One Hundred Twenty-Second Entry

I hate Alison. She needs to go. So do Nate, Justin, and Jun. My new faves for BB4 are (most favored first):

Erika: Good lady. Calm. Collected. Reminds me a lot of Lisa from BB3.
Jee: Innocent bystander. Total dumbass, but naively so.
Jack: Smart guy. Careful who he talks to.
Robert: I just feel sorry for him.

Reasons the others need to go (least hated first):

Jun: Sneaky little bitch that can't control her mouth.
Justin: Dumb-ass. Meathead.
Nate: Even more of a dumb-ass than Justin.
Alison: Evil bitch that cannot be trusted by anyone. She is probably gonna do Justin so he nominates who she wants.

Well, enough about BB4.

Today at work was interview day. I became the proctor for the written portion of the interview. Basically, the candidates (I like to think of them as contestants) each had the same situation presented to them and had to write a memo concerning the situation. Each contestant had 15 minutes. I had to keep track of this. One of the contestants took five minutes over the time. I told him that his time was up and he said that he just needed to finish the sentence. Well, it took him like 5 minutes to finish that damn sentence! I will now forever be known as "The Proctor". "He may not be quick, he may not be strong, but he'll make sure you don't go over the time limit! He's the PROCTOR!!" I don't like the nickname, but I guess it could be worse.

Anyway, I have my favorite contestant in my head. I was hoping for at least one young female engineer to come in, but for some reason women engineers are very rare. What happened to Women's rights? Didn't they all want to be equal so they could do all the jobs that men do?? What ever happened to that???

I have adopted a new symbol at work. It is an exclamation point. Let me explain....

I was totally rebuffed in some curb and gutter grades that I finished a couple weeks ago. For some reason, the surveyor that was staking the job decided that my top of curb elevation was .02 feet off and needed to be recalculated. In the little post-it note attached to the front of the memo, he used a very large exclamation point to emphasize the extreme nature of my mistake. I showed the memo to my supervisor who agreed that it should have been something that was adjusted in the field. He also noted that the surveyor must have been really mad to make the exclamation point extra thick!

I printed out a 500 size exclamation point and colored flames around the outside of it. It hangs outside my office. Plans are in the works to make an exclamation point with icicles and one with a happy face to use as a temperament meter. Taking it a step further, in my return memo to the surveyor, I tried to throw exclamation points wherever I could. I don't know if he caught it, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Taking it another step further, my supervisor added an exclamation point to my name when I get emails from him.

And that was when I decided that the exclamation point should become my symbol.

Today I reflected a lot on the past year I have been with the county. I thought of all the fun stuff at work.
I like that I have been known as "The Bruiser", "Junior", "Young Hero", "Chief", "Young Phil", "Big Phil", "Ramp Czar" and some others I can't remember.
I like that I have a list of over a dozen movies that various people have recommended for me.
I like how everyone treats me like an equal even though I am less than half their ages.
I like how I can go over and sit down with Gloria and talk for a while about anything.
I like how whenever anyone has a birthday or some other milestone or special event, that person brings in donuts.
I like how we have a secret refrigerator that noone can know about.
I like how no matter how much work there is to do, once you put in nine hours for the day, you can leave.
I like how we go out and do stuff together every once in a while.
I like how no matter who you are in the Design division, it is understood that you hate the county and the way its run.
I like how everyone complains about the health insurance.
I like how people alway comment on my Spongebob and Lakeshore kids toys.
I like how people stand outside my office and read all the jokes and comics I have.
I like how I work with people with a seemingly infinite knowledge about everything, and even though I do the same stuff day in and day out, I always learn something new everyday.
I like how the "Roach Coach" couple, Carlos and Rosa (yes I know their names) lectured me yesterday about how I am at the right age to get married, and should do so right away.
I like how Carlos and Rosa, within two guesses, can say what I want for lunch.
I like how when I go downstairs to get my mail, I always say hi to Patty and she always says hi back and we talk for 5 minutes.
I like how Jane always makes me laugh on breaks or sneak smokes.
I like how Kham feels free to talk to me about women when Jane isn't around.
I like how whenever I go in to Bill's office we salute each other.
I like how Phil and I can joke about everything (like his tie) even though he is two levels above me, and been working at the county longer than I've been alive.
I like how Marcia is trying to fix me up with any girl she can think of.
I like how Blas teases me every chance he gets.
I like how I like everything at work, but the work.