mandaloo

this week has been busy. early in the week, i went to the lake a couple of times with jeromy, susan, and david. while they were fishing, it would either go jogging or just hang out. i really need to get my license and some fishing gear so that i, too, can partake in the fishing goodness. i really like being out at the lake. there was one night that susan and i went to the marina and when we were walking back to the car, i heard susan scream behind me. i was like, "what happened?" and she said, "you almost stepped on a snake…" and pointed down towards a moccasin on the ground that was trying to get out of our way. i won't complain any more when jeromy makes me take a flashlight and cell phone when i go jogging. *sigh*

work was slow all week. my work cycles in heavy/slow periods and this week seemed to be sluggish for everyone. i'll be out of the office all next week, so i'm hoping that there will be some new projects to start on when i get back. i'm looking forward to going to austin – i'm legitimately interested in the classes i will be going to, since it will all be about stuff that i do every day. i leave tomorrow morning with my coworker and all we have to worry about monday is setting up our booth. after class on tuesday, my aunt is going to pick me up from my hotel and take me over to her place to see everyone. on wednesday night, one of our subconsultants are throwing a big after party. us girls have decided that we're going to take a separate car than the boys since history has shown that they all like to stay later at these things than we would like. i'll get back into town on thursday night. me… coworkers… austin… and after parties – i'm sure that there will be stories to come.

mom and dad are going crazy with puppies. they have found a home for two of them – there are eight left. mom's going to give herself a nervous breakdown with how upset she gets when she thinks about giving them away. but i think that once they get the puppies into homes, and life gets back to normal, everyone will be happier.

i had dinner earlier this week with nina. we went to olive garden and i had a blast. it's always good to hang out with her – she's one of the very few people i can say that i've kept up with from "back in the day." we talked about a bunch of stuff and finished off the night with dessert. she just played a show last week in lubbock and i'm hoping that she'll get a local gig soon. i'd really like to see her music take off.

my progress with working out and tanning is coming along slowly and surely. i managed to work out a couple of times this week. one night, i went with susan to the gym in jeromy'ss community center. i'm hoping to make this more of a habit – it was nice to have someone to work out with. i had never used a treadmill before, but i really like them. i've been tanning regularly and i can actually tell a difference. my farmer's tan is starting to even out and by the time my friend's wedding comes later this week, i won't be a total mess (hopefully).

i had to go shopping this weekend. i detest shopping for clothes, but they were severely needed. during this week in austin, all of us are wearing our company logo polo shirts – and i needed some pants to go with them. and i needed comfy shoes to go with those pants. and i needed belts. so i went shopping after work on friday with pam and found nothing. i continued my excursion on saturday and found what i was looking for. i'm not thrilled witht the pants – and the shoes i got were ugly, but oh well. i had a time constraint and limited options. i'll just have to look like a doof this week. i did, however, find a sweet little dress that i wore to the annual dinner last night. the only thing that made the day worthwhile is that i scored some cheap t-shirts – a m*a*s*h shirt and a superman shirt.

the annual dinner was great. i got all gussied up and my little black/blue dress was a big hit. it has been a while since i've gotten all dressed up. it was funny because everyone in my work group was wearing blue. we all looked like we were matching geeks. the dinner was held this year at the c.r. smith museum, which provided a great atmosphere. we ate dinner in a big room that had a huge plane in the middle of the floor… you could even go into it and see what people used to ride in – it was awesome. dinner was yummy, the seating was not assigned, and the program was short – all a great combination. jeromy got to meet all of my coworkers, which was fun. people from all of our other offices came and we had a good turnout. after the dinner, we had a casino night, where we could use fake money and trade it in for tickets. the prizes this year were all destination prizes (i didn't win any). the blackjack table that we were at had a dealer that couldn't count. i think she overpaid me every now and then – which did not seem to help my performance. it was interesting to see a large portion of my coworkers borderline sloshed before the night was over. all in all – an excellent evening.

this morning, jeromy and i went to my coworker's house for breakfast… we had our coworker form the austin office in town, so we all got together before they headed back to town. i made muffins (blueberry and chocolate chip ones) and my coworker made omelettes. it was super yummy and we all hung out and talked. there is a possibility that the six of us may go on a fishing trip on some weekend in the near future.

right now, i'm just trying to get ready for my trip. i haven't even begun to pack. i had a mountain of laundry that resulted from me neglecting it for the past two weeks. it's funny how it does that.