Whiners, Complainers, Juvenile Women watch out...

For quite a while now I've been carrying a resentment/irritation/disgust around in my head. Long enough to realize that it has affected my perspective on previous work experiences. So, considering the options available to me to relieve myself of this burden, I believe the least damaging is to write it on my blog.

Before I continue, this is related to a woman that I once worked with. Actually, she was a member of a team that I managed. To approach this person today would be unprofessional, inappropriate and possibly considered badgering :) While working with her I did broach the subject(s) and it was considered a humorous discussion on her part. A different discussion, where I requested that she stop talking about her job interviews while working caused her to lose her temper and start yelling about "free speech", and ended when she told me to meet her in the parking lot. Yeah, I'm not kidding.

Here are some of what I have already said to her, and some things I didn't get a chance to say:

Stop the whining. Sitting at your desk and stating "I just don't know how I will get all this work done" on an hourly basis is childish, annoying and disrespectful to your co-workers.


Arranging your workload to prevent you from participating in a call rotation is also disrespectful to your co-workers.


Telling new people how to do their job, after the manager has already set up a training schedule, is annoying and irksome, as well as confusing to the new person.


Complaining about your husband's infidelity only proves your childishness and immaturity. E-mailing your firefighter boyfriend (from work) about how his hose is hanging is juvenile and disrespectful to yourself and the company.


Bragging about job interviews, while working, is wrong. It is disrespectful to your co-workers, insubordinate behavior to your manager, and is not why the company pays you to be at your desk.


Declaring your experience as a manager, then acting like a toddler needing a babysitter in order to get your work done, does not reflect well on you. Complaining and whining to upper management when your manager asks that you stop whining and use the time to do your work is really annoying. It wastes time, reflects badly on you, and is disrespectful to your co-workers - because when you take the time to complain, annoy and/or meet with upper management, your co-workers have to step in for you and do your work.



There, I've said all I'm going to say. Yes, there is more, but these points are the main ones that have been on my mind. The funniest part of all of this is her inability to see that all along I was trying to help her position herself to be considered for a promotion. Yes, jealousy is a bad emotion and when I realized that this explains her behavior is when I stopped trying to help and instead tried to contain the problem.

and now for a bit of fun

The Recipe For Charlene

3 parts Flirtation 2 parts Elegance 1 part Prosperity Splash of Beauty Finish off with an olive

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

Hmm, good thing I like olives! I'll have to ask hubby and friends about the other parts :)

Tucson, AZ - Home of the Gem and Mineral Show

Oh my. I'm starting to get excited. I leave for Tucson on Wednesday, the 30th. My plan, and my plane tickets, say that I'm returning on February 19. Three wonderful weeks spent in Tucson where it is warm, where the rain does not freeze on its way down or on the ground, where snow is not an option, where humidity is non-existent. Oh my. Will I look like an apple that's been out in the sun too long?

My mother is in Tucson for the winter. Two years ago she purchased a travel camper and Dodge Durango then took off from Indianapolis and traveled the south and east coast. She spent last winter in Indianapolis and vowed that she would find someplace to 'settle into' this year. After traveling the Midwest and some of the south again this past year, she found a park in Tucson that is reasonable, had a space for a few months, and was close to the city.

Back in November my mom calls me and says "Gee Char, I've been hearing about this show that comes to Tucson in February. It has booths with beads. If you'd like to go to it, you're welcome to stay with me in the camper."

After catching my breath (jumping for joy can be exhausting!), I assured my mother that the Show she refers to has become an international affair, that jewelry designers, store owners, and collectors travel worldwide to attend. That getting a hotel room is impossible unless you've reserved it during the previous year's show. Of course I said YES!

So, armed with little more than lots of cash, a listing of some 50 odd vendors I hope to be able to purchase from, a new pair of walking shoes, and tons of designs in my head and jotted down in a small notebook - I'm flying out on Wednesday.

The Lottery

I grew up with a mother who loved to enter sweepstakes and contests. She never won anything, that I know of. When asked why she did this, her response was always the same "somebody has to win, it might as well be me." Personally, I think the local lottery stole this line from my mother for their commercials.

Anyway, so I used to enter the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes, the Reader's Digest sweepstakes, and once the Hoosier Lottery came into being in the '80s I started buying the tickets. With the Hoosier Lottery, my thinking when purchasing a ticket was always "well, if nothing else, at least it's going to education." Hmm.

So, I stopped all the sweepstakes entries. After 20 years of trying and not winning anything, I finally gave up. Yes, I know, I'm a slow learner. But, my saving grace is this - once I've learned something I am not doomed to repeat it!

Then again, here I sit with my Hoosier Lottery ticket - again. I purchased two tickets (sets of numbers) last Wednesday. Thursday morning I went online and checked the numbers, learning that I matched 2 - which gives me a free ticket. Happy that at least I finally won something, I turned in the ticket and received my freebie on Friday. This morning I checked my number(s) and learned that once again I won a free ticket. Hmm. Not quite so happy, but at least I won something, right?

So, later today or tomorrow I will turn in my ticket for another freebie. Wonder what I'll win on Wednesday?

Did I tell you I love Herringbone?

First it was peyote (see yesterday's post), now I'm back to my favorite stitch, herringbone. Also known as Ndebele (en-duh-belly), an African stitch I learned in '03 via trial and error and drooling over many peoples' work. So, here's a sweet bracelet using brown opaque 11s, silver-lined champagne 15s and 2-3mm button pearls. Oh the possibilities! This belongs in my personal stash because I did not finish it professionally. But, I intend to make a few more using various stones/gems/pearls etc. What do you think? Let me know!

Out of the Box, into the Triangle!

So, this little triangle box came about when I asked the question "What if...?" I was planning to work on a caged bead to use as a clasp hider for a herringbone necklace I've been working on. Then, I look down into my box of beads and saw these two colors - color lined yellow 11s and pink iridescent magatamas. Well, I don't know what came over me. I pulled them both out, along with some color lined purple 11s, made a few piles on my beading mat, and voila! a few hours later, out came this boxed triangle. Hmmm, quite a color change for me, as I normally don't care for pink. And, this is my first boxed triangle, ever. I'm pretty pleased :) Any ideas on what I should do with it now!? LOL

New lariat photo

Here is a better photo of the brown and blue lariat I finished last month. I used the basic spiral stitch, japanese 11/0s, and fringe! Yes, that is fringe you see and it did not kill me to do it! Measures 38" and wears beautifully :)

New pendant and earrings

I used delicas number 1010 and the russian leaf/diagonal peyote stitch. At the last minute I added the pearls.