actually, it's mostly a must 'hear'. i just got jonny lang's long time coming cd the other day. i'll warn you, though, that this is a little bit different than his previous albums. some of the songs sound as if he's trying to put a pop edge to his songs. not that they're bad, but when you expect straight blues like he's been playing, it's a bit of a shock. actually, the more i listen to it, the more it grows on me.
still, he's one of the few people that i'll pick up a new cd from without listening to bits of it first.
hard to believe that in just two weeks i'll be on my way overseas. again. i've been so busy, it's hard to be excited. i haven't even really had much time to think about it. saturday, though, we met with the travel agent and it finally hit home - i'm going to great britain. by myself. at least for the plane ride part of it. i waver between nervous and fine with it. i suppose as long as i can make my ipod battery last most of the trip, i'll be okay. i figure i'll sleep most of the way as well.
who knew shopping for boots could be so hard? that was today's quest. if i'm going to be hiking around the highlands of scotland in the dead of winter, i'm nuts and i need good boots. and hand warmers. *brr*
typical us, though. mom and i are already planning our next trip, and we haven't even gone on this one! we're back to an idea we had a while ago, though - trekking through either tibet or nepal. one thing i can say, we don't take normal family vacations, but i wouldn't trade them for the world. i love to travel, and the more off the beaten path, the better. it's hard to be adventurous when there's a mcdonalds on every street corner. :)
of course, it woudn't be a real adventure without my mom along. she provides the humor for the trip. :)
other thoughts
as independent as i like to be, i definitely don't like rattling around in a four bedroom house by myself...even with keely for company. even if she's a ferocious teacup yorkie. i guess i'm used to rattling around in smaller accomodations, like a two bedroom apartment.
see, i'd be up at the cabin in idyllwild right now if it weren't for the fact that i wanted to do some shopping today and go swing dancing tomorrow evening. oh, and do some web stuff, too. at least i made some progress on the website i'm trying to finish today. i've lost momentum. i'll be so glad when it's over.
listening to the (once again) eclectic selections of music that i picked up the other day - fisherspooner and the soundtrack to confessions of a teenage drama queen - i had a brief revelation. usually i think of music with lyrics as revealing truths, whether about myself or others. but listening to a song without words, i still got the same revelation. something for me to ponder.
another shock - my sister and i actually found a musician we both like...and she was the one who found him. check out casey stratton (standing at the edge). i swore up and down at first it was a girl, but no. he's a guy and an awesome piano player to boot.
i've also been enjoying norah jones' newest and harry connick jr's only you. both fit like a glove the mellow mood i've been in lately.
strange things afoot
well, moreso than the usual ca strangeness. the weather here's been quite different than it usually is - lots of rain. san diego's really a rather arid place, and i can count on one hand the times that i remember it raining for this long. our poor backyard practically floods everytime it rains now since the ground's gotten a little saturated. as i told my mom, if it rains too much, we'll have a nifty swimming hole in the lower yard in the front of our house. wouldn't that be fun - swimming with all the gophers and ants and snakes! ;)
on the other hand, i've slept really well at night while listening to the rain fall outside the window. now you know the reason behind the mellow mood that i mentioned earlier.
dancing fool
remember my other passion that fell by the wayside a way back? it's retuned. i've started to ease back into the swing dancing scene, and i'm remembering how much i love it. the people are just so nice in the san diego scene. now if i can just get the schedule burned into my brain so i'm not disappointed when i get my nights mixed up (like tonight)...
though i'll have to start hunting for new friends - aside from dancing it seems i have very little social life at the moment. :)
it's interesting the new things i'm seeing around me after going to a workshop luncheon with a topic of "ritz carlton service." you've heard me gripe (ok, whine) about bad service before in this blog. i had another bad experience today, this time with at&t wireless. in general, i like having my cell service with them...just so long as i don't have to do anything with their customer service people. the hold time is obscene. (today's - 45 minutes to speak to a live person...who put me on hold again for another 15 minutes while *she* was on hold with someone else.)
i mean, really. for what they're spending in 800-number fees (granted, they *are* the phone company), you'd think they could hire people to take care of the customers that they have calling. then no one would have to hold and everyone would be happy. you'd also think that they'd give their own employees more direct access to customer service and tech support. but, no. one of the employees in the at&t wireless store was on hold too...and he said it would probably be more than an hour before he talked to anyone. that's just ridiculous. at least with cingular i could get a hold of a live person, even if he/she *was* a nincompoop 99% of the time.
you'd also think that the employees in the store would be able to do more than just use the cash register. but, no. they do absolutely no troubleshooting, tech support, or anything. granted, my issue seems like it's something much larger, but still.
**fyi, if you can't reach me, try my old cell phone number for the next few days. my scheduled transfer to a new phone number - which worked for a week, mind you - was cancelled without warning, so now i'm back to my old number. it's all due to some kind of error, i'm told. fix the darn thing, i say.**
anyway, mom, sis and i were quite inspired by the speaker. now that we have a full staff here, we can start focusing on the customer service issues that we're having in the company. we can pick up the neat little things that we did but had to drop due to lack of personnel. we may be small, but we can be mighty and do exceptional things! i must admit that it's very exciting to be a part of a company that's at the cusp of a huge growth. there's really no limit right now to what we can do - we're finding a real direction and starting to move in that direction full force. it's great to be at a place where nearly everyone is passionate about their jobs, the company, and the people we help find homes. :) i really love this new job.
now if only i didn't have to find myself still here at the office on valentine's day...but after last week, (1099s? i have to send....i had to send them out WHEN?!?) i kind of needed a few quiet moments to get the darn things out.
hope your day was full of wonderful, happy moments!
<sarcasm>i love dealing with inane people on the telephone.</sarcasm> it just really makes me want to reach through the phone and choke them when they refuse to put some effort forth, verify that you do indeed have a right to get information from them...and then are rude on top of it. yes. i do have a written permission form from the owner to get information from you. sheesh!
i made a bit of progress getting the room put together this weekend. only a tiny bit, though....two trips to the storage unit later. the extra bed is gone. the couch is in. oy. getting that thing through the door was an adventure. someone forgot to measure the couch. (ahem) thankfully, one leg twisted off and we managed to get it in...after my sis thumped me a few times soundly in the head. (i really think she did it on purpose. payback for making her help me or something.) there was also a small issue with the doorknob on the heater closet and my back...but i won't go there. :) actually, the most amusing part of the whole story is that we left the couch wedged in the doorway of my room while we went to a movie. thank goodness mom was out of town for the day. my sis joked that we should have gotten some caution tape and cordoned off the room. hehe...
suffice to say, it still looks like a tornado hit my room. i really am going to have to break down and make some decisions on what stays and what goes. *sigh* i keep reminding myself, though, that this is helping me save money...and that once i get financially situated i can start saving to buy a condo...and that someday that condo would be nice rental property to hang onto. :)
last week one of my classmates from high school called. looks like we're having a 10-year high school reunion this summer. whee. i waver back and forth between classic "omg, must lose weight, change my hair cut, get better clothes" and not really caring much what they think. if everyone's like the girl who called, i probably still won't fit in. she's married with two kids. um, i have my mom's dog and a boyfriend two states away? like i said - some things never change, but i'm okay with my life right now.
the new norah jones cd comes out tomorrow!!
still around, yep. still moving my things around. it's hard to go from having all your things at your fingertips to having them split between a single room and a storage spot.
anyway, for those of you who try to call, i've got a new phone number. no, i'm not giving it out here. if you don't get an email soon, email me and ask for it. life's a little crazy right now. (i worked until 2:30 am on thursday! i've just barely recovered.)
anyway. can't believe it's february already. time is just flying by!