OK Morale

Waiting for Iron Man

There’s an image making its way around the Internet this week of 18-month-old Jaxson Denno bawling his eyes out when he got a visit from Robert Downey Jr. instead of Iron Man, whom he expected to show up in full body armor.

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Little Jaxson didn’t know an opportunity when he saw it. But, then again, a lot of adults make the same mistake.

Jaxson set a certain expectation when he said “I want to meet Iron Man” just as adults build up expectations of what will happen when we say or do one thing but get different results. Some of us bawl our eyes out, some of us freeze in fear, and the then there are some that look this new opportunity straight on and make the most of it. Those are the Tony Starks of the world.

How many times does someone get overwhelmed when faced with options and can’t decided on one path? How many times does opportunity slip through our fingers because we’re too focused on what we were expecting instead of what we got?

Most people will tell you to go out and make things happen for yourself. That’s true. Do it. Don’t sit on your butt waiting for life to hand you something. The longer you sit around thinking about what you’re waiting for, the more likely you are to build an imagine of something that’s never going to happen exactly that way.

The more you wait, the less adaptable you become and the less likely you are to see a positive situation in something that doesn’t fit your imagined state.

You may not get Iron Man, but if you bawl your eyes out when Tony Stark shows up you’re going to miss a really big opportunity.

 June 14, 2013 job, Marriage, Projects, work , ,

So, I’m trying this running thing

I’ve tried it before to no avail – this running thing. However, I got a phone call Sunday that startled me right into my sneakers. The bridal shopped called to let me know my dress arrived. HOLY HOTCAKES (appropriate because of the breakfast I was eating when they called)! The last thing I want to do is go try on a dress that I am going to be wearing in front of 300 people in photos that I will have for the rest of my life looking like a beached whale. Really, it wasn’t my plan to go in to the shop three months later heavier than I was when I bought the dress. But, alas, here I am.

So, I’ve signed up for a 5K next month and I’m starting morning runs. I’m following the couch to 5K plan. I swear this morning was easier than previous false starts, but I’m going to be honest with you (if anyone is possibly reading this blog), I’ve never made it pass week 1.

Here’s my very slow, very short first run/walk. They say it doesn’t matter how slow you go, just as long as you keep going. I made it 1.5 miles at a pace of 17.30 min/mile. I actually walked to the train faster than I ran this morning. But, I ran. And that’s the point.

Mountain View Run -W1D1

 March 19, 2013 Goals, wedding

“So close to the tracks”

Today on caltrain … I heard a woman say, “wow, we’re so close to the tracks.”
I’m wondering how she ever expects to get on board.

 February 15, 2013 Uncategorized

Bike thief gets kicked off of Caltrain

I’m reviving the blog after a year of inactivity because, apparently, people find my daily life amusing – if not downright ridiculous. It’s  mostly public transit and work. So, if that sort of stuff fits your fancy, by all means, keep reading.

Today on Caltrain:
For the second day in a row the San Antonio Caltrain station was a hotbed of activity. This morning the conductor was kicking a guy off the train just as I was stepping on. I figured he didn’t have a ticket. But, then the conductor chased after him and was yelling. That’s going to delay us. Then I heard a conductor over the speakers telling us there is police activity on the train. That’s really going to delay us.
Apparently the guy tried to steal a bike off the train. So, the bicyclists beat him up.
Here’s a note for anyone considering a new revenue source: Don’t steal bikes from Caltrain. Those riders are diligent and look out for each other. They know who belongs on the bike car and who doesn’t. So don’t test them.

In other Caltrain randoms:
The dude two rows up from me on the train was a Bruno Mars lookalike (bouffant  hair, ray bans, skinny  jeans, black jacket) and he was petting his girlfriend’s head. Not running his fingers through her nice hair. No, petting her head. Get a dog, dude.
***
I caught the guy across the aisle from me talking to himself. That’s a little moment in life that I treasure. It’s the moment you make eye contact with a person you’ve caught talking to themselves.  It’s the small joys in life, people.
Happy Tuesday.

 February 12, 2013 Transit , , ,

At least I didn’t step in dog crap

So, today was sort of tough at work in terms of dealing with other people. I wanted to lose it a few times. But, then I got a text from Raj. He stepped in dog crap while walking Maddy. It wasn’t her poo. He didn’t even know he had stepped in it. So he walked back to the apartment, trekked it inside and went to his car to drive to work. That’s when it hit him … his car smelled like crap. He found the pile stuck to his shoe and on his jeans. He had to go back to the apartment and change.

The moral of the story: Your day isn’t that bad if you haven’t step in crap.

 

 January 5, 2012 Uncategorized

When you know you need the day off of work

Yesterday I tried to swipe into the building using my sandwich instead of my badge.

 January 3, 2012 work

Resolution: Make ‘em

After  years ignoring the tradition, I’ve decided to make a few resolutions for 2012. I’m doing it mostly because I think it’s practical and helpful. I’ve lost the ideals of my youth that had me thinking a few lines on paper would make me a better person. Maybe it’s completely selfish, but I’m not too interested in being a better person right now. I just want to prove to myself that I can keep a blog for a year, lose weight and start investing – even if all I can afford is penny stocks.
I think not making resolutions is either a side of effect of being too lazy or being an amazing over-achiever who gets things done all the time regardless of resolutions. The way I see it is that I’ve been lazy for a number of years and the only way I’m going to achieve anything is to have goals and stick to them.
So with no further ado … my 2012 resolutions. Feel free to harass me, encourage me or pull me aside with a few stock tips.
1) Lose weight. Yeah, I said it out loud. It’s always been a goal, but this year there is a friend’s wedding in Hawaii and, wait for it, I’m a bridesmaid in a wedding this summer. We’re wearing purple. I don’t want be forever looked at in photos as the purple grape girl. 50 lbs is a good start. And I’m going to meet this goal by regular trips to the gym and participating in one 5k each month of 2012. A little something to keep me motivated.
2) Blog. It’s more than just writing. And it’s more than just writing to see if people read my stuff. It is a practice in self-discipline, something I’ve always been bad at but especially so since stepping away from jobs that demanded it. So I’m going to regularly blog in two places. Here, where you’ll find some personal stuff about my journey this year. And at www.stovephobe.wordpress.com, where I’ll be cooking up some creations about my adventures in the kitchen. Input is greatly welcomed.
3) Investing. Because at my ripe old age, it seems silly not to. I finally have steady flow of money into my 401(k), now I want to diversify, baby!

That’s it. Simple as 1,2,3, right?

 January 1, 2012 Uncategorized

Lost in IKEA

I found myself pushing an office chair with my belongings around the IKEA parking lot this afternoon in search of my lost mother.
Two things brought this on:
1) I took a small, small car to IKEA.
2) I found the chair I’ve been wanting in the “as is” section and had to get it ASAP.
It started as a trip to get a white board, a simple 2′x3′ white board. Then, I said I’d also pick up the shelving unit to go over our toilet. It’s pretty small, actually. Smaller in the box than on display. So, I figured the small car would be fine.
And then #1 happened. I immediately dropped my white board on a couch and claimed the office chair sitting there in the “as-is” section. I didn’t remove my finger from it for a second for fear that some other cheap vulture would claim it.
I wheeled that big, black, leather beauty through the check out line, swiped my card and practically skipped it through the parking lot to the car. The tiny, tiny car.
It didn’t fit. No matter how I moved it. There was a family actually standing across the parking lot watching me in amusement. I had to re-park the car for better access to the passenger’s seat. But, no luck.
So who do I call? My mom.
Mom says, “You’re killin’ me. You know that, right?”
As if I didn’t?
While I’m waiting for mom to make the 20 minute drive to IKEA with her SUV, I wheeled back, with less enthusiasm than before, to the merchandise desk to pick up the shelving unit.
Interesting. It’s a six-foot tall box.
So I wait for mom. She calls twice. She wants to know how to get to where I’m at. I know she’s in the parking lot, yet I don’t see her. She says she must have passed me. She says she’s on the top level and there’s nothing above her. Who goes to the 3rd story of the IKEA parking lot?
Alas, she was not there. She was clear across the parking lot. So I tell her to stay there while I wheel my goods back to the area where my car (and hers) are located. As I’m wheeling back that way, she passes me in the opposite direction.
Cue the Benny Hill music.
So I’m wheeling and talking to her on my cell phone.
She’s driving and talking to me on her cell phone.
I tell her to park when she can. I about-face and break into a swift pace with the swivel chair and six-foot box. She parks in the dark abyss of the parking lot. She tells me her section. I find her car and then see her in the distance walking away, toward the store. Are you kidding me? Never leave the car! Haven’t we learned anything from the crazy wilderness stories of 2011?
I yell. I yell again. She responds. We load up the car and finally make it to my place where Raj is patiently waiting in the parking lot to help unload.

Damn, my desk looks snazzy.

Note the new chair, the white board (with clips), the shelf and lamp. Score!

 December 31, 2011 Goals

Catching up

Let it be known that my problem isn’t always the lack of writing. I just forget to publish. I’m getting the stragglers pressed by the end of the year. It’ll make me look so prolific.
Happy New Year’s all.

Uncategorized

The dog ate your gift

Growing up with cats, I never got to use the line, “my dog ate my homework.”
This week, I came close. “The dog ate your Christmas goodies” is exactly what I said.
It wasn’t my dog Maddy, of course, because she has no teeth and is vertically challenged.
All those things belong to Jessie, the hulk of a Golden Retriever we were watching this week. It was our fault really. We had securely wrapped the plates of mini bundt cakes and put them in the middle of the kitchen table. Sort of forgot about them after that.
Upon our arrival home from errands, Raj declared, “wait a minute.” And there is was — in the corner, a few pieces of knocked over papers, some empty paper plates, and bits of saran wrap. All six mini cakes were gone. Jessie was taking a nap and we were left wondering if dogs get drunk easily.
It was a whiskey cake, a rum cake and a cranberry Galliano cake.
Both dogs are fine, btw.

Jessie the cake thief

Maddy got no cake.

 Animals , ,