Wednesday, July 28, 2010

My Lame Excuses

I'm not going to lie: this is going to be one heck of a week. And the fact that I can't keep this thing going during the best of times doesn't bode well for timely updates during most of this next month. Stupid SAP.. *shaking fist in Germany's general direction*

Anyway, my calculations show me putting in at least 65 hours in this next week with nary a day of rest. This includes two overnights, which I can already tell you I'm going to dislike immensely. But that's how it is, so that's how it goes. Poor Adam will have to put up with my crabby ass. Send him lots of patience and understanding...

For now, some kitty pictures to tide you over until my job magically becomes 100 times easier because our ERP system is shiny and new and will solve all our problems. And clean our houses. And give us winning lottery numbers.

Sorry, got distracted for a minute in dream-land there... Optimism, Martha. Optimism.

*sigh*

Ok. Back to the kitties.

Ooh, a sink. Oh wait, there's a kitty in it already... (with Batman ears!)



Connor, all curled up on the love seat



Ted tussling with my shirt



Ted and Connor in cuddle mode on the mouse



See you on the other side of the SAP GoLive experience. If I survive. If I'm not back by September, send a search party.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Deep Thoughts...

On Movies:
Lost momentum a little on the Oscar list. Recent viewings include Everybody's Fine (not as good as I expected given the cast list), The Last Station (James McAvoy is a cutie, but good lord, was Helen Mirren's character an annoying whiner!), and It's Complicated (Alec Baldwin is a schmuck, not enough Steve Martin, Meryl Streep was a little grating...) I'm 9 away from completing the list for this year. We haven't seen any recent releases in a long time, but we plan to try and get to the drive-in this coming weekend. Currently showing Despicable Me and Grownups.

On Brilliant Decisions:
I don't know what made me think getting contacts was a good idea right before final ramp up for our August 1 SAP Go-Live date. This past week was one of long days staring at a computer screen or projected images in end-user training. Did wonders for my eyes. So far I seem to be having success with the contact thing. They get dry, but not too bad and not to any severe level that I feel I need to abandon them. Now if I could just figure out a naked forehead fix...

On Technology:
I went to the library on Saturday to return one batch of books and pick out another. Then I went home and looked how much it would cost me to get a Kindle (or some such gadget.) Almost $200 for the gizmo itself plus another $5-$10 for most book titles. I think I'll drive downtown every four weeks and wait to read new releases for a while. Yikes. If only you could "check out" eBooks...

On Career Choices:
Come August 1 my job will drastically change. Well, everyone's will, really. The point of SAP is to have most repetitive, mindless processes automated so we accountants can direct our brain functions to more analytical tasks. I'm trying to keep an open (and optimistic) mind. That said, every once in a while I dream of quitting and getting a job in a deli department, making the pasta salads and other prepared foods in the back. *sigh*

On Sports:
I went to my very first Timber Rattlers game last Friday. We got there ridiculously early since Adam was worried we'd have a problem getting a good parking spot. We grilled out dinner, I got a little sunburned in the parking lot, and we talked with the two other IMA members who decided to join in this chapter activity. The game itself was alright. I think baseball is boring, but man, do they try and make it interesting. Stupid games in between each half of each inning, incessant advertisements disguised as entertainment. It was Fang (the mascot)'s birthday, so we had a whole parade of his "friends" (other mascots) in attendance. There was a pre-game kickball match. They sang happy birthday. They danced. It was cute, but also kind of nuts. Adam decided we were leaving after the 7th inning stretch. Fine by me. Those bleacher seats are very uncomfortable. I don't know that I'd be against going again, but it's not something I'd necessarily seek out.

On Technology (II):
I got a new computer yet again when Adam got tired of my laptop shutting itself down when it overheated while he was streaming music. This new one is a desktop again, can apparently handle Windows 7 better or something. Also came with an insanely huge HD screen. But I had to move everything over and re-do all my settings. Again. But he reformatted my laptop so now I can use it for IMA if we need it.

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Things that are growing on me

1. Adam Lambert:



I haven't watched "American Idol" since Carrie Underwood's season and didn't really buy into the "he's gay!" hype. But man, the last couple songs this guy has released have been majorly catchy!

2. Russell Brand:



When he hosted the MTV awards a few years back I was like "who?" He was a complete unknown on this side of the pond. Then he was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and I could not stand him. I know, I know, that's a character he was playing, but he was totally obnoxious. Then recently he co-hosted E News or the Daily 10 or something (don't judge - I don't usually watch those shows) and you know what? He's hilarious. And witty. And smart. Reconsidering my jump to hatred.

Photographic Memory: Coupe du Monde

With all the hullabaloo about the World Cup lately, I thought I'd take a moment to remember my own brush with the event back in 1998.



I was in France for the month of June, when the Coupe du Monde began. We were actually on the airplane from Amsterdam with part of the Scottish team, and they quickly became my favorite. They were eliminated pretty much right away, but that didn't stop them from living it up, Paris-style.

The first day we were there we ran into them at Notre Dame, having a "street brawl" with the Brazilians:







A few days later, we got mooned by one while on the Bateaux Mouches on the Seine and serenaded by another in the metro (who was double-fisting the beer, I might add. These dudes were always trashed. But very fun to be around.)





I liked them so much I bought a Scotland t-shirt at the official store.



We were lucky to not be around the major riots in places like Marseilles. It got pretty out of hand. I must say the French and English teams were the least friendly people I saw. The Scots and Brazilians were always out and about, having a good time. You rarely saw the French or English players. Kind of reflective of their cultural differences, isn't it?

Anyway, the presence of all kinds of players and fans really added to my first French experience.