (We already had these staples and although I did not have a big "A" on my shirt, I looked enough of the part to join the team.) And so, another Alabama fan was born.
Each year after that, I was proud to wear my white shirt and red bow to school and claimed Alabama as my team when asked "who do you go for?" I had no idea when these games were on or who was playing, but my commitment was solidified. (Besides, orange just really isn't a good color on me. My mom must have noticed.)
When you drive into Alabama, you will see more bumper stickers, flags and other paraphernalia supporting one of these teams. My favorites (and one of my friends fits into this category) is when there is "A house divided." That is, one person in the household either went to Alabama or Auburn or has a strong support for them, while the other spouse supports the other team. Although you may think this is not a big deal, it is. I have no doubt that many a domestic dispute has begun after the Iron Bowl.
And so, the University of Alabama will play Texas in the National Championship. At this point, Nick Saban is God of Alabama and all is good in the world.
My parents like to remind me of the first Iron Bowl (Alabama v. Auburn) that I "celebrated" when I was enrolled in school. I had no idea of the rivalry as my parents went to Virginia Tech and my dad is more engrossed in the Red Sox. When I was told during gym class that I would have to show up on Friday wearing my Alabama or Auburn gear to determine which kick ball team I would be on, I freaked out. I'm really not sure what reaction my mother had, I was too young, but I ended up at school in a white shirt and a red bow in my hair. (We already had these staples and although I did not have a big "A" on my shirt, I looked enough of the part to join the team.) And so, another Alabama fan was born.
Each year after that, I was proud to wear my white shirt and red bow to school and claimed Alabama as my team when asked "who do you go for?" I had no idea when these games were on or who was playing, but my commitment was solidified. (Besides, orange just really isn't a good color on me. My mom must have noticed.)
When you drive into Alabama, you will see more bumper stickers, flags and other paraphernalia supporting one of these teams. My favorites (and one of my friends fits into this category) is when there is "A house divided." That is, one person in the household either went to Alabama or Auburn or has a strong support for them, while the other spouse supports the other team. Although you may think this is not a big deal, it is. I have no doubt that many a domestic dispute has begun after the Iron Bowl.
And so, the University of Alabama will play Texas in the National Championship. At this point, Nick Saban is God of Alabama and all is good in the world.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Stressors
Hello friends, I am back. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is gearing up for the holiday season. I finally got the tree up last night and a few Christmas knick knacks that makes our condo just a little more fun to live in! By the way, one thing I have noticed up here is that very few people use live Christmas trees. I always thought live ones were the norm, but maybe I am wrong. Last year after a lot of discussion, I gave in and bought a fake tree from Target. The reasoning was that we live in a condo and Mike told me that live trees are fire hazards and not allowed. I still don't know if I believe him, but at least I have a tree.
So the question of the day is: How do you handle stress? Generally I run or yell at people and am able to deal with it that way. (The running is really best since I am in the "restaurant biz.") Regardless, generally after I finish running or yelling, I feel much better and am able to go on about my day. Since Thanksgiving, something has been building that neither running, yelling or crying can take care of. (Believe me, I have tried them all - poor Mike.) My body has begun to internalize my stress and I can barely move my neck due to the large knot surrounding my spine. Don't worry - I did first think that it was a brain tumor but it keep changes positions, so I am pretty sure I am in the clear as far as that goes.
I cannot for the life of me pin point what the problem is. However, last night as I was trying to go to sleep (ROLL TIDE!) I realized it is probably several things that I cannot fix and have all been building up to cause my neck to hurt. If you are already bored, you may want to stop reading, because I am about to list my issues.....
First, I have been stabbed in the back at my job. Not kidding. I found out the other day that one of my co-workers is trying to get me fired!! Here's how it went down. One of my best friends at work is the dishwasher...he takes care of me when I am running around by putting my dishes up, or telling me to calm down when he can tell I want to kill a rude customer. He is also my eyes and ears in the back which is where the managers talk about people. (They don't have an office and apparently think that no one that works in the kitchen is listening to them.) SO - the other day he reminded me to stay calm while I am working because one of the managers is trying desperately to get me fired. WHAT?? I have a feeling of who it is, but I was shocked because no one has sat me down to tell me any major things that I am doing wrong.
When I came back into the kitchen, I asked my buddy what I was doing wrong. He then dropped the bomb by explaining to me that one of my co-workers has been complaining about me to the managers. Seriously?? He then told me that it was someone that I have been out to have drinks with. Well, that is easy. I have only been out to have drinks once, and I knew exactly who he was talking about. So, I confronted another manager who, of course, played dumb. So we shall see. All I can say is that if I get fired from a pizza joint, I'm not sure my life can get any lower!
The next thing that I believe is contributing to the knot in my neck is our upcoming wedding. Don't worry, I am thrilled and truly can't wait for June 5th to arrive, but I don't like loose ends and there are a lot of them still out there. I have been having a lot of dreams about the wedding where everything goes wrong. Examples: My dad is no where to be found to walk me down the aisle; Mike is not at the alter when I get up there (Do you think I have abandonment issues?) Another favorite is when my bridesmaids show up in different dresses because they are going to someone else's wedding!! The list goes on and on and I always wake up thinking, "what the hell was that all about?" I just want every contract signed, sealed and delivered ASAP so I don't have to worry about them anymore.
I believe the final issue is that fact that I have been searching for a "real job" for over a year and have not been able to find anything. It is stressful knowing that your salary depends on how the people you are serving feel that night. Additionally, it appears that with the recession, people are not coming to eat pizza as often as they have in years past, and are willing to eat the pizza as long as the skimp on the tip. Aside from the money, I cannot handle my odd hours which leave me with no social life. I recognize it was not big in the first place, but even Mike and I are on different schedules, which makes things stressful. I have worked 6 days in a row and will be doing the same thing next week. It is exhausting.
So - that is what is going on. Sorry to unload everything, but I haven't really had a chance to get to the computer....I hope everyone is getting into the holiday spirit and enjoying shopping and spending time with friends and family.
Finally - Happy Birthday to my sister Laura!!!
So the question of the day is: How do you handle stress? Generally I run or yell at people and am able to deal with it that way. (The running is really best since I am in the "restaurant biz.") Regardless, generally after I finish running or yelling, I feel much better and am able to go on about my day. Since Thanksgiving, something has been building that neither running, yelling or crying can take care of. (Believe me, I have tried them all - poor Mike.) My body has begun to internalize my stress and I can barely move my neck due to the large knot surrounding my spine. Don't worry - I did first think that it was a brain tumor but it keep changes positions, so I am pretty sure I am in the clear as far as that goes.
I cannot for the life of me pin point what the problem is. However, last night as I was trying to go to sleep (ROLL TIDE!) I realized it is probably several things that I cannot fix and have all been building up to cause my neck to hurt. If you are already bored, you may want to stop reading, because I am about to list my issues.....
First, I have been stabbed in the back at my job. Not kidding. I found out the other day that one of my co-workers is trying to get me fired!! Here's how it went down. One of my best friends at work is the dishwasher...he takes care of me when I am running around by putting my dishes up, or telling me to calm down when he can tell I want to kill a rude customer. He is also my eyes and ears in the back which is where the managers talk about people. (They don't have an office and apparently think that no one that works in the kitchen is listening to them.) SO - the other day he reminded me to stay calm while I am working because one of the managers is trying desperately to get me fired. WHAT?? I have a feeling of who it is, but I was shocked because no one has sat me down to tell me any major things that I am doing wrong.
When I came back into the kitchen, I asked my buddy what I was doing wrong. He then dropped the bomb by explaining to me that one of my co-workers has been complaining about me to the managers. Seriously?? He then told me that it was someone that I have been out to have drinks with. Well, that is easy. I have only been out to have drinks once, and I knew exactly who he was talking about. So, I confronted another manager who, of course, played dumb. So we shall see. All I can say is that if I get fired from a pizza joint, I'm not sure my life can get any lower!
The next thing that I believe is contributing to the knot in my neck is our upcoming wedding. Don't worry, I am thrilled and truly can't wait for June 5th to arrive, but I don't like loose ends and there are a lot of them still out there. I have been having a lot of dreams about the wedding where everything goes wrong. Examples: My dad is no where to be found to walk me down the aisle; Mike is not at the alter when I get up there (Do you think I have abandonment issues?) Another favorite is when my bridesmaids show up in different dresses because they are going to someone else's wedding!! The list goes on and on and I always wake up thinking, "what the hell was that all about?" I just want every contract signed, sealed and delivered ASAP so I don't have to worry about them anymore.
I believe the final issue is that fact that I have been searching for a "real job" for over a year and have not been able to find anything. It is stressful knowing that your salary depends on how the people you are serving feel that night. Additionally, it appears that with the recession, people are not coming to eat pizza as often as they have in years past, and are willing to eat the pizza as long as the skimp on the tip. Aside from the money, I cannot handle my odd hours which leave me with no social life. I recognize it was not big in the first place, but even Mike and I are on different schedules, which makes things stressful. I have worked 6 days in a row and will be doing the same thing next week. It is exhausting.
So - that is what is going on. Sorry to unload everything, but I haven't really had a chance to get to the computer....I hope everyone is getting into the holiday spirit and enjoying shopping and spending time with friends and family.
Finally - Happy Birthday to my sister Laura!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)