I’m thinking about having a category called “Just don’t.” As in, the opposite of “Just do it.”

The first post?

Just don’t attempt to unclog a sink with a plunger… ::coughparticularlywiththestopperstillinthesink,stoppingtheholecoughcough::.

Yeah… it doesn’t work too well.

And then you end up breaking a butter knife, chipping a nail and being late to work while attempting to yank the stopper out of the hole without actually ever touching the water that’s in the sink. Or splashing it.

Erm…

So yeah, new category. 🙂

I drive through two small towns on my way to work—one main street, five miles, give or take. It’s a quiet, cute little town, full of cape cod-inspired homes, children walking their dogs and old men sitting at sidewalk cafes. It’s a nice drive and it always makes me smile.

A deli who’s sign said “Freash Subs Daily” for three months before they realized it.

A woman who always walks her two terriers at the same time, every morning, without fail.

An old man, a felt hat perched on his head, who sits at the coffee shop and watches the cars drive by… or the women run by, I’ve never quite figured it out. 😉

As summer comes into full swing, new faces pepper the sidewalk. Families on vacation, couples taking a break from work, college students working their summer jobs… you can always tell why these people are here. It’s the perfect summer town.

This morning I watched a couple of young teenagers come around a corner onto Main. They were slim, tan and obviously nervous—she picked at her bag and he hunched his shoulders, hands in his pockets. He was wearing a rugby shirt (you know, the one where it’s all white and then the arms are red? whatever, I call it a rugby shirt.) and it made his slight frame seem taller, his shoulders broader. I wonder if he knows that? Or if his mom bought the shirt for him and he just put it on, not realizing the effect it would have on the girl walking with him.

I considered the plausibility as I slowed down coming into the next small town and I drove past a couple of guys building a fence. I smiled, they smiled, their teeth shining white against dark tans.

Now I sit here at work and I can hear little kids playing in the park one block away and the barber jawboning with his favorite customers.

I love this town.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoy the Skyping and drinking. 🙂 Aside from being highly entertaining, I get to hear about Moo’s lovelife minutes, nay, mere seconds, before it gets interesting.

Otherwise known as, the Lake Girl just dropped by. Dooodooodoo… and he dropped right off. 😉

And my mom has now learned how to use Skype for IMing… and it’s very odd. She writes mini novels all at once, and they take her quite a bit of time. Which is odd, since I normally write in short bursts and I go as fast as humanly possible just ’cause and it’s very jarring to be able to answer all her questions in a few seconds, and then have to go and get a drink, feed the cats and do the dishes while I wait for her response. 🙂 It’s cute.

Finding out Kate Spade was having an Internet sample sale 12 hours after it started…

Tears people, TEARS.

All the good ones were gone! 🙁

My good friend J passed her paramedic test yesterday (Woohoo!) and so last night we celebrated.

In other words, I got home around 2AM (slightly tanked) after a full night of sushi, vodka and dancing. Good times.

Anywho, someone’s finally blogging, so go say hi.

And I’m thanking my lucky stars that I met that guy in the business center in NYC. He’s insanely helpful—he has contacts at huge companies that interest me and he’s taken me under his wing and I feel truly blessed.

His response to my first email, “Hi, I’m not sure if you remember me, but…” was sincere and, well, empowering.

Sure I remember you. Hope you’re well.

So here’s the deal. Some people hand money to strangers on the street with no idea whether they will buy food or drugs.

I choose to look for people who have a passion for their work, a desire to help others and the ambition to succeed in the face of challenges. I saw some “sparks” in these areas when we talked. All I ask is that if I spend the time to help you, you’ll keep moving forward, and then later try to help someone else, whether you know them or not, and it may be as simple as just passing on a name or idea. No rocket science here. This is also a great way to continue building your “network of contacts”.

So, if you agree, then let’s try. Rather than just blasting out ideas, could I ask first what you would LIKE to do? We may not succeed in finding something, but at least we will both learn in the process.

I keep wondering what in the world brought him into my corner—I think it was because I was helping an older woman understand her computer—and how in the hell am I ever going to pay him back.

I don’t really like people. I know, I know, that’s a “broad statement” and you’re right, it is. So let me qualify it: I don’t like most people. By most people I mean those who are rude, obnoxious, overly arrogant, sexist, demanding, loud and racist… and that’s just part of the list.

Now I know that’s not “most” people, but it’s a lot of people.

Wow, do I sound cynical or what?

I had to go to the grocery store tonight—I haven’t gone since before I left for MN and not only did I not have any food, I was totally out of liquor… the sacrilege!

I did my shopping and headed to checkout—I should’ve kept shopping. The woman in front of the woman ahead of me was very loud and had a rather irritating habit of talking about the price of each of her purchases… “oh my, $4 for a little bag of carrots? that’s outrageous! and how much was that? I can’t believe that price…” And on, and on, and on, until…

“$10 for a BAG of cherries?! Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?!? There’s something wrong—you did something wrong!”

And so the nonsense began. Apparently the cherries were entered into the system wrong, so she had them taken off her bill. Then while the next lady was being rung up, she went and checked the price in the produce section.

“I WAS right. Your system is WRONG!”

And she was back. At this stage she proceeded to detail the price, detail how badly the computer had screwed up and detail how the other grocery store in town ALWAYS gives the customer the item for free if it’s rung up incorrectly.

Bear in mind, all of this was spewed at two young teenagers who looked like the woman had stepped on their puppies… with cleats.

One of her big points was that they were “wasting her time”—this was, of course, while she cut in front of me to have her cherries rung up correctly.

Stupid, stupid cherries.

Well I did turn the job offer from the Boss down. Mainly because when it all comes down to it, this isn’t the place for me anymore and I’m just not happy here. So that’s that.

Unfortunately, it’s also a no-go on the MN deal, as they hired someone yesterday and aren’t looking to hire for awhile. Such is life though, right?

I offered to stay another month fulltime and then do some side work for them after the month is up until whomever they hire is ready to take over, so I’ll be here until mid-August or thereabouts. Which technically isn’t bad. The NYC job also was filled when I was waiting to here about the MN one, so I’m a bit back to square one.

Except for one little factor… I made a really great contact with a guy from a really big company when I was in NYC and he sent me an email today. He wants to find and give me a job. 🙂

That was a nice boost to my otherwise depressing morning, lol.

The conference ended yesterday and now I’m safely ensconced back home. It was a long, long few days—standing at a booth for about eight hours is really a ridiculous thing to have to do. My toes hurt (heels), I noticed last night I was starting to sound raspy (“Hi there, I’m such-and-such and this is..”) and trying to work from a broadband card with a one bar connection just makes a girl want to scream.

Home is good.

I haven’t made a decision about the job. It looks like it was kinda made for me, as the one I really wanted was basically rescinded due to the offer from my boss. Lovely.

I’d talk more about it, but the coworker reads this and I’m not in the mood to debate the pros and cons in person. I’m debating them with a few people and it’s going back and forth… oddly enough, the advice I seem to be getting is to do what I want, but that’s rather annoying. No one understands the concept of TELLING ME WHAT TO DO. 😛

Oh and Moo? I swear to god boy, if you stop blogging I’m going to have to kick you in the shins. I need the nonsense entertainment of the crickets… daily.

So the new guy (also known as: comes-in-hungover guy) was fired on Thursday night.

Friday I was told I was going to the conference in DC.

Yesterday we got here.

Last night I got an offer from my current company that beat the other’s offer—just barely—but it’s a significant raise and a new title.

Said offer would mean: no moving, no learning anything new, no new town, etc. It would also mean that my stress level will probably not decrease and I’ll still be working overtime (although compensation time is going to be one of my caveats).

I don’t really know what to do. Part of me is craving a change of scenery and a change of pace—new friends, new job, new city to explore… the other part says it’ll just be so much easier staying where I am—old friends, a job I usually like, a city I know, the ocean nearby, etc., etc.

Why does being grownup mean you have to make such hard decisions?

I was on the phone with one of my closest friends earlier, as she drove to her boyfriend’s for dinner.

me: Are you there yet? Do I need to let you go?
her: No, no, it’s OK. He loves it when I talk to you before coming to see him.
me: Why’s that?
her: Oh he says talking to you makes me horny.

Best. compliment. ever.

Thank you, thank you, my work here is done.