Displaced Person

Well I am not at home this week. Instead I am house and chicken sitting for my Dad and step mom in my hometown. It's been a horribly stressful week (yes I am aware that it's only Wednesday) and I really just want to go home.

When I read Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Eat, Pray, Love, I identified with her description of crying on the bathroom floor. I've been a bathroom floor cryer for a long time. It's not that I find the bathroom particularly comforting but it's generally the one room in a house that you have complete privacy for a meltdown. It's also actually really efficient since you are not out of reach of things to wipe your tears on.

So after a nasty, angry, vicious phone call with someone who has been a friend for far too long, I find myself sitting at my Dad's kitchen table in tears. And it doesn't feel right because this is not my home. Once again I am in tears, having a cry, sitting on a bathmat. I am angry that this person made me feel this way. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm stressed beyond belief right now. How dare he.

Roses Are Red, Pineapples Not So Much

Being single, I am firmly involved in the dating game. Though it may seem a bit old fashioned there is something to be said for getting flowers. I love roses, only if they actually smell like roses, orchids, peonies, and really any cut flower other than carnations. I've gotten flowers before the date, after the date, just because, and they always manage to make me smile. It's a clear signal that someone is interested in you.

Trying to account for regional or gender differences in dating styles I still can't stop laughing at a male friend of mine and his choice of what to send a girl he is interested in. No mere roses for him. Nope. He's going with the Fruit Bouquet choice. Yes indeed, fruit on a stick. He was thinking about not signing the card and sending it anonymously. Can you imagine getting anonymous fruit?

I think he might have gotten a bit offended that I laughed at him (still laughing by the way). I have gotten some odd gifts from the men I have been involved with but if any of them showed up at my door with a fruit bouquet that would be the end of that date. Red roses say "I really like you". A fruit bouquet says "Good luck Grandma with that cataract surgery" or "So sorry that sinkhole ate your car."

Brain Static

There has been so much going on I can’t even begin to see straight this week. Today at work was the group announcement to those affected that we are undergoing a reorganization”. My boss from hell is no longer my boss which is great. I did not get laid off (darn) but got reassigned to a different boss. I’ve worked with him in the past with no problem but I still want out of that company.

So I head home with a brain full of so many thoughts I feel like I have a hive of bees up there.

As I got off the train I thought

-I need to get gas oh and oj still need that book for book club what am I going to wear to the party Friday boy it’s really getting dark early it’s chilly I am definitely wearing pants tomorrow I need to send out some more resumes where are all my pants anyway I cannot believe how early I have to go to work tomorrow stupid meeting what the heck is that woman wearing I still have to do that data mapping project at work you know she is being a bitch to me where are my keys I could really go for a pizza do I have $2 for parking tomorrow god I do not want to go to work tomorrow is that my phone-

SMACK
I managed to not open the car door as wide as I thought. As I went to get into the car I smacked the left side of my jaw on the top of the door so hard I thought I had cracked a tooth. Both the real ones and the ones I paid for were fine. It hurts to open my mouth (so much for pizza). I can’t even touch that side of my face it hurts so badly. As one with jaw issues (TMJ) this is not good. Plus it will be a very oddly placed bruise.

*sigh*
So I have decided, since I have a busy weekend, to take Monday off and try to get myself back to center.

There but for the Grace of God

My Dad is a recently retired firefighter in my hometown. After hearing of two firefighters killed in a fire last night in Boston and two others killed in New York my heart just goes out to their families. I know that it could have so easily been my family. And I feel selfish because I offer a huge prayer of thanks that it was not.

I would get phone calls from my Dad after roofs would fall on him or he got heat exhaustion while being on a roof battling a blaze and my heart would just sink at what could have happened. Then there would be a sigh of relief that he was still able to call me on the phone and tell me what happened.

Neither my brother nor I became firefighters. I think it's truly a calling to perform a job like that. One that I did not get. I am so proud of my Dad. As we get ready to celebrate his retirement, I reflect back and thank the heavens that he made it out ok. And I wonder how long it will be until hearing the sirens stops my heart for a moment.

Balls of Hamburger, Bowl of Gouda

Well it was another Friday of fun! The food and drinks we had to start our evening were very good. The inattentive waitress and vinyl covered seats were not so good. It was an evening of confusion over a purse (which made me wonder just what that purse was made of!) and a pseudo-frat/college party. Oh and the round about ride to the liquor store that gave us a chance to explore :-)

While I am quite comfortable with my mind being constantly in the gutter, I was certainly not alone on that car ride. I will admit the talk of "man nipples" actually caused me to stall my car. On a hill. At a light.
I plead the 5th on why ;-)

It was truly fitting when we arrived at the party I did actually park in the gutter. I did appreciate the appropriateness of it.

All in all another good Friday after another difficult week at work.

Reason #145 Why My Boss Sucks

So one year ago, in typical hurry up and wait fashion, my boss asked me to build a database for some contracts we had received. No problem. I created the database, populated it and filed the contracts away. As per our agreement, she needed to look over the database and make sure it was what she wanted. Fast forward to a week ago.
She finally started looking at the database. Took her a whole year to do so.

It seemed from the beginning that there may be other contracts that went to our legal department that should be in the database. I had no proof of this, just a hunch and was not getting any confirmation from legal.

My boss decides there must be more contracts so she asked me to make a list of all the ones we do not have. So, she wants me to make a list of files I don't have. I have no copies or paperwork stating what files are missing but yet I need to list them. Once again she seems to be under the delusion that I have ESP.

It took me pointing this out to my highly educated, yet clueless, manager from hell, that maybe it would make more sense to make a list of the ones already in database and ask legal if they have others above and beyond that. Maybe I just have too much common sense.

So even though I threw my back out and was is some serious pain, it still was better than going in to work. Yup, time for a new job.

Best Moat Themed Party Ever

So as a means to show off her art, my friend decided to host a party. But what theme to pick? Of course. Moats. There is a back story to the whole moat thing (of course there is). And here it is.

Out at our usual Irish pub Friend One says "My dad loves boats". Friend Two says "Moats?". And that was it. We were off and running. Now we have a Moat Song (to the theme of Mr. Ed), a drink (Moatini of course), a cake and many other "moat-ments" of silliness. It was a great party of good snacks (mmm, cheese), fun, witty and occasionally lewd conversation, amazing artwork, and a ton of laughs.

It was a weekend of good drinks. The Moatini is a lovely mango concoction that goes down far too easily. The night before was an amazingly perfect lemon drop. It was perfectly sour and sweet and icy cold. Those went down far too easily as well.

Open mouth, insert foot

So I met this older man on the Red Line one evening. He was handsome and we shared one of those common public transportation moments at the expense of the very inebriated girl berating her poor boyfriend. We both got off at the same stop and started chatting as the train stopped. We exchanged numbers outside and spoke the next day. Turns out he's divorced (seems like not by his choice) and has 4 kids. So this puts him out of my dating range. But he's really interesting (pilot, artist, chef, designer) and I wouldn't mind grabbing a drink with him and being friends.

Anyway, so we spoke after my recent trip and he made the comment about my work ethic "you are just like my ex-wife". Uh, ok. Awkward. I surmised that he meant it in a positive way so I let that slide as a slip of the tongue. The next comment he made threw me for a bigger loop.

We talked for a few more seconds and he said "Who knows, you could be my future ex-wife". Oh boy. Lucky me.

Away

Well I was lucky to be able to head out on a much needed but very impromptu vacation. I desperately needed a change of scenery after the hell that work has been for the last few months. A week recharging in San Diego was too good to pass up, especially with the person I was invited by. I got the invitation on a Monday and had my ticket by Tuesday at lunchtime to leave on Saturday. I think some of my friends and family were a bit shocked especially since my travel partner is a new entrant into my life.

So with a little bit of nerves and maps in hand, I headed out. I received quite a nice welcome upon my arrival. In spite of still being on East Coast time we stayed up far too late catching up with each other on many levels.

San Diego was a blast. Since my friend was attending a conference, I had the days free to roam. I had a great time at the beach just people watching (hot surfer guys and alarmingly tan women) and body surfing in the ocean. The zoo was so much fun. I saw a lot of interesting animals and for some reason, all the big cats were on. The gorillas were zonked out in the heat pressed up against the glass. I always feel like I am in a Far Side cartoon when seeing gorillas like the display is reversed and we are actually the exhibit! Balboa Park was amazing and I stumbled into a great rose garden in full bloom. The bees were drunk on the fragrance, as was I. The Desert Garden was beautiful but the people using it as a jogging path were far braver souls that I.

I spent one evening in La Jolla. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is home to Children's Beach that has been taken over by Harbor Seals who have no inclination to give the beach back. They were fun to watch zoom out of the water like bullets and become less sleek once terrestrial.

The food was great and I ate very well. I wandered into one cute trattoria an evening I was solo for a quick bite and had so much fun. The bartender has a sister up here and the man next to me was a New Yorker. We chatted about everything under the sun and the food was fabulous. I had a great arugula salad and gnocchi that were everything gnocchi should be but often aren't. It was such a great meal that we went there again right before I had to catch the red eye. The other meal that stands out was just amazing food and a great view of the water and the little military planes engaging in a faux dogfight.

All in all, a great trip to explore a new city and to learn much more about a new friend.

Social Butterfly

This has been such a busy month I have been a bit remiss in my blogging.
So here is my attempt to catch up a bit.

If you enjoy fiction, run don't walk to get Water for Elephants. It's a gripping novel that had me sitting in my car after I got on the train so I could read the last 20 pages before I got home.

On the movie front, I've seen a great French film at the MFA French Film Festival, Family Hero. It was a fun, complex film that showed a whole new side of Catherine Deneuve to me.

The next great movie I saw was Ratatouille. What a great movie! I had seen the movie trailer for this ages ago and have been waiting and waiting until it finally came out. I can't say enough about it. The animation was so amazing that at times you forgot that you were watching a movie about a rat. Plus it was a fun contrast seeing a French film and then one by Disney!

Add to that a Caribbean themed party (ok, so the espresso mini cupcakes I brought weren't technically on theme - they still went over well) and it's been quite a full week.

Kiehl's

I have loved Kiehl's since I first wandered into their store on Third Avenue. The simple black and white packaging and their great products have kept me a customer since then. Conveniently there is a Kiehl's right next to the hair salon I go to. I went in last week after my hair appointment to get some more Coriander shower gel (normally I would question trying to smell like an herb but in this case it works). The great part about Kiehl's, other than the products, are the samples you get at checkout. I had a cute Kiehl's boy helping me out and he very emphatically told me he was putting samples of his absolute favorite product into my bag. He put in a few others as well.

When I got home I unloaded my Kiehl's booty. I got some moisturizer, some great hair product and not one, not two but seven packets of Massage Cream! I was not quite sure what to make of this. Apparently the Kiehl's boy thinks I lead a more exciting life that I do. Or his life is quite fun!

Summertime

This time since my birthday has been very interesting to say the least. It's one of those periods of time where you meet someone and a week later you can't imagine not knowing them. I've clicked with people in a whole new way - both old and new friends. It's been fun and only slightly dampened by a nasty summer cold. Now that I am finally feeling better, I can reflect with a clearer head on the events.

Sitting with a friend overlooking the Boston skyline after one odd evening last week helped to put some further perspective on things. That evening was a meal with a new friend we had met at a birthday party. It was an evening that really required other people since the dynamic made it seem like we were all on a date! Add to it one surprisingly loud restaurant that did not help things and well, you have a pretty different evening.

I feel like this birthday has given me clarity that I've been working without for the last few months with all the nasty drama at work. For the last few days I have been accomplishing things that eluded me for many weeks. It feels good and I'm back to feeling like I am on the cusp of new things and positive changes finally.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well yes, it is my birthday. I am not one of those bashful birthday girls. I will tell anyone! It's hard having a birthday right around the 4th of July since most people travel. So sometimes it seems like I am celebrating my birthday for two weeks. That's fine with me!

I went out the night before my birthday for dinner and drinks with my best friend. We had a great time, as we always do. We went to our usual bar and met an very nice Southern gentleman in town for a conference. My friend met him first but he and I quickly hit it off. She is such a good friend that she headed to the ladies room so often that I was beginning to wonder if she had a UTI! She thankfully does not but the sparks he and I had were clear to her before they were to me. Once he found out it was my actual birthday the next day, he insisted I had to let him buy me lunch. Not one to turn up a meal or good company, I readily agreed.

After coming home far, far later than I had intended (I did not really mind seeing the sun rise on the morning of my birthday) I caught a little sleep, did some errands, gave the pets some attention and headed back to the city for my lunch. He even got me a card! It was very sweet. We sat outside on Newbury Street and just watched the crowd strolling by. He is just such a great conversationalist and a lot of fun. We found plenty to occupy our time and even went for ice cream. I can honestly say I had the best birthday ever :-)

Fourth of July

I happen to love this particular holiday. Though it was unseasonable chilly for this one, it's usually a day of BBQ, fireworks and swimming. A friend of mine from London recently asked me if the 4th of July is a big deal here or not. I had to answer that it was. It's not all about the food and fireworks (which, granted, are a part of my holiday celebration). I told him it was about more than that. For me, it meant a reminder that I am actually proud to be an American. Mind you the current administration does not make this easy. But I am not going to focus on the mind-numbing badness of the current political quagmire for this holiday.

My best memories of the 4th of July are getting up early and heading to get a good seat for the parade with my grandfather and grandmother. It seemed like hours of waiting before the parade would start. But then, there it was. This started my lifelong appreciation of parades. You can imagine my delight when I moved to New York and realized that it's a very pro parade city!

Fireworks are also a big part of my 4th celebration. There is something awe inspiring of seeing them burst against the dark sky. As kids, we were given Sparklers of our own to run around the yard with. I guess that wouldn't happen now since Sparklers can burn at 1800 degrees F. Guess they are not so child friendly. Once again this proves my point that any of us who grew up during the 70's are lucky to be in one piece!

A Matter of Faith

I grew up as a Catholic. Irish Catholic to be exact. I am not a part of the church anymore for a variety of reasons ranging from the sex abuse scandal to the exclusionary aspects of the religion. I'm pretty sure I lost my faith somewhere along the way. My only recent visits to church have been either weddings or for funerals. While I don't consider myself Catholic it's amazing how the rituals and routines of the service have wormed their way into my memory (sit, stand, kneel, pray, shake hands, sit, stand).

This weekend I was able to attend a Hindu temple with my friend. It was amazing. The first thing I noticed, after I took my shoes off, was the incense. It was so fragrant. The incense in the Catholic church reminds me of death and seems to smell like dust, dirt and old men which is actually the way I think of the church.

The colors were eye popping. The women in their saris, the glittering deities, and the priest in his saffron colored robes. My friend was a fabulous guide and explained everything to me. I felt that I needed to pray while my friend prayed. Granted my prayers were more along the lines of "you have a lovely temple" or "thanks for having me". When my friend finished his prayers we sat for a bit on the cool marble floor. I wasn't sure exactly how to sit or if there was a certain way so I just sat cross legged. Our conversation was surprisingly about pedicures. (Or not surprisingly since we were barefoot). At one point the priest came over to my friend to tell him he couldn't sit the way he was sitting. Turns out he had the soles of his feet facing the deity. That's a big no-no. My friend left to run to the men's room and I just sat alone. It was so serene and spiritual. It was oddly quiet and loud at the same time. I felt really peaceful there.

Shiny Men and Plastic Women

Last night was the birthday celebration for my dear friend. It was a fun night but we were out in an area of Boston I normally don't hang out in. The rule of the night seemed to be that the bar patrons believed in the theory of more is better. More hair gel. More sunless tanner. More makeup. It must have taken some of the ladies hours to shellac themselves and flat iron their hair. The men were equally coiffed and plastic. It did provide for great people watching.

The downside of going on on a Thursday night is that it feels so like Friday as you tip back your third ruby colored drink with the controversial star fruit garnish. The evening started right after work and seemed to go on forever. It did turn out to be late as we tried to nudge the rather tipsy birthday girl into a cab. It took some persuading but finally, with fare clasped in her hand, she was off. When I finally got through the door I realized that spinach and artichoke dip does not make a meal. I was dealing with the fight of two very strong urges - sleep or hunger. Hunger won out.

Father's Day

It was a beautiful day out today to visit with my family. My Stepdad was out fishing so I didn't get to see him today. My Dad and Stepmom were home so that's where the dog and I spent most of the afternoon. My Dad opened the pool today. He didn't put the chlorine in because he wanted to let the dog swim. It's a riot to watch him since he looks like a polar bear in the water! It's such good exercise for his old joints and it keeps him cool. He was good about staying away from the liner on the sides of the pool. My step-mom absolutely adores him and she actually made him an ice cream cone to enjoy by the pool. Yep, he's spoiled rotten but he is such a good boy he deserves it!

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my grandfather's death so it was a bit of a subdued family visit. It does not seem like it's possible that it's already been a year but yet it some way it seems like the Friday I watched my grandfather die was a lifetime ago.

Friday Night on the Town

Well this last week was a tough one. So it was very nice that old friends and new could head out for some drinks and laughs. It was fun and in spite of promises that none of us was staying out too late due to Saturday morning commitments, we closed the bar down!

After hailing some cabs, one friend and I decided to walk across the Mass Ave bridge to where my car was parked. It was such a nice night out and walking across the bridge did remind me how pretty Boston can be at night. Our topic of discussion was the immense pride and awe at living in the only state in the Union that allows for gay marriage. I was thrilled and happy that all of my friends have the right to marriage regardless of their orientation. That is the way it way it should be and I'm glad I'm living here at this time.

Man's Best Friend (Woman's too!)

So as a dog owner and science geek, it's been very interesting to read about the recent progress of the Dog Genome Project. A lot of the research that is going on with dogs could very well have applications in human genetic research. If you own a purebred, AKC registered dog you can help. They NIH is looking for owners to submit either blood samples or cheek swabs for selected breeds. You can learn more about it here.

Laugh so hard it hurts

Well it was another fabulous Friday night out with my friends. After being laid out with my cold last week, it was so nice to be out and about. As one friend said, I was on fire that night! We started the evening at a cultural/singles event that provided way too much fodder for snarky comments. We may all be going straight to hell for some of them but at least we'll be together! After that, it was back to our usual Friday night spot for some more fun. There was indeed a moment that I was laughing so hard that I was afraid beer would come out my nose. Thankfully it didn't because really no one likes that. A surprise gift of a strand of pearls from my friend brought me to tears. The gesture was so sweet and unexpected it took me by surprise.

I can't even begin to relay some of the comments of the evening here because I don't know where to begin. I have been breaking into a Cheshire Cat grin as I play back the events of the evening. One friend headed out a bit early since she had to be somewhere at the crack of dawn on Saturday. We stayed a little later and then headed out to grab a cab. I do admire my friend's continued belief that he can hail a cab faster than I can. He is such a gentleman when we are out and it's always a sweet gesture. He's cute and all but what cabbie isn't going to stop for a girl in a short black skirt and tank top! I did finally make it back to my car and got home to three very sleepy pets.