Sad but true

So not to dwell on the topic but re: the Schiavo thing. I had NO idea that she was in the vegetative state for FIFTEEN years. That is insane. I think I have lost all respect for her family for making her live through that for so long. That is just cruel.

Anyway - it snowed last night! I have never been in such a heavy downpour of snow and it was cute for a second, then I was just cold! No it really wasn;t bad at all and it was quite pretty. Went to dinner last night with all the coworkers and our client project manager. You all would have been so proud - I ate paella which is like all seafood!!! I am slowly claiming to be a seafood lover but I have never gone so far as to order something that is just mixed with all kinds of sea stuff! it was wonderful!!!! And I even had some sushi for lunch yesterday. what is going on with me?!

During dinner last night my evil coworker brought up the fact that Americans are ignorant. Reasons include apathy for world events, lack of culture, that kind of a thing. I of course fit into his stereotype quite nicely. I don;t do the news or read the paper. I know nothing about history and I suck at geography. I also don't vote (which I am working on people - and I did vote last year!). Here's what I don't get though. Why in the world should I care? Is it going to help me in any way other than dinner conversation? Is it going to impact my future or my day to day living? Now I see that I am being incredibly egocentric (or whatever centric word applies) but so what?? What is the purpose of life beyond ME and my own little world??? Life ends after so many years and whatever knowledge I had about life in Korea or whatever will be gone. AND IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE to anyone and the world will carry on its merry way. I just feel like life is a game and some players are more involved and they can shape our nation and impact other countries but hey - that's not my role in this lifetime so go have fun mr bush doing your own thing. Please feel free to school me if you feel so inclined.

Care for a nut?

Feeling pretty good again this morning! Made it to pilates - once again my ass was kicked. I feel like such a weakling as my legs are shaking holding a ball in the air and some 60 year old woman is doing just fine. Walked to work alone today which was nice - I hate having to start the morning doing small talk with coworkers and the client. It is lovely outside but good old Denver is going to have some snow this afternoon. random. On my walk there is a park that is full of squirrels. These creatures make me so damn happy. You can;t help but smile watching them frolic around, chasing each other, looking for food. I want a squirrel. Can I pet a wild one? Do they bite or something? Oh but on a not so chipper note - I have the biggest growth on my nose. I mean it can almost pass as a really red mosquito bite that got inflamed it is so huge. Shouldn;t this whole acne phase passed by now? Clear skin please. I mean I just spent a fortune on cleaning products so what the hell? So although I have somewhat decent skin, I was totally traumatized in high school because of one big phat nasty red piece of poop on my nose. I mean right on dead center. My lovely friends love to tease. I was known as rudolph for that week. It sucked. It was sooo disgustingly huge and of course I thought trying to pop the damn thing would help. Ended up making it like twice as big and all scabbed over. When will I ever learn?!

Thought for the day. Why is it that we need like 8-9 hours of sleep a night? I think the average is like 6.9 or something that we actually get. And I realize in the long term it is better for you to sleep more but why?? Am I not going to function as well when I am retired? I LOVE my sleep but I feel that I am cheating myself by getting so much. I mean when I am in SF I will skip the morning gym since I want beauty rest. Isn;t that worse though to not exercise and just sleep more? People that sleep like 6 hours seem to be functioning damn well and they get a lot of crap done in a day! How serious can the implication be in the long run? I just feel that I am lazy getting more than 8. But I am still tired! I want to learn how to zap myself into REM so that I can peacefully sleep. I wake up too much at night. Sucks. Oh and on this note - for all you that haven't seen the movie "Waking Life" I totally recommend it. All about the dream world and lucid dreaming and reality. So many theories and ideas are thrown out during the movie I just want to sit and take notes on it! Lucid dreaming sounds so cool. At times I feel like I have probably experienced it since I feel as if I am directing a movie and my dream is set in motion from where I want it to begin. I wonder if you can over cross over and have your dream universe merge into your conscious world. Hmm.

Bad earthquake

So the coworker that is totally an insensitive bastard (the one who makes fun of me "not" being Latina!) is from Sri Lanka and he was actually at home for the tsunami last year. Can you believe just 3 months later another earthquake is shaking things up over there? I think I saw that there was not another tsunami but I am sure still lots of damage and casualties. Nature is scary. So his story is freaking intense so I'll share it today! He was working out in the garage while his family was out at church. All of sudden the garage just starts filling with water and he is submerged. He tries to open one of the doors to his house but the current was pushing against him so he was helpless. He took one last breathe and tried some more. He was so lucky because this time the current was pulling back and the force allowed him to open the door. Basically he was floated up his own stairs to the second floor. He managed to get to one of the rooms that had a balcony. He made it out and saw a clothes line, grabbed it, and then was floated out towards a tree. He managed to grab on to the tree and tie himself with the close line. He was up there for some godly insane amount of time. His family was fortunate enough to be on somewhat higher grounds so the wave was not as intense. Still I think some had broken bones and stuff. My coworker was in the hospital for a week or something. So my version of the story is probably off a bit but you get the gist of it. I just feel so bad for him cuz this time around he hasn;t been able to get in touch with any of his family:(

Random thought. Why is it we talk in our baby voices to animals and babies? Do they understand us better when we talk in that tone? What if a baby was raised without any exposure to that baby voice. Would they not be able to learn to speak?! I wonder if studies have been done on this. Fascinating I tell ya!

So today I am feeling quite good. Made it to a spinning class which sucked (both good and bad). It was freaking hard (the good suck but it was climbing the whole time which is no fun (bad suck). The water pressure was stellar today. It is another lovely day outside although tomorrow it is raining:( Tonight I might go see Dr. Ruth speak at some place that is like a block from my hotel! Totally random but when will this ever happen again?!

good morning sunshine!

Happy Monday! So despite the fact that I am pissed that my hotel room this week is a piece of crap (I can barely fit in the nook for the bathroom sink/mirror) it is a lovely day outside! It is only like 48 degrees right now but I was sweating on my way to work! No wool coat for me today. Supposed to hit 68 which is absurd since it is going to snow on thurs! I've realized that I am never going to be completely happy here. As MAC knows - I am a wuss dealing with temperature. It is either too damn cold or the second the sun comes out I am too hot and get all sweaty! What happened to me? I mean really. Central valley where you at?! How does one over adjust to weather conditions where I can no longer handle any temperature?

So thank you all for coming out on Sat to help celebrate MAC's bday. I can't believe how awesome the games were and that la sassy, jefe and samin were awesome enough to a) find us seats right be the screen and b) hook us up with some phat cupcakes and cake!!! They were wonderful! And how in the world did we stay out until midnight?? That is a long day of drinking! Oh and props to La Sassy for being a kick ass at shooting hoops! And thanks to Travis (?) for being such a drunk and buying us shots and then trying to start shit with Danny and then being schooled by MAC:) Have to say this was one intense weekend. Went to a doggy happy hour fri. Made my enchiladas fri night - saw my dad sat afternoon and had lunch with my everyone - scurried over to the bar to celebrate the birthday - and then packed up and left on sun for work!

So I am pretty sure I told you all about the doggy happy hour but I don't think I properly conveyed how freaking cool it was! Even though there were only 2 dogs there is typically a lot more and the location is beautiful and the wine is a flowing and dogs rule! Duke is seriously the cutest thing in the world. Duke met Minnie Driver out on a walk a few weeks ago. He slobbered all over her and she loved it! He is totally going to be a star!

Oh and I almost forgot. At the bar I was almost that girl walking around with a long ass piece of toilet paper hanging out of my pants!!! Thank you cute little blonde chick for warning me before I stepped out into the night to almost experience the most humiliating moment of my life! How in the world it got there I have no clue. I mean it was like a freaking wedding dress train dragging on the floor!

all dolled up

It is only 2:00 on Friday and yet I have had such a WONDERFUL day! Here is why I am happy:
1) I came home and saw my MAC last night:)
2) I am in SF and it is pretty!!!
3) I got to hang out with my sister this morning and I had a fabulous time
4) I got a pedicure
5) I got waxed
6) I got some good work done
7) I had starbucks
8) I am eating cottage cheese and a banana
9) I got to wear my cute yellow coat for the first time
10) I get to celebrate MAC's bday tomorrow and hang out with our friends!
11) I get to see my dad tomorrow who has been off to Peru for the past month
12) I am making enchiladas tonight!
13) I saw DUKE today!!!
14) Jesus resurrects this weekend (I didn;t want to end on an unlucky #!)

Ok I will stop! Let me expand on some items here. I haven't seen my sister in forever and I was craving a big fat hug from her and some good conversation which is exactly what I got. I love my sister so much:) And pretty little DUKE is just precious! Ok so here is something that I can't believe I am sharing. I didn't get a typical wax. And I am sure misscurious is thinking oh please I've waxed everything before but you are wrong! I got my neck waxed! Little something you probably don't know about me - I HATE the baby hairs that run along the side of my neck. I mean HATE them. And I am totally self conscious about it too. Hair is hair and I should get over it but for now I will just wax it off! Weird huh?

I talked with my sister about our family and I told her how her blog comment really struck me re: the schiavo case. So something that I have yet to really share with anyone other than my sister and MAC is how I've been dealing with my mom being gone. I would love to one day be able to share my thoughts and emotions with my friends but I am not quite at that place yet. I want to try and start though. Here is a baby step for me: So I am making enchiladas for my dad tonight. He has been off in Peru preparing a place he got out in Miraflores. Totally exciting cuz now I will have a place to stay when I go visit Peru..whenever that is. Making enchiladas has turned out to be a little difficult for me. Not in actually preparing them but in what it means to be making them. My mom made the best enchiladas. I mean, Jefe was willing to bust out some major bling for a dozen. During college my mom would make me pounds of enchiladas to take back to school. She spent half the day preparing and cooking and everything. Not like she had time to do so but she would do it for me. My mom took good care of me - always wanting to make me happy. So basically my having to make them for myself just hits home that she will never be there to make them for me again. I can never go home and spend the day in the kitchen with her to make them together. That sense of love and care is forever suspended. She is forever gone. Not to end on a sad note. Just thinking about me and my mom making enchiladas at home makes me smile. And best of all - the first time she met MAC she taught us how to make them. That is so precious to me. Kind of like her passing on part of herself for us to carry on. I just hope I can do a decent job at it.

Damn

You know when you have been working on something for a good portion of time on your computer and you know you should save but you are so wrapped up in what you are doing that you push it off and then your computer decides to screw with you so it like shuts down and you lose all that info? yeah that happened to me today. And to wrap up my whining session, I bought a new pair of boots - FMBs - since I wanted to keep warm out here in denver and thought they would help. So far they have worked out pretty well except one thing. My ankle bone is totally swollen and bruised on my left foot! Somehow my boot is digging into this once section of my ankle and it is killing me. I mean I am somewhat limping when I walk. Damn shoes. I just stuffed my boot with a mitten to help ease the pain. It's working. It looks like I have a goiter on my leg (instead of my neck - I know what goiter means people!).

I got to watch Alias last night. I am still obsessed with Jennifer Garner. How can one be so cool?

I rarely read the paper or watch the news but this whole Schiavo case is all over the place. How can something get so freaking political? I'm sorry, I feel for her parents and I am sure they have a lot of faith and hope that some good will come out of their keeping her alive, but come on. You really think someone that has been in this vegetative state for so long is going to miraculously pull out of it and be functional again? If she were to manage to live off of the feeding tubes you really think she is going to be walking around shooting the shit with her parents? I am not trying to sound heartless but just realistic. And what exactly happened to her? Chemical imbalance due to an eating disorder? I can't quite see the connection. pretty intense situation.

Fruit or die

To lynz question - I am out here till July!!!

I still haven't made it to the grocery store but I finally found my bananas! Thank you oh wonderful gym for being so clever and charging $1 for a piece of fruit. I don't even care. I am going grocery shopping at the gym since I have had issues even getting a cab to pick me up out here. Here is my lesson learned yesterday. There is never any harm in asking for something. Easy to say but personally hard for me to execute. I didn;t have a dollar yesterday but really wanted that banana. I was sulking as we were about to the leave the gym and my coworker was like, why don;t you just ask them if you can take one and pay them back later? I was like oh no - I'll just get one tomorrow. So she goes and asks and of course they allow it. I was super happy - they get kudos for letting me have the banana - and I came back today and paid! Everyone wins! So today I tried something else that I learned from a coworker. I was all bummed because I earned my hilton gold status from my trips to LA last year but there is no hilton out here in Denver. What I did though was call the hotel chain's reward card and ask them if they would upgrade my status to match my hilton status. what do you know - they'll do it!

I took a pilates class this morning. I believe I remember j-do talking about pilates before and I recall her mentioning that she didn't sweat. I however was panting trying to cover some of these moves! And yes, I was sweating! Not dripping sweat or anything but definitely shower worthy!

I did it!

I managed to wake up at 5:30 this morning and hit the real gym that is like 4 blocks away. It was damn hard but totally worth it! I say that now mind you although in 2 hours I might be dead tired. Good old Starbucks. More caffeine please. Took this "tread" class where pretty you have someone yelling at you to go faster, slow down , increase the incline...pretty cool! Then tomorrow if I can handle 2 days in a row I will check out the pilates mat class. Go me!

Thanks all for the reply about my nasty coworker. He bugs and I let him get to me too much sometimes. I mean hello - my blog name is CHICA! Oh and I totally made my own enchiladas and they kicked ass so there!

Here is a sad story about another one of my coworkers. Someone in the SF office sent us all a farewell email since his last day is coming up. My coworker send him a reply telling him how sorry she was to hear he was leaving and that all the good people are slowly taking off but that he deserved the time off to relax. And here's the catch - I am sure you guessed it. She sent it to "reply all" and so like the whole west coast got her note. Now when I read it I was like oh that was a nice note but she is freaking out. She got an email from one of our senior managers saying "you should watch our for reply all. Hope your recall worked. I was up late so saw the email. I will not share this anyone." My response - She didn't say anything bad! If that were me my email would have been "lah lah lah" - thanks J-do for the advice:). I would hate to be in her shoes though. People will remember this when it counts and it could totally have a negative impact even if underserved.

We are going to Morton's for dinner tonight. Bring me some red meat!

Here we go again

Back to Denver, back to work, back to sniffy nose! Flew out last night which blew. Had a great weekend doing nothing really...Except playing the most exciting game in the WORLD...GO FISH! MAC and I have the Nemo version of Go Fish and we had a rockin time! 2 bottles of wine and MAC winning every game, I realized that Go Fish is damn strategic! Also went shopping to get some Denver suitable work attire. Yeah for sweater sets!

So now I will rant about my coworker. I am Latina and proud of it - although I might switch my loyalty from Peruvian to Mexican based on who I am talking to! Anyway, my coworker enjoys mocking me for claiming being ethnic since I don't speak the language. This pisses me off because regardless of the language, I have totally been raised with the Latino culture and influences. Who is he to say that I am not ethnic enough??? Does he go to quincineras? Does he celebrate christmas with like 100 family members that have immigrated over in the past 10 years? Did he have pinatas at his 5th birthday??? And I mean a genuine pinata! Can he appreciate the cumbia? Did his parents watch telemundo? And what about that really cool show with that really pretty blonde chick as the host - it was like Cristina or something - I really liked that! Point here - don't freaking mock me bastard.

Oh and I didn't go to that girl's bday party this weekend! I opted to stay home at watch SNL!

Going back to Cali

Thank you I get to come home today! I am just hoping this weekend means I can breathe without this nasal drip and my skin won't need 2 bottles of lotion to make it appear moisturized! Does it make any sense that I pretty much got to work at 8:45 and then we are taking off at 11:30...and these three hours will be filled with me doing nothing? Why do they make me stay here??!!!

Weird thing about Denver: there are no toilet seat covers - yuck.

Next week I am going to try and motivate to wake up at 5:30 to go take some yoga and pilates classes at a nearby gym. I am pretty excited since many people rave about how rewarding these classes can be. Problem is I have the hardest time getting out of bed when the sun is not out.

It is one of my friend's from like Kingergarten birthday today. How wonderful is it to have a friend that has grown up with you from day one at school to still be in your life?? I wouldn't know - because she is the biggest loser. Let me explain. We were totally good friends from K-10th grade. Then she was kind of part of her own clique and I was in mine - but we were still friends. We both end up going to college in the bay area but lose touch over the years. Not in a bad way - every time we talked it would be great and fun like nothing has changed. Then post college I end up moving to SF which is where she is. I call her and tell her the news and how excited I am to hang out with her. Mind you I do this on voice mail. Like 20 times. She never calls me back. I finally get her to respond via email and she is like oh so sorry blah blah blah. Over a two year period I probably see her twice. She did grace me with her presence at some of my parties but she left after like 20 minutes. I finally gave up on her. Is it really worth it to feel like I am not good enough for her to contact? Can someone really be THAT busy? Or is she just over me and could care less about the fact I was her freaking best friend for such a long ass time? I have never lost a friend and I don't like it but I guess such is life. I can't expect to have all my friends forever but this is just too extreme for me to understand. In essence I feel like I have been rejected by one of the few people that knows me as well as she does. That just sucks. Funny thing though I got invited to her bday party this weekend. At this point I am like screw her - I am over it. But she did come to my last party...but she brought along someone who I despise...whatever.

Happy St Patty's Day!

No green for me but Happy St Patrick's Day! I started off my day with my chai latte dripping all over my coat and pants. Now I know MAC knows all about this but for you kids that drink Starbucks - any of you notice a problem with the cups??? You know how the cup has a seam? Right where the seam hits the cup lid there is a tendency for the drink to drip. I am even drinking my tea through a damn straw and yet the drip phenomena lives on.

I bought some gloves last night!!! J-do no longer has to dream about giving me a pair! I was able to leave work early enough yesterday to hit up Ross and luckily they had like 3 pairs of gloves left. With the recent snow and all turns out there is high demand for gloves. So yeah - I got a pair of purple fluffy with silver sparkles gloves. It was either that or cream. I thought I could use some flare to my outfits since I pretty much wear all black everyday. Walking down the 16th street mall turned out to be a little intimidating being alone at night. Surprisingly (or not) there is quite a number of homeless around and a lot of punk/thug looking kids wandering the streets. Now the reason I say surprising is cuz if I were homeless CO would be the LAST place I would go to hang out. I mean CA is the way to go! But hey if they are happy then power to them.

Had a fabulous dinner last night. A major perk of traveling is that we get to check out some wonderful restaurants...for FREE:) I am realizing though that I need to cut down on my dinner orders - last night I had calamari, shrimp in some insane sauce, and veal in some insane sauce. Amazing taste = NOT HEALTHY!

Talking to my coworker today - he recently turned 27 and was commenting on how his life was not turning out as he planned. I asked for more specifics which he wouldn't just yet divuldge but I was like - why bother making "life" plans when life never turns out as you expect/want? I mean I have like basic goals of I want to have: a house with a yard; a pretty puppy; a decent job; a good work/life balance; some travel time; plenty of quality time with friends and family; clear skin and a healthy lifestyle:) Am I missing something? Is this just a sign of my immaturity and not thinking bigger picture? Another one of my coworkers commented last year about how he thought I was a floater - i.e. I just take things as they come and I don't plan for anything. He made it sound like a negative thing and I am not sure I agree. I can't predict what life will bring so why not just enjoy what comes my way? If anything I think I am lucky for how fortunate my life has overall turned out. I guess the only drawback would be if the wave crashed and I didn't have a solid place to land. I don't know what this all means. Maybe I am too simplistic with my outlook on life. On that note I am back to work to float along my Denver wave:)

Sniffle

My nose is runny:( Sucks trying to sleep when you can only lay in one position to breathe. Ok so I read a little bit about denver and have to say if my body can adjust to the dry air - coming here for the summer would probably be a blast! For a small city they have quite an impressive list of sightseeing options. Tons of galleries, some really cool museums, the state capital is here and it is gorgeous! The library is awesome, just overall the architecture here is amazing. Supposedly there is quite a large number of quality restaurants out here and I am sure the pub scene is pretty decent. Shopping not so sure hits the spot but hey, they have BR and I guess that is all I need! Being so close to the mountains is pretty cool. I have an amazing view from my cube - I am like steps away from the capital and this really cool library and the mountains are like an arms length away:) Let me repeat my fancy for the city would only be for the summer! I am cold and I can't breathe properly right now! I attempted to run last night and that lasted for like a second. I'm blaming it on the altitude. I could barely make it for 10 minutes.

So here is a fun little treat for ya'll - post its on your desktop! http://www.download.com/Post-it-Software-Notes-Lite/3000-2351_4-10239500.html?tag=lst-0-2

more whining

I really don't want to use my blog as a template for me to cry about things that suck but I am going to for a second longer! Ok so took taxi home last night since it was snowing pretty damn hard and yet the client project manager still insisted on walking. I was like - check ya later. And good thing I took that taxi - the second I walked outside in the snow I almost fell..twice. And now my sis warns me about protecting my leather shoes and I don't know where to do that so my favorite work shoes are going to be ruined! Anyway - thing that made me happy this morning: great water pressure; there is a starbucks attached to the hotel; it is sunny right now. Yup - that's it! Things that suck: I had to walk to work carrying my computer bag, purse, coffee, and I have no gloves so my hands are frozen; I can't find a freaking banana anywhere so I am going to starve for breakfast this week; there is only tap water and it is barely ok; I don't get to go home to MAC; I am missing st patricks day this week; oh and my face is really dry out here!

Signing off for now - and I will try to get a better attitude before my next blog entry!

Is it winter?

Here I am in Denver and although I was somewhat excited for the trip - all my positive energy was lost trying to conserve my heat energy since it is freaking snowing!! I knew it would be cold but dressing for work when it is freezing outside just sucks. How am I supposed to layer button down shirts?! Good thing I have a wool coat but didn't realize I also needed my gloves, snow boots, ski hat, face mask etc! The whole weather thing wouldn't be that bad since we should be driving everywhere right? WRONG! For some reason we are taking the downtown bus to the civic center and then walking 4 blocks in the snow with my computer bag to work. Did I mention it was snowing? Not sure how I am supposed to stock up on my breakfast food when there are no grocery stores in site and I am sure none of them are walking distance. YUCK.

I've already eaten 2 bags of chips (the bad but oh so good kinds) since there is nothing else nearby! And the coffee here sucks:( No milk - just nasty powder creamer. WAHHH!!!!

Supposedly there is decent shopping out here so I guess I can go dry my tears buying some warm clothes.

Shout out to Lindz and j-do for the phone calls! And also to my boy who from now on will be referred to as MAC for taking time out of his sunday to read all my blogs:)

Back to work for me!

what a weekend

I passed my test on Friday! I was totally nervous but thankfully everything worked out! I made my boy get out of work early and so we got to run around SF since it was a BEAUTIFUL day!! We went out for lunch at the ferry building and it was crazy how many people were wandering about the area at 2:3o on a Friday.

Even though the forecast said 72 for Sat - it ended up being a crappy day. Stayed on the couch until probably 2:00 but then motivated to go check out Barnes and Nobles out in the SOMA. Since I will be traveling for a while, I stocked up. Dean Koontz is one of my favorite psychothriller writers - I decided to take a break from my true crime and try out some fiction. Had a fabulous night hanging out with some of the Cal kids:) I have never been to the Dragon Bar and I have to say I am quite impressed. I hate that I don't have a night club to call my favorite hip hop spot but this might just make the cut!

Sunday ended up being another great day so we went for a run and ended up walking across the golden gate bridge- which was both our first time so definitely exciting. Now I am packing and hitting bed early so I can wake up before dawn and head off to the airport. I just hope that I can sleep on the plane since traveling makes me grumpy. At least I have my Ipod to keep me company!

study time

The art of studying escaped me the second I completed my last final for school. Now, almost 4 years later, I am attempting to relearn how to learn! I am working on getting some credentials for Employee Benefits - 8 tests total and so far I have passed 6. Tomorrow is my shot at #7. Since I have no motivation to study when I get home from work, I ended up taking off three days to just stay at home and study. I have been doing just that and it sucks! My wrist hurts from taking so many notes, my neck hurts from hunching over to read the material, and all I want to do is go outside and work on my tan (or lack of one)!

How is it that so many people my age actually want to go back to school?! Is it really the content of classes that is so intriguing or is it the environment that is stimulating? I feel that school is just something we do to prepare us for the "real" world, so now that we are in it - do we really have to go back and learn more? Or is it a temporary escape? Does grad school really give you the knowledge base to get back in the working world and kick ass (mind you I am not talking about grad school for those entering a new profession i.e. lawyer, doctor)? I am so torn as to whether I want to go back. I am pretty sure I do not see the value in it for me personally, but that little voice in my head won't let me say no. And one thing for sure is that I HATE standardized tests and no way I want to go study for a test just to be able to apply to school! Bottom line - I am lazy!

Quick shout out to my boy who bought me cottage cheese and jello this morning so I could have a snack while studying:)

Off to denver-denver land

My two months of boredom are over. Starting Monday I am off to Denver for 3 months. Although I come home on weekends I have to say that traveling flat out sucks. The only positive is that I think Denver will be an awesome city...but not like there is time to hang out and visit since I'm only there for work. I do have the option of flying out the boy for a weekend but my thing is that I hate PACKING!! And there is no way I am packing for two weeks. Lame I know but I have this paranoia with luggage and not being able to lift the bag to the overhead compartment. And I hate checking in baggage. And I can't exactly pack light since it is going to be butt as% cold ( supposed to be snowing while I am out there). And it is super nice in SFright now.

What is even more annoying (other than the fact that I hate not coming home to the boy every night) is that I am all jazzed about my resolution to be proactive and reach out/hang out with my friends during the week and of course I do this right when I have to leave. Oh well. At least I can attempt to work on making more phone calls to ya'll!

Is this really what life holds for me? I mean I already traveled for 5 months last year. 3 months in the works this year. There is no way I can continue this trend long term. Does this mean a career change? How am I supposed to manage my so-called work/life balance? I really do enjoy what I do and I appreciate that my company has a ton to offer...but is there something else better out there? Could I really have a job that balanced all my needs? I doubt it and am too afraid to try and even find one. Going through the interview process all over again makes me ill. Rejection from a company would be too hard to handle. For now I prefer to stay safe where I am and whine about it every day. I am supposedly up for promotion this year so I am excited to see how this pans out. This August will be my 4 year anniversary!!! I am SO old! I am totally that tenured (is that the right word?) employee that tells all these lame stories to new hires about how work used to be back in my early days. I greet these kids with a cloud of resentment over my head as I see them as competition. Every new hire looks so eager to learn and be involved and full of questions. I of course am the bitter one giving all of them the evil eye. At least I am not alone. I have some pretty bitter coworkers.

I watched the Grudge last night with some lovely ladies - I LOVE scary movies but this movie was lame!!! Total knock off from the Ring which by the way they are coming out with the Ring 2! Yup - I am excited. The Ring is totally one of my favorite movies. I mean when was the last time a movie really freaked you out? The exorcist is the only other movie that really gave me a scare. And I was like 5.

Technology schmechnology

Back in my high school years I swear I lived on the phone. Every night I would be on the phone for like a minimum of 2 hours a night talking to the same people I just spend a full day with at school. What in the world could we possibly be talking about for so long?? I have fond memories of my sister yelling at me to talk quietly. To this day I still have no volume control on the phone. I also remember when my sister was home from college she would also live on the phone and every time one of my friends called she would be such a biznatch and like hang up on them (I love you sister!). My friends were all totally scared of her!

I digress. Moving along to current life. I hardly talk on my phone anymore. Cell phones are evil things. Yeah it's totally nice when you are like at a bar trying to find your friend but really, it makes it too easy to just pass up answering the phone and just call someone back later. And I am horrible at calling people back. Back when we didn't have cell phones, having someone call me at home was so exciting and I couldn't wait to chat. Now when I get home, I am tired from work, hungry, too lazy to cook, feeling guilty for not going to the gym, waiting for the boy to come home and yet I rarely go to my phone to call a friend. I am also notorious for missing phone calls. I swear my old phone really was the reason since it never freaking rang. I think I just got in the habit of not checking my voice mail and not realizing people were actually calling me! Years later I have turned into a lazy TV addict that no longer has any phone friends!

Email also sucks. Technology is replacing the need for human contact. My computer has definitely replaced my need for a live conversations and some face time. I really want this to change. I want to meet up for coffee with my friends and chat. I want to have 2 hour phone conversations at night! Well, maybe just 1 to start! Who is willing to help me with this endeavor?!

My first one!

This is so typical for me. My friends all start doing something really cool and eventually I can't help but join the bandwagon. Ohh always the follower never the trend setter! Just a warning - I am a terrible writer and I have no creative spark so please don't expect this blog to be intellectually stimulating or entertaining! Yeah that's right - I had to take College Writing 1A my freshman year I am that bad. I totally claim ESL - and it would work if I could speak another language. Oh well. So here's what you can expect: lots of exclamation points, me whining about work, stories about me drinking...good stuff.

So first off, want to thank all the guys and gals for a great night on Sat. It really is amazing that we have stayed in touch post college. Thank you cardinal and straw for bringing us together!

It's 10:00 so I will start working now. FYI I am wearing jeans to work on a Monday. Rock on.