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:: The Rants ::

What's in this section?
Ever just wanted to vent? Well here's were *I* get to do it.

Why does success feel like pain?

Thursday, December 14, 2006

I’m doing well at work, according to a review from my managers, but i’m not sure that it’s exactly a reward.

I’ve been debating for awhile on what to be at work: do i want to be a tier 1 employee? One that the managers go to when they’re in a bind? The one they call on when there’s a task that needs to be done and done right? The one that is trusted and publicly called out as being the “good one?”

Well, on one hand, the over-achiever in me says, “of course!” On the other hand, we have to take into consideration the reward for being the tier 1 trainer. In our team, tier 1 refers to those who are the favorites, who are considered superior to the others and who happen to get along well personally with those in higher positions. Tier 2 means that you’re doing your job fine and that’s about it. Tier 3 means you show up because HR says you’re an employee, and the managers have to accept that fact.

So what’s the reward for being tier 1? The reward is, ironically, more work. And our 2-year contract says in concrete that there’s no room for advancement. We can’t look for other jobs within the organization and there are no promotions or salary increases. That’s what makes me pause. So i want to do better so i can get more work? Hmmmmm...In addition to that, I’ve taken on a lot of freelance work this year. And they’ve been all over the board - video editing and DVD production, photoshoots, and wedding invitations.

So here i am now. In the past half year, i’ve been coasting at the top of tier 2, willingly staying there to avoid getting further into this than i was ready for. But now i’ve somehow bumped up to perhaps the bottom of tier 1. And i’m feeling it. It’s not even that i’m teaching so many classes. It’s just more than i’m used to and they’re all in the MORNING! I’ve been waking up at 5:30 am to get ready, commute, prep for class and then teach for 4 hours straight. If you know me, you know that i am NOT a morning person. I’m like an ugly bear when someone wakes me up anytime before 8 am. GRRRRRRRRR! You gotta pray for my students!

Now, thanks to some form of success at work, I’m sitting here at 11 pm, which is not usually very late for me, but my eyes are burning, i’m sleepy beyond belief and my brain is refusing to function properly. I think I’ve even seen the sun rise a couple times since starting this job. *That* is totally uncalled for.

The result is i’m *still* contemplating being in tier 1. Do i really want it? Can i get out of it if i change my mind? Oh what to do…

I just hope my eyes stop watering and burning soon.

They Only Come Out at Night

Monday, October 30, 2006

Halloween is a strange event in any region, but in Vegas, “strange” takes on a whole new meaning!

This weekend, i went to Vegas with Slim, Joe, Kenny + Cat, and Keith + Sue. I’ve never been much for Vegas, so this is only my second time going there for fun (no conferences or work) in my adult life. That being said, i obviously didn’t do much of the planning. That also being said, there wasn’t much planning except to get a hotel room. We had such a chill weekend.

So what do i have to rant about, you ask? Well, I had a bit of rocky beginning just getting on the plane.

RANT 1: TSA
Who doesn’t have a TSA rant? If you do not, then please step forward! I thought I had done everything to keep myself from pain the security line by putting all my liquids into my check-in bag. However, I didn’t realize that lips stuff was considered liquid. Oops. So that was my bad. But even when i got through line and they pulled out the lip balms, they said, “You have to go get a clear plastic bag to put these in.” Why? Now that you’ve identified them, what will putting them in a plastic bag do? I’ll put them in there and pull them out when i need it, thus it will not STAY in said bag. What then is the point of such a recepticle?

But no, the TSA guy ushered me out the exit as i began to protest and told me to go cut in line to get a plastic bag from SouthWest. I was then pointed to the gift store by the SouthWest people. The Gift Store clerk said, “I’ll give you a bag if you buy something.” Out came my $1 to pay for mentos that i didn’t want, thus spending half of all the liquid assets that i had on me at the moment. -____-

Then i had to go all the way through the security line again. Curses upon TSA. By the year 2010, we’ll be walking naked through x-ray machines to make sure we don’t have any explosive suppositories.

RANT 2: CAB
Upon arriving in Vegas, we jumped in to a cab. Instead of taking us to the Westin, he took us to the Hilton. How on earth did he get the idea that we were staying there? But he insisted that he asked twice and that both times we said that we were headed to the Hilton. Kenny called shenanigans on him. Then he got really mad and started yelling that he had been driving for 11 years and that he really had nothing to gain by taking us to the Hilton instead of the Westin. Am i wrong or did he just get twice the amount of money for taking us to some place that was the opposite direction from our hotel? Hmmm...What DID he have to gain? Obviously his argument had some holes in it.

When we tried to find out how much the fare should have been, the driver got all upset and threatened that he would call the Taxi Authority if we refused to pay. By this time, i just wanted to sink out of sight and just not exist. That’s when everyone got really heated. Kenny unleashed: “WE NEVER SAID WE WOULDN’T PAY. JUST STOP TALKING. ALL I WANT IS A PEACEFUL RIDE TO THE WESTIN.” That pretty much quieted everyone down to an awkward silence. Despite our assertions that we would pay, the driver still called the Taxi Authority and told them that we might cause trouble. I just wanted to get out of there. Yeek.

RANT 3: ATMs + no banks
So the other rant has to do with the fact that there are no banks ANYWHERE near the strip and every ATM is going to make you poor just by looking at them. Being the Vegas noob, i had no idea that there was such a high service charge for cash withdrawals. AND of course, stupid me didn’t have any cash at all. Make that, I had $1 going into Vegas. The other dollar i had was spent buying a $1 plastic bag for my liquids to go on board the airplane, remember? It’s a $4 fee and then another $1.95 + 3% of anything you withdraw. How do they get away with that? It’s crazy.

OKAY, ENOUGH RANTING! THE REST OF THE WEEKEND WAS WONDERFUL AND RELAXING!
So that night we went to a nice restaurant, FIX, at the Bellagio.

Me and Slim at FIX

The restaurant had a cool warped and wavy ceiling made of suspended wooden panels. Cool. AND we had Kobe beef chilli cheese fries. Mmmmmmmmm...so worth it.

The next day we got up and wandered around. Mostly we spent time at the new casino, The Wynn. The inside garden is beautiful. It’s very reminiscent of the Bellagio as it’s by the same owner. The same owner who recently put a hole in a 130 million dollar Picasso painting.

The gardens at the Wynn

Cat, Slim and I headed to The Buffet at the Wynn. I can’t remember that last time i ate so much. Well, actually i can: it was 2 weeks ago at the soul food restaurant, Miss Peach. Mmmmmm. But really, i think my stomach expanded to 3x it’s normal size. Phew.

me, slim and cat: it’s a C/Kat Sandwich!

After eating for about 2 hours, we did a bit of wandering. We discovered many interesting things. The pool at the Wynn is cool. There are at least 2 waterfalls within the facility. We also discovered, quite by accident, that they have “european style sunbathing,” which roughly translates into topless sunbathing. Ooops.

We then went to Smith and Wollensky for steaks and other forms of meat. Check out how big Slim’s steak is.

Big enough for you? We actually split this and even then it was a lot of meat!

Finally it was time to get into costume! That’s the reason you go to Vegas during Halloween, right? It’s where freaks come out at night and parade the streets! Here’s our costumed trio pic:

Cat is the penguin with a black angel on one should saying, “eat that fish! it’s tasty!” and a white angel on the other shoulder saying, “No! Fish are friends not food!"

I’ve got to say that there were some really interesting costumes out that night. Tigger, Balou the bear, a gold digger, girl scouts, soccer teams, nurses, Axl Rose, Garden of Eden: Eve, and lots of other weirdos. I was pretty impressed for the most part. Some were just plain lame though. I got to say that the guys in the Tigger/Balou outfits, the nerd outfits and the other “harmless” males were getting a lot more attention from the females than the other guys who came dressed as pimps and boxers.

And then the weekend was pretty much over. We got to eat one last time at the Bellagio Cafe and then took off to the airport where we stayed in line for a good long time. I did manage to get this pic of the boys before we all took off.

Joe, Slim and Kenny--the original Halloween In Vegas Crew

Relationship Hemorrhoids

Thursday, October 05, 2006

This entry may be a bit graphic, so prepare your minds for my new analogy on relationships!

HEMORRHOIDS: (hem·or·rhoid)
Pronunciation: ‘hem-"roid, ‘he-m&-
Function: noun
Definition: a mass of dilated veins in swollen tissue at the margin of the anus or nearby within the rectum—usually used in plural; called also piles

So what do relationships and hemorrhoids have in common anyway? Ah, you’re about to be sorry you asked. The uncomfortable condition mentioned above happens for several reasons:

1. Genetic predisposition (weak rectal vein walls and/or valves)
2. Excessive time (over 1 minute daily) and straining during bowel movements
3. Chronic bowel straining or pressure due to poor posture or muscle tone

According to health-cares.net, “Constipation, bouts of diarrhea, poor bathroom habits (reading on the toilet or multiple cleaning attempts), pregnancy, and fiber-deprived Western diet can all foster the conditions that cause hemorrhoids.”

Mostly i would like to focus on number 2 - Excessive time on the toilet. Maybe you just found a good article in the New York Times, or maybe you were deep in concentration over other things, but in the end you found yourself dilly dallying for no real reason.

Ah ha! And therein lies the crux of this post!

I’m talking about relationships where two people date for an eternity and *still* have no idea if they want to get married or not. And then there are the others who break up and get back together (repeat x27) and can’t seem to either like each other enough to stay together or hate each other enough to break up. To these couples, i’d like to use the old adage, (and those with sensitive eyes should avert them now) “Sh** or get off the pot.” Another way to put it is, “Fish or cut bait.” Or “Do or do not; there is no try.” These sayings are basically pointing out that there is no in between stage where you can settle in and get comfortable for a long time without some nasty side-effects.

You stick around for a long time and strain to stay together, dilly dally and take your time making a decision on whether you want to be together or not, or together or not,....OR together or not. You get the idea. And the result? Bad things popping out where they shouldn’t be. Things that wouldn’t have been problems had the relationship taken a more truncated timeline.

So what’s the solution? Can i get a little Preparation-H up in here?!? Relationship hemorrhoids need Relationship Preparation-H to numb the fear of changing a situation that you’ve grown so accustomed to that you don’t know what you’d do otherwise. You can’t fear change if you’re going to cure your relationship hemorrhoids! So do it or get off that pot! Grab the Preparation-H, and let’s begin making healthy decisions for our relationships!

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Sucks!

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

This is gonna be short.

My right wrist has been hurting. I think it’s the beginnings of carpal tunnel syndrome. *sad violin music playing* Even now, as i post, my wrist is ACHING and THROBBING. I gotta stop typing. And typing so FAST! (please see post below)

So you all will have to forgive me if my post isn’t too long today. Thanks.

Oh, and are there any ergonomists in the audience who can help me out?

Training Day

Monday, June 19, 2006

Why do adults suddenly act like children when in a classroom?

Let me roll back. Today was my first day to train my own class on the electronic medical record system. I mean, this is the *whole* of my job...and it didn’t go as well as I would have liked it too. Now, i may be a bit too hard on my own performance, but it just wasn’t the fun time that I had hoped it would be. But then again, how exciting can learning computer software be? No matter how much you’re in to it, it can be boring. Or frustrating. Going to fast or too slow. Unapplicable to some jobs or completely engrossing to others. Oh, and i so wanted it to be fun!

Anyway, so my class went well enough. I think people understood the benefits of the system. They may have gotten a bit lost, but i think they’ll be alright. The part that really bummed me out was towards the end when we had to get the learners to do evaluations in a very frustrating system. People got so discombobulated and confused that there was general chaos. I had to actually YELL at them to bring them back to order. WHAT?!? Do i really have to yell at adults as if they were a kindergarten class to get them to pay attention?

I was completely defeated after that. Now, I know I shouldn’t take it that hard. After all, it was my first class. But I was still frustrated. All in all, i really liked the people. It was after lunch and people were probably drowsy from that anyway. So i’m trying to take it constructively. I have to find a way to be interesting enough to keep them engaged for 3 hours straight and yet not take it personally if they are noisy and confused and negative and in la-la land.

So we’ll see how things go in the upcoming weeks. Wish me luck and pray for me, too! I can’t waiti until this becomes second-nature!

Yoga says - "Do or do not, there is no try"

Monday, May 15, 2006

Why does Yoga have to hurt so much?

I suppose i should have known better. After two solid years of not exercising, one should expect that diving back into it will hurt. I think there should be a little asterisk near that thought somewhere that says, “pain will increase exponentially should the slacker undertake Yoga on her first day back.”

So i went to Yoga at 24 Hour Fitness to finally use that pass that i never use. It’s conveniently located and i get to skip traffic if i go to this class at 5:30 after work. So i headed over there, full of optimism and enthusiasm. In my memory, yoga and pilates are peaceful, soothing, stress-relieving. Oh, I was so wrong.

This particular yoga instructor loves the move “Downward facing Dog.” It looks like this:

It entails excruciating pain in your hamstrings and about 2000 other places that I don’t have names for (if they do indeed exist). Every other second she would instruct us to go into the Down Dog position. Ouch. And then there’s the issue of balance and holding poses for long periods of time. The one i just couldn’ handle was this pose where you balance on one leg and the opposite hand while lifting the other lims parallel to the ground. Example: I balanced on my right leg which remained completely straight, lifted up my left leg up behind me until it was at least parallel with the ground. I used my left hand to help balance me, while the right hand reached straight into the sky. I was sweating like a stuck pig.

Needless to say, i was useless when it came to walking up stairs and moving furniture into my apartment. Then again, i fold in half like a pretzel now with no problem. So my advice is, if you haven’t exercised in a wile, may sure you work UP to it. And don’t go to psycho yoga teachers who probably warm up for class by putting themselves on The Rack and other strange torture devices.