What a CRAZY long day! Woke up at seven am and didn't get home from work until nine tonight. After a three day weekend, during which I turned off my Blackberry, I returned to nearly 150 emails and a day full of meetings. Of course my emails couldn't have been SPAM, but legit issues from my volunteers... none of which required simple answers. I think I got through about 30 of them and I will be working from home tomorrow to plow through the rest. How is it that I am SO much more productive when working from home? Even when I insert an afternoon nap into my work day? Perhaps avoiding the hours I spend commuting, or working late into the night. Honestly, I think it's because I'm much more focused in the morning when I don't have to sit in traffic... indeed... that must be the answer. I usually get more work done between eight and ten am than I usually accomplish in a full day at the office. Patrick works from home too, but I guess I just have less to say to him than to my co-workers!

Dear Patrick,
Thank you for being so infatuated with Star Craft, EVE, and WoW. Your interests do not intrigue me and therefore I am able to actually accomplish WORK!
Love, Em

Okay, now that we have settled that... my meetings today were AMAZING! First, a community wide meeting pertaining to the role media plays in Domestic Violence. (Seriously, it was really good. I swear I'm not being sarcastic!) Then back to the office for additional discussion with my co-worker who was also at the meeting. The meeting ended on a "well, there you have it folks" note, never actually answering the question of what we could do to in terms of taking a proactive approach. Doo, doo, doo! That's where we come in! Girl Scouts to the rescue!!! We started plotting how we would work our programming into the next seminar to give people a way of taking action :-) LETS DO THIS!!! (All caps... yup way too much coffee... but we aren't there yet.)

Moving on... after chatting it up, I got to some emails, went through the 48 boxes of office supplies we just had donated, had a minor confrontation with our lazy office assistant, and then started prepping for the HUGE meeting I had tonight! On my forty-five minute drive to the meeting, I started yawning... NOT GOOD! I called the coffee shop in the town I was heading to and convinced the teenage barista to have a soy vanilla latte waiting for me on the counter. "Look, I need coffee like it's my job and I don't have a moment to spare. PLEASE!!!" They hooked me up, swiped my card, and I took off to my destination. Our meeting was in a cute historical building and I had to drive through the back roads of Virginia to a small corner store to acquire the key. The man behind the counter handed me a key attached to a giant wooden paddle. A little creepy, but it is what it is. I had one heck of a time finding the building we were meeting in (someone could have told me it was literally smack dab in the middle of this rink-a-dink town!) Driving down the dark road, I found the spot (which wasn't even on my GPS) and opened the doors, to what I believe is the cutest little building of all time. The floor creaked as I searched for chairs... of which I only found 13! I set up in a little room with a couch and some big comfy chairs. The space was perfect and made for a cozy meeting. We had JUST enough chairs for everyone... thank goodness not everyone showed up! It was an amazing meeting and I ROCKED IT!

After the meeting I chatted with my volunteers and set out on my drive home. A half an hour later, I walked through the front door WIRED from the caffeine I had consumed. What to do, what to do! Patrick was exhausted and just wanted to lay down. We watched some TV, he fell asleep, and here I sit... on Pleonast... where I know I am never alone! I blog to keep myself from working. While I could be amazingly productive right now (can't you tell?) I refuse to login. My resolution for this year is to take control of my personal time and break the workaholic cycle I had become known for last year. My amazing volunteers hold me accountable (I love them so much!) and I get nagging replies for any emails sent after hours. Ahh... if only you all were so lucky!

Well, that's all I've got for tonight. I'm going to bore myself on Facebook and then play some mindless games on Deadwhale.

Love, Peace, Chicken Grease,

Em

WARNING: This is a RANT!!!

Our former roommate, and Patrick's best friend, married one of the stupidest people I have EVER met in my life. Because we love Treymond, I am forced to tolerate his wife. Personally, I don't understand how someone with a degree in biology can severely lack any sort of intelligence. Tonight, I started researching the genetic and environmental factors that would contribute to her extreme levels of stupidity. Hmm... interesting. BUT... this post isn't about my findings... it's a RANT... and I shall post the remainder in the form of a letter.

To the moron who married our best friend,

You are a sheltered princess who lives in a fantasy world and has the IQ of a sack of potatoes. To be honest, I can't believe you have made it this far in life without catching yourself on fire, driving your car into a lake, stepping into traffic, or falling into a well. The world was not designed to cater to your every need. Not everything in life is handed to you and you are foolish if you believe everyone likes you. Listening to you speak sends chills down my spine. You have no idea what is going on in the world, if you aren't directly involved. You read books to pass tests, but can't put the information to use, or even recall the facts in a discussion. I don't understand how you are the only one of us with a science degree, but can't manage basic math in the kitchen. Remember when you asked me for a 3/4 cup to measure flour and I handed you a 1/4 cup? You handed it back and said "What am I going to do with this? I freaking need 3/4 cups!" Perhaps you should pick up a newspaper once in a while to figure out what is going on in Egypt. I can't blame your husband for ignoring your calls... but then again... marrying you was his stupid move. I really don't see why I should try to be civil and tolerant of you if you aren't going to make an effort to be smarter. I don't want to talk about how you clamped a hair straightener down on you ear, or about your smelly cat, or about your job reading thermometers. Being around you kills more brain cells than I wish to rid myself of. You are the biggest wimp I have ever met... because you believe everything you see in the movies. If we ever take a couple's vacation, we are leaving you at home. You don't travel to an exotic place to "sit on the beach at the all you can eat resort." Then again, maybe YOU do... but I like to engage my mind, experience new cultures and grow as an individual! I would rather be killed by a native with a machete than spend a full week with you! If you just want to sit on the beach and eat all you can, it's a lot cheaper to just fill your backyard with sand and take a trip to Golden Corral! You are an idiot and I no longer feel sorry for you. I feel sorry for the people you meet. I feel sorry for the people who hear you speak. I feel sorry for the man you married. I feel sorry for your future children. AND... I felt sorry for myself... but I don't anymore... because I'm smart and you are stupid... and I'm done being nice. From now on, I will be armed with a spray bottle full of water and every time you say, or do, something stupid... you will be sprayed. Oh, poor thing... your precious hair is going to get frizzy.

Signed, Someone smarter than you...

Alright, that's all. Good night and thanks for reading along!

Now that school is back in session and my volunteers have all returned, things seem to be going well at work. On the home front, things are looking good. Health wise, the new meds are a royal pain... but working... though I am taking somewhere around 150 pills each week... tra lah lah...

My goodness... finding a new job right now is like playing hide and seek with a chameleon! So many employers are secretive and cryptic in their position descriptions... either that or they shoot for the stars (because they can with these unemployment rates). Yes... this is indeed a stressful time. On one hand... I am SO ready to check out of my current job... and on the other? I am SO not having fun digging through the endless piles of muck to find something I am both qualified for... and will still enjoy.

I am totally procrastinating today... I don't feel like commuting and I'm still in my pajamas. Getting motivated to sit in traffic for an hour to go to an office with people I can't stand and sit there waiting to leave... yeah... that doesn't sound like the American dream... just the American reality. Oh... I just want to go back to sleep!

Ahhh... I find a certain sense of peace and comfort when I stumble upon the pitch black screen that I affectionately know and love... ahhh... pleonast... so quiet... so secluded. I, like many others, have fallen victim to Facebook. I can't be real... I can't be honest... I can't be ME!!! Why? Because there is no anonymity... everyone is there. Perspective employers, past students, current volunteers, co workers, and family... what a flippin PAIN!!! I had a crappy day and I just want to SCREAM, but I can't. I don't want my phone to start ringing with people asking me what's wrong. I can't say "I'm looking for a new job" because I will send folks into a friggin frenzy. Facebook is too public. Pleonast is where it's at. I don't care if you read... I don't care if you judge (but please don't) and I don't care what I say. This is my release... this is my safe haven... this is my home.

Love, Peace, Chicken Grease...

**Em**

PS... I haven't been on here in so long that I forgot my username :) it took me a good 5 minutes to log in...

Side note number two: When I have a bad day... everyone benefits... because I bake... all hail the banana bread (one with chocolate chips and one without!!!)