Gone

I chose this episode to "highlight" for a number of reasons. One, I am sooooo ready for this month and this year to be "GONE!" I am ready for this "creeping crud" of a cold that has inhabited my body for almost three weeks now to be "GONE!" I am completely "GONE" over this gorgeous detective, and...well...come on. Do I really need a reason to post photos of Bobby?

My Friend Betty

A few weeks back, I introduced you to a new arrival on this earth named...Logan Paul. The little guy is the great-grandson of my friend Betty...she of the Carmel By The Sea Escapade.

Betty and I have known each other for a long time. She used to work in my friend Ralph's office, and I worked for an agency back home that coordinated a lot of economic development projects and public sector loan programs with Ralph's agency. Although we did not "physically" work together in the same office...we worked together on a lot of mutual projects that were beneficial for the community. And while we were "friendly," we weren't...friends.

We became "hanging out together" friends about this time twelve years ago. It came about when my friend since college... Carlisa...passed away suddenly. Carlisa was married to Ralph and mother to my godson...Nathaniel. She was forty-four when she died...way too young. I was going to devote an entire post to her this evening, the anniversary of her passing, but I'm just not up to it. Suffice to say...I miss her.

Anyway, Betty and I spent the days immediately following Carlisa's death planning meals and coordinating the delivery of food to Ralph's house. I am "known" for my homemade brownies and I cannot remember now how many pans of those I made. I just remember people standing in line waiting for Betty to cut the brownies, and she somehow contrived to get chocolate frosting on her boob (white sweater) in the process.

Throughout all this "forced" togetherness, Betty and I discovered that we had fun together, so we started going shopping and to movies and eating out and such. Her husband, Paul, had an inoperable, benign brain tumor that caused seizures. He also had a spinal injury as a result of a bad fall that occurred during a seizure, so he needed a wheelchair to get around. Sometimes Paul would go out to dinner with us, or I would visit at their house...Paul was a real charmer. He passed away in April 2000.

Betty loves to travel, so she's hard to track down these days now that she has retired. She loves her kids, her grandkids and now her...three or four...great-grandkids. We like to eat a little and laugh a lot because...like most people...we have endured our share of hardships. It's the laughter, the camaraderie and the...friendships... that help make this thing that happens to us called -- LIFE -- a tiny bit more bearable.

This is Betty with Logan...just a few hours old. Now tell me, does this sweet, old, gray-haired great-granny look like the sort who would pilfer a menu from Clint Eastwood's restaurant and then skedaddle out the door? Well, she did.

Four generations: Betty, her daughter...Crystal, Crystal's son...Matthew, and Matthew's brand new baby boy...Logan Paul.

Ask, And It Shall Be Given You

I'm quite certain the Apostle Matthew did not have this in mind when he penned this scripture, but it works for me.

All I can say is...thank you, thank you, wonderful...beautiful... gracious Eliza. You don't know me from...well...Adam and yet you took the time to prepare this marvelous photo -- and the other two on your own blog -- because I asked you to. Hopefully, some day, I'll be able to honor a request from you.

I cannot thank you enough, so I'll just stop now and enjoy the view.

Generously provided by the very talented Eliza of "The Velocity of Vincent" blog and website.

Going...Going...GONE!!

For a whopping $660.00 on eBay...Bobby's Blue Shirt!

Holy Cow!

'Twas not I. Way too rich for my blood. I didn't even enter a bid on this one. Congrats to the lucky new owner. Enjoy!

Little Known Reindeer Facts

Remember this at Christmas Time.

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter...usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer -- EVERY single one of them -- from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should've known...ONLY women would be able to drag a fat-ass man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and NOT get lost.

Ho...Ho...Ho


Here is Santa, checking his list...making sure he remembers to bring Detective Bobby to his ever-lovin' "BobbyG" in Cincinnati this Christmas Eve.

Photos found on Google.

Eliza...I Have A Request

Eliza...oh wonderfully talented and gifted one...I have a favor to ask of you. One of the girls at the office sent me the following picture in an email, and I was just wondering if, assuming you see this humble plea, you might -- oh, I don't know -- be able to work your magic and make all us Vincent Vixens a similar greeting from our Darling Detective Bobby?

If you can grant me this small boon, it would make me the happiest of women. If not, that's okay, too. I had to ask.

Well, I'm Not Fired...Yet - Part I

The last couple of days have been…well…stressful, to say the least. I have a bunch of other adjectives and expletives I could include, but – suffice to say – I had a really bad day. Well, two bad days.

It began Monday afternoon when, Sandy, my loan packager, took umbrage at an email I sent to my staff. Here's the situation, it is time for me to prepare staff evaluations for their annual review and salary bump. I sent an email to all three back in mid-October asking them to submit anything they wanted me to include in their evaluations – above and beyond what I already track throughout the year. Casey stopped by my office and said she had some stuff and would get it to me…she never did. Kelly stopped by my office and said she was working on a report and would get it to me…she never did. Sandy…well…Sandy completely ignored my email. (That has been a nagging bone of contention of late with her.)

So, it is now mid-December. I don’t have that much time until the end of the year and Christmas vacation thrown in to boot, so Monday, I decided that “nice” had not worked, so I would try “sarcasm.” And let me just say, I did not state anything in the email that I would not say to them in person. Anyway, Casey responded with a witty email. Kelly responded with an amusing email. Sandy completely ignored my email…or so I thought.

Turns out, she lodged a complaint “of sorts” with our HR guy, then she sent me this vitriolic email filled with a litany of unfounded accusations. I can’t recall them all because I only read it once…that was all I could stomach. Basically, she told me how unprofessional I was, that I was constantly in a bad mood, and she felt like she had to walk on egg shells around me all the time and it had to stop. She said my email was “threatening” her livelihood…blah…blah…blah. Gotta tell ya…I was more than a wee bit stunned ‘cuz I wasn’t sure what email she had read, but it sure wasn’t the one I had written.

Anyway, I digested her rancorous comments then buzzed her through the intercom and asked her if she would join me in my office. Obviously, she had a bunch of stuff she needed to get off her chest. I’m very open with my staff…always have been. I’m dealing with three strong personalities…five if you count mine. It is a small office and it is only natural that disagreements will arise from time to time. Obviously, this wound had been festering for some time.

Actually, I had felt for a while now that things were not the “same” with Sandy. She used to come in my office and plop down in a chair and chat about her kids and grandkids, her husband, TV shows we both watched. But she had not done that for several weeks. She had become withdrawn…not as open…not as friendly. She did her job and conversed with me when she had to, but that was about it. She was almost back to her “old self” around the time of the audit, but then she clammed up again last week.

So, having said that, Sandy came into my office…loaded for bear…as my daddy would say. Well, no he didn’t, but somebody once did. Basically, she reaffirmed what she had said in her email to me. She told me if I didn’t believe it to ask “anyone” else in the office because everybody felt the same way. Truthfully, I don’t remember all that was said because I was so bewildered by the venom that was being spewed at me. Now, I’m not perfect…far from it…but neither am I the horrible person she professed me to be during her diatribe. Basically, I told her that…if she truly felt the way she did…she needed to find another job. I told her I didn’t want her to, but – ya know – I yam what I yam, and she has always managed to get along with me before. In fact, she has told me on numerous occasions that I was a great boss, that if I ever left the agency I’d better have a spot for her because she was coming with me. Her high opinion of me had obviously changed.

Sandy went back to work. I went back to work. Then Sandy and Kelly took a smoke break and all hell broke loose. I was walking down the hallway toward my office when Kelly hissed at me that, “Sandy’s quitting,” and she pointed toward Sandy’s cubicle where Sandy was hastily cramming some of her personal things into a box. My reaction? Well, I pretty much said, “That is Sandy’s choice.” I figured I’d better go give Dave the low-down and while I was in his office, Sandy stormed out of the building. She didn’t say a word to anybody…not “I quit” or “I’m outta here” or “have an apple.” (Anybody watch "White Christmas" yet?) She just walked out. No one knew if she resigned or just needed time and space to cool off.

Uh…hello…unprofessional!!

Obviously, the remainder of the day was…um…interesting. There were meetings and speculations and conjectures...oh my. Of course, every time someone walked past my office and looked in, I felt like they were thinking, “What the hell did she do to Sandy?” Let me tell you just how awful a boss I am. After the SBA Audit a couple of weeks ago, I went to Dave and told him I wanted to do something for my staff for pitching in the way they did to help me get the files ready and resolve issues the audit team found in the files, etc. He told me to make a recommendation, so I prepared a Memo in which I requested a “spot bonus” of $250 for each of them. I asked if they could “gross up” that amount so they would actually realize $250. Dave approved it.

Kelly, God love her, told Sandy what a fool she was for walking out. Kelly talked to Sandy last night and told her, “Girl, you’re late all the time, and she lets it slide. You leave early lots of times to deal with your family, and she never says anything. She just gave you a BONUS.” Sandy conceded that even though I was not a complete ogre, I was still too much of a shrew to work for anymore.

The crux of the matter…Sandy doesn’t like Casey. Casey has a big booming voice and a raucous laugh. She can be loud, okay? So can I. Under any given situation, on any given day, so can the rest of the employees. Sandy came to me a few months back and told me I had to do something about Casey, that I had to tell her to shut up because she was driving her crazy. I am the first to admit that, when Casey first came to work at HCDC, her laugh did get on my nerves, but I learned to tune it out. Others have noticed…you can’t help but notice…but how do you tell someone to stop being who they are? It’s not like she’s that way all the time, but she does have her moments and it is more pronounced when she is nervous.

I suggested since Sandy was the one with the problem, she should – tactfully – ask Casey to lower her voice the next time she found it offensive. The result? Sandy pouted at me for the next month or so. “How old is she?” you might very well ask. Fifty-two or three. She talked to me only if I asked her a specific question about work, and then she answered in short, abrupt sentences. If I passed her in the hall and said “hello” or something on that order, she ignored me. Okay, and I’m the unprofessional one. Forget unprofessional, how about being just plain ol’ courteous.

Well, the day dragged on. Different ones stopped in to ask me if I was okay. My former boss and “mentor,” Patrick, sent me an email saying he had heard about what happened and was there for me if I needed to talk. I held it together for most of the day until around 4:00p.m. when Paula – at the front desk – buzzed me and told me I needed to come out front because I had a delivery. As I’m walking – warily, mind you – down the hallway, I asked if Sandy had sent a “hit man” to get me. (Hey, I watch LOCI. I know that crap happens to poor schmucks just like me.)

Paula just laughed and said, “No, it’s from Christina.” Now, Christina is a young woman who I’ve sort of taken under my wing. She is a single mom, who works in the Reds ticket office. I’ll save the story of how our friendship evolved for another time, but basically, she makes sure I get good seats when I want to go to a game, and I am appreciative and take care of her… in my way. She calls me her “Guardian Angel.”

Christina is nowhere to be seen, however. She just dropped the gifts off and left. She knew I would take her to task for spending her money on me. Anyway, there was a nice gift basket with a candle and a mug and candy and some Christmas stuff. Then there was this big shopping bag from – of all places – “Victoria’s Secret.” Now, I gotta tell ya that it is no secret that there is nothing that Victoria sells that will fit my big ol’ body. Well, maybe the Santa hat the scantily clad young vixens who were depicted on the shopping bag were wearing. Gotta tell ya, I was more than a little intrigued.

So, I go back to my office and open up this big pink box to find a large cosmetic bag filled with lotions and potions and notions and such. The clincher: the metal designer tag on the front of the bag said, “Angel.” And that is when I lost it…and started to cry...just a little. Mike happened into my office at that moment and asked if I was okay, and I said, “It’s nice to know that not everyone thinks I’m a bitch.”

There is so much more to this “yarn,” but methinks I’ll save Part II for tomorrow.

Let me close this installment by saying, if ever...oh ever...there was a gal in need of a hug from her big ol’ cuddly-wuddly Detective Bobby, ‘twas me last night. Who am I kidding? I need a hug from him every night.

Just Shoot Me

After two and a half weeks of non-stop work and putting in lots of overtime, I finally got to come home at the normal time tonight. I should be elated or...at the very least...happy. Instead, I'm miserable.

You see, last Friday I went home for the weekend. My family sets aside the second Saturday in December to have our Christmas get-together, so this has been on the calendar since last year's family gathering. I could have enjoyed it much more had I not just come off of two incredibly busy weeks at work. Oh, well. Such is life.

So, I checked into the hotel Friday evening and as I was making my way back to my car, my left knee literally "folded" under me. Luckily, I was near the car, so I grabbed onto it to keep from going down onto the pavement. The long and the short of it is...I'm back to walking like a peg-legged pirate. Where is Captain Jack Sparrow when you need him, I ask you? The knee will bend when I sit or am in bed. I can even fold it underneath me when I sit on the couch. It refuses to bend, however, when I walk.

Then, Monday evening I started to notice my throat hurt when I swallowed. That turned into chills and...ahem...numerous bathroom breaks. And all that has evolved into a nasty head cold. I can barely breathe, my eyes are watery, my nose is drippy, and oh joy of joys...the coughing has started. To add insult to injury, I sound like a big ol' bullfrog when I talk. Kelly has had great fun with that.

In fact, I told Kelly there was only ONE thing that could possibly make me feel better. You guessed it. Well, part of it, I bet. I told Kelly the only thing that could make me feel better would be if Bobby showed up to rub a big glob of Vicks VapoRub on my chest. Now there’s a mental image for ya. I’d like to say just the thought makes me feel better, but it doesn’t. It does, however, make me smile.

He could look something like this...

Or this...

Or perhaps this...

Or even this...

Heck, I don't care what he looks like...just show up...big guy. Val, I'm pretty sure I snagged these from you somewhere along the way, so many, many thanks.

Black T-Shirt of Hotness

Okay, first...I apologize if I "outbid" any Vincent Vixen for the following item, but I just "had to have" a BTOH for my very own. I plan on sleeping with it tonight...well...many nights to come. In lieu of the "real thing," a girl will do what she has to do to get by...ya know?

Take heart, there is another BTOH listed on eBay right now. The seller states it is the last one they have and the bid at the moment is $175. This one...like the one I bought...states the shirt is from VDO's very own "working wardrobe." The one I have is a size 2XL-Tall. The name "Goren" is printed in blue ink on the label with a number 2 circled beside his name.

That's all I've got to report except to say that I believe I may have bought myself one really expensive pillowcase. 'Tis an early Christmas present and my "reward" for surviving the SBA Audit.

"Untethered" Unleashed

Watched it...spent two hours capping it and another forty-five minutes uploading photos to Blogger. I am presently watching it again on the USA repeat. I won't divulge any of the storyline for anyone who may not have seen the episode yet. Only going to say...for me...this is the best work I've seen from VDO on LOCI, and he is always GREAT!!! Lots of "stuff" going on in this epi. Stuff that they can carry forward into future episodes...if the writers ever end their strike. Bet the message boards are humming about this one.

It's 2:00a.m. and I'm going to bed. Enjoy!