So, another late evening for me. I can't seem to get my brain to shut off at the appropriate time. I have so much on my mind and more just keeps getting added to it. I am tired and I just don't know how much longer I can function. There is so much to say, but I can't seem to get the words to come together. I think I'm going to free write until I fall asleep and hope that something comes out.
Hello bloggers, I am still here. I was doing updates last year on my friend
Moncia, who was battling cancer for all she was worth. I figured I would
share with you guys, that she passed away last night, surrounded by her
family and friends.
Someone told me today, that they thought it was just so unfair that this
happened to Monica. She always had a big smile on her face, even through the
rough times.....That person said "I could think of so many people who were
more deserving than her.."
I dont know if I feel that way, because I dont want to wish sickness on
anyone, but that saying "the good die young" has never been more true to me
than it is now.
Please say a prayer for her family and her close friends, so many people
loved her and were touched by her, RIP Monica...
Ok, so hello, I've been out of commission with the blogging thing since
February. Mainly because I have had so much going on, here is a summary:
- Carson is running wild! Into everything, throwing fits, talking, babble
babble babble.....
- Jameson is so busy with sports and school that all we do is collapse and
try to do it again each day when we get home!
- Hubby has been out of town for weeks at a time at various schools this
year
- Our chocolate lab is preggers, our yellow lab knocked her up, she is due
in a few weeks. Puppies anyone? They will be adorable and FREE! (yes, we're
irresponsible pet owners) but, we have always kept them separate, to be
honest, one of the kids let them out when she went into heat. So, SUE US! It
is the circle of life, that is what happens.... at least we'll place the
puppies in good homes, no breeding here!
- I have been working alot, a whole bunch of after hours events, meetings
and functions
- My boss is retiring after 30 years
- My new boss in our in house attorney and I am so excited about working
under him
- Politics politics politics everywhere I go......getting old, that is all I
can say about that
and the BIG BIG NEWS!
Hubby and I have ordered house plans and have been working with a
contractor. Hopefully the bank process will not be as painful as it is
beginning to sound, but with the market where it is, banks are really
reluctant to lend. Our home is very conservative/traditional with a little
colonial flavor too! I am so excited about it, but terrified all at the same
time. One of these days I hope to be blogging pics of the construction
process, but for now, I'll be hammering it out with the banks.
So, maybe now I have a good excuse for being absent. I am glad to see you
guys are all alive and well!
Hope your little ones are bringing you as much joy as mine bring me!
I have been pretty much feeling like an idiot for the last two weeks. I can't seem to do anything right. I have no idea where I put my car keys, I don't know where my favorite shirt is, I can't remember how much I spent at the grocery store, etc. I can't focus at work and my work is suffering because of it. I like a guy...but I don't think he likes me as much (and now is not talking to me for some reason). All of this shit running through my head. I can't sleep. I'm an emotional eater, so I have been eating like crap. This morning, I stepped on my headband that I must have thrown on the floor last night. It broke and jammed into my foot, so I have a huge gash in my foot. As I was blow drying my hair this morning, the extension cord burst into sparks and flames. I get to work and I have a report that someone is now officially pissed that they don't have. Someone just shoot me and put me out of my misery.
Continuation of my post from yesterday...
Tuesday (Will this conference eat me alive?)
Tuesday was the first day of the actual conference. Today I managed to actually show up a half hour before the conference registration was to begin, so that I could get a seat. I actually had a seat at a table and was able to log on to work and be online to pull up references, etc. Today we had speakers from the European chemicals agency (ECHA), the European Commission, the UK Competent Authority, a Chemical Agency, EPA and other government types. This was actually very informative, a lot of information, but very good. I have found that this is going to be quite a challenge. I felt a little less intimidated today. I ended up befriending another woman at the conference and we had dinner at a cute little place called Café Luna in Dupont Circle. It was nice to talk to someone who was in a situation similar to mine. Then it was back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. It’s amazing how these conferences can be so draining.
Wednesday (The Last Day – or so I thought)
Wednesday was a great day as it was a chance to hear what is going on the industry side of the directive compliance. It was nice to hear that others are in a similar situation. That they also feel the directive is not very “cut and dry” and that there are far too many things still left undecided. About 9:00 AM I get an instant message from one of my co-workers that American Airlines has cancelled over 500 flights. I whip out my itinerary, send her the flight number and yes, folks…my flight has been cancelled. My company pays a travel agent to sit in our building…but she is not helpful at all. My co-worker went down there to see if she could get me on another flight, but all she did is snap at her and tell her that I am booked on flight for Thursday and that there were no other flights out. Of course, that got me all riled up, so I called the main travel agency and asked them to help me. The girl stated that Jennifer was in the office today, and I informed her that apparently Jennifer was too busy to help me. Yes, they found someone to help me. I ended up staying the night and booking my own hotel. I had a 10AM flight the next morning on American. I went to dinner, got back to the room about 10PM and found out that my flight for the next morning had been cancelled too. I immediately called the travel agency and got booked on a United flight that left later in the day. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t assign me a seat, so I was worried that I wasn’t going to get on that flight either. I finally fell asleep around 1AM and got up at 7AM.
Thursday (Will I make it home or not?)
Thursday was a challenge…just from my shear exhaustion and fear of not getting out of DC. I know…I should be glad to not be at work. The problem is, when I am not there, the work does not stop. So, while I have been out this week, the work has continued to pile up…not to mention that my co-workers have ants in their pants about when I’m going to be back. I did finally get out of DC on a United flight, but we got to circle outside of O’hare airspace for awhile due to high wind gusts. I arrived home at 4:30 and I went to bed at 6PM and got up at 5AM. I am home safe and sound and got to sleep in my own bed.
Oh DC…how I did enjoy you, but how I did enjoy the comforts of my own bed. Chicago is my home, but DC is a great place to visit…just don’t fly American.
Kristine chose the topic of BAD for today's SPF. This is not a picutre I took...simply because they were all out of service for repair. I have had an interesting week due to the issue surrounding the repair of the American Airlines MD-S80 airplanes. Lack of sleep and stress over how I was going to get home from Washington DC has exhausted me. So here is my idea of bad this week:
I have been trying to get to this post all week. It has been a hell of week...where to start? Here is a perfect example...I was supposed to be on an 8:10 flight back to O'hare this evening and I'm still here. With that...let's start at the beginning.
Sunday
I was running so late. I was worried I wouldn't make my flight. I left my house at 4AM (after no sleep), had to drive to work, then be at the airport by 5:30 AM. I was on the shuttle from the extended parking lot by 5:25AM, I don't know how I did it, but I did. I had enough time to grab a soda and some gummy lifesavers for the flight. I really wanted a coffee, but lately my stomach gets funny when I fly, so I need to have something sweet (hence the gummy lifesavers) and water or diet soda. When I left Chicago, it was a balmy 50 degrees (at 6:30 AM)...when I arrived in DC, it was 43 degrees and rainy. UGH!
I was at my hotel by 10 AM and checked my bag with the concierge to head out for a day of sightseeing. Unbeknownst to me, it was the traditional Cherry Blossom Marathon, so the tour was running about 2 hours behind schedule. There I sat in the rain for 45 minutes waiting for the tour bus. Fortunately, it was just one of those annoying misty rains and not a torrential downpour. I rode the bus for about 3 hours, did the whole loop and then Arlington Cemetery. I was so exhasuted I almost fell asleep on the bus twice. When the bus returned from Arlington, I got off at the National Museum of the American Indian. If you have never been there...it is beautiful and worth a visit. I will have pictures posted to my flickr site as soon as I am back in Chicago (I grabbed the wrong cord).
I left the Museum around 5:00 and headed back to the hotel. I was so exhausted, I fell asleep and didn' wake up until 8:30PM. I just didn't feel much like doing anything, so I ordered pizza and did my monthly report for work. I turned in for the evening around 11:00PM, as I knew Monday would be a taxing day.
Monday (AKA Preconference Day from Hell)
The reason I am in DC is for a conference on EU chemical regulation...with special emphasis on the REACH directive. For those who may read this and have no idea what the heck I am talking about...it is a directive in Europe (which is equivalent to a law in the US) that states that any chemicals being imported in the Europe must be registered. There is a lot more to it than that...but trust me, you don't want to know. The meeting began at 9:30 AM, so I figured that if I arrived at 9:00 or so, that I would be fine....well, I wasn't. The meeting was overbooked and they didn't have enough seats, so I ended up at some odd seats on the side, limited internet access and pretty much felt like I was left out of the discussion.
Well, after listening to all these people talk, I pretty much felt like I was completely unprepared for this directive and that I was the dumbest person in the room. This exhausted me. So, I spent the entire day feeling like an idiot, getting conflicting stories on what the directive actually states and to top it off, I got a huge blister from my shoes.
After the session, I limped my way across the street into the CVS for some band-aids and then to the Elephant and Castle pub for a healthy dose of Smithwicks and some pub food. I then hauled myself back up the hill to my hotel and crashed for the evening.
To be continued...(I have to go and catch a plane...hopefully)
I really am not ready to leave tomorrow (4 days in DC for training). I'm not packed yet. Still need to complete some work. Really would like to just say forget it...but that's not possible. I'll update tomorrow! Off to wrap up the packing portion!
So, I am a little late, but I'm here! I was trying to think of what to post in relationship to trianges. I went flipping through some photos trying to get an idea...when I ran across the photo of my apartment building. I look at it every day and I know that it is Tudor style...but sometimes I forget about the angles that are there. It reminds me that I somtimes need to look past what is apparent. Here it is...
Welcome back to SPF! The awesomeness that is Kristine has issued the challenge of NUMBERS. Let it be known that I am not a "creative" person...but I can tell you all about numbers. They surround me every day. Today I decided to show you my challenge for the year. In 2007 I managed my first big project, one that required me to keep a budget and monetary spreadsheets and pretend that I actually understand accounting. So for my SPF NUMBER display...I give you the evilness of the project expense tracking spreadsheet. I should include a photo of my new best friend in accounting who helped me with this evilness every month! Have a great weekend everyone!
