I have been so busy at work that I only found time to watch the State of the Union tonight. I have to admit though I tried to listen to it that same Tuesday, but the White House official website was acting up and wouldn't play the video. They finally got it fixed and I got a chance to listen to some more peculiar ideas my government was trying to feed me and everyone else.
I honestly have to admit that all these ideas sound very promising. In theory. Indeed, it delivered various ideas as to how to better the current situation in the country and overseas. However, in reality it addressed an assortment of proposals that would change very little.
Lets start at the very beginning. The first issue addressed, if I remember correctly, was economy. I particularly liked the idea of balancing our budget without raising taxes. What makes me suspicious about it is the fact that the federal government proposes to take money away from themselves. Now, how willing would you be to part with your money for some illusive purpose? My guess is, some proposals will be signed into law but most likely only to check that bullet point on the official agenda. "Yes, we've made an attempt to fix it. Check mark. Too bad it is not nearly sufficient." Now, with earmarks. Why is it the feds become so concerned with this issue all of a sudden? Doesn't it sound like another lame effort to balance or at least cut the deficit? And where is the guarantee it will be done or will be done effectively? I must repeat once again, these ideas sound fairly decent, but what troubles me is that it could have been done years ago. These proposals did not arise from some unexpected source (such as a huge funds inflow from the lottery and whatnot). These issues existed fro years but no one seemed to care about those enough to fix them or at least bring to someone's attention. Why should I believe now, when I am told it will definitely be addressed? That it won't slip through the cracks once again and disregarded by all in a few months?
Education. Don't get me wrong, but as someone who got their education overseas, I believe that the public school system is failing miserably in education across the broad spectrum of disciplines. Unfortunately, there's is an unacceptably high number of children who struggle at school and little is done to help them deal with it. I think that schools set standards that are too low to be challenging enough for students to get them interested in staying in schools and completing their studies. I do believe that the No Child Left Behind act took some steps in improving the process but I wonder if the entire school system requires some sort of transformation in order to be effective. If we need to do something more than preserve what is accomplished and build on it. If we need an actual reform from the bottom up. Once again, the government proposes a great idea of improving education but fails to mention how.
Healthcare. A lot has been said about it in the address but I am only going to touch on one point - affordable health insurance. Let me point out just one thing, if a person was not able to afford to purchase a heath insurance plan on their own, the tax break will not do much to alleviate the financial burden of monthly payments. The cost will far outweigh the benefits. Plus, lets not forget about deductible that all those "great" basic health insurance plans come with. Those alone will cost more than the alleged tax benefit. I did like the initiative to impose a standard tax deduction for health insurance, but once again it does little to help those who do not get it through their jobs.
Immigration. Can we hear something other than "Let us have a serious, civil and conclusive debate" one more time? Didn't catch a single alternative to the current situation, so no commentary here.
Alternative fuel and energy. I have heard of the alternative sources of energy for about ten years now, but to date no significant steps have been taken to implement this research to life, and specifically to apply it to energy conservation. We have been using solar, wind and nuclear (and by the way, can someone teach him to pronounce the damn word? I heard they have linguists at the White House) power for years now, but have yet to apply it to reduce the gasoline usage in cars. It will take years to finish and implement this kind of a program, especially if you take into account the forever-expanding gasoline usage in this country.
War on terror. No matter how noble the intentions, I cannot believe the methods the protection against terrorism was implemented. Tapping the phones? Virtually unlimited power to authorities? How is it not a violation of privacy and intrusion in personal lives? In this case, the ends do not justify the means. Religious clashes existed since the beginning of times and, unfortunately, nothing can be done to exterminate them. Unfortunately, an excessive intervention only fuels the hatred more and leads to an increased opposition and uprising against the perceived oppressors. The government has achieved absolutely nothing in the past few years but losing the trust of its own citizens and turn the entire world against itself.
Iraq. I think we lost the purpose of this war some two years ago. Yes, the old regime was destroyed, but what did we offer instead? Complete economic and political chaos? Now-daily bombings and kidnappings? People scared to go to work and kids terrified to attend school? There's no way the government can leave now, in that case the entire world, including Americans will shout of another failure, as they have been for years now. The government is scrambling now to find alternative solutions to the problems, but unfortunately there are none. So sure, lets send some troops hoping it will work itself out. Well, let me know when it does.
AIDS. I think the only reason it was mentioned was to show any real progress and achievements that was done throughout the year. I am in no way trying to belittle what was done, but I do think that it is our responsibility to provide help to those who need it and there's nothing to be bragging about. If you are doing it, do it quietly since people who need it appreciate it either way. And please learn how to pronounce that basketball-player-guy's name for he definitely deserves it.
Now on the last thought, did you notice that everyone who is anyone was there? Did you notice at least four supreme justices? Did you notice the four generals? Did you notice all those other important people? I thought it was an address to the nation, but it seemed more like a how-off to me.
All those ideas and suggestions did little to show the real ways of changing the current situation. Most of them could've been implemented years ago but since they haven't, it makes me wonder if there's any guarantee it will be fixed now. Other than that, I heard little but a simple description of problems with no real solutions to them. Isn't the State of the Union supposed to deliver solutions in addition to facts? If so, the 2007 one failed miserably to do so.
And to cheer you up, here are a few funny videos, apparently recorded by people who have nothing better to do than sit their and pick to pieces otherwise serious situations. Enjoy, those are a real TOUCHDOWN (or as our foreigners say, "GOOOAAAL!").
The first one is what I call, Hungry, Dick? , and another one The Blink Count, and my personal favorite, Funny Speeches. Once again, enjoy.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Forty two years later...
... we are having another war protest in DC. A lot have changed in four decades but apparently the reasons for this demonstration have remained the same. Thousands of people rallied earlier today seeing this as an opportunity to show the Congress that the country have turned away from this conflict. On a side note, finally... Only took three years. It seems like people finally realized that the war was started under false pretenses, that the government deceived them in order to achieve their own ambition. Because of the way America invaded Iraq, the rest of the world now sees the country as a bully and a hypocrite. Many people are now drawing parallels between this war and the war in Vietnam. No one up high seem to see the atrocities that are happening on the ground every single day, turning a blind eye to bombings, killings and kidnappings. We did our best to destroy the country, and yet we show an amazing thoughtlessness to rebuilding what we've ruined. The difference between Iraq and Vietnam though is the fact that Americans at least knew who their enemy was in the latter and realized who they were up against. The current situation is much more cloudy and unclear. The country was led to the war without clear evidence of whatever was claimed to have been found. Troops are fighting against terrorism with someone never directly linked to any attacks. Sounds a bit weird to me.
What this conflict did, most importantly, is ruin the image of the US throughout the world. We are hated pretty much everywhere. If we were looked upon only five years ago, we are now laughed at. Where we were feared, we are now despised. Talk to a foreigner who hasn't lived here and ask him what he thinks of us. Chances are you will not hear anything pleasant. Ask him how we are presented in their TV news and newspapers. Have him tell you what his friends think of the current situation. Or better yet, travel overseas and talk to local people yourself. Strike up a conversation with a salesperson, a waiter or a cab driver and listen to what they tell you. I bet their response will be worlds different from the bullshit we are fed here every single day. It's kind of like getting a second opinion from a doctor. Only in this case their opinion is what shapes our image and political and economic future on the world arena. Even now, a mere three years after the beginning of the war, we are in a big political mess with other countries distancing themselves from us and forming unions of their own in order to create a strong enough opposition to the USA. In the economic sense, dollar weakened significantly over the past few years yielding to all major currencies over the period of three years. If you go back a few years, when Euro was first circulated, the USD was gaining against it and the future outlook was quite positive. Fast forward to today, and it lost over 32%, 25% against the Sterling. If that wasn't enough, 2006 also showed major declines of a dollar against emerging markets in addition to developed markets' currencies. If this trend continues (and all evidence suggests it will), foreign imports will become increasingly expensive, driving prices in local markets up. This doesn't strike me as a positive and promising future for our economy that has just recently crawled out from recession.
But I got a bit distracted here. I didn't plan to talk about economics or financial markets in the first place. My purpose was to bring attention to today's protest hoping it would influence the Congress to do something about it in addition to all the talk. Like freeze funds, for example... What do you think?
What this conflict did, most importantly, is ruin the image of the US throughout the world. We are hated pretty much everywhere. If we were looked upon only five years ago, we are now laughed at. Where we were feared, we are now despised. Talk to a foreigner who hasn't lived here and ask him what he thinks of us. Chances are you will not hear anything pleasant. Ask him how we are presented in their TV news and newspapers. Have him tell you what his friends think of the current situation. Or better yet, travel overseas and talk to local people yourself. Strike up a conversation with a salesperson, a waiter or a cab driver and listen to what they tell you. I bet their response will be worlds different from the bullshit we are fed here every single day. It's kind of like getting a second opinion from a doctor. Only in this case their opinion is what shapes our image and political and economic future on the world arena. Even now, a mere three years after the beginning of the war, we are in a big political mess with other countries distancing themselves from us and forming unions of their own in order to create a strong enough opposition to the USA. In the economic sense, dollar weakened significantly over the past few years yielding to all major currencies over the period of three years. If you go back a few years, when Euro was first circulated, the USD was gaining against it and the future outlook was quite positive. Fast forward to today, and it lost over 32%, 25% against the Sterling. If that wasn't enough, 2006 also showed major declines of a dollar against emerging markets in addition to developed markets' currencies. If this trend continues (and all evidence suggests it will), foreign imports will become increasingly expensive, driving prices in local markets up. This doesn't strike me as a positive and promising future for our economy that has just recently crawled out from recession.
But I got a bit distracted here. I didn't plan to talk about economics or financial markets in the first place. My purpose was to bring attention to today's protest hoping it would influence the Congress to do something about it in addition to all the talk. Like freeze funds, for example... What do you think?
A forced one.
You know how you come home from work exhausted and decide to take a short nap before starting your weekend? As I was leaving work today I figured I'd do just that before taking full advantage of the cheap drinks at this place near my work. The first part of that sentence worked out just fine. I got home and crawled in bed right after dinner and pretty much passed out only to wake up around 11pm... sucks. By that time, I had ten missed calls on my cell and multiple texts from people wondering why I disappeared. Also, by that time I knew it was way too late for me to go anywhere. But the worst part wasn't staying home all evening. The worst thing is, it is already after 4am and I am still wide awake. I actually went back to bed around 2am and tried to fall asleep but gave up after twenty minutes and got up again. Now I am cranky and frustrated because I know I'll end up sleeping until noon again and won't have time to do anything.
I am also pissed because I cannot manage to find my gloves. I am freezing my ass off every time I step outside but all my effort to locate them have proved useless so far. I know they are somewhere in my room but have no clue as to where. I also know I kept them in my bookcase last winter (don't ask me why I chose a bookcase, it worked for me so let it go), but moved them somewhere else during my spring cleaning and now I have no idea where. I just spent the last hour searching for them all over my desk and drawers, but with no success.
The next thing smart me decided to do was to read some memorabilia that I had kept from high school. It is mostly some letters and notes from my classmates, fun stuff we did when we were bored in class, our wishes to all our teachers on our graduation, etc. Mostly just bits and pieces which still didn't stop me from sniffling through my reading. At the end I realized that if I don't want to break into full-blown tears, I need to stop going through that stuff and so I stashed it away.
Now I really want to go back home. Nothing pumps up one's desire to do anything like memories. I actually have an urge to book the ticket for this spring and get on with it. Unfortunately, my conscious tells me to wait till fall cause it will be the best time to go. For whatever reasons that are mostly in my head, I don't want to go until the summer is over since I don't feel that would be the right time to do so. I am dying to go back though and am definitely looking forward to the day I finally do so. No matter what people keep telling me, no matter what I know in my mind, all that doesn't change it.
I kind of feel like sleeping now and I don't want to keep talking about my future trip cause it's just making me more upset and I don't want to start choking up again or anything... Not literally, mentally... For whatever reasons.
I am also pissed because I cannot manage to find my gloves. I am freezing my ass off every time I step outside but all my effort to locate them have proved useless so far. I know they are somewhere in my room but have no clue as to where. I also know I kept them in my bookcase last winter (don't ask me why I chose a bookcase, it worked for me so let it go), but moved them somewhere else during my spring cleaning and now I have no idea where. I just spent the last hour searching for them all over my desk and drawers, but with no success.
The next thing smart me decided to do was to read some memorabilia that I had kept from high school. It is mostly some letters and notes from my classmates, fun stuff we did when we were bored in class, our wishes to all our teachers on our graduation, etc. Mostly just bits and pieces which still didn't stop me from sniffling through my reading. At the end I realized that if I don't want to break into full-blown tears, I need to stop going through that stuff and so I stashed it away.
Now I really want to go back home. Nothing pumps up one's desire to do anything like memories. I actually have an urge to book the ticket for this spring and get on with it. Unfortunately, my conscious tells me to wait till fall cause it will be the best time to go. For whatever reasons that are mostly in my head, I don't want to go until the summer is over since I don't feel that would be the right time to do so. I am dying to go back though and am definitely looking forward to the day I finally do so. No matter what people keep telling me, no matter what I know in my mind, all that doesn't change it.
I kind of feel like sleeping now and I don't want to keep talking about my future trip cause it's just making me more upset and I don't want to start choking up again or anything... Not literally, mentally... For whatever reasons.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
An unforseen encounter.
It is either winter or me getting old, but lately I have not been as eager to go out as I have been only three months ago. I'll have to go with winter since the idea of getting old is somehow bugging the hell out of me. Nonetheless I decided I need to get out in order to unwind. I was mentally adding up the hours I've worked so far this week and came up with a number 35. By Wednesday! Do you see something wrong with this picture? Yeah, so do I.
I almost stayed home last night, but eventually dragged myself out despite the cold weather. And I am happy I did. It was definitely a time spent wisely, if that expression even applies to a night out. We got to this lounge a little after midnight and while my friend went MIA, I decided to light up. I do want to point out that I was slightly surprised I was the only one in the close vicinity, but I didn't pay much attention to it. This was then that my other friend popped out of nowhere yelling in my ear "Why are you smoking here?" Um, why not? "You are no longer allowed to smoke inside in DC." Oh shit. Totally forgot! I looked around and that's when it hit me - no one around me was smoking... I could see clearly... I could actually breath without feeling like I am constantly smoking... I saw the sign on the wall announcing it's indeed illegal to smoke inside and quoting the fine for not adhering to the law. Oops... I guess I'll have to take it outside. The nice thing was, the lounge actually set up a smoking area outside equipped with the heating lamp so it wasn't so bad having to be out after all. It just blows that from now on, every time I'd want to smoke I have to step outside. My friend actually suggested it may kick my smoking habit... I don't think so. Reduce at best.
All in all, I had fun and have no regrets about coming out. As I was about to leave, however, I saw my friend's ex. He noticed me too and made his way over to say Hi. Well, nothing wrong with that. Little did I know he was there with his other friend, this guy I went out with a few times but decided not to pursue him after all. Shit... Since he already saw me I had to go over there, so I did. I gave him a hug, greeted him, and then he tried to kiss me on the lips. Are you joking? No, seriously! I did my best to turn my face away from him and partially succeeded. So awkward... I told him my friend and I were just leaving and walked away from him. Which part of we are not together doesn't he understand? I guess I can write it off on him being quite drunk... anything to put this situation behind me.
I made it home by 2:45am which still left me almost 5 hours for sleep. Considering I don't get to bed until 2 am on a regular day, it wasn't so bad. Went out, had fun and still sacrificed only 45 minutes of my rest.
This morning, however, is when the real fun began. I woke up to a voice mail on my cell. I didn't have time to listen to it until I was actually driving to work. Here's what it said, "Hello, [my name], this is [the guy I ran into last night]. I just saw you tonight so I wanted to let you know this is my new number. The number is (XXX)XXX-XX-XX. When you get this message, if you can make a call or send me a text message, it would be great. Thank you and good night." Or something along those lines. Received at 3:19am. Did I hear it right? Did he just ask me to call him back? Did he just leave his number on my phone? Did he just call me at 4am? OK, I am definitely writing it off on him being drunk and having no responsibility for his actions.
On a bright side, that same night I received a text from this guy I met over the weekend inquiring what I was doing and asking to "give him a call tomorrow or something". We'll see how that goes. I am not keeping my hopes up though, but whatever happens, happens.
Oh, and I am still debating calling the guy from last night...
I almost stayed home last night, but eventually dragged myself out despite the cold weather. And I am happy I did. It was definitely a time spent wisely, if that expression even applies to a night out. We got to this lounge a little after midnight and while my friend went MIA, I decided to light up. I do want to point out that I was slightly surprised I was the only one in the close vicinity, but I didn't pay much attention to it. This was then that my other friend popped out of nowhere yelling in my ear "Why are you smoking here?" Um, why not? "You are no longer allowed to smoke inside in DC." Oh shit. Totally forgot! I looked around and that's when it hit me - no one around me was smoking... I could see clearly... I could actually breath without feeling like I am constantly smoking... I saw the sign on the wall announcing it's indeed illegal to smoke inside and quoting the fine for not adhering to the law. Oops... I guess I'll have to take it outside. The nice thing was, the lounge actually set up a smoking area outside equipped with the heating lamp so it wasn't so bad having to be out after all. It just blows that from now on, every time I'd want to smoke I have to step outside. My friend actually suggested it may kick my smoking habit... I don't think so. Reduce at best.
All in all, I had fun and have no regrets about coming out. As I was about to leave, however, I saw my friend's ex. He noticed me too and made his way over to say Hi. Well, nothing wrong with that. Little did I know he was there with his other friend, this guy I went out with a few times but decided not to pursue him after all. Shit... Since he already saw me I had to go over there, so I did. I gave him a hug, greeted him, and then he tried to kiss me on the lips. Are you joking? No, seriously! I did my best to turn my face away from him and partially succeeded. So awkward... I told him my friend and I were just leaving and walked away from him. Which part of we are not together doesn't he understand? I guess I can write it off on him being quite drunk... anything to put this situation behind me.
I made it home by 2:45am which still left me almost 5 hours for sleep. Considering I don't get to bed until 2 am on a regular day, it wasn't so bad. Went out, had fun and still sacrificed only 45 minutes of my rest.
This morning, however, is when the real fun began. I woke up to a voice mail on my cell. I didn't have time to listen to it until I was actually driving to work. Here's what it said, "Hello, [my name], this is [the guy I ran into last night]. I just saw you tonight so I wanted to let you know this is my new number. The number is (XXX)XXX-XX-XX. When you get this message, if you can make a call or send me a text message, it would be great. Thank you and good night." Or something along those lines. Received at 3:19am. Did I hear it right? Did he just ask me to call him back? Did he just leave his number on my phone? Did he just call me at 4am? OK, I am definitely writing it off on him being drunk and having no responsibility for his actions.
On a bright side, that same night I received a text from this guy I met over the weekend inquiring what I was doing and asking to "give him a call tomorrow or something". We'll see how that goes. I am not keeping my hopes up though, but whatever happens, happens.
Oh, and I am still debating calling the guy from last night...
Monday, January 22, 2007
An interesting side note.
First, let me just say how happy I am it's finally snowing. And, yes, it ruined my plans for yesterday, but no, I don't care about it. I was so excited to look outside my window and see snowflakes falling from the sky, and ground slowly being covered up with white blanket and the sky being this white-blue bright color that it turns only when it is snowing. Do not get it confused with the grayish tones it takes when it's raining, winter sky has this cold bluish palette that even looking at from the warmth of your house makes you shiver. I always get nostalgic with first snow. It's reminiscent of some of the best times when my life was careless and free of drama.
Nevertheless, I was forced to spend an evening at home since the roads weren't cleaned yet which made driving anywhere nearly impossible. Instead, I stayed in bed all night watching TV. Actually, more like flipping channels. Until I came across "Mythbusters" on Discovery Channel. I first became interested in the show about a year ago when they re-enacted a Kennedy assassination in order to prove a "magic bullet" theory. After that I became a convert and watch it every chance I get. Long story short, this time they were testing an old myth that the pirate eye patch that is thought to cover an empty eye socket was in reality a method that allowed them to switch between day and night vision in an instant, which proved helpful during unexpected battles. Basically, here's a story: a human eye contains two types of photoreceptors - rods and cones. Cons are receptors that are sensitive to and allow us see colors. Rods, which are more numerous and highly sensitive, are not sensitive to color. They are also responsible for scotopic vision. However, this dark-adapted vision is only obtained after a considerable period of darkness, because the rod adaptation process is much slower than that of cones. So, apparently the pirates kept eye covered at all times in order to preserve this light sensitivity of rods and make enhance their night vision. That way, whenever they had to switch between a lit room and a dark deck of the ship (for example, during an unexpected attack) they could simply switch the patch to activate their night vision to be able to continue in the dark. The best thing in this entire story though, is that the show was actually able to prove this myth, or to be more exact, found it plausible. I was truly fascinated by the thought that the primitive pirates as we, modern society, often think of them, were able to come up with such an amazing observation and apply it in real life to their full advantage.
Just thought it was an interesting fact I wanted to share...
Nevertheless, I was forced to spend an evening at home since the roads weren't cleaned yet which made driving anywhere nearly impossible. Instead, I stayed in bed all night watching TV. Actually, more like flipping channels. Until I came across "Mythbusters" on Discovery Channel. I first became interested in the show about a year ago when they re-enacted a Kennedy assassination in order to prove a "magic bullet" theory. After that I became a convert and watch it every chance I get. Long story short, this time they were testing an old myth that the pirate eye patch that is thought to cover an empty eye socket was in reality a method that allowed them to switch between day and night vision in an instant, which proved helpful during unexpected battles. Basically, here's a story: a human eye contains two types of photoreceptors - rods and cones. Cons are receptors that are sensitive to and allow us see colors. Rods, which are more numerous and highly sensitive, are not sensitive to color. They are also responsible for scotopic vision. However, this dark-adapted vision is only obtained after a considerable period of darkness, because the rod adaptation process is much slower than that of cones. So, apparently the pirates kept eye covered at all times in order to preserve this light sensitivity of rods and make enhance their night vision. That way, whenever they had to switch between a lit room and a dark deck of the ship (for example, during an unexpected attack) they could simply switch the patch to activate their night vision to be able to continue in the dark. The best thing in this entire story though, is that the show was actually able to prove this myth, or to be more exact, found it plausible. I was truly fascinated by the thought that the primitive pirates as we, modern society, often think of them, were able to come up with such an amazing observation and apply it in real life to their full advantage.
Just thought it was an interesting fact I wanted to share...
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Life is a challenge...
I have always wondered how some people can be sycophantic and condescending at the same time. I have gotten myself in yet another fight with A., as if Thanksgiving wasn't enough. Although I wasn't the one arguing or attempting to. The funny thing is, he always starts with picking the fight and blowing it up to enormous proportions and afterwards claims it's my fault for fighting with him. I would have believed him if I didn't know better and were slightly more sensitive to his ploys. However, this time was different in a sense that he finally showed himself for who he really is. I have always suspected him to be this kind of person judging by the way he spoke of his friends, but have never had any proof hence did not jump to any conclusions. Gave him a benefit of a doubt. Until last night when he really showed his true colors. I have a feeling he sometimes intentionally stages some situations in order to bring up something that happened in the past or bring his point across. Just so you don't think it's just empty words, here are some examples. He always asks me go meet him giving me a two hour advance notice and when I tell him I already made plans with friends, he gets mad. Basically, he tells me to drop everything I am doing or have planned and run hang out with him, which infuriates me immediately. First, I would never cancel on someone in order to hang out with another person - worse comes to worse, I'll invite them over to hang out all together. Second, it puzzles me that he thinks I am incapable of having a good time without him. What pisses me off even more is that he feels the need to drop all those famous names and parties he goes to and how he gets VIP access to events thinking it impresses me. Now, I am able to get into a lot of places and either get a table or receive a VIP access yet you don't hear me bragging about it in every conversation to make sure everyone knows how special I am. Yet he thinks it's some sort of a gift to me that he can take me to some bar he can get in to while claiming no one else can. The thing is, he forgets that I myself go out quite a lot and am familiar with DC and its parties and events. Therefore, I know for sure you don't need to know anyone to get in to the most of the places he mentions. Well, sometimes you need to get on a guest list but it certainly doesn't require knowing anyone, just having an email subscription to several websites that are hosting those events. But trust me, it takes about five minutes to register and it is not called VIP. The boy gets the guest list confused with the real thing when all you need to do to skip the line and get inside is show up. The sad thing is, this character trait never surfaced in him when we were seeing each other, and only appeared when we resumed talking. I think he felt the need to impress me or whatnot in order to get me back. One thing he didn't realize though was that I did not see him as anything more than a friend, therefore expected something from me I wasn't about to give. What's funny though, I told him I only want to be friends when we started talking again, but I guess he chose to ignore it thinking I will change my mind. Big oops on his part. He has no one to blame but himself for expecting something more when I made it clear in the very beginning it wasn't going to happen.
The worst part, however, was when he tried to both complement and insult me. Did he really think it'll work? Or that it'll somehow make me feel bad? I felt like he had the need to belittle me in order to make himself appear in a better light or to feel better about himself. Did he really think that by doing so he would make me realize that all this time he was a gift in disguise and that I'd run to him hoping he'd take me back? Didn't quite work. However, it did make me furious to the point I told him to stop talking to me. Ever. Nothing makes me angry more than someone accusing me of things I supposedly didn't do (when I never promised anything in the first place) or insulting me thinking it'll make me change my mind... I was truly amazed at how a person can go from nice and sweet to plain nasty in under five minutes. I was even more surprised to learn he wanted to be with me and nearly hated me at the same time. Nice combination, huh? In any case, I am grateful I never agreed to meet him after we split and kept our conversations very casual. I don't even want to think what he would have said had I seen him after we split up.
The worst part of this entire experience? I will never get my earrings back now...
... Life is a challenge - meet it. Sounds easier than it actually is, doesn't it?
The worst part, however, was when he tried to both complement and insult me. Did he really think it'll work? Or that it'll somehow make me feel bad? I felt like he had the need to belittle me in order to make himself appear in a better light or to feel better about himself. Did he really think that by doing so he would make me realize that all this time he was a gift in disguise and that I'd run to him hoping he'd take me back? Didn't quite work. However, it did make me furious to the point I told him to stop talking to me. Ever. Nothing makes me angry more than someone accusing me of things I supposedly didn't do (when I never promised anything in the first place) or insulting me thinking it'll make me change my mind... I was truly amazed at how a person can go from nice and sweet to plain nasty in under five minutes. I was even more surprised to learn he wanted to be with me and nearly hated me at the same time. Nice combination, huh? In any case, I am grateful I never agreed to meet him after we split and kept our conversations very casual. I don't even want to think what he would have said had I seen him after we split up.
The worst part of this entire experience? I will never get my earrings back now...
... Life is a challenge - meet it. Sounds easier than it actually is, doesn't it?
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Playing a mediator.
I never thought that when I accepted my current position a month ago, I'd have to include a babysitter to my job description in addition to my daily responsibilities. Honestly, when I heard everyone on my teams are going to be guys, I was happy since I figured there won't be any drama so typical for girls. Today I found out just how wrong I was. I actually had to play an intermediary for the most part of the day in order to bring two sides of my team to some sort of agreement. The question that bothered me after all the mess was over, was why do guys take things so personally? Do they take any commentary about their professional performance that close to heart? It's not like they are being evaluated on their sexual talent; I could understand why that part can be hurtful. I always wondered why they can't separate professional and personal parts of their life and every little remark is being taken as a brutal attempt to sabotage their reputation or crush their male ego. But seriously, if you can't finish your work on time and accurately, then I will definitely bring it up. Not as a personal attack, but rather as a constructive criticism (don't you just love this word?). Actually let me rephrase myself - not "can't finish", rather "don't bother to finish" in a timely manner. In fact, this scenario is absolutely unacceptable from my standpoint. If you have the means and the capability to complete the work on time, then do so. Don't come up with lame excuses such as, "it's Friday and I have to leave early because I plan to go out later in the night". Grow up, realize that it's your job and not a high-school math project, and finish it up... I don't get it.
Anyhow, I planned to go out tonight, but with all this crap going on at work, I was stuck there until almost 9pm. So I guess I am canceling tonight. Which doesn't mean I won't go tomorrow. I just hope this work drama won't carry over to the next day... I have enough of crap going on in my personal life and I definitely don't need any more of it at work...
Surprisingly, I am no longer fuming, hence stopping here.
Anyhow, I planned to go out tonight, but with all this crap going on at work, I was stuck there until almost 9pm. So I guess I am canceling tonight. Which doesn't mean I won't go tomorrow. I just hope this work drama won't carry over to the next day... I have enough of crap going on in my personal life and I definitely don't need any more of it at work...
Surprisingly, I am no longer fuming, hence stopping here.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Digression.
I recently had a conversation with my now-former-senior about the job market. Since he has been actively searching for a new job recently, he had a lot to bring to the discussion. I had more of a scientific approach to the topic, he had applied his experience from the real life. Despite all the hearsay about current conditions and the rumors of impossibility of finding a decent job for an average college graduate with a Bachelor's degree, I find it not being as tough as the experts try to convince regular people. For example, in a mere two months of him searching for a job, he lined up four interviews and actually had one offer. If it were so hard to find a job, I doubt he would have had so many opportunities in such a short time to try out for various positions... The company I work for is notorious for its high turn-around. It could be explained by a several factors, but the most probable of all is the average age our department being 25 years old. Think about it: if you are 25 chances are, there is nothing tying you down to a specific location, people or a living arrangement. You are free to go and do whatever you please... Awesome time to live your life to the fullest... But back to the point, most people who leave our department do so because they found another job. Therefore, most of what I hear or read about the job market is most likely exaggerated. If one looked, it is possible to find a job suited for their preferences provided they themselves are competent and /or experienced.
Now don't get this confused with another argument that many make and I somewhat agree with. That being that due to a higher demand in the work force and the perks of being young and just out of school, some of the offers may not seem so fitting. By perks I imply a well known fact that young, just-out-of-school professionals can only count on an entry level position. Which will probably mean longer hours, higher work load and lower pay. But this is something anyone has to go through in order to climb a corporate ladder and become somewhat important and valuable. On the side note, if your parents own their own business you are to take over in the future, please disregard this entire rambling. Does not apply to such. However, for the vast majority of us, it is simply a fact of life that we have to deal with. The relief comes from realization that we only have to suffer for a year, two or three before reaching that state where we can actually demand something from the employer. Until then, however, we are not in the situation to bitch and complain. I had this argument with a friend of mine some time ago. He was accusing me of working long hours and therefore not being able to get out. I asked him if he knew of any twenty-something who worked normal hours during their first year on the job. No answer... Point made.
Anyhow, maybe it all is just a pep talk right before my busy season hits, who knows... However, once those long hours pay off in a few years, I would be really appreciative of all the hard work I put in in order to get wherever I might be at that point. Otherwise, why bother, right?
Now don't get this confused with another argument that many make and I somewhat agree with. That being that due to a higher demand in the work force and the perks of being young and just out of school, some of the offers may not seem so fitting. By perks I imply a well known fact that young, just-out-of-school professionals can only count on an entry level position. Which will probably mean longer hours, higher work load and lower pay. But this is something anyone has to go through in order to climb a corporate ladder and become somewhat important and valuable. On the side note, if your parents own their own business you are to take over in the future, please disregard this entire rambling. Does not apply to such. However, for the vast majority of us, it is simply a fact of life that we have to deal with. The relief comes from realization that we only have to suffer for a year, two or three before reaching that state where we can actually demand something from the employer. Until then, however, we are not in the situation to bitch and complain. I had this argument with a friend of mine some time ago. He was accusing me of working long hours and therefore not being able to get out. I asked him if he knew of any twenty-something who worked normal hours during their first year on the job. No answer... Point made.
Anyhow, maybe it all is just a pep talk right before my busy season hits, who knows... However, once those long hours pay off in a few years, I would be really appreciative of all the hard work I put in in order to get wherever I might be at that point. Otherwise, why bother, right?
Saturday, January 13, 2007
An unexpected discussion.
I have never thought of myself as a religious person. Moreover, being the sceptic I am, I think that it is not possible to have an absolute knowledge and even the question of existence of the higher power is unknowable by nature and we as people simply do not have enough evidence to make that judgement. I just cannot possibly comprehend that everything that is happening around the world is acceptable, or somehow predetermined, or (and this is even worse) is supposed to be happening.
Anyhow, as I said I have never considered myself religious. However, I got a call from a friend of mine a few hours ago. The moment I picked up the phone I knew it was bad news. He told me a few months ago his dad had cancer and that there is no chance of recovery. Even though he was feeling better the last time we spoke, I knew that the doctors were just postponing the inevitable. And this time he didn't have to tell me anything - just hearing the tone of his voice I realized that it happened. Apparently it happened last Friday night, and he could not call me until Saturday night due to his religious observations. All I could even blurt out was "I am so sorry" - I have no idea what to say in these situations. What can you possibly say to someone who just lost one of the closest people in their life? I couldn't think of anything, but I really don't think he expected me to say much. I think he just needed someone to listen and know they are being supportive and care... Even though I have been friends with this guy for over four years, I have never known him so upset. He tried telling me that he knew it was going to happen eventually and that he was prepared for it, but there is no way in the world you can possibly prepare yourself for news like this. No one is ever ready to say good bye to people they love... In an effort to find some comfort and possibly alleviate some pain I decided I have no other choice but to listen to what he says. To my surprise, instead of talking about his dad started a discussion about some basic religious matters, such as the idea of heaven and hell. Even though I never interrupted him during his speech believing that it will help him deal, I did not agree with anything he was saying. I personally do not believe in the concept itself. If you ever refer to the older religions such as Buddhism, Judaism, Islam or Hinduism you'd discover that none of them have such notion. As such, both Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation and therefore, instead of going to hell, are reborn if they have led an unsatisfactory life. As a result, the thought itself becomes illogical. Even though Judaism has a belief in heaven, it is not a place where righteous go after they die, but rather a place where the higher power resides. There is also a popular Jewish notion that all souls go to one place until the final judgement. Similar idea exists in Islam as well which refers to heaven as an allegory, while stating that hell will only be created on that same Judgement Day. That is why I was perplexed when I learned about the same concept in Christianity presented in an entirely different light. While it states that everyone goes to hell unless they repent, it also equalizes normal people with worst offenders. So how does it work? You do whatever you want with your life - lie, kill, cheat, whatever, but the moment you ask for forgiveness on your death bed, that's it? Done deal? You are forgiven and you go to heaven like everyone else? I don't buy it. I still think that the idea itself was invented during the Dark Ages to keep people obedient before the Church...
I do want to believe that one second spent in heaven equals to all the happiness that has ever been felt by people on earth, but somehow I do not think that the fact that we study Bible or what we do at the end of our lives crosses out everything we've done before. Plus I do not believe that someone out there (assuming there is someone out there) thinks that the direction the world is moving in is honorable and moral.
Anyhow, I did not cut him short since I knew he needed someone to tell him what he needed to hear. I do think it made him feel better assuming you can even feel better in a situation like this.
When I hung up, I decided I want to write about it since I didn't get a chance to tell him what I believe in - I figured I still need to express it. However, when I started I caught myself going back to the only funeral I have even been to. For some reason I could not help but revisit that day over and over. I finally had to stop, and I am actually finishing this post on a different day I started it. It was over seven years ago, still it was one of the worst experiences of my life. I remember this long walk to the cemetery, nasty spring drizzling rain and no one seemed to care about it. I also remember the long procession following the coffin and random people stopping on the street and taking their hats off to pay their last respect. It was an early spring and the snow drifts we still visible on the sides of the street, but no one seemed to notice the cold, or the rain. I also remember when we got to the cemetery, and the priest was talking for a very long time in a language I couldn't understand. Then he started singing and I still could not decipher a single word. No one else made a speech and I do not even think it was part of a tradition to make speeches on funerals. I also distinctly remember some people crying, some barely able to contain their emotions, and others trying to appear strong and somewhat detached. I hated when one woman could not hold her feelings in any longer and she just collapsed on the wet ground, weeping. I hated it because I was doing my best not to cry at that point, but looking at her made it nearly unbearable. I was actually somewhat relieved when people started picking up some dirt and throwing it in the grave, apparently also a part of tradition. After that, everything was pretty much a blur and the next thing I clearly remember is the part when everyone got back to the house, and when I realized that it was finally over... It was a tremendous relief. I don't think there is anything else that can be just as depressing and harsh as this experience was... Nor do I ever want to repeat it.
Anyhow, as I said I have never considered myself religious. However, I got a call from a friend of mine a few hours ago. The moment I picked up the phone I knew it was bad news. He told me a few months ago his dad had cancer and that there is no chance of recovery. Even though he was feeling better the last time we spoke, I knew that the doctors were just postponing the inevitable. And this time he didn't have to tell me anything - just hearing the tone of his voice I realized that it happened. Apparently it happened last Friday night, and he could not call me until Saturday night due to his religious observations. All I could even blurt out was "I am so sorry" - I have no idea what to say in these situations. What can you possibly say to someone who just lost one of the closest people in their life? I couldn't think of anything, but I really don't think he expected me to say much. I think he just needed someone to listen and know they are being supportive and care... Even though I have been friends with this guy for over four years, I have never known him so upset. He tried telling me that he knew it was going to happen eventually and that he was prepared for it, but there is no way in the world you can possibly prepare yourself for news like this. No one is ever ready to say good bye to people they love... In an effort to find some comfort and possibly alleviate some pain I decided I have no other choice but to listen to what he says. To my surprise, instead of talking about his dad started a discussion about some basic religious matters, such as the idea of heaven and hell. Even though I never interrupted him during his speech believing that it will help him deal, I did not agree with anything he was saying. I personally do not believe in the concept itself. If you ever refer to the older religions such as Buddhism, Judaism, Islam or Hinduism you'd discover that none of them have such notion. As such, both Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation and therefore, instead of going to hell, are reborn if they have led an unsatisfactory life. As a result, the thought itself becomes illogical. Even though Judaism has a belief in heaven, it is not a place where righteous go after they die, but rather a place where the higher power resides. There is also a popular Jewish notion that all souls go to one place until the final judgement. Similar idea exists in Islam as well which refers to heaven as an allegory, while stating that hell will only be created on that same Judgement Day. That is why I was perplexed when I learned about the same concept in Christianity presented in an entirely different light. While it states that everyone goes to hell unless they repent, it also equalizes normal people with worst offenders. So how does it work? You do whatever you want with your life - lie, kill, cheat, whatever, but the moment you ask for forgiveness on your death bed, that's it? Done deal? You are forgiven and you go to heaven like everyone else? I don't buy it. I still think that the idea itself was invented during the Dark Ages to keep people obedient before the Church...
I do want to believe that one second spent in heaven equals to all the happiness that has ever been felt by people on earth, but somehow I do not think that the fact that we study Bible or what we do at the end of our lives crosses out everything we've done before. Plus I do not believe that someone out there (assuming there is someone out there) thinks that the direction the world is moving in is honorable and moral.
Anyhow, I did not cut him short since I knew he needed someone to tell him what he needed to hear. I do think it made him feel better assuming you can even feel better in a situation like this.
When I hung up, I decided I want to write about it since I didn't get a chance to tell him what I believe in - I figured I still need to express it. However, when I started I caught myself going back to the only funeral I have even been to. For some reason I could not help but revisit that day over and over. I finally had to stop, and I am actually finishing this post on a different day I started it. It was over seven years ago, still it was one of the worst experiences of my life. I remember this long walk to the cemetery, nasty spring drizzling rain and no one seemed to care about it. I also remember the long procession following the coffin and random people stopping on the street and taking their hats off to pay their last respect. It was an early spring and the snow drifts we still visible on the sides of the street, but no one seemed to notice the cold, or the rain. I also remember when we got to the cemetery, and the priest was talking for a very long time in a language I couldn't understand. Then he started singing and I still could not decipher a single word. No one else made a speech and I do not even think it was part of a tradition to make speeches on funerals. I also distinctly remember some people crying, some barely able to contain their emotions, and others trying to appear strong and somewhat detached. I hated when one woman could not hold her feelings in any longer and she just collapsed on the wet ground, weeping. I hated it because I was doing my best not to cry at that point, but looking at her made it nearly unbearable. I was actually somewhat relieved when people started picking up some dirt and throwing it in the grave, apparently also a part of tradition. After that, everything was pretty much a blur and the next thing I clearly remember is the part when everyone got back to the house, and when I realized that it was finally over... It was a tremendous relief. I don't think there is anything else that can be just as depressing and harsh as this experience was... Nor do I ever want to repeat it.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Mercedes built in China?
I recently ran across one interesting article on CNN involving, gasp, China. It seems like every other article in the business sector now involves China. Don't get me wrong, I am genuinely amazed at their ability to grow with speed surpassing that of U.S. three times. Chinese economy recently outgrew that of Italy to become the sixth largest in the world and is, without a doubt, set to overtake U.K. and France in the near future. It's GDP (gross domestic product) grew, on average, 9.6% in the past decade, more than triple the pace of all developed countries. Measured in absolute values, its GDP yielding only that of U.S. Not bad for a country with a centrally planned economy up until less than a quarter century ago.
Now, any rational human being upon hearing all this would probably ask, "Well, what's in it for me?" I believe the word "globalization" rings a bell and if it doesn't, I suggest reading news at least occasionally. And even though I believe in the basic law of supply and demand and realize that in crease in the latter would bring the prices down thus increasing the purchasing power of consumers, I also realize its negative effects. In the wealthier country opening its borders to globalization, lower to middle income class is usually the one suffering the most. We already witnessed this trend in our own country, especially in the central and south-eastern states where thousands of people are currently unemployed or, even worse, underemployed. Underemployed means you are the only one suffering since the government still thinks you are working and supporting yourself and you family and usually ignores your outcries calling them groundless. As for poor countries, everything is not so peachy there as well. Take that same China. Despite its enormous economic growth, the country is still considered lower-middle income in per capita terms and still falls below international poverty lines. Moreover, income distribution within the country is rather surprisingly uneven, with coastal provinces achieving somewhat acceptable economic stability and interior regions still suffering from the harsh reality of poverty and stagnation. Economic development is also causing rapid deterioration in environment, and especially air pollution. Government officials are currently spending billions a year trying to clean up the air poisoned with smog and sulfur dioxide from coal-burning plants.
In addition, rapid growth in real estate have some investors rethink their strategy. If Chinese build more than they can actually utilize, the supply will far exceed demand meaning the owners will find it increasingly hard to rent out their properties and repay their debt. This, in turn, will leave a lot of foreign investors exposed with more real estate loans turning bad. Even though current outlook remains positive mainly due to a rise in real estate prices themselves, investors have to be on guard more so than with their other foreign ventures and be ready to act fast should something happen.
Anyhow, I am so off the point here. Well, I am not off the point per se, but I definitely have to narrow it down. Back to the article. According to CNN, Daimler Chrysler have recently signed a deal with China's Chery Automobiles for the latter to build small cars to be sold worldwide. Even though Chery markets its own brands of cars, these new cars will be sold as a Chrysler Group brand. The size and financial terms of the agreement are still unknown pending the approval of Daimler's supervisory board...
And now back to my seemingly unrelated tirade in the first paragraph. I think it is fairly safe to say that with things progressing as they are now, within the next ten years China can wipe out the lower end of the U.S. markets. By letting them into WTO, U.S. essentially gave them free access to its market. On their side, though, they maintain high tariffs on automobiles, they require U.S. automakers to make their parts their and to transfer technology. Naturally, they teach their local companies how to make cars. In addition, we are being high strung by undervalued Chinese currency. Doesn't it all seem a bit excessive? At what point do we have to ask ourselves if benefits outweigh the costs? And whether it is worth continuing it or, to be more exact, continuing it at the same pace as the last decade and a half?
While free markets certainly seems like an attractive perspective in economic theory, the reality has already bitten both sides in the ass once they experienced its negative effects.
Now, any rational human being upon hearing all this would probably ask, "Well, what's in it for me?" I believe the word "globalization" rings a bell and if it doesn't, I suggest reading news at least occasionally. And even though I believe in the basic law of supply and demand and realize that in crease in the latter would bring the prices down thus increasing the purchasing power of consumers, I also realize its negative effects. In the wealthier country opening its borders to globalization, lower to middle income class is usually the one suffering the most. We already witnessed this trend in our own country, especially in the central and south-eastern states where thousands of people are currently unemployed or, even worse, underemployed. Underemployed means you are the only one suffering since the government still thinks you are working and supporting yourself and you family and usually ignores your outcries calling them groundless. As for poor countries, everything is not so peachy there as well. Take that same China. Despite its enormous economic growth, the country is still considered lower-middle income in per capita terms and still falls below international poverty lines. Moreover, income distribution within the country is rather surprisingly uneven, with coastal provinces achieving somewhat acceptable economic stability and interior regions still suffering from the harsh reality of poverty and stagnation. Economic development is also causing rapid deterioration in environment, and especially air pollution. Government officials are currently spending billions a year trying to clean up the air poisoned with smog and sulfur dioxide from coal-burning plants.
In addition, rapid growth in real estate have some investors rethink their strategy. If Chinese build more than they can actually utilize, the supply will far exceed demand meaning the owners will find it increasingly hard to rent out their properties and repay their debt. This, in turn, will leave a lot of foreign investors exposed with more real estate loans turning bad. Even though current outlook remains positive mainly due to a rise in real estate prices themselves, investors have to be on guard more so than with their other foreign ventures and be ready to act fast should something happen.
Anyhow, I am so off the point here. Well, I am not off the point per se, but I definitely have to narrow it down. Back to the article. According to CNN, Daimler Chrysler have recently signed a deal with China's Chery Automobiles for the latter to build small cars to be sold worldwide. Even though Chery markets its own brands of cars, these new cars will be sold as a Chrysler Group brand. The size and financial terms of the agreement are still unknown pending the approval of Daimler's supervisory board...
And now back to my seemingly unrelated tirade in the first paragraph. I think it is fairly safe to say that with things progressing as they are now, within the next ten years China can wipe out the lower end of the U.S. markets. By letting them into WTO, U.S. essentially gave them free access to its market. On their side, though, they maintain high tariffs on automobiles, they require U.S. automakers to make their parts their and to transfer technology. Naturally, they teach their local companies how to make cars. In addition, we are being high strung by undervalued Chinese currency. Doesn't it all seem a bit excessive? At what point do we have to ask ourselves if benefits outweigh the costs? And whether it is worth continuing it or, to be more exact, continuing it at the same pace as the last decade and a half?
While free markets certainly seems like an attractive perspective in economic theory, the reality has already bitten both sides in the ass once they experienced its negative effects.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Back to work.
I was so dreading going to work this morning, and as it turns out, for good reasons. I've been only gone for one day (well, one working day since I don't count holidays. And seriously, what idiot would keep the office open yesterday if everyone is off because of the mourning for President Ford), but I swear it felt like ages. Only going through my mailbox took me almost an hour. I never would have thought I receive so many emails in one day. And this is during our downtime. I guess you really never pay attention to things until you see the bigger picture.
Anyhow, I had so much stuff to do but did not get to it until after lunch. First, I had to do some manual labor cleaning out a desk for a new associate. Damn, these people keep a lot of papers and old documents in their desks. I swear, when I leave the firm I'll clean out my desk so that no one can make fun of me like we did today. Then I had about fifteen minutes to have lunch before my training and thankfully we had sandwiches in the kitchen so I just rummaged that.
And the most important part - the new kids are staring today and we have to train them. I met my kid before I left and he seemed nice and I think he looks smart. Hopefully. Because I don't want to deal with another disaster of a thought process and intellect.
Oh, and R. texted me this morning again and then called me after work. Dude, get the hint - I am ignoring you. If I wanted to get together I would have replied to the message he sent the other day. He left a voice message but I haven't listened to it yet. Not sure I even want to or care... I think it's time to move to someone else now. New. Now I just need to find that someone.
Anyhow, I had so much stuff to do but did not get to it until after lunch. First, I had to do some manual labor cleaning out a desk for a new associate. Damn, these people keep a lot of papers and old documents in their desks. I swear, when I leave the firm I'll clean out my desk so that no one can make fun of me like we did today. Then I had about fifteen minutes to have lunch before my training and thankfully we had sandwiches in the kitchen so I just rummaged that.
And the most important part - the new kids are staring today and we have to train them. I met my kid before I left and he seemed nice and I think he looks smart. Hopefully. Because I don't want to deal with another disaster of a thought process and intellect.
Oh, and R. texted me this morning again and then called me after work. Dude, get the hint - I am ignoring you. If I wanted to get together I would have replied to the message he sent the other day. He left a voice message but I haven't listened to it yet. Not sure I even want to or care... I think it's time to move to someone else now. New. Now I just need to find that someone.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
The New Year Celebration.
Oh wow... where do I begin? Amazing times!!!
Let me start by saying it was fucking awesome. All those worries I had about screwing up my holidays went out of the window the moment I stepped into the club. But I need to back up a bit and tell you how many freaking people there were in DC. By the time we got into the club it was already packed and I swear another three thousand people waiting outside, and I really think that the majority of them did not get into the club until after midnight and I am really thankful that we knew a few bouncers there and were able to get in without waiting in line. And without having to pay I-don't-know-how-much to get into the club. Another observation I made? They definitely jacked up the prices and were charging more than ten dollars per drinks. What the hell? Not only they charged hundred something to get in, but also raised their prices. Huh, nice way to milk a New Year. But anyhow, I shouldn't be complaining here since I ended up having a blast. I can only wish they played this kind of music every time I am out. It was amazing! The funny thing is I had a lot to drink but did not feel the slightest buzz up until my last drink. Still, it was nothing like I would have felt had I had this amount of alcohol on a regular day. Maybe the explanation lies in the fact I was bouncing around like a damn yo-yo all night long. Now I kind of fear the pictures that my friend took... Probably looked like a crazy person. Too bad. I am sure the pictures will come out awesome.
Oh, and I totally forgot to mention me having to comfort my friend when we was having a meltdown. At a club. At 3am. On a New Year night. Yes, I know. The funniest thing is, I did not understand why she would cry over what had happened because any other person in her place would be happy and should be so lucky to have what she has. In any case, I had to spend five minutes telling her exactly what I mentioned above and reinforcing every word of it until she stopped crying. Good. I am starting my new year with helping someone. Hopefully it'll reflect on my karma. Because it's been shitty lately.
We hung out for a little bit after we left the place since no one wanted to drive home right away for obvious reasons. Cops, anyone? At least I had some time to sort through all those text messages I received wishing me a Happy New Year and reply to all of them. Then I had to figure out who sent me the rest of the messages that I didn't have a name tied to and decide if I wanted to reply to them. And I did. After all, the person meant well when sending me the message, so I have to reciprocate, right? And then I did something unthinkable. I texted the guy I was involved with a long time ago wishing him Happy Holidays. Which would have been totally fine had I not added "babe" at the end. I genuinely hoped he'd never replied since we didn't part on the best terms, but he did indeed. When I saw a text from him yesterday, I couldn't bring myself to read it for about two hours not willing to face whatever it was saying. Was he still angry? Pissed? Disappointed? Did not care one way or another? Finally, I decided I want to know no matter what was there. Well, it said, "You too my love". Are you kidding? I would say he's mocking me, but I never got an impression he was like that when I was with him, but then again, I never pissed him off as much as I did the last time we spoke. So I guess it's another mystery for me...
Oh, and my friend is coming back from overseas today, and my other one from out of state tomorrow, and I can't wait to drag them both out. Tomorrow night.
Let me start by saying it was fucking awesome. All those worries I had about screwing up my holidays went out of the window the moment I stepped into the club. But I need to back up a bit and tell you how many freaking people there were in DC. By the time we got into the club it was already packed and I swear another three thousand people waiting outside, and I really think that the majority of them did not get into the club until after midnight and I am really thankful that we knew a few bouncers there and were able to get in without waiting in line. And without having to pay I-don't-know-how-much to get into the club. Another observation I made? They definitely jacked up the prices and were charging more than ten dollars per drinks. What the hell? Not only they charged hundred something to get in, but also raised their prices. Huh, nice way to milk a New Year. But anyhow, I shouldn't be complaining here since I ended up having a blast. I can only wish they played this kind of music every time I am out. It was amazing! The funny thing is I had a lot to drink but did not feel the slightest buzz up until my last drink. Still, it was nothing like I would have felt had I had this amount of alcohol on a regular day. Maybe the explanation lies in the fact I was bouncing around like a damn yo-yo all night long. Now I kind of fear the pictures that my friend took... Probably looked like a crazy person. Too bad. I am sure the pictures will come out awesome.
Oh, and I totally forgot to mention me having to comfort my friend when we was having a meltdown. At a club. At 3am. On a New Year night. Yes, I know. The funniest thing is, I did not understand why she would cry over what had happened because any other person in her place would be happy and should be so lucky to have what she has. In any case, I had to spend five minutes telling her exactly what I mentioned above and reinforcing every word of it until she stopped crying. Good. I am starting my new year with helping someone. Hopefully it'll reflect on my karma. Because it's been shitty lately.
We hung out for a little bit after we left the place since no one wanted to drive home right away for obvious reasons. Cops, anyone? At least I had some time to sort through all those text messages I received wishing me a Happy New Year and reply to all of them. Then I had to figure out who sent me the rest of the messages that I didn't have a name tied to and decide if I wanted to reply to them. And I did. After all, the person meant well when sending me the message, so I have to reciprocate, right? And then I did something unthinkable. I texted the guy I was involved with a long time ago wishing him Happy Holidays. Which would have been totally fine had I not added "babe" at the end. I genuinely hoped he'd never replied since we didn't part on the best terms, but he did indeed. When I saw a text from him yesterday, I couldn't bring myself to read it for about two hours not willing to face whatever it was saying. Was he still angry? Pissed? Disappointed? Did not care one way or another? Finally, I decided I want to know no matter what was there. Well, it said, "You too my love". Are you kidding? I would say he's mocking me, but I never got an impression he was like that when I was with him, but then again, I never pissed him off as much as I did the last time we spoke. So I guess it's another mystery for me...
Oh, and my friend is coming back from overseas today, and my other one from out of state tomorrow, and I can't wait to drag them both out. Tomorrow night.
Friday, December 29, 2006
The bomb threat.
Finally all those court issues are behind me and I can concentrate on getting some more tickets. Just kidding. But seriously, I am done with it and couldn't have been happier. It was supposed to take about an hour and I planned to be back at work by 11am, but did not get back until after lunch. Guess why. Apparently some dork called in a bomb threat and they had to evacuate the entire courthouse before cops showed up with those trained dogs to search the entire building. Although it was kind of amusing to see how relaxed everyone was after they found out (no one was panicking, people were laughing - I guess they get those calls every week or so), it wasn't all that hilarious having to wait outside for over an hour until they were finished. When I asked the bailiff what was going on, he told me about the threat in such a casual manner as if he was talking about the light bulb going out and them having to replace it. Seriously? Did we really get so used to these situations that we no longer react properly and think it's all just a big joke? Do we no longer think it can actually happen again? Or are we simply convinced that it only happens somewhere else but never to us?... Naturally, they did not find anything and could resume their proceedings. At least I had enough time to have a decent breakfast and rest a bit before going to work... And a drive was a breeze. Although it's been like that these past two weeks. Must be due to holidays.
Once I got to work, I got even more bad news. Apparently my Florida trip fell apart and we are staying in DC this year. Which is not the ideal solution but I guess not a bad one after all. Honestly, next time I try to plan anything, I need to hire a personal planner because I am absolutely incapable of organizing something bigger than a dinner or a night out. First we wanted to go to Caribbean but ultimately decided against it. By the time we settled our sights on Miami, it was only two weeks till New Year and plane ticket and hotel prices skyrocketed. Factor in party tickets, food and other entertainment and we were looking at a $1000 plus per person for three days. Even though it was a bit much (a bit?) we still were going through with it, but by the time we were ready to book tickets, prices went up by another couple of hundreds dollars. At that point it was so unreasonable to go there, we decided to drop the idea. The problem is, we decided it today and since New Year is the day after tomorrow, we have no plans or tickets for a night out in DC. Which could present a huge problem considering everything is pretty much sold out. Oh well, we'll see what happens...
On a brighter note, I got a text from my boy toy R. a few hours ago inquiring how I have been lately... Are you kidding me? I just ignored him but it sure made me laugh. Did he really think I'd reply or want to see him again after all this time? Seriously, he should just move on... Which I am sure he has already.
Once I got to work, I got even more bad news. Apparently my Florida trip fell apart and we are staying in DC this year. Which is not the ideal solution but I guess not a bad one after all. Honestly, next time I try to plan anything, I need to hire a personal planner because I am absolutely incapable of organizing something bigger than a dinner or a night out. First we wanted to go to Caribbean but ultimately decided against it. By the time we settled our sights on Miami, it was only two weeks till New Year and plane ticket and hotel prices skyrocketed. Factor in party tickets, food and other entertainment and we were looking at a $1000 plus per person for three days. Even though it was a bit much (a bit?) we still were going through with it, but by the time we were ready to book tickets, prices went up by another couple of hundreds dollars. At that point it was so unreasonable to go there, we decided to drop the idea. The problem is, we decided it today and since New Year is the day after tomorrow, we have no plans or tickets for a night out in DC. Which could present a huge problem considering everything is pretty much sold out. Oh well, we'll see what happens...
On a brighter note, I got a text from my boy toy R. a few hours ago inquiring how I have been lately... Are you kidding me? I just ignored him but it sure made me laugh. Did he really think I'd reply or want to see him again after all this time? Seriously, he should just move on... Which I am sure he has already.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
A follow up.
Just a quick follow up on my Sunday post, before my senior gets back from lunch. I did indeed meet up with my friend Sunday night and we again went to my favorite bar near my house. We planned to go to Dave & Buster's at first but they were closed and we had to pick another place. Duh, it was Christmas, what did we expect. Anyhow, on our way there I told him my Sunday story and asked him what he thought about it. Well honestly, he just shrugged and the only thing he said was "You are over him though, so it doesn't make much difference". Thanks, that's a big help. He then asked me about The Guy and I said I haven't heard from him. Thanks for reminding. After that though, I had a great time chatting and we once again did not leave until the place closed down. It's becoming a tendency now...
As I predicted, yesterday was dead at work. Only a handful of people showed up and not a single manager. As a result, I spent my day paying my bills as well as running some errands before leaving at 3pm. Nice! I like this kind of work.
OK, I have to go now, my senior is back. And that reminds me, I have a court date tomorrow concerning that stupid ticket I got back in July, so I have to tell my senior I am going to be late for work...
As I predicted, yesterday was dead at work. Only a handful of people showed up and not a single manager. As a result, I spent my day paying my bills as well as running some errands before leaving at 3pm. Nice! I like this kind of work.
OK, I have to go now, my senior is back. And that reminds me, I have a court date tomorrow concerning that stupid ticket I got back in July, so I have to tell my senior I am going to be late for work...
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Not feeling the spirit.
You know, I was hoping for some snow for Christmas, but now I doubt it'll even get cold enough for me to wear my winter coat. This is unbelievable. I cannot even feel that the holidays are coming and therefore am in no mood to celebrate. I had a great week though...
I have been doing pretty much nothing at work. As you remember, I didn't go back to work last Wednesday because of luncheon. I guess after that I just slipped into holiday state of mind and didn't feel like doing anything for the rest of the week. As a result, I showed up for work late and left at least an hour early on both Thursdays and Fridays. In addition to that, I took a three-hour lunch on Thursdays to go to DC to see my friend and went to movies on Friday to see "Apocalipto". Not bad, but not what I've expected... Next week should be even slower, and tomorrow is supposed to be dead so I plan to leave around 3pm, but not before I take care of a bunch of personal stuff I have been postponing...
That same Friday I went out to this place near my work, and even though I don't think it's a particularly good bar, I still believe it's a great way to start the night before moving on to DC. Which is exactly what we did. I also found another reason to get my own place - it only cost us $15 to get to downtown DC without the hassle of having to drive intoxicated and risk being pulled over by a cop... You know what? DC was dead. Even though we went to the lounge that gets jam-packed on weekends, it was fairly empty. Well, empty compared to the usual situation. It felt like we were out during the week when a lot of people prefer to stay home and relax rather than going out. I really enjoyed myself and I think my friend was also having a good time. At least I did not see any signs that he was bored or uncomfortable there. I honestly planned to spend the entire night dancing but had to excuse myself to the bathroom and, as I was going back to my friend, met some guy. What a surprise. I was trying to get rid of him so when he asked if I wanted to dance, I replied that I am already dancing and simply looking for my friend. He was persistent however and asked if he can follow me and join us. At that point, I did not care one way or another, so I agreed. I thought the guy was going to run away when he saw that my friend was also a guy, but seemed to calm down when I told him we need to get a girl for my friend. I don't understand why, but I noticed that many guys find it weird or suspicious if they see a girl out with another guy friend. Is that fear? Rivalry? I don't get it. Anyhow... he stayed. To my astonishment, I found his company entertaining - he was funny and could sustain a decent conversation. Besides, he was a good dancer and we spent the rest of the night talking and dancing. Can you imagine? Talking... when do you ever get a chance to talk in the club? All in all, I had a great time and didn't leave until the lights came on and the bouncers announced they were closing the place down. The guy I met (I am so embarrassed to admit I don't remember his name) invited me to a house party he was heading to, but I was pretty tired and my friend had a long drive home, so I decided to leave after all. We agreed he'd call me the next day so we can set something up. Instead of going home however, my friend and I went to eat since I was starving. By the time I got home I was exhausted but at the same time I had this feeling of excitement which I haven't felt for a while when I met someone during a night out.
The next day, Saturday, was my uncle's birthday so my day was occupied with that. I woke up around noon, had breakfast and went back to bed since I was still sleepy. The next time I awoke, it was 2:30pm and I had to hurry up to make it to the dinner on time. I mentioned already how I feel about my family gatherings, but I have to admit that home-cooked food beats all the negative that I feel about it. Especially if it's my aunt's cooking. That is simply amazing. Another good thing is that all my cousins and I had a separate table which meant we can carry on our conversations without running into the risk of being overheard by parents, and as a result did not have to censor ourselves as much. The Guy from yesterday (I am calling him The Guy until I find out his name) called and texted me inviting me for a dinner, but I explained that I am already having one and we settled for drinks afterwards. By the time I got home however, it was almost 10pm which was definitely not what I planned or expected. I was half-contemplating going out, but I ate so much and it made me so relaxed and it was so late that I did not feel like going anywhere and settled for spending the night in front of TV. I texted The Guy telling him we have to postpone our meeting since I was staying home. However, I have not heard back from him that night...
Sunday afternoon, and still no word from The Guy. Even though I do not understand why he didn't respond, I decided not to think about him anymore or waste my time on him. If he calls, fine, if he doesn't I won't stress about it. The thing is, when he sent me those messages on Saturday, I actually felt sorry for him since he probably wore down his fingers typing out those long texts all night long. He also called me when he said he would which clearly indicated he was interested and wanted to meet up. On my side, I let him know I wasn't going to be able to meet up that night and apologized for that, before suggesting we meet another time. Therefore, I have no clue why I haven't heard back from him. Any ideas?
But the funniest thing happened a mere two hours ago. As I mentioned earlier I was really upset about a particular thing. As you probably guessed, it involved a guy. A quick story: I met this guy a while back and we have been talking a lot and met a few times, however he disappeared at the end of November and I had no idea what happened to him. Then I noticed (or I thought I noticed as I later realized), that he deleted me out from online messengers which was exactly what pissed me off. I am usually very comfortable with myself and am able to handle rejection pretty well. What I cannot stand is when someone goes behind my back and does something like this. I mean, if you don't want to talk to me, be a man and just say it. I'd much rather hear "I don't think we should continue seeing/talking to each other" then have him completely disappear on me. That is why you have balls, so use them. (Now, on a side note, I recently realized that he did not delete anything, but rather it was Google's way of making my life easier, or so they thought). Therefore, imagine my surprise when I was reading something online and he started talking to me again... The conversation was very casual and did not mean much, but i was just startled at the thought that we were talking, period. Another thing is, the last time we spoke I got mad at him and did not try to hide it, so I thought he stopped any contact with me because of that. And honestly, up until today I was almost OK with it. I mean, I was still bummed out about the whole thing, but mostly just disappointed in him. Basically, I crossed him out and stopped thinking about him. You know what's funny though? As I am writing this, I realized that my feelings did not change with him talking to me again, rather I am perplexed with his behavior but nothing more. I do not mind keeping in touch with him but I doubt I'd ever want something more. Once again, any ideas as to this kind of guy behavior?
I am supposed to meet up with a friend I told the entire story to two weeks ago and I cannot wait to see what he thinks about the entire ordeal. But that is going to be later today...
I have been doing pretty much nothing at work. As you remember, I didn't go back to work last Wednesday because of luncheon. I guess after that I just slipped into holiday state of mind and didn't feel like doing anything for the rest of the week. As a result, I showed up for work late and left at least an hour early on both Thursdays and Fridays. In addition to that, I took a three-hour lunch on Thursdays to go to DC to see my friend and went to movies on Friday to see "Apocalipto". Not bad, but not what I've expected... Next week should be even slower, and tomorrow is supposed to be dead so I plan to leave around 3pm, but not before I take care of a bunch of personal stuff I have been postponing...
That same Friday I went out to this place near my work, and even though I don't think it's a particularly good bar, I still believe it's a great way to start the night before moving on to DC. Which is exactly what we did. I also found another reason to get my own place - it only cost us $15 to get to downtown DC without the hassle of having to drive intoxicated and risk being pulled over by a cop... You know what? DC was dead. Even though we went to the lounge that gets jam-packed on weekends, it was fairly empty. Well, empty compared to the usual situation. It felt like we were out during the week when a lot of people prefer to stay home and relax rather than going out. I really enjoyed myself and I think my friend was also having a good time. At least I did not see any signs that he was bored or uncomfortable there. I honestly planned to spend the entire night dancing but had to excuse myself to the bathroom and, as I was going back to my friend, met some guy. What a surprise. I was trying to get rid of him so when he asked if I wanted to dance, I replied that I am already dancing and simply looking for my friend. He was persistent however and asked if he can follow me and join us. At that point, I did not care one way or another, so I agreed. I thought the guy was going to run away when he saw that my friend was also a guy, but seemed to calm down when I told him we need to get a girl for my friend. I don't understand why, but I noticed that many guys find it weird or suspicious if they see a girl out with another guy friend. Is that fear? Rivalry? I don't get it. Anyhow... he stayed. To my astonishment, I found his company entertaining - he was funny and could sustain a decent conversation. Besides, he was a good dancer and we spent the rest of the night talking and dancing. Can you imagine? Talking... when do you ever get a chance to talk in the club? All in all, I had a great time and didn't leave until the lights came on and the bouncers announced they were closing the place down. The guy I met (I am so embarrassed to admit I don't remember his name) invited me to a house party he was heading to, but I was pretty tired and my friend had a long drive home, so I decided to leave after all. We agreed he'd call me the next day so we can set something up. Instead of going home however, my friend and I went to eat since I was starving. By the time I got home I was exhausted but at the same time I had this feeling of excitement which I haven't felt for a while when I met someone during a night out.
The next day, Saturday, was my uncle's birthday so my day was occupied with that. I woke up around noon, had breakfast and went back to bed since I was still sleepy. The next time I awoke, it was 2:30pm and I had to hurry up to make it to the dinner on time. I mentioned already how I feel about my family gatherings, but I have to admit that home-cooked food beats all the negative that I feel about it. Especially if it's my aunt's cooking. That is simply amazing. Another good thing is that all my cousins and I had a separate table which meant we can carry on our conversations without running into the risk of being overheard by parents, and as a result did not have to censor ourselves as much. The Guy from yesterday (I am calling him The Guy until I find out his name) called and texted me inviting me for a dinner, but I explained that I am already having one and we settled for drinks afterwards. By the time I got home however, it was almost 10pm which was definitely not what I planned or expected. I was half-contemplating going out, but I ate so much and it made me so relaxed and it was so late that I did not feel like going anywhere and settled for spending the night in front of TV. I texted The Guy telling him we have to postpone our meeting since I was staying home. However, I have not heard back from him that night...
Sunday afternoon, and still no word from The Guy. Even though I do not understand why he didn't respond, I decided not to think about him anymore or waste my time on him. If he calls, fine, if he doesn't I won't stress about it. The thing is, when he sent me those messages on Saturday, I actually felt sorry for him since he probably wore down his fingers typing out those long texts all night long. He also called me when he said he would which clearly indicated he was interested and wanted to meet up. On my side, I let him know I wasn't going to be able to meet up that night and apologized for that, before suggesting we meet another time. Therefore, I have no clue why I haven't heard back from him. Any ideas?
But the funniest thing happened a mere two hours ago. As I mentioned earlier I was really upset about a particular thing. As you probably guessed, it involved a guy. A quick story: I met this guy a while back and we have been talking a lot and met a few times, however he disappeared at the end of November and I had no idea what happened to him. Then I noticed (or I thought I noticed as I later realized), that he deleted me out from online messengers which was exactly what pissed me off. I am usually very comfortable with myself and am able to handle rejection pretty well. What I cannot stand is when someone goes behind my back and does something like this. I mean, if you don't want to talk to me, be a man and just say it. I'd much rather hear "I don't think we should continue seeing/talking to each other" then have him completely disappear on me. That is why you have balls, so use them. (Now, on a side note, I recently realized that he did not delete anything, but rather it was Google's way of making my life easier, or so they thought). Therefore, imagine my surprise when I was reading something online and he started talking to me again... The conversation was very casual and did not mean much, but i was just startled at the thought that we were talking, period. Another thing is, the last time we spoke I got mad at him and did not try to hide it, so I thought he stopped any contact with me because of that. And honestly, up until today I was almost OK with it. I mean, I was still bummed out about the whole thing, but mostly just disappointed in him. Basically, I crossed him out and stopped thinking about him. You know what's funny though? As I am writing this, I realized that my feelings did not change with him talking to me again, rather I am perplexed with his behavior but nothing more. I do not mind keeping in touch with him but I doubt I'd ever want something more. Once again, any ideas as to this kind of guy behavior?
I am supposed to meet up with a friend I told the entire story to two weeks ago and I cannot wait to see what he thinks about the entire ordeal. But that is going to be later today...
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The second Christmas party.
So we had another Christmas party at work today. It was actually a luncheon at Maggiano's for just our department. Instead of making it easy and just feeding us and letting go, someone came up with a version of a Dirty Santa game that was to be played after we were done with food. The good thing was that we could leave immediately after the game which implied we would be done by 3pm or so. Not bad, considering we didn't have to go back to work.
I am not even going to talk about the food because it was delicious, although I haven't expected anything less from Maggiano's - those experiences that I had there were always positive... The game was much more interesting. I decided not to spend much time on picking a present and settled for a gift card. Had I known what people actually brought, I'd come up with something else. However, I genuinely thought everyone took it seriously and was going to bring decent gifts. Oh boy, was I wrong. Here are just some of the "unique" presents, and please keep in mind I don't remember more than half of them but I am sure the list could go on and on:
I am not even going to talk about the food because it was delicious, although I haven't expected anything less from Maggiano's - those experiences that I had there were always positive... The game was much more interesting. I decided not to spend much time on picking a present and settled for a gift card. Had I known what people actually brought, I'd come up with something else. However, I genuinely thought everyone took it seriously and was going to bring decent gifts. Oh boy, was I wrong. Here are just some of the "unique" presents, and please keep in mind I don't remember more than half of them but I am sure the list could go on and on:
- Four rolls of wrapping paper
- A harmonica
- Tea
- "Barrel of Monkeys" game
- Dog knitting kit
- "My Little Pony" DVD
- Nutcracker.
- Home-made greeting cards set.
Seriously, I should've bought condoms or something. At least it would have been funny. And definitely useful for our department considering a lot of people are young and unattached.
I got lucky drawing the number and got 51 out of 70. Not bad, if you ask me, and it gave me a pretty good chance of picking a nice present. Well, I got a home-made greetings cards but was able to exchange it for a liquor dispenser. However, I lost it and ended up with some kid's DVD. The worst part? Are you ready? The last person exchanging the gift took away my dispenser. The last damn person! And I almost thought I was going to keep it... This blows. However, I wasn't particularly upset because it was only a game and everything was actually pretty funny, but every time I'd look at that DVD I'd laugh. And it wasn't a good, happy laughter. More like, "Shit, how did I end up with this?"
I have a theory about it now. Since my first Christmas present was awesome, my second is supposed to suck. Just to keep things in a perfect balance...
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
A break.
I finally took a break from my constant party mode I've been in in the past few months. I noticed that from time to time I fall into this kind of melancholic mood when I don't feel like doing anything except laying on the couch watching reruns of "Law and Order". A pizza and a beer is a great addition too. That is exactly how I felt this past Friday and the splitting headache I got while driving home did absolutely nothing to elevate my mood. Nor did yet another fight with my father. I have to move out... I know I am getting side-tracked here. Anyhow, I basically ignored all calls that I got from my friends ans stayed home. I couldn't have been happier. As much as I like a company of other people, it definitely pays off spending time by myself sometimes away from everyone and everything. I was surprised, but the next morning I woke up much earlier than I've expected relaxed and rested.
I decided to repeat the entire scenario Saturday night (did I like it too much?) but, as I've said a million times, we don't always get what we wish for. My friend actually insisted on picking me up so I couldn't come up with a valid excuse fast enough and was forced to go. In my defense, I must say I was deceived into believing I was going to movies. Instead, we went to a bar next to my house. Oh, that place definitely holds some good memories. This is where I had my first underage drink and no one cared. This is where I celebrated my 21st birthday... well, this is where the celebration started. This is where I used to meet A. when we were going out. Whoa... yeah that's a bit too much of memories, I agree. Anyhow, the place is still great and looks and feels nothing like its branch in Chevy Chase and DC where it is either impossible to get a table due to a terrible service, or impossible to get one due to a very limited space. Anyhow, back to the bar. I was surprised to see that the place was half-empty which actually played to our advantage. We were able to get a complete and undivided attention from our bartender who turned out to be hilarious and skillful in drink-making. Seriously, those were the best mojitos I've had in a while. Just the right amount of mint, rum and lime. Makes me wonder why I always go for vodka cranberry whenever I go out? I should definitely rethink my drink choice. I was having such a great time that the staff had to almost kick us out long after they closed... Sunday morning I knew exactly why I always go for vodka cranberry. That's because vodka doesn't give me a headache! Must be cultural... In any case, some water and Advil did wonders and I was feeling like new again in no time. Which was quite useful considering I was supposed to meet a friend at Starbucks around noon. Well, noon never happened since I woke up around 1pm. It just slowly morphed into 4pm. Close enough. We still had plenty of time to catch up though and managed to keep our work talk to a minimum. Now, imagine my surprise when I raised my eyes only to see my Saturday friend standing behind my chair. When I asked him, "How did you know I was going to be here", he responded, "I just finished working out and decided to swing by hoping you'd be here." That's a lot of swinging by, if you ask me, considering the gym he goes to is located at least ten miles from the Starbucks I was at... He then asked me to come outside, where we talked for a while and then he gave me a Christmas present... My first Christmas present this year... I was so excited. But i got even more excited once I finally got home and opened it up. At first, I thought it was a teddy bear but it turned out to be a beautiful diamond and topaz pendant, and a bear was just a nice addition. It was just then when it hit me that the reason he kept having those conversations about jewelry at the most random times was to figure out my tastes and preferences when it comes to it. This present just made my day, hell, probably my week since it was the first one I received for holidays.
I am looking forward for more...
I decided to repeat the entire scenario Saturday night (did I like it too much?) but, as I've said a million times, we don't always get what we wish for. My friend actually insisted on picking me up so I couldn't come up with a valid excuse fast enough and was forced to go. In my defense, I must say I was deceived into believing I was going to movies. Instead, we went to a bar next to my house. Oh, that place definitely holds some good memories. This is where I had my first underage drink and no one cared. This is where I celebrated my 21st birthday... well, this is where the celebration started. This is where I used to meet A. when we were going out. Whoa... yeah that's a bit too much of memories, I agree. Anyhow, the place is still great and looks and feels nothing like its branch in Chevy Chase and DC where it is either impossible to get a table due to a terrible service, or impossible to get one due to a very limited space. Anyhow, back to the bar. I was surprised to see that the place was half-empty which actually played to our advantage. We were able to get a complete and undivided attention from our bartender who turned out to be hilarious and skillful in drink-making. Seriously, those were the best mojitos I've had in a while. Just the right amount of mint, rum and lime. Makes me wonder why I always go for vodka cranberry whenever I go out? I should definitely rethink my drink choice. I was having such a great time that the staff had to almost kick us out long after they closed... Sunday morning I knew exactly why I always go for vodka cranberry. That's because vodka doesn't give me a headache! Must be cultural... In any case, some water and Advil did wonders and I was feeling like new again in no time. Which was quite useful considering I was supposed to meet a friend at Starbucks around noon. Well, noon never happened since I woke up around 1pm. It just slowly morphed into 4pm. Close enough. We still had plenty of time to catch up though and managed to keep our work talk to a minimum. Now, imagine my surprise when I raised my eyes only to see my Saturday friend standing behind my chair. When I asked him, "How did you know I was going to be here", he responded, "I just finished working out and decided to swing by hoping you'd be here." That's a lot of swinging by, if you ask me, considering the gym he goes to is located at least ten miles from the Starbucks I was at... He then asked me to come outside, where we talked for a while and then he gave me a Christmas present... My first Christmas present this year... I was so excited. But i got even more excited once I finally got home and opened it up. At first, I thought it was a teddy bear but it turned out to be a beautiful diamond and topaz pendant, and a bear was just a nice addition. It was just then when it hit me that the reason he kept having those conversations about jewelry at the most random times was to figure out my tastes and preferences when it comes to it. This present just made my day, hell, probably my week since it was the first one I received for holidays.
I am looking forward for more...
Monday, December 11, 2006
Sensory overload.
Alright, this post is going to cover the remainder of what started out as a great weekend. And I'll try to keep it short too, since I've got some work to do believe it or not.
So last Saturday I met up with a friend of mine and her boyfriend and a few other friends to go out. I didn't really feel like going anywhere because I was in the shittiest mood possible (I'll talk about it when I feel more like it, so far I just bitched about it to my friend over the phone which temporarily helped), but decided to go out despite it to lift myself up a bit. One thing I didn't know was that my friend was bringing her ex-sister-in-law with us. Big mistake. My friend's boyfriend and I both agreed that if she were ever to come out with us again, we are staying home. Seriously, the girl looked like she was high on something. I mean, don't get me wrong, I understand all the excitement about finally being out on the town, but it doesn't mean jumping around in the back seat of the car like a yo-yo or talking like she's trying to talk over a crowd of a hundred or more. Once we got to the club, I felt great since I didn't have much interaction with her. Oh, and guess who I met? If you said M., you are right again. First words he mouthed off when he saw me? "Oh shit". Yeah, not the greeting I expected, but we managed to have some small talk and then go our separate ways. Honestly, how many more times am I bound to run into him?
Anyhow, from funny to this girl again... Our ride home was almost unbearable. My friend's boyfriend actually started singing at some point just so he couldn't hear her talking. And seriously, some of the things she was saying were grossly inappropriate. It's one thing talking about your sex live with friends (which I am all in favor for and do so myself), but it's totally different discussing those details with people you barely know who specifically ask you not to talk about it (that wasn't me, mind you, but the poor guy). In any case, I was so relieved to go home, I couldn't wait to get out of their car. And it is extremely unusual for me because we usually manage to have a blast when we go out. I was in total sensory overload during my ride home and only calmed down when I got to bed... Crazy...
I am mostly in training all this week so I am pretty bored at work. I am not really complaining about it since it gives me a perfect opportunity to catch up on a million things. Just stating a fact...
So last Saturday I met up with a friend of mine and her boyfriend and a few other friends to go out. I didn't really feel like going anywhere because I was in the shittiest mood possible (I'll talk about it when I feel more like it, so far I just bitched about it to my friend over the phone which temporarily helped), but decided to go out despite it to lift myself up a bit. One thing I didn't know was that my friend was bringing her ex-sister-in-law with us. Big mistake. My friend's boyfriend and I both agreed that if she were ever to come out with us again, we are staying home. Seriously, the girl looked like she was high on something. I mean, don't get me wrong, I understand all the excitement about finally being out on the town, but it doesn't mean jumping around in the back seat of the car like a yo-yo or talking like she's trying to talk over a crowd of a hundred or more. Once we got to the club, I felt great since I didn't have much interaction with her. Oh, and guess who I met? If you said M., you are right again. First words he mouthed off when he saw me? "Oh shit". Yeah, not the greeting I expected, but we managed to have some small talk and then go our separate ways. Honestly, how many more times am I bound to run into him?
Anyhow, from funny to this girl again... Our ride home was almost unbearable. My friend's boyfriend actually started singing at some point just so he couldn't hear her talking. And seriously, some of the things she was saying were grossly inappropriate. It's one thing talking about your sex live with friends (which I am all in favor for and do so myself), but it's totally different discussing those details with people you barely know who specifically ask you not to talk about it (that wasn't me, mind you, but the poor guy). In any case, I was so relieved to go home, I couldn't wait to get out of their car. And it is extremely unusual for me because we usually manage to have a blast when we go out. I was in total sensory overload during my ride home and only calmed down when I got to bed... Crazy...
I am mostly in training all this week so I am pretty bored at work. I am not really complaining about it since it gives me a perfect opportunity to catch up on a million things. Just stating a fact...
Saturday, December 09, 2006
'Tis the season...
I dare anyone to tell me young professionals don't know how to party. Last night we proved everybody wrong. By we, I mean our department at work. As you probably have guessed, yesterday was our annual Christmas party. The first one. I think we are having another one in a week and a half... I am surprised to admit I actually liked it. Shall we start from the beginning though?
I could most definitely feel the pre-party rush in the office upon my arrival. Everywhere I turned, people were discussing last-minute details and dates and whether they should leave work early in order to make it back to DC by 6:30pm. Which, if you ask me, is pretty stupid. No, not making it back to DC but starting a party this early on a Friday, when most people don't get off work until 5pm. This is precisely why I arranged with a good friend of mine to go to her old apartment to change and head to the party from there. It worked out perfectly fine since it only took me ten minutes to get there. Heaven! I still cannot believe I managed to get ready, catch up on some news with my friend and change my shoes three times all before my date even arrived. Oh, and with all that getting ready crap - thanks God to whoever invented fashion tape. It's a life-saver.
Anyhow, my date was very late and as a result we did not get to DC until 7:30 pm or so. Which actually worked out quite perfectly since it was about the time everyone else got there. The party was great, nice drinks, delicious food, good company... what else do you need? Apparently, nothing, especially after the forth drink. Did I forget to mention everyone was pretty much wasted there? I mean from people jumping up and down because they got promoted to dancing by themselves to licking a chocolate fountains. Damn great times. The funniest part was when one of the guys I work with tried talking to me about a report of mine. Are you kidding? On a Friday night? I told him I don't even want to hear about it until Monday no matter what happened to the client.
Now, my story wouldn't be complete if I hadn't spent a minute or two talking about my date, so here goes.... I am never, ever seeing this guy again, nor do I want to hear from him. The guy is an idiot. As I might have mentioned, he is from the same country as I am which was the main reason I invited him - I figured it would be fun... shared background and all that shit. Well, first off, he trashed the government and people and politics during a conversation with my co-worker. Now, let me tell you something and it is totally cultural. Russians can talk trash about their country among themselves but if they hear someone else talking about it, that someone else can end up with a broken nose. Simply put, we just don't like when other people talk bad about us in our presence. So me hearing him do exactly that pissed the hell out of me. Honestly, at that moment I wanted to slap him... multiple times too... what a jerk. To top things off, he went home early leaving me at the party. Point one - he drove. Point two - I told him to wait till the end (which was about thirty minutes) so we can go home provided he didn't want to go to a bar afterwards with my other co-workers. Point three - how can a guy leave a girl at the party and go home? Seriously, maybe I got really lucky with friends, but it had never happened to me. On the contrary, if I am riding with a guy, he'd go with me even if he doesn't feel like it just to make sure I am not by myself. But anyway, bottom line is, the guy is an asshole. Who cares. At that point, I just told him to go home and joined my crew who were contemplating continuing celebrating.
And boy, we did. We decided to go to this bar not even six blocks away from the hotel that hosted our Christmas party. That was hilarious... First, it was a college bar so, naturally, everyone was wearing jeans and T-shirts. Imagine their surprise when they saw a bunch of people dressed in suits and cocktail dresses crushing into the club, going straight to the bar and then to the dance floor. Plus, there were so many of us we took about half of the dance floor, no doubt. Since it'll probably take me forever to describe everything that happened there, I decided to use some bullets to convey the most important information only:
I could most definitely feel the pre-party rush in the office upon my arrival. Everywhere I turned, people were discussing last-minute details and dates and whether they should leave work early in order to make it back to DC by 6:30pm. Which, if you ask me, is pretty stupid. No, not making it back to DC but starting a party this early on a Friday, when most people don't get off work until 5pm. This is precisely why I arranged with a good friend of mine to go to her old apartment to change and head to the party from there. It worked out perfectly fine since it only took me ten minutes to get there. Heaven! I still cannot believe I managed to get ready, catch up on some news with my friend and change my shoes three times all before my date even arrived. Oh, and with all that getting ready crap - thanks God to whoever invented fashion tape. It's a life-saver.
Anyhow, my date was very late and as a result we did not get to DC until 7:30 pm or so. Which actually worked out quite perfectly since it was about the time everyone else got there. The party was great, nice drinks, delicious food, good company... what else do you need? Apparently, nothing, especially after the forth drink. Did I forget to mention everyone was pretty much wasted there? I mean from people jumping up and down because they got promoted to dancing by themselves to licking a chocolate fountains. Damn great times. The funniest part was when one of the guys I work with tried talking to me about a report of mine. Are you kidding? On a Friday night? I told him I don't even want to hear about it until Monday no matter what happened to the client.
Now, my story wouldn't be complete if I hadn't spent a minute or two talking about my date, so here goes.... I am never, ever seeing this guy again, nor do I want to hear from him. The guy is an idiot. As I might have mentioned, he is from the same country as I am which was the main reason I invited him - I figured it would be fun... shared background and all that shit. Well, first off, he trashed the government and people and politics during a conversation with my co-worker. Now, let me tell you something and it is totally cultural. Russians can talk trash about their country among themselves but if they hear someone else talking about it, that someone else can end up with a broken nose. Simply put, we just don't like when other people talk bad about us in our presence. So me hearing him do exactly that pissed the hell out of me. Honestly, at that moment I wanted to slap him... multiple times too... what a jerk. To top things off, he went home early leaving me at the party. Point one - he drove. Point two - I told him to wait till the end (which was about thirty minutes) so we can go home provided he didn't want to go to a bar afterwards with my other co-workers. Point three - how can a guy leave a girl at the party and go home? Seriously, maybe I got really lucky with friends, but it had never happened to me. On the contrary, if I am riding with a guy, he'd go with me even if he doesn't feel like it just to make sure I am not by myself. But anyway, bottom line is, the guy is an asshole. Who cares. At that point, I just told him to go home and joined my crew who were contemplating continuing celebrating.
And boy, we did. We decided to go to this bar not even six blocks away from the hotel that hosted our Christmas party. That was hilarious... First, it was a college bar so, naturally, everyone was wearing jeans and T-shirts. Imagine their surprise when they saw a bunch of people dressed in suits and cocktail dresses crushing into the club, going straight to the bar and then to the dance floor. Plus, there were so many of us we took about half of the dance floor, no doubt. Since it'll probably take me forever to describe everything that happened there, I decided to use some bullets to convey the most important information only:
- I got hit on by some military guy, but after talking to him for five minutes and realizing that he is a complete idiot, I abandoned him and joined my friends on the dance floor. I did catch an angry look from him at some point during the night, but as you might have figured out, didn't care.
- Everyone had even more to drink which definitely helped us to "bond" which translated into some serious grinding on a dance floor. I just hope no one remembers anything on Monday.
- I decided to share a cab home with my co-worker and went outside to wait until he gets some money from an ATM machine.
- While waiting for him, I saw a guy from my team going home with a girl from our department. Nice! I also hope they pretend nothing happened on Monday.
- I called a "sober ride" to get a cab home, but was told I have to wait for an hour before they get there. Since my co-worker was nowhere to be found, I decided to take a regular cab instead of freezing my ass off outside.
- As I was about to hail a cab, I saw another guy from work getting into one and offered to split a ride with him since it turned out we lived close-by. He agreed and so, I could finally go home.
- By the time I got home, it was 5am and I was so exhausted I couldn't even walk. Seriously, I was limping all the way from the parking to my apartment door.
- I don't remember what happened next, but apparently I fell asleep since I woke up twenty minutes ago in my bed... Yay, I woke up in my own bed! Alone!
Great times guys...
Thursday, December 07, 2006
More good news.
You know what I realized today? Never say never. The past few weeks at work have been pretty, should I say, intense due to a usual office buzz about upcoming promotions. It's like Christmas, it always comes at the end of each busy season and it's inevitable. The number of people they promote depends on the number of openings in the higher-up positions and who they promote usually depends on a team and combined with individual performance. So after weighing all these facts I came to peace with a thought that I would have to suffer through another quarter in my current position. I was a bit disappointed but not really surprised since it's usually takes a year or longer before the management actually considers you for promotion. You can imagine my surprise then when I was called to my manager's office today and offered a new position. Oh, I was ecstatic... almost high... I was offered to think about it until Monday and give my answer then, but Are You Kidding Me? There's nothing to think about. Let's see, should I stick with an old position and spend another quarter working on stupid reports or move ahead, decrease my work load and, obviously, increase my salary? In my opinion, there's nothing to think about, which is exactly what I told my manager. I still think I need to give an official answer next Monday... oh well. I must admit though that this new position is probably the toughest in the career path at this company, but at least it gives me an opportunity to move on to bigger and better things... faster.
The downside? The main reason I thought I wasn't getting promoted was the fact that there was another guy on my team who has been working there longer than I have and who I honestly thought was getting promoted before me. So now that I have been and he hasn't, the things may be pretty tense on the team. Even though I know it has nothing to do with me, I still feel guilty because I know how hard he worked these past few months and how much he was hoping to get promoted. As I was walking back to my work station, I kept thinking about facing him and of a better way to tell him the news. Finally, I wrote him an email saying that the management must be idiots if they decided against him (which I really think they are, since this guy is pretty damn good). Just as I expected, he replied with congratulations, telling me exactly what he thinks of our manager and all the higher-ups. Then he told me I should have been promoted anyway. Which, again, I agree with since we both busted our asses to get ahead... what sucks is that at the end they omitted him. My current senior was really surprised when he heard that, and said he was thinking we both were going to get promoted. Bummer... once again, good way to spoil my joy.
So seriously, next time I go out, drinks are on me.
Oh, and hopefully tomorrow things will be better at work... everything will settle down and come back to normal... yeah, right. Like that's always the case.
The downside? The main reason I thought I wasn't getting promoted was the fact that there was another guy on my team who has been working there longer than I have and who I honestly thought was getting promoted before me. So now that I have been and he hasn't, the things may be pretty tense on the team. Even though I know it has nothing to do with me, I still feel guilty because I know how hard he worked these past few months and how much he was hoping to get promoted. As I was walking back to my work station, I kept thinking about facing him and of a better way to tell him the news. Finally, I wrote him an email saying that the management must be idiots if they decided against him (which I really think they are, since this guy is pretty damn good). Just as I expected, he replied with congratulations, telling me exactly what he thinks of our manager and all the higher-ups. Then he told me I should have been promoted anyway. Which, again, I agree with since we both busted our asses to get ahead... what sucks is that at the end they omitted him. My current senior was really surprised when he heard that, and said he was thinking we both were going to get promoted. Bummer... once again, good way to spoil my joy.
So seriously, next time I go out, drinks are on me.
Oh, and hopefully tomorrow things will be better at work... everything will settle down and come back to normal... yeah, right. Like that's always the case.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Some good news, some bad news.
Do you ever wonder how one day, or must I say, a mere hour can bring both good and bad news totally unrelated to each other but somehow connected to you? Well, I experienced this first-hand this morning. It all started with an arrival of the twins (not mine, but some random family at work) - I am sure everyone gets this corporate, company-wide email once someone gives birth. Very important and unimaginable to miss, I know. In my department, an arrival of a baby usually means new client subscriptions, which in turn means more work for us. Seriously, my co-worker has been tracking it down and so far it proved to be true. So when the twins arrived, I got a follow up email from him congratulating me on an increased quantity of new clients we were supposedly getting. Great news at ten in the morning, don't you agree? Now imagine my surprise when half an hour later I found out that one of my client terminated their relationship with our company and I no longer will be working with them. Honestly, I was always wondering why they were using us in the first place since we did not do anything they couldn't do themselves and were charging a lot of money for it. I guess it finally hit them. Good for them.
But, as you are probably aware, all cannot be good and peachy. Another half an hour later I found out that still another client of mine requested an urgent meeting which meant I had to prepare a report for them in the next 36 hours. Umm, kind of impossible and a great way to ruin my mood. I guess the scales of destiny or karma or whatever the hell you call it, have to be in a perfect balance...
OK, back to work, I only have 35 1/2 hours left...
But, as you are probably aware, all cannot be good and peachy. Another half an hour later I found out that still another client of mine requested an urgent meeting which meant I had to prepare a report for them in the next 36 hours. Umm, kind of impossible and a great way to ruin my mood. I guess the scales of destiny or karma or whatever the hell you call it, have to be in a perfect balance...
OK, back to work, I only have 35 1/2 hours left...
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Good morning.
Oh, another weekend is almost over and I can't wait till I go to work. Just kidding...
Don't be surprised at a name, it is morning for me, since I slept all day today. Literally, all day. Which doesn't come as such a shock if you take into consideration I went to bed at 7am. Yes, 7am. Saturday night rocked.
First, my friend drove down from Baltimore so I could introduce him to my party scene. Finally! Only took him three months. We decided we wouldn't drink a lot since both of us had to drive home afterwards. Anyhow, we decided to visit an old party spot hoping it improved from the last time we were there. To my surprise, it has. Or maybe I just haven't been there for a while. I can only tolerate that place if I go there every other month. This time, however, was really fun. First, I saw a bunch of people I know but haven't seen for a while. It was truly amazing to catch up with them. The downside? They kept buying me shots so my promise not to drink too much was shot right then and there. I mean, how can I turn down a drink if my friend is telling me we have to drink for running into each other. The music, however, was really nice and new, so before we knew it, we were dancing again. Big surprise... My friend was also dancing with us, but did not seem very happy or excited to be there, or at least it was an impression I got. Maybe it's because he actually kept his promise and only had two drinks and a bottle of water (which doesn't even count). Or maybe it's because he didn't find any girls he liked. Regardless, I don't think it was that bad. Besides, I soon thereafter I got busy dancing with another guy and left all my friends to entertain themselves. Unfortunately, the night was almost over and I didn't get a chance to spend a lot of time with him. So I told him to call me in about an hour since we had some catching up to do. And then I was gone with my friends in a quest for some food. Let me tell you, all that dancing definitely made me hungry. While I was eating, I decided I definitely want to meet up with my boy. He was a pretty good dancer so I figured I had to check out what else he might be good at. I guess my wish came true, since he called me while I was driving to pick up my car to tell me he'd meet me in about fifteen minutes. Well, those fifteen minutes turned into forty five which is why I am so grateful my friend waited with me until my boy finally showed up. Apparently, his friend got in a fight and was taken in by police, so he was trying to straighten everything out. As if I care. Anyhow, by the time we got to the bedroom, it was around 5 am. Now you understand why I didn't get to sleep until 7am? And you also know now why I slept the entire day... Oh, and I usually don't share, but I thought his performance was much better after we woke up. I guess those doctors were right when they said a good rest can do wonders. As I was about to leave, he told me he'd call, so I replied "Please don't". I know it was kind of harsh but c'mon, why make it something more than it actually was? It's so much better keeping things simple. No muss, no fuss. Just a mutually beneficial one night stand...
Don't be surprised at a name, it is morning for me, since I slept all day today. Literally, all day. Which doesn't come as such a shock if you take into consideration I went to bed at 7am. Yes, 7am. Saturday night rocked.
First, my friend drove down from Baltimore so I could introduce him to my party scene. Finally! Only took him three months. We decided we wouldn't drink a lot since both of us had to drive home afterwards. Anyhow, we decided to visit an old party spot hoping it improved from the last time we were there. To my surprise, it has. Or maybe I just haven't been there for a while. I can only tolerate that place if I go there every other month. This time, however, was really fun. First, I saw a bunch of people I know but haven't seen for a while. It was truly amazing to catch up with them. The downside? They kept buying me shots so my promise not to drink too much was shot right then and there. I mean, how can I turn down a drink if my friend is telling me we have to drink for running into each other. The music, however, was really nice and new, so before we knew it, we were dancing again. Big surprise... My friend was also dancing with us, but did not seem very happy or excited to be there, or at least it was an impression I got. Maybe it's because he actually kept his promise and only had two drinks and a bottle of water (which doesn't even count). Or maybe it's because he didn't find any girls he liked. Regardless, I don't think it was that bad. Besides, I soon thereafter I got busy dancing with another guy and left all my friends to entertain themselves. Unfortunately, the night was almost over and I didn't get a chance to spend a lot of time with him. So I told him to call me in about an hour since we had some catching up to do. And then I was gone with my friends in a quest for some food. Let me tell you, all that dancing definitely made me hungry. While I was eating, I decided I definitely want to meet up with my boy. He was a pretty good dancer so I figured I had to check out what else he might be good at. I guess my wish came true, since he called me while I was driving to pick up my car to tell me he'd meet me in about fifteen minutes. Well, those fifteen minutes turned into forty five which is why I am so grateful my friend waited with me until my boy finally showed up. Apparently, his friend got in a fight and was taken in by police, so he was trying to straighten everything out. As if I care. Anyhow, by the time we got to the bedroom, it was around 5 am. Now you understand why I didn't get to sleep until 7am? And you also know now why I slept the entire day... Oh, and I usually don't share, but I thought his performance was much better after we woke up. I guess those doctors were right when they said a good rest can do wonders. As I was about to leave, he told me he'd call, so I replied "Please don't". I know it was kind of harsh but c'mon, why make it something more than it actually was? It's so much better keeping things simple. No muss, no fuss. Just a mutually beneficial one night stand...
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Weirded out.
So I have about an hour to post this one before my family comes over. Don't you love family gathering? Twenty people in one room talking at the same time plus a couple of noisy kids running around? Yes, I like it too. Not only I was woken up at 11:30am, but I also had to make a run to a store for some last-minute-I-forgot-we-didn't-have-it stuff. Finally, I am home and I figured I have to share what happened yesterday before I hop into the shower and go entertain my family. Who is pretty amusing and whom I love no matter what... most of the time... preferably in smaller doses.
I finally ventured out to this bar I heard about last night. I must admit, it was pretty damn good. Although it kind of reminded me of a frat party (oh, sweet college years) with an elevated quantities of college guys drinking enormous amounts of beer and dancing to a bad music. The good thing about this place? Their drinks are amazing. As in strong. It took me two to feel the buzz, and I was certainly impressed by that. I came there with a friend of mine and was supposed to meet another group of people, who turned out to be all guys and mostly boring. Big deal... I decided to stick to people who I know. And so I did. And so I asked one of them to come outside with me to have a cigarette (since apparently you can't smoke inside. Who do they think they are?) The moment we came out and I lit one up, I saw my co-worker standing close-by. It wouldn't have mattered if I wasn't smoking at a time (here's a little history. Very few people at work know I smoke and I prefer to keep it that way. Well, a lot of them know I smoke socially, but I don't want them to know I do it on a daily basis. I am playing nice at work. However, I may have to reconsider it taking into attention the fact that I saw my manager smoking and consuming excessive amounts of alcohol at our company outing). Anyhow, it was too late at that point since he has already seen me and I had to say hello. And to prove my point, during the first ten seconds of our conversation he glanced at my cigarette three times. No kidding, I counted. To my defense, he was shit-face-drunk and probably didn't care anyway. He also glanced at a guy I was with twice, so maybe it's just a habit of his. Glance at people or things while having a conversation with someone he knows... We didn't stay there much longer and my friend, her boyfriend, myself and a guy who kept me company while I was smoking (also a very good friend of mine whom I will further refer to as Mansur) decided to party further at a Latin club in downtown DC. Where I ran into another guy I work with... What is it? A company holiday where everyone runs into each other? Although I should've known I'd run into this guy since he was rumored to frequent this particular club. Long story short, the music was great, the crowd even better, my friend got hit on by a girl which totally freaked her out and we had to leave. Bummer. I was having a great time.
Now, the thing that freaked me out, or more like weirded me out, happened during our ride back. And here I have to share a little more history. Mansur and I have known each other for about year and a half and have become good friends, or so I think. It all started out with him liking me and trying to ask me out when we first met, but I was seeing someone else at first, and then didn't see him as a potential boyfriend, but just as a friend. He, however, kept pursuing me which, I have to admit, was a bit annoying at times but totally harmless. And then I started seeing another guy. He then met and fell for a friend of mine, which was a relief for me since I didn't have to explain myself. However, my friend rejected him and there was a big scene and it didn't work out... So now, just when I thought about us as friends, he asked me out. I swear, if I were walking at a time, I would have fell over. At first I thought he was joking. Apparently not. Haven't we been through this last year? Apparently, he switched back to liking me again and wanted to try it out. Seriously, I was speechless. I did not see it coming since I was positive he still liked my friend. Oh boy, was I wrong. The problem here is, this guy is probably the nicest one I know, but I don't see him as more than a friend. I am sure everyone's been in this situation before and knows exactly what I am talking about. Great guy, but only perceived as a friend. Definitely a bummer. Definitely weird and totally uncomfortable. I guess now we will have to pretend it didn't happen or downplay it and move on, since I definitely plan on talking to him in the future. See, if he were just another guy, I would've just moved on and stopped seeing him to avoid feeling uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I don't want to lose him as a friend hence I have to deal with it. Because that's what friend do. They stick together during good times and bad. Right? Right.
I finally ventured out to this bar I heard about last night. I must admit, it was pretty damn good. Although it kind of reminded me of a frat party (oh, sweet college years) with an elevated quantities of college guys drinking enormous amounts of beer and dancing to a bad music. The good thing about this place? Their drinks are amazing. As in strong. It took me two to feel the buzz, and I was certainly impressed by that. I came there with a friend of mine and was supposed to meet another group of people, who turned out to be all guys and mostly boring. Big deal... I decided to stick to people who I know. And so I did. And so I asked one of them to come outside with me to have a cigarette (since apparently you can't smoke inside. Who do they think they are?) The moment we came out and I lit one up, I saw my co-worker standing close-by. It wouldn't have mattered if I wasn't smoking at a time (here's a little history. Very few people at work know I smoke and I prefer to keep it that way. Well, a lot of them know I smoke socially, but I don't want them to know I do it on a daily basis. I am playing nice at work. However, I may have to reconsider it taking into attention the fact that I saw my manager smoking and consuming excessive amounts of alcohol at our company outing). Anyhow, it was too late at that point since he has already seen me and I had to say hello. And to prove my point, during the first ten seconds of our conversation he glanced at my cigarette three times. No kidding, I counted. To my defense, he was shit-face-drunk and probably didn't care anyway. He also glanced at a guy I was with twice, so maybe it's just a habit of his. Glance at people or things while having a conversation with someone he knows... We didn't stay there much longer and my friend, her boyfriend, myself and a guy who kept me company while I was smoking (also a very good friend of mine whom I will further refer to as Mansur) decided to party further at a Latin club in downtown DC. Where I ran into another guy I work with... What is it? A company holiday where everyone runs into each other? Although I should've known I'd run into this guy since he was rumored to frequent this particular club. Long story short, the music was great, the crowd even better, my friend got hit on by a girl which totally freaked her out and we had to leave. Bummer. I was having a great time.
Now, the thing that freaked me out, or more like weirded me out, happened during our ride back. And here I have to share a little more history. Mansur and I have known each other for about year and a half and have become good friends, or so I think. It all started out with him liking me and trying to ask me out when we first met, but I was seeing someone else at first, and then didn't see him as a potential boyfriend, but just as a friend. He, however, kept pursuing me which, I have to admit, was a bit annoying at times but totally harmless. And then I started seeing another guy. He then met and fell for a friend of mine, which was a relief for me since I didn't have to explain myself. However, my friend rejected him and there was a big scene and it didn't work out... So now, just when I thought about us as friends, he asked me out. I swear, if I were walking at a time, I would have fell over. At first I thought he was joking. Apparently not. Haven't we been through this last year? Apparently, he switched back to liking me again and wanted to try it out. Seriously, I was speechless. I did not see it coming since I was positive he still liked my friend. Oh boy, was I wrong. The problem here is, this guy is probably the nicest one I know, but I don't see him as more than a friend. I am sure everyone's been in this situation before and knows exactly what I am talking about. Great guy, but only perceived as a friend. Definitely a bummer. Definitely weird and totally uncomfortable. I guess now we will have to pretend it didn't happen or downplay it and move on, since I definitely plan on talking to him in the future. See, if he were just another guy, I would've just moved on and stopped seeing him to avoid feeling uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I don't want to lose him as a friend hence I have to deal with it. Because that's what friend do. They stick together during good times and bad. Right? Right.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
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...
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...
Sunday, November 26, 2006
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...
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...
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