the pieces of my life

Looking outside the front window, I became concerned because our camilla tree had some sort of white fungus all over it! After a moment of staring at this white fungus, I realize it was falling from the sky. Isn’t that just like Seattle? Our first heavy snowstorm of winter comes when spring is just three weeks away. It is beautiful out there. Sticking everywhere and it’s not slowing down at all.

So hard to find time to write! I’ve been meaning to catch up, but I get home from work and I’m just beat. Mornings are spent exercising and taking care of househould stuff (cleaning, paying bills, and such). I was feeling a little blue about work, and then I realized… I have just 13 more Mondays! Too bizarre when I think of it that way.

The responses are trickling in. I’m surprised how many people haven’t RSVP’d yet. But they still have another week before the “due date.” In fact, some folks who read this log haven’t responded yet. Where are you people?

We started getting RSVPs for the wedding. Makes it feel soon. Once we hit March (on Friday), my weekends are so jammed-packed that I guess it is soon. Can’t get to Vegas soon enough!

Juliewa had her baby on Friday night! Eva Rose. I can’t wait to play with the baby. Finally someone who will let me poke her with minimal complaint.

We got our first wedding present! Yeah! Very exciting for us. Wrote our first thank you letter tonight, too. I hope I get better at it–I stressed over what to say and had to consult Peggy Post. I wanted to be funny, but Adam opted for serious. I snuck a little something in there. But I wanted to say, “We hope you’ll be joining us at the wedding. It’s been a long, long time since we’ve seen each other. In case you don’t recognize me, I’ll be the one in the veil.” But that got nixed, rightly so, I suppose. What I really wanted to say is, “Damn, our first gift! Now we have to get married.” No, no. It’s all good.

The Realtor came yesterday to look over the house. We need to do a few things to it, but nothing too major. She didn’t think we’d have any problems selling it. We need to clean out the clutter in the basement, so we’re actually going to start packing. I packed two boxes of videos. Feels weird.

Tonight we had practice blackjack at Pam’s to teach Sandra and Julie P. how to play. Sandra is going to get herself booted from the casino. We’re going to need a new safe word for Sandra for when she’s feeling too picked on. I’m really looking forward to this weekend. Work’s been a little rough, and I’m in need of a break. The wedding stuff is creeping up on us, too. Now that invitations are out, it’s not feeling so far away. Lots of people have received them already. Deep breaths. Lots of deep breaths.

I’m Back

So, the Web log postings have fallen to the wayside. Sometimes life takes over, and I can’t find the time to squeeze in a few entries. Although I have found the time to surf other Web logs. The 2002 Anti-Bloggies make amusing reading and reinforce why I do not make my Web log searchable to the world at large. Also, my computer is somewhat hosed–the fan is broken and I keep running out of memory and having to delete applications. I was going to just put more memory in this thing, but realized this computer is over four years old. Time for a new one. Adam ordered one for me yesterday. Should be in around March 7. I’ll be going from 3 GB of memory to 40 GB, and a Pentium 2 to 4. Anyway, right now I have time to update the Web log, because I’m supposed to working on my homework for my writing class. Guess that’s not going to get done today.

Wedded Bliss to Be

Well, we finally have our honeymoon tickets. We don’t have a place to stay yet, but that’s the easier part. The tickets were a pain. We’re flying Seattle-Dallas-London-Florence. It was either that or fly to London and change airports, which given the heightened security measures and the long waits, seemed to be asking for trouble. We couldn’t get our first-class upgrades on the way out–Adam needs to keep calling them to see if there’s an opening–but we did get them for the way home. Which is good, because on the way out we’ll be excited and won’t care as much, but on the way home will need to be comforted by the luxury. And hey, booze is free on international flights, no matter where you’re sitting! Peter and I did a few Web searches on hotels, and a whole bunch of them said “proof of marriage required.” Good thing we’ll be married by then.

Other than that, things are going fine. We had our last meeting with the rabbi. The international invites were mailed. The other invites will be mailed either tomorrow or Saturday. We met with the photographer to nail things down. My grandparents were moved from the Beatles suite to the 4th Floor Suite, so we’ll be doing the ketubah signing in there. They’ll be renovating the Beatles suite. I figured it would be fine. It’s not like my grandparents will care one bit about whether or not the Beatles stayed in their room. We’re good.

Work, work, work

My hours are creeping up again. It’s strange in my new world–everyone is happy and peppy. Odd being in a department where there’s general optimism. But given the way things are, I can’t blame the old team for worrying. It can only get worse.

We had planned an awesome party for my old manager who was leaving the company. A movie studio had rented out a theater for us, was going to pay for everyone’s popcorn, soda, and candy, and have a screening of Zoolander, which is one of his favorite movies. They made posters that had his face where Ben Stiller’s was for the movie theater signage. It looked incredible! The evite said everyone had to dress “Hollywood” and it was going to be this huge surprise. Only the surprise was on us. Two days before the party, he decided not to leave work after all. Couldn’t tear himself away after all. Since the studio was footing the bill for the party, we had to call it off. While everyone was glad he decided to stay, everyone was slightly more upset that the party was called off. As I said to him, “Glad to hear your staying. Also glad that you had decided to leave, because if you hadn’t, I never would have gotten that dinner invite.” Upside of the deal is he’s agreed to run the New York Marathon with me (I say with me–I mean he’ll be running it at the same time I run it. He can do it in under four hours, and I’m aiming to do it in under seven).

I have some really mixed feelings about leaving before my five-year mark. It’s not the options–the amount is negligible at this point. It’s more the wanting to have made it through the entire battle without surrendering. And, yes, at many times it does feel like a battle. This job is unlike any other. It’s so much more than just work. I know there are other jobs that can take over your life, but it’s different than that. It takes over the way you think. This was an experience like no other out there and no other job–for better or worse–will ever compare. I got to be a part of something that was huge, and it’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around twice. I have a friend who went to work somewhere else and she told me, “You know, you don’t realize just how smart everyone there is until you go to work somewhere else, and realize they really do hire the best and the brightest.” Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’ll find a place in Boston that’s just as exciting and vibrant and revolutionary, but I have to say, the odds are against it. I have no idea what I’ll do next.

Everything Else

My final piece for my writing class (“Everday Pilgramages and the Art of Travel Writing”) is coming along slowly, most likely because I’m updating this instead of working on it. I’ve been running a lot more to get my weekly base mileage up before I start the marathon training for real. I’m about to about 18 to 20 miles a week. I figure I’ll start the actual marathon training in July, but I need to have a solid 25-30 miles a week base mileage at that point, which shouldn’t be a biggie. I’ve been doing more hills, which slows me down, but is good in the long run. With four days of running a week, and boxing on Saturdays, I’m having a hard time keeping up with my strength training, but that may just have to slide for a bit. Vegas is in a week, and I am so ready for that! We’ll be staying at the Luxor. Should be a blast.

All right, I need to at least pretend to work on my essay before heading to work. Who knows what I’ll end up with.

I got a Valentine and it had a picture of a train and it said, “I Choo-Choo-Choose You.” Do ya get it? It had train, and it said, “I Choo-Choo-Choose You.” Which is different from “Bee My Valentine.”

As long as we’re going to be on the East Coast anyway, I’ve signed up for the lottery. Keep your fingers crossed! And if I get in, Tweeds, I’ll need a place to crash that weekend.

I didn’t get as much done this weekend as I’d hoped. It was busy. Boxing class yesterday left me especially sore. I keep thinking I’ve got the form down, but Cappy always comes by to tell me to straighten my back and to remember to pivot my entire body. After, Adam & I ran a few errands before our tasting at the Edgewater. The food was amazing. We took a peek in the Beatle’s suite, and there’s plenty of room to do the ketubah signing, although I think the fact that they have Beatles music playing as you come into the room will be lost on my grandparents (they turn it on before folks check in). The tasting was huge portions. We’re going with the fruit salad, pasta salad, and spinach salad with bacon and egg. We tasted the appetizers, even though they’re part of the set menu. Soooo good. Goat cheese on crostini, crab cakes, and chicken and artichoke tarts. We knew we wanted salmon, so we tried both the beef and the chicken. They were both good. I didn’t have a preference; Adam preferred the chicken, so that’s what we’re going with. We walked out of there stuffed. Next I had the baby shower for Julie–more food. Then Adam and I went to the Amazon holiday party. They held it down in the SDC, which I thought was way better than a hotel. Casual dress, since they no longer heat that place (and Portapotties outside, since, as Adam pointed out, they probably had turned the water off in there a while ago), and a bunch of displays showing Amazon history. They had a time line up for folks to sign on the month they started working. Adam wussed out of signing (“Maybe I should write down my quit date”). Amazing how there really aren’t that many folks who have been there longer than I have. Today was lazy–finally caught up on sleep, went out for breakfast, made the invitations for Pam’s shower, read the paper. It was great, but I had a long to-do list that didn’t get touched. We’re getting close enough that I’ve got to get on top of things. Well, guess that will have to be next weekend.

Woke up this morning with a mild headache. “Must’ve been that cheap champagne,” I said to Adam. He replied, “You mean that Dom Perignon you were drinking last night?”

I’m surprised to say but I actually had a great time tonight! I was pretty intimidated about dinner at the “big boss’s” house, especially after the Mission Impossible experience in getting the directions, but I felt good, and he was a gracious host, and the night was truly fun (Adam claimed he wasn’t nervous–at the gate, security asked who it was. “Jennifer and Adam,” he said. “Jennifer?” I asked. “Jennifer? Where did that come from?” “I don’t know,” he mumbled as he drove into the gates and parked by the security house). The one “I’m a pauper” moment: we were talking to the wife of a coworker who mentioned her brother found a really reasonably priced house in Watertown. “It was no more than $550 or $600. Very affordable.” Very affordable if I had started Amazon when her husband had, but never mind about that. Roasting Jason was great fun, the food was yummy, and over all, I belive I made an impression. And I mean a positive impression at that.