Dance like no one is watching!

It has been a long time since I posted here, so I guess I will cast some digital seeds of wisdom and do some catching up.

The Big News is that I am now working on my Master of Arts in Creative Writing.  It won't be an easy road ahead, but it will be one that I choose and love.  Most folks I work with assumed it would be some IT related degree, but that is not what I want to do when I grow up.  I have other plans.  I am pretty sick of the "Good Ol' Boys" Club that is IT and the rampant misogyny.  Not every man in IT is a douche bag, but there are a good many.

Today started building my writing brand under my pen name.  I have lined up my social media pages and feeds under it and I just need to build the site and get some samples up there.  I will start by writing a weekly novella of sorts.  Serialize a story and see who finds it and becomes attached to it.  It is the best way to get feedback and improve.

I am very excited about this time of transition and I look forward to building on a new foundation.  The camaraderie of the professional writing community is a breath of fresh air.

Anyway, off to get back to work on my new "house".  :-)

What happened with that Galactic Beam of Bad Karma?

So the Mayans believe, or believed, in Galactic Beams that harmonized or orchestrated good times or bad times for humans.  I believe that I am currently in a Galactic Beam of pooh.  I am not talking about Winnie the Pooh here, I mean the other pooh.  Or poo.  This autumn has been a real test for me.  I keep asking the Universe for some fast acting Karma in places where it needs to be, but I am not seeing any immediate results.  I do believe in Karma, that much is certain..and I do believe it isn't hit points you save up for the "next life", I believe you get served in this life at some point.

My mother always told me that you get more flies with honey than with vinegar, but I do believe my boss just told me that he wants to see me throwing some serious acidic vinegar at people.  I used to be that person, and I worked pretty hard to turn that car around.  Now I am being told I need to be that person again?  It's not in my nature for two reasons.  1.  I see people as people.  2.  Karma.

A person can be good, kind and successful without rolling over people and joining Club Sarcasm.  A person can be a good manager of other people without being a giant douche to get results.  I believe in these things.  I have had, rarely, a manager that good in my life along the way and it is those people who made the difference and made me believe I wanted to be more and do more in my position.  Unfortunately, the culture of my office dictates that at some point, you have to break some eggs to make the omlettes you need.  Egg Beaters is not a choice.  No easy opening cartons here.  So...how do you show a boss that you are confident and assertive and still maintain that people are people?  I don't have an answer.  The coming weeks will show me the way, or I may have to find another way.

Sorry, no fun picture with this one.

Corned Beef, Creeping Crud and Hypnotoad

I had Corned Beef and Cabbage for lunch today with carrot and parsnip mash and Colcannon potatoes.  It was at an Irish Pub on the capital circle in Annapolis.  I think it's called Galloway Bay.  I still rate Kilarney house in Davidsonville as the best of the best, but for lunch this place was pretty good.  So that takes care of the Corned Beef report.

Now onto the Creeping Crud.  It won't really go away.  The Holistic approach worked pretty good all in all, but the damned virus is hanging on with every ounce of viral nastiness it has.  I really think a balmy ocean cruise would cure all that ails me.  Okay, most of what ails me since I can't throw my former Manager overboard.  Even in international waters I am pretty sure that's illegal.  But...I will not be thwarted or otherwise deterred by this virus.  I will overcome and push ahead with my healthy lifestyle changes.  That's right...by the end of this month I will be on a regular exercise schedule and I will impose my firm, yet compassionate, healthiness on the whole family.  These are toxic times, my one friend who occasionally reads my blog, and we must redouble our human efforts to be healthy!

To wrap up this post..."Everyone Loves Hypnotoad"



The Creeping Crud

Oh yeah, I'm sick.  It was inevitable since everyone else around me was bringing their plague to work.  This time I am taking an aggressive approach though.  A lot of orange juice, water, saline nose spray (more holistic and crap) and rest.  In the past I just sort of let the viruses have at it until they blew themselves out, but not this time.  I am declaring war on viruses.  I visualize my anti-bodies heavily armed and killing infected cells with no mercy.

I read or heard on TV that their are over 100 viruses that cause the common cold.  Well medical science, what are you doing about it?  Surely there must be a common DNA or RNA thread among them that you can target and inoculate us all against.  Team up with the Military Industrial Complex and your funds will be limitless.



Showing your "crazy"

Today I had to give an unsuccessful employee a bi-annual review.  It was a really good tableau of when you should not show your "crazy" at work.  I was in there and my boss was in there.  We were trying to give her an overview of why she was ranking as unsatisfactory...and trust me it was not something we took lightly or wanted to deal with...and she absolutely would not listen to us.  I don't think you should choose the tactic of "it's not fair...it's just not fair" when your boss and her boss is saying "you need to listen to what we are saying...we are trying to help you". 

The funniest moment was when she said she had no idea what her job description is...the job she has been trying to do for 3 years..and I reminded her that when I started my first 2 weeks were filled with "this is not in my job description".  Silence.  A sweet moment of silence.  And then everything wasn't fair again and she was right and we were wrong and she does too do stuff.  It was one of those Zen "Office Space" moments.  "She takes the customers requirements to the Engineers....she's a people person damnit!"  Oh wait...the Engineers don't want to talk to her.  There goes that theory.

The moral of the story is...do not show your "crazy" at work.  Save it for your significant other or close friends who understand your "crazy".



On the subject of MMORPG...

Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG).  That's a mouthful, but honestly they are such a wealth of modern cultural comedy and tragedy.  Today let's talk about GIRLs that play the games. 

Guy in Real Life, aka GIRLs, that love to create female avatars and then pretend to be real girls.  I would go into the actual females that create male avatars but when you look at it they do it for very different reasons. 

There are telltale signs to know when you are dealing with a GIRL.  I don't know if they are "Top Ten" list worthy but here we go...

1.  They have increased the chest size of the avatar to maximum.
2.  They dress said avatar in the least amount of digital clothing available.  (Who cares about stats!  It looks hawt!)
3.  During Roleplay, they "/e giggle" or *giggle* a lot. 
4.  They like to lean over on tables and display their virtual cleavage.
5.  ERP anyone?

Yes, I am a female behind this monitor and I find GIRLs to be morbidly amusing.  But can you blame them?  Women who actually play MMORPGs generally hide in the male avatars or keep it to circles of IRL friends because of the majority of male gamers who are pre-pubescent or never grew up enough to develop social skills and get out of the house.  GIRLs...in a word...eHarmony.  Seriously.  Go get a significant other or at the very least date.  I understand that maybe dating isn't an interest, but you still need some social skills...or should I say "skillz" or "skillz0r" so you get my meaning?

To the less than 1/10 of 1% of men who RP women very well, I wasn't talking about you in this blog.  Keep telling the story you tell.  And I will keep telling the stories I tell...even if no one is listening. 

The Weakest Link

No followers yet...I am the weakest blogging link as well as the weakest holiday shopping link.