Both Hands

The Season of Stupid

Last year there was this lovely gem.

Each year during the week before Christmas I leave my laptop at home and step onto the sales floor for a full eight hours of sheer hell. By the time I go home on Friday I'm limping and bleeding, sobbing from questions such as this:

Ensie: Hello, can I help you?

Stupid Customer: Can you check on a book for me?

E: Sure. What is it you are looking for?

SC: Um, it's called Control Room. It's by, uh, Jazeera. Mr. Al Jazeera.

E : Do you possibly mean the documentary Control Room about the Al Jazeera network?

SC: There's nothing out there by an author named Al Jazeera?

E: No.

SC: OK, never mind then.

I cannot make this shit up, people.

Merry Christmas, A Day Late

I've Fooled Them Again!

I had a pretty good trip to Dallas. Work-wise it was productive, and we completed the work we needed to get done ahead of schedule. The hotel was comfortable, and we went to the Cheescake Factory for dinner (Navajo sandwich, where have you been all my life?).

Especially cool, since Bob's Hogs and Weiner Pigs is a potential major client for the company we were meeting with, they wooed us. I haven't been on this side of the wooing before. I spent Monday evening with various account executives in their luxury suite at the Mavericks/Lakers game. I could really get into sports if a luxury suite was included.

Out of nowhere during the game, my boss turned to me and asked if I felt ready to take over a Regional Sales Manager position. Since a Regional Sales Manager position does not currently exist within Bob's Hogs, it was a bit out of left field. Apparently, I'm being groomed. All right. If you want to pay me more money just to continue doing the same thing over a larger area (and send me to San Fran every so often)--Sure! I'll take it.

The last part of my trip wasn't so great. The airport wait stretched to almost five hours after missing the earlier flight out. I blamed my upset stomach on turbulence, but after arriving home and diving for the bathroom it became official--I was sick. Really sick. The throwing up began at 10 PM. Fortunately it was limited to one night. Two days of lying on the couch immobile allowed my stomach to keep down two jello cups and one english muffin.

Today has been better—half of a sandwich! I can’t tell if I’m feeling faint from the slight fever or the lack any real food in almost three days.

So, life in short currently—travel, travel, work, work, sick, sick, sick—somewhat better today. Tomorrow I get my first full weekend since November.

Trippin'

While I fully intended to post the pictures of snow, I've been out of town for the last week visiting various members of "my team" (doesn't that sound official?) in Oregon. Once you get past Portland, it's mostly fields and sheep. I did like the city of Corvallis, though. And Eugene is beautiful, although it does not contain a single non-one-way street within the entire city. A pain in the ass to drive if you don't know EXACTLY where you are going.

Currently, I'm in Dallas, TX, waiting for my boss and my boss' boss to show up. I'm so excited to spend the next two days with people I don't know and intimidate me grandly. Frinklin is home right now, putting up Christmas lights on our house. Walking the dogs around the neighborhood, we've see exactly two types of Christmas light displays; 1)Those that are not decorated at all, and 2) Those that are decorated so completely they prevent you from seeing the actual house on the other side of the light display. Is there no happy medium in Tacoma?

While our house will be subdued by this standard, I'm told we have way more lights than in previoius years. I was always a single strand of tasteful lights sort of girl, but enjoy the effect of icesicle lights. This year we have a light-up snowflake in the window, icesicle lights, and borders of other lights around the windows and doorway. I haven't seen it yet. I'm trying hard to trust Frinklin's judgement on this issue. I fear because my father-in-law is a BIG fan of covering every square inch in lights, and he is assisting with the light display.

Lastly, in this hodgepodge of random blogging, an experience Christmas shopping at a local store:

Frinklin and I purchase several CDs and wish the clerk Merry Christmas.

Clerk: Have a good Christmas. I hope it isn't too bad.

Me (to Frinklin): What did she just say? Isnt' that like saying "Happy birthday, hope it doesn't suck"?

I assume she's worked several retail holiday seasons and is just over it.

So--Merry Christmas to you all--hope it isn't too awful!

Right Now

It is totally snowing. Inches. That's right--plural!

God heard my prayer, "If it's gonna snow, snow a lot tonight, 'cause I have the day off from work tomorrow!"

Happy Birthday Frinklin!