Today's Cliche a Day is a phrase very near and dear to my heart; one that I grew up hearing my mother say, but have rarely heard anywhere else. Coincidentally enough though, a customer of mine said this on the phone the other day, and I couldn't help but laugh! Today's Cliche a Day phrase is (drum roll, please!)
Hunky dory
to be okay; everything is good
Huncho-dori was a major street in Yokohama, Japan, that was frequented by American sailors on leave during the Occupation that followed World War 1. To be in Huncho-dori was to be enjoying leisure activities and having a good time.
I wonder if "enjoying leisure activities" might be the PC term for hooked up with Geishas? Oh well, I Geisha had to be there! (Boo, Hiss, Throw your tomatoes!)
I am curious, Mom, was hunky dory a phrase you inheritated from Papa, who might have picked it up from his dad who was in WW1?? BTW, Ari, I am finding that many of these cliche phrases stemmed from war slang, and am enjoying the daily snippets of education. And for the record, yes, I enjoy the word snippet very much.
TGIF everyone!
Friday, February 09, 2007
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Cliche a Day
Ari got me a desk calendar called "Cliche a Day" and every day you get a new phrase and the historical background behind it. Today's phrase I found to be particuarly inspiring:
In the Pink
in good health and ready to go
In traditional English fox hunting, hunters wore scarlet-colored jackets called pinks. If you were wearing your pink, you were ready to go hunting.
How cool is that? So the next time any of you single girls are on the hunt for a good man (Charlie Brown) you can say you're "in the pink!" ha ha
In the Pink
in good health and ready to go
In traditional English fox hunting, hunters wore scarlet-colored jackets called pinks. If you were wearing your pink, you were ready to go hunting.
How cool is that? So the next time any of you single girls are on the hunt for a good man (Charlie Brown) you can say you're "in the pink!" ha ha
Monday, February 05, 2007
SuperBowl Weekend In Review
Wahoo. Hooray for weekend updates! I felt that this was a particularly action-packed weekend and deserved mention. January is now a thing of the past, as this weekend Urrshered in the first weekend of February. (How are those new year's resolutions going for everyone? I have still not conquered the snooze button. Every morning we do battle, and every morning the snooze button wins.)
Friday afternoon I escaped the clutches of work to meet Ari and Bart at Jonathan's, our favorite local watering hole, and enjoyed a few 2 for 1 Heffewizens and appetizers, after which we went back to Ari's place and hung out and listened to music. We had the most interesting conversation that night- Bart posed the question, what are the greatest American rock & roll bands of all time? It had never occurred to me until we got into the conversation that many of what we would call legendary rock & roll bands (ie the Beatles, Led Zeplin, & the Rolling Stones) are all British! Same with many of our modern rock bands of note (U2, Radiohead, & Coldplay). However, many iconic pop and rock solo acts are dominated by the Americans. It was a very lengthy discussion, and we did come up with many viable candidates including Lynrd Skynrd, Red Hot Chillipeppers, & the Beach Boys.
Saturday morning I met Mom & Dad at the Brentwood Waff, followed promptly by a trip to El Gym-o, and that night went with Taddly to the Opera. (Yes, that's Opera, not Opry, as many people asked when inquiring about my weekend plans!) We saw Gounod's Romeo & Juliet from the 3rd row, and overall it was lacking in luster. The soprano's acting was terrible, her singing was just so-so, and while we both liked Romeo overall, the music itself was pretty dull. This was my first experience in French opera, and more amusing than the opera itself were the people in the audience- the man hacking up a lung a row in front of us, and Tadd and I fighting to keep a straight face. Also there was a "guy" sitting near us who stood up during intermission and Tadd & I both exclaimed to one another that we thought was a "he" until he stood up and we realized "She" had glasses, no makeup on, a very short haircut, and a suit jacket & matching skirt! Well maybe she's European, Tadd remarked. Nope, we both said simultaneously as we heard "her" say something to the lady she was with. A younger foursome down front had formal dresses on, and the guys wore shirts & ties. All that to say, you definitely see some characters at the opera, and we ain't talkin' 'bout the ones on the stage!
Sunday morning after church, a group of 7 of us ditched Sunday school in lieu of having breakfast/lunch together at Cracker Barrel. So much for eating healthy prior to pigging out during the Superbowl! The most exciting thing about this meal besides the yummy food, and the scatterbrained-but-cute server, was that we had a celebrity sighting- Natalie's first since she moved to Nashville- we saw Josh Turner with his wife and baby wandering around the store while waiting for a table. What's cool is that
a, he has to wait for a table like everyone else, (and that he doesn't attempt to use his clout to bypass the wait)
and b, he's a spokesperson for Cracker Barrel, and he actually eats there!
We were all giggling like schoolgirls and stealing glances at the shorn country singer, and hoped with every table near us that opened up that the Turners would be sat in our vicinity. No such luck. That's probably a good thing, because I doubt we would have behaved ourselves. MA might have already blogged about this, but she was "the girl who cried Josh Turner," faking Natalie & I into thinking that Josh was coming towards us to be seated nearby.
Later on that day was of course, the Superbowl. I watched the game over at the house with Mom & dad, Laura and George who made an appearance, and Tadders. Backing up, the 4 Bradleys were sitting around watching TV killing time before the game came on, and I found the funniest show on Animal Planet! It was the Puppy Bowl III- all it was was an enclosed play pen for puppies that was designed to look like a football field, and there were cameras filming various puppies playing together on the field. At one point a "referee" came on camera and bagged up some doggie poo, and called a penalty for "intentional grounding." There was also a "bowl cam" underneath a clear bowl of water on the field, so you got to watch the puppies drink and paw at the water from above. It sounds really lame now that I'm writing about it, but I promise it was really funny and amusing at the time- Way better than the Ghost Hunters show that Laura wanted to watch.
Back to the real event of the day, I was severely disappointed in the Superbowl commercials- total Yawnsville for the most part, but so excited at the outcome of the game. It was an interesting match up to have 2 former SEC quarterbacks playing against one another, and I of course, am a big Peyton Manning fan, so I was enjoying myself. Whether he deserved Superbowl MVP is up for debate, but at least the monkey is off his back now. He is a phenomenal quarterback, he beat the Patriots, and he won the Superbowl. He's going down in the Hall of Fame.
PS, the Tennessee Titans can now proudly say they beat the Superbowl champs in the regular season!
Friday afternoon I escaped the clutches of work to meet Ari and Bart at Jonathan's, our favorite local watering hole, and enjoyed a few 2 for 1 Heffewizens and appetizers, after which we went back to Ari's place and hung out and listened to music. We had the most interesting conversation that night- Bart posed the question, what are the greatest American rock & roll bands of all time? It had never occurred to me until we got into the conversation that many of what we would call legendary rock & roll bands (ie the Beatles, Led Zeplin, & the Rolling Stones) are all British! Same with many of our modern rock bands of note (U2, Radiohead, & Coldplay). However, many iconic pop and rock solo acts are dominated by the Americans. It was a very lengthy discussion, and we did come up with many viable candidates including Lynrd Skynrd, Red Hot Chillipeppers, & the Beach Boys.
Saturday morning I met Mom & Dad at the Brentwood Waff, followed promptly by a trip to El Gym-o, and that night went with Taddly to the Opera. (Yes, that's Opera, not Opry, as many people asked when inquiring about my weekend plans!) We saw Gounod's Romeo & Juliet from the 3rd row, and overall it was lacking in luster. The soprano's acting was terrible, her singing was just so-so, and while we both liked Romeo overall, the music itself was pretty dull. This was my first experience in French opera, and more amusing than the opera itself were the people in the audience- the man hacking up a lung a row in front of us, and Tadd and I fighting to keep a straight face. Also there was a "guy" sitting near us who stood up during intermission and Tadd & I both exclaimed to one another that we thought was a "he" until he stood up and we realized "She" had glasses, no makeup on, a very short haircut, and a suit jacket & matching skirt! Well maybe she's European, Tadd remarked. Nope, we both said simultaneously as we heard "her" say something to the lady she was with. A younger foursome down front had formal dresses on, and the guys wore shirts & ties. All that to say, you definitely see some characters at the opera, and we ain't talkin' 'bout the ones on the stage!
Sunday morning after church, a group of 7 of us ditched Sunday school in lieu of having breakfast/lunch together at Cracker Barrel. So much for eating healthy prior to pigging out during the Superbowl! The most exciting thing about this meal besides the yummy food, and the scatterbrained-but-cute server, was that we had a celebrity sighting- Natalie's first since she moved to Nashville- we saw Josh Turner with his wife and baby wandering around the store while waiting for a table. What's cool is that
a, he has to wait for a table like everyone else, (and that he doesn't attempt to use his clout to bypass the wait)
and b, he's a spokesperson for Cracker Barrel, and he actually eats there!
We were all giggling like schoolgirls and stealing glances at the shorn country singer, and hoped with every table near us that opened up that the Turners would be sat in our vicinity. No such luck. That's probably a good thing, because I doubt we would have behaved ourselves. MA might have already blogged about this, but she was "the girl who cried Josh Turner," faking Natalie & I into thinking that Josh was coming towards us to be seated nearby.
Later on that day was of course, the Superbowl. I watched the game over at the house with Mom & dad, Laura and George who made an appearance, and Tadders. Backing up, the 4 Bradleys were sitting around watching TV killing time before the game came on, and I found the funniest show on Animal Planet! It was the Puppy Bowl III- all it was was an enclosed play pen for puppies that was designed to look like a football field, and there were cameras filming various puppies playing together on the field. At one point a "referee" came on camera and bagged up some doggie poo, and called a penalty for "intentional grounding." There was also a "bowl cam" underneath a clear bowl of water on the field, so you got to watch the puppies drink and paw at the water from above. It sounds really lame now that I'm writing about it, but I promise it was really funny and amusing at the time- Way better than the Ghost Hunters show that Laura wanted to watch.
Back to the real event of the day, I was severely disappointed in the Superbowl commercials- total Yawnsville for the most part, but so excited at the outcome of the game. It was an interesting match up to have 2 former SEC quarterbacks playing against one another, and I of course, am a big Peyton Manning fan, so I was enjoying myself. Whether he deserved Superbowl MVP is up for debate, but at least the monkey is off his back now. He is a phenomenal quarterback, he beat the Patriots, and he won the Superbowl. He's going down in the Hall of Fame.
PS, the Tennessee Titans can now proudly say they beat the Superbowl champs in the regular season!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
I’ve got my own pet peeves, just like anyone else. For example, leaving time on the microwave after food has been taken out instead of clearing it to display the clock again. Also it’s no secret the stretch of interstate on I-65 South between Concord Rd and Old Hickory Blvd. is the bane of my existence on many days for the simple reason that Tennessee drivers have an apparent memory lapse on this stretch of road and cannot remember that the speed limit is 70- mph, not 60, not 55, and definitely not 50, which, yes, I have been stuck behind some of these drivers while preparing to exit.
One of the biggies though, is Winter Without Snow. What's the point of cold weather if there's no winter wonderland to sweeten the deal? If there's none of the white stuff, I say give me my 80 degree summer days, please. I'm tired of freezing through the first half of my commute every morning waiting for my heat to kick-in, and fed-up with scraping frost off Thomas' windshield!
Now I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch, but it would seem that there may be cause for excitement here in the Nashville Metro area:
Today's forecast according to weather.com: "cloudy with scattered snow showers and flurries becoming a steady accumulating snow later. Low around 30F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 90%. About one inch of snow expected."
And again, tomorrow's forecast: "chance of precip 90%. 1 to 2 inches of snow expected."
Now you northerners may be scoffing at the mere giddiness of one inch of snow which will in all likelihood, melt by lunchtime, but we Southerners are just itching to have one good snow. As bad as it would be to get stranded in my apartment at the top of a big hill with my Netflix movies tomorrow morning, I think I could manage.
One of the biggies though, is Winter Without Snow. What's the point of cold weather if there's no winter wonderland to sweeten the deal? If there's none of the white stuff, I say give me my 80 degree summer days, please. I'm tired of freezing through the first half of my commute every morning waiting for my heat to kick-in, and fed-up with scraping frost off Thomas' windshield!
Now I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch, but it would seem that there may be cause for excitement here in the Nashville Metro area:
Today's forecast according to weather.com: "cloudy with scattered snow showers and flurries becoming a steady accumulating snow later. Low around 30F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 90%. About one inch of snow expected."
And again, tomorrow's forecast: "chance of precip 90%. 1 to 2 inches of snow expected."
Now you northerners may be scoffing at the mere giddiness of one inch of snow which will in all likelihood, melt by lunchtime, but we Southerners are just itching to have one good snow. As bad as it would be to get stranded in my apartment at the top of a big hill with my Netflix movies tomorrow morning, I think I could manage.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
In the Pink
Probably one of the best days of my life was my 18th birthday. It was just a perfect day. But coming in a close second was the day that Sephora opened its doors in Nashville, TN. Seriously, I would say that I was like a kid in a candy store, but having never been a big candy eater, I'll say I was like me as an 8-year-old in a store full of Barbie Dolls.
Some of the newness of Nashville's Sephora store has worn off, but I still have a twinge of unhappiness if I am for some reason in the Green Hills area, but can't swing over to Sephora for a visit. In fact, I have a Sephora gift card that I got for Christmas that has just been burning a hole in my pocket, but I'm holding off as long as I can before I spend it.
To tempt and tantalize me, I get weekly emails from Sephora with new product reviews, and this 
week's email featured a few rose-colored hued makeup palettes I thought I'd share with you all!
week's email featured a few rose-colored hued makeup palettes I thought I'd share with you all! The first is a delicious combo of colors from Too-Faced. I am a sucker for all-in-one pallettes because I am anal retentive when it comes to co-ordinating my eye, lips, and cheek color. These pinkish-hued neutrals go well with the majority of my wardrobe, and okay, I'm also slightly drawn to this product because of its pink packaging. So sue me. For just under 30 smackeroos, you get 2 concealers, blush, 2 powder eyeliners, a brow duo, 3 eyeshadows, and 2 lipglosses. Best of all, you save time when packing for the gym by tossing this baby in with your foundation and you're good to go! (Is anyone else as sick as I am of those annoying Taco Bell commercials??)
The other item that popped out to me was Benefit's Hopelessly devoted to pink. Quite simply, it's a pallette of pretty pink shades for the eyes and lips, and again, goes well with the bulk of my wardrobe.
Disclaimer (and I don't even know 'er): Wearing pink eye shadow can be a tricky feat, as you don't want to look
a) like you're suffering from uber-contagious conjunctivitis, or
b) like you're posing as an albino rabbit.
The trick is to keep the pink on the eyelids light, and play up the pink lips and cheeks to achieve an eye-catching monochomatic look that's fresh and fun without being scary.
Happy Beautifying! (and PS, MA- look who finally got the hang of linking pictures to their respective websites? wahooo!)
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Oscar Noms are out
In building up to the main event, The Academy Awards, which will take place Sunday, February 25, 2007,
I'd love to hear some of your predictions for the winners. There are quite a few movies I wanted to see in the theater that I never got around to seeing, and I will try and remedy this before the awards take place, but here are my current predictions for some of the biggies. All noms for these categories are listed, the ones in bold are my pics:
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond”
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson”
Peter O’Toole in “Venus”
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness”
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children”
Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Diamond”
Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls”
Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed”
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in “Volver”
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal”
Helen Mirren in “The Queen”
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada”
Kate Winslet in “Little Children”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in “Babel”
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal”
Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls”
Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel”
Achievement in directing
“Babel” Alejandro González Iñárritu
“The Departed” Martin Scorsese
“Letters from Iwo Jima” Clint Eastwood
“The Queen” Stephen Frears
“United 93” Paul Greengrass
Best motion picture of the year
“Babel”
“The Departed”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“The Queen”
I'd love to hear some of your predictions for the winners. There are quite a few movies I wanted to see in the theater that I never got around to seeing, and I will try and remedy this before the awards take place, but here are my current predictions for some of the biggies. All noms for these categories are listed, the ones in bold are my pics:
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond”
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson”
Peter O’Toole in “Venus”
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness”
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children”
Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Diamond”
Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls”
Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed”
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz in “Volver”
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal”
Helen Mirren in “The Queen”
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada”
Kate Winslet in “Little Children”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in “Babel”
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal”
Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls”
Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel”
Achievement in directing
“Babel” Alejandro González Iñárritu
“The Departed” Martin Scorsese
“Letters from Iwo Jima” Clint Eastwood
“The Queen” Stephen Frears
“United 93” Paul Greengrass
Best motion picture of the year
“Babel”
“The Departed”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“The Queen”
Tom Brady. So Hot Right Now.
If any man ever wondered why women Really watch football, let me let you in on a little secret: it's all about the men in uniform! I go gaga for the guys in tight, shiny pants, and the strong, athletic bodies, and it's nice to see men who know what their job is, and they aggressively get it done on the field. Yes, it's a primeval way of looking at the game, but guys, don't fool yourselves into thinking that you enjoy the sport for any more noble a reason- the competition, the physical battle of wit and strength, and the added bonus, the scantily-clad cheerleaders on the sidelines (read: dancers who shake their assets in short, spandex half-outfits).
I spent my Sunday evening with the guys- Miller, Brad, and Jason, watching the Colts-Patriots game. They got a taste into the female psyche as I drooled over Tom Brady, and they enlightened me with their theory of every man feeling a strong kinship to a specific animal. (Miller is a wolf, Brad is a polar bear)
Poor Tom looks so dejected here after losing to the Colts... perhaps I should make a special trip up to New England to console him?
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Tied to our jobs
So I know most of us don't exactly LOVE our jobs... and probably many times we feel like we are chained to our desks for 40 hours a week. But what if you were literally chained to your desk? As in, physically restrained so that you were not able to leave your desk? This is no hypothetical question. The story you are about to read is both sad and true. The names have not been changed because the author enjoys making fun of herself and the antics of her day to day life in hopes that by reading her anecdotes the reader would get a smile on his or her face.
It was a normal Wednesday morning. I woke up late. I showered and sprayed some scrunchy stuff in my hair to avoid having to blow dry it. I arrived to work frazzled and started to go through voice mails and emails. Eventually I started to make some phone calls and noticed that it was rather chilly in my office on this particular morning, so as the phone rang and rang and rang I reached under my desk to turn on my space heater like I had done so many times before.
It was a simple maneuver I had mastered, the squat and reach, my headset on, ready to say "hello" in a flash should the person on the other end of the line answer, and in one deft move turning on the bringer of warmth to oscillate and make my cube nice and cozy. But this morning was not like every other morning. On this morning the scrunchiness of my hair made it highly susceptible to snags. Snags on metal thingies that I had no idea were underneath my desk. Snags that would prevent me from being able to return to a normal sitting position. Snags that would impair my ability to even reach the phone base to hang up. So there I was, my head bowed and parallel to the desk, headset on, phone ringing, the answering machine finally picking up, and I was unable to free myself from whatever I had tangled my hair on. This was quite the predicament.
I started to panic when I realized I couldn't reach buttons on the phone to hang up, and panicked further when I couldn't free myself from the uncomfortable position. I don't know all the details of what happened next- everything is just a blur, but I know I asked timidly for help from Jody, the girl who sits next to me. Surely as a fellow female she would understand the trials and tribulations of hair entanglement and be able to free me safely. But after I called her name with no response I realized in horror that she was on the phone with a customer and unable to hear my pathetic pleas. I turned my head as much as I could to try and get the attention of Todd who sits behind me, but I was unable to contort my body so much without yanking out handfuls of hair.
Suddenly, my friend John came valiantly to my rescue, noticing that I was in pain and hearing my whiney statement of "I'm stuck" to anyone who was listening. I was literally chained to my desk! John quickly pulled the headset from my head and discovered the source of my snag- a metal thingie on the bottom of my desk. His capable hands worked quickly to free my hair without resulting to cutting it out with scissors and I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat upright once again. I thanked him profusely as he pointed out to me the source of my angst so that I could avoid it in the future.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Because now I was free to sit at my desk once again, safely removed from harm's way, but now I was also expected to get back to work.
It was a normal Wednesday morning. I woke up late. I showered and sprayed some scrunchy stuff in my hair to avoid having to blow dry it. I arrived to work frazzled and started to go through voice mails and emails. Eventually I started to make some phone calls and noticed that it was rather chilly in my office on this particular morning, so as the phone rang and rang and rang I reached under my desk to turn on my space heater like I had done so many times before.
It was a simple maneuver I had mastered, the squat and reach, my headset on, ready to say "hello" in a flash should the person on the other end of the line answer, and in one deft move turning on the bringer of warmth to oscillate and make my cube nice and cozy. But this morning was not like every other morning. On this morning the scrunchiness of my hair made it highly susceptible to snags. Snags on metal thingies that I had no idea were underneath my desk. Snags that would prevent me from being able to return to a normal sitting position. Snags that would impair my ability to even reach the phone base to hang up. So there I was, my head bowed and parallel to the desk, headset on, phone ringing, the answering machine finally picking up, and I was unable to free myself from whatever I had tangled my hair on. This was quite the predicament.
I started to panic when I realized I couldn't reach buttons on the phone to hang up, and panicked further when I couldn't free myself from the uncomfortable position. I don't know all the details of what happened next- everything is just a blur, but I know I asked timidly for help from Jody, the girl who sits next to me. Surely as a fellow female she would understand the trials and tribulations of hair entanglement and be able to free me safely. But after I called her name with no response I realized in horror that she was on the phone with a customer and unable to hear my pathetic pleas. I turned my head as much as I could to try and get the attention of Todd who sits behind me, but I was unable to contort my body so much without yanking out handfuls of hair.
Suddenly, my friend John came valiantly to my rescue, noticing that I was in pain and hearing my whiney statement of "I'm stuck" to anyone who was listening. I was literally chained to my desk! John quickly pulled the headset from my head and discovered the source of my snag- a metal thingie on the bottom of my desk. His capable hands worked quickly to free my hair without resulting to cutting it out with scissors and I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat upright once again. I thanked him profusely as he pointed out to me the source of my angst so that I could avoid it in the future.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Because now I was free to sit at my desk once again, safely removed from harm's way, but now I was also expected to get back to work.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Punked
Back in the day when Heather and I spent our summers working at Lifeway together, one of our favorite pastimes was calling coworkers at the store while we were off or on break, and ask for items that didn’t exist. The one we used for each other was to call and ask for The Living Bible, a translation that was no longer in print. Sometimes we would call and ask other unsuspecting employees for the book, “How to beat your child into submission” by Dr. James Dobson. This was an especially fun trick to play when the sales associate actually went to look for the book!
Once I got to Brentwood Benson, the joke was to call a new sales rep and place a mock order for 300 or so hymnals, in which case the rep would get really excited that they had made such a big order, and then the rep on the other end of the phone would laugh and tell them they were only kidding, and that the order wasn’t for real. If the seasoned rep was particularly tricky, they wouldn't tell the newbie until well after the conversation had ended, and the rep had plenty of time to share with everyone else on the sales floor what had taken place before they went and broke the news to the new employee.
Today however, the joke was on me. I had just gotten back from a very productive lunch break in which I had run several errands and picked up a sandwich to bring back to work. I had just cleared my email inbox, and was going through my voicemails when I got a particularly annoying/curious voicemail. A 615 area code phone call, however the woman said she was calling from Connecticut... interesting because I have Just taken over CT and hardly anyone from that state knows to call my extension... I continue to listen. She tells me her name, Katherine McDoogal, and proceeds to say she is looking for the sheet music to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," and that she is doing this as a solo and her children's choir is backing her up. (You would think I would have caught on that this wasn't for real, but you'd be surprised what people will ask for.) So below is the actual verbatim message I typed out while I listened to this strange request: (phone numbers scrambled to protect the not-so-innocent)
615-648-2067 katherine mcdoogal in CT place order twinkle little star 615-265-6196 ext 120
As this woman droned on in her message I found it odd that she was in CT, had a nasally, northern accent, but had a local phone number... I know, Amanda, how dumb can you be? But it had been a crazy day, the phone ringing nonstop, so I proceeded to call Miss McDoogal back, only to be greeted with the direct line to one Miss Mary Anna Brown. I was so flustered that I had fallen hook, line, and sinker, that I could barely put two and two together at what had just transpired. Mary Anna was obviously elated that her little trick had worked.
And I had been beaten at my own game!
Once I got to Brentwood Benson, the joke was to call a new sales rep and place a mock order for 300 or so hymnals, in which case the rep would get really excited that they had made such a big order, and then the rep on the other end of the phone would laugh and tell them they were only kidding, and that the order wasn’t for real. If the seasoned rep was particularly tricky, they wouldn't tell the newbie until well after the conversation had ended, and the rep had plenty of time to share with everyone else on the sales floor what had taken place before they went and broke the news to the new employee.
Today however, the joke was on me. I had just gotten back from a very productive lunch break in which I had run several errands and picked up a sandwich to bring back to work. I had just cleared my email inbox, and was going through my voicemails when I got a particularly annoying/curious voicemail. A 615 area code phone call, however the woman said she was calling from Connecticut... interesting because I have Just taken over CT and hardly anyone from that state knows to call my extension... I continue to listen. She tells me her name, Katherine McDoogal, and proceeds to say she is looking for the sheet music to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," and that she is doing this as a solo and her children's choir is backing her up. (You would think I would have caught on that this wasn't for real, but you'd be surprised what people will ask for.) So below is the actual verbatim message I typed out while I listened to this strange request: (phone numbers scrambled to protect the not-so-innocent)
615-648-2067 katherine mcdoogal in CT place order twinkle little star 615-265-6196 ext 120
As this woman droned on in her message I found it odd that she was in CT, had a nasally, northern accent, but had a local phone number... I know, Amanda, how dumb can you be? But it had been a crazy day, the phone ringing nonstop, so I proceeded to call Miss McDoogal back, only to be greeted with the direct line to one Miss Mary Anna Brown. I was so flustered that I had fallen hook, line, and sinker, that I could barely put two and two together at what had just transpired. Mary Anna was obviously elated that her little trick had worked.
And I had been beaten at my own game!
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Lunching with Loved Ones
Tis been the week of lunch dates- that glorious hour in the middle of my work day, where I am able to escape for exactly 60 minutes, lest a few precious minutes of my vacation time be snatched up in order to compensate for my tardiness, and catch up on life with a dear friend. Monday was January 1st, and we were still off on holiday, so back to work on the 2nd it was. That evening was spent where I won a date with Tadd Himelrick. We dined at Chili's and then watched the first 5 episodes of season one of Arrested Development. This is a show that several good friends of mine have sworn up and down that I would love, so I finally succumbed to the pressure and watched it. It did take a few episodes to get me interested, but I am hereby publicly admitting that my smart friends were right, I love the show, and will be booking some time with the Taddster as soon as our schedules permit to finish the first season on DVD.
Wednesday, January 3rd was lunch with Momma B and Laura Lee at Logan's. Thursday was TGI Friday's with Thomas (no more Oreo maddness- what's that all about?!). Friday was McCallister's with Beth, and finally, today yielded a trip up and back to Louisville to have a long lunch with Colleen and Holt. It was worth the drive since I hadn't seen either of them since July.
I love dining with friends, but for the sake of my pocketbook, I must insist upon several Lean Cuisines, and lunches in the 2nd floor cafe this week. And let me just tell you how excited I am about that!
Wednesday, January 3rd was lunch with Momma B and Laura Lee at Logan's. Thursday was TGI Friday's with Thomas (no more Oreo maddness- what's that all about?!). Friday was McCallister's with Beth, and finally, today yielded a trip up and back to Louisville to have a long lunch with Colleen and Holt. It was worth the drive since I hadn't seen either of them since July.
I love dining with friends, but for the sake of my pocketbook, I must insist upon several Lean Cuisines, and lunches in the 2nd floor cafe this week. And let me just tell you how excited I am about that!
Drum Roll Please...
And here we are, well into the new year, and it’s my first blog of 2007. I know. I continue to disappoint and abandon You the reader. Guess what my new year’s resolution is? To Blog More! Ha ha that would be a good one, wouldn’t it? I am only kidding of course. In lieu of last year’s much talked about list, I have made a new resolution this year, and that is not to have any resolutions! (Which, I suppose IS a resolution in itself, but whatever) That way I don’t have to feel guilty about breaking them! I did write in my journal (with pen and paper… how positively prosaic) several “goals” for the new year. Most of them are going well thus far, but one at the top of the list- “do not hit the snooze button” I broke the morning of January 2nd- the morning I started back to work after having a week off! I literally rolled over and chanted the mantra to myself.. “new year’s goal- do not hit snooze” and then I rebelliously hit the large button and rolled back over for 10 more minutes of blissful zz’s.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
The 12 Days of a Cannelton Christmas
The Bradley clan did something different for Christmas this year. After attending the 9am Christmas Eve service, we piled into 2 cars with our 3 dogs and all our presents and headed up to Cannelton for a fun old-fashioned family Christmas (minus Chevy Chase). Things are always chaotic when all the families get together (chaotic in a good way) but I thought the best way to break it down would be in a creative (& accurate for the most part) list to the tune of the Twelve Days of Christmas. So without further ado...
On the Twelfth day of a Cannelton Christmas my family gave to me
12. glasses of punch dad drank on Christmas Eve
11. times Braedon & Nicole listened to the Wiggles songs on repeat while singing and dancing
10. number of adults that fit around the Big Table on the back porch for dinner
9. Grandkids at the house
8. the combined number of stores to which Mom & Dad got gifts card this year
7. pieces of our traditional homemade coffee cake the four Bradleys collectively ate on Christmas morning
6. the number of cameras we had snapping pictures of the various family groups around Papa & the Christmas tree
5. different dogs at the house (Stockwell, Oscar, Ginger, Oreo, & Julius)
4. siblings present (Mom, Lisa, Kristina, and Michael)
3. the number of times I walked around the entire Tell City, IN Walmart to buy some last
minute forgotten things on Christmas Eve for my mother
2. Great-Grandkids at the house (Natalee & Nicole)
1. Great-Grandfather/Grandfather/dad to bring us all together in one Mr. Harry Lee Huber
I sincerely hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas!!
On the Twelfth day of a Cannelton Christmas my family gave to me
12. glasses of punch dad drank on Christmas Eve
11. times Braedon & Nicole listened to the Wiggles songs on repeat while singing and dancing
10. number of adults that fit around the Big Table on the back porch for dinner
9. Grandkids at the house
8. the combined number of stores to which Mom & Dad got gifts card this year
7. pieces of our traditional homemade coffee cake the four Bradleys collectively ate on Christmas morning
6. the number of cameras we had snapping pictures of the various family groups around Papa & the Christmas tree
5. different dogs at the house (Stockwell, Oscar, Ginger, Oreo, & Julius)
4. siblings present (Mom, Lisa, Kristina, and Michael)
3. the number of times I walked around the entire Tell City, IN Walmart to buy some last
minute forgotten things on Christmas Eve for my mother
2. Great-Grandkids at the house (Natalee & Nicole)
1. Great-Grandfather/Grandfather/dad to bring us all together in one Mr. Harry Lee Huber
I sincerely hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas!!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Getting a Handel on things
Thanks to MA, we have pics from Tuesday night's dress rehearsal. I thought I'd share a few of these with you guys since I'm on a blogging roll today:
Here's me smiling for the camera (You can always count on MA to take lots of good pictures!)
A View of the Nashville Symphony Chorus, and Symphony in the new Schermerhorn Symphony Hall
A lady on the front row who Mom & MA (what a dangerous combo, sitting those 2 together) had a good laugh over, watching her mouth open to the size of a softball!
We perform tonight and tomorrow night to sold-out audiences. I have been listening to Messiah here at work the past few days and am beyond excited to finally be performing this major work! Hallelujah!
Here's me smiling for the camera (You can always count on MA to take lots of good pictures!)
And here is yours truly, finally appearing as though she has a "Handel" on her music!
A View of the Nashville Symphony Chorus, and Symphony in the new Schermerhorn Symphony Hall
A lady on the front row who Mom & MA (what a dangerous combo, sitting those 2 together) had a good laugh over, watching her mouth open to the size of a softball!
The road to the Gym is paved with good intentions
I got up this morning with the intent to go to my Thursday morning spin class at the Y, keeping in line with my 3-for-3 workouts this week so far. With "dad gum it's Christmas" still going full swing at work, I've got to stay in the gym in order to allow myself to eat all the tasty treats baked lovingly by my coworkers! Well, the alarm went off, I sang along to Beyonce on my clock radio while I got dressed, and like a pack mule, grabbed everything I would need for the rest of the day. Or so I thought. On my way out the door, I hung my clothes on the back of one of our dining room chairs and put on my coat. Then I picked up my pink gym bag, and out the door I went. Still dark, I pulled up to the Y and began to gather my things to head inside.
purse: check.
gym back: check.
Work clothes on hanger: ... I scan the back seat...
Work clothes on hanger... I scan the front seat... and begin to get frustrated...
You can see where this is going. It's going to me driving all the way back to the apartment (still in the dark, and mourning the loss of sleep), and getting ready sans workout. You can imagine my frustration when I came in and hung my coat on the same chair that my work clothes were mistakingly hung.
So what did I do to make up for the missed spinning class this morning? I got ready early, made myself some coffee, and enjoyed it in my pink Christmas travel mug along with a 7 layer cookie on my way to work!
purse: check.
gym back: check.
Work clothes on hanger: ... I scan the back seat...
Work clothes on hanger... I scan the front seat... and begin to get frustrated...
You can see where this is going. It's going to me driving all the way back to the apartment (still in the dark, and mourning the loss of sleep), and getting ready sans workout. You can imagine my frustration when I came in and hung my coat on the same chair that my work clothes were mistakingly hung.
So what did I do to make up for the missed spinning class this morning? I got ready early, made myself some coffee, and enjoyed it in my pink Christmas travel mug along with a 7 layer cookie on my way to work!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Heroin, romantic comedies- same thing
Amidst this crazier-than-ever December, we three roommates (of Nashville are) took some time out of our busy schedules to meet up for a movie on Monday night. We planned on seeing The Holiday- hailed by some as the Best Romantic Comedy EVER, so of course we had to see it!
I don't know if I would say it is the best ever (my fav is still You've Got Mail, and how can we neglect When Harry Met Sally? In fact, throw in Sleepless in Seattle and, are we sensing the Meg Ryan trend here, you've got yourself some classic romantic comedies. Seriously Meg, embrace your niche instead of (literally) fighting your way into a horrible movie like In The Cut. Go back to what you know. Heck, even Kate & Leopold wasn't that bad of a movie because of you.
So the Holiday was everything we expected. We laughed. We cried (thanks FR for the much needed tissues- "I'm a bit of a weeper!") It was better than Cats. But maybe not so much better as the classic Romantic Comedies I listed above. But it was very good- perhaps even "totally brill" which is maybe my new favorite British phrase. The movie inspired me to swap flats with some fabulous young British singleton over Christmas and meet a Jude Law look-alike to fall madly in love with in one week's time. (Hey, it could happen!)
I don't know if I would say it is the best ever (my fav is still You've Got Mail, and how can we neglect When Harry Met Sally? In fact, throw in Sleepless in Seattle and, are we sensing the Meg Ryan trend here, you've got yourself some classic romantic comedies. Seriously Meg, embrace your niche instead of (literally) fighting your way into a horrible movie like In The Cut. Go back to what you know. Heck, even Kate & Leopold wasn't that bad of a movie because of you.
So the Holiday was everything we expected. We laughed. We cried (thanks FR for the much needed tissues- "I'm a bit of a weeper!") It was better than Cats. But maybe not so much better as the classic Romantic Comedies I listed above. But it was very good- perhaps even "totally brill" which is maybe my new favorite British phrase. The movie inspired me to swap flats with some fabulous young British singleton over Christmas and meet a Jude Law look-alike to fall madly in love with in one week's time. (Hey, it could happen!)It also inspired us to tap our arms several times during the course of the film implying that we needed another "heroin fix. See Em's infamous post Just Like Heroin for the full story, but basically her point is that women watch romantic comedies that make our emotions soar and then the movie ends and we come crashing back down to reality. So we watch more movies to bring us up again, we crash, and the addiction continues. Similar to the highs and lows of being on heroin. Or so I've heard.
All that to say, I give the Holiday 2 thumbs up. It's a fun chick flick to go see over Christmas with your gal-pals or girlfriend (guys).
Friday, December 15, 2006
To wear or not to wear?
Lately my friends and I have had numerous discussions on the Taboo act of wearing that infamous piece of festive clothing- the Christmas Sweater. It's perfectly acceptable, and particularly adorable to dress children in red velvet dresses with fur trim, and fine to dress them in red from top to bottom with a matching bow during the Christmas season. Additionally, we sort of laugh and accept the fact that many of our mothers are of the mature age now where they are donning Christmas sweaters (daily if it's my Mother, with red pants to match!). And while we agree that our moms are cute in their snowmen vests, and reindeer mock turtlenecks, we swear to each other that we will Never be caught dead in something so hideous.
But what is so bad about the Christmas sweater? What makes it a universally-unaccepted article of clothing once you hit the teens and is locked in that category until you hit 50 where it becomes acceptable once again? I mean personally, I don't see what is so tacky about a bulky sweater covered with ginormous poinsettias. Office Max has even gone to great lengths to make fun of the often-laughed-at Christmas sweater (I think maybe the only thing poked fun at more during the holidays would be the Fruitcake) that they have a website where you can create a virtual tacky Christmas sweater and email your creation to a friend.
While I agree that most holiday apparel is indeed unflattering for the trendy dresser, I myself am wearing a fashionable Christmas shirt that I got from the Gap last year. It's fitted and green and has a tiny reindeer made of rhinestones on it. Christmas socks are also festive and fun, mainly because you can wear them proudly without causing too much of a distraction to the rest of your ensemble, because how often are one's socks really displayed? And then there was that incident in college with the Christmas bra.... disaster.... but all I can say is that there are ways to wear your holiday spirit proudly, even if it's not as obvious as a snowman covering the entire length of your torso.
Post Script: Momma B took this picture with the intent of including it on her comment after this post, but technical difficulties prevented her from doing so. I am displaying here now for you all to admire. :o)
But what is so bad about the Christmas sweater? What makes it a universally-unaccepted article of clothing once you hit the teens and is locked in that category until you hit 50 where it becomes acceptable once again? I mean personally, I don't see what is so tacky about a bulky sweater covered with ginormous poinsettias. Office Max has even gone to great lengths to make fun of the often-laughed-at Christmas sweater (I think maybe the only thing poked fun at more during the holidays would be the Fruitcake) that they have a website where you can create a virtual tacky Christmas sweater and email your creation to a friend.
While I agree that most holiday apparel is indeed unflattering for the trendy dresser, I myself am wearing a fashionable Christmas shirt that I got from the Gap last year. It's fitted and green and has a tiny reindeer made of rhinestones on it. Christmas socks are also festive and fun, mainly because you can wear them proudly without causing too much of a distraction to the rest of your ensemble, because how often are one's socks really displayed? And then there was that incident in college with the Christmas bra.... disaster.... but all I can say is that there are ways to wear your holiday spirit proudly, even if it's not as obvious as a snowman covering the entire length of your torso.
Post Script: Momma B took this picture with the intent of including it on her comment after this post, but technical difficulties prevented her from doing so. I am displaying here now for you all to admire. :o)
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Roadtrippin It part 1
Backing up one more weekend, in the wee hours of the morning (the alarm went off at 4:30 am) following the Dixie Chicks show, Steph and I piled into her gracefully aging Saturn and headed up to Lexington. We rolled into LexVegas at 10:04 for the 10 am wedding shower I was trying to make. Steph and I parted ways, and I entered into wedding shower world for the next half-a-day. Ariana's maid & matron of honor threw her a Holiday-themed shower (hence some of the less than ideal gifts, ie. not one but Two dancing Santas, and a to-die-for cookie plate with a cat on it. And by to die for, I mean, I nearly died watching Ari gush over gifts which she obviously had no use for!). It was a blast though getting to know some of her family and close friends better (I think after 7 years I just might have Beth & Katie, the twins, straight!) After a highly competitive clothes-pin game where you couldn't cross your legs, I lost (sorely, I might add) to Ari's aunt Carol. Carol and I ended up being friends though, so there were no hard feelings.
What else went on this weekend you might wonder? Or you might not. But here it is:
*Ari's secret hot cousin
*Watching (& laughing at) drunk girls playing darts
*Ang & Ari not having heat in the guest bedroom the first night
*Puccini's Smiling Teeth- the quaint little Italian restaurant in Chevy Chase for Sat night dinner
*Massive peanut butter desert (compliments of the aforementioned secret hot cousin)
*Drunk christmas caroling (ok, we didn't do this, but Liz wanted to)
*The pink bathroom at Marika's
*Being locked out of the house at 3am.
*Rekindling friendships with old (intoxicated) college friends.
*Eyeball trees.
*I really couldn't find my toothbrush this time!
Is there ever a dull weekend in Lexington? All I will say is that there was no Cider consumed on this trip, and that all parties involved are another year older, wiser, and more mature than last year's infamous tales of woe. This was all around a fun girls weekend, and the wedding countdown (6 months to go!) begins. Now if only we had some Bridesmaids dresses...
What else went on this weekend you might wonder? Or you might not. But here it is:
*Ari's secret hot cousin*Watching (& laughing at) drunk girls playing darts
*Ang & Ari not having heat in the guest bedroom the first night
*Puccini's Smiling Teeth- the quaint little Italian restaurant in Chevy Chase for Sat night dinner
*Massive peanut butter desert (compliments of the aforementioned secret hot cousin)
*Drunk christmas caroling (ok, we didn't do this, but Liz wanted to)
*The pink bathroom at Marika's*Being locked out of the house at 3am.
*Rekindling friendships with old (intoxicated) college friends.
*Eyeball trees.
*I really couldn't find my toothbrush this time!
Is there ever a dull weekend in Lexington? All I will say is that there was no Cider consumed on this trip, and that all parties involved are another year older, wiser, and more mature than last year's infamous tales of woe. This was all around a fun girls weekend, and the wedding countdown (6 months to go!) begins. Now if only we had some Bridesmaids dresses...
Roadtrippin It part 2
This past Sunday I was reminded again about how precious my years of Singledom really are. Me, Bryce, Bethany, and Jessica met up at the Cool Springs Starbucks on Sunday morning and took a road trip down to Montgomery, AL to hear our fellow coworker Erin, perform. She was the featured solist in their holiday pops concert, and so it was a really big deal! It was great to be able to take off for a day and not have anything to hold us back from the 8 hour round trip! The four of us sang along to Michael Buble', NSYNC (Bryce's cds!) and Jess and I had a dance party in the back seat to my Florida 2005 mix (what a great cd mix Em!), prior to singing every Christmas carol we could think of, and switching off singing lead and harmony. We took turns playing the peg game on the table at Cracker Barrel and ate our weight in food (I enjoyed my potatoes and green beans, even though there's apparently a study which says that those foods are now considered bad for you). Bryce tried to convince us he could run 60 miles per hour, and then proceeded to "demonstrate" in the parking lot of the Montgomery Starbucks.
Erin had no idea we were coming, and her face was priceless when she spotted us after the show. That for me, made the entire trip worth it to me! Her family welcomed us into their home for a visit before we had to get back on the road, and they were all so funny and amiable that it was very hard to leave! After the concert Erin's grandmamma hit on Bryce so we were in stitches about that, and Bethany called Erin's brother-in-law Scott when his name was Chris, but he thought it was hilarious, along with the rest of us. MA- Erin's fam has a big Blue Russian cat that looks almost exactly like Jack, but he hissed at me, so I don't think we share the same special relationship that Jack and I do!
I love that I work in a place where I can spend a day laughing with coworkers, and where we support each other in parts of our lives that have nothing to do with the 8-5 day. Some days the work we do can get monotonous, but it's the people I work with, and the people who benefit from the work that I do that keeps me here.
Erin had no idea we were coming, and her face was priceless when she spotted us after the show. That for me, made the entire trip worth it to me! Her family welcomed us into their home for a visit before we had to get back on the road, and they were all so funny and amiable that it was very hard to leave! After the concert Erin's grandmamma hit on Bryce so we were in stitches about that, and Bethany called Erin's brother-in-law Scott when his name was Chris, but he thought it was hilarious, along with the rest of us. MA- Erin's fam has a big Blue Russian cat that looks almost exactly like Jack, but he hissed at me, so I don't think we share the same special relationship that Jack and I do!I love that I work in a place where I can spend a day laughing with coworkers, and where we support each other in parts of our lives that have nothing to do with the 8-5 day. Some days the work we do can get monotonous, but it's the people I work with, and the people who benefit from the work that I do that keeps me here.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Dad Gum It's St. Nick's Day!
Another year almost over, another St. Nicholas Day, and yes, today also marks the beginning December-long celebration at work called Dad Gum It's Christmas!!
I'm heading home after work tonight to have dinner with the family and open our stockings to see what St. Nick brought us. For a detailed explanation, see December 2004's post on the holiday!
I have been listening to Christmas music at work, and I have my cube decorated with lights, a tree, a pink fiber-optic angel, my Kentucky Blue Santa hat, and a stocking hung by the cubicle with care, in hopes that coworkers will bring me presents and treats! (You think that's a bit over-board?) So far I've received several offers for lumps of coal, and 40 cents in my stocking!
I'm heading home after work tonight to have dinner with the family and open our stockings to see what St. Nick brought us. For a detailed explanation, see December 2004's post on the holiday!
I have been listening to Christmas music at work, and I have my cube decorated with lights, a tree, a pink fiber-optic angel, my Kentucky Blue Santa hat, and a stocking hung by the cubicle with care, in hopes that coworkers will bring me presents and treats! (You think that's a bit over-board?) So far I've received several offers for lumps of coal, and 40 cents in my stocking!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Chickens from the South
As we near the end of 2006 it is time to squeeze in one (maybe last) concert review for the year. Friday night several thousand fans put politics aside and showed up to the GEC to hear a trio of women play and sing their hearts out. (Because the only reason anyone listened to what lead singer Natalie Maines had to say a few years back about the president was because of the innovative music that shot the Dixie Chicks to the top of the charts, making them a household name.) And like it or not, the girls are still at the top of their game despite many radio markets refusing to play their records, and many conservative fans boycotting their concerts. Before introducing one of their new songs that came from the Shut Up & Sing movie soundtrack, Natalie quipped, "here's a new one that you haven't heard yet- well of course you haven't heard it on the radio!"
I am admit I am guilty for falling prey to the media influence, and the DC became out of sight out of mind for me the past few years. Friday night rekindled my devotion to the DC, and brought back many happy memories from college as former roommate Stephanie and I sang our hearts out from the audience (The hand motions to Travellin Soldier made up while tailgating for a UK football game would be one of the better memories)! It is refreshing to hear clean, pure harmonies (hey, what a novel idea- singers who can sing!) and even more impressive, to see artists who can actually play several different instruments.
The Tennessean gave them a glowing review, and so do I.
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