Back in Business

Merry fucking Monday, everyone! Well, actually, it's Tuesday, and the sentiment is still there. Coming back to work after the holidays was difficult, even though i still worked the three middle days last week. The work week was lighter because we didn't answer the phones, and we had told all our customers that we were closing for End of Year wrapping up. Which was true. It's just that there were only four of us, and we took it easy on ourselves, but were insanely productive at the same time. It's amazing how much you can get done when the phones aren't ringing off the hook to disturb your concentration, and when people aren't hollering your name left and right.

In other news, I got a promotion! I'm going to be Inventory Manager! Yes, Inventory Manager of condoms. Get your laughs in now, because it's much more serious and brain-boggling than one would even be able to begin imagining. I'm looking forward to it. The parts i'm not looking forward to include but are not limited to the transition. It's not going to be an easy one. It's going to take people a long time to comprehend that I'm not, in fact, secondary on the phones anymore. People are going to have to really think about what that means.

Christmas: BUSY. But wonderful. The hardest part was, predictably, not having a car. However, it generally worked out. Christmas is one of those holidays where people understand that family takes precidence, and they honor that. So we got some relaxation time. Among the cool things that i got are at TV with a DVD player in it already (cool), a VACUUM CLEANER! (totally psyched about that one), some beautiful earthenware mixing bowls, lots of chocolate, some coffee paraphanalia, dried fruit and ginger, clothing and gift certificates, more kitchenware, all kinds of exciting stuff. It was great. And seeing family was wonderful too. It was really fun chilling with Dad and Mark on Christmas Eve and visiting Jeanne and Julia and Grammy, and Christmas morning was relaxed at Mum's house as we opened presents and ate pumkin bread, and then I had a wonderful time with daN's family on Christmas night. It's nice having so much great family, and i am very grateful. I wish i had something funny to say, but the funniest is that i woke up in a different bed every morning quite confused.

New Year's weekend, on the other hand, i woke up in the same bed every morning, and that was the first time that daN and i have gone somewhere for the weekend in MONTHS, in truth, in memory at all, that we were in the same place the whole time. We went down to DC (actually, Bethesda, Maryland) to visit Matt and Kathy, and it was SO RELAXING! We flew in on Thursday night after being offered an earlier flight, and went to see the monuments lit up at night after we had the chance to settle a bit at their house. The WWII monument might be my favorite -- it was so cool, though not as thought-provoking as the Vietnam or Korean War monuments. The next couple days were spent browsing free galleries and museums (like the Smithsonians) and having a picnic at Starbucks on New Year's Eve since Matt was working late. We kept him company and played board games. He kept us well fed. I was so relaxed when i got back, and i even managed to get tons of work done on the plane to and from DC on my personal statement for grad school apps.

Speaking of which, one down, four to go. Brown University's was due on Monday, 01/03/05. The rest should be easier because now i actually have a personal statement and writing sample. They'll all have to be tailored to the programs, of course, but it's easier to make something out of something than it is to make something out of nothing. "Nothing comes of nothing, m'lord," says the jester to King Lear.

And with that, daN and i are going to watch "When Harry Met Sally" (a Christmas present from him -- along with my first gift of jewelry from daN, a gorgeous pair of earrings in a silver setting with differently shaped and colored pink and red stones) for a while, then probably finish it tomorrow night. Not my favorite way to do it, but it's what we had time for.