January 13 - June 30, 2010
January 13, 2010
» What has happened to Wal-Mart?
Dear Wal-Mart,
As a long-time shopper it pains me to write this... but it must be said. Things have changed between us, and not for the better, I'm sad to report.
Yes, you and I had it good there for a while. But for the last year -- or is it two? -- I can't help noticing that the spark has gone out of our relationship. And by "spark" I mean "pricing that used to save me money". Seriously, I'm trying to live better, but when I'm shopping at your store, it's harder and harder to save money.
Did you think that your reputation for low prices would blind me? Do you think I haven't noticed those games you're playing? I'm no longer falling for the old Rollback Trick, where you raise the price on a product significantly then drop it a little bit and tout the so-called lower price. In your brazenness, you frequently do all of this over the course of mere days: at least give me time to forget! And then there are those products that I purchased from you regularly -- until you inexplicably doubled their price. Why, Wal-Mart, why?
You've left me with no choice. I've started seeing other retailers. Oh, sure, I still darken your door, but more and more, I'm frequenting your competitors, comparing their prices to yours. And you know what I've found? Some have consistently better prices, at least on the things that I'm buying. Where you have failed, they're coming through for me.
So, thanks for the memories. I'll always(?) cherish the times we shared, but I'm moving on. I'm sorry, but it's not you. It's me.
On second thought, it IS you.
Love Sincerely,
Anne
February 7, 2010
» I'll fly away
Last week I took the second business trip of my new career -- the second of many, I'm told. Since that's pretty much all that's going on in my life, I'll recap the highlights... hmm, let me put that in quotes... "highlights" of the trips:
Trip #1 -- Seattle, Washington
- After my longest flight so far, then riding to the hotel in a vehicle with atrocious New Car Smell, I had more than a little travel sickness for the rest of my first day there. (Apologies to the Hampton Inn for what I did in your lobby trashcan...)
- During meetings about the project, I met about thirty new people and had considerable trouble keeping their names straight. (Does no one wear name tags anymore??)
- There's a lot of... waiting... involved at these meetings. That may be the hardest part. (Thank you, Tom Petty.)
- Actually, the hardest part is being new and having to learn what the heck everyone is talking about. Until then, I try to listen, look thoughtful, and not say anything to embarrass the boss.
- One of the guys on one of our teams is very cute and nice. He's also very taken which should go without saying because those are typically the guys I find attractive!
Trip #2 -- Augusta, Georgia
- I was thrilled to be closer to home.
- However, my room overlooked a noisy four-lane highway, and I got little sleep the whole three nights we were there.
- On the bright side, my room had a Jacuzzi tub, and yes, I *did* make time to soak in it all three nights we were there. I credit that tub with helping me keep my sanity, because...
- From something the boss said during our pre-meeting meeting, I concluded that he wasn't impressed with my report from the first trip. I found the thought that he was writing me off after one experience very, very frustrating, and I was stressed about it for the better part of the trip.
- Then the first day of meetings started with a walk in the cold (albeit light) rain from building to building looking for the correct conference room.
- I think I'm catching on to learning new people. I was in charge of recording attendees' names in the meeting minutes and that helped me put names with faces.
- A nice part of these trips is going out for dinner with our team of five to eight people. I'm pretty quiet -- as usual -- but there tend to be some good conversationalists in the group.
- On the trip home, the boss said -- without prompting from me, because I was afraid to ask -- that it seems I'm catching on to what I need to be doing. That really helped put my mind at ease. I mean, I know I've got much to learn; I just want to feel I'm at least moving in the right direction!
Jeff said that some people he works with are impressed with my new traveling job, and my first thought was, "Obviously, they've never traveled like that, or they wouldn't be impressed at all." It's true that traveling is taking some adjusting to, but I'm trying to make the best of it. I just remind myself that I could stay at home all the time -- and still be unemployed.
February 13, 2010
» photoblogging, travel edition
I've started a photo essay to document my business travels. Alas, since it is business travel, I'm not getting to see many sites, so I look for those little things that are the "essence" of the trip. The first shots are posted at my fotki account:
http://chezannegallery.shutterfly.com/
March 11, 2010
» and that is why Chinese combos have numbers
Since I started my job late last year, I've been going to Bojangles for lunch about once a week, after learning that they serve breakfast all day. (I am *all* about getting eggs at a place where I don't have to tip.)
However, it soon became apparent that there is something about the way I say "egg biscuit." Something mysterious. Something... unrecognizable. On more than one occasion, in trying to call the order back to me, the cashier is all "Steak biscuit?" "Eight biscuits??" "Elk basket?!"
In an effort to be more clear, I decided to change the phrasing, maybe give the cashier a chance to get used to the sound of my voice. So I order my side item first, as in, "I'd like a side of the Cajun pintos and an egg biscuit." Yes, beans with breakfast food. Maybe that's what's throwing them off? Anyway, that worked a time or two, but then this week, after finishing my sentence I again notice the cashier studying my lips. And there's the slight delay as if their brain is working to compare the sounds I've just uttered with anything in their memory banks that would apply to their menu. (In my mind, I can picture Frankenstein having a similar problem: "Unk buhskit," he says. The cashier stares blankly. Frank repeats himself a bit louder: "Unk! Buh! Skit!") Finally, a look of recognition as the cashier says, "Oh, egg biscuit."
In relaying this story to the fam, I declared that next time I plan to try some sort of accent. If that fails, I may have to look into getting a voice coach.
Or maybe I'll just write my order down.
April 2, 2010
» tripping
I've been home for a few weeks, so I'm a bit late in recapping my last two business trips, but ... oh well! Work-wise, I feel like I'm slowly learning what I need to do, although the boss is still too busy or distracted (or maybe dismayed?) to offer much feedback at this point. :shrug: I carry on.
Anyway, trip "highlights":
Trip #3 -- (Small Town), Kentucky
- Finally! A destination we could drive to! (Okay, technically we could drive to any of them, but perhaps a road trip from Alabama to Washington state isn't the most efficient course of action, hmm?)
- And since we did drive, I was able to take my biggest suitcase, in addition to not have to worry about how many fluid ounces of liquids I was packing.
- It snowed six inches the first night we were there and though I've been to Nebraska in February, that six inches now ranks as the most snow I've seen in Real Life. (Yes, I know that's not a whole lot. And I like it that way.)
- Thankfully, the Street Department/Road People kept the roads in working order, so we didn't miss any days of meetings.
- Even More Thankfully, we were able to delay our first meetings each day by about an hour. An extra hour of sleep = woo hoo! Especially in my new arch-nemesis, the Eastern Time Zone. :glares in that direction:
Trip #4 -- Tucson, Arizona
- Staring down the multiple hours of the trip to our destination -- which included a long car ride -- I tried Dramamine before the second leg of our flight. And it worked! No travel sickness = woo hoo.
- The first day of our meetings, in my efforts to find a copier, I was discovered by a decidedly unfriendly man who demanded to know what I was doing in "his" building. I promptly walked the man and his power trip down to the conference room to talk to the boss.
- The 70-degree Arizona weather was very, very much appreciated, since it was still *cold* back home.
- It was my first trip to the desert, and I really found the scenery beautiful. One evening I opted out of a social function and walked around the neighborhood near our hotel.
- On the drive to the airport, someone commented and someone else agreed that the traveling life might be too tempting for young people... and I wondered if they could tell that I had found one of the guys we met with attractive.
Pictures are posted will be posted as soon as I move the photo gallery away from the ad-infestation that is fotki.com.
April 20, 2010
» please read the letter
"Please read the letter. I nailed it to your door. It's crazy how it all turned out; we needed so much more. Too late, too late -- a fool could read the signs. Maybe, baby, you'd better check between the lines." ~ Please Read the Letter by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
I suppose it's true that when you give someone a gift, it becomes theirs to do with as they please, and you shouldn't be angry with them for not using it the way you think they should. I mean, it's theirs. A gift with restrictions isn't much of a gift.
On the other hand, when you give someone a letter, don't you expect them to read it? Last August, I told my boyfriend about my websites. At that point, we'd been dating for four years, and it finally seemed like the right time. I saw it as inviting him to know more about me, a part that previously -- for whatever reason -- I'd felt like keeping to myself.
After sharing the link to my blog specifically, I cautioned him that sometimes I'd ranted, and though he seemed undeterred, I anticipated that his feelings might be a little hurt. Still, in my more optimistic moments, I'd pictured one of those so-called rants sparking a conversation between us to address the problem, thus improving our relationship. At the very least, I was hoping for some mention from him of some small comment I've made that he found funny or thought-provoking or just worth repeating. I'd even written that such a mention would make me feel great because I've told him how important it is for me to feel I'm being heard.
What I DIDN'T anticipate, was that he'd show no interest whatsoever in what I had written -- or am writing.
I kept waiting for feedback, but after a few weeks passed with no word from him, I'd broach the topic by citing some website project I was working on. To each comment, he had no response whatsoever. And for Jeff, who has an opinion on just about everything under the sun, this is significant. I finally asked him directly a few months ago, "Not to put you on the spot, but have you had a chance to look at my websites?" The reply was a curt, "No." (Doesn't that sound as if he's read it and it bothered him?) I said, trying to be casual, "Is there any particular reason why? I didn't scare you off with my warnings about ranting, did I?" "I just haven't had time."
And, although I think that's a pretty weak excuse -- is it not true that we make time for what we want to do, for what's important to us? -- I decided not to bring it up again. I've been trying to look at it as I wrote above, as a gift to him that he can use (or not!) as he sees fit. However, now any time he mentions doing anything computer-wise in his free time, *especially* some blog or fanfic he was "checking out", my feelings are a little hurt. "He's got time to read ALL of that stuff, but doesn't have time to read mine?" Right. I can't help feeling that it's not lack of time, but complete lack of interest in what I have to say that inspires him to avoid my sites.
I can picture any guys who are reading this rolling their eyes at my being such a girl about this, wondering why women want to overanalyze things. Well, news flash, fellas: we think about things that are important to us! And for relationships like girlfriend-boyfriend, right or wrong, we're looking for validation that it's worth pursuing, that the end result will be worth working past the rough spots. And news flash, Jeff: we've got some problems, and I know you know this, because in those two minutes we've talked about it in the past year, you admitted that things have "cooled" between us. If you did read the blog and are bothered by what you read, WHY are we not talking about it? And if you're really not reading it... do you care at all to know what I'm thinking? Are you content with just having someone to call a girlfriend? Apparently. Do I have commitment issues? You betcha. But ignoring the problems doesn't make them go away! Yet, as you may have also noticed, I bring them up less and less, not because they're not still problems, but because you don't want to hear it.
Which is sad, really. We can only go so far in neutral.
May 6, 2010
» new photoblog
After discovering that my old photo gallery host had started using those hyper-annoying pop-ups that try to take over one's computer, I made it my mission to relocate my photos ASAP. And I'm happy to report that it's done!
http://chezannegallery.shutterfly.com/
While I was moving, I also took the time to reorganize the pix, so now they're sorted (mostly) into years, from 2010 waaaaaaaaaay back to 2003 when I got my first "serious" digital camera. Check it out, and note that it allows visitors to comment on the pictures. Hint! Hint!
June 6, 2010
» just for a moment I was back at school
Once upon a time there was a girl. The girl went to school, and from sixth grade to eighth grade, she had a huge crush on a certain boy.
Alas, the girl moved to a new school after eighth grade. Time passed, and she graduated from high school and then from college. She went to work -- at more jobs than she cares to admit, actually -- and finally settled into something resembling a career.
And in the meantime, computers -- which the girl always loved -- saw huge advances in their capabilities and popularity. Someone invented the Internet... and other people *claimed* to have invented the Internet... and, anyway, the girl spent many, many happy hours on-line, connecting with people and sharing her thoughts.
And then one day the girl made her weekly visit to a certain social networking site and noticed that several of her friends were now friends with... Middle School Crush Boy! After a moment of debate (given that he had known about her crush, and she'd hate for him to think she was now some kind of stalker), she decided to go ahead and send a friend request. The girl's sister then scolded her, and the girl was all, "WHAT? I'm not trying to date him. It's just nice to reconnect and see what people have been up to."
And then two days passed, and she'd received no response, and she oh-so-briefly (and oh-so-irrationally) felt the sting of rejection once again.
And she marveled that technology has, apparently, advanced so far as to be able to transport her back in time.
June 30, 2010
» the birds
This morning, as I was about to leave the apartment complex parking lot, a big bird (a falcon?) and a normal-sized bird (didn't see what kind) swooped into view in front of my car before flying off straight ahead. Now, I've seen this kind of thing before, and I tend to think that the smaller bird is trying to distract the bigger one away from a nest. This time, however, they had gone maybe thirty feet when the falcon snatches the smaller bird right out of the air(!!) and goes to land in a nearby tree. Seriously, the smaller bird lost a few feathers.
I stared wide-eyed after him/them for several minutes. Then I thought, "This doesn't bode well" for the shift I was about to begin at work.
As it turned out, the small bird was the only one who had a really bad day. :moment of silence for the bird:
eclectic is part of rusted-crush, with grateful acknowledgement to these sources
