Overheard at the Office - September

It's been missing for quite some time, but now IT'S BAAAAACK! Overheard at the Office (the back in San Diego version.)

I really want to go watch Das Boot.

I used the patio to grow succulents for my wedding.

(him) This cup is from Austin. (me) It has a bird on it.  (him) It's from 5 years ago.

(regarding his unicycle) Actually, it's one of the best workouts. 

They are good swimmers apparently. 

We had waffles at our wedding... it was in a warehouse.

We used to go on a lot of photo trips.

Brought in a new mug today. It's the many faces of David Bowie. 

I got some new hot sauce in there, if you wanna check it out. 

(angrily) I guess what I'm trying to say is... IT  DOESN'T BELONG HERE!

No seriously, eat fish if you need to eat fish. 

No Party City Pirate Kid. Older Latina is in. We just need a hoity toity costume. 

I really love chairs.

Do you like Tiki Bars? There's a really good one that just opened. 

My DVD collection has been called 'Pete's Library".

I got into this huge Tom Petty kick over the weekend. 

(me) I kinda want super colorful rainbow stickers. What's her name? Something Frank? (him) Anne Frank?

Benchpress a Hobbit.

Julie has drawn "Dapper Dobby".

#AwesomeDay

Today has been an awesome day.

I woke up feeling great, snugged with the Boops and the Hubster, then put on one of my favorite outfits. Got to the car dealership where I was charged nothing for the tire replacement. Headed over to work with one fifth of #TeamAwesome - and Neaves the Beast taught me more about The Gilmore Girls. Had a pretty fantastic salad and baked snack. Chatted with an installation guy that got me two future work wins. Got my work homework completed early. Discovered a new song (below) and a new artist (which I will feature next week: KRNFX)



I can't wait for Music Monday, I have to post it now.

I very well could be the strangest person you know today

It all started earlier this week when Neavsey came into work with Chick-fil-A.
“I can’t believe you bought homophobic food,” I said indignantly.
“Don’t be mad at the chicken.” She then proceeded to show me a hilarious parody of three trans-ladies mocking Wilson Phillips and singing about Chick-Fil-A.

I confessed that I do, in fact, miss the waffle fries.

Next morning, Hurricane Benji graces us with his presence and he is munching on Whataburger. My taste buds immediately salivate and I think about getting drive-thru from an A-frame… mmm. It was like a Homer Simpson moment when Neavesy became a burger and Benji turned into an onion ring.

Since I haven’t been waking up on the right-side of the bed lately (literally, I’ve been getting up on the left) I didn’t bring a lunch. It’s Friday so going out felt like a good option. I texted my buddy Ford Prefect for a date…

Alright, you know what? I’m DOING this!
I’m sure it’s been done before, but I am actually going to three different fast food locales to get the best portions of a meal to make the ULTIMATE FAST FOOD BURGER LUNCH EXPERIENCE.

I left the office at 12pm and made it back at 1:05pm.
Here is the route I took:

I selected medium potato waffle fries from Chik-Fil-A (400 calories, 21 grams of fat, 48 carbs) with one packet of ketchup. Those were wolfed in-route to In-N-Out where I got a cheeseburger animal-style (480 calories, 27grams of fat, 39 carbs). Then next part of journey had me going up the access road with multiple red lights; I was able to finish the burger quite literally in line at the DRIVE THRU at Whataburger.

Here I was stumped. A milkshake? A dessert? I opted for a hot apple pie. OMG. I’m really stuffed and don’t want to eat this… but I must take at least a few bites or this was all for naught. Since I only had a few bites (which burnt the top of my mouth with its lava-like apple spew) I’m going to round down to half of the actual nutrition (130 calories, 114 grams of fat, 7 carbs)



Just to sum up: My ridiculousness took 65 minutes. I saw three private jets overhead. I listened (and sang along) to about 10 or so songs on KXT. I nearly rear-ended someone on Beltline. I learned Whataburger doesn’t have bottled water and I spent about $5.60 in total. I did it… but it’s not something I’d necessarily do again. Unless we figured in curly fries from Jack-In-the-Box, a hot fudge sundae from Dairy Queen… no NO NO!!! This is going to take 3 full work out sessions to negate my gluttony.

And just as I post this, I get another text from Ford, “How was crazy lunch?"

Chips and Chats

Elsa Cat is shooting a :30 :60 :90 spot for our company today, and as the Nosey Nellie I am, I wanted to go over and check it out. Before doing so, it was lunchtime and I asked Neavesy if she wanted to hit up Chuy's.
"Sure, I guess. I've never been."
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!?!?!?!?!
How is this possible? A Texas native who had not been to Chuy's?
I.
Was.
Floored.

Off we went. Chips were had. Jalapeno ranch was dipped. Tacos devoured. (No alcoholic beverages were consumed.)
Here is the range of topics we discussed in the space of an hour:

Oscars: nominations, movies, best pictures, what we need to see (Selma, American Soldier, Theory of Everything), most won awards and Disney
EGOTS
Whoppi Goldberg
Audrey Hepburn
Lewis CK
Black Jeopardy
Everything is Awesome
Lego movie not being made of legos

The conversation had a great cadence which continued on to the shoot where we met up with Elsa Cat and talked for two hours. I'm loving my team.

(I texted KelBel and PinTrish a photo of the chips and dips, just to rub it in their faces. They weren't too amused.)

Music Monday: "Work It Out" by Knox Hamilton AND "Count On You" by Christian Gregory

I'm in a GREAT mood! Maybe it is my new workmates (who are awesome and hysterical) and approach life in a positive way. I have to say that I couldn't have hand-selected a better group of people.

Perhaps its from the endorphins from the added workouts I've put into my schedule. That's right. 60+ minutes each day, whether I puke or not, I'm doing this!

With that, here are two options to start your week:



For Neavesy and I, this is what we are grooving to this morning...

I mean, how can you not love something that starts off with a xylophone?
And while both of us are in committed relationships and the lyrics aren't quite right, the beat and chorus have us bouncing about.

Happy Monday y'all!

#AssFace

(Names and identifiable aspects changed)


Brooklyn Hipster: hey hey
Me: hola
BH: So I'm looking at this creative ask. What are we looking for as far as a unique hashtag is concerned?
Me: For Fighter X, we had to tweet #SomethingSomething & @Brand to get the digital autograph sent to the person on Twitter...
BH: can it be the same hashtag for all of them? (Fighter X, Y, Z)
Me: As long as the spacing is far enough apart, then yes
Me:  You should see the cuss list. WOW!
BH: cuss list?
Me: They have a cuss list so that people can’t put in a fake name or something
Me: So Fighter won’t go … Dear Ass Face, here’s your autograph
BH: what if someone's name is actually ass face?
Me: Too bad Ass Face. No autograph for you!
BH: Maybe it's because I'm not into autographs, but I cannot think of anything I'd be less interested in. unless it said "ass face." that might change my mind

Music Monday - "Easy Money" by Johnny Marr

Today I was able to make a VERY easy decision. Perhaps this isn't the right song to accompany my mood, but it's funny that I recently Shazamed it.



Kind of reminds me a little of early Franz Ferdinand, no?

Music Monday - "The Walker" by Fitz and The Tantrums

It's Monday; a little gloomy outside, without the splendor of a Texas thunderstorm to enjoy from these six floor offices. Happily PinTrish and I will have lunch together later on ($2 TACOS!) and I have a few meetings this afternoon to meet new people.  Let's start off the week with a fun tune and great dancing video.

And five, six, seven, eight...

Slightly Belated Music Monday - Time of Your Life by Green Day

On my way to work this morning, I heard the Bruce Springsteen song "High Hopes"... my plan was to post that with a commentary about "The Boss" and a few witty quips. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed and things took a turn for... well... let me just say things did not go the way I had hoped.

That being said* I had a good laugh with PinTrish, Namnamnams and Scro over a cider; I was the recipient of a phone-a-friend from Bueno; and the boopins were pleased to see Mumma this afternoon.



People say, they next best thing is in store. And yes, I've had the time of my life. I just wished the ride lasted a little longer. And I'm posting at 3:33 am, which makes my head feel good.


*Shout out to Sparky. 

THE MAGICAL MYSTERY BURGER TOUR! – Shady’s Burgers

It’s 11:00 am and a meeting invitation from Breet pops up on my screen. 

G, I know you are dining with Lana today, but if you would like to invite her to join the MMBT, she’s more than welcome.

Well, you know what I said… HECK YA!

Much like the last The first Magical Mystery Burger Tour stop, it is also an incredibly cold day.  Today's burger stop?

Shady's Burgers in Richardson. 

 I repeat, will the real Shady's Burgers please stand up?

While closed in, we were not going to dine on the patio.  Scro commented that the patio would be great in the summertime and I agreed. 

We walked in the back door so it was a little confusing where we were supposed to go.  Pintrish found the line to order and we examined the menu.

I was tempted to go with the special, the Chicken ‘Schroom-Wich, which is grilled chicken topped with grilled mushrooms and white cheddar cheese, but that would have thrown off the whole burger tour… and we can’t have that! Instead, I ordered the “Shady burger” and added bacon, avocado and white cheddar cheese.*  I added some frings (french fries + onion rings) and a water to my order. Decent price, I think it came to $12 + tip.

Went to the table to sit on the most A$$-FREEZING ALUMINUM CHAIRS OF ALL TIME! Why do burger joints do this?  They are either too cold in the winter or freaking hot-cross-buns burners in the summer. 

Here's the crew:

 

LALA, Pintrish and Lana (nickname TBD, who got a salad.)

$50 says Pintrish is thinking something naughty.

 

Nam, Nam, Nam... enjoying his noms. And by noms I mean a Slim Shady. 

Check out the Liquor jail behind him!

 

Scro doing a little trigger action and Totes McCoates looking swell.

 

The great Macedonian himself. What a great looking guy!

The food arrived REALLY quickly.  I was impressed. 

So was Breet. But not when he saw this photo…  

“Wow...I look like a psychopath...awesome."

Breet - “Good lord...I need to go see a professional stylist/groomer or something...that was craze, yet not amaze.”

LALA – “I look totes norm in this pic...“

There were four people in the kitchen and two servers who swapped roles at the cash register, bartending and serving foodies.  The guy was nice and friendly. He even said “thank you” when I asked him how his day was going.   

When the girl swapped him out at the register, she made a comment along the lines of “I’m prettier than he is.” Well, uh… okay little Miss Sassafras.

We noted that the food was on a tray, similar to Haystack’s.  

 Cut the burger in half with the big steak knife they thoughtfully supplied. Perfect medium.

We learned that LALA doesn't eat the onion part of onion rings... which is odd, but whatevs.

 

All in all, good place and great location. I guess I would go back, but probably more for a happy hour or during the summer.

Ambiance – 6 (post-apocalyptic slash recycle-land. FREEZING CHAIRS!)

Burger – 6.5 (a little salty. Not as juicy as expected. Light on the avocado and they gave me the wrong cheese.)

Cleanliness –9

Drinks – 9 (it’s happy hour ALL DAY LONG! I could have gotten a vodka tonic for $2!)

Location – 10 (literally around the block.)

Misc. – 7 (LARGE patio space with space heaters and fans.)

Restroom – 5 (why is there a mirror right across from the toilet? It smelt like a zoo.)

Sides – 5.5 (fries were a little greasy and not crisp. Onion rings were MASSIVE!)

Staff – 8.5 (friendly, a little too much hovering and asking us if we wanted refills or to take trays away. But the guy did lower the back garage door when we said it was cold, which was nice.)

Bonus points – 3 (good social media on Facebook, but their website is down and twitter activity stopped in September of last year. They do have Instagram as well, but I haven't checked that out yet.)

TOTAL SCORE: 69.5 of a possible 100. 

We had to leave when a full on double rainbow hipster came in wearing vans. 

What do you see in this photograph?

And here are a few more photos of the environs before we left.

THE END... for now. Until it's time for another MMBT stop.

Catch you on the "flip" side.

*Note: the only cheese they serve is yellow cheddar and white cheddar. That’s it. No Swiss, no pepper-jack. Just cheddar. Swiss is the only cheese to be capitalized besides American (which is not cheese, it’s processed cheese food and it is gross. Don’t eat it.)

January Wall Quotes

Here's a recap of the latest work sayings that made it on "The Wall".

What's that beeping? (it's me) We're going to call you G-3P0 from now on. 
I'd be Cap'n Crunch... cause I like the hat. 
What's that pregnancy hormone? THC?
Teamwork makes the dream work!
And then I came out of the closet...
Love is like a fart. If you have to push it, it's probably s**t. 
Can I tell you how much fun I has taking out your balls and playing with them?

RELEASE THE SCRAPPLE!
If it burns when you pee, you gotta stop.
(singing) I second that emulsion!
I look much, much better when I have a bra on.
(How to make a flow chart for labor) PUSH! Did it come out? NO. PUSH! Did it come out? NO.
Sorry, but I'm not the only person in this room who's had a penis in his mouth. 
(Turning on the screen saver to a fireside scene.) I figuratively, and quite literally, keep the fire going!
Being pregnant is like being stoned 24/7 with the munchies.
It's like the Last Supper! But with less dying. 

That smells great! What is that?
Island Nectar.
Eyelid nectar?
Eyelid nectar, the tears of god...

It's DANCE OFF PANTS OFF!
I knew something in the milk ain't clean!
(singing) Feeling Grube!
No, it's in there but you're going to push it to the side. 
They could get lei'd!
I'ma be his Christian Grey!
You have it in your mouth, but you're probably going to spit it out...
That's why you need to be friends with Barbara and get access to her secret closet.
It was like 50 shades of Don.
Of all the women's shoes I've tried on, those are the most comfortable. 

The MAGICAL MYSTERY BURGER TOUR! has a logo!

Rock on! Totes McCoates made us a logo for the burger tour!  Now we just need Scro to select the next restaurant. (I think it's a Scro / Breet kind of thing ... so likely have to wait until the team returns from Cleveland.)

What do you think?

Real Work Convo, Part 12414:

It all started with a conversation that I was not a part of... 

Email from a male teammate to the whole team:

For all of you who were poking fun at me yesterday regarding my dry hands.  Forever Midnight is a real collection with legitimate triple moisture cream from Bath and Body Works.  My wife tells me, it ended up in our bathroom cabinet because a few years back it was a gift from a distance family member. 

I don’t know much about cream….but I can say it didn’t do a very good job.

Forever Midnight

Also I forgot to tell you…it smells horrible.  Not to mention the name Forever Midnight is terrible.

Response from McCoates:

Sounds like a name for a Victoria Secret line.

Response from me:

No, I’m going to go with Harlequin Romance. 

What do you think?

THE MAGICAL MYSTERY BURGER TOUR! - Haystack Burgers

Tom* decided that the Lunch Bunch needed a new 2014 dining goal.  As such, he cultivated a list from Yelp.com of the top locally owned, non-chain, minimum four star burger spots in Richardson.  This would be called THE MAGICAL MYSTERY BURGER TOUR!  The first on the list … Haystack Burgers off Belt Line and the 75. (Yes, I still say “the” before a freeway number. It’s the SoCal girl in me.)

It was an incredibly cold and windy day, so the first joke out of our mouths was whether we should eat on the patio.  It was decent sized and I’m sure lovely on a Spring day, but definitely not today.  We walked in and were greeted with a great atmosphere. Woodsy counter tops, paintings on the walls of goats, fake boar heads, steel/aluminum chair rails and funky green chandeliers (you gotta get yourself a shan-da-leeer! Like this one! Or dat one!)

 

Instead of ordering “The Haystack”, their specialty which comes with onions, cheddar cheese, applewood smoked bacon, BBQ sauce and the usual burger fixings (just say no to BBQ sauce), I decided to build my own.  This monstrosity, here forth known as “The G”, included avocado, Swiss cheese, haystack onions, bacon, and all the fixings. I also included a side order of haystack onions and fries, what they call the “Half/Half”, to be shared with Pintrish (formally known as Trish the Dish). Also, they have a very long and diverse beer list, but I couldn’t read it all in time.  Looks like they have a good selection on tap too.

 

 

We collected our drinks (note they have Cherry Coke!)  along with CLOTH napkins and a choice of regular or chipotle ketchup. I was very excited about the large cloth napkins.  Used one on my lap and one as a bib; the chances of me spilling something on my chest are very, very great. They have that really cool slush/crunch ice, but the straws are a little too skinny and get clogged by the ice quickly. But that is acceptable because the seating allows for individual or large groups, so you can easily accommodate 2 or 7 in your party.

The food arrived.  Pintrish and I mao-ed on the fries and haystack onions; these came with a spicy ranch and a dip that is similar to what you’d find with blooming onions. 

I cut my burger in half because it was too big and clumsy for me to eat whole. Terribly delicious and prepared at a perfect medium. I finished the whole thing (sorry diet) and had a pleasant food belly – not burger coma.

All in all, fantastic place and will come back for more! Next time with BEER!

Ambiance – 7 (a little bit eclectic and modern at the same time.)

Burger – 8

Cleanliness – 8

Drinks – 8

Location -8

Misc. – 10 (CLOTH NAPKINS!)

Restroom – 5 (did not visit the restroom so I’m giving it an average.)

Sides – 7 (was not a huge fan of the onions or fried pickles that Laura got. The fries were okay.)

Staff – 8 (friendly, family owned)

Bonus points - 5 (good usage of promoting their social media and with a discount!)

 TOTAL SCORE: 74 of a possible 100. 

I may revisit this score based on the rest of the burger joints on the tour.  Especially as I am sure their restroom was fine and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

Right now, we just need Andy to come up with our logo for THE MAGICAL MYSTERY BURGER TOUR!… get on it Andy!

*Who picked up the new nickname "Scro" at lunch. Confidentiality clauses and non-disclosure agreements prevent me from revealing why.