I snoozed a few times this morning, because I had my outfit planned for the day, and my lunch ready (a NUTRISYSTEM dish), so I knew I’d be out early – and I was. I wore a new blouse I ordered from a catalog. It’s a beautiful deep purple, long sleeves, with a v neck and a twist in the middle. The fabric is actually knotted in the center and then flows down from there. It fits great and looks very professional. I wore my black slacks and my black kimono-style jacket with one button over it. I got compliments all day on the pretty purple, so I guess I made a good choice, because they had about 10 colors to choose from!
I had a pretty easy day, but did work on a few projects for one of the girls. I finished the first one and she was astonished that I was done so quickly. She said, “You have to slow down!” It’s funny, because I notice that the other temp will pace herself, to try to look busy and not have nothing to do, because she doesn’t want them to give her more work. I’m the exact opposite – and always have been – I try to do things perfectly, but also as quickly as I can, and I want to impress them with my expertise and speed!
I think that’s why I’ve always been valued wherever I worked, because people knew they could count on me to do a great job, and to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. There’s great satisfaction to be had from a job well done!
This firm is Halloween crazy! It was definitely looked down on at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and very few people dared to wear a costume or decorate their cubicles. Here, it’s de rigeur! People start talking about it weeks before. There are lots of secrets, a competitive edge, and loads of candy.
Today there were huge orange bins on the counters in all the kitchens and everyone was running around on a sugar high! I have to admit I had two bite-sized Milky Way bars.
This afternoon someone from Marketing Communications brought down a framed sign inviting us to their “party” from 10:00am – 2:00pm with games, contests, raffles, prizes, and of course treats! It said, “Come meet the family,” so we were all trying to guess what their theme is. They’re the stars of the firm’s Halloween parade each year, walking from floor to floor so everyone can see them! Usually HR joins in, but this year – as I mentioned before – very few of us are dressing up.
That brings me to MY saga. I decided to do the “June Cleaver/50s housewife” costume using one of my vintage dresses. I thought a wig would be fun, so I went to Hillcrest after work. I wasn’t able to find anything good, but I did wait until 2 days before Halloween. I really wanted a beehive wig, but they were all sold out. The only thing I saw was a purple wig that looked like Peg from MARRIED WITH CHILDREN – shoulder length with bangs.
I thought that would look kind of 50s, but – unfortunately – it looks a LOT different than the girl modeling it on the bag. It was squished into a small plastic bag and it is a total mess. It looks more like the wig for a costume where someone hasn’t combed their hair in months. I tried to fix it up, but it’s so cheap (it was under $10), and there’s not much to be done.
Okay, so that was a disappointment. Then I decided to try on my vintage party dresses to see which one I could wear – with some pearls and an apron – to be June Cleaver. I even stopped on my way home and bought Nestle Tollhouse cookies that you just separate, put on a cookie sheet and bake, so I could bring fresh-baked cookies to give out as treats!
I tried on dress after dress. Some couldn’t zip if my life depended on it. Some would zip if Eric was here to do it while I held in my stomach and pulled the fabric tight. One or two DID zip, but I wasn’t happy with the look, because I couldn’t find an apron! I had at least 100 aprons in my shop at one time – I used to sell them for costumes all the time – and I couldn’t find one half-apron! The only apron I have is a green, black and gold 50s number that covers you like a smock. It’s sleeveless and wraps around and ties in front. It totally clashes with the one dress I wanted to wear, which is orange and white, but – hey – it’s Halloween!
Then, I figured maybe I’d wear the long curly clip-on hair I used when I was in my belly dancing recital. Yes, I was in a belly dancing recital 2 years ago with my nieces. I weighed at least 10 pounds less at that time! If I wasn’t so fat, I’d wear the bellydancing costume to work, but that’s not going to happen!
So, finally I figured out I’d wear the orange and white dress, with the green, black and gold apron, some pearls, some heels, and put my hair back so that it looks like it’s in a pony with the clip-on curls. At least it’s a costume! I really didn’t want to be the witch and it turns out another girl wants to borrow the witch’s hat, so she can wear that and I’ll wear my vintage outfit. It’s definitely more me!
My big news is that I ordered a new computer. My friend, Andrew, configured it for me after we had a discussion of my wants and needs. He knows so much more about computers than I do, and he’s been such a help to me in the past. I trust him implicitly, so I told him to tell me what to buy and I’d buy it. I had it shipped to his house, so he can load everthing on there for me, and when I go to NY I’ll bring my laptop and he can transfer my other stuff from my old computer to the new one.
This computer is about to crash. It died 2 years ago and I should have gotten a new one then, but I just got a new hard drive. There are a lot of things wrong with this, and new things happen every day, so I know I’m getting the new one in the nick of time!
It will be so nice to have a new computer that will be fast and reliable. I just don’t have much faith in this old baby anymore. I bought it in January of 2002, so it’s almost 7 years old. That’s an antique as far as computers are concerned! It weighs a TON, the battery is totally dead (so I always have to have it plugged in) and it does weird things all the time. My spellcheck stopped working a few weeks ago (so if you notice any spelling errors in this blog, you’ll know why!). It takes at least 5 minutes for the internet to come up when I click on the icon. Five minutes – no exaggeration.
That happened MONTHS ago, and it’s really frustrating, but I’ve been living with it. Now, the timing seemed right, because I’d have Andrew to help me and I’d be there to get it, and this one seems ready for the junk heap, so it’s not a moment too soon.
So, I know you’re dying to know what TV I watched tonight! THE BIGGEST LOSER (2 hours from last night), DEAL OR NO DEAL (they had their second million dollar winner and it was SO exciting) and AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL.
I made an appointment today to get a massage on Saturday. The last time I was there (with my cousin Ilene), my masseuse Leah promised me an hour for $35, which is unheard of! I have been dreaming about it since then and I decided this was the weekend. I deserve a treat for selling the RV all by myself! I went through weeks of stress and tsouris and it’s finally gone, we got the money, and I’m spending $50 of it on myself (that’s $35 plus tip!!!).