Saturday, March 28, 2009

Personal Design Style


I was recently asked my personal interior design style. Since I’m renting right now, the current style of my house is not mine, but my roommate’s. This is clearly a difference of opinion for us. She is very traditional, antiques and “shabby chic”, where I’m one of two extremes – California Craftsman or Beachy.

California Craftsman
Have you ever seen The L Word? Bette and Tina’s house is California Craftsman and I LOVE IT! California Craftsman also called Craftsman Bungalow, has chunky, dark wood molding framing windows, block style railings and furniture, built-in bookcases, and benches, and stone fireplaces, often times off set by striking warm colors either with paint or art. Most California Craftsman homes have large planked, sometimes dark, wood flooring. I can see hurricane glass containers filled with candles on the mantle of the stone fireplace, large scale framed art from local and famous artists, and amazing lighting fixtures cascading warm light thought the space. California Craftsman is an amazing style and fits me like a glove. I love the concept of dark, rich woods, making a home feel warm and inviting, but casual at the same time. To me, it’s all about being causal. I’m one of the most causal people around. I’m attracted to casual. I love to spend the weekends in jeans, tee shirts and flip-flops. I’m causal, but not unkept or cheap – just check out my RL Polo collection. My roommate’s traditional and antique style just doesn’t mesh with causal and relaxed.

Beachy
I grew up one block from the ocean on a barrier island in south Jersey. By no means was my house a “beach house”; it didn’t have that beach house vibe, but I have salt water running though my veins and sand between my toes. The beachy style is full of light, airy colors, cool blues, greens and grays. Bedrooms are full of crisp, clean, white bedding. Great art, full of vibrant colors, of sailboats, lighthouses and sun sets. Wonderful accessories, candles and the feeling of rest and relaxation. A beach house should be easy to clean, easy to keep clean and full of light. It’s the ultimate causal feeling, usually with a great outdoor space that can be used for entertaining friends, family and kids. It’s a great feeling to set foot in a beach house and I want that feeling every time I walk through the door. It’s far different from California Craftsman but I think an amazing mix would a little bit of both.
I guess I do a good job of conveying my personal style to those in my life, because every person who has walked through my front door has said, “wow, this really isn’t your house”.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

The Purchase of Presley

The start of my 25th year sparked many changes in my life; some might call it a “twenty-something crisis”. Thankfully, my birth year coincides with the calendar year so the events of the first few weeks are easy to remember.

Two days after I rang in the New Year, I started a new job. I left a terrible job situation as a Healthcare Recruiter/Staffing Coordinator for what I thought was much greener pastures as an HR Administrator; something more in my field, using what I will be paying off for the next 50 years. I had spent the last 3 weeks of my first job searching the Internet for teacup Maltese puppies. I know what you’re thinking, “they are paying you”. You know what I say to that, “not enough”. I found some amazingly cute puppies, all girls, big black eyes, pocket size; I could go on and on. I had discussed the possibility of purchasing a dog with my mom, who quickly convinced me that I shouldn’t. I agreed that I was years away from that decision.

The third weekend in January, I turned 25. YIKES! I more or less had a mental breakdown. Here was my “logic”. I just turned 25 – twenty-five; that means that half of my twenties were over - only a memory. The other half, well that meant I was almost THIRTY. That freaked me out. I remember standing in my bathroom, looking the mirror, thinking, “you are almost thirty”. I took that thought with me for the rest of the day. Every spare minute of that day, I thought, “you are almost thirty”.

The following weekend, after a week of thinking, “you are almost thirty”, I went to Starbucks for my usually cup o’ Joe and picked up the Baltimore Sun. I really just wanted to check the “for sale” ads for puppies. Of course, I found one very interesting. “Shih Tzu Puppies 4 Sale”. I looked at my roommate, read the ad aloud, she called the phone number, while I grabbed the keys and Gigi. The lady who placed the ad said that she had already spoken to someone who was coming down that same day to get one of the females. “You know what,” she said, “first come, first serve”. Before we knew it, we were heading to the bank to withdraw some cash. Of course, animals are a cash only purchase.

We drove the 1+ distance to the address the lady had given us. We were supposed to call her when we were about 20 minutes away, but due to excitement, we both forgot. When we finally called she told us she actually had two females so we could have out pick. She also said that one of the females was red; I almost feel over with excitement. A female, red Shih Tzu puppy, what had I done to deserve this? That was the exact dog I had pictured in my head.

We followed the directions to the lady’s house; YIKES. We walked in the house that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in thirty years and the Christmas decorations that were still up, looked like they were from the thirties. She showed us to the kitchen, were the puppies were. She had a huge pen like thing set up in the middle of her kitchen; they were all in there. All but one were from the same litter. The “odd girl out” was sitting up against the wall of the pen while the others were running in circles around the pen. She tried to point to the other female, but she was running so fast, we had a hard time figuring out which one she was talking about. I picked up the “odd girl out”, but quickly put her back down; just didn’t feel the connection. I attempted to grab the other girl who was still playing with her brothers, it took me a few tries; she kept slipping through my fingers. Finally, I picked her up, looked at her face with her tongue hanging out and her stinky breath, and said, with 100% confidence, “I’ll take this one”. A few minutes later, we were introducing her to Gigi. About 15 minutes later, my roommate looked at me and said, “what are you going to name her?” “Presley,” I responded with confidence.

The following weekend, we packed up my Jeep with myself, my roommate and our now two dogs and headed back to NJ to help my family move from their house on the island to their new house on the mainland. They were leaving behind over 30 years of memories, so I figured I would come home and help. I didn’t exactly tell my mother that I was bringing home my newest bundle of joy! We met my mom at the new house so she could meet my roommate for the first time. There I was, standing in the empty dining room with baby Presley in my arms when my mom walked in and caught a quick glimpse. “Amanda, what a big responsibility.” She had nothing else to say about Presley, except “yes, she’s cute, but what a big responsibility”.


Here we are three years later. Not such a big responsibility!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Thought provoking questions

There is no hidden meaning to this list of questions. You don’t need to answer the questions, divide your answers by 12, multiply by 1,000 and you will get the date of your wedding. You don’t need to make a wish and send this list to 2700 people in order for that wish to come true. Just read the questions, send some time thinking about yourself and answer them honestly (in your head). You might just learn something about yourself.

Pepsi or Coke?
Diet or regular?
Miller Lite or Bud Lite?
Corona or vodka cranberry?
Dog or cat?
Townhouse or apartment?
Love or lust?
Long distance or ability to drop over with coffee?
Chi latte or café mocha?
CNN or MSNBC?
Today Show or Good Morning America?
Kelly or Kathy Lee?
Obama or Clinton?
Clinton or Palin?
Oil or Solar?
Las Vegas or Los Angeles?
Beach or Mountain?
East coast or west coast?
Kids or Pets?
Spend or Invest?
Bailout or bury?
Layoff or hours cut back?
Democracy or Dictator?
American Idol or America’s Got Talent?
Friends or Friends with benefits?
Mac or PC?
Cook or Archuleta?
Google or Ask.com?
Full name or nickname?
English or Spanish?
Text or Email?
Facebook or Twitter?
New York or Philly?
Pat’s or Genos? (only known if your from the greater Philly area)
Philllies or Yankess?
Real World or Road Rules?
Original or Sequel?
Canister vacuum or upright?
Retirement or Keep Working?
Reduce or Reuse?
Fireworks or Sparklers?
4th of July or Labor Day?
Sneakers or Tennis Shoes?
Air Force or Army?
Blackberry or iPhone?
Fun or Time Waster?

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Songs


Music is one of the best things in the world, along with the usual; running water, indoor plumbing, electricity, the microwave, and reality tv. Apple’s iPod changed the way people listen to and appreciate music, but I’m not totally convinced it was one of those “without flaw” changes to mankind. Don’t get me wrong; I love my iPod as much as I love by blackberry and Fox’s Reality TV channel. But I miss the days of making mix cds (or tapes for my older readers). With mix cds you were able to share music with others, music that reminds of you a particular place or moment. Everyone has those memories and songs can bring you back to that memory in an instant. I love music, constantly searching for new artists and genres but with the iPod era it’s impossible to share my music selections with others. Your music selections, tastes and play lists are like a picture into your heart and head. Apple has stripped our ability to share music with others.

How many mix cds do you have? How many were given to you from friends or lovers? When you listen to them, don’t they bring you back to a particular place and time and evoke intense memories and feelings? I have about 7 mix cds that were gifts, each with a different feeling or memory in mind.

Mix cd #1 – Found on my car the morning I moved from NJ to MD. The songs are all about people leaving town, being needed to return, being missed and love lost. There was no note attached to the cd I found that morning – just labeled “Amanda’s mix”. I was driving the long 4 hours to my new house alone in my then VW Beatle with tears streaming down my face as I played the cd over and over. It didn’t shock me at that time that I had such strong emotions about the music coming from the speakers, but even now when I play it, that emotion is still there; still so real. That is the power of music.

Mix cd #2 and #3 - Given to me while in college. These two cds together compile some of the best and meaningful music I have in my collection. I haven’t listened to them in years; I have them tucked away in an old shoebox under my bed. Not sure why I’m keeping them if I don’t listen to them, but I can’t seem to let them go. I don’t even talk to the person who gave them to me. That is the power of music.

Mix cd #4 – Given to me by my sorority sisters at my senior ceremony (basically your last day as an undergraduate sister). This cd, although loved, is one of the strangest mixes I’ve ever heard. I really like when cds and play lists cross musical genres, but this cd is out there – even for my taste. It brings back memories of parties, laughs, dances and formals (of course, we’re sorority girls). I don’t have a lot of pictures from my college days (thanks to Meredith, I remember why) so this cd means a lot to me. It reminds me of the one of the best times of my life, a time that I don’t too often think about and tend to only remember the bad parts. That’s the power of music.

About 2 years ago, my best friend Julie got married. We were at the airport, picking up two of her bridesmaids and of course one had made a mix cd for Julie. It was all about marriage and love. I can remember thinking “wow, do they still sell blank cds?” It’s only gotten worse since then. I love the music on my iPod; I work hard to update it often, added the latest from the Billboard charts, songs heard on good tv shows or movies and recommendations from friends. That’s where I struggle; not that I don’t trust my friends sense of music (well some of them I do), but I have to shell out the 99 cents to purchase the song from iTunes just to listen to the whole song! Yeah, yeah, 99 cents isn’t a huge sum of money, but the point isn’t the money – it’s the music.

Monday, March 16, 2009

The Dance

I spend about 18 minutes of my 20 minute morning dog walk avoiding the people in my neighborhood. Only the first steps are still and calm.

Avoidance #1 – Weird Guy who’s daughter comes and knocks my door to “play”. This guy doesn’t even technically live in my neighborhood. It all started about 3 years ago when he saw us outside our house with our two dogs. He came walking over, allowing his dog (which he thinks is the same breed as mine – ps: he isn’t) to play with my dogs. Harmless enough, but that was only the beginning. It sort of morphed into this obsession, where he and/or his daughter, age 12, comes RUNNING over to our house the minute they see our door open. His daughter has knocked on our front door more times than I can count, always asking “can the girls (meaning my dogs) come out and play?” Really, you can’t make this up.

Avoidance #2 – Shortest guy on the planet with the ugliest Schnauzer I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure where this guy lives, but he makes ever effort to walk either by my house, linger on my corner or suddenly change directions to face me. Anyone who knows my dog Ellie, knows that she will not stand for that type of behavior. She hates that Schnauzer as much as I hate that guy. It’s like he’s totally oblivious to the fact that Ellie wants to eat his leg, or he just does it to really get under my skin. I think the latter.

Avoidance #3 – Lady scared of dog poop. About two alleys over there lives a lady who has two dogs. She walks them every morning and night; always the same route. She carries a poop contraption so she won’t have to lean over and pick up the poop with her bag-covered hand – like the rest of dog owners. I don’t really have a problem with the poop contraption, to each his own, but her dogs are so unruly; I don’t think she could control them without the poop contraption taking over her right hand. Oh yeah, not to mention she is typically on her cell phone.

Avoidance #4 – The children of the multi-family townhouse behind me. I call it the multi-family townhouse because neighborhood rumor had it that the owner of the 4 level townhouse divided up each floor and rented it out to a different family. Rumor, I know. Anyway, the kids are ridiculous. They see us all the time, well less now since I’m avoiding them daily, and every time they see us they ask “Oh, are those your dogs? What are their names?” But you have to picture those sentences coming out of the mouth of an obese 12 year-old with a smoker’s voice.

I know, but really, you can’t make this up.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The One

Do you really believe that there is only one person for everyone? One person that each one of us is destined to be with; like it’s somehow cosmically predetermined and life is just a series of events leading up to finding them in a sea of millions. That’s a hard concept for me to wrap my head around. I look at some of my married friends; the lives they lead before, the relationships and what they had to go through before they found the one.

Take my friend Jessie. She was in a relationship with Rusty; most of us thought that was it for both of them. He had an affair with her friend. Most of her friends knew what was happening and didn’t stop or tell her. That relationship ended. He moved on to marry another friend; she moved half way across the country and found the one. So her decision to move, leave her friends and family behind, had to be cosmically predetermined. All in the name of finding the one.

What if you miss your chance? What if the one, the cosmically predetermined person, already came into your life and you blew it? What if they were in your life but you never acted on the chance and now it’s passed. Will you get a second chance? How will the cosmically predetermined person re-enter your life, if they are really the one? Should you question each person from your past who crossing your path again? Are they the one? How will you know? Will there be a neon flashing sign above the person’s head – THE ONE, THE ONE, THE ONE, like something off the Las Vegas strip? Doubtful.

So, you have this person who you knew years ago, at a time in your life when things were changing. You were learning about yourself, about your life path, who you wanted to become and who you wanted to share in your memories. You lost touch, you reconnected several years later, you lost touch, you reconnected. Maybe your losing touch again. Are they the one? What if you can’t get them out of your head? Everything you see, hear, or do, make you think of this person. Anytime you have a free second your thoughts go to that person. Does that mean you should pose the question – is there a chance for us? Do you put yourself out there, allow yourself to be venerable in a situation that you can’t control? Do you leave it up to cosmically predetermined? What if they reject you? How many times does someone have to come back into your life, at exactly the moment you need them the most, before you really believe they are THE ONE?

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Kiosks


In mid December, the HR department, spear-headed by the VP, met with the head of IT regarding a simple, small scale, IT project called Kiosks. The project design was simple: 8 computer kiosk stations, 4 in each of our two locations, 3 for employees without computer access and 1 for applicants (finally a paperless process). “That sounds pretty straight forward”, remarks the head of IT, “we’ll get a PM right one it and we’ll have it completed in about a month. Certainly by the last week of January.” Overwhelming applause from the HR department beaming with ideas of how they can better communicate to employees, increase their self-sufficiency, grant them access to information and complete a 100% paperless Open Enrollment. Open Enrollment was already scheduled and Kiosk’s delivery date was within that target, even had a few weeks of “wiggle room”.

During the month of January, the HR department started to see some motion on Kiosks. The PM, Casper, was assigned to Kiosks. He assembled an all-star team, Baldy, Big Guy, and Dumb-Dumb. Equipment was ordered, furniture was ordered, and locations were selected. Project updates were sent out almost weekly keeping all parties informed of the movement. The HR department quickly became buried in Open Enrollment activities, planning, packet assembly, the list is endless; the last thing on anyone’s mind was Kiosks. Thank god for the project updates; Casper appeared to be on top of things and required little involved from the HR department. Kiosks was under control and making progress.

Stations 1-4 were installed at location B three days before Open Enrollment, about one week behind the projected delivery date. Stations 1-4 were not intended to be installed before 5-8, but rather should have been installed simultaneously. Casper explained the installation of stations 5-8 would occur during the next week and was delayed due the furniture order. The project update confirmed the install date.

Mid-February rolled around and stations 5-8 have not been installed. Casper no longer sends out project updates. “Dear HR, Accounting needs to have 4 computers for the auditors who are arriving tomorrow and will be on site for 2 weeks. The only available computers are the ones for stations 5-8. Kiosks has been delayed”, wrote Casper. “We’re not happy,” was the general response from the HR department, “but it’s not like he gave us much of a choice.” “Kiosks will be completed once the accounting is through using the equipment. In the meantime, where do you want stations 5-8? Do the selected areas have electricity and Internet?” Wait, was Casper asking the HR department about electricity and Internet wiring? It’s called Human Resources for a reason, is electricity or Internet a human? “Casper, I really think that someone on your team is better equipped to answer. Aren’t you guys in IT?”

During the last week of February, Casper feels the project needs one more project manager to help tie up the loose ends; Peanut joins the squad. “HR, this is Peanut. He and Baldy are committed to completing Kiosks by the end of the week.” “Casper, you realize that it’s 2:45pm on Friday afternoon. By the end of the week, do you mean in the next 3 hours?” asked the HR department. “By the end week,” replied Casper. The HR department is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. “Can you just clarify one last time where you want station 5, the application station?” he asked. Really? Do we have to really go through this again? “Casper, for the last time, I want station 5 in the lobby of location A against the plain blue wall”, remarked the HR department. “Like I said, Baldy said he’ll get it done today.”

Monday morning when the HR department reports to work, there is no station 5 in the lobby as confirmed by Casper and his team of clowns and of course, which has become the usually, no project update. It appears Kiosks will never get completed. Tuesday, no station 5, no word from Casper. The HR department was starting to think that Casper had left the building, for good.

Wednesday afternoon, a visitor to the HR department, a resident of the tent, but he’s old school so he’s not considered part of the problem, but more just part of the family. “I see station 5 is up,” he commented in passing with a side smile. “Effie, come back. Did you say that station 5 is up? I didn’t hear Peanut or Baldy out there.” called out the HR department. “Oh yeah, it’s up, but I don’t think you’re gonna like it. Station 5 is in the back of the building,” he smiled.

The HR department grows more irate with each sentence he utters; each flash of his pearly whites. The HR department walks to the back of the building to review the disaster that Kiosks has become. The HR department swings open the door, scans the room quickly and settles on station 5, set up on a table with a mismatched chair! “You’ve got to be kidding me,” screams the HR department, “it really is a tent full of clowns!”

“HR, I noticed that station 5 has been set up, however, the desktop image is an unapproved company logo and must be replaced immediately,” a quickly witted comment from a passerby.

“Dear Casper, I’ve noticed that station 5 is set up, in the wrong location using the wrong furniture. Station 5 needs to be moved by the end of the week, since it was promised for completion the end of last week. By the way, what is the status of station 6-8?” asked the HR department. In line the norm, Casper has yet to respond.
To be continued….