A Much Needed Humor Break

It's a little long, the quality is poor, but damn! this is funny....

Exhaustion

I have no real excuse for not posting for awhile except ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

I've been really, freakin tired.

I don't know if it's a matter of coming down from the week after the week in Seattle, if I've been fighting something or if my body is just tired of waking up in the middle of the night with racing thoughts and a pounding chest. Yea, stress'll kill you.

But last night it was so warm out and the air smelled so deliciously of autumn that I just had to walk up to Niles Beach for the sunset. I'm so glad I did.

That picture doesn't do it any justice, since it was taken with a camera phone, but the light, the waves, the sky, it was all so beautiful.

I returned home full of peace and managed to hold onto it for most of the night.

And then ....

When I woke up I had no emails from the boss. Not one. Not a single email from CrazyBoss Lady. And this scared me.

So now, the thing I have been praying for has come to pass and now I am nervous.

Really, what the hell is wrong with me?

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....