Oct 31, 2009

Not a Typical Halloween

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I feel like Halloween was/is kind of a bust this year.  I didn’t really like my Halloween blog theme all that much.  I started to customize a new design about a week ago because I wanted to be ready to switch to it on November 1. But, once I was done customizing it, I was way too excited about it to wait until Sunday.

My work canceled trick-or-treating and thus … decorating.  The management team is worried about the swine flu.  They’ve been putting all kinds of procedures in place to help limit its spread at work, which I’m very thankful for.  They had the employees vote on whether trick-or-treating should remain the same or whether the company should just send the employees home with treat bags for their kids.  The latter option won.  I was a little bummed and a little relieved at the same time.

Because trick-or-treating was canceled, I decided not to go all out on a costume this year.  And, because my brain slugs were a big hit and are so awesome, I decided to wear one again this year.

I feel like I’ve changed a lot over the past year.  I decided to take a picture with the brain slug on my head in as close to the exact same position as possible as last year’s picture.

Wearing a Brain Slug (2009)

I think you can tell I’ve lost weight when looking at these pictures side by side.  It would’ve been better if I had full body shots, but I don’t think my face is as full as it used to be.  (I wonder if that’s because my hair’s longer.)

I haven’t posted an update about my weight loss for a while so I guess now is as good of a time as any.  I have almost lost 40 pounds. I’m trying to decide what I want as my reward for hitting my second benchmark. But, I have a couple of weeks to decide if I continue to lose weight at the same rate I have been.  Do you have any ideas?

I’m really worried about the holiday season that’s approaching rapidly.  My cravings for sweets have become stronger over the last month.  I’ve had a very hard time saying no to things and I feel like my resolve is slipping.  Don’t get me wrong; I really want to lose the 60 pounds I’m still striving to lose, but I don’t feel like my motivation to have self control and to exercise is as strong as it was.  I’m hoping with Daylight Saving Time ending on Sunday, I can get back into exercising before I go to work in the morning. Then, all I’ll have to worry about is my self control with my eating habits.

By the way, happy Halloween!

Filed Under: Blog, Getting Healthy, Holidays, Weight Loss, Work · 11 Comments
Oct 24, 2009

My Workspace

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Yesterday, I posted a new picture of me on my Facebook profile.

My Facebook Profile Picture

I took these pictures with my Macbook while I was at work yesterday.  Fridays are a little more relaxed than most days because I’ve usually finished my weekly projects by then.  This week, I decided to take a couple of minutes to goof around.

Anyway, when my friend Debbie saw my photo, she noticed the picture of Jack Skellington on my wall and said she’d love to see a video blog of my cubicle. I thought this was a great idea, except the only ability I have to record video is with my cell phone, an old Nokia 5300.  I decided it was going to have to do, but I’d supplement it with some pictures too.

As you can see (sort of), I have an L-shaped cubicle.  And, because I spend most of my life at work, I have completely personalized my workspace.  I want to feel comfortable and at home while I’m working.

Full View Close up of My Monitors Magnet Board

My magnet board doubles as a dry erase board.  I have a few Twilight-inspired magnets I received from Debbie–her husband Tarl designed them.  I also have a couple of magnets my co-workers have brought back for me on some of their trips.

Not only have I personalized everything on or in my cubicle, I have customized my Desktops too.  Right now, I’m sporting Halloween-themed backgrounds.  Next week, I’ll probably change my background back to my Ewan McGregor collage. Who wouldn’t want to stare at his pretty face all day!

My Awards Travel Magnets Jack Skellington and Favorite Comics

In 2001, I received the Support Tech of the Year award and in 2003, I received the Team Schein Award for my work with certification.

I used to travel a lot.  When I traveled, I wanted to bring back a souvenir of each place I went, so I chose magnets because they wouldn’t take up too much space.

While I was in the Support department, my team decorated our cubicles like The Nightmare Before Christmas for Halloween.  I drew the Jack Skellington on my wall as part of the decorations.  Jack Skellington is one of my all-time favorite fictional characters so I had to keep my rendition of him.

Filed Under: Work · 4 Comments
Oct 15, 2009

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

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For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, my work has asked the employees to wear pink to show support.  They’ve done this for the past three years and each time they’ve taken a picture. (Unfortunately, I don’t have a copy of the picture from 2007 or 2008.)  I have participated all three times because even though wearing pink is such a small gesture, it means something to someone somewhere.

Filed Under: Work · 3 Comments
Oct 12, 2009

Grammar Help

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In May, I talked about my search for creativity and how I feel like my job as a technical writer has sucked my reservoir dry.  I also stated:

Creative writing’s so different than technical writing.  Sure, the same basic concepts apply to both, but the audience is different.  With creative writing, the grammar’s a little more relaxed since it’s supposed to be more conversational.  Also, a lot of grammar rules are more “styles” than actual “rules” and trying to differentiate between styles is often hard when you don’t have a strong foundation in grammar.

Even when I write a blog post, I feel like I have to dot every “i” and cross every “t.”  I want to follow the stylistic choices we use at work because that’s what I’m used to writing with now.  I have a hard time being relaxed and funny because it doesn’t seem proper.  I don’t feel like I can just let things flow the way they want to flow out of my head.  I want everything to be perfect, barring the minor mistakes you expect someone to make.

Even though I still feel like I have to dot every “i” and cross every “t” and I still feel like I don’t have as strong of a foundation in grammar as I’d like, I know I’m learning and that’s what’s important.  However, because I don’t feel like I have a strong foundation in grammar, I decided to do something about it.

My co-worker Roger has a printed Chicago Manual of Style.  (For those of you who don’t know what the Chicago Manual of Style is, it’s a set of style guidelines for writing, whether it be creative or technical.  And, most people in the publishing industry consider it to be the standard.)  During my breaks, I’ve been borrowing Roger’s manual to become more acquainted with the styles and guidelines in it and I feel like it’s been a tremendous help.  I understand some of the grammar concepts I’ve never been able to fully grasp before.

Because I didn’t want to keep borrowing Roger’s copy, I looked into getting my own.  The manual is $55, which is a little too expensive for a book right now.  So, I decided to look into different alternatives and to my surprise, I discovered that the Chicago Manual of Style is online! It’s subscription based, but one year’s subscription is less than the cost of the printed manual and I can try it out for a month for free.  I immediately signed up for the trial and I feel like I’ve already got my money’s worth if I had signed up for the subscription, which I plan on doing when my trial’s up.

Filed Under: Musings, School, Work · 4 Comments
Aug 7, 2009

“Good News, Everyone!”

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I thought I’d post a little good news to combat all the bad news that’s been going on. Also, bonus points if you know where the quote in the title comes from.

I’m a little less stressed today.  I worked long hours, or it felt like long hours, yesterday and got most of my project done.  I should be able to get the rest of the stuff done today without any problems.

Our car isn’t going to die, thank goodness.  However, our air conditioner, that was just fixed a month ago, is gone for good.  Summer’s almost over and we still have a car that runs.

And, finally, Froyo passed its inspections! Not without incident, but it still passed.  We thought the building inspector was bad.  He was a lamb compared to the health inspector! His boss was really nice to work with and we’re glad he was available yesterday.  Otherwise, Froyo would’ve failed our health inspection too and, again, not for anything substantial. It’s over and done with and we’re glad about that!

I bet everyone wants to know when the big day is.  We’re not positive. We don’t have an official date for the grand opening so I’ll post something when we know for sure.  However, the store will more than likely open tomorrow.  (I’ll post an update later to let you know the final word.)  If it doesn’t open tomorrow, we’ll open on Monday.  Corey just wants to make sure a few last-minute things get done before he decides to open the doors for business.

Anyway, thanks for all your support and patience!  We really appreciate it!

Update: We’re going to open on Monday just so we don’t feel rushed.  We open at 11:00 am!

Filed Under: Business, Life, Work · 4 Comments
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