Yeah!

Got tickets to Ricky Gervais....he's at Madison Square Garden on May 19th. Cool eh?

If you don't know who he is - he's the office manager in the UK version of The Office. He is also in Extras.

A new discovery

So, I graduated in the commuter world this week. For the first time I not only experienced getting the bus (rather than the train and subway) but I also found out about a "commuter club" that saves you up to 40% on your commuting costs.

My usual trip to work was walk 8 blocks, catch PATH train, then either walk 10 blocks or catch subway 1 stop. The bus is so much cooler. In the mornings the bus stop is 1 block from I live....but what's better is that on the way home it stops right outside the condo:) Not only that in Manhattan it comes into the Port Authority Terminal which is one block from where I work. Yippee! Not only is the journey better but it's loads more comfortable. Something that I'll keep up I think.

The commuter club I sign up through the benefits thing at work. You order your tickets in advance. I've signed up for May already. It was awesome!

Another good thing...

I don't believe it, I clearly have good karma today.

I called my bank because I found that I had loads of bank charges ($30 worth a month) dating back several months. I thought I was going to have a big fight about it....but the lady did an AWESOME job about calming me down and giving me all the money back. Cool eh? I think that calls for another massage with the money I just got back.

Work...good and bad

OK, so I had a nice surprise, and also something that made me sooooooo mad.

1) The good. I had a one to one meeting scheduled for today that I thought was going to be a fight. It's with a guy who's good at his job, just he's very animated and decides he gets to pick how and what he does. Not something we have a luxury of doing. I see him as a hothead european:) Anyhow, usually we have long heated debates, he stomps and throws himself around. I think someone must have got to him, because he apologized for last week and said he understood my position. Even better, we talked about a problem he was having and I think I helped him find a solution.

2) The bad. It's that time of year again when we hand out salary letters telling people of their payrises. Well, I was promoting two people as part of the process, and have been handing out letters all day. How is it that HR, I repeat HR, get the numbers wrong on the freaking letters? I mean, if they can't get it right, I may as well do it myself. They seem to think emailing me 24 hours after giving me the letters that it's OK....and that to "just have them come to me if they have questions" is OK. Good grief............what *bleeping* idiots!

Been busy this weekend...

In some ways I feel like I've sat on my butt all weekend, in others we've done a lot.

1. Spare bedroom. See the pics. It's changed around. It irked me that Trev's so untidy in his "office" and that every time I walked down the hall I had to witness it. I'm a tidy desk, tidy mind kind of person. He's not. Not that I want him to change, I just didn't want to see it all the time. So we moved the bed nearer the door and put the desk in the far corner. It looks so much nicer, and we even managed to get a chair in the room. All I have to do now is hang pictures and it'll look like home. Yeah!

2. Exercise. Even though Billy canceled through the weekend i've managed 30 mins cardio, 60 min pilates class and a 60 min yoga class.
3. Moved the closets around. We have a closet problem in our apartment. The master closet is 3 ft wide.....at least it's 6 ft in the spare room. Now, given we're used to having 8 x 6 ft rooms as closets it's come with great difficulty to squish down. Any way, rather than try and share 3 ft, we've actually decided I get that closet, and Trev gets half the spare room. That's worked out really well.
4. I did not eat out once this weekend. Admittedly we did order an Indian last night and have it delivered, but I never sat food outside unless it was for the gym. What a saddo.
5. Tax. Sorted out papers so that I can find all our tax stuff. Yeah well, what can I say? We're late. Very very late. We have tax for 3 states, have sold 2 houses, bought another, moved across the country. We should be due a rebate.
6. Tidied up for Lara. Oh my, trying to explain to a husband there is a difference between tidying up and cleaning. Why is it so hard to see the difference. I'm not mad, I just don't my $100 to go towards putting my crap away. And quite honestly, I don't want Lara in my belongings. She is fabulous though - so I'm really looking forward to her coming on Tuesday.
7. Furniture. Decided what additional furniture we need...so here goes: wall cabinet for master bathroom, small standalone cabinet for floor and some shelves, shelving/book case for 18x16 inch wide spot in master closet that's wasted space, low set of drawers for bottom of master closet, small wall cabinet for laundry room, bookcases/cabinets for living room, some nice arty pictures for living room to compliment all the photographs, small cabinet for other bathroom.
8. Atlantic City in April. Jenny and Frankie are coming over to visit at the end of April. They're starting off in Atlantic City (think an East Coast Las Vegas), then they're coming to New York, then they're going up to Boston. We're going to head down and bring them back to ours - that's a nice Wednesday off on vacation in the middle of the week. Lovely.
9. Jamaica. Still no nearer getting the kids flights booked. I've tried calling/emailing/texting Carrieanne and while we've exchanged a text I'm not sure she'll be able to make it. I hope she does because I can get a flight direct from Cedar Rapids right now for only $100 more than Chicago. that's awesome so she could travel locally. I'm going ahead to book Rach's flight our of Chicago. Peter we'll have to wait - I'm trying to decide if I'm OK spending $500 for it to be possibly canceled. He's got a chance of getting into a 4 week class in July so it's touch and go. We'll have to wait and see. Still, I'm very excited!

Busy, wasn't it? Phew. I'm almost glad to be back to work for a rest. NOT!

So mad

Why is it I get on a schedule, I succeed at it and then it goes up in smoke.

I got a call this morning from Billy the trainer....apparently the gym haven't paid him in 3 weeks so he has to cancel our session.

Hmmmmprh

Life on Mars

New TV program to watch. It's on BBCAmerica, called Life on Mars.

It's a British police drama. A 2006 Chief Inspector has an accident and wakes up in 1973 as a Detective Inspector. Not sure in America what kind of 70s police programs you had, but in England it's like Cracker meets The Sweeney. The Sweeney was a rough police drama where they were rude to women, beat up the criminals and planted evidence to get the baddies.

It's pretty good as it brings out the huge differences between 2006 and 1973.

Things I've noted after 3 episodes:
- everyone smokes....in the building
- forensics takes several weeks
- mobile phones, computers, internet don't exist
- the radios always have their batteries go flat
- the clothes are coming back in fashion:)
- they don't record any of the interviews

A very worthwhile watch. Great casting..... my new program for 2007.

The downside to a great massage:)

OK, so I had an AWESOME massage yesterday - I feel so much better, and I slept so well. Always a good sign.

There's always a but. Now, the thing about me is I don't like the namby pamby massages that you sometimes get in a spa. I like my muscles to be brand spanking new....and sometimes that hurts like crazy. Like my right elbow. For whatever reason the past few weeks it's been clicking and with Billy on Wednesday it was really sore. So, I have Wesley (the masseuse) the instruction to fix my elbow. Which he did....and it was definitely a face crunching time. I only said "ow" a few times and I didn't use rude words.

However....this morning - ouch! It moves much more freely, but it's sore. Hopefully it'll be gone by the time I see Billy tomorrow!

To warn you, this is a long one

So many things have happened - it's not a week that I wish to repeat any time soon. I'm not even sure where to begin.

Let's start with something good. My friend Penny. She's back from rehab - and she's a new person. She has been sick the last few years and on lots of meds to get rid of the pain. Thanks to the Mayo clinic she's come out the other side. It's so awesome to hear her with more energy, exercising and generally having such an optimistic view. Long may it last.

Here's another good thing...today was a great day. I took a sanity work day at home. Got loads and loads done, although not everything. I managed to have a pedicure and a massage. I even got laundry done while working. I like working at home.

Here's for the crap stuff of the week

Jamaica. it's all booked, however not before I had a fight with a cheapo website for Mum and Dad's flights. I booked them, then they didn't ticket them, then the price went up, then i had to wait 45 mins to talk to someone. In the end they agreed I could cancel the flight. I booked on Travelocity in the end but for more money. Still a good deal though. We're booked, they're booked, Tim's booked. Just working on Peter, Carrieanne and Rachel. Trying to convince Carrieanne is the hardest, but understand if she can't make it.

My IPOD. This one takes the biscuit. If you remember I left my IPOD at home when I went back to England and Trev kindly stuck it in a Fedex box and sent it to me. Well that was lovely (if ridiculously expensive) and that was the start of the trouble. This made me realize why I don't live in England. It's also the last time I will use Fedex. Tim emailed me a FedEx invoice for 34 pounds (about $70). It had so many spelling errors that I thought it was one of the spoof things, so i called them in the UK to check. Turns out that I needed to pay import duty on my IPOD. Now, if the item was new and I was bringing it into the country I can agree with that, but why should I pay duty on something I own. What made it worse was the idiot on the phone who kept saying "madam, I'm just explaining the process". I refused to pay naturally, and asked to escalate it to raise a claim. Apparently that cost 30 pounds. hahahahahahahadiha. Can you believe that? Anyhow, i got really mad at them and said i wouldn't pay. They said that they'd take the details and call me back the following day. Well, it took 4 days but I won! As a "goodwill gesture" they would pay for it. Yeah, whatever. Note to self, don't leave crap behind when you go to England.

Next. My boss. I love working for my boss. Except when she's traveling. I think she has a lot of thinking time so you get bombarded with short emails asking for stuff. I'm Ok with that bit, but her assistant goes insane. Completely insane and starts taking all my time bitching about it. it takes way way too long.

Next. The manager who works for me. She does a great job, is very thorough. however there's too much work for everyone and she likes to bitch to me about how difficult it is. Oh yeah, an dhow crap the bonus plan is. Drives me blinking nuts. I really don't have time for it.

A meeting. I run a steering committee because no-one else will. It's a favour, it's certainly not my job. I keep it together and report on progress monthly. Usually it's OK. however, i watch two grown men argue. Now, I don't mean a difference of opinion and we move on. I mean actual yelling and screaming where they were goading each other. There was a very senior guy there and rather than being supportive and suggestive on how to resolve the issues he was actively irritating the other guy. It was PATHETIC. Now I'm Ok with, as is Mary Ann the project manager. Jen, the manager who works for me was freaked out. I have to say it was so unprofessional. There are also other things here I can't talk about because of work sensitivities, but that also annoyed me. A question of ethics. I've escalated that so hopefully it'll sort itself out.

Next. My team. They are sooooooooooo freaking whiny and needy. I know they like to get face time, but really - with half the stuff they could handle it themselves. It's not that I mind really, but I have so many meetings and stuff i really can't handle it. I can't find a way to give them what they need. I have started getting way more involved in specific projects and it means I end up taking way too many actions and trying to be a good role model by writing it down. Oh well, I guess it'll get better.

My friend Mary Ann got me out of the down I was feeling. We had a cocktail and chinese last night. That really helped.

Today was awesome - I got caught up (almost), my massage was fabulous (did I tell you Wesley is amazingly brilliant) and I enjoyed being home.

Tomorrow is another day....

Are you hot?

You Play it Cool

You're not in your face, smokin' hot... and it's all by design You have a carefully crafted cool persona, leaving everyone wanting to know just a little more.

Are You Hot?

The weekend

So, Trev got stranded in Chicago, although I picked him up yesterday morning. We were supposed to go into Manhattan to see our friend Mary Ann for St Patricks Day but after all the snow it was a sea of water as people aren't so hot at clearing the pathways. Anyway, after my mammouth trip to the gym we decided to go and see our neighbours instead. Mary Ann was so happy by the time I called, that I didn't feel bad blowing her off - although I'm sure she'll be really mad at me.

So weekends are turning into a mammouth keep-fit time for me. Saturday I did a little cardio (10mins), then 60mins with Billy followed by 60 mins in the Pilates class. Sunday I do yoga for over an hour. I have to say I am hurting today, big time. it's good for me though, right?

We're still putting together the plans for Jamaica. Earlier in the week I was so excited, but then I kept reading about the island it sounds none too safe. That said, the even more I read my decision was reversed. I cannot possibly afford the bestest hotel in the world for everyone, so this seems to be as good as it'll get. Having our own villa should be fun, especially if the staff are nice. I think we'll go for it. Mum and Dad are coming to NY early so they can hang out here first so they should have fun too. Whooppee - another holiday - so much fun!

OK, I need to get some chores done....

Me

Can you cook? Yes, pretty well actually
What was your dream growing up? To be independent and not do the guy’s ironing (it came true, too!)
What talent do you wish you had? To speak another language fluently
Favorite place? My home
Favorite vegetable? Cauliflower
What was the last book you read? Richard North Patterson, Conviction
What zodiac sign are you? Leo
Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Both ears are pierced, no tattoos although have considered it
Worst Habit? My nails. It’s been a lifelong challenge to not bite them
What is your favorite sport? None – unless it’s in the bedroom:):)
Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude? Optimistic
What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator? Start talking, getting to know whoever was there. I would call for help on my cell first though!
Worst thing to ever happen to you? Getting divorced – it’s not something I had planned on doing in my lifetime
Tell me one weird fact about you. I write lefthanded, however everything else I do righthanded
Do you have any pets? no
Do you know how to do the Macarena? Only after a few beverages, and then only after a lot of guidance
What time is it where you are now? It’s 3.19pm and I’m sitting on my sofa
Do you think clowns are cute or scary? I think they’re stupid
If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? I want to be thin
What color eyes do you have? Blue
Ever been arrested? Yes
Bottle or Draft? Neither – give me a gin and tonic
If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it? Go on vacation and buy whatever gadget I’ve been hankering after
What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew? Dentine Ice, Lemon Mint
What's your favorite bar to hang at? Bar 41, Times Square
Do you believe in ghosts? I didn’t, until I heard Penny’s ghosts
Favorite thing to do in your spare time? Cook, surf the net, shop (on the net), hang out at home, and then there’s the gym (although that’s not a favourite!!)
Do you swear a lot? I try not to, but yes especially if I’m having a bad day
Biggest pet peeve? People chewing with their mouth open, talking with food in their mouth, or people doing that god-awful snorting noise when then need a tissue, or sniffing....in fact, I have a lot of pet peeves...
In one word, how would you describe yourself? Driven
what kind of pie do you like the very best? Apple and blackberry
Out of all "real jobs" in the world, what would be your dream job? Massage Therapy Tester
If you could live in any other city, which one would it be? I’m not really sure….although it’d be one with an ocean nearby

It's snowing...

OK, so two days ago I was in a t-shirt, no coat, it was beautiful and sunny and over 70 degrees. Today, it's 30 degrees and snowing.

It's been such a tough week. I've had too many meetings, not enough prep time and it's Friday already.

I did get a really bad eye infection this week - I didn't even notice until my boss said "what did you do to your eye?"....it looked like I'd had surgery it was so red. So, my colleagues in NYC have now seen me with glasses. I didn't realize that they never had until everyone was commenting...and there were even some people who didn't recognize me. Who knew...

It's St Patrick's Day tomorrow. While I'm doing my mammouth exercise routine (20mins cardio, 60 mins with Billy, 60 mins Pilates), we're then going into Manhattan to meet up with a friend for the afternoon, then we're coming back and our building is having a party. Should be a blast...I just hope that Sunday is a wash-out as we recover:)

Trev's away all next week - it's not often he goes away for all week so not sure what I'll do. I guess it's my time for catching up with work etc.

I'm still loving the fact I had a cleaner on Tuesday....made me realize what crap I was living in. Best $100 I've spent in a long time.

Oh yeah, and I've reserved the villa and hotel room in Jamaica. The challenge now is finding cheap flights from the UK.....that's this weekend's job.

Our first warm day

Today was lovely. It was 70 degrees. It's a shame it wasn't on a weekend day, but it was still wonderful to walk home and not be wrapped in scarves and hats. Beautiful.

I'm also enjoying my beautifully clean home...that I didn't do. My sheets are fresh, my towels washed, not a speck of dust in sight. The simple things make me happy.

Work is crazy. I'm feeling down again. While I like my team, I realize that my strengths are not in managing these people, but in delivering results. I've even figured out who's job I want:) That's the cool part. What I'm doing now is focusing on getting that done.

My bday is slowly approaching. I think we've figured out where we are going on vacation. www.clubambiance.com

We are hoping that Mum, Dad, Tim and the kids will all join us. Sooooo much fun. I'm excited. The plan now is to find flights from the UK in July that are not too expensive. Almost impossible.... we'll figure it out I'm sure.

Lara

Well, the time has come. I've been deliberating for ages and it's a waste of money but we've got a cleaner. Lara is awesome! While she doesn't speak English well (she's from Brazil), the quality of her cleaning is amazing. It was so wonderful to come home and find clean sheets on the bed, the floors polished, no dust, bathrooms are clean. I'm so happy!

Another subway observation

OK, so admittedly I've never had to raise a 3 year old, but sometimes it amazes me how stupid parents are. This afternoon on the train there was a woman, her 3 year old and her mum. The 3 year old was in a buggy covered in a clear cover (as it's really really cold). The train journey is about 15 mins, say 20mins with stops at the 5 stations. The little girls was great for about 10 minutes (which to them must feel like 3 hours), and then she was getting restless. The woman was talking to her mum, then they started playing a hide and seek game...but then she got really restless and wanted to get out. I think I would too quite honestly....

What in the world stops the mum thinking of this and making sure she has games, pens, or SOMETHING to keep the kid occupied.

I had to put up with screaming in my ear.

Weird - maybe I'm just the perfect parent:):):):):)

Fat and music

Strange title I know...but a few things since I've been back.

1. Jetlag. I flipping hate it. It's not so bad now but waking up at 4am each day drives me nuts. It's not like I'm not an early bird...but c'mon people, 4am? Means I want to sleep at 8. Yesterday was Trev's birthday and while he worked all day (and evening...), and had dinner booked at 8.15pm it was a CHALLENGE staying awake and not get grumpy. It was a lovely restaurant, and definitely one we'll return to.

2. I feel FAT. What was I thinking? I bought too much chocolate in England. I pay for a trainer, I go to the gym, and what do I do? Eat craploads of chocolate and sweets. It doesn't help that Trev has suddenly decided that he likes my old kid sweets (shrimps, bananas, minstrels etc) and that he keeps eating them. Hahaha - that just makes me eat more. I'm 2 sweets away from throwing the lot away, although I think I'm just going to store them on the highest shelf I can find. My willpower has disappeared. I need to find it - and fast. I'm determined to be thin by 40. Not long now....

3. Music. Got some new music that's awesome. Kaiser Chiefs, Justin Timberlake (don't laugh til you've listened), Fratellis, Daughtry (again, don't laugh). It's awesome. I'm still into the ipod...

Made it home

All good things come to an end - and it's now Tuesday morning at 4am. Oh yippee for jetlag:)

We drove to Gatwick, and it was not too bad. Slow going but I still got to the airport at 8.30am. It's always hard saying goodbye and walking away, and that never changes. Still, I had fun. Got checked in quickly but then the fun started. Now, I'm used to the security lines in America...but this was ridiculous. It was at least 1/4 mile long - no kidding. When I arrived I had 2 hours to get to the gate, I never even got to look at a shop in duty free, let alone buy anything. Never mind, I got to the plane on time, it took off and I landed more or less on time.

It's nice to be home. I love my home. Still gotta fix the blinds, and would have been nice if it'd been clean, but hey - Trev's here and we had a nice afternoon. I made it to about 9pm, so that's the reason I'm awake so damn early.

Yeah - let's get ready for work!

Trip to England - The End

It's the end already. So quick. Had a great time. I am looking forward to going home as well. The last set of pics.

Top: Dinner at my favourite restaurant (Baipo - it's Thai) with Diana, Charlie and Tim. We always do this when I'm in Ipswich...it's a tradition.

Middle: A trip to Maidstone to see family. Aunty Angela, Uncle Mike, Uncle Frank and Tim. We went out for lunch and had an afternoon by the river. It was lovely.

Bottom: We visited my cousin Emily in the evening, who's also in Maidstone. Chloe is 6 and Jack is 10 months. Isn't that a cute pic of Tim and Chloe?

There were only 2 sets of peeps I never got to see - Greg and Marian (Marian got sick) and Deb (don't know what happened).

Today was great - we cooked dinner at Mum and Dad's (fresh Trout..yum) and we even managed to create a diabetic dessert. Nice relaxation tonight with Tim. I should be sleeping, but can't be bothered. I'm off to pack - we leave at 6am tomorrow!

I have eaten and drunk so much this week I feel awful. So much so, I'm LOOKING FORWARD to going to the gym. Pilates Tuesday. I'm also seeing Billy twice (Weds and Fri) to make me feel better. We also have a party for Trev as it's his birthday on Wednesday. We'll have fun.

OK, really need to pack....

Trip to England - Part Deux

Can you believe it's Thursday already? Time has certainly flown. Some more pics for everyone.

1) Me, Terry, Fran, Tim - Terry, Trev and I used to work together in our last jobs in England. We've kept in touch over the years and they had Tim and I over to dinner.

2) Me and Jenny - she and I worked together way back before I was a manager (so a flipping long time ago). Tim and I went out with Jenny and Frankie for dinner.

3) Me and Amanda - she and I worked together in St Louis when I first joined the company.

Note: have you ever wondered why I'm always on the left of the picture?

So, it's been busy. Monday my friend Deb didn't contact me so we didn't hook up - I'm really sad about that, but hopefully we'll still find time for coffee at some point. Monday night Tim and I went out with Jenny and Frankie for Thai and did a lot of catching up., They're coming to NYC in April so we did a lot of planning for that.

Tuesday I drove to Braintree and went shopping with Amanda - well, we went into Marks and Sparks and then sat in a restaurant for several hours catching up. The last time we saw each other it was when she was in Chicago last summer.

Wednesday I hung out with Tim in the morning - checking out ITUNES and our list of new CDs etc and then in the afternoon I went to lunch with my friend Debbie (pic is on a previous post). Spent a lot of time comiserating about turning 40 this year. They're hoping to do an American trip this year too which will be fun.

Today I'm working....yippee (not). I've finished my meetings now and am waiting to be taken for a few beers. I'm meeting up with probably half a dozen people I've known over the past few years. I'm really looking forward to it.

Tomorrow I have nothing planned at all during the day - I'm assuming that I'll be with Mum and Dad, we'll have lunch, maybe shop a bit etc etc. In the evening Tim and I are meeting Diana and Charlie for dinner.

My darling husband mailed me my IPOD so now I feel much better. Who knew you could have withdrawal symptoms from a blinking MP3 player:)

On the eating front it's been awful - to the point where I emailed my trainer for more than a single session next week. I feel so out of shape. don't get me wrong, the chips, sausages and chocolate are fabulous - but there's so much of it and it's wonderful. However, mrs fat pants doesn't need any more excuses.

I will be thin for when I'm 40.