Lots.
** Sales rally at the Tacoma Convention Center last night. Good news: to make the start time, we closed our branch early; there was a huge array of food, from coconut shrimp and crab cakes, to salmon pinwheels and Mongolian beef skewers; and we all got a pair of free drink coupons. Bad news: a mind-numbing sales pitch / presentation for two-hours following the hors d'oeuvres and socializing. Best news: my manager and I scored two extra drink tickets, loaded up on food, and snuck out before said presentation. Go us!
** I often buy chocolates--and lots of them--not so much to eat, but to pass out to favorite clients of mine at the bank. It is treat, and a surprise, to see just how much a single Hershey's kiss brightens their mood. For those I particularly like, I have a drawer full of Almond Snickers. I gave two to a pair of college girls I always enjoy helping and their grins grew to ear-to-ear for the rest of their visit. I get the feeling I'm an exception (as far as handing out goodies is concerned) but it never hurts to be sweet to your banker.
** This gorgeous girl came into the branch to exchange foreign currency, today. Unfortunately, without an account, I couldn't help her since we have to FedEx all non-Canadian money to our Special Operations group who, then, directly credits the client's account. She and I spent a good fifteen-minutes on Google trying to find some way to convert her money to U.S. dollars but short of sending her on a bus to the nearby airport, we were stumped. In the end, she concluded that she'd just have to wait until her host family was able to take her to the airport this weekend, so I gave her some chocolates and wished her luck. If it hadn't been a single 50,000-yen note, honestly, I would have bought it from her out of my pocket and sent it in against my account. A $400+ potential loss, however, kept me from being too foolishly gallant. Pretty girls are dangerous.
** I have been making an effort to minimize at home. Four boxes of school papers, two computer monitors, seven grocery bags of unnecessary clothes, and two giant black trash bags later and I have managed to make a dent. I bought a 3-hole punch and have made use of binders for the papers that I do want to keep. I need a good solution for storing CD / DVDs. I have on the order of four to five-hundred and I just have not found a feasible means by which to manage them while keeping space consumption low. Anyone have any tips?
** I bought myself a Zen V Plus. I never buy myself anything so I figured I deserved a toy. In fact, my manager happened to be watching over my shoulder when I was checking my account, today, and was absolutely dumbfounded by how much money I've saved. "You realize how long you could live off of that?" she asked me wide-eyed. Yeah, I do. The Zen is the 'iPod Nano-killer' released by Creative. Ironically, an 'iPod Nano-killer' it is not, because---while it is smaller than the Nano, more inexpensive than the Nano, has a higher capacity than the Nano, can even play movies for Godsake!---it simply lacks the inherent, smug trendiness of an iPod. I say, it sure doesn't hurt to be Steve Jobs.
** Otherwise, I have been feeling rather disconnected as of late. Unreturned calls, inavailability, and a couple very brief, unexpectedly-awkward conversations. I did hear back from Diana and, I must say, I miss her. All of this lack of socializing frees up an awful lot of time and I have become exceedingly productive these last few months but, to be honest, I'd rather put my productivity on the back-burner occasionally to make time for someone.
** I've been doing a lot of reading on the subject and I have got to kick my 'nice guy' habit. The sad truth is that there're a handful of people I would really like to have in my life who simply do not need me in theirs. The effort's one-sided, the push-pull relationship has collapsed into me over-extending, over-engaging myself. I am that guy that asks, "Are you okay? Are you sure?" when I need to declare my wants and needs. I need to push. I need to say, "This is how it is and, you know what?---you're going to like it." Trouble is, I love my friends---fucking love them---and have forged unforgettable, incredible rapports that I do not want to lose. However, by holding too tight, I am losing them. For everyone: get ahold of me, online, by phone, if you're someone local, in person, we'll talk, we'll see where things stand.
** I often buy chocolates--and lots of them--not so much to eat, but to pass out to favorite clients of mine at the bank. It is treat, and a surprise, to see just how much a single Hershey's kiss brightens their mood. For those I particularly like, I have a drawer full of Almond Snickers. I gave two to a pair of college girls I always enjoy helping and their grins grew to ear-to-ear for the rest of their visit. I get the feeling I'm an exception (as far as handing out goodies is concerned) but it never hurts to be sweet to your banker.
** This gorgeous girl came into the branch to exchange foreign currency, today. Unfortunately, without an account, I couldn't help her since we have to FedEx all non-Canadian money to our Special Operations group who, then, directly credits the client's account. She and I spent a good fifteen-minutes on Google trying to find some way to convert her money to U.S. dollars but short of sending her on a bus to the nearby airport, we were stumped. In the end, she concluded that she'd just have to wait until her host family was able to take her to the airport this weekend, so I gave her some chocolates and wished her luck. If it hadn't been a single 50,000-yen note, honestly, I would have bought it from her out of my pocket and sent it in against my account. A $400+ potential loss, however, kept me from being too foolishly gallant. Pretty girls are dangerous.
** I have been making an effort to minimize at home. Four boxes of school papers, two computer monitors, seven grocery bags of unnecessary clothes, and two giant black trash bags later and I have managed to make a dent. I bought a 3-hole punch and have made use of binders for the papers that I do want to keep. I need a good solution for storing CD / DVDs. I have on the order of four to five-hundred and I just have not found a feasible means by which to manage them while keeping space consumption low. Anyone have any tips?
** I bought myself a Zen V Plus. I never buy myself anything so I figured I deserved a toy. In fact, my manager happened to be watching over my shoulder when I was checking my account, today, and was absolutely dumbfounded by how much money I've saved. "You realize how long you could live off of that?" she asked me wide-eyed. Yeah, I do. The Zen is the 'iPod Nano-killer' released by Creative. Ironically, an 'iPod Nano-killer' it is not, because---while it is smaller than the Nano, more inexpensive than the Nano, has a higher capacity than the Nano, can even play movies for Godsake!---it simply lacks the inherent, smug trendiness of an iPod. I say, it sure doesn't hurt to be Steve Jobs.
** Otherwise, I have been feeling rather disconnected as of late. Unreturned calls, inavailability, and a couple very brief, unexpectedly-awkward conversations. I did hear back from Diana and, I must say, I miss her. All of this lack of socializing frees up an awful lot of time and I have become exceedingly productive these last few months but, to be honest, I'd rather put my productivity on the back-burner occasionally to make time for someone.
** I've been doing a lot of reading on the subject and I have got to kick my 'nice guy' habit. The sad truth is that there're a handful of people I would really like to have in my life who simply do not need me in theirs. The effort's one-sided, the push-pull relationship has collapsed into me over-extending, over-engaging myself. I am that guy that asks, "Are you okay? Are you sure?" when I need to declare my wants and needs. I need to push. I need to say, "This is how it is and, you know what?---you're going to like it." Trouble is, I love my friends---fucking love them---and have forged unforgettable, incredible rapports that I do not want to lose. However, by holding too tight, I am losing them. For everyone: get ahold of me, online, by phone, if you're someone local, in person, we'll talk, we'll see where things stand.