Demotivation

Sometimes, all it takes is a poster to put things in perspective. Some brilliant mind came up with De-motivational posters shortly after the motivational posters came out. I think these have been a bigger success because they reflect reality a little too closely.

My co-workers and I were checking them out a while back trying to figure out which ones we should purchase and hang around our cube. We very soon after found we would have to buy the lot and we would probably be fired for some "HR Related Incident".

I have posted some of my favorites here. Although some people have also gone ahead and adapted this format and started to create some of their own. The one below is probably my favorite that is not on their website.

So true, so freaken true.

Work Annoyances

Remember that lady in Office Space that answered the phones with her high pitch icky voice? That's the kind of annoyances I am talking about. On more than one occasion I have found myself inside the set of Office Space at work and I will probably continue to do so while I work in a cube farm office. Because we are all so comfy cozy close together without a way to block each other out, there are bound to be things that gradually grate on your nerves that another office mate is doing. That being said, I am going to share some highlights from my office.

One - The guy who clips his nails at his desk. For some reason or another this bothers me enough to make me get up and go take a walk. That's a personal hygiene issue best left to the walls of your home.

Two - People who almost clear their throat. They try to do an "ahem", but it didn't work so they will repeat the process of almost clearing their throat for about 30 minutes. You would think just clearing the throat would be less irritating for all parties involved.

Three - The guy who does laps at lunch around the floor. There is a guy in my office who likes to speed walk at lunch wearing just his under shirt. Thankfully I do not have to see this all the time as my desk doesn't face the opening, but for my two cube mates who get this show everyday they are trying to figure out a way to tell a 50 year old man, that ain't cool.

Four - The 200 emails you get from the person one cube over because they can't consolidate thoughts before hitting the send button. I think the record for me was 6 emails in about 45 minutes from one person when it could have been just 1. Like I want to process through all that junk.

Five - The loud talker who doesn't seem to work. We have a guy in our IPT that will wander from cube to cube to cube talking about the latest thing with money. The new gym reimbursement plan, changes to taking comp time vs overtime and which is better, how much is paying for new windows, you name it. By the time he has hit your cube, you have already heard the story 3 times and don't wish to encourage him any more, but he will talk even if you ignore him.

Of course there are more, but I thought sticking to the top five is plenty. Let's just hope I am not contributing to the issues at hand. ;)

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter craze is back! This month is probably going to be the highest grossing month for J.K. Rowling yet. What's another billion or so to the richest woman in England? The fifth movie, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, is currently in theaters. Also in one weeks time, the most prized final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, is released for public reading. I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I believe this to be a glorious month as well. Of course in preparation for this month, I have been doing an obscene amount of reading.

I have chosen to re-read the entire Harry Potter series. So far I am about 3/4 of the way through the fifth book. Even though I have not finished the book, this did not prevent me from watching the movie, however it would have been nice to have finished it. If I could only skip out of work for a few days. Hmmm.... :P I did manage to see the latest movie on opening day. Rob picked up tickets on his way home from work for the 9pm showing. I told him we better get there an hour early as I have previously gone to see other Harry Potter movies on opening day and you are better off getting there early. At 8pm we pulled into the theater and promptly got in line taking spots 5&6 in the line. About 10 minutes later the line erupted behind us and then proceeded to get so long is started to snake around the lobby. Experience has paid off! We got decent seats and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I won't put spoilers in here because that's not my style, but it was really well done. A little cheesy in a few parts, but on a whole, it was fabulous. I want to see it again.

I have also been spending some time trying to fill a co-worker in on the details of the Harry Potter series. He is a movie watcher only which I feel is quite sad because these books are so easy to read. I have lent him my fourth book and picked out the last few pages for him to read so he understands what is going on and the why it's happening. I am sure Monday I will be asked for more back story which I am happy to provide. I think the people in my office think I am nuts. I am ok with that.

Now I have 7 days to read the remaining series before the 7th book hits my hands. I probably won't do a whole lot next weekend except read. I can't wait to find out what happens. I have been told I must really be motivated to be reading all of these books again. I say it's a fine line between being motivated and being slightly retarded. :P It will pay off in the end.

I need to get out more...

A half a year in weddings

Tis the season! There has been so much activity involving engagements and weddings, it's been a little more than nuts. I am more than thrilled for all involved parties that share this with me, but I didn't know so much could happen to so many people in the course of 5 months.

Starting from the beginning of the year. January was a fairly quite month, but it's been the only one. In the beginning of February my friend Phil on the west coast got engaged. Their wedding will take place next year sometime. March, two of my friends got engaged. First it was Kara and Matt. They have staked May 18th, 2008 as their date. Then John jumped in with his engagement. They are getting married August 4th of this year. There were a few other "oh did you hear so-and-so are getting married", but not people I really am that connected to. To wrap March up we went toa bachelor party in DC for Alex. Well, Rob attended, but I went to DC for company for the ride there and back and to see some people as well.

Then, in April we back in DC for the actual wedding. Rob was a groomsmen for this wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony done by their pastor who really knew both of them. Afterwards it was off to Top of the Town. It's a very cool spot located in Arlington that allows a spectacular view of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Alex and Bonnie Enders.

In May, my friend Andrea got married. Since she is first really good friend of mine to get married, I think this event meant more to me than all others this year. I was honored that she asked me to take part in her wedding as her maid of honor. I managed to pull together a really nice toast and had an absolute blast. This wedding was held in Needham, MA right outside of Boston, so we were able to stay with Rob's brother and also see my other friend Adam while we were there. Mr. and Mrs. Tyler and Andrea White.

And lastly, but not least, we attended Bruce and Colleen's wedding last month month. This was another trip to Northern VA. This one was different from the other two in that it did not take place in a church, but rather an outdoor garden. It wasn't too hot out for it and the rain held off so it turned out beautifully. Also, the reception was at the same place so we basically just had to walk to another building, very convenient. Rob was a fill in best man for this wedding since the real best man was still in Iraq. He did a wonderful job with his toast and we had a lot of fun. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce and Colleen Showalter.

Stupidest Guarantee

I was listening to the radio this past weekend and I heard an advertisement for a tuxedo rental place somewhere in Atlanta. One of the people that work at the radio station was spouting out all the good things about this place and why you should go. One of them was about their service guarantee. If when you went in to pick up your tux and it didn't fit, you next tux rental was free. This seems stupid to me. If you had crappy service the first time around, what is the incentive to go back? Also, how many times could you possibly be renting a tux from your place of choice? Doesn't the groom (what most people rent for I would assume) decide where to get them? I am not a guy, but if I were I would never rent from this place. It sounded shady all the way around. For that matter, I don't believe I could ever be a radio announcer/DJ person if I had to peddle crap like that. They do it for just about everything these days, dog food, lasik surgery, jewelry stores, etc. Anything to make a buck.

Ode to My Kitties

I thought it was time to do a featured article on my fuzz balls. This is their birthday month and I thought I would be appropriate. For those who don't know, I have two cats. I refer to them as my fuzzies, kitties, and as boy cat and girl cat. When I first got them I wanted them I wanted them to have cleaver names because they are brother and sister and look very much alike. The friends I got them from wanted me to call them Hansel and Gretel. Yeah, I don't think so. You need to do the name yelling test. If your pet gets lost, you need to call it. If you feel silly yelling it, it's not the name for you pet. If you get stuck, this helpful website may be for you. I should have checked it out when I got these two. As it is, I decided to call my boy cat Sparky after a friends nickname, and my girl cat Dory after the fish in Finding Nemo. That being said, because they are cats, names are much a formality because they choose when to pay attention to you anyway.

My kitties are 3 years old this month. I don't know their actual birthday because I adopted them from a friends family and didn't get the exact date. I got them in the end of August right after they had been weened so that's roughly 6-8 weeks. I just pick a day during the month and go buy them a new toy, give them some treats, and say Happy Birthday. I am sure this thoroughly confuses them because they have no idea what a birthday is.

Sparky

Now through the past 3 years they have had 9 homes, temporary and otherwise. Plus the random night at Scott's place and Rob's place. We bonded during the drive from NY to VA when they were tiny and then again from VA to GA when they were big. The drive when they were tiny was much better. Dory meowed for about 3-4 hours of the 10 hour trip to GA.

Dory

The guys I used to work with would also give me a hard time about my kitties. If you will notice how big they are in that first photo. I was moving a lot when I first got them and I wanted to make sure I knew where they were. Well, conveniently, the pet store sells collars with bells on them. I was told this was cruel and unusual, and so, for my birthday they purchased a bell for me to wear on my lanyard. Fair enough, but my kitties got bigger and they no longer needed collars, although I should mention this train of thought was promoted by their teasing. I was also told I should buy my kitties, roller skates for 32 wheels of speed! Scott just thought it would be funny to watch them. Oie... boys....

They have also destroyed their fair share of things. I used to put them in the bathroom at night when they were kittens because they didn't know night time = mommy's sleep time and would try to play with me all night eating my hair and what not. While they were in there, they ate a toothbrush, clawed at the towels and chewed on stuff. They have broken my favorite snow globe, shredded my furniture, continue to eat my plants, and have chewed through a phone charger. I have had many wounds from their claws and I sure more will follow.

Even after all that, they have the best company I could ask for. Yes they are still obnoxious and in fact tried to help me type this entry, one in the lap and one on the top on the keyboard in front of the monitor, but they are cute which gets them out of a lot of trouble. Not only that, but they are so well behaved with people I can tell people it's ok to pet them and no, they won't bite. As far as my cats are concerned more people in the house means more hands that can pet them. Although Mike P. keeps hoping my cats will take on the leading roles for Attack Cats. I think he finally got a preview last night while they were playing. Maybe someday he will get his wish, until then, they are going to sleep a lot and be the typical house cat.