Peppy's Dream Moving Adventure Blog

It’s the first of July and my first day in my new position in HR.  I had a great day today!  It was very different getting off at the third floor with my ride, instead of riding up to the 6th floor.  As soon as I got to my desk I put my purse down and went up to the 6th floor to pick up my stuff.

It’s amazing how much stuff you accumulate, even when you’re a temp!  I had my box of tissues (I ALWAYS need my tissues), my notepad, my extra pair of black kitten-heel mules (they’re almost like slippers!), my Betty Boop mug and Betty Boop mouse pad (which says “Peppy’s Pad”), my cereal, and my stash of plastic forks, spoons, knives and paper plates and bowls.

I was back at my new desk when I saw one of the girls from the group upstairs come into HR.  She was carrying a vase with gorgeous flowers – and they were for ME!  I couldn’t believe it.  I almost started to cry.  She said she wanted to thank me for being such a breath of fresh air and wanted to wish me good luck in the new job.  She is one of my decoupage students and she’s a beautiful, lovely girl and it meant the world to me.  All the girls in HR were standing there and heard her saying how much they were going to miss me upstairs, and I think they were a little shocked.  After all, I’m just a temp!

Once I got settled at my new desk I then had to deal with Support getting my computer up and running.  Since the temp who previously sat at this desk moved to Trading today, and the woman who worked in Trading moved to HR today, Support had their hands full with us this morning!  I finally got everything set up and had access to everything I needed in order to get my work done.

At 11:35am I went upstairs to the 6th floor to meet with the group that was going out to lunch.  We were taking out the new intern to welcome him to the group (even though he’s been working for 2 weeks already).  We went to POSEIDON ON THE BEACH, a beautiful restaurant in Del Mar that is absolutely RIGHT on the beach.  We sat on a large balcony under an awning and watched the waves roll in, people playing volley ball, swimming, playing with boogie boards, and sunning on the sand.  It was a glorious San Diego day with a strong sun and a cool breeze.  Perfection!

Everyone said the fish tacos were the best in San Diego, so most of us got that as an entrée, but we started with Ceviche (seasonal fish and bay shrimp marinated with lemon and lime juices, cilantro, onions and tomato), and fried calamari, because the intern had never had it before.  He’s a young kid from Chicago and he’s adorable.  He was “interrogated” all during lunch about Chicago, where he’s been and what he’s done since he got here, and how he likes it so far.

The fish tacos featured beer and tempura battered fish lightly fried to a golden brown, served in corn tortillas with napa cabbage, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, salsa fresca, and chipotle aioli, served with lime wedges and fries.  I ate both tacos, but left the fries.  There was just too much food!

We had a great time, talking, laughing and enjoying the views and the weather.  We were not happy to go back to work, but off we went.  When I got back to work I started shredding.  HR produces a lot of highly confidential documents and, although the firm has a shredding service, the HR department has their own shredder and likes to shred certain things themselves, just to be sure.  I spent over 2 hours shredding and filled up four big plastic bags.  I was actually sweating, because I was working hard and it was a little hot by the machine!

In between, I would work on the computer, printing out any email resumes and distributing them.  I got a LOT done, emptying two boxes of shredding!  They really appreciated it and it passed the time quickly.  I love keeping busy!  I also did a couple of other small projects, including putting together packets of information that are given to interviewees when they come into the office.

When I got home, Eric was out riding, so I relaxed and played with Conrad.  He’s such a sweet boy.  He’s so pretty, too.  His coloring is spectacular.  I gave him more veggies, but of course he hasn’t touched them.

When Eric got home we had ravioli and salad (both leftover from last night).  It was fast and easy!  Tonight is Part I of the finale on HELL’S KITCHEN and we couldn’t wait!  It’s been a really entertaining season and we are anxious to see who is going to be running Gordon’s newest restaurant in Los Angeles.  It's Christina vs. Petrozza and I think Christina's going to win.

I spoke to my niece, Melissa two times today and I’m happy to report that she’s okay.  She just hasn’t felt well for about a month and they’re still trying to figure out exactly what’s wrong with her, but she is home, going to work, and hanging in there.  We hope you feel MUCH better REAL soon, Melissa!

I’m really enjoying working in HR.  It’s not that I didn’t enjoy working upstairs in Investment Services, but this is SO much more interesting!  It’s all about people!  Hiring people, interviewing people, people looking for work.

Do you know I received a resume today that was ELEVEN pages long?  I don’t think there’s many people who have done enough in their lives to brag about it for 11 pages.  I don’t know what kind of job this guy was going for, but let me tell you that ELEVEN pages is NOT going to make a good impression.  I always think a resume should be one page, unless it’s SO darn impressive that you just can’t contain it to a single 8-½” x 11” piece of paper!  I’m sure even Bill Gates’ resume isn’t 11 pages!

Anyway, a few candidates have head shots on their resume.  They’re small – maybe 1x2 – but I thought that was new!  There was another email that had a picture of a woman’s legs as if she was sitting in the chair with her feet on the desk.  All you could see were her legs and feet.  It said, “I’m just trying to get a foot in the door!”  I thought it was clever, but don’t think it’s very corporate, or professional.  You DO have to admire her originality!

This morning I learned how to take the photo for the ID cards all employees are given, which have to be used to attain access to the elevators and certain floors (especially HR – it’s locked up tighter than Fort Knox!).  The new hire sits down and the camera is pre-focused.  The picture comes up on the computer.  You crop it and send it to the “printer” which is a machine that puts the photo on the ID card and then laminates it.  It’s very cool!

I organized a desk today that had been used as a “dumping ground” for the past few months.  It now looks like a normal desk, although there are lots of piles that someone needs to go through, because I don’t know what’s important and what’s junk.

I started my next John March Mystery by PETER SPIEGELMAN called “Black Maps.”  It was his debut mystery.  I started with RED CAT, his third, and there is already a major character in this one that appeared in RED CAT.  I feel like I already know John March, so I’m already enjoying it.  I have to admit, I only got to read for a while at lunch and then a few minutes before I left.  Otherwise, I was too busy!  Looks like my reading days here are over.  Well, it was nice while it lasted!

As my ride and I were walking to the car she told me how much they already loved me in HR!  I was so thrilled.  She’s so nice.  I’ve really been working hard, trying to show them how grateful I am for this opportunity and how much I appreciate it.  They’re all SO nice to me – but then most everyone in this firm is great!

When I got home I was so happy to see Conrad.  He’s such a cutie and he’s getting more and more acclimated to his new environment.  Eric’s been giving him fruit, and we don't think he has eaten any yet, but today I found a half grape on the floor of his cage.  We didn’t see him eat it, but he must have had some of it.  I told Eric we should have checked for beak marks before we took it away!

Eric made us a delicious dinner of steamed broccoli and those veggie latkes I love so well.  He laughs when I call them latkes, because they’re supposed to be veggie burgers, but to me they look and taste more like a latke.  I LOVE them!

After dinner we watched an episode of MONK that Eric had never seen before.  The new season starts July 18th.  We can’t WAIT!  Then, we watched AMERICA’S GOT TALENT and SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE.  It amazes me how much Eric enjoys these shows and how spot on he usually is with his critiques.  He knows talent when he sees it!

Tomorrow is a half day at work and it’s going to be VERY quiet.  A few of the girls in HR are out and there won’t be much going on.  It will be an easy ½ day and then three days off.  Wheeeee!

Sorry this is late.  I was just too bushed last night to blog!  I may only have worked a half day, but it was a LONG day!

Work was pretty easy.  There were a lot of the girls there (more than I expected), but they had a meeting from 9:30 – 11:00am and I was the only one in the whole department!  One girl who is in charge of payroll gave me another big box of shredding.  I spent about an hour doing that.  I really don’t mind it (Jimmy says he loves shredding!).  I find it very relaxing, just feeding the paper into the slot, hearing the machine work and seeing it all disappear.  The hard part is compacting the shreds, so I can fit more, and then removing the full bag without making a complete mess (I usually do).  In just a few days I shredded about 8 bags!  They really appreciate it and I don’t mind at all!

I also did my usual print, save and distribute resumes, but the flow has slowed down considerably.  I guess people figure it’s a holiday week and many are on vacation.  They’re right, but things are still hoppin’ in HR.  Another project I’m working on is setting up internal interviews for people within the firm applying for a position.

I had brought a small salad with me, because even though we were getting out at noon, I knew I wasn’t going right home.  I wanted to run some errands.  Noon rolled around pretty quickly and I left, taking my beautiful vase of flowers home.  I poured out most of the water, leaving only about a cup in the bottom, and put it on the floor by the passenger seat, surrounded by my purse and little lunch bag, thinking that would keep it standing up.

Not the way I drive!  It fell over a few times (luckily I had rags on the floor (from Eric!) to wipe up the little bit of water that spilled out).  I was actually driving while holding onto the vase with my right hand.  Let’s just say they came home much worse for wear!  Boo Hoo!  They were SO gorgeous and now they’re kind of sad and droopy.  I’m sure part of the problem is that they ended up staying in the car without water for a few hours, but I digress!

I wanted to go to a particular shopping center that I knew had a shop called PAPYRUS.  They have them all over the country and I had been to a few in New York.  It’s a fabulous shop where they sell cards, wrapping paper, and other paper items.  I LOVE paper (that’s why I’m a decoupeur!) and this shop makes me drool!  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it – even with the help of Betty!

I programmed her to find the closest one and she found the shopping center, but it was SO big that they had underground parking lots.  I drove through one and couldn’t find ONE spot.  I drove out of there and found out outdoor parking lot and couldn’t find a spot there either.  The shopping center was large and I had NO idea where the store was and I figured I was better of NOT going, because I’d end up spending money anyway, and wasn’t it better not to?

I ran a few other errands and then, as I was waiting at a light, I looked in the mirror and noticed my roots were getting very long.  It’s funny with my hair.  One day it will be fine, and the next day you look in the mirror and – yikes! – WHERE did those dark roots come from?  So, on a whim, I called HAIRSPRAY (my high-energy, snob-free salon in HILLCREST) and John was actually able to see me, so I made an appointment!

I got there early, so I went to FLASHBACKS, one of my favorite vintage clothing stores in HILLCREST.  My absolute favorite (WEAR IT AGAIN SAM) is just too expensive.  I love it, but most of the clothing is priced pretty high.

In FLASHBACKS I found a fabulous brown pleated skirt with a floral design along the bottom and a cream-colored crocheted short-sleeve cardigan for $22!  The two will look fabulous together!

When it was time for my appointment I got my hair done.  As usual, John had a million stories.  It wasn't too long, because I didn't get a haircut this time, but this boy can talk!  He's entertaining, and I'd love to hang with him and have a meal, but when you're getting your hair done, you just want more dying and less talking!  Anyway, after he was done I went home and relaxed for a while with Eric before heading to PACIFIC BEACH for dinner at HAIKU.

We tried some rolls we never had before and they were all FABULOUS!  We also tried this new appetizer (along with Shumai and Vegetarian Spring Rolls) (I forget what it was called) that was jalapenos stuffed with rice, cheese, veggies and fish.  DELICIOUS with a kick!

After HAIKU we drove to HILLCREST for gelato at our usual joint – GELATO VERO.  I decided to change it up a little, so I got Eric’s favorite – Chocolate Hazelnut – but instead of Espresso Bean, which I usually get, I got Blackberry Sorbetto.  It was SO intensely sweet and delicious.  We brought it home and had some while we watched AMERICA’S GOT TALENT.   Eric loved it!  It’s so refreshing!  Gelato and Sorbetto is our favorite dessert!

I was fading quickly, but I still managed to watch SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE before I fell asleep.  It wasn’t even 11:00pm!  Even though I only worked 4 hours, I had spent a few hours running errands, then had my hair done, and then came home, and then went out to eat, and then got dessert and so, by the time I got in bed to watch TV, I knew I wasn’t getting out again!

Anyway, it was a fun day and I’m looking forward to a great long weekend!

I woke up at 9:30am.  The first thing I did was blog, since I was too tired last night (as you know).  Then, Eric and I relaxed for a while and watched the elimination show of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE.  Eric said I should decide what we were going to do today.  We already knew what we wanted to do tonight.  We decided instead of driving someplace, and dealing with parking and traffic (which is difficult at any great spot showing fireworks), we’d take advantage of our proximity to MISSION BAY and walk down to the water.

It was a hot one, and the apartment was as stuffy as usual, so I decided we should go someplace where we could be in air-conditioning.  I looked at the schedule for the movie theatre 3 miles away and saw that GET SMART was playing.  It’s a movie I really wanted to see, because GET SMART was one of my favorite TV shows when I was growing up, and I LOVE Steve Carell!   There was a 3:30pm show, so I told Eric I wanted to do 3 loads of laundry, go food shopping and then we’d come back and relax before heading down to the bay.

He walked me down to the laundry room and I put the three loads in the machines and then he walked back to the apartment and I took off with my little cart to the supermarket.  I bought some snacks for tonight and did a regular food shopping for the week.  By the time I got back, I put everything away and then it was time to put everything in the dryer.  I did my “5 minute steaming” on the clothes I wanted to hang on the line and then left everything else in the dryer and came back up.  We hung everything on the line and then we ran out the door to catch the 3:30pm show.  We got there just in time for the first preview.

GET SMART was really fun with a great cast – Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson and Alan Arkin.  There are also some great actors in supporting roles and a lot of fabulous cameos (I won’t give them away here!).  It was really fast-moving with lots of big laughs (and lots of little laughs, too).  We highly recommend it – especially if you liked the TV show!

After the movie, we decided to get a late lunch/early dinner (it was 5:30pm).  We drove back to the apartment, parked the car, and walked up the block to La Dolce Vita, our favorite local Italian restaurant.  They have a great soup and salad bar.  Eric got eggplant parmigiana and I got a halibut special with crabmeat on top and a bed of spinach underneath.  Delicious, but we both ate only half of our meal, because we had so much soup and salad!

When we got back to the apartment, Eric took a nap for an hour and I watched UGLY BETTY and talked to Conrad.  At 7:30pm we put together a cooler of snacks and drinks and a bag with a blanket, pillow and cuddly jackets and we walked down to the bay.  It’s about a mile, but it’s all down hill, so it wasn’t bad at all.  We were smart to walk, because we never saw so many cars in the parking lot or the entire area since we moved here.  It was crazy!

We found a great spot on the grass where we had a view of the bay all the way from one side to the other.  We watched the people enjoying themselves (there was quite a crowd) in and out of the water.  When the sun went down, things quieted down and everyone prepared for the fireworks.

My work ride told me that there would be at least 3 different fireworks displays to see and she was right.  There were actually about 5 going on, and when they were all done the SEAWORLD fireworks started and they were the closest and most spectacular.  We had a great view and it was really nice.  Of course, I forgot my camera, but I probably wouldn’t have been able to capture much anyway.

We enjoyed some snacks, some drinks, some ice cream, and the beautiful night and the glorious fireworks.  After it was over (about 2 hours had passed) we headed back up the hill.  The walk up was definitely harder.  I was a lot more tired, it was dark, the streets were crowded with other people, and it was all uphill – a big hill – a very, steep, big, mile-long hill.  I definitely felt it in my legs, and I was a little out-of-breath, but it was a good workout.

When we got in, I jumped in the shower (my third today – I think that’s a record!) and then I sat down to blog while Eric watched some show on tornadoes.  It was a really fun day.  If it wasn’t so hot in the apartment, it would be great, but it’s so stuffy here when it’s hot, so it makes it necessary to get out, because it’s not that hot outside.  There’s always a nice breeze and even with the three fans going it’s still SO hot in the living room.  The fans seem to bring the cool air into the bedroom, but it never makes its way into the living room.

We have no other plans for the weekend, but I’m sure we’ll find something fun to do.  Eric said we could take a drive to a town we’ve never visited before and my work-ride told me that Carlsbad would be a lot of fun, because there are antique shops and lots of great restaurants, so I’m going to google that and see what I can figure out for tomorrow.

I hope you all had a lovely July 4th holiday.  I forgot to mention over the last few days that it was my brother-in-law Rich’s birthday, and my sister, Lenae and Rich’s 30th anniversary.  So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to them!

The Cougher downstairs was singing in the shower this morning at 7:47am.  What an idiot.  It’s not enough we have to hear him cough up a lung every single morning (I don’t know how much he smokes, but it has to be a LOT).  It wouldn’t be so bad if he could sing, but he’s awful.  So, I was pretty much up at 8:00am.  I tried to go back to sleep, but it was impossible.  I think his singing freaked out Conrad, too!  Eric woke up, but went back to sleep.

I had brought home my book BLACK MAPS and I decided to read a little.  After a while I came out and worked on the computer.  At 9:30am I went back into the bedroom and turned on the TV.  Eric was still half asleep and I watched SHE’S GOT THE LOOK, which is the TVLAND reality TV show about women over the age of 35 trying to make it as a model.  It’s down to the final 5.  Good stuff.

Eric and I decided to drive to Carlsbad today, which is about 35 miles north of Clairemont.  It’s a cute little town with lots of great shops (lots of little antique malls) and some great restaurants. 

Eric was very patient, walking through shop after shop with me.  I was very good – I didn’t buy ANYTHING, which is unusual.  I found some gorgeous vintage barkcloth which, if you don’t know, is described by Wikipedia as: “a soft, thick, slightly textured fabric so named because it has a rough surface like that of tree bark. This barkcloth is usually made of densely woven cotton fibers. Historically, the fabric has been used in home furnishings, such as curtains, drapery, upholstery, and slipcovers. It is often associated with 1950s and 1960s home fashions.”

I LOVE bark cloth.  I have always loved bark cloth – especially vintage bark cloth.  Those of you who knew my shop know that I had a 10-foot high curtain across the back of my shop, dividing my workroom from the front section.  This curtain was made of new barkcloth, which was black with a Hawaiian floral design.  I brought it with me to San Diego, because I am hoping to someday use it for curtains and upholstery.

Anyway, this piece of fabric I found in Carlsbad was a 2 yard piece of vintage barkcloth on a black background with an Asian design.  It was FABULOUS.  It was $50.  I figured they’d come down 10% or even 20%, but they were firm.  I wanted it, but decided I didn’t have a particular use for it right now and it will probably still be there in six months if I go back, so I decided to leave it there.  I just didn’t think it was worth the money, but it was SO beautiful and in perfect condition!

I also saw a couple of beautiful rhinestone pins and Eric thought I should get one or two, but I resisted.  I really have enough pins to last me a lifetime and don’t get more unless it’s a gift, or a GREAT price.  I don’t like to pay more than $50 for a piece of vintage jewelry.  Most of the time I spent under $30.  There are great bargains to be had out there.  Carlsbad’s prices were pretty high, but it’s a tourist town, so it’s to be expected.

After shopping for a while, we went to a little Cantina and had lunch.  They had such a great menu.  Eric had a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich and I had a crab melt.  It was like a patty melt, or a tuna melt, but with crab – on sourdough bread.  YUM!  Eric’s came with fries and onion rings, but I got a salad with blue cheese dressing.  When we went into the place, which was primarily a bar, it was totally empty (at about 3:00pm).  When we left, it was packed with a bunch of kids.  We were at least 20 years older than all of them – probably closer to 25 or 30 years older than some!  Boy, I felt old!

They had a jukebox, but it was something I’d never seen before.  Not only didn’t it play 45s, it didn’t even play CDs.  It seemed like the music was downloaded.  Yikes!  I’m old!  This girl went over, put a dollar in and played some tunes.  All of a sudden “EYES WITHOUT A FACE” by Billy Idol came on.  It made me feel older than ever, because when I was THEIR age, I was dancing to that in the clubs.  Now, they play it because it’s an “oldie.”  Boo hoo, I’m old!

After lunch, we walked around some more, in and out of more antique malls.  There was one that had one of those rotating jewelry cases that I had in my shop (which I miss terribly).  I told the woman that they don’t make them anymore, they’re hard to find, and they’re very valuable.  I don’t know if she believed me, but she seemed happy to hear it!

After we hit all the stores on STATE STREET, we got back in the car and drove all the way down a side street to the water.  We drove along the beach, past a power plant, and then drove all the way back and got to another part of town.  There were a few more antique shops there, and this time Eric waited in the car while I shopped some more.  Still no purchases, but I did see lots of great stuff today.

I’ve always been perfectly happy to window shop.  I love to look.  It reminds me of things I had in my shop, things I’d love to collect, things I have collected, things I’ve had and sold, etc.

Eric enjoyed it, too.  He really doesn’t mind walking around and looking at all the old stuff.  He’ll find something really horrific, like a giant gold metal frog on a base of gold Chinese coins that looked like something you’d find in a tacky Chinese restaurant.  It was huge!  He'd come find me and say, "I found something we need" and he'd show me the giant frog.

He also liked looking at all the books and was hoping to find something to read, but he, too, came up empty.

We headed back to Clairemont and I fell asleep in the car (naturally).  When we got home I immediately took a nap.  I was bushed!  Eric watched TV in the living room.  When I woke up at 8:00pm, I saw that I had missed a bunch of calls, including our friends Geri and Larry, whom we had called on July 4th.

Since we met Geri and Larry in 2003 we always spent July 4th at their beautiful home in Sea Cliff.  That was something we really missed this year.  Larry’s a fabulous cook and would go all out preparing a fabulous meal.  Geri and her granddaughter, Emily, would decorate the house, and the deck, with red, white and blue, making it a patriotic extravaganza!  Their deck overlooks Glen Cove and we had a perfect view of the fireworks.  We always enjoyed our Independence Day celebrations with them!

Eric was watching MY COUSIN VINNY and an Elvis Presley movie, but I wanted to watch a movie I had recorded this afternoon, before we left for CARLSBAD.  It was called WHISPERS and was about these 3 guys and a girl who kidnap a kid who turns out to be the devil.  It was very “THE OMEN” including the devilish kid (who was a great actor) and the wolves who come to protect him.  Eric figured he'd already seen the other movies, so we watched WHISPERS.  We enjoyed it!

Then, we watched the last half hour of MY COUSIN VINNY, which we’ve seen a million times, but never tire of.  It’s a classic!  “Are those MAGIC grits?”

Tomorrow we’re going back to the flea market.  Eric wants to buy some sneakers, and I want to talk to the bird guy.  They give you this list of fruits and veggies you’re supposed to give the bird, but my question is, “How do you get him to EAT it?”  He won’t touch anything but seed.  I had this same problem with my last few birds and I tried EVERYTHING.  I finally gave up and they lived on seed and seed alone.  I’m determined to get Conrad on a healthy diet.  We’ll see what the “Bird Man” can tell us!

We woke up around 9:30am.  It was very overcast, but it didn’t stay that way.  By the time we showered, dressed and drove to the flea market the sun was shining.  We walked around and Eric got new sneakers (black), a SUBLIME – Live in Concert CD, and some bungee cords that he uses to hold the bicycles on the RV.

I didn’t buy anything, but I did talk to the “Bird Man.”  He said that’s a common problem and all birds are different.  Some love a varied diet, others prefer seed.  He said to keep putting the veggies and fruit in there, as we have, and he may, as he calms down more and acclimates more to his environment, start to eat it.  He also recommended buying some treats that contain dried fruit and seed mixed together into little balls, which get him started on different tastes.

We left the flea market and passed a PET SMART, so I jumped in and got the fruit treats.  We’ll see how they work.  Then, we drove to Little Italy for lunch.  We ate at a place called FILIPPI’S PIZZA GROTTO.

There are many locations around San Diego.  In fact, we’ve been to the one on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach!  This one has a storefront selling everything you can imagine – a genuine Salumeria.  In the back is the restaurant.  We waited on a line for about 10 minutes and then were seated in a smaller room with lots of wine bottles with straw bottoms hanging from the ceiling (it’s the same in Pacific Beach!).  There was a cute mural on the wall dated May 1968, so I guess this place has been around for at least 40 years!

We shared a mushroom pizza, which was very thick and cheesy -- and really good.  We had two slices leftover and took them in a small box.  Then, we drove a few blocks to a gelato place that had been recommended by my trainee at work.  It’s called PAPPALECCO—A Gelato Lounge.  I was going to attach a link, but if you click on it, you’d see they have a new website coming soon, and there’s nothing to see there now.

It’s a small corner store in San Diego with lots of little tables and chairs outside.  They serve the same kind of things as GELATO VERO – gelato, sorbetto, pastries, and coffee and coffee drinks.  It’s a little more fancy and trendy, and they had a few more choices of flavors, including banana, apricot, strawberry, pear and vanilla.

I got the Pappalecco flavor, which is chocolate with amaretto flavor and also some called caffe which was, of course, coffee flavored.  Eric got something called stratiatella, which was milk with bands of chocolate, and also tried a pure hazelnut.  The flavors we usually get at GELATO VERO are Chocolate Hazelnut and Espresso.  I wouldn’t say this place was better, but it was different.  Their gelato was more like ice cream – much more creamy, while the other place is more like ices.  I enjoyed trying a different flavor or two, but I wouldn’t say I’ll only go there from now on.  I still love GELATO VERO!

After that we drove back to the apartment.  It was almost 4:00pm.  Eric wasn’t feeling well – he’s had a headache for a few days – so he took a nap and I was going to read, but after a few pages I put the book down and fell asleep, too.  We woke up at 5:30pm.

We relaxed and watched TV (STAR TREK) and then 60 MINUTES.  They had a story about how it takes 2 cents to make a penny, but eliminating them from the system would cost millions.  They say that if everything was rounded off (and it would be rounded up) it would cost millions and the poorer people would be the ones to suffer.  I see people drop pennies on the street and not even bother to pick them up.  I think they’re a big waste.  They said it only takes 6 cents to make a bill – any denomination, but it takes 2 cents to make 1 cent.  Does that make cents -- I mean sense?

We had a smorgasbord of leftovers for dinner – fish and eggplant from Thursday and pizza from today.  Fast and yummy!  We watched some Sunday night cartoons that Eric enjoys – The Simpsons and King of the Hill.  Family Guy was a repeat we had both seen, so we just changed channels and watched some of DATELINE, some stand-up on COMEDY CENTRAL and some other shows.  This was a nice, long weekend and I’m not ready to get up early tomorrow for work.

Tomorrow I start training for my 8-12 job in Key Relationship Management (KRM).  There’s a temp there who’s going to train me for an hour or two tomorrow and Tuesday.  That’s his last day and I officially start my new hours on Wednesday: 8-12 on the 6th floor in KRM; lunch from 12-1; 1-5 in HR on the 3rd floor.  I think it will keep life interesting as I’ll never be anyplace long enough for it to get boring!

KRM believes they only have enough work to keep a temp busy for 4 hours a day and it would have been very difficult to find someone who wanted to work those hours (just 20 hours a week).  Most temps are willing to work part-time if it’s 8 hour days a few days a week, but they don’t want to commute to a job 5 days a week and only work a half day.  That’s why they’re happy to have me, because two groups can put me to use for 4 hours each and I still get to work full time!  I also believe I can do more in 4 hours than most people can do in 8!

I was a little nervous about work today, because I was going to start training at my second job.  There was a lot to do in HR, because of the long weekend, so I was pretty busy, but I managed to get most of it done by 10:00am.  I went upstairs to train with the temp who has had the job for the last 7 months.  He’s leaving, because he’s moving back to Los Angeles.

I sat down with him and he started by showing me one of the systems they use in this department to keep track of clients.  It’s a database that needs to be updated as people change jobs, positions, etc.  It keeps track of everything.  He showed me how it worked, and I took copious notes.  It wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

Then, he started showing me another database.  This one was really complicated, and there were a lot of different functions.  I was starting to get a little overwhelmed, but his last day is tomorrow, and we only had today and tomorrow to train, so we both figured we’d better keep going.

I think he was doing a good job of explaining things, but I can only write so fast and it seemed like I was writing down things I would never be able to understand the next time I read my notes.

Then, he started explaining how the person in this position has to send emails to clients with documents attached that are updated every quarter.  He was showing me where the folders were that contain the documents, the folders that contain the emails, the folders that contain the “rules” (because each client likes to receive the documents in a different way).  It was VERY complicated.

When the boss (who is a doll) came over to ask how it was going, I confessed that I was feeling very overwhelmed.  She said not to worry and that I could handle it.  I wasn’t convinced. 

After two hours, I went back to my desk.  I had a headache, a stomach ache, and was completely unnerved.  I immediately sought out my ride and asked her if I could talk to her privately.  I explained that I was VERY hesitant to take this job.  I felt like I was not up to it.  I told her if I was JUST going to be doing this job, it wouldn’t be so bad, but I’m only going to get to focus on it 4 hours a day, and then will be focusing on HR the other 4, so my attention will always be divided.

I told her if I was going to have training for a few weeks (I trained MY trainee for over a month!), it might not be so bad, but tomorrow is his last day!

I told her that if I was a data entry specialist, and more experienced in this area, it might not be so bad, but that is NOT my strength.  I’m an EA (Executive Assistant) and I’m more used to the basic day-to-day admin and organizational jobs, rather than maintaining databases!

I told her any one of those three things might not be bad, but the combination was really making me nervous!  She is SO sweet and she immediately put me at ease.  She said if I didn’t want the job, I didn’t have to take the job and she would get someone else.  She understood everything that I was feeling, and I told her that in my few conversations with the boss in the last few weeks, she never explained to me what the job entailed, and I just assumed that it was similar to what I have been doing for the past 6 months!

My ride spoke to her boss, who spoke to the woman I would be working for, who emailed and asked me to come upstairs at 2:00pm to discuss it.  I went in there and was perfectly honest with her, explaining to her exactly what I had explained to my ride.  She said that she thought the temp had overloaded me, without meaning to, because he knew his time with me was limited. 

She said I WOULD have training and support after he was gone, for as long as I needed it, because the other two people on the team are expert in the two databases.  She said they would never just “throw me to the wolves” and expect me to just do it without help.   She said they will either be showing me and I watch, or watching me while I do it, and I would be closely monitored, because the work is very important and they want to be sure it’s done right.

She explained that she’s going on vacation from July 15th until August 9th and that if I was willing to try the job until she got back, then we would review the situation.  She said she didn’t want me working there if I was unhappy, and that I was a temp and wasn’t committed to anything.  I told her I would commit to working for the next month and see how it goes.

I felt a LOT better when I left her office, because I realized I would have the support and training I need, and that I wasn’t locked into this job, if I didn’t want to stay.

I told my ride that I wished I could just stay 8 hours in HR, but I understand that they need me in this other department, too.  The good news is – I got a raise!  I had asked my agency for more money, since I had been working steady at this job for 6 months and was doing a good job.  I was embarrassed today, because I felt like I asked for the raise before I knew what I was getting into and if I DIDN’T take this second job they probably wouldn’t want to give it to me!  Well, now I’m going to try, and they know I don’t really want to do it, so I feel I deserve the raise!

So, the rest of the afternoon was a lot better than the morning!  I learned a new database in HR, too!  This is a database that keeps track of where everyone sits.  HR receives emails every time someone arrives, departs or moves to another location.  I took each email and input the appropriate information for each employee.  It was fun and easy.  See, I can learn!

When I got home, Eric was busy, busy, busy.  He had taken apart the back room and rearranged everything.  He was organizing and moving things around.  He’s been making piles of things he wants to take with him in the RV, when he goes back to NY.  He’s leaving the big stuff, but taking lots of his tools, because he will need them either for his bicycles, or to work, or to set up an apartment.  It makes me sad to see him doing all this, but I understand that he’s doing what he thinks is best.

I did some research on the computer regarding sleeping habits of parakeets, because every parakeet I’ve ever had has slept with his head turned around and nestled in his back.  That’s the normal position for most birds.  Conrad likes to just hang his head and sleep.  It looks like he’s about to fall off the perch!  His head is almost touching his feet!

I was kind of freaking out, because it looked so weird, but I actually found a picture online of a bird sleeping like that and they say that some birds just like to hang their heads!  Conrad is so cute and sweet, but I worry about him, because he’s still getting acclimated to his new home and I thought maybe his weird sleeping position was a result of stress.  I’m glad to know that’s just the way he likes to sleep!

There was absolutely nothing on TV tonight, so I just played with Conrad, read my book (BLACK MAPS) and hung out with Eric.  The summer has begun and TV has slim pickins’!

I feel a lot better about going to work tomorrow and I’m really going to do my absolute best and try to do a great job.  I want them to see that I’m worth the raise they gave me (which was really nice).  Eric says I’m worth a lot more and they’re lucky to have me.  What a guy!

From the moment I get to work these days I have a lot to keep me busy.  The only chance I have to read my book is during lunch!

I worked in HR from 8:00am – 10:00am and then I went upstairs to get more training in KRM.  I trained from 10:00am till noon and then I went back downstairs to have lunch, read a little, and do more work for HR.  At 2:00pm I went back upstairs to train again, and then returned to my desk at 3:30pm.  I worked a lot, getting some interviews scheduled for next week, sending out emails, typing up schedules, and printing out comment sheets and resumes in preparation for the interviews.  It’s actually a lot of fun.

One of the bosses in HR is turning 50.  She’s gorgeous and I thought she was around 40.  The other girls bought her all kinds of “50” decorations in the card store, and some “turning 50” gag gifts.  After she left at 5:00pm, we all decorated her office.  It looks so cute.  One of the girls sent around an email asking us all to wear black tomorrow.  We did the same thing for a guy who turned 40 in my other department!  We stayed in the office decorating until almost 5:30pm, so I didn’t get home until 6:00pm.

Eric wanted to go out to eat, but didn’t want to hit the usual spots.  My ride had told me about a great place in HILLCREST called TAPAS PICASSO on 4th Avenue.  I told her that Eric and I love to try lots of different dishes and she highly recommended it.  We drove to Hillcrest, got a spot right across the street and had a delicious meal.

They have a Happy Hour special Monday through Thursday -- $5 tapas dishes.  We ordered 4 different dishes, including roasted potatoes with some kind of spicy sauce, deep fried baby artichokes, mushrooms and zucchini in garlic sauce and a tuna pate with toast.  There was a lot of garlic in the dishes and I told Eric I’m going to stink tomorrow – my first day at the new job!  Eric always says I reek of garlic the day after I’ve eaten a lot.  Yikes!  They’re going to hate me!

We decided to be completely decadent and drive to PACIFIC BEACH to hit COLD STONE CREAMERY for dessert.  We haven’t been there in months – probably since March!  I got the Chocolate Peanut Butter Perfection and Eric got the Shamu Swirl with Vanilla ice cream, oreo pieces and chocolate fudge.  We took it to go and brought it home.  We both ate about 1/3 and put the rest away for tomorrow – and we both got the smallest size available!  It’s just so rich and delicious – you can’t eat much!

We got home just in time for me to blog and then watch the HELL’S KITCHEN finale – tonight we’ll finally see who’s getting the Executive Chef job at Gordon Ramsay’s new Los Angeles restaurant.  It’s very exciting!

So, tomorrow I start my split shift – 8-12 on the 6th floor in KRM; 1-5 on the 3rd floor in HR.  I think it will be good for me – before I can get too inundated, I’ll have to go downstairs, or it will be ready to go home.  It will definitely make the day go by very fast.

I’ve seen a few people I worked near on 6 and they are so happy I’ll be back on 6 – at least part of the day.  They’re all so nice and come over to say hi when they see me training, or just walking in the halls.  I did make some friends in the 6 months I worked there, and now I’m making friends in HR, too.  It’s an all-girl team and they’re all really nice, friendly, and into having fun and laughing all day.  Who could ask for anything more?

Today was my first day splitting my time between the two departments.  I started in KRM.  One of the girls I will be assisting just returned from a week’s vacation today, so she had a lot of catching up to do.  The boss has a bad back and was visiting the chiropractor and is also preparing to go on vacation for 3 weeks.    The guy I will be working with (it’s a team of 3) was there, and he was able to spend a little time with me.

When I first got to my desk I had to call Support to have a tech guy get me fully set up.  It was kind of complicated, since I have two sign-ons (one for when I’m in KRM and one for when I’m in HR).  I also have two email addresses, since I have to be able to send things out from the appropriate address.

I got completely set up and tried to familiarize myself with everything on the new desktop.  There are a lot of databases and documents I need to use every day and I was looking at them.  They also gave me a Procedures Manual, which is over 120 pages.  I started reading it.  Some of it made perfect sense.  Some of it was Greek to me.  I explained to the guy the same thing I’ve told other executives over the years – if I understood everything you were doing, I could have YOUR job!  I don’t think I need to understand everything.  I just need to know enough to do MY job.

Basically, this job entails maintaining spreadsheets with updated information, sending and receiving emails – coordinating, communicating and maintaining.  It’s a lot of repetition.  I told them that’s good, because once I get something, I’ve got it.  They said not to worry, they understand that it’s going to take some time for me to get going, but in the meantime they will be training me.

They were all so friendly, and so nice.  The guy is a bit of a tease.  He came up to me at one point and said, “Did you finish that spreadsheet?”  For a minute I freaked, because I thought maybe he sent me something and I didn’t get it, or I just couldn’t think of what he was talking about.  It must have shown on my face, because he broke out laughing and I said, “Oh, you’re going to be trouble – I can tell!”

They’re all younger than me.  He is probably in his early 30s.  The other girl I’ll be working with is probably a year or two younger than me and the boss is probably in her early 40s. 

The morning went very quickly and, before I knew it, it was time to go downstairs to HR.  The boss was turning 50 and they had decorated the entire office and had a party planned.  When I got back they were all waiting around for her to finish a meeting behind closed doors.

They had a fabulous lunch set up in the HR conference room.  There were two different kinds of pizza (vegetarian and pepperoni), two different kinds of salad (basic and a fancy salad with craisins, blue cheese chunks and walnuts), and crudite and dip.

The boss was very surprised and we all ate lunch.  It was all the girls on the team and the man in charge of accounting (who must be a good friend).  We had a lot of laughs.  I mean, a lot.  These girls love to laugh and they are all so funny!  I made them laugh telling them about Molly Shannon’s character, Sally O’Malley, who always says, “I’m FIFTY!”  They got such a kick out of it.  I told them they should see Molly do it!

After lunch they brought in a cake that was TO DIE FOR.  It was huge, chocolate, with chocolate icing covered with chocolate chips, and inside was a chocolate cake with chocolate pudding.  Could it BE any better than that?  Maybe -- if there was peanut butter or raspberry in it!

The pieces were pre-cut and they were tremendous.  I had a half piece and I swear it weighed a pound.  I ate most of it and was SO full, but SO happy and satisfied, after salad, pizza and this amazing cake.

After cake she opened her gifts.  I felt a little guilty hanging around after lunch, so I left them to their party and went back to work, but the luncheon broke up soon after.  Fortunately, the party didn’t end there.  This boss is so popular in the office that people were coming down ALL AFTERNOON to wish her a happy birthday and see all the decorations, have some of the leftovers and cake, and just enjoy the celebration.

The girls had made a quiz – “How Well Do You Know the Birthday Girl?” with 15 multiple choice questions about her.  There were questions about her pet’s name, her favorite sayings, her hobbies, and embarrassing things that have happened to her at the office over the years.  The answers were SO funny and so clever.

They also had a big poster with things that happened the year she was born, and the price of gas (30 cents), etc.  They really went all out and it was fantastic.  It must have made her feel really good to see co-workers go to such extremes to be sure your birthday is fabulous.  I thought it was wonderful and told them so.  I told the boss that I’d been with the firm 7 months and hadn’t seen anything like THAT before!  She must be really special!

I managed to get some work done, even with all the partying going on, and the afternoon flew by.  I think it’s great that I get to spend the afternoons in HR, because it’s definitely going to be easier, and it will make the day go faster since the harder part of my day will be the morning, and I have easier afternoons to look forward to!

Tomorrow morning I’ll definitely start training.  The girl training me is very sweet and I’ve known her since I started, because she sits near the fax machine and helped me out months ago, the first time I had to send a fax.  You need to put in a code, and she let me use her code every time I sent a fax, and then she’d get the confirmation (in an email), and would forward it to me.  So, we already had a relationship (and I think she may have had something to do with me being requested for this job).  I’m looking forward to working with her.

Today was a really fun, busy day.  It was just what the doctor ordered.  I’m looking forward to more busy, fun days.  This office is really great and I love going to work every day.

When I got home, I immediately took a nap, because I was exhausted.  When I woke up I watched LEGALLY BLONDE and then Eric and I watched SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE.  Eric had eaten (really just snacked) while I slept, so I had a NUTRISYSTEM mushroom risotto and then finished my ice cream from last night.  I found out Eric finished his ice cream last night, while he watched Leno and I was sleeping!  I really enjoyed it all over again.  I swear, COLD STONE CREAMERY’S chocolate peanut butter perfection IS perfect!

I feel so lucky.  I love my job.  I really love it.  I love the people I’m working with, and the fact that I feel I’m making a contribution.  I love that people appreciate my efforts and that they want to work with me!  I even love a lot of what I’m doing.  I am so grateful.  I enjoy going to work every day!

This morning I started in KRM.  I got a lot of training and then started working on a project accumulating data and populating an Excel spreadsheet.  Once I got the hang of the process, the steps to take to find the information and transfer it into the spreadsheet, it was going very quickly.  Unfortunately, noon rolled around before I knew it!  I told them you never realize how fast four hours can go until you’re only working four hours at one desk.

I left and went downstairs to HR.  I read a little and had leftovers from yesterday’s party (as did everyone else in the group).  I had more of that delicious salad and some nice cheese, too.  Then, I snacked on celery and dip.

I kept pretty busy until about 3:30pm and then I had done everything I needed to do.  I went around collecting paper to be shredded and spent the next hour going back and forth shredding, filling up a bag and then shredding some more.  I filled two bags and then stopped.  The afternoon kind of dragged, because there wasn’t anything else for me to do.  I had finished a few projects and would have to wait until tomorrow to get more work.

When I got home Eric and I made some MORNINGSTAR FARMS corn dogs and chicken nuggets.  I had purchased this honey mustard at KEILS and we put it on everything.  It was REALLY spicy and added a delicious, sweet taste.

I watched the season finale of SHE’S GOT THE LOOK – the reality TV show about women “of a certain age” winning a modeling contract.  The woman “who’s got the look” is 45 and has 5 children.  She was gorgeous and had a fabulous figure.  It was another entertaining reality show.  I enjoyed it.

I finished my book – BLACK MAPS.  It was really good.  I have another of his books to start tomorrow.  Then, I’ll be getting back to DICK FRANCIS!

I can’t believe tomorrow is Friday already.  This week really flew by and usually the week after a holiday weekend drags.  I think this new situation at work is really great for me.  I’m working hard, which makes the day fly by.

I got invited to a birthday lunch for one of the guys on the team where I used to work.  I thought it was so nice of them to include me, since I don’t work with them anymore!  So, I have another nice lunch out at a restaurant to look forward to next Wednesday.

Today is my niece, Stephanie’s birthday.  I really miss her – and all my nieces and nephews.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPHANIE!

I’ve been writing this blog for almost a year and have made 340 entries.  This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to write.

Eric left this morning in the RV to go back to New York.  He’s been talking about it for a few months, more seriously for weeks.  I dropped a few hints in past blog entries, because I wanted to let you know what was going on, but at the same time I didn’t want to talk about it too much, because I was hoping it would never happen.

I wish I could say that he just left because he can’t find work here and he’s hoping to find work in New York, but it’s so much more than that.  It has nothing to do with our marriage.  Eric and I are still very much in love and this is breaking both our hearts.  Eric still didn’t want to leave this morning.  He told me how much he loves me and he’s so sad, but he feels that he has no life in San Diego, and I have to agree.

Eric didn’t really look for work much in the past months.  He got depressed and was sure there was nothing here for him, so he didn’t even bother to try.  He really made an effort way back in January and February, but when things didn’t pan out (after he had that awful job for a few weeks and then got laid off right away) he just stopped looking.

Eric has always been kind of depressed.  He was not the optimist that I was.  He was always very pessimistic, seeing the darker side of things, thinking the worst, and not being able to think positively.  So, when he moved here, the change was extreme for him.  He wasn’t riding, because he didn’t like the mountain biking here.  He wasn’t working.  He didn’t have any friends or family here.  He just couldn’t adjust.

I don’t know why it was so much easier for me, but I’ve always been the eternal optimist and I make happiness wherever I go.  I think you have to MAKE your own happiness.  No one can make you happy.  YOU have to make you happy.  I think maybe I was also able to adjust so much easier because San Diego was everything I thought it would be and I wasn’t disappointed at all.  I also found a job right away and have been working there since, which made it very easy for me.  I had a routine.  I had structure.  Eric didn’t have that, and it just got him down.

Eric wanted me to go back to NY with him, but I wasn’t convinced that NY would make him happy.  He wasn’t happy with NY when we were there, and couldn’t wait to leave.  Now that he was away, it seemed to be the answer to all his problems.  He was sure if he went back to New York and rode the places he used to ride, and got back to work, that he’d be happy.

I promised him that if that was true – if he was riding, and working, and happy – I would come back to New York.  I don’t want to.  I really don’t want to.  But I figure being unhappy a few months of the year (during the winter) is better than him being unhappy all the time here in San Diego.

I love San Diego, but it wouldn’t kill me to leave.  I have no friends here, and I’m only a temp at my job.  I have purposely not put down any roots, because pretty much from the day we got here I knew we wouldn’t be staying.  I kept hoping that Eric would adjust, that he would get used to it, that he would grow to like it, but it was the reverse.  He hated it more and more and got unhappier and more depressed with each day.

I saw him off this morning, before I got in the car with my ride.   I actually worked all day and was so busy that at times I forgot that Eric had left.  Then, I’d remember and get a sick feeling in my stomach.  I felt like a big phony, working, laughing, talking to people all day and inside I wanted to cry out, “My husband left today!”

Unfortunately, I don’t have a close relationship with anyone that I can open up to.  I’m sure they’d all feel bad and listen, but they’re not my friends, and I don’t want to impose.  So, I kept it to myself.  Also, I really didn't want to talk about it, because I knew I would cry, and I feel like if I start crying I'll never stop.

I’m lucky that I have so many dear friends and family that I CAN talk to, so I have no worries about that.  Unfortunately, right now, it’s very hard for me to talk about.  So, please excuse me if I write about it but don’t want to talk about it much.  It’s just too hard.  I miss him so much already.  We’ve never been apart longer than 7 days in 26 years.

The truth is, we’re still so much in love.  We need each other.  We want to be with each other.  We tried to make it work here, but it wasn’t working.  I told Eric I felt like I was under his dark cloud for the last seven months, but it was really even longer than that.  I started noticing Eric getting depressed when we were driving across the country.  He was uneasy.  I thought a lot of it was that he had all the responsibility with the RV, but it was the beginning of his separation anxiety.  Who knew that it would happen?  I certainly had no idea.

People kept telling me that it takes time – that they needed time to adjust when they moved away from their homes to a new place.  I prayed that he would, too, but it just kept getting worse and worse.  Eric tried SO hard.  He really tried to show me a good time, and do things with me towards the end, but it was all just for my benefit.  He really wasn’t happy and didn’t enjoy life very much.

I don’t know what’s going to happen when he gets to New York.  I know he has a lot of love and support there – friends and family.  I don’t know how easy it will be for him to find a job.  Things are bad in construction all over the country.  I know he’ll be happy to be out of San Diego, because he has the idea in his head that San Diego is at the root of all his problems.

So, when he’s able to ride the mountains in New York and see his friends and family, I’m hoping that it will make him happy.  If he can find a job, he will really be happy, because that’s been bothering him a lot.  The plan was for us to come to San Diego and for me to work and him to have a relaxed, happy semi-retirement.  Unfortunately, the plan worked perfectly – except he wasn’t happy!

I got a job right away and could have been on staff by June, but of course I couldn’t accept a full-time job with a clear conscience because I assumed we weren’t staying.  If Eric had been willing to hang in there for a year and leave in 2009 I might have gone back with him, but he was too impatient.  He said he couldn’t stay here any longer.  He had to leave.  I told him I wasn’t willing to pack everything up and move back to New York when our future was so unknown.  So, he left this morning.

I called him when I got home from work at 5:30pm and he was in Flagstaff, Arizona.  He told me he would call when he was settled in a campground, and he called at 7:30pm to say he was parked for the night.  He said he was going to take a shower and go to sleep.  He was on the road for almost 12 hours and had driven about 500 miles!

I don’t want anyone to worry about me.  I will be fine.  I am safe and sound in this cute apartment, which I love.  I have a great job, which I am enjoying.  I just got a raise and I expect to be there indefinitely.  People in HR are already telling me about how they dress up for Halloween and we’re trying to come up with a theme (apparently, the firm has almost a competition going on amongst different groups and HR is famous for their wonderful themed costumes).  A few people have also told me that I have to stick around for the holiday party in December, which is an extravaganza.

I invited myself to their company picnic next Saturday, July 19th.  I knew about it, because I’m working in HR and I had to review the contracts for the boss.  I asked my ride if I could go, and she said I couldn’t because I’m a temp, but every employee is invited with a guest and if I could find someone who wasn’t taking anyone, I could go.  So, I looked at the list and asked a girl I knew (not well) who had RSVP’d that she wasn’t taking anyone.  She said I could be her guest, so I’ll get to go.

I am happy to have something to look forward to.  Even if Eric was here he wouldn’t get to go with me, so I don’t feel like he’s missing something.  It will be a fun day and I think that’s what I need right about now.

I have absolutely no plans for the weekend, except to run a lot of errands – post office, library, COSTCO, KIELS, laundry, and a pedicure!

I will keep you all informed of Eric’s progress.  I know you’re all as worried about him as I am.  I wish I could say, “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”  Unfortunately, I’m not sure myself.  I can only pray and ask you to pray, too.   Pray that he makes a safe journey.  Pray that he finds happiness and contentment.  Pray that we will be reunited soon.

I woke up early – about 7:30am.  Little Drummer Boy was outside talking really loud.  I tried to fall back to sleep, but I knew I had a lot of errands to run, and the post office and library both close around noon, so I figured the earlier I got started the better.  Unfortunately, I got slowed down by a bunch of phone calls (although I appreciate everyone caring and taking the time to call).

The problem is I’m all talked out.  I hope you all understand, but I can only talk about something so much, especially when it’s not particularly good news.  So, you can find out what’s happening by reading here, and you can email me to your heart’s content.  I just don’t want to talk about it for a few days.  I hope you all understand!

My phone rang as I was getting in the car.  It was a friend of Eric’s whom we haven’t heard from in a few years.  I didn’t even know he and his wife and two kids moved to New Jersey a few years ago!  They’re Egyptian and he told me they bought an apartment in Egypt and his wife was away for the summer, furnishing it.  He is spending the summer going cross country with his two kids (a girl 12 and a boy 10).  They're hitting all the state parks.  What a wonderful adventure for them!

He is going to be in San Diego next week and wanted to see me and Eric.  I told him Eric was making his way back to NY and he asked where he is now.  I told him I wasn’t sure, but he was in Flagstaff yesterday.  Believe it or not, THEY were in Flagstaff yesterday, too!  They were actually in the same city at the same exact time.  He was calling from the Grand Canyon and will be heading to Los Angeles and expects to be in San Diego by Wednesday.

I told him I would go with them to the zoo, and I have to find out what time it’s open, because I believe over the summer they have evening hours.  Otherwise, they’ll go during the day and I’ll meet them for dinner.  It was such a coincidence that he called today and Eric just left.  Bad timing, I guess.  If he had called even one day earlier they might have had a chance to see each other!

I finally got out to run my errands after 11:00am.  I went to the library first and returned BLACK MAPS, which was a great mystery.  Then, I hit the post office.  I had to mail something, but I also had a complaint.  A friend had sent me a card, but it was returned to sender as "undeliverable", because she didn’t put my apartment number on it!  I showed it to the woman behind the counter in the post office and she told me that it was considered “insufficient address.”

I said, “Are you kidding me?  The post office is FAMOUS for delivering mail anywhere and going to great lengths to make sure things are delivered.  You hear stories about the post office delivering a post card 50 years after it was mailed.  You hear stories about people who have the wrong zip, or the wrong street, or just a name and a state, and the post office works tirelessly to solve the mystery.  What about the dead letter office, where employees spend years trying to make sure every last letter is delivered.  Do you mean to tell me that having a complete address with only the apartment number missing is “insufficient” for me to get my mail delivered?

She said that was the story.  She actually told me that this was the mail carrier’s way of reminding me to tell people to put the apartment number on the envelope.  So, I said, “Well, that’s unacceptable and I want to talk to someone else.”  A manager came over and gave me the same sob story – if there’s no apartment number, it’s hard for the mail carrier to do his or her job.  I gave him the same speech I gave her, and he agreed.

He took the envelope (which I had asked my friend to mail back to me) and he made a copy and said he’d show it to both mail carriers.  So, I have to ask you all – if you send me any correspondence via USPS, please be sure to put Apartment #29 on it, so I can be sure to receive it.  SO disappointing!

After the post office I went to the card store, then to STARBUCKS, and then got a pedicure at HAPPY NAILS.  Then, I went to TJ Maxx and tried on a bunch of clothes, trying to find something new to wear to work, but nothing looked good, mostly because I’ve gained back about 5 pounds.  That’s disappointing, too!

Then, I went to my dry cleaner and then to RITE AID, and finally came home.  I relaxed for a while, had lunch, and then did 2 loads of laundry.  It was pretty nice out today, but – as usual – it was hot in the apartment, so I was pretty much sweating all day, because I was doing laundry and organizing the apartment, while watching TV.

Then, I watched 27 DRESSES starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden (who is SUCH a cutie!).  It was adorable and I really enjoyed it, so I watched it again a few hours later, because it’s a 24 hour rental!  The second time I fast-forwarded during the not-so-interesting parts.  It’s also a free rental, because we had so many problems with Time Warner Cable that they sent us a coupon for a free rental.  That’s always nice!

Eric called at 7:30pm.  He was in Oklahoma City.  We LOVED Oklahoma City when we drove through last year and one of our favorite campgrounds was there.  We had lunch in the city and drove around a lot.  It was beautiful.  He’s not staying in a campground tonight.  He said he’ll just find a good place to park and go to sleep.

He told me he got a flat tire, but he changed it and said he’ll get it fixed on Monday.  Meanwhile, he’s driving on the spare and going a little slower than usual, so he’s already pushed back his arrival time in New York.  It’s always something, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, this might really slow him down, because he has to find a tire place that works on RVs (which is harder than you think), but he has the GOOD SAM assistance (like AAA, but for RVs), so he can call them and they’ll help him find a place to do the work.

I really bonded with Conrad today, because I spent a lot of the afternoon in the bedroom, talking with him, and playing with him.  He’s so good.  He’s very calm and never bites.  He still won’t eat anything but seed, but I got some special treats that have dried fruit mixed in with seed, so I broke a few of them up into his seed dish and I’m hoping he’ll get the taste for something other than straight seed!

I feel a little lonely, because I really don’t know anyone in this entire city well enough to call them and say, “Let’s get together!”  It’s a good thing I’m a homebody anyway, and Eric and I didn’t go out much, because it won’t be that big a difference from our life together the last 7 months.

I guess if I eventually tell people at work, maybe someone will invite me out, but most of them are married or in relationships.  There don’t seem to be a lot of singles, and if there are, they’re much younger and probably more into a partying scene, which I’m definitely not into.

There’s a woman who’s just a few years younger than me and her boyfriend is in Afghanistan.  I think she’s really fun, so I may just ask her to go to the movies or something one night.  Her man’s away doing what he has to do, so I know she’ll understand my situation.

Anyway, I’ve got my TV (which you know I love) another great mystery by Peter Spiegelman, and – if I can get motivated – my crafts.  I really want to decoupage the vase my friend at work gave me with the beautiful bouquet of flowers.  I asked her what theme she’d like and she said “flowers, vines and grass,” which should be fun!

I have no plans for tomorrow, except to go food shopping.  Maybe I’ll take a walk, down by Mission Bay and sit by the water for a while.  Maybe I’ll take a drive, and visit Gili Anna in La Jolla.  Or, I could just stay home and work on my decoupage!

Eric and I maintained a gas log for our entire trip across the United States.  Every time we got gas I would make a note of the price per gallon, how many gallons we purchased, the total cost, how many miles since our last gas purchase, and where we were.  I asked him for months to bring me the gas log from the RV, so I could tally up the final amounts on the computer.

He finally gave it to me, right before he left, and I made him a new gas log to keep track going back to New York.  It will probably cost him the same thing going back as it did with us coming, even though he’s going in a straight line and we zig-zagged all across America.

So, here are the numbers: The average price we paid for gas was only $2.90!!!  Just imagine.  A year ago!  Our total gallons purchased was 1,079.52.  Over a thousand gallons of gas!  Our total cost for gas was $3,087.98.  I don’t think that’s bad for 15 weeks on the road!  That’s an average of $206 per week.  We traveled 11,263 miles -- an average of about 750 miles per week.  Of course, some weeks we didn't move much (Chicago, New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles) and other weeks we traveled 3 states in one day!

One day, I’m going to tally up the total receipts for our trip (I’ve saved every single one) and figure out how much it all cost.  We had the cost of campgrounds every night.  We usually ate 2 meals out a day and had other costs, including souvenirs (very few), post cards (I spent a FORTUNE on post cards and stamps!), laundry, entertainment (zoos, aquariums, etc.) and other miscellaneous expenses (like STARBUCKS!).  Anyway, I thought you’d all find that very interesting!

I fell asleep last night at 11:00pm.  I woke up for some strange reason at 5:00am.  There must have been a noise, but I don’t remember it.  It took me at least an hour to fall back to sleep.  My wheels started turning.  I was worrying about Eric’s tire, and wondering how he’s doing. I eventually fell back to sleep and woke up again at 10:00am.  That’s more like it!

When I got up, I worked on the computer for over an hour – sending and reading emails, completing the gas log, and reading the news on YAHOO.  I also cleaned my desk.  Then, I had breakfast (cereal) while I watched TV (last night’s SNL) and talked to Conrad (who already had his breakfast of seed).

I moved some things around in the 2nd bedroom.  That’s where Eric had his workroom set up, and it’s where he stored all his bicycles, tools, and bicycle accessories.  Now that it’s all gone, the only stuff left in there are boxes of things we haven’t opened – like artwork, decorative accessories, chandeliers and unframed posters.

I moved it all around, so that the room was as organized as possible, with the boxes pushed up against the walls.  Eric had done a good job leaving it so neat (he even vacuumed), but he had boxes on the wall you look at when you pass the room.  I wanted to move everything up against the other wall, so it’s not as noticeable.

There are also empty boxes in that room, which held the artwork we DID hang up, and some other stuff we are using.  Eric thought we should keep the boxes, so we could just pack them back.  I don’t know if we’ll need them or not, because the moving company doesn’t charge you for boxes and packing stuff.   They charge you by the pound, and that is just an estimate they make when they look it all over – that isn’t even for the real weight.  Nevertheless, they’re not in the way, so I guess – for now – I’ll hold onto them.

I heard from Eric in the afternoon.  He’s still in Oklahoma City (not a bad place to be stuck) until he can get the tire situation fixed tomorrow.  It was bad luck to have a flat on a Saturday afternoon, and everything’s closed on Sunday.  So, he’s just relaxing until the tire shop opens tomorrow.  It’s not like he has to be in NY on a certain date, so it’s no big deal, but I know he is trying to get there as quickly as possible, so he’s probably not thrilled with this delay.  Let’s hope it’s the last!

I went food shopping in the afternoon, walking over to KEIL’S with my little cart.  My father called as I was walking.   I called them yesterday and told them that Eric had left.  I knew they’d be worried about us both.  My mom is actually a little happy about it, because she thinks of it as the first step to us coming back to the East Coast, which is what she really wants.  I was also pleased that they’re not worried about me being here by myself, which is not what I expected.  I thought my Mom would be upset that I'm all alone here, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

I guess they know I lived on my own for years before I was married, and they know I have a car, and a job, and an apartment, so there’s really nothing to worry about.  I felt good about that, but I feel bad that they’re worried about Eric.  They wanted to know what his plan was when he arrived in NY and I told them I didn’t think he had one and didn’t ask too many questions.  This is Eric’s big adventure and I want him to do it his way and not interfere.

Anyway, I found out KEIL’S is pronounced “Kyle’s” and not “Keel’s”, which is how I’ve been pronouncing it for the last seven months.  There was a woman in KEIL’S and she told me she was from out of town and wanted to know how to pronounce the name.  I told her I wasn’t sure, as I had just been here seven months, but I was pretty sure it was “Keel’s.”

So, another woman overheard this exchange and said, “It’s really Kyle’s.”  I apologized for giving the first woman misinformation and thanked the second woman.  She apologized for horning in on our conversation, but she said she wanted to give us both the proper pronounciation.  We both thanked her and went on our way!

It made me kind of sad to not buy all of Eric’s favorites.  I passed right by the juice aisle (I don’t drink much, because the carbs are so high and I eat lots of fresh fruit), and didn’t pick up his favorite chips, ice cream, or American cheese.  I pretty much stuck with the fruits/veggies, got some salmon, and a box of Triscuit reduced fat crackers, instead of chips.  They’re great for hummus (which I love) and I like a snack of something crunchy sometimes.

When I got home I put everything away and I wanted to go out again, but I was sweating so profusely that I decided to just relax for a while to cool off.  I got undressed and watched the elimination show of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, which I had missed the other day.

It’s really hard not having air conditioning and being in the apartment during the day.  I really should have turned around and gone out again, because it’s better outside than inside, but the bedroom is the coolest part of the apartment, and it was nice in there for me and Conrad.

After SYTYCD, I watched LAST COMIC STANDING, which I had also missed the other day.  There were not a lot of laughs.  I really feel they picked some comedians to go to Vegas who were so much less funny than ones that were not chosen.  Now, it’s down to the finals and they’re in L.A. and some of them are good, but some of them are just okay.  I think every single joke should be a side-splitter at this point.  Well, it’s still entertaining, and I definitely have my favorites.

I want to try to get my clothes together for the week.  It’s something I was doing when I first started working, but now I’ve gotten lazy.  Since I gained a few pounds it’s harder to put together some outfits.  I really need to start exercising.  Can someone please tell me the secret to getting your butt in gear?

I’d love to go swimming in the pool downstairs, because it would cool me off considerably and is great exercise, but I’m too embarrassed to be seen in a bathing suit, even with a t-shirt over it (which I always do to hide my body and avoid a sunburn).  I should go at night, but I don’t think you’re allowed after sundown.  Darn!  I could just keep a towel wrapped around me until I get in the pool and then wrap myself up immediately after.  Maybe I’ll try it and see what happens, but I swear if I hear chuckling or groaning it’s really going to hurt my self-esteem!

I have two things to look forward to this week: The group I used to work with (minus my boss) is going out to lunch for one of the guy’s birthdays on Wednesday and they invited me.  This is the group I went to lunch with two weeks ago, and also the group I did the teambuilding with, when we went to the Go Kart place.  They’re a young, fun group!

I’m also looking forward to the company picnic on Saturday afternoon.  That should be a lot of fun!

The truth is, I’m looking forward to just going to work tomorrow.  Keeping busy and being around people is the best thing in the world for me right now, and it’s definitely enjoyable at work.  I’ll be learning more in the mornings, as I continue training for this new job, and I’ll definitely look forward to my afternoons in HR where the “girls just want to have fun!”

Okay, don’t get too impressed.  It was a fast walk, and an even faster swim, but at least I did it!

Let me start at the beginning of my day:  When I got in the car with my ride, I was still deciding if I should tell her Eric was on his way back to NY.  One of the first things she asked was what we did this weekend, and I couldn’t lie, so I told her.  I really did want to tell her anyway, because I wanted to offer to drive some of the time, too, if she wanted.

She felt terrible and asked me a lot of questions (the same questions I’ve been answering and avoiding all weekend).  I explained to her as best I could, without going into too much detail, and she seemed to understand.  I offered to split the carpooling with her, but she said she’d rather just keep driving and said she didn’t mind at all.  I am going to drive tomorrow, because she’s leaving early.  I could leave early with her, but then I lose at least an hour’s pay, so I’d rather just drive and stay!

Work in KRM this morning wasn’t bad, but it’s definitely more complicated and stressful than HR.  Everything in HR is basic admin stuff, but there’s a lot to learn and do in KRM and I don’t know how I’m ever going to pick it all up!  The woman who is training me is very patient and realizes it takes time, but the boss wants me to be doing everything by myself already – after just a week!  That kind of freaked me out, but she’s going on vacation for 3 weeks starting Thursday, so she’ll be gone and I’ll have plenty of time to adjust and learn before she comes back in August.

When I got to HR they were busy getting ready for the big picnic on Saturday.  They had to put together packages for everyone with wrist bands (that gain you admission and get you on all the rides), drink tickets (every adult gets two tickets for free alcoholic drinks), parking passes (so you can park in the lot free of charge) and instructions on what to bring (sun screen, a jacket) and other details about the events that day.  It’s really going to be great!

When I got home I decided to go for a walk.  I put on my bathing suit, some shorts and a top and left with just my keys.  When I got to the street I realized I should probably have taken my cell phone (especially since I was expecting Eric to call), but I figured I wouldn’t be that long.

I had an envelope to mail and figured I’d walk to drop it in the mailbox.  There’s a mailbox I’ve been driving to on Clairemont Drive for the past 7 months.  Eric told me about another mailbox on Clairemont, but it’s in the opposite direction – down hill towards Mission Bay.  It’s the same walk that Eric and I took on July 4th, but I only went about ¼ of the way down the hill.

The walk down there was about 5 blocks, and wasn’t bad at all, but walking back, up the steep incline, was killer.  My legs were really hurting me because I was walking as fast as I could.  It’s a good thing I didn’t go further down the hill, or I would have had to stop and rest.  At least I walked the whole way back without stopping.

When I got back to the apartment I immediately peeled off my clothes, grabbed a towel and went down to the pool.  There’s a metal fence all the way around, so no kids can get into the pool, and there’s a gate to gain entry.  I couldn’t open the gate and figured there must be a key, so I rang the manager’s bell.  He explained that it’s “child proof” but you don’t need a key, and he showed me how to open it.  He said, “Peppy!  How long have you lived here?”  I told him 7 months, but I think this was the first time I ever went into the pool!  I guess it’s child proof AND Peppy Proof!

I was able to get into the enclosed area, and the water felt great!  I did a few laps around the pool and really felt it in my arms.  I was glad I had gotten a little exercise in the lower body by walking, and now got a little upper body by swimming mostly using my arms.  I'm not a good swimmer, so I kind of doggie paddle around the perimeter.  I was exhausted after 2 trips!  I know, it’s pitiful.  I was exhausted and out of breath!

I rested in the water, caught my breath and then came back up to the apartment.  It was only about an hour since I had gotten home.  I figure I’ll take it slow and walk a little more and swim a little more whenever I can.  At least the water cooled me off and the apartment didn’t feel quite as stuffy.

When I got back upstairs I rinsed off my bathing suit and took a fast shower, so I could be sure I got the chlorine out of my hair (no good for blondes!).  Then I had a snack of hummus, Triscuits and snap peas and watched DR. PHIL.

I’m starting my exercise routine very slowly, but I feel good that I did it at all.  It’s a first step.  I am so in the habit of immediately relaxing and watching TV (with a snack) when I get home, so pushing it back and getting in some much-needed exercise first made me feel great!

At 8:00pm I made a piece of salmon and had a small salad with it.  Yesterday, when I made my lunch for today I made a big bowl of salad, so I could just have it ready for dinner, and for lunch tomorrow, too!  I figure it saves me some time by doing all my cutting and chopping at once.  It keeps just fine for a day or two.

So, last night Conrad was sleeping and he looked so cute I went and got my camera.  I thought the flash would wake him, but he didn’t budge (and he’s a budgie!).  Tell me he’s not adorable.  I swear, that’s not even as far over as he leans sometimes.  It really looks like he’s just going to fall right off the perch!  His head is practically touching his feet!

They say birds need 12 hours of sleep a day.  I don’t know if he sleeps while I’m out during the day, but he does go to bed much earlier than I do and the TV doesn’t seem to bother him at all!

I channel surfed for a few hours and then cut a piece of mango for dessert.   Since I didn’t nap this afternoon I’m feeling tired, so I’ll go to bed early, which is a good thing.  I’m hoping to start a new routine of walking and swimming a little after work a few days a week.  Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that I can keep it up!

I drove to work this morning, because my ride was leaving early and I wanted to work until 5 (and get my 8 hours of pay!).  I had a busy morning in KRM.  It was my boss’ last day (she’s on vacation for 3 weeks, then back for a few weeks, then on sabbatical for a month!), so she was pretty busy and stressed.

I’m kind of relieved she’s going, because – as nice as she is – she’s anxious for me to “take the reins” and start working on my own.  I don’t feel NEARLY ready, and I know that once she’s gone her assistant (who has been training me) will be able to help me without worrying that the boss (who sits right near both of us) is getting annoyed.

There are certain things that I can do – no problem, but there are other things I am very hesitant to do without being “backed up” or reviewed.  I just don’t want to be responsible for anything until I feel comfortable.

Noon rolled around pretty quickly and I went down to HR.  Now, HR, on the other hand, is a dream!  The work is easy, I stay busy, and I feel like I'm really making a contribution.  The 10 girls in the group are SO nice (I’m #11).  They love to laugh and one girl said today, after I had her laughing, “Peppy, I don’t know how we survived without you!”  That made me feel great.

HR is getting a whole new software system to maintain all their information and I got trained today, along with another girl in the group.  We started working on our own and both of us had a lot of problems.  This system was designed specifically for HR.  It’s a custom-made system for the firm, but I already see a lot of problems with it.  It’s very hard to input information.  Instead of tabbing all the way down, or hitting “enter,” you sometimes can tab, but other times have to click on an “x” to close a window and start on the next section.

When you’re done inputting information, if you see an error, instead of easily editing, you have to do about 5 steps in order to get back to the window to edit the work.  It’s ridiculous!  I don’t know how much they paid to have this system created, but I could have done better – and believe me, I don’t know much!

Anyway, I worked on it all afternoon and my tennis elbow was killing me, because I continuously had to go back and forth between the mouse and the keyboard, and the process just doesn’t flow.  When you have to continuously take your hands off the keyboard to click on something, it really slows you down (at least it slows ME down!).  I’ll probably be inputting information for the next few months, so wish me luck!

Since I had my car, I had an idea to go see Gili Anna at her shop after work.  I haven’t seen her in months (since the beginning of April!) and I wanted to see how she’s doing.  I’m pretty sure she hasn’t sold any of my stuff, because I think I would have heard from her.  I was just thinking that she’s such a lovely girl and maybe we’d go out to dinner or something one night.

She had invited me and Eric to these Wednesday night dinners she has with a group of friends, but I could never get Eric to go, and felt funny going by myself.  She’s single, so I’m sure she wouldn’t mind hanging out.  I haven’t thought of her recently, but I’m glad I remembered Gili – because she’s a doll!

I called her, but she closes at 4:00pm on Tuesdays, so I just headed home.  I called Eric on the drive home (even though, as of July 1st, it is now illegal to drive with a hand-held phone in California.  So sue me!).  It was great to talk to him.  He is all the way in Virginia, and was headed towards Washington, D.C.  It’s amazing to me how quickly he got there, considering he was stuck in Oklahoma City for a day and a half!

From Friday morning to tonight he drove almost all the way across the country!  I don’t know how many hours a day he was driving, but he is capable of driving a LONG time, which I witnessed on our trip to/from Florida 10 years ago, and our drive across the country.  He told me he expects to be in New York by Thursday, the latest!

When I got home, I had some errands I wanted to run, so I got changed into my “walking clothes” and headed back out.  I went to CITIBANK to get quarters for the laundry.  It was closed.  Next, I headed up the block to RITE AID to pick up some stuff.  Then, I went a few blocks further and got my eyebrows waxed (they were a disaster).

After that, I walked back to the apartment and kept going, down the hill to the mailbox I walked to yesterday (even though I didn’t have anything to mail).  Then, I turned around and came back.  So, I walked about a quarter mile more today than I did yesterday!

When I got back to the apartment, I took off my shorts and top, and already had my bathing suit underneath.  I grabbed my towel and went downstairs to the pool.  I was really sweating, so the water felt great.  I did THREE laps around (one at a time with about a minute inbetween to rest).  My arms really felt it and it felt great!

I was proud of myself that I actually went out two days in a row, and I was even more proud that I did a little more today than I did yesterday.  When I got back in I took a fast shower and then called my dear friend, Kaja, who is 94 and lives in a nursing home on Long Island.  She lived across the street from us and we’ve been friends for 22 years.

Many of you have met Kaja, or heard of her.  She is a mystical, magical, wonderful, beautiful, glamorous woman.  She’s like a magnet and people are attracted to her wherever she goes.  She is an amazing artist, and an art teacher, and has won many awards for her sculptures, paintings on glass, and ceramics.

She told me she just got back to the nursing home a few minutes before I called.  She had spent 6 days in the hospital.  She has a bad heart and her legs aren’t that great anymore, but she’s sharp as a tack.  She can talk on the phone for hours, and converse on any subject.  She writes me postcards and letters, and sends me interesting articles she reads in magazines and newspapers.  She’s fantastic and I adore her.  Leggett Place became a lot less attractive to me when Kaja left her home to live in the nursing home about 5 years ago.

I told her what was happening with Eric, and she said, “Well, he was depressed when he was in New York.”  I had to agree, and remarked on how perceptive and honest she was.  It’s true.  Eric has always suffered from some depression, but I think he kept it at bay with his work, his mountain biking, and his friends and family.  Having all that taken away at once was just too much for him.  I’m hoping that returning to all that is familiar and beloved (except his house, of course) will help him get back some of his joy.

After I hung up with Kaja I made dinner – leftover salmon and salad.  Nothing fancy, but it was delicious!  Then, I had one of Eric’s HEALTHY CHOICE fudge bars.  They’re really refreshing!

So, Conrad has this new thing where he likes to hide behind his food dish.  He has two dishes that hang on the inside of the cage.  They’re pretty big, and they’re black plastic.  I’ll be watching TV and look over at him and all I can see is the top of his head.  At first, I thought he was eating, but then I realized he’s just sitting there.  He likes it.  I guess it feels cozy and safe and secure for him.  Usually, he’s on his little swing 24/7, so this is a new spot he’s found!  He’s so cute!

I got an email from a dear friend whose partner’s mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  Another friend emailed and told me her friend’s husband had died, after battling colon cancer for 2 years.  They were only married 2-1/2 years and he was only in his early 30s.

It makes me realize that my life is so blessed.  I have so much to be thankful for.  I have had good friends reach out to me over the past week, having heard that Eric was on his way back to New York.  Just knowing that so many good friends care about us, love us and are praying for us means the world.  It gives me strength and makes me happy, even when the future seems so unsure.  I thank you all for your love and support.  You have all made a difference in our lives.  I so appreciate your emails and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Well, there’s not much on TV tonight.  AMERICA’S GOT TALENT is the only thing I’m interested in, so I’m going to try to go to bed early.  I’m looking forward to lunch with my ex-group tomorrow (the group I used to work with, whom I now work near, but not with).  We’re going to a Mexican restaurant called “Que Pasa.”  Sounds cute, eh?   I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow!

So, Eric made it to New York last night.  Don’t ask me how.  He left Friday morning, got stuck in Oklahoma City from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning, and still arrived in New York about 3:00am last night.  He must have driven 16 hours a day.

Here’s the problem:  He already wants to come home.  He says he made a big mistake.  He says he didn’t think it out carefully.  He doesn’t know where to keep the RV; he doesn’t want to drive it around, because it only gets 10 miles to the gallon and gas is so expensive.  He doesn’t want to leave it, because all his worldly possessions (including his 5 bicycles) are on the rack and inside!  I couldn’t believe my ears.  I thought this was the answer to all his problems.  He couldn’t wait to get out of here and he thought NY was the promised land.

Thank God he has three sisters who are happy to see him and will help him out.  He stayed in his sister Susan’s house this afternoon and, when I called him at 5:30pm PT, when I got home from work, he was out to dinner with Susan, her husband, Steve, and their daughter, Ashley, who just graduated from Middle School.

I couldn’t believe my ears when Eric said he wanted to come home.  All he talked about for 7 months was how much he hated San Diego, and all he did for the last 6 weeks is pack up all his stuff in the RV.  I don’t know what he was thinking, but he doesn’t want to stay.  He wants to come back to be with me.

It’s nice to know he misses me.  I miss him, too, but I thought this was the best thing for him.  I don’t know how he’s going to come back and all of a sudden make it work in San Diego, but he insists he can and he will.

I told him he has to stay a few days, to rest (because he obviously didn’t sleep much the last 5 days) and see some friends and family.  Our niece, Melissa, is in the hospital.  She has been ill for 5 weeks and they can’t figure out what’s wrong with her.  So, Eric’s going to go see her tomorrow with his sisters.

I also want him to see our friends in New York.  I asked him how he could come and go without seeing his friends and family, but he’s got it in his head that he needs to come back to me right away.  I told him to just relax, consider it a vacation, and do some mountain biking, have some fun in New York with friends and family.  And then, when he’s more rested, he can make the drive back.

I told him that if he comes back to San Diego there will have to be changes.  He has to get a job, because he’s been sitting around the house moping for the last 7 months and that has to stop.  He was riding when he was here, and he promised me he will continue to do that, and to work out, too.  I thought he was doing well, and was ready for this trip, but he obviously didn’t think it all out, because he no sooner got there and he wanted to turn around and come home!

Meanwhile, his unhappiness is my unhappiness, so I was so stressed and distracted at work today.  I don’t know how I made it through the day.  The only time I really didn’t dwell on the situation was when I was out at lunch.  There were 8 of us and we went to a place called QUE PASA.  It was a cute Mexican restaurant and we ate outside under a big umbrella.  The group is really fun and they’re all 40 or under, so I’m like the Mother Hen.

I was out almost two hours, so I told the group in HR that I will work through lunch tomorrow.  It’s really no different than any other day, because I rarely take 60 minutes for lunch.  I may read while I eat my salad, but that usually takes 15 minutes – the most!  I always eat at my desk, so if someone needs me for something, I’m there anyway.  I would never say, “I’m at lunch right now.”  I just think that’s rude.

I did a lot of work on this new HR database today.  There are three of us working on it, and it’s very slow going.  I offered to work overtime – either at night or on a weekend, and the boss was very enthusiastic, so it looks like there’s some OT in my future!  That’s great, because we can definitely use the extra money!

I called Gili Anna yesterday, but I got her voicemail.  Today she left me a message and said she’d love to get together, and she had money for me, which means she sold at least one of my pieces!  I was so happy!  I’m going to see if we can get together one day next week for dinner.

When I got home from work I put on my walking clothes and went up to RITE AID.  I have this stretchy bracelet that holds my key ring and it broke.  I’m so used to hanging my keys on my wrist and I need that desperately, so I went to RITE AID and bought another.  Unfortunately, mine was black and the only color they had was neon green!  At least I’ll find it easily in my purse!

Then, I walked to the dry cleaners to pick up a sweater.  I realized after I got it that it would make my walk a lot more tedious.  I thought about going back to the apartment to drop it off and then walking, but I decided I’d just let this be a shorter walk today and spend more time in the pool.

I did 5 laps around the pool today.  I REALLY feel it in my arms and the back of my legs.  I so enjoy it.  I should have been doing this for weeks.  The water really is too cold in the winter (no one goes in the pool before May), but I’ve missed out on two months of good swimming!

I’ll let you know how Eric’s doing.  I hope he can relax and enjoy himself for a few days, or even a few weeks, before making the trip back to San Diego.  It’s a big country and I don’t think he should cross it twice in one week!

If you’d like to call Eric, and you don’t have his cell phone number, feel free to email me and I’ll be happy to send it to you!

Eric spent the day with his sisters today.  He went with his sister, Robin and his brother-in-law, Brian, to see their daughter, Melissa, who is in the hospital.  She was suffering for 6 weeks and her doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.  Her boss finally convinced her to go to the emergency room.  They admitted her and within 12 hours had a diagnosis.  She is now being treated and we hope will soon be well.  Say a prayer for our Melissa’s speedy recovery!

Eric seemed in better spirits today.  He’s planning to go visit our friend, Kaja, tomorrow in the nursing home where she lives in Melville, on Long Island.  She’s 94 and she just spent a week in the hospital, but she’s hanging in there and I’m so happy Eric will get to see her.  I wish I could be there with her, too, but at least he’ll be there for both of us.

I had a pretty good day at work.  I haven’t been sleeping well (which, I guess, under the circumstances is understandable), so I’m exhausted.  I yawn a lot.  The mornings are harder, because this job is SO darn complicated and it’s a little stressful.  It’s not really busy, and the people I’m working with are SO nice, but it just seems to me that I’ll NEVER get the procedures down.  I feel like I’ll always have to ask for help, and when I do that I’m not really helping, am I?

Anyway, afternoons are a breeze.  I am now devoting a lot of time to the new database and I input data all afternoon.  It’s tedious work, but the girls are all so nice and friendly and helpful and we all complain together.  I want to do well for them and really make a contribution, so I work as fast and as hard as I can.

I had an appointment after work, so I didn’t get home until 6:30pm.  I didn’t feel like walking, so I figured I’d just spend some time exercising in the pool.  Unfortunately, there were people (a father and his two daughters) playing in the pool, so it wasn’t a good time for me to do my laps.
I was pretty hungry anyway, because I was working so hard during lunch that I didn’t eat much of my salad.  I wasn’t really hungry, so I threw most of it away and then when I got home (at 6:30pm) I was ravenous.  I made a wrap with some cheese and had snap peas on the side.  I just wanted something fast and easy!

I watched last night’s SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and then tonight’s elimination show.  I do so enjoy all the young dancers on the show.  They’re so talented and work so hard.  They’re under so much pressure and it must all be very stressful, but they do a great job and it’s very entertaining.  They’re going on tour (just like AMERICAN IDOL and DANCING WITH THE STARS).  I’d love to see them dance in person.  They’re really magnificent!

Tomorrow is finally Friday!  This week seemed very long to me (again, understandable) and I am really looking forward to the picnic on Saturday.  The whole office is buzzing with excitement.  There will be about 600 people there.  The party is from 3:00pm – 8:00pm and it’s being held at a venue called THE WAVEHOUSE.  There is something called “The Plunge” (an indoor swimming pool) and you get admission to Belmont Park with unlimited rides.  There’s a raffle.  There’s a buffet from 4-6pm.  There are surf shows and a Sunset Firedance Show.

There’s a bar and each person gets two tickets for free drinks.  I already gave mine to the woman who’s training me, because she said she was hoping to get some extra tickets and I’m not much of a drinker – one will be enough for me!

We also have access to the beach, which is right there, and there’s a pool, too.  Something for everyone!  There are two wave machines – Bruticus Maximus and Flowrider.  Flowrider is the smaller of the two wave machines and is one of the waterpark industry’s safest attractions.  It features a patented sheet wave which creates an endless wave for riders to both stand and body board on.

Bruticus Maximus (as it’s name implies) features a 10-foot, one million pound macking tube, requiring riders to test their fusion of surf, skate and snow techniques.  I wouldn’t dare try it, but I can’t wait to see it!

The firm had their summer picnic there last year, too, and everyone said it was just fabulous.  I’m really looking forward to socializing with the employees outside of the office, and seeing what this Wavehouse is all about!

I really appreciate all our friends and family who have reached out to us.  We love you all and are so grateful to have you in our lives.  Your phone calls and emails are very much appreciated.  Thank you!

Yesterday, Eric spent the day with his sisters and other family.  Today, he visited with some of our best friends.

In the afternoon, he went to see our dear friend, Kaja, in the nursing home where she lives on Long Island.  He said they had a great talk.  Kaja is a wonderful person and I know Eric loves her dearly.

After he got back from the nursing home, he met up with our friend, Andrew, to go out to dinner.  Andrew’s wife, Susan, is visiting her sister in South Carolina, or she would have gone, too.  I feel bad that Eric isn’t going to get to see Susan, because he will probably be gone by the time she gets back.  Eric adores Susan, and I know he would have loved to have seen her, too.

Eric said he had a great dinner with Andrew at a vintage diner we used to love to go to in Williston Park.  It’s called Hildebrandt’s, on Hillside Avenue.  It’s been there for over 50 years and and stepping inside is like going back in time.  They have a great menu of standards – hamburgers, grilled cheese, turkey clubs, but also have great salads and home made ice cream that is to die for.

Eric called me as soon as he left Andrew’s house.  He had rented a car, so he could drive around for a few days visiting friends and family without taking the RV.  We talked for about 45 minutes and had a great conversation.  I am happy that he is going to take the time to visit more family and friends before heading home.

He is anxious to return, and has a sense of urgency, but I keep telling him to relax and enjoy a few days with friends.  I’m fine here, and I don’t want him to rush back as quickly as he rushed there.  It’s just not safe to drive for as many hours as he was.

After I hung up with Eric I went for my walk.  I walked about three blocks further down the hill than last time.  The walk back was killer.  When I got back to the apartment I went into the pool and did 4 laps before I was exhausted.  When I got upstairs I immediately jumped in the shower and then got dressed to go to the laundry room.  I just did one cold wash of my work clothes and then made dinner.  I had the veggie “latkes” I love, with fresh mushrooms.  Eric makes it better, but it was still pretty good!

I had a NUTRISYSTEM chocolate pudding for dessert.  I watched the elimination show of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, then watched GHOST WHISPERER and then the season premiere of MONK.  It was so sweet.  Stanley Kamel, the actor who played his therapist, died a few months ago, and in the first episode they discuss how his therapist had died, and the show was really a tribute to him.  It was better than ever.  I love MONK!

I’m exhausted, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay up to watch the season premiere of PSYCH, another great show on the USA Network.

I’m really looking forward to the company summer picnic tomorrow.  I’m feeling more lighthearted than I have in a long time.  Eric is coming home, and he says he is determined to make things work here.  He does still want to leave San Diego, but he says he’ll do it when I’m ready, and won’t rush me.  He says he wants us to enjoy our life together, and be happy.  He says he realizes that New York wasn’t the answer.  I’m glad to hear it, because I really wasn’t ready to move back there.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m glad Eric and I won’t be separated for much longer.  I just hope he can find some happiness here.  The last year has been so hard for both of us.  I just want him to be happy.  Then, I can be really happy, too.

Here’s the thing about San Diego:  If the company's summer picnic was in New York, everyone would have their fingers crossed that it didn’t rain, or at least that it was a nice day.  Here, if it wasn’t a nice day, it would be all over the news!  In San Diego, you don’t have to worry about having an ourdoor affair.  The chances of it being rained out are slim.  There’s no such thing as a “rain date” in San Diego!  Is that wonderful?

I went to bed at 11:15pm.  I woke up a few times and fell back to sleep and finally woke up for good at 9:30am.  I felt that was respectable.  I did hear Little Drummer Boy talking, and then after I woke up he started drumming, so I was glad I got up when I did!

My ex-boss asked me to type labels for some file folders for his personal files at home (which I have done before).  I don’t know if he asked me because he’s not comfortable asking his new assistant, or because he likes the way I do it, but I was happy to help.

I couldn’t find the right size label and supplies are hard to come by at this firm, so I decided to bring the list home, type the labels there (because I have the right size) and then bring the labels to work on Monday and just affix them to the pendaflex tabs and the file folder tabs.

He and I had a great discussion about PETER SPIEGELMAN’S books.  He loaned me RED CAT, which I loved and then I took BLACK MAPS and DEATH’S LITTLE HELPER out of the library.  I already finished BLACK MAPS and just started DEATH’S LITTLE HELPER, which I think the boss will love, because it’s about investment banking!

He bought the first two on Amazon.com, which is something I used to do, until I found out the library is DOWN THE BLOCK!  It’s so convenient and easy!  Even if I’m late returning a book (which I was) and have to pay a dollar or two (which I did), it just seems like a donation to the library, which is very worthy!   It’s still much cheaper than buying!

So, I spoke to my niece, Ashley, today.  Eric’s been staying with Susan since he got to New York and he’s been spending quality time with Ashley, which really makes me happy!  She just graduated middle school and we sent her a check to buy something.  I asked her what she was going to buy and I was SO surprised by her answer!

Turns out, Ashley, who is 13, is very interested in photography!  She has purchased three antique cameras and saw another one, but didn’t have the money to purchase it.  Now, she said she can have it and she was very happy!

She told me she got a new camera for graduation and loves taking pictures.  Another niece, April, is very interested in photography, and has taken classes, so I’m sure she will be someone Ashley can learn from.

I told Ashley that both my sisters are avid photographers and take fabulous pictures.  I’ve never been into it, but now that I have my new digital, I do enjoy taking pictures more.

Our friend, Geri, is a fantastic photographer, and was a photography teacher for many years.  She loves to take pictures and always has her camera handy.  I’m glad to know that Ashley has a passion for something, and that it is something as worthwhile as photography!  I also love the fact that she likes antique cameras and told her I would be on the lookout for any I could find here in San Diego.  I have seen them at the flea market!

Right after I hung up with Ashley, my niece Jessica (the bride-to-be) called.  She just heard Eric is in NY and was hoping to see him.  She was on her way out to see my niece, Melissa, who was released from the hospital (wheee!).  I’m so happy she’s out, even though they’re not done treating her yet.  They just said she could take the antibiotics at home and will return to the hospital for further treatment.  They really have not figured out what to do about her treatment, and it may require another hospital stay, but we’re hoping it won’t!  Anyway, we’re glad she’s home!

I spoke to Eric three times before I left for the party at 2:00pm.  He is doing well and is trying to fit in as many friends and family as possible before he heads back.

My ride picked me up, and I got to meet her husband, who was SO nice and absolutely adorable.  They make the cutest couple.  They were so sweet to me and made sure I didn’t feel like a “third wheel.”  Our apartment is just a 10 minute drive to Mission Beach, where the WAVEHOUSE is located.

When we got to the WAVEHOUSE, I was astounded to see all there was to see and do.  There’s a big roller coaster, called the BIG DIPPER, which has been there for over 50 years.  There’s also a HUGE indoor pool (I guess it’s what they call “Olympic size”) that was originally built in 1925, and it’s only a few hundred yards from the ocean.  The beach was just on the other side of a wrought iron fence, so you could look out at the beach-goers and the water.  There were lots of other carnival rides, besides the roller coaster, and there were games, and bumper cars, and lots of booths selling food.

Where we were, in the WAVEHOUSE, everything was free, as were all the rides, as long as you had your wrist band on.  All the regular drinks were free, and we each received 2 drink tickets for alcohol.  I gave away one ticket (to the woman who has been training me at my new job) and had a margarita with the other.  But first I had several iced teas.

They served dinner at 4:00pm.  They had chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, sliced pork, veggie burgers (whee!), salad, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese, jasmine coconut rice, mango salsa, and more.  I had some salad, a veggie burger with salsa and a piece of cheese, and some rice.  It was all delicious.  Then, I had some macaroni and cheese.  When I was done with dinner, I had a piece of chocolate-dipped cheese cake.  It was a relatively small piece, but it was SO good.  They also had chocolate dipped bananas.

There were girls standing there all afternoon dipping cheese cake and bananas on sticks.  They had soft serve ice cream with all kinds of toppings (that you put on yourself).  They had hot coffee and tea.

There were tables all around, so you could sit wherever you wanted and watch the people on the BRUTICUS MAXIMUS.  They had several shows with the professionals riding the wave and then you got to watch the employees and their families attempt it.  You could either boogie board, where you’re laying down, or surf, which looked more like snowboarding than surfing.  It looked REALLY hard, and they said it’s harder than it looks!

The tricks that the professionals were able to do were really amazing.  It was fun.  The best part was that it was slightly overcast, so it was nice and warm, but not hot, and not sunny.  I felt completely comfortable!  I wore my black Capri pants, black wedge espadrille mules, and a black/chartreuse top I bought in New Orleans.  It was comfortable, yet fashionable.

I mingled a lot, spending some time talking with different people.  I had lunch with a woman I’m friendly with, along with her husband and another co-worker.  I sat for a while with a girl who has two young daughters who were so cute.  I just had to play with them a little.  I sat with the girls in HR, who are even more fun out of the office than they are in the office!

I was surprised at how many people I knew.  I took a lot of pictures of the people riding the waves, the kids, the crowds, and the WAVEHOUSE itself, which is a really pretty place.  There’s a huge cement arch where you used to enter to gain entry to the pool from the beach.  It’s dated 1925.  Now, it’s the entrance from the beach to the WAVEHOUSE.

Since this was a private event, no one was in the WAVEHOUSE but the firm, but usually it’s open to the public.  There was fantastic music all day long, which was supplied by one of the guys on the firm’s “Social Committee.”  He just downloaded a lot of his favorite songs on his ipod and I was thrilled with his choices – disco, lots of 80s, tons of Janet Jackson and Madonna, Abba, and some classic rock thrown in, too.  Everyone enjoyed the music a lot.

At 7:00pm there was a Sunset Fire Dance with Hawaiian dancers.  The girls were beautiful in their red fringed skirts and the guys were amazing tossing around the batons with fire on each end.

After the fire show most people started to leave, but I hung around with some co-workers until 8:00pm.  Then, I found my ride and she and her husband convinced me to go on the roller coaster.  I told them I haven’t been on one in 25 years, although I used to ride them all the time when I was young.  It was REALLY fun!  I couldn’t believe I did it.

I screamed the whole time, but I was laughing and screaming.  I never would have gone if they didn’t push me, but I was so glad they did.  I sat with my friend and her husband sat in front of us.  He kept holding up the camera and taking pictures of us, even though he couldn’t see through the viewfinder.  He actually caught us both screaming!  This really isn’t a bad roller coaster, compared with some of the others I’ve been on, and it only had one really scary drop.  The rest was scary because you’d turn the corners so quickly.  I have to admit, I do feel it in my neck.  I may be too old for this kind of thing!

After the roller coaster, we said our goodbyes and they dropped me off at home.  This was a really wonderful event that was enjoyed by all.  It was great to see people in a different environment, and a pleasure to meet all their spouses and families.  I know everyone will be talking about this for weeks, and the Social Committee did a fantastic job putting it all together.

I got home a little after 9:00pm.  I’m absolutely exhausted.  I wanted to upload all the pictures, but my battery died, so I have to wait to do that until the battery is recharged.  It will take me hours to download all the pictures, edit them, and then upload them onto the blog, so I’ll just do it tomorrow.  I just wanted to post this tonight, before I went to sleep!

I didn’t do much today, except talk on the phone to friends, family and Eric, clean Conrad’s cage (he didn’t enjoy the experience), read, watch TV, and work on the computer, so it’s a good thing I have some great photos to show you.  I’m not including pictures of people I work with, because they don’t know about my blog, and I feel kind of funny putting them on the internet without them knowing it, so I’ll just include pictures of the place and the crowds.  Enjoy!

I went early, because my ride was on the Social Committee, and she wanted to be sure everything was ready.  Here's a picture before the crowds arrived.

Here's another view, after some of the firm's employees started to arrive.  They gave out Hawaiian shirts in red, green, and blue to all attendees.  A lot of them wore it, but others wanted to show their own style -- including me!

Here's a picture of the beach, which is just a few feet from the Wavehouse, through a gate.  You can see it was a perfect Peppy Day -- overcast, yet warm!

There's a boardwalk that separates the Wavehouse from the sand.  People are walking, riding, and skating along all day and all night!

Here are some pictures of the pros on the Bruticus Maximus!  It's REALLY hard and they say it's more like snowboarding than actual surfing.

There were 2 girls and about 5 guys.  They said the women were some of the best in the world -- award-winning competitors.  This sport is supposed to be in the 2016 Olympics!

Here's a girl (in red) who is supposed to be one of the best in the world!

You can see it was quite a crowd pleaser!  After the pros, the employees got their chance.  It was fun to watch them boogie board and surf the wave, although most of them were only there for a few seconds, before they were swept away!  They all seemed to have a lot of fun, and as soon as they got out they'd go around and get back on line.  Some of them did it for HOURS!

Here's the flowrider, which is a much tamer version for kids, or beginners.  They recommended that you "get your feet wet" on this one, before going over to the Bruticus Maxiumus!

Here's the huge indoor pool, which has apparently been there (although renovated) since 1925!

Here are the magnificent arches on Mission Beach (MB).

Last night, after I worked for HOURS on all the pictures and posted them to the blog, I watched THE COLOR PURPLE.  Believe it or not, I have never read the book or seen the movie or Broadway play.  When it came to Broadway I was determined that I would not see it until I read the book and saw the movie.  Well, I finally saw the movie and now I’m going to read the book.

I thought it was a great movie, with a fantastic story and wonderful acting.  I was so impressed with Whoopi and I can’t believe she didn’t win an academy award for this role.  What about Danny Glover?  Was he even nominated.  I thought he was fantastic.

Oprah was great.  The whole cast was great.  I really enjoyed it.  I stopped for over an hour when my friend Marygrace called.  We haven’t spoken in months and she doesn’t keep up with the blog, so she had NO idea what was going on until another friend told her Eric was on his way to NY.  I told her he was there, but would soon be coming home, and then I filled her in on the last few months, and she filled me in as well.

Marygrace and I have been friends for 30 years.  We’ve been through a lot together.  She’s always been a good friend to us, and supported us through a lot of bad times.  I’d like to think we did the same for her, and her family.  We feel like an extended part of her family, because we spent Christmas Eve with them for 25 years.  It was one of the best nights of the year.

After I hung up with Marygrace, I finished THE COLOR PURPLE.  After that, I should have gone straight to sleep, but I wasn’t very tired, so I watched DESIGN STAR, another of my myriad of reality shows.  It’s now down to the final two, so we’ll see who’s going to have their on show on HGTV next!

This morning I was suitably tired for someone who stayed up until 11:15pm, and I keep promising myself I’ll go to bed earlier, but I’m wired at night, and then don’t sleep very well (understandably).  I am tempted to take sleeping pills.  I took SIMPLY SLEEP on Friday night, which usually puts me right out, but they didn’t seem to work too well and then I was up at the crack of dawn on Saturday anyway.  So, I guess I need something stronger.

Anyway, work was fine today.  I was busy training from 9am – 11:00am, and then the woman training me went to an early lunch and I got to just do nothing much for an hour.   I uploaded all the photos from my camera (102 pictures!) and put them in a folder on a public drive someone had set up for all the pictures from the event.  Everyone loved my pictures!  I had taken a lot of pictures of people’s kids, and they were so happy with the results!

One of the guys on the Social Committee had put together such great music for the picnic.  I told him I loved every song he played, so today he gave me what he called “Summer Picnic’s Greatest Hits” a CD of 18 songs.  I put it into my disc drive in the computer and I’m listening to it right now while I type!  There’s some Donna Summer, George Michael, Britney Spears, Shakira, Abba, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, and then he throws in an oldie-but-a-goodie like The Beach Boys singing Good Vibrations!  18 songs in all!

After work, my ride wanted to go to the mall to get some gift certificates, so I went with her.  There’s a store there that I love called PAPYRUS and she never had been there, so we went in together.  It’s all about paper – millions of great cards, wrapping paper, shopping bags and other beautiful, hand-made items – much more original (and expensive) than your Hallmark store.  We had a great time looking around, and then we headed home.

Eric called just as I was getting out of the car and I told him I’d call him back in a few minutes.  When I was settled in the apartment I called him back.  He had gone to see THE DARK NIGHT with Ashley and he said he really didn’t like it at all.  He said it’s very dark, but not in a good way.

He said it was too long, and there was a weak story line.  It’s not the kind of movie I really see in the theatre (my next movie will definitely be MAMA MIA!).  I was glad he took Ashley, even though she didn’t like it either, because they’ve been spending a lot of quality time together, which never would have happened under normal circumstances.  Ashley is a beautiful, sweet, 13-year-old, but I feel like Eric hardly knew her before this week.  Now, he has spent a lot of quality time in one week, and I think they’ll both always remember it.

Eric is leaving tomorrow morning.  He didn’t get to see everyone he was hoping to connect with before he left, but he said he just can’t wait to get back on the road and he’s got the RV all packed with the bicycles on the rack and he doesn’t want to leave it parked on the street like that.  So, he’ll be heading back tomorrow, but he promises he’ll be driving at a more leisurely pace.  I expect he won’t be back until Sunday or Monday, the earliest.

I told him that I have felt so happy and lighthearted the last few days, since he told me he wants to come back and that there are going to be big changes.  He said he realizes what a great life we have and that he was just letting things get to him and dwelling on the few negatives, instead of embracing all the positives.  It really sounds good, and I keep telling him it all sounds too good to be true.

He says when he gets back we are going to do more things together.  He says he’s not going to go around with a dour expression anymore and he’s going to appreciate everything he has.  I can’t believe that driving across the country could make such an impact on his thinking, but I guess he had a lot of time by himself to really think about things and see them a different way.

Anyway, I can’t wait for him to get back, which is very different from how I felt when he left.  I was so frustrated, and so sad that he was so unhappy.  When he left, I was relieved in a way, because for a while I didn’t have to worry about him – about trying to make him happy, about listening to him complain about all the negatives he dwelled on.  He promises things are going to be better and I’m the eternal optimist, so I have to believe him.

I’ve been doing a lot of stress eating and I’ve gained a few pounds, even with the walking and swimming I did last week.  I ate a LOT at the party on Saturday.  I usually don’t eat really bad stuff, I think I just eat too much and snack a lot at night.  I’m hoping when Eric gets back that we’ll go riding and exercise together, which will motivate me and make it a lot more interesting.

So, here’s a little story: In June of 1991 I played Betty Boop at the Jacob Javits Center when the American Bookseller’s Association held their annual trade show.  My friend, Leslie Cabarga, had written a book about The Fleischer Brothers, who created Betty Boop, and he hired me to walk around and attract attention to his book.

While I was working, I met lots of people and took many photos posing with people who were attending the show.  There was a woman there with her young son in a stroller.  He was about 2.  For some reason, he fell in love with Betty Boop and he didn’t want to leave.  We took a lot of pictures together and we exchanged information.  Believe it or not, seventeen years later we are still in touch!  She and her husband came to at least one of my performances when I was doing cabaret in Manhattan (from ’91 – ’95).

Today I got a postcard from her husband.  She’s turning 60 and he’s asking everyone to send her a birthday card.  They must be summering in Maine, because I know they live in Brooklyn, but the address to send the cards is in Maine.  I have to find a special birthday card to send to her!

So, I’m totally exhausted, but the season finale of LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL – THE SEARCH FOR ELLE WOODS is on tonight at 10:00pm.  How could I go to sleep before I see who will be starring on Broadway next?

I didn’t stay up for LEGALLY BLONDE last night.  At 9:00pm I took two SIMPLY SLEEP pills and fell asleep at 9:30pm.  I thought that would give me a good night’s rest.  Wrong!   I woke up right before the alarm went off, but I was EXHAUSTED.  I don’t know why.  I got a good 8 hours, and I felt like I slept right through the night, but I couldn’t get out of bed this morning.

When I got to work I had another 4 hours of training, which really stresses me out.  The woman I work with could NOT be nicer.  She’s so sweet and patient, but it’s just SO complicated.  I feel so bad, because I feel like I’m taking too long to get things done, but she says my problem is that I go too fast.  I end up making little mistakes because I’m rushing, but I’m rushing, because I feel like I’m taking too long!

Anyway, it’s always such a relief to go down to HR in the afternoons.  I don’t know what to do about this job in KRM.  I feel so guilty letting this woman train me for a month and then, when the boss comes back from vacation, telling her I don’t want to stay.  I know they have enough to keep me busy for 8 hours a day in HR, and I’d MUCH rather work there all day.  I was supposed to work there all day and then KRM asked for me and they decided to split my time.  I told the woman who is training me that it’s a good thing I’m just there in the mornings, because training for that job 8 hours a day would be too much.

When I got home I took my little cart and went to KEIL’S (pronounced Kyle’s).  I didn’t go food shopping over the weekend, but I couldn’t hold out any longer.  I was completely out of fruit, veggies, and Snapple!  I got all my stuff and I was one of those obnoxious people who talk on the phone while they’re food shopping, because first Eric called, and then my friend, Robyn called.  I finally hung up with Robyn when I got to the checkout line.

They never have lines at KEIL’S the way they do at WALDBAUM’S in New York.  I don’t know how they manage it.  Maybe it’s because there are cute young guys who pack all your stuff for you, so the line moves faster.  Maybe it’s because there are more checkout lines open.  I don’t know, but the service here is GREAT.  Also, I noticed for 3-4 weeks that they didn’t have the 12-pack of DIET LEMON SNAPPLE.  I mentioned it to the checkout guy and the kid who packs went and found me a case in the back.  That’s service with a smile!

When I got home I made myself a salad and had some rice chips, which are baked, but taste like tortilla chips.  They’re great with a little guacamole or salsa!

I haven’t been watching DR. PHIL for a few weeks, because they’re all repeats of shows I’ve already seen.  I watched the season finale of LEGALLY BLONDE.  It was great.  The girl I wanted to win didn’t, but I liked the other girl, too.  In fact, Bailey was the one I thought would win from the start.  I just don’t think she sings as well as Autumn, but Autumn doesn’t dance as well as Bailey.  I just feel you can learn to dance better, but you’ve only got the voice you’ve got.  I guess with voice lessons you can get better, too, but that usually takes YEARS.

I wonder how the Broadway Elle understudy must feel – not having the chance to move into the lead role, because some little nobody was on a reality show and now she’s a Broadway star.  That’s got to hurt!  Do you think they’ll start casting all the shows that way?   They already did it with GREASE – which was the first to have a reality show based on casting.

What’s next?  WICKED: The Musical – The Search For The Next Elphaba!  Or JERSEY BOYS: The Musical – The Search For The Next Frankie Valli?  I’ve got one more – GYPSY: The Musical – The Search For The Next Louise!  I could go on like this all night!

Anyway, it was enormous fun and I really enjoyed it.  Everytime these girls talked about how they’ve been dreaming of this moment all their lives, and how it’s all they’ve ever wanted, I can really relate, because that was my very first dream.  I didn’t want to be in movies, or on TV – I just wanted to star on Broadway.  Then, I figured if I couldn’t star, at least maybe I could get into a Broadway show and get my equity card.  It never happened.  So, I went on to my next dream – something a little more attainable!

Eric called again when he stopped for the night.  He’s in Tennessee and he’ll be getting into Knoxville tomorrow and onto I-40 and that will take him all the way back to California.  He promises he’s taking it slower this time and will not drive as many hours.  He said he’s SO exhausted and can’t wait to sleep when he gets home.  He hasn’t been sleeping well (neither have I) and he didn’t sleep well the whole time he was driving to NY and the whole time he was in NY.  He’s just running on fumes about now and I know he can’t wait to get back.

I feel so bad for him, because New York’s weather has been hell (so I hear from everyone) and the weather the past 2 weeks in San Diego has been a dream.  It’s been 65 in the morning and 75 at the hottest point of the day.  When I come home, the apartment isn’t stuffy and there’s always a nice breeze blowing.  I have to close the windows at night, or I wake up freezing!  This is what I call a great summer!

I watched KITCHEN NIGHTMARES tonight.  It’s a favorite of mine and Eric’s.  We LOVE Gordon Ramsey.  We watched HELL’S KITCHEN until that was finished, and now we’ll be watching KITCHEN NIGHTMARES, which involves real restaurants on the brink of bankruptcy who have problems with their décor, menu and cleanliness.  Gordon’s at his best when he’s showing someone how to be successful in the restaurant business.  He has had twelve successful restaurants!

I’m going to try to go to bed early again, but no sleeping pills tonight.  I want to see if I’m as groggy in the morning as I was today.  That was NOT fun.

I’m hoping tomorrow will not be as busy in the morning as it was today.  My brain just isn’t used to working this hard!

I am very disappointed in myself.  Actually, I’m mad at myself – filled with self-loathing.  I know it sounds very dramatic, but I mean it!

I didn’t walk on Monday, because my ride asked me to go to the mall with her.

I didn’t walk yesterday – well, I DID walk yesterday, but just to KEIL’S and back, because I had to go foodshopping.

So, I was determined that I was going to walk and swim today.  I haven’t since Friday.

I had a great day at work.  I worked on some less-stressful projects this morning in KRM, a mailing – printing labels, copying letters, etc., and then had a great afternoon (as usual) in HR.

I was ready for my big walk after work.  I was determined to walk.  I wanted to walk.

I turned my phone on at 4:45pm, right before I went to the ladies’ room, and when I came back my HR co-worker told me she loved my phone’s ring (SEX AND THE CITY theme song).  It was Eric, and he left a message.  I was wondering why he was calling me at 4:45pm, but he was confused with the time change and thought it was 5:45pm.

I called him back.  He was in Arkansas, but said he’d be in Oklahoma before he stopped for the night.  He was going to go back to Oklahoma City to spend the night.

I told him to call me back in an hour.  I got home, got undressed and was going to go for my walk, but I didn’t want to carry my phone with me, so I figured I’d call Eric.  I tried him twice, but he didn’t answer.  I figured I’d lay down, until he called, and of course I fell immediately to sleep.  Eric woke me when he finally called (at around 6:00pm, and said he hadn’t even heard the phone.  He said he must have been getting gas when I called.

Anyway, I told him I wanted to go walking, but now I was too tired.  He’s so sweet and, once again, he promised that when he gets back we’re going to do a lot of walking, riding, and exercising together and we’ll both get in shape.  I feel so unmotivated, when I should be so happy and ready for Eric’s return.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  I feel fine otherwise, I’m just lazy.  Help!

I woke up at 8:00pm and just steamed some edamame for dinner.  I really didn’t feel like anything heavy.  I paid some bills, read some emails, and then watched some TV.  PROJECT RUNWAY is back – another reality show I adore!

I decided that I’m going to talk about something I haven’t spoken about previously in my blog.  I don’t know why I didn’t want to talk about it, but I realize that the only people who read this are people who know and love me, and are supporting me in so many different ways, so I want to be a little more open and honest.

I have been going to see a therapist on Thursdays.  I originally found her for Eric and me to go to – she does individual as well as couples counseling.  Eric had said he would go, but then when the day came, he backed out, so I went by myself.  I’ve been going since the end of May.

She’s really been very helpful, especially because she’s an unbiased opinion and voice, who doesn’t know Eric – or me, for that matter.  She really helped me through the whole process of Eric leaving.

Anyway, now Eric has told me that he’ll go with me on Thursdays when he gets back.  It’s something else he’s done a complete turn-around on, and I am very happy about it.
This isn’t my first time in therapy, but it’s been a long time.  I always thought being in therapy was a luxury, because there’s someone who’s focused on you for an hour, talking to you, working things through, and it’s all about you!  They have no preconceived notions about anything or anyone, and they are professionals, so they have trained techniques to get you thinking about things, which is really helpful.

Anyway, if you’ve never tried it, and you have some problems you’re grappling with, I highly recommend it!

So, that’s why I don’t walk on Thursdays.  It’s just another excuse.  Believe me, if I wanted to walk, I would walk.  I have a friend who emailed me and told me she gets up at 4:30am to exercise before she goes to work.  That’s determination!  That’s motivation!  I wish I could get me some of that!  I don’t know how she does it, but I think she’s fabulous!

Some girls in HR go walking at lunchtime.  Apparently, there’s a trail through a park right near the office.  They walk about 4 miles altogether.   I told them if I did that, I’d have to have a shower when I got back, because I’d be drenched.  They don’t even look like they sweat at all.  How do they do it?  I get all sweaty, my hair gets soaked with sweat, and my clothes are soaked.  My face gets red, and I’m sweaty – not a good look for the office!  I used to tell people – just call me Angora – I’m a heavy sweater!

So, exercising mid-day just doesn’t work for me.  Exercising in the morning is hard, because I’m not a morning person and I need every last minute of sleep.  Exercising at night is my only option.  I get home so early now, because I work so close to home and get a ride, so I really have no excuse.  Do you think I could be hypnotized to exercise?

I know they always say working out with a buddy really helps, because you’re held accountable, and you have company, which makes exercising much more interesting.  My only hope is that Eric and I can get it together when he gets back.  Yes, that’s my only hope!

Okay, so here's a treat for you all:  It's not very flattering, but my friend gave me a picture her husband took while we were riding the roller coaster.  Enjoy!

I woke up without too much trouble today, even though I went to sleep at midnight.  I just wasn’t tired after my long nap.  I fell asleep easily (I usually do), but I woke up at about 4:45am – an hour before the alarm.  Why does that happen?  It seems so unfair to not get the few hours sleep I’m actually able to get!

I drove to work today, because I have my appointment at 5:15pm – and it’s just a few exits south on I-5 of the office.  I get so frustrated when I drive, because most of San Diego early morning radio seems to be DJs talking about what THEY think is interesting (which I really don’t), so I finally remembered to bring some CDs in the car.  This time I brought all show tunes – THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, THE FULL MONTY, HAIRSPRAY, and A CHORUS LINE.  That should keep me happy for a long time!

I played DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS on the way to work.  It’s a fun, happy musical – just right to start the day!

I had a pretty easy morning in KRM.  I was working on one project, which was not that bad, and I also finished a mailing I had to do.  The morning flew by, and then I was in HR for the afternoon!

I worked on the new HR database all afternoon.  It’s tedious work, but most everyone in the department is pitching in, and it’s getting done.  Another week and we’ll be up-to-date.

I had my appointment at 5:15pm.  She was, as usual, very helpful.

When I got home, I waited for Eric’s call.  He was driving through some bad weather in New Mexico.  I told him to call me back when he stopped for the night.  After I hung up, I immediately started two loads of laundry and then made a salad for dinner.

Eric called back when he stopped for the night.  He was pretty sure he was now in Arizona.  I thought he was going to take it easier coming back to California – driving less and driving slower, but it’s just three days and he’s almost all the way back already!  He’s amazing.  Most people take at least a week to cross the country – he’s done it twice in less than 5 days!  He should become a trucker, because he certainly has the ability to drive for hours without stopping.  I think he’s been driving about 14-16 hours a day!

I watched SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE from last night, and then LAST COMIC STANDING.  I voted online for the only female in the comic competition – Iliza Schlesinger.  She’s really funny and I enjoy her style.  She’s doing really well and has already won two weeks in a row.  Tonight, all seven performed and it was the first time the voting was open to the public.  I rarely vote for these shows – I used to vote for AMERICAN IDOL, and DANCING WITH THE STARS, but not many others.  I just figure if I can vote online it’s a lot easier than dialing in and getting busy signals!

Tomorrow is finally Friday!  I will be upstairs in KRM in the morning, and then I have to go across the street to the Marriott, because the firm is holding a Health Fair there and all the girls in HR are volunteering to work a few hours in the afternoon.  I’m on the 12-2 shift with a few other girls.  They’re going to have all sorts of tests, mini-massages (I want one SO badly), and lots of information about how to get and stay healthy.  It should be pretty interesting.  I remember my old firm (PwC) used to have these kind of things.  They would test your body fat, your stamina, blood pressure, etc.

They’re letting everyone wear jeans tomorrow, so they can be comfortable for the fair and they’re even giving out raffles!  I guess they’ll do anything to get people to go!

I have absolutely no plans for the weekend, but I figure Eric will be back soon, so we’ll have a happy reunion!  I’m really nervous about him coming back.  I want things to be better so badly and it’s been such a long time since we’ve both been really happy together.  I’m nervous, and excited, and scared, and happy – all at the same time!

I was anxious at work all day.  I spoke to Eric this morning and he was in Arizona.  Then, I called him a few hours later and he was just entering Needles, California.

I was distracted most of the afternoon, because today was the firm’s Health Fair, which was held in the ballroom of the Marriott Hotel, which is right across the street from the office.

One of the HR girls was in charge of the whole event, and the whole department was there working from 12-2.  We had about 150 attendees in 2 hours.  It was really a great event with about 30-40 different booths.  They had two different massage booths (I got a 5-minute massage, but – boy – was it good!), a diabetes screening, tests for cholesterol, blood pressure, antioxidant levels, sun damage, spinal exams, foot exams (I got one of those), and many others.

There were dentists, teeth whiteners, cooking utensils, optomologists, health care providers, health clubs, juicers, a golf swing test, chiropractic exam, and even a booth with contractors promising a “green renovation.”

There was a company called CALIFORNIA FRUIT COMPANY, whose business card was so pretty.  They deliver fresh-grown fruit to your office.  I went to their website to learn more.

They also had “snacks.”  Little sandwiches, hummus and pita bread and bottled water.  I had my salad, so I didn’t have anything.  They ran out of food pretty quickly, so they went to a local restaurant and brought back a giant Greek salad and fresh-baked hot garlic breadsticks!  I had one breadstick and some Greek salad.  It was so good!

There was a company called DRIVETIME YOGA that had an audio book for sale that you could listen to while you drive in order to calm your nerves and reduce road rage.  The girls were laughing, imagining someone doing yoga while driving.  I figured it was more about about breathing, but when I went to their website, I saw pictures of a girl stretching!  I think that's probably as dangerous as talking on your cell phone!

They also had tons of raffles – Starbucks cards, Shell gas cards, 3lb. hand weights, duffle bags, coolers, yoga DVDs, gift certificates for services, etc.  The food and the raffles really gets everybody in the door, although I told the girls that whenever PwC had any event where you could get away from your desk for a few hours – I was there!

We had a great turn-out.  I manned the door for a while, getting people to fill out and deposit their raffle cards, and making sure they got a “goodie bag.”  The bags come with brochures and pamphlets, but then you walk around and collect tons of “swag.”

They had sunscreen in little packets, toothbrushes, floss, pens – lots of pens – soft squeezy balls, tote bags, shopping bags used to replace the plastic ones at the supermarket (I already have two, and now I have three!), emery boards (advertising different companies), pencils, and mints.  People love free stuff!

When we got back to the office, we all stood around and took turns picking raffle tickets out of the box and seeing who won what.  It was a lot of fun.  These girls are a lot of fun.  They make everything an adventure!

After that was done, I walked around from the 3rd floor to the 8th floor taking down all the posters I had put up in every kitchen (there are two on each floor).  First, I had put up a small flyer announcing the Health Fair in each of the two kitchens on 6 floors (for those of you who are bad in math, that’s 12 flyers).  Then, I took those down last week and put up the posters with all the information for the Health Fair.  Then, today after the fair, I went around and took all the posters down.  I guess it was good exercise!

From 3:30pm – 5:00pm I worked on the database project.  We’re really getting it done.  There’s a soft deadline for August 1st and I really think we’re going to make it!

When I got home, there was Eric’s RV in the parking lot.  I was so excited!

He was home – after just four days on the road from New York.  I know!  It’s hard to believe.  I can hardly believe it myself!   He was gone only two weeks!  He thought it was three weeks and I had to show him on the calendar that he left on Friday, July 11th, arrived in New York on Tuesday, July 15th, stayed in NY until this past Tuesday, July 22nd, and made it home in FOUR days!  It’s hard to believe.  Someone told me they knew someone who made it across the U.S. in four days, but there were two people driving!  This was Eric – all by himself!

He was home and had almost everything out of the RV and back in the apartment by the time I got home at 5:15pm.  He was working so hard that his shirt was soaked through and he was sweating so much it looked like he had just doused himself with water!  He lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks.  He didn’t eat much and even though he was sitting all day, I guess he burned some calories just driving!

He’s exhausted.  He took a shower, and we went to HAIKU for dinner.  We had a delicious dinner and then drove over to GELATO VERO for gelato, which we brought home.

We watched last week’s episode of MONK, and then started this week’s episode at about 9:30pm and he was out like a light.

It’s really good to have him home.  On the one hand, it feels like I haven’t seen him for a year, but on the other hand, it feels like he never even left!  He doesn’t seem dramatically different to me yet.  Yes, he’s more positive, and he seems to be in a better mood.  I don’t know what I was expecting, but I have to keep in mind it’s only been two weeks.  It just seems like a lifetime in a way, and I thought that he would be a “changed man.”

He keeps telling me he’s so happy to be home, but then he tells me that he wants to move to North Carolina.  It’s very important to him that I promise him we’ll move to North Carolina in 2009.

I don’t mind promising him, but I told him he has to keep his promises, too.  He has to get his act together, get a job, and make the best of life in San Diego.  If he does that, then I can see us planning a move for next Spring.  I’m going to talk to the manager about signing a one-year lease, and I’m hoping they‘ll let us sign from when our lease ended in May, so it would end in May 2009, instead of ending next August.  Otherwise, maybe they’ll let us sign another 6 month lease.  I just don’t want to commit to stay longer than next Spring, and I’d rather not break a lease.

Anyway, that’s not something we really need to worry about now.  We have plenty of other stuff to worry about.  I just want him to be happy and healthy and enjoy our life here for the next year.  I want him to relax a little and take it easy, but I know he wants to get everything unpacked and back in order.  I just can’t believe he went through all the trouble of packing everything up and bringing it to NY, just to come home two weeks later and have to unpack it all again!

I’m pretty exhausted myself.  I haven't been sleeping well, and between working all morning, running around at the Health Fair, then walking all around the office pulling down posters, then the reunion with Eric, and dinner out, I’m ready to hit the sack, too.

I know you were all worried about Eric, as I was, traveling across the country by himself.  I’m so grateful that he’s home, safe and sound, and I thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.  Traveling 6,000 miles in two weeks is a dangerous thing to do, and he’s lucky he made it back and forth with nothing more than a flat tire!

We have to take it day by day now, and just make sure things are different – and better.  I want Eric to be happy, and I know he wants to be happy, too, but it’s up to him to make it happen.

I woke up while it was still dark.  Eric did, too.  I can always tell if he’s sleeping or not by the way he breathes.  He got up to go to the bathroom and then he went back to sleep.  No such luck for me.  I dozed a little and then my phone rang at 8:00am.

It was Bob, a friend from work.  He is one of the nicest people I have met since I have been working for this firm.  He was kind of a boss in my first position there, because I did work for him, although I didn’t directly report to him.  He’s a fun guy, who loves to laugh, and I always enjoy talking to him.  He’s in the group that I no longer work for, but who always includes me in their celebrations!

Bob just bought a house and I’ve been talking to him a lot about his plans.  He wanted to renovate his kitchen before he moved in, but I talked him out of it.  After talking to some other friends, who have had their kitchens remodeled, they all agreed that I gave him great advice and that you should usually wait at least a year before a major renovation like that, because you may not know exactly what you’ll need until you use the kitchen for a while.

I have always disagreed with people who buy a house and start knocking down walls immediately.  I think you should live in a place and figure out what’s working and what’s not.

When Eric and I moved into our house, our bathroom on the main floor was a total disaster.  We wanted to redo it right away, but we didn’t have the funds.  By the time we got our act together (over 4 years later) we realized that we never used the second bathroom on the main floor and decided to break down the wall and make a bathroom suite, complete with toilet area, shower stall, sink and vanity, a huge linen/supply closet, and a Jacuzzi that seated two.

There was also a door that led directly to the backyard, and the pool, which was the smartest idea of all.  Instead of people having to walk all the way through the house, in a wet bathing suit, to go to the bathroom (or peeing in our pool!), they just went into the bathroom from the deck.  It also flooded the room with sunlight and showed a beautiful view of the backyard.  We enjoyed that bathroom for over 15 years, and so did everyone who ever visited our home.  If we had rushed to renovate the bathroom, we NEVER would have done it again, and we never would have had that fabulous Hollywood-style bathroom!  It was a major selling point when we sold the house to the young couple who lives there now.  It was probably the only room in the house that they didn’t change!

Anyway, Bob called because he wanted us to come over to his condo and see all his furniture and help him decide what to bring, what to ditch, and what he’d need to buy.  He also offered to take us out to dinner – an offer we couldn’t refuse!  Eric hasn’t met Bob yet, but he’s heard me talk of him many times, so he was happy to have the opportunity.  Also, Bob said he’s going to have a party soon after he moved in (in September) and I’m happy that Eric got to meet him before we actually went to his house.

Bob wants us to go to the new house, too, as soon as he gets the keys.  He knows that Eric was in the contracting business for a few years, and that he really knows his stuff.  He also knows that I have a lot of ideas about decorating and he wants my input.  I’m excited to do something creative again, after such a long time.  The only decorating I’ve done in a while is the apartment – and I used to decorate every day in my shop.  It was always so much fun to arrange things, set up vignettes, and make things look their best.

Anyway, we made plans to meet at Fashion Valley Mall at 5:00pm and he would take us to the condo.  He said it’s very complicated with the guard at the gate and the parking, etc., and it would be easier if he picked us up.  We were supposed to meet him in front of a salon that had chairs outside, next to JC Penny.  I felt like a spy, or a PI, but I guess I’ve been reading too many JOHN MARCH novels!  Anyway, we couldn't find the spot he was talking about, so he directed us to his condo, jumped in our car, and took us through the whole parking routine (which WAS very complicated!).

Speaking of my John March novel, I was supposed to renew that book today, because my reading has slowed down considerably, and it’s already overdue since the 22nd.  Unfortunately, 12:30pm came and went and we were still hanging around the apartment – unshowered!

I was working on the computer, paying more bills (do they never end?) and responding to emails.  Eric was sleeping.  He just kept sleeping.  I know he didn’t sleep well for two weeks straight and he was so happy to be back in his own bed, and he just needed to sleep, so of course I let him!

I watched a little bit of LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE & BLONDE.  It was fun.
I was going to run errands, but Eric said he’d go food shopping and to COSTCO with me tomorrow.  I’m glad I didn’t go to COSTCO by myself while he was gone.  It’s a lot easier to go with someone else, since everything’s so big and heavy!

I went for a swim (Eric wouldn’t go with me) and did 5 fast laps around the pool.  I really feel it in my arms and the backs of my legs and it feels great.  It also cools me off and I feel better when I get back in the apartment (which is very hot in the afternoon).

Eric and I were discussing life in California.  His ideas really haven’t changed: He still hates it here, he still thinks it’s “a dump” and he still wants to leave.  When I tell him I want him to go to North Carolina first, to get a job and make sure it’s going to work, he refuses.  He says he wants us to go together, but that prospect really scares me.  What if he can’t find a job?  What if he’s not happy there either?

I told him I don’t want to talk about North Carolina anymore, until we’ve resolved all the California issues, which is him getting happy and getting a job.  But it’s hard for him to keep off the subject.  He really wants to move there, and he wants to move in Spring 2009, which makes sense to me, if everything else is working out.

Anyway, we met Bob at 5:00pm and went to his condo.  It’s in a beautiful complex, in a great building, but the apartment itself is a very small one-bedroom.  He’s going to have SO much more room now, moving into a 3-bedroom house with a living room and family room, too.  I’m so happy for him!  I told him he could really bring every piece of furniture with him and upgrade gradually.  He needs a new bedroom set and dining room set, a sofa, and window treatments, but he doesn’t have to buy everything right away.

Bob treated us to dinner at PIZZERIA UNO in Fashion Valley Mall.  I had an individual “Farmer’s Market” deep dish pizza (but I ate exactly half and brought the other half home for Eric).  Eric had the Rattlesnake Pasta, which was chicken, jalapeno peppers and 2 kinds of cheese with rigatoni.  Bob had the “sliders” with fries.  Then, the three of us shared two huge desserts – the mudslide brownie and the peanut butter cup.  They were both FABULOUS, although we could have used just one, because they were so big and we left over almost half of each!

When we parted, we came home and I did two loads of laundry.  I immediately set to work on the computer, researching window treatments and finding out about removing popcorn ceilings, which Bob has in the three bedrooms.  They’re really horrible to look at and they collect dust and dirt.  He wants to remove them and I told them it’s a great idea.  The only problem is, popcorn ceilings installed before the 80s can have asbestos in them, so they need to be professionally removed.  It’s an ugly job!

Eric fell asleep before 10:00pm and I just worked on the computer and watched TV.  Tomorrow we are going to run a lot of errands – KEIL’S (prounounced “Kyle’s”) and COSTCO (pronounced “Costco”).  I may also go to BIG LOTS or BURLINGTON COAT FACTORY in the shopping center nearby to look at some cheap mirrors.  Bob wants to take the two framed beveled mirrors he had custom made to hang over the vanity in his bathroom, and wants to replace them with cheaper versions.

I love working on stuff like this.  It really makes me happy and gets my creative juices flowing!  He’s so appreciative and such a nice guy.  I’m really happy to work on this with him!

We both woke up around 8:00am and actually got an early start!  We were out of the house and on our way to breakfast before 10:00am.  We went to our new favorite place – Café 976 on Felspar in Pacific Beach.  I had my usual – Spicy Eggplant Burrito and Eric had waffles.

Then, we went to Kobey’s Flea Market.  We both got some great stuff – Eric got new headphones for his discplayer – his old ones were on their “last legs.”  I got new flip-flops, which I only wear when I get a pedicure.  My old ones were about 5 years old, and only lasted that long because I only wore them for a few hours a maybe once a month.  They were finally on THEIR last leg, too, so I got new ones that are black but are about 2 inches thick, so they’re platform flip-flops.  They were only $5!

I also got 7 vintage hankies (like I need more) for $5.  They were really cute and pretty and in great condition.  Then, I came to a fabulous vintage jewelry booth and bought a triple-strand aurora borealis crystal cuff bracelet for $15 and two fabulous rhinestone pins for $10 each!  One is star-shaped and is all clear rhinestones (my favorite).  The other is a very unusual shape and has clear and bright blue rhinestones.  Gorgeous!  Her stuff was really nice and really cheap.  She had a leopard coat I LOVED and it was only $25.  I told her if I didn’t already have one, and if I wasn’t living in San Diego, I would have bought it in a second.  It had thick black cuffs and a beautiful black shawl collar.

I also bought three pieces of bamboo, because it’s supposed to be lucky and I figure I could use some luck right about now!  I have to find just the right planter in which to put them.
We walked around the flea market for almost three hours.  That’s the longest we every stayed there!  I think we went up and down every single aisle at least once!

We passed a booth selling dwarf bunnies and I had to stop.  I got to hold a little black bunny.  It was about the size of a guinea pig.  The guy said they would get about twice that size.  They were SO cute.  Eric wanted to buy me one.  He was sure it wouldn’t affect my allergies, because it was so small.  I wasn’t so sure!  For some reason, besides dwarf bunnies, the guy also had a tank with scorpions in it.  They were about 4 inches long.  I was looking at the scorpions (I had never seen one in person before) and there was this guy behind me, and he said, “why don’t you hold the scorpion?”

I looked the the vendor and said, “Do they bite?”  He said, “No, but they sting!”  I said, “Really?”, because I wouldn’t hold it if it was going to stink me, but then he said that they really didn’t sting, so I told him I wanted to hold it.  He put it in my palm and it just sat there.  The guy looks at Eric and he says, “She must be Italian!” – whatever that means.  I guess he thinks Italian girls have guts.

I said, “No I’m Jewish!  Didn’t you know Jewish girls were fearless?  And the older we get, the more fearless we get!”  His eyes were open wide, and he looked at his girlfriend like, “Why don’t YOU hold the scorpion!”  Eric couldn’t believe I did it either.  I’m really not afraid of stuff like that.  If it was crawling really fast, it would have creeped me out, but it was just sitting there, so it was like holding a plastic scorpion, and I figured if it would sting me the guy wouldn’t have let me hold it!  Anyway, it was an adventure!

After we left, we went straight to COSTCO, filled up with gas (only $4.17 per gallon!) and spent another hour walking up and down aisles.  We bought “fake crab” (which we love to put in our salads and wraps), FUZE drinks and a case of bottled water.  I had $2 off coupons for two bottles of  Listerine, a five pack of Colgate toothpaste (buy four, get one free!), a giant pack of CHARMIN toilet paper, and a four-box package of ZIPLOCK sandwich bags (enough to last a lifetime!).  We also bought a bag of avocados and two big cantelopes.

When we got home, Eric carried most everything up to the apartment.  I unpacked all our purchases and put them away.  We were going to go to KEIL’S next, but I told Eric I really didn’t think we needed to.  The only thing I could think of that we didn’t have was wraps, and he said he’d stop by tomorrow.  We still had cherries, and everything to make salads, so I knew we’d have enough for dinner.

After putting everything away, we decided to take a nap, but neither of us slept very well.  It was just 4:30pm and Little Drummer Boy was playing outside with his little friend and they were very noisy.  It was too hot to close the windows, but at least we relaxed and rested.

When we got up, Eric came out to the living room and watched STAR TREK (which we both enjoy) and I read my book a little and then worked on the computer for a while. 

I had my leftover PIZZERIA UNO pizza for dinner and Eric had a NUTRISYSTEM entrée of ravioli.  Then, we watched a CHRIS ROCK movie I had recorded – DOWN TO EARTH – a remake of HEAVEN CAN WAIT made in 2001.  I LOVE Heaven Can Wait – it’s one of my Can’t Not Watch movies.  This is an almost exact remake – except instead of a football player, he’s a comedian.  REGINA KING plays his love interest.  CHAZZ PALMINTERI is in the James Mason part.

After that, I watched DESIGN STAR.  It’s down to the final two and their final challenge was fixing a home for two families in New Orleans who have been out of their homes for three years, since Hurricane Katrina.  Now, it’s up to the audience to vote for the winner.  Both contestants did a great job, but I really like the girl better than the guy, so she’s got my vote!

Eric went to sleep a little after 10:00pm, and I’m off to bed as soon as I’m done blogging!  It’s good to have Eric home.  We have a lot to work through, but I’m confident we can get through anything together. 

Do you believe it’s the end of July already?  The summer is half over!  When I was in NY, I’d already be getting a little anxious (no, really!) because I’d be worrying about the cold weather.  It’s weird not worrying about that.  I still get a little anxious because time flies so fast, but then I realize it doesn’t matter, because I don’t have to live through another winter in NY.  That’s a good feeling.

So, this morning I brought to work a gelato container full of cereal, and another gelato container half-filled with soy milk, for my breakfast.  That was about 3 days worth of milk.  I also had my salad and a sandwich bag of cherries.  I was using a vintage black straw tote bag I have that is SO cute, because I was carrying some papers to work, too, and needed something bigger than my usual lunch bags.

I decided to wrap all the food in a plastic KEIL’S (pronounced “Kyle’s”) bag, just to be safe.  Good thing I did!  When I got to work I realized the gelato container with the soy milk had opened and spilled out.  If I didn’t have it inside the plastic bag, everything would have been soaked with soy milk, including the fabric lining of my beautiful vintage straw tote!  I just had dry cereal for breakfast with my iced coffee (which I treated myself to, because I thought I deserved a treat).

What I realized is that those pint-size gelato containers are not really that air tight, because what is supposed to go in there is frozen, so you don’t have to worry about it spilling.  I need to put a piece of Press ‘n Seal around it to make sure it doesn’t leak.

So, the woman who’s training me in the mornings left at 9:00am to watch her son play in a baseball game, so I was on my own until right before I left at noon.  I had a lot of work to do, and managed to get a lot of things accomplished, but what I was doing was setting up emails to our sponsors attaching documents we publish, and I can’t send anything (or won’t, because I’m too nervous) without my co-worker approving everything, so nothing got sent today, because she was gone all morning!

At noon I went to see Bob’s house with another co-worker.  It’s really cute and I like it a lot, but it does need a new kitchen.  He wanted to have it done before he moved in, but he’s going away on vacation the first week in August, and he wants to move in on September 1st and there’s no way it’s getting done in a month.  It would take a month to find a contractor, pick out everything he needs, and get started!  So, I’m glad I talked him out of doing it right away, even though it DOES need to get done.

Everything else is pretty good – the wood floors are in excellent shape and the carpet, although very utilitarian, is in excellent condition and there’s nothing wrong with it, so he can save himself a lot of money by just keeping it.

The house has a lot of character -- wide open, with lots of windows and sunlight -- a peaked ceiling in the kitchen with a skylight, and another in the living room with a working fireplace.

When we got back, I went to HR and ate my salad while I worked.  HR is so much fun.  I enjoy all the work I’m doing (even when it’s very tedious data input) and everyone there is SO nice. 

Tomorrow we’re having a birthday cake for one of the girls, and we’re having a FRIENDS birthday party on Thursday for another HR girl who LOVES that show.  They’re having a FRIENDS trivia contest and I think I have a good chance, because I loved that show, too!  This group is lots of fun!

When I got home, I changed immediately and Eric and I went for a nice walk down the hill and back.  We walked a little further than I’ve walked, but not too far.  We were both huffing and puffing on the way back and my legs were killing me.

When we got back to the apartment, Eric watched TV in bed and I did six laps around the pool.  Then, I jumped in the shower and we had dinner.  Eric had cereal with cantelope and I had a NUTRISYSTEM veggie lasagna.  Then I had some cantaloupe, too!

We watched K-PAX, which I had recorded last night.  It was weird and very dissatisfying.  Was he an alien or NOT?  And where’s Bess?  I love Kevin Spacey, so I thought it was worthwhile, but the best part was that David Patrick Kelly, an actor Eric and I knew and liked from the 80s, had a big part in the movie.  It took me almost an hour to figure out who he was, but it finally hit me.  He hasn’t aged very well!

When I’m sitting at my computer, I can see my lucky bamboo.  I found the perfect planter for it.  I had a tall frosted drinking glass with an Asian design – a man pulling a woman in a rickshaw.  I put lots of semi-precious stones all around the bamboo to support the three stems – rose quartz, turquoise, etc., and it looks really pretty.  I had it right on the table in the dining area.  I just didn’t think it was safe there, because the bamboo’s so tall and it’s a little top heavy.  If you put something down on the table, it might just go over, so I moved it to one of the shelves holding my knick-knacks.  It looks great!

I’m not much of a plant person, but I think I can handle the bamboo.  I used to have lots of it in the shop and it’s pretty easy to care for!  I always liked to put bamboo in sugar bowls that had no lid, or teapots with no lid.  It made for an unusual and appealing planter, and gave new life to something that had lost it’s true purpose!

I am determined to start my decoupage project tomorrow.  I’ve been putting it off for weeks already.  I know once I get started I will enjoy every minute and I do want to give it to my friend at work.  I just need to get motivated.  I put out my apron, and my materials, so I will see it tomorrow and get to work.  I’ll take before and after pictures, so you can see the fruits of my labor!

I didn’t go to sleep until 11:30am, but I still woke up before the alarm.  I find that SO frustrating.  I don’t know why I can’t stay asleep until the alarm goes off, no matter how tired I feel!

I felt like crap this morning.  I know this is probably TMI for the guys reading this, but it’s my “time of the month” and even though I’m fifty, I’m crampy, and uncomfortable and in pain.  It really IS “the curse!”

I had a pretty good day at work.  I got a project that was pretty easy and kept me busy for most of the morning, so that was good.  I was standing in a friend’s cubicle, talking to her, and all of a sudden I felt something weird.  I really didn’t know what it was, but my first thought was that someone was moving something very heavy and the floor was shaking.  Then, my friend said, “Oh.  An earthquake!”  I couldn’t believe how calmly she said it.

The floor started to move, and the plants and Venetian blinds started swaying.  It was unreal.  I couldn’t believe it was happening.  It lasted about 10 seconds.  The whole office was up and about, talking about it.  Everyone wanted to know if this was my first earthquake and then announced I was no longer an “Earthquake Virgin!”

Everywhere I went, the rest of the day, that’s all people were talking about.  I got emails from San Francisco, New Paltz, New York, Long Island, Florida, and Los Angeles.  My cousins in Los Angeles both emailed.  They were fine, but much harder hit than we were in San Diego.  I called Eric.  He didn’t feel a thing!

When I got down to HR I started working diligently on the database inputting project until we all stopped working for a birthday party for one of the girls.  She’s the one I know the least, because she was on vacation for almost a month, and she’s very shy and quiet, too.

She had expressed a preference for Lemon Meringue pie, so that’s what they bought her.  They gave her some kind of gift card, too, but I didn’t chip in, and I didn’t see what kind it was.  We talked and laughed and ate Birthday Pie for about a half hour, and then I took everyone’s dirty plates, threw them out, and went back to work.  I just feel a little funny hanging around too long, when I’m getting paid by the hour!  Plus, I wanted to get back to my project, because I’m trying to get it all done!

The rest of the afternoon flew by and I had a huge pile of finished work by the end of the day.  I felt great – I had made a real contribution!

We have another birthday party on Thursday and I chipped in for this gift, because I really like this girl and I feel it’s only fair if I’m going to be part of the party!  They kept insisting I didn’t have to, but it felt right – and it was only $8!

When I got home, I wanted to walk, but I was really feeling “pooky.”  That’s the only word I can use to describe how I felt.  I wasn’t sick, just yucky, and not up to anything more than a nap.
Eric watched TV with me and we both fell asleep for a while.  When we woke up we made dinner together – salads and the veggie burgers I call “latkes.”  They’re delicious!

We watched Gordon Ramsey’s KITCHEN NIGHTMARES.  It was about a place in Los Angeles called SEBASTIAN’S in Burbank.  From what I could find online, the place is no longer in business – and I’m not surprised.  I’m sure my cousin, Ilene, can tell me for sure, since it’s not far from where she lives and I’m sure she’s heard of it.  The episode originally aired last November, and I read that the restaurant closed in January.  There’s probably another, very successful restaurant there now.  It was a great location, and a great space, but the owner was an idiot!

After that show I came out to work on the computer and we had some gelato.  I was supposed to start my decoupage project tonight, but no such luck.  I did take my “before” pictures of the clear glass vase I’m going to decorate for my friend at work.  She had given me a bouquet of flowers in this vase when I left the group to go my new positions.  I know once I get started I will be so into it and enjoy it so much, but I just can’t get started.  Maybe tomorrow?

I had trouble sleeping again last night.  Big news.  I had napped, so I guess it made sense that I was still up at 12:30am.  I finally fell asleep and woke up before the alarm again.

I had a nice, quiet, uneventful day at work.  No earthquakes today.  I got home a little late, because we all decorated the birthday girl’s cubicle for tomorrow after she left at 4:30pm and didn’t leave until about 5:20pm.  She loves FRIENDS, so we decorated her whole cubicle with birthday decorations, balloons and pictures of the cast printed from the computer.

They also made up labels that had the CENTRAL PARK logo and put them on coffee cups.  They’re bringing in coffee, and desserts specifically mentioned in the show – toll house cookies and cheesecake.

When I was riding home, I called Eric to tell him I was going to be late and told him I wanted to go for a bicycle ride, so he should be ready when I got home.  He was, and I changed quickly into my bicycle clothes and off we went.  I had a good reason for wanting a ride – my cousin, Ilene, had sent me an email coupon for a “buy one get one free” at JAMBA JUICE.  I have never been to JAMBA JUICE, because I’m definitely a STARBUCKS girl, but it seemed like a healthy drink, and there’s one in the shopping center 3 miles away.

We had a nice ride there and each got a 16 oz. 180 calorie drink with no sugar added – all fruit and no dairy.  I got MANGO MADNESS and he got BERRY FULFILLING.  They were delicious, but they’re blended, so it’s hard to drink.  We had a little bit and put them in a bag and Eric carried it back and we rode home.

When we got home I immediately got busy making dinner – salad and veggie corn dogs and faux chicken nuggets.  We had dinner and then watched TV.  I was exhausted.  I felt like I could fall asleep, but it was only 8:30pm.  Eric said we could nap for an hour and then get up at 9:30pm.  It didn’t seem like the smartest idea in the world, but I was SO tired, I just wanted to close my eyes.

Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep much, even though I felt totally exhausted.  At around 9:30pm my cell rang, and that woke us up anyway.  I got out of bed and started blogging.  When I’m done, I’m going to take two sleeping pills and try to fall back to sleep.  My sleep patterns are definitely all messed up.

I have to drive tomorrow and Friday, because my ride brought her car into the shop tonight.  So, I have to make sure to get up even earlier than usual, because I have to pick her up at 7:30am, instead of standing outside at 7:30am.

I feel good that I went for a 6-mile ride, and we had fun, but I still didn’t do any decoupage and know I won’t tomorrow or Friday either, because we’ll be out after work both nights.

I am determined to get it done this weekend.  We don’t have any plans, and I’m not going to make any either.  I know it will just take me a few hours, and it is so frustrating that I can’t seem to get started.  Oh, well.  It’s just another thing that’s weighing on my mind these days!

I drove to work today, because my ride has her car in the shop.  The good news was I got to park in the employee parking lot, instead of the general parking lot I usually park in.  It was VERY exciting!

I had a good morning, and when I was about to leave I was speaking to the woman who has been training me.  I told her I really appreciate all her help and that I hope she feels I’m doing a good job and getting better and a little more independent.  She said she thought I was doing great, but that when the boss comes back she’s going to want me to do it on my own.  I remember the boss saying something about that when I was just in the job for 2 or 3 days and I thought she was CRAZY.

I told this woman how I felt.  I said that I don’t like responsibility.  I said that was why I always liked being a Secretary, Administrative Assistant, Executive Assistant, etc., because you give me the work and I do it.  I don’t like being responsible, and that’s why I never tried to climb the corporate ladder.  “But you had your own business!” she said.  “Yes,” I told her, “that’s true, but that was a passion of mine and I loved every minute of it.

I told her that Eric and I never had kids, because we didn’t want the responsibility.  We always liked being spontaneous, and independent, and not worrying about anything.  I told the woman that I love working with her, and that she’s great, and I appreciate everything, but if the woman insists I work on my own and won’t let me get the support I think I need, then I’m not going to stay.  I just don't need that kind of stress in my life right now!

I also explained it all to my ride, and she said she thought the boss would be unreasonable to expect me to be able to work on my own after just a month.  So, that’s where it stands with this job.  I’d really much prefer to be in HR for 8 hours a day and I think they could use me there, too, so I’m hoping that’s how it all turns out.

When I went down to HR I did a filing project, which was not thrilling, but at least it’s easy and I know no one else wants to do it, so I don’t mind at all.  Then, I worked on the database project, until it was time for the FRIENDS Birthday Party!  We had decorated the birthday girl’s cubicle and it looked so cute.

The girls brought in cheesecake (because of a great episode involving Rachel and Chandler and a cheesecake that was delivered to a neighbor), and also brownies, cookies, and a dip this girl makes with cream cheese and a spicy relish.  It’s AMAZING on Ritz crackers!  We all were pigging out and I swear I ate more calories today than I did in the last week.

We all chipped in and got her this weird gift she was dying to try.  It's called something like an ionic foot bath and you stand in this water and supposedly all the toxins in your body are pulled out through magnets and depending on what color the water turns, they tell you what's wrong with you!  Sounds VERY interesting!

Then, we played a FRIENDS trivia game on a laptop in the conference room.  The birthday girl knew most of the answers, but I knew a lot, too.  They had some REAL trivia – stuff I don’t even remember – and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every single episode.

We talked about FRIENDS and SEINFELD, and how we all believe those were two fantastic 90s sitcoms.  They’re classics!  I still watch them in syndication, and WILL & GRACE, too!
I left at 4:15pm today, so the afternoon really flew by.  I dropped my ride off at home, picked Eric up, and then we went back to La Jolla to my therapist.  I think she’s really going to be able to help us both.

After that, we came back to Clairemont and went to the Italian restaurant up the block.  We had a nice dinner.  They have a great salad bar and this tomato soup that is to die for, so I just had soup and salad.  Eric had eggplant parm and soup and salad, too.  All the entrées come with soup and salad, and they’re salad bar is so well-stocked that you fill up and end up bringing most of your meal home!

When we got in, we started watching LAST COMIC STANDING.  The final 8 were performing in Las Vegas, and they were finding out who won the most votes from last week and the final five would move on.  I voted online last week and voted for the only girl, because I think she’ hysterical.
There are 2 or 3 others that Eric and I really like, so we’ll see how this goes!  We’re also watching SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, which is down to the final 6.  And the new season of PROJECT RUNWAY just started, so I’ve plenty of reality TV to keep me happy!

Tomorrow’s Friday already.  This week just flew by.  We are having dinner tomorrow night with good friends of our good friends.  They spend some time each year in San Diego and they just arrived.  I met the woman when my friend Susan and I went to have lunch with her on Long Island last year.  She was a great resource for information about San Diego and she gave me magazines, maps and told me a lot about things to do and places to go.  I only met her husband for a moment.  Eric’s never met either one of them, so tomorrow night will be the first time.  We’re going to a nearby diner that we never knew was there, so I’m excited!