Home Again

I experienced the most wonderful thing on Sunday. I arrived at Logan airport at 2pm for my supposed 4pm flight. Little did I expect to have no line at the check-in kiosk. Even more amazing--NO LINE at security! That's right. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, there was no line for security at terminal C at Boston's Logan airport. Good thing too, as my 4pm flight was actually at 3:30. Overall Thanksgiving was good. I spend most of the morning Thursday cooking. My mom ended up being sick all weekend so I was glad to be able to help out. Even though I had to have the obligatory "It's ok to be over 20 and single and not internet date due to the constant matching with uber-religious guys who would freak at my eight tattoos" discussion with Nanny, being able to hang out the Dean and Lukie made it worth while. I hope that they miss Aunt Kristy as much as I miss them.

Travels

Tonight I start my long holiday weekend. I fly to Boston on Wednesday morning and spend most of the day either in a plane or in Chicago's O'Hare airport. Lucky me! I'm actually looking forward to some forced down time. I purchased a new book, "The Town That Forgot to Breathe" and that will be my company. I've already lined up my regular pet sitter, a ride to and from the airport, and have my boarding passes printed out. Now all I need to do is pack. I'm hoping to be able to pack lite and not check anything. I even went out and bought quart size baggies. Last year my luggage never left my layover for my return flight, which is something I want to avoid. Work has been very yucky. I find myself constantly picking up the pieces when decisions that affect my department--by which I mean that I have to do the majority of the leg work--are made but I'm left out of the loop. I've also had it up to here (envision hand over my head) with people lack of original thought or lack of thought period. I don't understand how some adults actually function in daily life. All I know is that the timing of Thanksgiving vacation is perfect. I'm starting to understand why people go on rampages at work or become disgruntled postage workers. :) I would like to wish everyone safe and uneventful travels this week.

Outlet

I think that I need to find some kind of an outlet for my new stress load. I find myself easily irritated and impatient with others. I am also having issues with slowing down my brain at night. Last night I was wide awake at 3:20 AM thinking about a payroll issue. I know that drinking and smoking are not options for obvious reasons. While I’m always up for a new tattoo, ink is not a long term solution. As I’ve mentioned before exercise is not on the top of my list either. Watching TV and movies is fun, but it just postpones thinking and does nothing really for distressing. Massages are always welcome but are expensive. What do you do to decompress?

Best Weekend Ever

I had the best weekend ever in Arkansas. It was full of lounging on the sofa, college football, shopping, sleeping, and snuggling with A--the most precious blond blue-eyed two-year old girl. Something about having her curled up in my lap brought out some mommy in me. I think that I would love to have a little girl of my own some day. I had such a good time that I've already planned on heading back in early December for their church's Madrigal Feast. During my drive out on Friday, I hit the worst rain storm that I've ever been in. Thankfully a semi was heading my way and led me through the 20 miles of blinding rain on the dark AR highway. Without the truck to follow, I would've had to pull over and sit out the storm. I am quite certain that God sent the truck to be my guide as it appeared with the first several rain drops. So, I've been playing around with some templates and think I've finally found one which suits me. If only it was a scratch-n-sniff template:)

Where Do the Days Go?

I can hardly believe that it is Thursday already. I have been up early or out late all week. I did my civic duty on Tuesday morning and had dinner with my boss and a visiting VP last night at Amerigo's. Oh how I love the garlic and leek mashed potatoes. Tonight I'm going to see a showing of the new Will Ferrell movie, Stranger than Fiction. It will be nice to just de-stress. The only hiccup is that I will have to do a quick load of laundry when I get home. I'm finally making good on the invite to visit my friends in Little Rock this weekend. I'll be leaving after work Friday and plan on just hanging out with no real plans for the entire time. I am very much looking forward to the drive and the fact that I cannot be anywhere near the office this weekend. I've spent a good part of today (and most of tomorrow will be the same) filing. I hate paper and have a bad habit of not putting it in it's proper place until I am overwhelmed by the stacks. Why the sudden change of heart? Easy. We are up for our bi-yearly audit. Sometime in November PWC will be here to check out our IT configurations and the Public File. Then next month they will find time to come back to do the financial and SOX audit before Christmas while we are in the middle of yet another traffic conversion and have most of the managers away for training and meetings at corporate. Oh happy day!

November Rain

Today's rain gives off the appearance of perpetual dusk. I am very glad that I don't have to be out driving in this mess today as I may be coming down with a cold. Sneezing and driving don't mix. Last night I did something that I've never done before. I wrote a letter to the editor of my church's publication, the Adventist Review. I tend to be a rather easy going person and have never before felt the need to voice my objections or opinions in such a potentially public way. But I just could not let this go. I read an article on Friday night which showcased particular entries from a young woman's blog. The overwhelming theme of these entries was the author's lack of a husband. The impression that there was a hole in her life and that she may never have "the most wonderful privilege to be awarded to a woman" disturbed me greatly. You can have a complete life as a single person. You don't have to be married to have an adopted or biological child. This topic is very important to me. Currently, I am the only unmarried member of my family over the age of 18 with the exception of my 19 year old college freshman cousin. I have had church members offer to pray for me because I am unwed. It is important to me that I went to college for an education and not Wife-Making 101. Don't get me wrong, there are times that I wish I had a help-mate in my life. I would love to wake up to a family each day. But that does not mean that the lack of one should overwhelm my life. The more I thought about the article, the more worked up I became. I went to the young woman's blog so that I could see for myself if it was actually a tribute to self pity. It was not. While she did have several entries about her lack of a husband, she also spent time dealing with work, friends and her relationship with God. I found her to be misrepresented in the Review article. I'm sure I would have been harsher in my letter if the blog was a complete pity party and focused on the fact that a woman needs a husband to be complete or of value. I ended up writing the following: Although I am pleased that you are open to new writing mediums such as blogging, I am disappointed in your selections from An Empty Shell in your October 19, 2006 issue. The entries that you chose to highlight focused on this young woman's desire for a husband and family, or in her own words "the most wonderful privilege to be awarded to a woman". As a single woman in her late twenties who has worked hard to successfully establish her career, I find distasteful the idea that a woman without a husband or children cannot be a complete person. In my frustration, I went to the source of your article and was relieved to find that the bogger has been misrepresented. Your selections gave the impression that her sole preoccupation in life is to be a wife. Thankfully her blog showed a much more dynamic person dealing with the pressures of work, friends and maintaining a relationship with God in today's complicated society. In the future, please take into consideration the entire blog and not a lone theme which may be considered antiquated to today's young adults. That is the end of my soap box rant for today. Don't forget to vote tomorrow.

The Longest Week Ever

I've been very remiss in posting this week. Unfortunately that is do in part to the fact that I've had to go into work for each of the last 12 days. I also have become rather short tempered this week. At one point yesterday I found it necessary to go to Borders for coffee and a 30 minute book buying session. It was either that or become the cause of workplace violence. :)Thankfully, I will be able to spend some quality time with O'Malley this weekend catching up on the 20+ shows in my DVR. Starting on the first of November, my work load doubled. We are officially running 6 radio stations in Memphis. This is a good thing. I've rather excited about our new cluster and all of the opportunities it will provide. Once I can find the time to recoup from the format flip, traffic system conversion, and month end, then I can figure out the structure of my two building department. I can honestly say that I am excited that Sabbath is here. I can use the time for reflection and just quietness. I'm reading some Psalms in my daily devotions (when I can remember to do them) and they are uplifting. I also am looking forward to EverPraise tomorrow night. I went last week for the first time in goodness knows how long. I forgot how much I enjoy praise services. Well, I'm off to study up confessing to God so that I can teach the youth Sabbath School tomorrow.