Michelle's MindSay Blog

It has begun

ricecompaq — 2005-06-12T08:06:15-05:00

After months of searching I finally decided to move my blog home here. Well, OK, it wasn't months of searching, kinda like an afternnoon. *rolls eyes* If I were to be completly honest it wasn't even an afternoon of searching. I know some people who blog on here, I hang out here, so I figured "Mitch, why not switch over to here?" and I answered myself "Yeah, why not!" *and like you don't talk to yourself too*

I tend to ramble. So many times what I write may not make sense to anyone but me. Some may need the "Michellenese Dictionary" to fully comprehend what I write. Even then, it may leave you scratching your head going "Did she drink too much Nyquil before she wrote this?"

My world, it may be a strange universe but at least it's normal to me.

Wonder Woman

ricecompaq — 2005-06-18T12:06:54-05:00

Earlier I was flippen through the channels and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was on. That movie is a classic. Do they sell the Indy movies in packs? If so, I got to buy one.

Speaking of buying something, I went shopping today and bought a few things for my truck and for me. Now I will admit, ever since I bought my truck I have turned into a truck chick. I was never interested in cars before but there is just something about my truck that has made me want to buy all sorts of things for it. I got a cargo net a few weeks ago, then I bought skull license plate holders for the front and back *in Tennessee they only have plates for the back but my truck was originally from some place else*. I also bought a pink chick sticker for my back window that says "Chicks Rule" *it is of course a chick truck*. I've also had all the windows tinted, well I still have the front window to do. Now that the sides and back are tinted, a solar tinting on the front window won't be noticiable. The theme I'm going for with my truck is "Skulls". Now don't go thinking I'm some "Gothic" chick, cause I'm not...altho if I was younger I could have been. I just like how it looks on my truck.... it gives it a rough, mean edge. So in keeping with the skull license plate holders, tonight I bought a skull rearview mirror and skull tire caps. Soon I'll be getting a skull exaust pipe cap and be replacing my washer nozzles with skulls. *not the kind that light up cause those are a little too cheezy for me* I also want to replace my hitch with a skull hitch. Anyway those are minor things I'm going to do to my truck. The two big things are, putting in an electric sunroof and jacking it up about 3-4 inches. Steve the guy who did my windows, puts in sunroofs and can do it for about $300-$450, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than I thought it would be, and this guy knows his cars and trucks. He's a genius when it comes to fixing them up. I figure I'll be able to get that put in, by the end of summer at the latest. Jacking the truck up is going to take a bit longer cause it's a lot more expensive...but it will be done.

Enough about my truck because as excited as I am about buying those things for it, I'm more excited about what I bought for myself...me...me...me. I got the entire 2nd season of Wonder Woman on DVD! OMG it is so great! They didn't have season 1, so I went ahead and got season 2. You have to understand, I had Wonder Woman underroos as a kid and if they had them for adults, I'd be wearing them right now! I've been humming the theme song all afternoon and fell asleep earlier watching episode 4 *I'd say the name but the cover is across the room*

I was reminded this week of how I've officially become a "Southerner". I've picked up the accent, which I will finally admit to having. When I go up North, I get weird looks and people asking me to "say things". Which is kinda ironic because when I first moved to the South back in 96, people here use to ask me to "say things" just so they could hear my Northern accent. Something I do which I never noticed before is put "at" at the end of sentences. Example, instead of saying "Where are you?" I now say "Where are ya'll at?". Instead of saying "How are all of you?" I now say "How are all ya'lls?" Oh well, I love it down here but the day my dog starts barking with a southern accent is the day I pack up and get on outta here.

Onto something that has been on my mind as of late. Mom and Dad, they are building a house in Birmingham. It'll be finished in November and the plans look great. They'll be about 8 miles away from Mark, which I know will help their transition and make them more comfortable. Now all they have to do is sell their house, which we thought was sold. Problem is, the people who want to buy it and put a bid down, are having problems with the people who want to buy their house. I hope it works out for them. From what I'm told, they are an older couple who needs a handicap ready house and Mom's and Dad's would be perfect for them. Once their house is sold, they'll move in with Aunt Loretta until their house is complete. I can't wait to have them closer, only 3 hours away. Close enough so I can get to them in an emergency and far enough away so they'll have to tell me when they plan on coming up. *grin*

I saw Mr & Mrs Smith last night and OMG, Brad Pitt..."Hello!" and Angelia Jolie was as beautiful as ever. Not a lot of substance to the movie but when there's action, there is a heck of a lot of action. I'd love to buy it on DVD and fast forward through all the slow scenes just so I can re-watch the fighting. OK...and also to see Brad without his shirt on.

Now it's time to wrap this puppy up and go get some grubage...La Restruate...here I come. Monster Margarita...hello!

Era dead and gone

ricecompaq — 2005-06-21T09:06:15-05:00

Tonight is game six of the NBA Championship. Normally I don't care about the NBA but when the playoffs begin, then I pay attention. It didn't use to be like this, I use to follow the entire season, but that was back in the 80's and early 90's before the only thing the players cared about was dunking and being shown on ESPN Highlights. I miss the way the game use to be played...Celtics vs Lakers, Celtics vs Pistons, Bulls vs Pistons, Bulls vs Knicks, those were the best days of the game. Now they are all spoiled brats.

I grew up a Piston fan. An era of the Bad Boys. Bill, Worm, Salley, Issiah, Joe, Vinny, Edwards, those were my guys. The game is about to begin...go Pistons!

Another Boring Weekend

ricecompaq — 2005-06-26T02:06:30-05:00

Another weekend has passed by way to quickly. I swear last I knew I was leaving work Friday evening, heading over to my old roomies apartment to help her pick out an outfit for a date she had the next night.

OMG, now that was fun. She had this date *which she called not a date* but let's put all the facts together. 1) she made me go out shopping for a girdle for her to wear 2) she tried on 5 different outfits 3) she couldn't decided between shoes to go with the outfit 4) when the guy called, she got all "giggly" and turned beat red. We've been shopping together before and when she got stuck in an outfit, I helped her peel it off. But no matter how good of friends we are, if she would have gotten stuck in the girdle, I told her she would be on her own.

To top it off, she was in the dressing room and she leaned against one of the walls that wasn't solid, and I'm see the wall moving. I swear I thought she was going to break through the wall and she'd be standing there with her ass on the floor half dressed. Is it no wonder when we were roommates that we always got into trouble together.

Anyway, last year I played in this Survivor All Star on line game. It was comprised of players from 4 different "sister" on line Survivor games. Not your average simple game but these games take months to play, are extremely in-depth and considered the hardest most challenging games to play. In fact the first Survivor game I played recently won "Best On Line Reality Game" in the on line gaming world. Anyway, I was picked to play in the All Star game because I placed 4th in my first game and because they knew I'd 1) cause trouble 2) everyone hated me and wanted their revenge 3) my partner in crime was playing and 4) was a fan favorite. Episodes 1-8 aired but it doesn't look like the remaining episodes will air, which is extremely disappointing. I spent June - August playing this game, kicking ass, king names and in the end walking away the winner and it's not going to finish airing. From day 1 I had people out to get me, pre-ge interviews players are saying I'm someone they need to take out as soon as possible and what happens? I put myself into a position throughout the game where no one can touch me ROFL...it was amazing. This is from Liz's early show interview:

Question: If you could pick any one person voted out after you who you wish had gone before you, who would it be and why?

Answer: I wish that MICHELLE would not have gone as far as she does just for the shear fact that Michelle is absolutely perfectly engineered for this game and it sucks because she's so...darn...good. She's strong, she's abrasive, yet caring, and she even has mastered the art of lying to you in an honest way (if that makes any sense) and she's just TOO DARN GOOD! Ah, please, how the mighty fall. She always dominates, everything, absolutely everything, and in my own messed up world of crack and teddy bears I wish that she would have left sooner and we could all be on a more level playing field as opposed to playing against God herself.

After winning 3 survivor games, and coming in 4th twice, I've officially retired from playing but damn it...I freaken win the hardest, most challenging Survivor game on line and the host becomes a lazy idiot and quits writing the episodes and he swore up and down he wouldn't. *shakes fist at Taylor*

Anyway, I'm extremely bummed and disappointed in the show not airing, and even more disappointed that I won't have the chance to give the inside dirt on things that happened during the game and destroy CJ…again. I mean beating her in the finals was too easy, I was really looking forward to embarrassing her post game. Call me mean, call me cruel, but I don’t care. I sat back and listened to her shoot her mouth off behind the scenes and through friends, and I was really looking forward to taking her down one last time.

Any way, it's time I get ready for lunch. I'm going out and having a nice big stake...yummy!! Bring on the A1 Steak sauce…YUMMY! Oh yeah!

Home sweet home

ricecompaq — 2005-07-04T12:07:18-05:00

It's strang being back home and knowing this will most likely be the last time I'm here. Once my parents move, I can't imagine me ever coming back to Toledo.

I've been going through everything mom has saved and I'm telling ya, my mom is a pack rat. She has everything saved. I swear I'm going to find my first tooth somewhere in the piles of boxes and crates. She wants me to take a ton of things back with me but I don't want a lot of the stuff she's saved. I mean, I can't wear my baby clothes anymore and I don't want to store them at my house.

I did find a few things I want to take back with me. Like my varsity jacket, my graduation gown and some stuffed animals I use to carry around with me. I also found a ton of old pic's of my first dog Heidi and my cat Pokey along with some letters from college. I feel bad not taking both of mom's dressers she bought when she was in highschool but I can only fit one into my truck and there is no way I could fit the other into my room at my house.

Tomorrow before I head out of town, I'm heading over to see Grandma and Grandpa's grave. It might sound weird but I've always found myself at peace when I visit them. It's still hard for me to believe they are gone and I miss them like crazy. The memories I have of them are still so vivid and I hope they will always stay that way.

It's felt great to be back home and yet strange to sleep in my old bedroom, knowing that one day soon a new family will move in and someone else will be sleeping there. Mom's lived in this neighborhood since she was in highschool and I know it's strange for her to be packing up everything and moving. She's built her life here and it means a lot to me that she's willing to leave this place behind and move closer to my brother and me.

Anyway, I have a long drive ahead of me in the morning so I better be getting to bed. One last night at my house....awe memories.

Another boring day

ricecompaq — 2005-07-07T06:07:38-05:00

Gay guys are the moodiest. OK, maybe that's being too general. Feminine gay guys are the moodiest. Yeah, still too general. My friend who's a gay guy, he's moodier than a Girl Scout Troop on their periods. I love him too death but he's way too sensitive. Any little thing and he takes it personally. I swear, if I accidentally tripped him, he would think I planned it 3 months ago. *shakes fist* He actually blocked me from his bog. It's like he's holding his breath and determined to hold it until his face turns blue.

Anyway, I hung out with a friend last Friday night. A friend I haven't seen or talked to in a long time. She's in Cincinnati and we've kinda lost touch over the last year. I hope we are able to pick things back up again because she's freaken cool and we always have a blast talking and hanging out. She came up with the funniest t-shirt. See, she hates cats and her roommate has 2 cats. So her shirt says "Hate Cats - Love Pussy". When she told me that, I about fell over laughing.

Big Brother is on tonight and I can't wait. It's about darn time for this thing to be on again. Rats stuck in a house for me to make fun of and laugh at. Ah, the American past time - heck yeah!!

OK, enough lollygagging around. Time for me to cook dinner. I live an exciting life.

Blah, Blah, Blah

ricecompaq — 2005-07-10T06:07:43-05:00

Another exciting day in the life of me. I find myself watching the Amber Frey TV movie on Lifetime. For some reason, I can't stop watching it. Who knows how non-bias these movies can be but this movie actually makes me feel sorry for Amber. She got caught up in a horrible situation and she did the right thing. Maybe one can't admire her entire life but I find myself admiring the courage it took for her to come forward and help the police.

Friday night I went to go see the movie "Fantastic Four" and then went out for a few drinks. I had a blast. I've been waiting for this movie for a long time. Not a lot of substance but it was a funny movie with lots of action. This is the first movie since Spiderman that has been taken from a comic book where I felt it stayed true to the original creation. Ever since the movie, I've been trying to decide which power would be the best to have and I keep going back and forth between Flame boy and Invisible Woman. Being able to bend the light around you to create a shield and force is pretty cool. But at the same time, being able to fly like Flame boy would be pretty awesome. And of course I can't forget, being invisible would have it's perks. Can you imagine all of the places one could enter and not be detected. WOOHOO!!!

Ugh, dog just threw up...more excitement for me. Woohoo. I should buy stock in Oxyclean because I'm keeping them in business. Until next time....

Another Day

ricecompaq — 2005-07-15T09:07:52-05:00

Life gives you interesting twists and turns. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever guessed I’d be living in Nashville TN and working at HBD. I thought it would be just a dream to hold this type of responsibility. After spending years at a place where women are constantly reminded their abilities don’t matter, I’m at a place where I have been given the opportunity to grow and take charge.

My biggest responsibility is handling Nancy for my boss Tanya. You see, Nancy is the Office Manager and I’m her direct Supervisor. Tanya and Nancy’s personalities clash but Nancy is great at her job, and that’s why Tanya won’t fire her. It’s up to me to deal with Nancy, and Nancy is a handful. She’s not only loud but too opinionated. She forgets that this isn’t her company and hates it when Tanya set’s down the law, which means I have to enforce the law. It’s a fine line for me to walk. If I wanted to, I could get Nancy fired but I’m choosing for the time being to be patient with her and try and guide her, correct her attitude and behavior. If that doesn’t work then it’s bye Nancy. Last week Nancy was on vacation and the office ran smoothly. It was quiet, the office workers were at ease. When Nancy’s around and they make a mistake she points it out in front of everyone and then when confronted about it, she says she never does it that way. My style of Management is more low key and laid back. I don’t hover over the office workers. If they make a mistake, I quietly pull them aside and we go over what they did. There’s no need to embarrass them. I want them to have confidence in their abilities. Tanya told me she’s not good at giving people praise and that’s one reason she’s glad I’m here because I encourage the office workers. I tell them not to be afraid of making a mistake and if they make one, correct it and learn from it. No one is perfect and while I’d love perfection, I know we are human. I treat them the same way I want to be treated and it’s paying off. We have had record months in sales the workers are taking pride in what they do because they know how much they mean to me and the company.

Anyway, I started all this because I needed to vent about Nancy but I’m too mentally drained and it’s the weekend. I don’t have to worry about her until Monday.

I may be traveling back to Toledo sooner than I thought I would. My dad’s older sister fell last week and broke both wrists. She’s been in the hospital recovering from pins in her wrists. The doctors think the stress of recovery caused her to have a heart attack last night. 92% of her main artery is blocked and 80% of another is blocked along with 90% of a third one. They can’t do a bypass because the operation would kill her. They’ll have to wait about 6 weeks until her wrists heal before they can operate but the doctors don’t think she’ll last that long. It just totally sucks…to live as long as she has and have this be the reason she could die. It just reminds me how nothing in this life is guaranteed.

I know, it sucks to end this on this type of note but I feel like being lazy and surfing the net. Hopefully next time I’ll have something better to write about.

Plans suck

ricecompaq — 2005-07-16T11:07:49-05:00

I am the luckiest person in the world. I mean, it seems like every time I open my email, I receive a notice from the UK lottery telling me I won their grand prize. I’ve won it 5 times in the last week. I’ll never have to work another day in my life. Funny thing is, I never entered their lottery. Go figure.

I am sick and tired of all this freaken spam in my in box and it’s all because I’m selling my violin. Ever since I put it up for sale, I’ve been getting spammed left and right. If I receive one more email about some businessman dying in a plane crash and his wife needing to transfer millions of dollars or a bank official asking me to help them transfer an undisclosed amount of money I’m going to scream. I mean, come on people, if I went by these emails I’d never fly to Guatemala because according to these emails all their planes are crashing with millionaires on board.

My plans the last two nights have been shot to heck. Last night I was suppose to go see Duran Duran in concert but the person I was going with forgot to buy our tickets. RRRRR And tonight I was suppose to go see the FireStone Indy Race 200 that was in town but the tickets I had fell through. Watching it on ESPN is just not the same as seeing it in person. Not that I‘ve ever seen an Indy race in person, this was suppose to be my first race.

Time to watch Miss Congeniality 2. Woohoo! My excitement never ends.

The day from hell

ricecompaq — 2005-07-18T09:07:08-05:00

Today totally sucked. It all started off with me oversleeping and waking up at 7:40...I’m suppose to be at work at 8AM. So I get up, grab some clothes and run out the door, leaving my lunch on the kitchen table along with my Mt. Dew.

I get to work 40 minutes late and there’s no coffee. The first thing I tackle is the monthly financial report and I can’t figure it out. When the report was printed off at the end of last month, they were printed off wrong and some of the information is missing. It was printed off wrong because the system messed up when it was printing.

Then I spend all day working on the next run, forecasting what we need to buy in order to have enough food to sell to or customers along with fulfilling our International Distributors orders. I’ve been looking at the numbers for weeks, tweaking them so they’d be just right. We need more than we normally buy because we’ve been selling more and we ran out of some foods last month. We ran out because Tanya changed my figures last time and what she changed we ran short. It’s also bigger because we have an extra International order. I have a formula to follow from the previous person who was in my position but even with her formula estimating what we need for 8 weeks, it’s not enough in some areas and in a few areas it’s too much. All in all, I presented Tanya with probably the biggest projections ever, but I guarantee it is needed. Unfortunately, our warehouse can’t hold everything we need. Tanya questioned all of my forecasts and had me pull previous runs figures. She told me she was going to redo the projections and hope that we don’t run out of product. It’s just so frustrating. I know I’m right with my numbers and it’s so frustrating to have Tanya change them. I know she’s the owner but I wish she’d just trust my judgment. UGH….so frustrating.

Blows Big Time

ricecompaq — 2005-07-20T10:07:39-05:00

They decided to take my Aunt off life support. Part of me agrees with the decision but part of me feels like they are giving up on her. I do believe everyone deserves a fighting chance and it's been less than a week since she had her heart attack, deep down, I wish they'd give her a little more time to fight.

The nurse says she turns her head when she calls her name, she's yawned, she responds to touch and they can see her eyes moving behind her eye lids. I know the doctors have her sedated that's why she can't open her eyes but to me, how she responds shows me she is aware of what is going on around her even if she can't verbally respond. But each time they've tried to take her off life support her blood pressure drops and they have to put her back on. I guess it all winds down to her mind may be willing but her body is too weak.

I just can't believe this is how her life will end. I just don't think it's fair. Grant it, my Aunt Carol and I never got along. She is quite possible the most annoying person I've ever met. She's loud, obnoxious and at times very selfish but in the end none of that matters because she's family and for better or for worse, family is what matters the most.

A Day of Firsts

ricecompaq — 2005-07-23T01:07:34-05:00

Today I did something I’ve never done before and I’m in no rush to ever do again. I helped plan my Aunt’s funeral. Mom and Dad were suppose to go with my Aunt B but Dad has been sick. The shock of his sister dying pushed his stress level over the edge and he turned white, his sugar level dropped and he got the chills. He’s so weak. Mom has to help him stand up and he’s still white as a sheet. So, when I arrived this morning, Mom tells me I need to go with Aunt B to the funeral home. Of course I’m going to go help, that’s what I’m here for, there’s no way I’d say “no”. I get there just as Aunt B is getting out of her car. Before I left, I wrote the obituary. It was suppose to be something Mom wrote but she didn’t have time due to taking care of dad. It’s not the first time I’ve written something like this. I had to for Em but it’s not something that gets easier the more you do it.

After we were finished at the funeral home, I went with Aunt B to Aunt C’s house and helped pick out something for Aunt C to wear. I know this is going to sound funny and I don’t mean it to be, but choosing an outfit that wouldn’t clash with the coffin was hard. I may not have gotten along with Aunt C but it was important to me that what she wore looked nice. How ironic is it that I would help chose clothes, I have a hard enough time matching my own outfits. Tomorrow, I’m going with Aunt B to the florist to chose flower arrangements. Mom, Dad and Aunt B are buying the arrangement for the casket and all the nieces and nephews are purchasing another arrangement.

This evening, I decided I needed a break and went out for some alone time. I wanted to get a drink and found a couple of clubs on line and decided to check them out. Well, the first one looked like a total dud, so I followed the map to another club. I found the street but it was a 1 way street and no matter where I turned I kept missing the club. So I gave up and decided to head back. Well, I got lost and ended up in the ghetto section of Toledo and I couldn’t find my way out. I ended up by the correctional facility. After 45 minutes, I found a familiar street and made my way back home. I have never been so happy to see this house.

On that note, it’s time for bed. I must get up early to meet Aunt B.

Furious

ricecompaq — 2005-07-26T09:07:05-05:00

Well, it seems as if I have been "banned" from the Socotra board forum, from the board of the game I won.

You see, Taylor stopped writting the episodes and he finally admitted on another board why he stopped. This is what he said
"Umm, I guess I deserved to be called on that, but frankly there wasnt enough interest in the game at that point to keep going, and ummm I wont get into details but past the point that was posted it got way to heavy ( romance wise) between to contestants that could have resulted with negitve inpact in their personal lives, and we as a cast/crew decided that it be best not to go forward."

So I posted on the Socotra board how Taylor's reasons were a crock of shit. People stopped being interested because he stopped writting for 3 months and then said he'd pick it up again. You can't stop something like this game for 3 months and expect people to continue to follow. I have talked with people from the cast and those I've talked to never made that decision nor where they presented with that option.

I also posted the final TC, my final confessional of the game and my final words from the game along with the winner. What is the harm in that if the story will never be told.

Apparently this pissed Taylor off because he banned me from the board and he posted this as his response. *this was given to me by a friend*

"And if you really want to know the reason why the game did not finish airing. As an author is was very very hard justifying someone as vile, emontionally unstable, and evil as Michelle winning.

To compare it to a popular series. It would be like Lord Voldemort killing Harry at the end of Harry Potter, not fun at all, and as for Michelle complaining about the show not finishing, she should just be happy, because starting with nine I was going to drag her through the mud more than any castaway in history. She would have made Johnny Fairplay look like a fucking saint."

I love my friends. $&$ *i won't give out his name* IM'd me and said this about what Taylor did.
"not that you need to hear it or that you didn't know it but Taylor's reason is utter and complete (and HATEFUL) bullshit and I am totally appalled that he said that about you."

What is funny, is that I did not post one lie on the board. I know so many secrets from the game that it scares Taylor. He knows I could bring him down if I wanted too but I chose not too. I only posted how the game ended.

Oh well, it's all out now. Everyone knows I won and now Taylor is going to smear my name. Well he thinks he's going to. My IP address may be banned from the board but there are ways to get new IP addresses.

If Taylor wanted a war, he has one and he should know better than to do battle with the bitch of Okinawa.

Too Fast

ricecompaq — 2005-08-01T12:08:52-05:00

I can't believe the weekend went by so quickly. I'm not ready to start the work week.

I went to see "Stealth" yesterday. The action was great but as a whole the movie sucked. I should have gone to see "War of the Worlds" instead.

My mom told me my Aunt left me something in her will, which is a huge surprise because my Aunt and I didn't exactly see things eye to eye. Nevertheless, what she left me will completely get me out of dept...no more student loan, no more truck payment, no more nothing. HECK YEAH!!! I can't even begin to explain how freaken awesome it feels to know I won't have my student loan hanging over my head any longer. WOOFREAKENHOO!!!

Oh, I tried replacing my window washer today on my truck and broke one off. I have skulls I want to put on and everyone said "It just pulls off" Well, they are wrong. It doesn't "just" pull off and trying to "just" pull it off caused me to "just" break it off.

OK...it's 11:30 and I thought it was 10:30...I'm an hour past my bed time. No wonder I'm so tired. It's off to bed for me.

TITANS

ricecompaq — 2005-08-04T09:08:21-05:00

Heck yeah! I snaged me some football tickets. I'm going to the first preseason game Titans vs Bucs. This has turned into the best freaken day. GO TITANS!!!

Finally moving day

ricecompaq — 2005-08-07T10:08:34-05:00

Finally, my parents sold their house. Well, it's not official but they agreed to the offer and are meeting with the real estate agent tomorrow to go over the details. It's about darn time. They've had their house up for sale since February and thought they had it sold once but it fell through. Hopefully this time the sale will stick.

I called PODS and got a quote for them. Man, that's expensive but it's what they need. The house they are building won't be finished until the first of November so they'll need a place to store their stuff. Plus it's an added bonus that POD's will store and deliver their belongings.

As far as another updates, nothing. Work is slow right now but it will pick up in a couple of weeks when our next run of food is delivered. My boss is at a conference for a week and I'm left to run things. Each time she leaves I promise her she'll have a company to return too. I'm freaken excited about going to the Titans game on Friday. I can't wait! Go Titans!! Woohooo!!!

Call of the wild

ricecompaq — 2005-08-21T08:08:25-05:00

So, it's been a while since I've sat my ass down to write anything. No excuse, it's just I've been feeling lazy. After I get home from work, the last thing I've wanted to do is sit down at my laptop and stare at a screen.

Work has been crazy this week. I don't know what's happened but it seems like all the freaks have been calling and I'm the one who's picked up the phone each time. I seriously wonder how these people function in the real world. For some reason, they believe they have the right to pick up the phone, yell, cuss out and be rude when they call. I just fill in on the phones when the ladies are swamped, so they deal with more wacko's than I do but this week I've been like a wacko magnate. And what really sucks is as the boss, I have to set the example and to the ladies when the wacko's call. I sit there and let these people act like jerks when inside I'm boiling and I want to tell them "If you are going to act like this, we don't want your business." but it's not my company and that is not how Tanya wants us to respond to these wacko's, so I sit there and bite my tongue. Rrrrrrrrr!

Anyway, I've been trying to decide what motorcycle I want to buy. You see, I've always wanted to own one, always wanted to feel the freedom of riding one down the road and now I am finally going to live out my dream. In October, I'm taking the motorcycle safety course required to obtain my license. It's a Friday - Sunday course and I can't wait. I'd take it now but it's so hot out and every one I've talked to has said to wait until the weather is cooler because I'll be outside, in long sleeves, jeans, boots under the sun and it will be brutal. I've waited this long, I can wait a bit longer.

I've been having fun hanging out at the cycle shops. I've narrowed my decision down to 6 bikes. Two Harley's, two Honda's and two Suzuki's. I've really got my eye on the 883 Harley but everyone has told me within a year I'll want something more powerful. Yesterday I sat on the Suzuki BC50 and OMG, it felt good. Very comfortable and even though it's a bigger bike than I've initially considered, it's one that has quickly risen to the top of my list. Here's some links to the 6 bikes I've got my eye on.

Harley 883 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/ricecompaq54/Motorcycle/Harley883SportsterLow.jpg

Harley Dyna http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/ricecompaq54/Motorcycle/HarleyDynaSuperGlideWideGlide.jpg

Honda Shadow VLXD http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/ricecompaq54/Motorcycle/HondaShadowVLXD.jpg

Honda Shadow Sabre http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/ricecompaq54/Motorcycle/HondaShadowSabre.jpg
Suzuki BS83 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/ricecompaq54/Motorcycle/SuzukiBS83.jpg

Suzuki BC50 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/ricecompaq54/Motorcycle/SuzukiBC50.jpg

Mother Nature

ricecompaq — 2005-09-04T11:09:47-05:00

Again, it's been a while since I've updated anything. And once again it's because I've been lazy.

That's not to say a lot hasn't been going on, because it has but I just haven't felt like sitting down and rehashing everything.

I finally got my review. I was suppose to have it after 90 days but my boss and I haven't had the chance to work together and so my review was delayed. But I received it Friday afternoon and it was positive. I'm going to get a 5% raise WOOHOO! She said I have really grown into my position and she appreciates the job I've done.

I've decked out my truck this past week. I put in an entire new sound system, speakers, bass drum, CD player, XM radio, keyless entry, an alarm system and a truck bed cover. Man it sounds freaken awesome! I love XM and never want to go back to plain old radio again. I also bought the Kelly Clarkson CD "Breakaway". *hangs head in shame* I know, but I couldn't help myself. It's so freaken good.

It seem our country is going through a crises. The hurricane has taken it's toll and we may not know the full extent of the damage or death for months. I feel sorry for those who have lost everything. A couple of people I work with have family from the area that was hit and they lost everything. The only thing they have left are the clothes on their backs.

I see the footage of the devastation, the people who are suffering and my heart goes out to them. What boggles my mind are the stories of people who don't want to be rescued, those who want to stay. I sit here and think "WTF!". They are out of their freaken mind. I know many people evacuated and I know many tried but couldn't escape and I feel empathy for them. But I don't have empathy for those who chose to escape but didn't. I know that sounds harsh but those who could have escaped and didn't have no one to blame for where they are but themselves.

Then there are the survivor who complain. Like the lady on the news who complained about the MRE she was given to eat. She complained that it wasn't hot. Who the fuck cares. She should be thankful she has food and yet she complains about how it wasn't heated.

What happened is effecting us all. Our gas prices have gone up and it just boggles my mind how the oil companies are taking advantage of the cost of gas. There should be a price limit on what they are charging. In Hawaii they can only charge 16 cents over the cost of a barrel. If they can do that in Hawaii, why can't they do that everywhere else. It's over 3.00 a gallon here for regular in Atlanta it's over 6.00 a gallon for premium. That is nothing but people putting money in their pockets out of greed.

It's effecting my company. We can't get diesel trucks to deliver our food to us because there is a shortage of diesel fuel in our area. It all travels up to us on barges on the Mississippi and it can't be transported. I have food sitting in a warehouse in Nebraska that I need here and I can't get it here because truck drivers are scared they won't be able to buy gas to get them out of Nashville.

This weekend I was suppose to travel to Ohio to help my parents pack but because of the gas prices I couldn't travel. It would have cost me over 400.00 in gas to make the trip. I felt horrible for not going but they understood it would be too expensive to make the trip.

So what is going to be done? I don't know. The cost of rebuilding is going to be enormous. The cost of clean up will be in the billions. All in all, I'm left in awe of what has happened and in the end, we can only pray for those who are picking up their lives from this disaster.

Rafe

ricecompaq — 2005-09-18T02:09:59-05:00

My friend Rafe made it through the first episode of Survivor. He's still in the game. Way to go Rafe! I'm so freaken proud of him. He is doing what so many of our "common" friends have only dreamed about doing.

I have no idea if he won or lost. I haven't spoken to him in months. All I know is he is capable of winning the game. Go Rafe!

The Great Penis Study

ricecompaq — 2005-10-01T11:10:38-05:00

Several years ago, Great Britain funded a study to determine why the head on a man's penis was larger than the shaft. The study took two years and cost over $1.2 million. The study concluded that the reason the head of a man's penis is larger than the shaft was to provide the man with more pleasure during sex.

After the results were published, France decided to conduct their own study on the same subject. They were convinced the results of the British study were incorrect. After three years of research at a cost of in excess of $2 million, the French researchers concluded that the head of the man's penis is larger than the shaft to provided the woman more pleasure during sex.

When the results of the French study were released, Australia decided to conduct their own study. The Aussies didn't really trust British or French studies. So, after nearly three hours of intensive research and a cost of right around $75.00 (3 cases of beer), the Aussie study was complete. It concluded that the reason the head on a man's penis is larger than the shaft is to prevent your hand from flying off and hitting you in the forehead!

Another day

ricecompaq — 2005-10-16T09:10:16-05:00

So, it’s been a long while since I posted anything. This time it’s not because I’m being lazy for the sake of being lazy. It’s because I’m so busy by the time I get home, all I want to do is veg.

Work has been hectic ever since the Office Manger was fired. I have taken over her Office Manager duties, along with taking over the International Orders. Taking on her responsibilities as well as handling my own responsibilities is a bit overwhelming. Everyone is taking up the slack. Everyone is stepping up, but because I’m the General Manager, I have to set the example. I know everyone is tired, but I have to be the one who shows everyone else that we must move forward even when we don’t feel as if we can. I am the one who must show confidence in others, encourage them and let them know they are doing a great job. I have been thrust head long into unknown territory and I accept the challenge and look forward to the day when things settle down and I can catch my breath.

The VP and her husband have been great during this time of transition. She has made herself more available to everyone, and has been taking the time to teach people new things, letting them have more responsibility. She’s also been great in trying to get everyone to bond and pull together. Taking us out to lunch. Taking us out after work for happy hour and on Friday closing the office down early and taking us all to the movies and then inviting us over to her house.

On a personal level, life is good. I’m tired all the time and I’ve been sick, but I think it’s just because of all the stress I’m under. Things will get better.

My friend Rafe is still alive and kicken in the game of Survivor. We are now into episode 6 and his name hasn’t been mentioned once for a vote. He’s playing very UTR (under the radar for the non survivor watchers). With all the type A personalities and all the loud vocal people he has to play UTR, for now. There will come a time when he can emerge. I like his plan of letting other people draw the heat and fire. Those who call attention to themselves are the ones who are not playing a good game and 95% of the time end up being the ones who are voted out. The problem with playing a UTR game is that if you make it to the final 2, no one recognizes what you did to get there. The jury does not respect a UTR player, and in the history of the game, only 3 UTR players have won the game and that is when they were up against another UTR player or a player no one respected and thought a fool. People think URT players were dragged along. What they fail to realize is a UTR player capitalizes on an OTR (over the radar) players mistakes. In the 4 games I’ve played, I played 2 of them as an OTR and 2 as an UTR. Playing a UTR game is much harder than playing a OTR game because I was fighting my natural instincts the entire time. In games I’m not one to follow, I prefer to lead but in the games you have to know when to lead and when to follow. How did I do playing UTR and OTR? I was 2 and 2. I won 2 game playing UTR and OTR and came in 4th twice playing UTR and OTR. It was more difficult convincing the jury I played a solid game when I played UTR because they didn’t see the moves I made behind the scenes. And the problem with being a UTR player in front of the jury is, juries don’t like being told they were out played by someone. To win a jury vote a UTR player has to be diplomatic in the final TC (Tribal Council). You have to balance not pissing off the jury with providing proof you played a better game and are a better player then they were and the person sitting next to you in the final 2.

I think Rafe has himself in a very good position to make the jury and make final 4, but so far the game has been easy. Rumors have it, the game takes a nasty turn and people are blindsided left and right. Blind siding someone in the game is when they are voted out and have no clue they are going. They think they are in a solid alliacne and before TC everyone is saying they are voting a certain way, and then “Bamm” your name is inexpectedly read at TC and you are voted out. It’s a shock to the person’s system. I’ve blindsided many people at TC and I think it’s a necessary part of the game. You never tell the person you are targeting, they are being voted out at TC because if you give someone prior warning, then they have time to try and fight back. The last thing you want is for your target to go to someone and say “So and so told me I’m being voted off.” Your own alliance will not trust you any longer and you will be gone next because the only reason someone tells someone else they are being voted out is to garner votes if they end up in the final 2. By telling someone you are placing a big fat target on your back.

OK, I’m off my survivor rant. It’s been a long time since I talked Survivor strategy. I use to write a column on Survivor strategy for an online site. It was a lot of fun only problem was it gave people more insite into how I approached the game. Oh well, I’m retired now, I don’t have to worry about it any longer. Although, if there was a decent game out there, I would play. The problem is, I’ve made so many enemies in the online Survior Game world, I can never play another game under my real name and I hate playing under an alias. I did that once and it was harder than playing as myself. (I won that game by the way by playing UTR)

Anyway, Band of Brothers is almost on, so I must make my leave and watch one of my fav mini-series.

My Fright Night

ricecompaq — 2005-10-29T08:10:11-05:00

Well, last night I did something I haven’t done in ages. I did something I hate to do with a passion. I did something only a select few who knows me have ever seen. I did something I don’t plan on doing again for a long, long, long, long time.

I danced!!!!

Yep, you read right. I danced and I wasn’t even drunk when I got up to dance. Well, got up is not exactly what happened. I was pulled up and before I knew it, I was dancing with two gay guys.

OK, this is what happened. Jacob, my old roommate Shar’s new roommate and I went out last night to the Slaughter House, a haunted house. Afterwards, because it was still early Jacob suggested we go to Tribe, which is one of the local gay clubs. Now, Tribe is a club for gay men but heck, I was game. Gay men are the absolute best. I love em. We got our drinks, made our rounds and found a place to sit right up front by the dance floor. We drank our drinks, he danced and I held his jacket. Then before I knew it, my seat is being turned around and I find myself face to face with Mark. He asked me to dance and I said “Nope, I can’t dance to save a life.” He said, “Awe come on.” Then the guy he was dancing with, said “Come on, dance.” and I said “No I’m holding my friends jacket.” and before I knew it, they had pulled me up, Mark put the jacket over his shoulder and I’m dancing. LMFAO. I even told them “If my friends from college knew what I was doing right now, they’d die laughing because rule #1 is: Michelle can’t dance.”

I haven’t had that much fun in a very long time. I also haven’t had that much to drink in ages. OMG, Jacob is an absolute cutie and we plan on going out again. He said next time we go to a club of my choice. ROFL and I know exactly which club I am going to take him to.

Anyway, that was my night and I can’t wait to do it all again. Well, everything except for the dancing part.

RRRR

ricecompaq — 2005-11-13T10:11:46-05:00

It's been one week and I'm still waiting for the appraisal on my truck. You see, last Saturday I'm in an accident.

I’m driving to the restaurant and I’m stopped because there’s a red light when “BAM!” all of a sudden a car hits me from behind and pushes me into the car in front of me. Because I was in the middle, my truck gets the worst damage. Front and rear bumper smashed, tailgate loose, hood off center, and maybe some frame damage. DAMN IT! Luckily the Officer said the lady who hit me caused the accident and after talking to my insurance company, they are going to make her pay for the repairs. I don’t want to pay for the $1,000 deductible so I’m playing the waiting game on the other insurance agency.

My truck - my poor truck. That is my baby. I have never loved a vehicle like I love my truck. I baby it, I take great care of it. Wash it twice a week, and I just finished decking it out with a new security system, keyless entry, satellite radio, speakers, bass tube, speakers and a bed cover.

All I want is my truck fixed. Is that too much to ask? RRRRR! I hate waiting.

New Year

ricecompaq — 2006-01-02T01:01:58-05:00

The first day of the new year and my first blog in a long while.

Life has been hectic. It's like a steamroller out of control. I'm glad to see 2005 left behind. It's been a crazy year. Love found and lost. Friends found and lost. In short 2005 was my lost and found year.

No new resolutions for me. I don't believe in resolutions. Simply because I'm not disciplined enough to keep them. But I do have a few goals I'd like to achieve this year.

I want to prove to my boss that I deserve a raise. I found out what the office manager and warehouse manager were/are being paid and I am paid half of what they receive and I was/am their boss. Now that I"m doing the job of 2 people, I want to prove that I am worthy of being paid accordingly.
I want to get my motorcycle license and buy a motorcycle. It's been a dream of mine to own and ride. I see a motorcycle riding down the street and I'm drawn to it. I can't keep my eyes off it. I picture myself on it.
I want to get back into shape. Stupid PCOS has totally fucked me up and I'm allergic to the medication used to keep it in check. With PCOS it's like facing an uphill battle and that's with the medication, without the medication it's like climbing Mt. Everest without any equiptment.
I want to find myself, discover who I really am. I know what my family and friends think of me and want me to be but I need to find myself for myself.

Those are my 4 goals for the new year. Whether I achieve success is yet to be seen but at least I've made it to the starting line.

To close my first blog of the new year I will tell about my run in with James Denton, the plumber "Mike Defino" from Desprate Housewives. Apparently he grew up in Nashville and considers this home. His family still lives here. Well, after work one day, a co-worker and I went to Cozumels for some drinks and I walk by this guy. I knew he was someone but I wasn't sure who. Then my co-worker comes running in and tells me who he is. The waitresses are going crazy. This guy is hot. I mean he does not need makeup or all the hollywood crap to make him look good. He looks just like he does on TV and WOW!!!! I tried to take a picture but he was standing with the light right behind him and it didn't come out.

Anyway, I hope this new year is one that is filled with life, love and lots of laugher for everyone.N

Ho Hum

ricecompaq — 2006-01-26T11:01:14-05:00

I haven't kept up with this as much as I want. No excuses (once again). It's just nothing real interesting is going on. Work is same old same old. I'm keeping busy as usual. My review is in March and I hope to get a nice size raise now that I'm doing 2 jobs. I got really pissed off when I found out Julie got a raise because as Tanya put it "She had more responsibility now." Ummmm HELLO! I've got more responsibility than anyone, Tanya has even said so herself. I can only do my best and hope that in the end I'm treated fairly.

I had a birthday. It went OK. Hit a movie, went out to eat. Nothing special. Now I'm another year older, the wiser part is still yet to be determined.

I'll be an Aunt by the end of March. My brother and his wife are expecting. They are having a boy. I hope he has ADD like Mark did and drives Mark as crazy as he did Mom.

Anyway, that's about it. Not a whole lot else happening. I'm still looking to get a Motorcycle.

So until next time as my dad once told me "Be good and if you can't be good, don't get caught."

Jeep

ricecompaq — 2006-01-30T12:01:58-05:00

I almost bought a Jeep today. I was approved for the loan, close to signing on the dotted line but I held off and walked away. Boy it was hard but I did it.

I talked them down as low as they would go and we were about $75.00 away from what they wanted and what I was willing to pay. It was a beauty, hard top, 23,000 miles, 2003. I know when the right one comes along I'll get it but damn it's hard to wait.

Underappreciate...

ricecompaq — 2006-03-15T09:03:04-05:00

Once again it’s been a long time since I’ve updated. Not that I haven’t thought about it but quite honestly, I’ve been too busy and my thoughts too jumbled to put what I’m doing, thinking and feeling into words.

You see, ever since October I’ve been doing 2 jobs. When Nancy was fired, I was the one who was given her responsibilities. Where as before I was an “overseer”, such as I let Nancy do her job and was hands off in the day to day office responsibilities because I was busy learning the job of a lady who had been with the company for 13 years. Suddenly I was not only learning my job but the job of a lady who had been there for 5 years. Suddenly, I was doing the job of 2 people who combined had 18 years of experience with this 1 company.

I took on this new responsibility with determination. I didn’t know what to expect, I was never told what was expected of me. I was never told how to do my new job. I learned on the go and when I made a mistake or did something I wasn’t suppose to do it was only then I was told “You shouldn’t have done that.” Well, if I would have known before I did something, then I wouldn’t have done it.

I never received an outline of my responsibilities. My new job description was never described to me. Suddenly I’m dealing with international shipping regulations and international distributors and I’m learning on the fly. I’m running the office while I’m still learning the job I was hired to do.

Nancy is fired and a month before she’s fired, we let go our part-time worker. Now we are down 2 people in the office and I’m picking up the slack for 2 people.

There were days when I went non stop, get in early, leave late, work through lunch, work through break and I’d get up and do it all over again. I never complained about my new responsibilities. I never made excuses for my mistakes. When I made one, I owned up to it. I did my best even when I felt like I was all alone.

So what do I get for taking on my new responsibilities? What do I get for not complaining? What do I get for doing my best and learning on the go with no teacher and no direction? I get a lousy 2.5% raise.

Yep you read right 2.5%. What was the reason I was given a 2.5% raise? It’s because I still haven’t learned all the dynamics of my position and learned all my responsibilities. By not knowing these 2 things I was given a lousy review because everything kept coming back to these 2 factors.

For me if I was given proper direction, a proper outline of responsibility, proper training, then these 2 factors would have been non-factors. I was left to learn on my own and the only time I learned what not to do was after I did it.

I’ve sat back and seen someone who I work with mess up on a daily basis. I’ve seen her act irresponsible, I’ve seen her bad mouth Management, I’ve seen her bring in her personal problems into work. She’s been treated with kid gloves by my bosses because if she is told she’s doing something wrong, she pouts, cops an attitude, spouts out angry words and blames others for her short comings. Responsibilities she’s been given have been taken away because she can not handle new responsibilities. She does these things on a regular basis and yet she is given a very undeserving raise. The reason she was given her raise is because quote “She is going to trade shows and she has more responsibilities.” There are 4 trade shows a year and she sucks at doing her “new” responsibilities.

It’s very disappointing to give my all every day for a company I love and be under appreciated. It’s discouraging to give my best effort and go above and beyond with no complaining and I’m given a 2.5% raise. It’s humiliating to see someone who is coddled and worthless when it comes to anything beyond answering the phones be given a raise and shown appreciation for her “new responsibilities” most of which have been taken away from her because she can’t do them.

2.5% raise. Yep that’s all I get. 2.5%. When I think about how much money my bosses are pocketing since Nancy was fired ($60,000 a year) plus the money from not having a part time person there any more, it makes me sick. They often talk about treating people fairly and yet today I did not see the fairness.

All this has done is make me want to prove them wrong. Make me accomplish more. It’s lit a fire inside me to show them they made a mistake. If they don’t appreciate me, treat me fairly and compensate me fairly after all this is said and done, then I will be left with no option but to take my loyalty, hard work, commitment and passion to another company.