Archive of Marcia's Musings March 25-31, 2002Saturday, March 30, 2002
Sleep is a Good Thing
I suppose that 7am is better than 6am-- obviously, by an hour, it is-- but, when one finally falls asleep at 12:30 because of a stomach-upset problem, one genuinely expects to sleep more than 6-1/2 hours. Well, apparently, this one was wrong! Oh, well, after running errands this morning, I came home and had lunch and laid down for a three hour nap!! Yes, that felt nummy and, finally, I feel refreshed.
Queen Mum
As anyone who reads the news knows, the Queen Mum has passed on-- granted, she was over 100 but, she was so sweet and frankly, in my eye, the only thing that helped us remember that QEII is human. When I was in London about 5 years ago, a cab driver brought me to Clarence House and I was so impressed by that. She was a sweet lady who endeared herself to the world, not just for her bravery and courage during World War II but her grace under fire when the Royals were at their worst. I realize that I'm not an English citizen but, she has left an indelible impression on me and I will miss her presence in this world. You will be sorely missed, dear lady.
Harry Potter
I very nearly finished "Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban" last night-- I only had a few pages left when my stomach finally decided to settled down so I could go to sleep. I ended up finishing it this morning-- just had to find out how it ended! In my humble opinion, this third book was better written than the first two but, it is interesting that the books are improving with each in the sequence. I'm starting book four tonight but it is a thick one so I won't be finishing it any time soon and, frankly, when I've read them all, I may start over again because they're just that fun!
Rose-Colored Glasses
Well, last week I brought my new eyeglasses back because they hadn't put on the 10% tint that they were supposed to put on. Today, I picked them up and they have about a 20% tint to them. Argh!! They can't seem to get it right!! Oh, well, better to be too dark than not dark enough and thus, have problems with glare and headaches.
We are, however, making a note that the next eyeglasses that I have to buy are going to be purchased anywhere besides Pearle Vision-- anywhere!!! If we don't seem to remember, hopefully, you'll remind us, okay? Okay!!
Preparations are Afoot
This morning, I bought little trinkets for the girls and a nice gift for my friend, Judy that I'll be seeing in Atlanta. I'm looking forward to the trip and, by the way, have finally got reservations at a hotel in the D.C. area. (That finally happened around 5pm yesterday!) The Atlanta office booked myself and another female co-worker into a Residence Inn, sharing a suite-- I'm so thrilled. She's a partier so she's going to get the outer-most bedroom and I'll take the one buried in the back of the room, thanks! I don't want/need her noise to wake me up or keep me up on Tuesday night. In the hotel in D.C., I do have my own room, thankfully, so that'll be much nicer. I'll be staying there Wednesday and Thursday night and flying back on Friday; there's a bowling party that I'm going to participate in on Thursday night. My manager, Judy (who lives in the D.C. area) will also be there on Thursday night so it'll be fun to see her, too!
Easter Brunch
Tomorrow we're meeting Brian's parents at the same place we went when my sister was her-- Jack's Bistro in Oakland. Wonderful restaurant and I'm looking forward to see them. We realized a couple of weeks ago that we haven't seen them since Christmas which is a long time-- too long of a time-- not to see them!!
Hope the Easter Bunny brings you lots of chocolate and jelly beans-- have a couple of the black ones for me!!
Have a nice evening!
Friday, March 29, 2002I'm Tired
Well, I guess that's enough of that topic, eh?
Agenda for the Weekend:
Tonight, I've already switched my spring/summer and fall/winter wardrobes and shoes so that the spring/summer is in our bedroom. I wanted to see what, if anything, needs to be added to the laundry pile so I wanted to get that done early. Tomorrow, I need to go pick up my re-finished new glasses and, while I'm at the mall, I'm going to try to find some trinkets to bring to the admins in the offices. I'm going to see all four of them next week (I think) so that should be fun but I don't want to go empty-handed. They do a lot to help me with getting contracts sent to me by FedEx or fax so I want to show a little gratitude. At some point over the weekend, I need to finish my presentation and try to get the rest of me organized a bit for that. I'd also like to clean up my office and sewing table-- it seems to have gotten a little messy over the past couple of weeks. (Don't have a clue how that happened!)
But, for tonight, I am going to do nothing except watch television and space out-- sounds like a good plan, eh? I hope you have a nice evening, as I plan to do!
Thursday, March 28, 2002I've got a feeling . . .
. . . that come Saturday morning, I will be sleeping the sleep of the dead!! Okay, so today was a nutsy day-- completely bizarre!! I got a lot of contracts through my desk so many that, frankly, I don't remember how many. We got most all of them signed today but the fun part is that there is a "surprise" deal of $350K that John doesn't know about-- one of his directors and a sales rep want to surprise him by bringing that deal in tomorrow. I think we'll make it-- the guy's changes weren't too bad but, by the same token, we couldn't make all of the changes even though we did make the majority of them. That'll make his day, for sure!!
It took until 3pm PST before John finally made a decision on which flight we are going to take from Atlanta to Dulles-- I need a ride to the airport (as I exclaimed to him at one point during the day)!!! I still don't know what hotel we're in there but, at some point, I'll be told-- I hope.
When I got home, I paid a couple of bills that had accumulated (I prefer to run them in sheets of three and I finally got three bills in to complete a sheet). Then, while Brian and Sally were walking, I started to sew the skirt and, just before dinner that Brian cooked, I finished it. Then, after doing the dishes (it was my turn, afterall!), I came back in and sewed up the crop pants. All three pieces are now finished and ready for wearing next week.
Now, I'm writing this post and, I've still gotta unwind-- you should feel the tension knot in my back!! YOWZA!!!
Maybe Sally and I need to have another cuddle? Sure!! That's always good for an unwind, eh?
Have a nice evening!
Wednesday, March 27, 2002A Humdinger!!
Yep, that's what it was-- a humdinger of a day!! Extremely busy helping out the Northeast region. Then, this afternoon, the Southeast region kicked in and, well, needless to say, there was nary a dull moment! I have a sales rep in my region that is just sure his deal isn't going to happen by the end of the month-- of course, I'm sure it will but mostly because the customer knows we're trying to get the document right. In fact, we thought we had it right and then they had the bright idea to let their attorney look at it-- well, that was the end of that!! Now the agreement needs modifications, some of which we can do and some we can't. Ah, well, that's why I get paid the little bucks, right?
Info is Gathering
The facts are pretty scarce, however. I will definitely be traveling next week at least two nights out, maybe three. (What will Sally do without her Mommy around?) I'll fly into Atlanta on Tuesday and attend the meeting on Wednesday, flying out on Wednesday night for Dulles Airport in the D.C. area (and yes, I have to do both meetings). The last leg of the trip is a little more sketchy so I don't know when I'm flying in or where I'm staying or where the meeting is going to be held. I really don't want to rent a car but I may not have an option if they don't decide soon on where the meeting is going to be held.
I still have my presentation to prepare, too. That should be loads of fun, eh? I hate making presentations but, at leat I have a voice that can carry!!
"Denim Dreams" are Done!!
I finished the quilt top last night!! The latest one is up on my quilting page with everything else being shifted over to the "archive" of the projects. It looks really cool but, of course, the pictures don't do it justice. I'm getting really behind in the quilting part of this stuff but the reason is logical: on the quilting for the "Just Clowning Around" project, I need to make circles (for balloons) which requires the free-motion class which isn't until April 11; "Denim Dreams" requires tying which I could do now but, I'm also working on a crocheting project and, I think I'm going to need to find an inexpensive hoop for bigger projects; the small wall-hangings are next but I haven't laid out the batting yet. They will all get done-- I'm too excited to not see them finished!!
Tonight and tomorrow night, however, I'm making a pair of crop pants and long pants for the trip, along with a skirt for the trip next week. I'm really excited about the fabric for the crop pants and the skirt; its fabric that I've been seeing on the web for months and had to have!! The long pants are replacement of pants that became too big with my weight loss-- just your basic navy pants.
As an aside, by the way, I've decided not to bring my crocheting along with me on the trip since I won't have time: dinner with Judy on Tuesday, Wednesday flying to D.C. and Thursday (hopefully) flying home. If I get trapped overnight in D.C. on Thursday night, I can always read-- it won't be that much of a sacrifice since I'll be in the last of the Potter series.
This weekend I'm going to have to do some shopping for trinket gifts for the admins on the east coast-- I'll be seeing all four of them and I want to pick a little something up for Judy, too (she is, afterall, the hardest working woman in software sales!).
Considering all that I have to do, you'll understand when I beg off tonight and call it a day on this post. Much to do and even less time to do it in!!
Have a nice night!
Tuesday, March 26, 2002March Madness!!
Yes, the end of quarter madness has definitely set in!! Busy all day and even helped out a co-worker. Lots of fun!!
Next week is definitely on: there are supposed to be two "shows" one in Atlanta and the other in the Virginia (Reston) office. The one in Virginia will probably be done by my manager who lives in Maryland; if John protests, I'll do it but I'm not sure that I see a point in traveling there when she's already there.
Fear of Flying?
I've never had a fear of flying, per se-- I've always enjoyed it despite the take-offs and landings. I am admittedly, apprehensive about traveling in general these days and I can guarantee that I'm gonna get really pissed off if someone tries to hijack my plane!! I am also not crazy about being away from my quilting for at least three days and two nights!! I'm going to check my baggage just so I can crochet when I'm in my hotel room-- I'm not that great at watching television anymore. I was telling Brian tonight that I'm not one to go out "partying with the boys/girls" even if I did drink enough to make it worthwhile. So what does that leave me to do but crochet or work and work, since I'm sitting in their sales meetings, is gonna be a little thin, ya know? On the plane, I'll read-- by that time, I'll be into the fourth Harry Potter book so I can carry that on the plane with me (although it is big and heavy enough to qualify for a weapon!) and then, I'll have the crocheting to take me through the nights.
There's the plan. Now if I could just get firm dates from John to make flight arrangements!!
My friend, Judy, that worked in the Atlanta office sent me another gift today-- we're going to try to get together for dinner or lunch while I'm there. I hope my schedule will work with that-- it would be good to see her. Although it would be nice to see my friend, Barbara Thompson again, between her schedule and mine this trip, it is not to be-- maybe some time in the future? I'm sure!! You bet!!
On that note, I'm going to move along (cuz there's really nothing to see here). I've been working at putting the quilt top together on "Denim Dreams". Its a bit more complicated than the other quilt tops (which is what I wanted) that I've put together so far but it is really cool looking! I'm getting excited to get it finished!!
More as the workload permits-- have a good evening!
Monday, March 25, 2002The Oscars
Yes, indeedy-- from pre-game through six hours and fifteen minutes of "stuff", I watched it all! It has been awhile, I think, since I've done that-- I don't remember watching with such intensity last year. I think that not having seen some of the performances, it was difficult for me to judge but, from the snippet that I saw of Halle Berry's performance, her winning the Oscar had less to do with color than her performance. It seemed that she really stretched herself and was fantastic in the clip that they showed for her nomination piece! If she did that much of a stretch, she deserves it! I like Nicole Kidman and Dame Judi Dench, too so it would've been difficult for me to be a voter in that category.
Sally's New Pictures
As promised last night, there are new pictures of Sally over on her page. She is a well-loved, much-spoiled doggie, indeed. Enjoy!! She's soooooooo cute!! (By the way, the update is from me-- I've been remembering to shut off my monitor in the morning!)
Business Travel??
There is a possibility that I'll have some business travel in my future-- next week, maybe? If so, I would be in Atlanta for a day or two in addition to a travel day or two there and back. We'll have to see how that plays out. My management here wants me to go to Atlanta for the purpose of training the sales reps on the new agreements. One problem: John isn't sure that he's having a meeting yet-- could be difficult to have a training session if they don't have a meeting!
I have to admit that the concept of travel didn't appeal to me-- I love to fly but I'm not crazy about the security or the problems that could happen if someone screws up (again). Oh, well, it may not end up happening, either-- who knows?
Afghan
I finally sent out the email to my nieces and nephews with regard to their afghans. Joel's afghan will hopefully be sent out either later this week or next week, depending on our time schedules and being able to get to the post office to mail it out. I will take pictures of each of them and let you know who they are going to as they are finished. I've got pictures on my system somewhere of each of the recipients but it would be nice for you to be able to tell who gets what when you see it.
More of the Same
Other than that, its been a busy day all around here today. It started out with madness and just went downhill from there-- what can ya say? Always fun and nary a dull moment, eh?
By the way, I'll be updating the quilting page in a few days with this new top-- it is really cool looking!!
Have a nice evening!
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