Junior Achievement BizBowl 2010

The bowling tournament was a BLAST!!!!!!!!!!
The first game I managed a 42...I started and ended with strikes and pretty much everything else was gutter balls.  Second game was a little better...3 strikes and a few extra pins here and there and still a whole bunch of gutter balls.  Seriously, I suck at bowling, but I had so much fun!!!!
I played with girls from the main office, but spent time running down to check on my Reidville peeps.
Here are pictures.....

I think I'm so artsy LOL

Harriett and Jeff...so cute!

Ted and Debra...my camera flashed a gazillion times in the dark bowling alley and Debra was not feeling the patience!

The newlyweds, Joe and Suzanne...after I got them to quit making out and smile for a picture.  DORKS!

Donna and Larry left before I took the camera out :(

And last but not least....

DRUMROLL...

POLLY WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me with the representative of Reidville Road, Miss Polly Palmetto

She won the bowling pin beauty pageant and on this auspicious occasion she would like to thank Cynthia Edge for helping to bring her into being and all those who donated to JA by voting for her!!

Here is some of her worthy competition!

The Village People on the left were quite cute!

My cohort Elizabeth's fish Lilly.  Definitely the most stylish fish I've ever met!

Ok, so obviously the pin pageant is my new favorite aspect of BizBowl.  Can't wait until next year!!!

Blackberries, Bowling Pins, and Palmetto Trees

As this week is completely bananas, here is the quick and dirty recap of the last few days.
First of all, we bid Chase farewell this past Saturday.  For those of you in my inner sanctum of friends you know that Chase has been my purple motorola W755 cell phone for the last 2 years.  She was a huge upgrade in my cell phone life and I absolutely loved her.  A great phone!!  However time flies and I used her almost to death.  The backlighting on her keypad went out, and she developed a strange need to shut herself off and sleep a while at random, so when my new every two came due I went shopping.

Enter Alice!  My new purple (all good cellphones are purple and have names)Blackberry Curve who does more things that I actually have comprehension of how to learn to do, but I love her!!!  Everyday I learn something new and amazing about her and she isjust soooooo pretty.  This is a Blackberry for girly boys and girls; macho women and men need not to apply.  NOt to mention that the lovely gentleman who sold me to her recommended a dark lavender protective case that looks like a dark frame around her face.  Beautiful!!
Currently mine has the blue catterpillar from Alice and Wonderland, Absolem as my wallpaper.  Yes, I did see the movie, but I saw it at the wrong time without the right people and when that happens then I will blog.  Sometimes a movie is about the people you experience it with as much as the characters you experience, and I need a redo on this one to capture to right experience to document.

Now onto bowling pins and palmetto trees....this is a convoluted little tale.
I work at a bank, and banks are required by law to do alot of community and public service (actually I think it is a shame that we have to have laws to make us be decent people, but I digress.)  This is the time of year that we in banking like to refer to as the fundraising season.  The precedeing month has been full of fundrasing for Junior Achievement of Spartanburg that will all culminate Friday night in a big old fashioned bowl-a-thon.  As apart of this event we were given a beaten and highly battered bowling pin to decorate for the event.  Now keep in mind, this is a season of fundraising.  This particular push will be followed by the March of Dimes and my personal favorite Relay for Life....so, I decided our bowling pin should be a mascot for the season, not just JA.  The Relay theme for this year is "Nothing Could Be Finer, Than a Cure in Carolina."  The t-shirts are navy with the Carolina palmetto moon and a pink ribbon inside the palmetto.  This a blue and pink and white color scheme...March of Dimes is for babies...a blue and pink color scheme...so.....(did I mention my heart was in Relay????)

Meet Polly!!

Cynthia spent her Monday evening helping me with this one!  She painted the pin for me and drilled the hole for the fronds and moon...not to mention cutting the fronds, making the moon and painting the face.  She is brilliant!!  I had a blast working on this with her and I seriously hope that our branch wins in the bowling pin beauty pageant that will go down on Friday night in conjuction with my horendous bowling.

For now, howeverCynthia and I are both pretty proud of our masterpiece!

Valentining at the Bank!

We are raising money at the bank for Jr. Achievement of Spartanburg, and the brilliant Mrs. Jo Alyce came up with the idea of selling Valentine's Day balloons for $2 a piece.  Yesterday the whole lobby looked as if it might take off on a helium vacation.  We only have a few left which I am sure the fellas cashing their checks will snatch up today for their honey's.

We did have a little fun with them before we started selling!

  

Suzanne and Harriett peering through the ribbons.

Finally a picture of Debra that doesn't involve the back of her head!!!

She is a crazy awesome balloon saleswoman.  Amazing!

Our manager Donna looking out from her office into the lobby of balloniness.

Valentine's drive thru decor.  I love these little heart clowns and the kids do too!

I'm the dork posing with the Valentine's Coke can...this is Debra's obvi.  I am a Pepsi girl!!

Random Pictures!

I'm cleaning the camera up and thought I would throw up some pictures from the last week or so, with snappy narration of course!

Lucy and Wilbur!

Yes these are those little kittens that showed up at Paul and Cyn's (minus O'Possum who found a great home!)  Lucy is the little gray and white girl and Wilbur is the black and white male.  He is my favorite and if I didn't live with people who hate all things 4 legged he would be living with me.  I think he is pretty much the cutest cat ever and is super michevious!  Lucy is quite the Daddy's girl and LOVES Paul.  He is such a softy :)

Lucy also loves her big brother Luke.  Here he is, never far from one of his multitude of balls.  Nobody thought he would like having the kittens around, but he seems pretty content to have his new siblings around, and they have figured out to dodge his big feet :)

However,

Tigger is not so impressed.  He has warmed up some from his initial "ignore and hiss when ignoring is impossible stance," but he still thinks Wilbur is a supreme pain in the cat nip, and after watching my mischevious little love bug, I would have to agree.  I don't esspecially warm to people following me around with their nose in my butt either.  Just sayin'...

Now that I have covered P and C's zoo, onto work place what not...

The view from the Drive Thru...it's aint that exciting.  Actually this was from a couple weeks ago.  Today it is so rainy and gloomy I have to use the flash and it just photographs my reflection.

Harriett!

Or as I like to affectionately refer to her as Henrietta.  Pretty muich the coolest CSR around...not to be confused with CSI (we have one of those sometimes too, his name is Taco...whole 'nother story.)  Anyhoo, here she is hard at word and totally oblivious to me snapping pictures of her.  :)

Check out her plants in the background.  She grows the most amazing African violets and aloe plants in the window on her credenza.  The violets are always in bloom and the aloes are always shooting off new plants, or as we call it having babies.

This is my work place pride and joy.  This is my jade plant I purchased at Lowes a few years back.  It was tiny when I first got it.  Now it is huge and I have pruned it back and have worked at using some bonsai techniques for getting the leaves to grow tighter at the top.  This little baby is tons of fun and grows really fast for a jade.  I love her.

I have two gnomes that take care of my jade plant.  This is Humphrey.  They other one is Bogart but he is considerably camera shy and not very photogenic anyway, so Humphrey gets to do the modeling.  These little dudes are just cute and if you don't have a garden to put gnomes in I seriously suggest getting them for your house (or work) plants.

Speaking of camera shy...I tried to get a picture of Debra, but she ducked everytime, and I have a whole stinkin' memory stick full of the back of her head.  Instead of bore you with that, I'm just talking about her online so she will turn funny shades of red when she reads this :)

That's it for the randomness today!

Anniversaries and Such

Of course I didn't know this until I recieved a ton of emails from higher ups and my managers scared me with a loud "Happy Anniversary." but today is indeed my anniversary with the bank.  (A least with this bank, Hometrust does deserve it's dues for those 3 months in NC.)
Anyhoo, time flies!  I would never had thought it has been 3 years.  Three years ago when I got a full time job in SC and solidified that I was in Sparkle City to stay and not returning to Asheville.  It was a scary move at the time but looking back and seeing the twists and turns taken by those I left behind in Asheville, it was the best move I could have ever made.  It took time but I now have this amazing life, with a good job, great friends and the most incredible church family.  Best of all, I have the Corbins sitting on that hill in Asheville like real life guardian angels, proud of who I am and where I am.  I have said this many times, but there have never been people more full of grace than them.  They loved me, cared for me, nursed me to health and then let me go with God. 
So three years in a job, but 3 years of so much more.
Thanks to Debra, Suzanne, Harriett, Meredith, Donna, June and of course our long lost Freddie (Baltimore has no idea what it gained.)  You guys are the best!

A few words on banking etiquette

As a bank teller I find it necessary to say afew word to the banking illiterate.

First, if you want to make a deposit, you should bring a deposit slip. They are quite handy and usually located in the back of your checkbook. Now when you are filling it out the top line says "CASH." This is where you should write in any cash that you are depositing. Any checks you are depositing should not be listed there, but instead on the following lines that have a place for you to put a check number.
Secondly, if you would like some cash back from your deposit you need to write that amount in the "Less Cash recieved" line just above the total. If you want to do this you also must sign the space provided labled "Sign here for cash recieved." This is to protect the teller from giving money from your deposit to someone other than you. In the event that you forget to sign this part, your teller will ask you to do it. Now this is not a cue for you to cuss him or her out. They are actually trying to protect you not harass you so please bear that in mind.
Moving right along...cashing checks. If you go to the bank to cash a check do not be shocked when you are asked for and ID. This is simply a way of protecting our customers. It's actually pretty standard opperating procedure, and unless having your identity stolen really trips your trigger you should smile and cooperate.
Lastly. When you open an account you are given a little booklet called a register. Now you are supposed to right down the checks you right to people and the checks you deposit into your account. In the instance that the checks you right out amount to more than the checks you put in you will be in the negative. This is not my fault. I realize it is inconvenient and you will be charged fees, but again, I didn't do it. You will have to take care of it yourself, and cussing me out will not make me have sympathy for your situation.

These are just a few things to keep in mind next time you visit your bank. :)