Journey & Adventure

Today’s rant is brought to you by the construction road crews that litter my commute routes.

Dear Pave-All Construction Company,

I cannot understand why road construction has started so late in the damn season. Yes, I said LATE in the season. In realize it’s only August, but keep in mind, we are from Canada and summer is short here, so the 3rd week in August is ridiculously late to be starting an entire road resurfacing project. Don’t you agree? What are you thinking?

Is there a particular reason why you have chosen this specific route for ripping up the pavement and causing a muddy mess? In my opinion, the road you have chosen does not need to be resurfaced. If you’re looking for work, I’d be happy to point you in the direction of at least 5 other roads on my commute route that are in need of new pavement, but the one you are resurfacing isn’t one of them. You see, I consider myself a bit of an expert in this particular route, as I drive it 5 days a week, 2 times a day for 50 w…

I went to Jiffy Lube at lunch to have my oil changed.Jiffy Lube is meant to be one of those quick lube places, promising an oil change in 15 minutes or less.This was not to be the case today and after 20 minutes of waiting in line, I became distracted by the Taco Bell drive thru next door and left.Mmmm – Taco Bell. Why do certain parents find it perfectly acceptable to allow their 5 and 6 year old children to behave like demons in public?There is nothing worse than witnessing a 6 year old boy whining like a 2 year old girl.I’d love to give them something to whine about – both the parents and children. My son is about to start his final year of high school and the boy does not have a clue of what he is going to do with the rest of his life.In a mere 6 months, a decision should be made because he will need to start applying to colleges.It’s stressing me out just thinking about his lack of interest in the whole process.The weather is supposed to be crappy and rainy again this weekend and …

I'm making my first attempt at scheduling a post, so if you are actually reading this, it means that I've succeeded. Yeah for me! It also means, that I'm not an idiot after all. O.K., well maybe I am, just not today.
Today, instead of blogging working, I will be enjoying a trip to the “ass doctor”.Note the sarcasm in my voice.There will in fact be no enjoyment to this trip. Rest assured; it’s not me that’s going to be in the hot seat (no pun intended).Even I wouldn’t feel the need to share that with you - at least not until I’ve had a few drinks and have gotten to know you better. No, I’m chauffeuring H and believe me after this little visit, “pain in the ass” will hold a whole new meaning - to both of us.

This week, I just want one thing and it’s cheap…solitude.
Is that too much to ask for just one day?

"I love people.I love my family, my children…but inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that’s where you renew your springs that never dry up." Pearl S. Buck

As, I am still awaiting a firm offer of employment from this opportunity, I will share with you another “bad-boss” story.

This one is about a guy named Jack. I fondly thought of him as Jack Ass. Jack was from Texas. As you know, everything is apparently bigger in Texas and therefore Jack was the grandest asshole of them all.

There are many things that made him an unacceptable boss - for example, this man believed it was perfectly acceptable to submit expense receipts for lap dances and when I questioned the validity of these as business expenses, I was told “not to worry my pretty little head about it” and just submit them as “entertainment expenses”. Yup, who knew?

My office was side-by-side with Jack’s and instead of simply walking to my office or picking up the phone and dialing my extension, he would yell down the office corridor. “GIRRRLLL! I say, I say, GIRRRLLL! Can you come in here a second?” Seriously, he sounded like Foghorn Leghorn with his Texas accent and the slig…

Upon reading a few blogs of late, I am noticing a pattern…we are slowly going crazy.I’m noticing that our lives are being driven by outside forces and the driver happens to be a blind-folded monkey, driving a stick shift.
Aren’t we supposed to be the masters of our own destiny?Yes we are, but too few of us have received this memo.At least, we should have received the memo, but truth be told, we probably deleted from our inbox without reading it - after all, we don’t have enough time to sort through all of the spam we are inundated by on a daily basis. Why isn’t there a spam filter on life?
Life “spam” is delivered in all forms and by all methods and media.Whether it be demands that are placed upon us by our job, our family, friends, our gender, the economy, our pets, the weather; we are all allowing ourselves to be manipulated to the point of self-implosion.Why?
Why aren’t we doing anything about it?Why do we continue to allow our lives to be driven by outside forces?Why are we afraid to…

Just a photo today...

This photo was taken of a friendly pelican on Bonaire in November, 2008. Bonaire just happens to be where I'll be headed again in a mere 2 months, 30 days and 5 hours, 20 minutes (not that I'm keeping track or anything) with 28 of my closest friends...




As with all my photos, this one is courtesy of J.

I have a friend that unexpectedly lost her high-paying, high profile job in October, 2008. Given that she was the major bread winner in the family and he was self-employed with little to no income, friends and family were extremely concerned for their well-being and offers of financial assistance poured in. Soon afterwards, it was revealed that she and her husband had a mortgage in excess of $300,000 and she had credit card debt in excess on $60,000, plus loans for a car and motorcycle.

I realize that everyone gets in over their head from time to time, but would like to believe that most of us would see this unfortunate turn of events as a sign that perhaps we need to reevaluate our spending habits and maybe make cutbacks to our existing lifestyles – particularly in light of the economy.

Such has not been the case. She (not her husband) has taken no less than 5 vacations within the last 9 months and I’m not talking about mini-weekend getaways. I’m talking full-fledged Caribbean an…

Citizen 20th Anniversary Aqualand Eco-Drive Edition Dive Watch/Dive Computer – This is my “ultimate dream” scuba toy. With the dive watch/dive computer combination, it is fun, functional and eco-friendly, as it never needs a battery - it runs on stored energy from any light source. It’s also water resistance to 660 ft! Not that I could possible survive at that depth; but it’s cool knowing it would. On second it probably wouldn’t last long, considering it’s dependent on a light source. Hmm…regardless of its flaws, I still want it.

Panini Press Gourmet Sandwich Maker - I love sandwiches and I especially love grilled sandwiches - grilled cheese, grilled ham and cheese, grilled turkey and swiss. Mmmmm... I have been asked for a Panini press as a Christmas, birthday, mother's day or even Valentine's Day present for two years now. Why isn't my husband listening to me? He likes sandwiches too, so I'm not sure what his problem is. Well, in all fairness to him, I may …

I jumped in my car this morning and while I was saying goodbye to my husband, he noticed I had a partially flat tire. Quickly we switched vehicles, so he could take mine in to have the tire checked. I was thinking what a great husband I had, until he announced that his truck needed to be filled up and it would be great if I could get the oil changed for him on my lunch. $65 later, I was on way to work…ughh!
My co-worker on the other side of my cube wall has voluntarily left our company.Although her last day was only on Friday, I’m already missing commiserating with her.I suspect I will miss her more come payday, as she was our payroll coordinator and they haven’t found a replacement for her yet. I arrived at work this morning to find a carrot cake sitting on my desk - not just one piece, but a whole cake!I have our receptionist to thank for that.I just happened to mention in passing yesterday, that I love carrot cake and viola – today I have cake.She is awesome! I work for a softwar…