its raining...its pouring...

it is December 30th its 55 degrees and it is pouring cats and dogs outside...and i get to curl up on the couch, stay up late and watch a movie...in my new boots...okay just kidding.

I try to keep up with fashion with out blending in with the crowd. For Christmas I got these heart rain boots which I picked out. I wore them to work this week and one of my friends says...'Those boots are so cute, but I could never pull them off"...she could never pull them off, I asked her what that meant, she said they were to bold and she doesn't like to make a statement...the reason I asked her that is b/c I seem to get this a lot...ever since college people have been telling me things I wear are cute but 'only me' or 'they could never pull it off'. Does that mean that what they really mean is that its not cute...after all they wouldn't wear it. I guess it doesn't really matter b/c it has never stopped me from wearing anything. I love my new boots...and it happens to be raining so if you're looking for me...I'll be playing in a puddle.  

Biggest Disappointment of 2004

Men. You may think I'm just saying that b/c...well my luck with the male folk has not been the best it has ever been in 2004. But, with the help of my 'relationship advisor' I have really focused on putting myself out there more this year...if nothing else just building friendships with guys, listening to girls stories about guys and just observing them in general and I have to say I'm sadly disappointed in the male species this year. Personally, I have been hurt on quite a few occasions this year in my relationships/friendships with guys, often times by those whom I never thought would hurt me. Lied to, left, harassed, pushed aside for no reason...mostly just treated with a lack of respect and caring. Sadly, many of my girlfriends have shared similar experiences or can follow up one of my stories with one of their own. I had one girl tell me just today that she thought it would get better as we got older and is finding that has been far from the case.
Even after the disappointment I have felt this year...I'm finding myself losing that tight hold of contentment in my singleness that I once held so firmly in my palm. What a scary thought. Surely there is more out there then what I've experienced the past 12 months.

Today I Quit My Job at IBM

For the first time I feel good about posting this. I have known for about a month now that this day was coming yet was not ready to make a public announcement until it was official. Considering Big Brother is always watching I never felt comfortable with posting any great detail about my job search but today I quit my job, with my favorite LARGE BLUE COMPANY...IBM...it so good to say it out loud. Although I have posted in a round about way about my dislike for this company I can finally say it. It has been a big relief to finally come out and quit. I had mixed emotions the past 24 hours waiting for 8:15 to roll around. I was nervous and happy and excited and sad...my boss was upset and surprised. My timing wasn't the best. I mean it is almost Christmas, there is lots of work to be done and my boss and many other people are trying to squeeze all their vacation days in prior to the New Year. We have the 'use it or lose it' policy here, and it's a shame that most people will lose some vacation and essentially be paying IBM thousands of dollars...they call it 'taking one for the team' I call it crap, but that happens in a lot of companies these days. Anyhow...it will be hard to work the next few weeks. My last official day is January 7th. Luckily, my new job is only a few blocks away and for the few people that I would like to keep in touch with, that will be possible. So that's the story. Goodbye IBM!

Here are some more pictures from the cruise.

Me and Dad 

Formal Dinner 

Me and Grandma 

This is Brano. The guy I blogged about that my parents fell in love with. He's a cutie. 

This comic's been flying around the office and I thought it was pretty funny. 

Working Construction Connection... 

How I spent my Saturday... 

The Greatest Compliment EVER

My mom and I are notorious for the ugliest legs...some refer to them as tree trunks...with cankles that go straight from our knee into our shoe. While on the cruise last week my mom stops and looks at me and said...'Oh my Gosh, I think you may have a little bit of an ankle'...I almost teared up. I have never had an ankle in my whole life. She continued, 'Either that, or your leg is fatter'. Never the less, for the first time in my life, I had an ankle.

That being said, I went boot shopping today...knee high boots...you know why I had to go boot shopping? B/c this winter when I put on my brown calf high boots and I could not zip them up all the way....not just a little..about an inch. So I have been wearing them only zipped half way b/c I love them. So what, maybe my mom was right my leg was fatter..which only cast the impression that I actually had an ankle. I am more upset that I will have to throw these boots away then I am to find out that apparently my calves are apparently way larger then they were last winter...I attribute that to the step aerobics...humor me.

Who knew that boot shopping could be a nightmare...Humiliating...Humbling...I tried on probably close to 20 pairs of boots...do you know how many of those I could zip up over my calves...THREE...THREE OUT OF TWENTY PAIRS. WHO IS WEARING THESE BOOTS....I AM NOT A FAT GIRL. I may not have the best legs in town...okay, i probably could be in the running for one of the worst pairs...but still...some of the boots i could not even come four inches to zipping up all the way...FOUR INCHES. WHO WEARS THESE BOOTS HONESTLY? ARE MY CALVES SO MUCH LARGER THEN NORMAL WOMENS THAT I CAN NOT EVEN ZIP OF HALF THE BOOTS I TRIED ON? I found only one pair that I liked and fit...and I bought them in black and brown b/c i never want to boot shop again.

Googlers

We all do it...i do it...i'm betting you've done it...heck, you're grandma probably does it...yeah even your grandma...Google them...its the background check of the 2000's. The best part is you can google someone and they don't even know that you've done it. You can see the article in the local paper on the high school basketball game he scored 14 points in...you can see the college website they had to make for a programming class...you can even see their college 'Founder's Daughter' speech or a really bad picture taken 2 years ago...You Google the ones you love, the ones you don't, and the ones that you wished loved you....you google them when your bored, when you want to find them, or for no reason what so ever.
Today I was googled...the web counter I use also keeps track of your last 10 'referers' most of the time it's direct hits, those of the people, I'm guessing, that I know and love and who check in to read a new post...sometimes I get hits from people searching google for Quarter Live Crisis or John Mayer...but today was different...and all though they didn't use 'Google' ...i can see that I have a googler...and although I have done it multiple times its a strange feeling to be on the other end...the googler may even be reading this if he/she found anything worth returning for (which I'm not holding my breath about) but if they are...will the real Yahooer please stand up? Unless you happen to be tall, dark, and handsome...then feel free to also leave your phone number.

AHOY!

I'm back from Sea and although I am on shore...the room is still swaying as I write this. Funny thing is that I never get sea sick on the boat but the 3 days after I get off I feel like a drunk sailor.
It seems like a bit of a dream now that I'm back. The 7 days aboard the Caribbean Princess were much needed but now that I'm back I realize its the same issues and stresses that I have...they were just postponed a week. It probably was not my favorite cruise thus far but it was still great and we had a lot of fun. I think the highlights were probably the pool side jumbo-torn that played some great new and old movies day and night....the great food, which I ate a lot of....and the good looking foreign waiters. Of course there was also Brano....the waiter my parents met on the same cruise back in May. My mom fell in love with they guy, and would have liked to bring him hope for me back then. They thought he would have been gone by the time they got there this time because he really hated it...but he was there, and he remembered them. She was right, he was a sweet heart...and a smooth talker, and he only had 4 more days on the ship...it was his last week. I'll have to post a picture later.
As for now, I'm exhausted and am going to bed...I can't even reread this so if it is not readable, sorry.