Cats ... Books ... Life is Good

Work Conversation

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:24:00 +0000

I just had this conversation with two co-workers:

Co-worker #1: “What do you do when you go in the back every day?”

Me: “I keep my superhero cape back there. I do a quick change, fly out and save someone in distress, then change back into my street clothes and go back to my desk.”

Co-worker #1 is looking at me in a very strange way.

Co-worker #2 (sarcastic guy): “It doesn’t take you very long. What kind of saving do you do?”

Me: “I wouldn’t me much of a superhero if I did everything at normal person speed, now would I?”

They both look confused.

Me: “I’m changing the backup tape for the server, okay?” (sigh)

Yeah, I really shouldn’t be working here.

MOVING!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:12:00 +0000

Dear Blogger,

It's not you, it's me. Well, if I'm being completely honest, it really is a little bit you. We hardly talk anymore and when we do, it's all recriminations about how you're not there for me when I need you and how you don't act the way I expect you to. And now, I'm getting letters from you that make no sense. You claim that someone else is sending them but we both know the truth. Don't worry, if anyone asks, I'll just say that "Blogger knows what I mean" and leave it at that.

I'm moving on, Blogger - moving on to WordPress. If you need me, you can find me here. But please, stop calling and stop writing - you're just embarrassing yourself. You don't want to wind up like the mop in the Swiffer commercial, do you?

It's been real, Blogger.

THE SWANS CAME or why we have no bread in the house

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:27:00 +0000

For my birthday, I got a zoom lens for my camera. I'm still learning all the techno-jargon - I just know I can get really close up pictures that come out looking really, really cool!

Yesterday morning, I noticed that the swans were on our side of the river. There are four of them that travel together - two older ones and two younger. You can tell the youngsters because they still have some of the browns & grays of their baby feathers and their beaks have yet to turn orange. I crept downstairs and into the yard trying to get pictures without disturbing them.

I should worry!

See how his feathers are still a little mottled? They help camouflage him. It's all part of the wonders of nature.

Here's an adult with the full orange. When I first downloaded the pictures, I noticed that the camera was focusing more on the fence than on the birds in some of the pics, so I decided to try to get some more, this time shooting over the top of the fence, which would require me getting a little closer.

Rather than be upset and swim away, the swans came right up to the edge of the water. They obviously wanted something and were used to people giving it to them, immediately I might add.

Feed me human, NOW!

Why isn't my imperial stare working? Stop clicking that thing at me and get me something to eat! Really, do you think she speaks English? Does she not know I'm hungry!

So I went in to check to see if we had anything that swans would want to eat.

By the time I got back outside with some rolls, they'd invited all their friends. The seagulls were not a good addition to the party. They swooped in and stole the bits of the bread away from anyone they could get close to, and were all round very rude guests. The poor ducks got the short stick since they were too well behaved to fight back. But that's okay since they're the only ones that fly into our yard so I put out lots of seeds for them. The swans were happy with my offering and promised to come back again. Unfortunately, I'm usually at work during their visiting hours, but maybe I'll catch them one morning, if I'm not too late!

And off they go, to find another sucker who won't mind parting with a little bread. They didn't take their friends with them, however. The seagulls are still hear, trashing the dock!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:36:00 +0000

The cat just walked across my keyboard and the entire screen went black. I pressed a few buttons, including the on/off switch, but nothing happened. I was going to tweet and beg for an answer, but - oh, yeah! MY SCREEN IS BLACK!!!! After a few minutes of complete & utter panic - how do you feel when the tried and true method of "turn it off and back on again" doesn't work! - I realized that she had stepped on the dimmer key and just turned off all the lights to the screen. When I found the antidote, kindly depicted by Apple as a brighter sun, I fixed the problem with the computer. However, the cat is determined to get me away from the machine and reading my book! Enough of this "work crap!" It is a federal holiday, after all.

THE KITCHEN

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:42:00 +0000

In my family, the kitchen is the most important (and most used) room in the house. In most of our houses, it's usually painted a cheery yellow. And it's where everyone congregates, whether you want them to or not, which I learned much to my chagrin at my sister's graduation party. After helping my mother clean (and I mean deep clean) the rest of the house, we didn't get to the kitchen. Guess where everyone wound up?

And why not? You can guarantee it's going to be warm, what with the oven going. All the action happens there if you're serving any type of food, which you will get first dibs on if it's leaving the kitchen. And it's a place where pets of all kinds are welcome. There are no worries about fur on the furniture or scratching of rugs. Everything is more relaxed in the kitchen.

This got me thinking - what are some requirements for a good kitchen? This will differ for everyone but mine are:

there has to be lots of room because, as I mentioned, people gravitate there
loads of comfortable seating because you want to be comfortable
a table big enough to sit a group, with room for accoutrement - in our case, laptops since at least two of us have them going at all times
lots of lighting including natural lighting, so lots of windows/doors

On the cooking end, I would like:

counter space up the yin-yang! I never have enough, especially around the stove
speaking of which, while I love my parents' Aga for the warmth, I want a gas stove to work with, especially when I'm baking

So, if anyone has a spare kitchen lying around that fits the bill, let me know and I'll move right in. Oh, and if it comes with a staff of elves to clean up after I'm done cooking, that would be awesome! What about you? What do you need for the perfect kitchen?

ONE DAY YOU'RE IN AND THE NEXT DAY YOU'RE OUT

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:37:00 +0000

I've been feeling a little schizophrenic at work recently. There are days when I'm sure I'm about to be called into the VP's office and told that my services are no longer required. With the economy, building is down and banks don't want to lend money to construction companies. I've learned that no one uses their own money.

In our office, there are some jobs that need to be filled. Someone's got to answer the phones. Someone has to send out bills to General Contractors, even if it takes a lot to get them paid. Someone has to estimate new jobs in the hopes that we will get something - anything! The one position that is really a luxury in these times is .... my job. If we don't have enough work for a Project Manager, having an Assistant Project Manager is almost excess.

Then there are days where I think the powers that be are ready to give me new responsibilities and that my job is about to get a lot more exciting. Veiled hints are dropped, but nothing comes from them. And unfortunately, those days don't happen often. I still have my job, thank goodness, but there are days where I wish I didn't have to deal with the TENSION - oh my god, the tension - that just seems to be taking over everything! I've even started looking on job hiring sites to see if there's anything open because, when I'm really honest with myself, I am not well suited for this business. And I'm not sure if there's anywhere I can (or want) to go, career wise.

But then, everything changed. Last week we signed a contract for an $11 million Medical Center job. Suddenly, everyone is happier. The head of the office actually laughed - not just smiled, but laughed out loud! And I have stuff to do again (which I should be doing right now, instead of writing this). So, it looks like I'll be employed for a bit longer. And I can continue to play ostrich about my future. Look, there's a nice hole right there to hide my head. It's under all the submittals I have to find. I'm off to figure out which brand of sheetrock is best for a medical center. Yeah, I know ... you really wish you were me.

RESPONSIBILITIES

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:44:00 +0000

Today is my birthday and, since I've been fairly miserable at my job lately, I'm taking today and Monday off and having a lovely long weekend. I have use-it-or-lose-it vacation days to use up so why not? Before I left yesterday, I made sure my two key responsibilities (handing out the mail and changing the tape in the server room) were covered. Hence why I' am hating my job. But today is about doing things I like to do. I'm going to go for a walk and take pictures of Fall things, including Fall oceans; I'm going to spend lots of money; I'm going to start a new knitting project; and I very likely will take a nap with a cat or two.

I AM ADDICTED TO BEJEWELED BLITZ ON FACEBOOK

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:12:00 +0000

There, I said it. It's a problem. I'm admitting that I have an addiction. It's not stopping me from playing - at all time, some of them completely inappropriate times, like when I'm at work. And I'm supposed to be working on work stuff. Blah, blah, blah - I'd much rather be blowing up little jewels.

There are times when I wonder what the behind the scenes gnomes are saying to each other. You know, the gnomes that line up the jewels to drop every time you clear a group of gems? THOSE gnomes! And if you don't think about the gnomes, then you have a severely under-developed sense of whimsy and really, I pity you. Besides, it's not as if the gems fall in a random sequence. There's order behind that chaos!

Anyway, I think the gnomes are beginning to question my ability to play the game properly. "We just lined up a super-sweet 4 in a row for her and she missed it completely! I mean, does she even want to win?" "You're looking around for a move and it's RIGHT THERE in front of you! Do you think we should suggest she get her eyes checked?" "Really, I don't know why we bother setting these things up for her. Look at that! LOOK AT THAT! She just passed up a star jewel! That's it, I'm done! She's on her own now!"

You're right. I have to stop playing this game because it's affecting my brain! I think I'll try the Breaking Bricks game. I heard the elves over there are much nicer.

Oh My God! I thought I'd finished and just went to play another game of Blitz. It really is an addiction. I need help!

HALLOWEEN SMILES

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:50:00 +0000

Some pumpkins I carved this weekend.

We have this one ...

and this one on the table in our backyard so we can enjoy them from the two rooms we use most in the house - the kitchen & the TV room.

This one is in the front yard surrounded by a circle of ghost lights. The fairy lights coming down the back of the picture are attached to a string of large plastic spiders, something that looks kind of freaky in the daylight but not so much when you can't see them any more.

ARE WE LOSING OUR HUMANITY?

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:30:00 +0000

I first read about the gang rape of a 15 year old on the school grounds outside her homecoming dance in post entitled A Fairy Tale Homecoming? No. Teen Gang Raped As Crowd Looks On by Erin Kotecki Vest on BlogHer. I usually stay away from this kind of topic on my blog, preferring to keep the subject matter light and, more importantly, about me. But this sickened me so much, I had to say something. Congratulations, gentlemen (and believe me, I use the term lightly), you have overcome my apathy and self involvement.

According to Mercurynews.com (part of the Bay Area News Group), a 15 year old girl left her homecoming dance in Richmond, CA and walked down the street to catch a ride from her father. A classmate enticed her to join a group of other students where they fed her hard alcohol and after she became semiconscious, proceeded to gang rape her for over 2 hours. A crowd gathered to watch, take pictures, steal her jewelry, and for some, even take part in the rape.

To those that participated in the rape, I don't advocate an "eye for an eye" mentality and I don't support the death penalty. But be very glad I will not be a member of the jury when you come to trial. Because I hope you get sent away to a place where the exact same thing happens to you. I want you to feel and experience EVERYTHING this poor girl went through!

To those that watched without reporting this atrocity to the police, I hope they hunt you all down, try you as adults for accessories to the crime (if not active participants) and that you get sentenced to the fullest sentence the court can give you. I don't want to hear any bullshit about how you are teenagers and minors. You don't have to be of legal age to realize how horrific this act was and it should have been stopped immediately. This is not subject to a certain age limit - this is subject to a person's humanity, and obviously you have none!

The quotes in this article from the school board are ridiculous. I don't know whether the news outlet edited the quotes to leave out all compassion and taking of responsibility of the board or whether they are so busy covering their asses that they are effectively playing ostrich and pretending that it wasn't that bad.

"Obviously we've had some breakdowns. Obviously, it was not safe because this happened," said Charles Ramsey, a West Contra Costa school district board member. "Should we have had higher awareness, should we have been more vigilant? Probably."

Probably you should have been more vigilant? PROBABLY??? Oh my god, I want to spit, I'm so mad!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:19:00 +0000

I just took a call at my job from someone at a local rectory asking if someone could come over and give him a quote on some drywall work, for a 10x18 room. We don't do work that small. We don't do work as small as the rectory as a whole, actually. We do hospitals and university buildings and public schools and casinos. And baseball stadiums (Yankee fans, you're welcome! Nationals fans too!)

But I went to check with the head of the office anyway. Because you know the one time I summarily dismiss a rector like that, it will turn out to be someone's local parish and it will be one more strike against me when I try to get out of hell, and I'm already on the 7th level all by myself, so I really don't need any extra help, thank you very much.

As it turns out, we only do commercial work and this is not the right job for us. But you know what? The strike is now against the head of the office, not me, cause I did the right thing. It's called passing the buck!

OUR LISTING IN THE MICHELIN GUIDE

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:14:00 +0000

I think we just got our 5th star in the Michelin Guide, or at least as far as the ducks are concerned. We had over 20 ducks in our yard at one time this weekend.

Obviously word has passed that kind hearted women (translation: complete & utter suckers) live here.

PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE AT THE BEEP

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:45:00 +0000

Hi, you've reached Cats, Books, Life is Good. Doesn't that seem too long of a name - maybe I should shorten it to beginning letters only?

Okay, 2nd take - Hi, you've reached CBLisG and there's no one here. Yeah, no one's going to know who that is and I'll get all the freak messages that have nowhere else to go!

Right - take 3. Hi, you've reached me, my cats, and all my books. We're not here to take a call right now. Actually, the cats are here but they're just ignoring you. And it's not like the books can talk or anything. So all you need to know is I'm not here. Where am I? beeeeeep! Crap! Who knew there was a time limit on the message part?!

This is it - 4th time's a charm! I'm not here - I'm getting sensory overload from the fall foliage. Leave a message and if you're lucky, the cat's will tell me you called. Oh, and yes, the books still can't talk!

This is what I'm doing instead of answering the phone. All of a sudden, there's color exploding all around us. Fall is definitely here.

We've got a little of red,

some yellows,

a little bit of green,

and my personal favorite - orange!

Today's Monday Mission, as sponsored by Painted Maypole, was to write in the style of an outgoing message on your answering machine. To see the other participants, phone here and maybe they'll be there to take your call.

I CAN'T WORK UNDER THESE CONDITIONS!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:26:00 +0000

It is very difficult to get any work done with a cat that doesn't ~~know~~ acknowledge the meaning of the word NO, and who has no boundaries what-so-ever!

Really, why are you trying to take pictures of anything other than this?

FOCUS

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Helen & I have been focusing most of our energy recently on our store, Fragile Earth Stuffed Animals. We cleaned out all of the left over teaching supplies (there were more than I originally thought) and donated them to the Catholic School where I happily spent 3 years teaching. (Funny how, when looking back, you remember all the good times and gloss over the annoying ones.) Two weekends ago, I drove down and met one of the teachers at the school and unloaded all the goodies. There was some really good stuff in there!

We moved the store blog from Blogger to Wordpress and, so far, I'm pleased with the way it looks. We're trying to post 5-6 times a week, with weekly themes and specific things on each day. When I was teaching, I loved making edible projects with the kids - spiders out of marshmallows, birds out of crackers, etc. They had a ball getting dirty and eating the final product. So, once a week, we either create or try to replicate a recipe that fits in with our theme. So far, we've made bats and witches hats and cats, and, oh yeah - monster cupcakes. Most of the creations look like a 5 year old made them, but I'm doing that on purpose. For real! I don't want you to be upset when your creation doesn't come out perfect like mine! So I ease up on the flawlessness - making it look like a real person did it. One day, when I release my awesomeness, you just won't know what hit you!

Every Thursday, we post a give-away. A brand new item that we're just handing out for free. This week it was Sesame Street Workbooks; last week it was a Monster Game; the week before, it was a Cat Puzzle.

I'm trying really hard not to get discouraged, but we've only had sporadic visits and virtually no comments. I mean, we've barely managed to get one commenter a post on the giveaways. I know we have to give it time and I'm in no way giving up, but it's hard not to feel ignored. We tweet about the posts and Rupert (the spokesperson for our company)

has his own Facebook page that the tweets go to also. Really, how can anyone not love that face?

We will continue on, trying to make the posts as interesting as possible and, hopefully, taking better quality pictures. If you have any suggestions, we would love to hear them. Is there something you go looking for to do with your kids? Art projects? Fact finding missions?

Another question for you. Are people just not commenting on blogs anymore? Has Twitter taken over as the forum of choice? I know that I read blogs on my lunch break through my google reader and I don't always have time to comment. But I read you, all of you! At least the ones that I know about. Anyway, I may be answering my own question here. I am more likely to tweet someone than click into their blog and then into their comment box/page. Hmmm. I must think on this.

If you're on Twitter and are interested in following us, I'm @marybeth494, Helen is @reggittino, and Rupert is @ruperthedgehog. Come join us - it's lots of fun. Really! And if you know anyone who loves stuffed animals, www.feplush.com - we've got some awesome critters just waiting to go to a nice home!

WHAT'S ON THE MENU?

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:24:00 +0000

I try to plan our meals out in advance. It helps us stick to healthier eating and also allows me to do a one-stop shopping trip early in the week. But flexibility is also a good thing - allowing yourself to be open to suggestion, such as when The Pioneer Woman posts a recipe on her blog that looks so good, you're ready to fly to Oklahoma, stand in the middle of the state and just scream "PW" over and over until she takes pity on you and invites you home for dinner. The recipe she posted yesterday for "Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts & Tomatoes" qualifies as one of those recipes. Holy crap! That was good food and really easy to make (15 minutes, I swear!) I'd post a picture only it didn't last that long.

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:40:00 +0000

I have a headache. I've spent the day trying not to cry in front of my co-workers because right after getting to work this morning, I found out that an old friend died last night. He's been fighting cancer for 9 years now, but he always said he'd kick it. He referred to himself as "the cancer kid" and he had every intention of milking the disease for whatever sympathy he could.

The past few months, he's slowly been sliding down hill. He had a stroke and lost the use of his left hand, but then got it back again. He lost weight, which made him happy, because he was a wee bit vain.

I worked with him at his store on Long Beach Island. I walked into the store looking for work on my summer break and we clicked immediately. The store had it's quiet times, which we spent playing marathon gin rummy games. We usually wagered books. Quite a few books in my library came because those games. The rules of the games were fluid, depending on who was winning at the time, but it was all in fun.

I feel miserable because I didn't go see him recently. I kept meaning to go but, whether it was because I was afraid to see him or because I didn't think he wanted me seeing him so sick, I don't know. I kept telling myself that I didn't want to worry him, make him wonder why I was coming to see him suddenly. I think I'm just trying to make myself feel better.

I'm supposed to be going to see Bruce Springsteen tomorrow night. We have two tickets for his last concert at Giant's Stadium. Saturday, I'm supposed to be going to NYC for the NY Food & Wine festival to see Paula Deen and Giada De Laurentiis. What I will be doing instead is going to viewing tomorrow night and a funeral Saturday. And for my friend, I will gladly give up my tickets because he is worth it.

So yeah, I've got a headache.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOAD!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:18:00 +0000

*HIPPO

BIRDIE

EWES

HIPPO

BIRDIE

DEER

TOAD!

It's sister #3's birthday - head on over and share some birthday love with Nurses Rock. Maybe it will get her blogging again!

*Many thanks to Sandra Boynton for this idea - it never gets old:)

**Careful - shameless plug here! All animals available through our online store - Fragile Earth Stuffed Animals - except for Toad - we're waiting for him to come in. And obviously the hippo, the deer & the flamingo because they've been discontinued. Well, this was going to be a much more self serving post but I suppose we can make it all about her for TODAY ONLY because after all it is her birthday.

Happy birthday - wish I was there to share the cake - will be catching up with you soon with all your presents:D

YOU'RE UP THEN YOU'RE DOWN

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:30:00 +0000

This past week had it's highs and lows - par for the course except the highs and lows were magnified. Wednesday night we went to Giant's Stadium to see Bruce Springsteen. The NY Giants have built a new stadium and Springsteen is closing out the old one with a series of concerts. We were lucky enough to get tickets for his first and last concert and if next Friday night's concert is anything like the one we just saw, it will be epic!

Helen, my mom and I got a late start but got to our seats just after Springsteen took the stage, starting with a song he wrote especially for this occasion. He then proceeded to play for almost four hours without stopping. He didn't even do the traditional bow, leave the stage, and then come back out for another set. He just looked at the crowd and said it was too cold to stop and continued rocking the place.

For this series of concerts, he has chosen to play certain of his older albums from start to finish, just as we used to listen to them on (gasp) tape or LP. Wednesday night we got Born to Run, which if you are a Springsteen fan, is just unreal. Thunder Road, Born to Run, Meeting Across the River, ... JUNGLELAND in concert, live - really, there are no words.

We were in the top tier of the stadium but directly across from the stage so we had great seats. With my vertigo, I opted to sit through the entire concert - a little difficult during Badlands but the whole dizziness, feeling like I'm going to fall over the edge won out and I stayed down. Helen was just telling me that it wasn't too bad standing up when the woman in the row behind us fell over the back of the seats and knocked my mother into the row below us. We got her back up on her feet and she seemed okay, just a little shaken, but that sealed the fates. There was no way I was standing up until the end - in fact, I seriously considered crawling out of the row and not standing until I hit the stairs to the mezzanine.

All the drama not withstanding, this was hands down, the BEST concert I have ever seen. I'm really looking forward to Friday night and this time we're on the second level so I'll be able to stand up during the good songs:)

Since I knew I would be exhausted on Thursday, I scheduled some minor oral surgery for then. I had to have an abscess filled in the root of a tooth and it involved people cutting open my gums, which is about where I stopped listening to the surgeon. However good Wednesday night was, Thursday was the opposite. The procedure didn't last very long and the surgeon and his staff were amazing, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I have stitches in my gum and 6 weeks before it's completely healed. Awesome!

But by now the pain is minimal; it's Sunday afternoon and I've had a fairly productive weekend; we've got the game going in the background and since it means nothing (last game of the season and the Mets are just trying to get through without hurting anyone else), the announcers are having a ball talking about anything and everything; and I just finished making brownies for my cooking project for the Fragile Earth Blog. Part of these past two weeks have been spent getting the new blog up and running for Rupert and the store, planning things out and trying to get posts done over the weekend so we have something to post every day.

Three swans just went by on the river which is glittering in the sun, reminding me of how gorgeous it is outside. And I'm off!

I THINK I LOVE YOU ...

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:43:00 +0000

I'm a little bit in love with the Dallas Cowboys today. I'm not a big follower of football, but I do take part in the office pool each week, and every year, I win at least once which covers my cost - and gives me a little extra to spend. The thrill is more for the gambler in me - that excited feeling Monday morning when you compare your win/loss record with everyone else's and see if you're on top or not. Yesterday, I came in with 11 wins from the weekend, tied with three other people. One of them picked the Panthers to win and the other two also picked the Cowboys but with a higher point total that I had. (Our tie-breaking system is to guess the total combined score for Monday night's game.) My guess was 31 points.

Last night, I went to bed with the Cowboys finally leading 21-7 in the end of the third quarter, which is where the score remained. 28 points which was good for me but there was still a quarter left to play. When I woke up at 3:30 this morning for no apparent reason, I checked the score to find that the final score was still 21-7 which means I WON!!!!

The feeling of euphoria might have contributed to the following insomnia as I imagined all the ways to spend all my lovely moola. I can do a lot of damage with a pot of $290 - there are shoes out there calling my name! And sweaters! And books - oh, what I could do with that money in a bookstore:) Luckily I managed to fall back to sleep because if I can't stay awake during the day for my job, I may not be here much longer which will automatically eliminate me from winning any more money this way.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I may be awake, but there are sweater options to explore:D

**Oh, and I would just like to point out that this is the one week I made all the picks myself without any outside guidance, since brother #3 (who is my football guru) emailed me his picks just after I had sent my picks in.

Dream Job

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:27:00 +0000

Dear Sir/Madam:

I respectfully submit my name for the position of "reader" as advertised in Big Butt's Weekly. I learned to read at the age of 4, with Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats being the first book I read all by myself. But even before that, I was steeped in literature as my parents read aloud to me every night.

Since first learning to read, I have never stopped. I have even known to read cereal boxes or ketchup bottles when nothing else is available. I even majored in English Literature in college, because really, what else would a reader major in?

Please be advised, I do not want to read boring articles or books. I have standards, you know, and stick by them rigorously, with only the minor slip of a Nora Roberts here and there. I am open to any and all genres, except horror (or blood & guts stuff) - anything that will give me nightmares, because the only thing more important to me than reading is sleeping. However, I will not waste time on anything that does not catch my interest within the first 100 pages. If I am still questioning why I'm reading the book at that point, I will not finish it.

Above all, please know that I am a professional, and I take my job very seriously, as the size of my butt will attest.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hopefully reading my acceptance letter from you shortly.

Sincerely,

marybeth494

The Couch, Living Room

This post is part of the Monday Mission to write a resume (see how well I follow directions? Don't you want to hire me immediately?) hosted by the ever lovely Painted Maypole. Check out her blog to see who else is participating.

AND WE'RE OFF TO THE LIBRARY!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:42:00 +0000

Yesterday, we were working on setting up a new site for Fragile Earth Stuffed Animals and we needed a book. So, just like years ago, we jumped on our bikes and off we went to the library. If we didn't sit as easily in the saddle, we appreciated the exercise more. It was a gorgeous day and I brought my camera along to snag some pics. Luckily, I was riding a bike with a basket because the thought of riding with my camera casually flung around my neck gives me slight palpitations!

The library, established in 1924, is free to anyone with a Beach Haven address, which luckily, we have:)

Inside, while they have computers for the more technologically savvy, they also retain the old charm of card catalogs - one for the main part of the library and one, a little bit shorter, for the children's section.

The balcony upstairs, just wide enough to tuck yourself away with a good book and stretch your legs out.

The main room of the library - can you see the huge fireplace? I don't know if they ever light a fire because I've never been in during the winter. But can't you imagine curling up in the chair after walking over, and thawing out your toes?

The Mystery room - a room I know intimately. For such a small library, they have quite an extensive mystery section. And the great thing is they have the old mysteries. Does anyone remember Catherine Aird? and Ngaio Marsh? Josephine Tey? All there and well represented.

I love this place!

WHEN I GROW UP, I'M GOING TO RUN THE ZOO

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Saturday was a gorgeous fall day - warm but not hot, with a breeze. As my mother said, "It's a zoo day!" So, since I do everything my mother tells me to do, off we went to the zoo. The Bronx Zoo, that is. Ostensibly, we went to see the Birds of Prey in Flight exhibition, but really? Who needs an excuse to go to the zoo? Certainly, not me!

This time, I didn't focus only on the animals (although, somehow or other, quite a few of a certain eagle found their way on to my camera),

but rather spent some time admiring the sculptures that can be found around the zoo. The details going around the tops of the buildings are beautiful! The big cats, always near and dear to my heart!

The birds! Hear is the wise old owl.

And elephants? After Modoc and Water for Elephants, I'm a sucker for the pachyderms.

But there were free-standing works that caught my eye as well. Not only do I love the design of these monkeys, but the color combination too!

The eagle is a proud bird, and well represented around the place.

In stone ....

In bronze ...

In real life ....

I told you, he keeps popping up!

And then there were the flower sculptures with a few bugs thrown in. These are actually from a previous visit in June, but they illustrate my point. What is it about them that catches the eye?

The color?

The ingenuous use of everyday objects?

The subject matter?

Nah, not the subject matter, knowing my feelings about all things creepy-crawlie!

Or maybe by making them more friendly - and less gruesome (although giant metal bugs are potential nightmare fodder), they become more attractive to me.

I don't know. All I do know is I could spend hours just relaxing and finding zen in this peaceful garden.

IN A RUT

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:55:00 +0000

I think when you do the same thing, day after day, you get into a rut and it's sometimes difficult to change your ways. Some habits are good - getting up at 6AM to exercise every weekday may not bring a smile to my face in the mornings, but over the course of the day, I really do feel better. Helen & I have been doing the EA Active for the Wii, which is challenging us to do things (like run) outside our comfort zone. This is a good thing. While each day's exercise program differs slightly, the basics are the same. I get bored easily, so I thought we might want to give our Wii Personal Trainer another go. And, I found out that there are some muscles that the EA Active does not address, which got a rather rude wake-up call after being on vacation for the past couple of months. I don't think they're a major muscle group - more like baby muscles - but good lord, they do hurt!

This past weekend, in an effort to shake things up, we decided to ride bikes for the first time in 15-20 years. Seriously, I didn't think I was going to be able to sit down for a while. Of course, the fact that I started the whole expedition by falling off the bike didn't help anything - except Helen's funny bone. It was pretty funny, actually. You know how you used to put your left foot on the pedal, push off and glide for a bit, and then casually swing your right leg over the bike, settling gently onto the seat? Yeah, don't try that after a long absence from the whole cycling thing! Feet were tangled everywhere, bars going where they most definitely did not belong, and me on my side in the sand. Nothing was hurt other than my ego and even that didn't get too bruised.

We have also decided to have a cleansing week or two in our diets. This means lots and lots of salads with plenty of fruit and vegetables thrown in for good measure. This does NOT mean starches of any kind. So pasta, breads, potatoes (gasp! does anyone have a paper bag?) are not allowed for now. By the end of two weeks, I will be going crazy and Helen will take pity on me and allow me a bagel.

Hopefully, by then we'll be well on our way to flitting like this guy. He was hanging out on the roof at the beach and he had to be at least 7-8 inches long. He was HUGE! I was getting worried he was just waiting to fall into my hair but then he flew away.

BLINDSIDED

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Beth) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:26:00 +0000

Now that I have had time to adjust to the news about changes in my job, I am not bothered that much by the fact that they are giving some of my responsibilities to someone else. No, wait - that's not true. It's bothering the ever-loving hell out of me. I wish I could be this calm, collected person who just takes it all in stride but I'm not. I'm taking it extremely personally. What!? I'm not doing a good enough job for you? I'm pretty sure, when I look at it rationally, the real reason is the other person doesn't have enough to keep her busy since our workload is so diminished and, since she handles the rest of the accounting stuff, it's a natural to pass these things to her.

BUT! But, but -- that is not the point of this post. The point is the way I was informed of these changes. I was completely blindsided at a meeting with everyone else from the office in attendance. There was no opportunity of asking questions (as if I could manage to do that without crying - damn xx chromosomes!) or reacting without everyone looking at me. I have no idea if I showed any emotion during that hour or not. I do know I came close to vomiting immediately afterwards, and that when I spoke to Helen on the phone, I burst into tears, but luckily I was outside and away from everyone else.

Now, I have a question. Would you, if you had prior knowledge of a big change affecting a co-worker (work friend), let them know ahead of time? I would have given the friend a heads up, even if I couldn't go into specifics. Just a "something's coming that you're not going to like - I can't say anything else" email or IM or something. Is this a female thing? Is this a me thing?

According to my mother, in front of whom I broke down all over again when I told her about it, men are a) brutes and b) insensitive to anything that does not specifically and immediately involve them. She figures, and I agree, that the males in my office will think that I was sulking and not understand or even realize there was a reason for why I withdrew into my office for the rest of the day. And I could tell them that I was walking the very fine line between keeping it all together and bursting into tears and they would be flabbergasted that the news affected me that way. I'm taking it too personally. It's only a job. Yeah, well you know what? It's MY job! And I do it very well. And by taking those bits, you have undermined everything I've done to this point!

Of course, that is my opinion and I will never put it to the test. I sat down with the person taking over my responsibilities on Friday to train her to use the system that I built up from the beginning. I did not program it but I'm the one responsible for putting all the info into it and molding it to do what we need it to do. And I will hand over to her all the stuff that for which she is now responsible. I will try and hide my anger and bitterness, and most of all my hurt feelings. Who knows? Maybe they have other plans for me. But if they do, they could have said something. And the minute I hear of a different job, I will be on it in a shot!