.:: Thursday, February 28, 2008 ::.

i got the call from HR today to make it official...starting march 9th, i'll officially be a loan processor! woohooo!!! i'm very excited, but also a little scared. my manager and director have a LOT of faith in me that i'll do great, and i don't want to let them down. and i can say goodbye to my easy 8 hour days...our processors now work long hours and a lot of saturdays. but we've just hired 4 new processors (including me) so hopefully that will help with the volume. tomorrow is our last day at the glendale office, and it's also the last day of the month, aka the busiest day of the month for me. but none of that matters, cuz i won't have to drive that commute after tomorrow! yippeeeee!!

:: joyce 6:55 PM [+]::
...

.:: Sunday, February 24, 2008 ::.

last week W got an email from his friend JK saying that our jeweler was charged (and maybe arrested?) for fraud! omg!!!! i couldn't believe it. our jeweler is the father of JK's ex-girlfriend, and so W went to him to get my e-ring, some 4.5 years ago (JK was still with said girlfriend at the time). i had hoped since we knew JK and jeweler's daughter C that he wouldn't have swindled W out of his money and we'd be okay. but still, you never can be sure about these things. basically he was charged with selling FAKE diamonds as well as overvaluing them to sell for a higher price. i started to freak out a little as the details unfolded. part of me didn't want to know if my ring was a fake, but part of me knew this would drive me nuts til i knew for sure. i LOVE my e-ring, and it is my most favorite material possession. i don't think i would love it any less if it were fake (because it holds a lot of sentimental value, and knowing what W went thru to get it means a lot to me), but i would be furious at jeweler for selling W a fake diamond and ripping him off. so furious that i might have to go back to CA to inflict severe pain on him. or at least get every penny back.

so yesterday, W met with a jewelry appraiser and had my ring appraised. thankfully, my ring was not only real (he could tell immediately, without even looking under the microscope) but it was to the exact specifications that W had on his receipt from fraudulent jeweler. oh, here's the other thing...we never got our GIA ceritificate, cuz the jeweler never sent it to W, even after multiple inquiries about it. but we did have the cert #, so the appraiser suggested we call GIA and get that certificate, just as further assurance. the other good news is that W found out he got a really smokin' deal on the diamond, AND the ring has appreciated quite a bit in the last 4.5 years. so now i'm convinced he should only buy me diamonds, since they sound like a good investment if you ask me. :)

:: joyce 2:42 PM [+]::
...

.:: Monday, February 18, 2008 ::.

yea! i love 3-day weekends!! :) especially when the weather is nice outside (well, it's still only in the 40's, but at least it's sunny!) we've had kind of a strange winter this year. there's been lots of days of snow, about once a week, but just a light dusting for us, nothing really major (it's only accumulated maybe 3 times so far), but then it gets REALLY warm, i'm talking 50s-60s, which is not normal. i think our trees are confused. i just hope they don't start budding too soon!!

so last week at work was full of "change." last thursday was the unofficial last day for the rest of our colleagues in wholesale and conduit, so now it's just us. we found out our move date, february 29th, yippeeee!!!! and we also got news that we're shifting things around and no longer will be working in teams, but rather centralizing everything. i think it makes more sense, but i'm not happy to be losing my boss. well, i don't think it will be for long. when we went into my director's office to see the new seating assignments, she said she didn't have a place for me yet! at first, i was thinking, "omg, they're getting rid of me" but then i realized there is no way they're getting rid of me because a) i'm the only one that does what i do, and b) i got a REALLY great year-end review, so i'm sure they'd get rid of some other yahoos before they got rid of me. at least i would hope they would! so when i went to talk to my manager i jokingly said "i don't care about this change cuz i'll be a processor soon anyway and will be working for you again." and she gave me this look like "shhh...not so loud" and winked at me. so...that makes me think they're finally gonna give me my promotion (that they were supposed to give me last summer, but of course the mortgage industry took a nosedive and so did our volume of business)...but i'm not holding my breath. i'm getting used to empty promises. but...i can't complain, i'm happy to be employed in this market. so i will continue to be a happy worker bee. :) plus, my job is so stressfree...i'm kinda getting used to not having so much pressure on me. okay, maybe i'm just getting lazy. so i'm hoping for good things to come in the next 2 weeks...keep your fingers crossed!! :)

:: joyce 11:03 AM [+]::
...

.:: Thursday, February 14, 2008 ::.

happy valentine's day!

we don't really celebrate today, we both feel it's kinda lame and a big marketing gimic from hallmark and flower and candy companies. i'll usually make a fun "heart-shaped themed" dinner, but W doesn't buy me flowers or jewelry (altho let's be honest, i wouldn't mind some jewelry...lol), and we don't go out for overpriced meals at a crowded restaurant. but today is my coworker's favorite holiday (if you can even call it that). and when i argued about how lame it was to have to designate a specific day to tell someone you love them, she came back reminding me that this isn't about sending flowers and chocolates to your sweetheart, it's about expressing love and appreciation for all those important ppl in your life. your family, your friends, your spouse/partner/whatever, your children. so i just want to say i love you to all my friends reading this, and know that i appreciate our friendship and love having you all in my life. :)

xoxo

:: joyce 5:06 PM [+]::
...

.:: Sunday, February 10, 2008 ::.

my newest reality TV obsession has become jon and kate plus 8. it's just amazing to see how 2 ppl handle everyday life with 6 3-year-olds, and 2 6-year-olds. i saw one episode where kate goes grocery shopping, and buys 7 loaves of bread (cuz they go thru one loaf a day!), 3 dozen eggs, 50 bananas...omg. just wait til they get older! can you imagine?! i think kate is really mean and can be horrible to jon, but i guess when you've got that much going on, it's hard not to be a little whacked out. but still, she doesn't have to yell at him and embarass him at the store in front of all those strangers! i love the kids tho, they're so funny, with their own quirky little personalities. TLC was doing a 12 hour marathon, and i caught the beginning of it, and after a few hours of just being glued to the TV, i decided i needed to be a little more productive and recorded the rest. :)

but seriously, if it were me, and i just had twins, i think i'd call it done!

:: joyce 4:34 PM [+]::
...

.:: Thursday, February 07, 2008 ::.

so the rumors have already started, about our move date. i've heard 2-3 weeks from some, and my director said we should be moved by the beginning of march. woohoo!!! i can't wait, cuz i am so sick of driving, especially in bad weather. i've already asked my manager to put me in a good spot, somewhere not near the ppl i'm sitting near now (cuz they all drive me nuts). behind me i have D, who is very sweet and means well, but drives me NUTS!! she's really nosy (she always has to know everything i'm doing and is always looking over my shoulder) and constantly has to butt into my conversations with ppl that stop by my desk. i think she's just jealous that no one stops by her cube to talk to her. :P and then on the other side of our row are the CSR's and call screeners. omg...all day i hear them asking the same 5 questions...what's your loan number? what's the last 4 digits of your social? is this your primary residence? have you had to declare bankruptcy or made any late payments in the past 2 years? has your house been on the market in the past 6 months? so imagine that times 4, all day, everyday. yes, it gets a little nauseating. that's when i have to put on my headphones and drown everything out. then across the walkway from me is our team assistant. super nice guy, but don't start a conversation with him unless you plan to block out 30 minutes of your day doing so. ok, i'm exaggerating a bit, but seriously, he doesn't stop talking. and he's super intelligent, which makes talking to him rather fun and interesting (unlike the majority of the clowns i work with! haha), but i've got work to do!! and so does he!!

anyway, i can only think of like 3 ppl i would actually like to sit near, and one of them is on another team. so who knows where i'll be. this may sound terribly anti-social of me, but i just want to not be disturbed...so put me in a corner somewhere and i'll be very happy! :) but i'm sure i'll be happy no matter what, since i'll have a much better drive to work. i can't wait!!!

:: joyce 5:21 PM [+]::
...