EY's Rants and Raves

A blogger I read is currently posting about things he learns on a daily basis. Unfortunately, I'm not that diligent about being aware of my learning opportunities, nor am I that regular a blogger. But today, on the completion of another trip around the sun, I'm posting about things I've learned since my last trip.

• Good folks can be hard to find (Part 1). At work, someone I worked very well with left for a better opportunity. I miss talking to her every day, but as much as the personal, I miss how good a team she and I are. She's open to brainstorming ways to make things better, she's willing to build processes and do some of the other "heavy lifting" to be successful, she knows how to use other resources and escalate issues. As I did my review this year, I realized how MY success diminished this year because I didn't have a partner like her to work with anymore. Her replacement doesn't get that I'm a resource. He brings me issues reluctantly, it seems. I want to help him in any way I can, but he's almost unwilling to be helped.
• Good folks can be hard to find (Part 2). This year, I started hanging out with some of "The Girls" who are in one way or another, attached to "The Guys" that The Boy hangs out with. I feel like I've hit the lottery with them sometimes. We're in different fields, have different backgrounds, are in different "life stages", but we all get along great and they are awesome chicks
• I'm ambivalent about shopping. When I *need* something, I want to go in, find it, buy it, get out. Most days, I'd rather do something worthwhile at work (which can be rare sometimes) than wander around a store looking for something that fits and looks decent on me. Then there are days like yesterday. I took my annual Birthday Holiday from work and went errand running. I fed my addiction to expensive makeup (and boy, do I wish I could shake THAT one....) and headed to The Mall. At Ann Taylor, I tried on 4 shirts. Two looked horrible, but 2 looked smoking hot, even on my not-smoking-hot torso. I might wear one to Birthday Dinner tonight. Headed to buy shoes. For years, this has been a slam dunk, but I'm getting pickier about my shoe purchases. This time, I had a specific need. Took longer than I really wanted to and my "I just want to get in and out of here" mood was about to kick in. Learned that there are shoes way to high for me. Was quite surprised by a pair of Michael Kors sandals. I have a long, narrow foot. Yet, my big AND little toe hung over the edge on these. They were maybe 1/8 of an inch taller than the shoes I bought, but that was enough to make them WAY too high. The VS "Biofit" bra is nowhere near as good as the IPEX. I admit, I bought an IPEX because of the heavy marketing, but they really are excellent bras. Biofit, not so much. My shopping luck continued at Chicos where I found the last pair of pants in the store that go with a very cool jacket I bought a couple of weeks ago. Would I want to do this every day? No. Yesterday was a rare day of shopping luck. Even if every day could be like that, there are other things I'd rather spend my time and money on.
• I'm a procrastinator. This isn't really news, it's just something I've been thinking about a lot lately.
• I don't like interruptions. Once I've made a plan and have gotten off my duff to complete it, I am rather offended about being taken off course. I find this most irritating when my sleep is interrupted. My poor dog isn't into sharing her food with the less fortunate neighborhood wildlife. At 3 am, I'm less willing to tolerate her instinct to protect her food. Racoons just want to eat, I just want to sleep....Can't we all just get along?
• I am a homebody. Seriously. I don't know if it's from growing up an only child out in the country or the "I need a place that's not work"refuge, but I like being at home. I'm fine running errands, but I'd rather do them all at once and not keep running into town all the time.

I'm sure I learned a lot more than that this year, but those are the things perking in my mind at the moment. Here's to another round trip.....