On the first day, after work, all of the employees here (all 4 of us!) had dinner at one of the bosses’ house. We had kabob thingies and pasta and a fruit tart for dessert. All of the spouses and kids were really nice, and everyone had a good time. My boss has a trampoline for the kids, and we were all totally gonna take some sort of company group photo jumping on it, but then it got dark, so, no picture.

We did play some pool though. It was me and the other employee versus the two bosses. We played 4 games and wound up tied (this sounds impressive but really we only won because the other team hit the 8 ball in and stuff.

The second night we met up for drinks and dinner. We each had 3 drinks, and while it wasn’t the worst I’ve felt, going to two meetings in Denver wasn’t the ideal thing to do when you feel kinda crappy. In fact, I even fell asleep on the floor for a bit until Steve called. After that I did make it to the bed.

All in all I had a really nice time and it was great meeting everyone. It was fun working in the office with everyone, as you get more of the fun comments and such than you get over phone, instant message, or email. I meant to write this post much earlier, but was busy while in Boulder, and then when I flew back my flight was delayed 2 hours, making me too sleepy. Speaking of flights, my baggage sailed through the TSA check-point on the way back. Guess the SB folks are pickier than the Denver ones.

I should really get to bed…I gotta get up early!

Posted at 11:55 PM | (0)

Because Vegas and Europe aren’t enough traveling in a week or so span, I am in Boulder today through Thursday evening, visiting my company’s office. This morning I woke up at the lovely hour of 4:55am so that I could leave by 5:15 and make it to the Santa Barbara Airport by 5:30, as my flight left at 6am. Of course, there was no traffic, so I had no problem making my flight. I did, however, apparently pack something suspicious in my purse, as they deemed it suspicious and took out all kinds of items, wiping them with some circular cloth, checking for bomb residue or who knows what. Because, you know, my iPod could be a dangerous weapon. I didn’t ask what they were looking for, as I didn’t want them to deem me a suspicious individual who felt that I was actually getting away with hiding something. Good thing I remembered to take out that Swiss Army Card thingie I always carry though!

So I made it into Denver International Airport after a very uneventful 2 hour flight. Got my checked bag, and then got into a shuttle for a quite long trip to the rental car place. By my boss’s recommendation, I took the toll road from Denver to Boulder, which were nice with very little traffic. Of course, I decided to do the toll road because they are reimbursing me for the toll costs ($6.75 so far for the one-way.) The office is on like the one street that isn’t clearly marked from the highway, so I did drive past it, but decided after seeing a bunch of horses and other rural activities that this probably wasn’t where the office was located, so I turned around and finally found it.

At least now I can say that I’ve actually met and worked with my bosses in person. As well, I have now met the other employee who got hired after me. I think they have plans to have me show them some of the stuff I know (CSS, how to install blogs, etc) while I’m here—and of course, it will be useful since I’ll be gone for 2 weeks starting Saturday. So far so good, though I don’t feel like I’ve gotten much done yet, since I arrived at the office only shortly before noon (mountain time).

Back to work! :)

Posted at 1:17 PM | (3)

Got back from Vegas last night. All told we had a good time, and won a couple bucks. It was HOT out—like 110 degrees. Needless to say, we stayed indoors for much of the day. When we did venture outside, it was at night, when it was only like 80 or something. I actually like it when it’s warm out like that at night—when the sun isn’t beating down on you, it doesn’t feel that hot.

We went to the pool yesterday morning before we left to drive back to SB—we initially meant to do it on Saturday, but by the time we would’ve gotten around to it, we would’ve fried. So we did it earlier on Sunday morning instead.

When we got back to Steve’s place, I hopped in my car to drive back to my place. Only…nothing happened. Interior dome lights did some weird weak flickering like they WANTED to work, but didn’t. A quick call on my cell phone to alert Steve that my car died caused my cell phone to also die (guess I should’ve charged it!). After wasting some time unsuccessfully trying to jump my car with his, I called AAA. After being on hold for like 30 minutes or something, I finally got through (apparently I was far from being the only person with car trouble last night). Once the tow truck guy came, it took him all of 2 seconds to jump my car (the benefit of having a super huge battery I suppose) and then I was on my way, driving it around taking a long way home just to give the battery a chance to charge back up.

So, this morning I took the car in to get it fixed. The battery wasn’t the only thing that went wrong lately. A week or two ago my stereo randomly stopped working—CD/Radio/etc. wouldn’t play and the unit didn’t even light up at night. So that, on top of battery dying when not driven for 2 days, means something must be up. I was ignoring the stereo for the time being, figuring I could get it fixed when I had more time and got back from Europe (also when I would conveniently be taking my car in for regular maintenance). But, it seems the car gods had other plans.

It’s amazing how the timing works on such things. Things always go wrong when it’s most inconvenient, right? It figures it picks NOW to go wrong, because I am actually going to Boulder on Tuesday-Thursday to FINALLY meet my other boss, see the office, and meet the other employee. Then, I need to drive home on Friday, so I can fly to Europe on Saturday morning. So, given that I now have limited time to get this fixed, it decides to die. Yay!

I just got a call from the VW guys and they claim that I just need a new battery, and that that would cause my stereo to stop working when other things still work. So, we’ll see what happens when I get it back. As long as I can make it to LA on Friday, I don’t much care for the time being—I’ll not be driving much this week, and then not at all for 2 weeks, so we’ll see.

Posted at 9:15 AM | (2)

In a few hours I am heading out of work early to go to Vegas again. Last time I went was in April, and at that time it was a bit chilly. But, I just checked the weather, and I definitely won’t be cold. It’s only 9:15 am, but it’s already 94 degrees, and is expected to reach 110. A low of 80 tonight. Uh, yea, I don’t think I’ll need a jacket.

But, that DOES remind me that I should remember to pack my bathing suit! I love hot weather, though 110 temperatures make me glad that all casinos are air conditioned.

In other news, I am actually almost finished with that knit skirt. I hit a bit of a snag last night though when I tugged too hard on one of the needles and snapped one of the cables at the place where it joins the needle (I have cables where you can attach different lengths to the needles to make various sizes). So I had to take it out and then rethread all the stitches back on another, slightly longer cable. Hopefully I don’t snap another one! Luckily, you can send the cables to the manufacturer and they will send you a new one as long as you include $1 for shipping. Guess I’ll have to go do that.

Posted at 9:15 AM | (0)

I was paid a visit by the FedEx man this morning. I sorta decided to go ahead and get that Canon Rebel XT after all, with the 28-135mm lens in lieu of the 18-55mm one that comes with the kit. I read that the kit lens wasn’t that great, and this way I gain a little more range, which is useful when traveling and if you don’t have 300 different lenses for every occasion.

So yea, in a manner quite typical to me, I decided that I wanted a spiffy new camera for my trip, and decided that I wasn’t going to stop wanting it, so I bought it with some of the money I would’ve spent on the laptop. I do that with a lot of things, it seems. I don’t buy a lot of things in general, but then I’ll get my mind set on some big-ticket item, so I’ll research it to death until I just go ahead and buy whichever make/model I’ve deemed best for my price range. In this case, it’s the Rebel. I’m not getting rid of my old Powershot S45 just yet, as it does take decent pictures, and is very handy when you need something you can grab and stick in your purse or pocket. But in other instances, the Rebel it shall be.

I’ve gone through the menus and gotten a sense of the process it goes through to take the pictures, so now I guess I better go out and play with my new toy! I should probably make sure I know what I’m doing, so I don’t take crappy photos when it really counts!

Posted at 1:16 PM | (5)

I have a small admission….sometimes CSS IS a bit of a pain….

Actually, maybe it’s more like Macs are a pain. Especially when you get something looking exactly the same on all PC browsers (IE 5.5, 6, Firefox, etc.) and then Firefox for Mac decides to like, move things to the left of the container they are supposed to be IN.

Or maybe I’m only having these problems because this site I’m making has a rapidly approaching deadline…

Posted at 2:08 PM | (0)

Last night Steve and I went downtown to Tonic and met up with his roommate and a few other people. We drank and danced, and amazingly I woke up totally fine today, despite not having had a big dinner. I swear, I have a knack for picking small meals on nights I get invited to go out. In my defense, if I knew before dinnertime, I would make sure to eat more.

What was kinda funny was when I handed the bouncer my ID to get in, he stared at it for a LONG time. Like, maybe I wasn’t 21 yet. That’s fine by me, since I’m closer to 30 than I am to 21. Also of note is the fact that the place wasn’t that busy. It’s graduation weekend, and hence the place should’ve been packed with recent grads, getting one last celebration before their ceremony. Some dude also bought Steve a drink randomly. I wonder if I should be jealous? ;)

Afterward we went to go get slices of pizza (which probably helped my no-hangover cause.) I did try not to drink TOO much, but I still had enough to make it fun. After finishing up, we drove home. It was nice to go out, especially since it was actually cooler in temperature outside and in the club than in my apartment. It was ridiculously hot yesterday, but today isn’t as bad.

Posted at 3:26 PM | (0)

After putting it off due to fear, I finally decided to go get some moles checked. Lucky for me, I have quite a few, and I was convinced that one of them changed form.

I psyched myself up for what I felt was an inevitable journey under a knife to have at least one mole surgically removed. But, I apparently picked a dermatologist who think moles add beauty or character or something, because when she got to the mole I think looks weird and ugly she proclaimed it to have “nice texture.” A little strange, but on the good side, she didn’t seem at all concerned about it.

As is usually the case, she cared more about a tiny dark freckle than the big, weird moles, but ultimately didn’t feel that any warranted removal at this time. I’m just glad that I picked someone who doesn’t like to needlessly remove everything without good reason. In truth, I just picked her because she was listed as taking my insurance and is located literally 3 blocks from my place (ah, the benefits of living downtown!).

So, now I can go on my trip without worrying that the extra sun will do me in. So, mom, no pointing out how weird and scary my moles look! And I did make the appointment before you gave me a hard time, so there!

At any rate, the trip is rapidly approaching and I promise a few more details in another post before I leave. Only two more weeks! :)

Posted at 9:06 AM | (3)

It’s funny how sometimes people have the same ideas at the same time. For instance, I was thinking about getting a new camera—I’ve wanted a dSLR for ages, and just when I was contemplating it the most, Leonieke posts about the exact cameras!

Now, these cameras aren’t exactly the cheapest—especially if you want good lenses (and after all, with these cameras, the lenses make a HUGE difference in terms of how good your pictures turn out), which is why I haven’t run out and gotten one yet. Not to mention they aren’t small and pocketable like a point and shoot. BUT, I will soon be having a BIG reason to want to take good pictures.

The reason? In July I will be in Europe for TWO WEEKS! I actually booked the trip in December, but it was so far away that I didn’t want to talk about it way before it was set to happen. Unfortunately, Sofie and Leonieke, Netherlands and Belgium aren’t on the itinerary. :( 2 weeks isn’t enough time to see everything, and my traveling companion (cousin) and I will be headed in a more westerly direction. Though if you guys happen to be in the neighborhood of Paris…. ;)

So yea, I want to bring a camera that will take awesome pictures. My current point and shoot takes decent pictures, but it does not have much of a zoom, meaning I’d have to crop most things to make them look like I was even remotely close to the landmarks. I could buy a 12x zoom point and shoot, which would be a huge improvement in zoom, but the picture quality is said to be not so great. Or, I can borrow my sister’s camera, which she says takes good pictures, but I can’t remember the specifications of it. Or, I could use this trip as a major excuse to buy a Canon Rebel XT. I’d have to carry around a bigger, heavier camera, but it would take awesome pictures, and is something I’ve wanted for awhile.

I’ve kinda justified it to myself that since i’m not spending lots of money on the new laptop (since my company reimbursed me) I can put that money to another new, cool toy! Any thoughts?

Posted at 8:26 AM | (7)

Today, on my way back from running an errand, I saw a girl dressed in a sort of Goth manner—you know, black hair, black shirt, black skirt, and knee-high black boots. This isn’t really something that is so out there that it warrants a post. What IS though, is what she was carrying—what looked to be a sleeping bag and some sort of rolled up blanket.

Ok, maybe I never really thought about Goths liking to camp or have sleepovers, but still this wasn’t the reason the scene struck me as strange. it was because the two items she was carrying were that sort of bubble-gum Barbie pink.

I just thought it seemed odd that someone who wears all black would own something in a color that is its complete antithesis. You certainly get a different vibe from someone wearing that color pink than you do all black.

Who knows though—maybe she was just borrowing it or helping her friend load up the car. Or maybe she’s not as hard-core as she tries to appear?

Posted at 6:04 PM | (5)

Ok, not the most creative title, but you get the point. Everyone has made a big deal of today’s date being 6-6-06. In fact, some movies and concerts have purposely chosen to open today in order to take advantage of this once in a century occurence.

If you believe in superstitions and all that, I guess you might want to be careful. One of my company’s clients does podcasting and today they will post their 13th episode. Not intentional, but kinda funny! Those guys better avoid black cats and walking under ladders today.

Today is also Election Day. Yikes, does that mean elections are evil?

Posted at 1:49 PM | (1)

This weekend I went home to attend my cousin’s college graduation party. It was a little smaller than the one I had, but I decent number of people showed, including some cousins I apparently hadn’t seen in awhile (for instance, I totally didn’t recognize one kid who is now like 13. He had long hair in his face and just generally didn’t look or sound like anyone I knew. His little sisters still looked the same, although I didn’t recognize the baby brother either.) Overall it was a decent party—and they got food catered from an Italian place that everyone is a fan of. Hooray for Chicken Parmigiana!

Other than that, I didn’t do too much, but I suppose it was nice to see all the family people that I don’t see too often. And of course, my lovely parents. Hi Mom! :)

Posted at 11:17 PM | (0)

My new laptop arrived today at around 10am this morning. It was in Alaska as of last night, and it said it expected to deliver today, but I didn’t quite believe it, but they were obviously right!

It’s a little thinner than my last one, which is pretty cute. It also, I am glad to say, does not have any dead pixels on the screen (my last one had one dead pixel on the lower right portion of the screen, which, while occasionally annoying, I actually forgot it was there most of the time.)

I just now powered it on—I was busy doing work stuff and knew that if I loaded it up, I’d start messing around with and get no projects done. In other awesome news, my laptop will be paid for by my company! I didn’t ask them about it before I purchased it mostly because I already have a functioning system, and I had two computers long before I did any sort of web work. I wanted the laptop because I like computing while reclining in bed, and because I wanted the freedom to take it with me like I have in the past. But, after mentioning the purchase, they told me they’d reimburse me. Of course, this means that they now own my computer, and upon termination of employment, it will be in their possession and not mine. As has been pointed out to me though, the benefit of this arrangement is that at that undetermined future time, I can just go ahead and buy a newer, better laptop for the same price.

So, that’s all for now. If you don’t hear from me, I might be busy playing with my new toy!!! :)

Posted at 12:18 PM | (5)