A short one.

Alright, this one is going to be pretty short considering it's getting late now and I still have to work tomorrow. Good thing it's Friday.
So I am still thinking about that stupid work Christmas party I have to go to. I finally decided to recycle the dress and buy new shoes. After all, I only wore it once and no one will ever know. Besides, I'd rather spend all that money on shoes. Plus, my friend actually plans to wear a dress she bought and then return it, so my recycling plan doesn't seem so bad after all. But enough about that.
I finally asked my friend to go to the party with me. This is how it went down:
Me: I have a proposition for you.
Him: Is that a marriage proposition?
Me: No, not today....
And then I asked him to go with me. Surprisingly, he said yes. But then again, I know how much he likes networking and me working in finance definitely helps. However, whatever his intentions were, I got company for my party in case it turns out to be completely boring. Plus, I already told people at work I am coming with someone, so it wouldn't be nice to back out now. Now, our mutual friend told me that he is kind of short so I guess I am going to have to be careful with shoes to make sure I am not taller than him. On the other hand, he said he doesn't really care about that and it would show his confidence if he shows up at a party with a girl who is taller than he is. How about that, huh?
I've just spent the past hour talking to my friend about work. At 11pm.... How sick is that? It's like I don't deal with that shit enough at work. Why do I feel the need to talk about markets, and returns, and retirement savings at any time past 5pm? I'll tell you why - brain-washing. Everyone talks about the importance of what I do so much, I actually believe in it myself. Not that I don't think it's important. But not nearly as much as my management is trying to convince me.
Oh, and a final note. Despite all my hopes of getting promoted after this quarter, I doubt it'll happen. There is a rumor at our department that they are only promoting five or so people, which means the chance I'll be one of them is close to zero. Despite my busting my ass this past quarter and getting excellent reviews... Sucks.

Back to school?

So since I am done with my busy season at work, I find I have a lot of free time on my hands now. Sometimes more than I actually know what to do with. I can't complain though since it finally gave me a perfect opportunity to complete a bunch of personal tasks while at work. You don't believe me? Watch it:
I finally opened up a new CD account since I came across some special interest rate on a short term CD. I actually thought about transferring money into a savings account, but later came across this promotion and decided to go with it. Hell with it, why not. After all, nine months is not that big of a deal and they have a fairly high APR for such a short-term investment. About two percent premium over their long term investment vehicles. It was a bit of a gamble for me in a way that I invested all available money in it, but hey I get paid tomorrow and should have some funds available for personal spending then. And by personal spending I mean a dress, to which I will get to later.
I also paid all my bills. Yay! They've been just sitting at my desk at home since I never have time to take care of them. Because I am almost never home! And even when I am, I am usually too exhausted to think about anything important. I also totally took advantage of my company and mailed them out for free. Well, actually I talked our mail room guys into mailing it for me. I don't think they mind it, they are really nice guys. Plus, I am sure they get those kinds of requests on a daily basis.
Next, I played around with my 401K. First of all, I actually managed to set up an online access to my portfolio. I am so proud of myself. At least now I know what is going on there and can check in on a more or less regular basis. Well I actually discovered my portfolio has been doing fairly well considering the market hasn't been exactly soaring lately. I also corrected a dumb mistake I made when I first opened up an account. Stupid me decided to invest some money into a money market account. Why? No clue. Why would anyone in their right mind invest in a money market? Might as well keep it in a bank. Actually, you can probably earn a higher interest there. So anyway, I finally reallocated those scraps that get transferred to a portfolio every month and now I am expecting to see even higher returns. I stay hopeful.
Lastly, I decided to take a look into GMAT. Bad idea. Now that I have, I do not ever want to see them again. You know, that thing sucks... I took a practice exam and even though I did fairly well, I realized how much I forgot since high school and freshman year of college and how much studying and reviewing I have to do now. That knocked all desire out of me to take the exam in the near future. I think I'll concentrate on CFA now. Well, not now, but probably next year. Plus, my company pays for it so why not get it while I am still working there. Right? Right.
So there was my Monday... Not bad at all if you look at all the things I managed to do while looking busy and as if I am working on something.
Today though was a much much more boring day. We had some sort of professor from Georgetown University come over to read us a lecture on investment performance analysis. The moment he handed out slides, I knew it wasn't going to be good - the freaking book was two hundred pages long. I was right. The thing was bo-o-oring. Well, the guy was pretty good, but the entire lecture lasted seven hours, unbelievably long time to concentrate and listen. I still have no idea how the guy managed to speak for so long. The saddest part though was the fact that since he had to cover so much material, he didn't go into details about any of the topics. It was more like this: "You see this financial model? As a reminder, this is how it looks like. Alright, moving on..." Well, I remember what it looks like, but it would be nice to get some sort of refresher and maybe even a more detailed analysis. But anyhow... at least he concentrated on a portfolio attribution analysis, which was actually quite useful. Overall, he did a great job.
Anyway, tomorrow is the last day I can ask my friend to come to our Christmas party with me. Hope I have enough guts to do so. And that is exactly why I need to buy a dress and probably shoes. And that is what I meant by personal spending. So that paycheck definitely comes in handy, if you ask me.
Wish me luck tomorrow and hope he doesn't say no... I don't want to show up alone, plus I need a ride back in case I get tipsy. Just kidding.... I don't drink.
Hope you didn't believe that last statement too...

A Sunday Post.

I have been thinking for the past five minutes about the title for this post, but couldn't come up with anything better than what I have now. So live with it.
Anyhow, I am still narrating my Thanksgiving weekend, and I believe this is my third post about it. I promise it's the last one and I will try to cover three days and make it as short as possible. And if I actually manage to accomplish it, I'll be a hero.
So I got in a fight with A. Saturday night. Why? I have no idea. And I am even more clueless about the fact that we are fighting at all. It's not like we are dating. It was all really weird but here's how it went down:
Him: What happened last night?
Me: Nothing. What do you mean?
Him: You didn't even call or text me last night to tell me you weren't coming. That's rude. I don't know if you know that.
Me: I never said I was coming for sure.
Him: What? You said it last night. On the phone.
Me: The last time I spoke to you was Wednesday night. I didn't even talk to you last night.
Him: It was Thursday morning. You were coming from your friend's house.
Me: At 4am. But not yesterday.
Him: So I recall that.
Me: Why are you even arguing with me?
Him: Argue? Who's arguing?
Me: You are.
Him: LOL
Me: Actually not funny at all.
Him: You know how many times I thought you were in an accident last night? I woke up to check my phone three times. It's very dangerous at that hour in DC.
Me: Look, I never told you I was definitely coming over so I don't know why you were worried.
Him: I don't know. I am just worried when you are out in DC that late.
Me: Well, don't be. I am with friends at all times so I am not wandering there by myself.
Him: It doesn't matter when you are facing someone with a loaded gun in your face. Do you know how many of my friends got robbed?
Me: I only walk from the club to the car. And I don't go to the places where that can happen.
Him: OK. Just be careful.
Me: I am always careful.
And pissed. I mean, are you serious? Don't you think it sounds like an old married couple arguing, minus all partying stuff? I mean this guy managed to piss me off in less than five minutes so I didn't think of anything better to do than sign off. Have him worry a little bit more about me not being online too. Uhhh... feel like I am back in a damn grade school.
I decided I need to go out to blow off some steam, but was actually too exhausted and pissed off to go dancing. Thankfully, a few of my friends felt the same, and we decided to meet up at a bar in Georgetown and sit down for a change. I must admit, I really have to rethink this place we went to - I previously thought of it as a restaurant, but they have a very decent bar and good wine. Oh, but guess who I saw the moment I walked in the door? If you thought M., you are right. Apparently he also decided he'd have dinner at the same place. Damn... He saw me too, so I just nodded and headed for our table. He never came over to say hi and left shortly thereafter. Good for him.
I shared a bottle of wine with a friend while guys were having some liquor. After that we all felt energized enough to go dancing and decided to go to a party my friend was hosting at a club. It turned out to be pretty good although I got tired fifteen minutes after getting there and so did my friends. We decided it was time to leave, but this guy that started talking to me literally the second I showed up wouldn't let go of me and insisted on buying me a drink. Fine, whatever, I'll have a drink if you let me go home later. He asked me for my phone number, but having remembered he mentioned he was leaving for Atlanta Monday, I declined. Honestly, I got home and passed out within the next five seconds.
Alright, this post starting to look very long again, so I am stopping. Enough about my Thanksgiving. It was great. Awesome. Amazing.
Thank you all for your attention...

Thanksgiving dinner.

I had no idea my friend is such a good cook! Damn, that was awesome. I also had no clue she would actually cook so much food both in quantity and variety. The poor girl probably spent all her Thursday in the kitchen. And she hosted this dinner for her boyfriend and some friends. Aww, so sweet... But seriously, the food was delicious. Although when I got up for seconds, almost everything was gone. I probably shouldn't be surprised anyway - there were a dozen or so guys there and, naturally, they just inhaled the food. Oh well, good for them as long as I got hands on more mashed potatoes.
After watching some TV and sipping beer, we decided to play some poker. Actually, correction, guys were playing some poker while girls were sitting nearby trying to figure out the rules. Let me tell you, it was a pretty challenging task. I am familiar with poker rules, but these guys kept changing them with every hand they played which made following their game practically impossible. After two hours, all I was able to notice was the chips migrating from one guy to another... That was probably the point when I decided to go home. It was almost 3am, almost my bed time.
As I was getting my shoes and my purse, this guy I know came up to me and started talking. Since he was clearly drunk, I wasn't paying much attention, plus I was trying to get home and to bed as soon as possible. That is until he asked if I want to hang out with him. Oh, no! Again! The thing is, he already asked me out a few months back and I told him no. Too shy, too reserved for me... I told him thanks, but no thanks. So he just kept talking and after about two minutes he asked me again! "Perhaps, you would want to hang out when there aren't like fifty people around?" Umm, no, perhaps if I want to fall asleep fast but otherwise no. I was getting annoyed, but kept my cool knowing he had a few too many drinks. So after I put my coat on and said good-bye, he goes "So do you want to have my phone number?" Hello! What did I just say?! That's three strikes in under five minutes. Definitely a new record for me... Dude, no. At this point, I simply shook my head and walked right past him to go home.
A little P.S. My friend called me today and apparently the entire story wasn't over after I left. As soon as I walked out of the door, the guy went on a rant saying "Who does she think she is that she doesn't want to go out with me?!" After that I believe he called me a bitch... Seriously? I told him no three times, four if you consider that time two months ago and he has a nerve to offer me his phone number? You know, sometimes "not interested" really means "not interested". Guys just don't get it, you know. Especially, if their mind has been fueled by alcohol. But anyway, after he started calling me names, my friend basically told him to shut up and mind his own business. When he didn't, her boyfriend asked him to stop insulting his friends. He still went on. At this point, my friend's boyfriend simply asked him to leave. Talk about a happy Thanksgiving for the poor guy. Although he totally deserved it...
Oh, and I loved when my friend stood up for me even when I wasn't there. And totally appreciate it. Thanks you guys...

An early start.

Thanksgiving is here!
My family is out of town!
I am so happy. I did plan to spend my Thanksgiving in front of a TV consuming ice cream and chocolate, but when do we ever get what we want. My friend is hosting a Thanksgiving party at her boyfriend's house and naturally she invited me to come over. The good thing? It won't start until 10pm or so, so it still gives me plenty of time to get ready. One thing I realized though is that all stores are closed today and I have nothing to bring her as my gratitude for inviting me over. Unless... unless I take that bottle of alcohol that's been in the trunk of my car since who-knows-when. If only I can find a paper bag for it. Damn it, I don't really want to take it but I don't have much choice, do I? I can't just show up empty-handed. Well, that's settled.
As usual, we got an early start for our holiday last night. Well, it actually started in the afternoon when I took off work at 1:30pm. I was so bored and none of my managers were there, and half of the people were gone by lunch, and so I decided to leave too. Hoping to get home early. Yeah, right. I spent almost two hours in traffic even though it was 2pm and I took back roads. On top of it being a day before Thanksgiving, it was pouring like crazy so everyone was driving even slower. I still got home before I usually do which gave me an opportunity to take a nice long nap before heading out.
The place we went to was so crowded, it felt like weekend. I think a lot of people decided to go out since everyone was off the next day and felt the need to start celebration early. After saying a mandatory hello to a few friends, we finally escaped upstairs and enjoyed our night. If I remember correctly, we were the only people dancing there, but did not seem to care. In the end, it's all about enjoying the night, isn't it? As I was about to leave, I ran into my old friend M. who has been MIA after I ignored his phone calls. Did all guys suddenly decide to hang out at the same places I do? Anyhow, I pretended I was happy to see him and we made some small talk after which he asked me where I was headed. And guess what? I told him! I still have no clue as to why I did. He said he'd join me there later, but I don't think I paid attention to what he was saying anyway - my friend was practically dragging me out of the club. She had good reasons to do so, for that matter. We all decided to have some hookah with our late night meal and it would have been the first one for her. There is this one tiny place Downtown that has an amazing shisha and that is exactly where we went. I was in the middle of my chicken cabob when I saw M. walking in. I swear I almost chocked (as probably did my friend), but still forced a smile out and invited him to sit at our table. Big mistake on his part... especially the entire show off act. Clearly, I wasn't the only one who found him annoying - my friend looked like she was about to reach over the table and slap him. While I still tried to be polite, she didn't even make an attempt to hide her feelings and spent the next hour picking on a poor guy. As he was trying to compliment me on a jewelry I was wearing by saying "I like it", I responded, "I know... I bought it". Rude I know, but who really cares. As we were walking to the car, I thought of a polite way to let him know I am not interested, but unexpectedly he played into my hands. As he leaned over to kiss me, I turned away and instead gave him a kiss on a cheek. Polite enough, but also clear enough. I just hope he gets the point. When we were driving home, my friend was laughing at the way I gently let him down but I think I did the right thing - after all, the guy was never rude with me, he just wasn't my type. Why would I be rude to him because of that, right?
Turkey tonight...

Free DC bar guide.

I feel like I should definitely start charging for my advice. This girl I work with emails me practically every week asking what is good on a particular night in terms of going out. And since I am such a nice person that I immediately reply to every email I get so that I don't keep people waiting, I end up spending the next fifteen minutes trying to figure out what day it is (because it always feels like Monday for me unless it's Friday), then what bar is good to go to on that particular day. The worst part is there hasn't been a time when I actually saw her out. Well, maybe once. Other times she just goes with an old "I was tired" routine. Unbelievable... spending her time picking my brains just to stay home after all.
My other friend recently suggested I write a book. Naturally, he mentioned it after I told him another story I got myself into this past weekend. He also said he'd co-author me on it. I told him the blog would suffice for now, and in the future - who knows...
So we did go out again this weekend. I know, surprise, surprise.... Although I must admit, that DC is getting old again. Everywhere I go, there are the same faces I see and the only thing that seems to change is a location. Someone definitely needs to open up a few new places, otherwise I might trade it in for Baltimore. Just kidding... The night turned out to be better than I expected, the place wasn't too packed, the music was great and I saw some old friends of mine whom I haven't seen in ages. All in all, I was having a great time dancing, but the night wouldn't be complete without some twist to it, would it? I was having a great time until I saw him - who I was actually hoping I wouldn't have to see ever again. I think everybody would agree that there is one person from their past that they never ever want to see again. Well, there he was standing twenty feet away from me talking to some people. Why, out of all damn places in DC did he choose the same place I did? This blows. To my satisfaction, I must admit, I do not think he was there with a particular girl, just more like a large group of friends who kept rotating during their conversation. I got sick and tired of watching him after a first few minutes though, so I decided it's about time to focus on my friends. I did sneak a few peeks at him during the next few hours but having not noticed anything extraordinary, I went on to have my own time. Inside though I was pretty bummed out for him spoiling my night.
Now my next confession might come as a shock - at least my friend called me crazy when I told her. I think this whole seeing-this-guy incident drove me later to call my annoying ex, A., who invited me to the party he was having. As I certainly did not feel like driving home, I decided to go and check it out since his place is only ten minutes away from mine. When I got there it became apparent that the party has died out and the only other person except the two of us was fast asleep in the bedroom. I didn't really mind it though and we spent the next hour or so sipping beer and catching up - it has been about nine months since we broke up and I haven't seen him since. Throughout our conversation, one thought kept crossing my mind - should I sleep with him? I was single, he was single, we liked each other in the past so why not, right? Wrong. First, I realized that the reason I was thinking about it was because I was still upset about seeing that guy in the club and basically wanted to get back at him and my ex presented a perfect opportunity to do so. You must agree, it is a very wrong reason for sleeping with someone. But this was not what really stopped me. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but he was pretty bad in bed when we were dating. Truthfully, if I didn't know better I would have thought he was a virgin. The thing that pissed me off the most was that he could get it up, he could keep it up but he did not have a slightest clue as to what to do with it. I think this also was a real reason we broke up. As these thoughts were coursing through my head I finally rejected the idea of sleeping with him, but still decided to stay there for the night, or for the morning to be exact. I didn't really feel like driving back at 6am. We tried to sleep on the couch but since it was pretty difficult to accommodate two people on it, he finally woke up and kicked out his friend and I fell asleep on his bed. With him next to me. Had I known A. would take it as a hint of us getting back together, I would've gone home, trust me... Oh, and another stupid idea of mine? I took off my earrings before falling asleep as they were long and dangly and uncomfortable to sleep in. As you probably guessed, I drove home without them the next morning. The worst part is that I love them and definitely want them back, but that would mean going to his place again. Since he has been calling and texting me on a daily basis since that night, I do not think that going there would be such a good idea. I did not have a slightest intention to give him a hint of us getting back together, but I think he got the wrong message. His every text or phone call ends with do-you-want-to-hang-out-again phrase. I am really starting to think now that he thinks I am thinking about getting back together. How the hell am I supposed to tell him I don't without hurting his feelings all that while getting my earrings back?! Oh why in the world did I decide to go there in the first place? Why didn't someone stop me and tell me to go home instead? Now I am stuck with dealing with this mess as if I have nothing else to do...
As for more positive news, I am currently trying to bribe my friend into going to a Christmas party our company is throwing. I decided I'd go to his party if he goes to mine. Would have to suffer through two events, but at least will have someone to keep me awake during dinner. Oh, and I also think I have a crush on my co-worker... Now that I actually wrote out these thoughts, I no longer think they are such a good news after all, but life is life. Got to deal with whatever it throws at you.

Who doesn't dream of Friday night every Monday morning!

You ask why the exclamation point? Because it's not even a question, it's a fact. Fortunately Friday is in less than 30 hours.
Remember that guy I met Friday? Not the annoying one, but the one I met at the end of the night - the "babe", M. He actually showed up Saturday. Well, first he texted me informing of his plans, but I told him I am going to a different place since by that time I have already made plans with some friends. Then, while I was standing by the bar sipping my drink, chatting, there he was standing a few feet away. Can't say I wasn't surprised to see him. The night in general wasn't that great, partially due to music partially to a disappearing act my friends kept pulling on me. I saw a few other people I know at the club, including my over-protective friend who made a face the moment he saw me with M. Although he always makes a face when he sees me with a guy. I don't mind it because I know that he is just looking out for me and in his eyes almost any guy wouldn't be good enough. I guess if someone else did that I'd be upset, but I am used to his remarks at this point and know he doesn't mean it in a bad way.
Did I also tell you that I left my ID in my other pants which almost cost us getting into the club in the first place. Took me good three minutes to convince the bouncer and the owner that I am old enough to get in. They finally let me in, but only after I promised to behave.... Which I did.
But back to M... I don't think I like him much anymore. As one of my guy friends pointed out, I have a very short attention span, especially when it comes to guys. I laughed at him at first, but now reflecting back, I think he was right. So there goes another guy down the drain. I figured why bother seeing him again if I already cooled down after meeting him twice. At least with others I last longer... up to five months. Although I do get bored after two or three. He called me Sunday night asking if I want to see a movie. I ignored his call. After all, it is easier to let him know I am no longer interested now than after a month or two when I will have to actually explain. Then we'll have my favorite "I think we need to talk" conversation. Hate those.
I went for a few drinks again Tuesday night. As usual I had a blast, and I got a free beer glass as I was leaving. Yay! Now imagine my disappointment when I got home and noticed that I managed to crack it. I guess now it would have to serve purely decorative purpose. Sucks... My work bugged the hell out of me - the highlight of my day was getting a free glass... Can you imagine...

The weekend has finally kicked in!

So we did indeed go out last night. And let me tell you - it was so damn awesome. Except we didn't get to the place until after 1am, because I was late meeting my friends (surprise, surprise). Oh, I wish we got there earlier because the music was so fine, I don't think they played a single song I didn't want to dance too, and trust me I am extremely picky about this kind of stuff. It was surprisingly not too crowded so I could actually move to the music. Of course, my evening wouldn't be complete, if someone didn't decide to mess with it. So apparently my friend and her boyfriend decided to bring over the guy I totally ignored last week. Seriously, when I saw him in a car as they were about to pick me up, my heart skipped a beat. Are you kidding me? Why would you bring him over to try to set me up again if I made it perfectly clear last week I was not interested. Well, half an hour later I pulled my friend aside as we were walking to the lounge and asked her those same questions. Her response definitely came as a relief - apparently no one actually invited him, but he decided to come over once he found out I am going to be there. "Babe, I would not do you this wrong", my friend told me. Thanks babe, love you back... I mean, don't get me wrong, this guy is probably one of the sweetest people I ever met, but he is just so SO shy and reserved. I can't stand reserved guys, let alone reserved guys who try to get to know me. If all you can manage to say during the twenty minute car ride is "How have you been", chances are you are not going to get a decent conversation out of me later. Another thing that bugged me? When we were dancing in the lounge, he asked me if I wanted to dance with him. I told him I am already dancing, which is a polite way of saying no, right? He seemed to get a point, until he started coming on to me repeatedly after about ten minutes. I usually try to deal with these kind of situations myself, but I had to tell my friend and eventually her boyfriend, he was so annoying. He finally managed to pull me away from this guy. I just remember I kept thinking, which part of "No" did you not understand? I hate it the most when you tell a guy you are not interested, yet he is trying to get with you. Is it that a "No" simply doesn't exist in guy's vocabulary?
In any case, I think someone had a talk with the guy because he made himself invisible for the rest of the night, which gave me a perfect opportunity to chill out and finally relax. That was the time I saw this guy standing ten feet away staring at me. He was cute, so I decided to play this game I play. Whenever a guy keeps glancing at me but doesn't come over to strike up a conversation, I just smile and stare back. It's like this game I used to play in grade school - when you stare in another person's eyes and whoever looks away first loses. We played this game for about five minutes after which I decided that if he doesn't have guts to come over and talk, he doesn't really worth my attention. So I went around looking for my friend and we were just standing aside talking when I saw, no I felt, this same guy looking at me again. So I turned around, smiled at him and waved at him to come over. He finally did and we talked for a bit, then danced, and then my friend came over and told me we were leaving. So I said my good-byes and left, having left him my phone number, although I was not really expecting him to call. Little did I know, he texted me the moment my friends dropped me off, offering to meet up in Georgetown to grab a quick bite. Since I was already driving home, I told him no. I offered I'd let him know where I am headed the following night and if he wishes so, he can come over and we'll hang out. We exchanged half a dozen silly messages, and I am willing to bet anything I called him "babe" around five times. Aah, alcohol does wonders...
You know what I just did? I just agreed to meet my ex, A. What on earth am I thinking? I keep telling myself that we are just friends, and even though my feelings for him are long dead (those few that actually developed), I know he wants to give it another shot. It just doesn't seem he understands that it is definitely over, and the only reason I want to keep him in my life is because despite our difficulties when we were together, I still think we can remain friends. Not best friends, but those kind of friends who meet up once every few months over a cup of coffee and catch up. I just hope the feeling is mutual and he won't bring the past up once we actually meet...

Why can't the entire week consist of Fridays?

I take it back, why can't it be Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays? I even don't mind working Friday, as long as I have an entire weekend ahead of me. All the time.
All in all, it's another rough week at work. I knew it was going to be bad when I woke up tired Monday morning. I could barely concentrate at work all week, and my colleague's sarcasm didn't help, although temporarily made me smile. "Good thing it's already Monday" he told me as soon as I got to work that day and got some coffee. Yeah, it is amazing. Only five more days to go. Then I got stuck in traffic three days out of five, which made me late for work and even more aggravated. I definitely have to concentrate on looking for an apartment.
I just realized I haven't seen an old friend of mine since the end of June. This is sad. Although I think the first month or so she was just upset with me because we weren't able to meet up one night because I wasn't going to wait until midnight until she was finished with her plans and she didn't want to drive to DC where I was when she finally reached me. So we had a little fall out. But things have been fine for the past three months and we still haven't found the time to meet. Once again, it is very sad considering we live fifteen minutes apart. Definitely have to put it on my radar - do not abandon old friends. Because no matter how much fun you have with people who are in your life now, old friends are also an important part of who you are even if you are not able to meet up as often as you used to...
I had no idea how lazy I am. I was just picking an outfit for tonight, when I realized I can't even bring myself to move the shoe box out of my way when I walk into my closet. Every time I need to get dressed I have to step over it - and let me tell you half the times I just trip as I am in a hurry to get to work or meet friends - instead of simply moving it away. Amazing...
So all my plans of staying home tonight went out of the window when my friend called me a few hours ago to drag me out. Which I am kind of grateful for, because I definitely need some dancing time. I have no idea where we are going and I don't think she has either, and since it is after 10pm, it bothers me a bit. We better decide before midnight...
Alright, she just called me, and it seems like we narrowed it down to two places which doesn't seem too bad. So now I have to go and get ready since I am supposed to meet her downtown in an hour and I don't want to be late. Because I am always late meeting her and I feel bad about making her wait, especially if you take into consideration the fact that she is usually the one driving me to the club and back.
Gotta go...

Is that what you call working?

No matter how busy I am at work, I always try to carve out a few minutes here and there for some personal time. Since I can't take cigarette breaks at work, I opt out for some chatting time with my friends. Whoever invented Google Chat is a genius. When I had my training when I first started I was told I cannot use Yahoo or AIM or any other messenger at work due to recent SEC regulations. Apparently, the Commission is afraid that someone will pass some confidential information to their friends and no one would be able to track it due to the nature on instant messengers. As you know, whatever you type in that window is not saved and therefore, cannot be tracked. As a result, it is possible to transmit insider information to the person on the other end of the conversation. What makes Google different is the fact that you can chat while checking your mail and there is no need to download the messenger on your desktop. Since you chat inside your mail window, there is no way to verify if you are talking or simply checking your mail. Genius!
So here I was sitting at work today, being lazy (even though I had tons of work to do) and decided to see how my friends are doing. I swear I only planned to chat for ten minutes or so, but then my friend asked me what I my plans were for New Year. Alright, so from then on, the entire conversation went on for another three hours as we were trying to plan everything out. So here are our options:
- Go to New York
-Rent out a house in the mountains and go skiing
-Go on a cruise.
After carefully considering these choices we decided that New York is old - we went there and to Atlantic City last New Year. Mountain house is definitely exciting and cheap, but probably not very suitable for New Year. While there is definitely a possibility of drinking, there's no chance of dancing and the crowd will probably be older - which means no one to hang out with except for people we go with. Cruise, on the other hand, is entirely different. First of all, neither her nor I have ever been on one. Second, it is not as expensive as either of us thought. Third, why not celebrate New Year somewhere warm, swimming and sightseeing? Forth, these trips are usually all inclusive, which means we don't have to worry about food or drinks. And, as I sure everyone knows, drinks are very important for New Year. Plus, every ship has some sort of a bar or a lounge where we can dance all night long. Next, the crowd on these ships is between ages of 25 and 35, which suits us perfectly. We can leave the day before New Year, the 30th of December, celebrate the holiday on the ship, go sightseeing or snorkeling on the afternoon of January 1st, and come back the next day. The only inconvenience is, we will have to drive down to Florida since there is no way we are flying in. But then again, a road trip can also be tons of fun, since it is something I haven't done in a long while.
Oh, and we also decided to invite two Canadian guys to go with us - that would definitely be a blast. My friend met one of them a few months back, and from what I hear, he is nice and funny and almost perfect. The email has been sent to him and we are anxiously awaiting the response. Provided they fly in to Reagan, we can all go on a road trip and then go on a cruise. The good thing about it is that we won't have to drive eight hours each. Plus, what can be better than chat away while hitting the road. It reminds me of times about two years ago when I went on these little road trips with my friends and we would just drive around for a few hours catching up, blasting the music and laughing out of our minds. Definitely one of the best memories...
You know, as I am typing this, I realize how much fun it can actually be if we decide to go through with it. It is certainly something different than staying in DC, going to NYC or some other metropolitan. I mean, let's get realistic, there are not so many places to go to for New Year if you want to celebrate it properly. And by properly, I mean good crowd, good music and exciting memories.
Anyway, enough about that, I have to get back to work now. Unfortunately, I still work sometimes. Don't want to make my clients unhappy, you know....