Stories

I haven’t mentioned this here before, but one of my best friends growing up and I have been writing a collaborative story based on a plot she thought up a long time ago when she thought she had the best idea for teen dramas ever. They aren’t the best ideas and to be honest, they aren’t even really good ideas but I opened my big mouth and ended up having to write an angst-riddled, teen girl drama with her every week. For the past five months, we’ve been passing off the story week-to-week to have the other person fill in the holes of the story. I thought it would be kind of dumb (and it is) but it is actually really entertaining; check it out at AshleyWritesAgain.

This past week has been kind of crazy when it comes to work. I’ve learned my schedule for the next few months; it’s going to be lots of time sitting in airports and airplanes and not a lot of time at home. If I play it right, I can have status on three airlines by the end of the year instead of the measly two I hold right now. “Would you like a complimentary upgrade, sir?” “Why yes, actually I would, thank you very much.”

My career (though short thus far) is starting to have a slight global shrink effect due to all this travel. People I’ve worked with and trained with at various points are now starting to pop up all over my radar either when I travel or when they travel to me. Even in three years I’ve seen the same 200 or so people repeatedly due to the rather small community I work in. I especially like going somewhere where they have a new person who has never met me. I come in with all the hugs and handshakes that are typical and the newbie is just sitting there thinking, “Who IS this guy?” If you get the chance, watch someone like that to see his or her face. It’s hysterical to see the confusion.

Paperwork

I would like to recount a story of my life that actually happened. While the lines are slightly paraphrased due in part to my memory, the intent is there. Enjoy!

Me: (Walking to the desk to turn in a piece of paper they just asked for.)
Attendant: Paperwork and ID please.
Me: (Hands over paperwork) Here ya go!
Attendant: (Taking paperwork) Thanks.
Me: (After a second or two) What do you guys do with that paperwork?
Attendant: We make sure you are the person whose name is at the top and then we shred it.
Me: (Now slightly more than a little confused) All you do is check my name and then destroy that copy?
Attendant: Yep.
Me: What if my name doesn’t match?
Attendant: That doesn’t ever happen, but we would still shred it.
Me: So you destroy it no matter what.
Attendant: Yes.
Me: Other people also need a copy of that paperwork; can I just get that copy back after you verify my name?
Attendant: No, we have to keep this copy.
Me: But you aren’t keeping it, you’re just essentially throwing it away.
Attendant: We have to keep it for our records.
Me: Do you put the shredded pieces in my personnel folder?
Attendant: (Confused as to why I would ask such a dumb question) Of course not.

I walked away more than a little perplexed with the attendant thinking I was a moron for asking ridiculous questions. I still don’t get it.

Packing

Last week I said I was going to attempt to pack in advance for one of my upcoming trips due to the amount of non-preparation I have with regard to each trip I take. That idea has failed twice in one week. I took a quick trip that I packed 14 minutes in advance of walking out the door for. I have a trip coming up that I have not even THOUGHT about let alone prepare for in any meaningful way. I think I just get apathetically overwhelmed with leaving again. I’m pretty good at the quick-pack method by now though, so I guess it’s not too big a deal.

The house has never recovered from the party we had last weekend, so now I have to clean the house and prepare for leaving. I think that has made me slightly crazy. I want the house to be tidy to make packing easier, but it takes so much time to get everything put away.

I think I have finally gotten the technology in my life taken care of. I have a new laptop that has all the storage hooked to it I need, I am preparing my desktop to send it in to recycle it (computers in landfills are not a good thing, people) and I have given all my monitors (which I no longer use) to my roommate who has built his own version of flight control on his desk. I think he has the capability to launch space shuttles from all the monitors and computers he has now.

There are a few things left over from the party (namely the piñata and the shiny confetti we thought would be an awesome idea) so when one of our friends came over to let our dog play with her dog, she just kind of laughed at us. I said it was my fault I didn’t get candy ergo the piñata was still in one piece and she just shook her head. I felt kind of like I let her down even though it was part of the party decorations. The disparaging look and comments made us all laugh.

Party!

I stepped off a plane last night at 2200 and began preparation for a going away party at the house for a good friend. I decided cleaning the house in preparation for the 30 people who were coming was too daunting a task, so I took to a tactic I learned from my Aunt. I picked everything up and dumped it in my bedroom and then shut the door. This worked well until it was time for me to go to bed and I had to leap over mounds of out-of-place items to get to the bed.

My roommate’s mom made me a t-shirt quilt from all sorts of t-shirts that I have had at various points in my life and which have some sort of meaning to me. It turned out spectacularly and we all had a good laugh when I went to pick it up. Her sister had been begging her for a king-sized quilt for years and she had sworn that she would never make a king-sized quilt in her life because they are just too big and take too much time. When she saw the quilt for me and realized how big it was (king-sized) she gave her sister all kinds of grief for making a quilt for someone who wasn’t even in the family but her own sister couldn’t even get one from her.

The party went incredibly well! We had shish kebabs on the grill and all sorts of fixins’ for a proper adiós from the crew here. The party had the added bonus of getting rid of some of the inordinate amount of beer we have in our fridge from hosting various parties and dinners over the past few months. Everyone had a great time and having the house that full was a lot of fun for everyone. When all the people left and there were only four of us cleaning up, we all realized how loud the house had gotten with music playing and everyone talking/shouting to one another. It was one of those situations where the din simply grew louder every time someone else started talking and finally grew to a roar.

We are all running on two hours of sleep because we had to get everything ready, but it was completely worth it and a sendoff worth of the great guy who abandoned us here.