Engagement and Listening

Have you ever experienced a conversation with someone whom you felt was 100% in the moment with you? With someone who was completely engaged and "there"?

Its not something I'm accustomed to feeling, but when I do, it sure makes you feel like the person your talking to really wants to know you and understand you. Like they value you and appreciate the things you have to say. Which, or course, only causes me to chatter on even more, all the while my brain telling me to shoosh! But that's not the point...

The point is, communication has always been a strong suit of mine (well minus the public speaking and awkward chatter to a cute guy you're attracted to - but those don't count). Its always been easy for me to strike up a conversation with people. But that is only half of communication. With all the project management training I've had I learned that 70% of communication is listening. I also learned that most of us don't actually listen when someone's talking to us. Being a type A personality, its hard for me to focus long enough to actually listen to what's being said. I'm usually on to the next topic before the person has completed the first word. Our minds travel off to the grocery list, the plans for the weekend, the problem at work or home, etc.

But if you've ever experienced talking to someone who was 100% listening, you've just experience true communication.

I had such an experience recently, and I felt valued and a little cherished. That may sound weird, but I felt like what I was saying was important enough to this other person that they wanted to listen 100%. And the fact that I felt this person was engaged and listening made me want to articulate myself clearly and to the point, so as to not waste their time. And on top of it all, it made me want to be a better listener. If I could provide someone else with the feeling I just felt as I was talking to this person, that is a skill I think I need/want in my trove of skills.

Add one more item to the list of things to "fix".

Jenn: 0 Refrigerator: 1

In the middle of the night Pookie and I were jolted awake by the sound that I can only describe as a motorcross in action. In my just-suddenly-awaken state, I stumble out to the living room to see what the hell that noise was. I no sooner stepped out in the living room and I was immediately transported to earlier that evening.

I need to take you back to earlier that evening. The night started off like most Monday nights. I was sitting down for a nice night of the Donald and Apprentice when I decided to have myself a glass of cranberry juice. (No alcohol this time, just juice. That was my first mistake). I grab my glass and head to the fridge. Popping open the door, pour my juice and return the bottle unharmed to the fridge. As I turn to leave my hand decides it no long wants to hold the glass of cranberry juice and releases it to free fall to the ground.

Now stay with me here. The glass hit the floor perfectly on the bottom and cranberry juice shot straight up into the air and covered anything in its path, which included me and the fridge. As I stood in the kitchen marveling at the mess 8 oz of cranberry juice can make, I begin to clean. As I'm wiping off the fridge I have to take the paper scraps with recipes and / or quotes off to clean them as well. One such scrap, not more than a 3X5 piece of purple (important to the rest of the story) cardstock (also important to the rest of the story) falls. And as if it has a specific purpose and knows exactly where to go, I watch it float effortlessly to the ground and under the fridge.

You with me so far? Thinking I'd get the paper later and I went on about my business. Water in hand - gave up on the juice - I sit and watch the Donald.

Approximately 15 minutes later, Pookie and I are startled by this commotion in the kitchen. The sound? Remember when you were a kid and you used to put a card in the spokes of your bike wheel so it would make that ratta-tat sound. Yah well, amplify that by 10 as a piece of purple cardstock stuck in a fan of a fridge. That would be the noise. Got that visual? Great.

Trying to think on my feet I grabbed the first thing that looked as if I could push it under the fridge and dislodge the paper....Pookie's cat toy, a long plastic stick with a feather on the end. No I didn't put the feather part in the fan....though amusing that would have been. The fridge is old and I couldn't exactly see the paper. All the fridge guts were hanging down and in the way. After getting the super power flashlight (and thanking mom and dad for buying batteries for it on the last trip), I started to study the muck and mess under the fridge to see where that fan/paper were. All the while the noise...man...stop the noise. The visual of this still cracks me up. I'm lying on the kitchen floor, cat toy in hand, flashlight in the other feverishly poking under the fridge trying to find the paper/fan combo. Nothing. Finally, I hit pay dirt....sorta.

The Mr. Cat toy met Mister Fan. Poke. Poke. Poke and the fan shuts off.

Proud of myself for my effort, I call the apartment complex to leave a message asking them to come in tomorrow and get the paper out of the fridge...Imagining fires and all.

1:24AM the motor cross starts again. Only this time the monster trucks are at the party. Pook and I are rattled awake by the deafening noise coming from the kitchen. I make my way to the fridge and just stare at it, willing it to stop. So me, Mister Cat Toy and Mister Flashlight saddle up to the fridge for another round of "STOP THAT NOISE". Then, as if an angel coming from heaven I see the purple paper. I poke to try to dislodge it, but am poking the fan, which stops the fan, and does ultimately hit the paper, but does nothing. To no avail, the paper stays lodged and the sound continues. The only success I had was moving the paper more into the jaws of the fan.

Admitting defeat, I do what any sane person at 2AM would do, I pull the fridge out and unplug it. Ahhh...the sound of silence. And thus ends the game:

Jenn: 0
Refrigerator: 1

One Martini, Two Martini, Three Martini, Floor...

Okay, so it wasn't quite that bad. But I can say that I had a very healthy buzz going all night. And Sunday (the day after the Open House) things were a bit fuzzy and my reaction time a bit slower. It sucks to get old...takes twice as long to recover from any drink.

The party was a smashing success. Thanks to all the friends who came out. It was really you who made it a success. Attendees: Mike, Sherrie, Lisa, Kris, Kim, Neil&Taunya, Lars and Debbie, Mark&Vanessa, Megan, Shannon, Gary, Monica, Kari, and Melinda. Good times.

First the drinks.
Latinpolitan's - Pleasure in a glass. oh dear God these go down smooth. They are really a cosmo with rum instead of vodka. I had purchased the pink sugar for rimming the glasses and between the sugar and the rum, it was a tasty treat. The hit of the party I think.
Cosmopolitan's - Also tasty, but I didn't drink one on Saturday.
Appletini's - I had purchased a green sugar for this drink as well and Appletini mixture. So it was a simple drink and was apparently my drink du jour after a couple Latinpolitan's. (see why things were fuzzy on Sunday...? Mixing my drinks. Especially considering I had started with a beer at about 3pm due to nerves for the party).
Seattle Manhattans - Starbucks Liquor is the star of this show. Several people drank these and seemed to enjoy their coffee goodness.
Honorable Mentions: Beer - which no one drank so now I have a fridge full of beer. Actually that's not true Shannon did drink all my Stella. Damn you Shannon!

The food: A gorgeous display of taste and class. See this party was really all about me having an opportunity to cook. And cook I did. We had Basil and Crab topped cucumbers, Curried Garlic Dip and Vegis, Olive Crisps, Shrimp spread, Hot Artichoke dip, meatballs, and sweet treats for later. I had a ton of food and by the grace of God barely a nibble left.

Sadly, I didn't take ONE PICTURE. Can you believe it? Me, the queen of pictures. I must have been lost in love or something. Yes, the "crush" was there (BTW, I keep mistyping crush to curse...you think there's something to that?) and seemed to enjoy himself. I can't really tell you much more without giving away his identity. I love a good mystery!

I also am convinced I need to now have Cocktail Party's every now and then just for fun. No need to have an excuse.

My old friend Photography

I miss photography. I dropped photography a couple of years ago when I dropped the X boyfriend (okay it was a mutual drop). But photography had always been a passion of mine and something I really wanted to work at and something I was good at. Then I got in a slump. My minds eye could no longer see the beauty, see the picture. Nor did it want to take the shot, or to even look for it. All I took pictures of were flowers; close up macro type of pictures. Some say the pictures are beautiful, and gorgeous...and for some I'd agree. Not that I'm patting myself on my back, but how many artists do you know that actually like their work?

I have been mildly successful in selling a few pictures (mostly on cards), but the passion for taking pictures had left. I really just didn't enjoy it as much. And I don't think it had anything to do with no longer being with the X - who was a photographer - as much as photography drove that relationship and I think I was just bored and tired of it. I wanted to toss it aside like the wilted flower I had become.

So its spring. And all the flowers are blooming and I find myself yearning to take pictures of them. And yet, I stop myself because its what I always take pictures of. But today is different. Today I put the camera back in my bag. I am carrying the camera with me on my journey through today. What I'll take pictures of is still unknown. But it feels good to have my old friend with me again. It feels comfortable. It feels right.

Last night I got out my portfolio. This book filled with years of what I considered "successful" pictures. I tried to look at them as if I had never seen them before and as if I wasn't the one who took the picture. I tried to open my mind to see their beauty, to see what that photographer all those years ago was trying to capture. I was mildly successful at it. I did find small things wrong here and there: Too many white spots, not focused as well, maybe a better f-stop...oh the pain. But in the end when I slowly closed the book of my work, I felt like I had something. Not really sure what that something was. The person who took those pictures back then was VERY much a new person today. Maybe that person looking through the lense of a camera could in fact take better/different pictures...see a different view through the lense. Experience the photos different. And so, I start my photography journey once again. Only this time, a mature person who's taken the time to look through the lense of her life.

Stay tuned.

All's quiet on the Western Front

Where did that phrase come from anyhow?

Anyhow, nothing overly new and exciting in my life. I scored a big one at work yesterday. We are trying to track down very specific customers that fit a certain profile. Currently of our 100+ customers we have like 2 of these specific types. Well, yesterday I spoke with a random customer who was considered "umanaged" and yet, found that they have been spending thousands on Speech Server, and oh by the way, they fit perfectly into our profile. Our beta is to release in the next couple of months, and we are profiling customers who we feel would be good candidates to work on the beta and then ultimately stand on stage with us at launch. I think we might have found one.

It sure feels good to do something good for a change.

Other than that, I'm excited for my little soiree this weekend. I was chatting with my office mate about this and I realized this "open house" isn't really about the apartment at all. No, its me wanting to entertain. To cook. To have friends over. THAT's what its all about. (And all this time we thought the hokey pokey was what it was all about).

My gathering of friends is going to be "interesting". Coming over are friends from all walks of my life. Many have never met the others. So it'll be interesting to see what happens when several worlds collide.

In my Uber Planning Self, I've already got the bar laid out, the glasses for the bar set, the menu out, the table set with what's going where, the apartment cleaned (minus last minute vacuuming because Pookie is shedding like mad. Damn long haired cat. ), food purchased, alcohol purchased, and Saturday planned out completely.

Now...all that's left to do is P-A-R-T-Y!!!!

I've got a Crush on you....

What a funny phrase, "I've got a crush." The word immediately transports you back to high school, doesn’t it? Where the object of your crush was some guy you would never in a million years talk to. Okay, maybe that was my high school days. Over the years I've had several "crushes". Some were stronger than others, and most disappearing from crush to friend. (Yes, boys, I'm the girl everyone wants to be "just friends". It’s a curse and a blessing all in one.)

Out of curiosity I decided to see what my old pal Webster said a “crush” was. When I read this definition in context of a relationship, it really doesn’t sound healthy at all.

Crush: 1 a : to squeeze or force by pressure so as to alter or destroy structure b : to squeeze together into a mass
2 : to reduce to particles by pounding or grinding
3 a : to suppress or overwhelm as if by pressure or weight b : to oppress or burden grievously c : to subdue completely

I'm 37 years old. You wouldn’t expect an intelligent, good hearted, fun loving, emotionally available, professionally successful 37 year old woman to say she has a "crush" on someone. But that is exactly what I have. A crush!
I have a crush! I have a crush! I have a crush!

Now the object of my crush may or may not know. In fact, he likely doesn’t know. Or maybe I’m not giving him enough credit to read my “signals”. My “signals” I believe are either partially blocked by men, or translated incorrectly by men, again, it’s a curse and a blessing.

I’ve only “known” this crush for a short time. That is to say I’ve only actually had a conversation with him, and chatted with him for a short time, but have “known of him” for some time. In my “woman” mind, (“Woman” is in quotes because we all know “women” think very differently from men. Its that Mars and Venus thing) I’ve made it abundantly obvious of my attraction. I mean, the casual conversation; the casual unassuming glances in his direction, innocent heart-felt smiles, and of course making up reasons to spend time together etc. This really means that my actions are not out of the norm in any way nor could ever be construed by a man as attraction. Please see previous paragraph on signals.

I’m a bad flirt. I admit it. I think I take myself way too seriously and don’t want to come off like those ditsy, scatter brained bimbos I’ve seen shamelessly flirting with some guy. If they had flirting classes in school, I must have been at band practice. (read: the reason I’m a bad flirt is because I was a band geek). “How to Flirt Successfully.” Or “Flirting 101”. Either way, I’m quite sure what I consider “flirting” is really just actions that average, normal people take in their daily existence with each other. Because god forbid the person actually think you’re flirting with them. I know. I see the problem. I live(d) the problem.

But that feeling to have a crush on someone again, the memories it conjures up. The pain it conjures up. The glorious feelings of anticipation of “maybe” seeing him walk around the corner. Or “maybe” seeing him standing by your locker after school. Or “casually” running into him after class and “accidentally on purpose” ending up sitting next to him during lunch. And then when you do see him your heart beats faster, your mouth goes dry and any hope of actually putting a structured sentence together is gone. Did you see Dirty Dancing? When Baby sees Johnny for the first time and has an opportunity to speak to him she says, “I carried a watermelon.” That’s EXACTLY what would happen to me.

And, oh the drama of crushes in high school. Do you remember that? It’s likely a girl thing, but every woman reading this can relate to having a crush on a guy who likes your best friend, or worst a cheerleader - ugh. But the drama we created around it was enormous. You know, come to think of it, I don’t think you could pay me enough to go back to high school.

Exactly who this crush is, I can't say. Please, I'm not that brave. But I will say this, my goal is to remain a calm, relatively normal, seemingly intelligent person in his presence. I'll let you know if I'm successful. And I can hear you all saying, “yah right.”

PS - No the crush isn't Paul Jensen(aka Dudley Manlove)...well it is, but that's a different type of crush I can't discuss because my mother reads this blog. Hi Mom!

Wireless Cafes and Sunshine

HEAT WAVE...Seattle hit a whoppin' 58 yesterday...at least Lynnwood did.

If you're not from around here, you probably wouldn't understand, but sunshine = mass exodus of people to the outdoors. Trying to do anything that involved being outside on one of the first sunny days in a while is close to impossible.

I spent the day in a brilliant wireless coffee shop in Shoreline, reading my recent book Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Tough book to read, but perfect for a cuppa Joe and a quiet Sunday.

While sitting in this wireless cafe it dawned on me that 1) I was the only female and 2) I was the only one not sitting with a computer. My odds were good being the only female in the room, though I reprimanded myself that I was there to read and not "stalk" anyone. But, then it dawned on me that not only were they all men, but men about my age...and several appeared single. Maybe wireless cafes in Shoreline is the new library? Maybe this is where to go to meet men? Except then I remember, they already had a sure thing...their computers.

I'm a voyeur. I love to watch people. Sherrie always gets mad when we go to dinner because I'm usually watching the people behind her doing whatever it is that has caught my attention. So, I inconspicuously watched the men in this cafe. One guy caught my attention (and everyone's attention) pretty quickly. I have to admit in good faith, I did feel bad for this guy and wanted to give him a hug for strength.

He walked into the place beaming with a smile that would catch the eye of Venus. Cute? In a techy, geeky sort of way. Wearing shorts and carrying a load of crap. He orders his coffee then scanned the room for the perfect table to place himself, his 14 books and his laptop. He spies it. Walks over to it like a male lion hunting a deer. But wait, the floor is a wee bit uneven...he trips a little...stumbles, but doesn't fall. The books, however, fly everywhere. But he saved his laptop. Of course.

After scrambling to retrieve all 14 books (I may be exaggerating, it may only have been 3). He sits in the nearest table. His face burning red with embarrassment, when he looks around the place and sees there's only a few other people all of which appear to not be paying attention to him. He starts to lay out his books, opens his laptop and tries to get things organized. He drops his pen. Picks it up, drops it again.

The barista yells, "Tall, skinny latte with extra foam". Our hero starts to walk to the counter, forgetting about the uneven floor board slightly stumbles again. He looks back to see WHAT on earth is making him trip. (We've all done that haven't we? You trip on some imaginary thing and look back to see what it was instead of admitting you're just clumsy) And in my mind I'm wishing, hoping - praying really - he remembers and doesn't trip on his way back with his hot coffee. But our hero ceremoniously makes it back without incident, well, almost.

Putting his coffee down he somewhat misjudges exactly where the book ends and the table begins. In slow motion, I see him scramble to his feet attempting to retrieve the slow falling coffee cup that is about to fall onto his computer. Superman would have been jealous to see this man's lightening quick speed to save his laptop. In his attempt to save the laptop, which is miraculously does, his coffee still spills everywhere. He sits down and I swear I saw a little white flag being waved from him. As he gets up to get napkins to clean up his mess I just about spit my own coffee out laughing at his Tshirt and the saying on it. It reads, "Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either."

Dr. Deming and the Learning curve

I started a new Project Management book this week called "The Leader Handbook". Only into it 10 pages and I'm hooked.

If you've never heard of Deming, Dr. W. Edwards Deming taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations can increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs (by reducing waste, rework, staff attrition and litigation while increasing customer loyalty). He came up with a "Transformation's learning curve". His transformation learning curve struck out against the traditional learning curve. You know the type, flat then dips down, then up and then flat again.

Anyhow, Deming's Transformation learning curve looks a bit different. His has a somewhat steep line up, then drops WAY down, then slowly curves up and flattens a bit. Its hard to describe, just work with me on this. It can be thought of as in the begining the illusion of learning "knowing enough to be dangerous", then goes into significant understanding to see that "we don't know much", like an "AHA moment". Then when it drops way down is when the real learning begins. If I can find an image, I'll post it. For now use your imagination.

There are some items this book lists as what we can learn from the false learning curve. And once I read those I thought, these can be used in every day life, and not just management scenarios.

Be patient. Most often we will notice progress only by looking back at how we were two or three years ago.

Be persistent. Don't ever give up! Don't get restless and look for a new management philosoph du jour.

Be humble. The arrogant organization will find it difficult to learn anything. Acknowledge our inadequacies. Instead of assured pronouncements, offer hypotheses that need data for support.

Be inelegant. Give yourself permission to be inept and ask dumb questions. Don't try to fake it. Rather Seek to learn it.

My personal favorite point is the last one.

And this too shall pass...

Ever had one of those days. I knew LAST night that today wasn't going to be a good one. Which makes me wonder if I created the "bad" day.

That aside, I was out late last night celebrating with the BCC Praticum classes (long story, but the BCC Practicum classes were doing their final projects for the BCC Proj Mgmt Association -BCC PMA - of which I am VP, so attended). We went to the Keg and I had all intentions of leaving early. But I was having too much fun. I knew when I left at the late hour that I'd be in trouble today...see being that I'm "older" now, I can't stay out until the wee late hours and expect to feel 100% the next day. Let's not discuss the three beers on an empty stomach.

Bright and early, well okay, not bright, but early I had a conf call with our Sales team. About 3.5 minutes into it I became the proverbial punching bag. And throw punches they did. By the time the call ended I am exhausted. Its not anything I did, or didn't do, but I hate it when people are unsatisfied with the way I'm doing/handling things. I'm a pleaser at heart...and I am constantly reminding myself that "This is business, not personal." I only wish I didn't feel like I had three black eyes and a headache the size of the Grand Canyon. Of course that might have something to do with the beers and no food.

Well, as Scarlet O'Hara said, "I shall never go hungry again." Oh wait, that's not right...

Okay, well then whoever said, "Tomorrow's another day..." That's the one I'm looking for.

Burning Red Face of Shame

Most of you know, I'm a talker. BUT to put me in front of my peers and ask me to speak is a whole other story. Sweaty palms, shaking hands, forgetting my name, the whole works.

It was requested to me to do a presentation about my job and my vision of the job to my stakeholders (Sales(3), Director of Sales, Marketing(3), Director of Marketing and boss). The boss and Director of Marketing pretty much get my job, duh, they designed it. But the others, well, we needed to be sure they understood it.

Seems like a simple task.
I worked hard on a 6 slide presentation. I had 25 minutes, and I knew I'd complete it and leave plenty of time for questions.
I rehearsed and rehearsed the night before.
I gave the presentation to Pookie. He liked it. (Well, let me rephrase that he stared blankly at me ... which is normal... which could mean it sucked... oh man)
I did the presentation in my sleep ALL night.
I practiced in the car on the way into work.
I was ready.
I was primed for success.

The meeting was to be a conference call, which suited me just fine, that way I could call in from my humble office and present to no one.

Slight change of plans at 7:55 AM (by the way the meeting was at 8AM). Let's all do the conference call in the big conference room. "Yes, Lets," I say with a squeaky voice.

Okay. Deep breath. Deep CLEANSING breath. BREATH!

So now, I go from Confident City to wanting to run screaming from the building.

I'm in a conference room with 6 other people, 3 on the phone.

I tell myself, I can still do this.

I try to breath...I try to remember my opening line. Oh crap, what was my opening line. Oh crap, WHAT IS AN OPENING LINE?

I secretly hope the con phone won't work, but it does.

I sit trying to look calm, cool and collected, instead of nervous, shaking with sweaty palms.

I grab my pen to fiddle with it while I talk so my hands won't shake. I'm not even paying attention to what's being said. And then I look up and EVERYONE is staring at me.

DOH! Must be my turn.

Time to turn on the Professional charm.

Next thing I know we're leaving the conf room. I have no idea what I said, what the responses were, nothing. All I could think about was, "THANK GOD its over."

Next meeting was our team meeting, which consisted of everyone (minus Sales) in the previous room. The hum in the room was one of positive gestures, and smiles toward me. Or were they smiles of concern and "Gee its been nice working with you." The Director of Marketing speaks first. His comments on my presentation were...wait...what? You liked it? I did okay? Holy Crap! Really? I didn't sound like a complete moron or a bumbling idiot?

I'm know I'm a smart person. And I know I'm professional and I know my stuff. But to force me to publicly speak just kills me. Maybe I'll join Toastmasters or something again. I joined Toastmasters WAY back in 1991 right after college, but promptly quit when I realized we ALL had to give speeches.

So the long and short of it is, I did fine and got plenty of kudos for my efforts. Which is a nice thing to hear from such smart people around me. I secretly wondered if any of them know I was terrified. I asked my boss and he said he didn't see a scared rabbit giving a speech.

I feel good about my success, but please don't make me do that again!

Retraction Statement

Actually, I don't think its a retraction statement, but I have to admit I printed the Dudley list incorrectly. Oh the shame!

The real list...

The Top Six Fan Favorite Songs:
1. "December 1963 (Oh What a Night)" -- Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
2. "Hold Me Now" -- Thompson Twins
3. "I Think I Love You" -- Partridge Family
4. "Any Way You Want It" -- Journey
5. "I Was Made for Loving You" -- Kiss
6. "Take a Letter Maria" -- RB Greaves

really just swap the Journey song and the Kiss song...

Recipe of the Week: Tinga Poblana de Pollo y Papas

So, most of you know I have a slight obsession with recipes and cooking. I love to cook. And many of you benefit from that love of cooking. I have over 600 recipes currently on file on my computer. About half are for the entre or side dishes or salads. So I got creative and put all these recipe names in a big brandy sniffer. Each week I take one out and that's the Recipe of the Week.

Generally speaking, I love each one of them. But once in awhile one will come along that I either love or absolutely hate. If I hate it, it goes in the trash. No need to save it since I won't likely make it again.

This week's recipe I loved and thought I'd share it with you all. It makes enough for about 6 servings. In typical Jenn fashion, I sorta followed the recipe. So I'll give you the recipe as it is supposed to be and I'll add in my changes.

**This recipe can have a bite to it, depending on the amount of peppers you put in.**

2 lbs chicken thighs (I don't like dark meat so I used chicken breasts and it worked just fine)
6 cups water
1 Large White onion, quartered
2 Tsp Salt
2 cloves garlic, not minced
1 can (14 oz) Whole Tomatoes in juice
4 Tsp chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo (I used two whole chipotle's and it was perfect for me.
1 tsp Oregano (I'm not a fan of oregano so I skipped this ingredient)
1 Link (1.5 oz) Chorizo sausage, finely chopped
1 T Vegetable Oil
1 lb Boiling potato (I used Yukon Golds because I think they boil up the best for soups and stews)
2 oz crumbled queso fresco, ricotta salata or farmer cheese ( I personally didn't add this)

Bring chicken, water, 1/2 of onion and 1 Tsp salt to a boil, covered, in a 4 or 5 quart pot over moderately high heat. Boil 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand, until chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. (I have to admit, I didn't do this. I boiled it until I felt the chicken was done.)

Transfer chicken to a plate, reserving broth with 2 quarters onion. When cold enough to handle, coarsely shred chicken, discarding skin and bones. (Again, I chose to not do this. I diced my chicken in the beginning into bite size pieces. And I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts.)

While chicken is cooking, heat a dry well seasoned cast iron skillet over med high heat. (I didn't have a cast iron skillet so I used my regular skillet). Brown garlic and remaining 2 onion quarters. Transfer onion and garlic to blender. Add tomatoes with juice, chilies, and oregano, then puree until smooth.

Cook Chorizo in heavy skillet over med high heat (I used the same skillet I cooked the onions and garlic in). Carefully add puree and cook about 10 minutes. Peal potatoes and cut into 3/4 inch pieces (bite size pieces), then add to reserved broth with remaining tsp salt. Simmer covered until potatoes are almost tender. Add potatoes and onions to chorizo mixture along with 2 cups broth. Stir in chicken and simmer 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with cheese (again, didn't do the cheese part.)

I did have a couple corn tortillas on hand though to help sop up the yummy juices.

Enjoy!

And the Favorites are....

I know you've all been waiting with baited breath on the outcome of my Dudley night. I must admit it was a shockingly bad performance. Their first set really wasn't that great as they focused on slower not so exciting songs. Rather boring to me. Me, the girl who was in about 3 beers by the time the show started and who was ready to dance the night away. Instead, I found myself being lulled to sleep.

But never fear, the second set was a pleaser. Maybe the first set was foreplay, which if it was, then Dudley should stick to singing and not sex.

Anyway, I digress. The second set brought the top 5 -er 6 Fan Favorites. The boys of the band decided on 6 because they felt like it.

Here they are - now no chuckling or smirking...

#6 - Take a Letter Maria - RB Graves - I didn't realize I knew this song, but I found myself singing along.
#5 - Any way you want it - Journey: A rockin song that got the party started
#4 - I Was Made for Lovin' You - Kiss: The song I voted on over and over again. I have to admit Dudley does a bad version of Kiss.
#3 - I think I love You - Patridge Family Quote of the night from Shannon, "this is someone's favorite song?"
#2 - Hold me now - Thompson Twins - Not a favorite of mine
#1 - December 1963 - Four Seasons. You know this song, "Oh what night. Late December Nineteen Sixty Three, what a very special time for me. What a lady oh what a night."

All in all it was a fun night and I enjoyed myself, especially enjoyed the fact that the bars in Seattle are now smoke free. So I got to go out, and come home and NOT smell like an ashtray (apologies to all those smokers out there...but that stuff stinks).

The other great adventure of the weekend was purchasing an 8 drawer dresser from non other than Swedish Torture company, IKEA. Now, I love IKEA, don't get me wrong. In fact, my entire apartment is IKEA. But jeez, putting furniture together is a royal pain. Let me take you through the steps.

7:30 Friday night - Take off for 30 mile trek to KENT in hopes of avoiding traffic both on the freeway and at IKEA.
8:00 Arrive IKEA - I didn't drive the speed limit I admit
8:05 Park and wonder where the heck is the main entrance. They've done some remodeling since last time I was there...
8:15 Find entrance, cussing.
8:30 Locate said dresser and night stand in warehouse aisle.
8:31 dilemma - how to get heavy dresser boxes off the shelf by myself.
8:32 Decide against bodily harm and doing it myself. Locate worker bee.
8:34 Enter Jason - who might be 19 maybe and weighs all of 65 lbs.
8:36 Jason and I pull the TWO boxes for the dresser off the shelf and load the cart
8:40 Jason and I are still pulling two boxes off the shelf to load onto the cart
8:43 With a loud snap and pop (part of my back that apparently doesn't appreciate being used in this manner, we have the items loaded.
8:44 Realize Cart has it out for me and refuses to drive straight. It wasn't me, I swear.
8:50 Fork out the cash and roll unweilding cart 3 miles to parking garage.
8:55 Stand stunned at Explorer suddenly wondering how the hell I'm going to load this into the car myself
8:56 practice helpless woman look at the handsome man next to me.
8:57 Flipping off handsome man for not helping.
9:00 FINALLY decide to push unweilding cart to Pick up location at the OTHER end of the garage.
9:03 After walking 1/4 mile BACK to my truck, drive ALL the way back to loading dock...
9:05 Wait for assistance to help load this truck. Secretly wondering if a husband might not be as worthless as I thought.
9:10 Cranky sales girl helps me load items into the truck.
9:11 Drive off happily with furniture in tow.
9:55 Park Explorer and think, "How the hell am I going to get this furniture into the apt.
956 - 10:15 Unload boxes piece by painful piece. Who'da thunk an 8 drawer dresser would have so many flippin' parts.
10:16 Stupidly decide to put together night stand...
11:15 Fall into bed wondering how the hell I'll find the strength to put the dresser together.

Saturday AM
WAKE at 10AM - I never sleep in that late.
10:15 Coffee in hand, I browse the "directions". Which I admit I'll call directions lightly. Little useless drawings that you need a Masters Degree in Engineering to figure out.
10:30 Still "attempting" to understand directions.
Fast forward to 1:15PM - Still in PJs STILL trying to put flipping dresser together. All 8 drawers are done miraculously without having to take them apart and "re-read" instructions.
1:30 Begin big job of putting the frame of dresser together. Plugging along nicely until.... Dammit! Dammit ! Double Dammit! ONE piece is on backwards. ONE piece...
2:15 Realize one piece is on backwards, move back 3 spaces. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200 dollars.
3:15 Finally figured out that TWO pieces were backwards, got them turned around and on the move now.
3:34 - Dresser almost done. Four pieces left. Only three shown in directions. Oh Crap! An extra piece of a dresser can't be good.
3:37 - Wonder if drinking this early is a bad thing.
4:00 Figure it all out. Dresser put together in Living room. Begin pushing 8 DRW DRESSER by myself into bedroom...only...it won't fit through the FLIPPIN door. You've got to be kidding me? 4:10 After several minutes of cussing like a sailor, brilliant thought pops into my mind for the first time in THREE days.
4:11 Push 8 DRW DRESSER up on end, push it through bedroom door
4:15 Cuss outloud because I neglected to move current furniture to make room for new dresser.
4:16 Pull new 8DRW DRESSER out of bedroom. Rearrange current furniture.
4:20 Push 8DRW DRESSER into bedroom, make if horizontal Fall onto the BED in puddle of tiredness.
4:30 Realize I still have to get ready for Dudley show tonight.
4:31 VOW to NEVER EVER buy IKEA Again.

The Return of Dudley Mania

All the usual suspects are unavailable (aka out of town) for this weekend's extravaganza of Dudley Manlove's 11th Anniversary show. I'll be attending, of course. This year they are doing something a little different. They are going to perform the top 5 Fan Favorites that the fans voted on. Of course I voted, what would even make you think I did not. Wanna know what horribly bad but fun songs I voted for? (I realize I'm not supposed to end a sentence in "for", but who cares?)

Now, keep in mind that my decision to vote on these songs was strictly based on wanting to hear my fave singer Paul Jensen sing these songs with the rest of the Dudley band. They generally do cover songs exceptionally well, I think. Of course I may be a wee bit biased. (Hey I have no kids to brag about so I have to brag about something).

I Wanna Be Sedated – Ramones - They already do this song and I love when they do it.
I Was Made for Lovin’ You – Kiss - oh come on ... you know you like this song.
I Want You to Want Me – Cheap Trick - No comment - perhaps a slight freudian thing here
Drift Away – Dobie Gray
I Melt With You – Modern English

Stay tuned for the results.

Dubai - Friend or Foe?

I just can't decide how to feel about Dubai potentially owning American ports. I can't decide, which is rare for me, which way I feel.

On the one hand, I think being against it based on the fact that Dubai has "Arabs" and therefore are bad or dangerous, is wrong and a bit racist. Not something I'm willing to admit might exist in me, even though rationally I know we all have some aspect of racism in us. That being said, I think "Arabs" in general is a bad thing to categorize as bad or dangerous. Just a few bad apples in the bunch, doesn't mean they are all bad. Because if we said that, we'd have to apply that logic to Americans - and we wouldn't want to do that. (Insert Timothy McVeigh)

On the other hand, I feel like...actually I don't think there is another hand. I think that the only hand there is, is about the controversy in my own thoughts regarding "Arabs" good or Arabs dangerous.

Having lived in Saudi I know a bit about Arabs. I am, by no means, an expert, but I never felt scared for my life, or worried of what may happen to me and my family. That was 20 years ago though (Holy crap that was TWENTY years ago!). Things have changed and not for the good. I am sure I wouldn't be comfortable there now, and not just because I'm a woman. But I don't think ALL Arabs are bad or evil or out to kill Americans. And because of that thought I struggle with the Dubai thing.

So my point is, I am still undecided which way to feel. I hesitate to say NO WAY just because its Dubai and thus Arabs - Dubai has always been a friend to the US. Yet a part of me quivers in fear of the idea that "Arabs" might have control over locations so important to the US economy. I just can't decide how to feel on this one.

Its not even 8AM and I'm having one of those days...

Ever had those days, where everything and anything that could go wrong does? Yah, I've had them, but I don't usually complain about them.

Yet, this morning as I'm doing my Seattle duty and sitting in line for a drive up espresso stand, this woman parks her car, gets out and walks over to the window of the stand. Um...did she miss it was a DRIVE UP? Anyhow, she doesn't know me from Eve, yet she starts complaining about how bad her day is and how horrible things this morning have been.

Okay, I'll bite.

"Like what", I say, secretly hoping she won't actually respond.

Instead she goes into the WAR and PEACE story about how long the red light at the bottom of the hill is. So I ask again, "And that's what has your day off to a bad start?" Flustered she responds with a , "Well, yes. The city planners, blah blah blah..." (blah blah blah = me tuning out because I quickly summised that she was a nutcase.) I get my cuppa Joe, thankfully, put my car in drive and tell this poor poor soul with the brightest, happiest smile I can conjure, to have a nice day.

As I drove off I got to thinking how easy we put things into the "pain in the ass/horrible" category. I mean really, in the grand scheme of things, is the red light not changing fast enough really worth having a bad day over. I think this as I spill coffee down my shirt (and anyone who knows me knows that's a frequent event). Normally, I'd cuss a little and just shrug. This time I pondered just how earth shattering the coffee stain could be. How horrible my life was because I spilled coffee on me? How my world has now come to a screeching holt because I had dark brown, drippy marks on a shirt. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't make it ruin my day. I just shrugged - no cussing - and said, "It figures."

My point, if there is one, to this blog is that perhaps we should consider how insignificant the small things can be in life and focus instead on what may be, for our lives, more important, more worth our valuable energy. For the sake of argument I'll say that maybe this lady did decide that a light changing, or not changing, was worthy of her energy, but I suspect she has more things to worry about - fashion for one...but I digress.

Risking backlash again...

Disclaimer: If you feel strongly one way or the other about abortion, you may not want to read further.
I am Pro Choice. Period. I believe it is the right of a woman to make her decision about her body. I do not think this is a political decision, nor do I think it’s a decision that should be made by would be politians who are trying to get their names published.
The Government of South Dakota has signed a law banning abortion. This slaps in the face of civil liberties that women have had for many years. I am not a full on feminist, but this decision (and the subsequent decisions from other states that will follow) shows that woman rights are really at all as sacred as we thought. I will never understand how anyone thinks it’s OKAY to make this very intimate, very personal decision for a woman.

I would probably never choose an abortion over life. I am, however, assuming I have enough brains about me to think about the consequences prior to participating in an act that may, if unprotected, could result in pregnancy. But I am a free person and would love to feel confident that I, and only me, can make the personal decision regarding my body. If we make abortions illegal, in some situations we are condemning some, unfortunate children to a very difficult and challenging life.

I truly try to be non confrontational...I do.

BUT...there are some things that really gets my blood boiling. And Seattle/Washington State politics (poli-tickles as it were) is one of them.

For those not of this area, you may not know that we have a dying, archaic viaduct that was massively compromised during our earthquake some 5 years ago. According to the Engineer's who have studied the viaduct, they all agree, the viaduct is a ticking bomb and needs to be replaced. And so starts the political battle (don't even get me started on the Seattle Lite-rail/monorail initiative) over how to replace the ailing viaduct.

The Mayor of Seattle wants a tunnel. The tunnel option will not only cost an exorbitant amount of $$, and it will open up the Seattle waterfront to more businesses. Thus lining the Mayor's pocket.

Other folks of the poli-tickle circle want to just replace the viaduct. It will cost less, and still function. This is, after all, the purpose of such a structure.

The Seattle PI Today wrote that Seattle planning group has given the government an "ultimatum" stating that if the $$ for the tunnel isn't available/funded by April 1st, they will proceed with the plans to replace the viaduct. The article THEN goes on to say, that currently the council/planning team continues to plan for BOTH options. Which is, a waste of good tax payer $$.And as all of us who live here know, they will continue to argue this point, nothing will be done, Seattle will have another earthquake, hundreds of people will die and THEN will they decide to do something.

The other poli-tickle thing going on is with our local NBA team, the Sonics, wants Seattle to pay for a new arena. Now, their old arena renovations are not even 10 years old yet. But they are threatening to leave Seattle if the city doesn't build them a new home. My two cents is good riddance. The interesting thing here is Seattle is STILL paying for 5 arenas. And two of them don't even exist anymore because we've mowed them down to build new ones. One of the arenas, the Kingdome, we still own $$ on for 11 more YEARS. We tore that thing down in 2000. ARGH!

And so my question: Shouldn't the tax $$ go to more necessary fixes like transportation? We have a few bridges, highways, freeways, and an aging viaduct, that are sorely in need of a make over. Or better yet, could we use the $$ to build a - gulp - lite rail system that is actually useful to the majority of commuters (see Monorail comment from before)?

I'd like to say I'm going to stop voting (but I won’t because its too damn important to have a voice) because it seems that no matter whom we vote in Seattle, and Washington is destined to just argue until the cows come home and still do nothing. WE live in a society full of activist and political parties that love to battle, and there in lies the problem. No one can agree on anything.

A million Little Lies...

Many of you may have heard all the hoolala (thanks for the word Cindy) around the book A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. Quick synopses: James was a addict. He gets clean. The book is his recovery.

Oprah was a huge advocate toward this book and sent his books sales through the roof. She, and her staff, were hooked by the books amazing feeling and sadness. Then comes the day the Smoking Gun website discovers there are few inaccuracies in the "memoir" regarding his stay in jail. Oprah was Frey'd (pardon the pun). She brought James Frey back on her show, and essentially forced him to explain himself. How could he lie to her, Oprah Winphrey? And ultimately her viewers.

I am in the process of reading the book. And frankly, I don't give a rats ass about whether its "true" or not. Any book or movie that comes out that is "based on a true story" I take with a grain of salt. The book, to me, is good. Its not something I would normally read, and reminds me, albeit a bit too much, of high school English class reading Hemingway. That aside, its enjoyable to me.

BUT - when I started to think about what we, as a society, put stock in, I realized that we, as a society, really put a lot of stock in entertainment. We fall victim to believing just about everything we read or hear. Reality TV is a good example. "Real" ity? Really? I think not. My reality has nothing to do with Donald Trump, the jungle, or being the next top model. A CNN writer quoted it the best and I think it explains exactly how I feel when it comes to how our world is today.

"The question is not why the writer would inflate his exploits so, but why readers went for it all so eagerly. The simplest answer, I suppose, is that we like drama. White hat, black hat, beginning, middle, end. This stands in opposition to real life, which is mostly middle, with no hats at all. It's sometimes hard to come to terms with that, which is why my uncle Charlie used to replay his time in the South Pacific during World War II over and over again. His life had to be more than the room in the nursing home, and once it had been, much more." - Anna Quindlen

The Nature of Freedom

As part of my continued Project Management learning (or should I say obsession), I've been reading the Daily Drucker. The Daily Drucker is a 365 days of insights and motivations for getting the right things done. Written by Peter F. Drucker who is a leader in the Management and leadership arena.

Feb 13th excerpt (don't ask why its the 27th and I'm reading the 13th...I'm not so "daily" about it.)

"Freedom is not fun. It is not the same as individual happiness, not is it security or peace or progress. It is a responsible choice. Freedom is not so much a right as a duty. Real freedom is not freedom from something; that would be license. It is freedom to choose between doing or not doing something, to act one way or another, to hold one believe or the opposite. It is not "fun" but the heaviest burden laid on man: to decide his own individual conduct as well as the conduct of society and to be responsible for both decisions. "

How I ended up on a bar room floor. By Jenn Wraspir

Its true, I spent about a millisecond on the floor of the Tractor Tavern last night. As many of you know, I go see the Dudley Manlove Quartet as often as my heart can manage. Well, DMQ has an alter ego band called the Sh*tKickers. The Sh*tKickers perform music with a country flavor to it. I won't say they do just country, because they did some Tom Petty and some REO last night. Now granted they added the country twang to it...but still. Ever heard "Take it on the run", by REO with a country slant...scary really.

Anyhow, myself, my friend Shannon and a few other random folks from my Catalysis days all went to see the Sh*tKickers. Holy Moly did I have fun. These two guys who joined us, Jibran and Michael (and a couple of Michael friends), were by far some of most fun people to hang out with and party. Aside from them being full on partiers...which means they're young and can still drink and get to work the next day, they just seem so real and so down to earth.

Before I get to how I ended up on the floor, let me first say, I got to spend quality time with none other than Craig Corbin from the DMQ. He's also the guitar player in the Sh*tKickers. (So the only difference between DMQ and the Sh*tKickers is the saxophonist and keyboard player do not play in the Sh*tKickers. In fact, the Sh*tKickers are actually a quartet...which means, should they be called the Dudley Manlove QUARTET? Its all so confusing.)

As Shan and I were waiting for the doors to open, this guy in a cowboy hat comes up. I, being the DMQ fan that I am, recognize him immediately as Craig Corbin. Shan, hadn't a clue who he was and said the doors weren't open yet. I piped up that he was with the band so they'll let him in. As it turned out they let us all in. Shan and I sat at a table with our pitcher of Stella and began chitter chatting like two school girls at lunch break.

Craig walked over and said that well he was a man without a band. Shan and I had actually seen the other members earlier that night and pointed Craig in the direction they had gone. Instead, Craig sat and chit chatted with us for about 15 minutes. It was great to meet another band member and see just how human they are. We found out about their day jobs (Paul Jensen is in IT), what Craig likes and doesn't like (which is nothing) about the band, we talked about the new keyboard player they brought in a year or so ago and how he fit in with the guys (see the guys have known each other for years and they were concerned how an outsider would fit in. As it turned out they got super lucky with a guy who fit in all too well). It was great. I was in 7th heaven and secretly hoping the other guys would come in and come over to talk with us. But alas, I had to admire Paul from afar. (I'm still thanking GOD Shannon didn't tell Craig I was in love with the lead singer Paul Jensen). Though Jibran later than night yelled, "I love you Paul." at the top of his lungs.

So how did I end up on the floor? Jibran, being a musician himself, thought the Sh*tKickers were a riot. He knows NO country songs and so kept wondering around the dance floor "pretending" to do the two step with his hands on his pretend mega belt buckle. At one point, he decided that I needed to dance with him. So round and round we went. He had some "routine" that appeared to be safe, so I bought into him leading and me "following" - which anyone who knows me surely knows I am not a good follower...I'm a leader. But somehow, in the spinning, I zigged when I should have zagged, my shoes slipped on the floor and down I went. But I hopped up with spirit and said with zeal, "I'm okay!" Poor Jibran he felt kinda bad...but the truth was I may have stayed standing had my shoes not slipped. Either way, it makes for a great story.

And now here I am today, coffee in hand, eye lids that are so heavy I may need toothpicks to hold them up (I got home at O dark thirty and had to be AT work for a 7AM con call...) And in case anyone's wonder, I am apparently a cheap date (you'd think I'd have more dates...)...three beers all night and my head is POUNDING.... could be the loud music and fall to the concrete floor...but I'm blaming the beer.

By far one of the most fun and funnest evenings I've had in a long time...And on a school night. Shhhh! Don't tell my mom.

New adventures & old friends

Yesterday my new group all met to plan the launch activities for our new product that's due out later this year. I, with my project management background, got to facilitate and manage the meeting. I was nervous about this position since I'd be effectively running a meeting of people who have all been here a lot longer, and know a lot more than me. So instead of worrying about it and freaking myself out, I did what any good Project Manager would do. I built a plan. I had my plan, my agenda, my isle for notes, and my timer. I was good to go. It was amazing, this team functions like a well oiled machine. I think my planning/organizational skills have less to do with the amount of work we got done than this team just being full of people who work well together. Finally at the end of the meeting during my summary of action items, I whipped out a Responsibility Matrix. I expected to hear gasped throughout and comments like, "You mean we have to assign someone to these activities". But no, they all hopped up and put there names down next to tasks and that was that. In the course of 5 hours, I got to do a communication plan, a responsibility matrix, an issues log, risk analysis, and a charter. I secretly sat in my car after the meeting and was a bit stunned that I had pulled it off. I thought, "Maybe I actually know this stuff and its not just a mirage." That's a joke. Laugh. OF COURSE I KNOW THIS STUFF. I studied 120 hours and passed the PMP exam. But I also think I'm spoiled with an exceptional set of team members. In fact, if anyone's ever been in a planning meeting you are pretty much guaranteed to go over time by hours. We were done 20 minutes early. I tapped my watch just to make sure it was working.

Oh and a big lesson learned...no wifi in the room. No one had access to their email while the meeting was going on...so we got a lot more accomplished.

Now on to old friends. Each day at Microsoft is a bit surreal to me. I remember so many things about this company. Not all of them are good and pleasant memories. But of the memories I cherish the most, are those of old friends. I've met many people here. Some I talk to on regular basis, some I don't see for months/years. Today, I ran into one of those "years" persons. Her smile is what made me look twice at her. I knew I recognized that laugh and that smile. She recognized me immediately too and ran up to greet me with a big hug. She's one of those wonderful spirits that just makes you happy when you're around her. Anyhow, we talked about our new roles, and how things are now. But we had to go down memory lane a bit too. We have mutual friends that we may not see as much as planned, but we got all caught up with them and ourselves in the span of 10 minutes.

While my original departure from Microsoft wasn't exactly a pleasant one (I've learned so much since then and because of that experience), but what will never be clouded are my memories of the good times and the good people.

Dinosaurs. Fact or Fiction?

Now that I live in the Yukon...okay its only Lynnwood, I spend more time commuting then previous living arrangements. My commute allows for ample time to listen to the radio morning shows. This morning I was a bit amused by one of the morning shows. Apparently the Seattle Mariners have this new DH (designated hitter for you non baseball types), Carl Everett. Carl apparently does not believe that dinosaurs were real. That they aren't represented in the Bible, therefore could not have existed.

I know y'all are thinking the same thing I am, then, um, how is it we've found bones...and then this other thing called fossil fuel? So the morning show had people calling in with their thoughts. One woman called in to defend Carl Everett and emphatically said that God PUT the bones there for use to find. After all, Noah, she says, didn't bring Dinosaurs on the arc...

My initial reaction was what a nutcase. And then I thought about that theory and whether a God I see as super intelligent would "put" bones around the world for us to find and later call dinosaurs. I decided that wasn't a probability. Instead, I believe that the dinosaurs were around LONG before Noah and his arc (which I'm sure Noah really lived in the Seattle area). After all, couldn't the dinosaurs have been extinct before the whole arc thing?

And then I remembered a contemporary religion class that FORCED us to think outside the box (of course this class was in high school which was LONG before the phrase "outside the box existed"). Our instructor asked all of us to think around the religions instead of just taking them as fact. As the class progressed we learned that, historically, we only have proof of some items from the arc forward. Which meant that the first part of the Bible could be, in fact, just stories - folklore. A way to teach good morale behavior. And so that's what I have chosen to believe.

In a nut shell: the dinosaurs existed. Noah didn't take them on an arc because they were already dead. And the Bible is a reference book. Which, I am sure is blasphemous to even say.

Horror-Scopes and other scary things

My horror-scope for today is shockingly close to what's been on my mind for the past few days.

"How strong is your connection to your inner truth? It's time to ask yourself what really matters in your life, and push everything else to the side. Live intensely and beautifully. Don't waste any time."
As some of you may know, and new readers now will know, I don't really do New Year's Resolutions. I do New Year Themes. In the past, I think, I did pretty well doing things that helped better me in some way, shape or form. For example, I did "Out with the old. In the with New" one year. Then I did, "Celebrate Singleness." etc. My plan has always been to carry that theme with me through my journey during the year. Doing things that, seeing things, experiencing things that turn toward that theme.

This year, I'm struggling. Its almost the end of February and I don't have a theme. I was going to do, "Cha cha... changes" since I was moving and starting a new job. But I couldn't think of anything past that to change...at least anything I want to admit I want to change. Because that roller coaster ride I'm not quite ready to take. So I'll keep pretending that I'm ...cough cough...choke choke...perfect.

So now here I am. Stuck with what to do. I've been doing a lot of thinking about taking Risks and how to maximize my risk taking and minimizing the potential pain that might be the fall out from the risk. For example, how much pain will happen if I ask some guy out for drinks? Is the risk of him saying no worth the pain that no might cause? In my heart its a resounding YES. But oddly my mind stops me and forces me to think about just how painful rejection can be. And do I want to face that music again?

But I digress (which seems to be a habit of mine of late). Last year our family, and the world, lost an amazing person to cancer. My cousin Cindy, at the young age of 36 (I think), was someone who, even though she was dealt a rotten hand in life by having to deal with cancer for nearly all her adult life, truly personified the notion of "Live intensely and beautifully." and didn't waste any time. When I think about Cindy and what she fought I get a bit choked up. But mostly with happiness and pride when I think about how strong she was and how much she really fought to live. So my horror scope got me thinking why do near death experiences force us to really live? Why can't we find enough worth "really living" in our day to day lives?

So my thought was, maybe my theme could be "Live intensely and beautifully. Don't waste any time." Thoughts? Suggestions? Can you help a sista out?

...and God said, "Let there be furniture..."

And lots of it. I got my new furniture today. So very excited to see it delivered. The thing is the furniture looked smaller in the show room then it does in my living room. But I love it. It just happens to look like a couch and two chairs blew up in my living room.

What is this world coming to?

Does anyone else think this rioting over the cartoonist drawings of Muhammad is getting out of hand? I just, for the life of me, can't understand that kind of ... of... passion? hatred? Religions conviction? I'm not really sure what to call it. What I do know, or think, is that Islam as a religion, on a whole is peaceful. I'm not sure - now I don't practice Islam so this is stated with a Christian background - that Muhammad would agree to killing hundreds/thousands of people in his name. Just like I'm not sure God approved of the Crusades. At any rate, I just don't understand the whole point.

Clearly the West, who believes in freedom of speech, doesn't understand the Arab world, who have never experienced anything even remotely like our level of democracy. And for men (I say men because you rarely see a woman out there protesting) who really don't have any other avenue for expression in these countries...maybe protesting verbally for a religion is the only channel they have for expressing themselves?

I have an acquaintance that I work with that does practice Islam and was telling us that he is sad for his religion. He sees what's going on and while he understands where they might be coming from, he can't help but wonder if they are just looking for a reason to protest. That years of rage have been bottled up and finally they have a reason to let it loose.

The latest thing is Pakistani cleric has put a price on the cartoonist head of $1M if anyone kills him. Would Muhammad really approve of that? I just don't think Muhammad, or any other form of him, would approve of killing another person in their name. I may be wrong, but it seems to go against what religion to me is about, peace with one another.

Its Cooooolllldddd out there campers!

Again, I find myself in need to write about the weather. Mostly because there's not a whole lot more interesting going on in my life and mostly because Seattle weather is just bizarre.

Last weekend we were greeted with BEAUTIFUL spring weather. Temperatures were in the mid 50's and upper 50's on some days. Which I know for you California / Arizona types is still cold. But for us Seattle types, that's shorts weather man.

Then Tuesday morning we were greeted by SNOW. Yes, you read that correctly SNOW. Now granted I now live in the "convergent" zone, or I think I do, and because we got snow doesn't mean anywhere else got snow. Regardless, I had about an inch of snow on the ground. Snow. That's when I have to remind myself, we are still in February. And in our neck of the woods, February could mean snow. Of course it could be rain, sun, sleet, hail, or just cloudy too. You never really know here. They say if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes and it'll change.

If you've not been to the Seattle area then you wouldn't know this, but we're surrounded by mountains. To the East we have the Cascades and to the west we have the Olympics. On a beautiful sunny day, like today, its usually butt cold and beautiful because the mountains are all visible and are displaying their beautiful snow covered selves. Man its breath taking.

This weekend however, we are being hit with an "artic blast", which is news coverage code for "its going to get freakin' cold out there." They are saying that our lows are going to be in the single digits. Like around 8 degrees. EIGHT degrees? When did I move to North Dakota...of course in ND that's a warm front. And there's another possibility of Snow.

I'm getting cold just thinking about all this. Here's a photo that a friend sent me yesterday of the snow.

Happy Hallmark Day!

At least that's what it is to me. I've never really been a fan of Valentine's Day. It stems from painful childhood memories of not getting valentines, to being a dating adult and not having that "valentine" person, or having a "valentine" person who was lame. But either way, its really a holiday that's promoted by the card companies. And is designed to set me up for a miserable few days. I mean really guys, if you screw up valentine's day...your month of February is probably shot.

Its not a very fair holiday. I know several men who are scared silly because they are sure that what they "choose" to do for the significant other on valentine's day, won't be exactly right. And what if she gets mad? Of course, I also know the women who promote this fear in men. Come on...you know the type of women I'm talking about. The type that give ALL women a bad name. They are high maintenance women who REQUIRE just the right amount of romance and giving on holidays like valentine's day or birthdays etc. Instead of just adoring whom ever they are with, they make it a game.

I think men are really in a no-win situation here. You're going to be damned if you do and VERY likely damned if you don't. So do, but do so with caution. A few notes of wisdom about valentine's day gifts.

1. Stuffed animals are a no no. We're adults.
2. jewelry is generally good. Though you do run the risk of getting something "too small" or not right. Be sure to get a gift receipt if she wants to exchange it.
3. Lingerie - its really not for us women right? Its really for the man. Which may come across as selfish. And besides, why spend all that $$ on something that isn't worn, presumably, too long?
4. Candy - This one is dangerous too. I don't know very many women who aren't watching their figure...
5. Dinner out is good. A well planned, well thought out evening of dining and relaxation is good. Especially for the mom's of the world. Leave the kids at home. Treat her to a special evening.
6. Muscle Cars, stereo equipment (unless its an iPod), appliances of any kind, probably not a good thing. Basically anything that can be construed as something YOU want instead of something she wants, probably not a good thing. And anything that means she'll have to use it to clean, also not a good thing.

So as I said before, guys, you're really in a tight spot. May the force be with you.

PS - Star wars movies, probably not a good thing. Taking her to see a chick flick may win you points.

Heaven, I'm in heaven...Sing with me

Today I had to commute by myself into work. It took me an hour. But I didn't mind. I had my coffee, I had my radio and I had a FORD SALEEN MUSTANG 2006 in front of me. I think I drooled a little....

Many of you may know that I have a secret love affair with Mustangs. I had a 2000 Mustang coup V6...I loved that car. But some young guy rear ended me and they totaled my Mustang. I swear I cried.

"There's always next year..."

That seems to be the phrase of the day. As many of you are aware, Seattle lost Superbowl XL yesterday. The officiating of the game was a disgrace considering the refs for this game were the ones who's performance during the season won their trip to the Superbowl. And yes, I've heard many - a- Seahawk fans exclaim that we would have won if the officials hadn't screwed us. I'm not of the belief that it was all the officiating. The Seahawks made their fair mistakes.

BUT, what I am overly impressed with is how the Seahawk players are handling this. There hasn't been an utterance of blame toward the officials. The players are all taking the high road...and for that, I think they are the real winners.

Project Management & State of the Union Address

I wonder if I'm the only one who found an excellent quote that can be used toward project management in the State of the Union address by our President. I, admittedly, did not watch the SOU last night. I, personally, don't like watching the President speak...he seems like a puppet on a string to me and it drives me nutty. So, I prefer to read the SOU for my own information.

Being from the WEST side of the State of Washington, I lean more toward Democrat (to my parents dismay I suspect). We have a lot of liberals and activists in this state. But whether you agree with the current presidential party or not, I do think its important to listen and hear what he's saying. It is an obligation, I think, of each American citizen to know what's going on in their government. Like it or not. Education and knowledge is key.

And of course, the Democratic Response.

Back to the Project Management quote. The President was rattling on about something and he said, "Hindsight alone is not wisdom. And second guessing is not a strategy." Project Management is about planning and being organized and prepared throughout the project. And this quote brings it all home to me.

It's official..I'm addicted

I know, some of you will scoff at what I'm about to admit. Knowing that I'm a "techy" girl its hard to believe...but its true...I've been accessing the internet with dial UP.....BUT NOT NO MORE!!!!!

This girl has high speed cable internet now...HOLY COW...this stuff is F-A-S-T!!!!! I'm sooo addicted to it now. I can click on a link and WHAMO a site. Instead of the days past where I'd click on link, go take a shower, make breakfast, kick the cat, do laundry, call mom (on the cell- der) eat lunch, kick the cat, clean, eat dinner, kick the cat...and Maybe...if I'm lucky the page will have loaded.

But all that is behind me. I'm High speeding it now.

The move is over. And as typical for Seattle, it rained THE ENTIRE time the movers were actually moving my furniture. When we were driving from Bellevue to Lynnwood it didn't rain. In the morning before they got there it didn't rain. And as soon as they were done, it stopped raining. The rain gods must have it in for me. And we're not talking little light drops or mist...we're talking TORRENTIAL down pour...ugh. I'm beginning to hate the rain.

The cat made the journey with only a few issues. He did not like being in the cat carrier...and he told me ALL about it on the trip up here (25 miles or so). But he's settled in well and seems to like his new domain. He won't have as much kitty TV as he had at the other apt ( kitty tv = looking out the windows at the wilderness that was my back yard). Somehow, I think he'll survive.

Now, for the commute. Stay tuned. First commute is tomorrow AM.

The Day before the Big Move

I'm only working a half of day today so I can go home and be ultra prepared for the move tomorrow. Weather report is saying some chance of rain, which means... because I'm moving, it'll rain when the move the bed and the couch since it'll soak up the water best.

The apt is in a total state of organized chaos. The master of the house, (aka Pookie) has been a bit, let's see how do I put his, cranky of late. In his 10 years of life he's been through 6 moves, you'd think he'd get it by now. But instead, he's in every box, sleeping near me or walking near me...hoping he doesn't get left behind. I packed his food last night while he was asleep and got the one-eyed-glare-of-concern. I can't wait to put him in the car so he can wail for 25 miles.

I have a couple of girlfriends coming over tomorrow to help "supervise" the movers. Secretly hoping they'll be cute movers so us girls have something more to gossip about...as if we need anything.

I think I'm set:

• Maps for helpers to the new apt - Check
• Maps of each room and what should go where - Check
• Coffee - CheckCheckCheck
• Donuts - Check
• All belongs neatly packed for optimal quick moving - Check
• All non-movers-moving articles in one location for us girls to move - Check
• Money - Check
• Tylenol - Check
• Enough energy to get through this move - Um - half a check.

Next update from Lynnwood, WA....stay tuned!

Thanks Mom & Dad

I know you know this person. The person who doesn't have table manners. The person who isn't afraid to "lick" their plate when they're done eating. The person who has no concept of polite-ness or anything with regards to being in a fancy restaurant. Well, thankfully I'm not that person ( and thankfully I don't really KNOW anyone like that...I've seen a few and have a few acquaintances I'd like to train, but otherwise, my friends get it).

Anyhow, last night I was fortunate enough to join my upper management (Director, General Mgmt, all Product mgrs etc) in our team for a very nice dinner with three customers we had visiting. Being that I'm the Customer Experience Manager, I basically "managed" their entire day and what not, all the way to planning dinner. Didn't realize I was going to dinner until I was "told" by my director that I should go.

Naturally, I got a bit nervous. But I was thankful that my mom and dad had taken the time to teach me manners. (its a loss art these days with kids I think). I wasn't worried at all about how to behave in a VERY nice restaurant with people who were important to me. Which got me to thinking on the way home about a few acquaintances I have and whether they could keep a professional and polite manner about them in such a situation.

I know it sounds like I'm tooting my own horn, but its really mom and dad who deserve the kudos here. So, thank you mom and dad. I actually did listen and learn something.

4-Way Stop Signs...what's not to get

So generally speaking people in the Seattle area don't get 4 way stop signs. Its quite possibly one of the most annoying things about the drivers here (I could go on and on about how they can't drive in the snow, sun or rain...but I'll stick to the basics).

And just when I thought I had seen it all as to how people deal with 4-way stop signs, I start working on the Microsoft campus. These people are nuts at the 4 way stop. If you don't pull out IMMEDIATELY then you lose your turn. It becomes a came of inch-check-inch-check-inch-HIT THE GAS-Pray. Its not at all what we learned in driving school. The right DOES NOT have the right away here. Its more who has the fastest, or biggest car...

I feel like a granny at the stop signs. I think I need therapy for this.

GO SEAHAWKS!!!!!

The Seahawks are going to the Superbowl. Yeah Baby!

Seattle: 34
Carolina: 14

Go Hawks!

Happy Saturday

I get to sign the paper work for the new apt tomorrow. 7 days and counting before the BIG move.

I am 100% completely packed. Shocked, aren't you all. All the boxes are numbered, labeled, and inventoried....okay well they aren't exactly inventoried (if that's even a word).

And I have a new crush. We'll see how many of you REALLY read this.

Finally, the movie of choice today. While slightly over done, and VERY predictable, it gave me goose bumps. See I'm a band geek at heart. Grew up in the auxiliary units of all the bands for the schools I attended that had bands. (Redmond High being the one exception because they didn't "allow" auxiliary units - whatever.)

Starting in Jr. High: 7th grade at Piute Jr. High. I was the Captain of the Tall Flags. Which really was nothing, but a big Teepee looking set of flags that spelled out Piute. We just carried them behind the band before the flag girls.

Then 8th grade, I "graduated" to Banner. Oh I certainly thought I was cool. I hated every single girl on the banner, but I loved the banner. It weighed a ton and flipped open to spell out Warriors (it spelled Piute when it was closed.)

Then came my freshman year at Antelope Valley High School. I started in banner, then decided to give the Rifle Corpse a try. I took to it like a moth to light. I loved it. As my family can contest, I practiced until I had blisters the size of Kansas on my hands, and bruises ALL over my body. But I got good. In fact, was the ONLY freshman to march in the parades or field shows.

Then the move to the other side of the city brought me to Quartz Hill High School. They were the rivals of AV, and I KNEW I could be Captain there. So I stuck my nose in, tried out with the band director and the current captain watching on...and lo' and behold, I became captain. Looking back now, I can't imagine how crappy the former captain felt with me coming in and taking over, but I didn't care then...I was on top. Loved everything about Rifles. Had a killer team and band. The band experience just sorta stuck with me. They were my family. My first love was in the band. Who? you ask...all together now...Michael Pomerleau. Man, I was over the moon for him. In fact, I got my first kiss from him, thanks to pal Laura Born who SHOWED Mike a letter I had written to her. See I was moving to Washington, and I told Laura the only thing I wanted was a kiss from Mike...SHE SHOWED HIM THE LETTER. The nerve! But I got that kiss. In a practice room in the back of the band room. Oh sweet memories.

But I digress...the movie tonight was DrumLine. Now for all intensive purposes, its lame. But -man- can those bands down south play. LOVED IT!

Go SeaHawks!

And the SEAHAWKS are gonna win.

So that's really not what this blog is to be about. Though it could be. I was going to write about rain again, but that's boring and so last week. But I will add, that the Seattle PI has a quote in it that sums up EVERY Seattleite's life in the winter:

More important to me is I'm moving next week. I have one week to get my current apt in packing order. I laughed at myself last night whilst looking around my apt. I'm probably one of the only people I know (Mike being the other possibly) that has my boxes all stacked in the same area, numbered, and end location printed on them. The boxes aren't scattered around the apt. They're all in the living room (I had to move some furniture to get this accomplished). My thought is two fold: 1) I get to see just how much CRAP I have. Though a one bedroom apt with less than 50 boxes I think is good for me. and 2) I think it'll be easier for the movers I hired.

Yes I hired movers. All my so called "friends" are busy. Which isn't surprising, because if any of you actually know me, you know I move often. I love moving. Most people groan at the idea, but I love it.

Why do I love it you ask? Simple. Its an opportunity for you to see what all the wonderful things you've collected in your life, and get rid of half of them. Moving is really a ritual in cleaning house. Most folks don't toss stuff they don't use unless they're moving ( the one exception being my parents - wait cancel that - dad who keeps everything). I have two "extra boxes". One box for things I KNOW I'm taking to goodwill. The second box are for things I'm just not quite sure I need anymore, but can't quite let them go. I mean you never know when you're going to need that "something" you didn't even remember you had.

For me, the monster of packing is the Kitchen. I love cooking. Thus I have cooking supplies, books, dishes, etc that could easily compete with Sur La Table for a store. Just my kitchen alone, which isn't complete packed yet, is 15 boxes. FIFTEEN boxes. My god...I need to purge.

I've not written about rain in a few days. Mostly because there's nothing new about the rain. Its still raining. According to my count (who care's about SeaTac airport and their "official" count.) we are on day 34 of rain. At least in Bellevue, which according to most Bellevue folks is the center of the universe.

The Seattle PI had an interesting commentary regarding rain. I think it depicts very much what every, single Seattle living person thinks:

"THE OTHER MORNING I saw a patch of blue. No, not the old 1960s Sidney Poitier movie about the blind girl, but a slight clearing in our proverbial gray Seattle sky. The change happened quickly, giving my brain just enough time to register the subtle brightening that caused me to glance from my book and out the window.

That's when I saw it, toward the Olympics -- an almost oval patch of crystal blue, surrounded by clouds in varying shapes and shades of gray. I turned off my reading lamp so I could watch the sky, thrilled and encouraged that this small patch might possibly be a sign signaling the coming of the end to our recent torrential downpours.

My euphoria didn't last long. In the time it took me to contemplate rousting my husband and grabbing our walking shoes, that little patch of blue got swept over by fast-moving, heavy black clouds pushed by a strong wind that seemingly came from nowhere.

Disappointed, I turned the lamp back on and resumed reading."

Capital Punishment...If you dare

I realize raising such touchy subjects on a blog can be detrimental to friendships, here it goes.

Disclaimer: We are all allowed an opinion. If you don't agree with mine, that's great. I appreciate and respect the differences of opinions. So, do not crucify me for mine. If you have a solid opinion and don't want to hear mine, then don't continue to read. Stop.

"I believe that in the circumstances he raises a significant question as to whether his execution would constitute cruel and unusual punishment."

How is this cruel and unusual? You're 76 years old. You've been convicted of a crime that you committed. You've been on death row for 23 years and are about to be executed. Your "plea" is that you're "too old and feeble" to be executed. Now, if we had actually executed him when he was convicted 23 years ago, he would not be too "old and feeble".

The article continues to say, "Over the years, some justices on the Supreme Court have expressed interest in deciding whether a long stay on death row can be unconstitutionally cruel."

So don't let them STAY long on DEATH row. Isn't the point behind capital punishment a death sentence? I've often wondered, and in all honesty, desired to understand the reasoning behind such extended stays on death row. Someone who knows the law can perhaps enlighten me on this, but is there a "structured amount of time" that a person has to be on death row before they are executed?

When we lived in Saudi Arabia, a country who actively supports and goes through with capital punishment, their crime rate was 3%. Three percent. Now granted, they didn't have the judicial system we have and people suspected of a crime "may not" get a fair trial, but still. They had a law and they utilized it.

I'm just sayin'....

Not sure why this got me so fiesty today....

More rain? Seattle says, "Bring It On!"

On my way to work this morning, I had a strange occurrence. I left my apartment and was greeted by this enormous, bright, round thing in the sky. At first I thought it was a UFO, then realized if I were a creature from out of space, I wouldn't visit Seattle. So I squint and walked to my car. Got in, shut the door, started it up in time to hear the radio DJ say the word. The word I couldn't think of, or recall, or remember, or have uttered in god knows how long...he said..."SUN". Its the sun. Der. I remember...oh wait. Where'd it go? Damn it!

While we didn't break our record set in 1953, it seems the rain gods have decided that Seattle hasn't had enough yet. That the year of the drought (2005) was a mistake and now they must fix that mistake (If only the rain gods could fix the taste of bell peppers while they're at it).

On the plus side, we won't have to "conserve" this summer. But if any of you know Seattle, it s a city FULL of conservationist, and activists, and tree huggers, etc. The mountains are getting SLAMMED with snow. My pal Mike told us that a local ski area he's teaching at has 70" already. SEVENTY INCHES...that's like ... um ... anyone got a calculator?... like 5.8333333 feet. AND its still snowing. The news last night said that Snoqualmie (for those NON Washington folk that Snow Qual Me) pass was to get another 7 inches last night. (Please keep in mind it was Jim Forman aka local news caster... aka Drama Queen)

Bummer no record...but How about those SEAHAWKS?

Well, we didn't break the record. According to the "way its done", we have to get recordable rain at SeaTac Airport. While it rained at my place yesterday, it didn't rain there so we aren't going to make our record. Which I guess, is good for those poor souls who are flooding, unless of course, it rained for them too. So we sit at 27 days of rain. And now we have about 10 more in a row coming.

But while it was raining on Saturday, it was a perfect opportunity to watch the Seattle Seahawks BEAT the Redskins. Now, normally, I'm not an NFL fan. I'd much prefer to watch college football. But since our local team is doing exceptionally well, I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon and root the boys on. They did end up winning despite their efforts to lose by fumbling a number of times, and losing our star player in the first quarter. Now its on to play Carolina Pansy's...I mean Panthers. Go Hawks!

Week one of the new job came and went with roaring speed. I can barely remember what I did. I do know I did a bunch of reading and learning on the Microsoft Speech Server. Which, BTW, is an amazing piece of technology. Speech Server is effective, voice recognition software for call centers, and other uses. But did you know, the grammar part of the software is sooo unique that it can be modified to recognize the difference in our pronunciation of words. For example, the way a southerner would pronounce a word, versus the way a New Yorker would. You can set the software up for your region recognition. FASCINATING! I must be a geek at heart. (no comments from the peanut gallery on that one).

The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly in Seattle

This just in: (I love our media up here)

" This is the 26th straight day of rain in Seattle, closing in on the record of 33 days set in 1953..."

Now many of you may not be familiar with this area, but there are two things you are GUARANTEED to see in Washington (a few friends would know this if they visited once in a while...Billie - Vicky you're off the hook because you just got married.) Greenery and Water. We have several lakes surround the Seattle area and NEVER in all my years here has Lake Sammamish every flooded. I was driving home last night along West Lake Sammamish Parkway, when I was "forced" into a detour. The lake is flooding and part of W. LK. Samm Parkway is in danger of being under water. Now keep in mind it isn't YET under water, but they good folks of Redmond want to make sure that no SUV gets stuck in the inch of water that "may" cover the road way. Oh that's the other thing you'll see a lot of up here...SUVs. Though none are really use their 4 wheel drive. If it snows here, people stay home.

Mom sent an email today announcing Tucson has had 88 days of sun. Grrr...clearly she's doing it to irk me...which she LoVeS to do.

My reply to her was that I was beginning the rain dance...I'll explain for those of you who aren't familiar with the rain dance (did I mention we have a bunch of native American's up here too). Say it with me...if we get a chorus going it may work:

Abracadabra! Shazammmm! Twinkle Twinkle (which is your nose twitching).

Now I'm not 100% convinced this is the rain dance. I get that dance mixed up with the pee pee dance all time. What the....gotta go gotta go.

Let the Games begin

You know I'm constantly amused at people in Seattle. As you are all aware of, we've been drenched in rain for several days in a row...25 to be exact. And here's what I've noticed.

Generally speaking, the first 2 weeks people were discouraged and a bit depressed due to all the rain. Now this I don't understand. Having spent most of my formative years in Seattle, rain is a part of life here. Nothing stops due to rain. If you wait for sun, you'll be waiting a long time. Especially in the winter months.

Now that we're on 25 days straight and the folks in the great Northwest are being riddled with media announcements that we have "just a few more days to hit the record." Which may seem odd to most of the world, but here in Seattle, I guess hitting a record like the most consecutive wet days is a big thing.

So here's the current state of mind: "LET'S BEAT THE RECORD." Yes. Its become a competition. The real competitive nature of the people here is out and brewing. (no pun intended with regards to Seattle also being the Java capital of the world).

I sit her mildly amused at the fact that people are now HOPING we beat this record. No lie. The news last night showed a graphic that showed the most days of rain and the year. We are now 3rd from the record. Tomorrow we'll be second from the record. The "record" being 33 straight days of rain.

And as is tradition for the Seattle media, ALL the big news is the rain. Well, and consequently the resulting floods. But none the less, the drama brought forth by the media is killing me.

I love Seattle!

And I shall build an Arc!

Day 24 of the nonstop rain fest here in Seattle. I almost wept last night watching the news. There appears to be NO relief in site. Our record is 33 days and they are anticipating we'll surpass that particular record. Why can't we beat the record for most consecutive sunny days?

Does anyone have any snorkel equipment I can use? At this rate, I'm going to have ocean front property.

23 Days of Rain and counting

Seattle is in a race to beat its record of 33 days of consecutive rain. Its been raining for 24 days straight now. The weather forecast is glum as they think we may make the record. Ugh. The hills are falling like the game Janga around us, standing water is the common thread on all the streets and my umbrella hasn't dried out for days. I love this place. Where else on earth could you get 24 days of rain?

The new job started yesterday. My first thought was, "What have I done?" But as the day progressed I started putting more and more unnecessary stress on myself to learn everything now. For those of you who don't know me, I like to get things done immediately. I hate waiting for things. I'm trying, not very successfully currently, to remind myself that they are expecting a few weeks ramp up.

The team is fantastic. All of them smart, creative people whom I am sure I can learn a lot from. Better start taking notes...oh wait, already did that. First day on the job and I have 6 pages front and back of notes about the people, the job, the goal, etc.

Flat Tires and last days

I just wrote an entire blog about my flat tire experience yesterday...and I lost the whole thing. Damn technology.

Yesterday I was greeted by a VERY Flat tire. The old Jenn might have cried a bit in frustration. But the new Jenn cussed...loudly. Instead, I thought "I'm a bright woman, surely I can change a tire." That thought was quickly replaced by "Where the f--- is the spare tire?" Then a little voice kicks in and says, "Look under the car." AHAH...the spare. DOH! But how to get it released from its prison so that I can change it. Then where's the jack. Oh for heaven's sake...call AAA and join. So $84 later, I now know where the spare is, how to release it, and how to change a tire. But a note to the wise out there, the spare on the car was flat too...thank god AAA had a nice air compressor. AAA said that 70% of the flat tires they change result in the spare being flat too...so go out there and check your spares.

Last day of work at Catalysis today. Its a bittersweet goodbye. On one hand I'm excited about my new job, but on the other, I'm sad to be leaving. I'll miss a lot of the people here.
I put together a list of things I've gone through here...

I've physically moved 7 times.
I was hired as employee 18 and now sit in position 6 in seniority.
I've had 3 different job titles, and 4 different bosses. And survived two major re-orgs.
I've answered well over 10,000 CC emails. Just with Office 2003 launch alone.
I've trained 9 CC reps (one was trained while I was in Sedona on vacation).
I've taken over 500 photos of Catalysis events. 

I lost count on how many coffees I've purchased and/or drank. 

I've met the following dogs: Mabel, Spike, Girl, Punch, Sully, Emma, Puck, Jordi, Molly, Maggie, Spot, Nancy's dog, Echo, Betty, and of course Beau

So on to the next adventure of my life. Thanks for memories Catalysis.

Hauoli Makahiki Hou....

Final days in Hawaii. Final days of the cold. Now the big question....What to do for my new year's theme? I don't usually do resolutions, but I prefer to do themes. Any suggestions?

January will be a month of changes to me. New job and new apartment. So maybe I can do Celebrate Change.

Post your suggestions to me.

Happy New Year...

Well not yet here anyhow...but everywhere else.

Its been a couple of days since I last wrote. And boy has not a whole lot happened. Wednesday after the Volcano I came down with the world's WORST cold. (Its true. We asked The book of records to check it out and they agreed it was the worst). So Thursday I spent the ENTIRE day sleeping. Yes you read that correctly, sleeping. One wasted day of vacation down.

But yesterday I felt a bit better. So in between naps we went into Kona and went to a few markets. Between the heat and sickness all I wanted to do was sit in the car. We stopped for lunch at the Kona Inn, which we ate at last time I was on the Big Island. I couldn't even eat. The family knows that if I'm not eating, I'm definitely sick.

Today, New Years Eve, we drove north. There's a northwest wind that's "rare" on the islands that is causing enormous waves. So on our way north we stopped to see some amazing waves crashing to the sand. Further north we went to a town that I think time forgot. Hawi, Hawaii. The tour book said its a retro 60's town. I would disagree and say it was more retro 50's. It was old and broken down.

But today through it all, in the convertible, I got FRIED. Even with slathering up with sunscreen. I now am being called Jenn the Red Nose Wraspir.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope the year fills you with much joy, love and laughter.