Well, well, well. Here we are. I complained and vented and wished that something would happen, something would occur to trigger some kind of CHANGE at my branch and WHA-BAM!
Ritu's last day with us is Tuesday. Four days from now, my manager will be transferring locations to the San Ramon branch. We all figured she would consider going there after she moved from Newark to San Ramon last month - and of course we all felt more confident with that idea when the manager of San Ramon suddenly up and quit. I didn't, however, expect her to make her move, if any TODAY. This means that Ritu is gone as of Wednesday morning, and Ru's last day will be Friday 2/12. I know that we've been approved to hire a new MSR (YIPPPEEEEE!!!!!!) but who knows what's gonna happen. And before we even begin wondering who's going to replace her (there are a few candidates, none of whom I'm too excited about, except maybe Bryan from Main), Ritu's boss, Maria will be "running" our machine (I couldn't type well-oiled machine and keep a straight face). Here's the thing - I'm not worried or upset that the "big" boss will be "in town", chillin in the managers office and so forth. What I am greatly dreading is having to hear the sucking sound of Chris lips on Maria's ass, cuz I guarantee you, the moment she walks in, his lips will be on her feet before the door closes behind her. And if I can barely stand 20 minutes of his brown nose up her ass, I do not know how we'll deal with on a daily basis. Here's hoping he'll tone it down a little. I hope that Norman will finally get the chance to shine - he really does deserve the credit that he never gets. Also along for the ride, because a San Ramon employee is going on maternity and will not return to that particular branch when she gets back from the leave, MCU has opened an FSR Floater position, mainly to float between the Dublin and San Ramon branches. Ritu asked me today if I would be interested in that. After weighing out all the pros and cons, I'm not going to apply for it. San Ramon and Dublin are just too far, even when I am in Fremont. it's disappointing though, because as Norman says, you don't get anywhere in this company unless an upper taps your shoulder. It doesn't matter how long you've been there, what experience you bring or what particular position you are. It comes down to who taps your shoulder, and if you say Yes or No Thanks. Oh well. I'm just grateful I have a job. It's a drama filled job, very very drama filled and I really don't like having to deal with all of it, but again, I have a job and I'm quite lucky to have survived the horrible economy.
Oh and if Chris walk the walk of the all the talk he's been talking - and he actually does enlist in the Air Force, our branch is gonna be one empty place.
I need to go wipe my drippy nose and go to bed. :)
- Location:dario's
- Mood:
done
Saturday night I was feeling a little blah, but didn't think anything of it. Maybe just a little tired. Or maybe just exhausted from all the crap from the past 30 days. Yesterday morning, I woke up with a stuffed nostril which has now become a nice head cold. I just finished antibiotics for the last cold that turned majorily nasty on 1/19. Two weeks and we're gonna do this dance again? So frickin frustrating! I'm hoping I can combat this with disgusting amounts of Vitamin C and get over it in 4 days like so many other people seem to be. I emailed my doctor to notify her that this has popped up again - just so she's aware - and to ask if she wanted me to come in before this escalated or if I need to just ride it out like any other cold. We'll see what she says.
Around 4:30pm I was hanging around FB (cuz I had nothing else to do), and saw a posting from Chris. Now let's recall, Chris is beyond arrogant, lazy and selfish at work pretty consistently. He ignores members so someone else will help them, and for the past 6 nights I've closed with him - he has not done a damn thing. Chris openly admits that he hates any Operations at work and we all know and unwillingly accept that Chris is just here to make money. That's his focus, that's his ambition (that all the Uppers admire). He doesn't give a rats ass if the CDMs have money or if they're up, he couldn't care less that the checks have to be balanced, counted and put away, or coffee has to be pulled and cleaned, or this needs to be sent to Accounting. Closing - Chris is at his desk, or in the bathroom, doing his own stuff while the rest of bust our asses we can go home. *Whew* okay so back to why I brought this up. Chris put on FB today, "I'm sorry, but if u come to work and don't want to work then stay ure ass at home. This is a job to some and career to others, but it's still work. If u don't wanna be here then stay the f* away. I can't stand inconsiderate and lazy ppl." I have to say, I think I might have scared Dario when I bust out laughing from this. So many things come to mind! The new definition for Irony. No words have been spoken that would prove "Calling the kettle black?"
After briefly talking to Norman tonight, he confirmed what I had already suspected - Guan-Ru is classic 2-week syndrome and is "making" Chris work by not helping members - therefore, he's compelled to get off the phone or stop whatever crap he's doing to actually work. I can't imagine what she didn't do during closing that he must of had to do himself, but I know that the next 10 days are gonna be awkward.
- Location:dario's
- Mood:
sleepytime
Today is 1 year of not smoking and by medical, insurance and Dario's standards, that means I am officially a non-smoker! Though I still miss it sometimes and I absolutely hate the weight I gained, it was totally worth all the effort and willpower. In addition, I believe that reaching 1 year not smoking means I can no longer blame the weight gain on quitting smoking - cuz the fact that I'm eating peanut-butter-fudge-covered grahams right now as I'm typing this kinda says something :) People ask me a lot how I quit smoking and almost all of them are shocked when I say, cold-turkey with the help of sugar-free cough drops. I remember how terrifying the idea of quitting was, it felt like standing on the edge of a high-dive platform, and so terrified to jump. A few weeks after I had quit, I remembered that fear, that image in my head, and I had to smile. It was all in my head - really. It wasn't anywhere close to being the impossible leap I had built it up to be. It was hard, but it wasn't the edge of blackness that I had imagined in my mind for months prior to. Back to the present - I had originally asked Dario to "celebrate" this anniversary with me by going out to dinner but because closing on Friday blows and the Smallville season premier was on tonight at 8pm, I said no worries and we can raincheck it for tomorrow. To fill the void (I'm feeling slightly dramatic tonight), I "celebrated" on Facebook and was met with fantastic well wishes. Hey I know! The peanut-butter-fudge-covered grahams can be my "good going girl!" cake. And my girls are gonna celebrate with me! Kristi and I are gonna get together sometime Saturday or Sunday and Michelle and I are gonna get some yummy food on Tuesday. I LOVE going out for good friends and good food.
Wednesday, Dario got off work and came home where I wait patiently for him. After missing him for 2 1/2 weeks, I practically jumped in his arms, he walked me to the bedroom and yeah. It didn't take long for me to know he had missed me too. After some lovey-dovey time, we headed over to our little Chinese place by the house which is just YUMMY! There is the sweetest lady that works there, and she always smiles when we come in and says, "sooooo nice to see you two again. You two are happy couple". (think chinese accent) After General Chicken and Shanghai Bao we headed to NewPark Mall. We were gonna see a movie and get food (have a date afternoon vs date night) but I just wasn't feelin the movies in the theaters, so we headed to the mall instead. He needed to return some pants to American Eagle, I needed new sunglasses (sniff, sniff) and we need to hit up someone's wedding registry at Macy's, cuz I just go crazy at Crate and Barrel. Though I absolutely hate going to American Eagle, I do without saying anything because Dario likes American Eagle. I personally feel like a big fat cow because they just do not like a girl with my figure. He returned his pants that I bought him for Christmas and got a store credit (I bought the wrong waist size, dur dur). After that, we headed to Macy's and printed out M&Ms wedding registry. I already knew what I had wanted to buy, but had 2 backups just incase. Dario was being very playful and naughty and when we were browsing around the kitchen appliances, and I saw the panini sandwich machines, I told Dario that would be a cool thing to have, he looked and me and said, "A panini? You already have one." I looked at him confused and he smirked and said, "oh no wait, that's punani" I laughed a lot louder than I meant to, and I felt like we needed to stage right from Macys. We made our purchase, and headed across the store to the bedding department - Dario and I bought 2 new pillows, which I'm not impressed with yet. After Macy's, we headed to Target to get a couple things, and I reluctantly bought a pair of sunglasses after trying a shitload on. (I left my favorite sunglasses, the ones I've had for 7 years at the movie theater 3 weeks ago) I love days off.
After weeks of suspicions and whispers, work is becoming an all time nerve-racking place to be. Ever since they laid off 9 employees and closed 2 branches, employees (naturally) have been anxious and fearful. It's really sad to see this. There have been changes in management here and there, managers resigning, employees transferring to other branches/departments and such but nothing was more than a shrug of the shoulders until this week. Once a month, following the 8:30am all Staff Meeting, all managers get together with the AVP of Retail Delivery (Ritu's direct boss), the AVP of Sales and Service and the VP of Retail Delivery. (He reports to the COO and the CEO.) And when Ritu returned from November and December's meeting, she seemed.....deflated, and tried to watch her word usage when explaining to us that the company's focus is to work on retaining the current relationships, versus seeking out new business. When Ritu came back from her January all-day Manager's meeting, you could see she was almost nervous about talking to us. And though what she told us is what we expected, we all swaps glances at each other, because we all know that there is a lot Ritu can't tell us....and in this economy, ignorance is not bliss - because if I know I'm gonna get laid off next month, I can plan for it. Now, I honestly don't think that our branch is in any danger, even with NUMMI closing March 31st (which will definitely have an impact on our branch business.) But Ritu's anxiety makes me nervous. There are definitely changes coming, and they are not the kind of changes that I would look to better the situation. I think there's going to be a lot of infrastructure changes and if that's the case, I do really believe that employees's current fears will be validated.
And for the latest drama in branch, after months of stomaching Guan-Ru's choices, and learning more factual info from what really went down when her affair with her manager came to light, Guan-Ru and I found our vibe and were starting to have a good time together. She still overwhelmed me a lot, but a lighter, playful side came out of her and it was nice to have another girl in the branch with me to pick on the boys. Guan-Ru gave her resignation today, after nearly 7 years with Meriwest. I really am surprised, I knew she was unhappy and I know that Ritu was starting to dig for things to pin on Ru, but I was really really surprised. Now for the uber-selfish part cuz hey, we're not the best of friends so I can think about myself in this without feeling guilty...mostly... What the hell is gonna happen now? Guan-Ru is the 6th person to come and go in 1 year in our branch. WHY SOMEONE HIGHER UP HASN'T TAKEN NOTICE I DON'T KNOW. But! It does reopen that door....will they bring in another FSR (god help us), or an MSR (PLEASE!) or maybe Ritu won't replace Ru (which would be the stupid thing ever). This also widens the wonder-pot. Ritu is more than likely gonna manage both our branch and San Ramon, since she just moved there and if that's the case - would Norman finally get the spot-light he deserves? Chris is starting to think about moving on - he's been not-so-subtly dropping the "I'm thinking about the Air Force" hints. Go for it dude. I'd like to see you up against other cocky, arrogant assholes who think they're the best.
My works...sucks.
Meh.
- Location:dario's
- Mood: yawning
Still January, still a shitty month.
The cold/sinus infection that I've had has pretty much disappeared, except for the incessant cough that only shows up when I'm talking (so I'm screwed). Still sniffly and still need to carry tissue in my pocket, just incase.
Norman was sent home on Friday morning for being too sick and was out Saturday as well. No matter how diligent we are with washing our hands, sanitizing and spraying the Lysol, this cold is still floating through our branch. (Ritu also had a slight fever today). This combined with our schedule is really going to make February suck.
Because February through April is tax season, it also becomes IRA season. Working in this industry, you HAVE to understand the ins, outs, ups and downs of QRPs, Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Coverdell IRAs, Keoghs and Retirement accounts, just to survive tax season. To help with this, Meriwest holds intense, 1 1/2 day IRA training classes for each and every FSR at the CU. This is definitely a good thing. The problem is, when you have 8-11 people in each class, approx 75 FSRs + 15 Mgrs, and the classes are only offered in February, you have scheduling issues. To make this work, Ritu's solution was to have each of us work a 6 day work week in February. Now, normally - this is not a big deal. Kinda sucks, but you get 2 half days off - you deal with it and then it's over. But the way she's twisted the 6 day work week is just ridiculous - and though the time cards will still say 40 hours, it's gonna feel like a lot more. My schedule for my February week, is Monday, I'm off 8am-12pm, then go to class 1pm-5pm. Nice. Tuesday and Wednesday are normal days. Thursday, I'm in training all day. Friday, I'm not working my usual 9:30-6:30, I'm working 11am-6:30pm. Saturday, I'm not working 8:45-1:30, I'm working 10am-1:30pm. (We get paid for 8 hours on Saturdays). Splitting 2 half days is not a problem, I can certainly deal with that. But working a half day, then coming in an hour or two later than usual is not my idea of 6 days. That week is gonna DRAG! I wonder if this means that February will now be like January's for me.
Speaking of, Saturday, we walked out and headed towards our cars when I realized I didn't have my car keys. I never take my car keys out of my purse, but I will most certainly lose them. Of course - I had to frickin lock my keys in my car! ARG!!!! Dario's got a spare at his house in Fremont, but he was working in Newark, and doesn't keep my spare on his normal keychain. So I called Mom and begged her to drive the 17 miles to my work to bring me the spare I keep at home. She, of course, was more than happy to come to my rescue as most mothers are I think :) After waiting a half hour or so, my mother drove into my parking lot - I don't think I've ever been so happy to see that T-Bird. I opened my car door and there were my keys, happily dangling from the ignition. My mom backed out of her parking spot when I flagged her down, once again. I turned the key - but nothing was happening. No tick, no crank, no turnover, NOTHING. Then I realized - not only had I left my keys in my car, but I had left the ignition turned so the radio was playing.....for 5 hours!!!! (And I left the head lights on.) My battery was almost completely drained. Mom pulled back into the parking spot and after 2 tries, my battery sucked some juice from Mom's battery (which we just bought 10 days ago after I and my jumpercables rescued her). My battery did not want to start but it finally did. I let it charge for a few minutes and then got in and buckled my seat belt, ready to go home. Mom walked up to my door, stuck her head in and said, let's not wait til tomorrow, let's go get our feet done now. So off to the nail place we went.
There are only three things left I am looking forward to this month. 1) - Wednesday, because I will finally get to hold and kiss and hug my boyfriend that I haven't seen in 2 1/2 weeks. I miss him so so much. 2) - Friday, my 1 year not-smoking anniversary. We're gonna celebrate with a very unhealthy, decadent dinner, because the following Monday is when I start the gym. 3) - February 1st.
I really, really hate January.
- Location:home
- Mood: tired
Apparently, I set my expectations for this year a little too high. I suppose expecting or even just hoping that the new year would start off optimistic or at least slightly sunny was naive. Actually, I should have known better. January is never a good month for me. Never has been. It's a recovery month, every single year. And most often, I'm not the kind of person that picks up the pieces and looks forward positively. Usually, I just gather up the shards, keep walking and think to myself, how the hell did I get here again. And this January doesn't seem to be immune to my annual January struggle.
New Years Eve, Dario and I headed to Kristi and Ernesto's for their "Hollywood Glam" Party. Since I haven't been feeling very glam lately (actually it's been over a year really) I wasn't very exciting about dressing up all fancy and I seriously doubted that Dario was going to willingly dress up for a party. After I talked with Kristi, she said that some of her friends said the same, and the solution to please us weird people was to bend the "glam" part. We could come dressed as a TV/Movie Character. Because we're both very slim on funds these days (what else is new) I had to come up with an easy costume for both of us in 1 day - without spending ANY money. And I have to hand it to myself, I did pretty good. Recently, Dario and I (coincidentally) got each other hooked on the other's fav shows. I got him hooked on NCIS and he got me stuck on Ghost Whisperer. Since I don't have the boobage to pretend to be Jennifer Love Hewitt (I certainly have the hips though), I went to NCIS. Tony and Ziva dress both casually and slightly "nice" so I figured I could come up with something in our closets. I took both our Black Raider hats and taped on an "NCIS". I printed out two badges (from Microsoft Word's Clip Art) and taped them onto our belts/waists. I dressed in a black shirt and cargos and I put Dario in his black Dickies and his soft sage green button-up. (And just about died when he was dressed. I forgot how handsome my boyfriend is when he dresses up.) It ended up being quite realistic, and everyone seemed to like it. (Interestingly enough though, Dario and I plus 2 other people were the only ones out of 20 that dressed like a character, everyone else looked like they just stepped out of their prom pictures). Dario didn't quite make it to midnight, we left at 11:40 and went home. We stayed up to see Dick Clark (depressing really). We watched the ball drop, he kissed me, and we went to bed. Ah yes, cheers to another fabulously celebrated New Years.
On 1/2, my mom boarded a plane with her best friend and flew down to Cabo San Lucas. Probably the first real vacation my mother has taken is at least a decade. During that week, I stayed in Fremont with Dario. And between trying to stay sane among the chaos and dealing with Josh and his nasty attitude, I really don't know where the week went. All I remember is that the week was kind of crazy, work was nasty, home (fremont) was nasty and by the time I picked up my mom on Saturday (1/9), I somehow managed to get a terrible, TERRIBLE cold, that I am still dealing with.
I feel like someone smacked me in the face with a board. My lower sinuses are so sore. Because I called in sick on Monday and Tuesday due to my fever and this cold, I used all my sick time. It's really retarded actually. My work gives me PTO, so if I take a vacation day or a sick day, it's all in the same pool. They're not separate. Because this cold/sinus infection got worse, I finally took myself to the doctor where I was sure she was gonna tell me that it was just a bad cold, take some Sudafed 24 hr and Advil for the sinus pain and you should be fine. Much to my surprise, I had somehow managed to pool blood in my sinus cavity (something I used to have a lot as a child due to my chronic ear infections). My throat, ears and nasal passages are all clogged and inflamed. My fever at the time was 100.3 and because of the fever, she pulled me from work Friday and today. Now normally, I would silently celebrate a doctor-required-mini-vacay at home, drinking tea and sleeping all I want. Except that I don't have any sick time and I really needed to go to work to finish some projects that were due LAST week. Kinda of reminded me of when I was a kid. You always wanted to have a fever when you didn't want to go to school. But the fever only showed up when you actually wanted to go out and do something. Anyways, because my doctor pulled me from work because of the fever and inflammation, Ritu made Norman work which screwed up his entire weekend. As if that wasn't bad enough, now she's stopping the Saturday rotations. Spectacular. Now my whole team is gonna hate me as if one person mad at me wasn't enough. We had just started rotating Saturdays off for our team. I have to take (2) 8 hr non-comp days for yesterday and today, which before taxes is $336 so I'm guessing my paycheck will be roughly $150-$200 shy of what it normally is. I'll probably be okay because I think this pay period falls on a paycheck that I get in the middle of the month. I finally managed to have a day without a fever, the first of the last 8 and I'm hoping it doesn't come back. Antibiotics are a good thing. And oranges. And lots and lots of tea. Green tea with lemon, Lemon Lift, Earl Grey, Decaf Earl Grey, Earl Gray Green Tea, Lemon Zinger, Sleepytime, Orange and Spice, Berry Zinger. My tea kettle has seen more use the last 8 days the in the few years I've had it. One of the best gifts I ever received. Nod to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
noodle_nose
.
Back to the January resentment (I was getting a little too positive that last sentence)...I'm always broke in January because of Christmas. January 2008 and January 2009 both sucked hardcore because of grieving my Dad and Grandma. (Dad passed 12/26/07 and Gram 8/13/08) Then again, this and last January had one surprising effect. Last January, I suffered through a nasty 6 day cold. It was also the kick in the ass I needed to quit smoking, and on January 29th of this month, I will have not smoked for 1 year. That, my friend, is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. With the cold that I've been dealing with this January, I haven't had a sip of coffee since 1/9. THAT, is unheard of in my world. Jessica not drink coffee? Now I will go back to drinking coffee because I enjoy it, but I finally learned that I don't have to have the IV feed in my arm all the time. Maybe I'll become a social coffee drinker. A little ray of sunshine in the gloomy January maybe? Possibly, but I'm not gonna get sucked into the idealistic dreamy world that January is the start to another year and anything is possible. I know that is entirely negative but it's how I feel. January is always a let down. A big let down. I need 11 months after it to recover. The start of January also brings on the dim hope that Dario will find another job, a good job, a decent paying job at some point in the year. But I'm not putting all my chips in on that idea either. Too many times I've put what little hope I have in January behind him to find another job. Now, I just tell him I believe in him when he needs to hear it, I offer to help, but I don't give pep talks anymore and emotional breakdowns never do any good for either of us. The only thing that will light a fire under his ass is me changing the comfort zone. And believe me, it's gone change this year because I can not live in this house, and be apart from him anymore. It's been 2 years. It's enough. This is not what we are supposed to be doing. This is not what we planned. I will not accidentally get pregnant and deal with that while living apart from the love of my life.
That brings up another January tradition. The questions. The questions that run through my mind. Will he propose this year? Will we get pregnant this year? Will we be back together; in our own place this year? Torturous questions.
Sometimes, hoping is just as disastrous as doing nothing.
- Location:home
- Mood:
gloomy
I didn't think I get back here to update my journal until after the 1st and then I realized how stupid that was and to just shut up and do it. God, it's not like it's huge big deal! I don't know what's wrong with me :) Big things to cover too! Nancy's retirement/my work birthday celebration, my birthday @ home, my birthday @ Fremont. Christmas decorating, Christmas...
Thursday, December 10th -
Getting ready to go to work, nothing on the kitchen counter but my cup of coffee. Picked up my purse, picked my keys turned to put my phone in my purse, fingers slipped, and phone drops smack dab right into my coffee cup. Could have hit the floor, could have bounced off of the counter - ANYWHERE on the counter, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, had to drop right in the middle of my full coffee cup. Needless to say, after I dried everything, phone didn't work and I went into panic mode. I drove to work , (it was nice and slow when I got there), spent some time on Verizon.com, and took advantage of my upgrade. I'm still questioning the LG ENV Touch (I had the LG ENV before) but I'm happy with what I have. Oh, and now, my old phone turns on and works just fine. HA!
Friday, December 11th -
I walked into work knowing it was Nancy's last day, and that she was gonna do everything in her power to make my birthday celebration bigger than her retirement day. And she did, oh good lord. Nancy asked what special lunch/dessert I wanted for my birthday, and thinking that I was gonna make it easier for her, I said finger foods. She always makes these incredible homemade lasagna's, caramel flan's, and just about any homemade dish you can think of. So I figured, if I made my request "small", she wouldn't have to go to so much work. I'm such an idiot. Nancy put out a spread like nobody's business. She went to town at Costco! I had egg rolls, mini quiches, little weinies, cream cheese and artichoke stuffed salami-rolls, a GORGEOUS veggie tray with the most delicious ranch dip I'd ever tasted; homemade shrimp tempura with green bean tempura on the side, chicken wings from Wing Stop that were to die for, chips with homemade salsa that would knock your socks off (with black beans, sweet corn and veggies) turkey wraps, sundried tomato/mozzarella/dill bruchetta (sp?), cucumber and california rolls. And not be out done, since I'm not big on the cake thing, and I didn't want another fruit tart (we'd had two that week!) Nancy asked me what I wanted for my cake. I told her that I had just visited the Prolific Oven in Newark and was so amazed at their pastry selection. www.prolific-oven.com/index.php (Dario and I had gone there for lunch, they have awesome sandwiches) I thought that she'd buy a couple of eclairs or something small like that. Nope, she bought a Grand Marnier Ball, 3 eclairs, a fruit tart, an apple streudel, napoleon and a lemon tart. I have pictures on my camera, but it's in Fremont. It was so incredible I couldn't stop eating!!!!!!! (Thank god everyone else liked the goodies!) Later that night, our team and a few others from Meriwest headed to El Torito across the street (off of Calaveras in Milpitas) for Nancy's Retirement "get together'. This should have been a huge party but only 10 people showed up (including our 5 branch employees). I was really upset that so many of the invitees had not come but it doesn't matter, Nancy had a good time.
Saturday, December 12th -
My 29th Birthday, I woke up and 7am, and headed to work. It was a pretty fast and easy day and lots of my members gave me happy birthdays and hugs. One even brought me a $10 Sbux card - which was totally unexpected and extremely generous because I've been helping him for awhile now and I know how broke he is. After work, I headed home to relax for a little bit until Gina, John and Austin came over for crab dinner. Since I was a little girl, when my birthday would roll around, my parents would always get 3 crabs for us, and we'd all sit on the living room floor with holey old bath towels and rolls of paper towels and 3 BIG bowls in the front of us, and watch "Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas" while eating the crab. One of the few traditions from my childhood I like to keep going. Gina, John and Austin were so sweet and gave me some AWESOME cards and great gifts. Gina gave me her black boots I've been eyeing for 2 years. I've been eyeing them because 4 years ago, her and I were blowing money at Mervyn's HUGE sale, and I bought two pairs of the boots for $5 each on clearance, and I've LOVED mine since then. I wore them so much, there's no sole left on the bottom of the boots! So, I kept telling her to give me her pair (they are the same size) so John shined them up for me, and she wrapped them in a beautiful gift wrapping. Best gift ever! They also gave me a really cute sweater/scarf set from Target - which I LOVE! I opened up my mom's card and to my confusion, saw a DMV registration printout for my card. And then the light bulb went on! She registered my car for me - it was due on 12/20. Ever since I got my car, back in 2001, mom has always paid my registration - as a birthday present since it was always due really close to my birthday. She didn't think she was gonna be able to pay it this year (which as totally fine!) but obviously that was a charade. Saved me $100! :)
Sunday, December 13th -
I headed over to Fremont to see Dario and his family. Roxanne had asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner and I requested her amazing Salmon. She makes the best oven-baked Salmon. It was kind of a quiet day until everyone got home and we got into the "birthday" groove. Jynessa had me open her gift from her and Roxanne - which was a foot spa. Not really something I'll use, but the funny part about is that I pulled Jynessa's name from the hat this year, so I was her Secret Santa and she had asked for a foot spa. (Very Jynessa to give a gift that she wants) The funny part is, Friday night, I had just ordered one from Target.com! I hid my sneaky smile and said THANKS! Dario and Josh gave me a new copy of my favorite book "Stones From the River" by Ursula Hegi. I've read my old copy so many times, pages were coming out of it and the spine was almost completely broken. So I was very happy to open that up!!!!
Friday, December 18th -
After getting my temporary crown put on December 1st, it was ready to fall out any second. I headed into the dentist's office and he fitted the permanent one on. Let me tell you something, because of the world I'm from - I appreciate things that most people take for granted. Having a dark front tooth since I was 14 stopped me from having any confidence in my smile, and after my parents' and I spent $15K combined on my damn teeth - having a dark front tooth and not smiling like I want to is just terrible. But now? I smile all the time. That night, our team, including Nancy headed over to Nijo Castle in Fremont. nijocastle.net/ Like Benihana's, it's utensil/food acrobatics and yummy food! We had a blast and while we were waiting for dessert, we handed each other our Christmas gifts. I was Norman's Secret Santa, and since he only put 3 small, cheap things down on his Xmas List, I bought all three! (Blu Ray dvd, USB Flash Drive and a iTunes gift card.) Just to be me, I gave him a gag gift that actually turned out to have some realistic usage. Because Normie always talks in funny voices, and like Yoda all the time, I bought him a medium-large sized Yoda from Target and clipped the iTunes gift card onto Yoda's robe. He thought it was hysterical! I gave him the gift receipt so he could return Yoda, but it turns that out his baby girl, Kea really likes it. Especially when Daddy talks like Yoda!
And finally, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 2009 -
Christmas Eve, I loaded a shit load of gifts into my car and drove to Fremont. Christmas Eve was surprisingly quiet at the Galvan house, but once night fell, the magical chaos started to happen. Dario had been awake more than 24 hours and was literally falling asleep in the middle of sentences, so off to bed he went at 9pm. Just about 10pm, Fremont had a brown-out. Not all the power, but close to it was out. We tried to wrap the remaining gifts by candle and fireplace light (though 12/24 and 12/25 were no burn days). 20 minutes later, the power went completely out and when I went to bed at 12:45am, it was still out. Jynessa and Roxanne said it came back on sometime between 1 and 2a. Christmas morning was the craziest, most chaotic day of the year in that house, which I expect and look forward to every year. Danuel was more interested in ripping paper than actually playing with the toys underneath. Josh and I spoiled the crap out of Dario, and I should have been smacked on the head for my christmas list. I gave the same christmas list to the Galvans, Dario and my Mom so I ended getting more than I asked for. Such as: 4 purses, 3 bath robes, 3 copies of Stones in the River (2 from my mom who accidently forgot she had already bought one and didn't know Dario gave me 1 for my bday) and 2 glove/scarf sets. Kinda funny... :) The highlight? Dario opening a small flat box from his mom and randomly yelled "MOM?!" Boy he got our attention. She laughing, he lifted out a pair of Batman briefs, size 34. It was hysterical! I came home in the late afternoon, and Jerry, Mom and I tore into our gifts. Jerry and I bought Mom the same thing - pillows! (Cuz she sleeps horribly). Jerry once saw my tag here on LiveJournal of the Wizard of Oz "don't make me get the flying monkeys" and bought me the sweater and shirt to match. (Literally!) When I had brought home my foot spa, my Mom said she really needed one and I said that I didn't really need this one, so her solution? "Hey, wrap it up and give to me!". So I did :) Then I went to our mani/pedi place and bought the foot scrub, soak and lotion they use on her feet (she gets terrible calluses) and wrapped those up too. She laughed pretty hard when she unwrapped the box. Mom also got a new purse because her old one looks like it's gonna fall apart! Course - she also bought me one of my 4 purses and really LOVED my other ones.
*Whew*. Fingers hurting, need to pack (heading to Fremont tomorrow). It's been a great December and an okay 2009 - though I really don't know where it's gone!
Happy New Year!
- Location:home
- Mood:
good
noodle_nose , I'm updating my live journal. You are right, it's been too long. :) Let's see what's happened since 11/17....
Danuel's baptism was on 11/15 at Holy Spirit Church in Fremont. Though I was brought up Mormon (not proud of it), I was always interested in Catholic churches. Something about going inside the chapel and seeing all the things in there - seems so much more holy and reverent than what I was used to. But the one thing that really got to me was before the baptism began, we were all waiting outside for mass to end and once everyone started spilling out of the chapel, I was appalled. I was brought up that when you go to church, you dress yourself appropriately. I mean, you're entering the house of the Lord, flip-flops, jeans and a stained t-shirt are just not in the dress code you know what I mean? I'm not judging, good for those people for going to church - not like I can say the same. I was just stunned. And I'm certainly not say that you have to be decked out in the top of the line, 3 piece suits and blah blah blah, but I personally, no matter what church I would be attending, would dress up. I really could never dress down to worship.
On 11/21, I headed over to
noodle_nose's bridal shower at her Mom's house in San Jose. I had to work that day since having a Saturday off at this job is nearly impossible. So after I got off work, I raced home, changed into my newly purchase comfy fat clothes and drove over to the house. I hated the fact that I got there late, but it was so good to see her and her parents and to finally meet her friends that I've heard about for years, but haven't met before. The 4 of us stood in the kitchen snacking on her Mom's amazing yummy food, just chatting it up, swapping stories and I really felt like I'd found my "group". Women who love to talk (and talk fast!) and love to talk about food, sex, families, well...everything actually! I really felt like I was with girls that I could trust, which is surprising since there are very very few woman that I truly trust, yet not surprising because they're her friends, and I should have known better all this time instead of letting my stupid self-conscienciness dictate how I feel about people I've never met. God, 28, nearly 29, you'd think I'd have this down by now! DUH!!! I can't wait to hang out with them again, so much fun!!! Though I'm scared of our potential volume :) Thanksgiving morning, Mom and I (Jerry was still in Michigan with his family), got up and drove to Rancho Murieta, outside of Sacramento, before Jackson, to visit and stay the night with my Grandpa Ben. Though my grandpa and I talk often, I hadn't seen him in at least 9 or 10 years. I was so afraid that when he opened the door, I'd see this frail old man. The last time I saw him I think he was 74 or 75 and now he's 84, which after taking care of my grandmother is old and frail and I did not want to see him like that. But to my happy surprise, when he opened the door, he looked nearly the same as the last time I had seen him. His hair is now white, not gray, and he's slightly bent over but normal as can be. We joked and laughed and told stories and caught up and it was absolutely fantastic. Friday morning, we sat and had breakfast (yummy cinnamon rolls and my grandfather's fantastic coffee). We hugged and kissed and Mom and I drove away with smiles on our faces that we both had not expected after staying more than a few hours with her dad and her step-mother Irene. After coming home, we sat and drank coffee and watched TV, we both were just ho-hum and didn't feel like doing anything. Saturday we woke up and found the wind that we were lacking the day before and dove head first into our screen room. Back and forth we both went carrying boxes and Rubbermaid storage totes and plastic bags etc. filled to the brims with Christmas decorations and wrappings, lights etc. After getting all of it out, my mom looked at me and said, "I wish I had all our family Christmas stuff". All her stuff, including our family's history (pictures etc) are up in her 2 storage units in Incline Village from when she lived there. When she moved to Phoenix in 2006, it was supposed to be temporary but 2 months later her "position was eliminated" and she lost her job. When she found a new job in Phoenix, we had always planned on driving a U-Haul up to Incline Village and getting her stored items but never seemed to do it. So back to Saturday, she's really homesick for these things and I looked at her and said, "well, why don't we do it next weekend before the snow comes in at Tahoe?" So, we put the Christmas stuff down, jumped on the computer and booked a UHaul reservation and a hotel reservation and here it is, we're driving to Reno today after work! So excited - I'm gonna get to unwrap Christmas presents and ornaments from my childhood!
I started writing the above on Saturday 12/5, about 10am while I was at work. Then it got busy, and I couldn't finish.
After I left work, we headed to Reno, and the below is what happened.
________________________________________
The original plan was to leave Saturday afternoon, drive the 6 hours to Reno, stay the night, get up the next morning, pick up the Uhaul, drive to Incline Village (N. Lake Tahoe), empty out 2 storage units and drive home; to arrive sometime in early Sunday evening. The winter storm wasn't supposed to hit that area until Midnight or 1am Sunday evening, and we knew we'd be out before then.
However, mother nature & weathermen do not speak the same language and weatherman are shitty interpreters. (Eh hem, Mr. Weatherman, your storm came in 12 hours earlier than you said)
Saturday, I left work at 1:30pm, drove home, packed a bag, got in my car with Jerry and Mom and headed north to Reno. After stops for fast food and coffee, we drove into Downtown Reno at 7:30pm at 16 degrees outside. We checked into the Silver Legacy (a hotel my mom and I had stayed at before), went down into the bar/restaurant/slots area and relaxed for a couple hours.
I woke up and had breakfast with my two cousins I haven't seen, literally, in years - I had such a blast! After breakfast, I met my mom and Jerry at the Uhaul and off we drove to Incline Village, about 25 miles away. As we climbed Interstate 80, the snow started falling, small and quiet at first. But it started getting faster and faster and starting getting really scary. The wind started gusting just as we pulled into the storage place. Thank the Lord above there was an elevator in the storage buildings. Little by little Jerry and I loaded boxes, 2 mattress sets, a HUGE headboard and footboard etc into the Uhaul while the snow whipped us in the face and just piled inside the truck. After nearly 2 hours, we (barely) closed the truck doors and carefully started driving towards the center of town to get gas. As we pulled into Chevron in Kings Beach, a lady inside said that they just came from 80 and that CHP had closed it due to heavy snow and high winds. We checked 511 and the Truckee CHP which both said that there were no chains required or any road conditions or closures. We headed down 28 towards 267 when we slightly skidded on the snow. Mom and I decided to go back and buy chains for my Honda AND the Uhaul. All this time, the snow is coming down like crazy and the wind just won't stop. As we were waiting for Jerry to come back and meet us (he was at the corner where we had skidded), he called and said that he was helping some guy who skidded and crashed. At that point, we checked again and sure enough, 80 was closed due to high winds and heavy snow.
Knowing even if they reopened 80 soon, it would be dark, we checked into a motel called Ferrari's Crown Motel. Turned out to be a great place RIGHT ON THE LAKE! I caught a few pictures when the snow lightened up a little, but the rest of the evening, the snow and wind just kept coming and coming. We stayed inside, eating Campbell's soup and crackers, and watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Smoky Mountain Christmas :)
Monday morning, we opened the door and low and behold, nearly 2.5 feet of snow had fallen, covering my car and the Uhaul and made driving not so easy. We checked the weather reports and 511 for road conditions, and the weight of the storm was over yet. High winds were still coming and as far down as the Bay Area was to expect freezing tempatures and rain or snow. Knowing that our window of daylight to leave was coming and going, we checked the weather reports and road conditions and blam! Blustery conditions on 80, heavy snow and ice on the freeway. We all knew that getting down 267 (to get to 80) was going to be shady at best and it was really dangerous with the Uhaul. The weather did not cooperate or lighten up until after 4, and there was no way in hell we were going to drive in the dark after that much snow had fallen and it was barely in the teens outside.
Tuesday morning, I opened the drapes, the sun was shining, there was nothing but blue sky. Though it was an astonishing NEGATIVE 15 DEGREES outside at 7am, we all were so excited to get the hell outta dodge and get home!!!!!!
We left Kings Beach around 10:30 and drove into town around 3:45pm. It was so beautiful driving down 80, (with nearly dry roads) and even better as we descended down elevation levels. By the time we got to Davis, the snow was gone, and green hills with blue skies were greeting us. (Until we got into San Ramon, from there all the way home was cloudy skies?
I know the idea of getting snowed in at Tahoe is exciting - but that's only if you can enjoy your time there! We weren't able to go anywhere, could barely go outside. Remember, we didn't plan for the cold or the snow. So we didn't exactly pack for weather in the teens, let alone the negative numbers. We all brought 1 pair of sweats, tennis shoes, and sweatershirts. Only my mom had a jacket that was pretty good keeping you warm in that kind of weather. Jerry was smart enough to bring long johns. I somehow managed to bring a pair of snow boots (the only reason I could walk to Rite Aid across the street and get Cup of Noodles and Campbell soups). Because our 1 planned night turned into 3, mom and I had to buy underwear and socks at Rite Aid and handwash them in the bathroom sink of our hotel room.
The next time I go to Tahoe in the winter, I'm packing all my luggage set pieces. You never know what can happen.
Oh - does anybody wanna buy brand-new, never used chains? I have a set for my Honda and a frickin Uhaul. :) Now to the laundry and unpacking. :)
- Location:home
- Mood: relieved
This morning, we saw the email from our CEO. Not only did they lay off 9 people, they are closing both Tucson, AZ branches effective 1/1/10. That's another 14 people. Okay, now my heart is starting to beat a little faster. I know it's selfish, but what's gonna happen when NUMMI closes in March? My branch is the main branch for the 4K or so NUMMI employees, family member and vendors. They lose their jobs, we lose branch traffic, we lose loan apps, and soon, when their buyouts and unemployments run out, we take loan losses which will eventually equal branch closure or staff reduction. I know it's naive to think that all this time, all the conversations I've had and all the counseling I've done with members, it's soooo foolish to think that we wouldn't be affected this way. But obviously, one domino hits another and the rest is history. I suppose it was only a matter of time, and though I'm sure the business is doing much better than I'm imagining at the moment, it's still scary to know that my "position could be eliminated" without any hints.
Since Ru has been at our branch, Nancy and I have had a real problem with Ru's behavior. She's juvenile, silly and beyond loud. I'm cute loud. She's distracting loud. BIG difference.
My last entry I introduced Ru. What I originally typed, then deleted was why Ru was transferred to our branch, and how much it bothered (and still bothers) me. Ru came to Milpitas because she was having a year + long affair with the now ex-branch manager at the Hillsdale location. He was fired, and from what I've heard, the affair was just the tip of the iceberg for HR to nail and fire Herb. (He was a jack ass). Why Ru wasn't let go, I have no idea. She is a supervisor, or was at least at Hillsdale, along with being the Vault Teller there as well.
Now I am in no way innocent as compared to Ru, but something about this just sits with me very very wrong. To top it off, Nancy heard her on the phone (she's on the fucking phone ALL THE GOD DAMN TIME!) and overheard her said, "what about your wife?". Today, she requested to take her lunch at 12:30 because she had a dentist appointment. When I went in the back room to give Nancy her keys, Ru was putting on makeup, then perfume, and then lipstick. She smiled, walked out, and I looked at Nancy and said, "Since when do you get prettied up for your dentist?". She was gone nearly 1 hr 15 minutes (her lunch is 45 minutes). By the time Nancy and I had told Norman that he had to do something, he told Ritu that Ru was VERY late from her lunch. Five minutes later, she walked through the door, glowing. It made me sick to my stomach. She came back on the floor and began telling me about her trip home to Taiwan next week (for 3 weeks she's on vacay) and how she didn't know what she and her husband were going to do on the plane for that long. I wanted to slap her.
Pile it all on, and it's been a stressful week. And it's only Tuesday.
- Location:home
- Mood:
exhausted
I went back to work on 10/21, and to my surprise, it was the ideal transition day. The kind of day where I thought it would be busy, with Angelina gone just the Murphy's Law of it that I was back from vacation. The kind of day that I would have to go through 300 emails, most of them crap, (multiple forwards that I didn't need to be CC'd on, but was because people use "Reply to All" more than they should). But it wasn't busy, it was...slow for a mid-week day. And it was Chris's day off, and Ritu was at her all-day manager roundtable @ SJ Main. It was a good day. In fact, nothing really got to the dark until Friday, when I met our "replacement" and Ritu went on control-overload because her boss was coming in to ensure a "smooth transition" for our "replacement".
Our "replacement" is none other, than Guan-Ru Wang from the Hillsdale location. (Aka, Ru) Guan-Ru Wang is not an MSR (Teller), she is an FSR, like me. And Norman. And Chris. The fact that Angelina left so quickly and we "desperately needed a replacement teller" had nothing to do with Ru's arrival because, as I said above, Angelina was a teller. Ru is not a teller, she is an FSR, like Chris, Norman and Me. Our branch has 3 FSR stations, 2 MSR Stations, 1 glass room (privacy) and 1 manager office. Where the fuck do we put her? It is not possible to be and work as an FSR when you're working at a MSR station. Trust me, personal experience. Oy ve. Four FSRS?!?!!?!? Moving on... Guan-Ru Wang has quite the reputation, one such as she is a total shark, will do anything for the "sale" and cares about nothing but doing her job, getting noticed for it and getting rewarded. And though doing your job, getting noticed and rewarded for it is not a crime, Ru does ANYTHING she can to get the sale, and that is why she is known as the "Shark." The kind of Shark that will find ways to justify "taking" work from you, stealing your leads, calling your follow ups and booking the products you had intended to go over with the member. Chris being the Ninja that he is - I expect him to act like this though he hasn't yet. But let me say it here and now; once he sees Ru getting away with it, there will be no stopping him. And if that truly does happen, Norman and I will be screwed. I'm very nervous that now that we have the top 2 powerhouse sales people in the same branch, Ritu will increase our production goals - which I'm scrapeing by now as it is. *Whew*
On Friday 10/30, we all dressed up at work (see Halloween Pictures), though we were the only branch and department (so I've heard) that didn't have a theme to our costumes, or decorations. (In fact, we didn't have any decorations, except for a few Michael's scarecrows which were obviously more for autumn decoration, not Halloween.) Chris was disgustingly eyeing my legs all day long, and though it was nice to be noticed for a change, you won't see me in a skirt until I lose the fucking 35 pounds I've gained. I am so tired of feeling this fat. I feel fat, I seriously feel fat. I hate it.
On Halloween, I drove to Dario's after dinner time, and pulled into his driveway just as kids and their parents and lots of loser teenagers were walking around. Dario and I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to see any decorated houses. (Dario LOVES Halloween and especially when people go all out tfor the decorations. Okay, I do too.) About 15 minutes into the walk, there was a cute little 2 year old in a Frankenstein costume about 50 feet in front of us. I smiled and pointed at him, and Dario looked over and smiled too. I said, "I want a little Frankenstein, so cute." After telling him that I think I was ready to sacrifice all my selfish vices (like sleeping 11 hours on my day off), he looked at me and very calmly, sweetly and seriously said, then stop taking your pill. My heart skipped a beat and for the next 10 minutes or so, as we walked around the houses, we seriously discussed having a baby. The whole she-bang. I haven't been able to get my mind off of the baby talk since. So much so that when I woke this morning, my hands were cradling my tummy, and I never sleep on my back.
Sunday was my day off and Dario and I decided that because I was too depressed to watch the Raiders get killed again, we'd go see Paranormal Activity. When the movie was over, we walked out of the theater and we both couldn't believe how short it was and that ya, it had some good moments, but it was just so-so. Hours later (and days later), the more we talked about it, the more we both liked it. It was interesting :)
Today I was off and I waited for Dario to come home from work (around 2). I spent a lot of time with Danuel, Dario's nephew, which isn't out of the ordinary, and then lazed around with Dario when he came home. As the night progressed, I got very anxious and very moody - which seems to happen a lot lately. I don't know what's going on. I feel shaky at times, like I'm about to dive head-on into an anxiety attack. My mood's are totally on a whim - though I don't stay laughing or in a good mood very long. The last two times Dario and I had sex I haven't had an orgasm - which is very strange saying that I almost always have one. Even he asked if everything was okay. I also noticed that I'm having very weird, but realistic dreams - where the actions and times/places are now - my real life, but people I haven't seen or talked to in years are showing up. I don't know how to explain it. I'm going through some kind of funk and I really need to find my way out.
Okay, that's about as up to date as I'm gonna get because I have to get my ass in bed so I can get up tomorrow and dread having to go to work :)
- Location:dario's
- Mood:
edgy
Shame on me - the last month has been kinda hectic and stressful and I did not want to relive my stress-filled days by writing about them. Foolish to think that by ignoring it and not "getting it out", it would go away. I took a big breath and then realized, I've been on vacation for a week now so I can let it go and just recap on the last week of my vacation. I've just made a new cup of tea and I have 20 minutes before the Dark Chocolate Brownies need to come out of the oven. (that are smelling amazing) So here we go:
(Bullets help me stay on track since I have a lot to catch up on)
- Work - thru October 12th (start of my vacation)
- Ritu - MANAGER (Micro-manager to the max!)
- Norman - ASSISTANT BRANCH MANAGER (Normie-Awesome guy)
- Nancy - VAULT TELLER / SUPERVISOR (Retiring 12/09, the Mama of our branch, can't stand Ritu)
- Chris - SUPERVISOR - KINDA (NINJA fucker who we all hate. Major ass-kisser and Ritu's blatantly obvious favorite)
- Angelina - TELLER (who hates Ritu and Chris and everything about our branch)
- Home - thru October 13th (last day at home, then to Fremont for vacay)
- Vacation!!!! Whoops, wait a minute, oven timer going off..... Okay, hot Dark Chocolate Brownies cooling on the stove...
Friday morning, Dario left for work at 5:45am, kissed my cheek, then softly stroked my cheek and said, "goodbye wisdom tooth". Such a dork! I headed to my *new* dentist at 10am where I waited anxiously in the chair for Dr. Stewart. The last time I had a tooth pulled, it was this whole ordeal and it took forever. He came in, smiled, we chatted, he told me what he was gonna do and I said, "go for it". He gave me two injections of Epi (Anesethic with adrenalin), then asked me if I wanted the third one with or without Epi. (I've had a lot of experience in the dental chairs) I said that I was cool, No Epi would be fine. Quick explanation - when you have a dental procedure that requires numbing thru injections, they almost always use Anesethesia that has Adrenalin in it - it works faster and lasts longer. The down side is - depending on ones sensitivity to adrenalin, people get raised heart rates and the shakes. I don't. I've had so many dental procedures where they've used Epi-Anesethics that my sensitivity levels is very very low. So much so that they just ask me what I want. Anyways! I am not kidding - the right side of my mouth was a little tingling, he went in, made two very strange noises with my teeth, then scooted away and said, "You're done". I couldn't believe it - it was so fast - I left the office at 10:20! My wisdom tooth was fully erupted and they "pulled' just like any other tooth. Frickin awesome. today is Sunday and I have no pain - just a whole in my mouth :) VERY VERY GOOD DENTIST!
And now, I am up to speed. Dario and I are gonna see Paranormal Activity tomorrow, drink so more Octoberfest and sleep one more time together. I'm heading home on Tuesday morning after having coffee with him. It's gonna be hard to go back to work! :) I'm gonna go scarf some Dark Chocolate Brownies, make so more tea and play some Yahoo Games. :)
- Location:dario's
- Mood:
chocoholic
Not much to report the last week - surprisingly. It's been rather quiet. We had an episode at work today, where I once again had to shake my head and bite my tongue because something was utterly and truly UNFAIR but nothing will ever be done about it. Not even worth staying upset about. Though now that I think about it, there have been an increasingly amount of "unfair" things happening at work recently. And they're not things that someone did to me or vice versa. They're company things. Policies that favor one and screw the other. Decisions that really screw and play favorites. Maybe it seems to be increasing because my manager and my branch are the ones who are getting screwed. Time to update the resume I think. :)
I have noticed that the past couple of days, I've been thinking about my ex, and first love, Chris. I have no idea why but I can not seem to stop playing the fantasy of what it would be like if we just happened to run into each other. It's been 7 or 8 years since I've seen him, 11 years since we were together. True enough, I know that you never forget your first love, but why I can't get him out of my head I don't know. I wonder if I'm searching for something that truly has not to do with him, but I don't know what I'm searching for.
- Location:home
Saturday after work - I met Dario at his work and we walked across the parking to the Hawaiian BBQ place. This seems to be our little routine. I get off of work on Saturdays around 1:30pm, I head to his work and usually wait til around 2pm when he gets off, then we walk to our little Hawaiian BBQ place and share a "regular plate of Chicken Katsu and a medium soda". After we scarffed down the yummy chicken, we drove to the mall entrance (which you can clearly see and walk to but we were full and lazy). I had to swing by Target and pick up a new white cardigan - I managed to stain my other one. (Imagine that, I stained a white top with coffee) We ended up trying on shoes (Dario needs new work ones too) and he was trying to find me some cute flip flops to wear with my "matronly" outfit that I planned on wearing to the Shakespeare Festival the next day. After Target, we headed over to the Raider Image because I've been itching to get a Raider hat since we're going to the opening game tonight (MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BABY!). After trying on at least 8-10 hats (all of the them were too big, except the toddler ones), I found a pink one with a pink ribbon symbol and a raiders shield. I was about to get that one when Dario found a "vintage" looking black one that was sized for Ladies. We got that one - it's really really cute and it fits which is amazing. I'm gonna wear that with my hair in pigtails (at the bottom of my head) and my raiders sweater. It was rainy and cold last night in Fremont, so I'm hoping it will at least not rain tonight. Cold I can deal with. After the Raider Image, Dario and I were just about malled-out, when we saw Payless Shoe Source right above us on the 2nd floor. (I know, we're living large) We went upstairs and tried on a couple of shoes, but still didn't find much. We decided to leave, it was nearly 5:30pm and Josh was blowing up our phones with text messages of "where are you?" "When are you coming home?". We kept quiet most of the evening, just had computer time and played games with Josh. I read 2 more chapters of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (frickin awesome BTW, I'm LOVED the Quiddich World Cup, so much better than what was in the movie) and then we went to sleep. I wasn't thinking about my lack of sleep, or that this was my first night in Fremont and that is usually the worst night.
I opened my eyes at 9:30am and smiled. I slept the entire night through, my back pain was minimal, and I felt rested. I have not slept through the night in weeks; and the best part was - Dario was right next to me - and I got to snuggle up to him while we woke up slowly. He rolled over and was looking over me and smiled - just to tease him I pulled my shirt up and without hesitation, he was all over me, literally. What followed was incredibly fantastic and I will never think of "quickies" in the morning quite the same.
A couple cups of coffee and oreos (ya, I'm never gonna lose weight), I fooled around on Facebook and then we got ready to head over the Shakespeare Festival. Overall, it was fine - a little pricey - $43 for the three of us, but it was fine. I've been to other "Shakespeare Festival and Renassaince Fairs" that were bigger with more people, but it was fine. We got to watch a real jousting event, cheering for a VERY charming "Prince Killem" who, because of his hair cut, goatee and rugged late 30s-early 40s features, reminded me of Aragorn from LOTR. Lots and lots of boobies were bouncing from the tops of corsets all around the park. And let me tell you - ladies, if you have boobs that are larger than Ds, don't wear a corset that makes them bigger. For crying out loud, I though you were gonna injure yourself when you were walk past. We love Ardenwood, so in the end it was worth it. We were originally going to head to the Ghiradelli Chocolate Festival in SF, but scrapped that idea with Josh said he wanted to go to the Shakespeare Festival. Each time I visit the park with them, though it's more expensive than what I was looking for, I really think that's where Dario and I should get married.
We came home from the festival and Josh was just in a mood to end all moods. Talk about puberty - good frickin lord. We ended our evening quietly and went to bed. And then, my normal "first night in Fremont" sleep pattern kicked in. I woke up last night at 2:35am, then 5:30am, then 7:15am, and then finally got out of bed at 9:40am. I feel like I slept enough, but unless I sleep fully tonight, getting up for work tomorrow's gonna be a pain.
Since Friday morning, I've been waking up with major tooth/jaw pain on the right side of my mouth. I have a wisdom tooth that is fully grown in on the upper right side, and the lower right side, the wisdom there is starting to crown through the gum tissue. Very, very painful. Each morning hurts more than the last, I've been popping Advil twice a day to compensate and this morning, I finally called another dentist and made an appointment. I feel absolutely terrible about going to another dentist besides my own, but I simply can not afford my dentist in Saratoga/Los Gatos. Enough is enough, if this accredited dentist is gonna charge me $700 for the crown I need, and $700-$800 for one wisdom pull - why should I pay $1300 for his crown and nearly $1000 for one wisdom pull? It's ridiculous. So I have an appointment at 2pm today with Dr. Bernard Stewart, who all the Galvan's see except Dario. They're gonna take some xrays, which I expect, I just hope I can open my mouth wide enough - cuz it's a little painful to do so right now. We'll see what happens. I need to have a post and a crown done on my darkening front tooth, and at least 1 of my wisdom's pulled.
After my adventure at the dentist today, we're gonna be heading to the Raider's game. I hope they win. It's against the Chargers (one of our divisions), at home, Monday Night Football, opening game. Last year, we had the same situation except it was the Broncos (also in our division. The Broncos are our rival enemies, and they killed us 45-14. Horrible game to watch.
- Location:dario's
- Mood: calm
It's not just heavy eye-lids I've been fighting. It's back pain, knee and foot pain. I'm moody, WAY more than usual. My shoulders feel like I've been sitting at a desk 24/7. I'm drinking way too much caffeine and not nearly enough water (to compensate for no sleep). The 8 pounds I lost I've nearly gained back. It's just horrible.
To makes matters worse, I go to work, and my stupid manager is just all up in arms because someone didn't tell her something, they told Norman, who's my supervisor and the only reason that I come to work. He just had a baby (July 19th) and she barely sleeps, making his and his wife's lives very very difficult. He's in the same boat I am, very tired all the time. Anyway, Ritu was making a big stink because we were all calling Norman if we were gonna be later etc. We've been going to Norman for help when we should be going to her. Problem is, her answers are usually wrong - so much so that now, even if I go to her for help, I double check with another person just incase and frequently, she was wrong! Ugh! So fucking frustrating.
I'm hoping that 2.5 days off again will brighten my outlook and disposition cuz frankly, it sucks. (I work a half day every Saturday and this past Monday was Labor Day, and this Monday is my dayoff) Tomorrow is a half day and it'll probably be busier than hell, then after work we're heading over to the Renassaince Fair in Fremont. Sunday we're gonna try to get up to the city for the Ghiradelli Chocolate Festival (YUM!) and then Monday is Monday Night Football, opening night at home against the Chargers. CAN'T WAIT!
Sooooo ready for bed. Let's see if I wake up at 3 or 4 tonight :)
- Mood:
bitchy
1. I am 50% deaf in my right ear. I'm not trying to be rude, I really can't hear you, especially if you're mumbling. You're gonna need to repeat what you just said, thanks.
2. I wear my watch on my right wrist. No, I'm not left-handed. No, I'm sure why I do this. My mom does it too - maybe it's genetic?
3. I lost my Father the day after Xmas 2007. Just 8 months later, I lost my best-friend, my Gramma Joan. I don't think the pain will ever go away.
4. I like to have at least 2 shows to watch on TV at the same time. That way, I have a flip-to channel when a commercial comes on. Same thing with the radio. No, most people don't like watching TV with me..
5. I'm incredibly lucky to be madly in love with my best friend, who deeply loves me - going on 8 years now. No, we're not married. I'm happy, leave it at that please.
6. I (supposedly) wake up Dario in the middle of the night and start a conversation, though I'm completely asleep. Occassionally, I sit straight up in my sleep and Dario will either gently lay me back down, or I'll awake sitting up and wonder why I'm not laying flat...(maybe all the caffeine is catching up to me...)
7. I am mediocre at everything I try to do or be. I'm too self-conscience to be anything outside of mediocre and I hate the fact that I'm mediocre.
8. Yes, I type as fast as I talk. I can do dicatation. Oh, and yes, I did think about becoming a court reporter.
9. Yea I quit smoking this year! Damn, add 18 pounds.
10. In all, I have 27 cousins. I talk to 2 of them....Rarely. It's really sad and I always think about reaching out to them.
11. I have been blessed to have never had a broken bone, major/life threatening illness or surgery of any kind. Now that I've written that down, I'm probably going to walk into a door and break my nose, then get swine flu and have to have my appendix removed because irony just makes life more interesting.
12. I've always wanted to have a little boy. Until I became a step-mother to a now-13-year-teenager. Now, I say I want a girl all the time. (Farts are only funny so many times)
13. I'm not gonna play FarmVille. Or Mafia Wars. Please, please! Stop asking me.
14. I am absolutely terrified that I will never pay off my debt. EVER. It's just too high. I'm also terrified that something will happen to me and I won't be able to work - and therefore everything will hit the fan. I live in fear.
15. I got to sit and have a cup of coffee with Jerry Seinfeld when he came to my Starbucks store. He's really charming.
16. I want to go back to school. I'm too afraid of the cost. But I really really want to go back to school.
17. I have a weakness for good looking firemen (40s-50s, salt and pepper gray haired). I also can't take my eyes off of a studly looking Paramedic. I've been trying to get Dario into an EMT's uniform, he just won't do it :(
18. I do not celebrate Valentine's Day. I don't buy into all the pink and red lovey-dovey crap. It's a commercial holiday that does nothing but pressure my man into spending a buttload of money on some generic gift that every man is out buying his woman. No thanks. Our Anniversary works just fine as the one day to celebrate our love and passion for each other.
19. When Dario looks at me with his "I love you eyes", everything in this world stops.
20. I could eat peanut-butter on wheat toast and a Yoplait Cherry-Pomagrante Yogurt everyday for breakfast. (Thanks Gramma, I miss our routines)
21. I am a firm believer in routines and traditions. It's very comforting to know that you can rely on something, that it will bring you memories each time you have that tradition. Routines give you a sense of order, that things are the way they're supposed to be. Not that there's anything wrong with being spontaneous - though I do believe that as you get older, you're more comfortable with routines more than things occuring spontaneously. (Or maybe I lived with an older person too long)
22. I encourage any parent to introduce your child to playing a musical instrument. No, they probably won't become a professional musician - but I promise you, the rewards of producing music are healing and something to cherish. I am forever grateful my parents encouraged me to play the piano. I'm mediocre at it - but I can play good enough, and I love it. Music is expression at its best.
23. At least twice a month, someone asks me when I'm due, or if I'm having a boy or a girl. And it knocks the wind out of me everytime. Lesson to be learned folks - don't assume...ANYTHING. If I was pregnant, and I wanted to talk about it - I would. But since I'm not, you just made yourself look like a big dumbass. Good job!
24. I LOVE Nightmare Before Christmas. And Corpse Bride. And Coraline. And I can't wait to see 9. I like Tim Burton. Dario and I are Sally and Jack - it's our thing.
25. My favorite quote of all time: "Sometimes I go into my own little world, but it's okay because they know me there." My second favorite quote: "Be kinder than necessary. Everyone is battling something."
- Location:home
- Mood: sad
He walked into the branch today, no other members were in the branch. He walked up to my station. (I hate when they just assume you're available) I flipped over the loan app I was working on and asked how I could help him. After processing his deposit, the member looked at me and asked, "Are you having a boy or a girl? Or are you just gonna wait to find out?" I took a breath (unnoticeably) and kindly stated with a smile that I wasn't expecting. The member was incredibly apologetic and after the 4th "I'm so sorry", I looked at the member and said, "Oh, it's okay, don't worry about it."
Why in this world did I comfort this man when he completely insulted me? Despite that it wasn't intentional? Why did I say it's okay when it's not?
- Location:home
- Mood: irritated
On Wednesday (my day off), Dario and I headed to Best Buy to decide if we were going to get Josh the cell phone he's been wanting for his 13th birthday on 8/28. We knew that there was a chance of a retail mark-up and that we could have easily gone to a Verizon store, but we have a Best Buy credit card and that's how we decided we would pay for the phone...if we bought it. After spending nearly an hour with a very odd, but informative young lady, we decided to get the phone he wanted and add Josh to my current Verizon Family Plan (that I share with my mom). We both walked out of the store excited - Dario was playing with the new phone, putting our phone numbers it in, while I was reciting all the ways that Josh COULDN'T run the minutes or text/pix messages out. In the end, Josh absolutely adored the phone and has yet to put it down. (Though I was a little bruised when he came home from Target with Dario's Mom and he was holding a brand new PSP, even though we told her we'd bought the phone and that was his expensive gift this year. I hate when grandma's / nana's do that)
Saturday, I dragged my feet to work, moaning under my breath about how much I did not want to be there. Work has progressively gotten worse and worse as each day goes on - and my day's off just do not seem close enough. Luckily, Saturday moved rather quickly and I was back "home" with Dario sooner that I had expected. After the afternoon had cooled off, Dario and I decided to go back to FuddRuckers and then hop over to Target so I could find a pair of capris to wear to the Annual Niles Antique Fair and Flea Market the next day with his mom. The one pair of jeans that fit are just a little too snug in the wrong place and too loose in the wrong place and very uncomfortable for long period's of walking...and sweating. After nearly a hour of trying on clothes (now he truly understands why I prefer to shop online), I found a rather plain taupe colored pair of capris and a cute light blue stone tee shirt. (Which I realized after I had washed it that it was a Maternity tee shirt. Yeah. Great for my self esteem)
After staying up WAY too late Saturday night, I very slowly rolled out of bed (a great technique for avoiding tight-muscle back pain when I finally decide to get up) Sunday morning and realized it was a lot later than I had wanted (nearly 10:30) and Roxanne (Dario's mom) was already showered and putting her makeup on. I got out of bed and literally gulped down a tepid cup of coffee (for which I later had to take a Protonix for). I put on my little outfit, walked into the living room and asked Dario if I looked okay. He said yes (quite convincingly). I asked if I looked too matronly - I had to explain what I meant, and he said "Jessica, you look fine. You look comfortable and cute." And I believed him.
Roxanne and I headed to the Antiques Fair. Can I just say - have I found my cup of tea!!!!!! I LOVE antiques - and though I didn't buy anything, I had the time of my life. There was one dish set that if I had had the cash, I would have bought. It was a deep red thick glass, she had all 8 dinner plates, salad plates, bowls, 2 serving bowls, soup toureen/ladle, 8 glass tumbles, 8 saucers with tea/coffee cups....(I could go on). All in all, it was over 70 pieces, and was nearly $275. (Which is a frickin steal for the brand which I have conveniently forgotten the name of.) Next door to her was a lady who was selling all her Pink Ribbon goodies which I go to like a magnet! I saw a great hat (for which I have been in dire need of. Everything we go to a festival or I'm outdoors for more than an hour, we always comment how I need a hat). The hat was baby pink with a crystal-studded pink ribbon. She was selling it for $4. (brand new, with tag) I hestitated and didn't buy it.
Another guy had the history of the telephone, an authentic (so he said) phones from many different decades. He had an original phone from 1922 (and other years) and a really cool framed history of the telephone with pictures. Another guy had old tobacco farming tools, original satchels with leaf tobacco in it; old packs of Camel "rolled" cigarettes (it did say it in quotations on the package).
After 4 hours of walking around the fair, Roxanne and I decided to call it a day. As we walked back through the 1st "aisle" of tents, I came across Pink Ribbon lady again. She had sold most of her items, except a gardening set, some knicks knacks...and the hat. I handed her a $5 and smiled and thanked her. Kinda stupid to have bought it at 4pm when I'd already been in the sun since Noon. But oh well. At least I have a hat; that sort of fits.
I came home with a forehead already turning an embarrassing shade of pink. Tired and hot, I waited for Dario to finish his quest and I headed to the bedroom to put my comfy shorts/shirt on. Just as I was walked past, Dario's sister and her BF looked at me and said, "you totally look like a mom Jess. Very matronly". I know it wasn't meant to hurt my feelings; I know it wasn't meant as a compliment; but I also know they probably assumed I'd laugh. But I didn't. I walked to the bedroom and cried like a little girl for 15 minutes. I felt horrible. Why did it have to be that word? Out of all the things they could have said...they had to pick the one that I was most sensitive about the entire day. I took a shower and stayed away from the living room the rest of the day.
Later in the evening, I started packing my stuff up which always sets the mood a little dim for the two of us. Despite that today was my day off, I was "requested" to attend our branch meeting today. Nice huh? Have to wake up and go to work nearly 45 minutes earlier on my day off than my normal working days. TOTAL WASTE OF TIME. It took my stupid manager nearly the entire 45 minutes we had for the meeting to decide that the solution to our "problem" was to pre-balance early. Nothing, not a fucking thing was accomplished at this meeting. Oh, except that she stated loud and clear that expectations have been made, and that she will be observing all of our individual time management so that she can advise us on how we can improve. I know it's her job, but for crying out loud. How the hell did we manage without her for 3 weeks while she was on her little trip to India?!!??!?! How did we survive?
After the branch meeting, I came home (at 9:30am) and drank more coffee. I just couldn't see to wake up. I started unpacking, sorting laundry, putting my makeup away and emptying my overnight bag when I saw it on the counter. For the first time in years, literally...YEARS, I had forgotten to take my pill. THE pill. The only one that matters right now. I'm not panicking, it's only one and besides, we didn't even get a chance this week to do anything. I'm just surprised I forgot to bring it with me to Fremont, knowing I'd be starting a new pack last night. I have to admit, there's a itty bitty part of me that doesn't want to take 2 tonight.
I got all my stuff together and decided that the little wind of motivation I had, I'd better use. I jumped in my car, and off I went to take care of all the little things I keep meaning to. I stopped by the post office to ship back one pair of my shoes and also bought some stamps, then headed to Sbux for an Iced Black Tea Lemonade. After that, was the UPS drop box to ship my other pair of shoes that didn't fit (bummer - they were cute Sketcher Mary Janes too). I stopped by my old branch at National 1st, and listened and observed how crappy it was there. (Glad I didn't go back). After that, I headed to the dry cleaners to drop off my new size 16 pants (hooray for me, 1 size away from PLUS) to have them hemmed because apparently, there aren't any other misses who are 5'3" and have a hip size like I do. I took the long way home from Los Gatos, down University Ave to drive by Vasona Lake Park, then all the way down Blossom Hill back to my house. I came in, sat down with my DS, and didn't move.
*Whew* At least I said it all. Now for bed.
- Location:home
- Mood: sleepy
I walk out of her office 10 minutes later, fuming. I'm not managing my time very well because my loan queue is still sitting. I can not get her to understand that if she asks me to help the line, that means I stop working on my queue. It's so incredibly frustrating. ARG!!! Can't wait to go back to it tomorrow. And tomorrow's day will be even more fantastic as I will be working a BD (Business Development) Event from 4pm-6:30pm. It's frickin fantastic - I get to be a sales person for 2.5 hours.....if someone walks up to the table/booth. I hate it so much - and I'm not looking forward to it at all.
We did watch "Coraline" today - which turned out to be quite cute - and very well directed/animated. (Stop Motion Animation) Dario and I really enjoy this type of film, of course starting with Nightmare Before Christmas, then Corpse Bride. I LOVE Tim Burton's short films as well. Disneyland during Halloween is the best place to be, and Dario and I wish to go back there every year - just because it looks like Nightmare has exploded all over the park - especially in / on the Haunted Mansion. One of the boxes I brought back from storage and unpacked was the Nightmare Before Christmas Village Town Set. Sadly, I purchased it nearly 5 years ago, but never took them out of the boxes. This year, it will be brightly lit! I'm very VERY excited!
Nightmare Before Christmas Village Town Set
www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prd
- Location:dario's
- Mood:
blah
Had Tuesday off - which was great (that was my project storage day) but coming back to work on Wednesday and knowing I have to work another 4 days makes for a very long week. I literally dragged myself out of bed this morning - the only reason was that I knew I would see Dario after work.Work went by relatively quickly and as soon as I turned my car on and buckled my seat - I smiled... I got to Dario's and came in to a HUGE smile from the baby who just loves me. I played with him for a little bit, then brought all my bags in (I usually pack my large Pink Ribbon duffel bag and my small suitcase, along with the overnight bag if I stay in Fremont for at least a week.) I threw them on the bed, changed into my jeans which were surprisingly tighter than the last time I wore them (did I gain weight or did they shrink again in the dryer I couldn't decide). Liberally sprayed on Banana Boat's Sport Performance 50 spf "ultra mist" continuous spray since that's what we had (the last sunscreen I tried) and hit the road. Off to the Cajon & Zydeco Festival @ Ardenwood Historic Park. We pulled into what is normally the dirt parking lot for the corn maze in October (they're unfortunaly not going to have one this year!) We made our way through the beautiful park, stopping to peek at the Patterson House www.ardenwood.com/community/ardenwood_ra
The festival was really fun - though Zydeco music isn't my first choice - it was very upbeat and watching everyone dance was pretty entertaining! Dario's dad loves Zydeco music as well as dancing so we got to see him have a ball! The food unfortunately was a let down - we really thought we'd see something better than majorily oily/fried bits of crawfish and gator - it was very interesting watching Josh try Gator!!! I bought too much candy and sugar but gave most of it away to Dario and his family.
After we called the festival a day, we walked around the remaining parts of the farm - and that was awesome - definitely my cup of tea. I've always enjoyed historic tours and such - things like the Winchester Mystery House and the town of Columbia (by Sonoma). I look at the original buildings and think in amazement of what it would have been like to live in that era in that house, etc. The most common use of the Patterson House now is a local museum, but Ardenwood also has wedding packages www.ardenwoodaffairs.com/ So of course when we were walking around the house and grounds, I was soaking in the beautiful outdoor setting but also silently telling myself, "oh now a row of chairs could go there..." Ardenwood has been on my wedding list of possibilities for a very long time - in fact I think it was the first Fremont possible wedding location when I started looking. I know - I dilute myself all the time - especially with the wedding stuff.
Most of the park is farming, they have lots of different animals, including one very excited horse - who was obviously male if you get my drift......all I keep thinking when I saw that was Eric Cartman in the South Park Movie when he's had the V-Chip put in and Doctor Bronzknocka instructs him to say, "doggy" then "pillow". "Alright. Now say Big Floppy Donkey Dick". Sorry I know that's morbid and nasty but it's what was in my thoughts :) We slowly made our way back to the truck and by the time we climbed in I had never felt older. My knees and thighs were very tight, my feet were burning so much so that I thought I had a few blisters (thank the lord I don't). We headed to a family cafe to grab a small bite to eat (the oily food just didn't sit very long with us). We came home and plopped in front of the comps. Healthy I know.
I think we're gonna try to stay awake to watch "Coraline" - it came from Netflix today. Hmm...maybe we'll watch it tomorrow.
Though I went to sleep after midnight, I woke up at 9am - which is surprising - usually with no alarm, no matter what time I go to bed, I sleep 10 straight hours on my day off. No worries - I wanted to get up so I could do my "wake up" routine (coffee, newspaper with comics and crossword, facebook and email) before Comcast came out (between 9 and 11) to figure out why our 2nd box wasn't getting any signals and I wanted to leave the house at a decent early afternoon hour to head over to Fremont for my newest project. In a nut shell, I've been feeling very blue lately, always thinking about how I have nothing to look forward to and I have to change my financial situation. (I'm making very good money, my mom is paying pretty much half for everything, I really need to pay off all my debt) I started thinking about our storage unit again. It costs me so much money, and there are things in the unit that we didn't think we'd have to store for 2 years or more, things that really should be donated/thrown away, or used. Like my yearbooks - I don't want those in a storage unit for years! We didn't cover our couches when we moved them into the unit and now they're filled with dusts and spiders - and they're hand-me-downs, 15 year old couches - I wanted to get rid of them when we moved out but Dario being Dario (rational), said it would be better to hand onto them as a just incase. Well, now's my chance to donate/toss em. We seriously have like 4 dressers in the unit. Dario and Josh share a dresser at his house, and I have a total of 3 here. So, more to donate. If I can't get all the things out of the unit - at least we can move it to a smaller and less expensive unit. The unit costs me $220/month. It's a 10x30 unit and I'd say it's about 90% full. (I like that we have walk-in capability) Now how I'm going to go about this I'm not sure. Today I brought home my stuff - my books, my trinkets, my pictures. Next I think I'm go through what we'll donate. Then next will be the furniture that we want to donate. (St. Vincent De Paul's is gonna love us) I know this will definitely take time - especially since the storage unit's in Fremont - and I'll only be able to grab a few small things at a time - and only when I'm home. If I'm in Fremont with Dario - I can't bring storage stuff to his house. This is gonna take awhile.
I finally got my butt out of the house before 1pm (I wanted to be at the storage at 12:30...oops). Just down 85, I realized I had forgotten my gloves. Now, I'm not usually one to huff and puff about getting dirty - but for boxes and items that have been sitting in a storage for 2 years, add the dust, the bugs, the spiderwebs..yuck. I decided to swing by the closest Longs/CVS (is it wrong to call it Longs?) to pick up some cheapy-gardening gloves. I went to the store on Braham and Meridian which I will NEVER go to again. First of all, there must be a senior housing center or something nearby because every person except me and the guy behind me were over 70- and SLOW! I waited, and waited and waited at the checkstand, finally it was my turn. This heavy-set white chick trying way too hard to sound cool asks me if I found everything okay...I answered yes and was waiting for her to do her thing on the register after I swiped my debit card. (I'm a 4-5 time-a-week visitor to Longs/CVS, I know the routine; not to mention Dario's sister works at one) As we're waiting for it to be approved, she looks at me and says, "You know you could have gotten 2 pairs of these gloves and a candy bar if you had gone to the Dollar Store?" Then she starts telling me about her glasses - that she got these $20 pair of glasses for $1 at the Dollar Store. WTF? Here's the thing - when I realized I had forgotten my gloves, my first thought was to go to the Dollar Store, however, Longs/CVS was closer and let's face it - when it comes to convenience, people will usually pay the higher price if it's faster and easier. Here's the other thing, you don't undercut and undersell the company you work for - that you represent. Normally I wouldn't care, but seriously - she really insulted my intelligence. You know - like, hey stupid - thanks for coming into CVS today - did you know you're spending too much money here? Oh my lord. Thirty minutes had gone by since I had walked into the CVS store, I sped out of the parking lot (which I don't usually do) and jumped on the freeway.
I got to Fremont a lot faster than I thought I would. I pulled in front of my storage unit and got ready. I got out of my car, and went to go unlock the storage when something caught my eye. I looked to my right and jumped back as fast as I could. A big, leggy, funky looking bug was sitting right next to the lever on the door. I realize that this is not a harmful bug but still - it crawls - and that gets to me. I took a deep breath and quickly unlocked the lock. I slowly raised the unit door (I didn't want to hit or harm the big bug) and looked at the task ahead of me. Oh my lord what was I thinking!?!??! pics.livejournal.com/dariosmonkey/galler
I plugged in my iPod and "Rag Doll" by Aerosmith was the song that was playing. (I LOVE that song) I took a deep breath, and dove into the mountain of boxes. Luckily Dario and I never skimped on the usage of the big black Sharpie pen - so all the boxes were labeled and easy to find. I did have to open a couple to see what was inside. Dario's idea of quick packing the day before we moved out was throwing the contents of 2 drawers/cabinets into a box and labeling it "HELLA STUFF". After 90 minutes or so of climbing up and down with boxes, sneezing constantly and sweating (though there was a nice breeze), the light against the inside of the storage changed - like someone had just driven past with their headlights on. I now know, it was the sun's reflection on Dario's windshield. We were supposed to meet up for lunch after I was done but he decided to come to the storage unit and surprise me. I showed him the creepy-crawly that was keeping me company. He helped me load the 14 boxes into my Honda and off we went. We drove across the overpass and into Pacific Commons - a big shopping plaza with good stores and decent food. (Kohl's, Old Navy etc.). Dario and I have been trying to save money by curbing our eating-outs, but when we do go out, we want to try new places. We went to Rubio's today. Dario got a burrito (surprise surprise), and I got their "world famous fish tacos". The food was good - they have a GREAT roasted chipolte salsa. For the price, Dario and I can get double the proportion elsewhere - but I will say it tasted fresh - like they advertised. The fish in my tacos was "beer-battered" so I'm not sure why I was surprised that it tasted like they put a beer-battered fish stick in the flour tortilla. I much prefer salmon over "white" fish for fish tacos. (Chevy's Fish Tacos with Salmon as the fish-of-the-day is killer). It was a decent lunch - but I'm not sure I'd go there again. I wasn't THAT impressed.
After lunch we talked about movies and Josh going back to school in 3 weeks. We walked back to the cars, said goodbye (I HATE DOING THAT and we drove our seperate ways on 880. I headed south, he headed north.
I came home and my feet and ankles were very tired. I tore into the boxes I brough home and oohed and aahhed and got all misty walking down Memory Lane - like I knew I would.
I'm hoping I can get another jump on some of the other boxes, and maybe take some of the smaller furniture that we don't want to keep and drop it off at SVDPs. My pillow is sounding very comfy right now.
- Mood: sleepy
My mom is in SF with her BFF Darlene. Darlene and I my mom met in Jr High about a thousand years ago HAHA but have remained good friends throughout the years. So Mom drove into the city tonight and they're having a girls' night. At 6:45pm, I drove into my carport, walked up the stairs and fiddled with my keys. All of sudden, I hear this "Meow" from the other side of the door. As soon as I walked in, there's Miss Cali, with the "you aren't Mom but you'll do" look. Apparently, she is not liking being home by herself all day anymore.
Coming home to no one is more than just different for me. It is the complete polar opposite of everything I'm used to. My father was always home. If I'm here in SJ, my mom is 99% of the time home when I get home, or Jerry is. If I'm in Fremont, well, there are 8 people in that house so someone, if not 3 or 4 people are always there. Usually I don't look forward to an empty house - but tonight as I was driving home, I was thinking about all the things I was gonna do since no one else was here. Kinda stupid really - they are things I can and usually do do whether someone's here or not! LOL (usually do do. that's just funny) When I pulled into the carport, I was totally frustrated with work. But as the evening as progressed - I've found all these little cures that not only cooled my frustrated but made me focus on other things completely. Usually I just stew about work, write about it, feel relieved enough to go to bed and then return to hell the next day to go through it all over again. But tonight, tonight was filled with mini-cures. Having my kitty greet me at the door immediately made me forget about work. And not only greet me, but she was talking away. It was too adorable. Talking to a friend I haven't spoken on the phone with in a very long time is quite powerful. Thanks
noodle_nose On my front porch was a box from QVC - YEAH! 1 of the 3 pairs of shoes I purchased. Now I'm certainly not your typical girly-girl, and I don't really follow fashion trends - but I am absolutely addicted to online shopping and when I come home, and there are new shoes on my front porch - holy heck, I'm a happy girl. Then I talk to Dario on the phone and he was just jabbering on and on about how beautiful Jennifer's wedding was today and how he wants to take to me the place where the ceremony was held. (It was actually kind of strange to hear him talk about a wedding like that!) No I don't want to go to work tomorrow, and I'm still frustrated - but at least I didn't feel that way all night!
- Mood: bed time
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