where does the time go?

Whoa! How is it practically Christmas??? I realize I had a roughly fifty percent success rate for my attempt at posting every day in November, and thought that surely I would have posted by now. However, staring at a computer screen of AutoCAD drawings for eight or more hours everyday makes me less than excited to sit down on the computer. Mostly because my eyes can't deal with it any longer. Luckily, I've had plenty of opportunities for fun and exploring on the weekends! I made it to NYC both weekends, and got to see some dear friends who've transplanted there. I've hit some amazing things in Philadelphia, and made some new friends that I will have to visit now.

Best of all, my dear G had the thought to come out for a visit!! So, this last weekend, I got to share all the fun with him. This really helped, since this second weekend, and another week on this trip was just a little too much. It's amazing how just a couple of days with my sweetie re-energized me for the week.

I am optimistic that I will find a way to make some recaps of the amazing adventures I've had happen!!

tricky relationship

I remember the day G told me he wanted a new microwave. He told me of his affair with the microwave in his office breakroom. How it had a magical popcorn sensor. How, with just the push of a single button, one would extract a perfectly popped bag of popcorn from the machine. I audibly rolled my eyes. I mean, couldn't he just program the microwave for the time recommended on the popcorn packaging and listen for those last kernels like the rest of the world? He insisted that this microwave was so much better than that. This magical popcorn sensor would pop nearly all of the corn leaving nary a stray kernel in the bag. I was not convinced. What I was convinced of, however, was that he was smitten with a new toy. He told me I just needed to see it to believe it. He was sure he could make me a believer. Yeah, him and every late night infomercial host.

Thus, he brought the new microwave home. The old microwave came to rest in my apartment, which I was perfectly fine with, having no microwave at all. I didn't need this fancy sensor cook technology. Unfortunately, the first time I attempted to use the old microwave, it gave off a horrible smell and promptly died. I was again without microwave. G paid little mind, as his shiny new toy sat upon his counter, white and gleaming against the dingy flat white paint and faux butcher block countertops. He eagerly put the popcorn in and pushed the button. True to his word, the little machine popped a perfect bag of popcorn. I was sure this was a fluke. However, night after night she proceeded to do her trick without fail. Harumph. Perhaps I was wrong. I examined all of the other sensor buttons, testing them on various foodstuffs. She heated my tea to a perfect steeping temperature. Browning meat was hardly a feat she couldn't handle. Leftovers were reheated and vegetables steamed with hardly a thought on my part.

She needed little coaxing. One push and she was off. No complicated combinations of buttons. No adjusting power or wondering if I would get food poisoning. If the food contained within needed a little special attention, she would tell me exactly what to do. Stir and recover, I was all over it. Let stand, covered. I could do that! No guessing games. No trying and failing to see what she needed. I had to admit I was smitten.

A couple of years ago, we suffered our first falling out. We were in the midst of remodeling our kitchen, and I was removing our upper cabinets. I got to the last two, those just over our beloved microwave. I uhscrewed the first from the wall, carefully holding onto it so it didn't plummet when loosened. I didn't budge. I thought perhaps its neighbor was holding it in place, so I repeated the maneuver, ready for both cabinets to come loose. They stayed put. I wriggled, shook, pulled, and crowbarred to no avail. I called the hubs to see if he had any advice. He ahd all the same thoughts I did. When he came home we took a look at it, but they weren't coming down. So, we went on our merry way for the evening. We came home to find one cabinet perched atop the counter, the other atop the microwave. Oh no! We removed the cabinets and checked our beloved cube of magic. She had a ding, but continued to work just fine. We loved her despite the cosmetic flaws.

She continued to chug along. I admit, I had begun to take her for granted. I casually pushed the appropriate button with hardly a glance these days. Our exchanges were minimal. Door open, door close, push button, repeat. We were settled into our routine, it seemed to suit the three of us just fine. We were, dare I say, content.

Then it happened. She, apparently fed up with our arrangement, went on strike! Her motor would hum, her turntable would spin, but the corn would remain unpopped. The water would remain tepid. My heating pad would stay room temperature, which was of absolutely no help to me! Every few tries, she would half heartedly attempt to heat the item, but would just give up. We tried unplugging her, and plugging her back in. She would pop a bag of corn then return to her newfound sullen state. We tried to talk to her, push some extra buttons to no avail. It was clear. It was over. She had moved on, and made it apparent that we should to.

We were unprepared. We didn't know what to do. We aren't the kind of people who just buy a microwave willy-nilly. We wanted to get to know the microwave. See how the sensors worked. We were unsure of how to proceed. I mean, we had been off the market for ten years!

So, G started where most good relationships do, the internets. It seemed that finding exactly what we had was not meant to be. We apparently are no longer good enough for the kind of microwave that offered magical popcorn buttons. He did find one that had a popcorn button, though we could not verify the level of magic that came with it. She was shiny, though, and would match our other appliances perfectly, not that looks mattered if the popcorn button would pop every kernel without burning one. I was apprehensive, but was willing to meet the microwave in person. I had to admit she was pretty. Roomy interior. Her buttons gleaming under the fluorescent lights. We did a round of microwave speed dating to check out the other available candidates. However, we came back to the sparkly stainless steel we started with.

We brought her home, and placed her on the counter. Our former microwave was obviously jealous, and refused to go without a fight. Or at least without a crisp twenty from our wallet. I could understand the reticence, I mean, we did have a good run. However, we both knew we were no good for each other. None of us was happy with the arrangement, so it was best to move on. Quick like a band-aid and all of that.

Unfortunately, we found out too late that the new popcorn button was not all that magical. You have to watch her every second, and even then the corn is probably burned. We are pretty sure we can grow to love the new microwave. I mean she's good looking, and after all we like her. I suppose if things go sour, she can keep house with the rest of the appliances and try to charm the next residents of our condo. Until then, we will just have to carefully listen for the pops to slow down and hope for the best.

ridin' high upon a deep depression

Okay, so maybe that's an exaggeration. I'm happy in some areas, but feeling a little blue about others. Right now, work is going well. I'm still in Philly, planning a major remodel for work. I kind of wish I had more time for exploring, but I do need to pay the bills, ya know? Luckily I get along well with the people from my location that are here. Plus, most of the people I am working with are great. I expected I would get along well enough with them to work alongside them. I mean, people in my department tend to have things in common, no matter what location they are at. However, I am making some great friends.
Friday night was dinner out, Saturday was shopping until we dropped. Even having just met a couple of the girls I was with, and only having been able to spend time at work with the other, we gelled wonderfully. We even went into a ridiculous formal shop and tried on the weirdest dresses we could find. We laughed and had a wonderful time. Today, we hit a thrift shop after work. The stock was disappointing, but we managed to have a fantastic time.
I kind of think it's funny. I mean, I am getting along better with some of these people better than people I've known for a long time. Unfortunately, they will go back home to their part of the world, and I to mine. After this week, we have three weeks left together, so no more crazy times. I mean, I know I can have some crazy times at home, but I feel like being out here is highlighting how stir crazy I am getting at home. I have been ready to pack up and ship out for a while. Unfortunately, having a house and debt makes it a lot harder to get out of dodge. I am trying to remain optimistic, but it's hard to enjoy the moment when I am ready to move on to new and exciting adventures.
Since the next adventure is further out on the horizon than I might like it to be, I am trying to focus on my dreams, and get them going now.
Two things I have been dreaming about for quite some time are having an accessory business (with the potential to lead to a full clothing line) and becoming a burlesque performer. I started an Etsy shop earlier in the year, participating in a craft show. Unfortunately, sewing isn't the most transportable career. Right now with traveling with the ol' day job, I haven't been able to do much actual sewing. Luckily, I've been poking around some pretty fabulous shops, and have got some great inspiration. I had a few things that I prepped, but those didn't get in my bag...among them my sketchbook. So, I have to settle for sketching on some extra paper and in my planner. As soon as I get home, I will be putting that sketchbook, and my pencils in my bag first thing! I also have some fabrics to research to see if they are something I can even get my fat little fingers on! So, at least I am focusing on that on some level.
I am continuing to work on some burlesque ideas. I think some of my lonely evenings in my hotel room would be well spent practicing choreography. I had to skip this session of classes, and the thought is weighing me down a bit. I am trying to remind myself that this is a good thing. I mean, that is some extra cash I can put towards my performance class in the Spring, and to build costumes. I quite hope that by the time we journey out west, I will be of a caliber to join up with a troupe out there, and run my accessory business. It would be delightful to make my dollars these ways, and have the flexibility to audition like a fiend and see what else awaits me.
Finally, I am continuing on with my running. I am looking forward to two or three half marathons and a full marathon in 2010. Focusing on my fitness allows me the energy and the positivity to follow my dreams. Not to mention a hot body, which is sort of important when I will be showing it off!

wee hours

Whew! One would think that with me posting at this hour, I must have been running about the town, partying hard. Not so much. I stayed up late having a pseudo slumber party with my friend, Soni. Instead of sleeping over, however, she wandered back down to her room, and I am still here.

We spent the day at the infamous King of Prussia mall. I had never heard of it, honestly, until a coworker mentioned it on our way here. Some of the girls from another location who are here for the same purpose mentioned they were going today, so Soni and I tagged along for some shopping fun. The place was huge! Two buildings, plus a perimeter of restaurants besides those located in the two huge buildings. We arrived around 12:30, and started at Urban Outifitters. I wasn't planning on doing much, if any, purchasing. However, I found two dresses that fit perfectly, and were half off of the clearance price. I got them, leery it would quickly become a day of packed shopping bags dangling from my shoulders and hands. We went to DSW, luckily I didn't find anything on my need list, although there were a lot of gorgeous shoes that needed good, loving homes. Sadly, my pocketbook wasn't ready to help me bring them all home. We continued popping around, I found a gelato stand, and the lemon gelato was calling my name. So delish!!! The other girls ran to the car to take out a load of bags, and Soni and I continued on. We hit a shop of RIDICULOUS formal dresses. We went in to investigate, and wound up trying on some insane dresses. Just to give you a clue...the first one I tried on was peach with a sheer corset and sheer ruffle. The very top (which, fortunately, was not sheer) had beading as did the weird ruffle. The portions that were satin, just covered the NSFW bits.

We continued on. Lots of things were tried on, but I didn't purchase anything. I did squeal like a schoolgirl when I saw a real-live Thomas Pink shop. I purchased a Christmas gift there, and was pleased to check that off the list. There were many shops I wanted to check out, but I knew I would just be sad to not be insanely wealthy. The mall also had an exhibition of the local opera companies costumes, which was delightful. It made me long to work for a company with a crazy budget to create costumes made of silks. I tried on hats at nearly every stop, but managed not to get them all. Lunch was at the Corner Bakery, which was fun and delish, and we all shared pictures with our cameras and phones. It was fun to see everyone's families and pets and loved ones. More shopping was done. I wanted to buy one of everything at Bebe, luckily Soni talked me down. Eventually, we made it back to Urban, where I made my last purchase, a cloche for $5. We were there until nine o'clock, and only saw a small portion of the place!

We headed back to the hotel via Target and the liquor store. I got some wine, and Soni was kind enough to join me to drink it. There was much giggling and gossiping and consuming of food and drink.

It was a fun girly day, and just the thing I needed to get my mind off of work and some of the people I know stressing me out. We are meeting such great people here, and I am sad they won't be coming home with us.

Good thing we have the internet!!!

lucky day

Ummmm...when did it get to be Friday? There I was, Monday morning facing the daunting task of working in a new city, at my company's home office, working on a huge project. Suddenly, I am trained, and in the deep end of the project, and the week is over! How does this happen? I would say that I can't believe it's Friday. However, given my brain is about to explode from information overload, and I am exhausted from working and learning, and my upstairs neighbor is apparently an elephant....I can believe it.

Tonight was spent driving into the city, and upon one of the project leader's recommendation, we tried a restaurant called Jones. It was super hip, yet comfortable. The server was so adorable, I wanted to eat him with a spoon...but I settled for something off the menu. I started with a dry Bombay martini. It was so delicious. So. Delicious. The three of us decided to split the appetizer special, which was Artichoke garlic dip. Then we decided to be a bit gluttonous and also split the mac and cheese appetizer. Both arrived at our table, still bubbling from the oven, and topped with the finest ground breadcrumbs I have ever met. Both were delicious! I settled on the ALT sandwich for dinner. Avocado, lettuce and tomato with mozzarella and lemon aioli. Tasty! The other ladies I was with had sesame crusted tuna with coconut rice (I tried it, yum!), and free range chicken with mashed potatoes and haricot vert. I tried some of the potatoes, since chicken and I don't get along, and they were amazing. The presentation made even the chicken breast and potatoes look exotic. We perused dessert menus, and I couldn't commit to an entire dessert myself. My friend suggested we split the big dessert, which said it served two to four. I stated that it sounded way too big for even the three of us, but the other two ladies swayed me. When it arrived, it was bigger than even I expected. It was insane! It was tasty. A giant brownie sandwiched with thin slices of ice cream, topped with whipped cream and crushed oreos and one lovely cherry. It had a subtle hint of mint, and was delicious. However, I opted for a chocolate peanut butter martini, at the adorable server's recommendation. I wasn't disappointed, and peanut butter rum is apparently delicious.

If you are ever in Philly, I highly recommend Jones. Very elegant comfort food.