Slumping On My Office Chair

All the VPs and Directors have left for AZ for our annual meeting.  The smoke of war has finally started to dissipate.  The office is a mess, but I can finally slump on my chair, breathe and relax until the weekend.

I just wanted to update my blog, and my goal for the time being is to update at least once a week.  Hopefully after grad school, blogging would become a regular gig again.

Here we go:

• I did not attend President Obama's inauguration, as I can't stand dealing with the crowd. Thank goodness we didn't have to work that day.
• I have booked my make-up artist for the wedding. I thought I'd need a little sprucing up for the big day.  Next would be the dress...decisions, decisions. Hopefully, that will be decided this weekend. Wedding plans are going well, and the excitement is slowly building up.
• I am three weeks into spring semester. It is funny how I got so used to the international affairs courses that taking an elective such as Biblical interpretation is posing a real threat for me. Perhaps I need to get back into my humanities roots.
• Next month, we will start looking for a new house; I am very excited. I feel sad letting go of Pinky, but I guess it's time to open another chapter in our book.
• This year, we don't plan on traveling much.  We have to allot time for house hunting and the moving. Oh gosh, yes the moving. With a new house, we need to re-assess our financial needs.  We also need to keep our credit scores high and clean. I am still hoping to sneak in a short trip here and there but nothing too expensive or extravagant.
• It seems that with the wintry weather here, I keep dreaming of  the beach and sun. I've been drooling over the idea of going to Costa Rica, Virgin Islands or the Bahamas.

Ok, it's lunch time, so I'd better cease slumping on my chair and go get some food.

Midlife Crisis Already?

Senate and Congress are officially on recess. Actually, recess officially kicked off on Friday last week, but I was still beating a few deadlines. It was only during the weekend that I finally got the time to think, settle my nerves down and looked forward to some slow paced work days. During the past few weeks, I had no time to think and I was too tired and uninspired to write any coherent blog entries. I would have a busy day filled with stressful events but would seemingly fail to write about them. I blame it on the insomnia attacks I've been getting; it felt like sleep has to be forced kicking and screaming just to get a decent shut-eye. The next day, I'd wake up with a throbbing headache.

There were times I kept re-evaluating over and over where my life is heading. Mauling on questions regarding career change, where to live/move next year, leaving everything behind and moving back to the homeland, and trying hard, in fact too hard, to answer the questions, "Is this it?" or "Is this really the life I want?"

Is this an early on set of a midlife crisis? Help!

White Hair

Summer is in full blast in the DC area - hot and humid. The city is officially a huge, steam sauna. Lately, I haven't been blogging due to work demands and other self and social constraints (you can guess what they are...lol), but I thought I'd write a short update today. For now, my work is my life, and it's demanding more time than it should. I'm hoping normal schedule should be back as soon as the lawmakers get their recess and head out-of-town to their unbelievably gorgeous vacation houses. August and September should be sweet and slow. I hope.

I have no big summer vacation plans, but the stressed me really wants a vacation - somewhere quiet, peaceful and breezy should be nice. For now, a vacation is just a thought, but I'm already making plans for the biggies - Thanksgiving and Christmas. I still can't believe August is here and we're four months away from my favorite month of the year - December. I can't wait to start playing Christmas songs as early as September. I know, silly me.

Oh and wait, I think I am beginning to see white hair. I found a strand yesterday. I freaked out.

Work Rant

Yesterday, it was madness at work, as papers piled on my desk due to a deadline. I do love being busy, but not lot like yesterday. I was frantic, worried and stressed. I didn't know which project to tackle first but managed to get it all done by their respective deadlines.
Lo and behold - I am still here. Today is the absolute opposite of yesterday, and now I find myself yawning and dozing off.

I need another cup of coffee or tea, please.

Finally Friday

Finally, it's Friday and this is how I feel. I'm not "in love" with someone, but Friday is the culmination of a week's worth of work and it's absolutely worth celebrating with a song. Here are the lyrics from "Friday I'm In Love" by The Cure. This song was used on the movie "50 First Dates."

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday I'm in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love

Saturday wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitate...
I don't care if Monday's black
Tuesday Wednesday heart attack
Thursday never looking back
It's Friday I'm in love

Monday you can hold your head
Tuesday Wednesday stay in bed
Or Thursday watch the walls instead
It's Friday I'm in love

Saturday wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitate...

Dressed up to the eyes
It's a wonderful surprise
To see your shoes and your spirits rise
Throwing out your frown
And just smiling at the sound
And as sleek as a shriek
Spinning round and round

Always take a big bite
It's such a gorgeous sight
To see you in the middle of the night
You can never get enough
Enough of this stuff
It's Friday
I'm in love

A GREAT WEEKEND TO ALL!

The Office Scene

I'm too eager to get this week behind me for several reasons. First, the snowstorm which really put a damper on my spirits; second, death in the family which made me emotional and angry (anger for reasons I can't disclosed); and, third, annoying office politics and gossip. There's this silent war between two or three coworkers, and they all end up whining in my office which makes me sort of the shock absorber for all their queries and qualms. The two, as the third doesn't complain much, are so insensitive that even if they see me busy and purposely ignoring them, they'd still sit in and keep up with the dissing and hissing each other talk. Yesterday, I was on the brink of losing it, when I apologetically told the hisser, "I'm sorry I have to do this, but you have to leave because I have a deadline to meet." He was silent at first, but then got up and left.

This morning, the hisser came back with more news. Sigh, some people just don't listen. I think my next step would be to remove the guest chairs in my office. How would you handle this?

Happy Thanksgiving

Today, I feel like I'm the only person in the office. It is so eerily quiet - the copying room is dead, the fax machine is asleep, and I could only hear my fingers typing on the keyboard. When I took the train this morning, it was uncomfortable to see seats empty. The usual line to the coffee shop was non-existent, as I walked straight to the cashier to pay for my favorite cup of Morning Blend. On the morning before Thanksgiving Eve, DC felt uncrowded, and as someone who deals with this city's hustle and bustle, I felt a sense of freedom and relief. There are times that this city could be so unkind and unfriendly. Countless times I've thought of moving out and finding a job somewhere, but something seems to keep drawing me to stay. It's probably because most of my college friends are working in the area, and that I've gotten comfortable to the culture here. Whatever it is, I have to admit that DC has its own charms.

As I type this blog entry, I'm still wearing my sneakers instead of my work shoes. I actually neglected to dress up for work today. Why? We're only working for four hours. I just thought that my boss is so considerate, that he's decided to close the office at 1 PM giving my other coworkers ample time for their drive out-of-state. I guess that's another thing I have to be thankful for. Also, I still have my job, while other companies are laying off their workers, my company is still intact and standing firm. It is not my intention to gloat; I am just thankful that we're surviving the storm. As my boss stated on our last staff meeting, "We will get through this." His words inspired me, and that's all I needed to hear.

As I think about last year's Thanksgiving, it will be different this year. Just like the past six years, last year's Thanksgiving was big and noisy with the ex's family. This year, Thanksgiving will be small and quiet, as I'll be spending it with my Mom. Mom and I are picking up groceries this afternoon, and that we'll be bringing some food and visiting my sick aunt who lives on the other side of Maryland tomorrow. This year's Thanksgiving feels so different. Is it because there's a big change of people involved? Or is it because I have started to embrace the change that was felt forced upon me a year ago? I prefer to think of it as maturity and coping with the challenges of life. Whatever the change or changes maybe, I like it because it's on a personal level.

Lastly, I could not have survived the storms in my life without my family and friends - this includes YOU, my blogger friends. My family's been so supportive and so patient with me. I still remember calling my sister, who'd stop what she's doing just to listen to me sob my heart out on the phone. My parents who took off from work, fly ten hours just to come see me and make sure I'm okay. For the countless phone calls I received from my friends encouraging and pushing me to get up and get through the day. For the inspiring comments from my blogger friends, who have truly lighten my load when it was too heavy to carry on.

To all of you, I am so ever grateful. Your generosity has humbled me, and that my world has been a better place because of you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mr. Kia

Weekends are too short, too short to even get enough rest and relaxation. It's already Sunday afternoon, and I've been fighting this feeling of not wanting to go to work tomorrow. After last week's meeting, I felt drained and couldn't get myself to do anything. If there is such thing as a stress bug, I think I've been bitten not once but ten times.

In my years of working, I've always managed my work load efficiently, but it is dealing with difficult people that really puts a strain on me. Aside from preparing for my meeting's logistics, I had to deal with our firm's "know-it-all" (Kia). Kia drove me insane, as he tried to manipulate his way and overpower my decisions. My head felt like a kettle overflowing with boiling water. It was tough containing my anger but still managed to do so. I was fuming inside, but instead of blowing up and be accused of unprofessionalism, I told him to fulfill his part while I do mine. When it got harder to deal with his behavior, I chose to ignore his antics and proceeded with my meeting as the team has planned. Amidst the challenges that I've dealt with, the meeting was a success.

After all Kia's behavior, I still thanked him for all his help. In this lifetime and wherever I am, I treat the people around me as best as I want to be treated. At work, I respect my coworkers and treat each one with respect and courtesy, but it is a different story when a receptionist who thinks he's the manager tries to manipulate or push me around just to get his way.

Freedom Friday

It's Friday evening, and it was a rough day at work. A number of my colleagues have gone bar drinking but joining the happy hour crowd isn't really my thing anymore. When I reached the age of 27, I seem to have unconsciously decided that I'm through drinking and mingling with the nocturnal crowd. I think my definition of fun has completely changed. At the end of every work day, I prefer coming home to my apartment and shutting societal demands outside my front door. It seems so ironic that I feel more freedom in my one-bedroom abode than on the clamorous streets of big DC. In my small home, I can do anything I want from slouching on the couch and eating unhealthy food.

After a stressful day at the office, I like to come home and bake cookies or cakes. I like baking sweets or anything with chocolate, as I find them comforting and friendly. At the moment, I have fudge baking in the oven, and the aroma of the almighty chocolate is nothing but heavenly and relaxing. This is the first time I've added chocolate syrup with the mixture, so I'm excited to see how this will turn out. So tonight, as I turn on my cable and watch "The A-Team" outwit the bad guys, I'll have warm fudge topped with vanilla ice cream. This is what I call - freedom Friday.

Happy weekend!

Not My Friday Either

On Friday, I finished my department's report at 3 PM, so my day should have been done, right? Wrong. (Every week, I compile reports from every department.) I was in the office until 6:50 PM waiting for department L's report. L department has this idea that they should be waited upon every single freakin' week. I was furious and complained to my director that this is getting worse. One time I waited until 6 PM, but apparently, they went home without even bothering to send me their report. Imagine how angry I was. Well, my director went over and talked to them, so we'll see next month if there'll be some changes. The report went out at 7 PM.

At 8 PM, Mom and I were already at the airport to pick up my Dad. Dad's flight from Hawaii was on time, and we were happy to see him. He looked tired, but cheery as ever. We boarded the Yellow line, and we were to stop at Gallery Place to transfer to the Red line en route to my apartment. Unfortunately, the National's (DC's baseball team) game just concluded and people were packing the station like sardines. It was hot and I smelled liquor everywhere. Three trains passed, but we were unable to get in. There was a lot of pushing and shoving. On the fourth train, we finally fought our way in. It should have been smooth sailing from there on, but again, I was wrong. A train in front of us broke. Metro DC made an announcement that the train we were on will track back to an earlier station and a bus from there will take us to where we're supposed to go. We followed directions, so when we finally got out of the train, we were surprised that there were no buses waiting at all. A Metro representative said we were supposed to have gotten out from the other Metro station. Hell, my blood was starting to boil. One of the passengers was already fuming, so the Metro rep said he'll ask for buses to come pick us up where we were.

I looked at my watch, it was already 11 PM. This is becoming a three hour ordeal. We waited and waited some more, the bus was taking longer than expected. I looked at my parents, and they looked tired. I felt so guilty for taking them through this trip. I went to the Metro rep and asked what's going, and he said that the bus should be here any minute. We waited again. After 3o minutes, I decided to hail a cab and abandon all hopes that Metro DC will ever do it right for us that night. The cab ride went well and I spent the whole trip complaining to our cab driver, who was ever sympathetic to what happened. By the time we reached my apartment, it was 1:00 AM.

I was angry, but too tired and exhausted to complain. I plopped myself to bed, and I was just thankful we were safely home.

Loony Monday

It's 4 PM, and work is starting to slowdown. I still have a stack of papers to deal with, but I'm about ready to fall asleep or just get a few minutes of shut eye. It's Monday, and I already feel exhausted. I guess that's what an early morning meeting can do to you. I've been running around the office making sure everything is ready especially that we have company members visiting. So far, the meeting was a success, and I'm just glad to be back in my office resting at the moment.

These days, my office looks boring. I took down the paintings last week, and I have a pile of documents on the floor. I still have to empty a couple of shelves and drawers; throw away stuff I don't need anymore. I am really bad at throwing things, as I seem to end up keeping most of it. Whenever I look at an old notebook or some outdated reference book, something tells me that "I might need it someday," so I end up stacking it back. This attitude totally defeats the idea of purging unneeded materials. As of now, I haven't thrown away anything. Who knows, I may never will.

Everyone in the office will be doing some office clean-up this summer due to a major office renovation. Admin said the actual work will start this week and may last until September. It's good they will be working at nights and weekends only because I can't imagine myself working while someone is hammering or drilling somewhere. My office will be getting a new paint and some new furnitures. So, while my walls are bare and my library is in chaos, I can marvel on the thought that soon my office will feel like home again.