Sunday, December 09, 2007
Thanksgiving Day phone calls
This happened to me on Thanksgiving day as I was working on dinner and stuff:
Cell phone: Ring! Ring! (Rochester, NY area code 585)
Rodrigo: I don't know this number. I am not going to answer.
A little later...
Cell phone: Ring! Ring! (Rochester, NY area code 585)
Rodrigo: WTF, I don't know this number. Leave a message already.
Cell phone text message: "He left. We need to talk. Call me!"
Rodrigo: WTF!!
A little later...
Cell phone: Ring! Ring! (Rochester, NY area code 585)
Rodrigo: OMG! What the hell!!! Let me answer... Hello?
Man: Hello?
Rodrigo: Yes?
Man: Is this Tom? This is Doug, Cinnamon's husband.
Rodrigo: I'm sorry, I'm not Tom.
Doug: I know it's you, this is Doug. We need to talk.
R: I'm not Tom, sorry...
Silence... Doug hangs up.
A little later....
Cell phone: Ring! Ring! (Rochester, NY area code 585)
R: I'm still not Tom...
D: Didn't you meet a girl down in Orlando a few weeks ago? She's from New York, heavy set.
R: No I did not.
D: You didn't have a rendez-vous with her?
R: I most certainly did not.
Silence... Doug hangs up again.
This dialogue repeats itself once more but this time:
R: I'm sorry, I did not sleep with Cinnamon. Not that it's any of your business but I'm gay!
D: HA! Well... umm... Who do you live with? Do you know a Tom?
R: I do not!
D: Hmmm... ok...
Silence... Doug hangs up again. Thanksgiving goes on without further interruptions until Saturday.
Cell phone: Ring! Ring! (Rochester, NY area code 585)
R: This is still not Tom!!!
D: HAHA! Hey man it's Doug. I just wanted to tell you what happened. My wife messed up the numbers. Your number is very close to Tom's!
R: Oh ok.
D: Man, my wife and I have been having problems. She flies down to Florida and f*cks her boyfriend from 12 years ago. I'm ready to come down there and beat the sh*t out of him! He's not a little guy but neither am I. I'm 6'2, 250lbs before my morning Cheerios.
R: Wow, yeah I would be upset too!
D: So yeah, I just wanted to tell you that and apologize for bugging you on Thanksgiving.
R: No problem, I understand. Good luck with everything.
D: Oh yeah, don't worry. Everything will be ok once I come down there and take care of Tom.
R: Alright, take care.
D: Have a nice life! Good luck with everything! Bye!

I went on a diet for the first time in 1989, when I was 10. A fat friend of mine had lost a ton of weight and looked great. My mom noticed that I was growing tall and rather wide so we talked. I wanted to go to the same doctor because I wanted to look thinner too. I was getting attention at school for being tall, for being chubby, for being different (which would later be known as being gay). Kids are awfully cruel creatures...

Anyway, this event in 1989 set my future. I have been dealing with weight issues since I was 10. I am now 30 and I am tired of it. I've done the borderline anorexia thing, Weight Watchers points, Brazilian points, pills, gym, I AM OVER IT!

Yet, I cannot give up for many obvious reasons... my health! And my back health too... On a side note, I went to an orthopedist almost 3 years ago after a major back crisis. He told me I had to loose weight and workout to strengthen my back and ab muscles. Can you guess if, after 3 years, I have lost any weight? I'm actually sad to admit it that I've gained like 15-20 pounds!!

But anyway, I am tired of being overweight and I'm tired of having back problems. I have to start doing something and something serious. Now I have to log off and not finish my thoughts because I'm in pain...

WHO GIVES A CRAP????????????????????????

These are fairly recent pictures of me. Enjoy.

The things I have to deal with at work. Am I on glue or is she contradicting herself? Please read the emails below.

Mary
I informed you that Mario's orientation was being reschedule to 3/13. However, he wasn't not informed of this change and needless to say he wasn't not pleased. ePAFs must be approved and in the system by the Tuesday before orientation Friday in order to confirm employee's participation. This was not the case for Mario's request... The Training team had to handle his frustrations when this could have easily been avoided. -Rodrigo

Rodrigo

I understand your frustration but I have to wait for HR approval before I create the epaf. The approval email came to me from HR on 2/18/09 and I immediately created the epaf. My department approved it on 2/19/09 and then it's out of our hands. -Mary

Mary

"Out of my hands" is not the best philosophy to abide by because ultimately, the employee is the one penalized. As the originators of a request, it's the department's responsibility to follow up and ensure that the request is completed and processed in a timely manner. This specific ePAF sat in one of your approver's worklist for one week. Mario is the one who got frustrated, not me. He is the one who got caught in the middle of all this... -Rodrigo

Rodrigo,
"Out of my hands" is not a philosophy I abide by. I always follow up and ensure that all ePAF's are processed on time. I do agree that the employees pay and benefits should ultimately be the matter of interest. While everyone always tries to facilitate services correctly, errors may occur.
-Mary

I used to say that I did not need to take a vacation. Most people thought I was insane for saying that because everyone needs a vacation, a break longer than the weekend.

I guess I used to like my job more than I do now. No, I don't guess, I did use to like my job more than I do now. For a while, I LOVED going to work. I enjoyed what I did, I enjoyed who I worked with, staying from 8am to 8pm was not a challenge at all. Taking time off just meant that there would be more to do when I returned. And who likes playing catch up?

Well, time has passed and I guess I''m getting older. I still don't feel that I need a vacation longer than the weekend however I enjoy the time away from work more and more and more and more and more and more. I wonder if that is the equivalent to needing a vacation... hmmm....

After this last vacation, which I enjoyed THOROUGHLY, coming back to work and getting back into the swing of things has been extremely difficult. I enjoyed the time away so much because of the place, because of the people, because of the activities, that getting back to my routine has been awfully depressing. I'm currently doing the dreadful "When will the next vacation be and where are we going?" Sadly enough, I know when the next 2 mini vacations will be and I'm thinking where else I can go and when?

It's almost best not to taste the honey because then you want more and the honey is gone. Sigh...

Today's List Theme: Random household pleasures
1) Clothes fresh out of the dryer
2) Warm bathroom while showering in the winter
3) Clean sheets on the bed

Brody Jenner is an idiot. How sad is that you need a TV show to find a friend? Paris Hilton is just an idiot for the same (and many other) reasons. I watched the end of the Bromance show last night on MTV and could not believe how forced the interaction was. Terms like "Homey" and "Bro" flowed like water in a tsunami of stupidity. Come on people! Have we become that dumb that we have to watch things like this?

Or am I way too grumpy and out of touch with today's reality?