Well, I have not heard back from Saint Gobain, but today I had another interview. This one was with Tiffany & Co. The Quality director talk with me about an hour. It seemed to go very well. He basically said that I will be considered in round two.
Working at a Tiffany plant would be rather interesting. You are not allowed to wear jewelry there. Since they manufacture products made of expensive metals (sterling silver, gold, platinum), you have to go through a metal detector on the way out. Like at the airport, shoes and belt go in the little plastic bin, as well as belt, glasses, etc. I even put my wallet in. The only conceivable metal I had on me at all was the zipper in my pants, and the buzzer still went off. I do have one filling...
The plant is down in Rhode Island, so it would be a significantly longer commute than my current 5 minute drive to work (4 if the lights are all green). But I imagine it would be a WAY more exciting place to work than where I am at now!
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Merry Christmas!
I spent Christmas, as usual, at my parents’ house, in New Mexico. My brother is nearby, so he and family were there, as usual. For the first time, however, my sister was able to make it out during Christmas. She brought her kids, but not her husband. My flight west had a layover in O’Hare, so I was delayed two hours, and got to Mom and Dad’s at midnight. A number of people were already asleep. I visited with Dad for a bit, then headed off to bed. In the morning, the bathroom was occupied when I woke up, so I left my bedroom door open and waited. When the bathroom door opened, a strange woman walked out and said, “Hi, I’m Dee.” She was a friend of my sister’s, who wanted to visit that area, so tagged along. After much drama (my sister had specifically told her that if she came along, she had to leave us to our family holiday, and not interfere), Dee left for the airport in a huff early early on Christmas morning. She declared she would never speak to my sister again; my sister was OK with that. You can imagine my confusion, however, at the concept of my sister bringing a woman along with her for Christmas. It would have made for a humorous scene, had I brought a male friend along with me! As it was, the topic never came up, so my sister is still uninformed.
Also as is standard, my mother had food covering every surface of the house, and I spent most of my time awake eating. And chocolate, pies, cookies, and junk food were heavily accounted for! As it is, I now weigh 171 again. Five days for Christmas, and I’ve gained back all three pounds that I spent three months losing. As I mentioned earlier, at this rate, it is going to take a really long time to get those 10 pounds off.
Everyone made out well enough in terms of loot. My gift from my sister is always uninspired, so I did not feel guilty that she was less than exuberant about what I got her. My nieces and nephews were thrilled, and that’s the important demographic.
Also as is standard, my mother had food covering every surface of the house, and I spent most of my time awake eating. And chocolate, pies, cookies, and junk food were heavily accounted for! As it is, I now weigh 171 again. Five days for Christmas, and I’ve gained back all three pounds that I spent three months losing. As I mentioned earlier, at this rate, it is going to take a really long time to get those 10 pounds off.
Everyone made out well enough in terms of loot. My gift from my sister is always uninspired, so I did not feel guilty that she was less than exuberant about what I got her. My nieces and nephews were thrilled, and that’s the important demographic.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
One more point
I forgot to mention the other day that I am now down to 168 lb. Oddly enough, I met up with Ronny, and Brad and Cris, and Ronny asked if I've lost weight. He said I look "too skinny". I've managed to lose a grand Three Pounds since the break-up (yea, it's going that slowly), and he thinks I am too skinny. Another three pounds and I'll be down to where I was when I first met him.
And, I have another job interview scheduled. Call me Audrey Hepburn, 'cuz if I got the job, and ate my morning meal at work, it would totally be Breakfast at Tiffany's! That's right! I (may) end up in the New Product Development group at Tiffany and Company. Wouldn't THAT be cool!
And, I have another job interview scheduled. Call me Audrey Hepburn, 'cuz if I got the job, and ate my morning meal at work, it would totally be Breakfast at Tiffany's! That's right! I (may) end up in the New Product Development group at Tiffany and Company. Wouldn't THAT be cool!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Saint G
I had a job interview this afternoon at Saint-Gobain performance plastics. It was the first time I'd interviewed for a job while I was still working, so it felt a little wierd to ditch early and go to an interview while technically still being paid to be at the first job. They think I had a car-service appointment. I said my check-engine light was intermittently coming on. Vague health complaints for cars are just as good as ones for people.
The interview seemed to go exceptionally well. From what the plant manager said after I was done talking, it sounded like I hit all his targets right on. He wanted a cultural fit. I knew that everybody is always looking for the 'fit' when you are interviewing, so I had chosen my responses to keep everything upbeat and positive. (He asked what I dislike about my current job, but I refrained from bad-mouthing anyone!)
They want to make the hire very quickly, so I should be hearing back from the HR lady pretty soon, I guess. If they want me to come in for Round Two, I imagine I'll have to pretend to fall ill to get the time off for that one.
Meanwhile, no new showings, no word from the agent. Lowering the price (again) has done nothing to stir up activity (again). There were lots of internet hits, but no showings... So, it's shaping up to another couple years in Worcester. But at least it would be happier!
The interview seemed to go exceptionally well. From what the plant manager said after I was done talking, it sounded like I hit all his targets right on. He wanted a cultural fit. I knew that everybody is always looking for the 'fit' when you are interviewing, so I had chosen my responses to keep everything upbeat and positive. (He asked what I dislike about my current job, but I refrained from bad-mouthing anyone!)
They want to make the hire very quickly, so I should be hearing back from the HR lady pretty soon, I guess. If they want me to come in for Round Two, I imagine I'll have to pretend to fall ill to get the time off for that one.
Meanwhile, no new showings, no word from the agent. Lowering the price (again) has done nothing to stir up activity (again). There were lots of internet hits, but no showings... So, it's shaping up to another couple years in Worcester. But at least it would be happier!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Kissing anyway
Well, I came out and asked the new Brazilian on Sunday if he was top or bottom. I had a feeling it would be bad news (as I mentioned in the last post, I didn't see it working out). I was right. I need a top. He's not. Very much not, apparently. Sigh...
So, Monday I called - no answer. He finally called back on Wednesday. We agreed to be friends. I suggested we could also make out more, just for fun! He is hot, and a great kisser - why pass that up because of a little old long-term compatability issue?? He seemed to be OK with that idea, so it looks as though I have a Friend With Benefits! And when he brought up wanting to go to Brazil, I said I'd love to go along, and he thought that was fabulous! Who knows, my "Hawaii in 2007" plan may have to morph into "Carnivale in 2007" and "Hawaii in 2008"! Fair trade, I think!
Meanwhile, the realtor is getting starry-eyed about selling my condo again. And Saint-Gobain called to schedule an interview! They are 3 miles up the road from here, so I have the local advantage on this one. If I got a new job, that would eliminate the job-from-hell issues, so I could stick around a 'little' longer. And if I'm at a HUGE French multi-national, the transfer possibilities would be great for when I do leave. That would mean pulling the listing and refinancing my mortgage.
I should add that I haven't had too many in-person interviews in my life, but nearly every time I do get to the face-to-face point, they offer me a position. I'm not sure I want to stay in the cold and snow, but if that job opportunity came along, I would need to take it!
So, Monday I called - no answer. He finally called back on Wednesday. We agreed to be friends. I suggested we could also make out more, just for fun! He is hot, and a great kisser - why pass that up because of a little old long-term compatability issue?? He seemed to be OK with that idea, so it looks as though I have a Friend With Benefits! And when he brought up wanting to go to Brazil, I said I'd love to go along, and he thought that was fabulous! Who knows, my "Hawaii in 2007" plan may have to morph into "Carnivale in 2007" and "Hawaii in 2008"! Fair trade, I think!
Meanwhile, the realtor is getting starry-eyed about selling my condo again. And Saint-Gobain called to schedule an interview! They are 3 miles up the road from here, so I have the local advantage on this one. If I got a new job, that would eliminate the job-from-hell issues, so I could stick around a 'little' longer. And if I'm at a HUGE French multi-national, the transfer possibilities would be great for when I do leave. That would mean pulling the listing and refinancing my mortgage.
I should add that I haven't had too many in-person interviews in my life, but nearly every time I do get to the face-to-face point, they offer me a position. I'm not sure I want to stay in the cold and snow, but if that job opportunity came along, I would need to take it!
Friday, December 01, 2006
Still the 169
I meant to post this item earlier, but was derailed by a corrupt broadband provider (see post below).
I weighed myself on Monday at work, and was 169! I know that is the same as the previous report, but it was immediately following Thanksgiving weekend. And I did NOT diet over the weekend. Between pizza, cheeseburgers, three Italian restuarants, and more pumpkin cheesecake than I should have, there was ample opportunity to gain weight. So, the fact that I made it out with no change is actually a good thing!!
That date went well, too. He is an excellent kisser, and we could make out for hours... Seeing as how this is almost a week later, though, I should also add that I don't think it's going to work out. Which is a shame, because he is hot, is a great kisser, and is evidently smitten with me. Such is life, I guess.
I weighed myself on Monday at work, and was 169! I know that is the same as the previous report, but it was immediately following Thanksgiving weekend. And I did NOT diet over the weekend. Between pizza, cheeseburgers, three Italian restuarants, and more pumpkin cheesecake than I should have, there was ample opportunity to gain weight. So, the fact that I made it out with no change is actually a good thing!!
That date went well, too. He is an excellent kisser, and we could make out for hours... Seeing as how this is almost a week later, though, I should also add that I don't think it's going to work out. Which is a shame, because he is hot, is a great kisser, and is evidently smitten with me. Such is life, I guess.
Delay
I have been off-line for a few days, thanks to our pals at Charter High-Speed.
When I first signed up, they installed all the stuff, and left a little white modem box. Very soon after, I had connectivity issues. They insisted the modem was fine. I called back a few weeks later with more problems, and again insisted the modem was fine.
This week I had no internet again, so I called their customer service. They accessed the modem through the line, and discovered that the modem was malfunctioned. So, they told me to take it to the local office and swap it for a new one. After waiting in line behind the trailer trash who wait until they have $200 bill with late fees accumulated, I get to the agent, and she informs me that the modem is WELL beyond the warranty period, and she can't swap it out. Turns out the free install package includes a free crap modem that you 'own' from that point on. So, they brushed me off while it was new, so they wouldn't have to pay for a real one. Now that the warranty is "WELL" over, they are more than happy to sell me another (better) one.
If you ever have issues with your cable modem, make sure to get it swapped out RIGHT AWAY. If you wait, they will be glad to tell you it's a piece of junk once you are then required to pay them more for a decent replacement.
When I first signed up, they installed all the stuff, and left a little white modem box. Very soon after, I had connectivity issues. They insisted the modem was fine. I called back a few weeks later with more problems, and again insisted the modem was fine.
This week I had no internet again, so I called their customer service. They accessed the modem through the line, and discovered that the modem was malfunctioned. So, they told me to take it to the local office and swap it for a new one. After waiting in line behind the trailer trash who wait until they have $200 bill with late fees accumulated, I get to the agent, and she informs me that the modem is WELL beyond the warranty period, and she can't swap it out. Turns out the free install package includes a free crap modem that you 'own' from that point on. So, they brushed me off while it was new, so they wouldn't have to pay for a real one. Now that the warranty is "WELL" over, they are more than happy to sell me another (better) one.
If you ever have issues with your cable modem, make sure to get it swapped out RIGHT AWAY. If you wait, they will be glad to tell you it's a piece of junk once you are then required to pay them more for a decent replacement.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Weigh-in 2
This Friday I was down to 169!! Measureable progress is always encouraging.
I also have a Match.com derived date scheduled. Take a wild guess what nationality he is... I'll give you a hint; dark hair, brown eyes, speaks Portuguese. The photos look decent, though nowhere near Mateus-level hotness. But I'm nowhere near Mateus level either, so it's all good!
I also have a Match.com derived date scheduled. Take a wild guess what nationality he is... I'll give you a hint; dark hair, brown eyes, speaks Portuguese. The photos look decent, though nowhere near Mateus-level hotness. But I'm nowhere near Mateus level either, so it's all good!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Jobhunt
I was browsing Monster on Monday, and saw a posting for a QC position here in town with Saint-Gobain, a large French multi-national specializing in materials. So, I figured I would submit my resume, and see what happens.
Wednesday, I met up with my friend Joe. We ended up at the gay townie bar to 'have a drink'. While we're there, beginning round two, his friends Luther and Keniah showed up. I've met them before, and know them a little bit. I also kind of like Luther. I get the impression that Luther kind of likes me, as well. At one point this particular evening, he ended up sitting in my lap.
More to the point, I mentioned my loathing of my current employer. Joe joked that I am not leaving Worcester. So, I said I had just submitted a resume to Saint-Gobain. Luther mentioned he was having a meeting the next day with a rep from S-G. He offered to put in a good word for me, if I was any good. I did the 10 second run down of my resume, and Luther got this "oh really" look on his face. He asked if I had submitted a resume to Staples. I hadn't because I was sticking to manufacturing, not retail. He kind of rolled his eyes and said he works for their product development group and works with a whole bunch of QC people. He gave me his email address and told me to send him my resume.
We also exchanged phone numbers, and he invited me to his and Keniah's Christmas party. We'll see which offer proves more fruitful!
Wednesday, I met up with my friend Joe. We ended up at the gay townie bar to 'have a drink'. While we're there, beginning round two, his friends Luther and Keniah showed up. I've met them before, and know them a little bit. I also kind of like Luther. I get the impression that Luther kind of likes me, as well. At one point this particular evening, he ended up sitting in my lap.
More to the point, I mentioned my loathing of my current employer. Joe joked that I am not leaving Worcester. So, I said I had just submitted a resume to Saint-Gobain. Luther mentioned he was having a meeting the next day with a rep from S-G. He offered to put in a good word for me, if I was any good. I did the 10 second run down of my resume, and Luther got this "oh really" look on his face. He asked if I had submitted a resume to Staples. I hadn't because I was sticking to manufacturing, not retail. He kind of rolled his eyes and said he works for their product development group and works with a whole bunch of QC people. He gave me his email address and told me to send him my resume.
We also exchanged phone numbers, and he invited me to his and Keniah's Christmas party. We'll see which offer proves more fruitful!
Monday, November 13, 2006
Uh DUH
(Please read yesterday's post before this one.)
So, I lived through the experience Saturday, and wrote about it Sunday, but it wasn't until this morning that it dawned on me what was going on. When Mateus said "It was nice meeting you" he was playing along in the "Hey, what's your name" game that I had started when I walked into the club Saturday night. It was just an opening line for me to make the 'nice butt' comment, and then I forgot about it, but apparently he was paying attention.
I feel a little silly for not realizing it...
So, I lived through the experience Saturday, and wrote about it Sunday, but it wasn't until this morning that it dawned on me what was going on. When Mateus said "It was nice meeting you" he was playing along in the "Hey, what's your name" game that I had started when I walked into the club Saturday night. It was just an opening line for me to make the 'nice butt' comment, and then I forgot about it, but apparently he was paying attention.
I feel a little silly for not realizing it...
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Addicted to Brazilians?
Thursday night Ronny called to say he was heading over by Cris to wish him a Happy Birthday and asked if I wanted to come along. I declined. A few minutes later, Brad called to say they were having a party for Cris on Saturday, and invited me to come. I, of course, said yes to that.
Psycho Ex from a long time ago was also invited. He was there, but he ignored my existence, as well as Ronny's, and we ignored him. Juvenile, yes. Easier, Oh yes. Some of the other people there said to me that they wished he would ignore them, too!
More importantly, Mateus was there. (I've had some back and forth on whether it is Mateo or Mateus, and I'm back to thinking it's Mateus.) He looked really cute again last night. Maybe it was the very tight, three-buttons open, perfect hot-guy length shirt he had on, and the accompanying occasional glimpse of those little cuts over the hips that point toward the abs, such as Usher has and is so proud of. Or maybe it was the half hour he spent talking to me... At one point, Ronny went over to Mateus's bf, Claudio, put his arm around him, and started chatting. So, Mateus came over by me to say I should keep an eye on my husband. I said we broke up, so Mateus should be more concerned about his bf. He said he isn't the jealous type. I said I am not either, and asked if Claudio is. He said Oh yeah. We then continued to talk for a bit. There were a whole bunch of Brazilians there, since it was Cris's party. As the evening continued, a group them left to go to the club in town. Ronny mentioned that one of them liked me, but I was unable to figure out which one. There was one that I thought was rather cute, but didn't know if he was Cristiano, Alberto, or Junio (they were introduced at the same time).
Shortly after that, the rest of the group decided to head to the club, as well. Ronny rode along with me, and mentioned that Mateus had said he was interested in me. When we got to the club, I went up to Mateus and said "Hey there, what's your name?" as though we'd never met. He said "Marcus"! So, I said "You have a very cute butt." (Oh dear lord in heaven, did he get a nice 'bunda'!) He attributed it to the jeans. I said it wasn't the jeans...
The group then headed out to the dance-floor. Claudio, the muscle-bound gym-rat type with bear-paw hands, predictably doesn't dance. Mateus does, and spent the whole time on the floor, dancing with all of us in the group. As the evening progressed, I guess they had 'another' fight that related to Claudio's jealousy. Brad had told me that those two fight a lot (a 5-week old relationship) and isn't expected to hold out much longer.
Meanwhile, the one cute guy from the Cristiano/Alberto/Junio group kept dancing with me, and I really got the impression he wanted to lean in for a kiss. I played it off as dancing away, not noticing anything... (Imagine my head bouncing like a ditzy blonde when you read that.) That may have been the one that told Ronny of his interest in me. As I said, I thought he was kind of cute. But aside from the Mateus stuff, there is also that nagging thought that I need to stop with the Brazilians. Altho, I had modified that to "no skinny Brazilians" because I didn't want to rule out the drop-dead gorgeous Brazilian I had met at the gym. And Mateus would fall into the disclaimer!
So, I kind of got the feeling that there was a mild flirtation coming from Mateus, and I did my best to throw subtle flirts back. Claudio was standing on the side, watching the whole thing, so I didn't do anything too noticeable. I have already mentioned they had a fight over Claudio's jealousy, so he must have gotten upset about something, but I don't think he would have singled me out. Mateus seemed to be having fun with a lot of us, including Cris, Ronny, and the C/A/J group.
Meanwhile, another guy shows up that all the Brazilians know, and Ronny ends up spending a good deal of time talking with him. The guy was the total twin of my friend Russell's hottie brother. This guy was a bit shorter, though. Still pretty cute. Ronny did not introduce me to him. I'm not sure if that means anything. Ronny's car was still at Cris's house, so he rode back with Cris. Mateus and Claudio also left their car at Cris's, as well as C/A/J. So, Cris's Grand Cherokee was rather crowded. I had my own car, and a 3 minute drive home. As we left, I wished Cris a 'feliz aniversario' and said good night to Ronny. Mateus said good night as well, and followed it with "It was nice to meet you." It threw me off a little, but I replied in a you-big-silly voice that we'd already met before. (Back at the party we had specifically been talking about when it was that we had first met last year.) We had talked a lot more than all previous times combined, and it has that first-date ring to it, so in retrospect, I'm wondering if it means something more along the lines of "I'd like to see you again". Maybe not. He wasn't drinking, so it wasn't a drunken mistake. He speaks very good English, so it wasn't a linguistic mistake either.
If I do end up hookin' up with Mateus at some point, you can bet there'll be pictures taken of him. (Yummmmm) So, stay tuned.
Psycho Ex from a long time ago was also invited. He was there, but he ignored my existence, as well as Ronny's, and we ignored him. Juvenile, yes. Easier, Oh yes. Some of the other people there said to me that they wished he would ignore them, too!
More importantly, Mateus was there. (I've had some back and forth on whether it is Mateo or Mateus, and I'm back to thinking it's Mateus.) He looked really cute again last night. Maybe it was the very tight, three-buttons open, perfect hot-guy length shirt he had on, and the accompanying occasional glimpse of those little cuts over the hips that point toward the abs, such as Usher has and is so proud of. Or maybe it was the half hour he spent talking to me... At one point, Ronny went over to Mateus's bf, Claudio, put his arm around him, and started chatting. So, Mateus came over by me to say I should keep an eye on my husband. I said we broke up, so Mateus should be more concerned about his bf. He said he isn't the jealous type. I said I am not either, and asked if Claudio is. He said Oh yeah. We then continued to talk for a bit. There were a whole bunch of Brazilians there, since it was Cris's party. As the evening continued, a group them left to go to the club in town. Ronny mentioned that one of them liked me, but I was unable to figure out which one. There was one that I thought was rather cute, but didn't know if he was Cristiano, Alberto, or Junio (they were introduced at the same time).
Shortly after that, the rest of the group decided to head to the club, as well. Ronny rode along with me, and mentioned that Mateus had said he was interested in me. When we got to the club, I went up to Mateus and said "Hey there, what's your name?" as though we'd never met. He said "Marcus"! So, I said "You have a very cute butt." (Oh dear lord in heaven, did he get a nice 'bunda'!) He attributed it to the jeans. I said it wasn't the jeans...
The group then headed out to the dance-floor. Claudio, the muscle-bound gym-rat type with bear-paw hands, predictably doesn't dance. Mateus does, and spent the whole time on the floor, dancing with all of us in the group. As the evening progressed, I guess they had 'another' fight that related to Claudio's jealousy. Brad had told me that those two fight a lot (a 5-week old relationship) and isn't expected to hold out much longer.
Meanwhile, the one cute guy from the Cristiano/Alberto/Junio group kept dancing with me, and I really got the impression he wanted to lean in for a kiss. I played it off as dancing away, not noticing anything... (Imagine my head bouncing like a ditzy blonde when you read that.) That may have been the one that told Ronny of his interest in me. As I said, I thought he was kind of cute. But aside from the Mateus stuff, there is also that nagging thought that I need to stop with the Brazilians. Altho, I had modified that to "no skinny Brazilians" because I didn't want to rule out the drop-dead gorgeous Brazilian I had met at the gym. And Mateus would fall into the disclaimer!
So, I kind of got the feeling that there was a mild flirtation coming from Mateus, and I did my best to throw subtle flirts back. Claudio was standing on the side, watching the whole thing, so I didn't do anything too noticeable. I have already mentioned they had a fight over Claudio's jealousy, so he must have gotten upset about something, but I don't think he would have singled me out. Mateus seemed to be having fun with a lot of us, including Cris, Ronny, and the C/A/J group.
Meanwhile, another guy shows up that all the Brazilians know, and Ronny ends up spending a good deal of time talking with him. The guy was the total twin of my friend Russell's hottie brother. This guy was a bit shorter, though. Still pretty cute. Ronny did not introduce me to him. I'm not sure if that means anything. Ronny's car was still at Cris's house, so he rode back with Cris. Mateus and Claudio also left their car at Cris's, as well as C/A/J. So, Cris's Grand Cherokee was rather crowded. I had my own car, and a 3 minute drive home. As we left, I wished Cris a 'feliz aniversario' and said good night to Ronny. Mateus said good night as well, and followed it with "It was nice to meet you." It threw me off a little, but I replied in a you-big-silly voice that we'd already met before. (Back at the party we had specifically been talking about when it was that we had first met last year.) We had talked a lot more than all previous times combined, and it has that first-date ring to it, so in retrospect, I'm wondering if it means something more along the lines of "I'd like to see you again". Maybe not. He wasn't drinking, so it wasn't a drunken mistake. He speaks very good English, so it wasn't a linguistic mistake either.
If I do end up hookin' up with Mateus at some point, you can bet there'll be pictures taken of him. (Yummmmm) So, stay tuned.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Which SATC girl are you?
I was watching Sex and the City on TBS last night, and was once again reminded that I am totally a Miranda. I was having trouble ignoring the cupcakes in the kitchen, while Miranda was eating chocolate cake out of her trash bin. The episode was about relationships versus sex.
As I was getting ready for bed, the thought crossed my mind that despite the title, the show really is about relationships. The four heroines depict the four possible control situations in a relationship. Miranda is the one in control. Charlotte prefers to have the other be in control. Carrie is more of an equality type. Samantha doesn't really DO relationships, so she doesn't have any control scenario. Extending my "Miranda-ness" in this thought means I am the control freak in my relationships. That, of course, is not a common thing people like to admit. Which makes sense that everyone wants to say they are most like Carrie, but most aren't. I would want to. But I know I am too much of an organized anal-retentive perfectionist to be Carrie.
Reflecting on my relationship with Ronny, and the complaints I have had with him, I realized how tight a grasp I can have on relatively pointless things. Even cooking dinner was often an exercise in control. Use the right pot, not that spoon, the heat's too high, why are you adding so much oil, oh my god that's a lot of salt, stir less, don't forget to rinse that afterwards, and stop using the vent fan because it's totally pointless. We didn't cook together. Either I did and he watched TV, or he cooked and I watched TV. It was easier that way...
For some reason, my mind then went on to my friend Russell, who is a Carrie, in my opinion. His girlfriend is an evil Charlotte. Their relationship totally doesn't work, and it fits the pattern. He wants to be equals, while she is expecting him to take care of everything. So, when he assumes she will contribute, the gaping hole in her expectations sets fights in motion.
It would seem to me that two Carries would work, and a Miranda/Charlotte pair. Two Samanthas would have a lot of fun together, but not be LTR material. Any other combo is going to cause a lot of tension, anger, and frustration. Going back to my earlier comment about wanting to be a Carrie, but not actually being one, the essence boils down to a lot of relationships are one in control and the other happy with that. My parents are a classic example. The 1950's image of the working dad, Stepford-ish housewife, and 'traditional family' structure all but worshipped that type of arrangement.
So, should I make myself into a Carrie, or should I just look for a Charlotte??
As I was getting ready for bed, the thought crossed my mind that despite the title, the show really is about relationships. The four heroines depict the four possible control situations in a relationship. Miranda is the one in control. Charlotte prefers to have the other be in control. Carrie is more of an equality type. Samantha doesn't really DO relationships, so she doesn't have any control scenario. Extending my "Miranda-ness" in this thought means I am the control freak in my relationships. That, of course, is not a common thing people like to admit. Which makes sense that everyone wants to say they are most like Carrie, but most aren't. I would want to. But I know I am too much of an organized anal-retentive perfectionist to be Carrie.
Reflecting on my relationship with Ronny, and the complaints I have had with him, I realized how tight a grasp I can have on relatively pointless things. Even cooking dinner was often an exercise in control. Use the right pot, not that spoon, the heat's too high, why are you adding so much oil, oh my god that's a lot of salt, stir less, don't forget to rinse that afterwards, and stop using the vent fan because it's totally pointless. We didn't cook together. Either I did and he watched TV, or he cooked and I watched TV. It was easier that way...
For some reason, my mind then went on to my friend Russell, who is a Carrie, in my opinion. His girlfriend is an evil Charlotte. Their relationship totally doesn't work, and it fits the pattern. He wants to be equals, while she is expecting him to take care of everything. So, when he assumes she will contribute, the gaping hole in her expectations sets fights in motion.
It would seem to me that two Carries would work, and a Miranda/Charlotte pair. Two Samanthas would have a lot of fun together, but not be LTR material. Any other combo is going to cause a lot of tension, anger, and frustration. Going back to my earlier comment about wanting to be a Carrie, but not actually being one, the essence boils down to a lot of relationships are one in control and the other happy with that. My parents are a classic example. The 1950's image of the working dad, Stepford-ish housewife, and 'traditional family' structure all but worshipped that type of arrangement.
So, should I make myself into a Carrie, or should I just look for a Charlotte??
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
My Husband
Have you seen the current Dockers commercial? He is SO my type. There is a portion of it on their website (www.dockers.com click USA click What's New). Yummy yummy yummy. And a nice bounce in the package! (I can't help it, almost the entire commercial is close-ups of his crotch...)
Monday, October 30, 2006
Weigh-in
Due to another weekend of broadband outage (thanks, Charter!) I was not able to check email or post updates to things online. I would have included a brief update on my Celebrity Fit-club progress. After a month of (weak) effort, I have lost a pound!! Yes, one whole entire pound! That may not sound like much, but I still celebrated with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. Just kidding! I know it is pathetic progress. My sole consolation is that it is actually two pounds, since two weeks ago when I weighed myself, I was up one. You can imagine why I didn’t post that announcement. Factoring in the up-coming holidays, I figure about a year and a half to go, at the current rate! Ughhh. I need to find a motivator.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Our #1 Holiday
I read an article about Halloween spending today. This year, estimates are at $1.3billion for the holiday, up from $850million, most of the increase in high-end decorations, costumes, and food/alcohol. It’s not the trick-or-treaters, it’s the parents. There were the predictable comments from the one woman they found who spends more on Halloween than on Christmas. The worn out statistics on college kids who use the holiday as a reason to party. The author was trying to imply that Halloween will overtake Christmas as the biggest holiday here. Of course, the article also included the comment from the above-mentioned woman that she goes all out on Halloween because her mother already rules the Christmas celebration. This afternoon one of the guys at work was whistling “Deck the Halls”. I asked him why he was whistling Christmas music. He said it’s almost Christmas. I replied that it isn’t “almost” Christmas. His response was “Well, I don’t know any Halloween songs.” Other than the theme riff from the movie "Halloween" and the spooky first bar from Bach's D-minor toccata, what music can you associate with this holiday? Seems to me that Christmas is going to be safe for quite some time, yet!
(Incidentally, the Toccata and Fugue in D-minor is a beautiful piece of music. The fugue especially is graceful and elegant, sounds amazing on a good pipe organ, and really has nothing to do with Halloween but a minor key.)
(Incidentally, the Toccata and Fugue in D-minor is a beautiful piece of music. The fugue especially is graceful and elegant, sounds amazing on a good pipe organ, and really has nothing to do with Halloween but a minor key.)
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Spooky
The remote for my stereo can control the basic functions of my TV, as well. Power, volume, channel, and input selection are all available on the stereo remote, so I keep the TV remote stashed behind the TV. I only need that one for more complex tasks, including menus. One such task is turning on or off the captions. Ronny could understand the dialog better with the captions on, so for the past year I have gotten used to having the captions on the TV. Last night I was playing a little game at my computer, and had Project Runway reruns playing in the background. Around 7pm, the thought crossed my mind that I still had the captions on, but didn’t need to anymore. I had the stereo remote with me, but didn’t feel like going over to the TV to grab the other remote, and went back to playing the game. At 8pm, I wanted to switch to Daily Show, so grabbed the remote. When I look down, it is the TV remote in my hand, not the stereo remote. I just stared at it for like 20 seconds. How in the World did that remote end up in front of me???
Monday, October 02, 2006
PR3
Olympus fashion week in New York was a couple weeks ago. I read an article about it that included a quote from Jay McCarroll (spelling?) predicting this season’s Project Runway winner would be Jeffrey. That was kind of a spoiler… On the episode last Wednesday, Uli and Laura were the top two, leaving Michael and Jeffrey on the runway. Of those four, my pick is Michael, so knowing Jeffrey showed meant Michael was out. Then they pulled out the biggest surprise of the show; all four are going to fashion week! Season one was won by a flaming homo. Season two was an Asian woman. Michael is my favorite, but as far as I can tell both he and Jeffrey are straight. Jeffrey has a girlfriend and a son, so that’s easy to tell, but Michael has not let on any personal info besides growing up in the ghetto in NYC. Last season was crawling with ‘mos. This one was a lot tamer. Kayne was a big queen (makes pageant gowns for a living), and Robert was obvious before his recycling ex-boyfriends comment. Bradley was obviously straight (didn’t know anything about Cher). Keith was the cutest, but not around long enough to find out much info on. I’d guess gay, but could be wrong. Malan was creepy Euro-trash, and Vincent was just cuckoo for coco-puffs. So, I’m not sure about either of those two. But there’s a chance this season will be won by that rarity in high fashion, a straight man!
My Big News
The other fun and excitement this past weekend was that I broke up with Ronny. It started Friday evening, and finished Sunday afternoon. Several cycles of “I don’t understand” and “You will never find happiness” and “I am strong, I’ll be fine” and “How could you do this to me” and now we are just friends. I still need to get a bit more of my privacy back. We did discuss it, and he agreed to come over under invitation like other friends, instead of unannounced like a significant other. Well, he usually wasn’t completely unannounced, it was either “I’ll be there in 30 minutes” and then some time in the next 4 hours he would randomly show up, or it was “I’m at the stoplight, I’ll be there in a couple minutes” (literally two minutes). He will gradually move his clothes back to his house, but he still wants to go to IHOP together, or have me help him study English. I don’t mind, really. This way I have somewhere to dump excess belongings when I move, and in a couple years a willing host for a lengthy visit to Brazil. I joked that if we went to Carnival in Salvador we might bump into Sergio. He looked at me quizzically and said there’s no way we would see him in a crowd that size. Then he said I’d find lots of other Baianos there to be interested in! (Probably true. Cris is also a Baiano. The super super-hot guy from the gym is half Baiano.) He did suggest I learn better Portuguese before going. Considering that about none of the Brazilians in Massachusetts spoke English when they got here (and most of them still don’t), I doubt “Voce fala Ingles?” (“Do you speak English?”) will get me very far.
Joe's Progress
St. Joseph has been buried head-first in my philodendron for over three weeks now, and I still have not had an offer submitted. So much for that hyped superstition. I had a showing this past weekend, though through a miscommunication on the part of the showing agent, I was at home at the time. (She was unsure how to use the lockbox, so asked that I stay home to let them in, then used the lockbox and was Surprised I was at home. Those realtor licenses must be Very difficult to obtain.)
It was an old couple; I knew immediately they would not be interested. They harped on not having in-unit laundry hook-ups, because “you know” women don’t do their unmentionables in public laundry areas. (She must not have attended college.) Then they pooh-poohed my wood floors, because they could just buy a cheap unit and put floors in themselves. Then the old grouch started complaining about Elgin toilets. She had her husband check what brand the toilet is because Elgins “don’t flush.” The agent was even saying that being on the sixth floor, it probably wouldn’t be a problem.
To my horror, I had forgotten to clean the little space between the seat and the tank, which is usually where the name is stamped. It was nothing tragic, but a few stray hairs. I did get a sinking feeling in my stomach, as I pictured them studying my toilet. I had cleaned the bowl, the seat, and the tank, but somehow missed that part. This was the only tour I had been included in, and it gave me NO reassurance.
And to answer your burning question; it does not say what brand it is.
It was an old couple; I knew immediately they would not be interested. They harped on not having in-unit laundry hook-ups, because “you know” women don’t do their unmentionables in public laundry areas. (She must not have attended college.) Then they pooh-poohed my wood floors, because they could just buy a cheap unit and put floors in themselves. Then the old grouch started complaining about Elgin toilets. She had her husband check what brand the toilet is because Elgins “don’t flush.” The agent was even saying that being on the sixth floor, it probably wouldn’t be a problem.
To my horror, I had forgotten to clean the little space between the seat and the tank, which is usually where the name is stamped. It was nothing tragic, but a few stray hairs. I did get a sinking feeling in my stomach, as I pictured them studying my toilet. I had cleaned the bowl, the seat, and the tank, but somehow missed that part. This was the only tour I had been included in, and it gave me NO reassurance.
And to answer your burning question; it does not say what brand it is.
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