Ramblings

I had every intention of blogging from Milwaukee last week but found myself working online until late into each night. I liked Milwaukee though. I had two of the best nights of sleep I've had in ages. My room was nice and extremely quiet. My meetings went well but my flight home was a nightmare. A crazy drunk lady slobbered and slurred words a few rows in front of mine for much of the flight and was arrested when we landed. I heard she tried to use the restroom during our landing and I guess that didn't go over too well. The kid in front of me bobbed to what I imagine was loud hip hop on his iPod. The guys behind me slept for the beginning of the flight but woke after an hour and spoke loudly over the even noisier engines for the rest of the flight. I was trapped in a window seat next to a lunatic obsessed with her ugly Coach bag. She clutched that bag while she slept then propped it on her seat tray and admired it. She didn't seem to want to put it on the floor so she fondled it most of the time. It was weird. The kid in the aisle of my row scored some run to go in his Coke but I'm certain he was under aged because he admired his drink the same way the strange lady gazed at her bag. There was no movie on the flight and I couldn't watch the movie on my iPod because didn't sync it correctly. I listened to a few episodes of This American Life (The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar and The Spokesman were particularly fascinating. At the very least, listen to the story told by Joe Lockhart as told on The Moth. How to Rest in Peace was great but terribly disturbing. That's the thing about that show, it's always thought provoking, often funny, but sometimes profoundly sad. Still, it's always worth a listen. Get the free podcast on the site or on iTunes. You won't be sorry.) and played solitaire on my iPod instead. I've decided my iPod is an absolute Godsend in those situations. It's sort of acts as my blankey while on the road, except I don't stare at it and stroke it like the bag lady. Since that flight I've downloaded Scrabble to it. I also downloaded Under the Tuscan Sun because I never get tired of that movie and I'm sure I'll find comfort in it next time I'm trapped. I'd like to add Pride and Prejudice as well but it doesn't seem to be available yet. The flight from hell landed around 11:30 pm Thursday night so I got to drag myself into work late on Friday and leave a little early. I feel like I'm still recovering in terms of sleep.

I had a nice weekend but still feel tired. I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall with Heidi and laughed a lot. Shandon was right, it's funny but forgettable. It's one I'm sure I'll watch again on cable. I watched The Assassination of Jesse James but the Coward Robert Ford this afternoon. I really liked it. As usual, I was doing other things while it was on but what I managed to see was good looking. I didn't wait to see who the Cinematographer was but he/she did an great job. The Direction was interesting too.

I've come to the realization that I'm very stressed out at work (yeah, I'm a brainiac for figuring that one out). My boss and I are short handed and are covering a LOT of territory. I know I've been getting in early, working late then doing more work at home. I've vowed to at least stop the working in the evenings habit. I'm going to crash and burn if I don't take it easy. I finally realized that even if you like your job it can still stress you out. I saw my doctor a couple of months ago and my GP when I had that terrible flu. They both asked if I was under any stress and I repeatedly told them "no". I now realize that's not true. My boss is having some health issues, I've had some strange symptoms and another co-worker is dealing with ulcers. We all like our jobs but obviously something is going on. Before I left on Friday, I told my boss to get out of there to go home and chill some wine. We then admitted that we are both under a lot of pressure but that it will get better soon. We've chosen a candidate for the open position in our group now HR needs to make it official.

I don't normally get the Sunday night blues, and I don't think I quite have them now, but I do wish I had another couple of days to sleep and read. I've been good about ignoring my Blackberry during personal time but I did sneak a peek at my calendar. This week is light on meetings but I know the days will fill themselves quickly. The best news my Blackberry had to share was that I don't have to travel for a couple of weeks. That's good. While I enjoy travel, it can often be exhausting. I think I'll book my flights tomorrow so I can get those aisle seats while I can.