To Do's

Left over items from last weeks To Do and their progress; clean room and laundry (not done totally, but I'm satisfied with the effort I made last weekend); write audition announcement and email to T (haven't even started, but I plan to do it tomorrow at lunch); clean refrigerator (mostly done, and TLR said he would finish it); paint portion of fence (pretty sure Amma will do this one, since she's on vacation this week); painting for Amma's church (mostly complete, maybe 1 hour of work left); mechanic (not happening, can't afford it, will learn to live without air conditioning); change WoW billing information (yeah, I'm just lazy on this one).

Which means this week's To Do list looks like this:

Write audition announcement and email to T.  W
Finish painting for Amma's church.  W
Change WoW billing information.
Pack for camping.  W
Find and clean lunchbox.  Tu

It's a short list this week since I'm leaving for the camping trip with Challenger (and what sounds like every member of his family, including the extended parts) on Friday.  So the Den will be dark for a week, possibly longer depending on how long it takes to recover from the vacation and my one day back.

Because, you see, when I signed on for this job, I mentioned my vacation starting from the Friday of this week and going until the Thursday of next week.  Which meant I could potentially come back to work next Friday.  I of course thought that no one would expect me to work a one day week, but I was wrong.  You see, next Friday is when all of our potential models come in to the office for their "go see", which is an industry term for "model interview".  It sounds pretty interesting, right?  But remember, this is a children's brand.  So Friday's go see is going to mean that I come back from a potentially relaxing week of camping/potentially stressful week of Challenger-family interrogation to go to work for an entire day of lots of children running around the office.  I've been told by pretty much everyone in the building that it's simultaneously the most interesting and stressful day of the year.   Greeeeat.  Did I also mention that Friday is the last business day before the official launch of the online store?  Now I think you may be beginning to understand why I might need that weekend to recover before I can write again.

Today, though, was a lot of fun.  I met a lot of people, but not nearly as many as I met at my first day at the Office.  (Need to come up with a name for le top.   LT, maybe?)  Started learning the product, which is interesting, but a lot to memorize*.  I also started learning the data system, which is actually very well laid out and pretty user friendly.  It's surprisingly easy to make mistakes, but it's also easy to fix them, which is more than I can say for other systems I've used.  Also, there's a lot of stuff that goes on in that building.  And it makes me admire the business owner (need a name for her too) a lot more because she knows the name of everyone in the building, including the people in the warehouse who pack the orders.  That's pretty damned cool.

So far, I'm liking it.  Still getting the hang of things, but feeling pretty good so far.  I'm hoping that if I sit next to one of the other girls who works there at lunch for enough days in a row, she'll give in and be my friend.  Don't doubt the strategy; the awkward and adorable stalk is my primary means of making friends.  And it seems that the more awkward I am, the better it works.  The last time I attempted to make a friend in this manner, I talked to someone in the hallway outside a class, sat next to them in class, followed them around after class, and practically forced my phone number on them.  And I got Stripes out of that.  Clearly, the best investment of crazy ever.


*Important note:  Footed leggings are not made in sizes above 12 months.  Footed leggings are NOT pajama bottoms.  We do not make pajamas.  Pajamas cannot be made of 100% cotton because it's a fire hazard.  Yet somehow, polyester pajamas are okay.  Because instead of burning when they catch fire, polyester jammies just melt and adhere to your child's skin, which as we all know is much safer.....

WOO!

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I GOT A JOB!

In your FACE, job market!

More details will be forthcoming.  But for now, know that I start a new job on Monday and am no longer one of the huge mass of unemployed persons storming your cities hunting the elusive jobalope.

Please display more enthusiasm than Oliver Oxenfree, who when I told him the good news, literally covered his face and rolled over.

You'd think he be happier about the source of income that's going to finance a one cat living space.

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Shining, Gleaming, Streaming, Flaxen, Waxen

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As some of you may know, I've been debating cutting my hair for a while now.  I'm bored with it.  It doesn't look bad, but I don't think it looks particularly good either.  I want to cut it all off.  But every time I bring it up in conversation I'm met with indifference, disinterest, or, in Challenger's case, shock and poutyface.  Even Amma, who has always preferred me with short hair wasn't encouraging.  She said she thought it would look better, but was surprised that I wanted to cut it after having been so adamant about growing it out.  So I haven't cut it.  I think about it.  Every time I get a check in the mail, I'm tempted to immediately drive to my hair dresser's and chop off all my hair.  But I don't.  Because I value the opinions of my family and friends, who aren't exactly excited about the idea.  And because I'm worried Amma is right; that as soon as I cut it all off, I'll regret it.

But I had this dream this morning about cutting my hair.  In the dream, my hair was much longer than it actually is.  I told the hairdresser the kind of cut I wanted and in the dream, it was the same one I want now.  The one Michelle Pfeiffer has in the movie Ladyhawke*. 

But as she started cutting my hair, I got worried about upsetting everyone with my haircut, so I told her to leave it longer and instead do a reverse a line cut (where it's longer in the front than it is in the back), which is a less dramatic version of another hair cut option I've been considering; the one worn by Akima in Titan A.E.**.  I've had a hard time finding decent pictures of her haircut, but here's a few that I've managed to find that don't completely suck:

So the hair dresser starts cutting away at my hair and the visual of long sections of my hair falling to the floor didn't bother me at all.  But the hair cut she gave me...  Oh man.  What I wound up with was mutilated bob, neither what I originally asked for, or what I changed my mind to.  It had awful, AWFUL, chopped up ends that reminded me in the dream of the way Dusty's fur looks.  It was horrid-- both the haircut and the somewhat nauseated feeling I woke with.

So what does that mean?  Psychologically, dreams are supposed to be reflections of subconscious desires or fears, right?   Was that my subconscious telling me that I really did want a hair cut and if I try to please everyone, it'll make me feel and look awful?  Or was that my subconscious telling me that if I cut my hair, it really will look as bad as other people (*coughcouhgChallengercoughcough*) are trying to convince me it will?

What should I do?  Should I cut it all off and risk cutter's remorse and the disappointment of those around me?  Should I keep growing it out and just ignore that tiny pull at my heart every time I get a check?  Maybe I could do something with it to make it interesting, but still keep it long.  Like Kida's hair from the Disney Atlantis***?

Suggestions?  Comments?  Other movie references?


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*Excellent movie, by the by.  One of my favourites.  Action, adventure, romance, comedy; the whole she-bang.  Plus, an adorably young Matthew Broderick.

**I love this movie; it forever holds a special place in my heart as my first SciFi movie going experience.  It got awful reviews from everyone, but I loved it.  It also has a pretty bitchin' soundtrack, but I lost my copy. 

***I had a high school school-girl crush on Milo Thatch.  What can I say?  I'm drawn to the smart wiry ones.
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Dog Butchering

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Phase one of dog grooming is complete and I feel like I've stolen my poor dog's identity.  Except for about half of the summers of his life, he's always been a fluffy dog.  And then today I took that away.  This is not the first time he's been un-fluffy, but it is the first time I've un-fluffy-fied him.  He's always been my big fluffy stoopid head, and it's a strange feeling to get him back from the groomers without all his fluff, but it's an even weirder feeling to know that the thing by which I've always identified my dog has been destroyed by my own hand.  Yes, I know he's still the same dog.  He's still my big, stupid lumper.  Now he's just an un-fluffy lumper.  And it's my fault.

So here's the results of an hour of me sitting on my dog and attacking him with scissors:

Yes, I know it's not the cleanest cut in the world (and I do plan on going back sometime in here and evening out some of the rough spots), but I think I did a pretty good job considering the only tool I had was a pair of scissors.

There he is; my non-fluffy lumper.

Also, in case anyone was wondering if orange fur is a good camouflage colour for dirt, I would like to submit the following into evidence.

Eeeeeew.

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