Why People Pleasing is a Bad Idea: Most likely part of a 10 part series called "My Life"

Have you ever had a day when you just can't seem to say/do the right thing, no matter how hard you try? That would be today for me. It is only 8:02am CST, and I keep putting my proverbial foot in my mouth everytime I open it. I am really just trying to be nice and make it easier for everyone around me (lots of people are having bad days, or it looks like they could potentially have one; i am just trying to make their days better, honest!) by being sympathetic and trying to solve their problems. Apparently this is the wrong approach. . .

Exhibit A:
M is one of my good friends and she had a bad day yesterday as well. She called me last night, upset. She had also called another mutual friend of ours (we are our own little group). I would never betray the trust of one of my good friends. If you tell me something,I am not about to broadcast it to everyone ( I have friends that do this with stunning regularity. . ). I got on the bus to go to work this morning, and this mutual friend (herein referred to as "woot") got on the bus. I asked her if M had called her last night. She said that, yes M had called her. I made the mistake of assuming (putting the @$$ in you and me. . .)that M had talked about the same topics; she hadn't, so I guess I just inadvertantly betrayed M's trust. The whole idea here was to talk to woot to try and find good ways to take M's mind off of the upsetting situation this weekend. That was achieved (M and Woot are hanging out tonight, and M is hanging with me tomorrow), but I get in and M calls and is like, I can't believe you told Woot all about me and my issues! What is wrong with you? Sigh. . . I was just trying to help!

Exhibit B:
Coworker comes up to me and asks me if I handle a particular report. I didn't, but seeing as all I do all day is run/write reports, it was a valid question. I told him that it was other Coworker H's report. Bad news for him, he said. I know enough about Coworker H's report to know that this report issue could cause Coworker H, who is already moody, to be in a crap tastic mood all day. I decided to intervene and tell Coworker H, that there were some issues with his report. This is much nicer than getting the chew out email about your report failing from the client. At least in my opinion. I would have thanked Coworker H if the roles were reversed. Instead I got a scowl and some swearing. Now Coworker H isn't speaking to me and that stinks cause I sit right next to him.

I am officially done trying to help people out and make their day a little bit easier. From now on, if there is dog poo up ahead, go ahead and step in it. Don't get mad that I didn't warn you or try to direct you to another route!

Kick for a Cause

If anybody is feeling particularly generous, my company is involved in a charity called Ryno Kid Care, founded by Ryne Sanburg of the Cubs (Go Cubs Go!)for the benefit of terminally ill children and their parents. We are hosting a Kickball Extravaganza @ Grant Park this Saturday, and all teams participating (not me, i'm working on the setup and registration of players!)raised at least $1200.00. Still we are asking for more people to donate to this great cause. If your pockets are feeling deep, click here. If you are in the Chicagoland area, feel free to come out and watch the fun in Grant Park. There will be a beer tent, food and snacks, and the festivities start at 10am and go until 6pm. Maybe I will see you there!

Rothbury Green Initiatives- In your own backyard (cubicle)

I had originally intended to "tweet" and post from Rothbury, but my blackberry only picked up NPI (the bunk cell phone provider that my dear friend Amy always had to deal with when we were roommates @ MSU- it caused some expensive problems to say the least), so of course none of the data options worked and i could only text ppl that were like two feet away. so much for that. at least i wrote down little blubs on my arms, in my bag, on sugar cane plates :) I hope to make of of this into a decent post, but bear with me as i am still recovering from 4 days without any sleep. Totally worth it though; i will be back next year. In the meantime though, i have some lofty plans for this office. I sat in some of the think tanks @ Rothbury and got some fab ideas. Did you know that sugarcane plates cost less than paper plates AND are better for the environment (the break down into compost faster than paper and with less chemical impact)? That is just one example. Last week my office discontinued paper and insulated cups. I have heard people complain, but not too terribly. I take this as a sign that we have managed to promote some positive social change around here. I am going to talk to our HR person about replacing paper with sugar cane, and using recycled napkins. We are already in talks with Boise Paper (one of our clients, natch) to implement recycled TP in the bathrooms on our floor at least. This is a little bit trickier, as the building shares the same cleaning service and we have to convince them as well. Every little bit helps!

I hope to post more on the overall weekend, but i need to do two things first: upload my pictures (after charging camera) and get some sleep. I have failed miserably at both and i have been back since 3am on Monday. . . oops.

More to come. Please keep trying to do your own version of the 3 r's. . ..

Quiz Mania

I know this is a cop out for a real post, but a lot of people have been tagging me for these, so here goes:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was just finishing with my eighth grade year, mourning my rejection from the cheerleading squad, and making the most of a summer at home on the lake with friends. I miss those days when days of doing nothing felt so long! Much to my mum’s consternation, I was really into skateboarding and surfing culture (in Michigan, I know, but still!) and spent a lot of spare time learning to skateboard (I am really, really bad!). Thankfully I moved on unscathed by crazy piercings, blue hair, or tattoos. There are still pictures to haunt me though (shudder!)

5 Things on My To Do List Today
Call my lousy landlord to inform them I will be moving out in August- so there!
Exchange leftover Canadian $$ from Bachelorette trip
Make menu lists for upcoming trip to Rothbury
Upload the rest of the wedding pictures from my phone (my project du jour)
Move my car to the “Thursday” side of the street to avoid nasty street cleaning ticket (It is on the “Friday” side of the street today, I cut someone off to get there)

Snacks You Enjoy
Salad Crispins Italian Parmesan Croutons
Strawberries and Cucumber with Balsamic Vinegar
Pita Chips and Garlic Hummus
Oatzels
Laura’s Wholesome Junk Food Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fresh Michigan Cherries
Ruby Red Grapefruit
Vosges Mo’s Bacon Bar
I could go on. . . .

Places You Have Lived
Ann Arbor, Michigan
East Lansing, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Chicago, Illinois
Paris, France

5 Things You Would Do if You Were a Billionaire
Make sure my family was taken care of and all set for life
Quit my job 
Purchase a lake house
Throw out my closet and start over
Lots and lots of Philanthropy; particularly green initiatives and less fortunate women

6 Quirky Things about Myself
I actually really like my freckles and would be really sad if they ever went away or I had to cover them up
I miss studying and taking tests
I don’t have cable, and rarely watch television. Books are so much better
Most of the time, I enjoy the condiments and seasonings more than the food itself (excepting fruit)
Even though I don’t consider myself superstitious, I always avoid walking under ladders, contact with black cats, stepping on the sidewalk cracks, etc. You never know!
I really do believe in Karma. What goes around does really come around. My friend Mary has this theory that all people and events in life come full circle. I am a faithful believer!

I got tagged to do all of these about a million years ago by numerous friends. I am now tagging anyone who has procrastinated as much as I have. I don’t think there are many of you, but you never know. . . . .

Longer, more detailed post to follow.

Really, seriously!

Coming off of two fun with weekends with my amazing girlfriends, I am realizing that I need to write about them complete with pictures. As it may be noticed, I am not so good at posting pictures in a timely fashion. . . .I need to improve! So. . . .tonight my little iBook and I are going to spend some quality time at the coffeeshop down the street updating older posts and working on some new things as well. I really enjoy blogging, and would like to make it a larger part of my life. This requires a little bit more time commitment than I have been dedicating of late. I realize this, and that is why I want to try and make field trips to the coffee shop a more regular thing.

Check back tomorrow for wedding pics, Muffy pics, and hopefully more writing.

xoxo

Today is a cynical one. I am not sure if it is the weather (it is humid, kind of chilly and overcast here), the fact that BF is on a mini permanant vacation, or just that I am stuck in a general funk, but today is just not a good one. I am trying to limit the cynical on this blog, but it is hard not to be with current conditions. After reading Matt's blog (see three posts ago), I have come to the conclusion (yet again) that life just isn't fair at all. I don't think that it is fair for me, certainly not fair for Matt or Madeline or Liz, and not fair for anyone in Myanmar, and not fair for anyone who has lost their job because of the current economic situation. Unfortunately, these things show no signs of improving. There is a select percentage of people that are actually thriving (call it the upper class, if you will), but so many others that are struggling to make ends meet. For some reason, I fall into the latter category, but this is mostly because I bought a new car two months before moving here and have student loans. At least I can (almost) make all of my bills every month and still be able to do things. I feel bad for all of the single moms and dads out there that have kids to care for as well on one income. Just another reminder that life really isn't fair. Why was I not born into a trust fund? exactly.


I guess this is just about taking the best of of the worst situations. If you are currently unhappy with your fiscal situation, romantic situation, living situation, career situation, and friend situation, what else can you do, but to fixate as much as possible on what is really good. For me that means enjoying my awesome bathtub with feet (even though it is located in my closet of an apartment), soaking up the sun on Lake Michigan, making the most of my weekends, loving BF for putting up with crazy me, and appreciating the good, true friends I have (even if they are a time zone away). The little things in life.

I am still thinking life is not fair and that I am in a crummy mood today, but maybe the sun will come out tomorrow :)


On another note, sorry for the lack of Muffy pictures. I need to post a lot of pics, just dragging my feet a little right now. Check back soon.

Some Sad Wedding News

This weekend I had the privelege of seeing M's (of M2) engagement ring. Absolutely gorgeous! I have never been one of those girls that has lived and died at the idea of my wedding, but I really love seeing all of my girls' rings!

After Friday, I got home and saw some bad news on facebook. . . Manda is getting married THE SAME DAY NEXT YEAR AS M2!!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me? Already disappointed at this idea, but what can you do? How do you decide?


Gah!