Today 12/16/2010

Today I had lunch with my former boss and two of her friends and an agent of hers. My boss is leaving permanently on Sunday and moving to Florida. Lucky Bitch. I will still have email access to her and cell access, but she is no longer 20 minutes down 84 where I can show up with Sushi and have her be my sounding board.

My boss has been a constant in my life since I came to the Hartford. She was the one that I interviewed with for  CCSS in Southignton, and she didnt want to hire me. Why, I'll never know, but she didnt. Her boss hired me. Regardless, once he put me on her team, I have been one of her biggest champions and she mine. She has taken me from being a totally immature workaholic to only a semi-immature workaholic. I kid. I'm still immature, but I can now portray a totally professional demeanor.

Of course, it was not without its trials and errors. I more than once, in her boss' hearing told her to go F herself, and I more than once cried in her office after she told me how it was. I more than once told her that I hated her for her being so demanding and loud, and I more than once told her how much her faith has meant to me.

But, I can honestly say now, 5 years later, that she has created a work monster. I am a workaholic, always have been, but now I'm one that can be hired anywhere. Once she told me I didnt get a position because her boss didnt think that i would be able to keep my mouth shut in a meeting, and that I was a loose cannon. I still am to a certain extent, but as I proved today, i can sit quietly, without any ADD moments, and totally kick ass.
As I sit at my desk, since i"m leaving momentarily, I'm reading some of the things that she has given me and written for me...

"jenn, parting with you is not sweet sorrow. We have been together through so much. I mwill miss your support and dedication to me. I am extremely proud of you. I know that you will be very successful."

"Jenn, i wanted to remind you that I value everything that you bring,,even your ADHD. I look forward to continously kicking you in the behind to be as successful as possible"

I'm not successful by any means, but I consider myself valuable, and without her, I wouldnt be, and I certainly would not be looking down the barrel of a ginormous interview that I might actually stand a chance. And I certainly would not bewho I am today.

Even after not working for Katrina for almost 2 years, she still supports me, still listens, yells at me, and coaches me. I will be eternally grateful to her for that....and words cannot express how much I will miss her.

Favorite TV Shows

When it comes to television and music, my taste tends to run at the extremes, with a lot of variation in the middle. My favorite TV shows (past and present) are listed below. Doth not judge me by my taste....there are a few that I miss desperately from my youth, and many that are food based and home based.

NCIS
NCIS LA
CSI (Miami and NY. Not a big fan of the original)(And,I can do the Horatio glare with perfection)
Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives
Anything with Bobby Flay or Michael Symon
Chefs vs City
Hells Kitchen
Kitchen Nightmares
MasterChef
House
Yogi Bear
Keeping up with the Kardashians (i'm a sucker for these guys.)
House Hunters
Property Virgins
Property Ladder
Flip this House
TRL (the original)
Next (hilarity....only wish real life was like that)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (love LOGO for having repeats)
Gilmore Girls
Beverly Hills 90210
Its me or the Dog
Mcgyver
walker texas Ranger
Days of our lives(10 years ago, anyway. no time to watch now)
Jersey Couture
...More to follow if i can remember.....

Something I'm afraid of....

I am a "fraidy cat. There are many things that I'm afraid of. I'm afraid of not having money, and not having a nice place to live. I'm afraid of being alone, and having no friends or family. I'm afraid of not having life the way its supposed to be. I'm afraid of not being a good mother. But, the tangible thing that I'm afraid of most is things that lurk in the dark.

Dont get me wrong. I'm not afraid of the dark. I like the dark. I like the moonlight, and I like sleeping in the dark. I do not like being outside in the dark. It scares the hell out of me. For this reason, i do not walk the dogs at night, and I do not go outside unless someone is with me. I do not take walks at night, nor do I like to go places without someone. I am even paranoid enough to check the trunk and backseat in my car when getting into it at night, for fear that someone has snuck in, and is preparing to kill me.

Laugh if you wish. I'm ok with that.

I love the dark, and all the mystery it holds. Just not when it applies to mystery attacking me. I love ghost stories, and want to go on one of those ghost hunting trips, and I probably should. It would cure me of being afraid of what goes BUMP in the night.

~Jenn :-)

Pictures of my friends.....

So this is going to be a mishmosh of pictures of my friends. I have friends all over the place, so getting one picture of them all together is kind of unrealistic. But, here we go....

Two of them. Scott and Crissy. My two partners in crime. One at work, one outside of work. They just recently moved to Houston, so unfortunetly, I do not get to see them often. I'll be down there soon though....

wdaly. One Billy Daly. He counts as more than a friend, but he is my best friend too...

These two are the beautiful people in my life. Danielle and Katrina...Unfortunetly, I dont get to see them as much as I would like. Weemers--you and me...FENG!!!

Marie "No Filter" Kilian Begin.

And finally, for now anyway......

I found a friend in Jenn when I really thought that she hated me. She is becoming one of my biggest champions, and I hope that our friendship continues to grow. Sorry, Jennyfer. there were no other pictures of you I could zoink without Michael in them.

I have a ton of friends...431 of them on Facebook (people i actually do know and talk to via facebook occasionally). I have tons of friends who arent even on facebook. But these people...they are in my thoughts and and I have some kind of contact with them every couple of days or so. thank you everyone for being my friend. :-)

~Jenn

Day 8--A place you've travelled to

I have not travelled much, really. I travelled as a kid, and I have fond memories of flying back to CT with my mom from Florida visiting my grandparents, and having a layover in Cleveland and Cincinatti...BRRR. I have memories of going to visit my mom in FL when I was a kid and flying back into Hartford. I have wonderful memories of my more recent trip to Charlotte with my bff in crime, one Mrs Christina Litchfield. That was a phenomenal trip, and one that was incredibly valuable and very spontaneous....This picture is the Charlotte skyline on our flight out. *sigh*

But, the trip that i'm going to talk about is my trip to San Deigo. Talk about on a whim, and really a defining moment in my life. I jumped on a plane, to work in San Deigo, and inspect the area out there to see if I wanted to live there. I got myself to the airport, and on a flight. I changed flights in DC, and got to experience travelling firsthand as an adult. The best part of that trip....My mom (AKA mission control) monitoring my trip, and as I landed in San Deigo, getting a text that she knew I landed, and that she was so proud of me for flying 3000 miles by myself.

It was an interesting trip, and I learned a lot about travelling. I learned that pictures on the internet mean nothing for hotels. The first hotel I stayed at was gross, and I only spent one overpriced night there. I learned that if you are paying with your debit card for a rental car, there is a 500 hold for incidentals. I learned that when landing in San Deigo, you are flying over the I-5 and that you can literally see the faces of the people in their cars stuck in traffic. I discovered that having someone in Mission Control (thanks mom) pays off, as the night that I was supposed to leave and fly back to the East coast on the red eye, my mom called me and told me my flight was delayed leaving CA and that I was going to miss my connecting in Denver. My mom did battle for me that night with the airline, as the airline kind of tried to screw me over. My mom had my back, and even now, if my dad or I are travelling, she is monitoring our flights, etc, from home, and keeping us abreast of the situation.

I learned that fish tacos are the bombdiggity. and, that the ocean on the west coast is NOTHING like the ocean on the east coast. I learned that CA is expensive as hell. I learned how to travel, and how to not overpack. I learned that I have some great friends in San Deigo/La Jolla who showed me not only the area, but the best CHOW in the area. I learned that sometimes the best food and the best lodging comes from the most unlikely places.

That trip was an awesome trip. I spent a good amount of time in our offices there, and I spent a fair amount of time on the beach. But, the biggest thing that I learned on that trip was that I can do anything I want to, and I'll be fine. I'm strong and smart, and with a little help from mission control, I can do anything. :-)

Here are some photos from that trip......

sign on a restaurant ON A PIER....crazy cool

Favorite Movies Day 7

This one might have to be a work in progress. I have very diverse tastes in music and movies and I'm not sure that at 1130 at night I can remember all my faves for movies. But, here we go....Check back for more!

Rudy
Day after Tomorrow
Love and Basketball
Julie and Julia
Fast and Furious (1,2,4)
Transformers (1,2)
Twilight Series
Princess Diaries (1,2)
Seabiscuit
Wild Hearts Cant be Broken
The Devil Wears Prada
Letters To Juliet
The Proposal
The Blind Side
Twister
Lady and the Tramp
Sleeping Beauty
Spanglish
Simply Irrestistable
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To be edited at future dates......or just random titles at the end of future posts.

Forgot one....

I forgot something else that makes me happy that i have a picture of. Horses.

Hopefully, I'll be able to ride again soon, which will make me happy too. This was Oliver. God, i miss him. :-(