#212 Lunchtime DeleShawn

Who has time for a pesky, time waster like Lunch.

I mean why take a lunch when you can work no-stop through the day?  Fun, right.

I had 5 meetings today that would have taken a total of 6 of my 8.5 hour day. 

You can imaging my disappointment when one of the hour long meetings was cancelled.  Admittedly it did grant me a full 3.5 hours with which to complete all my daily tasks, which usually only take me 8.5 hours to complete.

So yea... Lunch time.  Ska-roo you!

Good times.

#211 I CAN'T TAKE IT MUCH LONGER! (Office FrustraSHawn)

Not sure I'll make it to Friday Afternoon. Typhoid Mary is as virulent as ever.

I told the Boss today (in front of the cesspool of phlegmy coughs) that it\s a good thing Friday is her last day because the disruption is reaching a tipping point.

The person that sits at the desk next to her, opted to work at the Reception desk. She's lucky because she was the receptionist so she can claim having tasks to do, but between you, me, and the rest of the people in our department... we wish we were the Receptionist.

Two days.

Only two days.

#210 Bullshit ConnipShawn

I need to either get to an Anger Management Class, or win the Lotto because my Bullshit threshold at the office is at an all-time low.

My co-worker, a.k.a. Coughasaurus has made it her mission to annoy the bejezus out of me.  

So far I've lost it 3 times with her this week. All three times she's run off to one boss or another, always to return with the the instructions of "deal with it and move on"

I fear however that me friends in high places may soon be telling me to 'deal with it, or else'.

If I can just make it to Friday, then she's gone for two weeks.  Then when she's back, it's only for one week and then I'm gone for 2 weeks.

I just need to focus! (and take a big cork to the office to cram in my mouth when she opens hers...

#209 Monday DictShawn

Crash! Bam! Boom!

Zoom Zoom!

That's as close to recapping my day at work without adding a lot of repetitive expletives. 

#208 Craft Master Shawn

I was a Craft Master this weekend.

I put together a Shadow Box of some Crow Feathers and an old Pewter Haida Crow Medallion, as a Spirit Box.

I Made a Memory (Shadow) Box of photos of one of my Grandmothers, with photos of her in her kitchen to go on our Kitchen wall.

I painted and a wooden letter "P" for our dog Peanut. Pinks with Silver burnished accents to go along a smaller "s" for Santiago (all in Silver), to place above their food and water bowls.

I made two mini Memory Vials of Beach Sand and Sea Glass from our collection from over the years. One for us and another to take to the cottage on PEI this Summer.aa

Then I re-organized our Sea Glass in two Votive Candle holders and a large glass vase. 

And I have already planned a few other projects to work on over the coming weeks.

I don't craft as often as I used to, but when I do I go all out. It makes me feel good to think of a project, and see it come to fruition. 

#207 Weekend ExhasutShawn

In general I work every Saturday from home. I manually check the movement of all our company's shipments from within Canada via Fed/Ex and Air Canada.  It's 10 minutes here and ten minutes there. I can still go out and do all my usual Saturday activities, and on top I get a minimum 2 hrs of banked time, which I can take from days off, so really it is worth it... no one else in the office can bank hours.

But, on occasion due to production issues, I have to pull considerably more hours work and end up spending the greater part of the afternoon in front of my laptop. Today was such a day. I'm already over 5 hors into it and have another good 45 minutes to an hour before I'm done.

It's already 9 PM and I did not see the day go by...

UGH!

#206 Feathered MeditaShawn

Mixed messages.

This morning I was out on the balcony and two crows were on a neighbouring building and cawed "hello" to me. Nice. Put a smile on my face. I waved and said "hello" back. (Yes, I really did)

I got ready and went gleefully to work. It really set the mood for my morning commute. 

Then...

I arrived at the office. Or more specifically I was walking through the parking lot towards the entrance and I saw something that made my heart stop and sink into my stomach... There was a dead crow on the lawn beside the building. I'm assuming he was flying at night and due to some upper floor offices leaving all their lights on (which confuses birds) he hit a window. From his appearance I'd guess it was quick and hopefully painless.

I love crows. I mean, I really REALLY love crows and so this was actually rather sad. 

I moved his body under one of the shrubs that circle the building and then when I looked around I saw many feathers scattered about.  I took three.

Okay, I know that sounds sick and morbid, but is it. We often pick up shed feathers at the beach, and really while these were not shed as naturally, they were loose from the body.  I will keep them and they will be a reminder to me of the fragility of life. That you never know when your time draws to a close. Enjoy the day, live in the moment and just be thankful for where you are every moment.

#205 Personal Worktime RevelaShawn

I have a new personal rule at work. 

When people send me a meeting request, and then decide to cancel the meeting without cancelling the meeting in the scheduler I have decided to take that opportunity and time to NOT do work. I will take that time to do personal tasks. Online shopping. Research. Facebooking. 

Whatever. 

I'm done.

#204 Ear InfecShawn DecepShawn

Well, no hear explosion as of yet. 

Felling better today, but not out of the woods yet.  It was next to gone, first thing this morning.But by mid-afternoon it was back.

I don't know what it is, maybe a mild infection coupled with the high heat, humidity and the in and out of Air Conditioned buildings.  So far there's no issue with my hearing and I'm not dizzy, at least in the conventional sense, but I'm keeping an eye on it. (well, as much as one can keep an eye on their ear. heh)  Who can say? Maybe it's a defective Alien Implant.   

#203 Ear InfecShawn?

I'm not sure what is going on, but if it keeps up I'ma go see a Doctor.

This morning I woke up with a little irritation in my right ear. As if I went too deep with a Q-Tip. lol  But, by mid afternoon it started to throb and on occasion there was a shooting pain.

Now by this evening it's a little more frequent. At this rate my head should explode sometime by Thursday or Friday. If I stop posting in a day or so, you'll know why.

#202 Tiny CelebraShawn

Monday has come.

Monday has seen.

Monday has conquered. 

It's time to celebrate the end of the day.  The least favourite day of the week! Hazaa! and Woot woot! 

Even small events are worth celebrating!

#201 Reverse AccumulaShawn

Today I did a little sorting, an little 'spring cleaning' and a little purging.  I don't do it often enough (NO COMMENT, Marcel!) But when i do I feel good, and my side of the bedroom looks even better! :-)

Today I found a few trinkets and knick-knacks I had packed and or otherwise 'temporally forgotten'.  And this has helped me with a couple of craft projects I'll be working on.

I only wish this had happened sooner, so I could have finished up the few projects started. Oh well, something to look forward to for next week.

#200 Aerial CommoShawn

It's 8:45pm on Saturday, so we're starting to prep Santi and the house for tonight's annoyance.  The Montreal International Fireworks Competition.  We're only a 1/4 km away from them and Santi, like a lot of dogs, DOES NOT LIKE THEM.  

What is amazing is the first warning shot is not until 9:30pm, but at about 8:30pm he stats fretting. The early signs of his anxiety begin to appear. What is really bizarre is that even from the first night of the competition he knows.  He knows! How does he know? We sure don't know how... 

The first night he was very worked up, and nothing we did would minimize his discomfort. He ended up on our bed on Marcel's pillows. (He likes a point of some height generally when he's in distress)  Instead of coddling him we make sure he has multiple places he can go to feel safe... : his little man cage, a blanket on the sofa between Marcel and I, a blanket on the bed he can burrow into, and even some laundry...

The Saturday after he went under the chair by the sofa where we put his bed. And last Wednesday he curled up on my chest as I was stretched out on the sofa.

We don't know where he'll go tonight but all spots are set up. And at 9pm we'll put his favorite shirt on him. IT's snug but not too tight and this is something that generally calms small dogs.

Tonight is the USofA that is competing, which does not bode well, because traditionally, theirs are the biggest, loudest most obnoxious fireworks of the competition.

*UGH*

#199 Return of the Cougher. FrustraShawn!

So little Miss Cougher is back to her old self... coughing every couple of minutes. 

Someone asked her if she was using her medications and puffers, She replied that she didn't bother renewing the pills and she stopped using the puffers because she didn't like the taste...  O_o 

So now we all have to be annoyed all day long.

If it;s the same on Monday I'll be complaining to HR, And I'm sure i won't be alone.  Cannot start dealing with this again!

Thank God today is Friday.

#198 Vacation ObsesShawn

It's too early to be checked out for Vacation, right?

I mean, sure, teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeechnically it's still 36 days away, but mentally, I've already packed. Mentally I've already driven the 1000 kms to the cottage. Mentally I've already unpacked and have walked along the beach. Mentally I've already planned 3 day trips while we're there. Mentally I've already visited 3 or 4 of our favourite restaurants. Mentally I've already visited friends. And Mentally I've done absolutely nothing but soak up the sweet sea breeze.

Okay, I know we're just over 5 weeks away, but damn it! I am already there.

*sigh*

#197 Office AppreciaShawn

Not two weeks ago I was part of a conversation in the office with two co-workers; one from my Dept (Customer Service) and one from Finance. 

We were discussing the Culture of Employee Appreciation in the Office and how there were very clearly defined boundaries. We were talking about how it was clear just who in Management appreciated their employees.  You see, our office has Seven Company Values that are the core of our "raison d'etre'. Managers of all Departments can nominate their employees for awards based on the seven different values.

Well I've been with the company for almost 8 years, and I know that in the time before me, no one in our Dept has even received an Award.  You go to other other departments and you see award after award on people's desks. It's very clear who in Management appreciates their employees.  And with few exceptions, those in Departments where people are nominated and Awards received, are all hard working people. That's not to say that others in the non award winning departments are not hard workers, (okay in some instances) but when you ignore those people, over time they get worn down, and it's discouraging. Working in the departments with the "Award free" Managers is not conducive to productivity. Trust me I know.

Well today, that history has been re-written.  I received a Service Award for Business Accountability. I can assure you it wasn't only myself that was surprised that someone in our dept was getting an award. I saw the looks on other peoples faces.  What quickly became apparent however was that certain 'rules' remained. I was not nominated by my Manager, but by a Manager from another Department that came to me at 4:55pm last Thursday about an issue that needed to be addressed, but they didn't know how and so they asked for my assistance. (It helps that with all the cross training I've been doing that while I answer to one Manager, I do receive work from others)  Well, It was too late then to work on it, but I told her that I'd jump on it the following morning. And so on Friday morning I jumped. And after two phone calls, 2 emails, and just over 3 hours, issue resolved. Well both she and her boss (in the US) were so impressed at how quickly things were resolved that Bing Bang Boom, she submitted the paper-work on Monday and today I am an Award Winner.AND I get a small bonus too!

I have to say that just that one little acknowledgement really makes a difference. When I have my annual review there will be a mention of the award, and I'll be sure to add some comments to on how nice it was, and not so shockingly how it DOES make a difference.

A good day was had. 

... and tomorrow the Boss is not in. 

:-)

#196 QuotaShawn

"Every moment we are thinking about the end, we are robbing our pets and ourselves of the now. Live in the now."

~Me.

#195 Poetic PredicShawn

If you're familiar with the Poem about Counting Cows, you'll know that:

"Three Crows a Letter"  is the third line of the poem.

Well I received a Postcard in the mail today from the friend I recently re-connected with. The postcard was from Finland. The card was on a piece of pre-cut, black balsa wood that when you snapped out the pieces, you could put them together to form 3 crows.

I could NOT have been happier!  Receiving it on HER birthday was a little odd, but then I was already thinking of her today (and had planned on emailing her when I got home tonight - I don't know where she is at the moment... possibly still in Finland, or in Nova Scotia, back in the US or in Spain...  she does tend to travel about!)

Receiving mail in this day and age that is NOT a bill is rare and welcome.  When you can play with it and make crows, well...  simply awesome!

#194 Sunday's ReflecShawn

Today was all about nothing.  

It was hazy and rainy outside. 

It was lazy and hazy inside.

Just what a Sunday should be.

(It helps prepare you for the insanity of Manic Mondays)

#193 Art InstillaShawns

Today was a good day.

Today we started by sleeping our asses in; which really should be the Law on a Saturday anyway...

We got up. Caffeined ourselves. Breakfasted ourselves. Showered and dressed ourselves. And then we went out... on a mission...

Time to go to Omer DeSerres and get some art framed. And look at new Art supplies.

We have a habit of purchasing art to be hung, but in 99% of the cases it first needs to be framed. Case in point, a quirky piece we bought in Halifax in Aug of 2010 of some freshly caught Mackerel. It;s a great piece and long overdue to be framed. 

Then I picked up a standard matte and frame for a reproduction print of a crow. The matte has an orangey-red edge to it, that just took the framed piece from complete to fabulous. 

Marcel bought a Lino-cut kit to try his hand at the art-form.  

And on top of that, yesterday Marcel received a piece of art that he purchased on Etsy (from a gift card I gave him for his birthday. It's a small plexi-glass house with three little trees inside.  It's quirky, it's minimal and it's fresh.

Little by little we continue to make our house a home. 

#192 Friday SalutaShawn

Dear Office Gods,

Thank you so much for today. It was just as amazingly awesome as yesterday. And, when you consider that today was Friday, well... you've outdone yourselves. 

Keep up the great work!

Sincerely, 

Your fan,

Shawn 

#191 An Ode to Work Day PerfecShawn

Today was an awesome day!

No idiot boss.

No coughing old bird.

Today was a very quiet day.

No ridiculous questions.

No easily avoided mistakes.

Today was a distraction free day.

No interruptions.

No last minutes requests or demands.

Today was a smooth calm day.

No "Can you come to my office?"

No "How do you copy/paste again?"

Today was a question free day.

Today there was no fuss.

Today there was no muss.

Today was an awesome day.

Tomorrow is Friday...

#190 Unwanted Bullshit RedempShawn

Today was Monday and Tuesday combined.  I don;t know what I did to who, or what or when, but clearly I was a rat bastard. It's the only explanation I can come to given the steaming, heaping pile of never ending crap that passed my desk today.

Clearly I've done someone wrong and Karma thought that today was a good day to cash in.

Also clearly; my boss is a total idiot.

As is my co-worked the coughing old bird.

Honestly, if both of them went away I'd clearly have a lot less stress and after a month or so of tidying up all the loose ends and fixing their mistakes, all would be well with the world.

Alas for now... I can only dream... of that day or winning the lotto... whichever comes first.

#189 Unwanted Job RenditShawn

I think my boss want's to make me into his Mini Me. And by that, I think he thinks that if he teaches me all his responsibilities (as his "back-up", yea right) that he can just have me do his work.  

Well, all I have to say to that is "Wake up, Sleeping Stupid! As it is I'm already doing two people's jobs AND you want me to document the entire department.  So no, I ain't got time for the pain. Do yo own damn job!"

Ain't gonna happen!

#188 Co-worker Correction RepetitShawn

So if this is Monday and the old Coughing Bird is off for the week that must mean, yup, you guessed it... time to clean up her errors...  

Nothing like sending the wrong product (and the wrong quantity) to the wrong client.

It's gonna be one of those weeks... both relaxing (because she's not there) and stressful (because she makes amazing mistakes that I'll have to clean up)

Let the good times roll!

#187 Gift Card RedemptShawn

Msrcel and I both received a Gift Card to Ares (a Kitchenware store) from his sister last Christmas. But it's well out in the suburbs, and since we don't have a car, it's not easilly accessable.

Que Marcel's Sister.  She wanted to get together today for Brunch, s we suggested going to Ares first.  And as fast as you can say Shopping Spree, we were there.!

We made out like bandits!

We got:
A Breville Toaster
A 14" x 16" Pizza Stone with Rack
A Salad Spinner
A pair of Tongs
an "M" Cookie Cutter
An "S" Cookie Cutter
a Dog Bone Cookie Cutter
and a Large Star Tip frosting.

AND we still have $30 left!

WOO HOO!

Nothing like a little Shopping Therapy. And it's even better when it doesn't cost you anything!

Add to that, a wonderful Brunch and it made for a fun outing with Marcel's Sister.

Not a bad Sunday at all.

#186 The $64,000 QuestShawn

Question:

What do you call a day where you sleep in, have a lovely walk in the Summer breeze, a lazy relaxing afternoon, a lovely barbecued meal, and a kick-ass cocktail?

Answer:

Today.

#185 De-Stress DecompresShawn

After a 5 Day Workweek, compressed into 3 Days, I needed to de-stress and decompress... and Karma was a total sweetheart in the process...

On my commute home on the metro a woman got in with a small baby carriage. In the carriage was the sweetest, happiest, most well behaved toddler I've ever witnessed in a rush hour metro in the the heat and humidity of the Summer.

He was so sweet. He would look at a commuter, non-blinking and then in most cases the commuter would break down smiling first, causing the baby to smile and giggle.

After three or four staring contests with me, ending in mutual smiles and giggles, I was both de-stressed, decompressed and in a super happy mood.

Thank you random metro baby. 

Have a great weekend!

#184 Short Week DecepShawn

I think it's Karma's way to get back at us for taking tome off.

I took Monday off from banked tome owed to me. Tuesday was Canada Day. This left Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. But Friday is the 4th of July and as our Corporate Head Office and Production Facilities are  just outside Boston, they crammed a LOT of extra work for us into yesterday and today.

I swear, while intellectually I know I've only been to work for two days so far this week, physically it seems like it's been a 6 day work week. And there's still one day to go!!!

Calgon Take me away!

#183 Commute HydraShawn

Well it's finally here. The MAIN reason Summer Sucks, Humidity in the Metro.

When it's in the low thirties for the daily high, and in the mid forties for the Humidex it's time to start daydreaming about living at the Sough Pole. And the temperatures in the Buses and Metro are no better. Add in the packed, rush hour human-sardine like conditions and holy crap. Just standing or sitting and you break out sweating bullets.

Time to start carrying a water bottle to and from work, to keep hydrated and a wee bit cool. The real challenge is not having to go to the bathroom before getting to the office or home!

FYI,  only 172 days until Winter.

#182 Long Weekend CompletShawn

Like all good Long Weekends must, so too has this one, come to an end.

For as lovely as this weekend was, last night and today was incredibly warm.  We were okay with packing the car and heading back home... for we knew Air Conditioned goodness was waiting to greet us in all her chill, low humidity comfort.

Home Cool Home.