Tuesday, March 10, 2009
2:38pm
That is the time that I was finally able to start working today. Ridiculous! I have been waiting since I got into the office today to regain access to my clients. The company did a SOX audit and removed people from clients that they thought were not supposed to have access. Apparently, they totally screwed up this process because a lot of people in my group no longer have access to projects they are working on. Just awesome! My group is kind of a special projects only team and we get access to clients on a by-project basis, so we aren't technically on the official team lists, but we are on the access lists. I don't know why it took SOOOOO freaking long to fix this, but I am glad I finally can do some work. Geesh!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Lotsa wine!
We did a mini-wine tour on Saturday night. Ross and Erin came over for snacks, dinner and quite a few glasses of wine. We went through about 5 bottles and all were really good.
We played Wii Yahtzee... Matt was the big champ, as usual. I think he knows some way to rig this game. I bet if I played with his "Jabba" character, I'd win all the time, too! Ok, probably not.
We also played Connect Four... I actually won against Ross and Erin at this game, but Matt killed me, as usual. I need to practice and remember some of those old strategies I used as a kid.
Amazingly, I was not hungover today. : )
We played Wii Yahtzee... Matt was the big champ, as usual. I think he knows some way to rig this game. I bet if I played with his "Jabba" character, I'd win all the time, too! Ok, probably not.
We also played Connect Four... I actually won against Ross and Erin at this game, but Matt killed me, as usual. I need to practice and remember some of those old strategies I used as a kid.
Amazingly, I was not hungover today. : )
Friday, March 6, 2009
Bonus!
Today we got paid our bonuses! I just checked and it's been deposited and is all mine! Well, actually, it's going directly into the wedding account, so I guess it's mine and the future Mr. Duesterhaus' money! ; )
Speaking of weddings... today's wedding frustration/stress level is: HIGH. I never thought planning a destination wedding would be this complicated! Especially in this economy... hello hotels - people are not spending as much on frivolous stuff like traveling, don't you need the business?!? After ditching the first flake (well, actually she ditched us, but anyway), I thought we were on the right track with this new hotel, but things have grinded to a halt. Right now, we are working with the sales department. If your job is sales and you are trying to make a sale, you should be a little more responsive when the person you are selling to is ready to sign on the dotted line, but has a few questions first. Seems logical to me. Maybe not so much to our contact at the hotel. We sent her an email on Monday with 11 questions (ok, that's more than a few, but seriously, they were not hard questions considering it is her business to know the answers!) No response. I sent her another email yesterday. No response. I called and left her a message earlier today asking her to call me back. No response. Seriously, I am just about done with this crap. I have been working on planning this wedding since the middle of January and I feel like I am not much farther ahead than when I started. When is this supposed to get fun???
Ok, the venting is over. I'm very glad that it's Friday and the weekend is finally here! Hope everyone gets outside and enjoys the warmer weather! Bring your umbrella!
Speaking of weddings... today's wedding frustration/stress level is: HIGH. I never thought planning a destination wedding would be this complicated! Especially in this economy... hello hotels - people are not spending as much on frivolous stuff like traveling, don't you need the business?!? After ditching the first flake (well, actually she ditched us, but anyway), I thought we were on the right track with this new hotel, but things have grinded to a halt. Right now, we are working with the sales department. If your job is sales and you are trying to make a sale, you should be a little more responsive when the person you are selling to is ready to sign on the dotted line, but has a few questions first. Seems logical to me. Maybe not so much to our contact at the hotel. We sent her an email on Monday with 11 questions (ok, that's more than a few, but seriously, they were not hard questions considering it is her business to know the answers!) No response. I sent her another email yesterday. No response. I called and left her a message earlier today asking her to call me back. No response. Seriously, I am just about done with this crap. I have been working on planning this wedding since the middle of January and I feel like I am not much farther ahead than when I started. When is this supposed to get fun???
Ok, the venting is over. I'm very glad that it's Friday and the weekend is finally here! Hope everyone gets outside and enjoys the warmer weather! Bring your umbrella!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tennis
Since I'm so terrible at tennis, Erin signed herself and me up for some tennis lessons through Midtown Tennis Club. We go to four hour-long sessions. Last night was the first session. We played with these fake mushy tennis balls... we didn't even hit one real ball the whole time. It made me feel like a pro, because those balls are so much easier to hit than the real things. : )
The instructor was a little strange and all over the place... he would tell us what we were supposed to do next and it never quite made sense. At one point, he finished an explanation of our next drill and said "go" and everyone just stood there looking at each other like Huh??? Is he speaking English???
Overall, it was a great workout and I had a fun time. Hopefully, I'll get good enough at tennis that I can actually play a full game!
Another perk of being enrolled in the class is that we get a one-month membership to Midtown Tennis Club. They have workout equipment, too, besides just a bunch of tennis courts. I don't know how much I'll use that considering we have a gym in Matt's building (that I don't use enough of as it is... why would I drive somewhere to workout???) But, who knows.
The instructor was a little strange and all over the place... he would tell us what we were supposed to do next and it never quite made sense. At one point, he finished an explanation of our next drill and said "go" and everyone just stood there looking at each other like Huh??? Is he speaking English???
Overall, it was a great workout and I had a fun time. Hopefully, I'll get good enough at tennis that I can actually play a full game!
Another perk of being enrolled in the class is that we get a one-month membership to Midtown Tennis Club. They have workout equipment, too, besides just a bunch of tennis courts. I don't know how much I'll use that considering we have a gym in Matt's building (that I don't use enough of as it is... why would I drive somewhere to workout???) But, who knows.
We are NOT the champions... again
The DeezNuts volleyball team lost in the second round of playoffs last night. Disappointing. We played two really tough games and lost each one by only 2 points. We almost won the second game... but, the other team was just a little bit better.
We cheers'd the season at the Purple Otter afterwards. Luckily, this time the food didn't take over an hour to get like last time. Of course, we were the only ones ordering food this time, so that probably helped!
Don't fall off your chair, but this is the third post in as many days! I'm trying to post something every day. But, seriously, my life is really not all that exciting, so I hope you aren't bored to tears.
We cheers'd the season at the Purple Otter afterwards. Luckily, this time the food didn't take over an hour to get like last time. Of course, we were the only ones ordering food this time, so that probably helped!
Don't fall off your chair, but this is the third post in as many days! I'm trying to post something every day. But, seriously, my life is really not all that exciting, so I hope you aren't bored to tears.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Steak = good
Last night, Matt and I went to Smith & Wollensky's for dinner. Michelle had gone last week and said that S&W had extended their restaurant week special through this week, so we could still get the $32 prix fixe menu. Since I won at bowling, dinner was Matt's treat! Of course, when it was my treat, we went to the West End Bar and had their $10 pizza special. I'm not sure Matt likes how that worked out! : )
We both had the Wollensky salad, a steak and I had the chocolate cake for dessert and Matt had the cheesecake. We got a side of sauteed mushrooms, as well. When we got our bill, we laughed because we spent more on alcohol than we did on food. Geesh, it adds up fast.
So, on a totally random side note, I saw in the elevator today that Jillian from the Bachelor (the 3rd runner-up) is going to be the next Bachelorette. Interesting. Also, I saw that Jason was defending himself about how he dumped Melissa on national tv... he said it was part of his contract with ABC to make all aspects of the relationship public and he was forced to do it. Whatever.
Speaking of Jillians... since we were out so late for dinner last night, I didn't get to watch the Biggest Loser yet. So, I've been trying not to look at anyone's blogs, so I don't accidentally see what happened. I doubt I'll watch it tonight either because tonight is our volleyball playoffs!
We both had the Wollensky salad, a steak and I had the chocolate cake for dessert and Matt had the cheesecake. We got a side of sauteed mushrooms, as well. When we got our bill, we laughed because we spent more on alcohol than we did on food. Geesh, it adds up fast.
So, on a totally random side note, I saw in the elevator today that Jillian from the Bachelor (the 3rd runner-up) is going to be the next Bachelorette. Interesting. Also, I saw that Jason was defending himself about how he dumped Melissa on national tv... he said it was part of his contract with ABC to make all aspects of the relationship public and he was forced to do it. Whatever.
Speaking of Jillians... since we were out so late for dinner last night, I didn't get to watch the Biggest Loser yet. So, I've been trying not to look at anyone's blogs, so I don't accidentally see what happened. I doubt I'll watch it tonight either because tonight is our volleyball playoffs!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Total slacker
Matt called me out last night and told me I am the worst blogger ever. I guess I'm not really keeping up with the blog these days. It has been a week ago Saturday since the last time I wrote anything. Geesh, where does the time go?!?
So, here is the what I've been up to these days:
I saw a couple movies. Confessions of a Shopaholic --- was an over-the-top cheesy chick flick. I'm pretty sure most guys would not last sitting through it. : ) And He's Just Not That Into You --- cute movie, but as Erin says, it ended terribly for what the message of the movie was supposed to be. The message is that women tend to think their relationships are always the exception to the rule, but in reality we should be thinking we are the rule and stop fantasizing that things are always going to work out like a fairy tale in the end.
My volleyball team ended the regular season in 2nd place, which is an improvement from last season. This Wednesday is the second round of playoffs and the championship game... cross your fingers!!!
Matt and I set up appts for getting the closets done (yay!!!) and getting the new curtains installed (again, yay!!!). I can't wait to see how it all turns out. It will be awesome to have an organized closet! And some more decoration in the living room!
Last Friday, we went to see the Loyola v. UIC game. Good game, exciting at the end, but Loyola fell short. We got to sit on the floor seats right next to the court and the players. At one point, a player from the other team fell out of bounds and on top of me. Luckily, he was able to control himself enough that my chair didn't tip backwards (how embarassing would that have been?!?) I felt a little violated, but he apologized, so I let it slide! ; )
On Saturday, I went to a shower for Michelle at Wishbone. Lauren has a good write-up and some pics on her blog. I had my camera with me, but forgot to take pictures. I think little PBR is going to be decked out pretty nice with all the cute clothes and stuff everyone got her!
Saturday night, we ordered take-out and stayed inside where it was warm. We played Wii (Bowling, Yahtzee, Connect Four)... Matt won at everything!!! It was a banner night for him. He got 3 Yahtzees (2 in one game!) and I got zippo! As Matt always says when he loses (which is very rarely)... "the game cheats".
Besides that, we had a pretty relaxing weekend. Sunday, the snow was crazy! It was literally blowing straight sideways! I thought about taking a video, but did not. It cleared up for bowling on Sunday night. Matt and I have a running bet each week on who bowls better (we include handicaps, of course... otherwise Matt would win all the time!) The winner gets to choose the restaurant for date-night and the loser pays. So far, this bowling season I've been winning more and it's been awesome! Of course, Matt also is trying out a new hook ball, instead of throwing his straight ball. Once he gets that down, I predict I'll be losing a lot more.
Ugh, so my relatively new phone is broken already! Piece of crap! The top sliding part is almost totally unhinged from the rest of the phone. I'm pretty sure the phone will be completely unusable once that happens. Awesome. And of course, I did not get the insurance, so I will be forking over the cash to either fix it or get a new one. I may go back to a basic phone without the sliding keyboard.
I watched the Bachelor finale last night and the whole "after the rose" crap. I had read online a few days ago that this is what was predicted to happen... he picks Melissa and dumps her and picks Molly in the end. ABC apparently gave it away in the previews of him proposing, because you could see Melissa's pinky ring. Well, I didn't know he was going to dump Melissa on national television... that was kind of harsh. That whole "after the rose" thing seemed a little too set up to me and totally just for ratings. I can't believe Jason would drop one fiance' and then try to get back together with a different girl in a matter of minutes. Oh, and that scene with DeAnna coming back seemed scripted to me. I think she just wanted the free trip to New Zealand. : )
OH! Forgot to mention, I NEVER heard from the Bahamas Flake again, as if any of you are surprised. I am so amazed that she is still employed with her company. I need to find out how to place a complaint with her boss! ANYWAY, we have a new hotel and a new wedding planner and we actually are in negotiations on a contract! YAY!!! I am so excited that we are coming closer to having something set in stone. It will take a load of stress off me!
Ok, I think that covers it! Hopefully, it won't be over a week until I remember to post something again! : )
So, here is the what I've been up to these days:
I saw a couple movies. Confessions of a Shopaholic --- was an over-the-top cheesy chick flick. I'm pretty sure most guys would not last sitting through it. : ) And He's Just Not That Into You --- cute movie, but as Erin says, it ended terribly for what the message of the movie was supposed to be. The message is that women tend to think their relationships are always the exception to the rule, but in reality we should be thinking we are the rule and stop fantasizing that things are always going to work out like a fairy tale in the end.
My volleyball team ended the regular season in 2nd place, which is an improvement from last season. This Wednesday is the second round of playoffs and the championship game... cross your fingers!!!
Matt and I set up appts for getting the closets done (yay!!!) and getting the new curtains installed (again, yay!!!). I can't wait to see how it all turns out. It will be awesome to have an organized closet! And some more decoration in the living room!
Last Friday, we went to see the Loyola v. UIC game. Good game, exciting at the end, but Loyola fell short. We got to sit on the floor seats right next to the court and the players. At one point, a player from the other team fell out of bounds and on top of me. Luckily, he was able to control himself enough that my chair didn't tip backwards (how embarassing would that have been?!?) I felt a little violated, but he apologized, so I let it slide! ; )
On Saturday, I went to a shower for Michelle at Wishbone. Lauren has a good write-up and some pics on her blog. I had my camera with me, but forgot to take pictures. I think little PBR is going to be decked out pretty nice with all the cute clothes and stuff everyone got her!
Saturday night, we ordered take-out and stayed inside where it was warm. We played Wii (Bowling, Yahtzee, Connect Four)... Matt won at everything!!! It was a banner night for him. He got 3 Yahtzees (2 in one game!) and I got zippo! As Matt always says when he loses (which is very rarely)... "the game cheats".
Besides that, we had a pretty relaxing weekend. Sunday, the snow was crazy! It was literally blowing straight sideways! I thought about taking a video, but did not. It cleared up for bowling on Sunday night. Matt and I have a running bet each week on who bowls better (we include handicaps, of course... otherwise Matt would win all the time!) The winner gets to choose the restaurant for date-night and the loser pays. So far, this bowling season I've been winning more and it's been awesome! Of course, Matt also is trying out a new hook ball, instead of throwing his straight ball. Once he gets that down, I predict I'll be losing a lot more.
Ugh, so my relatively new phone is broken already! Piece of crap! The top sliding part is almost totally unhinged from the rest of the phone. I'm pretty sure the phone will be completely unusable once that happens. Awesome. And of course, I did not get the insurance, so I will be forking over the cash to either fix it or get a new one. I may go back to a basic phone without the sliding keyboard.
I watched the Bachelor finale last night and the whole "after the rose" crap. I had read online a few days ago that this is what was predicted to happen... he picks Melissa and dumps her and picks Molly in the end. ABC apparently gave it away in the previews of him proposing, because you could see Melissa's pinky ring. Well, I didn't know he was going to dump Melissa on national television... that was kind of harsh. That whole "after the rose" thing seemed a little too set up to me and totally just for ratings. I can't believe Jason would drop one fiance' and then try to get back together with a different girl in a matter of minutes. Oh, and that scene with DeAnna coming back seemed scripted to me. I think she just wanted the free trip to New Zealand. : )
OH! Forgot to mention, I NEVER heard from the Bahamas Flake again, as if any of you are surprised. I am so amazed that she is still employed with her company. I need to find out how to place a complaint with her boss! ANYWAY, we have a new hotel and a new wedding planner and we actually are in negotiations on a contract! YAY!!! I am so excited that we are coming closer to having something set in stone. It will take a load of stress off me!
Ok, I think that covers it! Hopefully, it won't be over a week until I remember to post something again! : )
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