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
Power!/Baltimore/Music
We have survived! All is back to normal (if this place in Virginia could be considered normal at all) in our neck of the woods. I was at work getting bits of weather news about tornadoes touching down around our store. Things went about as they normally do though, except maybe our customers were about 40% less than usual. However, Cyndi was trapped in the apartment without power not knowing what the hell was going on. Our hallway is a pretty fun wind tunnel and made it so she couldn’t open the door with the storm outside the living room window. When the wind broke she made her way down to the lobby with other residents. They gave us candles and tips to deal with the lack of power. After a few days and a predicted return of power to be FRIDAY 10PM it came back mid-afternoon Friday. So, we have lights, we have cable, we have air conditioning for the record breaking temperature weekend. All is well in Virginia.
The Cabrio has a new serpentine belt (a what?) and we took it to Baltimore last night. Baltimore! We saw a great show- Cyndi’s favorite band, Rilo Kiley. They had a really good (and really fitting) opening band called Thao with the Get Down Stay Down. We got there hours early because I didn’t know it was Saturday because I never know what day it is and was nervous about traffic heading up north. It was the first time I had gotten early to a concert since we used to go in high school. But we got a great spot that I guarded with my intrusive elbows. All was worth it.
Baltimore was pretty cool. It seemed a little sketchy as we were walking around, but there was water and boats and some entertaining nightlife.
I’m out! Off to work! I loooooooooove night shift. Ha.
Thao from Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
June 8th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
Do you have an hour to spare?
If you do, or even if you don’t, you should watch this:
Randy Pausch Last Lecture
June 3rd, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
The owners are coming!
So work has been pretty insane but I’ve been too delirious (from illness) or absent (also from that damn cold) to really notice how absolutely insane it really was. I went in about 45 minutes early this morning and it felt good. I’ve been working the late night shifts for the past few weeks and missed the morning crew. But, as good as it was, it was a day filled with ridiculous chores and frantic managers. I knew the president (located in CA throughout the year) was planning a visit sometime within the next week or so BUT we will also be honored with the presence of the German (German? Really?) owners very soon. So, a lot of today consisted of power washing random things and higher ups looking skittish. I really did have a nice day. It was refreshing to feel good about being at work. Cyndi had a good work day too which is phenomenal because yesterday I caught her taking a career test online. She’s my rock! She needs to reassure me it’s okay to work in the kind of jobs we do. She may become a nurse though while I train to be a firefighter. That might be slightly more rewarding than customer service.
Enough about work? Yeah, I should probably stop. I did WALK HOME from work today which is a good three and a half mile trek with many horrendous hills. It’s taking me less time now that I do it more often. It gives me some hope that I can get on the pathway to regular exercise. I’m hoping to get ready to do a triathlon with my sister in a year. Here’s hoping.
We received the Save the Date! magnet in the mail from my brother and Shay. Cyndi was very impressed and put it directly on the fridge.
Thinking about putting some stories up on here. Thoughts?
June 2nd, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 1 Comments
Obligatory Preamble
I’m starting this blog because I feel bad for how much Cyndi has to listen to. Whether it be childhood-like changes in career goals, new obsessions on where to visit or live, how to lose weight, or how to drastically change my life for the better, she has successfully and supportively (what a good sport) tuned in, or at least appeared to, and gave the okay. But now as the Virginia heat is climbing and her job is getting more hectic I have decided to go the route of the man + machine made outlet. In this blog (which has always been such a dirty word to me) I hope to at least slightly entertain the select family and friends I let know I’m doing this. You’ll see pictures, links to whatever subject I obsess over at the moment, incites into life in the nation’s capital as someone lacking passion for politics and traffic, and some of the obnoxious “hey listen to me listen to me!” moments that I have every once in a while.
So welcome! And thank you for reading post #1!
I’ll leave you for now and get back to the Discovery channel’s new series, “Alaska Experiment” which will probably make me want to run away to the wilderness (without a camera crew) for a least this afternoon.
June 1st, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 2 Comments
