Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Fire
The office caught on fire yesterday. Isn’t that every cube-dwellers dream? The office burns down and work is cancelled and everyone gets paid to head to the pub for the day? Fortunately no one was hurt; unfortunately, we did not get out of work.
As the fire alarm began blaring we sat around discussing whether or not we should leave the building. We’d had a fire drill the day before, so we weren’t sure what to do. However, the risk management manager arrived to tell us to leave and we pushed into the throng of people jostling down the stairwell.
Once outside, we huddled together against the cold in our respective departments. One person from each group shifted between departments to find out what had happened. All that I know after the 45 minutes outside is the following:
1. A vendor left a box on or near the stove in the test kitchen.
2. The box caught on fire.
3. The fire department doused the fire and half of the fifth floor so that a number of people had to move their stuff down to the next floor.
4. There was a lot of smoke damage.
5. As of today, it is still wet and smelly upstairs.
I have been able to use the excuse that we had a fire at the office a few times today to shirk my own responsibilities, but the end of that excuse is fast approaching. Oh well, back to work.
As the fire alarm began blaring we sat around discussing whether or not we should leave the building. We’d had a fire drill the day before, so we weren’t sure what to do. However, the risk management manager arrived to tell us to leave and we pushed into the throng of people jostling down the stairwell.
Once outside, we huddled together against the cold in our respective departments. One person from each group shifted between departments to find out what had happened. All that I know after the 45 minutes outside is the following:
1. A vendor left a box on or near the stove in the test kitchen.
2. The box caught on fire.
3. The fire department doused the fire and half of the fifth floor so that a number of people had to move their stuff down to the next floor.
4. There was a lot of smoke damage.
5. As of today, it is still wet and smelly upstairs.
I have been able to use the excuse that we had a fire at the office a few times today to shirk my own responsibilities, but the end of that excuse is fast approaching. Oh well, back to work.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
City Hotel & Bistro
I have just return from a week in Greenville NC where I set up residency in the City Hotel & Bistro. I had heard mixed reviews and after viewing the website I really didn't know what to expect.
I arrived Monday afternoon to set up the classroom for the next day. The conference room was huge, and filled with black chairs covered in suspicious stains. The service at the front desk was courteous but slow. My room was fine. There were lots of HBO channels.
Then there was the Bistro. Monday night, according to the website, is free pool. Maybe I am just snooty, but in my mind bistros and billiards are two separate things. The bistro at City Hotel and Bistro is not a bistro. It is a dirty, smelly bar with a few old pool tables, crappy service and free karaoke on Wednesday nights. The bar/restaurant (I refused to call it a bistro) doubles as the breakfast room where hotel patrons can consume nasty fake eggs, flaccid bacon, and sometimes, if you're lucky, reheated frozen french toast sticks. (That's it! The french toast sticks must be why they call it a bistro!) The other problem with eating breakfast in the bar is the smell left over from the night before. There is something truly stomach churning about eating breakfast surrounded by the smell of stale cigarettes and warm, day old Bud Light.
I am not sure what Greenville is really like. All I saw was a bunch of pirates (ECU) and a series of chain restaurants. Perhaps I will return there someday to explore more. And, I would stay in the City Hotel and Bistro again. I grew kind of fond of that dirty bar and its inhabitants. (I did spend every night there.) And it was only $64 a night!
I arrived Monday afternoon to set up the classroom for the next day. The conference room was huge, and filled with black chairs covered in suspicious stains. The service at the front desk was courteous but slow. My room was fine. There were lots of HBO channels.
Then there was the Bistro. Monday night, according to the website, is free pool. Maybe I am just snooty, but in my mind bistros and billiards are two separate things. The bistro at City Hotel and Bistro is not a bistro. It is a dirty, smelly bar with a few old pool tables, crappy service and free karaoke on Wednesday nights. The bar/restaurant (I refused to call it a bistro) doubles as the breakfast room where hotel patrons can consume nasty fake eggs, flaccid bacon, and sometimes, if you're lucky, reheated frozen french toast sticks. (That's it! The french toast sticks must be why they call it a bistro!) The other problem with eating breakfast in the bar is the smell left over from the night before. There is something truly stomach churning about eating breakfast surrounded by the smell of stale cigarettes and warm, day old Bud Light.
I am not sure what Greenville is really like. All I saw was a bunch of pirates (ECU) and a series of chain restaurants. Perhaps I will return there someday to explore more. And, I would stay in the City Hotel and Bistro again. I grew kind of fond of that dirty bar and its inhabitants. (I did spend every night there.) And it was only $64 a night!
Monday, October 13, 2008
One Year Later
Wow. It was a whole year ago today that Dan and I got married. It was a wonderful day; it raced by in a blur. The wedding was everything I wanted it to be.
This past year has been filled with a few rough moments, but mostly it has been filled with parties, and travel, and barbeques in the backyard. It has been filled with outdoor guitar jam sessions, cribbage, Sh*t Head, and Settlers of Catan. It has been filled with Sudoku, crossword puzzles, and Stump! It has been filled with good food, good drink, and good friends and family.
Dan- I love you more each day. Happy Anniversary.
This past year has been filled with a few rough moments, but mostly it has been filled with parties, and travel, and barbeques in the backyard. It has been filled with outdoor guitar jam sessions, cribbage, Sh*t Head, and Settlers of Catan. It has been filled with Sudoku, crossword puzzles, and Stump! It has been filled with good food, good drink, and good friends and family.
Dan- I love you more each day. Happy Anniversary.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Bronwen Turns Borat
For those who have seen the extras on the Borat movie:
Yesterday at the grocery store Bronwen and I were walking around the store looking at different things and talking about them. We hit the cheese case and for those of you who have not been to a Fresh Market, there are over 300 different types of cheeses in the case. Bronwen started at the very beginning of the case with the Mozzarella.
“Mommy, what’s this?” she asked, poking her little finger right into the soft cheese.
“That’s cheese,” I replied.
“What’s this?” she poked the smoked mozzarella.
“Cheese,” I said.
“What’s this?” she poked the sliced mozzarella.
“Cheese,” I said.
“Mommy, what’s this?” she poked a wedge of brie.
“More cheese.” I said.
“What this?” she poked the next wedge of brie.
“Even more cheese.” I said.
“What’s this?” she poked the triple cream brie.
“That’s cheese.”
(5 minutes later)
“Mommy, what’s this?” she poked the herb goat cheese.
“Cheese.” I groaned.
A couple hundred cheeses later we started down the dry goods aisle.
“Mommy, what’s this?” she poked the box of penne.
“Pasta.”
Yesterday at the grocery store Bronwen and I were walking around the store looking at different things and talking about them. We hit the cheese case and for those of you who have not been to a Fresh Market, there are over 300 different types of cheeses in the case. Bronwen started at the very beginning of the case with the Mozzarella.
“Mommy, what’s this?” she asked, poking her little finger right into the soft cheese.
“That’s cheese,” I replied.
“What’s this?” she poked the smoked mozzarella.
“Cheese,” I said.
“What’s this?” she poked the sliced mozzarella.
“Cheese,” I said.
“Mommy, what’s this?” she poked a wedge of brie.
“More cheese.” I said.
“What this?” she poked the next wedge of brie.
“Even more cheese.” I said.
“What’s this?” she poked the triple cream brie.
“That’s cheese.”
(5 minutes later)
“Mommy, what’s this?” she poked the herb goat cheese.
“Cheese.” I groaned.
A couple hundred cheeses later we started down the dry goods aisle.
“Mommy, what’s this?” she poked the box of penne.
“Pasta.”
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Another Month Bites the Dust
Why is it so pleasing to cross yet another month off the calendar? Shouldn’t I feel stressed out because life is passing me by? Maybe it feels good because I actually accomplished something, even though that accomplishment is simply surviving through another month. Regardless, I look forward to the first of each month to pull out my orange highlighter and X off the previous 30-something days. Hooray.
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