CrazyMrsNancy.com

Everyone else is doing a "Top 10 Guilty Pleasures". I have commitment issues. I don't want to pick a TOP 10... so here are 10 Random Guilty Pleasures.

1. Travel - I've never traveled without worrying/feeling guilty about fnances. But if I had waited to be where I want to be financially to travel, I would have never traveled. Even the student exchange trip to France when I was a teen, nearly didn't happen. Traveling to Africa when I was graduating college was hard financially. Every other trip after has been hard to swing, financially. But traveling makes me thrive. You probably don't get it, if you're not a traveler at heart.
    
2. M.A.C. Eyeshadow - 17.50$ for 1.5g of eye shadow; worth every penny. I love the variety of coulours and I love the intensity. I don't need to apply 42 coats to get the desired effect, and it doesn't crease at the end of a long work day.
    
3. Clothes/Shoes/Accessories - I love everything about them - Picking, purchasing, grouping them into outfits, and I even love giving them to charity. To me it's wearable art. I love trying to gauge someone's personality and sense of style from what they're wearing. I love complimenting other people on what they are wearing.
    
4. Reality TV - I gobble it all up. Big Brother, Biggest Loser, all the varieties of The Real Housewives, The Hills, The City, etc. I know that most of it is scripted, it still fascinates me. I'm watching The Real Housewives of OC as I write this.
    
5. Flirting - I enjoy harmless flirting. I just do! I'm a flirty person.
    
6. Reading in The Bathroom - I stay in there longer than the average bathroom reader. The bathroom has always been my sanctuary. It started when I was a child, I would 'escape' in the bathroom. I've always felt safe, and like... like I could take a break from all of my responsibilities, in the bathroom. I know I'm being vague. I love my bathroom.
    
7. Better Than Average Food - Why chose mediocrity? I will never again chose an iceberg lettuce salad with bottle dressing, when I can have a baby greens salad with goat cheese and a home made vinaigrette. I will never chose a white bread, deli ham sandwich when I can chose a chicken breast, spinach and hummus wrap in a whole wheat tortilla.
    
8. Highlights - I love being a blonde. I must say that I loved loved loved having true black hair. I had black hair for years, during university and college. I started highlighting my hair to give it dimension, when it started thinning out. A lot of people don't even notice how thin my hair is, when it's blonder. I can't explain it, but I have more confidence as a blonde.
    
9. Pre-washed/Pre-cut/Prepared Food - I love convenience. I don't want to waste a chunk of precious free time, preparing food in the kitchen. I love having the option to buy trippled washed, pre-cut mixed baby greens, grape tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, fresh broccoli florets, fresh omelette/spaghetti/stir fry veggie mixes.
    
10. Gossip - I can't get enough of it. Perez Hilton, Coco Hilton, Entertainment Tonight, I love it all.I love knowing things about other people. I'm an incredibly curious person.

Happy belated Easter/Long Weekend, whatever you were celebrating this past weekend! I so so needed this 4 day weekend. We were so blessed with beautiful weather; I can't remember a nicer Easter weekend. Sunny and 21C (Around 70F), on April 3rd, What?! It was aaahh-mazing! 

Friday : Slept in till 11am. Aaaah. Much better. It was Steph's birthday! He went to see "Clash of the Titans" while I slept in and enjoyed having the house to myself (That movie holds zero appeal to me). He got himself Final Fantasy XIII, a Toffee Cheesecake, worked for one hour and then played all day. That's exactly what he wanted to do for his birthday, so that's what he did! hehe. I also spent the day relaxing - clearing stuff off the PVR, finished reading "A Million Little Lies Pieces" (I did like the book.).

Saturday : Could NOT believe the gorgeous weather! Wow! I think that I had forgotten how much I actually enjoy warm sunny weather! We went for a drive; Windows down, people baring their limbs, Shiny Happy people everywhere - and their Shiny happy dogs, ridiculous weather-induced traffic... seeing all that it was so soothing for the soul. Then I went to visit an old acquaintance and bought that darn pastel pink shirt from her. We came back home, grabbed the dogs and went for a nice long walk in Rotary Park. We finished the day with a delicious BBQ. Steph has been watching "BBQ PitMasters" and is getting inspired; I am reaping the benefits.

Sunday : Brought out the outdoor furniture!! Woohoo! I'm being optimistic. If it snows again, oh well, I'm sure it won't stick for long anyway. My yard feels more 'alive' with the firepit benches, bistro set, bird feeder, bird bath, patio furniture etc. I lounged on the deck, reading Jodi Picoult, but couldn't really focus on the book, as I kept looking up to watch birds chirping, neighbors working in their yards, and visualizing how the flowers, shrubs and trees will look in a couple of months! 

Monday : Steph had to work. I opened all the windows and did some cleaning. Cleaned the entrance and vacuumed the stairs. I'm sore today but they were overdue. After dinner I went to choir rehearsal, which was great as always. You should see our choir director; she is as cute as a button, and she is so delightful. We're very lucky to have her. Came home to Steph having spent the evening fixing (formatting) my laptop. We went to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour, just one hour later than our norm, but I.... expressed my gratefulness to him... and next thing we knew it was 2am. Woops.

Because life is also in the imperfections, only two little things : 

1. We realized that especially since we're both trying to prove ourselves at our respective new jobs, we just cannot go to bed at 2am. I was crazy tired today. Thankfully, it was a slower day today. One of my (most time demanding) colleagues is in Brazil, where apparently heavy rains have claimed 89 lives, in Rio. I'm sending him safe vibes.

2. While that gorgeous walk in Rotary Park was good for the soul, it wasn't so good for my stupid heel. It had barely been hurting for the past few months. I wasn't even thinking about it. Last night, all of a sudden, there it was - That familiar sharp pain that wouldn't let go of my achilles heel. I cried. Not because of the amount of pain, but because I thought that I was over that hurdle. I stretched that effer like a mofo all night, put some cold on it, and today it's not as bad. Fingers crossed! I really really don't want to have to go through that chronic pain right now, emotionally.

To finish on a positive note : 

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my options. I am still too scattered and not confident enough to write in length about it, but here are the options that run through my head the most : 

1. Being extended or offered a permanent position at work AND going back to school either full time or part time, whatever time and work schedule would allow. (Preferred option.)

2. My contract finishing in May - Me going to school full time in September, on some sort of unemployment insurance program, if I qualify.

Either way, I am realizing that I really do love working in an office environment. Getting my Bachelor's in Business Administration would open up so many more doors for me. Because while I do love working in large organizations/offices, I can't see myself staying at the low assistant level forever and ever. I would like to be able to move up, when I'm ready to.

It's this time of year again!! Here's your annual Peep Show ;) 

(If you're new around here, don't worry, this Peep Show is totally Safe For Work.)

*** I confess : For months now the baby fever was all but gone. As recently as 2 weeks ago, I 100% thought that I was 'over the hump', and that the baby fever had completely passed. That I would even prefer to live child-free (although not by choice) forever. The baby fever is coming back. ARGH!

*** I confess : I judge people by the scent they leave behind in elevators. My last elevator ride - A grown business woman who left behind a very fruity bubble gum scent. (The judgement : She might be more fun than she looks.)

*** I confess : I finally found a darn pastel blouse to wear for the chorale concerts. We have our first performance of the year on Sunday. One song only, the first song of our Spring Concert repertoire, and also my fav : Summertime. We're also singing one song together with the 10 other chorales that will be there. Anyway, I don't know why but wearing a pastel colour makes me feel like crap. Somehow, it makes me feel vulnerable. I know, it makes no sense. I'm not naked, I'm just wearing a pastel blouse. When I tried on the blouse my face got blotchy and it reminded me of the Sex and the City episode when Carrie breaks out in hives when trying on wedding dresses.

I know three Wendys. For the past three years, I've met a Wendy every year. Before 2007, I really didn't know any Wendys. Well, Wendy #1 had just been an acquaintance until then.

Wendy # 1 (December 2007) - She is a redhead with freckled cheeks. She's bad for me, she's everywhere. She's easy. Her Big Bacon Classic is pretty tasty. I never really knew Wendy #1, until I was having a girls afternoon with Jill, shopping and getting ready for our husbands' staff Holiday party. She suggested Wendy's for lunch, and I said sure, even though I was a true McDonald's fan and never went anywhere else for fast food. I don't know if it was the whole memory of that really fun day, the chemical additives in the meat, or just the new taste, but I got hooked on Wendy's and for months I had Wendy's way too often. I'm over it now and I only see that Wendy once in a great while. It's been months.

Wendy #2 (May 2008) - She is a brunette with a genuine smile. She's a single mother; she's a great mother. We share a passion: Photography. She's a Smartest Loser. We did burpees in the rain together, we climbed small gravel mountains together and we pulling a freaking 18 wheeler truck together (along with 28 other losers).Last year, she suddenly suffered a stroke. It happened a few weeks before she was due to leave on the Florida trip that her and her kids had been planning for FIVE years. She willed her body to get better in time to go to Florida with her kids; She went from being blind and not being able to walk to feeling 90% normal, in time to go. The Smartest Losers came together, we put money in an enveloppe and signed a card. We delivered the card and we all cried. Recently, she showed me the Florida photo/scrapbook/memory book she had made/printed. The books starts with Acknowledgements, and our names are in there! It really warmed my heart.

Oh wait a minute. I didn't meet a new Wendy in 2009! 

Wendy #3 (March 2010) - She is a curly blonde with rosy cheeks. She is an artist, she is a freelancer and she is a writer. I met her at my new job. I was immediately drawn to her, and we clicked pretty early on. Well, I clicked anyway. She might have just been nice to me like she's nice to everybody. I felt so comfortable with her, that somehow I've shared some pretty ridiculous things with her. She probably thinks I'm so weird! She visited Sable Island, and wrote a children's book about it. A couple of weeks ago, she announced that the book is going to be published! Her sister got her a big chocolate gift basket, and Wendy shared with all of us. She has been called to work at our job for 90 days a year, for the past three years. When she isn't working there, she's freelancing. I really admire her. In the short time that we have worked together, she has really inspired me to keep working towards what I'd really like to do profesionally. Her last day was Wednesday. I hope that somehow we'll cross paths often.

"Chéri, you know how much I'm already missing New York City lately, and also how we've been staying at home to cut expenses?"

He lifted his eyebrows and turned to look at me. "Yeeeeees?"

"Well, I was thinking: Why don't we plan some New York themed, at-home dates?" I could picture it - cooking an italian meal together, eating at the dinner table, while listening to italian music. a.k.a. The Little Italy Date. Maybe have a drink and watch Rent, snuggled on the couch. a.k.a. The Broadway Date. Or light a candle, pour a couple of drinks, listen to Jazz music. a.k.a.... I don't know how to call this one, but it's definitely NewYorky to me. That's what I was thinking.

He shrugs. "So you mean, you want to go stand on the deck outside and take a bunch of pictures; Pictures of the shed, pictures of the neighbors' houses? And then, you want to come back inside and go shopping in your shoe rack, and pick purses out of your purse collection? I could sit in the hallway and be a dirty person sitting on the floor..." 

I laughed SO hard... I'm still laughing about it as I'm writing this hehe.

Steph is doing pretty freaking awesome with freelancing. Well, awesome for our bank account. Not so great for his sanity and overall health. He has been working almost every waking hour for the past 3 weeks, and he has even pulled some all nighters to meet deadlines. The IT freelance industry can be so "feast or famine". Thankfully, this was a little feast, but would we be able to handle a famine? But the biggest disadvantage of freelancing, for him/us, is the lack of medical benefits. What's worse than one of us having no benefits? The both of us having no benefits. I would only have benefits if I were employed there for 6 months.

So yesterday, Steph received an offer from one of his freelance contracts, and he accepted it! HOLAAAAY SWEET RELIEF!! I can't tell you the piece of mind that having a regular second income to expect, on a regular basis, brings me. I am really proud of him, especially for making that 'sacrifice' for us. He's still going to freelance on the side, but his dream was to work on his own 100% of the time. We're just not ready for that, and thankfully, he saw it too.

In other news, I went to bed ridiculously late yesterday, for a Wednesday. They were having a silent auction bake sale at work, and for some reason, I'm a way better baker in my head than I actually am. I was up past midnight, baking cinnamon bun type of things. Hopefully the people who placed the winning bids on them weren't too disappointed. I did put them in really cute packaging! I'm still loving my job, but people aren't too Stepford-ish anymore. In fact, in the last couple of days I've found that a lot of people are either grumpy, have a bad stomach flu, or a bad cold. If I have to catch one I hope it's grumpy. Oh and today I received an email that said that  they had a supp. cheque for me, could I come get it on the 2nd floor? Oh HELLS to the Yeah! I picked it up, and my mind was racing with possibilities : Did they decide to not keep some back time? Did they miscalculate my first 3 day cheque? Would I be able to finally afford something frivolous again? I waited until I had reached a reasonable cheque-opening distance, because I didn't want to appear desperate. I finally looked at the amount and I guess I could take suggestions as to what I could frivolously spend $6.34 on? hehe.

There is no greater wisdom than well to time the beginnings and onsets of things. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

I think that my ex-coworkers are beginning to feel my absence in the office. I think they even miss me, if the emails and phone calls are a tell-tale sign. The dishes are piling up in the kitchenette, the courrier isn't being sent regularly, the lotto pool has stopped... I know all of this because S called me at work on Thursday. 

At my ex place of employment, there are two regional offices coordinators; One of them was my boss, and he is retiring in April. The other one was to become my new boss then. The other one was apparently visiting our my ex-office, and he told my ex-coworkers that he was just about to put me permanent. Are you freaking shitting me? After 8 years of being on contract? S told him that not letting me know that golden little tidbit before I accepted my new job offer was a crappy thing to do to me. He said that I was gone so fast, that he didn't have the time to do anything, which is true, I admit. I was gone out of there SO fast, after my boss threw me a freebie by reducing my 2 weeks notice to 3 days. It's the least they could do, after stringing me along like that for 8 years.

S said that they begged him to re-offer me that deal, that I might change my mind and come back. (And honestly, I would seriously consider it. I love my new job, but I'm not a big risk taker when it comes to my budget.) Apparently, it's too late. The executives have decided to take my position and salary and send it to their new Northern office. My ex-coworkers have been told to make peace with the fact that they will not have another receptionist/assistant ever again. The front door will now be locked 24/7, a doorbell will be installed, and they will open on appointment only. Wow.

At first, I was upset. With teary eyes, I was reminiscing about our inappropriate jokes and our TMI conversations. But then I focussed on my new job again, and decided that there's no use dwelling on the woulda-shoulda-coulda. All I can do is hope that "everything happens for a reason" and that this really oddly timed job switching thing happened for a reason.

I don't want to jinx it, but I truly, honestly LOVE love love my new job! My new coworkers are SUPER nice, happy individuals with interesting lives. It's actually eerie how happy most of the employees are. Was I just too used to the overwhelming negativity and low morale at my last job? My new coworkers made me feel welcome right away. Everybody seems to like their job, and they act appropriately professional. I can't foresee anyone asking me to draft a personal child custody proposal and send it to their lawyer, anytime soon. I know this is going to sound totally premature, but I could honestly see myself hanging out with some of them outside of work. Some of these people really inspire me.

I feel like I'm making a contribution. I help communication products go through all of their approval steps, I love catching and fixing errors, and get a little thrill when our finished product is approved by the Minister's Office and/or when I'm sending our news releases to all the atlantic medias and submitting them myself on our website media room. You all know me, isn't that sooooo me? Being around a mix of artsy and professional people, dealing with written pieces, and contributing a tiny bit online? This job was made for me. And the best part is, I really may actually have a chance of climbing the ladder there a little bit; They encourage it strongly.

I really really really would be so blessed if I was able to stay beyond the 3 months. I would be ecstatic. I feel like a little girl who has a big crush, except that my crush is my new job.

Until I had to learn to how to fart ninja style. When I started my new job, one of the stressors for me was only having a public washroom with three stalls as an option. Seriously, ask anyone with IBS! Three stalls is even worse than a lot of stalls. Because there are only three, you'll either see who goes in or who comes out and guess who farted. So you have to try to time it when no one else is in there and look under the two stalls before you let 'er rip.

I have the worst luck for getting the washroom to myself. The worst is walking all the way from my cubicle, which is on the other side of the floor, to the washroom, with clenched cheeks, anticipating the sweet relief of flatulence, only to get there and having 2 other women follow me. What do you do? Do you try to do the fart when they flush thing? I tried once, and my timing was horrible. Do you try to hold it in until they leave, and they end up standing in front of the mirrors forever, flossing and applying lipstick? 

I have a small storage room on the back wall of my cubicle, where I keep all the publications, displays, advertising stuff etc. But we also keep office supplies in there. What if I slipped in, tooted my horn, closed the door and sat back at my desk, only to have a coworker come running to the little room for some office supplies and be hit in the face with essence de merde?

How do you deal with colonic melody and its pungent bouquet at work?