just bob needs...

The most random of Random Chick's tagged me with the following meme. Now realize this is two different meme's in one week, but this one is too delicious (after previewing the results) to pass up.

Rules: Google "Your name needs" and describe the first ten results.

1. just bob... needs a full time band - I'll take O.A.R.

2. just bob... needs a date - No kidding, is it that obvious?

3. just bob... needs to go - Especially after that first cup of Starbucks in the morning

4. just bob... needs a life - Now this is getting annoyingly accurate

5. just bob... Bob Planet to fulfill all your Bob needs - I thought The Essence of Bobness fulfilled all your Bob needs. Are you cheating on me?

6. just bob... needs a home - Make mine somewhere other than here

7. just bob... Robert Needs - What a name. Refer to #2, #8, and #9

8. just bob... Robert Needs Money - I'm all for that. Bring it on.

9. just bob... needs cleaner - I do need a cleaner, preferably this one

10. just bob... needs a fair trial. I was framed, I swear I didn't do it.

A Way to Say I'll Play Today

It started with a poem
by some Random Chick
a story of her ass
and how it was so sick.

The story struck me funny
I needed to reply,
but how to frame an answer
it made me want to sigh.

So I took it upon myself
and came up with this thought
I'll answer with a rhyme
and put her on the spot.

I took some quiet time
and made the words all fit
I sent them on their way
the comment was a hit.

I didn't think much of it
until her next fun writing
My reply did rhyme again
another poetic sighting.

What started a month ago
now has a life all its own
I can't seem to stop
the obsession has quite grown.

Every thing I write now
all comes out in meter,
I can not seem to waver
my devotion doesn't teeter.

It does not matter how
the words are to be written
I have abandoned prose
with poetry I am smitten.

It could be a report
a memo or an email,
It lately always rhymes
at this I do not fail.

Needing for this to end
I'm calling for a truce
between my conscious mind
and my inner Dr. Seuss.

I have but one more poem
to pen for a big fan
A birthday celebration
for Blottie dear Suzanne.

My rhyming style of writing
will then have a new look,
Unless someone pays me
To write a children's book.

So if they find the money
and assign me that great job
you someday may be reading
of an author named just bob.

Rekindled Professionalism

I frequently get this sense when I return from a conference. While these forums are designed to promote new business, provide educational tracks and gather as an industry to discuss the important issues of the day, I have always found this to be the most valuable thing I get out of conference attendance. Professionalism. Whenever I return from a conference, I become motivated to perform my job better and with a higher quality than when I left. Not to brag but I'm pretty good at what I do. I'm certainly no expert in the field, but after seeing some of my colleagues in action I believe that I'm a cut above some of them. Striving to set higher goals is never a bad thing in my book.

A big part of attending these conferences for me is the networking with other industry professionals. In our everyday lives, we often become bogged down in the monotony of the tasks at hand and the people with whom we work. It very quickly can become the same people, the same faces, doing the same things, day in and day out. It's a joy to sit down with your contemporaries to talk about issues and successes, get feedback on some of the ideas you are working on, and receive advice on problems you may be encountering. Immersing myself in five days of this environment is much like a Fountain of Youth for me. Even though I might be exhausted at the end of these conferences from the trauma of traveling, late nights, bad food, and excessive alcohol consumption, I am always inspired to bring back the newest and best ideas to my workplace. I relish the chance to convey this rediscovered attitude to an awaiting staff.

Then I come back to this... the childish drivel, infantile behavior, and destructive environment of my current workplace. I swear to you Internet, it's like moderating a group of five years old that can't play together without fighting over the toys or kicking sand out of the sandbox. I greedily cling to the professionalism of those people I just left last week while I struggle to bring some sense of it to the people to whom I've returned. My personal career growth this past week has been impressive. While my week vacation relieved at great deal of stress and angst, the week at the conference rekindled the faintly flickering light that was my affection for what I do. It has fueled a confidence that I haven't felt for quite some time.

In a better world, all of this would spur me onto greater heights where I work. Instead, it pushes me to search elsewhere for the professional environment I need to thrive. I know there is no way I can adequately improve the atmosphere of my current workplace enough to make it worth the effort. There will never be that type of professionalism in this place. The guiding force for this dramatic shift would have to come from the top, and I don't believe the will or ability to foster that kind of change exists with my boss. But the freshly renewed aura of professionalism resides inside of me. I'll nurture it the best I can, share it in small doses with those people who will cherish it, and stockpile the remainder for my next stop. The next organization that employs me will get a much better version of the person that left for Anaheim just over one week ago.

Sunday night update

I'm proud of myself. I made a last minute push at the end of the night but by 9:00pm Sunday my weekend to-do list ended up looking like this:

1. Clean the bathroom, except the crud on the shower doors (need more cleaner)
2. Clean the kitchen, no sparks, no explosions
3. Do the dishes, both machine and hand wash because my dishwasher sucks
4. Sweep the patio
5. Vacuum, dust, and straighten the living room
6. Reorganize the den
7. Buy groceries
8. Do laundry

* - added for Sunday
* Sent out resume and application
* Watched NASCAR race from Pocono

So much for planning

As many of you know, I've been away from the Abode of Bobness for about two weeks now. First was the vacation to see the family, then after a brief respite I was off again to a work conference in shaky Anaheim. Therefore, there are some things back here that definitely needed my attention. Being the semi-organized person that I claim to be, I made a list chores that I wanted to tackle this weekend before heading back to the office on Monday. Here's what that list looks like:

1. Clean the bathroom
2. Clean the kitchen (without blowing it up)
3. Do the dishes
4. Sweep the patio
5. Vacuum, dust, and straighten the living room
6. Reorganize the den
7. Buy groceries
8. Do laundry

It's a fairly aggressive list, but spread over two days completely reasonable. So, it's 8:30pm and this is the what I've actually accomplished so far:

1. Woke up at 8:30am
2. Drank a whole pot of coffee
3. Completed a backlog of online crossword puzzles
4. Read blogs, replied to blogs, read the newer blogs from today
5. Played Flight Simulator
6. Watched the NASCAR race from Montreal
7. Bought groceries
8. Shortened the to-do list for Sunday
9. Wrote a blog

(not an actual photo, but a fair representation)

Looks like I'm off to a good start. No sense jumping into these things too quickly.