March 17, 2009

I've moved

to: nutztoyou.blogspot.com Come find me.

Posted by nuala at 03:21 AM

December 08, 2008

Secret Santa

Sometimes I hate Secret Santas. I had the best gift already at home ready to go, however it is a female appropriate gift. I had to go and pull a male co-worker's name for the Secret Santa. sigh. There goes my cheap re-gift idea.

So I am calling out to the 3 people that read my blog for help for a gift $15-$20 for a male co-worker that I do not know anything about. Anyone have any ideas? Just a gender neutral gift that might work. I thought about wine but I'm not sure if he likes wine or booze.....

I might have to ask his cubicle mate for some suggestions but thought someone out there may have had this problem before and come up with a solution. Any and all ideas are welcome. Ughh...I need to get this by Friday. Why am I going to the Christmas party again?

Posted by nuala at 04:58 PM

November 20, 2008

Bag Love

Lately I've been wanting a new purse that has more pockets and organizational compartments because I always end up rooting through my purse for 5 minutes trying to find my phone, or my bart card or my ipod. I just want little pockets where I can place each appropriate item. Where it will always be! Where I will not have to dig to find it!

I recently started re-subscribing to Daily Candy and within the first few days I realized the reason I stopped. They keep showing me things I want that are out of my price range.

The other day they pointed out these wonderful bags by S Stein and they are exactly what I'm looking for. They've got millions of pockets and are made to be durable and long lasting and you can choose the color combination you want. While I admire many of the designer purses, I can never bring myself to even consider buying one due to 1. the price and 2. the fact that I beat up purses. My current seatbelt purses have only withstood the test of time because they are made of such durable material.

So now I've been spending too much time staring longingly at these purses deciding which design I like best and if I can bring myself to pay for one. I mean I could save up for it and buy it in a few months but do I really want to. Can I really be ok with spending what I find to be a little much for a purse. (in relation to designer purses these ones are not SO expensive, but more than I normally pay.)

For those interested I want the toolbag or the studio tote. I'm kinda leaning in the direction of the studio tote as it would be good for all the stuff I cart to and from work as well as for errand running in such when I find that my bag is overflowing with things like books, note pads, scarves, hats, etc.

So I'll just be over here, ogling a purse and cursing my salary.

Posted by nuala at 04:26 PM

November 10, 2008

Out of my house!

I love Craig's list. I'm currently drunk on it's power. Garren and I have had 4 items cluttering up our carport and hallway since we moved. I've been meaning to put it all on craigslist for months but haven't bothered.

Well I finally got my act together and made Garren take pictures. I posted them this afternoon around 1:15pm and as of 5:05pm they all been claimed. By tomorrow afternoon they will all be gone! There will be space in my hallway! And I will not be the annoying neighbor storing things in the carport (not that they were my things)!

Drunk on my power I tell you!

Posted by nuala at 05:03 PM

November 07, 2008

Plans for a Getaway and Vacation in Future Die Suddenly

Sigh.

So finally the economic downturn has set its sights on me. With the hotel not doing as well as it had been expected at beget time last year due to the sudden wave of stock market suckiness, here at work we are being "encouraged" to use our vacation. While normally I wouldn't mind this, as any excuse to take some days off and go on an adventure would be welcome, other stock market suckiness shock waves are being felt by my better half.

Garren is being told that he will have to go down to a 4 day work week which he can either supplement with his vacation or go with the 5th day unpaid. This basically makes for the disappearance of our previously planned trip to Chicago as any extra use of vacation time is just not possible. It also means that we are both going to be wiped out of vacation time that we may not be able to accrue in time for a trip to Europe or anywhere else next year.

So basically I'm saddled with being told to take 6 days off before the end of the year and with no plans to go anywhere. I don't want to take them off all together as it will be too depressing sitting around the house doing nothing for a week so I think I might go down to a 4 day work week myself till the end of the year. While this is a nice thought, not being able to use my vacation time the way I would like is disappointing.

So I'm going to just go sit in the corner over here and watch my dreams of an actual vacation with Garren go down the toilet with the stock market. Boo bad economy! Boo!

Posted by nuala at 01:12 PM

November 06, 2008

HEAD. HURTS

ff.jpg

I came in to work today at 5am to help with a systems upgrade, which I was happy to do, but I think I got about 3 hours of sleep and my head feels like it's about to fall off my neck.

Compounded with the head fatigue is the fact that it is slow today and they only thing I really have to do is work on SOPs (Standard Operating Proceudres). And let me tell you that is as fun as it sounds. I have always hated creating SOPs and now even more so that I have a set template which doesn't jive with how I normally process my SOPs. So not only do I have to figure out a way to fit the information in this new format but add the additional information required and also organize it in a comprehensive fashion.

So really this is all making my head hurt more. So I find myself distracting myself from these horrific SOPs after typing for five minutes just so I don't bang my head against something.

Never fear though. With this blog I've managed to waste at least 10 minutes and I've only got another 20 minutes or so until I can leave for the day, head home and take a blessed nap.

Anyone with any time bending powers, now would be a great time to press fast forward.

Posted by nuala at 12:14 PM

November 04, 2008

Drinking Game

After snorting in disgust and gasping through The Duchess with Michele last night we decided that this depressing movie needed a little bit more fun if we were to ever watch it again. It was decided that next time it was watched the following rules would apply:

1. Any time "The Duke" (aka Mr. Fiennes) walked into the room we would scream JACKASS and take a drink.
2. Any time Bess walked into the room we would scream HUSSY
3. Any time Lord Gray was on screen we would scream LOVER and take a shot

These three things would make things a lot more lively and our inevitable drunken state would help make the movie a lot more cheery. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy the movie. The actors were wonderful, but if the movie portrayed even a fraction of the truth of her life, man that sucks and I'm glad that women today have a lot more choices and rights.

Yea Votes for Women!

Posted by nuala at 09:10 AM

September 15, 2008

Saved Blog #2

bart.jpg

Want to know the saddest thing?

I get a thrill everytime I arrive at BART just as my train is arriving. It's awesome. There is nothing like realizing that you have arrived at the perfect time and that there will be no delay in your trip home.

Alternately it is just as frustrating to realize you have just missed your train and now have to wait 12 minutes for the next one. I usually curse the slow person in front of me who would not move more quickly down the stairs.

Oh the joys of commuting on BART.

Posted by nuala at 12:26 PM

September 07, 2008

Saved Blog #1

When I first started at my current job this past January all I heard about was how it's easy to get yourself locked and lost in the stairwells of the building.

"Not me", I thought "I am forewarned and prepared." And I was. I was very careful whenever using the stairs making sure that the latch could be turned from both the inside and outside of the door.

So much for my being careful. A week or two ago on a Friday it had been a busy day. There were only two of us in the reservations office and so I had come in at 8:00am and by 7:30pm I was still trying to get out the door. I finally was able to and walked towards the elevators tired and drained but happy to be making my way to BART finally.

I pressed the button to call the elevator to go down. My mind drifted thinking of things I would need to do when I got home and over the weekend. All of a sudden I realized that a few minutes had gone by and normally it takes less than a minute for the elevator to come. I looked at the call button and it was unlit....but no elevator had arrived. I pressed it again and saw that it would not stay lit. I tried to call the elevator to go up, same problem.

So at this point, I'm tired and starting to get cranky as I just want to head home. I could go to the hotel elevators and get down that way but as a good trained employee I hate doing that as it disrupts the guest service. So I think, I'm only 4 flights up, I'll take the stairs.....oh foolish foolish Nuala. Had you not heard the horror stories.

I even made sure that when the door closed behind me that I would still be able to open the latch well even with that careful though once the door to the stairwell closed I was stuck. I immediately tried to open it and was denied. With a heavy sigh I decided to head down the stairs and find a way out. When I got to the bottom all of the outer doors were locked and the only doors that probably were open would sound the alarm upon opening.

I walked back up a couple of flights to check the rest of the doors and then scrambled for my phone. If I had not had any reception I would have said screw this and I would have opened the door and sounded the alarm. No way was a I staying in the innards of the building over night let alone the weekend.

So I calmly called security and let them know what happened. I could pretty much hear them laughing at me. 15 minutes later someone finally showed up to let me out and took me down so I could thankfully get out of the building a mere 45 minutes after I actually finished work.

When asked why I took the stairs I explained that the call button had not been working and how I thought I was doing something easy by taking the stairs. Apparently stairs are only for emergencies in this day and age.

So lesson learned be lazy and wait for the elevator to start working next time something like this happens. Do not attempt to get yourself out of the building under your own power the gods of the building do not want you in the stairwells.

Posted by nuala at 02:54 PM

September 03, 2008

No Internet

So I've been meaning to blog since I moved back to the Bay Area but I've had a teeny tiny problem getting in the way. No internet. Since Garren and I moved from Santa Barbara we have had no internet at home.

It's been freeing and limiting all at the same time. To not feel like a slave to the computer and really be away from one when not at work has been great, but not having the convenience to look up a fact, a movie time, a recipe or to settle a dispute between myself and Garren has been frustrating to say the least.

I just found out that AT&T has basic internet service (the slowest kind apparently, but a step up from dial up) for $19.95 per month. This is way more feasible than the $40 Comcast charges so I have slowly been mentioning it to Garren casually so that eventually the idea does not sound so new and expensive but regular and reasonable. So far it has not worked and I continue to make my sporatic weekend visits to the coffee shops on College Ave to do any misc internet errands. This is not as convenient as sitting in front of the TV in my pjs but it works for now. Maybe I need to show how much we are spending on coffee to get internet to make getting internet at home sound fiscally responsibleâ.Anyone buying that?

Until I prevail and have internet at home, I am going to try to and work posting into my weekend coffee shop trips as I have many saved blogs to type. My sister with her insane amounts of interesting French life blogs has inspired me. Mine will not be as exciting but will make me feel betterâ.maybe. Iâm still not in France damnit, but at least I can pretend my life is interesting. Or maybe I should just celebrate the fact that it is boringâ.

More to come soonâ.as long as I can pull my butt out of the apartment on the weekends.

Posted by nuala at 01:26 PM

More Entries

I've moved - March 17, 2009
Secret Santa - December 08, 2008
Bag Love - November 20, 2008
Out of my house! - November 10, 2008
Plans for a Getaway and Vacation in Future Die Suddenly - November 07, 2008
HEAD. HURTS - November 06, 2008
Drinking Game - November 04, 2008
Saved Blog #2 - September 15, 2008
Saved Blog #1 - September 07, 2008
No Internet - September 03, 2008
Oy - December 28, 2007
Not that I'm Suprised - December 21, 2007
My Boyfriend is going to KILL me - December 18, 2007
If you're going - December 10, 2007
#41 - October 04, 2007
Moving on Up - October 03, 2007
Best of Friends - August 21, 2007
Pretty Flower - August 07, 2007
I can hear the bells - July 30, 2007
Apparently I am my cat's bitch - July 12, 2007
Where's my Friend? - July 10, 2007
Quarter - June 05, 2007
A Wink and A Smile - May 21, 2007
Seiously?! - May 14, 2007
Rejected and Dejected - May 11, 2007
Upgrade - May 01, 2007
The Saga Continues - April 26, 2007
The Land of Scarlett - April 09, 2007
More Snot Producing - April 07, 2007
Babble - March 30, 2007
Word is I'm a Slut - September 02, 2006
F****** Construction - July 15, 2006
Ball of Love - June 16, 2006
Woo Hoo! - May 31, 2006
bunny update and other stuff - May 24, 2006
put the bunny down - May 19, 2006
I'm not left handed either - May 11, 2006
Coachella 2006 - May 06, 2006
But...I....Wait......Didn't - April 28, 2006
Chloe - April 25, 2006
Blog Material - April 21, 2006
Up to Date - April 20, 2006
You're Nuts Junior - April 12, 2006
Wednesday Drunken Wednesday - March 30, 2006
Magic - March 28, 2006
Road Trip - March 20, 2006
Cult - March 16, 2006
Run for it Marty!!!! - March 03, 2006
I Never Would Have Made It In The 70s - February 26, 2006
Shake That - February 14, 2006
I Want To Hug You Like A Santa Claus - February 09, 2006
Missing Boo - February 07, 2006
Paint a Picture - February 06, 2006
Another one bites the dust - January 21, 2006
Talking like Michele talking like Kristen - December 10, 2005
Quotes - December 10, 2005
Wait For It - December 03, 2005
Michele's concerns - November 30, 2005
Wellington, So Sad - November 30, 2005
Water Everywhere - November 27, 2005
Three Words - November 27, 2005
Dory - November 24, 2005
Look Mom, No Hands - November 20, 2005
A Good Height - November 16, 2005
Visitor - October 22, 2005
Dizzy - October 01, 2005
Green Submarine - September 16, 2005
Poor Unfortunate Me - September 10, 2005
Mr. Ribbon - August 30, 2005
Gone, Going - August 28, 2005
You know the Queen?! - July 06, 2005
Breathe - July 06, 2005
Not Unexpected - June 29, 2005
Lots of Changes Old Max, Lots of Changes - June 16, 2005
Freak Out - April 20, 2005
1-900-Star-Wars - April 18, 2005
New Pest on the Block - March 21, 2005
Whew - February 24, 2005
No Caffine, sniff, sniff - November 24, 2004
In the doghouse - November 15, 2004
Costume - October 26, 2004
Bad Mood - October 08, 2004
Land of Kiwis - September 29, 2004
Long Time No Update - September 22, 2004
Quarter of a Century - August 27, 2004
Happy Birthday Baby Sister! - August 25, 2004
I got in a bar fight - August 15, 2004
The Vegas - August 08, 2004
Zoo in Santa Barbara - August 01, 2004
September Concert - July 20, 2004
Rocky - July 19, 2004
I am such a nerd - July 17, 2004
More Picutres - June 27, 2004
Superman - June 24, 2004
Hoppity Hop - June 05, 2004
An Insomniac's Thoughts - May 27, 2004
Burly Arms - May 19, 2004
Shakin' - May 09, 2004
My Cat is being stalked - May 07, 2004
He Sends the Devil Packing - May 01, 2004
I think I'm turning Japanese - April 09, 2004
Truly Outrageous - April 06, 2004
My Trip Across the Country - March 24, 2004
Apparently I'm Boy Crazy - March 02, 2004
The last two weeks or so.. - February 14, 2004
This one is for you Michele - February 08, 2004
Score! - January 29, 2004
OH MY FUCKING GOD - January 20, 2004
1st Timer - January 16, 2004
Brace Yourselves - January 10, 2004
A Hobbit Hunting I Will Go - January 07, 2004
Mini Nuala and Ady - December 29, 2003
Oh Boy - December 20, 2003
Canceled TV Shows - December 18, 2003
If I Was on Survivor I'd Lose - December 15, 2003
Top Ten - December 09, 2003
Exciting Times in the Life of Nuala - December 08, 2003
Oh the cats I could have - December 07, 2003
In which I scream at Kitties not to claw the furniture - November 22, 2003
So this is how it went - November 01, 2003
Bad Friend - October 17, 2003
Way too Giddy - October 01, 2003
And the punches just keep on coming - September 28, 2003
Happy Birthday Daphne! - September 27, 2003
Ribbon - September 25, 2003
A Household of Six - September 12, 2003
Time at the Beach - September 01, 2003
Happy Birthday to me - August 27, 2003
The Next Deperado - August 20, 2003
The Secret Meaning of MY Name - August 10, 2003
Step 2...going on Step 3? - August 07, 2003
LA Freaking Sucks - July 27, 2003
From Iraq - July 16, 2003
Well.... - July 15, 2003
Yo Ho Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me - July 10, 2003
Stressed? I've got the answer - July 09, 2003
Ha Ha! - July 02, 2003
Mom Always Said Not to Play on the Freeway - June 24, 2003
34 Hours, 34 Minutes, 8 Seconds and counting - June 19, 2003
Back to Civilization - June 18, 2003
Moving sucks - June 10, 2003
So Long, Farwell... - May 30, 2003
LoopNYC - May 30, 2003
Star Trek - May 29, 2003
A small thank you - May 28, 2003
Rocky! - May 23, 2003
Puppies! - May 21, 2003
So Long Farewell....You want how much? - May 21, 2003
Employment for me. - May 19, 2003
Good God! - May 15, 2003
Taking the leap - May 14, 2003
@#!*!#$ Politics - April 25, 2003
It's Official...again - April 24, 2003
Happy Cows - April 24, 2003
Awwwwww - April 21, 2003
Hear no Evil - April 15, 2003
We're off to see the Wizard - April 09, 2003
I was stumped - April 07, 2003
It's almost like free money - March 31, 2003
Plug - March 31, 2003
Shipping out - March 24, 2003
Crazy Government Signs - March 20, 2003
Drug addict not for me...check - March 17, 2003
Can I have your attention please.. - March 12, 2003
Attack on the French - March 11, 2003
Apparently the Superbowl is Gay - March 07, 2003
I know you are but what am I? - March 07, 2003
It's Official - March 07, 2003
On The Road Again - March 04, 2003
I'm So Bored - February 27, 2003
Sad day in the Neighborhood - February 27, 2003
Now What? - February 22, 2003
The American View - February 20, 2003
@$!* - February 12, 2003
Wako Jacko - February 07, 2003
My Oral Hygienist Hates Me - February 06, 2003
Attention Anita Lovers! - February 04, 2003
Michele Screamed Turkeys! - January 30, 2003
If anyone cares... - January 29, 2003
Dancing Indians - January 24, 2003
Sweet, Sweet Giles - January 24, 2003
Return of the Cousins - January 23, 2003
Scary Squirrels - January 22, 2003
And We Have a Date!!!! - January 15, 2003
Vote some more! - January 13, 2003
Mr. Scorsese's New York - January 13, 2003
Who's Bored? - January 10, 2003
Who wants $20? - January 08, 2003
The vote that really counts - January 03, 2003
Tattoo, Yea or Nay? - December 29, 2002
Jingle Bells, Batman Smells.... - December 18, 2002
Tis the Season... - December 11, 2002
Happy Birthday Sumit! - December 10, 2002
Old Author, New Series - December 04, 2002
So what do we think? - December 03, 2002
Goddamn essays - December 03, 2002
Is it me or...? - November 21, 2002
Buggin you - November 19, 2002
Anita Blake you're my Hero - November 14, 2002
And away we go - November 14, 2002
Tattoo? Me? Nahhh! Well... - November 08, 2002
Quiz Fad - November 06, 2002
Muffins! - November 05, 2002
Halloween - October 30, 2002
La Boheme and some other stuff - October 28, 2002
Sloshball - October 25, 2002
Wedding Pictures - October 18, 2002
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTEN - October 17, 2002
The Wedding...dun dun dun! - October 16, 2002
Tales from the City - October 14, 2002
Long time no typing - October 05, 2002
Ahh the Munchkins - September 27, 2002
Save the Kitties! - September 18, 2002
Fun with Chemicals and other random facts - September 18, 2002
La Boheme Baz Style - September 12, 2002
Petit Jete, Petit Jete, Pirouette, Sauter! - September 11, 2002
Back from Cabo - September 09, 2002
Camping Pictures - September 04, 2002
Applications suck - August 31, 2002
Thanks - August 30, 2002
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's CONDORMAN! Condorman? - August 26, 2002
Housesitting! - August 21, 2002
The Bill Clinton Show?!? - August 21, 2002
Mmmm Food - August 19, 2002
How in sync are we? - August 16, 2002
Oh those Musicals - August 16, 2002
Camera Classes - August 15, 2002
The dark side - August 14, 2002
Song of the South - August 02, 2002
Art Classes - August 02, 2002
"Up in arms over a new ordinance restricting lap dance gyrations and barring customers from stuffing bills in G-strings at clubs." - August 01, 2002
My cool cousin - August 01, 2002
Walnut Creek - July 30, 2002
A Decision...I think - July 26, 2002
Debate - July 23, 2002
Mmmm Beer... - July 19, 2002
Me? I'm off to Cabo! - July 19, 2002
But of course...they're...well you KNOW - July 19, 2002
CAN-CAN! - July 18, 2002
Nuala has gone GLOBAL! - July 12, 2002
Those crazy Germans - July 12, 2002
Ramblings of a bored bored girl - July 11, 2002
Damn Dreams - July 11, 2002
Where's the respect! - July 10, 2002
Stupid Job - July 10, 2002
I saw Long-Hai! - July 07, 2002
I'm off to Greece! - July 02, 2002
ABBA music and spandex! Oh the delight! - July 01, 2002
Sucky - June 28, 2002
Destroy work! - June 27, 2002
blah blah blah - June 25, 2002
ughhh boyfriends - June 21, 2002
Weekend! - June 21, 2002
football - June 18, 2002
Last weekend I... - June 17, 2002
Pity Me - June 14, 2002