Random Observations

•May 20, 2010 • Comments Off on Random Observations

Not mine, well not entirely, but things I often ponder…

  • I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately wipe your hard drive if you die.
  • Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize that you are in fact completely wrong.
  • There is wide array of human emotions that do not have an equivalent smiley.
  • I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t tired. This leads me to…
  • I totally want to take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
  • The worst decisions often make the best stories.
  • You may never know when it will strike, but there is always a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
  • I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I  want to save any changes to that twenty page report that I swear I did  not make any changes to.
  • I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day.
  • I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
  • The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
  • I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
  • How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?
  • Even under ideal conditions  people have trouble locating their car keys, finding their phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet everyone can  find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds,  eyes closed, first time, every time!

Posted in Funny or Not

Why Do I Walk for Babies?

•April 13, 2010 • Comments Off on Why Do I Walk for Babies?

I’ve been asked a few times the last couple of weeks why I support the March of Dimes. It seems like a silly question to me. I mean, who doesn’t want babies to be born healthy? You don’t have to be a parent or even want to be a parent to sympathize with an ailing child or the parent of one but that is not the only reason why I get up at 6am on a Saturday to walk 5k in Phoenix every April.

The Stats Suck, Seriously

The US is 46th on the CIA World Factbook’s Infant Mortality rate – 46th! The United Nations ranks us at 33.

12.9% of all births are premature, resulting in over 8,000 deaths every single year.

120,000 babies are born each year with birth defects. Birth defects are the leading cause of death in a child’s first year and 70% of the causes for these defects are currently unknown.

You have a greater chance of having a child with a birth defect than you do of winning any lottery prize.

I Was Lucky & I’m Grateful

About 7 months into my pregnancy I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. Now, I’m not your average patient: I started college in a premed program, my father, mother and step mother are medical practitioners, my stepfather is an ob/gyn, but yet none of that helped me avoid a life threatening condition. I managed to make it to 36 weeks through more than a  month of bedrest, my kidneys shutting down and a series of strokes BUT I gave birth to a perfectly healthy 6lb 5oz boy. I am awed by that stroke of luck every single day.

I Have Family & Friends Who Were Not

It’s amazing to me what medicine can do to help a baby born prematurely or with a birth defect. I’ve visited the neonatal wards in three different hospitals, held babies light as feathers and no bigger than the span of my hands and cared for children who’ve had more surgeries in the first six months of life than I’ll ever have. I’ve tried to support those I love the most through long nights hoping and praying for miracles.

And I have been there to provide comfort when women I care for had to bury their child. There isn’t anything more heartbreaking then that. Period.

How Can You Help?

You can help sponsor my team here or me directly here.

The March of Dimes needs volunteers to help with the event. Call Robin Zenno at 602-287-9923.

Come out and cheer us on! Or keep an eye on Twitter, I’ll be posting throughout the walk and the celebration after.

Posted in Do Something

What I do all day….

•September 17, 2009 • 2 Comments

I’ve been keeping a journal of what I do during my work day the last two weeks, trying to determine what I enjoy most about my job and figure out what I want to do next.

This past week has been insane; keep in mind that I manage software development – that is my actual title. See if you can spot where I did that….

 

Monday

DW Build failed – Spent the entire day rerunning process, validating numbers, caching data and running reports. All manual.

Updated 12 project plans

Created 4 new project plans

Tested 2 new software tools

Pulled statistics for three revenue projection models

 

Tuesday

Two hours of making nice meetings

Resolved Sharepoint connectivity issues

Designed a web site for initiative launch

Redesigned a process to eliminate duplication of effort – created LOADS of Visio diagrams

Team building extravaganza over coffee

 

Wednesday

Installed and configured 2 SQL08 instances

Rescoped conversion project for two data warehouses

Researched Fastflip and presented overview to executives

Reviewed SEO outsourcing project details and made recommendations

Validated projection models for discounts and rate changes

Team building extravaganza part deux over coffee

 

Thursday

Created interview quiz for data analysis position (not mine)

Facilitated process redesign discussion to final agreement

Reviewed current hardware inventory for department and defined optimal requirements by job description

Nine hours of meetings

Posted in Uncategorized

Passive Aggressive Men – Signs/Symptoms

•August 12, 2009 • Comments Off on Passive Aggressive Men – Signs/Symptoms

Disclaimer: While I’ve personally dated this one once or twice in the past, I don’t believe that anyone is immune to some PA traits especially under duress. That may even be ok, if you’re aware of it. This list does give some indication as to the motivations behind these potentially negative habits so it’s worth checking yourself against.

Fear of Dependency: He is unsure about his autonomy and afraid of being alone. This causes him to fight against his dependency needs; usually by trying to control you.

Fear of Intimacy: He is guarded, mistrustful and reluctant to show his emotional fragility. Often out of touch with his own feelings and will reflexively deny any feeling that he thinks will trap, reveal or place him in a vulnerable position. He will pick fights to create distance.

Fear of Competition: He feels inadequate and unable to compete with other men. He may operate as a self-sabotaging wimp with a pattern of failure or he will be a tyrant, setting himself up as unassailable and perfect  to eliminate any threat to his power.

Obstructionism: Just tell a Passive/Aggressive man what you want and, if you’re lucky, and he may agree to do it for you but don’t say when – he’ll do it deliberately slow just to frustrate you. More likely he will not even comply at all; he’ll stall or rationalize to block any real progress if he sees the request as you getting your way.

Fostering Chaos: Just when you think things are operating smoothly and you have a handle on the relationship he’ll upend something. A Passive/Aggressive man prefers to leave the puzzle incomplete.

Feeling Victimized: The Passive/Aggressive man protests that others unfairly accuse him rather than owning up to his own misdeeds. To remain above reproach, he sets himself up as the apparently hapless and innocent victim of the world’s excessive demands and tirades.

Making Excuses and Lying: The Passive/Aggressive man reaches as far as he can to fabricate excuses for not fulfilling promises. As a way of withholding information, affirmation or love, to have power over you, the Passive/Aggressive man may chose to make up a story rather than give you a straight answer.

Procrastination: The Passive/Aggressive man has an odd sense of time; he truly believes that deadlines don’t exist for him.

Chronic Lateness and Forgetfulness: One of the most infuriating and inconsiderate of all Passive/Aggressive traits is his inability to arrive on time. By keeping you waiting, he sets the ground rules of the relationship. His selective forgetting? That’s reserved for when he really wants to avoid an obligation or any sense that you control him.

Ambiguity: This man is the MASTER of mixed messages and fence sitting. When you ask a question you will never get a direct response. Even when you think you got an answer you may still walk away wondering if he actually said yes or no.  

 Sulking: Feeling put upon when he is unable to live up to his promises or obligations, the Passive/Aggressive man retreats from any pressures by sulking, pouting and/or withdrawing.  

Posted in Relationships

Chef, vegan hot pot & bubble tea, please!

•August 12, 2009 • Comments Off on Chef, vegan hot pot & bubble tea, please!

Sichuan Hot Pot

Really, I'm just to lazy to do all that work myself 😉

Posted in Plinky Prompts

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