FlipSide:Starting December 17, 2001

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A journal of the trials, tribulations, and
triumphs in the life of a woman in the 21st century.

Last Updated : Wednesday, December 19, 2001 09:45 PM -0600

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Monday, December 17, 2001

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After a weekend of guests, shopping, and excesses better left to the imagination, she's again wiped out. It's a monday kinda thing. But, to keep at least one of you happy, here's some pictures of the unboxing of the long-awaited box this evening.

Tuesday, December 18, 2001

My office is attempting to cut me off of my seasonal lifeline, caffeine. They have posted a "No Caffeine" sign on my door. Kinda like a "Do Not Feed the Animals" sign. Unfortunately for them, I am not dependant on someone else feeding my habit. I am fully capable of supplying caffeine myself. Despite Eva's empty threat (I hope) to circulate my picture at all the coffee shops in a 10 block radius to prevent them from serving me. Actually, I am currently considering main-lining the stuff. Just a nice coffee IV drip. Or Diet Coke. You see, I am beyond tired. I am running on very low sleep. It all started with my "restful" weekend.

Friday was the company Christmas party. A 7 course meal. Very very very good. John describes it on his post of last Friday night, if you want to see the menu. (One caveat, his unsophisticated palate doesn't do justice to some of the courses, especially the very delicious lobster bisque, which, although tomato-based, was much definitely more complex that "tomato soup with chunks of seafood in it".) Since a 7 course meal takes a great deal of time to serve, we didn't finish eating until after 9 pm. (It is especially long when you take ALL the plates away with each course, even the ones that weren't t used. I kept wanting to stop the waiters saying "NO! That plate's clean. It can be used again!" And rather than refilling my coffee cup, they kept bringing me new cups of coffee. Man, I don't even want to contemplate the number of dishes they washed back there!) In my old age, my system has developed a dislike of going to bed with a full stomach, so I was up until 1 am. Since we had a babysitter, we had originally planned going out somewhere for coffee and conversation, but frankly, after that meal, we didn't want to go anywhere where we might smell food. SHUDDER. I couldn't even walk in my pumps. After that meal, I felt so full, even my feet felt bloated. Next time, I will know better how to pace myself.

I was up by 9 am Saturday, as we had overnight company coming and I needed to get to the grocery store and I foolishly thought I could get a batch of Christmas cookies made before their arrival. NOPE.. Amazing how long 3 stops can take. Got home about 15 minutes before my company got there. After I made some steaks and macaroni and cheese for dinner (hey, there were kids involved!) we headed out to the Mall of America. John has pictures of that excursion as well. [insert link to John's MOA pictures] After we got home from MOA (we actually closed the joint down, and they don't close until 10 pm on weekends in Christmas season), I made up one of those overnight breakfast casseroles, "Southwestern Egg Bake" and some caramel pecan rolls for us to pop in the oven in the morning. So it was 2 am when I went to bed Saturday night. (Starting to see a pattern here?)

On Sunday, it was back to the mall for more Christmas shopping. This time, the more manageable Burnsville Center. We bought gifts for our adopted family and then split for the annual "family shopping." Every year, we head to the mall and split up, one female in each group (required for tastefulness. Rhiannon may only be 8, but she is quite capable of reining in her father's more base shopping instincts.) Hence, Rhiannon goes with John, Jack with me, and we Christmas shop for each other. I also managed to sneak in some of my remaining purchases under the kids' radar. Pretty impressive considering said offspring can spot a Disney Store logo from all the way across the mall. Then it was home to finish putting together the Christmas cards. I finished the addressing and John did his part by stuffing and licking all 60 envelopes. (He drank about a gallon of water and walked around with his tongue hanging out of his mouth the rest of the night, ala dogs and car windows, but, hey, he got the job done.)

And that brings us back to the work week. No, nothing horrible has happened, unless you count the fact that for the past week I have been working on entering in the 800+ insurance policies from a defunct insurance company. There is my companies pot luck on Thursday and John's on Friday, with laundry squeezed in there as well. We leave for Iowa on Friday late afternoon. Once there, there is the excursion to get the tree, last minute shopping, and cooking and baking. I think I will get to sleep sometime mid-January.

Wednesday, December 19, 2001

In the interests of educating the masses of upper management types out there who have not yet accepted who REALLY runs their office, here is a list of gripes by the people who make you look good by ghostwriting your letters, correcting your grammar, acting as your sounding board before meetings, keeping your calendar, making your reservations, setting up your meetings, and generally presenting your professional face to the world. Even you IT types out there probably have some sort of administrative support who makes sure you get paid, runs your office, and translates your "techese" to the rest of the world. Appreciate them, please.

Top Ten Reasons Why Administrative Staff Curse Upper Management

10. Rush projects at 4 pm ("I know it's late but could you stay and do this little thing for me...")
9. Christmas Cards that sit on the desk until mid December
8. Procrastination (not mine)
7. Software upgrades without enough research
6. Changing finished documents after 850 copies have been made
5. Too much blame and not enough credit
4. Closed door and secrets that aren't secret
3. Being your boss's keeper yet not knowing where the #$^@# they are
2. Shooting the messenger

And the number one reason...

1. Being caught between managers who don't talk

Now, I am lucky to be in a company that has regular meetings of the support staff, where we can vent and share tips on coping with the vagerities of upper management. Best yet, our gripes, when necessary are transported by the VP of HR to senior staff so they can mend their ways. I have not always been so lucky. If you supervise people, please, take a moment to think how your actions "roll downhill" to the person who's sole purpose in their professional life is to make your life easier. Please don't make their job more difficult. That's a lousy way to reward their hard work. BTW, my boss does appreciate me. I'm lucky, she even brags about me to other management (I've heard her do it!) I've even heard her defend me to other staff too. Gotta love that.

Ah. I feel a bit better now. You see, today after a letter to 850 policyholders had been approved by all involved and 850 copies made, 2 of the management types involved decided they wanted to add a deadline. Great idea. 2 days ago when they approved the final copy. When I told one of these gentlemen that we already had 850 copies, his response was "It's only $8 a ream paper." Yeah, and my time and how many trees! Luckily, a fellow member of the support staff had the absolutely brilliant idea (that incidentally kept me out of jail for multiple homicide) of putting a notice with the due date above the fold on the other side of the letter, so it was the first thing they saw when they opened the envelope. Everyone was happy. Of course later, the guy who almost got killed earlier came back after this was done came back and asked if I could add our companies web address. I just looked him in the eye and said "NO." I give the guy credit, he took it gracefully. Then again, I probably had what John called "the look of death" in my eyes too. The sad part is, he's a nice guy, so I can't hate him. He's just stupid when it comes it understanding just kind of labor gets put into a mailing this size.

Everyone here is all the more lucky that I have had my caffeine today, despite Eva's ongoing campaign to cut me off. If I hadn't had an extra large turtle mocha this morning, surely murder would have been done. First of all, I made the mistake of entering the mall last night. It was absolutely insane. Everyone running around, desperately trying to find last minute gifts. Normally intelligent adults were, in desperation, picking up strange and obscure items like "Scooby Snacks" with the delusion that they were the ideal gift for Uncle Fred. And here Jack and I were, just picking up an ordered DVD and some Christmas stockings from the Dollar Store, caught like crabs in a tidal wave. After taking far too long to run my errands, I called John and said it was too late to cook, should I pick something for dinner in the food court? Silly me, I thought everyone could agree on one restaurant. Oh no, John wanted Arby's, Rhiannon had to have Ziti from Sbarro, and Jack could not be content with anything but Subway. Well, hell. Then I was getting Chinese. So, laden with bags of food, Mrs. Field's cookies Jack had picked out for dessert, my Christmas stockings, and my single, simple DVD, we head to the gift wrapping area to thwart my eldest's eagle eyes. And again, we wait. Sigh, I finally get home around 7:15. After the children had been fed, Rhiannon bullied into the shower and her homework done, I put them to bed. I thought the worst of the evening was done.

I was wrong.

You see, our power flickered and went out last night at about 10:45. Right around when John was about to post our daily musings. Of course he hadn't saved yet. A few seconds later, half of our power came back. But of course, not the power for my refrigerator or chest freezer full of meat, computer, or alarm clocks. So, John makes a few phone calls. Vents to the apartment's answering service and the power company (who really wasn't at fault, but hey, the idiot who answered the phone didn't even know he what company he worked for, so he deserved the abuse on general principle.) After talking the situation over with the puzzled maintenance man, we decided to go to bed and hope my little battery operated travel alarm would be loud enough to wake us in the morning. Around 1:15, of course, the lights came back on and I had to get out of bed and shut them off. Morning came way way WAY too early.

So much for feeling better. I just found out, as we were folding and stuffing the 850 envelopes, that senior staff has found what looks to be a critical omission. The letter will probably need to be redone. So now there is a committee of staff looking over the letter. And, of course, they still want it out by the end of the week. Keee-rist. I give up. I think I will take January 2 off. And maybe January 14, since I just found out John's company wants to fly him to Tempe, Arizona January 14-16. They want to get him a company credit card to pay for it. Fine, as long as it doesn't open MY credit. Not with me going through the motions of buying a house, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

As a little pick-me-up for my crappy day, I took the Peanuts Quiz on Leslie's site. . . I scored a 20, making me . . . Snoopy! Here is what they say about my "engaging personality" after deep, intensive testing.

Snuggly Snoopy
(18-25 points)
Energetic? Check. Adorable? Yep. Loads of fun? You bet-just like everyone's fave beagle, you've got the charisma to woo anyone over. Plus, you just love having a good time, no matter what. We guess that your bubbly personality keeps your friends laughing and smiling, just like Joe Cool does for the Peanuts gang!

That'll make your day better, now won't it.

On a serious note, I was reading MSNBC today when I came across this article from the Wall Street Journal. It seems the Taliban was far more hypocrital than previously believed. The Taliban, especially the foreign born Pakistani and Arab Taliban, made a regular practice of abducting teenage girls and woman to use as sex slaves. Some were used by high ranking officers. Still others were sold to other Arabs (not an unknown practice in the Arab world, although not as common as it was in previous centuries) for use as concubines and to help raise money for the financially strapped Taliban government. Homes were broken into and the daughters pulled screaming from their families' arms. And these families, who were frightened for themselves and their loved ones if they spoke, are finally starting to come forward and ask for help looking for their sisters and daughters, some of whom have been missing for 5 years or more, hoping against hope that they are alive and still in Afghanistan. My heart cries for the mothers and fathers of these girls. I can't imagine my daughter pulled from my arms in such a way, never to see her again. Is there a greater hell than that? Please, if you are a so disposed, say a little prayer for these girls and their families. And remember them when you are counting your blessings this Christmas season. I know I will. And I will hug my daughter extra tight tonight and thank God that I was born in America.

Thursday, December 20, 2001

Friday, December 21, 2001

Saturday, December 22, 2001

Sunday, December 23, 2001

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Copyright © 2001 Ann Dominik. All rights reserved. Complaints about the technical details of this page can be directed to the abused geek who takes care of it for me, and is grossly underpaid for what he does, he thinks. No reproduction without written permission. The opinions and content of this site are my own, and not the responsibility of this site's host, my employer, my pets, my parents or anyone else you may care to blame. Please respect my opinions and I will do the same for you. I may on occasion publish e-mail to me; if you do not wish your mail to be published, please write CONFIDENTIAL or DO NOT PUBLISH at the top of the e-mail. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please note that as well. If you're incapable of reasoned civilized discourse but feel compelled to correspond with me, I'll be happy to filter your mail out after a few choice comments regarding your ancestors, upbringing, and the likelihood of your family tree not

10.	Rush projects at 4 pm ("I know it's late but could you stay and do this little thing for me...")
9.	Christmas Cards that sit on the desk until mid December
8.	Procrastination (not mine)
7.	Software upgrades without enough research
6.	Changing finished documents after 850 copies have been made
5.	Too much blame and not enough credit
4.	Closed door and secrets that aren't secret
3.	Being your boss's keeper yet not knowing where the #$^@# they are
2.	Shooting the messenger
And the number one reason...
1.	Being caught between managers who don't talk