red hair and black leather

Just spent some time trying to explain why I wear black all the time and the aesthetic/ethos of Goth (& punk, tangentially) to a co-worker. She's nice and we work closely together, which is why I took the time, and she's more informed than your usual bear, but it was still... odd.

Trying to explain my personal aesthetic is tricky in any circumstance: I'm not one or t'other - as in most everything in my life, I'm wandering merrily along my own little weird path, picking and choosing what I like best to (often inadvertently) create the Juliana Aesthetic. The constants are black nails, silver rings, black clothing, short & dyed hair. Everything else is negotiable, as long as it's flattering/cut close to the body (I'm aware that the two are occasionally mutually exclusive). I don't like extra fabric or things that get in my way - I'm clumsy enough that extra fabric/fripperies are just an accident waiting to happen.

Or, I can just admit that I still try to dress like I'm in The Matrix, but with more skirts.



ION, I really wish people would learn to apostrophize properly. Seeing crap like "All manager's must be [blah]" and "Product1 is discontinued, Product2 is taking it's place" is business writing is driving me batshit. Especially when it's (short for it is) my boss. Bob the Angry Flower is much more eloquent on this subject, of course.

I know, I know. Much more important things in the world, plus I abuse commas like it's going out of style, but there are times when someone needs to take a stand. Dammit.

Uber-competitive people and perfectionist bosses annoy the everliving fuck out of me. "I *must* win! Ha ha, I won and you didn't! Nyah ne-nyah nyah nyah nyah!" "This isn't the way I want it, and it's your fault. Don't take any initiative, because you won't do it the way I want you to." A hearty fuck you to both classes of people.

We had quite a few large (275+) mailings that had to go out via overnight mail on Monday. I, being the office bitch, was in charge of coordinating them. I was scrambling from Thursday on to set these fuckers up, with a break on Friday to go to lunch with my boss to discuss my future goals. One mailing went incredibly smoothly, with the only problems being 1) a delay in label printing due to websites being down and 2) one envelope got stuffed with the incorrect items. Both of these were easily corrected and compensated for.

(We waited until Monday to print labels for both sets of mailings, because we did not have confirmation that the mailings could go out until 8 a.m. on Monday. Argh.)

The other mailing, however, did not go smoothly. The website going down ended up voiding about 100 labels, the other website going down meant absolutely no labels from them, the printing of materials to be stuffed was severely delayed, the alphabetizations of the label database and the material database were wildly mismatched, and we couldn’t get started until approximately 4 p.m. A lot of people stayed to help sort things out and write labels. Most people stayed until 8. I left (with the person in charge of the mailing’s permission) at 6:15, because 1) I Had been working on it for the past 3 days and 2) I had rehearsal that night, and we’re awfully close to cue-to-cue. (I normally leave at 4:30.)

Mind you, that entire situation had me stressed to the gills and upset. I was already stressed with trying to make sure everything was in place for both of those huge mailings as well as 20 other smaller ones, and then to have such royal FUBARs going on was very upsetting. The topper came the next morning, when my boss chewed me out for leaving when I did. Fine, her prerogative, although I think it sets a dangerous precedent, but what can I do? The worst part, though, came when the person that had been in charge of the FUBARed mailing decided to give everyone On The Spot Awards as a thank-you, and my boss told her not to give one to me. Now, I don’t really give a shit about On The Spots since they’re not worth much, but it’s always a very nice gesture. And to have my boss tell this other woman that I didn’t deserve one because I left early? And when the woman stood up for me and said that she had told me to leave when I did, my boss told her that it wasn’t her place to tell me when I could go. I still got the award, because the other woman rocks, but I haven’t been able to look my boss in the eye all week.

I haven't talked to my boss about it yet, nor have I (as some people have told me to do) gone to her superior (who is a very cool guy). I've been waiting until the rage dies down and I can be somewhat reasonable. And now he's out of town. So, that's fun.


I got my annual review today. 3 out of 5 possible, so I’ve Met or Exceeded Some Expectations. However, she made sure to tell me that she rated me a little higher than she thought I deserved on one key area, because it had been such a chaotic year. Thank you for noticing.


Lastly, some tax problems from 1999 have risen up to bite me on the ass, and I’ve spent all week (when I’ve not been running from fire to fire at work) trying to correct them.


So, yeah. That’s why I haven’t been around a lot lately. Fuckin’ whee…..

New Icon! (made for me by maidengurl.) Yay pretty fractals!

So, I was finally set to go out last night. Back to G0, which I haven't been to in over a year. Z had even agreed to go with me, because I don't really like going there by myself. And what happened? My body betrayed me, and I was in bed by 8:30.

Way back in the day, I did go much more often. I never really talked to anyone, just danced by myself (or with Z), but I was out. We also used to go to the Metro, and dance either upstairs or downstairs, depending on the night and the DJ. I miss the Metro. A lot. I miss dancing. I miss having energy and going out all the time.

I would be happy to blame this on the recent accident, but we all know that's not true. I've not been going out for longer than that. Much longer. Hell's bells, I don't even make it out to karaoke that often.

Feh. You kids, offa my lawn!!!

1. As stated before, spring is the WORST time for me to get new clothes. Nothing is slinky or structured or just clean-cut or red or black. It's all ruffly and pink and green. Hrmph.

2. I am very VERY tired of the current skirt lengths. Tell me who, precisely, does the mid-calf length flatter? No woman I know looks better in a mid-calf than an at-the-knee length. It's all about lines and proportions, and most of us have legs that look like we use them. Also, when the mid-calf is combined with the high-waisted, I look like the dowdiest dowd this side of Dowdonia. It ain't good. I've taken to shopping in the Petites section, because at least I know the waist will hit at the right spot. Sheesh.

3. I am having to shop for new clothes at this, the worst time for it, because all of my old clothes are starting to look worn, and the worn that can't be repaired or redyed. Bother.

4. Men? If you are going to dye your hair (which I am all for, believing as I do that hair is a fashion accessory), pleasepleaseplease spend the extra $5 or so and plonk down for Feria or Herbal Essences, because the Just For Men colors Do Not Cut It. They look flat and fake-R. It's not good. Believe me. Either that, or go to Aveda. They know what to do.

5. What happened to the tall, sexy, yet still sensible-making wide or flared heels? Why is everything all about the stiletto heels now? I'm not liking it. It feels like the fashion designers are trying to make us all helpless and girly and unable to walk for more than a block. And the wedges aren't much better.

6. For the love of all that's holy, do NOT let spandex bike shorts come back into fashion acceptance. Please, let us just bury that horrific time and move on. Please.

Okay. That's it, for now.

Ohhhhh, my! You're 'Othello!'


Which famous Shakespeare play are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

NO idea how I got this one.

Argh.

We converted to Windows XP last night. I hate the format. I hate the look. I need sharp delineations, instead of this fuzziness and shading. I hate the fact that I can't modify the view as far as I could with WinNT. We've lost a ton of programs.

Grumpgrumpgrumpgrump.

Being human, I'll adapt. I still don't like it.

Also? This collapsing shit, where all of my Explorer windows are underneath the same tab on the bottom? Unacceptable. Must fix.

Ran 6 miles yesterday. Why so short? A few reasons....

1. Heat
2. Humidity
3. Distinct lack of sleep
4. Legs still exhausted from Saturday. Yes, I am a wimp.
5. Due to heat, humidity and exhaustion, I haven't been eating enough. Notsogood for the energy levels.

So, I decided to cut my run short when self-destructive behaviors started to sound like a really good idea. You know - punching people who got in my way in the head, openly mocking people's sartorial choices, kicking people who let their dogs run free on the path in the shins, composing angry missives to exes, throwing annoying children into the lake - that kind of thing.

Anyhoo. No time for the running tonight, so yoga and weightlifting. Yes.

This cartoon seemed appropriate....

Dear Universe,

Kindly BACK THE HELL OFF my friends and loved ones, okay? We need no more of the following:

Debilitating diseases
Mental-health issues
Pregnancy scares
Financial hardships
General panic at the world situation
Unsupportive spouses/partners
Death

We are full up. Give us some bloody hope, please.

Sincerely,

Mama Bear

P.S. I mean it. Don't make me come over there.

P.P.S. If the hope includes nekkid pirates with eyeliner, so much the better.