Seriously:

Word. And, word again. And Jesus H. Christ, someone needs to pay for this.

The three month update.....

I've been in San Francisco for three months, now, officially. It is strange to think we've already been here that long. I still feel like I barely know my own neighborhood, let alone know the lay of the entire land just yet. I know that I love going to the Ferry Building on Saturday mornings, arriving with an empty tote bag and leaving with it full of strawberries and the most delicious peaches and corn and Acme bread and Cowgirl Creamery cheese. I love getting a pastry at Frog Hollow Farms and a cup of coffee and sitting on the benches near the water, then schlepping home for a nap before heading out again. I love walking around on my lunch break in Union Square and going into Neiman Marcus to ogle the $600 shoes. I love getting sushi on Polk Street, and I especially love when it is half price sake time. I love hitting up the subterranean wine bar around the corner from our house, and I love that we're on a first name basis with the owners now. I love walking through Chinatown to North Beach, and over to Union Street for some window shopping. I love that there are a million galleries just on my street alone, and a million more around the corner. I love that Napa and Sonoma and Monterey and Big Sur are all a stone's throw away.

I don't love my job, but that's okay. I went ahead and got a new one, and I start right after we get back from Hawaii in a few weeks. I don't love that I can't wear 4 inch heels to walk around, and that saddens me, but I'm trying to get used to it.

I feel lucky to have a home. I feel lucky to know where my family is. I feel lucky to be safe.

Hola from SF

So. Hmm. Hi there. How are you? Why, yes, yes it has been over a month since I last updated. Can I still use the excuse that I moved and started a new job and generally had a total fucking upheaval in my life? Yes? Great. Let's move on then, shall we?
So now I live in San Francisco, in a really awesome little apartment in Nob Hill. Or, some may argue, in the "Tender-Nob", since I am in between very fancy Nob Hill and very ghetto, crack whore ridden Tenderloin. Hence, Tender-Nob. But I think that Tender-Nob sounds vaguely dirty, so I'm keeping it simple: Nob Hill. The new job is good, and I will keep it at that, for the time being. The Peanut and I have been doing lots of exploring, lots of walking and lots of eating. So far we've found a great sushi place with half price sake, a place charmingly called Citizen Cupcake with, umm, really good cupcakes, and delicious, delicious Thai food. There is ridiculous shopping and museums and galleries and weird films being put on by some Socialist organization (a movie with nuns! and cheerleaders!). In a nutshell, we're really very happy that we made this move. And I will write a more thorough update soon. Scout's honor.

I'm spilling!

OK, so it's just a few days past when I said I would spill the news, right? Life, that big, crazy thing we call life, got in the way a little. Here's the deal: I've quit my crappy, demeaning job, gave notice on my apartment, sold my car, got a newer, more fabulous job, signed the lease on a newer, more fabulous apartment, and am moving to San Francisco in two weeks. How awesome is that? The Peanut and I are so excited about this move that we can barely contain ourselves. Our days are spent perusing the internet for news of what's happening in our new city, calling each other at work and saying, "Can you believe how much there is to do? What will we do on June 15th...see The Roots or go to the opening of that new wine bar?". It's unreal. We are both city kids, and have lived in our little hamlet of Santa Barbara for almost four years. It's time.

So. My job. I wish I could easily summarize how bad my job had gotten over the past six months or so. It's no small task, but here are the highlights: My C.O.O. (to be known in this tale as The Soulless Bitch) had taken to hurling awful, hateful, really personal insults at me, and then telling them to other people in management as a humorous anecdote over dinner. Insults that had absolutely nothing to do with my job performance, mind you. She had also made incredibly racist, small-minded comments to my manager, and then essentially threatened her job if she told anyone, in so many words. There were people being fired in my company, left and right, for seemingly no reason, which of course resulted in everyone on my team walking through the workday on eggshells, terrified that they may be next. My manager's response to all of this was to pull me into her office on a weekly basis to both cry on my shoulder and then tell me how much The Soulless Bitch hated me. Neat, huh? Our corporate office, which is based in Dallas, decided in January that we had far too much freedom in our office here, so they set up "guidelines" for the recruiters. These "guidelines" were nothing more than quotas, and if you failed to meet any one of them, you were to be put on a performance review plan. Find yourself on a performance review plan two quarters in a row? Later, baby. This resulted in my manager having to micromanage to the point were she was literally looking over my shoulder most days. I mean, literally in my office, behind my chair, checking out what I was doing. Finally, during my annual performance review, the straw? Crashed right through the camel's back. I never, ever worried about my reviews. I have always "exceeded expectations", and I have always walked away with a little more money. This time, The Soulless Bitch basically ordered my boss to give me a shit review, and not give me a raise. I marched back to my office (this, on March 24), called The Peanut, and asked him if he was ready to make a move (well, once I stopped sobbing and cursing and throwing things. Thank god I have a door to my office, huh?). There are another three people preparing to quit in the next few weeks, and then a few more who are looking. I would say I wish to be a fly on the wall when that shit goes down and the office falls apart, but really, just knowing is enough.

I didn't like what this job had turned me into. I didn't like that I had become one of those people who couldn't leave work at the office. I had been lying awake most nights, either thinking of everything I needed to do the next day to avoid being fired, or having imaginary conversations with The Soulless Bitch. Either way, I was too tired most days to hang out after work with friends, or go to the gym at lunch. I stopped taking care of myself and was consumed with what my job had done to my life. I stopped writing in this space. I was reading less, listening to music less, having less fun, generally. It had to stop. Tomorrow is my last day. One of my fellow recruiters, whom I am going to miss terribly, is taking me out for sushi and perhaps, sake. Some co-workers are getting me a strawberry whipped cream cake from the most fabulous bakery in Santa Barbara. I've heard a rumor that there is a gift certificate for a spa day floating around with my name on it. Best of all? The Soulless Bitch is out of the office tomorrow. I'm vowing to walk out of there on a high note.

Big Thing that I can't tell you about. Yet.

So yeah. Here's the thing. I have something big brewing. Something that is consuming my every waking thought, all of my weekends, and most of my energy. But sadly, I can't talk about it yet. This, my friends, is the reason I haven't posted in almost a month. It's not laziness! I swear! It's just....a lack of anything else to talk about. I will be able to spill it all on May 2nd, so do so stay tuned.
Other than Big Things? The wedding went really, really well. There were lots of last minute disasters, but we managed to shield the bride as much as humanly possibly, and in the end everything worked out. It was so much fun to hang out with my old crew, and the best thing is? My girl Alicia from NYC is coming to Santa Barbara in three weeks! Too, too excited. We're going to eat at fabulous restaurants and go wine tasting and do a spa day and probably shop too much and talk too much and laugh too much. It will be awesome. The Peanut and I are going to San Diego this weekend to see the fam, and perhaps, just perhaps, buy a new bed. Our bed now is so very uncomfortable, and we're both getting of sick of waking up with our backs crying out in pain, so it's time. Has anyone had any experience with the Sleep Number beds? I'm intrigued by the commercials.
OK, so you have my promise that I will spill the Big Amazing News in three weeks. Woo!

Hola

Hey there. So yes, it's been exactly 15 days since my last post, and what can I say? I've turned into a slacker when it comes to this site. I've also become a slacker when it comes to returning my friends' emails and phone calls, as well as hanging out with anyone besides my desk and computer Sunday through Friday. The Office is a demanding mistress, and I simply don't see an end in sight. To further stress me out, several people have been fired in the last few weeks, and one person announced today that she is giving notice. This is a major for an office with only about 20 people on staff. I fear it truly is all going to hell in a handbasket.

In better news, the Peanut and I are leaving tomorrow for Lesly's wedding, so I will have four fabulous days away from here. Joy! I must pack tonight, a task that does not bring me much pleasure. I am fucking awesome when it comes to underpacking, overpacking, packing the wrong things, packing summery clothes when it's actually 50 degrees...it's sad. It's even more sad because you would think that I would be the packing queen for all of the traveling that I do. I did buy a big honking Coach carry on, which has brought me much pleasure. It fits my snazzy red neck pillow, my toiletries bag, my magazines and books, and pretty much anything else I need to stuff in there. I refuse to put anything in the overheard, so shoving it under the seat in front of me is not so much fun, and I'm convinced I'm going to get bitch slapped by one of those testy flight attendants, but so far I've lucked out.

The Peanut has taken up knitting recently, which is great because a) he's a fidgety guy, and the knitting has calmed his fidgeting ways and b) he's knitting stuff for me, so bonus! His hobby produces gifts for me, and I like that concept. He should totally take up diamond mining for his next hobby. To balance things out, I'm sure he'd like me to let you all know that he also enjoys guns, knives and Scotch.

Hmmm. It's taken me about an hour to write this, because my job? It sucks. Hopefully I'll have lots of fun tales to share of wedding goodness next week. Bye, y'all.

Barely an update, but what can ya do?

Hello, lovelies. I'm afraid I took a bit of an unplanned hiatus, and truth be told, this may be just a blip in the hiatus. The Office is a little maddening right now, and I'm not sure when I'll get out from under the pile 'o crap that has collected on my desk. There is still the Thing We're Not Talking About, but at the same time I'm trying to throw myself into my work and I'm trying to avoid the politics of The Office as much as humanly possible. Once I'm home at night or on the weekend, the last thing that I feel like doing is sitting in front of the computer, hence the hiatus. Let's see, what has been going on besides the whole work thing? The Peanut and I are buying our tickets for our Napa trip in May, where we'll be meeting up with the fabulous K and J. I am so excited about this trip. We went to Napa for my 30th birthday, and had the best time ever. We're staying at the same B&B, and will be having dinner at French Laundry. Woo! We're also heading to Bakersfield in a few weeks for Lesly's wedding. While I'm not so excited about Bakersfield, I am supremely excited about spending the weekend with my old crew again. So there are good things happening in general, it's just the day to day stuff that kind of sucks. Alas. I'm hoping things will calm down soon and we can get back to our regularly scheduled program, because I feel as though I've been abandoning this little blog, and that's not a good feeling. Hang in there with me, people.