Goodbye 2009

It was oddly fitting that I found myself in the middle of a candlelit labyrinth this New Year's eve. My life indeed has felt rather labyrinthine this year with it's various twists and turns.

I am very happy to be staring down the last hours of this year that has found me recovering from a broken heart and shedding way too many tears. It's been a year that has sorely tested my patience (in spite of all the yoga I do)and resilience.

It finds me facing a new relationship with my Mom, who is still losing her fight with the demons haunting her. Feeling distant from her for the first time ever has been very sad and Christmas Eve was not a fun time. It helped talking to my Grandmother this week to know that I am not alone in dealing with my Mom, though sometimes I feel that way. I know there will be some difficult conversations to start off this new year, but they are needed and I will be happy to get things out in the open.

My job continues to be source of stress with a final slap in the face proving no one in my group does know or care all the hard work I do.

My love live found a lot of dates for me this year, but not any that really stuck. A few weeks ago I was facing my busy time at work and I had frankly given up going on anymore dates this year. I was pleasantly surprised to have managed to squeeze two fun dates in before the end of this year.

I find that all the drama of the last year has really helped me to define what it is that I want for the new year. It is now up to me to make these things happen. Part of the evening tonight involved writing down things to cast off for this year and then burning that piece of paper. I do enjoy that process and it really does help me let go. It was also a great time to catch up with a dear friend who is probably one of the sweetest people I know.

It's debatable if I will make it until midnight but I don't care. I am happy with the day and evening I have had and am more than ready to say goodbye to 2009.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Once again I am in the midst of a chaotic December. Work of course is so busy and when you add to that all the other holiday obligations time is short. So of course I did what anyone in this situation would do. I decided to have a party last weekend. I love to entertain and was happy to have a houseful of people. It was a bitterly cold night but my house was warm and full of conversation and laughter. The white bean soup and chili were a hit as well as the very popular bottles of wine my friends brought. Other friends brought me a lovely pair of earrings that I cannot stop wearing. I think my other earrings are getting jealous!

The party also gave me an excuse to decorate my house. Stockings were hung, tree was trimmed and it looked quite nice. I love walking into my house and smelling the tree. Puts me right in the holiday spirit.

I am tying to have the happiness from last week carry me over during this very stressful week but it's been difficult. Right now I just want to get my work project done, presents wrapped and get through Christmas with a minimum of drama. Fingers crossed!

Giving Thanks

I had started this post yesterday morning before heading out to my Mom's house. I had a list of things I was thankful for and how I love Thanksgiving (especially all that great food).

I would like to be able to say that my Thanksgiving was perfect but alas cannot. Barring the turkey and additional family members at the table, it frankly did not feel like Thanksgiving at all. Things with my Mom did not get off on the right foot and she and I never hit a stride after that. My Aunt arrived and offered another set of hands to help but things with my Mom were a bit tense. When she dropped the turkey (thankfully upright and on the oven door) my blood pressure was through the roof and patience utterly gone. And of course, I felt bad for reacting that way.

I know my Mom has her demons that she has been trying to battle. And I appreciate her efforts but am once again disappointed that things are not different. I feel foolish because I allowed myself to have the barest of hope that this time she would get her act together and come to her senses. I am currently devoid of hope.

I could not wait to get home last night and put an end to the day. I spent the evening on my couch, cat in my lap, tea in hand, magazine to read and tissues nearby. Really not how I wanted to celebrate the holiday.

I am utterly worn out. I am a strong person but really feel at the end of my rope. I feel bruised, actually more like being chewed up and spit out. I wanted to hide today and lick my wounds but I am happy that I roused myself to go and see a movie I wanted to see.

So I am trying to be grateful for what I have but am not really thankful for this feeling that I am not important to people in my life.

Weekend Dreams

I am not sure what was in the air this weekend but it seemed prime for a bevy of odd dreams. I had a dream about a wedding and my inappropriate wedding guest. As it turns out so did my Mom. The difference was that while my guest was human, my mom's guest was feline. My feline to be exact. While my cat likes people, I can assure you he would make a terrible wedding guest.

Another friend of mine was lucky enough to have me make a guest appearance in his dream. Except he got a rather rude version of me that left me feeling like I needed to apologize for the behavior of the dream me. Those who know me can vouch I am not a rude person during waking hours!

It was funny as dreams were indeed quite on my mind this week. Not the nocturnal kind per se but the kind that deal with what I want. I've got some things I am not quite happy with in my life that I need to make some decisions about. Luckily yoga this morning helped a bit and some time this week to clear my head should do the trick.

Trick or Treat

Of course when one thinks of Halloween of course it brings to mind pumpkins, black cats,candy corn, orchids. Yes, orchids at the annual orchid show at Tower Hill.

This year brought a very blustery Halloween. As night fell, the howling wind and dark was really quite spooky. The wind was also not very helpful to the wings that my costume required. I was a bee. Not a slutty bee however (given the alarming trend of women's Halloween costumes to be quite inappropriate I feel the need to clarify).

My costume started with a bright yellow t shirt that I merely needed to apply stripes to. It was easier that is sounds. Luckily I know my way around a fabric store so I was able to solve the problem after three attempts. My initial thought of using black duct tape and then ribbons and iron-on interfacing were both spectacularly unsuccessful. The winner was black fabric paint. Of course, one curious feline made her mark on my white kitchen floor by walking over the wet shirt. Luckily the prints wiped right off the floor and her paws.

If was a fun evening with a bunch of trick or treaters outside my door, antenna that did not quite prove to be so easy to drive with and wings. The wind did indeed cause an issue so I had to tuck my wings under my coat to arrive at my friend's Halloween Housewarming party. It was a fun evening with some interesting costumes and great conversation. The best line of the night from a person I had just met was "When not being a bee, what do you enjoy doing?" All in all, it was a very Happy Halloween.

By the Book

For a town that can find the majority of the riders on the subway with their noses stuck in a book, it was surprising that Boston had never had a book festival. Well, that all changed. The Boston Book Festival was a great way to spend a rainy Saturday. It took place in Copley all around the Boston Public Library. There was a great color coded chart of the various events and speakers. The best part, it was free. (There were a few ticketed events but those were identified on the chart).

The events I wanted to see was going to result in some speedy sprinting from point A to B but I had faith I could do it. I started out at the Old South Church to see the delightful John Hodgman being interviewed by Tom Perrotta. The church was packed and I was lucky to squeeze into a seat. It was a great interview with a ton of laughs. Even the oft annoying audience questions were entertaining.

I then had to sprint over to the library to attend the The Future of Reading: Books without Pages event moderated by David Pogue of the New York Times. It was insightful to see learn more about the massive book digitization project Google is undertaking. While there are now several e-book readers on the market now, I was surprised to learn that that no matter which brand of e-book reader you use, the market for material is limited to only a few providers of content. That seems to narrow the playing field a bit. While the technology is impressive to me (imagine thinking of a book, downloading it on the spot and reading it) I have issues with the DRM constraints and the fact that, as a very tactile person, I love feeling the pages beneath my fingers.

It was a long day but I managed to get a head start on my Halloween costume. It took a few stores to find just what I needed but I was ultimately successful. I credit the organizers of the book festival and truly hope this is an annual event.

Where to Begin

I once again have had quite the last few weeks. I attended a great concert that saw 2,000 people go completely silent for a completely unplugged song. There was an Oktoberfest charity event at the Sam Adams brewery. An amusing belly dancing class, a few heart to heart talks, non-stop work and yet more drama there, lack of sleep, cat still on the mend, jury duty and I was frankly at the end of my very frayed rope.

So what's a girl to do? This girl picked up the phone and called the lovely people at the Spa at Norwich Inn. I decided to ship myself off for a night away. I could not contain my excitement about going. I left on Thursday morning and had my trusty Google maps to guide me. I had been to the Spa once before with Mom but it had been awhile. I didn't think twice that perhaps Google was wrong until I ended up in Groton on the water. The Spa, being in the woods and in Norwich, was clearly not showing up correctly on Google Maps. So I got to the spa a little later than I planned. But I was thankfully not late for any of my treatments.

A scrub and body wrap, facial, pedicure, lunch, tea and scones, wine tasting and a fabulous dinner had me extremely relaxed when I finally made my way back to my giant room. The surprise of the day was how cold it was outside and the fact that it snowed! It was the perfect day to be in a robe, in front of a fire reading a book and drinking one of many cups of tea. It is always funny to see how people react to having to wear a robe all day. Do you strip down completely? Leave something on underneath? Change in front of the entire women's locker room and leave modesty behind? It was fun watching ladies wrestling with their decisions. I did not have a quandary being a regular attendee of spas and the gym.

I continued my time off with a nice dinner and catching up with a friend on Friday night and to cheer a friend on who was rowing in the Head of the Charles this weekend. It was actually not as cold Saturday as originally forecast, standing on a bridge looking out over the Charles. I do love watching to rowers. It's such an elegant sport with everyone moving in unison.

A Week Dalí Wouldn't Have Blinked At

Last week, in addition to being the absolute busiest work week, contained more surreal moments than I cared for. It was a week of horrific news with the murder of a co-worker, people who were unexpectedly there for me and those we were expectedly not. I attended two wakes and spent more time in my hometown that I have in years with more family at my Mom's for dinner than normal. It was well worth it though to spent lots of time laughing in the kitchen with the ladies of my family.

One of the wakes was for my former step-grandmother. My dad and second step-mom's divorce effectively rendered former relatives to distant stranger status overnight. It was an interesting wake where I saw people I haven't seen for years (my former step brother and sister for instance.) It was indeed weird. But I went to pay my respects to a woman who treated my brother and I kindly and made sure we were well fed.

I also worked late every night in preparation of the weekend project. Given my coworker, who was my right hand with this process, abruptly quit and left work I was indeed flying solo. Of course, we hit a snag that resulted in my getting less than 2 hours of sleep and working non-stop on Sunday. I am still out of whack with my sleep and need a weekend to catch up.

Political Discourse

The last two weeks have really taken their toll. Drama abounded and it was really too much. Luckily, I had some moments of brief reprieve at the pool. The photo of the sunflowers makes me smile, as it makes me think of sitting by the pool. And also of Nik who enjoyed grazing on that particular plant.

It was while I was visiting my Mom I go to hear the story of her drama that blew all the other drama away. We are a family of rather feisty women. Anyone who knows me will probably not be surprised by that. Well, my Mom decided to speak out against a local political issue that had the local councilor involved in what clearly was an ethics violation.

So my rational Mom decided to speak up. With her five very well thought out talking points, she called the rep. He was clearly not appreciative of my Mom's thoughts and yelled at her, hung up on her, claimed she was harassing him and called the police on her. Yes, called the police. I could understand if my Mom had been irate and yelling, but she was not.

So off to the police station my Mom went. The officer who was handling the case, told my Mom she was not the only one this rep had called the police about. Long story short, my Mom was free to exercise her freedom of speech with no arrest. And had a little field trip to the police station.

This story of course raised my ire. How dare this person pick on my Mom? I am indeed fiercely protective of those I love. I was ready to march down the street to his house and give this man a piece of my mind. Clearly he is not in the right job as a public servant who has to, shockingly, deal with the public.

What A Day

We are finally in the grip of summer here and it's wonderful. Today was a hot day and there was nothing better to do than spend the day by my Dad's pool. The pool was at a warm 80 degrees and it felt perfect. I enjoyed just floating in the water chatting with my Dad and Stepmom.

It was also a day for a variety of conversational topics. From gun safety to family drama, world events and commentary on the wide variety of the natural world we could see in the yard. From the mud wasp that almost flew into me while I was in the pool, to butterflies, bees, hummingbird moths, dragonflies, barn swallows, mourning doves and the highly poisonous monkshood plant that is ready to bloom by the pool. The flowers are usually a beautiful blue and overall it's a pretty plant that belies it's toxic nature. All of this was punctuated by the sound of apples from the ancient apple trees falling to the ground with an alarming thud. It would be advisable not to stand under that tree without a hard hat right now.

Overworked

The above photo was from the fierce storms a week ago Friday. They had cleared out and the sky was alternately pretty and ominous with such an odd red color. This past Friday was the polar opposite - calm, sunny, pleasantly warm. Weird how varied the weather has been this summer.

While I am done the near constant travel, work has not let up at any rate. I am still doing battle with my clueless boss and carrying a job that would require about 2 more people to accomplish. It's frustrating and I can really feel it starting to burn me out. Luckily this week brought a full house at work of salespeople here for various trainings. A lot of them were people I had just seen at the recent Siebel training and it was helpful they were there to ask questions or for help with some technical issues. One was even so nice as to give me a huge gift bag of candy and other fun desk toys! She was so sweet though I have eaten far too many Charms Blow Pops! It was nice catching up with some of the other reps I know and provided a nice respite from the stress of being my group. At least some people appreciate me and thank me for the hard work I do.

It was a physically demanding week as I was significantly more active than the sit on a plane, sit in a conference room workout that I have been getting. It also brought another first. I have never seen anyone try to sort out a relationship issue using a flip chart. Granted, the database side of my brain thought this eminently practical. But in matters of friendship and/or love, sometimes things defy explanation. Even in you write them on a flip chart.

The Fighting Irish

Well work has not gotten any better with my boss now channeling his boss' ill feelings towards me. This means that this week will be a battle, which has me exhausted. I just want to do my job, not deal with the petty falsehoods that keep getting thrown at me.

I was happy to have taken Friday off. I sorely needed a day off after everything. I was going to head to the beach but my Dad offered up pool time and I accepted. The ladies were heading to Boston so it was man day at the pool, plus me.

Things started off ok with hot weather and a perfect pool temp. There were plenty of beers flowing and not a lot of food. I was not in any mood to drink at all. The day was a lot of fun, but definitely took a turn for the worse. My brother and father decided to have it out. Nothing quite like two stubborn, lubricated with beer, Irishmen and a wrong (perceived or real). I, being an equally stubborn but stone cold sober Irish girl decided to break things up. The men in my family are know for their temper and while I have that temper, it rarely comes to the surface. It was in full force breaking up my brother and Dad. I got my brother to my car and took him home. The whole time all I wanted to do was eat my hot dog as I was starving.

Luckily my hot dog was unscathed and even better with a boatload of adrenaline in my system. It is not one of my high points having to break up my Dad and brother from a fight, but I am glad I was there. I will be sending both of them the bill for my massage this weekend and my next 5 yoga classes :-)

Birthday on the Road

Of course it was my birthday and of course I spent it just the way I wanted - in Dallas working my butt off. Actually I would have rather been sitting by the pool or on the beach. But the database relaunch rolled on and of course, the only day I would have taken off in July would be the day I had to fly to Dallas. It turned out to be a good birthday, in spite of being away from all my friends and family here.

The funny thing about my birthday is that as much as it always involves fireworks (due to it's falling right after the 4th of July) and lobsters there is another constant that means it's my birthday. Peach pie. My stepmom always makes me a peach pie. This year she made it for the 4th since I would be there. The only problem was that the pie ended up on the dessert table. Well of course it got eaten. My stepmom was so upset. I did point out that I was traveling so a pie would have gone to waste. Luckily birthday pie #2 was safe from the dessert table.

Crustaceans and Pyrotechnics

Of course if it's the Fourth of July then it must mean a cookout with my family. While last year it was a delicious pig roast this year went more with an ocean theme. Steamers and a lobster bake (lobsters, kielbasa, potatoes, corn) all cooked over hot rocks under a blanket of seaweed and wet burlap. Everything was incredible and my lobster was quite a monster. The lobster cracker proved no match for the massive claw that took prodding with a hammer to yield it's meat.

It was also nice to be outside. It was not a particularly hot day but the sun was shining and it was nice to quite to relax and catch up with family. After working non stop and getting ready for travel, I needed a break. Of course being the 4th of July in addition to good food there also were amazing fireworks. All in all a great day!

Busy. Busy. Busy.

Since life has been nothing but chaotic and drama filled over the last two weeks, I am first focusing on the lovely peonies in the photo. They are birthday peonies (really they are just plain peonies but since it's my birthday weekend they are birthday peonies). They have all opened into their fluffy blooms and the scent is amazing and makes me smile every time I catch a whiff. The benefit of buying peonies and not merely cutting them from the garden is there are no ants.

I do love flowers that actually have a scent and as the woman in front of me at Trader Joe's yesterday said, there is nothing more disappointing than a gorgeous rose that doesn't smell like anything. All flash and no substance. When I pointed out I knew people like that, she chuckled.

Work has been continued drama with my clueless boss and his boss who dislikes me. I, not being a shrinking violet, marched to HR to defend myself and the drama continues. Basically instead of focusing on all the things I did accomplish (and worked my butt off last weekend for) I got dinged for such minor items that I am truly insulted. So once my travel in July for the database relaunch is done it may be time to move on. It sucks not being appreciated for all my hard work.

Beautiful Brides

June of course is the ever popular month for weddings. This June brought me two to attend. The first was a lovely Friday wedding with a Catholic ceremony. I do often feel like I will break into hives upon entering a Catholic church and this was no exception. Luckily once the ceremony was done, the reception was lovely.

The second wedding was an utterly delightful one. I am not often weepy at weddings but I have to say this one did. Watching the brides walking down the aisle (yes it was two brides, no groom) just choked me up. Of course I did not have tissues but it was ok. They looked so beautiful and happy. It was delightful to see. And the ceremony and vows were all about equality, friendship, love, support, respect and all the things that sometimes get lost in the Catholic marriage ceremony. Of course you add to it the fact that they could only get married in 6 states and the fact that our Federal Government will clobber them on the tax front and it was nice to see that since they love each other, they got married. This wedding also had the sweetest speech ever given in the history of brothers to their sisters. Or the history of a wedding frankly.

The reception was so very much fun. The mix of guests, the food and the entertainment was all wonderful. What entertainment you may ask? A drag queen of course :-)

She was fabulous in her brightly colored attire that brought to mind a tropical bird of some sort. She made sure to include a Cyndi Lauper song for the brides and entertained the hell out of the rest of us. There were the requisite fiercely blushing hetero guys who did not quite know what to make of her attention but it was so much fun. And talk about an ice breaker. Once the show was done, the dance floor was packed with guests, brides and one sure to be exhausted flower girl :-)

You Don't Like Me? Well I Don't Like You.

Of course I have been flat out busy at work getting ready for this week and the kickoff training for the rather important database relaunch at work. Have my efforts and nights of work been appreciate? Not even close.

Late Tuesday night and an acceptance for a meeting in July sent by my boss's boss (Mr. X we shall call him) set off a chain of emails that at best bordered on irrational and worst straight harassment. I was extremely surprised and did my best to remain rational and calm in my responses while his just kept ratcheting up in how irrational and off base they were. I certainly did not appreciate being in the airport waiting to head out for the training and getting these emails on my BB. I finally involved my boss and resolved to deal with it when I returned.

Friday approaches and with it the meeting with my boss to discuss the nasty situation. Per usual, my boss was 5 minutes late and when he walked in the room he promptly looked at the clock and announced he has another meeting to go to and our meeting should not take long. Great thanks for squeezing me into your busy day.

He started the meeting by telling me what a good job I had done with the training. Then he launched into Mr. X's irrational behavior. My boss said it had to be uncomfortable for me to be under the microscope like I have been and how unpleasant the situation was. I agreed. Then what he said next just stunned me. He told me that Mr. X did not like me and had a "negative perception" of me and I needed to work on changing that. Um, ok. Wait, what? Doesn't like me? Are we in high school?

So there was no example or instance where this could have started and I, in fact, have no idea why this man does not like me. I don't like him so we're on the same page. That does not give him the right to make my life at work a living hell however. I am still livid and certainly not looking forward to heading to work on Monday. It is a great spur to get my resume up to date however. You just never know, and though I was never a Boy Scout, I find it best to be prepared.

Far Too Exciting

This weekend has been very busy (when aren't mine busy is probably a better point to make). A wedding on Friday, the weekend of graduations and parties and all kinds of other fun events that kept me out of the house.

Which was good because my current vacuum has been slowly dying. It sucks, and not in the good way for someone living with pets. Lately vacuuming has consisted of me running the vacuum over a clump of fur on the carpet. Again. And one more time. Finally I would reach down and just pick it up. Not very effective.

So after extensive research and a trip looming (I always clean my house before I travel. It's always nice to come home to a clean house) I finally joined the cult of Dyson. I went with the Dyson D25 Animal. I did balk a bit at the price tag, but given I need a new vacuum every 2 years it seemed worth it.

When I finally had a few minutes at home, I unpacked and assembled it. It was very easy and well designed. I do appreciate well designed packaging and products. I was excited to try it out but ran into an odd problem. It was so pretty and had new vacuum smell that I did not want to get it dirty! I was finally able to overcome that and let me tell you, what a difference. It's so maneuverable and the fur it sucked up was amazing. And the best benefit for the cats, other than the fun, big box it came in, was that it's not as loud and my previous vacuum. So no panicked felines running away. Now I have a clean house and relaxed cats. What more could I ask for in a weekend really.

Petals Falling Like Snow

It has been a week of chaos (yes I am aware it's only Wednesday evening). I am so busy at work I cannot even see an end in sight or a possible way to get everything done without cloning myself. Add to that some family issues and friend drama and, well, it's not made me a happy girl.

I get restless when I spend so much time in front of the computer, cell phone and blackberry and though I had to work again tonight, I needed to get out and away from it all. It was while taking a walk that I rounded the corner and my neighbor's wonderfully scented, white blossomed covered tree caught a breeze. I was suddenly caught in a downpour of white, tear shaped petals that reminded me of snow. It was so pretty that I just stood for a moment and absorbed the scene. Much like yoga, it was enough to get me centered and calm for a moment.

The moment did not last as I got back home. I have two trainings to do tomorrow and the first one is going to be really difficult. The group is wrestling with the complexity of what they will use the database for and I am plotting how best to convey that in clear, concise terms to them. I've got some ideas so we'll see. I was lucky to be able to bounce them off a friend, who in exchange for being my sounding board, was able to elicit a few laughs as he vented about his rather interesting day.

Potted Basil and Altered Perception

This has been quite the weekend. Saturday's weather was delightful and perfect for a day spent on the Charles River Esplanade watching a concert of bands I haven't really thought much of since their heyday. It was great to be outside sitting on the banks of the river catching up with friends. The celebration was Earthfest and had the requisite pro-Earth freebies and giveaways. The most interesting ones were the free tomato or basil plants that Home Depot were giving away. It was very odd watching people roaming around holding basil plants. The best was when we finally wandered to Newbury Street to eat. It was really funny to see one of the basil plants on the table almost like we brought out own herbs to dinner.

Today started on the wrong foot as I went to bed with a raging headache and woke up with it still firmly in place. It abated enough for me to go my much needed yoga class. I find I get some much needed perspective upside down and dripping in sweat :-)

It is one of those weekends where you thought you knew all about a person or a situation and then all of a sudden everything has changed. I am no stranger to change and rather enjoy it. But I was distracted and am trying to put things in some sort of order. The weather today seemed to mirror my mood. We had sun, rain, lightning and thunder all throughout the afternoon and a frost warning tonight.

Luckily with the help of gravity (from more than a few Down Dogs), a pedicure and some good food I am getting myself sorted out and ready for an incredibly busy week.

Not Happy

It's been a busy week with me stuck in a 3 day training class and having to catch up with my work. It also was a week with two 90 degree days. It was a nice taste of early summer which I enjoyed. The cats, were not in agreement with me however. They were clearly not happy with the warmth. After the second day of this weather, Hobbes had clearly had enough. I walked back into the kitchen last night and found him just sprawled out on the tiles. As he saw me, he lifted his head, let out a pitiful meow and put his head back down. We had apparently reached the Molten Feline Level. I do have AC but with the windows open it was actually cooling off and quite pleasant. With cooler temps coming tomorrow, I know he will be much happier.

Nary A Tutu In Sight

Last week was such a busy one that I really looked forward to the events of Friday night. I was joining my friend for an evening at the Boston Ballet. It was the 100th anniversary of the Ballets Russes which seemed interesting. It was but the drama started with my arrival one minute before the curtain was set to go up. And there is no late seating. I made the mistake of taking the T one quick stop. It would be faster than the walk across the Common, or so I thought. It was not. We got halfway between the stops and we came to a stop. The announcement that followed was that we were stopped due to "a move". A move? That was all the detail given and it left me wondering were we moving a train, a body, performing a dance move, moving furniture? I do not know and as I sat looking at my watch I knew I was going to have to sprint to the theater. And sprint I did. I made it with no time to spare, but it was not the way I wanted to start the evening.

No sooner did we settle into our seats, the lights went down. We were getting ready for the curtain to raise when this older couple stood right in front of us, clearly looking for their seats. Of course the man was sitting right in front of my friend. He had this big shopping bag that he was trying to wedge into the row without success. He then sat down and put the bag over the railing into the aisle where it fell and dumped it's contents with a lot of clatter. It was full of empty cans and bottles. We were dying to know the back story of how this man came to be at the ballet with a bag full of redeemable bottles and cans.

The four dances we saw were quite varied. One did not so much resemble ballet but more, as my friend pointed out, indignant moving. We got more dancing with the last dance. There is something about seeing a troupe of dancers moving in unison and the sound of the toe shoes as they land.

Still Life with Push Up Bra

After a tumultuous week where I had a delightful run in with my boss and his boss (who can only manage by yelling and being accusatory)for essentially doing my job, more work than I have hours in the day for, and two friends who rubbed me the wrong way, I was more than ready for the weekend.

Of course, that meant having to work late on Friday night as it was finally realized that the issue I brought up a month ago was indeed a problem and needed to be resolved. So while I can stop feeling like the database Cassandra, it would have been far less stressful to have been believed a month ago.

After the huge, full moon Friday night (which could explain some of the weirdness of the day), I decided I needed a Saturday to myself. Seeking some solace, I headed to the MFA to wander around a bit. It was also the School of the Museum of Fine Arts sidewalk sale so I got to see some rather creative pieces of art, including the sketch that gives this blog post a title. One rather creative artist took an assignment for a still life using every day objects, ignored the de rigueur fruit, and went with high heels and push up bras. It was a great piece and a funny depiction of the aftermath of a very fun evening.

Another artist was doing on the spot watercolors. I always admire artistic people and asked her if she only worked in watercolor. While she does acrylics and oils, for her it was clear watercolors were the thing. She said that watercolors "were like breathing" to her and showed me some of her brushes she had since she first started painting. It was great to talk to her and her enthusiasm was a bright spot in what started as a bad day.

It was threatening rain or sun and couldn't quite make up which direction to go. So I, being without an umbrella, chanced it and walked back to Cambridge via the Public Garden. It was challenging to navigate the crowds but it was a good bit of exercise, once I figured out a puzzling pedestrian detour.

Ballet Of Bats

While Austin has many charms to offer the best, in my humble opinion, are the bats. I refer to the colony of Mexican Free-tailed bats that call the Congress Avenue bridge their summer home. It seems to often we hear of humans destroying or making life difficult for our wild counterparts on this planet. It's nice to see something unintentionally beneficial.

Bats are so very cool (anything that eats mosquitoes is quite ok in my book). People are so very stupid. The questions and comments of my fellow bat watchers bordered on entertaining to downright stupid. My favorites were the woman who declared excitedly "look it's a bat!" Hmm, feathers, a beak. Nope that was a bird. Or her equally clueless boyfriend who inquired if the bats ate fruit. Sure thing and they're called fruit bats. Of which the bats in Austin are not.

And of course, this couple, who were perfectly matched in their ignorance, wondered if they were vampire bats. One could only hope they would for moment turn vampire and these two delightful people would be their first and only victims.

When the bats finally made their appearance they were spectacular!

The Lone Star State

My recent trip was indeed fun though it was once again rainy (I think every time I've been to Texas it's rained. For a state in a drought, it's really bad timing or I have become some sort of reverse human divining rod.) If I had been needing a boost in self esteem, this trip would have perked me right up.

Starting with the bus driver on the airport route who found my solo presence and conversational ability so utterly delightful he passed by three stops, with passengers waiting, to get me to my destination. I hadn't realized he had other stops to make but he was not in the least bit concerned. It was very funny and he made sure to drop me off right at the crosswalk so I didn't have to walk too far. It was very sweet.

Then there was the homeless man who stopped in his tracks and declared me the "most beautiful woman" he had ever seen. I appreciated the novel approach to panhandling and was happy to take the compliment. It didn't get him a donation from me but it made me smile.

The icing on the cake was the TSA agent standing on the opposite side of the metal detector. I had already performed the Tetris game of putting all your stuff in as few bins as possible and was padding to the other side in my stocking feet, boarding pass in hand. As I got through the metal detector the agent gave me my boarding pass back, grabbed my hand in his latex gloved hand (which I will admit freaked me out just a smidge) and declared that when he "sees perfection" he must "reach out and touch it". I will admit it took me a second to figure out what the heck he was talking about before I got that he meant me! While it was oddly flattering, I was getting worried watching my stuff make it's way down the conveyor belt.

The parts of my trip that occurred between these three interesting men were also enjoyable. I got to catch up with a friend I don't see as often as I'd like and got to make acquaintance of some new friends. I ate great food, saw a wonderful photography exhibit at the Austin Museum of Art , walked around and very much enjoyed a few days away.

So Many Events, So Little Time

I was utterly swamped with trying to get things accomplished at work before my trip and social events, not that I am complaining about the social
events :)

Thursday night brought about the final in the Repartee series at the BSO. By a fluke, I ended up with tickets in the 2nd row. I have never been that close to the orchestra before and it was quite a different experience. Sitting further away, you really get a sense of the orchestra as a whole. In the 2nd row, you get a close up of a few individual musicians.

Before the concert begins you always hear the dissonance of each musician tuning their instruments and warming up. Far away this is background noise. Up close you really notice the moment when all the individuals become one. It was very impressive. Also impressive was seeing our conductor, who was filling in for the scheduled conductor. She was the 6th woman to conduct the BSO. Woman #5 had conducted two weeks before. On one hand I am happy for the progress. On the other, if you take into account how long the BSO has been around, having only 5 and 6 in April of 2009 is a bit depressing. But progress is progress no matter how slow.

Friday was an very impromptu dinner party with amazing food, a big group of people and a French film that prompted quit a bit of discussion. After standing in a big circle debating the pros and cons of the film, we all decided that further discussion over a beer would be beneficial. It was a nice night and we all sat outside and enjoyed the cool Spring night. It was also a night that just got away from me. One minute it was 8pm and the next it was well after midnight and definitely time to go home.

Watching Planes

It's been quite a week so I really was looking forward to this weekend. Friday brought last minute plans making full use of the gorgeous weather. I always love walking over the Mass Ave bridge at night, in spite of the incessant wind. Saturday was an impromptu dinner party and piano recital. Per usual with potlucks, there was no end of leftovers. But we were all well fed and enjoyed some passionate piano playing and lively discussion over dessert.

I was very happy for a relaxing Sunday and brunch. I met up with my Marathon running friend (she's running Boston tomorrow and I am in awe). We both ate quite well and I was happy to share a side of pancakes, though I am certainly not doing anything nearly as athletic as her tomorrow. The place we had brunch is a cute spot right at a regional airport. It was fun to chat, eat and watch the planes taking off. I've always loved watching planes and have fond memories of going to the regional airport near where I grew up with my grandfather to watch the planes.

April Fool's

Today brought me a letter in the mail that really should have been an April Fool's joke. Sadly, it was not. I have been working non-stop for the last four days on a project that went awry but was ultimately completed on time so it's been stressful to say the least. Add to that people not doing their jobs and well, it's not been a delightful time. But I got through it and was feeling a bit better about things today.

Then the letter. It from the Diocese of Manchester, NH. The Diocese? As a former Catholic seeing the word Diocese on the envelope was enough to make me break out in hives or want to sin immediately

My ex-husband is getting remarried finally. I am indeed happy for him and wish him happiness and wedded bliss. I also wish to not be remotely involved. He has always been a needy person and required more from me than me from him. It has not changed in our many years apart. We are friends but I really was not the one for him to ask advice about how to propose. My stepmother thinks he's being remarkably insensitive and it's a valid point. It's actually more he's a bit clueless.

Anyway, his fiancee comes from a very Catholic family (the kind that go to Church everyday). To appease her family they are to be wed in a Catholic church. This is where things get tricky. Seems the little matter of our non-denominational marriage is causing him an issue. He's not willing to annul it (neither am I) so he's been jumping through crazy hoops to ensure he can have his wedding there.

First came the request for a copy of my baptismal certificate. Mine. Seems since we were both baptized part of the hurdles for his wedding involve dragging my religious history into it.

So fine, baptism certificate. I found that horribly intrusive. I should have known better as I hadn't seen anything yet.

The letter today contained seven questions I need to write essay responses to and then mail back in two weeks. Oh, they mentioned I could use the handy SASE they provided. Damn church didn't even do that.

The questions range from the obvious (what is my full name, what religion was I baptized) to the inane (did we have permission from the church to marry outside the church, was the marriage ever blessed). I should mention here that my ex is an atheist so nothing remotely religious occurred in our wedding ceremony which was fine with both of us as I ceased being a Catholic in my teens.

The best question is "Was there a sacred rite performed by a priest?" My initial answer was to put "goat and virgin sacrifices" but I'm guess that's not what they are looking for.

I am again stunned by the invasion of privacy and am in the dangerous (for my ex) position of being all fired up from work, have the ability to write well, have a bit of free time and a grudge. As someone who has known me for a long time, you'd think he'd be worried and remember this is a combination akin to dynamite.

When I asked him about the essay questions today he played dumb "I thought they were just sending you something to confirm your address". Sure thing and I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. He also helpfully added "thanks for doing this". I did point out I hadn't done it yet. If he can live with the hypocrisy of pledging his love and faith in something he doesn't even believe in to make his fiancee happy that's his business. But to keep involving me is not right. Oh and the best part is that he said his priest said that most exes get pissed about this letter. Sounds just like the Catholic church to me. Is it puzzling? Does it make no sense and piss people off? Then let's keep doing it. If it were possible for me to be even less Catholic that I currently am, this letter would do it.

Find A Happy Place

So my happy Friday was followed by emotional Saturday. The week was overall challenging but Friday night was a bright spot. Apparently the universe was just taking a breather before continuing to make sure my week would not end on the happiest of notes. It all ended up turning out ok but I was certainly glad to see a new week. Ensuring that this would happen, I did make sure to visit my favorite cupcake place in NYC. Though I refrained from buying a full dozen (it was not easy) they did look so pretty in the box.

And if one more man in my life states that "men are simple" immediately following a display of confusing and complex behavior that makes astrophysics look simple, I do reserve the right to rip off his arm and beat him with it :-)

Happy Friday

It was indeed a very happy Friday both for being the end of a rather complicated week and a good day all on it's own. Too many late nights and being swamped at work made coming home tonight an evening I walked through the door utterly exhausted. Add to that an impromptu trip that I am heading out for early in the morning and it was a good night to stay in and get things accomplished. So what did I do? Of course I went salsa dancing!

It starts late enough that I could get home and get things done quickly. It was so much fun, as it always is. It's impossible not to smile when salsa dancing and there was plenty of that to see. As fun as it is to dance, it's nice to catch your breath and watch everyone on the dance floor. There were some amazing dancers and they are delightful to watch. The very cold night air felt good to walk out into. So while I was lucky enough to wake up with a smile, I am double lucky to be heading to bed with one!

What a Difference a Few Days Make

Last week was a very busy one with all kinds of stuff going on. Of course, we had a 50 degree day on Friday. It was really windy but such a touch of Spring. Then today, a foot of snow. Apparently Mother Nature needed to remind us it is still winter. And honestly I am happy for the snow so I can get some cross country skiing in this weekend.

It was nice to have a snow day today. It wasn't really a snow day but I did get to work from home. It took quite a while to shovel my car out. It may have been light and fluffy snow but dammit there was a lot of it! The photo is the view from my skylight, before it was completely obscured.

The Case of the $4 Donut

Tonight was a lovely dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Blue Ginger. This week was busy, crazy and non stop. It was nice to have a busy day at work, head home, change and head to dinner. He got there a bit before I did and made it without getting lost like he had feared.

It was wonderful to sit down, chat and have a drink. I love the ginger lime gimlet they make but boy do they go down far too easily. The appetizers were the tuna poke and mussels in lime leaf and green papaya. I had the butterfish (an aptly named fish if there ever was one). He had the scallops. All was wonderful. I was up for dessert and he was not. The warm, spiced, kabocha donuts caught my attention. He was not as impressed as I was but they were wonderful. He, being ever practical, noted that I was eating $4 donuts. As I pointed out to him, the pleasure of my company was worth feeding me the $4 donuts. He agreed :-) He also rightly guessed that I really was thinking about licking the plate. For the record I did not.

It was a fun dinner and so very good. I feel bad for people who eat out with me as I love food and make it very clear I am enjoying myself if I am eating something scrumptious. I can't help it. Food makes me happy :-)

Ready, Set, Date!

So this week's adventure was a speed dating event with the girls. I've done speed dating once before and figured why not. If anything, I can make conversation with just about anyone for 10 minutes. And I did. I also gained a new appreciation for just how very long 10 minutes can be. Most of the men were perfectly fine, no one I was really interested in, but there were a few that just were conversationally challenged. One man decided he had questions for me me. That was fine. What was not fine was that he asked me his questions all at once. I couldn't get a word in edgewise or answer any of them. So I just let him talk.

The highlight of the evening, beside spending time with the girls, were the nachos. They were so very good (I was also very hungry so that may have had something to do with it.) It turned into a very late evening for a Tuesday night. The rest of this week is equally busy with work and social butterfly activities.

Postal Confusion

So I moved a little over a year ago. The three family house I live in converted to a two family. It wasn't a huge move (other than having to move all of my belongings up one flight of stairs) and it involved a minor address change (essentially one letter to another). No problem.

Flash forward to today when I realize the post office has been returning my mail to sender. Why? Well my forwarding order has expired. Fair enough. The asinine part is that they slapped a yellow forwarding sticker with my new address on an envelope that had my address EXACTLY the same as the one on the yellow sticker. So the post office was trying to forward mail with my current address to my current address. Hmm. Well obviously that isn't going to work. And it does explain why I have yet to get my replacement corporate credit card. The post office keeps sending it back.

For explanation the woman at the post office I called today said that our local street listing had me still listed at my old address. I filed a change of address at the post office. Why would you then take a locally published guide as rule of where I live? She also suggested it would have been less confusing if I had just moved to a whole other address. Apparently.

So tomorrow I have to do battle at the PO and try to get them to stop returning my mail to sender. I am sure it will be just as delightful as I imagine it.

Staring at Venus

It was a lovely weekend full of lots of fun things. I did see that Venus was visible above the moon late last week but driving home from NH on Saturday night, it was well below the crescent moon and brightly shining. I love looking at the stars in a clear night sky.


The girls headed north for some cross country skiing. It was on the cold side but one thing you are guaranteed with this activity is getting really, really warm very quickly. It was fun and good to get out and play outside. I did feel a bit bad when I got tired as my friend had run a 5K prior to skiing. Then I remembered she is a superhero and I was ok. The funny thing was we ended up running into another friend completely at random. Neither of us knew the other would be there. And for us to meet up at just the right time and on the same trail was indeed a pretty amazing coincidence!

Today the highlight was not the Superbowl but puppy breath from the roly-poly, warm and very sleepy new puppy of my Aunt and Uncle. I was the lucky recipient of many little puppy kisses :-) and fell immediately in love with the little guy. There is nothing like puppy breath!

Ice Cream and Salsa

There is nothing I love more than dancing. Add ice cream at one my favorite places in Cambridge and I had quite a fun evening.

It was a very last minute invitation to head out to Friday night salsa in Central Square. It didn't start until later so we met up and had some ice cream first. Cardamom for him and burnt caramel for me. Both were so very good.

Then it was time to salsa and work it off. I always forget how sweaty dancing can make you. It's a fun workout on a very cold night. And the best part is how everyone there had big smiles on their faces from the sheer fun of dancing.

We danced for a bit then called it a night. It was actually good to head into the cold night air and cool down a bit. I knew I'd be working a bit over the weekend so it was nice to take a break and kick off the weekend with fun.

Yes, We Can

This has indeed been quite a day! I can't remember this positive feeling of community, coming together and history - certainly not around a recent presidential inauguration. I have had this smile on my face all day watching the events. And I can tell my friends are feeling the same way from the excited emails I've gotten all day. It's amazing to me that this country that was so divided, has pulled together and elected someone that, in our not so distant collective past, would have had to sit at the back of a bus or been banned from using the white only water fountain. The whole day was amazing and watching him take the oath of office made me tear up.

So hopefully, things will get better. This country is in bad shape with the recession, unemployment, and the uninsured. But for today the feeling of hope is too strong to wipe the smile off my face. And what else? Our new president is a fellow left handed person :-)

Snow Bunnies, Sex Kittens and Social Butterflies

It's absolutely freezing here with a lovely Arctic blast. It was funny to me to have been in Tahoe for work this week and enjoying relatively balmy temps in the 40's. I did laugh after all the hype about how great the skiing is out West as compared to New England. Sure, it's great if they actually get snow. With temps in the 40's and the sun shining it was very icy on the slopes. But I was fine as it felt like home to me. I did manage to get a few bruises from spilling while boarding but they are fading now.

I was traveling for the next round of trainings in our database relaunch at work. This was a fun group of salespeople and the training was a good one with lots of questions and comments. Given all the chaos leading up to me getting on the plane, it was an exhausting trip. Add to that the head cold that just keeps lingering and I was very happy to come home, in spite of the frigid temperatures. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed. I did find myself feeling a bit unsettled when I got home. I had this nagging feeling that something was bothering me but I could not quite put my finger on it. I guess now it was just me being so very overtired that was putting me out of sorts. I am using this weekend to catch up on my sleep and find I am back to my usual self :-)

So with the training out of the way and the next ones yet to be scheduled, a few good meals and some sleep, I am able to get back to my social butterfly ways.

Happy New Year!

This New Year's Eve seemed to kind of sneak up on me with having to work and battling a nasty cold. The year ended with a crash (of a broken glass) and came in with a squeak. Yes, I lost my voice. It happens when I have a cold and I think working yesterday and chatting a bit last night just did me in. I have talked to a few people today and they all agreed that I sound awful. Which is funny because I feel ok. So for anyone I did not call to wish a Happy New Year to, be grateful that I spared you from the squeak! I will be vocal again tomorrow (hopefully) as I have plans to head to my favorite tapas restaurant for dinner. And it still beats the New Year's Day I woke up with Scarlet Fever.

Happy New Year! Here's wishing everyone a fabulous 2009.