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.

Feed A Cold

I am a firm believer in the above so that is what I did today. When sick, you need soup. So I made some chicken soup with the sinus clearing properties of a very hot jalapeno and some chipotles. It's lip tingling good and just what I needed for a long day of work. And it has been a nice change from the endless cups of tea and honey my sore throat has demanded.

I was not thrilled to be working during a holiday weekend but it needed to be done. The three girls needed today (of which I am one) were all up and in contact early this morning waiting on the other person to do his part. Of course, some confusion (his not ours) occurred and we started the process 3 hours later than planned. It was a bit annoying and add to that a VPN problem and it looked like I would be working all afternoon and night. Thankfully with my iPod firmly attached, everything got done and I got to gorge myself on some new music I got this week. The first was a gift from a friend and the second was a gift to myself from Amazon. I have enjoyed exploring both.

Work is done for today but I have to get up very early tomorrow to complete some database processes. I am hoping that I can take a bit of a breather Tuesday and finally decide on my New Year's Eve plans.

So This is Christmas

I am still having a bit of a hard time believing that today is Christmas. This year has certainly flown by. This week at work was so busy I didn't have time to wrap the presents until late last night. As a very organized person, this drove me a bit nuts to be so delayed. But it was unavoidable due to the project that will be occupying my Sunday. With a full belly and warm heart from spending a great Christmas Eve and Christmas with people I love, I am not thinking about work tonight.

For my family like many others, Christmas is all about the food (well actually, any holiday is all about the food for us.) This year, my brother did a killer job on the best pork roast with fig sauce. The pork was so juicy and tender. It makes me want to drool thinking about it. And the potatoes. Mmmm. Cheesy and so very good. Add to that baked manicotti, roasted vegetable soup and antipasto. I have basically been eating non-stop since 2pm yesterday when I participated in about three of the seven fishes of the Christmas Eve feast of my downstairs neighbors. The food was great, along with the champagne. I was the lucky recipient of plenty of leftovers from our dinner now taking up space in my fridge. Of course, just when I think I am not hungry I am eating something else.

Of course the other part of this holiday is the gift giving. Everyone seemed very happy with their presents and I am with mine. It was fun watching my very hung over brother trying to wrestle with the complexities of tape and wrapping paper. I am so in love with my new Sorel boots I will admit to having worn them around the house for about 30 minutes. It's important to make sure they fit :-)

So with that, the butter cookies are calling my name. Merry Christmas!

Holiday Spirit

So if the events of the last few days have not gotten me in the holiday spirit, nothing will at this point. I was lucky enough to finally see the Aimee Mann Holiday Variety show with my friend. Yes, I know Aimee Mann is not necessarily the first person you think of for an cheery, upbeat Christmas song but it was a fun show. And she played some of her non-Christmas songs so it was all good. What was not good was the torrential downpours that were occurring. It was crazy to drive home through these giant puddles.

I did realize that my town got some ice but did not realize how bad it was just a few miles north of me. People are still without power today from all the ice and damage. When I left for NY on Saturday morning, I saw a line of utility and power trucks heading into MA from CT and there had to be about 20 of them all coming to help restore power.


I arrived into Grand Central, and much like last year was besieged by Santas. If getting dressed up as Santa, slutty Santa, or a pimp Snowman, singing bawdy Christmas Carols, and drinking at 10 am are your idea of fun then SantaCon is for you! Think of a Santa Pub crawl and you've got the idea. All fun, except when you get stuck on the 6 train with about 20 of them pretty well sauced up and singing at the top of their lungs.

It was freezing in the city but this time I did remember to bring my hat with me. It was so great to be back and I had a lot I wanted to do. I was unable to catch up with most of my friends but was actually happy to have a weekend in the city with no set plans.

The tree was lovely and had the usual crowd around it. Fortunately the things I had to do were in much less congested parts of the city. I am still puzzled though by how people can stop dead in the center of a crosswalk like a deer in headlights. I know there are a lot of people, cars and shiny objects but gawk from the sidewalk, not in the road!! I did give out a bunch of directions, which I don't mind. I like helping people along.

The food was good and I did manage to get my cupcake on Sunday. Full of sugar, I decided to head back home a bit earlier than normal. The next few weeks are going to be extremely busy at work and I preferred to drive back in the daylight.

Cinnamon and Evergreen

With the first snowfall this weekend (only a little but there were flakes so it counted) it was the perfect day to get my tree decorated. I always forget that I manage to get covered in sap whenever I deal with a Christmas tree. A little peanut butter on my hands and a wash got me unstuck. It's a cute tree and it makes my house smell like Christmas. The cinnamon came via a great Yankee candle. All in all my home has been chock full of holiday scent today.

It was also a good day to bid adieu to a delusion man. We were on entirely different levels (I am in reality, he was in the 80's, 50's, or an elevator in '91) and with the incident of calling me the wrong name I was happy to set him straight and on his way :-)

This week is going to be a very busy one with work and my impending NYC trip next weekend so it was nice to have a day to relax and get some decorating done.

Banged up and Bruised

Well it's been quite the week and weekend. I managed to sneak out of work a bit early Friday and spend some time with the ladies of my family prior to my Uncle's birthday party. It was fun, spontaneous and silly. All things I needed after a busy and stressful work week. And spending time with the ladies provided a nice dose of feminine energy after a bit of a testosterone soaked week.

The rest of my weekend was pretty good. Other members of my family have not quite fared as well. My grandmother had to go to the emergency room due to a sore hip. My Dad tripped over the pool robot (it was wintering in the garage). My uncle got hurt by a ladder at a fire (he's a firefighter and he's ok). My brother threw his back out and can only stand. My mother, well, she takes the cake.

While getting out of the car at the grocery store and looking very cute, by her telling, she got her heel caught in her purse and took a dive into the parking lot (fashion can sometimes be painful). She ended up with a chunk missing out of her chin, covered in blood and with two very bruised knees. She did not break her glasses, which was good. She's going to be really sore tomorrow.

Add to that my aunt completely wiping out my Mom's air freshener (the kind with the sticks and oil) and creating a lavender scented oil slick in the front hallway and it was quite the weekend.

Weekend Update

So this weekend started with a nice dinner on Friday night. You can never go wrong with a steak wrapped in bacon and crusted with blue cheese. Mmmmm, blue cheese. The rest of the evening was interesting but left me feeling a bit out of sorts and like a cat that's been petted the wrong way. Saturday early morning yoga and a venting phone call with my girl in Portland helped me put things in perspective, which I sorely needed. The evening was catching up with the girls helped along with wine and pizza from Upper Crust at a charity wine tasting. It was held in Crate and Barrel, which was really fun. The wines were great, expect for the one Argentinian red that made us all sad and unhappy.

Also making me unhappy was the man who did not understand the difference between being polite and being interested. I was being polite as he was a friend of a friend. I figured he'd take the hint when I just turned and headed to the bar to get some more wine. Nope, he waited about 2 minutes and followed me. Then proving to be a master of the painfully obvious uttered "I followed you". No kidding.

Today was spent sitting at the kitchen table vistin with my Grandmother and being fed by my Mom. A good day all around!