I have a secret!
All will be revealed early next week...
Show us something pink.
Well that's just asking for trouble.
I'm not going to spoil it by posting pics - you're gonna have to go to the link for your surprise. And don't forget to read the description, and check out the additional images. Oh, and for thirty bucks, I can do a better job all by myself. Hey man, if you're gonna label something as "super", it had better be. I love finding random crap on the internet!
For Cranky, DBB, Laurie, and all you other Lost fanatics: it's the Lost Theory Generator.
Wow, that was more of an experience than either of us was expecting. For one thing, in the middle of our call with the travel company, their phones went out! Anyway, the lady was very helpful and willing to look a lot of things up for us, and really, it's all working out in the end, provided my itinerary arrives tonight.
It's costing us more than we had hoped, but we're biting the bullet and doing it anyway. In particular, I'm paying extra to have my own room. We talked about it and decided this would be best, for various reasons (cabana boy, room 123, please! Haha, I kid!).
So the long and short of it is that we're leaving in a week and a half (Friday the 7th) and returning very late at night (early the next morning, really) the 14th. We were actually talked out of the place we scoped out online. And reviews online are so disconcerting. I mean I was reading some from people who traveled practically the exact same dates and they had completely opposite experiences. However, the travel lady said they were getting better reviews for the place we ended up with, and the guy I spoke with earlier today had also mentioned he liked this place.
Yes, it's an all-inclusive deal.
No, Cranky, I do not want to change trip plans with you. :-P
I soooooooo have to make myself a really strict list of things to do and buy before I go - mostly stuff to do. Yikes!
To tease you all some more, here are three more pics, this time from the actual place we'll be staying at.
And hopefully, it's gonna be alright!
LBA and I met up over lunch to check out some deals we each found. I made a call to one place afterward and tonight after work, she's gonna call the other place. It's looking like we're going to get our original choice of Punta Cana after all (there was doubt for a while). It's nerve-wracking waiting until the last minute, especially when she still needs to get the paperwork for her daughter straightened out. Ah well, it will be worth it in the end.
It turns out that I am probably going to have to sign a paper to allow her to pick up my passport for me as I will be out of town at meetings all day. Of course, that depends on our actual departure date, but since she'll be there for her own anyway, it's just as easy to get her to do it. Luckily the passport office is in a building just a couple of blocks from work. I can't believe this is all less than two weeks away!
Sayings and such that I hate (when they're spoken or done in complete seriousness, that is):
- "baby bump" - I might just "bump" off the next person I hear say that, and besides, who cares who has one - let them be, for christ's sake
- "anything-gate" - this was overplayed when it was used for the first time after Watergate, let alone decades later
- name combinations - if your name is Dumbo and your significant other's name is Assclown, then I will call you both Dumbass - other than that, it's just not allowed
- any combination of "girl", "you go girl", etc - shut the fuck up
- drama - keep me the fuck out of it
- entertainment shows and the fake, tanned, practiced, plastic, trained seals who host them (look this way, walk just so, allow me to pass judgement on famous people and what they wear) - I can safely say I would care about perhaps one percent of what these shows have to say - they're nothing better than a National Enquirer put to film
Yeah, well, that's enough for now. There's a bit of a theme, in case you couldn't tell. Serves me right for only having one television channel and keeping it on for the company. I guess I'm just extra ornery from a day of drama.
I guess there won't be many folks around here tonight, what with the Oscars and all. I'm not an awards show person so I guess I'll just have to amuse myself tonight. Actually, I have things to do, and really, tonight would be ideal to get some of them done. I did bring a bit of work home that I need to get done, but that will wait until after this post, and for when Edgar decides to stop licking my fingers as I type!
I got some good news this week - I got a three point something percent raise and a bit of a bonus (same amount as last year). I really wasn't sure what the raise would look like considering I got that special raise in September. But I guess they can't exactly recognize you with one raise, then not give you the normal raise, right? Everyone who bonuses was a bit disappointed. Canada did well, and our office in particular did very well, but our revenue is but a drop of spit in the ocean of American revenue, and they sucked the big one this past year. Our head guy in Canada begs for as big a bonus pool as he can for us, but there's only so much he can do. It's a great company but there are certain things that they need to revisit. Then again, that's a familiar refrain with many companies. My point of view is that it's all extra money, so what the heck, right? They pay me well and I like what I do - what more can I ask for (other than extra vacation time!)?
At my performance review, I had said that I thought I should be leveled up. The boss didn't say too much, which I should have paid more attention to at the time. The last time I asked (to get to my current level), he was much more animated about asking for it for me. Well, this time, I had to actually ask if I got it and he said no. The next day, I was talking to our department head and from things she said, plus things I'm remembering, I don't think my boss even asked for it for me. I'm not sure if I'll come out and ask him, but we do have a goal-setting meeting coming up after he's back from holidays, so we'll see. It just really sucks because if you don't think I deserve it, come out and tell me you don't think I should get it yet, or tell me a better excuse than the one he came up with this week. Sortaboss definitely thinks I should be at the next level, but he's not my PDA (development coach, or whatever it stands for - professional development advisor, I think), and it would look rather slimy to ask to switch to him. Anyway, the talk with the department head was good. I told her some stuff that was on my mind, and she obviously took it to heart because she spoke with Sortaboss about it all the next day. None of it would have been a surprise to him because we talk so much already. My future is going to boil down to them rather than the boss, as far as I can tell and am concerned. I can't worry about someone's feelings when it's my future and career that are being affected.
Anyway, work stuff has been on my mind a lot the past few months. I could write a whole essay about it but why bore you all more than necessary? Oh wait, you're all watching the Oscars, anyway. I'd just be turning my fingertips to nubs typing it all out for no reason.
I'm still keeping an eye on Edgar. He has been eating a lot and doesn't seem to have lost any more weight, but he hasn't gained any back, either, from what I can tell. I wish I had a scale. I check out his belly when I give him a rub and I can feel a little round something on one side. It doesn't hurt him at all, and it hasn't gotten any bigger. I make sure to check it every day. Just when I think he's showing signs of slowing down, he gets all kittenish again. That makes me feel better.
No trip plans yet. We went to get our passports last week. There may be a slight delay for LBA's daughter, but we're keeping our fingers crossed. We each paid an additional ten dollars to guarantee that we'd be able to pick them up on March 5th, but luckily we don't need passports to go to the Dominican, just in case her daughter's doesn't come through in time. I think I'm wearing my eyes and mouse out by checking the web for deals. We're going to have to stay late one night at work this week to actually book the trip, I think. My beach coverup and sandals should be arriving this week, and I still need to go pick up a slightly larger suitcase than what I have. I saw a lovely one yesterday, so if I don't find something cheaper in the meantime, I'll go pick that one up, probably next weekend. Then it's only one week until we leave! My sister and her family are in Mexico right now, so I hope they're enjoying their vacation. I really need to get my crap in gear so that I get everything done that I want (and need) to get done before the trip. I am such a procrastinator!
Okay, I'm going to go do that bit of work I brought home before I forget about it. I think a nice mug of hot chocolate would go well, don't you?
