So much for "Southern Hospitality"

The hockey game was fun, despite the incredibly RUDE people of Raleigh.

At work, we'd been told a third person would be coming with us. One of the new Creative Directors (CD). No big deal. We tell him what time we plan to be at the airport, etc.

Wednesday night, I stayed at Elle's house and we got up and went to the airport. Got to Raleigh, Bob (client) picks us up and we go to their office. Bob is from Texas. I thought he was from NC, but he's not. He is definitely Texan.

We went over the budgets, got them signed, listened to CD's ideas and what they were doing and got ready to head to the game. We were on our best behavior. Bob kind of seemed bored while we were going over everything. It is boring. He's happy it's over and stands up and gleefully asks if we're ready for the game. We point to our Penguins shirts and he laughs. He pulls a Pens jersey out and we laugh. CD looks kind of uncomfortable because he's wearing his normal clothes. Normally, creatives are the fave at these things. Their stuff is WAY more interesting than ours, but for once, we're the fun ones!

All of us pile into the car and head to the game. I thought they had more of a box, but they don't really have those there. It was still a nice area and the seats were great! Big, cushy seats! Bob tells us that we can get whatever we want to eat or drink, it's being taken care of. I grab a Mountain Dew and he tells me I can get a beer, but I then have to tell him, I don't drink. Most people don't react to that well. I don't know why, but they don't. I don't care if others drink, I choose not to. Not to mention it would not mix well with my medicine. He's fine with it.

The game starts, we're into it, having fun. The first period ends and Elle and I head to the restroom. There is a line in front of the paper towel dispenser, I say excuse me to the woman in front of it, and she turns around and says "F*** you, you Yankee b****!" Huh? I decide to use my jeans to dry my hands instead. Elle just stood there w/ her mouth gaping. We go back to our seats and Bob asks what happened, so we tell him we were just yelled at, nothing to worry about. The 2nd period starts and we're fine.

During the 2nd intermission, Elle asks me to go with her to the smoking area. Bob has gone off somewhere and we found him out there too. We're off to the side, chatting and out of nowhere, this guy shoves me, hard.

I'm well aware that I'm wearing an opposing team shirt, but half of the people there were in Penguins jerseys. Probably three-fouths of the people out there were in Pens gear.

Normally, I'd go off and shove him back, but I'm with a client. Bob demands the guy apologize. He tells him to "F*** off." A few other Pens fans start crowding around.

This is awful! I'm technically at work, with a client who is about to kick this guys butt for me. How bad is this going to end up being for me? I'm in a fight stance, but I should not be fighting. I have my TENS on. Elle is horrified, but stands next to me anyway.

I go into "Yinzer mode" & get mouthy:

"So much for your 'Southern Hospitality!'"
"F*** you! Get out of our city!"
"Well, we could do that, but who would support your team? You should thank us for being here so you can keep them."

There are a few home team fans looking on with NO intention of helping this guy. The guy storms off. Bob chuckles, gives me one of those side buddy hugs & tells me I'm welcome to go with him to any game in the future. We got back to our seats and CD asks what happened. Elle tells him I'm not very popular there. A Hurricanes fan sitting near us overhears her and tell us that they're not too friendly down there, he's from CT and tells me there are a lot of Northern people down there and they don't like it and they're not very nice.

The game ends, Penguins lose, but we still had fun. Elle & CD go back to VA and I come home & worry about any backlash from the AE at work. I checked my work email after my doctor appointment and our AE had emailed Elle & I saying that Bob had a ton of fun with us and likes our "spunk." I shouldn't be in any trouble, but with new accounts they can be overly sensitive.

I'm not sure when we'll need to go down there again. Maybe I'll wear a Hurricanes shirt so they leave me alone next time.

Job Perk!

Part of the reason I'm stuck down here is I'm helping this office set up some new clients. We share resources and send people back and forth, depending on who needs what.

Today a co-worker and I were given a mission. We must go to Raleigh and meet with a client, get some budgets signed and go to a hockey game. Ordinarily, we have limited contact with clients. We may explain certain things to them, but the Account Executive (AE) is the middle man. They translate our advertising speak to something they can understand.

Our contact with this client is a HUGE hockey fan. They have a box at the arena and he keeps inviting the AE to games. Going to any sports even is the AE's idea of Hell, so to make this guy happy, she decided that we should go. We know the game and can get along with almost anyone. As an added bonus, the Penguins are the visiting team!!! I asked the AE if she could find out if he'd be offended if I wore my Penguins shirt. I really don't want to have to get down there early so we can buy Hurricanes shirts. I would feel dirty and consider myself a traitor. A few hours later, she told me it would be OK, he's not really a Hurricanes fan, just a huge hockey fan.

We're excited! For once we get to do something fun! I have two Penguins shirts, so I tell my friend she can borrow the other one. We start talking about how much fun we'll have...free game, great seats, free food, possibility of meeting Mario Lemieux...

Then it hits me...I have a doctor appointment in Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon. I was going to drive back Thursday night after work. As it is, I can barely make the 7 hour drive. I know I can't drive 2 or 3 hours to Raleigh, then back, then go home. I HAVE to go to the doctor. I need refills. I'm on pretty heavy duty pain medication and they can't just call them in or fax the prescription to me. I can't even send a family member in for the refill.

I'm not excited anymore. I have to figure out how to do both. We can't just wait on the budget signatures and since the client is so new, it's better to have someone go down in person to make sure they understand everything. I also really want to go to the game and sit in the comfy chairs for free.

I go to the AE and tell her my problem. She starts laughing. Silly, simple me. I thought we'd be driving down. No, we're flying and it's not a problem to book my return flight to Pittsburgh instead and they'll fly me back since my car will be here.

I feel like it's a waste of money, but I don't spend as much as the others do while on business trips. I don't max out my food allowance every day or fudge my billing hours.

For once something has worked out in my favor! The plane is going to be hell for me, but it's better than driving that much. The friend I'm going with is letting me keep my car at her house. She's a work friend, but we get along well and it will be a bonding experience.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this goes off without a hitch. Now I just have to hope I can keep my pain under control. Planes kill me and I get tired easily, but I will get through this. I'll have a friend with me and that helps.

Ooooo! It sparkles!

Yesterday I actually got out and was social! The weather has gotten warmer here and I got an invite to go out to lunch with some new friends. We watched the Penguins game together and went shopping at Old Navy. I shouldn't have gone shopping, but I only spent $50. Everything I got was on sale: 2 pencil skirts (one black for $9 & a denim one for $15), a shirt & another rain jacket (in black). I like my yellow jacket, but sometimes it's too much for my mood. I really like the green they have as well, but do I really need 3? I keep reminding myself that I shouldn't buy too many clothes here because they charge sales tax on clothes.

Now I have to go back to behaving myself though I've spent the day online looking for a birthstone ring.

The ring search came from looking for a new hoodie. One site had sets of stackable rings in various team colors. Two were CZ/crystal eternity bands and there is a silver colored ring with the team logo on it.

The problem is they're expensive, just because they have a logo on them. I decided to just search for stackable CZ rings and get a black one and a yellow one. Easier said than done. The black is easy, but yellow has proved to be the tricky one. I finally found one and they had it labeled as a birthstone ring. One company had the black CZ ring as well as my birthstone so I decided to look for a new birthstone ring.

I'm a December baby and the December birthstone varies; however Turquoise and blue Topaz are the most common. I never seem to find any Turquoise jewelry that suits me, so stick with the Topaz.

In my search, I found a site that has a lot of Art Deco style filigree rings. http://pages.antique-silver-gifts.com/stores/waybelowretail/ My taste in things go between very simple, modern to the exact opposite. It all depends on my mood.

Here are some of the rings I found today (click pic for links):

Ok, this isn't my birthstone, but it's on my list of things to treat myself. I'm waiting for it to go on sale and as soon as it does, it's mine!

You're not really helping.

I was going to go home this weekend, but they got hit with more snow last week and I didn't want to deal with the mess. I decided to go shopping here instead. I found a cute rain jacket and umbrella at Old Navy:

I went to get some food nearby so I could eat while watching the USA vs Canada hockey game. The guy behind me in line decided to be "helpful". I wear a TENS unit when I go out because my back will hurt to the extent I have a hard time getting around. It's small and connects with sticky pads and the unit fits in my pocket. The guy behind me sees wires hanging out and yanks one. It ripped a wire off of the pad and shocked me, so I yelped because I was suprised and it hurt. The guy, sheepishly says "you had something sticking off of your butt."

I was livid. I don't have a replacement pad and the wires had been ripped out. I debated calling the police. I told him it was a medical device and he'd just broken it and he shouldn't be touching my dupa. Who the hell does that? How about just telling me I had something hanging there? I really wanted to call the police because I was so mad, I wanted him to be punished for not keeping his hands to himself, zapping me and breaking the electrode. He just stood there, not knowing what to do. "So it's broken?" Yes you moron, I have to order new ones. "Why can't you just go to CVS and get a new one?" I don't know if they sell them here because I'm not from here! The girl at the register started to get really uncomfortable and called her manager over. She probably thought I was going to kill him.

After several minutes of me yelling at him, it finally clicked that he should offer to pay me for it. Fine, dealing with the police would have been more trouble that it was worth. He gave me $20, which was more than they cost, but it covered my food, too. When I got home, I discovered I'd been given a free pie. Odd, I never mentioned anything to the employees...it wasn't their fault in the least. It could have just been an accident.

I ended up missing a few minutes of the game and my food got cold while I tried to figure out if I could somehow get the electrode pad fixed. I'm still angry, but I got cash to cover it and I'll hopefully never see that moron again.

Incidents like this make me want to never leave my house again. A few months ago I was smacked on the dupa while bending over to grab a bag to put in the overhead of the plane. He got kicked off of the flight. For some unknown reason, people feel that it is OK to touch me. It's not. I'm glad I cannot get pregnant because I'm sure it would be worse.

Once I calmed down and gave up on trying to repair the broken electrode, I realized I had forgotten to stop and get yarn. I found a few crochet patterns online that I wanted to try. One requires orange yarn. I have every other color, but no orange! I'll get some Tuesday when I go pick up my copy of Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter from the local Borders. I have a gift card, yay! I have some other books to read, but since it comes out on Tuesday, it will be on sale. They are calling for heavy snow here Tuesday night, so I'll have plenty to keep me occupied if they close work.

Movies

I have a tendency to keep to myself at work. I'm not antisocial...I'll chat and am polite and friendly to everyone. I have work friends that change with every location I'm sent to. We may get lunch together or go shopping, but we don't really socialize outside of work. Past experiences have not be all that great, so I'd rather explore a city on my own and go "home" and read, play on the computer and watch TV or a movie.

Pretty normal, right? Most people have work friends & home friends.

Well, most people are into whatever is at the local megaplex. I don't see many "modern" movies. I don't really enjoy most of them. They're not very original and rely too heavily on effects. There are some movies that benefit from effects. Iron Man was fun. It's a comic book movie and there are a lot of "unrealistic" elements in the comic book world.

They do have a theatre here that shows old movies weekend mornings (next weekend they're showing "North By Northwest"). No one will go with me, especially after my rather negative review of "The Hangover." Now I'm an "elitist snob."

I'll just go by myself. I've been a few times and have chatted with a few people there and they've seemed like nice people, but that has gotten me into trouble before. When I let my guard down, that's when the creeps show up. It would be nice to have a movie buddy. At home, we see a movie and go out to eat after. I miss that.

Enough rambling for now...Sleep and maybe I won't be so disjointed in my next post.

Nancy Drew

While goofing off today, I came across the Secret Agent L blog. She's a girl in the 'Burgh that does little good deeds for people. It's full of warm & fuzziness(which makes be a tad queasy, but I think it's a cute idea and am sure her efforts are appreciated), but I saw one of her little gifts that would have I wish I had come across. Nancy Drew's Guide to Life.

When I was younger, I LOVED Nancy Drew books. I owned a few, but mostly borrowed them from the library and read them over & over and watched the 70's TV show. In the mid to late 80's, they had some new stories with a much more updated Nancy.

I was so happy to have new stories! I couldn't wait to turn 16, get a car and go solve some mysteries. That didn't really work out. I would have had plenty of time, due to not having friends, but had no car. Now I just tackle every day mysteries like, "Who keeps taking the last cup of coffee without making more?," "Who isn't flushing the toilet in the ladies room?" & "Why do people who should be locked away in a mental institution keep finding me and stalking me?"

I've seen the PC games in Target and on Big Fish, but haven't picked them up. I'm happy to see that she's still around and it always makes me think of the books with the yellow spine with a picture of Nancy with her magnifying glass. I've always wanted to complete my childhood collection, so I started checking eBay and the Internet and have found all sorts of things!

Charms

Books with Tote bag

Book purse (I hope these were made from completely destroyed books, the thought of someone doing this to a perfectly good book irritates me)

License plate frame

T-shirt

Bracelet

And I discovered they have a ND convention!!! I've missed the chance to sign up this year, but am hoping to make it next year.

Just for fun, here are 3 covers from the same book to show some of the changes over the years:

Rambling out of boredom...

I've been too busy lately and nursing some injuries. Instead of whining about my mauled ankle, I just took a break.

I'm stuck in a Southern city for work and during "Snowmageddon 2010" I learned that they have NO clue how to treat a sidewalk or shovel. Walking to work a few weeks ago, I slipped and sprained my ankle, which has kept me from wandering about too much, so I've been reading a lot.

I'm almost done w/ Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters. I've been taking it to work with me in hopes of finishing it before Dawn of the Dreadfuls comes out at the beginning of March. Quirk Classics was giving copies to bloggers, asking to have the reviews posted the first week of March. I don't have much time to devote to reading, so I held off. I did score a copy of Queen Victoria Zombie Hunter for $3. It's not done by Quirk, so I'll have to see how it is. I love what Quirk is doing with the public domain classics. I could never get through these books before and now I can put them down. Zombies & Sea Monsters make it so much better!

Yesterday, I decided to hobble out and check out the Pet Expo here. It was in a large exibition space in a part of town that isn't so hot. It's not bad, but the building is run down and normally hosts gun shows and MMA tournaments. The place was packed! I got to play with puppies, got a free cookie & got a cupcake necklace.

After the Pet Expo, I checked out one of the antique "malls" down the street. It was in an old strip center in a former grocery store. I was warned it was so-so and they weren't kidding. Most of the vendors charged WAY too much. "Oh, but this is an antique!" The same stuff at a flea market would be more accurately labeled as "junk." I found a cute hat, but it had a pretty big hole, that I could have repaired or covered, but for $70, it wasn't worth it. I left empty handed and went home.