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the truest thing i've ever heard from a cartoon bee
At a bee graduation/work orientation... Here at Honex we know you've worked hard your whole life so you can work hard your whole life! Labels: quote unquote, the grind
At work today I created a lovely hair-thingy for myself made out of binder clips. Because I am just that awesome. What was not awesome was forgetting all seven thousand of my hair ties at home and then running in and out of the building (think hot then cold then hot, etc.) and sweating up a storm. Ah well, someone needs a shower (me!!) The binder clips aren't that hard to find if you look in my hair because I was less concerned with the aesthetics and more with keeping my sweat-laced, grungy mane from touching my face. Alas, as there are no longer any other females in my office I have to share my feat of hair engineering with you, the internet. Labels: Random
Saturday, November 24, 2007
So I forgot to post on Thanksgiving and then I was like okay, whatever, I fail. I had a pretty good run there, though. Paul and I have managed to do almost nothing for the past couple days except watch basketball and reruns of Heroes. It's been awesome. I mean that. What with work and all I haven't been able to just laze around like this in way too long. Labels: blogging, Life, The Hubs
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
I gmail-chatted with one of my French classmates this afternoon (early close! wahoo!!) and he sent me this video of him sticking a "Stop the strike" sticker on an SNCF worker...who is presumably on strike. Now that is a Frenchman after my own heart. Labels: France
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
I've now been with The Investment Bank for just over four months. Which, considering my history, is not an insignificant amount of time. I am, after all, a notorious job hopper and all. This is definitely the most content I've ever been with a job. I am good at what I do, appreciated by my superiors, well paid, challenged on a daily basis, and the position offers limitless potential in terms of learning opportunities. It's an amazingly ideal job for someone just starting out in this industry and I feel very blessed to be where I am. That said, there is still one thing that leaves me unsatisfied. Sometimes, when I really think about it, it all feels very fake and pointless. I mean, God knows I'm not a hippie but what the heck are we doing here? We don't produce anything, we don't even provide any REAL service...we as an industry are in the business of using money to make money. Now that I have a better idea of what actually goes on it seems a bit ridiculous. A lot of people fretting over the exchange of what amounts to 1's and 0's in cyberspace and this constitutes the "trading" behind all those huge portfolios. This is the one thing that makes me wonder how long I will ultimately last in this industry. I think I need a little more meaning than that. I think I need my career to be something more than worrying about money. That was the great thing about fund raising (yes, also worrying about money BUT for good causes!)...too bad so much of that job bored me to tears. Where is that happy middle ground? Labels: the grind
Monday, November 19, 2007
I just started watching last Sunday's episode of Family Guy and I can't even bring myself to finish it. Disgusting. Labels: Annoyances, Random, Stupidity and Ignorance
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Um...oops? I meant to blog yesterday, I really did. I even opened up a "create post" page and everything. I just didn't have anything to say so I thought I'd wait a bit to see if the creative juices would start flowing...and then I fell asleep. Blogging at 7:50 a.m. on a Sunday morning should almost count as blogging on Saturday night shouldn't it?
Friday, November 16, 2007
I forgot to mention that our admin quit yesterday because her boyfriend (who she moved here for from NYC about six months ago) got a great job in Boston. This sucks on two levels: One, since the one and only saleswoman quit last week (her last day will be three days after our admin's) this leaves me as the only non-penis who will be working in the office as of the second week of December. Granted, I do get along with guys a lot better than I do with the vast majority of women but I'm sad because I actually really love our admin and saleswoman. They're very cool chicks and not typical girly-girls at all - it makes it all the more upsetting that they're leaving since they're two of about seven girls I actually enjoy being around. Two, our admin freaking rocks. I only started a week before her so I don't totally know what it was like in the office before her, but I do know that during my first couple of weeks there, everything was everywhere and no one knew where anything was and the salespeople's expense reports were so past due that HQ was threatening to cut their cards if they didn't turn them in. Now? Expense reports are always turned in on time and everything is actually where it is supposed to be. When this first happened everyone was very confused. People kept coming up to me and asking me where the paper was, and because I had already asked our admin, I knew that the paper was indeed in the cabinet helpfully marked "8 1/2 x 11 paper." So yeah, the whole office is sad because we've got two great ladies leaving us, but I think our boss is taking it worst of all because well, lately every time he manages to fill one seat, someone else quits. He probably dreams about the day when the office can actually function the way its supposed to because its actually fully staffed. Yesterday while we were having beers one of the sales people opined how it would be funny if we all turned in our resignations the next day. So this morning he wrote a collective letter of resignation on the company letterhead, had all of us sign it and left it on the boss's keyboard when he went off to the bathroom...With all the stress the boss has been under lately I was half afraid he'd be pissed off and accept it! But luckily he busted out laughing and actually even framed the thing lol. I signed it at 5:15 in the morning so I didn't really read it (eyes were still blurry with sleep) but apparently it was a very cleverly written letter. I gotta sneak a peak at that thing on Monday haha. Labels: the grind
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Today was another crappy day at work. Not necessarily because anything really horrible happened but my computer went down just as three different people called to confirm trades and I left with an email box full of emails I haven't really read yet. But I will tomorrow. I promise. And also, I am a little drunk right now. Because we went out for beers after work. Because we all really needed beer. Except now I'm going through all of that self-doubt and second guessing myself because I *revealed* to pretty much everyone that I used to basically work for the Republican party and, I don't know, that's always a little scary when you live in San Francisco (even if you know that no one in the office really cares who you vote for). This is one of those things I hate about myself and why I think I still can't get rid of my biggest vice. I hate this feeling of going every-freaking-thing I said over and over in my head and picking apart how many different ways that could have been interpreted and who probably hates me now. This is actually what happens in my head for hours, sometimes days, after spending time socializing with other human beings. It's funny because Paul thinks I'm an extrovert. And you would think that I would be since I work in sales and really seem to enjoy interacting with other people. But a true extrovert thrives when they are in a social environment and introverts are drained by it. And that's how it is for me. I like it. I really do. When I'm actually with people, it's great. It's afterwards that's a problem for me. And I guess that's why forcing myself to actually go out and interact with people in a social setting is so infrequent for me. It always ends up really draining me because of all the second-guessing and self-doubt that ensues. Maybe this is why I like being married so much. Or, more specifically, being married to Paul. He's probably the only person who I really feel like I can say anything to and not wonder whether he'll still like me or not. Or...is this normal? Does everyone wonder all the time whether other people like them or not? I get the feeling that most people don't really care all that much. Labels: Life, the grind, The Hubs
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Our building had a fire drill today and because it wasn't mandatory most of us opted not to leave the desk for it. I mean, come on! We work in finance and are therefore far too important and busy to leave our precious work! So the only person who actually left was our admin, who was trying to lead by example since the powers that be had designated her as the floor-fire warden. She turned out to be the smartest of us all though because not only did she get to cut out early she didn't have to try to work through the strobe lights and incessant shrieking of the fire alarm for a good fifteen minutes. I really thought I was going to throw up before it finally stopped.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
I'm starting to feel like this city is just chock-full of random It's probably just my perception but I feel like I read a lot more about crimes like this now then when I lived in Los Angeles. Maybe I just read the local news up here more consistently than I did down there. It's funny though isn't it, in the two San Francisco cases, how the bad guys still managed to get guns into the city despite the fact that there is a law against guns and everything. A law. Written down on paper somewhere and everything. How in the world did guns get past that? Paul and I always have the discussion about how utterly lawless this city is in so many ways. Like the time we saw a guy run a redlight - nearly hitting a cop making a left turn - and he didn't even get pulled over! Paul actually told me later that I didn't see the first car which ran the redlight before the guy I saw went through...that's how red the light was. I have literally gone days without seeing a single police officer anywhere. Edited to add: Hm, I must have seen something shiny or something because not only is that where this leaves off, I also forgot to hit publish. Genius! Labels: Guns, San Francisco
Monday, November 12, 2007
Happy Veteran's Day Observed Day! Since I had the day off and Paul didn't, I did absolutely nothing but watch TV (including The Baby-sitter's Club Movie) and go grocery shopping so I could make my hubby a nice dinner. Tossed green salad with a honey-lime dressing made of dijon mustard, honey, lime juice, sesame oil and sugar. Bacon wrapped sea-bass filets - seared on one side and finished off in the oven. And then Paul decided to whip up a couple Santor-tini's to go with our dinner. He added some vanilla syrup because we found the original recipe wasn't sweet enough for our tastes. I was also going to make pear flambe (using the pear brandy from the Santor-tini) with vanilla ice cream for dessert but alas we have no butter and I thought we had butter so I didn't buy any at the market today. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. Labels: Bon Appetite, Life
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Today we managed to accomplish almost nothing. Labels: Life
Saturday, November 10, 2007
I found a pre-paid envelope from this organization under my couch just now. I have an old cell phone I was planning to donate at Verizon for women in domestic abuse shelters...but I'm sure in SF there are more people donating to a cause like that than to our troops so I decided to take advantage of their handy dandy plastic envelope. The organization was started by a 13 year old girl and her 12 year old brother and I gotta say what these kids have started is pretty ingenious! They make it so easy to donate. If you have an old cell phone go to this website and print out one of their pre-paid shipping labels. I have no idea how this envelope got under my couch but I'm glad it did! Labels: Support the troops
 Pancetta-Wrapped Seared Scallops in a wasabi pesto aioli ($10) from Calzone's Calzone's Labels: Restaurants (SF) wingless was still breathing at 8:47 AM - 0 comments
This morning Paul and I woke up at 7 a.m. Had a discussion about Jensen's alpha (can his findings be applied to bond fund managers? me: yes, paul: no - but then again he does WORK FOR a bond fund manager) and then he vacuumed the apartment while I cleaned the bathroom. Ah, the married life ;)
Friday, November 09, 2007
Paul and I grabbed an early dinner at Sushi Groove South about a month ago before we went shopping at Costco (we actually parked in the Costco lot and walked over there but I would suggest circling by the restaurant once first if you're comfortable with street parking). We got there just after six (on a weekday) and the restaurant already had several patrons, but we were definitely amongst the first few and didn't need a reservation. Neither of us was especially hungry so we just ordered a few dishes to split. All of them were delicious and to date this is still the only Japanese restaurant in the Bay Area that Paul will admit he likes. In fact, this is probably going to end up being one of the few places he's willing to eat at more than once or twice. The seabass was amazing! So tender and flavorful, and very nicely priced - right around $15 if my memory serves...which is a steal considering it's a relatively large portion and the seabass at House costs $19 at lunch and even more for dinner. (But to be fair, it is a main course at House and comes with a sides of mashed potatoes and veggies...still though the portion sizes of the fish itself were very comparable and the quality at SGS might have been slightly better). As you can see I am a big fan of seabass, but anyway, moving on... I forget what kind of rolls these are, although I'm pretty sure the smaller one with the black roe sprinkled on it is a lobster roll. The other looks to be some sort of tempura roll with albacore on top. Whatever they were, I do remember them tasting good! Sushi Groove South Labels: Restaurants (SF)
Thursday, November 08, 2007
I hate 48-hour day. Hate. With passion. Seriously. Those of you who live in the land of mortgage-backed securities know what I'm talkin' about. This is one of those days where I cannot stare at the computer anymore or my eyeballs might just fall right out of my head and onto the keyboard and that would not be great for anyone. Labels: the grind
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
I admit it. I love to hate Kobe Bryant. So it goes without saying that I found this article to be a fascinating read. I think Chad Ford basically just confirmed something those of us who don't worship Kobe have believed for a long time: Sure he's an incredibly talented athlete but another reason Kobe scores a lot of points is because he takes a lot of freaking shots. Paul and I joke a lot about how Kobe should have been a tennis player (singles of course) or a golfer because, yeah, it's pretty obvious to most people that the man is a crappy teammate. (Except, of course, Kobe's mindless drones, i.e. practically every person who bothered to leave a comment on the article). It always weirds me out how much some people love Kobe. But I suppose I'm no one to talk since I felt actual glee when my coworker told me this morning that the Lakers lost last night. Edited to add: Just found a comment that says exactly what I was trying to say except much more eloquently! Labels: Basketball
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Apparently my last post has been publishing since I wrote it sometime around midnight last night. What was I doing up at that hour considering I was back at work by 5 a.m. today? I was being an idiot. That's what. I know all two of you who read this blog (or am I back to talking to myself again?) have been patiently waiting for something of substance to come out of this whole thirty days of blogging thing - especially since if you read the NaBloPoMo website you know that it is based off a novel writing challenge. Thus one can deduce that the purpose of this exercise is to actually improve one's writing and not just to post a word or two every day for the next month. So, anyway. Let's talk about feminism, family and careers. A few months ago I had a conversation with one of my more liberal girl friends (but let's face it, I've lived my whole life on the good ol' left coast - most of my friends range from liberal to very liberal) and she pointed out to me how "unfair" it is that pregnancy and child-rearing doesn't affect the man's career the way it affects the woman's. I got where she was coming from, sure, but pointed out that it was one of those things that would likely always be unfair due to the fact that men will never carry babies and women will always be more likely to actually want to quit their jobs and take care of the little ones. This isn't to say I don't think men should have an equal share in taking care of the kids - they should - but there's a little secret that feminists haven't been let in on yet: life's not always fair and things that "should" happen aren't always the most realistic in practice. There must be a reason that I hear all the time about highly successful women (doctors, lawyers, marketing executives, etc.) who after having their children decide they don't want to work anymore. They do not feel that taking care of their children full time is a "waste" of their degrees or years of experience. Feminists may find this unbelievable, but it's absolutely true. I think I went off on a bit of a tangent there, but my main point to her was that sure it's not fair, but there's no real solution either so why dwell on it? She seemed unconvinced and even threw out the possibility of forced paternity leave to "level the playing field." Thinking back, the part of the conversation I find the most interesting is when she brought up her opinion that women should not be penalized or held back for missing time due to pregnancy when pursuing higher education. I think that it is this sort of thinking that makes most men despise feminism with a passion. This new (or maybe old? I really don't know much about the history of feminism to be honest..) breed of feminist that wants it both ways: they want men to respect them as 50/50 equals and yet they want men to give them the advantage when they need it. My friend's main argument was an understandable one: women have a limited time to get pregnant and to get education/training. Which again, I understand. It sucks having to make that choice between advancing your career and starting a family. And yes, it sucks that men don't face exactly the same consequences that women do when it comes to having a family. But there's really no "fair" way to change this - really the only way this would change is if we were able to change the biology of men and women. Which isn't gonna happen. And you don't make it "fair" by lowering standards for women when what you say you're striving for is equality! Just a little disclaimer, I'm not criticizing my friend, she made some good points and arguments...I just don't buy them. And I'm sure she feels the same way about mine! Labels: blogging, Feminist Drivel
Monday, November 05, 2007
On Sunday morning Paul asked for a mimosa made with fresh squeezed orange juice. Am I a good wife or what? (Although my mom might not consider making my husband an alcoholic beverage before noon proper wife behavior). (And really, let's face it, I just wanted one myself too!). Why am I awake when I have to be at work in six hours? Who the hell knows... Labels: Joyce likes wine, The Hubs
You don't know this but every day I come home and I sit in front of this computer (after sitting in front of four screens for 10+ hours at work) and I try to come up with something to write about because God knows when I'm not actually able to blog I can think of a billion things I want to write about...and I draw a blank. And that is about where I am today. I could write about work but I don't particularly want to and honestly I don't know what I would say about it anyway? It's just work and it's not particularly interesting unless you're into that stuff... Okay, whatever, my eyeballs hurt...so...gonna go play with our new Wii now! Labels: blogging
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Look at what the hubs is getting for his birthday next year when the tour goes to Napa! Labels: The Hubs
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Um. Doh? As you can see, I've already missed Day 2. But in my defense, I was really tired. (Okay, so that's a bad defense). It felt like such a long day even though I actually got to leave the office at 2:45. All the salespeople called it quits early and one of our main systems shut down at 5:30 ET for some sort of upgrade, so Clif and I pretty much just took off after the big boss left. It's weird, as much as I do like what I do because it is challenging, some days it's just a bit much. It's not usually anything in particular that makes that day feel so much worse than every other day. It just does. And it is usually an office-wide feeling. At one point yesterday I had to turn around because I couldn't look at my four monitors anymore. My eyes were literally glazing over. For about thirty minutes I was seriously busy taking care of time sensitive issues and I could see my email box just filling up. By the time I had a moment to take a look at it, I had about thirty unread emails. Anyway, enough about work. It's the weekend, wahoo! I've already cleaned the bathroom, the closet and the tv area this morning. The fact that I'm up and working by 5:15 a.m. five days a week makes it really hard to sleep much past 7:30 a.m. the other two. Labels: blogging
Thursday, November 01, 2007
I confess. I almost forgot about this whole blogging every day thing. But, as you can see, I did not. This week hasn't been particularly busy and I'm actually starting to really feel like I have a handle on things but I'm exhausted. So glad tomorrow is Friday. Time for bed. (Yes, I realize this is a sad excuse for a post but it's all I've got right now!)
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