So my boss is supposed to be on vacation this week but managed to find reasons to come into the office today and has been driving me nuts since he arrived at 10:30. Just now, out of the blue, he calls and says "I just want to thank you for keeping the plane running on time. No one is perfect, least of all me and I want you to know I really appreciate you and the work you do". Well wasn't that just the nicest thing to hear.
On another note, I have the theme song to Gilligan's Island stuck in my head because Mark called me Gilligan earlier. And now, I pass the pain on to you.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Birthday
Second weekend update. Yay! This will be two down, one to go which means I just might be able to be caught up by this weekend. Okay, here goes.
August 12 - 14th:
So there are a couple reasons I don't really look forward to my birthday. In order from least important to most:
1. I grew up poor. We weren't destitute, but we were barely comfortable. Anyways, I'm not used to presents and I get really weird when I get them. Don't get me wrong, I love getting presents and I appreciate the thought and effort that goes into them, I just don't expect them and am never disappointed if I don't receive any. For the couple weeks leading up to my birthday Paul kept asking what I wanted. So I eventually just told him that what would make me happy is if he were to get something that showed he has taken the time to get to know me over the last six months (dear God, has it been that long?).
2. I hate being sung to, especially if it is in a restaurant. I blush, get all flustered. It's uncomfortable.
3. For the 6 years spanning from 19 to 25 something bad happened to either a family member or close friend the week of my birthday. We're not talking sprained ankles here. There was a car accident, major surgeries, a death culminating with my father's stroke on my 25th birthday. It got to the point where I dreaded my birthday and almost the whole month of August.
So it's just been the last year or so (since I moved to DC actually) that I've even gotten close to looking forward to my birthday. This year didn't let me down.
Friday, sometime around 3 pm I got a box delivered to my office. Inside were two dozen roses. At the risk of sounding horribly ungrateful, I've never been a huge fan. I'm much more of a Gerbera daisy or wildflower girl. And man do I love tulips. I am now, however, a changed woman. These roses were beautiful. There were four different colors; deep blood red, rich peach, rust, and yellow with orange/red tips. Absolutely stunning flowers. He did real good that Paul. I might keep him around awhile longer. Two weeks later and they are just now ready to get tossed (sad day). I feel like I did something that evening but can't remember. Sorry to whomever I shared that evening with. Nothing personal.
Saturday was great fun. Heather has had a documentary on Scrabble tournaments that she has been wanting to throw a Scrabble party and watch. The only day she could come up with was the 13th. Great, I said, that way I don't have to deal with doing anything for my birthday. She took that not as me saying, yay I get to see my friends and not have it be about my birthday but as yay I get to host a birthday party. So Saturday night a group of us hung out at Heather's, grilled pizzas, watched the movie Word Wars and played a game of Scrabble. Yes, I know I'm a geek.
Sunday was my birthday and I wasn't really planning on doing much of anything that day other than hanging out with Katie and watching Six Feet Under. Paul had to work all weekend and has been putting in ungodly hours at work during the week so I was content with doing things with my friends and seeing Paul on a day other than my birthday. Well, Paul ended up not working Sunday and taking me out to dinner to a restaurant I have been wanting to go to for awhile now. It was a very nice surprise even with Paul's "Don't ever say I don't listen to you" statement as we walked into the place. Then we went to a movie and headed our separate ways home.
As bummed as I was that Paul didn't come to the thing Saturday, I understood that it wasn't something he would have any interest in doing and he was overworked and exhausted. And it was a fantastic surprise to spend time with him Sunday. All in all, a really great weekend.
August 12 - 14th:
So there are a couple reasons I don't really look forward to my birthday. In order from least important to most:
1. I grew up poor. We weren't destitute, but we were barely comfortable. Anyways, I'm not used to presents and I get really weird when I get them. Don't get me wrong, I love getting presents and I appreciate the thought and effort that goes into them, I just don't expect them and am never disappointed if I don't receive any. For the couple weeks leading up to my birthday Paul kept asking what I wanted. So I eventually just told him that what would make me happy is if he were to get something that showed he has taken the time to get to know me over the last six months (dear God, has it been that long?).
2. I hate being sung to, especially if it is in a restaurant. I blush, get all flustered. It's uncomfortable.
3. For the 6 years spanning from 19 to 25 something bad happened to either a family member or close friend the week of my birthday. We're not talking sprained ankles here. There was a car accident, major surgeries, a death culminating with my father's stroke on my 25th birthday. It got to the point where I dreaded my birthday and almost the whole month of August.
So it's just been the last year or so (since I moved to DC actually) that I've even gotten close to looking forward to my birthday. This year didn't let me down.
Friday, sometime around 3 pm I got a box delivered to my office. Inside were two dozen roses. At the risk of sounding horribly ungrateful, I've never been a huge fan. I'm much more of a Gerbera daisy or wildflower girl. And man do I love tulips. I am now, however, a changed woman. These roses were beautiful. There were four different colors; deep blood red, rich peach, rust, and yellow with orange/red tips. Absolutely stunning flowers. He did real good that Paul. I might keep him around awhile longer. Two weeks later and they are just now ready to get tossed (sad day). I feel like I did something that evening but can't remember. Sorry to whomever I shared that evening with. Nothing personal.
Saturday was great fun. Heather has had a documentary on Scrabble tournaments that she has been wanting to throw a Scrabble party and watch. The only day she could come up with was the 13th. Great, I said, that way I don't have to deal with doing anything for my birthday. She took that not as me saying, yay I get to see my friends and not have it be about my birthday but as yay I get to host a birthday party. So Saturday night a group of us hung out at Heather's, grilled pizzas, watched the movie Word Wars and played a game of Scrabble. Yes, I know I'm a geek.
Sunday was my birthday and I wasn't really planning on doing much of anything that day other than hanging out with Katie and watching Six Feet Under. Paul had to work all weekend and has been putting in ungodly hours at work during the week so I was content with doing things with my friends and seeing Paul on a day other than my birthday. Well, Paul ended up not working Sunday and taking me out to dinner to a restaurant I have been wanting to go to for awhile now. It was a very nice surprise even with Paul's "Don't ever say I don't listen to you" statement as we walked into the place. Then we went to a movie and headed our separate ways home.
As bummed as I was that Paul didn't come to the thing Saturday, I understood that it wasn't something he would have any interest in doing and he was overworked and exhausted. And it was a fantastic surprise to spend time with him Sunday. All in all, a really great weekend.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Three Hour Tour
Finding out I'm going down to Paul's dad's for Labor Day reminded me that I have yet to tell about our previous trip down there. And my birthday weekend. And this past weekend. I'm such a slacker. Okay let's tackle the first one.
The weekend of August 5-7:
Paul and I both took that Friday off to take a trip down to visit his father in NC. Paul came over Thursday night which was nice. We haven't been having a lot of time together so spending an evening in together was great. We headed to Union Station Friday morning and had breakfast before hopping on the train. This is the point in the story where it goes bad. I realized I didn't have my iPod. For a 6 hour train ride. I picked up a cheesy, mindless magazine (Cosmo) and a puzzle book and hoped for the best in train mates. Sigh.
The train was really packed, but luckily we were able to find seats together and Paul was "kind" enough to let me have the window seat (I played the iPodless girl card). Things weren't too bad until an hour or so into the trip when the Satan's spawn a couple rows behind us decided that he needed to yell and scream at the top of his lungs for his mother, who happened to be sitting right next to him. Then, in what can only be described as an effort to calm him down, the mother let him run up and down the train aisle. All I can say is that brat is lucky I was at the window or my foot might have stretched out into the aisle. After an hour or two of that, the older brother, again in an attempt to quell the savage beast that was this four year old, moved seats away from the rest of the family to, you guessed it, RIGHT BEHIND US. It was at this point Paul turned to me and asked "Does God hate you?". I was thinking the same thing. I got fed up and walked through a couple cars looking for two empty seats. In the third car I found them and made Paul move. I was much happier the rest of the trip. Before you get all "Oh, Plan B, they're just kids" on me you need to realize this was beyond a kid being a kid - it was awful. Plus my hypoglycemia was kicking in since it was past 4 and I hadn't eaten since 9. I was pretty impressed with how much I held back. Moving on.
Paul's dad picked us up at the train station and then took us out to dinner. We had a lovely meal. I know I've said this before, but I really like his dad. The next day (Saturday) we went to check out the almost finished new house his dad is having built. It is going to be a really nice home. Very spacious and airy and right on a golf course. After that, we headed to the marina where his sailboat is docked and set sail for a day on the water. I was so looking forward to that! I haven't been out on a boat for a very long time and I really, really miss it. We were just starting to motor out of the harbor when we got called back by the harbor master. Turns out a valve wasn't opened when we started out and it was causing the engine to overheat. We got the engine to cool down and headed out once again. It was so much fun. We got caught in a bit of a storm which actually was great - it cooled us down a bit, even if we did get soaked. I had forgotten how much I love sailing. It's so calming and relaxing. Even when the boat feels as though it is going to tip over (which I know it won't, but Paul seemed concerned a couple of times - damn sharks). We started to head back to shore (which was in sight the entire time) when the motor died. Wouldn't really have been a problem but for the fact there was no wind. So we slowly drifted back to shore over the next two hours. Hey - at least we got to lay in the sun and dry off from the storm, right?
We were all pretty wiped from our day at sea so we grilled and watched movies and went to bed pretty early. The next day Paul's dad was kind enough to drive us back to DC. His reasoning was this - 2 hours to the train station (4 hours round trip for him) + 6 hours on the train = 8 hours travel for us. It would only be about 9 round trip for him to drive us back so he took one for the team and brought us back. We were home hours before we were scheduled to be which was great.
So that was the weekend at Paul's dad's in brief. It was a nice, relaxing weekend which is exactly what we needed. I love getting out of the city!
The weekend of August 5-7:
Paul and I both took that Friday off to take a trip down to visit his father in NC. Paul came over Thursday night which was nice. We haven't been having a lot of time together so spending an evening in together was great. We headed to Union Station Friday morning and had breakfast before hopping on the train. This is the point in the story where it goes bad. I realized I didn't have my iPod. For a 6 hour train ride. I picked up a cheesy, mindless magazine (Cosmo) and a puzzle book and hoped for the best in train mates. Sigh.
The train was really packed, but luckily we were able to find seats together and Paul was "kind" enough to let me have the window seat (I played the iPodless girl card). Things weren't too bad until an hour or so into the trip when the Satan's spawn a couple rows behind us decided that he needed to yell and scream at the top of his lungs for his mother, who happened to be sitting right next to him. Then, in what can only be described as an effort to calm him down, the mother let him run up and down the train aisle. All I can say is that brat is lucky I was at the window or my foot might have stretched out into the aisle. After an hour or two of that, the older brother, again in an attempt to quell the savage beast that was this four year old, moved seats away from the rest of the family to, you guessed it, RIGHT BEHIND US. It was at this point Paul turned to me and asked "Does God hate you?". I was thinking the same thing. I got fed up and walked through a couple cars looking for two empty seats. In the third car I found them and made Paul move. I was much happier the rest of the trip. Before you get all "Oh, Plan B, they're just kids" on me you need to realize this was beyond a kid being a kid - it was awful. Plus my hypoglycemia was kicking in since it was past 4 and I hadn't eaten since 9. I was pretty impressed with how much I held back. Moving on.
Paul's dad picked us up at the train station and then took us out to dinner. We had a lovely meal. I know I've said this before, but I really like his dad. The next day (Saturday) we went to check out the almost finished new house his dad is having built. It is going to be a really nice home. Very spacious and airy and right on a golf course. After that, we headed to the marina where his sailboat is docked and set sail for a day on the water. I was so looking forward to that! I haven't been out on a boat for a very long time and I really, really miss it. We were just starting to motor out of the harbor when we got called back by the harbor master. Turns out a valve wasn't opened when we started out and it was causing the engine to overheat. We got the engine to cool down and headed out once again. It was so much fun. We got caught in a bit of a storm which actually was great - it cooled us down a bit, even if we did get soaked. I had forgotten how much I love sailing. It's so calming and relaxing. Even when the boat feels as though it is going to tip over (which I know it won't, but Paul seemed concerned a couple of times - damn sharks). We started to head back to shore (which was in sight the entire time) when the motor died. Wouldn't really have been a problem but for the fact there was no wind. So we slowly drifted back to shore over the next two hours. Hey - at least we got to lay in the sun and dry off from the storm, right?
We were all pretty wiped from our day at sea so we grilled and watched movies and went to bed pretty early. The next day Paul's dad was kind enough to drive us back to DC. His reasoning was this - 2 hours to the train station (4 hours round trip for him) + 6 hours on the train = 8 hours travel for us. It would only be about 9 round trip for him to drive us back so he took one for the team and brought us back. We were home hours before we were scheduled to be which was great.
So that was the weekend at Paul's dad's in brief. It was a nice, relaxing weekend which is exactly what we needed. I love getting out of the city!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Really? The Pussycat Dolls?
So I'm flipping through the channels the other night and noticed a promo for the Teen Choice Awards. I will generally tune into these shows for the "live" performances because, yes, I do enjoy the occasional dose of undeserved pop superstardom. The usual cast of characters were there, Gwen Stefani, Black Eyed Peas and then to my shock they mention the Pussycat Dolls. Are you kidding? They are a burlesque act - singing "dontcha wish your girlfriend was (blank) like me?". The words to fill in the blank you ask? Raw, a freak, hot, fun. Sigh. Now, I'm no prude, not too conservative but c'mon there has got to be a line. There were 8 year olds in the audience singing along. Granted, bad parenting may factor into this a bit but don't the producers and talent bookers of the show have some responsibility here?
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Maureen, Oh How We've Missed You!
Maureen Dowd has been on book leave for a couple months. It has felt like years (okay, I admit I am being a tad over dramatic here) but I have grown addicted to her twice weekly column. She gets me through the week, giving me a sense of comfort and solidarity that there are others out there who have the same observations and feelings I do (other than my like-minded friends). And so it follows that I felt an overwhelming sense of joy when I saw she was back this morning and back with a vengeance she is..... A couple choice quotes below.
In reference to the mom camping outside Bush's retreat:
"Ms. Sheehan said that W. had referred to her as "Mom" throughout the meeting, and given her the sense that he did not know who her son was. The Bush team tried to discredit "Mom" by pointing reporters to an old article in which she sounded kinder to W. If only her husband were an undercover C.I.A. operative, the Bushies could out him. But even if they send out a squad of Swift Boat Moms for Truth, there will be a countering Falluja Moms for Truth."
"Selectively humane, Mr. Bush justified his Iraq war by stressing the 9/11 losses. He emphasized the humanity of the Iraqis who desire freedom when his W.M.D. rationale vaporized. But his humanitarianism will remain inhumane as long as he fails to understand that the moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute. "
In reference to the mom camping outside Bush's retreat:
"Ms. Sheehan said that W. had referred to her as "Mom" throughout the meeting, and given her the sense that he did not know who her son was. The Bush team tried to discredit "Mom" by pointing reporters to an old article in which she sounded kinder to W. If only her husband were an undercover C.I.A. operative, the Bushies could out him. But even if they send out a squad of Swift Boat Moms for Truth, there will be a countering Falluja Moms for Truth."
"Selectively humane, Mr. Bush justified his Iraq war by stressing the 9/11 losses. He emphasized the humanity of the Iraqis who desire freedom when his W.M.D. rationale vaporized. But his humanitarianism will remain inhumane as long as he fails to understand that the moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute. "
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
So Much To Tell, So Little Time
I hate when work makes me too busy to blog! Most of you don't realize how ironic this statement really is. I've been in a funk the last couple days because of my job and how unchallenging it is. I really feel stuck in a go nowhere position that I am being wasted in. Ugh. Before you jump all over me, I have been taking steps the past two days to make changes to this. Anyway, back to my original thought. There has been a lot going on while I've been gone from the blog:
- Spent a three day weekend visiting in North Carolina at Paul's dad's. Stories to follow include Amtrak ride from hell, sailing, best pork chop ever.
- Drinks with Heather last night.
- Yet another pregnant high school friend (actually his wife).
- The boot saga continues.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Laughter is the Best Medicine
In an effort to bring cheer to my really crappy day, my co-worker and friend Stephanie pointed met to the above site. Ah Josh, you wacky, cynical comic-lover you. How you amuse me!
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
It Came From His Pants
After a brutal round of physical therapy yesterday (if my ankle had an ass it would've been kicked) I went to the Nats v. Dodgers game with Katie. I was looking forward to it for two reasons. 1 - I am not a Dodger fan so it would have been doubly nice to see the Nats win over them. 2 - Katie just got back from 3 weeks in Qatar and I was excited about catching up with her. Well, the Nats lost unfortunately but the 8th inning was some of the best baseball I've seen.
The most exciting thing, however, was during the sixth (?) inning when I looked over and saw a humongous spider crawling up the pant leg of the guy sitting next to Katie. All I could muster was an "eh...Katie...." and a pointing finger. She did the same sort of thing to the guy who then brushed off the spider to the floor with the intent of stomping on it. Unfortunately, it was the same color of the peanut shells underneath his seat. We spent the rest of the game feeling like we had crawly things on us. I leaned over to Katie and asked "Where could it have come from?". Her reply above.
The most exciting thing, however, was during the sixth (?) inning when I looked over and saw a humongous spider crawling up the pant leg of the guy sitting next to Katie. All I could muster was an "eh...Katie...." and a pointing finger. She did the same sort of thing to the guy who then brushed off the spider to the floor with the intent of stomping on it. Unfortunately, it was the same color of the peanut shells underneath his seat. We spent the rest of the game feeling like we had crawly things on us. I leaned over to Katie and asked "Where could it have come from?". Her reply above.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Do Over
Can I get a do over for the week? It is just plain sad that I want to crawl back into bed until this week is over and it is only Tuesday. I went to the dentist to get a cap put on. It is a simple 15 minute procedure. When the cap fits. Mine didn't. So I was there for an hour and a half. The hygienist they had working on me must have never worked on a patient before ever. He had to fit me 3 times before it worked. I hate him. The corners of my mouth are chaffed and I have a cut on the back of my jaw. I hate him. Oh wait, it gets better. The TV above the chair was on. Regis and Kelly had The Wiggles on. For those of you not familiar, they are a musical group for children who tend to repeat the same four - six words for three minutes and call it a song. They did two of these catchy numbers. Then, as if that weren't bad enough, next up on the ABC lineup was an infomercial/telethon for Saint Jude's children's hospital. So I got to sit there, my mouth hurting, "hygienist" guy spilling Listerine on me, telling myself that I could have it worse, I could be one of the children I was watching dying on television. Man I am done with this week. Really, really looking forward to going down to Paul's dad's for the weekend.
Today Will Be a Good Day
After an emotionally exhausting day yesterday, I have made the decision that no matter what, today will be a good day. I am leaving now for a dentist appointment, working until 4:45, heading to physical therapy, then going to the Nats game with my good friend Katie. I won't tempt fate by asking how could it go bad.....I will just look forward to what the day has in store for me.
I Had To Laugh
As much love as I have for my dear Aquaman, I had to laugh at this website. The guy really is clever even if he obviously has WAAAAAY too much time on his hands. Thanks Mark for finding this for me :)
Tick Tock You Don't Stop
Most of you are fortunate enough to not have any exposure to Color Me Badd. No, that isn't a typo, they really do spell it that way. I, on the other hand, was forced to listen to them my freshman year of college. One of our suitemates Pam, geeze I haven't thought of her in years, was obsessed with CMB. We're talking standing outside their hotel in the rain and waiting to meet them obsessed. It is a bit fuzzy (it has been 14 years - cut me some slack) but I'm pretty sure she met them at some point. Regardless, I was watching VH-1 last night (wow, I really AM old) and they had the 40 Most Awesomely Bad Dirrty Songs....Ever. CMB did not let me down. I Wanna Sex You Up was second only to Physical by Olivia Newton John. For the complete list click above. In spite of the incredible awfulness that was CMB I have some really good, no make that great, memories of times with those songs in the background. Even considering the badness that happened that year (not least of which was seeing a new friend's lifeless body after he'd been in a motorcycle crash) it really was filled with so many great times and memories. I wish I was still in contact with some of those people.
Monday, August 01, 2005
I Am Far Too Old For This Type of Behavior
Precursor to story: Even though I started the day thinking I was going to stop seeing Paul, he and I talked about some stuff this morning and the things that have been bothering me about both of us should change. We shall see - I hope so. I kinda like the guy.
Okay, so I've been kinda unhappy with things with Paul for a bit now. I admit, some of it is my fault and I've been avoiding a real discussion with him about it because we have a lot of things coming up that we have committed to. Friday night kinda pushed me over the edge and I wasn't really looking forward to going out with him, his friend and his friend's girlfriend Saturday night. He kept pushing back the time to meet and got crabby with me when I asked questions about what the plans were. So I did something really, really stupid and went out for drinks and dinner with this guy Daniel who over the course of the last year has been trying to get me to go out with him in a more than friend kind of way. Not that I did anything untoward or gave Daniel the wrong impression at all. He knows I am dating Paul and I was very clear it was just two friends hanging out. I just needed to be around someone who was obvious in his attraction to me and desire to spend time with me for a bit of an ego boost. Look, I never said I was mature, okay?
Anyway, Daniel and I had a great time hanging out which put me in a much better mood. I cabbed over to Paul's and his friend & gf arrived a short time later. I ended up having a pretty good time. I had never met them before and they turned out to be a great couple. One of those couples you look at and are happy that they are so happy with each other and don't hate even though they are super cute and in love. Really fun people. Well, over the course of the evening I drank way more than I should have. Turns out drinking for about 6 hours is not a good idea. So stupid. I ended up getting a bit sick and felt like crap all day yesterday. The irony here is that I would have been fine if I hadn't met up with Daniel. Talk about instant karma.
Okay, so I've been kinda unhappy with things with Paul for a bit now. I admit, some of it is my fault and I've been avoiding a real discussion with him about it because we have a lot of things coming up that we have committed to. Friday night kinda pushed me over the edge and I wasn't really looking forward to going out with him, his friend and his friend's girlfriend Saturday night. He kept pushing back the time to meet and got crabby with me when I asked questions about what the plans were. So I did something really, really stupid and went out for drinks and dinner with this guy Daniel who over the course of the last year has been trying to get me to go out with him in a more than friend kind of way. Not that I did anything untoward or gave Daniel the wrong impression at all. He knows I am dating Paul and I was very clear it was just two friends hanging out. I just needed to be around someone who was obvious in his attraction to me and desire to spend time with me for a bit of an ego boost. Look, I never said I was mature, okay?
Anyway, Daniel and I had a great time hanging out which put me in a much better mood. I cabbed over to Paul's and his friend & gf arrived a short time later. I ended up having a pretty good time. I had never met them before and they turned out to be a great couple. One of those couples you look at and are happy that they are so happy with each other and don't hate even though they are super cute and in love. Really fun people. Well, over the course of the evening I drank way more than I should have. Turns out drinking for about 6 hours is not a good idea. So stupid. I ended up getting a bit sick and felt like crap all day yesterday. The irony here is that I would have been fine if I hadn't met up with Daniel. Talk about instant karma.
I Spoke Too Soon
Friday, a mere half hour after posting how my day had flown by in a good busy sort of way I got bad busy - 4:59 on a Friday let's decide to create and send out four press releases to media lists we haven't created bad busy. It was awful. We ended up getting out of here around 7:15 so I headed straight to the sports bar to meet Paul who, it turns out, was also reeling from a stressful day/week/undetermined amount of time. So we weren't the most fun people to be around. We ate, had some beers, watched some baseball and then decided to go see The Island. I thought it was awful, Paul enjoyed it. I would have thought it was an alright movie, but the really crappy, sappy, lame ending put it over the "wow this is two + hours of my life I will never, ever get back" line. We both really should have just gone home.
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