Little Red

I picked this gal up at an antique shop in Newburyport a few weeks ago. I couldn't resist her faded red cape and that red stripe along the bottom of her dress.

Dream

A bedroom corner -The job. The job. Everyone wants to know how the new job is going. Definitely a better fit than temp job 1 or temp job 2, but it has only been 4 days. It is a bit difficult since there is no one to train me, but it's a challenge I've faced before - by Friday I was figuring stuff out. This is a bit of a departure from bookkeeping/accounting in that it is human resources only. I'm not sure how I feel about leaving that behind. But I will also be able to help the accounting department if I have time. And I will delve into a whole new arena, which is assisting with a fundraiser. Overall I feel good about it. Am curious how things will play out as far as a job offer and salary. I'll find out in 3 weeks.

Women Seeking Men

Bachelorette #1: Looking for Mister Right for Me
I'm looking for someone to share my life, dreams, and family with. I'm a single 27 year old female that likes to do fun stuff, but also is very responsible.

Bachelorette #2: :-)
I am a wonderfully happy person and am looking for a relaxed 'just be yourself' kind of guy. I am 5'3, athletic, and spontaneous and would love for you to take me out for a nice night.
All I ask is that you don't try any lines or 'moves'. All I want is a guy who can just be himself....

Bachelorette #3: Just me
I like men and am looking for a special one for long term commitment with plenty of strings. Have dated many marrieds but want a relationship now.

Short, sweet and to the point. And no spelling errors. Aren't they great?

Aspiring Renaissance Man Seeking...You?

I'm hoping to find a woman who is cute, active, smart, irreverent, and can appreciate me for who I am. If you're a bit of a hippy and/or a foody, so much the better, The bar scene has never been my forte, just a place to throw darts with the guys once in a while. Believe it or not, it's really difficult to meet new female friends as a male massage therapist. Besides the ethical boundary of dating a client, I guess they figure I'm gay, or some kind of gigolo. Neither is true.
I teach cooking classes a few times a month,do some food consulting/private chef work, donate my time when I can, and work on building my massage practice constantly. I have friends and family over quite often to dinner; it's probably my favorite hobby.I also enjoy sailing, golf, and all mountain sports (hike, bike, ski, board, tele)I've been really focused on my health and fitness since my last birthday, and I feel great.I've recently become addicted to hooping; just google it and you'll get the idea. All my life lacks is you!

This guy actually has the grammar and the spelling down - he sounds intellectual, too. But what I think is funny is how he put in his ad that people think he's gay or a gigolo. Oh, and not to mention hooping. Is he sure he's not gay? (I bet he's in good shape.)

I'll try to find a memorable woman seeking man advert, but women are so much more skilled at writing ads than men.

I Hate the Games

Another man seeking woman:

Loving caring professional sensative understanding man, I hate the games all the crap that goes into meeting someone, looking for a real special lady who appreciates a man who will cherish her friendship, love her with his entire soul, seeking the physical but also emotional kind of love that makes the love between two people immortal.

Hmm...he's professional yet doesn't know anything about comma placement/sentence structure/how to spell...

He's doesn't want to be bothered with what goes into looking for a real special lady who appreciates a man. A man who will cherish her friendship and love her with his entire soul - so long as he doesn't have to go through all that crap that goes into meeting someone.

I bet he'd like a million dollars but doesn't want to put a lot of energy into getting it.

Yawn.

Dragon Slayer Wanted?

100% genuine personal ad (man seeking woman):

I am single by design - no game players, egos' or attitudes, just real sincerety. Life is to short to waste, for tomorrows may never come. If you are searching for a man man, then read on. You won't be dissappointed if you are sincere. Read on!!

If Stars were my Dreams then our journey would be a Galaxy. I would have to say one of the greatest gifts from my MOM was ( because my dad died when I was 14 ) old fashion values and morals, respect and tradition, chilvary and love. NOW FOR THAT LITTLE BIT OF HUMOR WITHIN THIS SINCERE LETTER! (;-} I remember the time when King Aurthor ( He had a few to many Pina Coladas that day ) told me I had to go out and slay all the dragons in the Kingdom in order to bring honor to his people and Kingdom, and my reward would be a very special Princess that my heart has longed for, anyplace in the world. He figured the best man for this adventure at 5'9", 46 years young,white male, brown hair and hazel-brown eyes, ( spiritual ) , Educated, Self Employed, with child living in Oregon, velvet and steel, weighing in at around 165 pounds, with an athletic build, could defeat these with an athletic build, could defeat these wild beast. The king knows I don't drink or do drugs and have a love for life and the future. So I grab my best weapon, ( which was my bag of kindness, love and peace, you have to have a since of humor for this job and there's not much time for TV and would rather be out doing something fun with my princess, ) and went about the Kingdom finding all the dragons. For this Kingdom is near the ocean. One by one I filled these furosious dragons with my magic weapon ( love, kindness, thoughtfulness, honesty, faithfulness ) and talked them into becoming furnaces to heat the castle, for you have read about how cold these castles are in New England in the winter times. ! We now have running hot water to bathe with-(Dragon Fire)! I love being clean and groomed. Because of my heroic effort King Author Knighted me and I am known as Prince Fred. He asked me what was this Princess substance that I would want, and I said, "nothing more than what I am willing to give." So tell me Prince Fred what is that? ( to be continued when I here from you ) smile !

Heh?
The best man for the job was a guy with a child living in Oregon? What exactly does velvet and steel refer to? Are those his kids' names? Or perhaps he named a couple of his appendages? What did Prince Fred grab? Oh yeah, his best weapon - his bag o'kindness, love, and peace! He sounds dreamy. Then he filled the ferocious - or were they furious - dragons with his magic weapon. Perhaps they were sexually frustrated dragons...? Aside from Prince Fred's poor grammar, spelling, bestiality, and undesirable description of his bag, I'd have to say another reason to resist this man is that he didn't exactly complete the task King Author (the novelist?) had given him. The king told him to slay the dragons, not talk them into becoming furnaces. Nobody wants a prince that's going to do a half-assed job or shirk his responsibilities.

Shoes

I have to watch this about once a week since a friend sent it to me a couple of months ago. I guess because I get "shoes - shoes - shoes" stuck in my head all the time.
Those shoes are mine, betch.

President's Day Chill

This is the position I've been assuming for the past three hours. Chillin' with the feets up, monkey slippers on. And I was chillin' outside this morning on my walk. It's frigid out there. Is it spring yet? Today seems to be passing slowly, which is fantastic!

I've enjoyed my 6 day weekend. I didn't do a whole lot - mostly a bunch of nothing. Ran into friends at the bar one night. I like when that happens. Had lots o'fun with boyfriend. We always have fun - we laugh much and get our silly on. He took this picture the other night while holding the camera upside down. I like the way that sounds: up side down. It's exactly what it is. (I think I mentioned before that I'm easily entertained.)
Tomorrow I start my new assignment. I'm still nervous and excited, but looking forward to getting in there and seeing what the place is like - what the people are like, what exactly the work will be. I hope we're a good match.

What Happened to the Monkey?

I like movies, fine dining, and good looking people.

I love, love, love reading personal ads. Yes, totally for the entertainment value - even when I was single I only liked to read them. I remember when I lived in Atlanta and Boston, or visited my pal in DC, we would read some funny, interesting, original ads. Not that we were making fun of people looking for love - we always rooted for the guy/gal who had an interesting ad. It's those ones where people are looking for a blonde guy with green eyes, or a girl no taller than 5' 5"...there's something cheesy about those kinds of specifics. Anyhow, the norm now is that most ads suck. I find it interesting that people who are looking to meet someone would put together such poor, sloppy, un-original ads. And some of the photos are hideous. Come on, you've gotta use a flattering picture. Don't people realize their ad is their first chance to make an impression? Who doesn't like to watch movies? What exactly is fine dining - fancy cuisine or a perfectly cooked prime rib and baked potato? This one was accompanied by a picture of a guy with awful hat hair:

I'm a single from P-----,NH, looking for someone who can share with me, I like to enjoy the life with having meal at restaurant,travelling, swimming and any kind of fun activities, I'm a 37 year old guy lived in P-----, New Hampshire. I like to describe my self as an easy going, happy, intelligent,attracti ve and funny and ready to have girlfriend to share

Egad. Is he a foreigner? Does he have no idea how to use a computer - cut, paste, delete? This is not the norm. Most are something like this one:

I am a layed back person . I enjoy being at home like dinner and a movie at home is a good thing. Dont get out a lot but like a small pub or sports bar over nightclubs. Like to shoot pool and darts. I love being at the ocean love saltwater fishing. Like to play golf at least once a week. Looking for someone with some common interest to spend good times with

Is the proper use of grammar and punctuation a lost art? Basic sentence structure an art form, you say? I'm a bad speller and my grammar stinks, too, but I usually check it before I put it out there. I know it's not a huge deal - people are always in a rush, but if I didn't know someone, I'd think twice about them if they were too lazy to whip out the dictionary for a personal ad. Note: if you can't spell "laid", you don't deserve to get laid.

Former coworker and I had this discussion a few times: if you were single would you create a personal ad, or respond to a personal ad you found intriguing? I couldn't do it. I think I'm old fashioned. I'd rather go out and do things I find enjoyable and hope/try to meet someone while doing those things. I think back to when I was younger and would give my phone number to someone I barely talked to. Then, while out on a date, I would realize we had nothing in common - nothing to talk about. That's what a personal ad is to me. Blind dates, too. I suppose there are people who might talk online or on the phone before they ever meet, but I think there is still something about the first time you see someone - the click, the connection. It doesn't feel forced. You see them again and again before you go out on a date. You get to know each other - experience each other in certain situations. But that's me. Who knows, if I found ads that were original, had decent grammar, and actually said something about a person - oh, and I were unhappily single - maybe I would change my mind. But I dunno.

I may have to write more about this later...

Friday

It's cold outside, baby (yuh, I know you're the only one reading this blog). The sun is deceiving. I walked this morning, which was a bit difficult since the sidewalks are not cleared very well. Part of my walk, on route 103, doesn't even have sidewalks. Walking on a narrow road made even narrower by snow is pretty risky business 'round these parts. These parts being Kittery, Maine, which is just over the New Hampshire state line. The line is actually the Piscataqua River. I'm only about a mile and a half from downtown Portsmouth, NH, which is the closest city...I do believe.

When I went out to give blood at lunch time, this is what I had to deal with -Um, big snow banks at the end of my street, how am I supposed to see? Both Kittery & Portsmouth's plow jobs were somewhat poor - roads and sidewalks. You'd think they woulda' been ready to go since this was the first major storm this season. I guess we got too much too fast. I'm glad we can see bare roads, though, that's always good.

This is the view of the Memorial Bridge heading towards Portsmouth -
It's a crappy shot, but you can see the sidewalks are buried under the snow. I should say you can't see the sidewalks buried beneath the snow. Anyhow, the blood donation was a success, but I figured it would be when they gave me the number 13 - my favorite/lucky number. Last time I went to donate my hematocrit was too low so I couldn't give. They were giving Lindt chocolate bars to donors. Mmm-mmm. But I would've given for free.

This is the view of the bridge heading back to Kittery-The dirt on my windshield looks like smoke to the left of the bridge. I think they were working on the bridge as it didn't lift at all whilst I was stopped there. Figures - I had a front row view of nothing. Poo.

This is a collage I started awhile ago, but haven't touched in months. I guess it's because I'm a bit stuck. I'm afraid I might add too much and ruin it. I need to do something. If I ruin it, I ruin it. No big deal.

Snow

It is snowing and windy. The top picture was taken about an hour before the bottom pic.

The pictures are a crappy, but I can't figure out why my portrait pictures, even after rotating, revert to landscape when I add them in blogger.

The Departed

It is out on DVD today - hooray! I will see it again, and again, and again. Okay. Maybe not. Boyfriend didn't believe it for a minute. But I will see it again - soon. And whenever I want to see a manly Leonardo. Hubba - hubba.

I am also newly departed from the horrible temp assignment. Double hooray! I feel so free. Yesterday I almost put my head down on the desk for a nap. I was bored beyond belief. If people could die of boredom, I would have been six feet under. I was hoping they would catch me sleeping and would terminate me on the spot. Ah - but I couldn't do it. Curse the part of me that feels the need to be a good girl.

This morning I had an appointment to get my teeth cleaned, so I went into work late. I must say, it was much better working a 6.75 hour day than an 8.5 hour day there (duh). Less hours in the metal chair. A cushionless metal chair. Less hours in the 85 degree office. My sinus are completely dried out and the armpits of my shirts are all stinky. P.U. Less hours spent listening to Beyonce* sing the "To the left, to the left..." song, which is usually about 5 times during the day. I miss my NPR. But I actually had my first personal conversation with a coworker today! If by conversation I mean: he talked about his traumatic experience with dentists and I listened.

Tonight feels like the eve of a holiday. I know - it is the eve of Valentine's Day, which is kind of a holiday, but it feels like the night before Thanksgiving. Maybe because I have the next few days off. I'm so looking forward to the next assignment. A bit worried, too. What if the work stinks? What if the people stink? I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed that all will be desirable.

*I don't mind Beyonce's songs, but I have an extreme dislike for radio stations required to heavily rotate "hit" songs.

Corner of My Home

See Soule Mama.
I love this cupboard, which the previous owner(s) left in the basement. It was pretty grimy and the bottom is somewhat falling apart, but it cleaned up real nice. I only had to paint the inside. I'm a symmetry person, but it doesn't even bother me that one side is painted white and the other is blue. I have all my crafting supplies inside. I love the mix of things on top of it.

Beauty and the Beast

Raise your hand if you've ever had an unpleasant waxing experience... And by unpleasant I'm not talking about the pain caused by wax ripping off hair in very delicate areas - I'm talking about the misery of a bad wax job. I spent 30 minutes half naked on some table while this "professional" removed hair, only to go home and finish the job myself with a razor. My hair line was all crooked on one side and she didn't even tend to the nether regions. Um, isn't that why I'm here - so I wouldn't have to use a razor down there? Yes, I should have asked her why, but I figured it would've been awkward and uncomfortable.
Her: All done.
Me: What about the area below the crooked patch?
Her: Oh no, honey, we don't do that. That's a filthy, vile area. Only whores get that area waxed.
Me: Nevermind.

Another Day...or Two

Yesterday was an interesting day. One gal actually seemed happy to see me. She gave me a cheerful "Good morning" when I saw her. That was nice. And I was asked if I wanted anything when they ordered out for lunch. Oooh. No beer offer, but I didn't notice anyone drinking, either.

Supervisor asked me, "You're here next week, right?" And I say, "Um, I don't know. I have plans..." Since I haven't enjoyed my time there, I came up with story (fib?)* as to why I couldn't work there any longer than the one and a half to two week commitment. Good golly! - it's going to be difficult enough to be there Monday and Tuesday, which is when 2 weeks is finally up. So supervisor says he had talked to temp agency contact on Tuesday about me staying on for all of next week and hadn't he talked to me about it? Coincidentally, it's the same day I sent the email to temp agency contact telling him I was not enjoying the job. The email temp agency contact never responded to. Then supervisor says, "What about after that? Can you come back the next week?" Um...hell no! I explained I was scheduled to start another temp job that week, which is the truth.

The day goes on. I'm dying of boredom. Especially between 3 to 4:30p.m. I let supervisor know at 3:00 that I had things I need to review with him. He said he was busy with a deadline. Could he get back to me in a little bit? What am I going to say - "no"? When this happened other times during the week, I had found things to keep myself busy. And work stuff, not goofing off stuff. But this time I was out of things to do. I was wanting out. Finally at 4:30 he wants to review, but he wants me to do it quickly. Geez Louise. We review and then he brings up me working there the week after next. He asks if I want to go to the other assignment. Um...hell yes! And that was that.

As I was driving away from the job my phone rings. Oh joy, it's temp agency contact! You can go straight to voicemail. He wants to let me know that the job has been extended through next week blah, blah, blah, give me a call back or email to confirm. Confirm this (obscene gesture), mister. I'm curious as to how he'll respond when one, I tell him I can't (won't) work the whole week, and two, when I ask why he didn't respond to my email.

*Okay, okay - it was a lie, but fib sounds a lot better. Nicer.

Hey, mister, say you hate the guy, not you hate his guts.

Where I'm temping (I guess you could call it working) I overheard a guy on the telephone say "I hate his guts." What a weird thing to say. It's juvenile. I image some guy laying there with his middle torn open, intestines spilling out. And another guy, who of course hates the injured fellow, looking at him angrily. Shaking his fists.

I toyed with the idea of leaving work early today. Tuesday I did leave early - without telling anyone. Kind of sneaking, I guess, but I had already put in 8 hours. (8:30 to 5 is an 8 and a half hour day. I eat lunch at my desk. There's no place to go to in 30 minutes-it's in the middle of nowhere.) I think that's enough time for one day when the person supervising you doesn't stop by once to check in with you. The next day was the day he was busy and said he'd be with me in 5 minutes. An hour later... Geez. Good thing I know how to look busy when I'm not.

The people at this place...I just don't know. You'd think a place that allows employees to drink beer would be all laid back and fun. But most of the people are a bunch o'stiffs. I don't hear a lot of laughing. And I still have not had one conversation with anyone that was not business related. Believe me, I've tried. Nothing. Weird. Very weird.

And now my temp agency contact seems to have flown the coop. The same guy who called me 4 times in a 30 minutes period one morning to get me to take a job has not responded to an email I sent 2 days ago stating I wasn't enjoying this job and wanted to know when it was scheduled to end. Doofus. This is what I don't like about temp agencies. I'm not told how much money they are making for whoring me out. I don't know what the contract/discussion was between the employer and the temp agency. Fuckahs. Gotta cut out that middle man. Unfortunately, I need them to start my next (and hopefully last) assignment on the 20th. Bastards. I'm shaking my fists.

The Golden Gate Bridge

When I was on the west coast training my replacement, I found the time to visit the Golden Gate Bridge with my friend and former coworker. We had a lovely walk across and back. Traffic was noisy, but the view was amazing. Surprisingly, I wasn't scared even though the railing wasn't all that high. I generally don't like heights if there aren't safe/solid/no-one-cab-push-me-over barriers between me and the edge.

Like the time this fall when boyfriend and I were hiking a trail in Griffin Park, Los Angeles with his sister-in-law and nephew. We were ascending up the hill on a wide, dirt trail, which had no railing. Strangely, the only place with a railing was a portion at the top... Anyhow, I had a hard time watching sister-in-law of boyfriend hike up the trail with the nephew strapped to her back. She wasn't close to the edge, but the non railing situation made the psycho in me nervous. (Sidebar: Does everyone have a psycho in them? The psycho inside that makes you think evil things even though you know they never would/could happen. I think there are some that know the psycho is in us, but know it's a small part of us and nothing more. Others - they may not know, so they act on the ideas the psycho presents to them. More on this some other time.) I was all jellly-like on the inside unless I looked away from her and focused my brain on other things. You can see above I was trying very hard to smile as if the open edge did not bother me. Boyfriend had me close to the edge for the best shot. Insert nervous laugh here.

Back to the big, beautiful, non scary, orange bridge. One neat thing was seeing a large ship approaching in the distance. We waited when we reached the point where we thought it would pass under us. It was cool because here there is a bridge between Kittery, ME and Portsmouth, NH (actually there are 3 bridges between the 2 towns, but I'm talking about the one in the photo above my 'About Me'). The bridge here raises to let the large ships through. We don't have the excitement of seeing a ship pass underneath us. Doesn't take much to entertain me.

New

This is new to me.
Temping.
It's a strange experience - walking into an office to complete a task and nothing more.
The first assignment was boring and monotonous, but my coworkers were social and friendly. I have plans to take a painting class with one of them.
My second, current assignment is challenging - this is my favorite kind of accounting work. Yet my coworkers are not so social. There is a bar at this job site. Yesterday I found the person who has been supervising me drinking a beer at his desk an hour before quitting time. The fact that he was drinking a pint at his desk didn't seem strange to me at all. It was the fact that I hadn't been offered one. I hadn't been asked to take part in their Friday beer drinking ritual. It was rude.
Temping is great because I don't have to get caught up in office politics. I don't need to know or care who everyone is. But the down side is working at a place where people are more socially inept than I am (in lots of situations I am highly socially inept).
The one bonus of this is that I do not have to go back. I will, though, because I enjoy the work. And if I'm there next Friday, I will belly up to that bar and pour myself a pint. I may even do it on Monday. What are they going to do - fire me?