www.myallusion.com

Yeah, MyAllusion.  Singular.  I figure I might as well move now while I only have one reader.

 In other news…have you ever been talking to someone on the phone and you swear you can hear them taking a shit?  I’m having that experience Right.Now.  If you know who you are, I CAN HEAR YOU…STOP IT. 

Rude.

Proof positive that I’m as dorky as you thought I was.

There. My work is done.

Anyway…I’ve really never had a hobby that was mine alone.  Volunteer firefighter:  group thing.  Boat races:  again, group thing.  One of the things I love the most about reading a few of my staple blogs is their amazing photos.  I’ve had a jealous streak a mile long over those gorgeous photos (by the way, I’m a professional “lurker”, so if any of the owners of those fabulous photos makes their way back here, “HI!”).  Whether it is just images of day to day life or composition shots, I love the crispness of the photos.  The common thread here is they all use a SLR camera vs. a point and shoot.  So, I’ve been kicking around the idea for a while about getting a beginners Digital SLR camera and playing around a little myself.

After hours of slogging around on research websites, I’ve settled on a Nikon D40.  Since I’m hit or miss on if a new hobby will stick, the combination of raving reviews (it seems the D40 is the go-to camera for professionals who want to take “everyday” pictures) and price seems perfect.

My first real test will be in a few weeks.  I’m off to Paris and Orleans, France for work for a week and a half, so we’ll see what turns up.  More on that trip later.

I will probably never understand the mentatlity of the Seattleite.  I swear I’m going to rig a billboard on my car that says “Attention all Seattle Natives…The I-90 speed limit is 60mph.  Try it.  You might like it.  Attention everyone else:  My SINCEREST apologies for these fools.  Please don’t shoot.”

In other news…I left for work early this morning and hadn’t parked in my usual parking space the night before.  As I walk out of my building, I see a very nice BMW sitting out front.  I think, “Nice ride.  I wonder whose car that is?”  Uh.  MINE.

God, I’m a dork.  And that billboard?  Nevermind.

* By the way, no, this is not my actual car.  It is, however, the same year, make, model and color.  The weather has just been too shitty to take any good pics. 

Executive Assistant:  Hey, Southeby’s is going to auction the original Magna Carta!

Her Boss:  What did you say?  I heard blah, blah, blah, Magna Carta.  Then I quit listening.

EA: (not reacting at all to the rudeness):  The Magna Carta.  Southeby’s is auctioning it.

Boss:  Why?  We just bought a $4M book. (If you know where I work, you should know which book by now)

EA:  Yeah, but we could have bought THE MAGNA CARTA.

Boss:  Nah, it’s not as cool.

WHAT?  Seriously people. 

(BTW, it sold for $21.3M, so we probably wouldn’t have bought it anyway.  Like that makes a difference.)

This March we were going to Victoria, B.C., but I ended up going to the U.K instead.  So much for grand plans.  A few weeks ago, I received a note from the WSU Alumni Assiciation with an offer to take a ride on the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train.  It was the perfect parent’s weekend replacement.  Dad’s never been on a train, and I have Theater tickets for Sunday to entertain Mom while dad’s golfing with his brother.  Sign me up!

And then the let down.  Apparently, after 15 years of service, and days before we were to go (this weekend), the train has stopped running. Shit.

 So, any suggestions for a Saturday in Seattle that any Dad would love?  I’m sure that the two readers I have (out of sheer loyalty, i’m sure), might have even one tiny suggestion?  I’m running out of time

 So did her BFF (not really) Alfred the Big SuperDog…

 ”Don’t wear a suit, it won’t get you anywhere.  Dress comfortably.”  ”It’s going to be a long day, so get alot of rest, keep hydrated, and have fun”   and  “I hope you like animals.”  What?

So I get to the building, meet the recruiter, and share the elevator up to the sixth floor with a puggle puppy and a full-grown yellow lab.  I.Freaking.Love.This.Place!  You can take your dog to work!  It’s hardly the point that I don’t have a dog, ‘cuz I’m getting one!

And it’s the first thing I did.  Even before making sure I had more than beer, water and wine in the fridge.  Here she is:

The little terror.  She has zero clue that she’s 3lbs and can make grown dogs shudder when she comes trotting down the hall at work.

Chloe and Alfred: Almost work friends. 

We’re still working on potty training, not whining when I leave for a meeting, and not terrorizing Alfred the Big Brown Dog.  But she’s terribly cute, and knows it.  Dammit.

Here’s a recap so we’re all up to speed:

May – While I was in London, I got “the call” from my boss. ”Eh, are you still interested in leading your own team of  nosey people who everyone just LOVES to have come check out if they’re doing their damn jobs?” he asks. (I’m an auditor.  People LOVE ME.) “Uh, sure.” I reply. (Not normally a girl of few words, this was all I could come up with as I had no idea this call was coming)

June – Frantic travel mixed with pretending I know what to do with a new team in Albuquerque, NM.  Good times.

July – I get an email via LinkedIn.com from a recruiter at Amazon.com.  “Have I got a job for you!”, he says.  “Yeah, right,” I reply.  “You only have to travel 15% of the time,” he taunts.  “OK.  I’m in.”  Well, it was more like 20 emails, three phone interviews, and an insane in-person interview involving five hours, six people and no bathroom breaks.  I’m a camel.

August -Wrapping up the job-negotiating stuff while trying to keep it all in “the Vault” (my version of keeping my trap shut), I now have to give my two weeks notice.  That was a new one for me.  As “the company” is the only place I’ve worked since graduating from college, I’ve never had the absolute pleasure of saying “see-ya” before.  Interesting. I was on travel to “lovely” New Jersey at the time, and my last two weeks consisted of hanging out with as many of my work friends as possible, including trips to Atlantic City, Philly, and a teaser of a day in New York City at a Yankees game.  (Yes the job did have its perks!)  It was hard saying goodbye to my co-workers.  They are some amazing people.

Whew.  That was exhausting.  That brings us to now. I’ll save that fun for a few new posts.  Think new job, new puppy, new boy, new life.  Good stuff.