I'm in Love

Ok, don't get excited. It has nothing to do with the search for Big Love. It has to do with my job's near perfection being marred by working with a total dumb ass. You ask how? Please allow me to explain.

Well, as many of you know, I currently teach with a total dumb ass. Words cannot express how much he makes my head hurt. Examples would only touch the surface of how bewilderingly stupid he can be. There are no descriptors descriptive enough to get across what I think of him. However, if you need examples please go here, here, and here. (Actually, it's probably not even worth the effort, just go with me, he's a dumb ass.) This year there is a new teacher at the middle school teaching Journalism. She is intelligent, funny, hardworking. Blah, blah, blah. Today she came by to spend the day seeing what happens at the high school level etc. She mentions that the previous teacher had given her a shout out that she was coming back to town. (Feeling her out as it were for job options.) I stare at Mercy with the wheels grinding so hard smoke was coming out of my ears. I have an idea.

I say,"That is great, she could come back and take the middle school job, and you can take Scoobie's job." From that point forward we were done for. All we could think about was what needed to happen to lose Scoobie and how MUCH FUN we would have working together.

Seriously the only bad part of my job (ok, besides the occasional totally wacked out parent) is having to work with a newspaper adviser that sucks. I have had teaching jobs with someone I really got along well with (here the closest I've gotten is teaching one period of English teaming with a teacher I love, but that doesn't fully fit the bill) and it can really make a job tons better no matter how good it is to begin.

We have now solved the problem of whom would take her place at the middle school, now I just have to get Scoobie out. I called my Josten's man, and he was downright ugly.

"No," he says. "I'm not going to help you, then I'd have to work with him." Ok, fine, good point.

But I say, if you could even find out about job openings with schools that use that other crappy ass publishing company, then we could get rid of him AND you wouldn't have to work with him. He snorted. So wrong.

I'm telling you Mercy and I had a great time all day. We have lots in common, we live near each other. We think alike (scary for many, I know.) It would be so much fun. Sigh. Dream, dream, dream.

Stay tuned. We will continue to formulate the plan.

Why did I get out of bed?

I'm not even sure of where I should begin . . let's do this topically.

Financial: Total mess. I got a bill this past weekend for my gas bill. It seems the last time I paid my freaking bill was November. I'm pretty sure it is because every bill I have gotten since November has been outrageous so I think, I'm going to put this bill aside and call them before I pay, only I keep forgetting to call. So I get another bill and think the same thing. Now I have a bill that is almost $1,000. SHIT.

Oh, but that isn't all. I also got a bill from my alarm company saying gee you never paid so we have shut off monitoring. I called them and find out that since I only pay once a year, I haven't paid since 2006??? Are you kidding me? They couldn't give me a shout out??? So to start it back up I have to pay $250.00. Fine if I weren't in the middle of paying the gas bill.

When it gets warm I'm going to have to start working Harry Hines. I'm NOT FREAKING KIDDING. I mean I make a decent salary. Why can't I live within my means???? What is wrong with me?

Social: Need I go into detail? Suffice to say making arrangements to meet a fellow dater in this busy world is damn difficult. Especially when life keeps getting in the way. I couldn't get five minutes alone today to think let alone to say call any one and or get a call to make a plan. It probably doesn't help a thing that all I want to do is go to bed at the end of days like this. Auuuggghhhhh.

Have you ever had a person that you need to break away from but have trouble making it happen? I'm there. Have you had a friendship that just ended, but it kind of bugged you because you were like what the heck happened? Have one of those too, but I'm a total chicken and don't really want to deal with it even though it is bugging me.

School: Ah, always a good time. First, I got an email from a parent asking me when the senior ads meetings that we have each spring are going to be. I starting asking the kids. NO ONE KNEW. So, finally someone has the dates. Sure as shit, one of the dates is the night I have JUST MOVED my opera ticket to AND bought a second ticket for. Shit Shit Shit. I was ready to cry.

Second, senior ads, for the uninitiated into my life, are in the back of the yearbook. They are, literally, half the book. 8 ads managers and 500 sets of parents meet up for 3 weeks in the spring to do ads for the next years seniors. "Oh, Johnny we love you." "Oh, Katherine, you are fabulous and amazing." . . .with pictures. We make lots and lots of money. We used to make all the ad appointments on paper. Ridiculous. So I found a scheduling program and purchased it. It worked great for a year and then we started having problems.

Ok, fine, so I go to a different program this year. We've been using for camera checkout for the photographers. I'm trying to get stuff ready for ad sales, and the program is skitzy. In case you are wondering, the program is Office Tracker

Side note: All I ask is that if possible fit into conversations with everyone you know that this company has one tech guy, one sales girl and an inability to take care of business. In short, they suck pond water.

and the program was ok, but their service SUCKS. I don't need more people to talk to me like I'm stupid. If I need that shit I can call a relative. Seriously, we couldn't even add names to the program and they talked to us like we were totally annoying.

So, I found another program. These people are at least really nice, but still getting it all set up is practically killing me. I am so frustrated and annoyed with all of it.

Third, in the meantime, I am trying to upgrade my Adobe Indesign. I called to upgrade and Adobe tells me that they can't sell to education institutions. I have to call a third party vendor. OK, fine. So I call Jostens (the company that does our yearbook and that usually I LOVE.) Spoke to a woman who doesn't listen to me and is totally condesending. Really? Not to be to bitchy about it but I'm running the largest yearbook in the country with one of if not the biggest publishing bill. The truth is even if I was a baby book I'd be pissed to be talked to that way. So, I talk to her boss. Who again, doesn't really listen. I don't actually care if I can get an upgrade or adobe is wacked out and insists that I buy all new versions. We have the money. I just want the programs. Is it really that difficult?

Now, it was, without a doubt, a crappy ass day, but I do have to say that without the BF being there as I thought I would start screaming and crying at the same time and without Daisy who very, very sweetly agreed to go to Taco Cabana (please note we chose a totally cheap place since as afore mentioned I AM TOTALLY BROKE) to get something to eat and a much needed marguarita I would not have survived the day.


photo illustrations by moi but all original images snatched from the internet.

Fun with Nails

This weekend I hit the end of my proverbial rope with my nails. I mean they are short, stubby, ripping at the base. It is awful. So cruising around killing time with Daisy, we spotted a nail salon and decided to go in. There isn't much that can be done when your nails are short and worthless, and since I have been on a dating kick I figured if I'm going to do something extra, nows the time, right?

I have posted before about the joys of the nail salon. There are many posts that can be made from these experiences - Cha cha, you find the well of creativity drying up . . . I say go get your nails done!

I have loved the You Tube clip of comedian, anjelah johnson talking about the nail salon ladies. Mostly because she nails (no pun intended) the average nail salon employee.



Please be aware that when I sat down to have the solar nails done, An (that was her name) promised me, and I quote, "Don't worry. I make you look beautiful." Thank you that is all I am asking to have happen.

So, the process begins.

I realize there are ladies out there loving their long ass nails. But seriously, how do they get anything done?? I even shot a vogue pose.

After gluing them on, they sent me over for my pedicure. I tried to get pictures of Daisy, but I kept getting the stupid nails in the picture and it was hard to work the camera. Oh, and the massage action was on the chair, so the first three pictures were totally blurry until I realized what the problem was. After the pedicure was finished, I returned to get more work done on the nails. (Yes, those are pink camo pants I'm wearing.)
The rest of me didn't look any different, but I did really like my nails when she was done.
As we were getting ready to leave, I stopped long enough to get this guy working on the base of the desk. Apparently there are other uses for nail polish that we don't always appreciate such as hiding flaws in wood or laminate as the case may be.

Daisy started filming the process, and we talked about what was happening etc. As you can see, it didn't work, so you just get the realization that it didn't work. So much for professional videography. I enjoyed the part where An (girl doing my nails) took her face mask off because she didn't want to be on youtube with the mask on. I kid you not. AND we missed the part where she buffed my nails with an electric buffer and nearly buffed off a layer of skin. oopsy.

Cookies and some such

Where my intense dislike of cookies and my ability to do chit meet in a fiery blaze of WTF. So there is a blog that amuses me to no end. Miss-Ann-Thrope. I'll admit to a great extent it is because she throws dirty words around like a dog shaking off water. She's got style, she's got pizazz, she's funny.

Ok, so to comment on her blog you have to actually be a member. Turns out some people actually have soooo many people reading their blog that they have to keep freaks from getting on and commenting rudely and such. I, to say the least, do not have this problem.

At any rate, I have had huge problems logging on, getting it to accept me etc.

In the meantime, I may have already mentioned, I got a new laptop that I adore. In setting it up, Daisy and I discovered we have different "cookie" styles. Whenever I get the little message that a website wants to set a cookie, I immediately say no, not just no, but hell no. Daisy, on the other hand, kept yelling at me as we were setting up to let things set their cookies or my chit wouldn't work. Well, I realized this morning that apparently the reason I can't get Miss Ann Thrope's stuff to work is cause her site has asked me to set cookies and I have quickly and without a backwards glance responded with hell no. Sigh. Guess I might have to not be so quick on that.

Silly Dogs

It was a cold January morning when I looked out my window and saw both of the dogs sunning themselves. Are they crazy? Did they not know that they would do much better staying inside where the heat is on?

This weekend I thought I would get some video of the hellion and her companion playing. When I started the video, Buddy was on a chair behind me. So his first move was to jump on me.

Mostly, you just see how goofy the silly dogs are. Enjoy

How do we get anything done?

I walked out of my office yesterday to this:
It is amazing, as always, that we manage to produce the largest yearbook in the country. How do we do it? Cause, really, we aren't doing diddly most of the time.

My latest addiction

I tried to go back and find the post that I knew I had written after I had an energy drink this past fall. I drank it too fast, my face turned bright red and it started burning like no other. I hauled my ass downstairs to the school nurses and tried to not freak.

The post is nowhere. I can't believe it. Afterwards, one of the kids drew a photo to help me remember the magic moment. Really. I looked just like this. The energy drink in question is Slam. It is really good stuff. I have to confess frequently when I write about being a whirling dervish it is, in part, courtesy of my little magic potion.

The addiction part is that I can't stop drinking the stuff. ('Cause that is, after all, the very definition of an addiction . . .can't stop.) Every day I have to have my Slam! Sometimes I yearn for a second one, but since I think I can't sleep at night cause of the first that I sometimes drink a little late in the morning, it is probably better to not succumb to my desire for a second.

Please note the photo below is a little blurry. That is because I took the photo right before drinking it, and I was starting to get the shakes from withdrawal.