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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2003
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8:25 pm - New stuff.
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I'm slowly growing tired of the unreliability of this site. It seems incredibly slow for me, and often times out. Therefore, I've decided to move to a different site. If you want to find me, bookmark my new joint. See you there!
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| Tuesday, July 1st, 2003
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10:46 pm - Mmm. Drugs.
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... these Alka-seltzer horsepills I took 20 minutes ago haven't kicked in yet.
"If you wanna be knocked out, take the giant purple or blue pills in the medicine cabinet!" Matt said, in a loud voice via Sprint PCS. The last I spoke with him tonight, he was waiting patiently for the "L" downtown. Gabe and him went to see The White Stripes. Matt had forgotten that Gabe got him a ticket. When he realized this, he tried getting me one, but alas, they were sold out. Ah, well. I'm sure they'll be around again, at some point. I'm glad Matt got to go hang with his guy buddy for awhile, anyway. I was kind of stoked to get the place to myself for a little, because I had all these domesticated girl plans-o-evil. Yes, it was going to be just me and the apartment. I was going to hang our clothes up that is taking up three laundry baskets stuffed in a corner of our bedroom. I could have taken the clean dishes out of the dishwasher. Even changed Gatts' litter. Guess what? Didn't happen. It didn't happen because I'm sick. That's my excuse, dammit. Thanks, Matt, for giving me your icky sinus crap. My throat feels like I've been chewing on sandpaper for the last eight years. So. I alka-seltzered, and I'm waiting for the "knock-your-ass-out-cold" feeling to take effect. 10:55. Still not here.
One more long day at work, and then a long weekend comes. Hurry up, tomorrow. Get here already. The sooner you're here, the quicker you'll go away.
Heh. Wow. All of a sudden, I feel a little... floaty. I love horsepills. And tuna.
current mood: fuzzy
current music: Someone else's air conditioner.
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| Monday, June 30th, 2003
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11:14 pm - Green thumb Jenn?
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I have one thing to say: Starbucks' caramel frappuccinos are incredible!
We went to Borders tonight and bought a couple books. Matt picked up Learning Python. We also grabbed McGee & Stuckey's Bountiful Container: A Container Garden of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers. After flipping through it while sipping my frappuccino, I've gotten some ideas of what I'd like to do for our (hopefully) soon-to-be illustrious garden. Meg has a lot of good ideas and has a great balcony garden going, if you want to have a gander. I'd suggest this for anyone who always wanted a garden but has limited space or is apartment living. Growing apples from a container! Who knew?
I'm happy to say the work front's going a bit better. Yet another long day tomorrow. At least I get off at noon on Thursday. Then it's off to Iowa for the weekend! I'm so excited! I get to see a lot of my family I've not seen in ages, including my dad.
I'm also going to start learning PHP. I've decided to get in touch with that technolusting geeky side of Jenn. Cam.. Matt? Hope you two are prepared to field lots of questions. *wink*
I'm going to go read the back of my eyelids. Matane!
current mood: excited
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| Sunday, June 29th, 2003
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6:34 pm - The midwest smells like Tide laundry detergent.
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So I'm sitting here at my new desk, cranked back in an old wooden office chair that belonged to Matt's grandfather, absolutely loving my choice for moving to Illinois. There are a number of reasons. The simple ones are the best, though. Love? Definitely. Midwest sunsets? Surely. Being able to see willow trees again? A big 10-4. The weekends never seem to last long enough.
Per your request, I have taken some pictures of our apartment. Hang on, boys and girls. We're gonna take a tour. We'll start with the living room. If I do a 180, we'll see Matt's work area, where he is currently hard at work. (He's a sick boy today, so wish him well!) From there, we go into the hall. If you take an immediate left from the hall, there is our kitchen. I love the balcony off the kitchen. It's Gattica's favourite spot, too. She'll sit there all day, mewing for us to take her out to the balcony. She's so happy out there. Her favourite thing is to roll around from side to side on her back. She gets so excited, she doesn't know what to do with herself. Anyway, on with the tour of Casa Gifford. Keep truckin' down the hall about a foot. To the right, is the washroom. (My. That was Canadian of me, now wasn't it?) The last room is the bedroom.
Oh. I nearly forgot. A geek's dream with a view. Minus Mac. (The Mac's coming soon, though!) I love this work area.
Enjoy!
current mood: calm
current music: chirp! chirp!
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| Wednesday, June 25th, 2003
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7:56 pm - Feesh heads!
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Heather has me addicted to taking some nifty digital pictures. Any guesses on what this could be?
current mood: crazy
current music: Star Trek in background on the telly
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7:23 am - Good morning to me?
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Ugh. I don't want to go to work this morning. Nothing like waking up in the middle of the night to discover Auntie Flo came a-knockin'. Great stuff, I assure you.
This is the last week of training, thank God. I'm ready to just go out there and do my thing. I discovered my cube yesterday. It's a lot smaller than the cube I had at the Oregon site, but it'll do. I sit next to this girl named... Heh... Wow. Suddenly I can't remember. I know her kid's name is Annamaria. Oh! Marianna. That's her name. Marianna Coccuciolo or something to that effect. I love the last name. It's fun to say.
I've been insanely busy. Last weekend was offically "Home Improvement Weekend", and we hit my my most favourite store ever to kick things off. We ended up making a list of stuff we wanted, coming home, and tried figuring out how we're going to rearrange things. The apartment is odd. I'll snag a picture of it for you or something. It's more long than wide, so putting things elsewhere is going to be difficult. Ah, well. If Matt ends up keeping his current job or finds something before September if he gets laid off, we might move to a little quaint town about fifteen minutes from here, called Elgin. This place rules. Well. Some parts, anyway. Not set in stone, but that's where we found our new parish.
Yuck. Time to pay my debt to THE MAN.
current mood: exhausted
current music: hum of air conditioner in bedroom
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| Friday, June 13th, 2003
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11:36 pm - 32 hours later...
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I'm back, yo. Things are great. Still don't have full internet access. Heh. Feels so weird to be sitting on the couch, watching Drew Carey, typing in my journal. Man, I love wireless web!
Matt and I went to dinner tonight at this cool place called The Ram. Let me just say that his Mini RULES! You can check it out at his website and stuff. I guess they're phasing out the velvet red colour on the Mini's. Oh. If you're into Minis or want to know more about them, you should check out Gabe's site.
Got lots planned this weekend. Gonna go to Ikea tomorrow, see Chicago, and go grocery shopping. I start my new job on Monday. I'm pretty excited. Oh, that's another thing we're going to do - do the drive to my new job.
I did find out that my grandfather has liver cancer. It doesn't look good, unfortunately. I don't know all the details yet, but should find out something this week. Please keep me in your thoughts.
Bedtime. Tired girl. Spent forever driving.
current mood: calm
current music: some food show on Chicago's PBS station.
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| Monday, June 9th, 2003
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6:25 am - The last day.
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It seems so surreal that in fifteen minutes, I will be leaving for work, and four hours later, I will be dining with my coworkers one last time. Then I will get in my car and drive home, never to return to he-.. I mean building C again. ;-) I'm happy, because tomorrow, I get to see the boy again. I am kind of bummed, though, in a way. I'll miss my coworkers, even though I got frustrated with them sometimes. I do need a change, though. Accepting it with open arms, baby. Tomorrow can't get here fast enough.
current mood: anxious
current music: Birds chirping in the trees outside my window.
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| Sunday, June 8th, 2003
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10:47 pm - Huh.
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| Saturday, June 7th, 2003
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10:37 pm - Who the eff?
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Okay, this has been a jim dandy night. I'm cravin' a shake. Where else to snag a shake, other than the Big B? So it's 9:58pm, I blow through the drive thru. "Holy crap, no wait!" I thought. Cos usually it's busy. Pull up to the menu/speaker. Instead of the usual, "Welcome to Burgerville, can I take your order?" This is the convo that ensued:
Burgerville employee: .... *background clang, noise, clang, giggle* ... Hi.
Me: Hmm. Hey.
Kid: Whatcha need? *insert giggle*
Me: I need a small chocolate shake.
Assclown: Oh.
Me: Heh. That would be it.
AC: Huh.
Me: How much do I owe you?
Retard kid: That'll be two three nine at second winder.
Me: Gotcha.
So I roll up to the second window, and there I see this tubby kid whose about 20 with this skrawny pimply moron standing next to him. Dude had the headgear goin', you know, his little mic and the walkie talkie rig strapped to his hip. He really thought he was hot shit.
Him: $2.39.
Me: Great. *hands change, takes shake* Havin' fun tonight?
Scrawny punk: Oh yeah. It's always fun to work at Burgerville on a Saturday night.
Me: Oh, I bet.
Fatass: Yeah. Cos then we wouldn't get to meet all the cool people.
*blink*
Y'know, the last time I was there, I had a problem, too. Y'think I'd learn, eh? M and I went there and this girl comes out and hands me chocolate milk. It was to be a chocolate shake, and was in the shake container and everything, but.. uh. It was completely melted. I had to take it back twice. She told me it was "okay, because she blended it up really good." Dear god. Someone shoot me. Someone also peed in her mother. Someone peed in all these kids' mothers! Down with Burgerville employees! I hope you get run over my a truck! *cackle*
current mood: artistic
current music: "Imaginary" -- Evanescence
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| Friday, June 6th, 2003
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1:39 pm - "...I don't know what 97F translates into Celsius, other than freakin' HOT."
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Ugh. It is officially a sweatbox in my apartment. Gateway t'Hell, folks, right this way.
Gatts is curled up on top of my fridge. Not sure what that's about. I even placed my hand on the top of the fridge to see what the appeal was. Wanna know what I felt? Warmth. *shudder*
So. I have the ceiling fan going, this giant "suck your will to live" fan sitting in my window, and a little fan in my bedroom. Guess what? It's still effing hot. Wonderful. Lucky for me, things are going to be cooling down in the next couple of days. Good thing, too. I had all these activities planned today to get ready for this trip, but there's no way I'm hauling Gatts around in a pet taxi when it's eight million degrees. What am I to do? Apologize to Gatts for the black fur coat she unfortunately can't take off? Riiiiiight.
For now, I'm sweating, killing time, and sweating some more. At 3pm, some friends and I are meeting at Stanfords for some drinks at buck ninety-five appetizers. Can't beat that. But the best part? THEY HAVE AC! :-D Hooray for cold air!
Ta!
current mood: cheerful
current music: "Precious Things" -- Tori Amos
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| Saturday, May 31st, 2003
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8:48 am - Six quarters and a freakin' Canadian coin.
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Laundry, laundry, and more laundry. Fun. It is 8:49am on a Saturday morning, and I feel like I'm going to get a lot of things accomplished today. Last week, I hung up a sign in each laundry room that detailed all the stuff I wanted to sell. To date, no calls. It's still the weekend though, so I called St. Vinnie's and they're scheduled to pick my stuff up sometime on Wednesday. It peaves me that they couldn't give me a timeframe. They said they'd call 30 minutes before the driver showed up. Hopefully work's cool with it. Not that I really care. It's my last week next week. Kind of. I go in on the following Monday, but it's just because they're taking me to dinner and stuff. Like my productivity's going to be oh-so high that day. :P
So. Doing laundry. And suddenly, I had this thought of the many things that make Matt .. well. Matt. And my boyfriend.
I love how he laughs. It's boisterous and fun! I love how, when I lay sleeping on the couch, he comes over and gives me little kisses on my cheek and my forehead. Tickle fights. They rule with him, even though we practically kick the crap out of eachother. I had a bruise to prove it! We're talking like pinning arms down with legs and stuff. (And I won. Like I always do. *duck*) I like how he sometimes orders for me in restaurants. He holds the door for me. He tells me I'm pretty. He's blunt about things. In the mornings, when he wakes up, he'll put his arms around me and pull me against him. Sometimes, to get my attention if we're in public, he'll lightly put his hand on the small of my back. He loves Gatts and her talons-o-doom. He's absolutely hysterical. And smart. There's this subtle cockiness to him that I really dig. I like how he makes me feel safe. Pretty eyes. Great hair. I *love* his smile, though he'd argue it's crooked. He's kind. Religious. He listens to me talk about things I've talked many times before. He's strong. He's got a great work ethic. He's always looking out for my best interest. And many, many more. I could sit and write for an hour or five about stuff. And this list will likely grow, given time.
Gatts is crunching on her food. I should start packing.
current mood: busy
current music: "2Wicky" -- Hooverphonic
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| Thursday, May 29th, 2003
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10:44 pm - Can things get any better?
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Well, it's official. Matt will be here Tuesday, June 10th at 1:10pm Pacific! God, I can't wait to see him again. At that moment, we will officially be together and never have to say goodbye again. :) :) :)
current mood: anxious
current music: "Home" -- Sheryl Crow
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| Wednesday, May 28th, 2003
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10:25 pm - ... I get a little bit closer to feelin' fine.
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So. Hi and stuff!
A lot has changed since I last updated a few days ago. I got the job in IL! It sounds like it's going to be so much fun. Not only have I moved into a more challenging position, but they're paying me a lot more than what I'm currently making. This is always a good thing!
Another good thing: At first, we thought Matt wasn't going to be able to come out here, as his company implemented a new policy when requesting vacation time. I was a bit leary (and still am) about driving 1900 miles alone, cross country. He did tell me today though, that there's a good possibility he'll get the time off! YAY! Cross your fingers, yo! I guess we'll find out tomorrow.
It just seems so surreal that I'm filling out an apartment application to move in with my boyfriend. It's totally crazy, but I've never been happier. One thing that I noticed, though, on this application, they want my credit card number. Riiiiight. There's no reason for them to have it. In fact, I've never filled out *any* application in my life, that required me to jot down my credit card number. And here, they just outright ask for it. I don't think so. All the info they need will be on my credit report, when they pull it to see that I kick ass. I work for a damn credit card company. I wasn't born yesterday. :P Needless to say, I'm gonna ring 'em up tomorrow and see what's up. Oh. Gotta fax this paperwork to them, too.
Ugh. So far, no takers on my stuff. Hung up papers this morning in both laundry rooms of my complex, offering my stuff for really cheap. (k, that sounded bad.) Ahem. I offered my furniture for really cheap. :P My landlords did say they might be interested in my TV, though. There's an extra $75, if they are.
Ugh. 10:37. I really should get to bed. I've just been completely *bing!* the four days or so, ever since I found out I got this job. It's so messed up thinking that next week is my last week here. It's moving so fast, but everything feels so right all at the same time. I'm so excited! :-) I am going into work on that next Monday, though. My coworkers are taking me to my favourite place ever! Hooray for meh-hee-kana! (Heh. I said Kana. *smirk*)
So right. That bed thing. Hopefully adrenaline doesn't keep me up till 2 and wake me up at 5 like it did last night. Body.. tired... *crash*
current mood: BING!/zZz.
current music: Hum of new fridge.
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| Saturday, May 24th, 2003
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1:16 pm - For seven years, seven days, and seven hours, I took my chances.
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Well, it's official! I will be moving to Bloomingdale, IL within the next month or so. I had two interviews yesterday. Looks like I am destined to be a bankruptcy specialist! Don't worry - I'm not sure I know what that means, either. I will be working in Elmhurst. I'm not sure when my start date is, probably because I haven't talked to HR yet. I suppose they'll be getting with me on Tuesday. I'm a little nervous about this, but that doesn't hinder the fact that I am incredibly stoked! I will miss the people I have met here. I'm kind of sad to go, but this is something I want/need to do. Me n' Gatts are on our way to be with our most favourite boy ever. Does life get any better?
Now it's just a matter of selling my stuff. I figure I'm pricing this stuff very cheap, but I need to get rid of it somehow and I really want it to go to a good home. Here's what I've got so far:
Kitchen table + six chairs - $30
Two loveseats - $40 each
27" Zenith TV - $100
Record player w/ speakers - $20
Microwave - $20
Floor lamp - $10
I don't think anyone wants my bed. Too old. All the other things (kitchen stuff, etc) I will probably give to Red Cross. May as well give back what they gave me when I was in need.
Ugh. For now, though, it's a matter of waiting for the fridge guy to get here. My fridge has suddenly stopped being cold. Well. I take that back. It's "chilly", but not as cold as it should be when on the highest setting. Also, my freezer has just.. stopped...freezing. Goodie. So, apparently, I get a new fridge. Works for me! I just wish they'd hurry and get here (no E.T.A.) so I can go do something. It's Saturday on a long weekend, and I need a beverage. Slightly chilled cranberry juice anyone?
current mood: anxious
current music: "Enjoy the Silence" -- Depeche Mode
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| Thursday, May 22nd, 2003
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7:24 pm - All these little suicides; they hardly make a mark.
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I really love how management thinks they're too good to get back to you because you don't tote around a pager and attend pointless management-type meetings.
I was supposed to have a phone interview today for the Bankruptcy Specialist position, according to Cindy in HR. When Cindy didn't give me a specific time, I called Maureen, the woman I'm to have this interview with. The dreaded voicemail. I left her a message, politely asking her to return my call and let me know what time would be good. I got into work this morning - no e-mail, no voicemail. Lovely. Figured I'd give her a little time. At 2pm my time, I decide screw it, I'm going to call. So I call. From N's office. (Weird to be in a bigwig's office while they're gone. She's got a nice office. Anyway...) Thrumming my fingers on the table, a woman picks up. Our conversation:
"Hello, is this Maureen?"
M: Yes.
"This is J, calling regarding the phone interview we were to have today?"
M: Oh, right.
"I've been away from my desk [lie, lie, lie...] and I wanted to make sure I didn't just miss your call."
M: No, today's just been one of those days. Can we reschedule for tomorrow?
"Tomorrow, my schedule is a bit different. I'm only available for four hours."
M: *pause*... Okay. How about when you first get in?
"That will be alright. I will give you a call."
M: I could call you. Is it *insert phone number here that isn't even close to my number. No clue where she got it*
"It would actually work better if I called you. I'm reserving a room."
M: Oh, that will be fine, then. I look forward to speaking with you tomorrow.
"Great, thank you." *click*
It wasn't all that interesting, but my taking control there at the end was my little jab. I couldn't help it. She's done a lot better than the big J. He's one I've not even heard from at all. *smirk* Way to go. One good thing did come out of all this frustration, though! A couple of days ago, I had noticed a fraud investigator position available, and wanted to know what it would take to do something like that, at some point. I always thought Fraud would kick ass. So I jot Mr. Manager guy a line. Took a couple days for him to get back to me, but he did give me some helpful advice on what I should do, AAAAAAAND, he happened to mention there was a position available as a Claims Intake Representative and that's where they usually start people out who are interested in Fraud! So. He advised me to forward them my resume. I did, and , no kidding - within 20 minutes of doing so, an HR representative called me and told me the Fraud folk wanted an interview too! *giggle* Aren't I Ms. Popularity? I'd much rather have the fraud gig that bankruptcy, but I think both would be fun. So! Cross your fingers! Tomorrow, this grrl's gonna be busy!
I wonder how long it will take before I hear something back... I guess only time will tell, though that's what kills me. *bites nails* With the help of Matt, though, I don't think I'll have problems. He helped me do up the resume a bit. A big teetoo for you! *mwah!*
It's warm in here. I bet it's 75F. Lovely day today, though. Sunny! It's so nice to see the sun in the land-o-dreariness. The springs, summers, and falls here make the winters bearable. See what I mean? That's downtown! Ask Matt. He'll tell you how gorgeous it was here. :-)
Oh. I need batteries. That's what I forgot on my grocery list!
current mood: confident
current music: "Realistic Nigga" (remix) -- Various Artists
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| Wednesday, May 21st, 2003
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8:19 pm - Ohhhhhhhh, the Windy City is mighty pretty!
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... I'm trying to figure out why today felt like the busiest day of my life. We start out early - 7am, to be exact. Or, if you're me, more like 7:10 (I'm not an early morning person).
So. 7am. I start out pulling my ritual morning report off the mainframe. It's great fun. Really. Then, I set up N's HTML stuff so she could have easier access to canned responses we use to send out in e-mail. I caught her up on all the gory details and procedures, and went back to my desk. Oh. I'm learning how to do Correspondence. This isn't bad, actually. Just a lot of trying to figure out which letter to send in response to the cardmember's questions. So. I work on this for awhile. Then, I remembered I had to go be trained on how to pull a couple more reports off the mainframe in the morning. So, we did that. That nearly fried my brain. After this, I take my first break of the morning. So that puts us at 11ish. 11:15 rolls around, I go back to my desk. Do more correspondence. The next thing I know, it's time for our two hour meeting. This was painful. We're talking major zZz. Slicing my wrist with my pencil would have been more entertaining. But hey! I did win $10 Monopoly Money I get to use toward some ghetto prize they're going to let you "buy". Mmmm. Anyway.
This meeting lasts until 1:35pm. I go to lunch. 2:05 hits, I'm back from lunch. I check my e-mail. GREAT NEWS! I have a phone interview for the position I applied for in Chicago. This is great, except the HR woman who e-mailed me didn't give me a set time to when Maureen (Unit Manager) was going to call. So. I ended up calling her in a semi-frenzied state (though she didn't know that) requesting she call me and let me know when she planned on calling so I could secure a private room. No way am I doing an interview in my cube surrounded by coworkers. But hey! Possible job in Chicagoland and I can be on my way! :-) Yay! This is good news! Now just wish me luck! *crosses fingers*
My day ended about fifteen minutes late. I wanted to finish the account I was working on. What a mess that was. But I won't bore you with details of work - It's Paulie-Who-Hasn't-Updated-His-Webpage-In-A-Thousand-Years' birthday! Beat him with a stick or something. 30 times! *ahem!* ;-)
So. What's up? Tell me what's going on in your worlds. Please? Pleaseplease? I'd be ever so grateful. Oh. And jack the mothership!
current mood: cheerful
current music: "Taxi Ride" -- Tori Amos
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| Tuesday, May 20th, 2003
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10:59 pm - ~*~ Mon Histoire ~*~
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| Sunday, May 18th, 2003
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4:48 pm - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
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| Saturday, May 17th, 2003
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11:05 pm - Puffy eyes! Puffy eyes!
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Note to self:
Know you're gonna lose it during a movie? Wad of toilet paper. Snag it. This movie is incredible. It's so worth the puffy eyes that I'm going to have tomorrow!
current mood: accomplished
current music: Gattica mewing!
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brennyth's journal
