FML

For those of you who don't know, yours truly is currently employed with American Family Insurance [pause inserted here because I know you're singing the jingle].  I actually work for a District Manager who is over a good chunk of Agents in the KC Area.  So, if you live in KC, have insurance with American Family, and have a complaint about your Agent, you could call me.  And I'll tell you to call State Farm.

There's actually a whole lot of fun going on here at American Family...for everyone else.  I recently scheduled a week long trip to Cancun for my boss and 6 of our Agents, along with the District Manager, District Manager Assistant and 5 agents all from another District.  Now, maybe you caught that and maybe you didn't.  That's right, I said District Manager Assistant from another District. "But wait. Aren't you a District Manager Assistant, Mandy."

Yes. Yes I am.

For some reason, I didn't get to go on this week long, paid vacation to Cancun.  Why?  I've narrowed it down to 4 reasons:

1. My District Manager doesn't like me as much as hers likes her.
2. My District Manager fell asleep in his office the day he was supposed to ask me to come.
3. My District Manager was afraid I would let it slip to his wife just how much he falls asleep in his office.
4. My District Manager found out I spend 85% of my day emailing Marshall about how he's sleeping in his office AGAIN.
5. No one wanted to see my pasty white skin in a 2 piece.

Personally, I bet it was #4.

-Mandy-


PS - Told you my life is boring now.

Not New Shoes...

New Hair!!! Check me out:




Oh yeah, lookin good!

I took that picture in my office. Today is one of the many days that my boss (the only other person in the building) isn't in. I guess when you're that close to retirement, golf is just more important than people's car insurance. I wouldn't know.

Anyway, since I still don't have wedding pics to show, I decided to take a picture of my everyday view for you too. I go home at the end of every day with terrible neck pain because I stare a computer screen all day that's a little high and slightly cock-eyed from the center of my desk. I'd fix that but I'm too lazy I've been so busy.




You can see I have the essentials: Tony Romo bobblehead, currently empty coffee mug (not for long), pic of hubby, post-its, window to outside world. What you can't see is the *broken marijuana tree to the left of my desk:




Somedays, I really wish it worked...

Hope to have those wedding pics for you soon! Patience is annoying a virtue.

Love love love,

Mandy

*Broken = Fake

But How Did He Know?!

My bosses boss just came over to my desk and said to my boss: "Amanda was prairie doggin it." Apparently, he saw me pop my head up over my cubicle to see if anyone was coming and decided to tell my boss about it. Unfortunately, his choice of words means something totally different to those of us who've seen Rat Race.

Life As We Know It...

From the Kansas City Business Journal:

Waddell & Reed offers early buyouts, may make further job cuts

Feeling the pinch from the stock market’s free fall, Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. has started cutting employees.

Spokesman Roger Hoadley said Monday that the Overland Park-based company (NYSE: WDR) plans to cut 15 percent of its compensation costs. He said the company started offering a voluntary separation package Friday, with enhanced severance incentives tied to job grade and tenure. The voluntary separation offer expires Dec. 4, he said.

“Depending on the result of this voluntary separation program, we’ll look at other alternatives, including the need for involuntary separation,” Hoadley said.

Waddell & Reed CEO Hank Herrmann said in an internal memo to employees on Thursday that the cuts are due to a “swift and violent” decline in stock and bond prices. Most of the company’s revenue comes from fees based on assets under management, Herrmann said, so the company needs to reduce expenses to be more in line with revenue.

Waddell & Reed started the year with $70 billion in assets under management. That has declined to less than $45 billion, Herrmann said in the memo.

“I know that the timing of this announcement, given the approach of the holidays, could not be worse,” Herrmann wrote to employees. “Like you, I wish we were not in this situation. The severity of the market and economic downturn and their impact on us leave us no choice but to take decisive action now, to reduce expenses.”

Hoadley said the company does not plan to cut financial advisers.

Waddell & Reed has 1,030 employees in the Kansas City area and 1,673 overall.

Yup, I'm one of those 1,030 employees.

I Won't Really Burn Your House Down

John (a coworker): What are you eating?! That smells horrible!

Nicole (my boss): It's pea soup. Nutritious and tastes just like cat vomit. Want some?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I guess no one cares about my injury last week. Or you were just too shocked and appalled by the intensity of it to comment. Or you hate elephants. Rude. If you're going to hate large mammals, you should hate camels. They stink and spit and are uncomfortable at Jewish bar mitzvahs.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Romeo and I visited the great state of Kentucky last weekend (by way of Tennessee). Two states I've never been to before and am looking forward to returning to. The people there are nice and have accents that make me seem smarter than I really am. I like that.

Romeo met his new family (the Western Kentucky University men's basketball coaching staff) and I got to shop a little and enjoy the fantastiosity of not having to work 2 jobs for 4 whole days. Glory was mine.

Due to his amazingness, Romeo and I got prime seats at the game that Saturday where, for the entire first half of the game, I got to stare at this:


Annoying. But, luckily for me, there was a student in the stands who decided that he was the WKU Pep Squad and spent the entire second half utilizing the power he must've received from drinking 28 cans of Red Bull during halftime:

Awesome.

Other than that, Romeo and I relaxed as much as possible. Here are some candid photos of your favorite couple from the game and Date Night in Nashville:

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In other news, my birthday was last weekend. If you forgot to tell me "Happy Birthday," you have exactly 24 hours before I burn your house down.