Noticed

Everyday I have to stop at the light at 10 Mile and Woodward without fail. I plan it in my morning commute.

Everyday I have to stop at the light at Woodward and Palmer without fail. I dread that as the clock nears 4:00 or whenever I can make it out of the office. And you better believe that the first day I make it through that light it will be a blog.

Everyday I wonder who people talk to so animated and intensely at 7:30 in the morning. It boggles my mind.

Everyday I pray that I don't get in another accident because of these intense phone conversations - or because the drivers I encounter during my commute are some of the rudest and most impatient drivers. Note: this is not me anymore!

Everyday I strategize my 911 call - all to make a cop actually show up on the scene.

And everyday I wonder how difficult it really is to cross the street at a crosswalk. Really, really wonder.

Confirmation

While complaining about a company that has been nothing short of a nightmare since last November to the HR/Finance lady, she suggested I do nothing short of threaten them. Then she offered to call them and tell them that, because I'm "too nice". That echoed through my mind..."you're too nice, Amy". My first thought: Wow, I haven't been called nice in ages. My second thought: me? nice? really? I think I laughed out loud and then said something like, "yeah, maybe".

Upon telling this story to my boyfriend, laughing he said, "has she even met you"?

Ha. Guess that sums it all up...and attempts to confirm the theory that I have tinkered in trying to explain on my blogger from time to time.

And although I know I'm not nice all that often, I do suppose that the nice person that once I was and that I am capable of being shines through on occasion - and that alone gives me hope that I'm not a lost cause after all.

It Just Dawned on Me

I didn't celebrate the magic because my reason was out to lunch. Don't you bloody hate when that happens?

No Doubt in my Mind

The man still makes good music, check it out:

On to the Dark Side

I was told about a restructuring plan at work to help us become more efficient so that when it was announced in the staff meeting, it wouldn't be a surprise. What they failed to mention is that two major parts of my current responsibilities no longer belong to me. I'm trying to figure out what everything means and still keep a positive outlook. My rage goes back and forth between going Bauer on someone's ass and crying my eyes out. And I've been flooding my boss' email box with questions and demanding an updated job description so that I am clear on my position as we move forward. In the meantime, I'm just going with the flow and trying to convince myself that it can only get better from here.

I had a planned half day vacation today to start the long weekend early. Let me tell you that it could not have come at a better time.

Not only is it towel day, it's Captain Jack's day. And the History Channel is having a Star Wars special on Monday night. Really, how cool is that?

*Que Imperial March*

Picking up the Pieces

It's amazing what jogging 10.7 miles can do for a person.

The cloudy storm that was taunting my mind the past few days has cleared up into a beautiful, sunny outlook. All I need to do now is keep the focus. If I always feel this great afterward, I know that it won't be a problem.

Keep those miles coming!

Western What?

I am almost convinced that I don't even care who wins the Western Conference because I know who I want to win Lord Stanley. It hasn't been won by a Canadian team in 14 years. How sweet would that be?

I do like Ryan Miller and for my Sparty readers, look at it this way: in just four years in the pros, he brought his team to the conference finals. That in itself is no small feat and is something that some goalies never accomplish.

But dudes, a Canadian team is the finals! How awesome is that?

Go Sens. At least for now. Check back in 24 hours and I might be singing a different tune.

I Got Nothin

The collective credit card debt in the United States is 250 billion dollars. That is absolutely disgusting. Today, Senator Levin started legislature to do something about the interest rates tactics that these credit card companies use. At least it's a step in the right direction.

Yesterday was supposed to be a gas-out. Why? For what reason? It was the most unsuccessful thing I've heard of in the past month. Gas prices did not drop yesterday nor did they drop today. Boycotting something that is in such great demand will not result in a lower price. It is inevitable that we are paying over $3.00 a gallon for the stuff that our life revolves around. We are the country with the most cars and highest demand, yet we pay some of the lowest prices for fuel. It all evens out in the grand scheme of things - some people just have to pull their head of their own ass and see things in a global way. We are not the only people out there.

Being a boss is hard work but it's work I enjoy. Sometimes more than others. But I am not there to be their friend and I am not out to get them. I am simply there to enforce the rules and challenge them to meet the expectations that come working in a public institution. There are several factors that cause this to be harder for some than for others and it's quite the educational experience.

Surprise - it's a new post!

I saw a bumper sticker on my way home from work today. It said: "Bush lied/People died". I thought it was catchy. I also thought the person driving that car was an idiot. Every president lies to the American people to protect us and people die in order to defend our freedoms. For another second I thought about what it would have been like if a democrat held office when 9-11 happened - but we still would have gone to war, at least attacked someone. That person would have lied and yes, people would have died. It is not the result of any one president or any one event, but at least it was a catchy bumper sticker.

I am a very thin, but slighty out of shape individual. Running is awesome. So is breathing. After I learn how to balance the two, I will be thin and in shape. It feels good taking care of myself. And so do burning muscles.

I haven't watched 24 since March. Seeing commercials for the season finale while watching House kind of ruins any glimpse of memory I have from the time I left off. Sometime I will sit down to it and clear my DVR, but it probably won't be until after the Stanley Cup is won. Despite hearing mixed reviews about how this season is might not be as spectacular as seasons past, Jack Bauer remains great. I hope I'm not disappointed when we finally sit down to the remainder of the sixth day.

Speaking of the Stanley Cup, I miss Kiefer Sutherland doing the voice-overs on NHL commercials. I don't know who VS has doing them now, but it makes me miss the good old days. And I want Ottawa to win the Eastern Conference. I'm surrounded by Spartys cheering for Buffalo, and I don't disagree that the Sabres would be cool in the finals too, but I'm all for Canadian teams. Especially for the chance to win Stanley. Once the West is determined, I might be singing a different tune. But we'll have to wait and see.

And happy anniversary to me. I've been at the Society for a year. And with change on the horizon, I might soon be going for my third promotion...

That is frowned upon

I heard that was a blog title waiting to happen, so I'm using it. It has no relevance to this blog, so don't look for a connection.

I remembered how to have fun Saturday night. For at least a little while, I didn't have a care in the world. It was great. And the hockey game only had about 25% to do with it.

Speaking of hockey, had I been in the blogger world in my die-hard Wings days, I would probably spend at least part of every blog analyzing something about the game. Or the players. Probably both. But I'm a die-hard fan anymore and I watch games because the game interests me and I want to follow in hopes of finding the passion that flowed so thickly through my veins. I won't deny that working at the Joe burned me out of Red Wings hockey. It opened my eyes to the whole sport and gave me the chance to interact with players I idolized for so many years. They are real people. They have real feelings. I'm not saying that I became best friends with any or all of the team (only with Al), but I saw and talked to them every game. I learned behaviours that are easily recognizable and that reflect who you are as a person. It didn't take long before I knew what the media says or writes about these people is usually horseshit. And it made me sad when I saw a fan so animate in defending a player as nothing but goodness and greatness when they were actually the biggest dick in the locker room. Belief in him or not, trophies on his shelf or not, Hall of Fame bound or not, if the guy is a fool, there is little to make that up. While there is no denying that perhaps at one time he was untouchable and perhaps a pretty darn good goalie, it's my opinion that what he is in real life destroys that. Much like the ass clowns that the Hulls are in real life ruin chances for fans, their talent cannot be denied to them. Do you not like the 1995-98 Colorado Avalanche team? It is only because they were so much like the 1995-98 Detroit Red Wings you could barely stand them. It is not an unknown fact that Wings fans are among the most snobby and horrid group of people in the sports world, so it is hard to draw comparisons. It is hard to accept those comparisons. I used to be one of them, so I know the type of fan that once I was, but I've moved on. My point in all of this: I have my opinons; you have your opinions and sometimes we just won't see eye-to-eye, it doesn't make either of us wrong or right. It just is what it is.

Sometimes I wonder if there is ever a definite moment when something passes from young to old. Is there one specific milestone that upon reaching it, you pass through to the next stage? Today, my Maui Blue Pearl did just that. And while 10,000 miles in four months is far more impressive than 20,000 in eleven, it's still noteworthy.

May Day

There are lots of things that have crossed my mind lately that I could have blogged about, but whenever I logged in they all seemed to vanish. So there's that. Then there's this:

Whenever I break the law, there is always a cop watching. And I always get pulled over. I didn't get let off the hook, but I got something almost as good. The officer said that if I make a court date and tell him before I talk to the judge that I was nice, he would sit there and be quiet. Having manners matter, using them in the right situation is priceless. And I can't help that I'm charming. Ha.