Office Rumors

I know I talk about my work a lot, but a) I love my job and b) I spend a lot of time here...so naturally, I'm going to have a story or two from the daily grind.

A while ago on The Office, Michael Scott let it be known to several of his fellow employees that Stanley was having an affair. Once he realized the mistake he made, he countered it by starting individual rumors about other's in the office to take the focus off Stanley; Kelly had an eating disorder, Andy was gay, Jim and Pam were pregnant (which was later reveled to be true), etc.

Well this morning I was in a situation that could have warranted a rumor, had people actually been paying attention.

On my way in to work I received a text from my (married) friend Dan. Dan and I are good buddies, partially because we are the closest in age of our co-workers and always have a lot to talk about. He needed me to follow him to drop off his wife's car at the repair place a few blocks away, and take him back to the office. No problem. I picked him up right when I got to work.

When we got back to the office, Dan bolted out of the car towards the front door. It took me several minutes to get all of my stuff together, and I thought it was rather strange that Dan didn't stay behind.

It turns out that one of the guys in our office was standing outside the door on a smoke break, and Dan didn't want said guy to think anything about us coming to work together in the same car.

Later on, I ran out to get lunch and since he didn't have his car, Dan asked me to bring him lunch back. Again, no problem. But I chuckled a little bit as to how funny it was that I was bringing him lunch the same day that I took him to get his car.

This had the makings of some great gossip, had it been anything more than it actually was.

But I think I'll find someone else to take Dan to pick up the car tomorrow.

boston

Ann Claire & I recently traveled to Boston with our moms for an extended weekend of exploring and learning a new city. I know that daily details of our trip would not be of any interest to you (but hey if that's your thing, I'd be glad to share!), so I've decided to come up with a list of some of the highlights. I love lists!



Here we go.

1. We might as well have worn a huge sign on our head that said "Yes, I'm from the South" --- everyone, from waitresses to hotel staff to perfect strangers, noticed our Tennessee accents.

2. Speaking of perfect strangers...Bostonians are genuinely nice people. If it weren't for the direction and assistance of strangers, we would have wound up God-knows-where those first few subway trips. We also would have spent way too much time at a church that meant nothing. A guy on his nightly run noticed us talking about and taking pictures of what we thought was the famous Old North Church. Turns out it was a church, just not the one we thought it was. He laughed & directed us to where we needed to be.

3. Ann Claire must have skipped American history day in the 6th grade. Why else would she have asked who Paul Revere was? Gotta love her...

4. We dared my mom to ask a Harvard student where Legally Blonde was filmed. And of course, she obliged. The girl looked totally irritated. Elle Woods would have been proud.



5. You haven't heard funny until you've listened to a little Chinese man channeling his inner Elvis, singing "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" in a subway station.

6. Eating lobster/seafood in New England needs to be on your list of things to do before you die. Man oh man was it good!

7. People will do anything for money...mimes on the streets, people singing for your spare change, or my personal favorite...a homeless man holding a sign that read "I just want to get blitzed." I didn't have the heart to take a picture, but trust me...it was funny.

8. On Sunday we took a day trip to Hyannis Port and Nantucket, which was very much worth getting up at 4 a.m! Everything was so picturesque and quaint. Except for the lady who was breastfeeding right next to us in the tiny coffee shop we stopped in. I'll just say she left nothing to the imagination. I know it's part of nature, but there are somethings you just don't want to look at while enjoying your latte.



P.S. I put my organizational (read: OCD) skills to good use planning this trip, researching restaurants and reading up on all the to-do's of Boston. So if you find yourself making your way there anytime soon, I would love to pass on all the info that I put together!

ode to the Davis family & their new friend

I've known Sarah (Davis) Kruspe for over 20 years. We were in the same kindergarten class at FRA. In fact, she is the only friend I have who has been with me from kindergarten all the way through college. I was in her wedding in February 2008 and we still see each other every chance we can, including my yearly visits to Chicago and her occasional trips back home.

Sarah was in town this past weekend for a hot minute on her way to and from Florida for a bachelorette party. I got to spend some time with her Sunday night, and we had a blast. I am just as close to her two sweet parents, Steve and Jan. I think it is safe to say that her dad Steve is quite possibly the nicest man I have ever, ever met...and here is a story to prove that.

Yesterday I got a series of text messages from Steve, including the picture to the right, about a chipmunk that had made it's way in to Jan's garden. Here is Steve's account of his journey with Mr. Chips.

He has been digging up Jan’s flower garden so she got after me to set the Have-a-Heart trap to catch Mr. Chips and relocate him to the park. I tried all kinds of food scraps in the trap but nothing would lure him in. I looked around the pantry over the weekend and saw the Jenny Craig Anytime Bars and thought that might work. The first night he took the food and left. Sunday night I anchored the food a little better and he sprung the trap. When I went home to pick Sarah up for lunch yesterday, we saw that he had been caught and that a big cat was tormenting him. I took him to the park when I got home from work last night. He probably beat me back home. If he doesn’t like Percy Warner, I hope he likes some of the Belle Meade gardens.

Steve Davis, you make catching a pesky little chipmunk seem like something out of a Disney movie. You are now the new spokesman for P.E.T.A., and also maybe Jenny Craig. Thank you for that hilarious, albeit adorable, story.

happy get well retirement!

Today we are having a celebration luncheon to honor one of my co-worker's retirement.

We passed a card around the office for people to sign. I was going through making sure everyone had a chance to write their well wishes, when I caught this message written by a guy here in our office:

"We miss you! Get well soon."

I was answering the phones when I read this and laughed so hard for so long, I had to let one phone call ring to our voicemail. Woops. I had tears in my eyes and my abs hurt from uncontrollable laughter.

I love work humor!

As much as I go day-to-day appreciating the random and the hilarious, today I'm going to play a serious card.

Two years ago this morning, it was a Sunday, I got the call I knew was coming but didn't want to receive. I shot out of bed at the first ring...it was my dad. I knew before I flipped the phone open what I was about to hear. And sure enough, it was true. My sweet grandmother, my "Mema", had lost her two and a half year battle with cancer.

I didn't cry right then. I just took a deep breath and tried my best to accept it. No more would she suffer or be confined to her bed. I knew where she was, and it was a far better place than our's here on Earth.

I was her first grandchild and she spoiled me rotten. When I was little, it was all about entertaining me...trips to Opryland, afternoons feeding the ducks at Cheekwood, and Friday nights playing Uno well past my bedtime. As I got older, my relationship with her grew in to a strong bond, and I came to realize that she was not only my grandmother, but she was my friend and my role model.

I was without a doubt one of her biggest fans, and not a day goes by that I don't think of her. My memories are vivid, and they are what carry me through times when I would give anything just to pick up the phone and talk to her.

Saying that I miss her is an understatement, but I will always have our memories!

*This picture is of Mema and my sister, Grace. It is my most favorite picture of her and it sits on my desk at work...just wish I was in it!

It's the thought that counts...

I've talked about my (former) roommate Ann Claire a few times before. She is one of the most precious friends I have. And this little post in her honor is all in good fun.

Yesterday her husband of almost one year turned 30. She made a pan of lasagna and a cake to celebrate with his family and her's. Ann Claire is a lot of things...she's funny, in her own little way; she's got more patience than I could ever dream of having; and she has a heart of gold.

One thing she might need to work on his her baking skills. She attempted her first layer cake for Will, her husband. Here is how it turned out. I can't stop laughing at it. Mainly because of how well I know Ann Claire. But still. It looks like a life-sized Oreo that drowned in a chocolate lake.



It's the thought that counts. I know it tasted delicious. A for effort!

insta-laugh

It is physically impossible for me not to laugh out loud a little bit every time I see one of the following. Try it. It probably will be for you, too. Or maybe I'm just easily amused.

1. Dogs hanging out of car windows


2. Smart Cars



3. E-Trade commercials