The Office

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What a monster of a week.

Although the Blame it on You Game came full circle and ended up back where it began (karma, I suppose), my office definitely reeks with the smell of high-intensity stress.

We are coming in for the home stretch on two projects, but it feels like an eternity until they will be done. I am coordinating one of the projects, and I simply cannot wait to put it to bed. Everyone in my office gets stuck with the “coordinator” job at some point; it is a rather thankless job where one does not make any of the decisions but just coordinates the decisions of others. However, that does not prevent the rest of the office from assuming you are in fact the Grand Decision Maker and sit in your cube thinking up devious ways to give people more cumbersome work.

But, like I said, we passed around Blame like we did paperwork, and at last Friday came.

It seems like the office is not that unlike high school. People still spread rumors, people still exclude other people, people still go behind other people’s backs, we have office cliques and clubs, and everyone is afraid of being sent to the “principal’s office,” a.k.a. the Director. It seems that we are all just like high schoolers, only we run around in dress slacks and blazers rather than t-shirts and jeans.
Now, this is not a new insight into work, but I find it interesting nonetheless. And perhaps worth remembering and pulling out the arsenal of High School Survival Tricks when confronted with the occasional dilemma :-)

Fake It

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Well, I made my fair share of mistakes today.

On the plus side, I am having a good hair day.

I am trying to find the silver lining, channeling the Happiness Guru, Gretchen Rubin, I wrote about last week. Making mistakes at work sure puts a damper on one’s happiness (especially when some coworkers like to point this out in a not so nice or useful way). Ugh.
But, like I said, I did receive three compliments on my hair.

And I am shoring up my “thick skin,” which comes in handy when people like to pull out a rousing game of Blame It On You.

I am not a thick-skinned girl by nature, oh no. This seems to be a work skill that one practices (although I do know some particularly hardy people; maybe they were born that way?) For me, I need to get skilled up.

I had a lot of practice with this when I worked as the News Editor at the Cavalier Daily at U.Va. Everyday I received what I called “hate e-mail” from University and City of Charlottesville folks about incorrect quotes, omitted information, and just about anything else you can imagine. When I first started, I used to choke back tears as I tried to remedy the situations, often dashing out of the office to call my Mom for some kind words of encouragement.

Those years as a News Editor felt like I got my feathers picked off like a giant chicken on a daily basis. It has been a few years since then, so I think I am forgetting how to let the Blame Game and criticism roll off of my shoulders. No easy task for a thin-skinned, people-pleasing girl like me.

But, I remembered another Mom-ism today that helped me take beatings like a champ at the News desk ??fake it until you make it,? she used to tell me. Just fake it.

So, that is today’s goal – faking it. Fake like I am not upset. Fake like their words did not sting. Fake that good smile. Fake until I can get into my car and let this day pass and a new day begin. Because, I know, it will be someone else?s fault tomorrow ;-)

Flowers, Funfetti, and Friendship

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At our third Wilton class, Marie and I learned how to make additional types of flowers out of the royal icing.

First, we made roses, which we previously made with butter cream. We liked the look of these royal icing roses a little better. They seemed to come out smoother than the roses we made with the butter cream.
Also, we ventured into making primroses, daffodils, pansies, and daisies. The primroses and pansies were much easier to create than the daffodils and daises. The daises gave me the most trouble. I kept trying to quit and Raquel kept making me try again. And, she kept praising my ugly daisies. Oh, Raquel – what would I do without you?!

Later than night, Marie and I went over to our friend Emma’s house for eating, drinking, and (what else?) cake decorating! Emma has been our gal-pal since high school, and it is always fun to get together and catch up; I am pleased because even thought we drifted apart – going to different colleges and graduate programs – we started getting back together and reigniting our friendships.

So, for our lovely girl’s only evening, we chatted about work and relationships and the art of cake decorating over some white wine and a delicious pasta meal Emma made for us from her Giada cookbook. After, we taught Emma some basic cake decorating techniques on our Funfetti cake while watching the Miss America Pageant. In between commenting on the Miss America talents and evening gowns (and trying to decide what talents we had that we could perform on a stage – and failed to come up with anything), Emma showed us she is quite a natural at cake decorating. We just did some basic shells and stars, but she picked up right away. If she does not watch out, I might recruit her for my dream bakery I want to open someday :-)

And so begins another week, but this coming Saturday is our final Wilton class, and Marie and I are feeling the pressure to make that Grand Finale Cake. Stay tuned! More icing adventures to come :-)

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The Happiness Project

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I subscribe to a number of feeds in my Google Reader – running the gamut from cake decorating to local governance to bloggers at one of my favorite magazines (next to Martha Stewart), Real Simple. To give myself a break from work and staring at endless Excel charts, I like to check out what new posts pop up in my Reader. Also, my friends share their posts, which I find equally amusing, and they often introduce me to other fun blogs, thus expanding and diversifying my Blog Palate.

Today, I received a post from one of the Real Simple bloggers who started a super interesting blog called the Happiness Project. The author, Gretchen Rubin, writes about her experiences as she test drives different theories on happiness. She gathers insights from the likes of Oprah, Aristotle, etc…to come up with a report on what theories, tips, principles work for real happiness. Very cool. Her works will be published in a book sometime in 2009. She also writes for Slate and wrote several books.

I am quite intrigued with this project, especially with how it relates to my blog. I started because, as a very chatty person, I found myself relaying my experiences to others in everyday conversation that made people laugh and even made them decide to take up similar quests, e.g. cake decorating, to inspire their own stories.

So, I like The Happiness Project because I find it inspiring when the outside world seems?not so inspiring (especially for someone who works in the Budget Office…). To counteract the negative, I plan to join the ranks of Ms. Rubin and her fascinating Happiness Project.
Happy just seems like the best alternative to get through the day, as opposed to grumpy. And, it appears that happiness can be infectious. I have seen first-hand how the mood of one person in my office can affect all of us – for better or for worse. And, the same goes for at home. The better mood I am in, the better mood Dan is in (I tell Dan, happy wife, happy life! He he he?)

To start, here is a list of a few, everyday things/moments that bring a smile to my face:

  • Bigelow Chai Tea (add honey to make it extra special)
  • Unexpectedly bringing my co-workers their printer jobs ? they are always surprised and thankful as I saved them a trip.
  • A full tank of gas
  • Using my Brother P Touch to organize files
  • Making plans to see friends
  • Cakes
  • When my Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple magazines arrive in the mail (bonus if they arrive on the same day)
  • Avocados
  • Yoga class (which I take with a cadre of gentlemen who could be my grandfather – most of whom have better Downward Facing Dogs than me!)
  • Using rainbow colored Sharpies
  • Scrapbooks
  • Bringing in a batch of brownies for my co-workers
  • Mint gum
  • Clean laundry
  • Beach
  • Dogs
  • Joan Didion books
  • Girlfriends
  • Family
  • Dan’s hugs when I come home from work
  • Martha Stewart Crafts
  • Grapes
  • Grandma Rosemary
  • Kiehl?s Intensive Treatment and Moisturizer
  • My Rubbermaid plastic water bottle

I am smiling already :-)

Royal Icing Adventures

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Sadly, Marie missed the second Wilton Class, so I gave her a remedial lesson yesterday at my house. We completely took over my kitchen table with all of our Wilton cake decorating accessories and kicked out poor Dan.

I was a little concerned about my ability to teach Marie, given that I do not consider myself an exemplary Wilton Cake Decorating Student, and I get nervous when I have to perform without the guidance of our instructor, Raquel, but I think I did a pretty good job.

For this lesson, I learned the art of making flowers with royal icing. These are far easier to make than the flowers we made out of butter cream throughout the first course. The royal icing, which is basically sugar and water, hardens much faster and allows one to make sugar creations to use to decorate the tops of cakes or cupcakes. So, not only are these easier to form, but we are so glad we do not have to use shortening anymore, like we did for butter cream, which always created a hot mess of greasy piping bags and tips. Also, it is not a good idea to put butter cream down the drain…

We learned to make two types of flowers — the pink ones are supposed to be Apple Blossoms and the purple ones are supposed to be Violets. While they do not look like exact replicas, I think we did pretty good.

We are supposed to save these masterpieces to make the Grand Finale cake (see the picture to the left of a Grand Finale Cake made by a successful Wilton Class Graduate). No pressure!

Also, I used the mysterious color flow to make the bird. The color flow essentially does the same thing as royal icing, but it is not as thick and it gives creations a sheen. First, I piped white color flow around the stencil (no way can I do this free form), and then I filled in the outline with the blue color flow. My work still leaves much to be desired, but Raquel assured me this was a good piece for my first attempt :-)

An Epic Event

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Yesterday evening Dan, Marie, and I went to an epic event. While I cannot speak for Marie, yesterday ranked right up at the top of the Happiest Days of Our Lives for Dan and me (next to our wedding day, of course). We all had been waiting in agony for this day, and it finally arrived.

The three of us attended the Grand Opening of Harris Teeter in Tyson’s Corner.

This is not just any grocery, or any Teeter, for that matter. This is a Taj Ma-Teeter. Truly spectacular.

Apparently many people were waiting with bated breath for this occasion because when we arrived, the underground parking lot was completely full. We had to jostle for outside parking, and we ended up in a rather suspicious-looking spot, but our blinding love for all things Harris Teeter prevented us for delaying the experience by looking for more appropriate parking.

Inside this grocery Mecca we received coupon books, Harris Teeter hats, and even more samples than an average trip to Costco. We dined on asparagus, chicken and pesto pasta, chocolate cake, cheese, ice cream, seven-layer dip, sparkling beverages, and an assortment of breads. This Harris Teeter features a sushi bar, pizza bar, hot foods bar, salad bar, and olive bar. It also has a dining area and an adjacent Starbucks.

There were throngs of happy Harris Teeter people all sharing in the wonder of a new grocery in the McLean area. Seeing as the current grocery options in McLean lack the HT sparkle and seem to be forever overcrowded and always overpriced, the McLean/Tyson?s Corner natives seemed to fully embrace this opportunity for a new grocery.

I almost passed out with excitement.

See, my love for Harris Teeter dates back three years ago to when Dan and I were mere undergraduates at the University of Virginia. In Charlottesville, Dan and I shopped at this gigantic Harris Teeter for essential items like beer, Reeses peanut butter chips, and diet Coke. Since I did not have a car, I would get Dan to take me to the Teeter for weekly grocery dates, thus beginning our love of HT and, of course, each other. :-) Hence, our love affair for good ole Harris Teeter.

So, while I usually look forward to our Friday Night Grocery Shopping dates like I look forward to the dentist, this Friday I am so eager to get to the new Teeter I can barely contain myself. VIC Card savings, here I come!

Wilton Class, Take Two

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Over the weekend, Marie and I began Course 2 of our Wilton Cake Decorating series. We are still working under the patient instruction of our dear teacher, Raquel. Sadly, we were joined by another student, so we do not have Raquel all to ourselves any more. Also, we hope she is not too good and makes us feel embarrassed ;-)

In this course, Raquel says we will learn even more creative ways to decorate with icing. And, we are branching out from buttercream and beginning to work with royal icing.
Unlike the buttercream, the royal icing does not contain any shortening, making it a super sugary powdered-sugar-and-water-based frosting that must be worked with quickly because it also hardens much faster than buttercream.

Besides powdered sugar and water, it contains an ingredient called color flow. Now, I am not exactly sure what is so magical about this color flow (we did not work with it during the first class), but it seems like it will help us create some pretty impressive icing-based decorations for the Grand Finale cake.

Each week we are supposed to make these hardened sugar objects, e.g. flowers, butterflies, birds, that we will use to decorate the Grand Finale Cake (see picture). This cake is supposed to take on a basket-weave frosting effect, so we will use the flowers and butterflies and birds as accents on top. At least that is what we are supposed to do -I am a little concerned because so far none of my creations look too much like the course book.

Oh well, stay tuned for more frosting escapades :-)

Kindness at Costco

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Today I foolishly decided to break from the office at lunch time and head to Costco.

I figured it would be easy because it is just down the street from work. I only needed Splenda, Irish Spring Soap (for Dan), raisins, coffee creamer, and gum (just the necessities). Since I only had to go to a limited number of areas within the warehouse, I thought I could breeze in and breeze out.

And, I also decided I was going to be nice to everyone just like my hero, Laurie Notaro, who writes fabulous memoir-ish essays and in one particular book attempts to like everyone – even the people at Costco! Since this is my first Costco trip of the New Year, I thought, I too, could make a concerted effort not to roll my eyes at the charming folks at Costco and make it through the entire pilgrimage without swearing under my breath.

It would be a nice, easy trip to Costco.

What I failed to remember is that there is no way for one to do anything simple at Costco. There are no easy parking spots. There is no easy way to careen through the aisles to pick up a few things. There is no easy way to check out and make it back to your car without being at least somewhat traumatized.

However, I was determined, so I attempted to dash between the Oblivious Slow Walking People (and I mean that in the kindest way possible) with my huge Costco-sized cart (I thought I could just carry the items, but then I remembered I was at Costco where things are…well…big).

I completely bypassed all of the samples, generously leaving ample cheese wedges and little meatballs for my Costco cohorts. Since I have made many journeys to Costco, I mapped out where I would find my items, so I could move fast. I even decided not to let myself get distracted by any other items not featured on my list, so I would not get off track.

However, it proved difficult to squelch my strong desires to “shop,” and I did run across a delightful display of cherries, which I thought would be nice to get, seeing as I forgot my lunch, and I could use the cherries to supplement whatever I could scavenge for at the Government Center cafeteria.

Pleased with my find, I proceeded to find my remaining items.

As I made my way from the back of the store to the front, I was hindered several times by Costco shoppers who abandoned their cart in the middle of the aisle, mesmerized by a display of Kellogg Cereals multipacks or stacks of cases of soup. And, several people blocked the aisle completely, saw me needing to go through, and yet continued to block my way. But, it was okay because I was being Kind at Costco, so I patiently waited for them to pick out jumbo cases of mayonnaise and proceeded on my quest for the checkout area.
The checkout area is a little like a Vegas casino game of craps or something like that because you have to make an somewhat educated projection about what line will go the fastest, which I base on several factors, such as 1)amount of items; 2)type of items; 3)age/number of children present; 4) whether I think the payer will use a debit card or try to pay with a third-party post-dated check; and 5)whether I think the payer and the cashier speak the same language.

When I thought I made a good, educated guess on the fastest lane, I jumped in line. And, to my surprise, I must have made a good guess because the line moved smoothly along. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself, thinking that my idea for good Costco Karma and being nice to be people must be repaying me with good line-picking fortune.

And just when I thought I would make it to the exit without any issue, the cashier lady who was putting my items in boxes in my cart broke the carton that contained my delicious cherries, exploding the whole lot into a box inside my cart.

“Oh, ma’am, I am so sorry,” the bagger/cashier lady said as she scooped the cherries back into the carton with her hands. “Do you still want these?”

Umm…no. I absolutely do not want to consume cherries that spilled out of their carton, into a dirty cardboard box, and picked up with hands exposed to the conditions in Costco. I would need to wash them off with Clorox.

But, I was practicing Kindness at Costco, so I politely told her, “no,” in fact, if she could just take them off my bill, I would be on my way. She obliged and sent me forth with a cash repayment.

So, in the end, I made it out with what I intendeed to purchase, but I will have to wait a good long time to go back, so I can replenish my ability to practice Kindness at Costco.

Formulas, CSV Files, and Other Workbook Woes

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Excel and I are having a fight.

He keeps tricking me into closing all of my worksheets when I only mean to close one. When I try to download something to him as a Comma Delimited file, he forgets to remind me to save it as a workbook and then, since he is passive aggressive, reverts it back into its ugly CSV file instead of my beautified file complete with nice fonts and colors and formulas.

Funny. Ha ha. I am laughing here in my cube at his ability to swindle me. Hilarious.

I am really trying to get along with Excel. I watched an entire five-part series on all of his magnificent functions on my work?s E-Learning Web site. I sat through hours of this training to learn nifty maneuvers like how to use the paint brush tool to copy cell format, how to link formulas between worksheets and workbooks, and how to filter a worksheet to create pull-down menus for sorting (I love that feature! It looks soooo crafty. Shh…do not tell anyone that you can make one simply by clicking “Filter” and “Auto Filter.”)

So, I took it upon myself to learn lots and lots about Excel because my supervisor is an Excel Master, and I cannot seem to keep up her when we work together. She makes formulas so fast I have to make sure I stare at the screen without blinking and try to memorize her clicking pattern (So far, I have not had any luck with this observation method).

Yet, I have got the hang of a few things, mostly cosmetic things, which I can do to beautify my sheets. I can turn off the grid lines, making the entire worksheet blank like a Word document, so when I fill in cells, the text/numbers look like they line up perfectly like magic. We have Vista at work, and I found lots of pretty fonts I like to use on my worksheets. Then, colors are lots of fun, too. (My supervisor and I have codes like purple means “updated,” red means “needs to be updated,” black means “hard entered,” etc…)

Ah, I really thought we were making progress, Excel and I. But today, he decides play with me. He is already smarter than me, adding and subtracting like a math wizard. Such a show off.

Whatever. I am going to show that Excel! I mean business! I am an important Budget person making important spreadsheets calculating important sums! Stop showing me the Formula Auditing Warning! Stop! Perhaps I want the formula to be wrong? Duh!

And his evil power is spreading! I just got a call from one of my agencies I cover, and my contact person also is falling victim to Excel trickery. Trying to dispense Excel tutelage over the phone is never an easy feat, and we do not speak the same Excel language (He claims it is “yelling” at him…hmm…I guess I can see that).

Whatever, Excel. I am on to you and your tricks, and I plan to defeat you with Microsoft Office Help Online. So there. Audit that, Excel :-P

Welcome Back Brownies

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They’re back.

I have spent the past two weeks almost entirely alone in my cube on the fifth floor of my building. While almost everyone in my 35-person office took off for Christmas/New Year’s holidays, I decided not to use up vacation days but rather prance around the office like a queen and poke around in the supply cabinet for good Post It flags. Ah?

It is true this time can be almost boring, but it was also nice. And quiet. I organized files. I had fun with Brother P Touch. I listened to my iPod a little louder than usual. I wore the same black knit pants two days in a row. I took my shoes off and walked around the office with my blue fleece blanket on like a cape (okay, I do this anyway…but less blatantly when more people are about).

The lack of people even extended to my commute – 495 North to 66 West to Route 50 and back – with the extreme lack of cars on the road. A girl could get used to flying to work and back in less than 15 minutes while blasting some Brad Paisley.

Not today. The cars are back with vengeance. But that is okay because I came prepared. Over the weekend I bought three aromatherapy roll-on fragrances from Bath and Body Works (75% off!) that are supposed to bring on Stress Relief, Headache Relief, and Stamina, respectfully. At my first stoplight, I generously rolled on the Stamina fragrance and inhaled deeply, per the instructions. I am not sure if I feel an increase in Stamina from the aromatherapy or the two cups of coffee I inhaled before I left, but so far, so good.
And now that I have reached my office, the office people, like the car people, are back. But it is okay. I was getting slightly lonely being mostly here by myself. The lack of people to talk to hurts my social nature. I think Dan will be glad, too because when I do not have many people to talk to during the day, he gets an earful when I get home of my endless chatter on meaningless topics like a man I saw swipe at least 50 ketchup packets from the cafeteria and a group of high school hoodlums hanging out on the second floor in Goth getups.

But today I should have plenty of people to chat with ? whether I like them or not. To soften the blow and boost morale, I brought brownies. A fantastic recipe I found on allrecipes.com, to be specific. I thought some brownies might be just the sugar boost my office-mates need to get back in the office groove.

Until the chocolate sets in, I will hide in my cube under my fleece with the roll-on aromatherapy ;-) Inhale…