Month of March, 2003

Promotion

What a time it's been recently. So much was happening last week but I couldn't write about it. Now that it was announced at work, I can finally write about it. I have been promoted to manager of my group!

Basically my manager is moving on, and I have been chosen to take her place. Part of the reason I was stressing out last week was the trip I had to take on Friday to interview with the "big boss" for the position. I flew out Friday morning, spent the day with him, was given the position on the spot, and flew back Friday night. That was quite a day!

When I got into DFW airport Friday night, I picked up Kevin, who had come in from NYC. It was so neat to have him here to be excited with me. Though I didn't have a chance to tell him the full story until Saturday afternoon. Friday night we got home and went straight to bed. Saturday morning I got up early for class, then met with my group afterwards. So it wasn't until Saturday afternoon that Kevin and I got to talk. I got to go into glorious detail and get it all out of my system. (Believe me, I wanted to come here and spill my guts, but when it comes to work, you understand that sometimes I need to be discreet.)

So Kevin and I spent the rest of the weekend together and it was really great. We watched movies, cooked, went shopping, and played video games. I like it when he's here and we do normal, every day type stuff. This weekend was totally normal, though not at all long enough - he flew out this morning.

Now I'm back into the daily grind except I have all sorts of new challenges ahead of me. It's going to be very, very interesting to see what the future holds.

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I Love my Econ Prof

"It may be rational to be crazy."
- Econ prof when describing game theory

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Extreme Weather

Feeling much better tonight. It's amazing how a good night's rest does that to you. Unfortunately I haven't been sleeping enough the past few days. Gotta fix that. Lots on my mind and heart. Work stuff is a tornado. School stuff is a hurricane. Personal life is a nice warm beach. Inside all of this makes me very wound up. (None of these are particularly good metophors but I can't go into details so they'll have to do.)

Today feels like it'll never end, but I'm sure tomorrow will be even worse. Tonight I've got economics...I'm so glad I have something to look forward to! Though earlier today I was feeling very tired and stretched (naturally this was before I ate lunch which always makes me feel better). I was wondering why I'm working AND going to school when all I really want to do is have more time to myself. I briefly dreamed of a job that had less hours. Can't I advance my career not to make more money but to have more personal time?

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Worn

I am completely worn down. This week has been such a roller coaster already and it's only half way over. I don't know how I'm ever going to complete everything that needs to be done before class Saturday. All I know is that once I leave school Saturday afternoon, I'm going to take a big nap. Now, I just need to focus on getting through the next two days.

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This Easter Bunny could give me nightmares.

Weird.

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A Dream, a Doctor, & a Washing Machine

Slept fitfully last night. Dreams of war and strange happenings in my neighborhood. I struggled to wake myself up from the nightmares but eventually did. Turned on the TV to see a Saddam Hussein speech. That did not improve my quality of sleep. Glad to wake up today to beautiful weather. Glad to be at work and to be distracted from the world's events. If only I could be distracted from my own thoughts as well.

I had a doctor's appointment today; nothing wrong with me, this was just a checkup. It struck me as strange that I spoke with a number of people in the office, including the doctor, but none of us spoke of the war. It weighs so heavily on my mind as I'm sure it does on others as well. Yet we are all too polite to actually speak of it.

Then I went to an appliance center to purchase a washing machine. The current Lucci House washing machine is at least as old as Kristen - 22 years old...it might actually be as old as me (26). It's been having fits quite often the past year, but Dad is able to keep bringing it back to life. I had been talking about buying a new one for quite sometime, but as long as Dad was able to fix it, I was happy. However, my happiness quickly turned into frustration when I walked into the laundry room Saturday night to find it covered in water. Tried to run another load on Sunday only to find it leaking again. Cleaning up buckets of water off the floor two days in a row was the last straw for me. I have no desire to fix it only for it to break again in a couple months. So, I dropped a chunk of change and look forward to the new machine's delivery tomorrow. I'm grouchy about all the money, but hey, it's better than washing clothes in the bathtub.

Other than the washing machine incident, it was a great weekend. Friday night I had dinner with my parents before they went out of town. My dad and I snuck off together and had a really great conversation. I needed it and am so lucky my parents give me so much insight. Saturday morning I went to class and learned about present value, bonds, and annuities. (Guess what I get to study tonight.) My study group met after class and I felt really good about being able to add to the process. Up to this point, I've been rather doubtful of my knowledge and chose to play a rather passive roll in the group. It's great to have (finally) gotten to the point of understanding what I've been learning. It's a huge relief.

After class Saturday, I enjoyed a few hours in the house by myself. This is a rare experience. Though I love living with my sisters - truly my two best friends, it's nice to be alone in the house from time to time. I had planned on studying but opted to enjoy the rainy day playing Return to Castle Wolfenstein. I really, really love this game. So much in fact, that I played it for at least 5 hours straight. Well, not straight...I was taking breaks to load the washing machine before it stopped working. Kristen came home only a couple hours into my video game stint and joined me in front of the computer. It was soooo much fun taking turns and strategizing together. Kristen is now cursing me for making her addicted too. The cool thing about video game addiction is that it loses its grip on you when you finally complete the game.

Just before Kristen and I left for Larry's birthday party on Saturday night was when I discovered the washing machine disaster. So we departed a lot later than expected, but it also made arriving all that much sweeter. Had a great time hanging out with friends. It was especially cool to have Kristen with me on the long drive to and from Plano.

Slept really late Sunday (until12:30!) which was a special treat. Spent the rest of the day cleaning house, walking the dogs, messing with my computer and enjoying the gorgeous weather. The highlight was having dinner out with Karen and Kristen. We sat on the patio at On the Border enjoying a perfect evening. Wrapped up the night with some studying and another great conversation with Kevin. (Who incidentally comes in town Friday night!)

Stuff at work right now is a roller coaster. It's wearing on me a bit, but growth hurts sometimes. I just need to remember to be patient because whatever is supposed to happen will happen.

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Slow

I'm exhausted. It's been a long week and I'm so glad it's over. Stayed up too late with Kevin last night but we had a great conversation. I needed that.

With all that is going on in the world, I'm finding myself withdrawing from people. It's not that I want to withdraw but that I'm so busy and preoccupied with myself. I need to slow down. I need to sit outside and enjoy the sunlight. I need to stop listening to news radio every chance I have. I need to tell people that I love them and cherish their friendship. I need to be soft. I need to be patient. I need to send thank you notes for birthday gifts. (Wait, that doesn't belong in this list...that goes on the "to do" list.)

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Dreams of War

Slept well considering the state of the world. Had dreams of hiding out in a house. We were on the roof watching planes and helicopters flying overhead. Flyers and flags were dropped on us. We went inside to cook eggs.

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War with Iraq

And so it has begun. According to the radio, the US has bombed only one or a few strategic locations in Iraq - "targets of opportunity." Of course it's way too early to tell what is really going on, it sounds like they might have severely bombed a bunker with Iraqi officials in it. All I can hope is that Saddam Hussein was there and is no longer in power. That might make this war unnecessary.

I'm worried about the state of the world right now. I hope that very, very few people are killed. I go to bed feeling guilty that I will fall asleep without fear that my city will be bombed; while there were people just like me that went to bed with the fear that city would be. Those same people woke up to their worst fears - their country being attacked by mine.

I wish it could happen another way.

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DFW Blogs Cocktail Hour!

My homework is actually under control this week so I can make it out to the cocktail hour. See you there!

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Dreaming

Min Jung must be rubbing off on me. I dreamt about all sorts of bloggers last night. Leia, Jessa, Jane, Karen, Min Jung and I were all at summer camp. For some reason we were sitting around a lake getting some sun, talking about boys. Of course, because that's what you talk about at summer camp! There was some French boy I was pining after. (Too much reading about French Fries being called Freedom Fries, I'm afraid.) Later in the dream, we were all waiting tables at this summer camp. Unfortunately this restaurant was 3 stories tall! So I kept passing my friends complaining about how hard it was running up and down stairs and dreaming of a French boy.

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Army Web Server Hacked

The hacker left the phrase - "Welcome to the Unicorn beachhead."

Ominous

Woke up this morning to a rather intense thunderstorm. It's raining and thundering with the occasional flash of lightening. Tiger was freaked out, as is to be expected in a storm. The unexpected thing was that it freaked me out too. It's weird when mother nature seems to coincide with events of the world. All I could think of was that is it fitting we're having such a storm in light of the fact, my country is about to go to war.

Last night in his speech, President Bush gave Saddam Hussein an ultimatum.

"Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict commenced at a time of our choosing. For their own safety, all foreign nationals, including journalists and inspectors, should leave Iraq immediately."

My country is moving against the will of the United Nations, against the will of much of the world to forcefully disarm Iraq. The "possible war with Iraq," as it has been referred to for months is not longer just a possibility.

The ominous weather matches what I feel inside. Nothing good will come of a war.

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Wireless

Look at this cool Strong Bad t-shirt Kevin got me for my birthday! Thank you, honey. I love getting stuff in the mail!

Larry came over tonight and helped set up the wireless point for me. Good thing he came too, because I never would have figured out that the DSL hub was giving out IP addresses along with the router. Thank you!

He was every good natured while I laid on the couch and watched. What a friend!

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Birthday Party

Last night was my birthday party. I had a really great time seeing everyone! Thank you all for coming! Check out the pictures.

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Quote of the Day

"Makes no sense at all...like something you’d see on the internet."
- Econ prof when introducing kinked demand curves

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Missy Elliot has cursed me

Everytime I hear "flip it and reverse it" I think of her song. I need to get a hold of it, but that's hard when I don't even know the title.

Kevin, do you know? You're my music guru.

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Midterm Results

Got my grades back on my midterms. I did better than I thought!! I'm not going into details, because I don't want my classmates to know (and who knows which of them reads this...the web is a small place). Plus, in another couple months the grades I got on these exams really won't matter. Just know that all of the hard work and worrying paid off. I'm soooo relieved.

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Stop the train, I want to get off

It's been a busy day at work. So much happening and so much more to come. I'm glad tomorrow is already Friday. Too bad weekend no longer means a break. Tonight is class. Friday is a work related class off-site and preparing for class on Saturday. Saturday is an appointment at the vet for Tiger and Bentley. The rest of the day will be spent preparing for my birthday festivities Saturday night. (Don't worry, we're not throwing a huge party or anything. Preparing just means making sure my bathroom isn't a total embarassment to the Lucci House.)

I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone who wants to make the trek all the way out to suburbia for a night. Remember, you're always welcome to grab a blanket and a couch if you choose to induldge too much. But with so many people recovering from sxsw, I doubt that will be an issue. So, looking forward to seeing you!

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Pictures from NYC Trip

Pictures from my trip to New York City weekend before last are up.

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Bentley covering his face from the light.

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Spring is in the Air

Man, old friends are coming out of the woodwork. I got to see a bunch of friends/acquaintances in Austin this weekend. Now that I've gotten home, I'm getting email from friends I haven't heard from in a really long time. The only explanation I can think of is it's spring and everyone is coming out after winter hibernation. Me, I've got the travel bug and wish I could run around the country visiting friends.

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Birth Day

This was me at 3 days old. Today I'm 9490 days old.

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Back from Austin

Back from sxsw. Just went for the weekend to socialize and skipped the actual conference. Didn't have the money and/or time this year unfortunately. From the looks of the schedule, I'm missing a lot of cool stuff. I hope everyone there for the rest of the week enjoys it!

I got into Austin on Saturday just in time to catch a couple of games of kickball, put together by Anil. I didn't play, but enjoyed watching everyone get into it. There was a huge turnout. As reported by Alison, there were 73 1/2 people (the half being Michael and Ari's new son). After kickball, I did a little bit of messing around town...Austin is such a neat city.

Saturday night, I got together with Cindy, who I hadn't seen since her Dallas visit on the 4th of July. It was so awesome to spend an evening just catching up on each others lives. Plus I got to see the house she bought last year. Cindy is doing really well and we had the opportunity to connect again. The interestingly coincidental part is she's thinking about going back to school for her MBA. Crazy connections! She didn't know that I was back in school so I got to tell her all about it. Me, a former art teacher turned computer geek, getting my MBA! Cindy's first career was also teaching but she's moved on to finance. I think she would be a perfect candidate and really hope she pursues it. We had dinner at Highland Park Bar and Grill which is now on my list of favorite places to visit in Austin. Why hadn't I been there before now?!

After dinner, I joined Karen in meeting up with a bunch of sxsw people. Of course we ended up in the lobby of the Omni to drink and socialize. You know, as crappy as it is to drink in a hotel bar, I'd have to say that the Omni lobby is just about perfect. It's large enough for a ton of people, not too smoky, not too loud, it's clean, there aren't lines to the bathroom, and it's comfortable. I drank to excess but that was the plan so I just took a cab back to the hotel...at 4am no less. Kevin kept me company over the phone during the cab ride and all the way to my room, which Karen and Leia were gracious enough to share with me.

I was reminded that sharing a room has its drawbacks at 9am when the alarm went off. I was hung over but alive. Karen and Leia left early for the conference where I met up with them later. A huge group of conference go-ers ended up together for lunch. I even met some new people - Camille, Ian, Matthew, and Wes. (What are their sites again?) After lunch, grabbed coffee with Journalism Josh and wound down from the weekend. Then I made the 3 hour drive back home.

I'm now in bed with Tiger and Sophie, who are passed out which is making me want to sleep too. Karen, Sophie misses you...she was sitting next to the kitchen table watching the backdoor for you to come in. Don't worry, we're taking good care of her. The drive was really good, because I got to just sit and think about things. I haven't taken a roadtrip in quite awhile and I had forgotten how much good thinking gets done.

I listened to the Coldplay album probably 2 or 3 times during the drive. Wow. I haven't been moved by music in a really long time so it's refreshing to listen to music that makes me feel. I'm especially in love with the song, "High Speed."

Can anybody fly this thing?
Before my head explodes?
Before my head starts to ...
We've been living life inside a bubble.
We've been living life inside a bubble.
Confidence in you is confidence in me is confidence in high speed.

It makes me think a lot about the US and how we've been living in a bubble economy for the past few years. Clearly, the bubble burst and we're all struggling to figure out what life is going to be like now. It means we have to rewrite in our minds what the future will be like. It occurred to me that we live our lives so fast and furious. We all think we're worth more money and we're going to make a lot of money. It's a race to the top, but the bubble popped and the top is not the same. I need to rethink where I see myself in my career in the next 5 years. I need to remember that I'm lucky to have a job right now. I need to remember that saving is more important than spending (which is something I forget often). I will never be able to keep up with the Jones' but that's ok. I need to strive for quality of life which means slowing down. My life doesn't have to be high speed. The goal is to appreciate the little moments.

During the slight bit of radio listening during the drive, I heard a song by Zwan, Billy Corgan's new band. I had heard it was getting good reviews and after hearing the song I know why. It liked it. I need to go check out that album.

What is up with gas prices? I know we're about to go to war and there's nothing I can do. It's just going to mean we have high gas prices. But I still want to complain. It should not cost 16 dollars to fill up a Civic.

My 26th birthday is on Tuesday. Birthdays are always a good time to reflect upon the last year. Josh reminded me that last year I had just purchased my digital camera before the conference. Wow, I've taken a lot of pictures in the past year. The amazing thing is I still have plenty I haven't put up yet!

A year ago, I was not in school. I didn't even had any thoughts about going back to school (that I remember at least...from the archives, it looks like I made the decision in July).A year ago, I must have been spending a lot of time with friends and on this site. A year ago, I knew so much less about my job than I do now and I'm very pleased with my improvement. A year ago, my family was just as cool as they are now.

One year ago, I had just met Kevin. We started talking on the phone every night only a couple weeks after my birthday. I remember that during sxsw last year he called me on the 11th to wish me a happy birthday. I was very impressed that he remembered and made the effort. It is just one of the many, many times I've been shown over the past year how amazing Kevin is. This time last year, I had no idea what the future would hold. I'm very lucky for the time we have spent with each other...and for the time we will spend with each other.

Speaking of Kevin, I'd better call him before I fall asleep. It'll be an early bedtime for me after a really fun, full weekend.

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SXSW Plans

I'm exhausted. It's Friday and all I wanted to do was stay in bed. It's been a busy week with the early part spent in NYC with Kevin and involved staying up way too late. The later part of the week I was thrown back into my normal schedule too suddenly to catch up. Plus I made it worse by socializing the past two nights and getting in bed later than I should. (But seeing friends was totally worth it - taking advantage of being out of school for a week and socializing has made me feel great! Well, great on the inside; tired on the outside.)

As I could barely stay awake last night, I decided that this is no way to start off a weekend in Austin for SXSW. So I decided to rearrange my schedule. Instead of rushing off home after work to pack, walk the dogs, drop the dogs off at Mom and Dad's, and then drive down to Austin (arriving after 10pm for sure), I've decided to just stay home tonight and head down early tomorrow morning. I'll sleep in my own bed, not stay up too late, avoid drinking too much, and will be fresh to party it up on Saturday. So, think of me tomorrow morning when you wake up hungover from too many Shiners with Brad...I'll be well rested and enjoying a glorious morning drive down to the capital. Then I'll see you Saturday morning at Kick!

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Lucci & There Links

Another Lucci! - Pat Lucci
Virutal World - There Inc.

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SXSW & My Birthday

SXSWi is next week. I won't be attending the conference this year, but I will be going to Austin to party. Hopefully the weather will be as nice as they're forecasting...I want to run around in short sleeves! (And after 3 degree wind chill in NY, that would be heaven.) Plus it will be tons of fun to see all the bloggers! Are you going?

My birthday is next Tuesday so we're going to have a Lucci House party. March 15th. No presents....just bring me a big hug!

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From the Big Apple

It's my last night here and we're spending it at home. Home is definitely a better choice than out considering it's 19 degrees. We did venture out for a little shopping this afternoon. We laughed at our stupidity (and lack of long johns), but it was a fun afternoon.

Highlights of my trip to NYC:
• Talking with two complete strangers, Gina and John, on the airplane up here. Mostly discussing the differences between Dallas and NYC
• Getting a window seat so I could see the city lights as we flew in
• Having Kevin meet me at the airport and take me back to his place
• Sleeping in super late Saturday morning for the first time in weeks
• Seeing "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and "Old School" - two very different movies
• Eating at the Rodeo Bar
• Seeing VonVonVon
• Running into Brandon (aka Little B) at the 14th St subway station. Kevin and I were kissing on the platform when we heard someone shout, "Holy shit!" We were shocked to turn around and see Brandon. In a city of 8 million, what are the chances of running into someone you know? Cosmic. It was totally great to catch up with Brandon and hear about his new gig at a vegan/vegetarian restaurant now that he's finished cooking school.

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