WHAT?

For the past several days, I’ve been partially deaf in one ear. I finally took it upon myself to go to the doctor on Monday after a week of on-and-off hearing, headaches and vertigo, and it was discovered that I had a double ear infection! Well doesn’t that explain a lot! But part of the treatment to restore my hearing was to clog my ear up once again, with a medicated sponge that effectively sealed my ear off from disease but then also prevented me from hearing any sort of conversation or ambient noise.

Needless to say, things have been a little tricky this week. I haven’t really figured out the appropriate speaking volume when having conversations, and have been vacillating between yelling at people because I can’t hear myself, to speaking barely above a whisper, suddenly concerned I’m talking too loudly! Office gossip is a no go–can’t hear those stage whispers! Ordering from the cafeteria isn’t happening–I got a load of dreaded peppers on my sandwich when I clearly (…or unclearly…) heard him ask if I wanted pesto. I’ve basically resigned myself to sitting at my desk avoiding people–and unable to listen to music, the only sound I hear is the loud ringing in my other ear from over-exerting its hearing capabilities!

Fortunately,  tomorrow I head back to the doctor and will hopefully emerge with both ears back in tiptop shape. Then it will be an afternoon of apologizing to the many people I’ve stared blankly at, or unnecessarily smiled at instead of answering whatever question that may or may not have been directed at me. If only I took my college lip-reading seminar more seriously!

A New Year’s Fall

It’s been a really long and really busy few weeks! For the past month, every day has been a mad scramble to get everything done, balance six things at once, and avoid a stress breakdown in the last stall of the women’s bathroom.  For the most part, I accomplished two out of three…not bad odds, but not too good for my makeup regimen!

The long hours and busy days meant I was pretty much doing nothing with my life outside of the office, which was of course the one thing I wanted to avoid in the new year! January was a bit of a bust, but I’m determined to turn it around and get myself together! It’s going to take a few days to get back on track though, since working 14 hours a day instills a lot of bad habits and normal-life forgetfulness.  For example, I have come to believe it’s normal to drink ten cups of coffee a day and have three square meals of Nature Valley Granola bars with a side of Sunchips! I have forgotten how satisfying it is to leave myself enough time in the morning to blow-dry my hair into the semblance of an actual style! I am re-learning the art of actually having verbal conversations with people outside of frenzied text messages and one-line emails! O, how far I fall!

Needless to say, I’m looking forward to this week as a type of mega-catch up on life until the next wave of work-craziness comes rumbling in. I’m also looking forward to normal sleep. And lettuce. I need to figure out a better way to balance work…but in the meantime I’m just going to talk advantage of the calm and grab a coffee! …Some habits die harder than others!

A Balancing Act

Eeee, this week has been BUSY! All of a sudden, I’m head-over-heels in work, training new people, delegating, making calls…wait. Did I just say I was delegating? Am I actually taking a look at my to-do list, and admitting it may not be possible to do it all by myself?! Am I actually letting go of my control-freak tendencies just a tad and letting others step in?! IT APPEARS SO. A NEW YEARS MIRACLE HAS OCCURRED. ALERT THE PRESS!

Yea, I’m not usually one to do stuff like that. I have always preferred working alone than in a group–high school was four solid years of groaning and bitching about “group work” that in the end always fell to me anyway. It’s not that I don’t work well with other people, it’s just that I prefer to do everything myself! If it’s going to get done right, I might as well just do it, the thought process of a type-A crazy person goes! Of course, over the years since high school and working with slackers who wouldn’t know how to assemble a proper power-point presentation on the periodic table if it hit them in the face, the quality and work ethic of the people I’m paired with now has risen exponentially. Still, I like things done the way I like them done! It’s deep-seeded and hereditary. My mother is exactly the same way and it’s ruining both of us!
The number of church dinners she has single-handedly planned is something I both look forward to and dread for myself!

But I’m slowly learning to let go, and this week in particular have gotten into the hang of saying, “You know what, YOU DO IT.” It’s been surprisingly refreshing! Plus, I feel more focused and organized when all is said and done. Next step is work-team t-shirts and secret handshakes to celebrate this working bond!

Victory At Last!

Happy New Year! After a week of holiday festivities, working on and off, shuttling between the city and New Jersey, then the city and the Catskills, plodding through a few days of doing nothing, and then a few of having too much to do, the new year is officially in full swing! And what better way to kick it off than with a crown perched atop my head, a sparkling diadem bearing a win in the cube decorating contest!!!

Yes, victory was mine at last! My stunning display of office regalia was finally recognized in the over-the-top spectacle I had been dreaming about! A parade was thrown, trumpets were sounded…well, it didn’t exactly happen that way. In fact, it almost didn’t happen at all! Unlike last year, where the contest was a heated and contested battle among colleagues, this year, only three people participated! I guess it’s easy to shine when you’re literally the only diamond in the rough! I begged my cube mate to decorate, not for the sake of competition, but to make it seem like I wasn’t the only person with enough time on their hands to participate! In the end, I was happy with how my cube turned out, and while I wasn’t lauded at the Christmas party like I had hoped (and I still haven’t received MY PRIZE), the boss sent out an email, officially carving my name in the stones of office history.

Yes, this probably means a little more to me than it should. But I am a participator! I love these kitschy little office things…plus, it was a perfect opportunity to display my crafty spirit, and show all my colleagues what a vibrant social life I have…

Goodbye 2012!

Ah, the end is near! Just a few more hours of work, a few more days of skiing, a few more resolutions to accomplish before this year is OVER! 2012 was momentous year! …Well, sort of…A thrilling twelve months!…Eh, not really…An exhilarating display of excitement! …Um, not exactly….OK. 2012 was a pretty average year. Nothing really exciting happened, but nothing too earth-shattering either. It was just a year of settling into day-to-day average life–a steady job, a steady living situation, a steady brain–I finally turned down the dial on the crazy-meter and became a normal person again! Wahoo!

There’s nothing wrong with being normal, and it’s nice to finally feel like my ducks are in a row. Everyone seems to have noticed the wave of sanity and clear-headedness that’s taken over since my move to the city, and I feel so much happier and more confident than I did just a year before! However, it’s in my nature to want things to be happening all the time! Especially now that some of the larger obstacles in life have been left in the dust, I feel like it’s time to mix things up. But where to start? Yes. HOBBIES!

My attempts at hobbies this year led to a failed attempt at joining a show choir, a cello gathering dust in my closet,  and many hours spent contemplating joining a co-ed soccer team before reminding myself how bad I am at sports. But I was still getting into the groove of working and city life, and trying to figure out what I liked to do after my old hobbies of crying, complaining about commuting, and crying some more proved to be unnecessary. Now that that’s behind me, I’m ready to wipe that slate clean and start participating in things that will make me cool. Already, I’ve joined a book club, have an audition for an a cappella group, signed up for a monthly craft night, and scheduled a cello lesson. O…none of these things are cool? Well, at least 2013 will be filled with un-cool hobbies, instead of no hobbies at all! I am pumped! Happy New Year everyone!

A Few Thoughts

I was originally planning on writing this post as a sort of “year in review,” but after the events of the last few days, it’s hard to think, and want to write, about anything else. It seems silly to reflect and gripe over the events of a rather ordinary year, when the lives of twenty-six extraordinary people and their families have been changed so abruptly and senselessly. Seeing the faces of the beautiful and innocent children whose lives were cut so heart-breakingly short is a stark reminder that we should all be living everyday to the fullest, something that so easily slips through the cracks in the day-to-day business of life.

I was home this weekend with my family, and it was hard to get into the spirit of the holidays when it seemed like the entire country was in mourning. But when all was said and done, it was comforting to decorate the Christmas tree, sing carols, and spend time with the people I love. It saddens me to think that the times we most appreciate our blessings are when they’re tested.

Of course, we can’t live life that way, jolted into an awareness of what we have and then shamed by the realization that we rarely recognize it. If there is anything positive to come out of such a tragedy, it’s to know how lucky we are and then to act that way.

The Greatest Gift

It’s that time of year again… CHRISTMAS CUBE DECORATING TIME.

I AM EXCITED.

This will be year two of the now infamous cube decorating contest, and everyone is bringing their A-game. After last year’s smashing success of my “Peppermint Pavilion,” where I won awards and acclaim for my artistry and creativity…O WAIT. I DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING. I WAS NEITHER AWARDED NOR ACCLAIMED. I put a lot of effort into that masterpiece, and spent an entire week wearing the same red-and-white striped blouse because they kept moving the judging time! And then to have my glory ripped away from me like a tattered shred of peppermint-printed paper…it still stings!

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a pretty competitive person, and have been looking at last year’s experience with a critical eye. I think my over-zealous nature was a real hindrance last year, because by the time I was done, people were just starting! So this year, I’m holding my cards close to the chest! I’ve been laboring away at cranking out my decorative elements in the darkness of the night and will start constructing when curiosity is at its peak! I’m also adding lights, because that was apparently the only criteria that upstaged STREAMERS TWISTED FROM THE CEILING IN A VISUALLY PLEASING WAY.

Needless to say, IT’S ON. And to the people who stole the “Most Traditional Christmas” title away from me….YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. And actually, one of them doesn’t even work here anymore, so that’s one less obstacle towards redemption!