Trip to SB

So, I am flying to Santa Barbara for training on a current project within my company. I will be taking over the project from another analyst. Being on a project is paramount in this industry since "being on the shelf" too long can spell doom.

I looking forward to the travel legs of this trip with the same anticipation as a person looks forward to a root canal without novacaine. My boss booked the trip. The route there takes me to ATL, LAX and SBA. The LAX to SBA flight is the worst. I have a middle seat for an almost 5 hour flight. Then, there is the way home... I fly SBA to SLC and then SLC to LAX and then the red eye home. My first flight is @noon and I come home the next day @6am. I am SO not looking forward to this.

Now a break for my whining...

I often spend so much time worrying about how the girls are affected by me not being home that I often forget about the effect it has on my wife. She is one amazing person to put up with me. I really need to do a better job of showing her how important she is to me.

Vegas

So, My wife and I went to Las Vegas this last weekend. It was so nice to spend some time alone with her. Since taking this job, she and I have had so little time to spend with each other. We decided that a little trip together would be nice...

Thursday - 02/05/2009

• Met Bob the Bachelor at the CLE airport (see above).
• Flew first-class to LAS (using my airline miles plus a $10 processing fee).
• Landed in Vegas and went to our hotel
• We received a nice suite at the Renaissance. The room was nice. We had a bedroom, living room and 1.5 bathrooms.
• Our hotel was next to the LAS convention center which was hosting "The World of Concrete." Who knew that there was a World of Concrete?

Friday- 02/06/2009

• Woke up. Got out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head (crap, we forgot a brush).
• Ate breakfast in the club lounge (a perk of traveling a lot - it was only open one day for us).
• Gambled.
• Saw the Body Exhibit. I was a little disturbed (pause for laughter to die down) to see all of those dead people. Sure, it was interesting, but those were REAL people.
• We ate lunch. Yes, in spite of seeing dead people, I like to eat. I have always been able to compartmentalize experiences like that. I know it is weird, but welcome to my world...
• Rested.
• Saw a show with my wife. Zumanity was an awesome show. We had a front row sofa. Yes, it was a sofa. The show was very racy with lots of nudity and suggestive elements. Who doesn't like that? Plus, the show had a dwarf. I am really in awe of dwarfs. I really love them.
• After the show, we went to a fancy dinner for my birthday at Nobhill Tavern in the MGM Grand. We had some nice cocktails while waiting for our food. My wife had a nice fruity vodka drink (I can't remember what it was called). I had an amazing glass of 16yr Lagavulin Scotch. My wife had Colorado Lamb and I had Organic Pheasant. We also shared some Truffle Macaroni and Cheese (I do not typically order Mac and Cheese, but this was NOT Kraft. This was decadent). We finally ended dinner with the best coffee I had ever tasted and a very sweet Chocolate Coconut Bar (seen below).

Saturday - 02/07/2009

• Guess what? It rained today... ALL day.
• So, my wife and I went shopping. The Venetian has some great shops. They have Barneys (my dream store). They have tons of designer stores like Ferragamo, Pal Zileri, etc. They also have a 7 For All Mankind store. This made my wife VERY happy. This store has her dream jeans. They truly fit her so nice.
• The purchase - My wife bought a pair of jeans at 7 For All Mankind. They altered the jeans for us the same day. My wife is so petite; she needs a hemmed pant. These jeans look amazing on her.
• I had thought about buying shoes at Ferragamo or Barneys, but I can't see how anyone can spend $300-$500 on a pair of shoes. Heck, Barneys had a pair of shoes there for $1400. My first car was worth less than that.

Sunday - 02/08/2009

• We flew home. My wife was really getting used to being in first-class. She was now an old pro.
• On our way home from the airport, we learned that our eldest had been ill. We left with our little one getting over being sick and came home to our eldest being sick. I hate for my kids to feel sick.
• Overall, minus the tiredness from walking, it was a really nice weekend. I am really grateful that I was able to spend so much one-on-one time with my wife. She really is such a good person and, best of all, she gets me (in more ways than one... wink... wink...).

Sytlist Dilemma

So, I posted this dilemma on Facebook, but I thought I would post it here too.

I have a stylist dilemma. (A what?... you might ask...) My hair stylist (You pay $$ for that haircut?) is back from maternity leave. In the meantime, I have been seeing a different stylist. She is nice, friendly and cuts hair so well, but I do not have that same connection with her that I have with my normal stylist. What do I do?

How does one dump a sylist without hurting feelings? This is SUCH a dilemma. In reality, do I sound like a 16 year old girl? Probably...

Let me click "Publish Post" and let the embarrassment of my dilemma commence...
But, the dilemma remains...

Chao...

Can I be in your Five?

So, it has been a while since I posted last... Coincidentally, I tend to post more when I am not home... Oh well..

1. I am without a project now. In someways, I am relieved. I really hated some of the people and problems associated with that project. Being without a project is normally pretty scary, but my company has a good number of projects ready and waiting. Let's hope that the next one has less travel and hours... Oh look, a leprechaun!
2. I am obsessed with A&E. That network differs so much from TLC and Discovery in that the people on TLC and Discovery tend to be normal or attractive or stylish, etc. A&E has some new exterminator show with some guy who looks like a cross between Yahoo Serious and Nikki Sixx. The real gem of A&E, though is a show that is not new. It is Dog the Bounty Hunter. I can't believe that a family like that really exists. Those people are crazy! I can't stop watching. Dog can't seem to buy shirts that stay buttoned up. Beth makes Dolly Parton look like a classy, flat-chested socialite. Dog's sons are muscular ex-cons. And then there is Baby Lyssa. She is Dog's 21 year old daughter. The other night she took down a fugitive. The takedown cracked me up for some reason...
3. What's up with Facebook? I feel a little sophomoric for being on that site, but I have caught up with so many friends from high school, Progressive, etc. Maybe the ice is beginning to melt. I really miss some of those people.
   
4. I am lucky to be a dad and husband. Yes, it is not always easy, but sometimes one of my girls looks at me and my heart stops... I live for that look or smile or expression or funny comment or fancy dance move or runway walk or scissor hand-scissor hand-scissor hand-fork-fork-spoon arm-scissor fingers... Well, you know what I mean, right? They are truly and without a doubt the reason I live.
5. I can't believe that I am going to be 36. WTF is that all about? I really am getting old.
   

Finally, I am going to Vegas for my birthday. I can't wait. The little lady and I have not spent a lot of time with just her and I for a LONG time. She deserves an Arc de Triomphe for all that she does.

Funniest Video I have seen in awhile

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo

Facts of Life: 2009

“You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life...”

The Bad
My rental car was vandalized.
They broke a window and stole the rental company’s GPS.
It is freakin’ -6°F…
Why they hell would someone be out there doing knucklehead things in those elements…

The Good
I have a new best friend on Myspace…
I know that me having a Myspace is moronic, but I have one.
My new best friend is my favorite celebrity not named Salma Hayek…
Her initials are JLH.

I was never really insane except upon occassions in which my heart was touched...

Well, I am back on the road... I so hate spending time in hotels, airports and rental agencies. I know that part of it is that I have been coming to the same airport and the same hotel and the same customer for almost a whole year. Last year at this time, I was just starting out with this company. I was just so grateful to have a job. And, I was dealing with the emotions of the layoff and its effect on my family. This last year was a crazy one. In addition to the new job, I replaced the most tenured BA in my company on the most complex project. My company was purchased by a much larger company. My company laid off people (including some of my friends - I sure know how that is). Office locations were closed.

But, in the grand scheme of things, I work this job that I hate so much for one reason... to buy my eldest a PSP, laptop and desk... LOL
I would work as a custodian in a well-frequented bath house if that is what it took to earn money for my family.

I truly hope, though, that I can find a company or project within this company that will not require me to travel and work as much.
I miss seeing my family (especially after being home with them for over six weeks). I also miss hanging out with my Prog friends. I really need to spend more time with them. In reality, I really need to extend myself out there to be a good friend and to accept that others might want to be my friend. Being a friend (and making friends) takes energy. For the most part, I often think that I just don't have the energy to do it even though I know that I will have a more rich, more vibrant life. It is like I have become accustomed to and enjoy the shades of grey that forgot the beauty of the colors that exist beyond me. I have friends from high school that I never contact because I just don't know if I care. Maybe I am just afraid to extend my energy on seeing them when I can barely see the friends I do really care about.

With all the rambling above, I have realized that I really need to make this year a good year. "F" it! I need to sound my barbaric yawp. I need to seize the day to make my life better, my family's life better and my future better. I need to choose happiness. You know (of course you don't know...why do people begin a sentence with that inane phrase?), I have often thought that depressed people were selfish and that I would not choose to be sad. I have realized that happiness is selfish, too. I need to be selfish. I need to chose happiness.