Right now Cariann is in the lunchroom cooking bacon (she is filling in for Office MOM this week - who is out sick. And Cariann is Office Daughter after all) to go on our grilled cheese for lunch. It is a warm inviting smell on such a yucky day as today. The coworkers and I came up with a great idea - bacon candles (inspired by “Bonfire” candles - last night’s The Office) but it looks like its already been done, BLT candles. Love the description:

You may want to light them in your kitchen, office or bedroom or wherever you seek sensual pleasure and enlightenment; by yourself or with someone special.

Actually, its not “real” bacon - its turkey bacon. But it still smells great, and its better for us anyway.

Each day we get to hear the wonderful voice of our Director of First Impressions at work as she beckons us to the lunchroom, “Lunch is hot and ready!”. Today is deli day (sandwiches, soup, pasta salad and cookies), so, “Lunch is hot and cold and ready!”

Last week was a tasty week! And a special week, since we were able to have pork (usually we don’t have pork products due to an employee’s dietary restrictions) April first (Tuesday) was great, MOM made a carrot cake that was to die for – I was eating the leftovers all week.

You can see the comments and doodles that people add to the lunch menu as they walk by. This week isn’t as bad as some…

When I tell people I have an Office MOM (Maternal Operations Manager) they often ask what sort of food she makes. I tell them its good food and no, we don’t have to pay for it. So, just to show off I am posting this week’s lunch menu.

Mon: Navy Bean Soup, Dan’s Chicken Ranch Pizza, Tropical fruit salad

Tue: Pot Roast*, Gravy, Smashed Potatoes, Carrots*
Wed: Chicken Wild Rice Casserole*, Tossed salad, Cranberry Orange Salad
Thu: White Chicken Chili (and fixin’s), Guacamole and chips*, cornbread twists*, Apple Tart
Fri: Cariann’s Tomato Soup w/ Grilled Cheese sandwiches (with bacon or Ham or Tomato or Plain or etc) Rice Krispie Bars.
* My favorites this week

After months of hard work, Century21.ca was launched yesterday at 5:21 pm. It is a pretty awesome website, we are very pleased with how it turned out. So if you are looking for a house in Canada this is the site for you! Next up: sleep.

My company is a dog-friendly company, so everyday we have 3-4 dogs in the office. This is Sasha, she is my favorite (shh, don’t tell the other dogs). Sasha reminds me of Clint and Nick, the Siberian Huskies we had when I was growing up. But she is much smaller, and quite talkative. Sometimes her human calls her “Moo” because of the funny bark/howl she makes.

I have been in Vancouver, BC all week for work. I had good intentions of updating while here, but work has been insanly busy, working late every night. Vancouver is a beautiful city, I have a few pictures I will hopefully post.

Update: Photos on Flickr!

When I switched jobs a few months back I truly intended to blog about the job change here. But as often happens with blogs I got too busy and never did it. So now, as I enter my 5th month at the new company I will sum up the differences between my former job and my current one. I will refer to the new company as XYZ and the old company as Widgets. (more…)

Next week I will be attending The Future of Web Apps a 2-day conference in San Francisco. There are some pretty big names (in the web industry) who will be speaking there, so I am pretty excited. Kris is attending as well, so we will be spending a few extra days in and around the city.

I don’t have a lot of experience going on interviews (I have only been on 2 in the past 4 years, both of which resulted in a job offer) but recently I have been on the other side of the interview process - conducting (at least part of) the interview. There are tons of lists of what to do/not to do at an interview - here is mine:

• Don’t use profanity on your resume; it just isn’t professional
• Bring a copy of your resume to the interview. This seems obvious, but I recently encountered one person that did not, and on that particular day our printers were on the fritz so I couldn’t print a copy before the interview as I usually would
• Don’t list technologies that you don’t know. If you can’t accurately describe what dHTML is and how you have used it, leave it off.
• Keep it brief and to the point. When you are asked about your previous work experience you should be able to sum up in a few sentences each of your previous jobs. Value the interviewer’s time - don’t launch into a 30 presentation of every detailed job you have had since you were 14.

I intended to update sooner, but I have been sick for about a week. Finally feeling better. Glad it is Friday.

Today is my 5th day at the new job (still need a clever name for the place). Seems longer. Downtown is so very different than the suburbs. So many different people; with the nice weather I have been walking around quite a bit and enjoying the atmosphere. There is a water fountain in front of the building I work in. Yesterday someone must have dumped a bottle of shampoo in it or something, because all day it was overflowing with piles of suds. On Thursdays during the summer there is a farmers market on Nicolette Mall (where I work -how convenient), so I have been picking up fresh fruit and vegetables.

I managed to take the bus for the first time yesterday. Got a little motion sickness in the morning - must remember to always face forward. I am jealous of all those people reading on the bus. After work I was waiting in the wrong spot, so I missed the first bus, had to wait about an hour for the 2nd. This afternoon I should be able to do it right. Who would have thought riding the bus would be so difficult?

Cool things about new job:
+ Vending machine snacks are cheap
+ The bathrooms are clean

And, finally, a shout-out to all the peeps in Mendota Heights - Yay! I will add commenting soon…