Minnesota, or bust!

The time has finally come...I get to go home! I'll be in the Ely area with my fam from 12/23 - 12/31, and Mpls from 12/31 - 1/3. Call my cell at any time, as it works almost everywhere - 408-398-2962.

Lots of love!

weather

DANG! It's gonna be cold. I mean, I've talked about how great it'll be to be in Minnesota " have a little winter this year, but...I didn't mean negative temperatures! I'll admit, I'm nervous. I've adjusted quite well to 40 at night " 60 during the day. Pray for me! :-)

gas

Gas is below $2! I just filled up my tank at $1.99/gallon. That's the lowest I've ever seen it out here, and roommate Connie says it's the lowest in years... Yay for cheap gas! (think i've adjusted?)

life is good

Kids, I can not put into words how great my life is. I love the holiday season 'cause it reminds me to reflect " recognize all I've got. I mean, this year has been unbelievable, and I'm thankful every day, but...today was absolutely fantastic.

This is my Sunday:
1. I woke up without an alarm
2. I went to my wicked cool church with my wicked cool roommate
3. I made myself some lunch " lounged on the couch with Sunday football on
4. I went to the bank " decided to treat myself to a manicure/pedicure
5. I drove through the mountains to Santa Cruz to finish up some Christmas shopping, all the while crankin' my MN church's CD to help me thank God for all I have (my singin' voice doesn't make anybody very happy)
6. I walked along the boardwalk
7. I watched some hotties playing volleyball on the beach
8. I walked along the wharf " picked up some great Christmas presents for family " friends back home
9. I called my boy in Singapore
10. I drove back home through the beautiful mountains
11. I decided to treat Pitter for Christmas, and gave her the luxury bath
12. I'm home relaxin', with plans to get some cleaning " organizing done so I can get to MN on time!

Let me add that it's at least 65 degrees " sunny...no matter where I go. I wore flipflops all day " was totally fine.

When is this vacation going to end??? I LOVE MY LIFE!

Adjusted to California

I have one party tonight, three tomorrow night " one on Sunday planned for the weekend...one may say I fit in ok out here.

What a snot I am. All braggin' about my parties...

California Christmas Decorations

Fake snow!

work

It is not very exciting to find out your company may be bought out...especially when you're in a G&A role like HR. Symantec has their own dang HR people. However, I'm sure they'll see the bright shining star that is Kristie Hegman " keep me. :-)

Softball Girls Visit!

We had a FANTASTIC weekend seein' the sights, chattin' at the bars and definitely hit exhaustion. It was so good to have another taste of Minnesota, but I felt more like a tourist who was headed back to MN than a local at times. I certainly have my SanFran tour down pat, however. I had those girls running from the moment they landed until their departure.

sand volleyball

VERITAS in Mountain View has a sand volleyball court. Oftentimes, there are men playing over the lunch hour without shirts on. This could be exciting, but I work at a dang software company. Shirtless engineers. Hmph.

evite

In California, the norm seems to be using evite. In Minnesota, it appears people hate it. 74 have still not rsvped to the chili party on the 2nd. Maybe it's me?

countdown

17 days 'til I fly into Minnesota!!!
You have no idea how excited I am. I remember when the countdown clock was in the 90's.

bein’ a local

As it gets cooler " cooler out here, I'm becoming less " less local. While those around me whine of freezing to death, I'm thoroughly enjoying this mild "winter." I have no control over my reaction every time someone whines...I roll my eyes " laugh. Soon I'll start offending people.
To my defense, this past weekend with Julie was the first time I had to make myself get excited about where I live. The Golden Gate Bridge wasn't all that cool...until I realized I was taking it for granted " adjusted my attitude. It's all about attitude.

Julie visits!

It was so incredibly great to see Roommate Julie again! Sometimes two people just click " the friendship never stops growing, ya know? We had a great weekend boppin' around the area, seein' all we could possibly see. Ended the weekend running through the freezing cold Pacific, squealing like little girls. I love you, Julie!

socks

for the second time in three weeks, i am wearing navy blue socks with my black outfit. this is the ultimate in fashion no-no's for me, and upsets me quite a bit. i think i need better lighting in my bedroom, or something...a resolution must be found!

Colder than Minnesota!

check out this article. CA people are NOT happy with me.

accents

I adopted an east coast accent while away. Last night at volleyball practice i said, "cwall the bwall!" Just now, I told my coworker I'd get him a qwarter for a soda.

it never gets old

Weather. I just had a conversation with my coworkers...they didn't go outside this weekend 'cause it's "freezing." If it gets below 60, they don't know what to do.
Thin blood.
I love my life.

work

it's very cool to have a job i can come back to after vacation " not be inundated with medial tasks. i have actual projects " work to do. i have to think.
i love my life!

NYC summary

Sat: landed at 7:30. got to Shannon's at 8:30. left to meet Nicole, Chad " friends, but only made it six blocks 'cause of the rain. got chinese " went back to shannon's
Sun: early mornin' trip to the Statue of Liberty " Ellis Island. lunch in SoHo. shopping in Chinatown. walk through Times Square " Rockefeller
Mon: to NYC by myself. Wall Street. south Manhattan. shopping on 5th Ave (H&M). dinner in Connecticut at cousin Michelle " Joe's
Tues: trip to Boston with Joe. Lexington, Concord, Boston history tours. Fascinating. I'm actually interested in history now. Met up with Burgey at 9 " stayed at her place.
Wed: errands " Fenway Park with Burgey. stuck in the largest traffic jam in Massachusetts history on the Wed before Thanksgiving (took 9 hours to get to NYC)
Thurs: up EARLY to get to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Amazing. I teared up I was so excited to be there. A stroll through Central Park " turkey dinner at Shannon's.
Fri: World Trade Center. bus up to 5th Ave shopping. Macy's. walk by Empire State Building. walk by MoMA (too busy). Guggenheim Museum. cosmo at a bar in NYC. the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular!
Sat: taxi driver asked me to dinner next time i'm in town. flew home with a layover in Mpls, and I got to see John, Lori, Mark " Laura. woo-hoo! there was even snow falling!

NYC observations

I had a great trip! It was fantastic to catch up with a few friends " family, and superfun to see a new city " lifestyle. Here are some of my observations:
-it's old...there's lotsa history
-it's old money. not new money like CA. and there's lots of it.
-there's more trees " grass there than in San Jose. and Central Park is gorgeous. the drive to boston is amazing, too. i dig the east coast. i think i'd like to live out there some day. coastal living rules!
-people are beautiful on the east coast, too. fake beautiful. ridiculous, i believe cousin joe said. less blonde than the west coast, but just as fake.
-you gotta walk FAST
-you gotta walk everywhere. shannon doesn't have a car, so we trained it. on friday i wore shoes with heels 'cause we went to the Rockettes, and my feet still hate me. what great exercise, though.
-there is more opportunity to learn about history " politics out east...it's everywhere

bathroom

Scene: VERITAS, Building A, 4th Floor
My cube is right outside of the restrooms. The 5' tall, thin wall around me doesn't keep much out. Nor do the thick, wooden doors to the bathroom. I hear several things happening that I don't want to know about. But, more, I hear several conversations happening while takin' care of business. There's one particular male who talks to anyone " everyone. I haven't heard him go in without striking up conversation, yet. Do most people talk as they pee???

New York City!!!

I am off to the East Coast for the week, and I can't wait! Doesn't really feel like I need a vacation, as I've been on a sort of vacation for a couple months now, but it's all good. I can't wait to see all NYC has to offer...the Thanksgiving Day parade, Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, museums, etc. Plus, I'm heading up to Boston for the day to see Burgey, my friend from Israel, and having dinner with my cousin " her husband one night. Life is good!
If you need to contact me, my cell phone will be best. Otherwise, kristieh@gmail.com.

manager

Yesterday my manager busted me out at our 1on1. She said she'd overheard me the week before on the way to lunch saying, "I don't understand how you people get any work done. I mean, it's November 12 and it's 70 degrees outside. The sun is shining, the sky is blue..."
She had to bust me out because when she moved here from Michigan a while back, she said the exact same thing to her coworkers.
Since moving here I have realized how trained I am to be outside when it's nice. I mean, we just don't get that many perfect days in Minnesota....when you do, you go outside " enjoy it.

respect

Tonight I learned a lot about MS " its treatments. My new roommate, Ashley, has MS and needs help with her shots sometimes, so we watched a video " chatted about it. Medicine is fascinating.
Plus, my level of respect for anybody who lives with a restricting medical condition and keeps a positive attitude about it has grown. And I am so thankful for my health.

personality

Today my coworker Espie walked by, noticed my bare feet " called me a hippie. Two minutes later we were talking about my upcoming trip to NYC, and she called me sophisticated. Am I cool, or what?!?

Mom, Kenny & I do Alcatraz at Night!

Quake Day at VERITAS!

On Wednesday, November 17, the Global Security and Safety Department is hosting VERITAS second annual Earthquake Preparedness Day. As part of this event, the following activities will take place:

At noon in the VCafé, there will be a 30 minute presentation on earthquake preparedness and emergency planning for your home. The presentation will be given by “Earthshakes Inc”.

Between 11am and 2pm in the VCafé, Earthshakes will be onsite selling earthquake information, maps and survival kits.

This is a great opportunity to learn more about recent earthquake activity in the Bay Area and how to protect yourself and your family before, during and after an earthquake.

caffeine

I have been trying my damndest to give up caffeine. It's not working. The main reason it doesn't work is that caffeine is a social thing for many - people are always going for coffee. We all know I love people, therefore I go for coffee. Only makes sense.
This does not make up for the Pepsi I'm drinking right now, though. Maybe I just give up " sell my soul to the caffeine gods.

wine tasting

My life is amazing. I went wine tasting near Sacramento this weekend. Sat on the porch of Lava Cap, looking out over the vineyards " hills. I drank some wine, ate some crackers " cheese...had good conversation. It was 65 degrees " sunny, and at one point of the drive I saw snow-capped mountains.
I miss snow. But I LOVE it here!

my JO team is selected!!!

I officially have a JO team to coach!!! We had tryouts on Sunday morning, and 82 girls showed up to try to get on my team of 12. DAMN! Talk about difficult decisions. Luckily, everyone was there to help out " give me suggestions...and we narrowed it down. Only 2 of the players I selected went with another club, and we had back-ups, so I'm good to go. I'm so excited! Two of the girls even gave me a big hug after they found out they were selected. My life rules.
Note: the girls who wore uniforms " looked the part made an impression walking in the door. If you ever tryout, dress the part. :-)

weather…again

Kids, it's November Second. 11/2/04. I just got done playing volleyball in the sand outside, and it's almost 80 degrees. My life is so good!
Oh...and I'm wearing sandals today.

boys on the coast…

...have it made. i mean, the ocean at sunset...hot dang!

wine

You can buy wine at Target in California. There's a whole aisle devoted to it.

new roomie!

I hung out with my new roommate Ashley tonight, and she's fantastic! Super fun, little bit cynical, tons of life experience to talk about. We have a lot in common, so I'm lookin' forward to hangin' with her in my comfy little Cali home...and out on the town. I'll post a pic as soon as I get one.

sunsets in Cali

California has the most beautiful sunsets ever! And I even saw the most amazing sunrise this morning. Let me tell you...the sun rising over the mountains, shining off the puffy clouds...I wish I were more poetic 'cause then you'd understand. Plus, there's purple all over! In MN, sunrises " sunsets were more orange. I've been told it's smog, but I'm going to ignore that and enjoy it.

Dougie has a ring!

Dougie Mientkiewicz has earned himself a ring! Go Red Sox!

diversity

I'm finally gonna go there. I've been trying to think of the most PC way to put it, and it just ain't gonna happen.
I love the diversity out here! Millions of cultures everywhere! I mean, in Minneapolis there's quite a few cultures represented. The difference I've found is that everyone mixes together out here. It's fantastic. I'm often the minority...but ya just don't think about it.

Pitter Patter!!!!

I got my car back!!! I gasped, I teared up, I yelped in joy! As a matter of fact, my heart went pitter-patter...just like it did when she got her name.

weekend visitors

My older brother Kenny came to town last week for work, and John came out for the weekend. It's really fun to show people my new life. It's an incredible area...and I love doing the touristy things...but my favorite is to show off my regular life stuff - where I live, where I work, my favorite restaurants " areas, etc. Guess it's just more personal and I feel like you have more insight to my new life that way...it's not all Golden Gate Bridges " the ocean. But I sure do love those parts!!!
It's also hard to send people back to my MN life. I miss it.

morning news

The morning news in California consists mainly of traffic reports. It is raining again today, and I listened to a traffic report repeated for 30 minutes this morning while getting ready for work.

coaching!

Sounds like I'll be coaching a 14's team for Eclipse Volleyball this year! It's a USAV club like I did with John last year...and I'm way excited! Although a bit nervous...I have my own team.

Broadway - NYC

I'm heading to NYC over Thanksgiving to visit my friend Shannon...any suggestions on Broadway shows to hit? For those who know me well, is Rent too much for me? Any other things to do? How do I get David Letterman tickets?

comments

I can't tell you how happy it makes me when there are comments added to my blog. I miss ya'll!

men’s volleyball

I subbed on a men's vb team last night. A couple guys from work asked me to play...and all were impressed. I am the bomb-diggity. Of course, it was the lowest level of men's available, but still decent ball. And I tooled a guy. Someday I'll network enough to meet the peeps to play with.

Red Sox

I sure can't wait to see what happens!
I hate the Yankees.

storm

The weatherman on the 10:00 news just told me we had our first "storm" today. He's now talking of the "high" winds " "heavy" rains...as much as 69/100ths of an inch hit the ground in one day...and the storm's not over, yet. Check out this article!
I love these California-folk!