Friday, December 20, 2002

Sorry so silent lately. Life's been busy and I just haven't had a lot to say. Plenty to do, just nothing interesting to discuss. Not that I have anything exciting now, I just figured I'd pop in for a bit. Leaving Monday for Hawaii, so I am trying to arrange with a pet-sitter to take care of the kitties and fish, as well as making arrangements with my parents to go out there and leave our car for the week.

I love traveling, but always find the few days prior to my departure very stressful. Then again, this entire season has been stressful, so I can hardly tell the difference.

Only have a few inches done on the front of Kristy's bridesmaid tank, but with about 11 hours in the air and a changeover at LAX, I figure I can get a lot done on the way to Hawaii. Of course that assumes they let me bring my knitting aboard, but they haven't stopped me any other time so I think I'll be fine.

Company holiday party last night was dull. At least it started at 3:30 so we knocked off work early, and it was in the office so I didn't have to travel to it. Left at 5ish, got a few more presents, and went home to collapse. Woo-hoo, I am leading the high life. Tonight we're planning to go out for dinner and hit a local bar that looks nice and has a pool table, which is the big draw.

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

It is fuh-reezing today but sunny, so I actually enjoyed my morning walk to the subway. Very unusual. I think I'm on a bit of a high from getting Ryan two really good gifts last night. One is going to totally surprise him. Actually, I think both will, but one will do so even more than the other. So cryptic, aren't I?

I can't believe we're leaving for Hawaii in less than a week. Our flight is at noon on Monday. Ryan's sister said her fiance, Tom, has gotten lots of yummy things for Christmas dinner, and that they are really excited to see us. Me, too. I'm so happy that we've gotten to know each other and really like each other a lot. It is going to be so much fun to have her as my sister-in-law!

Lots to do before we leave, including finding a cat- and fish-sitter. Anyone in Brooklyn who's reading, I'd love a recommendation. Preferably someone who won't kill our pets or rob us blind while we're away. Too much to ask?

Too tired last night to knit, and I am not going to make it to Stitch-n-Bitch, unfortunately. There is just too much to do and we both slept horribly last night and the night before - I need to make up for it tonight or I won't last the week. Our company holiday party is Thursday afternoon/evening here at the office (on three different floors - I'm curious to see how that goes.) Then on Friday morning I may have to go to a client meeting near Philadelphia. No biggie except the meeting starts at 9 a.m., which means leaving around 6 a.m. to be there on time. Ugh. I'm torn because I'd really like to present the stuff we're doing, and meet the client face-to-face, but that is an ungodly hour to have to do so. We'll see what happens.

Monday, December 16, 2002

What a relief to wake up and be able to take the train to work today. I still hate taking the subway, but today I was grateful for it. Too much going on and not enough paid time off to stay home, so transit strike or no transit strike, I was going to have to be here. I'm just hoping it stays this way and they find a way to agree.

I've got my first client presentation here at 4pm. It's an informal one, on a conference call, but it's the first time I've done this in about a million years. At my last job I was never involved enough on a project to actually present, and before that I was freelancing and freelancers rarely present. So I am a little nervous. It's a fairly straightforward project, and the things that are new and different are actually things I suggested, so I should be able to talk about it fairly coherently. Still, there's a certain "dog and pony show" aspect to it that always unnerves me.

Right about now Ryan should be giving his interim thesis presentation at school. He's done a lot of great work - way more than any of the other grad students. He's stopped updating his blog, but last night I saw what he's presenting today and I was very impressed. It's a combination of storyboard scenes plus completed scenes, with music and dialogue. At least all the time he's been putting in on that rather than spending with me is coming to fruition!