I Know You Want to Jump Around, but Try to Contain Yourself

Posted on August 25, 2006 by Girl Friday

Friday was very anticlimactic.  I’m exhausted from the world’s longest week.  I’ll spare you the boring run down of my day.  I shall instead give you a list of things I’m looking forward to this fall.

  1. September 20th:  It will be Notorious MAG’s big 2-5.  I don’t know how I’m going to top last year’s awesome mixed CD.  You’re wondering how a mixed CD could be that good?  Believe it, baby.
  2. September 23rd:  Move-In day.  All my lovely students will be moving in to their apartments.  This means a fresh crop of international students!  I get them the whole year, not just for six months.  Please, Santa!  Send me some pretty boys with a cute accents and crazy girls to take on taco runs!
  3. New shoes:  Fall is the time of year when you’re supposed to get new stuff, just like when you’re a kid and you went school shopping with your family.  I think I’d like a pair of Mary Janes, perhaps some clogs, tall boots, and maybe even some new heels.  I can never just buy one pair; they find me at least three pairs at a time!
  4. October:  It’s a month, it’s a state of bliss, and it’s trying my frakking patience.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you need to.  It’s called Netflix, people.
  5. You’ve Got Mail:  It’s the perfect fall movie because Joe wants to send Kathleen a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils!
  6. The Dresden Dolls:  (Don’t you just love how I go from Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan and their wholesome romantic comedy to raunchy punk cabaret?)  The BF and I are going to attempt to see them with Lucky 10-Key again.  They’ve got a slew of shows in the state.  Who’s up for it?  I just got tickets for Friday, October 13th.  Wicked.  If you’re interested, let me know!
  7. Sweet Charity:  I’m planning on going to see this fabulous musical in Los Angeles with Suzie Q and Davie.  Molly Ringwald will be starring as Charity Hope Valentine!  I can’t wait.  Lucky 10-Key and I had the chance to see Christina Applegate in Sweet Charity on Broadway, but time (and the Hamptons) made it impossible.
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Jaded Bitter Joy Crusher!

Posted on August 24, 2006 by Girl Friday

I went to the POW meeting today. It was sort of the worst possible scenario realized. Weltsie and I got there early and had our pick of seats at the conference table. I purposefully picked a seat at the corner. Weltsie sat to my left and another woman sat at my right. Still, I must have damned the gods one too many times, because Mrs. Nasty sat her ass right next to me anyway. There was no room. We actually all had to shove over so she could fit. I turned to Weltsie and gave her the look. There was nothing else I could do. I wanted to stab Mrs. Nasty murderously with my pointy-toed heels, but I love my shoes too much, so instead I just sat there sullen, trying hard to cover it with my veneer of superiority.

We talked about nonsense, and the only thing I could think of was that POW’s logo looks like an ad for feminine hygiene products. It’s a little purple woman with a flower. How frakking lame. I tried to sit and pretend to be interested, but everything was so utterly mockable. They delayed voting on the need (or no need) for parentheses in their bylaws. They talked about whether or not the website maintainer needed to be on the council—I thought about voting no and then volunteering for that job instead. They talked about increasing membership and I had to hold back my sorority girl instincts. First I’d suggest that we revoke the ban on adjectives like funny, cute, and sweet. (Hey! Lucky 10-Key, do you remember these discussions?) The room could have stood for a bit more of all three. The funniest thing in there was seeing Mrs. Nasty act like she had it in her to be nice. Sweet!

Did I mention that Mrs. Nasty is the Vice President? Did I tell you that the leadership roles in POW rotate? Next year she’ll be President. What have I gotten myself into? I’m not sure my heart is in this. I love my sanity too much to add one more thing to my plate that I don’t want to do. I’d love to say I’m a do-gooder, but who am I kidding? Instead of writing a newsletter, I could be writing something meaningful and extraordinary. Well, that might be an overstatement, but I can hope, can’t I?

Posted in Life, Office Stories | 3 Comments

I’d Like to Do More Than Survive, I’d Like to Rub it in Your Face

Posted on August 23, 2006 by Girl Friday

I went to lunch today with my hardest-working coworker, Sara.  She’s been around the longest, excluding the managers and directors.  The amount of knowledge and pride she has in her work astounds me.  I think it must be great to feel a sense of fulfillment from your 8-5 job.  We’re vastly different people when it comes to that.  I’m grateful to be employed, but I’m a big dreamer.  It doesn’t help that I have a window in my cubicle.  I think it’s a metaphor for how my concentration is never 100% on the job at hand.  My mind is on writing in some way at least 24.5 hours of the day.  When I was first getting to know Sara I asked her what she like to do outside of work.  I’m slowly learning about her, but I’m still waiting to hear the big story about her life’s passion.

Whether we crunch numbers or put out office fires, we all love something that makes coming home from work, or escaping from work, so desirable.  Notorious MAG is the diva of TV.  It’s a huge responsibility keeping up on the latest news and she takes her job very seriously!  She mapped out the fall schedule on a spreadsheet, and now she’s anxiously awaiting the holy bible of TV—Entertainment Weekly’s annual fall preview.

Though I lament my job sometimes, I think I must be doing something right.  There are three (indirect) coworkers in my very large department (400+) that have recently given me a lot of positive feedback.  They see my bright, shiny face at a lot of meetings.  I leave most of the attitude in my desk drawer; I find I don’t need it so much when I’m around really great people.  They’ve given me a sense that my work is appreciated, and helped me set boundaries with my unscrupulous coworkers.  Two have gone so far as to offer me a chance to work with them.  I may entertain the idea sometime down the road, but at this point I’ve just learned to tread water, I’d like to see where my potential can take me.

Tomorrow I’m going to a committee meeting for the professional women’s organization.  I may run into my old boss.  I haven’t decided what I’ll say.  Perhaps I’ll take Lucky 10-Key’s favorite bit of advice and tell the dreaded woman she can suck it.  Let’s face it though, I’ll probably just stand up straight and be as inscrutable as ever.  I need to find the right outfit for that though.  It will require ironing sometime tonight.  Gah!  I’ve just realized that Professional Women probably don’t wear jeans and sandals to meetings.  Blast!

As a treat for not backing out of the organization, and perhaps not committing homicide, I’ll probably go to lunch with Weltsie at The Smarty Pants Club.  Maybe we’ll mingle with the snooty academic types I’ve heard so much about, but have seen so little of since starting at the university’s housing department.  I’ll order the entrée of insecurity linguini, and for dessert I’ll have a chocolate chip-on-the-shoulder cookie.  Delish.

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