Musings of an At-Work Jeanna

Cordillera Car Club

2010-08-09T12:05:00.001-07:00

I took this picture at the Cordillera Car Club meeting on Saturday:

Pretty much the best photo shoot everrrrr. I'm going to miss it out there!

I'd "Wear" It...

2010-06-29T07:29:00.001-07:00

While I was supposed to be working this morning, I made this fabulous bumper sticker instead:

Join the revolution!

Make My Logo Bigger

2010-06-08T12:21:00.001-07:00

Make My Logo Bigger... and Make My Phone Number RED!

Please... watch this informative video on easy ways to make YOUR logo bigger, too!

http://www.makemylogobiggercream.com

Cleaning

2010-05-31T11:20:00.001-07:00

Why is it that things are only ever dirty when I have a LOT of other things to do?

Jeanna: sitting in front of the computer, staring at a design she's been working on for way too long, wishing it would just finish itself.

Dirty Things: chirping, in their dirty little voices, 'Jeanna, clean me! You have nothing better to do! Wouldn't it be so much fun right now?'

And so, I get up from the computer, and suddenly I find a giant number of things to clean.
From my laundry that needs to be hand-washed (that pile thanks me for days like this; without them, I'd probably never wear those things again) to the little vase that some of my makeup brushes go in (yeah, I don't think that thing has EVER been cleaned), I have found countless things to clean today. All because I don't want to finish this "puzzling" project that's been looming over my head for a few weeks now.

Pretty soon, I'm going to run out of things to clean, and then I'll have to sit down and do my work. So far this weekend, I've vacuumed the carpet, swept/swiffered the tile floors, organized the closet, dusted artwork, microfibered the TV, swept the balcony and rearranged the plants... those are normal things, right? How about tooth-brush cleaning the balcony doors, hand-scrubbing Otto's litterbox and mat, lint-rolling the couch and chair, scoured the tub and toiled with bleachy stuff, tidied the bookshelves... not to mention the hand laundry and the brush vase.

Now, I'm looking for errands to run, things to cook, or people to hang out with. ANYTHING... to not have to get this project done.
Geez. How did I make it through college?!

One Of Those Days..

2010-05-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those days...

And unfortunately, it's not getting any better!

Dodging Ducks

2010-05-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting at the Duck because I promised my fellow co-workers I'd have some content finished tomorrow. I should not have picked the Duck to try to accomplish this incredible feat of daring, for a few reasons if not more:

1. The beer here is way too good. I can get a mini-glass and tell myself that is all I'm going to have, and then that mini-glass turns into three mini-glasses and I'm not typing as quickly as I should...

2. There are people here that I know, and there are people here that I really like to talk to, and there are also people here that I want to "dodge"... and hide from. This poses a huge dilemma: smile and converse, or huddle in my shaded corner? Hmm...

3. It's freaking beautiful outside, and they're always playing good music, and the ducks like it too so they dance. What is better than watching dancing ducks in the afternoon sun? Certainly doing work just gets in the way of this.

4. It's the best place for overheard conversations. Right now, the nice table of ladies next to me is discussing one of the ladies' trip to the beach this weekend. Evidently her significant other bought her a new dress. And new shoes. And a ring. OR something. And they were all talking about someone that I know. Awkward.

5. I love the waitstaff, and I always want to invite them to sit down and have a beer with me. Keith, is that allowed?

Overall, my time at the Duck this afternoon was pretty productive and a nice change of pace. I definitely need to enjoy my afternoons like this more often...

10,000

2010-04-22T06:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at Comanche Trace I took my 10,000th picture using my 40D. I remember when I took my 10,000th picture using my Rebel--it was at a Trinity Basketball game.

The picture, for your viewing pleasure:

Not too bad, huh?

Fan Mail

2010-04-19T06:11:00.000-07:00

I got my first real piece of Fan Mail this morning!

Watch out world... you're next.

Gardening

2010-03-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about this office is that 4 out of the 5 people who are here during the week love to talk about gardening. Germination, seedlings, freezes, natural plants, veggies, herbs, fruits, you name it: we are all big gardening freaks and nothing gets us more excited than discussions about perfect eggplant temperatures and soaking almonds for better nutritional intake. We are nerds, and we are proud of it. Or, at least 4 of us are. The other one thinks he's too cool to be a nerd. He also eats sausage biscuits and calls them his go-go juice.

Mountain Laurels

2010-03-21T08:42:00.001-07:00

One of the things I miss the most about San Antonio is the mountain laurels. They're everywhere where I used to live on Broadway, and if one thing got me through springs and into summers it was the delicious smells the mountain laurels gave me every time I stepped outside.

I had almost forgotten about mountain laurels until I walked into HEB this morning and realized that the familiar smell was surrounding me. I seriously almost did a little dance, right there in front of the HEB Pharmacy entrance.

So, friends, just to let you know: if you see me at HEB just standing by the entrance with a glazed-but-happy look on my face, don't worry--I'm just getting high on mountain laurels.

SMV International

2010-03-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

SMV went international this week, with a (hideous) poorly written letter by yours truly, en espanol.

Yes, I deliberated for a good half-hour over what my three-sentence letter would say, throwing out words like necesito and grande and rapido and cervesa (it was St Pat's, what did you expect?) until finally I had crafted a terrible but legible letter to an art director in Mexico.

The next morning, I had this response in my inbox:
Thank you, Jeanna. I'm sending an 8"x10" in 300 dpi, per your request.

This is a lesson that everyone in the world speaks English. Sad.

-facepalm-

Dork Finder 3000 MAX

2010-03-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

Ben got a Fish Finder in the mail today, so I decided to bust out my long-awaited Dork Finder 3000 MAX. Unfortunately, it somewhat backfired.

Three New Magazines

2010-02-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

After three seemingly endless weeks, we now have three shiny, brand new magazines at the office. V. excited!!

February was very stressful, and I'm not at all sad to see it gone. However, I am sad that it is (almost) already March, because that means that rent is due soon and I get to hear everyone else's Spring Break stories all month. All right.

Look at our new mags!!

Longest Week Ever

2010-02-18T07:14:00.000-08:00

This has been the longest week ever, and it's just going to get... longer? Anyway, because sometimes you, dear reader, are in need of a pick-me-up just as much as I am, I provide you with the following, for your entertainment.

Luxury

2010-02-03T07:09:00.000-08:00

Exposure to luxury can alter decision making: Study

ORLY?

Quotes

2010-02-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

Alison sent me a fun link today about the most memorable Video Game quotes of all time. Half-way through the third page, I read something quite astounding:

"What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets."

That. From a Video Game.
I think it's brilliant, and it got me thinking... though I'm not quite sure what it got me thinking about. How many secrets am I keeping bottled up? How many little white lies do I tell on a daily/weekly/monthly basis just to keep other people happy? Meh.

Re: REK, Mr. Schooley.

2010-01-31T12:20:00.001-08:00

I find it highly amusing how many blog posts my beloved boss has written regarding his interview with Robert Earl Keen. My amusement comes from the fact that, though he means well, Ben is highly mistaken: I will be conducting the Robert Earl Keen interview.

Because I know Ben will take it upon himself to argue with me about who gets to have coffee with the one-and-only Robert Earl, I decided to go ahead and let our reading public decide.

2010-01-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

When life throws you lemons, throw trolls back at it.
Or just play with them in the office for a day.

Christmas? What?

2009-12-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

This is my first Christmas in Boerne, and if it wasn't for Main Street being so beautifully decorated with every single Christmas light that any manufacturer has ever made, I might have already forgotten that it was Christmas time. Also a lady at HEB told me Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. Thank you, Boerne, for remembering that the "holidays" wouldn't really be the holidays without CHRISTMAS, and that the reason we celebrate Christmas is because we are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Now if only the whole country would remember that... Amen.

Good morning, Monday!

2009-12-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

This might be the only thing that gets me through this week!

(Oh, and if you haven't visited my TOOTH DRIVE yet, check it out--it's HOT.)

Snow.

2009-12-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, I found out it was supposed to snow today. Ask the office: I ran around like a 5-year-old doing giddy snow dances and smiling a lot.

Snow, if I may just be frank here, YOU ARE STUPID. You will snow everywhere else but where I am. I should move to the Ukraine and maybe the snow will let up for a couple of years there. REALLY.

CHOP CHOP!

2009-11-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

Ben likes to tell me, "Chop chop." So, here's his chopping for the day.

Right Quick, I'm Fixin' To!

2009-11-24T05:29:00.000-08:00

There are two phrases that have been a part of my vocabulary for as long as I can remember: "right quick" and "fixin' to". It wasn't until recently did I discover that these phrases aren't supposed to be in my vocabulary at all. Really, I'm not a redneck. I'm just fixin' to do some things right quick.

Laura: once you've used "right quick" without realizing it, you can never go back to being the polished, sophisticated, and intelligent woman you once were. NEVER. And I can tell: you're fixin' to use "fixin' to", too.

Monday is the Day of the Lost

2009-11-16T09:43:00.000-08:00

While Ben might be able to alleviate his case of the Mondays with a little Axl Rose, I have a harder time adjusting to the new work week. It's Monday, and, well, I'm lost!

I lost one of my ad sheets, with two weeks' worth of accumulated data on changes, updates, and proofs. After storming around the office for two hours and accusing everyone of stealing it, I found it in a nice & neat pile I'd made after I "cleaned" my desk. Humph.

I lost my coffee mug. It wasn't in any drawers, wasn't in my purse, my car, the fridge, the bathroom, or the kitchen sink. It wasn't on Alison's desk or in Ben's pile of cups. No. Three hours later, I resigned myself to heating up hot water in a small plastic cup. I found my coffee mug... in the microwave.

I also lost my mouse cursor (it was hiding on my laptop screen) and my keyboard connection (it needed love and rebooting). I lost my memory and forgot how to close a door. And if things keep up, I'm going to lose my mind...

Yes, We Can.

2009-11-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

Look at me; I am Ben.

Shutterstock

2009-11-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

I love our Shutterstock account, but often times it returns results that never cease to bewilder me.

Take, for instance, my search for "insulation" today. Expecting to see row after row of pink, fibrous materials between two-by-fours, I instead found the following row:

That's right. A cow. A baby. Two pieces of toast. Bandaids. And some olives.

I don't even know how to understand that.

Just for Morgan

2009-11-10T13:36:00.000-08:00

Just for Morgan: A page full of pi... or pie?

I live in a small town.

2009-11-06T07:19:00.000-08:00

FYI: Last night, I was the only non-cop car I saw in Boerne from the Main Street exit on I-10 all the way to my apartment off Blanco. It was close to 2:30 in the morning, and driving alone down the heart of Main Street made me realize that I officially live in a small town. And I LOVE it!

For now... I'm done.

2009-11-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

Crossed that third website off my list today, making my total website to-do count a whopping ZERO.

* This is me woohoo - ing! *

The fruits of my labors in the last two weeks:
SchooleyMediaVentures.com
LovornLawFirm.com
HillCountryExplore.com
(Click on them and play, please. It will make me feel like they're good!)

Putting websites behind me, at least for now, I have other news!
I received another word document ad today, making my Microsoft Word ad count: 11! I wonder who will get to be lucky number 13? Come on, people! Make my day!

One more to go!

2009-11-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

I finished Shawn Lovorn's website today: www.lovornlawfirm.com

NOW, my current to-do list of websites:
~~SMV~~
~~Lovorn Law Firm~~
Explore

Looks like this who fiasco is feasible after all!

In other news, the foul stench of stale beer seems to be following me around the office. Is it a coincidence that it also comes in waves when Ben is in close proximity? Not born with any detective gene what-so-ever, I will leave that one up to you to decide.

New SMV Site

2009-10-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got the new SMV site online today, making my shoulders that much lighter and my quest towards completing these web projects that much closer. I feel like I should have something witty and/or clever to say about the whole ordeal, but I'm just too tired.

Exhibit A:

Besides the fact that I really do look like a redhead in that picture, it pretty much sums up how I feel. One down, two to go (on THIS list of three)...