Happy New Year!

ben :: dele-vegas :: May 2009

I’m just going to admit it here: I have fallen in love with the Ryan Montbleau Band. For me, he was a multi-listen musician, but it was definitely worth it. It’s weird, but I absolutely love, love, love this verse. I have no idea why. Maybe because it reminds me of All Crazy, Black Mountain Symphony, and Instrument?

 

And it’s going to take microphones and stages,
Many people rearranging what their plans are for the night time
Hope you show up at the right time
And I’ll sing you my song
And I hope you sing along
I know you always sing along in my imagination…
—Ryan Montbleau Band: “Stretch”

I’m not sure what 2011 is going to hold for me. To be honest, I haven’t thought much about the new year yet. Normally, I’m all over it… but this day job thing is such a time suck that I have seriously lost all track of time.

I do have a few resolutions for tonight/tomorrow morning however:
1) There will be no licking at midnight. None. Period. End of discussion.
2) There will be no bets with cute, flirty boys who have wicked hot British accents.
3) There will be a kick-ass time had.
4) There will be photos which, when taken, will result in shouts of “Don’t put that on Facebook!”
5) There will be lots of Ryan Montbleau music listened to on the trip to CT and back.

See you all next year!

 

Christmas time is here again…

... and so is the overwhelming sense of loss.

I suppose I brought a lot of it on myself by playing with Ancestry.com last night. I confirmed about 90% of my family tree by using death records. But on the other hand, I found some people who are related to me - somehow - through my paternal grandmother’s family. I hope that my tree, which took their trees down another level, will help them as much as they helped me. 

It also doesn’t help that a girl I know through her blog is going through a really shitty time. Her husband is in critical condition after a motorcycle accident, and she’s dealing with all the crap that comes hand-in-hand with something like that. Including family drama. She and her husband have been together 12 years, so that fact hit a little too close to home. I couldn’t imagine going through something like that with J…  I’m really hoping that this ends well for her and soon.

In happier news, I surprised J with a copy of the Rosetta Stone’s German Level 1 software and a few Germany travel guides. I’ve been scrimping and saving for another big trip overseas and we both have roots in Germany, so I thought this would be a fun trip for both of us. I’d been to Berlin once, but after finding out that my grandparents wound up in Germany (fled Stalin, captured by Hitler) and that my mother was born there, Germany hopped to the top of the list. (It even trumped London and I ALWAYS want to go to London. I never get tired of that city. Sorry, Nick!)

J spoiled me rotten with a few of my favorite movies on Blue-ray, a Thoreau book I’ve been drooling over, a Levenger gift card AND a sword to go with my Ren Faire outfit. The sword seems too big and heavy, but I’ll see if I can make it work. Yesterday, we started out with breakfast and Shaun of the Dead - it really was the perfect way to start Christmas Day.

Let’s see - what else?

J came to fencing with me on Thursday. It was interesting to hear his take on my “style”. Big surprise - I think too much. It also became obvious that I need to get electrified. I’ve got to find the money for a lame, electric foil and body cord. I guess I’m taking it from the vacation fund… at least I can put it back quickly. (Thank God our armory guy doesn’t take plastic!)

The work situation finally came to a head, so I guess I can talk about it a bit…

Our founder/manager had decided that, with the perfect staff in place, there was no room for him in his company any more and that his heart wasn’t into running the company any more. So, he resigned. Then there was a bunch of drama related to that. There always is when you dissolve a partnership, but was MUCH worse than most of us had thought it would be. I saw it coming for a while - I was involved early in the dissolution process - but it still hit me pretty hard. I can’t go into much more detail that that, except to say that it took over a month to get things straightened out, and we’re still not done picking up the pieces.

As a result, I was pulled into a meeting with The Big Boss Man and my future was discussed. Apparently, they think I can manage a staff. (Insert dirty joke here.) I’m scared shitless about this. I’m 35 and I’ve never been in a position to manage other people. I’ve never really wanted to manage other people - just the idea makes me uncomfortable - but, at the same time, I’m back on the original career track I had decided on when I first got the accounting degree. A conversation with the Big Big Boss Man confirmed that I’m being groomed to be a Comptroller. A COMPTROLLER! Despite the crushing fear, I’m excited that he put his faith in me. The Boss Men have really succeeded in proving that this is it - this is where I belong for the long haul. Even though there’s been way too much drama and way too much stress and way too many companies to take on, I could never leave there. I love it so much!

(For the record, I’ll be overseeing the accounting for:
1) A home heating oil company and its gas station,
2) An internet start-up that specializes in crowdsourcing design competitions for the athletic industry,
3) A membership program that offers discounts to people who support green companies,
4) A realty trust,
5) A company that manufactures/sells fabrics to various industries, AND
6) A restaurant

Dude, I got tired just writing that down!!! See why I’m being promoted?)

I knew I belonged there, too, at the holiday party. To see Big Big Boss Man cracking dirty jokes at our table, and making fun of J (the night’s main activity since he’s so damn quiet), and then the conversation he had with the Green Team’s table… I fell in love with him. HE’S the kind of boss others should aspire to be. Even Big Boss Man drove that point home. I’m so fucking fortunate to be there, and I’m so so so so very happy to be there that it’s frightening. 

So - there’s my December in a nutshell. I’ll be back to posting pictures with the entries shortly… Just need to get some time to breathe!

I assure you, I am comfortable talking about vaginas.

... And so started one of the weirdest, best, spanktacular weeks ever.

From emails that had us all laughing until we cried, to stories about stripper Santa (with all the kids in his conversion van), work was actually fun for once. Granted, we’re all stressed as fuck, but we keep finding ways to make each other laugh. The Green Team is now, really, truly The Green TEAM. *contented sigh*

Friday, I dragged the Hubby of Wonder to Saratoga to see Black Mountain Symphony. They played an AWESOME set and the band they opened for was pretty good, too. (Check out the Ryan Montbleau Band on MySpace.) They remind me of Jason Mraz, and that’s not necessarily a good thing, but the energy the band had on stage was amazing. The recorded versions I’ve heard just don’t even come close. The highlight of the night - besides running into Dave, the former bass player for Instrument - was when Ryan did a shout out for a recently deceased fan. I loved the fact that he was that in touch with his fans. He knew both her real and screen name and dedicated a beautiful song to her. From where I was standing, I could see some of her friends recording the song, tears running down their face. How could you NOT be affected by a display that touching? 

Saturday, there was a different, uh, “touching” display at Chele’s holiday party.

Dude, I don’t even think I can do the party justice.

Let’s just start with the comment that all the invite said was that it was a HOLIDAY party - the holiday was never specified. So, of course, we all took turns wearing the Batman cape.

Our new friend

Dave

Mary, shall forever be known as Batman. We knew Batman was a good fit for our little group when his date kept saying stuff like “If you don’t stop, you’ll never be invited back!”

The spanking! Oh, dear lord! The spanking!

“I dominate you!” *stomp* “I dominate you, too!” *honk honk*

There are things you can never unsee. Period. (And I didn’t even see the hot dogs. WHY would you put that on your phone?!?!)

Did I mention the spanking?

“This picture isn’t going on Facebook, right?”

There may or may not be photographic evidence of someone (not me!) doing something to my husband…

Those damn shoes! MY EYES!!!! THINK OF THE KITTENS!!!!

I do believe I have a hand shaped bruise on my butt….

Crank Yankers
Batman’s Nemesis
www.comedycentral.com
Funny Jokes It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Ugly Americans

Scars are souveniers you never lose. The past is never far.

I was doing so well at staying stable this weekend, despite the fact that I’m not going to finish my NaNo novel on time. I was distracting myself with shiny new software and video games, getting rid of used books, emptying out my digital camera cards, and making CDs for friends.

Then, I got a message on Facebook that rocked my world.

I don’t know why I let it get to me, except that it was unexpected and the conversation went in a completely different direction than I would have thought.

This person was part of a group I used to hang out with all the time, then some bad things happened and I ended up distancing myself from them. I really enjoyed this person’s company, and I did consider them a friend, but we were never that close. I always felt like there was a wall and I was always careful when I talked to them. When they did let me in, I used to joke that we ‘broke’ them. (One shopping excursion during a road trip with them comes to mind.)

On Labor Day, they reached out to me and asked me if I was going to NH with them like I did last year. I said no - I was going to Michigan to watch them embarrass the UConn football team.

A few days ago I got a really random message - “Hey, I’m moving to Boston. Did you ever listen to the Hindu Love Gods?” (Yes. That was exactly what it said.)

The Hindu Love Gods question threw me off. Of course I knew who they were. 3/4 on the band was R.E.M. Stipe was not one of those 3, so I never really got into them. They released one album, a bunch of covers, and went their separate ways. Back in the 80s/90s. TWO DECADES ago. Talk about completely random!

We went back and forth, the end result being that their relationship ended and they needed to get a fresh start. A new city, a new state. My response was, “I understand. It’s the same reason I could never move back to Manchester.”

Top that with going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (pt 1). I think I can say this without ruining the plot… Harry visits his parents’ grave and Hermione creates some flowers for him/them. Then, another character dies.

Cue the waterworks.

I cried the entire drive home.

It’s the end result of all the stress I’d been under at work, missing my father, thinking about J’s loss of his mother, wishing my relationship with my mother had been different… but also the fact that this friend reached out to me.

They’ll never know how much that meant to me…

Attack is good. Point left.

I wish I could go into detail, but strange things were afoot at the Circle K for the past week. Unfortunately, I was one of the first to know and I had to wait until the rest could be enlightened.

It was wicked awkward and Wednesday was the day the shit hit the fan. Officially.

I’ve been in a fog since Wednesday AM. It’s been wicked fucked up. Wicked. Wicked. Wicked. Wicked. Fucked. Up.

Gah.

I had fencing last night and it was the best way possible to reduce the stress I’ve been under. I’m in the adult training group, which means on Thursdays I get to poke at people with my sharp pointy stick and hope I don’t get poked by other people’s sharp pointy sticks. I did a kick ass job last night. I fenced like I actually knew what I was doing. I even did a perfect ballestra!!! (Which if you know me, and seen my previous attempts at ballestras, is pretty amazing.)

I know I’ll get through this -and I’m thankful that I have the people around me who can help me get through this - but in the meantime, I’m glad I have my sharp pointy stick and people who don’t mind being my pincushion.

En garde, bitches!