Archive for March 2008

25 March 2008

What to do when you see a co-worker naked at the gym

By: Jessica B.

First – don’t panic

Second – only make eye contact…no matter what

I go to a gym near my office, where I’m fortunate enough to have a corporate discount. So from time-to-time, I go into the gym after work and without paying attention, walk into a row of lockers and I’m greeted with the sight of a woman I work with who is buck naked getting ready to work out.

Now it would be rude to gasp and walk away so if I’ve committed to the row of lockers with my naked co-worker, I tend to offer a smile (so it’s not awkward) and do not engage in conversation. Sometimes, if I know the person well, we’ll engage in small talk while keeping our backs to one another (like in gym class), otherwise we do not acknowledge each other at all and play dumb.

Of course it’s a little odd the next day, when I run into them in the lobby while getting water or in the kitchen because I can’t help but think, “huh, I saw her naked yesterday, ” and then go on with my day. As I said, this doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s always an interesting experience.

Be Sociable, Share!

4 Comments

24 March 2008

More things I don’t understand

By: Jessica B.

Tagged: Friends, Relationships

I’ve resigned myself to that fact that while I am smart, there are things that I will never understand.

One of the things I never understand is why women “settle” for the bad relationship and/or why some of my friends who are in these bad relationships, choose to stay in them.

I bring this up because an old college friend and I were catching up on AIM when she announced that she and her ex-fiance are dating again – and I was so mad I nearly screamed out loud in my apartment. My friend is smart and funny with a great personality and the thought of her being back with this loser guy who emotionally abuses her and makes her pay for everything makes me ill. It’s only a matter of time now until I get a wedding invite and I don’t know what I”ll do if that happens.

I believe that people can genuinely change, but somehow, I don’t think this guy has. I think he and my friend both want to be with someone so badly that they can forgive certain aspects of their personalities so that they can manage each other daily. Personally, I would never go back to a guy who called me a “f*cking bitch” or “whore” to my face or in front of my parents. My dad would kill him if he did and then me for staying with him.

In high school, I saw my friend date a loser guy, who had no future or goals (outside of smoking weed), and she ultimately got pregnant by him and was beaten by him in front of her mother (who was waiting in the car). My friends and I begged her to leave him and she didn’t, which is how she ended up pregnant and with no financial support. I’ve been fortunate that guys I’ve dated never have raised a hand to me – and I would pity them if they did.

So while I sometimes lament being single, I realize that it could always be worse. I’ve dated a few guys who were not always that nice to me, including one who made me feel like I was ugly and that everything I did was wrong. But then that ended and while the break-up was excruciatingly painful, I eventually moved on.

And now, after hearing this news from my friend, I still declare that I would rather be single forever than unhappy in a relationship with someone who doesn’t realize how fabulous I am :)

Be Sociable, Share!

3 Comments

22 March 2008

What did I learn this weekend?

By: Jessica B.

Tagged: Chicago, travel

Thank goodness – I’m finally back in Chicago. I never thought that I would be so happy to see the city, even if it’s blanketed in snow. Of course, my bag from Atlanta did not arrive on the plane that I was on this morning, instead it arrived about 45 minutes later on another flight and was totally covered in snow and dirt. Why would things end on a positive note??

So while napping in the cab and doing nothing other than balancing my checkbook and laying on the couch all day, I’ve reflected on the last 72 hours and compiled a list of the things I’ve learned from this experience.

What I’ve learned (March 20-22):

Always trust your gut – even if what it’s telling you to do isn’t all that appealing at the time
Never check a bag at the airport, especially if you’re only going to be gone for 48 hours
Stop being so vain – leave some of the makeup stuff at home – no one will judge you
Continue to resist the urge to tell an airport worker, who claims “I’m incapable of understanding” an answer to her question, where the f*ck to shove that question
Even when everything is going wrong, there will be one nice person who will take pity on you and help out
Realizing that certain things are out of your control is hard, but once you realize that, it’s a lot easier to handle
Finally, I am way too old to wear PINK from Victoria’s Secret

I know the last bullet is a bit crazy, but I was tortured at the gate this morning by “college spring break” preppie sorority girls, who were decked out in PINK and Lily Pulitzer colors while eating bagels and cream cheese (which they didn’t skimp on applying to the bagel) while talking about how “fat” they are, starting all of their conversations with “you will never believe….” and laughing and eating in unison. Kill me. Fortunately they were not on my flight, but rather I was treated to about five members of the Wisconsin baseball team.

Hel-lo boys. Who wants to help a girl carry her bags?

Be Sociable, Share!

No Comments

21 March 2008

Where’s Jess now? Hint: It’s not the Midwest

By: Jessica B.

Tagged: Apple, travel

Hey y’all. Yes, I’m keeping my Southern drawl for one more day. Why? Because I’m in Atlanta, instead of Wisconsin, and no this was not by choice.

After another bright and early start today (4:30 a.m. this time). The horrible snow in the Midwest, especially in Illinois and Wisconsin, has stranded me in Atlanta and made me feel like a horrible mother. I say this because my Macbook is still in Wisconsin – where I will not be going now this weekend. Now my baby girl and I won’t be together for two weeks. Tear. I was so looking forward to that. I had a name picked out for her and everything!

See below for the full explanation of how I got here (to the airport Sheraton). It’s an interesting read.

The saga of how I ended up stuck in Atlanta

By: Jessica

This morning started off great. I blissfully flew from Pensacola to Hot-lanta, and even arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule! Beautiful! Then dad starts calling with weather updates and that the weather in Wisconsin is really not good, but the airport gate manager assures me that we’ll be able to take off and land. More beautiful! Then we board the plane, even though I’m sitting across from this woman with two devil children and am beginning to relax…until the pilot tell us that conditions in Wisconsin no longer allow us to fly right now. So we’re delayed about 1.5 hours, no biggie. I work a bit, do some research…it’s all good.

Then comes the announcement – our flight has been cancelled. Panicking, everyone runs over to the ticketing booth to reschedule and I call dad in a panic. After a mild fight, resulting in me hanging up on him, I get on the first flight they can confirm me for…tomorrow, but hey I can get my bag back so it’s okay. I now head over to the baggage area to claim my bag and I find out that the bag will not be pulled for the claim because it’s still headed to Wisconsin on a later flight. Much fighting, name calling and arguing start and I finally start to have a minor meltdown. After about three hours of back-and-forth (including some woman telling me that I am not capable of understanding the full answer to a question, which is why she is giving me the “PR” answer), I get a hotel reservation for overnight and resign myself to the fact that a) I’m spending Easter alone in my apartment and b) I will not get my computer this weekend, but rather in two weeks when I go home for a wedding shower. So now I start to cry (from exhaustion and disappointment) and take one last look for my bag…in a fleeting hope that something will go right. And to my horror (pleasant horror) I see it standing next to a security guard. I scream and claim it, with her providing me helpful directions to the hotel shuttle area. I would have given her an awkward hug if I could have then.

So I checked in at the hotel (painless) and a nice man carried my luggage upstairs. Suddenly the tummy starts rumbling so it’s room service and then a traditional “lay down” because now I may as well force myself to stay awake. Whatever I did to deserve this…I’m sorry. It takes a lot for me to say that.

Be Sociable, Share!

4 Comments

20 March 2008

Welcome to Pensacola!

By: Jessica B.

Tagged: travel, work

Yes, Everyday Adventures is live in Pensacola, Fla. tonight and ready for bed! The cab pick-up at 4:30 a.m. was painful but fortunately the flights down here were painless. At O’Hare, I was sitting far enough forward in the plane that I could see the baggage handlers putting the luggage on the plane. Anxiously waiting for mine, I smiled when I saw her getting ready to be loaded on the conveyor belt, until an angry worker got frustrated with her and slammed her on the belt, cursing and looking at it as though the suitcase had Anthrax. Shocked, I tapped on the window and pointed menacingly at him. That is a TravelPro suitcase jackass, don’t be so mean to it! Just because you hate your job don’t take it out on me!

Then, on my flight from Memphis to Pensacola, which was on a “regional” plane (which means its private jet size), I was LOVING that I sat in the front row, (because there is no “first class”) until Brandi, the flight attendant asked me if I wanted to demonstrate to the other passengers how to use the oxygen mask. Mildly stunned for a second, I said no because I have been fortunate enough not to have to use it just yet. She laughed but later as we descended on Pensacola, we flew right over the water and for a second, I thought I would end up like the survivors on Lost and hopefully would not be recruited to be an Other.

Then, I have been reminded today why I love to drive and why I don’t drive while living in Chicago. Fortunately, I did not run a Stop sign or a red light again, but rather I got ridiculously lost twice because of the Garmin that Budget gave me. I love Garmin but this evil little devil took me so far out of the way to my work function that I was screaming in the car for people to “go, go, go faster!!!” Fortunately, I arrived on time but the Garmin decided that it wasn’t done punishing me yet because after the function I got lost again because of it. Bastard. And it was judging me when I couldn’t make a turn in time because it was “recalculating.” If I would not be charted $499 for damage to it, I would have tossed that Garmin into the ocean. Fortunately, after some angry Twitter-ing, I am preparing to work from the hotel a bit while I mentally prep to return to the Midwest tomorrow, where I hear we’re supposed to get snow. Huh. If I’m trapped in Atlanta, watch on the news for stories about a crazy woman freaking out at the airport there. I might need a stiff drink…before noon!

Attached are some pictures of my hotel room. Ordering dinner tonight was a challenge, considering the hotel doesn’t have room service and no one around here delivers. Bastards. First the Garmin, now room service. Time to pack it in and call it a day. Later y’all!