Work. Work. Work.

Ahh, the joys of working full time again.

It's been difficult, this last week and a half, getting back into the routine of having to get up and get to work. I'm glad to be back at work, and definitely glad to have a job to get back to, but the 4:00 am alarm sucks.

My new supervisor is shaping up nicely. He's not as good as my last supervisor, but he'll do.

Since I was on leave for over 30 days, the login I use to access customer accounts was deactivated, and it's taking them some time to get it reactivated. I can log into the phone, and into my email, but without being able to access customer files, I really can't do my job.

I've been sitting with some other folks on my team, listening to their calls, giving help and advice to those who have only recently gotten to the floor, but it's pretty boring. I've also been doing some floor support when Jeff isn't around and an agent has a particularly difficult customer or has a customer that wants to speak to a supervisor. I don't say I'm a supervisor, but often times they just want to hear whatever the bad news is from a different voice, so they'll accept it as the truth. Tooting my own horn, I'm very good with customers, and even when they're not happy with what we are able to do for them, they generally take it with good humor by the time I'm done with them.

Jeff has begun to ask me to do other things as well, scut work really, but I've seen time and again that that's how you get promoted or transferred at this company. When a position comes open that you want to apply for, you have to have your supervisor's recommendation on a transfer request, and the more good things they say about you, the more likely it is that you'll be called in for an interview. Some positions have 100 applicants or more, so the recommendation is very important. *sigh* I'm not a brown-nose, but I have put myself out there as available for extra work.

Mother's Day Plus One

For all you mothers out there, I certainly hope you had a nice Mother's Day.

For those of you who have mothers, I certainly hope you were able to enjoy the day with her, or that you called her at least!

I had a wonderful day. I had breakfast at my mother-in-law's house, a breakfast that was prepared for us by her son, my ex. He did a fine job making omelets, and I must say I was very surprised.

We then went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, and it was one fantastic day to go. Sunny, warm, VERY windy, which was nice because there is currently an exhibit there entitled "Sculptures in Motion". The exhibit was definitely enhanced by the windy conditions, and a good time was had by all.

Today's photograph is from the garden's rain forest pavilion, and if any of you out there in cyberspace have a clue what this gorgeous plant it, I would appreciate being enlightened. We looked for a plaque that had the name of it, but it was rather warm and humid in there, and this was one of the last things we saw, so we were in a hurry to get out of there. Regardless of what it is, isn't it stunning?

I can't believe I ate the whole thing

I was too lazy to cook tonight, so we went to Chik-fil-A. Dear Lord, I haven't eaten fast food in quite some time, and it was delicious. But oh am I paying for it now.

I feel bloated and a little bit sick. Not only did I eat the fried, not grilled, chicken sandwich, but I also ate 1/2 an order of waffle fries and about 1/3 of a coffee caramel milkshake.

Where were all of you? Why didn't someone stop me?

Next week, I may actually be posting some photos of my own here. The ex is reportedly taking me, our son, and his mom to the Atlanta Botanical Garden for Mother's Day. We'll see if this becomes a reality. I haven't been to the Garden in several years, and early May is one damned fine time to go.

I've been thinking about what to do with my "stimulus" check when it arrives. I had planned to put 1/2 into the kids' 529 account and bank the rest, but watching Top Chef last night gave me another idea.

Anybody watching Top Chef? You know Richard Blais, the guy with the funky mohawk-ish hair? Well, he owns a restaurant here in Atlanta, Trail-Blais, and I think I'm going to treat myself to dinner there. Here's a link to Creative Loafing's restaurant review. http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/trail_blais_er/Content?oid=15522

He seems to be doing very well on Top Chef, and the guest judges and regular judges routinely rave about the quality and originality of his dishes, and if it's good enough for them, surely it's good enough for someone who just gorged on a fried chicken sandwich.

So far, so good

I like my new supervisor. He and I discussed my goals today, and I feel as if he respects my abilities and appreciates having me on his team. Whew.

Most of the team is about 1/2 my age, and quite a few of them are new to the floor, so I feel as if Jeff is going to be looking for a team lead, and I have already begun letting him know that I am that person.

That's the way to get off the phones, as far as I can tell. Doing floor support, special projects etc, all of that looks great when your supervisor puts it on a transfer request form. I'm really, really focused on doing a good job so that I can Get. Off. The. Phones.

Did I mention I want to get off the phones???

Quick post!

I'm supposed to be in a meeting, but my boss has been delayed by about 10 minutes. I've already logged off the phone, so this is a drive-by posting.

Work. Meh, it's ok. I'm still focused, but hell it's only been ONE day and one hour, so I hope I'm still focused!

On an unrelated note, my sister has a friend who is reportedly coming into an inheritance in a month or so, and wants to buy me and my brother out of our mom's house. God, I hope it works out, but I'm trying not to count on it.

But if it does, I am SO out of this town. I'm going to find myself a little house closer to work, make sure it has a fenced in yard, and then I'm getting a puppy!! James and Catherine are more than ok with moving to a new town, so yall pray that this becomes a reality. As awful as it sounds, I want to find something before the housing market recovers!

What a day

I've done nothing today. Nada. Zip. Bupkus.

I made coffee and cinnamon toast for breakfast, nothing for lunch, unless you count peeling navel oranges as "making lunch", and am probably going to make a boboli pizza for dinner.

I have go to back to work tomorrow, so I need to get to bed early tonight. *yawn* I've been so useless all day, that I'm exhausted, so going to sleep early shouldn't be a problem.

More Poiple

Today is a lazy day. I got all my spring cleaning done yesterday, and so far, I've not even gotten dressed.

I made some KILLER orange/ginger glazed grilled chicken last night. Oh my God, it was so delicious. James said he couldn't believe how good it was. The ex dropped in unexpectedly (don't you love how they do that!) and ate 3 pieces. I told him if he was going to eat what was supposed to be my lunch, he needed to change the oil on my car, which he did.

James and his class went to Six Flags today. He hasn't been in years, and one of his friends has not only never been, but has never been to any amusement park, and has never ridden a roller coaster. There are some pretty good ones at Six Flags, so I imagine they are having quite a time. Either that, or they're throwing up. Which ever it is, it sounds like a good time, eh?

The Purple Skies of Texas

Isn't that a gorgeous shot? Now, I've been to Texas, and some of it is pretty, and some of it ain't. The foreground of this picture indicates that this particular part of Texas may fall into the "ain't" category, but with skies that color, who cares?

I return to work in 4 more days. God, am I dreading having to awaken at 4am for the vanpool commute. I've gotten quite used to sleeping in. Mind you, I still awaken at 5:30am, but there is a vast difference between 4am and 5:30am.

I'm dedicating today to spring cleaning. I'm going to mop all the floors, clean out my closet, organize my pantry, and change the linens on the beds. This place is going to sparkle by the time James gets home from school, and the next 3 days are going to be spent relaxing and getting myself in the right frame of mind for work. I really have to psyche myself up and focus on actually giving a shit about my customers and their cable billing and repair woes. Failing that, I have to make them believe that I give a shit about their cable billing and repair woes, get my key performance indicators to the right level, and then pray for a job posting that is off the damned phones!

New Video Bar

Does anybody else watch "Flight of the Conchords" on HBO?

I love these guys! Their songs are silly, but the show is a real hoot! This is shameless promotion for the show. You can view back-to-back episodes on HBO every Friday night at 11pm.

The Power of Positive Thinking

Even though it's still chilly here (frost warning!), I'm certain that spring will return soon. Very soon, actually. It's supposed to be 70 this afternoon.

On a totally different note, does anyone else think that the "Reverend" Wright totally threw Obama under the bus on Monday? His comments at the Press Club couldn't have been more calculated to hurt Obama, in my opinion.

The woman who arranged to have Wright speak at the Press Club is a big supporter of Hillary Clinton's. Anyone think that's just too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence?

Some people think I'm completely paranoid and way off base in my utter distrust of Hillary Clinton, but I think the woman is a horror. She can't possibly beat McCain, but she doesn't care. She would rather have McCain be President for 4 years so she can make another run in 2012. She doesn't give two shits about this country. All she wants is power. I truly despise her, and I can't believe how many people have been taken in by her.

Ok, enough politics for the day. When it warms up a bit, I am going to go to my mother-in-law's house and mow her lawn. Then I'm going to go to the park and take a few pictures and have a nice walk, and then I'm going to come home and read.

I'm reading a fascinating book. It's called "Middlesex", and it's a coming-of-age story of a hermaphrodite. Yes, it sounds strange, but it's wonderful. It won the Pulitzer, I believe, and it's got a great deal of humor in it. I highly recommend it, which is something I rarely do if I haven't read a book all the way through, but I'm taking a chance this time!

Where's Spring?

Ok, so the picture is a bit of an exagerration. But Jesus, it's cold here! Cold for April 29 at least. It's not supposed to be 40 degrees when the azaleas are not only in bloom, but have almost finished blooming! Don't worry, I'm finished whining.

I took James to the eye doctor today for an exam, and since he's been doing so well in school, decided to let him play hookey for the rest of the day. His dad was working in our area, so the 3 of us went out to lunch. It was actually a nice outing.

I could tell James was really happy because he started acting like a total goofball. Poor kid, he's had so much drama and bullshit to put up with the last few years. It's great to see him so happy that he can't help but act like an idiot.

He blurted out to his dad that I was cooking on the grill tonight, and invited him over if he was still in town. Chuck looked at me to see if I was going to gag or have a seizure, then he said he would come over. LOL I don't really mind, because it makes James happy, but I am careful not to let Chuck know that. It keeps him on his toes.

Poor Chuck. Since I've been out on a stress leave, he's been walking on egg shells. I think he's afraid I may just lose it without cause or provocation. Not that I haven't had tons of cause, and provocation, but I really am doing so much better now. Still, he's been the cause of so much pain and stress since last summer, let him stress out a little.

Rain!

No, that's not Atlanta. I believe it's Toronto.

At any rate, we've had some lovely rain yesterday, and expect more today. I think we're still 13 or 14 inches behind on our rainfall, so it'll have to rain a lot more before I start bitching about it.

I had a pretty good day yesterday. Nothing spectacular, mind you. Just normal tasks that I've learned to take pleasure in.

Normal and boring is what I've been aiming for these days. The last 6-8 weeks of intense stress and worry are slowly slipping away, and the effects of all that stress and worry are disappearing too. Thank God!

I'll be returning to work in a week, something I guess I'm looking forward to. I'm glad to be able to return to work, and I'm definitely glad I've got a job to return to, but in my absence, my new schedule took affect and I've got a new supervisor. He is reportedly an asshole, so I'm going to have to charm him. I can do it, but it's so tiring sometimes. But I am focused on getting my numbers back up so that I can transfer to a position that is NOT on the phones full time. That's my goal.

Good evening

Go here
to read about this picture of the moon.

My playlist is inspired by songs from my youth, or at least years when I was younger than I am now. Give NYC Serenade a chance. It starts off slow.

The video bar is Keith Olbermann. I have a silly crush on him, even though he allows them to put waaay too much make-up on him!

Movie Day

James and I are going to see Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. We leave in about 5 minutes. I heard it is pretty funny, even though most sequels aren't, so we'll see.

The photo on the page today is titled "Rippling Stones"

Playing in the dirt

I just got back from Lowe's, where I purchased what I hope are enough plants and flowers to fill all of my containers.

Since I moved, I don't have my own flower garden any longer, which sort of sucks, but I do have tons of pots and planters, so that is the full scope of my gardening now.

It was a lot of fun. I was so relaxed, wandering around the garden center, mentally viewing the various containers around my duplex, and picking the appropriate color combinations. Is that weird? It is lovely outside, about 66 degrees and breezy, the annoying bird has shut-up for the day, and all I hear are birds that don't make me want to go on a shooting rampage.

So, all in all, today, life is good.

A New Feature of Jules' World

Well, blogger.com won't let me add a picture right now. Are we going to have trouble, blogger.com? I hope not.

Anyways, I've added a video bar. Each set of videos will have a theme. The current theme is "veggie car". I love the idea of running a car on used vegetable oil. I know there are drawbacks. First, your car has to be a diesel. Second, you probably smell like french fries whenever you're driving. Third, most fast food restaurants have contracts with various companies to dispose of their used vegetable oil. I could go on and on.

But it isn't impossible to do, and if my Volvo was already a diesel, I would be very likely to try it!

A New Day Dawns

Good morning. I am feeling so smug and sanctimonious today. It's just before 10am, and I've already paid bills and mowed my mother-in-law's back yard. Aren't I just the best?? Actually, she is. When the ex- left me for the whore, she took my side, as any good woman should.

In all seriousness, there aren't a lot of women out there who are fair enough to be able to see when they're beloved son, and she of course does love him very much, has acted like a complete and total ass and crapped all over his wife of 17 years and his 2 kids to boot! I'll do anything for this woman.

I appreciate the comments from yesterday, especially from Bea. I stumbled on her blog yesterday and made a silly comment. Bea, I share the same experience as you, only it's my cat, Moose Kitty. His goal in life is to see that I fold the laundry immediately when it comes out of the dryer, and his method is to immediately roll in the laundry if I leave it unattended for a moment.

I will be posting a new picture every day. I love art, and no, I don't know the names of the artists most of the time either, unless I'm looking at the Mona Lisa or Whistler's Mother or some other famous painting. I know nothing about art, other than I know what I like to look at.

On a totally unrelated matter, I require the services of an ornithologist. There is some species of bird that has it's nest somewhere in my backyard. I have never seen the bird, well, maybe I have but I didn't know it. That isn't the point. The point is, it has the most annoying chirp imaginable. It's a very shrill, chirp-chirp-chirp two beat pause chirp-chirp-chirp two beat pause chirp-chirp-chirp. Imagine, if you will, a cell phone or pager going off, and no one will pick it up or mash the button or do whatever the hell is necessary to make it stop. Can you hear it? That's what I hear every morning, beginning at about 5am.

Now, I love birds. I really do. I even sort of like blue jays and they're loud, screeching assholes who bully other birds. But this bird is driving me nuts. Is there a bird expert out there who can tell me what type of bird this is, and what I can do to make it move? I don't want to kill it, I just want to encourage it to move a hundred yards away.

Trying to fix the photos

After reading the many, many comments on my new blog (LOL), I understand that some of the pictures are appearing as the dreaded and boring Red X

Is this still the case? You should see a Monet in the first post, a Renoir in the 2nd, and Agoraphobic Nosebleed in the 3rd.

My 2nd entry today!

Hello, I'm back.

I've just posted a link to this blog on a message board, in a desperate plea for attention. We'll see if anybody shows up here and posts a comment.

For God's sake, please post a comment!!

Check out this Renoir. WTF is going on in this picture anyway?

There seems to be a young male lying in the crook of the tree trunk, a totally nude woman who is, for some reason, covering her snatch and appears to be getting ready to get dressed. Odd, that I think she's about to put her clothes back on. Perhaps someone else thinks she just took them off.

At any rate, why is the dog there??

Blaaag

Good afternoon. I have started and abandoned at least 4 blogs/myspace pages, but perhaps this one will make it.

I don't know why I keep doing this. I guess because, as life started sucking a few years ago, and in fact continues to suck, I slowly lost my various means of venting and support. So I blog, or at least start to blog.

I'm mildly disturbed by the news, local, national, and global, so I try to avoid watching it as much as possible, but a bit leaks in now and again.

Today, in Georgia, a licensed pilot fueled his plane with automotive fuel, and can you believe it, the plane went down shortly after take-off.

Looking for something fun to do and a great time-waster, all in one? Check out www.scangwinnett.com

You can see the various folks that have been recently booked into the Gwinnett County Jail in suburban Georgia.

I suppose this is enough of a blog for today. We'll see if I keep blogging. Stay tuned!