The cleanup continues

Well, I'm waiting for the adjuster to show up to assess the damage. I finally called a tree guy last week about the "limb" on my roof (and embedded in the ground). They couldn't give me any kind of estimate as to when someone could be out - to give me a quote. Said they'd tape the quote to the door if I wasn't home. Thing is, I'm not going to haggle. I need the limb down and this is a company I've used in the past - they're fair and reasonable on their charges. Just send someone out please.

The fence isn't holding up as well as it was, which is a concern for me. The poor dogs haven't been let out unsupervised since we returned from Arkansas and nobody is happy about that. I do, however, leave the back door open when I'm home - if it's not too hot and if they're even remotely interested in being outside (although, have to say, all I have to do to get them interested in going outside is to CLOSE the door!).

I have no idea who to call about my chimney. None whatsoever. My concern is that it could potentially be a leak threat and we're expecting rain (for the first time since the hurricane) today and tomorrow. Although, I suppose if it was going to leak with any consequence, it would have done so during the hurricane.

As for those who gave input on the gift card - thank you. I did end up getting them a gift card. I had lunch with Mrs. SCG the Tuesday after they came out (SCG got pulled onto another job - related to damages caused at another facility - for three to six months so I may not see him much, if at all, for a while). She acted like it burned her when she touched it and said they couldn't accept it. I told her they had to because it had their name engraved on it (it didn't but she didn't look - and it worked because she took it then). She said SCG would be pissed though and he did send me a text that evening letting me know he wasn't happy. I spoke with him the next day and I told him that I just wanted to do something nice for them and thought they could use it for a nice dinner out and after that, he seemed okay with it. By the way, Mrs. SCG insisted on paying for my lunch that Tuesday - in fact, she had arranged it with the waitress before I arrived, yet they were reluctant to accept something from me (lunch was $30, by the way - 1/3 of the gift card, right off the bat!).

Oh, and in other Ike crap . . . I have a rental property out in Hempstead, Texas. It's a little shack really. My mother crew up in it and the tenant that lives there now has lived in it for more than 30 years. She pays all of $80 a month (and I've often wondered if I'm overcharging her - seriously!). Well, the house lost a good portion of the roof apparently. I asked her if she could find someone to come out and take a look at it and she said she would. Of course there were no roofers that could come out immediately so she called a jack of all trades guy who gave us a quote of "somewhere between $12,000 and $18,000. Yeah, so not happening! I asked the tenant to call the blue roof program so we'd have more time to consider our options. Have to say, the house isn't worth $12,000 so there's no way I can afford/justify paying that on the roof. Not to mention, at $80 a month, I won't be re-cooping that expense any time soon. Not sure what I'm going to do about that. (The house is not insured - I tried a few years back to get insurance but it's not up to code so is uninsurable at this time so the cost would be 100% on me.)

Anyway, hope to have all the Ike stuff cleared up soon and have life back to normal. In the meantime, I really appreciate all the good thoughts and vibes.

What's going on in y'alls worlds?

After the Storm

Well, SCG and his family got here Friday around 10:00 a.m. and worked until about 4:00 p.m. - and we didn't finish the clean up! I remembered that I hadn't used up all my exposures on the disposable camera I got in San Francisco so I snapped a few shots and took them to be developed (if nothing else, Ike got me to get pictures from Nationals developed).

Here is a shot of the pile of limbs in my front yard waiting to be picked up. And just let me say, this picture doesn't do the pile justice - it looks more massive in person, seriously.


Below are some shots of the backyard, as it looks now:

It may not look like it but I could stand upright when inside that dog house. And what's not green is covered in limbs that need to be raked and bagged up to be hauled out to the front. The dogs walk gingerly over it.

SCG kept saying he thought I should contract someone to cut down this tree and haul it off. I love this tree and couldn't understand why he would say that but looking at this picture, it does look kind of sad, doesn't it?By the way, the limb resting on the ground is attached to the one coming down from the tree AND the one shooting off to the right. The branch shooting off to the right is resting on my house and the way it's all laying, we couldn't get it down. It's likely it will cause damage to the roof and/or windows when it is brought down.

I took this next photo to kind of show how the fence had to be propped up. The tree in this picture is my favorite and doesn't seem to have sustained much, if any, damage as a result of the storm.


So, my question to you all. . . I want to do something nice for SCG and his family for all their hard work. I was thinking of a gift card (say MasterCard) of $100, that way they can use it how they choose to. I know it's not much, particularly given that it was a family of four that worked for 6 hours but it's all I can afford at the moment. Do you think it will be insulting? Should I get something more personal? And if so, suggestions?

If it helps, I didn't ask SCG for help - he offered. He called me Thursday a week ago as I was loading up my car to evacuate and asked if there was anything he could do - anything I needed. Then he kept in touch with me throughout the next week, letting me know how things were here and asking that I let him know when I would be back so he could help me. He even sent a text the day I came back, asking if I was back and when I'd be back so he could come help me. And he didn't hesitate to come out and he - and his family - worked their tails off for 6 hours to get done what we did.

So, thoughts? Suggestions? Help please! :)

O. M. G.!

Well, as Gabrielle can attest, I have a crappy camera that never works when I need/want it to so I wasn't able to take photos on it (although I did take pictures with my cell phone, only I don't have the internet on my phone). But OMG, the friend who told me about the damages in no way prepared me for what I came home to. She said, "Of course there are branches on the ground." Uh, yeah. I have about a quarter of an acre here (large for a subdivision lot) and there is no ground that isn't covered. And we're not talking any pansy ass small limbs, we're talking big huge honking limbs that make walking through the backyard impossible. Not to mention, the french doors are blocked by branches.

She also failed to mention (although not a big deal) that the dog house has been up-ended. I've been wanting to get rid of it so I'm really okay with that. But the 40 feet of fence that is down? Uh, try about 100 feet of fence down! And the posts are snapped off - not uprooted, broken.

But with all that, amazingly, no windows were broken.

SCG and his family are coming out within the next hour to help clean up my yard and repair my fence. He lives in a brand new home and mine is 25 years old and in need of a facelift. I'm not really comfortable with him seeing my house but I'm so so so so so grateful for him for helping me because I couldn't do this on my own.

I do have electricity and enough water for a few days - hopefully enough to last until the "boil water order" is lifted. No cable though (which was a disappointment to SCG's daughter lol).

Anyway, so that's how things are here. I'm home and grateful for what I have - including good friends. :)

Onward and Upward

Well, I woke up this morning in a much better mood. My step-father hadn't been out of bed five minutes (literally - he hadn't even poured his morning cup of coffee yet) when I announced that I wanted to have breakfast at Anglers here in Mountain View, Arkansas. He was quite agreeable and had to wait for me to get dressed.

So, we headed out to Anglers, only to find out that breakfast isn't served except for on weekends. Okay, not a problem. We got back into the car and headed towards Fifty Six, Arkansas. They DO serve breakfast on weekdays at Cody's in Fifty Six. So my step-father ordered one egg over-easy and ham, with biscuits and gravy. Mind you, I wasn't hungry - I just wanted a good breakfast before I left here. I ordered 2 eggs scrambled, sausage, biscuits and hashbrowns. My step-father ate his egg, one of his two (delicious) biscuits and some of his ham. I cleaned my plate, just shy of licking it. It was that good. And remember, I wasn't even hungry.

As for the other stuff going on in my life - I think I'm going to head home tomorrow. I have reason to believe the power is back on again - at least some in my neighborhood have electricity. But even if I don't - I just want to get back home. Things need to be done. But I'm not complaining now - just stating facts.

Anyway, I wanted to mention the thing about packing for evacuations and things you want to keep in mind. First of all, the decision for me to evacuate was a last minute thing. I hadn't planned on evacuating, ever again, after Rita. Technically I'm just outside (as in less than a mile) of the mandatory evacuation zone if the hurricane is a Category 5 hurricane. But I took off Thursday and was clearing out potential projectiles from my yard and came in to see that the town I live in was under a mandatory evacuation order.

I freaked a little bit at that and all thoughts of staying quickly left me. I tried to remain calm but when I went into my bedroom to pack I realized that was a lost cause. I started yanking things off of hangers and throwing them - unfolded - into my suitcase. Then I started grabbing laundry and throwing that into a different suitcase. Shoes and books in another, etc. I kept thinking I needed to get my mortgage/deed/insurance papers together but never got them when I thought about them so they got left behind.

With the same consideration I'd thrown things into my suitcase, I threw things into the trunk of my car. Dog beds, dog food, suitcases (I had to combine the shoe/book one with the dirty clothes one because they weren't all fitting into my trunk). I brought some food and water (learning from the Rita debacle) and some other miscellaneous "stuff".

And I promptly fled, in the clothes I had been working out in the yard in.

Now, here's where I mention that my "yard work" bra is different from my "every day" bra. (Can you see where I'm going with this?) And yes, the only bra I brought was the one I was wearing. Let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. Mountain View is a nice town but it doesn't have much in the way of retail so I had to buy a bra at WalMart for public wearing. It's not great but for $10, I won't complain.

So, I learned about the food and water from Rita. This hurricane has taught me to be absolutely sure you pack the right bra, if you're going to be evacuating. :)

What would you want to make sure you had if you evacuated?

Pity Party

I really shouldn't post today because I'm a bit depressed. I evacuated my home because of Hurricane Ike and the officials are saying I can't go back yet. Now, I could be a rebel and go home anyway but I'll be traveling with three large dogs and a donut spare tire but I've been hearing about all the flat tires because of the debris on the roads because of Ike. Too much of the drive home is barren for me to want to venture out under those conditions.

Not to mention, I don't have power or water at home. Power was restored Sunday but sometime between then and now, we lost it again.

Add to that, part of my fence is down. That wouldn't be a big deal if I didn't have the three big dogs I previously mentioned. I don't know how that's even going to work. So even if I go - and get - home, I have to deal with that. Well, that and the part of the tree on my roof and the chimney that is now part of my backyard decor.

I feel bad whining because it could have been so much worse and I know people who do have it worse - like my old boss who has a tree in his dining room. Or my friend who lost part of her roof. Or the people of Galveston who don't have homes to go back to. Compared to those people, I have it good. . . real good.

At least I have friends - good friends. There's the friend that went to my house and made note of the damages. There's SCG who offered to come help me with the tree and the fence as soon as I get home. And I've heard from so many people the past few days, checking in and making sure I'm okay and safe. That's really a nice feeling.

But even with all that, I want to go home - to my home. I want to be in my house cleaning up my mess and getting things back to normal. There was a time when coming to Arkansas was a vacation to me but it's not like that anymore and it's not like that now. Not knowing when I can go home or when things will be back to normal has been very stressful for me. I wish I could just go with the flow but it's not working, try as I might.

In any event, that's my current status - whine officially over (for now). When I'm feeling a bit peppier, remind me to tell you my list of things to be sure to pack when evacuating and about the spider the size of Nebraska.

New discovery

When I went to San Francisco I decided not to be greedy with the books. If I didn't think I would actually read the book, I wasn't going to get it. And it's bad because you're meeting so many people that you don't really remember who you've met - or at least I don't. Someone has to really stand out for me to remember them.

Well, I definitely remember Eileen Cook. She commented that I looked familiar to her and asked if we'd met before. At first I was honest and said no and then joked that we used to be so close and I was a bit hurt that she couldn't place me - particularly after our little "experiment". That came out of my mouth before I could think about it and I barely had a moment to think it might not go over well before, without missing a beat, she says "Oh, now I remember you!" going along with the joke. It was funny, we both laughed and it really made me want to read her book.

Then I got home and started noticing that everyone whose blog I frequent (or most of them anyway) link to her blog. Next thing I know, I add a link to her blog and I'm digging through the books I've brought home for SF and looking for hers. For some reason I was a bit on the fence about reading her book at that particular time and then I opened up to read a little bit - see if it caught my attention. I was sold with the first sentence!

I started reading it yesterday during lunch and wanted to read this weekend but, given that I have homework assignments to do, decided to allow myself to read it as a "reward" for getting all the homework done. Only I didn't want to wait - and what if I didn't get all the homework done? As a result, I sat down today and read the rest of the book.

It was hilarious. I absolutely loved it. It goes in the top ten of my all-time favorite books list.

Oh, but as soon as I finished I popped over to amazon.com (I have a gift card coming in and wanted to have my book picks ready). Imagine my surprise to see that Unpredictable is in my "cart"! Has been since March 2, 2008. My guess is that someone recommended it on their blog and I put it in my cart for a later date and then promptly forgot about it. So, I guess I was destined to read this book and I have to say, it did not disappoint.

Next up will be my homework reading (Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, which I'm also loving!). So that's what I'm reading, what are you reading?

I really am a flight girl!

Your Response is: Flight

You rather leave than deal with a dangerous or uncomfortable situation. You can't deal with too much drama or stress. It's really hard for you to cope. You are easily scared, freaked out, or intimidated. And while it's good to be prudent, not everything may be as freaky as it seems!

How Do You Respond: Fight or Flight?

Fight or Flight?

I'm not a confrontational type of person. If something bothers me, I usually won't say anything - I hold it in, thinking the situation will get better or right itself somehow. It takes a lot for me to "unburden" myself of my frustrations - to the point of when I do finally "snap", the person on the receiving end is probably thinking I'm some sort of psycho because whatever it was that pushed me over the edge was something they'd been doing for forever.

Yeah, I'm one of those people.

So, in that regard, I guess I'm a flight girl. I don't really like that about myself but it's something I know about myself.

But then, I learned something about myself this week. I guess I already knew it but it was really brought home to me in this situation.

Secret Crush Guy (SCG) and I had a little "situation" this week. And in case I haven't mentioned it here, mine and SCG's relationship has become one of close friends. There's no more of the awkwardness because I have inappropriate feelings for him, because those feelings are - not gone but re-channeled, for lack of a better word. He's among the top five closest friends I've ever had, and it's not one-sided and I feel comfortable with it because his wife is a part of the equation - we've become friends too. Everything's out in the open and there are no secrets (well, except that I once lusted after her husband but then again, that was never out in the open to SCG either so...).

But back to the situation. We usually walk out together after work - or at the very least, stop by the other's office to tell them we're leaving . . . without them. Yesterday he was in an all day meeting and was taking today off so I totally expected him to slip out as soon as his meeting was over - but I still expected him to tell me he was leaving. Only he didn't. It's not a big deal or anything but I was kind of surprised, especially since he was going to be out today. So, I sent him a text message that said "I cannot believe you ditched me!!!"

He responded with "I dont want to tell you the details. You may not forgive me." *typos are his

I immediately called him up and said I wanted the details. He laughed and said he was meeting Brenda at Pappadeaux for drinks.

Now, I know that doesn't sound like a big deal but it was like a knife to my heart. Let me start off by saying, I don't care who he is friends with - I honestly don't. It's none of my business. Ditto for what he does with those friends. What bothered me was I really cannot stand Brenda and he knows that. (For what it's worth, he's not particularly a fan of hers either, which I think played into my reaction as well.) We've also - recently - talked about going out for drinks after work but he's commented that he's a big flirt and a tease when he drinks (which of course is what I want to see in action because I think it would be hysterical - not because I want that directed at me . . . his wife is an invited guest to the event, should it ever happen) and I think he's afraid he would embarrass himself too much. Anyway, I knew there was more to the story than what he'd told me but I was upset because he would use her and drinking to get a rise out of me - which is what he wanted to do. So in essence, he deliberately upset me, which is why I was so upset. I seriously thought I was going to start bawling on the phone so I told him I was going to hang up "now". He laughed again and I said bye and he started saying something as I hung up on him.

It took long enough for him to realize I'd hung up and for him to dial me back up before my phone rang. I clicked on "ignore" and deleted the message he left without listening to it - which I've never done before, by the way. He sent me another text that said "I was tearing you. We are having our project management conference dinner. Cant believe you hung up!" *again, typos are his and it took me awhile to realize "tearing" was supposed to be teasing!

I didn't respond. He called again but didn't leave a message that time.

I was upset all night and then had bad dreams about it. I know it doesn't seem like a lot but it really bothered me. Anyway, he called me first thing this morning. I decided to take the call and just said Hello. He said, "What's your problem?" Now, I should point out that he said it more in a playful voice but given the circumstances, it wasn't funny to me - at all. In fact, I had that "I'm going to start bawling" feeling again. So I took a deep breath and said, "Wow. Nice way to start the conversation." He laughed. It still wasn't going over well with me so I said, "I'm going to hang up now." He asked me something about why I was hanging up on him and I took another deep breath and said I didn't want to talk to him just then. He asked why. I said bye and I hung up.

And here's the deal. I was in flight mode. Not just from the confrontation but I was also checking out of the friendship - completely. Last night when I went to bed I was thinking it was the end of our friendship - that's how hurt I was - and is why I think I had the bad dreams. I woke up this morning deciding that, in fairness to him, we needed to talk about it - which is why I took his call. But then his opening comment . . . well, I already told you how that went. I immediately went into flight mode again - from the confrontation and from the friendship. I was going to let the weekend pass without contacting him but I talked to a mutual friend of ours and she said she thought our friendship was good enough but if I waited too long, irreparable damage could be done. She didn't think I should wait over the weekend to contact him. So I texted him and said "Shorthand version-not mad you just really hurt my feelings by deliberate actions-deliberate being the key word. didn't want to cry so hung up." He responded with "Sorry. It was meant as tease. I would never deliberately hurt your feelings."

Okay, I know he wouldn't deliberately hurt my feelings. I know that. I also knew he was teasing me. It was just that his actions were deliberate, and he did want a reaction from me - just not the one I gave him.

Anyway, there has been no further communication because I had to take the dogs to the vet and I didn't have another opportunity but I still feel like our friendship took a hard hit. But I'm really stunned that my reaction was (and, to be honest, still kind of is) a flight one because he really is a good friend of mine. I think one of the problems is he's an "instant" communicator. He's told me that him and his wife leave nothing unsaid - and I think that played a part in his wanting to talk about this but I don't work like that. Me? I need time to regroup. I have to think on things a while so that I don't blurt out the first thing that comes to mind because those are the things that are only meant for that one split second that you're saying them but can really do irreparable damage to the relationship. You know what I mean? So I guess that's what I'm fleeing. I don't want to have the conversation. Hmm, guess I probably need to get over that, if I want to save the friendship.

What about you? Do you fight or (take) flight? Not just in confrontations but in relationships. Inquiring minds want to know.

My first meeting

Okay, so you know that it took an online dating service for me to reconnect with a long lost friend (who I went out with once before a hundred years ago). Well, we finally met up a week ago Monday night. The following day, my good friend (SCG) brought me this:




I started on the hard liquor before he started talking but aside from that, that's EXACTLY how my date went. The sad thing is, I'm not even kidding.

So, no romantic connection is in the future for us but hey, I won't count out that we might go out as friends again. Oh, and P.S. Today is his birthday.

Conference

Well, I got back last evening from conference and I was exhausted. I'm finally getting my energy back this evening. And in a good news/bad news kind of thing, I also get tomorrow off to further recuperate - Tropical Storm Edouard is expected to pass over us tomorrow so the site has closed for tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm going to try to get as much as I can about conference in this post, pictures and additional details may follow in future posts though. I'll start by saying that after Atlanta, I posted a list of things I'd learned in Atlanta and I just have to say that, when you have the same roommate, some of the things continue to hold true. That's all I'm saying.

Okay, so, I left home Saturday morning, dropped the dogs off at the kennel and headed towards the airport. When I got to the parking lot to leave my car, I was told that valet parking was all that was available. They said it was the same price as me parking the car so I said fine. Wasn't crazy about leaving my keys with someone who knew I was going to be gone eight days (I had to tell them that). I wrote down my mileage (and thanked God that I'd told my neighbor that no matter what he was told - I was NOT moving last week!) and got on the bus to the airport.

You know how you send your purse through the x-ray machine? Well, any time they run it through several times, it's not a good thing. I have a metal nail file I'd forgotten to take out (remembered on the return trip though - yes they let me keep it, which surprised me) that has a sharp point to it. When they asked me what I had in my purse with a sharp point, I told them my nail file. They picked it up with two fingers (well a finger and a thumb) and carried it over to this table where they proceeded to wipe it down so they could test it for bomb components residue (I asked). When the test came up negative (big surprise there HA! although I freaked a little when the alarm on the machine went off - obviously indicating an all clear), they gingerly (two fingered again) unzipped the area I told them held the offending nail file, made a visual and then released me to go - file intact.

Caught my flight and sat next to a man who told me a story of how the last time he went home (he lives in Washington but was working in Houston), his neighbor died in his arms. I didn't know what to say to that, but of course he didn't wait for one, and instead told me - in great detail - how it all happened. Now, I won't bore you all with the details but I just want to say that, in the end, his neighbor is alive and well but apparently has medical issues.

I made it to SF and caught the shuttle bus to the B&B I stayed at the first part of the week. It's a very nice B&B and gave me a visual and lots of info on how a B&B can work. Considering one of my stories is set in a B&B, I consider that a good thing - a very good thing.

Gabrielle arrived later that evening and she and her friend, Tamara, drove me around SF, including the Golden Gate Bridge (GGB). I whipped out my camera to get a night time shot of the GGB, only to get a great shot of the back of Gabrielle's head. I'm good with a camera like that. When I tried to get a second shot of the bridge, the battery was dead. *sigh* We drove around some more and then headed back to the B&B.

I should point out that the B&B had four guests rooms and only two bathrooms. That first night there and the next morning proved to be interesting in the way of getting to actually use the bathrooms. Kind of comical in the way of doors opening and closing and peeking out to see if it was "free".

That night I had a bizarre dream that involved my co-workers and bad people. In the dream I was standing across the street from my house with the bad man chasing me. My neighbor's garage door and front door were open so I thought if I called out to him, he could save me from the bad man. Well, you know how when you try to scream out in a dream but nothing will come out? That wasn't really a problem in my dream. I mean, it was a little choked out but it was still a pretty darn loud scream of "MARTIN, HELP!!!!" I woke up with a start, then realizing that I'd actually screamed out loud, I froze, waiting to see if I'd woken Gabrielle up. I sat there for a couple of minutes and she didn't move or show any signs of having heard me. Then I realized, while she might be a heavy sleeper, the other guests of the B&B might not be so I strained to hear any activity in the rest of the house. Nothing. No one was coming to save me from the bad guys. Which, since I wasn't really in jeopardy, was okay - I'm glad I didn't wake anyone. On the other hand, what if I had really been in trouble? I would've been so screwed - and not in a good way. Just saying.

Anyway, the next morning we got up to a wonderful breakfast and headed out to see the sights. We went into town and got a week-long bus pass, which pretty much covered all methods of transportation in SF. We took a trolley down to Fisherman's Wharf and spent the afternoon (along with a good amount of money) walking around there. The camera ran out of space before long and I started deleting shots that I couldn't really tell what they were. (Seeing what I have left, I may have deleted the wrong ones. *sigh*) Oh, and we saw the Naked Cowboy. He was on one side of the street, while on the other, someone was preaching the hell, fire and brimstone speech. It was kind of interesting.

We caught a couple of buses and made our way back towards the B&B, but not before stopping by a little coffee shop around the corner, where we discovered they had internet and food. The quiche looked good to me so I had them give me one to go because I wasn't hungry at that moment. (I ended up giving it to the host at the B&B before we left because, well, turns out there isn't a microwave at the B&B, not to mention, I was never hungry in the evening when it would have been convenient to eat it. It looked really good though.)

We didn't have any issues with the bathroom that night - or the next morning for that matter. One lady and a couple had checked out but another couple and another lady had checked in. The next morning I went upstairs to take my shower and came across the new lady. I just said hello in passing on the way to the bathroom but on the way out, she stopped me. Turns out she was there for the conference as well. A nice lady from Canada. She has some sightseeing she wanted to do and it worked out well because Gabrielle was wanting to take a break from all the walking, plus she wanted to do some writing. However, the three of us took a bus to town and Heather Ann (the other guest) and I deposited Gabrielle at Borders while we went on the Victorian Homes tour. (Very nice tour, by the way. We saw the house where Mrs. Doubtfire was filmed. It was interesting to find out that all the house scenes were filmed inside that house - with the exception of the kitchen scenes, and only because the kitchen wasn't big enough to fit the camera equipment inside it and the owner wasn't willing to let their walls be knocked down. They were, however, willing to let farm animals be brought in for the party scene!) I whipped out my camera to show a picture of the Naked Cowboy to Heather Ann only to discover that my camera battery was dead - again. I purchased a disposable camera at that point and gave up on my digital for the remainder of the trip.

Afterwards, Heather Ann and I collected Gabrielle and had lunch at Lori's Diner. We left there and took a bus to Coit Tower and then worked our way down through a quaint little neighborhood and saw the wild parrots flying overhead.

The next day, Gabrielle was on a roll and wanted to do some more writing to Heather Ann and I headed out. We went first to Haight and Asbury. We spent some time there and got hit up for money and asked to sign a petition to help the homeless.

From there we went to Golden Gate Park where we walked around for what seemed like forever (we later looked at the map and discovered we hadn't seen one quarter of the park!) and ended up at the Conservatory. We walked around there for a while and then caught a bus to the GGB (by the way, if you need directions in SF, just open a city map and people will come to you and offer directions). Having been told we could catch a bus on the other side, we walked across the GGB, only to find that no one seemed to know anything about where we might catch that bus on the other side. Several calls and many attempts to stop taxis later, we found the bus and rode into Sausalito. We walked around the town (cute town, by the way) and then caught the ferry back.

We made our way back to the B&B where we all agreed we were exhausted. But, I wanted a margarita so Gabrielle went online and located a place that sounded good for a margarita. So we walked the 20 miles uphill (both ways) to the margarita place, only to discover that they didn't have the strawberry margarita I wanted - so I had water instead. Yeah, I know, how do you go from a margarita to water, I don't know - but it isn't the first time that's happened. We still had a good time though.

Wednesday we (Gabrielle and I - Heather Ann stayed at the B&B for the duration) checked out of the B&B and headed over to the hotel - first thing. And by first thing, I mean around 9:30 a.m. Unfortunately our room wasn't ready until almost 3:00 p.m. Ugh!

Anyway, once we finally got in our room, we got ready for the Literacy Signing. (You know, I'm wondering now if we did something I can't remember because we were actually late to the signing.) By this point, our third roommate, Linda Carol, had joined us. I had a plan. . . you see, I was the official stalker of the conference this year.

I headed straight over to Amanda Ashby and introduced myself as her official stalker (she'd actually known about it for months - I was just making it official at the signing). She offered me a Tim Tam and well, despite what I'd previously heard, they are the best chocolate I've ever had. Let me just say, if I hadn't already committed to stalking her, that would have done it. OMG they're so good.

I was working the signing so I hung around to the end. I don't want to bad mouth anyone but um, the clean up was handled completely differently this year and it wasn't the most organized thing I've ever seen. This may have been my last year to volunteer for that.

That was followed up by the RWAOnline Chapter party, where I beelined for (and therefore ate more) Tim Tams.

Thursday morning, Linda Carol and I took a bus up to Twin Peaks. We got back just in time for the luncheon. You know, I had never read Victoria Alexander, but I will now! OMG that woman is hysterical. A few days later I ran across someone trying to find the goody room. It sounded like a good idea to check it out again so I offered to walk with her there. I hadn't realized who it was at the time but it was Victoria Alexander. Very nice lady.

Anyway, Thursday I either did workshops or book signings - maybe both, I'd have to check. That evening, I went to the Diva Dinner. It was a lot of fun. Met a lot of fun, interesting people. :)

Friday was filled with workshops and book signings. That evening I went to a party hosted by a Houston writer. Had a lot of fun.

Saturday was more workshops and book signings - plus, I finally got my margarita! The awards ceremony was fun, followed by dessert and a visit to the bar (no drink for me though) before I went to bed to get a couple of hours sleep before I had to get up to catch the shuttle bus back to the airport (left at 4:25 a.m. - and the lines at the airport were surprising LONG! at that hour).

Went to pick up my babies before I headed home, where I promptly became a couch potato, until about an hour ago, when I started this post. :)

I took today off and, as I said, get tomorrow off as well. All in all, a good conference. :)

Countdown

In less than 24 hours I should be in San Francisco. I. Can't. Wait.

I've been spending today doing laundry and packing. I was going to get my hair cut and my eyebrows waxed but given how that's gone for me recently, maybe not. :)

I have a fear that I'm going to forget something terribly important. Like, right now, I keep thinking about packing my toothpaste. I bought a special one to take with me. By the time I'm done with this post, I guarantee I will have forgotten about packing it.

Now I'm thinking about my cell phone charger. Something else that definitely needs to go and I hope I don't forget.

Something else just came to mind and I've already forgotten what it was. Hopefully it will come back to me at some point.

A friend loaned (but said I could have if I liked it) me her luggage to take with me (unfortunate incident with the zipper on mine at Christmas). It's not quite as big as mine but I'm flying Southwest and I can check two pieces of luggage and carry on two pieces of luggage and you know what - I am. By the way, is it tacky that it doesn't all match (hers all matches and mine all matches - it's just that I'm bringing one of mine to compensate for all I'm bringing)?

The dogs have all been blissfully calm today - hardly gone out at all, which is a bit troublesome for me.

Anyway, I've printed out my boarding pass (20 minutes after I could and I ended up with number 51!!!), B&B reservation confirmation, shuttle bus confirmations, workshop schedules and the corresponding workshop printouts (for those I think I'd like to attend), phone lists - I think that's it for printing.

I'm taking my backlog (assuming I pack them) of People magazines to read on the plane so that I can, uh, pass them on to my friend when I'm done. :)

I'm (assuming it will fit in something I'm taking) packing one of those little thingies (technical name here) that you load things on, strap it down and wheel it around as if it's light as a feather (for hauling books to the post office for shipping).

Now, tell me, what am I forgetting to do and/or pack?

Oh, I remember something I was going to ask...I have a digital camera but it's not one that has a stick with it. It only holds so many pictures, period - and it's not going to be enough, I guarantee you. Should I take it and/or get disposables when I arrive?

Fill in the blanks

I went to a training session today. It was the first half of an Administrative Excellence course (I took the second half last month). I'll start by saying that I really don't know what it had to do with Admin training but both sections were fun.

Anyway, we did a little exercise today where we had to fill in the blanks with something other than the standard cliches you'd expect. Something that would lighten things up and express your humor. The example given was:

He looked like something the cat refused to drag in!

Okay, with that in mind, I'm going to post the sentences here and I'd love to see your offerings in the comments - and then I'll post mine.

Here goes:

1. If at first you don't succeed _________________________.

2. She was mad as a ________________________________.

3. It was raining ____________ and __________________.

4. A penny saved is ________________________________.

5. A _____________ a day keeps the ________________ away.

6. His face was as red as a ____________________________.

Go to it. :)

Hurricane Preparedness

It's that time of year again. The time when those of us in the Gulf Coast brace ourselves for hurricanes. You know, I didn't so much think about them until Katrina and Rita three years ago. Wow! Has it really been that long ago?

Anyway, five minutes after Rita entered the Gulf of Mexico you couldn't find non-perishables or plywood in this area to save your life. And since I didn't start paying attention to it until they said it was headed towards Galveston, I was SOL. They also started advertising the evacuation line. I live just north of I-10 (and by just north, I mean I can hear the traffic from my house) and the cut off was everything south of I-10. My reaction was that if everyone south of I-10 was evacuating and I lived that close to I-10, I was evacuating too. Well, I spent 15 hours on the road and got all of 50 miles away before I turned around and came home. At one point I thought I was going to lose my dog, Max, because I'd forgotten to bring the water and it was 100 degrees outside (literally) and he wasn't looking good. It was pretty bad. Now, when I look at the cut-off for evacuation I'm more like "I'm fine - I'm north of the evacuation line". I don't plan to go unless I really have to.

Which is why I do more preparing these days. For example, I buy a gallon of water each week when I go to the grocery store. They say you should have one gallon for each person for each day. Although it's just me, I do have three dogs to consider. Right now I have seven gallons of water - just in case.

But, I decided that I need to invest in some velcro this season. Instead of plywood, if a hurricane heads this way this year (which I hope one doesn't - but just in case), I plan to wrap my house in velcro. Why you ask? Well, I came to this decision while filling in for a co-worker this past week. I had to sit at her desk and deal with her set up Monday - Wednesday. This is someone who has a lot of ergonomic issues and complaints. We've ordered special furniture for her, special keyboards, special chairs - you name it and we've probably bought it for her. She chucks all of it and then puts her workstation in the most awkward positions imaginable and then complains of aches and pains. It makes me nuts. Anyway, I was sitting at her workstation this week and her phone is all but across the room. I wanted to move it closer but it was strangely stuck in place.

Now, I should point out that our phones sit on bases. The base interlocks with the phone and unless you really work at it, the phone will not separate from the base. The base provides a bit of an angle for the phone so that you can read the digital display looking straight at the phone (if that makes sense). But anyway, most staff supports (myself included) set their phones on stands to elevate them. This co-worker does this as well.

So, when I went to pull the phone towards me - it didn't budge. It didn't move. It stayed right where it was. That so wasn't working for me so I grabbed the phone and jerked it - hard. After working for a while on it, I finally got it. Well sort of anyway. I had pulled the phone of its base. The base, on the other hand, was still firmly velcro'd to the stand, which was velcro'd to the desk. Same for the keyboard. I all but jerked the screws that secured the keyboard tray to the desk out and the keyboard itself never budged.

So forget plywood. Forget duct tape. When it comes to preparing my house for a hurricane, I'm going with velcro! :)

Lasting Relationships

A long, long time ago I heard (or was told) that women set the tone of a romantic relationship. For example, if the guy starts out by walking on her and she just takes it from him, she's setting herself up to be treated that way for the rest of the relationship - however long it may last. If, down the line, she decides she's had enough, the man it taken aback and balks at it because he can't understand why something he's been doing from day one is suddenly a problem. He'll tell the woman she's the problem and probably convince her of that. I think I read somewhere that, statistically, married men lived longer than single men and single women lived longer than married women. Why is that? Someone said it was because the men were sucking the life out of the women but, well...

For the most part, I really like being single. I don't have to account to another human being for my actions. I can come and go as I please. I can spend my income any way I choose. I just have a lot of freedom. And I enjoy that.

On the other hand, when things aren't perfect and I need help, there's just me to figure things out. When things get bad at work and I'd rather ram sharp objects in my eyes while crawling over red-hot coals on my stomach, I have to suck it up and go into the office because working is not an option for me - I have to work.

All this is leading up to reunion guy (Don) and my online dating experience. Last weekend I was a bit giddy about having been "reunited" with Don. It was a lot of fun discussing old times and how we each perceived things. I felt completely at ease with him - totally comfortable. He gave me his phone number and email address. I felt comfortable emailing him from my personal email - I didn't create a phony one for this purpose. I didn't immediately offer up my phone number though, because he didn't ask for it. I also had no intention of calling him - I was raised that you don't call men, and for the most part I don't.

At the urging of many people, I finally offered up my home number to him without his asking for it. (I gave him the home number because any other number and he could/would be calling me at work and things are just too busy there for that now.) I also threw something in that email saying something to the effect of that we'd covered enough ancient history and asked about his life over the last 25 years. I specifically told him that I'd love to hear about his wife (who passed away a couple of years ago) and daughter, if he was comfortable talking about them. Yet, he seems stuck in the past. The only things I've learned about Don and the past 25 years is that his wife passed away, that he has a daughter and that he's working for a chemical company - and I learned all that from his profile. The only new information I've gotten from him is the name of the company he works for and I only got that because he sent me email from his work!

He keeps bringing up my marriage. I shared with him some of the things my ex and I went through before we got married and why I still married him, despite having doubts about him - and he seems to be focusing on that. Seems to be looking at it as I'm broken now and need to be fixed - and that he's the one to fix me. First email like that had me responding with "let me just clarify" and I proceeded to explain that I was giving him an example - not complaining about my life. He responded with something that came across like maybe I was in denial - but he could help with that. My reaction was to back way off.

He informed me that he was going to call me Wednesday evening - or at least try to. I wasn't at all upset when he didn't. I got an email from him Thursday suggesting he might call that night (he didn't come right out and say that but I got that from the email), so I came home from work and unplugged my phone. Then, about 9:15 Thursday night, I got an email from him telling me to get ready for his call, which would be coming soon. Normally, the time would tick me off but he was at work and I totally get that. No, my problem was that he just expected me to be home waiting for his email and call. Totally ticked me off.

He sent an email yesterday morning saying he'd tried to call and asked when he could call during the day yesterday - and could we meet up today. I responded, letting him know that I had unplugged my phone and intended to stay home this weekend, relaxing. I think I was pretty nice about it while also getting my point across - I wasn't going to see him this weekend. I got an email from him this morning telling me he wouldn't have been able to see me today anyway. It came across as his idea. Whatever. He also asked, again, when he can call. I haven't responded.

Then there's his pictures. He looks old. I know that shouldn't matter, but it does - apparently. I showed them to a couple of friends of mine (including SCG - yes I told him everything . . . everything) and they all think he looks about 20 years older than I do. That's a problem for me, for so many reasons. But, a good friend and SCG both think I should still give him a chance. Why? I have no idea.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering what it will cost to have my home number and email address changed...

In Shock!

I told a friend of mine yesterday that I'd blog about an eHarmony discovery I made. I didn't blog about it last night because, well, I was re-reading old posts to see if I needed to delete and/or amend any posts before I gave it out to someone (from eHarmony) who'd trusted me with their myspace information. And well, since this has always been a "secret" blog, I've kind of been pretty open on it so I wasn't sure if I should give it out "as is", if you know what I mean. I read about a year's worth of posts and didn't see anything I thought was particularly bad (although I do know of one dated further back that I wouldn't necessarily show this person).

I didn't post this morning because I was too busy replying to an email from this person. But I'm here now.

Anyway, remember eHarmony match Don? The one I thought I might know? It is him! At each step I worried that he would close the match before I found out for certain but I decided that, no matter what, I had to be honest in my answers (although I did keep in mind that I might know this person). As things progressed I thought to myself that if it wasn't the Don I knew, it was a Don I thought I wanted to get to know. So either way, I didn't want the match to be closed.

Thing was, he always seemed to take a few days to respond to things so it seemed like it was really going slow. I guess I had posed some questions to him and was waiting on a response when he gave me a photo nudge without responding to the questions. I thought the match might get closed at that point because it seems to be pretty important to some of the guys on there. And in case I haven't mentioned it before, I put in my profile that I don't have a picture to post so if someone wanted to close a match based on that, it was okay with me because they wouldn't be a good fit for me anyway - words to that effect. My response, though, was to give him a photo nudge. He has photos posted but to be shown "at a later stage" (we've exchanged email addresses and I still can't see them!). I guess he got the message because he responded to the questions and we progressed from there.

At the open-ended questions phase, I asked him about his extended family and what holidays were like. I figured his answer would give me a better idea whether it was the Don I thought it was or not. I was all but convinced by his response but there was a sliver of doubt there. I asked a couple of friends of mine what they thought - whether I should ask him or not tell him I suspected I knew him. They didn't think I should ask but I felt it would be dishonest to not ask. I didn't want to play games. Figured the worst thing that would happen is he would close the match - without answering!

Since I've already mentioned that it is him and that we've exchanged email addresses, I think it's safe to assume he responded to me. It's been fun catching up with an old friend. It's been hysterical to hear how we viewed things that happened differently. I just found out yesterday that it was him but we've exchanged a couple of long emails and I guess it seems longer. Plus, it almost feels like no time has passed since we were last spoke (a hundred years ago!). It's just kind of weird but I can't stop smiling. :)

Sucked in

A friend of mine is a huge fan of The Bachelor series. I'd never really watched it but the little bits I'd seen, well, I just didn't get it. Really didn't get it. But I know lots of people have to get it because it's been around for a while. Anyway, right now I couldn't tell you to save my life what made me decide to watch The Bachelorette this season - but I did. And I'm hooked. I want to know who DeAnna picks and if it's a love match or just a potential love match. I've been amazed at the choices she's made. Not because I thought they were good choices but because I didn't get them. I don't get the appeal of Graham. Never have. A person's personality can make them more or less attractive to me and Graham seemed lacking in that area - to me - so he was never this sexy thing that everyone seems see. I've been stunned at how long he's lasted. Now, I will say that on the home town dates he showed a different side of himself - something we haven't seen on air before. THAT Graham was fun and sexy. Until they sat on the bench to talk, when his appeal bottomed out again. I'm telling you, if Graham hadn't been the one to go Monday I would have lost all enthusiasm I've been getting for the show.

On the other hand, I'm just a little bit in love with Jesse now. He doesn't have classic good looks by any means but he's a good guy. He's the kind of guy you can have fun with, who would respect you, and who would take care of you. Major sexy in my book. And when they walked into his house and he explained that thing on the wall about the foundation for kids, it really touched me. It brought a smile to my heart and a tear to my eye. That's when I fell in love with him. Plus, I LOVED his parents. Seriously, they were great. His dad came out in a cap that had long hair attached to it, as a joke. Just shows they have great senses of humor and lots of personality. You see where Jesse gets it from. I didn't really get the labeling in his kitchen and I have to be honest, from what I've been hearing about it and others' reaction to it, I'm thinking it could be something that, over time, could result in justifiable homicide. But at the time I wasn't thinking like that. And since he's so respectful of the people in his life, he might be willing to give that up...especially if it could save his life. ;) I think Jesse has a good shot at being DeAnna's top choice.

Jason is another contender for DeAnna's heart. For me, though, he lost me early on. On the very first night I fell a little in love with him but once he had some alone time with DeAnna and he didn't tell her about his son, he lost me. My friend, the one who got me hooked, keeps telling me that they never know when they're going to be interrupted so she can forgive him for that. Okay, I can see that. BUT, when he got the one-on-one date he wasn't as open as I thought he should be. It was like her opinion of it mattered to him. As if, if she had a problem with it he would get rid of his son. Seriously, that's how it came across to me. I fell instantly OUT of love with him at that point. He won points back when he was there for her after she'd let Robert and Fred both go, but not enough for him to be the sexy, appealing man he'd once been to me. My friend fell in love with him on the home town visit and thinks DeAnna should choose him. She also doesn't think DeAnna would have brought him this far along if she wasn't going to pick him - because of his son. He's a bit of a dud to me.

Then there's Jeremy. I don't really know what to think of him. He's just kind of there for me. Not appealing. Not sexy. But not, NOT either of those things either. But listening to her the other night she kept saying, "he's just perfect. he has the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect (whatever)". And all I could think was, nothing's perfect. My advice to DeAnna is, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. There were just things on the home town date that just gave me the creeps about Jeremy. There are some that think Jeremy will go the distance but for the life of me, I can't see why.

Oh, but the point of the blog was, my friend was telling her boyfriend how funny it was that I'd never watched the show and now I can't wait until Monday nights to see what DeAnna does with the men. I mean, I really still don't get the appeal of the show but I'll be there Monday night, watching with the rest of America.

P.S. I was going to tell you how my friend has also got me watching So You Think You Can Dance (another show I don't get the appeal of) but this blog post ran longer than I meant for it to so maybe another time..... ;)

Okay, I'll play

My Town Monday

So, I popped over to Alyssa's blog and she was following Travis Erwin's lead to spotlight someone - a celebrity - from your town. I knew (or believe anyway) that Jennifer Garner's grandmother lives here but, well, she's not the celebrity.

Anyway, in my google search, I discovered that Renee Zellweger was born in Baytown, Texas! That's right, born on April 25, 1969, Renée graduated from University of Texas, Austin with a BA degree in Radio, Film and Television.

Her family now lives in Katy, Texas. And in case I haven't mentioned it, I lived in Katy for four years. Both are relatively small towns on either end of Houston (Baytown is east of Houston and Katy is west of Houston).

So, there you go. Renee Zellweger is from the town I now live in. What celebrity is from your town?

The blog about nothing

Remember the Seinfeld episode where Elaine invited George's girlfriend to the movie? George was upset because his two "worlds" were colliding. Well, I have a similar situation going on at work. See, I used to talk about my friends from law to my friends in engineering and vice versa. Then recently part of my group moved their offices down by law AND a friend of mine from law came upstairs to my area and met SCG. Worlds are colliding!!!

Speaking of work, things are not much better there and I'm picking up old habits. You know, of the eating-under-stress variety. I've gained ten pounds in the last month. I still went to Weight Watchers though (and had to pay) because I figured if I was having to pay for it, I'd get more motivated to get the weight back off.

And since we're talking about getting the weight back off, I should mention that I've been going to the gym the last few days (7-day free pass to 24-hour fitness gym). Water aerobics and yoga may look like wimpy classes but they both kicked my rear! The step-aerobic class I took this morning had less of an impact than they did. I'm thinking of joining for the summer, since I don't anticipate having a lot of time in the fall - what with school and all. The company I work for gets a good discount on memberships.

This online dating thing is going slow. I guess it was last weekend that I decided to take the bull by the horns and quit waiting for things to happen. I went through the 50+ "matches" that were open and either closed them or sent out questions. I've only heard back from two or three - one of which closed the match because they were pursuing another relationship. One of the ones I closed replied back that they thought we had potential and wanted me to reconsider. I re-read his profile and I only see two things that would have made me close the match - but one was a biggie. And there is one match who I think I may know:

Don is a 50 year old laboratory analyst - the age fits. We went to the same church (it's a huge church so that doesn't guarantee that I know him). He was married for 23 years when his wife passed away last year - which would be about right (length of marriage, that is) if it were who I think it is. He did mission work - again fits the man I know. Where he lives fits, as do his answers to my questions. He has pictures but they haven't been released for me to view yet so... Oh and if it is the guy I think it is, we went out once many, many years ago. I thought it was a "as friends" thing but, apparently, he thought it was a "date". We had a very nice time but he never "invited" me out like that again. After I married (anniversary was 25 years ago this past Wednesday), I saw him and he confessed to me that he'd had strong feelings for me. I don't think I ever suspected that but I do know that when he told me I'd wished I'd known at the time because he was such a good guy. Meanwhile, I'm just waiting for the time when I know for sure if this the same Don or not.

So, those are some things going on in my world. What's going on in yours?

Flashbacks

A couple of years ago I was so excited to be leaving the department I worked in. We had a manager that micro-managed everything. You'd get yelled at for working too much overtime and then get yelled at because you weren't working enough overtime. You'd get called into meetings where they'd yell at everyone collectively, telling everyone that they're not being productive enough during the work day - and this would take two hours for them to tell you this sufficiently. It was awful and I was miserable. When I found out I was "escaping" the group, I literally skipped down the hall singing. Literally!

Okay, so for the better part of the next just over two years, I was happy. I mean, there were some things that weren't great at times but no matter what else I knew, I knew I could go to management and freely discuss what was going on without fear of punishment. For that time I was allowed to work on my own. I was treated like a responsible adult. I was shown respect. And I got used to it.

Then, on May 5, 2008 at approximately 4:03 p.m. my world changed. The manager who treated his staff like all managers should treat their staff, called me into his office. He said - and I quote - "Lucy (okay, so it's not verbatim but you get the idea!), there's an announcement going out tomorrow...and your name's on it."

When he said that I had a sinking feeling because a then-friend of mine had told me earlier in the day that she had gotten a job she had applied for. A job that was also within our group. They hadn't announced what they would do with HER job but when I found out she got the job (and at the time I thought she deserved the job and wanted her to get it...things change though - but that's a whole other story) I told her how happy I was for her but I hoped they didn't move me into her job.

It was at approximately 4:03 p.m on May 5, 2008 that I found out I was in fact getting her job. (here is where my head hits the table in a "just kill me now" kind of way) On the plus side of getting her job, it really is a good opportunity for me in the big picture. On the down side of getting her job, her manager is the Nazi boss from hell. Seriously.

I wanted to get off on the right foot with my new boss so the day after I found out I was going to be working for him I went to see him. I told him that I wanted to discuss his expectations for me. He told me he didn't have time and I've gone back to him I can't tell you how many times to try to take up this conversation with him again and to date, we have not had that conversation.

We did, however, have a safety walk-thru last week in my office. A safety walk-thru is where one person looks around your area and identifies things that may be unsafe and if they truly are unsafe, you have to change them.

Okay. I can handle that, right? First thing he mentioned was that the shelves I had moved into my office weren't secured. A valid comment. I got it fixed. Next thing he tells me is that he doesn't like the printer on my desk. He also doesn't like this little stand that I bought - since I got the new job - for my desk. He didn't want me to have my lotion, calendar or candle on my desk either. Not to mention that he had a problem with the inspirational quotes I had saved from my dove candies - those he wadded up and threw away, saying I didn't need them. I was forced to throw out boxes that I was saving for shipping. Never mind that the boxes were stored under a table and weren't visible unless you crawled under my desk. And yes, he crawled under my desk. I had a second printer in my office - a color printer. It was used for the job by the person who had the job before me. Nazi boss from hell told me I had to get rid of it - no discussion (let's just say, SCG benefited from me having a "safety" walk-thru). He wouldn't let me keep a briefcase I'd gotten from the company. He went through my drawers and threw out more personal stuff. I just couldn't believe what he was doing.

And so it went. By the time it was all over I was just dumb-struck. I mean, what the heck was all that? But I'm new so I'm busy taking measures to comply with his requests/demands. Then the next morning I woke up pissed. I'm talking royally pissed. After all, what the !*&$@ did a color printer have to do with safety? Or boxes that weren't visible unless you crawled under the desk? Not to mention that he had no right to wad up and throw away something I was saving! There was just something wrong about that entire situation. But, I'm being the good girl and still trying to do what I was told.

Now there was a lot more going on than this safety walk-thru, like ugly emails to me for no apparent reason (ie he cc'd me on a meeting notice so that I could secure a room for the meeting. I responded with a tentative acceptance - so that it would be on my calendar and I would know where he was but my time would reflect me as available if anyone else needed me during that time. I never, for one second, thought I was invited to the meeting. Yet he sent me an email saying "You are not invited." Yeah, I knew that - and I replied and let him know that.). So it's been really hard on me. Yet, Thursday, when I felt sick to my stomach (and went home), I wasn't convinced it was the job. That is until I was still sick Friday until about 3:00 p.m. (you know, when it's too late for me to go into the office that day) and felt fine until I got up this morning and thought about having to go in to work with him. Which is how things were in my old group. I so don't want to go back to those days. Towards the end I was throwing up in my office trash can on a regular basis.

But anyway, being off for a day and a half gave me some time to think. That printer he wanted me to move is pretty big. If I moved it to where he told me to move it, it was going to create additional problems for me. So first thing this morning I went into SCG's office (he's away on business) and borrowed his tape measure. The printer is too big to move where he wants me to move it...it would create a safety hazard if I moved. And I told him so, so it gets to stay where it is. Yay!

Oh, but when I got back into the office today, he'd turned off my radio and moved something off my desk. They were scheduled to move the printer on Friday but I'd emailed them, asking to change the date since I wasn't there. I thought the stuff that was moved was because the computer people had come by and it was in their way. But no, Nazi boss had moved it...he told me so. He said, "did you notice I moved your thing?" I said, "yes, did you notice I moved it right back?"

Meanwhile I have an email in to HR, asking how many times he can refuse to let me post for other jobs. I don't think they want to put it in writing but I'm going to press them until they do because I've worked for a Nazi boss from hell before and I just don't think I can survive another tour of duty with another one.

Ahhh, the joys of the new job.

The Search for Mr. Right

Who knew that finding a suitable date would be so difficult? It's funny because when you complete all the questions you have they give you this thing to fill out on how important each thing is. For example, you give an age range and then you have to mark whether it's really important, somewhat important or not important at all. Only, I found out that it really is important how you mark those things because well, if, like me, you mark things as not that important (because I didn't want to come off as inflexible and rigid), they look outside of your criteria - way outside.

And that resulted in me receiving a bunch of "flexible matches", which I later found out meant they didn't match my criteria but, since I was so flexible and all, they thought they'd throw them in there. I kept getting matches for men over 60. I mean, there's really nothing wrong with that but that's not really who I want to date, you know? So, I went in and made a point of changing my age range in the system. Yet I still kept getting these matches of men in their 60s. This was still before I realized that I was getting these matches because I wanted to be "flexible".

Now, the shortest distance you can list is 30 miles, which frankly, for me - regardless of gas prices - is more than I want to travel to date someone. I don't even want to split the distance there...it's just too far for me. However, I had noted on the questionnaire that distance wasn't that important to me.

It wasn't until they gave me at least two matches that were - get this - in another state that it started to be important to me. Because, let's be clear, I don't live near any state line. That's when I made a point of figuring out why I was getting so many matches that weren't within my criteria. On the other hand, now that things are more important, I'm not getting as many matches.

Oh well, I still have 56 open matches - four of which are in the "communicating" stage. There have been 59 matches closed out by either me or the other party. And all of my "I'm not sure" feelings have lead to a closure, one way or another.

The last closing was on Beverly, age 50. I closed based on the physical distance between us but I'm wondering if I don't need to go back and check the importance of the gender of the match..... ;)

Interesting dreams

I've been having some interesting dreams lately. I think my favorite (of late anyway) came Monday night, after I'd watched The Bachelorette. Now, I have to point out that I've never watched this show in the past. One of my best friends in the whole world loves it and wants to talk about it all the time so I kind of follow what's happening without actually seeing a second of the show. She knows I don't get the show and don't understand the appeal of it but we're good enough friends that we can both respect each other's opinions on things like this.

Anyway, for some reason or another I decided to watch this season of the show. I watched the first one and all the while I was thinking to myself "I so don't get this show". Then I called my friend the next day and told her that...again (she hears it from me all the time). But, I did decide after that first show that I was going to watch the season. You know, kind of like that train wreck that you have to stop and stare at. You don't really understand why you have to do it but you just can't not do it. That's kind of how it is.

So, about the dream. I had just finished watching Monday night's show when I went to bed. In my dream, I was the Bachelorette. And for those that have never seen it (including this season) DeAnna has been handing out roses to the guys. These past two weeks she's given three roses out before the rose ceremony. If they get a rose before the rose ceremony, they know they're safe - they're not going home that week. The first week was "first impression" roses. I'm not sure what the second week roses were about. I don't know if this is how it works every season or not but that's how it's working this season.

But anyway, so I'm the Bachelorette and I have roses to hand out. Only I don't have red roses like DeAnna has been passing out. I have black roses that I'm handing out. And those roses go to the men that I don't like. They don't have to wait for the rose ceremony to find out that they're history - they have to leave then. lol

I told SCG (secret crush guy) about the dream the next day and he said he totally could see me doing that. Said that would be a fun version to watch. lol

Anyway, that was my dream and I found it kind of amusing - but then I'm easily amused. ;)

All in the name of Research

I promise not to have daily updates on the online dating but, well, I am an official member now. I signed up for a three month membership. It will run out about the time school starts back up for me and I figure if nothing develops before then that I won't have time to continue. So I'm giving myself three months of "fun", if that's what you want to call it.

I've "closed" several more matches today. One had looked pretty promising on his profile - he said he loves dogs and just lost his dog, who was 17 years old. Plus he had a little country place that he likes to hang out it. It sounded good.

Until he got to the questions.

He only wants one night a week to himself...less time - way less time - than I want for myself.

I asked the premarital sex question of him and he wrote in "the last three". The only other option was "I'm completely opposed to it".

When asked if he dominated his relationships he said yes - translation: control freak, which is a total "no way in hell" for me.

Yet, I STILL moved on to the must haves/can't stands stage of the program, but only after I reminded myself of his love of dogs and his country place. lol

As for his must haves/can't stands, they reinforced my belief that he is a control freak and only wants someone whose world will revolve around him and his desires. Anyone who wants to have their own life or wants their needs and desires met will not be compatible for him.

Mark that one CLOSED as of 8:15 a.m. today.

Aside from that, I want to know why someone would include their official arrest mug shots as their photos. Seriously, now that I'm able to view pictures I have to wonder what these people think! And do the guys who include pictures of themselves with other women think that's appealing? I just want to say it looks like they have enough women in their lives already and I'm not willing to become part of their harem.

It's going to be an interesting three months.

Oh, and P.S. I'm a redhead, as of yesterday. ;-)

Meet the Bachelors

Bachelor #1
Jerry is a 47 year old Computer Technician and Export Manager
Jerry is the bachelor that made the crack about romance novels I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Even with the comment, I decided not to write him off immediately - I wanted to keep an open mind. So we went through the initial questions.

In response to my question regarding personal space, he said when he was at work was all the "down time" he needed - he wanted to spend the rest of his time with his partner. Uh, wrong answer for this girl! But, his dream getaway is a cottage by the sea. Made up some points with that. So we moved on to round 2...must haves and can't stands.

Let's just say he has high expectations for his partner and it doesn't seem like he's willing to give anything back.

The match was officially "closed" as of May 24, 2008, 12:44 p.m. (by me)


Bachelor #2
TOMMIE (how he was listed - in all caps) is 51 and retired - from what, I have no idea
One of TOMMIE's life skills is managing his finances (which could explain how he can be retired at 51).
His answers to my questions revealed that he is mostly serious but enjoys the occasional laugh. Okay, so not working for me as I love to laugh as much as possible - but, still keeping an open mind. But more on that in a minute.

We moved on to must haves and can't stands.
TOMMIE must have someone with a sense of humor. Yes, the guy who is mostly serious must have a woman with a sense of humor. (Note to TOMMIE, LUCY likes consistency!)

Nevertheless, we moved on to the second set of questions which we get to write ourselves, rather than draw from a list (although a list is available and I did use it).
In the question where I asked what one event in his life did he most regret he gave me a one sentence reply and then went on to give me his email and phone number, ask what I look like and tell me that he's only on the program through Monday.

Yet, I still agreed to move on to Open Communication (which is still anonymous through the website).
After a couple of emails (did I mention that he can't spell and his grammar is atrocious - who knew it would be so important to me!) of him begging me to call and/or email him, the match was officially "closed" by me on May 24, 2008 at 1:42 p.m.

Next up we have Bachelor #3
Jerry is a 61 year old Sales Rep.

Now, I have to be honest his age is a put off for me but I'm really trying to be open-minded here. However, the Sales Rep thing is even a bigger deal than the age...I don't much care for salesmen. But being open-minded and all, I answered his questions and then asked my own.

I asked how many years he had lived alone and he responded with his phone number and said he'd be leaving the service soon. Apparently he misunderstood how the question and answer thing worked!
Premarital sex? A part of the dating process.
Opinion on mate having opposite sex friends? Basically, only if any and all socializing is done in his presence.

The match was officially closed May 24, 2008 at 2:11 p.m.

Bachelor #4
David is a 42 year old truck driver. Okay, I've heard enough stories about truck drivers that I'm skeptical but still (for whatever reason) open-minded. He'd sent me an "icebreaker" and I reciprocated. Then the questions started.

I asked what his opinion of the traditional gender roles were, he basically said he was for them. Uh, wrong answer.
Premarital sex? He has no problem with it.
Laughter? Mostly serious with the occasional laugh.
Financially? He's cheap (paraphrasing here).
Opposite sex friendships? Not only does he think it's okay, he thinks they both should actively pursue them. Hmmm, I was asking because I have male friends and I don't anyone telling me I shouldn't (my ex did that and I regret that I let him talk me out of being friends with my friends) - but actively pursuing them? I don't know.

Still, I moved on to the must haves and can't stands. In a nutshell, he's looking for someone to take care of him and be his sex slave.

Match officially closed today at 3:46 p.m.

I have three others that are in the communication stage, one of which requested we "fast track" the communications (meaning you skip the questions and must haves/can't stands and go straight to open - anonymous - communication). He did this when we got to the "open question" phase and I directed a question to his "can't stands" (he can't stand gamblers and I love Las Vegas - even though I'm not really a gambler). I declined his fast track because I want him to answer the question at hand. I'm still waiting to see if he's okay with the decline.

There are two others that I've sent icebreakers to that seem promising but you never know. I guess time will tell.

Holiday Weekend

I'm so glad we have a long weekend this weekend. I brought home work because I have a 9:00 a.m. meeting on Tuesday and some things are going to be asked of me and I won't be able to give a thorough answer unless I do the work. But you know what, I don't care. I mean, who the heck schedules a meeting first thing in the morning on the first day back after a holiday? I'll be able to give a reasonably intelligent answer if I don't do the work, I just won't be able to answer ALL the questions that might come up. I've been working my tail off at work lately and I deserve the time off, so I'm taking it! I'm not working this weekend!!!

And I'm going to read as many books as time allows, starting with finishing Kasey Michael's latest, Dial M for Mischief.

I've also been playing a bit on the online dating sites I previously mentioned. eHarmony is having a free communication weekend. I had already been pretty well talked into officially joining, because someone pointed out to me that most men wouldn't pay for a membership if they weren't serious about it. There may a few scam artists out there who have paid, but not a lot. So, then eHarmony opens things up for four days. I was kind of reviewing the "matches" they've made and decided to be pretty open minded about it.

I received questions today from a man who is 51 (5 years older than me) and retired. His profile says something to the effect that he's thankful that money is not a problem for him. Then we go through the "guided communication" far enough to where he can send/ask more than the eHarmony system controls (initially you can only ask/tell things from a list provided by eHarmony). He mentions that he won't have his membership past Monday and gives me his email and home numbers - twice.

I looked back at his profile and notice that our "match" was made last night. I'm thinking that he only joined for the free communication weekend and may not be part of the "serious - I paid" crowd. I sent him an email (though the eHarmony system, and therefore somewhat anonymous) asking him when he joined or if he was just in for the free communication.

I'm thinking he's a "no".

What about you? Anyone have any big plans for the weekend?

Confession Time

Every Friday I pop over to the Killer Fiction Writer's blog and read the dating adventures of one Gemma Halliday. She's done the speed dating and the online dating and the blind dating and it just makes me want to be a bit more adventurous in that regard. I mean, I'm not looking to find "the one" to marry or anything but it would be nice to go out from time to time. I also have a friend who has done the online dating thing (which is the most scary to me in one way and least scary in another).

So anyway, a few days ago I decided to go to a couple of the online dating sites and create profiles. I wasn't officially a member of these services because no money had exchanged hands . . . that is until tonight. I joined one of them on a three day trial so that I could, er, check things out, for research purposes only, you understand. Yeah, that sounds good - research purposes.

Anyway, none of the services allow anything more than a "I'm interested/wink" type of communication unless you're a paid member. They will tell you that so-and-so wants to communicate with you but you can't respond. Well, on the first day I had a profile I received several "matches" and several with "communications". Of the "communications" most were wanting to close communication because they couldn't see pictures of me. I know men are visual people but still. I couldn't communicate back with them because, well, as I've been saying, I wasn't an official member. A couple wanted to communicate with questions. I could see their questions but couldn't respond for reasons stated above. Then I didn't log on for several days.

Even though I couldn't "communicate" with the men who wanted to close communication, I could close it from my end as well - just without a message. I decided to officially close out those who wrote me off because I didn't have pictures. And I noticed that the man who had sent questions had wanted to close communications for "other" (unidentified) reasons. I figure he was upset that I didn't respond to his questions (and guess he didn't know I couldn't) and decided I wasn't worth it. I closed that communication out as well. I was thinking strongly about it the other day anyway because well, his height was a bit of a problem for me - we're about the same height.

But, the guy who goes on the definite "close" list is the one who had this response to "last book you read":

A silly little historic romance (!?!). A charming story of how love triumphs over adversity. In it's defense...it was very well written for that type of book...some nice little hidden messages about being persistent in getting what you want out of life.

He posted questions for me which, well, I can't respond to. But wouldn't I love to tell him how offensive that comment was, as if romance books aren't well written.

Anyway, I have to confess something else here. I've never wanted to join an online dating service because, well, there's something about it that I don't like. It's kind of like this blog, a bit of a secret that few people know about me. It's not something I would tell many people I was doing so you can imagine how I felt when I was searching "who I matched" and came across someone I know...and work with!!! I didn't want to view his profile because it would tell him I had (although I don't have pictures or enough identifying information in the profile for him to know it's me) but curiosity got the better of me and I looked. Thing is, this man suggested we go out a few years ago. I mentioned that I was taking classes (I was at the time) and that certain evenings weren't open for me. Well, not only did he never ask me out, he told a mutual friend that I'd shot him down cold. We saw each other recently and he suggested that he wasn't interested in dating at all - yet he has a paid membership with an online dating service. I just find it interesting.

So, I have a three-day trial membership with an online service. Now, if I could only find a place to do the speed-dating thing...

School's out for Summer!

...well, not exactly. I still have one more test tomorrow. I won't call it a final since it's not comprehensive. But still, a test is a test.

I took my final (it was somewhat comprehensive) in Shakespeare Thursday night. She had given us a study guide which would include all of the actual questions on the test. Thing was, you wouldn't know which ones would be on the test you got so you had to study for all of them. There were two questions each on King Lear, Cymbeline and Shakespeare's Sonnets. Each test (however many versions there were) would have one of the two questions from each play/sonnet on the exam. Then there were four essay questions that covered all the material we'd studied this semester. We would be getting two on our exam and would have to write up a five paragraph comparison paper on one of them.

Okay, so I started studying. One of the questions on Cymbeline and one of the questions on the Sonnets covered things I had no idea what she was talking about. I emailed her and asked her about those questions and turns out, the "background" information she gave us in class wasn't just "fluff" information...it was on the test! She pointed me in the direction of how to find out what they meant and what she wanted, which was good. But, it made me not want to see them on the test I got.

Then, Wednesday night I spoke with friend of mine from class and we discussed what we might put on the test for a few answers. She had me doubting what I'd put on that one Sonnet question that I'd had to email the teacher about and one of them from King Lear. So now I had one question from each play/sonnet that I did NOT want to see on my test.

The night of the test we (my friend and I) were talking before class. I said that I had a fear that the two essay questions I was totally unprepared for were going to be on my exam (I was good to go on the other two - well, mostly anyway). She tells me that she's had an epiphany on one of the questions I'm saying I'm afraid will be on the test - and then she tells me what that epiphany is. I can see it but I'm still hoping it won't be on my test.

So, the instructor shows up and starts handing out the tests. I got Exam B. It consisted of the three questions I didn't want to see on my test and the two essay questions that I feared would be on my exam. That's when I had a semi turrets-like outburst and started saying some very unladylike words. I mean, what are the odds of that happening (the things on the test, I mean)?

Anyway, I decided to go with my gut reaction to the questions that my friend had made me question myself on and did my best on the third. Actually, I felt pretty okay with what I'd put down. Then, when it came to the essay portion of the exam, I totally stole my friend's epiphany. I figured it was a very slim chance that she had the same question on her exam - it's very possible that there were only two versions of the exam out there and that one test had the questions I had and the other had all the other questions on it - and even if she did have it on her exam, the instructor knew we were friends and could have figured we'd studied together to come up with the same outline.

I called my friend after class and told her what I'd done. She was totally okay with it, saying if it weren't for my notes that I'd given her, she wouldn't have had the epiphany and it wasn't one of the options on her test.

So, don't know how well I did but I felt okay at the end of the day. I got my paper back (the one I re-wrote a couple of times *sigh*) and got an A- on it. She made the following comments on it:

"Laura - I still stand by my comments that I made at our meeting about how this paper could be improved. In general, it is more interesting to focus on why characters do things, not what they do --and to delve into characterizations. You've certainly done that here; I'm just trying to get you to focus less on what and more on why. In the case of the Queen it is simpler, but with Edmund he is more complex and the paper could explore that more. That said, your writing is, as always, fluent, elegant, and easy to read --and your argument is well-structured -- no small achievement!"

Overall, pretty nice comments. It did, however, make me wonder if I would have gotten a better grade if I'd never gone to see her - that maybe I was somewhat penalized for not quite capturing what we'd discussed - not that I got a bad grade or anything, it just made me wonder. Anyway, I'd also gone into her office prior to the class and asked a couple of questions. I'd told her that I had registered for her fall class already and hoped that wasn't a problem. You see, I've worried about being one of "those" students because I keep asking questions and going to see her on papers and having a different viewpoint/interpretation on the stories and videos we've read/seen. But, she told me that I was one of the best students she'd had all semester and she'd love to have me in another one of her classes. So I left feeling pretty good in general.

So, one more test and then I AM done for the summer. Margaritas on me! ;-)