umba

Umba post! This month had one major hit for me and one pretty big flop. Then there's the in between item which I probably won't use any time soon.

Hit!

Elastic hair Ties from Poppy and Elle. I received three total ties - the two pictured on the very right and an orange one. They just feel nicer than normal ties and I think they are a little classier than your average rubberband. Big fan. Do recommend.

Flop!

Insect magnets from Kate Grenier Designs. Let me just say the magnets are of good quality and look pretty nice. And to be fair, after looking at the site, I'm super bummed that I didn't get some of the cuter magnets like some of the plain designs, food or beachy/travel magnets. So if the idea of bottlecap magnets appeal to you, I do recommend this.

Muh? (That's the sound of me shrugging my shoulders and making a noise)

Citronella Buzz Off candle from Green Daffodil. It smells great. I just can't tell you if it works. It's way too hot outside to be sitting in the weather. Also, we're not really outside candle burners. Is that a type of person? I think it might be. If you know outdoorsy people, this might be a great thing to put in like, a gift basket type deal. Or a picnic basket gift.

Weather woes

A quick complain about the weather. Not to be a whiner, but:

• My L car on the commute home today had barely functioning A/C. And by barely I mean it was pumping neutral temperature air around the car. It was sweltering. I felt like I was going to faint or be sick for about half of the ride. Rough.
• The heat wave is supposed to break on Friday. On Friday when I was hoping to see Bjork outside. This means that it will storm and I will not get to see the concert.

Woe is me.

casual friday

My previous employer was pretty laid back about everything - needing to leave early or come in late, timelines, dress code, etc. Currently I'm working at a more rigid company and I never realized how freaking awesome casual friday is. When you actually have to wear business clothing every day (or business casual), getting to wear jeans is like a holy grail. A wonderful bonus. That doesn't cost the employer anything. And my current company doesn't do it. No casual friday.

I think it's little things like this that big/older companies don't realize. Employees run any business, they code it or sell it or represent it. And when the employees are happy, they are loyal. And when they are loyal, that job they do - it improves. Because they really mean it when they do it. And so your casual friday karma comes back to you in a better represented company (and hopefully in dollars).

And yeah, I'm happier in my normal clothes. Dressing up is the pits. I never, ever make contact with anyone that has to judge this company and decide to work with them. Why should I have to look nice every day? It does nothing but increase my dry cleaning bill and make me uncomfortable sitting like a super nerd in my little bullpen with other nerds, coding in front of a computer. And when I'm uncomfortable, I work less...because I'm busy adjusting my dress or yanking on my pants that are riding up. Man I miss casual everyday, let alone casual friday.

CASUAL FRIDAY NOW! BUSINESS CASUAL NEVER!

(is this somehow distasteful for me to re-appropriate that chant for my stupid work gripe? yeah, probs, right?)

two sad things

Today I learned two depressing things:

• I went to my company intranet to look at what holidays we have off. Working at a multinational company is new to me, but even newer to me is seeing how many days off other countries have. We are in last place (tied with the Netherlands), with 8 paid holidays. The most? Japan. With 33. 33! We live in the wrong country.
• Rock Center with Brian Williams was cancelled? I really liked that show. I love Brian Williams and I like the idea of a news magazine show. Sad.

title required now?

Here's a couple of disjointed thoughts:

• Working with an entirely multicultural team is insanely fascinating. Talking about the origin of words, food and culture is delightful.
• Being a woman on an entirely male team (entirely) has bonuses. I'm on a fairly hot tempered team and I think at least for the short term, I'm immune to being on the receiving end because I'm a lady.
• On the other hand, I'm a lady and I do not believe in any physical contact at work. Even completely platonic/unintentional contact. One guy likes to touch arms to make points. And that annoys me.
• This long-ish weekend is fantastic and I can't wait. I do have to work on Friday, but I'm working remotely as the client office I'm working for is closed.

I also am going to pick up the thread of that responsive sharepoint work posting. I have all the code sitting around, I just didn't get around to posting any of it what with the whirlwind of job change. Whirlwindier than I would have expected. I actually got a tech comment on one (hey commenter, if you're still nearby, I will continue posting at some point. If you want more info/to have a tech chat quicker than my posts will come, comment with your email attached and I'll contact you).