The last hour of work, from 4:30 to 5:30, ran the gamut of emotion.
Low: this huge project I've been working on for over 6 months has blown up in my face. The vendor that we selected and that I've been emailing and sending stuff and basically being on-call and totally available to them, called and said due to a backlog of projects they're very behind and guess what? Since we're obviously not as important as other clients, we were selected to be put on the back-burner and instead of completing in May it'll be November. Oh, and they technically haven't "started" anything -- they've asked me for everything under the sun, but that's been it on their end.
I've rarely heard my boss curse like that -- not at me, at them, but I feel like crawling into a hole. I'm so frustrated and embarrassed, I could burst into screaming tears right now thinking about it. I'm trying to console myself, that we haven't paid them anything yet and if Boss Lady says "screw them" we will go to the second vendor and start all over with them, not a huge deal. This is how business works. But I really felt like things were going OK and to be blindsided like this means I don't know shit.
ANYWAY.
High: my forum raffle prize arrived today! I won a decant set of Single Notes: Blue Lilac, Carnation, Coffee Bean, Freesia, Light Myrrh, Sweet Pea, Tomato Leaf and White Rose. According to the Reviews section, Tomato Leaf and White Rose were unreleased. I've never sniffed a SN -- they were discontinued in October 2004, about a week after I placed my first order. I don't think I have a sophisticated nose at all, so it's been interesting to sniff these "pure" notes and see how they translate into the blends.
Unfortunately I've had crazy skin allergies and haven't been able to wear anything in a week. The Masque gave me an ugly rash on the top of my hands & wrists -- I apply there because I've had breakouts in the past and the skin is thicker on the top than the bottom. So it's been boring and stinky Benadryl cream instead of my nice smellies. Last night, since the rash was disappating (not itchy, but still lots of red bumps) I put on Black Phoenix on the bottoms of my wrists, and this morning woke up to a rash there! Not itchy, but definite red bumps. Grrr.
So eventually I want to test and post reviews. They smell amazing in the imps, and I can see how they have such a rabid following. It would be great if LE bottles could be released of some of these.
I'm not on LJ, but I like how you can post what you're currently listening to. It's a nice snapshot into someone, plus I'm a voyeur in that I like seeing what people are reading and watching and listening to and putting up on their walls. To me the ultimate superpower would be invisibility, because I would love to go through houses, especially with no one home, to see how others live (as long as they're not slobby). What do people collect? What do they have sitting on a shelf?
Location: Dallas, Texas, where it hit frickin' 100 today! Ugh. It's too early to be this hot.
Currently reading: Jazz from the Ken Burns PBS series. It's very interesting, as I know very little about jazz. My biggest beef is that I wish there were accompanying CDs so when they talk about how revolutionary so-and-so's recording was, I can listen to it. But that just means I need to see the PBS series.
Currently listening to: Lindsey Buckingham compilation in my car. I called it "Conducive to Creativity" because in one interview he was going on about how he left Fleetwood Mac when it was no longer conducive to creativity, and that cracked my ass up. He's a very interesting musician but seems like a beating to hang around with and talk to. But that's probably how a lot of musicians are in real life.
Normal Sunday for us is running errands, then going out for a late lunch + beer and watching Sopranos. I kinda feel bad as we were invited to the big Easter bash at uncle & aunt's house and we blew it off. Yes, since we were invited we probably should've gone.
On the other hand, we weren't invited by the uncle and/or aunt, but the sister of the aunt, so it's not as important, right? Plus it was going to be a huge gathering, and did they really miss us when we didn't show up? No way.
I feel like, since it's our day off, we should do what we want. We went to Home Depot and bought stuff for the house like A/C filters and aerators for the faucets. We also went to The Labyrinth, a witchy herb store that I've been wanting to go to for a while. Lots of incense and oils and books and stones, and it was great.
It seemed like we went on the perfect day, as Easter came from the spring renewal rituals, so why not go to a pagan store on that day? The owner was talking to me about rituals and what would be best to use. I've always been interested in different religions, not just growing up Catholic and Christian but learning about Buddhist and Pagan too. I really felt comfortable there -- I felt like things were going well for us and I wanted to give thanks, and she was open to that. It's more than financial, just a peaceful feeling in life, and it seemed that to "ask" for more meant being greedy; I just wanted to give thanks for what we had. That's all.
OK, last night's episode was awesome. Lots of stuff happened: a ton of ouija-type glass movement, the TV turning off and back on, and pool balls being thrown. It was great! Plus it was so cool to hear all about the building. I was a bit disappointed they didn't do more in the rooms upstairs, but they spent a lot of time in the cool bar in the basement which was rad.
I left a pretty giddy message yesterday for my sister to watch the show -- Mom and I are into haunted stuff more than she is, so she was probably like, "Whatever, it's Friday night and since we have a social life we're not sitting at home watching TV." I haven't heard back from her.
I wish I had a stronger psychic sense about things, but nothing weird has happened to me. DH, on the other hand, has had a ton of stuff happen to him and he said he didn't feel anything weird in the building. But since there were 150-200 people there, there was probably too much going on for anything to hang around. I'll put his experiences in another post -- he has some great stories to tell.
I have a few stop-down TV shows: Sopranos, Intervention on A&E, original CSI, and Most Haunted on Travel Channel. It's a British show that up until a couple of weeks ago runs around England (with occasional jaunts to Ireland and Scotland) to spend the night in a haunted house, pub or wherever. The first half is the best part, they go into the history of a place and grab a psychic or two to find hot spots. The second half are the vigils, where people will split up and sit in different places with night-vision cameras and freak out over every little bump. The second half is kind of a drag, unless you like hearing people stare bug-eyed into darkness asking, "Did you hear that?"
BUT!! The past couple of weeks they've been in America! Southern California to be exact, my old stomping grounds. I'm mad that I missed the first episode on the Queen Mary, but the next episode was at the Whaley House in San Diego and I really liked seeing the house and hearing the stories.
I'm so excited, because tonight they are at the American Legion Hall in Hollywood, where my sister got married a few years ago! What a crazy place. The ceremony was on the ground floor, where they have a two-story atrium with a balcony all the way around. Next to that is a theater that was way spooky. Upstairs was a crazy-ass library that I'm sure will be referenced in the show -- that's where we were dressing and doing our hair. Then the basement was a ballroom and a separate bar area and that's where the reception was. It really was a great place to have a wedding, because you didn't have to drive from the wedding to the reception afterwards.
I don't remember anything weird happening, other than before the wedding Dad and I were hanging lights from the balcony in the atrium -- they were red and white Christmas-type lights wrapped in white tulle. Of course everything worked great as we were hanging them up, then just before the wedding one rope went out. Then afterwards I remember going upstairs from the ballroom and they were on again. Probably nothing, right?
I thought I'd be heading down to my boss' house, but she emailed me last night and said she had a haircolor appointment that will suck up the morning so don't bother. So I caught up on a few little things, but then the afternoon became eerily quiet. I went for a walk and came back to no emails or messages. I watched Dr. Phil (while cleaning up in the kitchen & den), and no one called or emailed.
I think people are unofficially planning tomorrow off -- Boss Lady will be going until noon and her kids get up, then she's off too. Tomorrow's going to be dead dead dead. You know what that means: shopping! I'll probably place an order for the Villainess update. I should decide what to get Mom for her birthday next week. I need a small clothes and shoes update, so I'll poke around.
I should also do practical things, like vacuum and hang up a couple pictures that we bought frames at Michaels for and I've put the pictures in. If I'm really motivated, I should lug out the sewing machine (it must weigh 50 pounds, my grandma's old one) and finally finish my sleepshirt -- with cute bacon-and-eggs fabric! I have a pile of fabric that I've bought to make shirts and pillows and I should finally do something. Or take the embroidery silk I bought at an estate sale (a big bag, probably 50 spools, for $3) and add a design to a shirt or sweater.
Or, knowing me, I'll do none of the above
Oh crap. Just when I'm contented with my BPAL purchase, and we've gotten the gutters replaced ($2000 total), other favorite sites are updating too! Son of an Ass! (tm Samir in Office Space)
--Villainess has a huge update with a bunch more soaps. Crushed is back! It came and went so quickly I didn't have a chance to order the first time -- I'm a sucker for raspberries and chocolate. Plus I want the new Villainess signature scent (florals and leather), and Byzantium (resins and Egyptian musks), and Canaan (honey, berries and florals), and Krakatoa (tropical fruits! I coconut) and Vintage ("antique oak and yesterday's vanilla," what a great description!) and and and *falls over*
--feMaledictions is in the process of updating too, with a Sugar Butter Scrub! Oh jeez that sounds nice. I love her incense and she's added 4 new scents including The Golden Proportion (black vanilla beans! Where's my perfume to match? ) and New Rose (I love rose incense and can't find it very often, other than the bulk Indian incense packs at Cost Plus). Plus hemp soaps? And soy tarts? And a hint at 50+ new blends? *gets up off the floor, then falls over again*
BPAL is the priority, and every month I make orders there. But I like supporting these other small Internet businesses. If someone's making a good product and putting thought and heart into it, and bucking the bullcrap old-and-busted "retail" model, that's cool too.
I've had a spate of aggressive sales-type people call for all manner of things: pitching a payroll service, hiring them as a salesperson or a Director, etc. I try to be pleasant but firm, and it's in one ear and out the other. I especially like when they try to get people's phone numbers and I guess I'm supposed to be all, "Oh, here's everyone's personal numbers, just because you asked for it."
I'm especially impressed with the lady today who seemed to be eating during the entire call. I don't know how she managed to interrogate me, write everything I say down and eat what sounded like a burrito. Really endearing.
My biggest fear is that I'll lose my temper and they'll end up being hired, and forevermore see me as that rude girl in HR who's nasty on the phone. Heh.
What a surprise to get the update today instead of Thursday! This morning as I'm hopping in the shower I'm thinking, "3 more days until the update, then I'll place my next order. What'll it be?" Pretty exciting thoughts for the shower, hmm?
I'm so pleased to see the grapefruit scents back! Thanks to the lovely MichelleM at the last Meet-n-Sniff I got to test Baobhan Sith, which was very peppy and went on my Big Bottle list, but since it was DC I wasn't expecting to ever find it. I barely got to test Cheshire Cat last year, as I took a new imp to work and then dropped and broke it, but what I tried smelled nice. And all those Mad Tea Party additions! That's one of my favorite sections; King of Hearts, Mouse's Tale, Tweedledee and Tweedledum all sound great and I'll be keeping an eye out for reviews.
On top of that, the planets aligned and I received last month's order today. I love seeing that little red, white & blue box on the porch. I received Monster Bait: Closet (a creamy yummy blackberry), The Masque and Montresor (which I had sniffed before, thanks to the lovely jj_j at our last Meet-n-Sniff, and knew I wanted bottles before they disappeared). Plus frimps, all from the A's and B's, 4 of which I've never tried. I love that aspect too, to be able to receive random scents that you wouldn't pick out on your own.
What is it about these little glass bottles of smellies that is so fascinating? Sure, I place orders with lots of companies online, but nothing compares to the excitement of seeing an update, deciding on orders, and anticipating these oils.
I placed my monthly order, but it was for the Seamus statue with Hellion. The LEs on this update weren't tempting enough; Dragon Moon sounded OK, but dragon's blood goes quite floral and strong on me and tends to overwhelm. I haven't gotten into the Celestials. And I tried everything I wanted to in the Carnaval Noir series and have bottles of my favorites: Midway, Snake Charmer and Gypsy Queen. So what better time to invite an imp into my home, holding a 10ml no less?
My super-favorite purchase of the moment: Blondie greatest hits with videos! I had a couple CDs already but couldn't resist getting a DVD of old videos. They're so much fun -- it looks like they woke up and said, "Let's make a video!" And Blondie dresses up in a Hefty trash bag and a bathing suit and some electrical tape and tube socks and Candies and they make a video. So great! Can I be Blondie? No? Damn.
I mention in my About Me that we have a house with a bad attitude. I opine this because since we've bought the house we've needed foundation work, a new heating/AC system, plumbing work, and now gutters. We were hoping to put this off, but a few weeks ago we had quite a bit of rain: 10 inches in one day. Yes, 10 inches of rain in one day. The gutters were literally falling off the house with the weight of the water.
So we hire someone to replace the gutters, who of course reveals rotting wood called "fascias." So this weekend has been another guy to replace the rotting wood. They bring down these pieces which aren't really wood, they're pressboard! Like a bunch of pieces of wood molded together. This has been on our house, rotting and falling away, for 35 years. Ugh.
In general, I like our house. It was built in 1968, and the neighborhood we're in everyone still has the "original" house -- no one's done the tear-down-and-put-up-McMansion yet. We have a funky ranch layout which we love. These repairs aren't fun though -- it's not a fun new bathroom or great kitchen; it's gutters. No one gets excited about gutters. Gutters are boring and not fun.
So, I have a job. I'm an HR admin for an orthodontics company -- saving the world from crooked teeth. This means I send payroll to be processed, get everyone paid and signed up for medical, dental and life insurance. We have stock options and I prepare the agreements and keep track of all of those. I work for the General Counsel (in-house attorney) helping with contracts and litigation.
In general, I like my job. We have a main office, but Boss Lady and I are in a different state and work out of our houses. I'm at her place 2-3 days/week, and at home the rest of the time. It's very flexible, in that I can run to the grocery store and do other errands if I'm caught up. I love that aspect -- I can be free for an hour or two, in the middle of the day! If it's busy, though, and we're working on a big project I'm expected to be checking email constantly and by the phone.
Because it's a sales company, everyone's very outgoing and energetic. I'm told I have a pleasant phone persona and don't mind answering questions on the phone or emailing all day. The company is doing great (as far as I can tell, but I don't see sales figures). I feel fortunate that Boss Lady (whom I worked for previously) liked me so much she wanted only me for the job. It's exciting to be working for such a young and growing company -- I sometimes compare it to the Lab, in that things seem to have taken off with demand.
What's no-so-great about it? Boss Lady can be abrupt and demanding. She likes me to make calls for her, then stands next to me and corrects me during the call if I've misunderstood something. Look lady, if this call was so important to you, and you don't have anything else to do at the moment, why aren't you on the phone?
Other people can be demanding too, like I have nothing else to do except answer their vacation time questions over and over. Seriously, our policy isn't that confusing, and no you don't get all your vacation time for the year up-front. I don't care that "every other job you've had" did that -- that's a stupid way to do things, because if you left a week later we'd owe you that unearned vacation time. Does that make any sense to you? Go sell something.
It's not an exciting, artistic job, but with DH's job we can pay the bills and have fun money left over. What more can we ask for?
I joke about filing for bankruptcy, but actually have experienced it almost-first-hand: I worked for a bankruptcy attorney for 2 years. It seemed I saw people at the worst point of their lives, but as I've said after working for attorneys for many years, "If everyone was rich and happy, no one would need an attorney."
We seriously had a Kleenex budget, because many times we had people crying in the office over their decision. There were straight-up dumbos whose logic was, "I have credit cards I can't pay, so to feel better I'll go shopping!" One couple who made really decent money (over $100K/year) had almost $300K in credit cards and loans. But a lot of people were there for normal bad luck -- divorce, where one person gets stuck with a house payment they can't afford on their own; illness; losing their job; people who owned their own businesses mixing their personal finances up with the business.
It drives me crazy, especially with this new "bankruptcy reform," that the general consensus is that people who file for bankruptcy are deadbeats and abuse the system by filing over and over. As I saw it, the system was in fact working fine, with honest judges and attorneys who wanted to be fair to everyone, including the creditors. The attorney I worked for flat-out refused to represent people whom she suspected were lying to her. She was one of the top bankruptcy attorneys in the city, and there was no way she was putting her license and reputation on the line for anyone.
What I learned was to be very diligent with our own finances:
--Pay important bills in full every month. Mortgage/rent, utilities, car payment & insurance.
--Everything else like credit cards that can't be paid in full, pay as much as possible. "Minimum amounts" are for suckers.
--If you can't pay off something in one month, try to pay it off the next month. Seriously. If that means less going out, less concerts or movies, do it and catch up.
--Pay everything early, not late. Creditors luuuuvs when you pay late, even one day, because not only do they get their money but they have the excuse to charge $25-45! Because you're one day late? Nah, man.
--If you don't like an interest rate, change it. If the mortgage is too high, you can refinance after a couple years if you've been good with payments. Credit cards, call them and ask for a lower rate. If not, use one of those 0% interest for 6 months offers with someone else. And keep track of the due dates too -- if it's no interest until June, pay it off or transfer by June.
Anyway, I'm going on and on. The point is, take control! Power to the people!
OK, so I mentioned bankruptcy before. I have several temptations other than BPAL that are dying to make me broke:
Villainess soaps (Brooke) -- currently I have One-Eyed Willy soap with Sugar Buzz Smooch in the shower. I'm not a bubble bath person
feMaledictions (sCara) -- her perfumes are OK, but I really like her soaps, incense, sprays, etc.
Goth Rosary (AntiSally) -- her conditioner is great, with interesting scents
Dark Candles (Helena) -- strongest candles and simmering oils in gothy scents. I'm an armchair goth; I don't dress like one, but like the themes (and the music).
My Lady's Chamber -- I find myself hoarding the incense instead of burning, which I shouldn't do. Really stinky incense, great themes and prices
Instant Living -- I love retro culture. Cocktail lounges, '50s decor. I'm not in any "scene" but I like the shopping. Really cute jewelry and home stuff
Reprodepot Fabrics -- I have a sewing machine but should really use it more. I still buy fabric though, especially if it's on sale. I'll get inspired every so often
Candles and incense -- Pier 1 and Illuminations have good candles in interesting scents. I'm always up for some good headshop incense, wherever I find it
General collecting and admiring:
Souvenirs -- matchbooks, charms for my bracelet, tablecloths, plates and ashtrays, light-up signs; anything that reminds me of trips or where I've lived before
Disneyland -- I'm in love/obsessed with the Haunted Mansion. I grew up 15 minutes from Disneyland and have been there more times than I can count, so the "golden age" of Disneyland is especially nostalgic
Old Hollywood, through 1950s -- again, where I grew up in Southern California it seemd obvious that you watched old movies and knew all the big names
Old Vegas -- like Hollywood, seedy and glitzy at the same time
Are they collections or hobbies? They seem like hobbies, in that the pursuit of them are as interesting as actually possessing them. DH grew up in Cincinnati during the Reds' World Series runs ('75 and '80) so we like Cincinnati and Reds stuff. I love hearing about what others collect too, as I live vicariously.
I think I'll do a BPAL-centric entry with current favorites. I first found the site in September 2004, and did my usual hem-and-haw browsing. I try not to be an impulse shopper as I could get in some serious financial trouble. I finally placed an order in October 2004 and received it in December: a 5ml of Perversion and a 6-pack of imps. Oh Perversion, you cheeky thing! What a great first scent to get, and I was immediately hooked.
I started purchasing off the forums and eBay on top of placing orders, but cut that out soon after (see above re: trying not to go overboard). So I place monthly Lab orders for no more than 3 bottles, usually on Lunacy dates, and of course swap whenever something good pops up. No bankruptcy yet!
Here are my current loves, in the order of the bottles hanging out in my box:
Perversion
Bordello
Dead Man's Hand
Corazon
Port-au-Prince
Wanda
Shub-Niggurath
Alice
Tarot: The Star
Snake Charmer
Gypsy Queen
Dia de los Muertos
Sugar Skull
Haunted Palace
Pink Phoenix
Rose Red
O
Parlement of Foules
Smut
Antique Lace
Black Phoenix
Midnight Mass
Yeah. That's a lot, and that's less than half of the total bottles (most of which I like but aren't madly in love with, unlike the above-listed ones). I am utterly hopelessly smitten.
Hey! What's happening? I feel elderly as I have never blogged. So I'm testing!
I guess I'm pretty happy in general, as opposed to my blog title. Matt Groening (pre-Simpsons) used to have a little comic in LA Weekly called "Life in Hell" (maybe he still does? I haven't checked) and there were a few collections that were published in the '80s with such titles as "Love Is Hell" and "Work Is Hell." One of his strips was the 9 types of couples, and DH and I fit the mold of Sourballs vs. the World, i.e. "can you believe the crap that is on TV?" Hence the title of my blog and DH's website.
We started dating in January 1991, when I was 20 and he was 25. I know! That sounds like I was a baby, but of course I didn't feel like a baby because I was so effing mature. Heh. We got our own place in July '91, and my parents were pretty accepting considering their 20-year-old was moving out with some guy she knew for a year. But here we are, 15 years later. Things turned out fine, Mom.
