Hello!
This weekend, a big group of us (14) went to Appleton to see the play "Wicked".
What is "Wicked"? Many chicks know, but it is a play based on the Wizard of Oz. Some call it a "pre-quel" to the Wizard of Oz, but it is actually more a different perspective - kind of a *Behind The Music* of the movie. It goes into the relationships of the witches, their histories and the people around them prior to the visit of Dorothy and Toto. I won't divulge too much to ruin it for you, but I definitely was entertained! Great performance by the actors and the whole concept is very creative! The show was entertaining to watch and had more humor than I expected. Next time the show comes around, I highly recommend you check it out!
Before the show, we all checked in at the CopperLeaf hotel in downtown Appleton. I have heard good things about this hotel and was looking forward to the experience! Well.....very rough start. The *deal* that was posted on their website turned into quite the mess. The deal promised some extra goodies (wine and such) that the hotel called and pulled out of the deal AFTER the reservations were made. Big mess, but a few of us were able to negotiate getting the deal back in the package. Shady! When we checked in, it sucked that we had to park in the ramp, walk out side through the snow, the down steps (with baggage) to the front desk, then to the room. Poor design. The rooms were ok, but nothing special, in my mind.
So our group all met in the lower level of the hotel which is The Black & Tan restaurant (same owners as here in GB). The bar was clearly overwhelmed and the staff looked to be in a panic from the start. Weak. They set us up at 2 separate tables but all seemed fine - not sure why they couldn't fit 14 people at connected tables? We ordered and I was rather disappointed in my steak that was $36.95. For that price, I shouldn't have 25% fat and grizzle. That was after the food took about 30 mins longer than it should have, so we had to rush from dinner to the PAC for the play. Unneccessary stress!
After the play, we rocked at some of the cool bars within walking distance on College Ave. Cool places! We hit Chadwicks, which was cool. Brick walls - narrow similar to Brewbaker's. No ceiling fans. Odd? Well, no smoke, remember? That was actually nice! We also hit The Durty Leprechaun. Very cool little (dive) Irish bar. Well, it was cool until we realized that 20% the peeps *worshipped the rainbow*, if you know what I mean! It was fine, but seeing our friends get hit on (and grinded on!) by same sex randoms became a bit bothersome after awhile.
Overall...great experience! We all had fun and I would definitely do it, again - just not the same hotel and maybe less time at the Irish Bar! ;)
Cheers!
Robb
www.thejalapenoblog.com
jalapeno.mail@gmail.com
22 February 2009
Hi!
As many of you know, I am now working for a company in Ashwaubenon that is a big company compared to my past career experiences. This is the first job where I am in a cubicle in a *team* atmosphere. There are about 100 people in my building that are grouped into several departments. My particular team is 15 members.
It is interesting how this *Cubicle Life* is so much different than working for smaller companies. The mentality of the staff, in general, is very new and strange to me. The focus of people ranges from 125% motivated to "if I am really quiet, they may forget I am here!". The range of personalities and type of people is damn interesting!
Basic motion:
Most days, it seems like everyone in the building is moving in slow motion. Nobody walks briskly and for the most part they look like zombies moving from point A to point B. Expressionless and somewhat dead behind the eyes. I walk around pretty quick, most of the time, and I get dirty looks for nearly running over people who suddenly POP out of their cubicle or are coming at me around a corner. In our area, there are printers and fax machines every 25 feet - kind of cool, actually! It is funny that nobody really goes very far - the farthest you will see them walk to is the breakroom (opposite corner of the bldg from my desk).
Smoking:
I am really surprised how many people smoke who work there. My team, alone, is about 80% smokers. Bldg wide, for example, at 8am you can find 8-10 people standing outside the breakroom having a puff. I truly think that most of these people smoke JUST so they can take 10 min breaks a few times each day. There are a few that work there that are social / drinking smokers that don't even bother smoking during the day. Again, interesting to see the routines of people in this setting!
Phones:
Most phones are designed for headsets only - no handsets. A percentage have purchased their own cordless units (I am one). It is strange seeing all these people in their cubicles with *tethers* to phones - reminds me of Sci-Fi movies, really! For me, the phones become rather annoying because there is no central *receptionist*, therefore we are constantly getting calls for other reps and have to transfer transfer transfer - 1/2 in our office, 1/2 to the Rochester, NY office. "They" know when you phone is not active, so you have to stay ON whenever possible. The tracking of incoming and outgoing calls is very interesting! Recently, they implemented a system that they can record your calls - but you don't know it. On top of that, now they can also see what is on your computer screen while you are on that call. Talk about the *eye in the sky* !
Group Activities:
This gets very annoying for me. Someone is always organizing some little celebration for some stupid reason. One day each month, for instance, they have a *food day* and that is the birthday celebrations for the month. Yeah, I never participate. Recently, a co-worker sent around an e-mail that had a spreadsheet showing everyone's birthday grouped by month. My name was on the list with the wrong date. I kindly replied, "The date is wrong, but could you just remove me from the list, please". Oh boy....big time office drama! She replies with something like, "I was instructed to organize this list from our Manager....blah blah." Damn. So, I forwarded the msg to the Mgr (cc the chick, of course) with, "I hate to be difficult, but am requesting to be excluded from the birthday list. As a previous victim of indentity theft, my DOB is personal and private to me. Thank you for your understanding." It is true, actually! Yeah, no list for Robb.
There are so many other points I could go on about Cubicle Life. I will save them for later updates to go with single-incidents that amuse me (or frustrate me!).
Cheers!
Robb
jalapeno.mail@gmail.com
As many of you know, I am now working for a company in Ashwaubenon that is a big company compared to my past career experiences. This is the first job where I am in a cubicle in a *team* atmosphere. There are about 100 people in my building that are grouped into several departments. My particular team is 15 members.
It is interesting how this *Cubicle Life* is so much different than working for smaller companies. The mentality of the staff, in general, is very new and strange to me. The focus of people ranges from 125% motivated to "if I am really quiet, they may forget I am here!". The range of personalities and type of people is damn interesting!
Basic motion:
Most days, it seems like everyone in the building is moving in slow motion. Nobody walks briskly and for the most part they look like zombies moving from point A to point B. Expressionless and somewhat dead behind the eyes. I walk around pretty quick, most of the time, and I get dirty looks for nearly running over people who suddenly POP out of their cubicle or are coming at me around a corner. In our area, there are printers and fax machines every 25 feet - kind of cool, actually! It is funny that nobody really goes very far - the farthest you will see them walk to is the breakroom (opposite corner of the bldg from my desk).
Smoking:
I am really surprised how many people smoke who work there. My team, alone, is about 80% smokers. Bldg wide, for example, at 8am you can find 8-10 people standing outside the breakroom having a puff. I truly think that most of these people smoke JUST so they can take 10 min breaks a few times each day. There are a few that work there that are social / drinking smokers that don't even bother smoking during the day. Again, interesting to see the routines of people in this setting!
Phones:
Most phones are designed for headsets only - no handsets. A percentage have purchased their own cordless units (I am one). It is strange seeing all these people in their cubicles with *tethers* to phones - reminds me of Sci-Fi movies, really! For me, the phones become rather annoying because there is no central *receptionist*, therefore we are constantly getting calls for other reps and have to transfer transfer transfer - 1/2 in our office, 1/2 to the Rochester, NY office. "They" know when you phone is not active, so you have to stay ON whenever possible. The tracking of incoming and outgoing calls is very interesting! Recently, they implemented a system that they can record your calls - but you don't know it. On top of that, now they can also see what is on your computer screen while you are on that call. Talk about the *eye in the sky* !
Group Activities:
This gets very annoying for me. Someone is always organizing some little celebration for some stupid reason. One day each month, for instance, they have a *food day* and that is the birthday celebrations for the month. Yeah, I never participate. Recently, a co-worker sent around an e-mail that had a spreadsheet showing everyone's birthday grouped by month. My name was on the list with the wrong date. I kindly replied, "The date is wrong, but could you just remove me from the list, please". Oh boy....big time office drama! She replies with something like, "I was instructed to organize this list from our Manager....blah blah." Damn. So, I forwarded the msg to the Mgr (cc the chick, of course) with, "I hate to be difficult, but am requesting to be excluded from the birthday list. As a previous victim of indentity theft, my DOB is personal and private to me. Thank you for your understanding." It is true, actually! Yeah, no list for Robb.
There are so many other points I could go on about Cubicle Life. I will save them for later updates to go with single-incidents that amuse me (or frustrate me!).
Cheers!
Robb
jalapeno.mail@gmail.com
21 February 2009
My first blogspot blog!
Hello, readers!
I will now begin re-posting blogs that I write on MySpace to:
www.thejalapenoblog.blogspot.com
Please send an e-mail to jalapeno.mail@gmail.com and you will be added to the notification list!
Thanks for reading!
Cheers!
Robb
I will now begin re-posting blogs that I write on MySpace to:
www.thejalapenoblog.blogspot.com
Please send an e-mail to jalapeno.mail@gmail.com and you will be added to the notification list!
Thanks for reading!
Cheers!
Robb
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