52. My favorite season is fall. I love it when the leaves change color and it gets cold outside. I think it’s the prettiest time of the year, and the most comfortable weather and clothes wise.

53. I hate it when people I don’t know very well call me “Little Tess”. It bugs me a lot, and makes me feel like I’m a little kid. From my friends that I know and love I find it endearing but when my secretary does it I want to punch her in the face.

54. I’m a lil bit fiesty.

55. I used to have a really hard time falling asleep. I’d lay in bed and my mind would race, and then I’d toss and turn and get up ten times a night. Now I sleep like a log-I think it’s because I let go of a lot of stress in my life.

56. I lost a lot of friends when I stopped drinking for a year. It really showed me who my true friends were.

57. I can’t stand it when people say “What can I do you for?” It sounds dirty and it’s a dumb phrase.

58. I hate fake phone voices-like when people act super sugary sweet on the phone and it’s not their normal speaking voice. What is that?

59. I love Christmas. I decorate like crazy for it and I love everything from the songs, to the family time, to the food, to the specialty drinks (peppermint schnapps you are so good). Every year it looks like Christmas exploded in my house.

60. When I was a little kid I used to insist that we cut down our own Christmas tree instead of buying it. This would already result in super ugly Charlie Brown looking Christmas trees that I thought were beautiful.

(more…)

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This past weekend was my company’s semi-annual meeting, better known as “SAM”. It’s a meeting where all of the employees, managers, and associates get together to discuss how we’re doing as a company, as well as new software and hardware solutions for our clients. EcoQuest International business solutions was just one of the companies named during the meeting. We also talked about the strengths and weakness of Windows 2008 server, and Exchange 2007.

But it wasn’t all boring business at this SAM. This was our first year having a SAM where we all stayed somewhere as a company. My incredibly generous company president paid for all of the employees to stay in the Embassy Suites in South Lake Tahoe. It was definitely the nicest place I’ve ever stayed, much less stayed on a company dime. Friday night when I arrived, I met up with my fellow coworkers for a round of drinks on the boss. Then Saturday, after a day long meeting, we had free cocktails, followed by an amazing dinner and more drinks. After dinner, we all went out dancing and it was hilarious to get drunk with all of my coworkers. The weekend was much more fun than work, but I’m paying for it today. Still, I’m looking forward to the next SAM-this time I’ll be sure to drink a little more water, and a little less cocktails.

Technorati Tags: business, coworkers, Exchange 2007, Windows 2008

So I’m finally back home and I couldn’t be happier. As much fun as family was, they wore me out big time. I’m sitting here at my desk about to fall asleep. It will be nice to get home and get some rest. Oh wait, I need to clean, do laundry, run for an hour, bathe the dog, organize, and then cook an amazing dinner for my wonderful Dyl Pickle for taking care of my pets while I was gone. Whew. Oh and then I also need to find some time in there to look presentable for when he comes over. I can do it! All I need is a little caffeine and the motivation.
Last night after taking me to a yummy mexican restaurant, Dyl and I went out for Gelato. It was a nice tasty treat and was perfect for the warm night we were having. It must have been 80 degrees in the shade. We walked along the new business center looking at all the empty businesses for rent. We got to talking about Dyl’s new business idea and how we really need to do some market research to get the ball rolling. I won’t say exactly what he wants to do. Don’t want anyone taking the idea now do we? I will say that it has to do with advertising which I know nothing about. But if we come up with a business plan and actually get something started, it could be a lot of fun. And who knows, we just might make some money. I of course plan to do the nerdy background work and be the arm candy. Hehe. Maybe just the arm candy. Sounds like it could be fun.

My work is notorious for spoiling me, and the latest toy they gave me is no exception. Our company recently switched our company cell phone plan, and now we’ve all got unlimited minutes and unlimited sms texts. I’m soo excited. Not only did I get a new blackberry curve but it came with Sprint TV and Sprint Navigation. All for free. I heart my job! The only flaw I can find with the new phone is the cell reception isn’t nearly as good as it used to be. I get choppy reception in some spots and it can be annoying. It makes me wish we could get a cell phone repeater for the company so we could hear each other better. But still, who can complain? I have a FREE cell phone with unlimited everything. Excuse me while I wipe my techie drool off my face.

I’ve got the I don’t wanna study for my Microsoft certified desktop support technician blues. Just the name alone makes me want to fall into a study induced coma. It’s frustrating, because I know if I gain more knowledge in the field I will be a more valuable employee. I know I need to get certified by microsoft, and cisco too if I want to get ahead in the IT world. I have used cisco systems, and I use Microsoft products every day, but I need the certificates to back it up. I can’t seem to get motivated to study, and you would the think the prospect of a raise would be enough. When I get home at the end of the day the last thing I want to do is crack open a book. Maybe I need to get to a coffee shop or someplace other than my house. Anyone have any suggestions on how to motivate myself to study?

I’ve been with my company for a little over a year now, and I still feel like I have so much to learn. I want to learn how to be the best employee I can be, and get to that level where I become really valuable. I don’t know much about installation, like installing patch panels, servers, and things like that. I think it would be great to learn that kind of thing. Then there is all the server setup, the backend stuff that seems so overwhelming right now. Last night I finally opened up my textbook and started studying for my first Microsoft certification. It’s the most basic of the certs, but it’s a start. My goal is to get it done by the end of this year. Wish me luck!

My company is going to be switching the bpm software we use to do our work. I’m the type of person who loves change so of course I’m excited about it. I just wish the other people in my company felt the same way. I’ve got this coworker that balks at the very idea of change. I think I’m that way in my personal life too, about change. I love changing things up and trying new things. Be it food, a new place to visit, whatever. Hopefully I can get my coworker to embrace the new change, since I’m the one who is going to have to train her.

I’m not sure what my deal is. Maybe I’m not getting enough sleep. Maybe I’m spreading myself too thin, but for some reason I have a massive case of the grumpies. I don’t get it so much outside of work, but the second I get here, I’m just annoyed. My coworker has this charming habit of talking to herself but making sure I can hear her. Then she acts super sweet and will ask me for help. She’s quite obnoxious and normally I can ignore it. Lately though? I have been fighting the urge to throw things at her. I’ve been working out after work and that seems to help, but then I go back to work and I’m frustrated all over again. You know that lady from Office Space? The one that says, “Sounds like somebody has a case of the Mondays!” That’s HER. Groan.

I’ve had a serious case of the I don’t give a F**ks. (I borrowed that joke from Dana Carvey, who I saw live last weekend. Hilarious!!) I don’t know what it is but lately I’ve had zero motivation to do anything productive. Work has been extremely slow, and instead of coming up with new projects, or studying for my microsoft cert, I’ve been surfing the web and slacking off in general. I really need to get motivated, because I love my job and I love it when it’s busy. It’s hard to get excited about studying for the cert though. Everytime I open the book I get the urge to take a nap.

Ironically in my personal life I’ve been extremely motivated. I’m trying to get in shape for the always dreaded bikini season. I have been running, ab and butt crunching my way through the afternoons. Sadly I’m not seeing results nearly as quickly as I did a few years ago. What is it about 24 and the slowing down of my metabolism? Grrr.