Soy sauce is not an easy stain to remove.

Thankfully people don't notice elbows so much, so this stain that I managed to have (permanently?) set into my nice clean white shirt isn't so noticeable - unless you're walking behind me. But as I said, people don't notice elbows so I should be ok until I get home.

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I seem to have floated through the last few weeks, undisturbed, unruffled and just in a "meh" state. Not so much a "blah" state, which is very different then "meh". In "meh" you can sit back with your legs on the desk (though I don't think the customers like that so much) with an unaltered smile on your face and let every worry and anxiety-laden thought pass over you with a shrug of your shoulders and a "meh, doesn't bother me".

Almost zen-like (but if you're in a zen state of mind, should you be worrying about whether or not you're actually in a zen state...?)

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My brother turns 20 tomorrow. Though there's only about 3 years and 4 months between the two of us, I think of him as being much younger. He was, afterall, the baby of our family until about 7 years ago. And I do play that whole "big sister" thing out too much. So I'm in a bit of a shock (could be the reason I'm unphased by other things. His turning 20 has troubled me enough). I flipped out just a teeny tiny bit when I turned 20 (with the number of "oh-my-god-when-did-I-get-this-old posts I've put up, you imagine how much exactly 'teeny tiny' really is).

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It's sad how much we (or maybe it's just me) depend on the internet. Our internet at home hasn't been working since Monday and my brother and I can't figure out what to do with our computers other than play movies (the latest obsession being watching old episodes of ER). Everytime I reach for the mouse to check my email, look up a phone number, search for the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, or see if I can buy an iPod cover on eBay I have to turn away with a sad face because there's no internet. (Yet AGAIN Rogers is to blame. They so "kindly" decided to set us up with a new model but then forgot to program the thing. So of course when I call tech "support" they ask me to read off a whole bunch of numbers, and say they'll have to put in a work order so it should be done within 24-48 hours at which time an automated voice should call me to let me know the status. I'm going on Hour 28 and still no robot voice has called).

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Do we expect too much from people? In the days where we can get anything, anywhere at anytime, we've become accustomed to speed and computer accuracy. People seem to forget that there actually are humans who sit in front of that computer. People are more impatient and quick to angry. Here's a newsflash. If you come to a bank on a Friday evening a couple hours before closing - they will be busy. It's simply inevitable. At Christmas time, everyone else will get parking, except you. Internet isn't invincible - it can stop working (as I've found out).

Today something happened with our bank's vault. At first we thought the timer that is set each night (so it will disarm in the morning) was set wrong, but it turned out the mechanism was jammed so there was no one to blame. But we didnt have any keys, stamps, cheques, bank cards, cash reserves, drafts and even our damn fax tray (where you put all the paper - yes we lock that up at night too in case our cleaners decide to intercept our confidential faxes) so we had our hands tied pretty much the whole day. Sure we were cranky about it, but we dealt with it.

Customers on the other hand acted as if we might as well have closed. Despite courteous and professional demeanor used when explaining the situation, fists were banged on counters, people huffed and puffed (though they didn't blow the branch down) and one person remarked that since we didnt have extra cash, we might as well have closed (not that I would have minded...). You'd think we were they only branch within 20 miles of anything.

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Gas prices are going up...again. I shake my fist at the horrible gas companies and their chubby, white-haired, pink faced, country club going executives. Damn you all to heck!