What an exciting (and tiring) week it has been! Went to the baseball game on Sunday the 30th, only to win and then immediately purchase tickets to the tie-breaker game, in which we won! The 7th wildcard tie-breaker in history, 1st in this century :) It was very exciting, but 13 innings was just a killer! Very awesome to be part of some record-breaking history as well, but the game could have ended a lot earlier if the umpire hadn't made a super bad call and denied Atkins of a homerun. Oh well, they won in spite of it all!
That night of the 30th, I hurried home after the game, changed and met Boots and some other friends for some light appetizers before going to see Spamalot. The show was hilarious - and I was glad to take the next day off, as I needed the time to not just recoop, but to really recount all of the fun that I had, take a nap, then go to that tie-breaking game.
So, the rest of the week has been just as busy. In the midst of all this excitement, I had homework to get turned in, a YMCA commitee meeting, shopping for work, more homework. At least I'm getting a perfect score in class so far after turning in all of that stuff!
Then FINALLY - the word that baby decided it was time to come into the world came out. Got the 6:30am text message that Kyrie's water broke at 11:30pm on Wednesday evening, had been at the hospital walking the halls as she hadn't gone directly into labor yet. That started at 9am and would continue into the night. I went to the hospital after work (and a really busy day to boot), hung out with in-and-out sleeping mommy-to-be, grandma-to-be, and a couple of Kyrie's close friends. 9:30 rolled around and contractions were getting closer together and mom was coming out of the drug-induced, pain-stay-away, semi coma she was in. I finally had to call it a night, but was assured I would know something when it happened. Landon Robert couldn't get out, so with the slice of a knife, he came out at 1:50am at a whopping 8 lbs (no wonder the poor kid couldn't get any sleep!), 21-1/2" and healthy as a horse! I'm going in tomorrow morning to see everyone - I'm so excited to see the little bugger!
For now, its time to do yet some MORE homework reading, prepping myself for all of the stuff I need to do this weekend. I'll report on the game tomorrow night, I'm pretty sure the Rockies will win, allowing me to be part of the first playoff sweep for the Rockies in our club's short history!
Friday, October 5, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Sorry, it's been awhile!
So. . . I've been well, busier than a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest. Felt like the person on the receiving end of that butt kicking as well. Labor Day hit and almost immediately, the nights have become much cooler (and comfortable). Sleeping more through the night than I have all summer. Going to work with the prettiest of the year's sunrises coming up showing colors of pink, orange, purple and blues. The leaves on the Aspen trees are really starting to turn their colors of gold, and the fire bush in front of the house is going red. Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year, but I think fall is the prettiest.
It's been a fairly eventful month. Gone to a few Rockies games, hoping that they can still pull out their trump card and make the last minute vie for a Wildcard playoff spot. They won their last 3 series, plus, had a 10 game winning streak going, then lost the first game of their last regular season series to Arizona. Although they have greatly slimmed their chances for that playoff berth, there is a VERY small chance that if the planets align, they beat Arizona 2 games and San Diego loses (along with a few other variables) they could still make it. Our team has come a long way this last part of the year, wish we would have had this exact combination of players in the beginning, we would have had a pretty good opportunity.
And there's the Broncos - they barely pulled off their 1st 2 wins (really, by shear luck) and then they lose to Jacksonville. Broncs play the Colts this weekend, I'm not too hopeful on that one. I'll be at a Rockies game anyway.
A few weeks ago (think its been 3 of them) Karen and I went to see the Def Leppard/Styx/Bad Company concert. Each group played about 45 min, with 15-20 intermissions to change out the equipment for the next group. Good music, but it was on a Sunday night, didn't get to sleep until after 11pm (and we left before the last couple of songs to beat the crowds) - that's really late for me, so my Monday was pretty rough.
I started college this past week, I'm only takinig one class - Leadership. Really think it will be a fun class, a lot to learn. Already have my list of all assignments due, so I can work on them as quickly or as slowly as I want, just can't turn them in until the dates allowed. I have so much in my work and volunteer life to pull from, that I should really be able to learn how to handle myself better at work. We are at the time of the year that is the toughest for us, and busiest for me. With 2008 Business Planning (a 1 month process in itself), 2008 budgeting, events, marketing sell-ins and preperation for next year, as well as the usual day-to-day stuff, it creates a somewhat stressful atmosphere at work. Tempers flare easily with the sales guys, as they read and take less and less direction, just wanting to "sell boxes" and make their quotas. I can understand where they are coming from, but don't think they understand to much of a degree what is on my plate, either. We give them a lot of information in which to help them stave off issues, yet they read none of it and double the work for myself and others in the office. It becomes a big circle of discontent and confusion, and it all lands on me in the long run. I'm really hoping that my class will help me learn how to handle these issues better and create a smoother running office for everyone.
Tomorrow night we are going to see "Spamalot," the broadway version of "Monty Python and The Holy Grail." I'm really looking forward to some big humor in my life right now. Took Monday off from work since it will be a somewhat late night on Sunday, plus I get some things done that are normally not as easy to do when I can't get away during my lunchtimes.
I'll report on the play - hopefully sooner rather than later!
It's been a fairly eventful month. Gone to a few Rockies games, hoping that they can still pull out their trump card and make the last minute vie for a Wildcard playoff spot. They won their last 3 series, plus, had a 10 game winning streak going, then lost the first game of their last regular season series to Arizona. Although they have greatly slimmed their chances for that playoff berth, there is a VERY small chance that if the planets align, they beat Arizona 2 games and San Diego loses (along with a few other variables) they could still make it. Our team has come a long way this last part of the year, wish we would have had this exact combination of players in the beginning, we would have had a pretty good opportunity.
And there's the Broncos - they barely pulled off their 1st 2 wins (really, by shear luck) and then they lose to Jacksonville. Broncs play the Colts this weekend, I'm not too hopeful on that one. I'll be at a Rockies game anyway.
A few weeks ago (think its been 3 of them) Karen and I went to see the Def Leppard/Styx/Bad Company concert. Each group played about 45 min, with 15-20 intermissions to change out the equipment for the next group. Good music, but it was on a Sunday night, didn't get to sleep until after 11pm (and we left before the last couple of songs to beat the crowds) - that's really late for me, so my Monday was pretty rough.
I started college this past week, I'm only takinig one class - Leadership. Really think it will be a fun class, a lot to learn. Already have my list of all assignments due, so I can work on them as quickly or as slowly as I want, just can't turn them in until the dates allowed. I have so much in my work and volunteer life to pull from, that I should really be able to learn how to handle myself better at work. We are at the time of the year that is the toughest for us, and busiest for me. With 2008 Business Planning (a 1 month process in itself), 2008 budgeting, events, marketing sell-ins and preperation for next year, as well as the usual day-to-day stuff, it creates a somewhat stressful atmosphere at work. Tempers flare easily with the sales guys, as they read and take less and less direction, just wanting to "sell boxes" and make their quotas. I can understand where they are coming from, but don't think they understand to much of a degree what is on my plate, either. We give them a lot of information in which to help them stave off issues, yet they read none of it and double the work for myself and others in the office. It becomes a big circle of discontent and confusion, and it all lands on me in the long run. I'm really hoping that my class will help me learn how to handle these issues better and create a smoother running office for everyone.
Tomorrow night we are going to see "Spamalot," the broadway version of "Monty Python and The Holy Grail." I'm really looking forward to some big humor in my life right now. Took Monday off from work since it will be a somewhat late night on Sunday, plus I get some things done that are normally not as easy to do when I can't get away during my lunchtimes.
I'll report on the play - hopefully sooner rather than later!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Well, it finally happened. . .
I had a complete meltdown at work today. I've been working with our Salt Lake District to put together this Parts & Supplies postcard to send out to our customers, and we had a couple of glitches with it, along with my trying to accurately change the price via the inhouse system. We saved it from being mailed, but it will cost us a little something to reprint it with the correct message. My contact there told me not to feel too bad, one of the California Districts did one that got mailed out and had blatantly bad info on it (10K copies). For ours, we could have worked through the error with little difficulty, but there are those that know what the difference is, so we are changing it.
Anyway, I had a bunch of things happening early this morning (as well as this week), and along with covering 3 jobs and the workload that doesn't seem to see the light of day, it was the final straw. Luckily no one was there when I lost it, it was pretty early this morning (around 7:30am). My counterpart Sue in the Salt Lake office just happened to call me as I was calming myself down from a river of tears. She verbally walked me out of the moment, and helped me start to ground myself again. My boss walked in after that, around 8:15am, but I didn't let him know what was going on until about 10:30. By then, he had a pretty good inkling that I was having a hard time, so we hashed it out and I get a temp!! But not just any temp, the girl we've wanted to hire for our SA position. Karin is going into this knowing that she can't hold any expectations, and there is no guarantee that the job is hers. Since Corp is still sitting on their butts about this and I'm just overly and publicly buried, Skip somehow got us the permission (not only is our company on a hiring freeze - in the field only, of course, but nearly every district had to let their temporary workers go). However, she can start learning the ropes, it'll give Skip a chance to see how well she fits in, too. I think it will work out really well - but I'm just happy that I have someone to help, now, and exactly the person I wanted there!! Yiippppeee!!!! Now I can start getting caught up on stuff.
When I left work, my boss told me not to be so hard on myself, we'll get this all worked out - we've survived huge challenges, this one will work itself out as well. I work really hard to do things right, but lately that has been really difficult to do. I'm just sorry it took a major meltdown to occur to make things happen. I should have done this much sooner!
I went to the college to get my one book and a testing page for my class that starts on Sept 26th. Both of those items together cost 2/3rd's as much as my class did - YIKES!!!! This school thing is MUCH more expensive than it used to be. College textbooks cost so much cuz "THEY CAN." That's crap, but guess that's the US for you. Yes, you can make money and over charge huge amounts and THEN live the American dream. Kiss my butt you greedy bastards :)
Anyway, I had a bunch of things happening early this morning (as well as this week), and along with covering 3 jobs and the workload that doesn't seem to see the light of day, it was the final straw. Luckily no one was there when I lost it, it was pretty early this morning (around 7:30am). My counterpart Sue in the Salt Lake office just happened to call me as I was calming myself down from a river of tears. She verbally walked me out of the moment, and helped me start to ground myself again. My boss walked in after that, around 8:15am, but I didn't let him know what was going on until about 10:30. By then, he had a pretty good inkling that I was having a hard time, so we hashed it out and I get a temp!! But not just any temp, the girl we've wanted to hire for our SA position. Karin is going into this knowing that she can't hold any expectations, and there is no guarantee that the job is hers. Since Corp is still sitting on their butts about this and I'm just overly and publicly buried, Skip somehow got us the permission (not only is our company on a hiring freeze - in the field only, of course, but nearly every district had to let their temporary workers go). However, she can start learning the ropes, it'll give Skip a chance to see how well she fits in, too. I think it will work out really well - but I'm just happy that I have someone to help, now, and exactly the person I wanted there!! Yiippppeee!!!! Now I can start getting caught up on stuff.
When I left work, my boss told me not to be so hard on myself, we'll get this all worked out - we've survived huge challenges, this one will work itself out as well. I work really hard to do things right, but lately that has been really difficult to do. I'm just sorry it took a major meltdown to occur to make things happen. I should have done this much sooner!
I went to the college to get my one book and a testing page for my class that starts on Sept 26th. Both of those items together cost 2/3rd's as much as my class did - YIKES!!!! This school thing is MUCH more expensive than it used to be. College textbooks cost so much cuz "THEY CAN." That's crap, but guess that's the US for you. Yes, you can make money and over charge huge amounts and THEN live the American dream. Kiss my butt you greedy bastards :)
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Labor Day Weekend
It's Sunday evening at 7pm, raining with a slight breeze, water drenching my oak bookcase. . . dammit! Ok, so I closed the window, wiped everything down that has gotten soaked, but can still hear the thunder - ahhhh, what a soothing evening it will be. And the best part - I don't have to go to work tomorrow, yippee!!
Friday afternoon late, I met Boots downtown where we walked to Civic Center Park for the first day of a Taste of Colorado. I am now convinced that Friday night is really the only night to go. Sure, there are no "big bands" like Night Ranger or Survivor playing that night (seen both, NR a few times back in the late 80's), but the show we did see was awesome and the performers have now become my new favorite band - Something Underground. They are young brothers (somewhere, I am guessing, between 25-30 years old), with a drummer and the ability to interchange instruments. Seth, the older one, can play all, and Josh, the younger one plays bass primarily. We did determine that the one playing lead guitar is the one that gets to sing. They take popular songs and change them into something completely different (kind of what Eric Clapton did to his song Layla). When they did "Free Falling" by Tom Petty as a reggae song, I wasn't sure at first, but they did it very smoothly - even interjecting the lyrics and chords of other popular songs. Not even ZZ Top can pull that off as well!
Along with the music, we had a thunderstorm move directly over us, spitting a little bit of rain here and there, but nothing we couldn't live with. What was really awe inspiring is the tall glass building at the corner of 13th and Broadway, just south of the Colorado Historical Museum (the one my cousin and I went to while he was here). With sky going into darkness, you could still see the outline of clouds against windows. The glass not only reflected the lightning, but along with the lighted rotundra of the capital building, it was quite a show! It added to the musical talent all that much more. Wow, I LOVE living here!
The "TASTE" is a yearly event, and really can be a lot of fun. There is a lot of different foods to try from a few restaurants (I personally don't think that enough participate), with cooking shows and the higher end restaurants showing off their wares in the center. There are 6 stages of different types of music, plus a karaoke stage. It's a great place to eat fruit kabobs (strawberries and bananas drizzled with dark then white chocolate) and just people watch.
My friend Jill's husband, Joe, passed away the weekend before, sadly, on his son's birthday. I don't remember how old he was, but I think he was around 45. Died from liver disease. He had been in and out of the hospital all summer long, apparently. I hadn't seen him in probably 3 years. Makes me even more determined to stay in touch with people that I don't see much, but making sure that they know I'm thinking about them and wish them well. There was a memorial service and BBQ at his parents house - they live just outside of Kiowa, about 15 miles southeast of Castlerock. A potted spruce was dedicated to Joe by his son Christopher, who turned 6 that fateful day. I am very sad for Jill and Chris - not matter how long they have known that Joe's passing was a strong possibility, it'll still be tough for awhile. I told her that I would be there to help when she decided to go through Joe's things. It's not good try and do that by yourself. My dad didn't deal with my brother Jason's things for nearly a year after he died. I would go into his room and just lay on his bed. Started taking posters down a couple months afterwards, my dad got really mad - he just wasn't ready to let go just yet. So, I left all as it was.
Jill and I received our Senatorships the same weekend. She was state President of our Jaycee organization, and I was ONTO Vienna chairperson. She is my junior with the Senatorship (my number is lower than hers :) We had a rocky time that year, with a few things happening that tested the friendship that we had - I got mad about something, I can't even remember what it was, now. We did get past it eventually. You have to let the little things that just don't matter go - you just never know when you might get to see that person again.
My friend Jerry rode with me to the BBQ. When we got there, only 2 others in our circle were there, Jim and Laurie. Along with Kerry (who showed up a couple hours later), we were the only Jaycee friends that showed up. That was a little disappointing to me, but at least we represented those that couldn't make it and Jill knows that we all are thinking of her.
Last weekend, Karen and I went to the Balloon Festival at Chatfield Resevoir, in the very southeast part of Denver (actually, Littleton - in the burb's). We went REALLY early, which is a feat for Karen, who doesn't generally get out of bed on the weekend until 9am. As I am a natural early bird, I woke myself up a little earlier, and drove us to the event. It was really a beautiful, crisp morning, with the sun just coming up. It was just really an awe-inspiring sight to see those balloons filling up with hot air and taking off. We saw Tony the Tiger, the Energizer bunny, a dragon wrapped around a balloon and proof that, in fact, pigs DO fly. The pictures will say it all :) There were 70 balloons that day, so in our small space, it was really cool. Just wondering what it's like to watch 800 balloons go up in a morning in Albuquerque during their festival!
At work, we are still waiting for Corporate to get their @#$es in gear so we can hire our SA. My workload is already straining at the seams, and I'm learning new things so I can help out a little more. It has been truly trying at times, and my boss is quick to let me know that he appreciates how I've stuck it out and put in the extra time to ensure that things are running as smoothly as we can make them. We'll just see how things go and what happens in the coming weeks.
That's all for now, catch y'all later - and thanks for reading!
Friday afternoon late, I met Boots downtown where we walked to Civic Center Park for the first day of a Taste of Colorado. I am now convinced that Friday night is really the only night to go. Sure, there are no "big bands" like Night Ranger or Survivor playing that night (seen both, NR a few times back in the late 80's), but the show we did see was awesome and the performers have now become my new favorite band - Something Underground. They are young brothers (somewhere, I am guessing, between 25-30 years old), with a drummer and the ability to interchange instruments. Seth, the older one, can play all, and Josh, the younger one plays bass primarily. We did determine that the one playing lead guitar is the one that gets to sing. They take popular songs and change them into something completely different (kind of what Eric Clapton did to his song Layla). When they did "Free Falling" by Tom Petty as a reggae song, I wasn't sure at first, but they did it very smoothly - even interjecting the lyrics and chords of other popular songs. Not even ZZ Top can pull that off as well!
Along with the music, we had a thunderstorm move directly over us, spitting a little bit of rain here and there, but nothing we couldn't live with. What was really awe inspiring is the tall glass building at the corner of 13th and Broadway, just south of the Colorado Historical Museum (the one my cousin and I went to while he was here). With sky going into darkness, you could still see the outline of clouds against windows. The glass not only reflected the lightning, but along with the lighted rotundra of the capital building, it was quite a show! It added to the musical talent all that much more. Wow, I LOVE living here!
The "TASTE" is a yearly event, and really can be a lot of fun. There is a lot of different foods to try from a few restaurants (I personally don't think that enough participate), with cooking shows and the higher end restaurants showing off their wares in the center. There are 6 stages of different types of music, plus a karaoke stage. It's a great place to eat fruit kabobs (strawberries and bananas drizzled with dark then white chocolate) and just people watch.
My friend Jill's husband, Joe, passed away the weekend before, sadly, on his son's birthday. I don't remember how old he was, but I think he was around 45. Died from liver disease. He had been in and out of the hospital all summer long, apparently. I hadn't seen him in probably 3 years. Makes me even more determined to stay in touch with people that I don't see much, but making sure that they know I'm thinking about them and wish them well. There was a memorial service and BBQ at his parents house - they live just outside of Kiowa, about 15 miles southeast of Castlerock. A potted spruce was dedicated to Joe by his son Christopher, who turned 6 that fateful day. I am very sad for Jill and Chris - not matter how long they have known that Joe's passing was a strong possibility, it'll still be tough for awhile. I told her that I would be there to help when she decided to go through Joe's things. It's not good try and do that by yourself. My dad didn't deal with my brother Jason's things for nearly a year after he died. I would go into his room and just lay on his bed. Started taking posters down a couple months afterwards, my dad got really mad - he just wasn't ready to let go just yet. So, I left all as it was.
Jill and I received our Senatorships the same weekend. She was state President of our Jaycee organization, and I was ONTO Vienna chairperson. She is my junior with the Senatorship (my number is lower than hers :) We had a rocky time that year, with a few things happening that tested the friendship that we had - I got mad about something, I can't even remember what it was, now. We did get past it eventually. You have to let the little things that just don't matter go - you just never know when you might get to see that person again.
My friend Jerry rode with me to the BBQ. When we got there, only 2 others in our circle were there, Jim and Laurie. Along with Kerry (who showed up a couple hours later), we were the only Jaycee friends that showed up. That was a little disappointing to me, but at least we represented those that couldn't make it and Jill knows that we all are thinking of her.
Last weekend, Karen and I went to the Balloon Festival at Chatfield Resevoir, in the very southeast part of Denver (actually, Littleton - in the burb's). We went REALLY early, which is a feat for Karen, who doesn't generally get out of bed on the weekend until 9am. As I am a natural early bird, I woke myself up a little earlier, and drove us to the event. It was really a beautiful, crisp morning, with the sun just coming up. It was just really an awe-inspiring sight to see those balloons filling up with hot air and taking off. We saw Tony the Tiger, the Energizer bunny, a dragon wrapped around a balloon and proof that, in fact, pigs DO fly. The pictures will say it all :) There were 70 balloons that day, so in our small space, it was really cool. Just wondering what it's like to watch 800 balloons go up in a morning in Albuquerque during their festival!At work, we are still waiting for Corporate to get their @#$es in gear so we can hire our SA. My workload is already straining at the seams, and I'm learning new things so I can help out a little more. It has been truly trying at times, and my boss is quick to let me know that he appreciates how I've stuck it out and put in the extra time to ensure that things are running as smoothly as we can make them. We'll just see how things go and what happens in the coming weeks.
That's all for now, catch y'all later - and thanks for reading!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Winding down the summer
Here it is, walking the downside of August and man, is it still hot! 96 degrees today. We'll get cooler by Thursday, with lows hitting the mid 50's - yeah! I'm ready to get cold when I sleep.
Pretty uneventful couple of weeks - last weekend, didn't really do a lot. Met up with some friends at Dewey's last Friday night, and ended up being DD for them. It was my friend Jayne's B-day, they wanted me to go with, so told them I'd drive them. Since there 7 of us, I took 3 and Karin's brother took the 3 of them into downtown Littleton (he went home so we could keep it a "girls night out"). I will tell you, however, they were already 3 sheets to the wind, some a little more. One left Old Town Tavern early, not sure how she got home. Angie was absolutely snockered, so I took her home, and Amy was still pretty sober, so dropped her off at Dewey's to get her vehicle to go home. This friend of Amy's that was visiting was just a cute little 25 year old, but had a laugh I'd never heard before - it was such a goofy laugh that it made us all crack up! My gut was hurting by the time I got home at 9pm. Whatever happened to those nights when I'd stay up until 3am?
Saturday was the 8th and final Caddy Hut Putt-putt golf tourney. The Denver Jaycees have been doing this fundraiser for years for the Scleroderma Foundation's Denver chapter. My friend Scott's mom died from the disease many years ago, so he became active with the foundation and started doing this fundraiser with Bric. They've raised probably close to $75K (I'm guessing hard on this) over those 8 years through silent and live auctions. I've been a large contributor to that cause. Heck, when I think about it, I've probably put in about $2K myself over 7 years of attendance. I've gotten a basketball signed by Dick Vitale (college basketball commentator extraordinaire); autographed pic of Patrick Roy (retired goalie for the Colorado Avalanche hockey club); an autographed Rob Blake sweater (same club); 3 facials; 2 sets of Rockies tickets; a Pinzgauer camping trip (bet on that with Chuck 2 years ago, we have yet to go on it); a condo in Puerto Vallarta that Boots and I never got to go on because of airfare and timing (I will NEVER purchase a timeshare); and various little things. I've gotten killer deals on stuff - I'd have to say unfortunately, but more than received my money's worth on all of this, and it all went to charity which I am hardly ever able to turn down.
Through all of that, the only time I would really see Bric and Scott is at this tourney, and if I were lucky, at the Denver Jaycees Christmas party. I see Bric's wife Linda here and there at things, and usually at least once a month on local TV or radio when she is doing promos for the Dumb Friends League. I got cell numbers again, so hope I don't lose touch with any of them.
So Saturday, besides going to work for 4 hours, scoping/purchasing Bronco hats for my best friend Tal's son Blake (they live in south Minneapolis - can't get Bronco gear there) and a fundraiser, I was pretty wiped. My knees were absolutely killing me the rest of the weekend.
This week at work is a killer already, and will be the rest of it as well. We are still waiting to hear from corporate about the approval of replacing our SA position - I hope it happens soon, not sure how much more I can take. Although I can't do that job, I still deal with the customers and a bunch of the little issues that position dealt with. Then, having to work on getting customers to other sources (our Salt Lake or Phoenix offices) to get pricing on product - all of those places are getting sick of doing our work, I'm sure - along with my regular work plus a variety of special projects, all of the work is getting to me. I've been in a bad mood since yesterday afternoon; hoping to get over that by tomorrow.
I'm hitting a couple of baseball games this week, as well as 3 or 4 next month; that should help me as well :)
Well, asta la taco to y'all fer now. . . try to catch you before Labor Day weekend ***shiver*** can't believe that's almost here already!
Pretty uneventful couple of weeks - last weekend, didn't really do a lot. Met up with some friends at Dewey's last Friday night, and ended up being DD for them. It was my friend Jayne's B-day, they wanted me to go with, so told them I'd drive them. Since there 7 of us, I took 3 and Karin's brother took the 3 of them into downtown Littleton (he went home so we could keep it a "girls night out"). I will tell you, however, they were already 3 sheets to the wind, some a little more. One left Old Town Tavern early, not sure how she got home. Angie was absolutely snockered, so I took her home, and Amy was still pretty sober, so dropped her off at Dewey's to get her vehicle to go home. This friend of Amy's that was visiting was just a cute little 25 year old, but had a laugh I'd never heard before - it was such a goofy laugh that it made us all crack up! My gut was hurting by the time I got home at 9pm. Whatever happened to those nights when I'd stay up until 3am?
Saturday was the 8th and final Caddy Hut Putt-putt golf tourney. The Denver Jaycees have been doing this fundraiser for years for the Scleroderma Foundation's Denver chapter. My friend Scott's mom died from the disease many years ago, so he became active with the foundation and started doing this fundraiser with Bric. They've raised probably close to $75K (I'm guessing hard on this) over those 8 years through silent and live auctions. I've been a large contributor to that cause. Heck, when I think about it, I've probably put in about $2K myself over 7 years of attendance. I've gotten a basketball signed by Dick Vitale (college basketball commentator extraordinaire); autographed pic of Patrick Roy (retired goalie for the Colorado Avalanche hockey club); an autographed Rob Blake sweater (same club); 3 facials; 2 sets of Rockies tickets; a Pinzgauer camping trip (bet on that with Chuck 2 years ago, we have yet to go on it); a condo in Puerto Vallarta that Boots and I never got to go on because of airfare and timing (I will NEVER purchase a timeshare); and various little things. I've gotten killer deals on stuff - I'd have to say unfortunately, but more than received my money's worth on all of this, and it all went to charity which I am hardly ever able to turn down.
Through all of that, the only time I would really see Bric and Scott is at this tourney, and if I were lucky, at the Denver Jaycees Christmas party. I see Bric's wife Linda here and there at things, and usually at least once a month on local TV or radio when she is doing promos for the Dumb Friends League. I got cell numbers again, so hope I don't lose touch with any of them.
So Saturday, besides going to work for 4 hours, scoping/purchasing Bronco hats for my best friend Tal's son Blake (they live in south Minneapolis - can't get Bronco gear there) and a fundraiser, I was pretty wiped. My knees were absolutely killing me the rest of the weekend.
This week at work is a killer already, and will be the rest of it as well. We are still waiting to hear from corporate about the approval of replacing our SA position - I hope it happens soon, not sure how much more I can take. Although I can't do that job, I still deal with the customers and a bunch of the little issues that position dealt with. Then, having to work on getting customers to other sources (our Salt Lake or Phoenix offices) to get pricing on product - all of those places are getting sick of doing our work, I'm sure - along with my regular work plus a variety of special projects, all of the work is getting to me. I've been in a bad mood since yesterday afternoon; hoping to get over that by tomorrow.
I'm hitting a couple of baseball games this week, as well as 3 or 4 next month; that should help me as well :)
Well, asta la taco to y'all fer now. . . try to catch you before Labor Day weekend ***shiver*** can't believe that's almost here already!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
So, Shall we say. . .
It's HOT again? Dang, I know my industry "thrives on the misery of others" when it comes to weather, but this is ridiculous! Enough already. . . no more humidity (yes, to my family out east, it has been the icky, sticky sweaty humid here, too)!
I went to the 115th anniversary party of the Brown Palace Hotel w/Boots on Thursday. For those that haven't heard of the Brown Palace, it is a very nice hotel in downtown Denver that has been the stopping point for many a president and high ranking official. Dwight Eisenhower used on many occasions as his "home away from home," often spending his breaks at the hotel, including Christmas. The suite he stayed in is still there and used often. It has a small dining room, living room w/fireplace, water closet and master bedroom (w/full bathroom, of course). It has the ability for an adjoining room as well. Oh, and this hotel is notably HAUNTED. Gotta try that sometime. . .
Anywhooo, they had an in-house Iron Chef contest amongst their own staff, which was held on a stage in the middle of the lobby area. They had some great food (their prime rib is to DIE for) and a wine tasting. It was fun, and we got to take home a commemorative wine glass. How do I get to do such fun stuff?
Today, I went to the 1st of 2 baby showers this weekend. My best friend Karen's niece, Marissa, is having a baby girl, currently scheduled for Sept 20 arrival - we'll see how baby likes that day :) She is such a cute kid, and her husband, whom she married as a result of the pregnancy, seems to be very supportive and is really a nice guy. He has a little girl from his first marriage as well. She wasn't there, but I guess is looking forward to a baby sister. Marissa will be 21 soon, her husband I think is 22 or 23. I hope they do well and stay together. They seem happy after 5 months of marriage.
The 2nd baby shower is tomorrow for Kyrie, the daughter of good friends, whom I've grown very close to. She's had her ups and downs as a teenager, 2 bouts with cancer before the age of 18, and now a pregnancy close to her 21st birthday - but she is a good kid, despite all of her trials she's gone through. The father is too young and apparently somewhat spoiled, so still wants to play teenager before taking on responsibility. I'm going to guess that he probably didn't learn a great deal of that from his parents, who probably let him run a little rampant and didn't hold him accountable for his actions. That's OK - one day it'll kick in that he has someone that will rely on him to teach how to be a good person.
In the meantime, we'll all be there for Kyrie and the baby. I think she'll be a good mom, she already knows the things that she wants to do for her child. That's more than I have seen most young moms think about. Kyrie thinks more ahead than "day-to-day." This is my chance to play auntie, and hopefully I'll see them a lot more. Although I sometimes think that kids wouldn't have been a bad thing for me, in today's society, its definitely a difficult job. I admire anyone who does it, and does it well. It's a lot to balance physically, emotionally and financially. Especially those that have to do it by themselves. God Bless the moms!
There'll be more later. . . until then!
I went to the 115th anniversary party of the Brown Palace Hotel w/Boots on Thursday. For those that haven't heard of the Brown Palace, it is a very nice hotel in downtown Denver that has been the stopping point for many a president and high ranking official. Dwight Eisenhower used on many occasions as his "home away from home," often spending his breaks at the hotel, including Christmas. The suite he stayed in is still there and used often. It has a small dining room, living room w/fireplace, water closet and master bedroom (w/full bathroom, of course). It has the ability for an adjoining room as well. Oh, and this hotel is notably HAUNTED. Gotta try that sometime. . .
Anywhooo, they had an in-house Iron Chef contest amongst their own staff, which was held on a stage in the middle of the lobby area. They had some great food (their prime rib is to DIE for) and a wine tasting. It was fun, and we got to take home a commemorative wine glass. How do I get to do such fun stuff?
Today, I went to the 1st of 2 baby showers this weekend. My best friend Karen's niece, Marissa, is having a baby girl, currently scheduled for Sept 20 arrival - we'll see how baby likes that day :) She is such a cute kid, and her husband, whom she married as a result of the pregnancy, seems to be very supportive and is really a nice guy. He has a little girl from his first marriage as well. She wasn't there, but I guess is looking forward to a baby sister. Marissa will be 21 soon, her husband I think is 22 or 23. I hope they do well and stay together. They seem happy after 5 months of marriage.
The 2nd baby shower is tomorrow for Kyrie, the daughter of good friends, whom I've grown very close to. She's had her ups and downs as a teenager, 2 bouts with cancer before the age of 18, and now a pregnancy close to her 21st birthday - but she is a good kid, despite all of her trials she's gone through. The father is too young and apparently somewhat spoiled, so still wants to play teenager before taking on responsibility. I'm going to guess that he probably didn't learn a great deal of that from his parents, who probably let him run a little rampant and didn't hold him accountable for his actions. That's OK - one day it'll kick in that he has someone that will rely on him to teach how to be a good person.
In the meantime, we'll all be there for Kyrie and the baby. I think she'll be a good mom, she already knows the things that she wants to do for her child. That's more than I have seen most young moms think about. Kyrie thinks more ahead than "day-to-day." This is my chance to play auntie, and hopefully I'll see them a lot more. Although I sometimes think that kids wouldn't have been a bad thing for me, in today's society, its definitely a difficult job. I admire anyone who does it, and does it well. It's a lot to balance physically, emotionally and financially. Especially those that have to do it by themselves. God Bless the moms!
There'll be more later. . . until then!
Thursday, August 2, 2007
As my world turns. . . yet again!
What an eventful month July has been! I did a lot of stuff, had some huge challenges to overcome (well, got through one of them, anyway) and now looking forward to some better times. My issue at work, a girl that has been a thorn in not just my side, but to everyone at work, has finally left our office. . . yiippeeeeee!!! The day she walked out the door (July 25th) was the day my life became a lot more peaceful. She was what we called in the Jaycees a "cancer" to our office, with a bad attitude, rarely helpful and an overall downer. The atmosphere of our office has improved considerably, and now, pending our corporate's slow response to anything we need (red tape to hire a new person), we already have a replacement found. . . and they are the PERFECT compliment to my abilities. I can learn from them and hopefully I can teach something useful in return. I'm really excited for the possibilities there.
To those who have never really known what I do, I have always been a secretary, administrative assistant, small office manager, etc in some way, shape or form. My strengths have been my ability to be pretty highly organized, project oriented, multi-tasking, advanced Microsoft Office/WordPerfect able and just that "do what it takes to get it done" attitude. Each time my boss and I review my position at work (currently titled sales secretary), my list of things I do seems to grow exponentially. I will say that the abilities that are now possessed by me are in large part due to my experiences in the Jaycees (Junior Chamber). I learned a lot about running large projects - I chaired the largest young person's BB Gun tournament in the US - organizing, relating to people (although I find that is FOREVER a work in progress), event planning, etc. But to keep it "real" I've also slacked at times as well.
It is with all of this past and present experience that I have decided to finally get a degree. I'm going to work towards an Associate of Arts degree in Business Management at Arapahoe Community College to start with, then see what I need to do from there to possibly get a Bachelor's in something else. The possibilities are truly endless for me, just need to get into a job that really utilizes my skills where I can excel even more and make some decent money. I guess by all standards for what I do, I make more than the average for a person in my current position. My boss has been working to get me a promotion, but he's been in a waiting pattern for that as well (again, corporate red tape strikes again!). It would give me a good raise, however, when it does happen. We'll just wait and see.
So, with new people around me and continuing education, I feel that I am finally ready for some big changes. My next goal is my weight. It's always been a contention for me, but especially difficult after my thyroid surgery. The knee surgery this past winter didn't help either, but I've truly used that as a crutch for not doing what I need to do. Now that things are falling in place around me, the time has come for some drastic changes in that area. My friend Donna is talking about going back to school as well (we have pretty much the same goals), and wants to take some yoga classes, too. I've been doing them on and off myself, but it's time to really start working it. I have to build the quads in both of my knees - to continue with the healing in my post-surgery joint, as well as to get my other one ready for surgery next spring/summer. The better shape they are in, the better (and faster) my healing will be. My friend Boots got a membership to the YMCA in downtown Denver as well, so hopefully we'll be able to coordinate some workout time together. I'll be surrounding myself with people that really want to work with me in every aspect of my goals, as encouragement and group efforts are what helps you to succeed - and that's something I plan on doing now!
Speaking of the "Y," the one I carry my membership at, Southwest, has been trying to get there volunteer committees going again. We met last spring on a few occassions, but nothing really came out of them, except for ideas that went no where. Well, finally, we had another meeting. Only 2 out of 6 of us showed up, so I put my head on straight this time and put forth easy goals to start achieving. Well, they have been presented to the board president, and apparently they liked it enough to move on the first item. I have 2 more initiatives I'm going to work towards implenting by the end of the year; if they come to fruition, I truly believe in my heart of hearts that they will be the events that could really kick start our "Y" into a whole new realm of members and activities (and hopefully more spinning and fitness yoga classes).
Well, guess I'll sign off for now, gotten a lot off of my chest (so to speak). . . :)
To those who have never really known what I do, I have always been a secretary, administrative assistant, small office manager, etc in some way, shape or form. My strengths have been my ability to be pretty highly organized, project oriented, multi-tasking, advanced Microsoft Office/WordPerfect able and just that "do what it takes to get it done" attitude. Each time my boss and I review my position at work (currently titled sales secretary), my list of things I do seems to grow exponentially. I will say that the abilities that are now possessed by me are in large part due to my experiences in the Jaycees (Junior Chamber). I learned a lot about running large projects - I chaired the largest young person's BB Gun tournament in the US - organizing, relating to people (although I find that is FOREVER a work in progress), event planning, etc. But to keep it "real" I've also slacked at times as well.
It is with all of this past and present experience that I have decided to finally get a degree. I'm going to work towards an Associate of Arts degree in Business Management at Arapahoe Community College to start with, then see what I need to do from there to possibly get a Bachelor's in something else. The possibilities are truly endless for me, just need to get into a job that really utilizes my skills where I can excel even more and make some decent money. I guess by all standards for what I do, I make more than the average for a person in my current position. My boss has been working to get me a promotion, but he's been in a waiting pattern for that as well (again, corporate red tape strikes again!). It would give me a good raise, however, when it does happen. We'll just wait and see.
So, with new people around me and continuing education, I feel that I am finally ready for some big changes. My next goal is my weight. It's always been a contention for me, but especially difficult after my thyroid surgery. The knee surgery this past winter didn't help either, but I've truly used that as a crutch for not doing what I need to do. Now that things are falling in place around me, the time has come for some drastic changes in that area. My friend Donna is talking about going back to school as well (we have pretty much the same goals), and wants to take some yoga classes, too. I've been doing them on and off myself, but it's time to really start working it. I have to build the quads in both of my knees - to continue with the healing in my post-surgery joint, as well as to get my other one ready for surgery next spring/summer. The better shape they are in, the better (and faster) my healing will be. My friend Boots got a membership to the YMCA in downtown Denver as well, so hopefully we'll be able to coordinate some workout time together. I'll be surrounding myself with people that really want to work with me in every aspect of my goals, as encouragement and group efforts are what helps you to succeed - and that's something I plan on doing now!
Speaking of the "Y," the one I carry my membership at, Southwest, has been trying to get there volunteer committees going again. We met last spring on a few occassions, but nothing really came out of them, except for ideas that went no where. Well, finally, we had another meeting. Only 2 out of 6 of us showed up, so I put my head on straight this time and put forth easy goals to start achieving. Well, they have been presented to the board president, and apparently they liked it enough to move on the first item. I have 2 more initiatives I'm going to work towards implenting by the end of the year; if they come to fruition, I truly believe in my heart of hearts that they will be the events that could really kick start our "Y" into a whole new realm of members and activities (and hopefully more spinning and fitness yoga classes).
Well, guess I'll sign off for now, gotten a lot off of my chest (so to speak). . . :)
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