The best of times, the worst of times.

So I started my new job today and the old adage "be careful what you wish for" is true. My promotion has become bitter sweet in that I have received much in the way of responsibility and position, but have lost the staff that I have grown and adore. The very characteristics that make them so brilliant at emergency medical support, makes them unwilling and ill-suited to follow me. The best of times, the worst of time...

They Say Its Your Birthday

Today I am 37. Yes indeed 37 years old and I feel satisfied with my life. I am madly in love with my husband and my daughter, my career is on the right path, and I am on track with finishing my degree and pursuing a Masters. I am not running like I should be and I have fallen completely off of my eating plan, but I am confident that I can pull that part together.

Today was Chloe's very first school dance and we went to it. There was lots of her running around with friends and girls screaming. After some time at the dance, we headed off to my friend's home for her graduation party. She has been working for two years to get her degree in culinary arts and is an accomplished chef. I am so proud of her and think she is brave.

The Luckiest Side Kick Of All

So my wonderful director asked me to travel with her, the CIO and his Director, and the Director and Manager of Finance back east for a technical presentation for an application that we need to upgrade. We left on Tuesday and returned tonight. The experience was surreal. My boss, the PFS Manager, and I traveled together and were met by a car that took us to our hotel. I unpacked, did some homework, and then got ready for cocktails and dinner. Of course, we were taken to an extravagant multi-course meal and then off to bed. The following day, we were delivered our favorite Starbucks beverage and led through a detailed, multi-part presentation that included Vice-Presidents of this and Directors of that. Lunch was in the executive dining room both days and the information was plentiful. The best part was the amount of bonding we were able to do as representatives of our organization. I told my boss that out of all the side-kicks, I was the luckiest of all because I had her. It is so refreshing to have a mentor that is so down to earth, classy, and intelligent. She has nothing in the way of a self-serving agenda and feels successful when those under her are successful. The best part is that she allows mistakes to be learning opportunities. The only bad part of this trip is that I left my IPod on the plane coming home. I am hopeful that I get it back, but will I really?

From a Goldfish to a Starfish.....

So I registered Little for swim lessons. She has never had formalized lessons and so I registered for the Level I class appropriate for her age. Apparently I am new because I should have known that my daughter would not be a fit in a Level I anything. So after her class, I had to re-register her and she ended up in Level III. In trying to be an organized Mommy, I registered her for three sessions and today had to re-register her for three sessions. You win some and you lose some!

Her ability to achieve is great, except that anything that she is not good at frustrates her to the point in which she does not like it. Reading is that for her right now.

What More could I Ask For???

I love the way a plan comes together. Ok, so it was not really my plan to be the subject of an investigation, nor was it my plan to draw out the interview process, but to have them both resolved on the same day was more than I could ask for. I did not do anything wrong and that has been concluded. AND I got the job.

Ok, so let me clarify in that I was cleared on Wednesday and then learned that they are still digging around grasping for straws. I have let it go as I cannot control it.

Now, on for my job. I was promoted to a Manager position and start on September 27th, which is a Sunday - so actually the 28th. My last day as Supervisor is the 25th - my birthday. This is a bitter -sweet time for me in that I have worked hard and am so excited for this opportunity. On the other hand, I am so nervous to leave my staff. I genuinely enjoy them and think so highly of them. They have grown and learned and have taught me so much. I am grateful that they are who they are and know I will work with many of them again in the future.

Kate Gosselin is an Abusive, Selfish Narcissist

Ok, so I have tried as I might to not get involved in the drama that is Jon & Kate plus 8, but at this point...Well, here we go and keep in mind, I am now TEAM JON.

I like Jon Gosselin, who looks like a hard-working young man, who keeps a low enough profile, and has made some very public mistakes. That being said, I am sure this man is acting out after being under the thumb of his over-demanding, shrilling, verbally abusive and self-centered wife. I did not watch the show on a regular basis because of her nonsense early on, but had I heard "HELLO" from that witch every single day, I would have snapped. Jon Gosselin has been made to pay in years for the nine months this woman carried those babies.

I find it ironic that in interviews, Kate says she does not know the man Jon had become because of all the changes. I do not recall the episode in which he showed off his plastic surgery, or got a slick new haircut. The very woman who says it is all about the kids is seen walking through the airport ahead of her brood, allowing nannies and security to heard them around. She is so controlling that the police had to respond when she could not control the decision Jon made in regards to a baby-sitter. From her interviews, I can tell thus far that she is not part of the women's club. She is going to be that ex-wife that all women despise and refer to when they say "I never want to be THAT woman". If she had any friends, they would tell her that she has gone off the reservation and though she may have started this adventure fr her children, she has now ruined her life and that of her children through her own attempt at 15 minutes of fame.

Some day, not too far in the future, the magazines will no longer sell and the show will be long since cancelled. Kate and Jon will be divorced and he will have moved on, finding a lovely woman that loves, respects, and wants a partner in Jon and enjoys the simplicity of playing with his children. Kate on the other hand, will grow old alone without a companion or friends. She has shown her true colors, made more nauseating by her self-appointed diva like status. She gives a whole new meaning to high maintenance, but unlike others in her category, she will eventually have very little money to make her palatable.

I Got Flowers

So I have heard nothing about the investigation, I have heard nothing about a fourth interview, I have not started either one of my term papers, which are due in a week and a half, and I am not running. My sugars have only cone down by one tenth of a point and my thyroid levels are back to insufficient. The only good news is that the Rockies are doing well, football season is right around the corner, and my husband is wonderfully supportive of my erratic behavior. In fact, he sent me flowers last week in an effort to acknowledge my current stressors. That man deserves the world and more.....

Heart Attack in the making

So, I have not run in a week and I am feeling anxious about the interview, money, my schedule, and oh my daughter, who has now moved to the other side of her father's truck, can get out of the car, and gets herself to class ALL BY HERSELF! I have taken my Talent phone interview and am awaiting an invitation for the fourth and final interview, which I have not yet received. I am taking a bunch of management training courses that I did not know I needed but must complete by the end of the year. A friend of mine resigned today and the circumstances are not black and white. The long and the short of it is that I am now subject of an investigation, that feels more like a witch hunt than an actual investigation. In fact, employee services has contacted my boss wanting to talk about potential actions against me and ha not asked one question about my involvement. Can you really call that type of behavior investigatory?