Under Construction

This is my new theme for the month. I find myself surrounded by construction. Whether it be highway, bridge, cubicle, emotional or figurative, things are changing all over the place.

1. The bridge construction on 7K and Johnson drive that has shut down access to K7 from Johnson Drive for the last several months. They’ve made considerable progress and I’m optimistic it will be completed on time, which would be a pretty big deal. Mostly because I feel really sorry for the surrounding businesses. Because K7 access is blocked, they aren’t the most accessible during this time.
2. Weekend highway construction on I435. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely grateful they are doing this only on the weekends and not during the work week, but any time 435 is down to 1 lane, it’s a nightmare. And, why is it that I can’t seem to remember it’s going on until I reach the stopped traffic. 435 is my lifeline to the rest of Johnson County. It’s too hard to avoid.
3. Cubicle construction at work. I added it up today and I’ve moved cubicles/offices/buildings a total of 10 times in the 5 years I’ve been at GlynnDevins. That has to be some sort of a record. Yesterday, by double-wide cubicle was destroyed and I was moved to a temporary area while they reconstruct what has been dubbed a “super cubicle” for me. I’m kind of excited about it. It’s supposed to be taller, stronger, bigger and manlier than any other cubicle. Other cubes will fear it. Other employees will envy it. And I will be its queen.
4. Body construction. This summer has not been as healthy and productive as I’d hoped. I need to get back into the gym on a more consistent basis.
5. Mind construction. I’m taking some continuing education courses at JCCC to learn more about hard coding websites and style sheets. I’m a big fan of learning new things in my field.
6. And finally, backyard construction. In an effort to cover all the mud puddles and keep Wrigley from bringing the black stuff inside with her, we are rebuilding part of our deck and adding a large patio underneath. It's probably going to take us several weeks to complete the project, but I'm excited to sit outside, get a fire going in the pit and enjoy the Fall air.

Back to School

Ah, to feel like a college student again. Lots of free time in the afternoons, evenings on the couch, water wars with fraternities, date parties… those were the good ‘ole days. A couple weeks ago I went back up to Lawrence to visit Tri Delta for Mock Recruitment. This is where alumni come to the house and the girls show off their skits, give you a tour of the house and sing some songs as they prepare for Fall Formal Recruitment. I remember hating recruitment when I was going through it and it’s kind of funny to think back on those days during Work Week and see how things have changed. Overall, I was impressed with the women. Their “Wizard of Oz” themed skit was cute, although I didn’t understand why there was a German man escorting Dorothy through Oz, let alone why he was wearing a fake nose and glasses. Regardless, it was nice to go back to the sorority house I haven’t been in since 2005, see all the new updates and furniture. I’m really bummed they recently threw out the big orange sectional that used to be in the Social room. I spent many hours curled up in the corner of that sectional. Good times. For the next couple days I couldn’t get the D-E-L-T-A, D-E-L-T-A song out of my head. Some might call that an Earworm…(reference dictionary of non words blog post)

After Mock Recruitment ended, I got to go out to dinner with my sister-in-law, Dana. She is a proud member of Alpha Chi Omega, so I got a quick tour of her house and then we went out for sushi. It was fun to reminisce about the fun times we had in college and also hear the excitement in Dana’s voice as she gears up for her sophomore year. Great times are ahead for my baby sister and I can’t wait to hear about them and relive college vicariously through her.

Dictionary of Non Words

This article is glorious and I can't stop laughing at the non-words. My goal is try to use them as often as I can in order to help in their desire to get into the dictionary.

Some of my favorites include:

Blogish – a variety of English that uses a large number of initialisms, frequently used on blogs

Dringle – the watermark left on wood caused by a glass of liquid.

Dunandunate – the overuse of a word or phrase that has recently been added to your own vocabulary

Furgle – to feel in a pocket or bag for a small object such as a coin or key

Headset jockey – a telephone call centre worker

Locavor – a person who tries to eat only locally grown or produced food

Museum head – feeling mentally exhausted and no longer able to take in information; Usually following a trip to a museum

Nonversation – a worthless conversation, wherein nothing is explained or otherwise Elaborated upon

Nudenda – an unhidden agenda

Oninate – to overwhelm with post-dining breath

Optotoxical – a look that could kill, normally from a parent or spouse

Peppier – a waiter whose sole job is to offer diners ground pepper, usually from a large pepper mill

Percuperate – to prepare for the possibility of being ill

Polkadodge – the dance that occurs when two people attempt to pass each other but move in the same direction

Pregreening – to creep forwards while waiting for a red light to change

Smushables – items that must be pack at the top of a bag to avoid being squashed

Sprummer – when summer and spring time can't decide which is to come first, usually hot one day then cold the next

Stealth-geek – someone who hides their nerdy interests while maintaining a normal outward appearance

Wurfing – the act of surfing the Internet while at work

Wikism – a piece of information that claims to be true but is wildly inaccurate

Xenolexica – a grave confusion when faced with unusual words

Things I Enjoy Today:

5. Imitation crab meet from the salad bar
4. Getting errands done on my lunch break
3. "End of Construction" signs
2. 4:00 happy hours at work- welcome to hump day!
1. Sheridan's Ice Cream- I can't stop thinking about the concrete with Wedding cake. My mouth is watering.