Going Country

Driving to and from work has found me listening to country music. I can't help it. Everything else new on the radio just sounds like crap right now. Country music is like coming home for me for some reason. It just feels right.

Dolly Parton is my all-time favorite country artist if you must know. While the new country ballads are great like Lady Antebellum's Need You Now, I love fun songs called Giddy On Up by Laura Bell Bundy and Blake Shelton's Hillybilly Bone. The videos are great, too...

The days are getting blurry again since work is busy. This weekend is my last free weekend before my fourth chemo. I'm walking with Kristey on Saturday morning. I hope I can last at least two miles. The rest of the weekend will be spent preparing for the next chemo.

Next Tuesday I have my first appointment with a psychologist. It will be her first appointment at 8:30am. I am very pleased that I get to have one session before my next chemo. It makes me feel in better control already. I'll let you know how it goes.

I checked my mailbox today and found a pretty present from a sweet girlie friend across the pond. I enjoyed seeing "Royal Mail" on the envelope and the postage. She sent me this trinket box topped with a jeweled dragonfly. Isn't it beautiful? I collect trinket or decorative boxes so this was perfect.



If I don't get to post during the weekend, I hope you all have some fun and please don't forget to wish your mothers a "Happy Mother's Day" on Sunday, my lovelies.

Kisses,
S x

Going Country

Big Sticks and Silver Bullets

I was fine until I woke up this morning.

My day was to be filled with activities for our temp's going away. This caused me anxiety and pressure I sought to contain as soon as I began getting ready for work. The matter with my temp has been an ordeal we've been waiting months to solve. Budgets were done recently and her contract was not included in that budget. For her part, she has been in denial even through the warnings from my boss that this time was coming.

When I got to work, my preliminary order of business was to warn off everyone that I was a biatch on wheels and that they should either start sharpening their sticks or just get out the silver bullets. I try to give fair warning when I know my mood is mercurial. Back to the order of today's business...

The first order of business was a meeting with my boss and another manager in the building. It was less troublesome than I thought. A big plus for the morning.

The second order of business was taking my temp out to lunch. Four of us made our way to an upscale sports bar. It was "okay" interspersed with moments of discomfort.

The third order of business was announcing the winner for the premier parking space. That was an unprecedented event as I had to announce a second winner. The first selection forfeited his prize because he had a new handicap tag for his vehicle allowing him to park next to the building. There are some perks to breaking your foot.

The fourth order of business was to round up people for a custom ordered surprise cake for the temp. Imagine my surprise when more than half of the invitees between both buildings had sudden excuses, most legit - some not or were non-responsive. (Yes, my lovelies, the surprise bit was sarcasm.) Bridget and I worked the floor to get more last minute attendees.

The fifth order of business was to track down the gift I ordered for the temp. I ordered online a pretty sterling silver hinged bangle bracelet with etched 18kt gold leaf overlay design. A couple of people chastised me for spending what I did. For me, I felt it was the right thing to do. This person is so desperate for outside validation and attention especially from me. I've been avoiding her because I didn't want to get sucked in her energy and start conversations that I would have to tap dance from. Sigh. It is during these times, my compassionate side prevails and understands that most antics are a call for love. How can I totally turn my back against her?

Not everyone is hopeless, but everyone can be lost and choose not to find themselves or work to find the path to understanding their place and role in the world. Is it on purpose? Perhaps they just don't know how and have never been taught. You and I know how our environment can shape us into what we don't want to necessarily be, but there we are...volunteers on a path we know nothing of as walk on it.

I made someone check the mailbox at work in the afternoon and my gift was there. The temp has to wait until tomorrow to receive it. It has been wrapped with care. The kind of care I took to put the package together is the kind that is reserved for people I truly care about. Everyone deserves a magical present to open...to feel that beat of anticipation as they take away the layers...and finally the delighted elation of taking off the boxtop revealing tissue and a velvet pouch containing shiny jewelry chosen just for them.

Whether any gratitude for the gift is expressed, it is of no importance to me. She has worked in my department for over two years and I have been the constant presence as previous co-workers and managers have moved on. Her hard work cannot be faulted and some measure of gratitude should be expressed to her. I would like for her to have a long lasting reminder she can see and feel -- an outward validation.


.

Big Sticks and Silver Bullets

R&A's Baby Shower

Baking...Wrapping Gifts...Hanging out with my friends. What a great day!

This evening was a small co-ed baby shower for Rebecca and Ant. Their formal frou-frou brunch at a tea shop was earlier in the day. I was surprised they weren't as tired looking when they arrived which was great for the rest of us eager to celebrate with them.

I made decadent Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes for the cupcake tree. After one bite, I remembered why I don't make them often. You could pop them like pills they are so good. I sprinkled little dragees on top for decoration. The only thing that would have been better for me was if I had driven across town to find dark blue liners instead of the pastel ones. I was the only one really concerned about that detail.



Here are the smiling expectant parents. One of their funny gifts was a two-pack brick of Cafe Bustelo coffee (very strong!) for the late nights when Garrett decides he wants his parents not to have sleep.



This diaper cake I made faked out a few guests who thought it was a real cake. It almost didn't survive the car ride over. In case you want to make your own, here is the pattern I followed. In lieu of the booze, I put in a bottle of Pedialyte for the baby and put teething rings on the cake instead of stuffed animals. I would have loved to have made this Hawaiian version, but it was too girly.



Let me make this next pic clear: I DID NOT DO THIS! As pervy as I am it was not my doing that the sprinkles on the table ended up in compromising positions. AND NO I AM NOT DISAPPOINTED THAT I DIDN'T THINK OF IT FIRST. Mostly.



Kathy and Jamie put on a great party; there were about a dozen of us being crazy. Jamie was a good cookie by fulfilling my wish of cooking the bratwursts in beer and onion Jacuzzi. He put those babies in the slower cooker for several hours before grilling them. Hot damn they were tasty! Kathy drank a lot of wine and was still in one piece before I left. She came up with the best guess of what the first baby's word would be: mothertrucker. That is the exact word Ant says all the time.

For this original circle of friends (at least the last 10 years), this is the first baby among us. It makes me proud to say that I am very excited and in no way feeling bitter or sad. They are truly deserving and their baby boy will have one of the best set of parents a baby could have. How many days until their due date in November?


.

R&A's Baby Shower

Gifts to Myself

Cabal woke me up. Early. Mofo. Grrr.

Found myself making coffee at 6am after our walk and his feeding. My load of towels were dry, too. As I was inserting the yellow towels into my double ribbon, it occurred to me that I never took those pics I promised a while back of my bathroom towels.

The pics below are just one of the set of two I have hanging. Obviously, I don't use these towels. I could if I wanted to, but mostly these just hang pretty while I have another working set hanging elsewhere. I have a few more sets of towels before I have to use the ones below. They are washed at least once a month whether they need it or not. I love ribbon -- what an easy way to dress your towels and bathroom! I added the faux jewel ornaments after buying them on sale after Christmas. The colors were perfect, non?



There is a lady online who has a store on e-bay selling resin, resin molds and accessories. Her mold choices were more expanded than the online art supply stores so I bought four from her along with two different sizes of reusable plastic cups and pipettes. Those should arrive before the end of the week. Yippee!

On the other hand, the reply to my query e-mail from the gourmet shop has yet to arrive. Well, I couldn't wait anymore because the class choices were narrowing each day and the Cooking Class Assistant orientation is next Sunday. I had to find out whether there was still room today during a Pizza class. It was raining and for some reason I wanted to drive around in it.

After talking to a gal who apparently needed to suck down some serious caffeine, I was registered for the cooking class that will allow me to attend orientation next Sunday. Your AGOL was saved from taking the Pizza class this afternoon. The lady bragged that there was still a waiting list. More power to them -- you know I don't like pizza unless some conditions have been met in making it. High maintenance? Yep.

(Drum roll please..)

The class I ended up prepaying today was very appropriate for the AGOL: Aphrodisiac Foods. While I am sipping wine on Tuesday night, I get to watch a chef prepare the following tantalizing dishes:

Gulf Oysters laced with Chipotle Mignonette, Grilled Asparagus Spears with Lump Crabmeat over Baby Arugula, Roasted Pine Nut Gorgonzola Timbale and Goat Cheese Stuffed Figs wrapped in Prosciutto with Balsamic Raspberry Gastrique. The finale is Chocolate Truffles with Strawberry Amaretto Jam and White Chocolate Martinis.

Are you jealous? My mouth is already watering. I'll have to cancel on Happy Hour with the gang and tell my boss I am leaving at 3:30pm to take care of the dog and still make it on time. I'm sure the chef will allow me to take a few food pics to share with you...

My day was not to be wasted. I drove to two art supply stores for supplies, mostly related to resin. The grocery store took some more of my money on the way home because my freezer was near empty again. Is Grey Goose vodka a frozen dinner? To some, it might be. Ha! I needed to take advantage of some of the Buy Guy Get One Free deals. Making sure I have stock in certain staple ingredients makes it that much easier to put together a good meal quickly that is full of flavor.

Tawny was back in town tonight from her vacation with her sister to see their parents and to pick up Tawny's daughter for part of the summer in between college semesters. She texted me earlier to let me know when she was in Florida and when she arrived home. I didn't expect to see her for a bit, but she called me tonight to drop off a small gift and to show me some goodies that came in the mail for her. How I missed her! Not sure if she will be able to take one day off to play during my creative week. I will have to ask her again. Well, my lovelies, it is off to bed for me.


.

Gifts to Myself

Sweet Thoughts

Sunday...Mother's Day. I had thought about this on Friday and it got me a little depressed. I didn't have a mother nor was I a mother. Would I ever be one other than to my Pretty Boy Dog? Luckily, I was too busy to let it sink in. Today I was too exhausted to have it sink in further. Getting home at 1:30am will do that to you. Any plans I had were scrapped in lieu of long naps on the sofa.

Updated my blog and made my little welcome packets mainly for four of the marketing people I know moving over tomorrow. They are getting a painted wooden angel/princess ornaments (I did not make these) to have in their cube and a card filled with iridescent heart sprinkles. Don't the packets look cute with the iridescent shreds and red heart sprinkles? Perhaps they are a bit childish, but are sweet thoughts nonetheless.

Sweet thoughts...


I couldn't help myself. It was better than wallowing in self-pity. Used the energy into making things that are sure to bring smiles tomorrow. Made four more packets for a total of eight that I will give to the other four gals I talk to at work. They get to play musical cubes, too. Oh, joy!
.

Sweet Thoughts

Friendly Friday

Rather enjoyed today. It was busy and my boss was kind of crazy, but I still had fun. Thanks to my extra layers of clothing, I was able to weather my area a little bit more with the cold.

Blessedly caught up with Tawny at lunch. With both our mad Christmas schedules, we've only been able to touch base. All is well again in AGOL/Tawny Land. I was feeling a disconnect. I wasn't worried or anything, just missing her.

Ohmigosh -- Tawny showed me the bling sticker she bought for Bridget's boot. Bridget hates this boot with a passion and can't wait to take it off in a couple of weeks when the doctor clears her recovery. She loved finding her gift when she came back from lunch and quickly applied it for me to take this crazy photo. We're all easily amused.

Bridget's Bling


Proudly told Rob about the Lance Armstrong book I bought. He then mentioned that I could read it while I was huffing and puffing on the treadmill or elliptical trainer tonight. What did he say to this AGOL? Is he allowed to make such a suggestion? Reading a book while exercising? The AGOL has (ahem!) many talents, but this could prove challenging. Never to back down from a challenge, I tried it for about 10 minutes. I was walking very briskly on the treadmill and the multi-tasking gave me a headache. I put the book down and watched the mindless show on the flat-panel on the wall instead while I was huffing and puffing around 9:30pm. How undignified. Somehow I know the journey from huff to buff is going to get more undignified.
.

Friendly Friday

Almost Back to the Grind

Brrr !! Yowza, it was cold today! About 40 degrees when Cabal and I walked? Overall, I felt burgeoning excitement at the prospect of starting the year anew as we walked around...even if it was cold welcome. We have freeze warnings for later in the evening/overnight. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the wind...

Bridget had her own car problems today and didn't make it to work. We're taking turns apparently. You could hear the frustration in her voice. We still had a good laugh about it because there was nothing to be done but get it fixed.

Rob greeted me on Messenger after a two-week vacation with his family. I expressed my frustration at having been ill while he was gone and not being able to properly do anything in the gym during the holidays. He made me feel better by giving me permission (of sorts) that life happens and just to get back on track. Rob has a good sense of humor which helps me deal with frustration. He has recommended that I devour Lance Armstrong's book, It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. Another trip to the bookstore this week? He doesn't really understand how much I love the bookstore. We just won't tell him. The good news is we (his hope/my will) are getting back on track.

Tawny came to visit me to have me choose between two beaded cuff bracelets her mother-in-law bought for us. She was letting us pick our own color. Confession: When Tawny first brought these over, I thought SHE had made them. In my mind, I was screaming: You fucking bitch. You made these without letting me know?! What a whore you are for showing me up with your talent. Harsh? Not one tad. You just don't understand our competitiveness. Don't feel sorry for Tawny -- she would say the exact same thing and has when I've brought her samples of my own creation.

I picked the Hookerella Red one. My precious.


Intermittent network connectivity made the day interesting. I couldn't wait to leave at 4:30pm to finish re-signing the lease for my apartment. My initials and signatures became shameful for me to look at on paper with each page. Sigh.

Is it me or has your own handwriting gone downhill when you type ALL day? My God. In 4th Grade, I was awarded the best penmanship for the whole grade and in 6th Grade (I skipped 5th!), I was awarded again best penmanship for the whole grade. Only one blemish with that one: I had to share the award with freckly-faced British boy named Miles Johnson. Good thing I liked the funny way he talked. Dammit -- I just remembered that he also beat me at our Spelling Bee. Aargh.

Had to turn the heat on for the first time thanks to temps in the low 30s tonight. Didn't make it to the gym; HOWEVER, I did do a fun exercise tape to keep my commitment to get back on track. Rob is going to howl when he finds out what KIND of DVD it is. No, no brass poles were involved. I blab enough here as it is so you'll just have to guess.
.

Almost Back to the Grind

Wrapper's Delight

Work was eerily quiet. My boss was generous enough to let us out early at 12pm. Our offices were closing at 3pm. Good thing because I had to hit two stores yet and one was closing at 2pm. Last minute gift hustle. I can't remember if I had the same experience last year.

As soon as I started my car in the garage, the radio played Sara Smile by Hall and Oates. It put an instant smile to my face and was a gentle reminder that everything would be okay. No need for panicking. There was truly no need. I was finished with both stores and a third for more wrapping supplies by 3pm. In one store, someone gave me their extra store coupon. What a nice thing!

I had to really wrap (not rap!) though I began to think about the Sugarhill Gang's hit Rapper's Delight. My word association is just crazy. Soon I was both wrapping and rapping.

Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight

Doesn't this just get you going? I can't sing it by myself, but I can sing along with it. For some reason the lyrics just come to me then. Play it again!

There was a mix-up with Tawny on my afternoon visit with Cabal so we could exchange gifts. I ended up having dinner with her whole family like I did on Thanksgiving. It was fun and Cabal certainly enjoyed the attention from everyone. He is just a ho ho ho! Tawny and Jeff liked the old-fashioned pop-corn maker and accessories I got them. They appreciate nostalgia items and have lots of people over to watch movies all the time. It reminded Tawny of the one her mom had when she was a little Tawny.

Cabal received a clear plastic boot filled with one of his favorite treats. I received a generous gift certificate to my favorite bookstore for New Year's Day and a new bundt pan for my rum cake shaped like a Victorian village which will look kewl with a good helping of confectioner's sugar sprinkled all over it. Tawny's mother-in-law gave me a surprise gift of a clear glass vessel (for a votive) with metal filigree on the edges and dainty chains to hang it from the ceiling. It was very sweet and once again unexpected. Am I the luckiest AGOL or what?

Here was a handsome Cabal dressed in his Jingle Tie at Tawny's.


Went home after 9pm to decompress and continue my wrapping. Tomorrow's three-home hustle should be fun...Eek!
.

Wrapper's Delight

A Hustling Ho Ho Ho

(Yes, I am still coughing, but not as bad as previous nights. Thank God.)

My alarm got me up at 5am and it was a slow start beginning with taking Cabal out. Wrapped the girls' presents and was ready when Myrna picked me up a little after 7am. On the way, she presented me with her mother's Christmas gift to me which she had sent from Ohio - a metal crystal encrusted dragonfly pin! As soon as I finished ooh'ing and aah'ing over it, Myrna made me open her mother-in-law's gift to me which was a jade and jade colored-crystal bead necklace with matching earrings she picked up from the gem show. These women were so kind to think of me. Both gifts were very pretty and very unexpected.

Kristey drove up as we arrived ourselves. We were seated immediately and ordered breakfast. Kristey regaled us with her Steamboat Springs ski trip. One of their companions displaying horrible horrible manners and behavior mortifying the rest of the skiers. Do people actually behave that bad? Yes. She finished the story with a funny ending so all was not lost on the long weekend.

We exchanged gifts with me receiving way more than I bargained for. Among the items I received was another dragonfly pin from Myrna which had a Mama Dragonfly and a Baby Dragonfly. Kristey got me a sage blue heart pin from a local Steamboat Springs ceramic artist. I received more stuff but I feel that is really bordering now on bragging if I tell you the rest. I am so blessed.

Pretty dragonflies to keep me company.


Handmade heart pin with friendship poem.


Myrna dropped me off at my aunt's house and stayed for a visit and reacquaint herself with my family. Angie drove us to a few stores around town so we could finish...We didn't. Tomorrow is the absolute last day to shop. It is not quite making me bite my fingernails. I won't -- they are expensive. Ha! We ate a late lunch/early dinner before she Angie came for a short visit. We were grooming my Pretty Boy Dog and taking videos of him just being too cute so she could show her brother later.

Instead of diving into the gift wrapping like I should have, I decided to decompress and veg a bit. It was Sunday after all! Being on the go all weekend without any time to just be would not be good. I had been feeling queasy from lack of sleep mid afternoon. I updated my blog and recounted the things I bought so I wouldn't miss anyone in case I needed to get more gifts after work tomorrow. It will be just a few hours at work! Okay, that is ONE redeeming quality about Christmas: time off.
.

A Hustling Ho Ho Ho

Naughty Double Entendres

Oh my gosh. The coughing has got to stop. Sleep was once again interrupted not only by coughing fits, but two weird text messages I didn't quite hear through the medicinal haze of the cold/flu tablet I took. The reminder beep bothered Cabal who kept waking me up. I was getting frustrated with him, but didn't realize the beeping was occurring until a bit later. Trish from San Francisco (3 hours behind me) was the text messaging culprit.

Was late getting started which meant I was late getting to pick up my cousin Angie at my aunt's house. I had spent some time on the Internet trying to clear my head and wake up. Received a nice note back from Pete. (He is still MEBFKAY, but I am now referring to him by his given name.) It is nice to finally get on an even ground with him after sporadic e-mails back and forth. He's still a good man in my eyes and I still value him. The world is too small and life is too short to waste good connections with good people just because one decides to take a sudden left turn when you thought you were both turning right. You get the idea. It wasn't easy getting to this point, but that's what being a real grown-up is all about...

I arrived at my aunt's where a late breakfast was being served. Delay. Once we finished, my aunt announced that we could stay and sit with Nan while she got dressed and made a trip to the oriental store. Delay. My uncle saved the afternoon when he got home from playing golf. I still had a dozen people to buy for!!

Well, I was able to buy a couple of presents, but not all. The mall was packed. I was blessed with parking close to an entrance. A large Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks made it into my system. Ooh, coffee. One more major stop before dropping Angie off so I could get ready for Jeff and Tawny's Christmas party. It took me an hour to get home thanks to insane holiday traffic.

I wrapped four presents to bring to the party. Black was the color I dressed in from head to toe and accented with sparkling crystal jewelry. I made a decision to take my time and arrive later. My cold/flu helped make that decision. Apparently, I waited too long. The party started at 7pm and Tawny texted me at 7:40pm to find out if I was coming over (a five minute walk across the complex).

Jeff and Tawny had a nice spread of Christmas decorations, libations and food to counteract the generous libations. Everything was conducive to having a fun holiday party. Saw my best-loved friends and was surrounded in the security of their love. It was a great feeling.

Laughing. I laughed from the time I arrived to the time I left at midnight. Sitting next to me was taking your health into your own hands if you valued breathing normally. John and his life partner Ryan were sitting on one end of the leather sofa. I decided to sit next to them. John laughed at everything I said. Truth be told, I was being a whole lot devilish and full of naughty double entendres. (I was fortunate not to have additional coughing fits. That malady awaits until I am sleeping for some reason.) My naughty notions were repaid when Dan sat next to us and began to lay on me about things in our past. I might have blushed a little and took the teasing like a good AGOL. Several joined in on the fun until I got up to go to the other side of the room. I forgot there were plenty of AGOL stories to tell. Ha!

I left at midnight to walk the dog and to try and get some sleep before the alarm sounded off at 5am. Jeezus.
.

Naughty Double Entendres

9 Down, 14 More to Go!

Those cold/flu gels from last night did a number on me. I could barely get up. Taking them earlier in the evening would have been smarter. Quickly had coffee and later caffeine pills to perk up. Self-medicating with over-the-counter drugs is always good.

Work was hectic. My boss is off tomorrow, but here Friday and then off for two weeks. Bridget is off Friday and Monday and I am off the rest of next week. We won't all see each other until after the beginning of the year...

Made sure I had some caffeine reinforcements before I left work so I could do some Christmas shopping. Went to one store and came out with several items. Over the past two and half weeks (including tonight), I have purchased for nine individuals. I have 14 more people to buy for. It's tough on a single AGOL's wallet, that's for sure. Would you believe me that my list was shorter this year? The pains of having a large family and a large circle of friends. I give them stuff throughout the year so it doesn't need to be as much pressure as it could be. All I know is that I still have my work cut out for me.

Took the cold/flu gel caps much earlier. I can feel the effects now as I type. Well, my lovelies, I'd better take my dog out now and head for bed. I am hoping the rest will get me on the way to recovery much quicker.
.

9 Down, 14 More to Go!

Playing Santa

Shopping cart in hand, I walked towards Dan in the store where he was waiting for me a little after 9am. After our good mornings, I told him two things: 1) How shamed I feel that my words from nine years ago has brought us here and 2) How proud I was of him and have never been more proud of him until that moment. Dan never forgets anything and I know he values me and what I think. After telling him how I felt, I didn't wait to see the look on his face for fear of my eyes filling with tears. I think he was feeling it, too, and knows me enough to switch gears and start joking with me. Great friends pay attention.

Dan kept teasing me that all we had were girls to buy for and accused me doing it on purpose so we didn't have to buy boy stuff. After looking at the shopping list, five girls (16 yrs, two 11 yrs, 10 yrs and 1 yr) were indeed girly with the exception of one who wanted more masculine toys. I actually would love to buy boy stuff, but other people in our company beat us to the angel tree last week.

I outlined a plan of buying one or two articles of clothing and getting two or more of the other stuff. For example, one girl received an outfit and her CD player, a CD and some nice brand batteries for her new CD player. I let Dan choose the higher ticket items or gave him choices. Wouldn't let him skimp on the batteries though so he picked ones with an oversleeves of pink for supporting breast cancer. I made sure we bought batteries for all the toys that needed them. We even bought a girl a set of gold earrings and a bracelet. It wasn't about having set limit on each child, but a nice set of gifts.

Then there was gift wrapping. We have to bring the gifts unwrapped, but I wanted to make sure that they got gift wrapping, boxes, ribbon and a roll of tape for each child. The baby toy set we got requires an extra roll so she got two for her toy, clothes, shoes, etc. Dan did an AGOL No-No by picking out drab rolls of gift wrapping. Christmas is supposed to be magical so we need wrapping paper that has foil or Mylar. Shiny for magic. You should have seen the look on this man's face when I explained my reasoning. I am used to seeing the look for years because I try to stun him at every turn. He picked a really pretty one out and a matching metallic ribbon while I put the rest I had already gathered in the cart. Poor thing.

We're not done shopping yet even after going to another store. Dan assured me we had time and he would complete the rest this next week when I began to get concerned about not having everything. We will give the ones we have already completed on Monday and meet again to combine his additions to mine since I am sorting and putting everything together. It will be several bills well spent.

It was lunchtime and I asked him to meet me at this Italian place up the road. We scarfed our breakfast/lunch combo of pizza and stromboli while we discussed our shopping expedition and my interview. He was happy for me and gave me encouragement. It was about 12:30pm when we parted ways. He, to finish remodeling his bathroom with upgrades and me, to resting from an exhaustive week. For a few hours, I was able to suspend my feelings on Christmas. It was heaven.
.

Playing Santa

Omens, Wisdom, Cellophane & Free Rice

Arrived to work encountering an omen (though not alarming) but caught on the fourth floor parking garage right before catching the elevator down. I received a similar one while walking with Bridget under the covered walkway later. Might be a little too creepy to describe since it involved two small dead creatures in a beautiful repose. Even in death things can still be beautiful is the paraphrased version from Tawny when I discussed these findings with her...

There is a lady at work who reminds me of a gypsy with her seductively dark eyes, wild curly hair and her a modern gypsy version of dress. I love talking with her and we've found a mutual admiration society in one another. She says we are kindred spirits with gypsy hearts. I believe her. Today, I asked her for wisdom. Whatever comes to you...the first thought...you are my instrument of wisdom today. She said her first instinct was politically incorrect, but then said some words that held very special meaning for me. Can't share, but I know I will probably update this post a month or two from now with it when it is not so fresh on my nerves. I thanked her and told her she was a good cookie. She told me that I always look great everyday.

On my way back to my desk with breakfast in my hands to write down the wisdom, I met Lisa in the hallway who brought me a small sweet present. She saw it and thought of me. She's a good cookie, too, but she made me forget my wisdom. I had to e-mail my gypsy friend for it again.

At lunch, I told the cafe's manager about my lunch mishap yesterday and she wanted to give me free lunch today and I declined. She allowed me to pay today, but gave me a card with a free one for the future. Wasn't that nice? I was floored at her generosity.

Oh geesh...Tawny had a good laugh watching me trying to get rid of a piece of cellophane. It wouldn't have been so bad, but her husband was there and this guy named John to witness. The static was too strong between me and the cello from a small package of crackers so I ended up wrestling it with my hands. What seemed interminable, finally ended with me getting it off my hands and whispering expletives. Never a dull moment.

Left early to pick up a FedEx package at my complex's office and opened the three new votive candle holders I ordered on Saturday. They are elegant and go with my decor. Now where to put them....??

Called Myrna and she picked me up for quick eats and a trip to Old Time Pottery in Brandon to sashay (ha!) down the aisles with a cart, scouring for deals and stuff I may or may not need for the home. Ended up with stuff to make a "-scape" of some sort in my bathroom. I had an idea for it and now that I have it up, I may rearrange it again. There is a very sweet white ceramic angel my cousin Angie gave me about 12 years ago and wanted to give it a lift and a nice surround. Sometimes I swear I am a gay man trapped in a woman's body. Even gay men who know me say Wow.

My cousin Angie sent me this very smart link to Free Rice. I stopped after I got a score of 700. Don't know why I am amazed I have a vocabulary. Maybe it is because I don't get to exercise it as much as I'd like to without providing pocket dictionaries. It was good brain fun. You try it at Free Rice. How can I not love something with rice in it and it helps others?
My fellow gypsies wisdom for me today: If you seek ME, you will find ME, if you seek ME with all your heart.

Omens, Wisdom, Cellophane & Free Rice

It's Bunday!

I was falling asleep in my morning conference call that was also a webcast. Standing helped me stay up until I was silently begging for our vendor to end the call that had gone about 20 minutes too long. My boss, on the other hand, was starting to do the pee-pee dance in his chair and ran down the hall when our call was over. Hee.

Decided to postpone my meeting with my temp till the afternoon. I didn't want to feel extra tired before lunch so I sent the invite for later. Meanwhile, I ended up calling my bank trying to find out what happened yesterday. Funds are readily available again and all is good with the bank who apologized for the error.

Meeting with the temp was quicker than I thought, but will meet with her again tomorrow morning. Spent the afternoon catching up on stuff. Truth be told, I was bored. Sigh.

You have to see this Cute Bunny that gives us the blog post title of Bun-day. Angie sent this to me in the afternoon and the pictures almost made my teeth shatter. We're all about cute at AGOL-land.

I needed to do some food shopping but didn't feel like going to a normal grocery store so I found myself with a mini-cart at the Oriental Market. Picked up some Yaki-Soba noodles that I will stir fry later with veggies and the seasoning that came with the noodles. Splurged on a very lean cut of flank steak that I sliced later for a stir-fry with broccoli and sweet spicy sauce. Bought several other things including a couple of new Filipino items to take to my aunt's tomorrow.

The only thing I had trouble with was buying a small bag of jasmine rice. They had broken jasmine rice, but not regular long grain jasmine rice in a small bag. The only alternative was to buy a body bag size of rice. That is more than enough rice for one Asian family for a few months. I declined. The lady checking my groceries felt bad because she looked on the shelves, too. When my goodies were bagged, all of a sudden she said, Here - a gift for you. She handed me a parting gift at the end which was a new package of blueberry cookies. I thanked her and drove home.

After taking care of Cabal, my house soon smelled nicely of Asian food and I still had rice previously leftover to have with my stir-fry. Watched some really good programming like Heroes and I was set for the evening.

It's Bunday!

Full Moon Madness

Why is traffic jam a part of my mornings lately? Was there a free giveaway on licenses obtained from Cracker Jack boxes? Sheesh. Spent the first 45 minutes of my day at work trying to find inner peace and taking the nerd test in the previous post.

Fiscal Year End is a monster. There is so much pressure to get everything in you can, but we're soldiering through it well. My part of it is fuzzy. I feel disconnected from the process, but I know I am part of it. I just have to get through this week, I think. Still not feeling all together well. From a Shallowville point of view, I had great hair day.

Noticed a gift placed on my desk after I got back from my department meeting. It was a very nice notebook and pen set with our company logo on it. Not sure who left it there for me as is sometimes the case. Bridget didn't get one so I decided not to make a big deal out of it. Secretly, I was thinking that my magical desk is the coolest!

Tawny wasn't in again today which was worrying, but I was able to IM with her some during the day. Maybe she will be back at work tomorrow...BTW, Tawny, thanks for taking part in the Nerd Test and in my late afternoon freakishness. I don't care what they say about you. Feel better.

Advised my new boss I was leaving early about five minutes before I left. He didn't mind. I had to hurry home to beat traffic, take care of my Pretty Boy Dog and meet Kim/Kristey/Myrna at the Chinese restaurant near me. It was a great time with the girlies. Satisfied my craving for Mu Shu Pork and hot jasmine tea.

Found out that Kristey can't make it to The Saturday Four, but Kim and I are still on so that is good for the AGOL. Myrna doesn't want to sweat that early let alone get up that early. The ladies praised my new hair color. Good thing because I love it. I picked the color based on how the sample looked in the sunlight. Hot cha-cha.

It wasn't that much of a wacky Full Moon Day, thank goddess. Besides morning traffic and the regular work madness, I suffered some e-mail madness all day. Most of it annoyed me since they came from another department, one floored me and the rest made me smile. I like receiving smiley e-mails. It cracks the controlled veneer hardening from the wackiness at work.

Full Moon Madness

Pretty Packages

Hearing thunder made the decision for me to skip The Saturday Four. Perhaps tomorrow or Monday, but the forecasters have predicted rain the next few days...

I've just wrapped my stepmother's birthday gifts: two blouses and one box for the special musical card and Florida-themed treat. Gathered her favorite colors of purple and gold. The tissue inside each box is different and in a tropical theme to set off the gift inside. Yes, I know I have way too much time on my hands. If I were not mailing these, the bows would be more elaborate. I like the bows to be big, complex and overflowing with the ribbon undulating around the edges of the gift.



The best part of giving the gift is more gratuitous for me and that is the wrapping. Even if I'm not necessarily fond of you, the wrapping will never let you know. The gift inside is for the recipient and the wrapping is...correct!...for me.

I didn't grow up with a lot and couldn't necessarily give a more expensive gift, but what I could do was make the wrapping beautiful. I learned (while living in the Philippines) from watching the painstaking task my mom or other live-in relative would take to make the gift presentable, more often than not the popular technique of multiple folds at the seam as seen at the top left hand box in the picture above.

Now I have an arsenal of dozens of gift wrap paper in various themes and spools and spools of mostly fabric ribbon. I try to buy them when they are on sale because I am not stingy with them when I wrap the gift. More yardage of ribbon on a gift, the better. It's the sensuality of it, too. Feeling the textures of the paper and ribbon...and feasting my eyes on the various colors heightens the experience.

This is not to say I have not thought about the gift inside. I always imagine what the recipient might think when he/she opens it. It is rare that I do the gift half-hearted. Even if I pick up something small and it would be okay to give as is, it will still have a small coordinating fabric ribbon(s) tied around it. It's just the AGOL way.

Pretty Packages

Absent Crickets

The sounds of crickets were absent at work today. One would expect the Friday before a three-day holiday weekend would be quiet enough to make us restless. Today was just not that day.

Morning was a series of e-mails and phone calls among vendors and internal personnel. Gladly welcomed Lisa picking me up for lunch out; unfortunately, we had to go back to work. The afternoon proved more difficult with one vendor's lack of communication. Gosh, I can't even write about it, I was so livid.

Left around 5pm, one hour earlier than my usual. Had an early dinner with Myrna since her husband was working tonight. She also helped me shop for my stepmother's birthday gift. I bought her two stylish and comfortable shirts that she could easily wear with denim or khaki pants. One was in her favorite purple color. I'll give them the AGOL gift wrap treatment and send them out in one parcel tomorrow. It needs to arrive in Chicago no later than Wednesday so I may bite the bullet and send it Express Mail with the holiday weekend. It's called living on the edge - ha!

Hoping to do The Saturday Four tomorrow barring any rain. I believe I am going to walk it by myself; my girlies have out of town plans. Better search for my earphones so I can listen to some music tomorrow. Funnily enough, my absent crickets are outside at the moment and have been at it after the rain tonight. How do I tell them to pipe down so I can sleep later? Anyone speak Cricket?

Absent Crickets

Sunshine on My Desk

Had a great start to my day. Driving in was actually meditative. No hint of road rage anywhere. Got to work and saw a clear cello package with a metal bookmark with sun design on my keyboard. Streaming from one end is a yellow ribbon with translucent yellow flower beads and brass sun charms. The quote on the bookmark says:

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.

-- James Barrie

My desk is the magical desk. I often find a little gift near my monitors from different people. Today, my gift was from Tawny. I love it. She's an incredibly thoughtful friend.

Sunshine on My Desk

Retail Therapy and a Swim

Visited my friend Terry's shop this afternoon for a chat and picked up an item that had been waiting for me. Continued my retail therapy by buying a new table runner for my dresser which matches the Mediterranean jewel tone patch fabric on my bed and a new beige gold tablecloth for a side table in my dining area. Also picked up some needed sundry items that were not as exciting. Arrived back home to put away my purchases and take care of Cabal before packing my swim stuff.

Here's a pic of the runner on top of my dresser before I change out the old bamboo one underneath it and rearrange my stuff on top of it. Love those rich jewel tones! Cool, huh, Tawny?


Been a while since I spent quality time with Tawny and Jeff. They are spending part-time at British Jeff's house until it sells. I was invited for a casual dinner and a swim which I enjoyed immensely. Jeff was trying to convince us girls that the water was warm and it wasn't even after submerging ourselves up to our necks. Tawny and I swam around to keep warm while we talked about the world.

Just before hitting prune stage, we got out and were sobered by the arctic blast of air conditioning inside the house. Warmed up in the shower before meeting them in the living room for a movie The Italian Job which I hadn't seen yet. It was much better than I thought.

Safely made it home near 1am. Driving home reminded me why I rarely drive that late. A few of the other drivers were aggressive and my eyes were tired. It was worth it for the swim and happy company alone. Gotta love that water!

Retail Therapy and a Swim

Giant Burrito

Had a bit of a challenge getting my boss' going away cake from my trunk on the fourth level garage to being hidden in one of Bridget's upper storage bins at her desk. First of all, I called Bridget's, the temp's and Tawnyia's cell phones to get help. All of their cell phones went to voicemail. Great, I will have to make two trips since I couldn't maneuver everything with my laptop wheelie bag.

By the time the elevator reached the first floor, Bridget rang back. She ran down and met me at by the garage and we ascended back up the fourth floor garage to retrieve the cake...We merrily made it back up inside our own building on the third floor. Just outside these service elevators is a small vestibule. You need card access to get further inside our floor and just before we were making it inside our area, I noticed my boss about 10 feet away to the left where we had to go. I quickly stopped and went back inside the vestibule letting Bridget know we could go no further. We were trapped!

I looked at Bridget and told her I would come back for her so I left her holding the cake. I made it past my boss to drop my stuff off my desk and made it back to the vestibule. Bridget and I were whispering what to do because our boss was still talking to this idiot in the hall.

I had no choice but to take Bridget on an elevator ride to our mailroom on the fourth floor while I made a call to Tawnyia to be our scope. She called a few minutes later to let us know he was now in an office if we wanted to make a break for it. Racing in our high heels, we rode the elevator and zoomed back down to our floor where we hid the cake undetected. Whew!

Our meetings with our interim boss was funny and made us more comfortable with the transition. This was important for Bridget and me. Our only concern was if we would like our new boss, whomever that gets to be. They were interviewing some folks that day.

Tried to get the going away card signed by different people but every time I turned around, it seemed my boss was nearby. My covert plan was not working very well, but I received enough signatures.

Four of us went to The Cheesecake Factory where we enjoyed time away from work as a group. We laughed so hard, we were in tears. We were definitely going to miss my boss' sense of outrageous sense of humor. He ordered this giant chicken burrito pictured below. After my boss made a healthy dent in it, the genius waiter had the nerve to announce that it weighed a pound and a half. Hello! I think we could have figured that out AND you probably shouldn't remind your guests they just pigged out. Duh.



We were stuffed and hurting from a big lunch complete with decadent cheesecake desserts Thinking about the surprise cake in a few hours made both Bridget and I queasy...The cake was later presented nicely with other people in tow. My boss was surprised and pleased. All efforts worth it.

It was a quiet ride on my way home tonight compared to all the hubbub earlier in the day. The tears that never came this morning threatened to overflow on the drive home triggered by a song on the radio. I switched to a Spanish station where the music was upbeat. As I listened, I realized that the song was about heartbreak. Geez! I just can't get away from it even in a Spanish station. Damn me for understanding the words!

Cabal and I chilled in the evening. He loved getting extra attention. At least HE was happy. That's all that matters isn't it?

Giant Burrito