Thursday, September 29, 2005
Un - Caffeinated
F decided that we should forgo coffee and drink orange juice with breakfast this morning. I readily agreed because I had thought the same thing yesterday. And it was my turn to make breakfast this morning and coffee is not my strong point. If anything I would say it is a weakness for me. Literally. My coffee is weak. I have been doing better, but I am sure a reprieve from my coffee is always welcome.
Apparently the lack of coffee preparation completely threw off my breakfast making abilities. I almost overcooked the bacon, and cooked it so quickly that I didn’t get the muffins toasted before it was done. I then dumped bacon grease all over my hand attempting to pour it into the grease cup. That felt good. Because I had cooked the bacon on too high of a temperature my eggs got done even faster than normal.
It was almost a relief for me when all the breakfast making duties were completed and I could sit and eat. Everything turned out fine, the eggs weren’t overdone (which is the most important part really.) But it was a struggle for me.
The lack of caffeine has affected the rest of the morning for me. And is still working against me. Usually I am raring to go when I get into work. I get lots of stuff done first thing. Not this morning. I had problems getting my keycard out of my purse. The doors wouldn’t open for me. I got to my desk and almost spilled my purchased coffee on my computer. Ack! I’m going so slow a snail would beat me.
The lesson here? Only attempt the minimum amount of anything until safely hopped up on the required coffee. Do not attempt to go without on a work day. Ever.
I’m addicted to caffeine. I think as long as I can safely admit that to myself I’ll be better off…
Monday, September 26, 2005
Cubes!
For some reason F decided that he should shower me with gifts. He decided on Cubes!
He bought me 3 in all -
Ann
Ted
And Art
Here’s the stock picture of the office:
I have some pictures of what I (we) put together, but they haven’t been downloaded yet…
I set it all up at work, so far I have gotten a couple of comments and lots of people shaking thier heads 
Happy Monday!
Sunday, September 18, 2005
The end of the saga…
or, as I like to call it, the outcome of attempting to use cable internet…
In my previous apartment I used DSL provided by Qwest. I liked it. It was reliable, not too expensive and met my internet connection needs. Installation was super easy and even returning the stuff was simple. I’ve appreciated their services. F also used DSL in his former apartment and liked it.
But he was sucked into the advertising trap set by Comcast and decided when we moved into the new place that we would try cable internet service.
Needless to say, it was horrible. We had to wait for a technician to come and do the install, which meant one of us had to stay home from work for 4 hours. Because that is the best they can do. A four hour window. Hm. Regardless, F stayed home, got all the stuff and began setting up our internal network. Yeah. It didn’t work. And when I say it didn’t work I mean to say that the connection we received was slower than dial-up. We were paying for premium internet service, up to 6 megs and couldn’t even achieve what we could get through a regular phone line. Needless to say we were not happy. F was very angry and took to moping about the apartment almost listlessly. It was a sad sight to behold.
Trying his best to work with the cable company he called them to see if they could fix the problem. He also emailed them. They requested him to take another half day off of work to sit in the apartment so one of their technicians could come and trouble shoot the issue. Uh-huh. Right.
So, it turns out that we should not have been getting a signal at all. The technician stated that no one in the building would be getting a clear signal because, apparently, the building was not correctly wired for cable internet service. Hmmm. Our next question was, if the building is not wired and they are unable to provide service, why are they selling it?
F was very patient; he attempted to continue to work with Comcast. He spent time on the phone, emailed them and waited. They informed him that they had fixed the problem to the best of their ability and if he wanted they would send a technician out to work with our network to get it working. Uh-huh. Right.
He cancelled the service with Comcast.
Friday our DSL package arrived from Qwest. They actually are offering a new service that rivals that of Comcast. And get this, it actually WORKS. The install was easy, took F about an hour to set up everything exactly the way he wanted it and we were off. When he had finished getting his computer set up he actually did a happy dance. It was the first time I had actually witnessed the dance and I was pretty impressed. I would much rather see the happy dance than the moping.
So, moral of the story, stay with the good service that you know instead of switching for the flashy advertising. Qwest has really come through with their new “Spirit of Service” model. They even figured out a way to lower my monthly phone bills when I called to have the DSL installed. It was great. Bad Comcast, Good Qwest! Using DSL gives us better connections and it is cheaper than cable.
Plus I got to see the happy dance.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Halloween
Yes, I know it is mid-September, but really Halloween is just around the corner and it’s imperative to start thinking about these things early.
Especially when you work with a group of people who seem to take the holiday very seriously. Very Seriously.
So, being the good co-worker that I am, I asked what the theme is. It’s 70’s. Cool, I thought to myself, 70’s, I can do 70’s.
Except that I have realized that I’m not so sure I CAN do 70’s. For one thing, I was born in the 70’s, late 70’s and therefore don’t remember the decade. I don’t know how they dressed, how they acted, what they ate, nothing. All I have in my head is this discombobulated picture of some hippies at Woodstock. But wait, wasn’t that the 60’s? I have a dress that I believe my mom got on her honeymoon, I think its 70’s, but it doesn’t fit anymore so it really does me no good.
I’m really not sure what to do about this one. I know that I should be shopping now, finding a great costume is never easy, but I haven’t the faintest idea what to look for.
This would be so much easier if we had all decided to come as famous rappers…
Monday, September 12, 2005
I no longer like the dentist
I’ve been going to the dentist ever since I had teeth. I’ve never really been bothered by it, it’s something you have to do every six months. It’s not a big deal. At least it wasn’t a big deal.
It all started a couple of years ago when my dentist informed me that my implant was infected. This little bit of information caused almost 2 years of pain and ~$5000. I was okay through most of it. I was okay when I found out my dentist was leaving town, leaving the state. I was okay trying to find a new one.
I haven’t been that okay with the new one.
First impressions are a big deal. A really big deal. And the first impression I had of this particular dentist’s office was a very bad one. The regular hygienist was out of the office and they had a temp in. (I thought I blogged about this but I can’t find the entry, I am thinking I was so traumatized by the event that I couldn’t even write about it.) Basically she tortured me in a way I didn’t think was possible. I was literally crying when I left.
The new hygienist is better, at least I don’t cry, but she is pushy in a completely different way and I am starting to get tired of it.
You see, I had a root canal done last year. It was on a fairly good tooth; the tooth had a small cavity and for some reason, decided to die after the dentist filled it. My dentist at the time told me there was plenty of tooth and I didn’t need a crown. Since he hadn’t steered me wrong before, I trusted his judgment. My new hygienist doesn’t agree. Last time I was in they sent in a predetermination of cost to my insurance company to see how much it would cost because I told her I couldn’t afford it. I told her, very specifically, that I would not be taking time off of work and I could not afford to pay for a crown. I’m not sure what the deal was, but they called me once a month for the next 6 months to try and schedule the fitting. Even though I had clearly told them “no” from the beginning.
This time it was more of the same. Stop drinking coffee your teeth are stained. You need an electric toothbrush because I am having to scrape too much plaque (even though my cleanings are far quicker then they have ever been before, with much less scraping!) And, when are you coming in for that crown? This all comes from the hygienist. When the actual dentist comes in she doesn’t say anything about the color of my teeth or about needing a crown. In fact, today she said that the tooth looks good and I shouldn’t have any problems with it the way it is now. At least not for awhile, the same thing my old dentist said.
So, I am contemplating finding another dentist, just to get away from the hygienist who is so pushy it drives me crazy.
I don’t like dentists anymore.
As you wake in the morning
What do you feel?
Does a rush of happiness
wash over you when,
Suddenly, you realize you are alive?
