Tuesday, January 31, 2006

One more day!

I can't believe January is over! Each year seems to go by faster and faster!

Today, Tuesday, is the very last day of my personal countdown. Come Wednesday that woman is gone from my life forever! I know I sound so bitter, and I'm normally not like this. All these changes at work, and having to deal with certain people really brought out the worst in me - and I don't like it at all. I believe she is flying out of here next weekend. Yea! Even though work is going to be hell for the next few months, I know I can make it through. HER leaving relieves so much pressure from within, you don't even know.

We bought two books this weekend. One for London and one for Paris. It's overwhelming how much I want to see in both places! My hubby doesn't really care, so it's up to me to plan the itinerary. I'm really having a hard time planning this trip out. For London, I'm still trying to figure out where the best location is for me to book our hotel. There are a couple of places near Hyde Park that look good (and are reasonably priced). My friend suggests the SOHO area, so I'll have to look into that. For Paris, we already have a place booked, but if I don't come up with some kind of schedule for the activities, it's just going to be utter chaos. Looking at all the pictures in my books, I'm getting more and more excited about this trip.

I just looked up the site for the George V hotel in Paris. No, we are not staying there (I wish!) and I doubt we ever will, but if you want to see luxury - you've got to check out their rooms. Wow! I had no idea. There's only one word to describe the rooms and especially the suites - LUSH. We are staying towards the opposite end of the Avenue de Champs-Elysees - away from the Arc de Triomphe. I plan to walk that 1.2 mile avenue, and Avenue George is along the way. I'm planning a detour to take a quick peek at the George V. I can't go to Paris and not even step into the lobby of this world famous hotel. I just gotta.

Only a month and three weeks until the trip! And then when we come back, I start my new job! So much happening in such a short time. It's a bit overwhelming. I think the only time I'll have to relax in the next two months will be on the flight over to Europe.

Friday, January 27, 2006

So long and fair well...

...and don't let the door hit you on the way out!

HAHA! I am telecommuting Monday and Tuesday - so I will never have to see HER ever again. No awkward goodbyes or fake words of kindness. Today was the last day I will ever have to deal with HER!

I'm sure she's going to call me on Monday or Tuesday at home, like she always does when I'm out sick. But shockingly enough, this time no one is going to pick up the phone! She's going to call because all this week, she was supposed to transition her work to me, but was too busy yapping to everyone about her move to do her job. So, come Monday and Tuesday, I'm not going to be there. Tough. She's always leaving stuff to the last minute anyway, so it'll be no different when I have to figure things out for myself.

But you know what? Things always come around in a way you don't expect it. I got a new job! In fact, I didn't even have to apply for anything, I had three job offers come to me! I couldn't believe my luck! I've secured myself a great position where I will be able to make the job my own - doing project work and backing up the supervisor when he's away. This is a far better position than if I had gotten the Senior position that I originally wanted. Much more responsiblity and freedom to learn, and a great opportunity to develop my leadership skills. I'm going to be fine. I haven't told anyone at work because others are still looking for jobs and are worried - so I'm keeping my good news to myself for now.

So, tonight, I celebrate. I celebrate my new job. I celebrate never having to deal with HER ever again. I celebrate myself for keeping my cool today and not telling her off like I've been dreaming to since I heard she was leaving.

So long! Fair well! Auf Wiedersehen! Au revoir! Good riddance!

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Five days and counting

Only five more business days to go! I can't believe that I can do the countdown on one hand now. It's an incredible feeling. Of course, with HER leaving, I've learned that a lot of the transitional responsiblities have fallen into my lap. Not surprising - just don't know how I'm going to handle it all. My own work, learning new things, teaching people what I know - and merging my old team into two different teams at work - all before I go to Europe at the end of March. WHEW!!! It's going to be tough, but each time I pass by that empty cubicle, I'll try not to be too giddy.

In other great news, one of my college buddies is engaged!!! Whoo hoo! Congratulations to G and J!!! I'm so happy for you two!!!

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Only 7 more business days to go...

...before SHE is gone! Gone from my life forever!!!

Sorry, I can't help myself! :)

The day they plan a little 'goodbye' and 'good luck' party at work - I'll be (sniffle, sniffle) sick at home - and darn it, just won't be well enough to make it in to join in the celebration.

But somehow, miraculously, I'll be well enough to celebrate at happy-hour after work on January 31st!

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Strange, but fun weekend

It's interesting how a year can start out - and 2006 hasn't been a very good one so far. My hubby's 40th birthday weekend has come and gone, and with it brings good memories and bad ones.

Sunday morning, we were at the airport by 6:30am - much too early for a Sunday morning, but I wanted to get the most time possible out of this trip. We ended up sitting on the plane for 45 minutes after the scheduled take off time. Flaw #1.

We finally got to Vegas and got a cab - where I presented my husband with his birthday card, and first birthday surprise within a poem I composed. The poem basically told him that instead of where he thought we would be staying - we were going to stay at the Wynn. So, we told the driver we had a change of plans. Well, a normal side street route from the airport to the hotel is about $13. This guy went the long way and our fair ended up $20. Hubby was livid. Anyway... Flaw #2.

We arrived very early to the hotel, so our room wasn't ready yet. They had booked us a room on the 50th floor (wow!) but it was a smoking room - so we didn't want it. They found us a room on the 36th floor, but it wasn't ready yet either. So, we strolled around and took in the glorious decor of the hotel. Everything just radiated elegance. From the light covered trees of the walkways, to the restaurant entrances, to the beautiful lounge areas - it was just elegance. Nothing was tacky.



Anyway, we had lunch at the Terrace Point Cafe (their 24 hour cafe basically) and had a nice lunch. Around 1pm we went back to try to check in. The room still wasn't ready - even though they had put a rush on it already. Flaw #3

We got our slot cards and played a little in the casino. Another hour goes by and we check on our room - STILL NOT READY. Flaw #4. A room on the 12th floor was ready - so we ended up going from the 50 floor to the 12th floor. At this point, I'm like, WHATEVER.

So, we go up to our room. It was absolutely fabulous. My hubby had no idea I had booked a suite, so this was his second big surprise. Check it out... Yes, I took pictures of the room. We'll probably never end up in a suite again - so I had to capture the weekend in photos.





The bathroom was bigger than our bedroom at home. Just gorgeous, but quite sad actually. It's bigger than our bedroom. A bathroom!

And get this...



A massage room! So, that leads to surprise number three for hubby. An in-room massage! He was very surprised, and happy. His back had been hurting for days.

We had a wonderful birthday dinner at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at the Paris hotel. Now, I wasn't fully crazy about the Lobster Thermador I had - so I would skip that, but they have an Escargot appetizer that was to die for. And their signature Eiffel Tower souffle for dessert cannot be missed. My hubby had a bone-in Rib Eye steak with potatoes gratin that was perfection. This restaurant is definitely on our list of 'will go back to' restaurants.

We spent the rest of the evening back at the Wynn gambling. There's also a 'free' show based on the gigantic waterfall they have at the hotel. We asked four different employees and got four different answers on when the shows started and what the shows were. What is up with that??? Isn't that a very basic question? Flaw #5

So, here's what we ended up finding out from a bartender there. We didn't ask when the shows started each night, but we figure it must be when it's dark out, because the shows are all based on lighting effects. There is a small light show every 15 minutes, and then a big production show every 45 minutes. I missed pictures of the couple of shows we saw, but here are pictures of the waterfall in the day and one from the balcony inside the hotel that looks out to the waterfall. It's a beautiful white rock wall with water cascading down - but it's almost like an infinity pool where it meets the rest of the water. You don't see the water hit the 'lake' part of it. Just beautiful.
And they have these statues of people looking at the waterfall. A very cool effect.



The next day, we played in the casino all day and then went to see Le Reve, the Wynn's signature show. I would put it third after 'O' and 'KA'. It's a beautiful theater - I snuck some pictures before the show started. The second picture is of the ceilling. Those are statues (there were about 100 of them) all over the ceiling. Very cool. The 'skylight' would open and close and performers would descend.



The show is like a smaller scale version of 'O'. It was designed by Franco Dragone, who designed several of the Cirque du Soleil shows. Funny thing is, some of the costumes were very similar to those from 'O'. But anyway, it was a good show - I would see it again.

So, that was the last of my hubby's birthday gifts. We ended up playing in the casino until around 2:15am. When we went back to the room and settle in for the night, we heard drilling from upstairs in our bathroom. It was LOUD! Drilling! At 2:30am! Flaw #6

Called the front desk - and after being on holdf or 5 minutes, we were told that maintenance was working on a service elevator hear our room and they would send someone up to stop them immediately. All they were going to compensate us for was a free lunch at the cafe or buffet the next day. Uh - we already played enough to earn comps for that - so that was Flaw #7 - poor customer service.

Well, 15 minutes later - the drilling sounds were still going on. Hubby had to get up, get dressed, go upstairs to see what was going on himself - major Flaw #8. We're the guests - yet we're getting up to check on a noise at 2:45 in the morning after we called to complain about it already? Anyway, a few minutes later, my hubby comes back with a security guard he ran into in the hall. The guard heard the drilling and called someone at Engineering on his walkie talkie. The drilling stopped within minutes. Stupid huh? What if my husband didn't go out looking around? Would the drilling have stopped? I don't think so.

The next morning, we went down to the players club and talked to one of the reps there - he called one of the slot hosts to come help us. We couldn't be more greatful for Alan, our new slot host. Not only was he very courteous, but he managed to comp one night of stay for us and all our food for the trip. He also said that the next time we go there, he will comp our show tickets for 'Avenue Q' (the other show they have there). We also got a free lunch at the buffet. Without Alan, the check-out reps were only willing to give us the buffet lunch, and $50 off one night (Flaw #9). Yeah, I think we'll stick with Alan.

On the whole, the Wynn is fabulous. Everything about it is fabulous - except the service. Which is very surprising for a Steve Wynn hotel - who is known for excellent customer service. I mean, we had buffet - and no one ever came to clean off our plates or offer drink refills. Other people at other tables actually stacked their own dirty dishes and handed them to the bus folks to take. That's bad! But it's still and awesome hotel - and I'm just hoping service will be better as time goes. Hubby is definitely filling out a Customer Satisfaction Card - the first one we felt necessasry to fill in after 10 years of going to Vegas together and staying at over 10 different hotels there.

So, here we are back in SF - first day back to work after a very strange weekend. Back to some great news. That woman got the job in Texas. She's leaving!!! Last day will be January 31. That's 8 more business days. I also got offered a job - not my dream job - but a job. So, that's one more stress off my plate. Yea! Maybe things will start going a little more smoothly from now on? Or at least, 8 business days from now?

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Mixed emotions

This week has been a total roller coaster of emotions. I was feeling elated Tuesday through Thursday, and then took the plunge toward depression on Friday. It's also my hubby's 40th birthday weekend - we leave for Las Vegas tomorrow. It's hard to get excited.

Yes, once again, it's about work. Again, I can't go into details (you never know who may be reading this), but on Tuesday I found out some wonderful news. Wonderful news that affected this person at work who has made my life a living hell the past 7 months. I'm sure most people have dealt with something like this - a person who just loves to boss people around (even though they most certainly are not your boss), criticize everything you do, and try to find fault in the things you do - WHY? because you do it well, and everyone knows it. They know you can do it better than that person.

Anyway, I found out that this person did not get the upgraded position they were just dying for. And you should have seen and heard the bitterness this entire week. It was a complete slap in the face to them, but I was just giddy. I celebrated every day, until Friday. Friday I learned that the bigwigs of the company decided that because of things that are happening in our department, that it would be a good idea if someone could help oversee things, temporarily. You know where this is going right? Yep, that person got the upgrade. Unbelievable. With all the sh*t this person has done, and all the work not done, they get a promotion.

There's been a lot of stress at work the past two months, so this was just the icing on the cake. Of course, this person had to come over to where I was sitting and go on and on about it to everyone in the vicinity. I contained myself until they left, but soon after, I just got teary eyed. It's very disappointing.

Actually, the icing on the cake is when they came back an hour later to talk to me about how they just came up with an idea and will work with another team to implement it - knowing full well that I had already talked to the team the day before about the same thing - with the same idea. But of course, they took credit and tried to make it sound like I was against the whole thing - unfortunately, I wasn't invited to the meeting when this process was discussed the second time. Evil - this person is just so evil. The nerve to come to my face and tell me that they came up with the idea that I had just 24 hours ago. I was so angry, I wanted to submit a 1 hour notice to my boss and quit right there and then.

So, I pray to the Vegas gods, please let me win the MegaBucks this weekend. Anything over $1 million. I'll even take $500,000. Just let me get the heck out of my company with enough financial freedom for one year. Just one year! So that I can find something else, or start up something of my own. Please?

I vented all night long to my poor hubby. I promised to myself not to mention it anymore this weekend. It's his weekend - and I want us both to be happy. My plans in Vegas are all ready and confirmed. We just need to get on that plane tomorrow and not look back for a few days. We both need it.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

So cute it hurts...

I found this website the other day. I don't even remember how, but all I know is, as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it a Favorite. It's called Cute Overload! The name really says it all. Somehow, this person has managed to find - or they're probably contributions, pictures of the most adorable animals and little knick-knacks. If you're an animal lover like me, these pictures will make you hop up and down in your seat as you look at each picture.

So, my family and I went to see the new Cirque du Soleil show, Corteo, last night. It is by far the best travelling Cirque show I have ever seen. The acts are so clever and these people are just multitalented. I mean, you see the same people performing all sorts of different acts throughout the show. Unfortunately, the show ends this Sunday, but for those who have seen it, you know what I mean. This is a fantastic show - and I rate it 10 stars!

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Short week

Well, I had Monday off from work for the New Year holiday. Went to work for two days - and I'm taking tomorrow off. Why? I'm sick!!! This happened to me last year too. I'm starting a cold and my allergies are bad. Add that to insomnia... yep. I brought some work home tonight because I felt pretty miserable today and knew I wasn't going to be better by Thursday. I just hope to shake off most of this before Friday.

What's happening Friday is that we're going to see the new Cirque du Soleil show, Corteo. (I love this picture)



We bought these tickets as a Father's Day present last year - and it's finally here! The belated birthday present will be dinner at Fringale before the show. I'm just hoping I can taste the food by Friday. Nothing worse than sniffling through a show. I love Cirque du Soleil. Except for their very early productions, I've seen them all. The ones in their custom built theaters are the best (Las Vegas and Florida).

I think my top two must see, always recommend to everyone, shows are "O" and "KA". They have the most expensive ticket prices, but they truly are worth every penny. Mystere used to be my favorite - and what inspired me to take up Taiko (I stopped when I hurt my knee skiing a few years ago). The show has an awesome opening and finale that showcases the Taiko drum - there's nothing like feeling that deep drum beat rumble through your soul.



So, it's past midnight - I've sneezed about 7 times in a row in less than a minute. My throat is going to be so sore tomorrow. I hate that. I've already emailed my boss to let her know that I won't be coming in. I prefer to let them know the night before, so I'm not worried about contacting them early in the morning - this way get some more sleep.

I guess I should just go read in bed or something. My brain is starting to get fuzzy. Gotta find my bottle of Vitamin C!

Oh - and we finally saw Finding Neverland last night. LOVED IT!!! I highly recommend it! I love Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. Can't believe Johnny Depp was on 21 Jump Street way back when. I don't remember a single episode of that show, but I remember him on it. And I just love anything with Kate Winslet.

Monday, January 02, 2006

Quiet New Year

At about 11:50p on December 31st, my husband and I rushed out of our apartment and started running towards the Bay Bridge. With just a few minutes to go, we thought we could get to a prime viewing spot of the fireworks that would be shot up over the Ferry Plaza. Well, while we were running, the fireworks started going off. Oh well. We wished each other a 'Happy New Year' mid-run. We missed the count down, but we did find a prime spot and watched the beautiful fireworks in the air. I love the ones that end in a cascading veil of glitter. The smily faces too.

This past week has been movie week for us. We've tried to catch up on several of the movies we have on DVD. Movies we've collected over the last several months, but have been too busy watching the miriad of TV shows we enjoy. Yes, we watch too much TV.

Anyway, you already know we watch the new Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Memoirs of a Geisha, but this week we also saw Fantastic 4, War of the Worlds, Batman Begins, Ocean's Twelve, Sin City, Constantine, and The Life of David Gale. My husband watched The Island on his own (because I had already seen it), and Seabiscuit.

All in all, the only movie that pissed me off at the end was War of the Worlds. It made no sense, and was a total cop out. The special effects, however, were excellent. All the other movies were very good. I think my favorite of the week is Memoirs.

The TV shows are starting up again this month. It's just a handful of shows this week, so maybe we'll squeeze in another movie or two.

Only 13 more days until VEGAS!!!