About Me

Victoria E. (198?- Present) is a harried, over-worked IT Professional from the wonderful Gulf Coast of Florida, by way of South GA.  When she isn't catching a plane, being harassed by TSA Agents, or praying to all the gods for her safety while in a NYC taxi, she can usually be found dying a slow death at a client site or at home ignoring the fact that her lawn is threatening to revert back to its natural state. She enjoys cooking (necessitating the gym), knitting (no cats), watching TV, traveling, and sleeping.

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This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of others, excluding guest comments. All comments are monitored and abusive ones will be rejected.

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Random information about me:

1. I am an only child.  20 minutes in my presence will quickly remind you of this.
2. I'm a Leo.  Nuff said.
3. My co-workers think I'm bubbly, sweet, and will talk to anyone.
4. My friends know that I'm sarcastic, extremely blunt, and pretty anti-social.  They love me anyway.
5. If you don't want to know the truth, don't ask me.
6. I rarely lie about anything.  I can't keep the story straight in my head.  I forget the details of the lie.
7. I like my job.  I know, rare
8. I hated my alma mater until I started working for them.  My alma mater was not my dream schools...didn't even make the list.
9. I still want to get my Ph.D or an MBA.
10. I knit.  I don't have cats.
11. I have enough yarn to not buy yarn for a year and still knit continuously.
12. I still buy yarn and knitting books all the time.
13. I have a line item in my budget for "Entertainment" but that really means "Yarn"
14. I want to learn to quilt.
15. I like any hobby that is focused on homemaking.
16. I want to be a stay-at-home wife/mother.
17. I don't like children.  I didn't like children when I was a child.  I think I might like to have a child though.
18. Nothing will ruin my day faster than a crying child on an airplane.  I try to be compassionate, but that ruins my 3 hour nap!
19. I read anywhere from 200-300 books a year.
20. I am a speed reader.  I can polish off a 300 page novel in about 2-3 hours.
21. I finished the last Harry Potter book in 5.5 hours.  I remember this because I got the book at midnight and finished before the sun came up.
22. I tend to avoid reading books that generate a lot of hype because I develop unrealistic expectations of them, which they can rarely meet.
23. Working for my alma mater was the most stressful job I ever had.
24. I stopped drinking when I moved to Florida.  Away from the insanity of my former life, I didn't need the liquor anymore.
25. I was never a drunk or an alcoholic.
26. I never understood addiction until I got addicted to computer games, especially the Sims . . . it was like playing God.
27. I have been clinically depressed before.
28. I truly believe that if you would never tell a cancer patient "It's just cancer!  Get over it", don't dare say that to someone in the grips of depression.
29. I love living in Florida b/c there's no state income tax and the weather is great.
30. I hate living in Florida b/c of hurricanes and the 5 hour ride to go see my family.
31. I hate Atlanta.  There, I said it.  I never want to move there.
32. I don't like to shop.  Ever.  Hate it.
33. I am world's worst impulsive shopper. Sometimes I mull over future purchases for weeks... months, but then I'll buy it when the mood strikes me.
34. I prefer to shop over the internet, if I absolutely have to.
35. My mother loves to shop and has excellent taste.  Consequently, my mother is my personal shopper.
36. My best friend and I have been friends for almost 15 years.  For me, that's an eternity.
37. I'm egotistical and I know it.
38. I'm usually right.  Not my fault, but 99 out of 100, I'm right.
39. I work for a technology company and do not have a single degree in technology.  However, I know more Oracle SQL than the majority of my teammates.
40. My work spouse calls me "Walking Wikipedia".  I asked him to rephrase that to "Walking Encyclopaedia Britannica".
41. I have a work spouse.  I don't not have a legal spouse.  I would like to change this situation.
42. I have a degree in Political Science and a master's in Public Administration.
43. I got a job offer from the government after I graduated college.  However, I was not working for GW Bush under any circumstances.  I didn't want to go to jail.
44. I'm a registered Independent.
45. I voted for Barack Obama.  I will vote for Charlie Crist in 2010.
46. I believe in platform, beliefs (non-religious) and results, not party.
47. I believe the most trusted man is news journalism today is Jon Stewart, which is a shame, since he's preceded by South Park.
48. I think Stephen Colbert is hysterical.
49. I love any comedian that points out political hypocrisy.
50. I love to cook.
51. I hate to clean.
52. I hate the gym more than I hate to clean.
53. I am a traveling consultant.  No one close to me knows what the hell that means.
54. I love expense reporting.  I hate doing my weekly status report
55. Right now I'm flying back and forth to New York every week.  By the time this project is over, I will have spent ~18 months in NYC.
56. I love NYC.  It's the only place I can walk 40 blocks (in Manhattan) and not feel a thing.
57. New York does sleep.  Times Square doesn't and TS is only about 4 square block of the entire island.
58. I hate TSA.  Not the individuals personally, but the entire idea that I have to take off my shoes in order to get on a plane.
59. TSA has (so far) tossed my toothpaste and my lotion.  I can't stand Tampa TSA individuals.
60. I wish I had not bought a house.  I'll probably be grateful I did in about 5 years.
61. I started shaving years off my birthday 2 years ago.
62. I want to skydive and para glide at least once.
63. White Water Rafting was probably the most fun I ever had.  I want to do that again.
64. I spent a semester in Canada while in college.  I want to go skiing again.
65. I've been to China.  I don't really want to go back.  It was a good trip, though.
66. I'm excellent with accents.  I can understand 95% of the people I meet and I can usually tell where they are from.  This talent is a godsend in NYC.  When my co-workers can't understand someone, they ask me to come listen.
67. I can accurately mimic most accents.
68. No one can figure out where I'm from unless I put some extra "drawl" on my speech.
69. I hate movie adaptations that leave out important information from the books.
70. I think the Harry Potter movies (except for Half-Blood Prince) are some of the best adaptations I've seen.
71. I'm spiritual.  No religious affiliation whatsoever and I don't believe in organized religion.  This does not go over well in South GA, where people want to know what church you attend in the first 5 minutes.
72. I used to lie and name my parent's church.  However, I did that once, in a church, when a friend was being ordained, and the pastor of my parent's church overheard me and smiled.  I haven't been able to look at him since.
73. I can't stand proselytizers.  I'm glad you got the good news you wanted to hear.  However, that's not my channel.
74. Because of my job, I have learned to fall asleep anywhere.  This is a source of amusement to my coworkers.
75. I cannot sleep at night.  I rarely get more than 4.5 hours at night and I've tried everything, including sleeping pills.
76. My favorite fruit is cherries.  During Cherry season I eat so many, my teeth end up red.
77. I've largely stopped eating chicken.  I grew up near a poultry processing plant and, believe me, if you knew what chickens went through, you'd given them up too.
78. I thought about becoming a vegetarian, but I love pork too much.  Not just bacon. . . Boston butt, sausage, pork loin, pork chops, ham. . .you name it, the pig and I are friends.
79. I like Whole Foods ("Whole Paycheck").  I love going in there for veggies and fruit.  I started eating bananas again b/c I could get the organic ones from Whole Foods.
80. Whole Foods and Ikea are two of the biggest reasons I will never move back to my hometown.
81. My hometown is still the most racist environment I've even been in.  You can feel the hatred settling on your shoulders the moment you hit the county line. The town is so divided they can't attract business there.
82. A friend once told me that I look at the world as if I've never seen it before. I thought, that's a nice compliment... Wait! I never have seen it before! What -- did everyone else get a preview?
83. I am extremely nearsighted (20/800 and 20/1000).
84.  I am a pack rat, but I can usually remember where I've put stuff.  My wallet and my keys are notable exceptions.
85. I've never had a birthday party.  My birthday always occurred during the first week of school, so either no one knew me or the teacher wouldn't allow it.
86. I learned to drive on a standard.  My next auto will either be a truck or another standard.  A standard truck is the goal.
87. I can't stand hip hop, R&B, or rap anymore.
88. My car is preset to the local NPR station.
89. I didn't go to Disney until I was 25.  I still don't get the point.
90. I want to learn to play the piano and speak Mandarin, French, and Arabic.
91. I prefer the toilet paper to roll off the top
92. If I could live in a world where people didn't judge ("You're wasting your mind"), I'd work construction. I want to build walls, run electricity, configure plumbing, and install crown molding.  As a matter of fact, I need to do all of that at my house right now.
93. I have 2 chairs at my house that I need to recover and I've had them for almost 18 months and I still haven't finished the project.
94. I come from an extremely small family.  My mother is the youngest and my father is an only.
95. When I'm embarrassed, I feel my face turn hot, but it doesn't change color.  My ears, however, will turn bright red or purple.
96. I have an excellent sense of direction, distance, and time.
97. I'm really good at reading maps.
98. I am often the navigator in the car.  If I don't fall asleep.
99. I don't keep in touch with anyone.  If you hear from me once a year, take it as a sign that I still love you.
100. It took entirely too much effort (and at least 2 hours) to come up with 100 random facts.