Three Years

I was recognized this week for working here three years. That's the longest I've worked somewhere that wasn't school. My usual thing to feel after TWO years at any place is anger, frustration, stress, boredom, blah, blah, you get the idea. But here, I haven't felt that. Sure there have been frustrating days. Anger at dumb decisions. Stress at getting a project done. Boredom from lack of work. That's at all jobs and not at once as it was in the past. Since being here, I've never said, "I'm done. I want out. I hate it here." Not once. Ask Justin how many times I said that at my last employer.

It was nice being recognized because a lot of people didn't know what I did, who I was, or even what I looked like. But that changed within the past year. The role I have now lets me interact with more departments and become the hero at the last minute (toot toot! - that's me tooting my horn.). And when my boss ended his speech about my work here, I was surprised at the applause that came. Loud cheers! What? Who was doing that? No one knows me or the work that I've done. But people did know me and the work I've done. And they cheered. I was the popular kid for 15 seconds.

I haven't thought about where I'll be in the next 10 years career wise. Where ever I am, I hope I'll be as happy as I am here.

Busy Boy

He's busy these days (no idea with what, but he's ALWAYS walking around like he's got things to do).



I've been (surprisingly!) busy at work. You may see me on Facebook and you're right, I am! But it's for work. "Riiiiiiiight Jessi" I know, sounds fake but for reals, I'm actually helping a department use it to their advantage. So I get to figure everything out before pretending I'm the expert and show them how to use a certain app or whatever they want.

Justin's about to be more busy too which is also good. Busy = work = money. Amazing how that works. So with that, I'm doing a modified work schedule starting Monday. (Can I just say that my company is awesome offering alternative schedules? Well they are!)

Anyway, so ya, I'll be able to spend some more time with Jules and Justin will get a break. Hopefully this will be a nice balance.

He's getting so big and smart, I don't want to miss anymore of his cuteness.

What I Did

I know I'm late posting a 14 month update on baby Jules. We were out of town and I've been busy. He's doing so much, he really needs a monthly update. Coming soon, friends :)

On Friday, I happened to see a show call What Would You Do? on ABC. Basically, what would you do in certain situations like if you saw a dog in a hot car, or a child crying on a busy sidewalk, or a baby left alone in a hot car.

I would like to think that people would get involved, but sadly, the majority of people just walked by not paying attention or completely ignoring the situation.

Really? You'd walk by someone laying in the middle of the street, like they were hurt or dead?

My office overlooks a really busy street. People park and run into the post office or court house all the time. Most of the time they don't bother paying the meter because they think they'll be quick.

And I laugh because the second the people walk away from their car, the parking enforcement rolls up and writes them a ticket. Bang. $40 parking ticket.

Ask me how I know how much it is. Or, better yet, ask Justin.

Anyway...

As I often do, I looked out the window to daydream when a woman with BRIGHT BLONDE HAIR holding what I thought, was a little baby walked up to her car, got in on the drivers side, put the baby in the passengers seat and pulled up to the next open spot (my only guess was that the next meter worked or still had time on it?).

She got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, took out a TODDLER and walked away.

She left the baby!! I panicked! I couldn't see in the car really well. I started to think, "Maybe there's an adult in the car?" But I really couldn't see anything to confirm.

I couldn't sit there knowing that they *may* be an infant sitting in a hot car. So, I went around to other offices and looked out the windows to see if I could get a better look. But I still couldn't confirm.

A co-worker had binoculars (don't ask why) and I still couldn't see.

So I headed out to the street. I crossed and started towards the car. Before I got to it, I looked behind me and the lady was coming, with the toddler. So I casually walked close to her car and peeked in.

Guess what?

There wasn't a baby in the car.

But, guess what else?

I felt so relieved that I was wrong!

(Guess what, you probably won't hear me say that again.)

Seriously, I felt better knowing I went down there to check. I thought he was a baby by the way she was holding him, but the toddler was wearing the same blue striped shirt I thought the baby was wearing.

I know it's cliche, but better safe than sorry.

I Appreciate What You're Saying... But

I am, by no means, super attractive (please don't tell me otherwise, I'm ok with the way I look - not that I expect anyone to object to that.). Just an average girl trying to do what she can with the face and body given to her. I like to keep things simple with hair and makeup. Clothes and shoes are also simple. I don't over do it and I feel weird when I do.

So when someone in the skyway says to me, in passing, "Hey sexy!" I immediately look around to see who he's talking to. Because, clearly, he can't be talking to me. But then he says, "Oh, I see that big rock on your finger." And I still look around for this sexy chick with a huge rock on her finger. (btw, my ring isn't huge. It's just that my hand and fingers are really small so the ring looks REALLY BIG.) (And, apparently, he was talking to me. There wasn't anyone else around.)

This all happened while I was walking to lunch. I didn't say anything mostly because I didn't believe it. I mean, really, when someone says something to you in passing, you might think, "were they talking to me?" And by the time you realize they may have been talking to you, you've walked away. What would you say to that person anyway? Thanks?

Flattered, I was also somewhat grossed out. Since when did the skyway become a club for picking up chicks? Thanks for the compliment (and I'm sure my husband thanks you too), but no thanks.

(Totally unrelated, but super exciting: I was asked to audition for some voice-over work at tpt and they liked my voice for kids spots! (hahahaha, guess I've got a "kids" voice.) So Minnesota friends, stay tuned because Clifford's coming up on tpt kids!)

Kickball Hiakus

Stretching before games
something I have yet to do
I'm in pain today


Kicked the ball towards first
I ran as fast as I could
I dodged the ball - OUT


Last inning, third base
Dude kicks the ball at my face
I caught it, you're out!

Dudes

I think I just saw a drug deal go down.

It reminds me of the time I saw some people "meet up" for s.e.x. in the parking lot of my old job. Multiple times.

Did I just see...

No, that didn't just happen!

Wait, yes! OMG. For reals!

It's Been a While

Let's have some updates, shall we?

- We're buying Jules a convertible car seat. But we're waiting til he's a year old before we use it. 1 year AND 20lbs. is the rule and we're following rules.

- Minnesota is WARMING UP and it's GREAT! I weeded my garden but I still need to finish it before I plant my veggies. A veggie garden, how awesome is that!? I'm so excited.

- We leave next week for London. Have a few things planned, but really, we'll determine places to go based on how Jules will be. He'll be good! YES! He won't be crabby or anything!

- I'm looking for a car. With a new style carseat (that still needs to be rear facing), it's time to upgrade the Sillycar. There's no way one will fit and I'm ready for something new (to me. buying used of course). Any suggestions?

- With gardening and now, being a kickball player at work, I've been sore for about 2 weeks. (We lost our first game - but it was a great comeback!)

(OH! So my office - did I tell you I moved offices? - has a window looking down to a very busy street with lots of people. A guy just walked down the street in a gray suit and a hat. Straight out of the 40's, I tell you what!

Yesterday, a guy wearing too short shorts was rollerblading on the same street. Not sure if he meant to go this way because it's downhill and he wasn't controlling his blades very well. I watched him until he almost bladed into traffic but turned at the last possible moment. He turned down another downhill road. I hope he made it.)

Anyway, back to kickball. So I'm playing third base and the ball got kicked to short stop, he's literally 4-5 feet away from me, goes to give me the ball and throws it WAY HIGH and the runner goes home while I'm scrambling to the ground to get the ball. DUDE, I was right there, just lob the ball. (lob, right?) Don't toss it way above my head when you're that close! IDIOT!

So I'm saying, because of that, we lost.

Bullet Points

- About 6 years ago (maybe less), I was listening to NPR on the topic of a messaging system that gave updates to family and friends but was limited to about 140 characters. I immediately thought, "Why would anyone want to use that?"

Twitter, HA!

Now, I get to do status updates for work on Twitter. for WORK. How odd, huh? If you want to follow tpt go here. (I won't be offended if you don't or have no clue as to what I'm talking about. I'm a late adopter.)

- I tried on my wedding dress a few weeks ago. No reason, really. But, should I be worried that 1) it's still dirty from that day. No I never dry-cleaned it - should I? and 2)it fits. I know, I was shocked too. Either I was chubby 9 years ago or I've somehow lost all the married and baby weight I put on.

- I have a new office mate. And while he's nice, he's extremely opinionated. OPINIONATED! He thinks I'm in idiot for using a PC. Hey, buddy, I've got me one of them fancy itouch things so lay off me!

I've also been banished to the woman's dressing room to pump. Actually, it's pretty sweet. I have a private bathroom and I catch up on my two tv shows. (Parks and Rec - Hilarious! and Office) It's a nice break during the day. But still annoying.

- We're heading over to London in May. WITH.THE.BABY.NINE.HOUR.FLIGHT.OH.HELP.ME! I'm a little worried. The kid has flown as recently as January and did great. But now, he's getting more like, "hey, you, hold me!" "No, wait! I want to look at you upside down." "Put me down over there!" "WHY'D you put me down!!"

Ya, that should be fun on a plane. But his passport is so cute! (my preshus bayyy-beeee has a passport!)

- and speaking of Jules (I'll keep it short, I promise), he totally understands me! For example:
(Scene: Baby in my moms arms at the table, playing with her necklace. Me sitting next to them.)

Me: Jew-uls, eh, eh. Don't pull

Jules: (blank stare at me - then back to pulling)

Me: Jew-uls, don't pull

Jules:

Me:

Jules: (yanks hard)

Me: JULES! Eh, eh! Don't pull.

Jules: (pouty face emerges and begins a FAKE CRY, people)

Me: Oh, Jules, you're fine, don't pull.

Jules: :)

Giant-ness

LOOK! A giant marshmallow!



Bigger than baby Jules' nom nom nom-able body (in a picture!)



I could only eat half of it. Hey look, a glimpse of my desk, two days in a row. I must be really busy at work.

Leftovers

What's wrong with this photo? (not the "photo" but what I'm photo-ing)



I very rarely make my way to the lunch room to hit up the vending machine, but today I really wanted a treat. Something to tide me over until I go home for the day. So I scoured the machine to see all of my options. Normally, I'd get a bag of peanut M&M's but I wasn't feeling it. While looking I noticed these "fit" stickers next to some items.

Oh, right! That's our tpt fit! program. Sweet, they made it easy for me! (The program has been around since August of last year. See, I don't hit the vending machine up often.)

Pretzels. YES! Ooh, with CHEESE! Even better!

Do you see it? Guessed what's wrong yet?

I opened my bag and immediately thought my pretzels were BROKEN! Seriously!? A bag of broken pretzels! ALL OF THEM! What crummy luck.

But then I looked at the bag closlier and read "Pretzel Pieces" and it all clicked.

Oh, Snyder's, you are GENIUS! For reals, you just made up a whole new line of pretzels without doing anything different! By using the majority of broken pretzels, tossing them in fake cheese, I imagine you've reduced how much leftovers you throw away.

Which leads me to think of ways I can use leftovers. Sure, I made burritos with leftover pulled pork last night (way to re-heat, Jessi!) but what about other things that aren't usually part of meal? Say, the last bit of milk in your cereal bowl? What to do with that? And the peels of carrots or cucumbers? Someone's gotta have an idea?

Help a girl out. What do you do with any/all leftovers? (doesn't have to be food related either. Hello - paper towel rolls - I'm SURE they can be re-purposed into something.

Passive Aggressive

After Jules was born, I decided to drive to work. Taking the bus would be about an hour commute and driving was about 15-20 minutes less. I want all the time I can get with him, so I drive now. And since I was giving up my super cheap bus pass for a parking pass, I wanted to park in my building. Which happens to be the most expensive in downtown St. Paul (lame, Lowertown!) In my mind, this situation is temporary and I'll start taking the bus again - so I could splurge on the parking fee.

The garage is nice with lots of spaces if you get here early enough. Lately, I haven't and I just go straight for the lower levels where there is always plenty of spots.

One day, I got to work late and had to park on the bottom level. While waiting for the one working elevator (the other was out), the number of people waiting grew - this never happens, the elevators are FAST. Just when we all started to look at each other, it arrived. Phew! I didn't want to walk up SIX flights of stairs!

We filed in and hit Skyway (P7) and away we went. P1 lit up, P2 lit up, P...and the one working elevator stopped. STOPPED between floors! Someone hit the closest floor to get it going and it went up, then dropped some and got stuck again. Another person pushed all the buttons - like that was gonna help - while on the other side of the elevator, a woman used the "call help" phone (or really, the "get me the HELL outta here" phone). She started talking to the operator and the elevator dropped again and the doors opened at P2. Everyone fled and started walking towards the stairs.

Crap. 6 flights of stairs at 8am. Too early. For reals. I'm so outta shape. I'm carrying 2 bags because that's what people who work in either downtown St. Paul or Minneapolis carry. Heavy winter coat. This sucks!

I made it. Barely. (This coming from a former casual runner. Yes, I know, I suck.)

I had hopped that was just a fluke and I wouldn't have to do it again. But I was also glad to know where the stairs were just in case.

Good thing I now know where the stairs are because later that day, an email went out to all employees. "Elevators are out for undetermined amount of time."

Nothing to do now but use the stairs. And you know what? When I get here early, I still park at P1 and walk up the six flights of stairs. I like a challenge. Apparently, others do not.

Minnesotans are notoriously passive aggressive. My husband said he learned from the best, his mother. (btw, I think he enjoys this trait especially now that he's amongst his own people.)

And since the elevators have been out for about three weeks now, people aren't happy anymore and it's showing:



Maybe they have to order a part? Maybe it's being shipped and nothing can be done until it gets here? Maybe they need to replace something and only one person in town can do it and he's on vacation? I'm not passive aggressive; I look for other explanations or assume something.

So I'm assuming this person only has to walk up three levels. What a bitch.

Goodbye TPT...

Hello TPT!

I got a new job at tpt (I LOVE that they LOVE to hire within!). When I'm done with the Minnesota Video Vault project, I will have watched about 1000 shows.

One THOUSAND shows. Actually, there will be 1100 shows, but I've had some help (Thank G!) My brain is fried, but my knowledge of Minnesota and its history is unbelievable - or I like to think.

Remember when you were a kid and it was summer time and all you wanted to do was watch tv all day? (Maybe you weren't as lazy as I was. But seriously, it was HOT in Texas during the summer, so unless you were swimming, you were watching tv.) And you wished you could get paid to watch tv all day?

Yeah, I did that. (But I did plenty of other things too!) And while the project was really awesome and ahead of the pack in terms of online archiving, sometimes, watching programs all day sucked. But, I'm proud of my work, my knowledge of Minnesota and the opportunity tpt gave me to take charge of the project.

It paid off.

So now, I'm finishing up my list of shows (1100!)and moving onto another project managing various internal websites. MANAGING, kids.

800

We're heading to Duluth this weekend. I know, super exciting. Actually, it is. I've never been and if Justin has, it's been more than a decade (we're old enough now to measure in terms of decades). Really, the reasons I want to go are 1)I'm still new to Minnesota and want to explore 2) we like stay-cations, and 3)I saw some really cool stuff about Duluth in one of the MANY shows I've watched for work.

(Which, by the way, I've published over 800(!!!) shows - meaning I've watched almost all of them. Yes, this is my job and I get paid to do it. I'm becoming the go-to person if you want to know the gist of a show.)

So, if I may shamelessly plug my work, here are some shows you might find of interest - who knows, it might prompt a visit to Minnesota (Thanks Team Voltron!):

This is for Team Voltron: State Fair People, Summit Ave, The Gateway

I wish I'd gone up north (or Nort as some MN's call it) sooner. I'd be picking blueberry's at the Makinen Blueberry Patch.

I'll have to add this to our list of places to eat. Potica. But it's even WAY more nort than Duluth.

The Cider Man of Duluth - I need to bring him all my apples!

Hmm, this seems to revolve around food. I'm sure Duluth has more to offer. Let's see.

Bayfield isn't that far from Duluth - by boat. But seeing some of the best preserved lighthouses might be worth a boat ride.

Lock and Dam #5

On our way up, we should stop at Frank Lloyd Wright's service station. It's the only one he ever did!

I don't think we can go in, but maybe a drive by of Bob Dylan's childhood home would be interesting.

I could go on and on. 800 shows, remember? Looking for something specific? Let me know, I've probably seen it. And give me time, I'll probably visit it.

New Routine

My maternity leave is over. I'm so glad I got the summer off. Justin will do great with Jules, but I'm sad.

I like my job, the people I work with, and a paycheck, but I like Jules more.

He's just so cute and sweet.



I'm gonna miss looking at his cute face all day. Lucky Justin.

One Year Ago

It was one year ago when I went for my first interview. I admit, I lied about where I was that weekend to our friends and co-workers in Las Vegas. But we really thought bad things would happen to both of us if we told everyone I was looking for a job and had interviews with a company out of state.

Looking back, I guess it wasn't that big of deal. But I really hated lying to people about where my new job was. And that "No, we aren't moving." Oops, HI we're moving.

Despite a long, difficult winter (mostly for Justin, even though I spent numerous mornings in negative temps waiting for a bus), we're finally getting used to it here. There are many things we miss about Las Vegas, even Salt Lake City. But with spring finally here and summer around the corner (EEEEEEE!), our attitudes have gotten better.

Our house and all its projects are taking shape and getting done. We didn't have anything to do last night because of a power outage so we finished up some projects that didn't require electricity. And you know what? They took all of 30 minutes. But it feels good to finish them. And it felt good to have the power back on because I needed a fruit smoothie made in my awesome new blender! Because, you know, when you move across country, you don't have room for that old blender.

Yoga

This time last year, I'd had enough with my job and found something I thought would be perfect for me. So I applied. And, guess what? I am perfect for this job. Still.

We just had a wellness course on yoga in the boardroom. My yoga instructor for WII fit says I've got great posture and balance. Even though I seem to be gaining weight, and they like people to lose weight. "What factors in your life could contribute to your weight gain?" Pregnancy wasn't an option.

So I asked the yoga instructor in the wellness course some questions that, really, my WII fit instructor can't answer.

It's nice to have a two-way conversation with someone sometimes.

Insert Hacking Cough Here...and There

I cannot shake this cough. I was doing well. Made it through the winter months with not even a sniffle. Until Justin got it from hanging out with our nieces and nephews a few weeks back. Of course, once I thought he we done and I wasn't going to get sick, well, we know how that goes. So I went home from work yesterday after being here for 20 minutes. Dumb I know, but I had to get something done and I just don't trust anyone to do it yet.

The countdown is on to train people for my job. It's not a hard job (well some days are), you just need creativity and a desire to get things done. And lots of organizing. And the ability to watch really boring shows. (Thankfully, not all of them are, but try watching something right after eating lunch and let me know if you stay awake.)

The plan is to get as much done before I'm out. Once I'm back, I'll be ahead. And with the help from my two back-ups, things shouldn't slow down much.

Next week, I fly out to Dayton, Ohio. Talk about a hot vacation destination! Actually, I'm going to meet Tony for WGI. I haven't been in about 5 or 6 years and normally I see Tony a few times during the season. But since I've moved, I haven't seen him in probably a year. So, I'm really out of the loop. I haven't seen any shows or heard to expect anything awesome from...?

So, if you're in Dayton too, let me know and we can meet up! I'll be the pregnant chick sitting alone because Tony will be at judges training. But I'll have his empty seat available for a guest/friend or for my big purse I'm bringing to sneak in treats or anything else I'll need that they'll probably overcharge me for.

(My co-worker used the phrase "meta-bomb" in a meeting. I think we all had the same "WTH" expression after he said it. I just searched for a description and can't find anything on it. Does someone know what this fool meant? Did he get it confused with "google bomb?")

Oh Boy

We celebrated Justin's Birthday on Friday even though it was on Sunday. He's happy being 32. And he's happy with the new Guitar Hero game I got him. You know, the one with the cymbals on the drum set. Now he can be the drummer he's always wanted to be.

And I can be the knocked up wife back home while he's on tour. Good thing the tour is only in our living room.

Oh.this.crazy.house! Every little project we start on leaves us scratching our heads as to why it was done like that in the first place. All the outlets in the house are super old and dingy looking. So we're going room to room to replace them with nice white ones. We started in the kitchen. Apparently, a few of the outlets weren't even grounded! Oooookay.

We replaced the light bulb over the sink with the right size and just used the bulb in the main kitchen light (until we replace that whole unit). It's like a faint purple color! What the heck?! So we've got 2 white lights and this one tinted one. Who buys a purple tinted bulb for their kitchen?

Last night we installed a new disposal unit (the sink didn't have one at all and I think it's a must). But we needed to access the power source for the dishwasher which is behind the dishwasher. First off, the dishwasher sticks out from under the counter like 1/2 an inch. Weird. Justin unscrewed it, pulled it out and there was so much GARBAGE underneath it I just about died. And when I swept it, it was stuck to the floor. I was amazed. It was like their kids had swept and just brushed it under the dishwasher.

So I cleaned that up, got the disposal installed and plugged in, and the dishwasher pushed further under the counter. Now it looks like it belongs there.

We just laugh each time we find something that doesn't make sense or that wasn't done correctly. But we are getting things done in the house. Good thing too because I'm hitting the 3rd trimester soon (like, tomorrow. THAT soon). No, I'm not as big as people expect. No, I haven't gained the typical amount of weight all the books say I should (talk to me at 40 weeks). No, my Doctor isn't concerned about this at all because the baby is measuring fine.

3rd trimester people. This is like Senior year of High School or College. I've been told now is the time to have fun because apparently real life isn't fun for a while and neither is the newborn stage. Justin and I have been having fun for 8 years. I see people with kids having fun. So what's the point of comments like that?

So I'll just keep plugging along with my house to-do list which DOES include get the baby's room done - hopefully BEFORE the baby shows up. I just needed that disposal first. And those shiny new outlets. And the new kitchen faucet that we're installing tonight.

Just Add Peanut Butter

And she's busy for 10 minutes. Look at her go!

Apparently, "I'm no help". I got an email from someone who somehow got my email address (back from when I was a video editor). It was spam, either way, I replied with a "remove" request.

Then I found he was holding my address hostage until I told him what city I was from? Seriously? So I ignored it. Then today, I got another email stating: "Without your help, I had to search through 13 lists... but you have been
removed."

I don't care what you had to do. Just do a search on my email address from your 13 pages of addresses. Jeez old timer! It's not that hard. And while I do feel he got the last word in (which was probably not smart on his part since now I can tell people I know in the industry, "Hey, know this voice-over guy... he's a douche. Don't hire him.") I'm glad I made him all huffy-puffy having to search through 13 pages of email addresses to remove mine.

And speaking of my previous industry, a co-worker apparently couldn't remember that I was a video editor not too long ago (even after he's asked me what my background is) and insulted me when he said, "People like you and I have no idea what kind of tools they use here to get the shows to look as awesome as they do."

Um, actually, I'm pretty sure they use the same platform that I used but with super high end camera and audio equipment and plug-ins that can accomplish anything. But you're probably right, I wouldn't know anything about that.

Proof of My Work

I don't know why, but it seems I'm pretty good at passing tests while pregnant. Baby should be happy that I passed the 1 hour glucose test (mmmm yummy orange soda without the soda part). But they determined my iron levels were a tad low. Justin's excited because they recommended MORE.RED.MEAT! Blah! I think two, maybe three times a week is enough but apparently it isn't enough for him.

It probably didn't help that I had a complete chocolate overload all weekend. I couldn't get enough. So I'm sorta off the chocolate craze and back on the fruit treat and orange sherbet craze. We'll see how long I can last.

Justin participated in a 24 hour website challenge over the weekend. His team won - congrats stinky nerds! So while he was helping a local non-profit build a new website for free (in 24 hours), baby and I did some much needed shopping. Then we finished painting the kitchen. And finished emptying out some boxes and cleaned up the living room to look like a living room, without furniture. Baby and I were busy! Scully kept busy by shredding every piece of kleenex she could find. Just like old times. We can tell she's much happier now. The evidence is all over the place...usually left by the garbage where she finds the kleenex. Little jerk.

Work is work. Just cranking out shows. Have I told you guys about the work I do? Maybe? No? Either way, the site is now live and you can go there! Woo-Hoo!

mnvideovault.org

Front page only has featured shows/segments. But you can browse or search. All those shows and descriptions and information relating to the show, that's me. I'm pretty important. Take a look. But FYI: This is only content relating to Minnesota, since we are the local Minnesota PBS station. So, no, you won't find national shows like Nova, Frontline, or American Experience.

But you might be surprised by what you do find. Want something funny? Check out "How to Talk Minnesotan" or "Only in Minnesota with Louie Anderson." Looking for old footage of Minneapolis? Check out "Down on Skid Row." Want to know how the Mayo Clinic got started in the middle of a corn field? Watch "Inside Mayo Clinic."

There are some great shows (trust me, I've had to watch all of them). Let me know what you think. Or you can comment on the website too. We can only make it better with feedback. Annnnnnnd..... I thank you.