What a Year!

Tonight is the last night of being a certain age and moving swiftly into my next year. If you are like me you don’t spend a lot of time reflecting on the past year, it is usually thinking about how old I am getting. I decided that this year I would not move forward until I recognised and appreciated the year that was about to finish. So much has happened in the last 12 months it hardly seems possible it all took place in such a short period of time. Let’s see…four weddings, one wedding announcement, one baby announced and newly arrived, a visit from my Mom and Dad, an incredible trip back to San Diego to see all of our friends, the trip continued to Georgia for one of the aforementioned weddings and a wonderful visit with the happy couple,  4 trips back and forth to Pune India and a whole new world of first time experiences, one high school graduation, the trip of a lifetime, to South Africa, planned and paid for…those were some of the good things but like every year it has had its sad times as well; the loss of my much loved Mother-in-Law, the loss of a friend (way before her time) and the loss of my little Westie (Maggie). Alongside these major life events ran the little things in life; meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones.

It has been a full on 365 days and I didn’t want it to pass by without recognising, appreciating and learning from it before moving on to the next chapter of my journey through life. I hope before your next birthday you can do the same.

How Do You Lose One Shoe?

Have you ever wondered how people tend to lose just a single shoe? We can’t blame the washing machine or dryer in this instance like you can for socks. On our recent trip to Rhodes, Greece Pam and I saw a plethora of single shoes, these lost (soles) seemed to be everywhere but were missing their (sole mates). Okay I promise that was the last pun. But seriously how does this happen? A single flip flop might be explained by someone losing one in the water. A lost tennis shoe is puzzling but the best one of all was a lost hiking boot. Yes we saw one hiking boot with no laces. You could accidentally lose a tennis shoe out of your beach bag but if you were hiking how did you get home? Where did your laces disappear to and where are you now, wondering around wearing one hiking boot? Very strange indeed.

One Person’s Luck is Another Person’s…

Last week we were out with friends at the beautiful Avon Gorge Hotel in Bristol.  They have an incredible terrace with views across the Avon and of the Clifton suspension bridge.  We are sitting there after ordering, having a drink when all of a sudden I heard a “Splaaaat!” Immediately followed by this slap against my forearm.  I looked down and saw a thick, long, green blob that ran almost from my elbow to my wrist.  It looked like pesto on steroids.  After the laughter at the table died down and my stomach settled a bit, our lunch arrived.  I had ordered Cous Cous and roasted goat’s cheese salad.  When the waitress placed my plate in front of me my stomach lurched as I noticed they had decorated my plate on both sides with a thick slug-like dollop of PESTO!  Needless to say it looked far too familiar to my recent forearm experience.  So, some people say when a bird poops on you that it is good luck.  Well within 5 minutes of the food arriving the skies opened and there was a torrential rain shower that we had to out run back to the shelter of the bar.  if that is the kind of luck bird poop brings…count me out.  I’ll keep looking for my 4 leaf clovers thank you.

That Annoying Voice…

Do you have “that person” in your office that whenever they speak, no matter where they are it feels as if they are standing right behind you?  That voice that carries from the most distant corner and the farthest cubicle. You know who I mean.  In my current situation I have two of “those” people. First, there is the woman with the high pitched voice and strong American accent. (I think she swallowed a microphone, with very bad feedback, as a child.)  The sound just comes slicing through the air and screeches into your eardrums.  Then there is “Radio Guy”.  This guy has a voice that truly should be on radio.  It is a deep booming voice even when he is trying to talk “quietly”. If he stood at the front of a huge room with the worst acoustics in the world, everyone would still be able to hear him clearly.  Of the two Radio Guy is the least annoying because he does have a nice voice. The problem is no matter how hard you try to ignore him when he is talking to others his voice draws your attention away from what you should be doing.  This is a negative in two ways.  One, you keep getting interrupted and lose your concentration for the task at hand.  Two, you are tempted to look at him every time he speaks, making you look like you are eavesdropping!

Things you Learn When Working in an Open Plan Office

Open plan offices are very common now but  you would be amazed by what you still see and hear going on in these shared spaces. Here are a few do’s and dont’s for working in an in this type of environment:

Dont’s

Gentlemen, when walking through the office Don’t adjust yourself first and then turn around to see if anyone can see you…they can!

Ladies, don’t hold conversations at your desk or other’s desks regarding the pros and cons of various feminine sanitary products.

Don’t perform personal business transactions on the phone while in the office because when you give out your bank details, date of birth, credit cards number etc. the person on the other end of the phone is not the only making notes!

Don’t argue with your kids on the phone because everyone will just think you are the meanie no matter what the child has done.

If you are the one person in the office with the piercing laugh please refrain because it makes others want to strangle you!

Hovering,…this spans both the do’s and don’ts.  If you are hovering because you do not want to be at your desk but you have nowhere else you need to be this is a don’t.

Hovering with Intent is slightly different and gives you leeway as you are simply trying to give someone else (who is currently engaged in something you consider to be not very important or you think will end very soon) a clue you need to speak to them and s acceptable.

Hovering because someone else is hovering near your desk is not acceptable.

Eating in an open plan office has its risks.  The rule of thumb should be just because you think the strong aroma of your lunch is nice does not mean others share your olfactory preferences.

Don’t eat a food that can be measured in decibels.

Don’t PICK anything!!

Do’s

Be considerate of others but if someone else is annoying you with one of the don’ts plan to use a more offensive don’t back!

I hope you will find these tips useful in your day to day working life. 🙂