Welcome to the NEW LAUP!

This post should be read while listening to ET by Katy Perry.  You can imagine me singing and appropriately biting my bottom lip as all officially white people should.  I am obsessed with that song.

I have been at my job now for six months.  Slowly, my "true" personality is starting to emerge.  I used to be the quiet data monkey in the corner.  Now I'm the CRAZY lady in that they keep locked up in the corner.

Our boss wasn't coming in until 1pm today....so things were a little unruly in our office.

These kinds of things happen often - people taking pictures of themselves in outfits that are deemed cute! 

I suggested that we have a dance party/contest and I could be the judge.  But I wasn't allowed to take photos of this event.

 One of our coworkers is leaving to go to First 5 LA.  We had her going away lunch yesterday and we were all signing a card for her today. I decided that each of us should pick a dog from the card that represented us.

The scrappy one is me, the "Adios" one is Jeanette.  Our boss chose the mutt (?).

But these were contestants, as well...

 Finally the boss arrived and we had to do some "work."  But that couldn't really commence until we had scavenged chocolate from various members of the office:

Indeed, unlike men, chocolate will NEVER let you down. Especially chocolate with caramel!  

True dat!  Word to your motha!

 I sit in a corner, by myself.  This was done randomly, as we were assigned numbers in our old office and then they were assigned in linear order to offices when we moved.  Now that all the dust has settled, and I often venture to "visit" (read bother and annoy and mock) others, people have started to come visit me.  They are horrified by the status of my desk.

Here is a typical day on my desk:

Highlights:  Notre Dame license plate, Nalgene bottle, lotion, Mac Book (because work won't put Stata on my computer and I refuse to use the inferior SPSS).  Please note that I try to keep my papers organized.  SOMEONE comes in the night and messes up my desk!

See! I work!  Open binders...email open, phone off hook, empty Diet Coke bottle, my favorite PINK calculator. The post-it note on the corner of my computer screen says:

1.  Be Loving

2.  Be Faithful

3.  Be Patient

On the other side there is a note that says:  "Nothing is hard, you just don't wanna do it. --Gramps"

My inspiration to keep working!  Hooray! 

1. A picture of my last class

2. A note from one of my favorite students (although at the time I almost killed her!) telling me I am her favorite teacher, all on the background of an interlocking ND (they knew me well!).

3. Picture of my cousins in Las Vegas

4. Sun Bowl photo

5.  Quote: "People see God everday; they just don't recognize Him."

(from The Observer, back in the day)

6.  Random other inspirational quotes

7.  Notre Dame prayer of gratitude

8.  Picture of the chapel at Notre Dame

And of course:  hair mousse, my LAUP coffee cup that I never use, the scarecrow from the Halloween cake pops (that I made in October, haven't taken the scarecrow home yet), Pink unicorn/horse from a Happy Meal.

And so there it is...slowly I will revolutionize the culture of LAUP.  There hasn't been any banging on windows....yet.....