Retrospective/Looking Ahead

I'm looking forward to the start of a new year. 2005 was not a particularly good year for me. A dear friend of mine died unexpectedly at the age of 46, leaving a hole in my heart. I got my first ever flu shot, only to find out that the vaccine was not what was in the syringes and that the FBI was investigating the matter. (A number of side dramas are attached to that one.) Not to mention a number of smaller (in general) events that added to the desire to see the end of 2005.

Having had the last couple of weeks off just to recharge the batteries has been wonderful. Today I feel an energy that I haven't felt in a long, long time. I know that work is going to be a challenge in 2006 (my work load doubled in 2005 and I was informed right before my vacation started that I would be taking on more responsibility in 2006, keeping all my current responsibilities) but I hope to be up to the challenge. The personalities I will be working with are the challenge, not the work itself per se. So, I'm hoping that 2006 gives me what I need to do my job, do it well and not kill anyone in the process. :)

On a personal level, my goal is to do things that make me happy, including (but not limited to) the following (in no particular order):

1. More massages in 2006
2. Take more time to read
3. Spend more time writing because:
a) I plan to enter contests in 2006,
b) I plan to query agents in 2006,
c) I plan to pitch at National, and
d) I want to get the story written!
4. Be more social
5. Get healthy/lose weight
6. Take time to smell the roses
7. In general, do more to pamper myself

Note, these are not resolutions but goals so if you see me shoving an entire Sara Lee Chocolate Cheese Cake down my throat on January 5th, I'm not breaking any resolutions. ;o)

Happy New Year to all! I hope 2006 is good to us all!

What are your goals?

Remembering a Princess

I don't know what it is but I've always been fascinated by Princess Diana. I remember when she married Prince Charles. VCRs weren't commonplace at the time. In fact, I'm not really sure if they were around. I do know, if they were, they were still too expensive for the average Joe to have one. As such, I didn't have one but I wanted to see the wedding so I got up at something like 3:30 am so I could watch it.

I also remember where I was and what I was doing when she died. It was so shocking. I kept thinking there had to be a mistake. She was too young and how she died was so awful. VCRs were more common then, it was unusual if you didn't have one, so I recorded the funeral rather than get up in the middle of the night to watch it. And I cried when I watched it.

I've been appalled at the people who have tried to exploit her, for their own gain, since her death. For instance, the man who, whenever he needs money, sells off more of her private story but when interviewed, refuses to answer certain questions because he wants to respect her privacy. Yeah right! You just want to save something for the next time. He should be shot. Or better yet, slowly tortured. Nothing is too horrible. But I digress.

Yesterday I went to an area museum to see the Princess Diana Exhibit . It's a traveling exhibit which happens to be on display in Houston now. The exhibit was divided into a number of different rooms, each representing an area of her life. There were pictures, video and actual memorabilia from all phases of her life. Her wedding gown was on display and video from her wedding was shown. The actual sheet music from Elton John's tribute song was on display, and played while video of her life and funeral were shown (heard a lot of sobs in that room) while it was played.

I went alone to the exhibit and I'm glad I did. I was able to spend a lot of time there without worrying about someone else being bored, tired or anything else. I read everything in every room. I watched every video in its entirety. When I reached the end, I went back almost to the beginning and came back through, just looking.

I know people are making money off of the exhibit and that may be their only reason for allowing her things to be viewed but whatever the reasons I want to say this: This exhibit honors Princess Diana and is done in a very respectful manner to her memory. To me, it was worth every penny (including the $8.00 parking fee) I paid to see it.

Latest Plug

Part of my vacation agenda is to read as many books as possible. In the past four days I've read three - all wonderful. The latest of which is Julia Quinn's An Offer From A Gentleman.

It's a Cinderella-like story. Sophie is the bastard child of the Earl of Penbroke. Her mother had died in childbirth and her maternal grandmother had cared for her until she turned three, at which time she deposited young Sophie on the doorstep of her father.

Recognized as the Earl's "ward" (not daughter), Sophie was raised in luxury, if not love. However, when Sophie's father married, his new wife made it clear that she could not be treated in the same manner as her daughters (two - Rosamund and Posy).

The Earl died unexpectedly at a young age. His wife would receive 2000 a year, or 6000 if she provided for Sophie until she was twenty. He also provided for a dowry for all three girls.

The stepmother kept Sophie on so she could collect the money but not in the manner she had previously lived. She made Sophie work for her keep - without pay.

And then they received an invitation to a masquerade ball. Sophie dilligently prepared her step-mother and step-sisters for the ball, never dreaming of going herself. But once they were on their way, the staff prepared Sophie to attend the ball herself. She wore clothing that had been her grandmother's (on her father's side) and was taken in the family carriage. The one caveat, she had to meet the carriage at midnight, otherwise she could be caught.

So dressed in her grandmother's clothes, her face covered by a mask, she attends the ball. On entrance, she garners the attention of several men but it's Benedict Bridgerton that whisks her away. They both are smitten but she refuses to give him her name and he steals a kiss.

He comments that her hair feels like silk. She laughs and reminds him that he has on gloves. He has her remove his glove and feels her hair. She asks for the same liberty so he removes her glove, which bears the family crest and her grandmother's initials. He is about to remove her mask when the clock starts chiming midnight and she narrowly escapes, having left the glove behind.

He spends years trying to locate her and she dreams of him, knowing that societal proprieties will not allow for them to be together, so she tries to forget him. When they meet again, he does not recognize her (he never really saw her face). He's drawn to her but cannot allow himself to really give in to his care for her because he feels he's being unfaithful to his true love, the mystery lady from the ball.

It was a fun, light read. Predictable? Yes, but still fun. I highly recommend it. :)

Another Plug

Earlier this year I read Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich for a reading group I participate in. I'd never read anything by Janet Evanovich and wasn't overly impressed but everyone kept saying her Stephanie Plum series was wonderful so I said I'd give it a try.

Well, I ordered (and received) One for the Money last week and since I rotate what I read in genre's (so I don't get over tired of one particular genre), I cracked open One for the Money yesterday for my "mystery" genre.

For all intents and purposes I read it in one sitting. I took a couple of breaks, surfed the net and took restroom breaks but basically, I read it in a few hours time.

It was a light, fun read with a mystery to boot. I'm officially a fan. :)

P.S. Merry Christmas!!!

My remote control is possessed!

I have a number of TV remotes in various conditions. Several bear teeth marks from Max and/or Brewsky. The one in my living room has loose parts inside of it while the one in the bedroom has buttons I have no idea what their purpose is. These two remotes are in the best condition of my collection.

Anyway, the remote in the living room rattles when I pick it up now. I'm sure this is because it has been dropped so many times. But, here's the deal, I will be watching TV and I'll want to mute the TV for some reason (maybe a call, maybe to write a blog) and when I hit the mute, it turns my TV off. Not every time but enough to aggravate me.

Other times I'll move my remote and the channel changes...on the TV, not the cable channel. That's the weirdest thing because if I click on the channel up or down it changes the cable station I'm watching. If I punch in the numbers in the remote, again, it changes the cable station I'm watching so to have it change the station my TV is on is just bizarre. And did I mention I won't have clicked anything on my remote when this happens? Again, not all the time, just periodically.

Maybe the rattling I'm hearing in the remote is little gremlins out to make me crazy. So far their plan is working.

Perfect Days

My vacation officially started at 4:33 pm Tuesday, December 20. I'm off for the rest of the year. (You can't see it but I'm doing the happy dance here.)

I left work and went immediately to get a massage from the massage queen, Robin. Came home and had a good night's sleep.

Yesterday I got up and met a friend for a leisurely lunch - very nice.

A little later I went to the movies and saw The Family Stone. It was different than I thought it would be but I liked it. I laughed and cried during the movie. I debated sitting in the theater for a while after it was over so the puffiness of my eyes would go down.

Of course the crying thing could have just been me. They showed a preview for a movie called Eight Down or Eight Under, something like that. It's about a dog team. They are taken out on an adventure (not sure exactly why) and things go awry. The dogs save this man's life and then when help comes, they leave the dogs behind, planning to come back later. Then the weather gets really bad and they can't go back for them so the dogs have to fend for themselves in this artic weather. I was crying at the preview! So, it could have just been me that got weepy at The Family Stone.

Anyway, I left there and went to Foley's to spend my gift card the attorneys I work with gave me. I couldn't find what I wanted so I went to leave the mall - passing the movie theater on my way to my car. I happened to look at the time and see what was playing...Fun with Dick and Jane started in ten minutes so I bought a ticket and went to see it too. I'm not a Jim Carrey (sp?) fan but I liked this movie. It was funny.

Today I'm going to see if I can find a local theater that still has Rent playing.

I love being on vacation!

Embarrassing moments

A number of years ago my mother told me this story.

A little old lady (okay, I think she just said a lady...I just imagine her as little and old) was coming out of the grocery store with her shopping cart full of grocery bags. As she approached her car she realized that there were three "thugs" (you know, look like trouble making late teen, early twenties kids) sitting in her car. Well, she knew the times had changed so she carried a gun in her purse and she thought this was the perfect opportunity to pull it out and use it. So she walked up to the driver's side window (which had been rolled down) and pointed the gun at the "head thug's" (why else would he be in the driver's seat) head. She calmly told them to get out of the car. And they did. Running away as fast as their thug legs would carry them.

Happy that she'd defended herself and her vehicle, she unloaded her groceries into the car and then got in the front seat. It was then that it dawned on her.

It wasn't her car.

Her car, she realized, was a couple of parking spaces over. She loaded the groceries back into the shopping cart and then into her car and drove to the police station to explain what had happened. As she was telling her story the police officer started laughing. When asked what was so funny he pointed to the three kids that were reporting a car jacking by a little old lady.

That story always makes me laugh because I can just imagine the kids' faces as this lady pulls a gun on them and tells them to get out of the car - their car. LOL

Anyway, so what made me think of this story? Last night when I was leaving the office, I spotted my car in the parking lot and noticed that some sort of flyer was on my car. I work in a place that has tight security so I knew it was something the company had put on the car. It kind of annoyed me.

So, I'm walking to my car and as I approached it I snatched the flyer off the windshield and clicked the automatic locks on my keychain. Nothing happened. I'm reading the flyer, even more annoyed at the message, as I click the locks again. Still nothing. I turned the keychain around and clicked it again and heard a faint beep. I tried to open the door and it was locked. I clicked one last time again I heard a faint beep but this time I noticed a car a couple of spaces over with its lights flashing. Then it dawned on me, I was trying to get into the wrong car. I dart around the car to my own car, realizing that I'm taking the flyer from the car with me. I make the decision not to return it but as I'm snatching the flyer off of MY car, I look back and see someone walking straight towards me with this big grin on his face.

I knew immediately that it had been his car I'd tried to break into. I walked over, laughed as I gave him his flyer while he told me he'd done that with my car before (yeah, but he never got caught!). Very embarrassing moment. LOL

Is it just me?

My boss took our group to lunch today - a holiday lunch. We went to Pappas Seafood. I'm not sure if that's national or local. In any event, it's one of the nicer restaurants in the area. More upscale.

Anyway, one of my attorneys has been in a pissy mood for at least two weeks now and it's not been real clear why. All I know is the first week I went in to say good morning to her and she bit my head off. Actually she did that two out of three mornings. I quit going in to see her.

Then she stopped talking to me altogether. Wouldn't even make eye contact with me last week. On one occasion she needed something done and rather than tell me, she wrote it on a post it note and stuck it on my desk.

I was sitting at my desk at the time.

So this kind of behavior has been going on for at least two weeks. The invitation for lunch went out before she stopped talking to me. She made some comment about she didn't want to go. See, I'm like the only one in the group she likes and she didn't want to spend her lunch hour with a group of people she doesn't like.

Fine - it was optional.

So my boss sends out a reminder this morning about it and offered to drive me and the other two staff support ladies. Said if anyone didn't want to go to let him know, otherwise we'd get a table for the group.

No one declined.

The female attorney rode out with another attorney. In the restaurant, she sat in the corner with her arms crossed the entire time. She never joined in the conversation or made eye contact with anyone and she didn't even order lunch!

So, is it just me or is that not rude?

Aside from her negativity, it was a nice lunch.

No Plot? No Problem!

That's the name of a book intended as a writing tool for writers. Chris Baty is the author and, if I'm not mistaken, he also is the one that heads up the annual NaNoWriMo in November. But that's not really the subject of this post. It's about books that have no plot.

I know people who don't like books without a plot. I know others who say the story is all about the characters.

I think I fall in the latter category. Not that I have anything against plots but if I'm not relating with the characters in some way, the author can have the best plot ever devised and s/he will have lost me as a reader. On the flip side, if s/he can make me care about the characters, I probably won't notice/care that there is no plot.

If the author has created a character who hits a nerve with me and I hate them, that's okay because they've been so descriptive that they've evoked an emotion out of me. It's only bad when it's the hero or heroine. And that happens.

I've heard (and find it to be true for my tastes) that it's not good to have a book that is only about sex. A well written love scene is one thing but when the characters can't seem to drag themselves out of bed long enough to have a discussion or a life, there's a problem. I'll move on to the next book.

I recently read a book where all either characters could think about was having sex with the other one. I think there was only one scene where they actually consummated the relationship but it never left their thoughts. (And the sex scene was on the cutting room floor. They discussed it and thought about it a lot afterwards though but the act itself didn't make the cut.) I didn't hate the book but the author also did not go on my "automatic buy" list.

For me, reading is an escape. I like mindless reading. I love fun, light reads - something that can make me laugh and/or cry but not require too much thought on my part. Don't get me wrong, I love John Grisham thrillers and Mary Higgins Clark mysteries but those kinds of books only make up about twenty-five percent of my reading. The other seventy-five percent is made up of lighter fare. But if they can't make me care about the characters, they lose me as a reader. (Can't stress that enough. LOL)

So, bottom line for me and my reading preferences, my motto is: No Plot? No Problem! ;o)

How about you?

Your Honor, I give you Exhibit A

Men don't listen. A woman rarely has a man's full attention. The one exception is when he is watching sports and you get between him and the television. Even then though, he's not listening. He will pretend to listen and promise anything to get you to move but the second you move, you've lost him again. And for those of you that would think you have his attention during sex, I'm sad to say, you don't. Little Johnny has his attention and little Johnny isn't going to listen to you either. In fact, the only word little Johnny understands is "yes" and every word known to man (or woman) sounds like "yes" to little Johnny.

Some of you may be reading this and shaking/nodding your head in agreement but for those of you who are not convinced, I bring proof.

To give a little background, I was making limo arrangements for my boss yesterday. He's attending a company sponsored event tomorrow night and wanted to arrive in style. He placed the charges on his corporate card. I like my boss so I didn't comment but it got me to thinking, does this mean that since the Christmas party is company sponsored I can hire a limosine to take me there and have the company pay for it? Hmmmm....something to consider - but I digress.

So, I called our travel department and reached, what else, a man. We'll call him Travel Guy or TG for short for the purposes of this transcript. The following is the actual transcript of the telephone conversation:

TG: How may I help you?
Me: I need to set up limosine services.
TG: Is this for travel already scheduled?
Me: No, it's transportation within the city for a company sponsored event.
TG: I see. And the name?
Me: I give him my boss' name, spelling the last name because it's one of those names that is spelled in a way that you're convinced someone's cat ran across the keyboard (multiple times) as it was being typed but actually sounds like "Smith".
TG: How will Mr. Smith be paying for this?
Me: Corporate AMEX.
TG: He's putting it on his corporate card?
Me: Yes.
TG: Account number (recites account number).
Me: Like I have his number committed to memory! Not to mention I've NEVER been asked to confirm a credit card number before! Yes.
TG: Are we picking him up at his home (proceeds to recite home address).
Me: No. I have an address for pick up. (I recite the street address.)
TG: What is that?
Me: I don't know. I just have the address. It could be his townhouse but I'm not sure.
TG: What's the zip code?
Me: I don't have that information.
TG: Well, I need that to schedule the pick up.
Me: Realizing boss is in the office next to mine, probably standing near the doorway. Hang on one minute. (covering mouthpiece of phone - yelling) Mr. Smith!!!

No response (which actually, when you think about it, could be used as Exhibit A-1. Like the (A-1) sauce. Not really all that strong by itself but boy can it bring out the flavor of the meat!)

Me: (back into the phone) He didn't hear me.
TG: I can look it up on mapquest.
Me: (Look at destination, realize no address number or zip code is listed, turn to computer and pull up mapquest myself.)
TG: I found it. (He recites the zip code he found to me.) Does that sound right?
Me: (Pull phone away from my ear, make face and exaggerated arm gesture, excuse me but didn't I just tell you I DON'T KNOW the zip code? How the heck would I know if it "sounded" right? put phone back to ear) I have no idea. (rolling eyes) Sure, whatever.
TG: Do you know the name of these townhouses?
Me: I don't know that it is his townhouse. It may not be. But to answer your question, I don't know the name of the townhouses he lives in. And this may not be his townhouse anyway. Don't put that on there because it may not be his townhouse.
TG: So where are we taking him?
Me: (I give him name address and zip code of destination.)
TG: What time do we need to pick him up at the townhouse?
Me: I don't know that it is his townhouse but he needs to be picked up at the address I gave you at 6:30 pm.
TG: Okay, so what time does he need to be picked up from (name of destination)?
Me: 9:45 pm
TG: Okay, so let's recap: We have him being picked up from his townhouse at 6:30 pm, address (gives address).
Me: (interrupting) I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT IS HIS TOWNHOUSE!
TG: (continuing as if I hadn't said anything) We will pick him up at 9:45 pm and bring him home.
Me: Those are the right times and addresses but I don't know that the address is his townhouse. I don't know the address to the townhouse. That needs to be removed from the record in case it's not.
TG: Okay, is there anything else I can do for you today?
Me: Yes, is it possible to put in the record that this needs to be charged immediately? We want to prepay for the services.
TG: We can do that. He's putting this on his corporate card?
Me: Yes. Also, he wanted me to be sure the limo service had his cell number, just in case they had difficulty locating him.
TG: He wants the limo service to have his cell number in case they get lost going to his townhouse?
Me: (through gritted teeth) I don't know that that is his townhouse! He wants them to have the number in case they need to reach him for any reason! Can that be included in his record?
TG: Of course.

We finish up the call with him telling me he would email me the confirmation. I submit to you Exhibit A. (Due to technical difficulties I cannot post the confirmation but in big bold letters it said to pick up the passenger at his TOWNHOME!!!!! P.S. there was no zip code listed anywhere on the confirmation either) No mention was made of prepayment or cell number.

I called the limo company directly. No mention was made on what they received about prepayment so I set that up directly (and they charged immediately, thank you very much...did I mention I spoke with a WOMAN at the limo service? yeah!). As for the cell number, she said a number was included and proceeded to give me the number provided, which happened to be MY work number. Yeah, when the limo service is trying to locate Mr. Smith, it will be good that they call my work number, after hours, on a Friday night. We fixed that too. (When I saw the confirmation had it listed as his townhome I went to Mr. Smith. He confirmed that it WAS his townhome so I didn't have to address that with the limo company - but that wasn't the point.)

So, with that, Your Honor, I rest this case.

Tune in tomorrow when we look at the hypnotic properties or gravitational pull of a woman's breasts, also known as "excuse me sir but my eyes are up here!"

What the devil?

At the recommendation of Honey, I decided to wait to read Jennifer Crusie's Strange Bedfellows. In its place I'll be reading Shirley Jump's The Devil Served Tortellini.

For Maria Pagliano, too much of a good thing has always been a problem. Whether it's men or carbs, she just can't say no. But that's about to change. For her high school reunion, Maria's vowed to reinvent herself as a woman who has her life strictly in order. No more pasta, bread, dessert, or datingeven if the menu offering is one sexy chef named Dante Del Rosso.

Everything about Dante is off-limits. From his come-hither smile to his sultry way around the kitchen in his Boston restaurant, he's too much temptation...for her taste buds and her heart. Just being around the guy makes her crave more. The only thing to do is go cold turkey on Dante. But he has other ideas. Now, this devil is out to woo his dream woman using every spicy, sweet, and sinfully delicious weapon he's got. And once Maria gets a taste of the real thing, how can she possibly settle for anything less?

Last chance

Okay, I'm giving Jennifer Crusie another try. I've only read one of her books before now and I have to say, I hated it. I didn't like the hero or heroine. I didn't like "the bad guy" (in fact I HATED the bad guy) and I didn't much like the friend, that recommended the book, for a while. In fact, I haven't read - or finished - a book she's recommended since then.

Anyway, I've heard such wonderful things about Ms Crusie's books and I want to give her another chance. And she was so funny accepting her Rita in Reno. My local RWA chapter sells member donated books at their meetings for $1 to raise money to buy the speaker's books to give as giveaways at our meetings. They had Ms. Crusie's Strange Bedpersons at one meeting so I snatched it up.

But this is it. If I have the same "I wanna beat the shift outta someone" feeling when I finish this book as I did the last one, I won't read another of her books - ever, except under threat of severe torture. So, if you know this is the wrong one of her books for me to read to get the warm fuzzies, STOP ME NOW, before I start it.

I've been tagged! Gasp!

Okay, so I'm minding my own business reading a response to a friend's blog about not having anything to blog about. The response said they were tagging the blogger. Laughing to myself I run over to the responder's blog to see what the tag was because I love reading those things and think it's funny when unsuspecting people get tagged. Well, in THAT blog, three people were tagged, among them one Lucy S. I'm thinking "I wonder who that is" because after all Mel (she only needs one name, like Cher or Madonna) has no idea who I am...does she? I click on the link and *GASP* it takes me to MY blog. Suddenly tagging isn't as funny as it was two minutes ago. LOL

Okay, so here's the deal: I need to list 15 facts and personal preferences (quirks, habits, whatever) about books.

Here goes:

1. I love the escape a book gives.
2. I like reading a variety of different genres.
3. Until recently, John Grisham and Nicholas Sparks were automatic buys. (Their last few books have put them back in the "gotta read the back cover first" category again.)
4. Mary Higgins Clark is still an automatic buy.
5. I sometimes get embarrassed by the book cover of the book I'm reading - but I still read it, and enjoy it.
6. I love discovering new authors.
7. I hadn't ever read a Julia Quinn book when I accosted her at the Reno Airport in July.
8. After reading one of Julia Quinn's book, I'm now a huge fan of her work.
9. I love books that make me laugh out loud, snort or laugh until tears are streaming.
10. I love books that can grab me at an emotional level that they can make me cry.
11. I'm not a fan of alpha males in books.
12. If I can figure out who the killer is, anyone else can figure it out by reading the back cover - but I love reading mysteries anyway.
13. I own every single book ever published by Cheryl Bolen .
14. I love that I can order books from amazon.com and they will be delivered to my door...eventually.
15. My TBR pile is high enough that if I read one book a day until I read every book in the pile, I would be reading into the new year.

Okay, so now I have to tag three people. I don't suppose I can re-tag Mel and Pam can I? No? Okay, I tag Sam, Aura, and Maria (who I'm sure has no idea this blog exists). :o)