bag 'n' trash -- home of monster yarn

Head Scratchin'

so last week, i'm doing my job and an email gets delivered in my inbox.  it says something like "for those of you getting a bonus this year,  ....."

what?  people get bonuses here?

ring ring.  "hello, this is maryse."  "yes, apparently there are bonuses"  " no, i don't think we're getting one.  don't go on a shopping spree or anything."  "yes i agree it sucks."

i let it go.

yesterday, another email gets delivered to everyone in the company.  "dear X group staff,  if you got a bonus, you should have heard by now from your supervisor or manager....yadda yadda yadda."

ok so now, clearly since my group isn't included in the X group, we aren't getting a bonus.  fine, whatever.  i'm not surprised since i knew there would be no money in our project budget for such a thing.

the thing is this.  UNTIL THOSE TWO EMAILS MOST OF US WORKING FOR THIS COMPANY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY GOT BONUSES AROUND HERE!!!! 

so i wrote a little reply.  "dear YOU, since not all of us work for X group and are also not getting a bonus, i think it's inappropriate that you should make announcements about bonuses that most of us are not getting."

reply back: "oh sorry, but it's so much easier to make an announcement to everyone ....."

so much easier?  SO MUCH EASIER????

what am i missing here?  i'm not upset that i didn't get a bonus.  we're nonprofit.  we aren't supposed to get bonuses.  that's what you give up for 4 weeks of vacation and being able to wear sweatpants to work if you want.

what got my panties in a bunch is that now, because of this broadcast message to everyone in the company, because people are too lazy to write emails to only those people who did get bonuses, or to the X group since it only involves people within that group, we all know now that some people get bonuses and some people don't.

because it was easier to do it that way. 

For Crazy Aunt Purl

laurie wants to see my office.  who am i to tell her no?  so let's go for a little trip, shall we?

here comes the train...

here's a picture of the hancock tower just because it looked so pretty. 

there are two desks in my office but right now there's only one of us, me, in this office.  and i intend it to stay that way.  i had an officemate in this ridiculously small office for a short while, (because i'm a putz and way too nice and so people don't think twice about pushing an office mate on me because they figure  i'm not going to complain) and we were like burp and slurp, the way we were running into eachother all of the time.  i've been spreading my stuff out onto that desk since intentionally as a deterent.  hmmm looks too clean -- i'll have to bring more stuff.

here's my side of the room.  that's a knitted scarf you see there in the left hand corner.  and i'm glad to see i don't have bloglines up on my screen.  that would be embarrassing.

here's the other side of my desk.  doesn't look too bad.  i'm not particularly neat but i can't work in clutter, go figure.  also, everything i work on is on the network, so i'm virtually paperless.  i did not clean up before the photo shot.

shelf with stuff.

redsox hat and cvs brand triscuits.

caffeine

coconut monkey head.

my obsession wall -- pictures of j and mini coopers.

more mini, all of the time.

time to go home.

Woo-hoo!

finally, pictures ....

i've gotten a couple of requests for the recipe for the rigatoni -- or rigabony (as martha stewart calls it during halloween time).  yes, it's one of her recipes,but instead of making the sauce from scratch, i used jar sauce.  and i used 1 lb of ground beef instead of the sausage.  super easy and yummy.

Woo-hoo Check Me Out!

i actually think this kind of looks like me ... courtesy of course of the Portrait Illustration Maker. yes i get that look on my face when i'm behind the wheel. watch out!

Open House

so the meeting with the realtor went well. first of all, i loved her and want to be her friend. considering that one of my closest friends now is the real estate agent who sold me my apartment 6 years ago, i'm thinking that maybe i just seem to connect with real estate agents and maybe i need to consider a career change. hmmmm.

anyway -- i have 2 weeks to get the place ready to be sold. and the only thing i really need to do is clear out the clutter (which i've already started doing) and have it majorly cleaned. i was worried that she'd suggest i have the floors redone and have it painted but she said no. my condo has lots of space for a boston condo, a great view, and a convenient location. so we're good to go.

it's funny though, as i signed the contract and all, i got a little emotional. not only am i selling my home, i'm also giving up a lifestyle that i really like. i love living in the city. i've never been a big fan of the suburbs. a girlfriend of mine describes me as someone who doesn't believe in grass. also i've lived by myself for over 13 years. and i really like living alone. i never considered moving in with my husband before we were married because i didn't see the point, since i could afford to live alone. i'm only agreeing to living with him now because that's what married people do. if the house next to his ever goes on the market, i may consider buying it. ahh the things one does for love.

time for a quiz that i got from erica ... get a load of the koigu she just acquired.

My aren't you cool! You have no shame, or much to
hide! You share your brave self with the web
world! Your pretty fun to read! You blog baby
blog!


What kind of blogger am I?
brought to you by Quizilla

although i don't feel that the results ring true, i do have to say that i like the picture

Ebay Anonymous

i just wanted to point out the potential evil that is ebay. look at the frenzy with which ebayers are bidding on this big box of caron dazzleaire. i think this stuff retails for maybe two and a quarter bucks a skein AT THE MOST. and yet, with a little more than a hour left to bid, a box of 48 skeins in a medley of disparate colors is going for almost $123!! STOP THE INSANITY PEOPLE! THAT'S $2.56 A SKEIN FOR ASS YARN WITHOUT SHIPPING!!!

but i know the feeling. your palms get sweaty, your heart starts beating strongly against your chest. just one more bid and then you'll stop. just one more. one little bid....just one......

Yay Me ...

i got my denise needles from ebay today .... duh, they're plastic... i knew this before but hey they're worth a try. i gave up on that poncho pattern anyway -- i really don't like knitting in the round and the yarn was all wrong for that project. so i'm making that poncho shawl thing from Weekend Knitting, the one with baby cables. i'm really a cable kind of gal.

and i've lost 10lbs -- that's really what the yay is about.

if i lose another 10 maybe i'll get myself that bag ..... hmmmmm

Goodnight John Boy

when i married J not only did i get a husband, i also got a slew of inlaws and nieces and nephews, most of which live within 45 minutes of J. 3 out of every 4 weekends a month there's some sort of family gathering/event. last week was mother's day of course. this morning was the twin's first communion then this afternoon was another niece's dance recital. i'm exhausted!

luckily for me, my inlaws seem to like me a hell of a lot better than my own family does, which i only see maybe once a year. because if it were the other way around, we'd have to move.

OK I Suck

the problem with having internet access at work is that it's way too easy for me to not do my work. i have done nothing today. i've only crossed 3 items off of my to-do list and 2 of those things were added to my list and crossed off AFTER i had done them so that it looked like i had done something.

i now understand why i'm a good 40 lbs (if not more) overweight. a co-worker of mine made popcorn this afternoon, ate 3 kernels, and gave me the rest ... and i finished the bag. she, of course, is not fat.

i've been reading this website for a good hour and a half. it's so very funny, and touching at the same time. the photos are great and her posts are very well-written. she is also quite beautiful as is her 3 month old daughter. i am unworthy. (her husband's pretty cute too and it's ok, i can say that ... i'm married, not dead). i don't think she can knit or do anything crafty so i can feel a little superior....but not much. she doesn't like cats. for that i will forgive her.

it's 4:45 pm. i have an hour and 15 minutes to cross off a couple of items off of my work to-do list.

i will do this now.

Boston ... You're My Home

this is what spring in boston looks like...

and this is my car. isn't it cute?

I Have A Dream ...

i'm lucky that J is really handy. not handy in a "i'll help you unclog the toilet honey" handy but rather "i hate the color of that toilet and it's 5 inches too close to the door so i'll take this ugly toilet out and move the plumbing and install a new toilet" handy. however, he also insists on doing everything himself. one of those things is replacing the heating and cooling system of the house. so this weekend, he decided that he had to move the 800 lb boiler that was sitting in a corner of his shop. of course it's been sitting there for 3 months, and it's never bothered him before, and his buddies are available next weekend to help him. no, he had to do this weekend. so i helped him. now, J also has a bad hip. trying to lift an 800 lb boiler isn't going to do his hip any good. and i told him so. i think my exact words were, "with your bad hip, i don't think this is a good idea. i think you need to wait for M and P to give you a hand." his response was, "stand on this will you?" we've only been married for 6 months and i'm already tired of yelling at him to be heard. so i did as instructed.

J didn't mention his hip monday or today but he did call in sick and i figured that he just need a couple of mental health days. well his hip has been bothering him. duh. he went to see the doctor. he just called me a couple of minutes ago to ask, "why didn't you stop me from moving the boiler?"

in the news ... gotta love a guy who has a dream and just goes for it.
i guess things could be worse. i could be married to a guy who eats his way out of phone booths.

Spring Is Here!

it's official. spring has sprung in boston... is it the above 70 degree temps that have clued me in? no. is it the fact that every tree and bush and flower is in bloom? no. is it the fact, that this past weekend i tried on my spring wardrobe only to find out (and i was not surprised) that i'm too fat to wear it and need to do something about that pronto? no.

i know it's spring because there are feet everywhere. i hate feet. well the bare kind. the noisy bare kind. the *flip flop* *flip flop* *flip flop* kind. the "i didn't check the condition of my pedicure before thinking it was a good idea to wear open toed shoes today" kind. the things i must bear......

on another note, to those of you who suggested that i go into business for myself....trust me, i've thought about it. i just have to find my thing .... maybe i can design shoes...the closed toe kind.

Happy Patriots Day!!

today is Patriots Day and one of the peripheral holidays in Mass -- most government workers don't work, but the rest of us poor slobs do. most importantly though, it's Boston Marathon Day. that along with The Yankees being in town, means that getting into and around the city of Boston is mayhem. whoever thought it was a good idea to have over 20,000 people running from Hopkinton to Copley Square ON THE SAME DAY as a Yankees-Redsox game must have been smoking crack. by the way, as of this afternoon, the 4 game Yankees-Redsox series has gone to the Red Sox 3 wins to 1. heh heh heh.

the big news though is the weather. 2 weeks ago this is what was going on outside my window...
today they are predicting a high of 85 degrees. spring is so random here in New England.

and no, i did not finish priming yesterday ... but i did finish WALL PREPARATION which the man at the home depot will tell you, is the most important step. i took a vacation day today to avoid the insanity downtown, so i'm priming today. and during my union breaks -- because i'm entitled to them -- i'm doing a couple of rows of crochet. i'm trying something a little different. i'll post pictures when i've got something to post.

Can I Post More Than Once A Day?

ehh what the hell, it's my blog and i'll post if i want to.

this is me by the way. well when i'm drunk anyway. it was my bachelorette party. no, there were no strippers -- i was 40 at the time -- "been there, done that." i did scare the 20 year old waiter though, by insisting that he hug me. it's ok, we left him a big tip.

oh by the way, i knitted that sweater you see there. i've been watching the us version and the uk version of What Not To Wear, and both design teams would throw that sweater in the trash. stacy and clinton hate bulky hand knits and trinny and susannah wouldn't want me wearing a "polo" neck. oh well. if i ever get on the show, and who knows i might -- my husband hates my big orange parka and keeps threatening to set me up -- i'll just hide it.... i'm glad though that if i do get set up, that it'll be the us team helping me out. the uk team -- trinny and susannah -- are always touching their victims inappropriately. "hello ladies, do not put your hands on my boobs thank you....i mean i barely know you and i haven't had nearly enough to drink."

ok i think i've got the hang of this. i'll post more tomorrow.

My First Little Post

so, um, i guess i've done it...i've got a blog.

i'm just testing right now..

TESTING 1-2-3

oh i want to thank Rachael for helping me out and for answering my lame questions.

WOO-HOO