it's 3 am....

but i'm not lonely.

columbus clippers game

got back to the hotel at 2, finished packing, and since the alarm clock is set to go off in an hour, i'm going to pretend i'm 19 again and pull an all-nighter.

pretty sure it will come back to bite me, but for the moment, worth every minute of lost sleep.

see, when i headed into columbus on monday (leg 3 of a three week, 4 leg trip), i was pretty sure i was going to have a miserable time of it.  our mother ship (nationwide) brought in the 50 of us 'marketers' from california for 3 very full days of training, along with it's 700 local marketing team members.  i was already tired when i got here and knew i had one more leg to go.  i wasn't sure i was going to make it.

and it WAS an exhausting three days - general sessions and classes from 8:30am - 5pm each day (and that's A LOT of sitting), but there were a couple of pleasant surprises along the way.

first and foremost, this was team bonding like nothing i've experienced before in my current company.  in fact, i found myself learning more about some of my co-workers in 48 hours then i've learned about them in almost five years. and it has been awesome.  just getting some of these folks out of the office completely changed who i thought they were, and i'm certain that when we all get back to california, the department is going to have a very different feel. i am truly very excited about the experiences i shared with my team members this week.

secondly, in my first class, there happened to be an attractive young man (the guy on the far left) sitting at our table.  since all the classes were interactive with at least a couple of table exercises, we did actually get to interact a little bit.  and, never a shy one, later that night i connected with him in the digital space, which led to a few conversations throughout the course of the event, and culminated at a meetup tonight with he and a couple of his friends.  what ended up being so cool about this was not actually that one of his friends is 6'7" (and that he called my 5'9" self 'adorable', which tends to be reserved for 5'2" and 5'3"-ers) but that i felt like i was hanging out with old friends. old EAST COAST friends.

don't get me wrong. i know ohio isn't the east COAST. but it's east of the mississippi and north of the mason dixon, and boy did i need a little dose of that!  they were sharp and quick and sarcastic and a little judgmental  and it was fan-freaking-tastic. one of them is also a very frequent traveler, so we had a few really good laughs comparing cities, and hotels, and food apps, and everything else travel related. it was refreshing to have a conversation with someone who totally gets that it's not all parties and play, but that you have to make the most of what you've got.

one of my favorite wing-women, diana, was kind enough to play the role again, and at one point i actually asked her if hanging out with these guys had made me make more sense to her.  they were a perfect example of the kind of guys i would have hung out with in virginia, and it reminded me why it is that i struggle to connect with the men in california. it's just a different breed altogether.

i was immensely grateful for the three hours we spent together, and just how 'myself' it made me feel.

when i was here in february, i didn't think columbus had anything to offer me. i had a great time, but it seemed like a 'one and done' kind of city. needless to say, i have been pleasantly surprised by the great week i've had here!

oh happy day!

this, my friends, is what we call a happy dance. ...although 'happy' doesn't remotely do it justice.  this is a bliss-filled transcendentally euphoric (and slightly spastic) dance.

when my plane touched down in columbus, ohio, i switched on the phone and logged onto email to make sure nothing critical had come up.

awaiting me was an email from a co-worker who has basically made my life miserable for the last year.

since she was specifically brought on board to make my life easier (and reduce my travel schedule), it has been an emotion-filled year, full of frustration, anger, and disappointment.

until today.

today was the day that she gave her two weeks notice.

good things do come in threes and i'll be honest in saying that i have been praying that this would be the third.

one = a couple of potential romantic interests
two = confirming a move to long beach with my very good friend jami
three = getting my sanity back

words cannot even express.  it's simply amazing.

so long sucka

by way of pure coincidence, in the last week i finished watching 'band of brothers', a fictional miniseries about ww1 from the american perspective, 'birdsong', a fictional miniseries about ww1 from the british perspective, and i finished reading 'fall of giants' a fictional novel about ww1 from the american, british, and german perspectives.

as a result, i've been thinking a lot about service to and sacrifice for one's country. add to that my work trip to philadelphia, and i think we have a bonafide theme.

that being said, philadelphia remains one of my all-time least favorite cities.  and one of the very few in which i feel genuinely unsafe. but, as always, my co-workers and i attempted to make the best of it!

we enjoyed an amazing array of chocolate confections and other (less chocolatey) menu items, and i even picked up a souvenir (which i very rarely do). these porcelain milkshake glasses just spoke to me!

and of course, we took advantage of the history and made a stop at the liberty bell and national park. it reminded me, once again, of the great men and women who have served and sacrificed. some in uniforms, some with speeches or signatures.  service to one's country takes many forms, not all of which i agree with,.  but i have enormous respect and reverence for those who set about trying to make our country and world a better one.

in west philadelphia

a strong contender for one of my all-time least favorite cities, i'm in philly for a couple of days. with a late arrival last night and a booth set-up this morning, i haven't had much time to wander...nor would i without my male colleagues. but after talking to jami last night, i learned that reading (pronounced - redding) market is just around the corner.

akin to pike place (seattle),north market (columbus), union station underground (dc), a diverse and numerous bunch of counter restaurants are clustered together for a culinary treat. since room service was no longer running when i got in last night, my dinner consisted of microwaved beefaroni from the wawa across the street. needless to say, i was grateful for reading market and it's close proximity!

as a sidenote, did you know that most of the game monopoly is based on philadelphia? always happy to learn something new, i also learned that people often carry two wallets here... a real one and a fake one, for when someone inevitably tries to hold you up. now perhaps you'll understand why there is no love lost for this city. it's one of the only cities i've visited that actually feels dangerous.

fortunately my travel companions, all male, arrive today.

designing woman

i'm going to be on the road for most of may and june, so i have been taking full advantage of the ENTIRE MONTH that i've gotten to be home, to do some future planning for my end of june move.

i may be a little overly excited. like. a LOT overly excited.  something about a move after four years kind of gives you that 'fresh start' feeling, so i have been planning and purchasing to make sure the fresh start comes with an aesthetic high note.  wanna see?

this is how the bedroom is shaping up...

and the bathroom is starting to come together as well...

muaahhhh ha ha. can't wait for the end of june!