Monday, December 31, 2007

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.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

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.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

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!)

Sunday, December 16, 2007

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!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

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

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Stress

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



Tuesday, December 11, 2007

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

Sunday, December 09, 2007

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

Thursday, December 06, 2007

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

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

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.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

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...

Saturday, December 01, 2007

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...