Sunday, October 30, 2005

Vegas, Baby!




The old adage is true - a picture is worth a thousand words!

And Susan's wish is my command; is there a family resemblance? (Keep in mind, the photo of me is two years old and The Hair was much shorter and, apparently, not as blonde at the time!)

Monday, October 24, 2005

Clearing the Air

I'm on a cleaning streak. Trying to file the paperwork that I was holding on to over the summer while I was displaced. Started cleaning out my email folders and stumbled on some startling statistics.

Remember Larry? (no, not New Orleans Larry - he was Larry # 3; I'm talking about Larry # 2 - otherwise known as Good Time Larry, right Susan?) And Michael? These were two guys I met at Chamber mixers in Nov/Dec of last year.

[Has it been a year already? Can you believe it?]

Anyway, apparently I had saved just about every email message I exchanged with both of these guys. In the 70 days that my involvement with Larry was ongoing, I exchanged 105 email messages. That's 1.5 email messages per day. From Nov 22 through the end of January.

It gets worse. Between Dec 17 and March 1, (73 days) I exchanged 135 email messages with Michael - 1.84 messages per day.

And I kept every single one.

Yeah ...

Larry moved to Houston and Michael was just a freak. And I still had all of their email messages. Not anymore. Deleted those folders and all of their contents and cut my mailbox storage space in half.

Checked to see how many messages I had saved from Rich. Fourteen. In the 114 days I've known him. By my standards this is a long term relationship. And the fact that I don't feel the obsessive need to save every single email message he's sent me (believe me, we've exchanged more messages than that - I just haven't been saving them) tells me that I trust what he says - I don't need to save email messages to throw back in his face. "But you said blah blah blah."

I think our little Kenna Fearing is growing up.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Gettin' Funky With It

Bear with me while I tweak my sidebar ... just trying out a few new features.

Hint: The puppy will follow your cursor, and if you want to, you can give him a treat. Click on the doggy treat box, then click somewhere above his head (it won't work if you click right on his head, it has to be in the empty space above). He will jump up to eat it.

Friday, October 21, 2005

My Tiara

When we were cleaning out my grandparents apartment a few weeks ago, I laid claim to a few small items. A cashmere sweater and a mock turtleneck, both with tags still attached. A humidifier. A leather jacket. And a tiara.

It's just a dollar store tiara, something they gave my grandmother to wear when my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. If you press the magic button, the heart shaped 'emerald' lights up and flashes! I love my little tiara, and I've taken to wearing it around the house. It helps keep the hair out of my eyes and it's more comfortable than wearing a head band. It just makes me feel good.

So I had my tiara on this morning, and completely forgot about it as I went about my business. I wanted to rake the leaves off my lawn and get in a final mowing, so I was out in the yard, and I was just finishing filling my second garbage can full of leaves when I saw the city recycling truck pull up out front. I dragged my can to the curb, and greeted the public works guys when they smiled and said hello. I had my headphones on, but not so loud I couldn't hear them.

I can't recall what he said - something about a crown or being a princess? - but all of a sudden I realized that I was still wearing my tiara! How embarrassing is that? Dressed in my orange sweats and fleece pullover, and wearing a cheap dollar store tiara. Oh well, I said, just goes to show that even yard work can be glamorous!

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

I Caved

Yes, I turned the furnace on. But I had a good reason. Turns out that my fridge is on the fritz, and I really didn't want to have the fridge and the furnace on the fritz at the same time, so I had to turn on the heat to make sure the furnace was working properly. And now that I've turned it on ... I might as well leave it on.

Put in a service call on the fridge - the earliest appointment I could get is next Thursday. I'll be in Vegas next Thursday, so I scheduled at the earliest convenient time for me - Halloween. Good thing I have two mini fridges floating around the house. But going out to the porch to get my milk and my OJ will get old mighty fast.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Where's My Tea Bag?

Still holding out on the heat, so I'm trying to keep warm by bundling up in fleece and drinking hot tea. Just went to make a new cup and I can't find the tea bag and spoon from the last cup. Yes, I re-use my tea bags. I make it so weak to begin with that there's plenty of flavor left for a second brew. For me, it's all about the honey and lemon that I add and not so much about the tea.

So, my interview went well today. I was there for two and a half hours. That tells me they are serious about me - you don't spend that much time with someone in an introductory interview. As I may have mentioned, this is a brand new position and the company hasn't even advertised the job yet. I may have the inside track. It's something completely different from what I've been doing (the official job title is Internet Marketing Coordinator - how much more completely different can I get?) and I am interested in this position. They need to talk amongst themselves and then they'll call me within a week - hopefully to make me an offer. Show me the money!

In the mean time, I'm working on an agenda for the @*#$! committee meeting I have scheduled for tomorrow night. I swear - this is the last damn fund raising I am ever going to do! And I still need to go back and do some more research for that dog bandana company.

If you need a bandana for your dog, go to Quigleys By Oliver and order one. They even have Halloween prints! Don't let the prices scare you - these are top quality reversible bandanas, so you're getting two for the price of one. Plus, many bandanas have additional embroidery, so there's an additional value added.

Of course, if cost is not an issue, then try the couture line. Nothing but the best for man's best friend!

9:09 p.m.
Update: I found my tea bag. In the bathroom. Don't ask.

Monday, October 17, 2005

63 and Holding

I made it through the weekend without turning the heat on.

I always try to make it to October 1, and if I make it that far, I aim for October 15. Having made it past the 15th, I set my sights on Halloween, but with each passing day (and each declining degree) my resolve dissolves just a little bit more. So if I don't make it until the 31st I certainly won't beat myself up about it.

I'm going to work at my temporary gig today instead of tomorrow because I have an interview tomorrow. My resume is circulating amongst people I don't know, and somehow it landed in the hands of someone who recognized my many talents and wants to examine me a little bit closer. Works for me!

My darling Rich, on the other hand, isn't faring as well. He had an interview a week ago and he was really hoping he'd hear something and so far - silence. It really bites the big one. And this morning he had a flat tire so he's just generally not in a good mood. I'm hoping a bit of the good luck rubs off on him. I hate to see him so down.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Cruise Countdown: 42 Days

Did I mention I'm going on a cruise? On the Queen Mary 2? And our sailing date is only six weeks away?

I'm starting to get excited.

And if twelve days on a Caribbean cruise isn't enough to get your panties wet, consider this:

We got upgraded.

Yeah, we signed up for the cheap seats but figured what the hell, we won't be spending much time in the room anyway. We booked early enough so that if there were any upgrades to be had, we were on the list. Maybe, just maybe, we'd get a room with a view.

But The Gods have been smiling on fair Kenna Fearing all year long, and she (and her faithful sidekick, Susan) got upgraded to a balcony! Don't ask us how, we don't care. We're just happier than pigs in shit.

But wait - there's more! Turns out there's a slight change in our itinerary. Sorry, folks, but would you mind if we stopped in Tortola instead of Puerto Rico? I should think not!

And I haven't forgotten my promise for all of you to come with. I am taking my laptop and my digital camera and Susan and I plan on doing daily posts. Just to share the joy - not to rub in the fact that we're on the freakin' QM2 enjoying our balcony view whilst all our meals are prepared for us and we're dining in the lap of luxury, enjoying the warm sunny weather while all our friends are freezing their asses off in upstate NY.

Can't. Wait.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

It's Time

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's that time of year again ... time to play "How Long Can I Go Without Heat?" Last week was spectacular - the temperature was about 20 degrees above normal and we had brilliant blue skies and bright sunny days. Much more like August than October, except without the humidity. Just perfect.

It all changed on Friday, and now it's back to normal. So the inside temperature is 63 degrees and I'm wondering how long I can go before I buckle and turn on the furnace?

Anyone want to lay bets?

A Day Late and A Dollar Short

Last year I had copied down a bunch of Oscar Wilde quotes and spewed forth with a few of them with the title "Wilde About Oscar." Was just scrolling through my gmail account (because they say 'with this much space you never have to delete a message' and so I have a lot of messages in there that haven't been deleted, nor have they been organized in folders because the folks at Google don't believe in that, they think it's easier to just search through all your messages than worry about storing things in folders, but I digress ...) and saw this quote. It's a day late, but what the hell:

"America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up."

- Oscar Wilde

Long Weekend

Yes, it was a long weekend. Literally and figuratively.

Went home and helped my mother clean out my grandparents apartment in the assisted living facility. Luckily my aunt works at a nursing home, and she was able to secure two rooms for my grandparents. They have to be in separate rooms, but they are just 50 feet down the hall from each other. Might as well be 5 miles - my grandmother can't walk after breaking her hip and my grandfather probably couldn't find her room if he tried.

I give a lot of credit to people who take care of the sick and elderly. A thankless job. We were there setting up their rooms, trying to make it cozy and most of the other residents were in the lounge listening to the Sunday preacher, full of fire and brimstone. I didn't see too many other visitors, and if I'm honest, that's probably the first and last time I'll visit my grandparents in that facility. I've never felt close to them, and it's four hours away so ...

Came back with aches and pains and a sore throat. Decided to call in sick today - just wasn't up to working. I need to catch up with myself here. And follow up on a few job leads. But first - a nap.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

In A Fog

It seems like I'm living in fog. Everything is hazy and blended together. One day melts into the next and I wake up wondering what I did last night and what am I supposed to do today? It's strange and eerie and yet, somehow, comfortable all at the same time.

I'm doing it again - blogging On Company Time. I did such a kick-ass job of writing a letter and identifying nearly 400 potential donors who, by the way, have collectively given this place over $200,000 over the past 12-15 years, that I felt I deserved a little time to catch up with myself. (P.S. One of these donors has given over $11,000 and they don't even know who he is!!)

So. Had a committee meeting from hell on Tuesday. My co-chair left there feeling so defeated. I felt for her, but we had to listen to this tirade from our designer because, well, she designs all of our invitations and printed materials for free and she also rounds up other donations of free printing and such, so we had to let her talk out loud. She was going on about how are we going to sell this speaker we've lined up? No one has heard of her, so how are we going to get people to come?

She has a valid point, but she wouldn't listen to my point which is this: we've already lined up 25% of the money we need to pay this speaker and I have asks out there to cover the other 75%. If we line up enough sponsorships, I don't care if anyone comes. Seriously. Besides, one of the potential sponsors is the local business journal, and I guarantee you that if they agree to be a sponsor we won't have any worries about "selling" this event. I just spoke to another potential sponsor, the local bank, and I was assured that they would get back to me, "most likely with a check."

But anyway.

One good thing to come out of the meeting was a job lead from my friend Nancy. She told me that the director of communications for a local arts organization had left. So, I dropped a resume in the mail. I hadn't seen the position advertised, maybe it hasn't been advertised. Maybe I'll have extraordinarily good timing and something will come of this. We'll see.

I'm looking ahead to the weekend, trying to create a list of all the things I need to do before I head out. It could potentially be a long weekend. My mother is trying to figure out what to do with my grandparents. They are currently in an assisted living facility, but Grandma fell and broke her hip last weekend and Grandpa has been doing inappropriate things, that is, whenever he actually gets out of bed. So, nursing homes may be in order. And they may not be able to stay together because my grandmother is going to need rehab. Oh joy.

Okay. Enough for now. Later.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Sign of the Times

You know how I like to make note of clever license plates? Well, I saw this one in one of those damn forwarded emails that for once I happened to open. Enjoy!

Monday, October 03, 2005

Busy, Busy!

I'm just blown away by how busy I am.

I haven't had time to blog or to read other blogs. I manage to keep myself busy every day and I don't have time to do anything other than lead a busy full life. Makes me realize just how little I was being asked to do at my job.

So. The job fair. Well, I did have one potential employer show up, and I do have a follow-up meeting later this week. It's a web production company - they create and maintain web sites but also focus on search engine optimization. They are interested in my writing skills and may also want me to do some sales. And I totally plan on claiming all the expenses on my taxes, so it was well worth it!

I went on a house tour with my friend Mary over the weekend. All these great new homes and I wish that I was wealthy and successful enough to own one of them. I could just see myself lounging by that pool, relaxing in that den, reading on that sun porch, sweating in that sauna. In my dreams.

Took Trucklet in for a check-up this morning. Dropped her off and then walked two miles home. Worked on the computer and made some phone calls this morning, and then allowed myself to relax a bit this afternoon. It was a picture perfect day and I deserved to relax in the sun and read a little of the latest issue of "O" magazine, didn't I? Then walked two miles back to the Honda dealership and along the way saw some free chicken wire set out by the road. I picked it up on the way back. I need it to mulch in my hydrangeas and also to put up along the curb to keep the plows away from my brick wall when winter comes.

When winter comes. I'm dreading it. Got my utility bill today and it was $120 and I didn't even use the furnace during September. I'm playing that game with myself - seeing how long I can go before I turn the heat on. With the price of gas, I'm going to push myself to November if it kills me.

Of course, it helps when you have another warm body in your bed to snuggle up to.