Saturday Entertainment, or how I survive tax season...
Recent searches which have lead people here:
1. Blog+lawisfun (Thanks! Just mark me as a favorite...)2. Officer caught having sex
3. Bar character & fitness
4. Demon dogs + CTA (referring to the flap between Demon Dogs hot dog stand and the CTA)
5. New Lenox & ugly
6. Fun for George Bush
7. Having sex with dog is considered (this guy came from the UK. Makes me wonder about people there.)
8. Hot couple having sex (nobody I know would fit that description, me included. Sorry.)
9. Law student + smoker
10. Tax law blogs (no, no, no. This is SO wrong...what a boring blog that would be)
11.New Lenox Mustangs (go Mustangs!!)
12. Desire to fuck my mother-in-law. (I'm sorry. Can I recommend a therapist? I have one as a client...)
13. Caught having sex. (Should I be noticing a theme here??)
I can just imagine the disappointment all those who came here to find a cheap thrill, only to find this blog. No, I can't. Wonder how many of them were doing this on company time??
While I can't help on the "hot couple having sex" thing, I can recommend a beautiful, intelligent woman's blog. And if you're (1) in California and (2) hiring (and not for something sleazy, either), she'd make a fine addition to your staff.
Saturday, April 05, 2003
Friday, April 04, 2003
The premiere (here, at least) of the Friday Five:
1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life? Three houses, two apartments. One house was with a friend who rented me a room. The other two were my parent's.
2. Which was your favorite and why? Apartment #1. It had a great view. I'll overlook the fact that it had no overhead cover, was located just below the elevator's ventilation shaft opening, and that that was like Club Med for pigeons, so that my balcony was always covered in pigeon crap. For six weeks, at least, I had a nice eighth floor apartment, with a great view. So what if the elevators only worked half the time? Details.
3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why? Stressful. Who doesn't? Packing all that crap up, then unpacking? Yuck.
4. What's more important, location or price? Ummm....location always costs big money 'round here. So, price comes first. Who cares if you have a great view of Lake Shore Drive if you have no furniture, and no money?
5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)? A BASEMENT! Although I'll admit, I'd also like a nice downtown place with a view. And a big, honkin', palatial house with a huge garage, a huge basement, and a yard that takes TWO landscape companies to mow. And a pool. And..........well, I could go on, but first I need the cash.......
1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life? Three houses, two apartments. One house was with a friend who rented me a room. The other two were my parent's.
2. Which was your favorite and why? Apartment #1. It had a great view. I'll overlook the fact that it had no overhead cover, was located just below the elevator's ventilation shaft opening, and that that was like Club Med for pigeons, so that my balcony was always covered in pigeon crap. For six weeks, at least, I had a nice eighth floor apartment, with a great view. So what if the elevators only worked half the time? Details.
3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why? Stressful. Who doesn't? Packing all that crap up, then unpacking? Yuck.
4. What's more important, location or price? Ummm....location always costs big money 'round here. So, price comes first. Who cares if you have a great view of Lake Shore Drive if you have no furniture, and no money?
5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)? A BASEMENT! Although I'll admit, I'd also like a nice downtown place with a view. And a big, honkin', palatial house with a huge garage, a huge basement, and a yard that takes TWO landscape companies to mow. And a pool. And..........well, I could go on, but first I need the cash.......
Thursday, April 03, 2003
I love my job, I love my job........
How many times do I need to say that before I truly believe it? Ok, my job isnt that bad, but it can be frustrating, especially around this time of the month. The third, fourth and fifth workdays are always stressful, since they mark the end of the month-end close period. Today was no different. As usual, I was up against the wall, having discovered a crucial issue shortly before final numbers were supposed to be posted. And as one would expect, I committed the ultimate sin - I made a mistake. Not a big one, but here in LaLa Land, all my errors are major. Fortunately, I wasn't alone, so it may get overlooked. Or else I'll get slammed in November again, as was the case last year. Got hauled into a meeting and told that a letter was going into my personnel file because I'd failed to adequately support my departments - in September. Actually, it was stuff related to August. Never mind that I was learning an entirely new position (and basically, no more knowledgeable than a new hire) or that I didn't want the position in the first place; no, the benefit to this sandbagging was that they could justify a lower bonus and merit increase, and thereby come in under budget for the year.
You know, my job is that bad.
So why do I fret over whether I should switch to full time or not?
How many times do I need to say that before I truly believe it? Ok, my job isnt that bad, but it can be frustrating, especially around this time of the month. The third, fourth and fifth workdays are always stressful, since they mark the end of the month-end close period. Today was no different. As usual, I was up against the wall, having discovered a crucial issue shortly before final numbers were supposed to be posted. And as one would expect, I committed the ultimate sin - I made a mistake. Not a big one, but here in LaLa Land, all my errors are major. Fortunately, I wasn't alone, so it may get overlooked. Or else I'll get slammed in November again, as was the case last year. Got hauled into a meeting and told that a letter was going into my personnel file because I'd failed to adequately support my departments - in September. Actually, it was stuff related to August. Never mind that I was learning an entirely new position (and basically, no more knowledgeable than a new hire) or that I didn't want the position in the first place; no, the benefit to this sandbagging was that they could justify a lower bonus and merit increase, and thereby come in under budget for the year.
You know, my job is that bad.
So why do I fret over whether I should switch to full time or not?
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
A new beginning (sort of)
So yesterday, April Fool's Day (of all days), was the first day of our new accounting system. I was cynical - I figured there would be huge numbers of errors, mass chaos, and God knows what else. But it wasn't that bad. Yes, there were issues, but for the most part, they seem to have been minor. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the week plays out.
Of course, hiding behind all this is the fact that we are a large (over ten million) amount over budget, and the scramble is on. The bad news is that we are only halfway there. So the guess is that sooner or later, there will be a layoff. If I'm lucky, sooner, rather than later, and I'll be a part of it. That would make my decision much easier........
In other news.........
I need the help of a computer geek. I have pictures from the barrister's ball that I'd like to post, but.........I have no idea how. Help!
So yesterday, April Fool's Day (of all days), was the first day of our new accounting system. I was cynical - I figured there would be huge numbers of errors, mass chaos, and God knows what else. But it wasn't that bad. Yes, there were issues, but for the most part, they seem to have been minor. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the week plays out.
Of course, hiding behind all this is the fact that we are a large (over ten million) amount over budget, and the scramble is on. The bad news is that we are only halfway there. So the guess is that sooner or later, there will be a layoff. If I'm lucky, sooner, rather than later, and I'll be a part of it. That would make my decision much easier........
In other news.........
I need the help of a computer geek. I have pictures from the barrister's ball that I'd like to post, but.........I have no idea how. Help!
Monday, March 31, 2003
Training Day...
Going to the office downtown used to be more enjoyable than this. Go to the second floor, flash the company ID, and tailgate your way in. Now, because of our buddy Osama, security is much tighter.
On the drive in this morning, I had two thoughts. Well, three actually. But two related to work. The third was figuring out how the hell I was going to return my tux from the Barrister's Ball. The first work-related thought was that I couldn't remember which floor I was supposed to be on - the 10th or the 11th. I knew one was today, the other in two weeks. I also didn't know how I was going to get up there. I'd heard about the new security gates, which required a valid ID to pass through. And even if I got past that, I'd need to get onto the floor somehow. But complicating things was the fact that it was only 7:10, and Jennifer wouldn't be in until 7:30.
I called her right at 7:30, and got her voice mail. She was checking messages, and I was fairly close to downtown. Traffic wasn't as bad as I'd thought. I'd given myself an hour, and only 32 minutes later I was about 15 minutes from being downtown. Fortunately, she answered the second time.
"Where are you? Are you taking today off?" she asked.
"No, I'm on my way downtown, and I need a favor."
"Sure. What can I do for you?" She was making light of my request, pretending to be solicitous as a way of being funny. I laughed.
"On my desk, under the org charts is my training schedule. Can you tell me where I'm supposed to be, the 10th or the 11th floor?"
"Sure, hang on."
While she went, I realized that I should have asked about the class start time and for phone numbers of the three people I knew well enough in the building who could let me in. When she came back, she had most of the info I needed without asking, and I realized I was going to be forty-five minutes early.
I parked in the Sears Tower garage, which didn't require an upfront payment like the cheaper lots. This was good, since I only had about six dollars on me. I called Jen back, and got the phone numbers. By the time I found an ATM, bought a latte (hey, some things are more important than others), and gotten through to someone upstairs, it was after 8:10. Armed with Diane's promise to let me in if needed, I went to security, and followed the right procedure. I still had to tailgate onto the right floor, but that was surprisingly easy. The person even held the door for me.
Training was relatively uneventful, as long as you don't count the three times I killed the power for the room. It wasn't really my fault; the room was laid out so that the power cords and LAN connections were at my feet, and every time I moved them, something went out. It got to be a running gag. In the afternoon, I moved seats, and took one that had opened up when the person realized they were in the wrong class. So was I, but no one told me until the afternoon. Seems all the nuclear people were having their own, special version of this class, but I couldn't recall anything in the email which said that. Oh well.
I took lunch out from the Corner Bakery in the Sears Tower. Security there was equally tight, if not greater. The entrance to the building, once fairly fancy, is now barren and marred with metal detectors. What a sad state of affairs. Maybe someday it can go back to where it was.
Training let out early enough that I could make it all the way up to Montrose and Milwaukee to return the tux, and back down to Loyola, without any problem. I even had time for a leisurely dinner. And for the first time in over a month, I felt prepared for a class. I actually was ready for Contracts, and got more out of class than I had in a long time. Well, not counting Thursday, when Professor Contracts couldn't make class, and her husband, a professor at a competing school, filled in. Would it be bad to say he did a much better job than her? Most of the class thought so....
Tomorrow is a big day. The new financial system goes live. And I'm wondering what disaster will strike. Stay tuned.......
Going to the office downtown used to be more enjoyable than this. Go to the second floor, flash the company ID, and tailgate your way in. Now, because of our buddy Osama, security is much tighter.
On the drive in this morning, I had two thoughts. Well, three actually. But two related to work. The third was figuring out how the hell I was going to return my tux from the Barrister's Ball. The first work-related thought was that I couldn't remember which floor I was supposed to be on - the 10th or the 11th. I knew one was today, the other in two weeks. I also didn't know how I was going to get up there. I'd heard about the new security gates, which required a valid ID to pass through. And even if I got past that, I'd need to get onto the floor somehow. But complicating things was the fact that it was only 7:10, and Jennifer wouldn't be in until 7:30.
I called her right at 7:30, and got her voice mail. She was checking messages, and I was fairly close to downtown. Traffic wasn't as bad as I'd thought. I'd given myself an hour, and only 32 minutes later I was about 15 minutes from being downtown. Fortunately, she answered the second time.
"Where are you? Are you taking today off?" she asked.
"No, I'm on my way downtown, and I need a favor."
"Sure. What can I do for you?" She was making light of my request, pretending to be solicitous as a way of being funny. I laughed.
"On my desk, under the org charts is my training schedule. Can you tell me where I'm supposed to be, the 10th or the 11th floor?"
"Sure, hang on."
While she went, I realized that I should have asked about the class start time and for phone numbers of the three people I knew well enough in the building who could let me in. When she came back, she had most of the info I needed without asking, and I realized I was going to be forty-five minutes early.
I parked in the Sears Tower garage, which didn't require an upfront payment like the cheaper lots. This was good, since I only had about six dollars on me. I called Jen back, and got the phone numbers. By the time I found an ATM, bought a latte (hey, some things are more important than others), and gotten through to someone upstairs, it was after 8:10. Armed with Diane's promise to let me in if needed, I went to security, and followed the right procedure. I still had to tailgate onto the right floor, but that was surprisingly easy. The person even held the door for me.
Training was relatively uneventful, as long as you don't count the three times I killed the power for the room. It wasn't really my fault; the room was laid out so that the power cords and LAN connections were at my feet, and every time I moved them, something went out. It got to be a running gag. In the afternoon, I moved seats, and took one that had opened up when the person realized they were in the wrong class. So was I, but no one told me until the afternoon. Seems all the nuclear people were having their own, special version of this class, but I couldn't recall anything in the email which said that. Oh well.
I took lunch out from the Corner Bakery in the Sears Tower. Security there was equally tight, if not greater. The entrance to the building, once fairly fancy, is now barren and marred with metal detectors. What a sad state of affairs. Maybe someday it can go back to where it was.
Training let out early enough that I could make it all the way up to Montrose and Milwaukee to return the tux, and back down to Loyola, without any problem. I even had time for a leisurely dinner. And for the first time in over a month, I felt prepared for a class. I actually was ready for Contracts, and got more out of class than I had in a long time. Well, not counting Thursday, when Professor Contracts couldn't make class, and her husband, a professor at a competing school, filled in. Would it be bad to say he did a much better job than her? Most of the class thought so....
Tomorrow is a big day. The new financial system goes live. And I'm wondering what disaster will strike. Stay tuned.......
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