Friday, March 31, 2006

Here we grow again

Okay. I've started this post like 500 times. I start writing about the 10 miler and how it's happening tomorrow but get distracted by pounding and drilling -- and not the good kind.

Our newsroom keeps growing. To accommodate a new round of reporters, copy editors and the like, 10 new desks are going in right beside my row of desks. The noise is a huge distraction but even worse is the claustrophobic feeling I have. This new row of desks is right on top of my row. My path into the newsroom has been diverted because of the new addition. So annoying.

I'll have to channel my anger into energy for the 10-miler.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Addicted

Like Whitney Houston and crack, I can't start my day without Starbucks coffee -- specifically, a venti bold roast from the Starbucks at the Target shopping center, but not the one in the Target.

Through extensive research, I have found the abovementioned Starbucks to be the best. The coffee is always hot and strong and the cups never ever leak.

I drove an alternate route to work today. Rather than stop at the bad Starbucks with the drive-up window, I stopped at Panera. I love Panera's bagels, soups, breads, salads; the coffee is okay. But, as with Whitney and her crack, I crave a lot of coffee and Panera does not provide a big enough serving.

To make it through the morning, I ordered a large coffee and a small coffee. Walking into work, I saw my reflection in a window. I was drinking two cups of coffee at once. I looked disheveled as I struggled to carry all of my stuff while holding my two cups of coffee.

I thought, this is what addiction looks like. I wonder if Whitney felt the same about her pictures plastered in The Sun?

Did I mention that I also have an addiction to celebrity gossip?

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Of lilies and pesto

Since last Thursday, I've had a series of horrible headaches that only occur while I'm at work. Today, I found the culprit of my pain -- a big pile of dead lilies in the trash can.

I kept proclaiming that someone on the third floor had lilies. I sneezed, my eyes watered and my head pounded to the point of nausea, but no one understood.

Lilies cause me severe discomfort yet they're so darn pretty who can blame someone for wanting them around. I love to look at them, too. I've even gotten excited when I've received them. They're beautiful and unique. But, that smell! It makes me want to throw up.

The dead lilies made me think of my other nemesis, pesto. I love pesto almost more than I hate the smell of lilies. I could eat it by the gallon. Unfortunately, I'm allergic to pine nuts. On occasion, I get in such a mood for pesto that I can't resist eating it -- an event typically followed by violent vomiting.

Seeing the lilies in the trash can made me feel a little victorious. I beat the lilies -- Amy 1, Lilies 0. But, mark my words: the battle has only begun. Everyone loves lilies. They'll keep showing up in confined spaces. In the end, they may be the death of me. Unless pesto gets me first.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Blogged down

Work is starting to slow down and I am back on the blog! Now, what to write? So much time has passed since the last time I blogged and yet I have nothing.

So, here's what's been happening:

Training for the 10-miler continues. While I'm pretty dedicated to the weekend long run, I'm a total slacker during the week. I occasionally work out at lunch but I'm not consistent. The slowest time of last year's run was a more than 15-minute mile pace. I think I can beat it even with my lack of weekday training.

The race is the weekend after next, so I don't have much time to pick up the pace.

Finally, after months and months of lessons, I can play a song on my guitar that actually sounds good. Guitar camp here I come!

I made the "Blog-horich" this week for coming up with the phrase "Blog-horich." A "Blog-horich" link will be added to my page soon.

Once I get all this financial news out of my system, I should be more interesting. Stay tuned.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Errors Shmerrors

Our error-free streak has ended with the classic typo error. But, that's okay. We should never have expected to be perfect. With one error, we can still get a boost in our bonuses. We just have to make it through the rest of the month. Ugh!

That aside, work has been unbelievably bearish this week. Our research group has caused us to get numerous errors due to bad intelligence. (Third-party errors do not count against us.) In addition to the research headaches, we have had an ass-load of mergers and acquisitions, earnings reports and general tomfoolery to deal with. All in all, it's been a shitty week that I couldn't wait to end.

It's a good thing that I got a random semi-annual raise this week. That's right, another raise!

When I was told about it, I said, "Wait. You mean this is in addition to the raise I got in January?" The response was, "Uh, yeah." I was in complete shock!

I've been at this job for less than a year.