Smart.

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Alright Already.

So my friend Betsy (you remember Betsy right?) has been trying to get me to watch Parks & Recreation for the past 3 years or so. She made it quite clear that the show was perfectly in keeping with my sense of humor and that I'd love it. Every time she asked if I had started watching yet I'd say "No... but I promise I'm going to!" but never did.

I finally did. And once again... she was right.

Thank you Betsy. Thank you.

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You win again Bets. You always do.

But I'll get you next time. Just you wait and see... one day you'll LOVE How I Met Your Mother or Glee. And you'll have me to thank. Mua ha ha ha ha.

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Big Bully

I've been called a lot of adjectives in my life, some good, some bad, some ugly... but never in my life have I ever been called a bully. Until yesterday.

In late summer we hired a woman to work in our department with Joy, Helane and me and I'll be honest and say it wasn't exactly a great fit from the start. As the days rolled on, we got things figured out and eventually we started a relationship with this woman. A few weeks ago she announced to us that while it was a "very hard decision" she was going to be starting a new job opportunity. Now that she's gone, we have to re-fill this position and this is what my boss had to say about the situation:



"Okay now that BlahBlah is gone, we're going to have to have So&So start. He's really nice and we think he'll do a really good job... as long as Alli doesn't bully him like she did the last person."

I immediately thought my boss was kidding because I'm the least confrontational person I know. I would honestly rather do almost anything than get into an argument with someone. Am I passive/aggressive? Most certainly. Light-heartedly feisty? To a fault... but a bully? Surely this had to be a joke.

"Wait, are you serious? BlahBlah said I was a bully? What exactly did I do?"

"Well evidently you did something, because you made her cry twice."

Sitting in Conference Room C, I immediately felt my cheeks flush and my brow furrow. WWWWWHhat?! This is a grown woman! Mid-to-late 40s! While I will admit that the first few weeks of having her around were difficult, I in no way snapped at her or made her feel unwelcome! How could I have caused her to have not one, but two emotional breakdowns?!

Joy and Helane giggled and took delight in making it seem as though I was this real scary "street tough" who could make people cry at will...

"That's Alli... you gotta watch out for her. She's the real ring leader. If she doesn't like you, oh watch out... she'll eat you for breakfast."

(I wasn't worried about this though. I don't take anything those two say seriously. Buncha animals.)

But this got me wondering - could I really be coming across as mean and hurtful when all I mean to be is playful? As I said before, this is the first time I've ever been in this situation where I've (allegedly) hurt someone's feelings so badly that they wound up in tears... not to mention an adult who was supposed to be my superior. Maybe I need to cut back on the sarcasm and the awkwardly-timed jokes....

Yeah right.

The "Before I Die" Project

This piece of community art was started by Candy Chang...

What an inspirational project! Candy Chang's website (found here and where all these photographs are from) explains what the motivation is behind this.

After seeing this it motivated me to think about what I would have written on that wall. I think right now if I walked past this wall, I would write "be satisfied with all that I have already been blessed with".

NYE

Here's my problem with New Year's Eve... It's very sneaky. You think you're going to go out and get all sparkely and drunk and have the BEST NIGHT EVER, but in actuality it's a huge, expensive, disappointing pain in the ass. And here's why:

-Anywhere good worth going to requires a ticket to get in. $50 to get through the door and then "drink specails" all night long. And they're "special" in the sense that they're rail vodka drinks with this much booze and this much soda, tonic, water, whathaveyou.

-It's freaking freezing on December 31st and girls (or at least this girl) feel required to wear dresses and heels. So you have to stand outside in line to get into the bar where you paid for a ticket weeks in advance, then you have to stand outside forever while waiting for a cab, all while your legs are exposed. If your date is a decent person he'll give you his coat but that's hardly been the case in my book... Happy New Year! Here's a head cold!

-Speaking of dates, it's my opinion that NYE is worse than Valentine's day in most scenarios. For single people anyway. And as I am a single gal and this is my blog, that's how it is. On Valentine's day you expect and accept the fact that there will be couples everywhere and that single people are the weirdo freak losers who should stay at home and cuddle up with their many cats (hollerrrrr....). NYE is the exact same way and there's even a countdown to a big romantic kiss at one point. Nothing more depressing to a single person than counting backwards from 10 while everyone else around you smooches the one they love and and you stand there quitely having a panic attack. However, that does give us single ladies a chance to make a beeline for the bar where there will most likely be no line as everyone else is in a passionate embrace with their date. "One vodka tonic with a lime for this Bitter Betty please. Aw hell, make it seven."

-Even if you're in a relationship, this holiday sucks because your expectations for it are always way better than it can ever be! This is true for most holidays but NYE definitely takes the cake. You envision this fabulous night, hype it up, and it's usually pret-tay miserable.

This might not be the case for everyone - some of you might love New Year's Eve. And if that's the case, then I sincerely hope you have an amazing night. And for the rest of us, I wish you a safe, warm, alcohol-filled, and drama-free night!


Should All Acquaintance Be Forgot...

Warm Yourself!

Senior Citizen Flash Mob

Thank you for bringing this into my life, Helane!

Ho Ho Holy Sh*t It's Almost Here



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New

My friend Katie in my office just told me about this website that gives you a daily boost!

Daily Pep Talk From A Best Friend will give you a new inspirational quote whenever you need one and (hopefully) help you to be the best "you" you can be!

I ran across this beauty which caught my eye immediately:

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Check it out! It might be just the push you need to do something amazing today!

Thanks Katie! :)

Grumpy Old Men

This was 100% me this morning while watching the news. 

Little Peanut

I have been bursting with excitement the past several weeks and couldn't tell anybody... but now I have the green light:

MY SISTER JESSICA IS HAVING A BABY!!!!

She is a little over 3 months and according to the tests and ultrasounds, this is going to be one happy and healthy baby! Jess and Scott have decided not to find out what gender the baby is going to be... so it will be a surprise come early June when he or she arrives!

So this means little Buggy is going to be a big sister... I hope she handles everything well!

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