A Bump in the Road
I'm not sure if I've mentioned that my estranged husband and I are attempting to get back together. Well, we are. However, we had a bit of a problem last night at the radio station's post-holiday staff party.
You see, I went to three of his little soirees and we had a good time. So, I figured I would ask him to go to this party. Not a good idea. We weren't there for even a minute when he got angry with me because I had a beer. One beer. After that, I drank Diet Sierra Mist.
He also thought I was flirting with someone, which I most definitely was not. I do happen to like this person a lot, but I was not flirting. In fact, the thought of flirting with this person never even crossed my mind. Ever.
Number three, and I think this is the big one, the last straw, the straw that broke the camel's back. After this one guy had been there for over an hour, someone happened to mention his last name and, well, it was about 5 minutes later that the estranged hubby decided he wanted to leave. Uh, the guy in question is GSG's brother. *sigh*
Yeah. We are going to have a huge problem getting back together if I'm not even allowed to be in the same room with, or talk to GSG's brother, considering that, starting Tuesday, I'll have to talk to him about once a week. *sigh*
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
I Have an Announcement
Not to blow my horn or anything but ...
I am Employee of the Month.
The only problem with that is, I haven't even been there for 3 full months yet. What if I'm already as good as I'm going to get? Nah. That's just me and my self-esteem issues. I know I can only get better.
Not to blow my horn or anything but ...
I am Employee of the Month.
The only problem with that is, I haven't even been there for 3 full months yet. What if I'm already as good as I'm going to get? Nah. That's just me and my self-esteem issues. I know I can only get better.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
It Was Bound to Happen
In a town this small, I suppose it was unavoidable. Then again, I guess I could have avoided this very awkward situation had been thinking about what I was doing.
Now that I think about it, there are two awkward situations I'm forced to write about. The first is that I must now put myself in an installment of "Tales of the Traffic Law Challenged" because I didn't stop at a stop sign last night. And, it was only the stop sign I stopped at every single day when I worked at the Red Cross because it's right in front of the chapter house! As I'm sure all entrants in "Tales of the Traffic Law Challenged" do, I have an excuse. As I was approaching the Red Cross chapter house, I was thinking that I really need to call them and set up a time to volunteer for them. Before I got my current job, I said I would. It's been almost 3 months, and I haven't called or set foot in the building since I got the new job. *sigh* I suck sometimes.
Anyway, as I was driving I noticed flashing cop car lights in my rearview mirror. So, like a good driver, I put on my turn signal and pulled over. Much to my surprise, the cop car pulled up behind me. I said, out loud, "Oh my gosh. He's stopping me!" And, wouldn't you know it, it was the cop who sued me for libel. (And, once again, for those of you who missed this, I won.) So, he asks for my license and registration. I said I didn't have my license with me. (Yikes!) He asks my name. I tell him. His eyes get kinda wide, but he stays calm and asks if I know why he stopped me. No, I didn't know. He tells me that I went through the stop sign. I apologize profusely. He tells me to promise him I won't do it again. I promise. He smiles and walks away. I smile and say "Thank you. ... I mean, really. Thank you." And I meant it, too. He could have been a real jerk about the whole thing, but he wasn't. Truly, I'm grateful for that.
In a town this small, I suppose it was unavoidable. Then again, I guess I could have avoided this very awkward situation had been thinking about what I was doing.
Now that I think about it, there are two awkward situations I'm forced to write about. The first is that I must now put myself in an installment of "Tales of the Traffic Law Challenged" because I didn't stop at a stop sign last night. And, it was only the stop sign I stopped at every single day when I worked at the Red Cross because it's right in front of the chapter house! As I'm sure all entrants in "Tales of the Traffic Law Challenged" do, I have an excuse. As I was approaching the Red Cross chapter house, I was thinking that I really need to call them and set up a time to volunteer for them. Before I got my current job, I said I would. It's been almost 3 months, and I haven't called or set foot in the building since I got the new job. *sigh* I suck sometimes.
Anyway, as I was driving I noticed flashing cop car lights in my rearview mirror. So, like a good driver, I put on my turn signal and pulled over. Much to my surprise, the cop car pulled up behind me. I said, out loud, "Oh my gosh. He's stopping me!" And, wouldn't you know it, it was the cop who sued me for libel. (And, once again, for those of you who missed this, I won.) So, he asks for my license and registration. I said I didn't have my license with me. (Yikes!) He asks my name. I tell him. His eyes get kinda wide, but he stays calm and asks if I know why he stopped me. No, I didn't know. He tells me that I went through the stop sign. I apologize profusely. He tells me to promise him I won't do it again. I promise. He smiles and walks away. I smile and say "Thank you. ... I mean, really. Thank you." And I meant it, too. He could have been a real jerk about the whole thing, but he wasn't. Truly, I'm grateful for that.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Anyone Have an Answer?
The governor comes to your little town of less than 10,000 people. He brings with him $11 million in grants and loans, and a promise of about 250 new jobs. Zippo gets money. The historic district and other downtown projects get money. The hospital gets money for part of its $14 million renovation and expansion project. There's an announcement of a new business moving from Florida to your town. Big stuff, right?
I'm wondering why that didn't make the newspaper's list of the top ten stories of the year. Actually, I'm not wondering. If I'm right, the reason is just one of the 1,347,622 reasons I left there and now have the best job I've ever had.
The governor comes to your little town of less than 10,000 people. He brings with him $11 million in grants and loans, and a promise of about 250 new jobs. Zippo gets money. The historic district and other downtown projects get money. The hospital gets money for part of its $14 million renovation and expansion project. There's an announcement of a new business moving from Florida to your town. Big stuff, right?
I'm wondering why that didn't make the newspaper's list of the top ten stories of the year. Actually, I'm not wondering. If I'm right, the reason is just one of the 1,347,622 reasons I left there and now have the best job I've ever had.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Gotta Love Scoops
Do I mean the Fritos that go well with dip? Although I do like those, that's not what I'm talking about.
Ice cream? Not when it's 2 degrees below zero outside.
I'm talkin' news. I got the scoop I was blogging about the other day! It was big, big, big. And, at the end of my newscasts, I really emphasized "You hear it HERE first."
Ya know, I like picking up the paper, looking at all their "big" stories and saying "Had it. Had it. Had it. Had it."
Well, it's time to go gather more news. :)
Do I mean the Fritos that go well with dip? Although I do like those, that's not what I'm talking about.
Ice cream? Not when it's 2 degrees below zero outside.
I'm talkin' news. I got the scoop I was blogging about the other day! It was big, big, big. And, at the end of my newscasts, I really emphasized "You hear it HERE first."
Ya know, I like picking up the paper, looking at all their "big" stories and saying "Had it. Had it. Had it. Had it."
Well, it's time to go gather more news. :)
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Still Lovin' It
Now that I'm finished griping (and it didn't make me feel better, by the way), I'll tell you that I still love my job. It's only been 2 months but I feel as if I've been there forever ... in a good way. I just love it in so many ways that I can't even mention them all.
I will mention a couple, though. In case you didn't know, the National Association of Broadcasters (I think that's who it is) started a campaign about a year ago with the tag line: Radio. You hear it here first. Well, the station I work for adopted that as the tag line for newscasts. When I worked for the newspaper, it pissed me off. Now, I love it ... especially when I break stories, which I've been doing a lot lately. And I know the people at the paper listen to my newscasts because, a couple of weeks ago I broke a huge story. The man it involved told me that even before my newscast ended, someone from the paper called him to confirm it.
If they thought that was big, wait 'til the next one. It'll be happening very soon, and it's even bigger than the other one. And, because I know they read this blog, I'm going to say "Ha!" right now. I know that's kind of like counting my chickens before they're hatched, and it might come back to bite me in the butt. However, I'm so excited about this story that it's hard for me to keep quiet about it. I've done well so far, though, because the guy who signs my paycheck trusted me with the info and I refuse to break that confidence.
Anyway, let's see. What else do I love about my job? Doing promos. We have this contest going on and we all had to do promos for it that including acting. It was so much fun! Mine aren't the best of the bunch, but I like them. I also did a promo telling kids to write their letters to Santa so he can read them on the air. That was fun, too.
I also like working with mostly guys. There are only 2 full-time female on-air personalities. The other 5 are guys. It was the other way around at the paper. This is so much better! I hate to say bad stuff about people of my gender but, women are a pain in the ass to work with when they out-number guys.
During my job interview, I was told the reason they wanted me was to "take the news department to the next level." In my opinion, we've taken it up two or three levels. The news director told me on Friday to remind him when my three-month probationary period was over so he can get me a raise ASAP. That's pretty cool. He's also the sports director and, I think, he didn't expect me to want to do stuff for sports, too, but I've been staying late so I can put the latest local hoops scores in my 11 p.m. newscast. (I record it before I leave at 7:45, usually. But on nights the high school & college teams play, I stay 'til after the game.) Of course I do have a soft spot in my heart for the girls b-ball team. Regular readers of this blog must remember "The Coach." And, a relative of GSG's is one of the announcers for the girls' games.
Two more things: One, I love that at least 3 or 4 times a week someone at work tells me I'm doing a good job. Even if I don't think I've done enough, they do, which is cool. Two, at least once a day listeners tell me they like my newscasts.
Oh, and one more thing I almost forgot about: People recognize my voice! The last time was at Hallmark when the cashier looked at the name on my Gold Crown Card and said "I knew you sounded familiar!" They also sell my books there, and when she asked if that was me, too ... Well, I thought she was going to pee her pants. ;) I like being a celebrity ... and I don't even care that I'm a big fish in a little pond. It still rocks.
Now that I'm finished griping (and it didn't make me feel better, by the way), I'll tell you that I still love my job. It's only been 2 months but I feel as if I've been there forever ... in a good way. I just love it in so many ways that I can't even mention them all.
I will mention a couple, though. In case you didn't know, the National Association of Broadcasters (I think that's who it is) started a campaign about a year ago with the tag line: Radio. You hear it here first. Well, the station I work for adopted that as the tag line for newscasts. When I worked for the newspaper, it pissed me off. Now, I love it ... especially when I break stories, which I've been doing a lot lately. And I know the people at the paper listen to my newscasts because, a couple of weeks ago I broke a huge story. The man it involved told me that even before my newscast ended, someone from the paper called him to confirm it.
If they thought that was big, wait 'til the next one. It'll be happening very soon, and it's even bigger than the other one. And, because I know they read this blog, I'm going to say "Ha!" right now. I know that's kind of like counting my chickens before they're hatched, and it might come back to bite me in the butt. However, I'm so excited about this story that it's hard for me to keep quiet about it. I've done well so far, though, because the guy who signs my paycheck trusted me with the info and I refuse to break that confidence.
Anyway, let's see. What else do I love about my job? Doing promos. We have this contest going on and we all had to do promos for it that including acting. It was so much fun! Mine aren't the best of the bunch, but I like them. I also did a promo telling kids to write their letters to Santa so he can read them on the air. That was fun, too.
I also like working with mostly guys. There are only 2 full-time female on-air personalities. The other 5 are guys. It was the other way around at the paper. This is so much better! I hate to say bad stuff about people of my gender but, women are a pain in the ass to work with when they out-number guys.
During my job interview, I was told the reason they wanted me was to "take the news department to the next level." In my opinion, we've taken it up two or three levels. The news director told me on Friday to remind him when my three-month probationary period was over so he can get me a raise ASAP. That's pretty cool. He's also the sports director and, I think, he didn't expect me to want to do stuff for sports, too, but I've been staying late so I can put the latest local hoops scores in my 11 p.m. newscast. (I record it before I leave at 7:45, usually. But on nights the high school & college teams play, I stay 'til after the game.) Of course I do have a soft spot in my heart for the girls b-ball team. Regular readers of this blog must remember "The Coach." And, a relative of GSG's is one of the announcers for the girls' games.
Two more things: One, I love that at least 3 or 4 times a week someone at work tells me I'm doing a good job. Even if I don't think I've done enough, they do, which is cool. Two, at least once a day listeners tell me they like my newscasts.
Oh, and one more thing I almost forgot about: People recognize my voice! The last time was at Hallmark when the cashier looked at the name on my Gold Crown Card and said "I knew you sounded familiar!" They also sell my books there, and when she asked if that was me, too ... Well, I thought she was going to pee her pants. ;) I like being a celebrity ... and I don't even care that I'm a big fish in a little pond. It still rocks.
Tales of the Traffic Law Challenged: Special Edition
OK. One of the reasons this is a special edition is that I can't remember where I left off, and I didn't feel like looking it up. Another reason is that my main gripe is not really about a traffic law, per se. It's about inconsiderate people in relation to parking.
A little bit of history first: My estranged husband and I are still friends and, actually, his house is where my computer is so I'm here quite often. The house has been in my family since the 1930s. My family (uncles, aunt, mom and then me & my husband) has had the same parking space since the 40s. Here's a photo of the space:
The space in question is where my car is parked. You see, the woman who moved into the house in front of ours a few months ago thinks that should be her space. Further, she believes that if we park there, we're blocking her driveway. There hasn't been a problem for 60 (sixty ... 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60) years. Now, all of sudden, there is a problem.
Not only that, the day after the first big snowfall this year, my husband shoveled out the space. Then he had to leave. While he was gone, she parked in the shoveled out space!
You know, even if my family hadn't had that space for 60 years, we've been here for 20. She's been there for a few months. Wouldn't you think she'd be considerate, and observant, enough to realize she's taking someone's space. And, she doesn't even live on our street. It's just that her driveway is on our street. If she wants to park on the street, she should park on her own street. I mean, why should we have to park halfway down the block because she doesn't want to use her driveway?
OK. One of the reasons this is a special edition is that I can't remember where I left off, and I didn't feel like looking it up. Another reason is that my main gripe is not really about a traffic law, per se. It's about inconsiderate people in relation to parking.
A little bit of history first: My estranged husband and I are still friends and, actually, his house is where my computer is so I'm here quite often. The house has been in my family since the 1930s. My family (uncles, aunt, mom and then me & my husband) has had the same parking space since the 40s. Here's a photo of the space:
The space in question is where my car is parked. You see, the woman who moved into the house in front of ours a few months ago thinks that should be her space. Further, she believes that if we park there, we're blocking her driveway. There hasn't been a problem for 60 (sixty ... 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60) years. Now, all of sudden, there is a problem.
Not only that, the day after the first big snowfall this year, my husband shoveled out the space. Then he had to leave. While he was gone, she parked in the shoveled out space!
You know, even if my family hadn't had that space for 60 years, we've been here for 20. She's been there for a few months. Wouldn't you think she'd be considerate, and observant, enough to realize she's taking someone's space. And, she doesn't even live on our street. It's just that her driveway is on our street. If she wants to park on the street, she should park on her own street. I mean, why should we have to park halfway down the block because she doesn't want to use her driveway?
Thursday, December 01, 2005
I'm Back ... Kind of
I'll start posting real stuff again soon. But for now, have fun with this:
Make Your Own Snowflakes
I'll start posting real stuff again soon. But for now, have fun with this:
Make Your Own Snowflakes