Everyone in my office is doing mid-year reviews.  Since I’ve only been there a week, I figured I would do a mid-year review of my own.

A little over 6 months ago, I posted 5 goals for 2009.  Let’s see how we’re doing:

• I resolve not to give my boss too hard of a time in 2009…. unless he absolutely deserves it. - Success so far. My former boss kinda deserved the hard time I gave him several months ago.  My new boss is actually pretty awesome, and even just 1 week in, he treats me like a real person that has really good ideas so I don’t forsee any hard times in his future :p
• I resolve to spend more time volunteering to help others. - Success so far. I’m all lined up to partake in a local volunteer organization.  I’m so excited to get started.  I’ve already met several AMAZING women and I’m so excited to help others.  I am also getting involved with various groups at my new office to help out the community in numerous ways.
• I promise to save more money and finish off my 9-month safety net savings – Success! With all of that wonderful severance pay, vacation time paid out, bonus, and my last paychecks from my last employer,  I now have a 12-month safety net -and- I’ve started the house & Princess Mobile 2.0 down-payment fund.
• I resolve to no longer consider other people’s feelings when it is obvious they no longer consider mine. – Success so far! I am sooooooo tired of people making me feel like crap with things they do or situations that are created.  I know that sometimes in personal relationships, there are disagreements and things like that.  I think I need to continue to work on where the line is – what can be forgiven/forgotten and what is just so bad that I don’t think I can deal with them in my life anymore.  Lately, my life has been pretty drama free and I’m hoping to keep it that way.
• I will wake up at 5:30 every morning to work out. – FAIL! haha! I don’t think this is a surprise.  Anyone who knows me knows I loooooooooooove to sleep! I did work out during my funemployment, but not as much as I would have liked.  I just can’t wake up and work out.  I don’t know how people do it.  I tend to work out better in the evening… around 8 or 9ish.   I did just recently pick up working out at least 5 days per week.  I’m on a mad mission to lose 20 lbs.  Wish me luck!

Since graduating college, I’ve lived in a string of different apartments.  While living in Apartments 1, 2, & 3, I opted to use the same twin size bed my parents brought up from home.  I always wanted my very first Big Kid Bedroom Set, but I figured that would come later, so I could jump start my savings.

When I moved into Apartment 4 (aka My Posh Bachelorette Pad), I knew it was finally time to get that big girl bedroom set. It’s pretty awesome.

For the last couple of years now, Coco has slept with me.  It started out of guilt.  I was traveling a LOT in 2007 and in between her stays at the local Puppy Hotel, I figured she wanted to be a little closer to me since I was gone for so long and so frequently that month.  It was a temporary thing, but it ended up sticking.

I didn’t think about this until last night… but when I had a twin size bed, I situated her favorite zebra pillow so that it might encourage her to sleep vertical and take up less space.  She wasn’t encouraged.  She insisted on taking up most of the bed and sleeping horizontal.

It didn’t dawn on me until last night that now that I have this wonderful, spacious, cloud-like, queen size bed, she is taking up less space and sleeping vertical.  Every once in awhile she gets on her zebra pillow and sleeps horizontal but she doesn’t stay on it for long.

Why in the hell did she do that?

As a dog owner, I tend to know some of the people in my building because we see each other outside walking our dogs on a pretty regular basis.  I don’t know them enough to know their birthdays or life stories, but just enough to say hello to them and their little fur balls by name.

There is one guy in my building that I don’t know, but in the last couple of weeks I’ve seen him at around 7:30 every morning taking his little terrier out.  I’ve been waking up really late recently which I think is why I have never seen him before.  Every morning at around 7:30, he is fully clothed in work clothes.  I’m just waking up so I’m in lounge pants and a random t-shirt from college.

He never sees me though.  Every morning at about 7:30 he is turning the corner of the north side of the building and I’m barely making my way turning the corner from the south side of the building.  I’ve seen him. And he’s really cute.

If I had to guess his age, I’d go with 28-29ish.  Tall guy (6′1?), fair complexion, dark hair, dark eyes, average-athletic build.  Really cute.

It’s Saturday and I almost never wake up before 8:30, but today I woke up extra early because I need time to get ready, eat a good breakfast, drink a ton of water and head out the door because I am donating blood today.  So I woke up at 7:30.  I brushed & flossed my teeth, washed my face, and headed out with Coco so she could do her business.

Coco has been in a weird phase lately.  She has been extra-selective as to where to bestow her “gifts” so I figured Coco needed a little more walking before potty time.  Instead of heading directly North like I usually do, I circled around the back instead.

And then it happened.

I came face to face with Cute Apartment Guy.  Of course he was all dressed up in some khaki shorts and a polo shirt.  I, on the other hand, was still rockin my messy hair from bed, a college t-shirt and some super casual shorts.

I wanted to crawl under a rock.  Of course Coco wouldn’t let me do that.  She gets very excited about meeting other dogs because she’s an only-puppy, so she was jumping up and down like a kangaroo.  I muttered a quiet ‘good morning’ and walked away as fast as I could.

Of course the first thing I did when I got back in my apartment was run to the bathroom mirror.  Maybe I didn’t look that bad?

Oooooooo but I did!

Life is so not fair sometimes.

I’m not gonna lie – I think it’s super cute that Mickey Rourke thanked his dogs in his Golden Globe acceptance speech.

I think should I ever win something cool like that, my Coco Puff will definitely be somewhere in that speech.  In fact, I fully expect her to be the ring bearer if/when I should ever get married.

She’s taught me a lot of things and like the saying goes, it makes me want to become the person she already thinks I am.

(Aawwwwww!)

I mean really… who wouldn’t love this cute little furry face?

Many people might detest the use of red light cameras – saying ‘oh they’re only doing it for the money’ etc etc.

Whatever.

If you run a red light, and a cop is not physically there to give you a ticket, that doesn’t mean you didn’t run the red light.  Just like the proverbial tree in the forest that fell – it’s still no longer standing even if no one was around to see/hear it fall.

Today, I wish there was a red light camera at the intersection I was at.  I was driving along – minding my own business.  It is a residential area so I was cruising down at around 35 mph.  I’m coming up to an intersection thinking “sweet! I have a green light!”… and I enter the intersection.. when all of a sudden some asshole driving at least 50 mph zooms through his red light and is literally 5 feet from the front of my car as he goes through the intersection.

Had I been going any faster, I have no doubt in my mind I wouldn’t be here typing.  I’d be in some hospital either all casted up with broken bones or worse.

It’s not like his light had just turned red either… the green light on my side had been green for awhile as I was approaching the intersection.

I didn’t honk.  I didn’t brake… I didn’t see him coming soon enough to brake.  I just started breathing heavily saying “ohmigawd, ohmigawd, ohmigawd” as I continued home.  I was less than a couple of blocks from home and I was so freaked out.

I hope that jackass was as freaked out as I was and maybe that will teach him to slow the eff down and STOP at RED lights!

Grrrr.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that today I have accomplished absolutely nothing.  I woke up at 11 am and I think I would have slept longer had my phone not rung.

I spent a lot of QT with my Coco Puff and super duper cleaned my bathroom.

I made some eggs for breakfast, took a shower and watched a lot of TV.  I’m still watching TV right now.  “Pride and Prejudice” with Keira Knightly.  It’s really interesting… I never read the book mainly because it was 2398472983749283 pages long.  It blows my mind how nutty people might have been back then.  If they weren’t married they were old maids…. I wonder what people back then would say to society now – how most people don’t get married and how in some unions the woman makes more than the man.

Anyway, I decided to make some spaghetti for dinner because it’s quick & easy.  Since I’m trying to be healthy (go on- ask me how many times I’ve worked out in the last week… that would be ZERO), I got the wheat pasta when I went grocery shopping last weekend.

Yea… that stuff tastes gross.

I can’t quite put my finger on it (maybe it’s the ‘wheat’ part?) but it doesn’t taste like regular spaghetti and I don’t think I like it.  This, coming from the girl who still eats Iron Kids Bread.

I’m definitely making a trip to the store to get some regular noodles.

I’ve been MIA from PCI for the last couple of days because I was out shakin’ my ass off at bars and nightclubs with my girlfriends – you know, the usual – just trying to savor the last few days of my vaca time.

These past 2 weeks passed by much too quickly and I have a ton of stories to share so I will sprinkle them in with all my work anecdotes.  In the meantime, last night, instead of going out with the girls for one last night, I stayed in because when I woke up in the morning I had a pretty bad sore throat.

As the day progressed, it didn’t let up, so I figured I probably shouldn’t go to a bar because smoke and more alcohol would probably make it worse.

Apparently, I didn’t need smoke or alcohol to make it worse.  By the time I headed to bed, it was a full-on head cold (maybe?).  I was stuffed up and had all kinds of gross mucus stuff going on.

I figured it couldn’t be all that bad for a few reasons:

1. I REALLY like Vicks Vapor Rub.  It just smells so good!
2. If I have the flu, it won’t be all the bad.  The last time I got the flu, I lost 10 lbs in about a week.
3. I got sick at the END of my vacation, and not DURING it.  That means I had an awesome time over the last 14 days!

As a Con, I think Vick’s Dayquil sucks.  They show commercials with people all excited about getting some extra vitamin C in their Dayquil and riding bikes and being excited… but when I take DayQuil, I still feel like crap?

What’s up with that?

Anyway, I’m off to take Coco out, then it’s time to get ready for work!

Yay!

…

I’m still on vacation, so I’ve decided to take a vacation from thinking about work.

Back in November when I was preparing for my move, I mentioned I was disappointed that I bought generic duct tape instead of the Duck Brand duct tape (aka “The Good Stuff”).  I used it anyway because I didn’t want to be wasteful.  Because work has been nutty, the holidays and everything, I’m not yet completely settled in, but I’ve at least opened each of the boxes I’ve packed and gathered all the duct tape I used to seal them and put them in a ball.

I guesstimate it’s about the size of a standard basketball.

It’s about that time where many people reflect on the year that has almost past and look forward with hope and joy to the year to come.  With that I bring you my resolutions for 2009:

1. I resolve not to give my boss too hard of a time in 2009…. unless he absolutely deserves it.  I admit there were a few times I gave him hell in 2008 just for fun… but most of it was necessary.
2. I resolve to spend more time volunteering to help others.  I am involved with helping the community right now, but I think I can do more to help – esp. in these crazy economic times when other people need it the most.
3. I promise to save more money and finish off my 9-month safety net savings and start saving for a house and possibly a new Princess Mobile in time for mid 2010.
4. I resolve to no longer consider other people’s feelings when it is obvious they no longer consider mine.  I’m tired of people taking advantage of my niceness. (Thanks Me-Me for that one.  When I read it, it spoke to me)
5. I will wake up at 5:30 every morning to work out.  I am only going to be in my 20’s for 3 more years.  When I am old and grey, I want to look back on my 20’s and say “Damn!  I was so hot!”

Last night it was so cool to have our entire family together.  After eating a ginormous meal, we gathered around the bar in our kitchen and helped my mom make cookies for tonight’s shindig.  We were drinking and talking about random stuff when we decided that we’d form a rock band next year and perform for the guests of our very own Christmas Eve party.

My older sister just got a guitar for her birthday, I had my guitar from the 9th grade, and my dad wanted to get a guitar too.  We assigned the role of the tambourines to my younger sister and toyed with the idea of our mom playing the drums.  In the end we decided that my little brother would be on drums since that was his instrument of choice back in high school and our mom would be on vocals.

We’re going to play one song, but it’s going to be perfect.

I love my family.

Happy Holidays everyone!