Triumph!?!?

Apparently I missed a very interesting class on my birthday. I refused to go to class on my birthday because I refused to be miserable on my birthday. But I've got my inside sources that keep me posted on all the gossip. :) So I got an earful about how the professor spent the majority of the class ranting because he found out about my complaint letter. He doesn't know my name, but he knows that the complaint was filed by a female Operations Research student. So uh, that limits it down to about 3 of us in the class. There were other complaints but that is the one he knows about, I guess because my complaint was more formal than some of the others. Anyway, he spent the class yelling about the complaint, directing all of his anger at the other two female OR students. Very professional. He also spent time discussing how he is leaving the university to go into industry. Why? Because the caliber of students has obviously decreased. So it's our fault that he's incompetent. Again, we come back to my disgust with people who refuse to take responsibility for their actions.

I felt it was my responsibility to let the department know what happened. So I sent an email to the OR Chair as well as the Dean. I wanted to make sure they knew that there will likely be 3 of us that will be retaliated against in our grades. The next day, I got a call saying that the professor would not be teaching the class, at least this week and maybe not for the rest of the semester. My first response was a mixture of shock and happiness. It was such a good feeling to know that this type of behavior will not be tolerated and that the school had taken action to ensure a positive educational experience for their students.

Well, then I went to class. The Chair of the Statistics Department was there to teach the class. First off, he gave a GREAT class. It was thorough, moved at a good pace, and he was able to explain things and answer questions. It's the way I would have expected this class to run from the beginning. The problem now is that he's teaching things assuming that we understand all of the topics in the previous chapters. But we haven't really been taught that. I took notes but have a ton of big question marks down the side of my notes where I was lost.

I left the class feeling entirely overwhelmed. The final is in 2 weeks and we're flying through material, including things that involve math from calculus 2 and 3. If we had been doing this since the beginning of the semester, I would have refreshed myself on the topics. But now there are 2 weeks. I can't reteach myself calc 2 and 3 as well as an entire semester of statistics in that time. And we have no idea what to expect on the final now. If the final is written as it should be for this course, I fully expect to fail.

I'm not sure what to do now. If I email the department, I'm complaining about their solution, even though I've been begging for a solution. So I just feel like a complainer. But at the same time, I don't think they fully understand how bad the class was with the old professor. I really think it's something you had to experience in order to understand. So I'm just kind of lost and overwhelmed now.

Most Adorable Puppy Ever

I have no story with this. I just have the cutest puppy in the whole world!

Taking over for Stephanie

I was naively hopeful that when my boss went on maternity leave, I wouldn't really be taking over ALL of her responsibilities. I was very very wrong to hope for such things. I suppose it doesn't help that her boss, our COO, is also out this entire month. So the projects seem to be turning to me for everything. We have one project that requires a little more handholding than others and I swear I hear from them at least 10 times a day, asking me to review something or help with something or give advice on something. I don't mind the responsibility or helping, in fact I'm really enjoying the role. The only problem is that we're also supposed to be preparing to go to CMMI Level 3 in the fall and I haven't even had a second to think about it since my boss left. I worked 14 hours today, all on one project. Just to clarify, I am not a project person; I'm a corporate person that is supposed to be aiding the projects with quality. So I'm wearing a lot of hats right now. I'm definitely getting involved in a lot of interesting project activities which I like, but it also gets a little frustrating sometimes knowing all of the other things I should be doing but don't have time for. Sometimes I just want to tell some of the project members to think things through a little more before punting to me for help. There are times when I feel like they create a very rough draft of something, assuming I will take the time to fix all of the gaps, without considering the fact that I might have my own tasks to do too. So that can get a little frustrating. At the same time, it is so interesting to see all the aspects of the project and to be able to help in such a big way.

Americone Dream

First, if you don't watch The Colbert Report, you should. It's on Comedy Central after the Daily Show (which you should also be watching). Ben & Jerry's just made an ice cream for Colbert, called Americone Dream. I'm not usually a big fan of Ben & Jerry's because many of their ice creams are chocolate based, and I'm more of a vanilla kinda girl. But I had to try Americone Dream- it's vanilla ice cream with pieces of chocolate covered waffle cone and caramel swirl. Yum! Go buy it!

George Carlin

Tonight we went to see George Carlin at the Warner Theater. I was torn about going to the Warner after all the problems I had with those tickets before. But we already had the tickets. One thing I will say I'm a little happy about- the Warner doesn't seem to be booking a lot of good shows, which I feel is at least a little deserved after their mis-handling of the BACI Management situation.

Anyway, we went to see Carlin tonight. The verdict has always been out on Carlin for me as to whether I like his style of comedy or not. Some of it just seems rude for the sake of being rude. For instance, he did a couple of jokes that were very derogatory towards women. Then he later stated that he feels women haven't been treated right and haven't truly achieved equality even though they deserve it. But to me, that statement is nullified after you've told a joke where you call a woman the c word or refer to gang banging. I don't think you get to go back and cover that with a blanket statement that women deserve more than they're getting. It's hypocritical and perpetuates the poor treatment of women. To be clear, I have no problem with making fun of traits that women stereotypically have. The same goes for men, race, religion, etc. But just using derogatory language with no substance seems like an excuse to use the language, as opposed to an attempt to be funny. It struck me as low class.

The rest of the show was pretty good. He had some funny bits about politics and religion that I actually found very funny. But overall, it was just kinda slow. I don't know if it's because he's getting older, but I left feeling like the show was only ok. I feel like I've seen some better acts from unknown names at the Improv.

Beautiful Day

It is beautiful outside today. I worked until about midnight last night so I decided to take advantage of that to enjoy the weather this morning and start work a little late. Georgie and I went walking- about 3 1/2 miles. I had to drug up first of course- claritin and my prescription nasal spray. The allergies are still bad but I wasn't willing to miss out on this great weather. We had a great time, although I could definitely feel my lungs getting tight. I used my inhaler when we got back though and I feel mostly ok now. We're supposed to have great weather all weekend.

Izzie had her follow up vet appointment this afternoon for her ear infection. All is well! She's always going to have ear issues but hopefully if we clean her ears weekly, she won't get more infections.

Baby Brendan

Long day. I wasn't supposed to be at work again until next Tuesday because I have client sites to visit, etc. But then when I got home yesterday I realized I left my power cord to my laptop at work. I never do stuff like that. I checked everything before I left the office because I needed certain documents for the next few days and wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything. I must have been so involved thinking about the paperwork I needed that somehow I just left the cord sitting on my desk. This morning I started trying to pull files I would need off my laptop to work from my home computer but without access to our network, it was going to be really difficult to feel productive. So I ended up changing my schedule and going into the office.

The great part: I got to meet baby Brendan! Brendan is Stephanie's new baby. (Steph is my boss.) She came into the office with him and he is sooooo cute! I don't know if I've ever been around a baby this young. My friends that have had babies have always been out of state so by the time I meet them, they're a lot bigger/older. He was so tiny and soooo adorable. Somehow I thought he would be more fragile. Plus, seeing her pregnant for so long and seeing him actually kick her stomach last week (so cool) made me feel a connection to the little guy. When my other friends have had kids it's sort of an abstract idea- like, I know they're pregnant but it isn't real to me since I don't see them pregnant, if that makes any sense. I think this might have been one of the first times I thought it might be cool to have one of these little guys at some point. (No time soon!)

Virginia Tech Shootings

The Virginia Tech shootings are a tragedy. The whole situation is so sad. I wish the media would step back though. They're like pitbulls attacking, eager to blame everyone for the shooting except the shooter. I'm a big supporter of reviewing an incident after the fact and determining what could have been done better. But the media is doing everything they can to blame the police for not taking better action, the school for not having a better plan in place or shutting down classes sooner, etc. How about this: Some asshole kid shot and killed 31 other people. It's his fault. Period. The police and school did what they thought was best at the time. Hindsight is always 20/20 and there's always something that could have been done better. But to put blame on the people who were trying to protect the students and do what was in their best interest is sick and wrong.

The media will do anything for a story and it literally makes me sick. I refused to watch the news covereage after it happened yesterday. I started watching for a few minutes and all they did was harass the police and school officials and repeat the same 2 facts over and over again. I think at that point, watching any further is just participating in a heightened level of gossip. You gain no more facts about what happened, are no more knowledgeable about the situation, and therefore it is a useless waste of media covereage.

Regardless though, none of that really matters. The vengeful nature of the media and hate for the kid that did the shooting don't matter. Revenge won't bring these kids back to life. It makes me sad that the only thing being talked about is who we can blame. What we should be talking about is how horrible this loss of life is. Young lives were taken for no reason. Can you imagine being one of those parents? And they can't even turn on the tv because every station is covering the "story". It's so sad. My heart literally aches for the victims and their families.

Painting

I woke up Saturday morning with the drive to do house projects and start finishing up this place. I've done a lot of painting and hanging pictures and stuff but the final touches have never happened. I think it's time. The stripes I did in the bedroom have bothered me since I originally painted them. There was more orange than I intended and it really popped out at you when you walk in the bedroom. But not in a good way. I felt like it overwhelmed the room. I've asked everyone that has come over for their honest opinion and everyone has said it's good as it is. But it's one of those things where I can't tell if they're being honest cause I'm sure no one really wants to insult my painting. This is where being socially proper and all that is a bad thing. So I finally decided to repaint. There's much less orange now and I like it SO much better. Here's pics of the before and after.

Before (with lotsa orange). After (with a lot less orange).











After the wall, I decided to redo the bathroom. It's just been plain and white so far. So I painted it a beige color, got new, super soft, bath mats, and a new brown, cloth, shower curtain. Oh, and new shower curtain hooks. It's like a peaceful little oasis now instead of the ucky white boring bathroom. FYI- it's really hard to take a picture in our bathroom because the counter and cabinets curve.

At about 3am I decided maybe it was a good stopping time for my projects. I realized I hadn't sat down for about 15 hours other than maybe one 30 minute break. I tend to do that when I do projects and then all of a sudden I realize my entire body is exhausted.



This morning, we cleaned up and moved some furniture around in the bedroom. We now have a chair and ottoman by the window in the bedroom which is really nice (I'm in it now). So now this part of the house is done! Yay! I don't want to leave these rooms- they're so cozy. :)

Puppy Toys

We got new puppy toys today. We found these long dog shaped toys with squeakies in them. The pups are suckers for a good squeaky. Here's some pics of the pups with their new toys. They had so much fun.
As with all toys, the pups eventually decided that the squeaky is evil and must be destroyed. They tear them out and then continue to play with the remaining pelt of the stuffed toy.
This is the aftermath of a good long play. Notice, Georgie and Izzie still have one of toys with them on the couch as they pass out.

Self Help Books

We went to the bookstore tonight and I was browsing through the management section to see if there was anything good. A coworker recommended a book she is reading so I thought I'd check it out. Well, the self help section is nearby and I couldn't help but browse some of the titles. I will preface what I'm about to say by stating that I do understand some types of self help books. For instance, I think it's appropriate to have helpful information that people who are going through real life struggles can relate to and that will help them cope and heal. So I am not referring to books on abuse, depression, illness, etc.

That said, I can't understand the value of the majority of self help books. Books like "Happiness Now", I don't get. Seriously, I'm not making up that title. It makes me sad that people really think they need to read a book to tell them how to be happy. Especially since happiness is so subjective. These days everyone thinks they have some big issue. It's almost like they want one. Why not be happy about the fact that your biggest problem is not being 100% happy and feeling like you need to read a book on how to be happy? I mean, really. Nothing that bad has happened to you if that's what you're reading.

This whole concept goes along with the growing tendency for people to look outside of themselves for self-worth and fulfillment. People like to talk about the number of friends they have and how many plans they have and I just don't get it. People seem to think that by filling their lives with things, whether material items, a bunch of plans, or lots of people, they are more fulfilled and "happier". Or if they follow some set of instructions in a book, they will miraculously be happier. I wish people would dump the self help books and just consider what really makes them happy. People need to look inside themselves more and find comfort in who they are. And if they can't be happy just being themselves, then they should think about what changes they need to make to become the kind of person they want to be. You don't need a book for that.

Exam Grades

We finally got our tests back tonight (3 weeks after the midterm). I'm happy to report I got an A, despite all his bad test writing. Because so many people did badly he's going to curve the test but he won't tell us what the curved grades are. Apparently, that's "his business and we don't need to know". Now, I did well so I don't care all that much. But if I was one of those people who got, say, a 10%, I think I'd want to know what position I was in going into the final. Like, is there a chance for passing the course? One of the girls I talk with in class needed a regrade because he took off for the same thing twice and he took her paper and wouldn't give it back. It was crazy. She also showed him a section where she had multiplied two numbers together and he marked off for the numbers being in a different order than he would have put them. Uh, basic principle of multiplication- you can switch the numbers around. Idiot. 4 more classes til it's over........... oh yeah, I'm counting.

Crazy Coincidence

The sickness at the time of the allergy shots was a crazy coincidence! I'm not happy to report that I am still sick today, but I am glad that it isn't anxiety. That will make getting the shots much easier. Something is wrong in my stomach though- it hurts pretty bad. I guess I'll have to go to the doctor if it doesn't get better soon. Yay- no anxiety though!

Anxiety?

I'm a little embarrassed to share this but what the heck. I was supposed to start allergy shots today. I'm really nervous because of the needle factor. I was a little anxious throughout the day and came up with about 20 excuses for why I shouldn't go today:

1. I didn't take my allergy medicine this morning and maybe I shouldn't go without taking it first.
2. I should go to the gym instead.
3. I should get home to help Michael with the puppies since he took them for walks this morning.
4. I'm tired.
5. I should work more.
And the list goes on....... (hey, I didn't say they were good excuses)

It was like an ongoing conversation in my head. My brain was coming up with these reasons why I shouldn't go even though I know I need to go. So I finally left work around 4:45 to get to the allergy center and have my shot. On my way home, my stomach started hurting- BAD. I kept thinking I was going to have to pull over to throw up on the side of the road. I had cold air blasting at me in the car even though it's about 50 degrees outside and I was still roasting. It was bizarre. I'm not sure I've ever had a stomach-ache that bad, other than maybe with food poisoning. I did manage to make it home, where I promptly got sick. Now my stomach is still feeling kinda bad but mostly I feel ok. I didn't eat anything weird today so I'm thinking it's possible this is anxiety. That's really embarrassing because I know if it is, it's all in my head. I've got to get these shots though so I'm gonna have to figure out how to get over it. I'm still hoping this is just a crazy coincidence though.

I wasn't kidding about that needle phobia though. To give some background, I had a bad experience with needles when I was 12 and got my tonsils out. I had to go back several times to the hospital because the stitches opened up and I was bleeding. I had some fabulous nurses (note the sarcasm here please) that stuck me about 100 times trying to find a vein for the IV. It was terrible. One time they even thought it was in and it wasn't and my entire hand swelled up with the IV fluid. That started the phobia. Since then, each time I've had to get a shot or IV it's been a little worse than the time before, in terms of anxiety. I pretty much avoid them at all costs.

Work, Work, Work

I was surprised to get to work today and find that my boss was there. She is now 9 months and 1 day pregnant. Her due date was Sunday but apparently the little boy or girl wasn't ready to make its' appearance yet. So she's still working. Crazy. Everyone is waiting for her to go into labor at any moment. I'm glad she didn't go into labor just yet because it gave us some time to transfer some of the final details of her job to me. I actually feel pretty decent about taking over for her now. Still a little bit nervous about taking over some activities I've never done before, but mostly ok. In case this isn't clear, I'll be taking over her responsibilities while she's on maternity leave. Eventually the idea is for me to take over for her permanently but that will probably be a while.

I've been shadowing her over the last few weeks, and been involved in a lot of the senior management level activities. I was able to participate in some corporate strategy meetings, as well as now being involved in their weekly management meetings, proposal writing, and interviewing. It's part of what I was missing at my last job. I had the appropriate title to be included in those things, but there was a disconnect with management. They saw Quality like an HR function and didn't find the need to include either in corporate planning. This company takes a more holistic approach which fits in much more with my view of how an organization should run. Plus, I get to experience new things, learn, and grow in my career. So I continue to be impressed with my new job. Guess it's not so new anymore- I can't believe I've been here 2 months already!

Microchipped Puppies

Today we had vet visits for both the pups. Izzie went for an all day comprehensive exam to make sure everything is looking good at 6 months. We found out she has an ear infection- looks like she inherited the spaniel ears so this will probably be a consistent issue with her. Georgie went in the afternoon for his annual check up and shots. He's good, other than the fact that he's a scaredy-dog. He tried to hide behind Michael and I for the entire appointment and wouldn't even say hi to the vet. Normally we can't keep him from saying hi and being overly excited. Both puppies got microchipped today while at the vet too. So now if they ever get lost they can be scanned, just like a box of cereal at the grocery store. :)

Andrea's Visit

One of my high school friends was in town tonight and we met up for dinner and to hang out. We were best friends freshman year of high school but then kinda grew apart after that. I'm not even sure how it happened. We both switched schools, from Scottsdale Christian Academy to Xavier College Prep. I guess we just ended up in different groups of friends. Anyway, I looked her up a couple years ago and we started talking again. We met up last year when I was in Arizona and it was almost like no time had passed. It was so easy to talk with her. I wonder if it's because we knew each other when we were so young. I wish we hadn't missed so much time in between. So I now officially talk to one person from high school, up from the zero previously.

Andrea decided to start law school in the fall and is going to UVA!!! Crazy. So she will only be a couple of hours away! That's pretty amazing considering we were both from Arizona and now will be basically around the corner from each other, on the other side of the country. This week she went to check out the school and find a place to live and then she came up to DC to visit with friends. We went down to Old Town Alexandria and found a thai place that was pretty good, overlooking the Potomac. We spent some time reminiscing about the horrors of our high school (not a ton of fond memories there) and got caught up on our current lives. Then I showed her the condo and she met the puppies. It was a lot of fun and I'm hoping we'll stay in touch better now that she will be in the area. I'm so excited to be back in touch with her. I find some friendships require more work than others and she's one of those people that is really easy to hang out with and easy to maintain a friendship with. I like those people. :)

Here's a pic from last year when we saw each other. I forgot to take pics this time.

Meeting with the Department Chair

I met with the Operations Research Department Chair today regarding my professor. I wrote a letter explaining my complaint and providing detailed examples of the problem. The Department Chair was not surprised; apparently they have had complaints about this professor in the past. No surprise there. What I am surprised about is that nothing has been done. What has happened in this class is entirely unacceptable. We talked through my complaints and she did say that no one had ever come with such a compelling case. I think people have complained in the past but not provided something written as a formal complaint with the details of the problem. She told me she would escalate the situation to the Dean to see what further action can be taken.

As for me, she told me I could probably drop the course and get credit for the graduate level statistics course I took as an undergrad. The problem is I would still have to take 10 courses to complete the degree so it would extend my graduation date and I would lose the money from this semester. Since the semester is only about 5 weeks from ending, it's not really worth all that. So I'm sticking with it. The one positive thing that came from this meeting is that she explained that, given the situation, if there is an issue with my grade at the end of the semester I can appeal the grade and they will review the course issues, grade, and my past performance to determine if the grade reflects my knowledge. So at least there's that.

I left the meeting feeling a little disappointed. I'm not sure where this will go, if anywhere. But at least now I feel like I've done the right thing in reporting this. Someone needed to speak up and I've done that. That's all I can do. Now it's up to the school to do what's right.

Allergy Testing

Today I went to get tested for allergies. They prick your skin with about 100 different possible allergens and see if your skin reacts by swelling, etc. Testing has come a long way- they used to prick you with individual needles but now it's like little scratches done 8 at a time. So much better. But I now have arms covered in red, swollen areas. And it itched so much! The test showed what I already knew- I'm allergic to basically everything that grows and blooms, as well as dust. Since I can't take the normal allergy medications because they make me groggy and unable to function, the doctor prescribed some alternatives for dealing with my allergies. I also now have an inhaler to help open up my lungs after being outside. I feel like a sickly little kid. I'm starting on the allergy shots next week, which should eventually make me less allergic to all these things by building up the antibodies for them. But it will take awhile so I'll probably suffer for another season or so. The shots should be interesting, considering my needle phobia, but completely worth it if it means I can play outside. :) Plus, I have to be able to do my long walks with the puppies- it's my favorite time of year!

Izzie's Bling

You have to look closely, but Izzie just got her first tag. She's finally grown up enough that we thought she was ready for a big girl tag. It's a gold bone with her name and phone number. You can't tell with all her fur, but it's attached to a pink striped collar. She's such a girly girl.