had-to-share – Page 6

November 16, 2010

A Real Humdinger

I don’t get sick often.

Maybe that’s why, when I do, I usually feel like I’ve been hit by a truck minivan small SUV.

Having a new job doesn’t help.

I’m still on probation. You know, that 90-day window where you and your employer are theoretically testing each other out.

So I have to slog through.

I’d really rather be in bed. But at least I’m not sitting in a public office, coughing/sneezing/hacking and spreading my germs around.

Actually, today was quite a bit better than yesterday.

So, yay!

Now, to sort of change the subject…

It’s only “sort of” because I’m still talking about sickness. Worse sickness than what I’m suffering. The kind that calls for Mucinex.

Mucinex does work, but I HATE those commercials. Not just hate, but hate-hate. They gross me out.

There’s nothing like watching TV then all of a sudden seeing animated globs of phlegm cavorting across your screen. Really.

But…

I must admit that I laughed out loud when I saw this next image. Well, maybe “chuckled” is more appropriate.

Because it is funny.

While I was looking for a cute little clip art image to brighten my post (the one I posted first), I ran across this little gem.

And IMMEDIATELY, because I’m weird like that and have wasted a gadzillion brain cells remembering all manner of ARCANE songs, this popped into my head.

I was humming that damn song all day.

You’ll have to let me know if it gets stuck in your head, too.

How many of you even remember Blue Hawaii?

Why is it that the TV stations only ever played about five of the 30+ movies he made? I’m talking about when I was a kid and we had like four different TV stations. Five if the weather was good.

Fun in Acapulco, Girls!Girls!Girls!, Blue Hawaii, Viva Las Vegas and Roustabout.

Blue Hawaii was my favorite Elvis movie. Even if his character was named Chadwick.

I can picture Philomena, the hula-dancing phlegm-ball, with a boyfriend named Chadwick…

And when she starts to sway, I’ve got to say, she really moves her grass around!

November 14, 2010

I always try to remember to make sure my point-and-shoot camera is in my purse before I leave the house because one never knows what cool, unusual, interesting, crazy, shocking, funny stuff one might come across during the course of one’s otherwise ordinary everyday life.

Like the bumper sticker I attempted to photograph on the way home from WV last week. It was too dark and the image didn’t turn out very well, so you’ll just have to use your imagination. Graphically, it was rather bland, but the words made me laugh. It read, “I’m only speeding because I have to poop.” Had it said “shit” instead of “poop,” it would’ve been vulgar. I think the bumper sticker’s creator knew that. But then again, maybe he just got lucky.

Then there was the “gourmet market” sign at the local Safeway, which Hubby saw ages ago and Shannon also happened to remark about last week…

Shannon and I happened to be at the store together when she said something so I HAD to go snap a picture to share with you.

And the day a few weeks ago when I took my car to the garage to have some work done.

My first thought upon seeing what I’m about to show you was, “That thing is hideous.”

My second thought? “I’ll have to get some pictures for my blog!”

Some of you got a sneak peek in yesterday’s post. I find it pretty funny that only 20% of the commentors mentioned the picture I slapped at the end of yesterday’s post.

My Mom gets the honorable mention for noticing.

The thing I am referring to is this…

It’s an art car. The driver just happens to patronize the same auto repair shop that we use. Wikipedia has a definition for ART CAR in case you want to know.

I usually shrink images before uploading them to the blog. But I left all of these big so you could zoom in and get a better look. If you click on each image, it’ll pop up full-size in a window of it’s own.

Really, you won’t appreciate it at all if you don’t look closer and see all the clever little touches that make this thing fun. Like the xylophone strikers at the end of the rope fastened to each of the side-view mirrors. So admirers can actually play a few notes.

There’s a sign on the driver’s side that actually says, “Go Ahead Play the Truck.”

From a distance it is sort of hideous. But from up close, it’s sort of clever. At least I think so. Would I want to drive it? No. But I can appreciate the thought that went into the truck’s creation.

Like the little balls with hats atop the otherwise headless mannequins. Were they put there just to make it look more interesting? Or to symbolize something? The theme of the truck appears to be the Fall of Adam and Eve, so perhaps those tiny orbs symbolize their small-mindedness.

I like the “Have an apple, hon” that’s painted in the circle formed by a snake that sits on the truck’s roof. It’s right under that life-sized Barbie head. The “Hon” is a Baltimore thing.

What’s with the female mannequin chained to the truck? And is that a Jägermeister miniature dangling from her necklace? The solar-powered lawn lights are a nice touch. As is the Woodchuck cider beer-tap handle.

The hood ornaments are sort of creepy.

They are oddly reminiscent of the statues that adorn the Münster of Bern in Switzerland.

I’m not so sure I like the fact that the front of the roof ornament is covered in red. I do like the Power Ranger, headless Spiderman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and G.I. Joe-type action figures that sit just above the windshield. The slide-trombone-cum-loudspeaker in the middle of the pile is cool. Although the babydoll heads to the right of that are sort of creepy. But cool-creepy like this ogre statue in Bern.

So what do you think? Is this art? Or just plain ugly? I’m curious, really.

October 24, 2010October 24, 2010

The Dolly Sods

Hubby suggested we go for a car ride yesterday. Since we’re at the WV place (we haven’t hung out here for a few weeks), I seized the opportunity to say, “Okay, but I want to go to The Dolly Sods.”

The Dolly Sods is a wilderness area that sits at an elevation of about 4,000 feet atop the Allegheny Plateau. It is one of many areas of interest in the Monongahela National Forest. The Dolly Sods is significant because of its elevation and what that means to the flora and fauna.

I’ve wanted to visit for YEARS. Ever since 2005 when we started our “little” WV project. During what little down time we had, I read a lot about the area. And I liked what I read. 🙂

While all of West Virginia is pretty mountainous, the mountains aren’t very high. The highest peak, in fact, is only 4,863 feet. It’s not far at all from The Dolly Sods. It’s been said that many areas of the Dolly Sods are like high-alpine regions in Canada. The snowshoe hare can even be found there.

dolly_sods_elevations — Hubby's GPS tracked the elevation changes.

We’ve ridden our motorcycles near The Dolly Sods many, many times, but never ventured into the actual wilderness area because it is known for its rough, dirt and gravel roads. It is a wilderness, after all, and they want to keep it that way. In fact, descriptions of the route into The Sods said something to the effect of “the road climbs the Allegheny Front.” If you look at this terrain map of the area, you’ll see what I mean. In short, the road went up, and up, and up before we finally reached the top of the Allegheny Plateau. Hubby’s GPS software plotted a graph showing our elevations at various points on the trip down and back, which clearly shows the extreme elevation change entering and leaving The Dolly Sods.

IMG_7164_dolly_sods_1 — Climbing the Allegheny Front (Think 6 miles of washboard-rutted road; I am NOT exaggerating.)

IMG_7174_dolly_sods_2 — Some of the scenery on the way up, below the tree line.

IMG_7180_dolly_sods_3 — More scenery on the way up.

IMG_7257_dolly_sods_19 — Welcome to the high alpine world. (Pronunciation = Ma-non-ga-heel-ah)

IMG_7183_dolly_sods_4 — The foliage at this altitude peaked some time ago and is mostly gone.

IMG_7186_dolly_sods_7 — The view from the top.

IMG_7195_dolly_sods_6 — It was quite rocky. There were large bolders strewn wide and far.

IMG_7206_dolly_sods_5 — The winds on the plateau are virtually constant.

IMG_7216_dolly_sods_8 — The boulders were covered with lichen.

IMG_7226_dolly_sods_9 — There were blueberries galore (the short, red plants).

IMG_7229_dolly_sods_10 — Blueberries! (Dolly Sods is a popular place in July and August.)

IMG_7232_dolly_sods_11 — More blueberries.

IMG_7236_dolly_sods_12 — The further north you go, the more it starts looking like the Alaskan tundra.

IMG_7237_dolly_sods_13 — You can see the "tundra" off in the distance.

IMG_7241_dolly_sods_14 — Bear Rocks (what this particular area is called)

IMG_7243_dolly_sods_15 — I was digging all the boulders. Those are people way out in the center of the frame.

IMG_7250_dolly_sods_18 — Looking out over the valley from atop the Eastern Continental Divide.

IMG_7254_dolly_sods_16 — A closer look at the tundra.

IMG_7256_dolly_sods_17 — Another close-up of the tundra.

IMG_7261_dolly_sods_20 — The road down. It was a rough ride, but well worth it, if you ask me.

I’m not sure Hubby enjoyed the ride through the Sods. It really was rutted and full of potholes. But it was really picturesque. I could spend an entire day just walking around taking pictures. These are all just snapshots. I hate making Hubby wait around while I do the photography thing.

He’ll probably read this and think, “Wait a minute, isn’t that what you were doing?” The answer? Nope. If I were doing the photography thing, I would’ve had my tripod. And more lenses. The wide angle one would have been nice to have.

I’d love to do some hiking there, too. There are a lot of trails through the Sods, but they are rugged and not recommended for novice hikers. So I’ll need to take that orienteering class first (how to use a compass and topographical map to get around).

I hope you enjoyed your virtual journey with us through the Dolly Sods!

October 22, 2010

Time for a Change

The last couple of months have been sort of stressful. Actually, a lot stressful. Work has been pretty busy. And the projects have been rather complex, which usually means long hours.

On top of that, I’ve been in the process of getting a new job. That’s stressful, too. It feels very sneaky working for one company while trying to get hired by another company. Especially when you REALLY like the people you work for and with. Even if I didn’t have mad love for the company, I worked with a lot of great people.

Just about the time you become used to the pressure from being all sneaky trying to land another job, there’s the awful WAITING.

I hate waiting. This whole interviewing lots of people until you find the perfect candidate thing makes sense when you are the hunter. But when you are the prospective employee, waiting to find out if the people liked you and are considering hiring you, it sucks.

Of course, once you find out you made the short list (a good thing), you have to wait some more (a bad thing).

It’s not all waiting. There are the multiple conversations with recruiters and hiring managers you have to squeeze into your already busy schedule. And the secretive trip to New Jersey. Plus trying not to get too excited about the opportunity. There’s the not mentioning anything to anyone bit, too. That’s really tough.

Finally, when you feel like you can’t wait one single second longer, there’s a verbal offer.

Yay!

Then negotiations. That’s never fun. Even if they’re not too intense, it’s still stressful.

We can’t forget MORE WAITING for the written offer to arrive.

What’s worse than the waiting is wondering how you are ever going to tell the people you work with that you’re deserting them. Abandoning the proverbial ship.

I had fantastic bosses. Not only were they good bosses, they are great people. And the people I worked with? The people who all do the same job I did as part of a global team? Amazing. They took teamwork to a whole new level.

Most of us are friends, too. We all got along, it’s just that some of us are and will remain closer than others. Many of us will even stay in touch.

Anyway… after you tell your bosses, you have to wait for a couple of weeks to pass. Still doing your job, of course. And slowly spreading the word that you are leaving.

That’s when the fear sets in. Have I done the right thing? Am I really going to leave all of these great people behind? What about my new bosses? Were they just acting like nice, cool people? Are they going to micro-manage me to death? Things at the old company really aren’t that bad, are they? Wouldn’t it be okay just to stay? You know, see what happens?

Sigh…

If you haven’t figured it out, today was my last day at the old job. I’d been with that company, and the same team of people, for just over four years. I did say how awesome they all were, right?

Monday, I start my new job.

Yikes.

It’s with a good company. The people all seem really nice. My new bosses come highly recommended. The position essentially has the exact same responsibilities. I have no doubt that I’ll be able to jump right in.

But still. It’s nerve-wracking.

I’ll have to meet tons of new people. Learn new processes. New procedures.

Did I mention that I’ll be spending some time in New Jersey, too? Away from Hubby. And the family. And my girls…

I wonder if I’ll be able to sleep at all between now and them.

Bigger SIGH…

I’ll try and keep y’all posted, okay?