Where ya been????

Finally....some uninterrupted time on a train and I'm able to BLOG! It's been a few 24 hours since my last blog and life has clearly been on the Daytona 500 of career, meetings, service, connecting with old friends, while meeting new, spending time with my family, i.e., moving Mom into an Assisted Living home last month, hence having me move as well.... In with my boyfriend Liam :) and to make things even more harried, we added a new doggie to the mix! I think Hurricane Hugo could be another analogy to describe my life of late. And am I complaining? Not at all! I'm loving my life and couldn't be any more satisfied and content...dare I say the word...Happy? Oh no, I can barely type it, let alone say it out loud for fear that it will all be taken away from me like dignity from Lindsey Lohan. We all know how that works, don't we? As soon as it's good, some f&*$ comes along and snatches it away from you and then we find ourselves bemoaning life for ever trying to actually enjoy it in the first place! Be careful what you wish for, is the only anecdote that comes to mind right now....

So the career is humming along at a steady pace, successfully I might add too, as Korn/Ferry International is finally going to make me a real employee and add me to the company roster! Yay! I've been contracting with them since March, and currently am in the process of moving forward with signing me on as a Senior Associate; a process in itself. I have to get approved by two Senior Client Partners, one in NYC (hence me swaying on the train right now, banging on my keyboard and choo-chooing into Penn Station), performing a thorough background check (don't even get me started on the angst with that!) and I have to meet with an informal selection committee. Informal? All this to have first class bene's, a paid Blackberry, a measly Holiday party - where the wrong people drink too much - and everyone complains about having to attend, and the joy of earning a bi-weekly paycheck with a semi-annual bonus payout! And to think a mere nine months ago I was managing a sober living home in San Diego; reading the daily prayer in the morning and dispensing urine test dipsticks in the afternoon, who'd thunk? I couldn't have crafted a better life for me right now. And yes, of course, its not always rainbows and unicorns; take our new dog for example. Wilson (named after the higher powered volleyball in the Tom Hanks' classic Cast Away) hasn't been the easiest to potty train. Granted they said he was a year old when we got him, and was house trained, but of course they are going to tell you that, they want you to adopt him!

I walk around my house barefoot most of the time and stepping in urine and poop is becoming as normal and routine to me as Paris Hilton getting arrested. Hence, this morning I stepped in a wet spot and cleaned up two poopie presents, while trying to make a 6:15 am train. But if this is one of my life's biggest complaints - then shit, (literally!) I have Cadillac problems today.

I get to wake up every morning next to an amazing man who makes me feel loved and secure. He makes my coffee for me each morning, let's me pick the movies from Blockbuster and does our laundry, where he even folds my panties! This morning, he is taking my annoying, let's be honest - she can be, Mother to Wegman's for her weekly ration of dark chocolate, cashews and gum. In the words of my sister, "Oh, you have to blow him; he's a keeper!" Not to keep bragging about him, but its like living with Bob Vila/Martha Stewart morphed into one. Since we moved in together, he has done everything that needs to be done when you move...and especially moreso since when you move into an old home that needs a lot of work and repair. Then, add the melding of two people's furniture, personal effects, and pasts into one home; its alotta work, So - yeah, he's a keeper. And please, don't ask me if I blew him.

Ahhhhh.........Sunday afternoon and I'm finally relaxing after a much harried weekend. The routine errands to the drycleaner, food store, car wash, then throw in the meetings, long dog walks, dinner and movie with a friend and then Liam and I doing our bi-monthly Costco run; which you know ends up taking twice as long because the $25 item you went in for, turns into a $250 shopping trip saddled with two shopping carts and full bellies upon exit. Ending of course, this afternoon with taking my Mom to my Ryan's baseball game; which is just a sitcom in itself. Between me, my sister, her ex-husband, my Mother, the twins, and a fully loaded snackbar...enough said.

Now.....alone, on my computer, updating Facebook, listening to the doggies chew on their Nylabones, and eating a lean cuisine while eagerly awaiting for 60 Minutes to start....Yes, I think I've arrived!

Train kept a rolling....

I never in a zillion years thought I'd be a Septa commuter. Especially, when six months ago I was living in San Diego, managing a women's sober living home, and happily attending a daily Bikram practice. My oh my how things have changed. 360 degrees.

Since I've landed my corporate headhunting gig in Center City Philadelphia, I have become one of the throes of commuters who purchases a monthly rail pass and wearily awaits for the arrival of the 7:10 R5. Walking onto the train each morning I survey who looks like the least likeliest to strike up a morning conversation. The last thing I want to do is converse with someone that I don't know first thing in the morning. Ironic, I call people daily that I don't know to recruit them for executive posts, but this is different. This is actually having a human connection with a stranger that most likely I won't derive any real benefit from. Yes, I am self-centered to the extreme. One of the wondrous benefits of being a Septa commuter is that you don't have to talk to anyone, let alone look at them, and you don't feel guilty. Perfect. The City of Brotherly Love is alive and kicking. Now don't get me wrong, its not like everyone sneers and rolls their eyes at each other, its just that its understood. Its understood that you don't need to make nice nice to your fellow commuters and you feel okay about it.

Often when I'm sitting on the train and watching the morning rush stampede on board, I like to purvey my peers on their style and fashion sense. I get tips, see what works, what looks awful and also get to realize that my own fashion style isn't too shabby. Considering, I've turned into the flat shoed walker to and from the station to the office and then back again to the station. A pair of high fashion heels await me in my lower drawered filing cabinet. I justify my lack of daily Bikram to the fact that I exercise my walk of six city blocks round trip and that burning calories that way is the best I can do. My daily 10-12 hour work days exhaust me and Bikram is now a weekly Saturday ritual where I can revert back to my Zen ways of a lost Southern California lifestyle and I remember that the grass is always greener.

New beginnings

Springtime always makes me think of new beginnings; Everything is fresh and full of promise. The flowers are in bloom, everyone is outside enjoying the sunshine, and the anticipation of summer is just around the corner.

For me lately I've been amazingly blessed to realize how - dare I even type this - wonderful my life has been the past few weeks. I am one of those people who thinks that when life is going swimmingly well, the other shoe is about to drop and I can only hope that I'm prepared for the havoc that will ensue. I'm trying to work on manifesting how great everything is and that it will stay like this for a while, or for as long as I can keep convincing myself of that. I'm working in a career I love, with a top-notch firm, and making the money I so deserve after being on a financial starvation for the past 18 months. It's nice to know that I can now afford gas and not have to take my change to CoinStar and scrounge up enough to fill 1/2 my tank. Ahh...capitalism has returned! Well, okay, I shant get too carried away, but I am lucky that my industry seems to have bounced back quite well.

I'm also skipping joyfully around in bliss with my new boyfriend who just seems to have me seeing stars and hearts all the time. I couldn't have asked for a more solid, sweet, genuine, caring, thoughtful and romantic guy -- ever -- and I can feel secure with us and know that he's definitely a keeper and one that I think may stick. around. for a while....

With all that being mentioned, I'm also glad that my family isn't driving me too batty and that I'm genuinely happy to be around them, 90% of the time, which is a good thing!

So, besides it being a season of fresh and new beginnings, its also a season to start anew and to make life even more sweeter for me, Lucy seems to be the happiest I've seen her in a while. It's been nice to glance outside the window and see the birds and rodents scurrying in the flower beds while Lucy chases them effortlessly burning enough calories to resemble a malnourished canine. One of these days I know she will catch one and my glee of the day will be seeing the dead rodent dropped door side and her tail wagging. That is a vision I'm hoping won't happen anytime too soon, but you just never know.

Wacky Weather and what not.

OK, so for those of you out here with me on the East Coast, you are scratching your heads saying to yourself? WTF about this weather? Didn't I just put away my sweaters, jackets, socks, earmuffs and snow booties a couple weeks ago because we were in a heat wave of close to 90 temperatures? Only now to find yourself looking for your long johns and space heaters as tonight's evening temperature will dip into the low 40's? Yeah, WTF seems to be the only appropriate thing to say right now.

Alas, just goes to show us how much control we don't have over the weather! That gosh darn mother nature keeps playing the shell game with us and we just never know what we'll end up with. At least when I was living in San Diego, I only had one wardrobe to worry about, there was no winter/summer clothes exchange, no winter/summer bedding to worry about and clearly, no winter at all to speak of in sunny Diego!

As I write this though I am grateful for all of the picturesque greenery that is surrounding me in beautiful Chester County. The daffodils and tulips are in bloom, the magnolia and cherry blossom trees have opened up their fragrant petals (and dirtying my car quite nicely) and the smell of fresh cut grass is abundant. The aroma is quite ripe and I couldn't be any happier...until I have to go out and get - yet again - more allergy medicine! Oy! The stock has clearly risen on the makers of Claritin and Benadryl (J&J and Schering-Plough for those of you not entrenched it the OTC consumer pharma industry, such as myself) But I'm not complaining...I'm happy to report that all areas of my life are going quite nicely and complaining about anything right now seems so trivial....job is great, family is good, boyfriend hasn't jumped ship and cried SOS, and Lucy is loving life - chasing squirrels has never looked so good!!

That being said, its 4 pm and Oprah is calling! Oh, the joy of working from home!

What a difference 60 days make

I feel so out of the loop as I haven't blogged in F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!! Alas, there is a good reason as to why as I've been super busy with LIFE! I moved to PA from CA around 60 days ago and dang, things are just moving along at lightening pace.

I FINALLY landed a job and its an amazing career coup for me. I'm joining Korn Ferry as a Senior Consultant within their Life Sciences practice working directly for a Partner in NYC. So...basically a plumb job for me and one that I'm truly grateful for; granted I'll be working 24/7 and stressed out most of the time, but that's where my yoga, meetings, friends and - yes, now I dare even say this - boyfriend - will come into my life and keep me balanced. So, moving to the next topic, boyfriend. Yup, less than two months and I'm smitten. I didn't think I'd even find someone that I'd want to see more than once, let alone ALL the time, who'd ya thunk? I think cupid struck and the universe felt I was ready to take it! If I had to list all the adjectives to describe Mr. X I probably would have to blog onto page 2, but, in a nutshell; Kind, Smart, Funny, Cute, Spiritual, Hard working, Moral, Loving, Tender, Sweet, Affectionate, Open, Sober, Motivated, Laid back, Secure, Confident, Sexy, Great musical taste and he gets me! There, no more really needs to be said on that matter.

Mom is doing pretty good actually, however, I have seen her decline a bit just in the last 60 days. At least she's not in any physical pain and she isn't aware of her decline; for the time being. We'll see how that progresses in the coming weeks....Lucy and I are just so happy that Spring has sprung! Yeah....she's obsessed with squirrels, birds, chipmunks and any other rodents that seem to scurry about outside. She can sit for hours gazing out the window and daydreaming that some day she will actually catch one of these varments, lord knows what the hell she will do with it; but for now, she loves to run and chase them up trees and I take such joy in watching her do so. The love of a dog is so perfect and the fact that I actually wonder about her happiness freaks me out on a daily basis; but I take some respite in knowing that other dog owners also feel the same way and its not just koo koo me!

Ahhh.....the end of a very mindless week and I am blessed to have a icky sinus infection which has had me hacking up parts of my lung and intestines that I never knew I had. I actually vomited last night during one of my coughing attacks! I mean, WTF? Never heard of that