Archive | May 2011

Like Mother Like Daughter

May17

A bunch of people did this meme and I p’shawed every single post until I saw that my mommy did this meme too.

Have I ever mentioned that my mom is one of my most favorite people in the entire universe? She is.

  1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT? I set myself on fire by leaning over the stove with a loose shirt on
  2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR BEDROOM? Photos of people, kitties, and dogggies we love
  3. WHAT DOES YOUR MOBILE PHONE LOOK LIKE? It looks like a Droid X
  4. WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO? Trance and hip hop and electronic and pop and jazz and stuff
  5. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN? I think about 1:45pm on a Thursday.
  6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW? To go to bed
  7. WHO DO YOU MISS? I miss a lot of people and a lot of furry kids/siblings
  8. IS ANYONE IN LOVE WITH YOU OR HAS A CRUSH ON YOU? My boyfriend is crazy about me
  9. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU KISSED? My boyfriend
  10. WHAT’S YOUR MIDDLE NAME? sigh… it used to be Lynn
  11. THE BEST TV SHOW EVER CREATED? Family Feud! (I dunno)
  12. THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO? My boyfriend
  13. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK? Late at night, yup
  14. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY? Me
  15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOGNE / PERFUME? Axe Vice / Romance
  16. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOUR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX? I’m not specific about it, but I adore Dawg’s very dark hair with his beautiful brown eyes
  17. WOULD YOU RATHER BE SMART OR FUNNY? Smart
  18. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINKS? Coffee
  19. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PIZZA TOPPING? Pepperoni or garlic, depending
  20. IF YOU CAN EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Steak, well done and cheese fondue
  21. WHO IS THE LAST PERSON WHO MADE YOU MAD? The guy who kept opening the train door between cars to stick his head in there and watch the train ride the tracks 4 stories in the air
  22. DO YOU SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE? Sometimes
  23. WHAT WAS THE FIRST GIFT SOMEONE EVER GAVE YOU? A wombat? An eggplant? (Mom?)
  24. DO YOU LIKE SOMEONE? I like my boyfriend
  25. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED? No
  26. FAVOURITE CLOTHING BRAND? I don’t know
  27. WHAT’S YOUR DREAM CAR? Kia Sportage
  28. WHAT COLOUR IS IT? Silvery/Grey Greenish
  29. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE KIND OF EXERCISE? Brain Games
  30. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING? I can’t help falling in love, so yup
  31. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU? A hug and words out my mouth, or a card if I am nowhere near them
  32. WRITE A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED? 4
  33. BLONDES OR BRUNETTES? Silver foxes
  34. WHAT IS THE ONE NUMBER YOU CALL OFTEN? My boyfriend
  35. WHAT ANNOYS YOU MOST? People who try to engage you in things that are none of your business
  36. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF YOUR COUNTRY? WHERE DID YOU GO? WHAT PLACE DID YOU LIKE BEST? England, Belgium, Canada. I really like all three of them, actually.
  37. YOUR WEAKNESSES? Dawg, the kitties, and savory snacks… and cute animals
  38. FRIES/CHIPS, RICE, OR BEANS? Fries with a side of rice and beans
  39. FIRST JOB? Computer lab lackey
  40. EVER PRANK CALLED SOMEONE? Yes
  41. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED OUT THIS? Watching The Good Wife
  42. IF YOU COULD GET PLASTIC SURGERY WHAT WOULD IT BE? Um… *shrug*
  43. WHY DID YOU FILL OUT THIS MEME? Because my mom did :)
  44. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST? My knowledge and/or helpful nature
  45. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF ALCOHOL BECAME ILLEGAL? I would rejoice in the fact that I would have less of a chance to receive drunk emails
  46. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY? Steak, fondue, my mom’s camera, and a hot bedroom romp with my boyfriend. Maybe a movie, too. (I REALLY LIKE MY BIRTHDAY.)
  47. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT? I have four furry kids, and if they are all the kids I ever have that is fine by me, although I know Dawg and I would make adorable human babies
  48. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I have heard I am named after my father’s middle name but I’m not sure both of my creators actually know that (my dad seems oblivious to this fact when asked)
  49. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? I have done that, and the wish has never come true
  50. WHICH FINGER[S] IS YOUR FAVOURITE? Middle (LOL, Mom!)
  51. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Sesame tofu with vegetable roll
  52. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Love it! Much messier now that I rarely use it, though…
  53. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? Cheese!
  54. ANY BAD HABITS? Yes
  55. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING CD ON THE SHELF? Perhaps one of Pitbull’s earlier albums, although I only have the electronic version of that album
  56. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes
  57. HAVE YOU EVER TOLD A SECRET YOU SWORE NOT TO TELL? Yes
  58. DO LOOKS MATTER? Yes
  59. YOU RELEASE YOUR ANGER? I have a very vivid imagination.
  60. WHERE IS YOUR SECOND HOME? I feel 100% comfortable showing up at Dawg’s parents’ house and making myself right at home
  61. DO YOU TRUST OTHERS EASILY? No, I do not.
  62. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE TOY AS A CHILD? My books, my TV, my Atari, and my furry siblings
  63. HOW MANY NUMBERS ARE IN YOUR MOBILE PHONE? I hate the phone part of my phone, so I’m not getting up to go look at it
  64. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Every chance I get
  65. DO YOU KNOW ANYONE FAMOUS? Yup.
  66. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A MOSH PIT? I have been in the very direct vicinity of one, but not in the path of the actual moshers
  67. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A PLACE TO LIVE? The potential for excitement without the forced necessity of it
  68. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES? Poppy, Stef, and a variety of pet names
  69. HOW MANY HATS DO YOU OWN? WHAT’S YOUR HAT SIZE? More than 3 and less than 10. I don’t know what size hat I wear. Probably small like my mom.
  70. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I seem to have over 25 pairs of shoes, none of which tie… I hate untying my shoes, although I love tying shoes. I still remember being taught about the bunny ears.
  71. WERE YOU UPSET ABOUT STEVE IRWIN DYING? Yes, and it made me cry to see Bindi talk about her dad
  72. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Mint chocolate chip
  73. ARE YOU LAZY? Yes, yes I am
  74. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE SONGS AT THE MOMENT? I don’t even know their names, I just know when they start playing on my iPod Touch all is right with the world
  75. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BAND? Daft Punk
  76. HOW MANY WISDOM TEETH DO YOU HAVE? None
  77. DO YOU WANT TO GO ANYWHERE SPECIAL THIS YEAR? Texas to visit Bdogg’s new BABY!!!!
  78. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The Good Wife
  79. LAST THING YOU ATE? Sesame tofu with vegetable roll
  80. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My boyfriend
  81. WHATS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT YOURSELF IN THE MORNING? I am surrounded by family I love very much, both furry and human
  82. FAVOURITE THOUGHT PROVOKING SONG? Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
  83. FAVOURITE TWO THINGS TO HATE? Incompetence and people too stupid to understand they’re incompetent
  84. FAVOURITE DRINK? Fat free milk on the rocks in a frosty mug
  85. FAVOURITE ZODIAC SIGN? LEO!
  86. SPORTS YOU LIKE TO WATCH? Wrestling on a regular basis, then anything else that happens to be on the TV in front of me
  87. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOUR? Dirty/strawberry blonde with the beginnings of straight up white hair intermingled… and red at the tips because I haven’t had my hair cut officially since July 2008
  88. EYE COLOUR? Hazel
  89. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES? Yes
  90. SIBLINGS? 1 brother, 1 stepbrother, 3 stepsisters, and a wonderful woman who was my sister for a large portion of my life but no longer is technically, so she instead named her daughter after me
  91. FAVOURITE MONTH(s)? July
  92. DO YOU LIKE SUSHI? I hate fish and I hate seaweed, but I like all the other bits of it! WASABI!
  93. LAST THING YOU WATCHED? The Good Wife
  94. FAVOURITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Christmas in July (my birthday :)
  95. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT? No
  96. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
  97. KISSES OR HUGS? Kisses from Dawg, kisses on the cheek from New Yawkahs, hugs from everyone else. I’m picky that way.
  98. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE-NIGHT STANDS? Relationships
  99. WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE CELEBRITY? Randy Orton. *ahem* I MEAN NYC WATCHDOG!
  100. WHO IS THE LEAST LIKELY TO ASK YOU ON A DATE? People of a fancy pedigree (*burp*)
  101. BOOKS YOU’D LIKE TO SEE TURNED INTO A FILM? Scott Sigler’s books Infected and Contagious

I would like to write on my blog.

May15

The other night I tried to publish a post about my anger over a family member not being able to be buried because Vermont is in Mud Season and the ground does not meet the correct conditions for the gravesite to be dug up.

It’s very upsetting to wait for closure. And each day that we wait for the cemetery conditions to be right I find myself becoming more and more angry that my family must put a hold on their grieving process.

This family member lived a very long life, filled with both good things and challenging things, and deserves to be put to rest.

I’m borrowing that word my brother taught me at 3 so I can say:

Fuck you, Mother Nature.

Thanks to my blog for cooperating today, and for letting me post a much less polished display of my feelings on this subject so that I look like an idiot. You may not be renewed the next time your domain comes due.

Great expectations

May1

I take my work very seriously. I take pride in what I do and want to do the very best I can. If there is a portion of my job I’m not good at I want to do what I can to improve my skillset in that area. A portion of my job is to supervise. I have supervised in the past, and have acted as a mentor and advanced resource to my colleagues in other positions, but being a supervisor is something I haven’t had a lot of formal training in, so since my place of employment offers courses in the subject I’ve been taking as many training sessions as I can.

One common theme is emerging: Setting expectations.

If I expect something of you and you don’t deliver what I expected, but I never told you that I had that expectation, then is it fair of me to be mad at you when you fail in my eyes?

Our feelings are fair to have, but if you don’t set someone up for success then chances are they will inadvertently fail you.

A scenario, if you will: I expect you to pick up a loaf of bread on the way home, because this morning I was making sandwiches for your lunch and ended up using the last of the bread. You see in your lunch that one of your sandwiches is a crust sandwich (the sandwich using the beginning and end pieces of the loaf). But I never explicitly asked you to get that loaf of bread. I’m perfectly capable of getting that loaf of bread myself and I didn’t specifically mention that I used the last of the bread on your sandwiches today. You come home from work after a long day, expecting that I will make you sandwiches for the next day, but you didn’t bring home any bread.

Murky double-fault/no-fault/depends who you ask situation there.

Excuses I could come up with to blame you for this situation: I make the sandwiches so why should I have to buy the bread? I make the sandwiches with double-crust to signal it’s the end of the loaf, so why should I have to say anything? You’re a mind reader and you know when I am throwing away the bread wrapper that I don’t already have a second loaf of bread in the kitchen, even though you know I’ve been to the store at least three times this week because I brought home other groceries three different days this week.

I think you get the point of how assuming without setting expectations up front can lead to a lot of ridiculously stupid assumptions on the other end of something as simple as sandwiches for lunch.

I’m just curious where you are in the Expectations cycle. Are you still expecting without communicating your expectations? Or have you figured out that the secret to successful communication is to clearly state your expectations, make sure the person on the other end of those expectations is willing to agree to those expectations, and you both follow through with your part of the expectations?