Barb's Burblings

Boys in the workplace

There are a lot of differences between my old job and my new job. One of these differences is that there are a lot more boys at my new workplace. The other day, I got into the elevator and I was the only girl. Crazy! The sad thing is that since this place is so huge, I probably won't see any of them more than once. Ah well.

Briefer interlude...later

Evan Lysacek made me love him even more tonight by skating to Michael Buble in the exhibition. Call me, Evan!

It's amazing how I tired I am, even though it was a short week and I didn't do much actual work. Starting a new job is really draining.

Brief interlude

OK, I know there's a lot more going on in my life right now and I haven't been writing, but I need to get this off my chest...

Who is this guy commenting on luge/skeleton/bobsled? He's way exciteable. Every little thing he starts freaking out. "OH MY GOSH, WHAT A SKID!" "THEY WENT UP TOO HIGH!" "THEY'RE LOSING TIME!" Shh, commentator. Shh. It's OK.

My favorite was the 2-man bobsled team that was in the lead going into the second run and the back guy's arm slipped as he jumped into the sled. It was a pretty egregious error, and while it cost the team time...it was never enough that they fell out of first place. I thought this guy was going to die.

See Barb. See Barb panic.

I'm trying not to freak out about my new job. Tomorrow is my first day. I am completely losing it, though. I should go to bed, but I am wide awake. And I know I won't sleep well tonight. It was a good thing that finishing out the multitude of forms required me to call some friends and my dad--I needed that positive reinforcement. But still...panic. I don't know why I have such a fear of the unknown, but there it is.

At least I had a good weekend. I spent it at my sister's, and my mom was there. A very quiet weekend, and a reassuring one. I didn't want to leave, though--something about just hanging around, watching the Olympics, and reading for an indefinite period of time sounds very nice. And the knowledge that I'd have to come home and start a new job didn't help, either.

Anyway, hopefully tomorrow I'll be gushing about it. At the very least I won't have as much fear--it won't be totally unknown. And hey, I wasn't particularly interested in or knowledgeable about the area of my last job, either. Realizing that has helped settle me down a bit.

The battle's done and I kind of won

I don't know what I was thinking. Why, why did I go shopping on a day when I was already cranky? And "cranky" is putting it lightly. More like, feeling totally wretched--one of those, "I'm fat and ugly and there's nothing good about my life right now." Well, maybe not quite that bad. But the last couple of weeks have been rough. Anyway.

The shopping trip started out pretty well, actually. I was shopping for nice work clothes and I tried on a bunch of outfits and they all fit, which was very encouraging. None of them looked that good, sadly. I should've just stopped there. But nooo, I had to haul myself around the mall with less and less success everywhere, self-esteem dropping with every stop. (And that, my friends, is why I hate shopping.)

I wound up only buying a smoothie. But it was a good smoothie.

Current song in my head:
"Orange Crush" by REM

Happy Valentine's Day

To my valentine...

Mission accomplished

It's finally happened. Today, thanks to a sale at Best Buy, I finally bought Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which means that I now own the entire series. Hurrah! This makes me happy, particularly since lately every episode that I've been like, "Oooh, I should watch that" (with the exception of "Go Fish" so I could see Wentworth Miller) have been from Season 5.

Anyway, I'm currently living the life of the unemployed. I am officially between jobs. It's pretty nice. I like that I can stay up and watch the Olympics into the early morning without guilt. And having Melodie around is also nice. It's just a very weird feeling, because underneath the relaxation is a growing panic at the new job facing me.

Well, I have almost a week.

Current song in my head:
"Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel

Don't start with me, stars

Here's a horoscope that you don't want to see on your last day at your current job:

Are the long-term benefits worth the short-term hassle of taking on this new project? Think about it very carefully before you give an answer. You're not obliged to say yes just because they ask you.

Thanks! That's just the encouragement I need!

Just because you're necessary doesn't mean you're important

I had forgotten how much I enjoy the Demotivators series. How can you not, with such truths as "Procrastination: Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now" and "Potential: Not everyone gets to be an astronaut when they grow up."

For the heroes out there

The Colbert Report has seeped into my brain. The other night Colin was acting up and I told him I was putting him on notice. I passed a sign the other night for a "Bear Garden" and thought how much that would freak Stephen out. I need help.

But at least my fascination is shared. He's made the cover of Newsweek; I highly recommend checking out the article (you don't even need to register!). Plus, we all know that "truthiness" was the word of 2005.

So be an it-getter and check it out.

Because Becca is evil

Four jobs you've had in your life:
1. Newspaper despot
2. Ghost tour guide
3. Information booth
4. Lackey at a brokerage firm

Four movies you can watch over and over:
1. Shawshank Redemption
2. The American President
3. Bridget Jones's Diary
4. Clueless

Four places you have lived:
1. Scotch Plains, NJ
2. Ridgefield, CT
3. Gettysburg, PA
4. Great Falls, MT

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. The Office
2. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Scrubs

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. London
2. St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
3. The Grand Canyon
4. Denver

Four websites you visit daily:
1. The Washington Post
2. Television Without Pity
3. Orioles.com
4. Cute Overload

Four of your favorite foods:
1. New England clam chowder
2. California rolls
3. Biscuits
4. Cake (particularly white)

Four places you would rather be right now:
1. London
2. In bed
3. On a beach
4. With my sister

Four bloggers you will help procrastinate by suggesting they answer these questions:
Everyone has already done this, so I will have to end it here.

Cramming

I don't know why, but I feel like I have a bunch of things that need to be done tonight. When...not really. Like, I don't need to do my taxes tonight, but I really want to. (I'm curious about my refund, OK?) And I only have to do one progress report for a tutoree, not all three. The laundry can probably be put off, but I shouldn't push it. Exercise room is necessary. All I did this weekend was eat. And I really need to clean. My bathroom is foul, and Melodie will be here this weekend. Plus there's copyediting for work that is just not getting done when I'm actually AT work.

I think it's because tonight is the only night when I don't have anything planned to do--no tutoring, no tap. So I feel like I have this huge expanse of time at my disposal. We'll see how it works out.

Current song in my head:
"Manic Monday" by the Bangles

Best people ever!

A while back, I got a recall notice for my car. Something about stalling. I figured I'd take it in during the week that I'm unemployed. So naturally, yesterday Seth stalled at a traffic light.

Me: It stalled and now there's a light on the dash. It's a little--I think it's an engine?
Guy at Dealership: It's an engine. Did you bring it in for the recall?
Me: Um, I was totally going to! Next week!
Guy: Right. Drop it off tonight. We'll work on it tomorrow.

So much love to Carrie, Brent, and Katie for carting me around; particularly Katie for taking me to and from tutoring and Brent and Katie for cutting short a trip to Tysons Corner. You all rock!

In unrelated news, I got this marinade at the grocery store today called Wasabiyaki. Wasabi and teriyaki combined. I cannot wait to try this out.

Current song in my head:
"Annie Waits" by Ben Folds

Return of the cuteness

The Puppy Bowl is back, my friends, and this year, there is added cuteness: a kitty half-time show. I am pumped. Barry, the poodle, is crazy! There are videos on the website and apparently you can buy the DVD of Puppy Bowl I. I kind of want that.

High on something, that's for sure

For a long time, I had been convinced that a-ha's video for "Take on Me" was the best video of all time. This morning, I discovered that I was wrong. The best video ever is this one, David Hasselhoff's video for "Hooked on a Feeling." All videos aspire to this one. You have to love the Hoff.