Arm Wrestling Technology

Oh, the irony that I work in IT. I'd like to say that I have an "electric personality" or some such quality that causes electric devices of any kind to short out and behave unpredictably when I'm nearby. As I regularly represent IT Application Enhancements to the business leaders in my company, I personally demonstrate that there are far worse things than performance issues or reports that don't reconcile. Those can be explained. But why I might be the only person in the room to lose network access, innocently stumble upon an undiscovered bug in MS Project during a training, or make an online reservation in Outlook for a meeting room only to discover that it has been inexplicably triple-booked, this can only boil down to one of two things: a) I was meant for a job in QA, or 2) these are simply classic examples of ID:10-T errors.

I say all this to explain why I have not yet managed to post any photos of my home on this blog, as promised. I can assure you, images of my surroundings and all the various stages through which they've gone as I've decorated, rearranged and gardened sit neatly organized in an album in iPhoto on my Mac. I have been loyal to Macintosh computers since my days at the University, when I became snobbishly devoted to their graphic arts superiority. I also found them at that time to be far more user friendly and intuitive than PC's. I actually considered myself rather quickly adaptive to new software at that time. But now I feel betrayed as I fail to figure out the key to simply uploading an image to my blog.

I may have landed on the best argument for needing a man.

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holding lessons learned
so i don't repeat, but still
breathe on, in and out

My Pledge to Ants

I made some interesting discoveries today in my kitchen. First, those few ants I saw yesterday wandering my sink were, in fact, the more directionally challenged brothers and sisters of the legion who had discovered the bin of cat food under my sink. Having no bug spray at hand, I grabbed the closest bottle of cleaning spray where I was crouched, Pledge MultiSurface, at which point I made my second discovery: Pledge kills ants! Viola! Now, this is my kind of multitasking: Ridding my home of tiny thieves and cleaning all at once. As I followed the trail along the underside of my counter top, down the corner to the baseboards leading through my dining room and living room, all the way to a tiny crack under my window, I misted the Pledge with delight at their instant paralysis. Several thoughts entered my mind then, while I retraced my steps back to kitchen to get some paper towels,
"I bet this is way more environmentally friendly than bug spray, and it smells better, too! Man,look at all these dead ants...isn't there some band named And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead? Hmph. Here me, ants! You will know meeee by the trail of your little dead ant friends, and you will never return! ...That kinda makes me sad. Poor little guys. Imagine stumbling upon such mayhem and tragedy. I wonder if they're even aware of me. I mean, they don't seem to look up. Maybe to them it's just like a sudsy hurricane. Hmph. Actually, if this stuff kills ants, it may not be such a good thing to be spraying around. Oh well, at least it smells good..."

a letter of welcome

Dearest Friends and Family,

This past winter’s winds blew a number of changes my way, sweeping me up in stress, heartache and uncertainty, but I write to you now in the warming hope of renewal that spring always brings.

I’m back in the heart of Dallas, living in a neighborhood called Uptown, and am thoroughly enjoying a paradoxically “small town,” pedestrian experience. Literally everything I need (with the exception of work) is within walking distance, and I’m lucky to be in a remarkably safe area, nestled between numerous parks, beautiful Turtle Creek and Katy Trail, where I run daily. (Oh, did I mention I have a Starbucks right across the street?!) My darling kitty and poochie, Cleo and Gretchen, share a cozy loft with me on the top floor of a newly renovated building from the 1920’s, where I’ve planted a rooftop garden accessed by a ladder I installed from the patio off my kitchen.

Some things will never change – I’m keeping myself incredibly busy, as usual, with work and extra-curricular activities. I’m taking private Argentine Tango lessons and have started a personal 40-day Challenge to get myself back on the path to nutritional, physical and emotional wellness. Although my work environment has improved greatly in the last year, part of my challenge involves limiting my work hours to less than 10 a day, which isn’t an easy task! I’m still working at Essilor, the world leading optical company, as a Project Manager over all IT Application Enhancements. My team doubled this year, which has brought great recognition, but has also created more work for me. At least I have job security!

This April will keep me on the road and in the air, traveling to visit my Nana and Papa in Enid, OK, my Godmother Ruth in CT, and my girlfriend Melissa in FL. My best friend Monica comes to visit me with her 3 girls and hubby Chris over my birthday weekend. Later in the summer I’m planning a trip with my parents to Hot Springs and a camping trip with my good friends Melanie and Jonathan.

My divorce should be final sometime in mid-April, once the house has been refinanced and my name removed from the deed. In spite of this upheaval, I can honestly say I’m as happy as I’ve ever been, satisfied with a life lived in complete authenticity.

You can call or visit anytime, but until then I invite you to peruse my blog to see a glimpse of my world through the photos and ramblings I’m beginning to post.

Peace to you,

Rebecca Cooper

3520 Knight St. #206

Dallas, TX 75219