I'm off...

Well, I'm going to miss the blogging while I'm on vacation! I hope you all have fun without me. I'll be back in the office on the 10th!

I'll come back with PLENTY of phtos to post!!

Curiosty...

Curiosity got the best of me a couple weeks ago! I was at Bux reading through a book Jlaw handed me. "Marriable" by Michael and Hayley DiMarco. It's a book for sinlges. Michael and Hayley are a pretty awesome couple...one of those couples you see interacting with one another and KNOW that God put them together.

Well, they met on a Christian Internet Dating site. I've heard a lot of talk lately about these sites and thought hmmm...I wonder what this is like. So, out of curiosty and because it made us laugh...JLaw and I signed up on Christian Mingle.com...the same site where Michael and Hayley met. (Note: we did not have any intention of meeting someone for real) The registration process took FOREVER. We had to answer a billion questions and take a really lame personality test. Once the picutures were posted and registration was complete we began to look at our matches. The names these guys chose were CRAZY! They were names like Darkchild, or goodol'christian boy, Deacon519...etc etc etc. Needless to say, Christianminle is a joke. They had you fill out preferences on what ethinicty you are looking for, age requirements and all kinds of other stuff. Jessi and I had 50 and 60 year old men looking at our profies and sending us smiles. Even through I required a caucasion/non hispanic within at least 500 miles of my location I had guys for spain, turkey, africa, and paris sending me their info. By then end of my 7 day free trail...over 300 guys had viewed my profile. Several sent me smiles...others sent me some stupid greeting cards...and there were a few brave souls who sent me emails through the site.

I told my sister about the experiment and she suggested I sign up for EHarmony's free trial to compare the two sites. She knew some people who met on there and said it was really a good site. (She was grossed out by christianmingle when I showed her a photo of a 52 year old man who had sent me an email. He was sitting in his recliner with a big fluffy dog in his lap! NICE!)

So, I went to Eharmony and spent TWO HOURS filling out their personality test, survey, questions, blah blah blah. After reading my personality profile on the site I thought WOW...they really nailed it. This was the BEST personality test I had ever taken. I read through all the info and how they take their time to find matches that meet you on at least 19 differnt levels. During my 7 day trial I had probaly 15 matches on Eharmony. Eharmony works a lot better than christianmingle did. Everything is really "safe" and private. People can only see your info if you allow them. You can close matches when you want.

Last Saturday I logged on to check the info on eharmony and had a new match. When I looked at this guys info it said he was 5'4", needless to say...WAY to short for me. Then for his occupation it noted "Social Security." Two of the four things he is most thankful for...
"my mom who puts a roof over my head and for social security." After getting this match I wondered how hard eharmony really works to make their matches. Clearly a girl who is 5'11' doesn't match with a guy 5'4". Not to mention on my "must haves, can't stands" I MUST HAVE a guy who is financially stable!

I did communicate on a "closed" level with a couple of guys on eharmony. As I was doing this I was thinking to myself...how do people REALLY get to know each other over the internet?THIS IS CRAZY! I can answer the dudes question any way I want. I can read his profile and manipulate my answers to fit his info. So, how do I know he's not doing the same to me?

Anyway...both 7 day trials are up now...and I'm happy my internet dating life has come to an end. Curiosity got the best of me...but, internet dating is still what I always thought it was! It does work for some people...but, deffinately not for me!

Lapiz...

So, I'm filling out some financial reports and realize that the use of a pencil rather than a pen would be much to my advatage. So, I head upstairs to the supply closet to grab a pencil. When I get up there I see the only pencil option availible is a yellow No. 2 pencil...unsharpened. So I think to myself...hmmm...unsharpened pencil, I don't have a pencil sharpener. I know the classrooms here have sharpeners but I think they've been here since the 70's so they really don't work at all. I then head to the onsite department and ask them if they have a mechanical pencil. NOPE. Then I asked if they had a sharpener. NOPE! At this point I'm thinking to myself. How silly is to to buy NO.2 pencils with no sharpener. So, I head on over to the offsite office. They had a mechanical pencil for me there...and they also have a sharpener. So, it all worked out. But, I still think it's a little weird to have No.2 pencils and no sharpeners provided in places where people can find them easily. And so, I wasted time looking for a dumb pencil...and now I'm wasting time telling you my story...but, I had to let other people out there know the craziness. Oh and, if I wanted to order my own mechanical pencils...I'd have to fill out a PO and wait at least a week to get it! I think next time I'm in wally world I'll pick up my own pack!

amazing!

this is amazing!

Geek

It's official...my photoshop teach is a geek...he's drinking a big ol' can of full throttle this morning.

And, he told us he cumbled up toast on his scanner to make a paint brush in photoshop. He also throws rice and many other things on his scanner to make paintbrushes. But...he did show us some of his stuff at the end of class yesterday, and it's awesome! So...he's a geek with artistic capabilities, I guess...I'll be sure to keep you all posted today. But don't worry Gary, only during breaks!

rock on!

now we're talking!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/accessories/78e4/

don't miss me too bad

Hey Guys, I won't be in the office Monday or Tuesday. I'll be taking a photoshop class. So, don't miss me too bad while I'm gone. Oh, and by the way...welcome back JLaw! She got home yesterday and I'm sure was dying to blog the entire time she was gone! Anyway...happy blogging to everyone! I sure hope my class isn't tooooooooo boring!

speaking of pumpkins...

my sis made a cake (at my request) for my office on friday. it was a cinnamon cake (very good) that looked like a pumpkin. there was no occasion. just a friday that needed a cake.

everyone liked it. we were interviewing a guy for a position here. he got a piece.

i'm tellin' ya, my sister can build a cake.

Fall

Fall is Almost here (yes, I know technically it is here...but it doesn't feel like it) folks...That means plenty of pumpkin spice for EVERYONE!

I was just looking through my Everyday Food magazine and saw a recipe for Pumpkin custard and got all excited...and thought I would share my excitement with those of you who have the love of the pumpkin!

random

has anyone else realized that ebay is really the letter b said in pig latin?

Update on Magic Dove?

And this is why we blog...

Hey Kozy, can we get an update on your meeting with the magic dove yesterday?

big breakfast and more bux

i didn't get to run by the bux this morning for one of their awesome, honkin' apple fritters, so i had to be satisfied with what the vending machines had to offer. when i finally gathered up correct change, i chose this item because it was the only one that seemed more breakfasty over the rest of the options.

"Gourmet Big Az Bear Claw Danish"



six ounces of pure sugar delight. "big az"?

"man, that's one big az bear claw danish! and it's gourmet."

i really have to laugh at the fact that "big az" actually made the wrapper of a distributed product. can you imagine what the meeting was like for the marketing team that came up with that? were they drunk? on crack? late night?

i've also included a picture below of our favorite beverage location's paraphenalia taking residence at my desk.

Tara is the best...

Tara is the best! Look at this awesome design she did for Student Ministry!!

My Afternoon Bux...

Well, I figured we haven't talked about Starbucks enough yet for this week! :-)

During my lunch break today I swung by my favorite bux and saw my most favorite Barista in the WHOLD WIDE WORLD. It had been a LONG time since I last saw Richard...so, to walk in the store and for him to get a big ol' smile on his face and say BROOKE...IT'S BEEN TOO LONG it made it one of the best bux experiences EVER.

See, I met Richard last year when I first moved here. He has always been faithful to ask me how I'm doing...and he REALLY REALLY cares (whoa we just had a sonic boom). You see, he saw me stuyding my bible and started to ask me questions. Andwe REALLY hit it off.

He's a retired pastor, and works at the bux as part of his ministry now. He hangs out with the other baristo's, takes them golfing on their day off...etc etc. He also ministers to the people who come in the store. Anyway, I love him...and want to adopt him to be my grandpa!

And, the other girl who loves Jesus made my Green Team Lemonade. So...needless to say, this bux experience was WAY better than the one I wrote about last week!!!

twizzlers

twizzles so totally rock!

http://www.hersheys.com/twizzlers/

JLaw is OUT

Note to all blogging BFF (and Gary)...Jessi is on her way to Hattisburg, Mississippi to help with the relief efforts. Be praying for her....the team she's with was thrown together last minute and she doesn't know anyone on the team....she was a weee bit nervous when I dropped her off...but still VERY excited about the cute work gloves she bought for the trip!

Pamplet vs. Pamphlet

What's the difference bewtween a pamplet and a pamphlet? I hate the word pamplet and just saw it on a website. I thought everyone just said the word wrong when they said pamplet.

hmmmm.

lunch in a snap

snappy tomato! easy pickup. quite quick too. look for one near you.

Animal Cruelty

I never imagined I would one day drive up to church on Sunday morning and see someone's pet sitting in the hot car while his owner was in church worshipping. But, as shocking as it was...Jlaw and I found this to be true yesterday! We have alerted the authorities and hope that the owner of this pet will be found and punished! I have posted a picture of this poor creature...if you all know the owner please let either Jlaw or I know ASAP!

Thanks!

questions while late friday night at work

it's, what? eight seventeen in the evening on a friday night? and i'm still at work? ugh. i am. i should be going home. i should be ordering pizza. do i really want to eat this late at night, though? hmm....

how much longer will i be here? probably as long as it takes to fix the classifieds feeds. but how long will that be? i think we're getting close to having this nailed down. will it be done in time? will it cause backlog if the other processes try to run? will i get called in the middle of the night even if i leave in the next thirty minutes?

how much more sleep deprevation can i handle? at least it's a weekend. my schedule is now skewed. plans for tomorrow are going to have to be rethought. will i get everything done after all? will i be able to sleep in? will i eat breakfast at cracker barrel?

i have decided to stop working on what i was working on. that just leaves testing out the feed to make sure it's working. will this test be the final run of the test? will we have to do this again? looks like we will have to try a few more times to get this right.

would pizza be a good idea now? should i splurge for the pizza or just get milk and a bowl of cereal?

boy, am i tired. that was not a question.

Starbucks Experience

As much as we all love the bux...and as much time as we all spend there...I thought I'd share my experience from last night! I think you might enjoy!

I got there at 7:15 or so and then realized that they were doing the weekly coffee tasting. So I found the 1 chair that was left set my stuff down and went to order.

Since we are opening a few more bux in the area our store has become the training store. So, I'm getting used to the people at the register not REALLY knowing what they are doing...it's a good thing for the testing of the patience. Especially last night! Bless her heart, the poor girl couldn't get anyone's order right. Tyler was the shift manager and really the only one I recognized as a skilled barista. So he was going around fixing all the "messes" created by new girl.

It was finally my turn. I ordered a tall decaf pumpkin spice latte (not really a fan of the latte...sorry folks) and an oatmeal raison cookie. When I paid I thought boy oh boy that was a lot for a tall latte. Then, I saw her pick up the grande. After I reminded her of the size I orderded she had to get tyler over to the register to return it...but, he returned it in cash...so they had to buy it and return it again to my card. Needless to say the line behind me was growing! When I went to get my drink...she forgot to write the decaf part on my cup. So, Tyler (bless his heart) had to make another one. Then he had to remake the person's frap behind me, and another girls drink...because new girl (bless her heart) didn't know how to write drink orders on the cup. It's not new girls fault (I don't think)...she just needed more training before being put out on the register...or better yet ask the barista's around you if you wrote it right!

So once I got my drink the coffee tasting broke and people were EVERYWHERE...Old and young alike. LIttle girls chasing each other all over the store. I kept thinking...surely they will leave...it must be close to their bed time or something. But they didn't. Mom's and Dad's just kept walking around and talking while the caffiene laden 6 year olds ran around the store chasing each other. I got sick of waiting for them to leave and went outside.

Once I got outside I noticed 3 guys sitting around a table. One of the guys I met the night before...so I waved and sat down. I pulled out my bible and my study and started to work. Well, one guy (who I had never seen before) I'm guessing has a TOTAL dislike/hatred for Christians. And there I was in my Pre Cept shirt studying the bible making him mad. Before I knew it all kinds of stuff towards Christ, God, and Christians was flying out of his mouth. One of the last things I heard him say was "All the F-ing GD Christians just need to burn and fall in a river and drowned. After that he got up and went to his car...his friend said....yeah, one to many Margarita's for him tonight. I smiled and kept working. Then Stephen (the guy I had met the night before) came over to me and said Hey Brooke, I'm so sorry for what he is saying...he's really not my friend, I don't know him that well, and his is drunk...so, I'm sorry and left. When he left, Christian Hater came back and kept staring at me...so I looked at him and smiled a couple times...which I think made him even more mad. I noticed some lightening and then went BACK inside. :-)

As I was getting my stuff back out...GUESS WHO CAME INTO THE BUX! Just GUESS!!!
GARY!!!!!!!!!!! Yes fellow bloggers...Gary came to the bux!

So, needless to say...Starbucks was an exeperience last night!

Switchfoot

Well, with the permission of the IT department I downloaded the new switchfoot CD from Wal-Mart.com I LOVED the last album...and this one hasn't dissapointed me yet. I haven't heard it all the way through...but highly reccomend it to anyone and everyone on this blog!

O Happy Day!

Thanks to Dayron...the bestest IT guy in the entire world, my PDA finally sync's with my computer. I now get more than the notes & tasks...I now have contacts, email and a calendar too! Life has just gotten so much more organized...WATCH OUT WORLD...HERE I COME!

little white ottoman

the pizza from snappy tomato today had one of these. i didn't open the box at the store to notice. if i had, i would have told snappy-boy: "heeeey, slow down with the furniture, anthony!"

mmm...the pizza is good.

Love makes the world go round...

After all is said and one...Love is what makes the world go round! Love for one another makes the blogging world go round. So to my fellow bloggers... I love you!

And yes Jessi and Mark...we can all get along!

Don't do anything fun

Okay You all...you can't do anything fun between now and 5:00! I'm not going to be availible to check comments or postings...so all blogging must HALT!

Thank you very much!

four inches max

tonight, i stop in at kroger to pick up some lemon juice to season my brand new starbucks barista solo. i grab a couple of bottles and head to the self-checkout. as i approach, i notice the coffee flavored kit-kat and pick one very intrigued. i get to my self-service register, i enter my critera, laser scan my three items, and press the "pay now" button.

and then it happened, just like it always does. i wait for a minute while the little printer spits out two miles of paper with not only my itemized purchase, but the store information, percentage of savings, strange information about my fuel balance, an ad from kroger, the fine print for the ad, timedate stamp along with extra numbers (in case i need them?), instructions on how to use the fuel balance (still not sure what that is), and the ultimate savings this time in big, bold letters at the bottom.

ok, it wasn't two miles. it was only about a foot's worth of paper. but i think at most i only needed four inches of paper to tell me how much three items cost me. i like the timestamp. that's always handy. the problem is that i keep my receipts from my debit card. now i have to fold this thing up and stick it in my wallet. imagine what it's like when i get regular groceries. (hint: really two miles.)

what might be cool is if they were to print out the latest headlines from google or yahoo or foxnews. a weather forecast would be nice. "it's going to rain in the next five minutes, so better get these groceries to your car quickly." that would be a good idea. it's a good place for a silly fortune like you get in the chinese cookies. "you will cook like a pro tonight and you dress nice." heck, that's even a bit of encouragement. what about double-sided printing? can't tell me it's not possible.

if i have to wad it up and take it with me, make it entertaining at least. if not, just give me the basics. i like a thin wallet.

Fun....

Uhm yeah...blogging is fun!

10 minute rule...

Jessi and I sit in on the Home school class each Tuesday morning. John David (the teacher) was late to class. When he got there, I made the comment "well, you were here just in time, or we were going to have to follow the 10 minute rule." The class just looked at me like I was weird...and John David who was also home schooled says "well, okay then, didn't know there was a 10 min rule and starts class." Jessi starts laughing and looks at me and whispers... "Brooke, they don't go to school...they don't know the rule!"

twenty-four hours of bux

since yesterday afternoon post-work, i have been camped out at the bux. it's been around the clock bux. been working on the new singles site. and no better place than the bux to accomplish this. i've consumed coffee, see my bux buddies, found my friends walking through every so often, and enjoying the atmosphere of being around java. (i wonder if caffeine is in the air?)

i can't do this often since the wifi isn't free, but this was a special occasion. i did find out that the new stir fry café has free wifi. now, being so close to my new office location, i have another option for working away from the office.

Feelin British...

Uhm, I'm feeling very British right now as I drink hot tea and eat a sandwich at 3:04 p.m.

last day downtown

i suppose i could cut and paste the text, but it's easier to do this:

last day downtown

i so wanna...

...go home.

24...

Last year I started to watch the show 24. I started out with the first season and was not pleased with the content in the first few episodes. But, my BFF Tara told me it only got better and cleaner and that I HAD to start watching it. So...she got me addicted over the weekend while we were on vacation. Being an Alias fan I really didn't know how any other show could do better with the cliff hanger! But, I have to say...after watching 7 episodes of 24 in the past 4 days they really have scored major cliff hanger points. So...for all of you peeps out that you love Alias, I reccomend 24!

Kozy, this one is for you...

Hey Kozy...bring back any memories?

idiots!

i was scheduled to meet tara, kozy, and timmy g at conner's at turkey creek tonight for dinner. i was running a little late as it was and found myself already frustrated with traffic. when i reached the lovell road turnoff from middlebrook pike, timmy g called me. (what he had to tell me is another story.) he was running a little late too, which calmed me a bit, but i still felt the need to already be at the restaurant.

people in knoxtropolis are idiots when it comes to driving. i mean, even with a gas shortage, there is no change to this reality. or perhaps the shortage makes them drive slower? are you kidding? they drive this slowly when they have an abundance of fuel. they are still idiots! driving slower in the left hand lane than those in the right hand lane. add talking on the phone as the reason and it's maddening. idiot! talk and drive slowly in the right lane!

i'm really late now when a spot opens up and i can pass chick. i zoom by and wait for traffic lights at the intersection off lovell onto turkey creek...then the traffic light off turkey creek into the parking lot! i swing in and scan for a spot. the place is full! packed! after two passes with hope, i finally gave up and parked 27 miles away. i was almost sprinting into the restaurant, passing up all those waiting at the door including the hostess. i make a good sweep of the entire restaurant...and am really confused. can't find the girls. i don't think i passed them still waiting for a table when i came in. but i was in a hurry, so i better check the door again. nope, not there. then something caught my eye. the rug in the foyer. "the olive garden." idiot!

i knew the place resembled the olive garden on my jog around the dining rooms. i remember thinking to myself, did conner's remodel the olive garden? idiot! i ran the 27 miles back to my pilot and made my way over to the real conner's.

timmy g had beaten me there.

idiot!

Coffee...

Due to the overwhelming gas prices I decided to make my own coffee this morning rather than run over to Starbucks. I really had all the ingredients I needed...coffee & hazelnut syrup. I was out of the Bux coffee I usually make but had some Archer Farms Organic Fair Trade. I bought it at Target a couple weeks ago thinking that it might be as good as the usual. But, unfortunately I was wrong. I even put an extra scoop of beans in my grinder...to make it a little stronger, but it really didn't help. I've never smoked before...but if my imagination serves me correct...my coffee tasted like tobacco. :-) Go figure! I guess I'm going to have to break down and buy me some beans at the Bux!!! They won my heart!