1.) Despite the fact, that some employees need help from Stacy and Clinton, there are a few state workers who actually know how to have a good time.
2.) New York State isn’t functioning in August [everyone is on vacation].
3.) Incentivizes is a word, and Microsoft Word doesn’t agree.
4.) Watch out for those revolving doors, they might hit you in the ass.
5.) If I get bored, I suppose I can ride up and down the elevator all day.
It’s no secret that coffee is a powerful stimulant, but I don’t understand all the hype. Sure it makes you feel like you’re actually alive for an hour or two when you wake up in the morning, but then comes that inevitable crash. So, you say to yourself, let’s have another cup to impede our coffee hangover- it’s a vicious cycle, I tell you.
Coffee actually tastes good, so I guess there is no argument there, but obviously this is not the sole reason why people chug back a cup of joe every morning [or afternoon for that matter]. What happened to eating a healthy breakfast to boost your metabolism and make you feel energized?
I don’t drink a lot of coffee, except for the occasional 6:30 am wake-up call when I need something to assist me out of bed, and usually the cup is a regrettable fragment of my mind. For the most part coffee makes me feel extremely jittery like someone stuck a needle in my arm and pumped some toxic drug into my veins. Another reason why I try not to touch the stuff is because I always get an upset stomach, maybe because of the acidity?
Again, I don’t understand how people can knock back four or five cups a day. Nor can I comprehend why a corporation, such as Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts would have several franchise locations in a five mile radius. Can someone explain this to me?
::just my ramble for the day::
Sam is a great chef, and I’m not too bad in the salad and sandwich department, if I might add. Most of the time I take pictures of our fabulous creations to post on my blog. Here are some plates that may or may not have debuted on blondethngs:
pan seared, sesame tuna with pea and mushroom risotto
sauteed scallops in an orange sauce, paired with mushroom risotto
chicken marsala with orecchietti pasta and garlic bread
roasted rack of lamb with rosemary and baked peaches
stuffed pepper dish with roasted rosemary potatoes
walking barefoot in thick, lush green grass just before its mowed
refreshing, thirst quenching cocktails on a hot, humid summer afternoon
walking to my garden and contemplating what I will bring home that night to eat
plopping down on my pillow-top bed, with my four feather pillows, snuggled under my velvet duvet after a long day
My sunflowers are almost there, but they’re missing just one thing! Just a little bit more sunshine…
If you’re an alcohol lover like myself, then you should totally watch my favorite alcoholic, Zane Lamprey, on his show Three Sheets.
A few months ago, I was very upset when Time Warner Cable removed the MOJO channel from their list of TV stations. Missing my drunken crush, Zane, I did some research and discovered the show would be back on a new channel, Fine Living. Did I mention they would be showing episodes of Three Sheets every night of the week?
While he travels around the world, drinking various alcohol concoctions, Zane enlightens the audience about the local drinking customs and culture. Throughout the show there are wonderful chugging and gulping sound effects that make me so thirsty. Zane travels with his stuffed monkey, Pleepleus, and sometimes he is known to wear Pleepleus t-shirts, which I think is kind of cute. The monkey’s comment to drinking, “While I’ve never tasted beer, I have bathed in it.”
The number one reason why the show is great for alcoholics is becase Zane has created a drinking game with few rules, and here they are, as stated by the drunk himself:
Rule 1: When I drink, you drink.
Rule 2: The first person to spot Pleepleus the monkey gets to make someone else drink.
Rule 3: When I mention my friend, Steve McKenna, or when his photo pops up, everyone drinks.
Rule 4: When I burp, the last person to give the “Good Burp” sign (thumb on your forehead, pinky in the air) drinks. When the show is on, it’s only my burps that count as part of the game. But when you’re not watching the show it applies to anyone who’s drinking.
Rule 5: If someone in the show “Jim-The-Cops” (spills their beverage while drinking) it’s a social. However, if YOU Jim-The-Cop, you have to buy someone a drink. If you’re watching at home, or a friend’s house, it’s your turn to make a run to the fridge. If you Jim-The-Cop while in a chugging contest (as sophomoric as that is), you get three seconds added to your time.
Rule 6: If you ever spot me holding a drink improperly, you can make someone drink. Here are the proper positions:
FOO FOO DRINK: This would be a drink that masks the taste of alcohol with the taste of sugar. They are sweet, blended, brightly colored, or have an umbrella in them. In this case, my pinky should be up in the air.
MAN-GRIP DRINK: This is a general drink, like a Beer, Jack & Coke, Vodka Cranberry, where the sweetness doesn’t hide the taste of alcohol. In this case, all of my fingers should be in contact with the glass.
GENTLEMAN DRINK: Think Frank Sinatra. This is a straight-up spirit, like Bourbon, Scotch, Tequila, or anything else that is not cut (except by water, vermouth, or club soda). All fingers should be on the glass except for the index finger– It should be pointing out with confidence.
Oh yeah, if you’re worried about all the alcohol consumption, don’t worry each episode there is a new hang over cure.
I landed a job as the assistant to the Director of Medicaid for the NYS Department of Health. Technically, I am not a state worker because I was hired through a temp agency, and in any case, I wouldn’t fair well as a state worker anyway. Mainly because I’m not receiving those great benefits that I keep hearing about. Not to mention, I’ve felt a little out of place in my dress pants and button up blouses because unlike everyone else I would probably never wear my favorite pair of blue jeans and t-shirt to work. Lets pray that I will never be one of those people who lets themselves go, the image is a brutal thought. I will say, despite their appearance, everyone is seemingly pleasant.
I know sometimes state workers get a bad rap, and I try to remind myself that not every state worker is a walking cliché. Most government employee’s are just trying to get through the day like everyone else, and if you need two 15 min. cigarette breaks a day to help you through it, so be it. Perhaps, I was fortunate in my first professional job to have lots of fun people wondering over to my cubicle to chat. I could gaze out the window at a blue sky and day dream, write blogs and read my friend’s blogs. Here, I feel like I’m in a lonely dungeon cell with everything blocked on the internet. I’ve resorted to reading TU blogs because they’re the only blogs that aren’t blocked. Can’t a girl check her gmail or yahoo accounts? Ehh, it’s a desk job, pretty sure no kid dreams of sitting at a desk all day when they’re young.
In the end, there will be no more complaining from this blonde because on the plus side I’m lucky to have a job and money for Friday night’s happy hour.
P.S. My new crew- definitely not happy hour people.
P.S.S. Isn’t it an oxymoron to work for the Office of Health Insurance Programs and not have health insurance?
A few Sundays ago, Sam and I strolled to DeJohn’s on Lark , a sister restaurant to Justin’s [one of our favorite summer patios] to listen to a two-man drumming band, rightly dubbed Random Rhythm. The drummers, Kenny [Sam's friend and co-worker] and Steve, each have their own percussion instrument, and they randomly beat their drums, all while chugging down a cocktail.
Steve, left and Kenny, right
Although the beats were impressive, I was more concerned with the infamous cocktails that Kenny hooked us up with. Strawberry rhubarb martini with fresh strawberries and muddled rhubarb with mint and lime. Seen here:
And we also sampled, a pear martini , right with a huge fresh pear slice and a cucumber and fresh basil martini , left with fresh mint, lime juice and muddled cucumber. Seen here:
I had two pear martinis.... you can't tell, can you tell?
