Survivin' Atlanta

Well, I'm back from my travels, and they were about as difficult as I thought. Lots of work, and I'm exhausted today. I went in to work, but was told by the boss I could go home midday cause we worked so hard over the weekend. Which is great, but I would have liked to not get up early this morning instead . . . oh well.

The best part of my trip was Thursday night before things really got into high gear. The weather was like 70 and I walked around a bit before having dinner at a sushi restuarant near my hotel. I enjoyed my favorite new drink, the French martini.

Today on my half day off a repairman came over . . . the washing machine is on the fritz and it probably needs to be replaced. I have a home warranty, luckily, but I think I might want to upgrade to an energy-efficient model, so that's gonna cost me. I also cleared out the basement closet, and it felt so good! Part of my plan to finally get this place whipped into shape once and for all . . . wish me luck!

Work from Hell

So today we have yet another staff meeting (after sitting there for two hours yesterday in staff meetings) but this was impromptu, and I was worried that someone was leaving the company. In this time when we are in the middle of a salary freeze, when they've cut our 401K contribution, they decided to have a big meeting with champagne to announce that four people are getting promotions! I love that in this time when I've been working late every night and the only one left in the building, in this time when I've exceeded our financial goals for sponsorship, not only am I getting little to no recognition, but I'm getting treated like shit by my boss every day and everyone else is apparently getting promotions and presumably a raise. Yippee for them.

The other good news is I have a big thing going on for work, so I'm bound for Atlanta for a few days. After working late most nights this week, now I get to go and work 15 hour days over the weekend. Boy am I psyched. I definitely need to find a new job soon, I can't take it anymore.

I wish I were going someplace cool, but man, Atlanta just sucks. Scary. But tomorrow at least I hope to get a little free time and order room service and a movie and enjoy the peace and quiet before the madness begins.

Grief . . . a Week Later

The sad thing about our ridiculously fast pace of life today is that there is no time to reflect, to mourn, to grieve, to think about anything anymore. I remember when my grandmother passed I had to go to work THE NEXT DAY cause of various things going on. Everyone just moves on to the next thing like nothing ever happened. It just sucks.

The house has been very, very quiet and strange without Pepper. My other dog has seemed a little out of sorts. I think he and Pepper fed off each other more than I realized. He's actually stopped being my alarm clock these days and lets me sleep later than ever before. He also seems a little lonely and clingy, so I've been trying to give him extra attention as much as I can.

I did decide to take last Monday off (despite the surprising flack from my boss), but I just think it's sad that there is no longer any respect for the emotions of life. You're just expect to go on as usual no matter what happens.

The surprising thing about this week has been the reaction of friends and family. Here are some reflections about that:

1. Family. They have called a couple of times to see if I'm ok but no "gestures" as friends have done, like cards or flowers.

2. Friends. Some friends I never expected to contact me have sent me cards or flowers. It has been so sweet, but made me cry each time . . .

3. Boss. Despite our "friendly, flexible work environment" where everyone knows WAY too much about each others' business and supposedly everyone cares about each other and personal time off is allowed, my boss was very reluctant to let me have one frigging day off cause we had a big thing planned last week. The big thing was on Friday, and mind you I took Monday off, leaving plenty of time for the planning of Friday's big event. But she was literally trying to talk me out of staying home Monday, saying things like "how considerate my dog was to pass over the weekend," the implication being that I wouldn't have to take any time off. I couldn't believe it! Most people in my company take time off for important things like hangnails; however, I was obviously not allowed one stupid day to mourn my dog of 15.5 years. Assholes! So despite the disapproval, I did take Monday off cause damn I well deserve it. Let me tell you, if it weren't for this crappy economy, I would be so out of there . . .

RIP Pepper

Last night I had to rush to the vet emergency room in the middle of the night. My 15-year old dog, Pepper, who has been sick with kidney disease for a year, seemed to have had a stroke or something and could no longer move. So I knew, unfortunately, the time had come.

I loved this dog like a best friend. She's been with me for most of my adult life, having moved to AZ and back with me. We had lots of adventures and she's seen me through thick and thin. The house seems so quiet already without her. I will miss her always and never forget how much she meant to me. RIP, Pepper, August 18, 1993 - March 8, 2009.

Smoking Ban in VA!

I never thought I'd live to see the day, since Virginia is all about producing tobacco, but apparently the Virginia General Assembly has finally passed a smoking ban for restaurants and bars in Virginia, effective December 1. How excited am I? Check out the facts here and story here.

Loving Farrah Olivia

Tonight, I finally collected on my Christmas present from Jeffro, a dinner at my favorite restaurants, Farrah Olivia. It was absolutely delicious--white grits, haddock, and mango with ice cream for dessert. Outstanding! And the coolest part is some guy was there from the Food Network filming for some upcoming special! How exciting would that be, me on TV in my favorite restaurant?

New Holly Williams and Martina McBride Coming Soon

Two of my favorite artists are releasing new CDs soon. I can't wait!

Martina's CD Shine will be available March 24.


Holly Williams, daughter of Hank Jr., was on an independent label but just got signed with Mercury. Her new album is coming out this summer and you can play her single, Keep the Change, on her MySpace page.

Valentine's Day Treat

Last night Jeffro and I went to Del Merei Grille for our Valentine's dinner. I had filet mignon and Jeffro had rockfish and we split an order of their famous Frickles--fried pickles, a Southern delight. Peppermint brownies for dessert. Yum!

Weekend Goes Too Fast

Yet another weekend coming to a close. It was a fairly good one, but way too quick. I did love the sunny warm weather, what a treat! I didn't do a whole lot this weekend, just some stuff around the house (finally got the bathroom set up after 2 weeks!), a party at the neighbors, and out to brunch with some friends. But I am completely exhausted and feel like I need another weekend to get some rest. My older dog has been getting me up a lot at night to the point where I feel really tired and run down.

Balmy and 40?

You know it's been a very cold winter when you think sunny and 44 degrees is a real treat! I am so excited, the air even had a sort of spring-like smell today. We're supposed to hit 50 so let me go find my bathing suit.

Bathroom Gets a Facelift

I'm so excited! Jeffro and I are "remaking" the bathroom with a brand new color scheme. We just bought new shower curtain, rugs, and towels which are in the wash. We hope to get everything up tomorrow. Then I just need to find curtains and we'll have a completely new look with a cool blue "spa-like" color. I can't wait! I've been wanting to do this since I re-did my shower a couple of years ago.

Best Worst Cookies

Oh. My. God. Jeffro bought us the best--and worst--cookies ever at the Italian Store last night. They're called Bergers and they are the most delicious things I've ever eaten. The minute you bite into it, you just can't help but make a deliriously happy noise. Of course, at 140 calories and 4 g of fat a pop (1 saturated and 1 trans), they are probably also the worst cookies I've come across in a while with lots of terrible hydrogenated stuff in them. So while they are delicious, definitely be careful not to overdo it!

1-20-09

Here in DC, it's all-inauguration, all the time. If you're happy about it, like me, check out this countdown until Bush is finally, finally out of office!

www.bushslastday.com

Check out the site for 75% off promotional items like t-shirts, mugs, etc. As far as my weekend goes, I'm staying far away from DC. Doing errands, having dinner with friends, and most importantly, today I'm getting a massage!

Three Words

American Idol's Back!

Les Mis at Signature Theatre

For Christmas, I gave Jeffro tickets to his favorite musical Les Mis, playing at local Signature Theatre. I've seen this once before at National Theater, and must say I was less than impressed. So I was not looking forward to seeing it again. I have to say, this was quite an impressive performance and I really recommend going to see this before it leaves February 22. The seats were practically--and quite literally--almost on top of the stage. People would come running out right next to you, sing next to you, etc. It was almost like you were a part of the show. The actors were excellent--I can't imagine how they stayed in character having the audience so close. The singing by the men was excellent and sadly outshined the women (though I loved Fontine, Eponine, and Mrs. T).

Christmas the Italian Way

Happy Holidays to everyone! I'm not sure where I've been cause apparently this song came out in the 60s, but I've never heard it. You know, the famous Christmas carol, Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey. Check out the interesting video.

My holidays have been good so far. The office gave us Wednesday and Friday off both this week and next, so that has been great. Christmas Eve was spent at my mom's having our famous Italian seven fishes dinner. Christmas Day was at my sister's with tons of food and presents. All in all, a pretty good time, and J's mom joined us for the festivities.
Yesterday we took a freezing day trip to Mt. Vernon and it was pretty cool despite the weather. We ate at the Mt. Vernon Inn--delicious hot apple cider and red pepper soup! The highlight of the day had to be Aladdin, the Christmas Camel, who was very friendly and came over to everyone to nibble on their hands. Tomorrow J's dad comes for the day, so we'll have to see what adventures await. Likely we'll head to Old Town for the day.

Honesty is the Best Policy

My mother and I have a distinctly different way of dealing with difficulties in life. I often confront them head on, while she glosses over them with sugar coating to pretend like everything is fine. Case in point, my 93 year old grandfather, who I visited this weekend, was complaining about a swollen leg that he's had for 2 weeks. I immediately thought he might have something seriously wrong like a blood clot, and told him so. My mother had the same thought but decided not to say anything for fear of being too negative.

He is now in the hospital being treated for--wait for it--a blood clot in his leg. Part of the reason they finally discovered the problem was because I said something. Apparently it was a life-threatening condition, so if I hadn't said anything (like my mom) he could be dead by now. So which way of dealing with negative things is better? I prefer the truth.

PS - the truth about my job is I am hating it this week. This stupid f-ing a-hole that I don't get along with is making my life absolutely miserable. People say you should be thankful you have a job, but sometimes I disagree . . .

Thanksgiving Weekend Flies By

I can't believe it's Sunday already. Been a whirlwind holiday weekend, all in all. I cooked on Thanksgiving and had dinner for 8 in my small condo, which was . . . interesting. Don't know if I would do it again, at least not without drugging the hyper dog first. Did some Christmas shopping this weekend--decided to brave the malls and knocked out some major gifts, which was nice. I don't think I've ever started shopping this early before.

Today since it's raining I'm contemplating making turkey soup with the turkey carcass and leftover turkey. I might even start my Christmas cards since tomorrow is actually December 1. How did that happen? I just can't believe it's back to work tomorrow. I'm not ready!

Life is Crap--the new Life is Good

This is the most hilarious thing I've found in a while. I do like all the "Life is Good" logo materials that you find particularly in beach stores, but the reality is, this slogan doesn't quite work for pessimists like me. Check out the *better* slogan at MusicToday's Web site "Life is Crap." I love it!

Cheesecake!

I bought a great Thanksgiving recipe book recently and really wanted to try making the Turtle Pumpkin Cheesecake that appeared on the cover. I've never made a cheesecake before and was blissfully ignorant of how challenging and fraught with peril they are when I decided to make it for my work holiday party. Thankfully, it turned out pretty well (see left), though it did crack on top. But its many toppings covered it up completely.

I have since read more on how to make a successful cheesecake and how to avoid it cracking, so hopefully next time will turn out even better. But overall I was very pleased, and it tasted great! Or so my office mates and Jeffro said.