6 posts from February 2007

It's been a very long, very tough month, work wise.  It feels like one of those suspense movies... like that Julia Roberts one... Sleeping With the Enemy.

Remember how he was chasing her through the house with all the suspense and then she shoots him, and he's laying there on the ground and she starts crying and the camera starts to pan out and you're thinking it's then end?

Then suddenly he comes back to life, grabs her hair, holds the gun to her head and pulls the trigger, but he's out of bullets?

That's been my month.  I thought I had shot it dead, but it grabbed me by the hair, shoved a gun in my face and pulled the trigger.

No bullets.

I was relieved when I thought the month was done, though it didn't turn out the way I'd hoped.  Then there was a last gasp from one of my clients that ended in a whimper, and it is done.

On to March.

Irish and I got to spend Sunday afternoon doing something kind of fun and unusual: we judged an essay contest.

Our Mensa chapter (and I think all Mensa chapters, as well as the regional and national organizations) gives out scholarship money, and every year there is an essay contest.  We set aside $4,000 for scholarships to be given out, but only advised that there was a top prize of $1,000.

After judging the (only) 16 essays we received, we determined a top prize winner.  That winner scored 274 out of a possible 300 points.  The second place winner, with 260 points, will receive $500.  No other prizes were awarded since the pool of applicants was so small, and the depth of essays was so shallow.

Some notes to future essay contestants:

• Read the instructions carefully and follow them to the letter.  The second place finisher would have been closer in points to the first place finisher had he or she double spaced the essay.  The only reason the essay was even considered was because of the lack of entries.
• Proofread your copy.  Check for misspelled words and weird grammar choices.  Read it aloud, if you have to.  Errors become more apparent when spoken.
• Learn proper semicolon usage.  I cannot tell you the amount of people who would just randomly throw in a semicolon.  It was perplexing.
• After you proofread let someone else read it.  Not your grandma, or your little brother.  Choose a trusted friend with good grades in English, or a teacher or adviser.  This is imperative.
• Be sure to have a strong thesis statement.  Many of the essays we read were well written and grammatically correct, they just weren't clear in their statement.
• The opening is key.  Don't be cliche.  Really think about what you're writing.  One of the essays I judged started out "I have always believed that my future was very important."  Um, duh?  I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit when I read that.
• Enter! Enter! Enter!  Even if it's a small amount of money to the winner, every little bit helps.  The winner of our contest can do anything he or she wants with the money: buy books, pay tuition, have a big party, whatever.

It was fun.  The lady of the house where we judged the essays prepared an Italian feast and we all had a great time.  Plus, we gave out some cash to a couple of deserving students.

More like one of those weeks.  Coming into the office this morning I already had 38 hours on the books.  I'd love to leave early today but I've got a client coming in at 1:30 and then a meeting after that lasting until at least 3 p.m.

I have a couple of accounts that are equivalent to beating my head against the wall that has nails sticking out of it.  One is for the big boss, the head of our office.  He doesn't care what anyone says, I *will* get this done.  So I did.  Only the premium is unacceptable to the client.  I've spent three weeks pulling my hair over this goddamn thing and she says the premium is unacceptable so now I have to find someone else to quote it.

Um, hello, welcome to Florida.  If you've gotten a quote, you should consider yourself lucky.

THERE IS NO ONE ELSE.

Then there's a producer who is trying to get a building covered for his uncle, only his uncle doesn't want to give me any information to quote with.  Soo... that's going well.

Then we have our monthly awards thing today.  In my department I consistently have the most sales.  My January wasn't great, but I know I did better than anyone else.  I've been the top seller nearly every month since August.

So imagine my surprise when the award goes out to someone else in my department.  Even moreso when they announce her sales numbers.

I go back to my desk after and look at my commission report and I sold THREE TIMES as much as she did for the month of January.  Seems management wanted to spread around the award a little bit so they gave it to the runner up instead.

Nice.

I think I'll go stab myself in the eye with a fork now.

I alluded earlier on to the fact that I was having some ongoing health problems.  I had scheduled an appointment for Thursday to see the doctor, which seemed to me like a long time to wait.

Monday morning I was on my way out to meet a client when I decided to call the doctor and see if they had a cancellation in the near future.  I was told there was a cancellation right then if I could come right now.  I quickly called the client and rescheduled and went to the doctor.

Turns out the first doctor misdiagnosed the problem.  The treatment that was prescribed has only been making the problem worse.

I got a new diagnosis and a new form of treatment and after just two days I can already tell a marked difference.  Wow.

I've always had great luck with doctors.  My family doctor was my dad's college roommate, and after he left his general practice to focus on sports medicine, we ended up using a 9-9 clinic near our house where the doctor was wonderful.  I stumbled on a terrific doctor in New York, and ended up using a different doctor when I returned to Oklahoma and he was great, too.

So this misdiagnosis thing came as a surprise.  I've always had great trust in doctors, but I've learned my lesson and I will definitely be speaking up sooner if I think something is wrong.

Saturday, February 4, 2006.

The day before, I had gone to the airport and picked up Irish.  We spent the entire rest of the day and evening packing the U-Haul.  We then went to downtown Oklahoma City, to Bricktown, and had dinner at Mickey Mantle's and took a walk through the city.  It was a perfect night.

The next morning we continued to pack, and I wanted to get on the road early.  My friends had other plans.  They hijacked my car (which needed to be loaded on the trailer) and then a friend came by and offered to take me to breakfast.  Turns out there was a party waiting for me at the diner where we went for breakfast.  It was so sweet, I'm almost ready to cry just thinking about it.

We finally got on the road around noon, headed for Florida, and my new life.  I was having some sinus issues that turned into a full blown sickness over the course of the next three days.  My poor honey had to do almost all of the driving while I slept or blew my nose.

It was a good day.  It led to what has been a pretty amazing year.

Sunday, February 4, 2007.

Irish is now my husband.  He's out at his dad's replacing some siding.  He'll be home in a few hours and then we're going to meet my boss and her husband at a bowling alley for a Super Bowl party. 

GO BEARS!

The universe giveth and the universe taketh away.

I went back to the same old meeting this morning wherein I gained 1 lb.  I'm having some health issues at the moment and haven't been able to get in to see the doctor.  I finally got an appointment for this Thursday and once I discuss my issues with him I'm hoping he'll have an answer for me.

No, I'm not pregnant.

Anyway, there is this woman at my meeting that, for some reason, has become sort of a buddy to me.  We chat a bit at meetings and that's the extent of it.  Well, last Halloween my husband and I went with his brother to take our niece and nephew out trick or treating on the next street over from them.

As we approached one house, my nephew says "Bear lives here!"  Bear is this friend of his from school that he talks about all the time.  So we go up and ring the bell, and who should answer the door but my friend from the WW meetings.  She wasn't dressed up, but I was dressed as a witch so I was easily recognizable.

Ba-dum-bum.

*crickets chirping*

We told her we would stop back by at the end of the night and so we did, and we all sat in her back yard with her Halloween party crew and talked.  Then she was gone for a couple of months.  Then she started showing up at meetings and tells me that she was in Brazil.

Must be nice to be able to afford to go to Brazil for a month, right?

This morning I was getting out of the car for the meeting and so was she.  We started chatting and got into the weigh in line together and I don't know how the subject came up, but turns out she's a writer!  A real honest-to-God published writer.  She does freelance travel writing, thus the month long trips to Brazil, etc.

I told her I wanted to be a writer, and she's offered to help me so we exchanged e-mails.

Happy HAPPY dance!