Casual Fridays

My company is "business casual". Just wear some slacks and nice top and you're fine. One great perk is that they allow us to wear jeans on Fridays. Everyone loves this. In fact, the company totally bribes us, if we donate money to a fundraiser they're supporting at a specific time, you can wear jeans. They even go above and beyond and make silly reasons to wear jeans, just because everyone loves it so much. Baseball season started? Wear your jeans! It's bring your kid to work day, wear your jeans! It's the CEO's birthday?? wear your jeans!

Now, jump to today. This new guy in IT walked in this morning wearing pinstripe pants, a white button down long sleeved shirt, a suit coat and a tie. I immediately thought how awful for no one to tell him that we can dress down on Fridays! However, he was a tad over dressed, so maybe he had his own reasons for looking so sharp.

He walks back into the lobby and heads outside about 10 minutes later. Mike, a friendly guy in IT that I chat with regularly, came out a couple minutes after him. He asks if Nick just walked outside, and when I told him yes, he started to laugh.

"Did you see what he was wearing today?!??"
"Actually, yeah... he's all fancy pants today, you guys forget to tell him it's jeans day?"
"Sort of...


.....We told him it was FORMAL FRIDAYS, and that everyone dresses up head to toe since we're so laid back regularly. He was kind of mad, so he was going to see if he had clothes he could change into in his car"


LOL a what what?
1. That's hilarious.
2. Why wouldn't he check with someone else, I've never heard of a company having their employees dress up, esp. on a Friday and
3. Points for the IT department and
3. AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHA that's absolutely the funniest thing ever!

Nick walked back in with his sleeves rolled up, and without his tie or jacket. Poor kid said all he had in his car was lacrosse shorts and didn't think that would be appropriate.

ahahhahaha, maybe it's because I'm mean that I find this hilarious and SO genius! Why have we not thought to do that before!?

Anyone else out there mess with new hires or are Mike and I (and the rest of the IT department) just horrible people?

What would I do without Bill?

Bill and I met a couple weeks after my first day. It was at this new hire orientation thing my company does and I remember thinking to myself, who is this huge red headed beaded guy?? (Haha, I bet you've all wondered what he looks like!) In fact if I knew Bill as a child, I bet you he was THIS kid : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azhgVB5uXlo

I will have known Bill for 5 years this September. That's... kind of a like a serious friendship! haha! I mean, we don't really hang out outside of work, we've grabbed some sushi after work in a non date way, gone to happy hour together, and will even text each other when one person is on vaca to tell them how much they suck... but mostly our friendship is all about being stuck in the same building for the same 8 hour shift.

We complain together, annoy each other and both equally enjoy the friendship exactly how it is. Today, like every morning, Bill and I ate our breakfast together at my desk. As I was eating some the blueberries he brought, he joked and asked "what do you bring to the table? here I am, allowing you to eat my fruit, I cover your shifts, grab you coffee in the morning and what do I get out of it?" Well, Bill, you get nothing. I explained to him that I bring nothing to table. He laughed, he agreed and went on his way.

When lunch came and he was covering my break, he complained that he wouldn't be able to do my job without a glass of water. So being the NICE person that I am, I got it for him. When I came back a short 30 minutes later, he was complaining about how he needed more and wah wah wah. When he realized I wasn't getting it for him, he called me a jerk and left.

Oh what-ev-errrr.

It was then I realized my dear friend had left his company interweb page open. Mwahahhahaha, what's this? I have access to change his information?? Now I could be a nice person and sign him out, orrrrrrr I could be awesome and change the picture in his profile.

Guess which one I did?

>:-) (that's my evil face)

Now when you search for Bill in our company's interweb, you see this lovely image below. I can't wait to see how long it takes him to realize I did this. Although, I'm slightly terrified of what he will do once he finds out. Stay tuned... this could be a fun one ;)

The Coupon Club

Extreme couponers. I love them, I wish I was one. I see those shows on TLC and just wonder what crazy switch went off in their heads that made them think not only can they save money on 70 bottles of ketchup, but that they NEED 70 bottles of ketchup.

What does any of this do with being a receptionist and working in a corporate office? Well, let me tell you. As I walk around in the morning hanging up the meeting signs for all conference rooms, I noticed that in one room (which happens to be the one in the lobby) there was a meeting titled "Coupon Club". The description is listed as:
"Bring your coupons, your deals of the week, your purchase strategy and your lunch. Please let me know if you really attend or not. If you know anyone else that does couponing and is extreme like us, please feel free to invite them"

This is when my crazy switch in my head went off and made a mental note of the time so I could see just who exactly was in this club. Oh how exciting that this group is meeting in the only conference room I can see from my desk! I began to think of what to expect. Clearly the people are TLC are a tad crazy, but seriously, getting $900 of groceries for free is pretty sweet.

12 o'clock finally arrived and I anxiously awaited to see who was so extreme. Not surprisingly the majority of them where females, worked in the IT department and just as crazy as those on the show. These people lugged in binders, folders stuffed with ads, and notebooks ready to discuss their strategies.

After watching them pile in, I stood up to get a better look at the madness. They decided to eat their lunches first, one even bragging about how his was free from Target last week. I think it was a lean cuisine. After lunches were devoured (and oh, they were hungry...), binders flew open and the coupons were out! I think my phone must have annoyed them, as they ended up shutting the door to the conference room so I couldn't hear them anymore, but I could certainly see what was going on. They were trading coupons! Giving tips! Taking about what stores had the best deal. I stood there in awe. My sister and I have dabbled in couponing, and in no way are we even close to the people on the show, we absolutely SUCK in comparison to the people in this club!

Their meeting ended and they must have noticed me just staring at them since they decided to come talk to me. Turns out most of them just started this and were already bragging about their money saving techniques.

I even got invited to next week's meeting (which I turned down - I don't like people, remember ;) ). As I started to think of all the funny things I was going to tell Bill about this crazy club, one member came back and threw me a pack of tic-tacs.

"Hey, you like mints? I got these free, and I'll never be able to eat all of them."

Why yes, I *DO* like mints. And I like people giving me presents! Maybe these people aren't so bad... I mean, think of the free things I might end up with?!? ;)

"Coffee machine in finance is down"

This is the email chain between Bill and Jim (the office manager). Remember that fact, Jim is the office manager. He makes more money than both Bill and I.

Bill, being a darling friend, send this email to me so I could get a good laugh. And as I shared with my friends (aka people I don't work with), we can't decide if it's hilarious or so upsetting that Jim is, in fact, this dumb. Enjoy!

From: Bill
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 09:03 AM
To: Jim
Subject: Coffee Machine in Finance is down

Good Morning Jim, The coffee machine in finance is currently not working. Its says on the machine, check water source call 000-000-0000. I’ve looked in the back, the water hose is still contacted to the machine. I’ve un-plugged and plugged back in, nothing seems to fix this machine. Would you like me to call this in? If so, where can I find the number to call?

Thanks Bill

Jim's response: "Yes please"

From: Bill
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 10:04 AM
To: Jim
Subject: RE: Coffee Machine in Finance is down

Good Morning Jim, I don’t have the service number for WB Mason coffee machines, could you please provide this for me or tell me where the number is? Thanks Bill

Jim's response: Do we still need a service call for this?

From: Bill
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 1:35 PM
To: Jim
Subject: RE: Coffee Machine in Finance is down

Yes we do…I do not have the number to call. Id be happy to make the call if you provide me the number. Can you send me the number? Thanks, Bill

Jim never responded, and Bill ended up googling the number, which maybe he should have just done in the first place, but whateverrrrrrrrr, it's the office manager's job to take care of this stuff. Bill was just helping out.

Now you are all smart people, was Bill's email hard to understand? Of course not! Not only was he straight forward, he was beyond polite to this guy!

Now how do I get Jim's job? He literally does nothing all day, completely ignores emails and works about 4-5 horus a day!

MUST BE NICE!!

On a personal note..

It's been a year. I can't believe it.

Sorry everyone, today's blog has nothing to do about work, and all about my personal life. I feel that since it's been a year, talking about this is just no longer allowed. I can't bother my friends anymore about it, because I can only imagine they're sick of hearing about it.

But... he's still on my mind.

I spent the day distracting myself, trying not to think about it. I worked out, then I worked out again. I cleaned my bathroom, my kitchen. Painted my nails. Downloaded photos off my camera - and even thought about posting them online. But being the girl that I am, I just can't get myself to stop thinking.

One year ago today the love of my life walked out on me, and I've had a broken heart ever since. To much to everyone's amazement, including my own, besides a few texts here and there to finalize moving out of our apartment (I moved out 5 days after the break up), we haven't really talked or even seen each other since that day.

I begged. I pleaded. And he left me.

And the only person to blame, still, after all these months is myself. I've become a negative person due to my job and ultimately it's the reason he left me. I made myself determined to get a new job, and even though I'm rarely at the reception desk anymore, my title is still "Receptionist". Besides "advancing my career path" and "building my resume" (as my boss likes to put it), all this job has done for me in the past 5 years is gotten me dumped.

Luckily I have amazing friends that put up with me, and all my negative ways. But God damn, that break up really fucked me up. (Sorry for the language, Mom!) I've convinced myself that I am a negative person, and now I just use it as an excuse for everything. I've always joked about not being a people person, but now I believe it. I keep telling myself that I just need to quit, but I literally wouldn't be able to afford my apartment. And what would I do when I quit? Would I be happier? Would I be able to get a job? Would I end up in another admin position?? The sheer thought of that happening makes me cringe. My college degree will be nothing soon. Do I care? Of course I do, I worked hard for that degree. But do I even know what I would want to do if I was able to pick any job??

I'm broken. I don't know how to fix it.

I've been dating since I was 16. From boyfriend to boyfriend, from long term relationship to long term relationship, I've always had a boyfriend. I can't believe I've been single for a year. I thought taking time for myself would have me focus on making myself a better person. Have I done that? I'm not so sure. I think the only thing I've accomplished in the past year was getting myself my own place, and being a great friend. No matter what I feel towards myself, I know for a fact that I am a good friend and I thrive on that. I have my girls. What more does one need? My sister and her husband are having a baby, my friends are all in relationships, moving in with boyfriends and getting married. I live off their happiness, and I think I'd be lost without their exciting news.

I just don't have the desire to date at all. I joke about it, talking about my future rich husband, but I dunno. I just can't seem to get over him. My ex, as far as I know, has moved on. As he should...I just wish I was able to as well.

Here it is midnight, and I'm awake, driving myself crazy with this. Why do I still think like that? Does he read my blog? I doubt it... Does he think about me? No... Should I just focus on my friend's wedding in September, with all the fun single guys and just get over him? (haha, I can hear you all saying yes!)

I didn't want to bother my awesome friends with my glum day, so lucky for all your blovers, you got stuck with it. I know it's not my usual post, and I feel silly even posting it, but sometimes a girls gotta vent. So let me go get a good cry in, listen to Adele's "someone like you", only to be followed by Sara Evans "Little Big Stronger", and get this out of my system. Ruby will be back with fun blogs, making fun of all the crazies that you all love reading so much :) I even have gained a new follower ;)

So until then... <3

IMs, Fights and Kidneys

An "IM convo" (really, it's just me going off on a tangent) regarding a "fight" Bill and I were in. Enjoy!

Ruby: Bill and I are in a fight!!!
Ruby: he was yelling at me for not restocking the fridge and since we serve drinks for people in meetings, he had to give people warm drinks

Ruby: um....

Ruby: who cares...

EM: lol get over it bill!

Ruby: and he's mad because he was doing the lunches since Kathy was out

Ruby: wah wah wah
EM: what a boob.

Ruby: so then!!!

Ruby: he ordered the regular lunch we do at reception, and ordered someone's lunch wrong. He said buffalo when clearly the sheet said BBQ

EM: ohhh good one

Ruby: and normally it's like, whatever who cares...but it's the THIRD time he's done it!

Ruby: so I called him out on it and he's like "DAMN, you are in a MOOD today!"

Ruby: UM well dont spaz on me for forgetting to stock the fridge when you cant even order food right!

Ruby: He made some comment about wanting to kick me in the kidneys and walked away.

...That might be one of my new favorite sayings! haha! Why punt a taco when you can kick a kidney!? LOL!!

$1,000 Reward

I swear these things only happen to me.

A local florist walked in and dropped off some flowers. After Nora came down to the reception and picked up her flowers, I realized there was a card on the desk. At first I thought it was a missing person flyer, because I saw "REWARD" but nope! I burst out laughing... Ohhh, it's the simple things that make me smile.


Um... anyone know a 50+ woman who is in 1/2 way decent shape that wants to marry this guy?? I could use an extra grand. Hahahahahahaha.

Winna Winna Chicken Dinnah.