Affy Tapples

I was in the convenience store near my office, and I saw the funniest thing on a package of Affy Tapples: a big warning that says "May Contain Tree Nuts." You think?

flu shot

So, I just got a flu shot. Our office building's landlord hooked us up with a health provider that had tons of leftover vaccine. We'll see if I get sick because of this. Hopefully not, though going home early on a Friday wouldn't be a terrible thing.

Ewwww

A coworker just coughed in my face as I was trying to help with a computer question. Ewwww!!! Looks like I'll need to start taking Airborne again. Great.

Add that to the nasty film of food residue on his keyboard and mouse, and I'm thoroughly grossed out right now. Sorry if you are, too.

A "Nick Burns" moment...

If you've ever seen the "Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy" sketches on Saturday Night Live, that's what I'm talking about. There are a lot of times when I want to respond to a computer question with, "Are you serious?" I realize that lots of people are intimiated by computers, or forget things, etc., but today when someone held up a blank CD-ROM and asked, "How do I use this?" I didn't know what to say. "Do I have to format it or something first?" This coming from a person who works in an office every day, and has for years. And spends all day in front of a computer. Yikes.

The weather in Chicagoland...

This is why people get annoyed at the weather around here (not that it was 63 degrees only 5 days ago):

the Census picked me!

So, our address was randomly chosen to receive the American Community Survey from the U.S. Census. As one of the few people I know who actually uses Census data on a regular basis, I figured it was important to fill it out. It was unbelievably long...and gave me a clue as to how accurate Census data really is. For example, when it asked how much we pay in real estate taxes each year, I guessed rather than go look it up. Whoops. So much for data integrity.

The Weather! (November in Chicago?!?)

Double fortune?

The fortune cookie that came with my lunch had 2 fortunes inside. I wonder if that means I'm going to be particularly lucky? Both of them sound pretty good to me--I could definitely live with a promotion at work, and it would be even better if I could leave work right now to go read a book or spend time with a friend.

Retail Madness

I always scoffed at those who got up at 4 in the morning to go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I have become one of them. This is the second year that we got up to find some good deals on electronics. We scored big time, too. We got 1GB memory cards for $3, a 250GB external hard drive for $50, and more things that will remain unmentioned here, just in case one of those gift recipients happens to be reading this. We got there half an hour before stores opened, and the line was all the way around the strip mall...in the freezing cold. But no matter, our trip was worth it. Too bad I didn't have the $700 to buy the 42" plasma TV that was on sale!! Not that our little living room could accommodate something that big. But it would be fun to own one.

Now the question is, should I go back to sleep for a couple hours, and potentially feel awful when I wake up, or just stay awake and crash around mid-day? Hmm. I don't care--at least I'm not at work today!

You know it's winter in Chicago when...

I'm totally stealing this idea from my friend Missy, who lives overseas and often sends funny "top 5" lists about various things.

You know it's winter in Chicago when...

1. The menu boards and cups at Starbucks change to red
2. It gets dark at 4:30 and feels like the middle of the night by the time you get home from work
3. The lunch line at the soup place is longer than the line at Subway
4. You figure out how many buildings you can cut through to get to your destination rather than walk outdoors
   
5. You turn a corner downtown and are nearly knocked over by an icy blast of wind and...
6. You completely stop caring about what your hair looks like--you need that hat.