Best laid plans interrupted by office nightmares

I am back in one piece from my weekend away and had the best laid plans of slogging through a brutal day at work and getting home tonight to hopefully do a quick post about the trip (with some photos for a change!) before packing up and heading out on a way too early flight to SanFran tomorrow morning. Before you go getting too jealous of my jet-setting lifestyle, it is a quick trip for all work and no play. And little sleep...seriously I will be there for about 20 hours total.

But then something happened at work. Something that has shaken me. Literally, my hands are still trembling as I type this, I have actually been physically shaking from the upset and anger. I have a colleague that I have to work with from time to time because I paths intersect. She has never been nice to me and at times has gotten quite mean. My boss got involved....that angered her more and she took it out on me. I was supposed to be moved to another floor to at least get away from her, but those plans fell through.

So I have tried to make due...avoid interaction altogether save for the occasional "Good Morning" that I may be forced into in the kitchen.

But today...TODAY...she was just flat out rude, condescending and mean. No need to get into specifics about the project or anything like that. But this woman usually tries to be my boss. Which, of course, she isn't. And if we want to get super-technical, my title is higher than hers. ANYway, she was again trying to micromanage something to death. To the point that it was insulting. Previously, the director of our office had a conversation with her about this tendency of hers and that she needed to get it in check. Asking her point blank if I had ever dropped the ball on a project she had no choice to reply "No." Because I haven't. Things get in on time, no matter what sacrifices are made on my part to do so.

Didn't matter. She was off and micromanaging again -- to the point that it was getting absurd. So I kindly stopped into her office next door and clarified for her that YES it was getting done and OF COURSE I would provide her (and others) a copy of that project when it was done. To which she asked me for the THOUSANDTH time if I remembered that it was due today. I mean, does she want to go double check my outlook calendar to make sure it is there? "Yes," I said, "I am well aware and it will be submitted today. I have been dealing with a number of firedrills so far today, but will be getting to it before the end of the day."

Then she decides to just be a flat out b*tch. Starts mocking me in a fake over the top voice with painfully feigned dramatic enthusiasm "Oh wonderful. I am just SOOOOOO glad to hear that." She even f@cking clapped her hands. I am pretty sure my jaw dropped to the floor and as I turned and left could hear her grumbling some terribly unflattering things about me under her breath. Loud enough that it was clear it was for my own personal benefit.

And I came into my office, shut the door and just lost it. Racked my brain for how I could make ends meet if I just packed up, walked out the door and never came back to this place. I can deal with stressful situations and absurd deadlines. I have dealt with working late nights and sleeping with my blackberry so I can respond to messages at all hours. I have gotten used to working while on vacation and never leaving my desk or ever eating lunch. Is it awesome? no, but I can handle it for now and hope that things will either get better or I will find a new job.

But this? Being talked to like I was a worthless piece of trash? Yeah, I am not so sure this is worth a paycheck at this point.

Oh Friday...SO good to see you!

Seriously, this week...ugh. Too much running around and too much stress and just, well too much. Friday is finally here and I am getting ready to head out of town to meet up with some fabulous ladies and hopefully enjoy too much food, drinks and fun! I am headed to a city I have never been and am pretty freaking stoked. That's right...I said stoked.

I will try and take a few more pictures than my recent jaunt to Chicago and hopefully post next week.
Happy weekend!

Please stop this day

cause I wanna get off....too much, too fast, too tired.

Chivalry is totally dead...or is it?

Yesterday, I had to run out of the office to head to an appointment. Luckily a train arrived just as I made it down to the metro platform, so I figured God was giving me a little help to get to where I needed to go in time. Thanks, Big Guy.

While the train wasn't terribly crowded, there weren't any available seats when I boarded. No big deal. A few stops later, a seat did open up right next to where I was standing. What luck! As I made my way to sit down, I was literally shoved out of the way by some guy so he could take the seat. Really? REALLY?!?

My jaw dropped, I honestly could not believe it. Not so much that I thought that I should get the privilege of sitting down because I am some delicate flower of a girl. I know that is far from being an accurate description of me. had this guy been closer to the seat, and started to move towards it when it became free, I wouldn't have even attempted to claim it. But I could not get over that he felt it was completely acceptable and appropriate behavior to hurry over and push me out of the way so he could take a load off and sit down.

Still a bit in shock, I got off the metro about 10 min later. Looking at my watch, I got worried I would be cutting it too close for comfort in trying to get to my appointment in time. I had parked my car at a garage that morning and ran into the building's lobby. Seeing an open elevator door, I picked up the pace and hurled myself onto the elevator. There was a kind man smiling holding the "open door" button so I could get on safely. As if that wasn't nice enough, after I frantically pushed the button for P3, he said "Oh I needed to go up; that's OK, you go ahead and take this one", and he exited the elevator.

"Sorry! Thank you!" I called back to him as the doors closed.

So in the span of about 30 or 40 minutes, I got to see both ends of the chivalry spectrum. Glad to see it isn't totally a dead practice.

The Seven Year Itch

So I think I may have figured out what all of my restlessness has been about lately. well maybe not entirely, but a part of it. I just passed my 7 year anniversary of moving here. And while I have lived in a few different houses/apartments in that time period, it has been SEVEN years. Which is longer than I have lived anywhere outside of where I grew up.

And while I am not sure if here is the place I am supposed to stay...for today I am just going to take a little look back about all I have been through and accomplished in those seven years. Cause TRUST ME, there has been A LOT. Maybe I need to put on a white dress and find a steam grate later a la Marilyn?

Friday Happy Hour

My Friday HH is sadly alcohol-free...and who even knows when I will leave the office tonight. I had to get out for a quick errand (going back to the bank because I am sans-ATM card), and on my sprint walk back to the office, I stopped for a mini-cupcake and a Powerball ticket.


Dear 8 pounds 6 ounces new born infant Jesus, please let me hit the Powerball so I can save myself from this job that is slowly killing me...please and thank you.

Complete and utter TRAGEDY

Last night, the REAL James Franco was here in DC. Not this one, but this one


He was here to attend a benefit supporting 826 National, a nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization with locations in eight cities across the country, including DC. The organization's goal is to assist students ages six to eighteen with their writing skills, and to help teachers get their classes excited about writing.

My J.Franco...such a renaissance man. Swoon. Correction...swooning while kicking myself for not going to stalk him last night.