It's really hot out there. The thermometer on the bank as I drove back from my parents' said it was 93 degrees. Of course, trying to be an energy conservationalist, I turned off my air-conditioning on Friday night as I left for my parents and now, in an effort to stay sane in my house, I turned it on. I think anything I saved by not having it on all weekend is probably going to be spent trying to cool the house down. Ah well, it's starting to get cooler, at least.
I had a fun trip to my parents' though. Saturday was another citywide garage sale day, this time for a neighbouring town. I went last year with my sister and brother-in-law, my garage sale gurus. This year, my sister couldn't make it due to some pretty massive homework commitments- she's in her last weeks of school before graduating with her nursing degree. Since I've become a bit of a garage sale junkie, I ended up getting my mother to come along. She's only gone to a few in the past so I thought she should have the experience of a whole lot of them.
It was a very successful trip. I managed to spend less than $30 and I managed to get the following: a Giada DiLaurentis cookbook, some Harry Potter bookends, a Harry Potter jigsaw, an oil-filled heater, four paperback and two hardback books in mint condition, some copper butterflies to decorate my future-Tuscan-villa room, some mini mirrors in antique frames for the same room, a combination immersion whisk/blender, a plant basket and a very nice opera CD (for which I paid a whopping 5 cents). I'm sure I got some other bits but that wasn't bad going for a couple of hours work, I think.
It was pretty hot though, traipsing through the sales. My favourite one was the people who will always be "The Cat People" in my head. They had a box of books for perusal. In this box, they had two copies of How to Live with a Neurotic Cat, as well as books entitled, Talk to your cat!, How to Communicate with your Cat. Also, there were, Correcting Behavioral Problems in Problematic Cats and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers' Soul along with Cats have Feelings Too!. Something told me that they were very serious about dealing with their troublesome cat. I don't know why that amused me but, as a dog person, I couldn't help but wonder if it was possible that a cat could be that problematic that they had so many books. Perhaps they were gifts? Who knows. It amused me.
There were also a lot of underwear people. Note to anyone selling stuff at a garage sale. It is NOT cool to sell used underwear. People like cheap stuff and I get that but, uh, it's used underwear. That is disgusting.
Still, I like citywide garage sales. You learn a lot about a town. In this one, they're hardcore romance readers. There were so many garage sales with nothing but Harlequin romances, Danielle Steel, Johanna Lindsay and all the brain-candy/trashy novels that provide escapism. However, in contrast, the citywide garage sale a while ago in my parent's town revealed that people really, really like Christian fiction and, even more prominantly, Christian non-fiction.
I had fun showing my mum the ropes. She was a little timid. I couldn't blame her. I used to be like that. Then I became a junkie and I don't mind anymore. I have no problem rifling through people's stuff when it's for sale. I hope that doesn't say anything bad about me.
The rest of the weekend was nice. Today, being Father's Day, brought my siblings to my parents. That's always fun although my older brother can sometimes be a little oblivious. He arrived at lunch time and, thinking he and his wife wouldn't stay too long, we decided to wait until he'd left to eat since they'd already eaten. Well, today, apparently, my brother was in a chatty mood. He also did a slide show of his recent trip to Japan. Long story short, we probably shouldn't have waited for lunch since by the time he left, it was almost 4 p.m. Nevertheless, it was fun to see him since I don't always get to spend much time with him. My sister and her family arrived after he left with my almost-ur-year-old niece was pretty hectic. The puppies get a little overexcited when she comes over to play. Getting them in their carrier to come home was not as easy as usual.
All in all, it's been a nice weekend even if it is hot. I had to drive through another scary storm on Friday night to get there. The sky was so purple, I thought we were going to have a tornado. As it was, we were hit with gusts of wind that blew branches in our path, gravel from the rural roads against our windows and, at times, almost blew us off the road. We forged onward and ended up having a nice weekend.
Now we're home and the house is cooling and I think it's time to see what the puppies are up to. I hate that the weekend is winding down and that tomorrow starts a week of work. This week, I'm a little afraid that the conference attendees are going to be a wee bit superior and full of their news about how awesome it was. I'm sure it was. Still, our week in the office was pretty awesome too. We wound up the Office Olympics on Friday with rubber band archery, paper plate discus, paper plane flying and guess who contests. I'm proud to say I took the silver due to my ability to flick rubber bands. I did have a former coworker who used to be a target so I have had plenty of practice. It was nice to stand up and get my medal though- as a group, we had a lot of fun.
Still, whatever the week holds, there's always a weekend at the end of it. Which is a sad thing to say on a Sunday night but, let's face it, I think we all prefer not working to working...right?
Happy Monday!
Showing posts with label office olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label office olympics. Show all posts
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Fun Days at Work
This week is definitely adding up to be more fun at work than any I’ve had so far. Today was day 1 of the the office Olympics . The ‘sport’ for the day was a scavenger hunt. We randomly drew teams from a hat. As luck would have it, not only was my team one person less than anyone elses’ but one of my teammates turned out to be our HR manager. As I’ve mentioned in the past, she’s not the, um…brightest bulb in the box. She can be very sweet but sharp thinking is not her forte. Thus you can imagine that I was exactly ecstatic that she was on my team.
Nevetheless, we had fun, which was the point. The scavenger hunt involved things like making pictures of a turkey with a Xeroxed copy of your hand and making paperclip men. Our team didn’t quite meet all of the challenges but we tried. The problem was that the HR manager didn’t really understand the concept of it being a timed event (we had an hour) and she got a little too focused on tasks that really should have been done super fast.
We managed to come in last but we were given ten extra points for being handicapped due to the fact we were short a person. We still came in last.
I like scavenger hunts. They’re a lot fun. It’s also nice to get to do one with coworkers I normally don’t get to spend much time with and to not have to be working.
Well, technically, we were all supposed to be working but we’ve been so quiet and diligent all week, we deserved a break, I think. Tomorrow we have some more scheduled activities. I’m hoping I can climb up from the bottom of the pile and manage to get some points to win a ‘medal.’
Even if I don’t, it’s made me realize that this job can actually be fun. Most of the jobs I’ve had in the past have been fun at times. There’s always been moments where you can be silly or laugh and take a break without feeling like you’re being watched. I can’t say this company doesn’t try to make things fun but they’re usually forced attempts to make us socialize instead of organic moments of silliness like our office Olympics.
I suppose we should feel bad that we’re taking extra long lunches to play games in the office but, truth be told, I don’t think any of us do. I think we all quietly agree that while we’re relieved we didn’t have to go to the conference and to a presentation, we all feel like we’re on the ‘reject’ list in a way. It’s a strange mixed bag of feelings. I’m ridiculously glad not to have to have gone to the conference because all that forced socialization is exhausting. Yet, at the same time, there’s a teeny voice in my head that wonders if it’s going to count against me, whether my smarmy coworker who loves to steal my spotlight is going to climb even further ahead of me on the political ladder of the office.
Then I come home from work and release the puppies from their crate and I realize I don’t actually care. Usually the realization comes somewhere between the time the dogs go scurrying from their crate to the back door from where they spurt outside in pursuit of potential bunny sightings. Usually after this initial activity and after she’s done her business, Sookie will come and find me and want to sit on my lap for a moment to be petted and to let me know she missed me. Lately, Rory’s been doing this too. It’s a lovely feeling to know you’re loved and needed by two such cute beings.
It really does put things in perspective. Work is only important while I’m in the office, being paid to do my job. When I leave, it doesn’t have to follow me and I refuse to let it. I might need to have a vent to my mother or friends but after that, I go back to my real life.
This week has been a refreshing reminder that even though my job may not always make me happy, it isn’t all bad. After all, it’s been a week of ice-cream, scavenger hunts, Olympics with some work thrown in between. It’s made me realize that without the normal politics of the office, we can all get along fine and have fun while doing so.
Bring on the paper plate discus contest tomorrow!
Happy Friday!
Nevetheless, we had fun, which was the point. The scavenger hunt involved things like making pictures of a turkey with a Xeroxed copy of your hand and making paperclip men. Our team didn’t quite meet all of the challenges but we tried. The problem was that the HR manager didn’t really understand the concept of it being a timed event (we had an hour) and she got a little too focused on tasks that really should have been done super fast.
We managed to come in last but we were given ten extra points for being handicapped due to the fact we were short a person. We still came in last.
I like scavenger hunts. They’re a lot fun. It’s also nice to get to do one with coworkers I normally don’t get to spend much time with and to not have to be working.
Well, technically, we were all supposed to be working but we’ve been so quiet and diligent all week, we deserved a break, I think. Tomorrow we have some more scheduled activities. I’m hoping I can climb up from the bottom of the pile and manage to get some points to win a ‘medal.’
Even if I don’t, it’s made me realize that this job can actually be fun. Most of the jobs I’ve had in the past have been fun at times. There’s always been moments where you can be silly or laugh and take a break without feeling like you’re being watched. I can’t say this company doesn’t try to make things fun but they’re usually forced attempts to make us socialize instead of organic moments of silliness like our office Olympics.
I suppose we should feel bad that we’re taking extra long lunches to play games in the office but, truth be told, I don’t think any of us do. I think we all quietly agree that while we’re relieved we didn’t have to go to the conference and to a presentation, we all feel like we’re on the ‘reject’ list in a way. It’s a strange mixed bag of feelings. I’m ridiculously glad not to have to have gone to the conference because all that forced socialization is exhausting. Yet, at the same time, there’s a teeny voice in my head that wonders if it’s going to count against me, whether my smarmy coworker who loves to steal my spotlight is going to climb even further ahead of me on the political ladder of the office.
Then I come home from work and release the puppies from their crate and I realize I don’t actually care. Usually the realization comes somewhere between the time the dogs go scurrying from their crate to the back door from where they spurt outside in pursuit of potential bunny sightings. Usually after this initial activity and after she’s done her business, Sookie will come and find me and want to sit on my lap for a moment to be petted and to let me know she missed me. Lately, Rory’s been doing this too. It’s a lovely feeling to know you’re loved and needed by two such cute beings.
It really does put things in perspective. Work is only important while I’m in the office, being paid to do my job. When I leave, it doesn’t have to follow me and I refuse to let it. I might need to have a vent to my mother or friends but after that, I go back to my real life.
This week has been a refreshing reminder that even though my job may not always make me happy, it isn’t all bad. After all, it’s been a week of ice-cream, scavenger hunts, Olympics with some work thrown in between. It’s made me realize that without the normal politics of the office, we can all get along fine and have fun while doing so.
Bring on the paper plate discus contest tomorrow!
Happy Friday!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Hot Summer Days...
It was another quiet day in the office. I’d complain but I have to admit, it’s pretty nice. Tomorrow brings the start of the Office Olympics. Today, we decided to create a pre-Olympic event called “The Eating of the Ice-Cream.” There’s apparently a great ice-cream place in Cincinnati that even Oprah cites as her favourite ice-cream in the world. It’s called Graeters and I have to say, it is pretty fine ice-cream. Most of the people who sang its praises added the addendum: “It’s expensive though.”
I think I lived in L.A. for too long because a scoop of ice-cream- a generous scoop, I’ll add- was $3.25 and two scoops was $3.75. To me, this seems to be a reasonable price for a bowl of delicious ice-cream. It’s no more expensive than Cold Stone Creamery, Ben and Jerry’s or Haagan Daas. Also, it’s still cheaper than a large cup of fancy coffee at Starbucks.
It was a nice treat on a warm, quiet afternoon in the office. I’m starting to get used to the quiet. It’s nice to have freedom; all of the managers are at the conference. We’re policing ourselves which is rather a nice luxury.
I’m really quite enjoying not having half the staff in the office. The week is going quickly. Normally, I wouldn’t mind but next week, everything will return to normal. The conference attendees will return, full of information and stories and we’ll all have to listen to them. I’m sure that I won’t be the only one who will try to appear interested but wish I could just walk away because I honestly don’t care that much. It’s a sad thing but true. I’m sure that, as usual, there will be drunken evenings, stories about clients, inside jokes… the usual thing.
The rest of us will probably sit here with our own inside jokes. We’ll know who the best rubber-band archery shooter is or who can win a race by wheeling themselves in their chair down the hallway. It’s a trade-off but I can’t help but be glad I came down on this side of the trade.
Still, with the week going quickly and the weekend approaching, things are definitely looking up. The humidity faded a little this afternoon and it’s finally tolerable to be outside without feeling as though you’re going to burst into flames because you’re spontaneously combusting from the closeness of the air. It’s been horrible for the past week- damp, muggy, buggy and hot.
The puppies don’t seem to like the heat either. They run outside and within a few minutes, resurface in the living room, their tongues lolling out of their mouths to show how hot they are. They run out again and run back in again quickly. It’s a constant routine. They’ve taken to hunting the evil bunny that steals my vegetables and flowers. It ate all my swiss chard, my corn and now my lone sunflower. I see it running through the yard at breakneck speed every so often, usually chased by two little dachshund puppies. They’ll probably never catch it but they’re certainly trying.
Of course, they don’t just hunt bunnies outside. They dig holes. Rory has become a champion digger. She’s quite amusing to watch because she has a bit of a temper. If the ground doesn’t give way to her furious attempts to burrow, she starts yipping and ‘yelling’ at the dirt, clearly upset. She stomps and whines at it and then tries to bite it. She’s awfully cute and I don’t mind because it means there’s going to be less of a hole if the ground doesn’t give way.
Fortunately, she does seem to have given up digging up my plants which is nice. Instead, she digs near them instead, sometimes accidentally flattening them. If she isn’t the one to sit on them, Sookie is. She likes to watch her sister try to dig a hole. I now have several squished squash plants from Sookies’s observations.
I’m trying to train them to dig weeds which is a losing battle. We’ve had so much rain that the grass and weeds are growing way faster than I can keep up. The weeds are the worst. No matter how many I pull up, there’s ten ready to replace them. I’m trying but I’m losing. Some of them are quite pretty but others are mean little invasive things that try to choke my actual plants.
Nevertheless, summer officially starts in just a few days. It now means that I’ve made it through an entire year of seasons in my house since I moved in during summer of last year. The summer is the hardest because of the heat. It’s hard to not put the air conditioning on because otherwise, it’s just miserable. Winter was hard because of the snow but I didn’t mind the shoveling and I love snow so no complaints there. Autumn was nice with an unexpected Indian summer tucked in there. Then there was spring…that’s one of my favourite seasons and it felt like it barely got a chance to stand up between Winter and Summer before Summer kicked it out of the way and tried to take over. I’m hoping Spring wins back a little and can inflict some cooler days on the calendared days of summer but we’ll have to see.
In the meantime, I’ll take today’s lesser humidity and sunshiny day as a sign that Spring is still trying to win. Even though it’s hot, it could be way worse. Besides, today there was ice-cream to cool things down.
Ice-cream makes everything good. Having the office to ourselves makes it even better. Sometimes, I actually like my job.
Happy Wednesday!
I think I lived in L.A. for too long because a scoop of ice-cream- a generous scoop, I’ll add- was $3.25 and two scoops was $3.75. To me, this seems to be a reasonable price for a bowl of delicious ice-cream. It’s no more expensive than Cold Stone Creamery, Ben and Jerry’s or Haagan Daas. Also, it’s still cheaper than a large cup of fancy coffee at Starbucks.
It was a nice treat on a warm, quiet afternoon in the office. I’m starting to get used to the quiet. It’s nice to have freedom; all of the managers are at the conference. We’re policing ourselves which is rather a nice luxury.
I’m really quite enjoying not having half the staff in the office. The week is going quickly. Normally, I wouldn’t mind but next week, everything will return to normal. The conference attendees will return, full of information and stories and we’ll all have to listen to them. I’m sure that I won’t be the only one who will try to appear interested but wish I could just walk away because I honestly don’t care that much. It’s a sad thing but true. I’m sure that, as usual, there will be drunken evenings, stories about clients, inside jokes… the usual thing.
The rest of us will probably sit here with our own inside jokes. We’ll know who the best rubber-band archery shooter is or who can win a race by wheeling themselves in their chair down the hallway. It’s a trade-off but I can’t help but be glad I came down on this side of the trade.
Still, with the week going quickly and the weekend approaching, things are definitely looking up. The humidity faded a little this afternoon and it’s finally tolerable to be outside without feeling as though you’re going to burst into flames because you’re spontaneously combusting from the closeness of the air. It’s been horrible for the past week- damp, muggy, buggy and hot.
The puppies don’t seem to like the heat either. They run outside and within a few minutes, resurface in the living room, their tongues lolling out of their mouths to show how hot they are. They run out again and run back in again quickly. It’s a constant routine. They’ve taken to hunting the evil bunny that steals my vegetables and flowers. It ate all my swiss chard, my corn and now my lone sunflower. I see it running through the yard at breakneck speed every so often, usually chased by two little dachshund puppies. They’ll probably never catch it but they’re certainly trying.
Of course, they don’t just hunt bunnies outside. They dig holes. Rory has become a champion digger. She’s quite amusing to watch because she has a bit of a temper. If the ground doesn’t give way to her furious attempts to burrow, she starts yipping and ‘yelling’ at the dirt, clearly upset. She stomps and whines at it and then tries to bite it. She’s awfully cute and I don’t mind because it means there’s going to be less of a hole if the ground doesn’t give way.
Fortunately, she does seem to have given up digging up my plants which is nice. Instead, she digs near them instead, sometimes accidentally flattening them. If she isn’t the one to sit on them, Sookie is. She likes to watch her sister try to dig a hole. I now have several squished squash plants from Sookies’s observations.
I’m trying to train them to dig weeds which is a losing battle. We’ve had so much rain that the grass and weeds are growing way faster than I can keep up. The weeds are the worst. No matter how many I pull up, there’s ten ready to replace them. I’m trying but I’m losing. Some of them are quite pretty but others are mean little invasive things that try to choke my actual plants.
Nevertheless, summer officially starts in just a few days. It now means that I’ve made it through an entire year of seasons in my house since I moved in during summer of last year. The summer is the hardest because of the heat. It’s hard to not put the air conditioning on because otherwise, it’s just miserable. Winter was hard because of the snow but I didn’t mind the shoveling and I love snow so no complaints there. Autumn was nice with an unexpected Indian summer tucked in there. Then there was spring…that’s one of my favourite seasons and it felt like it barely got a chance to stand up between Winter and Summer before Summer kicked it out of the way and tried to take over. I’m hoping Spring wins back a little and can inflict some cooler days on the calendared days of summer but we’ll have to see.
In the meantime, I’ll take today’s lesser humidity and sunshiny day as a sign that Spring is still trying to win. Even though it’s hot, it could be way worse. Besides, today there was ice-cream to cool things down.
Ice-cream makes everything good. Having the office to ourselves makes it even better. Sometimes, I actually like my job.
Happy Wednesday!
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