Ameno

I used to listen to Era back in high scool. No matter that I had no idea what they are singing about...nor do I now. I guess they kind of reminded me of Enigma mixed with even more chanting. Just very soothing and calming.I accidentally ran across it on YouTube a while ago, and my passion for Era has been reborn...

Sleeping beauty's party.

Ahh the sweet smell of freedom. Not having to wake up at the crack of dawn... fine at 7:30am. Crack of dawn still, in my opinion. Everything before 10am is. Being able to lounge around all day in my pajamas. This day felt exactly like that. Fells amazing, even though I only have two days to enjoy it. But it's the concept that counts, in my opinion.
Yesterday was S.'s birthday and my last day at work, so I decided to commemorate both of these events by attending the party that he threw. I didn't make it there until late and everyone was there already, including one of S.'s friends that I've never seen before. Well, talk about weird... I remember watching her and S. dance and I saw him looking perplexed. I wasn't sure if he was turned on by the view, or terrified. Turns out, the latter. As he later told me, that girl has a reputation of the one that's been around the block... few times. And even though my eleventh commandment is "Do Not Judge", I couldn't help but frown after the things I heard. But this is not the purpose of this post as it doesn't directly impact me ... However, what happened next, did. After the party was over around 3am, S., The New Girl and I headed to R.'s place for a quick sober up. On our way there, The New Girl kept bragging about the latest guy she's hooked up with and how she wants to do it again this same second. "Fine by me", I remember thinking, "do whatever rocks your boat". Apparently, she didn't really care which guy she was going to hook up with as she ran to the middle of the road and started hauling cars passing by. Seriously? At first I thought she was joking, but after one of the cars stopped, my desire to laugh suddenly evaporated. I mean, we are three girls in the middle of the night in the middle of the street, and you are trying to stop a random guy to pick him up for one night? It got worse from there too. One of the cars actually started following us and the guys driving it were yelling things out to us. Really, really not funny. Who knows what's on their drunken mind at 3am... They followed us around the block, then disappeared, and then reappeared again on the other side of the street. Then, one of them got out of the car and started walking towards us. At that point, I wanted to start running... but he just gave The New Girl his phone number and left. OK, nice... good thing is was just a piece of paper with his phone number on it. Could be worse. I have to call R. and bitch to her about it later today.
We made it to R.'s place shortly thereafter. Thankfully, she was still awake so we decided to hung out for a little bit before driving home, especially since S. was completely gone by that point. We started fooling around and R. took some pictures that I hope would never see the light of the day (I will keep them on my camera though), had some food, and got kicked out by R. around 5am. She motivated it with the fact that she had to get up for work in a few hours. Work? Puh-lease... No one works anymore...
Who am I kidding... I will be back in the office by Monday...

Gone...

...It definitely was a fun ride. Despite all the bullshit and drama, I have to admit I was a bit sad leaving yesterday. Although after I thought about it, I realized that I was more upset about leaving the people behind than the place itself. Certain people, but nonetheless.
The goodbye was short and simple, just like my tenure at the firm. Very few people cried and even fewer were distressed... Alright, I am kidding, it wasn't melodramatic a tiny bit. I did get a card though, it was so funny. During lunch, we went out for dinner, all nine of us. One of the analysts tried to have me pay for it but obviously that didn't work out that well for him. Honestly, I think he still remembers how much we were getting paid there and should not really ask me for things like that. Plus, it's not two or three people... there were nine of them and if I am not mistaken, the entire bill was close to $150. Not a lot, but is for one person to cover.
I also decided to roll out earlier since I didn't see a point of staying there until 5pm. It's not like I've been doing any work there for the past two weeks. What's two more hours?
...I remember when P. quit, he told me he felt as if he could breath easier. At the time, I just laughed it off thinking that he was just so sick of the place, he made up these little stories to make it seem better. But you know what? As soon as I got to my car and drove out of the garage, I felt as if the weight's been lifted off my shoulders and I literally could breath easier. The air was fresher, the sky bluer and the grass greener... the whole shebang. The drive home was a breeze too.
I still have four days until I start my new gig, so it feels like a mini-vacation now. Have got to take advantage of it.
I am free as a bird...

Sticky notes.

My entire cubicle is plastered with post its listing things I should do before I finally leave. I can't believe I only have two days left. Well, technically one since I am taking off early tomorrow. My manager have completely given up trying to have me do things, so now I am mostly sitting around. Not that I am complaining or anything.
Honestly, I am glad I am leaving. I got another proof for it today. I figured that people who work here don't really care about improving the way things are run but are mostly concerned with their jobs and the way they look in front of upper management. Dumbfucks.
I am definitely looking forward towards tomorrow though... and the next few days when I will be able to sleep in and rest. Tomorrow is my friend's birthday too and apparently he's throwing a big party down in DC and we will be able to celebrate both occasions. Should be fun.
I used to have this Sticky Notes application on my desktop, was really convenient. Need to make a sticky note to remind myself to download Sticky Notes when I get home... Get it? Make a sticky note for sticky notes!
I am hilarious...

Small world.

Eight days left... I have so much stuff to wrap up before I leave it's not even funny. And as usual, I am procrastinating about it.
So last Thursday was P.'s last day at work. Technically, it was supposed to be Friday but he decided not to show up. My manager was less than excited about it, of course. As his parting gift, he left a bunch of push pins on my chair... how nice of him... Then today, S. also put in his two weeks. My manager is now looking less than stellar. S. told me that her eyes actually welled up when he told her he was leaving. I'm sure once the upper people find out that one third of her people quit within a month, they won't be too happy about it. Oh well, you make your bed, you have to lie in it...
This past Friday my friends and I went to DC. The place we went to was a nice change of scenery from our usual hangouts. At first, I almost stayed home since I went out the night before but thankfully, changed my mind. Ten calls and texts from my friends probably helped too. The night turned out great and I ended up staying the latest despite the fact I was so reluctant to come out in the first place. I am amazed at the level of rapport my friends and I have. At one point during the night, S. and I were out on the dance floor when I noticed a guy I like standing nearby. Two minutes later, S. asked if he could leave to join the rest of our friends. "Two minutes", I asked her pointing at the guy. She just nodded and stayed there with me until the guy came up to strike up a conversation. We danced and talked for another five minutes. "S., you can go if you want to, I'll stay here." She just smiled and left shortly thereafter. Awesome. No explanations, no puzzled looks... They did come back in another twenty minutes, but only to tell me they were leaving and see if I wanted to go with them. I didn't, so they left. I stayed with the guy a little longer, and then drove up to R.'s place before I went home. And guess what? I didn't get home until the sunrise again...
The next day was N.'s birthday and we went out to dinner in Tysons first, and then to this new club in DC. I didn't expect anything extraordinary of it, but surprisingly, it was really nice there. I especially liked the fact that since I've never been there before, I would not run into anyone I know. Wishful thinking. The moment I went out for a cigarette, I saw A. approaching me. He actually scared the hell out of me since he simply popped up out of the darkness. I was happy to see him since it's been a while, and we arranged to meet up the week after to go skydiving. But I guess I have to talk to R. about the fact that he and I made out in the past*. I just hope she doesn't kill me...

*A. and R. had a fling before I knew either one of them. Is DC becoming too small for me?

Annoyed.

Sitting at work thinking about random shit...
I went out with a friend of mine yesterday. I've met him a few months earlier and he asked me out a few times, but I didn't feel any spark... so now we're just friends.
Anyhow, as I was driving home I got a voice message from him. Here it is:
"Damn, I just got a speeding ticket. Last time I hung out with you, I got a parking ticket, and now it's for speeding. You must have a bad karma or something. Every time I hang out with you, something happens... Damn..."
Here, the recording just stops. Honestly, maybe he shouldn't park where it's prohibited and drive slower when he knows there are bunch of cops on the streets... and stop blaming me.

So fucked up.

Confirmed.

I singed my offer on Tuesday... finally. I was so excited after the meeting that I took the wrong exit to highway and ended up I-don't-know-where. Then it took me more than an hour to get home... And I got a ticket. But after I found out exactly how much I will be making, the ticket doesn't even matter. Although I did not get any points since I convinced the cop that it was the only route I could take and that I was late for a job interview. Which I was... well, not an interview per se, but close enough. At least it's all final now... if I pass my background and drug tests. And as long as alcohol doesn't register on the tox screen, I am good to go.
The funny thing happened a few hours before I left work. I was supposed to submit something to my manager last Friday, but obviously didn't so she sent me a pretty nasty email saying that my dedication and effort level have gone down... Yeah she finally noticed I don't care any longer... But then she turned around and forwarded this email to another manager asking if it was mean... CCing me on it... What an idiot. Obviously after that she had no choice but to talk to me and explain what she did... And by the way, sending this to another manager? Totally unprofessional!
So here's how our conversation went:
Once I walked in, she waived for me to sit down and asked me to talk to her and tell her how I feel. Is she seriously trying to shrink me again? Because that's what she's got degree in so apparently that's the only thing she can do. I didn't say anything, so she went on
M(anager): I've noticed that you are not as concerned with your responsibilities any longer and it frustrates me.
Me: I know.
M.: Don't you want to be promoted?
Me: Quite honestly, I don't think I do at this point.
You should have seen her face at this point.
M.: But don't you want to take on additional responsibilities?
Me: No, because I will be doing the same job as I do now.
M.: But you will be more involved with clients and you will be writing performance evaluations for them.
Me: I am already doing that with my client relationship.
M.: But then you can get promoted to the next position, even to the manager.
Me: But I still will be doing the same job I do now. I don't think there is any reason for me to stay since there are not a lot of opportunities here.
M.: But you can start training people then.
Me: I can train people right now if I join the training team, I just choose not to.
M.: You can be working with clients in the future.
Me: And I still will be doing the same job...
At this point she was sitting across the desk from me, leaning on it as if to get closer to me. Once I said that, she leaned back on her chair, crossed her arms and said,
M.: No, it's not.
Me: (laughing on the inside at her expression) I think it is.

And that was it. I am so happy I was putting in my two weeks the next day. And you should have seen her face the next morning too. She was definitely surprised and taken aback with it. She did not say much, in fact, I don't think she even realized what the letter was about. I gave it to her and she said "Thank You", and so I left and went to my desk. Once I got there though, there was an email from her asking me to swing by to"discuss". That's when I knew it finally hit her I was gone. Moments after I walked out of her office, all managers were in there, apparently discussing me leaving. But you know what? I could care less. I don't feel obligated in any way nor do I feel guilty about leaving in the middle of busy season.

And more great news? Another co-worker of mine is leaving and will be putting in his two weeks shortly. I am so excited for him and cannot wait to see her expression once she finds out he's leaving too.

Back to work and a car accident.

And I am back to work again. Which pretty much sucks. The weekend was awesome though, although I can't remember what I did Friday... I take it as a good sign. No wait, I do... I am pretty sure I fell asleep and then spent the rest of the night in front of the TV with a bottle of wine. So, as you can see it was pretty uneventful. Saturday night I went out with N. and few of her friends. She called me earlier on Friday begging me to come out with her... I think she needed me as a security blanket. She was meeting her ex-husband's cousin and thought it was going to be weird, therefore she asked me to come out with her. Which I did, and it was supposed to be fun until the Buzz Kill showed up. After that point I knew the evening would go down the drain, so I called up R. and S. and asked them to meet me in Chinatown at this place I wanted to check out for a long time. It was a total disappointment. We stayed for about fifteen minutes when S. started whining about it and asked us to leave. First, we agreed to leave in an hour... then in thirty minutes, then we cut it to ten. And guess where we headed? If you are thinking about a [certain DC lounge], you are absolutely right. It was a whirl of music and familiar faces, as usual, and that night I got to bed around 5am. As usual.
The following Sunday we decided to take it easy and meet up at the hookah lounge in Georgetown. Naturally, everyone was late and by the time we got there, it was dark outside. Nevertheless, we got shisha and stayed outside for a few hours. I say "we", but honestly I was the only one smoking it. You know those annoying people who occupy a table outside for hours, talk and laugh loudly and act obnoxious in general? Don't you hate them? I know I do. Well, we were those people that day. The evening flew by like a minute and we agreed to meet up the next day for a movie and dinner. Plus, it was Labor Day so staying home would be a crime in and of itself.
The next morning (or afternoon... when I woke up) I got a text from A. asking if I wanted to go to the mall and help him pick out a few shirts. I didn't want to go at first but staying home sounded even worse, so I agreed to meet him. Shopping was fun except for a few nuances:

• First, we couldn't find the mall that we needed and spent about half an hour walking around
• Once we were done shopping, we could not remember where we parked the car. I guess we were so excited to have found the mall in the first place that we forgot to check where we are leaving it. We spent the next hour and a half looking for the damn thing. And naturally, A. did not have a panic button or anything... Who knew that the mall has four different parking garages. The car was in the third... So I guess the panic button would have been useless anyway.
• As we were driving back home, we got in an accident. My friend hit a partition on a highway, flew out onto the interstate lanes, did a 360 there, spun across four lanes and finally managed to stop the car. I am so grateful it wasn't busy that day, otherwise we wouldn't be the only once who had been in an accident. The damages? Smashed headlight, fucked fender and the rear-view mirror, and scratched doors and rear fender. To my surprise, the bumper and the hood were intact and in perfect condition. From the sound of the impact I thought the engine would be on the ground at this point. I guess we got lucky... somewhat.

It definitely wasn't a lucky day for the car. The stars definitely aligned against it. After that, we went to get dinner and talk about what can be done to repair the damages.

As you've probably guessed, I did not see the "Rush Hour 3" that day. I just went home, thankful for being alive and unharmed...