An Ode to Dinner Club

Disclaimer:
This is absolutely sappy and bordering on embarrassing. Please proceed at your own risk.

I wanted to take a moment to write about a group of friends that I have managed to develop a mad crush on since May of 2011.
Little did I know that when I moved into Human Resources that I would meet four women that would absolutely change my life. When I was first brought over to HR, I felt as though I had to hunker down, make no friends, and take no prisoners. Slightly dramatic? Possibly. The truth? Totally.

Throughout my first few months, I was informed by Callie who was "cool". I realize that sounds like middle school, but if you don't work for a large corporation, you may not know that there are a few moles within any organization (What is that you say? Did Sarah just reference a reality television show from 2001? Why yes...yes I did).

Every day I would be chained to my desk while these angels would stop by to see what I was up to (the answer would never change from "work"). They brought sunlight to even the gloomiest of situations. Even though three of the five of us had moved onto another organization, we have still managed to see each other on a monthly basis.

We have had theme nights, we have gone on vacation, had a zillion laughs to the point of throwing up (yeah, that has happened), a few tears (because what are friends if you can't cry with them) and we have had many (many) bottles of wine.

Dinner Club at Vivace

Courtney, Callie, Sarah, me, and Colleen

I can't tell you how thankful I am for these women. These beautiful, insane, life-long friends that I never knew were coming into my life until God tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Hey, guess what gift I have for you..."

My one political statement of the year.

I'm not into talking about politics. No. Seriously, I'm not.

I am a firm believer in the fact that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and while I'm working on myself, I have no right to work on your self (I'm not sure if that is grammatically correct, but I like the way it sounds).

This whole Chick-Fil-A thing has me irked, though. I think this ecard has put it best...

Okay, I hear your argument. If you're for gay marriage, you don't want someone that serves you waffle fries to tell you that you're wrong.

But let's think about this...
If that is a your argument, you should probably move out of your state if they don't recognize your beliefs and you should probably not patronize companies that give money to the political party that is opposed to your political party. Also, if you are banking customer, you're pretty much screwed because many banks give money to BOTH political parties. (AHHH! What do you do in THAT situation?!?!)

My point:
Eat your chicken and waffle fries, because they are delicious.
Shop at JCPenney and watch Ellen, because JCP has fair and square deals (is that their motto now?) and Ellen is hysterical.
I'll work on me and you work on you...and please don't tell me what I "should" or "should not" do based on your beliefs.

Check out my discovery!

I have been known to not pay attention to the plot of a TV show or movie because I'm trying to figure out who the artist is that is singing the song in the background.

Wait...can I just take a moment to say that Shazam is the greatest app of all time and absolutely worth having an iPhone for?? Okay. Thanks - I just had to get that off my chest.

So, yeah...I have been known to hear a song and get fixated on it. It actually happened twice today...once during Shallow Hal (don't judge me...I was too lazy to change the channel after The Soup). It sounded like a Hootie and the Blowfish song that I didn't even know existed. Turns out it was Darius Rucker singing This Is My World (so, yes, it was pretty much Hootie singing a song that I didn't know existed).

The second time was while I was half-watching the Olympic gymnastics coverage. They played this song during a gymnastics montage and I thought, "I think I've just discovered a new favorite artist! Who is this guy?! Man...I can't wait to introduce him to people...!!"

I hit Shazam and this is what it gave me...


Soooooooooooo yeaaaahhhh...my "big discovery" was the freaking American Idol winner that I had never actually heard before.

Nice find, Sarah...nice find...

It doesn't matter who you are...

I love the fact that these celebrities can take the crap that is said about them with a grain of salt. Well, except for Kristen Stewart. That girl is a slutbag. Who cheats on Robert Pattinson? <--(See what I did there? I was as ridiculous as every other person that made fun of someone that they didn't actually know in real life)

Humor Fail.

So about a month and a half ago I received an email from a coworker of mine asking these questions:

1.      Where are you from?

2.      Tells us about your family (e.g. married, engaged, children)

3.      How long have you been working here?

4.      What hobbies, sports, or other leisure time activities do you enjoy most?

5.      What do you want to be doing ten years from now?

6.      What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

The intention was for her to put together a "getting to know you" directory for our entire team.

Naturally, I couldn't give straightforward/boring answers to these questions, so I responded with...

1. From St. Louis, MO. Well, a farm town outside of St. Louis, MO…
2. Single with no kids, sooo…you can either view me as a “spinster” or a “free spirit”. I’m fine with either.
3. I started in Home Loans in December 2010 and moved over to Staffing in May 2011.
4. The other day I went to see a friend of mine play softball. There was a foul ball and I ran after it. When a guy on his team asked me to throw the ball over the fence to him, I tried…and didn’t even clear the fence. He laughed and said, “I guess that’s why you’re watching and not playing?” So, to answer your question – not a soul on the planet would consider me “sporty”. I do enjoy reading, though!
5. I hope I’m just as happy as I am now. I generally don’t like the dreams for myself to be dependent on another human being, but whatever happens – I hope I’m happy.
6. “Don’t regret growing older, it is a privilege denied to many.” Appropriately, this was on a Snapple lid.  

So after I sent the answers, I completely forgot about it until the team call yesterday when a teammate with a very monotone voice shared this...

I know, I know - what I had written was entirely too long and it had to be whittled down to fit on a PowerPoint slide, but seriously!?!? I am pretty sure this is how politicians and celebrities feel when their words are taken out of context. I was honestly sitting there with wide eyes saying, "I said that crap!?! Seriously? 'A free spirit'? That doesn't sound like me at all!"

I want to scream into the phone, "MY WORDS HAVE BEEN TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT!!!"

My thoughts were confirmed when I got a few pings from teammates that said, "Wow, that doesn't sound like you at all!"

At least my friends at work know that I'm not a tree-hugging free spirit - unfortunately, my boss probably doesn't realize it.

It's Wednesday Already

Do you get seasick?
I sure hope not. I guess we'll find out in September.

If you discovered a new species of dinosaur what would you call it?
Dinosaur 2.0

Do you own a paddling pool?
I don't know what that is, so I'm going to go with "no".

What do you consider is the most important piece of furniture in a house?
Bed

What do you consider is the most important appliance in a house?
Refrigerator

Which Celebrity do you find the most annoying?
Hmmm...Jennifer Lopez makes me cringe.

Who was better, Flipper, Lassie or Skippy?
I'm not sure who Skippy is - so I'm going with Lassie

If someone's child was being an annoying little runt would you go tell them off or do something about it?
It absolutely depends on if I've been put in charge of them.

Do you believe in karma?
To a certain extent.

Do you believe in revenge?
Nah - life is too short.

Do you believe in fairies?
Nada.

Do you believe in a God?
Absolutely

What's the worst show on television?
About 95% of reality TV ties for last place.

My 5th Favorite Day of the Week

Have you ever been to an Art gallery?
I was actually thinking about this yesterday. After my family, friends, and Major League Baseball, the thing I miss about St. Louis is the number of free (or super cheap) activities to do - the Art Museum being one of them. I grew up thinking that every zoo, museum, and garden was free...apparently they are not.

Do you shout out the answers at the TV whilst watching quiz shows?
What is yes?

Are you a valuable asset on a Pub Quiz team?
I like to pretend that I am, but the last time I attended music trivia night, Chris and Margaux killed it.

Do you get over-involved with TV or movie plots at times?
I'm not 100% sure where the line is from "involved" to "over-involved". I feel like I get involved at an appropriate level.

Do you own any inflatable furniture?
Does an inflatable mattress count?

Do you have a piggy bank?
It's this adorable little thing called a "savings account". It's kind of like a virtual piggy bank.

Do you have popcorn with a movie?
Not very often. I guess if someone buys some and passes it down.

Have you ever built an igloo?
I can't say that I have.

Can you play the harmonica?
No.

Have you ever made a ball of twine or rubberbands?
Yes.

If given the option of having a flake in your ice cream do you always take it?
What is a flake? No - seriously, does anyone know what a flake is??