Be it resolved

Judging by the state of the break room this morning, none of my coworkers are giving up caffeine for 2009.

Holding back

Since I started working at my new job, I have won two weeks of the football pool, spent a couple weeks atop the season-long football pool standings, and won a coworker's baby pool. We also alternate weeks bringing breakfast for the office on Fridays and my first entry garnered many comments that it would be a serious contender for the breakfast award at the annual holiday party.

While participating in these office traditions is a great way to get to know my coworkers in a more social manner, when I picked up my picks sheet for the football pool last week, someone made the comment about how I seemed to be winning everything.

Every day this week I've looked at the list of contests we're doing in our office for my favorite holiday--pumpkin carving, costumes and office decorating. I had a very clever idea for pumpkin carving this year--perfect for an Angineer--but I keep thinking of what my coworker said, and I decided not to spend this evening up to my arms in pumpkin goo. Instead of getting up early on Halloween morning, I'll go with the quick and easy costume option and keep my more elaborate costume for the evening festivities. So I'll keep my celebrations more limited to my house and participate without going the extra mile. I think I'll miss going all out, but I will enjoy having extra time during my evenings this week and joining in the camaraderie at work on Friday without standing out.

One more reason to love my new job...

...they've already put up their Halloween decorations!

 

P.S. I've always loved decorating my cubicle for Halloween!

Fairy tales

For some reason, only the female employees in my office seem to congregate at the table in the break room to eat lunch. Not surprisingly, since many of them are mothers, the talk often turns to kids. Today the talk started with a discussion of the going rate for a tooth by the Tooth Fairy. Appallingly the concensus was $3-$5 per tooth.

Talk of this friendly figment soon turned to that of Santa. One coworker complained about a tradition that her husband's family has where two elves leave gifts and a note a couple days before Christmas. Everyone agreed that you have to be quick on your feet to answer questions about why Santa might have given a gently used bike, the gift labels from Santa are in your handwriting, or Santa uses the same wrapping paper as Mom and Dad. I laughed along, sharing stories from my own childhood and empathizing with my coworkers.

It was a great lunch hour, furnishing some overdue bonding. I didn't realize that I'd been taking mental notes on kids and family traditions until I was walking away, and I skipped a step when I realized that I might never be one with my coworkers in hiding Santa's wrapping paper and mixing up reindeer feed.

Tyra-nt

My boss' question about our headshots this morning: Did they have a wind machine? Or a bubble machine?

Habits

At my last job, the company charged for soda: $0.45 each. That is awfully steep for a can from Sam's Club or Costco, even if they were brand name, but that is beside the point. Knowing I had to pay for one made it very easy for me to stick with the glass of tap water on my desk. But the benefits were more than financial because who needs the health detriments from drinking soda everyday?

My new job provides drinks of all types in the well-stocked fridge. So far I've mostly stuck to my tap water habit, but I have been tempted in the afternoons for a little burst of sugar. After just a couple of cans to satisfy those cravings in the last couple weeks, I've discovered the desire for soda starting earlier and talking to me just a little louder every day.

Thursday Thirteen: NFL edition!

1. One of the ways I knew I'd made the right choice about my recent job change was discovering my new company had an active football pool.
2. And a baby pool wagering on when a pregnant staff member would give birth.
3. Imagine how excited I was to discover there were three ways to participate in the football pool(s)!
4. I don't have gambling problem - I swear! ;-)
5. I joined a football pool for the first time at my first job because I genuinely enjoy professional football. I didn't realize the $35 I spent was the best investment I could make to make connections with my coworkers.
6. I have been known to tell soon-to-be or newly graduated female engineers that participating in sports pools like this is a investment in the future of their career.
7. At my second job, one of my good friends and I printed the results from company football pool every week, highlighted the winners, and kept them all posted on our wall.
8. That was one of our many ongoing morale-type projects... we also chose one word each week to post to expand our team's vocabulary, and kept a list of memorable quotes said by our teammates and other coworkers.
9. I'm playing fantasy football for the first time this year. Mostly because my boyfriend organized the fantasy league and promised to help me maintain my team.
10. I was really tempted to draft a high school classmate of mine who is an NFL tight end--but restrained myself when I saw how low his fantasy ranking is!
11. I almost had to do my first trade already after Saturday's roster deadline, but thankfully the player who had been cut found another team. What a relief!
12. I am not a fan of Thursday games. I always have a hard time remembering to turn in my picks prior to the start of those games!
13. Also, I am a little annoyed with the NFL scheduler: I am trying to be good and go to bed earlier now that I have an earlier work schedule and having my team be part of the 2nd half of the opening Monday night doubleheader is going to make that very difficult!

How fitting!

The t-shirt the janitor at my engineering firm is wearing today reads:

MATH MAJOR
(I like nice figures)

Returning from vacation... a Thursday Thirteen

1. I always joke that I wonder if vacations are worth the work before you can go and to catch up when you get back.
2. Obviously a joke... they are so worth it.
3. And you know you've had a good vacation when you can barely remember your job.
4. Unfortunately that made Monday that much harder.
5. I finally managed to get back into the swing of things in time for today's two deadlines.
6. Thank goodness.
7. Driving back tonight after my meetings, I was reminded that I miss where I used to live.
8. I miss my friends who live there. Although I did get to see one tonight!
9. I also miss the mountains.
10. Thank goodness getting there is on the list of things to do this summer.
11. Yes, there is a list of things to do this summer.
12. Speaking of... I should probably start cracking on the list.
13. How did it get to be almost July already?

Players

One of my coworkers burst out, "Why do some people even bother giving you their numbers?"

"What do you mean?"

"If they are just screening their calls and sending everything to voice mail, why bother?"

"Actually, that is what productivity experts recommend," I helpfully pointed out.

"Maybe for people who are having all the information demanded from them, but for me, trying to collect the information, I would spend all my time playing phone tag if I didn't take my call." I had to concede his point. "It's like dating," he concluded. "Someone is always playing games."

Wrong side

When I was in middle school, I used to daydream that the school should provide us with little cars to drive around the building. While that would be fun, the major impetus in my mind was that then we would all have to follow the traffic laws--waiting at stoplights at the intersections between hallways, staying on the appropriate side of the hallway, and signalling to cross the hallway to access your locker. I could've used that structure yesterday.

I was turning the corner as I returned to my office yesterday afternoon. I was thinking about my weekend plans, completely lost in thought, and didn't notice my coworker walking towards me until he said my name mere inches from me. I shrieked in surprise, stopping just short of running into him. I giggled nervously and apologized. My coworker laughed and we carefully passed each other on our way to our separate destinations.

Another coworker approached me a little later when I was up getting water. "So who'd you almost run into in the hallway?" When I told him, he smiled. "Was he on his side of the road?"

"No, he wasn't."

"Well, he is from Canada--maybe he isn't used to our driving laws yet."

Workland security

My boss and I were commiserating over the ridiculous filing system at my job--basically a random four-digit number assigned to each project.

"It is impossible to find anything without the master list!" she complained.

"There is one good thing about it," I replied. "Terrorists won't be able to find anything either!"

Proof

We had an insurance presentation at lunch today. The presenter started out giving away a stuffed, quacking duck and promised us more prizes if we could answer her "quiz questions" at the end.

Fast forward to the end... the guy next to me got his small stuffed duck and the only prize left was a drink cozy to keep a can cold. One thing you probably don't know about me is that I don't really drink anything that come out of a can--not soda and not beer, so I have no use for that cozy. But who spoke up first? Me. I just have to prove that I know the answer.

Today

When my alarm went off this morning I thought, "Yay, it's Friday--I can just toss on a pair of jeans and go."

Then I realized it wasn't Friday. "Oh well, Thursday means the week is almost over."

And as my brain cleared a little more? "It's Wednesday? No, can't I just sleep until the week is over?"

Airmail

I was leaving my office last night when I heard a window open two or three stories up on the apartment building next to me. I glanced up momentarily but kept walking forward--and thank goodness I did! A moment later I heard a splat behind me and turned around to see beautiful cut tulips and baby's breath that had narrowly missed hitting me!

Thursday Thirteen

1. Today it sounds like there is someone in heels pacing around in the office above mine.
2. This would be strange because it is a male electrical engineer who has that office.
3. I keep two fleece jackets and a cardigan in my office because it is always cold.
4. I've taken to using one of the jackets as a lap blanket under my desk.
5. I decide which jacket to use that way by deciding which looks more like the pants I'm wearing.
6. I would love a space heater, but we aren't allowed to have them. One of the women I worked with at my first job had a space heater--walking into her workspace was like visiting the tropics.
7. I'm having lunch today with one of my high school classmates—the one who planned this summer's reunion--so I made sure to dress extra cute.
8. When I was at the reunion, one of our classmates commented to me that she thought I should plan the next one.
9. She seemed drunk, so I just laughed and agreed.
10. The purpose of today's lunch is to get the files and basically be transitioned so I can organize the next one.
11. I think I'm a little crazy to agree to take this on, but I think I could do just as good a job, if not better.
12. I do have one friend who has already agreed to help and we have plans in place to get more help.
13. My friend and I also have a secret weapon—her dad has been part of his reunion committee for years for his class from our high school!

Watching the Super Bowl

Of course the topic of watching the Super Bowl was very big at breakfast last Friday. One of my coworkers said, "Yeah, I might just record it on my DVR and then watch it on fast forward. That way I can stop to watch any good plays."

"What about the commercials?" I asked.

"They haven't been very good in the last few years, although my finger always stops the fast forwarding whenever I see an attractive woman. I just can't help it!"

Too early to be understood

Overheard at work this morning:

"My coach's son had the 5A rushing title when he was a senior."

"What kind of a title?"

"Rushing."

"Oh, I thought you said 'Russian'. I was thinking, 'What is that: czar?'"

Tuned out

The guys were talking college sports when I went downstairs for lunch at work today. I wanted to read my book, so I only added a couple comments. As the last one was heading upstairs, he commented,"Here we've been disturbing you when all you were trying to do was read your book."

I looked up at him and joked, "My boyfriend works in sports radio, I'm very practiced at tuning out sports talk that doesn't interest me."

Paid in blood

"Do you know where the batteries are?" I asked the accounting clerk.

"Sure," she said. "Do you need approval to get them or anything?"

"I don't think so."

"Not even a drop of blood?" she joked.

"Well, I'll email the appropriate person to let her know I took them, just in case."

"Can you send blood over email?"

"No, but that way she can come prick me in my office."