"The Princess" vs "Just One of the Guys"

Lately, some of my female co-workers and I have been having a debate on how I am treated by the male co-workers in my office. The topic came up as they have been inquiring on how I am adjusting to my new office space. For those of you don't know I moved into a new office space back in February. Our sales and engineering depts had outgrown our current location thus the search for additional space began. We were lucky to find some office space in one of the neighboring buildings and we are renting out their second floor. I now share this new office space with 7 other men! So as you can imagine at times it is not the most pleasant of environments. Don't get me wrong, I like each them on an individual basis but collectively as a group they can be a bit much. And yes, we all have to share the same bathroom! Let me just say, that somedays I will make a special trip to the main building just to use the Women's restroom!

Anyway one of the lady's indicated that she would love to work in an office with just men because they would treat her like a princess and she assumed that was the same case with me. To which I replied. " Are kidding me, they don't treat me like a princess. In fact it is just the opposite. They treat me like I am "just one of the guys." Meaning that I am subject to their colorful language, off handed comments and sometimes crude sense of humor. Oh no there is definitely nothing "princess" about it.


I don't believe that any of the guys do intentionally (except for not putting down the toilet seat)and I don't feel uncomfortable in the environment. In fact most days I just let it roll. There are some advantages. When you work in an office full of women there tends to be more gossip and back-stabbing which I don't care for. You also have to be careful about who spend more time with because eventually someone's feelings will get hurt. I don't ever have to worry about that with the guys and that is refreshing! So in the end it I don't mind that I'm not the princess of the office and that they feel comfortable treating me as "one of the guys"! I also know that deep down they respect me for me and not just because I am a woman!

I.T.

So this week once again I have been living in I.T. Hell. You know most companies have an actual in-house IT dept that is usually managed by a reasonably intelligent person and will respond immediately to IT problems. Other companies are actually blessed not only to have an actual IT dept but also have additional people or a person on site who is intelligent enough to handle the lesser problems (thanks Matthew and Richard). Well not at my company, we have neither despite what one individual believes. Thus when we have IT problems we have to either wait for the next contracted visit, which currently takes place every two weeks, or we open a service ticket with the contract third-party (who tends to take their sweet time to answer the problem). Not to mention trying to get the service ticket open in the first place is about as bad as trying to pass the security check process get into to see the White House. Most times when I have a problem I have my beloved husband fix it!


So here it goes, if you will remember my work computers both crashed a couple months ago and had to be replaced with new ones. (Yeah me!) So a couple of weeks ago during our last contracted visit I asked the IT rep "shouldn't my laptop have anti-virus software?". To which he replied: "Yes, I loaded Symantec Anti-Virus". So when I got home that night I confirmed once again that there wasn't any such software on my computer. I then sent an email to the appropriate individual at my office stating that I needed to have anti-virus added to my laptop. The response was something like this..."Do you need that right now? It is really expensive to open a service ticket when we can wait two weeks for our next scheduled visit." Now I had to sit there a minute and think. (Hmmm, this is a company computer that is used on a daily basis and is frequently on the Internet. Can we really afford to wait to add anti-virus software?) So I replied, "Well you decide what you believe is appropriate at this time. It just needs to be done." Yep you guess it, I had to wait 2 weeks.


So fast forward to this week, Tuesdays are the days that we are scheduled to be visited by our IT rep. He usually arrives sometime around 9:00 a.m. and is gone by 12:00 noon. Well the morning flew by and I had realized that he had not made it to our office yet. So I called the individual in charge of our IT rep's action list to confirm that he was still coming. The response went something like this: "Yes your task is on the list however he won't get to it today and will try to call you and fix it remotely." As you can imagine I wasn't very thrilled with this idea especially since I had already waited for two weeks and was told it was too expensive to open a service ticket. I began to wonder, how come its okay for him to work on it remotely today but not two weeks ago! Mind you, when we were having this discussion it was 11:15 a.m. and the reason I was asking is that I was going to be away from my office and thus my laptop, to meet with a visiting customer. I got a little miffed and I guess it showed in my response, "What do you mean he won't take care of it today? This has gone on for too long as it is. It is not a smart thing to have a company computer in use without anti-virus software on it. This is for our company's protection. It would be my recommendation, that before he leaves in the next 45 minutes he finishes this task!" Well I guess this worked because the software was installed before he left.


Then came the next problem. I tried to log into it before leaving for the day and couldn't. The system didn't recognize my user name and password or the domain I was trying to log into wasn't available. WHAT THE HECK.... I tried several times before calling to the main office to complain. Which in the end didn't help because the person in charge of the IT issues had left for the day and the backup no longer had access to call the IT rep or open a service ticket. Again WHAT THE HECK... I eventually gave up, turn the computer off and went home. Magically (and a bit on the frustrating side) I didn't have any further problems with the laptop once I got home. I booted the darn thing up and it worked just fine. Go figure! As my co-worker said, "It was your computer's special time of the month!"

I guess what I'm trying to say is that IT issues are real and sometimes can be expensive. I just wish that I could get them resolved in a timely manner and without the hassle that it has become today!

It's Cup Time, as in Stanley!!!

Yes folks, its the hockey playoffs and my beloved Avalanche have made it to the first round. It is the time of the year when the best of the best begin the hunt for the elusive Stanley Cup! I have been Avalanche fan since they first arrived in Colorado in 1995. In the team's first 10 years in Colorado they went to the playoffs 10 times, won the division title 8 times and won the Stanley Cup twice. I would say that is a very impression feat for an expansion team. By the way their first Stanley Cup win came their first year in Denver. I will have to admit though I have a bit frustrated with the team since 2001 and especially in last couple of years as they have been in a bit of a slump. From losing key players either by free agency or retirement including the best goalie in the NHL (sorry Giguere you don't have anything on Patrick Roy) or the 2004-2005 lockout season the Avs have simply not been the same team! However that all changed in February when we re-acquired Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote and turned our season around. Go Avs! In honor of the playoffs I decided to share some interesting facts about the Cup:

The Stanley Cup awarded annually to the NHL champion, is the most coveted club championship trophy in the world. Commonly referred to as The Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug. Unlike the trophies awarded by the other major professional sports, a new Stanley Cup is not made each year; Cup winners keep it until a new champion is crowned. The original bowl was made of silver and has a dimension of 7.28 inches in height and 11.42 inches in diameter. The current Stanley Cup is made of silver and nickel alloy. It has a height of 35.25 inches and weighs 34.5 lb. The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. The original cup is now housed in the NHL Hall of Fame and a new cup has been made in it place. The players do not touch the cup until it has been presented to the winning team. The cup is first presented to the team captain who then hoists the trophy above their heads and take a lap around the ice rink. The cup is then passed to each player on the team who takes a turn around the rink. (facts, comments, etc courtesy of Wikipedia)

This year was also the first year I got to see the Avalanche live and in person. My Valentine's gift from Matthew this year was to see a Avalanche vs. Ducks game. It was awesome. Our seats were in a great location and there were a lot of Avs fans in the stadium. We had a lot of fun! Check out my slide show above! Good luck to the Avs in their quest for the Cup, let's bring it home!!!

I told you so...

I really the love the I told you so moment! You know that instance when you have been proven correct with regards to a statement, belief or feeling. I had one of those today! I have to admit it wasn't too difficult to gloat to everyone else about that moment because I couldn't really gloat to the person that created the incident. In this case the "Chicken Little" incident from yesterday! So as I was indulging in my "I told you so" moment I was reminded of how a fellow co-worker conducts himself in difficult situations. See this co-worker isn't just any co-worker he is the son of the owner and happens to sit on our Board of Directors for the company. He has been working with us for about 1.5 years. Each day I am amazed at the graciousness he displays in doing his job.

Over the last several months I have witnessed him in some difficult and frankly not nice situations with a couple of managers at our company. To the point I am simply baffled at their audacity to treat him, at times, as they do. He has shared with me on occasion some of the conversations that have taken place and I simply sit there with my jaw on the floor. How can these managers believe it is okay to treat or speak to the owner's son in such a manner. My co-worker could very easily play "the card" but hasn't ever done that! He works hard to keep the fine line between employee/owner straight. He hasn't crossed it ever. Today I was witness to another situation in which our GM was put out of sorts by a comment that was made by this co-worker. He was so put out that he made a point to pull my co-worker aside after the meeting to posture his title "I'm the General Manager...." At which point, I know that if I had been the one is my co-workers shoes and would have retorted with a comment "yeah well what's my last name" to drive home the point "I am the owner's son". Alas this didn't happen and I admire his strength of character to once again not play "the card".

It sure gives some food for thought on how I can conduct myself when faced with similar difficult situations with the same managers.

Working with Chicken Little

I work with Chicken Little. Do you? You know the one - "The Sky Is Falling" Chicken Little (idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent). Anyway, this particular individual called me today in a panic over a recent email we had received from one of our customers. The email is an action item list that came out of a technical meeting we had with them this week. Yes the list is long and we have very little time to respond but it isn't impossible and definitely not disastrous in any way! Yet this individual insisted that the entire Sales and Engineering teams re-arrange their schedules tomorrow in order to accommodate a meeting to review the said email/checklist. The funny thing is that our main engineer is the one who attended the meeting and I am sure as the sun he is working on it as I am blogging this notion.

I have lost count as to how many times this scenario has occurred and yet we manage to get everything done with plenty of time to spare despite this individual. Go figure!

The Spark and a 2x4

I recently chatted with a good friend of mine who has decided to re-enter the dating scene and came to me with some concerns after her date. Her concerns focused on the issue of "the spark", she was worried about whether or not they were clicking because she didn't feel the spark with him. Now mind you it was a first date and she has only know him for about 6 weeks. However it got me to thinking, how many times have people missed out on something great because they didn't feel "the spark" at the first meeting. So let me expand on this thought for just a moment.


When Matthew and I first met back in college, I would definitely say there were not any sparks happening between us. In fact, if someone had told me that we would get married, I would have laughed in their face. Matthew and I knew about each other and had common friends, but in fact were not friends ourselves. When we became reacquainted a couple of years later through a mutual friend and began to hang out there still weren't sparks. Actually, I would be safe to say that Matthew and I spent about 1 year or longer hanging out as friends with other friends before we had any real sparks fly between us. It was probably another 4 - 5 months before anyone acted on those sparks to change the nature of our friendship. Truth be told it would take a 2 x 4 to make it happen! Most of you know the story as we shared it at our wedding, but for those of you who don't know it or may have forgotten it, here it goes:


Matthew and I both had previous relationships that had ended in disaster or had never materialized because of a lack of interest on the other party. So neither one of us were going to make the first move when the sparks started to fly in our friendship. One night in early December we were having a discussion that broached the subject of letting another person know when you were interested in them. I finally asked the question: "If you aren't going to make the first move and you know she isn't going to make the first move then how are you going to know you're interested in each other?" Matthew's response was. "well I guess my friends are going to have to hit me over the head with a 2x4 and tell me that she's interested in me and I had better do something about it." A couple of weeks later after a weekend trip to go to Matthew's home church in Santa Maria for a dinner theater, I made the decision to let him know that I was definitely interested in something more than just friends. So when we got home from the trip my parting comment to him was, "if you happen to find a 2x4 on your way home tonight, hit yourself over the head!" and then it began!


I am a firm believer that a good marriage is based first on a good relationship as friends and second on love. "Sparks," or passion as some call it, will come and go. These types of feelings will change and grow as the relationship matures. When those feelings aren't there what else do you have to rely on? Friendship! You will want someone that you can just sit and have a conversation with, you will want someone who shares your hobbies and interests. Most of the married couples we know married their best friend. After all when we are much older how much passion can one really have and be able to act on it?


I believe that I gave her some very sound advice with regards to her concerns and reminded her that right now she just need to enjoy the dates! I am very excited for her and what opportunities are ahead for her with dating, and who knows the sparks just might even be there for her?

Icky Tummy

Sorry that it has been awhile since I have blogged, this week has been a rather long one that has had my stomach in an upheaval literally. I am not quite sure if it bad food, stress, or a bug. There is nothing worse for me than to be sick to my stomach. I'll take cramps, back ache or cold any day of the week over being sick to my stomach!! There is something so vulnerable about being sick! Maybe that is what I hate about it. I don't get sick like this often. In fact that last time I remember being this sick was on my honeymoon! I firmly believe that was the combination of the stress from the wedding, my work, and eating/drinking in Mexico. I was sick the first two days of my honeymoon, which wasn't the best thing to have happen. It was the first time I had been really sick with Matthew around. What a trooper! He did really well taking care of me. Although I am sure it wasn't very pleasant!

Once again my husband stepped up to the plate, at least once the banging on the wall woke him up to help me early Friday morning. If any one knows anything about Matthew, he has a pretty quick gag reflex when it comes to that kind of thing! In fact he has told me over and over again the really nasty poopy diapers will be my job because he couldn't handle it. (Hmmm, I guess my quick gag reflex doesn't matter!!) Anyway I spent most the day Friday in bed once my stomach settled some only to have the whole evening Saturday spent in the bathroom again. I think I got about 3 - 5 hours of sleep in total last night!

So much for crashing a wedding reception which was our plan on Saturday! Just kidding!

Yardwork is...

You fill in the blank. I know for me the answer is tedious! Yardwork is much like housework for me. I hate it, will put it off until the last minute and if I were rich, I would have someone else do it. The work is just dirty, smelly from all the cleaners, and back breaking! I can think of a lot better ways to spend my time! Although right now, Matthew and I don't have much of a yard so I won't complain! In fact we have some ideas of what we would eventually like to do with our yard (it is about the size of a postage stamp) however then I think of all the maintenance that is required to keep it looking nice...but that's another story.

Yesterday, Matthew and I volunteered, (yes I did say volunteer) to help some friends get their backyard cleaned up from the winter. That meant the cleaning of all patio furniture, BBQs, putting up new flowers, etc. You get the idea, it was spring cleaning outdoor style! The main reason for major cleaning is due to the fact that they will be hosting a wedding in their backyard next weekend! So shortly after lunch, Matt and I made our way to their house and began on the marathon of cleaning! At least that is what it seemed like, or it maybe it was the perfectly orchestrated dance of bumble bees! We bounced for once activity to the next in what appeared to be chaos but our fearless leader knew better! We finished the majority of his list of chores by 5:30 p.m. with only a few items that were left for his second in command, (who was mysteriously absent yesterday!) We were convinced she had run away and wasn't coming back until after the wedding and all the family had left!

We ended our evening with a nice meal of pasta and a pretty decent bottle of red wine and then retired to the living room to watch "Sweeney Todd". Interesting movie...loved Johnny Depp and was impressed with his ability to sing! I will say that the movie was very different that I thought it was going to be. For some reason I had in my head that the main character was dead and had come back to exact his revenge as a ghost (which would account for the strange coloring)...actually come to think of, that might have been a better plot! Anyway we learned something new...our friend is very squeamish when it comes to blood and gore. Who knew! It was actually kind of funny and my husband will tease him endlessly about it from now one! All in all the day wasn't too bad and we did have fun! We hope the wedding goes well and the visiting family members appreciate all the hard work to make it happen!

Check out my Slide Show!

Prince Charming

Recently when I was home to visit my family, I had the opportunity to interact with their two cats. Interact may not be the appropriate word, more like, tolerate at least on their behalf. Their one cat, Celia, is more of a scaredy cat than my dear Cinnamon. She runs for the back room if she even sees a flash of the person at the door and definitely if the door bell rings! Most times she manages to hide under/behind the pillows on my parent’s bed and sometime even manages to wiggle her little butt underneath the cedar chest. Their other cat, Homer, aka “Mr. Hissy-Face” is another story all together. Sometimes it is hard to believe they are siblings. Each and every time that Matthew and I have come to visit my parents, Homer hisses at us for the first 3 – 4 days of the visit. However by the end of the visit he is just fine. What is actually funny is that my parents have claimed he doesn’t do this with any other quest that comes to visit them. He is always sociable and even sits in their laps, inspects their bags/purses and in fact is a real charmer. Since this was a phenomenon that we had yet to witness I didn’t quite believe them.

Well this last week I witnessed first-hand this other Homer aka “Prince Charming”. (On two separate occasions mind you!) Both cases were ladies who came to visit my mom and had been to our home on a number of occasions. Within 5 minutes of their arrival, Homer was prancing around the living room and moving between them they were old friends coming to see him. I couldn’t get over the reception. He even laid down on the carpet at their feet begging for attention! (He has never done this with me!) It was the weirdest and funniest thing to watch. I mean here was this cat that at times is so hostile to me and Matt, now in his Prince Charming mode. The only other time I have seen him in this mode is when he has gotten in trouble and he is trying to make my parents forget why they are mad at him (which honestly never lasts long anyway!)

Back into the Swing of Things...

So it has been awhile since I actually been able to sit my butt down and blog. Last week I was in Colorado to be with my mom during her surgery. It was a very long week filled with many emotions! I am very glad that I was there to be with my mom. I firmly believed it was good for both of our spirits as we continue down this medical journey called "Cancer." Good news her surgery went well and now it on to the next step: radiation therapy!

One of the things I always have to take care of when I go home is my parents computer. My parents broke down and purchased a computer about 5 years ago and let's just say they are both computer illiterate when it comes to understanding them! So each time Matthew and I travel home we have to "Fix" things. This time my dad was having problems with his mouse and DVD drive. I fixed the mouse problem....(helps to actually plug it into the USB port not the PS2 port with an adapter) The DVD problem will be fixed soon with the assistance of our friend Richard. Then I got the opportunity to teach my parents how to use their new digital camera and printer which was a Christmas present from Matthew and I. It was fun to show them how easy it works and how quickly they can be emailing and hopefully scrapping pictures soon!

I always find that when I have been gone for a week or so, it takes a while to get back into a normal routine aka "Back into the swing of things". My sleep schedule gets off and I get real accustomed to being lazy! So when it is time to go back to work, the snooze button gets hit a few times before I actually get up and I find that I need a mid-morning nap! Here's to vacations! It's too bad that I only have 4 weeks a year!