A Banking Life is Hard.

So I work Banker's hours... don't have to be in until 9:00 am. Also I seem to get EVERY HOLIDAY KNOWN TO MANKIND OFF!!! That's right, with pay. It's freakin' awesome. I work even less than I normally do, and get paid the same. Know what I did on my day off today? I was in Jerseyville. Ran around the new hugenormous highschool being built in town (it's just starting to get the drywall up). Also Josh, Tim, Scott and I played a nice round of Urban Golf (here for explaination).

The Meeting with the boss went well. Not Fantabulous or anything, but definately not bad either. I'll give you information of that nature when it becomes something to speak of. Also... I had to have actual interaction with the hot girl on Friday. You see, my blue marker was dying and I needed a new one. She totally hooked me up. I even made sure to stop by an hour or so later just to tell her how awesome the new marker was and how pleased I was with her services.

Last thing I want to mention before lights out is this: Ro's Blog! Alright, so she's not actually updating it herself yet. But she's been REALLY busy. So I'm posting the emails I'd gotten from her up on her site so everyone can see, and I'm sure she'll check her comments so feel free. I'm going to post one a day until I get caught up (I've got like 3 more from her I can put up there) and after that I'll just post emails up as she sends them, or she'll just post on it herself. Either way, this is just another method of time wasting, brought to you by, Rob's Office Space.

Later all!

The Power of Words

Good title, eh? Don't know if I have adequate content to back it up, but here it goes. Today's lesson children, is on Words.

simile: Showing comparison between two thing using 'like' or 'as.
Example: "Later guys, I'm off like a prom dress."
Side Note: Australians use lots of these. Metaphors as well. My favorite phrase I ever heard from a Kiwi (New Zealander) was "I'm so hungry I could eat the testicles off a low flying duck." I don't think that qualifies as either, but its funny.

Tautology: A word or group of words that unintentionally repeats its meaning.
Example: When was the last time you entered your PIN NUMBER into the ATM MACHINE? Or longed for the PERFECT UTOPIA? Using unnecessary words can make written and spoken language a DISORGANIZED MESS, but it’s not just STUPID IDIOTS who do so. I guess a FUNNY COMIC, for instance, is “one who’s employed”; a BLACK CROW is “the outcast in those large albino flocks”; and a SURVIVING WIDOW is “the last one standing in an all-widow game of Russian roulette.”
Side Note: I'll let you think about that for a while. If you like those check out the book "Armed Gunmen, True Facts and Other Ridiculous Nonsense." It's a collection of those that Ro and I found at Barnes & Nobles one day.

synonym: two words that can be interchanged in a context are said to be synonymous relative to that context.
Example: Nerd and Geek
Side Note: Nerd/Geek and Hot/Cute/Beautiful are conversations I've gotten into before with people. Many people use all these interchangably, but I feel they have very different meanings. I think Nerds are "Smart and a bit Socially Challenged" while Geeks are "Socially Challenged unless playing Dungeons and Dragons." Also I think Cute represents a niceness and innocence that is as much a girls personality as it is physical... Hot means she's sexually attractive... and Beautiful means they have more than their fair share of both. Once I told Ro that she should feel bad because she somehow stole some other peoples beauty at birth, and because of here there are like 10 horribly disfigured people walking out there.

Alarms are going off...

in my head anyways. I'm seeing a potential for problems. Last two days we were done with work by noon. This is bad, and I was the most recent temp picked up. I can't slow down to make the work stretch, 'cause there are like 5 of us working on it. So if I slow, my numbers will be poor, and that is NO GOOD either.

"Hello Rock, meet the Hard Place. Don't mind me, I'm just gonna wedge myself inbetween you two... there. All set."

So I debated all morning about what I could do. I want you all to pause just a moment and think about what I just told you about me being done with my work by noon. I work 9-6. I still had SIX HOURS of work left. I had to make a last ditch effort. My supervisor has been out sick, so I typed up this email and sent it out to her boss (and CC: Supervisor). Alex classes are what they call those courses I've been taking (Mortgages, Escrow, Adjustable Rate, Money Laundering, etc.) Mind you, this is my job on the line:

I had some ideas/questions concerning the afternoons that seem to be increasingly devoted to ALEX classes and Downtime. I realize that this should probably be discussed with [Supervisor], but she isn’t available at the moment. Moreover, there looks to be a few hours that might be utilized today, I thought it could at least be mentioned. I was wondering if there were some different positions within our division that I could be trained on. That way I might be more effective as a temp during these slower periods. Also, I realize there is a large hiring underway and some of those jobs maybe filled internally, potentially leaving various temporary positions vacant. I’d like to make myself available for anything you may see fit. If you would like to meet for a few minutes to discuss, I’d welcome the opportunity. Or if this is something that [Supervisor] should handle first, I understand that as well.

P.S. All this downtime is also why I've had time to transcribe so much Eurolog lately (updated again today).

She really is the greatest.

Here are some reasons:

• She cleans the apartments
• She is pretty
• She does the dishes
• She is at a camp where she's making a difference right now
• She uses her ninja skills to sneak up on Scott
• She also uses her ninja skills to help us rewire behind the TV
• She paid for "Team America" when I didn't have the money
• She paid for my gas so I wasn't arrested
• She helps me cook
• She plays video games with us
• She matches my socks

And that's just a few.
You can ask Scott, he'll vouch for her.

"Magandang gabi, maliit babae."

The Music Scene and my Eurolog

Sometimes things should just stay dead. Or have never been born in the first place. Can you tell me what these 3 things have in common:

• Limp Bizkit
• Spice Girls
• Backstreet Boys

That's right, they're all trying to make a comeback. I heard the limp bizkit song on the radio and just started laughing. The lyrics are exactly what you expect from Mr. Durst. Also, do you know what's cool at concerts nowadays? They don't hold up lighters anymore. Everyone waves their cell phone in the air - I thought it was pretty cool the first time I saw it at the Jimmy Eat World Concert.

Lastly, I've got my first post for my Eurolog up. It's not so much a blog, as a project. I'm going to transfer my Journal I kept in Europe from this crappy little notebook full of chicken scratch that I wrote while half asleep on trains, into something entertaining and copy it into a nice leatherbound book I picked up in Italy. So as I'm working on it, I'll post it on the website and ask for comments. Now the comments on that site are completely different than the comments on this site. Here we're simply keeping in touch and stroking my ego. There I really want some feedback about what isn't clear, what you would like to hear more about (I can elaborate on ANY point in the journal), what is boring and I should trim, etc. I welcome any comments at all, and all questions about the trip and such so I know how I should write my finished product. So if you're looking for another time waster - Rob's trying to pull through for you. I'll put a note in this blog when I update that one.

P.S. Eurolog is updated.

I fought the law...

• Harrison Ford in the Fugitive
• Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects
• The Blues Brothers

Do you know what all these characters have in common? The ability to fly low under police radar and be elude capture despite the best efforts of our men in blue. Do you know what else? They all look like Ostriches sticking their heads in the sand when compared to Scott and I. Ok, maybe not the Blues Brothers, they're cooler than cool, but the other two for sure. Another thing: we're much better looking. I've had two run ins with the law in 2 days. It should also be mentioned that thus far, HALF of my recreational outings with Scott has resulted in either being kicked off private property by either local staff or the police.

Thursday night Scott and I went Kite Sailing, which I believe is normally done on skis (or in a boat) in the water, but Scott stands by his claim that it's just as good on a exceptionally windy day just in tennis shoes in a field. Anyways, apparently the Batter Women's Clinic is pretty adament about not letting us use the hugenormous fields behind their building for firing a potatoe gun or kite sailing. This time they even involved the Po-po (where the hell did that slang ever come from anyways?). We deftly talked our way out of it and left without any trouble.

Friday night I went up to visit Ro before she left for camp. On my way to Chicago I stopped and got some gas, a french vanilla capachino and a pack of gum. The total was $24.96. I reached back for my wallet and.... nothing. I had left my wallet on the table 2 hours away. Luckily there was a cop outside so I figured I'd just cut out the middle man and told the cashier I'd be right back. I explained to the officer my situation and expressed how it would be in his best interest if he let me off the hook. He could barely hide the fear in his eyes. And in the end, I just paid for everything on the way back from Chicago (read as: Ro paid for everything).