Knights in White Satin

I must say that waking up at the butt crack of dawn for the purpose of working is not fun in the slightest. For the past two days, I have been waking up at 4:30, getting picked up at 5:00, and starting work at 5:30 in the a.m. Yucky! Yesterday was especially difficult, it being Monday and all. I couldn't really get to sleep as early as I would have liked, and then I was so scared I wouldn't wake up at 4:30 or that I would turn off my alarm without getting up that I woke up every 45 minutes to an hour for the duration of the time that I was sleeping. Today was a little better. I set my cell phone alarm as a back-up, and that helped to get me to sleep through the night without waking up. I feel way more rested today! Granted, I have a sore throat and a slight cough, but minor details. I'm ignoring it for now. Just for today. Then I go back to my normal schedule until Friday, when Fernando leaves for Mexico for a week and I take his place getting up early. Yucky!

It's What You Do To Me

Hey! Here are some good pics of testing I do at my new job!

Pretty bizarre looking, eh?

Black Holes and Revelations

Had to go back to my old job today to pick up a check from San Ramon. 'Twas weird being there on the other side of things - picking up a check as opposed to cutting the check. It was a year ago in April that I moved over to the lab. I'd say that I don't miss that awful desk job pushing papers, but I kind of do. It was definitely easier in the sense that I wasn't lifting heavy things, unless a huge stack of paper counts as "heavy." Everyone who was still there seemed pretty excited to see me. So that was nice. I got some big hugs and good lucks (for going back to school). I even got the latest gossip. Girl/office gossip is so much different than boy/lab gossip! My old Accounts Payable boss wants me to report the happenings described previously about my now old Met Lab boss to the President of the company so that some action will be taken to correct his behavior. Since the big boss here in Oak-town isn't going to do anything drastic himself. She said she'd put something together and show me before she brings it up to the Pres. She doesn't want to do anything I wouldn't agree to. On the one hand, I think it's a good idea. It's awesome that she's got my back, still, even though I left her for the lab... on the other hand, do I want to go over anyone's head that I would have to see everyday? I dunno. She claims it's a law-suit waiting to happen. And she's right. I could probably sue the company for harrassment. I wouldn't, but I could. So maybe getting the President involved is the right thing to do in this case. So it doesn't happen again to someone who might sue the company. Plus, he likes me. If he knew that I was treated badly, he wouldn't be pleased. At all. What do you guys think? Should I do something?

See You on the Dark Side of the Moon

I've decided to try to design a workout schedule in the hopes that I will actually abide by it. For the last week and a half, it has worked.
Monday: Gym - Elliptical 35 minutes + Weight Resistance 10 minutes
Tuesday: Soccer with the peeps - 1-2 hours
Wednesday: Yoga with Jessa - 1.5 hours
Thursday: Gym - Elliptical 35 minutes + Weight Resistance 10 minutes
Friday: Work-out at home - arms and abs 10 minutes each
Saturday: Gym - Elliptical 35 minutes + Weight Resistance 10 minutes
Sunday: Off
Plus hiking thrown in there when I'm so inclined to do so. Yoga tonight! If I can push through my sore ass leg muscles from soccer last night - good turn out! 6 on 6 made for an excellent game :)

Yum Yum In My Tum Tum

Make these whence you have time. They are easy and delicious! Thanks, Food Network!
Let me know if you like these recipes as much as I did!!!


Anytime Vegetable Salad
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show:
Everyday Italian
Episode:
Personal Chef

2 cups shelled edamame soy beans
8 ounces thin green beans, trimmed
8 ounces yellow wax beans, trimmed
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil or tarragon leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the edamame in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water, then drain well and pat dry. Repeat with the green beans and yellow beans. Combine the vegetables in a bowl.

Add the vinegar, oil, herbs, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper to a glass screw-top jar. Seal the jar and shake vigorously to mix the vinaigrette.

When you're ready to serve, shake the jar again to re-mix the vinaigrette and pour it over the vegetables. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.


Cheese Tortellini in Light Broth (I used Pesto Tortellini from Trader Joe's)
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show:
Everyday Italian
Episode:
Weekend Lunch


8 cups low-salt chicken broth
Freshly ground black pepper
2 (9-ounce) packages refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Pour the broth into a heavy large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Season the broth with pepper, to taste. Add the tortellini. Simmer over medium heat until al dente, about 7 minutes.

Ladle the broth and tortellini into soup bowls. Top with parsley and Parmesan crisps and serve.

Parmesan Crisps: 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour a heaping tablespoon of Parmesan onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet and lightly pat down. A silicone baking sheet is highly recommended. Repeat with the remaining cheese, spacing the spoonfuls about a 1/2 inch apart.

Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool.

Yield: 8 to 10 crisps

We're all in the mood for a melody

I start my "new" job on Monday. We had the official meeting yesterday. My boss has yet to apologize to me. He claims that when he gets hot in the head, he doesn't remember the things that he said. Now, isn't that terribly convenient? Why yes, yes it is. Argh. I hate it when I don't get my way. And I don't even think it's so bad to request my way, seeing as how it is just an apology.... but if he wants to burn his bridges, then so be it! We'll just see what happens when they get totally swamped and come to me for help. Am I bitter, you ask? Yep. But at least I'm bitter and not jobless. I really didn't want to look for a new job when I'm about to go back to school.

Speaking of which, Simone and I went to Hot Topic last night for baby shower gifts for Cliff and Aariel and I got an uber cute new backpack covered in stars, weeeeee! Hopefully it's big enough. Cuz if I wind up with 6 HUGE textbooks that I must lug around, then I'm effed. See?

Ok, not the best picture, but it was all I could find on such short notice.

I got for Cliff and Aariel 2 onesies, also from Hot Topic. One is white and yellow with the Sublime logo/sun and the other is gray and says "I listen to Led Zeppelin with my daddy." Too cute! Why is everyone having babies? Should I be having babies now too? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I don't want any babies.

Free Bird

We have an audit today. I guess we're trying to get re-certified by ICBO, the bigwigs. If we do, then we look good and will get more work. But that means I have to know what I am doing. And I have to care. Neither of which is true at the moment. Well, I wouldn't say that I don't know what I'm doing. Because I do. I just don't know that what I know is what they are looking for, and I have to perform a test in front of them for the audit. Woo, fun! Shouldn't be too bad. Aside from the caring part.
I'm switching departments. As soon as possible. Our camera went missing, and my boss would like to blame the fact that he thinks it got stolen on me. I'm so over it. Here's what happened:
I needed a camera for a special job I was doing for a client. Our old camera is broken (or, this was my understanding anyways), so I asked my boss to use the new camera. He went to his office, got it for me, and handed it directly to me. I then proceeded to do my work as normal, and when I was done, I went to give him back the camera. He was in our new office, moving things around and such, so I held it up and said, "here's the camera, can you download the pictures for me when you have a chance? I'll leave it right here." And put it down. Out of my hands, right? Apparently not. Because when I returned on Thursday (after the fourth of July holiday), the pictures had not yet been downloaded, so I couldn't finish the report. When my boss called me to say he was running late, I reminded him about the pictures and he said the camera was where I left it and he'd do it when he got in. So I went in to do it myself, and no camera. In it's place was our laptop, however. But no camera. When my boss came in, I said I couldn't find it, so he looked all over for it. Couldn't find it. Therefore, he assumes it was stolen. And he says it was MY fault. What the eff, man?!?!? He first says that I shouldn't have been using the new camera in the first place, that he only got it for close up pictures and such (our old camera didn't take good pics of close up things, which we often need). So I'm supposed to use the old camera, which he told me was broken? Then why didn't he say that BEFORE giving me the new one? It's not like I just went in there and took it from his office or something... he brought it to me! So I say, it's not my fault, you can't blame me. And he says that yes, he can. He says I know how absent minded he can be, so I shouldn't have just left it any-old-where because I should have known he would forget about it. I'm sorry, was that in my job spec? To keep track of his things? He acknowledged me when I said I was leaving it there, and never said anything about me needed to put it back away in his office or something. But since I did not take into account his absent-mindedness, it's now my fault that the camera "got stolen" (I still think he misplaced it when he moved the laptop). Mind you, this whole conversation took place over the phone and consisted of me in near tears while my boss is practically screaming these things at me with curse words thrown in to boot.
So he was on his way out of town. And I was on my way out the door. The next day, he wasn't in, so I talked to the big boss and requested a transfer to another department. He said that was fine, he wasn't suprised. Now it's the following week, we're buried in an external ICBO audit to get us re-certified. I do not want to help this guy out in the least, but it's my job so whatever. I haven't mentioned to him what me and the big boss discussed, so I have no idea where we stand in terms of that nonsense. I don't know if big-boss told him already or what. We've all been so busy with this audit, no one's had time to think or worry about much else.
All I wanted was a freakin' apology for him blaming me. But instead I got a lot of yelling. I do not deserve that sort of treatment. No one deserves that sort of treatment. And I won't stand for it anymore. This is not the first time my boss and I have butted heads over his inability to take responsibility for some of his own actions, too.
And I'm done with the vent. Phew!