Neglecting the DVR Too

Wow my life has been a crazy whirlwind lately. I feel like I have seriously been neglecting the blogs, but it isn't due to lack of interest, believe me. Lately, even my DVR has been neglected. I mean, its Saturday night right now and I still haven't watched G.lee! I am being realistic when I say the neglect will probably continue on through the rest of the year. There is just so much to be done between now and Christmas. It isn't going to slow down, that much I can say.

I went out of town Monday morning on a business trip to San Jose. I thought for sure I would have plenty of time to catch up on blogs after work when I went back to sit all alone in my hotel room from 5:00 to bed time. WRONG! Oh no, my counterpart at the division there took good care of me. I didn't get into the hotel until 8:30 the first night, which was 11:30 Texas non-adjusted daylight savings time, so all I wanted to do was go to bed (I did catch up on a couple blogs that night though).

At 8:00 on Monday morning I was being jet-propelled toward CA. I guess I didn't realize how long the flight was or I would have taken another book. I brought with me the second of the Twi.light books. I was about half way through and thought it would get me to CA and back. The flight ended up being almost 4 hours, and by the time we landed, I only had a couple chapters left of the book, so I had to go find the 3rd book before I left. I got into the office at around 10:00 a.m. thanks to the time difference, and then spent the day meeting all of the crew who does the same job I do. They have 6 people doing what I do, only they do so much more than me. The whole purpose of my trip was to find out what they do that I don't, in addition to aligning our two groups between the two divisions. (When I got back to work and people asked why I went, I told them about our intentions to align... and then slowly take over the company. lol) The night ended with a tasty dinner at the Chee.se C.ake Factory, complete with chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake.

The second day I was there was probably the best as far as fun goes. At around 2:30 in the afternoon a couple of us drove out to San Francisco to meet one of our vendors and spend the rest of the day and that night just hanging out around town. Our point of contact for that company, AG, asked us what we wanted to do. Their offices are located near the Bay Bridge, so I asked how close we were to Pier 39 because I hadn't been there since I was 17. He told us it was only about a 10-15 minute walk. My feet already hurt because of my shoe choice, but I chose to ignore their nagging pains and have fun instead. So we started walking. It started to sprinkle. We kept on walking. It sprinkled harder. We kept on walking. And walking. AG kept turning around and telling us it was probably only another 10-15 minutes, so we kept walking. I think we walked for about 45-60 minutes. AG apologized and said he was spatially inept when we did finally get there and I just laughed. I told him some of the best memories are when you get caught in the rain, and that I am seriously spatially inept too.

We then spent the next few hours walking around the Pier in search of a rubber seagull. I bought one last time I was there at 17, and it had sat in my back car window for years until it disintegrated and fell apart. We never did find one, but we sure did have fun looking. It reminded me of hanging out with friends in my pre-married days.

I had rented a full-sized car for the trip, but of course they were out of that size, so I ended up with a F.ord Ex.cursion. I can honestly say that perspective is an amazing thing. I now have a new-found respect for people who can park those monster things between lines. That thing was HUGE! My favorite memory of the vehicle is when I accidentally threw it into reverse and backed into the wall of a parking garage. :D Hey, I don't drive automatics. My car is a manual, so pulling the shifter back is putting a car in second gear to me.

I always forget how much traveling beats you up until I am well into the trip. All of the added stress of trying to catch flights, getting through security, lugging around luggage, finding where you need to go. It takes a lot out of a person. By the time I left SJ my feet were screaming bloody murder and refused to be in shoes on the plane ride home. My shoulders and back were like rocks. They were so tight you couldn't even feel knots that needed to be massaged out. In fact, it was only today that I could start to feel things loosen up into knots.

All-in-all the trip was worth every penny. I learned SO MUCH, and I had a great time to boot. I did really, really miss my baby though. It was so hard being away from her. The morning I left, her daddy held her while she cried and called for me as I ran out the door to catch my flight. B-R-U-T-A-L! Then when I got home, it was like she was mad at me for leaving, and it took her a couple of days to warm back up to me. She didn't really want much to do with me until she realized I wasn't leaving again and that I am still her mom and didn't change. We're back on good terms again now though, and that is all that matters.

Now life is all about getting ready for the holidays, and believe me, I am working on it!