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...