Happy New Year and my plans for 2024

 With a New Year visible off in the horizon, I am prompted to look back on the past year and look forward to the new year. I cannot change what happened in the past year but I can make changes that will affect my new year. One of those changes is that I want to get back to blogging. I love, love, love writing, so why am I not doing it anymore? I can name several minor reasons, but what is the underlying reason that made me stop? I come up with one thing, Covid.

Huh you say? Covid? Covid made you stop writing/blogging? Is it because you got Covid and now you have brain fog? Nope, that is not why, let me splain.

In March of 2020, Covid hit. My employer, like many others sent us all home immediately. We high-tailed it out of there carrying our computers and anything else we thought we might need for a few weeks/months of working from home. We left that place looking like a ghost town in an old Western movie, just pieces of paper floating along in the dust and wind.

So here it is 3 years and 9 months later and I am still working from home. Relegated to a little corner in my bedroom where I have just my desk, computer with double screens, and a chair. My only companion and coworker, my daughters dog Chorizo. While Chorizo is cute as heck, she is not much of a conversationalist, so mainly I speak with clients and occasionally chat with a co-worker, mostly on our intranet chat program.

CHORIZO BY MY SIDE AND DOING WHAT SHE DOES BEST

Before, when I was going to the office, I socialized, noticed things, ran across interesting stuff, and discussed it with coworkers, other employees in the building we worked in, clients and friends. Now I just see these 4 walls, 40 hours per week. At lunch instead of going with coworkers to grab a sandwich or hit our favorite Mexican food place, I walk 20 feet to my kitchen to grab whatever was left over from dinner and I watch YouTube.

Before, I knew where all the new restaurants were opening and I would visit them with coworkers or friends, now I don’t even remember what Chipotle and Rubio’s Fresh Grill even tasted like.

Before, when I was going to the office, I would make plans with friends to grab the occasional Happy Hour drink, or I would stop by my favorite stores and just wander around before going home, now I don’t even apply make up or wear anything other than jeans and a t-shirt and slippers, I don’t even know if I can still walk in street shoes!

Before I would look out my office window on the second floor and watch people fighting in the parking lot, cadets marching in the parking lot across the street where they trained police officers. I would hear the occasional accident on the busy street our office was on and we would all rush to whatever window offered the best view and discuss whose fault we thought it was. I would stop and be amused by the little squirrels that lived in the trees and sometimes would sit by my window and look in at me.

Before I was living life and finding things to entertain me, educate me, enlighten me, anger me, thrill me, confuse me and it was all fodder for my blog and my mind, keeping me active and “in the know.”

That is what Covid did! It took all that away from me!

Do I want to go back to an office? Not really. I would go back if they could figure out a way to just teleport me there, I hated the commute which was 20 miles one way and I hated dealing with the idiots that didn’t know how to drive and always felt that they needed to be where ever they were going before me because they were more important than the rest of us on the street. I like not having to apply makeup everyday and I can see that my skin also likes it. I like not having to spend money on nice office clothing and shoes. I like having Chorizo close by me all day, she soothes my soul with her entitled attitude and grumpy face.

But I loved writing, I loved my little blog and I am ready to try blogging on the regular in 2024. Not sure what I will blog about, but maybe it will make me be more alert to things in my small town and outside my window and will my family and in my heart and head. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. So, keep an eye out for me in 2024 and if I start to fall behind and get lazy, you all have my permission to call me out, you all will be my conscience!

Happy New Year to you all and may 2024 bring us all closer to the things that make us happy. May 2024 bring Peace to our world and our hearts, may it bring the knowledge to cure Cancer and Diabetes and all sorts of other diseases, may it open our eyes to the good in the world, in our small world, in our homes. It is up to you 2024 and up to each one of us to be kind, gentle and present.

Another Tales of the Bathroom and Multiple Uses for Foil

Foil Paper…it’s a multi-use wonder.

There are so many things that you can do with it. Such as:

• Soften brown sugar. 
• Keep food warm. 
• Make a funnel. 
• Protect pie crust. 
• Oven Cleaner 
• Scrubber 
• Reheating 
• Scare birds in the garden 
• Cleaning your iron 
• Sharpen Scissors
• Polish Chrome 
• Clean the grill 
• Light reflector for photography 
• Protect your brain waves from eavesdroppers and mind control…ok, that one is just a myth, but you never know right? 

I can remember my mom making burritos and wrapping them in foil to keep them warm during the summers when we would work in the tomato and cotton fields. Those were the best burritos we ever tasted!

So why my fascination with foil paper today? Well prepare yourselves for another round of strange things I find in the women's bathroom at work!!

I've done a few posts before about the strange things I find in the shared women's bathroom here in the building where I work. Once it was a Plastic Fork...right on the toilet paper dispenser. Another time I found a Peanut Husk ...right on the sanitary napkins dispenser. Well it's happened again, just look at this picture and tell me what you think!

It's a balled up piece of foil, sitting on the floor in the women's bathroom, in one of the stalls, right underneath the toilet.  Now remember the list of uses for foil above? Do any of those uses have anything to do with the bathroom? What could you possibly take into the bathroom that would require you to cover it in foil first? What could you possibly want to keep that fresh? Or that warm?

Or I guess you could use it as a scrubber? Maybe for someone toilet paper just isn't doing the job?

I shudder to think!

.

Smelling like yesterday, grooming and and you're mother doesn't work here! My Pet Peeve!

I try to live and let live, but sometimes I see things that just irk me! I usually just let it go because again..I live and let live. But at times I sure would like to smack some people upside the head for being irritating!

I've posted before about all the weird things that go on in the women’s restroom in the building where I work. I can’t believe that these women think their mother works here so it’s ok to just throw paper and towels and junk on the floor expecting someone to clean up after them. C’mon! We’re grown women!!!

Then there are the women that like to chat on the phone… in the stall… while they are doing their business! Do they really not care that the person on the other side of the line can hear them urinating…or worse? And do they really not care that the other person can hear complete strangers urinating …or worse?? Not to mention how inconsiderate they are to only allow me to hear one side of the conversation!

But I think my biggest pet peeve are the women that use their employer’s time to groom at work.

Now we all check our hair and our teeth and at times apply another coat of lipstick. I’m talking about the women that on a daily basis bring a miniature suitcase to work and then go into the bathroom and pluck their eyebrows, curl their hair, apply deodorant, apply makeup, brush their teeth and believe it or not…clip and polish their toenails. This is in the public women’s bathroom! During working hours! Do these women just roll out of bed, smelling like yesterday, putting on whatever clothes they find on the floor and take off to work and clock in then proceed to the ladies restroom to groom themselves and prepare themselves for the day?

I would love an extra hour of sleep, but I can’t see coming to work sans makeup and without showering and brushing my hair and then using the time my employer is paying me for to prepare myself to be presentable to get to work! Don't they realize that on top of being lazy they are stealing? Stealing the time their employer is paying them to work?

I realize that a lot of people think that is archaic...to worry about using work hours to groom or do personal stuff, but I was brought up old school and I've always tried to live by my favorite motto, "Integrity is what you do when no one is watching". Well ladies...there are quite a few of you that work in this building that definitely lack integrity!

So that's it for my rant, what's your pet peeve?


 

Sister Wives

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past 4 or 5 television seasons, you’ve probably heard about a television reality show on The Learning Channel (TLC) called Sister Wives. The show is about this guy named Kody Brown who has a gaggle of wives. Hmmm, I think a gaggle is five and at last count there are 4 wives and around 16 or so children, so maybe he doesn’t have a whole gaggle, but I just like the term gaggle.


They all live in Vegas now, but I believe when the show first started they were living in Utah. They are a polygamist family, meaning Kody is married to one wife legally and the other wives are a “spiritual union”. The women are known as Sister Wives. I guess not only are they wives but the spiritual union makes them sisters to each other or something like that. I’ve never watched the show, just know about the show because of snippets of the promos for the show and what I’ve read online.

So what does this have to do with me? Well I believe a spiritual union may be in my future. You see…this morning while just doing my job I contacted a client about renewing his insurance policy. He seemed very worried that I get all his paperwork to him right away as he was heading out of town tomorrow. I told him not to worry; I would be sending all his paperwork today. Then I reminded him that he doesn’t have to renew this policy until June 30th which is when the existing policy will expire.

He then exclaimed, “See Alicia…that is why I love you! You keep my life straight!” (I only insure his vehicle…how is that his life?) Then he says, “Are you married?” Before I could answer, he goes on to say, “I know I’m married, but I have room in my life and in my house for another wife and I would like you to be that wife. I’m a really good husband and would treat you well.”

…… Say what?

The only thing I could think of to say was, “It sounds to me like you don’t want another wife, you just want a bookkeeper!” Thankfully he just laughed and didn’t take offense to my thoughtless declination to become his wife…Whew! I let him down easy... although I wouldn’t just be gaining a husband, I would also be gaining a sister, a Sister Wife.

The Runs

Any of you that have ever worked in any type of customer service job know that many times customers say "the darnedest things!"

That happened to me today. Well it happens to me most days but today was so hilarious I had to bite my tongue to keep from busting out laughing and telling the customer, "Really? Did you really just say that?"

Ok, to preface my story, I work in insurance and in insurance many times an insurance company will ask for Loss Runs from a previous insurance company. Loss Runs are a report from the insurance company that the customer had previously. They are a report that tells us, "yes, this insured did have insurance with XYZ Insurance Company from this date to that date." The Loss Run will also show whether or not there were any claims incurred during that time. If not it will say "no claims or zero claims". If they did have a claim it will tell you a bunch of info like the date of the loss, the claims number, if the claim is still open or closed, if money was paid out and if there was money paid out how much it was and if it involved property damage or bodily injury or both. It's kind of like a report card for drivers.

I had asked this particular client for loss runs. The client had to get them from their previous carrier and it took about three weeks. So this morning, the clients wife gives me a call and says, "Hi Alicia, I was just calling to see if...did you get the RUNS?" Now mind you, she didn't identify herself to start with (they never do) so it just came out of the blue. Luckily we have caller ID and I saw who it was and I knew what she meant, but none the less it freaked me out that she asked if I got the RUNS!

I think the poor thing realized what she said but she was embarrassed so she just kinda played it off like she didn't really just say that and I, being the ultimate professional...didn't bust out laughing and embarrass her further. But when I hung up, I could not control myself.

And I love to include pictures when I share a story with you all but how do you include a picture of "the runs"? I found the one you see and thought it was pretty cute! And...I did receive the runs, I didn't get them!

The Hurrier I Go, The Behinder I Get!

Today when it was 12 noon and time to go to lunch my co-worker had to tell me. Good thing too otherwise I would just have kept working away!
I couldn't believe it! It seemed like I'd only just gotten here a few minutes ago and I hadn't even made a dent in the work I have to get done today.

That's an actual picture of me over there on the left! Ok, well, maybe that's not really me, but the only reason that isn't me is because we are paperless. But imagine if every email in my in box were printed and placed on my desk it would look just like this picture. And it's only Tuesday!

There is just no way that I can get all this stuff done. What I wouldn't give for "back in the day" when you could just stick something in a file and say you never got it...now there's a paper trail! Can you believe it? A paper trail when you're paperless???

How's your week going so far?

Spring and Easter Tablescape

A while back I wrote this post about a blogger who does tablescaping. I did my first tablescape for Valentines day and now I've done one for Easter. Hope you like it.

The plates were purchased Friday on my lunch hour at Dollar Tree for $1.00 each. The small square plates in the middle of the larger plates were given to me at Christmas by my daughter April. The spoons are those beautiful jeweled spoons that I almost didn't end up with, you can read about them here. The gold napkins are from the American Cancer Society Discovery Store. The centerpiece was bought for me at Goodwill by my wonderful mother who knows my love for pink and totally unnecessary items. And the champagne glasses were another gift from my very generous daughter April. The table runner is actually a scarf my mom gave me right after my surgery when I was so traumatized about the scar left by my surgery.


Here's a closeup of the centerpiece. I love the way the easter grass hangs over the sides...

And here's a closeup of the plates, I forgot to take a picture of one though, or maybe I deleted it, but there are four place settings. Don't you love the plates? And for only $1.00 each!

I'm ready for Easter...except for the food. Pizza anyone?

Cell Phone Holders - Did you know these existed?

Today we had a visit from an underwriter with a new insurance company we're starting to write business with. After all the blah, blah, blah came the gifts. These underwriters and marketing reps always have little gifts they like to give us on the way out imprinted with their company name and logos.

Today's underwriter, Colby gave us each one of these...

I'd never seen one, let alone knew I really NEEDED one! Usually I just laid my cell phone on my Rolodex and that worked just fine til I saw this beach chair cell phone holder. Now my cell phone can just lounge there on my desk. Hey, someone should be having a vacation, even though it's not me.

So when I got home, I wanted to show my son what it looked like since I left it at the office and lo and behold! Look at all the different types. There's phone holders for stuffed animal lovers, animal lovers, sea life lovers, foot lovers, junk food lovers, fruit lovers, sports lovers, shoe lovers, golf lovers, basketball lovers and cat lovers. Oddly enough, I didn't find any for dog lovers, hm mm, go figure.

Enjoy these and start looking for your own cool cell phone holder.

My Office, Where I Make the Green!

Took some pics when I had my camera at work for Halloween.

Here's a picture of the hallway right outside my office. They recently redecorated it and I just love the way it looks, like it goes on forever! Plus I love green.



And this is my work station. We have dual screens and I LOVE them. I wish I had them at home. It makes it so much easier and we're so much more productive with them.


I really like this office, it's located close to lots of restaurants and fast food places, grocery stores and just down the street from my fav restaurant...Mexicali.

The only thing I don't like about my office is we don't have a break room or kitchen. Just a sink and a tiny little fridge. What do you like about your office? What don't you like?