I'm a dork . I know it. I admit it.

I am sitting here with tears in my eyes.

Tears of happiness.

Over an e-mail.

Well, yes, I am a dork, but maybe in this situation, I'm
just an extra sensitive person.

Remember my other post where I talked about how fun and
exciting it is to find a real piece of personal mail in my
mailbox?

Well--something else that is really exciting is to receive
an e-mail from my friend in Azerbaijan.

We have not exchanged actual addresses to send mail to each
other. It might not be such a great idea. No sense doing anything
to cause the family any potential problems.

Problems? Yeah- I get the feeling that the police in their
village would look for just anything to cause problems for this family.

Why? Well- you can read about it here or here. and fyi-- he's out of prison
and back home now.

And--well, my brother and I kinda got caught up in our own little bit of trouble while over there. (ps--I'm Wolton Kalie )

So--naturally ---I count it a blessing whenever I get to hear from
one of my friends in Azerbaijan!

And--blessings bring tears of joy to my eyes!!!

I am a very blessed dork! Amen!

This is what I've been stewing on---Glad I let it out!

Boy, is God giving me the perfect opportunity this morning to work on not being bitter or holding a grudge! To trust in him & that He will provide for me.

For about 17 years I have worked in a sales position for the same company. This company has branches in 6 different cities across three states. There has always been an average of about 4 people in my office, though at times there have been three and other times five sales people. Even though this is a sales position, our salaries or bonuses have never been based on individual sales. It has always been a combination of our office as whole and the other branches also.

Yes, we have always had a daily print out to show our individual sales figures, and that has been something I have always used to gauge my progress. But there has never been a lot of stigma attached to any one individuals figures, because we have worked together as a team.

Because we have worked together as a team, we have always had unwritten rules of courtesy. If a co-worker was at lunch, and his customer called and gave me an order, I would give it to my co-worker to write up. And vice- versa. If I quoted material to another salesperson's customer, I would give it to the other salesperson, in case we got the order. Sometimes, if a salesperson went through extra steps and measures to take care of another person's customer, we would just let that salesperson write up the order. No big deal.

This worked out well, because we could feel OK about being out sick or on vacation and know our customers would be in good care. They wouldn't be slighted by a salesperson saying, "I don't have time for this customer, I don't get commission off this sale."

I have wonderful customers, who through out the years, have asked me, "Now don't I need to make sure I get you when I call back so that you get the commission for this?" Or some variation of that question. My reply has always been something like this: "Of course I would like you to call me back, but if I am not in the office or not available, you can talk to another salesperson. We do not get individual credit for orders." I understand that my customers are busy. And sometimes they want to take care of their business of ordering from me, and then move on to something else. I don't want to delay their work, just because I am at lunch, at an appointment, or with another customer.

Well, now a lot of things have changed and it is causing me to have some hard feelings. First, off, the company has decided that part of the basis for deciding our year end bonus, will be our individual sales figures. Well, that really shouldn't matter too much, because, like I said earlier, we have always had an unwritten rule of courtesy and also have a good idea about who a customer usually tries to call first. And we honor that.

So--what is the problem? A new sales person who has come in the last few years. He's doesn't play by our courtesy rules. If I am at lunch and one of my customers calls, he will write up the order in a heartbeat. Especially if it is a large order. If it is small,he might give it to me to write up. He checks the fax machine and will take large orders off of the printer, and disregard the small orders for someone else to write up.

And ever since we have been told that our individual sales will count toward our year end bonus, this person has acted even more in a way that is not consistent with the courtesy we have always shown each other in this office. There have been several occasions where I quoted a customer, and even had the quote put officially into our computer quote system. Then, when the purchase order has been generated and faxed to us, he has taken the order and written it up himself. He did not bother to ask if anyone quoted the material. Knowing that if the purchase order had prices on it, then the customer got pricing somehow!! This has happened on a couple of very nice size orders of mine.

Unfortunately, I also think that there are other underhanded things he is doing, but do not know for certain. And I do not like feeling that way. And I do not like the feeling I get knowing that am working with someone who does things like that.

I know times are tough and I understand people have to provide for their families. I am all for someone wanting to be ambitious and successful. But not if he or she has to do it by stepping on someone else's toes , not displaying a good character and sometimes being out and out sneaky. It disappoints me to think this person would act this way, because we have to work so closely together. And outside of this issue, we actually talk and will do things for each other.

I did confront this person when I found out he had written up some orders I quoted. And I have made comments that I know make him understand that I have not appreciated the fact that he wrote up certain orders instead of giving them to me. Another salesperson has had to do the same.

But, it doesn't really do any good. In fact, it has become the office joke that he is an order hog. Some days it just bothers me more than others. I guess it was just bothering me this morning. In fact, my feelings were a little hurt by the customer that called him and gave him the order, when I was not available. But, it is not my customer's fault. This customer is one of the main ones that was very concerned about making sure I got any individual commission on orders.

I am just not the kind of person that feels comfortable now, going back and telling all my customers, "Hey--remember when I said it was OK for you to talk to other sales people? Well- could you stop doing that?" I'm sure they would understand. I just cant do that. I'm just not like that. So-- I better learn to deal with it, right?

I tell myself not to worry about "getting my fair share". That no matter what, God is going to take care of me. I tell myself to not worry about what this person is doing or how he is doing it, because in the end, he has to live with himself. I tell myself to just do a good job and God will bless me with good things. And to not stress and worry too much about this new inter-office "less than honorable" competition that seems to be going on. And most importantly, to not get wrapped up in it , and do things that will make me unhappy with myself.

OK----now that I've rambled on and let it all out, maybe this will help me to deal with things better. I'm not as upset as I was earlier, so that is a good thing.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice
Ephesians 4:31 (New International Version)

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of ChristRomans 14:10 (New King James Version)

I Gave Her My Heart, She Gave Me A Pen

"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley. I believe he already knows you." --Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), To Kill a Mockingbird.

"What I really want to do with my life - what I want to do for a living is, I want to be with your daughter. I'm good at it"
"She's gone. She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen." -- Lloyd Dobler (John Cusak), Say Anything

"I'm a full-time dad. I'm a working parent. I'm a mother and a father. I'm a guy who reads parenting books and cookbooks before I go to sleep. I spend my weekends buying tutus. I'm learning to sew. I'm Mr. Napkin Head" --Graham Simpkins(Jude Law), The Holiday

"Well, like I told Max... I was trying to cut my way through your wire because I want to get out".-- Capt Hilts (Steve McQueen), The Great Escape

"I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough." --Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling), The Notebook

Ok--so what is up with all those quotes? Oh, I'm just sitting here thinking of some of my favorite on- screen characters. On the way to work this morning, I was just thinking about Atticus Finch, and what a wonderful man he was. A "True Southern Gentleman" trying to raise his children to have manners, compassion, and respect for others. I just love when he so formally and respectfully introduces Scout to Boo (Arthur) Radley. Of course, there are many other scenes in that movie that I just love. I also enjoy his conversations with Scout,as they snuggle together sitting on the porch in the evenings.

Lloyd Dobler. I could dedicate an entire blog post to the "favorite" Lloyd Dobler sayings.

"I draw the line at 7 unreturned phone calls."

" How many of them really know what they want, though? I mean, a lot of them think they have to know, right? But inside they don't really know, so... I don't know ,but I know that I don't know"

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. "

What is not to love about Lloyd Dobler?

And, even as a little girl, catching glimpses of The Great Escape, while my dad was watching it, I knew that Capt Hilts, with his baseball glove and ball was the coolest guy around.


And, I cant forget to mention Mark Ruffalo, while talking about my favorite on-screen men. His characters in Rumor Has It, Just Like Heaven, and 13 going on 30 are just irresistible.

So, what does all of this have to do with anything? Oh , nothing really. Just sharing, once again, those random thoughts bouncing around in my head. Happy Friday!

This Gives Me The High-Rise Heebie Jeebies!

The tallest building in the U.S., the Sears Tower in Chicago, has added some new features. 1,353 feet in the air, on the 103rd floor, are some balconies. Not just any balconies. No--these balconies have transparent walls, floors and ceilings. I don't know about you, but just typing those words gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. If you dare step out onto the balcony, it gives the appearance, of walking out on air over the city. I don't know about you, but I just felt my legs go weak just thinking about it.

And look at these kids. Just laying there as if its no big deal. 103 stories high, now! I think I'd just freak out watching anyone walk out on a see-through floor like that. Just ask anyone who has been on a ferris wheel with me. No talking--No laughing---don't move--not one muscle.

I couldn't do it. Nope. I would feel like the bottom was going to fall out. What if there was a crack in the floor? What if it wasn't attached onto the side of the building very well?

Pardon my English, but I just have to say, "AIN'T NO WAY! UH- UH. NO WAY!"

The Death of a Fire Truck?

One day while waiting for pictures to be developed at the pharmacy (which these days is a lot more than a pharmacy) ,the Camster and I decided to take a run down the toy aisle. I spotted a really cool looking fire engine with a fireman sitting in the driver's seat and found out that it also made a really cool siren noise when a little button on the side was pushed. I showed the Camster how to make the siren work, and he thought it was pretty cool too. I'm not sure if the other people in the store thought it was cool or not, because he pushed the button as I pushed him in the buggy up and down every aisle. Yes-I was allowing him to be obnoxious. I thought it was funny. At least he was having fun and not screaming at the top of his lungs about something. Not that My Camster would do anything like that in public!

I decided that I would buy it for him, because at the time he had mostly what I considered baby toys. Not real boy toys. Now--this isn't the time or place to decide if I was politically correct calling the fire engine a boy toy. The little guy also has a vacuum and Elmo's restaurant featuring an oven and stove top. He loves both of those just as much as the firetruck. But I do think the truck it is a boy toy.

So, Cameron has had lots lots of fun playing with his firetruck. Pushing it and letting it roll across the room and crash into things. Sometimes the firetruck had a driver; the little fireman that came with the truck. Sometimes the driver was in the bottom of the toy box playing with Happy Meal toys, so the firetruck had to drive itself. Eventually, one of the wheels broke off, but the fire truck just kept on going. And the siren wailed every time Cameron pushed the button.

Then, last night, he decided he needed that battery-operated firetruck in the bathtub with him. It did fine, till he pushed the button for the siren to start. It started alright. But, instead of sounding like, "Hey watch out, I'm coming through to help put out a fire!!, it sounded more like, "Hey I think I'm a little waterlogged and I'm just not feeling so well". As sick as it sounded though, it was still just as loud as ever. And it kept going and going. I banged on it. I shook it. This thing was persistent.

So, I hurriedly bathed Cameron and got him out of the tub as quickly as possible. Let him think I was being extra cool by allowing him to run around without his diaper on. Why do babies like that anyway? I don't know--but I just prayed that he wouldn't do anything that would require him being covered with a diaper as I ran to the laundry room to get out my box of tools. The fire truck is still protesting the bathtub, all the while. Ok--the battery box on this firetruck requires a very small phillip's head screwdriver. Hmm- I have a large one. Nope--didn't work. Ok--I have a tiny flat head. Nope--didn't work. In fact, I think I stripped out the screw trying to get get it loose.Siren is still singing its sad song. Loud as ever. Now what to do? I banged on the firetruck some more. Surely the battery was gonna die at any moment. We'd had that fire truck for awhile.

The siren kept on shrieking and wailing, "eww I don't feel good, ewww I don't feel good." This wasn't good. I couldn't listen to this the rest of the night. I didn't want to traumatize cam by taking it out on the back porch and hitting it with a hammer. Plus--I kinda liked that fire truck. It wasn't the fire truck's fault. I was the one who let Cam take it into the tub.

So, I did the next best thing. I took it back to my room, to the the back of my walk-in closet. There I buried it under an overstuffed pillow, a pile of clothes , my laptop case, and another pile of clothes. And, there I left it to wail itself to death. I came back in my room an hour later to use the bathroom, and could still hear it in there. I felt kind of bad.

I ended up sleeping on the couch, and when I went into my room this morning. Silence. No more fire engine siren.

I'm thinking that maybe now that it is not making noise, I may try to see if I can help the poor thing out. Maybe since I am not now in panic mode over thinking I'm going to have to either listen to the siren all night or put it in the car, drive it far away, and dump it somewhere, I can figure out how to get the battery compartment open. Maybe its dried out and some new batteries will give it a new life. I hope so. Cause even though it is missing a wheel, I think I've grown kind of fond of that fire truck.

Copy Cattin!

I am "borrowing" from a friend's blog today. Yesterday, she posted a survey on her blog that she had "borrowed" from another source. Today I am following suit..............

ALL ABOUT ME (a survey!)

I Am

feeling uncomfortable in these tight fitting

clothes that didnt use to be too tight not so long ago.

I Want

to be inspired (i'm stealing this answer from my friend)

and to add to it: ..........to start exercising and eating healthy

I Have

a little change in my pocket going jing a ling aling.
no i dont----but I may have a few coins in the bottom of my purse.

I Wish

I dont know--sometimes I wish for things, but then I
realize that it is really a waste to wish. Unless you are wishing someone else well.

I Hate

nothing that I can think of. Maybe some strong dislike here and there.

I Fear

heights. I also dont like spiders and snakes. There are other things that cause me a bit of anxiety, until I remember that I shouldnt fear anything or worry about tomorrow.

I Hear

voices in my head. I'm stealing this answer too!

It is quite appropriate!

I Search

for things to motivate and inspire myself.

I Wonder

about all kinds of things. All the time.

I Regret

a little of this a little of that. But have
realized that sitting around regretting things doesnt change
anything one bit.

I Love

my friends and family

I Ache

not so much right now.

I Always

do better for awhile then go right back to
my old ways.

I Usually

have plenty to say, but cant think of
answers to this survey

I Am Not
a joker, a smoker, a midnight toker.

I Dance
like Patrick Dempsey in "Cant Buy Me Love"

doing the African Ant Eater Ritual

I Sing
to Cameron all the time, and then wonder
if I am teaching him to be totally tone deaf.

I Never

stand on my head and stack greasy B.B's.
I dont know. What is something I never do?

I Rarely

am on time.

I Cry

when I'm happy and when I'm sad.

I Am Not Always

the person I would like to be.

I Lose

my cool (me too!)

I'm Confused

a lot!

I Need

not a whole lot.

I Should

not procrastinate

I Dream

all the time.

And--that about wraps it up!

8:00pm on Sunday evening. Right now I am almost in the exact same position doing the exact same thing I was doing about 12 hours ago. Sitting on the couch watching America's Next Top Model. OK--what I'm picking up here, is that every Sunday, they will show an entire season of America's Next Top Model, from a season past. It takes all day to do this.

I could tell you a lot about the girls on this particular season of A.T. M. Some of their weaknesses . Some of their best moments. How they interact with each other. There is one girl who is just so sneaky and manipulative. But, somehow she has made it to the final four. And I don't even think she has done the best shoots. I don't want her to win.

Well, it would appear that Colleen has wasted a whole day laying on the couch watching TV. But, really I haven't. Actually, I knew there was a potential for this to happen. And I didn't want the day to come to an end and feel like I had wasted the whole day. So, I called a friend who has some of my same qualities. We access our "to do" lists. We see that we have a lot to do. We get frustrated because we cant do it all. We don't know which thing to do first. So, we end up not doing anything. Then, when a whole day is wasted, we feel even worse that nothing got done. Vicious cycle. We know that we will feel better if we get out and do something. Anything. But, it just seems hard to do sometimes.

So, I called my friend. She and her husband have been working on gutting out and completely remodeling an old two story house for several years. Her husband actually started working on it before they even met. Up until recently, he has done almost all of the work himself. No contractors. He has worked as he had time and money to work. He work has been delayed by two trips to Iraq and he will be heading back to Iraq again soon.

When I first saw this house a few years ago, it was a complete mess on the inside. At one time, the big beautiful house had been divided into apartments. Then, it set empty and neglected for quite sometime. So, my friend's husband had to gut it all out to make it a single family home again. There were holes in the floor so that you could look down and see the ground below. But, someone had a vision and determination. Now, there is a beautiful functioning living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. But, there is still one bedroom downstairs and the whole upstairs that needs to be gutted and remodeled.

My friend has been a little down because her husband is away in another state preparing to leave for Iraq. He will be coming home one more time before he heads to Iraq. She wants to show him that she has made some progress on the house while he was gone. And that she will be able to make more progress while he is gone. She is going to be gutting the rooms out, but contractors will come in and help with other things. She has not made a lot of headway the last couple of weeks since he has been gone. I have never been in her exact situation. But, with our personalities so similar , I knew she was gonna need someone to get her moving and get her motivated.

So, even though I wanted to just lay on my couch the whole day, I called her and committed myself to coming over to help her. Then, I watched another hour of America's Top Model before I made myself get up and head over to her house. When I got to her house, guess what she was doing? Watching America's Next Top Model! We watched a few minutes of the show, then headed upstairs to do some work.

And work, we did. We spent a couple of hours in the hot, non-air conditioned second floor. We sorted through a whole room full of boards that had already been pulled from the walls and floors, as well as lots of broken up pieces of old drywall. We had to decide which boards could be salvaged and used again, and which ones needed to be trashed. We had to pull out old nails from all the boards that will be used again. And I did some cleaning up, just so it would help to look like progress had been made. I did have to make a couple of trips down the stairs to the first floor to get some buckets to put debris in. And to get the broom and dust pan. On my trips down, I did take little peeks at the TV to get updates on the models' fates.

When we were covered in dirt and dust from head to foot, my friend announced that she needed to go to Home Depot. OK--fine. It is so unlike me to go out in public all dirty. But--it was Home Depot. OK--I'll go for it. We went by to pick up a friend who also needed to get some things from Home Depot. So, here we go. Girl's trip to Home Depot. Ground in dust on the knees of my pants and dirt under my fingernails.

We decided we were hungry, and after our shopping, we headed out to pick up some Chinese take out. Then we settled in at our friends house to eat and, of course, see who was still in the running to be America's Next Top Model. After we ate, I was taken back to my car, and then I headed on home. Full from too much Chinese food. Tired from working in a hot house tossing wood. In need of a shower. But, first I had to turn on the TV and see my girls again.

I was going to just watch till the first commercial and then go hop in the shower. But, then I started writing here. Now its just too close to the time for the winner to be chosen. I'll just have to wait on that shower for just a bit longer. So, here I am. Right back where I was when I started my day. Thankfully though, I have not been sitting on the couch all day. Thankfully I actually did something productive and spent time with friends instead of being a hermit on the couch all day. Thankfully I don't have to say that i did NOTHING but watch some show all day about a bunch of girls trying to be models. Whew. OK--so now I need to go. I don't want to miss the next few minutes here. They are close to announcing the winner! I need to get relaxed on the couch and enjoy the rest of this! PS--The girl I didn't like finally got voted off. Down to two girls now. Can't bite my nails in nervous anticipation though. They are still dirty.

THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HATH MADE

Today while running an errand on my lunch hour, I was cruising down the interstate and turned on the radio to enjoy some tunes. Soon I found myself just a singing along with Jimmy Buffet. "Come Monday, it'll be alright. Come Monday, I'll be holdin' ya tiiiiight....."

Here I am singing about it being alright on Monday, and its Friday afternoon. It made me think of some phone comments by customers earlier in the day. "Thank Goodness its Friday!" "Whew, I'm glad its the weekend!" "yep, I'm doing fine now. Its ........almost Friday........Its almost the weekend......"

They weren't the least bit interested in Monday coming along. Yet, the guy in Jimmy Buffet's song could care less about the weekend. He wanted Monday to come along so he could be holding his Honey tight.

So--then of course, I got to thinking about different songs and their perspectives on the days of the week.

The Mama's and the Papa's thought Monday was so good to them. But--then they decided they just couldn't trust that day. In fact, every other day of the week is perfectly fine to them-----but that Monday--nope---cant trust it.

The Bangles consider Monday a manic day. Their day of preference is Sunday. That's their fun day!

Lionel Ritchie seems to like Sunday. He's kinda easy, like Sunday morning. He obviously doesn't get up on Sunday mornings and try to feed and dress a family and get them out of the house, into a car and to church on time. That's not too easy!

I guess my customers have been listening to the philosopher slash (/) musician, Loverboy, who wore tight red leather pants on his album cover and proclaimed, "Everybody's working for the weekend". With his fast paced beat and the electric guitars and drums, he was making everybody wanna be in the show. Come on baby, lets go!

Another person ready to go is the woman with the Friday Night Blues, in John Conlee's song. He's been working all week while she's stuck in the house. He's wanting to just sit on the couch and relax, but she's been getting all "prettied up". As he's kickin his shoes off, she's putting hers on. She's got the Friday night blues. Well--maybe they can go out on Saturday night.

Saturday night must be a good night. The Bay City Rollers are especially excited about S-a-t-u-r-d-a-y night. They are gonna keep on dancing to the rock n roll. On Saturday night, Saturday night.

I sure wish these people would make friends with Sam Cooke & Cat Stevens.. They have a dilemma. Seems they've found themselves coming up on another Saturday night and they aint got nobody. They have money--cause they just got paid. They just really wish they had someone to talk to. They are in an awful mess.

Maybe they are looking forward to Monday too! Or Sunday, Or any other day of the week.

Seems everyone is always looking forward to a different day. Or a different time. It's gonna be better when Fri night comes. It's going to be better when the weekend comes. Or Sunday. Or come Monday.

Hey--I have an idea. Lets find a reason to be happy with this day. And enjoy this day. No matter what day it is.

"This is the day which the Lord hath made;we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

And -here's a song we can sing along to, and express our happiness for this day:

This is the day (this is the day),
That the Lord hath made (that the Lord hath made),
I will rejoice (I will rejoice),And be glad in it (and be glad in it)
This is the day that the Lord hath made,I will rejoice and be glad in it!
This is the day (this is the day),That the Lord hath made.

SOMEONE WHO SPEAKS GEORGIAN IS ON MY MIND

This is my name in Georgian. - (The country--not the state in the US. If that were the case, my name would be Cawleen--3 syllables). The language is very beautiful to see in writing. If I had been smart, I would have had the person who wrote this for me, write even more for me in Georgian. My brother had a great idea. He has Bible verses written in Georgian, in the back of his Bible. How is that for a souvenir?

This is the person who wrote my name for me. She lives in Azerbaijan, but the town she lives in is mostly a Georgian-speaking town. It is very close to the Georgia border. See how her walls are decorated in post cards? It’s really cool.

Here she is with her mom. Isnt this a sweet picture?


And here she is with her dad, mom, our interpreter, and two of her friends.

My brother and I, along with our interpreter (and friend), were fortunate enough to be guests in their home, for a couple of days.

It was such an awesome opportunity to meet these people, whom I will never forget. I wonder if I will ever get to actually see them again. We have an invitation to return during the summer months and hike (through the Caucus mountains) to a beautiful waterfall. My brother says that he would actually like to bring his whole family on a visit to this area. Who knows? We just never know where God might lead us or whom He will give us the pleasure of meeting.

My new friend has said she will teach me Georgian. The first phrase she has taught me is:"Kriste agsdga", meaning Christ is raised from the dead.

I think that’s a great phrase to start with! Knowing that Christ has indeed risen, and having a relationship with the Risen Christ is part of what led me on my journey to meet my new friend and know what my name looks like in Georgian. And to learn how to say, “Kriste agsdga!”

WELL ACCORDING TO MY CALENDAR, CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER

Yesterday I came into the office, looked at my nice big calendar, and thought, "Wow! Monday the 18th. This month is flying by way too fast!! Next week is payday (I get paid the last day of every month) and it seems like we just got paid! I studied the calendar, thinking about how time just slips by so quickly.

Wow, again--- I sure am behind in tearing off the dates on my little appointment calendar! So--I sat there and tore off the pages till I found the one that said, "MONDAY , MAY 18". Ok-all set to start the day. The day of Monday the 18th.

Oh--don't worry about correcting me--I have since found out that yesterday was not the 18th of May. But, I did go for quite a bit of time yesterday thinking that way, until a customer told me that he had a birthday coming up. On the 18th.
I asked him, "The 18th of what?"
"May", he says.
"Well--that is today!" Poor guy, doesn't even know it's his birthday!!
"No its not--today is the 11th. Wake up Colleen"

So I say, " I sure am glad you said something! I was already planning on going to my Dr's appt tomorrow" (which is written real big, in red, on my calendar on the 19th).

Usually at the end of each day, I use a marker and put a slash through that day on my calendar. But, I had not done that at all this month. So, I make sure, right then,that I put a mark through all the dates up to Sunday March 10th. And, yesterday before I left, I put my handy little slash through Monday the 11th of May.

So--when I walked into the office on Tuesday the 12th, I would clearly see that it was indeed Tuesday the 12th. There is NO Dr. appt note written as a reminder on the block of my calendar marked Tuesday the 12th. Of course not. Because my appt is for Tuesday the 19th.

What to know what happened next? I get up this morning, thinking about going to my Dr. appt this morning. I walk in the door and a co-worker says, " I thought you had a Dr. appt this morning. Why are you here?" I guess I must have mentioned yesterday that I had an appt, before I realized my error. So--what did I say, "Yes, I do have an appt. I don't have to leave until 9:30am though".

I sit down and start doing my work. Trying to get as much done as I can before I leave for my 10:00am appt. I am seeing a new Dr. and I was asked to be there early to fill out paperwork.

So, this morning at 9:40am, I head out for my appt, just a smidge later than I wanted to, but I couldn't help it. I had been in the middle of a sales call.

I get to the Dr.'s office and am a little irritated that some man is hogging the sign in sheet while digging around in his wallet for his picture ID and insurance card. I have to put the time that I sign in, and he is keeping me from signing in! I want it documented that I did show up early!

Finally when I think I am going to get to sign in, the nurse calls a man up to the window. Seems he was there for an appointment and his appt wasn't even till this afternoon. Poor guy. Came all the way over here this morning for nothing. Has to leave and come back later.

I finally get to sign in, and I hand the nurse my driver's license and insurance information, and then stand there waiting for the clipboard full of papers with every kind of question about me and my family. The nurse starts keying in information and then looks up at me and says, "Do you have an appointment with Dr. Jones?" That is when I realize that YES I DO have an appointment. It's just not THIS week. Oh my gosh!

So, I very sweetly & innocently said, "Yes. I have an appointment. Is this not the correct time?" She does a little more checking to find out what I really already know. My appointment is not till next week. "Well" I tell her, "you did ask me to be here early to fill out paperwork."

UGH! I am wondering how I still had it in my head that I had a Dr appointment today, even after I figured out that I was not looking at the calendar correctly. I had it in my mind, and I just stayed on course. No matter what BOTH of my calendars were TRYING to show me.

Thank goodness I will be seeing my Doctor next week. If I remember to go and if I remember where his office is located! I may need to discuss dementia with him!

Happy Hump Day! And don't forget to start working on your Christmas list!!

It's A Little Quiet At The Office Today

I just got done clipping my toenails. At work. At my desk. With my feet up on my desk. In front of my co-workers. I sure wish I'd brought my toe nail polish today. I could use a touch up.

....oh--but I dont have time for that, cause I need to make some sales calls!