Black Cloud

The holiday season is knocking me on my ass. As per usual, I don't have anything done. Only this year, I even lack the ability to get things done. Even very very good news (more on that below) can't seem to shake this black cloud I'm under. Everyone said it is tough during the holidays. I guess everyone was right.

Good news. I have a job. A real job. Effective Feb 1st I will be an employee again! I've not been an employee since daughter was born in 1996. Wow! 10 years of working for myself. But alas, it is the time for a tad bit of security, an easier schedule (yes) and benefits. Benefits!!!!!

The job is for a company that I've been doing work for on a contract basis for the last 6 years. They are in LA and I wasn't going to move so originally it didn't look like we could work something out. But after a bad experience they had trying to hire someone to replace me and a bad experience with being promised a job by another client and then having it fall through, we were able to make nice and figure something out. So, one day a week I will commute to Los Angeles and then the rest of the time I will work from home (like I've always been). Probably once a month I'll have to do an over night. A bit crazy but I think we can make it work. I'm going to make sure of that.

The best part is that I don't have to actually interview and I don't have to learn a new company right now. And that is a huge relief.

But why won't it make the black cloud go away?

Alone

I'm alone this week. Well, I have the kids still but no other adult will be in this house all week. It has been a most blissful Sunday. Can the week last forever?

Here Now

I think I'm going to come back to this. I'm all about starting my new years resolutions early and one of them is to write here and to start taking more pictures and keep my flickr updated.

Small things just for me.

2006 is almost over. Thank god.

Interesting

What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are very passionate and quite temperamental. While you can be moody, you always crave comfort. You are a grounded person, but you also leave room for imagination and dreams. You feet may be on the ground, but you're head is in the clouds. You see yourself with pretty objective eyes. How you view yourself is almost exactly how other people view you. Your near future is all about change, but in very small steps. The end of the journey looks far, but it's much closer than you realize. For you, love is all about caring and comfort. You couldn't fall in love with someone you didn't trust.

Inside the Room of Your Soul

Not wanting to be left out....

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Tricia!

1. A female ferret will die if it goes into heat and cannot find Tricia.
2. Tricia is actually a fruit, not a vegetable.
3. All shrimp are born as Tricia, but gradually mature into females.
4. South Australia was the first place to allow Tricia to stand for parliament!
5. Bananas don't grow on trees - they grow on Tricia.
6. Lightning strikes Tricia over seven times every hour!
7. Tricia is only six percent water!
8. Only one child in twenty will be born on the day predicted by Tricia!
9. Tricia is actually a mammal, not a fish.
10. Half a cup of Tricia contains only seventeen calories.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

Teenaged Boys

I've decided I adore teenaged boys. I think they must be the funniest creatures on the planet and it really is a shame that I was so intimidated by them when I was a teenaged girl.

Thursday afternoon I drove 4 of them to their basketball game. They were pleasant, funny and knew a lot about all kinds of music. They talked to me and joked with me and generally were all around great.

Right now I've got three of them in my house. They showed up at about 5.30 starved asking if I was planning on feeding them. When I assured them that indeed I was planning on feeding them and what would they like they all just said they'd take whatever I provided! With a little pressing, they decided on chinese food so off I went. They just finished round one (I bought enough for a couple of rounds) and now have retired to the family room (amid many thanks for providing the food). We've got the fancy HDTV and one of the boys brought over his XBox 360 -- they're fed, full and playing shoot-em up games. Perfect.

Tomorrow early I'm off to NYC -- I'm meeting up with a woman I work with who lives outside of London -- we've never met face to face so decided to get to the city (our flights arrive within one minute of each other) to have dinner to chat and meet in person. We'll do a bit of shopping on Monday, hook up with our group Monday night for dinner, meetings on Tuesday and then home on Wednesday. A nice break for me.

And I found a coat! Go me.

Parrots in San Francisco

Yay! I finally saw the parrot movie (The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill). I've wanted to see it since it was out in theaters but never made it. Then husband showed up with the book last fall and I read it and then REALLY wanted to see the movie. Netflix got it in on Dec 27th but I didn't get it until a few days ago and now it is all watched and I'm happy. It makes me want to go up to SF and find those birds. Or at least, next time I'm there I'll pay better attention and hopefully see them.

Coats

ARG. Just try and buy a coat in January in California. Go on. I dare ya.

Oh sure, there are sales. But everything is so picked over I can't find anything that will work. Oh sure, there's the big discount coat store -- but everything there is huge. I think I found 5 coats my size.

Now what.

I have something that might work. But it is big and heavy and I really wanted something with a hood.

Grumble grumble.

Not too much related...

But I've got to get it down.

First, I could have sworn that I saw Bill Cosby on Friday, Dec 23rd in the Trader Joe's parking lot on Bascom. He was with a very attractive woman and from the google image search I just did, she was definitely his wife. As they were crossing the road to get in their car, she looked over at the car that was waiting for them and smiled huge and nodded her head -- so I'd bet that the occupants of the car were having the same 'oh my gosh, that's Bill Cosby' moment I was.

I have no idea what he'd be doing in San Jose but it it wasn't him I'd be surprised.

Second. On the Friday night before Christmas I suddenly remembered some presents I ordered from Americ@n Girl several weeks before. I checked my order online and noticed that it was delivered the previous Monday, but I didn't have it. I couldn't even imagine what happened to it but figured they didn't deliver it or it was stolen from my porch (that has happened before). So I call their customer service line that evening. Not much they can do of course, but they will reship my order. It won't be there until next week which was fine with me because we were doing an additional gift exchange this past weekend and the gifts were for my neices so they could wait.

On monday morning I find the box. I'd received it and didn't even really hide it, I just put it on the floor of my office under the desk. As soon as I saw the box it all came back to me -- I'd gotten it, noticed what it was but hadn't wanted my daughter to see it because there was stuff for her in there to so I put in on the floor to get to later. Then promptly forgot about it. Entirely.

So now I've got the replacement shipment here waiting to go back. I need to call first but am sort of embarrassed. I think I'll blame it on the kids.

Third. I'm going to New York City! I'm going to New York City! I'm going to New York City! What's a business trip for the rest of my group is a vacation for me! Wahoo.