Pinto Beans and Cornbread

I worked with so many wonderful people when I was a southern belle. One lady in particular I will never forget. We called her Miss Ruby. Miss Ruby was an older African American woman who could be a little intimidating at first, but once she decided she liked you, she'd baby you like the great southern mama she was. I can't remember how many children she had, but she always bragged about them - she was such a proud mama!

During the years that I worked with Miss Ruby, she'd always station herself in the cookhouse. She'd come in early in the morning and get a fire going in the hearth. Her star dishes were pinto beans and cornbread, cooked in cast iron in the fire of the cook house. Whoever was visiting the attraction that day could stop by and she'd give them each a small helping of pintos in a Dixie cup and a slice of cornbread on a napkin with a smear of butter.

I loved to stop by the cookhouse and have a taste too. All of the buildings of the "un-named attraction" are original buildings to the time period, but they've all been updated with air-conditioning. I'd stand next to the air vent and let that air-conditioning go right up my hoop skirt. Miss Ruby would give me a big helping of pintos and cornbread. I'd crumble the bread into the beans and dig in. Something about those salty beans and the buttery cornbread really hit the spot on hot summer days.

I decided on Monday that I wouldn't be considered a true southern woman until I'd cooked some pintos and cornbread. I tried out Paula Deen's pintos recipe (except I cooked mine on the stove) and the Pioneer Woman's cornbread. Very tasty, but they didn't compare to Miss Ruby's.

Miss Ruby passed away when I was in college. She worked at the "un-named attraction" for many years and a few of us attended her funeral. There were so many people there - I know she was well-loved by all.

Update

So other than the Italy posts, I've been really slacking on the blogging. Work's been super busy, church has been keeping us busy, and life in general has been crazy!

Here's a quick update:

1. I started taking violin lessons. :) I played in the orchestra in middle school and high school and I was pretty good by the time I graduated. Since then, I've played a little here and there just for fun. And I've really missed it. So I did some Google-ing and found a place near my work that offers lessons to people of all ages. And I signed up! I've had 2 lessons so far (they're once a week on Thursdays) and I'm loving it! I've been pretty good about practicing on my own too. Yay me! Hope I keep it up!!

2. Josh's brother, Jordan, found out he's going to be deployed to Afghanistan on Feb 16th. We went up this past weekend to spend time with him and the rest of Josh's family before he leaves. We'll all miss him while he's gone. I know God will keep him safe while he's there. But if anyone out in blogger world is reading this, please keep Jordan in your prayers. I'm also praying for Josh, his mom, dad, sister and brother. I know they'll be having a hard time while Jordan's gone.

3. Work has been SO BUSY. I know I haven't really blogged about work recently. That's because it's been going really well. In fact...and it is so weird for me to be saying this...I actually LOVE my job now. And if you've read my early blog posts, you know that I've got a lot of..."baggage" that goes along with my career. But I've been in this position for over 2 years now, and I really like it. The people in my department are great - they respect me and support me. And I just feel so much more confident in myself and in my work. I've been debating going back and deleting some of my old posts about work. But part of me wants to keep them to show what I've been through and how I got to where I am now. I can't decide...

4. My friend Kara is pregnant and due at the end of the month! We had a shower for her - it was a blast! I need to post some pics soon. Can't wait to hold that little baby!

5. My niece had her 7th birthday. Can't believe she's already 7!!

6. My friend Erin is back home. This one's a long story that I want to devote more time to with another blog post. So I won't go into it here. But I'm glad she's home! We've been spending lots of time together!

So yeah, I've been pretty busy. And I know it's not going to slow down any time soon. But I'm loving life!!




God,
Thank you for all your amazing blessings! Thanks for friends, for new experiences, for family and for a a job I enjoy. Please be with Jordan while he's over seas. Keep him safe. Please bring comfort to the family and help ease their worries. Please be with my friend Kara as she finishes out her pregnancy. I pray she has a safe and easy delivery!

You are so good to me. All of this is your name.
Amen.

Finally: A full explanation as to why we're not going to Italy...









________________________________________________________________________________

As you can see from the pic above, Josh was offered another job. An AMAZING job - way more $$, less hours, a manager position - everything about it was great!

And there's no way he could turn it down...

Yes, Italy was a once in a life time opportunity.

But this job would set us up for our future.

I'm still a little disappointed...I'm sure I'll always feel disappointed when I think of this time in my life.

But I'm SO happy for Josh. And SO very proud of him.

Congrats to my sweet, kind, caring, hard-working hubby! I love you!




Oh yeah, and I met with a travel agent today - we're still going to Italy...for a vacation. Leaving late October!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!




God,
Thank you for all the opportunities we've been blessed with lately. We've been praying to make the right decisions during all of this and I hope we've followed your will. Be with Josh in the next few weeks as he finishes up at his old job and starts his new job. And be with us as we travel to Italy. It's our dream trip and I feel so blessed that we're still able to go...even if it's not in the way we originally thought.
Amen.

Oops :)

Soooooo they blocked blogger at work....

And I'm pretty sure I'm the reason....

Oops. :)

I totally feel like I got in trouble.

But no one ever said anything. (Thank goodness!) They just blocked the site...

Oops. :)

I really only blogged during lunch or when I was taking a quick break...

Oh well. Live and learn. At least I didn't get fired. :-P

And I'm sure that blogger won't be blocked in ITALY!!!!!!

-Holly

Work Hazards & Servant Leadership

I just got antibacterial hand gel in a paper cut - ouch! I have such a hazardous job. :)


It does remind me of the time I hurt myself pretty bad out at the "unnamed attraction" where I used to work.

It was summertime. Maybe in '06 or '07. I was outside, working, doing my thing, talking to guests, etc, when it started to rain. I took shelter underneath a porch with a family of guests - a mom, a dad, and two little girls. It was really starting to pour, and it didn't look like it was going to let up - it wasn't a normal Georgia afternoon shower. The little girls were obviously getting bored...and I started to feel bad for them. I knew we had some toys in the breakroom, so I decided to take a chance in the rain and make a run for it to grab the toys. I took off my slipper-like shoes (didn't want to ruin them!), hiked up my hoop skirt and off I ran!

All went well, until I was on my way back to the family, running like crazy, trying to get out of the rain. I slipped, but caught myself and didn't fall. Score! My foot hit the side of the building, but I didn't think anything of it. I got back to the family and showed the little girls the toys. We played for a little while...but then my foot started hurting...BAD. So I looked down - and I was POURING blood from part of my foot and my toe! "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness. Don't freak out...don't freak out..." I didn't want to scare the family, so I politely excused myself, and ran back out into the rain, and back into the breakroom.

I called my boss (a very kind woman who I'd know for a few years by then) and explained to her what had happened. She told me to come over to the farmyard (yes, there was a farmyard a this "unnamed attraction") and she would bandage me up. (She used sterile items from the veterinary area of the farmyard.) So back out into the rain I went, limping all the way. When I got there, she sat me on a stool, washed my foot and bandaged me up. I didn't get in trouble - she didn't even lecture me about safety and the importance of wearing shoes at work.

But I learned my lesson. Don't run in the rain. Especially barefoot. :)

Yep, that's me - walking in the rain. At least I'm wearing boots!

Pretty amazing, hu? What boss do you know that would wash and bandage your nasty bleeding feet? I still think of how incredibly kind that was of her.

The company I work for is based in the principals of servant leadership. In fact, there's a statue in our hallway of Jesus washing the feet of a disciple.

That day, my boss def took those principals to heart. I always think of her whenever I hear about servant leadership.

 

Notice anything different?

I FINALLY got a work laptop!

Which means (1) I can throw away the crappy desktop I was using that still had a freakin' FLOPPY DRIVE! Talk about an OLD computer. And (2) I can work from home if needed!

I'm super excited. Even though the laptop is a hand-me-down from someone else in my department and has a broken clasp...I still love it! Movin on up!



Dining Dilemma

Everyday when noon rolls around, I have to make a decision. Where should I eat my lunch? And there's really no good answer to that question...

I could eat in the breakroom. Which sounds like a good idea since the TV in the breakroom has cable (we canceled our cable at home) and I could get my Food Network fix...

But then I have to make small talk with everyone that walks by to use the microwave or grab a coke, or get some water, or pick up a spoon. By the time my lunch is over, I haven't gotten to watch any of Paula Deen AND I'm exhausted from all the chit-chat!

I could eat at my desk. Which sounds like a good idea since I can get on Facebook and Blogger and email my friends...

But I don't have an office with a door to close. So I end up jumping up, in mid-bite of my sandwich, to refill the printer paper for someone, or grab someone an envelop, or take notes for a project someone needs my help with. So after my lunch hour is over, I still haven't finished eating, my soup is cold and I'm thinking that it's time for a break from my lunch break!

I could eat in my car. Which sounds like a good idea because it's nice and quiet...

But really, who wants to eat in their car? And who wants to be in the car anymore than we have to be? And in the summer it's too hot and in the winter it's too cold!

I could go out to lunch. Which sounds like a good idea because I could get out of the office and eat some yummy food.

But then I'd have to spend lots of money everyday. And drive to wherever I choose to eat. Which would waste time and gas!

Maybe I should just skip lunch. :)

I caused CHANGE!

Remember this post about how I hate having a separate vacation/sick time policy? Well, I actually wrote about my feelings on this issue in my employee survey this year. This was a big step for me. Usually I don't write anything in my employee survey because I'm scared management will trace my comments back to me. And I don't want everyone to judge me as a whiny, complaining, annoying little girl. But this year, I was brave! I figured if I don't step up and explain how I feel about an issue, I have no right to complain about it. So I did! (Of course, I explained it in a nice, constructive, professional manner...not like the letter from my blog post. :-) )

Well a few weeks ago, we had a benefits meeting to explain the changes in the 2011 benefits plan. I almost decided not to sit in the meeting since I'm on my husband's health/dental/vision plan at his company. But I went anyway in case anyone in my department had a question regarding any of the benefits we offer.

And lo and behold...I caused CHANGE! No, we didn't switch to PTO. Boo. BUT, now we're allowed to use 3 of our sick days for "personal reasons." The HR manager explained that "personal reasons" can be anything from "taking a day off for a doctors appointment, taking a day off to care for a sick child, or taking a day off to attend you son's soccer game." I was still a little confused as to what we could use the days for, so I was very grateful when the new girl (who also doesn't have children) asked, "So basically, we can use these days for anything we want? Like if I wanted to go to the spa, I could use one of these days?" And the HR manager said YES! Woo hoo! I technically just scored 3 more vacation days!!!! Do you know what a difference that's going to make in my life? Now I'll be able to take a FULL week off in the summer for vacation, a FULL week off at Christmas to spend time with my family AND still have THREE days to use for weekend trips to see people graduate, attend weddings, and just take a day off now and then when I am BURNT OUT AND SO SICK OF MY JOB THAT I'M ABOUT TO EXPLODE!!!!

So yeah...

I'm pretty happy about the extra 3 days. :)

And I feel like I was the one that pushed upper management to make the change - which is totally cool!

So starting January 1st, 2011, I will no longer complain about how few vacation days I'm allowed. And if I do, you can totally call me out on it. :)

NERD - National Employee Respect Day

In honor of National Boss Day, I would like to share this hilarious article.

And also these funny ecards:

In all seriousness though, I actually really like the boss I have now. He's a nice guy and we get along well. He gives good direction and let's me know what's expected - two qualities I really appreciate in the person I report to. So Happy Boss Day to my boss! (Now can I have a raise, please?) :)

Signs you may not be happy with your job...

1. The bathroom stall is not only a place to do your "business," but also your safehaven - a calming get-a-way location where you can relax for a good 15 minutes at a time. (At least until the auto-lights go off. Then it's just weird to sit in the bathroom in the dark.)

2. You have to move certain emails out of your inbox and into a folder titled "I'll deal with this later" just because looking at those email makes you infuriated.

http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/Spam_1982

3. You feel like you have multiple personalities when you get to work. You say outloud, "I'm doing great this morning! Thanks for asking! How are you doing today?" But you are really thinking to yourself, "How am I doing? I'm tired. I don't want to be here today. I don't feel like dealing with all of this crap. Screw you! Is it Friday yet?!"

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/w/work_life_balance.asp

4. You once described yourself as a happy-go-lucky, hopefully, bright-eyed young business woman. Now you just see yourself as a bitter, miserable old shrew.

5. You'd rather take a nap in the back seat of your car during lunch that risk having to talk about work in the breakroom with your co-workers.

6. Every time you answer certain people's questions, they look at you like you're an idiot...even though you're telling them the correct answer. Apparently, people think that if you lack power, you lack intelligence. (Thanks for that quote, Lauren - I love it!)

4 more colors!!! Finding the Fun at Work

Look what I just ordered!!!

A 12 pack! (Instead of the 8 pack.)

Woo hoo!

Flair! Finding the Fun at Work

I don't really like talking about my flair...

Joanna: You know what, Stan, if you want me to wear 37 pieces of flair, like your pretty boy over there, Brian, why don't you just make the minimum 37 pieces of flair?

Stan, Chotchkie's Manager: Well, I thought I remembered you saying that you wanted to express yourself.

Joanna: Yeah. You know what, yeah, I do. I do want to express myself, okay. And I don't need 37 pieces of flair to do it.

[flips off Stan]

Like Joanna, I'd love to quit a terrible job one day like that. (That's almost as good as the JetBlue guy!)

But unlike Joanna, I don't mind talking about my Flair. My PaperMate Flair pens, that is!

I LOVE these pens! And it is the only way I can make reconciling credit card charges for 4 people every month a little fun. Some months I can have up to 40 charges per person - that's a LOT of reconciling! Not only do I have to go into the website and type in a bunch of crap (reason for purchase, tax, subledger number) but I also have to write the transaction number on every receipt. That's where these babies come in handy! Writing transaction numbers on 100+ receipts is much more tolerable when you have a pretty pink pen or a lovely light-blue pen or a great green pen.

After that step, I go to the printer to scan copies of the receipts. Trying to fit the different sized receipts together into an 8.5 x 11 area is also kind of fun - I pretend I'm playing Tetris. :)

I am super excited for this weekend because I'll be off to Savannah!!!!

I love Savannah! We went last year with a few friends and we had so much fun. There are so many tasty places to eat down there, so I'm most excited about the food!

I'll be eating some of this:

And we'll def be eating here:

And we're going to try this place.

YUM! I can't wait! :)

-Holly

Screw you, little metal push pins!

These are the bane of my existence:

I just hung a 70 page PowerPoint on a concrete wall using 2 metal push pins per page...

My poor little thumbs!

Is it 5pm yet?

-Holly

I'm so professional...

Time to Retire

So I've been thinking about changing the name of my blog.

"But why, Holly? Belle to Businesswoman is such a cute and fitting name for your blog!"

Yes, yes I know. It is an adorable name and quite witty for my situation, if you ask me. :) But see, with a blog named "Belle to Businesswoman" I feel the need to write about business, aka - my job. And, lately, the exciting parts of my life...the parts I actually would want to blog about, well they happen AFTER 5pm. They happen in the other half of my life. They happen when I'm playing the part of wife/friend/doggy mommy. Not when I'm playing the part of Executive Assistant. Every now and then something interesting will happen at work. But in general, my job is...eh. I mean, it keeps me busy, but it's just alright. And the parts of my job that are kind of cool, those parts are mostly confidential. I can't talk about that new show they are writing or that new ride they are developing or the research I just did for something so TOTALLY awesome that we might do at one of our properties. So unless you want to hear about the HOURS I spent scheduling meetings (and rescheduling those same meetings) or the hours I spend booking travel, or the hours I spend reconciling company credit card charges, I don't think this blog would be very interesting to you.

But maybe it could be interesting if I blogged about it with a spin. But honestly, I don't want to think about work anymore than I have to. When 5 o'clock (or 5:30, or 6pm, etc) rolls around, I want to be DONE with work!

The real issue here is motivation. I have lost my mojo. I have lost my motivation.

See, at first I thought I was just going through a stage. My trip to Jamaica was coming up and who wouldn't be a little spacey at work with an awesome trip like that only a few weeks away?

And then when I got back from my trip, I had a hard time keeping myself motivated. But again, who could blame me? I had just had the most awesome time EVER on the beach drinking pina coladas, hanging out with friends, dancing the night away! It's a little hard to switch from sunbathing and Jamaican rum to expense reports and bad office coffee.

So I did a little reflecting. And I realized that I've had a complete overhaul attitude change about work. I've gone from "ambitious" to "apathetic."

When I first started working at the HR office of that "un-named attraction" I felt like I had finally started my career. And over time, I felt like I was moving forward - working towards that career. Each task I completed got me one tiny step closer to that "big office with a window" that I thought I wanted. When I moved over to the corporate office, I was so excited. Finally I got to wear business casual clothes! And I had my own desk! And I had my own phone extension! I was really moving up! But that honeymoon stage didn't last long. I got bored. REALLY bored. I was over-educated for that position. (Not to sound big-headed, but I really was.) I did learn a lot of necessary skills that I didn't posses, like corporate style communication, etc. but when you got down to the nitty gritty of that job, the truth is that I had a masters degree and I was answering the phone and ordering office supplies.

I. Was. Bored.

So what's an ambitious girl to do? I reached out to other departments. I helped out on this, I did a little of that, I continuously asked anyone who walked by if there was anything they needed help on, anything I could help them with.

And what happened? Well, in a down economy, the worst thing you can do is let your coworkers know that you don't have enough to do at work.

I was laid off.

Which sucked. But I didn't take it personally and that is why I am back with the company working in a much better job with a much better pay rate. :) And in general, this is a really good job (I stay busy, I get along with everyone, some of the stuff I work on is interesting).

So why am I still having these motivation issues? Shouldn't I just be happy to have a job? Shouldn't I be grateful that I am not sitting at home living on unemployment checks?

(I know the answer is yes. Well, actually the answer is "Quit complaining Holly and get to work!" Seriously though, I should remember that most people hate their jobs. And I'm lucky in so many aspects - I work with nice people, I have respect at work, I have pride in the company I work for, etc.)

But the problem is that this is just a job. It's not a career. Where am I going to go from here? (A few other people at my company started in this position, but the job they were promoted into does NOT sound like something I would enjoy.) Any experience I am gaining is really just boxing me in to be an Executive Assistant for the rest of my life. So what is my motivation to work hard and do well?

---
Peter Gibbons: You see, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.

Bob Porter: Don't- don't care?
Peter Gibbons: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime, so where's the motivation? And here's another thing, I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Porter: Eight?
Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired."
---

So to conclude: Work sucks. Period. I've gone from fantasizing about a career to just being happy to get my bi-weekly paycheck.

But my life doesn't suck. My life is FUN! And I really think my personal life would be much more interesting to blog about...

So is it time to retire Belle to Businesswoman?

Vacation? What's that?

Have I already written about my feelings regarding vacation/sick days verses PTO? *scrolling back through all my posts* Nope! I haven't complained about it on the blog yet. :)

PTO: "Some employers prefer to give their employees a paid time off plan. This is a more flexible arrangement that gives the employee a set amount of days off to be used at the employee's discretion. These days can be used for sick time, personal days, vacations, or for whatever reason the employee may need time off."

Vacation/Sick Days: "Companies offer paid time off in the form of vacation days, holidays, personal leave, and sick leave. Some employers' plans offer a specific amount of days for each form."

The average for PTO for an employee with 2 years of service is 17 days a year. (Oh what I would give to have 17 days a year off from work...) But my company doesn't do PTO. We do separate vacation/sick days. For under 5 years of service, you get 10 vacation days and 10 sick days. You are not allowed to use your sick days for anything other than being sick. You can't even use a sick day to go to the doctor or the dentist!

So what does that all mean? That means, that for people like me who are rarley sick (knock on wood) and who usually try to go to work unless they are deathly ill, that means that we get screwed. I'm not the kind of person who can call in sick for just anything. I get really nervous and worry whenever I do have to call in sick. And playing the old "calling in sick when I'm not" game REALLY makes me nervous. So in summary, I get 10 days off a year. Period. Only 10. And 10 really isn't very many. I am expected to be at my desk 244 days a year. (261 total work days in a year minus my measly 10 days off & minus the 7 holidays we get off). All I have to say is, NO FAIR! And for those 10 sick days that I am allowed to take but don't? They are wasted. They don't roll over. I never get to use them.

Dear Company,
Why can't we do PTO? Don't you see that PTO is more fair than separate vacation/sick days? Don't you see that in essence, you are punishing people for being well and for taking care of themselves and not getting sick? And you are punishing honest people who don't call in sick when they aren't? I would appreciate some answers. 
Love,
Holly

4:00pm on a Friday afternoon

So it is Friday. FINALLY! And it is 4pm. One more hour! I can make it! I spent the past 3 hours straightening out some company credit card charges and I have to tell you, I've checked out. My brain is done with work for the rest of the day. Well, at least until my boss gets out of his meeting and starts asking me to do stuff. Unfortunately, he usually stays late on Friday afternoons. Which means.....yep! You guessed it! I get to stay late too. Last Friday, I was here until 5:45. Which isn't really late (ask my husband who works until 9 or 10pm almost the entire month of April). But for me, 5:45 on a Friday is not fun.
So I've been thinking a lot about my kitchen lately. I really REALLY want to go ahead with the renovations. But each time I look at our checking account (which is usually once a day...it doesn't change that often, I don't know why I'm so obsessed!) I know I need to wait. Then I go back and forth on whether or not I really want new cabinets. I mean, yes, our cabinets are disgusting. But half the people I talk to give me a stern lecture, sounding something like this: "Your cabinets are REAL wood. Why would you throw those away and replace them with cheep Ikea cabinets? Why don't you just paint them?" Yes, I know we could just paint them. But that just seems like so much work! Plus our cabinets are SO gross, that I really don't think painting would help. Even painting the insides. But on the other hand, if we DID keep the cabinets, that would save a ton of money, and I could keep my pink oven. I love that oven. I wish I could buy one of these pink refrigerators too. Super cute!

Photo credit

                                                              Photo credit

I love the blue cabinet in the background of picture 2. I've been thinking about going to Goodwill and picking out some ugly furniture and painting it. The Feminist Housewife (one of the blogs I stalk) painted a table recently, a table that is almost an exact replica of a table I bought from Goodwill when I was in college. I never thought to paint mine!

Well, it's almost 4:15 now. Hopefully I'll get out of here around 5pm. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

-Holly

I wish WebEx was my ex.

This week has been loooong.... We had 4 large meetings planned (2 software and 2 hardware reviews, which means something totally different in the theme park industry than it does in IT). And each one of those meetings required the use of WebEx. My boss wanted me to run the WebEx presentations for two of those meetings. This means that I had to sit at my desk for 2 hours each day, mindlessly switching the slides of a PowerPoint and changing tabs to show different presentations. I didn't have anything to contribute to the meetings, the stuff presented wasn't anything I really needed to know, and since I had to click a button on the command, "Next slide, Holly" it wasn't like I could multi-task during the meetings. So yes, those 4 hours were very, VERY boring. Plus I've had a lot of other mindless work this week to complete (including over 40 credit card charges to reconcile from my boss's 6 business trips-yuck!). I am SO ready for this weekend.

On a separate subject, I would like to celebrate the purchase of my first bikini since high school!!! Here's a pic:

It looks...alright on me. I wish I could lose about 10 more pounds before Jamaica. Then I'd really be comfortable smokin in the suit!! But I have lost 10 pounds since last summer, and I think I can pull of a bikini. Plus I am running out of summers to wear a bikini. My husband and I have been discussing when we would like to start a family and I know I won't be wearing any bikinis after being pregnant!

Lastly, I would like to ask for prayers for some girls I met last night. I decided to volunteer for my church's Wednesday night teen ministry. The girls I met came from very rough backgrounds and very broken families. One girl spoke of how she cut herself. My heart goes out to them and I ask God to make himself present in their lives so they will know that they are loved. I am looking forward to going back next week. I will admit that I was super uncomfortable, I had no idea what to say to the teens, or how to interact with them. But I am sure if I keep going, I can help. Hopefully I'll make a difference.

Thank goodness tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Google-Killer...Drinking the Kool-Aid...what the hell?

Oh business clichés. How those executives love to use you. Check some out:


http://www.smoothharold.com/20-business-cliches-that-make-you-sound-stupid/
http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/bizphrases.php
http://www.squidoo.com/businesscliches

I started thinking about these the other day when I happened to say out loud to someone, “I haven’t had a chance to connect with him since he left, but when I do, I’ll make sure to ask him for you.” …really Holly? “Connect with him?” I should have just said, “I haven’t talked to him since he left.” But since I have now been working in the corporate world for 2 full years (yes, this past Wednesday was my 2 year anniversary with the corporate office of the “unnamed attraction.” Happy anniversary to me!) I find myself using those terrible business phrase clichés way too much. I guess the phrase “Connect with him” isn’t THAT bad. But the feminist in me grits my teeth every time I hear some executive say, “He dropped the ball on this one!” or “Make sure you bring your A game” or “Give me a ballpark figure” or “Let’s touch base later.” Sports related business phrases really should be outlawed. There are also some really annoying words I hear quite often such as “synergy” and “blue-sky.” And then there are the phrases where I just want to stop the executive and say “Wait. What the HELL are you talking about?!”

But I do want to list some phrases that CRACK me up. I found all of these on the above websites. Unfortunately, I’ve never heard anyone I work with say any of these phrases. I wish they would though…you can be sure that I will laugh out loud and probably get funny looks from everyone in the conference room. :)

“Putting lipstick on a pig” – Do Miss Piggy and Kermit work here?
“Low hanging fruit” – Sounds like something a middle school aged boy would laugh at.
“Best of breed” – Woof Woof!
“Run it up the flag pole and see who salutes” – Run this up your flag pole!
“Polishing a turd” – really…really?!?!
“Rubber hits the road” – Wait, are we talking about work or prophylactics?
“Purple cow” – All of these business phrases sure are purple cows. :)

And lastly, I will leave you with this pic that my friend Veena forwarded me earlier this week. It pretty much sums up the careers of me and the rest of my 20-something-year-old friends. :)

I GOT IT!

I found out yesterday.........I got my job! I'm so happy. Of course, now the real work starts. :)

I did have to negotiate salary. The negotiating process was terrible. I felt so awkward and I was so mad with the first offer (it was REALLY low compared to what I saw on the job posting on Careerbuilder). I was worried that when I spoke, I wouldn't sound calm and professional. But I was able to make them come up a bit. Still not as much as I wanted, but enough to be happy with. And compared to what I made before I was laid off, I came out GOOD! :) I am sooooooo proud of my negotiating skills. I really think being laid off was the best thing ever for me. It got me out of a job I hated and taught me to not be so loyal to a company, to not take the first offer, and to have more confidence in myself. I love this new job AND I am finally making more than I would be teaching. So I can throw away my teaching certificate...if I knew where it was. :)