Good-Bye, 2007!

This year started out rough, but fortunately it ended quite nicely. Blizzards in December 2006 left me stranded in Colorado and unable to go home for Christmas and New Years. For the first few months of 2007 the working conditions at my previous workplace were frustrating and less than ideal. But by March two good friends asked me if I was looking for a new job. At the time I was considering it, but I wasn't actively looking for a new job. So we made plans to have lunch one day--coincidentally on March 7th, my birthday--so that they could tell me about a position that was open at the publisher they were working for. I casually submitted my resume and went in for an interview, and before I knew it, I had a new job. And it has turned out to be an awesome job. By some twist of fate, I managed to land a promotion after only five months. And in the time that I've been with the company, I've worked on some great books. Things might be busy, but in general things are wonderful, and I'm loving every minute of it.

I've manged to stay healthy this year. I didn't workout and eat as healthy as I aspired to, but that will, once again, be one of my new year's resolutions for 2008.

This year I managed to reconnect with some old friends. I've met and made many new wonderful friends this year. And I continue to have beautiful relationships with the friends who have been around for a long time and for the past few years. My friends are my life and they mean the world to me. Without them, I would be nothing, and I am fortunate and blessed to have so many beautiful people in my life!

And this year pretty much ended with a wonderful trip home for Christmas to make up for the lost time last year.

All in all, I don't think that I can complain too much.

From Sun to Snow

I haven't posted anything new recently, because for the past five wonderful days I was at home in California. We had a quiet Christmas with the family and the puppies, and that is just how I like it. It is simply nice to take some time off work to relax at home. The weather was beautiful. It was sunny and warm. Many people might think that 65 degrees is cold, but I think that it is perfect, especially when the sun is shining. Unfortunately the trip was a short one, because I had to come back to work this week to send some books to press. Still, any time at home is better than no time.

Wednesday was my travel day and our plane was supposed to leave around 2:00 in the afternoon. But, because of bad weather throughout the Midwest, the plane that was supposed to take us back to Denver didn't arrive in California until 3:45. So we didn't take off until about 4:30. Most of the people, though, were good natured and very patient. The only two people who were visibly annoyed were two younger women who were dressed in tank tops and pajama bottoms. There are two fashion-related things that I do not understand: people who wear their sunglasses indoors and pajamas while out in public. But, whatever. Anyway, after that little delay we eventually made it to Denver. With the weather as bad as it was, there was obviously a lot of missing luggage (or people!), because luggage without owners was strewn along the walls near the baggage claim area. Everyone on our plane waited patiently for our luggage to come out of one baggage carousel that was showing our flight number. Meanwhile the carousel next to us was overflowing with luggage. It took a while before we all realized that that was our luggage that was spinning around. I got my bag and by the time I caught a shuttle and made it home safely, it was already 9:30 in the evening. And I had to go to work the next day!

The weather started to get bad again and it was snowing for most of the night and all morning. Most of the people in the office decided to stay at home because they didn't want to deal with the traffic and nasty roads. The people who actually live in Boulder made it into the office, although that doesn't necessarily mean that the roads in Boulder are clean and safe. Because it kept snowing, they decided to close the office early at 1:00. So I stuffed some work into my bag, and here I sit, warm and cozy in my apartment with a fresh pot of hot coffee. Right now I'm just taking a little break to have lunch and to write this post, but, alas, I must get back to work.

Overtime

I probably don't need to repeat that this is our busy time of the year. This is crunch time, and, therefore, the hours are long. I was in the office until about 6:30 last night. I also took work home with me and worked on that until about midnight. But the fun doesn't stop there. I woke up early at 5:00 this morning so that I could be in the office around 6:30. Yes, 6:30 in the morning! It was strange and somewhat nice to be in the office that early. The entire office was dark and the only sounds I heard was the building settling. It was also still dark outside, so I was able to watch the sun rise. Since my office has a view of the west, I could see the morning sunlight hitting the mountains. The colors of the sunrise were amazing. It was a nice mix of the white of the snow, the red of the sunlight, and the light blue of the morning sky. It was beautiful. Still it was very early!

I was busy all day and was able to get a lot accomplished. I was able to take a break in the evening to go to dinner at The Med for our editorial department holiday party. I always love eating at a fabulous restaurant, and I love it even more when the company is paying for it. And, no, I didn't get steak, even though I was tempted. I was torn between risotto, chicken parmigiana, and steak. I picked the chicken parmigiana and it was wonderful. I still had a lot of work to do and it was only about 7:30, so I decided to go back to the office to try to get a little more work done. I wasn't alone, though. Another one of my co-workers came back with me. I stayed until 9:00 before I had to call it quits. I'll probably be back in the office early tomorrow, But that's the way things go and that's what I have to do to make sure everything is in good shape before I go home for vacation. It's a small price to pay for a nice reward.

Current mood: tired
Current music: random tunes. Currently Faith Hill "Cry"
Current drink: Remy Martin VSOP Cognac (a reward for a long hard day!)

Winter Pictures

So after my wonderful lunch and after a quick post on my blog, I grabbed my camera and ran out to take a few pictures of the mountains. I headed west to Chautauqua Park, which is only a few miles from my apartment. The parking lot was pretty snowy and icy, and I nearly broke my neck while walking up a little hill from the parking lot to the trail. Although, I admit, I was stupid and didn't change into my snow boots before I left the house. I was still wearing my famous--albeit impractical in the snow--boots. Anyway, once I made it to the little trail, I was able to take some nice pictures. It was a little late in the day, so I missed out on the crystal blue sky that we had earlier, but the view was still spectacular. All these shots were taken from the same spot. I love my zoom lens. And I love this town and this state. How many places have views like this?!

Old Friends and Good Times

This afternoon I met some former co-workers and old friends for lunch. We all worked together a few years ago at a very horrible workplace, and even though we've all ended up in different places and doing different things, somehow during the year we manage to find a way to get together. We met at Bloom in Broomfield and we had a wonderful lunch and a wonderful time catching up. Some of these people I haven't seen in over a year, so that made it all the more special.

I already know that this next week at work is going to be horrible, but, honestly, I don't care because I can't even describe how great I'm feeling right now. And even though I've used the word "wonderful" far too many times in this one post, spending a few hours with some amazing and beautiful women really does make me feel wonderful. I feel loved and feel like I'm in love, and really that's all that matters!

Holiday Parties and Crazy Editors

On Thursday we had our office holiday party. Since the party didn't start until 5:30, a few of my co-workers and I decided to leave the office early at 4:30 to have a few drinks beforehand. We stopped at a little Italian restaurant and shared a bottle of wine and some appetizers. We then went to the party at Chautauqua Dining Hall. The first hour of the party was a mix and mingle cocktail hour which was nice. It is nice seeing people out of the office and it is nice meeting spouses and significant others. We then sat down to have a wonderful dinner. People started to leave the holiday part around 9:00, but my friends and I weren't quite ready to go home. So we decided to go to the Catacombs, a little bar in downtown Boulder. We had a great time talking and having fun, and before we knew it, it was 1:00 a.m. Since the party was on a Thursday and since we were out so late, it was a little difficult to wake up for work the next morning. Most of the girls had hangovers the next day. Fortunately I managed to avoid any hangovers, but I was a little on the tired side. Everyone in our office is cool, but I'm especially thankful that the other editors like to hang out and don't mind staying out late. In spite of how hard we work, at least we still make time to have fun!

Current mood: looking forward to a lunch party tomorrow
Current music: Random tunes. Currently Kelly Clarkson "Sober"
Current drink: Ravenswood 2005 Lodi Zinfandel

Stress

Work is really crazy. I am really stressed out. But at least I have a nice view from my office.

Winter Driving Tips

We've had a lot of snow over these past few days. On Sunday there was a break in the snow, so I thought that things would be fine for the Monday morning commute. It turned out that it snowed all night and kept snowing all morning. So, naturally, the roads were pretty bad. The roads in Boulder were "plowed" to Boulder standards, so it was still pretty messy in some spots. And, naturally, it was messy in all the places I needed to be. But as the weather turns, now is a perfect opportunity to list some of my winter driving tips/pet peeves.

1. When leaving your home, apartment, or place of work, at least make an attempt to clean the snow off your windows. And it is preferable to clean the snow off all your windows. Cleaning the snow off the windshield on only the driver's side while leaving the rest of your windows covered in snow probably isn't the wisest or safest thing to do. When you change lanes, it is generally a good idea to be able to see what is behind you or next to you. Perhaps you are able to drive from Point A to Point B by using the force or the grace of God, but it would give me greater comfort to know that you can see out of your windows.

2. Turn signals are your friend. If we didn't need them and if they weren't useful, car manufacturers wouldn't waste the time and money to install them. If you use a turn signal it lets me know where you are going. That is important to me because it lets me know if I need to slow down a little more or if I need to hit my breaks. And turning on the turn signal after you start to make the turn doesn't help. Try turning it on before you make your turn.

3. Don't make a U-Turn in a slushy intersection when there is oncoming traffic. That's just stupid.

4. Just because you drive a big car, that doesn't mean that you can drive as fast as you want. You can still spin out of control and slide into a ditch. I won't stop to help you if you were being stupid.

5. If you think I'm driving too slowly, pass me, don't ride my bumper. If you hit me, I'll take you for all your insurance and fake a neck injury to punish you for your stupidity.

6. If you're a pedestrian, don't jaywalk in front of oncoming traffic. If I can't stop my car in time and hit you, well, I'm sorry...

Current mood: annoyed
Current music: random songs. Currently Tori Amos "Taxi Ride"
Current drink: hot chocolate

Snow

I don't have much to report today. This past week at work was quite busy. Things are always crazy at the end of the year. To make matters worse, I took on a small freelance project that I had to wrap up at the beginning of the week. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep all week. Fortunately, though, this weekend has been really quiet. It snowed all day on Friday, but it didn't really stick. It kept snowing all day Saturday, and it certainly piled up. I stayed in all day and just watched it snow. The snow stopped today, and when I "dusted" off my car this morning, it looked like there were about four or five inches on my car. I'm hoping the weather stays fairly nice this week. This Thursday is our office holiday party, and later on Sunday I'll be getting together with some friends and former co-workers for lunch. I'm looking forward to lunch on Sunday and seeing everyone again...especially a certain beautiful lady...

Current mood: relaxed...for now...
Current music: a random shuffling of songs. Currently Dave Matthews "Crash Into Me"
Current drink: hot chocolate...with a "splash" of rum

Buonasera!

Well, in order to uphold my end of a bargain with a very beautiful friend, I finally signed up for an Italian class. I'm taking it through the Boulder Valley School District's Lifelong Learning program. It starts in February and ends in March. I think that it will be geared more toward people who will be traveling to Italy, but it will still be fun to do something new and different. It will be odd, however, for me to take a living language. I'm just curious to hear what my accent will sound like. I'm sure my accent will be an odd mix of Latin, ancient Greek, and Dutch. That will make an interesting combination!

Current mood: tired
Currently watching: "Machines of the Gods" on Ancient Discoveries on the History Channel
Current drink: Penfolds Thomas Hyland South Australian 2005 Shiraz

Things I Don't Understand

People can make a cell phone the size of a credit card. People can make MP3 players the size of a quarter. People can essentially make computers that can fit in your purse. So why is it that no one can make small vitamin pills? You want to take your vitamins and supplements, because they are good for you. But they're not good for you if you choke on them as you're trying to get them down. Some of these vitamins are so big that it feels like you're trying to swallow a football. These days everything can be manufactured into small, handy packages. Yet, for whatever reason, no amount of science or engineering has be able to develop the tiny vitamin pill. I don't understand.

Tired...

It is a little past 11:30, and it is past my bedtime. 11:30 isn't late considering some of the hours that my night-owl friends keep, but it is late for me. I'm usually in bed by now. But, then again, I usually lie in bed with my mind racing until about 1:00 in the morning. I can never turn my mind off.

I'm tired because I've been working on my indexing project all day today. I'm not quite done yet, and I might need to ask for one more day to finish it. This rarely happens, and I hate it. I always hit my deadlines, but I'm going to miss this one by a day. Fortunately I'm doing this job for a friend who already told me that the deadline is flexible.

I think I'm working too hard right now, and naturally, because of work, I haven't bought my plane ticket home for Christmas. I need to do that still. I just have to figure out how to make all of my schedules work.

This is true stream of consciousness and none of this is making sense, so I'm going to bed...

And, no, I'm not drunk, I'm just tired...

Winter Storm and More of This and That

Winter Storm: the weather people in Colorado have been predicting a nasty storm all week. They said that it would hit Friday night and that we would have a good amount of snow on Saturday. Near the end of the day on Friday, I thought that they would be right. When I looked out my office window, the clouds had rolled in and things looked pretty dreary. When I woke up this morning, I looked out of my bedroom window and didn't see much snow. All I saw was some snow that was left over after a storm that we had last week when I was out of town. Apparently the rest of the state got a good amount of snow, though. It seems as if the western half of the state and the mountains got the most snow. There were reports, though, about icy streets in and around Boulder this morning. People saw the sunny skies and lack of snow and took that for granted. There were quite a few accidents on the freeway in the morning. I wouldn't know what the weather was like in the morning, because I didn't drag myself out of bed until around 11:30. I was catching up on some much needed sleep.

This and That:
Chores: I spent most of the day cleaning the apartment. I haven't done much around home since I got home from my trip. The place needed a good cleaning and some organizing. I'm only one person, it shouldn't be this difficult. Although, when the average person sees my place they wouldn't think it is a chaotic as I think it is. And I suppose they are right. I've been in the apartment of some of my friends where you can't see the bottom of the bathroom and kitchen sinks and where you can't see the carpet of the floor. I suppose I'm not so bad.

Work: Work at work has been busy this week, but I feel like I'm back on solid ground right now and not sinking in quicksand. I haven't had to take any work home with me this week, but I have had to do a little freelance project for an old co-worker who is now with another publishing company. I really don't know how I managed to find my way into doing freelance indexing work, but I sort of enjoy it. And it brings in some extra money which is always a good thing.

Classes: A few months ago a good friend/co-worker and I were talking about how we both needed to do something "different" with our lives because we both felt as if work was taking over our lives. We decided that we should each take a class of some sort. We made a pact and we drew up a contract on the back of a lottery ticket that she had which obviously didn't produce any winning numbers. She promised to take a writing class, because one of her big passions is for creative writing. I promised to take an Italian class. We sealed the contract with our signatures. She has already taken her writing class, and I still need to take my class. I found an Italian class through Boulder's community education, so all I have to do is sign up for it. It doesn't start until February, though. Since I've taken Latin for so many years, I thought that Italian would be the obvious choice. It will be interesting, though. I know Dutch and I took German years (and years) ago when I was in high school, but since then I've been a dead language specialist. I even own a T-shirt that says, "the only good language is a dead language." So it will be interesting to be in a class for a "spoken" language. I'm sure we'll learn all the touristy stuff like how to introduce yourself, how to ask for directions, how to order food (and wine!) in a restaurant, etc. That will be interesting, but my elitist and overly ambitions ego really wants to be able to read Dante in Italian some day. Maybe some day...

Getting Resettled

I haven't posted that much because not much has been happening since I got back to Boulder. When you come home from a vacation, you can't exactly stroll into the office and ease back into work. I pretty much came into work early on Monday morning and immediately threw it into fourth gear. Things are busy, as usual, and December is going to be chaotic and hectic because I have several books going to press. Many of these books are on tight schedules, and I might need a miracle or two to pull things off. But, Christmas is the time of miracles, right? We'll see what happens. And if I weren't busy enough, I also took on a small freelance project. It's only about eight hours of work, but why do I do this to myself?

A very happy birthday to my very beautiful friend Laura!

Current mood: busy
Current drink: tomato juice - I really don't like tomatoes all that much, but I'm starting to drink tomato juice because it's probably good for me. Would be better if it were a Bloody Caesar (essentially a Bloody Mary, but I like Caesar better)

Back in Boulder

I'm back in Boulder after a quick trip home for Thanksgiving. I left really early on Tuesday morning. I wanted to get to the airport at about 7:00 a.m., so I had to be ready to by about 5:30 to catch the shuttle. With it being just a few days before Thanksgiving, I thought the airport would be packed. It was fairly busy, but things went smoothly. It took me only about ten or fifteen minutes to get my boarding pass and to check my bags. So far so good, I thought, but I was expecting a huge line at security. There was a line, but things kept moving and I made it through security in about five minutes. The takeoff was quite bumpy like riding an old, rickety wooden roller coaster, but for the most part the flight was nice...except we didn't get pretzels for some reason...

The time at home was wonderful. I ate a lot of good food and simply enjoyed spending time with my family and puppies.


As with all vacations, the end came much too soon. The flight home was nice, and I had to wait about an hour for the next shuttle back into Boulder. I personally don't mind waiting around the airport, because you always have great people-watching opportunities at airports. I would have arrived home in my apartment at around 7:30 in the evening, but the engine of our shuttle blew up about 15 miles outside of Boulder. Smoke started to fill the shuttle, so we waited outside on the side of the freeway. But then it got too cold and we all got back in. Eventually some other vans picked us up and took us all home. I got home at around 8:30, had some waffles for dinner, then went straight to bed because I had to get up for work today. And as proof that the vacation has officially ended, I brought work home with me tonight. No rest for the wicked.

All in all it was a wonderful trip home. ...even with an 8-hour stay in the emergency room...

Fire in the Sky

I happened to look out my window this evening and noticed that the sky was red. I frantically grabbed my camera and took a dozen pictures. The sunset, by the time I caught it, was very brief. It was dark within a matter of minutes. Here are my favorites of the bunch

Travel Preparations

I'm getting excited about going home on Tuesday morning, and here is my to-do list and what I've accomplished so far:

1. Make a reservation for a shuttle to the airport - check
2. Put a hold on my mail for the week - check
3. Pay necessary (and unnecessary ) bills - check
4. Laundry - check. All I have to do is fold and pack
5. Charge batteries in my camera - check
6. Clean apartment - still to do
7. Shop for any other necessary things - still to do
8. Work - I've accepted the fact that I'll be stressed out tomorrow, but I'll do the best I can to finish what I need to

This and That

I haven't been posting this week because things have been pretty busy. Because I'll be going home for Thanksgiving next week, I've been busy at work trying to get everything in good order and in a good place before I leave. Fortunately I'm at the point where I can send various things out to freelancers or my authors and have them work on things while I'm away. There is just one critical project that one of my trusty co-workers might have to look after while I'm gone, but hopefully it will not be as bad as I imagine.

I also haven't had much time to write this week, because I've been spending a few nights out on the town. On Thursday we had a department happy hour. We started out with our full department, ten people, but then the night ended with the five fun-loving gals in the department. We went to Connor O'Neils, a cool and cozy little Irish pub here in downtown Boulder. We ate lots of chips (i.e. french fries) and had a few beers. We had a great time, but I think I'm getting too old to be staying out until past midnight. Those young gals wear me out.

Now I must run, because there are a million things I need to do before my trip home.

When It Rains, It Pours...

I don't have hot water in my shower
The "check engine" light came on in my car
The schedules for my book projects are blowing up
More projects are coming in
Everyone around me is cranky
And I think I broke my little toe...again...

I need a hug and a kiss... :-(

Obligations

At times like this I miss being in school. I miss the long vacations and breaks. For weeks I've been holding off on buying plane tickets home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Why have I waited this long? Well, it's all because of work. Considering I write about it all the time, I probably don't have to remind anyone that things are busy at work. I haven't bought my tickets home because I've been trying to figure out how to fit in a vacation and adjust all of my project schedules at the same time. Trying to adjust project schedules is next to impossible. And it doesn't help when someone schedules books to go to press the Monday after Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas. Who wants to work the day after Christmas? Anyway, I just broke down and bought a ticket home for Thanksgiving, and tomorrow morning I'll have to figure out how to make the schedules work. Then I have to figure out what I'm going to do for Christmas.

All of this would be easier if I wasn't such a Type A, workaholic, and if I was just able to let go and not worry about work. But I do worry about my projects. That's the type of person I am.

I really do love my job and I love the company I work for, but, in general, this adult, working life sure is overrated!

Current mood: stressed out (about work)
Current music: Tori Amos. Scarlet's Walk
Current drink: Remy Martin VSOP Cognac

Living Like a Rock Star

Even though I've been working long and hard hours at work for the past few weeks, somehow I managed to have a lot of fun over the past few days. I already wrote a post about a wonderful happy hour and dinner with some co-workers on Thursday. On Friday a co-worker/gorgeous friend and I had a happy hour of our own at the Corner Bar in Boulder. She has a few dirty martinis and I had a few Manhattans. Later in the evening I joined her and some of her friends for a very late night dinner at about 9:00. This past week was the First Bite Boulder week where some of the best restaurants in Boulder set up a special menu so that you can taste some of their best foods. Each diner gets a three-course meal for only $26 which is a great price considering the options you have. We went to L'Absinthe, the same place we went for happy hour on Thursday. On Thursday the wine was good and the food smelled great, so we thought we would have an actual meal there. For my first course, and to quote the menu, I had Grilled Asparagus and Portobello with herbed Chevre, truffle basil vinaigrette, and a balsamic reduction. It was wonderful! For my second course I had New York Steak Au Poivre, a dry-aged New York strip steak with Cognac (yes, Cognac), black peppercorn sauce, and pomme frites. This steak was unbelievable and one of the best I've ever had! Maybe it had something to do with the cognac. We had white wine and red wine throughout dinner and they were wonderful. The third course, dessert, was a combination of a mini raspberry creme brulee, white chocolate tiramisu, and a dark chocolate fondant. By this time I was pretty full, but the desserts were excellent. And when you end the meal with a good cup of coffee, you have the end to a perfect evening. I wish every night could be like that one!

Happy Hour

So we have a very cool dude in our office who is the social planner. He arranges the schedule for Special Treat Fridays and the occasional all-office happy hours. Tonight was a happy hour night, and initially I wasn't planning on going. I've been feeling tired and antisocial, so I was going to pass tonight. But a certain incredibly gorgeous woman convinced me that I should come out for at least one glass of wine. What a gorgeous woman wants, a gorgeous woman gets. I joined a few of my coworkers for a glass of wine and they also convinced me that I should have an absinthe (a fancy drink that I might explain later). After happy hour, this previously mentioned gorgeous woman and another wonderful woman and I decided to have an actual dinner. ...with more wine. We went to the Med here in Boulder and had a wonderful dinner and wonderful conversation. It was a good night, and I'm glad that such a beautiful woman convinced me to come out tonight because I had a wonderful time.

Daylights Saving Time

I never quite know what to make of daylights saving time. On the one had, when the sun wakes up earlier it forces me to get out of bed earlier because the light shining in my bedroom tends to wake me up. On the other hand, I like having light later into the evening. It always seems like you can do more and get more accomplished when it's still light at 7:00 or 8:00. The time change really struck me at work today. The sun started to set at about 4:00, and it was beautiful to watch. It was almost too beautiful to watch. It was actually quite distracting. But it was also dark by 5:00. And, naturally, when it is dark outside I feel like I should be at home with candles lit and a glass of wine in my hand. And, unfortunately, now that the sun is setting earlier while I'm still at work, I'm going to miss out on a lot of chances to take some pretty sunset pictures. But, I suppose I could wake up earlier to take some sunrise pictures. Yes, we'll see if that ever happens.

Meanwhile, I've recently had my 1,500 visitor view my blog. A loyal reader living in New Mexico. I know who you are... :) And to think that I reached my 1,500 hit without any scams or gimmicks or without joining any networks. I just have a few people who actually care what I think and what I have to say.

Current mood: well, my head is feeling better
Current music: T.A.T.U. Dangerous and Moving

Am I Dead Yet?

This was supposed to be a beautiful weekend. The weather was going to be nice and I had plans on grabbing my camera and running around to random places just to take some pictures. The weather was beautiful, but I wasn't feeling so hot. On Saturday I got knocked out by one nasty headache. And, no, it wasn't from a hangover. It was probably from working too hard these past few weeks. Anyway, it felt like my head was about to explode and I didn't eat much because it didn't feel like I could keep much down. I slept for most of the day, but no matter how much I slept or how much medicine I took, I didn't feel that much better.

I'm feeling slightly better today. My head doesn't feel like it is going to explode, but it still feels like my brain is throbbing and I'm still having the occasional dizzy spell. And I must have been tense when I slept last night because every inch of my body aches and feels sore. I literally feel like I've been run over and dragged behind a chariot for about a hundred miles. And, yes, getting run over by a chariot is my classical reference/metaphor for the day.

There is nothing more I would rather do than just lie on the couch or in my bed all day, but I need to go out to do some shopping. I suppose I should try to cook and eat something today.

Ouch...

Plato Rocks!

Plato's cave...Plato rocks! Get it? Ha...Haha...Classics humor. Either way, I must buy this shirt...

Search Engines

When I look at the stats for my blog visitors I'm able to see how people entered or stumbled upon my page. I have a few loyal readers, but occasionally someone finds my page by accident. Usually their search terms are "vivamus atque amemus." This is the title of my blog, but it also happens to be part of a Catullus poem. My guess is that these searchers are looking for a translation to the phrase (let us live and let us love) or a translation to the entire poem (I'll post the complete translation another day). So, out of curiosity, I searched on my blog title. When you Google "vivamus atque amemus" and when you put the quotes around it, my blog (as of this time and date) shows up second in the list. If you don't put the quotes around it, it still shows up fifth on the list. When I searched it via Yahoo, it showed up first. My huge ego likes to think that these "rankings" actually mean something. So, with this and as I close in on 1,500 visits, I suppose I should thank my loyal four or five readers (and casual stumble uponers--yes, I made up that word) for giving my little blog weight and meaning. Because we all know this random stuff weighs and means so much!

Seasons??

So, I'm not sure what season it is lately. It has been fairly chilly this past week, and they were predicting some flurries or snow this weekend. Right now it is an absolutely beautiful, sunny day, and the temperature is in the 70s. This is such a strange state. But, you never know, we could get a blizzard tomorrow.

But are the celebrities okay??

I'm sure by now everyone knows that there have been a ton of wildfires raging in California over the past week. Thousands of acres have been burned. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. Smoke has been filling the air making it impossible to breathe. There have been several injuries and deaths. And, of course in our idiotic society, several (but not all) TV stations and newspapers were reporting on all of the celebrity homes that were threatened by the fire. They kept saying how Malibu is home to several celebrities and that their homes stood in the path of the fires. They would rattle off the names of these famous celebrities who stood to lose everything in their homes. Who the hell cares? These people have multimillion dollar homes, and they could probably rebuild or buy another one the next day. One celebrity said, "it's just a home, it can be rebuilt easily." Another celebrity said that her housekeepers and assistants were busy gathering her personal items like photos and such. It must be nice to have domestic help to help you evacuate. For a while the spotlight was placed on these idiots when the "regular" people were suffering in the same situation. And once in a while you would see a very brief story about elderly people who were taken out of their nursing homes and relocated to a shelter, probably in the gymnasium of some high school. Every now and then you would see a story about people who had to leave their animals, like horses, behind. That's what really kills me, because you never like to see helpless animals left behind. But, then again, I like animals more than people most of the time. You almost wish they would leave the celebrities behind and rescue the animals instead. Let the idiot celebrities find their own way out of a burning canyon. As the fires got worse, you saw less reports about the celebrities, which is good, but it is annoying that the media made such a big deal about it in the first place. Do people really care about these soulless, idiot celebrities who whine and cry if they don't get paid a million dollars to do one episode of a TV show or who are famous for doing absolutely nothing that contributes to society? IDIOTS!

Hello, Birdy!

Some photos

Taken at the Table Mesa Park & Ride in Boulder, Colorado

Taken at Davidson Mesa in Louisville, Colorado

Yawn...

Well, this has been quite a week at work. Right now things are really busy and really crazy. Everyone seemed stressed and on edge. But we have a great group, because whenever we get stressed and whenever we feel pressured, we always find a way to laugh at the situation. And I suppose it is comforting for all of us to know that we're all feeling the same pressure. Misery loves company.

After work a friend/co-worker and I went to a place in north Boulder called Maruca Designs. They sell purses, handbags, tote bags, cosmetics bags, etc. that are made out of various fabrics. They say that the bags are made in the "Jacquard tradition" where the designs of the patterns are woven into the fabric with different colored threads. They are all very cool. Normally I'm not the type of girl who goes crazy over purses, but I had a beautiful woman standing next to me telling me how cute it would be for me to have a little red purse. So I bought it. Yes, I'm a sucker. And, yes, I'm whipped. At least I'll admit it. It is very cute, though, and now I have two purses. I'm officially becoming "cute."

Current mood: tired but okay
Current music: Loreena McKennitt. Nights from the Alhambra
Current drink: hot chocolate with a shot of rum. Many thanks to my friend, Renee, for introducing that one to me!

Just Plain Tired

This has been another long week. And, yes, I realize that it is only Wednesday. Things have been busy at work. We have a new project editor that started on Monday, so this week has been full of training. I spent the majority of the morning with him, and that mean that I had to stay at work late to catch up on what I wasn't able to do. My guess is that it will be busy like this for the next few months. The end of November, the end of December, and all of January will probably be the worst months. I'm trying to plan vacations home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I've been figuring out how to adjust my schedules to make everything work. I'll just have to work some long and hard hours now so that I can enjoy my vacations later. All I need to do is buy my tickets.

Current mood: tired
Currently watching: CNN to get updates on the California fires and to see what is happening back home
Current drink: Calming Tea by Yogi Tea

Photo Day

I went out earlier today just to run a few errands. But the sky and mountains looked so beautiful that I turned around, went home, and got my camera. I was able to snap a lot of nice pictures from around the area. Something is wrong with Blogger and I can't upload any photos here. So until they fix it, you can see my pictures on my Flickr page.

Happy Hour

Tonight we had a department happy hour. We met at Southern Sun, a wonderful brewery and restaurant in south Boulder. I spent many, many nights at Southern Sun during my grad student days. This happy hour was to welcome a new employee and to say good bye to an old employee who will be leaving next week. Mostly it was just an opportunity to get together, to blow off some steam, and to have a good time. And we certainly had a good time. We had a wonderful time in fact. There's always something cool about getting a bunch of gals together to drink and talk about anything and everything. It's definitely something we plan on doing more often, because we have such a great group of people in our department.

And as an added surprise for the evening, I ran into two of my grad school professors at Southern Sun. It was nice to see some familiar faces that I haven't seen in several years. And they told me that there will be a lecture on campus next Monday night. Since one of these professors will be the one speaking, I just might check it out. And, of course, the other professor who was there, an older, crazy German guy, told me that he wanted me to be his personal guest and that I would have to sit right next to him. How can one say no?

Wish I Had My Camera

I wish I brought my camera to work. The view from my window is beautiful!

That's all for now. I'll write more later.

Killer Raccoons

I just went outside to throw away some trash and it was a near-death experience. Our garbage dumpsters are surrounded by walls, and I casually walked into the area to toss my trash in the dumpster. Little did I know that a HUGE raccoon was walking on top of the wall. He was right in front of me, and I guess the bag of trash falling into the dumpster scared him, so he tried to run away along the wall. The only problem is that he ran directly toward me. And, let me remind me that he was HUGE! I got freaked out and I scurried away. Naturally, because I'm a drama queen, I had visions of him jumping on my back and chewing off my head, but fortunately I got away.

I was scared...

Quiet Weekend

This has been a quiet weekend. It's the first weekend I've had where I didn't bring work home with me. Actually, I probably could have brought work home with me, but I chose not to. So what have I been doing this weekend? Absolutely nothing. Although, I have been sleeping a lot if that counts as something. Mostly I've just been taking it easy and I've been trying to relax. I did buy one of those instructional DVDs for beginning T'ai Chi, because I'm trying to fine tune my body and mind. It's a pretty cool DVD, but I think that it will take a lot of practice before I get the movements down. T'ai Chi really is like a dance, and I'm not the most coordinated or graceful woman in the world. Plus, when you watch it on TV, you're normal tendency is to mirror what the instructor is doing, but when you're moving your left leg to mirror him and when he starts talking about moving the right leg it gets really confusing. At least it is confusing to me, since I obviously have understanding the difference between right and left. But maybe I'll get the hang of it. I do have to day that it is very relaxing when you're not struggling to understand the difference between right and left. I also want to try something called Budokon which combines yoga and martial arts. I think the martial arts would be easier for me (I'm much more coordinated when it comes to kicking and punching!) and it would be a way to get into yoga.

I must be on another health kick, because yesterday I was trying to cook up something new with a new recipe I found. Tofu Chili. The chili I've always made in the past usually involved browning ground beef, adding tomatoes, and throwing in one of those ready-made spice packages. But, I thought it might be interesting to try to make chili from scratch, and I got the crazy idea to try tofu chili. This recipe involved chopping up carrots, green bell peppers, onions, garlic, adding individual spices (i.e. not in a handy package), and cooking it up all together with tomatoes, black beans, and tofu. Well, it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. I love tofu, but it just wasn't working in the chili. Maybe I need to experiment with the spice combination, or maybe I should have tried it with meat first. Sigh... I'd make a lousy vegetarian.

In other news, the weather has taken a turn. It was cloudy all day yesterday, and then it started to rain late in the afternoon. It has been raining on and off ever since. Once again, it is a sign that winter is around the corner, but it is feeling quite cozy today.

Current mood: relaxed
Current music: Melissa Etheridge. The Awakening. (An awesome CD)

This, That, and Everything in Between

Today was a strange day. At work we found out that someone accepted a project editor position we had open. So we replaced two editors who left a few weeks ago. But we also found out that someone else will be leaving our department at the end of this month. It's too bad for us, but she'll be doing something that will be good for her, so you can't be too sad.

Things in general are good, though. I went out this evening to do some shopping, and I saw the most beautiful sunset. The sky was still a pale blue, the mountains were all silhouettes, and the sun was just starting to dip behind the mountains. The clouds were beautiful, and it looked like someone painted them bright orange. It was also one of those nights when I was kicking myself for not having my camera with me. I need to be better about bringing it with me where ever I go, because tonight I lost an opportunity to take some beautiful pictures.

Sadly, I continued on to do my shopping. I went to Target because I needed "just a few things." Yeah, we know what happens when you go to Target to get just a few things. I got what I needed, but I also brought home three CDs with me.

I needed to get some "face stuff" while on my shopping trip. Moisturizer. You always need moisturizer in Colorado and the stuff with SPF, too. Don't know why I'm telling you this, but now you know. Anyway, these days there is a whole assortment of moisturizers. I recently tried something from Olay, and it was part of their "Definity" line. It's part of their "anti-aging" line. Yes, I know, I'm only 32, but it couldn't hurt. Anyway, I decided to not buy it this time. It's really expensive, and, let's face it, I'm never going to be radiant and luminous no matter how hard I try and no matter what I put on my face. I'll stick with the basics and be content with just being moderately dim rather than radiant and luminous.

I just noticed an error on one of my CDs. They forgot to list one song on the back cover, now all of the other songs are numbered incorrectly. Damn editor in me.

Current mood: flirty and naughty
Current music: Faith Hill. The Hits. Faith is in love with me, she just doesn't know it yet!
Current drink: Barq's Root Beer. Yes, that's right, ROOT Beer.

Seasons Changing and Other Stuff

Seasons: You can tell that the seasons are starting to change. The leaves are turning yellow. The air is starting to get really cold at night and in the morning. The sun is setting earlier. I love the fall. Although I still believe that the best fall seasons I've seen have been in Michigan. In Colorado the leaves turn yellow--a very pretty yellow--but then they quickly turn brown before falling to the ground. In Michigan the leaves turn yellow, red, and orange. It looks like the trees are on fire. The fall in Colorado is still nice, though. But the coming of fall only means that winter is right around the corner, and I hope that it is a mild winter this year. I am not ready for another blizzard!

Other Stuff: On another note, I've recently gotten into Facebook. Yes, another Internet distraction to suck the life out of me. It's like MySpace, but I'm learning that it is a lot better. I originally signed on to Facebook because I knew that one of my friends was on it. It turns out I found a bunch of other friends who are on it, too. So now I'm reconnecting with some old friends. Pretty cool.

Current mood: feeling pretty good
Current music: Lisa Gerrard. The Silver Tree

Once an Editor...

Since I'm a big bad editor, or at least that's what I tell people, my friends often ask me if I critique and edit everything I hear, see, and read. Yes, I have to admit, I do. I cringe when I hear people speak incorrectly, my biggest pet peeve being when someone says "between X person and I." That's just wrong, people. You see grammatical errors everywhere. You'll find them in advertisements, newspaper headlines, fliers, restaurant menus, etc., and I'll notice them. Granted, I'm not perfect. I'm sure I've had more than my fair share of grammatical slips, and I'm sure I've dangled more than a few participles here and there. Naturally I like to blame these slips on working or typing too fast. I sometimes blame it on the wine or whatever I'm drinking at the time.

Where am I going with all of this??

Oh, the reason why I'm writing this post is because I was struck by something this afternoon. I noticed that whenever my beautiful friend and I send text messages to each other we both use complete sentences and proper grammar. She's also an editor. You'll never see any of the abbreviated language between us.

Okay, this is a random post and slightly disjointed. I'm not drinking yet, but I will probably have a beer soon. I'm just trying to think, type, and eat waffles at the same time. Yes, I'm eating waffles and two little sausage links for dinner. I love having breakfast for dinner occasionally.

Ummm, okay, I'm being random. And I'm a dork.

Mufflers and Car Alarms

There's an annoying little situation in my little neighborhood. Picture a little guy who owns a little car with two very large and loud mufflers. Picture a second little guy who also owns a little car with a very loud car alarm. Every time Little Guy Number One drives past Little Guy Number Two's car, Number One's loud muffler sets off Number Two's car alarm. It happens every single time. I kind of wonder if LG Number One does it on purpose. Really, it's a short street, you don't really need to gun the gas for twenty yards it takes you to get to the stop sign. I've never understood the purpose of loud mufflers in the first place, but whatever. The muffler is annoying, the overly sensitive car alarm is annoying, and I just thought I'd share.

Current mood: good
Current music: Maroon 5. It Won't Be Soon Before Long
Current drink: coffee

Using the Law for Purposes of Scams

I never answer my phone, my home line or my cell phone, when I don't recognize the number on the caller ID. This evening my home phone rang and I let the call go to my voicemail. There was a message from a woman saying that I've been named as a respondent in a civil complaint. She gave an affidavit number and used words like pursuant. She made threats that if I didn't call back or respond "further legal action or litigation would be filed against me." The woman said her name was Marie Knight (possibly a fake name) and that she was from Worldwide Investigation. I thought it was odd, so I did a little investigating of my own and searched on the phone number on the caller ID and the number she gave me to call back. It turns out that a lot of people receive phone calls like this, and basically this company tries to get the person to turn over information like bank account numbers and social security numbers. I guess the threat of legal action scares enough people into doing things like this.

I kind of hope that she calls back. I'd be tempted to challenge her and ask her if all of the proper legal documents, like the complaint, have been filed and why haven't I received them; what state and county would hold jurisdiction; what are the causes of action; what is the theory of relief, etc. You know, basic stuff like that.

Current mood: relaxed
Current music: Loreena McKennitt. Nights from the Alhambra
Current drink: Fat Tire

Working on the Weekend

Most people work for the weekend (who sang that song, again?), but I've been working on the weekends. Things are still busy at work, and because I have three books going to press tomorrow, things are a little busier. I've been getting to work at my normal time, 8:00, but for the past week I've been pulling long hours and working until around 6:30 on most nights. And that doesn't account for the work that I still take home with me. We also have a new person starting in our department tomorrow. Since the first week is usually filled with training and lunches and various other things, that doesn't leave much time to get any real work done. So I've been pulling the long hours just to get enough done to make up for any time I'll lose during the week. Normally I can bring work home with me on the weekends, but this time I had to go into the office. I actually like working in the office on the weekends. Of course I try not to make a habit of it. I like working when it is absolutely silent except for the creaking of the building as it settles and the sound of the wind blowing against the windows. There is something both eerie and fun about hearing random sounds that I normally don't notice during the average workday.

I worked today for only about three hours or so, and I'm determined to enjoy the rest of my weekend. In reality, I'll probably just try to clean my apartment. How exciting! But, on a brighter note, it is absolutely beautiful today. The weather has been fabulous.

Current mood: productive
Current music: K.T. Tunstall. Drastic Fantastic
Current drink: Fat Tire

Holy Grail

In my dream I had a vision of you--
       Pure
       Divine
       Immortal
You descended from above--
       Slowly
       Heavenly
       Cloaked in a radiant glow
I felt your power as you came to me--
       Warming me
       Soothing me
       Caressing me
I saw all that you had to offer--
       Eternal Life
       Eternal Hope
       Eternal Love
I extended my hands to you--
       Needing you
       Desiring you
       Wanting to possess you
As quickly as you appeared, you vanished--
       Teasing me
       Seducing me
       Not wanting to be possessed so easily
I set out on my quest--
       Day and night I ride
       Searching for you
       Praying for you
Where are you, my Holy Grail--
       Let me be worthy of you
       Let me possess you
       Let me drink from you

Fall...For a Day...

At some point during the evening last night/this morning I was awakened to the sound of wind and a cold breeze blowing through my bedroom window. I got up to close the window a tad, then crawled back in my warm bed and snuggled into my teddy bear. ...Yes, I'm 32 and I still have a teddy bear... I woke up again during the evening/morning to the sound of rain. I looked at my alarm clock and it was still 5:00, so I snuggled deeper into my blankets. My alarm went off about an hour later and when I lifted my head up to look out the window I saw that it was still relatively dark outside. It was cloudy and raining. With weather like this, surely it must be Sunday, I thought, and I was wondering why my alarm was going off. Sadly, I soon realized that it was, in fact, Monday. I hit snooze a few times before dragging myself out of bed.

This was truly a fall day. I had warm, steaming oatmeal for breakfast and some good coffee while I watched the news. It was still raining, and the rain started to fall harder. On days like this, the only thing I want to do is stay at home and sit on the couch under a blanket while drinking coffee and watching the Food Network on TV. But, alas, I had to go to work. Right when I got to my office the rain started to fall harder, and eventually the rain turned into little pellets of hail. Our parking lot was covered with hail within a few minutes. Temperatures stayed cold and it rained all day. The clouds were so low that they covered the mountains entirely. It seemed like the mountains disappeared completely. The clouds kept things dark; we didn't see one ray of sunshine all day. 5:00 in the afternoon felt like 8:00 in the evening because it seemed so unusually dark.

Most of the people at work hated the weather we had today, but I loved it. There was just something cozy about it. But, according to the weather people, things will warm up and brighten up later this week. Sigh... I'm not quite ready for snow yet, but I liked what we had today.

Things at work are still busy. I actually brought work home with me tonight that I've been working on this evening. I just wanted to take a break to share my weather report.

Current mood: surprisingly relaxed
Current drink: Haven's 2002 Napa Valley Merlot

More Bad Use of Greek

I opened the Friday, September 21, "Screen" section of the Denver Post and nearly went through the roof when I saw this:
Once again, we have a display of very bad use of Greek. I know that the Greek alphabet is very cool, but, COME ON, people! Do NOT use it just because it looks cool. Why? Because to people who can actually read Greek, you only look STUPID! This ad, or whatever you want to call it, is part of a review for the movie Eastern Promises. I assume it is supposed to say "diary of violence." But if you transliterate it, it reads, "diarg sf nisleece." Who were the IDIOTS who actually came up with this idea?! How is it that you people even have jobs?! And don't you have supervisors or language consultants who check and verify your work?! MORONS! You should all be fired and kicked to the street! ARGH!

YES, I'M ANGRY, AND YES I'M SHOUTING!!!

Pooped and Plagues

Pooped: This has been another busy week at work, and, yes, I realize that it is only Tuesday. We have quite a few books going to press over the next few weeks, and the last few stages to finish things are usually pretty chaotic and hectic. In addition to all of the work we have to do, this week we're also interviewing our next potential project editors. It is nice that we can all sit in and ask questions during the interviews, but it does take a big chunk of time to get through several interviews a day. I've been coming into work early and staying late to make up for lost time. I've also brought work home on a few occasions, but I often don't get as much accomplished as I want to. I'm usually too tired...and occasionally writing blog posts... But mostly my eyes are just tired. I came home tonight and put some drops in my eyes, and for a moment I thought that I put Tabasco sauce in my eye. It kind of burned. Oh well. We editors work through pain and injuries, burning eyes and paper cuts and all...

Plague: there have been several plagues sweeping through our office over the past few weeks. I think the stress has weakened immune systems. The first plague was a stomach flu that hit most of the people in the office. Fortunately I escaped that plague. Now a plague is currently hitting our little editorial department, but this plague has struck from the neck up. There are sore throats, sniffles, and general head colds. I'm going to do my best to ward off this plague. I've been telling my co-workers to eat a lot of soup and drink lots of tea or a smoothie from Jamba Juice. I might actually get some Jamba Juice before I go into the office tomorrow. Maybe I'll load it up with vitamin and immunity boosts. Although, the thought struck me last night that a Jamba Juice smoothie would taste really good with a shot of Vodka.

And just to let my Ma know, yes, I'm taking my cod liver pills...

Clothes That Fit and the Dangers of Sidewalks

Clothes That Fit: So I know that the style for many guys these days is to wear baggy pants and pants that sometimes "sag" a little on the hips. Well, some guys tend to take it to the extreme. Here is a tip: if you pants fall down when you run, you should probably buy a smaller size or wear a belt. I was on my way to work this morning and I was waiting at a red light. A guy started to run across the crosswalk, probably trying to beat the light that was about to change. His speed and progress were seriously impeded when his pants fell down around his knees. What followed next was a brief stumble and a near fall as he sort of waddled like a penguin while he struggled to pull up his pants. Fortunately his boxers stayed up around his waist, but, still, that was an odd sight at 7:30 a.m.

The Danger of Sidewalks: I'm not sure if there is something wrong with the sidewalks and streets around Boulder, or if the quality of skateboarding this year has gotten worse. On several occasions over the past few weeks, I've seen skateboarders crash for no apparent reason. They're going along their merry way, then they go one way and their skateboard goes another way. A few times the skateboards rolled dangerously close to the street, and one actually did roll into the street and was run over by a Super Shuttle and shattered into a million pieces.

Cursed Words

Eros
Childish god
Impish devil
Stringing your bow with your silken thread
Steadying two golden arrows
Thrust through my heart
Torn
Bleeding
Tormenting God
As the tears well in my eyes
The yearning, the passion, the love
The fear...
All silenced within
Strangling my voice
Cursed words
"I love you"
Hate me, Love me
Feel whatever you will
Simply,
Silently,
I say,
I love you...

Brit

So, as I mentioned in last night's post, I caught a glimpse of the VMAs on MTV. Personally, I think it is ironic that MTV hosts the Video Music Awards when they never play videos anymore, but that is another post...

All of the hoopla at this year's show was centered around Britney Spears, because, naturally, last night was supposed to be her big "comeback" performance after sever turbulent and tumultuous years. Well, it wasn't exactly the "comeback" that everyone was expecting, and she wasn't the same Britney that we all used to know and love. Yes, lip-synched, and, yes, she was a wee bit unsteady while she danced in her heels. As to be expect--and sadly, actually--she was ripped apart by the media the next day. Granted, the performance wasn't her best, but--sadly, again--the majority of the critics focused on her weight. Wait a minute, What? She might not look the way she did a few years ago, but she's also had two kids since then and she has other "issues." But, honestly, does she look all that different from the typical woman on the street? She looks like what the average woman looks like, and is that a bad thing? I suppose by the media's standards, it is a bad thing. These days the picture of normal is stick-thin and anorexic. Bones, unhealthy skin, and unhealthy hair are all you see in the majority of celebrities these days. Personally, I don't see anything sexy about being able to count all 206 bones through a woman's skin. But, these days, a woman with even the slightest amount of meat on her bones is immediately called fat. Who cares if a woman has meat on her bones as long as she is healthy? This is all ironic because there was once a time when a voluptuous woman was the ideal. But now curves and healthy weight are a bad thing. No wonder so many women have body image problems. The entertainment world--and the rest of the world for that matter--can keep its stick-thin women. I'll take a healthy woman with curves any day.

This is a random post...and I'm not even drinking yet...

Vegetable

I opted for the wine tonight. Catena's 2005 Malbec to be exact.

I wanted to be a vegetable tonight, so I sat on the couch and looked for something good on TV. I didn't have much luck. There was football, which was okay, but it was the Giants vs. the Cowboys, so I didn't have any personal interest in that game. There were random things on Food Network. I turned to MTV to catch a glimpse of the VMAs. What a disaster! Honestly, does anyone really sing anymore or is it really possible to lip-synch your way through your entire career? Disappointed, disgusted, and sometimes horrified by the few performances I saw at the VMAs, I decided to put in a DVD of Loreena McKennitt's performance at the Alhambra. Now that is what you call real singing and real performing! The woman actually sings, and she sings beautifully. No fancy stage production (other than a setting at the Alhambra), no wild dance moves, just pure performing and pure singing. And you didn't see any lip-synching. And, really, how many performers can play a harp next to an electric guitar and make it sound really awesome?! I think some of the performers today could take a lesson from her!

Yawn...

This has been an odd week. It has been both busy and quiet, if that makes any sense. Things have been busy at work, and things will probably get even more busy over the next few weeks. Life in general, though, has been relatively quiet. Not much is going on and nothing too exciting has happened recently, except for my promotion. Professionally I've been keeping busy, but privately and personally I've been taking it easy. I like my "me-time" and like to retreat into my "self" as Marcus Aurelius would say.

Right now it is feeling like a true fall day. Earlier this morning, temperatures were in the 50s and it was cloudy and overcast. They expect temperatures to stay around the mid-60s today. I like this, and I've been looking forward to it all summer. There is just something cozy about this time of the year. It is cozy and comfortable to snuggle in a long-sleeved t-shirt or sweatshirt. Lighting incense and candles always seems more romantic in the fall and winter. I like the crispness in the air, and I can't wait for the smell of wood burning in fireplaces. It will be nice when it starts to snow, but I really hope that our winter this year isn't as bad as the winter we had last year. Speaking of snow and blizzards, I need to buy a warmer pair of gloves...and maybe a shovel, just in case...

In a nutshell, things are quiet, and for me, that is a good thing.
---------------
Update, 6:42 p.m.: the temperature never rose above 60, at least not here in Boulder. Temperatures stayed in the 50s, and here I sit, snug and cozy in my "Classicist" sweatshirt. The real question is what to drink tonight. It is possibly too cold to drink a beer, but maybe not. Red wine would be nice. Or I could make a cup of tea. Tea?? I suppose I could make tea if I wanted a hot toddy... Decisions, decisions...

Promotion

So after being at my new job for only five months, I've already received a promotion. Part of this has to do with the fact that one of our senior project editors will be leaving us. But I was asked to step up to assume one of the "leadership roles" in our department. Either I'm that good, or these people are that crazy, because I've been with the company for only five months! I'm excited, and it is both flattering and scary all at the same time. It will be a lot of work and a lot of responsibility, but I suppose they trust me and think that I'm capable of handling it. It's nice to know that my abilities are recognized and respected!

All of this comes with a new title, Senior Project Editor; a new role, team leader of my imprint; and a pretty good raise! I suppose I can't complain. Things are looking good right about now.

Current mood: scared and nervous but happy and flattered
Current music: Loreena McKennitt. Nights from the Alhambra
Current drink: peach martini...in celebration of my promotion, really...

Just Another Sunset...

Current mood: relaxed
Current music: Loreena McKennitt. Nights from the Alhambra
Current drink: Paraiso 2004 Riesling

Soccer Anyone?

I love soccer. Soccer is fun to watch. My big brother coaches soccer and when I was little (younger) I used to run around on the field chasing the ball while he was holding practice. I was probably getting in the way, but he let me and I had fun. So I have no problem with soccer...unless someone is playing it outside my bedroom window at 4:00 in the morning.

I haven't been sleeping well over the past few days, what, with strange dreams about getting attacked by bears and running extreme obstacle courses through the mountains with my co-workers who were running across rocks and rivers in high heels. So, I really need all the sleep I can get these days. This morning, I was stirred out of sleep by the sound of repeated thumps and loud voices. The thump was actually the sound of two people kicking a soccer ball to each other. Occasionally it would hit the trees outside my window, it would bounce off of walls, then one of them would dribble it (basketball style, not soccer style) on the sidewalk. All this at 4:00 in the morning. I can see how someone can not realize how loud they are being if they are having a party in their own house. Maybe they don't always realize that they are disturbing the people around them. But, seriously, how can you not know that you could potentially annoy people when you're playing soccer in a courtyard that is surrounded by other apartment units? ... at 4:00 in the morning!

Eventually, one of my neighbors yelled at them and told them to knock it off because it was 4:00 in the morning. The loud, obnoxious guy asked her what time it was and when she repeated it he just said "oh my God." And this wasn't an "oh my God, I can't believe how late/early it is and I'm sorry." It was more of an "oh my God, I really don't care." Then he made some annoying comment that she shouldn't worry about the time because tomorrow/today is Sunday and she shouldn't worry because she shouldn't have to get up to go to work. Obviously he was slightly drunk or stoned, or he is just an idiot. Either way, this guy and the girl he was with went back into their apartment, so it was good that the lady yelled at them. She is a new neighbor and replaced my previously annoying neighbor who used to talk on the phone really loud while smoking outside my apartment. But this new neighbor sounds like the type of woman who will call the police if things in the building get too loud and out of control. Probably more sensible than me running outside and swinging a frying pan at various heads.

Long Philosophical Post (not all my own)

I've been feeling moody these past few days, some might say weeks. Whenever I get into moods like this, I try to find a way to get myself out of the slightly depressed mood into a better mood. Often, I like to read the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius. Yes, it is exactly the thing that a dorky Classicist would do, but he often offers some practical advice. Here is a long piece that I hope you enjoy...

Men seek for seclusion in the wilderness, by the seashore, or in the mountains--a dream you have cherished only too fondly yourself. But such fancies are wholly unworthy of a philosopher, since at any moment you choose you can retire within yourself. Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul; above all, he who possesses resources in himself, which he need only contemplate to secure immediate ease of mind--the ease that is but another word for a well-ordered spirit. Avail yourself often, then, of this retirement, and so continually renew yourself. Make your rules of life brief, yet so as to embrace the fundamentals; recurrence to them will then suffice to remove all vexation, and send you back without fretting to the duties to which you must return.

After all, what is it that frets you? the vices of humanity? Remember the doctrine that all rational beings are created for one another; that toleration is a part of justice; and that men are not intentional evildoers. Think of the myriad enmities, suspicions, animosities, and conflicts that are now vanished with the dust and ashes of the men who knew them; and fret no more. ...

...Or does the bubble reputation distract you? Keep before your eyes the swift onset of oblivion, and the abysses of eternity before us and behind; mark how hollow are the echoes of applause, how fickle and undiscerning the judgments of professed admirers, and how puny the arena of human fame. For the entire earth is but a point, and the place of our own habitation but a minute corner in it; and how many are therein who will praise you, and what sort of men are they?

Remember then to withdraw into the little field of self. Above all, never struggle or strain; but be master of yourself, and view life as a man, as a human being, as a citizen, and as a mortal. Among the truths you will do well to contemplate most frequently are these two: first, that things can never touch the soul, but stand inert outside it, so that disquiet can arise only from fancies within; and secondly, that all visible objects change in a moment and will be no more. Think of the countless changes in which you yourself have had a part. The whole universe is change, and life itself is but what you deem it. (Translation by Maxwell Stainforth)

The No-Labor Labor Day Weekend

Today was the last Friday when we could enjoy our summer hours. Next week we're back to full working hours on Friday, and we will no longer be able to leave at 1:00 in the afternoon. I left right at 1:00, I didn't bring work home with me, and I vow to not check my work e-mail at all this weekend! If I do end up checking my e-mail or if somehow I find myself working, then I give my friends full permission to kick me.

Current mood: moody
Current music: Dead Can Dance
Current drink: peach martini

Nothing to Say

I would write a more extended post, but I don't have much to say and I'm not in the mood, really. Besides, my computer is somewhat occupied right now...

Photos

Yesterday I took the twisting, winding road all the way to Ned--or Nederland for you non-Coloradans--to take some pictures. It's an old, cozy mountain town, so I thought it would be the perfect place to take pictures. Well, it is the perfect place for pictures, but I went at a not-so-perfect time. Again, it was right in the middle of the day when the sun was at its harshest. I didn't like the "conditions" so I didn't take many pictures. But I do plan on going back on a day when I can manage to drag myself out of bed earlier than I have been. So I won't share my Ned pictures just yet, but here is your standard shot of the Flatirons with an old wooden fence in the foreground.

Furies

Tortured and tormented
Blinded and silenced
Overcome by these dark clouds and shades
These Erinyes...these Furies
Born from blood
Surrounding me
Hounding me
Retribution, Revenge, Vengeance
Iron claws tearing at my flesh
Clenched around my neck
Dragging me to such depths
Past the river Styx
Past Acheron and Charon with his rotten boat and old coins
Deep into dark-walled Hades
Robbing me of my mind
Robbing me of my soul...

--work in progress with a mythological twist...

Sigh...

Well, it has been another busy and crazy week at work. That part isn't so bad. I like to keep busy because it makes the day pass faster. But on Thursday we found out that one of our co-workers will be leaving the company. It will be hard to see her go because we will be losing so much experience. But she seems to be doing something that will be good for her, so we're all happy for her. But we're crushed.

I've been an emotional wreck this week--you can ask one of my friends to verify--so I think I'm going to grab my camera and try to find a nice place to take pretty pictures.

More later...

Current mood: moody
Current music: Beth Waters. Beth Waters
Current drink: coffee

Sunsets