Help Wanted

WANTED:
A couple of burly men (who like free food and beer) to help me unload a moving truck. Must reside or be willing to travel (for free food and beer) to Indianapolis Feb 18 or 19. Serious inquiries only.

Movin' on

Well, I did it. I turned in my resignation today. In less than 3 weeks I will be living in Indy. It hasn't sunk in yet... will someone please pinch me?!?

Moving Hassles Part III

Today, I received my "overflow shipment" (i.e. we couldn't get it right the first time and lost your stuff, so now we're going to take 3 times as long to re-unite you with your remaining items), and it was interesting. They brought my desk top which is awesome so now I can actually put my desk together, but they also brought in a weird basket. I told the guy that it wasn't mine. They didn't believe me. Now, I would know if I had a style lapse and bought that ugly thing, but no... it was in my lot, so it had to be mine. I had to explain that it may have been the right lot number, but the item number was too high. They also tried to give me a table. It was a nice looking table, and some may say that I should have taken it, but that would be stealing. I just feel sorry for it's rightful owner. It was in MN, now it's in IN, and I bet they live in AZ or something.

Moving Hassles Part II

When I received notice that I was to be transferred to the big E-ville, I arranged for a moving truck to come pick me up. The closest date they could do this was July 6th, even though my last day in Minneapolis wasn't until July 11th or something, but whatever, it was the busy season. So my items were put into storage, and then brought to me. Even though I moved into my apartment here on July 20th, they couldn't bring me my items until Aug 2nd. Not terribly bad. When they brought my items, the movers had several damaged items, such as my couch, my amoire, and my dresser mentioned in "Moving Hassles" (Part I), along with some missing items such as the top to my desk. I immediately called in the missing items, and submitted my claim for the damaged goods on Aug 19. Slowly but surely, I've gotten the damaged items fixed as much as they could, and the desktop was found in Minnesota. I think they found it in the beginning of September, but they didn't call me to tell me, I had to call them. I've called several times to get it delivered, but it hasn't made it out of Minnesota. The operations planner told me that it has been scheduled for several trucks but never made it on.... Who's ass got fired for that???
Anyway, it will be 5 months this week that I have been without a desktop and it's really getting on my nerves to sit on the floor with a keyboard in my lap. I think I'm calling BBB.

Tornado

I have survived the big wind. The tornado was about 2 miles from me and I heard it go by, but I slept through most of the storm. From what I understand, that's why there were so many fatalities. No one was awake to hear the alarms. All in all I feel pretty lucky for not being harmed, but my heart goes out to everyone who has lost a love one.

Thank you everyone for your calls and concerns.

It's odd to see Evansville IN on national news.

Who in Arkansas doesn't own a gun?

An excerpt from a recent conversation with my Andrew....

"I just love the Bengal's pregame animation... You know, after the coin toss, where they show the bengal tiger prowling through the ancient ruins with the Bengal's greats of the past... and then they show the tiger tearing apart the flag of the other team. Then they play 'Welcome to the Jungle' and it just gets me so pumped! If I knew I was going to wrestle a 5-point buck, then I would watch that, and that deer wouldn't have a chance!"

I don't think I will ever make soup with dinner anymore... the conversation between it and the main course is very strange.

I don't know anyone at Duke

A random article that in no way relates to my life or anyone I know...

..."In relating the history of the troublesome house at 203 Watts St. On the Trinity Park listserv, Durham police officer Mark Gottlieb related an incident in which a resident of the home, Jason Matthews, met with three police officers on Oct. 5.

"[Matthews] stated he has been arrested four times now and cannot afford to keep going to jail," Gottlieb wrote. "He asked what could be done to decrease complaints from the neighbors and allow the residents to continue to enjoy a social life. We explained to him that people need to be respectful, clean up after themselves, keep the noise down, and not drink or urinate in public.

"It's a little surprising that someone smart enough to be a Duke student couldn't figure that out for himself. But we're sure it was a sincere request, and it sounds like the police officers gave some pretty direct and valuable advice. Did Matthews follow it?Nah.

Three days later, the police were called back to 203 Watts St. A party was taking place at which students were drinking, screaming, blasting music and urinating on neighbors' houses. When a neighbor objected to trash being thrown on her lawn, someone threw a beer bottle at her. It missed.

And what of Jason Matthews? Chalk up arrest number five. Maybe the next time he should write down those helpful hints and keep them handy. "...

Week's end
The Herald-Sun
Oct 15, 2005

I wonder if those 5 arrests also includes the arrest in Spain? Wait, this story is in no way related to my life or anyone I know...

Germans

I am amazed at the number of exceptional people who have come out of Germany. Not that I have anything against Germans, they are lovely people, but the culture has put a great burden on those wanting to excel. My pet freshman called me earlier this week from this great country, and he informed me that instead of the American culture of addressing someone with their highest title, such as Dr. Morin, instead of Mr. Morin, they use all saluations. Say I were to go on to get my PhD in Chemical Engineering, obtain my PE, and go to teach at University of Berlin. I would then be addressed as Doctor Professor Engineer Sara. Actually, it would be more like Abstreichmesserin Professorin Chemikerin Sara... or something. Why would you want to put that type of burden on people. No one would ever want to talk to you for fear they would forget one of the titles!

Calling all Victoria's Secret professionals!

I was graciously given a 4-day weekend from my employer, so today, I spent in Chicago doing housewife-y things while Andrew was at work. I started my day with some laundry. I had brought some with me, and Andrew also had a lot to be done. I’ve informed the dear boy that I will not be doing his laundry again until he invests in a laundry basket. I lugged a HUGE canvas bag stuffed full of dirty clothes down to the laundry room, and nearly took out my shoulder. And then after washing, drying and folding all the nice clean clothes, I had to shove it all back into the bag to transport it back up to the ninth floor. While I was folding, I remembered an article I had read recently about organizing underwear drawers. The article basically said that once you organize your underroos, you can take over the world. I'm not sure how true this is, but it did bring up a question in my mind.

How many people actually fold their underwear?

Personally, I'm big fan of the splashes of color co-mingling with out barriers or chaperones, but the idea of a neatly organized drawer of undergarments intrigues me. While this may be TMI, I like my panties like I like my bras; cute, but full coverage. So this brings up an even more intriguing question.... How do you fold a thong?

Cracker Barrel

This past weekend, Dianna was visiting in Evansville, so after a hard 3rd shift, we went out to breakfast. My, was it an experience.

First, we were seated at a small table near the main walkway, and on this small table was the tip left by the previous occupants. When the hostess sat us, she took the tip (only $1), and put it under a salt shaker at the edge of the table. Now, as hostess, she knows which waiter/waitress is assigned to each area, so when she made the effort to move the tip, why didn't she just give it to who it belonged to?

So then our waiter (a young man about 20-22) comes by and says, "...mumble... I'll be right back to take our drink orders..mumble." Why? We are 2 people, and it's only the drink order! Anyway.

The drinks came, and our meals were ordered. It took a bit longer than it should have to get the food, but when it came, Dianna had asked for sausage, but bacon was brought instead. So, the waiter said, "Sorry, mumble mumble mumble, I'll get you your sausage... mumble."

The sausage comes out with a friendly, "mumble mumble mumble niner mumble" from the waiter. Dianna and I just look at one another.

As we ate, our liquid refreshments begane to dwindle, and like a good waiter, he noticed, and told us, "I'm going to go eat my protein bar, then I'll be back to fill your lemonade and coffee."

HUH??? Do we need to know when he needs to eat his protein bar?

It gave us both a good laugh.

Oh, and that tip on the table, it was left during our whole meal.

Yes, I am still alive. I finally got internet in my apartment, and Andrew hooked me up with WIRELESS! I like it a lot! Anyway.

My prayers go out to all the Katrina victims. I can't even watch the news anymore because it just breaks my heart. I hope that all of your loved ones are safe.

Off again...

So for those of you who don't know, I moved to Evansville IN this past weekend. Good times, and extremely hot! New addy... if you need it, let me know, but the cell phone number is still the same. I did see the cutest thing the other day. A mama duck and her 6 ducklings were crossing Evansville's largest road. I'm happy to report that they made it across safely! If you want to come down to visit, you're more than welcome to, but be advised, I don't actually get my belongings from the moving company until Aug 1. Also, I won't have any cable or internet until then I think, but the library has been a great resource for me thus far.

Airport Drama

As I was sitting in Terminal 3 of CVG today, I felt a little hungry so I decided to go over to the BBC (Bluegrass Brewing Company), which I do not recommend. First, I stand outside the door next to the sign I thought said "Please wait to be seated." Several times one of the waitresses just kinda stared at me. I was thinking to myself, "Aren't you at least going to greet me and tell me that someone will be with me shortly?" But no. Finally, after standing there for about 10 minutes without anyone talking to me, I look at the sign again and it actually read, "Please seat yourself." So, I can't read, but that doesn't mean that as one of the waitresses passed me, they couldn't politely say, "You can seat yourself, ma'm." So I asked said waitress if I could just sit anywhere, thinking to myself, please show me where your section is so I know where not to sit. So I pick a table and sit down. My waitress wasn't much better. She let my water run out 3 times, waited 20 minutes after I was finished (and reading a book) to bring me my check, I watched her eat waffle fries that had fallen off of someone's plate and on to the counter, and she kept calling me "hun". So, if you ever find yourself in Terminal 3 at CVG, just go to McDonalds.

Thunderstorms

Thunderstorms. Either you love 'em or you hate 'em. I'm in the first category. I love to sit and watch the rain coming down, hear the thunder and catch the occasional lightning bolt flash across the sky. I think they are great. I heart thunderstorms!

The main reason why I did not become an ME

People often ask me why I became a chemical engineer. I give them the generic, "I was good at math and science and I liked chemistry in high school." But no one has ever asked me why I chose chemical over mechanical, and electrical. I think the following story sums it up nicely.

A few months ago my shredder stopped working. I started to pry the plastic cover off of it. I'm not sure what I was going to do once it was off though. I thought I would see a bad connection or something and fix it with my invisible sodering iron. At any rate, I couldn't get the cover off, so I gave up and just went out and bought a new one. I told Andy that he could have the broken one because he's way better at the whole mechanical thing. He's not that great at remembering to take things that are hidden in my closet, so needless to say, it's still here.

This morning I went to use my new shredder, and it wouldn't work. I tried a different outlet, and it still wouldn't work. So I took it off of it's little waste bin to see if there was anything stuck in the little shredder teeth. It was then that I noticed something. There is a little switch along the side which fit into a slide on the side of the waste bin. Kinda like the switch on a washing machine. I made sure the shredder was squarely on the waste bin, crossed my fingers, and turned it on. And wouldn't ya know.. it worked.

So I got the old on out of the closet, and did the same thing, and now it works. A little "cosmetic" damage, but still running well.

I should learn how to trouble shoot better. :)

Backbrace

As I was flipping through channels, I paused on Maury to see something I could not believe. There was a woman on with 65MM breasts. Now, it's no secret (even though I've tried to keep it one) that I am not a flat-chested girl, but 65MM!!! Each one of her breasts were the size of a basket ball! And she wasn't a big lady... she looked like she actually had a pretty small frame over all, but it's hard to see past all that boob! I just kept thinking to myself, How is she standing up straight???

I hate people

There's this guy at work who doesn't do anything. Literally, doesn't do anything. He's a union hourly worker who comes in at 4:30am even though he's not supposed to be there until 6:00am. Now, he gets paid for these extra 2 hours even though none of the other employees are paid before their shift starts. Why do you ask... because he imputs the electronic time cards. If that strikes you as wrong, it's because it is. And you may be saying to yourself, "What does he do for that extra hour and a half?" Simple. He sleeps. He sleeps from 4:30am until 6:00am and then again from about 9:00am until 11:00am, and then again from 3:00am to 4:00am. During the rest of the time, he's sitting outside smoking or playing slots on the computer and bitching about something. So why do they keep him around? I'm not sure. There are a few tasks that only he does, but that doesn't mean he should. He does the shift paper work which the supervisor should be doing, he does another report which the accountant should be doing, and he does the electronic time cards, again, something the supervisors should be doing. Why is he still around? That's because he's been there for 44 years and he's supposed to know everything. Truth is, he doesn't know jack shit. And I'm not saying that I know everything, but I do know that the only things he says is stuff that other people have said to him. Basically he's an overpaid parrot. How overpaid? $100,000/yr overpaid. I really wonder about this company sometimes

Hotels

So recently I've been staying in a lot of hotels. And I have to wonder... does anyone actually depend on the shampoo (and sometimes conditioner) that the hotel provides? I know that I usually just stick them in my bag, as a bonus, but I never actually use them. When I go on a trip, I make sure I bring my own. Maybe it's a girl thing. The idea that you are dedicated to one particular type of hair care products and you (and your hair) would feel extremely bad if you were to have a one-night stand with the sample-sized hotel version. Would hotels be better off leaving these items at the front desk and supplied on an "as-needed" biases? Or would then the customers feel cheated if they didn't have the 0.0005 oz of clean waiting in a small basket with the facial bar and a wash cloth?

Traveling

So I haven't blogged in forever. I think it's due to the fact that I haven't slept in my own bed more than 5 times in the past 31 days. But I have to admit, traveling is interesting. Like yesterday, I had a flight attendant that spoke about 3 words per minute. Talk about annoying. Or like my flights to and from Philly that were delayed 4 hours... each. Damn weather. I do have one recommendation for everyone out there. When they ask for volunteers to take a later flight, do it, but not right way. I signed up to take a later flight and ended up on my original flight... but in first class. Hot Damn. Everyone should send me some love!

Luggage

I will be going on a very long trip soon (2 weeks!) and I thought it necessary to buy a piece of luggage that would be able to hold everything I'll need while I'm on my little adventure. I hit my local TJMaxx for the largest piece they had. It's a 30" Samsonite with a built-in suiter, and a hangie thing for my toiletries. Today I was looking at it, just the size and features and whatnot, and then I thought to myself. "Hey, I bet I could fit in that." So what did I do... you guessed it, I laid down in the fetal position inside my new suitcase and pulled the top over it. I'm not sure how well I fit because no one was around to zip it up. My conclusion is that if it's big enough to hold me, then it's big enough to hold my stuff for 2 weeks.