A Few Things

I took Friday off work for my birthday (yay!), and tried to have a relaxing weekend. I felt great for a few days last week, then I somehow got my cold back. Or it's a new cold. Or something. I don't know, but now I'm officially sick of being sick. Plus, now I'm beginning to stress about being sick and starting a new job shortly.

Looked at cars over the weekend. I'm considering a new one since the Trusty, Rusty Jeep is eleven years old. Plus commuting. And Jersey. And stress.

Also stress-worthy: apparently my daughter's social life is spiraling down the toilet, which is, of course, all my fault. I wasn't even aware it was in jeopardy.

I thought we had better communication than most teens and parents. Then again, most parents probably have the same revelation at some point. More on that later.

Two other things:

ONE - I tried the FullBar. You eat it with a full glass of water, and it fills you up. This works phenomenally well, except for the eating part. It tastes like the air filter from my Jeep.

TWO - Primeval left us with a completely crap ending in series three, but YAY! BBCAmerica has announced it will work with other production companies to fund a fourth series. Which is a bit odd since Primeval actually aired on ITV in the UK, and not BBC. Because it was such a big hit here in the USA, it prompted this unusual partnership. I don't care, as long as they tie up those scraggly loose ends.

Spring Break

The beloved family pet died.

My company is laying people off and I may be next.

Things suck.

I think I'm going to take a break for a while and get my head together.

Thanks everyone :)

Learning Curve

Well, I'm in another class this week. I can't complain, it's a good class, and I'm thankful my company is kind enough to educate us.

Along with my regular overtime, I've had to find a way to practice the new language I've learned; so it sticks in my feeble, old brain. As "homework", I'm working on a small application to hone my skills. Hopefully this will keep me gainfully employed.

When I began this blog, I tried to post daily. Now I'm lucky if I have time to do 2 postings a week. I don't want to give up the blog - I enjoy the writing.

So, with the economy in the crapper and my company merging, I may not be writing as often as I'd like.

I'll try and keep this going as long as I can though ! :)

I Need To Move Somewhere Warm

It was 8 degrees Fahrenheit this morning, here in beautiful Northeast Pennsylvania.

It's expected to drop to -5 snot-freezing degrees tonight.

I think there's an expected high of 15 by Friday.

I need to move somewhere warm.

It's Not Easy Being Teen

Mom: “Wait for the school bus to stop before walking in front of it, okay? “

Teenager: “What's the big deal? The bus isn't going to hit me.”

Mom: “You don't know that. The road's icy. Just wait by the car til the bus stops.”

Teenager: “It takes too long! If I wait til the bus stops, I'll hold up everyone else.”

Mom: “You're only 20 feet away. It takes about 5 seconds to get from the car to the bus! This isn't Speed .”

Teenager: “Can I sprint to the bus once it stopped?

Mom: “Sure, if you want to skid on the ice and fall on your butt. Imagine how long you'll hold everyone up if you break your neck? Or get hit by a car?”

Teenager: “Mom!” That's not going to happen! You worry too much.”

Mom: “Sorry. It's my job.”

In Real Life

Forgive me if posting is light. We're implementing the largest conversion ever at work, and it's had me working 16 hour days.

I'm hoping to be back to normal again by Thursday :)

Coming up: Shiseido Hydro Powder Eye Shadow, Wexler Eye Cream and Hope In A Jar

Instant Mess

I used to think of instant messaging as something the kids use, with generous helpings of OMG, ROFL, TTFN and smiley faces.

Now it's invaded the workplace - including mine.

My company requires us to log into IM during work hours. I ignored it for the better part of a year, until the whining became too loud. Since I happen to like getting paid, I gave in.

It wouldn't be so bad if I could limit the people who can see me online. Or if I could prevent it from going to “inactive” status every time I go to the toilet.

Normally these settings could be altered, but like many corporate applications, it's locked down and the settings can't be changed easily. (Yep, there's always the registry, but let's not go there. I try to “play nice” with our LAN Desktop people.)

Instant messaging is particularly aggravating when you're working against the clock to resuscitate a server that just ate itself, and Joe Smith on the other side of the country is IM'ing that he'd like a new field on his TPS report.

It doesn't matter if I set my status to “Busy” or “Away”.

“Away” as in “Not Here”.

“Gone”.

“Casper the Ghost”.

How am I supposed to answer? I'm good, but I'm not telepathically tied to my laptop.

LOL, I say.

Happy Holidays !

Sorry posting is light this week. So much going on between getting ready for Christmas and my office trying it's best to make me insane.

I'm working on a Laura Mercier post for December 26th.

In the meantime, here is this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special from Children In Need:




Have a wonderful holiday!

Have You Tried Turning It Off And On Again?

The first time I experienced the joy of being “on call” was around 8 years ago. It was a weekend riddled with code installs, data conversions and other minor disasters. I literally didn't sleep or shower for 3 days.

Back then, we weren't staffed 24x7, so when something blew up, you immediately got called. This wasn't a big deal during the day, but sucked royally at 3:00am. Nowadays, the only time I lose beauty sleep is if there's a huge problem that night shift can't handle.

Unfortunately, we have one guy that calls no matter what. The conversation invariably goes like this:

ME: “Mrrrgh.”

Mr. Vagueness: “Ah, yes. Hello. The application is getting an error.”

ME: “Mrrrgh.....error? What error.....what application? Can you give me some details?”

I support 10 applications. There are literally thousands of errors which could occur. It never occurs to him to provide any coherent details.

This is the equivalent of going to the doctor and telling him you have a pain. Somewhere.

Silvertown

Silvertown is more than a memoir. It's a fascinating tale, and a tribute to human spirit and endurance.

This book came from author Melanie McGrath's research on her grandparents, Jenny and Len Page, who lived in London's East End at the turn of the century. Jenny is the main focus of the story, which begins with her birth in 1903 London. The story follows her through an impoverished childhood, her first job at 14 in the sewing sweatshops, WWI, the death of her sister to typhoid, and the loss of all her teeth on her 17th birthday. What follows a rough childhood, is an even rougher marriage to Len Page. Jenny raises her family, manages to live through WWII and the London Blitz, and her husband's infidelity.

The most poignant account was Jenny's 17th birthday. Her mother took her to what I believe was the equivalent of the local butcher, who proceeded to extract all of Jenny's teeth without any pain medication. Afterwards, Jenny was fitted with a set of porcelain dentures. What McGrath manages to eloquently convey is that it wasn't done to be cruel, or without her mother's sympathy. This type of tooth extraction was common practice back then; done to avoid the medical bills involved with dentistry. It also had the added benefit of making the young lady easier to marry off since the prospective husband wouldn't need to worry about her dental bills.

I'm sure this sounds incredibly depressing, but it was not. The manner in which McGrath tells this story is uplifting. It made me feel good about the strength and tenacity of human beings. Not only that, but McGrath paints a vivid picture with her words. I felt I could really see the old East End, and the characters in my mind.

The only complaint I have is that we didn't get to see how Jenny's children fared. Obviously they survived and did well, since Melanie McGrath is here to tell this tale. According to Amazon.co.uk, there is a sequel being released in 2009, so hopefully that book will fill in the blanks.

Silvertown, An East End Family Memoir was written by Melanie McGrath and published in 2002 by Fourth Estate (Harper Collins). It's a shame this book is only a few years old and it's already out of print. However Amazon has it available from several used book dealers at good prices. Highly recommended.

Feathers?

The frost crystallized in a really weird way this morning (click on photo for better detail):

It's hard to believe that's the hood of the car. It looks like feathers or palm trees. Maybe the Winter Wench is thinking of sunny Hawaii?

On the way: Maybelline Define-A-Lash, Rimmel Shock Gloss, and possibly a book review.

Surviving Dinner

The bird was beautiful. The farm produces a turkey that's practically 25 pounds of breast meat alone. Every year when I stuff one, it amazes me that there's almost no body cavity. I end up stuffing what I can into the main section, between the drumsticks, and in the neck. As unglorious as it sounds, the bird often looks like it's oozing bread dressing.

I wonder how these birds survive, since there's apparently no room for innards. Gives new meaning to wearing one's heart on one's sleeve. Or in this case, a wing. How do they move, being so top heavy? Are they fitted with little skateboards to get around on? Maybe a jet pack?

Ah well......no matter. It was delicious.

We've hosted Thanksgiving dinner for 8 years now, and look forward to it every year. It's so lovely spending the day with family and friends. It's been an extremely successful endeavor for the better part of a decade now. I should have known our luck would eventually run out.

This article from Slate would've been useful before serving the food.

I am thankful the dinner remained on the table and made it's way to our tummies, instead of decorating the walls or guests.

I am thankful there's an acre of land between our house and the neighbors; putting them out of earshot.

I am thankful no one had a heart attack or stroke.

I am thankful for wine and pie. And wine.

I am thankful there's always next year.

Happy Thanksgiving !!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'll resume normal posting tomorrow :)

i has leaves

The yard is filled. Filled to the brim with leaves. Every nook and cranny. This is one of the many items on my To Do List that didn't get done, having worked all weekend at my real job. With the economy being what it is, real work takes priority. At least the wind is slowly whipping them into the woods.

Got a few things percolating and should be posting soon: Rembrandt Whitening Kit, Guerlain Tajine, and Silvertown - An East End Family Memoir.

Don't Fight The Duck Fart

PROBLEM: Sandy thinks her system sends a report to AppSupportGeek's system. Sandy also needs to add a column to this report for 'number of duck farts per region'. So Sandy sends a request to the MajorManager to see if this is okay with his team.


MajorManager: “Can you jump on this problem and get a response back to Sandy?”

AppSupportGeek: “Sandy is mistaken. We don't receive this report. But it does sound like a report that the Department Of Avian Gas receives. Maybe it's theirs.”

MajorManager: “So..... are we okay with this?”

AppSupportGeek: “It's not our report. *sigh* Alright, I'll contact AvianGas, verify it's their report, and introduce the two parties so they can sort it out.”

....five minutes later

AvianGas: “Yes! This is a report we receive daily.”

AppSupportGeek: “Great. Can you get with Sandy? She needs to add a column to your report.”

....ten minutes later

MajorManager: “Do you have an update yet? Have we decided if we want the new column for duck farts?”

AppSupportGeek: “Dude, the report isn't ours. I told AvianGas to call Sandy and sort it out.”

MajorManager: “Yeah well, Sandy's boss called and he said it is our report. I need to know this is being handled.”

AppSupportGeek: “Fine. I'll call Sandy and have her talk to her boss. Or I'll talk to her boss. AvianGas should've been in touch with her by now.”

....fifteen minutes later

Sandy: “No, I haven't heard from AvianGas yet. Are you sure it's not your report? My boss swears it is.”

AppSupportGeek: “Well, you know, I've only been working on this system for 10 years now, wrote every interface for incoming reports, and I can honestly say I've never seen this one. There's also the much ignored fact that AvianGas said this report belongs to them. But then again, what the hell do I know? I'm just the geek.”

Sandy: “But MajorManager said you'd help meeeee.”

AppSupportGeek: “Good God, woman. Just tell your boss it's AvianGas' report! I have proof!”

Sandy: “Ooooh.... I don't know what I should do. Do you think you might need the extra column for 'number of duck farts per region'?”

AppSupportGeek: “Sure! Why not? I think it's a lovely idea. Glad you had the foresight to include our team in these discussions. I'll send your boss a nice email detailing how incredibly helpful you've been.”

Shifting Focus

Sorry for lack of posting, things have been busy and work has invaded my private life again. We've also had a series of small disasters which make me believe *Hestia enjoys having everything in the house break in immediate succession.

That, along with the economy being in shambles, this blog may gravitate more towards other things, with less focus on cosmetics. The beauty stuff will still be there, you just might need to tolerate some work related ranting, book reviews, and other anecdotes.

I promise I'll try to keep it interesting :)



*Hestia - Greek goddess of hearth and home

Stuff & Things

TotalBeauty has a new Beauty Myth quiz posted.

Sasa has a new eyeshadow set from Kose Visee that looks really cool.

Vicki's Secret is having a great sale on jammies.

TopShop USA (yay!) Kate Moss Christmas Collection is out now.

And words fail me here......this is simply bizarre.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Route 22 in Allentown

This post is dedicated to the asshat on a motorcycle that nearly became a squishy, red bit of protein on my rear quarter panel.

Mr. Impatient on his crotch-rocket couldn't wait for me to pass the car next to me. Tailgated as I made the pass, then slid in between the rear of my car and the front of the other car. Once I passed the other car, I attempted to pull back into the right lane and couldn't. Dickweed was already there, causing me to swerve back into the left lane again. He must've made this smooth move at the exact same time I went to pass. Never mind that I had my signal on and was already doing 65 in a 55 - it's not as if I was Granny putt-putting my way along the highway.

Dude, at least take it down a notch and pass on the shoulder like the Jersey kids do.

First Storm Of The Year

In case anyone's interested, here's an article about the October snowstorm. The photos are from locations 5-10 miles from here. The baffling thing is that the storm dumped up to 15 inches of snow in some places, and then nothing but rain in others (like here).

Snow And Turkeys

I woke up this morning to the sound of turkeys ululating, and snow whacking the windows. It's usually not a good sign if the Winter Wench shows up in October.

The temperature must have dropped considerably overnight, as it was raining buckets when I went to bed, but turned over to thick, wet snow by morning. None of it stuck; the ground is still too warm, but the weather service is calling for up to 6 inches of snow in the higher elevations.

Our house isn't exactly in a “higher elevation”, being just to the south of the Pocono Mountains. However we're wedged in a valley between 2 mountain ranges, so the wind and cold are funneled in between like a flash flood of frozen air. Hence the snow whacking the windows.

The turkeys are another story. We live in the country, so there's an endless array of critters motoring through the backyard. This time of year the wild turkeys come out squawking and waving their wings at the crack of dawn. I assume this is some kind of mating ritual - but I would've thought they did this in Spring, not Fall. Maybe they're Australian turkeys.

It's always the same 3 birds, all puffed up. They look like the Rat Pack. Frank, Sammy and Dean crooning to the ladies in wild turkey speak: Bluhualuhluh.... Bluhualuhlurp.