Dancing Mops and a Wahhhmbulance

Smarts!

So… how long has it been since my last confession post?

Bah… the cold makes me shiver, and my nails turn blue (literally), and my nips hurt, and my nose runs, and apparently… I get a smidge cranky.  :P  When I’m cold here, I of course am very dramatic as I express my level of coldness. And to this day (today in fact) I get made fun of for being from the land of the north and yet being such a whiny baby about slightly chilly weather. I tell them I was kicked out, but I don’t think they believe me. Fact is, I ran away because I refused to be cold another year. I am the tap-dancing penguin from a land of singing penguins. I am the short-haired black sheep in a herd (flock?) of fluffy angelic sheep. I am the tick jumping around in the cold looking for a warm host to attach myself to. Gross… I may have taken that one analogy too far.  LOL  By the way, it’s cold here today. Not as cold as where you are, but cold for my tastes… my desktop weather-tracker says 61 degrees… which is 16 where you are. Not cold, I know. But cold when you consider it was in the high 70’s just a couple days ago. ::whine…sniffle::

Ok, I won’t get on your case about the latest flirting assignment because I can understand the various mood killers that were present. I don’t think crying babies (or loud children in general) put anyone in a flirting mood. Plus, when one is in the middle of a coffee craze, it’s probably best not to flirt. The sleepy/cranky aspect may put some off, or the wide-eyed manic on a mission would scare even the most charming of gents.

Your Bollywood Bash is just what you needed to depart India with fond memories, India needed to redeem itself after the lack of sufficient dancing and drinking at the wedding. LOL  And thank goodness for hair care. Do something fancy with it this week just to remind yourself you can. I would kiss my straightener at first sight if we were separated that long.  

Big news is that I only have 6 vacation hours remaining for 2010, but I approached my boss with a plan for my hopeful Christmas holiday. You may remember that she said no to my original vacation request on my crap day of planets not being in alignment last week. So peep this… I’m salaried, so basically it’s a “comp time” situation where extra hours from one pay period can be applied to another pay period within the same year (if handled delicately), so the annual salary doesn’t change. I provided a timeline with my intended “extra hours” for the next 2 months in an effort to cover the hours I’m hoping to be out-of-office (it only comes out to 3 working days thanks to the way the weekends and holiday days fall this year… yay!). She listened, reviewed the timeline visual I printed out, and approved the idea… with a caveat. We’re combining Plan A (“Comp Time”) with Plan B (laptop/commute) in case anyone questions the “new girl” having more than her fair share of vacation time. So I’ll work the extra hours now, and then take my laptop with me on vacation and just check my emails and whatnot as needed, that way I’m (and Boss lady too) less susceptible to “unsavory” office characters and/or customers causing drama. So excited!!! NYC for Christmas and NYE this year!!! YAY!  We’ve already booked the flights. LOL  I just bought a super cute coat, and I have plenty of other winter gear thanks to my past trips up north and my awesome shopping skills. So it shouldn’t be too bad… at least, that’s what I’m telling myself. Why do I abhor the cold so much anyway?  :P

Saturday we headed over to BF’s apartment to “finish” the packing/cleaning/move. I had anticipated just loading up some boxes and wiping down the kitchen & bathroom. Two hours, tops.  However, when I arrived I discovered that he’s as good a procrastinator as I.  He’d been over there for two days earlier in the week, but apparently got distracted with his computer and assumed the packing would magically happen on its own. Boys!  ::forehead smack::  Side effect of being part of the Fantasia generation? Possibly. Who wouldn’t love dancing pink hippos and mops coming alive to do all the packing and cleaning with the wave of a wand? LOL!!  It took us a little over 4 hours to finish packing and cleaning his one-bedroom apartment. Not exactly how I planned to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon, but we worked well together, were efficient, and managed to not argue over any of it.  He’s no slouch (at least not when the Warden is standing right in front of him. LOL). He saw me scrubbing the bathroom and decided to go to town on the kitchen… he made that ol’ stove shine. Then back at my place, he consolidated the pantry stuff, put dishes away, etc… I love it that he doesn’t expect me to do all of it. He also apologized for not getting more done on his own, thanked me for helping and doing such a great job, and took me out for dinner.  : )

Then, after hours of packing and cleaning… we unloaded all the stuff from our cars into the house, and quickly crashed for a 90 minute nap. We were supposed to be headed to the beach for a party, but we were wiped out! We ended up showing up almost 4 hours “late” because I needed to shower and wash my hair and put my face on… and after only a couple hours of socializing, we ended up crashing at the beach house. The drive home was too much to comprehend. Have you ever been that tired?

Oh, and we seriously felt like an eHarmony commercial on Sunday morning. We woke up and sat on the giant porch swing facing the beach so we could feel the breeze and listen to the water. Our party hostess’s mom was up and about, and sat with us on the porch. I can just picture how cute we looked cuddled on that porch swing as she asked us “so, what’s your story? How did y’all meet?” BF jumped right in and said we met online, that we just clicked right away, and sunshine and butterflies and whatnot…  : )  Did you just throw up a little in your mouth due to ridiculous amounts of adorkable? I know, so sorry… LOL

The remainder of Sunday was planned as rest and relaxation… and cleaning… and organizing. As stellar procrastinators, we didn’t feel like unpacking on Lazy Sunday, so we compromised and decided to do 15-20 minute stints of “work” in between episodes of our latest “Heroes” marathon.  LMAO!  We actually got a lot done… it was like sprinting through chores to get us back to lazy time faster.

We both totally forgot that it was Halloween… earlier in the week, I think my neighborhood asked all the kids to “trick or treat” at the pool house so they weren’t wandering around… over-protective parents abound.  LOL  I’m such a Grinch, I’m not a fan of the giving out candy because the only kids I get at my place are 12-15 year olds that aren’t even wearing costumes. Fail! No candy for you.. I put a note on the door saying we didn’t have any. HA!

That’s too funny that you talk about Halloween in Dubai as being weird due to flip-flops and Christmas coffee cups. That’s what it’s like here too. Just earlier this week we were in shorts and flip flops, but that doesn’t stop southerners from going nuts over the more “winter” holidays. One girl I know LOVES Christmas and immediately put up her Christmas trees (yes, plural) as soon as October was officially over (aka: 12:01am, Nov 1^st).

So I’m now blissfully cohabitating with BF.  Knew it would happen one day…. 30+ is my lucky age(ish) apparently. Now I have even more purging and organizing and whatnot than I had last week. Oy vay!  I’m making great effort to let some of BF’s little “quirks” go… it’s not easy for me. Turns out I’m pretty possessive of my place and things… but I keep reminding myself that I have to share, and if something is important, I try to explain why… calmly. No huge issues yet. It’s a process to combine 2 homes, but I needed to purge a bunch of old junk & clutter anyway… so this is a great time to do it. If I could stop procrastinating long enough to get organized, I like to think I would be a lot like you in the office Tetris sense. I like drawer organizers, and filing cabinets, and paper shredders, etc… we have 2 desks, a small file cubby, and some organizers in the closet. Just purchased a couple of storage bins. And need to purchase some closet shoe hangers and whatnot. It’s a process. I’ll get there… eventually.  LOL

In related news, we were up late talking Monday night because he’s officially moved-in now and he needs to try a little harder to not get slack. He left his socks in the middle of the living room for 3 days… I know I have to let the small stuff go, but I hate repeating myself, and I hate that I have to ask him to pick up after himself. He stepped over those socks about 15 times (right in the path between the living room and the kitchen)…  I waited to see how long it would take him to pick them up, and finally yesterday I caved and pointed it out. Socks, open cupboards, glasses/water bottles multiplying… he’s actually pretty good at a lot of the general stuff. And he’s learning to use the clothes hamper, and fills & runs the dishwasher, and he’s started soaking the pots/pans instead of leaving them to dry with food all over them… he’s learning. It’s the repetition and obvious stuff that kills me, because I feel like he’s just being lazy/slack… and I’m still pretty possessive of my place/space so it feels like he’s disrespecting my stuff. I know I need to chill a little over that crap. And hopefully he’ll keep up after himself, and we can meet somewhere in the middle. It’s a learning process I think… and as long as we’re communicating and not accusing/insulting… I think it will work out ok.   : )   He doesn’t want me to feel like a maid/his mom… and he knows I don’t want that either. We’ll see what develops. It’s a little funny because he thinks it’s a little annoying that I would be so picky about socks… I had to explain to him all the little things I’ve “let go” over the past month in an effort to not sweat the small stuff… so he could really understand how much I’ve been trying to be more relaxed and bend in this relationship thing. He had no idea. I had to explain he’s not the only one trying to make changes to adapt to “couple” life.  LOL  We had a good talk and I think we’re on a good path… 

BTW: I got here at 7am twice so far this week! Already trying to work extra hours for Christmas… but OMG I’m hurtin’ today. Mornings are soooooo not my thing. I hope he appreciates what I’m putting myself through in order to celebrate the holidays with him.  (I’m just being a tad dramatic, shhh… )  I’m just tired today.  :P  Is it Friday yet?  Nope, damn! It’s only Wed…. and I’m running late for my torture session at the gym. ::pout…whine…whimper::

Sazzzzzzzy

Rainbows and Sunshine and Unicorns

Hi Smarts!

So…um… ya… the past two days have been a cluster-efff. I think the planets are in retrograde, or whatever the astrological new-agers call it, because it seems the universe is having some fun at my (and everyone else around me) expense. Should I call it “luck”? Or karma? It’s nothing major really… no car accidents, or health issues, or natural disasters (at least not in my neighborhood)… just a bunch of small things adding up to leave me feeling very negative, frazzled, and or deflated. Had several blonde moments at work which irritated my customer and my boss. Was told by my boss that she won’t approve my vacation request for Christmas because I’d go in the hole for vacation time, and that’s not allowed. Forgot/didn’t make time to eat before my training session, and was completely wiped out. Received a letter from the homeowner’s association about the junk on my back patio, and the warning of a fine if not corrected within 7 days. Left 30 minutes early this morning in an attempt to make a better impression on my boss, only to get caught in construction traffic and delayed at the coffee shop (ran out of Pepsi Max last night also)… so I was still late to work. Tried buying tickets with a  promo code for a local “Broadway” show, only the promo didn’t work, the sales and customer service reps didn’t have the promo in their “system”, and I ended up paying full price. Lost my homeowners association dues coupon book, so have no idea where to mail my payment… due Monday. Though I suppose I’ll refer to the patio notice for that address/phone number. Started cleaning off the back patio today only to find the biggest spider I’ve ever seen in real life… he got away and ran up under the siding of my house. Really hope he doesn’t find a way inside.

However, in an almost annoyingly dualistic and somewhat Shirley Temple-y way, I’ve decided that the sun will come out tomorrow and all will be right in the world again. It can’t rain every day.  And good things have happened in these past couple days too (BF moving in, sold furniture, payday tomorrow, shoes arrived, new duvet arrived, productive at work, sushi and wine last night, etc), so I’m just going to have to stop being Negative Nancy and/or Debbie Downer and just focus on rainbows and sunshine and unicorns. Horrah.  :D

Now that I’ve finished bitching and venting about my silly annoyances, YAY I’m so thrilled to hear from you.  :D

It’s fantastic that you’re getting a ton of work done, and still managing to have fun too! I definitely can’t be mad at you for that. Rock on, Smarts! I’m so pumped that this last destination has been so great, I’m expecting the best pictures ever.  :P Don’t worry about the utensils, you’re beautiful and no one is watching the way you eat… they’re too stunned by your beauty… and maybe thinking about your future arranged marriage. They’re in a trance.  Besides, I don’t think it could be a ugly as me eating giant sushi rolls with my fingers… like I did last night.  Fail, giant ass sushi rolls! Fail!  (But soooo yummy!)

You’re welcome for the TMI moments, I know you loved them. You miss me! LOL 

Once again, I will remind you to look extra hotness in Dubai and flirt your ass off. It’s a requirement, especially since there’s been a flirt-assignment hiatus of sorts. Time to get back in the saddle… back on the horse… you get where I’m going with that.

I’m taking recommendations for the Top 5 Bollywood/Tamil movies I need to add to my Netflix list. I trust your movie taste/instincts. Did I tell you I watched Amreeka the other night? It was really great, sad… but great in terms of the realism that is American immigrant prejudice.

Oh, and your experience with arranged marriage over there has prompted me to draft a blog post on the topic. I’m still writing it, but I’m hoping I get a chance to post it by the end of this weekend. Stay tuned to my other blog outlet.  : )

I have to say, while it is a gimmick and unique to cultures that participate heavily in arranged marriage, I also think the “love rings” are really sweet. If my future/hypothetical hubby entered into marriage with me out of duty… or shotgun… I would love to celebrate the day he realized he loved me. Because let’s be honest here, he would. Men fall for me, it’s a curse really. They can’t help themselves. LMAO!

Tomorrow is the last work day before Halloween, and my office is having some sort of costume contest. I don’t think I’ll be participating unless I find something cheap and fabulous tonight if I happen to pop into Walmart for more Pepsi Max. The two costumes I have on-hand from previous years are not appropriate for the office costume contest. LOL!  BF and I were invited to a beach party on Saturday though, so if I figure something out for tomorrow I’ll most likely carry that over to Sat too… since the beach party is being hosted by a co-worker and several other co-workers will be there also. It’s so difficult to keep work and personal lives separate sometimes. I’m making an effort to make friends here and get to know people, but I won’t add them to my FB account… and I feel like I need to be so much more reserved around them. Sure a “TWSS” or two has slipped out… I may have muffled a curse word here or there… and I’m sure I may have accidently shared at least one TMI moment due to an accidental slip (not like the TMI, I meant a slip of the tongue... TWSS!)… but I’d like to keep this job for a while and it’s forcing me to clean-up my act a little bit. Good thing I’m not in the habit of dressing like a trollop. It’s not my fault I look damn hot in dress pants and a button down shirt, or even better… a solid shift dress. Work it!   :P  

I need chocolate. Have a kick-ass Friday! Wohoo! TGIF!!  :D

Sassy McSunshine

P.S. How did we manage to not have a TWSS "label" before today? LOL!

Shaking My Head At Myself

Smarts!

Ha! OMG, your reply as super fast and awesome. I know you weren’t ignoring my post (or me for that matter), and I love that you don’t take my whiny attitude and finger-pointing personally… because you’re totally not self-centered or rude. Seriously. You’re busy, and important, and doing your thing several hours ahead of me and in an unfamiliar land. We straight yo! But I love you ever so much for your awesome reply. Thank you!

You are right of course, I was being redic! amount of cry-baby over teeny-tiny and silly stuff. I love dad, I really do. And I shouldn’t pick on him, or the corsage, or the dancing, or the camo… but I’m a brat. I can’t help myself. He is a sweet guy overall. And I will stay in touch. But I know it will always be a slightly strained relationship with him… I’ve accepted it. C’est la vie. You can’t pick your family. And it could be worse. Consider me skooled and appropriately chastised for being such a brat.  :P 

And ya! Screw making extra effort to keep in touch with random aunts and uncles that stay MIA.  Booyah! (P.S. Yes, I know it's oh-so-wrong to start a sentence with "And" but I write how I think, so that's what you get. It's not grammatically correct... it's just instant. Ha!)

Dude! You know my mythical fictional hypothetical future wedding wouldn’t be like that. We’ve already discussed this. My big day would include a week long party with 10 of our besties at an all-inclusive tropical party before I get hitched on the beach... barefoot. This would also be convenient and appreciated by BF since he is the same height as me barefoot and the pictures would look weird if I were wearing 3 inch heels. It would be the anti-taken-over-by-out-of-town-relatives-and-swarmed-by-too-many-people silliness wedding. You know this! I don’t do traditional. There may be tequila and/or sake shots in the ceremony. Take that, Traditional... how do you like them apples?! LOL!

For awesome blog anonymity… perhaps I should create a new email account with a new profile for this blog. That way it’s not related in any way to my other blog home for the besties that know me well. Sociology experiments are the b0mb! What-What!   :D  I’ll look into that. Brilliant.

I don’t know what email/profile you’re using for this blog, but I think it’s different than your personal and well-known one for friends, correct? That’s why you’re the “smart one”. You know, a part of me hates being secretive, I'd love to say whatever the eff I want and really own it… but due to my job that requires security clearance, nosy family, and slightly drama-prone “friends”… I’m thinking it’s safer in terms of being as real and honest, when it comes to speaking our minds and getting that cathartic feeling we both need, as possible. Think our future followers will understand?   

I’ll get back into the running thing soon. It really wasn’t all that bad. But I have a training session tonight, and drinking prospects tomorrow (and I think we can agree that running and drinking don't mix). Perhaps Sat morning before my huuurrr appointment I can squeeze in a run (and shower!)… and maybe Sunday morning before the food-fest. We shall see.  : )  I’ll try not to disappoint. Perhaps you’ll have to give me a Run Scavenger Hunt in return for my Dating Assignments. That way I have to provide you with run “results”… what do you think?  

WTF?! Work on Saturday? What are they smokin’ over there? Do you at least get Monday off to make up for it? There has to be some sort of barter system on that. That’s just unacceptable. You better party it up tonight and tomorrow to make the most of the super short weekend.

Randomness: You know, I don’t often find myself attracted to Indian men… but the bi-racials aren’t half bad sometimes… then again, I’m only referencing the two bi-racial Indian men I know that happen to be 1) a former model (judge on Tyra’s Supermodel - Nigel Barker), and 2) an actor (the guy from Heroes and Covert Affairs - Sendhil Ramamurthy). Oh, scratch that... I don't think Sendhil is bi-racial. I think both his parents are from India, cool! But Sendhil IS married to a Polish actress named Olga and they have 2 kids (I'm Googling as I type) - bet they are super beautiful! Even though I’m sounding slightly racist right now (shh… I’m totally not. I love all people, and have a particular fondness for “halvsies” because they’re beautiful) your assignment is to locate at least one good looking “native”. Don’t worry about personality. We’re just going on looks here. And he can be a local celebrity, singer, actor, whatever… I’m curious.  ; )

Keep that karate chop primed and ready… and enjoy the beach!  :D 

I’ll be doing BDay celebrations for a gal pal on my Fri evening, hair and comedy show on Sat, and food-fest on Sunday. Jam-packed with awesomeness!

(still slightly round and Midol-poppin’) Sassy!   :D

And I'm back...

Hey Sass,

It's a bit weirder trying to communicate when I can't scroll down to your see your message. And I find myself wondering if people are going to judge what I write. Whatever. If you hate it, then don't read it; this is what you get :P

You know I'll visit you (someday, LOL). A race is not required, but a total motivator for a visit. Particularly if you scope out the Mr. Octobers in your area, LOL (did I tell you that Gabby runs past a fire station on every morning run; so it totally works). Which reminds me of that cutie firefighter at the station I saw last week...hmmm...totally going running tonight.

Oh, but happy hour. Running after eating is one thing (by the way, you should wait, otherwise you may cramp) but running after drinking? I think that one's a recipe for disaster. Then again, I could just stumble into the firestation, all dehydrated and loopy and they'll have to begin mouth-to-mouth (see, I'm learning from you, LOL).

Happy hour has been confirmed, though Sandy and hubby are not coming; they actually went to this place last night. I got an email from Sandy apologizing, b/c they ended up at this place after dinner yesterday, and she felt they 'were cheating on me' since I had suggested they come to happy hour there tonight, LOL. Oh well. The work people are in, maybe my sis too. I look cute (if I do say so myself) and so we'll see what happens, LOL.

The H4H session was interesting, but mostly stuff you could learn on the website. Except for the fact that the info session WAS NOT MANDATORY. I can just go on their online system and sign up for a build, just like that. I don't even have to take the intro-to-power-tools course (though I might b/c I don't want to look like a total idiot. I mean, I know how to use a drill, but still...).

Smart

P.S. Yes pictures would be rubbing it in too much. But then again, if I see what goods your town has to offer, you may see me there sooner rather than later :-)