Late Twenties Hangover

Need to get it together or If I don't get organized my life will blow up

2009-09-17T13:41:00.004-04:00

I need to get it together. ASAP.

I am usually overly organized in regards to my schedule, events, work, school etc. The only place I usually allow myself to be messy is at home and in my car. Lately though, I just can't seem to get it together. My calendar is out of whack, my apartment is extra messy and I have no routine.

The thing that is getting affected the most is my health. Not having a routine is forcing me to eat like crap and not work out. Let's just say I have put on about 10 pounds this summer. Ugh. So I am back on the wagon. I started yesterday. I ate decent meals and worked out. I think I may have pushed too much with the whole workout thing though. I ended up doing 30 min of weights, 30 min on the treadmill and then an hour Zumba class. Let's just say that I almost made myself sick. I need to remember to ease back into it. Otherwise I may pass out from exercise exhaustion. That would not be a pretty sight. lol.

My plan is get organized. Like super organized. And I plan on doing it this weekend. I am not joking when I mean organized. So much so that I will plan out every work out session, every to do, every homework night, etc so that I feel like I have some control. Wish me luck as I try to get it together this weekend.

Twentysomething rant

2009-07-21T14:18:00.006-04:00

Many things have changed since I last updated this blog. Too many to recount now but I hope to bring things up to date soon.

Today I was inspired to write again because I feel that my life is oddly in flux. I don't generally like change. It makes me anxious and insecure. This makes life difficult for me as the world moves in change. I don't know where I got the notion that anything ever stays the same, even for a second. Those close to me know that I have grown to deal with change; even embrace it at times. Change can be good, bad or completely irrelevant. So I am just learning to live with it.

I have been struggling with my identity lately. Which is a very uncomfortable feeling. The older I get, the more I get to know myself, but the more I realize I don't know myself at all. I am almost 30, professionally employed, recently achieved my graduate degree and I have fulfilling relationships with people I love. So why do I keep feeling like I am 7 years old wondering "what am I going to be when I grow up?" or "What am I going to be like as a grown up?" Shouldn't I know these answers by now?

At my age my parents were married and had a child. When my parents were in their early 30's they seemed so secure in life. They seemed like adults. As I get closer to that age I get the feeling that maybe my life has come short. Maybe I don't know what I want to be when I grow up because part of me thinks I have failed. Shouldn't it have happened already? Being grown? But what does that even feel like? What does that even look like? Would I even like it?

Jaime Cullum was right. Being a twentysomething is a strange time.

Girl flirting - my attempt at friendliness

2009-03-16T11:26:00.010-04:00

I am not the friendliest person, especially to new people. It is a miracle I can make friends at all...

It is so bad that the guy I am seeing, we shall call him Mr. M, often likes to tell the story of how we met. He reminds me that I he had to introduce himself to me even though I obviously looked like I didn't want to meet anyone at this conference we were attending. And it if weren't for the alcohol we probably we have not gotten friendly at all. lol.

Anyways, I was visiting with Mr. M this weekend and we had drinks/dinner arranged with an old friend of his and her husband. But not just any friend. This is THE friend from high school. You know, they were close in school and have managed to stay friends for about 15 years. I was a bit nervous. Even though I am not generally friendly I still want people to like me! So I pumped myself to have a good time and makes sure I made a good impression. We met up at this place called Cumin which is an Indian fusion restaurant and tres chic:

I think I looked cute enough but not like I tried too hard. Mr. M was looking good with his charcoal button down and blazer. His friends look super stylish but approachable. Turns out we got along perfectly. They enjoyed my humor and we had a blast talking about everything and anything. The martini I had prior to dinner was amazing. The food and wine were out of this world. I did get up to use the ladies room at some point and I KNEW they were talking about me (turns out they were telling Mr. M that they loved me). Our next stop was BLU. It turned out to be this hip sushi restaurant that turns bar/nightclub and we were pretty lucky to score a table. I introduced my new friend to Flirtini's and proceeded to have a great time at this bar.

I knew I had done my job in making sure the friend liked me when we both decided to go to the restroom. I asked if it was a one stall or two stall. She said one but we were friends so we could share. The men looked at each other in amazement and proceeded to talk about how men would NEVER do that. We trotted along to the bathroom together like girls do.

The night ended with two drunks (the girls) hugging and talking about meeting up again soon. I think I have to pat myself on the back here. :)

A few things I learned about girl flirting that evening:

1. Compliment an article of clothing or accessory

2. Laugh at her jokes

3. Bring alcohol into the mix (I had 4 martini's and half a bottle of wine - a bit overboard)

4. Ask questions fun questions (like what are you top 5 counties you want to visit)

5. When you things are going well, talking about a visit to the bathroom

Insomnia and Daylight Savings or Why I Am Eternally Tired

2009-03-10T11:16:00.012-04:00

Screw daylight savings time.
Yes, the days are longer and I will probably enjoy that during the summer. Fine you got me there. BUT I feel like I am getting an hour less of sleep.

Maybe I am extra bitter because I already have a hard time going to sleep. For some reason, every night between 11-12 pm I revert to my six year old self. I have this awful internal fight about going to sleep. I am so exhausted yet I want to stay up. For what? Nothing good is on TV. Reading can be dangerous because at times I get so engrossed that I could read for an hour or two. Maybe I don't want to go to sleep because I don't want to miss out on anything. Or maybe sleep is most enjoyed only in the wee hours of the morning.

It could be time itself. Come to think of it I may be slightly obsessed with it. Time is everywhere. On my computer, my watch, my phone etc. I am one of those strange people that NEVER takes their watch off. Not to shower, swim, cook or workout. I literally get anxiety when I don't have it on (that is why I alone will probably keep Swiss Army in business). I am constantly checking my phone not to see if I received an email or a text but to check up on the time. Just making sure its still there. I wake up in the middle of the night and I must know what time it is. AND I then must calculate how many hours of sleep I have left (to the minute).

Did I tell you I won the genetic jackpot? *rolling my eyes*
I should blame my family and their stupid insomniac and obsessive genes. See, insomnia runs in my family. So does being obsessed with time. People in my family also tend to be obsessive about things but not compulsive. Oh joy. lol. So I am rarely compulsive about things but I can be obsessive. Guess what Time? You are the lucky winner!
Stupid genetic mutations...

It would all be worth it, lack of sleep and cost of under eye makeup, if I actually did something productive with my time when I can't sleep. Instead I get caught up watching re-runs of sex in the city on TBS (which takes all the good parts out). Or I read blogs. Check facebook. Organize my jewelry. Write letters I will never mail. Any extremely unproductive activity can take place when I should be sleeping.

I may need to find a lullaby. THE lullaby. Or pursue hypnosis. Either way I need more sleep and I am damn bitter about giving up an hour for daylight savings.

I got some vitamin D

2009-03-09T10:11:00.005-04:00

It was a glorious weekend in the South. The sun was shinning and there was a light breeze. Everyone was out an about walking their dog, going to the park, etc. I managed to get brunch with some friends, take a nap, go to the park, have some tea at Caribou and have a beers on Ken's porch. And it was a Harry Potter weekend on TBS. Enough said.

While at Caribou, I spotted my next car parked by the front door. Check it out:I found this quite funny.

The weekend was so perfect I wish I could bottle it up for the next cold/rainy day. Apparently we have another bout of crappy weather this weekend. Stupid weather...And I will be in Ohio the following weekend so I should enjoy it while I have it.

We will have 70 degree weather until Wednesday though. My skirts and dresses are back in business, even if it's just for a few days. Oh, and hello open toed shoes. I missed you. Come to mama!

Come on summer! Just be here already. My summer wardrobe and I need each other!

3 cups of coffee and 1 Fresca later...

2009-03-05T13:46:00.004-05:00

3 cups of coffee and 1 Fresca later I am still not ready to take a test tonight. Even though it is the last test I will be taking for a very long time....

Reason why I want to protest this exam:

1. This is grad school - tests are for students 21 and under

2. True/False, multiple choice and short answer questions give me nasty flashbacks to middle school.

3. Visiting professors should be gently reminded that grad students expect research papers to be a better assessment of their knowledge.

4. It is ridiculous to expect me to take a test and then stay for a lecture.

5. I don't even really know what is going to be on the exam, thanks for being vague.

6. Going through a 45 slide PowerPoint and NOT giving us access to a copy does not give a professor the right to test me on it (seeing as I do not have photographic memory).

7. This will drive me to drink on a week night.

8. My GPA may be affected negatively.

9. It has given me insomnia.

10. I am perilously close to not caring.

Glad I have beer at home. I will be having one around 9 pm.

Wish me luck!

I want my $38 back Ticketmaster!

2009-03-03T11:03:00.005-05:00

Unless you live under a rock, everyone must have heard that the South got slammed with a freak snow storm Sunday night. It is March right? WTH?

Generally I enjoy snow days because it usually means the entire city shuts down and I don't have to go to work. The snow began on Sunday night when I was getting ready for the Ben Folds Concert. FYI: I heart Ben Folds and I have never seen him in concert. My friend Megan was on her way to pick me up when the snow started. The snow was so bad that cars were sliding and all all the news stations were telling people to stay home. We tried to call the venue and Ticketmaster to see if they were going to cancel the show since people couldn't get there. We never got anyone on the phone and they had no update on their website. It was entirely too snowy and icy on the roads to go.

Since I was going to stay home, I put on some pj's and settled in to watch some TV. 30 minutes later the power went out. After finding the one scented candle in the entire apartment, I tried to stay in my room and keep warm (after the blackout I realized I am not at all prepared for an emergency and I MUST go get some candles and a flashlight). I was going to try and brave out the cold but I lucked out and my friend Dre and her boyfriend picked me up. I got to spend the night in a warm house and my work called a snow day for Monday.

Monday morning we find out that they decide to still go on with the show. Are you serious?! The venue basically told us we lost the money since the show went on and we didn't show up. Ticketmaster said they make look into it by figuring out how many tickets were sold vs. how many people actually showed up. I hope we get some type of credit or refund. I mean, I love Ben Folds. But not enough to risk my life. So Ticketmaster, you owe me $38!!!

Watch out for the construction or Why it smells like manure

2009-02-27T09:44:00.008-05:00

I work at a college campus which means my office and everything around it is quite beautiful. I enjoy walking from my building to the student center for lunch, coffee, meetings etc. This morning I decided to jet across campus to get coffee so that I could start out my day with a small treat (I have to confess that I generally bargain with myself in order to do daily tasks; for example I will go buy coffee as my treat for opening the mail).

Usually I enjoy this quiet time walking through campus but today I was reminded that there is construction going on. Ugh. The class of '67 decided to donate money to re-brick the courtyard. This courtyard is in the middle of everything. You MUST walk through it to get to most parts of campus. Not only is the entire area blocked off, so I was forced to walk way the hell around my elbow to get to my ass, but it smells. It smells like manure on my beautiful campus. What are they doing over there, patting it down with the nastiest stuff on earth? Maybe it was just the morning waft that I got and hopefully it will be better throughout the day.

I know the class of whatever will be excited about the new courtyard and renovated fountain. But during the middle of the school year? It is quite invasive. I am sure it will be beautiful once its done. Till then, I just see it as an obstacle between me and coffee.

Savannah- fun times and bad service

2009-02-23T10:26:00.009-05:00

I have been to Savannah, GA once before. My freshman year of college during St. Patrick's Day. To be honest I do not remember much of the trip and we didn't even make it out to parade. I can't believe I got too drunk to actually see the city. So when my friend Ken suggested that our friend group should travel to Savannah for his birthday I was excited.

Six of us caravan'd down to the the beautiful city of Savannah this past weekend and had a blast. You can certainly eat, drink and walk you way around the city. We stayed in walking distance from the restaurants, bars and tourist areas. A few highlights of the trip below:

The Savannah guide: My wonderful friend Abbra created our own Savannah guide. She took the time to create an awesome coverage page (google map included), highlights of the city, history and a map of downtown Savannah. She rocks!

The walking: It was so refreshing! People walk in Savannah. Not to exercise but to actually get from point A to point B. My city is amazing but it has not embraced pedestrian culture. I loved the fact that we didn't use our car during our stay. We walked to dinner, to the bar, sightseeing etc. Loved it! Yes it was a little chilly but it didn't really bother us. Glad I brought my walking shoes.

The food: AMAZING. Fresh Mahi sandwiches and fish tacos highlighted the weekend. We also had an amazing breakfast at this cute little brunch place. Delish. And we didn't eat at a chain restaurant. yay! This is where I must mention Paula Deen's restaurant/store. We did not eat at the restaurant because it was always packed, or full, or closed, etc. The menu seemed only to be a buffet that primarily contained fried chicken. Not a good choice for vegetarians. The store was fun though. Mostly because there is a life size cardboard version of Paula and people can take pictures with her. My friend Ken decided to semi-fondle Paula. Yeah that was funny. Did you know that Paula Deen has her own line of reading glasses? Yup. You too can have Paula's reading glasses for under $40 bucks!

The Service: Guess we didn't go to Savannah for the service. Most of the wait staff we had were rude or just plain old weird. Our first waitress got angry because we didn't want to pay the bill together (it was a group of six, would we really all be together?) and told us we should have put it on our american express. She also suggested a bar for us to go to but told us to leave before dark because that is when shady people start arriving (and by shady she meant non-white). Nice. I can go on but you get the idea.

The drinks: I expected over priced beer and well drinks since we primarily went to the touristy parts of town. We also looked like tourist; comfy shoes, camera's and maps included (thanks abbra!). We found a few bargains though! I got THE biggest mug of Blue Moon for $5 bucks. We also went to a place that has $3 well drinks. Can you say vodka tonic?

Savannah Nightlife: There are some fun times in Savannah. There were a ton of people out and about at restaurants, bars etc. We went to a bar called "bar bar" that was technically underground. We almost went down the wrong underground tunnel but thankfully our friend Megan ventured out first. She then ran back up the stairs totally freaked out because it turned out to be a dark alley with a bunch of sleeping homeless people. Once in "bar bar" we had good time dancing. That was until Abbra almost got into a fight with an old lady who looked like the she stepped out from the 80's. It actually wasn't all that dramatic but it was incredibly funny. We then ended up at a pizza place that serves the largest pizza I have ever seen. At 1 or so in the morning, we were pretty mesmerized by it.

It was a fun short trip. I learned the following: customer service in Savannah blows, Abbra could really kick my ass if I push her buttons, do not go in the dark underground tunnels unless its obvious its a bar, I wish I lived in a walking city and I should check that all my lights are off in my car before I leave on a road trip. Yeah, my car battery was dead when I got home. Awesome. lol.

Sometimes the dam just breaks and then you get flowers

2009-02-20T15:58:00.004-05:00

It has been a difficult week at work (see entry below). I have actually been in physical discomfort about it. I feel the stress in my shoulders and back. I get shaky just thinking about work because of anger and anxiety.

But you know what, its not the end of the world. I am thankful to have a job that I am actually good at and I generally enjoy most of the time. I wasn't all susie sunshine a few hours ago. But then I got flowers (see picture). It just made my day.

You shouldn't be my boss if you can't use Excel

2009-02-19T23:03:00.011-05:00

At 4:00 PM today I realized that my boss is completely inept when it comes to certain things. What kills me is that she makes twice my salary yet pawns off all the important work to me, or so it feels that way...

Today she called me into the office to talk about a big presentation that she must put together in a few days for upper leadership in our organization. This is an important meeting and she is just now preparing for it. The reason she wanted to talk to me was to get my opinion on things or pick my brain per say. The meeting went like this:

She starts out with "thanks for being willing to give me your two cents on my presentation. So tell me, what would you present?"

I tell her (go over our accomplishments, what are the next goals, etc...DUH).

"Great! And how would you present it."

I tell her (my explanation includes adding some graphs and spreadsheets).

"Great! You and I are on the same page then. Well if you could get those spreadsheets and graphs together for me that would be great. Oh and can you type up the highlights of things I should talk about. It would be great if you could do this tomorrow morning so that I can go over it with the VP."

I give her a blank stare. I was completely flabbergasted. I must note here that I am NOT her assistant or secretary. I am her assistant director for god's sake!

Then she tries to justify her ridiculous request by saying "Well I don't think I even have Excel on my computer."

"Uh, of course you do because you have Microsoft Suite."

"No, I am pretty sure I only have Outlook. That is the only thing I see available on my desktop."

I then walk over to her computer and show her that Outlook happens to have a shortcut menu on her desktop. And that to access Excel she has to go to Program, them Microsoft Suite and then click on Excel. It was at that point that I realized she has NEVER used excel or probably most of Microsoft suite.

"Oh! That is where all that stuff is. Well I gotta be honest I am not a real guru at this stuff..."

OH MY GOD

She then gave me her "notes" so that I could use them to make the spreadsheets that she wants (see picture above). All this a few minutes before the end of the day and I am to spend the next morning work on it.

I am SO temped to call in sick tomorrow just so I get out of doing this for her. Not only does she take credit for everything I do but now she wants me to put together a presentation SHE was asked to do. She is blatantly using me. She either thinks I am an idiot or a total doormat. Well listen here lady! I am neither!

But what should I do? I mean should I just do this stupid presentation for her? But what type of message is that sending? She will continue to take advantage of me. Should I call in sick and not do it? And then possibly get some hostility from her when I come back to work? Or worst, have her put together the presentation only for it to look like crap, which in turn makes me and my work (which she will be taking credit for at this meeting anyway) look like crap. I just don't know what to do.

I am officially in a quandary.

**********************************************************************************

Update: I did the reports. And I was told it was part of my job description to do these type of things. Well what about half the stuff I do that is NOT on my job description? Should I stop doing them? Are we really going to play that game? Really?

I am a girl therefore I hate car stuff...

2009-02-18T15:53:00.003-05:00

This morning was rainy and cold. I woke up late and got dressed in semi-darkness because I was extremely sleepy. Thank goodness I only have a 2 mile drive to the office. I was rocking out to some Lisa Loeb (what? don't judge me!) when I pulled into the parking lot. I got out of my car and noticed my front left tire was flat. Not just a little, but completely flat! WTF?! How did I manage to be the one to run over something that punctured my tire in one of the busiest streets in the city? And not notice until I got to the office?

I called AAA and they came to my office to put my spare tire on. He was quick and generally courteous throughout the process. We had a friendly exchange until he asked me if I voted for Obama. I answered yes and he starting giving me crap for it and ended it with a "yeah I guess you look like a Democrat." Really AAA tire guy? So the cost of getting my spare put on was $0 with a side of hurt feelings. A friend followed me to Costco during our lunch our to drop of my car. I just bought new tires from Costco a few months ago and they are still under warranty. Score! After I checked my car in with the tire guys at Costco I walked out to a deluge and jogged to my friends car. I wore my dainty black slippers today. Bad idea because I ended up slipping and scrapping my knee. All this in the rain, in the Costco parking lot in front of the Costco employees that were taking a smoke break. It was at this point that I really almost cried. Costco repair = $0 with a surcharge of severly bruised ego.

To top the day off, which is not even over yet, I realized that I made a very odd fashion choice today. I don't think I was very lucid this morning while getting dressed. I realized throughout the day that I am wearing hunter green cords with a light blue shirt and an grey sweater. And black shoes with a brown purse. I really hope no one sees me today....

So here's to Wednesday feeling like a bad Monday. Thursday has never looked so good.

Valentine's Day Tribute - bad date retrospective

2009-02-15T01:05:00.004-05:00

In honor of Valentine's Day I have decided to recount a few of the most interesting men I dated.

Nascar guy

I live in the South but I do not usually mingle with Nascar fans. I have nothing against Nascar, I just don't really get it. I was a bit apprehensive about the Nascar thing but he explained he just worked for Nascar but was not necessarily a fan. That was a plus. Nascar guy had many things I was looking for. He was a career man, established, reliable, looking for a serious relationship and was extremely thoughtful and sweet. He was a bit older than I would normally date and that made me nervous. I was actually going to give Nascar guy a real chance, until I went to his house. I made the mistake of using the restroom during dinner and found....a Disney character themed bathroom. Yes a 30 something year old man has a bathroom decorated courtesy of Disney for Target. Then he had the audacity of proudly informing me that he also has a Disney themed Christmas tree. Things had to end. Immediately.

Jiu-Jitso guy

This guy was good looking but not very tall. I wasn't bothered about the height thing since I am 5'3 so most men are taller than I am. He was big into Jiu-Jitso and that appealed to me as I had just recently gotten interested in martial arts myself. Went out on a few dates with him and found we had chemistry. Physical chemistry. I realized quickly that the attraction was just that, physical. After a few weeks of hanging out I realized he was dumb. I mean really dumb. I really do not know how he graduate from college. We had nothing to talk about. As a matter of fact, the last few times we did hang out we didn't really talk, we just made out. I think I actually shushed him at one point. That didn't go over so well.

Egg guy

This one had potential; graphic designer with a funny and quirky personality. He appealed to my artsy/funny side. We could talk about art and watch an independent film and then turn around and play drunken operation. We dated a few weeks and had even started to introduce each other to friends. Until the day I made the mistake of telling him that I ate an egg. Let me explain: I don't normally list the foods I eat to the men I date. But I happened to eat a really great deviled egg during a social event at work that day and mentioned it to him. We were at a bar/pool hall with some of his friends when I brought it up. He froze and made a point to distance himself physically from me. The awkwardness continued through the drive home. I confronted him about it because I had zero idea what the problem was. Once in the parking lot of my place, he admitted to me that he had an egg phobia. A straight up egg phobia. His phobia is so deep that he didn't even want to touch me let alone be in the same car as me. At first I thought it was THE lamest way I have been dumped. Ever. But I actually do believe he has a phobia and that was just too much for me to handle on top of the normal issues men and women have. I realized I would have to lie to him about something as basic as breakfast. I love breakfast, more than I liked this guy.

Oh Dating. It can be rough but makes for good stories to laugh about with your friends.

Late to the blogging bandwagon

2009-02-10T21:48:00.002-05:00

I am so incredibly late.

I have been toying with the idea of a blog for a few years. My recent bout with insomnia has led to me to finally do it. Though a blog is possibly the worst use of my time. See, I am a woman in my late 20's and I am tired. I have a blossoming career, on my last semester of graduate school and trying to balance a personal life.

This blog is dedicated to all the over-achieving, over-scheduled, technology dependent, facebook addicted, reality TV watching men and women who try to keep it together. Many different topics will be discussed and a few guest bloggers will be introduced. Don't worry, pop culture is also fair game.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy!