Kid and Caboodle

I am working from home this morning due to a paperwork error.

Yesterday morning, after a brief break, I discovered that my badge was no longer allowing me into my office. Upon inquiring at the guard desk, I was told that my building access had been revoked because I was no longer an employee (?!?), whereupon the guards confiscated my work ID.

A few frantic calls later, my supervisor learned that a certain administrator had filed an undated “separation notice” with my name on it. Security then deactivated my badge.

By the time we managed to convince security there had been a mistake and that I really should be allowed into the building — in all likelihood the notice was meant for an intern with the same name — they had sent in my badge for destruction. Now I need to get a piece of paper from the administration person who filed the separation notice saying that, no, I AM a valid employee so I can get a new ID. Oh, joy.

Since we have no idea when this certain administrator will be available — she has been out all week — my supervisor has told me to work from home until we can reach her. Hey, life isn’t all bad ….

Someone once told me that men and women approach stores in different ways. Men supposedly are “hunters”; they go into a store, get what they came for, then leave. Women, on the other hand, supposedly are “gatherers”; they browse through the aisles when they shop and buy accordingly.

Today, with our cul-de-sac finally cleared out from Snowpocalypse, Chris decided to run some errands, including a trip to the store. I gave him a list of supplies we needed such as milk, bread, eggs and ground meat.

Not only did Chris come back with the items on the list, but he also purchased several packages of chocolate (including a Valentine’s Day box for me — aw), several types of ice cream, cookies, goldfish crackers, Cheez-Its and Velveeta shells-and-cheese.

So much for that generalization!

Apparently this blog has at least one regular reader. (Hi!) She has yet to comment on anything I’ve written, though. Lurker!

Technically I received a Wii gaming system for Christmas. It was supposed to be a fun way for me to get exercise. In reality, I have spent about 20 minutes using it, hurting my finger in the process. In contrast, A.J. and Chris have spent the last few days playing with it. I guess the Wii was really a gift for the household!

Oh well. Technically I gave Chris a Kindle for Christmas, but so far I’ve spent more time using it than he has!

For Christmas this year, my mother-in-law gave me some figurines of animals that look like they’ve been made of fruit or vegetables. I decided to have a little fun with one set:

Clementine and Squirt play hide-and-seek.

I amused A.J. greatly last night by having trouble getting into the house after picking him up from school. I don’t know if I was tired or just distracted, but I pulled out my work badge, my subway pass, and my car keys before finally figuring out that what I needed were my house keys. It seems my autopilot needs a tune up!

Despair, Inc.’s Web site has a demotivator poster about blogging. Oh dear!

My mother called last week to say she and my dad would not be able to join us for Christmas because he has to go back to Taiwan for a funeral, so she wanted to come by this weekend to drop off our presents. We decided that, since she and my dad would be making the drive down, I would prepare lunch for everyone today. I spent much of the morning cooking and picking up around the house.

When my parents arrived, they realized they had forgotten the presents!

A.J. got hold of the digital camera this afternoon. I’ve been going through his pictures laughing at some of the things he chose to photograph: his feet, door handles, a light switch, my left wrist, a corner of my laptop, a section of carpet, his father trying to relax…. I’m deleting most of these images, but here are two of A.J.’s first self-portraits:

One of my co-workers was late to work today because of “a polar bear at the Metro station.” Later he showed us a local news story on the Web as proof:

‘Polar Bear’ Deemed Safe; Columbia Heights Station Reopens

The polar bear was fake; what caused the delay was the need for security staff to make sure it did not contain any explosives or other dangerous substances.

What a strange town I work in ….