Raining...

Note to self: Don't get a new hairstyle when it is raining outside.

I got my bangs cut quite a bit shorter than they were but since it is raining outside, I can't get them to style right and they are sticking up all over the place. Sexy...

San Diego definitely needs the rain, even with the chaos it brings. I am laughing the entire two minutes of my "commute" that I am not one of the suckers stuck on the freeway in the havoc. If I was still at my old job, it would be taking me two hours to get to work. Now I just cruise two miles and sit back and enjoy the weather.

My first safety meeting with the new company is today. I am going to be meeting all the field guys for the first time.

So I made cupcakes. A whole lot of cupcakes.

I started baking last night and got into a little assembly line groove and by the time the frosting was done, I had 72 cupcakes on my hands (and frosting EVERYWHERE else!) Holy cupcakes, Doughboy! I know the guys will appreciate it though and HammieLove DEFINITELY does!

I had decorated the office with all the pretty Halloween stuff but my boss called me into his office earlier this week and told me that I needed to work better on "fitting in." *ouch* I asked if he meant that I needed to become jaded and cynical about my job like everyone else. (I am SICK and TIRED of being shoved in a box!) I mentioned that I thought that everyone liked the decorations and had said as much to me. He said that everyone did like them, but they weren't to his personal preference. So I took them all down.

And I cried.

I felt so dumb for crying. I think part of it was that I hadn't slept for nearly thirty hours (thank you Adderall). I know that my feelings were hurt though. I thought that I had been hired BECAUSE of my spirit. I thought that I had finally found a place that needed and would appreciate my energy. I know my co-workers do. It just hurt to have someone else tell me to "fit in."

When the guys saw the tears, they all got mad and told me that he was an asshole and I shouldn't listen. It felt nice to have their support but he's the boss, you know? I told him that we ARE getting a Christmas tree and he laughed. I think he will give in on that point.

Big BD company event this weekend in the desert. I am driving myself crazy trying to get prepared. Our banner and stickers should be done today. I am very excited about them because they are our first advertisement purchase.

Off to work!!

**NOTICE**

For professionalism reasons and in order to keep the peace in the company, I have removed all references to my company and partner from my blog. I will be unable to give product updates in the future, so if you are interested in knowing about the upcoming events and apparel lines, or website updates, leave your email address in the comments section and I will create a mailing list for updates.

Thanks!

THANK YOU, TVJ!!! YOU ROCK!!!!

BDI

Color me an optimist but I never thought that I was going to have a Rappy experience and have to deal with a Big Dumb Idiot. Boy was I wrong!

BAG ( Bossy Accounting Girl, for those just tuning in) paged me over the intercom yesterday, telling me I had a phone call on Line 1.

Hammie: Good afternoon, this is Hammie.
Client: Hi, can I have your address?
Hammie: (pauses) You just need our address?
Client: Yes, I don't know why the other girl put me on hold. Is she new?
Hammie: No, actually I'm new. Our address is ----
Client: Well you are doing a great job! Thanks!
(hangs up)

BAG, the BDI, put a customer on hold and paged me instead of just giving her our address. I can't tell if that is the epitome of laziness or stupidity. I KNOW that it is terrible customer service. I think that I shouldn't have let the client get an impression of the ineptitude but I was so caught off guard by the whole call that my Mask O' Professionalism slipped.

In other news, I got my first Peloton Project donation! Another online friend whose husband raised over $9000 for the Peloton Project last year (he is a cancer survivor) donated to my page! :)

Who wants to be second? Even five bucks makes a difference!

You Got Some 'Splaining To Do!

I survived the laughter of HammieLove when he came to bed last night and found me sleeping in my new curlers. He said he felt like he was going to bed with I Love Lucy.

I survived sleeping on lumpy hair with pieces of plastic rollers poking me in the head all night.

I survived getting up earlier than normal so I could blowdry my knobby head if my hair didn't dry completely in the night.

I survived sitting in the guest bathroom with a big metal mixing bowl on my head while holding the blowdryer under it because I thought that the circulating air would help it dry better, like the dryers at the beauty salon.

I took out all my curlers, shook out my head and...

*poof*

I look like a poodle. A really frizzy poodle.

I was going to take a picture but I am too embarassed... It is THAT BAD.

My Berf-day

Yesterday was awesome. I wasn't expecting my bike because HammieLove told me that the one in the shop was reserved but mine would be in from the factory on Friday. I got home and when I went to the rental office, he rolled my bike out of the back! I was so excited! I rode it around the whole complex and we even went to the mall last night to try and find me a jacket and messenger bag to wear so I could ride it to work. (We didn't find either but I did get a cool new pair of hardcore hi-top Vans).

HL and I got in a little argument this morning because he thought I was going to be late to work if I tried to ride my bike and I thought that I could get there just fine. Not to mention the fact that I am an ADULT and it is my hide if I am late to work (which I wasn't going to be.) I knew he would be pissed off at me all day if I took my bike, so I just left in a huff.

He showed up at my office about 8:15 with the stopwatch on his phone showing that he made it in 13 minutes (I had 15 to get to work). He drove my car home so I could ride my bike home tonight.

Such a good man, even if he drives me nuts sometimes. But sometimes he brings me breakfast at work on days when I leave the house in a huff. *wink*

Go, Hammie, it's your birthday...

Today I turn the big TWO-FOUR. *makes her wish and blows out the candles*

I gave myself a birthday present and joined the Peloton Project for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. From now until August 2005, I will be raising money to aid cancer survivors and their families. I was inspired by the "Beacons of Hope" fundraiser that I thought up, especially when the man that we were going to fundraise for didn't want us to do the fundraiser for him (which I totally understand). It seemed like too good of an idea to let go to waste, so now I am going to do "Beacons of Hope" to benefit the LAF, in honor of my Uncle Tony, who is fighting cancer, and in memory of my Nan, who succumbed on August 21 to her third go-round with cancer.

So for my birthday, I am asking any of who can and want to donate to a GREAT cause, to go to this my donation page and throw a couple of bucks at the LAF.


Thanks and everyone have a great day today! I know I am going to!! :)

*RANT*

Everyone knows that I left my job last month and I recently found a new one. In the process of all this happening, my health insurance from my last job ran out and my health insurance from my new job doesn't kick in until the first of January. The solution to this is to get COBRA (the program where you can get the same health benefits you had, but you have to pay for them), right? You enroll for continuous health care, right?

WRONG.

I got my election letter from COBRA five days before my medical insurance expired. You have to elect to enroll (which you can do online -which I did), then you have to wait for them to send you an invoice through regular mail. Then you mail in a check and they process your payment and notify your insurance carrier.

Right off the bat, there is no way all this can be done in 5 days, so my insurance is going to expire and I will not have health insurance. Of course, in HammieLand, this means that the day after my insurance expires, I get a wicked UTI and I get a toothache. But my COBRA should be kicking in any day now, right? I enrolled, haven't got the invoice yet, but soon, right?

WRONG.

I get the invoice and it is THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH. *faints* Oh, and after I send them my right arm, I mean check, it can take the insurance company up to SIXTY DAYS to reinstate my insurance.

SIXTY DAYS?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I have exactly three days worth of ADHD meds left. I am supposed to pay three hundred dollars a month to get my insurance reinstated but it is not going to happen in enough time to help me and I am going to have to pay for my pills out of pocket in addition to my insurance premiums. I could submit for reimbursement later but what a pain!

So I called the pharmacy and found out that if I paid cash for my Adderall, it would only be $104. I could buy a three month supply for the same amount of money that it would take for one month of insurance. I can go to the health clinic for anything else if I get sick before January.

I might pay the $30 a month for dental insurance because I was taking Advil Liquigels like candy to stop my tooth from hurting, but paying $1300 for a root canal would have hurt that much more. My tooth has stopped hurting though...medicine free.

So that's the end of my rant...

On the bright side, I bought the new Joss Stone CD yesterday and it is awesome. Everyone should go buy it!

Look! I'm famous!

**bored**

Not in a bad way though. This office is SO laid back compared to anywhere I have worked before. I bet I could bust out a book and no one would think twice.

I downloaded the Itunes player and have been concentrating on uploading all my CD's. Fun.

I am getting to do something here that I am very excited about. One of the journeymen got cancer (not excited about that) and actually had to have his entire arm amputated. No shoulder, nothing to hold a prosthesis on. It was a terrible tragedy for him and his family. The amputation only happened three weeks ago and I am sure that they are all reeling and wondering about the future because he is permanently disabled now. My boss asked me if I knew how to plan a fundraiser. Since I spent my entire adolescence as a Job's Daughter, I have EXTENSIVE knowledge of fundraisers. Couple that with my event planning skills and you have a girl who wants to throw the HUMDINGER of fundraisers.

BAG was all hopped up on doing a bake sale. Greatest idea in the world if you ask her. Ask me and I will tell you that bake sales are a lot of work for not a lot of money. I was thinking along the lines of a raffle, then I came up with this.

BEACONS OF HOPE.

In my old neighborhood, every Christmas Eve all of the houses would line the sidewalks and driveways with luminarias ( which are white paper bags with sand in the bottom and a votive candle in the sand). The carolers would come out and Santa would get driven around in a golf cart. It was very cozy, festive, and fun.

I thought for the fundraiser, we could (with the help of the family's church) assemble luminaria kits. With 12 bags and candles, some sand, and the story of the family's plight, all wrapped up in a nice package. Kids at the church could decorate the bags. I am sure that we could get the supplies donated. Then we sell the kits to our vendors, clients, friends for $10 a piece. We tell everyone in his neighborhood and town what we are doing and who we are doing it for and ask them to line their streets on Christmas Eve. I think it will inspire a community spirit and the family will be able to drive through their town and see all the support. And all the proceeds from the sales would go to the family to make sure that they have a good holiday!

And I told BAG that we could still do the bake sale. I like to bake. And we can sell the kits there too! :)

Does it sound like a good idea?

The Angels Are Cracking Up in Heaven

See ya later, Rodney. It was nice knowing you and your Triple Lindy.

Wanna see the cutest thing in the world?

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Say it with me...AWWWWWWW!

That's Zion, my youngest kitty, just doing what she does, which is being cute! Don't believe me?

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Hee! I just want to schoogle her to death!

Oh, and as promised...

Hammie Am Smrt!


I love my new glasses!