Assistance please
HC gave me another vacation clue last night over dinner and I have no idea what it means. It's in code or something...
She started to vocalize the classic James Bond theme.
(You know the one. With the guitar. The horns come in after a few bars.) Anyways, I have no idea. All I could do was blink at her.
I need you help. Any ideas?
Vacation time!!!
It's now offically
VACATION TIME!!
In fact, right now I'm at Maximum vacation time.
What I mean by this is: Right now I am at my maximum amount of time away from work. As the seconds and minutes tick away I will be one step closer to work. Just an observation. It's not meant to be depressing. I'll turn it around and say this gives me the motivation to make sure I enjoy every moment away from work.
I'm going to start with a celebratory Guinness!
Happy Friday & weekend to everyone.
More vacation hints
HellCat gave me the following hints regarding where we'll be going when she got home from running errands last night.
- We’ll be gone for 5 days.
- Pack mostly T-shirts and shorts
- Pack at least 1 nicer pair of pants and a polo shirt
- Swim trunks.
- There may be a pool or hut tub at the hotel.
It's almost vacation time
I can smell it. I can feel it. I've needed a vacation for a few months now. Work and life have ground me down a bit. But work has been getting in the way. I've taken some days off here and there throughout the year but not an extended period of time AND not out of town.
HellCat planned the entire vacation and has declaired to me details regarding our vacation will be on a "Need to know" basis for me regarding "where" we're going and "what" we'll be up to.
I'm the planner of the 2 of us. I did the majority of the planning for our wedding. I plan all of our trips. I enjoy the research and the planning. So this is a role reversal for us.
Here are the details I have so far:
- We will be driving between 3 and 8 hours from Pittsburgh.
- A Ticketmaster envelope arrived yesterday.
- Below is a map with a clue as to "which" way we will be going.
This is all I have to go on. Where do you think the Chowderhead and HellCat will be going? (Toronto? New York? Baltimore? DC? Breezewood? Erie? A city? The beach? The mountains? A concert? A show? A museum? )
This is going to be a fun trip!
I'm starting to feel better
I'm a worrier. It's one of the things I learned from my parents.
HellCat and I have been talking the past few days about finances, jobs, the future. And it's helped my outlook to get our game plan together. She applied logic where there was worry and funk. She made me think about each of my concerns and then compare/contrast our situation with all of the people we know.
After some thought, financially speaking our situation is NOT much different than our friends. Before the thinking I was worried we were in a bad situation and headed for worse. In reality, we are like everyone else.
In regards to jobs: I just got my mid-year review and I'm in good shape. I had a few "Outstandings" and "Exceeds goals". There are many people where I work who have never gotten an Outstanding in their entire career. So I don't need to worry about so much about my job. I just need to keep performing at my current level. But I still worry. (I know I shouldn't but old habbits are hard to break.)
In regards to the future: It'll reveal itself when it's ready. I'm frustrated because I'd like to know "what" I want to do with my life and it's not clear what that should be yet. And I hate to wait!!! I think this is coming up again since another birthday is approaching.
Tonight's menu
- Grilled herb marinated chicken breasts
- Cous Cous
- Arugala salad with a light vinagrette
- Shiraz
The chicken breats were marinated in a fresh herb mixture (taragon, oregano, basil, parsley, sage). I mentioned the marinade as I was headed out the door this morning.
The Cous Cous was done in an herb and citrus infused broth.
The arugala was also fresh from our garden.
I love having fresh herbs readily available. It makes cooking a snap.
I grilled the chicken while she worked on the salad and cous cous.
My weekend
After working on my dad's PC, I watched TV and drank beer yesterday. It did me some good to sit around and do a whole lot of nothing. (NOT like I didn't have a list of things I wanted to work on but HellCat insisted I take a break.) Last night we attended an AIDS benefit.
This morning started with Yoga class. Afterwards, we came home and made breakfast. Then I went over to J's place today and helped him move some furniture and fix a few things around his house.
We then went to one of the big box hardware stores and bought him some tools & paint. It felt good to help J out.
Hellcat was working on some of her projects and took HRH to dog park to get his run on.
I came home and made dinner: Pork chops marinated in red wine, port, and fresh herbs from the garden. Kale in a sweet & sour sauce.
Now we're just hanging out. Getting ready for the work week. :-(
Revelation
This morning my dad called needing help with his PC. Something about getting messages he didn’t understand on the screen. On the way back from helping out it occurred to me my friend S was right: I do need to go up to his camp and drink 5 liter mini kegs-o-Mönchshof Schwarzbier, over eat, and burn things. I’ve been in a funk the past few weeks. Ennui or malaise are more elegant ways to describe how I feel.
My general attitude has been piss poor. I’ve been crankier & crustier than usual. I feel tired, weary even. Things that used to roll off now bother me. I feel like ranting more. Minor things are getting under my skin. I feel angrier and more frustrated. The urge to smack stupid people has really been hard to resist. Even my yoga classes aren’t helping! ha! I need a nerve pill!
HellCat has a vacation planned for us in a few weeks. She won’t tell me where we’re going but I know it’ll be fun. I know the vacation will help.
She agrees with S’s assessment: camp will do me some good. It’ll give me a chance to think and de-funkify. To get my head straight. To recharge. She wants me to go even if S can’t make it. This is an example of why she's fabulous: She know when to give me my space. When to leave me alone & when to talk it out.
I think they're right. I'm stressing out because I've been so careful and responsible at work, life, and finances. It's making me crazy and impossible to deal with. I need some of the good old excess from my youger days. I need to let go.
Friday's Feast 107
Appetizer: What color is your car? The Red October is White. It depends for Chameleon. Depending on how the light hits it. It's anything from black to green, to blue. Hence the name.
Soup: If you could wake up tomorrow with full training in another occupation and a job in that field, what would it be? A game show host or talk show host. Because it seems fun. You get to be goofy and get paid for it! Or a tour guide. Again, fun & paid for it. And travel!
Salad: How many times in your life have you had the flu (or something similar)? 3 or 4 really good keep me in bed, can't move, GIDdies (Gastro-Intestinal Distress) kind of incidents.
Main Course: What is something that has happened to you this week that you didn't expect? Nothing. I lead a quiet existence.
Dessert How old were you when you had your first kiss? 20. What can I say? I led a very sheltered life.
Survey
I got this survey from my sister, the Amazing Grace. Here are my responses.
{ x } Smoked cigarettes
{x } Drank so much you threw up....
{ } Crashed a friends car
{ } Stolen a car
{X} Been in Love
{X } Been Dumped
{ } Shoplifted
{ )- laid off first job while in school}
{ X} Quit your job
{ x } Been in a fist fight
{ } Snuck out of your parents / friends house
{ x } Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
{ } Been arrested
{X } Gone on a blind date
{X} Lied to a friend
{ } Skipped school
{ } Seen someone die
{X } Been to Canada
{X } Been to Mexico
{X} Been on a plane
{X } Been Lost
{X } Been to the opposite side of the country
{X} Gone to Washington DC
{X } Swam in the ocean
{X } Felt like dying ....
{ } Cried yourself to sleep
{X} Played cops and robbers
{ } Recently colored with crayons...
{ } Sang karaoke
{ } Paid for a meal with only coins!
{ } Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
{ } Made prank phone calls
{x } Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
{X} Caught a snowflake on your tongue
{ } Danced in the rain
{ } Written a letter to Santa Claus
{X } Been kissed under the mistletoe
{X} Watched the sun rise with someone you care about
{X} Blown Bubbles
{ } Made a bonfire on the beach
{ } Crashed a party
{ } Gone roller skating.
{X } Gone ice skating.
How 'bout you?
Question of the day…because Chowder's want to know....
If a Genie appeared and asked what I wanted, here’s what would I say:
- World Peace
- Cures to diseases such as: AIDS, cancer, diabetes, MS
- Renewable energy
- A Ferarri F430
- An SR-71
- To roam the world in style with my friends
- Patience
- Empathy
- Compassion
- Super powers
- A bottomless pint of Guinness
- Low Cholesterol
- An F-303
- A Lamborghini Murcielago
- The ability to play a musical instrument
- An infinite wine cellar full of great wine
- A Best Buy/Circuit City/Target gift card with NO limit
- Guiltless Foie Gras
- To know what I want to be when I grow up
OK. How ‘bout you? What do you want?
I was a manly man tonight
J & I went to Home Depot & Sam's Club to shop for tools & ladders.
J bought a new house and has been borrowing tools from us the past few weeks. Well, he got the bug to get his own ladder and start his own tool collection.
So we went hardware shopping. You know, manly man kinda stuff. Ladders, hammers, pliers, screwdrivers, drills, tool belts, etc..
He's on his way with a new ladder. This weekend we'll move some furniture to his third floor and buy more tools.
Yeah!! I love to shop. I'm good at spending money. I prefer to spend other people's money but more often than not it's my money that gets spent. :-(
Easy come. Easier go!
What set me off?
Of all things, Yoga set me off.
After our last class, we get out to the parking lot and there's this minivan parked all wonky within
inches of my car.
Did you have to get to class in
THAT much of a hurry? Was their a yoga emergency I didn't know about? WTF?!?
It's been claimed I'm big for my people but I'm really pretty average sized. Anyways, I had to use one of the yoga moves I just learned to get into my car. WTF?!?
Inconsiderate stupid people have always irritated me.
How did they think I was going to get into my car? Crowbar? Shoehorn?
I needed to be extra careful pulling out of my space too since they were all crooked, up close and personal.
Dipshit!*** Breethe in ***
*** Hold it ***
*** Breethe out ***
*** Breethe in ***
*** Hold it ***
*** Breethe out ***
Put the baseball bat down.
*** Breethe in ***
*** Hold it ***
*** Breethe out ***
Whatever happened to respect & consideration for others?
These annoyances have been floating around in my head for a while. Please bear with me. I'm channeling my inner 2 to 3 year old...
Car related:- Why don’t people straighten out their cars in parking spots? Do they really need to park all wonky and almost against other people’s cars? Aren't you worried about your car? Maybe the other guy isn't as expert a driver as you surely are.
- Are turn signals that difficult to comprehend how to operate? Turn signals are not only polite but a safety feature. It's a good idea to let people know what you intend to do with a couple thousand pounds of moving metal.
- When was the PA Motor Vehicle Code been changed to only require you to slow down instead of come to a stop at Stop signs? And whatever happened to taking your turn at 2 way, 3 way, and 4 way stops? Does being on a cell phone allow you to be first to make your move?
Bus etiquette:
- I don’t want to hear your cell phone conversation. I don’t need to know about you and your activities. I hate taking calls on the bus. I usually make them as short as possible since it’s so noisy I can’t hear the other person well AND it’s a public place so everyone can hear my business. Yes, we Americans place a high value on personal space and privacy. So give me mine!
- Why must you put your feet/shoes on the bus seats? If you put your feet up on the furniture at home that’s fine. I don’t care. But don’t put your feet/shoes on the bus seats. I don’t need to have what’s on the bottom of your shoes on my pants. Besides, you paid for 1 seat not 2 or 3.
- You paid for 1 seat not 2 so why don’t you move over when the bus is full? Why do you need to be asked to move over? Why do you have that surprised look on your face when someone asks to have a seat? If you want/need the extra space, don’t take public transportation!
- There is no eating on the bus. Eat before you get on the bus. The bus is dirty and smelly enough without you adding to the aromas. There’s nothing like the smell of french fry grease to make me want to wretch.
- Why do you think it’s appropriate for you to leave your food wrappers, old receipts, newspapers, chewing gum, and soda cans/bottles lying about? Pick up after yourself!
- Why must you stand at the front of the bus obstructing the way of everyone trying to get on/off the bus when there is room towards the middle and back of the bus? It’s one thing if you’re going to be getting off the bus in a stop or 2 but you stand there for 35 minutes! People shouldn’t need to squeeze past you. Do you get some kind of perverse pleasure out of people rubbing against you trying to get on/off the bus? Get out of the way!
Funk & frustration fighting
I’m trying to fight the onset of a work & money funk.
Work funk: I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up.
Most of the time, I like what I do for a living. I don’t love it but I like it. It pays decently well, it’s legal, it’s easy compared to what I’ve had to do growing up, and I mostly like the people I work with & for. But every so often, I get restless. I wonder what I’m supposed to be doing with my life. Shouldn’t it be something more fulfilling? Shouldn’t I love it. Shouldn’t it be for more than a paycheck? Shouldn’t I be doing something to better society? I can’t imagine doing what I currently do for the rest of my work life B-U-T until a better alternative comes along I have to stay put.
I know the funk is partially due to boredom and partially due to burnout. I’ve been doing my job for 6 years now and may be in need of a change. Variety is the spice to my work life. A new challenge is always good. New & different stimulus. When I started, I was part of a team of 9 people. I am now the team. No I’m not doing the work of 9 people. But I am doing the work of at least 2 or maybe 3 people and the thing that really stresses me out is I have no back-up. So if I’m out (sick, vacation, or at a site) no one is picking up the work. The other people in my department do similar but different work. So I could call on them to help but I’d have some teaching/explaining to do before they can help.
Typically what happens is: If they’re not sure who should get a particular assignment it goes to the ChowderHead. I feel like Dirty Harry. I get all the strange and tough assignments. (I feed off this so it's cool.) So yeah I do get some variety. But the projects are starting to repeat.
Money funk/frustration: I’m working my ass off but I don’t feel like I’m getting ahead financially. The job pays well. But some months I feel like I’m living paycheck to paycheck. I get raises every year. (I know they are above average for my department) I hate being a bitch baby... But I still feel frustrated that I need to be mindful of my spending and saving. Please understand, I’m not buying big ticket items every day/week/month but I still need to be careful. (Just in case the house needs a repair or the car needs to be repaired or HRH needs to go to the vet.) It’s very frustrating. I wish I were more financially comfortable. Yes, I do have IRA's and a 401K but I can't touch that money. I'm talking about money to be used on everyday items. A nice dinner once in a while. A new electronic gadget on occassion. Sushi night with friends. A concert when a band I like comes to town.
Like I previously posted, I know money can’t buy me happiness but I’d be OK with winning the Lotto and trying my damnedest to be a smiling fool all the way to the bank! I know my life is pretty damn good: I've got good solid people around me. A roof over my head. Clothes on my back. Food in my stomach. A good job. But there are times I want more. I know it's just the funk talking...
Long time no blog…
Sorry I haven’t posted in a few days. Work, life, and trying not to melt from the heat have kept me busy.
Hellcat was out of town for a few days. So the past few nights I had to come home from work and play & feed HRH or else I’d have a surly dog on my hands. Monday and Tuesday evening I had errands to run. Last night was chores around the house. Tonight, dinner with HellCat and shopping.
