Infatuation

Okay, I can't keep it in anymore. I'm in lust with a rock star. I am completely, utterly, intoxicatingly taken with Type O Negative singer/bassist Peter Steele. http://petersteele.com/ Not only does this man have the steamiest voice I've heard since Elvis, he's like 6'7"!! And not a bean pole either, the man eats his wheaties. *swoon*

So after a cursory search on the web, I discovered more juicy details about this fabulous man. He appears to have a great sense of humor and even better a quick mind. Then add to that his demeanor with women. Specifically he was describing his ideal romantic interaction with his partner and it was enough to make the starving staved. At least for now.

He's playing at the Ogden in Denver on April 15th. There's no way I can get out there for that. *sigh* He needs to come to Seattle.

Until then, here he is in all his tall, fabulous long hair glory (I swear long hair is my kryptonite - I'm powerless to it, been that way all my life).

To Do In Amsterdam

So the Amsterdam trip with Amy is less than two months away. I've decided a to-do list is in order.

To Do:

1. Get a pic of me, Amy, and one (preferrably more) hooker(s) standing INSIDE one of the Redlight brothels.

2. Find a dyke and get a pic of me and Amy seemingly munching on a piece of carpet while on the dyke.

3. Run across the main square bridge in nothing but clogs and a flying nun dutch hat (see example below).

4. Order a "big, fat blunt" with a soy mocha at the local coffee shop (and take a pic of doing so).

5. Visit the Van Gough museum (where we can hopefully get some souven-ears...ba dump dump).

6. The Heineken Experience. Nuff said.

7. Wear wife beaters at our trailer park trash hostel on Lucky Lake.

http://www.luckylake.nl/Enlish/MainWindow.htm

8. Visit a few more museums and such.

9. Bicycle to the tulip farms and get some sort of kinky picture of me and Amy doing something with our tulips and two lips. Hee hee hee.

**Special thanks to Amy and HG for helping me devise aforementioned list of dutch debotchery.

PDX

I went to Portland last Friday for training and to visit with Zac. The training was awesome - I had the best time with Todd - it didn't even feel like training. We covered quite a bit of material, I finally had to just stop taking notes and absorb.

After training I went to Zac's house. I was still in work mode so it was a little awkward at first. So much so that I left to grab some booze, food, and so on. I got back and we hung out, looked at pictures, chatted about our lives. He's so funny - I forgot how funny it was to just listen to him and his stories. I told him about Isis, though I'm not sure if I should have or not. It was a total buzz kill I'm sure. After that it was time for bed. I slept on a futon that wasn't the most comfortable but better than the floor. When I woke up on Saturday I immediately went shopping at the Lloyd Center. I spent well over what I should have and got tons of stuff I didn't need. What I didn't do was pay taxes on any of it. Schwing! During my Victoria's Secret shopping excursion my phone's screen went dead. Completely dead and hasn't resurrected since. So if you texted me this weekend and I didn't respond, that's why. Anyway - I SHOULD have gone to the Cingular store there and even walked by it but decided against it. Who knows why. Dane and Zac equally gave me a lot of sh*t for that decision. I also had a pair of capri lace tights in my hand to purchase and opted out of that too. That also came back to bite me in toosh later when I was trying to make an outfit decision. After shopping I got lunch at Noodles and tried to post for school. I got one post in, but that was it. D'oh. Then I went back to Zac's and we hung out, watched Braveheart, then napped. I woke up and walked to the first restaurant I could find for dinner. I sat down at the bar (the only place with an outlet for the laptop) and chatted up the bartender. I ordered a cosmo and tried to get online, but couldn't. By the time I looked at the menu I was settled in and sipping away at my drink. I glance at the menu. I am at a Southern Food restaurant. I smile - there's not way I'm going to get a vegan meal at this place. But what's this - veggie jambalya. YES! And it was actually really good. And vegan (as far as I could tell). Since I couldn't get online I sat and played Catan. Then it was time to get ready for the show, so I went home. I tried on all my outfits. Nothing fits me the way it used to. What used to look good on me doesn't now and I haven't found clothes that fit me in a flattering way. I ended up wearing my Redlight top and Trendy Wendy skirt. The outfit rocked and it was time to go to the show. Which was fun. I met a lot of Zac's friends and had a good time just hanging out with him. After the show we went to Taco Bell then home. I was sooo tired I actually fell asleep (probably mid conversation) on the bed. I woke up the next morning in the same position I fell asleep in, false eyelashes still on and everything. We spent the morning talking and then it was time for me to drive back home.

It was good to be back home though. In the past couple years I've become a real homebody. I miss my man, cats, and bed when I'm gone. I got home and regaled Dane with my story and he told me his own (he got neutered on Saturday) and spent a few minutes laying on the bed with him. Before I knew it I was zonked out.

Ack - time to go - more later. :-)

St Patty's Day Party 2007

Wow. Dane and I had a BLAST this weekend but I'm sure we'll be feeling the effects for days. We are getting too old to party like that. But, now we can say that we opened a bar at 6am and stayed for 12 hours! That's right - we got to the bar at the ripe time of 5:45 in the morning and stayed till just before 6 pm. At that point we stumbled to our hotel, adorned in St Patty Day schwag and "meeaahh"ing like HG's cat Oscar. We took a 4 hour nap then got up and headed out to another party that we stayed at till just after 3. Then it was time to cab it back to the hotel and retire for the second time. By the time we got to bed, we had been up for 24 hours (save our 4 hour nap). When we got up this morning it was all we could do to make it home and back to bed. We spent all day today in bed watching movies and recovering from our little stint.

Surgery update: have some issues going on with the surgery. I'm on weekly watch by the doctor to see how stuff goes. My scar is being stubborn to heal and there are some other issues going on. :-( So far nothing to be overly concerned about, but I am worried a little bit. I'm now 5 weeks post op and I was expecting to be free of my garment and able to exercise. I've been put on exercise restriction again so I need to go back to counting calories. ESPECIALLY after this weekend. I don't even want to know how many calories I consumed.

Work is going well. We had a retreat on Friday and I was practically moved to tears with how cohesive and special the TH group of people are. Everyone cares for each other and is extremely supportive. The CEO is great - I love how she approaches running the business and free thought. I was amazed at everything I saw.

School is also going well. I'm going to use this week to catch up on reading since the homework is light. I may also get a jumpstart on my individual homework due. So far I have an A in this class and I got an A in the last class. Go me!

Odds and ends: This weekend I'm going to Portland to train for work and meet with Zac. It will be so much fun to hang out with him and learn about what he's been doing the last 14 years. I have a lot to do around the house though so I'm hoping I can get it all done before the weekend.

To do: size the wedding bands, go to Victoria's Secret, go to Trendy Wendy and The Metro, meet with the team, laundry for days, pick up around the house, grocery shopping, TSA letters, talk to HG about CdA, 3-day post/email, homework and postings.

Patty's Day Pictorial:

First thing in the morning.

After the shots of Jameson, which had safety strings on the shot glasses which made for great cow bells (or ka-honnies) the rest of the afternoon.

This guy was also there since 6am. As you can see I've picked up a hat from the "dirty" Guiness guys. What you don't see is my "I kissed a dirty old Irish man" button, my Guiness tee-shirt, and Guiness butane lighter. I was their little recruiter and got a gift for every gaggle of girls I brought to them. :-)

This was towards the end of our stay at Fado. We were feeling pretty good by this time.

Surreal

My new job at Treehouse seems surreal. Every morning I wake up I thank God that I am so blessed to work for such a great organization and company. I have already done great things for the organization and I forsee many more things to come in the future. It's just so nice to work for a "normal" company where people get along and care about you and interact. It's so nice to feel welcome and like I'm a part of something. It's nice to have the freedom and encouragement to do what I need to do to accomplish my job.

It's funny because I didn't realize how institutionalized I had become until I got out. When my phone rings or my email dongs I instantly prepare for the worse. Then I see a nice email just saying hello or making sure I have everything I need. Or it's someone on the phone being nice. I'm not used to that at all. I created a journal, posted it, had my supervisor approve it, and then filed it all in the same hour! We closed February books last Monday. FEBRUARY!! If this were my old job, I'd still be doing December probably. :-)

But in all this glorious transition, things still feel weird. I feel like at any moment I'll have to go back to TSA and this will all be over, like a dream or something. I'm all moved in to my new office and everything but it still feels weird. Maybe it can be likened to moving into a new house. It just takes time before it feels like home to you. Then again, I'm not sure TSA ever was home to me.

All in all I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I made the right decision for me. Anyway - I'm going to get back to work, I have a nice big fun list to work on. AND GUESS WHAT!!! I actually get to be THE key player in the budget process! Isn't that fun! And I get to organize the next audit. And so many other things that pertain to the real "meat and potatoes" of accounting. I'm so happy. :-)

I Can Exercise Again!

Today marks my *almost* 4 weeks post op. I celebrated by participating in a St. Patty's Day Dash with HG and the Hub and of course Mr. Man. We walked just over 3 miles in just over an hour! YEAH!! I can stand straight up now and move with ease. My scar has almost completely scabbed over. All in all I say I'm doing fantastic.

Now that I know I can handle mild exercise, I'm going to start getting back into a routine again. I think I'll start tomorrow morning with some yoga. We'll see how I feel after a full day's work to see if I should up the anty. After work I have plans to have drinks with LR and then go shopping at Captial Hill. I'm looking for a new edgy outfit and something for Patty's Day next Saturday.

We saw 300 on Saturday - awesome movie. There was all sorts of sweaty Spartan hotness to have. Even the guys had some eye candy though I'm not sure what I think about some aspects. Anyway - great movie, great soundtrack, great times.

I started my second MBA class, so far so good. I'm one of the leads for this week so I'll have some homework to do, but nothing too crazy. I think I will have an A in my 1st class, not confirmed though.

That's all for now, I've got to get back to homework and Quickbooks. And I'm sure I have a thousand other things I need to do.

HATERS!

Dude - TSA is a hater! They didn't pay me for my vacation time! So I put in some calls and hopefully it will all get worked out.

Anyway - new developments: first couple days at TH and budding relationship with Zac. So my first couple days at TH have been awesome!! It feels so good to get back into a "normal" work environment and culture. People talk about their lives and everyone seems so friendly and there are all sorts of invites to go places together as a business and as friends. When people leave, there are "toasts" were food and beverage are enjoyed by all with fellowship. Not people packing their crap in boxes and being ignored. I've been in a cubicle till my predecessor leaves and was listening to Dane Cook and couldn't control my laughing. I was doing my best to muffle it, but I guess my cube-mates thought I was crying so they came to check on me. It was funny when we all realized what happened. They thought I was so upset about the job I was crying. Silly gals, but it was so sweet to know that they cared. The work is definitely managable and challenging, but in the good way. I'm just so happy and everyday I feel like I made the right decision.

Zac: So after a couple days going back and forth on email, Zac and I chatted last night on the phone. We talked for awhile about the past and what's happened. He's not having a good time right now due to a motorcycle accident. Poor guy. As it were, I need to go to PDX for training so I think I'll stop by and say hello to my long lost puppy love friend. It wil be nice to see him in person and talk and hopefully entertain him. As in keep him company and make him laugh. Sounds like he could use a few good stories and I've got those for days.

So I was totally supposed to do all this stuff such as:
FAFSA
Call CIT - 800-721-4006, acct #, pymt made 2/27 via phone w/ Jamie #
Call 24 Hr Fitness, 800-432-6348
Homework
Quickbooks
Mail nano and taxes
Write letters to TSA officers
3-Day event email and post to blog
Email Melissa about 3 mile walk, sex, when can I bend backwards
Reschedule hair and dentist
Get Dane's rings fitted

And I haven't done anything. MySpace and iTunes are soaking up all my spare time! I guess tomorrow I can make some calls on the way to work, mail the nano and taxes at the post office by HG's house, email Melissa from work, do my homework and QB tomorrow night, the FAFSA and letters on Sunday after the walk. And Sat will be school, wedding dress then 300 (that looks like an AWESOME movie!). Sunday is the St. Patty's Day walk. Then next weekend is the St. Patty's Day party and hangover recovery. The following week/weekend will be PDX.

I need to focus on my April Fools Day prank to Dane this year. What to do, what to do....What did I do last year? I don't think I did anything...I must have done something. I'm going to post this so I can see what I did. I know Nick toilet papered our house. *frown* OH!! I know - we went to his boss's party. As we were leaving, I had his immediate boss pressure him into doing straight shots of real tequila. His boss took the first swig and was CHUGGING it! He must have taken about 3 shots worth then he gave it to Dane and of course Dane had to follow suit and so he winces and goes to take a shot of the hard stuff. About half way through the shot he puts the bottle down, confused, and we all bust out "APRIL FOOLS!!" The bottle was emptied long ago and filled with water. Good times. I can't remember what Dane did to me though. Dane can't either. Now I'm back to reviewing my blog again. Anyway - ideas for jokes?

A New Day

I have never in my life experienced a physical shift in appearance at the same time that I was experiencing a mental shift in character. It seems to me that my changes on the outside are almost an externalization of what I feel on the inside. Everything is happening all at once it's almost daunting to consider each and every piece. Perhaps it's like pulling a band-aid off all at once vs. delicately and slowly. Considering all that's going on, I think I do prefer the quick method.

To get everyone (okay - really just me) up to speed, this is what is going on: I've shed my TSA skin and start a new job tomorrow as the head of the accounting department at Treehouse. I've just completed my first course in my Master's degree program. I've just finalized the details on the wedding in July. I've agreed to go on a backpack/bicycling trip to Europe (okay - really Amsterdam) with the Amazing Amy in May (Amy you rock: I O U)! And I've course I just did some major changes to the ol physique. I chat you up on each subject individually.

1. TSA to TH: I'm so nervous and scared to start TH. They are so excited to have me and I know they expect great things from me and I'm so happy to be there and excited to do good things, I just hope I can live up to my reputation and the expectations. I hope I exceed their expectations. The budget is less than 5 mil, which I can do in my sleep. Even at C&C (which was around 3 mil) I had 2 501c3's and 2 501c4's. TSA was just a monstrousity all around from policies, company language, accounting procedures, dynamic, etc. If I can learn how to do the job at TSA, then I can do anything. On the flip side, I'm scared. I have one accounting assistant who is in/around my age so I think I may take the "friends" approach with her at first. I don't want to be her micro manager, I want to be a good manager but I also expect help and results. I got a couple of extra suits from Dressbarn (shitty name - NO woman's clothing store should have the name "barn" in it - whose silly idea what that?!) that were marked from $140 to $50 and one was actually $20! Then I got some scarves for $4 each. Total deal. I can't wait to wear them! Even with my swelling I fit in a size 12. And if I'm lucky enough to drop another size or two then I can donate the suits to Dress for Success. Or pin them to fit. Anyway, we'll see how it goes. I'm so excited and scared at once. What a huge step for me!

2. So the first MBA class wasn't so bad. We got an extra extension on our paper, so now I can slack off even more. :-) The teacher was cool - I hope to have him again in a smaller class setting. He's spicy, but just the right amount of spicy. The work wasn't so bad either, I was (and still am) expecting more but after this class I'm not as scared of the possibility of me being able to do this or not. I know I can now. It will be work, but I can do it. I'm so glad I have a buddy to go with me. I have a lot of fun with HG in class farting around. We are really different in class - I'm forever speaking out and HG is always quiet and reflective. I'm sure it makes for a fun dynamic for others. I can already see a HUGE difference between BA and MBA work. It's a good shift though and I love hearing from others about their experiences. It helps me to become a better manager.

3. With Mom in town we finalized all the details on the wedding. I think I mentioned this before in a post but I'll say it again. I think I even have my wedding dress picked out. I actually need to make the final decision on that soon. And pick the colors. I also got our wedding bands. I got my nice, vintage looking ring with a pave-type setting on the sides and some side diamonds - very classy. Then I was going to get Dane a band and a nice watch (because he believes that women get all the fun with the wedding jewelry and men don't get anything) but I found an AMAZING white gold ring with 3 baguette diamonds in it. It's all modern and manly looking and I instantly fell in love. Then I noticed some Triston or Trition or something like that "almost indestructible" black rings. For the price, I figured I could get him the black, durable band for everyday use and then he could bust out the power ring for nice occasions. I was nervous that Dane wouldn't like the rings (I bought them on the last day of a sale) but he fell in love with them too. Except he likes the power ring so much that he wants to wear that everyday and only wear the black one for manly occasions like camping, 4x4ing, fixing the car, etc. Whatever -they're his rings. I'm just glad he likes them.

4. So Amy is AWESOME dude! I think a few things happened that prompted the vaca invite from Amy. She got her passport, she's having a b-day in May, and she's a little restless. She sent me an email sometime last week asking if I'd be interested in a trip to either Europe or the Caribbean. Knowing that all my dough is tied up in the wedding, Amy offered her help in the form of an IOU. I couldn't say "No" to that so I said "I'd prefer Euro over Carib since we are going to Mexico in July anyway." So she said "Let's do Amsterdam or Spain." And I fell in love with Amsterdam. My second choice would have been Scotland or Ireland I think. But Amsterdam is the first choice and we love the idea of taking nothing but a backpack and bicycling around the country or just staying in one spot. We don't know, the only plan at this point is to arrive at 8 am on Saturday May 26th and leave the following Friday. No hotels to book, no tickets to buy, no car to rent. Nothing. Just meet and greet in the airport and go from there. I love it! What I like most about the idea of this trip is some quality girl time with Amy, just us, and that it will be like a vacation that I probably wouldn't have with Dane. And that's not a bad thing, it just means Dane would be miserable biking across Holland. I, on the other hand, look forward to it. Dane wanted to go to Europe first with me but I think he understands what an amazing opp this is for me and wouldn't want to stand in the way.

5. And last, but not least, the ol body. I'm still not supposed to make judgements but I love what Dr. Egrari has done for me! He deserves his Bentley and much much more! So even though I fit in a 12, it is still uncomfy to wear pants with buttons and zippers for a long time so when we went to the Noc Noc, I wore a sarong and a tank top type thing with a built in bra but not underwire (I can't wear underwire for 6 weeks post op) for support. And I did look pretty. I haven't felt or looked pretty (to me) in years. It was awesome. Even if I am the only one who notices and cares, the choice I made was the right one just in what it has done for me and my mental image of me. I'm sure some would say that I didn't need the surgery or that it was frivilous to go so far, and perhaps they are right. But on the flip side, I'm so glad I did go through with the surgery and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I'm nervous about how part of my incision is closing but the Doc says not to worry, so I guess I wont. And even if it doesn't fix itself, I still look great all around. I think I need more protein. I just don't get enough being vegan. I should go make myself a protein shake and take a nap. :-) When are they going to come out with protein pills?

Upcoming posts: so I have some ideas to post coming up here soon. One is "People I still think about", introduction of my 3-Day participation (a very special post), and of course pics. Dane and I actually took some the other day that I may post, even though it's less than two weeks post op and I have a lot of swelling, you can see a huge difference. I can't wait to start exercising again too. Anyway - more to come as the week wears on especially on my new job!

I Feel Pretty - Oh So Pretty!

Dane and I are going to the Noc Noc tonight to see LR's performance, I guess it's going to be recycled next week. Anyway - it's my first time out all pretty after surgery and honestly in a while. It feels like since living in WA going to clubs and bars and just out in general has become the rare and not the norm. Not that there's anything wrong with that, that's just what growing up is, but I do miss it at times.

So today I feel pretty. I got my first round of highlights gearing up to become blond again (though this time gradually not drastically) in time for the wedding. I still have a lot of swelling and have no idea what I can wear that wont hurt me or show my garments or whatever but I will put my eyes on and get all dressy. I haven't felt pretty in a long time. Actually it's been years. I can't wait to get dressed and go out. And I guess we are in for a show tonight, LR says there is a special headliner so the show will be packed. We need to get there early!

Went to Applebee's with Mom and RBMBA today. It was nice to see RBMBA but mom and I weren't on our best behavior. I felt bad but RB seemed to understand and take it in stride. We are going to see a movie this weekend and I'm really looking forward to that. I haven't spent time with her in a while.

And for the record - Applebee's puts bacon and eggs on their "house salad". I've worked at over 3 restaurants and eaten at a few more than that and to me "house salad" has always meant 3 wilted pieces of lettuce, a wrinkled cucumber, an over-ripe tomato, and 2 croutons. Every once in a while you find a restaurant that springs and puts two slivers of cheese on the "house salad" so just in case I said "no cheese" please. When I got my "house salad" I was shocked to see bacon and eggs - to me, that makes it a traditional cobb salad! So I felt bad for returning it to the kitchen but in my defense there was no description of the "house salad" on the menu and most "house salads" don't come with all the fixins. Dane's right - whenever I got to a restaurant I just need to say "I'm a vegan, is this "house salad" free of all animal products?" or what have you.

Anyway - I'm off to get pretty, oh so pretty. :-)