Pod-a-roo

My co-worker has recently turned me on to Podcasts.  I've had an iPod for a million years, and I've yet to download my first podcast.  Truthfully, I had no clue what they were and didn't care.

There is a WORLD of knowledge in this podcast thing...for instance, some of my recent downloads...

Does your dog really love you?..well, if you're a dog lover and have dogs and treat them like they are humans, you might not want to listen to this podcast.  It's 40 minutes of two people, who sound like they are pretty indifferent to all animals, talking about how dogs really don't understand love.  So, you're telling me when Marley-the-Beagle comes over and lays his head on my shoulder that he's not saying "Mommy, hold me please..I wuv you"?  Because he is.  He loves the shit out of me.

(that podcast can be found under Stuff You Should Know - Stuff To Blow Your Mind)

How Does Cremation Work?...uh..yeah, I don't know.  It's interesting?  Actually, it is very interesting because I've always wondered what they did with the bones.  Truly, the whole deal is pretty gross, and apparently, families have the option to come watch.  Didn't know that.  Won't be partaking in that when the time comes.

This podcast stuck with me so much that I dreamed last night that I was a courier who had to deliver a dead body.  It was terrifying.  

(this one found under Stuff You Should Know)


What's the Scoop on Lady Poop?...it speaks for itself.

(this is found under Stuff Mom Never Told You)

Some fun ones I haven't listened to yet, but sound amazing...All of these are found in Stuff You Should Know.

How Deja Vu Works
Do animals have a sixth sense?
Can you control your dreams?  Because if so, Alexander Skarsgard will star in mine every night.
How Body Dysmorphic Disorder works.
How do dogs perceive time?  aka can I leave them overnight without feeling guilty?
What is a hangover, really?  I think I've had enough of these to have an idea...
How food cravings work
How Tourette Syndrome works
What makes a serial killer?
How Traffic works
Why ticks suck
How Antiques work
Do you stay conscious after being decapitated?  just wondering.

Have you guys jumped on the podcast bandwagon?  I'm interested in hearing what some of your favorite ones are.  Do tell...

Right now....

This weekend was spent cleaning my disgusting house, spending some much needed QT with my hubbaroo, and trying to figure out how to "descale" my Keurig...

For months, I've said I was going to start some home projects.  As it turns out, my weeks are so exhausting that my weekends are spent taking the breather I need to gear up for the next week.  Maybe I'll eventually get used to going on no sleep, but my gut says probably not.  I'm definitely not complaining, but I guess I'll just have to get creative with how I prioritize my time. 

My girlfriend, Chrissy, is staying at our house Thursday night.  The idea of having guests throws me into tizzy of obsessive cleaning and redecorating.  Chrissy is literally coming here after work on Thursday, spending the night, and waking up at the crack of dawn Friday to leave...she will have no time to notice the small very large imperfections in the guest bathroom paint job or lack of seating in the living room.  Still - everything must be perfect. 

I de-cluttered the guest room and got rid of the bookshelf covered with every single book I've ever read - I threw the books into the middle guest room, and my plan is to keep the door shut until it all magically disappears.  I'd seen these shelves used as bars in dining rooms, so I went that way instead of the way of the trash...the shelf is old old old and needs a new paint job, but I thought until I could make that my next project, I'd put it in the room and test it out....

behold:

Of course, we have no barware, so if this stays, I'll have to go out and actually purchase things to make it more of a "bar" and less of a random shelf in the dining room.  The new table and chairs are really quite big...and I guess the shelf off in the corner maybe throws off the symmetry as seen here...

 

Gah!  I swear the walls do not look like this in person.  Good grief.  Also, pardon the mess on the table... I'm going to have to have you all over to prove it because every photo looks like Disco Dining Room.

Although, I do have to say that the shelf is a great size for the space - the table and chairs AND a buffet really may be way too crowded.  My goal was to get a buffet, add some lamps on each side and have something not so bar-like in the room since neither myself or the hub are big liquor drinkers, but I'm not a huge fan of the buffet that matches the table.  I'm also not a huge fan of matchy-matchy...but if I wait for the perfect one, we could be like this for years... we'll see - I could go back and forth all day.  Not to mention, a new, dimmer capable chandelier is most needed. 

After I moved furniture and painstakingly cleaned every last corner of the house, I made the husband take me out for Mexican where I ate an entire plate of nachos by myself - in addition to the complementary chips and salsa, a margarita and more wine at home.  I guess I really felt the need to reward myself.  This is why I have yet to see the results from the four to five days a week at the gym...I eat that many calories over the weekend.  Gross.

Today I tackled the "de-scaling" of my Keurig.  I've had this thing for three years and I've never cleaned it.  I know...not only terrible but amazingly disgusting.  I noticed that my coffee tastes terrible, so I figured a good clean could help. 

This is what my Keurig looks like now...

uh....how are we not done yet?

I have to let it sit like this for four hours before I can run a fresh water brew cycle and hope that this week's coffee doesn't taste vinegar-y.  This is very complicated.  I'm sure they could make some money employing technicians who come out for a yearly tune up. Not only that, but I'm intrigued by this water filter brick they sell at Bed Bath and Beyond near the Keurigs.  I think this is as apart it will come, and I see no place for a water filter.  Somebody help me.

Until that works itself out, I'm just munching on this..(and blogging)

Cheddar-freakin-cheese popcorn.  Orville Redenbacher is a man after my own heart.  What did I say again about gross weekend calorie consumption??


Yay for tomorrow being my Tuesday!  I took Friday off so that Chrissy and I could ride out early for our weekend trip to Charleston.  Morgan will be joining us (and I think Leslie will also come out since we're invading her hometown), and our plan is to relax, wander around aimlessly, and drink wine.  It's a much needed and spontaneously planned trip for all of us.  More on that later...

gah!

a couple of things...

• I can't just watch football - hence the blog post during the Georgia/Georgia Tech game.  (Go Dawgs!)
• I think I'm going to start paying closer attention to punctuation on junk.
• Lord have mercy, this blog sucks compared to Kindredly.  Is it possible the feeling of censorship was all in my crazy head and I took a decent blog with a decent following and created a mediocre blog with a teeny following (something like 30 hits a day, here).  I'm seriously thinking about sharing on Kindredly the link to junk....if family finds it, family finds it.  
• that's all.  I hope you all have enjoyed this long weekend.  Now, back to drinking - this game has me stressed.

first week recap

this might have to be the last post about my new job in order to still have readers.  i know you get it.  i like my new job.

orientation was day one and two, which are summarized in the last two posts.

wednesday i was finally able to use my nifty pass to allow me access to my floor and my office - secure!  my team is fabulous!  everyone is super cool and laid back, and totally not in my business.  the whole get-your-job-done-and-do-what-you-want concept is very new to me.  my old company was as good as family, which is great, but this feels like a nice separation.  everyone works together nicely, but getting your job done and coming and going is totally your own business.

wednesday and thursday were spent doing all of the "mandatory actions" required by New Company.  i took what feels like a million online courses (still have one left that I plan on knocking out tomorrow) and ate no less than 3000 calories a day.

in orientation, they showed this hilarious video making fun of how people at New Company scavenge.  i come from a company where we appreciate a good cake, cookie, fried pickle, etc, so this was not an issue at first....but as shown in the video - food is king. 

for starters, on my floor alone, i've counted maybe three "pantries."  Pantries are kitchens.  they have a vending machine, fridge, and fun keurig-ish coffee maker (trust that i've taken full advantage of the various coffees and teas on hand - not to mention the slew of creamers and fun "accessories").  on top of this, my floor is the conference floor or the learning floor...anyway, it's where everyone from everywhere comes to participate continuing ed classes offered by the company.  it's no thang to see randoms walking down the hall with their suitcase.  so, classes mean catered lunches, and catered lunches mean dessert.  after two welcome lunches, paid for by the company, i've also participated in the daily scavenge of the various pantries.  cheesecake petit fours, cupcakes, cookies, ice cream socials!!!!  this must stop.  i tried to get a handle on it friday, but all was forgotten when i came back from lunch to an open invitation to the ice cream social with endless toppings.

needless to say, i've joined the gym in my building.

in the middle of all of this, i fit in a little training.  next week is my big training week.  everyone will be gone except for the girl who's training me.  we'll spend all day every day digging in to the details of the job.  my goal is to eat the normal amount of food usually allotted and to be able to completely do the job by the monday after thanksgiving.

while i was in orientation, i took a field trip up to my new office to say hello to my new office peeps.  they were telling me the perks of the job and mentioned we all get PDAs and the one to get is the iPhone.  obvi.  i've been throwing around the idea of switching to an iPhone once iPhone decides to be cool enough for verizon - but the idea of having my work email come to my work iPhone (that i don't have to pay for) is exciting.  New Company apparently isn't cool with getting company emails on your personal phone - so if  i were to ever go back to being glued to my phone,  i'd have to get one through work.  unfortunately, my job is pretty office-based, and i have my laptop, so at the moment, my boss says i'm not going to really need a work PDA.  boo.

i will say the biggest challenge of this week has been letting go of the idea of controlling the process.  when i was interviewing for the position, my interviewers were very focused on my previous position being a full-desk recruiting position where i pretty much controlled the deal.  my current job is coordinating, so i'm kind of back to the place where i'm taking direction from the recruiters on what's happening next.  basically, my job is about to be really easy - and i'm having a problem with it....of course.  i'm sure it's something i'll easily adapt to.  if anything, at least we know i'll be able to do the job!

and....that's it.  blogging is probably going to be happening at night when i get around to it.  sorry i've been MIA, but i think this might be the regular now - unless i become really good at scheduling posts, which i'll definitely try to do.

i swear this is all you'll hear about the new job for now.  i'm just so excited!!

note to self

even if it's 8am - you've been up, begrudgingly, since 5 am - and you're confronted with a case study given by high up guy who has served on several boards within ginorm new company, read it.  read it even if you're falling asleep on your laptop.  don't skim it.  don't half read it.  READ. IT. THOROUGHLY.  because that's the moment he's going to call on you and ask you to summarize the main points of the study and elaborate.

this answer is not acceptable:  "uhhhhh....ummmm....."  long delay, then a bunch of bullshit.
you also shouldn't say "that's not in my job description" but that's a given and didn't happen - Thank God.

big board of directors guy just looked at me and said "ehh...need a little more than that."
me : blank stare....
(this is after two large cups of coffee, no less)

efffff....really not looking forward to the day i run into him in the hallway.

at least my position isn't really relevant to the case study - that would be embarrassing.  truthfully, all of orientation was really nothing to do with my role, and my real learning begins tomorrow when i finally get to my desk.

no worries, still drinking the kool-aid.

(sorry - most of these posts are about my new job considering it's all consuming at the moment.  when i get home from work, i still have mandatory obligations to fulfill, like online courses and an endless amount of scary and confusing forms).

my must reads

i get my must reads from friends who recommend, other bloggers who recommend, and sometimes based on the book cover, but not always. all too often terrible writers get great book cover artists and waste my time, but make my shelf look pretty. at least there's some kind of win.

(i'm also guilty of buying wine based on the label. i do that - a lot.)

behold! my book list until i finish all of them and come up with another one ::

first up - outlander by diana gabaldon. i think this is the first in a series, and we all know how much i love those! this has come highly recommended by two awesome friends of mine, so i'm pumped!


i'm kind of a sucker for memoirs. i am totally in love with augusten burroughs, alice sebold and jen lancaster (i'm sure there are others, but my brain is slow because it's friday), so i was excited to read on a friend's blog about driving with dead people. the title alone sucks me in, and i'm on the edge of my seat ready to read this junk.


there's been a lot of buzz about this book, and i'll admit i stopped for a second when i noticed the bright green book cover in target. it makes my list because of the buzz alone; although, i read a friend's tweet the other day that said it took her quite a few pages to get into it (i had the same experience with water for elephants, but would have been so upset had i given up on it). so, i'll give it my time.


i love jennifer weiner. i'm just like any girl - i love me some chick lit, but i tend to shy away from it because i'm kind of into learning junk when i read. i think it helps to expand my vocab and helps me be a better writer (i. am. five.). good in bed might be in my top five fave books of all time. certain girls? i cried. (also not a crier- i'm sure we'll get to that later). so, a new book popping up by jennifer weiner will have to go on my list (along with several others i've yet to read).


i was in target and saw this book on the shelf. this is one i picked up for its artwork and title, but the husband was over my shoulder making me pick a book to buy, so i didn't have time to read up on it enough to make an educated decision. i ended up reading a blurb on amazon, and apparently, this book is good. it's about someone tightrope walking between buildings in new york, and as the person is walking, he's taking notice of the people beneath him, and the book is made up of not only his story, but the stories of those people living life on the ground. i'm pretty sure i read that the author has since passed but is brilliant. good to know! i'll pick this one up somewhere down the line and let you know (if you've read this, please leave a review!).


after reading loving frank i'm kind of on a history kick. give me a book about times past. it's fun to be learning while doing something you love - i.e. i didn't so much enjoy school because class is so forced, don't you think? these two books are both a bit historic. i'm not so sure about last call. i need a story, and i didn't quite get from the blurb on amazon that this provided a storyline and plot. i don't want to just read information about the time, i need something to suck me in. devil in the white city is supposedly somewhat true - not totally sure about this - and rich with history. it's come highly recommended, so it made the list. it's about life in the early 1900's and serial killers - drama & mystery - fun times!


how many times have i been told to read i was told there'd be cake? countless. so, i'm going to read it. i'm actually tempted to read this after i finish miz lancaster's latest. i'm a cake person, like bad. i think i had three pieces at the last wedding i attended (good cake, ya'll!). i get stabby if there's not a lot of icing... i just feel like this book is right up my alley...


sloane's written another book, and i've made the commitment already because i just feel she and i are going to be great together...

finally - charlaine harris. i didn't discover her until after i'd seen the first season of trueblood. once i became hooked on it and discovered there were something like ten books about sookie stackhouse, i went straight to target to buy. not only are they dirty, sexy vampire reads, they are also tiny, like romance books, and only $5.99. hook it up!!! i've now read all of them, so i'm pretty abreast of what's going on with trueblood unless mr. ball throws in a little something extra, which he so likes to do. once this goes to the $5.99 paperback, my cheap ass will be reading it... i'm pretty sure i might have already forgotten what's happened in the first nine. either way, even if you're not a trueblood fan (i know no one who isn't, really), but you like sexy vampire books, this series would be one for you.

what do you think? if you've read some of these, please leave a review in the comments!

p.s. i'm on goodreads! be my friend and we can exchange book ideas all day! whoo-wee!
http://www.goodreads.com/ashkgillespie

oh, hellllloooo

if i haven't made this clear yet, i'll make it clear now - i'm 100% dorky addicted to trueblood, twilight, and all things vampire (although, i've yet to jump on the cw's version - i forget the name). up until two episodes ago, i was all about some eric northman. yes, he's hot in real life, but i find his creepy vampire stare the sexiest, and i'm a sucker for super tall guys in general.

only season 3 pic i could find - mediocre photo, in my opinion

until somewhat recently, i couldn't stand for the camera to be on anyone else, but then they introduced alcide herveaux. i've been totally in love ever since. who is this guy? where has he been all my life?

he's g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s!!!

please say hello...



when you're neck deep in vampires you forget how much you once appreciated a good tan. now, i'm salivating at scenes where alcide is barking gruff orders at sookie, and for the life of me, i can't remember if they hook up in the books. their relationship is somewhat platonic so far, and there's definitely chemistry. i'm itching to see alcide engage in some sexual behavior. i'm terrible - just say it.

i know you guys have an opinion. my twitter was lit up with trueblood tweets last night. ugh...it's torture to have to wait until next sunday.

Loving Frank (and this junk)

i just finished this book. holy crap, was it good. in my old age, i've become somewhat of a history freak. i love learning about all things past - especially if there's some drama and scandal involved. as it turns out, frank lloyd wright was a scandalous little man - also labeled a genius and progressive for the time. in the early 1900's he was emerging as an architect with an interesting vision. his muse was nature, and his creations were made up of clean lines and gorgeous details mimicking the simplistic beauty in nature. without giving away major details, he fell in love with one of his clients - a woman named mamah (may-muh) borthwick cheney. after several years of fighting the feeling, they eventually abandoned their families to be together. it's worth noting mamah was also considered ahead of her time. a college graduate and intellectual, she was your present day independent woman.

basically, this book tells the tale from mamah's perspective - later frank's. you can't help but root for them as they threw their lives as they knew it away to be together. i'm not a user of the term "soul mate," but after reading this, it's kind of one of those things - they were magnents to each other. the pull was something they felt they couldn't bear. it was worth destroying people they loved to be together. the book chronicles their affair - traveling the world together and later settling in frank's birthplace in a home he designed for them named taliesin. this name has some relation to the quote "the truth against the world" which was fitting for the time in their life as the scandalous nature of their relationship had nearly destroyed his career and her reputation.

do i think this affair is something to celebrate? no. but i did find the book very interesting and the research after even more fascinating. i can't really say more without giving away the ending of the book. if you prefer the cliff's notes, go to wikipedia and search frank lloyd wright. there, you will find the information all about his affair with mamah, and the ending is there as well.

because i am a dork, after reading the rest of the book, i went straight to the internet to get a visual of his work and taliesin. pictures are below ::

frank lloyd wright's home in chicago suburb :: oak park, illinois
this is the home he shared with his wife and children

another view of his home in oak park

the home edwin & mamah cheney commissioned frank to design
mamah and frank began their affair in this home - notice the two taller houses on each side - well, turns out, one of the neighbor's children totally watched them do it on the floor, and the upstairs windows were later boarded up because of it. rated r, ya'll.

taliesin somewhat present day :: spring green, wisconsin

from the hill

aerial view
for some reason, i pictured taliesin as a small cottage. none of these homes are small. they are freakin' awesome.

book review for loving frank? five stars. i absolutely loved every page of it. pick it up! let me know your thoughts!