Take a Guess

They may LOOK like Simpsons characters, but who are they really?
(If you've seen this elsewhere on the internets, keep it to yourself)

Cha. Ching.

So all the buzz in the office today is about our money. Or the government’s money. Or whatever is going to be showing up in our bank accounts in the next week as a special gift from GWB. The homegirls and I all have direct deposit, and I’ve got the good fortune to have an SSN that ends in 02, so I’ve been expecting my money to appear all day.

So far, nothing.

*Please note, we all think this a bad idea. But neither are we going to complain when some faceless entity decides to give our strapped-for-cash-selves 600 bones. (Yes, I just used the term “bones.” I hope I used it correctly.)

Oh, a "no sugar" update. I actually have been eating some sugar—my plan to go completely cold turkey didn’t work, but that’s okay, because cold turkey is a bad idea anyway. I did, however, cut WAY back in the last two weeks and even went a few days eating no sugar at all. As for life improvement, I have noticed that I have more energy and don’t wind up completely exhausted after work or mid-afternoon. And I think I lost like 4 pounds, which is pretty sweet. In a completely sugar-free way.

And now we’ll stop discussing my eating habits, because really—who cares?

The weather here is dismal. I had a fun weekend. Now I’m going to go check my bank account again.

Yes we can (be really cynical!)

Despite my earlier declaration that John McCain is going to win in November, I can’t help but be excited and nervous about tomorrow’s big primary. Things have been crazy here, what with the ads and the phone calls and the mailings, etc. Because I’m non-party at this point, I haven’t actually been bothered since March 22, which was the deadline to register with a party, but it’s still pretty intense.

On Saturday night I tromped up to the train station to hear Barack Obama speak at an outside rally. It’s always exciting to see a “celebrity” up close and personal (heck, I was excited to see GWB, and I can’t stand him). Anyway, I was less than a foot from Obama himself! Ahhh!

But as much as I tried to be extra excited about his speech, I realized how deeply cynical I am about so many things. I have very little hope for what will come of the promises made, even if he does win. Still, it was exciting to see all the kids there, and watch them pin Obama buttons on each other and cheer and even shake his hand. I think they'll remember this for a long time, even if things don’t turn out the way they hope.

As for me, I’m hoping that Obama wins tomorrow. And maybe then Clinton will drop out. But somehow I doubt that either of those things is going to happen.

Eatin'

I have temporarily given up sugar. Yes, it’s weird, and it’s very unlike me. I love sugar—well, not PLAIN sugar, but all kinds of things with sugar. Candy and cake and cookies and ice cream. So I’m seeing if I can do without it and I’m also seeing what will happen to me as a result. I’m still eating carbs—fruit, potatoes, brown rice, etc. Just no sugar and no white flour. This little experiment started on Monday, and for the past two days I’ve had a headache, but today it seems to be gone.(I also got a good night sleep last night).

I’m going to try this for two weeks and it’s probably going to almost kill me. And then possibly make me stronger.

I’m cooking our Supper Club meal on Thursday night, and I’m making boneless BBQ pork ribs in the crockpot. I think it’s going to be delish. Last night I went to Costco to purchase bulk meat, and ended up with an 8 lb. tray of ribs that I had to lug like a child on my hip from Costco to home to my parents’ place (which is where I do all my cooking, because my house is too small and messy to host 8-10 people regularly).

I only dropped the tray ‘o meat once. No damages, though, except the ribs are perhaps a little more squished than they would’ve been otherwise. Because 8.47 pounds of ribs is a lot.

And this is completely off-topic, but you know what irritates me? (do you care?) The misuse of the acronym EST. As in 9:00AM EST. EST stands for Eastern Standard Time. Once we are in Daylight Savings Time (as we are now), it's EDT. There is no point in having either the S or the D in there if people aren't going to use them correctly. In fact if you say something will happen at EST and we're living in EDT, you're actually giving people the WRONG TIME. So please, if you live in a place that turns clocks ahead and back, use the right letter. Or use ET and all your bases are covered.

The end.

Well, we know how this ends

Have I mentioned that John McCain is going to win the election? Because he is. I'm not happy about it, nor will I be voting for him--but he's going to win. I'm disappointed but realistic. It’s time to start getting used to the idea.

Tell me more, tell me more

Today in the office we were discussing gossip and if we like to know exactly what is going on with our coworkers. Drama, firings, romances, sex, whatever. My homegirls were both adamant that they don’t want to know this stuff, especially about coworkers they don’t really hang out with. But, as in most instances*, I came down on the opposite side of the fence from the two of them. I want to know everything. Indeed, I can’t imagine NOT wanting to know. If there is information out there, I want it. That’s why I love the internet. And trivia. I’m an information pack rat.

Now, granted, I only want to know stuff that doesn’t require any work. I don’t want to know calculus, for example, unless I can comprehend it in about five minutes. But I want all the gossip and news and political intrigue. I want to know weird science facts and what’s the latest in the marketing world, and the most popular baby names, and yes, even who’s sleeping with whom, both in Hollywood and right here in old Lancaster County, PA.

So I will never ever understand people who don’t care.

And I kind of think they’re lying.

*Other things my homegirls hate that I like: baby showers, the preppy look, really sugary things, organized religion.

Not Done Yet

Nearly everyone in my department left early today, so I’m very bored. And sleepy. And dreading the fact that I have to do second job tonight, too. I’m not scheduled to work on Fridays, but this is a special case. I guess I’m getting in good with the boss, although I’m not sure what good that will do me in the long run. So maybe I should’ve just said no. Hello, my name is Melanie and I’m a pleaser.

Having this second job has really cut down on my sit-around-and-think time, which is good and bad. Good, because I don’t have as much time to worry about stuff (although that gets done anyway) and bad because I need my think time. If I don’t get it I get burned out – or something. It’s hard to describe, but it’s a feeling that everything’s moving too fast, the world’s spinning faster and faster, and I’m not a part of it. It’s crazy-making. So working tonight isn’t helping. Friday nights are generally my fall-asleep-after-work-and-then-goof-around-on-the-internet nights.

Today’s big work discussion: is putting “Get Laid Off” on a magazine cover a bad thing? Because of the “Get Laid” phrasing. Understand? Yeah, I didn’t either. The presence of the word “Off” changes everything.

In better news, spring is coming and I just got a $50 gift card to Outback. Who wants to go Outback [tomorrow] night?