Good Morning

Well, I should really be working right now, but I fear my productivity will be lacking if I try before sharing this fabulous experience with you. I felt as though I woke up on the right side of the bed this morning. I really did. I got ready in plenty of time to let the pups out, get to work on time, and even stop for a cup of coffee. It was fabulous. So I spilled some coffee all down my shirt. Oh well. I was am determined to have a fabulous day. 

I got to work with coffee stains all down my shirt. I think my boss is used to me having stains because Friday I came in with a big glob of toothpaste that I thought I got out. I parked, opened the door to the office, and saw water. Everywhere. The entire office suite was flooded. I saw the owner and another business owner standing there on the other side of the suite. I entered our office to find the new furniture, carpet, trash cans, CDs,... soaked. The owner had pulled most everything off the ground except the electrical. All of the electrical cords were plugged in soaking up water. I got them all off the ground, picked up a few other things dropping some, and tried calling my boss. No answer. No ring. Voicemail. 

After soaking my feet in water for a while, I decided to go to the coffee shop down the street. It's very close and was a nice day so, naturally, I walked. On my way I heard screaming. Eventually a lady got my attention and yelled across the parking lot that I wasn't allowed to park there. She put her foot in her mouth when I told her that I worked there. (She later apologized.)

I'm learning to laugh through some circumstances that I used to cringe over. There is no need to let all of that ruin a day. Now if it was my building and I didn't have tenant insurance I might then be stressed and upset. Fortunately for me, that is not the case.

Blogging

You know you have been blogging for a while when:

1. In the midst of what would typically be a horrible situation, you find yourself thinking or saying "Man, this will make a great blog."

2. You can not focus on the task at hand until you blog what is on your mind.

3. You lie awake at night wondering when a fellow blogger is going to post about a particular topic.

4. You can not wait for your next blogging fix.

5. You enjoy reading others blogs as much as you enjoy writing your own.

Lost it all...errr..almost

You are working away on your computer. You've got several windows open going back and forth between several different tasks. Suddenly, things stop working properly. You decide the best course of action is to quite everything and restart. 

Click. Click. Click. Restart. "Yes you are sure you want to restart." CLICK. 

Then you take a bathroom break because this is the PERFECT opportunity. After all your computer is restarting and that prevents you from working or doing whatever it is you need to. 

You come back, after flushing and washing your hands of course, and everything is working much better! Hooray you shout! Or not. Then you open your email client... Let's just say its Entourage. You see a question that says "Would you like to set up your account now?" It takes a second to register but you then wonder why on earth it would ask you to set up an account when you have 2, count them, TWO accounts set up already. Then you click the notorious "x" button and see that none of your emails, folders, sent mail, inbox messages, drafts, contacts, addresses, calendar items,... are there any more. Oh yes, you have LIVED by Entourage for work, home, birthdays, and other important days. It tells you what you need to do and when you need to do it. It reminds you where you need to be and at what time. It is all gone. 

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Thank you Entourage for clearing your database of all of my information without my consent. I appreciate it ever so much! Lucky for you me, I backed EVERYTHING up this weekend and you will soon be back to your begrudging tasks of doing what I tell you to do! 

All of this nonsense to say PLEASE for allthatisrightandwrongandgoodandbad in this world, back up your information. When the time comes for something to go wrong, which it tends to do with technology, you will be SO glad you did it.

The Debate and my not so normal JOB (Part II)

The rest of the day was a whirlwind. It rained. It poured. I chased down the impersonators and dragged them around. We got photos with Myspace, did videos with Rock the Vote, talked with the Associated Press, aired live on News Channel 4 (Nashville), interviewed with the French Press (a kind lady from Paris), talked with Joel Stein and Cinemax/HBO,... It was a fabulous productive day! We had no interviews or anything set up but with 2,000 plus media in town, good things are bound to happen!

Photos from 2nd Debate

With Chris Matthews from Hardball



Joel Stein with Cinemax



Jonathan Martin with News Channel 4 - Nashville


Belmont's Provost and Associate Provost

The Debate and my not so normal JOB (Part I)

So the Debate Fair was crazy and the Debate disappointing but overall I had a great time. Now I find myself in the background of a lot of pictures looking completely drab! How exciting!

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Well, my day started off pretty poorly. I couldn't find any comfortable shoes and I didn't have time to make myself look like a human. I threw on a suit, pulled my hair back, painted on some basic makeup and out the door I went. I had time to stop at Starbucks and grab a Pumpkin Spice Latte which I had high hopes for turning my day around.

Let me preface this next point by saying that it has not rained in Nashville in months. No joke, no lie. It has been dry. Tuesday, debate day, it decided to rain! I like rain but standing/walking/running in a suit and high heels outside in pouring rain is not so fun. I wouldn't recommend it. 

I finally got to downtown Nashville where I parked and my boss picked me up. I was worried that there would be NO parking which was somewhat true. Better safe than sorry I say. (I'll explain why this was a horrible decision later.) After turning around a few times to find the right way to enter, we pulled up to a booth where secret service, police, and event organizers swarmed. The secret service people (who by the way all advertised they were secret service by either their nice suits and spiffed up appearance or the writing on their uniform) had to do a double take at the GW impersonator and before we new it, he was out the door taking pictures with them. 

10 minutes later we found our booth. The impersonators worked the crowd and walked over when they could. I felt completely useless because I didn't know what went where or the order... (If you know me, you know this drove me absolutely insane because I hate being useless.)

5 minutes later I was chasing down the impersonators and heading to local fair trade coffee shop, Bongo Java. The outside was swarming with Obama supporters and paraphernalia. Everyone was doing double takes and taking pictures. One of the ladies we passed was on the phone and said "You'll never guess who I just saw! Sarah Palin is walking down the street!" My mood quickly turned from frustrated to excited and energized. 

Check back for info on the rest of the day, pictures,...

I'm a little scared...

Nashville is buzzing with media, police, and absolute chaos. In most cases I would AVOID GOING DOWNTOWN AT ALL COSTS, but unfortunately I do not have that option.

Let me explain...

Nashville is usually buzzing a lot with award shows and concerts and things, but I don't think we've had something of this magnitude in a long time ever. The debate is being held at Belmont University (the college I graduated from last December) and there are lots of activities surrounding it. My boss flew in 3 political impersonators, a G.W. (who I work with), a Sarah Palin, and a Bill Clinton. It will probably be fun, but there are over 2,000 media in town and there aren't enough parking places for the people who LIVE in Nashville, muchless thousands more.

(I will add more and let you know how it goes but I must run for now.)

Fall is in the air

My weekend ended up being rather productive although I always wish I could have accomplished more. Even though cleaning is my absolute favorite pastime,* the highlight of my weekend was definitely the apple pie I made last night. 

I really enjoy the fall, especially in the south. Its still warm with gentle cool breezes. (Unless of course it decided to rain every day for 3 or 4 months which has happened.)** I also love fall foods. A bowl of hot chili with a fresh slice of cornbread. Pumpkin and squash soups. Pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing. Pies of all kinds, shapes, and sizes. The aroma of these foods; particularly when I use my crock pot and it steeps all day! Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm. (Oh and I am completely aware that this paragraph is lacking in grammar and complete sentences, but it is the blog world and rules don't really apply, right?) 

Fall=comfort. Comfort foods, more comfortable weather, more comfy clothing (like sweaters, sweatpants,...), comforting aromas (apple spice, pumpkin), cuddle time by the fireplace. Yeah, I'm excited.

* denotes sarcasm

** denotes slight exaggeration

Taking it Back

You know how sometimes you get REALLY busy with work, church, kids (babysitting in my case), feeding you and/or your husband/kids, and life in general? And things that you want to be a certain way end up not being that way at all because, well, life just happens? That's where I'm at. My apartment is in serious disarray and its making me a bit crazy. Okay, it seriously stresses me out. So this weekend I am set out to get my apartment back under control. I plan to make 2 lasagnas (thanks to Pioneer Woman for the recipe) and an amazing garlic herb bread for the church potluck and maybe an apple pie (thanks to Pamela for making me crave it) for Ben me to enjoy.