Handwashing 101

When was the last time you saw an instructional guide on how to wash your hands? I'm guessing it had to do with elementary school for most of you. I'm pretty sure that's the last time I saw such as sign. Well, that is until I started my new job.



On my first day in the new job I took a trip to the restroom, as is necessary on a daily basis. As I was on my way out the door I noticed a sign, a laminated sign, with graphical steps on how you should properly wash your hands. Now being a trained technical writer, I had to read it. And then I had to laugh. What kind of business thinks their employees are so dirty they don't know how to wash their hands? Every day I've passed the sign and laughed.



Then one day last week, I realized why the sign is there. I was in my stall minding my own business when I heard a toilet flush and a person walk out the door of the restroom without washing her hands. Come on! There's even a sign to show you how right by the door! So...it's good to know that I work with at least one person who doesn't know that washing hands after using the facilities is necessary (or at the very least, a social nicety). It makes me look back on my first day and all the hands I shook and...



(writer's note: sorry for another potty blog...I hope this is my last one)

The post that was overdue

Sorry everybody...I've been a slacker when it comes to posting. My new job is so busy I just don't have time to do it at work like I used to.

But enough excuses...

Everybody who reads this blog (unless they stumble upon it), already know about my new job and all that but I'll do a quick recap.

1. New job.
1. Not sure about job.
2. Job is busy.
3. Job makes time pass quickly.


2. I have a new niece.
1. She's adorable.
2. She's tiny (5lbs 14 oz).

That's it for the recap.

I'll try for some quasi-humorous observation next. Hopefully soon. :) Peace out.

A little shoe shopping, a little voice improvement

Well, tomorrow's a big day. New job starts tomorrow. I'm staying within Behemoth, just moving to a new locale. So I decided today that I NEEDED new shoes. My shoes are old and boring, so I took a trip to DSW and found pretty good success. I walked away with 3 comfortable pairs that only cost me $135 and are very cool. Considering two of those pairs have heels and I still call them comfortable is a big deal for me.

Tonight, I'm actually finding myself a little excited about the new job. There's still a tiny bit of anxiety due to my old job (and my awesome coworkers), but tomorrow should prove interesting. I took a drive out to my new locale earlier today, just to make sure when I should leave for work. I'm going in much later than normal (8 a.m.) so traffic will be different.

My voice still isn't 100%. In fact, it's barely 50%. But, I spent the day in relative silence, so hopefully things will be better tomorrow. I know I can't expect my normal voice tomorrow, but basically being able to talk at this point is good. I've been bad at letting my voice heal. Last night I again talked way too much and felt the pain when I got home.

Well, wish me luck tomorrow. Hopefully I made a relatively good decision to switch jobs.

A Busy Week and Now I'm Speechless

I've had a busy week. First I got together with my friend Former Fembot for margaritas and food on Monday. I hadn't seen her in quite a long time, so it was awesome to catch up and get together again.

Tuesday I spent a bit of time cleaning up for my friend Lis's visit on Wednesday. She and I (and her youngest) went shopping and out to eat and then she stayed over Wednesday night into Thursday. It's always awesome to be able to spend time with her.

Tomorrow I have my going away party at work. Yes, for those of you who don't know (which is nobody), I'm moving to a new job within Behemoth on Monday. So, my current team is throwing me a little going-away party tomorrow night. It's nice they're doing that. I feel partly bad for leaving, and partly excited to start a new job. I guess only time will tell if I made the right decision. But at least I can spend some time with the team having some fun tomorrow night. My friend Monnik is even coming out...and she never does that. (Though that's not her fault...she has three kids and a husband who is forever travelling.)

Saturday I have another party to go to at a friend's place. I have an inkling that this even might make for a good blog, so I'll save that for later.

Through all of this...I ended up with laryngitis. I have pretty much no ability to speak above a whisper right now. Not ideal. I'm not really enjoying whispering all my conversations with people. Hopefully it's better by tomorrow night...but I'm not feeling very confident about that.

Oh well. At least this laryngitis comes without coughing or a sore throat. So...things could be worse.

Until next time peeps.

A Hot (and Cool) Day at the Zoo

It's hot outside. I don't like this. But...I signed up for a shift feeding the giraffes this weekend and I don't know when I'll get another chance anytime soon because they put them in the barn in October.

Anyway...the day started off with a big crowd that wanted to feed. That's always fun, because I get to see more people excited to do something I love to do. After that was done, I had over an hour until the next feeding. So, I grabbed my camera again for another shoot at the zoo. I got some decent photo opportunities, and will post them at a later date. I had much more "up close" opportunities with some of the animals, including the penguins and wallabies. And...as luck would have it, Barnaby the horniest of tortoises, gave another show. I decided to refrain from photographing the intimate moment this time. But it sure draws a crowd.

As I wandered up to the live animal demonstration, I ran into the Zoo Education specialist who asked if I'd want to help her with the demonstration. I readily agreed. What did I hold? A Ball Python. It was awesome. I know several people are now squirming just thinking about it, but it was just the coolest thing ever. It slithered and twisted around my hand and moved its way up my arm.

And the fun times didn't stop there. After we were done, I got to visit behind the scenes at the animal education area. I got to hold or touch more snakes, an alligator, some small tortoises, a rabbit and a bat. The bat was probably the coolest thing. It was very cute... yes, I said it. The bat was cute.

I'm hooked. Now I NEED to train as an animal handler. As long as I don't have to see the tarantulas. That's where I draw the line.

***

Oh and a shout-out goes to Lis. Happy Birthday!!!!!

I've been Simpsonized!

I found a cool little website that allowed me to see what I'd look like if I was on "The Simpsons". See me to the right.

Do I smell?

I've got an increasing phobia. Fear that I smell. Most, if not all, of you know that I have no sense of smell. Never have (in my opinion). As such, I've always been a little oversensitive about worrying about doing things that smell or cooking things that smell or whatever.

However, lately I'm almost constantly afraid that I stink. I would think a friend would tell me if I did. But I still worry. It's so bad that anytime somebody is in my office or I step into someone's office I worry about it. Or if I'm in a meeting and someone sitting next to me moves slightly away from me, I'm SURE they are doing so because I'm emitting some foul stench.

Why the sudden obsession with this? Why after 34 years am I suddenly getting super afraid of it?

Am I going crazy? :)