…still working on the title…

Word of caution to those opposed to bunny trails (what the hell are you doing here, anyway???): This one jumps, as I do not have a single topic I want to focus on.

Pops turns 30 tomorrow!!! Happy birthday, old man!! He and Mom are in Las Vegas with his parents celebrating and I hope they’re having a great time!

I tried to explain to Emily the other day what a Bodhisattva was, but I know I didn’t succeed. Here’s a link to a site that does a better job, quite succinctly.  http://grandrants.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/10987/

I may start frequenting that site, as I feel the author’s perspective on life is much like my own. Or, at least, the perspective that I’ve been molding over the last year or two. Not sure yet if it’s a man or woman, but their personal philosophy is:

In the long run, the pessimist may be right, but the optimist has more fun on the journey.

And, in the end, that’s what life really is.

Thought: It’s gorgeous outside today! 80*, cloud cover, not humid or rainy. What am I still doing inside?

Opinion: One should not eat mac ‘n cheese without Chipotle Tabasco squirted on top.

Feeling: I never really like the holidays. People are so wrapped up in things. (That’s kind of funny, no?) Most people totally buy into the media pressure to spend, spend, spend because $$$=love. It makes me feel sad. My family gets together every week or two at my mom’s house to eat, drink, and just enjoy each other’s company. We give each other advice, a hard time, hugs, whatever we need. They know I adore them without me having to bring anything other than a bottle of wine or side dish. That’s what the holidays are supposed to be about, but fortunately we do that 20 times a year. I’ve suggested for Christmas we either don’t buy gifts for each other OR do some sort of charity thing OR we make each other gifts. (Pops laughed at the last one, which only encourages me more!) Whatever we wind up doing, I know we feel less of the pressure to purchase than others, and will assuredly get more love and compassion out of our time together than most.

A few pictures will be up momentarily on my Photos page. Enjoy!

Sorry, dear followers, for the delay

I know, I know, it’s been AGES since I posted! All I can say is that I’ve been incredibly busy with a project at work, just started a new project, and my house never actually got a tenant.

As I always say after these long breaks, I’m going to try to be better going forward about posting. And as we all know, there will undoubtedly be another drop off at some point in the future. But for the time being I’ll do my best to keep you entertained with the weirdness that I encounter.

The project I was working on at work to transition our California region to the new system went off with relatively few hitches. Three months of long days, 8am-8pm, lunch and dinner on the company, no time for working out, working weekends. It’s over and it was a success. Whew. Next project? I was asked to oversee Ontario operations the week before my Cali project ended, so no time to breathe in between. And the Ontario project, so far? I’ve learned more in these 3 weeks about the billing and accounting departments than I had in the last 5 years.

Yes, I’ve been at Constellation for 5 years. It feels like ages, but at the same time I feel like I graduated a year ago and don’t have a clue where life is taking me. But when I stop and think about it, it’s probably more about where my personal life is headed and where I want to go, versus where my career is headed. Career was always a secondary concern to general happiness and I was willing to earn less if it meant getting more out of life. But it seems my career is the easiest aspect of life to control.

Are the more important aspects of life harder to control? Or is it the fact that certain aspects of life are harder to control that makes them more important? Does it matter? Nope.

Significant other happenings? Went to the Italy Expo and the Quilt Festival, both of which were fun. Misha picked out her wedding gown Saturday, and we picked out bridesmaid dresses as well. They’ll be gorgeous and I’ll post pictures of some of the dresses, obviously NOT Misha’s. I’m currently trying to convince my family NOT to buy Christmas gifts this year and I don’t know that it’s going all that well. My second suggestion was that we make our gifts, and I’m using that as leverage to push the first suggestion.

Don’t hold your breath for the next post. I promise it’s coming soon though!!

bye bye house… sort of

It was August in the year 2006 when I started looking for a place to call my own. In September, only a month later, I closed on my townhome. Now, it’s three years later and I sit in my living room downtown, preparing to be a landlord in the morning. That’s right – a family is going to be renting my house!

I’m really thrilled – God knows I didn’t want to be paying this high-rise rent along with my mortgage on an empty house. John changed the HAR posting to sell/rent last Monday, they looked at the house Thursday, they called John on Saturday, we signed the contract Sunday, and they move in tomorrow. Does anyone else think that’s a bit quick?? Needless to say, I had some last-minute, somewhat hectic cleaning to do. I had a bunch of “Donation” and “Recycling” bags in my garage still to tend to, as well as cleaning the entire house. So last night and tonight I spent several hours getting the place move-in-ready and I somehow pulled it off. Without the help of mom and pops, well, it would have gotten done. But I would probably have been there until midnight, and that is a really unpleasant thought! I’m home, showered, and worn out physically.

It’s weird to think that I lived in my house for almost three years. It’s one of those weird things where I feel like I’ve been living there forever and yet like I just moved in. I had just gotten the place decorated, I got nice furniture, and I up and move. It’s all good though, everything looks sooo nice in #1807! Anyway, if you haven’t been by to see my new place and you’re in the downtown area, send me a text and I’ll meet you at the door with a cold beverage!

Shout out to Pops for helping with a gimp foot, and Alex for taking my moonwalk to Mom’s, and Mom for cleaning my kitchen (despite Pops’ dirty looks) after she delivered dinner for me- the soup hit the spot! and how did you know the Acai-blueberry-pomegranate VitaminWater is the only one I like?? Many thanks! Love you all!!!

August Days…Driftin’ Away

Wow, Misha’s right – it has been almost a month since my last post. Too much going on! The saddest part is that not much is really going on. Haha Oh well, I always find something to talk about anyway!

Alaska was incredible, again. I’m going to upload a bunch of photos to snapfish or something so that everyone can see them. I got some pretty awesome photos, but more importantly relaxed a TON! By the end of the first day, my body had synched to that Onion Bay rhythm and I felt like I’d been there for a week already. By the middle of the third day (I actually remember the exact moment this happened – it was on a walk up to the outhouse) I adjusted to the temperature difference. The only sad thing about that was that I did indeed have to come back to Texas’ 100+degree weather only a week later. It was beautiful, I had fun fishing and hiking, I wrote and drew and took photos, and I’m taking donations for all those of you that want to contribute to the “Help Jen buy the Property Next Door to the Lee’s Cabin” fund. That’s right, the cabin next door is for sale and I can’t think of a reason NOT to buy it and spend time there each summer. I mean, any other reason besides the fact that I don’t have the money to buy it, which is where that fund and your contribution come in. Contact me directly, please.

Living in my downtown piece o’ the skyline is still simply wonderful. I love getting to walk to work and get a bit of sunshine and Vitamin D in the process because it boosts my mood before I get to work. Each day, I love walking home and sitting with my kittens on the couch to decompress while i eat my lunch. And then knowing that i’m only a stone’s throw (literally) from home means I’m not nearly as0 irritated at the end of the day thinking about the drive home and traffic.

Other than that, there isn’t much going on and I’m just FINE with that! Save the drama for yo momma, I’m enjoying things being low-key while it lasts. Projects at work are full-speed ahead, but I’m enjoying the challenge so no worries there. Misha’s fiancee Jon will hopefully be coming on soon to help us out with a ton of project work we have to tackle. I’m looking forward to the heat easing up a bit here at some point. I’m sure that’ll happen just about the time the big Hurricane of ‘09 comes through. Yay. Y’all have a good one. It’s almost the weekend again, and I’ll be laying out by the pool getting a tan and barbequeing!

Quick Update

Well, I’ve spent my evenings in the new place just unpacking, arranging, re-arranging. Seriously, how many times can I move my couch? And it’s still facing the same way, I just keep moving it by a few inches! Ahhh, OCD!!

Really though, I’m totally in love with this place. Still go outside on the balcony every day to appreciate the view, still adoring my kitchen, each day gaining more love for the layout. The “flow” of the place works well for me. I think I could stay here for a long time… as long as I keep making as much or more than I do now, obviously. Otherwise, I’ll have to start selling my beloved purses on Ebay or something to make rent… Oh, that’s a terrible thought. Let’s stop that.

Thursday I leave for Alaska again, and I’ll be gone until the morning of August 11th. I’m really excited to be visiting again. The beauty of the scenery and tranquility. The fact that work can’t contact me in any way/shape/form.  The opportunity to learn how to use my new camera and see what she can do.  So expect a few long-winded, painfully detailed blogs with a ton o’ photos upon my return!  Here’s one of me last year, thinking about how lovely the place is…

High Rise Livin’

This blog is no longer written by Jen, the whimsical fun-loving workaholic from the suburban side of Houston. Gone are the days of spending two hours in traffic headed to and from the job that I spend 10 hours a day struggling with.

You are now reading a blog written by Jen, an eccentric, twenty-something truly living life, reporting on its wonder from her new residence in the One Park Place high-rise, floor 18. View: resort-style pool complete with waterfall and 20+ft tall palm trees all located on the 8th floor. Location: the block next to my place of employment. That’s right folks, I’m living downtown! All I can say about the building wouldn’t do it justice, so I’ll just say it’s incredible. Oak floors, granite countertops, valet parking, gym, pool, and winebar/organic grocery store to come soon. Ahhh, I love it! 1400 McKinney. Stop by and say hi sometime!

There was a pretty cool lightning storm tonight that I attempted to capture (over and over again – I drank 3 glasses of wine first) with my new Canon Rebel T1i.

Housewarming will occur August 22nd. Send me a message if you’d like an invite!

~j

Surprisingly Good Day

It’s kind of funny that it took until I was driving home on the Hardy before I noticed that I had a pretty good day. I’m sure this may sound depressing, and I don’t mean that my life sucks, but I haven’t had a ‘good’ day in a while. Time has been flying by just because, in order to make it through the week, I put my head down and walk fast. Then the weekends are busy, lovely, and fleeting. I’ve been super busy at work, enjoying the project work I’m starting on, but still overworked. I never take a break during the day and stay til 7 most nights.

My day ended really well. A project that a co-worker and I have been struggling for two months against systems and even other co-workers to get rolled out finally came to fruition at 6pm. I tested the change we were making, and realized it actually worked properly so I threw myself back in my chair, punched my hands in the air and screamed “YESSSSS!!!” (The other girl in the room was startled, then laughed.) Two months of work. Successful. Worth it. It will save my group so much time and energy. So excited!

I also got confirmation that the moving crew will show up Saturday morning to pack up all my belongings and drive them downtown, then place them accordingly in my new home. Where, you may ask? Why, the One Park Place high-risk, of course! SOO excited about that too! (Eh, no, house hasn’t sold. I’m going to rent it and hope it’ll sell once the market pulls its head out of its ass.)

I also booked a room at the Comfort Inn in Kodiak, which is only slightly exciting. I land in Kodiak around 9pm and fly out the following morning on the Cessna at 9am, which means I have to find someplace to sleep. Which means i have to pay almost $200 for one of the last rooms at the only Inn in town anywhere near the little airport. 15 days until I get to fly to Alaska! Yay!

So, I guess looking back, my day was pretty good. Cool.

The 4th of July weekend

Fun fun! The highlight of the evening was finding myself in a pool sharing a float with two friends while others float nearby. A cold beer sits in my hand, and we are all discussing the simultaneous attraction and repulsion of Lady Gaga songs. Enjoyable, but inappropriate, silly and easy. A bit like our parties, no?  Someone had the genius idea of bringing sparklers, which are lit and passed among us, providing a glorious reflection off the pool, lighting our smiling laughing faces. And then the fireworks begin. The neighbors provide a seemingly endless colorful display, lighting up the sky as we cheer. Every few minutes a round of blackcats go off, indicating that there must be a group of pre-teens nearby. Regardless, we all had a great time! I hope you enjoyed yours as well. Happy 4th of July!

The “It just never ends” Verizon modem saga

I want to keep this short. I waste too much of my life dealing with stupid crap.

Called Verizon and briefed Helpful Softspoken Woman of my situation, then asked her to help me resolve. She puts me on hold to look up my info then tells me it will take 2 or 3 billing cycles to reimburse my account for the charge. ”You mean it’ll still show up on my bill to pay?? Please help me understand why that is when I did what I was supposed to.”

Helpful Softspoken Woman is frightened by my question and tone in voice. She places me on hold again to “work some magic.” Helpful Softspoken Woman returns to inform me that she has a form to fill out that will expedite the reversal of charges. She fills out extremely long form while on phone, without putting me on hold, but reminding me every 30 seconds what she’s doing.

Helpful Softspoken Woman submits form and asks me if I need anything else. Other than running over to the warehouse and bitch-slapping “B.Willburn” for signing for my FedEx box without updating my account, there isn’t anything else you can help me with today. Thanks!

P.S. I’m watching the calendar and you all WILL be getting another call from me in precisely one month if this isn’t taken care of.

Okay. So now I’d like to share another story with you. We’re going to start off with the moral though, just so you know what you’re getting into.

MORAL OF THE STORY: When at trashy restaurants or dirty dive bars, it is imperative to specify that the oil you’d like to be served with your salad is of the OLIVE variety. Not vegetable oil or some other cooking oil. Olive oil. You know, that stuff that’s been around for centuries used the world over for a multitude of purposes. Confirm they do have it and decide on a back-up dressing choice in advance.

STORY: I went to lunch today and I’m still on this detox program which severely limits what I can eat, so I order the 2-side plate (green beans and rice pilaf) with a dinner salad. Waitress asks what type of dressing to which I respond “Do you have olive oil and vinegar?” She asks for clarification “Do you want vinaigrette, or do you just want the regular oil and vinegar in the separate bottles?” I request the latter. Shortly thereafter, my salad arrives with a bottle of oil. Yellowish-clear oil. Um. A 5-year old in any of 100 different countries could tell that bottle doesn’t have olive oil in it, so why does the 20-something waitress  seem oblivious? (I’ll bet she looked in the mirror this morning and thought “This red eye shadow is so cool!”) Olive oil has a greenish tint. Regardless of whether you buy the lovely organic extra extra virgin olive oil or cheapo regular olive oil, it’ll still be greenish. Because it is made from olives. DUH?!

Unfortunately, I was with people who didn’t know better than her what I was talking about. They made me doubt myself so… I had to taste it to be sure. I put one drop on my finger, tasted, and knew immediately I was right. (SO glad I didn’t just pour on my salad without thinking about it!) The manager came by to ask if we needed anything so I told him she gave me the wrong thing. He mumbled something about a new employee, smiled real purty and ran off to get me olive oil. We never saw him again. Red Eye Shadow returned and asked how everything was. “I asked for olive oil but you brought me cooking oil. That guy said he’d bring me olive oil but he hasn’t come back yet.” I stare and wait for a response. Wait for it…

“Oh, well we don’t have any of THAT. Do you want vinaigrette or ranch instead?” No. Here comes my sarcastic but fair questions:

1.)     Why did she offer and confirm olive oil and vinegar if they didn’t have it?

2.)    Why did neither of the idiots realize what I was asking for and just tell me no up front?

3.)    Who works in a downtown restaurant serving salads to business professionals and doesn’t grasp what “olive oil and vinegar” means?

4.)    Who works in the food industry and doesn’t know the difference in olive oil versus cooking oil?

5.)    She REALLY went in the back and put cooking oil in a little bottle to serve to me?!

I have an additional moral to this story. Never eat at Longhorn Café in the Parkshops ever again.

Continuation of the Verizon Modem Saga

Yes, trust me, I thought we were done too, and I was happy in that place. Amie and I were online Sunday looking for a new cell for me, since mine is almost two years old and struggling to make it through each day. (I just LOVE the original LG EnV! Don’t want to retire it! ) So I logged into my Wireless online account because I get corporate discounts at Verizon through Constellation. Amie helps me decide on a new phone and I check my bill on the way out to see how many minutes I’ve used. I have no clue, because my AmEx autopays my Verizon bill each month, among several other bills. Yay for technology! I don’t have to remember stuff that I inevitably always forget!

$219.99 for “Unreturned merchandise”??? What is this crap? First issue: I DID return it. Second issue: it was a broken $79.00 modem. Why did I get this charge? Are they playing games with me?

So I call them up and a nice man named James offers to help me out. 30 seconds on hold with no awful music and he returns to inform me that FedEx says I’m a liar. (Well, they didn’t call me a liar, but they told him I never sent the package back.) He tells me sometimes the warehouse will get packages in but won’t be sure to update the individual account, so if I can provide the tracking info, we can all sort this out. Here’s essentially how the conversation went from there.

James: “Where did you mail the broken modem back to?”

Jen: “Um. I didn’t take note of the destination on the FedEx return label that Verizon provided me to use to mail the broken modem back with. I assume it was one of your warehouses.”

Jen is thinking: “Verizon provided me a label to use to mail the modem back to Verizon. And Verizon is now asking me which Verizon address they would have used. Isn’t this information that Verizon should have on file somewhere? “

James: “Ah, yes, it should have gone to a warehouse. Do you know if it was addressed to ‘New Breed’?”

Jen: “I’ll be honest with you, this was two months ago, and I really don’t remember. Someone at Verizon created the FedEx label for me to use to send it back, so I guess I just I assumed you guys would have put your correct address on it.”

James: “Well, our warehouse doesn’t show that it came back. Sometimes they’ll get something in but just not update your account. FedEx is also showing that they never received a package. Do you have that tracking number?”

Jen is thinking before she responds: “Okay, I can see how a warehouse grunt made one mistake that day at work and it just so happens to affect me. I can forgive the grunt. BUT… how does James know that FedEx didn’t move my package if he doesn’t have the tracking number that he is now asking me for? And why is he asking me for a tracking number when Verizon created the return label, not me??? I’d think Verizon should keep better track of the FedEx labels they’re creating. Their accountants or auditors must go crazy…”

Jen: “I’m at work right now, so it may be at home. But why wouldn’t you have that on file if Verizon created the FedEx return label for me?”

James: “Well, I’m not sure who creates those. But it’s a good idea to write down the tracking numbers for situations like this.”

Jen is thinking: “Great, I’ll log that away in my memory for the next time I mail back faulty equipment using a return label created by the company itself. But that can’t be the only solution.”

Jen: “I do that when I create shipments myself, but I assumed that Verizon would keep track considering the FedEx charge eventually has to be linked back to my account for audit purposes. Is there no other way to find out where the box went?”

James: “Well, do you remember where you mailed it from?”

Jen: “Of course, the post office downstairs in our building.”

James: “Great. Then you can just call up FedEx and ask them to track a package that you mailed from that address on that day and they should be able to help you. If it turns out that the package was lost, they’ll reimburse you the amount and you’ll forward that to us so we can remove from your bill. I’m sorry I can’t help more with that, but you have to work directly with FedEx.”

Jen is thinking: “Alright buddy, you asked if I knew WHERE I mailed it from. Not WHEN. I don’t have a clue what day I dropped the box in the FedEx bin! Do you keep track of the date and location when you mail off your water bill? Prolly not… And I KNOW right now you can’t tell me the address your water bill went to!

And another thing… I am NOT interested in convincing FedEx that their lost package results in them mailing me a $220 check for me to forward to you. I’ll be adding a fee to that for my time and inconvenience.”

Jen: “So if I find my tracking # and we can figure out that my package did indeed come back to the warehouse, you’ll remove the charge from my account, correct?”

James: “Yes ma’am.” And then he asks me if he was able to fix my problems today to the best of his ability, blah blah.

Ugh. So I’m contemplating claiming fraudulent charges to my AmEx card, wondering how to get this all sorted out to my benefit when I stumble over the return tracking # in my “Mail to be Filed” stack. Hmm. Guess I was smart enough to keep it after all, guess I thought it was a good idea to write down the tracking numbers for situations like this.

Stay tuned to find out who gets the nasty phone call, FedEx or Verizon.