Screens, heat, bananas and drama on Rose St.

Last night, my landlord kindly put up a screen on my kitchen window so I can get more air in the apt and keep out the buggies. It gets so hot there. I really need to get a second fan. Maybe a dehumidifier/fan? I will search on ebay for that.

Though it was pistol smacking hot inside the apartment, I made banana bread from a Betty Crocker book I got at a thrift store. Thank heaven for thrift stores!!! It turned out really well and people at the office snarffed it up.

A few people were lighting fireworks on and off for a couple of hours. Then, at about 10:30, there was an altercation outside in front of the house. One of the neighbors, (let's call him Jimbob) was harassing some young ladies who were a little drunk. There were three gals, ages about 18-23 walking down the middle of the street yelling at Jimbob who was walking about 30 feet behind them. One of the girls was yelling obscenities at him and telling all of us that she knows what he did to her best friend. She accused him of molesting her friend several years ago. Also yelling at him how much she hated him and what a horrible person he was. I don't know Jimbob. I have seen him around the neighborhood. He lives in the white trash building across the street where Jeff (the dude in the dress) lives. Jimbob is in his mid to late 40s. He rarely wears a shirt, has a bunch of tattoos and greasy, long gray hair. Most of the time it looks like he isn't very concerned about bathing. Man, was that girl drunk. She was throwing her shoes at him, and could barely stand with or without them. One of the other girls yelled at him that her childhood was taken away and it was all his fault. The third girl kept telling her friends to keep walking. The second girl said she was going to get her mother. But after Jimbob turned down his driveway (he was making comments back to them as well) the girls quieted down as did the neighborhood.

Switchfoot in concert....

Carrie and I went to see Switchfoot last night. The venue, Higher Ground, is a movie theater they gutted out and turned into a concert area. It almost looks like a school auditorium with the exception of two bars - one is slightly elevated and in the back of the place behind the sound and light board. There was a row of high seated chairs that were already filled when we entered at about 7:30. The concert was suppose to start at 8pm. There were two opening bands. One was from San Diego (where Switchfoot is also from) and the other from Florida. The San Diego band boys were cute (surfer boys, of course) and were better than the Florida band. I bet Carrie to go over and talk to the San Diego band after their set, and she did. So, I felt I should go as well upon her return. Being from Souther California, there is a certain bond we folk have. When I was out and about shopping the other weekend, I met a lady who saw my CA car. We instantly struck up a conversation about the weather here and there, as well as locations, how we feel about Vermont, etc. So with the San Diego band dudes, I signed up for more info and said, "Where abouts San Diego are you from?" The drummer said,"Encinitas." I say, "Oh, yeah. I know where that is..." He says (suprised look on his face), "You do?" I say," Yeah. I'm an LA girl myself." "Where?" "Near Burbank." He asked me if I had been here long and how much he liked Vermont. We chatted for a few minutes before we were interrupted by another band mate. So sad. Too bad. By this time, the second band was playing. Then Switchfoot. They were so much fun. And they sounded like they do on their CDs, which I always find refreshing. No, they weren't lip-synching. They bounced all over the stage and almost walked into the crowd. The lead singer, Jon Foreman, climbed on top of one of the drums and sang from way up. The drummer was on a high platform in the back-center of the stage. Jon lept to the stage floor and landed on his feet. It was a cool band dude stunt. They played for over an hour and a half.

Carrie had driven us to the show and I asked her to drive me to my house, though my car was at work. I thought I would walk to work Tuesday. Well, we get to the house and I can't find my keys. She took me back to her house where she got her work keys, then took me back to the office, where we let ourselves in. I found the keys at my desk. Whew! Though I still don't have a freakin' clue where my CDL is, I was able to drive home safely without it. Whew!

Good show. Good times.

BB King is playing there in a few months. I would like to see him. I think that would be a good show. We shall see. One show at a time. I still have Spamalot ahead of me...

blankness

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Cats, psychics and food

So, I am now resolved about the cats. I talked to Stacie earlier in the week and officially verbally handed them over. I will look into getting a cat when I come back from CA in a few weeks.

Saturday, after gaining (again) at WW, I went to work for a few hours. Things went better as some of the projects are now off my plate and I have just a few to focus on. I KNOW my time management sucks. It's been a problem my whole life. I kid myself in thinking I have good time management and can multi-task. I can multi-task when it is a few things, but many things I am not so good at multi-tasking on. Anyhooo, that's a problem. So, Saturday I was able to see where I was at with my projects which was really helpful. Then Elissa and I went to the Chew Chew Festival (for you SoCal people it's like "A taste of Encino". There were a bunch of booths with food. You buy tokens to try the food. We had a bunch of different things and also got five minute psychic readings. To sum up what the psychic told me, she said that I like to entertain, I am exhausted and am getting married. Well, she's right on two of three. I guess the marriage thing is still down the road, so we shall see what's up there.

Sunday morning I was watching CBS this morning and they were talking about how people don't take weekends to relax anymore and we are so work focused. And at church, they talked about depression. Both are very fitting to what's going on right now. So I decided to not be a work aholic this weekend and took Sunday off. Carrie and I went to lunch then shopping. It was pretty fun. She was a good sport for trying on a bunch of things that normally she wouldn't try on.

Monday is Switchfoot. I am really looking forward to hearing them. Should be a good show.

Lost license, anyone?

It's been a difficult week. Besides work, I am going to give up my cats and have lost my driver's license. Both of those suck. Both are replaceable. There will only be one Smudge and Steve-the-cat in my life, but I think it would be easier for everybody if they stayed in CA. Stacie's mom offered to take them, so I think that might just be the best. I went to a shelter today and saw a couple of cute cats that I might just have to adopt. A co-worker also mentioned twin kittens that might be available too.

I also lost my driver's license. Not good, being from out of state and all. Not good as I am suppose to fly back to CA and need a form of id (with an expired passport) Sigh. I know it can work out. It just sucks for now.

Worked this weekend, saw Batman Begins....

Friday
After another long day at work (long in the sense that there was a buttload of crap to do....) I actuallyleft at a descent time. I met up with Elissa, Rocky and Mark for dinner at Uno's (which is Numer Uno's for those Westcoasters... but a little nicer....) where I enjoyed spectacular conversation and food. We met up with Carrie to see "Batman Begins", which Mark said followed one of the graphic novels he has read about Batman's beginnings. Only two criticisms - the dude who played the strange doctor (can't think of his name or care to look for it) was in no way, old enough to be a doctor (unless he was really a Doogie Howser, child prodigy, which is entirely possible. The other one was Katie Holmes. Sure she's sweet and echos her character from the old Dawson's Creek days, but in the light of her betrothel to Tom Cruise, was not a very believable character. Chrstian Bale, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were great. Special effects great. Story great. Art Direction and music - good. I really enjoyed it. My back had been hurting throughout the day and I was glad to get home to bed. But I did watch one of my Sean Bean Netflix Sharpe series. Ah, Sean Bean.

Saturday -
I woke up with a sinus headache and nausea and the back still hurt. I took meds and passed on going to WW. I woke up a few hours later and felt MUCH better. I went to the office and worked for about 6 hours. I went to go see "Enron - The Smartest Guys in the Room" after work. Though there was lots I would have added to the documentary, it was pretty good. After seeing "The Corporation", seeing this movie just added to my fury about how awful some can really be. Interesting study in upper management and power. About 2/3 of the way through it they talked about the crisis in California. That just infuriated me all the more. By the end of the movie, I wanted Mr. Lay and his cronies to pay for what they had done. Unfortuneatly, they walked away with millions and millions of dollars that should have gone to the people not their pockets. It is outrageous what happened. And I am sure it can happen again. AND the ties to politics make it even more sickening. Good flick. When I got home, I actually worked on a craft project that I had bought materials for about two months ago. I even finished it. I make a wreath with dried flowers. I think it looks pretty good. I watched "The House of Sand and Fog" starring Jennifer Connolly and Ben Kingsley. Not that great of a movie. I wanted more out of the characters. They weren't bad enough for me to hate them and not good enough (even if misunderstood) to care about them.

Sunday - I slept in again feeling a headache and went the laundromat. Lots of white trash characters in the neighborhood. The dude across from the laundromat kept talking really loudly so we, across the street could hear. At one point, he came up to me while I was in my car talking to Gail. He told me that he was expecting a man in a purplish, Ford Taurus to take him to church. Maybe that was a message I should have listened to, but he creeped me out. Gail told me a great story about a guy she met. Can't talk about it yet. We will see if something happens from this meeting. I then went to the office and worked for about 5 hours. Yippee!!

Tonight it is finishing Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I thought I would watch that in preparation for Spamalot.

Class reunion is only three weeks away!

Why am I hear? I am beginning to understand why...

Three things come to mind...

1. Something spiritual that I haven't figured out yet.
2. Get everybody I know (which is pretty much just the office of Company X) to go see movies and learn to love classic movies (like the Lion in Winter)
3. Write. Write. Write.

That's it for now. (I am working today on that big project. Pressure is on. Can't be behind. LOTS to do on it. However, I am beginning to tire of working, so I am going home in a moment.)

Oh, no cats yet. Their cages were too small, so Stacie has to buy larger ones, unless she takes them to her mom's house to live - forever. That would be sad. I don't know what I would do without Smudge and Steve. I could get another cat, but if I ever left Vermont I would run into the same issue. Sigh. What to do. What to do?

Suck ass day once again... now how can we fix that?

Yesterday was another sucky day. Super busy, stressful. I was having back pain (from the chiropractor? Or stress?) and went to the chiro to get fixed. I felt great! I got up to the office and immediately back pain again. Pschosomatic. Nothing what a little Xanax + Zoloft + Vicodin won't cure. ha ha ha I kid, I kid.

Good news for last night - the cats are coming. I am going to Boston tomorrow to pick them up. I am so freakin' excited about that. I miss them. :-(

Today - more back pain. It hurts more than it did yesterday. If it keeps hurting, I might go home. (I am working Sunday anyhow, so why not go home and rest?) Sigh.

Dreaming of work and dead people and guess what?

Last night I had a dream that I was making a presentation for a bunch of people on behalf of my Company X. Rick and Mike were there. Then all of a sudden, one of the employees was murdered right in front of me. It was my job to watch the body until the police arrived. There was something secretive about the whole murder thing. Obviously we weren't allowed to leave the premises. While the whole floor was gathered in the conference room, I made a pitch while the detectives were out. I asked if anybody could translate and speak Spanish fluently. I passed around a sign up sheet. I remember Rick looked at me as if I was strange.

So work has been on my mind quite a bit, to say the least. I came into work this morning so early because I couldn't think of anything else to do. Sad, isn't it?

The chiropractic visit went well. I am going to go to him for adjustments as long as the insurance covers me.

LASTLY, and more importantly, I think the cats are coming this weekend or next weekend. I am soooooo excited. I am even excited to have them keep me up at all hours of the night. I can't wait to see them. Driving four hours never sounded as good as this does to Boston. I hope, I hope it is this weekend. Also, I DID get my ticket to my class reunion, so I am going. Looking forward to that too.

Today is a suck-ass day

Though I am totally enjoying the rain, it is a basically suck-ass day. And no, I am NOT PMSing, if you were wondering (which I am sure most of you weren't.)

But I do get to go to the chiropractor's office for my evaluation (I went last week.) Maybe they can adjust my attitude?

I think my head will spin off my neck

Today is a whirlwind of work. I am having a little trouble. Everytime I start working on A, or B I am interrupted with C or D. Then when I finish D, I start on B, but then A has an issue which needs to be handled. This is called lacking the ability to prioritize. I try. I don't want any help with it either, so don't ask me. Just having a moment where I needed to vent.

BTW, I really like a couple of the songs on the Wicked soundtrack. And I am going to hear Switchfoot in two weeks. Yippeee!!!

Hotter 'n a you know what.... and is it Friday yet?

Last night was horribly hot. I had the fan on full, but think I need a dehumidifier and/or AC. Dry heat, I got use to in CA. This humid crap is awful. Things I don't like about humidity:

• It's hot
• It's wet
• When you have skin that touches other skin (bending knees, bent elbows, whatever), it gets sweaty and gross. Look, I know it happens to you too. Don't deny it.
• Moisture between your toes (I just threw this one in for grossness. I am just assuming. I hadn't really checked...)
• Moisture between your ear and the phone you are talking on.
• Moisture when you touch anything
• Moisture when you are sitting/laying/sleeping
• Hair won't stay in hair-sprayed shape
• Hot
• Too much chewable air

Things I like about humidity:

• Hair gets into the natural curl groove
• Skin is soft and hydrated
• Air conditioned offices

Last night while I was trying to not sweat and be uncomfortable, I was very tired, not hungry and almost delirious. I had a little dehydration going on, plus too much heat, plus the ickys from something I ate. It spelled = unhappy Mrs. Han Solo

Today I was thankfully in an air conditioned office. I love it. I don't care if the air conditioning is really bad for the planet. My selfish needs are more important than the planet in that regard, at least today. It was a busy monday. I spent the morning catching up on the non Client D clients, and then spent a good bit of time with Client D. Then, I spent about two hours talking with Client BBMH who just didn't seem to get things. It drove me crazy. I couldn't get him off the phone. I was trying to get out at a reasonable time tonight since I did come in at 8:30. But NO. It was another 11 hour day. Tomorrow I am taking lunch and leaving on time. Final answer.

Long ass week... here we are Saturday

That's right. It's been a long ass week. And what do have to show for it?

The week started out like any other - clients, folders, phones.... But there was an addition. I was the recipient of Client D. Client D has a whole bunch of "stores" that we are building sites for. It is a huge thing for my company (CompanyX). They are one of the golden clients that every company like ours hopes to get because it can mean big money and recognition. So the pressure is on. Thankfully I work with talented people who can help me help the client. It is a monsterous task and unfortuneately other clients were neglected. Then there is Client BB, who calls me daily about this thing or that. Sheesh! Give me a break, dude. You are not the only one on my planet. There are others that need my attention. Anyhoo, it was a super busy week. I think between Monday and by the end of the weekend (I will include Sunday for the drama of it all) I will have worked about 70 hours. I haven't done that in ages. I ain't got nuthin' else going on, which is a whole sad story in and of itself. So why not work on Client D? It keeps the project on schedule and what else am I going to do? There are a bunch of outdoorsy things I would like to do, but I am a baby and don't want to do them alone.

This brings me to friends, or lack thereof in Vermont. People here seem to be pretty set in their ways and with their friends. As my current social circle is limited to work people (not that there is anything wrong with that), I really need to change that if I want more friends. (How many friends does a girl need? Well, one can never have enough friends. The friends will vary from those you share your innermost thoughts with to those who you can have good debates with to those who are only good for a movie.) I looked at classes for the summer, and there weren't any that really interested me. But I just picked up the fall schedule for the community college here, and believe me friends, there are a few nice options. What I really need is a boyfriend, but that isn't something you really want me to be writing about is it? I suppose when I get one here, he will be subject to the blog. ha ha ha Sigh.

Two bright moments of the week included going out to dinner with a couple of the people from work on Thursday night and stuff on Saturday. Thursday, we went to a Mexican restaurant near the waterfront. We had some pretty good conversations about athletics (triathlons, marathons, etc...), music and bears. The other highlight was hanging out with Elissa, Rocky and Greg K. downtown at the Jazz Festival on Friday. We saw Grace Potter, who is a really talented bluesy singer. I even bought her cd, I liked her so much. We went to the Daily Planet for dinner, which was fun and rather tasty.

Today I went to WW and gained a pound. That sort of thing happens when you don't follow the program and you induldge in dessert and alcohol. No, I didn't get drunk. I then went to the office and worked until 5pm. Carrie and I headed over to the Majestic where we saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith, starring the hottest on-screen couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. It was funny, full of action and very entertaining. Though there wasn't as much of Bradflesh as I would have liked, there were no sex scenes, so bring the kids. Who cares about the violence? You don't see much blood at all. Just bodies and destruction. Very mild for these cinematic days. I really liked it. We went with Stephanie from work and her friend, Amanda. Then we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant next door to the theater. I had a good time.

Coming into this apartment, it is hotter than a monkeys balls in hell. AND humid. I wonder if I can find a dehumidifier/ac? Probably online. I must search for it. Tomorrow, Carrie is going to church with me. Then I will be back in the office for a bit.

Today I worked until about 6:30. I got in about 5 hours. I feel like I made some great progress and reached the goal I had set.

Mrs. Brown, where the hell are you? Balloons and movies

Friday I worked later than planned. I can't even remember what I did Friday night. THAT's how exciting it was and how sad my memory is. I think I need to take St. John's Wort. But I would probably forget to take it. ha ha ha. Aye, the rub!

SATURDAY
I went to WW and lost 2 of the 4 lbs I gained the week before. Yippee. I went to Costco and bought talapia and pita chips. Yeah, I am a huge spender there! I did a few errands before meeting up with Carrie for the Chittendon County Hot Air Balloon Festival. I even got a FAN!! It's one of those window fans. It works pretty well. I am so excited to have air flowing into my apartment. The festival included tasty fried bread (kinda like funnel cake, but not quite as yummy), dog tricks, various county and city vendors, and... Herman's Hermits!!! Yes, that famous 60's British pop band who's big hits included "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "Henry the 8th I am". Peter Noonan sang a bunch of covers from other 60s bands including doing an impression of Mick Jagger. (I am rolling my eyes.) But I am getting ahead of myself. We saw a fabulous balloon festival. Lots of lovely hot air balloons launched (photos to come.) It was really a swell show. I really want to take a balloon ride now. But it costs $180ish. Sheesh! We had a great time.

SUNDAY
I slept in and when I got my day going, I decided to walk to the movie theater downtown. (How quaint... walking to the movie theater downtown...) Anyhoo, I wandered around Church Street for a bit before the movie. I ended up seeing Layer Cake. No, it's not a baking documentary or really about relationships. It's about the layers of shit in ones world. The main guy doesn't have a name. I thought that was kind of cool. A "business man" who sells coccaine is trying to retire. But nope. He's stuck in for another job. There were nice turns and twists to the story. A little violent, but heck, you are talking about the underbelly of society. There is bound to be some violence there. I thought it was a pretty good movie. Then I walked home. I managed to snap a photo of my crazy, dress wearing man neighbor (coming soon to this site.) Hilarious. Yes, I am spying on my neighbors. I really need to get a life. Sheesh! I watched tv, dvds and did my dishes. An all around peaceful weekend.

MONDAY
I come into the office and am thrown into being project manager on a hunkin' big project. A client with 30 "accounts" if you will. Sheesh! I am honored that I was requested. for the task. That's pretty cool. So much to do though. I have a great bunch of people helping me out. It's going to be a long few weeks with lots for everybody to do. I checked with Rick and asked if the tech team members were now my "bitches". He said "yes," so LEMME AT 'EM!! I kid, I kid. there are some very talented people at my company and they aren't going to be my "bitches". (What am I calling this place this week?I don't know. How about COMPANY X. Nice and mysterious.) But it was suggested to me that I come into work with dominatrix boots and a whip. I think not. At least, not this week. Maybe if things are getting out of hand. ha ha ha!

Pulling my head out of...

... my arse. That's right. Sporty Girl isn't dead. She's just been on vacation. Kdar-the-evil won't win. In fact, Sporty Girl ordered a book that was delivered just yesterday about swimming training. Not only will Sport Girl actually READ the book, but she will begin walking to work, and using that damn Y membership again. Kdar tried to put her under, but she's a fighter. Thanks, in part to Tricia and Rebecca for your encouragement.

On another note, today is the Marquis de Sade's birthday. How about that? Happy 256th Birthday you sick, twisted bastard.

It is a gorgeous day in Vermont.

Still bummed

I know there are other triathlons out there, even in Vermont. I am still bummed though. Bummed isn't really the word. Depressed is better. It's as if Evil Kdar has taken over and slammed Sporty Girl to the curb.