MappyB

Map of the Day - Beer

Sometimes it makes me sad that I no longer reside near the land of beer and extra sharp cheddar anymore, but, then again, I am also no longer a FIB. Now I'm just a Yankee.

Map of the Day - Mapparium

Someday, when I earn a buttload of money for years of thankless government contracting GIS work, I am going to build a Mapparium as my home office. (sigh...the dreams of a geo-nerd)

more photos on the Mapparium Flickr set.

Enraptured at Work

At what point do people think it is appropriate to openly discuss their religious, political, and discriminatory beliefs in the workplace? I totally respect the right to free speech, however, once you start showing videos of Rapture preparedness to your coworkers, and insulting people because of their race, I believe the line has been crossed. Clearly it is not common knowledge that you do not discuss these topics in the workplace, and I should have known better about thinking otherwise since I work in a government building in the South.

Map of the Day - Madoff

A map of Madoff's victims:

Resurrection

You knew I couldn't stay away forever, right? Please bear with me while I format the site and filter through posts from the past three years. Until then.....enjoy!

A lot has happened since last posting in September of 2007: I continued school that semester, my dad underwent serious lung surgery, I took a part time job at 'the' Bass Pro, had my first Christmas in Florida, had my second New Years in Savannah, quit my job at 'the' Bass Pro, bought a house, planted a garden, graduated college with my undergraduate degree, went to Key West, suffered through a sweaty Savannah summer, got engaged, accepted a permanent *real* job, brought home a boxer puppy, said puppy took over our lives, had a cold Christmas in Illinois, third New Years in Savannah, and this year we have commenced wedding planning. Phew. Stay tuned for another post later today, until then, enjoy a nice glass of Bitch.

View From A Subaru - Hamburger Hogout

Sorry I didn't let you all know earlier - looks like we missed this Statesboro McDonald's event. I don't know why people think America has an obesity problem; nothin' wrong with loving a good old fashioned hogout.

Is This Love? (Pre-Nup Talk)

Scene: Last night, Bedroom. Me reading in chair, Him on bed reading.

Me: (relevant to reading my financial aid statements) I want a pre-nup someday so you don't get stuck with all my student loan debt in case you decide to jump ship and canoe across the world.

Him: Ok.

Big Pause

Him: Is this so you can take the TV and stuff?

Me: Yes. And the canoe. And the whitewater kayak. I plan on taking up whitewater kayaking if you ever leave me.

Him: I would start shopping at Sephora if you left me.

Me: I am going to write books on canoeing, and whitewater kayak on the most dangerous of rivers.

Him: I would come find you, and stop you.

Me: I am going to start fishing all the time.

Him: I am going to order a lifetime subscription to InTouch magazine.

Me: I am going to build a canoe sailboat.

Him: I am going to make a recipe for the BEST gluten free bread in the world and not sell it.

Me: I am going to go on tour with Motley Crue and party like a rockstar.

Him: I am going to become friends with Sting and have him call you and ask you on a date and then stand you up.

Me: I am going to go bungee jumping and do crazy adventurous activities.

Him: I would come and find you, and jump next to you.

Me: I am going to become a surveyor and survey the greatest jobs in the land.

Him: I am going to buy out all the flip flops in the world and not sell you any.

Me: I am going to buy Cabelas, REI, Land's End, LL Bean, Dick's Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops, and all the kayak shops - and shut them down.

Him: YOU WOULDN'T.

Me: I would.

Him: I am going to buy all the cheeses and wines in the world and not give them to you.

Me: I am going to off road a car from in the London - Dakar Rally and then go on a Tunis to Cairo trip.

Him: (Gasp!), I am going to move to ROCKFORD.

Big Pause.

Me: Then you will be in Rockford.

Him: And I will eat at Beef-A-Roo everyday! And that Japanese place!

Me: I am going to start cooking steaks everyday and meatloaf and eating beef all the time!

Him: OK, this isn't funny anymore, leave the beef out of this. That's just mean....you're hurtful.

Top 10 Things I Love About Savannah

1.) The parks and squares. Everything here is so green and tropical looking (compared to my Illinois homeland). I've even come to enjoy the Spanish moss hanging on the trees, and the Oaks are so beautiful.

2.) The downtown vibe. Walking around downtown Savannah feels somewhat European to me. Although I've only been to Portugal and Spain in that region, it's just great to be able to walk everywhere with a variety of coffee shops and restaurants.

3.) Open Container. I won't lie, I'm not an alcoholic, but I enjoy walking around downtown drinking a cold one. I love that bars ask you if you want that drink 'To Go', and I love being able to walk in to a bar with a drink in hand. I feel that adds to the European vibe of it all.

4.) Waterside Dining. I think I may have found our perfect dining location. I can't tell you where it is, because it's already popular, but it's ideal - right on the water, totally low key (I don't have to wear heels), and just has an island feeling. I've said too much. If I could wear flip flops every day for the rest of my life, I would be in heaven.

5.) Forsyth Park. I love having a park so close to our home - it's great place to meet up with people for an impromptu bocce game and it's fantastic when there's a concert in town (Ziggy Marley) within walking distance.

6.) Everyone knows everyone. I know this isn't true to a T, but it sure it true to a second degree here. I feel like sometimes it's almost hard though, as if you have to be on your best behaviour all the time because you never know who you will run in to. For example, we had someone over at the house the other day and found out he works high up where my man does - then we were out to dinner with a friend and that guy was there, walked by, said hi to our friend (who is a client of the guys) and then noticed we were there too and said hi to us. Crazy. I know you didn't get any of that, but let's just keep up here.

7.) Tybee / Little Tybee. I love being close to the beach - I LOVE that. It's so nice to be less than a half hour to putting a boat in the water and enjoying some nature.

8.) Climate. There is not a winter here - not a true winter in my vocab at least - and it's great to be able to be outside year round.

9.) Friendliness. Everyone is friendly (at least to your face). This was hard at first because sometimes I'm in a hurry and just want to get somewhere, not start up a conversation about where you're from, who your family is and where you love to eat. But I've come to enjoy slowing down and talking to people, because again, everyone knows everyone and you don't want to not stop and talk to someone that may know your name or people you know. Always bring your A game to the table here!

10.) A slower pace of life. Sometimes it's frustrating, yes, but it's really really nice after a long time of moving around and being hurried, stressed out and dealing with drama (see last post). I really enjoy my new 'no worries' philosophy and I'm milking it for all it's worth. Why get angry? Just be open and honest with people. Slow down, enjoy the day, talk to someone new. Slowing down also helps you not break a sweat down here in the his heat. AH, it's not even bad yet!

Top 10 Things I Do Not Miss About Working As A Government Contractor

1.) I don't have to send my maps through a triple-checked signed-off QA process, and then have it sent back to me in a blaze of anger and attitude because 'it's my fault' if there is a typo or correction made that they didn't catch.

2.) I don't have to have a work cell phone (although the paid phone was nice).

3.) I don't have to change large plotter rolls of paper, change water cooler jugs, take out the trash, dust, clean and pack and move not only my personal items, but the entire division's items when changing office spaces.

4.) I don't have to lock my computer desktop when I leave (although I still do out of habit sometimes).

5.) I don't have to have R!diCul0u5y long passwords (aka: th!5suxAL0t), or run smack in to the door when coming back with coffee because I forgot they changed the lock combination and pushed the wrong buttons)

6.) I don't have to have to show an ID badge when I come and go, nor do I have to have multiple forms of photo ID hanging off my neck at any time of day, along with a Metro card.

7.) I don't have work night shift ever again.

8.) I don't have to listen to supposedly brilliant government officials debate whether or not the map time should read 24:00 EDT or 00:00 EST for midnight on the day of the time change.

9.) I don't have to pay attention to NOAA's site 24/7 to see whether or not I can make plans for the weekend during Hurricane Season.

10.) My bosses here actually do their jobs (and you don't have to email them a billion times first) - not just hand it off on lowly contractors then leave for the day (after they waltzed in at 10am)!

Bonus # 11.) People work on Fridays! I didn't know this was normal!

What's your *favorite* part of working for the Gov?

I Can ’ t Stop The Tots.

I am officially, as of today, 13 June, 2007 1:48pm EST on restriction from Chick-fil-A - the coworker gets ten bucks if he sees me with wrappers, containers, their foam cups, napkins and/or potatoes stuck to my face, shirt or keyboard. (Sometimes tots are so good yous just gots to roll around in them.)

And now, for the random question of the day - provoked by watching an old episode of Seinfeld last night - whatever happened to Clearly Canadian? I see they still have a website, am I just missing them in the store? Perhaps I haven't even noticed, but when I saw Jerry and Elaine drinking out of their curvy bottles I wanted a cold one too. Judging from their site they even still sell in the U.S. Hm...perhaps that will be my quest for the week. Remember the old bottles, those were great, then they went with the trendy wrapping...I do remember those - I think I liked peach the most, but I can't find that online either....Well, at least now I have something to do! Remember Orbitz - the floating things drink? Those were made by Clearly Canadian too....gosh, all my repressed seltzer memories are just flooding back now, it's too much to bear....