angelak: (Contemplating Angela)
Friday. Took Benedryl. Half worried that when my real drugs wear off, that my allergic crap will come back. But we'll see. I can always use the Benedryl that keeps knocking me out - right??

Drinks with co workers tonight after work. Looking forward to it if my brain wasn't so addled. I am thinking maybe I will have a couple of drinks for once. I think I will invite Sean after all. Shrug.
We'll see. He, Sean, is off to see Man of Steel with his C.

So if he's free in time, I think I'll have him come along. Shake things up. I'm sure JF is curious to meet the "other" that she knows exists.

I miss Judy. I miss Judy a lot in this office.
Life moves on.

In other news, the weekend looks relatively clear, so that's good news.
Up and down goes my personal life. Mostly I think if I just keep being stubborn and working on myself, working on everything I want. Never give up.

Boring isn't better.
I need a damn nap though.
Jim invited me to see Man of Steel before I found out Sean was seeing it. STOKED> I think we might see it tonight.
Sean might come along too. I was excited that Jim invited me out to see a movie. It's the little things.

-Angela

What's New

Aug. 20th, 2012 10:55 am
angelak: (Visualize)
It has been a long while since I had an opportunity to write in my livejournal. It has been dormant. A lot has been happening. So much unrecorded, but in truth I can remember all of it right now. It’s later on when the months pass that I will forget the things I no longer wrote it the LJ land. Since I last posted, I have been cast in Rite of Sol, I have become a sub teacher instead of a regular teacher at my home studio and a regular teacher at Bikram Yoga Redmond, as well as Bikram Yoga Kirkland.

My Grandma died, I am still managing my Grandpa’s funds, we as a family are also taking care of Grandpa, making sure he is doing okay. This is a challenge in and of itself.
I am happily engaged in the polyamorous lifestyle. Every minute seems filled with abundance at this point. Sometimes this is the biggest bliss point ever – and other times a plate or two that I am spinning starts to tip over and I falter. The biggest challenge at the moment is to get the YOGA for myself. I went through a phase where I didn’t teach very much for a brief month, and then it came slamming back with a vengeance. Alongside my city job, all of this does take some managing. Especially given the fact I am involved with three different studios on the eastside, among other things.
The word abundance really captures how I feel. The gratitude I feel every day for the people who I am directly involved with regularly, and the studios I “work” in. Teaching Yoga is a blessing and something that while I sacrifice my own practice at times, is entirely worth the struggles I have endured to get to where I am today. I am becoming a stronger teacher, and continue to aspire to the best verbatim Dialogue that I know how. My brother is back in the orbit of the family, and we are grateful for his presence in our family again after his isolation and soon to be ex-wife situation. We are happy. It is apparent that HE is happy, too. Recently being hit with a strange virus that claimed his voice TEMPORARILY… well, he’s struggling through that.

James is a rare gift of a person. I think that is why it bothered me so much when he was no longer a part of my life, in major part due to the spite of one woman. The good news is that while Grandma’s story was ending, she brought James back into the family as she left mortality. Both of them are very important people to the family.

I am learning a lot about the family at this juncture in time, and have been all of 2012. My role has been harried to say the least.
And the rest of 2012 is going to see a lot more Yoga teaching for me – I look forward to sharing the yoga with people all over the place, and transforming my teaching more and more and more and more.

There’s nowhere else to go, here – but up. And the people who I am able to see are so very special to me! I have the most beautiful circle of friends. While I wish I had more time for things and was further at my Deacon memorization, I also realize I have limitations. And a whole life time. We’ll see what I can do. I was starting to make progress in April, and since then life has been a whirlwind.

Needless to say, Life is Quite amazing for me right now.
I work hard. I rest just enough. I need more yoga, but I am working on that constant balance of teaching and taking and living and loving! And I am more than thrilled to be a part of the cast of Rite of Sol this year. This is something I wanted to be a part of for years.

And choosing to take care of myself first - and consciously acknowledging the people that will harbor a giving and receiving nature within friendships, relationships. Particularly in the times I needed it most. Because my energy reserves waned when some serious things were going on with the family.

And all the good stuff? Well. I worked for all of that. I'm not going to lie. Product of hard work, blood, sweat, and yes - tears!

So here it is!!!!
Growth experiences abound.

-Angela
angelak: (AngelaNov09)
2012 BREAKOUT!

Focus for 2012
(I don't exactly do resolutions, per se, but I do have focuses.)


Serve my communities – focal point = Service

Yoga/OTO/Pagan communities, serve them (How? Be present. Give whenever possible in time/service.)

Leave Self doubt behind

Serve in the Mass team beyond the child role:
(First Deacon, then Priestess - eventually, in the future...)

Replace carpets downstairs in 874

Create a tidy home that is nearly always acceptable for impromptu guests

Become a strong and valued Bikram Yoga Teacher

Develop my Yoga Teaching

Digest and Teach verbatim Bikram Dialogue

Improve physical and emotional bodies

Reach the low 140lbs range solid

Lean out body the rest of the way

Shrink the hips/upper thighs

Return to Teacher Training as a mentor (not a DE-mentor).

Travel to see teacher training friends and take their classes!

Maintain a strong Yoga practice

Maintain a moderate running and circuit training schedule

Continually build strong relationships with my sweeties

Stay close with Jim

More personal focus from self to community service

Rite of Sol Involvement

Search for a late 90's Mitsubishi Eclipse for personal material items list
angelak: (Girl needs a boy)
Because I can’t help but write about this, I’ll be posting a post. It seems the 30 day challenges aren’t quite working, the weekends pretty much screw me over when I try and do 30 day challenges. But, now that I have abandoned the 30 day LJ challenge, it’s safe to say I am ready to let it be as much as possible from here on out, to keep my records and LJ-y land all happy!!!

So, having addressed the fact I officially give up on my 30 day for now (It looks like I was pretty successful though, for posting LOTS of stuff day to day!) I will go ahead and move on and go to the next phase: just posting whenever I can!

Next on my list, the reason I wanted to post this morning was that because 5 minutes ago, on my commute back to my side of town (where my office is) I was driving the city Ford Escape Hybrid, feeling particularly cheerful after slashing down my worklist by 50% in the first 3 hours of work (my list appeared super long when I came in to the orface today) … and I see another Ford Escape. No biggie, I usually ignore this type of thing. Why? Well, it’s not even my vehicle for one (although I admit it is really fun driving the Escape, I won’t even lie about it – for a Hybrid, it does great and it’s also a SUVish ride) – my vehicle having “CITY OF ISSAQUAH – FOR OFFICIAL BUSINESS ONLY” on the side…

The guy in the vehicle next to me, I notice – is blatantly and unabashedly STARING at me, with his head pointed directly at ME. Hmmmm, I think. Then I look closer. Wow, he looks like Matt. Matt’s only the hottest gay guy ever (yes, Matt – you can take credit for being super hot, I realize Matt is probably going to read this!)
So I crane my neck to the side and stare back for a moment, sort of surprised. I had been in a reverie of half-caff coffee, great friendly users, and sunshine induced thoughts. Warm, coffee drink in hand (rare these days, because I accidentally gave up coffee about 5 or 6 months ago), productivity high, people being agreeable on a PayDay Friday. I realize I am running on and sort of ADD in this post.

So, it’s a dude who looks like Matt – and so he smiles at me. I’m still wondering. IS THAT MATT??? Which is why I stared back, because I seriously thought it was Matt for a good 5 seconds. Count them out, One-thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three etc, five seconds I’m wondering if this is Matt.

Then I decided, no – not Matt. So why is he matching my speed and staring? Another course where they think I escaped high-school and stole a city vehicle again? I think that now days this is actually becoming less common than when I first started work at Issy.
I shrug it off for a moment until we reach a stop light, when I double check AGAIN, is this Matt???? He wants me to roll down my window… hmmm. Okay, why not. Maybe this IS Matt – This is how convinced I am that this might be Matt, same general look. Which to say the least, is… Sexy.

He asks me how my gas milage is, unabashedly outgoing and clearly flirty, I’m still in shock once I hear his voice I realize again, “no. Definitely not Matt. Matt has one thing on this guy… the sexy voice.” It’s not that this guy had a lousy voice, but if you’ve spoken to Matt for any length of time, you realize that Matt has another bonus for all the gay men: Matt could talk about dogshit and kid vomit and somehow make it sound attractive. (No, I don’t worship Matt – I’m just being real here.) Matt is a good friend and I love who he is as a person. But I also recognize his attributes too. Poor me. Having attractive friends, oh – I lead a rough life.

And then as the light changes he says, “really, I just wanted an excuse to say ‘hi!’ And with that, we drive off. Perhaps 5 or 6 years older than Matt, still. This will wake you up more than a half-caff.
And in other news, the weekend is coming like a freight train, and I’m gloriously happy about this. Chiropractic today, Yoga, and then more puppy spoiling is on deck for the evening. I might even squeeze in a trip to Good Will to drop off some stuff I want out of my house, so we can continue spiffing our home. I have a house guest coming in a week from Australia for a few days, and I hope his arrival will spur on some great stuff, like my home being spiffed.

I also have to drop by Marysville this weekend. Blargity. My check engine light came on. I called my hot mechanic (yes, the world might very well revolve around men today) and he said perhaps a sensor wasn’t hooked up because he forgot it or something. He apologized and said to drop by. The car still runs great and so I figured it is something really simple.

Guess I will have to bug my parents and see if they want a visit this weekend; I’ve been visiting them more since I found Mr. Stud Mechanic up North. Or maybe this is my chance to drop by Travis and Krista’s… not sure if my energy mode is in “let’s visit the fam” mode though. Admittedly.
But it HAS been a while since I saw Conner. Who knows. Needless to say, my day is going right along. Sweeeeet!

Oh, and lastly, I got a new laptop at work after waiting since my last upgrade, in 2005. This thing is pretty rad. And the coolest thing is that the battery lasts on it. I have not had a laptop with a working battery (work or personal machine) in like 3 years. I'm seriously eating this up. Finally I take my work laptop with me all over the city now and can set up anywhere, anytime. It's been a breath of fresh air, honestly.

-Angela
angelak: (I go Wild)
AutoCAD is an awful thing to install. I'm just saying this because it usually takes a very long time. Couple that idea with the fact that this computer is having issues removing an old version - and the 2011 version will not open properly, and we've got a long time to make a quick update, yeah?

Needless to say, I got my first orthodic run in yesterday afternoon, a quick 20 minutes, which more accurately turned into 25-30. Actually, I'm not sure. I didn't look at the clock. That was stupid.
On my seriously pronating foot, I do have a minor blister from the support being up directly against my arch. I've gotten these before with over the counter shoe inserts - but it only happened via treadmill before. I think I pronate more on treadmills, to be honest, and I'm not sure why. It doesn't matter, I just know that my inserts I used before hadn't ever given me a blister until I hopped on a treadmill :)

My knees felt a little "different," after yesterdays run, but my feet felt fine other than the minor bubble. Okay. We'll give it a shot on Saturday for 30 minutes officially, of course wearing some sort of "blister" protector. Band Aid I believe has the best blister protectors ever. I used them before with my old shoe inserts when they used to give me trouble. After a few nasty blisters, my feet were broken in. I assume the same will happen with the super dandy custom orthodics. They actually didn't feel too bad out on the run. I wasn't sure how it would feel. Tiann is trying to release me from PT, which is awesome and sad all at once. For one - I love how she loosens up my feet. For two, I can't help it. I like people messing with my feet.

I am feeling more energetic today than I have in a long time, so perhaps things are workin' out well with my supplements/dietary shifts. My BBT appears to be slightly higher than last month at this time in my cycle - so that is good news. I think today for the first time pre-ovulatory, it hit above 97. I take that as a VERY good sign. I am keeping my eye on it.

Still deciding on the Thyroid test or not.

I am just happy to have energy again, at any point in the day. I expect as my body gets loaded with what it was lacking, things will just get better and better.

Today is Friday. I am happy for Friday. It has been a completely swamped busy week here. That is probably why some of my entries have been shorter. We can thank Civil3D for this entry.
I have plans to go to Redhook with Dave, Jim, and Tony this weekend, and also Dave's friend who is visiting from Hawaii, one last time before he flies back. Apparently Dave's friend thought I was hilarious. I'm glad. ;)

Then of course - I've got my Russian class ahead on Sunday. I hope I can invite Travis out to Redhook with us on Saturday - so I can buy him a birthday beer or two. His birthday was the 8th, but he was out of town on work, and the rest of the time we haven't had a chance to link up. Sad, sad!!!

The ripe old age of 27 (hah) Travis is.
And then I suppose before I know it, it will be August. Yikes.
A lot of life is ahead. But at least a smidge of life is getting to be behind me too.

Now I'm just wondering how and when the next chapter will appear. I used to think I could force it all. But as it has been shown to me... I don't think that's going to work for me.
So I guess I have to let go a little more ;)

Monday is President's day. It is Dad's birthday also. I am not sure what I am doing for Dad, yet. Hmmm...

-Angela
angelak: (Fuck you)
Hello, LJ list. I know you've all been waiting for my latest post. Last night was wild. First off, I feel like I'm not workin' out enough, but there is a lot of other stuff going on in my life. For a solid 2 years, I can almost say I worked out to avoid dealing with the rest of my life. These days I'd rather do both. Work out AND deal with my life.

My original intention was to go home, be lazy with Jim, and eventually work out.
We got into pointless arguments.
I ended up bumping into the Mastermind weekly call - with my CGW folks. After that, they reminded me one of our fellow CGW people was putting on a webinar. His webinar was about starting your online business in 6 days. I almost jumped for the idea - I could go on and on about why or what or how. But this is really the reader's digest version of this. I was inspired - and ended up spending most of my night working on personal work projects. Problem being, they were projects and ideas I hadn't even considered prior. And suddenly I went from ZERO plans, to deadlines - to major financial decisions. This does NOT bode well for the Virgo Angela. I like to weigh, decide, perfect, get myself comfortable - and then spring into action. It's not a zero to 100mph thing for me. I DO have space now to begin working on a website to perhaps eventually launch products that include self defense informationals. If I had launched my stuff and gotten all my products together by Monday - I could seriously have had some MAJOR exposure on some major lists and serious traffic to my site. Problem being... I'm not ready for that. I don't have any quality data together, and to get it all together and build my own professional site, I would have to pretty much take my entire trip in Santa Barbara and be working.

Somehow, I didn't drop the cash on my plane ticket and the last few weeks of anticipation of enjoying my time with Sasha to *work* and stress the entire time. I made a major decision to fly out of town instead of do the usual thing - Drive down with Jim to Portland or do something else with my family.

Therefore, I've decided to stop with the breakneck stress and timeline, and do it on my time. This is the only way to be strong about this. Now, millions of visitors might have really launched me into another business state entirely, but not at the cost of what I have going on right now.

I slept crappy last night because I was mulling over business plans, cash flow, and how to get my content together. John's team would have put together my site for me with their best layout - for $300. I just got finished spending a goodly amount of cash on my phone, my plane ticket to LA, and in December - my Yoga membership is due at a spendy $500. Also - another seminar for some other work projects, I already signed up for.

Honestly, $300 more on top of that is not where I'm at right now. This other stuff I have managed to accept somehow without having a panic attack. (Somehow, it's working out, at the cost of a tiny bit of savings and the lack of car payment). So far, it's worth it.

Other than that - I've chosen to take a step back. I also want to ENJOY my life. All these work projects are great and growth geared. But I also need to stay sane. And I was beginning to see already what that would look like if I started losing it today ;) Basically, I'm really a face to face person anyway. I'll still build a site (ugh) and do some major focus on the web side... but definitely not in 6 days. Doing it in 6 days may work for some other people, particularly if they had all the web stuff handled, and some content already cranked out. But my content is all in my head because it was designed to be a workshop medium, not quite articles or products. That was something I had not even gotten to yet. And to force that issue ... probably would make me run, screaming. And not scared screaming. Unhappy screams of annoyance. That's no way to start out. At all.

Soooo, tonight I am going to lift some weights, relax, and get ready for my trip to Santa Barbara, instead of losing my mind and trying to complete work at a breakneck speed. And seriously connect with Jim in a positive way, before I head out of town. A part of me is very bummed to miss out on the Thanksgiving stuff in Portland. But a part of me is also glad to opt out of the stress. Because even if I love his family - I'm usually stressed when I go down. I'm not even sure why. Except I didn't experience that same stress with the Texas side of the family. I think it's just part of my energetic sensitivity and the level of broadcasting that happens in the Portland fam. It causes me to put up stronger shields, that eventually drain me by end-of-trip.

As for the snow. Can we see it melt already? Angela likes rain.
Also happy my bundle for my DROIDX showed up in the mail. I now have more than 1 charger to split between work and home. That was a pain in the ass. Now I can just unplug it and go, instead of constantly forgetting my damn charger in the wrong place.

So in regards to pushing too fast, too much, too soon - I flip the bird on that idea. It's time to live my life and love it. Not dread projects that I should be in love with (and typically am in love with.)

-Angela
angelak: (874)
This week has been pretty uneventful so far. Yoga on Sunday and Monday, had to skip for a class I took last night with someone special and some other cool folks at Edge of Circle books. It's going to be a good way to reconnect with my magickal self. I've been pretty dormant on my magickal practice, and I've had thoughts about how this was affecting me lately.

Some extreme nostalgia that I've been turning my back on my spirituality and wondering why I am not as fulfilled in other aspects.
I'm still dealing with Plantar fasciitis, and staying as positive as I know how. I know that things can go away. Work is work. I'm not overtly thrilled, but it allows me a lot of flexibility here.
Took care of a lot of work this morning, and then rolled through at the police department to see my records dept friends.

That was pleasant!!!
Unfortunately traffic and timing judgments failed me last night, and I showed up to the class late.
Next week will be better.
Tonight, Yoga.

What else. No idea. Might post more later.

-Angela
angelak: (Attitude)
I was able to snag a 20 inch monitor for my super slow work laptop.
Impressive.

Not used to such clear, fresh monitor fun at the orface. Dare I say it does provide a little extra light to my corner????

-Angela
angelak: (AngelaSide08)
In other news:

8 years ago today was my very first day here at Issaquah. As an intern. I don't even think I'd quit Target quite yet. It is a strange thing, to be sure. I am pretty different than I was in those times - naturally. I was 17 years old. Just, wow.

Yes, I realize that is young to land this kind of position. Up until recently, I feel like I've had a pretty good jump on stuff and growing up a little young. That's true. And then about 3-4 years ago, things slowed down. Maybe it's just I'm experiencing what everyone else had to go through earlier; waiting a little longer for things to fall into place. A lot of stuff needs to fall in to place one of these days :P

I am definitely hitting a place in my life where forcing the next step is not going to work. That is - I've been working hard at forcing stuff and it doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere. I recognize that letting things flow is going to be where it's at. That doesn't mean I'm not putting all my efforts forward, it just means loosening up on what I think should happen.

:)

-Angela
angelak: (Chill pill)
I took lunch because my boss hadn't responded yet to my email - ate a nice dandy little carb-laden meal, came back, checked my email.

Then decided I better get out of that class. I've never been in the situation where a class is "above" my skill level. I usually am placed in classes that are just right. Maybe a little on the easy side. I've been CHALLENGED in classes before, where I was almost beyond my scope, but I managed and learned tons that way too.

This wasn't the case.

Turns out, after I spoke to my prof about it - I was then directed to our account rep for the TLG learning center. I talked to him about my circumstance, what I needed the class for - what I'm intending to use the class for in my organization.

I talked to him about how I felt in the class and what my experiences were. Sounds like I am not the first non-dev to have somehow registered for the dev course. He immediately gave me the option to register for the more appropriate 1-day courses that he believed would be perfect for what I am looking to do. Both of these classes cost considerably less than the one I was enrolled in this week. This means we'll get a credit.

The next course is on March 18th - next Thursday. It is a 1 day course. While I had the option for another video/mentor led class, I also had the option for an instructor led course. I opted for a real classroom setting - not a video setting. (ew).

While the video led setting may be nice in some ways - I really need the social aspect of classrooms to learn my best. The other class, level II so to speak is being offered in April. Enough time to take my stuff back to the office and really mess with it.

If I can get the right skills to tackle the project, I find I'm a little more interested. I informed my boss of the updates, and said I was much more interested in a knowledgeable launch, than a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants launch. This was why I was losing my stack about this, for quite some time. My account rep did assure me that had I had a year or so experience at asp and .net programming, the dev class would have been just fine. I had that distinct feeling when I was going through the coursework.
It relieved me to get this all taken care of. Not only will I get enrolled in the class that I desperately need to move on with the project, we'll be spending less to do it, and I might just be able to walk away feeling empowered instead of drowned!

Certainly must have been a universal test to see if I could take my balls out and use them at the right time, because at this point everything is straightened out, and I get the vibe that things might run a lot smoother with this project now.

The universe was forcing me to grow.
Seriously.
I had no choice.

;) Finishing out the rest of my day here at the office, and will be heading to the gym maybe before Yoga! Yes, the gym. I have my own gym. I have to brag to myself about this... for the money, I've earned bragging rights!!!!

-Angela
angelak: (Deep Thought)
Ah, well.
Will get through this somehow. Only thing to do is go right on through this dandy little bump in my current situation.

Hmmm. How exciting.
:P

Probably too wordy, but this is my email I sent to the boss. )

Be that as it may. It's all I've got. Why should I do poor work that will likely take it's toll in my personal well being just because I'm being asked to do something that isn't in my skill set?

Response from the boss. )

I do like the term mushroom. Well.At least it got the point across. He doesn't seem to be perturbed at all...

-Angela

You know

Mar. 9th, 2010 10:49 am
angelak: (Alone)
You know - I normally LOVE being in class.
Really, I love it.
But I really don't love this.
This is a bunch of stuff that is just too beyond me.

I don't even really know what to do about it at this point.

-Angela
angelak: (I go Wild)
This feels like the longest class known to man, for me right now. It’s a 4 day class, and I am nigh on the mid morning of day 2. The class? Sharepoint for Devs.

I’m not a developer. IE, programmer/coder.
It has never been an area that I was strong at. I don’t have a lot of dev background. I have mostly networking background – hardware, setting up networks, definitely peripherals and computer services sort of stuff.

So this… this class is way, way above my level of… whatever it is.
Basically it’s like sitting through a calculus class when you should really be in Geometry class.

It makes me feel like this project is really in a different arena too. I don’t feel confident in my abilities to design, create architecture of a website for a whole organization, and also build it out, support it, teach it to people. This, still on my spare time next to end user support and other projects at work. It would be one thing if it WAS a regular website. But Sharepoint is a whole headache unto itself. It's asp crap, it's not some simple HTML concept. It's this whole slough of crap that is more complex than that.

It really is frustrating. I know I’m whining. I’ve been managing okay, but the problem is this class is highlighting that I don’t feel equipped skill base wise for this.
Ask me subnetting questions! Ask me network topology~! Ask me like 100 other things. But don’t ask me to write code.

Don’t do it.

And don’t make me design webpages.
The only single saving grace this could be for me, is to actually teach people this. If I could actually get a product launched that wasn’t a pile of crap, shit, splooge, … then I could run with the idea. I could learn it from an end user standpoint and pass that knowledge along 1,000 times over to everyone else. That’s what I’m good at.

I’m not the builder/thinker/create it in your head type.
I’m not a web architect if you will.
Everything in my power says _ SURE, I can create a site. But it’s going to be hodge-podged, unorganized as hell, and really just not as effective as if you had an entire TEAM working on it. Say – a Sharepoint team.

With some people with specific knowledge and education in more than 1 week spans on the subject. My frustration knows no bounds.

I was reading some posts I wrote in 2006. Guess what, I was beginning to mess with SP in 2006. And not ONCE did I ever work with it and not feel very frustrated with it. Just, wow.

So, I’ve been having ulcers over this same thing for 4 years, and what it amounts to is now – finally, we’re seeing movement on it. And it’s where my job is supposedly headed.
Hmmmm.
What do I do? I’ve tried to get across to my boss my levels of discomfort, but somehow it evades him.

Not being direct enough? Yikes.

Onwards: in other good news, I am drinking a delicious soy caramel macchiato, and did something very impulsive-ish last night. This girl Jim knows from work had invited him out to see a play with her and some other dude. Apparently this chica, after him asking her out to coffee – went around asking every single backroom overnight worker what kind of “guy” Jim was. Like a full on investigation. The women he’s been almost getting involved with are giving me headaches, to be honest. They’re weirdos. I don’t care if that’s rude to say, but he has approached a couple of women and they’ve turned out to be flakes. This girl doesn’t feel like she is any different.

I mean – I understand being in the game for personal safety. But you WORK with the guy. And shouldn’t you figure out sooner or later for yourself in a PUBLIC location, where you can leave at any time – what kind of guy he is? So weird. The last girl insisted she was interested in him, and then insisted that sexual advances, including kissing were out of the question, that she was “abstaining.” Well – yes, I get where this is something folks do from time to time, she would do this jerk-him around sort of business. He went on like 3 different dates and eventually she said she felt guilty and had some conversation with her ex bf and then he never heard from her again. This didn’t bother him. I particularly didn’t like that chick and I never met her. It was the stories he was telling me about her that were throwing off a bad vibe on that one. (Vanessa). This current girl is Amy. Overnight workers are making me ill in the first place. Are ANY of you overnight working women not out of whack?

So after Jim got several comments from dudes he knew and didn’t know that well on the overnight crew about this girl asking about him – she finally calls him last minute like yesterday (I found out right after yoga) to see some play in Seattle. Only she was bringing some other dude too. Jim didn’t know this dude. Also, he wasn’t particularly eager to go. Well, he called me and we talked about it. He sort of wanted to hang out with me, and we’ve been sorta BLAH lately, but I was like – in my head “there’s no way I’m going to get in the way of opportunities and a chance to go do something for him.”

He seems reluctant (I’m not sure why – is it me? Is it his feeling uncomfortable about how the girl approached all his pals and unpals alike at work?) No idea. He ends up deciding to go. I see him for 5 mins, and he goes out the door. Whoop Dee. I’m sort of wonky, but mellowed (thanks to Yoga!)

I sit on the computer for 20-30 minutes and then I think. Ah, hell. I’m going for a walk. But it’s cold. I should definitely put on the layers. Then I drive down to flat area… and decide, “no!” And having seen a “no enrollment” fee ad in the mail for the brand new, opened 3 weeks ago 24 hr fitness 3 minutes away from home, I head back home. I’m going to check out the gym. I know I have a yoga membership. I know CT at home and prefer running outside… but there are times after 2200hrs in the evening that I refuse to go outside but still would like to run. Wanted to buy a treadmill but not wanting to pay the $$ or store it. Wanted to buy a deadlift bar but saw they cost between $150-$200. Too much expenditure…..

Also fantasized about watching TV and just walking at the same time. So. I did it. I went to the gym on whim. I was bored, it was earlyish. Got a tour.

It has a pool, sauna, steam room, hot tub, b-ball court, regular machines for cardio, weight stuff, a bunch of deadlift bars, yada yada yada. TOWEL service (nice) and it generally looked awesome. It was packed, but I shrugged. Whatever. I signed up for the year membership opting to pay in a few payments, but getting a lower deal. Multi-gym pass, I’m paying like $33 a month. I figured that was a good enough deal. Less than cable. I don’t have cable at home. This is my chance to have it. JK.

I then went on to swim 30 minutes of laps, and went for a little 30 minute walk while watching some TV. Went home.

Found out Jim had come home and was calling me. Apparently Amy and some “older” dude were there in Seattle but the show had sold out. They had their tickets, and Jim couldn’t get tickets. He lied to them and said he was going to go grab some food in town (Seattle). That it was okay. Guess he said it was sort of lame. He was excited that at least if he couldn’t go to some play he wasn’t crazy about seeing with some girl who he would rather have had coffee with to talk to – that at least he could go home and spend his evening with me. And then I was gone for a few hours. Off spending dough on something that I don’t NEED… but I’m sure it will be worth it.

Anyways. About this Amy chick. Uhhh, okay. So far, so lousy.
His luck with women is pretty weird anyway. It was before me, and it continues to be weird. I think he attracts freaky chicks. Nevermind me.

Maybe that’s mean. I don’t care!
Sometimes polyamory is a headache. FYI.

Anyways. Now I have a gym.
And this 24 hr fitness is ACTUALLY open, 24 hours a day. This alone makes it way better than my old 24 hr fitness membership. Not all of them are actually open 24 hrs a day.

Happily membered. It’s just nice to have options.
Really wishing I could chat with Mom this week. But it just isn't feasible in this fantastic class...

-Angela
angelak: (Lauren Graham Perturbed)
I'm updating here from within my Sharepoint Dev class. I woke up this morning with all intentions to be 111% positive and get as far as I could. Well - I actually had no idea what to expect, seeing as the only other Sharepoint classes I've taken were Netdesk classes. Which aren't really my favorite kind of classes.

I pretty much find the intensive book-work classes to be irritating.
But my boss likes them.

So - as is, here... I am taking a class through TLG Learning, it's over here in Factoria/Bellevue. This class is a mentor led class. We're all in the same classroom, watching different videos doing different labs, and the teacher is available the whole time for questions and guidance. Different.

In fact, I've never taken a class like this. Therefore, it took me the better part of 2 hours to really figure out what the hell I was doing. It began to make more sense once I broke in to how to do the labs in conjunction with the videos.

Confusing.

Now, this had me panicking when I couldn't figure out the lab material vs the video stuff in the first 2-3 hours. I began to feel like I was drowning in material I didn't understand. Also seeing some of this isn't really that important in regards to how I am already deploying Sharepoint. But then - I'm deploying Sharepoint as a total uber n00b.

So, most of the stuff I am doing isn't the most efficient way. The problem is that I know this. The problem is that I don't *KNOW* the most efficient way to deploy a Sharepoint site. I've taken a couple of week long classes. That is not the same as becoming a Sharepoint dev overnight. Not remotely. I've messed around with it from time to time in the last 2 years. I've been asked to deploy a test site and launch it, and present it to my director. I'm good at this sort of thing. I made a simple, rudimentary site. I excelled at presenting it to my director. I'm good at presentations (especially on the fly) and I'm good at working with people. I'm good at making things look good even when I have no idea EXACTLY what I am doing.

#1 mistake was being effective at this at least 2-3 different times in the last 3 years. These mini-launches have made an impact and make it look like I like doing it?! And that maybe I know what I am doing.

Let me assure you: I don't.

I'm not your greatest woman for "pretending intentionally" that I'm awesome at stuff. I admit when I suck, I admit when I'm awesome. And right now I admitted that I sucked at Sharepoint. This landed me in this training course as per my boss. My boss heard my admission to suckery as "Angela needs training! Perfect."

Yikes.

I might also add that very few people are getting training right now with as tight as the budget is, and SOMEHOW, out of some grace of the gods, (not sure what KIND of grace, you know - the evil, look.at.you - asshat, I.want.to.laugh.at.how.funny.it.is.to.see.you.sucking.at.something.you.also.dislike.doing sort of grace) I am one of the choice people who has landed training in our 2010 budget.

Whelps, folks. I'm trudging my way through the class and doing the best that I possibly can. This is the same attitude that has got me thus far - and thus far getting me into 111% trouble because it is clearly enough to land me this project, this training, and the continueing position of having my boss think it's... somehow... a good direction for my very stale career to head. Oh, gods. What a fucking mess.

-Angela
angelak: (Smile Like You Mean It)
Couple of low priority help requests in. This weekend is a 2 day weekend for me. Next week, Mon-Thurs I have a "Sharepoint 2007 for Developers" class. I need this class pretty badly seeing as the scope of Sharepoint has been changed for me this year.

Excited and not excited at once. Web development ... is in my future here if I'm to stay here. I won't worry too much about long range planning about this job. But short term, is that I need this to keep moving forward with this project. At the very least I can be a control freak about this project - because it's my project.

So even if my methods are inefficient, I can happily say, "and that's because it's mine."
Goody. (I'm looking for benefits to the fact I am moving forward with stuff that doesn't make me jump in the air with excitement). *shrugs*

Although - seems I have a 4 day weekend coming up because I can take next Friday off after all. At first I was going to have to work the 12th. Now I don't.

Not sure what my plans are this weekend. :) Gonna kick ass and take names? Hmmm.
Forgot what else I was going to write in this entry. ADD.

-Angela
angelak: (874)
Lunchtime today ... I wasn't sure if I had it in me for a run. But I did my new favorite "town loop."
Start around 56th Street, run down 56th to Gilman Blvd, down Gilman Blvd to Front Street - hang a left, and back to my car which is near 56th.

The last 2-3 weeks I've been making a nice 50 minutes of this regularly. Today I blew that away with a 45 minute clock in time. Wow - if I do say so myself. I was wondering why I was getting tired at the end aside from being at the edge of my calories for the day - and it might just be that I was high tailing it for the beginning of my run.

Needless to say, it felt awesome - but I think tonight I'ma take off from Yoga and reward myself with a lil chill time around 874.

Appreciate the wonders that I have use of (my home!)
March is gonna be my month - people. I'm here to make use of my time wisely.
Who knows whether that's a new pace, or I just had the right alignment to provide these legs with some speed. Also - could be the circuit training paying off. This is possible. :)

Regardless. Work is caught up. Next week I have Sharepoint training.
I know - not a terribly exciting post.
Yoga was super hot last night, it broke 111 degrees with 40% humidity. Woo. It was hard because I worked my body hard earlier in the day with my circuits and upping my weights.
And then after Yoga - since Grant's girlfriend wasn't there to sort of friend-block me, I chatted it up with him for an hour or two before I headed home for my shower and dinner. I got home and ate dinner at midnight.

Wow.

:P But once Grant starts going on about Yoga or we start talkin about life - suddenly I look at the clock and it's been an hour or two! Yikes. It's 2200 when class ends to begin with on Tuesdays. I try and take the Tuesday 2030 class. Was just nice to visit with Grant, it's been a while since we just talked. Goof ball always has some tiny details to share with me about the poses. I enjoy it 111% :D

Way too clever. I hope to remember the things he told me DURING the series.
In fact, he may have had difficulty with memorization and really getting the series down pat... but there are so many areas where he blows me away and astonishes me with his detail oriented nature and insights. Really, he's a sharp dude. Everyone needs a friend, also - that will pass the time so quickly that you thought you blinked but it's hours later! Seriously. Everyone needs a pal like that.

-Angela
angelak: (Pretty Dolphins Heart Shaped)
Happily sporting my desk lamp again.
I have a halogen light I use to spruce up the light tones in my desk area. But the bulb burned out about 8 months ago and I kept forgetting to get a new bulb. It's brighter again and I think it does better things for my damn brain. Dreary old florescence blow.

On my way back across town from some work requests I dropped by Staples, and voila. New bulb - fresh light. I feel refreshed. Better way to handle spending my time. I'm making baby steps at creating a happier environment. That is my March goal, I think. We'll see. I think my March goal is to tackle clutter in every part of my life and begin to bring balance to these areas. I know everything else will come easier if my spaces are clean and clear so I can devote my mind into working with stuff that is more important.

Now, I have a meeting in 15 minutes. We will be working with my Sharepoint site some more. I am just going to roll with this flow for now and do what I can. I mean - what's the worst that can happen? I walk away with Sharepoint skills even if it isn't the best thing in the world? I'm realigning and getting some better ideas about how to make my master plan. :)

-Angela
angelak: (Perfection)
Felt good this AM to walk in to a clean desk/cubicle space. Wow. Fantastic. We'll see how it begins to shape I feel through out the day. :)

Desk Photo. )

Yesterday was weird. I'd rather pretend yesterday didn't really even happen - that's how weird it was.
Sunday rocked. We went to the buffet at the casino for Dad's belated birthday celebration (it was on the 21st, his actual birthday). Had some tasty breakfast, and then headed down to Sequim, WA to visit the Olympic Game Farm. You drive through and feed the animals from your car.

Had a lot of fun. Was Jill, my parents, and Jim and I. Tons of fun.
Took a nice ferry ride across and came out ready to hang out and get slobbered on by the elk and yaks.

Was really cool. The idea came to me last week spontaneously for Dad's birthday. We're not always so exciting ;)

Needless to say it was a good day all around. Jim didn't sleep until WAY late, so he came off his shift and went immediately with us. Yikes, looooong day for him. Finally, end of the day was him passing out when regular people sleep; at night. Nice, but mildly odd on his sleep schedule.

Was glad to have him along, either way. And as for today - my work orders seem caught up, the boss is back in the office after a 2-3 week vacation, and I am rather much enjoying the clear desk space. On that note - Jim actually helped me clean the bedroom floor last night. We cleared the floor and are now working on laundry in the hallway/his Man-Cave. Perhaps I have whined long enough and will get to see this project through to resolution and live as a Virgo really wants to? I can dream, at the least.

-Angela
angelak: (Angela Party Happy)
I'm serious.
It's this big of a deal. So I've worked here 8 years. Yes, count them. Eight. I haven't LIVED in one place for 8 years. Everywhere in my life right now, I am experiencing massive amounts of CLUTTER. It is so bothersome. I am intending that I begin methodically tackling each area of my life one by one.

Therefore, I've committed to clearing out stuff at least making a usable, clear - and open workspace. At least if I am going to spend all this time hanging out in this cell/cubicle, it could mimic being an organized space. So, I've spent just a little over an hour and it feels pretty cool.

My boss, when we changed cubie spaces, chose the following week to hound me about work - when normally he is very chill. And then every other time I started REALLY working on organizing, he did it again. Well, he is on vacation this week. So I have every chance to make this exactly how I want it without him coincidentally or otherwise, trying to stop me.

I'm not sure why, but it really irritated me that when I got booted into this space, he didn't feel inclined to let me get it set up "just so." It wasn't like I wanted to take that long. What, an hour? Three tops? Whatever. Not focusing on that. AT this moment, I am pretty happy with the outcome. I got rid of one mini-desk I used to use as a workstation setup place. I never use it for that.

From now on, I will just jet down to the Yellow House, also known as my former residence "Side B."
It's now the IT storage area. Anywho, I am mostly clear, but I am still looking at some better options for some of my crap. I have a couple of small boxes of miscellaneous stuff that was just sitting around here. Stuff piles up over years and years of work.

At the VERY least, it's a huge improvement and I intend to really keep it this way. The less stuff, the better.

Now if I could just find a solution to this nasty, dingy gray color of the walls... I really detest the default colors that people use in offices. It's like these "neutral" colors are designed to make us into mindless drones that become discontent within 5 minutes of staring at them. Anyone ever notice gray and beige are the great "office" colors?
:)

Even WHITE is better. We have this horrible yellow-y beige in this office, and I have cubie walls (which I pushed to get and they acted like I was asking for a $20,000 raise) that are gray. Heh.
I am really going to try and claim my little space. Seeing as no one can really see the inside, it's almost tempting to find some damn construction paper to hang it over the gray!!!!

Any of you creative types have ideas? Share if you like.

-Angela

Sharepoint

Jan. 19th, 2010 06:37 pm
angelak: (874 B)
Finally did my Sharepoint presentation. Phew.
Circuit trained tonight already, am working short days this week to make up for MLK holiday.
Been a crazy-busy beginning of the week and am looking forward to progressing further into January here!

:D

-Angela

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