Happy New Year

Well, well, well. It appears that if you don't write anything, after a certain period of time, nothing will show up here. It's been over a month, and when I changed the template for this thing back to its normal look, ditching Xmas once again this year, there was a big empty white box on the page with no previous entries. So, I guess it's telling me something.

I know I've said before that I'm in a slump. Well, this appears to be the slump of all slumps. I have no energy or desire to do anything but sleep. I don't even eat anymore! Don't tell me: I'm depressed, right? I was sick as a dog with the flu over Xmas and through New Year's. I was sick for so long, in fact, that I kinda got a little worried for a sec. After that, I just didn't want to do anything. It won't stop raining out here, and I love the fact that the Grapevine was closed (or is it still?) because of snow. Where am I going with this?

I'm growing a goatee, and so far these people at work seem to like it. My boss even said it was "handsome." Hmmm. Even H likes it. Whatever.

So there's my entry for January. Maybe I'll be back before February comes along. And maybe I'll just retire the thing altogether.

But before I go, I must cheer and jump up and down several times because Charmed is finally coming out on DVD in February. Hello? What the fuck took you all so goddammed long? I miss Prue, a lot.

Splashguard

One thing I forgot to praise yesterday: Guyot Designs' Splashguard. If you have a Nalgene bottle with the wide mouth, like I do, and if you're tired of dribbling the contents of the wide mouth down the front of you, like I was, this little product will be a godsend, let me tell you. I found one of these little things at Copeland Sports for about three bucks, and it works like a charm. You can get them at most outdoor/sporting goods stores. I know it sounds insignificant, but honestly, I drink from this bottle too quickly sometimes, and the liquids spill out the sides of the bottle's mouth down my chin and onto my shirt. Most of the time it's just water that will evaporate without a mess, but what if I have it full of green Kool-Aid and I'm only wearing a white t-shirt? My goodness, quelle catastrophe! Not to mention the big green stain! And it sure beats having an icky, foul-smelling straw floating around inside. I'm not kidding, this thing is a lifesaver. Guyot Designs even has a company branding program where your company can have its logo imprinted on the splashguard to be given out to customers and employees and such like that. Sounds great, unless the thought of seeing your company's brand every time you take a drink makes you ill. Anyway, it has made a difference in my hydration routine, and I thought I'd pass the word.

Busy Friday

Well, I certainly didn't expect a Friday to be so busy! It started out a little late, I have to admit. I was having a dream about a short, beefy, redhead Air Force captain who wouldn't...well, I'll just leave it at that. I was reluctant to get out of bed. I got to work about 9:30 am, with just enough time to look over an enormous Gantt chart of two submissions we'll be filing later this year and then hit a meeting about those Gantt charts. I've never been exposed to this level of project management and planning before, and it's a little exciting. I can see where people would be bored by project management meetings, but I like to hear what's going on in different areas of the company and how that relates to me. Although I have to say that most of it didn't relate to me at all this morning; it was still interesting. After that meeting, I was left to plan out my little scope of work for the submissions with e-mails and phone calls to potential contract help. And then there's lunch, and then there's a short meeting with my manager about my bi-yearly performance review. It was my first performance review working at this company, and it was a good review. I accomplished a lot last year, lots of results achieved, and the company seems to thrive on reports of results being achieved, so a small, what do you call them, performance increase, and very possibly a separate bonus could be on the horizon. Won't get the hopes up there. I'm going to be happy just being busy again. I know I've lamented this job and how I'm so bored with nothing to do to keep me busy, but this year will definitely be a little different. I know I'm going to be overwhelmed, but I thrive on that, and I look forward to it. The only downside is that all of my fabulous vacation plans have to be scrapped. After April, I'm not "allowed" to take an extended holiday for the rest of the year. So, no trips to Europe or the UK or Montréal, and no trips to visit the family, and "do everything in the next three months...if we will grant your time off, that is." I'm thinking of something around Easter. I'll have to make it good. And you know, I'm not going to complain about it because I never take vacations, and I've never had a lot of time off in the past, so I'm not really missing anything. We had a week off between Xmas and NY's, and aside from being laid up in bed with a fever for most of that time, I was really stir-crazy by Wednesday! I mean, there's only so much Oprah you can watch before you open a vein. Just kidding, ’cause I love Oprah. She rocks. I just can't wait to get out of this office I'm stuck in. The room I work in has no ventilation, it's in the far back of the building, no one knows I'm here half the time, and it's so quiet, I forget there are people out there. I can walk around the building all day long, but then it looks like I have no work, and we don't want that impression to get out. We're moving to a new building at the end of February, and I can't wait to be in cube-land again, to hear people and talk to them, to see people and be seen. Work is such a social environment, you know.

It's going to rain all weekend again.

Virgin Gay Day

I went to the City today to do some window shopping. I had a small list of things I wanted to find, but unfortunately, I didn't find anything on the list. Instead, at the Virgin Megastore, I found a slew of bargain DVDs for ten bucks each! So, rather than finding what I set out for, I walked out with Some Like It Hot, Birdcage, Pillow Talk, and Jeffrey. I love these movies! I mean, how more gay can you get?

So then I went and found a pair of shoes half off because they were being discontinued. My luck.

And then I met H for an adventure in the Mission. He's been looking for an "authentic" restaurant in the Mission ever since we moved up here. Today, we found a very nice little place right on Mission between 23rd and 24th. I can't remember the name of it, but the food was great.

And then I came home. I had dishes to do, clothes to iron, an episode of Nature about Hawaii's volcanoes to watch. You know, important things.

That's all.

We set our goals...

I have been very busy lately planning my next trip abroad. I had a revelation last week, after a co-worker suggested to me to take a trip out of the country. I hadn't planned on going anywhere this year because of our dual submissions (which will soon turn out to be dueling submissions à la Deliverance). I had scheduled some time off before Easter to go back to Palm Springs; I so enjoyed my little stay there. I gave it some thought, and within seconds, I was online, searching for plane fares and hotels in the UK. I've got about ten days to me, and I have to spend part of that down in and around London to visit a very dear friend of mine, but the other part I was hoping visit up North if that's OK, like say Manchester or the environs. I'm so excited, I can't sit down! H is always chastising me about not setting goals for myself. (And to be honest, I have set many many goals for myself, one of which is to get the fuck away from H as quickly as possible, but that probably won't happen now that I'm going to England!) So I set a really big goal: go to the UK for ten days in May! I'm all smiles now.

Something to be said for short-term goals, n'est-ce pas?