Blah, blah, blah. Yawn.

Having a slow day at work, feeling guilty about it. SIL(H) says it occasionally happens and take it while I can. But, even though I'm a Spin now, I still have the old "Herrick standby"...worry. So, I worry about not being busy. Then, when I am busy, I worry about not remembering everything I have to do, even though I wrote it down! Jeez, I'm never satisfied.

J and I had "date night" Saturday. I wanted to go out to dinner and then do something that didn't involve a movie, so he suggested going to the casino. I picked the casino on the West Bank, not Harrah's, and we had dinner there then went on to gambling. We played slots (I don't do the poker tables or anything like that) and after about an hour or so, I won $450!!! The first thing that came out of my mouth? "We need to leave NOW", then "I'm getting a a new purse!" (not sure why blogger's not letting me link - www.dooney.com) Jerrod laughed, we cashed out and split the winnings, then went back and gambled our original money that we had planned on spending anyway. After we left, I asked J to stop at Burger King so I could get a fountain drink. So, we're sitting in the drive-through (the inside was closed) and my phone rings. DJ says "What kind of date are you on at BK?" - he and Justin/Britney were in the Taco Bell drive-through! Small world.

Went to the zoo yesterday. BB wore her bathing suit (to play on Monkey Hill) under her clothes. So she's running on the sidewalk, and suddenly her pants fall down! I guess the bathing suit made things a little "slippery". It was pretty funny! Had a nice time, then had dinner with an old family friend from J's side of the family.

Ian is on his class trip, should be back tonight. Went to TN for whitewater rafting, Dollywood, 2 dinner theatres, and something else that escapes my memory at the moment. Of course as soon as he got on the bus, BB starts crying she misses her brother. We'll see how long that lasts once he's back! J is off this week, so they are at the movies today, then Wed he's off to H-town with the kids. Ian was going to stay in Houston an extra week, but I think he's going to come home and possibly cousin B will be coming to visit.

So, that's where I'm at. Holla!

In Case Anyone Forgot...

Can't wait!!!

In other news, our whirlwind month of May is almost over. The May Festival was wonderful. The Kindergarten/8th grade court was lovely. The May Crowning the next day was nice, too. The next week was final exams for 8th grade (Ian was exempt from all exams because he already had an A in each subject - 3rd year in a row to be exempt!). May 11 was my birthday so J, BB, Molly and I went to dinner - DJ took Ian to his athletic banquet. Then May 12 was the 8th grade dance, and May 13 was Mother's Day. We had a wonderful day as a family. J and Co. took me shopping - yay! Then Monday (5/14) was 8th grade graduation - Ian was valedictorian (we're so proud of him). Wednesday (5/16) was Kindergarten graduation - BB was valedictorian (we're so proud of her, too!). Molly has some big footsteps to follow!!! Tonight Ian is leaving for his 4 day 8th grade trip, so we are going to an early congratulations on graduation/valedictorian dinner, then he has to be at the school by 9pm. He'll be back on Monday night. Then, all we have left is the dance recital on May 28. Whew!

Now, while all this is going on, I started my new job May 7. I like it a lot...I feel like I'm catching on a little bit, but there's so much more to learn! They seem surprised I keep coming back and I am surprised they let me!

Dad is doing better, I think. I know after surgery he asked for his laptop, so that seems like a big clue to me! Of course we're all still worried about him and hope he can come home soon.

J and family are going to Houston next week to visit H1 and SIL. I don't know what I'm going to do by myself! It will be so wierd. Once when Ian was little, he was at a sleepover and J was working. I didn't know what to do with myself. I just kind of wandered around. It didn't occur to me until later I could have gone to a movie or something! The only other time I have been away from my family like this was when I was in Africa, but that was a little different! So, I'm anxious and excited. After it's all said and done, I'll probably end up cleaning the house while there are no little feet underneath me to interrupt...boring! But J and the kids are excited (so are H1 and SIL) so I'm sure everyone will have a great time!

Did you just see that?

I'm on my way home from W-mart today, and I watch the car in front of me pull into the lane to the left - right into a truck!! It was obviously in his blind spot, but it was there nonetheless. So we continue through the intersection and I pull into the parking lot and watch the two drivers get out and the man starts yelling and pointing at the lady in the truck. She gets out and says something, then the man starts yelling again and she gets back into her truck. I call my hubby to confirm I'm doing the right thing, then I approach and say I'm a witness. He's thrilled until I tell him it was his fault, then he tells me my version is not what happened. Please, I was right behind you - I even said "He's gonna hit that truck" right before he did!!! So I give them both my name and number, then a pizza guy comes over and says he saw the whole thing and the guy is in the clear. "Where were you?" the guy asks pizza man. He says he was behind the guy. When I point out that I was actually behind him, he changes his story and says he was behind me. The whole time the car guy was very emphatic that she was at fault - almost intimidating. So, hopefully I helped someone today. The way I saw it, without a witness, who were they going to believe - the older white guy in the Mercedes, or the black lady in the truck? Plus, the way they hit each other, it might look like it was her fault, but he drove into the front/side of her truck. At this point, my only worry is that this guy is an attorney who works for "my" firm. I'm still at the point where I don't recognize anyone yet. That would be just my luck!! So, I'm expecting a call any day now, the fact that I didn't hear anything from the cops today is good news for her? Don't know, hopefully it all works out.

Whole Lotta Nothing Going On

Finished my first week at the new job. I think I'm going to like it, I hope they're going to like me. It's still a little (a lot) confusing, and that part I hate, but hopefully it will start to get better soon. The employees are very nice. They're very big on the birthday thing - Friday at least 25 people told me happy birthday! Wow, what a welcome! My co-workers from the old job called to say HB too, that was very sweet. Got to go on a "field trip" Friday to another client's office. By the end of the day my legs were tired, it took me a moment to realize I walked 20 blocks that day!!! 5 blocks there and 5 blocks back, two trips. But it was nice to get out and walk around the streets of downtown New Orleans.

No news on Dad, the last I heard he might come home Monday? Tuesday? Don't know if they ever figured out what was causing his cellulitis, or how to fix it. Basically, I know nothing. He likes the facility, they play lullabies on the loudspeaker whenever a baby is born. J wants to know if they play TAPS whenever someone dies.

So yesterday, I walk past BB's bedroom and I see her standing with one foot on top of her "bed steps" and one foot a little higher, resting on her plastic seat from her play vanity. "Don't stand on the seat because it's plastic and will break", I tell her. "I won't, I've just Got A Little Captain In Me", is her reply!!! The marketing genius who thought up that slogan for Captain Morgan's should get a raise.

We survived May Festival/May Crowning last weekend, Ian's sports banquet was this past Friday, his 8th grade dance was last night (yes, he danced with several girls) and Monday is his 8th grade graduation. BB's Kindergarden graduation is Wednesday. Ian's 8th grade field trip to Tennessee is Fri though Monday, then, all I have left to get through is BB's dance recital on Memorial Day. This has been a busy month!

Happy Mother's Day to my dear mother! Glad you're home for good!

ch-ch-ch-changes....

Started my new job yesterday. So far, so good. Everyone seems nice and I think they like me, hopefully they still like me once I've been there a bit. It sucks to start a new job, you go from being the "go to" person to being the office idiot. That part's not fun. But hopefully I'll start picking stuff up as I go along and won't feel so stupid. I was pretty excited that I'd get to park by mom's house and take the ferry and walk to work every day but that went out the window. I knew there would be days when I would have to drive to another office, but I thought they'd be planned in advance and I'd just take my car those days. Not so, it could be anytime, unannounced, and I have to drive (and pay dearly for downtown parking) every day. Other than that it's pretty good. My ears pop on the way up in the elevator (48th floor). It's kind of weird, I haven't filled out any new employee paperwork yet, so there's no proof that I've been there - "what paycheck? We don't know who you are!". They did take me to lunch today to say hello, Thai food - very good. Had a great time and hopefully I'm still employed there tomorrow!

I guess I'm an optimist....

Because I always set myself up for a letdown. We went to Wendy's today. It was actually a nice Wendy's, pretty clean and the clientele looked okay. I was super thirsty, and we didn't have any Diet Coke at home, so I was really looking forward to a big, icy Diet Coke with my meal. I ordered for myself and the kids, and for my "value meal" I asked for a large size (because I wanted the biggest drink they had). So he finishes taking the order and asks what kind of drinks I want with the meals. Bridget's drink, check. Ian's drink, check. My seductively delicious, icy-cold, mouth-watering Diet Coke? "We're out of Diet Coke." Well, shit. I look over the other drink options, but they're just not the same. "Cancel the large size for my meal and just give me a water with my burger." Now, I wasn't expecting a "sorry about the inconvenience, ma'am", but I was expecting "OK". What I got was "It's a bit late for that." WHAT??!!! It's not like I had already paid and he'd have to give me a refund. My order was still on the register. All he had to do was hit the delete button. My reply to him was "I didn't know you were out of DC when I ordered the large size or I wouldn't have." What I wanted to say was .....actually, I'm so used to this bullshit service that I really couldn't get that worked up over it. At least he didn't argue with me about what I ordered vs. what he gave me, or drop my cup on the floor then pick it up and proceed to put my drink in it. I would really like to know if this is just a New Orleans thing or does this happen everywhere. They're getting paid pretty good for fast-food work here since the hurricane but the service has not improved at all. I drove to BK around Christmas and they had big signs all over "out of meat". How does BK run out of meat?! This place is insane.

Update...

Well, I've calmed down a bit. H1's reply was very good - I hadn't realized it but he's right, they had to hire 2 people to replace me! Thanks H1 ;) It was a nice day up to that point. My good friend "DD" brought a torte, then I goofed around most of the morning, letting the temp handle the work and answering questions as they arose. We went to lunch at a fine dining establishment, Clancy's. It was a nice 2 hour lunch. While we were there it started pouring, so we stayed for dessert and coffee. Still pouring outside. Chatted some more...still pouring. I think you get the picture. I drove everyone (I wanted to use my car) to lunch, so I had to run outside and get in then drive up to the curb and pick everyone up. We were all barefoot and had our pants rolled up to our knees - it was too funny. I asked an employee to take our picture with our shoes off/pants rolled up, so she did, then took another "just in case". Later in the day I checked my pics and realized the two pictures of us barefoot were from the thighs up! Great. But you can see we are holding our shoes, and I guess it's a funny story to remember about my last day. My office gave me a very nice parting gift: a VISA gift card, two beautiful frames (one for my new desk and one for the wall), a sleek folio, and a nice bag (messenger-type bag). They are so sweet and I am really going to miss them. I've known P for six years or so, MA for two + years, and DD only since the hurricane but I feel like I've known him forever. They were truly wonderful co-workers and I will miss them dearly. The rest of the bullshit I will not miss and I'm glad I don't have to deal with it anymore.

I think my head just popped off my body.

So I'm sitting at my desk with 90 minutes to go...I get a call from my supervisor who is trying to get in touch with the doctor at my other office (you know, the office I've been "temporarily" working for since December 05). She then proceeds to tell me they've decided to hire a secretary for that position and they're getting a temp in Monday morning. Now, this REALLY pisses me off for two reasons:
1. I've been telling them for months that it's too busy and they need to hire a secretary for that office. They wait until 90 minutes before I'm gone for good to hire someone?!
2. Why did they have to tell me? Why couldn't they have waited until Monday since the temp isn't coming until Monday anyway? Nothing would have changed. She just wanted to make sure I knew before I left. Bitch.
This whole incident just reaffirms my decision to leave. I gave this place 13+ years of my life. I have made some dear friends that I'm going to miss, but I sure as hell won't miss this place.

Miscellaneous

Tomorrow is my last day at work. I'm excited but sad. I'm sure I'll cry tomorrow (I don't cry in public. Ever.), so I should probably bring in some onions to use as an excuse. Wow, 13 1/2 years over just like that. This is a major life change but it probably came at a good time because I have so much other stuff going on with the kids that I really don't have much time left to stress about starting a new job (possibly an actual career?). I guess it's a blessing in disguise.

As I sit here I am: 1. blogging, 2. coloring my hair, 3. whitening my teeth, 4. doing laundry. At first, I was pretty impressed with myself - I'm doing 4 things at once - I'm multitasking!! Then I realized that's why I (and, at the risk of sounding sexist, women in general?) will never "rule" the world. We keep too much on our plates. I saw a study on TV recently where they gave several people different tasks to do in a given time period (before or after the storm - I don't know. That pre/post K musing that we all have will have to be a subject for another day.). It was in an office-like setting, and they had to answer 3 calls, cook lunch in the microwave, print 2 reports, answer the door, and a few other things I have forgotten. The women were able to do it all much quicker then the men, who oftentimes could not complete all the tasks in the alloted time. Basically, they couldn't do the multitasking to the degree that the women could. So I'm wondering if that is why, in general, men are in charge? They are able to concentrate on their one goal and not be distracted, whereas women have their eye on the prize but cannot push aside other obligations? I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I'm sure other women can identify. The subject just popped into my head and I can't get rid of it. Any thoughts/opinions? Help me clarify what I'm getting at - this dye is fogging my brain!! (or is it the laundry?)

Small World?

I went to work today. Yuck. I thought I'd be goofing off all day, but no, I'm training the temp. At first, I'm a little concerned because she's not writing anything down. Then I remember it's her problem, not mine. She did eventually start writing stuff down though. Just not enough. I'm surprised at how much work it is to train someone else. Hopefully it will get better. A drug rep is bringing pizza tomorrow to say goodbye. How sweet. The next time you're complaining about the high price of your meds, remember my yummy pizza lunch! At the end of the day we're sitting around talking, and the temp mentions she's mostly worked at hotels. "Oh, which ones? My brother works at a hotel." "Chateau Sonesta." Turns out she knows Kenny. And Mr. Guy. Very interesting. K says she's very nice but her elevator doesn't hit every floor. It really is a small world, I guess.