crappy day

i am having a very crappy day and am not going to blog because I think it would just be way bad!!!

I am sick of counting...

So as Director of Marketing for PM, my job responsibilities include placing advertising and on the really fun days I am asked to run a report to see how our print or direct mail is working. Now with completely trained and competent managers in each of our stores, this would be no problem. They would simply complete an "Ad Response Form" and email to me. I would in turn take their collected data and enter into my master tracking spreadsheet and all calculations would be done by excel. The problem is I cannot depend on any of our store managers to manage the coupon system within each of their stores! I took over the counting process for them a while back. I have been super swamped with assisting in store openings and busy event days (LSU National Championship, Super Bowl, and Valentine's Day) so needless to say the counting has backed up for almost 6 weeks! I am very behind and am still working at 9:35 tonight trying to get some of this shit done. It looks like a mountain of envelopes on the floor of my office. On a positive work note, I have the Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at my new store in Denham Springs tomorrow morning and all weekend is the official Grand Opening for that store. If anyone is near the corner of Range & Magnolia Beach Rd. tomorrow between 10:00 and 11:00AM come by and have cake with us!!! I ordered from Baum's so you know it will be yummy. Ok, officially my departure goal for tonight is 10:30 so I need to stop blogging now.

A Picture of Grace, Finally!

Now that she is almost six weeks old, here is a newborn picture of Grace. Grace weighed 8lbs. even and is the daughter of proud parents, Joe & Celeste Goodwin and sister to Sam Goodwin...she is sweet and looks a lot like Celeste.

Oh, and Grace will be coming to BR the weekend of the St. Patrick's Day parade for a "Sip and See" so all of her BR admirers can have a peek. The Sip and See will be at her grandmother's house, Gayla, I think on Saturday, March 15th.

Michale Clayton

I am tired and getting in bed to watch Michael Clayton...

I Miss Chris

Now that we are working opposite schedules, I am really beginning to miss Chris. He is usually sleeping when I leave for work, two days of the week we can have lunch together if I am able to come home and I am usually in bed or asleep when he gets off. His shift is supposed to be 2-10 pm, but he is yet to get off earlier than 11. His days off, Mondays and Tuesdays, have been spent out of town assisting with the post production of Dirty Politics. So our time together comes down to a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday before he leaves for work. Not enough...boo! Everything he has going on right now is great for his career and it is the best place for him to be, but still I miss all of our night time together watching TV, cooking, going to the Y, watching movies (even if I would just make it through the opening credits each time) etc. I love you Chris and miss you lots! I will schedule off on a Monday soon so we can have a day off together. PS - I am looking for a date for Crazy Julie's engagement party next Saturday (March 8th) as Chris will be unable to attend due to work. I don't think I can bear going to this one alone.

Bitsy's Bait & BBQ

This will be my next read. I picked this one up at the grocery store in my neighborhood off the used bookshelf. There are slim pickings in the book department over there.

Oscar Sunday

Finally Oscar Sunday is here...Go Juno Go! My Oscar outfit this year...orange and pink striped PJ pants, pink tee and red race jacket. Topped off with boots when I need to go outdoors for a sec. Fancy huh? I am using my slow cooker today to try my very first pork roast. It will take 8 hours to cook so should be ready just in time for the big event!

Lovely Painting

I have admired a painting at Chelsea's for a while now, even inquired about purchasing once for Chris around the holidays. I was simply told that the painting belonged to the owner, Dave and was a gift. So sad! Last night while chatting with Boyd at the bar, the bartender, a friend of Boyd apparently, proudly showed his new tattoo to us. It was similar to the wall art. When he walked away, I made a comment to Boyd that it was just like the painting. Boyd told me the bartender, TJ, was the artist. Soon friends started arriving and we moved outside to enjoy the nice weather. It quickly turned too cold to stay and part of the group decided to move to a different bar. While closing my tab I told TJ that I really like the painting and had asked to purchase. He told me he would paint one for me!!!! He had me write down my name and number and will call in a few weeks when it is ready!!! I am soooo very excited about this painting. For those of you who read this and also frequent Chelsea's it is the painting of the soup can that says Chelsea's instead of Campbell's and Tomato Basil. I tried to find an image online but was unsuccessful so this picture is of the Andy Warhol can. I will have everyone over to drink wine and admire it when it comes to live with me!

Chili's vs. Chelsea's

A group of girls I used to work with planned to have a happy hour today at Superior Grill. I was excited about the plans because there are a few in the group I haven't seen in a really long time! Somehow the plans have changed to Chili's...yuk! I tried to persuade them to keep the original plan of Superior Grill Patio, but was unsuccessful. I mean whats not to like about a semi-locally owned establishment with a great patio, great frozen margaritas and a live band??? I don't get it! Chili's...I mean come on!!! So, I guess I will catch up with them another time.

Since Natalie's Happy Hour plans at her house with fancy patio will be interrupted with a chance of rain, she was looking for something "dry" to do...lets go to Chelsea's!!! Happy Hour plans in progress for the fabulously fun patio at Chelsea's..hip hip hooray!

Crack House Update

So I didn't go into full detail the first time I posted about the crack house...there is an animal problem there. There are two dogs I see come in and out of the house frequently. The dogs are in the street a lot and very close to the fast traffic less than a block away on Florida Blvd. I often have the pleasure of hearing this nasty crazy bitch open her door and yell "Rambo" on repeat for ten or fifteen minutes. So I do know one of the dogs is named Rambo. I have seen her open the door yelling at one of the dogs, beat them with something and then leave them outside on their own. I guess her emotions start to play on her because about a half hour later she will open the door and yell for Rambo and I can never make out the other dog's name she is yelling. This afternoon I had to witness her beat the hell out of the cute nameless one on the porch then leave him out there alone. An unfortunate man with his wordly possesions in tow was walking down the street and witnessed the same scene. He then approached the dog who was very afraid of him (I guess he has a fear of all humans because of the way he is treated by his owner)and held his hand out for the dog to smell him. The dog went closer to the man and let the man pet him. He stood petting him for a few minutes then found a place to sit where he could continue to pet nameless dog and show him some kind attention. I snapped this picture with my phone, so not the greatest. I thought the man was very sweet.

A Cook's Tour

And on to the next book. I think this will be a great book, I love Anthony Bourdain!!! This book was a birthday present for Chris from his friend Collin (he actually bought him 2 Anthony Bourdain books!!!), so I will read before Chris. He is swamped with school, movie editing and his new job at WAFB...no time for leisure reading. Poor Chirs!

Trivia

My friends, Mike and Matt, have this Monkey BR or Crazy Drunken Monkey group which promotes and coordinates events for service industry folks. Just recently they have started having movie night at The Varsity on Mondays (which I am dying to go to!!!) and brought Team Trivia back on Tuesdays at Champps. I have been telling them I would make it to one for the past several weeks but other things keep getting in the way...like work. I decided to feel around to see if anyone would be interested in trivia last night and if I got two or three people to say yes then I would go. Turns out myself and five of my friends were the only people there for the first two questions. Flemings (I don't know if it has one "m" or two???)had a group show up middle of the first round. The questions were extremely difficult...to the point where with only three questions left in the game my team quit because there was no way we could win. These Flemings guys knew the most ridiculous stuff (I think they were using their cell phones to cheat - I mean really who knows who sang the theme song from Aladdin?) Anyway, I felt bad for them that no one showed but was glad I was at least there to show my support. On a sour note, one of the guys I work with came late to trivia because he came straight from work where he had just discovered through a trail of paperwork we may have a store manager stealing from us! So after a brief meeting with accounting to look at some bank deposits, our day may turn to BRPD etc.

5 more days until the Oscars!

Four Thumbs Down!!!

I finished reading Playing for Pizza on Sunday, what a terrible book. I would not suggest anyone read it. The book was about a former NFL football player playing football in an Italian league after no team in the US will have him. The game descripions were terrible and the character development was non-existent! I did not like the book from about page 10 on, but cannot start a book without finishing so I gutted through the entire thing. It was written in the John Grisham style that even a six year old could rea, if that is a positive?

Jacques Bday Party 2.16.08

Chickened Out!

So my big project plans have changed. I wrote the draft for my first "person" post about my mom and it tuned in to an emotional roller coaster. I am temporarily suspending the project. I may pick it back up again soon.

Big Project...

I started to write a list of people to see if I could come anywhere near 365 in order to begin this project. I would have floods of names come to me faster than I could write and it would be followed with 20+ minutes of not thinking of a single name. I reach 225 names without putting too much thought into or exercising my mind back to certain periods of my life. I think I should easily be able to come up with the remaining names over the next several months. Dan, the project's creator, would write 40 words per day about someone and in reading only a few of his posts, it looks like they were all polite entries. While I respect his method, I will have my own rules. I will sometimes write only a brief sentence to describe one memory or story and sometimes write more than anyone cares to read. I will also try to post a picture relevant to what was written. Sometime I may choose to write directly to that person (many read, but do not comment on my blog when they read it). Not all of my entries will be kind, there are some people on the list that I do not have fond memories of, but think important enough in my life to be on the list. I will again say that there is going to be no particular order in which people are listed in my project. I will begin tomorrow!

40x365

I found this project and think it is a neat idea so I am sharing with the blog world of Jen. I am not committed to it yet, still deciding if I even know 365 people! If you start seeing the posts, then you will know I'm on board.

Dan, the project's creator, decided on his 40th birthday to write 40 words per day for 365 days, each entry about a different person he has met in his 40 years. He calls his project 40x365.

If I do decide to tackle this project, please remember this...
There will be a complete random order of postings, don't be offended if you are listed 12th and think you should be 2nd!!! (Disclaimer)

I'm Kind of a Big Deal...I Heart Christian!!!

He is soooo freakin' funny!

Its a Miracle!

So my bathtub cleaning frustrations are over! I often scrub my bathtub two or three times per cleaning episode and am usually still unhappy with the results. This is my one serious pet peeve (dirty bathtub) and I have never found a cleaning supply that satisfied my standards until...I found (thanks to Natalie) the Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean. I used it after scrubbing with my clorox bath wand and the tub looks like it has never been used. I am in love!

Valentine's Day

Although I think Valentine's Day is too commercial a holiday, I do think it is nice there is a specific day devoted to all things love. If you are in a relationship, chances are you are not just telling someone you love them on Valentine's Day but more like everyday or many times a day. Therefore, I think making a big deal of one day is kind of silly. Chris will be working until 10:00 tonight and I will work until probably about 8:00 so our Valentine's Day may just be to meet up for a post-work drink somewhere or watch a movie together when he gets home. I did buy a card for him and may get a little something more...can't decide. He knows he is special and there isn't a gift I can give to him that would show that.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!!

Crack Anyone?

So as I promised I am blogging about the less than attractive house stationed right across the street from our office compound. Working on the very edge of downtown (CBD if you will, if that is a term we can use in BR?)we are on the fringe of where the questionable housing begins. I snapped this photo with my phone this morning on my way in. I didn't want to get any closer in fear someone inside the house may think I am a cop on a stakeout, but you get the point. I think there are four apartments inside this one house (2 up and 2 down). As you can see by the photo, my office is making a serious effort to protect us from the criminal activity across the street with the four foot gate they installed. I think my four year cousin could jump that thing!

I have a corner office with lots of windows. The way I have my desk positioned my back is to the window with the view of the crack house. The windows with a "normal" view just give me an opportunity to look at the side entrance to our building...boring but better than the scene across the street. My office time comes in waves, there are some weeks I may spend every hour of my work day here and then there are others I will not see the office for several days (when opening a new store). For the days I do spend in the office the crack house is a constant well of entertainment.

Although we make fun of the crack house and often makes jokes about the people and things we see come out of the house, I am very afraid to work "after-hours" since we moved to this new space.

I will take photos for you guys when I see people outside next time so you can enjoy my new neighbors with me!

Oh, and it gets better. After I posted blog the rap music started. I forgot to mention that in my post. They love to play really loud rap music for me!

Playing for Pizza

New read is Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. It has been a while since I have read anything by John Grisham. This book seemed out of his normal style so I picked it up while shopping at Target last week. We shall see...

As for Water for Elephants, thanks for the suggestion Natalie. I really enjoyed the story! I just started that book last week and lost the entire weekend of reading due to the birthday festivities, so it was a really quick read.

I am sure this Grisham book will go fast so I am looking for my next book...any suggestions? My sister is recommending Boomsday or The Other Boleyn Girl (there is a movie coming out this month based on this one)...any thoughts on these? I have also wanted to read The Pillars of the Earth, I heard it was very good too.

Instant Messaging

I used to be a yahoo IM fan and quit using while at my last job, I just wasn't at my desk enough to respond to people. If anyone has an IM account with gmail or yahoo, send your screenames and I will add you so we can chat!

Nasty

My boss took us out for cocktails & music on Thursday night and we got to see this...

This guy was passed out on the bar for like and hour with almost his entire ass showing! It was pretty nasty. Then suddenly he woke up, turned around to face the band and started jamming out.

Birthday Escapades....

What a night! First, thank you to everyone who came. I know it was very last minute and on the fly but soooo many people showed up. I guess that goes to show how many people LOVE Serio!!! Thank you also to Casey Hart for taking my camera and using it for me so there would be photo-documentation.

Red Star then to Avoyelles then to my house to late night....a few pics


Chris with a few of his buddies (Red Star)


Chris and his sister, Lauren, taking shots of Patron...they love that stuff...yuk! (Red Star)


Oh I have nothing to say about this one but enjoy (if he lets me keep this one on here)! (Avoyelles)


Me with Dave Hart and the Fedora is rescued from the backseat of my car! (Avoyelles)


Me and Spencer, nice shades! (Avoyelles)


Chris and Cousin Will unloading the case of beer we bought at Avoyelles for late night drinking. Chris did his typical drunk chef act, this time with shrimp and pasta. (My place)

Happy Birthday Chris!!!!!!!!

I couldn't decide if I was going to make him a cake or buy a small one person fancy cake (so I wouldn't eat any!). I went into the small grocery in my neighborhood after work and stood on the aisle with the baking ingredients forever. I walk away from the baking stuff and to the counter to check out sans cake mix. I ask my friend & neighbor, Heath, if I should make a cake for Chris or buy one. He tells me to bake one, it will mean more to Chris then declares it is his (Heath's) bday on Saturday. So I have it all figured out...I WILL bake a cake...1/2 the cake will be for Chris...1/2 the cake will be for Heath...then there is a lot less cake to hang around my house over the weekend!

I wanted to buy Chris a CD player for his truck. He loves music more than anyone I know and is forced to listen to whatever crap is on the radio. Upon arriving at Best Buy, I was quickly overwhelmed and decided a gift card would do just fine and he will get exactly what he wants. I hate giving gift cards and think they are a cop-out gift, but whats a girl to do when the situation involves electronics??? I am an idiot when it comes to all things at Home Depot or Best Buy!

Lauren (Chris' lil' sis) will come in from NOLA to celebrate with us. I am sure the night will involve some combination of Red Star, Walking or zig zagging, Patron shots, maybe Pizza now that Schlitz & Giggles is open, lots of drunken photos, Jager Bombs, Happy Hooligans, and a funny hat of sorts! Details to follow...

Green Bean

I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed yesterday. I was overly emotional about things that shouldn't take control of my day or mood. The guys I work with call me Zen because of my yoga practices and occasional meditation (very occasional), but my lack of practicing either lately must be coming out in a weird way. I was a mess yesterday!

I had yet another very frustrating work day due to IT problems. It got to a point where I was exchanging nasty emails with the IT guy because he was being mean about my inability to switch to this new server we have in place. I am having to email him from my gmail account because my work email is only receiving (or was until 4:00pm on Monday, I haven't received a new one since then). I still have no instructions for my blackjack phone on transferring to new exchange server! So I think I should just stay home and play or go to movies because I cannot perform any of my work functions!

I also got my feelings hurt about something at work I won't discuss in blog in case one of the guys reads today's entry...but I just felt left out of something important to the development of our company and since I was the second employee I feel like I have a special place and like to be included in important meetings/ discussions. Ok...sorry for the vent!

Last night on my long commute home from Denham Springs I decided that I would go to the gym and work out some of the work frustrations! I called Natalie to see if she wanted to meet me but apparently she is still in recovery from exciting weekend! Journeyed on to YMCA by myself and enjoyed a nice cardio session and ab workout. Hurried home to shower and change so I could meet Green Bean out at Red Star, we haven't been out in a while together!

Green Bean,
Thanks for listening to me vent about work! I know it gets old. You're a good friend!!!

Chris,
Thanks for listening to me vent even more when I got home. I know it gets old. You're a good boyfriend!!! I know you wanted to share all of the first-day-on-the-job stories and I took control of all conversations about my stupid day at work. Sorry. I will cook dinner tonight and do nothing but listen!

I am hoping today will be a better day at work and that today doesn't see me involved in a murder with someone in IT!

I am glad I got all of that out. Now I will go do a little yoga before my commute to DS again today.
Grrrrrr

#6 is Open!

While it was not a smooth road to open, store #6 is open! Contractor problems, permit problems, no neon sign for the front of the building, plumbing problems, limited crew etc...
I think this will be one of our strongest stores in sales and am excited to watch the customer base grow! The Bass Pro Shop had their Grand Opening tonight down the street and we still had customers!

Good Luck Chris

Chris starts his new job today! He will be a News Producer for WAFB beginning with tomorrow night's broadcast. Now I have a "Batline" to call when my commercials are tagged wrong on that station! For those of you who read my blog and do not live in BR, WAFB is our CBS affiliate. I know he is apprehensive about the job (not as glamorous as the movie industry), but I think it is a great opportunity for him. He is currently involved in editing the movie he filmed late last fall which should be complete mid-march. He will continue to assist with the editing a couple of days a week around his new schedule. I am very proud of him and wish him the best of luck!!!

Scary

Because there is an investigation pending I cannot give to many details to the following story but it scared the hell out of me and I wanted to share. A couple friend of mine were at their home Saturday evening both had fallen asleep in the living room and female heard a noise coming from her backyard. She woke the male and asked him to check it out. He opens the door and is shocked to find a young male (17-23) in his backyard. Being disoriented because he had been asleep and in shock by finding someone in his yard he fell on his patio and injured himself (later found out he broke his shoulder). My male friend crawled back into his home and female locked the door behind him. Upon locking the door my friends hear the guy banging on the side of their house asking for help because he had been shot! My female friend ignored my male friend's plea for her not to investigate further and yelled out asking the guy if he had a gun and would he please not harm her. He said he had no gun and would not hurt her, he just needed some help. Her neighbors came across the street because they had witnessed the young male and another male in a car have a fight and heard a gun shot and had called the police. The young male was transported to a hospital and they are unaware of his condition or if the other male has been caught.

This occurred in BR on Saturday night in a very "normal" neighborhood, if that exists anymore! When the police arrived they did not question either of my friends! What?

I am still pissed at her for opening the door before calling for help, but glad they are both ok.

Work!

So arriving to the store we were supposed to open tomorrow, we find the store has no hot water today and the punch list left for the contractor to finish over the weekend was not complete (if even started). I think they went to Mardi Gras instead of attending to the store! Without hot water we can't make dough or clean dishes for that matter. We will not open tomorrow! This is bad on so many levels...
I am very stressed. I will be living at work this week trying to problem-solve with customers who have seen a commercial run for a week with tomorrow's open date and print that has been in circulation for over a month with tomorrow's open date. Marketing NIGHTMARE! I thought I had my ass covered with a week cushion on the open date. The store was to be turned over to us last Tuesday and would have given us a week of soft open and crew training. F**k, this is really bad. If this lands me in a crazy home, please come visit me!
Oh and did I forget to mention there will be four or five people arriving tomorrow from our corporate office to negotiate our moving into our second market next spring??? They may change their mind after the mickey mouse shit they see when they get here.
If anyone is trying to email me, please use gmail account; work changed to an exchange server and transition is not going so smooth. I am not receiving emails to my phone or laptop right now. I am not ignoring anyone.

Water for Elephants

So I finished "Eat Pray Love" in between commercial breaks of the Super Bowl tonight, it was an amazing book. I think I will read it again some day. Now on to my next adventure, a book Natalie recommended to me..."Water For Elephants". I have a very busy week ahead of me, opening our sixth store on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday will see visits from our Corporate office (yikes) and Chris will be working out of town for the next two days. A good book to wrap each day will be a nice retreat! As always, I will post if it is a must read.

Spanish Town Parade...Sights, sorry I have no sounds to share!

Spanish Town Mardi Gras

I am very excited today has finally arrived! I was hoping to get up early and get a workout in before the madness takes over my neighborhood but Walmart must have drained me last night because I didn't wake up until almost 7. There were people last night tailgating up and down the streets of downtown with RV's, campfires, food and I am sure alcohol. The streets of downtown are lined with lovely "Tiger Toilets" and soon to be vendors selling anything you can imagine that is pink flamingo.
Why Spanish Town? Why the Flamingo? I am posting a clip from the Parade's website that will give you a general idea...

Spanish Town is historic because it is the oldest neighborhood in Baton Rouge. It was founded in 1805, two years after the Louisiana Purchase took place. Baton Rouge wasn't part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Instead, it was part of the "Province of West Florida." West Florida included East and West Feliciana Parishes, East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington Parishes. Today, we call these the "Florida Parishes" because they have a different history from the rest of the State. The rest of Louisiana was purchased by the American government, but West Florida was owned by Spain. Many of the people in West Florida were Anglo; in other words, they had English ancestry, and they disliked having Spanish rule. They really wanted to be part of America rather than Spain. So they started a rebellion, which lasted until 1810, when they finally became part of the United States.

During these years of unrest, people from the Canary Islands settled along what is now called Spanish Town Road in 1805. The Canary Islands are located off the coast of Spain, near North Africa. Unlike Anglo residents of Baton Rouge, Canary Islanders enjoyed being part of Spain, since they had Spanish heritage. By living in "Spanish Town," the residents could keep their own identity, their Spanish language, and community.

Today, the neighborhood still has a unique sense of community—a sense of difference. To symbolize our difference from the rest of Baton Rouge, my neighbors and I have adopted the pink flamingo as our mascot. Why such an unusual mascot? Because our worldview is that "poor taste is better than no taste at all!" Some people think flamingos show poor taste!

Perhaps your own aesthetics—your sense of what is "beautiful" or "appropriate"—tell you that pink flamingos are "poor taste." After all, plastic pink flamingos have been decorating American lawns for many years. But these plastic flamingos are often called "kitsch" by American society. Kitsch is inexpensive stuff, mass produced, and considered by "cultured people" to be of "poor taste." Velvet paintings of Elvis Presley would definitely be considered kitsch by many people. But, remember, some people, with a different aesthetic, prefer kitsch! In Spanish Town, we really like kitsch.

Time to get ready for the party...HAPPY MARDI GRAS to all!

I HATE WALMART!

So everyone who knows me knows I HATE WAL*MART. Sometimes you can't avoid going. Like tonight. Spanishtown Parade is tomorrow morning and there could be four or four hundred people show up to my place to store alcohol, use the restroom, etc. I had to get supplies in bulk. And not to mention the prices at Capitol Grocery are doubled or more tomorrow so I can't go there. Chris and I made the plan to go to Walmart forgetting that tonight was Southdowns parade and there is no getting near the one on College Drive tonight...we head across the river (next closes one to downtown BR). I was excited at first to see the parking lot was not as crowded as I expected. I thought this may be a secret Walmart no one knows about yet. Even after walking inside it still seemed rather calm. Then it hit me...the anxiety I get only in Walmart. Trying to pass people in aisles while they stare at 20 brands of washing detergent, women screaming at children, people using those electric shopping carts when not needed and the constant backing up they must do in them just to hear the beeps, and then you have to check out. This is where I usually go insane. Walmart insists on installing like 50 check out lanes when building a store...why? I have never been to a Walmart with more than 10 lanes open (even Christmas week!). I find the one with the fewest people or items in the peoples cart (so I think) and commence the waiting process. I am always behind the person who has an item in which the scanner will not work so back-up is called, someone trying to buy alcohol and the cashier is too young to sell it and must call for assistance, someone with a credit/ debit card not working, or my very personal favorite the group of 6 or 8 people with one full buggy that have to make 6 or 8 separate transactions! Many combinations listed above were part of my Walmart experience tonight. I was very tired and cranky so I should have known better than to even attempt the trip and just forked over the $10/ six pack Mike will be charging tomorrow one block from my house.