Throwback Thursday - Seven Jobs

 

Repost from May 16, 2009

A recent bit of Flair made me laugh: I do many things well. None of which generate income. Seven jobs I've held:

1. General Help. My first job was making artificial floral arrangements. I also spray painted plastic flower pots in seasonal colors, swept the factory floor, cleaned the work benches. Walked across a steep roof in order to open up the shop on Saturday. That wasn't bad during good weather but a little dicey in the winter. I loved this job. [Ed: Not the walking across the roof to break into the building part]

2. Sales Associate. I worked in the Lingerie department of Filene's. Not a thrilling job. Got caught by one of the floor managers counting out my change till early one night. He yelled a department away and I jumped and slammed my fingers in the cash drawer.

3. Lab Clerk. Started out as a receptionist, answering the phones, typing up test slips, handing out urine cups. Eventually, I became a float helping out in the different departments. I was taught how to draw blood using wound drains filled with water and a few brave co-workers. I was the test for new phlebotomists since I have such tiny veins. If they could easily draw my blood, they were qualified to go to the Nursery, Pediatrics, and ICU. I helped out a lot in Microbiology plating specimens. You name it; I had my hands in it. Literally, this in the days before gloves were required. I had to leave this job when the state mandated one had to have a 4 yr med tech degree and be certified on a state exam in order to work in a hospital laboratory. I didn't have enough years experience to get me in under the grandfather clause.

4. Girl Friday. I worked for a cement company. Took orders by phone and sent the orders to one of the plants by teletype machine, dispatched trucks, resolved billing problems. Sat in on a weekly sales meeting as the my sales manager was grooming me for the position of Office Manager. The promotion never happened. When it came time to move up, Corporate decided I wouldn't be effective because of being female even though I had done the work for two years. However, they did want me to train the new male office manager. I went out on my lunch hour and got a new job. Tendered my resignation. I told the regional manager it was ludicrous for me to train the office manager if I couldn't be the office manager. He said he was very disappointed in me. "Not half as much as I'm disappointed in you. If a company can't appreciate me for my dedication, integrity and service, quite frankly, the company can go to hell." I was 24 or 25 at the time. The regional manager told my boss, "Still waters run deep." It's the best compliment I've received even though it wasn't meant as a compliment.

5. Inside Sales. This time for a food brokerage. During the interview, the boss wanted to know if I'd be able to handle the job. I told him I was doing the same job only shipping cement. Didn't seem much different to me if I was shipping bags of cement or bags of frozen potatoes. I was hired on the spot. (On my lunch hour, see #4)

6. After I graduated from computer school, I went to work for my uncle's steel distribution company. I was in charge of the computer room. Responsible for printing all the month end and year end reports. Franny, one of the outside programmer/consultants gave me some training in programming on the new mini computer. I proudly showed her what I had written. She smiled and then slammed her hand against the keyboard. The program crashed and burned epicly. She taught me a programmer had to think of every possible input especially the wrong ones. She sent me back so I included rude little phrases that would pop up if the operator input incorrect responses. I thought this assignment was just something fun for me to do. Had no idea she used the module in a real program for the Purchasing Manager. Some of the rude phrases (What ah you...) popped up while the manager was working. He came back to tell me he loved them. We became good friends. When I had paid my dues and was ready to move up, he was the one who encouraged me to go out and find another position. He gave me a programmer's ruler which I still have and is a valued possession.

7. Letter Programmer. I programmed junk mail for a marketing company. Amazing and frightening the information they collected. Most of what I programmed were form letters from colleges hitting up the alum for donations. Every morning, we went to a meeting called "Shove". Basically, it was confession. You told the manager what you were working on, what you were having problems with (if sales sent you the wrong tape to use) or the printer jammed. If you had nothing in your queue, you were given another assignment. Work was sometimes slow and the bosses didn't like to see us sitting around doing nothing. We worked across the street from a mall so after shove, we'd go to the mall. Then go back to see if there was more work. If nothing came in, we'd go to lunch at the mall. The work wasn't challenging, but it was a cushy job.

As you can see, I've crossed a few hills. What about you? Have you had any odd or interesting jobs?

Seven

From Facebook The Nosy Question Survey:

1. Would you rather have money or be good looking? If I had money, I could pay to be good looking.

2. Would you rather be thinner or smarter? Thinner

3. What color do you hate wearing? Pink

4. What's your favorite comfort food? Chocolate

5. What's your favorite exercise? Sitting in the Lay-Z Boy and putting my feet up.

6. What's your least favorite house chore? Man-cleaning the toilet (i.e under the seat and rim)

7. What kind of surgery have you had? The painful kind.

Want to play? Copy to your blog and then let me know. Help enable the nosy. (-;

Seven

Another award. The Honest Scrap Award. Thanks, Erica This week, Seven plus one

So the rules of the Honest Scrap award are to reveal Eight Honest Things about me.

1. I live in fugly shoes (aka Crocs). I own three pair, black, red and blue with a fuzzy lining for Winter. Sometimes I even wear my fugly shoes out in public. My daughters cringe.

2. I don't like to eat in public if I'm by myself.

3. I don't parallel park the car.

4. I got married on Robert Redford's birthday.

5. I want a Viking funeral. That's Viking as in Norsemen, body laid out on a Viking war ship with a flaming arrow shot into the death sail. Not anything to do with the football team.

6. I have never had a manicure or pedicure.

7. I have a horrible sense of direction and can't tell left from right.

8. Until this year, I never cleaned the bathroom. Bathroom cleaning really isn't a Little Princess job, but I love my newly, remodeled bathroom with the sleek wipe down surfaces.

Anyone want to play? Snag the award, post on your site and then let me know so I can read your answers. Help enable the nosy. (-;

Seven

Erica's Friday Five, about five things that happened to her when she was expecting was a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. Friday was The Eldest's 21st birthday. Seven things I remember when I was expecting her:





1. I had morning sickness, afternoon sickness, and night sickness for the first three months.





2. The smell of Lysol made me hurl.





3. I was very grumpy for most of the day before The Eldest was born.





4. The night before she was born, I spotted. Doc sent us to the hospital (45 min.) away. No worries. Go home. It must have been a slow night because before we left, one of the nurses decided to put me on the monitor. "Oh, my! You're in labor!"





5. I called my friend from the Labor Room to ask her to tape Robert Redford in The Electric Horseman. Priorities dontchaknow.





6. Labor started, stopped, started, stopped. Some 24 hours later, ended up having a C-section.





7. When The Eldest tipped the scale at 8 lbs. 10 oz., one of the nurses said, "This baby's ready for school."

Any war stories you'd like to share?

Seven

Once again, Erica from On The Write Path gave me the idea for this week's seven. Seven favorite candies because candy, especially chocolate, is an awesome food.

1. I love Hershey Kisses. When I was a kid my dad would sometimes bring home a bag as a treat only we called them Silver Bells.

2. Hershey Bar. Can't go wrong with an American classic

3. Almond Joy. What's not to love? Chocolate, coconut, and almonds

4. Chunky. Rocky road in a chocolate bar

5. Mozart Kugel. A German treat. Like a truffel with pistachio and marzipan filling

6. Sky Bar. A favorite when I was a kid. Four different flavors in one candy bar. fudge, caramel, peanut and vanilla nougat.

7. Zero Bar. Another favorite when I was a kid. Caramel, peanut and almond nougat covered in white fudge. The Brother and I used to put this bar in the freezer and it eat frozen. Good, strong teeth back then.

Do you have a favorite candy?

Seven

The start of Summer is just hours away. This is my favorite time of year. Seven reasons why I love Summer.

1. Hazy, hot, humid weather

2. It's still twilight until 9pm

3. Days have a slower pace.

4. Fried clams.

5. Watching the fireflies dance in the dark

6. No heavy coats

7. Living in the sun room

What's your favorite season?

Seven

I have a modest wish and that is to keep house unexpected company drop in clean. My house used to be kept in this fashion when I was a newlywed and when the girls were small. Then driving them to and from school and after school activities, plus driving my elderly parents around, seems things got tossed onto the dining room table before I was running out again. I'd end up doing a cleaning frenzy when company was coming, but that left me worn out and junk piled in my bedroom. That was part of the frenzy. Toss stuff in my bedroom and just shut the door. Seemed I couldn't get out of my own way. There was lots of stuff to be done, but it was overwhelming.

Then my friend, D, happened to join a FlyLady group on Facebook. You know, Facebook, enabling the nosy? So I went to check it out. And then bombarded D who has been flying for awhile with a million questions. FlyLady is a small step at time approach to decluttering your home and getting into a routine. FlyLady calls it flying, and I've been fluttering along for a month. Seven things I like about FlyLady

1. You can start slow and take baby step to get yourself out of clutter. I've sent several bags and boxes off to The Big Brother/Big Sister organization (they send a truck around town every month). Getting rid of stuff I haven't been using and don't want feels good.

2. FlyLady's philosophy is set a timer and do a job for 15 min. It's amazing how much you can get done in a small chunk of time.

3. FlyLady has you put things into a notebook so you can easily refer to it to see what's next on the to do list. I use Microsoft OneNote for my notebook on the laptop. No papers, no clutter.

4. FlyLady divides the house into zones. Once a week, each month, cleaning is focused in the zone. Each day, a small chore (15 min) is to be done.

5. I like the schedule of it. I like the fact I'm given an assignment to do each day.

6. I can vary the schedule to suit me. For example, this week the zone was the living room. One of the tasks was to dust the tops of the window and door jambs. I thought as long as I was dusting the tops of the windows, it seemed like a good time to take the curtains down and give them a wash, and to wash the windows since my windows tilt in to clean.

7. I'm finding as I flutter along I have time to not only keep up with the daily grind of things, but I have more time to devote to things I want to do like blogging or getting a new website up and running.

If you're a person who likes schedules, this system will work for you. One of the downsides of the group is several emails a day that have more to do with FlyLady products (which you don't need to buy) or members giving testimonials to the system. It's easy enough to delete the stuff you're not interested in. Check out FlyLady. The group is free to join. Do you fly?

Seven

When the sunroom went up, we put down an inexpensive peel and stick linoleum floor. Temporary until we got more do re mi to invest in good flooring. With the temperature extremes in the sunroom, it didn't take long (about a week) for the peel and stick to lift because the glue melted and the tiles started to shrink. We decided this weekend was the weekend for a new project, tiling the sunroom floor. That is Himself will be doing the tiling. I'll be the "Hey, Dude! Get me..." or just plain staying out of his way. Seven things about this project.

1. Picking out the tile. I wanted slate, but reading about the maintenance of a slate floor put me off. We went to the place where we got the bathroom tile. J. knows his stock. I asked if he had tile that looked like slate. He did. Because we were returning customers, he knocked a bit off the price and suggested a perfect color grout too.

2. Moving the furniture. All of the sunroom is now crammed in the livingroom/diningroom. Funny, how my chair (the chair and a half) weighs a lot more than it looks.

4. I got the shop vac and picked up the dust and dirt.

5. Pulling up the peel and stick went very quickly because the glue was all melty.

6. Too bad the porcelain tile wasn't the same size as the peel and stick because we could clearly see the tile lines.

7. Even though, we could clearly see the center room mark, Himself measured and laid out the tile so he could decide where to put the cuts.

Have you been working on any home improvement or gardening projects?

Seven

A recent bit of Flair made me laugh: I do many things well. None of which generate income. Seven jobs I've held:

1. General Help. My first job was making artificial floral arrangements. I also spray painted plastic flower pots in seasonal colors, swept the factory floor, cleaned the work benches. Walked across a steep roof in order to open up the shop on Saturday. That wasn't bad during good weather but a little dicey in the winter. I loved this job.

2. Sales Associate. I worked in the Lingerie department of Filene's. Not a thrilling job. Got caught by one of the floor managers counting out my change till early one night. He yelled a department away and I jumped and slammed my fingers in the cash drawer.

3. Lab Clerk. Started out as a receptionist, answering the phones, typing up test slips, handing out urine cups. Eventually, I became a float helping out in the different departments. I was taught how to draw blood using wound drains filled with water and a few brave co-workers. I was the test for new phlebotomists since I have such tiny veins. If they could easily draw my blood, they were qualified to go to the Nursery, Pediatrics, and ICU. I helped out a lot in Microbiology plating specimens. You name it; I had my hands in it. Literally, this in the days before gloves were required. I had to leave this job when the state mandated one had to have a 4 yr med tech degree and be certified on a state exam in order to work in a hospital laboratory. I didn't have enough years experience to get me in under the grandfather clause.

4. Girl Friday. I worked for a cement company. Took orders by phone and sent the orders to one of the plants by teletype machine, dispatched trucks, resolved billing problems. Sat in on a weekly sales meeting as the my sales manager was grooming me for the position of Office Manager. The promotion never happened. When it came time to move up, Corporate decided I wouldn't be effective because of being female even though I had done the work for two years. However, they did want me to train the new male office manager. I went out on my lunch hour and got a new job. Tendered my resignation. I told the regional manager it was ludicrous for me to train the office manager if I couldn't be the office manager. He said he was very disappointed in me. "Not half as much as I'm disappointed in you. If a company can't appreciate me for my dedication, integrity and service, quite frankly, the company can go to hell." I was 24 or 25 at the time. The regional manager told my boss, "Still waters run deep." It's the best compliment I've received even though it wasn't meant as a compliment.

5. Inside Sales. This time for a food brokerage. During the interview, the boss wanted to know if I'd be able to handle the job. I told him I was doing the same job only shipping cement. Didn't seem much different to me if I was shipping bags of cement or bags of frozen potatoes. I was hired on the spot. (On my lunch hour, see #4)

6. After I graduated from computer school, I went to work for my uncle's steel distribution company. I was in charge of the computer room. Responsible for printing all the month end and year end reports. Franny, one of the outside programmer/consultants gave me some training in programming on the new mini computer. I proudly showed her what I had written. She smiled and then slammed her hand against the keyboard. The program crashed and burned epicly. She taught me a programmer had to think of every possible input especially the wrong ones. She sent me back so I included rude little phrases that would pop up if the operator input incorrect responses. I thought this assignment was just something fun for me to do. Had no idea she used the module in a real program for the Purchasing Manager. Some of the rude phrases (What ah you...) popped up while the manager was working. He came back to tell me he loved them. We became good friends. When I had paid my dues and was ready to move up, he was the one who encouraged me to go out and find another position. He gave me a programmer's ruler which I still have and is a valued possession.

7. Letter Programmer. I programmed junk mail for a marketing company. Amazing and frightening the information they collected. Most of what I programmed were form letters from colleges hitting up the alum for donations. Every morning, we went to a meeting called "Shove". Basically, it was confession. You told the manager what you were working on, what you were having problems with (if sales sent you the wrong tape to use) or the printer jammed. If you had nothing in your queue, you were given another assignment. Work was sometimes slow and the bosses didn't like to see us sitting around doing nothing. We worked across the street from a mall so after shove, we'd go to the mall. Then go back to see if there was more work. If nothing came in, we'd go to lunch at the mall. The work wasn't challenging, but it was a cushy job.

As you can see, I've crossed a few hills. What about you? Have you had any odd or interesting jobs?

Seven

I had a very hectic week. Running out every day shuttling the elders to the mahket and eye doctor appointment, my own dental checkup, a marketing presentation, and picking The Eldest and her dorm room up for the summer. Whew! Today's seven are the things I forgot to do this week because of all the running.

1. I forgot all about Tues. night.

2. I forgot to watch The Mentalist on Tues. night. The only television program I watch, and I forgot all about it.

3. I forgot my Wednesday morning routine. Walk on the tread mill.

4. I forgot to blog the Wednesday Weigh In. For chuckles I weighed myself on Friday expecting the same old number to register on the scale. I lost a pound!

5. I forgot the bank manager's name. She greets me all the time. We chat and this time around I called her by my dental hygeniest's name when I was leaving. How embarrassing!

6. I mentioned to Sunflower as I was signing off IM on Thursday, I had to fill out the order form and a check for The Young One's senior sweater for next fall. I shut down the computer. Passed go, passed the check book and went to bed. I had to rush to fill out the form just before we left for school on Friday morning.

7. I know there was one more thing, but I forgot it.

How was your week? Did you forget to do anything?

Seven

Seven quirks:

1. I don't use public toilets though the exception to the rule is Target and Barnes and Noble as they are very, very clean.

2. I can speak a few words (some of them even in polite company) in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, Polish and Klingon.

3. I don't parallel park.

4. I've never been to a professional football game.

5. I don't like to eat in public.

6. I've never gone to a movie by myself.

7. I can't read while riding in a car or a bus (I get motion sick)

Got quirks?

Seven

This week, The Young One introduced me to a new channel in our cable lineup. It's called Retroplex. Old movies, uncut, no commercials. Perfect. I love moves. Old movies especially. There are some movies I can watch over and over and over again and never get sick of watching them. The list is real long, but I'll confine myself to seven movies I can watch over and over again.

1. The Day the Earth Stoood Still. The real one. The one made in 1951 with Michael Rennie. I love Gort. I want a Gort.

2. To Kill A Mockingbird. The Young One and I watched this movie together this week. I used to wish my dad would be as calm as Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) when I did stupid kid things.

3. The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are coming. A Soviet submarine runs aground in a small New England town harbor. Missing sailors, young love, chicken littles, and detente. If you haven't seen this film, you're missing a real gem.

4. The Quiet Man. John Wayne and his wet, silk arrow shirt at his finest.

5. The Long Ships. Richard Widmark, Vikings, Sidney Poitier as a Moorish lord and the quest to find "The Mother of Voices" a great bell made of solid gold.

6. Wizard of Oz. I love the Scarecrow.

7. The Hunt for Red October. Next time, Jack, send a memo. One of my favorite lines.

What about you? Any movies you can watch a million times and never get sick of seeing?

Seven

Today's project is to clean the sunroom as it's almost warm enough to move out there. However, I've had a slow start this morning. Seven ways to put off attacking your to do list:

1. Read a book while having a leisurely breakfast. Afterall, you can't work on an empty stomach.

2. Update your Facebook status. Heaven forbid if people don't know what you're up to. Course this turns into check out and commenting on your friends' status updates.

3. Read a few blogs you follow. Afterall, you're on line and in front of the machine. Might as well not waste time coming back later.

4. While online, decide to pay a few bills online. Then while you're in front of the machine, update your accounts to Quicken. Find out for some reason the new version of Quicken (9) you installed, doesn't recognize one your accounts. Futz with Quicken until you can do a one-step update which goes smoothly though takes longer than you expected. While you're thinking about it, reconcile your accounts.

5. All that accounting has hurt your brain. Relax by reading some fanfic from your favorite television shows at Fanfic.net

6. Remember you need to call your dad. Call, but there's no answer. Try to remember to call back later.

7. Blog about how you procrastinate.

Do you put off attacking your To Do List? What are the ways you procrastinate?

Seven

The Eldest has asked us to play Dungeons and Dragons or D&D. So seven things about this game

1. It's nice to be included in her activities.

2. The game is very complicated. We spent over an hour defining our first characters, and we haven't even started the game yet. There are so many choices: Warriors, Druids, Elves, Thieves and then subchoices. Alignments of good, neutral, bad. I'm relieved to know that during this first game for simplicity sake we will all be aligned with good. Whew, I was getting a headache.

3. We really had a lot of fun cracking jokes and making comments while we were trying to figure out what we were doing.

4. I enjoyed watching The Eldest assume the role of teacher. She was patient, enthusiastic, and determined we would all enjoy the game. She kept stressing the point wasn't to win, but to have fun.

5. Board games have certainly changed from when I was a kid. This game has seven dice, all different shapes. There's even one shaped like a dodecahedron. There's no board, though there could be. No playing pieces like a top hat or a race car, though there are figures you can use if you want to. Board games were cooperative play when I was a kid. One set of dice, a board. You took turns. The Eldest graciously purchased each of us dice and a players handbook. These things aren't cheap! Why can't we share the books and dice? I asked. Because everyone having their own book makes the game go faster. See #2 above.

6. When she first said RPG, I immediately thought of Report Program Generator, a programming language I learned back in programming school using punch cards. I feel like a dinosaur.

7. I've been reading my player's handbook. Characters, proficiency, alignment, battles, equipment. My head is swimming. I think I need to purchase D&D for Dummies or go back to a game I thoroughly understand like Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders.

Seven

I know the graphic looks like a circle or a recycle symbol, but it's a Roundtuit. A roundtuit. Those things you should do, but somehow don't get around to it. Seven things I'd do if someone gave me a Roundtuit.

1. Clean my bedroom. My room seems to be the catch-all room for junk especially if company comes over.

2. I've looked at the classic literature book display in Barnes and Noble and thought, Nah, boring! Talk about judging a book by the cover.

3. Plant a beautiful garden. Wish I liked getting my hands dirty digging in the dirt. Then I'd have to add weeding to the the roundtuit list.

4. Get a turn table that plays at 78 and 45rpm so I can listen to some of the 78s and 45s I have moldering in the basement.

5. Wash all the china and knick knacks in the china hutch and curio cabinet. How they can get so dusty behind closed doors is a mystery.

6. Go through the cedar closet and get rid of the suits and skirts I used to wear to work when I was a computer programmer some 23 years ago. I'm most likely not going to get down to a size 10 again and my girls probably don't want jackets with football size shoulder pads in them.

7. Clean the coils behind the refrigerator. Funny how what you don't see you don't seem to mind.

What are some of the things you'd do if someone gave you a roundtuit?

Seven

I finally got around to trying out the Bluetooth headset that came with my phone. Seven things about Bluetooth.

1. The device has to be paired to the phone and given a name. Mine is called Nipper

2. The directions from the phone manual were not clear.

3. I had to make a trip to the phone store to get directions. Talk to me like I'm four.

4. I had to download a manual from the device site. Slapping forehead.

5. The manual states the indicator lights flashes red, blue, steady blue and purple, but if it's tucked behind your ear, how do you know what color it is?

6. Directions were hold for two seconds, hold for eight seconds. As in one missisippi two mississipi?

7. When I finally got the device to work, I felt like Lt. Uhura. Hailing on all frequencies, Captain.

Seven

Today, is Pi Day. You remember pi, 3.14... the number that is the relationship between the diameter and circumference of a circle? Yeah, you remember. Today, March 14 celebrates that constant. So seven things about Pi and Pi Day

1. The best part is you get to eat pie. On today's menu will be chicken pot pie and for dessert, I'm leaning towards a blueberry yogurt pie.

2. Pi has been around as long as dirt. It's been known for almost 4,000 years.

3. Pi Day also coincides with Albert Einstein's birthday. He would have been 130 years old today. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Herr Professor!

4. This holiday isn't a Hallmark holiday. You're not guilted into sending cards or gifts! You can just enjoy the day.

5. The symbol for pi, Π, was first used in 1706 by William Jones

6. Pi was first calculated by Archimedes

7. Pi Day was first celebrated in 1987 by Larry Shaw at the Exploratorium in San Francisco

So there you have it, Pi Day. Go celebrate. Walk around a circle, and eat some pie.

Seven

Last week, I had gone to bed very early and found myself wide awake at 2am. This inspired seven things to do when you can't sleep.

1. Put a load of towels in to wash.

2. Fold clothes.

3. Pack the Eldest's clothes for her return to college

4. Read E-mail

5. Download items from Yahoo Briefcase before the service closes at the end of March

6. Go through files on computer deleting items no longer needed

7. Blog

What do you do when you can't sleep?

Seven

I wasn't feeling well this week. So seven things I do to make myself feel better:

1. Drink tea. The new favorite is Twining's English Breakfast Tea with Splenda flavored French Vanilla.

2. Eat toast with a bit of butter and cinnamon sugar.

3. Take a shower. If I don't feel better, at least I feel clean.

4. Wear comfy sweatpants and sweatshirt. It's one step above wearing pajamas for the day.

5. Wallow on the sofa curled up with a down comforter and Ink.

6. Watch movies. This week I watched three: The Terminator, Up Close and Personal, The Devil Wears Prada

7. Take a nap or two.

What do you do when you're not feeling well?

Seven

Seven things that have happened this week during the bathroom remodel.

1. I feel funny about eating or drinking while the crew is here. I have issues about eating in front of strangers and it's not polite to eat in front of others . Besides eating and drinking leads to another problem.

2. I can hold water for six hours. If I time it right, I can make a trip to Target or to Barnes and Noble before I have to pick The Young One Up at school. No way would I even entertain the idea of using the portopotty outside.

3. The carpenter is a better housekeeper than I am. He's been the last to leave so his last task is to clean up. I miss him on days he's not here.

4. The bathroom was prepped and ready to have the walls closed up. Yup, neat, clean except for piles of sawdust, chunks of wallboard and busted tile that were in the stud bays. I know it's a guy thing not to be concerned after all, the studs will be covered with wallboard. Nobody would know, see or care. Except me. It bothered me to know what was going to be behind the walls. I spent a happy hour with my shop vac, Patterson, vaccing up the debris. Can we say anal, boys and girls? I found a pile of razor blades that must have come from the original owner's old medicine cabinet.

5. I got to eavesdrop on conversations giving an insight into the romantic male mind.

"You doing anything special tomorrow?"

"Nope."

"You're not going to give her breakfast in bed or anything like that?"

"Nope."

6. The plasterer had been working hard on the hall wall. He left to go out to his truck and I took a peek to see what he had done. Had to fight the urge not to write my name in the wet plaster. All that beautiful white space just begging to be filled with graffiti.

7. I was sitting at the computer in the dining room and decided to go get a second cup of tea. (I still had 4 hours before I had to worry about that second cup). As I went into the kitchen, there were a pair of pants on the floor! Pants that didn't belong to me or to Himself. Seems plastering is a filthy business so the plasterer brought a change of work clothes.

What was your week like?