Dr Spaz's Evil Plan

I meant to add this earlier; and forgot so here I am now...
Last night about half way through the night I realized something.
This set up is step one in Dr. Spaz's evil plan (insert evil laugh here...). I told him months ago that for me to move, I would need a guy, a job and a place to live.
Insert Lead Momma and her work cohort (I really need to come up with a good alias for her too)who just "happen" to know this really great single guy. And they work on introducing us via email.
And according to Lead Momma, Dr. Spaz been working on the place to live plan as well; a place his mother-in-law and I could share and pay them rent.
Now all that's left is a job. Last week, we were chatting and he tells Lead Momma to tell me, "they (ICE) are opening a new office in Raleigh."
If I'm not careful, I think I'll come home some morning to a moving truck and an apartment full of half-packed boxes...
They all rock!

Round up

As my brownies are in the oven, I thought I would revisit a post from earlier.
I thought a lot about changing units at work. I was truly on the fence about it, as witnessed by my pro/con list. When I went into work last night; I was still undecided. I chatted with Will about it; and he had another really compelling con: I've been talking about returning to school to get my Masters. My plan was to do a lot of my homework while at work. That would be impossible when answering phones. One of the ladies I went on the cruise with had another really good con related to returning to school. The school requires a full course load, so effectively I'll be in school full time and working full time. She thought that my stress level would be way too high. So then I went to talk to my old supervisor from when I was down there. And the first thing he said to me was: "Don't you remember that you clenched your teeth so much you gave yourself a tension headache every day?" He also told me that he's 90% sure we're never going to do another full building pick; so I'd be stuck down in that unit. And Will's final point was: "TG, you never were able to sleep you were so stressed."

So, although, Lead Momma, I appreciate the advice; I think I've decided to pass on the opportunity. There would be no way for me to get out once I got in, and that truly is my major concern; and I also would have no hope of getting any sort of weekends off schedule. So, decision made; and I'm happy with it. I feel good with the choice I made at this point. So good in fact, I've already baked brownies and I'm planning on baking banana bread as well.

Marsh, I'm really glad you like the new template; I really thought it was time for a change.

And I realized after I posted, I never explained why Lead Momma was saying such nice things about me. She and one of her cohorts have decided to try to set me up with someone they work with. And they sent both of us an email message introducing us. And as the Match.com guys I've met so far have been not at all right; I thought this would be a great try. She knows me better than just about anyone, so if she thinks we'd be a good pair; why not trust her. What's the harm in trying? And that was what she said in the message about me.

Other People's Opinions

So, lately I've been learning what people actually think of me...
A supervisor at work thinks I'm difficult
Preschool Queen has taken to calling me a hedgehog, you know cute face, but prickly on the outside.
Will calls me the Queen of Snark
And I've started thinking, wow, if this is how people who actually like me and are supposed to care about me feel...yikes. And as I've previously stated, I do really care what people think about me. I've started to feel a little touchy about it.

Then...I get an email from Lead Momma, where she's telling someone else about me. Here's what she said:

I met TG nearly 10 years ago (holy cow!) when we were in college
to become teachers -- we became fast friends. She lived in the Charlotte,
NC area for a year and was a classroom teacher. Now she works for
Homeland Security (if I say too much she may just have to kill me) in
Vermont. She loves to travel, read, be creative and stay up on current
events. She wicked funny and loves to laugh.

Lead Momma, you rock! Thank you for saying such nice things about me, and thanks for the intro!!! :)

The Evening Fiasco

The fiasco that some may call work continues.

There are two positions open in the communications center. I did this job before. I didn't love it. That may be an understatement, actually. I've been approached about going back. My first reaction is to stick my fingers in my ears and shout 'LA LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!' But I'm bored out of my mind in the unit I'm in. So I thought maybe a pro/con list may help. Here goes:

Pros:

• CAREER ADVANCEMENT
• something different
• ability to get up and move around
• not so boring
• things there are better than they were

Cons:

• probably a worse schedule than I have now
• fewer people; harder to take leave
• it's a boys club
• lack of defined protocol
• disliked it before
• chance of getting stuck in the unit forever

So, I just don't know which way to go. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Unfortunately I have to make this decision quickly. Truly, it would be easier for me if they just came to me and said "TG, you have to go down there." Because I would never refuse that. Grr...I hate to try to make decisions like this.

Last Night Sucked

Okay, so last night was not my greatest of nights. Went on a date, and it kinda sucked. It's a lot harder than I had ever anticipated it being. The last time I really dated was in college. It was easy then. Especially given the fact that I went to a school where the guys outnumbered the girls something crazy like 8 to 1. I had my pick. Now, not so much. Seriously, I think I need to move somewhere that has a larger gene pool to select from. There is a new guy at work who is REALLY cute. I would go so far as to say he's pretty hot. I'll call him Cali Boy. (yep someone from California moved here for work...) Anyway, I am a pretty outgoing person (those who know me are laughing right now, because that's kind of an understatement) until it comes to talking to really hot guys. And suddenly I'm an awkward, self-conscious 17 year old high school student again. So, I've been trying to get over that so I can talk to this guy. It hasn't happened yet. Will can't understand it either. And so I said to him last night, "why do you think I never really talk to ____". (this other guy who is equally HOT just came back to third shift. I've known him for 4 years, and I can still barely talk to him without being foolish...) Will was stunned. He had no idea I had a huge crush on this guy. So, I pose the question, how do I get over this and start a conversation with Cali Boy?
But back to my night that wasn't so great. When I got to work, I was already much more frustrated than I had anticipated. Things like this cause my mind to move to the whole 'I'll be alone forever' crap. Whether it's true or not, is beside the point. It's where my mind was.
Another thing about me, I care way more what other people think than I usually let on. (Lead Momma says that's not a fault...) Most of the time I don't let it bother me when my co-workers or my supervisors pick on me. It's that kind of atmosphere; but last night, it got to me. More than anything, I hate having my faults pointed out to me (who does, really?) and it seemed like this was the night for that. It got to a point that I had tears in my eyes when I was talking to Will, and I had to walk away.
So, hopefully, tonight will be a better day.

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech. 32 innocent victims.

I don't think there's really much I can say. My heart and thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends and co-workers. To everyone affected by this tragic situation. There was one victim's story that has stuck with me since I read it. And it truly breaks my heart. One of the professors, survived the Nazi Holocaust to be gunned down while trying to save the lives of his students. Truly, a hero.

This will be one of those days that people will never forget. There are those days that get seared into your memory. Some are there for good reasons, marriage, the birth of a child. More often they are there for tragic ones. People remember where they were when JFK was assassinated. When the Challenger shuttle exploded. When Columbine occurred. 9/11. People can remember the tiniest details of those days. And those memories will forever be with them.

And when tragedy like this strikes, I have a strong desire to gather those I love the most and to hold them close. To protect them and to tell them how much I love them, because sometimes in daily life, that gets forgotten. We all get so busy, and so wrapped up in small details, and we think that they are SUCH A BIG DEAL (they're not btw...) So, if you love somebody, let them know.

Alan Johnston

As those of you who usually read this blog, you know that I stay completely away from the political arena. However, today has changed that. I was driving home from work a few hours ago, and was listening to the BBC like I do every morning. There was an update on a story I've been following for weeks.
Today is an International Day of Solidarity for Alan Johnston. For those of you who haven't heard the story, Johnston is a journalist for the BBC who has been reporting from and living in Gaza. He was kidnapped on his way home from work four weeks ago. This is the longest that any journalist has been held in Gaza. This morning, the BBC yet again held a press conference regarding his plight and his father read a letter that he wrote to Alan as well as to his kidnappers. It was truly the most heartbreaking thing I have ever listened to, and as I was driving I started crying. Crying for a man I've never met, only heard on the radio, reporting on the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza. It's been reported that he was always truly concerned about getting the Palestinian story out to the western world. He reported with true compassion. And for that, he was repayed with kidnapping. I cried for his family, who don't know his whereabouts, or his condition. I can't imagine the emotions they must be feeling. I cried for other journalists who must be thinking "There but for the grace of God go I". And so I really felt that I needed to blog about this. And I wonder, what has this kidnapping accomplished? I sincerely hope and pray for his speedy release. And I thank you all for indulging me in a rather non-typical TG post!

I wanted to include the text of the letter from his family. You can find plenty more information about Alan Johnston here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6546059.stm

Text: Family's letter to Alan Johnston
As part of an international day of action appealing for the release of BBC journalist Alan Johnston, his father, Graham, read out an open letter to the journalist from his family.
Hello old son,
I don't know if you will see this but I just felt that I wanted you to know how distressed and sorry we all are that you were taken.
You had warned us frequently that the chances were always there that you would be kidnapped and we were prepared in a way for this to happen. Nevertheless when it came, it was still a considerable shock.
Now, you have not to worry about us. Your mum and Trini and I are hanging in there and trying to keep a stiff upper lip. The support we have had from your friends and colleagues at home and abroad has been phenomenal, especially the BBC who have cosseted us and to whom our profuse thanks go for keeping us abreast of the situation.
There are so many people worldwide all hoping and praying for your release, not least of which I'm sure, are the vast majority of the Palestinian population, many of whom have told us they are ashamed that you were kidnapped. We know how much you enjoyed your work there.
Your fellow local journalists are doing a magnificent job holding demonstrations calling for your early release. There is so much sympathy for your plight around the globe and we are overwhelmed at such support, all of which helps to buoy us up during the past seemingly interminable four weeks.
I would like to say something to those who are holding you. You have family. Please think about what this is doing to my family, including in particular the distress and deep concern Alan's mother and sister have had to endure for all these long weeks. As I have said before please let my son go now, today.
Alan, all our heartfelt warmest fondest love is sent to you from all your family and in the fervent hope that you will be released unharmed. Chin up my son, Trini, Raymond, Alastair and as always your ever-loving mum and dad.

Simple Pleasures

I've realized that some of the greatest pleasures in life are the simplest things. Seeing the first crocus peep through the snow; seeing the first robin in spring. The latest example in my life; being the beneficiary of the 59 minute rule at work tonight. For those of you who don't work in the government; I'll explain the 59 minute rule. At the discretion of the supervisors, they can allow an employee to go home 59 minutes early with no use of leave. Translation, I got to leave work this morning at 5:01 am! So I was home before 6! Like I said, simple pleasures. It was such a treat!

Easter Sunday

Alright, it's Easter Sunday. Is it really too much to ask for nice spring weather? I mean seriously. It's been colder this week than it was Christmas week. What's up with that? It was RAINING at Christmas time; and this week; SNOW. Certainly spring weather is not too much to ask for. I walked over to visit some friends today; and realized that I was woefully under dressed in my fleece jacket. By the time I reached their house (it's about an 5 to 7 minute walk) I was wishing I had a winter coat, hat and gloves. Thank goodness wine does such a good job warming you up!
I have to say, I really have been feeling better about life in general. It's easier to laugh and smile; and above all else get out and do things. I guess I feel like things are going to be okay. I have also decided to follow in the footsteps of my dearest friend, Lead Momma, so I'm trying the whole online dating thing. Who knows. It's possible to meet someone wonderful that way. So, we'll see what happens. I have been emailing with one guy who seems pretty nice. At least so far, he doesn't seem to be an ax murderer; but then again, it's not like he would be advertising that. I think we're meeting this week. Think good thoughts for me!

My Day with Captain Contrary

Okay, so I just have to tell you all about my day with Preschool Queen and Captain Contrary. The plan was to meet at about 11:30 and go to the 1 pm showing of TMNT. Captain Contrary was in truly rare form today. He really loves having an audience, and I was said audience for the day, so he was showing off more than usual and was being as funny as he could be. I don't think I've ever explained his personality. He LOVES to talk. Nope, that's an understatement. When you're in the car with him, from the minute the door closes, he talks until the minute the door opens again. It's like diarrhea of the mouth. I worked last night, so I only had about 4 hours of sleep between getting home from work and waking up and having to meet them. He was such a piece of work. I honestly have no words for the experience. Preschool Queen calls spending the day with him the perfect form of birth control. I think it truly explains why children come to us as infants; because if you got them as a 7 year old, you'd go insane. I know it may sound like I'm complaining, but truly, we had a really great day, and I'm quite happy I took the night off to be able to spend the day with him. I must have enjoyed it, I'm babysitting tomorrow night!

I should say here that the movie was quite fun. I was pleasantly surprised, and will not be remotely surprised when a sequel comes out. They very nicely left the door open for that.

April Showers?

So, here's the view outside my window this morning. I had such high hopes that winter was over. When I got back from the cruise, the weather was actually nice, spring like even...how foolish of me. At least these spring time snow storms don't last very long; and hopefully this is the last one for the season.

If you're wondering, I got the schedule that I wanted, or rather I got my second choice; can't complain too much. So, I'll now have Sunday and Monday nights off. Working on Saturday night isn't so bad, and will also increase my salary. So all is good, I guess.

Played a big joke on Will last night. Was shocked that he actually believed it. I couldn't carry it off though. I felt so very bad lying to him that after about an hour and a half I had to tell him the truth.

More later!

UPDATE!!!

So, I checked the weather report after posting, to see what may be in store for the next few days...it's supposed to snow each day for the next 7 days!!! I'm moving to Australia...

Schedule picking

So, finally, tonight, all the angst of the schedule pick will be over. Our group (the last one) will be posted this afternoon after 2pm. I'll just be glad to have it over and to know what sort of schedule I'll have for the next 6 months or longer...Hopefully it will all work out for everyone. I'm guaranteed a slot on third shift. I had to make 11 selections and there were 11 third shift slots left; but hopefully it won't come down to that, because if it does, Will wouldn't be on the shift anymore; and I really hope he is. So, like I said, I'll know what is going on tonight when I get there! Everybody think good thoughts for Will and I!! I already know I won't get my first choice, someone else higher in seniority already chose it. He's a pretty nice guy, but I'm not altogether too sure how I feel about him coming back to nights. This is going to sound stupid, but the last time this guy was on thirds, Will and I didn't hang out all that much, because he was too busy hanging out with this guy. (Will and I disagree quite strongly about this point. Will says that it's not true, but I maintain that it most certainly is.) And I'm afraid that Will won't want to hang out with me again. I will say that our friendship has changed a lot since then, and has gotten much stronger, so it's possible that it won't happen...we'll see, I guess.
Will played a really mean April Fool's joke on me on Sunday night. He told me that there were only 3 slots left on third shift. I was in full blown panic mode before he let me off the hook. I was so mad at him...
Anyway, I'll keep you all updated on the schedule!

Costa Maya, Mexico

The first pic is of the dock and port of Costa Maya from our balcony. Isn't the color of the water just amazing?

The next two are temples at Chacchoben; and the last one is of the stairs down. What a fun climb!!

Georgetown, Grand Cayman

The harbor at Grand Cayman is too shallow for the cruise ships to dock. So, they have to drop anchor further out and then tender tourists to the island. The first picture is of the tender behind the one I was in.

On our tour of the island we went to the Turtle Farm. They raise Green Sea Turtles for food there. The place was just so cool. We could hold them and take pictures. It was just a blast.

The next picture is of Hell, Grand Cayman. It's a natural limestone formation. The locals have taken advantage of the tourist situation and put a store and a post office there to take advantage of the fact that you can now say: "I've been to Hell". And of course you can send all of your friends a postcard from Hell as well.

Finally, Margaritaville is where we had lunch that day. Really great Conch Fritters!

Freeport, Bahamas

These three photos were taken on Monday, when we were in Freeport. The palm tree and the buildings are in the Lucayan Harbour and the last photo is of the ship from the ground after we disembarked.

Cruise Wrap Up

As promised, much more to post. I got some great advice from Will regarding the previously posted situation. Basically I just ignored her when she was in one of her moods, and did whatever I wanted to do. Whether she liked it or not is not my issue. So, I had a bunch of fun.
Thursday we were in Costa Maya, Mexico. And it was such an awesome day. There were only two cruise ships in port that day, ours and a Royal Caribbean ship. The RC ship left shortly after we got there, so it wasn't crowded at all. Costa Maya is a town that has basically been created in response to the popularity of cruising. The port is new and is just beautiful. The beaches are just gorgeous. Unfortunately all of the water related activities were cancelled on Thursday because of rough seas as well as jellyfish being everywhere. However, that wasn't our issue because we were headed to Chacchoben to see Mayan Ruins.
It was about an hour bus ride from the port to the ruins; and our tour guide was just great. She provided all sorts of information about the Mayan culture and the native species of the Yucatan Peninsula. As we were driving along, we got to a military checkpoint. Costa Maya is very close to the Mexican/Belize border. The military is checking for illegal immigrants being smuggled into Mexico. Our tour guide said that the border area has a lot of problems with people from Guatemala and El Salvador being smuggled into Mexico.
Chacchoben was abandoned about 800 years ago. The landscape in Mexico is incredibly flat. And so when there is a mound of some sort, it's usually a ruin of some sort. Chacchoben was found in 1972, and excavation began in 1994. The absolutely fascinating thing about the area is that only about half of the structures have been excavated. The other half are still waiting. And so you can really see what things looked like there in 1972. The buildings are just fascinating. The temples were off limits for obvious reasons, but the staircases that go to them were available for climbing. It was so darn cool (and really pretty challenging). We went up one set of stairs, and then went down another set. The second set were really intense. As you stand at the top, it's just a sheer drop of stairs down. (I'll post the pictures later). Then we walked through the jungle to see where the villagers lived. I could go on and on and on and as I was walking all I was thinking about was how much it looked like something right out of Indiana Jones, except it was real! I can't wait to go back to Mexico and spend a week or so. I want to go to other Mayan ruins; and then maybe visit Aztec and Incan ruins as well in future trips.
When we got back to Costa Maya we did some shopping. I have some basic Spanish skills, so I decided to try them out while I was there. I was shocked to see that I could communicate well enough to get by there. I was also amazed at how friendly and happy people were when you would speak their language. I bought some beautiful dresses there.
I have to say, Costa Maya was certainly the highlight of my vacation; and as I said several times, I can't wait to go back!
Friday was another day at sea, travelling from Costa Maya to Ft Lauderdale. It was a great day, I spent most of it at the pool enjoying the water and the sunshine. It was perfect!
So, all in all, I would say that cruising is awesome. And I can't wait to do it again. When I called Lead Momma from the airport yesterday, she wanted to know when we were all going to book one. I told her we could go as soon as she wanted to. For anyone who hasn't done it, I highly recommend it. Carnival rocked! The cruise staff was just amazing. It was customer service done right. I've never experienced anything like it. The staff on the Liberty was just amazing!!
Photos later!!

I'm Home!

I'm home safe and sound, if only a little sunburned...
I'll dish tons later, must go buy food!