thoughts of the week

i've been wicked busy at work...and in life...so i haven't had time to get my thoughts out here. and i have several. so, here we go...

1. When talking to California friends, I say, "back in Minnesota." When talking to any other friends, I say, "back home." I think this is improvement on my acceptance of this move. At least to some I associate with, California is home.

2. I took a Managing Through Change course from my company. It's all pretty basic theory stuff we've heard before, but good to hear again. Mostly about the upcoming acquisition we're going through, but I couldn't stop from applying it to my personal life. The stages are denial - resistance - exploration " commitment. I decided I'm currently between exploration " commitment. Finally beyond the denying, "i'm going to make my Minnesota crazy busy life in California. I will play lots of volleyball " work with my kids at church." Just beyond the "but I like Minnesota " all it has for me" phase. And into the "what am I going to do here? what are my options" phase. One day I may decide I actually live here. We'll see. That's commitment.

3. The weather has improved. Today was sunny " seventy.

4. I've been asked to play competitive volleyball finally. I subbed on a women's team for a couple weeks, and one of the girls asked me to play on her Coed A team. Yay! I start Wednesday.

5. I had social events every night this week with different people. And last weekend was a wonderful mirage of different events " friends. It feels good to know I have a few friends I can call on out here.

6. Mom " dad land tomorrow afternoon for a 10 day visit. I'm really excited to see them and show them around a bit more. It's the first time dad's been back since he moved me out here, so I have lots to show " talk about. At the same time, I'm thankful I have to work during the week so we all get a little space. :-)

Happy Friday!

snow > rain

Ten out of twelve days of snow is much easier to take than ten out of twelve days of rain. Overcast is becoming my mood.

mom’s Easter gift

My mom sends me the best gifts ever. For Easter, I got the same beanie baby bunny I got two years ago. Now I have one for home and office.
I also got a bag of gummy bears. And a very sweet, "you're the best daughter ever" card.

caffeine

once again, i'm trying to give up coffee " soda. with how badly i'm currently craving it, it's a good thing. i shouldn't need it this badly!
then again, why do this to myself? it's an evil cycle i just keep going through - give it up, slowly get hooked again, go through the agony of giving it up, slowly get hooked...

new fun website

This is my new favorite tool online. It's super fun to see how rich I'd be in Mexico, etc. :-)

I'm sometimes a dork, too.

Happy Easter, everybody!

fast food

this is why i gave up fast food.

fotune cookies

Generally speaking, the fortunes I get from VCafe have been awesome. I've collected several of them, and they're hanging in my cube. Here are some examples:
Golden hours are coming to you.
You are next in line for promotion in your firm.
You will enjoy good health, you will be surrounded by luxury.
You will make a change for the better.
Your life will be happy and peaceful.

Today, I received this fortune:
You are a happy man.

Turnin’ Californian

I gotta admit, it was weird driving into work this morning knowing I had CA plates on my baby car. The fact that it's rainy " sad doesn't help. More pics of the dreary ceremony are available on hegman.com, of course.
Non-dreary part - I got to use that cool wrenchy thing I have in my toolset. I forget what kind of wrench it is, but you turn it " it clicks back without unscrewing, then screws, then clicks back without unscrewing, etc. Socket wrench, maybe? (sometimes I pull this girl thing off so well)
I have very little left that says, "I'm from MN!" The DMV guy told me yesterday he was glad I didn't have that MN accent, so I don't even have that to hold on to.
The acceptance process continues...

CA DMV

My time with the CA DMV has come to a close. I wrote a monster check out to them this morning " received the license plates I've been longing for, and the most recent DMV employee I worked with was quite friendly " helpful. We even joked around a bit.
I do feel I've learned from my mistakes on this whole moving to another state deal, and may begin a consulting firm to help others. It'd almost be worth it if someone learned from my mistakes. Plus, I could charge a bit to cover my losses.

San Jose

I actually hit the town last night. It was great! I didn't really meet anyone interesting, but it felt so good to be out in a fun, social atmosphere. I realized I usually just hang with a couple friends at home or a quiet bar nowadays. Of course, I enjoy that, but I miss people!
Also noticed a number of dorks out in San Jose. This whole Silicon Valley/computer thing attracts a certain clientele. 'Tis ok. I like diversity. :-)
Hope ya'll had a great St Patrick's Day, too!

happy birthday, rachelh!

hope it's a great one!
go throw a snowball for me, and drink a green beer!

fun age thing

fences

It appears Californians are quite territorial. Almost every house has a fence around it. If there's not a fence, it's like they feel completely open to the world. Even in the hills, where there are huge yards " obvious barriers, people put a fence up.
I don't really like it. I like the open, friendly environment of fenceless Minnesota.