tick tock

Leaving for the airport in ten minutes, and I'm all packed and excited, plus I also managed to book tickets to Chicago and Zurich for April and May. Today is all about travel.

I'm kind of hoping that this won't be updated for the next two weeks, because that will mean that I have no Internet access, and will be having a truly unplugged vacation.

ooo

Leaving the office now, and won't be coming back for two weeks!

smooth

Asian (lack of) leg hair + a good men's razor = very smooth

order

Outwardly, I am a very messy person, but I prefer for my thoughts and work to be very organized. It doesn't always happen if things are too hectic, but when I have time to impose order on my thoughts, work, and schedule, it gives me a feeling of immense satisfaction.

deutsch

I met a new lawyer we hired into our Zurich office, who is doing a couple of weeks in California for orientation. When he found out I lived in Switzerland for four years, he asked if I spoke German, and I said I had forgotten most of it, but then he spoke German for a few minutes, and I understood it all. Turns out that I hadn't forgotten everything, and he has the perfect accent (southern German, which is softer than true high German but more proper than Swiss German) for me to understand.

almost summer

Weather reports say that highs in the Philippines are in the upper 80s. If summer won't come to me, I'll go find summer.

three day weekend

Day 1: Up to the city to see friends and hang out with my sister and her family. Crabs for dinner.

Day 2: Lazy day with naps and books. Downloaded a dozen Kindle books for upcoming trip. Boyfriend coming back from two day trip to Boston.

Day 3: Tomorrow will be my productive day, and I intend to run errands, go to the gym, and start packing for the big trip.

Weekends really ought to be three days long, so that I can do all three things every week: be social, be lazy, and be productive.

countdown

Eight days until we go to the Philippines!

next

Ahh... I just found out today that someone else will probably be able to take over the product that just launched on Wednesday. It has been a long, twisted road since I first started with the team in March of last year, and I think it's at a good transition point, so I'm looking forward to moving on to something different.

work it out

Work has kind of gone crazy, and it has been driving me crazy. One of my products has a big launch tomorrow, and things just weren't pulling together.

Out of sheer frustration, I decided to work on my 2010 taxes. (I know, it's strange, but doing my taxes soothes me.)

I got the taxes done, two months early, which both soothed me and made me feel like I had accomplished something (even though I owe a bunch of money), and then a series of miracles happened, plus a renewed spurt of belief and effort on my end (partly due to the completed taxes), and several deals closed, rather unexpectedly, and we are almost there for launch.

good girl

I've eaten big salads at lunch and dinner all week (starting on Sunday), with lots of things that are supposed to be extra-good for you, like quinoa, barley, blueberries, spinach, almonds, and broccoli. They've actually been pretty tasty, and I feel so virtuous. I draw the line at kale and chard, though.

pick and choose

One of the things that I really appreciate about my job is that I get a lot of variety and autonomy, and my manager also gives me a surprising amount of input into whether I want to work on a particular product or deal, and how I think it should work.

pink tree

This is what the trees are doing. By the time we go on vacation and get back in mid-March, I think winter will be safely in the past. Whew.

february

Ah, February, when the temperatures reach the 70s and the trees burst into bloom?

sunday dinner

I talked myself into going to the gym again, and was pleasantly surprised when I remembered that they've started weekend meals at work again, so I was able to eat a big, healthy, convenient salad after I finished up at the gym.

business class

We have booked everything for our dive trip (which is in three weeks!) to the Philippines, and because Boyfriend doesn't like long flights, we decided to book business class flights the whole way. This is the first time I've paid for business class (as opposed to getting bumped or using miles), and I intend to enjoy every minute of it.

pass

How cool are virtual boarding passes on your mobile phone? One fewer thing to lose when traveling.

blood

I flew to Utah for a quick visit to see my cousin. It's amazing how much blood counts, even though it has been years since we've spent regular time together. I'm really glad I got to see him.

grape

Perfect grapes (the really round, firm, extra sweet, seedless ones) are perfect. My mom packed them in a bag dinner (which was kind of adorable) to take on the plane with me.

facebook

I'm still reveling in the successful Facebook escapade we pulled off on my millipede-phobic coworker today. Our externs lured her to a staged lunch meeting, whereupon we proceeded to bombard her page with millipedes. We completely filled her page with pictures, videos, links, tags, and comments. It was the highlight of my day.