Hurricane Preparation

Well I wouldn't have thought I'd ever say I experienced an earthquake and a hurricane within a week of each other (especially in Virginia Beach, I mean really?) but by the end of this weekend I'll be able to.

Hurricane Irene is still headed our way and residents, just like when it randomly snows here, have lost their minds.  I ran a few errands to get ready (grabbed some cash, filled up my tank, and got some non-perishable food) nothing serious, but while I was out it clearly registered that Irene has made people crazy... or at the very least completely inconsiderate of others.  I don't care to elaborate because then I'd have to relive the most annoying parts to my day, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Back at the office, we were getting email after email with PDFs on hurricane preparedness and notes of things to do before the weekend and the office closes completely.  We were asked that if we sit near a window to put the blinds down and try to turn our screens or equipment toward the wall.  Easy enough.

Meet Leanne... well more like Leanne's desk (yes, someone sits there).  "Leanne" just started with the company a few weeks ago (her true identity is being protected) and took the hurricane emails from HR very seriously.  A few things you should know is that Leanne does NOT sit beside a window and obviously did more than turn her electronic equipment against the walls of her cube.  

Every picture or document pinned up in her cube has been taken down, the frames put in drawers, monitor turned around, her file cabinet was moved, and the top of her desk has been entirely cleared off.  As for me, I forgot to move my monitor and turn off my surge protector.  Whoops.

Photo Update as of 8:39am on 8/29:

Looks like Leanne's desk is basically back to normal.  However, my co-workers and I think she might be holding some things back  for fear of what this week could bring.  Its either that or she thought now was the time to avoid putting back up some of the newbie materials they post in your cube to help you get started and remember things.  

The Help

Yet again I've finished reading a novel WELL after the rest of the world has.  I like to use the excuse that before the Twilight series I was hardly reading so I have a lot of catching up to do, but the truth is I could have skipped older bestsellers and went straight for this summer's top reads...

Spoiler Alert: Just to warn you, I'm going to talk about the book with the assumption that you've read it; if that's not the case proceed with caution.

The Help was awesome, I read the majority of it in two days- I just couldn't put it down.  I didn't realize beforehand that the voices would rotate between three characters, but I really enjoyed that it did.  Their personalities were so distinct, as were their intentions behind writing the book and what the road had looked like leading up to that point for them.  

Skeeter and Minny were my favorites of the three and I don't even know if I could pick one over the other- they were so different.  I loved Skeeter's mother, her love for Constantine, and reading about her relationship with Stuart. (Confession: I do wish things had worked out for them.  I mean I know that it wouldn't have been fair for her to hide who she was just to be with him, but for what ever reason I really liked him for her after he apologized for their first date... you know the story)

Minny, well Minny's sassy, outspoken personality had me chuckling a few times.  I loved her relationship with Miss Celia... and subsequently Mr. Johnny too.  Oh, and not to mention the dynamic of her working for Miss Hilly's mother and how that all ended.  Too much.

I thought the ending seemed too quick; you spend so much time getting ready for the book release and then within like three chapters its published, read, gossiped about, and the end. We weren't left with any cliff hangers, I just always feel this way at the end of a book and movie.  Personally, I need more specific details about how things end for people in the long term. Like where did Skeeter take her caeer once in New York?  Did Minny have twins and how in love with them would Miss Celia be, if at all?  And what exactly did Aibileen do next?  This must be why I like sequels so much.  It's all making sense to me now.

I don't want to end with that if you haven't read The Help you should, because I'm hoping if you read the above you already have.

kitchen addition

After refinishing my first piece of furniture I enjoyed it so much that it immediately became a hobby.  I'm constantly searching on craigslist for a cheap piece with potential and find myself wishing more and more that we had a garage so I could actually buy and store the deals I come across.  The reality is though that we don't have a garage and the outdoor space we do have (albeit significantly larger than at our last place) isn't really conducive to storing random sized pieces of furniture just sitting in the que for a makeover.  Facing that truth has resulted in a slow progression of this hobby, but forward movement all the same.

The most recent remake is the below antique magazine rack that belonged to Jake's dad.  His mom was happy to provide me a free piece to take another stab at refinishing and seemed please to clear out some space in her house at the same time.  While I am wishing now I'd taken the time to snap a picture before,  I can only say that is was stained a medium brown and had little wear considering its age.  For that reason, sanding wasn't needed and I could go straight into painting!

I know it seems a bit weird to have a magazine rack in the kitchen, but Jake had the idea to put the recipe books in it the way we did, and once those were in place it seemed odd to put in any room other than the kitchen.  The wall that it's currently on is prime real estate in our kitchen and seemed appropriate since it got lost in the only other nook available.

If I could change on thing it would be the height of the table (I said "if"); it isn't unusually short but both here and in the other spot we tried, it didn't seem quite tall enough.  With that much space between the top of the basket (conveniently storing dish towels) and the bottom of the picture it seems to put emphasis on the gap between items, but the picture couldn't go any lower and the basket can't get any taller.  What I can say is thank goodness for the lime green, it helps it to pop against the wall and the colorful recipe books demand attention!