Tangible Tidbits 2011 #1: A New Year, A New Decade, A New Leaf...

Welcome to 2011, everyone! I hope people rang in the New Year safely. :D

Well, I have to admit that I don't have much to report this week. I kind of took a lot of the week off from my Something Tangible efforts. I'd been "burning the candle at both ends" for quite a while working here and at the office, so I decided to take a mental and physical break from the business. I didn't have anything pressing to deliver, although I do have a few projects to do "as time allows." However, since I wasn't given a deadline by the clients involved, I figure they will forgive me for taking a bit of time for myself over the holidays. ;)

I did make my flight and arrival shuttle reservations for the Empowered Entrepreneurs conference I am attending at the beginning of February. I still have to look into off-site parking for that weekend near Newark Liberty International Airport. I will be leaving work at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday (February 3) and my flight is at 2:45 p.m. I may as well go straight to the airport, rather than go home to drop off the car and then take a taxi. I've been assigned a roommate, so she made the hotel reservations for us both. We're staying at the conference hotel...The Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. I've eaten at a Hard Rock Café before in Las Vegas, but I've never stayed in one of their hotels. Should be fun! :D

On a personal note, I started my New Year's Resolution early. Having been snowbound at home on Monday -- we had a MAJOR snowstorm in New Jersey, in case you missed it on the news -- I went to the gym right after work on Tuesday, and went every day for the rest of the week! :D I basically decided to start immediately with my new work schedule, so I could develop the habit right away. There were a few days I left work later than I'd planned, and I thought about skipping the gym...but I made myself go anyway. :p

Looks like my Intermediate level Metalwork & Jewelry class starts on Tuesday, January 18. That gives me a couple more weeks before I start Tuesday night classes. At least I can now watch Hawaii 5-0 on Monday nights! LOL Still no grades posted for last semester. :\

I'm going to find something relaxing to do for my last "vacation" night. Take care and have a great week! :D

Tangible Tidbits 2010 #18: Hanging In There

Hey, all! Not much business news to report this week. I kind of took a "time out" much of this week to recover from a few major blows. My colleague's wake and funeral were Wednesday and Thursday. Very emotional for me. :( And then on Friday, we were hit with layoffs in my department, including my immediate supervisor and another friend. Talk about a week I never want to repeat! :p

Ironically, I found myself doing something I hadn't done in eight years...I took solace in watching movies this weekend to escape reality. That was something I'd done for the majority of my life, even going so far as to work in the local movie theater during graduate school. I always enjoyed "disappearing" into the world on the screen for a couple of hours, and not thinking about real life and/or the problems associated with it. After my father died in 2002, I stopped doing a lot of the things I "had always done" because they were too painful. All music reminded me of him, as he was a drummer and liked all kinds of music. So, I stopped listening to it until a year or so ago. It took that long for it not to push negative buttons in me. I'd stopped watching television because everything on TV seemed trivial after 9-11, and reality TV really turns me off. I stopped watching movies because everything I did try to watch had a traumatic element to it, even if it was not publicized as a dramatic film. I had enough drama in my life...I didn't need to watch movies to get even more depressed! :\ I had replaced one screen for another, opting to spend most of my time online instead. For whatever reason, however, I found myself turning to movies again for solace. The idea of spending time on the computer holds less appeal right now than it did most of this past decade. I ended up watching "The DaVinci Code" with Tom Hanks on Friday night, and the special features disk on Saturday afternoon. I had read the book years ago and enjoyed it...I'd been wanting to watch the movie for a while. Then, I saw "The Back Up Plan" with Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin on Saturday night. Very cute movie! Of course, I am partial to anything with Alex in it, since I was a fan of his short-lived "Moonlight" vampire series. He really carried off his leading role in "The Back Up Plan" well! Looked good doing it, too! ;) Then today, I watched "Romancing the Stone" and "Jewel of the Nile" -- both with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. I loved those movies back in the mid-1980s, and I'd recently found the Special Edition DVDs for a good price at Columbia House. I also watched the special features for both movies...I've always loved that behind-the-scenes stuff. :)

Two more weeks to go at my current job. It should be an interesting experience, since there will be so many people missing and the rest of us will have to pick up the slack. I am a team player and I don't mind pitching in, but my primary responsibility will be to train my permanent replacement. He or she is being transferred in from another department, and training starts tomorrow.

Hopefully, my "weekend off" will help me get my head back in the game, as I do have a couple of projects I'd like to complete for colleagues before I leave. If not, I will still be going to the gym next door to the office for at least a few months -- until my personal trainer contract runs out. Don't you know, I had just signed up for 36 sessions before I made the decision to leave?! :o

So, now you're up to speed on my personal life. I will try to have "something tangible" to report next week. ;)

Take care and stay safe!