Extraordinary

Okay, I suck. I suck! I’ve been so busy, though… writing was most definitely on my mind, it just never happened.

Anyway.

THANK YOU ALL for ALL of your thoughts/ideas on the car situation (special thanks to Jess for having her mechanic husband comment). Dave and I brought the car in to a VW dealership on Saturday. What I told them was quite minimal: they knew that I was there for a second opinion as to what was apparently going on with my car. They knew that the issue had to do with my brakes and with my steering… that was about it.

They confirmed everything that the other place had said:  the left back caliper had completely seized, causing everything to get worn down and effed up and ruined on that side. It was also really rusty-looking. They showed it to Dave and I. They also said that the tie rods were dangerously loose and that the car was not safe to drive. They shook the right front tire to show us the ‘play’… all-in-all I feel confident that I was not being lied to after all.

Dave was a little upset… he was so sure that the second opinion was going to save me a lot of money. Even though it saved me nothing in terms of money, it has saved me a lot of anger and worry and uncertain feelings over the place that gave me the initial quote. So, I was thankful that he pushed for it.

I got a call yesterday from the insurance adjuster… my car will not be ready until this Tuesday, December 14th. Thankfully my insurance is covering my rental.

Okay okay okay okay I have to make an announcement:

I FEEL LIKE I’VE WON THE JOB LOTTERY. SERIOUSLY:

1. I came to work on Monday and the first thing that I found in my e-mail account was an e-mail from the head of our division. He explained that he wanted to thank everybody in our office for all of our hard work… blah blah… and then said that he wanted to reward our hard work with a $100 gift card to either Gap, Zappos.com, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Home Depot, or Barnes and Noble. So, I scored a $100 gift card to Zappos. I’m going to use it toward a new pair of boots.

2. Tuesday I received an e-mail from the director of our department. She extended an invitation to our department for a free lunch at Benihana. We all went today… instead of our usual hour lunch we took two hours. I had filet mignon and scallops. The quality of the food at Benihana isn’t great, but I definitely enjoyed myself… and food is always better when I’m not paying.

3. Next week is employee appreciation week. The list of festivities are as follows: 

• Monday: We receive a special gift upon arrival to work (my supervisor explained that the gifts are always gift cards), and will have a catered breakfast.
• Tuesday: Another special gift upon arrival and at 3:45 a HAPPY HOUR and a MOVIE will be hosted AT WORK. If we’re too busy for the movie, then we have been told we can take our cocktails, beer, or wine to our desk.
• Wednesday: Another special gift and lunch will be catered.
• Thursday: Another special gift and there will be an ice cream social in the afternoon.
• Friday: ANOTHER gift and we get out of work at 3. At 5 we have our holiday party (Casino Royale theme), which is being hosted at a really, really awesome restaurant in NE Minneapolis. We each get three free drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Instead of winning money while playing games we will win tickets and the tickets will be used at the end of the party to draw prizes.

And don’t even get me started about the benefits that I’ve scored. I mean, I cannot wrap my mind around how The Hartford could suck so exponentially in comparison to Omnicom when it comes to benefits… let alone everything else. I am just in awe. I want to work here forever!

Alright, I’m done gushing. I have pictures that I’ve taken over the last couple of days, but they all suck. I won’t waste your time. This weekend will be better, I promise- I have a lot of plans that will make for great photo opportunities.