If You Hate Air Travel, Please Press 1 Now...
Whilst there is an entire blog to be written about my freaking fabulous Antigua vacation (or maybe that’s enough to cover it), I’m going to talk about the trip home first. Why, you may ask? Well, grasshoppa, because I want to end this “Lord of the Rings”-esque saga on a good note. In addition to that, I have to get all this down in writing so I don’t forget ANY of it for the letter US Air will be getting from me. This will get lengthy, I’m sure, so hunker down and steady yourselves. I started writing this on Monday and knew right away that it would be at least a two-part drama… I will put forth my best effort but I’m sure this will turn into a mini-series with many “To Be Continued” endings… DUNT DUNT DUH!! I need a cool name for it, like “The Thorn Birds”, “Rich Man, Poor Man”, or “Shogun”. Oh! I’ve got it. “US Air Sucks”. Catchy.
My companion needs an alias. I will call her Kiki….it sounds like an island name and it’s fun to say. Go ahead, try it a few times to get in the spirit. So it’s me and Kiki scheduled for a 10:20am Friday flight out of Antigua, direct to San Juan, with another hop to Philly, arriving at 5pm. Easy-peasy, right? We get up on time, we leave the villa on time, we get to the airport on time. Beautiful. Let the good traveling juju begin!! I am optimistic and wallowing in a pool of positive thinking.
After they stripped search our bags, putting my “delicates” on display for the viewing pleasure of everyone in line, we finally get to the counter. The single counter representative for Caribbean Sun airlines was in no big hurry to help anyone but she finally did and started booking us to San Juan, with a stop in Tortola. Huh? Stop? Oh, okay. It’s just a stop over to swap a few passengers. We still arrive at the same time in San Juan, right? Right. Okay.
OR, she says…
“There’s a flight that leaves 20 minutes later and is non-stop, arriving 20 minutes earlier.” (I haven’t figured out how to write that with a Caribbean accent so you’ll have to add one in your head. I think if you just add “mon” to the end, you’ve got what you need.)
Typically, I wouldn’t care about having 20 more minutes of a layover. However, San Juan is the first point of entry for the U.S. so I know we’ll have to pick-up our checked bags and clear them through customs. We’ll also have to check-in to the second part of our flight because, for whatever reason, Caribbean Sun counter chick says it’s too early to check in for that flight. Huh? The airport in Philly is open, check us in, damn it.
Anyway, the extra 20 minutes in San Juan seems good to me. I’m sure the Hindenburg seemed like a great alternative at first, too.
Okay, fix us up with that flight. Done.
Pay the “exit tax”. (what crap) Done.
Go through security. Done.
It was going through security that we found out some people use giant conch shells as weapons and we’re advised to check it next time. Next time? How many of these things does one person need? They’re pretty damn heavy and have those razor sharp edges…so I guess I could see them being used as a weapon.
Now we’re in the waiting area - time for some food!! Kiki stands in line for at least 30 minutes in pursuit of bagels and English muffins for us. We eat. We drink. We pee. Done, done and done.
We should board any minute.
Very soon.
Aaannyyy minute now.
Wow, I would have thought we’d be on by now.
Oh, here it comes…the announcement for our flight. ::bends to pick up carry on::::pauses::::looks at Kiki:: “Did she say delayed?” DUNT DUT DUH…
Shit. Delayed. And delayed some more. Then a wee bit more. Checking the watch…we’ll still be okay.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we will be combining flight 565 with flight 337, with service to Tortola and San Juan.” Tortola. Bloody hell. And the original flight with the stop over in Tortola? Oh yeah, it’s gone.
Up to the counter I go to check on the new arrival time in San Juan. Caribbean Sun chick #2 doesn’t know. They are currently transferring the records from one flight to the other. She’ll check….I never see her again.
Hmmmm…..I see the good juju indicator light flickering ever so slightly. We’ll be okay. We MIGHT have to catch a later flight to Philly, I tell Kiki. Might. Just, you know, be prepared for that. Just in case.
For the record, the reason we were delayed was because of something wrong with plane…or so they said. They can always fall back on saying they were considering our safety. We console ourselves with the fact that it’s better to get there late then not get there at all. Yeah. ::high five!!:: We sound convincing, too.
They did that thing small airports do where they let you pass through the gate counter and then put you in a line near the door where you can see the plane. Then they walk you out. It feels like you’re in elementary school, going to recess or lunch. It’s an adult buddy system.
We finally take off an hour late. They are still estimating arrival time in San Juan by 1:00pm, even with the Tortola stop. Our flight to Philly leaves at 1:45. We’ll be cutting it close.
We touch down in San Juan at....anyone? Oh yeah, you guessed it...1:45!!! Juju light is blinking a slow death. Optimism is waning. I can see Positive Outlook swinging from the overhead storage, laughing hysterically at me.
Well, I think, that was probably the worst of it…. DUNT DUNT DUH!!!
To Be Continued…
The HeeHee GBs
Applause!! Applause!! for my Guest Blogger (GB) for the incredibly funny posts last week. I told you she was more entertaining than I could ever hope to be. Thanks, GB!! And I think the HeeHee GBs – or Heebee Geebees would be a great blog name. Yes, I am still on that – trying to convince her to start her own blog.
For the record, I would NOT have sex with Dr. Neil Clark Warren. I’m sure he’s a very nice man but, well...ew...no.
Several quick things on which I have to comment before I milk my vacation for as many posts as I can get...
1. I heard on the radio today that “Geraldo Live” is the world’s (WORLD’S?!) fastest growing news magazine. Huh? I thought he was buried in Al Capone’s vault a couple years ago. Or did I completely misunderstand that show? Wasn’t the point to get Geraldo INTO the vault? No? Was it just me that got this wrong?
2. “Saving Jane” is my new favorite artist. Wow. Diggin' these tunes.
3. The Olympics are over. :( I am sad. I know that a...my name is allison commiserates with me on this point.
4. You know how “people” (i.e. “they”) say everyone has a twin someone in the world? Yeah. I found mine!! It was completely by chance that I stumbled across a blog on her MySpace site that was so much like one I had written months ago.
Now we've discovered all these similarities. It's scary cool. And the best part....she's right here on the east coast, in the same area. That makes it really convenient if we ever want to participate in one of those twin studies for medical research.
5. George Michael is back in the news. Check out the The Drudge Report. I love the Drudge Report but always forget that it’s out there. I’m glad the guys on the radio reminded me about it and thank you, George, for providing sufficient fodder...again. He actually looks a little like Billy Joel in the picture. A little.
So there’s a quick, Monday morning-I’m back at work-I miss Antigua already update.
Truly, I was not lying when I said I will gleen as much blog bait from vacation as I can. The trip home provided enough content for a whole week...more on that later. And I have pictures, of course!
Thank you again, GB!!! EXCELLENT EXCELLENT blogging...now go start your own blog!!! :) You’re the greatest!
Guest Blog: Just when I think I'm in, they pull me back out!
I love stories like this... mainly because this kind of thing happens where I work all the time. It's usually an honest mistake; someone just isn't paying attention. But it sets into motion a chain of events - all beginning with that one person, sitting staring wide eyed at their monitor in disbelief. At the end of the chain are people either really pissed off or those who take great amusement in watching the train wreck. (yep, I am just that link in the chain)So the head of admissions at UC Berkeley's Law school is training a new staff member. This obviously is a school that has thousands of applicants. He shows this trainee how to send a message through its system - one that's inviting people who received early admittance to a party in their honor. But he effed up - instead of sending the message to the 500 students it was meant for, the message went to about 4,000 people. They then had to send out an apology along with a retraction letter.If this had happened where I work, the chain of events would have gone down differently. First, we don't bother training people, so the whole mess could have been avoided. Second, the guy would never have realized what he did (because he never got trained, remember?). Third, no one would have realized the error until someone who got the message replied saying "umm, huh?" And this point, the following would happen here... someone would forward the message to me, demanding an explanation, because this was an electronic communication, certainly I must somehow know something about it (lots of stuff here apparently happens by osmosis). They would also copy in every senior executive in the company, because clearly that's the only way that anyone responds to anything. Everyone email recipient on this message would forward to other people - marked urgent - and so on and so on, so that half of the employees in the company are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Everyone then blames the IT group - because isn't everything their fault?Finally, someone figures out what happened. But now, since senior execs are involved, the decision as to the resolution grinds to a halt. We should form a committee. Have a meeting. Hire a consultant (to borrow our watch and then tell us what time it is). Meanwhile, the goofball who was at fault is sitting at his desk, either completely oblivious that there's any problem or just counting on the fact everyone blames IT. They never step up and take responsibility; just wait for others to fix it.Two weeks later, on the day of the party, we'd send interns over to break the bad news.How long did it take Berkeley to undo their mess? 20 minutes - and that includes the writing of the retraction (remember, we're talking about a school of lawyers here). Not too shabby.
Guest Blog: Is it peas?!?
I'm a huge Ellen Degeneres fan - I remember when she was a virtual unknown, doing young comedian's specials. She always had the perfect comedic timing. One of her last tours, Here and Now, included a bit about how the local news outlets try to terrify you into watching the late news. "It's the most deadly thing in the world and you could be having it for dinner. Find out at 11." Ellen would hold an invisible fork to her lips, eyes wide, and say "Is it peas?!"
Part of the humor of this is that it's an extreme exaggeration of the truth. Or so I thought, until I saw a promo last night for the Fox 10:00 news that said "Does your doctor wear a tie to work? Find out how it could affect your health." Whaaa?
I didn't tune back in to watch, but still this morning I was still trying to work out what the hell it could mean. I finally found a story online that says ties, while regarded as a mark of professionalism, can actually spread "superbugs." Get this - the report says that ties should be condemned because "they are rarely washed and can trail into wounds, spreading infections."
Trail into wounds? Where are these doctors that they are leaning over open wounds and dipping their ties into them? And what about the people with these open wounds - don't they have bigger problems than their doctor's ties? How about some sutures over here, doc?
So the report is calling for the elimination of "functionless" clothes, in favor of "freshly laundered, simple outfits." I think we should put that law into effect worldwide - oh wait, does that mean all us women will be left with is push-up bras, girdles and support hose?
Guest Blog: Do you need it three times a week?
No, I'm not talking about sex. I mean American Idol. Sure, I love it and I could watch it every day. But the emphasis is on could - I have a life, you know (just play along, ok).I just got my American Idol enewsletter (oh shut up) and it informs me that Idol will be on three - count 'em, three - times this week. Two nights of singing, then a night of results. And we all remember the results show... the most uttered phrase is "we'll find out... right after the break". Then there's the Monkees-style little commercials, where it doesn't matter if you're labeled a "rocker" or a "crooner," you come off as a complete dork. How you keep your street cred when you are wearing a paper hat and singing into a spatula is beyond me.And there are the obligatory "shocks" - where someone really talented gets voted off because the pimply teen brigade thinks that a lesser talented girl looks good in a bippy shirt. It's what makes watching it all the more compelling - it's a fascinating psychological study.And I'll watch - it's my obsession. And yes, I am indeed one of those people who actually call in and vote. (and no, I'm not 12) Olympics, shmolimics (sorry Cherry) - this is reality tv at its most watchable. Go Ace! (he sings good AND I bet he looks good in a bippy shirt)
Guest Blog: Would you have sex with this man?
I joined an online dating service. I'd heard horror stories about them - match.com in particular. That it's a "woman catalog" that men troll through looking for a quickie. The worst part to me isn't
that so much (hey, it's been a while) but more so that you don't have to join to be able to browse the merchandise. The idea of someone at my office trolling around and seeing my mug along with some semi-cutesy "here's why I'm date-able" made me nauseous. So I went the eHarmony route. That's the one with Dr. Neil Clark Warren, that kindly old gentleman on the commercials who says you'll find your soulmate on his service. And then those good looking people hang all over each other, showing their love through interpretive dance.
What I liked about the idea was that you fill out this fairly long questionnaire and the results are used to match you with others who have similar personality traits and values. You are then alerted you have a match - you only see the details of the people you've been matched with. I figured, any guy who'd take an hour to fill out this thing is going to be looking for more than a parking lot tryst.
I haven't been a member long, but I think I can draw a clear distinction between it and match.com - match is a sex site and eHarmony is a stepmom site. As in - I want to find a suitable partner for me and my kids. They all post pics of themselves with their children and wax poetic about how their kids are the most important things in their lives. Nothing wrong with any of that - it's better to know from the start. But as I've communicated with these men, I am finding that, while they want to find a woman who wants a commitment, they themselves are not committed to the process.
Bascially, you begin with a series of closed-ended questions, then proceed to open-ended ones before you enter "open communications" phase. You can ask your own questions, or use the ones they supply. But these guys take the shortest route every time - How is it that a guy can think the answer "Honest" is an adequate response to the question "What are the three best traits you have to offer a partner"?
They just want to jump to the open communications portion - then they start throwing their phone numbers at you. The whole point of the system is to find out if you are compatible
before you meet. But they want the best of both worlds - sex with someone who thinks match.com is a sex site. (At this point, the good doctor has his fingers in his ears, doing the old "la la lah LA LAH - I can't heeeaar you"). They want to f*ck a nice girl, in other words. (Get the difibulators, stat - the dr's down!)
The jury is still out for me on this whole thing - I haven't found my soulmate yet (whatever that is) but I haven't been pulled back behind a dumpster yet either. Maybe if I take two aspirin, Mr. Right will call me in the morning.
Olympic Dreams...
I love the Olympics! I wish I had watched more of the games this year. The winter games are my favorite. I have to admit that I find that very odd since all my Olympic fantasies in the past revolved around the summer games. I was part of the basketball team. We won, of course…in the L.A. summer games. I was the youngest on the team….a child prodigy in high school who was so talented that they made special arrangements to get me out of school so that I could be on the team. And it’s a good thing I was because I sunk the winning basket with just seconds left on the board. Considering the fact that I was playing on an ankle I had badly sprained earlier in the game, it was pretty amazing. I was on the box of Wheaties that year. Mary Who Retton….puh-leeze….that flexi-mini-bitch got nothin’ on me. I still get choked up when I catch a glimpse of my medal in the well-lit, glass case above the fireplace.
C’mon, I know I’m not the only one who does this. And I don’t limit my fantasies to just sports. A lot of you may not know this…because I’m so humble and low key about my fame….but in addition to my fantasy gold medals, I have a fantasy Oscar, a fantasy Grammy, a fantasy Tony and I’m due to receive a fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award very soon. They are all tied to music…even the Oscar. It was for Best Song, for “Titanic”. Before radio overplayed the shit out of it and Celine Dion did that ridiculous chest pounding performance, “My Heart Will Go On” was an excellent, well arranged and brilliantly orchestrated song….and I wrote it. Thus the Oscar. I know…pretty amazing, isn’t it? My mother is so proud...
I digress….
Last night I caught the snowboard races. I think they call it Snowboard Cross…or Cross Snowboard. Maybe it was Cross Dressing Snowboarders. I can’t recall exactly but it was incredible! If I knew how to snowboard and could do it well enough to race, I think I’d like to be in the Olympics for that particular event. Oooo…maybe I could be a double event participant and also compete in the halfpipe competition. Having more then 2 gold medals looks cooler in the pictures….recall Mark Spitz from the ’76 Munich games? Awesome picture with his 7 medals.
I would also play on the women’s hockey team….because I love team sports. And it can increase my medal count.
I still want to attempt to get the Terri Clark pictures out here, from the concert. I need to manipulate them a little bit first – which means I need to find a way to put myself on stage with her. Just kidding. Since I’m on vacation next week, it may have to wait until I’m back.
So don’t forget that my guest blogger arrives this afternoon!! She’ll be taking over next week. She is smarter and wittier then I am so this might actually become an interesting place for a week….but then you’re stuck with me again. I know…woe is you. And be nice! She knows exactly where we left off in the textbook so don't try pulling anything over on her.
Cherry Indigo…the official fantasy blog of the 2006 Winter Games.
Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen
Here are the pictures of the tree limb in my backyard. I know, VERY exciting! Try to contain your enthusiasm. This subject matter may be a new low for me. It makes things a little easier on my guest blogger next week and that's not so bad because I think she's a little nervous. I mean, c'mon, I'm talking about TREES...and not even a whole tree, just a limb....anything is more exciting than that. Unless she talks about paper....trees might be more exciting then paper.
So, this is it. That black lump halfway in is Einstein crawling on the tree...I thought it would help with the scale....it's as though he's a little map legend with legs.
Notice the proximity of the electric wires! Yeah, not a good thing. And not all of that is my backyard....a lot of that is my neighbor's yard...I borrowed it for the picture.
Here is another shot...close up. Bear in mind that I never heard this thing fall in the dead of night. So, we still have the question about whether it made a sound. In this shot, you can also get an idea of the huge gouges left in my lawn. Beautiful.
So there you have it. The fallen tree limb in my yard. Of course, I was in the midst of getting estimates from landscapers to cut down this and the other trees that are dangerously close to the power lines when Mother Nature dumped 17.8 inches of snow on top of them. Terrific!!
Until the weather clears enough to get rid of these trees, I wear sneakers on my feet and a tire around my waste at all times when I'm home. It's also useful for those times when I bump into walls. I just bounce right off now!
The Daily Show….without Jon Stewart.
Apparently, he is way too famous and important to help out a dear old friend, a long time fan, someone who bought his book, me. So, you’ll have to get this dose of “dailies” from me and me alone. So what has been going on? Not as much as one might think.
“When A Stranger Calls”.
I am SICK TO DEATH of seeing and hearing this freaking trailer. When the police say the call is coming from inside the house, I FREAK OUT. So, for the past several weeks, I’ve been reduced to squeezing my eyes shut, sticking my fingers in my ears and singing “la, la, la-la, la, LA, LA-LA-LA” for as long as I think it takes until the damn thing is over. Of course, they always play this on the WB around 10:30 or 11:00 – AT NIGHT, for cryin’ out loud - when I am sometimes already in bed, watching TV. So I look like a big sped lying under the covers, singing at the top of my lungs, waiting out this movie trailer so that I can sleep at night. I was really counting my blessings, knowing it will be out of the theaters soon when I realized that I’ll have to go through the whole thing again when they release it on DVD.
If a tree falls in my backyard and no one is there to hear it, will I still have to cut the damn thing up?
A giant limb fell off one of my trees during a storm a few weeks ago. It’s still lying there because I haven’t had a chain saw on hand, good weather or the time to cut it up. I take the cat out there sometimes and let him play on it. I have pictures of this and will share them later in the week. I’m trying to convince people that Einstein actually felled the tree himself.
Tip ‘O the DayIf you have braces, it is not the wisest thing to eat Tastykake Peanut Butter patties right before you brush your teeth. You’ll be there for a while.
Later in the week….Terri Clark, Olympic Dreams and an introduction to next week’s guest blogger. Yes, I am just THAT important and require a guest blogger whilst on vacation.
You Say Tomato, I Say it Was My Idea...
I have, what I think, is a great idea for “The Office” – not as a story line but just as a recurring theme in one episode. A sub-plot, if you will. If you don’t watch it, some of this might be lost on you because you have to know some of the characters. Sorry about that…start watching the show. I also know that I should keep this to myself and write into the producers with the idea but I know I’ll never actually do that. If someone steals it, so be it, I’ll still sleep at night and we’ll all know that it was really my idea first. Also, I’d rather see it stolen and done then not – it’s called suffering for your craft. Except I can’t really call writing my craft and, between you and me, it doesn’t really feel like suffering. Take away my Red Bull in the morning and we can discuss suffering.
BTW – odd, random reference coming on….there’s a pretty good article about Lance Armstrong in last month’s “Selling Power” magazine. He talks about suffering, too. Danica Patrick is also in that issue.
Okay…here’s my idea…and then I’ll tell you how it came to me. Not only do I suffer for my craft, I give back to the community. I’m on a roll this morning.
On a day when Pam knows Michael is out of the office and can’t be reached, everyone in the office should act like he’s there. Dwight, of course, wouldn NOT be in on this and the point would be to make him believe he can’t see Michael. Jim could sit in Michael’s office and have a conversation with him, Pam could drop off his messages…and Dwight would notice it all. They could even pretend that Michael is trying to make Dwight see him…
Michael: “Stop messing around Dwight, I’m right here.”
Dwight “But….”
Michael: “I’M RIGHT HERE!!!!”
Jim: “Do you have to yell Michael?” (while Pam is covering her ears)
They could even have a meeting in the conference room, pretending that Michael is leading it. Everyone would just have to look disgusted and confused….like they always do. And they could ask him questions…stuff to which Dwight would want to hear the answers. All day, they could move his coffee cup around the office, refilling it at different times. Pam could call on his intercom and have meaningful pauses for her “conversation”.
Okay…maybe this is an entire plot. Someone steal this idea and get them to do it! There’s a lot of potential here for a pretty funny episode…at least in my mind.
The reason I even thought of this is because I was talking to S in his office yesterday and he had to get up and remind someone about something (before he forgot) but asked me to wait a minute. So I was sitting in his office by myself for a good minute. While I was sitting there, someone walked by and I thought to myself, “he probably wonders why I’m sitting in S’ office by myself”. Then I thought I should start pretending to have a conversation with S and see if I could convince anyone that s/he couldn’t see S. That thought transformed into the idea for “The Office”. I was actually sitting there laughing a little bit with the possibilities. But I had to be careful so that people didn’t think I was REALLY insane….it’s way too early to let them know that.
So there’s my idea….I will watch faithfully, in hopes that someone more dedicated than I sends this off to NBC and convinces them to make it.
Plagiarism…say it with me now.
Scattered PICT-churs.....
Nickerblog posted some grade school photos and inspired me (which is a much nicer way of saying I liked his idea and ripped it off) to take my own little stroll down memory lane. As you'll see for yourself, there were a lot of places to trip and fall flat on my face along the way.
Ya' gotta see the bay-bee... I'll be honest, I love my baby pic.
1st Day of School! I had to cut my sister out of this so that no one could see us wearing almost matching outfits. God. I can't explain the weird foot thing. Or the arm. You can't tell here, but I don't have my two front teeth. I lost them in a fence incident in 1972.
1973. Still no front teeth. I swear my dress is on backwards. Back then, my fashion philosophy was that all my favorite clothes went together. My favorite shirt had horizontal, multi-colored stripes. My favorite pants...blue and white vertical stripes. I was quite the toast of Vogue magazine.
1974. Still no teeth. The anticipation is killing you, isn't it? I can't bring myself to post a picture - I think I was the ugliest 7 year old in my neighborhood.
1975. Still no teeth!!! They finally came in the next year. This was also the year my mother had her fill of my hair always being a mess and had it cut off. I looked like a boy for the next 5 years.
It would also seem that 1975 was the year I took a small side adventure into heroin addiction. I must have been on one helluva good trip when they took this. What the fuck. I'd like to blame my bangs on the drugs...but I'm pretty sure I'd be lying.
I have to add another 1975 shot just to show off my Niagra Falls lapel pin. And to prove that I was lucid at least one day that year. I'm disappointed that I've lost the ability to hover amongst the clouds. Bummer.
"But where are the clowns? Quick, send in the clowns. Don't bother, they're here." Random Halloween shot. My brother and sister looked worse...she was a gypsy and he was some scary ass demon looking thing. I was allowed to be as sad as I wanted because I had an auto-smile.
Watching "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" with my brother. I'm holding my Chrissy doll...yes, that was really her name.You could pull the hair out of her head and make it longer when she needed to look really elegant...or when you needed a handle to swing her around in the air. After a while, it wouldn't go back in and I think we cut (read, hacked) it off.
Last 3!! ... This is my Dad's favorite childhood picture of me. I have no idea why but that's the reason I like it. That and the fact that I have a perfectly straight part in my hair.
This is my brother. This picture cracks me up every time I see it because of his pot belly. We're at Mt. Vernon. I think he's about 4 years old. All he needs is a beer in one hand, a lawn chair on which to sit and his other hand down his pants. And maybe a John Deere baseball hat. It's not the best picture because we are standing bout 15 miles away from where my Dad took it...he may have actually been standing on the other side of the Potomac.
And last, but not least...the senior picture from high school. It's one of the only copies I have left. I don't know what the hell happened to it. It's a little beat up. Classy gold chain, huh? I remember always thinking we had to wear a real velvet dress with the v neck thing - only to find out it was this little backwards cape.
And that completes our photo tour. Please visit the gift shop on your way out.
You Won't Get Rid of Me That Easily...
Oh my God! Where have 14 days gone so quickly?! This is even worse then the last unscheduled hiatus I took. To quickly recap, things have been hectic, to say the least.
Day 1: I was probably packing my office and taking care of a lot of last minute things at my previous job. (I can temporarily break my own rule from my very first blog ever because they can’t fire me anymore.) So, in 12 Days of Christmas terms, the first day was “Packing the shit in my desk.”
Day 2: I made my rounds, said my goodbyes and had my exit interview - which was not so much an interview as it was going through paperwork. Then I exited to Happy Hour! It was great! Probably about 20 people there, maybe more. JS kept giving me shots of tequila, on top of my Malibu and diet. (I will only drink diet with Malibu because regular is too sweet. Otherwise, I shun diet drinks and their aspartame which is slowly poisoning me and doing God knows what to my body. Vile liquid.)
At this point, tequila seems to be a great drink for me….I didn’t get drunk, nor did I have a hangover the next day. The last shot of the evening was Jaeger...God love it (I am too tired to make sure I spelled that correctly - if it's wrong, bite me). I had a good friend on hand to drive me home if necessary but I was actually okay. I wanted to follow her anyway…just to be safe. After the Jaeger shot, I knew we had to leave at that moment before it kicked in. And it could not have been timed more perfectly. Pulling into my driveway, I felt it kick in. And my buzz was official when I got emotional, also in the driveway, about leaving a place I worked at for 11 ½ years – I felt like my identity was gone for a couple hours. And it hit me how much I was going to miss everyone. So, drunk and teary in the driveway at 10pm on a Friday night. Pathetic. I hope the neighbors didn't see.
Day 3: I honestly can't remember anymore. I might have done a whole lot of nothing.
Day 4: See Day 3. Oh wait, I did do some work in preparation for my new job. Reading, emails, etc. Some productivity...while watching football, of course. Playoffs.
Days 5 - 10 are a COMPLETE BLUR! Started my new job. I LOVE it! Very exciting, learning all kinds of new stuff and I've entered workaholic mode again. Yes, this is a good thing for me....I function well at fast speeds when it comes to work.
Day 11: More of days 3 and 4, to be honest. Except in the evening - kick ass dinner with friends to celebrate a birthday! Went to Derek's in Manayunk. Good times.
Day 12: Laundry. Work. Straightening the house. I don't think I actually went outside all day. That's just sad.
And now into a new week with days 13 and 14. This is also going by in a blur. However, I'm settling in a bit and things are starting to become more manageable.....but not really slow. No time to blog at work anymore. :(
So now that I'm getting back into a routine, I will do my best to get back into my daily blogging habits....bear with me. I probably had lots to blog about, too...and now it's all fallen out of my head. That happens more then I care to admit. Oh...I remember the tree! I was going to blog about that...and I have pictures! Maybe tomorrow.
One note I did want to make...and I can't recall if I've ever noted this in previous blogs or not...
I was out with Di and I can't remember what we were discussing but I commented on it with one of my stock responses (I keep them in little cartoon balloons so that I can apply them to any conversation when needed - they have sticky backs). This particular one was - and a lot of us have said it - "well, everything happens for a reason, right?". Di turned to me and said, "did you ever notice that people never say that when good things happen?" True dat. True dat. She makes the most insightful observations.And for "a...", if she's checking in...I asked for some guidance on your question. I asked. I was provided an answer. Office Manager or Project Manager are the two most likely places to start if you're looking for something with similar skill sets and to which your experience can apply. Huh....I like speaking in code. I want to do more of it. I've got one....K, send a warm hello to H in the icy tundra. I'll send one, too, but it was the next code opportunity that came to mind and I had to grab it.
I feel another one coming on... Ah. XJ, you were right. But you can't keep it in the closet. And JoJo wants the blue one....but in red. Call that number you found at the bar, they'll set you up. Make sure you ask for that thing....we don't need another Titanic incident.
Okay, I totally made that one up.
Okay, Pep...this one was for you....you were skeptical and didn't think I'd actually get around to this tonight. I guess I showed you by staying up until almost midnight, didn't I? Yeah....don't mess with me, man.
Say goodnight, Gracie.
