Quick Update

First let me say that you all have been great today. Thank you all so much for your kind and supportive thoughts.

I was uneasy going in to work. I was up at 4:30 a.m. thinking about how I was going to do it and what I could possibly say. I ended up googling "resignation letter" and found some good samples to modify for my needs. I printed two copies and waited for them to show up and get their coffee. I was nervous going into my boss' office. I still didn't know what to say, so I said, "I've thought about it and there's no easy way to do this and handed them both my letter. My diredt boss was surprised but not completely shocked. I guess it is a sign of a good manager when he knows you aren't exactly in the right place with things. He knew that I was feeling like I'm in a creative rut. He's pleased that I stayed as long as I did and I'm sure he's sorry to see me go. They are happy that I've found a good opportunity and want me to do what's best for me, which I guess is all I could ask from them. The first thing the director asked was if my personality conflicts [brain trust]was the reason I was leaving. My reply was "No that's not the main reason, but it didn't help the situation." Ha! For once the right thing to say came to me on cue instead of in hindsight!

So my dear cyber friends, my last day is slated for Sept. 15th, but I might take a few of the last days as vacation if I can get enough work finished. I am slated to start the new job on Sept. 18th. The new job is going to be a higher volume of work and more deadline sensitive, which will cut into my blogging time, but I'm excited to do different work and ready for the challenge.

Alright, I've got Grey's Anatomy on pause, so I'm off to indulge in some mind wasting TV. I'm off with the boys to Philly for our niece's birthday party this weekend. The boys are excited to go to a pool party. Have a great weekend everyone and THANKS AGAIN!!!

Technically I'm Holding Down Two Jobs

Things have been quite busy with me. I received an official offer from my friend to work for him starting in mid-September, which I formally accepted today.

We have been going back and forth the last few weeks talking and working out the details of what the best arrangement for both of us will be. I'm really excited about the new position. I will gain more variety in my work in a more challenging atmosphere. Where I work now they tend to be happy with whatever design I throw together. This has pluses and minuses and lately I've been bored and in a rut. My friend is a software sponge and I will learn SO much from him. The job also gets me working with other creative people again. In my current position, I've been a one woman graphics department. Not only will I have my friend to bounce ideas around with, but also the other designers that work where he sublets his space. Oh, did I mention that the new job is literally one block from the old job? No change in the commute and I'm still in Old Town Alexandria, which is really my favorite place in the Metro DC area.

The hard part is going to be puting in my notice tomorrow. My boss returns from a conference tomorrow and I didn't really want to hit him with this his first day back, the exec. director will be out Friday and I don't want to have to think about it all weekend. The office has been through so much this year, some I've talked about here, some I haven't. At any rate, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be blindsiding them. The office has been very good to me over the nearly ten years I've been employed there and I really like most of my coworkers, so it is hard to walk away from something so comfortable. I know that I do need the change. The timing is just right for me. I didn't go looking for a new job, the new job came looking for me, which is a nice feeling.

I'm scared of what my boss' reaction is going to be. Hopefully he won't freak out too much. Then in a few short weeks I'll also have the extra added bonus of being rid of the remainder of the brain trust. (She was chewing gum again today and popping and cracking it. I had to break out the noise cancelling headphones and jam out to Prince.) Yeah, I know old school, but a girl needs a little funkiness now and then and Prince is good for that.

So, wish me luck Thursday morning. I'll try to let you know how it goes sometime tomorrow.

Today in History

48 years ago today Madonna was born.
46 years ago today Timothy Hutton was born.
39 years ago today I was born.
29 years ago today Elvis died. (Fox 5 News did not let me down this morning in reminding me of this fact.)

Enjoy your day. I'll be enjoying mine.

Photo is from the Graceland webcam at Elvis.com

Well, where do I start?

I have been off the radar for the last week, mainly because my littlest one came down with chicken pox. Yes, chicken pox and yes, he had a vaccination. The vaccination doesn't guarantee that he won't get it, but it does minimize the effects. He's only had about 8 spots and it has not slowed him down at all. In fact he's been his usual self.

We thought that we would have to cancel our trip to PA for a family reunion last weekend, but the family rallied and called everyone and decided that we should still go, so we did. I still took last Wednesday off because We didn't find out about the chicken pox until Wed. night. We had been slated to leave for PA Thursday morning, but had at that point decided not to go. I decided to go to work on Thursday and my husband stayed home with the poor poxed one. We made the last minute decision to go Thursday night. I'm glad we ended up going to the reunion in PA after all. I met many of my husbands relative for the first time and it was pretty fun. We also surprised my mother and father-in-law with a cake for their 40th wedding anniversary. All in all it was a nice weekend.

Monday morning however, I still didn' t like the looks of a few of the remaining spots and decided to keep the little one home yesterday and then again today. I am wiped out! He's three years-old and was not slowed down at all by the chicken pox.

Also, today, my hubby left for a fishing trip in Wyoming that has been planned for months. My dear sick coworker was to have gone along, but as you know he's going through his cancer treatment. I'm proud of my husband for deciding to go ahead with the trip and even to go alone. He'll be back Friday.

Still no sign of the pox on the oldest. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he won't get it too. The gestation is around 14 days, so if he's going to get it, we should start seeing the rash come this weekend.

I am so slammed at work it isn't even funny. I brought work home with me, but just can't do anything with a three-year-old running around.

I have been talking more with my friend who wants me to come work for him and the deal is looking very appealing. Nothing set in stone yet, but I'm actually pretty excited about the prospect of working for him. I have been at my current job for just shy of 10 years and I'm kind of just over it. It doesn't help with all the other crap going on there, but I've thought about it plenty and the idiot next to me is not the reason I want to change jobs. If I take this new position, the work will be more challenging and higher quality. It would be a bit of a risk to leave the cushiness of my current position, but in the long run a good move career-wise.

I am going to spend a few minutes catching up on your blogs and then I'm headed to bed. Hopefully, I'm going to be able to take the little one to school and be able to go back to work tomorrow.

A Tuesday Night List

1. Last week I seriously wanted to strangle "F.I" (the remainder of the brain trust).

2. My boss left for vacation.

3. Last week I snapped and told the director about every freakin issue that I have with "F.I." What will be interesting will be to see what and if he does anything about it.

4. Friday I went with my son on a field trip to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and we checked out the dinosaurs. They also have what looks to be a swell exhibit about Lewis & Clark that I want to go back to see.

5. After the field trip, I blew off the rest of the day and did not go back to work. (Yes, it is that effing bad at work).

6. Friday, I also called and talked to my dear sick coworker. What a relief to finally talk to him.

7. I am taking the rest of this week off work. (Yes, it is that effing bad.)

8. Today I went to visit a friend who has started working a block from my office. He wants me to come work with him. I have my long weekend to talk to my husband and decide if it is the right move for me.

9. My dear sick coworker had his first of six chemo treatments today.