It's All About Me

Annual Review

Yep, they love me at work. ;-D

I just talked to my boss for my annual review (my 2 year anniversary), and she said that they wouldn't know what to do without me because I take care of so much stuff (annual reports, Medicare, warehouse openings, various research projects, etc) - which I suppose is a good thing , but it could be a bad thing b/c then they won't ever want to promote me. :-(

She said that I take on a heavy workload - it certainly doesn't feel like that - I get bored a lot. I told my boss that it doesn't feel like I have that much of a workload, but she said I take on more than most in this department. O.K. well, if you say so. So she gave me two more projects to research of which she was already going to give me before I said I didn't feel like I had a lot to do. I appreciated it b/c I hate being bored. I like to keep as busy as possible so the day goes by faster. Of course, next week, I need to start sending out applications for two new warehouses opening in June and July, so I'll have more to do then. It's just been boring since I haven't had an opening since December.

She also said that whenever I complete research for any of the attorneys or any other department, she gets feedback from those people telling her that I did a very good and thorough job. I wish they would remember that more and give me more legal research to do versus license related research, but I suppose I need prove myself some more to them. They said it might be a while before they would hire me as an attorney (if ever), but one of the attorneys gave me hope by saying that she started as a paralegal, but a few years later, they hired her as an attorney.

So with all of this, I get a 4% raise - there is still a freeze on raises unfortunately, so she couldn't give me anymore. And I get 2 weeks vacation (finally) and 3 floating holidays. Of which, the 3 floating holidays and 2 days of the vacation will be used in March to go to Oahu - SO VERY EXCITED about this trip. I just ordered some prescription sunglasses yesterday so I have them in time for my trip. And I switched eye doctors too since my other doctor moved to Bellevue. The eye doctor at the Issaquah store looks so young - almost like a Michael J. Fox kind of look.

My Weekend

Because I know everyone is just dying to know how my weekend went (b/c it is all about me), here's a recap.

Friday - I took the day off from work, so the day started with me sleeping in an extra 2 hours. That was soooo nice. Then Paul and I had to be at the Shoreline District Court at 10 for me to contest my traffic ticket for my accident. So we got there a little before 10, and waited my turn. We got to listen to other people's stories of their accidents, including one woman who refused to believe she deserved the ticket (Paul and I both though she was guilty). It was quite amusing to watch her and have the judge remark that he felt he was in a Marx Brothers movie. The woman said she was going to appeal, and the judge said o.k. and when she left he said that he was going to take a recess before she realized there was a $20 nonrefundable fee. Her ticket was for $128. Oh, and she wanted to know why she got a ticket in the first place 1 whole month after the accident if she's guilty - shouldn't she get it right away? Well, I didn't mine until 1 month after the accident! The judge said that they need time to investigate the accident. Anyway, it was entertaining.

Later that day, Paul and I went to go pick up Jon from work and we went on our merry little way to Spokane. We dropped off Paul at his mom's place, then we went to my parents house. While my parents were at Chad's school to watch him in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Jon and I watched Lost in Translation. I thought it was an o.k. movie - I wasn't blown away by it, but I didn't hate it either.

Saturday - In the morning, we went over to my grandparent's house to visit. My grandfather has lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw him. He has been going through chemo for a while. He apparently also had a blood transfusion the other day b/c his red blood cell count was low. He seemed really weak. :-(

Later that day, we went shopping at the mall and at Target. I bought Whale Rider b/c I liked it so much. Then that night, Jon, Trina, Seth, my aunt Renee, my grandmother, and myself went to go see Chad in the musical. I thought it was a funny musical and I thought Chad did very well, as did the guy that played Bud Frump and the girl that played Hedy LaRue. Chad played Mr. Twimble. I thought Chad had a good voice - better than what he said he had - he said he sounded like an "american idol reject, but people are supposed to laugh at me". My parents have the movie version of the musical, so I brought it over with me to watch sometime to compare. :-)

The next play they are doing is The Outsiders which was one of my favorite books as a teenager.

Sunday - we came back to Seattle after having lunch with my parents, brothers, and aunt Renee. When I got home, I watched the last Sex and the City ever. :-( Not as sad as Friends ending, but still sad. I thought it was a good ending for the series, but the episode almost felt rushed. I'll miss watching that show - though there is still the first half of the 6th season I haven't seen, so I have the release of the DVD to look forward to.

And now back at work. The ducks in the pond seem to be having some sort of meeting b/c there are at least 20 of them in the middle of the pond swimming next to each other. Very interesting.

well, that was my weekend. And this week, my brother-in-law and my nephew, Daniel, are coming over so Daniel can have surgery. He has to check in on Wednesday and the surgery is on Thursday.

Exercise

So I've decided to get back into an exercise routine. I took a good couple weeks or so off, now I need to start working out again. What pushed me to start working out again?

Swimsuit shopping.

I went swimsuit shopping on Sunday and it was just horrifying. I wouldn't have put myself through that torture if I wasn't going to Oahu in March.

It's funny how in high school when I was skinny and I could go over to my grandparent's house anytime and go swimming, I chose to cover myself up as much as possible. Then, at least, a bikini wouldn't have looked that bad.

Now, I really should be covering myself up, but I decided on a tankini. It doesn't look that bad, I suppose, but a little toning wouldn't be that bad of an idea - nor would any weight loss.

So today, I worked out at the gym at work - 1/2 hour on treadmill, 15 minutes on abs, and 15 minutes to get ready to get back to work. I plan to work out some more when I get home - some weights perhaps. Hopefully, tomorrow the elliptical machine will be available - I wish I had one of those at home.

And I had a healthy breakfast (Special K) and I'm having a Lean Cuisine lunch (it's not that good and the problem with these is that they don't keep me full that long) and a cup of mandarin oranges (which with the syrup probably isn't that good for me). Don't know what I'll have for dinner. If anybody has some good ideas on healthy meals, let me know.

The problem with me though is keeping up the motivation to workout and to eat healthier. I'll have to keep reminding myself what I look like in that swimsuit or remember that I would actually like to have a good running time at Bloomsday. I've lost weight before, I can do it again. Though I was unemployed then - I could actually find the time to exercise then and for a longer period of time. And I control what I ate better then b/c when I'm bored at work, I tend to eat or go down to the deli to find something to eat. And we didn't have a car then, so I would have to walk to the store to find something else to eat if I was bored. And I would walk to the post office or the mall. I don't walk anywhere anymore after the car - though now we are a bit far away to walk, I think.

I really need to push myself to be more active outside of the normal workout routine - hopefully, when the weather is nicer. I can go on walks or on hikes. It would be nice to be able to make it to the top of Mt. Si again - it is so nice up there. I'm looking forward to one of the places we are staying at in Hawaii b/c it has a total of 12 miles in trails that people can walk around - that will be very nice. That will motivate me to work out if I'm in a nice warm pretty place by the ocean. Too bad I don't have that here!

O.K. That's all for now.

Survivor

I just got through watching the Survivor from this past Thursday and from the week before. I've got to say that I really like Richard - I don't know what it is about him - and I don't know why he has to walk around naked most of the time - I guess I just think he's funny. Going after the shark like that and biting it as the shark was biting him?

And I never really liked Jenna M. before, but I just had to feel for her when she took herself out of the game because she just knew something was wrong with her mother and her battle with cancer. How sad to learn at the end of the episode that her mother passed away 8 days after Jenna left the game. How sad it would have been for her had she stayed in the game and then came home to find her mother had passed away. I'm not sure why she would leave in the first place knowing that her mother was ill, but maybe she thought her mother would be o.k. like she was when Jenna was filming the last Survivor - I'm glad though that she was able to be with her mom in her last few days. That episode just made me really sad. : (

I'm So Excited...

Yay! In just a little over a month, I will be in (hopefully) sunny Hawaii on the island of Oahu. Yay!!!!! I'm so excited - I can't wait!

We will land in Honolulu on March 17 at 9:25 p.m. HI time. We'll stay in Waikiki at the Aston Aloha Surf Hotel for two nights.

On Thursday, our plan is to go to Pearl Harbor and see the U.S.S. Arizona memorial, as well as go aboard the U.S.S. Missouri. I've been told we should visit the swap meet that is at Pearl Harbor. I still need to get tickets to go aboard the Missouri - it looks like tickets range from $22.50-$28.50 depending on the extent of tour you want.

After visiting Pearl Harbor, we plan to go back to Waikiki and visit the International Marketplace. I've been told by a couple coworkers that this is a cool place to go and look around.

On Friday, we head up to North Shore, Hawaii to go the Turtle Bay Resort. This looks like a really nice place, and it is also pretty secluded. My boss said that it is a much different atmosphere to be there than it is to be in Waikiki - it is much more relaxed. (and just so you know the prices on their website are so completely different than the price we will actually pay).

We'll stay there until Monday - we leave Oahu at 10:25 p.m. on Monday and arrive back in Seattle at 5:50 a.m. A nice red eye flight, but it gives us more time to spend on Oahu. I'm not sure what we'll do on Monday. Probably just do whatever. The only three things that I want to do is go to Pearl Harbor, go to the International Marketplace, and see Emily get married to Chris. The rest of the time is open to whatever Emily has planned or just hanging out on the beach, which will be VERY nice.

I wish I could go now, but I still have to plan the shuttle to and from the airport (I was told not to rent a car until we are going to North Shore as parking in Waikiki is a pain and is expensive), to and from Pearl Harbor, I have to get tickets to go on the Missouri, and I have to rent a car for Friday through Monday. That stuff shouldn't take that long to set up, but I probably should go get a different swimming suit too, and I hate shopping for a swimming suit - it is very depressing - I have never liked going swimsuit shopping even when I weighed 105 pounds. Swimsuit shopping could take a while.

Anyway, looking forward to March 17!!!!!!

Indecision on Digital Cameras

I guess I'm having some indecisive ramblings of my own. I thought I had picked the camera I was going to get, but it turns out for what I want to use it for the Canon SD100 2x model wouldn't be good. So now I'm back to wondering what camera I should get. I'm thinking the Canon A70 looks good (Kelly pointed it out to me) - it is the same price the SD100 is, but is has a 3x optical zoom. I am tempted though to go for a camera with a 4x optical zoom, but I'm wondering if I can really afford to spend the extra $100 it might cost me. I'm already spending a bit of money on Hawaii, but then again, I should be happy with my camera purchase as it will have to last me a long time.

I was once put off by the design of the A70, but I think it could be o.k. Every website I've been to has given it favorable reviews, and most everyone who owns one seems to like it or love it as is the case with a few reviews I read. I'll test the A70 out this weekend (or maybe tonight if I have time before I meet a friend for dinner at the Olive Garden). Hopefully, I will have made a decision soon because I am just too eager to have a digital camera since it is my first one.

Since my last entry...

this is what has been going on...

I went to Spokane for just a little bit I left work about noon on Friday,the 6th and the pass was just horrible. I couldn't see the lanes and it was snowing or raining hard most of the time I was driving over there. The drive home on Saturday was much better. It was foggy, but at least I could see the lanes. I brought my sister and 3 of her kids back with me for Daniel's surgery - that isn't going to happen now until the 26th because he has an infection that they have to get rid of first.

Saturday, I also found out that the hearing for contesting my ticket will happen on the 20th. At first, I thought I would contest by mail, but I've been told that it looks better if I take the time to show up. So that's what I'm doing at 10 a.m. on the 20th - as is Paul - he's my witness but he got a subpoena from King County to show up. After the hearing, we'll go pick up Jon and go to Spokane again to go see my brother in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". I think he'll do a great job and I'm excited to see it!

Sunday, I went to a friend's bridal shower. It was nice - good food, and I got to see some people I haven't seen in a long time. This friend is getting married in Hawaii on March 21 and Jon and I are going. I am VERY excited about this trip. The last time I went to Hawaii was for another friend's wedding. That wedding was on Maui, this wedding is on Oahu. I hope that the weather will be nicer this time than it was last time. It rained most of the time we were there.

This week, I've went to work. Came back and tried to entertain my sister and her kids. We went shopping a little bit. And I found out that February is not the time to buy gloves at Target - too bad because my other ones are torn. My sister and her kids are now gone back to Spokane - they left this morning - they should be about 1/2 way there by now, if not more, depending on if they stopped at all - and they probably did with 3 kids in the car. On Friday, even with the pass being crappy and everyone going about 35 mph, I still managed to get to Spokane in under 5 hours. However, driving back on Saturday when the weather was nicer, it took us close to 6 hours.

Anyway, that's all for now. This weekend, I'm hoping to buy a digital camera so I can take many pictures with that in Hawaii, rather than many disposable cameras (of which Jon hates).

More on Super Bowl Halftime

Here are some more of my scattered thoughts on the whole thing, and the effect it is on having in this country...

O.K. First of all, I don't get the big deal surrounding the bare breast incident. I can understand that some feel that the show was an act of sexual aggression, but it just didn't shock me. After all, MTV produced the show - what did CBS or the NFL expect especially considering who was going to be performing in the show? Have they not seen those videos or read the lyrics for the performer's songs? CBS did say they watched the rehearsals - so they knew what was going to happen (except for the bare breast). If they wanted a more wholesome family show, perhaps they should have had people besides Kid Rock or Nelly perform in the show.

But now there is someone who is actually claiming she was injured by the show.

How exactly was she personally injured by this show? I don't understand. What was the difference between 'lil kim wearing that little pasty on one of her breasts at the Grammys a few years back and what Janet Jackson was wearing during the halftime show? And not only did 'lil kim wear that pasty, Diana Ross actually jiggled 'lil kim's breast. How was she not injured with that? Maybe she wasn't watching that, who knows?

I just don't know what the difference is there. Why didn't the FCC care about that? Diana Ross touching 'lil kim's breasts aired before 10 p.m. Well, whatever.

And then ER, feeling the pressure from their affiliates, has decided to edit a scene that shows an elderly woman's breasts. This shows airs after 10 p.m. - the hour that less restrictions are placed on network television. Plus, this is an adult show - the scene comes up while a woman is being examined by a medical doctor. At least, with this scene and unlike the Super Bowl halftime show, the bare breasts are in the right context.

Another thought I had after reading different articles on this is that it is just sad that people in this country are so uptight about seeing a person naked on tv or in a magazine or whatever, but when it comes to some of the commercials shown during the Super Bowl - no one seems to be getting up in arms about that. Weren't some of the commercials crass or classless?

Or what about violence on tv? Do people get uptight about that? I'm sure some do - but apparently, not enough to change what the networks show.

I wonder what next year's show is going to be like. Is anyone going to watch it next year? Is this going to change what the networks will show from now on? I guess we'll have to wait and find out.

Cologne/Perfume

WHY do people think it is o.k. to wear the whole bottle of cologne or perfume? A guy in my van seemed like he decided to take a shower in his cologne not only today but yesterday as well - it was WAY too much. I had trouble breathing. I'm surprised that I don't smell him right now considering we are on the same floor.

It's funny though that no one in the van has said anything to him, but when it was this other guy that is no longer in my van, they were telling him all the time he was wearing too much cologne.

In fact, they never were really nice to this guy at all because when it came time to wait for him to get into the van (he has cerebral palsy), they were impatient to wait an extra minute or so for him to get into the van. He showed up to the transit center on time (most of the time), he just wasn't in the van on time. He has cerebral palsy - give him some time to get to the van once it shows up! Is he supposed to stand outside in the cold waiting for the van or can he stay in his warm car and wait? They said to him that the van leaves right at 6:45 - S. has to get to work over at the company he works for - and this is making him LATE! How dare he make S. late!

However, they are all o.k. with waiting for J. to get off the bus - that usually shows up after 6:45! Doesn't S. still need to get to his work on time? What changed?

Can we say hypocrits?

Albeit, I really didn't like the guy that left - he was REALLY irritating - yelling at cars and pedestrians for no apparent reason most of the time. He was talking on his cell phone VERY LOUDLY most mornings. Though it was amusing sometimes to argue with him over politics - though apparently, he got so upset that others in the van disagreed with him that he decided he needed to find a more "conservative" van (unfortunately, I wasn't there the day of that drama). So now he drives in the opposite direction of work to catch a van.

I can understand his desire to find a different van. Most of the time, I wish that there was another van from Northgate not because I disagree with them on some things - only because some of the people in the van are so irritating - just the way they talk and act or suck on their hard candies.

They probably find me irritating too - they always say, "Heather's the quiet one," which apparently is a horrible thing to be in their world. I'm quiet because most of the time, I don't have anything to talk about with most of the people in this van. They care about different things than I care about or they work in the same kind of position so they have that in common. If I have something to say, I'll say it, but most of the time I don't have anything to say with the stuff they're talking about.

Alright, enough complaining for now... :-D

Stuff - Nephew & Grandfather

I'm on my way to Spokane this weekend to go get my sister and 3 of her 4 kids and bring them back to Seattle (Kendall doesn't want to miss school, especially her Valentine's Day party).

My nephew, Daniel (6 years old) is having surgery on Thursday, the 12th but they have to meet with the doctor on Monday, the 9th to discuss the surgery and get some x-rays done. Daniel has kidney stones and he keeps getting infections due to the stones. Hopefully, this surgery will end his kidney problems.

Though it's under unfortunate circumstances, I'm glad that my sister and most of her kids are coming to stay with Jon and I. It'll be an interesting experience, I'm sure, but also a fun one. Connor's (another nephew) birthday is on Thursday, and he'll be 3 - so I can celebrate his birthday with him a little bit.

My grandfather's birthday is also coming up - it's on Sunday - I think he'll be 75 this year, so I'll get to see him when I'm in Spokane and say happy birthday. He's been having some health issues with cancer. As far as I know, things seem to be going o.k.

Housewarming

Well, we had our housewarming this past Saturday, and I think it turned out pretty well. Thank you to everyone who came and thank you for the gifts! I really appreciate everyone coming.

Several people came by to see the house. It was fun. We got to meet some more neighbors, and they were really nice. Jon made some curry, and that was really good. We played some games and just chatted about random things. A few of us left for a little bit to go see Kelly's house (I felt guilty for leaving the party and I wish I would have stayed, but no matter how much I try to suppress it, I have this feeling of not wanting to be left out of anything). We listened to the "party favorites" channel on digital cable - though I'm sure it wasn't the favorites of some people. :-D However, I think things went well - and I hope everyone had a good time. :-)

Heather's Map

Here are my maps of where I've been - my world map isn't so impressive...

create your own visited states map
or write about it on the open travel guide

create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide

Super Bowl Halftime

This morning, there were four of us in the van - all women. All the other women are in their mid 40s to upper 50s. They were complaining about the Super Bowl halftime show and how if they had gone to the Super Bowl, they would be pissed that they saw a show that didn't cater to them because after all, the kind of people that can afford to go to the Super Bowl don't like Nelly or Kid Rock or Justin Timberlake. Uh-huh.

I'm thinking that there are some people my age that can afford to go to the Super Bowl who also like this music and I don't think most men mind women who are scantilly clad dancing around either.

Anyway, they said it was just horrible. All of them. Then I said, actually, I liked it. I like Janet Jackson (most of the time), I like Kid Rock (a couple songs), I like Nelly (sometimes), and I like Justin Timberlake (most of his songs are on his solo CD is o.k.). One of the women said that I'm just young and that's why I liked it. Woo Hoo, I'm young!

One of the women was also talking about Janet Jackson and how it is all about how she likes to show off her breasts and how she hasn't had any different music since she first came out. However, I had no idea what she was talking about with Janet Jackson and her showing off her breasts until I got to work and found out about the "controversy." I thought she was just talking about how J.J. likes to wear clothes that push up her breasts or whatever. But apparently, she was talking about this.

I watched the halftime show and I saw J.T. rip off some of J.J.'s costume, but I apparently somehow missed that her breast was showing. CBS cut away very quickly after he did that, and now I know why. I realize that it aired during a time that children are watching, but really, a naked breast just doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me.

Anyway, that's all for now...

So....

I've noticed that I've made a lot of entries that start with the word "so". I must like that word or something. ;-D

O.K. off to watch the Super Bowl, then Survivor All-Stars. Go Rupert!