Irish Idioms!
Just learned a new one.

There's two chances of that happening: slim and none.

What? Wife?

I had to post this. I was just checking my yahoo email account and happened to notice the advertisement on the side. At first I was focusing on why the same woman was dressed differently to represent different attributes - bubbly, humorous, smart. And then I read further and saw the matrimonial services part and am now confused on multiple fronts.

- First, why is there an ad for matrimonial services on my yahoo account. I should be reading about the latest razors or Netflix. Not some crazy, quasi-legal, quasi-ethical wife finding service. What happened to yahoo?
- Is this an American thing or a UK thing? I’m plugged in at work that goes through our central office in the UK. Does that mean the internet is picking up the UK connection? Does that mean the British are a sleazier clientele than the Americans? Who knew.
- Talk about shady. Did you see the name of the company? It’s shady!
- And finally, I still don’t get the ad. Does this mean that no matter what I want, they’ll give me the same girl? Just dressed differently.

As you can tell, I’m not wild about the business of finding someone a wife. I realize the online dating I dabble in shares traits but it’s a two way street. Well really four way if you consider the gay/lesbian partnerships. If they sold husbands too, I’d reconsider, and maybe get myself one. But they never do, do they?

Any business that profits over the selling of women doesn’t sit well with me. It shouldn’t exist and at the very least it shouldn’t be accepted in mainstream but shunned. I’ve been with yahoo for almost 15 years, but am reconsidering now. It reminds me of that small film, 2 Brothers and a Bride that starred Tim Blake Nelson and David Arquette. It touched on the reality of the wife selling business but ended with a Hollywood ending – rarely the case I imagine. Too many Law & Orders and of course I’m half way through A Girl who Played with Fire which is all about the sex trade and talks about the promise of a better life in the Western world for these girls.

It does make me appreciate being born an American into an affluent middle class family.

Thankful Friday

Ah Friday. It’s been a long week. Busy at work. I’ve been trying to steer clear of the drama but it’s becoming more challenging. Wednesday I basically just went into retreat mode when I got home and ignored what I should be doing. I was mentally exhausted. But last night I rallied and tackled stuff when I got home, including fixing myself a good dinner. I tried out a new recipe for a rainbow chard casserole. It was now or never as the ingredients were about to go. It’s good but I have to admit I’m more conscious of what I eat now. Is a vegetable dish still good for you if it has a cup of shredded gruyere cheese and two cups of ricotta? Moderation is still my mantra so smaller portions.

So all work has drama. My last job had tons and I was smack dab in the middle of it and it really drained me. This job I’ve been able to position myself differently. Even so, where I am, it is unavoidable without going into any detail. Sorry for being cryptic – but it’s the usual work stuff, just don’t want to air it here and the point is less the issues but how I’ve found I’ve changed. Yesterday I had a tiring morning and was finding myself getting worked up in frustration. My patience was low and therefore I was starting to fall into old habits again. And you know what I did. I took my lunch and book and walked down to Pigeon Poop park a few blocks away and had a pleasant lunch fully engrossed in the second book in the Millennium series. Usually I either have lunch at my desk or go out and run errands or meet up with someone for lunch. But never just lunch on my own. It was wonderful. It was the first day in the 80s for a long time. Everyone was out and about. I was wearing my new dress I had bought last weekend in NY from Emilia’s used clothing store. The sun, the breeze, the book. It was wonderful – great refreshing energy in the air. And it even had a touch of nostalgia. The park is outside the old office building I used to work out a few years back. And the popular hanging-out place for the bike messengers. There’s been a big turn-over but I was surprised to see I still saw a few I recognized. And you know what, within in moments, all the craziness slipped away and before I knew it the hour had sped by and I had forgotten all about work.

And the afternoon was great and productive and the way it should be. So there you have it. I’m able to let go more now. I’m still involved and working on solving the problems, but now I feel even more capable as I’m not weighed down by the angst of it all. Or if I see that I am, I’m able to self-correct some.

Today I had lunch with Noah. My pseudo little brother. He’s actually younger than my real younger brother but they did both go to the same school. Anyways he’s about to move (grad school – Duke). The time has finally arrived and he has two weeks left. So we had a last minute scheduled lunch today. Enjoying lunch in the Boston common in the sun. He had some family drama this week which just makes me appreciate the security my family provides even more. Anyways, we were both lamenting how our other friends have all dropped out of the social circle (we all used to work together). You see, we’re north side (i.e. Cambridge side) and they’re south side (i.e. Jamaica Plain – Boston). And we don’t work together anymore so after work get togethers are a thing of the past. Long story short. We left with plans tonight, laughing on our walk back to our offices about how that sounded:

“I had lunch with a boy today and we shared some homemade gourmet pizza. And then I’m seeing him later tonight for dinner and a movie. We’re going to go to this gourmet pizza place and then we’re going to see Date Night.”

And to be honest, I’d rather hang out with him than rally for a real date night. Still, I need to get back into the mix of things again. Next month. Tomorrow is the first time in a very long time that I finally have a Saturday morning where I’m not rushing off to visit someone for the weekend or running around prepping my place for visitors. And can I add, I’ve worn my new pair of jeans four out of the five days this week – the other day being the new dress. I love them, so comfy. Which leaves me to conclude that I’m thankful of my progress dealing with work(cognitive behavior rules), stability my family provides, active friendships, and for a comfortable pair of jeans finally. Oh and random art in empty storefront windows downtown (same work of art from two different angles).

Jeans

Great weekend visiting Emilia and her family. Too short of course, but the upside is that we get a second girls weekend memorial day when she’ll be in Boston visiting her sister. It was great just to be able to hang out and chill. There was a bbq Saturday night with lots of kids and before I knew it the weekend had flown by. I was on my way home and was in a desperate need of a bathroom break. Who knew the pee dance would result in new jeans that fit perfectly! I happened to get off at the Lee exit, which I quickly recognized was where the outlet mall was that I had been several years ago. But wasn’t driving so hadn’t bookmarked where it was exactly. Long story short, after a quick pit stop and before the stores closed for the night, I found a pair of Michael Kors jeans that just fit like a glove. Not too tight. No need for a belt because of the butt sag. Just perfect. And on sale too! I have them on as I write. I had pretty much given up finding a pair. I’ve gone to a billion stores and no luck. When you’re looking is when it refuses to be found.

I hadn’t realized how not-having-a-pair-of-jeans-that-fit-well was effecting me. It was like when I didn’t have a bed. I had a mattress on the floor, but no frame or boxspring. It all works and is better than sleeping on the floor (or going jeanless), but having the right fit works miracles. Be it a proper fitting pair of jeans, or a bed at the right height where it’s not an exercise just getting out of bed. It makes me appreciate the little things that make life easier. So no more unbuttoning the jeans to sit down, or having to slap a belt on that creates a rash on my hip from rubbing. I’m sitting pretty now. Hallelujah jeans are found!

Thankful Friday

On my way into work this morning I was thinking about all the things I need to do before hitting the road tomorrow morning. And I realized there is a wonderful upside of not having kids or even a partner right now. This weekend I’m wrapping up my whirlwind tour which could only have been accomplished by a singleton. Kids and/or mate in tow would just not have been possible with the logistics involved. It would have changed things, which makes me appreciate the flexibility and independence that comes with being on one’s own. In a weak segue, it got me thinking about the other things I want to accomplish in life – with or without mate and/or kids. I’ve created my Bucket List. Things to do before I die. I thought it was silly fluff when I heard of it initially, but realize I have items that should be listed and the only list they fit nicely into is the Bucket List. So here goes (to be added to over the years, theoretically).

Bucket list
1. Own a Jaguar car. This has been a dream of mine since I was a wee little lady. I think I must have seen my first Jaguar in an ad in the New Yorker. It was for a XJ6 (Series III) in jaguar racing green . This is another ad I remember seeing, not the one I’m thinking of though which was nice and clean – car on black background. I still have that ad. I’ve remained unwavering ever since. I think I may have to buy a used car as the form went downhill during the Ford era and now with Tata owning the company. I’d rather sacrifice function (the old jaguars have notoriously faulty wiring and other issues) for form. Weird to write that. But, hey – it’s my dream car, not my errand car. I would also consider the E type/XJS/XK8 evolution of their sports car but am not wild about the current rendition in the 2010s – the XK150.

2. See a kangaroo in person, in their own habitat, not mine. This basically means I want to make it to the other side of the world – Australia or New Zealand, I’m not picky. You’d think I would have made it by now considering my cousin married a New Zealander, the engineering firm I used to work at was bought out by a New Zealand firm, and my current company has an office in Melbourne.

3. Learn how to play at least one song (that I like) decently on the guitar. I’ve set my goal low after my first foray into guitar playing. I'm really not musically blessed.  You’d think this should be easy to achieve based on the wealth of amateur videos on youtube. Everyone and their brother seems to have learned a little ditty to play on the guitar. I have a guitar up in my loft that after the first night has remained abandoned. It’s on loan so I need to bump this up the list.

Time Zones

I like that I work internationally now. It has a nice ring to it and an aura of intrigue. I like being exposed to the accents and different cultures – the interesting parts and the challenging parts. There is even travel thrown in which is generally fun (I don’t like being tired that comes with the red eye flights). But man, some mornings are rough. Everyone has those crazy days with tons of items popping up that need to be dealt with immediately. I don’t think I’ve ever had a job where there weren’t “emergencies” of some form periodically. But I’ve decided I live in the wrong time zone. Before my day even starts I’m behind. I tackle the Middle East first, then move on to Europe. So that by afternoon, I’m exhausted and just starting on the North American stuff.

Now, don’t get me wrong, most days, I can keep the day pretty steady, but some days there’s a collision of events that just knocks me back and wish for the days of working in one time zone. I’m a planner, I like to be ahead of the curve. And don’t even get me started on my math. A few months back it was a little crazy as each country institutes day light savings at different times, so the five hour time difference to the UK is shifted to four hours for a few weeks. And that’s just the UK. Trying to schedule calls between folks in Abu Dhabi, London, San Francisco and Chicago (not to mention Boston) gets a little complicated – there’s such a small window. So when the projects get high stakes and looking for fast turnaround, it doesn’t help to be located in the western part of time zones. Ok, that’s enough venting. Focus on the good, and practice my math.

In other news, I need to get back into linking with professionals to hit my next milestone – 250. On LinkedIn I just hit 131. My 131st contact is my brother. Which sounds strange, maybe even desperate, but it isn’t – he’s got good connections and even more importantly I can finally keep tabs on what he does. I periodically get asked what he’s up to. I say he’s living over in Delhi (or Lahore depending when I was asked). Half the time that’s enough. But the other half, folks ask what he’s doing. Which gets a little tricky answering as he has gigs that are under a year long and not always straightforward (i.e. I forget exactly what). Recently he’s been teaching, so that makes it easier. But with LinkedIn, I get a little cheat sheet. It does make me wonder if that make me a bad sister that I need a social media site to remember what my brother is up to? Um, nope, just makes life easier.

Fantasy Football Time!

But not the kind you’re probably thinking of. I just joined a fantasy football game that someone at work organized. But he’s from the UK. So football = soccer. And this is only the biggest game in the world, hands down (the World Cup in case you missed that, which only happens every four years). I just finished picking my team. I’ve got Gianluigi Buffon from Italy guarding the goal and well, honestly, I don’t know the rest. The only football player I know is David Beckham and I know enough to know he’s out of any serious playing – torn ligament or something. I started just randomly picking names but there were so many countries and players to choose from that I realized my odds weren’t that good. So I spent 5 minutes of quick googling and feel like I’ve got a half way decent team. It’s the best combination: a little research by someone who has no clue about the subject = the surprise victory. You’re close enough to catch those left field curve balls (to throw in an American sports double metaphor).

I’ve done work related sports pools before but usually the other kind of football – where they throw the ball (sometimes, depending on the game). The first job out of college I came in part way into the football pool and did decent, but didn’t really ever win – always came close. So the next year, Ben and I, who both did well but never won, restructured the pool so that there was a running tally of your score from each week. I won the next two years in a row. Who knows how long the streak would have been as I went back to grad school the following year. Granted I had my brother help me in the team selection and point allocation, but looking back it all – way to work the system. If the system isn’t working for you – change it. I make a killing. Instead of walking away with $15 a week which most folk used to buy the office bagels, I walked away with $200 at the end of the season (minus the cut for bagels).

This is structured differently, first off no money to play and you pick your players, not just the winning team. You can make up to 30 trades during the World Cup which is interesting and good to know you don’t get stuck with an injured player. It’s something to look forward to and be a part of such a global event. It reminds me of the match in 2002. I was just starting grad school (again) in Michigan and was subletting an apartment that summer, waiting to move into my new house I just bought. My roommates were these 2 (or 3, I was never sure) French guys and they were crazy into the World Cup watching it at 3 or 4 in the morning (it was in Korea). The energy was wonderful. And it was funny hearing them complain how tired they were, but not from late nights in the lab working but from staying up to watch the games.

Well, as the countdown states on the World Fantasy Football page, only 29 days, 20 hours and 45 minutes and 12 seconds until kickoff!!!