When I got home from work, there was a box from ProFlowers waiting for me! Inside was a vase with 4 stems of lilies. SEVERAL buds on each stem. Some deep purple and some white. The only problem is, there was no name! I don't know who sent them. I'm assuming they're for my birthday, but I don't know who to thank.
I called Eric and Stacey because that's something they'd do. They said they sent something but this isn't it.
So ... whoever you are THANK YOU! They're beautiful.
Tomorrow I'll tell you about the fun we had playing Bunco.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Sizzlin' Summer Days
It's hard to find the time to blog so I'm using my lunch break to start this one. If you're getting an RSS feed does it tell you each tiime I make changes to the blog or just when I've posted one? Hmmm
I really want to complain about the heat because it's so muggy, but since the vast majority of you have been sweltering under the hot CA sun, I haven't got the nerve. Just remember, I'm on the THIRD floor!
This past weekend Carol and I drove up to Multnomah Falls. It's about an hour away from us and a nice drive. Since we were stupid enough to do it on the same day that we were attending an afternoon picnic, we didn't have time to stop along the way to check out other things that look interesting. We did pick up some brochures about river cruises and we will probably look into that.
The falls were beautiful. My co-worker, Peggy (from Austin), went there when she was here for her "tour of duty". She came to help us get our act together, so to speak. Anyway, she and her daughter drove to falls and she showed me pictures on her camcorder from the TOP of the falls to the parking lot below. WOW She said it took her about 2 hours to complete the climb to the top and her legs were really sore the next day. Peggy said it amazed her how many people were doing the climb to the top with strollers and carrying babies. Even older people. You know, people in their 60's! Hmph
When Carol and I got there, we took some photos and I suggested we climb up to the bridge because Peggy had said it wasn't too hard to get there. The path is paved all the way and it's a series of switchbacks. Lots of switchbacks. The incline isn't too bad and we were walking at a leisurely pace. When we got to the bridge there were a LOT of people standing on it and this nice gentleman, who was speaking a foreign language to his children (German, I think), looked at me and said "how many people do you think it will hold before it collapses?" Laughing, I said thanks for pointing THAT out!! He laughed and said "don't worry. I'll go first!" I told him I'd wait until he got off the bridge before I ventured on. The bridge is very solid, by the way.
We went a little bit further up than the bridge but neither of us wanted to attempt the climb to the top. The sign said it's only a mile up, but with all the switchbacks, that has to add some distance, right? We've agreed that our goal for next year will be to climb all the way up! By this time next year you will all have forgotten we said that.
Heather and Tami had organized a "We're Not in CA Anymore" potluck picnic for all the CA transplants up here. So when we got home from the falls, Carol had to go shopping for a chair--I ended up getting one too because it has a sunshade!! and we had to prepare our food for the picnic. She made my pistachio pudding salad .. nothing too difficult there! .. and I made a taco salad. We had to take our dining room table (my 5' folding table), Tami and Heather's chairs (remember, they were my living room furniture for the month of May) and I took my broken chair (it's just one of the pads on the bottom that broke...it's still usable) in case someone would need it. It's just about 4:00 and even hotter than it was earlier in the day!! We got in her car and it was 115 degrees! Sheesh.
By the time we got to the park (Noble Woods park by Heather's house), they had tables all set up and food ready. Wow. Sandy Benson and her hubby and 2 kids were there, as well as Heather and Tami, Audrey Guest and her son Brett and Steve Dix came later. We had a really good time and agreed we need to do this again. We did laugh because some people were trying to get us to have a sign-up sheet for the food. I sent an email to everyone saying that the idea of a potluck is just that -- potLUCK so no sign-up's were necessary. Turns out we had only one duplicate dish (potato salad) and that was a good thing because one was WITH onions and the other was WITHOUT!! YES! (I hate onions) All in all a very nice weekend.
I did spoil myself this week. On Monday I strolled over to the Streets of Tanasbourne and wandered into the Brighton shop. I purposely left my $$ at home so I wouldn't be tempted to buy anything. Didn't matter. They have several items that are being "retired" so they were on sale for 30% off. I really splurged. I had them hold a wallet for me and they (naturally) showed me the purse that goes with it. I laughingly said if the purse is still there when I go back then I was meant to have it.
I also wandered over to a beauty supply to see if they had nail polish remover and if they could tell me where a good hair salon is. Huh. They have one right there on the premises. So I made an appointment for Saturday afternoon to touch up my white roots!
I really want to complain about the heat because it's so muggy, but since the vast majority of you have been sweltering under the hot CA sun, I haven't got the nerve. Just remember, I'm on the THIRD floor!
This past weekend Carol and I drove up to Multnomah Falls. It's about an hour away from us and a nice drive. Since we were stupid enough to do it on the same day that we were attending an afternoon picnic, we didn't have time to stop along the way to check out other things that look interesting. We did pick up some brochures about river cruises and we will probably look into that.
The falls were beautiful. My co-worker, Peggy (from Austin), went there when she was here for her "tour of duty". She came to help us get our act together, so to speak. Anyway, she and her daughter drove to falls and she showed me pictures on her camcorder from the TOP of the falls to the parking lot below. WOW She said it took her about 2 hours to complete the climb to the top and her legs were really sore the next day. Peggy said it amazed her how many people were doing the climb to the top with strollers and carrying babies. Even older people. You know, people in their 60's! Hmph
When Carol and I got there, we took some photos and I suggested we climb up to the bridge because Peggy had said it wasn't too hard to get there. The path is paved all the way and it's a series of switchbacks. Lots of switchbacks. The incline isn't too bad and we were walking at a leisurely pace. When we got to the bridge there were a LOT of people standing on it and this nice gentleman, who was speaking a foreign language to his children (German, I think), looked at me and said "how many people do you think it will hold before it collapses?" Laughing, I said thanks for pointing THAT out!! He laughed and said "don't worry. I'll go first!" I told him I'd wait until he got off the bridge before I ventured on. The bridge is very solid, by the way.
We went a little bit further up than the bridge but neither of us wanted to attempt the climb to the top. The sign said it's only a mile up, but with all the switchbacks, that has to add some distance, right? We've agreed that our goal for next year will be to climb all the way up! By this time next year you will all have forgotten we said that.
Heather and Tami had organized a "We're Not in CA Anymore" potluck picnic for all the CA transplants up here. So when we got home from the falls, Carol had to go shopping for a chair--I ended up getting one too because it has a sunshade!! and we had to prepare our food for the picnic. She made my pistachio pudding salad .. nothing too difficult there! .. and I made a taco salad. We had to take our dining room table (my 5' folding table), Tami and Heather's chairs (remember, they were my living room furniture for the month of May) and I took my broken chair (it's just one of the pads on the bottom that broke...it's still usable) in case someone would need it. It's just about 4:00 and even hotter than it was earlier in the day!! We got in her car and it was 115 degrees! Sheesh.
By the time we got to the park (Noble Woods park by Heather's house), they had tables all set up and food ready. Wow. Sandy Benson and her hubby and 2 kids were there, as well as Heather and Tami, Audrey Guest and her son Brett and Steve Dix came later. We had a really good time and agreed we need to do this again. We did laugh because some people were trying to get us to have a sign-up sheet for the food. I sent an email to everyone saying that the idea of a potluck is just that -- potLUCK so no sign-up's were necessary. Turns out we had only one duplicate dish (potato salad) and that was a good thing because one was WITH onions and the other was WITHOUT!! YES! (I hate onions) All in all a very nice weekend.
I did spoil myself this week. On Monday I strolled over to the Streets of Tanasbourne and wandered into the Brighton shop. I purposely left my $$ at home so I wouldn't be tempted to buy anything. Didn't matter. They have several items that are being "retired" so they were on sale for 30% off. I really splurged. I had them hold a wallet for me and they (naturally) showed me the purse that goes with it. I laughingly said if the purse is still there when I go back then I was meant to have it.
I also wandered over to a beauty supply to see if they had nail polish remover and if they could tell me where a good hair salon is. Huh. They have one right there on the premises. So I made an appointment for Saturday afternoon to touch up my white roots!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Thunder and lightning, oh my!
Sometime early this morning -- 1:00?? 2:00?? I was jolted awake by a loud clap of thunder and I heard pouring rain. It's kind of neat being up on the 3rd floor because I can hear the rain hitting the leaves in the trees. I'm actually up higher than two of the trees on our property. I was too tired to open my eyes but I could tell when lightning flashed because the room would get a bit brighter for a few seconds. I found it to be very soothing and went back to sleep.
Spoke to Audrey about it this morning and she was exhausted because she'd been woken up by the storm and Brett had come into her room and her dog was upset by the storm. She said she thought of me because she suspected I was enjoying it (I was!) You can see that we could both tell the same story but with a different twist!
The sprinklers just went on. I swear, they would run even if it were pouring rain! There is no lack of water up here. I understand some of you are being restricted on your water usage. They need it to fight all the fires. Your "smog" level is increasing too. Boy, did I move up here at just the right time! (whatever!)
Carlos left this afternoon to go home for the weekend. I dropped him off at the Max train. It's about an hour train ride to the Portland airport. Carol and I are going to try it out after she gets back. Then when I go home, I can just have someone drop me at the station. There's one just minutes away from here. It's Portland's BART.
I've scheduled my next vacation for August 29 through September 5, so I'll be home over Labor Day weekend. We'll have to celebrate Eric and Brendan's birthdays early (Eric's is 9/11 and Brendan's is 9/12). I also need to squeeze in visits with several of you! And clean out the refrigerator. It's become a joke up here to say that I have to go home every 6 weeks to clean out the 'frig. Most of the women I talk with can't imagine leaving their husbands alone in the house for long periods of time. Cal's probably gone back to eating out most of the time.
The hustle and bustle of the past several weeks has slowed down but I'm still very busy. This next wave that's moving over on the 11th is mostly the Commercial department and there has been nothing but confusion. First we thought they needed DID numbers. Then they didn't. Now we're back to yes they do. Of course, I've been making all the changes each time so then I have to go back and undo the changes and now I'm having to change them AGAIN. I brought my laptop home so I can work on it some this weekend. It's not really like working when you do it at home...it's more like getting caught up or getting ahead. Doing it at my own pace.
I need to find a narrow shelf that will fit on top of the table I'm using for my laptop. Then I could put my flatscreen TV on the shelf and use it as a monitor. I'm getting used to using dual monitors! It's so darned handy when you can move spreadsheets to one monitor and open other programs on the laptop. I need to buy a video cable but that should be all I need. I also brought my zip drive home to clean up some of my disks. Stuff I've been wanting to get to but keep putting off.
Tomorrow is housecleaning day though. Need to wash floors and vacuum. Just unpacked Carol's vacuum so I need to put it to good use. And clean out the refrigerator. Are you seeing a theme here?
I finally got to watch one of my Netflix CD's. I've been watching the Britcom series "As Time Goes By" with Judy Dench and just finished season 6. Such fun! SO .. I mailed it off yesterday and they received it today and I should have my next one Saturday. But here's the fun part. Last week or maybe the week before, I turned down a side street to cut over to Cornell so I could find an ATM machine and as I'm driving down this "new" road (new to me) off to the right I see a building with a HUGE Netflix sign. They are right here in Hillsboro!! I'm hoping it's one of their distribution centers. How cool is that!
There are a ton of fireworks going off outside. I can imagine our cat, Tigger, is going nuts at home. He's the original scaredy cat. Every 4th of July he runs around the house scrunching himself under the sofa (and he's not small) and then running to one of the bedrooms to hide under a bed. You can't hold him because he digs his claws into your arm as if his life is in mortal danger. Poor thing.
Well, it's 9:20 and the streetlights just went on so I'd better close and get myself organized for tomorrow.
Stay tuned!
Spoke to Audrey about it this morning and she was exhausted because she'd been woken up by the storm and Brett had come into her room and her dog was upset by the storm. She said she thought of me because she suspected I was enjoying it (I was!) You can see that we could both tell the same story but with a different twist!
The sprinklers just went on. I swear, they would run even if it were pouring rain! There is no lack of water up here. I understand some of you are being restricted on your water usage. They need it to fight all the fires. Your "smog" level is increasing too. Boy, did I move up here at just the right time! (whatever!)
Carlos left this afternoon to go home for the weekend. I dropped him off at the Max train. It's about an hour train ride to the Portland airport. Carol and I are going to try it out after she gets back. Then when I go home, I can just have someone drop me at the station. There's one just minutes away from here. It's Portland's BART.
I've scheduled my next vacation for August 29 through September 5, so I'll be home over Labor Day weekend. We'll have to celebrate Eric and Brendan's birthdays early (Eric's is 9/11 and Brendan's is 9/12). I also need to squeeze in visits with several of you! And clean out the refrigerator. It's become a joke up here to say that I have to go home every 6 weeks to clean out the 'frig. Most of the women I talk with can't imagine leaving their husbands alone in the house for long periods of time. Cal's probably gone back to eating out most of the time.
The hustle and bustle of the past several weeks has slowed down but I'm still very busy. This next wave that's moving over on the 11th is mostly the Commercial department and there has been nothing but confusion. First we thought they needed DID numbers. Then they didn't. Now we're back to yes they do. Of course, I've been making all the changes each time so then I have to go back and undo the changes and now I'm having to change them AGAIN. I brought my laptop home so I can work on it some this weekend. It's not really like working when you do it at home...it's more like getting caught up or getting ahead. Doing it at my own pace.
I need to find a narrow shelf that will fit on top of the table I'm using for my laptop. Then I could put my flatscreen TV on the shelf and use it as a monitor. I'm getting used to using dual monitors! It's so darned handy when you can move spreadsheets to one monitor and open other programs on the laptop. I need to buy a video cable but that should be all I need. I also brought my zip drive home to clean up some of my disks. Stuff I've been wanting to get to but keep putting off.
Tomorrow is housecleaning day though. Need to wash floors and vacuum. Just unpacked Carol's vacuum so I need to put it to good use. And clean out the refrigerator. Are you seeing a theme here?
I finally got to watch one of my Netflix CD's. I've been watching the Britcom series "As Time Goes By" with Judy Dench and just finished season 6. Such fun! SO .. I mailed it off yesterday and they received it today and I should have my next one Saturday. But here's the fun part. Last week or maybe the week before, I turned down a side street to cut over to Cornell so I could find an ATM machine and as I'm driving down this "new" road (new to me) off to the right I see a building with a HUGE Netflix sign. They are right here in Hillsboro!! I'm hoping it's one of their distribution centers. How cool is that!
There are a ton of fireworks going off outside. I can imagine our cat, Tigger, is going nuts at home. He's the original scaredy cat. Every 4th of July he runs around the house scrunching himself under the sofa (and he's not small) and then running to one of the bedrooms to hide under a bed. You can't hold him because he digs his claws into your arm as if his life is in mortal danger. Poor thing.
Well, it's 9:20 and the streetlights just went on so I'd better close and get myself organized for tomorrow.
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Return to normalcy?
Is there such a thing as "normal"? This week has been going fairly well, I must say. AND there are no moves this weekend because of the holiday. So we all get 3 days off!! HUZZAH! Saturday is already a special day because my bed will be delivered. Ta DA! (or as Colin used to say, TA da)
We just had a brief but intense rainfall. The sun is out, it's barely overcast, 84 degrees outside and it starts to pour down HUGE raindrops. I LOVE IT! I told Cal (Yahoo Instant Messenger) that it wasn't enough to wash off my car and I need to find a carwash. He always washed my car at home. He said, and I quote, "maybe Heather can wash it when she checks your tire pressure". He's now trying to get out of it by saying he was kidding. The joke here is that I am completely clueless and uninterested when it comes to cars and their maintenance. Heather actually called Cal some time back and told him my tires were looking pretty low and he should check them. Thus the reference to her checking my tires. Now he's in trouble! Heather doesn't always read my blog, but I know Tami does!!
I got the cutest card from my sister Carol. Welcome to your new home .. and it's handmade. It has some metal elements that I'll just keep for my own scrapbooking. :) Who knows where it will end up next?
Carol is visiting CA this week. I'm hoping when she's ready to drive back home she'll be willing to stop by my house and pick up the things I left in Brendan's trunk. I think my missing Daytimer calendar pages are in that pile of stuff. I also need the clock that Justin Barber gave me. OH! I forgot to tell you about that.
I had to post this before I finished because we've been having wireless problems with our internet connection. I've been piggybacking on someone else's network. Gary just had me switch to ours because he discovered that the connection into the modem was loose. Oops!
Anyway, back to Justin Barber. When I was there for our last day in Pleasanton (more on that in future posts) I went to say good-bye to Justin. As our current Toasmaster president, he and I worked together quite a bit on club business. AND he has the same first name as my youngest, they're around the same age and both graduated from SF State. Anyway, he handed me this sweet little pink bag and said "this is for you". For ME??? Awwww, shucks. Inside was this absolutely adorable pink ceramic clock, about 2" wide and 3" high, in the shape of a telephone!! Since I was known around the office as the Phone Queen it was so perfect! He said his mom owns a gift shop in Walnut Creek and he'd gone it to say hello and this caught his eye so he told her he had to get it because he knew just the person to give it to. I really love it and want to put it in my office but being me ... I put it in the trunk of Brendan's car with all the other last minute stuff I was clearing out of the office. It will be like getting for the first time all over again! We have no clocks in our office and I was just telling Carlos today that in spite of having the time on our computers and our phones I still want a clock. Problem solved! Thanks, Justin!
Work is slowing down and I actually have a 3 day weekend. WOO HOO!! I am so going to relax. I debated about going home for the weekend but that wouldn't be very restful and the one thing I need right now is some down time. I'm hoping to schedule a week around Labor Day. I'll ask Adrian tomorrow and see what he says.
I'm looking at my temperature windows on my desktop and it says Dublin and Hillsboro are both 80 degrees. I bet this 80 degrees is cooler than that 80 degrees! So weird. I would swear that 95 feels hotter here (maybe that was pre-air conditioning) but right now there's a decent breeze and it's actually a cool breeze. I have my window wide open and the a/c is off. I do have the ceiling fan going though, just to move the air around.
I'm going to close now and enjoy this restful period. Birds are chirping outside, the breeze is blowing and it's still bright out. At 8:04 pm. Huh. You all take care and stay tuned!
We just had a brief but intense rainfall. The sun is out, it's barely overcast, 84 degrees outside and it starts to pour down HUGE raindrops. I LOVE IT! I told Cal (Yahoo Instant Messenger) that it wasn't enough to wash off my car and I need to find a carwash. He always washed my car at home. He said, and I quote, "maybe Heather can wash it when she checks your tire pressure". He's now trying to get out of it by saying he was kidding. The joke here is that I am completely clueless and uninterested when it comes to cars and their maintenance. Heather actually called Cal some time back and told him my tires were looking pretty low and he should check them. Thus the reference to her checking my tires. Now he's in trouble! Heather doesn't always read my blog, but I know Tami does!!
I got the cutest card from my sister Carol. Welcome to your new home .. and it's handmade. It has some metal elements that I'll just keep for my own scrapbooking. :) Who knows where it will end up next?
Carol is visiting CA this week. I'm hoping when she's ready to drive back home she'll be willing to stop by my house and pick up the things I left in Brendan's trunk. I think my missing Daytimer calendar pages are in that pile of stuff. I also need the clock that Justin Barber gave me. OH! I forgot to tell you about that.
I had to post this before I finished because we've been having wireless problems with our internet connection. I've been piggybacking on someone else's network. Gary just had me switch to ours because he discovered that the connection into the modem was loose. Oops!
Anyway, back to Justin Barber. When I was there for our last day in Pleasanton (more on that in future posts) I went to say good-bye to Justin. As our current Toasmaster president, he and I worked together quite a bit on club business. AND he has the same first name as my youngest, they're around the same age and both graduated from SF State. Anyway, he handed me this sweet little pink bag and said "this is for you". For ME??? Awwww, shucks. Inside was this absolutely adorable pink ceramic clock, about 2" wide and 3" high, in the shape of a telephone!! Since I was known around the office as the Phone Queen it was so perfect! He said his mom owns a gift shop in Walnut Creek and he'd gone it to say hello and this caught his eye so he told her he had to get it because he knew just the person to give it to. I really love it and want to put it in my office but being me ... I put it in the trunk of Brendan's car with all the other last minute stuff I was clearing out of the office. It will be like getting for the first time all over again! We have no clocks in our office and I was just telling Carlos today that in spite of having the time on our computers and our phones I still want a clock. Problem solved! Thanks, Justin!
Work is slowing down and I actually have a 3 day weekend. WOO HOO!! I am so going to relax. I debated about going home for the weekend but that wouldn't be very restful and the one thing I need right now is some down time. I'm hoping to schedule a week around Labor Day. I'll ask Adrian tomorrow and see what he says.
I'm looking at my temperature windows on my desktop and it says Dublin and Hillsboro are both 80 degrees. I bet this 80 degrees is cooler than that 80 degrees! So weird. I would swear that 95 feels hotter here (maybe that was pre-air conditioning) but right now there's a decent breeze and it's actually a cool breeze. I have my window wide open and the a/c is off. I do have the ceiling fan going though, just to move the air around.
I'm going to close now and enjoy this restful period. Birds are chirping outside, the breeze is blowing and it's still bright out. At 8:04 pm. Huh. You all take care and stay tuned!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Who knew??
So much to catch up on! I've probably lost about half my readers by now. Unless you're doing an RSS feed, you won't know I'm updating the blog .. unless I send out an email to that effect. But that kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?
Let me explain why I've been so negligent. We have started working. The first month was so sweet .. no real worries, not a lot to do. HAH I have worked 3 straight weeks of 10 to 12 hour days -- which we were expecting, but it's one thing to talk about it and another thing to live through it. Poor Carlos had it even worse. We had a software program that wasn't working properly so he and Scott had one night that they got maybe 2 or 3 hours sleep. Sure glad *I'm* not the Avaya engineer!!
I'll have to backtrack through the next several postings but I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of what I wanted to tell you. I actually "talk" to you in my head, I just don't get it all down on 'paper'.
Gary finally got moved up here and since they wouldn't let us put him on the lease until he was actually here, he made an appointment with the office for the 3 of us to go in and sign a new lease. The first night, we were too late (I think I was the one who got home too late) and the office was closed. So we went back the next night. Keep in mind I'm having to run home from work, get this done, and run back. The second night the girls there didn't know what we were talking about! They pulled out his file and said, Oh, we still have to run your credit check, can you come back. *sigh* The 3rd time we go back, this sweet young girl says very meekly, "uh, Mr. Davis, we have some personal information". So, Carol and I wander into the reception area and hang out while they talk to Gary. About 6 minutes later he comes in and says GUESS WHAT! I'M A CRIMINAL! Seems they found a Gary Davis who had been convicted of manslaughter and battery back in Indiana. Huh. I told Chai (pronounced Shay) that really -- something like this ... they should tell US! She looked at me very sweetly and said "I don't think legally I'm allowed to tell you!"
We now introduce Gary as "our roommate, Gary, the mass murderer". Needless to say, further research showed that he was NOT the same Gary Davis. We jokingly told him that when we go back to sign the lease, if there are a lot of cop cars around, keep walking. And if they pick him up, he will be assured of a roof over his head, regular meals and clothing will be provided! We went back one more time, got the lease signed and it's all good.
Hey! I just heard thunder!!! It has been flippin' hot the past few days (trust me .. 90 here is HOT, especially on the 3rd floor) and it's just starting to cool down. Even though right now at 7:16 pm we are 10 degrees hotter than Dublin (74 there, 84 here) It started getting overcast this afternoon and someone said it will cool down later this week.
I got my A/C just in time. I bought a small window unit but it was too heavy for me to lift into the cart so last Thursday or Friday (the days just melt into one another) Gary went to Costco with me and loaded it into the cart and then carried it upstairs for me. We were both too tired to do anything with it that night .. must have been Friday .. and he had to work Saturday, but I didn't. I decided to see how much of it I could put together and I managed to get it all put together and into the window all by myself! TA DA. The funny thing is, after we left for Costco, Carol saw a commercial (probably for car insurance) where a guy is putting one of these in his window and he drops it out the window and it lands on his car. She had said to me just a few days earlier, aren't you afraid you might drop it on your car? I park in the driveway and it's right below my window -- two stories down. Very funny.
I have it set on 80 and it runs quite a bit! It's on energy saver so it cycles off for 10 minutes and sometimes it stays off longer than that, but the difference between the temp in my room and temp in the hallway is amazing! It has to be at least 20 degrees difference. I was dieing up here the last time the temp's were in the 90's. Everyone said it's only a few days a year, but I told them if I only use this thing 3 days a year, it will be worth every flippin' penny. I don't sleep well in a sauna.
Oh, look! It's raining BIG drops! Too funny. My A/C is going full blast and it's raining out. I'm going to turn it off so I can open the window (the OTHER window!) I love to listen to the rain and smell the air. Good thing my car is in the garage; I just washed my windows and this rain is just enough to make them dirty.
Somebody has music really cranked up. I wonder if something is going on at the park or the pool?? They said sometime in August there will be a big fair across the street with booths and everything. Something new the merchants at the mall are trying. There will be wine tasting too. Carol's all excited .. she loves wine and we live just across the street! No designated driver needed. LOL
This music is way too loud. I can't hear the rain. Dang it.
Tami and I went to breakfast this morning. She took me to Elmer's. What a menu! I'll have to go back several times just to try all the different things that sound good. Today I had potato pancakes with bacon and eggs. Yum! Friday night Adrian treated Peggy, Carlos and I to dinner. We ate at the Farmhouse and it was pretty good too. (Peggy is me in Austin and she's here to help out for two weeks. Thank goodness!!) I had a classic reuben and it was yummy. With all this eating out that we've been doing .. and working these hours we tend to just grab a bite to eat .. I've still managed to maintain my 26 lb loss. It ain't easy, let me tell you! I'll be glad when everything settles down and we can start eating regularly.
It's starting to rain harder now .. oops, more thunder .. and a group of boys in their shirtsleeves just walked by bouncing a basketball. Act like it's a bright, sunny day.
My good news for today is I bought a mattress!! A real one! YAY I went to Sleep Country USA and they were really nice. I was ready to buy one but they don't make it in full size. Only queen or king. My room is MUCH too small for that. So I another level down but it's just as comfortable, nice cushy top, just no cashmere in the mattress cover. I'm sure there are a few other items not present but it feels hecka comfie. Told me I have 109 days to decide if I really like it (I was debating between this one and another one) and if not, I can exchange with no charge. Cool. He quoted me a price and I asked about financing .. then he said if they have it in overstock he can save me some money. They did and I saved $800. COOL! So my mattress, boxspring, mattress cover (I bought 2 because the 2nd one is 1/2 price) and frame were all less than the original price he quoted. The best part is that delivery is only $25, they set it up and remove all the packing materials (I warned them I'm on the 3rd floor) and there's NO sales tax!! Another savings! It will be delivered next Saturday. How cool is that. Now I'll have my Aerobed available for company. Queen-size, pretty comfy! Come on up!!
Ok. I've rambled long enough. I need to work on a spreadsheet for work and another spreadsheet for our group finances. It's almost time to pay the rent again and we all need to know how much to throw in the pot. Thanks for listening and stay tuned for more.
Let me explain why I've been so negligent. We have started working. The first month was so sweet .. no real worries, not a lot to do. HAH I have worked 3 straight weeks of 10 to 12 hour days -- which we were expecting, but it's one thing to talk about it and another thing to live through it. Poor Carlos had it even worse. We had a software program that wasn't working properly so he and Scott had one night that they got maybe 2 or 3 hours sleep. Sure glad *I'm* not the Avaya engineer!!
I'll have to backtrack through the next several postings but I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of what I wanted to tell you. I actually "talk" to you in my head, I just don't get it all down on 'paper'.
Gary finally got moved up here and since they wouldn't let us put him on the lease until he was actually here, he made an appointment with the office for the 3 of us to go in and sign a new lease. The first night, we were too late (I think I was the one who got home too late) and the office was closed. So we went back the next night. Keep in mind I'm having to run home from work, get this done, and run back. The second night the girls there didn't know what we were talking about! They pulled out his file and said, Oh, we still have to run your credit check, can you come back. *sigh* The 3rd time we go back, this sweet young girl says very meekly, "uh, Mr. Davis, we have some personal information". So, Carol and I wander into the reception area and hang out while they talk to Gary. About 6 minutes later he comes in and says GUESS WHAT! I'M A CRIMINAL! Seems they found a Gary Davis who had been convicted of manslaughter and battery back in Indiana. Huh. I told Chai (pronounced Shay) that really -- something like this ... they should tell US! She looked at me very sweetly and said "I don't think legally I'm allowed to tell you!"
We now introduce Gary as "our roommate, Gary, the mass murderer". Needless to say, further research showed that he was NOT the same Gary Davis. We jokingly told him that when we go back to sign the lease, if there are a lot of cop cars around, keep walking. And if they pick him up, he will be assured of a roof over his head, regular meals and clothing will be provided! We went back one more time, got the lease signed and it's all good.
Hey! I just heard thunder!!! It has been flippin' hot the past few days (trust me .. 90 here is HOT, especially on the 3rd floor) and it's just starting to cool down. Even though right now at 7:16 pm we are 10 degrees hotter than Dublin (74 there, 84 here) It started getting overcast this afternoon and someone said it will cool down later this week.
I got my A/C just in time. I bought a small window unit but it was too heavy for me to lift into the cart so last Thursday or Friday (the days just melt into one another) Gary went to Costco with me and loaded it into the cart and then carried it upstairs for me. We were both too tired to do anything with it that night .. must have been Friday .. and he had to work Saturday, but I didn't. I decided to see how much of it I could put together and I managed to get it all put together and into the window all by myself! TA DA. The funny thing is, after we left for Costco, Carol saw a commercial (probably for car insurance) where a guy is putting one of these in his window and he drops it out the window and it lands on his car. She had said to me just a few days earlier, aren't you afraid you might drop it on your car? I park in the driveway and it's right below my window -- two stories down. Very funny.
I have it set on 80 and it runs quite a bit! It's on energy saver so it cycles off for 10 minutes and sometimes it stays off longer than that, but the difference between the temp in my room and temp in the hallway is amazing! It has to be at least 20 degrees difference. I was dieing up here the last time the temp's were in the 90's. Everyone said it's only a few days a year, but I told them if I only use this thing 3 days a year, it will be worth every flippin' penny. I don't sleep well in a sauna.
Oh, look! It's raining BIG drops! Too funny. My A/C is going full blast and it's raining out. I'm going to turn it off so I can open the window (the OTHER window!) I love to listen to the rain and smell the air. Good thing my car is in the garage; I just washed my windows and this rain is just enough to make them dirty.
Somebody has music really cranked up. I wonder if something is going on at the park or the pool?? They said sometime in August there will be a big fair across the street with booths and everything. Something new the merchants at the mall are trying. There will be wine tasting too. Carol's all excited .. she loves wine and we live just across the street! No designated driver needed. LOL
This music is way too loud. I can't hear the rain. Dang it.
Tami and I went to breakfast this morning. She took me to Elmer's. What a menu! I'll have to go back several times just to try all the different things that sound good. Today I had potato pancakes with bacon and eggs. Yum! Friday night Adrian treated Peggy, Carlos and I to dinner. We ate at the Farmhouse and it was pretty good too. (Peggy is me in Austin and she's here to help out for two weeks. Thank goodness!!) I had a classic reuben and it was yummy. With all this eating out that we've been doing .. and working these hours we tend to just grab a bite to eat .. I've still managed to maintain my 26 lb loss. It ain't easy, let me tell you! I'll be glad when everything settles down and we can start eating regularly.
It's starting to rain harder now .. oops, more thunder .. and a group of boys in their shirtsleeves just walked by bouncing a basketball. Act like it's a bright, sunny day.
My good news for today is I bought a mattress!! A real one! YAY I went to Sleep Country USA and they were really nice. I was ready to buy one but they don't make it in full size. Only queen or king. My room is MUCH too small for that. So I another level down but it's just as comfortable, nice cushy top, just no cashmere in the mattress cover. I'm sure there are a few other items not present but it feels hecka comfie. Told me I have 109 days to decide if I really like it (I was debating between this one and another one) and if not, I can exchange with no charge. Cool. He quoted me a price and I asked about financing .. then he said if they have it in overstock he can save me some money. They did and I saved $800. COOL! So my mattress, boxspring, mattress cover (I bought 2 because the 2nd one is 1/2 price) and frame were all less than the original price he quoted. The best part is that delivery is only $25, they set it up and remove all the packing materials (I warned them I'm on the 3rd floor) and there's NO sales tax!! Another savings! It will be delivered next Saturday. How cool is that. Now I'll have my Aerobed available for company. Queen-size, pretty comfy! Come on up!!
Ok. I've rambled long enough. I need to work on a spreadsheet for work and another spreadsheet for our group finances. It's almost time to pay the rent again and we all need to know how much to throw in the pot. Thanks for listening and stay tuned for more.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Still here
I've not forgotten you and I've not given up on blogging. I've been working 12-14 hour days and just have no time! Lots to catch up on and I'll get to you as soon as I can .. hang in there ...
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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