Forest from the trees.

Could it be?  Could I possibly be coming out of the woods?  I believe the "case" is coming to a close.  We settled the largest portion of the lawsuit this week.  Check in hand, money in the bank.  My boss keeps coming by my desk and saying "the check really cleared the bank?"  It was an early Thanksgiving present.  So we have about 1/6th to worry about now and that is in the hands of our well paid lawyers. 

For those of you who were following my cryptic messages before, nothing has changed.  All of the allegations are still there.  And if I didn't believe in karma/fate/destiny/God's wrath I would be so pissed right now.  You see, in the world of Corporate America sometimes the bad guy wins.  We as individuals try to do the right thing, try to stand up for things that are good and just, try to support the underdog, try to speak for those who can't speak for themselves… but we as a company do a cost/benefit analysis.  What will this do for the stock price and how much money could we recover?  The reality is people who steal large amounts of money generally are not good investors.  That money is long since up their nose or down some girl's panties.  And we can't afford the bad publicity.

So where does this leave me?  A little older, hopefully a little wiser.   Unfortunately a little less trusting.  But my freedom is at hand.  I can almost see the way out of this forest. 

Friday is so nice

I'm so very happy that it is Friday.  I've noticed that some of my favorite blogs are lacking in posts this week.  I think everyone is starting to get into the holiday thing… trying to get tons done before next week.  I know I am.

But alas, it is Friday.  And my dear, workaholic friend wants to take the afternoon off and go see a movie.  How can I resist?

So besides that the only thing going in my life is stressing about money.  Amazing how you can really get down to the nickels and dimes and (jeez) even the pennies and see where you totally piss money away.  Err…  I shouldn't complain.  The only reason I'm stressed about money is that I haven't sold my car and I'm going to London.  Boo hoo, right?  But still, I'm trying to be responsible.  Totally responsible. And not come back from London with a huge credit card bill that lasts well beyond the jet lag.

So if you need me, I'll be the girl staying in and reading books that I already own, eating mac'n'cheese, avoiding WholePaycheck.  You can catch me at the movies today, I'll be the girl with the big purse and the cans of Shasta (does anyone else know what Shasta is?)…  Please do not look for me at any of my normal sushi/martini/mojito spots.  I won't be there.  And if you find me there, send me home.

Word to your mutha. 

My best friend just found a grey hair on her head.  That's awful.  I know it was traumatic for those of you have also experienced this self discovery.  And I've lived through it with other friends but not this friend.  This friend is only 60 days older than me.  Will I find a grey hair in 60 days?  I can't handle this.

And then my sister informs me that people also great grey hairs down there….  Wha??????  This is so not ok.

In other news, I'm really excited about all of the concerts coming up.  We've got Dave Matthews Band (Gavin DeGraw opening, like him), Liz Phair at a small venue, then the grand finale U2 December 15th.  I'm just praying that we get inside the circle at the U2 concert.  And for a little dessert we have Coldplay in February.  Very exciting stuff. 

No new news on the job front, but I will keep you posted.  For those of you in the midwest, stay warm.  For those of you in warmer spots of the world, well I'm flipping you off right now but you can't see it.

When did hell freeze over and why didn't someone tell me?

I just got a voicemail from a VP in another division.  He is interested in ME for a great job!  That would be a total promotion!  Shut up!  I know.

And he has already checked with my boss (aka 'Pops' as in the man I recognize as my second father)… and he said they could actually talk to me!

I know I am using way too many exclamation points for just a vm and it could be a long time before I'm actually packing up my stuff to move to a different cubicle in the neighboring building but seriously.  I never thought he would let me out.

Ok, I need to calm down before I call him back so I don't sound quite so desperate.  AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

And on another note, I pitched my latest career idea to my sister, a career for her…. And she liked it!  She said we could start doing a little market research this weekend!  I didn't even read my horoscope today but I think it may have said something like "you will have a good day today even though you are in a god forsaken town in East Texas"….

OMG.

On another separate note, I have come to realize that I'm going to need some new activities in my life so I have more material for a blog.  Dooce is amazing but she has not only her own gastric conditions, but a dog, a husband and a kid for endless material.  I have a dog and she is little.  She doesn't provide much material for a blog.

I will consider adopting so I can tell cute kid stories.

Oh Fall, how lovely art thou...

I took my MINI to KC yesterday to get the annual service done.  Wow.  That was cool.  The shop down there has a lounge with WiFi and computers and magazines and Starbucks and a soda fountain and hot tea…  I had a great time, except for one small problem.  They did not have my iPod connector in stock.  I could have waited a week or two to come down until they had one in stock, but no.. They did not inform me when I made the appt that they were without the appropriate parts.  Slightly disappointing.  More than slightly.  Irritating.  They apologized profusely.  Whatever.

So my best friend and I hit the Plaza.  A nice shopping area.  We had lunch outside.  It was lovely.  There are a few new stores down there Urban Outfitters (does anyone else think that place is way over priced sh*t?  I mean fine, sarcastic and whatever, but over priced!) and Anthropology (Ahhh, love it!)….  And Aldo Shoes.  I know to people who live in real cities, as opposed to the big small town that I live in that we collectively pretend is a city, this is no big deal. 

I am now the proud owner of super trendy cute peek-abo (is that possibly how you spell that?) shoes…. And some great new boots.  I know, not Manolo's or anything but hey.  I'm just a corn fed midwestern girl.

There are more important things in the world...

Too often I sit in my own little bubble.  My cubical, in my cubical farm, in my beautiful office.  Everything at my fingertips, everything at my disposal.  I have food in my belly, I have a home and a family.  I have friends.  I can't imagine living through the tragedies of the day - Katrina or the earthquake.  But even harder for me to comprehend is the tragedies in Congo and Rwanda.

Please go listen to this article.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4989257

What is appropriate?

Ladies (and DDJ) - I just saw a colleague in the hall and it struck me how inappropriate the length of her skirt looked.  Her legs are a little on the meaty side.  And she was wearing ivory colored pantyhose (I even hate the word pantyhose)… why would anyone think making their legs look pasty white is a good thing to do?  Not that I'm a fan of suntan colored hose either.  Hose in general are bad.  At times the norms of corporate America force us to wear them.  It is unfortunate.  I have also decided that black pantyhose look very bad on people.  I am a fan of fishnets.  I wish I didn't work in such a conservative field or industry.  I will be bringing the honey colored tightly-woven fishnets to the office fashion landscape, however.  And I love tights, but they don't looks so good with some suits.

But back to the skirt length issue.  Basically, I think for most work settings, the skirt should be pretty close to the knee.  Just my thought.  I personally hate seeing the fat on the back of people's legs, right above the knee.  It isn't flattering. 

Another challenge to the skirt length, I love fun lengths and fun hems… but most people should not cut themselves off at the fattest part of their calf either.  I'm not very tall but having longer legs, three-quarter length skirts often hit me at this awkward spot.

Well, that's my story about skirts.  Let me hear what you have to say about this whole thing.

If all fall days could be like this...

I love fall.  This year has been a truly beautiful one.  Today is sunny and in the 60's.  The leaves are very pretty.  I had to run a few errands over lunch.  I drove around with my GINORMOUS sunroof open, blasting some great music on my AWESOME sound system.  Ahhh, I love new cars.

One of the errands I had to run was going to get my car washed.  Again.  For the 4th time this week.  We I am trying to wash the paint off my car?  Is it due to my OCD kicking in?  No. 

You see I was driving down a very busy street yesterday when I went through a very large puddle of mud.  It made a huge splash under my car.  A few minutes later just as I was asking myself where such a large mud puddle could come from on such a dry day, it hit me.  The smell began to burn my nostrils.  Manure.  Awful manure.  My dear "Farm Friend" informs me that it must be pig shit. 

I can't get rid of the smell.  It isn't bad now.  You can't smell it from inside the car, just when you are behind the car.  Personally, I think it adds to the character a little bit.  I tell my passengers that I was just driving through the English countryside.

Well, time to roll.  Tonight is all you can eat sushi at my favorite spot with at least two of my favorite people (my sis and Farm Friend… must think of a better name for her… but highly intelligent, towering, gorgeous, understated ambitious, girl with the best tattoo's is just too long to say)…

Ps- thinking of starting a new blog dedicated to a subject.  Hmmm.