A Tour Of My Desk

Well, I'm not good at taking pictures. Obviously. So here's the best you're going to get: Stuff currently sitting on my desk.

-Kleenex box (they're actually Kleenex). They save my life. I go through more boxes that most people. I have a lot of spills....
-Vaseline lotion. It keeps my hands nice and soft.
-project management updates on our progress
-yellow post-it notes pad
-aqua Post-It notes pad
-yellow letter-half steno-type notebook. I make notes at my desk on projects. I also take it to meetings with me as a show of good faith that I may actually jot something down...Often I don't.
-note to self about talking to Sara about a process
-BundAberg ginger beer (don't worry, non-alcoholic)
-speakers
-broken lamp
-Texas Rangers hat
-thermos I use as a water bottle
-a clementine that I keep pretending I'm going to eat....
-microcloth to clean off my glasses
-cell phone
-work phone
-a bowling trophy for Jeff Barrus of the "Dream Team". Apparently he got second place in the summer of 2008 in the BYU student bowling league.
-token plant that I've nursed back to health
-white board with notes about projects I'm working on. It's complete with a picture of my nephew, Dean. (Other pictures would be welcome should they come my way....). Also a note that says "Serenidade Agora" from one of my student employees/friends.
-stacks of papers of former student employees that I need to recycle
-two stacks of folders that I keep avoiding
-the biggest canister of hot chocolate that I've ever seen
-white Christmas lights
-product information for my new iPod nano
-an empty bottle of IBC cream soda that my coworker discolored with dry erase markers that I keep trying to throw away, but I figure I should recycle it, but recycling is lame here.
-magnetic name tags of student employees who quit over a year ago
-two fans (I got rid of three others)
-a space heater
-the American Heritage Dictionary that I use as a foot stool
-arm rest
-wrist rest for my mouse so my tendinitis doesn't get too bad
-power strip
-my shoes (which are not on my feet)

Twiddling My Thumbs

I'm tempted to do this, though my hair isn't as fantastic as hers.

So I fully anticipated that this week would be slow. It's only a three-day work week and most people just take the week off. Everything I do is dependent on other people. So as of right now I am out of things to do. I think I'll start working on writing the manual for my position...or maybe write a training manual...but I'm only two hours in and I'm bored out of my mind.

The only reason I'm still here is to make sure my student employees have things to do. Otherwise I don't really know what to do with myself....I suppose I could clean out my desk or make sure everyone's plants are watered...

However the only thing I really want to do is go back to sleep because I'm exhausted. I've been having a hard time falling asleep, so it was a rough time waking up this morning when my alarm went off.

Anyone have any thoughts on what I can do to pass my time here?

High School Basketball Horror

Yesterday my dear friend Emily and I went to the JV and varsity basketball games. Emily's roommate Jordan is the assistant coach at Independence High School here in Provo. It's a low-income area and she helps through some outreach program.

So Emily and I go and watch the JV game, enjoying the game and the rank smell of adolescence that surrounds us. Our team crushes the other team. (They are in a private school district and the school they were playing was a math/science school. And they looked like it. Wow.) We were much, much bigger than the other boys.

Then before the varsity game, Jordan asked me and Emily if we could run the clock. (Apparently the person who did it during the JV game had to leave.) I was excited and the prospect of learning a new skill and helping out.

I was sorely disappointed.

Running the clock/scoreboard was one of the worst experiences of my life. I ran the clock. Emily ran the scoreboard. Everyone was yelling at us the whole game. The fans were really mean and I almost had a panic attack every time I looked up at the clock to make sure it was running. A second is a long time, people. Twice I forgot to start the clock and I got a sinking feeling that someone would start yelling at me. Don't worry. They did.

And it smelled.

And I had to use the bathroom in the women's locker room, that the other team was using.

And it smelled.

And the other team's coach was mean.

And our team lost.

I started clinching my jaw and my heart was racing I was so stressed. Emily was broken out into a cold sweat.

We had to get out of there as soon as the game was over for fear of retribution.

But then we went to Emily's and at mint M&Ms and watched part of an episode of Gilmore Girls. Then we went to Wendy's and got some comfort food.

We felt better after that. But we will never again attend an Independence High School basketball game.