wedding advice

Props to Rachel on this one: "That's the true meaing of the modern bridesmaids, to form a protective barricade around the bride, against all angsty jealous vicious relatives and their toadies." heehee... definitely good advice... now, who to ask... :)

In general, I'm not a huge fan of wedding advice. Apparently the two things people "know" are weddings and babies. Please don't even think about giving me advice on the latter. Occassionally, I'll be posting the good, the bad, the funny, or the obscure wedding advice I receive from friends, relatives or total strangers.

Ted can attest to this odd wedding-related event in the middle of my crap day yesterday... One of my clients (yes, the one who is planning the polka band at my wedding -- story later) called my cell and asked me about the place we're having our reception. His stepdaughter is looking into the same place (because it rocks!!), and he wanted to know about the sister facility. What a nice break in the middle of my insane day!

xoxox
hlm

closing that chapter quickly

That was a fun day- I'm glad it's over. Just in case this fact might help someone else, don't try to Contac-paper shelves when you're on the brink of a breakdown... it might just drive you nuts.

I've been cranking through this Developer's Guide today -- Tech edits can get SO tedius, but this one's going well. Once I finish this off, I'll be balancing three other tasks. Though the past couple days have really had me doubting my management capabilities, those doubts are gone right now. *yay*

xoxox
hlm

can you help me decide?

I'm not sure if I need to break down and cry or just start kicking butts and taking names... I'm so frustrated right now. What kills me is that I'm starting to doubt my management abilities... which I know are at least MOSTLY intact. Unfortunately, I haven't learned to mindread yet, so right now I'm doing the management on half the information. *grr*

Alright, on a better note.. James and I had a great conversation last night. I am SO happy for him -- Mr. "I'm in film school now, going to mandatory socials and having the time of my life"... yay for dreams coming true. I'm going to have to go shopping so I can go visit him!! ;)

Speaking of dreams -- of to bed with me so I can get up and do this again in the morning.

xoxox
hlm

what i get done in a week....

Tuesday: DAR District V meeting. The skits went well - the ladies liked them. The expected amount of "you're making light of very serious subjects"... but y'know, Fall Muster isn't about reading reports (that's State Conference!)... it's about getting information out, and in the hands of the membership. I think the skits accomplished that a little more than another 2 minute report.

Wednesday: Did another walkthrough of the condo before closing. The countertops were *still* scratched, the mirror *still* wasn't there, and the hardwood floor *still* had scratches. Anyone seeing a theme here? We went to the Title company for closing, and had a mostly unprofessional experience. The closing appt was for 10 AM; we were there at 9:45, and we didn't get in until 11. Our realtor was very upset with them, and I know Darrin was a little perturbed. The closing itself was long, a lot of signing and then more check-writing. Note to self: plan for $1000 more in closing costs than anticipated. ... Then we got to pull out shelves, and clean windows before I had to run to bells & choir practice.

Thursday: DAR Districts II & VI meeting in Charlottesville. Me and the Hokie-mobile went to Charlottesville, where the meeting went *great*! The skits were phenomenally-well-received, junior table sales were strong.... and then right as I was rushing to dump stuff in the trunk and attempt to get to my grad class ontime........... I locked my keys in my trunk.

I know - good on me, right? So the car was locked, with the keys in the trunk, no "button" to get to them, and Volvo wasn't going to make this easy for me. Oh, *where*'s my Volvo On Call info? Yup... in the glove compartment.

So I did what any damsel in distress would do..... I called Darrin. Definitely helpful -- once we got over the muffled amusement. (And don't think I didn't hear that ;))

So I got the number, called VOC, and they wanted everything from my VIN to the mileage on the car. THEN she asked me for the license plate. Aren't you supposed to start with the EASY questions? sheesh

Anyway, the lock guy came, and had problems getting into my car. Finally, he got the door open, but set off the alarm, which meant the truck unlock button wouldn't work. Then, trying to go through the backseat access didn't work either, as Volvo put in a ski-bag-type-thing that sealed off the trunk. *Great*... After ripping the seam to this bag-thing open (and I *still* don't know why it's there), blindly reaching around my trunk (ow, found the handsaw too!), and pulling most of the contents of my trunk through this new hole in my car, I got my keys.

Did I mention I was rushing to class when this happened? *sigh*

So one final rant: During the C.A.R. Committee report, the State President and her project were mentioned a total of *ZILCH*. This is the one year that she can be the star of the show, and I think it's deplorable that the report had no mention of the C.A.R. activities going on this year. Did I also mention that the website has not been updated? This is very, *very* upsetting

xoxox
hlm

Happy (?!) Harriet Homeowner

News Flash...

The housing prices in Northern VA suck pond water. Like a vacuum. There's something inherently WRONG with paying _a quarter of a million dollars_ for a _one-bedroom_ place (even IF it's in a decent neighborhood)!! Of course this is nothing new to anyone going through the purchase of a home... but it resurfaced in my head when I did the walkthrough of Darrin's new condo this morning.

The short version of what we found wrong:
- The countertops were scratched up (for being brand new, this is bad)
- The hardwood floors in the kitchen and pantrywere dented -- which I don't know that they'll ever get "right", considering they have to remove appliances to get it right in the first place
- Something wrong with a window?
- The sink stopper didn't go up and down right
- There wasn't a stopper in the bathtub
- The towelracks weren't mounted
- A random-colored paint splotch on a window sill. This wouldn't've confused or concerned me, if that paint color were ANYWHERE else in the condo.
- Our personal favorite! The construction people managed to put up a light and leave the instructions for how to put the light together IN the light globe!!

I had a my-parents'-age friend of mine tell me how happy she was that she and her husband weren't "starting out" again -- mostly because of the housing prices. enter sinking feeling

So we go to closing on Wednesday at 10 - with another walkthrough before that at 8. Gee, this keeps getting earlier and earlier. Darrin and I promise that move-in will not start at 8 AM. We'll be calling in favors... Keep your phones (or screennames) close by ;) ...

xoxox
hlm

stressed out....

This is news. I'm stressed out. Between the midterm last night, the client work I _had_ to get done, the visiting I wanted to do with my family that's in town, and the skits that had to get done, I really thought I was going to lose it last night. Did I mention I needed to pack for a weekend in Blacksburg? Yup, it was a late night.

Here's a thought: I heard on the radio that stress prevents breast cancer because it prevents high levels of estrogen in the body. On several levels, I find this disturbing. First, you're telling me that if I stay stressed out, I'll have to deal with less stress in the long-run? Second, doesn't the breaking point of stress usually involve a large amount of crying and estrogen-caused emotion? Ah well... enough of being sidetracked... You can be sidetracked at: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article311294.ece

The DAR Skits are hilarious. Show up for Fall Muster and I think you'll find them amusing! You should show up for Fall Muster anyway. Trust me. Very Loud Props to the DARing Chairmen who let us pull the skits together though...

I think I blew my Hopkins 4.0 last night. The midterm was brutal, albeit freshmanesque -learned definitions and slide specifics written back on paper. *grr*

Back to two level network management.........
hlm

Let's get this party started...

Wow! Great Cluster meeting to start off the year for Scouts! We took over the really long bench in the back of Amphora in Vienna. It's kinda sad that Celia's leaving us, but we're getting a pretty cool new FD for the Service Unit. She used to be an Ashgrove Aide, so she's definitely got some props on her side.

Good day at work... minus the being sick part. Developing a Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) is like trying to summarize the important parts of an encyclopedia... Good thing I'm just doing the tech-edit. :)

gnight... long day ahead tomorrow.... wish me luck...
xoxox

Let's Go Hokies!

Woohoo!! This redeems my Hokie Spirit for another year around the client site. *fives*

I need to vent a litle frustration for Marcus though. . . and give Michael props for trying to play down his presence tonight. I really thought I was going to lose it when the announcers kept calling Marcus by his brother's name -- and "Mike" at that! Who's Mike Vick? An alter ego that we Hokies don't know?? *rolls eyes*

I still have to get these DAR skits done. I'm losing my touch!! Where's the Hillbillies when I need them? Oh wait, Ellie Mae's married now!! Maybe I'll just borrow Elspeth...

xoxox
hlm

tightening the guest list now

Darrin and I just saw Wedding Crashers. . .
Silly, yes... Stupid jokes, yes... but it was SO worth an evening of not thinking about packing!

I got all the VJC letters copied, signed, folded and in envelopes awaiting DAR District Mailbags. *Whew* Glad that's done. Now I just have to come up with 8 skits by Monday... enter divine intervention

xoxox
hlm

catching up on life

Ok people, I've joined the club.

props to malinowski on the blog title, though she'll probably never read this... It comes from the poem she gave me our Senior year of HS that is still on my corkboard by my desk.

So many of my "younger" friends from C.A.R. are back at school (or starting freshman year!) ... Man, I'm feeling old. Darrin and I got to visit Elspeth the other night, which was a VERY weird trip back to college life. I remember my first week of college and not knowing what the heck I was doing. (Let's not EVEN discuss the Biology Lab disaster.) At least visiting with Jamie on Tuesday helped me regain a little grasp on my not-so-old side.

Random thoughts would be amiss without mentioning Hurricane Katrina. Definitely a helpless feeling seeing the satellite images at work today. I almost wish I were back at Tech and could drop everything to go help at the donor center like APO did for Sept. 11th.

I'm going to have to do posts about all the organizational stuff I'm involved with now... but I'll leave that for later.

xoxox
hlm