A wash-and-go Friday Five **
1. What shampoo do you use? Aveda Shampure

2. Do you use conditioner? What kind? Yes. Right now, I'm using Suave Professionals Awapuhi Conditioner I change my shampoos and conditioners frequently.

3. When was the last time you got your hair cut? I don't remember. :-) It was sometime in February, I think. Maybe March.

4. What styling products do you use? None. If it's a particularly dry day, or I feel the need to make my hair behave, I use Alberto VO5 Sheer Hairdressing. It's light and stops the strays from frizzing.

5. What's your worst hair-related experience? My mother used to give me these horrible perms when I was a kid, so that would count as experiences. I hated them, but she always took me for another one. When I was 16, I cut my hair all off just below my ear while my mother was in Europe. I thought she was going to kill me. I was glad to be rid of the perm but a week later, I cried because I missed the length. I swore I'd never cut my hair again... or get another perm.
Posted 11:08 AM by Kerry O.

Baseball Striking ** You know, I don't get this. I never have. Why do professional athletes' unions call for strikes? To me, this makes a mockery of what little value modern unions have left. We're not talking about unfair working conditions here. These players are not starving on the streets and being taken advantage of by money-mongering dictator sweatshop owners. They're playing a freaking game. A game. And our culture happens to find those games very entertaining to watch, and some of us are willing to pay for the right. Of course, we are willing to pay only to a certain extent. I'm simply not going to pay $100 for a baseball ticket, and most of the people I know, even the die-hard Diamondbacks fans aren't going to, either. Well, that's why they have Cheap Seats(tm). If the owners (who I grant get rich off of their players' "sweat") do away with the Cheap Seats because they need to charge more to pay their players' exhorbitant salaries, the fans will stop coming. And then who will make money? Nobody, except Blockbuster Video when all those people start looking for other things to occupy 6 months of their lives.

On a related note, I learned some time ago about a certain Diamondback player who busted his ass to help the D-Backs win the coveted World Series Championship, only to have his name mysteriously absent from any and all merchandising related to MLB, period. You see, Damian Miller crossed picket lines during the 1994-1995 spring training season. He just wanted to play baseball. He never actually played during the strike, and pays the price for it to this day. Does he bitch and whine and moan about it? Ever? No. If he's not part of the union, then when they strike, I hope he still gets paid. I hope he gets paid more. A lot more. Because he may be the only one fans can stand to see if they do strike.
Posted 3:58 PM by Kerry O.

Job Stuff ** I realized that I never got around to editing my messages yesterday about the job stuff. This is the job description (roughly) for a Relocation Counselor, or RC. I can't find one for my current position, which is Property Specialist or PS. Basically, an RC manages the entire relocation process for a relocating transferee. A PS handles the marketing and details of selling the transferee's house. They're both (in my opinion) fascinating jobs, but the RC job is much more time-consuming and involving. I'm very excited about it but nervous too!
Posted 9:50 AM by Kerry O.

Mrs. Big Bucks ** I am feeling so empowered today. I got a promotion and a raise. And all I did was ask. What the...? I should really learn to do this more often!
Posted 2:26 PM by Kerry O.

Easy like a Sunday morning ** So I told my boss I was interested in this other position. Um, yeah. That was easy. It's mine, baby, all mine! She's going to talk to her boss to get the ball rolling, and post for someone to fill my position. Then I'll transition them in and take over as an RC! Oh my goodness. This will definitely slow down my blogging, but speed up my career! FYI, it's just a lateral promotion, but it might mean a raise. I'm not holding my breath, but it sure would be nice!
Posted 10:12 AM by Kerry O.

Insanity ** Before my day gets crazy again, I just had to say hello to anyone still out there! Work is... challenging. My peer is out ill this week, and we are having to split up her work with no warning. She does a different job, and it's the one I will have to do someday on my way "up the ladder." It's actually the same grade level (and pay), but totally different work. I've been learning a lot in her absence, and I heard our director mention yesterday that she got approval to hire another person to that same position. I'm going to have the necessary talk with her today that I'm interested in pursuing that position, and keep my fingers crossed that she will think that's a good idea.

I didn't get to go with my friend to her AA meeting; she didn't actually end up going last night. I still think she's doing really well, but very busy. She's still just learning how to manage her time now that it's all sober time and she can't be awake 24/7. She's leading a Girl Scout meeting tonight for her daughters' troop, though, and I will be joining them for that. It will be fun to see the girls in this "celebration of America" thing they're doing. Daughters are cute. God, I want one. Have I mentioned that lately?
Posted 8:37 AM by Kerry O.

Hello, my name is ** Kerry, and my best friend is an alcoholic. Well, okay, she's not actually an alcoholic, she's a user. After 8 days on crystal meth and not a second of sleep, she brought herself to the edge of a cliff, figuratively, and decided not to jump. She was almost certainly one day, one decision away from losing her job, her husband, her children, her home, her life. Last Sunday, her problems came to a head, and she chose to stop. She entered AA (she has regulars at her restaurant who are in AA - apparently it's for all addicts, not just alcoholics), and has gone daily since. Every day is a new one, and each time she tucks herself into bed sober she's accomplished a tremendous feat. I'm so proud of her, I could burst. We talked for 2 1/2 hours Saturday night, and she was my old Ember again. I haven't really blogged about it, but lately she's had me very very worried. She's really been on this current roller coaster for 6 months, but she's been there before. It's never been this bad though. Anyway, I will probably go to AA with her tomorrow (she asked me to, and I definitely want to support her fully), and I will probably journal here about her journey as she goes.
Posted 8:23 AM by Kerry O.

What a Weekend! ** Dear God, that was quite a weekend. Princess is spayed and fine, and acting more like herself every hour. That first evening was rough and nearly had me in tears a dozen times. Mother's Day was wonderful, and we got to see Spider-Man again. Saturday, I got a call from Ember. That will be a separate entry by itself. Season and Sine each delivered gorgeous, healthy, wonderful sons, named Julian and William respectively. Season's site is temporarily down, but I'm sure she'll have her info up there soon. I'm just so happy for both of them, and feeling more and more baby pangs everyday. Ach, well. Such is life. Today, my very good friend at work is undergoing surgery to remove a growth on her thyroid. She is very much in my prayers, and I can't wait for the phone call from her husband telling me she's okay.

It doesn't sound like that busy a weekend, but it really was. I like them that way.
Posted 8:16 AM by Kerry O.