Isn’t It Always The Way

You spend an hour with a cute sales guy talking, and joking as he tries to sell you a product. You think to yourself, wow, cute, funny, just bought his first condo in your neighbourhood. You know the type the kind of guy I am talking about, fit, might play hockey in the winter, golf in the summer, loves a good pint of beer at the pub and has a great sense of humour. Perfect right? There is just one problem. He has a girlfriend.

My thought when he mentioned his girlfriend - get out of my office, I don’t have time for a man with a girlfriend I have work to do … and no I am not going to buy your product, are you kidding, I don’t buy things from guys with girlfriends!

;)

TSG

Life in the Fast Lane

Man, I wish I was writing a post about going out and getting tipsy and meeting some hot young boy – whom I would give a witty nickname - but the title, Life in the Fast Lane, refers only to the state of affairs at work.

Today marks my first full day off in 14 days. Not that uncommon in the working world, I know, but the last six days have been long days, ranging from 10 – 16 hours each and I am now beat.

I think things will be fine and settle down at work in about a month, but I may not be posting much over the coming weeks as I seem to be getting home late every night and crashing hard not long after I get there.

Sorry gang, I know I am here to keep the dream alive … but sometimes a girl has got to work hard in order to justify playing so hard.

Much love,

The Single Girl

Ugh

It is 6:45am and I am on my way to work. This doesn't bode well for the week.

Hope everyone else is having a more relaxed Monday.

TSG

Thankful

I have to admit that I am a bit of a princess when it comes to traveling. I love being in a hotel with a king size bed, lots of pillows, a bathrobe and good shower. I even like making the little pot of bad coffee in the morning. It all feels so divine to me.

This business trip has a pretty good hotel. King size bed, check, seven pillows, check, a good shower, check … still haven’t checked on a bathrobe, but that is fine. I had this moment last night where I was talking with a colleague and I thought, I love my work, I am a very, very lucky girl. I get to go and feel like I am playing while I work. Who gets to do that? Travel, stay at a hotel and love working the whole time you are traveling.

Sometimes it is good to just stop, take stock and realize that life is good.

Hope you all can find a moment to stop and enjoy your world today.

The Single Girl

Me Write? Nahhhh ...

On Friday I had to go out of town for work to host one of our big supporters. I was told if I wanted to I could rent a car instead of taking the bus – as the cost was about the same. I like driving, this is perfect I thought, I will rent a car drive out, get the wine do my hosting duties and so on and so forth. So I made a reservation with Budget and went about my day.

It was a really quiet day in the office as nearly everyone was gone early for the long weekend or working out of the office. I wasn’t being very productive and ended up chatting with the SSM for a few minutes complaining that I wasn’t very focused and I was hungry. He suggested that I come over to his place and have some sorbet and kill an hour before I had to head out of town. Hmmm, I’m not getting much done here, the boss keeps telling me to just get out of here … yeah I’ll go now! So I headed off to the rental place picked up the car and drove to the home of the SSM.

I got there and liked his little apartment. It is a cute one bedroom looking out onto one of the major downtown streets. I took off my coat and shoes and plunked myself on the couch and began telling him about my day. It was nice he listened as I droned on about the mundane tasks I did and stroked my hair. Before long we were kissing. “I have to leave by 3:30 or I will be towed.” I said in a very serious voice. “No Problem” he said and we continued to make out on the couch for about an hour. At exactly 3:30 I hopped up off the couch and started putting on my coat and brushing my hair to leave. “Sorry but I really have to go” I said as I took a quick peak to make sure the car was still there. Yep, all good. I finished brushing out my hair put on my hat and went to the door. “Have a good weekend” he said and then kissed me with such force that I virtually melted right there in the doorway for about 5 minutes. “No really I am leaving now” I said as I regained my composure. He opened the door and I quickly made my escape.

I hit the street flushed from the kiss and realized my car – the rental car - was gone. There was a meter maid on the street so I stopped him and asked if he knew where my car was. “There’s a number on the sign miss” he replied and continued on his way. I grabbed the number and dialed as I did that I looked down the street and saw my car on the back of a tow truck three blocks away. “WAIT!” I screamed and ran down the street to catch him. “This your car miss” the man said. “Yes” I responded breathlessly “I’m so sorry I was around the corner it is only 3:40 … and I …” “We take all major credit cards miss. If you get in the truck I can process you here so you don’t have to go down to the impound lot” he said. “Great I have a credit card. I will just get that …” I said fumbling through my backpack.

We got in the tow truck and drove around the corner to a less busy street. He processed my fine – $75.00 - unhooked the car from the truck and sent me on my way. By now I was running about 20 minutes late so I thought I would try a different route out of town to make up some time. I got about 30 blocks and realized I didn’t have my overnight bag so I turned the car around head home ran in the house and grabbed my things and hit the road for real. The whole event left me so flustered that two hours later while having dinner with people from work one of my co workers asked me if I had a sunburn because my face looked red. “Umm … I must have got some sun on the drive out here.” I said as I touched my still flushed cheeks and smiled.

Later that evening after all the formal festivities were over I recounted the story for a few trusted friends. “Wow,” one of them remarked “you should really write this down it is a great story!” “You think? Write it down? I don’t know, I don’t really do that sort of thing.”

;)

The Single Girl

Oh No He Didn’t

So, the former Bartender of My Dreams has applied for a job at my place of work. More specifically he has applied for an internship that I manage. He has an interview with me – and a group of other Managers – at the end of the month.

If it wasn’t completely unethical I would be asking him why he thought it was a good idea to stand up someone who could, one day, in the not to distant future, be in a position to offer him a job. Luckily I am not that immature, and there will be four other people there for think interviews so best not to look crazy to my colleagues. Instead I will be at my most professional for these interviews asking nothing but the most insightful and penetrating questions of all the candidates. But a teeny tiny little part of me will be giving him the stink eye the entire time.

The Single Girl

Ps. If you already read yesterday’s post I would look at it again as GB sent a perfect comic to go along with it.

There’s slacking, and then there’s slacking

Being a little tired at work from all my hard work at the bar over the weekend has left me a little uninspired to be at my desk today and truly unhappy about the fact that I have a meeting today at 6pm. As such I found myself slacking through the day with my usual distractions, email, blogs, more email, oscar fashion, blogs. You get the idea.

But today none of that was enough. On my trip to the bank I stopped at the mall to window shop and ended up buying a boys are smelly t-shirt by David and Goliath which led me to this game while at my desk. I broke and while fixing some accounting errors I was throwing rocks at boys. I like my job and normally I would find this to be unacceptable behavior, but I just couldn’t help myself!

Seven more days and everything goes back to normal … Seven more days and everything goes back to normal … Seven more days and everything goes back to normal …

The slightly cracked Single Girl

Kewl is so uncool

When did it become acceptable to write “kewl” as opposed to cool? I just had a sales rep email me and tell me that it was kewl to meet me earlier this week.

This is the second time I have received an email from someone referring to meeting me or spending time with me as kewl, and in both cases it has made the person sending me the note decidedly un"kewl."

I mean it would be one thing if it was sorting the phrase as the computer again has done with WTF, LOL and BTW, but cool and kewl take about the same amount of time to type.

So I ask you all WTF is with Kewl? Cool is already slang so do we really need to mess with it?

I think not.

TSG

Blah

So there I was sitting at my desk, in my personal productivity pod (yep, that is what they call a cubicle at my work) thinking about all the things I need to get done. Funnily enough most of the things I am thinking about have nothing to do with the giant piles of paper on my desk. I kept thinking about things like the doing laundry, calling friends, drinking tea, reading blogs … you know the important stuff.

I still am not in a bloggy kind of place, which apparently isn’t a problem since almost no one is visiting my site this month. Even so, I want to figure out why I find myself in such a writing funk so often this January. Partly it could be I have no new good stories to share, truly I think we all could agree that I have been pretty boring since the holidays (I wouldn’t read me either right now). It could also in part be my New Year’s resolution to restrain myself from casual relations and relationship, or the fact that it is the busy season at work and I just don’t feel like going out much in the evenings or that I have just come down with a case of the February blahs a month early (it could happen). The strange thing is I keep having inspiration to write essay style blogs on different topics at times when I don’t have a pen or paper and then minutes later the topic is gone.

So please be patient, I will write funny, musing or meaningful things and/or be interesting really soon.

The Single Girl

Gold Star

So by the end of my work yesterday day three people had cried at me, two because they fucked up royally and one because she was frustrated and tired. The third crier was the tipping point for beer. She and I decided the best cure for her tears and my bad day was a pint and pizza at our favourite pub. So we made the trek and enjoyed a couple of pints and what is arguably the city’s best pizza.

When I got home around 9pm I finally opened my advent present. Ironically enough it was a bunch of gold stars with a note telling me to give them out to people that day. I think it is a good thing I didn’t open the gift until last night as it was not a gold star day for anyone yesterday. I think I will take them to work today as I am hopeful today will be a better day.

Today I received chocolate coins and a note that read Mmmm. More Chocolate. I like Chocolate.

Cold update - I will be continuing to fill my body with amphetamines today as I have meetings and reports due. I am hopeful that by Christmas day I will no longer be a snot factory maybe before then, but somehow I doubt it.

The Single Girl

I suck

I have been sick for 12 days now – well actually 2 full weeks if you count the days I was pretending not to be sick and taking cold FX. So this morning I was so exhausted and sick that I didn’t remember to open my advent present! How lame am I?

I am now sitting at my desk flying on daytime cold medication – it is like speed, actually it is partially speed – wondering what is in my little manila envelop and running through my bad day.

How bad was my day? I have made two people cry in meetings, everything I have touched has gone bad or gotten lost and I can’t see my desk for all the paper scattered all over it. I am suppose to go to Karaoke tonight but I am a little worried about the effects of combining cold medication and beer. I could just have water … yeah that sounds like me …

Wish me luck and some will power.

The Single Girl

ps. Any bloggers out there updated to the new blogger? How is the transition? I am a little afraid to make the change. Send me your thoughts.

Two Things ...

One. I like to think that I am an organized person who can muti-task and get things done. No I am a messy, disorganized person with a good memory … big difference. It is a good thing that I am also lucky so it all works out in the end

Two. The holidays are great and all but this week marks the first of the holiday treats arriving in the office from different suppliers. If these treats are any indication of the weeks to come, I am not going to be able to fit into anything by the time I get home for the holidays. Yikes!


Lots of parties and social gatherings this weekend, so hopefully I will have interesting things to post on Monday – or over the weekend if I am so inclined.

I was told recently that I should have more images on the blog, and I will as soon as I get my camera back from the shop. Thanks to GB for the use of his camera for the dinner and Absinthe pictures.

Lots of love for the weekend,

The Single Girl

Bad Bad Bad

It is amazing how bad one 24 hour period can feel. Yesterday I was pretty hung over from my date on Sunday which of course makes everything difficult especially when you have a long day … keep in mind while you read that I was really hung over, all day and continue to feel achy even now as I type … just wanted you to have some perspective …

So I knew when I got up yesterday that it was going to be a long day, I had a couple of big meetings and was going to be at the office until after 8pm, no big deal, other than the hangover, right? Wrong …

I made the decision to sleep in a little as I had to work late and really everyone would be happier if I didn’t show up reeking of a brewery. So I spent my morning working quietly at my desk thanking karma for my ultra Tylenol.

By the time my first meeting came around I was doing okay, some pizza in my system and few coffees down the hatch. When I got to the meeting I thought this will be okay, I am doing better. Wrong. It was one of those meetings where you feeling like the people talking are the teacher in Charlie Brown, all I heard was waahh wahh wah wahhhhh for TWO HOURS. And I wasn’t the only one after all left and the boss was ready to hit the roof he was so mad at what a waste of time it had been. I am just happy I didn’t actually fall asleep like I thought I was going to.

At the end of the meeting we found out that there was a flood in the office. A flood that meant the office to had to close early and that a portion of the roof has been torn out. Luckily people moved my laptop out of harm’s way so I can bring you this post. One would think that having a flood close the office would be great as I could go home early and attempt to sleep off the hang over. Wrong. I still had to go at a 6pm meeting which lasted until 8:30. Again I felt like a Charlie Brown character for two hours but once it was over I knew I could go home and relax.

GB and roomie were waiting with bated breath when I got home to hear about my date. As I recounted what I could remember of the date GB was ever so delighted to tell me and roomie of all the witty and insightful things I said the night before. Apparently when I got home I spent twenty minutes in a chair with my head in my lap repeating “He thought it was a date … I don’t understand.” I remember nothing and wonder if he is making it all up ... sadly I know he isn’t.

I made the wise decision to go to bed early and to tape my favourite show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. This morning when I got up I realized I had time to watch the first 20 minutes before I went to work so I turned on the VCR to discover taped the wrong channel. This means I will have to live without the two most adorable actors ever for another week. You must understand I love both Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry and have for years. They each were the highlights on their old shows The West Wing and Friends respectively and it is this single girl’s wet dream to have them on a show together for an hour every week especially one created by Arron Sorkin. Needless to say I am really bummed.

To add insult to injury, this morning the coffee grinder broke. I crawled out of bed and into the shower knowing that roomie was already up and making coffee. It was the only thing getting me through the shower and the thought of facing the day. I don’t know how bad some of your hang overs are but one like this does stay with you for the second day and on that second day you need coffee.

A lot more is happening this week and weekend and I will do my best to document but I must run as Awesome is calling me right now about this weekend. You know what they say … when God closes a Vodkasource somewhere he finds something Awesome to open.

Hugs and kisses

The Single Girl

So Tired ... and still full

Last night I was a last minute addition to a work event at a swank restaurant. So at 4:45 I ran home choose an outfit (with GB’s help), ironed the outfit, curled the hair and applied the make up and ran out the door to enjoy a 5 course meal with wine pairings. The wine and the food were fabulous and the restaurant is gorgeous – very rustic and on the river, as GB put it cabin chic. Unfortuneately I was up until after 2am with indigestion because of the shear volume of food I ingested. Was it worth it? At this point in the day I think not.

I am off to the dentist now and I am so tired I am worried that I am going to fall asleep in the dentist chair. Not possible you say … well there is something about lying in that chair with the light in my eyes that makes me sleepy on the best of days and with only 3 hours sleep I won’t stand a chance.

The Single zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Useless ... but fun

It is official, I have done nothing productive at work today. I spent the morning in a meeting, where I contributed nothing, then spent the rest of the morning trolling the internet. Lunch was spent window shopping. I am on the hunt for new black boots but so far nothing, at least not in my price range. The entire afternoon has been spent with my boss hunting down the perfect printer table and now we are rerouting the wires so it is near our section of the offices. Then we will leave early to go and have free drinks with the staff as we look at the Christmas display that others have been working on today. Truly I am blessed with both a great job and an even better boss who is while I am typing this busying himself with cleaning up all the ugly network wire in the office. I think he wants to work less than I do, but I am not sure if that is possible.

In the world of updates in my life I have the following to share …
I have a date with Awesome this weekend, nothing too big, staying in and cooking which will be nice and a chance for us to catch up as we haven’t actually seen each other in about four weeks. Now the big question is do I make plans for Saturday or Sunday … hard to choose. Saturday I am probably guaranteed a sleep over but Sunday we might have my house all to ourselves, which means a bigger kitchen to cook in and an actual place to sit and eat. Such tough decisions to make ... I will poll the roomies when I get home.

My Dad is feeling much better, thanks to those that have been asking. Mom was finally able to convince him to go to the doctor when the infection spread to his eye (ewwwww). He now has antibiotics, a puffer, eye drops and is on the mend. His cough is under control and we are all breathing a small sigh of relief.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and that your Friday was as useless and enjoyable as mine.

The Single Girl

Procrastination

Ever have a day where you don’t want to do anything? Yesterday both my boss and I were dragging our asses around the office. I was tired and he had no motivation to be in the office at all – I think his exact words were I have no urge to be here today and then he pouted a little. We both managed to at least look busy for a few hours in the morning. I stopped by the office of my favourite co-worker and pretended to have a meeting, I think my boss actually did have a meeting but I don’t believe it took the hour and a half he was gone.

At about 2:30 in the afternoon he said to me Single Girl shall we go get coffee and smoke cigarettes? I actually stopped whatever it was that I was doing got up and said let’s go. He laughed and followed. So he bought us each a coffee and we hid out for over a half hour talking more about life than about work. Have I ever mentioned how much I like my boss anywhere in this blog before, because I do! He is supportive, encouraging and understands the importance of taking breaks and sometimes goofing off.

At about 3:15 we thought we should emerge from our “meeting” and we returned to our desk and chatted some more. I had an actually meeting at 4pm and as I collected my things to go to that meeting he said “well I guess I will wait until at least 10 minutes into your before I leave for the day.” Hardly fair, but I know that he was in most of the day on Sunday so I am glad he took off early.

On the Awesome front, he called last night and again asked me to go to his Christmas party with him. He actually said I would love it if you would come with me. Being the sensible girl I asked the very important question … Open bar? There will be wine with dinner and we can have pre-cocktails in our hotel room first he replied. So I accepted his offer but not before commenting that I felt as though I had been screened and that I hoped we would see each other before his party and he assured me he would.

So to sum up; playing hooky with the boss good, phone call from Awesome very good, Christmas party in the mountains excellent, free alcohol and hotel room outstanding!

I now have four weeks to figure out what I am going to wear. I will definitely need new shoes.

Don't you just love the holidays.

xo
The Single Girl

Did I ask for your help?

Friday night was a bit of a big night. I had a work event and then went to the bar and met up with friends who are here from out of town. I ended up sitting at the bar and gossiping until about 1am, which wasn’t great because I had to be at work on Saturday at 8:30am for a staff retreat.

The retreat was great but I wasn’t feeling totally rested Saturday afternoon when I went for a stroll and some window shopping with the gossip from the night before. Nevertheless I found a dress style that I wanted to try on. Gossip was trying something on and I figured it would eat up a little time. I came out of the change room and the dress was not flattering to my figure, one size too big, not a great colour on me and it was more than I was willing to spend on a dress that day (i.e 0$). When I came out to show the gossip the dress and tell her my rationale for not buying the dress (you all do it too, it keeps the sales people at bay) this woman with a southern drawl, from the change room beside me started telling me that my dress was great.

As I told her it was too big in the stomach and didn’t fall right she said no it is good the line is lovely on you and started showing me by running her hands down my legs to demonstrate. I continued to tell her no in-fact the dress did not fit right. "Well, maybe you are right but you know what dress would look good on you ..." and she took off into the store and came back with another dress and told me I had to try it on. "You just give me a holler when you come out. I want to see it on you." I looked at the gossip like who the hell is this woman but thought best not to argue.

I came out of the change room in the dress and it too didn’t fit right and even if it did I WAS NOT GOING TO BUY A DRESS. “See I was right, it is fantastic on you. Look at the way it falls, and the colour. Oh it is just so nice.” I assured her that the dress was not my style, that the sleeves were too long, and the colour wasn’t right and on and on but she KEPT TRYING TO CONVINCE ME TO BUY THE DAMN DRESS. I finally said I wasn’t going to buy the dress. "Well that is too bad. It is a great colour, it matches your eyes." At that point I was vaguely tempted to tell her she shouldn’t buy the dress that she had on as it wasn’t flattering but thought better of it and just grabbed the gossip and left the store before the aging southern belle tried to fit me for a new bra.