AquariusGuy

So lately I have been asked how old I am. I don't understand why it is frequently coming up and I am fine with my age. Really. So the issue has been people don't believe me when I tell them I am 32. When I joined the Y they didn't believe me and I had to show my license. I told them who would lie and make themselves 32 to be older? Maybe I would put myself in the 20's bracket but definitely not 30's, This has becoming increasingly annoying. So now when people ask I think I should lie and make myself younger.

Sorry about your internship. Have you ever considered the Federal parks and the Department of Interior? Maryland is also a hope skip and a jump from certain parts of Delaware too.

Mark I would go some where else if I had someone to go with me. I don't like taking vacations by myself. When I go back for the wedding I am thinking about staying in a hotel as it should be cheaper. Since it was a holiday weekend rates were through the roof and many DC area hotels were booked. Joann.... I need some me time but like I said above I need someone to go on trips with me. My friend and I always talk about it but he doesn't seem interested in going....

I finally took a vacation (if you call visiting family that). First real time off since moving here... yeah so 8 months in the making. My flight left early due to incoming severe storms and all 15 of us were there early. We loaded quickly and were in the air before the storm moved in. I guess its good that the Des Moines airport is so small and my flight to DC was really empty. I got to see old co-workers and friends. Hanging out was nice but they were an hour away and I have been used to things being so close, so it was hard to go out and do something. My family loves to create drama and I kind of felt like they didn't want me there. My niece (who is 5) was all over me the whole time. I did spend time with her and according to my mom, my niece bawled the whole way home after leaving me at Reagan Airport. It was good to get back to Des Moines minus the whole heat and humidity. We did have to detour due to a huge storm but it only added a half hour and beat the turbulence we were experiencing. So I went back to work for the first time in over a week and had 85 emails waiting for me. Many of which told me how the Great Plains Business team decided to reorganize it self and make things complicated. The thing is, they have apparently been talking about it for years and finally acted on it. While my team isn't directly impacted the bosses are scared that we could be next. We were the only team not changed. No one lost their jobs and there are some new jobs and lots of shuffling between management and teams. I will have fun trying to figure it all out. I also had one customer who knew I was going on vacation through a fit because I was not available and he refused to work with my team-mates. My boss told me it was hilarious and she called him and he said unless your Edward I am not talking to you and then hung up on my boss. It was hilarious..... Next vacation is end of September when I fly back for my friends wedding.

Well despite the co-worker some other things could be better.

Well hers must work really well. All though someone said it could be a woman's intuition, lol

So today I had a meeting with my boss to do my monthly performance review. Usually it is done face to face but this time it was via telephone. We talked about my numbers for the quarter and what I have been doing and trouble I am stirring up in a good way. So the good news: I work the next 3 days but have been told not to do anything relating to our team email box. Not because I am going on vacation but because I have done triple the amount they want us to complete. Some people are struggling to make the 120 emails for the quarter and she needs me to allow them to do some of the work. So she said come in and surf the web and bring some good books. So we also had a serious conversation about some incidents happening in our office. I would like to point out that my boss is located in Minnesota, so much of the things they hear are word of mouth and hearsay. This also has nothing to do with my last blog about my co-worker, so we think. When we finished our conversation I mentioned to her how I was perplexed how someone in our office heard a very private conversation not held at my desk and how they also knew about the chat said person and I were having. They took this information to our Manager and told her I was being unprofessional. My boss was completely taken by surprise as our manager has not mentioned this to her.She told me that the other party I was talking to mentioned it in passing but she didn't know the whole story. I proceeded to fill her in and tell her what was going on and how I feel my conversations are no longer private, even leaving my desk. So this is where it got weird for me..... My boss said Edward the person you are talking about just doesn't like our kind and proceeded to tell me how the sales rep treats her. She said I know what you are going through and it can be tough. Just remember I am your boss and I have your back and you have my work and personal numbers. If anything happens make sure to let me know asap and I can work with his manager if I need to. The part that threw me is the "our kind". I know about my boss, as she told me she was gay the very first day I met her. Thing is I never said anything about me to her let alone dropped any hints. Well at least I know my boss has my back 100%, which makes me feel better.

Matt knew exactly how to get to Zach and he did it in a good way. He helped Zach come to his own conclusion. I am glad that Zach and Will stayed together. I had my doubts but I was wrong. The whole ending was a bit unexpected. I expected an emancipation but not guardian change. Maybe the lawyer was able to determine this was a more logical and easier way to win the battle. Zach repaired his relationship with Gathan, so if he loses his parents he will still have his siblings. Favorite part. Stef's comment about buying new relatives.... I wish sometimes we could. Worst Part: Mark stating he's not posting a chapter till Flag day which is June 15 and over a week away. Any way great chapter Mark!!!

So I am part of team where it is 75% female and over 50% has tenure on the team. It can be a tough group. One thing I want to make clear is I don't care that it is a heavy female group just giving our dynamics. I joined the team 7 months ago and have been making a great contribution to our team. I have been recognized at a regional level for my work too. My bosses love me and many of teammates do too. There are 2 that absolutely do not like me and are troublemakers. Many times they have tired to seriously get me in trouble there was evidence to support either what I did was approved by management or wasn't what the situation seemed to them. We have an email queue where we answer emails from customer and the sales teams in the Great Plains region. It's a first in first out box. No exceptions unless escalated by management. We are also not supposed to go in and "cherry pick" easy request. That being said.... I am going to call this teammate of mine Double W. She and another co-work have the same first name.... so they are referred to as their first name and last initial. So our request occasionally route wrong and they have to be fixed. One morning I decided to flip about 15 or so request so they would route. While working requests I started getting tons of emails pop in while one was open. Which shouldn't happen. I looked at the request and asked Double W to stop and explained what I had done. I messaged my boss as Double W and I have the same supervisor. Apparently at that same moment she was over telling our supervisor and manager that I was cherry picking. My supervisor saw my message and look at the request really quick and told Double W and the Manager I was flipping status's as she could see that in the log. That was months ago and I stopped doing it and alert my boss when there is a back log and she does it. That being said. This past Friday our team management was out and most of our Plymouth, Minnesota office was out so we had to cover more of the request. I was talking to Double S in Plymouth and we noticed that Double W had looked at every single request we were working. Which was strange. I talked to the teammate in charge Grover and asked if Double W should be looking at the request and was told no. So after what I was accused of I couldn't let it go because its a serious offense on our team. I decided to look in Double W box and compared it to our inbox and low and behold she worked request that should not have processed yet based on the time frame of being received. I took a screen shot of our box and hers and sent them to our manager and supervisor and told them I thought it was strange that Double W had been in all our email requests. Fast forward to 3 this afternoon. Double S messages me that the manager just came and got Double W and told her they had to talk. She was gone for 45 minutes and was pissed as hell when she came back. We have a feeling that she got reamed by the manager over what happened. It was also semi confirmed when tons of people in the same office told me that Double W got slapped with Cherry picking and our manager was going to monitor her for the next 90 days. Well she probably will figure out it was me but I make sure to cross all my T's and dot my I's on our emails. Her lesson of the day: Those in glass houses should not cast stones. They should also be weary of who they are casting stones at as they maybe holding a boulder.

Going to add the story to my summer reading list. If summer ever gets here.

Today I was working with a couple of sales representative in our Minneapolis office from my office in Des Moines. I was leaving a voicemail for one when another one called me. I called her back when I was done and we were joking and laughing about a situation. I got my call waiting beep and was like hold on other rep is calling me back. She goes he's right across from me and told him to stop calling me. He walked up to her took her phone and ran into the bathroom so she couldn't follow. We talk and I get the call waiting again....I said to the rep why are you calling me while we are on the phone? He proceeded to yell crap and ran out and back to his desk because he left his work phone where the other rep found it. They were horsing around and forgot I was on the phone. So while I was waiting I said oh look your customer is calling and switch over. While talking with the customer my boss sent me a chat message.... They two reps who were chasing each other around the office ran into their Associate Director and our Director. They had to explain why they were chasing each other through the office. My boss said it was hysterical because they both blamed each other and then said the one rep wouldn't let him talk to me. I think something must have been in the water....

A very interesting chapter. It sounds like Brad maybe able to start moving on. After his episode on the beach he might have started to finally get some closure with losing Robbie. Hopefully he can start to move on and he and Matt can have a civil relationship. They have a bumpy road. It must have been interesting to watch Brad got through the facial expressions. I think Matt covered up how he truely felt about.... I would have been scared shitless if some collapsed like that and started making faces. Will and Zach have an extremely bumpy road ahead. Between hiding their relationship and Wally and Clara not approving it is going to get really interesting. Great Chapter Mark!!!

My cousins are 20 years or more younger than me so things like this are funny. They have the same reaction.... like with video games and not being able to go backwards.

I had several walkman's growing up. I may have even had them model they are playing with.

What an interesting side to Zack's story. It sounds like Wally and Clara just don't get anything. They see Will as a bad influence when he has really helped Zack a lot. It was nice that JP showed up when he did. Will really needed someone to talk to and JP was the best and logical choice. Hopefully he can help Will through dealing with everything and hopefully he might have a suggestion that will help Will and Zack. Let's hope they still get to take their trip.

I really like how you woven in characters from you other stories and how nicely things fit together. The story is taking an interesting start. Makes me wonder how everything will fit together. It sounds like Dyson might just be what tames Alex down. I really like the chemistry that all the characters have and I can't wait to see where this story goes. This chapter was enlightening and I think Oliver's father might be a huge help.

Matt must have been full of adrenaline when he left the hospital. Tomorrow he is really going to feel the effects of the injury. No doubt JP and Stef know what happen and probably want to talk to Matt about it. It's good that Matt has the up coming trip to take his mind off of everything. It was good to see Matt and Will bond some more. They really haven't become tight but it sounds like it is definitely getting there. This chapter sounded like an episode of Jerry Springer Great Job Mark! CAP drama continues to never let me down.

Talk about coming out of left field. Will made some really interesting points. It will be interesting to see where this goes. It was also interesting to see Wade and Brad talking about his relationship with Matt and you could tell Brad wouldn't have traded his relationship with Robbie for anything. Great Chapter Mark. More drama to come.

I have an Associates and Bachelor's in Business. Many places want some type of degree and it frequently doesn't have to be related to what work you do. My degree has helped me get a better position in my company and that's it. If you want to move forward with them a degree is required or you don't get an interview. We get tuition reimbursement as long as our degree can be used in our line of work. Many business and technical degrees are covered but there are some that are not. When I was unemployed tons of people were going back to school for a degree and then you had tons of people fighting for the same job. I also got turned away from jobs because of my education. The Federal government will higher people with high school diploma's and you can move up but I know people who have gotten stuck because of this and landed up going to college later in life so they could move forward in the job. I want to go back to school but I need to find the time. I got my degrees while working 40 hours and taking a full course load. Wasn't the easiest thing to do and I know my grades kind of suffered.

There is an app for that.

That is true they are now but much of the Fisher Price stuff went away and is now starting to make a big come back. I know I had one when I was younger. Toys-R-US had them in the vintage toy section a few years ago.

Yes there sites worse than Tumblr but it is becoming more know for porn in certain aspects. Many people jumped to tumblr when blogspot and others start shutting their blogs down. Once you are flagged NSFW your blog isn't easily found. I can tell you I was flagged NSFW within my first few posts. If you haven't seen much nudity on Tumblr did you change your settings? Tumblr defaults to block sites if your signed in and it limits what you can find when not signed in. My feed is full of naked pictures. There a few sites and some of my followers who like my post but don't re-blog as their tumblr are mainly G or PG rated pictures. To each their own with posting habits..... but TRUST me there is TONS of porn on there. I have had mine for 2 years and have over 51,000 reblogged photos.

I've heard of party lines. My friends grandfather worked for the original Ma Bell back in the day. He wrote the manuals that taught people how to use their home phone. I had family in land-line business so its only suitable I work in wireless I have to point out... try finding a phone as durable as the rotatory phone they had. You could easily knock someone out with one.

Saw this and thought some people on here might get a kick out of this.