Steph's Stuffs

It's been forever since I posted here ... lately it's been all snippets on Facebook. I feel a little guilty about that -- LJ has the feel of a classic novel to me, while Fbook is more like a trashy paperback. Easier, faster, but not a lot of thought or meaningful content. Of course, I also have dozens more people on Fbook from all areas of my life to connect with, and that's both good and bad. Sometimes you have stuff you want to say that you really don't want heard by your coworkers or your yoga buddies, you know?

Why is nothing around the house ever simple? Our latest adventure: "Our couch is pretty old and grungy" has now morphed into "Let's get a new living room set, chuck the old stuff, spackle and paint the walls and ceiling, rearrange everything, and hang new drapes ... and do it all in four days!"

This keeps happening because our house isn't new, and because once Mark REALLY gets an idea in his head, you need a bulldozer and three elephants to get it out. As of right now, our former family room sleeper-sofa and the coffee table that dates back to our first apartment together are gone (to the first person that would take them for free). The new sofa, love seat, and coffee table arrive tomorrow between 11 and 2. The remaining furniture in that room is clumped in the center of the room and tarped. All the baseboards, light plates, and ceiling fixtures are off, and there is one coat of spackle on all the various nail holes and dings, and one coat of paint in the corners and around the outlets.

Of course, all the contents of all those shelves and cases are strewn about the dining room and (other) living room, so there is no easy place to sit. I'm occupying half a chair while typing. I'm still putting off breakfast until I figure out where the heck I can sit to eat it.

And Mark is golfing. *sigh* Not good for my patience. When he gets home, we have to sand the spackles that need it; do a second "cut" coat around the corners and plates; do a first coat on the ceiling and walls; and hopefully, won't need to do a second coat.

If the first coat is enough and it dries in time, we can put the baseboards and face plates back up tonight, and our neighbor can help him move the heaviest pieces of furniture into their new places. If not ... well then, I'm back to work tomorrow morning (where my computer is still crashed and IT is still on vacation) and Mark has to figure it out on his own, before 11am. I can't tell you much I *don't* want to come home from yoga at 8pm tomorrow and find furniture still in the middle of the room.

Did I mention we still need to reroute the cable in the basement so it comes up on the other side of the room before we can hook up the TV, which has to happen before we re-assemble the entertainment center? And that we still need to iron our new drapes that go across the sliding glass doors, a total of 7 floor-to-ceiling panels?

With any luck, Wednesday after work I'll be putting the contents of the shelves and cases back ... and Thursday morning I drive Mark to the airport. He'll fly to Florida, help Anthony pack his car, and drive back with him ... they should be here by Sunday, my day of silence. And his girlfriend arrives from Nevada the next day for a 4-day visit.

Stop the world, I want to get off!!

We're leaving for vacation in Florida Saturday morning, so tomorrow I need to make sure I've taken care of everything I can at work up through the 17th. This includes drawing three winners for our Valentine's Day raffle at 3pm, and hopefully connecting with each of them before 5pm and making arrangements for them to get their prizes.

I've also found out that they are resealing the floor in my building tomorrow, so I won't actually be allowed into my office. I'm set up to take over one of the empty offices for the day, but I won't have access to one or two pieces of software, including my donor database. I'm racking my brain to make sure I take everything I need out of my office today (like, the jar full of raffle ticket stubs) in order to do my job tomorrow. Also, I will only be able to access my email through the Internet, so I can get new messages but can't see any old ones.

Did I mention I have my six-month review tomorrow?

Then in the evening I need to get my car washed (hubby doesn't want it to sit for a week covered with road salt), change the cat box, make sure all the bills are paid through the 20th, hand over keys to the catsitter, and all the other fun things that come from leaving for a week.

I'm going to need a vacation just from preparing for vacation.

A sickly feeling in my stomach, like "what did I do now" or "what awful thing is about to be dumped in my lap that I have no choice but to deal with?" How sick I feel depends on who's talking, whether it's a friend or my boss or my husband or a coworker, and whether or not we get along in general. Facial expression and body language has a lot to do with it, too, whether their expression says 'I need your help' or 'I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but...'

It's my favorite "only in San Francisco" story.
If you've ever ridden the outbound subway in downtown SF at 5pm, you know the cars are half-full at Embarcadero, nearly full at Montgomery, and completely packed by Powell. They don't free up again until Castro, when half the people get off.
So one day a young man got on at Embarcadero and settled himself somewhere in the middle of the car. The car filled up to the gills, as usual, but apparently the man's stop came before it emptied out again. Afraid of missing his stop while trying to squeeze past the jam of people to the doors, he called out "coming out! coming out!" to which a male voice at the other end of the car trilled approvingly, "well good for YOU, honey!"
The rest of the car broke into laughter, a reaction I remember thinking would have been quite different in many other cities I've known.

I know this looks like the same thing, but it's round 2! So if you voted before, please visit and vote again! Or for the first time, whatever you like!

Fashion Meme
A: What accessories do you wear every day?
watch (it's almost always the black Timex with the stopwatch feature), engagement ring, wedding ring, 3rd year anniversary ring.

B: What is your beauty routine?
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion ... that's about all I would consider a beauty routine, aside from the usual soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. I don't even use any hair products unless my 'do is really being unruly.

C: What was the last item of clothing (for yourself) that you purchased?
A pair of black "car wash" pants to wear to a charity gala.

D: Do you use a dresser, closet, or both?
Ha! I use a dresser, a closet, three drawers in a nightstand, three drawers under the bed, and a set of cubbies for shoes. And whatever doesn't fit there goes into the guest room closet and dresser. And I still have one or two boxes of "infrequently worn clothes" tucked into a corner. I have trouble letting go of clothes.

E: What type of earrings are in your ears right now?
None, actually. I frequently forget to put any in.

F. What type of figure do you have (measurements)?
Ummm ... I'm generally in really good shape due to yoga, but I do have a little bit of a kangaroo pouch that I'm still getting used to after 10+ years. 5'2" and 145, how's that?

G: Do you wear glasses?
Contacts every day ... sometimes glasses on the weekends.

H: What type of handbag do you carry?
I only carry a purse because the size and quantity of things I need to carry has increased as my available pocket space decreased. So I try to keep it as small as possible, and I don't generally spend a lot if it looks nice.

I: What is your ideal style?
Comfortable but professional, and multi-function whenever possible. Stuff I can walk into a Board meeting with or carry large boxes while wearing.

J: What is your favorite brand of jeans?
Gap Long & Lean. One pair of those jeans started a fashion revolution for me.

K: Do you wear knee-hi stockings?
Yeah, a lot. I hate wearing heels with bare feet, and I really don't care for nylons.

L: Do you *have* to wear matching lingerie?
If by "matching" you mean all pieces should be made of some kind of cloth, yes.

M: Do you wear makeup?
I didn't for a long time, now I will put on a little eyeliner and mascara about every other work day.

N: Do you wear nightgowns?
Big sleep T's, yes. More often it's an oversized T and boxer shorts.

O: What outerwear do you put on when going out on a typical winters day?
As little as possible. A good coat, for sure; scarf if I want to; gloves or mittens if I need to; hat or earmuffs if I absolutely have to.

P: What is your favorite perfume?
I don't really wear perfume, although I do like certain scents in general.

Q: Is your motto "quality over quantity" when it comes to clothing and accessories?
It is these days, I'd rather spend $40 on one good piece than $10 each on four pieces that won't last more than a year.

R: Do you wear rain boots?
No, the closest I come are snow boots that have been waterproofed.

S: Do you wear socks or slippers when your feet get cold?
Depends on which is closest! But generally slippers.

T: Do you have a set of travel luggage?
No, I have a collection of unmatching suitcases and bags.

U: What is your daily uniform?
Workdays, a nice pants and blouse combo with maybe a blazer; weekends, T's and hoodies with jeans or yoga pants.

V: If you are married, did you wear a veil with your wedding dress? If not, how did you do your hair?
I did ... my hair was very long at the time, I had a row of satin roses that crossed the top of my head like a hairband, and then a pouf of fine netting that circled the back of my head and a long veil that fell from there to my waist.

W: Do you wear a watch?
Always. Preferably one that tells the time, the date, the day; and has chronograph, stopwatch, and alarm functions.

X: What item of clothing always makes you feel beautiful?
Probably a really good pencil skirt.

Y: What is your favorite type of yarn?
I don't knit, so ... natural fibers as opposed to polyester?

Z: Do you prefer zippers or buttons?
Depends on where they're placed. I tend to like one where you'd expect the other (ie, shirts that zipper, pants that button).

Okay, I may be opening a big ol' can of worms with this one, but ...

If you saw me in a police car, what would you think I'd been arrested for?

For the person who has everything ...

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/search/processRequest.do?Ntt=talking+jesus&requestURI=searchMain&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&N=0

He even recites Bible verses!

I hate being sick.
It's some sort of sinusy thing that means some snuffles, some coughing, but right now it's mostly nasty headaches that don't seem to get better with anything (steam, ibuprofin, acetominiphen, TheraFlu, Sudafed, nada). And of course blowing my nose just often enough that my poor schnoz is all red and sore and starting to peel.
This started at 10am Friday morning, in the middle of a meeting at the CES offices. I made it until 2:30pm on a combination of Kleenex, APR, and ibuprofin, but finally had to call it quits while I still thought I could do the half-hour drive home. I laid low all weekend long, sleeping as much as possible, lots of liquids, TheraFlu every four hours (it was helping a little back then) and I thought I was better by Monday. Not great, mind you, but good enough to go to work.
I made it through the first 2 hours of my 3-hour Monday morning meeting and then started to slip. Once out of the meeting I took another TheraFlu, but it didn't help the headache. Then I started getting way overheated and I was worried my fever from Friday had come back, so I took a walk outside in the 55 degree weather with no jacket to cool off. That worked, but my head still felt overstuffed. By 2pm I was pretty useless, so I cleaned it up and went home.
Hubby convinced me to call in sick today. He's probably right, but I hate this. I hate feeling useless and thinking of all that work sitting at my desk not getting done. If I had online access to my work files I could at least be getting my databases cleaned up and prepped for the new software. Instead I'm doing sudoku and watching cartoons (at least until the baby stuff came on) and drinking cup after cup of tea.
Why does taking a sick day seem so appealing when you're well, and sucks so much when you're actually sick? Maybe that's the trick, only take sick days when you're *not* sick ...

Office wear has always been something of a bear for me, as almost every company has a dress code but almost none of them really spell it out. They usually insist on "appropriate" clothing -- and who wouldn't want to dress appropriately? -- but they leave it at that, causing wide gaps between what one person and another feels is appropriate. At my current job, one of the Directors wears clothes that I actually find mildly inappropriate: miniskirts, shirts showing a great deal of cleavage, etc. If she were a 24-year-old receptionist, maybe. But a 40+ Director? It's hard to take her seriously in some of these outfits, never mind the problem of getting inadvertant glimpses of things I really don't want to see.
But I can't really throw stones, as I often wore things in the past that nudged at the border of appropriate (and in some people's opinion, I'm sure, left that border in the dust). These days I'm fairly business casual, although on our 'dress-down' days I might go as far as capris or cargo pants, if I don't have a meeting. Many more blazers than I used to wear, heels maybe two or three times a week, no minis or low-cut shirts. (Save those for the weekend!)

I posted this a week or more ago, as family only, but neither Mark nor I got a response. Now LiveJournal is telling me that some systems don't support custom security levels, and I'm wondering if no one ever saw it at all. Family, weigh in?
-----------------------------------------------------
My darling hubby is looking to get me something for my birthday that will allow me to play my digital music files on my car stereo on the way to and from work. My car has a radio and CD player, but no mp3 jack. He's found something that will work with an iPod Nano or somesuch, but right now I only have an iPod Shuffle. He's leaning towards buying me both the Nano and the cradle that works with it, but that would put him over the budget I set for birthday buying (and it seems a little silly to me to buy the Nano, which I don't need, just to make the other thing work).

I said I would poll my tech-savvy sibs to see if there were other options we don't know about, secret Apple clearance sales, whatever. Oh, and he found something that supposedly works with the Shuffle, but he says for $9.95 he doesn't trust the quality.

So if any of you care to share your expertise, you can reach him directly at *******@aol.com and/or at ******@mvcc.edu ... I don't want to ruin the surprise further!

Well, today's the day. After months of planning, I'm finally going today for a weekend retreat at the Kripalu Center in MA, to study with my teacher's teacher, Sri Dharma Mittra. There are about 20 students from my yoga center going this weekend.

I'm excited, and nervous, and a little scared. Just the unknown, you know? Also I keep hearing these stories from other advanced students who have studied with Dharma in NYC, about how they worked and worked until their muscles ached and he still asked for more ... but I'm trying to remember that in yoga, asking is never demanding. And while some people really need a teacher that will push them beyond what they think their limits are, *I specifically* need to remember that I am the only and ultimate authority on what I can handle, and I should never follow a teacher's instructions if my own body and spirit are crying to me to stop and rest. That's not to say that I won't find myself stretching my own boundaries this weekend, but at regular intervals I will really need to check in with myself and say, "is this ok? can we try holding this pose a little longer? or do you really need to rest a minute?" I'm too likely to ignore my own needs for the sake of the teacher's if I'm not careful.

And I try to keep in mind that the Kripalu Center listed this program for all levels, not just advanced students; and that from everything I've heard, Dharma is very kind and gentle, and would not want me to push myself to the point where I'm missing the real yoga deal, which is strengthening the union between my body and mind, spirit and breath, self and world.

I should also have plenty of time between the scheduled classes to sit in the sauna or whirlpool, walk along the lake or swim, nap, meditate, do mantra, read, or whatever else. I have a 50-minute massage scheduled for tomorrow night as well. This is probably the most I've ever spent on myself for any one thing (excepting my car). I'm still a little horrified at what I'm spending for my own enjoyment and growth, for "unneccessary stuff" as I still think of it sometimes, but I'm also a little proud that I've come far enough to be able to commit to something like this without too much second-guessing.

Now I just need to figure out how to kill the next two hours before I meet my carpool group at the yoga center ...

Well, the first two weeks at my new job have been very intense, very encouraging, very challenging, and very exhausting.
The entire first week was sort of immersion training -- not only did I meet with just about every manager and senior staff person one-on-one, I also spent a lot of time actually working alongside the staff with what they do. That included three hours in Enhanced Day Hab, the area that works with people with the most profound disabilities. Most of that group do not have language skills, most do not have fine motor skills, and about half are unable to walk on their own. Some don't even feel gravity the way the rest of us do, or have any ability to distinguish where they end and other people or things begin. Being so big on communication myself, it was tough spending that much time with people who have so little way to communicate what they are thinking and feeling.
Later I worked on all the production lines, helping out in the textiles department, sorting pins, assembling Halloween kits, and all the other contracts they are currently working on. There's such a tremendous range of functionality in the clients/consumers here, it's amazing to see.
I guess I'm the last of about six new managers that have been brought on board, and that means there wasn't office space left by the time I got here! But they are working on a new plan to rearrange the front office space, possibly even knocking down some walls, and once that's all done they assure me I will have my own office. For now I'm sharing with four other gals, all Physical or Occupational Therapists, that work with the consumers all day. That's not so bad, but sharing one computer (and a real dinosaur, at that) is really limiting what I can do right now. Until I have my own computer, I don't have a working email address or access to files on the server. I didn't get a phone until this last Monday, and I finally got some file folders yesterday, so it's coming along slowly.
Monday we have a three-hour meeting of the "Administrative" group, and I'll share with them what I think is most important to start working on, and what from my job description is best tabled for another six months, a year, two years. On the 20th there are Board meetings for each of the two entities here, and I'll give them a revised version of the same.
The Executive Director here is already lining me up to take his place on the Leave a Legacy group up here, and has had me apply to get into Leadership Oswego, a nine-month course of study. The Annual Gala is November 22, and aside from the date, location, and entertainment, almost nothing has been done on that, yet.
So I'm going to be busy. Some of the stuff that always turned me off about management positions -- the endless meetings, the long and painful approval processes involving dozens of people, the need to dress for appearance as well as comfort each morning -- I'm still trying to adjust to. But everyone here seems very open and honest, no one is working with a hidden agenda that I can tell, there's no backstabbing or undermining each other while pretending to be nice. Everyone honestly seems to be ready to work together to move the organization forward in the best direction possible, and they all seem very happy that I'm on board.
I'm well on my way in my new adventure ...

Despite the fact that she's supposed to be on vacation this week, my supervisor decided to come in today. She emailed this morning to schedule an 11:30am department meeting ... and then didn't show up for it. (She told *her* supervisor that she told us she was running late, but of course she didn't.) She waltzed in around 11:54am, while I was trying to help the new gal run through the daily batch before the deadline.

With my farewell luncheon set for noon, she called me in to her office for a "private" meeting at 11:57am. She asked me to fill her in on what I'd been able to get done in the last two weeks -- despite the fact that I'd emailed her that information earlier, which she said she reviewed, and handed her the exact same info on paper when I walked into her office. Then she offered her services if I ever needed her to "open doors" for me at my new job, since she lived in that county and had worked there previously. Hello? *I* got the job, you didn't, I don't think I need *your* help to open any friggin doors!

Then, at my farewell luncheon, she decided to make a speech about how everyone was going to miss me, and what a good and dedicated employee I'd been, and how everyone wishes me the best in my new job. It was so hard not to throw something at her, or even roll my eyes. I tuned out as best I could and just hoped she'd shut up quickly. Arrggh.

Of course, after the free lunch was over, she decided to leave again ... but not before I found out that an invoice I'd submitted to her for approval, for almost $1,000 for one of our good vendors, has been sitting on her desk for 2-1/2 weeks. All she needed to do was sign it, but in 13 business days she hasn't found time for that yet.

I can't imagine what my poor coworkers are going to go through without me following behind her, cleaning up her messes, fixing her screw-ups, and reminding her of things she was supposed to do weeks ago.

Today's my last day at my old job ... it still doesn't seem quite real, yet. I've spent the last two weeks cramming as much info about my job as I can into poor Becky without making her head explode. And writing up what it is that I do daily, weekly, monthly, annually, and as needed, and adding as many hyperlinks as I can to help them find stuff. And cleaning four years' worth of crap out of my computer, PDA, flash drive, desk drawers, and files. And notifying my contacts, peers, media people, etc.

This morning I got my TB shot (whimpered a little, but overall it went well, considering my history) and they all seemed really excited for me to start on Monday. Apparently I have neither a computer or a permanent office yet, but it sounds like I'm spending most of the first week in orientation and training anyway, so I don't think it will matter much. I can't wait to get in and start learning!!

I got the wonderful, awesome, amazing job I was interviewing for, I start on July 28. I already gave my notice on Friday to the top two people in the organization but today I get to tell my direct supervisor (the main reason I'm leaving). I'll need to get a TB shot annually for this job, which made me really nauseous and terrified when I found out, but I'm determined to find a way to make it happen.

Mother-in-law and stepson have been visiting for a few days, and we've all eaten such rich food from restaurants that last night we stayed in and had soup and grilled cheese. Hard to pace yourself when there's so much to celebrate. They're here until Wednesday morning ... and on Wednesday afternoon I have an elective medical procedure which, aside from the anesthetic needle, should be no problem at all. And they're giving me Valium to help with the needle part.