I'm meeting the former Israeli special forces guy for drinks tonight.
He's the one with the accent (of course)
and the dreamy blue eyes
and that whole strong silent thing

not to mention that aura that he could kill you with his pinkie.

I wonder how he'll feel about my semi-gold lame military-style jacket? LOL

I'm crushed. FHM has come out with its "Hottest Women" and sadly, I'm not on the list.

I'm going to go throw myself off a bridge now.
Or contact a plastic surgeon.

Or maybe my Fairy Godmother? 

Several months ago, I upgraded my digital camera. Haven't used it much - hadn't bothered to upload the pics I had taken to my laptop.

I headed to the fish tank a few weeks ago with a friend (not Doc Xray). Took lots of pics - so much so that I needed to delete some to make room.

I hit the wrong button.

Deleted ALL the pics.

Upside, I have plenty of room for new pics.

I haven't taken any of the kittens in a while. I don't even have any pics of them displayed around. I still have lots of pics of Lulu and Sassy around. (Is that creepy?)

I think it's a mutual fizzle between Doc Xray and myself. I took him to the fish tank with me last Sunday night. I think he was more interested in mauling me than the fish.

I guess I could say that was flattering, right?

Got the daily texts the first part of the week. Mid-week, I called him while I was driving home from an evening work thing. The conversation was... like pulling teeth.

He's not much of a telephone talker.

And he's never expressed any sort of remote interest in what I do.

There were these long silences on the conversation. He made mention of getting together over the weekend, but nothing further was suggested.

Then the texts became non-existent Thurs and Friday.

Yesterday, mid-afternoon, apparently he sent a text. I didn't realize he had sent one until later.

He lives pretty far south of the city. I'm north. There is weekend paving going on the route where we would drive. It makes getting around very challenging. Apparently his corporate apt is in a less-than-desirable area. Not ideal for me visiting. And I don't want him hanging around my house all the time. So we meet intown and that's it.

So when you add up the distance driving, the communication, the fact he's only in town until July... I guess it's toast.

Everyone recalls my hesitation about taking my current job because of my manager...

His first words to me were something along the lines of "If you don't perform, I'm going to shove my fucking foot up your fucking ass."

I was dumbfounded and almost didn't take the job because of him.

Well...

Earlier in the week, a coworker said she had some news... I asked what was up but then she retreated.
The boss had flown to HQ for a "Regional Managers" meeting.

Drumroll please...

He got fired! Several people complained about his yelling and cursing and demeaning behavior to HR. Since the company is going public in the near future, they've got to cover their posteriors now...

It isn't officially official - some VP's are coming in tomorrow to make the announcement but everyone in the office already knows. 

I feel sorry for him. As a manager, he sucked. He seemed like a fairly decent human being but I never got the chance to really know him.

Can't wait to see how the office does a collective sigh tomorrow!
 

I had a really good "me" day Saturday. I have been negligent in working out regularly and I feel the effects physically and emotionally. Have some potentially stressful stuff coming up on the horizon, so I need to get back into a regular routine. Preventative exercise!

I went for a 4 mile run and then did another 2 miles power-walking. It was a gorgeous day. Then I did some planting. I planted "Forget-me-nots" ; around Sassy's grave. Lulu's is covered with clover and wild strawberries. It looks nice...

The kittens were really enjoying being outside with me -racing all over the place. Climbing into the peach tree, chasing butterflies... (I can't wait until the lightning bugs start appearing!)

Then I sat under a tree and read a book, listening to some music and just chilling. I didn't drive anywhere, didn't clean anything (other than myself), and didn't talk to a soul. I loved it.

Doc Xray texted me - I ignored it. (That's another posting)
 

Yet another 'work function' last night. As I was driving in traffic downtown, some guy tells me 'you have a flat tire'. I drive the 500 yards or so to the restaurant, and sure enough, my tire is as flat as Paris Hilton's chest.

I went to the event, came back (hoping some magical force had inflated my tire while I was in there...) Alas, it was still flat. Fortunately (or so I thought) I had a can of "Fix a Flat" in my trunk.

Effing False Advertisers!

Now being a girl, I read the directions THOROUGHLY. Twice. I shook the can vigorously for a minute. I put the nozzle on top of the valve stem. All of a sudden, white foamy smelly shit starts spraying ALL over me.

Remember that scene in Ghostbusters where they are covered in white foam when they fight the ghosts?

I looked like that.
Unfortunately, I was in a fairly nice designer suit at the time.
(Did I mention how hard it is to squat to do the process gracefully wearing a tight skirt and 4 inch heels?)

I give up, toss the can of "Fix Shit" and slowly drive 1/2 a block to a gas station and fill up the tire with air.
I drove home - pressure still the same.
Got up this morning, pressure still the same.

No, it's not the Fix a Flat because NONE of it got in the tire. It was all over me.

I've posted a bit about my 'family counseling sessions' with my mother and how I felt that they were totally unproductive.

When I was sick a few weeks ago, I canceled our last appointment - since I didn't have a voice, I didn't really see there was much point in going.

At the previous session, she said insurance had denied my claims and that she wasn't covered even though she admitted she was a bc/bs provider. (And bc/bs gave me her name when I was looking for someone to see)

Therapist calls me during the day from various numbers - so I answer the phone because I think it might be a client. Then she just starts going on and on about how my insurance sucks and all that stuff. I told her that it would be helpful if she would ask if it was a good time to talk when she calls me... Three times she's called and I've been either about to walk in a meeting or in the office where I cannot have a personal call without the whole world hearing. I've told her that I would have to call her back. Yet she keeps talking. I got pretty snippy with her on Friday. She told me that my insurance was horrible.

I interrupted her, told her once again that I was unable to talk and that I didn't need her input on my health insurance, that I was in a meeting and could not talk but would look into it on Tuesday.

She said that wasn't good enough - that she was leaving on Monday to go out of town.
I hung up.

My insurance said I was only responsible for the $10 copay. I've already met the deductible. Still, when I call bc/bs, I get people that do not speak english well and they contradict themselves constantly within the span of 5 minutes. The therapist is getting her panties in a wad about a grand total of $150... It's not a HUGE amount. I'm paying for health insurance and that's what it is for. I was incapacitated with no voice for over a week, dealing with end of the month sales stuff, I'm playing catch up and will get to it when I have a few minutes in private to discuss things with bc/bs.

When she's with a patient, there's no interruption. I don't have that luxury - granted, when I'm with a customer, I do turn off my phone - but the rest of my work day is productive/important as well. (The therapist doesn't believe in email - which would make this SO much easier to communicate with.) I'm not going to be calling to discuss mental health services in my office with all of my coworkers to talk about.

I think this is life giving me re-affirmation that it is time to put a fork in the family therapy.

Not to mention, the mother has sent me three letters. I haven't exactly been enthusiastic about opening them - but I do have a pile of mail that I need to sort through.

I need a vacation.

Seeing Doc Xray tonight. Shin-dig for volunteers at the Fish Tank. (Free entry for him and it won't be crowded.) If he's nice I'll take him to the top of the parking deck - amazing view of the city. Would be an ideal place to make out but I wouldn't since I know the security/cameras up there - if I didn't volunteer there, I wouldn't care...) I had to bail on the plans Doc Xray and I had Friday night. I had a brief but violent experience with food poisoning or something odd Thursday night - am STILL really sore from it.

So Doc Xray is in regular rotation. I can't recall the last time I've done 4 or 5 dates with a guy on a regular basis. Still not giddy-head-over-heels about him. He's intelligent, funny, thoughtful... There are no blaring 'deal-breakers'. He's respectful and all that jazz. I keep going back to the 'he's only in town until July...' Why bother getting wrapped up when it's going to hit a brick wall? There's definite attraction there but still I don't have that 'head over heels pink fuzzy feelings' that I usually have over a guy. That's an issue for me. Reminding me of the good old days where I dated men that looked good on paper but were disappointing in a multitude of ways. (He's not in those categories but...)

On the other hand, a very old friend from my radio days has popped back into the picture. He's in another city but has a lot of work here. He was in town a few weekends ago. I had such a great time with him. From his character to his energy and passion to his kind heart - all had me captivated. He was talking about his romantic disappointments and how he was ready to throw in the towel. The women he's been involved with didn't appreciate the efforts and gestures he made.

Me? Very interested. I can totally get giddy over him. Even though he is out of town.

I've been doing marketing consulting for local companies for years. I was referred into a client last fall. Did an initial marketing plan. Got paid for that. Then they chose to continue my services for a flat fee each month. After the first month, I submitted an invoice.

Suddenly, he wasn't available. Didn't respond to the invoice, emails or calls.
Or maybe one in five touches and he'd make excuses about cash flow.
I said that he could at least agree to some repayment plan.

Again, silence.

So I sent a certified letter on Monday as a last warning that I was taking his butt to court.

Fast forward to yesterday.
I was invited to a shin-dig where lots of entrepreneurs and investors were canoodling. Talking to some people I knew. Out of the corner of my eye - I see that guy that owes me more than 2k.
He sees me, makes a very quick exit.

I told the people I was standing with about it. They laughed. About half an hour later, he interrupts us, tells me he got my 'letter' and 'would take care of it'.

I told him that I'd believe it when the check cleared.
I've been more than patient and that sort of dodging and inconsideration is inexcusable.