Samson patiently waiting for my OK to eat the chocolate chip on the floor in front of him (hard to see the chip but it’s on the far right of the pic). I love how his forehead gets all wrinkled up in concentration. He looks like a Shar Pei or something. He waited for a full 2 minutes or so because I was taking this picture. What a good boy!
Last week I read on Simply Rebekah the idea of taking a picture once an hour to chronicle your “typical day”. I committed then to doing this experiment and randomly picked Wednesday, January 12th as “the day”. Well, turns out 1/12/11 was to be my last day working from the Annex so it was kind of fitting to document that day, as the end of an era, so to speak.
This will also be the last Annexed post, as least for a while. There may be more if I have to go back there for some meetings, but most likely I’ll try to find another series to fill this one’s place.
So, without further adieu, here is “A Day in the Life of TTM”, from Wednesday 1/12/11.
[Note – in some cases I shot 2 pics for the same hour because there were a couple things going on that needed to be documented. Hey, sometimes you have to break the rules!]
5:00 a.m. – Time to get up!
Yes, I get up at 5 am on a typical day. Why? It’s a form of self-mutilation. Some people cut themselves. Others get piercings. I prefer to violently jar myself out of a restful sleep so that I can get a workout in. Time to rise and shine!
6:00 a.m. – Pilates
This is the view of the TV as I’m laying on the ground working my inner thighs. As a freeze frame, it looks kind of weird and a little sexual. Believe me, there was nothing sexy about it. I purposely workout in the dark because it’s less painful, especially when I’m doing stuff on the floor that requires me to look up. Who wants to stare in to the lights while being tortured conditioned at 6am?
7:00 a.m. – Getting ready for work
First of all, I hope you appreciate the fact that I am posting a pic of myself without having done anything to my hair and or with a stitch of make-up on. I sacrifice because I love you. Anywho, I am getting ready for work and at this point have blow-dried my hair and am about to get dressed and paint my face. I also shot a pic of Samson. No, that’s not poop in front of him, it’s a treat that had been sitting there for 10 minutes and he wouldn’t even touch it (maybe because it looks like poop?). See, as part of our routine, I give Samson a milk bone before I jump in to the shower. This morning I thought I’d mix it up and give him a treat from Three Dog Bakery, cuz I’m fancy like that. I figured he’d jump for joy! But instead he snubbed it. Notice how he’s looking away as if to say, “Pashaw…is this what you have to offer me today? Really? Come on lady, you can do better than that.”
8:00 a.m. – Arriving at work
It’s a lovely building isn’t it? Very inspiring to walk in to every day. Also note that it was FREEZING cold that day so it was a big sacrifice to roll my window down for the 10 seconds that it took me to take this pic. Nothin’ but love for ya.
9:00 a.m. – Dialing in to a conference call
The first of many meetings. Notice that I have 2 phones on my desk. An old crappy one (that I’m dialing) and a new IP phone. Those have both been sitting there since I started and I’ve had to use the old one because no one knows how to set up the new one. Brilliant! But the IP phone does make for a good paperweight.
10:00 a.m. – Checking the drips
It was at this point in the day that Bubbles and I decided to check on the leaks still coming from the ceiling. They were supposed to have been fixed last Friday morning but that never happened. I’m guessing Facilities thought that the cold temps would freeze the ice back up and stop the leaks. They thought wrong. So….this one has been dripping down in to The Brit’s cube for 5 days now and has left a nice stain on the wall. Stay classy Annex!
11:00 a.m. – Another conference call
Time for another meeting. My work day is really exciting isn’t it? Don’t you wish you had my work life? Well, some of you do and I’m sure many of you can relate to days filled with meetings and documents and more meetings to talk about those documents. But, it pays the bills so I shan’t complain…too much.
12:00 p.m. – Lunch!!
The gang decided to go out for lunch because it was the birthday of one of the Indians. The original plan was to go to a local BBQ joint but when we pulled in to the parking lot, we found that it was shut down. So, our second choice was Mexican (it was yummy too. I have 2 words for you – white cheddar cheese sauce. ‘Nuf said.).
The funny part of the story though has to do with the journey there and back. See, Bubbles offered to drive us in the rental car, which was a Chevy Cruze, because it had a remote start and heated seats. It’s a nice little car, with the operative word being “little”. Bob is not a small man. I had called shotgun, so Bob and the Indian climbed in the back. Well, the Indian climbed in. Bob had to use some of his Marine training combined with a few yoga moves and a little bit of butter to squeeze his way in back there. As he put it, he looked like Grape Ape. On the ride home, I graciously offered him shotgun. He proceeded to put the front seat all the way back which meant I was conjuring up my own yoga poses and ended up sitting with my knees up under my chin. Even with as much leg room as he now had, he had to squeeze in and was sitting with his head cocked to the side because it was butted up against the ceiling. We almost had to call in the Jaws of Life to get him out of there when we got back to the mall.
1:00 p.m. – Guess what – another meeting!
Stop the excitement already!!
This meeting was an elicitation session so we were all in the conference room with our laptops. See that yellow mess of cables? Yeah, that’s where the fun really comes in. Some of them are “live” and some are not. The goal is to find one that’s working so you can have internet access. Wireless? That’s like so next Century. We’ll have robots here first! Scooter will be president before the Annex has wireless!
2:00 p.m. – Birthday Cake!
We wanted to show the Indian a proper American birthday celebration so Bubbles brought in a cake for him. It was yummy. We didn’t sing though because, well, that would have been traumatizing for everyone involved. No candles because it’s a fire hazard (course, we would have had plenty of water to douse it with given the 3 trashcans nearly full of leaky ceiling water)! So it wasn’t a full and complete American birthday celebration but he got the idea. My piece of cake was gone exactly 2.5 minutes after this picture was taken. Take no prisoners!
3:00 p.m. – Excel Hell
(notice the meeting invite on my screen is a reminder to take a photo for that hour.)
I’ve been workin’ on some spreadsheets…all the live long day! I’ve been workin’ on some spreadsheets just to pass the time away! Ok, I can’t really complain because Barry has taken on the bulk of the load when it comes to managing spreadsheets for this project. The one I’m working on here is tiny compared to his monster – 400+ rows, 50 + columns and 7 tabs. It’s massive.
Speaking of Barry, Bob noticed that he was wearing multiple shirts. He was going to ask him about it at lunch but Barry was unable to join us. So Bubbles and I asked him about it later. Here’s how it shook out:
4:00 p.m. – Excel Hell, continued
By now I have transitioned into working on the “massive monster mother of all spreadsheets” spreadsheet. But at least it has pretty colors. I am frantically trying to finish up my work because I still needed to pack up my desk and try and get outta there by 5.
Once I had everything packed up, and loaded in my car it was time to say goodbye. I had Bubbles take this extra picture of me at my desk, as sort of a final way to remember my life in the Annex.
5:00 p.m. – So long suckers!
And then I was out the door! These are the doors to my freedom the outside. Notice that pretty blue haze of the outside world that is in stark contrast to the dreariness of the mall? Yeah. That about sums it up.
6:00 p.m. – Making dinner
This is a chicken and broccoli braid from one of my Pampered Chef books. It turned out de-lish. This pic was taken prior to cooking so looks a bit weird (and a little bit like the spine of some huge animal) but trust me, it turned out good.
7:00 p.m. – Eating with Munchkin
This is the face I get to see every night when I eat dinner. Doesn’t get much better than that. Notice too that her tray is licked clean which just goes to show how good my dinner was!
8:00 p.m. – TTM Updates
After dinner, I had fun playing with Munchkin and then it was time for her to go to bed. By 8:00 I was at my desk writing up a TTM post for the day before letting myself chill and veg. That’s day’s post was on some of the updates I’ve made to the house but WordPress was giving me issues so it took longer than I anticipated. CJ was itching to get on the computer but he patiently waited and watched “Celebrity Rehab” while I worked.
9:00 p.m. – Chillin’
Finally getting some time to sit and relax. I was starting to feel a sinus infection coming on (it’s here full force now) so I just wanted to snuggle under my Steelers blanket and let my mind go numb in front of the tube. Which is exactly what I did. I was watching “The Cape” that I had DVRed Sunday night. I didn’t really like it and probably won’t watch again.
10:00 p.m. – Nightie night!
By 10:00 I was asleep so I cheated and snapped this right as I laid down and turned the lights off. I was down for the count!
So there you have it – a snapshot of my life and a typical day at work. I really, really tried to find Scooter so I could take a picture of or with him but alas, he was no where to be found. Go figure that when I actually want to see him, he’s gone.
And with that, The Annexed series draws to a close. I have received a lot of feedback on how much you all like this series so it makes me sad to end it. I will try really hard to find something to replace it with though. Perhaps I can find little gems from the West Office to write about. Who knows. In any event, thanks for following and I hope you continue to do so!
Consider yourself Annexed!!
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One of my NY resolutions was to get the house de-cluttered and organized, in preparation for moving this summer. I got a couple more projects done this week.
Monday, after I had officially signed off from the computer and called it “a day” in terms of work, I decided the first order of business was to clean up my work area.
As I was sitting at the desk all day working, I started looking around at how cluttered it was. And it was getting to me. I don’t normally spend a full 8 hours at this desk so it’s easier to overlook it. But yesterday I decided it was time to tackle the desk as my next Operation Dream Home project.
Here are the before shots (I’m actually embarrassed to share these because it was bad.):
The full desk
(The Spiderman mask is a purchase CJ made in Cancun. It’s a Mexican wrestling mask. He thought it might be a good way to spice up our sex life. He thought wrong.)
The Drawer
(That file thingy on top is used to sharpen charcoal pencils. I bought it in college for one of my art classes. Not sure why I still have it because I literally haven’t used it since graduation. It’s gone now!)
The shelves
(Notice the Guinness stress pint in the front middle. I bought that when we were in Dublin and toured the Guinness factory. I had to put my initials on it because the guys at my old job always threatened to steal it. As if it wouldn’t be obvious that someone else suddenly had a Guinness Stress Pint.)
The desk
(Files, files everywhere!)
Gag. How embarrassing. This embodies the epitome of clutter in my mind. And it drives. me. crazy.
I started with the shelves. On the right side you can see a whole gaggle of CDs and pictures piled up and stuffed in there. I went through those and determined what should be kept and what should be tossed. Most all the pics got tossed because they were doubles of ones I’ve already scrapbooked. Many of the CDs were tossed too as they contained old computer backups or programs which I no longer needed. The remaining CDs got consolidated into one of the black sleeves that can hold multiples (we have 2 cases – one holds 36 CD/DVDs and the other holds 24). At some point I’ll probably take the data that’s on those and transfer it to one of our external hard drives. But that will have to be another project.
Better, right?
I then consolidated the bills/files (which is the middle area). Instead of having them stacked hither and yon, I gave them designated cubicles/slots. I also shredded a TON of stuff (I don’t think I need to keep my pay stubs from 2007…). From there, I started filing away the user manuals/warranties that we need to keep. They were previously stuck up on the left side of the top shelf. I put them in expandable files and all of those got place in the large open area on the left side.
Then I tackled the drawer. Most of the stuff in there was random little things that we don’t need. A lot got tossed. The rest got sorted and organized into containers. Then the desk itself got arranged a little neater.
That’s pretty much it! I think it looks much better. While there is still a lot of stuff there, it’s all organized and tidy now, which makes me feel much better.
Here is the after shot:
Full desk
CJ said he didn’t notice much difference (until I kicked him in the shin and then he suddenly noticed), but I can see it and feel much better.
Then last night I decided to organized the play area in the living room.
Here is the before:
Stuff everywhere and it was driving. me. crazy. Target had organizers on sale so I ran out and got one for $30. I put it together and got everything organized in about 2 hours.
Here’s the after:
Much better right? The little OCD girl inside of me was squealing with delight last night. It’s not only organized but it’s cute too (Isabella loves the “hippo” bin)! Don’t worry, I know that it won’t stay this neat and tidy and I’m totally cool with that. So long as everything has a place to go back to at the end of the day, I’m a happy camper.
Note: I put the shelves together last night after Munchkin went to bed and it involved a lot of hammering. CJ was vacuuming at the same time. She slept through all of it and the woke up 15 min. after we were done because she couldn’t find her woobie.
I love to see progress and am really happy that these projects are getting done slowly but surely. Go me!
Way back in November, as the weather was starting to show signs of the coming winter months, I bought Munchkin a winter coat and snow pants. I hesitated on the snow pants because I was being cheap and they cost an extra $9. But, my practical mind won out and told me that she would need those some day and probably on a day when the streets were too crappy to drive out and buy some.
I was right!
Yesterday was just such a day. I was home working and kept promising myself that when I was done, I would take Munchkin outside for her first adventure playing in the snow. I was really looking forward to it.
At precisely 4:19 p.m., I logged off my computer and marched upstairs, determined to start having fun, dammit! Munchkin was napping so I stuffed my face with popcorn and watched Jenny McCarthy tell Oprah about her first Playboy shoot. It was fascinating (insert Star Trek Spock voice here). Eventually Munch woke up and I immediately changed her diaper (after she looked at me and said, “Diapa, poo poos.” I think she might be ready for potty training sooner than we thought). Then we started suiting her up in her snow gear.
First the snow pants, then the boots, the gloves and hat.
That look on her face kills me! It’s like, “Oh my God what is going on? Is the end of the world near? Is this my HAZMAT suit?”
Then we put on the coat and were ready to go!
I started out slowly because I wasn’t sure what her reaction would be. The first few times she was exposed to grass she freaked out and cried, refusing to put her feet on the ground…figured snow would be similar. But she actually took right to it!
I set her down on the deck and let her get used to it. She just sat there and looked at me. Gee mom, this is great fun. I showed her that you can kick it and run your hands through it and stuff. She eventually started getting brave and trying things.
After a few minutes, I took her down in to the yard. This time she stayed standing and tried to walk in it. However, the snow was up to her knees so she was unable to go anywhere. I suppose it would be hard for anyone to walk in that. I showed her how to lay back and make snow angels and she did! Sort of.
I love that she is laughing and enjoying herself. I remember being a kid and playing in the snow with my sister. We would pile it up along the side of the driveway and climb up, pretending it was Everest or something. And of course building forts and throwing snowballs. She’s too young for that yet but we got her started!
We went back in after about 10 minutes. I didn’t want her getting too cold since her gloves were wet and her face was exposed. Ok, fine, I was getting cold. Anyway, we headed in to get out of our wet clothes, take a nice hot bath and bundle up in warm jammies.
I’m so glad I took her out to play. Sometimes I hesitate to do that stuff because it feels like too much work. Or I’m afraid she’ll hate it and be fussy. But I do it anyway and am always surprised at how well she does and how much fun we have!
Happy snow days to everyone!
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Yes, I changed the design of this blog again. What can I say? I’m picky when it comes to the look /feel and want it to be just right. Must be the graphic designer in me. If I had the time, I’d design it from scratch. But I don’t so I have to settle with an out-of-the-box theme.
The first two I had were nice but too “colorful”. In some aspects of my life I like color (like certain rooms of the house or my workout clothes or my husband who always wears bright colors), in other areas I prefer a more subtle look. I’m finding that TeamTraderMom.com is one of those areas. Hopefully this look is “the one” but if not, I’ll break it off gently. Hey, it’s not you, it’s me.
Also, tomorrow is the day that I chronicle “A day in the life of TTM“. Should be fun and interesting. Look for the pics to come soon!
Team Trader Mom 