Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Breaking up is never easy. For those keeping score on the Kelly Dating Scorecard, I had three of them last year. So far this year I have been unscathed. That all changed two weeks ago. I decided I had enough being a Bank of America account holder. The $60 a year fee to use my debit card was really the breaking point. I had originally opened the account way back in 1996 and really hadn't thought too much about it. I knew it would be a pain to change given all the online banking I do, but it was a project I was happy to undertake. Having a handy list of all the online accounts I have, due to my debit card being compromised early in the summer, I set to work.

I went to my local TD Bank one lunchtime and within a very short time I walked out with new accounts and a shiny, new debit card! The make them right there on site. Why do other banks not do this?

Once that was done, it was time to head to Bank of America. The minute I announced I was closing my accounts, the manager came out. He tried to explain it was only going to be $5 a month. I told him that I understood the bank made bad choices with mortgages and that the recent activity in Congress cut the fees they could collect from retailers. He seemed very surprised I had done my research. When I told of where I moved my business, the reply was that all banks were going the debit fee direction. I told him then I would change banks to one that didn't.

It truly was a case of "It's not me, it's you" and was kind of entertaining. But it really did feel more like a breakup that a business transaction. Even to the point where BOA was texting me my balances were low. Given the balances were on closed accounts, it was annoying for a few days.

The Great Calico Conspiracy

It's come to my attention that there apparently is a theory in the feline world that calico cats are rather difficult and not very desirable. Having recently adopted a calico cat who is just a pure sweetie, I can't understand where this comes from.

Perhaps a bit of background may help. Calico cats are almost always female due to the color being linked to the X chromosome. Two X chromosomes, and you get female calico. Two X chromosomes and a Y and you have a sterile male calico cat. A calico cat is defined by having three distinct colors - white, orange and black. A tortoiseshell (tortie) cat has those colors and more in a mottled combination. So my cat Lucy is technically a tortoiseshell with white, since her colors blend into the three calico colors and beyond, but everyone calls her a calico. I am always noticing a new pattern when I look at her!

She is one of the cutest cats I have ever owned and she had a tough start to life living outside and under a porch. She was loaded with fleas, worms and mites and it took a few treatments to get her healthy. Now she is just a bundle of joy and such a silly kitten. She is very enthusiastic in all that she does. She has the loudest purr, is the first at her bowl at dinner and plays fetch with her favorite red mouse.

She and Lila have bonded like sisters, even though there is a slight age difference, and it's great to see. She's even managing to win over my 15 year old rather cranky cat, which is no small feat!

New Start

I have been having a great summer, as usual! And my birthday was great but the best gift I got this year was a shiny, new job. My job had been stressful and while I did my best and worked my butt off, I was not getting recognized or rewarded for my hard work. So it was time to move on and by the magic of LinkedIn, I had a new career opportunity.

It's been great to learn something new. I generally change companies about every three years so I was due. I like the change and challenge that comes with a new opportunity. After one week, I can say I am really happy I took this new position. I work with some great people and have a degree of flexibility that I would never have gotten with my last job. I do not have my Blackberry yet so I have been feeling a bit out of sorts. And I have certainly had my fill of watching corporate videos, but thankfully I got those out of the way.

It's also nice working in a very large company. I love the building I am based out of as it's bright, sunny and colorful with artwork everywhere. I was working in a gray, dingy cave before and am glad to have left that behind! All in all, the smile has not left my face yet!

Off to Camp

When told of my plan to volunteer one weekend in March, most people who know me expressed a mix of surprise and disbelief given how eternally busy I am. But it was one of those times the greater good outweighed the sacrifice.

So I was off on a road trip on a prematurely warm day to the Cape to lend a hand at Geek Girl Camp 2011. Once I drove past the cranberry bogs and over the canal, there I was. There is something I enjoy about being in beach towns in the off season. The pace is much less frantic.

The first order of business was meeting the other volunteers, getting a tour of the campus and getting the 500 gift bags all stuffed. We formed an assembly line that made quick work of the task. Once we were done and I had my nametag and tshirt in hand it was time for dinner.

The next day it was controlled chaos. I got to my spot on the helpdesk and ran to the registration area to grab a campus map. When I got outside, the line of people waiting to register was already long an hour before the conference started. It was great to see. I popped in to the keynote address and then was back at my post.

I was handling social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) and iPhone questions with my partner. We talked to so many people from event planners, personal assistants, recruiters, artists, writers, small business owners and many more. I was amazed at how many LinkedIn questions I got and was glad I had brushed up before I went to the conference.

It was such a great event to be involved in and it was wonderful to meet and help so many people. I was exhausted at the end of the day but it was well worth it!

Spring Thaw

It has been quite a winter here. So much snow all at once (which made for some great skiing!) and cold temps. We've had a bit of thawing going on and it's been nice seeing the sidewalks again. It's also been interesting seeing what's been hidden by the snow. There are quite a few street signs that are askew from the plows hitting them. Bushes and plants that were in snow taller than them are finally visible again, but looking a bit worse for wear. My car floor mats seem to contain about 20 pounds of sand.

But with the warmer temps and the day light getting more plentiful, it does seem a corner has been turned. Judging by the events of the current news, it seems that more than just me has turned a corner. The whole world seems a bit up in arms. I am still so very impressed by Egypt and the protests that so quickly shook up 30 years of oppression into a new world order. Of course Tunisia started the revolution ball rolling and now Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Wisconsin. It seems people have had enough.

And now with earthquake in New Zealand and earthquake, tsunami and potential nuclear disaster in Japan apparently Mother Nature has had enough too.

Welcome 2011

I did very much enjoy being an hour ahead of my normal time zone that brought me into this new year sooner. I was lucky to finally get some much needed time off and decided to ship myself to rest and relax on the beach. It took a bit of wrangling to get it all worked out, but once Christmas and a work project was done I was off to Puerto Rico. While I was lucky to have quite a few wonderful trips this year (like South Dakota, France) those were busier than what I was looking to do this time around.

I had a gorgeous room with great views of the ocean and inlet. I didn't quite realize until it got dark and I forgot to close the blinds completely that I had a direct view to the lighthouse!

My mornings involved getting into my bathing suit, slathering on sunscreen, throwing a few things in a bag and heading down to the dock to get on the ferry to the private island. After about a 10 minute ride I was off to stake out my chair and was set for the day. It was good to be in the sun and warm temperatures and do nothing other than read and swim all day. It was bliss and I could feel all the stress I was carrying from the weeks leading up to this just drifting away.

It got to the point where I couldn't wipe the smile off my face and it was a great feeling! In fact, I am smiling now just thinking about it.

Oddly there were these giant, black and yellow striped caterpillars on the trees I walked by to get to my room. The shape of the branches was really striking but when you looked closer, the caterpillars were everywhere! People keep scooping them up and moving them from any harm if they were on the path. I don't know what kind they were and I'm still meaning to figure that out.