Out of Commission

Busy weeks ahead...I'll be out of commission for awhile.

Happy 4th!

Kickboxing Update

Kickboxing is going great. It's hard; the hardest thing I've done. But I love it. There are times that I'm sure I'm going to have to sit out or I'm going to fall over...but I haven't had to yet. And there are times that I check the clock to see how much longer the torture is. But I love it. I've already noticed a difference in endurance after 3 sessions. I took today off. I wanted to go today (I went Monday and Tuesday) to keep up the momentum and build the habit but my calves needed the break, desperately. My left calf hurt so much last night that I was limping around the house because I couldn't put any weight on it.

I'm better today. Sore, but better. It makes it so much easier and more fun to have people to go with. There are 5-6 of us that go afterwork. They are all encouraging and motivating.

So tomorrow I go back. I'm dreading the muscle cramps but looking forward to about everything else...except maybe for the squat-jumps.

Under the Bus

Today I was thrown under the bus to my client by a director at my company. It wasn't right, it was unprofessional, but it happened.

The client is already not happy with me. Not because of anything I've done, but because of things they think I haven't done.

But the thing is, I have done them...and more. We are behind. We are lacking IT resources. I was not here when the committed to this project or the date. I was not the one who said we could implement a product we have never implemented before in 45 days (in most cases we have at least 3 months).

I have a list of IT things that HAVE to be done. They are not nice to haves, they are NEEDS.

But, I'm the one who looks bad to the client. Everyone internally knows what the problem is....not setting the client's expectations right and lack of IT resources. But, we can't tell the client that. So in the meantime, everyone insists on letting me look bad, even though I'm the one responsible for the client relationship. My boss told me today, "I could have put a veteran on this account and it still would have happened. You'll just have to get a few scars on this one and earn your stripes with the client"

What pisses me off is that it's my name that's out there on the line. The company screwed up before I even got here. I have BEGGED for an action plan of what we are doing to fix things and when they will be done....I've begged up to the top of my business unit. I don't even have that. So meanwhile, I have lost all credibility. It's not right.

And I was upset today when I heard what this director said to the client just to save face. And I'm upset that I still don't have an answer to give to the client and I continue to look like I'm not doing my job. But what I was pleased with and surpised of was how many people, when they heard what happened, came to check on me, tell me what a good job I was doing, what bull shit this is, how it happens all the time and that I need to just let it go because I'll get the relationship back. People asked if they needed to tell the execs what I'm doing (no, they don't, they already know). You would have thought we were in a school yard and they saw someone ready to fight me....they were ready to jump in.

So, it pleases me that in almost 6 months, that I've built some great relationships here and made some good friends...despite my feelings of the job itself.

I just don't know how long it's going to take and all I'm going to have to do to build my name back up with the client.

Kiki vs the Laptop

As I was trying to get a few posts in, Kiki was by my side, begging for some attention. We've already been on our walk for today and played a little, but she is especially needy today for some reason.

She started to position herself to sit in my lap in place of the laptop, and I was pushing her to the side. She then was putting her paws on my arm, begging to be petted and I pushed her away. Finally, she put her paw on my laptop, just as I had selected some text to copy and paste, and she pressed delete. I kid you not! Luckily, I was in Word and was able to "undo". Part of me was pissed but the other part of me was laughing.

Happy Birthday Sis #1

Today, Sis #1 turns 19. I'm driving down tomorrow to spend the weekend with the fam. So far, there are 15 Marines from my stepdad's work coming over for mom's lasagna, volleyball, ping pong, horse shoes, Wii and probably some poker. Hell, the 15 Marines is a birthday present enough.

Sis #1 is asking for cash from everyone. Now that she has a car payment to make and insurance to pay. I can't give just cash so she's getting cash and a few other fun things (thank you Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale).

Sis #1 and me are very much opposites. Physically and personally. She's a momma's girl and I'm definitely a daddy's girl. She makes plenty of guy friends and I tend to have a lot of girl friends. I'm the introvert and she's the extrovert. I'm the one willing to leave my comfort zone sometimes, she rarely will. I wanted to get as far away as my parents as possible to build my independence. She say's she'll always live close by. I could go on.

And I love her for doing her own thing. I am proud that she will have her bachelors by the end of this year. I love how carefree she is and how many exciting things ahead of her there are.

And I want to stop her from making mistakes and getting her heart broken, but I can't. And I want to advise her on making good choices and contributing to life, but I can't do that either.

But I get the pleasure and pain of watching. And remembering things like, thanks to me, she thought she was Japanese until she was 10 because I insisted she was since she was born in Okinawa. Or putting her in a laundry basket, tying our jump rope to it and dragging her down the street in the snow. Or teaming up to beat our mom and stepdad at Taboo...we tend to have our own language. And taking her to see N'Sync for her 15th birthday. Or the time she called me old for taking her to a Collective Soul concert.

I watch her mature like watching an intense movie with my hands partially over my eyes. I look forward to the best and cringe for the worst.

But the best part of it, is she is strong and is growing stronger everyday. I'm glad I'm here to watch.

Happy Birthday to my lil sis. May you find something and someone you love and discover what you bring to this world.

Kickboxing

A few of us at work are working on a difficult account and the client has ridiculous demands. I get about 10 calls a day from this client and probably around 40 emails from them. It's ridiculous and it has often had me planning their death or how to jump out the window on my floor.

The project manager on the account attends Kickboxing 5 days a week and loves it. She invited 4 of us from work to join her to relieve some aggression thanks to this client.

It started off with jogging a few laps around the mat. Then lunges. Then side stepping. And squatting. And crap walks. Then duck waddles. And over and over and over for 15 minutes. All I can say is holy shit!

Then we put on the gloves and learn to jab, hook, a roundhouse kick and a front kick. Then we did combos. Then we sped up. It was so fast and consistent with no time to let the muscles relax that I seriously thought I might paralyze my arms.

After learning, it was time to get into the high speed stuff. We'd do some combos, then do jumping jacks. We'd do some more combos and then do squats. We'd do some more combos and then do pushups.

After that, we did some minute sessions where it was freestyle for a minute, then freestyle on crack for a minute and then rest for 30 seconds. OMG!

And just as I thought we were done, the trainer says, "everyone on your back". I spit out a little too loudly, "wow, haven't heard that in awhile". Then I realized it was time for crunches. Regular crunches, and legs to the left or right crunches, and legs up in the air crunches and legs raised above the ground crunches, and scissors. My abs saw more exercise tonight than in my whole life!

I got my ass kicked! I have never worked so hard in my life. There were times that I thought my muscles might pop out of my skin and fall to the floor. I felt like I was back in high school, waiting for the instructor to turn around so we could take a break.

Oh, and the handwraps and gloves! Once I took those gloves off I would have sworn someone stuck their sweaty ass in my face and farted. That is the most rank smell. I can't believe that nasty of a smell can come from hands. I already felt like I needed to puke from the workout. That smell definitely tested my ability to swollow the upchuck! I promptly went to the lysol wipes to wipe down my hands.

However, I had a blast. Not only was it a different kind of work out that actually kept my attention, the trainers are hot and flirt with you the whole time. That certainly helped a bit.

So, I'm doing a trial with 2 of the other girls. So, there are a total of 5 of us that will get to go together, to aggravate the shit out of each other to go as we don't want to be the only ones making a fool out of ourselves there.

Wait for the post tomorrow when I bitch about how sore I am. I see it coming.

Scheduled and Ready

I had my consultation today and July 13th is the big day. Friday the 13th I will willingly let someone burn my eyes with a laser to not have to wear glasses or contacts.

I've done 3 consultations before and this one was the one that made me feel the most comfortable. The price is reasonable and a couple of people at work have gone to this place.

So unless I chicken out, in less than a month, I will no longer need to wear contacts or glasses. I can't wait!

Happy Hour

It's been a long ass week. The most I've worked since being in retail...and maybe even more so.

Tonight a bunch of us went to happy hour around 4pm. I just got home. That would be 8 hours of straight drinking. We ALL had a long week.

And all I can say, is checking your missed calls on the way home and returning the call to your mother is probably not the best idea. I'm not quite sure how I will recover from that tomorrow.

On another note, happy hour should be a highly suggested part of work as I feel that I learn more from time spent out of work with co-workers than during work. Life is crazy like that.

Finish Already

Sis #1 is turning 19 in 10 days. She will have her bachelors by the end of this year.

I need to get crackin'. I have 39 credits left. I have dropped and postponed classes for about the past 6 months. I wasn't focusing and honestly just did not want to do the work.

39 credits equals 13 classes. I might be able to get out a few of those credits by writing a few papers on previous training and work experience.

Each class is 5 weeks long. 5 weeks times 13 classes is 65 weeks, without any breaks. Longer than I want. With employer tuition reimbursement (which I am eligible for next month), I can double up on classes. That will cover 3 classes a year. With financial aid, I cannot double up.

My sister, who is 7 years younger than me, is going to graduate before I do. Ugh!

My goal is to have this done by this time next year. Although, if there was every a glitch in University of Phoenix's computer system that reduces the amount of credits I need, I won't cry over it.

Influence

I've had a few people that have had a significant influence in my life. Whether small or on a larger scale, I recognize the value they have added.

This weekend I was able to experience how it felt to be the person of influence. Or at least positive influence.

Ten years ago, I was practically adopted by someone that led a very important role in my life. She had 2 kids, a 7 & 8 year old. I would hang out with them after school and help them with homework until she was done chaperoning one of the sporting events or teaching night classes.

Throughout all of my moves, we kept in touch and visited. Her daughter especially was interested in my going to college, living the dorm life. After college she kept in touch with where I was and what I was doing.

A couple of months ago, I asked her mom when her graduation was and told her I would try to make it.

Well, tickets to Eastern North Carolina are $700+ so I knew I would be making the drive. I haven't been to that part of the country, reliving those memories, for several years.

I had a business trip to Phoenix last Sunday. Thursday night I took the 11:30 red-eye to arrive into Atlanta at 6am. Don't let the time fool you. It was a 4 hour flight that only allowed me about 2-3 hours of sleep. I ran home to pack another bag, got my hair done, and started my 500 mile venture to North Carolina.

I wanted to call and say I couldn't make it. I wanted to send my gift and tell her how proud of her I was through a phone call. I was so exhausted. Red Bull was my friend. Make that 3 Red Bulls.

But I made it; I'm so very glad I did. She was valedictorian and made an excellent speech. She was beautiful and poised, obviously ready to start her next chapter.

After graduation, her mother, her, and I discussed old times. Her mother joked about how I was the only one that was able to help her understand Algebra. She described memories of when I went to college and sent pictures and she told her mother she couldn't wait to do that. And when she was a freshman she told her mother and I that she was going to be valedictorian.

And we joked more about my college boyfriend. The one with the piercings and lack of high school diploma. The one her mother called the big neon sign. She remembers all the good and the bad. And she has plans on how to handle the bad.

Her and I later got some alone time in the car and she told me about her current relationship and how she was smitten with this guy (yes, her word) but that she wanted to stay grounded. She wished that she would have met him later in life because there was so much she wanted to do first and give her attention to. She was open to my advice but I'm not sure she really needed it.

She told me as I left how much it meant to her that I came to see her graduate and that she knew what I went through to be there. I told her how proud I was of her and that I looked forward to the wonderful things she was going to do with her life.

The next morning I left at 11am for the drive home. I drove 16 hours to spend 16 hours there. It was worth it. Very worth it.

Fortunes

I ordered dinner from P.F. Changs tonight. In my fortune cookie, I had 2 fortunes.

I can live with that Well, let's hope by dream it means the "goal" definition of dream and not the weird ass dreams I have been having lately. Like the dream I had last night where I went to a friend’s house, went back on their back patio (that wasn't on the water) and suddenly they had a view of the ocean and the whales from Sea World were jumping up in the air.

But I like thinking that the best times of my life haven't been lived yet. That's reassuring.

Tropical Depression Barry

As I checked out the weather today, I saw the status of Tropical Depression Barry. It's bringin' on some much needed rain. And the talk of this tropical depression named after a piece of my past has me thinking back to that time of my life, and that relationship.

The story is below the fold. It's long, very long. But I wrote it for me. I believe it's the first time I've told the story in full and I know it's the first time I've written it. It was a good way to think through it all.

My Birthday Wish

Family time at my mom's house usually involves board games, card games, volleyball, horse shoes, baseball or now, playing the Wii. We are all competitive and excel in our own events. One of the ultimate tests for Sis #1's many boyfriends is how they handle hanging with the family. The first night he comes over, we sit him down for a game of poker or take him outside to see if he can swing a bat.

Well, Sis #1's 19th birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and my mom is trying to plan something fun for her. Living in Beaufort, she hasn't made a lot of friends. Let me take that back, she has made PLENTY of guy friends, but few girl friends. She is in Marine Country.

So, my mom was asking me if I could make it and she was planning on having the Volleyball net up and inviting a bunch of my stepdad's Marines over for Sis #1's birthday.

Damn. I never got a bushel of Marines for my birthday.

Although, the thought of having a bunch of Marines over did remind me of my 11th birthday.

We of course lived in a small, 2 bedroom place on base. Somehow, my mom arranged the living room to be able to fit a Twister mat in the middle of it while strategically placed whipcream in some of the circles. This some how became a battle of whatever liquid/creams we could find. Shampoo, conditioner and shaving cream were our ammunition until they ran out. During the fight, my mom sliced a piece of the birthday cake and put it away before taking a pile of it in her hands to smash in my stepdad's face while the rest of us 11 year olds grabbed the cake and started throwing. There are pictures somewhere....I need to find them.

So for my birthday this year, I would like to mix my 11th birthday with Sis #1's 19th birthday. I'll be a happy girl!

New Neighbors

For the past 3 hours, I have been listening to the thump of obnoxious bass from next door. Loud enough that I have been able to identify some of their poor music choices.

And apparently our street is now a used car lot as there are 4 cars that look like they've been parked by a blind person.

If this was a one time thing, I'd be okay.

This is about the 7th or 8th time since they moved in not too long ago. It's so loud that the neighbors on the other side of me can hear it.

So much for sleeping with the windows open. Nights like these I have to play the TV or my own music just to drown out the music. Although, nothing can drown out the bass.

Inconsiderate fuckers!

Not Getting the Hint

Last week, I had a dream that I ran away to Europe. I didn't tell anyone I was going, I didn't bring anything. I just went. And it wasn't like one of those dreams where you "runaway" to a private island or something. I just remember getting there, not having a plan, but really didn't care. I didn't get the sense or peace or being relieved, I just didn't care at that point where we ended up or what we ended up doing. There were 3 other people with me that I knew, but have not been able to relate them to anyone I know in real life. I blew the dream off as the thought of me probably wanting to runaway from work. It was a joke in the office the next day.

Saturday I took a nap and had a dream that I got in the truck to go run an errand and just kept driving and never came back. I don't know where I was going or where I ended up. And when I woke up, I actually did run out to a couple of places and it felt like deja vu. Except, I obviously did return.

And then this morning, I dreamt that I was in a panic to hurry up and leave. In my dream, it was the wee hours of the morning and I was packing boxes and loading everything in my truck.

Okay, I'm listening! Whatever I'm supposed to figure out with this theme running through my head every night, can we make it a little more clear?? And trust me, the last thing I want to see right now are moving boxes!

Big Dreams

Sis #2 is really into writing. So much so that on the last day of school, she received a writing award. In an effort to fuel the fire, I told her to start a blog (no, she does not know about mine). Figuring it would give her an outlet and the comments from friends and family would keep her motivated.

She's got a few posts in there and I'm not sure I ever realized what a big dreamer she is. Nine years old and full of answers, ideas and is determined not let anything get her down. I love it.

I've copied a few of her posts into the extended entry.

Kiki Crisis

My work schedule and travel schedule are picking up at a ridiculous rate. Before Kiki, it wasn't a big deal. After Kiki, it's a very big deal.

Since I got her back in late March, I have had to kennel her 3 times. The first place I took her to was $21 a day and she absolutely hates it. She jumps out of the employee's arms and just cries as I leave. This is far from her normal behavior. She's an attention whore.

I took her to another place, Spot for Dogs that she actually liked. It's a free roam place for dogs where they all hang out together, get a lot of loving and is just like camp for dogs. However, it's $35 a day. Apparently, I am in the wrong business.

With my travel, this can be a very expensive. Not to mention that it isn't fair to Kiki.

It's also got to the point that I am working longer hours. So it's killing me that she's home all day, waiting for me to let her out, to walk her, to play with her.

So, I came to the difficult decision this weekend that I am going to have to find another home for her, permanently. It kills me and I have been torn up about it since I came to the decision.

I talked to my dad to see if they would be willing to take her back permanently. He said he'd talk to my stepmom about it as they are on pet overload and are moving in July. To be honest, I don't think they will be able to take her.

To add to that, she either caught a stomach bug or is really rejecting her new food. For the past few days, she has had the grossest, runniest shits I have ever seen. She has found a spot in front of my guest room that she has used as she has not been able to wait until I get home. I am still in the process of trying to clean it up as each time I try to clean a spot, I gag and feel like I'm going to add to the mess.

I also have had to give her a butt bath after each trip outside to the bathroom. Today, I took scissors to her fur on her hind legs and butt. In the 4 years I've had her, she has never had any issues like this. It's irritating and gross as hell, but I mostly feel bad for her. I'm sure it's not pleasant for her.

So that's my crisis with Kiki. I have to come to a solution by June 2nd before I go out of town for 9 days. I sit here and watch her curled up in her blanket on the sofa or wrestling with her stuffed squirrel and it kills me! Ugh, this just kills me!

In a Nutshell...

To quickly catch you up as this might be my last post for a bit:

My 90 day anniversary of this roller coaster ride was Monday. Work is good, and busy. I guess I've been doing better than I thought as they've handed over two new clients to me to implement. So by mid summer, that will be 4 implementations under my belt and 6 clients.

Meaning, I have some travel coming up. A trip to Miami Monday for training (and I'm leaving early to spend the weekend with my blog mom Bou Yay!

Then is the trip to Morrigan's wedding. B is coming out from AZ to accompany me. Great fun!

Then there are two trips in May. One to Oklahoma City for work where I will get to drive to Lawton and Tulsa, in two days. Lovely. But to make up for that, 2 weeks later I get to go to Cancun, also for work. For a sales meeting. I've never been to Mexico except for the border towns of San Luis, Algadones and Mexicali.

Then, the first week of June I get to go to Phoenix for another client meeting.

So, 2 new implementations that take up a good percentage, several trips.

Oh, did I mention I started school again. And this will make Bou and Mo happy, I actually WENT to class. A physical class, with people in it and homework. A lot I may add. Ugh!

AND, I have Kiki back. And I love having her home. Although, I am feeling a tad guilty. I went from being bored out of my mind with nothing to do to trying to schedule time to shower and check the mail. So she hasn't gotten as much of my time as I wanted to give her and unfortunately won't for the next few weeks. She will be boarded the next trip or two, and I hate that as well. So, I will be looking for someone that can come by a couple of times, walk her, play with her. Or, find a facility where they spend the day loving on her and making her a happy puppy....like going to camp.

So that's everything in a nutshell. Now please excuse me while I go jump in the shower and read my mail.

From One Extreme to Another

We get a lot of emails at work, as I'm sure many people do. I have 5 different clients. I get emails from the clients and then I get emails internally about these clients. Tons. As do my co-workers.

I am not the most organized person in the world. Actually, I'm probably on the far opposite side of organized. I don't file. I don't take notes very well and when I do, they are not organized in any fashion. At home, all important papers are piled rather than filed. I have 3 1/2 junk drawers.

My desktop on both my work computer and my home computer is cluttered with files; pictures, resumes, word documents, power point presentations, contracts, spreadsheets, etc.

However, there is one place that I am anally organized...and that is my email at work.

We use Lotus Notes at work instead of Microsoft Outlook. I'm not a huge fan. It does what it needs to do, but not my preference for my job. With Lotus, an email is marked as unread until you actually open it, not preview it in the preview pane.

I use my Inbox as my To-Do List. If it's in my inbox, it still needs to be done or followed up on. Once I have completed something or no longer need an email in plain view as a reminder, it gets filed in an email folder. I have about 20-25 folders. I have specific folders for people where their email does not pertain to a client. I have client specific folders and then sub folders for each client pertaining to different aspects of the relationship. I rarely ever have more than 20ish emails in my inbox. EVERYTHING is filed. People have looked over my shoulder and called me insane. Everyone else has 200+ emails in their inbox. And this is even with our emails automatically deleting after 45 days.

So if only the rest of my life was as easy to organize as my email.

What I Gave Up for Lent...

Each day, for the past couple of weeks, sometime between the hours of 11 and 3, there is a moment, where I gag and a smell that permeates the air around our cubes. Sometimes multiple times a day.

It's someone with tuna fish. The smell of tuna fish makes me gag. I think it's one of the nastiest smells. Looks nasty. Just plain nasty. And for someone to eat it at their desk. And throw it away in their trash can so the smell lingers.

I realize it's Lent. I respect that. But, must we all give up our non-fishy air for 40 days? We have a cafeteria, a large one. It's beautiful weather; there are places to eat outside. Our cars are near by; you can eat in your car. I don't care. Please just don't eat that stuff in the cube on the other side of mine.

Prioritizing the Schedule

Is it wrong that I told my academic counselor that I couldn't take classes on Monday because 24 is on?

Just curious....

Best News of the Year!!!!

I was on the phone with my stepmom when out of no where, she says, "so, do you want Kiki back"?

I asked her a few times if she was serious. She just kept laughing and saying yes.

She just said I can't take her back and then bring her back to them.

Not a problem!!!

I am so excited! You have no idea. I had just about given up the idea of giving her back. Even considering, *shrudder* getting a cat. ;-)

So now, I have to figure out when to go get her. I have a couple of business trips the next couple of weeks. After that, travel should be very little.

It's taking everything I have not to leave Saturday to go get her this weekend.

Wii Injury

Saturday night, I had dinner over at Morrigan's and afterward, we played a little Wii. She kicked my ass, which is just sad. However, I learned that once you become a "pro" in each sport, you get more skill.

So, Sunday, I was determined to become a "pro" at bowling. The idea is to get a skill level of 1000+ which is done by beating your score, getting strikes, spares and other things I'm sure.

I played for 3 hours straight, determined to beat my high score and to become a "pro".

And I did. It was a great bit of exercise and I reached my goal. I am a Wii Bowling Pro! Seriously, the only difference between my bowling on the Wii and for real is the 12 pound ball. Otherwise, the motions, the effort, the strength is all the same.

I went to bed last night and could not roll over I was so sore. My neck, my right shoulder and my left leg/rear. It hurts to turn my head, move my right arm or put any weight on my left leg. Just plain sad!

However, it was my excuse to schedule a massage for tomorrow!

Now, all I have is tennis, golf, baseball and boxing to work at. Let's see if I can get through those injury-free!

Sunday Driving

This weekend was a bit of an emotional drain. Exhaustive.

So I went for a drive to rejuvenate and clear through the mental mess.

What's kind of funny is that in Yuma or 29 Palms, when I went for a drive...it lasted all of about an hour unless I had a destination like San Diego or Phoenix. It didn't take long for me get bored or depressed by the desert. It has its beauty at times, but it gets repetitive really quick.

But here, in the southeast, I can drive for hours without even knowing. It was absolutely beautiful. The weather was beautiful, things are starting to bloom...I got lost in it all. I left around 2 and finally realized around 3:30 it was probably time to start heading home....getting me home by 4:30.

So if I ever talk about moving west again....remind me of this. This alone would bring me to my senses.

You may also remind me of this when I'm bitching about buying a new car so soon, as I have hit 27000 miles after only a year.

A Little Motivation

My dad has put out a little incentive for both my sister and I to get our degree. However, I think the incentive is aimed a little more toward me considering at this point, I could have about 3 degrees by now. Meanwhile, my sister will have her bachelors by age 19. I have 13 classes left (39 credits).

The original plan was for us to go on a cruise this fall as my sister and I originally thought we'd both graduate this summer. I obviously am not and the last couple of classes she needs are not offered when she needs them.

So the trip has been pushed back some. And has changed a bit.

My sister is scared to go on a cruise thanks to the brainwashing of my mother. In addition to that, she is scared to travel by plane for the same reason. My dad paid $1000 for a ticket for my sister to fly from SC to KY and my sister didn't go. Okay, off topic...

Sis #2 is dying to go to Ireland. She goes to sleep each night listening to Celtic Woman CDs. My dad and stepmom were stationed there on Embassy Duty before Sis #2 was born and I was never able to get out there to visit.

Sis #1, the one scared to fly, is cool with the all expenses paid trip to Ireland. I, of course, am thrilled.

Sis #2 is researching places and things she wants to see while over there. At dinner the other night, she was already had a list.

So if I can hurry up and get this damn thing finished....next year I'll be spending a week or two in Ireleand with my family.

Purpose

I've been struggling a little on the whole job situation. I haven't been in a job that I've been happy in since the job I had for 4 years before moving to Atlanta. The job I came here for had the potential to be good, but just didn't work out.

The job I have now is not for me. It is not a good fit. I either end up being bored out of my mind or so frustrated that I feel stupid and not able to perform the job. It doesn't use my strengths or motivate me in any way.

And I am doing everything I can to keep this from sounding whiny. I know tons of people who are in jobs that they are not happy in. I try to think of that and how lucky I am.

I think what I'm struggling with is finding the right kind of job. I'm at a point where I need something to look forward to, somewhere I can be beneficial, something meaningful I suppose.

Most people have that something that they "live" for. Something that means the world to them and leaves them excited for the next day. For many people it's their spouse and/or their children. For others it might be their work, be it a career or volunteering. For some it might be a lifetime goal they have set out to achieve and others it might be a desire to learn, grow and just be a contributor in life.

Without trying to get too mushy or philosophical, I'm trying to find that purpose. That reason to get up in the morning and tackle the day.

I've hear that people that have won the lottery often think it will solve everything and make them happy. And it often doesn't.

Same with weight loss. I was watching Oprah the other day where it had women that had lost large amounts of weight and they thought their life would be everything they ever wanted and the weight loss would solve their issues. They became addicted to other things like alcohol and sex.

I have been on the hunt for success for a long time. I thought my job, what I had and what my title was would define me.

So that's where I am at this point. Trying to find what that genuine "purpose" is.

Girls Weekend

I have to say, I had one of the best weekends this past weekend with my girls Morrigan and Napster. Monday came way too soon.

It started off with a road trip with Morrigan to Columbia to Napster and Spurs place. I love a good road trip, even one as boring to Columbia. Who needs a radio when you've got Morrigan cracking you up in the seat next to you? The best talks always seem to happen in the car.

I prepared my burritos and some pico de gallo to have Friday night at the home of Spurs and Napster. They seemed to go over well, no one ended up with food poisoning. I held Spurs hostage until he made his famous tacos. You know I love some Mexican food and have had some of the best...but this man makes the best damn tacos ever!

Of course there was plenty of drinking. I think you might as well have put a Red Bull IV in me. Plenty of red bull of vodka. Morrigan was a dancing queen showing both Spurs and Napster her moves. I got my ass kicked on my own Wii. We all boxed, bowled and played a little baseball. I'm still waiting for someone to throw the remote through the TV...it's bound to happen...we get so into it. We had some great music playing along with some Spurs drum solos to some classic Journey. It was a blast.

And what is a night of drinking with these three without bacon the next morning. Spurs' bacon and Napster's french toast. Yummy!

We then made the drive to Charleston. We were concerned about the weather as they were forecasting rain all week. We got there and it was absolutely beautiful. We checked in and did a little shopping down King St. I just liked walking down the street on such a beautiful day. It was great. Afterward, it was time for our massages. Well needed at that.

So we are waiting to be called in and 3 people come out. Two guys and a girl. One guy was a bit short, one was hot in an "earthy crunchy" way, and then the woman looked like she could beat the ever living crap out of you. If you've read this blog before, you would know that of course, I get Helga. What's even more funny is she didn't beat me down at all. She seemed like she was petting an animal at the zoo or something. My little sister gives harder massages. Oh well. All I could do was hope that Morrigan and Napster's were better.

We went back to the room to get ready for our night out. We ended up at an Irish Pub at about 7:00 pm. They had a great little group up there playing some Irish tunes and playing some popular songs with an Irish twist. We closed down the bar and had made some friends by the end of the evening. We even made friends on the walk back to the hotel when we couldn't find a cab. I am telling you, Morrigan and Napster can make friends with anyone. I was just along for the ride!

We got to the hotel at about 3:30, got in the elevator with two guys from the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. One floor up, all the lights on the buttons went out, and we were stuck. Of course, Morrigan made friends with the two guys in the elevator, Napster was starting to flip just a tad, and I was consciously trying to stay calm. Come on, I was drunk and stuck on an elevator in a hotel from the 20's. Looking back, it was quite funny. We were even taking pictures on the elevator. By the time they got someone to us, we were sitting on the floor chillin'. Thirty minutes we were stuck in that elevator. So of course, when we got back to the room, we were a little punchy. I couldn't stop laughing. Everything Morrigan and Napster said, I would laugh. Morrigan finally had to say, "Okay, we are going to sleep now". It was all just so fun.

The next day, Napster ended up being pretty sick. At the time we thought it was bronchitis, but found out later it was the flu. Morrigan had the Demi voice going with the night in a smoke filled bar and only 5 hours of sleep. We got Napster home and then Morrigan and I made our trip back to Atlanta. Let me tell you, the trip leaving Atlanta is a lot easier than the trip home.

When leaving Charleston, we picked up Sis #1 and Napster and Morrigan met my mom and stepdad quickly. I talked to my mom the next day and she said, "You looked just so happy. I wish I could see you that happy all the time. You had the biggest smile on your face." I must have...it was just a fantastic weekend.

So thank you Napster and Morrigan for an absolutely great weekend! We must make it a tradition. Only next time, there will be a physical before hand and we all must have a clean bill of health. ;-)

Ever Wonder What a Tattoo Feels Like?

Ever curious as to how getting a tattoo on your lower back feels?

Get a sunburn on your lower back. Take a warm shower and when you bend over to shave and the water is hitting your lower back.....that's what it feels like. It feels like shading or coloring in the tattoo.

Oh, the outline? Put the water on hot!

If you can handle that for 30-90 minutes, you can more than likely get a tattoo.

Out of the Oven

On fire! That's what I am. After looking at some old pictures the other day and missing my tan, I chose to go to the human oven yesterday. And I'm a little over cooked.

So sleeping was a bit difficult last night, as could be expected. I am crispy in areas that I've never been crispy before.

Finding something semi-comfortable to wear to Publix to pick up some aloe was a bit difficult. I put on some loose green cargo pants and a black tanktop with some flip flops. I couldn't put on tennis shoes, a bra, or anything else constricting.

I got a couple of crazy looks. It could be because of my getup, my bright red arms or the fact that it was 45 degrees outside and I looked like I was going to the beach. To be honest, the 45 degree breeze felt great on my skin though!

As I returned home, there was someone outside, checking out the house next door as it is for sale. I walked outside the garage, smiled and said hi. I then realized that maybe I should get my ass inside if they want to sell that house as I looked like some crazy white trash out in the cold.

I had to laugh to myself. I'm not sure I helped that sale.

Now excuse me, I have to go take a bath in aloe gel now!

Did You Turn Off the Stove?

Napster came to visit this weekend. She drove a total of 6 hours for a visit of less than 24 hours. But I enjoyed every minute of it.

As we were leaving my house to attend the estrogen fest, Napster did a quick check to be sure everything was secure and turned off.

Napster: Back door locked?

Sissy: Yep

Napster: Everything off?

Sissy: Yep

Napster: Stove off?

Sissy: Haha, I would have to use the stove to worry about it being off.

Let me preface this with the fact that I have only gotten a total of 16 hours of sleep in the past 4 days. So, I might not be thinking as clearly as usual. My actions seem to be without much thought or concentration.

This morning, I decided to fix a little breakfast. That would have been around 8:30 am. Eggs, turkey bacon and toast. I left the house a little before 1pm to go get a pedicure. Came back and was able to doze off for an hour. Around 4:30 I ran to the store for some sprite to settle my tummy. I returned home and went into the kitchen to pour the sprite and noticed it was extremely hot in there, but the heater wasn't on. I looked over at the stove to see the light on it and the burner on. Along with that, the bread bag was left open as well as well as the OJ left out. I may not use the stove much, but I certainly never leave food out.

Once I was through scolding myself, I laughed as I remembered Napster's question as to whether the stove was off. Perhaps I shouldn't have laughed at her!

February 15th

Well, 2 years ago I started blogging.

4 years ago today I rescued Kiki from the animal shelter in Yuma.

I barely blog anymore and Kiki is still with my family.

So do I celebrate today?

Eh, why not.

Delete

The other day I decided it was time to delete a particular person's information from my phone. When trying to move on from something, it's easier not to have little reminders such as their name at the top of your contact list, an inbox full of text messages, etc.

It helps....a lot.

Then I thought, of how it would be if we could delete something from our memory like we can on the phone. A bit of information, a memory, an experience.

There's not much I would want to delete. I believe most things have a purpose. But I can think of a couple of things that I wouldn't mind deleting...

Like this particular person's phone number...not good to have numbers memorized when drunk.

I could think of a song or two that I would love to have deleted from memory.

The time I saw grandma naked...I could live without ever picturing that again.

So, my question is...if you could delete something from memory, would you?

5 AM

I woke up at 5am this morning. On my own. Couldn't go back to sleep. Don't know why. I like my sleep.

At least I get enough time to work out this morning. And maybe I'll go into work early so I can squeeze out early. Who knows....

But this 5am thing....it's weird. It's quiet, it's cold, it's dark....and there's nothing good on TV.

New Drug

I have my life back! I just finished the last episode of Season 1 of 24.

Ugh....I don't think that show is good for my heart. I believe I mgiht have to start taking anti-anxiety medication to continue watching it.

Off to get Season 2 this weekend from my dealer....

I Would NOT Give My Left Hand....

I never knew how much I used my left hand until today....

Like driving

Or opening pill bottles

And typing

Or lifting luggage onto the security screening belt at the airport

Or lifting luggage into the overhead bins on the plane

Rubbing lotion on your right arm

Those are just the few I have had issues with in the past few hours.

Want to know why? It's in the next post....

Me vs. The Knife

Today was my first trip with the new company. Columbus, OH

I left the office at 10:30 to go home, relax some, make lunch and finish packing before I left for the airport at 1:30 for a 4:00 departure.

Running low on food, I decided to make a turkey burger. Now, I remember going with Morrigan to buy these turkey burgers at Costco over a year ago. I inherited them when I bought the house. So, they have been in the freezer the whole time.

The turkey burgers were stuck together. All my regular knives were in the dishwasher so I grabbed the butcher knife to break them apart. Holding them with my left hand and trying to pry them with the knife with my right hand...I either slipped or made it through the burgers, straight into the palm of my left hand.

After freaking out for a split second, I grabbed a dishtowel. While applying pressure, I think, "shit, what have I cleaned up with this towel? What germs are getting into this cut”?

At this point, I wasn't sure how bad I had hurt myself. I knew if it was just a cut, to run it under water. But it was certainly more than just a cut.

The bleeding wasn't stopping and I wasn't sure what was going to happen, so I called Morrigan. I believe my greeting was, "I just stabbed myself in my hand with a knife. Please just stay on the phone with me."

Haha, now that I think about that, what an awful way to start a call. She kept me calm though. My main worry was how about if I passed out or something...someone needed to know.

So, while gripping the towel, on the phone with Morrigan, I am trying to take off my new white sweater. I would say just a couple of minutes after stabbing it, I go sit down in the bathroom and remove the towel to see a gash about 3/4 of an inch, tons of blood and my hand curled up.

Off to Urgent Care. This is where I found out how much I drive with just my left hand. I could barely park without my left hand...craziness!!

I went into urgent care and they started to hand me paperwork. At this point, I tell the lady at the front desk that I stabbed the palm of my hand. She asked to see it and then brings me promptly to the back to get it cleaned and wrapped temporarily until they can see me.

Once they could see me, the nurses went back and forth between stitches or not, tetanus shot or not. Finally, they decided yes to the tetanus shot (since I wasn't 100% positive if I had one in the past 10 years). They had a doctor take a look at my hand who said no to the stitches. She called it a puncture wound and said it needed to heal from the inside out. I can't say that I was disappointed by that....I really didn't want stitches in my hand!!

After opening the wound about 5 times to see the depth, they irrigated it (that sucked a little), applied steri-strips and wrapped it up. The whole time, I'm watching the clock, explaining to them I have to be out of there by 1pm so I can go catch a flight. They were very understanding.

Fast forward through the packing, driving, carrying luggage, etc to tonight at dinner with my boss, a fellow employee and a former client. I order a Oak Roasted Chicken, expecting just a regular sized chicken breast. Nope....here comes a whole roasted chicken with a huge knife in the top of it....and the whole table busts out in laughter. I must tell you, I was a bit nervous trying to carve that chicken. But I tell you, that was the best damn chicken I have ever had!!

So I now have been asked several times who I beat up, as my hand is completely wrapped in gauze.

Now excuse me, it's time to relieve the throbbing with some vodka....

Lasik Consultation

I went to my initial consultation for Lasik surgery today.

It wasn't as detailed as I expected. I'm not sure if it's because it was a free consultation so they want to make it quick. Maybe because they could tell I did my research. I don't know. I was just expecting them to walk me through more.

They took the "pictures" of my eyes, printed the information out, the doctor took a look, came in and took a look at my eyes, and then said I was a perfect candidate for Lasik (versus other types of surgery out there), talked about how contacts can mis-shape the eye but mine hadn't done that much. That was it.

I talked to the sales person/admin and she immediately started talking about the next appointment, which is a full 2 hour eye exam. I asked her about price and after my discount for my vision insurance, it'll be $2095 per eye. I asked her if there was anything else I needed to know. She said no, just what I needed to do for the next exam.

So, I didn't leave with the warm and fuzzies. But I didn't leave with any fear of the facility or anything.

I originally chose Piedmont Better Vision to even look into because I have such good luck with the Piedmont hospital and doctors.

So, we'll see. At least I know approximately what to contribute for my Flex Spending Account, what to budget, etc.

Drunk or Blind

I had to wear my glasses today as I went to my Lasik Consultation. I've mentioned before how much I hate them. That still hasn't changed.

After the appointment, I had errands to run and another appointment, so I didn't have time to put my contacts back in.

While at the mall, I found myself stumbling on my steps, side swiping things, tripping over the stairs, and needing extra time to find my place on the escalator. I was just all out of sorts!

I think the worst was when I didn't see the curb to stepdown, and fell.

The prescription is less than a year old...so it's not that. It's the fact that I can see shit peripherally.

Then, while driving, I would "see" things out of the corner of my eye....a light, a reflection off something, that would make me feel like a car was right next to me, I was running into something or someone was coming at me. Same thing when I came home. I found myself and one point jump into a defense stance as I could have sworn I saw someone out of the corner of my eye.

So needless to say, I am anxiously awaiting this surgery.

I'll have to wear my glasses for 3 days before my full exam and then for a couple of weeks before the surgery. That's if I make it to the surgery with the way I'm running into things!

Careful Whose Ass You Kiss

So work has gone well up to this point. Looks like it'll be a tough but good job with great experience. I like the people. The company seems to be pretty good.

Everything has been going well, up until today. I take that back, today even went well except for this event:

I had to attend a laptop training today. Mind you, I have trained systems before and am pretty decent with computers. I really doubt they could show me something I don't already know or couldn't figure out. But I will appease them. No biggy...gives me something to do.

So I arrive a tad early and get a little time to chat with the instructor. At one point, I make the comment that you have to be nice to your IT folks and that I'd have to buy him a drink sometime. I've made that joke at every place I've worked. Actually, it's not so much of a joke. I do kiss up to the IT people and if given the opportunity, I do try and do something for them. Those are the people to have on your side!

So, as I'm leaving, he asks, "Were you serious about that drink?" I nonchalantly said, "Sure, we'll have to do that sometime." Not thinking too much of it. If we did go, it wouldn't be so bad...he was funny, and hey....gotta get in good with the IT people.

Later on, I was at my cubical, waiting for my laptop to be delivered from a different IT guy. However, to my surprise, the guy I owe a drink to shows up with it. He sets it all up, we joke back and forth and with a few others around. Then, the girl that sits next to me asked if he wanted to go to lunch with us. He accepts and I end up having to ride with him to the restaurant.

This is where I find out that we aren't just joking back and forth, he is flirting. And he's laying it on thick. Too thick for my comfort! When we get to the restaurant, I am sure to make it where we aren't sitting right next to each other. I knew I needed to start giving signs to show that I was interested. I was polite, but definitely didn't return any of his flirtations. I actually made the attempt to seem a lot different from him. He has a kid and I am assuming is in his late 30's early 40's. I made it a point to mention that I was 25 during lunch. We were then talking about going out, going to bars and what not when he made the statement that he doesn't drink. So I made it a point to say how often I drank. I may have sounded like a lush, but at that point...I didn't care.

Afterward, the girls that were with us made the comment of how he was "googling" me during lunch and was laying it on pretty thick. They had no knowledge of anything that had previously happened.

So we ride back, where I find out he lives 1/4 of a mile from me. Just great! I rush to a meeting and hope that's the last of that for awhile.

Then I get an email from him. I waited a little while to read it. I was dreading what it might say. To sum it up, he asked if I was serious about drinks and that if so, he would love to. The email was as forward as you can get without coming right out and saying I'm interested.

I didn't reply. Not yet. And now I'm kicking myself because I'm sure he put a read receipt on that thing!

He's a nice guy. He's a funny guy. If you've seen Sex & the City, he's basically the divorce lawyer guy Charlotte marries after her 1st husband. He's not my type, not at all.

And the thing is, if he wouldn't have been so forward....if he wouldn't have laid it on so thick, I would have no problem going out for a drink, shooting some pool and just hanging out. None at all. But the fact of the matter is, if I do go, he's going to take it wrong. And I don't want to be miserable the whole time because I know that each of us is there for different reasons.

So, the girls next to me think it's hysterical. I don't find it as amusing as they do.

Bring On The Sheriff

I got this letter today from Nationwide Collections. It's in reference to an amount of $66.94 due to Columbia House. The only time I was ever a member of Columbia House was when I was in college. That was 7 years ago.

Not that I 100% believe that I owe this (and I will research it), but why am I JUST NOW getting something. I realize that a lot of stuff has changed on my credit report recently due to paying a bunch of stuff off and buying the house. I realize I have moved a whole bunch and they have probably not been able to keep up with my address. Fine.

If I truly in fact owe this, I have no problem paying it. It's $60. It's almost not worth the search.

However, what pisses me off. What will ensure I research it. And what makes me NOT want to pay it is the following statement in the letter:

You leave us no alternative but to consider commencing legal action. Check the appropriate line below and return this letter to me today:

The sheriff should serve any legal Claim and Summons at:

A) my home .........................

B) elsewhere, give details ..........................

If you fail to reply, the Sheriff would normally serve any summons at your home.

It goes on to say how it'll ruin my credit and I will never be able to buy a home or a car if I don't pay this....so on and so forth.

What I'm laughing my ass off at is the idea of a sheriff coming to my home, because when I was 18, I supposedly did not pay them this $66.84.

I unfortunately just burned all my bills and records from 99-2004 so I have no proof of when the account was opened, closed, paid, etc. So, I'm sure I'll end up paying it.

Maybe I should let them send the sheriff. Maybe he'd be cute. Or then maybe something serious would happen and some life would be lost or some criminal would get away because I'm being served a summons because of $60.

Too freaking funny!

Sleep Please

I'm an 8 hours of sleep girl. For as long as I remember, I would always sleep 8, maybe 8 1/2 hours, and wake up. No alarm, just internal clock.

My schedule got all thrown off around the holidays in addition to having 2 weeks off with almost no early morning responsibilities.

I pretty much stayed up anywhere between 2am and 6am. I get motivated in the evenings for some reason. Because of that, I would sleep until around 11 or 12 in th afternoon.

Since I've started the new job, I've tried to get to bed on time, and haven't been able to fall asleep. I started this "new schedule" over the weekend....it still hasn't worked.

I took some stuff to knock me out the past couple of nights after already laying in bed for a few hours.

I still haven't had 8 hours of sleep since the weekend. I thought by now I'd be exhausted and would go to bed at 10pm. I tried...it didn't work.

I refused to take anything tonight. I didn't want to depend on something to put me to sleep.

So, it's now 130am. I have to be up in a few hours. Now, I know some of you, especially the moms, would love to get 5-6 hours of sleep. So please excuse my whinning.

I don't know what I'm going to have to do to get back to a normal sleep schedule. But I need to do it soon. I can't keep yawning during my meetings at work. Not a good first impression.

So now I'm going to attempt again, for the 3rd time this evening, to go to bed. Geez, I can't wait until Saturday to sleep in!

Lasik

Ok, I've had enough. I am getting my eye surgery this year!

The past couple of weeks I've been getting pretty bad headaches and couldn't figure out why. Then finally today, one of my contacts was bothering me. I removed them both, put on my glasses. 30 minutes later, my headache was gone.

I hate wearing my glasses. I don't like looking peripherally and not being able to see clearly. Despite being a new prescription, I still don't see as clearly with my glasses as I do with my contacts. Despite the quality of the lenses, I hate the light and metal reflections I get on the sides of the lenses that cause me to think something is flying around my head.

So I will start researching, yet again, prices, different choices, and the best time frame. With my new job, I cannot take vacation for 6 months or sick leave for 3 months. My hope is that I could do it over a 3 day weekend.

So those of you that have had lasik done or known of others that have had it done, I am open to your stories and suggestions.

TV Drama

First it was Law & Order SVU on Tuesday. Then tonight, it was Grey's Anatomy and ER.

All episodes that leave something to be answered in the next week's episode. No mini-conclusions. It's like being in the middle of a movie, and the power goes out.

I realize that's the point of TV series. But I need some type of resolution at the end of an episode. How do you expect me to wait a whole week to see whether someone lives or dies, gets together or breaks up, leaves or returns! It's just not fair!

Cyborg Name

Get Your Cyborg Name

Stolen from Blog Sis VW.

My New Years Resolution

I am giving up tequila!

For Good!

Again!

New Years Equipment

The whole gym membership thing is not working out for me. The gym is a 1/2 mile from my house, and I'm wasting $45 a month on the membership. I don't particularly like this gym and it is obvious, I do not go.

When I do go, I spend most of the time on the elliptical machine, my favorite machine. I usually spend anywhere from 30 - 60 minutes on it. I think I like it the most as the "calories burned" happen to be double any of the other machines I have tried.

However, my stepmom has me interested in this Couch-to-5K Running Plan. She wants me to run a 5K with her in March. I've seen the results and she looks GREAT! And I've always wished I was a runner. But I am not. I'm not sure if it's an endurance thing, an attention span thing, a laziness thing...or a combination of all of them. But I've never been a runner.

So, I have decided I am either purchasing an elliptical machine or a treadmill. The question is which one...

So before I make the big purchase, I am open to recommendations and personal preferences.

Starting 2007 With A Bang!

All the doubt, worries, concerns, and stress that have seemed to overwhelm me the past several week, have dissolved.

Today, I closed on the house. I'm officially a homeowner and feel like I have just lost 50 lbs after getting that done! The actual closing was pretty painless. Although I have started to partake in some Red Bull and vodka....

I have a job locked in for January 15th. A good job at that. I get 2 weeks to detox from the hell that I have loosely called a job. However, even the sucky job that I had gave me a bit. They moved me to Atlanta and I am not required to pay that back. My surgery was taken care of. I have a separation package. And I met a couple of decent people, one of which is a very good friend now.

I start school again January 16th. If everything goes according to plan, I will complete my Bachelors in Management by the end of the summer.

So, 2006 ended up being a pretty fantastic year. It had its curve balls, but each ended up working out, which I think made it an even better year.

Last year, I spent New Years with Morrigan, her beau, Spurs and Napster in Vegas! So we even kicked 2006 off to a good start.

This year, I am spending New Years in 2007 with another friend (and about 60 of her closest friends) at a country themed New Years party in Kansas City. So, I will bring in 2007 celebrating escaping hell (Yuma and this job), the absence of my gall bladder, a homeowner....all while dressed in a cowgirl get-up!

Now tell me, what does that foreshadow??

Dose of Birth Control

I went to visit my family this weekend for my live version of birth control.

I started off by visiting sis #2's school to meet her teacher and friends. As I was sitting in the back of the class, a 4th grade little girl turns to me and says, "You are so beautiful." Ha! Can I take her around and keep her in my pocket for daily doses of compliments?

We then went to see Charlotte's Web! I have a history with this movie. I used to watch it constantly when I was sis #2's age. It was and still is one of my favorites. The one in theaters was pretty good. It didn't have all the cool songs the older one has, but the visuals and the voices were great!

My parents then had tickets for all of us to see Kingston Trio. Do you know another 9 year old that would be excited to see Kingston Trio. She was in the audience, bouncing and singing to MTA, Tijuana Jail and Tom Dooley. Warped. My father has warped us!! We even stayed after and got autographs and pictures. The group even snuck in the back really quick to grab sis #2 a signed poster by all the newer members. I think they were shocked to see a 9 year old excited to be there.

This morning Sis #2 and I are to build a Ginger Bread House for a contest at the mall and she then has to meet her fellow Girl Scouts at the mall for caroling.

Oh, and for those of you that know my lack of creative abilities....here's what Sis #2 and I came up with...

And upon arriving yesterday, I was handed the Sissy List of what lil sis would like us to do this weekend.

Now Breathe!

It's a great position with a great company.

It's less than 2 miles from my house.

The people seem really great.

It's less than 2 miles from my house.

There is a lot of opportunity for advancement.

It's less than 2 miles from my house.

Santa has delivered early!

Online Shopping Tips

As much as I love to shop, I really only like to shop for me. It's that instant gratification thing.

However, I LOVE to shop for others online. I put a lot of thought into gifts and the most unique come from browsing the internet.

About 80% of my shopping this year is being done online. I've become somewhat of a pro. So, I have a few tips for those of you who do not want to leave the house, fight the traffic, be out in the cold, etc.

Tip 1:

Search for online coupons before completing your order. For example, if you are buying things from Red Envelope, search for "online Red Envelope coupon code" or "online Red Envelope promotional code". This particular search found me a 15% off discount my total purchase.

You'll often find free shipping discounts too, which always help.

Tip 2:

If you are a member of any type of frequent flyer or credit card rewards programs, visit their website and see who they are partners with. Often, if you follow a link from their website to the place you are going to shop at, you get either additional discounts or additional miles or rewards. A couple of times I have received "4 miles for every $1 spent" through Delta.

Tip 3:

Ebay. Think of something the person you are shopping for likes, and just type that in. For example, my uncle loves Poker. I typed in poker. After browsing, I narrowed the search to Poker Chips. I found a St. Louis Cardinals Poker Chip Card protector and a USMC Poker Chip Card protector (for my stepdad). They were $2 each after shipping.

So if you are like me and want to get something special/unique but don't have the creativity to think of something. Search for it. I guarantee you someone else has thought of something.

Tip 4:

This one is fairly simple. Have things shipped to the person you are buying for to save you from making the trip to the post office. Often, places will wrap it for you and include a card with a message.

Tip 5:

Get on mailing lists. This way, you don't have to keep checking websites to see when they are running an additional percentage off or any item specific sales. Often, if you are members of these lists, you'll get discounts specifically for mailing list members.

Hope this helps!

Another Week

I got a call today.

I have an interview with the SVP next week.

I REALLY want this job.

So those of you that have sent good wishes, thanks!

Now, don't change your socks, don't change any routines. Let's keep the luck going....

End the Year on a Good Note

It's been a hell of a year. In a good way, it really has.

It started with New Years in Vegas.

The end of my relationship with the Bipolic (both good and bad)

I bought my first car, on my own.

My company got bought out by the mothership.

My best friend found out she was pregnant.

She then had a miscarriage.

She then found out her husband was cheating on her.

I then lost my best friend (lost the friendship)

I then got a fantastic job that paid to move me to Atlanta with a huge salary increase with a great boss.

I found the house I want to buy.

I then found out soon that I would be losing my job, just wasn't sure when.

I then had my gallbladder removed.

And it was a few weeks later that I found out my last day on the job would be January 1st. (Well, actually, December 29th...which at this moment is 25 days, 19 hours, 2 minutes and 8 seconds.)

And now, I find myself more stressed out than ever. My luck has got to run out sometime right? I'm searching constantly for a new job. A job that I'll like, that can be long term, that is similar in pay and has room for growth.

So, I say it has been a good year because everything has worked out for the best for the most part. Each thing that I thought was going to be the end all-be all ended up being not as bad as I thought it was going to be or as bad as it could have been.

So, with the current situation, I am trying to have faith. Faith that it all work out for the best just as it has been. If it all works out, it'll be my own personal landfall. The company that I now truly hate paid to move me out here, gave me some decent experience, increased my salary, introduced me to some new friends and is giving me a decent severance package. If I can find a job right away and not have to use the severance money for it's intended purpose...that would be just great!

That would make my year!

So I am crossing my fingers that I will hear something soon on the job front. And that it'll be good. And we can keep this good streak going. Yes, I'll be a happy girl.

So, yes, it has been a good year. Let's just finish it off that way too!

Sleepin' Away

After throwing up at work yesterday, I went home early. I knew it couldn't be anything I ate as all I had was some fruit. I was scared of a stomach bug or stomach flu. Everyone in the office is sick. And I was actually forced to come into the office while sick.

I came home and took a phenegrin to get rid of the nausea and to keep me from throwing up again. Well, phenegrin knocks me out and by 4:30, I was passed out on the couch. I finally popped up at 7:30, and although was not tired, didn't feel like doing much of anything. I would doze off here and there and finally went upstairs to bed at about 2am.

I woke up at 6:30 to realize it was Saturday and I could sleep in. I woke up at 10:45 to realize I had a hair appointment in 15 minutes. So I did the mad rush to brush my hair, brush my teeth, throw on some clothes and run out the door.

So the whole point of this is that I cannot sleep away the weekend! There is stuff to be done and stuff that I have put off until the weekend to do.

So I'm off to make this a productive weekend!

To Be Festive or Not Festive...

Can I just leave the Christmas decorations spread out on the floor? I mean, they're out. Does it really matter where they are?

I'm not feeling especially festive this year. Things are on the cusp...they can either go really good, or really bad. There's really no in-between. There is a lot at stake. Too much going on. And although I took out decorations with the intent to decorate, I'm not sure it's worth it. Other than this weekend, I am gone every weekend in December.

So, if it doesn't get done this weekend, it's not getting done. It's all going back in the boxes. All of it. And it'll be a plain Christmas in the Sissy household.

Battling the Network

Yesterday I went to Best Buy to buy a Tivo. I have been eyeing them for awhile and meanwhile, Morrigan has been Tivoing my shows. Well, now they are free after mail-in rebate so I thought I'd go for it.

I also bought a print server while there.

When I got home, I started with installing the print server. Problem is, my printer is downstairs, and my wireless router is upstairs. So up I go with my printer, server and laptop, to the bedroom. I hook everything up, follow all the instructions. It all works. Not too difficult!

I bring it all back downstairs, get it all set up the way I like it and the job is complete.

I then open the Tivo, activate it, and begin to hook it up. Hooking a new piece of equipment up in my household is no small task. I have many pieces of electronics in my entertainment center. I have done my best to tie up cables, label, and tuck back neatly. But, it's still an unbelievable jungle. You tug on one cable and they all tug. There are no more outlets available and definitely no more space. Not to mention my TV is too heavy for me (or 2 of me) to move. So I carefully hook up the Tivo, moving equipment around, digging out the flashlight to see, etc. I try to tuck back there to find a spare outlet and have to unplug my VCR to make room. I don't remember the last time I used it....

At this point, it's hooked up, but it needs an internet connection. I don't have a home phone so I have to hook it up to my broadband connection. Of course, that is sold separately. At this point, after I head to my appointment, I should be able to run back to Best Buy, get the adapter I need, come home, finish the Tivo, clean up a bit, finish decorating the Christmas tree, shower, fill out that 9 page application for my interview in the morning and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

After fighting rush hour to get home from my appointment and Best Buy, I come home with the wireless broadband adapter for the Tivo. I hook it up, it's getting signal....should be a piece of cake.

I go through the set up and it's not working. After a bit of troubleshooting, I learn that I cannot have a WAP secure connection with the Tivo, I have to use WEP. I try for 45 minutes to change the security on my network with no avail. After searching the website for my router, I figure out how, change it to WEP, change the key and am on my way. At this point, I try to go through the Tivo set up again. Still not working, getting a few different errors. I try entering the IP manually, moving around the adapter, resetting different pieces of equipment, looking up forums to see who else has had this issue. It was ridiculous. For awhile, it looked like I needed a signal booster. At least, according to the forums. That didn't make sense to me because the Tivo saw my network; it just wouldn't find the DNS server. But, all the forums said that was their issue. I work on it until 10 pm where I realize I need to stop because I still have Law & Order SVU to watch (which now I must watch upstairs since my Tivo is still in the setup stage), print off my application to fill out, shower, and prepare for the next day. I wanted to be in bed by 11, but 12 shouldn't be bad.

So, I go upstairs with my laptop to watch my show. I go to print my application, and I am not connected to the print server. Damn it, I changed all the settings. I try to change the settings with no luck. After about 30 minutes, I just go downstairs and hook my computer to the printer to print. No luck. Not sure what I did, but I cannot get it to read the printer. I mess with that for another 15 minutes and finally decided I'll just try to re-setup the print server. So upstairs I go again with the printer, the print server and my laptop.

I start over on the set up, no luck. I reset the server and try again. No luck. After about an hour, still no luck. At this point, I'm starting to freak out some. I still need to shower, prepare for my interview, set up clothes and stuff for the next day and print my application. How else can I get this thing printed? Everyone I know with a printer is sleeping. I suppose I could find a 24 hour Kinkos that will give me access to my email to print this application. I really didn't want to have to leave the house. Ugh!

At this point, I start to freak out some. Nothing is going right, I don't feel prepared, I really really want the job, I'm not going to get enough sleep....yea...all minor things, but freaking out nonetheless.

I finally give up on the print server, hook the printer back up to my laptop and after about 15 minutes, I figure out it was still trying to find the wireless port versus the USB port. I get the application printed and jump in the shower. I try and think through my interview while showering. It's time to focus.

I get out, dry my hair, and start to complete the 9 page application which includes my entire work history, wants 2 paragraphs on why I feel I'm qualified for the position and the question, "list all the places you have lived". HAH! Can I have a couple of sheets of paper?

I print off the job description, a couple of extra copy of my resumes, and get my folders ready. Now, it's time for bed. It's 2:30am. I need to be up by 7am. Usually, that wouldn't be that big of a deal except for the fact that the past week has been spent staying up late and getting up early for travel or the occasional consumption of adult beverages. Plus the fact I tend to need 8 hours of sleep.

Today had to be a better day. Everything was smooth getting ready, the interview went very well. I still have a mess to come home to, but at least the interview is over. I go to Best Buy to price wireless boosters and decided I am not spending another $80 on this stupid Tivo.

I go home and start to mess with everything again. After about 15 minutes, I read through some more forums on these errors. Deep down in one of the forums, someone brings up to make sure the WEP key is Hex and not alphanumeric. WHAT??? Nothing that Tivo provided in literature or in online support stated this. So I go into my network's security settings through DLink (now that I know how to do that) and change my key yet again. Enter the new key and guess what....it works!

Wow! It's a miracle. By this time I need a nap and am not motivated to work on the print server, clean up the mess of boxes, wrappers, and manuals nor decorate the Christmas tree. I guess I'll save that all for the rest of the week and this weekend!

My parents are considering getting a Tivo. Luckily I went through this before they did.

Good to Be Home

Ahhh, it feels good to drive my own car, watch my own TV, sit in my own chair, sleep in my own bed. Nothing like being gone for 8 days, having a good time, and then come home to what you missed while you were gone!

The week was full of good times with a good friend, family I haven't seen in 10 years, shopping at 4am, a 40 person poker tournament at a guy's 5 car garage out on a county road, visiting old favorite places, and forgetting all the worries that were left in Atlanta.

Now it's back to the real world. Back to the fact that I am unemployed as of Jan 1st, back to job searching, back to Christmas shopping and decorating. It's nice to be home!

Responsibilities of the Eldest

One of the things we did while the family was together at Thanksgiving in Missouri is visit my Great Grandmother's grave whom I am named after (my middle name). Dad wanted a picture of me by the headstone.

We were walking around the cemetery and my dad was remembering back when it was a peaceful cemetery. Now, it's near a major road, there are businesses near it with loud trucks. He said to never let that happen to him. He said he wanted to be buried at the cemetery in Quantico. It's peaceful, serene and beautiful there. He also said not to let kids run all over his grave. Punks (teenagers), not little kids. Little kids can play and run all they want, he says.

And then it hit me. One day I will be the one who is handling this. The one to make sure their wishes are taken care of.

Sometimes, it sucks to be the eldest.

Missouri (Misery)

I am still in Missouri. I am allergic to Missouri. I have had the worst allergies since I've been here. Runny noses, bloody noses from being dry. Uh, I hate it.

Otherwise, it has for the most part been fun. Lots of people I wanted to see...and people that I didn't. Lots of things I wanted to do and things that I didn't.

I'll be back to regular blogging shortly, hopefully.

Christmas Prep

I haven't decorated for Christmas in 3 years. I was either living with someone, or in a crummy apartment that I felt couldn't be decorated.

After the cleaning crew came today, I felt it was a good time to dig the decorations out. I usually decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving. But this year, I won't be here. So, might as well get it done now.

I carried in the big, red, Rubbermaid container full of my Christmas decorations that have been in storage for 3 years. As I opened it, on top was a white box that said, "Inez's Christmas Ornaments" I had forgotten about that my grandmother had sent me my Great Grandma Inez's ornaments. I had never opened them. Never seen them. Excited to put new ornaments on the tree, I opened the box and got a whiff of my grandmother's attic. Whew!

The ornaments...they are...uh, nice. Odd, but nice. Reminded me of the small apple ornaments that were on my parent's tree when I was little.

I may not use all of them. Maybe just one or two of each.

Hmmm, I'm thinking the red bird may not make the cut!

Rub It In

I may have mentioned that I will be losing my job in about the next, oh...45 days or so. That's the through-the-grapevine date. We still haven't been told officially. Nor have we been told what our separation package will be. Everything is up in the air and the communication line has been less than stellar.

Today being my first day back in the office in 2 weeks, I thought for sure I'd hear something today. Mid-morning, I get pinged to go to the VP's office. I go in, and start to close the door, as every time I've been in there, I've had to close the door.

He tells me there's no need, I walk over to his desk and he hands me an envelope. My first thought was, "Wow, that's in personable. An envelope?"

He tells me that the board of directors got together and approved my stock options that I was given upon hire. The info was in the envelope.

It took everything I had at that moment not to laugh at him and commit damage by paper cut. I will be jobless very soon. Stock options only begin to be partially vested after a year of service.

Next time I'll just come in with a salt shaker so he can pour it in my wounds!

Attention to Detail

Growing up, I heard this a lot. The devil's in the details. Pay attention to detail.

In school, I would miss the test questions that were like What color was the dress that the main character wore? or What year....?

At home, when we were "ordered" to field day our rooms, I would miss stuff like spots around the bathroom sink faucet, or dust on the window blinds, or a string on the carpet.

Nothing has changed much. I just don't handle details. I don't remember details. If I do remember a detail, it struck me for some reason. It had that much of an impact on me that I remembered it.

You and I can have a conversation and you can tell me your family history. The way it enters my head is good/bad, pass/fail, different/not different, etc. Unless it is something extremely unusual, or something I can relate to what I already know or have experienced, I most likely won't remember what you told me. I'll remember if it was a good or bad history. I'll remember if it was a happy or sad history. I'll remember how you seem to feel about it and how you told the story. As for the details....I am sorry.

It's irritating sometimes. It really is. I don't tell jokes very well. I don't tell stories very well. I often have to be reminded of names, occupations, locations and, well...the details! However, it will "ring a bell" once I am told again. I don't forget the conversation, I just file it differently.

I will always remember the vibe in a room, the experience, the big picture.

It's funny sometimes. Annoying other times.

Happy 231st Birthday Marine Corps!

My parents were invited to attend the Dedication Ceremony of the National Museum of Marine Corps today at 2pm.

This weekend, they will get to tour the museum. I am jealous! I would love to be there.

My dad retired after 20 years in the Corps in 2000 as a 1st Sergeant of 1st Tank Battalion in Twentynine Palms.

I was born in 29, while my dad was attending an electronics school to become a Crypto Tech. After many moves, we were stationed there again, where I graduated high school and he retired. It all came full circle.

I have many stories, many memories that I'm very proud of that I just can't do justice by writing here. It would be inadequate. Bou has posted about her memories of growing up in the Navy. She's done a really great job of putting it into words. Particularly the coming back from deployment. I remember many days waiting for the buses to roll in with my dad (or stepdad, who has served 18 years in the Marine Corps).

When I was really little, and my dad was gone, he would send letters that I couldn't read. His handwriting was just too bad. Mom would have to read them to me. So, he started sending cassette tapes of him telling me how much he missed me and how much longer until I got to see him. My mom has some of the stuff he sent me in a save box for me. I move so much, I'd hate to lose it. So she's holding it all for me until I'm ready.

One of the funnier memories I do have is when I went to the Marine Corps Ball with my dad and my stepmom. I was 17 years old, worked on the base and, well...enjoyed it.

As we took our seats at the ball, my dad strategically placed himself on my right, and the chaplain on my left. Yea...there were no interactions with all the yummy guys in their Dress Blues. Ugh!

I did get to go again, 2 years later, with an actual date. I loved it!

My dad is still very much a Marine. You look at him still today, and see a Marine. I was raised in a strict, structured and very loving Marine Corps family. Despite him being retired, my lil sis is being raised the same way.

I don't blog much on military matters or the war. I have opinions on it all. I have feelings on it all. Thoughts and feelings that my words just cannot do justice.

But today, I had to at least wish the Marine Corps and all Marines a Happy Birthday and a big Thank You!!

Panic!

One of the many things I love about living in Atlanta is all the concerts I get to see. In Yuma, the only thing I got to go see was the the Mariachi Band at the Patio Bar in Mexico playing La Bamba while the snowbirds attempted to swing dance.

Just in the past 4 months that I've been here, I've been to 3 shows, seen 7 different artists. Tomorrow will be the 4th show. Panic! At the Disco.

They are a different type of band. Lots of fun! Morrigan and I are likely to be the oldest ones there. But it'll be a good show.

I grabbed their first video from YouTube and put it in the Extended Entry. It's quite visual.

Back to Normal

I went to my Post-Op appointment today. The doctor asked if I had any fever, chills or nausea in the past week. Nope! He asked if I was still on the meds. Nope! He asked if I had any questions. Nope!

He said I can go back to normal. Well, except I have to wait 30 days until I can do any heavy lifting or sit-ups. That was a bummer! (ha!)

As far as activity and diet, there are no longer any restrictions.

I think it's time for a celebratory drink!

Hopeful

I'm excited, but also don't want to get my hopes up.

My stepdad quit smoking and chewing, cold turkey, 34 days ago.

My mom told me today she is going to quit starting Saturday.

I have been begging her to quit since I can remember. She has been smoking since she was 14 years old. She smoked through her pregnancies. I don't remember a time of her not smoking.

When I was really little, I used to ask her to stop smoking for a Christmas present for me. I told her that could be my Christmas present for life, if she would stop smoking. I was really little.

As I got older, started working and bringing home a decent paycheck, I offered to pay for any assistance in helping her quit. I didn't care what it was, how much and for how long...it was worth it to me.

She would never do it.

So needless to say, I am excited.

Her obstacle will be that she doesn't work. She stays at home all day. She doesn't have a car during the day because my stepdad has one and my sister has the other. Other than clean the house (which pretty much stays clean) and do yard work (but now it's getting cold), she doesn't have much to occupy her time.

So I'm hopeful. I'm excited of being able to go visit and not feel nauseous from the smell of smoke. I'm excited that my suitcase, all of my clothes, and me, will not reek of smoke as I leave. Most of all, I'm excited that her health may improve if she takes this opportunity to start taking care of herself.

I'm excited, I'm hopeful. But I'm not holding my breath.

New Excuse

Not enough time is no longer the excuse, I need a new one.

I spent all of last week recovering. I didn't do anything but be a bum and watch bad TV or read. This week, although I am still recovering some, I can definitely do more than I could last week.

I still have some unpacking that needs to be done. The guest room still isn't finished. The kitchen still needs touching up from that drunken night of painting. I have a rubbermaid tub of pictures that need organizing, placed and or framed. I'm sure there's cleaning to be done.

Have I gotten any of that done? Nope. Do I have time? Plenty!!

Not sure what my excuse is now, but it certainly isn't that I don't have the time.

Vacation or House Arrest

It's sad when part of you looks forward to your surgery and recovery to not have to deal with the bullshit at work.

It's kind of nice not to have to go in each day and pretend to work, pretend to be nice to the dill-weeds (is dill-weeds hyphenated?) in the office. It's nice not to have to get up each morning and iron clothes, straighten my hair, put on make up.

Several naps throughout the day, tons of bad TV, good drugs.

I think I would look forward to recovering more if I could look forward to going to work. Eh, such is life.

Not sure exactly when I'm going back in yet. They aren't really pressuring me on a date. So, I guess until the movies, magazines, blog archives and drugs wear out. Or when my belly is no longer swollen and I can fit in my pants and get into my truck. Ugh! (Note: Drugs and blog archives can be a dangerous mix!)

Recovering

I finally got to leave the hospital at around 8:30 last night. The surgery went well with no complications. I would say the worst part was waiting for 2 hours on an uncomfortable stretcher before I got to go in.

But let me tell you this. I have never encountered such nice nurses, doctors and helpers in my life. I got all the nurses names and intend to write a letter to the hospital. Each was sincere, caring and made sure I was comfortable the whole time.

My biggest concern for recovery was nausea. I was scared of lying in bed nauseous as that is one of my weaknesses. I haven't been nauseous once, only took the nausea medicine once. No problems there. I've been able to eat with no problems (soup, cereal, noodles).

The only pain is the pain around my belly button. The muscle there hurts so I'm still walking around like a hunchback. It's hard to get comfortable to sleep as I like to sleep on my side. But with good old Percocet, I can fall asleep sitting up.

The doctor called and said after I heal I should feel a lot better. He said the gallbladder was chronically inflamed, which made it easy to find and remove.

My stepmom figured out how to use my camera phone unfortunately. She got a few unflattering pictures of me...bad hair, glasses, no make up, and so forth. Not sharing those, but I'll put the others below in the extended entry. You have been warned if you are slightly squeamish.

Oh, and thank you all for the kinds comments, emails, text messages and phone calls. Oh, and inappropriate packages ;-) They certainly put a big smile on my face, or is that the drugs?

I may not like needles, but this thing was my friend. The gateway to my drugs.

I can be a rapper now right? My four bullet wounds...

« Hide "Recovering"

Preparing

My stepmom has arrived to help out this week with my surgery. She brought Kiki and their Golden Retriever, Chance.

We have loads of soup, water, gatorade, ginger ale, and rice. You'd think we were preparing for a disaster.

I bought about 5 magazines, a book and rented 4 movies. I'm scared of boredom.

My last meal, Mexican. Also, hopefully, my last set of pains, heart burn and nausea.

Lil sis was upset that mom would be gone this week. The following took place before she left:

Sis: Why can't daddy go down and take care of Sissy and you stay with me.

SM: If you were having surgery, would you want daddy or mommy to take care of you?

Sis: Ooookay, go take care of Sissy.

Hehe!

So tomorrow is the big day. I'm not worried, but I am a little nervous. Eh, such is life.

Meanwhile, here's who will be taking care of me this week...

And so you understand my state of mind, in the extended entry are quots from my surgery information:

Easy Travels

Front Row Parking at the Airport

Open Check-In Kiosks

Walk Straight Through Security

No one running you over on the way to your gate

A dream you say?

Nope...the luxury of traveling on Saturday!!

Job Fate

I found out tonight, just a few short hours ago, that I should know my job fate in 10 days.

Rumor has it, I will be jobless.

I have been aggressively submitting my resume everywhere I can think of. I'll see a commercial on TV for something and go to their website and submit a resume.

New to Atlanta, buying a house, having surgery....a job would be nice to have.

Now excuse me...I'm back to job searching.

WANTED: Live-In Bug Killer

I really like it here! I do! But there is one thing that I absolutely can't stand and grosses me out royally!

A few nights ago, I went to the bathroom (a small 1/2 bath). As I sat down, I saw in front of me, between me and the sink, a huge palmetto bug. I stopped everything I was doing, and jumped out of there. I HATE them! I'm not sure there is anything I hate more.

I went to the kitchen, grabbed the roach spray, and used about 1/3 of a can on it. As it slowly drowned in the puddle of Raid, it was able to squeeze itself under the cabinet to where I can't get to it. It died, I could still see a little bit of it's leg from underneath. But I wasn't going for him!

I waited several hours and then went in to clean up the puddle of Raid. It's Country Garden scent, or something.

I was very cautious there after using that bathroom. I checked before walking in, checked before sitting. Even left the can of Raid in there until a couple of days ago.

So tonight, I went into the bathroom, and as I turned on the light, I saw another huge ass palmetto bug in the top corner of the bathroom. I let out a small, wimpy, scream and went to fetch the Raid from the kitchen. How are you supposed to kill a bug on the ceiling like that? So I sprayed him, leaving streaks of Raid on the wall, he fell and ran! Another 1/3 can of Raid gone as he shriveled up in the pool of Raid. I'm going to leave him in there a little bit to dry up and until I get the balls to remove him.

I can't handle this! Seriously! Out of all rooms, why the smallest room? What MY house? Eh! They are disgusting!

I may put an ad out for a live-in bug killer!

Champions

The Cardinals are going to the World Series.

Damn, that was a great game. I was one of the only people in the bar rooting for the Cards except for the gay guy that I got to cheer when I did and the girl that just wanted to cheer for the opposite team her husband was cheering for. Hey, whatever works!!

I can't wait for Saturday night!

The Curse Is Broken

I didn't watch Game 6 tonight. I was worried I would cause my dear Carindals to lose.

But it's okay, they lost on their own.

So tomorrow is game 7. I'm not sure whether I should watch or not. I want to! I really do!

I'm thinking maybe if I watch while having a few drinks at the bar, something good will come of the night.

Change of Plans

I bumped up the surgery to the 31st of October, 2 weeks earlier. I feared the odds of me getting a simple cold or something in the next month would be good and also saves me 2 weeks of pain. Not to mention 2 weeks less of worry. I also am guaranteed insurance until the end of the month. November is still a mystery.

My friend says she's coming to the hospital in her Halloween costume. She said the fact that I'll be doped up, it should be entertaining.

After I called to change the appointment, I turned on the TV and ER was on. They were going a gallbladder removal....on a pig. They have really big gallbladders.

It's Coming Out

I went in for my pre-op today. The big day is November 14th at 6:45 am. That's probably a good time. I'll still be half asleep while they do the IV and stuff.

My surgeon is good. Very attentive, thorough, and it doesn't hurt that he's not bad to look at. Hopefully I won't mention that under the anesthesia.

I made the mistake of missing a turn in the hospital to get to administration and ended up walking down the hall of where the surgeries were done. It was a little unnerving.

They took some more blood, went through my health history for the 20th time and answered every quesiton I had. I am very impressed so far with this hospital. Maybe my expectations are low due to the many years of the Naval Hospitals.

So it's 4 more weeks of chicken and rice.

I Can't Watch

I made sure I was in front of the TV for game 1 of the NLCS. Unfortunately, the Cardinals lost.

I made sure I was in front of the TV for game 2, when it was rescheduled due to rain.

I wasn't able to watch game 2. We won.

I wasn't able to watch game 3. We won.

I flipped game 4 on during the 2nd inning, we were 1-0. I continued to watch and then the Mets scored. I changed the channel. We continued this routine back and forth until I witnessed the Mets score 6 runs in the 6th inning.

I think it's best if I don't watch...

Glad I Called...

So I called the doctors office today to find out more about my surgery next week. You know, when to stop eating/drinking, what do I need to bring, etc.

They look me up, and say that I'm just coming in to talk with the surgeon Monday and then they'll schedule the surgery from there. I told her that my doctor's nurse said I was actually getting the surgery Monday and they were just forwarding all my result to the surgeon. She said it was a good thing that I called.

Unfortunately, I made this call AFTER my stepmom had made arrangements to stay with me all of next week.

So, next week is just an appointment. I think I'll ask for the surgery to be done in early November.

Damn, I'm glad I called.

The Results Are In II

The results are in and I am scheduled for surgery on Monday. Quicker than I thought. That's good and bad.

So the message I received from the doctor is that there are no gallstones but my biliary ejection fraction is 6.6% and it's supposed to be, at minimum, 30%. He said something on the message about biliary diskynesia, which he described as a "sick/non-functioning gall bladder" and that he was referring me to a surgeon.

I would have never thought they'd get me schedule in 6 days. However, looking at my personal and work schedule, that seems to be a good time, even though I personally would have pushed it to November. But this way, at least we know I still have a job which means I still have insurance. My job status is still unknown for the upcoming months.

This website has a pretty cool slideshow and description of a Laparoscopic Gall Bladder Removal. However, I have banned myself from reading or viewing anything else on the subject.

The Liquid Cheeseburger

I had the HIDA scan done last Thursday. I hope to get the results Tuesday or Wednesday.

In this test, a radioactive material called hydroxy iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) is injected into the patient. The radioactive material is taken up by the gallbladder to measure gallbladder function. This test also is referred to as cholescintigraphy.

And it sucks. A bit of advice, if you ever have to get this done, stay up the night before so you can sleep through it!

Before the scan, they gave me an IV in my hand, injected saline, the HIDA stuff, and more saline. Other than the fact that I HATE needles and insisted on turning away as he poked and injected, it wasn't that bad. Although I avoided looking at my hand as the though of a needle just sitting in there bothered me.

Then I had to lie on this table, just as if you were going to get an MRI. The technician asked what kind of music I liked. Doubting he had anything that would be to my specific liking, I told him the elevator jazz music he had on was fine.

I laid there. For an hour. On my back. On a hard, plastic table. Meanwhile, the machine took continuous pictures of my abdomen.

Then, the technician explained he was going to inject a cheeseburger into my IV. He said he'd inject some type of stuff every few minutes that should make me react as if I were eating a cheeseburger. Ok, do you know the last time I had a cheeseburger? Yea, neither do I. The least he could have done was let me have a real cheeseburger if I was going to have to go through the pain.

The instant he injected the "liquid cheeseburger", I was nauseous and dizzy. Five minutes later, he injected some more. By then, I had massive heartburn. Who would have thought you could get heartburn from an injection. By the 3rd injection, I was aggressively fighting the need to throw up. It was in my throat, I was on my back, I'm not sure that would have been a good scene. Although it would have severed him right.

After another 30 minutes of pictures, they removed the IV and I was allowed to leave.

It wasn't one of my finest doctor’s visits. Yes, I'm a big baby. But it sucked!

Hopefully I'll hear something soon on the results.

Meanwhile, I wonder if that liquid cheeseburger had any calories in it?

Last Meal

I was talking to my mom and she said that she had made potato skins, BBQ pork steaks and garlic bread the other night. My sister told her that if she could choose any meal for her last meal, that would be it.

Mine? Country Fried Steak or Chicken with white gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, mac n' cheese and yeast rolls.

I would die of carb overload before whatever was ailing me.

So out of curiousity, what would everone else's last meal be?

School

After completing my current course in the next 2 weeks, I have 13 more classes until I finish school.

I am tired and I am burned out. I have had a paper do every week since I started school back in October of 2003. Now, I have taken a few breaks here and there, but for the most part, a paper due every week.

Including my current class, I have approximately 67 more papers to write until I am done. Actually, more. 67 is only including my individual assignments and not the team assignments we must do. So more like 80 more papers.

The loan program I am on does not allow me to double up on classes. I have the ability to write a couple of 10-15 pages on previous work/learning experience, to POSSIBLY (not a sure thing) get some credit. But I am truly having issues sitting down long enough to get my individual writing assignments turned in, let alone a few 10-15 page papers that I may not get any credit for.

My sister, who turned 18 in June, should be completed with her Bachelors by late 2007. I'll be lucky if I get mine done by then.

It's to the point now that I look for ways to just get the work done, and not absorb any of it. I just want to be done with it!

MRN DATR

So I go to a local bar tonight to listen to a local band play some 70's, 80's and 90's favorites.

As long as there is good music or something on the TV, I usually don't have too much of a problem going by myself. Oh, it's not my favorite, but I can handle it.

Maybe I should have gotten that MRNDATR license plate. How is it that I still ended up talking to a Marine (former) even though the closest Marine base is 5 hours away?

Well, he ended up snatching my phone and text messaging the Bipolic I dated in Yuma. The Bipolic and I were texting back and forth and the former Marine decided to take over the conversation.

Well, at least it was entertaining!

Law & Order

Have I mentioned how much I love Law & Order SVU marathons on USA? I've seen every one but I'm still hooked!

There are only a few shows I really like, so I don't watch TV that often. But I would not object to a Law & Order channel

Bad Dream

I had a dream this morning that my dad and stepmom were getting a divorce. It was quite real and quite scary.

They just celebrated their 13 year anniversary this month.

In the dream, they acted like everything was perfect, everything was normal. And then I found out somehow. I'm not sure how I found out. However, I did find out, they didn't know I knew so I couldn't talk about it or ask them about it.

Then later, my stepmom and I went out shopping and I brought it up. I asked her where she was going to go and she said wherever I was. I had been worried she would go back to where her family was from.

I then remember being back at the house and overhearing my stepmom ask my dad something about needing to organize and seperate stuff. He said that he knew, but walked away to do something else. He didn't want to talk about it.

That's all I remember. It was a weird dream. I don't think they would ever get divorced but the dream did shake me up a little.

The Results Are In

The results of my Ultra Sound are in. The verdict? I have sludge! There is biliary sludge in my gallbladder. Dandy!

So, next Thursday, I go in for a Nuclear Hida Scan. I'm not sure it's as fun as it sounds.

At this point, I'm ready for them to take the damn thing out. I've gotten the hang for the most part of how to control the pain, but sometimes I have done nothing to cause the pain. And then sometimes, I forget all about it and have a grilled cheese for lunch and curse myself 30 minutes later.

My mother is also having more tests done but they are leaning toward issues with her Pancreas.

The doctors are on a short timeline with me. I'm not exactly sure how much longer I have this job, and they need to decide whether they are taking this useless thing out, and if so, how soon.

Meanwhile, a stock tip.....chicken and rice!

Third World Dentist

I'm not sure I've ever seen the same dentist twice. I just move that much.

Luckily, when I moved to Atlanta, I had someone here to recommend good doctors to me, but not a dentist. I had to find that one on my own.

So I searched through my insurance and picked one close to work and one that I could pronounce the name. I don't know, that just seemed important for some reason.

I went Wed. I haven't been in like a year and half. I take decent care of my teeth, but with new jobs, moving and such, a cleaning has just not made it up far enough on my list. With the possibility of losing my job soon, I'm getting in as many appointments as I can right now.

So I made the trip Wed to the dentist. On the way there, things looked a little familiar when I realized this was the area where my drunken escapade began. The office was a little white building amongst restaurants, bars and little shops. Strange...

I go in and I swear the place was the size of one of my old apartments. There were 3 assistants, the dentist and one other patient. In the back, there are 2 chairs. That's it.

I sit in the first seat, which happens to seem quite small. I look at the machine next to me and I swear to you this thing was from the 70's. The paint seemed to be peeling and there was green stuff around some of the metal and on the pipes. Knowing this wasn't good, I wasn't quite sure how to get out of the situation. So I stayed.

I would have thought that the lady down the street in the ghetto nail salon was cleaning my teeth. This woman was rough! She was going to town with that little dremmel-like tool. Stuff was all splattered on my face and she wouldn't bother to wipe it. She didn't use the little sucky thing to keep me from gaggin on my own saliva. It was just a mess. Afterward, she gave me small papercup of water to rinse and spit in the bowl.

I can't remember the last time I had to do that. But what was more scary was when I went to spit in the bowl and saw green crap on the little things that water comes out of. Ugh, I wonder if anyone has ever thrown up in that bowl.

After the 20 minute cleaning, they bring me to another chair so they can do x-rays. This 80 year old man, hunched over, walks up to me, introduces himself at the speed of a turtle and thanks me for choosing their office.

He took 2 x-rays. That's it. Usually on first visits, I'm used them taking 5 or 6. I'm not sure quite what they will find with 2, but okay.

He then proceeds to show me a laminated card from the 70's on how to avoid brushing aggressively. His words, "Your teeth look good and I think you are brushing them well, but I like to show everyone this." Huh???

He then shows me a little flyer from Crest on how to brush your teeth and he models it on a mold of some teeth. When he got to the part that said "in a circular motion" he says, "I don't know how you brush circularly, just brush 4-5 times in each are" as he continues to show me on the mold. He then tells me that they will call me if anything shows up on the x-rays and that he'll see me in March. The hell he will!

Now, I know I haven't been in almost 2 years, but I'm pretty damn sure that things are a little more advanced than that now.

I left the office cracking up. It was just that bad all I could do was laugh. I'm in Atlanta, come on now. I would maybe have expected this in a small town, but not in a city.

Needless to say, I will not be returning in March.

Special Talent

Sis #2 is starting to get into all the extra curricular activities at school. She's social...it fits her.

She tried recently for class president (I guess they have those in 4th grade now). She didn't make it. And she was okay with that.

The next was the talent show. She broadcasted it to everyone that she was trying out. She was going to sing.

Singing does not run in the Sissy family by a long shot.

She decided she was going to sing Delta Dawn. Unfortunately, she was butchering it so with the help of my parents, it was decided she should pick another song.

She then decided on "Oops, I Did It Again", a Britney Spears song. She was practicing in front of my parents and was actually doing pretty good. Until she started shaking her hips and dancing. That when my dad piped up with, "You can't do this song. My 8 year old daughter is not going to be shaking her hips up on stage." So that song was out.

She then decided on "Grand Old Flag". She wanted to make it a big production with old suitcases, a dance routine, the whole works.

Try outs were Tuesday and there were only 12 slots open.

She didn't make it.

But they did give her a "special singer" position. I'm questioning their definition of "special".

She's cute, and I'm sure that's what won them over. The other kids that didn't make it did not get a "special" position.

My stepmom made the point that they would have to adjust their vacation a couple of days if she made it. They were going to shave 2 days off their trip to Florida because she has a 45 second spot in the talent show.

It's hilarious! And I'm driving up there to see it next Friday. Yes we are video taping it. I'll see what I can do to get it posted. I think it'll be that funny!

Next she's trying out for some Academic Contest. This should be good too...

Dodgin' Deer

I went for another drive tonight. I needed somewhere to go to think. It's kind of like that whole don't shit where you eat. I don't know why it makes sense to me, but it does.

The weather was too perfect to pass it up. However, this time, I found myself nestled in some woods, somewhere. I turned off the radio, rolled down all the windows and just listened.

One thing I forgot about the woods at night though? Deer.

I am obviously alive to tell the tale, as are the deer.

I can tell you that'll get your mind off things for awhile!

All-In

Bou, I call your roach in the bed and I'm All-In with a roach in the back of my knee.

My grandparents on my mother's side were very poor. Neither could work due to disabilities and what money they did have was spent on a Bingo addiction. Grandma used to believe that when her left hand was itching, it meant she was going to get money. We'd often hear, "Don, my hand is itching. I need you to drive me to Bingo." There was a different place for Bingo each night. It's kind of funny now.

After my parents divorced, I went to live with my grandparents for a little while. I was obviously expected to contribute by completing chores and such. My assigned chore - dishes. I hated them! Not for the typical reasons, but because I had little helpers that hung out around the kitchen sink. I would move a dish and roaches would scurry. I would put away dishes and disturb their homes in the cabinets.

It gets worse.

We lived in a single-wide trailer with only 2 bedrooms. One room was for my grandparents and the other was for my uncle and his son and then my other uncle slept on the couch. That meant, I got the floor. I had a little pallet that I'd make in the middle of the living room floor.

It was common for me to toss, turn and feel a bit itchy. And then there was the morning I woke up and wiped the back of my knee to find a smooshed dead roach. Yep, a roach. He must have got caught up in my tossing and turning.

I am thoroughly disgusted still to this day.

I moved back to my mother's at the end of the school year.

A Lack of Unconditional

There are some people you will always be tied to and nothing changes that. There is history, there are shared experiences, there are crises, there is love and there is blood.

Some we are tied to just through memories and others we'll be tied to until the end and then beyond.

On my 18th birthday, I went camping with my dad, stepmom and sister. I would be off to college soon and we realized how quickly the time had gone by in the year and half I lived with them. My dad took me on a walk through the wooded RV lot, sat me down at a picnic table and proceeded to pour his heart out to me. What I remember most of what he said was that the most important thing I own is my name, that he may let me fall a bit but that he will always be here for me, that there are only 2 good men in the world, him and one other for me, and how unconditional his love was for me, as well as my stepmom's.

And there hasn't been a moment I have ever doubted that. Ever! Despite my stubbornness to learn lessons on my own or the fear to admit I have failed, I always know in my gut, without a doubt, that they will be there.

I see these other families, these other kids that may not ever be that lucky to truly understand what unconditional is or means. Parents that have not handled their own personal demons and take that out on their children. Parents that choose their spouse over their child. Parents that will let their children hurt so they don't have to recognize the issues or the blame. Parents that will take advantage of their title as a parent and the love of their child.

I only hope that children that are missing what is rightfully theirs from a parent look for it somewhere. Just because they are tied by blood to someone that can't give, it doesn't mean they don't have the right to find it somewhere else. Otherwise, it just feels as if something is always missing.

Blood doesn't equal unconditional anymore. Nor does it mean trust, respect, or even safety. Blood is just a tie and should never hold someone back from moving on.

**Brought to you by Lifetime TV and other cases of dysfunctional relationships**

Have My Drink at the Finish Line

Last night my company participated in a 5K Walk/Run. It was my first.

Six weeks ago, I had intended on working up to this, but things seem to get in the way. I'd say there were a total of 6 45 minute workouts. Oh well...

The runners got to start right at 7pm while the walkers had to wait about 15 minutes until all the runners passed. We disguised ourselves as runners for about 2 tenths of a mile so we could get through sooner.

We made it in 52 minutes. My personal goal was an hour. Hell, who am I kidding, my personal goal was to finish. I think the motivation was the plan to have drinks afterward. We knew the quicker we finished, the closer we were to drinks.

It wasn't bad except for going up hill a couple of times. And my ass reminds me of those hills each time I get up out of seat or go up stairs.

Will You Hire Me?

Pull out the nice paper and recommendation letters...

...it's resume time again!!

That's right! I was told by 3 of my superiors to get crackin' on my resume, immediately.

Dandy!

Look, I know I get antsy and get bored quickly. I know I like to move up quickly and try new things.

But come on! 2 months!?! I just got here!

My position is going to be the first to go. I am not valuable at this point, I am too new. So I was told to "exhaust all internal open positions." Luckily, my manager is determined to make sure I have a job. She's making phone calls, helping me update my resume with "what I've done" (or would have done) in this position. She pointing me in the direction of good departments and good potential managers. She also suggested to deliver my resume externally. Just in case. Just in case something doesn't work out internally and just in case I get a better offer.

Fuck! That's all I've got to say!

For Better or Worse

So with this whole turned 25 thing, it seems like there have been a lot of changes. I don't know if it's coincidental or comes with age. A lot of it has me laughing daily.

Obviously, with these past incidents, my ability to consume large amounts of alcohol, including tequila, has not been as impressive as they used to me. Oh trust me, I can put some away and have a good time, but not like I used to. I used to inhale shots and have drinks and no worry about hurling and wake up the next morning with no issues. My tolerance has...uh...not been as good.

However, on the plus side, my cooking has improved. Stop.laughing.you!

Each meal I have made since I've been here has been my best. It's been shocking actually. Practice, more patience, call it what you will. But it's better. Better, I said...not good. Just better.

Then there are things like shows I use to watch when I was younger being on Nick at Nite. I used to watch old Lassie, Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith shows on Nick at Nite. All black and white, all the definition of old, to me, at the time. If you were around for the original showings of these shows...you were old, to me, at that time.

But now, shows like Roseanne, Cosby Show, Fresh Prince, Mad About You, Designing Women, etc., they are all on. These are all shows I used to watch (and still do at night when there's nothing else on). So, by my above definition....uh, I can't think it...

My decisions have been better. I make better decisions. Not great, but better. Man, have I made some stupid decisions in the past. And sometimes I still revert back to them. But not as frequently!

There's more. More pros, more cons. More better, more worse. But it has me laughing daily.

Escape

Blogmom Bou often talks about running with her favorite music drowning everything out when trying to escape life for awhile.

I'm a little lazy. I drive. I roll down the windows, open the moonroof, and play the playlist on my stereo that fits the mood whether it's escape, anger, sad or contemplation.

My favorite place to go is along the water. When I lived in the Carolinas, I would drive along the coast for hours. Sometimes I'd get out and sit there for awhile. Sometimes I'd watch the sun come up and not even realize I had been there that long or that I had to be to work in a few short hours.

In Yuma, I did a lot of driving. I was in a house with 3 other people, I was miserable, so I was constantly trying to get out. There's no water in Yuma obviously so I had to rely on the clear Arizona sky that very rarely lacked stars. Sometimes I'd park by the airport and watch the jets fly over me. Not quite the ocean, but still an escape.

In Atlanta, it takes a little more effort to "get lost", but I manage. Tonight was the first night I've had the chance to really go for a drive for awhile. Call it a way to procrastinate from the never ending laundry, hanging, cleaning, organizing, unpacking, and school work that needs to be done, time to think without distractions or just a plain escape. There's no water, but the weather is perfect. It took me a little while to escape the interstates and the main roads, but I found the hidden back roads that were surrounded by woods. 150 miles worth of wooded backroads with the windows down, the music playing and the partly cloudy skies. I have no idea where I was or how to get back there, but it was what I was looking for. Good thing gas prices have gone down.

I'm not sure if I accomplished anything or came to any conclusions, but I escaped for a little while.

So Much for Stability

When I started this new job, my company was still in contract negotiations with the account I work with. It has been drawn out and never ending.

Well, it seems like they didn't sign. So basically, the 4 of us in my department will be out in April when our current contract is up.

I feel bad for the 3 in my department who have been working with this company for a long while. And they are remote, so unless they want to move, they'll most likely be out of a job.

I don't know what'll happen with me. I can look for another position within the company, but I don't know how I feel about that yet.

What I'm most dissapointed about is that I will miss out on the opportunity to work under my current manager. Things were finally starting to get going and I was learning some things from her. I feel like she could have taught me a lot and now I'll miss out on that.

And I know my luck is about to wear out. I have had some really good jobs and managers the past 4+ years, it's bound to end sometime. I thought at least with this job I'd get another year or two.

I'm sure I'll hear/learn more further along. But for now, it's a bit of a bummer.

iPod Took a Dump

I had a slight scare yesterday. I installed iTunes 7 on my computer and updated the software on my iPod. Afterward, my iPod took a big crap! Frozen! Reset, restore, nothing would help it! If it was plugged into my computer, my computer started acting up.

Of course I don't have the receipt anymore. I bought it a year ago this October at Best Buy in Yuma. I thought for sure I'd have to end up using it as a paperweight and buying a new one.

I did all the troubleshooting tips on Apple's website, no luck. Luckily, there are 3 Apple Stores here in Atlanta. I made an appointment online and was able to get in by 4pm at their "Genious Bar".

He checked a couple of things out, couldn't fix it, so replaced it. He said he was supposed to charge me $30 but "he forgot".

I thought for sure this was going to be a dissapointing situation, but I was surprised!

So, careful downloading the new iTunes....but their customer service is above the norm.

Vodka vs. Tequila

Tonight we had a happy hour to attend from 3-5 and then a dinner with another group for work.

At the happy hour, I had 1 vodka & cranberry and was good to go. I guess this weekend is finally starting to wear off.

Then we went to a Mexican restaurant. We all ordered margaritas. After one sip of mine I had instant flashbacks! After another sip, I felt like I was drinking Drano!

I've always been a fan of tequila, in shot or drink form. But tonight, you would have thought I was drinking gasoline.

I don't know if this is temporary or permanent....but I'm not any rush to meet back up with tequila!

Vodka and I are still fine. I had a few more vodka and cran's after dinner at the bar. We can still hang.

The Party Is Over

B just left after 5 days of fun and laughs. From what I can remember...

We stayed up until 4:30 am painting the kitchen. (my own personal hell)

We bar hopped with our own chauffer ;-)

After a light dinner and 14 drinks, our DD thought we needed a shot.

B got a lapdance from a 60 year old stripper.

By the way, to keep your ass and legs firm, slap them constantly. At least that's what Bunny says.

I dance when I'm drunk and only when I'm drunk.

I am really drunk when I don't remember it.

I apparently flip you off if you talk to me while I'm falling asleep in my plate of pasty eggs.

My aim has improved. I made it to the trash can this time versus the bathroom floor.

When my friend fell on her ass in front of the Majestic with 8 people watching, I was too drunk to know and she was too drunk to stop laughing long enough to get up.

Apparently, my aim has not improved as I opened the car door to puke, while the car was still in motion and was knocked in the head back into the car as the door hit a fire hydrant.

It took us the whole next day to recover!

3 days later, we still couldn't have a drink with our meals. (yes, we tried)

The Shakira concert was good despite not understanding half of the songs and the piss poor organization of Phillips Arena.

So obviously, it has been an eventful few days and good visit for B.

I never thought I'd see the day, but I have sworn of shots of tequila.

Now excuse me, I've gotta go put some ice on my head.

Happy Birthday Bou!!

Today is my blogmom, Bou's birthday.

Now, ya know...she's only a year and a half younger than my mom. So if Bou was popping out babies at 15, she could have a 25 year old.

Scary, huh Bou?

I hope you have/had an outstanding birthday full of chocolate and smooches from the boys!!

My 5th Opinion

Morrigan, Bou, H~, Napster and all the others that have diagnosed me in real life or in the comments...

...you were right.

I went to the doctor today about the stomach issues I've been having.

He said he's 100% sure there is something wrong with my gall bladder. He said he trains other doctors, nurses, students, etc and wishes he had them in the room because I was such a classic case.

Great!!

He said we've got to figure out what exactly is wrong though. Are there gallstones? Is the stuff in there turning to sludge and not able to get out? Is the gall bladder itself bad? etc. So I have an ultra sound on the 21st. He gave me some drugs for nausea, acid reflux and for spasms. He warned me that if any of the symptoms got worse or if I got a fever that I needed to go to the ER because it meant it was infected.

Good Times!

They took 3 things of blood to run some tests. Otherwise, I won't know anything else until my ultra sound.

So that's the scoop.

Good news though...

....alcohol DOES NOT effect it! I tested that this week! So let the party beging. B is flying in and should be arriving in about 2 hours.

Dog IBS?

I think Kiki has IBS.

Whenever I took Kiki to the kennel before I would go on trips, she'd be fine. She'd shake just like any Chihuahua does, but would still go to the employee and would be loving.

My parents didn't have any issues in Arizona either when bringing her to the kennel.

But in Kentucky, it's another story. When they take her there, she shits right on the floor of the lobby. She never does that. She is trained! She's done that the past couple of times they've taken her there.

This time they tried another place, and she shit and snapped at another dog. That is so not like her!!

So we are thinking the 1st place they took her to in Kentucky must have done something to her. I try not to think about it, otherwise I get too pissed off.

So we are hoping the one she went to today will treat her well and she'll get over this.

My parents are leaving for 2 weeks in October and I already said she'll stay with me.

I don't think I'm getting her back. Their Golden Retriever has bonded with her so much that he freaks out when she's not there.

It just kills me!

Just a Little Consistency

For the most part, I actually like the Kansas City Airport. I like that there are 3 separated terminals, I like that there is separate security for each 5 gates and separate baggage claim areas. Makes things simple and less hectic.

I especially like the free Wi-Fi. you can never go wrong with that.

It is out in the middle of nowhere and takes me 30 minutes to get to Overland Park, but I can even live with that.

But how about a little consistency amongst airports? Before going through security, I stopped by the news stand to get some magazines and a water. I know the rules of what I can and cannot bring on board. I don't push it, I don't argue. I deal with it.

So I go through security and they request a bag check on my container which holds my shoes, purse and purchase.

I am told I cannot have my drink. I apologized and told him I thought I could have it as long as I drank it before I got on the plane. So there's $2 down the drain.

But the thing is, I wouldn't have thought that unless I was allowed at every other airport I've been to. LAX...no problem. I was chugging water all the way up until I boarded. ATL, again, no problem.

LAX, I was screened before going on board by some pretty cute Army dudes (they were Marines, but not bad). ATL, I wasn't screened before hand so to be honest, they probably wouldn't have known if I brought a water or something in my bag that I purchased after security. I wouldn't do that....but the possibility is there. Hell, I forgot that I had lip gloss in my purse and it got through security.

Makes me a little upset that I threw away my lotion, toothpaste and mascara before I got to the airport just because I didn't want to check my luggage. (Note, mascara was old and empty...I wasn't being wasteful).

Oh well, back to consistency. I would expect if any airport was going to be more strict on restrictions, it would be the ones like LAX and ATL. But no, it's this little airport out in the middle of nowhere.

Starting Young

Bou's 2nd boy is starting band, in 4th grade. I'm very excited.

I wasn't able to start band until 6th grade. And as for a choice of instruments, I was handed a clarinet. I actually wanted to play percussion or sax, but my stepmom had an old clarinet so that's what I started with.

Bou's boy has already vowed to move to other instruments in the future as he was denied playing the ones he wanted. Ah, music to my ears!

I've missed playing. And as I unpacked and ran across my clarinet (a newer more professional one after the hand-me-down was not keeping up with me), I really wanted to play again. If I could play without disturbing the neighbors, I would. In college, we had a building that had private practice rooms that no one on the outside could hear you. I miss that!

So, unless I find something like that in Atlanta, it looks like no more playing for me. I'm looking into getting a piano, but it's just not the same. I played many different instruments, but my clarinet was like an extra appendage.

So meanwhile, I will look forward to the stories from Bou about her little musician. And if it's anything like when I started...oh boy will there be some blog fodder.

I Can Have Both!

Good News! Looks like my horoscope was wrong a couple of days ago.

My trip to the Philippines was changed to a different date!

Putting the Parents to Work

Let me tell you, I have some of the best parents! We got so much done this weekend. They didn't get here until 10pm Saturday night and they left at about 3:30 this afternoon.

My stepmom is a creative and thrifty genious. We painted my bedroom and master bathroom in about 7 hours. Also in that time, my dad put together my new kitchen table, 6 stools, and hung a bunch of stuff for me.

After a hard days work, we were invited to Morrigan and her beau's house for dinner. Dad had his heart set on Dave's BBQ, but when pot roast was mentioned, it was no question. So we had an absolutely wonderful dinner there while my lil sis talked everyone's ear off. It was fun. Thanks again you two!

Then this morning, my stepmom and I did some serious shopping. We found great deals everywhere we went. We hit the great towel sale at Kohl's, got curtain rods, curtains and sheers at Bed Bath and Beyond and another gallon of paint at Home Depot. I have mail-in rebates to send in, Kohl's cash to use at a future date, and were even able to use an expired coupon. She's that good!
(Advice: Bed, Bath and Beyond willingly takes expired coupons and takes Linen's and Things coupons)

I hate that I have to go to Kansas City tomorrow as I'm still motivated to get more done.

I get back Friday but 5 hours later, my friend B from Yuma arrives.

So here's to everything coming together and to the best parents ever!

Puttin' the Labor in Labor Day

Both sets of my parents have only come to visit me once. Christmas of 2003 when I moved to North Carolina and was renting my first decent place.

Otherwise, I have always come to visit them. It makes sense I suppose. One of me, 2 sets of 3 of them.

But it's nice to be somewhere that they can just drive down for the weekend. My dad, stepmom and 8 y.o. sis drove down this evening, arriving about 10pm. It was a 5 hour drive. Not too bad.

I like having them here.

So it looks like my stepmom and I will be painting the master bathroom (of which I have already primed once and painted twice...just not happy with the colors) and the master bedroom. I'm glad she's here because I am so awful at picking out colors. We tried a small amount of the color I picked out for the bedroom and we didn't like it. Hmmm, I wonder if Wal-Mart will take it back?

So it's off to Home Depot and JoAnn's for us tomorrow. Painting and curtains are on our agenda. She even brought her sewing machine to make my curtains. She's so crafty and talented, she more than makes up for my lack of taste, talent and decision making.

Meanwhile, Dad has a list of dad stuff to do such as put together the kitchen table and chairs I bought last weekend, fix the entertainment center doors the movers broke and hang some pictures, sconces and other stuff.

I am not a home decorator. I am indecisive and get caught up in the detail to where I stress myself out and can't move on. Eh! I'm so glad they are here!

Meanwhile, lil sis will be helping here and there and writing a report for Girl Scouts. I'm sure she'll also be in charge of the dogs.

Speaking of which, Kiki is here! They brought their Golden Retriever, Chance and my dog Kiki. I wish I could keep her here but it's just not smart until I know how my travel is going to be. But it sure is nice to have her here this weekend. She hasn't left my side since she got here.

My family isn't here long enough. They leave Monday afternoon. But Thanksgiving is at my house this year!

Just more evidence that moving here was the right decision.

A Day Too Late

I found out yesterday that I'm going to have to miss a blog meet I was really looking forward to because I will be going to the Philippines for work. Now, I'm very, very excited about the trip, but am bummed I'm going to miss the meet.

And then my horoscope today:

How annoying when work gets in the way of pleasure! But there are times when professional opportunities are simply too good to pass up. That beguiling creature you've had your eye on will just have to wait for you another day. For now, dear Cancer, focus on the business at hand. With the current planetary forces in play, the payoff could be tremendous!

Ugh, a day too late...

Fricken Comcastic!

I was allowed to work from home today so I could get my car fixed and wait for the cable guy.

I have not had good experiences with Comcast so far. I am not a big fan. And if there was an alternative, I would go with it.

I do not understand why they have to charge me $40 for someone to "install" a DVR at my home. It doesn't take installation. It takes a couple of cables that I can do myself. I've waited 3 weeks since I made the appointment. I could have gone to the office myself, picked it up and hooked it up myself. This isn't the first bogus charge either.

So, my appointment was between 2-5. 3 hour time span. That alone is ridiculous. I ran a couple of my errands before than and came home to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Finally, at 4:45 I call Comcast to tell them the situation and the lady asks, "Well it's not quite 5 yet, is it?" You've got to be kidding me.

She said she had no way to check the status but that there were no notes that the appointment was cancelled or anything.

10 minutes later I get a call from the cable guy himself saying he's running late, he didn't know how long he would be but he'd be here today.

The Post Office, the gym, and a few other errands I wanted to make will now have to wait.

This is wrong on so many levels. I would be the one to go up the chain and gripe, but I seriously don't think it would do any good.

Wasn't cable companies rated for the worst customer service; followed by cell phone companies?

***UPDATE***

It's 7:03 pm. Do you know where my cable guy is?

Called Comcast to let them know how ridiculous this is. Response? "Well, we do have an On Time Guarantee."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

So there's $20 off my bill. I'm glad 5 hours (and counting) of my time is only worth $20.

2nd UPDATE

It's 8:20. The cable guy called me 40 minutes ago saying he was trying to leave the house he was at asap.

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the cable guy coming to my house after 8pm. What bullshit!

3rd UPDATE

The cable guy just left. It's 9:20 pm. He looked like he had been run over he was so exhausted.

He came in and looked at my tv and told me the DVR wasn't going to work, the signal here was too bad.

After going back and forth with him, I told him to leave the DVR, I'll hook it up myself tomorrow since no one is in the Comcast office to send a signal to it tonight anyway. He looked at me and said, "Do you know how to hook this up?"

I fucking hate that just because I don't have a dick, I don't know anything about electronics. Who the hell do you think wired all the speakers and components?

The signal is not good here. They have a splitter going from the living room to the other side of the room and upstairs to the master bedroom. Then they have another splitter from the master bedroom to the guestroom. You CANNOT split a signal that much.

The tv in the guestroom is pretty much all snow. The master bedroom gets the best signal it seems while the living room is dependent on which channel it is.

So, looks like I'll be making another date with Comcast to come fix all of this and I WILL NOT be paying for it!

Like Grandmother, Like Mother, Like Daughter

I am teased a bit because I have a sensitive tummy. Despite being a picky eater, the things I do eat often make me nauseous or ill.

But lately, it's gotten worse. I am the type of person that will lay there in misery before I throw up. Seriously, before the past few months, I could count on one hand how many times I've thrown up in life.

But like I said, until a few months ago.

Then, the couple of days, I have had abdominal pain. Sometimes it would be sharp and quite painful, and then other times it'll just be dull and uncomfortable.

Today, I've had the same along with middle back pain. Sometimes it'll be just a dull pain and then sometimes it'll be sharp and have me doubled over.

I talked to Morrigan about it and we looked up the symptoms online and she made a suggestion on what she thought it might be.

I talk to my mom later to find out she was in the emergency room last night because of these types of pains except 20 times worse. She's had these pains before where she would call me in tears, but I could never get her to go to the doctor. Well, last night it was finally bad enough. They gave her drugs to dull the pain, took tests and believe it's her gall bladder. She has to have an ultra sound tomorrow.

I also found out tonight while talking to her that my grandmother had the same issue. Why am I just now finding this out? Although, I shouldn't be surprised. My grandmother (on my mom's side) had EVERYTHING.

So, I am going to wait it out, see how things go tomorrow. My insurance with my new company kicks in Friday. If I'm not better by then, I'll look at going in.

In the meantime, the simple over the counter drugs are not working. I wish my mom could mail me some of her drugs!

Electronics, Furniture, Cooking and More

Four days and counting until my parents get here so of course I am trying to get these as put away and set up as I can.

One of those things was putting together a new TV stand I bought for my bedroom. I'm usually pretty good at putting together furniture. I can't cook, I'm not crafty, my taste can be lacking....

but boy can I wire a home entertainment center and put together some furniture.

Well, so I thought. Things were going smooth, each piece fitting together right despite the poor instructions and I was even thinking I might post a picture of the finish productI was proud.

Until I went to screw in that back piece that looks like wood but is more like cardboard or something.... I had two pieces backwards which means I couldn't screw in the back piece. I had to take apart the whole thing to swap the two pieces.

Then it came for the doors. Almost done and then I could carry on with getting everything done.

An hour later...I still can't get the doors quite right. They won't line up...and they will wait until my dad gets here this weekend.

So I have to unhook the cable and my cable internet to put the TV on the stand. I set everything up, hook all the cables in and even tie them together to prevent the nasty mess that usually happens in the back.

I program the remote that goes with the cable box. Almost done...

Turn on the cable box...blank screen. Nothing. Can't flip channels, no snow, nothing.

I check all of my connections, tighten all cables, no luck. I check the cable in the other rooms to make sure they work, they do.

I pull out the instructions to make sure I didn't forget anything. Oops, I have to call and activate the box.

I call and activate the box. There are a few issues...a different name showing up on the box, etc. We get that all resolved, and all is good!

Now it's time to take a break and check email.

Hmmm...no internet connection. No biggy, just need to reset everything.

Did that. No luck. So after 30 minutes of unplugging, power cycling, restarting, repairing, etc...no luck.

So I call the cable company again. THIS is what cracks me up.

Pressed 1 for English

Pressed 1 for Issues

Pressed 2 for Cable Internet

"We are experiencing higher than normal call volume. Your wait time will be longer than usual. Please check www.comcast.net and click help with your internet connection."

Do I need to explain that???? Ugh!

So I'm on hold and the system tells me to make sure I've done a complete reset with the modem and the computer. I have, but I do it one more time....no luck.

25 minutes later, I'm still on hold and am still using every trick I know to get a connection.

Finally, I go to completely unhook everything, where I feel the IEEE cable is loose.

I promptly hang up with Comcast.

So, if I am usually good with putting together furniture and wiring electronics and I screwed that up today....

....maybe I could actually cook a good dinner or something.

Or maybe I should just file today away as a test of my patience...

Call Sissy, She's Taking a Nap

Is there a message that goes out to everyone in my phone whenever I take a nap?

I was trying to stay up so I'd sleep tonight but I couldn't motivate myself to do anything at all. So, soon enough, I was passed out on the couch. My phone must have rang 5 times. Depending on who it is and how asleep I am, I'll answer. But I couldn't even wake up enough to spell my name, let alone have a conversation. So I pressed ignore each time.

A couple hours later...my phone rings off the hook again. Same people. And I'm grumpy when I am tired and groggy. Not on purpose, my brain just doesn't function.

The world has not come to an end, despite the many phone calls. But now I'm awake when I really should be getting ready for bed. Ugh! So maybe I'll get motivated to keep putting stuff away, put together the TV stand I bought this weekend, cleaning, laundry, and all the other stuff that has to be done before my family gets here this weekend.

Filling the Fridge

The act of moving sucks. The planning, the worry, the packing, the moving, the unpacking, making decisions, getting stuff set up and arranged...it all sucks.

But one of the things I hate the most about moving is that initial trip to the grocery store. When your refrigerator and cabinets are completely bare except for that left over chinese or pizza.

So I made the dreaded trip, on Sunday. I don't know what it is that makes people feel like they have to do this on Sunday, but I am obviously not alone as it seems half the population was at the store with me.

I made a very messy list of items I would need that aren't my usual items. I looked through cookbooks for ideas of new things to try on my quest of not eating out anymore. So, as I made it through each aisle, my cart became more and more full. You would have thought I had a family at home. But I don't.

I think I may have figured out one of the reasons I hate to cook and/or hate to grocery shop. They make too many variations of things now. Sugars, oils, seasonings, cheeses, juices, ziploc bags....there are just too many types. Hell, I stood there for a minute looking at the 50 types of canned tomato sauces. I wanted plain tomato sauce; no added spices, not paste, none of that. Plain. It was in the bottom right side of the display. Is that not a normal thing to buy anymore??

And I don't understand the prices of seasonings. Seriously, $35 of it was seasonings, oils, etc. The stuff you usually only buy once. And that was with me still having many of the basics from storage. (If I get terribly sick sometime this week...we know that seasonings are not good packed in an outdoor storage unit in the Arizona desert for a year)

I got 3/4 through the store and was reminded of the days when my mother would have 2 shopping carts going through the commissary. There is no way I would/could do that. I'd make two trips.

Which so happens....I did. I had to be at home by 3:30 to await the delivery of my new kitchen table (and my first). A couple of aisles before the frozen foods, I had to just go with what I had.

I was missing frozen foods, fruits and veggies, and meats. That trip would just have to wait for later.

And I'm dreading it. If it's another $250 grocery bill, I will faint.

Bigger Than You

There are things in life that seem bigger than me. Things that I can't seem to put into words or share. I'd be willing....if I could.

In South Carolina, I started blogging as a way of sharing and talking through my own personal experiences. It seemed like something big or small was always happening, and I needed a way to share it...to get it out.

Once I moved to Arizona, I still had that same desire, but lacked the time and the patience. People and time kept me from my outlet, my addiction. I was in an unhealthy place, again. My 2nd try at Arizona, I thought I could conquer what I left behind. And I couldn't. And unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to talk/write through it.

So now, I'm in a place that I can't quite describe. I still have the desire to write and find myself sitting at the computer, wanting to put something into words, but I can't seem to do it. I'm not sure I'd call it writer's block. That's not quite it. It's a lack of words to do justice to what's running around in my head.

So the question is if this is temporary, or if I have just lost the need to blog and only hold on to the want.

Scrabble Saturday

So I'm in a new city with plenty of things to see and do. Plenty of bars, clubs, restaurants, etc. Plenty of good times to be had.

And which of those things did I take advantage of this Saturday night?

Scrabble!

That's right, Scrabble...with a girl from work and a 70 year old woman.

Good times had by all. No stress on what to wear, no rooms of smoke suffocating you, no hangover.

And for the record, yes, I did win!

Nap Time

I had planned on going to bed very late tonight so I can get more unpacking done and also so I would still be tired enough to sleep on the plane on my 4.5 hour trip to California.

I didn't intend on NOT going to bed. Before I knew it, it was 5am. I have to leave the house at 7am, so why tease myself with less than 2 hours of sleep?

UPDATE:

This was a bad idea! It's 6:15 and all I want to do is lie down and sleep...just a little bit....

And I can't take a nap until I get on the plane at 10:40. Damn it! Why did I think this was a good idea?

Blogging Young

I keep getting stuck looking at old pictures and stuff in my "save box". I'd probably have everything done if I could keep from going through everything.

I have put some picture boxes to the side to go through and organize later, but there are some things that just need to be looked at so I can pack them away again until the next time I move.

But one thing that I had to share, that had me laughing hysterically was my school journal from 2nd grade. Hmmm....let's see how much my spelling, grammar and writing has change...

Unpacking Tidbits

If you are storing your belongings in a place that is all sand, be sure to choose INDOOR storage.

Inhaling too much Windex will cause nose bleeds.

Thou shalt not look at every single picture you have when unpacking.

I believe boxes multiply when stored for a year.

Unpacking stuff you haven't seen in a year should fufill the need to shop a month week. Maybe.

There is nothing better than sleeping on your king size bed after you haven't seen it in a year and after sleeping on an air mattress for a week.

Here is a general shopping list of stuff you will need when unpacking to avoid going to Target/Hell-Mart 5 times in a night:

- lightbulbs
- batteries (of every size)
- papertowels
- Windex
- Clorox Wipes
- Dish Detergent
- Laundry Detergent
- Scissors or Knife (if you can't find where you packed yours)
- Beer

Oops, forgot the last one! To the liquor store I go...

Bad Timing

A cure for a hangover? I wish!

Something hit me about an hour before I had to leave work today that had me hovering the toilet at work. I already hate throwing up...add that to throwing up at work....blech!

And then throwing up in the trash can outside CVS.

All I know is it has until 8am to go away. I cannot be sick tomorrow!! I cannot be sick while the movers are brining in my stuff and I have to get in unpacked.

With any luck, I've seen the last of the toilet for a little while.

25-34

The other day, I was filling something out online, and it asked for me to select the appropriate category for my age.

I selected 18-24 and then stopped. And laughed. I clicked the drop down menu again and drug it slowley to 25-34.

Then last night, Morrigan proceeds to tell me that I was in the older bracket of attendees at the concert. Lots of young college students there. I often forget I'm not one anymore.

And last night, I think it finally hit me where I am and what I've just done. There was a moment at the concert where Dave Matthews was playing a song and behind them were lights and large screens that showed city lights at night.

This isn't temporary....it's permanent. I am not on a long business trip, I live here. I no longer work for the company that I have been with for the past 4 years.

I'm slowly crossing things off the list of all the things I've promised myself I'll do. Some of them earlier than I thought I would.

And it is here that I am in a good place, physically and in my head. Despite the move, a new job, new people, places and things....I am in a much better place.

I knew 25 would be a turning point of some sorts - insurance rates decrease, I don't get charged an extra fee or deposit to rent a car, I get a new age bracket on surveys, etc. But I had no idea that I would experience this much of a change at 25. It makes me a bit chary, but still excited, of what lies ahead.

Death Wish

What's worse than going to Wal-Mart on a Sunday?

Going to Wal-Mart on a Sunday...the day before school starts!

Eh!

Good News

I can blog now!

I now have wireless cable internet!! The air card is getting flushed down the toilet. Although fast, for some reason, it did not like sites ending in mu.nu.

Although not an increase in quality, there is likely to be an increase in the quanity of my posts. A new job, a new city, a new home, travel....there's gotta be some blog fodder in there somewhere!

Meet the Parents

Today, Morrigan gets to meet my fam; at least half of them.

Dad, stepmom and sis #2 are coming down to help go house hunting and to get dad's seal of approval on my final choices.

It's been 3 years since anyone in my family has driven to come see me rather than me make the drive!!

So Morrigan is one of the few that gets the opportunity meet 'em. The wrath of my retired Marine, anal-retentive, big teddy bear of a father, my social, to the point, glue that holds it all together stepmom, and my drama queen, talkative, 90 miles an hour adorable sister. How much trauma can they cause during dinner? We'll find out....

Just Laugh

I've determined that I've pissed someone off in a former life...that's the only explanation for it all.

So I made it through the evening at the ghetto hotel safely. I arrived to the airport in one piece. However, my flight was delayed an hour and a half. Now let me remind you, this is my first trip to KC after being hired and I'm already a day late.

The flight was luckily uneventful. My luggage was sitting there from the night before where I promptly grabbed it, headed for the restroom and changed into clothes that I had not slept in and that did not reek of smoke. I set up a little corner of the sink and tried to make myself look as presentable as possible. Eck!

My reservation for my car rental had been canceled due to my delay, despite the fact that I called them. Luckily, they still had cars available.

Although I typed the address of the office on my phone, the place it was taking me, the street was not there. I had to call the office and get directions. I started to follow their directions and things just weren't making sense. I turned around to go the other direction and about 5 minutes later, I get a call from the office telling me they told me the wrong way and to meet them at the restaurant for lunch. So now I am late, I feel gross, and I'm keeping them from food! lol, not a good combo!

Of course the day would not be complete without my meal being wrong (I'm not sure what people don't understand about "no dressing please") However, I was the big laugh at lunch, good or bad!

It got to the point today that whenever something went wrong...small or big...I just had to laugh...and I've been laughing a lot today.

Probably out of pity, my boss tells me to go ahead and check into my hotel and relax at 3pm. I arrive to a packed hotel (but a hell of a lot better than the one last night), and walk into a handicapped room. I'm not sure if it was because of the drain in the middle of the bathroom, the missing tub and everything being a couple of feet lower, or the irony of me being issued a handicapped room....but it was freakin' funny.

Let me tell you, I got to my room, fell to the bed, and I fell asleep within 10 minutes. So far, the roof hasn't fallen in; I haven't set the place on fire. However, I did almost have stroke when I logged into the internet and saw that they would charge me $2.95 for 15 minutes and then 25 cents a minute after that. I found alternate methods...

I'm looking forward to a good night of sleep and smooth sailing from here on out.

Better Days...

When I came up with "And What Next..." for the title of this blog, it was for a reason. My life is never dull, for good or for bad. There is always something happening right around the corner.

A year ago today, I was traveling back from Denver, into Atlanta. Today, I am in Atlanta, trying to fly out...

...but let me go back a little.

As mentioned earlier, Saturday started the birthday weekend a little rough between taking the wrong route and my speeding ticket for 17 over.

The plan was to leave Monday morning at 9am in time to drop off my truck at the dealership to get the AC fixed and then take a taxi to the airport.

Last night, after making a few changes, my computer is giving me blue screens. Not good! Nothing is backed up and I have to have this laptop for school. So, now that my sister works for Best Buy, we decide to bring my laptop in at 9 am for the Geek Squad to save the day.

I then go to pack all my stuff in the new luggage I got for my birthday. I start unpacking each suitcase from the larger to notice 1 piece was missing from my 5 piece set. So, no packing tonight.

So the plan has gone now from leaving at 9am to leaving at 11am. To make a long story short, we are out a piece of luggage, my computer is saved and I didn't leave until 1pm.

It takes me about 45 minutes to find parking...but hey, that's the airport.

I check-in, get to my gate with time to spare. I paid the $9.99 to use the airport Wi-Fi for 45 minutes and hear multiple announcements about how busy the flight is. Then they make a few announcements that some may have to take the 8:30 flight to KC.

I then feel the roast beef sandwich I had at lunch not sitting right and I make a mad dash for the restroom. Nothing like puking your guts out in the airport bathroom!

By the time I get back, they need a volunteer from the group that was going to leave at 8:30 to leave in the morning. Thinking that it would be a good idea for me to not fly at that moment, I agree. They board the plane about 15 minutes later and the lady at the counter asks me to wait until she gets back for my vouchers...

...an hour later she is back, drenched in sweat. Seems that they couldn't turn on the air in the plane and they were having some serious issues. She gives me my airport meal vouchers, my hotel voucher and a $400 voucher for Delta. Fine, not biggy. I've done this many times before.

Then, she tells me she went ahead and sent my luggage to KC. That would be my luggage with my clothes, my pajamas, my toiletries, my make up, my tooth brush, my brush....all of that stuff!

So I fight the crowds and make the haul to ground transportation and wait for a shuttle that says Holiday Inn. Luckily, the shuttle only has 3 people, I get a good seat, and we are on our way. I am minutes away from a drink and a bed!

I go to check in at the holiday inn, hand them my voucher, and they tell me I'm at the wrong holiday inn. I took the shuttle to the south holiday inn and should have taken the one for the north.

So...I take the shuttle back to the airport and wait for the correct shuttle. Before the driver is even able to put the shuttle in park, a huge group of people are already climbing aboard. I am able to squeeze on, standing room only. The shuttle has 18 seats and there are 28 people on there. I assume the man next to me must have had his luggage sent ahead also as that was the worst case of BO ever.

I make it to the hotel. I walk in and it smells like my grandma's old abandoned trailer. In this hotel, you take the elevator to a hallway that leads outside, as all of the rooms are outside. The only light is from the street lights and I'm busy checking corners and looking around me. As I get in my room and flip the light switch, no lights come on. I reach to the lamp, it won't come on either. The room is pitch dark and the outside isn't much better. At that moment, I quickly debate whether it's better to leave the door open and find a working light or close the door and find a working light. Neither felt safe. So I make the haul back down to the lobby, wait in line at the front desk for 15 minutes and then waited an additional 30 minutes until I could get someone to come check things out.

Maybe we should have left the lights off. Obviously this was a room for those that cannot read as there was a sign that said non-smoking, but it sure as hell didn't smell that way. The marks on the wall, the hair in the tub...I don't think I need to say more.... I asked the employee if I could have an extra 2 blankets. I just didn't feel good about this place.

I make the trip downstairs one more time to grab a bite. However, the restaurant has a 30 minute wait and does not allow you do bring it back to your room. Bleh! So I make it over to the ghetto little gift shop where I grab a bag of Fritos and a diet coke. Now that's a birthday dinner if I've ever seen one! Behind the counter are the usual essentials and I decide to grab a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. What’s funny is, my total came to $17.77. (My birthday being 7/17)

I’ve got the door triple locked, 3 alarms set, and now I’m going to brave the shower. Here’s to better luck getting to KC tomorrow and the rest of my time as 25 being better than this weekend. I don’t think it’ll be that hard… 

Bits Missing from my Brain

I come from a game family. We still play lots of games. Just today, I got my ass kicked in Texas Hold 'Em. Last weekend when I was at my dad's, we played Rummikub, pool and darts.

Board games often come out too, such as monopoly, trivia games, etc.

How is it that I made it through 25 years without playing Life?

While at Morrigan's with Bou and her boys, we started a game of Life. I didn't know how to play. I had an idea of the concept, but had no clue as to strategy or directions. But for the record, when I left....I was a doctor with $100,000 salary.

During the game, someone brought up the 50 Nifty States song. I never learned it. Heard it, but never learned it. They started teaching it in 5th grade, but I moved twice that year and they weren't doing the same thing at my other school.

Another thing I never learned? Cursive. To this day, I still cannot write in cursive. My signature is a cursive S with some squiggles and a regular R with some squiggles. I cannot remember the year we started to learn cursive, but I'm assuming it was sometime between 2nd grade and 5th grade. Considering I went to 7 different schools during that time....I learned bits and pieces of cursive, but was never able to put it together.

Some time ago, I bought one of those educational learning books for things like math and writing. I obviously bought the cursive one. I worked through it, and did fine. But by the time I was trying to actually use cursive in homework, letters or anything else, I couldn't put it together. It took too long and was just a pain.

But then again, sometimes I would already know something when I moved to a new school that they were just learning. Maybe that's why I'm so bad with history and sciences. (at least that is what I would like to blame it on)

That's Going to Sting a Little

I have a friend who's husband is a police officer after putting in 20 years in the Marine Corps. One of the things he told his wife was if she was to get pulled over, to roll down the window, turn off the engine and put both hands on the top of the wheel. This way, you look less threatening and shows respect.

There have been 2-3 times I've had to use this before, and it has worked...

...until today.

Now remember, I have 15000 miles on my truck just in the past 5 months and put similar mileage on my old truck. I drive...all the time. And I speed...all the time. I'm cautious, careful and impatient.

I just drove 2500 miles across country without getting pulled over. How is it during a short 300 mile drive today I get pulled over in some podunk town by some redneck police officer.

I have no idea where this guy came from either. I was on the phone with my dad talking about creating a new budget if I'm going to purchase a house, so on and so forth....and then I see freakin' lights in my rear view.

He clocked me at 87 in a 70. What pisses me off is:

There were 3-4 cars in front of me going just as fast or faster. But of course, I was the only one with plates from Arizona!

I wasn't even supposed to be on that road. On the way out, I forgot where I was going and took the interstate that would have taken me to my old home in SC, not to my parents home.

The guy said a total of 15 words to me. He gave me absolutely no pitty time.

So needless to say, I'm a little scared how much that ticket is going to be. I can call anytime after Thursday to find out.

When I called my dad back, he said I may want to put that in my budget too...

...smart ass!

I'm Here...

but my brain is still traveling!

I am officially in Atlanta and have officially started my new job. It's looking good so far, for many reasons.

I'm fascinated with working in the city. I'm not sure if it's the people watching, the tall buildings, or getting high off the car fumes...but it's fascinating.

The people are good, really good...so far. It looks like I'll have a pretty good team and will get to meet some cool people. It's about damn time!

I'm currently staying in a hotel right next door to where I work. I'm not sure it's really clicked in yet that I'm permanently here. I still fill like I'm on a trip...like a business trip or something.

I'm trying to decided between renting a condo near where I work, something I've always wanted to do (live in a condo in the city) or buying a house a little outside the city. Both have tons of pros and cons. So far, outside the city is winning....but I'm going to wear this decision out.

I feel like a zombie. I have not been able to catch up on my sleep yet. I usually have no problem sleeping in hotels, but I am now. Even the $12 box of Nyquil from the vending machine isn't helping much. I think it's a mix of still popping up, thinking I'm driving, nervous that I'll sleep in the next day, so many things on my mind or I haven't consumed enough alcoholic beverages!

And the traveling isn't done yet. Saturday I drive 4 hours to my mom's and drive back Monday where I will then fly to Kansas City and then return Friday.

Piece of advice:

Don't burn popcorn in the hotel. No, it wasn't me...but I about shit myself when the fire alarms went off!

Another Update

The trip has been smooth after the 1st day. I spent a couple of days with Spurs & Napster, them spoiling me with many beverages and great food! We had a blast!

I then spent 4th of July with a friend in Austin on the lake, watching fireworks and drinking more adult beverages!

I am now at my parents in Kentucky. Good, quality time!

Today, I went with my dad and stepmom to a home owners association "meeting" (more like a gathering outside with hot dogs and kids running around).

As my dad was introducing me to his neighborhood, I then realized exactly how proud he was. He introduced me as his oldest daughter who is moving from Arizona and got a great job in Atlanta. He names the companies and what position I'm taking. He made sure everyone knew.

My dad is very hard to impress. He's worked hard all his life and continues to do so.

But as we went for a drive in the new car I purchased by myself and he praised the quality of the vehicle, and as he introduced me to all of these people who could care less what I was going to be doing....I realized just how proud he really is.

So, for every stupid mistake I have made, better decision that there could have been, or not doing things traditionally, there are still some things that I am doing right.

It's a relief!

So Sunday night I make the drive to Atlanta. The first week is packed full as I'm coming in during some dinners/meetings. (Great!). I then drive to my mothers for the weekend before my birthday, and then fly to Kansas City for a week with my new team.

I can't wait for things to settle...

Too Young for Grey Hair

Things have been a little stressful the past 3 months, to say the least. But maybe more stressful than I thought.

My hair has been falling out more than normal. Ridiculous clumps of hair, it's a pain! In the shower...ah, just gross!

And then I have these baby hairs that are sprouting up.

So I went to get my hair done, and the lady asks, "Have you been stressed lately?"

Um, yes, just a little bit. She said, "Wow, I can tell, look at all these baby hairs from where your hair has been falling out."

After we finished coloring my hair, she says, "So how long have you had grey hairs?"

WHAT?!? I turn 25 in 2 weeks, I do not have freakin' grey hairs!

According to her...I did. According to her, stress has wrecked havoc on my hair.

Eh, I'm scared!

Official Notice

I got the official offer letter on Friday. I was pleased with the offer, it has been accepted and I start on the 10th. A little sooner than I wanted, but I can live with that!

So the next few weeks will be a little chaotic while getting settled, but I'm overall pleased that I am getting back to the east coast, closer to family & friends while starting a new job in a new direction!

Day 1 of Drive

A trip cross country could not go smoothly, right?

The last time I went to Lubbock, I took the southern route. It was alright although there were some mountains and tight curvy roads. It took about 10 hours...not so bad.

After talking to mom, I decided to go the northern route, taking the 40 across.

As I drove out, I noticed my navigation system was showing I was going the wrong way. Something wasn't hooked up right. So I drove it to the installer, had them fix it, so I didn't get on the road until 10:30 am.

Taking the northern route was a big mistake! 4th of July weekend through Phoenix and Flagstaff....dumb!!

About 6 hours into my trip, my AC stopped working. Now, I just purchased my vehicle new in Feb, and it does have almost 12,000 miles on it...but the AC shouldn't stop working!

After fooling with the knob, the only thing I can get out of it is heat! Eck! I am in Arizona!!

It's 4pm and I am rushing to search for the nearest Ford Dealership. There is one in Winslow, AZ, that I passed 10 miles ago. So I turn around, get them on the phone and they say there is nothing they can do for me, they are booked. I explained that it just felt like the knob wasn't catching, and he said the AC is a complicated system and they wouldn't have time. I asked him what he suggested I do and he said get to Albuquerque and try and get in Saturday morning.

While drenched in sweat, I call the dealership in Albuquerque and they say that they can try to get me in Saturday, but there would be no guarantee. I am already on a serious time crunch, each day planned across the way.

So while I'm driving down the road, I tear off my dash and start feeling behind the AC knob to see if I can figure out what's wrong. I finally pull over, look behind and the teeth on the knob aren't touching the teeth that control the temperature. I couldn't get the teeth to connect again, but I could manually turn the temperature knob. So now, I have off, or freakin' cold! And I'm okay with that.

My dad has a good dealership I can go to when I get to Kentucky.

I'm starting to feel worn out, pissed that I'm running late, so I figured I'll stop in Albuquerque for the night and head out in the morning for Lubbock. Early in the morning as I had a hair appointment at 11am.

Once I reach Albuquerque, I do not feel like stopping...so I keep going. 300 miles to Lubbock and I did not want to stop! About an hour out of Lubbock, I got stopped at a sobriety check point where the guy wanted to have a freaking conversation about my navigation system, if it actually worked, did it cost me monthly, etc. He had no idea I had been driving for 12 hours and was ready to go!

I finally get into Lubbock at around 2:15 am. I've been here a few times before. Spurs & Napster's address is too new to be recognized by the navigation, so luckily I had my printed directions.

The problem is, they have these stupid loops in Texas that don't make any sense! My map says to go north/south, the loop says east/west. What the hell?

After driving around parts of Lubbock I have never seen before, through farm land, downtown, construction and new territory.

Finally, I get to their house at 3am. I barely remember saying hello to Napster as I came in and went straight to bed.

So there's day 1 of the trip! Tomorrow I head to Austin to spend 4th of July on my friend's boat. Only a 360 mile drive...not so bad.

Here's to the rest of the drive going just a little more smoothly!

Thanks

I need to give a quick thanks to Napster and Morrigan. They have been on the phone with me every second of the way through the time line below. Every doubt, anxiety, nerves, fears, tears, absurd thoughts...they were there for...and there was a lot! That had to be the single longest thing to listen to someone bitch about!

But they did it, and boy am I thankful!

So thank you ladies, for this and more!

The Unoffical Word

3/28/06 - Job Posted

4/21/06 - 1st Interview

4/28/06 - 2nd Interview

1st week of May - 3rd Interview

6/2/06 - 4th Interview

6/6/06 - 5th Interview

6/7/06 - Gave notice at current employer of final day 6/30/06

6/27/06 - Heard the "unoffical" word that I got the job

This has to have been the longest process I have ever been through! But it's done I can leave this Saturday for Atlanta happier, less worried and stronger.

Speaking of strong, they must think I am super woman as the recruiter said he believes my start date will be the 10 of July.

So that means a couple of days with Napster & Spurs, another day or two with a friend of mine in Austin, up to Kentucky to spend with my dad and then down to Atlanta. Meanwhile, finishing up a class and doing some online searching for housing.

I finally think I'll get some sleep tonight! Do you think the current job will mind if I sleep in a little tomorrow?

Password Change

I got this message today:

"Your password expires in 12 days. Would you like to change your password now?"

Nope! No need! I won't be here in 12 days! *grin*

5 Days Left and I Won't Miss...

...turning on the cold water to brush my teeth and getting water warm enough to take a relaxing bath in.

The Frying Pan

When businesses tie towels around their front door handles, you know it's freaking hot!

112 degrees it was today. I looked over to my left sidebar, and my weather pixie got rid of the bikini, it's that freakin' hot!

It's only June....it'll get worse!

I did a little shopping today. And when I said little, I only walked into two stores.

When I got home, I had a tan line from my flip flops.

To make the heat even worse, my work uniform....all black. I suppose they want us already dressed appropriately when we die of heat stroke.

No amount of water consumption and lotion will keep my skin from looking like chalk.

2 more weeks.....

Could They Get It Right?

A couple of months ago, I was offered a Sam's Club Credit Card while in the check out at Sam's Club. It was a good interest rate and I thought it would be good for work since I could just expense the purchases and pay it off, so I accepted. They gave me the card right there in the store, it was very easy.

I made a couple of purchases, mainly gas since it's cheaper at Sam's Club. I waited for a bill, and nothing. I could never remember the exact date I got it, but felt it should be about time I got a bill. I tried to log in online, and it wouldn't accept my account number. I tried to call, but every time I did, they were closed. I did everything but go in the store, and that was just because I could never get time, or when I was in there, it was full of snow birds.

So finally, about 6 weeks later, I receive a bill with the numbers of my address all inverted. I brought the bill into the store and told them what was going on. They got me on the phone with someone that could fix the issue, and they did. Because of the date, I told the lady I would go ahead and pay the bill, now of which was past due, and the next bill that wasn't due for another 2 weeks. This was on May 6th.

Then I get a phone call today letting me know that I was past due. I asked them how that was and explained how I made two payments at the store and shouldn't owe anything until July 1st. The lady didn't know why, but also couldn't help me. I also asked when I should be getting a bill, and she explained that the first two went to the wrong address, but that the next one should actually show up. Fine!

Today, I receive a bill with the correct address with a $25 late charge and showing I'm 2 payments due. Bull shit! So I promptly called up and one of the options is to press something to cancel the account. Bingo! So I press cancel, never wanting to deal with this shit again, and it of course gets me straight to a representative. I told her why I wanted to cancel, and she said, "Ok, no problem. I'll go ahead and take care of that for you." Not that I wasn't happy she didn't bring all the lame reasons to stay, but I was surprised. She then asked if there was anything else she could do to help me. I said yes, let me talk to someone that can get rid of this $25 late charge since you all couldn't get me a bill out and seem to think I'm late even though I made two payments in the store. She said, "No problem, let me go ahead and waive that fee for you. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Um, nope, you've been helpful, thanks!

Okay, so I'm still in shock a little bit. First of all, it seemed way too easy to get that fixed and taken care of...especially getting the fee waived. Secondly, I feel like an ass. Being in the customer service field, it usually takes me a lot to get even remotely snippy or aggressive. But I started out that way on this phone call....probably partially because I felt it was going to be a battle to get this taken care of in the first place, and probably because my day was just shit anyway! So now, I was snippy with her, and she didn't deserve it. I wasn't snippy enough to be a bitch, but I was snippy enough for her to think I was.

Now I'm just shocked it's all taken care of. Could something have actually gone right?

But I won't considerate fully taken care of until I get a bill showing it's closed and the fee was waived. And that's IF I get a bill!

Countdown

20 calendar days or 16 working days left....

...and my 4 year anniversary with the company today....

....but they wouldn't know that.

A Great Concert!

Last Monday, I kidnapped B and took her to Phoenix. I had purchased tickets to see Josh Kelley, but didn't tell her where were going until about 30 minutes before we had to be there.

We had a blast! Holly Brook, Tony Lucca, and Joe Firstman opened for Josh Kelley.

If you like folk/rock, you must check out the last 3 artists! They put on a great show!

We were in some dive college bar so we got to be up front to get some great pictures. Afterward, they all hung out at the bar, were drinking, talking to people and we got their autographs and our pictures taken with them.

Sissy, Joe Firstman, & B

Sissy, Josh Kelley, & B

More pictures in the extended entry...

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Enjoyed listening to Joe's and Josh's recordings. Amazing, I could actually understand what they were saying. Looks like you had a great time, nice gift!

posted by h~ at June 12, 2006 08:41 AM

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« Nevermind

Posted by Sissy at 10:55 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)