Yay America!
A renewed faith in America… Pretty excited to be a part of this.
November 6th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 1 Comments
A little note from Thursday
Just got a superb winter hat in the mail from Becke in Santa Fe (http://www.highdeserthomegarden.blogspot.com). Will post a picture of it soon - but it’s perfect. In return she wants either a carved wooden owl or a short story about dinosaurs. I plan on combining the two. Upon seeing the hat Cyndi asked for one too so for payment from her Becke asked for home-baked cookies or a swimming pool. Again, a melding of the two will soon come. I love packages and trading and home-made for home-made. I’ve been sending a lot of little gifts and letters and it’s the way to live. Everybody loves getting things in the mail.
Will update more soon- working on getting a short story published (keep your fingers crossed), working hard, exercising, and getting into the holiday spirit (a little early, sure, but that’s okay).
October 23rd, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
Finally October
The visit and inventory have concluded and now it seems to be quite a bit calmer at work. And I think it will stay this way for at least another few weeks until the holiday insanity begins. Work is going well. I finally think I am going entire shifts without screwing anything up completely. The folks I work with all seem to be eerily superb and I hope it stays this way. If the commute weren’t so bad it would be the perfect situation. Here’s hoping that a car will come soon and with a car less time spent going to and coming from work.
The trains and bus have been interesting though-given me a bit to write about. I am working on a collection of short stories on public transportation. May sound lame, may actually be lame, but it’s giving me something to focus on while not fulfilling that goal of writing writing writing followed by submitting submitting submitting. Eh it’s fine. I have been picking up on my letter writing, however, which I have been thoroughly enjoying.
Fall seems to have officially begun and I’m liking it so far. I’ve realized that the first days of fall make me giddy like the first days of spring. I get a new energy that I am very excited about. My plans before the end of the work week are to go for a hike and to see some live blues. It shouldn’t be too difficult to manage. A premature exit of the train to Theodore Roosevelt Island for a nice little walk and another night to Adam’s Morgan in hopes to catch some good blues. It feels right.
Got some new discs in the mail, plus a really unattractive but very cheap 8-disc bag- went to the park to practice distance and accuracy. Hoping to get in a few real rounds of disc golf before the winter falls upon us.
October 3rd, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
Back to Aaaarlington
How about taking a vacation three weeks into my new position? Yeah, I’d do it again too. Back to real life! Back to traffic and concrete and the echoing sound of cutthroat hustle. I will honestly say that if my Captain asked if I was interested in opening that new store in Virginia Beach I would have my bags packed before she finished. But alas, I am a mere lowly Novitiate, moving very slowly up the step ladder to reach the real person ladder. But Cyndi got promoted! Her own store. She’s damn good. She will most likely have her own District in another year or so.
Training for the Triathlon! Picked up a new pair of sneaks (a real running pair, and a real GIRL’S running pair at that - they actually fit my feet) and am ready to take over. Went to the gym this morning and the sneakers were great - still didn’t give me the ability to run much more than I normally can muster but they felt good and were nice to look at.
The car search is coming back into the fore front. I gave up for a while there. I never knew car shopping was so obnoxious and time consuming. I guess because the only time I’ve ever done it I had my brother, dad, and brother-in-law by my side throughout the whole thing. Luckily here I have Cyndi as the bad cop with me but it has been far less than fruitful - and Nissan still calls me twice a day about “great deals!” It has been a very flippy floppy experience though. From putting a deposit down to deciding I don’t want to own anything with an engine. From a $1300 Saab to a 2009 Nissan Versa. Yeah, I don’t know why I expected it to fall into place easily.
Going back into work on Wednesday. Vacation has definitely put some things into perspective. Exercise is important, happiness is important. I wrote a bit which is a lot more than I have been. There’s a lot more to life than hawaiian shirts. I’m getting in tune with the rhythm of life.
September 15th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
A note from the Sandcastle Hotel
A few realizations from Virginia Beach:
1: I have an irrational belief that the ocean really likes me back
2: I have decided I must live near the ocean pretty much immediately
3: I still much prefer vacation to everyday life
4: Salt water + Sun + Danielle = flawless hair
5: Old men shouldn’t wear Viagra t-shirts
September 11th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
Fake weekend
Today is my Sunday. My fake Sunday. It is actually Tuesday. So, today on my fake Sunday which is actually Tuesday I decided that instead of sleeping in and eating ice cream for breakfast and spaghetti for lunch and dinner followed by another bowl of (different flavored) ice cream like I did yesterday, I would sleep in and then get off my ass. I did successfully avoid the television for the majority of my fake Saturday and got a lot accomplished, I did get the wake up call of, “hey, how the f are you going to lose weight or live even a remotely healthy lifestyle while doing this when you’re not at work.” I did sleep in this morning and it was glorious. But after getting up off the couch I wrote a bit, tuned Cyndi’s guitar, sang a little ditty for the stupid cat using two chords, and then went to the gym. After a pathetic attempt at the gym (pathetic for the normal person, pretty decent for me) I went down to the pool and swam laps while listening to a man from the Netherlands talk to the creepy lifeguard from Jamaica.
I guess you could say I’m feeling better than I was yesterday by 2:40pm. I definitely need to start doing this a lot more if i’m going to be ready for next summer with my sister: http://www.danskin.com/triathlon.html. We’re going to go check out the local Weight Watchers (ugghh) and I’m going to ask for help for a proper training regimen. Hopefully we’ll see some improvement in this belly of mine.
As for the rest of my fake Sunday - Cyndi is home from work, in the shower yelling, “Drapoooooooooosky,” mocking the cat’s meowing, and shouting out swear words for the neighbors to hear. Later this afternoon we’re going to check out a CAR. Hopefully that will go well and I can stop my 17 hour work days and make them a mere 12 hours. How I will miss my wonderful metro area public transportation.
The new store is going all right - everyone is eerily friendly and/or cool. It’s just the getting used to being a manager that has been pretty crappy. Hoping to get used to it…
August 26th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
Perfect weather in August? That’s not what I heard
Today we went to Great Falls(http://www.nps.gov/grfa/)! We both worked this morning but decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather (under 100 degrees) this afternoon. It was an excellent idea. Although pretty touristy (there was a traffic jam to get into the park) the views were amazing and the crowds weren’t too difficult to navigate around. We got some great pictures- should be putting them up and emailing them out shortly.
Yesterday was a good day off. We were planning on going to King’s Dominion but the threat of thunderstorms kept us in Arlington. SO, we got to go see the Dark Knight! Very dark, very good, very sad to see Heath Ledger in his last role. Then we went swimming, made really good double onion cheeseburgers and watched trashy television. Perfect.
As for conquering my set of goals… well… I did have my manager meeting at work. It went well I think. I had a good time at least, and the district manager came into the store that night and told me he heard it went well. I think that’s a good sign.
I finished Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens. One of my managers had me read it. I was very happy with it. Just started a new book - Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey. I started it at the pool yesterday so I have yet to get too far into it.
Well, Cyndi has started watching a Lifetime movie about cheerleading and my dinner just made the smoke alarm go off so my attention should be elsewhere. Just thought I’d say hello!
August 3rd, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 1 Comments
Go-Als
I figured the best way to accomplish anything is to make it public. That way I can feel more pressure to actually get things done. Or, at least, I hope so? That would be nice?
Anyway, things that are on my plate:
Or, things that I would like to be all over my plate but haven’t gotten near any plate belonging to me yet in life:
-Volunteer! Volunteer doing something really GOOD. Or at least really good feeling. I’m going to kick myself in the ass when I move out of this area if I don’t take advantage of how many opportunities they have to get involved. So, it is very much my #1.
-Piss or get off the pot (professionally speaking). My full-time interview is fast approaching. So, within a week or two I should know if I’m getting promoted. If so, I need to get my heart back into this 100%. If not, I need to get my life in gear and move on. If I’m not right for this kind of business then I’m not right for it. If I am right for it, I need to be the best.
-Get in shape. Oh, glorious “weight-losing goal,” how you’ve frequented my to-do lists. It’s time to actually do it. I feel like this goal of completing the triathlon with my sister in a year is the best reason I have ever had to get off the couch and start physically working towards something. I asked my boss (the adventure racer) to help me with a training plan. She said she would. I’m a little scared of her so I’ve also researched some plans on the internet for chunks like me.
-Get something published (don’t these seem like such easy goals??). I just need the satisfaction of reading something I’ve written in print. Before sending things out though, realistically, I need to write some new things. I need to stop starting these “novels” I have such high hopes for and sit down and start writing some stories or articles or songs even.
-Learn something new. Something. A language maybe? That damn guitar. How to not kill a house plant. Something.
-Keep in better touch with friends and family. Be a better friend, daughter, sister, and Auntie D.
Well, that seems easy enough, right? I’ll be done in no time…
July 22nd, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
Check Plus, Vacation
So vacation was pretty phenomenal. I can say that it was everything I dreamed of. We flew out of Dulles Saturday morning to arrive just in time for rushed family hello’s and then off to the household of Nilexis to drink copious amounts of beer and watch fireworks. Sunday morning Cyndi and I met up and helped clean up the yard while Nick and Alexis hid in their bedroom (luckily they had drunkenly done the majority of cleaning somewhere in the early a.m.’s). Then I headed to Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire for a week of no stress and lots of swimming. It was pretty damn perfect. Most days we woke up, had cereal, went to the beach until lunchtime, ate lunch, went back to the beach until dinner time, had dinner and played cards, and finally fell asleep from all the sun. We did go to Storyland on Thursday and of course that was everything anyone could want from a vacation trip. But really, it was perfect. I got to see my parents, my brother and sister, the kiddo’s (who are all gigantic), Bob and Shay, my dream house with a fantastic porch overlooking the lake. We played Spades, had a few diving contests, climbed the better part of a mountain, ate at a yacht club and almost passed as members, and met a very dark haired Cinderella. As Bob said, the only way it could have been better is if it was two weeks long.
Cyndi and I both decided that we much prefer vacationing over real life. So, we are in the midst of planning another one. Financially it’s kind of silly of me to do so but she has a week of vacation left she has to use up before October 1 and she can’t just let that go to waste now can she? She found a great looking vacation rental in Virginia Beach .01 miles away from the ocean. The price is right, the no plane ticket idea is pretty good to me, and being close to the ocean sounds perfect. So, vacation #2 here we come!
AND, we even get a mini-vacation in between. Next week Nick and Alexis plan on using up the last of their vacations as well and come get a taste of D.C. Metro area life. It will be very nice having those folks around us here. It’s easy to just get caught up in rushed, boring, road raged life without good friends around.
July 22nd, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 2 Comments
Let’s find a new job!
The countdown has officially begun! Six days and five shifts until vacation starts. It is more than needed. We are catching an early flight out of Dulles on Saturday morning and arriving just in time for Ayer 4th of July festivities. Then Sunday I am headed to the much longed for vacation house where I plan to swim, play, drink, barbeque, and spend as much time outside as I possibly can while bothering every member of my family to the extreme to let them know what they’ve been missing. I am ready. I have been fighting back starting to pack for the past week. Really, I am so ready.
As for life here in Virginia, it is… well… making me want to take a vacation. I have a wonderful apartment, wonderful company, and a few good folks that I work with. However, I need a new job. I spent the majority of this morning looking for jobs and coming out pretty unsuccessful. Part of me feels I need to go back to school in order to get the kind of job I want. But I already did that! I still haven’t paid off the Bachelor’s degree yet. I think I may talk Cyndi into getting her teacher’s certificate with me in whatever state we go to next. I’m leaning more towards environmental groups, non-profits, safety, conservation jobs but those results either have me in Washington, DC asking people on the street to donate, or require a much more advanced and specific degree that I really really don’t have. Suggestions? I really shouldn’t complain. I mean, my job is easy, I get to wear ripped shorts and t-shirts, and it is a very easy trip by bus to get there. I just have a feeling that I have reached some retail coma where customer service doesn’t come as easily and my bosses are morons.
We have been going swimming pretty often. I am so damn thankful that we found an apartment with a pool.
Posting again soon… some more comments on job hunting as well as growing things and writing.
June 29th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
