Monday, September 18, 2006

my apologies for the length of this...

I hate when it's been so long since I last posted, because then I don't even know where to begin. This past week was just really busy -- I guess I'll start at the beginning of last week, and do a very brief synopsis:

Sunday I attended several Code Pink meetings, which went well (we're planning some good stuff for the upcoming International Day of Peace!) but lasted all day, and upon my return home, my sister Bethany & I spent 3 hours baking these special cookies for our sister Sarah's birthday, which was lots of fun, but caused me to have to bail on my plans with Dan to go see The Protector that evening. (Already, you can see my week starting to get hectic!) I felt awful, because we'd been talking about seeing it all weekend, but I promised him we'd see it the next day.

Monday I worked, and then had a Boston Knit Out meeting in the evening. Afterwards, I ran to meet Dan at the theater so we could finally catch our movie! It was pretty good, although mostly for the muay thai fight scenes (the story was rather hard to follow, as they stupidly cut out about a half hour of footage from the "Americanized" version -- I hate when they do that).

Tuesday I worked again (lots going on at work these days!), and then headed over to the library to save seats for Bethany & Dan to see the Sacco & Vanzetti documentary that was being screened in the Rabb lecture hall. The film was pretty good, definitely better than the last one Dan & I watched at the North End library a year ago, but it was still rather slow, and unfortunately I didn't learn much. But it is still always a very interesting story to consider. After the movie, I rushed to get back to Downtown Crossing so I could meet up with Alison & Amanda, following the CodePink Book Club meeting that I had been forced to miss out on, having to choose between a one-time screening & a potentially fantastic discussion! But we got to sit & have some coffee & teacakes (yum), and we developed some great ideas for the group -- I can't wait to really get working with these fantastic ladies! It was another late night, though, so I was glad to cut it rather short, knowing we were going to plan another meeting soon.

On Wednesday (after a long night of preparing/packing), I got up at 5 to shower & get ready, and then walked over to South Station with all my luggage (I was determined not to pay for a cab, so I arrived with aching arms!). I hopped on a bus to Southbury, CT (via Hartford), and that all went fairly smoothly (except for the sock story, that I will tell another time). My boss picked me up from the bus station & I worked a half day in Woodbury, although we stayed pretty late & I ended up arriving back at my parents' house around 7:30 or 8. Mom & I had a late dinner at Friendly's (I always love our dinners together; it's starting to become a tradition!), and unfortunately I didn't get to stop & see Jen's new house like I had promised because by then it was way too late, but oh well. We were both exhausted, and it wouldn't really have been worth it for only a few minutes, so instead we both got sleep & made a deal to meet up the next time I am in town.

Thursday was a really long day: I started work in Woodbury at 8am, and around midday, my boss & I headed over to the Southbury Crown Plaza (nee Hilton) hotel, where an interior decorator conference was being held. We ate lunch with the decorators & then spent the afternoon in roundtable discussions with them, learning about what their thoughts on our product are, and what they'd like to see changed or improved. It was a pretty positive session, which relived me greatly, because I was terrified that everyone was going to be absolutely cruel in their complete hatred of the product & all of its problems (in reality there aren't a ton of issues, but in my mind there are zillions). Following that, I had a dinner meeting at the hotel's restaurant (during which I had a bad experience with a salad tomato, but then a fantastic one with a yummy shrimp & avacado wrap!), which seemed to go on & on & on as I grew more & more anxious about missing out on celebrating my sister Sarah's birthday!! Fortunately, I apparently finally fidgeted enough (I was so trying not to! I know it was work!) that my boss drew the meeting to a close at close to 9, and I finally got back to my parents' house, where we ate a yummy chocolate cake (and I don't even like chocolate cake! way to go, Dad!) and I got to present Sarah with the gifts that Bethany & I had collaborated on. It appears that she really liked them; I hope that's the case! (Happy birthday, Sar!)

I got up at 5 again on Friday because my boss & I had to arrive by 7 at the hotel conference room to set up our display (at the vendor fair) for the day. I was exhausted from a late night previously, but surprisingly made it through the entire day without even feeling slightly sleepy -- probably due to the fact that we interacted almost constantly with people who were interested in our product or in the upgrade that I had to install on several computers. I spent the day very busy (I coded in between interactions), but was nonetheless very glad to see 4:30 (and the end of our time at the conference) roll around. I got back to my parents' house shortly thereafter, and we shared a fun Mexican meal at Puerto Vallerta. I relaxed at the house for the rest of the night, because my plans had changed on very short notice -- instead of riding up to Great Barrington with Dan's family, I instead was to take a bus up to Lee, MA for pickup there. So I spent the night watching a movie and half-knitting, half-napping (I was so tired from the nonstop week). It was nice & relaxing.

Saturday (I'm trying to keep this really short, I promise!), my parents & I had some fun tag-sale-ing before I had to hop on the bus in Hartford. My layover in Springfield allowed me to meet up with Dan, and the 2 of us rode up to Lee together, where we were picked up by Dan's family. We spent the afternoon in various towns in that area of the Berkshires (it was so pretty with the leaves starting to change!), and the evening having dinner at a family friend's house. We slept over at another friend's cabin on a lake, which made me desperately want a lakeside home of my own!

And finally Sunday was the Josh Billings, so we all got up super early to grab breakfast & then head over to the race. We dropped Dan & his bike off first (as he was to bike the first part), and then I canoed across the lake with BJ & Barb -- we had a good time chatting as they leisurely paddled over...watching other way-too-serious-about-this-race people zipping by us, haha. In any case, the race went well for everyone involved, and following a mini-fair that was held to celebrate the participants (wherein I got to eat cotton candy & corn-on-the-cob, yum!), Dan & I finally, finally headed home. Boy, had I missed it here...xoxo

Currently Reading:

TITLE: The Beauty Myth
AUTHOR: Naomi Wolf

TITLE: Confessions of a Recovering Slut
AUTHOR: Hollis Gillespie

TITLE: Another Bullshit Night in Suck City
AUTHOR: Nick Flynn



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