Paul Krugman May Have Been Right

Way back when the housing bubble started growing, Mr. Krugman published a column worrying if the US will be following the path Japan stumbled down resulting in a recession and inflation at once.

Now, with the bubble deflating, we know there's inflation. Just look at gas prices or the price of milk. And now this story hits. I was a huge macroecnomics nerd in business school so I know that cutting the discount rate is the first step in battling a recession. A recession is when people stop spending money which then makes the economy grind to a halt. To help people spend money, banks can make more money available especially if they don't have to pay a high discount rate. So Mr. Krugman may be the depressing magic eightball of our economic future.

Secretary, no Admin Assistant, no Admin Associate

My first job out of college was as an Administrative Assistant. It was basically the only job I could get with a liberal arts BA. The job was pretty demanding and fun for a while. But once I learned all the ropes and was reduced to tears by my Miranda Priestley-like boss, I started hating the position. I didn't mind making coffee or answering phones. It was the stupid power and cache attached to those tasks. No one in the office wanted to answer the phone. If I was in the bathroom, my boss would call for me to answer the phone. It was like touching the receiver gave you a disease. I bit my tongue and remained stoicly quiet when my boss insulted my family and when a board member made jokes about my salary. Once I quit, I decided that it wasn't the admin position that was toxic, it was the collection of personalities in that office. So, I got another admin position.

Guess what? It is the administrative assistant position that is toxic to me. I hate being treated like a servant or a brainless helper. Spending 8 hours a day typing and copying just isn't for me. I can feel my brain atrophying. When the opportunity to learn to do something new is dangled in front of me, I go crazy trying to be the best and fastest. Because in my mind, if I screw up more demanding tasks, I will be pidgeonholed at work as the servant or brainless helper. This is why I have trouble getting along with lifelong Administrative Assistants. They see me as a snob or know-it-all and I look at them as people with no ambition. At least it is mutual disdain.

I know I probably sound elitist and snobby. But if a life of typing, making coffee, answering phones and gossiping, floats your boat and supports your life more power to you! It just ain't for me. I do have to admit since I'm in the midst of a job search, some of those admin jobs pull down a nice salary! But the way I view those ads for an $80K admin, I see the money as a trade for pride. $80K won't stop me from jabbing a pencil in my eye if I'm asked to pick up dry cleaning.

Maybe the issue is that I'm still stuck in the notion that your profession defines who you are? I'm sure business school helped cement that. If I could view jobs as a means to an end that has no impact on who I am, I would be fine as an admin.

TV Show Love

I am completely hooked on AMC's Mad Men. Even though the protagonist, Don, is kind of a dick (my new insult thanks to the Monarch), he is a fascinating character. Why did he change his name from Dick Whitman? Or is it Wittmann? That is my prevailing theory - that's he's Jewish. I love how obviously flamboyant Salvatore is. I guess gaydar didn't exist until the 1970's? That explains Liza Minneli at least. I also love the Buffy/Firefly casting on the show. We have Connor and Our Mrs. Reynolds. Part of that casting is ingenious because I automatically assume Paul Campbell aka Connor is a sociopath and Joan is a con artist.

Beyond the pretty eye candy and excellent acting, I love the marketing pitches and the steno pool drama. It kind of addresses my MBA interests and my history of administrative work in a historical context. Speaking of history, I love the little details of the show.

Rasputin Terror

Since I had a date last night, I didn't get home until late. Kitty was starved for attention. Lots of crazy racing around the apartment for hours on end which were only paused by panting and catching his breath. When he finally settled in my lap, he started attacking my water bottle. So I had fun trying to feed him water like a baby.

As I started the going to bed ritual, I knew that he was still keyed up. But I was pooped so denial was my friend. Last night, I found out that Rasputin has learned how to open doors. So, sleeping alone was out of the question. He allowed me 4 hours of sleep then the feet attacks and meowing started. I think I need to start investing in turkey foods around bedtime so I can knock him out naturally. I have followed 5/10 of these suggestions so I'm out of ideas. He better behave tonight because I have a job interview tomorrow morning!

His favorite toy now is a mini fork that came with a to-go salad. He also enjoys balls and coils but winds up losing them under the sofas. The catnip mice with leather tails are getting worked over too. I'm growing some cat grass for him that should be ready by next week.

Date #2

Last night, I had my second date with sweetongeeks guy. We went out to dinner and saw a movie. Dinner was pretty good. Yesterday was his birthday so I was able to convince him to "live a little" by ordering a dessert wine. I had a delicious scallop salad and a mojito. He let me try some of his haddock and sip dessert wine. Sharing food = intimacy, no?

We saw "Death at a Funeral". It was a combination of shrieking and groaning laughter funny. An odd thing happened before the movie started. A middle aged lady, who was sitting in front of us, asked us to help her put her Razr on vibrate. She was very nice and found us afterwards so she could turn the ringer back on. She falls into two of my annoying people categories: chicks who are useless with gadgets and the idle rich. But she is not totally on my shitlist because she referred to sweetongeeks guys as my boyfriend. Hee!

Even though he isn't Jewish, it seems like we are on the same track spiritually. We had fun Catholic bashing and ranting about religious hypocrites. The night ended with a horribly awkward pause where it seemed like we were waiting for the other to make a move. I promise I'll jump him on date #3.

The Venture Brothers Love

A couple weeks ago, my brother recommended this cartoon to me by pitching the fact that Stephen Colbert did a voice on the show. So, I TiVoed a couple episodes and just about died laughing. The first thing I love is Patrick Warburton's Brock Samson. He has an awesome voice and the character is hilarious. Oddly enough, the actual Venture Brothers, Hank and Dean, aren't too interesting. It's the entire cast of characters, the funny spoofs, the bleeped out swearing, and blurred out nudity that makes the show. The Monarch is the best arch villain ever. I can't pick a favorite episode yet but the Lincoln's ghost one and the Scooby Doo rip-off (Venturestein - heh) had me screaming laughing. I can't wait for season 3! Here is an exchange that left me dying laughing:

Hank: And they kill clean! Don't let dames get in the way!
Brock: Honestly, Hank, where do you pick that stuff up? I never see you read!
Dean: It's weird, right?
Brock: It's like he channels dead crazy people!
Hank: Do you think it's a cry for help?

Republicans Should Avoid Public Bathrooms

First it was the Florida guy who offered to pay to blow an undercover cop and now its this guy.

Little Bird

Rasputin has been home for two weeks and he has settled in fairly well. Unfortunately, he has a cold now. He's been taking his medication really well. I've had him co-sleeping with me since I got him home to help him adjust to his new surroundings. So, for the past two weeks I've been lucky to get 4 hours of sleep a night.

Last night, I decided to try to sleep alone. I got a bunch of clocks and put them under his favorite sleeping places. I've heard clocks mimic the beat of a heart and help soothe kittens to sleep. Today, I am operating on 8 hours of sleep. Rasputin was silent all night. I think he has been ready to sleep on his own but it was I who insisted on babying him. I also think he just sleeps all day when I'm at work. When I get home, he feels the need to entertain me with cat behavior.

Alberto Gonzalez Resigns!

According the NY Times, he's gone! Wow, August has been a good month for us Liberals. Rove gone and now Gonzalez. But my dancing shoes are still hung up because Rove is probably going to wind up working the 2008 Republican candidate's campaign. He's like a cockroach. With Gonzalez gone, what monstrosity will take his place? I bet Bush is itching for martial law.

What Not to Wear

Thanks to a marathon of this show last week on TLC, I have purged my wardrobe of unflattering clothes. Since I had gaping holes in my wardrobe, I went clothes shopping this weekend. Here are a couple things I learned/picked up:

- Jackets make me look bigger than I am, especially buttoned. I have no idea why Stacy and Clinton are convinced that they are slimming. If you have boobs and hips, that's what the jacket fits so bye bye waist.

- Lane Bryant's new real fit jeans are amazing. I am a yellow body type and the sales rep fitted me so I got the best fitting jeans ever.

- Keep an eye on sales reps. If they set aside a pile for you as you shop, only they can add to the pile. If you add to the pile, they will take away all the clothes. I just realized this last night. The two pairs of pants that I tried on and that looked so awesome were taken off the pile of my clothes. CRAP!

- Get a bigger bang for your buck. Buy clothing that can have multiple functions.

A Good Date

So, I had my first date from the Sweetongeeks site last night. I think it went very well. We had coffee and talked for quite a long while. He seemed very enthusiastic. We talked about politics, religions, books, movies, and video games. Hopefully, this leads to more than a one date wonder. He emailed me immediately after our date last night. That's a good sign, right?

Getting My (Feminist) Rant On

While reading Violent Acres, today I had remembered a phenomena that bugs the shit out of me. When an otherwise intelligent woman puts on the "I'm just a dumb girl" act. I've seen this demonstrated at work and during dating.

I can at least rationalize acting dumb on a date. If it's early during dating, you don't know if the guy likes smart women, so to play it safe, you dumb yourself down. But let's face it gals, if you're with a guy who doesn't like smart women, he's a DOUCHEBAG. Case closed.

At work, it makes no sense. Playing dumb helps get other people do work for you but sacrifices your professional credibility. By making the men around you feel less threatened, you'll be passed over for promotions.

Let me end by saying that being a smart woman is something that you should be proud of. You should be extra proud if you have overcome idiot genes. Hiding your intelligence does other women a disservice.

Ras Attack

I simply have to share these pictures. He handled my first day back to work fine (while I was a worried mess). Last night, he was a crazed energetic kitten ball. Chasing air, chasing his tail, jumping on furniture. He woke me up this morning at 2:30AM.

Jesus Bumper Stickers = Maniac Drivers

The other day I was behind a truck covered in Jesus bumper stickers that ran a couple red lights and wove in and out of traffic. I think I figured out the logic of that driver. He's preparing for the Rapture and he doesn't care about the sinners around him. That or he's trying to find Jesus at the bottom of a Boones bottle.

My First Jew Joke

A couple weeks ago, I was present for a "German, Jew and a Chinese man" joke. As a newly minted Jew, it was very odd and uncomfortable. I sat quietly with a knot in my stomach. Ultimately, the joke was more offensive to Chinese. The joke teller didn't know I was Jewish so I made a point to tell him.

My brother believes I overreacted. I thought I did fine and wound up having a nice chat about Judaism. I'm not the kind of person who can sit quietly when offensive stereotypes are discussed. I even have trouble making fun of outsiders/weirdos. Because I have been an outsider/weirdo.

Love Fool

I am completely and utterly in love. My heart feels like it's going to burst. Everything hit me Friday night. For a while, having a kitten was a cool concept then the first several days were a meowing and pooping chore. I had moments where I seriously doubted my ability to care for a kitten.

Friday was a pretty good day. He ate well and didn't have any litter box issues. He also let me sleep in a bit. We played, chilled and ate throughout the day. Then, he fell asleep in my lap using my hand as a pillow. It wasn't the first time he has fallen asleep on me but in that moment everything fell into place. He's just a furry lovebug and he makes me very happy. It's not a random habit that throughout the last week that I felt the need to swoop upon him saying in a baby voice, "Snuggles" It's that he makes my heart melt and bubble.

Who couldn't love this guy?

Feline Tendencies

Today is day four of settling Rasputin in. I think he's doing pretty well. He has a morning routine and a couple favorite toys. His morning routine is at 5:30AM, circle my bed meowing. If I just groan and roll over, he jumps on my bed, climbs on my pillow and meows in my face. Sometimes he mixes things up by licking my nose or trying to knead my cheek. That's my cue to feed him but once fed I'm not allowed to go back to bed. He does allow me to nap on the couch basically because he wants to nap as well.

His two favorite toys are 1) a Trader Joes paper bag with dangling handles on its side and jingle balls inside and 2) a small empty kleenex box with jingle balls inside. Both toys were created by me.




Unfortunately he somehow rams his head inside the box and gets stuck. I'm widening the main opening and cutting a couple more "windows".

So far, we are co-sleeping and it works out pretty well. I got him to stop playing with my feet. The only major issue that I encountered the other night is that he accidentally stepped in his own poop and tracked it into my bed. That wasn't a pleasant discovery! I might take a couple night off from co-sleeping because I'm simply exhausted.





He's a very clean kitten and he loves rolling on his back. He loves it so much he has rolled off of the sofa and my bed a couple of times. It's fun to see the transition from the grinning satisfaction of laying on his back and the "Oh shit!" look and him disappearing over the side.




He needs to be entertained all day or he'll invent things to play with. So far, I'm allowing the blind pulls to be targets.

The FIrst 24 Hours

I got Rasputin home yesterday at 4:30pm. He was yowling and meowing the entire ride home. Once I got him in my apartment, he did a leisurely circuit inspection of the place. I had set up a safe room but the breeder told me that I didn't need to do that since he would be lonely.

As you can see from the earlier pictures, he has found his perch behind my loveseat facing the street. In fact, he has been using the loveseat as his own personal bed. I tried sitting with him and petting him and he kept meowing until I got up. Yup, I learned my lesson. Yesterday he was initially pretty upset and most of his inspection was looking for his family. I felt a bizarre sense of pride when he chowed down on the food I bought him. So, I spent all this money on toys for him, jingle balls, catnip etc and what did he find the most fascinating thing to play with? A water bottle cap. If I tried to sit in another room, he would frantically meow until I called, "I'm here!' and he'd poke his head out from the next room and join me. He also has this bizarre habit of barreling the entire length of my apartment back and forth. I think he's enjoying the slipping on my hardwood floors.

Anxiously overseeing the first kitten of my own, wiped me out so I wound up heading to bed early. He joined me and was initially very meowy. He didn't like my comforter, he likes the very edge almost falling off so if I take a deep breath, he pitches off. At one point he tried sleep between my legs but he started playing with my feet so I put an end to that. All I know is that he was sleeping somewhere on the bed when I fell asleep.

I was woken up this morning at 5:30AM by him jumping on the bed with a yelp then followed by constant meowing. I tried to reason with him but, "Mommy's tired." didn't register. So, I wound up feeding him and tried to go back to sleep on the couch. He slept in the crook of my knees and after an hour he jumped on my pillow and meowed in my face. He is definitely a good alarm clock! We had the vet appointment this morning and he took his distemper shot like a pro. The shot has made him very sleepy all day and he winds up sleeping in weird places and positions. I'm online right now because he's sacked out in an armchair. He hates when I'm online (because God forbid that I pay attention to something other than him).

Today, probably due to the shot sleepiness, he has definitely been less meowy. So, I think he's settling fairly well. I can be in another room without him freaking out.

He's Home!

Le Weekend

Okay kids, remember a second application of sun lotion after the first dip in the ocean. Here are some examples of what can happen if you don't do that second application.

The Daily Plate Rocks My World

I'd like to rave about why this online tool is amazing. I started using the Daily Plate in mid-July after I quit Weight Watchers. I knew I would be one of those 400lb immobile people if I didn't keep track of what I eat. Hell, I've been tracking my food intake daily for 6 years! This is much cooler than tattered steno pads or weight watchers BS eTools. The Daily Plate has a HUGE database of foods so you don't have to guess and fudge (like WW). Also, it is FREE!

I lost 5lbs my first week and I bumped up a bit and have basically plateaued. So, I decided to use the Daily Plate's tool for charting daily intake against recommended intake. This is what I got:

High fat = I'm regularly above the recommended intake and my worst day I was 60grams over!
Low cholesterol = I'm proud of this. At my lowest day, I was 100 grams under.
Average sodium = My intake hovers around the recommended sometimes below 600, sometimes above 491
Average carbs = hovering again. The range is -140 to +106
High Sugar = this chart confused me because there's no recommended intake. Get it? We're not supposed to eat sugar. I'm completely fucked on this. One day I had 186 grams of sugar!
Low fiber = My lowest day was 20 grams under. This is no surprise to me because I'm really bad about fruits and veggies.
Perfect protein = This completely confused me because I haven't been eating enough protein but I have been averaging the recommended 50g/day.



So, my path forward is pretty clear. I'm doing a good job on 4/7 but my goal should be 7/7! Cutting sugar and fat is clearly needed. Plus, boosting my fiber intake. The thing I'm worried about is that I feel like I lucked out of getting 4/7 at good levels. Now that I'm aware, I might screw up protein or cholesterol. Seriously, how did I get high fat and sugar WITHOUT high cholesterol? I thought those all went hand in hand.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

If this is a familiar mantra from childhood, it will fill you up with the shame/anxiety after ruining a new piece of furniture or carpet. I have embraced the fact that I am slowly turning into my mother so it came as no surprise to me when this phrase popped into my head today.

Since I work for buyers, I place order every day and when I was given a familiar order to place today I asked the engineers if they really needed a second device this week. I was informed that the device I ordered earlier was burnt out while being hooked up to the prototype. I shook my head and thought to myself, "This is why we can't have nice things." Sigh... boy engineers...

Harry Potter+ Bush Bashing = Comedy Gold

Bizarre Dreams

Last night my dreams were so weird, I didn't forget them.

Part I
Somehow I opened a boarding school for kids. The mission is to take the kids from mothers who wanted to abort (WTF I'm pro-choice). It was very Jo Baer and Little Men for the most part but there were some bad guys who ripped apart the school looking for something.

Part II
I was warming up at my Tae Kwon Do school when afterwards Kick Ass teacher asked me to find some kind of lucky charm/angel figurine in a collection. I looked through a bunch but I was able to weed several out since their names were written in Hebrew. Finally, I found a nesting doll and that was what I was supposed to find. Inside there was this thin comb/q-tip. Then a bunch of kids were testing for their belts and the room was full of parents. I was laying on my stomach watching the test. Kick Ass teacher started tickling my feet with the comb/q-tip.

Very weird night.

Fall 2007 TV Guide

If you're getting geared up for the fall, like me, here's a guide to the new TV season. So far for me, it looks like

Sunday
Maybe The Simpsons and Family Guy

Monday
NBC owns me with Heroes and Journeyman

Tuesday
New Amsterdam and Law & Order SVU

Wednesday
The Bastards of programming strike! I wanted to check out Private Practice but it's opposite Bionic Woman. I'll probably opt for Bionic and check out Private Practice online.

Thursday
4 shows I want to watch in one hour. Help!

Friday
Nothing. Gee, if the programming God could bump Scrubs or Supernatural to this night I would be a very happy camper.

Also want to check out that mid-season show with Parker Posey and Lauren Amrbose, The Return of Jezebel James"

Making My Tuesday Morning

Man, I needed this laugh! I'm getting a sneaking suspicion that I took my car to a shady body shop. What should have been a 5 day job, is now stretching into a 14 day job. Their excuse last week was they needed my insurance agency to give them more money. This week the excuse is the parts are delayed in delivery. The rental car will cost $400 (I really hope liability is determined ASAP).

Marketing Venting

Whoever thought up this dancing alien ad campaign, should be sodomized by a stop sign. The ad drives me nuts! How does an alien connect to mortgage rates? Who programmed the dance moves? It is awful!

Kitten Shopping Spree

This is going to be the most spoiled kitten ever. I simply can't not buy him toys!




I liked the combo of scratching post and perch. I hope Rasputin likes it too!

Since Ras is a Mainecoon, he's going to be pretty big. So I got this shelter/carrier.

I'll probably take the top off when he gets big. But I'm a fan of covered litter boxes.

I zoomed through this book in one day. So, I have a safe room planned out and I know exactly what I'll be doing for his first 24 hours home. In addition to the above, I picked up a million toys and a couple mats/pads this weekend.

Blue States Shit Out of Luck AGAIN

First it was budget cuts for building up the levees in New Orleans and now it's no money to fix bridges. How many American lives will it take to get this corrupt Administration out?

1000 = Katrina
10 = Minnesota bridge (as of 8/3)
3659 = Iraq
-------
4669 deaths

I'm tempted to add 9/11 casualties (2819). Aren't you happy there's no gay marriage?

MetLife Definitely Needs New Recruiters

After getting spammed by them non-stop, I decided to fight back. Asking them to stop contacting me and pointing out the mis-spellings in their emails. This is the response I got:

Well Anna, thanks for bringing that to my attention. I tend to type quickly and just run a spell check. It doesn't really pick up those mistakes, you know...when you missuse a word. Anyhow, it is a shocker that you are seeking employment. I mean, loosely insulting a potential employer has to have every business just chomping at the bit to hire you. What a fabulous first impression. Again, thanks for the English lesson.

Classic, huh?

Welcome to the Dramadome

Since I have a looming lay-off coming in December, I've been in a morbid mood at work. Last night I came up with the idea of cleaning out my cubicle to head off the inevitable departure. Yeah, I don't want to be a cliche walking out of the office with a box of my cubicle decorations.

So, today I packed everything up and schlepped it out to my car. The receptionist was really alarmed so I explained the above to her. Adding to my morbid mood, I have been asked to stop doing the 1 piece of work I had been assigned for a daily meeting, taking minutes. So, I've asked my boss if I can stop going to the meetings completely because it's a waste of time for me to attend a meeting with nothing for me to do when I could be doing work. I really can't wait to get a new job!

Crazy Kicking Ass

Today is turning out much better than yesterday. Yesterday sucked because I accidentally turned off my alarm, so I came in late and I had to work on a dumbass project that should never have been given to me. I started the project before my vacation on the part that made sense for me to do, create a PO. When I came back, I found out nothing further had been done so I got saddled with ordering a waste dumpster for some other company. Fun!

After work yesterday I went to Tae Kwon Do class and that made everything so much better. There is nothing like sweating and punching out annoyance! So, there's a married TKD instructor who I think is really cool. I have a total crush on him (I know married but it's all in my head). He obviously knows his stuff and when he teaches class, you get a good work-out and definitely learn something. He also has a very good sense of humor too. Basically, I don't feel like a flailing tub of lard in his classes, which is totally thanks to his teaching style, and I appreciate that. He is Kick Ass teacher.

Last night, we had another instructor teaching but Kick Ass teacher was around offering tips and encouragement throughout class. He told me that he liked my hair! I wound up pairing with a newbie white belt for some of our exercises. She was having so much trouble with her kicks, she was taken into the next room for some one on one instruction. So, I was partnerless until Kick Ass teacher took me as a partner. I was pretty darn happy with that situation. Here's the caveat, if I know that he's paying attention to me, I always fuck up. "Nice footwork, Anna" which leads me to fall on my ass. You know?

Kick Ass teacher partnered up with me while we were working on kick combos. It was a pretty straight-forward and quick exercise. Then, we got out the punching pads. Before the exercise was explained, I was faux throwing reverse punches. Kick Ass teacher told me I was doing it perfectly right off the bat! I guess punching is instinctual for me, huh? The exercise was two left punches and one right jab over and over then ending with punching out. The punch out seemed to last forever and I started flagging a bit so Kick Ass teacher said, "Don't tire out, don't tire out." which helped me find a second wind. Then he said, "Nice and strong!" and I gasped back, "Yeah, that's what you get when you say I'm tiring out." Hee! When it was his turn for punches, he tired out and I didn't say anything just caught his eye and gave him a bemused/understanding look. By the end of the night, I was so sexy; maroon face and dripping with sweat. Today, my shoulders are killing.