Thursday, August 26, 2004

The cord gremlin

A rant if I may first.

What is up with that mysterious gremlin in my car that always manages to tangle up my cords no matter how neatly I put them in the car? You should have seen me at my last appointment trying to untangle my printer cable from the power cord...which then got tangled around my mouse cord, my cell phone charger, my ear bud...should I keep going? It was not a pretty sight.

Okay. I feel better now. The one saving grace for today is that my French manicure actually survived the roof inspection and fire and the cord gremlin boxing match...and so did my nails. I am such a believer now in that strengthening polish that you can buy. I've been putting this protein fortifyer stuff as a base coat on my nails, two coats of polish, and a strengthening top coat as a finishing coat, and my nails are as tough as real nails, I swear it! This is the longest I think I've ever gone without breaking a nail.

Today was a busy day. I got two storm claims this morning and one fire...and went out to the dark side of the moon this afternoon to take care of two of them. The third is for tomorrow morning and I was so shocked to realize as I was reviewing this guy's claim history that I actually handled a washing hose break claim for this same guy back in January 2003. I think that's when you know you've been in claims a long time...when you start on round two with the policyholders. I've only had that happen one other time where I got a second claim for the same insured, but I've had a few other claims pop up during the last year with my coworkers where they'll come to me and say, "Hey, Erica, do you remember Mrs. So And So back in June 2002 that had a claim where...because now she's filed a claim for...?" And the scary thing is that most of the time, I do remember. Can't remember what I ate for dinner the other day, but I can remember the most innate details about a stranger's house that I was in for an hour two years ago. Craziness.

I actually walked in the door tonight at 7:55 pm, feeling gross and icky and tired, so, much to the drill instructor Steve's dismay at the gym, I skipped spinning class. *sigh* There will be repercussions, I can feel it. He'll stalk me on the Stairmaster forever. I promised him Tuesday night that I would come to class, and look at me, I didn't. I'm going to try to get things wrapped up early tomorrow afternoon and hit the gym, and then hit it both days this weekend, but we'll see how it goes. It doesn't help that the scale is still ridiculously low. If the scale was high, the panic would hit and I'd make myself go to the gym! Ah, well. It's not like I sat on my duff all day. I was busy! And sweating, climbing around on roofs and stuff!

I have some really great news on the job front about P. He has not heard anything yet from my company, and probably won't for a few weeks, but I think he's pretty much decided that if they offer him the job, he is going to turn it down. There are many reasons why, but the numero uno reason is that his HR rep sat down with him today and made him an extremely generous offer of a retention bonus (in writing!) if he stays with his company through the next year and keeps working until they sell off the business that he works claims for. I really don't want to disclose numbers, obviously, but it's really generous...and would really help us get situated with our debt to say the least, so I can understand why he wants to do this. And if we can get a huge chunk of our debt whittled down, it's more likely that P can take a lower paying job in a year doing what he really wants to do instead of taking a job paying more that will require him to stay in insurance, which, I'll be honest, is not what he wants. He has never liked claims as much as I have. To be honest, I was stunned when he called and gave me the news. So that's the news on that front for anyone that was wondering.

We're going to order pizza in a few minutes (I know, pizza! Bad Erica! Bad! But I'm SO craving it!) and then I'm going to get settled and do some work and then stitch, so I better get started with the memes...and there are some great ones today! Thursday has some awesome themes. Tomorrow should be an easy Friday, I think...if I can just get stuff wrapped up.

First...Theater Thursday...

1) What is your favorite soundtrack from a movie? Footloose.
2) Which movie's soundtrack didn't fit the tone of the movie, or was so badly composed it detracted from the movie? I thought a lot of the songs on the soundtrack to The Bodyguard were really irritating.
3) Who is your favorite film music composer? James Horner...he does a lot of soundtracks and I always just think they are great.
BONUS) Do you prefer an orchestral soundtrack, or a popular-music soundtrack? Why? I like a combination of both...some orchestral is nice and then I like some popular songs too. A nice mix is what I like. It just has to be very well-balanced and nothing too weird.

Next...the Thursday Threesome...

Onesome: Cool-- Well, summer is almost gone (except for those Down Under who are expecting it soon), and the cooler weather is coming. ...and other than those who live in places like Hawai'i, things are about to change. Which do you prefer, the coolness of Winter where you live or the warmth of your Summer?
If you've been to Dallas in August, you'll know exactly my answer. I much prefer the coolness of winter. I often joke that Dallasites in summer are like Minnesota folks in winter. We stay indoors and out of the weather.
Twosome: Blue-- Today's softball: blue or green? Pick one! ...okay, if it's a tie (high or low), what color do you prefer for decorating or accents?

Blue. Definitely! It's such a cool and calming color. I've always loved blue for everything...decorating, accents, clothing, etcetera.
Threesome: Mornings-- Mornings, afternoons, evenings, nights... What's your favorite time of day? ...and what makes it so for you?

My favorite time of day is the evenings after about eight or so...after all my work is done for the day and it's time to relax and just chill. Afternoons are not bad either as long as my phone isn't ringing off the hook!

And lastly, the Thursday Tattle! (and I have a new blinkie for the Tattle!)

When is your Birthday? May 7.
How old are you? 29.
What is the best gift you have ever received for your Birthday? It wasn't for my birthday, but when my sister and I were younger, our parents gave us a fish tank for Christmas. It was the neatest gift I ever remember getting. We woke up Christmas morning and the fish tank was already there in the living room, set up and filled with fish. I thought it was the greatest gift ever!
What is the best gift you have ever given someone for their Birthday? Well, it wasn't for their birthday, but several years before my parents divorced, my sister and I pooled our funds and bought them a huge oil painting of the coast for their anniversary. I remember how excited V and I were to give it to them. We thought we were so adult giving a grown-up gift like that.
Have you enjoyed Thursday's Tattle for a whole year? I've only been participating in it for a month, but so far, I have really enjoyed it!
Would you like it to continue? Oh, absolutely!
What was your best Birthday so far? My sixteenth birthday. My parents gave me a pool party for my Sweet Sixteen and I just had the best time.
Do you love or hate your Birthday? I'm indifferent. It does seem that since I turned 25, the magic is gone. Now, it's just another day.

I hope everyone has a great day! Thanks for reading!

3 Comments:

Blogger Mia said...

Erica, it is nice hearing the good news about P's job. I wish him and you the best of luck in whittling down the debt. We had gone through something similiar and are now almost debt-free. Thank goodness for that as DH will be out there on his own starting Monday. And I hear ya about those gremlins. I have some living behind my computer desk. No matter how hard I try to keep it neat and tidy, there is always a cord tangled.

5:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, I hear you about the memory bit. I can give you details of work injuries from the early 90's but I can't tell you where the cell phone or the remote are.

3:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry about the anonymous post, enjoy the pizza!

Stasha
www.shondratasha.com

3:57 PM  

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