When Ear Worms Attack

I am working away, minding my own business when I hear a quiet, high-pitched "La" from the corner.

Instantly my mind starts singing Crocodile Rock by Elton John.

One note.  That's all it takes.  This is so pathetic.

I remember when rock was young.
Me and Suzy had so much fun.
Something, something, something.
Holding hands and skipping something.
But the biggest fun I ever had
Was doing the something

Laaaaaa.  Laalalalala.  Lallalala.  Lalalalala.

This is going to drive me crazy all day.  You know it.  Thanks a lot, Co-Worker Beau and Elton John.  Thanks!

How to drive me insane (and yes, I know it should be Today's Geek News and that's another thing that drives me nuts!)

_____________________________________________
From:   Co-Worker Eric
Sent:   Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:02 AM
To:     Co-Worker Annette; DM;
Subject:        Todays geek-news

"w00t" crowned word of year by U.S. dictionary
By Jason Szep
BOSTON (Reuters) - "w00t," an expression of joy coined by online gamers, was crowned word of the year on Tuesday by the publisher of a leading U.S. dictionary.

Massachusetts-based Merriam-Webster Inc. said "w00t" -- typically spelled with two zeros -- reflects a new direction in the American language led by a generation raised on video games and cell phone text-messaging.

It's like saying "yay," the dictionary said.
"It could be after a triumph or for no reason at all," Merriam-Webster said.
Visitors to Merriam-Webster's Web site were invited to vote for one of 20 words and phrases culled from the most frequently looked-up words on the site and submitted by readers.

Runner-up was "facebook" as a new verb meaning to add someone to a list of friends on the Web site Facebook.com or to search for people on the social networking site.

Merriam-Webster President John Morse said "w00t" reflected the growing use of numeric keyboards to type words.
"People look for self-evident numeral-letter substitutions: 0 for O; 3 for E; 7 for T; and 4 for A," he said. "This is simply a different and more efficient way of representing the alphabetical character."

One Web site, www.thinkgeek.com, already sells T-shirts with the word "w00t" printed on the front.
"w00t belongs to gamers the world over. It seems to have been derived from the obsolete 'whoot' which essentially is another way to say 'hoot' which itself is a shout or derisive laugh," Think Geek said on its Web site.

"But others maintain that w00t is the sound several players make while jumping like bunnies in Quake III," it added, referring to a popular video game.

Online gamers often replace numbers and symbols with letters to form what Merriam-Webster calls an "esoteric computer hacker language" known as "l33t speak." This translates into "leet", which is short for "elite".

A separate survey of words used in the media and on the Internet by California-based Global Language Monitor produced a different set of winners on Tuesday. "Hybrid" took top honors as word of the year with "climate change" the top phrase.

Global Language Monitor, which uses an algorithm to track words and phrases in the media and on the Internet, said "hybrid" had broad connotations of "all things green from biodiesel to wearing clothes made of soy to global warming."

Runner-up was "surge," based on the "surge" of 30,000 extra U.S. troops deployed to Iraq since mid-June, followed by the word "Bluetooth," a technology used to connect electronic devices via radio waves.

"The English language is becoming more and more a globalized language every year," said Global Language Monitor president Paul Payack, noting that this year's list included words also culled from India, Singapore, China and Australia.

(Additional reporting by Arthur Spiegelman in Los Angeles, editing by Eric)

_____________________________________________
From:   DM 
Sent:   Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:08 AM
To:     Co-Worker Eric D; Co-Worker Annette;
Subject:        RE: Todays geek-news

ARGH!  I hate w00t!  I hate it!  Why would you ever want to replace yay?  And do not get me started on the horror of using numbers to spell.  It's wrong and tears my English major soul to little pieces. 

I guess I'm not really a geek.  Sigh.

_____________________________________________
From:   Co-Worker Annette
Sent:   Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:15 AM
To:     DM; Co-Worker Eric D
Subject:        RE: Todays geek-news

Hmmmm… I've never heard of "w00t," and I think it's too hard to type, so why bother?  Heh.  :)   I agree with Dana!

_____________________________________________
From:   Co-Worker Eric
Sent:   Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:27 AM
To:     Co-Worker Annette; DM; Roff, Vivian; Kraus, Beau A.; McLaughlin, Jason R.
Subject:        RE: Todays geek-news

! 7h!nk u r n07 n3rd5

_____________________________________________
From:   DM 
Sent:   Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:28 AM
To:     Co-Worker Eric D; Co-Worker Annette
Subject:        RE: Todays geek-news

You are killing me.  KILLING me!  That gives me a headache just trying to read it.

_____________________________________________
From:   Co-Worker Annette
Sent:   Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:33 AM
To:     DM; Co-Worker Eric D
Subject:        RE: Todays geek-news

I don't get the n07…..

_____________________________________________
From:   DM 
Sent:   Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:41 AM
To:     Co-Worker Annette; Co-Worker Eric D
Subject:        RE: Todays geek-news

Not.  0 is o, 7 is t.  I don't know why that's supposed to be a t but hey, apparently I'm not a nerds.

_____________________________________________
From:   Co-Worker Eric
Sent:   Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:45 AM
To:     DM; Co-Worker Annette
Subject:        RE: Todays geek-news

"Not a nerds" I thought you said you were an english major? Heh.

_____________________________________________
From:   DM 
Sent:   Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:49 AM
To:     Co-Worker Eric D
Subject:        RE: Todays geek-news

I never said I was a good one.

______________________________________________
From:   Co-Worker Eric D 
Sent:   Thursday, December 13, 2007 11:58 AM
To:     Vittum, Dana M.
Subject:        RE: Todays geek-news

Heh.

The fake wedding is off!

Jamie’s no longer my fake fiancé.  He's a Republican which is against the man list.  There's absolutely no way.  Not for all the El Caminos in the world.

No, I'm not overwhelmed at all...

______________________________________________
From: Dana
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 6:03 PM
To: Manager Cheryl, Co-worker Jessica
Subject: Pulled call spreadsheet

You may notice that I've created a folder for the pulled call requests (when stock holders call and complain they were given the wrong information) in Cheryl's folder in the U drive. I am going to finish up with last year's spreadsheet tomorrow and also work on entering the pulled calls from this month on the spreadsheet. And then, a magic fairy will come and give me a way to stop time and I will be able to complete all the emails from the Intranet Inbox AND monitor all of my remaining calls. Yay, magic fairy!

**********************************

Also, I got this email forwarded to me the other day. Am I stunned and shocked that these guys are sitting there looking all proud of themselves because they've managed to put an electrical device in the middle of their pool? Well, yes, I am. BUT I'm more concerned about the grammar.

From: Dana
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 2:12 PM
To: Keem
Subject: RE: Have you ever wondered what idiots looks like?

What I find the most amusing about this is the "what idiots looks like" is incorrect. It should be "what idiots look like."

Have you ever wondered what idiots looks like?

*




*




Well, wonder no more!





*

YES THAT IS A POWER CORD FLOATING ON FLIP FLOPS

Properly chastened now

Okay, okay.  I guess I should have explained better. 

My mom and I have a strange relationship.  No matter what I do, it never seems like it is good enough for her.  It has always seemed like she wanted to change me, thus the mention of the 453 pamphlets.  This is a reoccurring theme between us.  Whenever she went to the doctor, whenever she saw a newspaper article, she made sure to grab it and send it to me. 

Every time we are together, I can see her watching my every move, how much food did I take, had I quit smoking yet…etc.  For the record, my mom isn't that bad of a person.  She's actually quite great and I love her a lot.  But it's hard to erase past feelings and learned behaviors.

I've had a long history of abusing food, most of it stemming from depression and feeling empty.  Food was a comfort to me.  It helped fill me for short periods of time.  This is no longer the case and hasn't been for years.  I do not eat when I'm depressed, I eat when I'm hungry.  I know what my limits are.  I know that Mountain Dew is not a good choice and that's why I've given it up, for the most part.  I have a water jug at my desk that holds 32 ounces.  I also have a mug at home that holds the same amount of water.  I drink water all the time and love it.  I am even starting to embrace the taste of Diet Cherry Coke.  But yes, every once in awhile I want a Mountain Dew. 

I am watching what I am eating, I am keeping track of my blood sugar levels, I am working on getting them to normal.  But every time someone tells me "No, you can't have that" or "That's not good for you," I feel like I'm 13 or 15 or 18 again, listening to my Mom tell me, without actually saying it, that I'm a fat piece of lard that doesn't deserve to live. 

I know that's not what she's saying.  I know that's not what you're saying.  I know that Diabetes is serious, after all I watched my Great Grandmother die from it.  I know that you're only telling me this because you all love me.  And I appreciate that, I really do.  But I hate feeling like this.  It makes me want to regress and start bingeing again.  And that's very hard to come back from once you slip. 

I am not going to completely give up everything that I love.  You need to understand that.  I will have Mountain Dew on occasion (or maybe not since Kari ruined it for me).  I am going to eat the occasional potato or bread or (gasp) chocolate.  I just hope that you can trust me when I tell you that it's not an every day thing.

ENOUGH!

So my mother found out about my being diabetic.  Kari hadn't wanted to tell her because she was afraid of how Mom would react (Mom has a tendency to panic about stuff).  I didn't want to tell her because I knew it would lead to lectures so I was okay with that.

Well, the other night I get a call from Mom.  I say hi and the first thing out of her mouth is "Is there something you need to tell me?"  Uh, no.  We then spent the next ten minutes where she lectured me about how I need to have the gastric bypass (um, that's my choice, mother) and how she was going to send me stuff.

DM:  NO!  Don't send me anything!  That's why I didn't want to tell you!
Mom:  Why not?
DM:  Because you'll send me 453 pamphlets about this! 

Apparently Kari let the cat out of the bag when Mom was telling her they needed to have an intervention for me because of my weight.  I am now planning an intervention for my mother because she is obviously on crack.  Mom immediately panicked and started filling Kari's head with all of these statistics and how I have to be very careful and could lose a leg and blah, blah, blah. 

This has now led Kari to calling me now and asking me what my level was.  And why don't I go back to the doctor because I need to be on insulin?  Because she talked to someone who said something. 

This morning, Keem threatened to call Kari because I was going to have a can of yummy, yummy Mountain Dew.  I called her bluff and called Kari myself.  Big mistake.  Huge.

DM:  I'm going to have a Mountain Dew.
Kari:  Oh?  Why would you choose to do that to yourself?
DM:  Because it is yummy.
Kari:  I think you need to think about your nephew.  How would he feel if you died because you had that Mountain Dew (she may not have been that dramatic but she's really good at the guilt now that she's a mother)?

DM:  Whatever.  I'm drinking it.

I take a sip.  Hmm.  Something seems to be off here.

DM:  Beau?  Do you want my Mountain Dew?  I only took a sip of it.
Beau:  Why?
DM:  Because it doesn't taste right to me.  I blame my sister.
Beau:  Okay. 
DM:  I hope you are happy.  You have made Mountain Dew taste like guilt.
Kari:  I am.  And your nephew will be happy as well.  Now set up an appointment with your doctor.  I'll take the day off and go with you.

DM:  Okay.  And then you can tell her you think I need insulin.
Kari:  No.  You WILL tell her that.

Is it any surprise to you that her nickname when we were growing up was Brat?  Or Bug?  I think I'm going to start calling her that again.

And, for the record, my level's pretty good today.  Don't panic! 

Thank you all for your comments and hugs from my last post, I really appreciate it.  It is nice to know that y’all care (that was for you, Nancy!  Minnesotans do not typically say y’all).

After a brief interlude Monday morning where my sister played a practical joke on me by telling me she was downstairs waiting for me (and causing me to panic) when she was actually at home, Kari, Eric, Josh and I headed off to the funeral.

There was studying of the obituary to determine 1) the name of our cousins (my mother’s side of the family isn’t as close as we used to be, not since my grandmother died) and 2) names of their spouses.  Kari and I would quiz each other. 

Arriving at the church, we were greeted by several of our cousins.  Kari and I perused the pictures of Aunt Rita and Uncle Jerry, the pictures of family and friends.  There was one picture of the two of them with my grandmother that set me off a little (I miss my grandmother a lot).

The mass was very comforting.  I was baptized Catholic but raised Lutheran (Mom was excommunicated, long story) and it always surprises me how similar the services are.  Which it shouldn’t.  After all, Martin Luther was Catholic.  It was nice to hear some of the elements of the service that I remember from my childhood – such as the Lamb of God song (Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us (repeated many times), except I think the Lutheran version is cooler. 

The priest read something that had been written by the family.  He talked about how my aunt and uncle met.  Apparently they had been on a double date and didn’t like the people they were with (it might have been a blind date, not sure) so they switched and the rest was history.  They were together for 54 years. 

He also mentioned how she used to make fudge for Uncle Jerry and that started me crying again.  Aunt Rita made the only fudge I ever liked and every Christmas I would greet her with “Hi.  How are you?  Did you make fudge?”  And she would laugh and tell me yes.  She had a beautiful laugh and I always thought she was so glamorous. 

We sat with my Uncle Kenny and Aunt Mary at the luncheon after and caught up.  It was a lot of fun.  We talked about a family dish that I haven’t had in years, called Slacie Klasse (which translates to Fancy Potatoes, I guess).  Uncle Kenny has the recipe and is going to email it to me.*  There’s a 28 potato version and a 54 potato version.  Kari and I are hoping to be able to talk Keem into making it!  It’s not a visually appetizing dish, it’s sort of grayish but it is yummy!  It also has the added benefit of sitting in your stomach for hours after you eat so you don’t want to eat anything else (helpful on Thanksgiving.  I am a huge fan of turkey).

*Which was when I had to explain where the name greenduckiesgirl came from.  I always start the story out about seeing the box of rubber ducks and being happy because then I can sing the rubber duckie song to myself.  That’s when Aunt Mary said “I do as well!”  Which was completely awesome.  I’m not sure if she meant she loves rubber ducks or sings the song but I don’t care. 

Josh was adorable as usual.  He spent some time looking at his Lego catalog.  Apparently he carries it with him everywhere and will pull it out to decide what set he wants next. 

DM:  Well, maybe I’ll have to set up a Josh Lego fund.
Josh:  I like that idea.

As we were headed to the door so I could go back to work, Josh asked if we were leaving.  Kari told him yes. 

Josh:  But I haven’t seen Jesus yet!

Kari brought him over to a huge crucifix so Josh could say hi.

I love that kid.  He is a constant source of amusement and awe.

So to sum it up, I’m doing much better than Friday.  I hope you all had a good weekend.

Yesterday was not a good day

To put it simply, yesterday I ended up in a co-worker's office crying. A lot of things have led up to this:

• I haven't been sleeping well. I'm still a little stuffed up and that has an effect on how well the CPAP works. It takes longer for me to fall asleep and I keep waking up because I can hear myself breathing and it's very annoying.
• We've been very busy at work. Thursday Jessica and I had to get ready for a conference call with another group and I got really behind because I was distracted by my co-workers. I felt like I had let Jessica down because she had to work harder to help me catch up. Fortunately she had made a mistake about the time of the meeting so we had another hour.
• During the conference call, it became apparent that the other group seems to think that their job is just sooo difficult and that Jessica and I have nothing else to do but answer every single question they have instead of them reading the handouts that have been prepared for them. Believe me, you haven't lived until you hear someone say "Well, how am I possibly supposed to know that?" You respond with "Did you check this?" And their response is "Why can't you just tell me?" Unfortunately you can't shout at them "Do your frickin' job, you moron!" People frown on that.
• Meanwhile, during the time we were getting ready for the conference call, several catastrophes took place and messages were sent to our Intranet site (a resource library for reps, part of my job is updating it). When the meeting was over, I pulled up my email to find a total of 15 messages in the library inbox & 25 in my own inbox. Yay!
• Since I'd been sick since Christmas, I hadn't been able to spend much time with Beth so I really looked forward to seeing her Thursday night. Going to karaoke with her and seeing James & Liz was a lot of fun but I had the worst time falling asleep when I got home. I stared at the clock until about 4:00, woke up at 5:00, 6:00 and 7:00. Keem woke me up at 7:45. I was so tempted to call in sick but told myself no!
• Cheryl asked me to go to a meeting at 1 PM because of a crisis that took place this week with one of our new companies. I hate meetings. I get why they are important but honestly, if I could, I'd rather stay at my desk and do my work without having to talk to anyone. Plus, I was so tired at this point, I knew staying awake in the meeting would be difficult.
• Kari had left me a message Thursday night and I didn't get it until it was too late to call her. So I called her Friday and left me a message. She called me back and told me my Aunt Rita had passed away, Uncle Jerry's wife and my godmother.
• I flagged Cheryl down and told her. She asked me if I wanted to go home and I said no, I'd be fine.

Heh. Yeah, that was a mistake.

About 15 minutes later, I was wandering around, trying to find Cheryl and trying to keep the tears from pouring down my face. I had heard she was in the other Jessica's office (first there were the two Cheryls, now I have two Jessicas. Sigh. This Jessica is a manager, the other Jessica also works in the Quality department with me). She wasn't. Manager Jessica is one of the most beautiful women I know - not just because she's gorgeous but because she's so sweet and funny. She right away knew something was wrong (possibly the heavy sigh I let out when I slumped into the chair next to her desk gave it away, I don't know).

With a sob, everything came pouring out.

DM: My aunt died and I'm really tired and I haven't been sleeping and I'm so busy and kind of overwhelmed and I know it'll get better but it just doesn't seem to be stopping with the busy and some of my co-workers are so loud and I can't concentrate and...

Her face was so sympathetic.

DM: And I found a dead squirrel in the parking ramp.
MJ: What?
DM: He was just lying there. His tail was over his head and it made me sad. I like squirrels.

Jessica bursts into laughter. It makes me smile.

DM: I asked Keem if he would frolic again in Heaven. She said yes.
MJ: Are you going to be okay?
DM: Yeah. I think I just need to go home and get some sleep.

I found Cheryl and let her know I had to go home. She was very understanding. I do not think I told her about the squirrel. I might have (I had this awesome post started about how tragedy struck the parking ramp and now I've ruined it but these things happen).

Anyway, I'm doing better now. I did get a little sleep yesterday. The funeral is Monday morning where we'll be saying goodbye to both Uncle Jerry and Aunt Rita (he wanted to be cremated and his ashes will be buried with her (which is sweetly romantic to me)).

Woe is Me and Other Tales of Dana

Title Story

So the powers that be at NABABNA have decided that you cannot blog at work. I’m not sure why. Probably something to do with the fact that they hate me (well me and everyone else who has a blog).

Now, here’s the thing. I’ve known this for awhile. But I am a rebel, baby, and no one can keep me down. Even though Keem kept threatening to call the Ethics Line on me, I kept posting away at work because, hello, really, really fast Internet access and a keyboard that can keep up with the speed that I type (we now have broadband so I can’t use the first excuse anymore but Keem’s keyboard sticks and doesn’t seem to believe that there should be spaces between words or that keyboard is not spelled kybord).

Anyway, one of my co-workers overheard me talking to Co-Worker Jessica last week and panicked on my behalf.

CWJ: You don’t start until 9:30, right? Why are you here so early?
DM: Right. But Keem’s been putting in overtime. I’m going to start now though, because I don’t have any more posts to read today.

Unnamed Co-Worker (UCW): Posting? Are you blogging? You could get into a lot of trouble for that. I got written up.
DM: Oh. Well, then I guess I’ll stop. Dagnabit.

I’m not sure how I’m going to fill my break and lunch time at work now. I am all caught up on transcripts. I stopped making bookmarks because I got promoted and didn’t have time in between calls anymore. I suppose I could make them at lunch time because I can’t find half of the ones I made (which, of course, is the whole reason why I made them in the first place, because I lose bookmarks constantly, usually by leaving them in whatever book I was reading. I have found some favorite bookmarks three years later when I decide to reread a book). There are a few sites that I can still read at work because I just pull them up in www.bloglines.com because of lovely, lovely RSS feeds. I don’t know what I would do without my daily Dilbert fix.

Anyway, I will make the rounds to your blogs on weekends now. I have not forgotten about you. I still adore you all but am forced to comply with the rules now. Stupid rules.

Oh! And to make everything even more fun for me, when we get really busy, I have to take phone calls. And not Help Desk calls which I enjoy (except the screaming ones. I am not fond of being screamed at) but regular calls. Regular “What’s my cost basis” calls. Not that I’ve had a cost basis call yet but I know they are out there. Lurking. Possibly in the freezer with the vampires.

Preparing himself for a lifetime of working in Corporate America

I was talking to my sister the other day and could hear Josh in the background talking about cookies.

Kari: My son’s quite the entrepreneur.
DM: What’s he doing?
Kari: Baking cookies. He’s told me that he’s going to open up a cookie shop and have a website at www dot com.*
DM: That’s cute. Let me talk to him.
Josh: Hello?
DM: Hi, Josh. Are you baking cookies?
Josh: Yes. I am making lots and lots of cookies.
DM: That’s good. Are they yummy?
Josh: Yes. Mumble, mumble, toddler speak, something or another.
DM: Okay.
Kari: Did you hear what he said?
DM: No.
Kari: He said “I work in a box.”
DM: What?

I was worried that Josh had turned into the Ralph Wiggum of his generation (“I sleep in a drawer.”) but apparently, he commandeered the box my Christmas present came in (a humidifier! Lucky me! Although I actually got $50 in gift certificates to Barnes and Noble from them as well so I am not complaining about the practical gift. Well, not much) and turned it into his bakery. Have I mentioned how brilliant and imaginative the nephew is? I’m sure I have before but in case I haven’t; my nephew is brilliant AND imaginative.

*The brilliant part is that he is four and already understands that the Internet requires the www, dot and the com. Just not the filler part. How many four year olds know that? He’s brilliant for many other reasons but what kind of proud aunt would I be if I didn’t brag about my nephew?

Oh and Kari told me what she wanted for Christmas. Legos. My sister has turned into a Lego junkie. I realize she is playing with Josh but who asks for Legos when they are over the age of 8? Or perhaps I am not aware of the power of Legos. Hmm. Perhaps I should research this by purchasing a small Lego set of my own. Although Lord knows I do not need anymore stuff at my desk.

Keem, I was dying but now I am not

Anyway, that’s what’s been going on. Nothing much. I’ve been sick forever and am finally (knock fake wood) on the road to recovery. I went to the Minute Clinic last week (which actually, as Keem and I discovered, is more like the 60 Minutes Clinic because I ended up waiting forever). Turns out I didn’t have strep but instead had sinusitis (which I cannot pronounce and keep referring to cyanideitis or syninenineitis). This is, apparently, when all the mucus in the world decides to take up residence in your head and then drip ever so slowly down your throat which causes the sore throat. So, after lots and lots of drugs, the mucus left my head and took up residence in my lungs for a few days. Yay me! I love mucus!

But the sore throat is finally gone, I can breathe again (more the most part) and night is not a exercise in futility with trying to use my CPAP.

How are all of you?

And no, I didn't break the rules, this post was my first email post! Isn't technology wonderful? Now if I could only comment by email…which, yes, I know I could send you all emails but I like to actually comment on posts themselves. I figure since I'm a comment junkie you probably all are as well.

The Future is Now

2008 is here. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It just seems so odd. Back in 1985, when I was graduating from high school, I vaguely remember thinking that we'd have rocket cars by now. There are no rocket cars. But, hey, even if there were, it's not like I could drive one.

Beth and I went to a party James threw. It was...interesting. By interesting I mean that Beth and I stood around and hoped someone would talk to us. It is somewhat disheartening to realize that the "cool kids" you are nervous around are actually a bunch of comic book geeks. I managed to exchange entire sentences with Tony, the coolest of the cool kids, by mentioning the Flash logo on his shirt. I mentioned meeting the perfect guy for me until he dissed Captain Kirk. Tony then started talking about Boston Legal which I have never seen, even though I do love William Shatner. After he wandered off, I turned to Beth.

DM: I talked to Tony.
B: You did. I'm impressed.
DM: At least I didn't tell him I enjoyed William Shatner's singing.
B: Yes. I'm proud of you for that.

We left at about 12:25, after watching Dick Clark count down the New Year. Of all people to share this with, did he have to choose Ryan Seacrest? The man annoys me. I think it's his hair. Or maybe the fact that he's a no-talent smarmy jerk. One or the other.

Beth and I headed back to my place and spent the next two hours playing "Ask the iPod."
Apparently I am going to get drunk sometime in August and have sex with Stubes.* Multiple times. Um, what? I don't think so, iPod! Beth has been informed that I am NOT to be drinking during August through November. Although it could be worse. It could be Scottish Craig.

*Stubes is not that annoying, he's actually a nice guy when he's not trying to be funny but I am not attracted to him at all.

As for my health, well, I'm pretty sure I have strep. I woke up today and my throat hurts more than it has the entire time I've been sick. If I blow my nose, it hurts. If I yawn, it hurts. So, as you can imagine, trying to eat or drink anything has been Super Fun! I'll be going to the Minute Clinic tonight. I'd go see Deb but I really don't feel like spending a $30 co-pay on a throat culture.

Oh, well, off to work. Yay! The excitement never ceases!