Why work

Three day weekends are good and bad...good that you don't have to face another Monday bad because you eventually have to go back to work.

I started at the new place and It is frustrating. I feel like I know my stuff but I don't know their stuff and although it is similar it is just different. The people are nice but what I've realised is that I don't want to be doing this job anymore. I am tired of it, after 7 long years of doing the same thing for three companies with one joint venture that eventually became a M and A. i no longer want to be apart of it anymore.

I no longer believe that things will "be ok" and that they "listen to the new ideas that the new employees give us". Please, dude this girl has been around the same block...different color of paint but still the same ole block.

I am po'ed that the management team had ideas of who to give some management positions too while discounting the people who would have at least liked to apply for that position. Nope, apparently, positions are bequeathed to people and people are not given a fair short. So those who kiss ass and make it "all about how wonderful I truly am" will get the jobs not those who bust their ass to get the job done.

I guess I am more pissed at myself for not walking. I just need to get the hell outta there!

My morning dose

I admit it, I read blogs at work most importantly my favorite blogs at work. When there is downtime I read your favorite blogs and so on and so on...

I enjoy reading thoughts and opinions and stories with my morning cuppa. Well, that is changing.

Today I worked in the new location. "Officially" as it seems. So I am not too sure how keen they would be on their Internet policies. Plus they put my desk in plain eye site of my teammates so they can "see" what I am doing! And the lone IT guy is a few feet away. Talk about buzz kill!

So alas, I will read your wits when I get home instead of starting my day.

I am going through withdrawal!!!!!

17 years and a week or so

Well all over the news this week is the fact that the 17 year Cicadas are going to emerge from there underground homes to get it on all over Chicago land.

That is right, as you walk down the street you are going to hear bugs going at it with mini bug songs blasting from bug boom boxes. Yep there will be Barry White, Bolero, Marvin Gaye all over the city in bug tones of course.

So they are coming and it will be loud and there will be disgusting crunch sounds as I walk down the street. The BF said something about dog and they are not poisonous (it grossed me out so I blocked it from my memory.)

At least we only go through this every 17 years...which by that time I will have scrapped the last of the bug bodies off of my car.

Did I mention I am not fond of bugs?

Ice water

I am freezing here at work today.

By nature I am almost always cold except when I am in direct sun in the summer and entering a hot car. Lately it seems to have gotten worse and I am cold more often then not. I know that the weather is partly to blame because one day it is in the 80s and the next it dropped 30 degrees. So that may have something to do with it.

The BF is the complete opposite of me. He is warm and toasty. I guess that means we are the perfect match. During the course of an evening he will have his share of covers and by the time I wake up I have most of them as he is sleeping sans sheets!

But he does let me warm myself sometimes, just as long as I don't put my cold nose on his belly. apparently that is not cool...no pun intended.

Anyway, I am going to drink my tea...hopefully that will warm me up...with my gloves and scarf and sweater. No I am not joking

Office set

Well this weekend after the requried errands and nap. We got the offce some what set up. Baby steps....almost there but man I am damn tired of boxes!

I need a hobby!

I need a hobby (or some local friends)

The BF and I were talking about that the other day and that I need to find something interesting and fun to do besides going to school. Yet at the same time school does take up some valuable free time so that in a way is my current hobby.

Nevertheless, I am on a mission to find some thing to do. I have no idea! I used to paint and would love to get back into it. I want to learn to use oils by taking a few classes. But right now that is not in the cards. Time and expense wise, oil painting is a very expensive hobby.

So the next thing I am interested in is photography. I would love how to learn more techniques to take photos, learn h ow to develop print and just improve my technique. Again, time and money are limited.

I would love to take cooking classes too.

I am not interested in sewing or knitting so that is out of the question. I read a lot as is and it is hard to find a good book club like the one that I was in when I lived in NYC.

So I need to find something to do that I can squeeze into my schedule until after school is over and until the expenses have stabilized. Any ideas?

So what kind of cheese should I bring for his whine?

There is this student who is in two of my classes this quarter, in fact he sits next to me in one class. Well, he is apparently not doing so well in the two classes not because he is incapacitated in any form but because he is lazy and then whines about how it is unfair that they give so much work and don't they know we have jobs?

This gets me. I understand that when you are a kid you are forced by your parents and the law to go to school, then many choose to go to college. But grad school is your decision nobody is forcing you. Grad school requires dedication and the expectation that you are not to be spoon fed nor is it going to be "easy". At this point you have the ability to make critical decisions, have opinions and are open to learning new things. But nobody is forcing you. You made that choice, you took the GMAT, you got accepted and you decided to attend.

So therefore, stop the whining!!!!

Yep, see I work too and the days that I have classes I get up at 5:30 and I don't get home until about 10:15. But as I chose to go to school, I have chosen to make some sacrifices to see this challenge through. Additionally, the professor is going to do whatever the hell they want to do. Some are more diplomatic than others but ultimately you are in their hands....if you don't like it drop the class. If you follow the syllabus, keep up with the assignments tests and quizzes and participate you should do okay. Yep, they all count and they are clearly stated in the syllabus. Some professors are less focused on participation but, these two professors are not like that. For one it is 35% of our grade...oh yea that is on the syllabus.

I know that you are young and that this is perhaps your second or third quarter but sitting back with your laptop open as you im your friends then sneak a few text messages in will impede your grade.

So act like an adult...if you don't like the situation that you are in you can get out of it. You are pissing those who work hard to do well and balance some sort of life off!

We have a kitchen

Yep we do. We have managed to unpack numerous boxes, install an pantry and lo and behold we have a kitchen. Ohhh and we can see the dining room windows....it is a Huge step!

Today we did the "who has the better *insert kitchen tool/spice/food item here"? You see we had plenty of duplicates. the BF is a foodie and a gadget guy so we have tons of little tools and gadgets but it is taking shape.

So that means that i can cook. I am tired of eating out so it is good to just think that tonight I can make some nice chicken, rice, salad and a fruit salad. But get back to me in a few weeks and then I will tell you how much I miss restaurants.

You can't have it both ways, can you?

Ps to all the moms (including dog/cat/bird/hamster/pet moms) Happy mother's day....I did call my mom and send her a gift from Sephora. I rock

The Jetsons had it right!

I want my own space car like George had!

I work near O'Hare airport which is one of the busiest airports in the world. Well the esteemed mayor has decided to expand this airport to make it bigger. (which means more delays, congestion and noise but I digress) So in the effort to make it bigger the government bought (aka evicted) businesses and residents from near the airport. The next step is to close one major road.

Why is this an issue, well with the moved my commute time has gone from an average of 40 to 1 hour in the morning and 50 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes in the afternoon. Now granted, I have yet to explore all my options but the one that I prefer will be dramatically impacted once the road is closed.

One thing about working near an airport is the access to the toll expressway. Which itself is not that bad but, that means that around 4-7 pm it is a glorified parking lot. There are taxis everywhere, those who are back from a long trip and are cranky so they cut you off, people who have no idea where they are going and suburbanites going to Chicago for one event. See these are the people who should take mass transit. Now most of the drivers on the Kennedy are decent but the few that piss me off make for one hell of a commute. I've been very cranky lately about it because it is time away from things that I need to get done like, finish unpacking. When the weather gets bad, which it will, my commute will be God knows how long. One time it took me about 4 hours to get home in the snow!

The reason that I don't take the train or the bus is because my commute would them be 3 hours each way as there is no direct route. And there is no way that I am going to get up at 4 to make the train to get to work by 8 I am not a morning person.

So I need a space car...or a new job in the loop. Ohhh should I be greedy and ask for both?

Car commuting sucks!

Last registration...I Hope

So yesterday I registered for the summer and fall quarter of grad school. Which are my LAST two quarters! I can't wait for them to be over, I just want school to end, it is wearing me out.

The only drawback is that my fall quarter will be two 5 week all day Saturday classes! I am none to keen on that idea. When am I going to sleep in? Plus who wants to sit in a class room from 8:30-5. But it is my last quarter and I will be done earlier in November than I originally anticipated.

So this girl has to suck it up and deal!

Tetris

Did you ever play tetris? Well I am living it. We are still in the midst of unpacking and that entails moving some boxes from point A to point D in order to get the box in point B that we have to move to point C. All I need is the mechanical music and I am all set!

Box fort

We are still living our of boxes but we have gotten a few rooms partly done. Our trips to IKEA was a successful we got a new pantry for the kitchen and we are going to build a banquette for our dining room with these pretty doors. Plus some things for our office and cause we wanted them. IKEA knows how to tempt you, it is Satan's store and we always succumb!

Today we went to the BF's niece's christening. It was my first time in sandals and I broke the woman's sandal rule...I had no color on the toes, they looked naked. I am hanging my head in shame!

Do I have to give up a girlie card??

Moved on out

Well we moved...

In cleaning out my old apartment, I realised that it was a great apartment. I loved it and I am going to miss it but this is a new place with new memories to be had. Oak Park was a great town to live in and I will have to go there now and then to visit my haunts.

But here is the lowdown...

-it took 4 men 7 hours to move us
-they came 45 minutes early to my place and thus I was in my pjs and hair looking like God knows what banshee that stepped out of the woods!
-in the midst of the chaos i had to take my mom to the airport
-I attended class that night, tired and sore!
-I had well over 70 boxes not counting furniture
-the BF had less boxes but more storage containers
-we had two bookshelves and one corner cabinet damaged
-the only room that is scaring me is the kitchen, the dishwasher is great but we don't have a lot of storage and we have a ton of kitchen stuff
-we spent over two hundred dollars at Target yesterday
-we are hitting IKEA today

So that is my update.

On the mend

First of all, thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts, prayers and wishes for me this past Wednesday. I truly appreciate it, you guys are superstars!

I am feeling a bit better. Still sore especially at the incision sites. Yep, sites, they opened me up in four areas and that was not fun. Luckily, i was able to come home instead of staying in the hospital so that was a very good thing. (I am sure my insurance appreciated that too).

My surgery was scheduled for 1 but due to an emergency I did not get in until a bit after 3. The recovery room was the worst part because i was extremely nauseous and I did get sick there but the anti-nausea drugs made me sleepy. I was so glad to come home but I could not move on my sides so I felt like a turtle on its back who got beaten up on the stomach. Yesterday was not fun. thankfully today I am doing better.

My mom has actually been a huge help especially with the move. So I am glad that she did come.

We had move drama yesterday. Apparently May 1 is this huge immigration rally so our moving company will not be doing any moves that day. So we were not going to be able to move (AKA we would be homeless for two days) thankfully the current tenant is moving out this weekend and we can move in on Monday. Finally the tables are turning into the good.

Again, thank you all for your kindness!

Out out out

Well tomorrow is cyst removal day. I am starting to get nervous but at least I know the whole hospital procedure so that is half the battle. I just want this thing out of me, it is something that needs to go!

I am trying to multi-task and do the things that must get done but, they won't all be done. I am ahead of the game in one class and on the ball with the other. But my apartment is still in shambles and I want to sell my bed before the movers come. More stress!

At least mom will be here tonight (she got a warning not to piss me off) and she can do the packing while I take the good drugs!

Fingers crossed I will be home comfy tomorrow rather than the hospital.

Blame it on the cyst

So this pain in the abdomen cyst will be out of said body on Wednesday. Due to the size, my dr. is not sure if it can be done laposcopy so that means that they may have to do minor surgery (AKA cutting me open).

I made the BF feel it, you can actually feel it. He was expecting it to jump out of my belly like Aliens. But it did not, athough it did gross him out. Imagine how I feel. It does feel strange knowing that there is this ball of fat, pus and other lovely bodily fluids gathering force in my reproductive organs. Lovely image I know...

This inconvenience has me a bit over stressed. With work, school, and moving, this cyst sure did not pay any attention to the chaos that is my life right now. My mom wants to fly in but I am not sure how I feel about it. The last time she came she came for last years procedure she came with drama and said some really hurtful things to me.

So now she wants me to drop everything to pick up at the airport but she doesn't know when she will fly in on Tuesday. No matter that the boyfriend is helping me out and I was going to stay with him. No matter that I have a 12 page paper due that night as I won't be in class on Wednesday. No matter that I have to pack more things in the apt and was planning on eating grilled cheese. No matter that there will be storms in Chicago which means that O'Hare will be backed up and flights delayed so her flight may not get in until the wee hours of Wednesday morning which is the day of surgery. Well she has gotten wind that I am miffed at this prospect and has not called me to tell me her flight details. So then she will say that I don't want her to come *cue the violins* and all she wanted to do was help (read meddle).

Drama never ceases to take a vacation with her. So I am expecting the ungrateful daughter call soon.

I am surprising calm. Perhaps because the pain has ebbed away but more likely I will be out of work for a week and a half. See the procedure and recovery is approximately 5 days and I had scheduled the last week of April off for the move and I am not changing that so...I am out of the office for a week and a half. So poor, woe is me, nobody matters but me CLA will have to cover. That means she has to stay till 5! Well on the books that is, she leave early no matter what. But regardless this will give me glee. Oh I haven't told her yet about the surgery...I am thinking Tuesday as she walks out the door to go home.

It has to come out

Surgery next Wednesday....

Functioning

I am doing a lot better than I was on Monday. Still it a bit of pain but it is tolerable and not as severe as it has been. Plus I was able to get a decent night of sleep which helps!

So off to the dr this afternoon and see what this bugger is up to.

Then I get to do the dishes, the laundry and pack! The fun never stops, I tell ya!

Kind of like a walnut and an orange

So the cyst in my ovary is the size of a tennis ball approximately 8 cm x 7 cm x 6.2 cm. No wonder I am in pain!

Actually the pain is a bit more manageable, I would rank it at a 2 but that is with Motrin. I was able to come into work today and so that helps. Tomorrow, my gyn will squeeze me in to see what the story is. Amen for that!

So I heard that CLA was bitching that I was gone for two days and left her with soooo much work. I had the small part of a big shipment come in and she had to get the paperwork, which was on my desk! Well next time, I will plan my abdominal plan around her time frame...well at least *I* have a job so at least I will have a next time.

Maybe I can have the cyst removed, bronzed and then throw it at her. It would make me feel a whole lot better in so many ways!

Thanks for your words of encouragement! You all are awesome!

on a scale from 1 to 10

My current state of agony is a 4.

Yesterday was another day in the ER. Yep the ER. I woke up to go to work and had this pain on my right side. I actually thought it was gas but when I went to say bye to the BF, I would not straighten up. It was that bad. I initially thought it was reaction to a prescription that my doctor had me on but then I thought it was appendicitis. So I called another doctor to see if I can see him and sure enough he made time for me.

So the prognosis was either appendicitis or an issue with my ovaries but, if I threw up, got nauseous or had diarrhea I was to go to the ER. So we went to get some soup and apple juice at the supermarket and then i started to dry heave. So off we went

It turns out that i have an ovarian cyst and it is causing the pain. i have another dr, appointment this afternoon so we'll see what can be done. The pain was so bad last night that i could not even cry but rather screamed. The meds did work and I was able to sleep but, the pain is back.

This is not fun.