Cubicle Resistant

At the age of just 23, I have now been laid off from two different jobs within the same company in the last month or so. Neither were performance or attendance-related, and the second one was somewhat expected after helping that branch out for about a month. All Managers and Supervisors involved told me many times I can use them for references, so I am pretty confident in the fact that it was nothing personal - just a matter of being hired at the wrong time and them not having enough work to keep me busy and require my services any longer.

One thing I have learned from this short stint in cubicle life is that I don't like it. Not one bit.

I know. It's what we, as Americans, do. We wake up early, we head off to that 8/9-5:00 job in rush hour traffic (both ways), we come home, have dinner, watch some television, and head to bed at an early hour. Grocery shopping and errands can be taken care of on the weekends, when we spend time with our families and friends and attempt to have social lives. Now, call me crazy, but who actually enjoys that routine? Just because it's what everyone else does, why do we have to do it?

I am not a morning person. I absolutely hate waking up early. Every once in a while, sure, no problem. But, having an obnoxious alarm clock going off at 5:30 every morning, (followed by two other alarms since it is that difficult to drag myself out of bed, and I'm always afraid I will fall back asleep), is no way to live. That feeling of waking up early and dragging myself off to work for eight hours, (with an hour unpaid lunch break in between), is something I think I'd be happy if I never felt again.

After sitting...just sitting there, at a desk, staring at a computer monitor all day, in my own little personal box without a ceiling, once 5:00 rolled around, I could finally drag myself back home. There, I'd cook dinner, try to get some cleaning done, catch up on some DVRed shows, and try to crank out a blog, all without falling asleep on the couch prior to 10:00. I felt like I had no free time because all I did was work during the day and sit on the couch most of the night before going to bed.

The best thing about not having to be at work everyday? I can go out to breakfast with my family at the Cracker Barrel. Do you have any idea how delicious breakfast is at the Cracker Barrel? Something is just even better about it when I don't have to work and can accompany some fine people on their breakfast excursion. I love going out to breakfast. Please, please don't ever take that away from me. It is just too...delightful. Who wants to scarf down a piece of raisin toast and eat 100 calorie pack snacks in the morning to make it through to lunch when you can go out for breakfast instead?

Due to the reasons listed above, I have determined I am cubicle resistant. I don't want to sit in one ever again. In fact, I might be allergic. I am going to make this work-from-home-business a success. Then, who's going to lay me off? Myself? I think not! It's the perfect solution to all my problems. I can wear sweatpants to work, I can decide when I start working, when I stop working, when I eat breakfast, when I eat lunch, when I want a day off, and when I want to take a vacation. It's no wonder working from home is the next big craze - there must be a lot of other cubicle resistant folks like myself out there, too.

Angela's Oscar Predictions

This year probably is the year I have seen the least amount of Oscar-nominated films. But, that sure won't stop me from sharing my opinions on who I think is going to win and who I want to win. We'll see how my predictions shape up later on tonight when the Oscars air on ABC, hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco. That will be interesting to see in itself!

I chose ten of the "main" categories and listed them below. The category and my picks are in bold. Please note, they may not necessarily be who I want to win, but rather, who I think is going to take the trophy home.

Best Picture:

• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The Kids Are All Right
• 127 Hours
• The King's Speech
• Toy Story 3
• The Social Network
• True Grit
• Winter's Bone

Actor in a Leading Role:

• Javier Bardem: "Biutiful"
• Jesse Eisenberg: "The Social Network"
• Jeff Bridges: "True Grit"
• Colin Firth: "The King's Speech"
• James Franco: "127 Hours"

Actress in a Leading Role:

• Annette Benning: "The Kids Are All Right"
• Nicole Kidman: "Rabbit Hole"
• Natalie Portman: "Black Swan"
• Jennifer Lawrence: "Winter's Bone"
• Michelle Williams: "Blue Valentine"

Actor in a Supporting Role:

• Christian Bale: "The Fighter"
• John Hawkes: "Winter's Bone"
• Jeremy Renner: "The Town"
• Mark Ruffalo: "The Kids Are All Right"
• Geoffrey Rush: "The King's Speech

Actress in a Supporting Role:

• Amy Adams: "The Fighter"
• Helena Bonham Carter: "The King's Speech"
• Melissa Leo: "The Fighter"
• Hailee Steinfeld: "True Grit"
• Jacki Weaver: "Animal Kingdom"

Directing:

• Darren Aronofsky: "Black Swan"
• David O. Russell: "The Fighter"
• Tom Hooper: "The King's Speech"
• David Fincher: "The Social Network"
•  Joel and Ethan Coen: "True Grit"

Animated Feature Film:

• How to Train Your Dragon
• Toy Story 3
• The Illusionist

Costume Design:

• Alice in Wonderland
• I Am Love
• The King's Speech
• The Tempest
• True Grit

Writing (Adapted Screenplay):

• 127 Hours
• The Social Network
• Toy Story 3
• True Grit
• Winter's Bone

Writing (Original Screenplay):

• Another Year
• The Fighter
• Inception
• The Kids Are All Right
• The King's Speech

The Things We Do in Our Sleep . . .

Obviously, I had a lot of pent up aggression on Monday night when I went to bed, as I learned in an e-mail I received from my husband the next morning:

Last night I got into bed and you said "are you going to wake me up". I said "what do you mean? Wake you up for what?" you said "for work danny, some of us have to work today!" I said "Angela what are you talking about? Didn't you set your alarm?" you said "just wake me up in 5 minutes, I just need 5 minutes" I said "Angela it's 1150pm you don't have to wake up for another 6 hours!" you then yelled at me and said "Danny you never do anything for me! I ask for 5 minutes more of sleep and you won't even stay up to make sure I get up for work! You are so selfish I don't even know why you married me if you can't even do one little thing!" I responded with "Angela if you really want me to wake you up in 5 minutes I will but you will just get mad at me for waking you up in the middle of the night" your response was then a grunt and you rolled over. That's when I figured u were sleeping. Seemed so coherent tho.

Woopsies. =)

Bachelor Brad Not Really a Changed Man?

I have been an avid Bachelor fan and viewer all the way back to the first season. While I did skip over a few seasons in the middle there, since the wonder of DVR has entered my life, I haven't missed an episode. So, when I learned that Brad Womack was going to be the next Bachelor, I wasn't all that excited. I like to see fresh faces on the show, and I never really liked him much on his first go around - why was he so special that he deserved a second chance? I always found him rather boring, and was actually pleased when he didn't choose DeAnna or Jenni in the final episode - it seemed like it would be good for them to get away from this guy.

However, because I simply can't stop watching this incredibly addictive show, I knew I would indeed watch Brad's second attempt at "finding love." And, I have been. Every Monday night, I sit down to watch it and type up a recap entry to include my slightly sarcastic commentary. I even went against what I'd originally said and caved in and read Reality Steve's spoilers. On the bright side, at least when Us Weekly came out with a cover that blatantly reveals the final two ladies, I wasn't surprised or upset because I already knew who the two ladies are.

In the story Us Weekly published, they did an exclusive interview with Brad's on again/off again ex-girlfriend, Laurel Kagay, who also dated former Bachelorette star and Bachelor Pad contestant Wes Hayden. Now, the tiny tidbit of an article they put on their website was simply not enough to cure my curiosity, so off I went to the nearest grocery store to spend four precious dollars on a magazine I only wanted for one eight-page article.

The article was interesting, but there is always the question of whether or not it is completely true. Laurel claims Brad proposed to her multiple times and has the text messages to prove it, but those were only snippets of the conversation, and we couldn't see anything she was saying back to him. For all we know, she could easily have been egging him on. Plus, who proposes to someone via text messages? Lame. The guy quite possibly could have been drunk for all we know.

Text messages aside, Brad was depicted as somewhat of a psycho. It honestly sounded like he has an anger management problem, since there were multiple times she mentioned when Brad stormed out and wouldn't talk to her for days before coming back completely apologetic and begging for forgiveness. Laurel also said that Brad hates when women cry and is faking when he comforts them on the show.

In case you missed it, Brad also made an appearance on Lopez Tonight on Thursday. He completely denied everything in the article and dismissed it immediately after George brought it up. What makes me think Laurel's stories could very well be true is the fact that Brad sat there and told everyone "he's broke" and "doesn't have any money" multiple times. Now, I can see the guy maybe can't afford to take his new fiance out on dates like what he goes on during the show - complete with helicopters and romantic getaways in other states, or even countries - but, as a successful businessman, I highly doubt he is broke. Besides that, he got paid for doing The Bachelor. One of his text messages to Laurel flat out said they hadn't discussed the pay for him going on the show, but "it would be a lot." So, I find it very hard to believe anything he said after that point, because he repeated his "broke" status a few times. Good one, Brad.

Overall, his interview with George Lopez was pretty casual, and he never really got into anything serious. But, he also dismissed everything about the magazine so quickly and blamed it on Laurel trying to make money at his expense that it honestly made me feel the guy has something to hide. I just don't buy into the southern gentleman he is trying to portray himself as, and Laurel even pointed out in the article that he never went through consistent intensive therapy after his last Bachelor stint, which completely goes against the therapy/Brad is a changed man storyline the show has been repeatedly feeding us this whole season. He seems to have a different side that we don't get to see on television, and I am starting to think there is definitely a reason why he has never found that right woman or gotten married before.

Do you think he is sincere and Laurel really did just sell her story to Us Weekly to make a quick buck? Are you as suspicious of Brad as I am? What do you really think of the whole situation? Comment below to leave your thoughts!

Snow Day!

Once I graduated college, I assumed that was the end of my hopes and dreams of ever having a snow day. Being a part of the working world meant I wouldn't be able to watch those closings scroll at the bottom of the television screen and hope to see something that would affect me - and then, we had the Blizzard of 2011.

Let me tell you. I have never been so excited to hear my cell phone ring at 6:25 am. But, there it was. Not wanting to sound like a complete moron answering the phone out of a dead sleep, (I was supposed to work 11:00 am - 7:00 pm today), I let the call go to voicemail, but I knew exactly what it was for. I listened to the voicemail, and sure enough, our office was closed for the day, and my boss suggested I set up an out of office response for the day.

Today was a fantastic day, and it isn't even over yet. The surprise of the office being closed left me stuck wide awake for an hour-and-a-half before I was finally able to fall back to sleep around 8:30. When I woke up, I lounged in my snowflake pajamas, watched the excessive weather coverage, watched last night's episode of Teen Mom 2, and played my Zumba game on the Wii Fit.

My crazy husband was desperate to get outside, so he walked across the street to pick up snacks for our movie day at Pick N Save and shovelled off our balcony while I showered. Then, it was time for some chips and salsa and The Proposal (my first pick for our movie day).

Tomorrow, this enjoyable day will just be a distant memory as I sit in a cubicle and work my regular eight-hour day, but I wanted to remember it, because this time could actually be one of the last where I can say I had the day off because of a snow day. Thank you, Blizzard of 2011. You were exactly what I needed this week!