A simple request… February 1, 2008

Please don’t bring stinky food to work. I’m sure you’re dinner last night was fantasmically delicious, but I don’t want to smell next day garlic all afternoon. Or mustard for that matter. I absolutely loathe mustard and I can smell it’s vile odor from miles away. Vicious devil condiment! There’s a reason mustard gas is used as a chemical warfare!

Let me set the stage for you… I work in a small corporate office with about 25 other people. About 12 of us sit in one large main area, and in cubicles no less. So if someone brings in vittles from last night, we all have to smell their malodrous lunch. Today it was garlic. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of garlic. Just not in vampire-slayer proportions. Honestly, it was enough to turn my stomach.

I’m not asking for a lot here… just in leiu of your yucky smelling lunch… try bringing in something that doesn’t make me want to plug my nose. Thanks.

Is it Thursday yet? January 14, 2008

My second interview at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is on Thursday morning. I’m feeling very anxious right now. I almost wish it were Wednesday evening instead of Monday afternoon. I’m trying to prepare as much as I can, but I get really nervous during interviews. Which is funny… because I’ve done a lot of phone recruiting as well as some face to face interviews. As much as I know about the process, it still scares me to death. But I know that all I can do is prepare myself and go in with confidence. The rest I can’t control. And if they don’t choose me, then it just means there is something better out there waiting on me. Wish me luck!    

stop the ride… i want to get off December 18, 2007

I’m not really a big fan of rollercoasters in the real world, and I prefer not to be on them theorectically either. But I’ve certainly been on the equivilant of one emotionally for the last few weeks…

After Thanksgiving I genuinely thought that my exboyfriend and I would work things out. Last week, any dream of that faded when he made it clear that he just wanted to be single. I am devestated. I love this man more than I ever thought that I could. I miss him all of the time… even those little things that drove me crazy sometimes. My heart breaks knowing that he doesn’t feel the same. It breaks even more knowing that Christmas is probably the last time I’ll see him or his family, who I’ve also grown to love. It’s that pain that hurts deep in your body… in that place that you can’t quite describe… that makes you double over and lose your breath.

I applied for a couple of positions in my field over the weekend. I was really excited when I got a phone call on Monday from the large non-profit that I applied to. I thought wow, they must really like my resume. Of course, when I actually spoke to them, they were just verifying that I met their minimum requirements. I’m not out of the running just yet, but obviously I’m not their ideal candidate on paper. Once again, the fact that I didn’t complete my education is kicking me in the ass.

So what I’m saying is that I’m ready to get off this ride.

horse racing, drag queens, and ice capades December 15, 2007

Some random thoughts and events from the last couple of days…

• I absolutely ADORE my friends. They are the best.
• I won $4 at Turfway Park last night. Not bad considering I only bet $1.
• I bet on horses based on their name.
• $1 beers are good, even if it’s crappy beer.
• Margaritas, particularly good ones, are the bomb.
• The Office and 30 Rock are absolutely hilarious. If you don’t watch them, you should start.
• I gave dollar tips to drag queens doing a charity show at a “country/western” gay bar. A country/western gay bar is a difficult concept to comprehend, unless you’re actually there. There was a big poster of Reba McIntire holding a bag of Fritos. That was pretty funny. But it would’ve been even funnier if she was eating them.
• Some of the drag queens had nicer legs than me. There’s something just not fair about that.
• I drove to work on a Saturday in 3″ of snow and freezing rain. When I was about halfway here, I decided that I might be retarded for doing so. But I was already halfway and I could use the extra cash. I got to work and there was an equally retarded co-worker here as well. He told me he did a “180″ on his way here. I’m thinking he is way more retarded than I am.
• Pumpkin donuts are yummy…especially when paired with a caramel latte.
• I like snow, but freezing rain and ice are not my friends.
• I still haven’t finished my Christmas shopping. I really need to get crack-a-lackin on that.
• The copier at work sounds like a helicopter. I’m convinced that one day it’s going take off and fly far, far away to “copier heaven.”
• I wish I could sleep past 9am.

if work was fun, they’d call it “fun,” right? April 19, 2007

have you ever worked with someone who refuses to communicate with you? i don’t mean sally down in row 5, cubicle 31…i mean a person who you must work with in parallel, who sits right beside you. i would like to think that i am pretty easy to get along with. and considering i went to school for journalism, that i have at least basic, if not somewhat refined, communication skills. that being said, i could not be more frustrated with my current situation at work. i’m not sure how to work with someone who won’t tell me what they need. i admit, i could be more organized at work. i am in a role that is overwhelmed with paperwork and i perform a variety of HR functions. it’s difficult some days, with my ADD brain, to function at 100% efficiency. i take accountability for this. so from time to time, i need a gentle reminder that a deadline looms or that you are waiting on me to finish fishing through my continuous stacks of paperwork. (we kill a lot of trees at my workplace.) however, instead of turning around and saying, “hey allison…i need this.” my co-worker would rather run down the hall and tell my boss that i’m withholding vital information. and instead of offering help when i’m struggling through an issue…this person sits there quietly festering because i haven’t asked her in a formal request for the answers. i don’t know that she’s missing paperwork…i don’t know that she has all the answers. i am an HR specialist…not a mind reader. is it just me, or am i working with someone who might be a bit socially vacuous. this person is twice my age, yet somedays i feel like i’m back in 10th grade. i like my job a lot, i like my boss, and i respect the company i’m working for…but i grow weary by the nano-second of this communcation gap with my co-worker. it’s kind of ruining the whole work experience thing for me. my newest line of defense is the ipod. crank that baby up and i don’t have to hear her gossip with the whiny neighbor in the next cube over. what a drag. i haven’t lost hope though…there’s a job out there somewhere with my name on it. one that i don’t languish rising at 6am for. one that i can honestly say is “fun.” you may say i’m a dreamer…