From: Jennifer
To: Laura
Sent: 5/28/08 9:17 am
Hey -
Do you think you could make a bagpipe cake?
From: Laura
To: Jennifer
Sent: 5/28/08 9:22 am
HAHA! Why not? It's just a bag with some pipes, right? Maybe get real intricate and have different colored fondant stripes to make the plaid bag?? Wait....it isn't for June 21, is it?!
From: Jennifer
To: Laura
Sent: 5/28/08 9:23 am
No it is for the 28th!
From: Laura
To: Jennifer
Sent: 5/28/08 9:29 am
JUNE 28th?? Ay-shebabas. I guess so, haha! Maybe I should put together some kind of price list, huh?
From: Jennifer
To: Laura
Sent: 5/28/08 9:31 am
That is what you get for being good at something!
Maybe you should do some research to see if it is even possible.
From: Laura
To: Jennifer
Sent: 5/28/08 9:35 am
Feh. Of course it's possible. I just need a baggish main part, and then some long pieces to use as the pipes....the details can be added using candy. I'll dig up some pictures to see what I would need. Simon's (sp?) birthday?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Icarus
Yesterday I got news that I would most likely be getting not only my Book List back from the old hard drive, but all my other files as well. There was a small part of my brain telling me to hold off the celebrations until I had the disc in my hand, but it was stomped into submission by the much larger, gleefully shouting part of my brain in .007 seconds.
This morning I got news that not one scrapping byte of information could be salvaged from the drive. The guy working on it spent 5 hours fighting with it last night alone, and that was The End. No spreadsheets, no pictures, no documents. No Book List.
Luckily I still have the version my sister dug up.
I am crushed.
This morning I got news that not one scrapping byte of information could be salvaged from the drive. The guy working on it spent 5 hours fighting with it last night alone, and that was The End. No spreadsheets, no pictures, no documents. No Book List.
Luckily I still have the version my sister dug up.
I am crushed.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday's List
1. The Walk went well - 18,000 people, and approximately $1.4 million as end-of-day totals. The final dollar amount should be done in a few weeks. I am exhausted, sore, and glad to be done with the event until next year.
2. My car was dead this morning. Thanks to the kindness of Leo I was able to attempt a jump, and when that failed, a tow of questionable legality to the Sears Repair center. Now I have a spiffy new battery and a newly-tested alternator and starter.
3. Due to having a really late start at work, I did not take a lunch break. I just discovered that the vending machine is only taking change today and I can't find anybody with quarters to trade for my dollar. Alas, Snickers, we shall not meet this day.
4. I have a copy of my book list back!!! Granted, it's from a year and a half ago, but it is still 4 1/2 pages of glorious book list. I can add the most recent additions for the most part, since I don't add to it all that often, and since I tend to buy the newest additions first, so I have a good chunk of them. But still! My book list!
**UPDATE**
I might get the book list in it's entirety back - a friend is in charge of a slew of IT newbies at her company, and they are willing to take a crack at it to see what can be saved, if anything at all. Hooray!
2. My car was dead this morning. Thanks to the kindness of Leo I was able to attempt a jump, and when that failed, a tow of questionable legality to the Sears Repair center. Now I have a spiffy new battery and a newly-tested alternator and starter.
3. Due to having a really late start at work, I did not take a lunch break. I just discovered that the vending machine is only taking change today and I can't find anybody with quarters to trade for my dollar. Alas, Snickers, we shall not meet this day.
4. I have a copy of my book list back!!! Granted, it's from a year and a half ago, but it is still 4 1/2 pages of glorious book list. I can add the most recent additions for the most part, since I don't add to it all that often, and since I tend to buy the newest additions first, so I have a good chunk of them. But still! My book list!
**UPDATE**
I might get the book list in it's entirety back - a friend is in charge of a slew of IT newbies at her company, and they are willing to take a crack at it to see what can be saved, if anything at all. Hooray!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Walk Weekend
The big Walk Now for Autism is on Sunday. I am technically on the committee for this, but I haven't done a darn thing for it this year. I will go to the committee dinner tonight (even though I would much rather stay at home for some Miller Time and Halo), show up tomorrow to help with setup, and then bust my ass on Sunday.
Last year we had roughly 11,000 folks show up to walk, and ended up grossing $1.6ish million; the Friday before the Walk last year the official dollar count was hovering around $950,000. As of this very minute, the Walk page official dollar count is at $1,050,219. That's quite a jump compared to last year.
Here's hoping it doesn't rain Sunday morning!
Last year we had roughly 11,000 folks show up to walk, and ended up grossing $1.6ish million; the Friday before the Walk last year the official dollar count was hovering around $950,000. As of this very minute, the Walk page official dollar count is at $1,050,219. That's quite a jump compared to last year.
Here's hoping it doesn't rain Sunday morning!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
In the words of Darth Vader, NOOOOOOOOooooooo!
My computer ate it's own hard drive this weekend. Here is a brief list of things I have lost: everything I had in iTunes, pictures, short stories I was puttering around with, the book list I have spent the last 6 YEARS compiling....you get the idea.
One of the IT guys at work is going to take a look to see if anything might be salvagable, since my own fumbling attempts have done absolutely nothing. I even went through all the partition garbage and tried to reboot completely from my Windows disc. Nada.
I have 90% resigned myself to having lost those things forever. The only one that really bothers me is my book list. I think the last version of that I sent to anyone was over 2 years ago, so even if she still has it, it is missing the last 100-ish books I have added.
I really really really really hope the IT guy will say 'Hey! I can pull some things off this mangled, pathetic excuse for a hard drive. Here you go.' Either way I have to buy a new computer. This is the little gem I currently have my eye on:
One of the IT guys at work is going to take a look to see if anything might be salvagable, since my own fumbling attempts have done absolutely nothing. I even went through all the partition garbage and tried to reboot completely from my Windows disc. Nada.
I have 90% resigned myself to having lost those things forever. The only one that really bothers me is my book list. I think the last version of that I sent to anyone was over 2 years ago, so even if she still has it, it is missing the last 100-ish books I have added.
I really really really really hope the IT guy will say 'Hey! I can pull some things off this mangled, pathetic excuse for a hard drive. Here you go.' Either way I have to buy a new computer. This is the little gem I currently have my eye on:
It's from the future! It has blue lights! And a dual-core Pentium processor! And an absolutely blazing video card. Sweet. And all for the low, low price of $900. Not counting the cost of a new external hard drive - I learned my lesson.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Distraught
There is a new gentleman who moved into the apartments above my office. I was told before move-in day that while he was able to understand what you were saying he was unable to speak in return due to a stroke. Okay, that's no problem, we'll get something figured out.
It has turned into a problem. When he tries talking to someone all they hear is 'Woo woo woo.' In his head he hears "Excuse me, can you tell me how to find the Assembly Hall?" He also does not fully realize he isn't forming words. At first, I tried the yes-or-no method, thinking that he could help guide my questions and get him where he wanted to go. This didn't work so well on the first two attempts. I also offered him some paper so he could write it down, but no go. My next plan was to make a very basic picture board with general items on it so he could point out what he was trying to talk/ask about, and we could yes-and-no from there. After making up a sheet with 20 or so pictures, I ran it across the director's desk in case he had any suggestions.
He brought it back to me and said that the speech therapy folks had offered him a picture board already, and he didn't want it. He also declined their offer of a notebook to write things out in. The next plan is a sort of phrase book with a bunch of common things in it for him to use. The director did tell me to try again with my own picture board in case the resident had gotten frustrated enough to give it a try.
I offered it this morning (framed as something that would help me, not him, to ease things a bit), and he very clearly does NOT want to use something like that. I told him that I really wanted to find a way for us to communicate because I want to be able to help him find his way around, get his questions answered, all that good stuff. After a few minutes of helpless fumbling by me he just gave up and went on his way. I'm not ashamed to admit I had to take a few minutes to go cry in the bathroom.
I don't know what else to do to help him. I can see that he is frustrated, made worse by the fact that he doesn't know anybody here yet, and everywhere he goes nobody can understand what he is trying to say. I am going to see him at least 3 times a day, and we have hit a wall with our dialogue. It's very disheartening for me.
It has turned into a problem. When he tries talking to someone all they hear is 'Woo woo woo.' In his head he hears "Excuse me, can you tell me how to find the Assembly Hall?" He also does not fully realize he isn't forming words. At first, I tried the yes-or-no method, thinking that he could help guide my questions and get him where he wanted to go. This didn't work so well on the first two attempts. I also offered him some paper so he could write it down, but no go. My next plan was to make a very basic picture board with general items on it so he could point out what he was trying to talk/ask about, and we could yes-and-no from there. After making up a sheet with 20 or so pictures, I ran it across the director's desk in case he had any suggestions.
He brought it back to me and said that the speech therapy folks had offered him a picture board already, and he didn't want it. He also declined their offer of a notebook to write things out in. The next plan is a sort of phrase book with a bunch of common things in it for him to use. The director did tell me to try again with my own picture board in case the resident had gotten frustrated enough to give it a try.
I offered it this morning (framed as something that would help me, not him, to ease things a bit), and he very clearly does NOT want to use something like that. I told him that I really wanted to find a way for us to communicate because I want to be able to help him find his way around, get his questions answered, all that good stuff. After a few minutes of helpless fumbling by me he just gave up and went on his way. I'm not ashamed to admit I had to take a few minutes to go cry in the bathroom.
I don't know what else to do to help him. I can see that he is frustrated, made worse by the fact that he doesn't know anybody here yet, and everywhere he goes nobody can understand what he is trying to say. I am going to see him at least 3 times a day, and we have hit a wall with our dialogue. It's very disheartening for me.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
One Thing I Really Effing Hate...
...is people who bitch and moan about how under-appreciated they are for stupid, petty shit, and then follow it up with a 10 minute rant of the reasons they THEMSELVES BELIEVE they should be under-appreciated. Suck it up already, for Christ's sake. Grow some balls and say 'no' once in a while. Make a decision based on how it will effect your life, not someone else's. Or maybe, just MAYBE, stop to consider the fact that the only person who can make you feel like shit is YOU. Who gives a rat's ass what anybody else says? Are they living your life every day? No! So screw them, and screw you for keeping yourself trapped in some imaginary boundary because *gasphorrorpanic* some person out there you will most likely never actually meet might give a half-second's worth of thought to the matter. It's actually fairly self-centered to think your actions (or non-actions, as it were)are going to matter to or unfixably disrupt someone's daily activities.
Chances are it doesn't matter one stinking bit. Get over yourself already.
Chances are it doesn't matter one stinking bit. Get over yourself already.
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