Finally! Back on line!! Good Lord, I never knew I could feel so 'disconnected'! With my limited access to the world wide web these last two weeks I have been noticing how much we actually take the "E" in our lives for granted. I know everyone always says we are too electronically dependant but it sure makes life easier. Especially when your personal life and professional life cross over on a regular basis. When you need to work at odd hours etc. Speaking of my professional life...I have worked in my current career for 22 years this year basically for the same company. Most of the time my job requires a high level of professionalism and I manage a team so I must be an example in what I say and how I conduct myself. Personally, and if you know me you know this, I tend to be loud and sometimes obnoxious. I enjoy big laughs and often I say things that might be inappropriate and I definately share too much information. Sometimes, more than I'd like, I pee when I sneeze and I will tell you when I do. So, me personally? Not all that professional. I try very hard to be efficient and organized at work and I have to work very hard to do that and so when I am not at work my mind can go faster than by body or vice versa. Hence, some might say I am a little...well...less graceful than most and maybe have less, shall we say, foresight (?) than I should. Long story short, I can get myself into some unfortunate situations. This annoys me to no end. I know I am a fairly smart gal and I am very capable and have been very successful in what I have done. But geez, I have gotten myself into some crap. These situations seem to come in bunches. Sometimes a few little ones and then sometimes big ones, like when I fell down the stairs at Christmas time and broke my leg and had to have pins and a plate put in my leg and right after that I got the shingles...sorry I digress. In the last week I had a couple little reminders that I am NOT the professional I think I am. I was in my office going through my mail and clearing things up so I could take some time off this last week. I had a little stack of papers that needed to go in the shred bin. Now shredding, this is a new concept in the last 5-7 years and it is CRUCIAL where I work that the appropriate stuff go into the locked and secured shred bin. No one has a key except the shred company that comes periodically to empty the bin and so once your stuff is in the shred bin, that be it. So, I am getting my things and I have two checks that my son gave me to deposit for him. His lawn mowing money. I have those in one hand and the shred in the other and...I know you can see it coming...sianara baby...I put those checks right into the ultra secured shred bin of doom. Crap! Now I am looking through the dark slot to confirm I have actually done what I know I just did. I can't see anything. Our shred bin is huge and nearly empty. Gone, baby gone! Dammit! So I do what every professional person in the same situation would do...I start banging on the lid of the bin trying to break into it and retrieve my son's $50 fortune I just literally thew away. No go. So then I do the next logical professional thing, I grab my bag and stomp down the hall to my car and let the expletives fly. I go to the ATM and get the cash out to give to my son and decide I will figure it all out later and go on vacation. I only wish that was the last of it for that week, but not so much. So image? Smoke and mirrors baby. The real deal is far from perfect I'm afraid. But perfect is not nearly as much fun either. Later