Pet Peeve

I'm annoyed...I'm on a typical consulting job...dozens of consultants crammed into one conference room, sitting on top of each other, sharing 3 phone lines, and personal space. 28 of us to be exact...barely enough elbow room to move...and although I find myself a relatively easy person to get along with I'm finding that i'm annoyed. Someone is using instant messenger...which is fine with me...message away...i'm with you all the way...the problem is, they have the volume on their computer up...and its annoying me...I'm not sure why this is bothering me so much today but it is...i don't have my volume up why should he have his volume up? If everyone had their volume up can you imagine what it would sound like in here?? Seriously folks.

A Merry time in Maryland

After three days, it's back to the garden state this morning. I had a good time in Maryland and wasn't quit ready to drive the two and a half hours back this morning. The drive went by rather quick. I'm not sure if it's because I don't drive on a regular basis or what but all the driving lately really has not phased me at all. I've put more miles on that car then I have drove all together the past 3 years, I think that's pretty funny. That may be a lie, I did drive from Wichita to Tulsa and back and some in Canada last year I guess.
The weekend was a success, I was able to see Heidi and Mike's new house, shopped and had Tea with Heidi, visited with Kevin and Meggan (some friends from Milligan which I have forgotten how much I have missed), sledded down the big hills in the back yard, and ate a lot of food.

Favorite quotes from the weekend:
"Those ducks are going to freeze their asses off"
and
"Sounds like there's a party in your pants"
and
"Woh Jumper, you look old"
I also kinda enjoyed
"You, and you, and you are making this game no fun any more"

I guess it's back to work...so far I've been told by the client today that the plan (which they pretty much gave me) sucks and that I need to recreate it, they don't want to use the mandated timeline that we are required to use, and that I have to start over on the spreadsheet that took me about 8 hours to create for project planning last week. I love New Jerseians.

Tea, it does a body good! 

Awe...still cute and disgusting as always ;) 

Fun times with Kevin and Meggan! Awe I miss them. 

Hello? Does anybody live here?

I'm convinced no one lives in New Jersey. I have been here 5 days, drove from Philly to Princenton (which is central NJ) and Princeton to Wilmington (DE, which is South), and I have not seen one house. It seemed to me that everyone and there brother was trying to leave Jersey last night when I was driving to Delaware. I know people live in northern Jersey, across the bridge from NYC but other then that I'm not sure there are any other inhabitants of the state. There is a lot of traffic though, so I'm guessing once 5 o'clock hits everyone gets the heck out of dodge.

If I have to hear any more about the Eagles going to the Super Bowl...i may pull my hair out...i think there's a good chance i may be bald when i get home...

Cruising along at 56k...

So the wireless network at the hotel is down...not that I have wireless on this ancient laptop I was given. However, the hotel does supply you with a wireless bridge...not that it matters tonight b/c the wlan is down in my room...lovely. So i'm dialing out...yes you heard me...dial up... people still use it you know...I almost forgot about it...i was sitting here thinking...dang it, what am i going to do...I wanted to send a few e-mails...it finally dawned on me...oh yeah...i guess I could actually dial out.

Happy Birthday!

It's my mom's Birthday, and she has not had the best Birthday history. Her Dad and several other family members and friends have died right around her Birthday in past years. I don't travel all that much for work but last year I was in Canada and this year, yet again I'm out of town. So Happy Birthday Mom! Sorry!

Jersey Girl

So I'm in Jersey. I got here Monday and I will be on the east coast for 11 days...4 days in Jersey, 1 day in Delaware, 2 days visiting Heidi and Mike in Maryland and then back to New Jersey for 4 more days. My first task may have been my hardest task...after landing in Philly, rent a car and drive to Princenton, NJ. For most, that may not seem like a task. For someone who doesn't own a car...and has drove, probably a total of 40 miles the past year...thats a pretty big task....Especially in a strange place, while reading directions, in the snow...it was great fun. But I made in one piece and only had to turn around twice. So I figured I done good.

I'm back in the game...

Well that did take long...all I had to do was post my blog...shortly before I was about to leave tonight my team leader called and told me that they need me in New Jersey for a project starting Monday. So off to Jersey I will go for 2 to 4 weeks...but most likely 4. The good thing is that I will only be a couple hours from my sister and i think I should be able to go out and see her and her new house one weekend instead of flying back. So that's the story. I'm off the bench! Lets play ball!

On the Bench...

I'm on the bench. What I didn't realize is that not everyone knows what that means. I guess I've been in consulting world long enough to forget which words phrases are common and which words are the lingo...but several people have asked me how my new job is going and I've been telling them, although so far I'm liking what I'm seeing, I'm on the bench...and I get these blank stares or smirks and realize that no one knows what the heck that means. It means I'm bored out of my mind. I have nothing to do but computer based training and learning more about the wonderful world of ACN. My fellow bench warmers and I laugh that when we are on projects we wish we had some down time...and when we are 'on the bench' we wish we were in the game. A little case of 'the grass is always greener' I guess.

New Jib Jab...

Gotta see the new Jib Jab...not as good as some of the others but worth a look...

A dream...

I haven't posted about dreams in a while so here it goes...

I was on a plane flying from or to Mexico with my friend Mandy and her family. I'm not sure if we were coming or going b/c once we had arrived I definitely was not home although I felt like I was. I noticed that the water was very very blue and I remember the plane ride was very smooth. There were birthday or left over Christmas presents or something of the such waiting for me once I got there. The strange thing was not that there were presents there for me...the strange thing was that there was one for 'blind date guy that fell off the face of the earth' ...Halloween stuffed animal...with his number and a message to call him...needless to say i laughed and said yeah right...

Now that I'm awake...I'm proud of myself, that in my state of unconsciousness, I laughed at his little note saying to call him...

Happy 1st Birthday QLC!

Exactly 23,987 words...365 days...150 posts later Quarter Life Crisis is alive and thriving. It's been fun. I'm looking forward to many more years of fun filled blogging!

Gosh! Dang!

If you haven't seen Napoleon Dynamite...you must. Gosh it's friggin hilarious.

What not to do on your first day of work...

I am taking some medication daily for my migraines and have been having some side effects so have been visiting some websites and forums about the medicine. Many people have posted that they have stupid moments due to this pill, actually the medicine is called Topamax and they (on the forum) have nicknamed it Dope-amax. I was sure they were just blaming their silliness on this medication as an easy outreading and that this would never happen to me...until monday.

So we were asked to put our names on the front and back of place cards and put them on the table in front of us, which I did. 4 hours later we get up to go to lunch, I look back at my place card and notice my card says 'Emilly Homrich' on the side that was FACING ME AND ABOUT 35 OF MY ORIENTATION CLASS MATES. I utter to the guy who had been sitting next to me all morning...I spelled my name wrong...he said he noticed it but thought maybe I had an interesting spelling and that if it was him he wouldn't have told anyone and then continued to tease me the rest of the day. At least it broke the ice right??????

A Breath of Fresh Air

My first three days have been a success. I know that I have only been there a couple days but it seems like it has been a breath of fresh air. I feel like they really have their ducks in a row and that they really know how to run their business. I'm excited to be a part of it all. It has been kind of strange, after all, my new friends were just forced to transition some work to IBM because we lost a client to them (most likely b/c of promises big blue will never be able to keep)so my old friends know my new friends...and for the most part I think everyone played nice, but it does put me in a bit of a weird position, after all I want to be one of them, yet I don't want to be the traitor either. I see woman in leadership position all over, nice woman...at least it seems that way. I'm excited to work with them! I feel like I have made the right decision...either way I keep telling myself...no looking back...straight ahead...eyes forward...there's nothing there to see...and I feel good about that. I'm just feeling so good about this year, I'm not sure what it is yet but I have a good feeling about lots of things. Last night at my gym my instructor said it was 'the year of the woman' i'm not sure if thats the truth but its starting to feel that way.

Starting Over

Tomorrow the slate is clear. I begin a new day, a fresh outlook on life...My OCD got the best of me tonight when it took me 45 minutes to decide between two outfits to wear tomorrow to my first day at the new job and then iron it. Even I will admit it was a bit ridiculous. I am excited to see what tomorrow holds.

As for Friday. My last day at IBM went smooth. It was exciting and sad at the same time. I was sad to leave the people that I had grown to care about but at the same time was ready to do it. I never knew how hard it was going to be to drag all the files I had on my computer...specs, notes, documentation, to the trash can and recycle it...I had to pause a second and kinda look away as I hit the delete key. All that work, all that time, gone just like that. It was really surreal. I also learned a valuable lesson. Never have your friends e-mail your work e-mail account..wow was that a loss. The only way I could export the mail was in one big file which was kinda useless. The good thing is that not everyone used that account, but still, the amount of e-mails I had to let go was a bit disturbing. I don't like to get rid of anything that I can hold against some one in the future ;).

Questions:

. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? Emily Nicole Homrich
2. WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? Blue with snowmen sledding
3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Come Thou Fount
4.WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Pizza
5. DO YOU WISH ON STARS? sure
6. If you were a crayon what color would you be? blue
6b. If you could be an animal what would you be? Fish
7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? cold, about 35 degrees
8. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my mom
9. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? YES! of course
10. HOW OLD ARE YOU TODAY? 25
11. FAVORITE DRINK? Madori Sour
12. FAVORITE SPORT? is tap dancing a sport...cause thats my new favorite
14. WHO WOULD YOU MEET IF IT COULD BE ANYONE DEAD OR ALIVE? JESUS
15. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? NO
16. SIBLINGS: MY SISTER, and Brother-In-Law
17. FAVORITE MONTH? August
18. FAVORITE FOOD? pizza
19. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Chasing Liberty
20. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Christmas Eve
21. WHAT DO YOU DO TO VENT ANGER? clean or yell
22. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOYS AS A CHILD? BARBIE
23. SUMMER OR Winter? SUMMER
24. HUGS OR KISSES? both
25. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? it depends...cake...vanilla, ice cream..chocolate
29. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS? Me and Fred
30. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I can't remember but I'm guessing it was probably because of work
31. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? Mandy (ALMOST 20 YEARS NOW!)
32. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? got all dressed up and went to my church's Almost New Years Eve ball
33. FAVORITE SMELLS? pine trees or pretty boys
34. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? watching people worship
35. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? snakes and crazy rapists
36. PLAIN, BUTTERED OR SALTED POPCORN? buttered and salted
37. FAVORITE CAR? BMW
38. FAVORITE FLOWER? ROSES
39. NUMBER OF KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING? 3
40. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Sundays
41. WHAT DID YOU DO ON YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY? I flew in at the butt crack of dawn from Cinci, and my parents came down town and took me out to dinner
42. HOW MANY STATES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? 3
43. HOW MANY CITIES HAVE YOU LIVED IN? 6 that i can remember
44. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV. SHOW? Amazing Race
45. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CARTOON CHARACTER? sponge bob
46. Are your kitchen cabinets organized? i plead the 5th
47. Who is your favorite actor? brad pitt
48. Who is your favorite actress? sandra bullock
49. Do you change the oil in your car every 3000 miles like you suppose to? No I don't have a car
50. What was the last thing you bought for someone? chirstmas presents
51. When is the last time you skipped down the road? i believe i did when heidi was in town
52. What is the funniest name you have ever heard? bubba
53. Do you like Donald Trump? kinda do
54. Do you believe in saving trees? stupid tree huggers...just kidding, yes we should save trees
55. Do you agree with Martha Stewart being put in jail? No
56. When do you think Jesus is coming back? when we least expect it
57. Are you sure? Yep!

Things just got stranger...

So I'm sitting at my desk this morning...waiting for the indians to join the conference call so I could do some 'knowledge transfer' when one of the only higher up thats left in the Chicago office comes over to my desk...now lets take a brief time out, this guy is a nice guy but I've probably talked to him a total of 2 times in my life span of 3.5 years at IBM and one of those times was b/c ironicly we were seated next to each other on the same plane for business...here he is standing at my desk, 2 days prior to my departure from my favorite blue company with a goofy smirk on his face. He says 'I heard you were leaving'...I said 'Yes, I am. My last day is tomorrow' ...he says...'When's your first day?' I said (not even thinking why this is an odd question at this point in the conversation)... 'Monday' ...he said...'Ahhh, you'll beat me by a week, I'll see you over there'...insert jaw hitting floor here

16 hours and counting...

it is here...it is coming...wow...3 years and 7 months of my life I have been sitting at the same desk...day in and day out...the longest period of time in my life thus far that the walls around me have not changed and in 2 days that will all go away...and i'm feeling, suprisingly, unphased by it all. Sure I'm going to miss the people...but many of them are already gone or don't work in the office any more anyway...I am, suprisingly, not really nervous or anxious...just, well...just, ready to go...

Isn't It Ironic..don't ya think?

So tonight I went over and hung out with my friend Katie and her boyfriend Zack. They had also invited her friend Molly who moved to the north west suburbs in August from Nebraska where she had gone to school w/ Katie and Zack. I had met Molly a couple times before and she was bring a guy friend of interest which no one had met before. When they walked in they introduced him to everyone and I had a funny feeling that I knew this guy. So I told him he looked very familiar and he said yeah you do too, what's your last name, I said Homrich, he said "LC right?" and I was like "what?" and he goes "LC?" and it hit me we graduated High School together. He transferred in our Junior year so we had only gone to school a couple years together but we had a mutual friend. After talking a bit we found out we are both working with Logistics and Purchasing also which was kinda funny. How ironic that a friend of a friend, that I have only met a couple of times, brings a guy I graduated from high school with in Indiana to hang out with us. Very funny.

Goodbye to 2004...

It started with a breakup and 3 weeks in Canada...and ended with me quitting my job...

A Year of firsts:
First time further west then Tulsa Oklahoma
First time to Portland, OR
First time to Seattle, Washington
First time seeing real mountains
First trip to Sin City
First Opening day at 'The Great American Ball Bark'
First time across the Border by myself
First blind date
First counter offer
First technical interview
First realtor
First Tap dance lesson
First time I voted

Best Trip of 2004 - Kamloops, British Columbia/Portland, Oregon/Las Vegas, Nevada even if it was work related it was a great experience

Best Purchase of 2004 - My IPOD

Best Concert of 2004 - Brad Paisley

Best Movie of 2004 - The Notebook (okay I didn't see very many movies this year, you must understand this)

Biggest Lost of 2004 - Wilma Painter

Favorite TV Show of 2004 - Everwood

That's all I can think of for now...and i'm falling asleep...