Pause

I have a lot of ranting still to do. Clearly I am not completely at peace with all the BS going on at work. Which is evidenced not in the least by my tearful phonecall w/ TiaMarie while in the taxi on the way home from the airport tonight.

But I'll sleep on all the ranting. No good will likely come of it anyway. And I aspire to be unlike my boss and delay forced gratification.

So, instead, I will post pictures of Seattle. It is a beautiful city filledwith beautiful people. The light rivals that of Gloucester. But one thing they far surpass us on is the small details. (I've always said the devil is in the details.) Go for a walk in Seattle and notice the brass or copper carvings inlaid along the sidewalk. The artistry on the directional signs. The sculptures and fountains along the paths along the water.

If Gloucester could ever even moderately imitate some of the scenic touches Seattle has incorporated, we'd be that much better off. Of course, I realize this doesn't all come for free. Maybe Gloucester can start lobbying tradeshow organizations..........

Losers Club Goes toa Sculpture Park

So, a little background is necessary to understand how F*cked Up this story is:

I've been going to tradeshows for many, many years. It's just part of the deal when you're in marketing. I have made many friends, had many lovers, and drank many bourbons, all at tradeshows. Most of my tenure at these events has not involved healthy activity. It's often involved booze, it's occasionally involved "romantic" liasons and very seldom involved getting extra work done or going to bed early to wake refreshed and vibrant for the day ahead.

This week has been different. I've been getting up early to do my morning yoga and get a workout in. To accomodate my 4:45 alarm, I've been going to bed pretty darn early. I have had no more than a single glass of wine with dinner. And instead of picking up random people at hotel bars, I've been joining my colleagues for banal banter over over-priced meals.

So, tonight, a Friday I might add, I decided I wanted the night to myself. I was pretty tired and pretty stressed out and I needed a little time to relax and unwind. Did I want to spend my Friday covorting in drunken debauchery? Did I want to put on my dancin' outfit and hit the clubs? Did I envision waking up tomorrow morning barely remembering the night before? No. I wanted to go to a sculpture park. Honestly, I just wanted to go for a quiet walk in the Seattle Center, enjoy the night air and maybe get a little Thai food. I know, living on the edge.

I should have just told the boss lady this. I should have been honest. But instead, I told her I was going back to my room and retiring early.

Which is why it was kind of hard to tell her, when she called about 45 minutes later, that I was two miles away and not anywhere near the hotel to let her into my room.

You see, she'd picked me up "a little something" and wanted to drop it off. It's the nicest, sweetest thing ever. And yet, it's also a total and complete invasion of my "Me Time." But that won't ever cross her mind. What will cross her mind is that I lied and she caught me in it.

Of course, what sucks the most is that I couldn't enjoy my walk nor my hastily wolfed-down dinner. Because I had to rush back to the hotel and run interference. Which I did (moderately successfully I might add).

So I got no down time to enjoy myself. And I got even more emotionally worked up than I'd been before. (And don't even get me started on Prima Donna Director and his merry antics or I'll NEVER stop ranting). And tomorrow I have to wake up bright and early and play Company Girl again.

I'm going to have to find a way to set some boundaries or parameters. I just don't know how to. How do you tell your job that you want to see other people?

Let's Be Bestest Buddies Pals Friends

I know I need to post an actual, real-type, post, but I'm damn exhausted.

I'm in Seattle on a team meeting/tradeshow. Have been here since Monday. Awoke 4:45 am EST Monday and thus it began. Not getting home until 7:45 pm EST Sunday. We're eating almost every meal together. We're stuffing five of us in a 10x10 booth space. We're becoming the tightest-knit of teams.

I'm ready to gag.

Not to mention that there's a million and five other things that need to be done and - frankly - I'm just too fried, mentally, to do them by the time night rolls around. Which is why I'm in bed, watching Supernatural and posting to my blog and not WORKING.

Now, don't get me wrong. I still love the new jobby job. But this pace is really running me down. Add to that the fact that next week is going to be just as hectic (if not even more so, in other ways, of course) and you have one very grumpy, Kalesy.

I'm trying to keep it in perspective by doing lots of yoga (here!), enjoying the city and consuming lots of coffee (Oh! the COFFEE!). But I'm going to have to find a way right quick and soon to get some serious relaxation on.

In the meantime, tomorrow I'll try to post the picture of me with the amazingly hot guy who's a "fish thrower" down at Pike Place Market. That place is amazing! If I didn't love Gloucester quite so much, I just might consider moving to a different fish city....

Read This Blog

My former roommate has started a blog. This woman is one of the most well-read, highly-educated, humorous, snappy, sharp, and basically amazing people I have ever met. Plus, she has this amazing collection of Jesus paraphernalia....

She has started a blog and shames me with how topical and spot-on her commentary is. I would love to be so educated. Alas, I post about train debacles and the fact that I'm having an on-again off-again with a scuba diver who should have died eight years ago (when he promised to).

But at least I have educated friends. Maybe some of their smarts will rub off on me.

Read this blog: http://liviaaugusta.wordpress.com/

Bridge to Nowhere

I feel the need to share - John McCain stayed in the same Hilton I was shacked up in while in NYC. I got to see him whizz by in his motorcade while thousands of our tax dollars at work stood by and maintained "crowd control."

As his car came down the street, his white hair gleaming as he benevolently waved and smiled to his adoring fans, I blew him a raspberry.

I couldn't help it. It was an involuntary response to authority.

By the chants of "OBAMA! OBAMA!" I wasn't the only one.

Losers' Club Takes a Train Ride - the Sequel

So, what's better than being on an Amtrak train with your crazy boss for five hours on a Friday night?

How about, getting stuck on that train for an extra three hours because the train in front of yours on the tracks has passengers that are rioting.

Seriously.

Apparently, the commuter rail riders Friday night got fed up with their train breaking down and stopping. So they got off the train. In the middle of the track. And just, you know, decided to walk to the station instead.

Our train was stopped in the name of safety until they could round up all the nouveau pedestrians.

And all the while, my boss was TapTapTap on her latop.

I probably should have continued to work in kind but - honestly - I'd had enough. It was 8 p.m. on Friday and I'd been with her every moment except for the five I was sleeping, for two days. I was DONE.

From now on, I'm going to warn everyone when I get onto a train. Warning: Riding a train with Kalesy will result in delayed arrivals. And insanity ensues.

Seriously

Why is it that when my life comes together, everyone else I know falls apart?

To my friends: Ya'all need to get into therapy. Intense, serious therapy.

Seriously.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled lives.

Never a Dull Moment

Apologies for the lack of postage. I have been exhausted. Getting up before the sun to get a workout in and so very much to do at the new job that I've been staying late. And the later I stay, the harder it is to catch a train home.

Didn't help that last night - while suffering through a bout of Sunday night insomnia - my neighbors decided they were going to have a raging beer party. So raging, in fact, that I actually got up, put on a robe, and went over to ask them to turn down the music. Oh yea, did I mention they're both dads in their 40's?

So, of course I was exhausted today. And completely unprepared to deal with the fact that one of the Directors - the one I really liked when I was interviewing - is resigning. I can't fault her at all - she's leaving to take care of her parents who are older and in declining health. But it definitely means more uncertainty and instability in the department.

And - with uncertainty comes manic boss mania.

Actually, to give her her due, today she was pretty together. But I can't wait to see what the end of the week holds.

It's not lost on me, by the way, that this week is September 11, the anniversary of my split with Mr. Zips and - OH YEAH - I'll be in NYC on business. Irony, much, oh ye Universe?

I'm sure additional stories will ensue. After all, we've got a train ride down together and a train ride back together. Because we're cousins, identical cousins and you'll find....