(no subject)
Tuesday evening, I finally got to give Bill his birthday gift - and he got to give me the last two talking Simpsons figurines I needed to complete my collection. (Yippee!) Earlier that day, as I jogged down the stairs at work on my way out for lunch, I got the Police in my head. You know: "Temptation, frustration, so bad it makes him cry/Wet bus stop, she's waiting..." By sheer coincidence, I later accepted a ride home rather than wait for the 75. Although the bus stop was no longer wet (it had long since stopped drizzling), it was still quite cold, and his truck was indeed warm and dry, and much appreciated.
Well, readers. I did maintain sufficient cojones to glibly lie to a whole new set of management and tell them I had an appointment when in fact I would be whooping it up at a surprisingly non-maudlin farewell lunch. Luckily, they always give super-long breaks during training anyway, so I really didn't miss too much. That, and I had already taken the training for my last job. Oh, yes, that was one hella boring day, but I got paid for it, so I'm not complaining.
Lunch was good. We had given our orders to Rick the day before and he had pre-ordered, so all we really had to do was show up. As the orders were being brought out, and I raised my hand when the server called, "Mexican pizza, no chicken!", I heard Brian say, "Jen, you can't eat that!" I thought he meant that my delicate appetite would prevent me from finishing the whole thing (the fool!), but when she brought it to me, I realized that he had seen the cheese. Rick got the no-chicken part right, and even got jalapenos added, but had somehow missed the no-cheese bit of my e-mail. I performed my cherry stem-tying trick for everyone while she went off to get me a new, meat- and dairy-free pizza, and Rick came down to keep me company, saying he wouldn't eat until I could, although Vic was feeding me French fries while I waited. It's nice to know I have people to look out for me. My replacemnt pizza arrived fairly quickly, and was frickin' awesome.
Later on, those people who still had jobs went back to them, and the casuals hung around (they had been told that since it was their last day and there was nothing for them to really do, they could just clean out their desks and go home once they got back from lunch), as did Rick (it was his CDO, and he had made it clear to the boss that he wouldn't be back after lunch) and myself (because my daiquiri wasn't going to finish itself, and besides, I had already sat through the training once). We had sat there nearly half an hour shooting the shit, and talking about what a...er....stern and no-nonsense leader (this is, of course, paraphrasing) our boss had been, and I defended her, "Well, I think she's gotten a little more laid-back." mere moments before Brian came back, having been sent by our stern and no-nonsense leader to herd everyone back to work - even though Rick technically didn't have to be there, and the others would all be sent home shortly thereafter anyway. Heh. I love that. "Where are all the people who weren't going to be here this afternoon? Bring them back!" Judas.
But what would a long and rambly bit about our lunch be without photographic evidence? Bill says I look "relaxed", although I hasten to point out that that's Rick's rum and Coke in front of me, not mine.
LEFT SIDE (front to back): David, Susan, Kevin, part of Darryll's head, and then a bunch of people you can't really see (sorry)
RIGHT SIDE (front to back): yours truly, Vic, Brian (our own Judas, and I really do mean that affectionately), Rufus, Rick, Georgina, and Claudette
The new job is, well, let's just say it's like a relaxing spa for my brain. I really think our office slogan should be "Where Independent Thought Goes to Die". Bits of it are similar to my duties at the Lezzie Farm, but with far less brain power involved, and they're paying me 1 1/2 times what I was making there, so I really daren't complain too much. Books on tape, I have discovered, make the day just whiz by.
And now I'm packing my dubious syntax up, and going to see if my cookies are cool enough to put away yet.
Well, readers. I did maintain sufficient cojones to glibly lie to a whole new set of management and tell them I had an appointment when in fact I would be whooping it up at a surprisingly non-maudlin farewell lunch. Luckily, they always give super-long breaks during training anyway, so I really didn't miss too much. That, and I had already taken the training for my last job. Oh, yes, that was one hella boring day, but I got paid for it, so I'm not complaining.
Lunch was good. We had given our orders to Rick the day before and he had pre-ordered, so all we really had to do was show up. As the orders were being brought out, and I raised my hand when the server called, "Mexican pizza, no chicken!", I heard Brian say, "Jen, you can't eat that!" I thought he meant that my delicate appetite would prevent me from finishing the whole thing (the fool!), but when she brought it to me, I realized that he had seen the cheese. Rick got the no-chicken part right, and even got jalapenos added, but had somehow missed the no-cheese bit of my e-mail. I performed my cherry stem-tying trick for everyone while she went off to get me a new, meat- and dairy-free pizza, and Rick came down to keep me company, saying he wouldn't eat until I could, although Vic was feeding me French fries while I waited. It's nice to know I have people to look out for me. My replacemnt pizza arrived fairly quickly, and was frickin' awesome.
Later on, those people who still had jobs went back to them, and the casuals hung around (they had been told that since it was their last day and there was nothing for them to really do, they could just clean out their desks and go home once they got back from lunch), as did Rick (it was his CDO, and he had made it clear to the boss that he wouldn't be back after lunch) and myself (because my daiquiri wasn't going to finish itself, and besides, I had already sat through the training once). We had sat there nearly half an hour shooting the shit, and talking about what a...er....stern and no-nonsense leader (this is, of course, paraphrasing) our boss had been, and I defended her, "Well, I think she's gotten a little more laid-back." mere moments before Brian came back, having been sent by our stern and no-nonsense leader to herd everyone back to work - even though Rick technically didn't have to be there, and the others would all be sent home shortly thereafter anyway. Heh. I love that. "Where are all the people who weren't going to be here this afternoon? Bring them back!" Judas.
But what would a long and rambly bit about our lunch be without photographic evidence? Bill says I look "relaxed", although I hasten to point out that that's Rick's rum and Coke in front of me, not mine.
LEFT SIDE (front to back): David, Susan, Kevin, part of Darryll's head, and then a bunch of people you can't really see (sorry)
RIGHT SIDE (front to back): yours truly, Vic, Brian (our own Judas, and I really do mean that affectionately), Rufus, Rick, Georgina, and Claudette
The new job is, well, let's just say it's like a relaxing spa for my brain. I really think our office slogan should be "Where Independent Thought Goes to Die". Bits of it are similar to my duties at the Lezzie Farm, but with far less brain power involved, and they're paying me 1 1/2 times what I was making there, so I really daren't complain too much. Books on tape, I have discovered, make the day just whiz by.
And now I'm packing my dubious syntax up, and going to see if my cookies are cool enough to put away yet.