Damn people and their paranoia...

So we get this e-mail at work addressed to our whole group, from our Administrative Assistant asking if anyone is going to be off on X week, if so, to e-mail her back with exact days. So I open the e-mail and don't think much about it. I figure, they (the Execs) are planning an update (as they normally do and have done), so I brush it off, and continue with work. Well, next thing I know one of my co-workers comes over to my cube, all distressed, then she goes off saying that she believes the e-mail is related to lay offs. Now come the F on... Seriously... Must everything be about lay offs?

Now, I know the company I work for is infamous for laying off people. I understand that.... But why the need to start a hype, and to get people all railed up for?

I don't think I will ever understand.

I do know... I will keep my positive note... And if they lay me off (lets cross our fingers that doesn't happen)... I will just keep moving forward...

Good News/Bad News

Bad News: Ok, so my shoes had to go back. I put them on this morning, walked down stairs, fed the cats, and by the time I got to my car, I realized... they are way too high.
Good News: I exchanged them for a pair of Jack Purcells. The last pair I had I wore thin by swiming in them when my brother pushed me off the Jet Ski in the lake. Hmmm.. good times, good times!

My New Jack Purcells

Good News: While at the grocery store, my co-worker and I felt generous, so we decided to buy cup cakes for our department.
Bad News: I had three cupcakes today, in a span of... mmm about 4 hours.


Good News: It is 8pm, the sun is still out, it is about 80 degrees, and I have the option dipping into the pool.
Bad News: I can't take a dip in the pool (for a few odd reasons, wich will take too long to explain).

All in all, not a bad day... We'll see how the rest of the week goes.

Freaky Cats!

Happy Monday!

What a weekend!
Friday night was the first night I spent at the PV house. This is the house that has a pool and an ocean view from their back yard. The night wasn’t too bad… I fell asleep on the couch and was wakened at 4am by one of the cats meowing. It kept meowing all f’ing morning… finally at 6am I moved up to the spare room and crashed there, hoping the cat would stay behind…. Well unfortunately (for me) the cat did not want to meow alone… so it followed me and meowed some more… eventually I was able to block out the noise and fell fast asleep. Next thing I know, it was 10:30am and as I am opening my eyes… I have three cats laying around me… starring. JUST starring at me! It was the freakiest thing ever. Wes (my dog) will do that, but he usually tries to sneak a lick or a pat in, these cats just starred… nothing more… nothing less. I don’t mind cats… but I must say… cats are definitely different! Honey and Riley (the dogs) are outside dogs, so while I am there they just lean against the sliding glass doors with sad little eyes waiting for me to let them in… ugh… they are so dang cute… especially the yellow lab. I have such a soft spot for big dogs.

Well other than that the weekend was good. Saturday and Sunday weather was rather gloomy, but still hot. I went over to Universal City Walk again, to buy a dress I wanted. I couldn’t find another Quicksilver store around my neighborhood so I had to budge and drive all the way there, and pay ten bucks for parking… well, anyway, I got my dress… it’s nothing special, just a grey v-neck jersey dress, the kind you wear over jeans. I love it though, it so comfy! I also bought some shoes… wedged heel… my favorite. I don’t think I can walk in regular heels anymore. Oh well!

I’ll try and post pictures of the dogs/cats and my new shoes!

(Yawn) I'm so tired!

I’ve been really tired all day long…. Since the minute I got up this morning, all I’ve wanted to do is, go back to bed. Not sure what is going on… I’m blaming it on the weather, although it gets to about mid to high 70’s during the middle of the day… the mornings are bloody gloomy and a bit chilly too. It’s an awful way to start your day!

So, I will be house/dog sitting this weekend and all of next week. It’s a really nice house with a pool… so I am looking forward to that. Their dogs are super sweet, and they jump in the pool when they please…. So this weekend I will be lounging by the pool, with a drink in hand… all weekend long!

I take a final tomorrow night, and then I am off for two weeks. I’m very excited about that!

Lazy ass dog & kids... Im just jelous

Monday was a good day. Work was good, the gym was good, and dinner was great. I went to dinner with Amy and Ivonne, to celebrate Ivonne’s 26th birthday. We had a great time. We went to P.F. Changs… for some great Chinese food, and desserts… had a few glasses of wine too. We hadn’t had a good dinner like that in a while. We reminisced, we made new pacts, and we just laughed all through dinner.

Today wasn’t too bad either. Maynor had court today… the DA has put in for a second extension so they have more time to put their case together. I’m not sure how this will turn out, but I do know I’m trusting in God to get Maynor, (and us) through it.

So I went home for lunch today, to watch a little tube, and just chill out on my couch… and this is what I found.

Lazy ass dog, I say… he is supposed to be guarding the house. Then I took a picture, gave him a big hug and kiss, and opened the window so he could get a nice breeze… yes he is spoiled, but he is old… and cute. So I caught some I Love Lucy... I love that show, it remind me of high school, only because during the summers... that was the first show I would wake up to... at noon. UGH... I wish I had Summer Vacation again... they should issue Summer Vacations for Adults too. Anyway, I knew there was a huge problem when I was driving back to work and while passing the local elementry school, all they kids were running (literally) away from school. Punk Asses!

Hiking and then some...

What a great weekend, it turned out to be. On Friday night, I went to dinner with Ivonne. Our usual place, with our usual meals... except this time, our usual server, wasn't there. We missed him, I'll have to tell him that next time we go. After dinner, as I planned, we headed over to Grifith Park to check out the hiking route, and the directions worked out well.... Well on the way home Ivonne says, out of no where... let go to Universal City Walk... UCW is a long strip of stores, restaurants, clubs, movie theaters, and street performers.... so I said why not... so we went there... we walked around for a few hours and headed home at around midnight. It was great... the air was warm, their was enough of a crowd to make it lively, but not enough to be overwhelmed.

On Saturday, as scheduled, I picked up Ivonne, and Juvi around 945am (I was running a little late) and headed for the hike. We met up with a few friends and started the hike, right at 10:30... we went up for a about a mile, and were exhausted... mind you it was about 90 degrees out, it's a good thing we had water. Well we made it to "Dantaes View" (which is about 3/4 of the way up... and decided it was enough hiking for the day... After the hike we went to a deli had some lunch and just hung there for a few hours watching the USA vs Italy game... you know I found out that during the World Cup... the teams are not eliminated when the lose the match, rather their elimination is dependant on how many point their performance earns.... it's wierd... I guess.

Today, was good too. Laid by the pool for a few hours, even taught JoJee how to swim for a little bit. Afterwards we had a carne azada for my brother, in honor of Fathers Day... he was appreciative.... Now I am doing laundry and getting ready for tomorrow. I love weekends like this.... they make the 5 day work week, all worth while.

My presentation...

Today was a better day. I still couldn't shake the blah feeling in the morning, but it was all in all a good day. I like my job, so it makes it easy to get through the day.

My presentation was tonight. I hate to bragg, but we kicked ass! We really did. We knew the right thing to say and when to say it, and we had an answer to every question the professor had... I love it when projects work out that way. It was still a little hard to get up in front of the class... but I gotta admit... it's getting better.

Well I am sooo excited tomorrow is Friday. I don't have any great plans, but I'm just glad we are nearing the weekend. Tomorrow is a short day (as every Friday is), we are off at 1pm, and the weather here has been beautiful... high 70's and today I belive I noticed my trucks reader at 80 degrees... so after work tomorrow... I will put a few loads of cloth in the washer... and head to the pool! aww... gotta love Cali!

(Cali... I wouldn't trade you... well, unless I get a mega career move offer).

Oh, I've got a hiking trip planned with a bunch of friends over in Griffith Park... we'll see how that goes. I belive (because I have never been) it is a short and sweet hike. Maybe I will check it out tomorrow night, so I (at least) look like I know what I am doing. LOL

Being low... is a blow!

I'm feeling a little low today. Not sure what the heck, but I've been on the verge of tears all day.... I finally broke during Jo Jee's ballet recitle. Jo Jee.. (short for Jordan) is my cousins daughter.... so I think, that makes her my second cousin... or maybe just a cousin... well regardless....she is now 3.5 years old. She is my princess, my shinning star... the one person that I can think about... and an instant smile grows. So I think seeing her out there in her little liatard, ballet slippers, and big fluffy pig tails makes me realize how much she has grown and how fast time has flown.

More and more.. I guess because of Jo Jee and her now having a little sister (Aubrey)... I want my own kids. Ever since I can remember I have known that the one thing I would be natrually good at would be to be a mother. I love kids, always have, and most likely... always will. I love their innocense, their needyness, and their determination.

It's funny, I think it all started to hit me bad, this weekend. We (my family and I) got together for Courtneys 10 B-day party... well at one point Jordan started hanging out with me... and of course I don't mind it at all... but what totally got me was that where ever I went, she followed, always lightly clinging to my pants... well at one point it got a little crowded, and a few of the adults kept running into her, so I swept her up into my arms... and I guess her (over protective) grandmother saw and made her way over to me with her arms extended to take Jordan from me.... well, oviously if Jordan wanted to go, I would have passed her on to Grandma... but instead of reaching her arms back to grandma... Jordan turned away, swung both her arms around me and rested her chin on my shoulder. I loved it.... I couldn't get enought of it.

I know its small, and maybe even a little rediculous but man.. I do love that feeling.

I expect one day (hopefully soon) I will have that opportunity, but for now, I will just enoy my little Jo Jee!

Screenworks Meeting...

So Heide, Dara, and I went to meet with the people at Screenworks, to get quotes for the Tees, Onezies, and Tanks we want made with our logo.

Now I know I haven't written much about this.. but I guess with my school and work and Dara and Heide having kids and all, I wasn't expecting to get much occomplished... but I made it work.

So the three of us have been playing around with the idea of developing our own "brand". Well for the past few months we have been brainstorming about what it would look like, we finally had it done and figured one out that we all agreed on... but taking it to the next level was the hard part. Like I said earlier, with them having kids, and me being swamped... we couldn't get our asses to a printing place.

Well this past weekend, I made it a goal to get some onezies printed, as a draft, to see what (if anything) we would have to change. Well much to our surprise, they turned out really nice. Actually, they kick ass. But of course I'm being bias.

So like I said, we met with the people at Screenworks, and it turns out, if we divi up all our charges by 3... all garmets, materials, and adjustments can be made for well under $100. Im stoked, bucause I really do think we might have something here...

Well other than that.. nothing too exciting the past couple of days.... actually my "friend"... the one with the uncle... well I talked to her and I asked her what did she end up telling her uncle... and she had the nerve to tell me she never called him. I gotta admit I am a little bothered.... actually a bit irritated too. I acused her of being a compulsive lier. Trust me I speak the truth. I also told her that if she didn't tell him, I would! The next time I see him.... and I would be completely blunt about it too. No BS... flat out.. she lied, and manipulated the whole cituation. Tell me.... what does one do with "friends" like that.

Thursday High

Thursday turned out to be an interesting day. I used some MAJOR problem-solving skills while working on the database and got about 99% of my problems worked out. My group and I were due to meet with the professor to talk about the databse at 6:30pm, and knowing that we still had some kinks to smooth out I decided to leave work at 4:30pm. I expected to make it at school by 5:30... boy was I wrong... on the way to school.... I hit some major traffic... we were at a dead stop... notice the nice bright red brake lights.

So anyway... in this particular class there are only two groups... ours, and group 1. Well group one decided (and kinda demanded) to go first. We didn't mind, because, honestl, we needed added time... Well the professor didn't sound too impressed with their database. Appraently some of their information was incorrect in the first phase of it, which caused the rest of the database to be incorrect. Well (as bad as this sounds) I was a little relieved... because I truly thought our database was crappy. Well regardless, by the time we met with the professor we were as put together as we were going to be... as we were explaining it to him, he seemed impressed, he told us we had a good thing going. (I was stoked) well there was one problem I couldnt figure out, but when I presented it to him, he couldn't either (that felt good too). Well 30 minutes later, he still couldn't figure it out... so we gave him a copy of the databse and he said he would figure it out and send it back to us so we can start working on our Power Point. I was soo soooo relieved. Well we finished up at like 10:15pm... and when I got on the freeway... I hit more traffic... gees... getting home at 10ish ususally takes me (at most) 15 minutes.... tonight... it took me 45.... what the heck... and again... pretty little red lights. OK so I can't up load the pictures... but trust me it sucked to be in traffic...but knowing that I really knew what I was doing in MS Access made it all ok! :)

Blah... continues

Tuesday turned out to be just as bad as Monday. I called out sick in the morning, because late Monday I got a really bad migrane followed by some bad cramping. I didn’t eat anything out of the ordinary for dinner, so I’m not sure what caused it. Regardless I spent all day Tuesday in the bathroom… I was finally able to keep a bowl of chicken noodle soup down by around 4pm… Being sick is the worse. I hate not going to work, and I hate that feeling of being behind on your work/school work because of it.

Anyway… to top things off, my friends uncle called. I let any number I didn’t recognize go straight to voice mail, because I didn’t want to deal with it. I felt shitty already, and talking to him was only going to make me feel shitty-ER! Well, I kept thinking up scenarios as to how I could get out of this, without looking like a bitch, going on a date, AND the feel of guilt. Well after thinking it through I’ve decided to just make my “friend” call him and tell him I am seeing someone at the time. I mean, heck she is the one who started this bull shit, so, who better to nip it in the butt. Right? RIGHT!

You know, I am rethinking this “friend” at the moment. You see, this is the third time she has pulled shit like this. The first one was the stripper intervention, check out “My Fear” post in May, and the second was when we went somewhere (where I can’t remember) and she told me it was just going to be her and a few friends… not her boyfriend (I have nothing against her boyfriend, it’s just that when she is around him they are all over each other, so not liking to feel like the 3rd wheel, I choose not to go), well he ended up coming, and as predicted… they were all over each other!

Well I’m back at work today. I still have a slight headache, but hopefully it will slowly go away. I will update as soon as I talk to my friend and tell her the above!

UPDATE

So I did it. I called my friend and told her straight out, I couldn't call her uncle. I thought about it, and thought about, but there was no way I could call him back with out leading him on, or being able to play it off later. So like I said, I told her I couldn't call him and that she needed to call him and tell him that I started seeing someone this weekend... or something along those lines. Well her automatic response was "but he thinkgs you gave me permission to give him your number" I said... I didn't so she needed to figure this out on her own, but one thing was for sure... I was not calling him. So I think she was mad.... oh well... she will get over it. :)

My body is feeling better though... I couldn't run my usual distance tonight, so I opted for some light weights and lunges...I know my legs will be hurting tomorrow.

Im getting super frustrated with this whole access thing... sorry I keep bitching about it, but fuck it's killing me. Just when I get something figured out... I feel like I have to start all over again. UGH... I think what makes it a lot harder is that this is a "team project'... and well my team members' knowlege of Access is less than mine... so you can imagine... there is now one guiding us... plus everyone I know that knows about access is cuincidently out of town... heffers!

Monday blah..

Ugh.. It's Monday. I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Actually, I can't really say that... my bed is against the wall.

Anyway... I couldn't sleep last night, the last time I looked at the clock was around 12:30am, mind you I turned everything off at 11:30, because I was "tired". Well this morning I woke up to the warm feeling of Wess' (my dog) hot breath on my forehead. Not sure what he was doing, but thank God he did it or who knows what time I would have gotten up at.

8:15am and as I was walking in to work I ran into a co-worker and I said "running late?", he said "yeah, kids... they take forever, you too I see". I said, "yeah, Mondays are hard"... then as we went our separate ways, I began to think... it's not just Mondays. It's Tuesdays, and sometimes Wednesdays, and Thursdays too. Not Fridays, though. I'm usually on time on Fridays. I think it has to do with the fact that Fridays are short days. We get off at 1pm.

regardless... I have had zip energy today. Plus I woke up with the kink in my neck again. Im not sure what is going on... and I don't want to go to the doctor, because I'm sure she already thinks of me as a hypocondriac... I figure I will give it a week... see if it gets better or worse.

Im going to the gym tonight, so hopefully that will energize me for the evening... Till then.. I will just drag my arse around.

UPDATE:

So, I went to the gym, and I felt alright, but now I feel shitty. I have to blame it on my friend though. So her uncle has been inquiring about me through her, and asked for my number. So she tells him that she would run it through me and get back to him. So my friend and I talk about it, and I tell her I would rather not, because he is her uncle, and the last thing I want is to feel awkward around her and her family. So all day, she teases me and tells me she is going to give him my number... and I just laugh and tell her not to. So we have lunch together, and as I was heading back to work I clearly tell her... don't be giving out my number!

So two hours later, she calls me back and tells me... I gave him your number. And that is how my day was shot. You see it's not that I don't like him or find him unattrative... actually I don't remember him at all... but my point is that I really don't want it to get awkward between he and I and her family and I... which I know now, it will. Hell, it already is because now, I don't want to answer my cell at all.

UGH! I'm going to bed. I just keep getting more tense as I type... fuck.. there goes that kink in my neck! :)

Weekend Highlights

As my weekend nears the end... I can't help but think, how much I love them.

Friday, I went out to dinner with friends (as planned). Amy, had arranged a date via Match.com and didn't want to go alone. So she asked if Ivonne and I would go with her... and just hang out on the sidelines at the club while she mingled with her date. If he was a bad date... she would figure out a way to end the night early and club with us... and if he was a good date... then at least she knew Ivonne and I had eachother to club with. Well her date was a nice guy... fairly easy going, but his flaw was he is a pot head. I have to give him credit, though, for being honest and letting her know upfront. Well while Amy and her date danced and had a few drinks, I dragged Ivonne with me to the local ColdStones (ice cream store), I'd been craving Ice cream since last week. Anyway, after we each got our scoop of sugar, refusing to go back into the club, we sat out on one of the benches on the strip to people watch. People watching is so much fun... if you haven't done it, you really should try. Ok... so back to the story, so as we sat there, first we saw three girls, who looked like they had just turned 21, play fighting with each other. Throwing their clutch purses at one another as they would kick or swing there arms to try and hit the other... I think... they wanted attention... I could be wrong. Then as Ivonne and I were checking out a really hot guy, a random girl (somewhat wasted) popped out of no where in front of us and had the following conversation:

Wasted Girl (WG): You girls are so beautiful. I, I mean, my boyfriend, and I were wondering if you would like to fool around with us. (ends with a hazy look)

Me: (with a smirk) Oh, sorry honey, not tonight, we are a little tired.

Ivonne: (with a bright ass smile) Yeah, besides, we are waiting for a friend.

WG: (still with a hazy look) Oh, Ok. too bad. But if you change your mind, we will be waiting overthere. (points at a drunk ass guy sitting on a cement slab)

And let me say, she/they continued to sitting on the slab for a good 2o minutes, until, (I assume) they figured we weren't going to budge, and walked away... mind you as they walked off she turns around smiles, and waved good bye at us.

Now as exciting and fun as that sounds, I have one more... so at the particular strip we were at, the clubs and bars close at 1:30am, so around 1:15-1:20 they do "last call". So anyways, around 1:20 a random guy comes over and asks if he could sit with us.... and this is how that went;

Guy: Can sit with you guys?

Me: Well we are waiting for a friend.

Guy: Oh, is it a boyfriend/husband? I mean I don't want to offend him or get my ass kicked.

Ivonne: Um.. no its just a friend.

Guy: Oh, cool then, I'll sit. So my friends and I wanted to buy you girls drinks.

Me: Well thanks, but you can't drink outside.

Guy: Well no, not outside, inside the club. Where are you guys from?

Me: Redondo, you?

Guy: Inglewood... the hood

Ivonne: (Bursts out laughing)

Guy: What? whats wrong with Inglewood?

Ivonne: nothing... I'm just laughing.

Guy: So, you guys come here often?

Me: (laughing, at the line he just said) Not really, just when we are board. You?

Guy: No, this is my second time. The first time I came I got locked up.

Me: Locked up? Yeah... hmmm... (speachless)

Guy: Yeah... my friends really want to buy you guys drinks...

Meanwhile Amy calls, to see where we are at, so we tell her and she head over with her date.

Me: Oh darn, here come our friends... Maybe next time.

Ivonne: (laughing histarically at God knows what)

Guy: Oh... ok.. thanks for the chat.

Ok nice, guy... but seriously... did he really think, him telling us about getting locked up the fist time he was there would be a nice pick up line?

I tell you I still get surpirsed at the lovely people you meet at, around, near or by clubs. It's still fun though... I think it's even more fun when you are not drunk. :)

Fridays are great

It's Friday. What else can be greater? I am ready for the weekend. Tuesday through Thursday, have been the most jam packed exhausting days I've had yet. This database I have to build for school is really taking the best of me. On my way to class last night, while I was in my car, as I started to back out of my parking spot I went to look over my right shoulder, and all of a sudden I heard somthing pop. I automatically raised my right shoulder and tucked my chin in, and i couldn't move... it was painful. I sat there for a few minutes before I dared to release my shoulder and neck, knowing that when I did.. the pain would be greater. I released slowly... and with each inch released... a sharp pain would shoot to the back of my head, and to my shoulder blade. The closer I got to releasing chin and shoulder to its regular position, the easier it got. When I finally made it its regular position, my whole right side of my neck and shoulder blade were soar... actually they still are... mainly my neck. I'm traumatized now, because everytime I look over to my right side, I feel like I need to turn my whole body.

Well enough of my pain. A.J. (Aubrey Johnson) was born yesterday morning. At 8:30am, she is 7.6 lbs. she has the cutest fatest cheeks you just want to squeeze. Big wide eyes, and the cutes poutiest lips imaginable... Yes.. I know... my opinion is bias, as she is my cousin.. but dang it she is so f'ing cute. Jordan (Aubreys big sister) was really excited too... Of course I don't think she realizes that AJ is here to stay! But regardless.. they are my two princesses... until I have my own that is! Mom is doing well. Too well if you ask me. She wen't into labor at 3:30 in the morning, dialated at 2cm.... by 8am she was fully dialated... the doctor came in asked her to push, and by the third push... Aubrey was born. Lucky girl... I only hope it is that easy for me!

Well... although I have a shit load of HW to do this weekend... there is no doubt, I will be making the most of it.

I will be visitng AJ... in her house, going out to dinner with girlfriends tonight, and maybe a dip in the pool tomorrow!