A couple of random things today:
I'm probably the only person in the country who is totally excited to be making payments for homeowners insurance and property taxes right at the end of the year. This will be the first time they haven't been paid by the mortgage escrow account. I'd much rather write both of those checks once a year than continue to make mortgage payments every month!
Second, I was thinking this morning about the whole controversy over Gov Palin's wardrobe, which was said to be going to charity after the election. Well, the election is over, and I'm wondering exactly which charity is going to be recieving those clothes. I only ask because I think we're about the same size, and she did have some cute stuff. I'm thinking that if whatever charity gets them needs somebody to pass them on to, I'd be willing to accept some of those boots or something. Just saying.
And as a side note, Mistletoe Marketplace starts today. I am happy to tell all of you who are participating this week that I will do my best not to add to the crowd you have to fight. I figure it's just a little something I can do to make your time there a little more pleasant. No need to thank me. Really. I do it because I care.*
* And because I can't tolerate the crowds and was totally miserable the one time I went. But really, I'm doing it for all of you!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Shorts
*Disclaimer - this conversation was regarding a fantasy stock portfolio, not real money. I guarantee you, even if I had enough money to think about individual stocks, which won't likely ever happen, I wouldn't have the nerve to short sell anything. I'm a big investment wimp.
Email I just sent to Greg after seeing that the DOW was down well over 400 points:
"wow. market down 460ish? nice. i need to go check my portfolio. i almost said i needed to go check my shorts, but that just sounded funny. "
Email I just sent to Greg after seeing that the DOW was down well over 400 points:
"wow. market down 460ish? nice. i need to go check my portfolio. i almost said i needed to go check my shorts, but that just sounded funny. "
300:1
Today is the day when I sit down and answer the big pile of email I get each week asking questions about our program application process, which runs from now until February. Last year I created a Word document where I save a variety of responses based on the most common series of questions I get, so now I just copy and paste the closest answer and tweak it to the specific email. That does make my life quite a bit easier this time of year.
This is the first week I've had to do a mass response, over the past few months it's just been one or two a week and I could usually handle those as they came in. What volume am I talking about? Last year we had just under 300 applications for 4 open positions. This year I anticipate we will have 2 open positions, one of which could likely be taken as an exception. That leaves 1 position for 300 applicants. On one hand that could simplify the interview process. On the other hand, it's going to make selection an absolute nightmare.
This is the first week I've had to do a mass response, over the past few months it's just been one or two a week and I could usually handle those as they came in. What volume am I talking about? Last year we had just under 300 applications for 4 open positions. This year I anticipate we will have 2 open positions, one of which could likely be taken as an exception. That leaves 1 position for 300 applicants. On one hand that could simplify the interview process. On the other hand, it's going to make selection an absolute nightmare.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Chocolatey Goodness
Back in June our favorite indepently owned coffee cart on campus was forced to shut down and move out, leaving us with only the hospital coffee carts and their water-based hot chocolate flavored liquid. Not acceptable. The started construction on a new Cups that will replace the favorite coffee cart, but it's been constructing for months with no real sign of ever opening. Last week I became desperate enough for hot chocolate to visit the sub-quality coffee cart, only to find their hot choco machine was broken. I went by the cafeteria, their hot choco machine was broken. I went to the second sub-quality coffee cart location - you got it. Broken. Sigh. I ended up bringing my own hot chocolate mix and buying a carton of milk to make my own.
But today there was a ray of sunshine. I got notice from my dearest hubby that he had spotten the first sign of the new Cups being open. He had spied somebody walking down the hallway with a Cups cup. I immediately planned and executed a mission to see for myself, which resulted in a cup of real chocolately goodness. Granted, at over 3 bucks a cup I won't be indulging in chocolatey goodness often, but for now I'm a happy, chocolatey camper.
But today there was a ray of sunshine. I got notice from my dearest hubby that he had spotten the first sign of the new Cups being open. He had spied somebody walking down the hallway with a Cups cup. I immediately planned and executed a mission to see for myself, which resulted in a cup of real chocolately goodness. Granted, at over 3 bucks a cup I won't be indulging in chocolatey goodness often, but for now I'm a happy, chocolatey camper.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Preparedness
As I've mentioned before, one of the things that I strive for and that often frustrates me is organizing meals, including lunches that we can take to work. Most of the things I like to cook take a while to prepare, so they don't usually get made during the week. If I'm cooking something simple for dinner it often means we don't have leftovers for lunch. If I don't cook big on the weekends and a least once during the week, we end up in trouble for lunches. But thanks to an idea presented by my brilliant husband, I was able to make some preparation tonight for lunch-time goodness. Yesterday Greg said the magic words, "We should go buy a ham."
Siiiigh. The H-A-M. We actually do have to spell it around the pup. He learned that word early in his puphood and if he hears it he'll stalk you. The H-A-M tradition started when I worked at the bank. One of the few genuine perks from that job was that every year they bought every employee a ham during the holidays. How important was this generosity to us? One of my friends, who left several years before I did, claimed quite seriously that the offer she needed to change jobs was $40,000 and a ham. Believe it or not, her current employer has taken to buying her a gift certificate to Honey Baked Ham each year. They make a darn good H-A-M.
So tonight we made the trip to Honey Baked Ham to pick up half a ham. Yuuuum. Oh yeah, we made one more stop. The grocery store. For a loaf of bread. We're up for sammiches the rest of this week, and we're darn happy about it. I divided up the sliced section of the ham into 5 bags, four of which went into the freezer and one to take to work tomorrow. The butt of the ham and the bone went into the fridge for soup making later this week, which should produce another five or six lunches in the freezer. I still have two taco soups left, as well. If I can just put away a dozen or so packages of sketti sauce and sloppy joes for Greg I won't have to worry about lunches for several weeks, which makes dinner decisions easier. I'm also contemplating boiling up a pot full of the chicken I found in the freezer, making for soup and/or dumplings. I'm not sure the dumplings would freeze, but everything else would and I could add biscuit-dumplings for quick dinners with leftovers. This just gets better. AND... I have one more giant pork roast ready for the crock pot. I need more freezer contaiment vessels.
It's a good day. I have H-A-M.
Siiiigh. The H-A-M. We actually do have to spell it around the pup. He learned that word early in his puphood and if he hears it he'll stalk you. The H-A-M tradition started when I worked at the bank. One of the few genuine perks from that job was that every year they bought every employee a ham during the holidays. How important was this generosity to us? One of my friends, who left several years before I did, claimed quite seriously that the offer she needed to change jobs was $40,000 and a ham. Believe it or not, her current employer has taken to buying her a gift certificate to Honey Baked Ham each year. They make a darn good H-A-M.
So tonight we made the trip to Honey Baked Ham to pick up half a ham. Yuuuum. Oh yeah, we made one more stop. The grocery store. For a loaf of bread. We're up for sammiches the rest of this week, and we're darn happy about it. I divided up the sliced section of the ham into 5 bags, four of which went into the freezer and one to take to work tomorrow. The butt of the ham and the bone went into the fridge for soup making later this week, which should produce another five or six lunches in the freezer. I still have two taco soups left, as well. If I can just put away a dozen or so packages of sketti sauce and sloppy joes for Greg I won't have to worry about lunches for several weeks, which makes dinner decisions easier. I'm also contemplating boiling up a pot full of the chicken I found in the freezer, making for soup and/or dumplings. I'm not sure the dumplings would freeze, but everything else would and I could add biscuit-dumplings for quick dinners with leftovers. This just gets better. AND... I have one more giant pork roast ready for the crock pot. I need more freezer contaiment vessels.
It's a good day. I have H-A-M.
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