Friday, February 25, 2005

Red Swingline Staplers and Other Random Thoughts

"And I said, I don't care if they lay me off either, because I told, I told Bill that if they move my desk one more time, then, then I'm, I'm quitting, I'm going to quit. And, and I told Don too, because they've moved my desk four times already this year, and I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were married, but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay..."

So I had to move offices AGAIN. Since I've been at my current company, I've had 4 offices. And, now, I have ended up right back to where I started. And, word is that I'll be moving again. Hence, the quote above from Office Space.

Man-o-man, what a week. Luckily, it's been full of good friends--and this week more than ever, I've realized how many great friends we have in our lives and how thankful I am to have such wonderful, thoughtful people around.

Last night, Clay was in town, so, we hit the town, and got to go to one of our favorite restaurants in DC-Zaytanya--Clay was so thoughtful, and got us a gift cert. there--so we were excited to have the chance to put it to use and let Clay benefit from it too!

Last weekend Al and I went up to CT and VT. In CT, we stopped by to see Al's family--and visit his grandpa in the hospital--he's in ICU right now, so we are keeping him in our daily thoughts.

After CT, we drove up to West Dover, VT, where our friend Laura lives. The ride was beautiful, and very peaceful. I loved seeing all of the A-frame houses, and the yards full of white, fluffy snow.

We arrived close to dinner time--and the chef at the restaurant Laura works at in the evenings loaded us up with free ribs and beer, and then it was off to Adams Farm, to a horse-drawn sleigh ride that Laura had arranged for us to go on while she finished her shift.

The sleigh ride was great--it was about 1 1/2 hours with a break in between for hot cocoa in a cute little shack, and an intense game of checkers against Al. After our sleigh ride, we headed back to Laura's place, and got ready for a night out in Vermont. The bars were full of skiers visiting Mt. Snow (where Laura works during the daytime). We went to a great bar with a band playing these fantastic 80's songs. I caught my second wind, and we closed the place down.

The next day, after we drank enough water to recover from our hangover, we headed to Mt. Snow to meet Laura, and to get fitted-up for our ski lessons that Laura had generously arranged for us as well. I had my first-ever ski lessons, and did a pretty good job on the bunny slopes.

When it came time to show off for Al though, I got a bit cocky, and started going too fast, which ended up with me falling on my ass and my poles flying everywhere.

After an exhausting day on the slopes, we headed back to CT for a free night stay in the Marriott thanks to lil Schwarz. The next day, we visited more with Al's family and went to the hospital and then headed back.

It's been a long week, and with the moving of offices-sure didn't make it that much easier-but at least we have awesome friends around us, and that makes a huge difference. So, thanks to you all for being so great at calling, checking in, and just being good friends.