Uh Oh...

I think it's happened. I think I've come down with the swine flu!

Yup, I've been eating like a pig and my office is a sty!

And that, my friends, is the best thing I took away from the conference!!

{I did end up having a great time once the conference was over. More on that later.... right now I need to force myself to go to bed. Funny, I don't want my mini-"vacation" to end!}

{PS- Isn't that pig so darn cute?}

A Case of the Grrrrrrs

Greetings from the Twin Cities!

I'm at my conference and I'm afraid I have a full-blown case of the Grrrrs. First, Monday (I was still at work) we STILL hadn't heard from the conference people about when we were supposed to present, which is completely crappy. So some tough people called to demand to know because the presentation is really the students' and they were only going to the conference to present. I, on the other hand, was attending because of that scholarship... and planned to attend for the whole thing. Anyway, we found out that the students couldn't go. They slotted us for the first afternoon and with such short notice (less than 48 hours) the students couldn't swing it, so we canceled the presentation. I don't blame them one bit... and really I am relieved... but OF COURSE I had worked on my part of it Monday morning. Grrr.

Second, I have been attending every session today (I skipped yesterday, as I was traveling and the sessions were not at all applicable to the work I do) and multiple people have asked me where my Director is... I kept saying that I was sure she was around and might be skipping the morning breakfast sessions. Um, no. After lunch I found out (from the conference registration people) that she canceled. I was never told. Thanks! Thanks a lot! I was getting worried too, thinking she was in an accident driving in the rain! Grr.

Third, I'm finding myself pretty disappointed with the sessions I've attended. I have been expecting a little more. Plus, they had a speaker at lunch and will have one at dinner. Can't we just have some down time to chat and network?! I refuse to attend the meeting after the speaker tonight. I'm not sitting in sessions until 8:00 pm. I'm grateful for this break right now, but seriously wish we just had dinner. Then I'd be done. Grr.

And the free stuff from vendors isn't even that great...though I did get a Rubick's cube. :-) And the pens from the hotel have cute sayings on them, like "play with words," and "use colorful language". Oh, and the hotel has Aveda products! Isn't this bed the most comfy-looking piece of heaven? Yeah, it doesn't just look good, it IS good.

The very best parts? I'm glad you asked! I get a break from work, which has been very busy and stressful. The hotel is pretty awesome. I get to spend time with my brother, who lives in the area! AND shopping at various stores, including IKEA!! Yay! Oh, and we got free theater tickets too. Woohoo!

I'm getting hungry.... good thing dinner is quickly approaching! I hope it's something fabulous!

Bookworm Review: The Bonfire of the Vanities

I finished reading The Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe) a couple of weeks ago and haven't had a chance to sit down and write about it. It's on my Influential Books List and my Busy Bookworm Challenge List, so woohoo for me!

The story is set in New York in the 1980s and is centered around the main character, Sherman McCoy. McCoy is a Wall Street investment banker who basically thinks he's hot stuff. He makes a million dollars a year, has an apartment featured in an architectural magazine, and sends his daughter to a posh private school. Yet McCoy is barely making ends meet, though his high-society wife doesn't know how much they're struggling financially. McCoy's life turns upside down when he and his mistress are involved in a hit-and-run accident, which he tries to hide from everyone...though that strategy doesn't work for very long. A young, black boy was the victim of the accident and when leaders of the black community demand action, the racial tension heightens.

Initially I had a difficult time really getting into the plot of this story. The point of view shifts often, from McCoy, to the district attorney, to a tabloid newspaper writer, to the Reverend (leader of the black community), and to another lawyer. The characters, especially McCoy, are arrogant and pompous, though each has his or her own "special" way of being completely awful. Wolfe was trying to create an atmosphere of "excess" and he does that through his descriptions... and the sheer number of words he uses! Seriously, Wolfe was definitely wordy and the book could've been shortened considerably. Some of the side stories could have been omitted altogether, especially because Wolfe never finished many of the minor plot lines, yet they took up a good deal of space.

In spite of myself, after a certain point in the story, I found myself actually hoping that Sherman McCoy was going to be OK. It seemed to me that McCoy had grown a little during the story and he became slightly less arrogant and somewhat more human. McCoy's foil in the story, the district attorney, became more full of himself, more dramatic, and less ethical as the story progressed and I found myself, rightfully so, disliking him even more. By the end of the story I was sick of his character, scenes involving him, and generally happy when he was put in his place.

Wolfe also presents many issues surrounding race and fairness, which add another level to the story- everyone has his or her own perspectives and stereotypes and has to figure out some way to deal with others who are different. I found myself sometimes more interested in the cultural identities than the plot and wished something more would've happened with that aspect...if that makes sense.

Overall, I'm not sure I'd recommend this book, unless you really like long, wordy books with a lot of characters and an ending that isn't prettily tied up (with a bow). I'm also not sure why this book made that darn list of influential books... Anyway, I am a little curious to see how the book was adapted for the movie.

On second thought, I'm not that curious. The book was quite enough.

Dear Diary...

I have felt so overwhelmed lately. I had a presentation the other evening that seemed to take me a long time to prepare, even though the topic is something I talk about every day! Why is that? I suppose it's different when I have an audience and feel as though I'm cramming so much into a short amount of time. Plus I wanted it to be fun and interactive, but that is often a "hit or miss" depending on the audience and the topic.

Anyway, it went well overall, though, as predicted, I had a bit more to say than time to say it. Oh well. I got a few laughs out of the students and the feedback I got was good and that the presentation was useful. I'm fine with that!

Now I'm trying to finish up this darn discussion guide I'm supposed to be writing. A while back, my Director and some students approached me to write a discussion guide to be used after this performance. Before I arrived here, some students, faculty and staff created this cool show, kind of along the lines of The Vagina Monologues, except more relevant to issues college students face AND included men in the conversation. It's a pretty powerful performance that deals with health, body image, gender roles, sexual assault, and culture. Sadly, I've only seen the performance on the DVD they've made...I'm sure it's much more powerful live. Anyway, they wanted to have a discussion guide to accompany it, so that's where I come in. Since I have done research on disordered eating and whatnot, they thought I might be interested. I was absolutely interested... but then things got a bit more complicated.

See, at some point, someone decided this should be submitted to a conference...to showcase what the students here did, how other campuses could do it, and then how to keep the conversation going. SO it's been submitted and accepted. I'm included as a presenter, since I'm doing the discussion guide and am kind of like the "expert" in the group. I'll be honest...there is a big part of me still really uncomfortable with being seen as "expert." But that's another story. My Director also basically told me I had to apply for this scholarship to attend (which basically gives me a free ride). And then I won the darn thing. Which means I need to send in a brief article to their newsletter after the conference talking about what I learned and how I'll use the info and all that. Note to self: Always read the fine print.

The most frustrating thing is that the conference is next Wednesday and the schedule isn't out yet! We have no idea when we're presenting and no idea of what the titles are for the other sessions. Apparently they're not always this disorganized...still, it's not a good first impression to this group and this conference. Grr.

In other news, I got the H1N1 vaccine this morning. I feel a little dizzy. So does K-Dog. I'll let you know if I start oinking.

XOXO,
heidi

DIY Backlog

***Update- I'm linking up with DIY Day!***


I'm so glad it's Friday. I actually had the day off, which was much-needed! I was busy cleaning and organizing and decorating a little for Halloween. I think I need a few pumpkins for my front steps, but I am worried I'll find them smashed on my sidewalk or porch one morning. Hmm...

Anyway, I have 2 quick projects to share! The first has been finished for awhile now, but has been sitting in bloggy post limbo; while the second project is more recent, I just took pictures of it today and it's been done for at least a week. Oops.

I've had this tray for a while... it's a simple wooden tray, obviously black, pretty basic. I've used it on my table with a vase on it, or whatever. But, I don't have much black stuff, so I've been wanting to paint it for a while, maybe use it in my new and improved office/craft room...

I sanded the tray, just enough to scuff it up so the paint would "hold on" better. Then I used some of the Parchment White (Glidden) that I'm using for the trim, doors, etc., though I'm sure spray paint would've been SO much faster. I think I did 2 coats of paint, but I didn't care if the finish was perfect, because I wanted to distress it anyway. Once the paint was dry, I took sandpaper and scuffed up the edges, handles, and bottom of the tray. If I was doing it again, I would go a little easier on the handles, but I still like it.

I know, it's not too dramatic, but I think that tray will be more handy now. By the way, that bench/stool is also on my To Re-Do List.

Now for Project #2! A few weeks ago I went to Goodwill and Salvation Army with my mom, sister, and nieces to see what we could find. I found this little mirror that will be perfect for my work office. I've been looking for a mirror since I started my job and they were just not what I was looking for. Until I saw this little guy...for a couple bucks! Sweet!

I figured after a coat or two of espresso brown spray paint, it would be just what I've been needing! I scuffed it with sandpaper, taped and covered the mirror, and sprayed with 2 coats of paint. Perfect! Can't wait to hang it up at work!

Happy Friday! :-)

And Now, For Our Feature Presentation

Remember this? My Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde floor? I just realized I've been living with this floor since late July! Apparently time flies when you've got multiple projects going on!

But no more! I got new carpet yesterday! Woohoo! Look at that gorgeousness! I'm ecstatic!

I finally got a chance to unpack all the books that have been sitting in laundry baskets since July! Everything that was at one time unpacked has been sitting in piles, baskets, and boxes...in the kitchen, dining room, bedrooms... everywhere. But now...

things are starting to look a bit more like home. My parents came up again, to help me move furniture and to be here when the carpet guys were here, since I had to work. The puppies have been so happy to run and play on a nice, soft floor, chasing each other up and down and up and down the fabulously soundproofed stairs. Ah, bliss.

Now I'll really be able to start get comfortable and settle in... actually hang things on the wall... get stuff out of my dining room. Yay!

So what do you think?

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You

Hey'all,

I know I've been a pretty pathetic blogger lately, but I have some really exciting things to share soon... with pictures!

Not now. But soon, I promise.

Is the suspense killing you?

I Could've Died! Part 2

When I wrote about my near-death experience earlier, I didn't mention that the facilities guys were actually working in my office BEFORE the thingy fell. Here's that drama...

The other day, I had noticed this yucky brown spot on my ceiling, right above the door. Yesterday morning when I came in, it appeared the spot had grown overnight. When I pushed on it with a pencil eraser, it seemed soft.

Uh oh. I prayed it wasn't some toilet upstairs leaking.

However, that prompted a work order and soon the plumbing guys showed up. They were actually working right next to the light cover that later nearly killed me. (My guess is that they had jarred the light just enough to loosen it?? Who knows. The thing fell hours later.)

My coworker is convinced that one of the plumbers has a crush on me. She told me that when the plumbers arrived, she felt she needed to leave the room to allow us "to flirt with each other." Apparently, unbeknownst to me, she proceeded to tell everyone else in the department about this. They were all abuzz about it later.

Anyway, once the light thing fell, the office manager et al., started saying that plumber guy was "too busy flirting" with me to do his job right. I think someone also said that he probably just wanted an excuse to come back. Some excuse.

Now I not only need to deal with PTSD, but also with endless teasing about the plumber's crush on me. Which will add to my trauma.

I Could've Died!!

See that gianormous grid thingy? That thing covers the fluorescent lights here in our offices. Note how big it is.

So why isn't it on the ceiling, serving its purpose, you ask?

Good question.

IT CAME CRASHING DOWN YESTERDAY, NEARLY SLAMMING INTO MY HEAD! I could've DIED! Or been very seriously lacerated!

I was sitting at my desk, just like I am now, just about to finish up some paperwork at the very end of the day. Seriously, it was about 5 minutes until we close up and people don't typically stay long after "quittin' time." So I'm working, I'm feelin' good, gettin' things done, when I hear this sort of quiet ka-chunk. I barely glance up before this thing is swooping down, barely hanging by a corner! It slams into my computer (sitting on my desk) and then suddenly it is not hanging onto the ceiling at all. Thank goodness for my lightning-quick reflexes. I am barely able to grab it with a finger or two so it doesn't fall onto my computer monitor. Cripes.

I go over to the health waiting area/front desk where our office manager is and tell her what happened so we could get a work order put in before she left... and she didn't believe me! (Why don't people ever believe me when these things happen?) So I lead her, an office assistant, and the 2 nurses back to my office to show them what happened and finally they a) believe me, b) exclaim and worry about my health and well-being, and c) assure me everything will be just fine. My student intern kindly pointed out that had I been hit in the head, I may have lain there unconscious and bleeding for who knows how long, since it was the end of the day and people were leaving. Thanks for that.

I think I have PTSD.