Loving my legs and leggings

My guy loves my legs.

On Friday, I told my guy that I was at a bar after work, having a drink with a colleague and our manager. I indicated that all servers at this bar wear black leggings.

"I love when you wear leggings," he told me. "You have nice legs."
"Thanks, sweetie. I know that you love touching my legs when I have leggings on."
"Yes, I do. They are the most attractive pair of legs I have ever seen," he admitted.

He's sweet. I still remember when he first hugged my leggings after quality time. He truly loves them.

Training, questions, and dynamics

At work, I have been training for most of the week. The new hire told me that she appreciates my training her, which is nice.

I am still trying to gauge how she ticks. She's nice, but she asks questions that have nothing to do with the task at hand, at times. It's odd.

As an example, she asked me out of the blue whether we have hired students as full-time employees while in a training session about the writing tool. She is also fixated on another tool that our team will be migrating over to in six months.

I have another colleague that I am training on another aspect of my job. We get along well. She, on the other hand, asks questions that are work-specific. I like that!

It's an interesting mix. The good thing is that with my team of new folks, including my student, we all get along. Here's hoping that the trend continues.

My entire team thinks that it is amazing that I can talk all day. I guess that my guy and I are so chatty that it makes sense that we are trainers!

Getting my car serviced and receiving a cool surprise

I work from home on Wednesdays. Thank goodness!

On Tuesday, I got a reminder phone call to take my car in for servicing. I called during my lunch break and got an appointment on Wednesday.

I took my car in yesterday at 10:30 am. Everything went smoothly. I spoke to my regular service advisor, got a shuttle, and arrived home to continue working from home.

Around 1.5 hours later, my car was done. The shuttle came promptly to fetch me. I got my car without any issues. It was in record time!

The best part of the experience was getting a gas card. I get 3 cents off a litre for the next 888 litres of gas that I use for the next year. Every bit of savings counts.

I wasn't expecting this gesture. I'll take it.

My guy is travelling again and I want him

The good news is that my guy is travelling again. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I can accompany him on this trip.

On a brighter note, we get to chat on Skype.

"Is there anything you need while I am in the States?" my guy asked me.
"There's you while you're there," I replied, without any hesitation.

He told me that I'm so sweet.

New writer, new technology challenges, and new success

I survived my first day training with my new colleague. She doesn't have a laptop due to a human resources screw-up. Nothing can be ordered for her until HR decides to create her e-mail address account. Ugh!

HR has known about her arrival for a couple of months. Yep, it can't get its act together.

I am doing something that sort of makes me cringe. I have a loaner laptop for her. My Windows password expires in a couple of days. I am changing it to something generic so that she can log in as me. I will be logged in to my own laptop with the same credentials.

It works. It can be done. It is odd from a security standpoint. I simply hope that she doesn't mess up any of my network settings.

The good news is that she can't access my work e-mail and a bunch of other applications. I don't have anything confidential. I simply get creeped out about folks reading my e-mail.

Yep, it's my manager's idea. We'll see how long this routine lasts.

I'm not sure how I feel about this new writer. She asks questions that are about the products that we ultimately document, but they aren't really geared towards what she will do. When she knows the topic, she'll say so. It's a hint for me to move to the next slide.

I am hoping that she is as good of a writer as she is advertising. Only time will tell.

On a good note, I managed to introduce her to almost everyone on our team, except for two people who were away from the office. That's pretty good for me, considering that I forget about doing that tour in the afternoon when everyone is in a lull on a Monday.

Six years - reminiscing

It has been six years since my guy and I started chatting on Skype. We started with texts, followed by Skype calls. We then became an item roughly a month later.

I did some reminiscing by looking at some of the things that we said to each other. He still loves my smile. I still love his sense of humour.

As far as personalities go, we haven't changed. We have grown into strong, whole people. Our love has blossomed and we continue to learn from each other.

Time certainly flies, especially when things feel right.

Storing a ruler at work when I need a spanking

On Saturday, I took a leisurely drive to work. I was there to move my belongings out of my locker to one that is closer to my desk.

There were three people at work. The other two were in separate mini meeting rooms. I was pleased, for I could do my move in silence.

I had to walk between the two lockers four times. The last time could have been prevented. I left the silver ring on my old key. I was instructed to leave my old key in my empty locker. My new key didn't have that ring, which I need to fasten it to my badge.

I noticed the top three items that I have in my locker:

• Training manuals
• Tea
• Snacks

What do all three things have in common? My guy has contributed to my locker's contents. I also found a sticky note that he had placed on one of the training manuals. He wrote my name on it.

I am fortunate to have a locker. My guy doesn't have one because he works offsite at home.

We had a good chat about my little locker move:

"I am glad that I have contributed to furnishing your locker," my guy said.
"I am, too. I love the constant reminders of you," I replied.
"I should get you a ruler and have you store it in your locker. When I am in the office and need to spank you, you'll retrieve it from your locker and hand it to me," he said.
"You'd then find a meeting room, bend me over the table, and use it on me, right?" I asked him.
"Of course. You will always be my bad girl with that spankable butt," he said.

It'll be nice to have that ruler close by at work.

Quiet, productive workday when it typically isn't

This week has been busy. I have been working with the new student, preparing for my presentation to the team, and dealing with training another new employee next week when little is in place. With the last item, there is a holdup in the system, which will make training this person without a laptop a challenge.

I have trained a writer without a laptop before. It wasn't fun. I ended up repeating items again. What can you do, right?

It was a pretty quiet Friday, which I liked. Our team generally goes out on Friday, but only two people had said yes. My manager asked if I wanted to still go, as I was one of the yes people. I asked that it be cancelled. Instead, I grabbed lunch locally.

My student was sick. My manager wasn't feeling well, either. He decided to go to his family doctor for an appointment.

I asked the administrative assistant whether I could change my locker at work. Ever since our office moved to this site four years ago, my locker has never budged as far as location goes. I have been on and off teams like there's no tomorrow. I decided to leave my locker where it is, which is the opposite end of the floor from where I currently sit.

For a while, my teams have not changed. There is a free locker right next to my desk. I decided to take the plunge. The administrative assistant was fine with the swap. She got the operations manager to give me the key. I will go into work on Saturday to move my stuff. I am hoping that no one is there. Again, I like doing quiet work without any distractions.

I didn't have a chance to do the change on Friday. I spent it fixing the training materials. My last student did a good job at putting them together. The main problem with her slides is that she points to videos and has to switch between two different file locations.

I decided to include the videos in the slide deck. It's simply a question of playing each video when it's in front of me.

It's nice to do quiet work. It's rare for me, but I do take advantage of it when the opportunity presents itself.

Job analysis and prospective interview

On Thursday morning, i had to give a presentation to my entire team, which consists of over twenty writers from four different locations.

My presentation went well. I had a couple of technical issues. Otherwise, I was pleased with how it went.

I train folks and meet with students so often that speaking in front of groups doesn't rattle me like it used to. Sure, I still get a little nervous. To me, that's normal. It simply means that I care about what I am doing.

I ended up with an odd acknowledgement from my manager in our team meeting later on that day for whipping together a high-level process description for something that I do often. He normally doesn't make such an acknowledgement in front of the team. It was sweet that those in the room clapped. Perhaps my manager realized how valuable I am as an employee.

I am the longest-serving writer in our group and am the overall team lead for it. It has taken me a while to build up to this stage in my career.

With the job interview on Friday, I assessed whether I would be happy in that position. I wouldn't be a team lead. I wouldn't be coaching other writers. I wouldn't be training students. I love all these aspects of my job.

Sure, I would be saving in highway toll fees, travel time, and gas. I would also be taking a pay cut. It's interesting, but money has never been my main motivator. It's how I feel about the job that makes me happy.

All my development work, meaning writing to support our software products, will go to two other writers. I will focus on a migration tools task, performance statistics, and process work.

I have wanted a change and a reduction in my workload for a while. I will continue training students, supporting my team, and more. I like this change.

I made the difficult decision to decline my interview on Friday. It feels right. The recruiter was understanding. It is the first time in my life where I have declined coming in for a job interview.

I let my guy know. As usual, he is supportive. Whatever makes me happy, makes my guy happy, too. As usual, he is his sweet self.

Work travel bans and vacation

For a while, my guy was on the road all the time. These days, he has the opposite problem. Our company has a travel ban. If he were to deliver courses, they need to be done online.

My guy has often said that he doesn't like a ton of travel where he is away for weeks. These days, he has an itch to go somewhere.

Our company is going through some restructuring. Some jobs have been cut. What is unique about our situation is that our departments are thriving. We are constantly hiring and is one of the more profitable departments.

My guy told me that his counterparts in other departments have been let go. I have seen the same situation on my end. Most of the cuts have happened in our various European sites.

We aren't worried about our employment. We have been discussing going on a trip together. My guy misses when I would join him on a business trip. He always liked coming back to the hotel or meeting me somewhere after work. I liked that, too.

Instead, we'll have to plan our own little vacation, which isn't a bad idea.

My guy misses me

My work laptop is annoying. On Tuesday morning, I had to reboot it four times before I successfully connected to the company's virtual private network (VPN).

My guy and I were both working from home on Tuesday. We were both online. He sent me a message on our instant messaging app and we started to chat:

"How are you doing?" he asked me.
"Good, but busy with work changes. How about you?" I asked him.
"I miss a certain sweet girl with full lips and a cute butt," he replied.

I am wondering what the IT folks make of such work conversations. He's sweet, as usual.

Changes at work and my upcoming interview

Monday turned out to be a decent day. Changes are happening to my team at work, which I didn't see coming.

My manager decided to move a colleague from one team to mine. This writer and I get along. We have the same sense of humour and similar work ethic.

The idea is for a new writer, who is joining my team next week, and this colleague, to take over most of my work. I can then try and focus on process and analytical work that I haven't had a chance to tackle.

I still have training and will be working closely with everyone, including my student. It's crazy to think that I do the work of at least two people -- possibly three.

On a interesting sidenote, my interview on Friday has been confirmed. I am meeting with the manager to see if I am a good fit. We'll see what happens there.

Vegan food festival and jewellery based on the Fibonacci sequence

On Sunday, I drove to see my friend who lives about 1.5 hours to the east from where I live. For some reason, I thought that it would take me two hours.

I went to a vegan food festival. I had perogies that were delicious. I have a weakness for portobello mushrooms. They were amazing.

What blew me away was a vendor who makes and sells jewellery. She makes bracelets and necklaces based on the Fibonacci sequence. I was so blown away. Simply put, the first two beads are similar, but each bead in the sequence is separated by a silver jewel. The next number in the sequence is the sum of the first two. As a result, you get two more beads in addition to separating them by silver jewels, and so on. I loved it.

I told my guy about my jewellery discovery. We both were excited that someone did something creative with math.

We are so geeky. It's one of many reasons why we get along.

Madonna's Rebel Heart World Tour DVD is out -- spanking

When I had just turned twelve years old. I fell in love with Madonna's music. Lucky Star, Borderline, Burning Up, and even Like a Virgin were playing on high rotation. My first major concert was seeing Madonna's Blond Ambition tour a few years later.

I was thrilled when she released Hanky Panky, as it unleashed what I have always loved -- spanking.

Her last concert DVD was MDNA. I bought it and didn't like it at all. It has since sat in a corner, gathering dust. For a while, I haven't been as excited about new Madonna music until now.

She recently completed her Rebel Heart tour. I listened to the concert through Amazon Music. She does indeed spank someone (likely one of her dancers, but she has also spanked guests). I love the music, as many of the songs are not from her MDNA album. I am off to buy the DVD. 

Naturally, I want to see the spanking part. More importantly, I have a feeling that it will rekindle good music memories and perhaps build some new ones.

Payday means ben wa balls

I get paid every other Thursday. This pay period, I decided to revisit ben wa balls.

Months ago, I wrote about how intrigued I was about getting them. It happens when you watch Fifty Shades Darker, I suppose.

I want to get either glass or metal ones. The movie had silver ones on string, which would make it easier to remove.

My guy loves the idea of inserting them and having me get aroused when I move about.

Yay, payday!

Second knock on the job door

It's interesting that when I am not looking for a new job, I am fortunate to have folks contacting me. When I truly want to change jobs, I don't seem to have that sort of luck.

The other day, I had mentioned that one recruiter had reached out to me. A couple of days ago, another one did.

We spoke on the phone on Thursday. Work has been pretty busy. I have been training a new student while both of us continue to work on a software release.

This job isn't a lead position like I am currently doing. However, this position is a fifteen-minute drive from my home. I would save a ton in highway toll fees, time, gas, fuel, and perhaps sanity. I also like change.

This recruiter submitted my resume today. She got an immediate yes-let's-interview-Cutiebootie response from this prospective employer.

I am flattered that I am in such high demand. I have been the interviewee for a while. It'll nice to be interviewed and see how things go.

Vision improvements and iced chocolate goodness

On Wednesday, I went to my ophthalmologist for my fifth eye injection.

He is pleased with my recovery, as I am. I would estimate that 90% of the blood obstruction in my central vision is now gone. He told me that he doesn't normally start to stretch out injections for eye stroke patients this soon. I seem to be an exception. I am grateful!

I started off going monthly for my injections. My recently appointment was six weeks later. My next one is in two months.

My guy has always wondered why I wasn't optimistic about making a full recovery. He knows that I tend to be a positive person. I find that I deal with such uncertain situations if I go with the worst case. Anything better is an added bonus.

My ophthalmologist feels that my sight is practically perfect. I can't complain. I am definitely at a much better place than I was in late March.

I am still not used to having a needle going into my eyeball. I don't think that I ever well, but I can endure each procedure.

Instead of getting a lollypop after each session, I now go to the cafe next door to get an iced chocolate beverage that is both fudgy and yummy.

Throwing my hat into the job ring

The other day, a job recruiter contacted me. It was for a position at a major cell phone provider.

I decided to submit my resume. The unfortunate thing is that this job is a contract position for a year before you get converted to being a full-time employee. I'm not crazy about losing health benefits for a year. Then again, I could buy my own.

The tradeoff is that I would be working from home. No more long commutes to and from cities. I would save some money on fuel, too.

We will see what happens. Part of me would like a change of pace. The other part of me likes to be comfortable.

Fifty Shades Freed - the teaser trailer!

Over the weekend, Jamie Dornan was in Toronto, supporting his wife, Amelia Warner, at the Toronto International Film Festival. She wrote the score to the movie, Mary Shelley.

On Sunday, on Anastasia Steele's birthday, this fun teaser trailer came out:

I'm excited that the third and final installment of the Fifty Shades movie trilogy will be out in February. I didn't ever expect to enjoy this movie series, but I do.

My new sewing machine to create a micro skirt

Each year, around Christmas, I tend to pick up a new skill or a skill that I once used often. This year, I have it down to three:

• Knitting
• Crocheting
• Sewing

I taught myself how to knit with needles years ago. I never got around to binding off, so I definitely need a refresher there.

I don't know how to crochet with a needle. I simply know how to finger-crochet a single, linear row.

By sewing, I am referring to using a sewing machine. I haven't done that since my early undergraduate years.

On the weekend, I bought a sewing machine. It's a portable one that weighs five pounds. It is far from being a toy, but it's a good starter machine for me. It also came in purple, so I had to.

I am tired of hand-sewing clothes that have unravelling seams. I need a sewing machine that keeps my threads in place a lot longer. 

I broke the news to my guy.

"I always like that you are constantly learning," he said to me.
"Thanks! It keeps my mind sharp," I replied.
"With practice, you can sew a micro skirt. I'd love to see you in and out of that," he hinted, smiling.
"I could give that a try. Maybe I'll start with a pillowcase, as you love to sleep, and then move up to a skirt" I replied.
"You're sweet," he said.

It's exciting to be creative and crafty.

Switches at an arts and craft store

On Saturday, I visited Michaels, which is a chain where you can buy arts and crafts supplies. I am contemplating learning how to knit and crochet.

I was in the clocks and woodworking section. When I was in grade 8, in my industrial arts (shop) class, I made a cork board with a built-in clock. I saw similar motorized clocks with hands and everything.

The store had clock faces made of wood. In my day, I used blue plexiglass for my clock face.

Next to the clock faces was a box that contained thin wooden sticks. They resembled switches, except that they were clearly sanded nicely. I tried how it felt when I tapped my palm. It provided a nice, light sting.

I don't like the thought of having the switch used on me to the point where it draws blood. However, I won't mind giving it a try, just to get some nice pink marks.

Ring the bell... ring my bell

After work on Friday, I went to my local post office to pick up a couple of parcels. I walked up to the counter and saw this sign:

Naturally, after ringing the bell, I had "Ring My Bell" playing in my head. I smiled lugging my parcels out the door.

Training and laughing

It's a short workweek. I thank Labour Day for helping me out. However, it has also been a busy one.

I have one student for eight months. I am grateful. Last year at around this time, I didn't have any. I handled everything on my own.

I am back to training. For a while, one of my students took over that task. She created slides.

The downside is that I don't enjoy taking over other people's slides. I have to try and get familiar with them. At times, the flow isn't right. At one stage, twenty slides were duplicated in the same presentation!

It's funny how when I reviewed them, everything looked fine. However, when I actually dive into training, I realized that my hands-on method is far more effective than some of the videos recorded by past students

At one stage, both the new student and I were laughing at a video. The information was so confusing! Yep, I have flagged that video to be updated.

I am enjoying training again. It's a nice change of pace. Thankfully, the new student and I get along well.

Car insurance - it boggles my mind

A week or two ago, I got a renewal statement for my car insurance. Normally, I glance over it and call it good. However, I decided to do a comparison between my current policy and the new one.

One of my deductibles ended up being reduced to $50. I also ended up paying an extra $35 a month on the new plan. If you multiply that increase by twelve, you would understand why I ended up calling my insurance company.

I asked about the reduced deductible. I was told that since I was a good customer with a decent driving record, my deductible was reduced. I went on to say that if I was indeed a good customer, why am I paying an extra $420 for the upcoming year? I can understand that rates go up every year, but this increase just boggled my mind.

My policy was changed such that I am now paying paying an extra $11 more a month by installing an app that tracks my driving habits. I tried it for the first week and hated that it drained my cell phone's battery life.

Naturally, I had to ask what happens to the data collected. Apparently, it stays with the company and is perfectly secure. Still, the fact that my battery drains by the end of the workday is ridiculous. In the past, I could be just fine charging my cell phone overnight. My battery would last the entire day. I am a medium user.

Anyway, I just uninstalled the app. I feel much better.

Wooden spatula that is perfect as a spanking implement

My guy and I love Winners, which is a department store that offers decent goods at decent prices. Each store is different in that there are different items every week.

The other day, we went to his favourite one in Mississauga. I love this store, too. We tend to find deals and neat items.

I was in the kitchen section. I found the nicest wooden utensil. It was a spatula.

The wood is thick and hearty. More importantly, it works nicely as a spanking implement. It was a good deal for $6.

My guy held it in his hand. He lightly practiced on my backside as we were lining up to pay for the item.

"You have good taste. I like the feel of it," my guy remarked, giving me a light smack across my left buttock.
"It's effective. I am getting turned on," I replied.
"Good. I'll make you wet a bit more until we get back to the room," he said.

We love Winners.

Date night - at a concert

Last night, my guy and I went to see Depeche Mode in concert. The last time the band was here, I couldn't go. I vowed to not miss the next show.

I thought that our seats weren't that great, but they turned out nicely. We had a side view of the stage.

The concert was amazing! I chatted with the usher. I thanked him at the end and wished him a good evening. He reciprocated.

I also chatted with an older man next to me with his wife. It was my guy's first Depeche Mode show. It was this guy's second. So, I ended up talking about the band's music with both men.

I realize why I do not drink beer at shows. It isn't because I am cheap, although my guy would approve of saving a ridiculous amount of money for a beer at such a venue. It's because you constantly have to leave to hit the washroom and come back. It was a pain after hitting double digits letting folks pass by. I simply wanted to enjoy the show.

I had a wonderful time. My guy did, too.

Movie night full of cuddles

Whenever my guy travels, he watches a ton of in-flight movies. A while back, he told me that he had watched Creed. He thought that it was okay. I asked why. He couldn't explain it until I asked whether it moved him. It didn't.

I am doing a staycation in the same city in which both my guy and I are employed. It's a nice suite with a kitchen. It's cozy.

My guy and I spent part of our evening cuddling and watching what was on TV. We decided on a movie. It was Rocky Balboa.

"Did you like the movie?" my guy asked me after it was over.
"I did. It had a nice, emotional build as the movie progressed. How about you?" I asked him.
"I liked it, too. Having you watch a movie with me always makes it better," he said, being his sweet self.

I have missed watching movies with him, cuddling, eating popcorn, and just being together.

Packed with parting gifts

I am all packed. I am ready for my Labour Day weekend staycation to begin!

Friday was a good day. It was my two students' last day with the company. We went out of a casual lunch. It was nice spending nearly two hours away from the workplace.

They are incredibly thoughtful, creative folks. They gave me thank-you gifts, which consisted of chocolate and tea. I love both.

The quieter one of the two drew M&M's characters that I love on the gift tag. She also made sure that the gift tag's string was purple, which happens to be my favourite colour.

It was great working with them. I get to start the entire process again, but with a single student who starts next week.

It's simply nice to have a long weekend. I get to rest up before the craziness begins!

Android Oreo... sounds yummy!

I have had an Android phone for nearly a year now. I had been an iPhone user for five years. Before that, I was a BlackBerry user. I have been told that I am impartial when it comes to technology.

Yesterday, I installed the latest Android operating system, Oreo, on my phone. The good news is that nothing horrible happened during the upgrade. However, some odd things did occur:

• I have an app called SCENE, which tracks my points for free movies, snacks, and food. For some reason, after the installation, this app decided to automatically launch itself whenever it felt like it. I uninstalled it. I have a feeling that it isn't compatible with Oreo.
  
• Another app, iHeartRadio, decided to run in the background whether I wanted it to or not. I originally switched to this app because all radio stations in this network got removed from popular radio apps like TuneIn. I reinstalled TuneIn and the radio station that I enjoy listening to is back. Bye bye, iHeartRadio!

A while back, I installed System UI Tuner. It has a cool bunch of functions that are experimental on Android. I installed it because I wanted the battery percentage to appear in the upper right corner of my Pixel phone. Oddly, it isn't there by default like many phones.

Before Oreo, the percentage was right on the battery icon and it was difficult to read. With Oreo, it looks like what I was used to on my iPhone. You get a clear reading of the percentage next to the battery icon.

On the whole, Oreo seems a bit better performance-wise. I will given SCENE another try when a new version is available.