A Christmas Story

A Christmas Story

'Twas the night before Christmas--Old Santa was pissed.
He cussed out the elves and threw down his list.
Miserable little brats, ungrateful little jerks.
I have a good mind to scrap the whole works!

I've busted my ass for damn near a year,
Instead of 'Thanks Santa'--what do I hear?
The old lady bitches cause I work late at night.
The elves want more money--The reindeer all fight.

Rudolph got drunk and goosed all the maids.
Donner is pregnant and Vixen has AIDS.
And just when I thought that things would get better
Those assholes from the IRS sent me a letter,
They say I owe taxes--if that ain't damn funny
Who the hell ever sent Santa Claus any money?

And the kids these days--they all are the pits
They want the impossible--Those mean little shits
I spent a whole year making wagons and sleds
Assembling dolls...Their arms, legs and heads
I made a ton of yo yo's--No request for them,
They want computers and robots...they think - I'm IBM!

Flying through the air...dodging the trees
Falling down chimneys and skinning my knees
I'm quitting this job there's just no enjoyment
I'll sit on my fat ass and draw unemployment.

There's no Christmas this year now you know the reason,
I found me a blonde. I'm going SOUTH for the season

Nope, I'm not the author. Got it in my mailbox today

Krampus

Jackalicious brought up Krampus. What is Krampus? It sure isn't what some females experience every month.

Krampus as explained in Wikipedia is not as good as the one I found courtesy of krampus.com

"Once upon a time, Santa punished bad children as well as rewarded the good -- using his famous 'naughty or nice' list. But in recent years Mr. Claus, the American visionary who grew his local Manhattan service into a vast global franchise, seems to have forgotten his punishment duties.

In parts of Europe, where goodly Saint Nicolas bring the winter gifts, punishment continues to be of the fun -- in the form or a dark assistant, a mysterious figure known b many names: Knecht Ruprecht, Perchten, Pelznickel, Black Peter, Klaubauf, and Krampus.

(Unthinkable as it may be, Santa and the Devil descended from the same horned deity who roamed the forests of prehistoric Europe -- only later to be deemed evil and called Old Nick, Satan and Krampus.)

In Austria and the EU, Krampusnacht, Night of Krampus, is observed on the eve of St. Nicholas' Day (December 6). A cross of Halloween and Xmas, revelers honor Krampus by mumming (frightening innocents with masks and garb of devils and witches), carousing, fire-dancing and other recreations. Krampusnacht is part of the Saturnalian Revival rapidly gaining celebration in America and around the world.

Krampus devotees find inspiration in early 20th century holiday cards from Austria and nearly countries which range from comical to truly terrifying. See the cards!"

This brings to mind Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack Skellington, anyone?. I did find another website about another movie?

If you want to read more about Krampus, Clay Risen has written a pretty good article (published 12/4/2002).

Lots of interesting stuff out there. Just Google "Krampus" and have run reading and looking at pics.

You do know that Santa misspelled can become Satan .

Subway Pole Dancing

I got this in my email this morning. As soon as I saw the words "Pole Dancing", I thought of PM

Just another thing you might find in the city that never sleeps, New York City. Now these ladies would not have been able to this during rush hour as it's like a sardine can. Yes, the subway cars are like a jungle gym

Eric Grohe

I pointed you to the art of Scott Wade and Julian Beever.

I'm presenting you the art of Eric Grohe.

Pointy likes forwarding all the fun and sometimes not so fun emails to her siblings. One of the emails contain Eric's work. It had before and after pictures and just the name Eric. What!!!! No last name.

Thank goodness the search engine could handle three words "Eric murals 3d". Eric Grohe's website was the first entry. Check out his "Projects" and get blown away.

Some Videos

Videos that I've been sent...

Ballet - Still Beautiful Even with Handicaps

DUI - Gotcha

Hard Day

Best to Live With What You Got

http://view.break.com/409510

Coffee Cup Holder

Coffee Cup Holder

Women in Film

glumbert - Women in Film

F Bomb

Oh, my sensitive ears. I can handle hearing "shit" now and then and even one or two F this and that. However, when f*** is said every two or three words, that is just over the top. And in an office environment I've been working for nearly 30 years (oh wow! -- ok, take away 2 or 3 years) and have never come across this much language abuse.

Am I from the old school? I remember the early years when I first joined the workforce my co-workers could only get a "darn" or "drat" out of me. The bad language from my co-workers did not come out until after 5pm. I don't think I started using "damn" and "shit" until 10 years later. The F didn't come out until 5 years later after that. If it does come out now, it's a soft one and usually to myself or to Pointy.

I get the pleasure of sitting next to this guy and that is the way he talks. Every second to third word is f***. Thank goodness he is not in all the time. When people stop in his cube, they start talking like him -- f this and f that. When he's not around, they do not talk like that all. Professionalism goes downhill when he's around. If he was young, I would excuse it, but he's not. He's about my age. We are in open cubicles and everyone can hear your conversation if you talk in a normal tone. I share my cube with a co-worker. When the guy is in and starts on his F conversation, I look at my co-worker and we both shake our head.

This kind of language is totally unprofessional. I would understand if you were upset and that's just the way you express yourself. Definitely, not day-to-day business conversation. You cannot be cursing when you don't know when management will appear or when clients are around. It's a very good way to loose clients and not get promoted. But then again, the foul mouth person might get promoted while you act professionally.

I grin and bear it when "shit" and f*** becomes prevalent in today's informal discussions. When did this become the norm? Is it really necessary? Are we too lazy to find different words to express ourselves?

Jon & Kate Plus 8

I was surfing the channels looking for something to watch or act as background noise around 7pm last night. Jon & Kate Plus 8 on TLC (The Learning Channel) caught my eye. It must have been marathon night for this show as there was a new one (at least to me) every half hour. Forget about surfing the internet or reading a book, I was hooked. I watched them all until bed time which was the time they started to repeat the episodes.

This is about a family with a set of twins and a set of sextuplets. The twins, girls, are 6 years old. The sextuplets, 3 boys and 3 girls, are 3 years old. I caught the episode where they celebrated the 6 kids birthday. They had a carnival party.

The dad is an IT analyst and the mom quit nursing to stay with the kids full time. Since the life and times of this family is being documented, I guess they are not dealing with any hardship in raising 8 kids (e.g., food, toys, clothes). The couple has some great friends and relatives to pitch in when baby sitting or extra hands are needed. It's fun to watch the parents and the kids all interact. You get to see how the family deals with an amusement park, stroller to walking transition (donut leash), Mother's Day, visiting a farm, boy's haircuts, 1st dentist for the sextuplets/cavities for the twins, girls on a trip/boys stay home, couple's only trip.

After spending 1 1/2 hours in the car with my 4 year old nephew who was either snoring (loud) or non-stop talking (I prefer the snoring), I give lots and lots of kudoos to the mom who gets to spend 24/7 with the eight kids.

Wintuk

The family, 12 adults and kids, went to see Wintuk by Cirque du Soleil at Madison Square Garden in New York City. No, there's no big blue/yellow big top in NYC nor inside Madison Square Garden. Like CdS shows in Las Vegas, there's a theatre environment for this show. This is the first year and supposedly it will come back each winter.

The show is about a little boy who wants to see snow. Until the boy gets his wish, we see bikers do unexpected feats, roller skaters, juggling complexity with 7 pink balls, huge puppets, not your day-to-day hula hooping, jump rope, rag doll, two acrobats with silver bouncy balls, two ladies with aerial rope, group with flexible poles, tight (not really tight) rope act and other acts. Besides the boy getting his snow wish, the audience did to.

Even though I missed the first 10 minutes (unexpected traffic problems and Mom was running late) and based on all the other CdS shows I've had to pleasure to see, this was my least favorite. The kids and the adults that have not seen a CdS show enjoyed it. This was more for the kids than the adults.

Professional Organization Recommendations

I joined one because it has some great resources that I need when I need it. Like all things you join, you get on a mailing list for updates. As these updates are not high priority reads, they go into the "To Read Email Pile And May Get Deleted If It's There Too Long". I decided to open the latest one instead of just letting it grow mold. It's book recommendations and some of it tickles my funny bone. I generally don't read any additional work material than I need to, but I might hunt some of them down if I remember when I'm at the library.

HRs Best Sellers:

A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell: Drawing from real-life stories, this helpful and humorous guide provides readers with practical advice for handling a wide range of difficult types.

Eat That Frog: is a high content fast-read that synthesizes and distills the very best ideas and insights on time management into 21 logical, immediately applicable steps.

180 Ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm: gives you 180 morale-boosting ideas to help you bring more caring, communication, respect and appreciation to the workplace.

Working with You Is Killing Me: This is an authoritative manual that provides valuable insights for turning conflicts in the workplace into productive working relationships.

Crucial Conversations: offers readers a proven 7-point strategy for achieving their goals in all those emotionally, psychologically, or legally charged situations that can arise in their professional and personal lives. The authors of this book also have this as a training course. My work thought we would all benefit from this. I took it. It's an okay course. Some of it I do already. Some of it you really need to practice. Some of it you need to be brave enough to confront. So I actually own a copy of this book and it's nifty extras. Have I opened it since I return from the course? Nope.

Featured books this week:

Snakes in Suits

My Secret Life on the McJob

Internet Explorer vs. Firefox

My primary computer uses Internet Explorer 6. As the 'puter is not mine, I'm not permitted to put any other surfin' software -- not even MicroSoft's brand spanking IE 7. I've done all my MySpace decorating using this 'puter. If I say so myself, it looks beautiful to me. I'm very proud of myself.

I just saw my page using my sister's 'puter who happens to use Firefox. It's so yucky. My own Contact Table and Extended Network replacements are not showing. The changes I made to About Me and Interests are missing. The new table entry I added is smashing into My Friends. Plus, the Friends Comment box is smaller here than it is when viewed through IE.

To my friends who do not use IE, I apologize for the mess you see. I guess my next adventure is to see how to adjust my code so it's at least decent from a Firefox viewpoint. I'm going to be dual 'puter for a bit.

*AARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH*

Macy*s Thanksgiving Parade

Thursday weather was great for going to see the Macy*s Thanksgiving Parade live and in person. Weather is really odd since there was snow on Monday and Thursday it was going to be in the low 60's. The rain held off until after the parade.

The plan was to get up early on Thursday to head into the city to get a great spot. Well, my sister and her two little ones were going to join us but had to decline as they were still running amok at 11:30pm -- waaayyyy past their bedtime.

Got up 5:20am. Waited to see if Pointy was going to say "I don't want to get up." Got out of the house a little after 6am. Came out of the tunnel at 6:30am. Got a parking space at 6:45am *crossing fingers that parking restrictions were lifted for the holiday* Scoped out B'way between 55the and 56th. Got a corner but the cops said we could no longer stand there because of the traffic light overhead. They had a fear about the light collapsing on heads if a balloon accidentally hits the pole.

We wound up about the same spot we had three years ago. Parade got to our spot on the route at 9:24am. It finished at 11:00am.

We did see the following but don't know who they are: Anika Noni Rose, Ashley Tinsdale, Corbin Bleu, Good Charlotte, Lifehouse, Kay Hanley, Lea Michele & Jonathan Groff from Spring Awakening so the people on some of the floats are nameless. If you know, drop me a line.

Click on Super Cute Hello Kitty or the Energizer Bunny if interested in checking out my photos, 97 of them, taken by both camera and phone *Pointy forgot to recharge battery in camera* from my perspective


Slideshow, where the picture may be bigger than your screen (at least mine)

Or, at your own pace and where the picture is smaller than your screen (at least mine)

The Client

Remember the one I love... well at the moment that is as each one has good and bad -- the client that is.

Well, I'm out in LA working in one of their subsidiaries to help them out. This is the second time I've visited this location. The office just blows my mind away.

It's not your normal brick and mortar building. I don't think there's a brick anywhere. They've taken a warehouse, you know like a Home Depot or wholesale club or even a Walmart. Using plywood and 2x4s, they've built their office walls and cubicles and bookshelves. You can see the duct work for the airconditioning. They have a sandy plot with some small trees. They have a car of two sitting inside, a highway billboard sitting atop one of the offices, two huge cardboard dogs placed in strategic spots at a 2nd floor level to stare down at you below. Surfboard counters for a coffee station. They've used other materials to cordon off areas -- chain link fence, joust boards, white parachute material. There's even a basketball court. You do not enter from a first floor door but walk up to a 2nd floor lobby offshoot to the main building. The lobby has two walkways to the main building -- one descends to the bottom/1st floor and the other walkway acts as a bridge to the 2nd level.

You may have read about an office or two that is kind of laid out like this -- Microsoft, Pixar, Google, Yahoo. I just never thought I would get to experience one. Got to get the creative juices going to get the next great idea which will be the moneymaker for the company.

Oh, this location permits employees to bring in their well-behaved dogs to work. This is the 2nd client I've worked at that allows this. So far, I've not seen anyone bring in their cats.

Unlike the main location I work at, this one does not provide free lunch. They offer free each morning a breakfast item -- today was a variety of bagel. Tomorrow may be sliced fruit.

Mish Mash

I was suppose to post this on Thursday -- better late than never. And the drive home was great. Great colors though it got dark too quickly.

*****

I could not settle on one thing to blog, so it's a brain dump.

I totally enjoyed the drive to work today. It could be that it's my Friday. But then again, I think the fall foliage added to the enjoyment. I don't know if the lower Connecticut area is peak or past peak for fall foliage, but the colors sure are beautiful. There's a nice range of trees so you can see all the autumnal colors. It could have been a whole lot better if the sun was shining instead of it being overcast. Still, it is beautiful anyway. I can't wait for this afternoon when I make the extended drive home. I wonder what the colors will be like as I go a bit further south. Hopefully just as PREETTTTTYYYYY!

I like this client I'm at. Even though they are demanding and feel that the system we are implementing for them should do everything they expect it because that's the way it should work, I still like them. They are a fun group to work with. They feed me. That's right. They bring lunch in everyday for their associates as there really is nowhere close by. There's been good meals and so-so meals. They also provide breakfast, snacks and beverages. All FREEEEE!

Whether the person likes it or not, I've decided not to deposit a check. I'm a plastic woman, 99% bank transactions are done electronically and Pointy is my ATM when I have to have cash. I really have no reason to go into a brick and mortar bank. I use to have Pointy deposit my checks because I did not have a branch near me. That's no longer true and I try to do it myself; less imposition on Pointy. I guess I'm just too lazy this time around or time just runs away with me each day. I'm going to make myself very happy by not cashing the check *VBG*. Pay it FORWARD

Feeling Sucky

I've been fine. No problems. I don't know whether it's a cold coming on or allergies. Walked into client office this morning and WHAM! I've been sneezing and blowing my nose all day.

Client was nice enough to put a box of tissue in all the cubes. It's KLEENEX Anti-Viral tissue.

"Kills 99.9% of Cold and Flu Viruses. Because cold and flu viruses are often spread by hand contact, KLEENEX Brand had developed a tissue for your whole family. KLEENEX Anti-Viral* tissue has three soft layers, including a moisture-activated middle layer that kills 99.9% of cold and flu viruses in the tissue within 15 minutes. This product has bnot been tested against bacteria fungi or other viruses."

It goes on with Directions for Use, Virucidal Against, and Storage and Disposal information. It also contains an Active Ingredients list.

I don't know how much of this hype really works. I'm just glad I have a box of tissues. Otherwise, it means going in search of a box in the office or getting into a car and finding a place to buy a box or heading back to the hotel to swipe a box. Tissue, the softer the better -- Puffs, anyone -- is very important. The last resort... swipe roll of toilet tissue from the bathroom.

Oh, one more thing. It must be my age because my lower back hurts. I'm fine if I'm sitting down but the back tells me something else when I get up. (I can hear someone say, "Don't get up.")

RUNNY NOSE, ACHY BACK... SUCKS TO ME

Civic Duty

I've been meaning to write this since Thursday. I got to get it out of my head.

My civic duty was to assist in the legal system -- yes, jury duty. I was called to serve in a pool of petit jurors Thursday and Friday. I was hoping that what happened three years ago would occur again. Alas, it did not. The after-hours call the day before said all jurors have to report the next day.

I thought I left the house in plenty of time, but construction and poor signage for juror parking and no crochet hooks permitted in the building made me 10 minutes late. I did not feel bad as jurors were still coming in half an hour later.

We had a very interesting coordinator who lay down the ground work. 'P' (some P name) told us the 10-minute video was shortened due to comments from past jurors. It use to be 25 minutes. One comment was "my neighbor snored and slobbered through the whole thing" . Completed comments forms will be read by Trenton. Improvements will be made whenever possible to make the jury duty process more bearable.

Other funnies from 'P', no soap operas on TVs as they had to break up a fight between two ladies. No trial shows, like Judge Judy, as the judges do not want to hear it. Cell phones can only be answered in the elevator lobbies as rubber trash cans are provided for the ones who want to kick the sh*t out of them. Sherifs will let you know when enough is enough. The coffee and tea is complimentary. As explained by ex-juror, it's not free if our tax dollars are paying for it. If you have any complaints about the process, please tell it to the judge and not the juror control staff.

The waiting area was actually pretty nice. I think we were a group of about 75. 'P' called us smalled as they had 200 awhile back. We were able to spread out across two large rooms which had a walled off area for couches, two viewing areas for TVs, and an area with desks/tables. As I decided to let the crowd around the coffee/tea thin out, I think I got the last cup of complimentary coffee.

I got called in the first group. It was a criminal case to be heard over 2 1/2 days starting next Tuesday afternoon, projected to finish Thursday. Well, there goes work for next week. They started the jury selection process yesterday and needed to filled it up with our group. I got chosen for Chair 9. The judge had to fill 14 chairs -- 12 jurors and 2 alternates. After two and half hours, we got all the chairs filled at 11:25 am. The judge gave us a 20 minute break and wanted us back at 11:45 am. As it was so close to lunchtime, I wondered how much the judge was going to have us do before giving us our lunch break.

It must have been my day. The selected 14 gathered back in our jury room while waiting for all participants to show up in the courtroom. We got called to take our seats. The judge was nice to inform us that our services were no longer needed as the parties settled. "Thank you for your service. You are dismissed. You only need to report back to juror control if you need your parking ticket validated" At the end of the day, I'm glad I was selected and not dismissed. I served my one trial and was free to go. The dismissed went back to the juror pool and wait.

Our judge had to report two missing jurors back to juror control coordinator. I think they are going to be in trouble.

Oh, I found a fellow juror reading Sherrilyn Kenyon's Devil May Cry. It was her first book and she will be looking for the others

I will be get a $5 check for doing my civic duty today. I would not have minded hearing this case as it will be a first time experience. It would not have been a terrible hardship for me to miss work.

David Copperfield

I love David Copperfield. My sister sent me an act she got. So I went looking, guess where, in YouTube for this act. I found it and more.

Underwear (my sis sent me this one)


Voyeur


Slow Motion Duck


Tides

Okay, how did he do this?

I hope to one day catch his show live. Otherwise, I wish he would do another TV special.

Got the Right Card

I finally got the right SD card for my phone. It's not the mini but the micro one. Buy.com had a great deal for a 2 gig card and USB gadget so I can read it from my 'puter.

Now, I can off load the pictures I took from my phone. The phone actually takes some great pictures if only the operator does not shake I generally don't agree with all the stuff one can now do with a phone, but the camera is a great idea. I don't have to remember to bring a camera with me. With the 2G SD card, I can take as many photos as I can. I have not tried taking videos yet. One of these days.

Maybe I'll put a couple of songs on the phone. Nah, that's what my MP3 is for. Though if I forgot the MP3, I would be tuneless. Nope, I won't do it.

At Last, Disneyland

I finally had to do it. I missed Disneyland so much. In the prior years, I would visit the place at least 5 times a year.

It was destiny. The moons were aligned. I could not fly on client's dime so Continental had a great deal. My work schedule even accomodated my visit.

I flew out early Saturday morning, Sept 15, got upgraded to First Class, enjoyed a great breakfast and landed in Los Angeles 10am. I got my rental car and headed straight to Disneyland. I met my friend and her 4 year old grandson. We rode Space Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Plan's Flight, and Pirates of the Caribbean. After returning the kid to his Daddy, we hit Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, had dinner at Cafe Orleans and ended our day with "Remember... Dreams Come True" Fireworks.

On Sunday, after a bit of shopping, I headed back to the park. I did a bit more shopping I picked up all the pins I've missed for the last several months. My poor credit card I tried to catch the Disney's Aladdin (a musical show) at Disney's California Adventure (DCA) park, but they only had seats in the balcony. I didn't want to sit there because you miss some stuff. Instead, I checked out Disney's candy corn decor (see pictures) -- very cute. I headed back to Disneyland and caught Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. I had dinner at the French Market (yummy fried chicken). I then got my spot for Fantasmic. It was very handy to have my PDA and MP3 so I able to entertain myself for 2 hours before the show started. It's a ritual at the park to stake out your place. There are no more good spots an hour before the show.

Monday arrives and it's my last day here. I got up at 6am so I could be in the same time zone as my colleagues on the East Coast. I finished up work at 4pm. Guess what? I headed back to the park. LOL No worries. I'm an annual passholder and can go in and out as many times as I want. I caught High School Musical 2: School's Out at DCA and found additional candy corns that I missed. At DLR, I caught Billy Hill and the Hillbillies again. I ended my trip with Parade of Dreams. Then off to the airport to catch my redeye flight to home.

Now I got to plan my next trip. Definitely have to head back there in December for their Christmas decor.

Fallen...But Not Forgotten

I really started thinking about of this day yesterday when I looked at my bookmark. I grabbed a bookmark and slipped it into one of the several books that I threw into my suitcase for this week.

Well I pulled the book I was going to read first and noticed the bookmark for the first time last night. It happens to have a picture of what the area looks like now, but reflecting in the river is the Twin Towers. The backdrop for both pictures is a flag. It says "FALLEN... ...BUT NOT FORGOTTEN". Very odd that I picked up this bookmark to take with me.

This day holds many memories... tis my oldest sis' birthday. I've worked right across the street from the Twin Towers for many years. I worked for one of the World Financial Center companies for 12 years. I walked through one of the Towers to cross the overhead bridge to get to my office. I saw the automatic window washers move up and down on the Towers. Yes, I've even rode the elevators to visit some of the offices there. I always thought that the complex will always be there. I will one day visit the Observation Deck and eat at Windows on the World. The things we take for granted.

I knew what the newscasters were saying as they reported about the area. It was my backyard for many years. My parents, now just Mom, still lived in Chinatown. Majority of my siblings worked in Manhattan. As the city came to a stand still and trying to figure out what's happening, family came thru to ensure everyone had a place to stay. I discovered later on that my sister-in-law was just a block away.

My company did work for one of the company's that had one of the highest lost ratio. We worried that we may have had consultants still there. I learned later on that an ex-company president had just left the Tower after a sales meeting.

I will remember the fellow consultants I was with when we first got the news that something hit the first tower -- we were in Charlotte, North Carolina on assignment. Our whole group and lots of company employees watched the whole thing transpire on a big screen in the cafeteria.

On this day, the United States air travel came to a stand still. While I and some others stayed in Charlotte because we could not get home for the weekend, the others came up with a game plan to get home. I think it was a one car drive from Charlotte NC to Houston TX with stops in Atlanta, New Orleans and Dallas.

I saw, read and heard of many stories of people helping each other. Some had happy endings and many around the tragic sites did not. Yes.... sadly.... thoughtfully....

FALLEN... BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Computers and Me

I use to have personal computers. Yes, computers. Not all at the same time.

My first one was an Atari 2600 (not sure about the numbers). I mainly brought it for the games and visions of learning basic. I still have this computer with it's peripherials.

The second one was an Apple IIfx. This was the largest expenditure I had after the mortgage. Several years later, my first car became the largest expenditure. The Apple is still in the family. My bro has it, and I think he has plans to take it apart after he finishes renovating the house.

At about the time I got the IIfx, my employer started giving me a portable computer so I can monitor and troubleshoot system problems after hours. It was the size of a portable Singer sewing machine. When the PC became more powerful, employer decided to give me one for home -- desktop with dot matrix printer.

When I became a consultant, my employer provided me with a laptop. Since I was on the road constantly, I did everything on the laptop -- work and personal stuff.

At some point, I did buy a desktop -- a Compaq Presario. I did not spend much time on it because of the laptop. Too much hassle moving stuff back and forth between the two machines. When my niece said she needed a pc, I gave it to her and brought myself a newer desktop -- Dell with the latest available processor. My oldest sister finally became a homeowner and needed a pc to do whatever. So I gave her the Dell. It was sitting in my home office gathering dust. I still had my work lappy. I heard through the grapevine that she may have passed this pc onto my niece cause the Compaq died.

Well, the work laptop was not feeling well last week and I sent it to Doc IT for fixing. The laptop came back.

I cannot run my IM software (Trillian) on the lappy. Darn employer has put a locked down on software they frown upon. So now I cannot talk to anyone via the lappy when I'm on the road The cheapest form of communication when you have an internet connection.

I'm loading back software slowly and hope there are no others that are being prohibited. It might come down to buying my own personal something again. Most likely a laptop, but I don't look forward to carry two laptops with me when I'm on the road.

Oh, well, gotta see what happens. Almost to the point I want to retire. If I only won the $330 million lottery.

Kidnapped Pointy's Laptop

Yes, I really did kidnap Pointy's Laptop. I had to. My laptop which I desparately need for work was not coming back to me until midmorning Tuesday. *argh darn PM* gave me deadlines that I had to meet over the weekend and next couple of days. I could not afford to wait for my laptop to return.

You know. Pointy would still have a laptop this week (yes, it's with me until I return on Thursday) if they would just give me a new laptop. I would have gotten it back on Saturday. But no, I'm getting the same model I've had for the last three years. They have all the parts and just need to put something together. IT Docs had no problem moving my stuff to new harddrive with new software. *LOL* they got stumped by the wireless hardware. All the IT staff could not figure out why the wireless did not want to play in the same park.

I was crossing my fingers that they would not figure it out today and have to give me a brand new laptop. Alas, I got the call that my "new" old laptop is coming back to me via Priority Overnight.

And I'm typing this on the kidnapped laptop. *LOL* Thank goodness Pointy is so understanding. I spoke to her before stuffing it in the bag and we wondered what she use to do each night when she did not have one. *scratching our heads* don't know.

Sin, Sin, Sin

I read a blog from the author Mary Stella who said you get higher traffic on your blog if you talk about Sin. Wait second... rewind... now that I think about it. It's sex and not sin.

This is a very good time to talk about Sin. The Dark-Hunter named Sin that is. I can't wait until his book comes out -- 5 more days. Tuesday, August 7 cannot get here fast enough.

....and I get to meet Sin's creator *keeping my fingers crossed* Sherrilyn Kenyon Tuesday night. She will be autographing Sin's book, Devil May Cry at Menlo Park Mall in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

I've dedicated my MySpace Profile layout to Sin. Don't you just love that mug. If you interested in getting a similar MySpace layout, you can go to this page. I've put together a MySpace layout for Sin.

Enjoy!!!!

Maytag Repairman

The Maytag Repairman, the guy in the blue uniform who winds up fixing other things because his company's appliances do not break, does not exist. Really, he does not exist. My news program proved it.

The newsperson reported about two individuals who had problems with a microwave and a refrigerator and the trials and tribulations in trying to get them fixed. Both appliances were still under warranty. Everytime they called for a repairperson they got a subcontractor.

They did not get any satisfaction until they called the newsperson. One got a new refridgerator by Whirlpool and a new GE microwave. The microwave was courtesy of Home Depot where the lady originally purchased the first microwave. Whirlpool is the parent company of Maytag.

The newsperson called Whirlpool and asked if where there were Maytag repair people. Company's response... they subcontract repair services. They do not have any repair service people. What a scam!?! That is what I call false advertisment. Whirlpool must have gotten rid of all of them when they absorbed the Maytag brand.

Blog Snoopers

Yep, thar be blog snoopers out there. I did an experiment yesterday. I took my profile out of privacy mode.

30 people read my blog yesterday. I can subtract my 3 regulars as they are subscribers. 27 strangers read my blog *slap hands to cheek*.

I guess there are people out there who just spend their days reading about the lives of others. I wonder what the person gets out of my blog.

Oh well, no more adding spice, if any, to their life. My profile has gone back into privacy mode. Oh wait, I know *looks down at blog options*. I'm going to set some of my blogs to "friends only". This way my profile is still public. That's what I'm going to do. Gonna to drive some blog readers crazy *evil grin*

Toilets Finally Fixed

Yes, both toilets are finally fixed. I fixed one and the other one magically fixed itself.

The powder room toilet I had to fixed myself. I finally did it after several tries -- darn flapper and chain. I even read a book in there while doing it Well, I had to pass time somehow after each flush while the tank filled up again.

Pointy came running downstairs on Saturday screaming "My toilet flushes!" I looked at her and she said, "Really". I guess flushing it everyday finally did soften whatever was stuck. If not, I was going to make a trip one weekend up to Bro to pickup the extra snake he had. I did buy another plunger, but it did not help because there was not a proper seal to create vacuum. Pointy was so happy. She called Bro to give him the great news. I told Pointy not to use it yet for the weekend and to keep flushing for awhile. She can't wait to clean it and to use it.

This leaves one last major thing to do -- get the fridge back to its home

Were in the Office

I dug up a tiger. He was just hanging around. Really, it was hanging from a picture frame off one of my shelves. The picture was just stuck into the exterior frame. I thought I would share.

This was taken at EPCOT Imagineering where KODAK provided a whole series of photo stations in 2002. You take your picture and then combine it with a whole bunch of other images. When done, you can email it to family and friends who are not with you. If I remember correctly, it also sends you a copy so you have a keepsake.

I need to hunt for the one with BEE in it. I think she chose a monkey. It was real cute. There are a couple of other pictures from the 2002 trip that are fun. Maybe they will pop up in my travels through piles of paper.

I was back at EPCOT in September 2006. They have a whole new set of photo equipment.

Yes, that is my face on there. I did not know what was going to be done with my face. I chose a tiger. Why? In the Chinese zodiac, I was born in the year of the tiger.

Hey, notice my glasses :D In human form, I'm in disguise with glasses like Clark Kent.

Given my love of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Hunter Legends, it made me think of were-tigers LOL. I could be a cousin to Wren ;)

Paper, Peanuts, Bubbles or Air Sacks

Did you figure out what paper, peanuts, bubbles and air sacks have in common?

The Fedex Man dropped off a box full of TimTams (yum yum yum) today. It also came with peanuts as extraneous packing material. This was the second box I got in the past week with peanuts. I also got a box last week that I finally opened and knew it will have paper as the packing material. It just got me thinking about the packing materials that are used.

Some companies, like Disney, has started to use paper, the stuff that comes on rolls, as packing material. Bubbles are either mini or large, the bubble wrap. Companies use it to protect delicate stuff (yeah, Disney uses this, too). Peanuts, of course, are those styroform stuff in many shapes like pasta that goes all over the place if you don't open the box properly. They are also very clingy items. Air sacks are humongous plaqstic sacks that contain air, like bubbles :D

I don't know which I like. They all create a lot of extra trash. Though I don't throw majority of it out. I recycle what I can.

I use to have bags and bags and bags of peanuts. It's funny because I open a closet that I don't use often in the basement. It seems my mom on one of her visits decided to organize my basement. She threw all the bags into the closet. I went in there looking for something. Darn, there were lots of bags to take out. I finally got rid of them by dropping them off at my local packaging/shipping/mailbox store. They were more than happy to take them. This is a great way for you to recycle those darn peanuts if you're not saving them for yourself. Just find a local packing store.

The paper is also recycled, but what a pain to do as I have to straighten out long long long sheets of paper and fold them neatly so it can go with my paper recycle pile. Oh, many many moons ago I use to save the paper cause they came in pretty colors. Still have rolls. It will make pretty wrapping paper. And I did use it once. With a rubber stamp and ink, you can make your own wrapping paper.

The bubbles :) I pop some for stress relief -- these wind up in the trash bag. The unpopped ones get saved for when I need to mail stuff out -- I do the occasional sell on ebay. Boy do I have a lot saved. There are some bags of those in the closet, too.

I guess the air sacks are the least friendly as I pop them and then stuff them into the garbage. What else are you suppose to do with the air sacks. I'm not saving them.

What do you do with the packing material?

*VBG* New Toys

I love new toys. Pointy likes one of them.

When I was getting out of the dinosaur age and moving to DSL, my Bro said not to get wireless box as technology is not there yet to keep outsiders out of your stuff -- snoopers or people driving by looking for a connection. I got a wired DSL model and connected it to a hub so Pointy and I can be on at the same time. That means we're stuck in the living room and dining room. I always wanted to wire upstairs but that means pulling cable or running long wire all the way upstairs (not very good look). I solved my problem. I came across a Linksys system that uses some kind of signal. Plug one box into the hub. Plug the other box into your computer. Your computer can be anywhere in the house. Pointy loved it this Friday as she was able to do work-work in the kitchen. This is one toy. Good toy because I can go upstairs now.

My other toy came today. I'm all hooked and playing with it. It's a Graphire (the 4x5 one). It's a pen, mouse and tablet combo. It also comes with Adobe PhotoShop Elements 3.0, Corel Painter Essentials and Nik Color Efex Pro. Now, I can upgrade my Elements. Can't wait to see what I can do graphically with this. *rubbing hands together* Need to see if I can sneak in time between work. Oh what FUN!

Netflix Catchup

I've been bad. Pointy said I had movies sitting since January. Even though Netflix does not charge a late fee, it's still a waste of money when movies are not watched and sent back on a timely manner. I have the $17.99 plan/3 at-a-time. Pointy also has a 3 at-a-time plan. She's better at watching her stuff. Well, we caught up on movies this weekend.

Norbit - The many personas of Eddie Murphy. It had funny moments here and there. If I remember correctly, Eddie played husband (Norbit), his bully wife (Rasputia) and his orphan home surrogate father (Mr. Wong). There were many scenes where husband and wife played side by side. In the special area, it explained that Eddie played each part a day and talked to a tennis ball.

Zathura - A very good movie dealing with two young brothers who do not get along as they are both dealing with recent parent divorce and are vying for father's attention. They find a game that takes them into outerspace and have to learn to deal with each other in order to get back to earth. It was a shame to watch a beautiful mission style house get destroyed.

Click - Adam Sandler tries to balance work/family life using a remote. Poor guy, what a way to learn what is important. There was a scene that reminded me about Norbit :D. I enjoyed it.

That's all folks. Still have 3 more to watch: Eragon, Hannibal Rising, and Freedom Writers. Maybe next weekend. But three more movies will arrive. What a viscous cycle :D

Wishing Well

I came across these two photos in shoveling out my office. You can click on the pictures to see larger images.

One of the items found at a bridal shower is a wishing well. I looked at renting one but they were all so frilly looking and just did not look like a wishing well -- thinking Snow White at her well. Did I really want to spend the time and money picking it up, getting it to the party and then returning it again? No. How hard could it be to make one myself?

Yep, I built me a wishing well. The neat thing about this creation, the bride-to-be was able to use the innards. The well and roof is a plastic clothes hamper. The rods are from the broom and dust shovel combo. A bit small but I found a citronella candle in a pail. Poster boards (red and black I think), garbage bag, paper towel cardboard tubes, napkins, ivy, paint, sponge brushes, glue stick, wire/string and some ladybugs later... TA DA... a wishing well.

I look back on this picture which is about 7 years old and feel good about myself. I'm not the artistic one in my family. That goes to my Bro and other sisters. If I remember correctly, I was not too happy with it when it was done. As they say, your worse critic is yourself. It came out good *big smile*. Pointy says I'm crafty *blushes*. I especially like the ladybugs.

And here's what it looks like filled up. It's not as deep as you think it is. I think I stuffed a box at the bottom for the dust shovel to rest on as the pole is only so long. I did not want anyone to fall into the well to reach the gifts that could have fallen to the bottom of the well.

The bride-to-be, my SIL, was very happy. When I visit their home, I come across the hamper. I don't think I've seen the broom/shovel.

Unknown Caller

I've been meaning to write this blog for the last several days. Since my bro got me up at 5:30am this morning to drive him into the city (NYC) to fix his car that broke down two days ago and I'm still up, I might as well get this one done. Pointy keeps asking me did I do it.

"Unknown Caller" is what comes up on the home phone caller id. We don't answer the phone if we don't know who it is.

I've been working from home for the last two weeks. Like an alarm clock, this unknown caller rings once in the morning and again in the afternoon. If it really is important, you should leave a message. Oh no, it rings and rings and rings until the answering machine picks up and UC hangs up.

I got fed up on Wednesday afternoon. I answered the phone and put UC on speakerphone. I did not say a word. I had Paula Dean from Food Network on. UC can be entertained by Paula. I kept on hearing UC asking for me UC finally hangs up.

Thursday morning. I'm on my laptop. I'm streaming Z100 radio station. UC calls. answer the phone and put it right on top of my laptop speakers. I continue working. UC must have finally hung up because my phone tells me what to do if I want to make a call . UC calls again in the afternoon and do the same thing again.

It's Friday. No sign of UC. They must have finally gotten the message that this is not a worthwhile household to call

SOUTHNET is on the caller id. I don't know anything about Southnet. I think I'm going to give them the same treatment. They will either get silence, music or my fingers tapping on the keyboard.

My Tree

A friend planted two trees and name one after me. I don't know why, but it's funny as he added "Tree of Doooooom". He is very odd and I think his mom or dad, maybe both, dropped him on his head

I live in a condiminum complex of townhomes. The talk of the tree made me look at the one that I have out front. All the middle homes have some type of tree in front. Mine was pathetic looking when I moved in nearly a decade ago. Thin trunk, more branches on one side than the other, just enough leaves on it to call it a tree. I had the most ugly tree from all the others in my section.

I looked at it today. I have to say I have a very nice looking tree. It's really grown and is a lot fuller. Even Pointy said something about the tree. This tree can stand up and be proud next to all the other trees in my section.

In case you're wondering, it's a Northern Red Oak (had to search the 'net for my tree).

Water...Not Friendly in My Neck of the Woods

Pointy says it's a sign. The sign to move. I think not. I will conquer. I will win. I will not move whatever Pointy says. This will be the home I retire in.

THE WATER IS HARD. Never understood it until now.

I think it was two years ago I had to get my washing machine fixed. It washed clothes but it was leaking at the bottom. Thank goodness I had a pan underneath the machine and a drain hole in the middle -- good design by the architects. The repairman, not Maytag, said the hard water ate through one of the doohickeys. When he was done, he asked me with a straight face if I wanted an extended service waranty. Of course, I asked him if he was serious and what would he do. Next time the machine goes kerbonk, I'm going to buy a new one. The next repair will not be worth the labor.

The "chains" in all the toilets (3 of them) had to be all changed. The "chain" was plastic and snapped in one of them. As one had to be changed, mine as well changed them all. My BIL did the half bath and I took care of the ones upstairs.

Pointy's bathtub faucet broke where she could not turn on the water. She had to use mine until my bro could come over and figure out what the problem was. Nothing wrong with the mechanism. It seems the handle broke. Bro swiped one handle from my double shower and all I needed to do was hunt one down to replace mine. Yeah, Home Depot. It had one.

Last year, it was the refrigerator's turn. I discovered a growing puddle of water underneath the frig. Of course, I did not know how long this was going on. Pulled and pulled and pulled the frig out. It was like a pond back there. It seeped into the molding and mold was growing on it. I ran down to the basement to see what kind of damage might have gone down there. Drywall on ceiling was wet. Bro said not to worry about basement ceiling it should dry. It seems the hard water did something to the water line going into the ice maker. Nope, no repair guy. I don't need no stinking ice maker. I can go back to ice trays. I did need my bro to come over and help me get the stinking water filter off of the line. So of this long lasting project of mine, since last May 2006... frig is still not back in its spot 'cause I'm working on replacing the molding. Got one piece in and need to do three more. Running joke in family is who will finish first, me and my frig or my bro and his house (running four/five years and still not in a move in condition; wifey not happy).

Well, the "chain" my BIL replaced broke again. The water ate right through it. As I did not need that toilet, there was no rush to fix it. I brought a new chain but felt no urgency to fix it. A month ago, I get an email from Pointy saying "My toilet is broken. It won't flush." *arghhh* She tried plunging *weakling* nothing. She can use my bathroom in the mean time. My head was not into solving her toilet problem. Instead I decided to fix the half bath toilet so she had a choice of two. Besides the chain being broken, it was also running. I headed back to Home Depot to get a replacement flapper. Got that all replaced, but still did not want to deal with Pointy's toilet. I think I was hoping Pointy could talk Bro into working on it, but Bro cannot or he feel the wrath of wifey.

I come back from a trip and Pointy says the half batch toilet is really running water. Stoopid me forgot to clip the excess chain or put it out of the way of the flapper. Fixed that easily. Ooops, water is still running. Flapper is not sitting right and tis annoying neighbor as we all share a sewer pipe and he can hear it. Oh bother, I turned the toilet off. I go up to Pointy's toiler and try my hand at plunging. Bad plunger. Does not provide a good seal.

I looked at Pointy's bathroom. It needs some serious caulking. It's almost all gone. Round the bathtub. Round the sinks. Round the bathtub water spout. Some caulking needs to be done around the kitchen. My bath can use some, too.

I went to the Home Depot today. Got me a new plunger and flapper et al. When will I try my hand on the two toilets, don't know yet. If I cannot fix both, I throw my hands up and call a plumber and handyman. Gotta fix the woes of this place.

I AIN'T MOVING!!! The water cannot win. Pointy does not get her wish that I move.

Oh, Pointy nearly broke the main TV. Thank goodness it was problem with that day's cable reception. Otherwise, I'm going to kick her out.

Arrrrr...My Profile Page...What You See

I generally don't look at my own profile until I want to give it new decor. There's no reason for me to look at my own page since I removed the friends and comments section from the page. I can go to the links on my main page to see that stuff.

I decided to play with MySpace's new Profile Editor. Poked here and there. Still don't have a opinion on whether I like it or not as I've already invested lots of time ripping it apart to change the parts I want.

Whatever changes MySpace has done to put in their Profile Editor has made my customized page go a bit awhack. Now I got to figure things out again.

Tis good that I will be working form home for a bit.

P.S. Now I see the blog gone nutzoyd. *arghhhhhhh*

How Memorable Am I?

I had to attend a meeting at the Corporate Office last week.

Well my 3^rd level manager did not remember me. I knew he would not remember my face, but I thought it would click when I said my name. Alas, he did not and I knew of him when he started in our group. No surprise. I'm never surprise with my management as I rarely see them and get introduced every year or two.

I'm just glad my manager remembers me as I've only had face-to-face contact with him twice.

My 2^nd level guy did not disappoint me as I've had several dealings with him as he moved up in the world.

What really surprised me was the Avis Preferred Car Rental Representative in Jacksonville!!! As I walked up, she acknowledged me by name. We've only had one-on-one transactions twice. Let's see if she will be working the desk next week.

As for the hotel I'm staying at currently, I give up on the afternoon/evening shift. The office manager remembers me after checking me in once, but then he's come across my name the past three months and was happy to put a face to a name.

And the airline I most often travel with … no memory whatsoever. I don't expect it. 1. Newark airport is just too big and no agents or flight crew work the same flights I always take. 2. I don't make any waves to be remembered. Just let me get on the plane so I can stow my luggage and get settled in.

My airline once did remember me many, many, many years ago. It was towards the end of my assignment in Plano, Texas. When she saw my name on the manifest, she automatically upgraded me to first class.

Now Sherrilyn Kenyon is a different story. She's a lovely lady and great author. SHE REMEMBERED ME after only meeting me once amongst 50+ other fans who stood in line for her to autograph her great books. Her memory is out of this world when it comes to her fans

Rental Cars

I have the dubious pleasure of driving a variety of cars. This week, I got a dark red Mitsubishi Eclipse with leather seats, electric controls for driver seat and 6-disc CD Player. This must be the high-end model because two weeks ago, I had a burnt orange Eclipse – no leather, had to turn the wheel/pull lever to adjust the seat and single disc CD Player. The cool thing is the dash is lit in blue instead amber or white. Wow, the Eclipse sure likes to go fast. I look at the speedometer and the needle is heading towards 80 mph.

The other cars I driven while in Jacksonville – PT Cruiser, gas pedal is funny; Chevy Cobalt, had to row down windows on some; Pontiac G6; and Chevy Malibu Max, no power nothing and used on trip down to see Sherri and nearly ran out of gas on Alligator Alley (grinning now but not then).

Last week, I had a partner and she took care of the rental. She got a Lincoln Continental. No slamming the trunk. Separate air controls for driver and front passenger. Backup alarm if she got too close to anything. It was a big car. Thank goodness she was driving it instead of I. I don't like big cars like this. Now I don't get me as this is the size car that is used weekly to transport me between home and the airport. As we were both from New Jersey, I felt like a mobster riding shotgun. Yep, you can comfortably put a body in the trunk *VBG*.

Air Flight Saga 1

The flight crew does know their passengers. We had an old lady on board that needed to be hooked up to an oxygen tank the whole flight.

Well, there must have been something wrong with the tank or the ground crew did not connect her up properly. The flight crew had to use an emergency tank.

As we are starting our descent, the team leader ask nicely for everyone to remain seated so the oxygen lady can be deplaned first with her sister. To my surprise as the captain asks everyone to buckle up, two guys from first class came to switch seats with the two ladies. They all finish settling in just before the wheels touched down.

It was nice that those two guys did that.

I would have done the same as the flight crew because I knew people would not have remained seated. I've seen it happen too many times when some do not have the courtesy to let people with connecting flights deplane first.

Spring Is Here

When I left New Jersey in mid-April, it was still nippy out and I was wondering if Spring would ever arrived. After returning from two weeks in Florida, I was so pleased to see all the colors of Spring appear.

There were trees with white blooms and pink blooms – think they may be dogwoods. The Forsythias were bright yellow. Many of the trees were no longer naked. The grass was so green. Tulips were out. Lots of people have started planting their flowery blooms.

The sad part – my tree in the front only has tiny buds, even my next-door neighbor's. Beyond the two of us, everything else was in bloom.

The other sad part – the splashes of color in the landscape all turns green in the next month or two. The petals from the trees are starting to dust the ground.

Cold & Flying

It's been awhile since I last blogged. Here's are somethings that have been bottled up.

Cold... not the temperature one but the sickie one. I was down for the count last week even though I caught it the week prior to it. Knew I was coming down with something -- sore throat and sniffles before going to bed. Maybe if I took meds before going to bed it would not still be hanging around -- 2 weeks later. I went to a doctor for the first time in a very very very very long time. She said I had to just suffer through it with more OTC meds. No special meds from her. DRAT!!!

Flying... well so far airline for flying me home is batting zero. I enjoy listening to all the moans, groans and gripes from the passengers when they discover the plane has been delayed *VBG*. Why do these people insist it's the airline that is causing the delay. Why don't they understand it's not the airlines fault that they cannot take off. The Air Traffic Controllers are the conductors of the show. Plus the flight is during rush hour. Air traffic in the NYC area (5 airports -- 3 big ones and three small ones) during the afternoon rush hour is at a premium. There was this one week the ATC slowed it down a lot -- like two hours -- because of high winds and snow. Everyone who knew someone in NYC area called to find out what the weather was there. Of course, there was nothing at people level. Tis dry or just sprinkling and barely any wind. Guess what, when we started our descent into the area airport, there was vertical snow. Must have been some wind that the snow was going vertical. When we landed, there was not a spec of any of that weather anywhere.

And another thing... flying with a cold is not good. The ears definitely do not like landing. OWWW! The first week after flying home, the left ear felt stuffed and everything sounded like it was in a tunnel. I'm sure I missed hearing things that were not in my tunnel sound range. It needed to pop and did not until over a week later when I had to fly out again. I thought everything would be great because my doctor suggested I take Sudafed before my flight. I did and still had some sniffles and sore throat. Ears popped like crazy taking off. Different story when it came down to landing. Both ears did not pop until I woke up the next day.

I wish my cold would go away. It's become old and tiring.

The Art of Scott Wade

If you enjoy the art of Julian Beever, the 3-D sidewalk artist, you will enjoy the art of Scott Wade. His canvas is not the sidewalk but dirty cars. We've all scribed "Wash Me" or something like that on filty cars. Scott has taken it to another level.



Read about Scott and look at his art work (gallery) here. Ingenious!

Traveling Consultant Perk

Instead of going home this past weekend -- I work in Jacksonville, Florida, during the week -- I decided to stay in the nice and warm state.

After work on Thursday, I drove 180 miles down to Orlando which took me about 3 hours. I would have gotten there half an hour earlier if I had not decided to not follow AAA triptik directions I did it to avoid the toll roads. Wound up paying one anyway

Friday was spent playing in Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom. I got to ride Everest this time in beautiful weather. I saw the new Finding Nemo Muiscal, rode the Dinosaur and Primeval Spin attractions and watch Mickey's Jamming Parade. I enjoyed watching the various birds (flamingos, toucans, and ducks) around the park. I even caught sight of an anteater. No matter how many times I see it, the Tree of Life contains the most beautiful and life-like carvings of animals.

After a good complimentary breakfast Saturday morning, I got back on the road to drive down to Miami. I had to make a pit stop in Tampa to pick up Panthera, fellow DH fan who entertained me on the drive down. 351 miles and 5 1/2 hours later, we arrived at our hotel. I had a slight panic attack when I happen to looked down at the gas gauge. There were three tick marks before the big E and we were in the middle of the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. All it was was a four land highway in a big swamp. Panthera did catch an alligator sunning himself. Thank goodness, we spotted the lovely green sign. When I pulled up to the gas pump, the car gave me a "bing" and the gas light came on *PHEW*.

Objective of Miami was to attend Sherrilyn Kenyon's book signing. My other objective was to also get books signed by Mary Stella. The hotel where the signing was just happen to be across the street from where we were staying. Both authors were surprised to see us, especially me as I live in New Jersey After the book signing, we hung out with Sherri, Mary and two other friends -- lots of laughter.

All good things had to come to an end, Sunday was the long drive back north. After dropping off Panthera back in Tampa, I continued north to Jacksonville -- 493 miles and 8 hours later.

Besides the Animal Kingdom goodies -- alas, my passion for Disney pins has not waned -- and the Walmart books (got Lover Revealed; still unread), the biggest expenditure on this trip was gas. The car wanted to be fed regularly -- $78.76 to drive 1,074 miles. Hotel was free due to my hotel points. Car rental paid by my client. Animal Kingdom ticket was WDW Park Hopper ticket I paid for 3 years ago. Not too bad for a weekend

Tonight, I gotta see if I can read what Sherri wrote in my books Also, gotta decide how I'm going to pack at the end of the week to go home. I hate checking luggage. I may need to leave some of it here and bring it back the following week or else leave anyway as I have to stay over one weekend for the client.

*wahoo* Yes, I'm happy I don't have to work at home anymore. My year-long sentence is over. I miss the routine that I got into for 8 years.

I get to hop on a plane at the beginning of the week to go to my client...do 40 hours of work in four days...then hop back onto a plane Thursday for home. I get to sleep in a hotel room where a maid tidies it up each day If I'm lucky, breakfast is served free at the hotel. Cross my fingers for free wireless. What's great about this is that the client pays for all my travel expenses. I get to add to my frequent flyer miles. Maybe or maybe not add to my hotel points.

In the wee hours of this Monday, I head down to Jacksonville, Florida. This will give me a sense of whether I want to do a schedule like this until the middle of April. Or do I want to fly in Sunday afternoon so I can unwind and be ready for work the next day? Monday fly, worry about getting up in time and airport hassles. Sunday, less stressful but lose 1/2 day at home.

Depending when I fly, I can get a three-day weekend. Otherwise, it's a 2 1/2 day weekend. I don't always fly home. I've been able to do side trips at the client's expenses as long as it does not cost more than flying me home.

This assignment is ideal as I'm planning a side trip already Sherrilyn Kenyon and Mary Stella will be in Miami on Feb 24 for a book signing. Good time to drag some books down to be signed. I can do Animal Kingdom (Walt Disney World, Orlando) on Friday and then head down to Miami on Saturday. Sunday will be used to drive back up to Jacksonville for work on Monday. I have a pass already for Animal Kingdom and should be able to use hotel points for Friday and Saturday.

Yeah, sounds like a plan. Gotta work it out. *crossing fingers that this comes to fruition*

Oh, and my sister is happy, too. She gets the place to herself again. Though she did ask who was going to make her steak now