So I worked from home today because we were supposed to get this epic snowstorm and my boss told me yesterday it would be cool for me to just stay home and work.  I got all my necessary documents I would need and forwarded my office phone to my cell phone.  I was all set.  

I woke up to hardly any snow and mostly sleet.  However I woke up at the time I would be getting to work so I just set myself up a nice little desk and did my work.  I discovered that my mother watches embarrassing day time TV like the View, The Doctors and the hour of the today show that Kathie Lee is on.  Therefore while doing my work I watched those as well.   Kathie Lee has really had some work done.

Anyways.  Working in your PJ's rules.  I did most of my work at the kitchen table and then I went to do a conference call in my bedroom.  While I was on the call, my cat comes up and sits square on my planner that I had spread out.  Clearly I wasn't allowed to do anymore work.

Yes he is the cutest.  I need to make a LOLcat of this for sure.  

About an hour later I played Sudoku on my DS (I am addicted).  I left to go to the bathroom and I come back and see this:

Apparently I wasn't able to play the DS either.  I am going to miss seeing his cute face everyday when I move out!

xok

Is it crazy that in less than two weeks it will be December??  I think so!

Though I can't wait till next week because it's short!!

So, ok update.  Someone asked me about my apartment hunt the other day and I didn't even realize I didn't fill anyone in about my experience.  Ok so this is my first apartment hunting on my own so it's been pretty daunting.  I found a really cute place that I got a tour of on Halloween.  I find it amazing how some people can take photos to make rooms/spaces look HUGE because this place that I looked at seriously looked HUGE.  Then again for the price I guess that was wishful thinking.  

It was cute and probably the PERFECT size for me except two small issues.  OK the first one is a big issue.  There was ONE closet and it was in the bedroom aka for clothes.  My big problem right now is SPACE so I NEED at least one closet besides the one in the bedroom.  Ok well I'll give them the benefit of the doubt - there was TWO closets but they put the fridge in one of them.  Weird. 

Second thing was that the bathroom was in the bedroom which I thought was weird.  People have been telling me it's not but I think it is.  For ex to go to the bathroom you have to go through the bedroom.  I don't know it just caught me as weird.  Then she took me in the basement to show me the washer and dryer (good!) and the "storage" which had the largest dead cockroach/beetle in it.  Yah not putting my stuff down there.  

So I'm going to halt my search to at least February.  Gives me more time to save and I really love my mom's house around Christmas!

Work has been insanely busy.  More lately than ever.  Lots of new business pitches and presentations happening and I'm trying to lend a hand wherever I can.  Sad news came to us yesterday - one of our smaller clients called us to tell us they'd laid off a ton of people and they most likely wouldn't have us work for them anymore which makes me so sad.  I LOVE this client.  I love everything they stand for and the products we represent are AMAZING and I feel really proud doing PR for them.  I would work for them for free but sadly it's a lot more complicated than that.  We have some new business opps in the coming weeks so I'm hoping things will look up.  I mean - I've seen client teams fall apart because the client leaves.  Scary stuff.

My two co-workers (I always think of Jim from the office when I say co-workers because he says he could never call his co-workers friends - but in my case my co-workers are friends of mine) and I went out to dinner and drinks. 

We went to the Cheesecake Factory which was a unanimous vote.  My boss totally got pulled over getting there because she challenged me to find out which way was faster: Rt 123 or Rt 3A.  She said she felt the competitive nature take over and she ran a red light without even knowing.  She only got a warning but we had some giggles about it (and I plan calling her out at the all staff meeting tomorrow!).

We had so much fun.  I laugh SO hard when I am with them!  I swear the waiter thought we were psycho because of the laughs that were coming from our table.  We were talking SO much about work that Kathleen was like OK let's share something with each other that we wouldn't know otherwise.  So I told them the story of my NSYNC obsession when I was 16 and sending in a FANatic video.  I pretended to be naked in the middle of the road (I had a top pulled down and shorts on) and I held a poster board over my body that said "I AM NSYNCS BIGGEST FAN."  Wonder why I didn't win.  They liked that one.  

I told them I had a blog and that I'm not hiding anything so they can read if they want.  They know how obsessed I am with funny pictures/signs so were asking about which ones make the cut.  Kathleen asked me about one that I don't think I ever put up here:

From the Graves 601 Hotel in Minneapolis.  Probably the nicest place I've EVER stayed (seriously there was a tv in the bathroom but the shower was weird. I kept looking for a door but there wasn't one.).  They had this mile high sex kit in the minibar so obviously I had to take a picture of it.  Enlarge it to read the text better (that's what she said?).  I showed my boss the next day and she couldn't believe it.

I have some more gems from my phone that I've never posted on my blog. Stay tuned.

xok

Quick update!

Work has been insane hence the reason for my neglect.  But while I'm faxing media alerts for the New York Marathon I decided to update-ish.

Music time again!

I've been in a wicked The Academy Is mood as of late.  Not sure why.  I'm finally warming up the new album after hearing a live acoustic version of "The Test" on William Becketts blog I kind of gave the album another chance.  It's so good.  I'm really tempted to see then Nov 12 at the Roxy in Boston but I'm trying to hard to save money so - maybe next time :)  Caitlin and I saw them last November and they were AMAZING.  I was so impressed.  I thought William would be totally cocky and assey on stage much like other emo band singers but he was so charismatic and sweet.  IF he ONLY wasn't so damn skinny.

Anyways!  Been doing alot of listening to bands that begin with a C! LOL random.  Coldplay was JUST not close enough to make the cut.

Speaking of Coldplay I adored them on SNL last week and also adored their host!  I am in love with Jon Hamm.  Seriously.  Jon Hamm's John Ham.  Genious.  Why was I the only one who thought it was funny!  And the Mad Men sketch combined with one of my favorite sketches EVER - Two A-Hole's was just amazing.  Now all I need is Amy Poelher to bring the "Rick and Kaitlin" sketch back and I'll be happy.  We can find a new Rick!  Oh and Kristen Wiig needs to get on a new Tareeeget lady speech.  Am I the only one who sings "approved" when my debit card goes through?

Anywhosit.  Two A-Holes!

BIG NEWS!  It seems that EVERYONE has the moving bug these days so I decided to take the initiative and move out of my mom's house.  Yes I live in my mom's house currently.  Which whatever I don't care - but I need my own space.  Badly.  Hillary and John are pretty much gone (helping them move a ton tonight), Robyn called me from her new *and first time away from mom* apt and Pat is currently playing Bert and Ernie with his roomie as they do over their new place.

Well I'm going to check out two places this and next week.  One is in Weymouth near the Cameo I believe, and the other is in Abington near the Depot (GREGG!!!) and Target.  They are only like $20 bucks different and the realtor told me the one in Weymouth has a walk in closet.  Umm DO WANT.  I'm checking out the one in Abington Friday morning after my dentist appt and the Weymouth one probably next week.  So exciting.  Just the thought of getting to move out gets me so excited.  Yeah the bills and rent are going to suck but I think of all the unnecessary shit I buy during a month and it's crazy.  I can do it.  I haz become adult?

ALso Friday is Halloween and Lydia & Crew's Big bash.  So exciting.  I can't wait.  I don't have a costume yet sadly but I'm hoping something will come to me. I wore an angels halo at Missy and Nat's party but I feel like I might have to bring out the big guns at Lyd's place.  Hillary and John are going as Hillary and Bill (Clinton duh).  Hillary already tried out the Hillary mask this weekend at Missy's and I will tell you it's frightening.  It's like I am really with Hillary Clinton.

xok

So I think old age is setting in officially.  As many of you know - my 26th birthday is this coming Saturday.  Also Saturday my current license expires.  So I decide I'm going to go to the registry because I may or may not want a new mug shot on that baby.  

The woman asks me to look in the eye thing to check my vision.  Which is bad duh.  So I put my eyes to this machine I think is the vision checker and she's like "Ma'am.  That's the camera."  D'oh. Then she asks me to spell my last name and I spell it wrong!  What is with me today!

So I got a new picture and it's horrendous.  The woman procedes to tell me I have the same smile as Jessica Simpson.  Thanks.  I guess.  I even think I look OLD in my new picture.  AND my forehead looks huge.  I tried telling Bethany how awful my pictures are when they're straight on because it also shows my crooked nose - why can't I strike a pose in my license picture honestly.  

Yesterday at work we did some serious Fall cleaning.  We are growing out of our space.  So much we can't even see each other when we were sitting at our desks.  Also, we would have to move boxes around to even close the door.  Anywho.  Anything we couldn't send out anymore, mostly Spring 08 apparel, we moved into appr 7-ish boxes into our conference room (which is shared).  After I took like 5 bags of swag, Bethany's kids and mom came down to sift though and while she's there this crazy woman who works down the hall from us is like OOOOO this stuff is so great (meanwhile totally waiting for me to tell her she can take a few things if she wants).  So I'm nice and I'm like "Well feel free to look through a take a couple of things you like."  She takes a ton of shit.  But whatever we NEED to get rid of it.  A few hours later I go to check the mail, and I come back and there are two women and their kids standing around the boxes.  I'm like "Hi?" and my boss is like oh these are Terry's friends.  Thinking Kathleen is talking about her husband Terry I'm like "OH Hi!  So nice to meet you.  Yes please look through and take what you want."  Then I follow my boss in to my office and she's like "WTF!! I can't believe she sent her friends here."  Yep crazy lady's name is ALSO Terry and she sent her neighbors in to look through our boxes.  Seriously.  This is not a yard sale, lady.  

Long story short if anyone wants some tanks, socks, pants, polos etc please let me know before someone comes and rummages again.

XO

The crazy amount of work drama that went on after that last blog (literally 10 minutes after I posted it) is insane.  I almost want to erase it because it reminds me of how pissed off I was.

Anywho. Everything resulting from the drama was great and full of warm fuzzies.  Thursday I was whisked off to Minneapolis for the presentation I worked my face off for for like 2 months almost.  When we got there we practiced in person one time - took our class picture (again with the warm fuzzies) and put together the presentation room and action!

Side story on the class picture.  We go up to this gorgeous roof deck on the top of my companies headquarters to take a photo of the whole group (60-70 of us??) and up there EVERYONE is enjoying a cocktail and I see all my pals I haven't seen in months and I'm gabbing and long story short I end up RIGHT smack dab in the front middle because I was not paying attention to my original plan of hiding in the back.  Then the big boss comes and stands right next to me.  Greattt!  I'm chugging like 6 gallons of water due to nerves and I'm sweating like crazy and he puts his arm around me.  Seriously one of the coolest guys I know (and not because he would touch a sweaty me).

The presentation went really well.  The judges were eating when we started so I was hoping they wouldn't take notes on how nervous I was.  After I gave my first part I looked at one of my superiors and he smiled and gave me a lil wink.  Cheesy I know but that took all my nerves away immediately.  My second part went a lot better.  As soon as we were done and all the questions were answered I felt literally like a weight was lifted.  I felt like a huge rock of stress was gone from my body.

Party time. I checked into my hotel, changed out of my fancy clothes and met two lovely gals from my team in the hotel bar for celebratory lemon drop shots and a few glasses of wine.  Everyone wanted to go to a bar for more drinks but I was starving (I offically ate not one bite of food till like 9pm in fear of throwing up) so I stayed with Mike and Lori and ate some really yummy food in the bar.

I was going to go up to bed after but I realized I am NEVER in Minn. so I decided to join my co-workers out for some drinks and fun times (fun times they were).  First place we went was Brits.  Totally english bar (as opposed to Boston's Irish Bars??) and they have a huge lawn on the roof deck where you can play all kinds of fun lawn games.  So fun.  I never know what to drink out there because I'm such a Sam girl (Summit is NOT Sam guys...). We stayed there for a bit and I had a heart to heart with one of my account leads on our walk to the next bar called The Local.  CS was my PIC that night and we decided to stick together.  We however went to the second location ( never go with a hippie to a second location!!!! ) and proceeded to drink more.  I had some great conversations about Alkaline Trio and Motion City Soundtrack (from Minneapolis) with my friends fiance and random conversations about Facebook friending.  On the way to the bathroom I found the kissing room (where yes people go inside this dark lit room and make out).  I'll leave the forum open to whether I did or did not go in there:)

Went back to the hotel with Mike and CS and absolutely crashed.  Too much wine, too much beer made me silly.  My electric toothbrush exploded and I didn't even take a picture of it (one of many photo ops I missed during the trip).  Seriously my toothbrush exploded when I turned it on.  The batterys shot out of the bottom and battery acid (CS who was my neighbor called and asked me what that noise was) went everywhere.

Woke up the next day of the All Staff Retreat a little hungover but mostly still going off adrenaline so it was all good.  I decided it would be a good idea to drink a bit of every beverage I could find after getting to the retreat - I bring you my bevy of bevvies:

Yes I drank all of those through out the day and  a few more coffees and like 6 Diet Cokes to boot.

The day was also full of warm fuzzies and one big cold un fuzzie but this is my blog and I've already talked about it too much.  I realized this day that I also am devoid of accepting compliments.  So many people were coming up to me telling me how great I did in the presentation the day before and I was stoked about it but I was never sure what to say in return.  What sounds better to senior management: being like yeah thanks!! I knew I'd kick ass, or like "Ehh I was so nervous"  (I chose the latter) but I'm sure it wasn't the best call.  

I grabbed dinner by myself that night because the other teams were all studying real hard for their presentation.  I so conveniently sat across from the Scientology Center of Minneapolis (which I have a picture of it but it's not working).  There was a sign outside that said "Are you curious about yourself?? Come in..".  No thanks crazy face.

The night ended with some drinks with my favorites in the hotel lobby and much needed sleep.  Next day I woke up at 4:30 to make my way back to Boston.  The guy who drove me to the hotel found it so amazing that I worked in PR and kept asking me if I knew Dog the Bounty Hunter.  I'm serious.  He told me he wrote him letters telling him he thought he would be a great bounty hunter.  OOO Minneapolis.

EDIT: One more addition I forgot (but Pat reminded me).  In addition to my many beverages I enjoyed that day - I got to experience Dunn Brothers Coffee.  No - not owned by my good friend P Dunn but he wishes.  There are quite a few of them - one across from the office and one was IN the library we had our retreat at.  I was Dunn Brothers-ed out.  So good.  They had sugar free coffee shots in all the good flavors and not just Hazelnut and French Vanilla.

Speaking of coffee I think my next blog may include my ode to Pumpkin Spice Coffee.

xok

Lots of good stuff going on just very little time to actually blog about it.

Travelled last week to Minneapolis for work party and other good things.  The company I work for is very cool.  Their proper "Holiday Party" is actually St Patricks Day themed in March and includes beer, donuts and bagels in the am.  Literally 9 am I go to get myself a bagel and there is a line at the beer.  The reason we were out there is because if you're new you have to perform in the talent show.  O'Gong show as it is called.  Much like the Gong Show in the 80's you perform until you get gonged.  Mike, Lori and I decided to be hula hooping cowboys.  We really didn't think we'd make it through the first few notes of "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" - but we did.  We were begging to be gonged - and finally about 2 minutes in it ended.  So fun though.  B's team won second place with their rendition of Welcome to The Jungle complete with brooms as guitars and pens as drum sticks.  They looked great.  After the show we were whisked away to the airport to make our way back to Beantown.  I had of a lot of  and got to meet a lot more people that I missed in January when I visited.

Saturday night we attempted to celebrate St Patricks Day early so we went to the brew house and enjoyed some Magners and themed drinks.  What I love about the Brew House is there is a jukebox.  Well not an old school one obvs but one of those fancy ones you can put your credit card in (which didn't work).  I don't have to listen to crappy music (unless someone plays it).  Anywho one of the guys in there looked like a super music snob so he was totally challenging us.  Hillary played SOS by Jonas Brothers and seriously we sang so loud and laughed so hard.  This guy looked like he absolutely wanted to murder us.  So he goes and spends like forever trying to pick some new songs.  As soon as he's done Hillary gives me some money so I can go trump him.  I find  Foo Fighters "Hey Johnny Park" and it gives you the option to play it or PLAY NEXT - which in turn means interrupting the previous persons song choices.  So I do it.  It comes on and he's like WTF and throws his arms up.  Seriously though he'd JUST played "One by One" by the Foo and now he's all mad that I'm playing a better song from a better album (The Colour and the Shape FTWWWWW).  He wasn't pleased.

After the Brewhouse we went to Annies (who JUST GOT ENGAGED!!!!  Damn should have taken a picture of the ring for my blog) to check the ring out and say hello.  Yes Annie and James just got engaged and I'm so excited!!! Robyn on the other hand is not.  She is sad because she thought she'd be next.  Sorry Crickett.

[Disclaimer: Robyn is really happy for Annie.  I just like to pick on her for it]

But yeah October 2009 Annie will be Mrs Fernandez and I will be 27!  Congratsss guys!

Sunday Robyn and I went into Boston to see  Funny Games (as previously mentioned).  I read a few more reviews about it and I think I like it a little bit more.  We also walked around town and made fun of people.  We're 13.

Last night for St Patricks Day Jess, Hill, John, Robyn and I went out to the Half Door for some celebrations.   God I have been drinking so much in the past two weeks.  I think I'm going to take a drinking sabbatical.

Work is going good. Last few weeks have been crazy.  I have days where I just want to cry because NOTHING is going right but then I have days where I just feel like on top of the world.  I just officially joined a new account team today so I'm super excited about it.  Can't wait to get my hands on new stuff.

Lauren moves back to NYC next week and it's really struck a cord in my head.  I really miss New York.  I feel like something is pulling me back there.  Like I'd miss a few friends like crazy and I'd miss my mom but sometimes I feel like the odd girl out here.  Everyones getting engaged and married and it's like where do I fit in?  I don't know. Just a thought.  I mean I do need to find a man so I can beat Robyn down the aisle (I kid I kid).

Back to work!

xo