Today

Today I was out working offsite. I was asked to represent work on a job fair at Wichita State University. It was busier today than it was yesterday though.
We opened yesterday afternoon and I was there with our HR manager. And I am doing this as part of the Management Training Program I am in. They rotate us "like interns" on different departments to take a good look at how the backbone of our company is set up and how it functions. So, now I am an "HR Intern" so to speak. I started Monday.

Anyway, so there I was yesterday with our HR Manager, recruiting in a way but not really. We are not currently hiring however, we have agreed to keep the name of our company in the society we attend community activities such as a job fair.

Commerce Bank was there across from our booth, Carmax who has a new building opening in town, was also there. Well, there was exactly 53 employers at the fair so I'm not gonna start recalling each company name that was present.

It was fun, met a lot of people, lots of smiling, made my jaw hurt.
Today, I was with a co-management trainee. We also went around the different booths to take free give aways which I think was the most fun part. Here are some of the free fun stuff we got.

Target Dog with a backpack for cellphones

US Navy Pen

US Army Reserve Cap

Mini Handcuffs from Sedgwick County JuvenileDetention Ctr.

After lunch, went back to work in the office and just sat there for nothing.
The sales floor was really busy because Hurricane Rita was predicted to hit Galveston, Texas and one of our ships was scheduled to arrive to dock there on Sunday and leave the same day for another 7-night Western Carbbean Cruise.
Oh boy! What a year this has been for hurricane and the season is not even done yet. We still have a couple of months more to go before we can truly say, it's over.

Oh and before I forget, the other day, I had a chance to talk to my friend. The last time I saw him was three years ago and that was the last time I spoke to him too. He has been my friend since I was 14! Dang! Go do the math 'cause I won't talk about my age here! Anyways, I just think it is so cool to have long-term friends.

It is only Wednesday. I can't wait for Friday! I am going to an unemployment hearing. I think that is something to look forward to. Hmmm

And you bet, I am going to post me experience here.

Work

I went to work today just like I have been doing for the most part of my life now. Yeah, I consider going to school as going to work too, so let it be.
Anyway, so I went to work, got there and did the usual routine, then attended a meeting/briefing that lasted six interesting hours then I went back to my desk.

This afternoon they set up a TV close to my desk and played a video on one of our newest ships that will have its maiden voyage in May 2006. It is amazing how you can work for a company as a part of the management team but end up being the last to know about the new products out there.

And here is what I missed out. The video they were playing at work was on one of the new highlights on our newest ship. This ship will soon to be the biggest in the world and they are putting up a surfing onboard!!! How crazy is that? I kinda got used to having the rock climbing and the ice skating and having the Cirque on some of our ships, but I think the surfing kinda blew me off but in a good way though. I can't imagine but won't question if they can think of something new as we add more ships to our fleet.

I don't mean to advertise, but I do want to share to you all our company website. And with this new product, I really believe it is worth advertising too. And make sure you have the speakers on....

WWW.ROYALCARIBBEAN.COM

click on Freedom of the Seas - that is the newest ship we have on our fleet...

Have fun!

Geranium...In Loving Memory

One of my friends passed away less than two weeks ago. She died of a heart attack. She will be 24 next month. She was a friend not a mere acquaintance. She & I used to work together & she considered me her "mommy". I never really had a chance to ask why she called me such but she was not the only person doing it, so I did not bother to ask. I think I know why.

I do not consider a person a friend until we get into an argument or a misunderstanding. For me that is a time when you can tell if your friend will listen to your reasons. Not necessarily agree with you but will listen. I never expected her to agree with me but I guess she listened.

Well, gone were those days. They are now what I call: memories.

The news about her death was a shock to me. It was a Sunday when I learned about it. I read an email from Myles and read that line five times then I screamed. Joe was on the phone with his friend in Atlanta at that time and I just yelled at him " I need to use the phone". Without hesitation, he handed the phone to me and asked me if I was ok. "My friend died". I called Myles and told her I received her email. She apologized and narrated to me what happened. "Oh my God", that is all I heard myself say. "Iyah", she was so young and full of life. She can light the room up with the way she greets everybody. She was not perfect and I'm not saying that she was. There are things that I don't like about her and she knew most of it. But that is not what matters now.

What matters is that when I get the chance to go back home, I will no longer see that smile. And yeah she has dimples and you won't miss it, she flaunts it everytime a picture is taken of her. I will miss her. I truly will.

I have recovered from the loss. Well, it was not a loss for her, but it is for me. She was too young to experience the harshness of life. She was too young to even feel the real deal of being heartbroken. Single, 23, no kids...

She is in a better place, a safer place.

Oh, why Geranium? Because this girl likes everything purple. I will miss you!

Words that bother me

I remember watching an episode of 60 minutes with Andy Rooney talking about the words and/or phrases that bother him. This episode is one of my favorites and it may be wrong to copy and paste it from CBS News website, but who cares. I am not as good as he is and I like the words that he used. So here it goes.

I know it’s annoying when someone who knows a little about something and keeps talking about it. But, I do that. I know something about the English language because I use it so much and I like to display my knowledge by being critical of other people. I’ve been bothered by news broadcasts recently that use the word "troop" for soldier. They say nine American troops were injured. Well, my question is this: "How many soldiers were in each of those nine troops that were injured?" A troop isn’t a soldier. It's a group of soldiers. I made a list of some words and phrases that bother me: Unbelievable. Everything is "unbelievable these days." Very. We use too many "verys." I do that myself when I’m writing. Incredible is overused. Exactly. People like to say "exactly" when they agree with someone. When we agree, we don’t just nod, we say, "You're absolutely right." "Quite frankly" is big with people who aren’t being frank. "To be perfectly honest with you." People say, "I’m not trying to be funny." And then they try to be funny. Or "I want to say just one thing," and they say three things. There are annoying phrases that interviewers use too often on television: "Tell us just a little about..." "Tell us briefly..." "What is your reaction to..." and "How do you respond to..." Just ask the question, for goodness sake. English isn’t easy. I called my doctor the other day and I was thinking how complex a simple word like "practice" is. We use "practice" to describe what doctors do when they’re working, but then we use "practice" for what piano players or football players do when they aren’t working. I mean, there are a lot of words that annoy me. I just used one I use too often myself. I keep saying "I mean." I was on with Larry King and my son pointed out that I said "I mean" about 50 times. My granddaughter drives me crazy with the word "like." It's, like, you know, like an obsession with her. She thinks it’s, like, cool, man. People use phrases just to hear themselves talk, too: "At this point in time..." "In and of itself." "That's what it’s all about." “First and foremost.” First and foremost is redundant. People like to think they sound smart saying "Quote, unquote." Well, I hope I’ve straightened everyone out with this comment. I mean, like, you know. I thought it was really fantastic, I mean, like awesome.

First Entry

This is my first entry. I think this is really cool that things like this are now available online for free. Yeah that's the word "free". I just wish I have the dedication and time to go on with this.

I chose the picture on the right (beach tree) because whenever I look at it, it makes me feel like I took the picture. Laying down on a blanket of green grass looking up to the sky through a web of leaves.