TVW

Things which are TVW (the very worst):

• Home ownership. It's one project after another. There is never a day when you sit down on your sofa, ready for a Netflix marathon because there is nothing else to be done.  That day will never happen.

• Seriously, the painting never stops. 

• Realizing 7 years into it that you don't want cats anymore. I can't clean anymore cat pee.  I just can't.

• I guess the same could be said about a crappy relationship, if you are in one.  About the not wanting it... not about the peeing... 

• Realizing that you left your lunch where ever it is not supposed to be.
• When you're friend gets a new mate and now every time you hang out, you hang out with both of them. But at the same time you know you're supposed to be happy for them, so...  

"Yeah, it's totally fine if he joins us... again..."

• Walking in heels for longer than you anticipated when you were deciding on an outfit that morning.

• When your friend apparently has been pawning her wine on you all night and then the next day you realize there are three empty wine bottles from last night.
• When your computer freezes.
• Crocs and people who like Crocs.

• Car problems.
• Unread e-mails piling up faster than you can read them.
• Losing your spoon:

• Gushy Facebook posts.
• Vague and drama-filled Facebook posts.
• Flip flops.
• Ants.
• People (especially colleagues) who do not respect the sanctity of silence.

• People who spit.
• Commercials for prescriptions.
• Leaving the flat iron on, thinking and worrying about it all day at work, to come home and discover that you did turn it off.
• This kind of person:

• Leaving your sunglasses behind.
• Forgetting stuff in the rental car after you've returned it.
• Over thinking things people say to you (i.e. about 4 years ago, a colleague said to me, "Veronica, your posture when you walk is so straight.  I wish I could walk as straight as you."  I am still trying to figure this out, years later.  I hate the way I walk. Was she just being a smart alec??)
• Heartburn.
• Allergies.
• People with allergies.

• Being the third or fifth wheel.
• When people judge you for drinking before noon (looking at you, MOTHER.)

• When the head falls off of your Abe Lincoln pen. 

• This: 

Miglin, Veronica:

Noooooooooo my teabag came open in the wattterrrrrr   :'(:'(:'(:'(   why is life so haarrrrrd

Liz :

oh no. that's the worst

:(

• forgetting to wear jewelry or your watch (a.k.a. being naked.)

  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Katelyn Sullivan

Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2015 8:57 AM

To: Miglin, Veronica

Subject: RE: I'M NAKED!!!!!

TVW.

Kate Sullivan

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things which are TVB (the very best):

• When Starbucks knows you and cares for you as a person as indicated by hearts drawn by your name.

• Wine, fruit, and Brie

• This sandwich

• My church

• Waffle House

• Bette Midler

And Taylor Swift, of course.

• Superglue 

Fan-Girling

Maybe it is just because her concert is coming up in July, or maybe it is just because she is so awesome - I don't know why, but I have been surrounded by Taylor Swift lately.  She's an amazing artist and a shrewd businesswoman.  I admire her.

From: Miglin, Veronica
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2015 9:24 AM
To: 'Katelyn Sullivan'
Subject: RE: inspiration

I am Tswifting so hard right now.

1)      Steve was talking to me about Mission BBQ this morning, and then he was asking if there is one near Westminster.  I looked it up, and said no, but there are two locations in PA, one in York, which might be close for Westminster.  “And the other one is in Wyomissing, wherever that is.  Never heard of it.”

2)      Moments later, I was thinking about Taylor, and how it is kind of bold to name your tour "1989", since that is not that long ago, and older people will not be interested.  But, alas, she was born in 1989, so, I get it.  So then I was thinking about her bio, so I Wikipedia'd her, and the first line was all “Tswift, from Wyomissing, PA”  And I was like…. K  this is very coincidental....

3)      Totally freaked out by this coincidence, I told Steve.  Then, I read on Wikipedia that her dad works for someone we also work with.

 Veronica [8:24 AM]:

K Her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, is a Merrill Lynch financial adviser

 Steven  [8:25 AM]: 

Wow, we need to do a model review for him.

Veronica [8:25 AM]: 

DO IT!!!

omg do it

get me in

 Steven [8:25 AM]: 

I would need to relate all our funds to T. Swift songs

And have someone in the background on a bar stool playing a guitar

Veronica [8:26 AM]: 

Well maybe it would be enough if I just like... made you a tie with her face all over it.  And then just decorated everything in Tswift

 Steven [8:27 AM]: 

I can use a T. Swift poster as a book cover for my presentation

Veronica [8:27 AM]: 

Mwahahahaha this is all coming together

 Steven [8:27 AM]: 

Does she have a perfume and cologne line as well

Veronica [8:28 AM]: 

of course

Steven [8:28 AM]: 

I am willing to do what it takes to win that business

Form a working committee

With subcommittees

and governance committees

and risk management

Veronica [8:28 AM]: 

and i am willing to do what it takes to be BFF with Taylor

Yes.  Yes.  This is real life.

 Steven [8:29 AM]: 

We can invite the adviser on the Lip Sync show and sing a few T. Swift songs

Veronica [8:29 AM]: 

There is actually an app which will respond to your text messages in Taylor Swift song lyrics

we could use that

 Steven [8:30 AM]: 

Yes, let's form a technology committee as well

THEN...

Within 5 minutes of the conversation with Steve, another manager arrives to the office. He’s been gone for a while, traveling on business, and he walks up to me and wordlessly hands me the Southwest magazine which he took home to give to me.

::  Mic drop ::

I love it when people get me.

Bette

You can probably expect a similar post in the future about Bette Midler, since her concert is coming up soon, too.  

I am so glad that I am going to see her.  If I did not, I would regret it forever.  I doubt she'll be doing many more tours, you know?

Here is one of my favorite songs of hers... I remember listening to this album on repeat in the 80's.

Slight Humor, and Side-Eyeing Chloe

There's bad news and good news.  Actually, lots of good news and bad news.

Bad news: Haven't blogged in weeks.
Good news: No one reads the blog in April, I've noticed.  I probably could have gone till May till someone said something to me.

Bad news: Baltimore is self-destructing.
Good news: Lots of time with Smidgen.

Good news: My sister is coming to visit this summer!
Bad news: So much to do to my house before she and her wife come.  I finally talked to her today and found myself saying, "Listen, you're just going to have to deal with the fact that I have a toilet that occasionally rocks!! I can't afford a new toilet right now, okay!?"  

Sooooo if you wanted to come over and help me paint or do yard work, I would not object.

Good news: my colleagues are really used to my shenanigans.  

I was mad at one of my colleagues, but it wasn't for a few days after whatever initially upset me that I actually saw him again, and by then, I couldn't remember why I was mad, just that I was supposed to be mad.  This is my attempt at holding a grudge.

So something was wrong in one of our systems, so I went to call in my folks to help, when...

From: Scotty

To:  Veronica

Subject: All fixed...

From: Veronica 

To: Scotty

Subject: RE: All fixed...

Oh.  Okay I’ll call off the troops.  Thanks and sorry a little.

From: Scotty

To: Veronica

Subject: RE: All fixed...

Just a little?

From: Veronica 

To: Scotty

Subject: RE: All fixed...

Yes because I was mad at you but this might have cancelled it out just now.  Maybe.

From: Scotty

To: Veronica

Subject: RE: All fixed...

You can't even remember why you were mad?

From: Veronica 

To: Scotty

Subject: RE: All fixed...

Not really but it’s one of those things like women and childbirth – you block out the really painful part, but you know that you still mad, bro

From: Scotty

To: Veronica

Subject: RE: All fixed...

I love how you mentioned women and childbirth but still finished strong with “bro”

It's good.

I love other people telling me about funny things I've done, because I can never remember them.  I'm even chuckling at that email convo I had, and I'm glad I remembered to write about it.  

The other day, Sara came up to me asking me to elaborate a Post-It note I had written.  I had given her a mug, because I take my tea very seriously, and she doesn't keep a real mug at work.  How am I supposed to share my passion for tea with someone who is ill-prepared? Seriously, check out my tea department: 

All sorts of teas, loose and bagged and in sachets.  Herbal, fruit, black, British, you name it.

Then there is my honey collection, which is not pictured.

So I got her a birdy mug like she likes, and apparently wrote this post it note:

She came over and said, "Excuse me - could you please elaborate which feelings, exactly, were implied here?"  I thought it was very funny.  I had totally forgotten about the entire thing, so it really cracked me up.  

I spend about 2 hours of each day just laughing, and about 80% of that is at myself, or things I forgot that I did.   Or my Timehops.

The other day, a meeting reminder went off on my computer.  When I opened it, it said that the (actually important) meeting was taking place on the 16th floor, and then below, in the appointment, I wrote to everyone, "Unless you are afraid of heights, in which case we'll just meet in John's office."  

That may seem not funny to you right now, but when I'm  really focused, and in work-mode, things like that just totally throw me off and make me laugh.

Side-Eyeing Chloe

If I have not held an entire conversation with you via meme, then you do not hang out with me enough.  Anyone who actually knows me knows that most of my day-to-day life can be illustrated via a series of memes.  Kake and I will hold entire wordless conversation with just memes.

Side-Eyeing Chloe is one of my spirit animals.  Click here to get the full story.  

I use Chloe for so many situations.  Just this evening, I received a text message telling me that I was being impatient (because I did not receive an immediate response to my question) and that I was "just going to have to wait," which received a big Chloe in response.

The funny thing is, two out of three people who don't know Chloe actually think that it is a picture of me as a kid.  That's how similar we look.  

It cracks me up when people call out Chloe, either by giving me a good one, or calling me out on one.  When Sue was telling me that Larry is planning a road trip to Oklahoma, apparently I gave her a perfect Chloe.

This whole week's Baltimore situation has just been one big Side-Eyeing Chloe. 

Scene It - Real Life

In the movie, “You’ve Got Mail” (a.k.a. one of the best movies of ALL TIME) Meg Ryan’s character says, “So much of my life reminds me of a book, when, shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

I feel like a lot of things that happen in my life remind me of a TV or movie quote (such as the very first sentence of this entry.) 

Example: This is definitely t.m.i., but I am sharing it with you because no reason:  I drink a lot of tea and coffee every day + really long meetings = so when I finally get a potty break, I am often very self-conscious that other people in the bathroom will be reminded of this scene: 

Another example:  recently in one of these very long meetings, I had a Seinfeld/Tweety Pez Dispenser episode moment.  You know this episode:

Well, I am just sitting there in a meeting minding my business as someone is walking through a presentation, when my colleague, with a very serious look on his face, calmly reached over and, seeming like he had a very important note for me, drew a single dot on my copy which ruined me for the rest of the meeting.  I had to leave the room.  Do you see what he did?

I was finished.

If you know me at all,  you know that Friends is more than a show to me (and to some of my best friends)... it's more of a religion.  I could have Friends on Season 1 Episode 1 and watch it clear through the entire series without getting bored or annoyed.  Sometimes, my ex-roommate and I would communicate only via Friends quotes and memes, and we still do, to this day!

Including the fact that my spirit animal is someplace between Chandler and Phoebe.

Friends taught us how to deal with all sorts of emotions and situations.

Recently, after a day at the archery range, a bunch of us went to get lunch.  We had a couple of new folks joining us, including a new member who just moved here from Brighton, England.  He's only been here in America for four months.  

After suffering through a few moments of my interrogations, I asked him, "So what's the biggest difference to you between here and there?"  And he said, without me even having to tell him to say this: 

"Well, Americans are so funny.  The British don't really show emotion.  But the Americans, you laugh loud, you are very expressive.  It's like you are all on the show Friends.  Do you know that show?  When we watch it in England, we think that it couldn't possibly be like that; that people couldn't be like that all of the time.  But now that I am here, it's so funny - I can't tell if Friends was written about you, or if you are all acting out Friends."

I swear to God, I was so proud, I almost shed a tear.

And lastly, there's the city togetherness you see on TV.  One thing I love about working in the city is randomly seeing people whom I know in the streets.  I remember I used to watch shows like Seinfeld, and the characters would see each other in the streets, and I would think, “Oh come on... of all of the millions of people roaming the streets of NYC, these people just HAPPEN to bump into each other all the time?  I don’t think so.”

But actually, it happens to me quite frequently.  I see colleagues from my previous job, or folks I knew from school, or people I've met just from other friends.  Just the other day I was walking in a cross walk, and an ex-colleague I haven’t seen in over a year (she now works at Under Armor, across the harbor) honked and yelled at me as she drove me.  I love it. 

I could go on and on about real-life references from The Golden Girls, Will & Grace, and basically every early-2000's sitcom, but I think you get the picture.  There is basically a reference running through my head at any given point in time.

That's all for now.  Keep it together, if you can.