Sorry, nothing really good to report. Lauren's still waking up about 5:45-6am. I've gone from a relatively respectable 10pm bedtime to a 9pm bedtime, so apparently I should go hang out at the retirement home. And it's cold. Not Minnesota cold, but cold enough that I don't think we should take Lauren outside since we haven't bought her a winter coat or mittens yet. Not that I think she'll actually leave the mittens on her hands, but at least if they're in her vicinity it means I'm not necessarily a bad mother.
Have a good day!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Nigerian scams and a tired baby
Hmm, which to start with first. I'll keep you waiting on the Nigerian scam.
First up, the time change. Usually I love "falling back." It seems like you get an extra hour of sleep, which is awesome. However, someone forgot to tell Lauren about that. This is the first time we've gone through a time change that's really affected her. She's aware enough now to know when it's time to get up and when it's time to go to bed. For the last few months you could set a clock to her nighttime sleep pattern: in bed at 7pm, out of bed at 7am. While 7am is still kinda early, especially on the weekends, we didn't really think we should complain since it was 12 continuous hours of sleep, something that seemed impossible about a year ago. Then the time change comes. Now we can't get her to stay awake until 7pm, and she's up at 6am. I suppose we should have started easing her into the change a few days ahead of it, but nobody told me that. None of my books, no websites, not the news, nothing. Argh. So, Chris is having fun trying to make her stay in bed until 7am, and I'm having fun trying to keep her awake until 7pm.
Last night it was actually pretty funny. Apparently when she gets really tired she likes to run laps around our kitchen. Then every once in a while she'll stop and just stare off into space, rubbing her head. It's like stopping makes the tired start. So then she's off running again. She also found it pretty entertaining to dig in Chris' belly button. Chris didn't appreciate it so much.
On to the Nigerian scam. You may have read about these, offically known as advance fee frauds. In a nutshell, you get an email from some guy in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, etc. offering to give you a portion of his fortune for helping him move it to an offshore account. What really ends up happening is you have to send money to some scammer and you never get the fortune. I had always heard about these and couldn't believe people actually fell for them. There are even people who have a hobby of messing with the scammers and getting them to do really crazy things. Turnabout's fair play, I guess. Well, one showed up in my junk mail box today. Woo hoo! I've officially been targeted. Sorry, Brooks Fung, you'll get no money from me. What scares me is that these freaks now have my email. Oh well, I guess they'll just deleted along with all the offers for Viagra I get.
First up, the time change. Usually I love "falling back." It seems like you get an extra hour of sleep, which is awesome. However, someone forgot to tell Lauren about that. This is the first time we've gone through a time change that's really affected her. She's aware enough now to know when it's time to get up and when it's time to go to bed. For the last few months you could set a clock to her nighttime sleep pattern: in bed at 7pm, out of bed at 7am. While 7am is still kinda early, especially on the weekends, we didn't really think we should complain since it was 12 continuous hours of sleep, something that seemed impossible about a year ago. Then the time change comes. Now we can't get her to stay awake until 7pm, and she's up at 6am. I suppose we should have started easing her into the change a few days ahead of it, but nobody told me that. None of my books, no websites, not the news, nothing. Argh. So, Chris is having fun trying to make her stay in bed until 7am, and I'm having fun trying to keep her awake until 7pm.
Last night it was actually pretty funny. Apparently when she gets really tired she likes to run laps around our kitchen. Then every once in a while she'll stop and just stare off into space, rubbing her head. It's like stopping makes the tired start. So then she's off running again. She also found it pretty entertaining to dig in Chris' belly button. Chris didn't appreciate it so much.
On to the Nigerian scam. You may have read about these, offically known as advance fee frauds. In a nutshell, you get an email from some guy in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, etc. offering to give you a portion of his fortune for helping him move it to an offshore account. What really ends up happening is you have to send money to some scammer and you never get the fortune. I had always heard about these and couldn't believe people actually fell for them. There are even people who have a hobby of messing with the scammers and getting them to do really crazy things. Turnabout's fair play, I guess. Well, one showed up in my junk mail box today. Woo hoo! I've officially been targeted. Sorry, Brooks Fung, you'll get no money from me. What scares me is that these freaks now have my email. Oh well, I guess they'll just deleted along with all the offers for Viagra I get.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Who am I?
I'm spending my day today pitching my project at work to senior leadership, meaning VPs and above. It's kind of weird because I'm not really asking their permission to continue the project, but I still need their blessing in order to be successful. I have to be assertive and confident so that it doesn't appear that I'm asking whether I can do it, but deferential enough to show that I value and respect their opinions.
As I listen to myself in these meetings, I sometimes wonder how I've turned into the corporate robot I appear to be. Here are things I heard myself saying today:
"We've worked hard to make sure our cross-functional team is aligned across all touchpoints so the messaging is consistent."
"I appreciate your feedback on that point. I'll make sure I touch base with (insert name here) offline to make sure we address it."
"We'll just be covering the first 17 pages of the deck I sent this morning. The remainder is an appendix for your reference."
What? Do I really talk like that? I'm like a bad version of The Office or Office Space. What's worse is that's what's expected. Nobody can actually come out and say "Different departments worked together for once so we don't seem like idiots." Or, "Oh crap, I forgot to address that. I don't want to talk about it now, though." Or, "I could only get an hour on your schedule so we can't talk about everything I know about this, but I still want you to know it."
And I'm not even 30 yet. Oh dear.
As I listen to myself in these meetings, I sometimes wonder how I've turned into the corporate robot I appear to be. Here are things I heard myself saying today:
"We've worked hard to make sure our cross-functional team is aligned across all touchpoints so the messaging is consistent."
"I appreciate your feedback on that point. I'll make sure I touch base with (insert name here) offline to make sure we address it."
"We'll just be covering the first 17 pages of the deck I sent this morning. The remainder is an appendix for your reference."
What? Do I really talk like that? I'm like a bad version of The Office or Office Space. What's worse is that's what's expected. Nobody can actually come out and say "Different departments worked together for once so we don't seem like idiots." Or, "Oh crap, I forgot to address that. I don't want to talk about it now, though." Or, "I could only get an hour on your schedule so we can't talk about everything I know about this, but I still want you to know it."
And I'm not even 30 yet. Oh dear.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
When did November 1st turn into the day after Thanksgiving?
Did I misplace my calendar? Did Congress pass some new act changing the date of Thanksgiving from the 3rd Thursday in November to November 1? Kind of like messing with the time change? Please tell me. Because I'm about to boycott Christmas.
Case #1:
It all started on October 30. Being the procrastinator that I am, Chris and I took Lauren to Target to buy her Halloween costume. I figured we'd get some good deals since we waited so late. We get to what used to be the Halloween section, only to find that it was now a tree farm. All Halloween stuff was moved to the endcaps (the things on the ends of the aisles), and all the Christmas trees, stockings, lights, snowmen, etc. was now in its place. In October. Even their website is holiday-fied.
Case #2:
I went to lunch at Olive Garden with my mom on Friday, November 2. Yummy salad and breadsticks. All was fine. Then the bill came, with the little Andes mints. I love those, so I snatched mine right up. Until I saw the wrapper. It had holly leaves on it and said "Happy Holidays."
Now, if the graphic was a pumpkin and turkey, it might not have bothered me, but holly leaves are a sure sign of Christmas.
Case #3:
On the Today show yesterday morning, they had a segment on how to find the right type of coat for your body. I know, earth-shattering news. When the models came out, they were standing in front of white Christmas trees.
"Winter Wonderland" was playing in the background. I suppose you could argue that "Winter Wonderland" is technically not a Christmas song, but when combined with traditional Christmas decor, I think it is. I turned the channel to SportsCenter.
I could go on and on. Maybe I'm oversensitive due to my past life working in retail, but I think it's gotten ridiculous. Stores had sales this weekend that are supposed to rival those of the traditional Black Friday. It's just not fun anymore.
I haven't made up my mind yet whether or not to boycott all things Christmas, such as card sending and gift giving. Maybe I'll just refuse to actually buy anything and just regift or hand make my gifts. That sounds like a lot of work, though. I'll keep you posted...
Case #1:
It all started on October 30. Being the procrastinator that I am, Chris and I took Lauren to Target to buy her Halloween costume. I figured we'd get some good deals since we waited so late. We get to what used to be the Halloween section, only to find that it was now a tree farm. All Halloween stuff was moved to the endcaps (the things on the ends of the aisles), and all the Christmas trees, stockings, lights, snowmen, etc. was now in its place. In October. Even their website is holiday-fied.
Case #2:
I went to lunch at Olive Garden with my mom on Friday, November 2. Yummy salad and breadsticks. All was fine. Then the bill came, with the little Andes mints. I love those, so I snatched mine right up. Until I saw the wrapper. It had holly leaves on it and said "Happy Holidays."
Now, if the graphic was a pumpkin and turkey, it might not have bothered me, but holly leaves are a sure sign of Christmas.
Case #3:
On the Today show yesterday morning, they had a segment on how to find the right type of coat for your body. I know, earth-shattering news. When the models came out, they were standing in front of white Christmas trees.
"Winter Wonderland" was playing in the background. I suppose you could argue that "Winter Wonderland" is technically not a Christmas song, but when combined with traditional Christmas decor, I think it is. I turned the channel to SportsCenter.
I could go on and on. Maybe I'm oversensitive due to my past life working in retail, but I think it's gotten ridiculous. Stores had sales this weekend that are supposed to rival those of the traditional Black Friday. It's just not fun anymore.
I haven't made up my mind yet whether or not to boycott all things Christmas, such as card sending and gift giving. Maybe I'll just refuse to actually buy anything and just regift or hand make my gifts. That sounds like a lot of work, though. I'll keep you posted...
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Go Bucks!
OSU's still undefeated after beating Wisconsin 38-17 today. It wasn't the most impressive win this season, but a win's a win. Lauren had a little party at Grandma's house today, so Chris and I are enjoying a night off (Thanks Grandma!)
That's gonna be it for today. This posting everyday thing is hard.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Day 2, still going strong
Woo hoo! I'm posting for my second day in a row. Something tells me this will get harder as the month goes on.
Today I'm going to brag on Nationwide for a bit. Nationwide is the title sponsor of the PGA's Nationwide Tour, a sort of minor leagues for the real PGA Tour. The Nationwide Tour Championship is being played at the Barona Creek Golf Club this week. That's in San Diego. Unless you've been living under rock, you know this area of the country was devastated by wildfires, started by some kid playing with matches. This is what Nationwide's doing about it:
So there you go. Instead of trying to actually make money off the Tour's biggest event, the PGA and Nationwide are basically forgoing any profit and donating the money to charity instead. I think that's pretty cool.
Today I'm going to brag on Nationwide for a bit. Nationwide is the title sponsor of the PGA's Nationwide Tour, a sort of minor leagues for the real PGA Tour. The Nationwide Tour Championship is being played at the Barona Creek Golf Club this week. That's in San Diego. Unless you've been living under rock, you know this area of the country was devastated by wildfires, started by some kid playing with matches. This is what Nationwide's doing about it:
Nationwide and the PGA TOUR created "Birdies for Relief," a program that will donate a minimum of $200,000 to the Red Cross Fire Relief Fund, established to provide direct support to victims of the recent wildfires. For every birdie made during the event held at Barona Creek Golf Club, Nationwide and the PGA Tour will donate $100 each, for a total of $200 per birdie. Both organizations have committed to a guarantee of at least $100,000 each or $200,000 total. The four-round championship begins on Thursday and ends on Sunday.
In addition to the donations made through the program, Nationwide donated 40 Pro-Am playing spots in support of local relief efforts. The Championship, via the Century Club of San Diego, which is managing the Tour at Barona Creek, extended invitations to San Diego firefighters to participate in the Barona Pro-Am. Twenty-eight will be participating, along with eight junior golfers from San Diego's First Tee Program, the Pro Kids Golf Academy. Each firefighter will be paired with a member of the Nationwide Tour.
The Century Club of San Diego also announced the decision to grant free admission to the Tour and encourage spectators to make a donation to the Red Cross Fire Relief Fund at the gate in lieu of a ticket purchase.
So there you go. Instead of trying to actually make money off the Tour's biggest event, the PGA and Nationwide are basically forgoing any profit and donating the money to charity instead. I think that's pretty cool.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
NaBloPoMo
What the heck is that? It's National Blog Posting Month. So, in an effort to spend every last minute of my day doing something other than working, playing with Lauren or watching TV, I'm gonna try it. Basically the goal is to get bloggers everywhere to post once a day for the entire month. Why? I don't know. It's the Internet. What this means to you is that you're probably going to learn more about the Bilek family than you ever wanted or needed to know.
On to family news, since it's been awhile. Last night was Lauren's first official Halloween. I don't count last year since she couldn't really do much other than eat, sleep and fill a diaper. This year didn't really count either. Yesterday Lauren decided she wasn't going to sleep much, so by the time 6pm rolled around, she was reallllllly crabby. We still stuffed her into her angel costume (purchased at Target the night before) and took her to the neighbor house across the street with her little plastic pumpkin. We had to practically glue the wings to her, and the halo had evil pokey things on the headband so we gave up on that. I'll post some pictures later tonight. She was sufficiently cute, even if she did scrape her knee on the driveway.
We also went to Tenzin's first birthday Oktoberfiesta over the weekend. The weather wasn't the greatest, but the food and company were. I've decided that first birthdays are really just preparation for what goes on Christmas morning.
Alright, I better stop before I run out of things to write about tomorrow.
On to family news, since it's been awhile. Last night was Lauren's first official Halloween. I don't count last year since she couldn't really do much other than eat, sleep and fill a diaper. This year didn't really count either. Yesterday Lauren decided she wasn't going to sleep much, so by the time 6pm rolled around, she was reallllllly crabby. We still stuffed her into her angel costume (purchased at Target the night before) and took her to the neighbor house across the street with her little plastic pumpkin. We had to practically glue the wings to her, and the halo had evil pokey things on the headband so we gave up on that. I'll post some pictures later tonight. She was sufficiently cute, even if she did scrape her knee on the driveway.
We also went to Tenzin's first birthday Oktoberfiesta over the weekend. The weather wasn't the greatest, but the food and company were. I've decided that first birthdays are really just preparation for what goes on Christmas morning.
Alright, I better stop before I run out of things to write about tomorrow.
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