Vending Machine

So, I am sitting at work, surfing the net (not that that is all I do at work, but it happened to be what I was doing at the beginning of this story) at about 1045am when suddenly, out of nowhere I see the word Skittles. In that second I thought "I want those right now!!!" And then I remembered that the vending machine down the hall has skittles. Yay!

So I dig out a dollar bill that I think the machine will accept and I trek down the the machine. I put the bill in and then the machine says '1.00, please make your selection'. Yes! I push 8D or whatever it is for the skittles and it says 'make another selection'.

What?

I try again. 'Make another selection'. I decide that if I can't have skittles then the next best choice is clearly M&M's (they are like chocolate skittles) and again it says 'make another selection'.

Why do you hate me vending machine? Why? All I want is skittles and/or chocolate. I don't care if you think it is too early in the day for these things, I WANT THEM!

Now I am sad. :(

The End of the Trip

So, after the last post I really didn't do any more fun things in Pittsburgh. The last 2 days was just filled with me making sure we got everything done before I left. Then Thursday morning I went to the airport and that was a bit of an adventure. They loaded us all on the plane and then taxied us out to the runway (which took forever - longest taxi ever!) and then we sat there. Doing nothing. Then they announced that there was something wrong with the plane that was probably fixable but we had to head back to the gate. We get back to the gate and they announce that there is something wrong with a charger for an emergency back-up battery or something like that (it didn't sound like anything huge, but regulations are regulations). They said that they hoped it would be something they could fix by switching some fuses around. No dice. After trying something for about 20 mins they said it wasn't working so we all had to get off the plane. A bit later they said they were getting the part from United and once they got that it would be a 10 min fix. 30 mins later they said that it was taking longer than they expected, but we were going to do a 'plane swap' which basically meant that we were going to take a plane that was just coming in that was headed to Orlando next, and they would have to wait for our plane. That way we didn't miss anyone's connections and neither did the next group - we would just all be inconvenienced. Lol. Anyway, 2 hours late we finally took off to go to Vegas. I was just glad that my layover was supposed to have been 3 hours in the Vegas airport so then I didn't miss my flight. I got on the flight to Utah when I was supposed to and that flight went smoothly. My Mom made it without any problems (which was practically a miracle as well) and was waiting to pick me up when I got to Utah. The first thing we did when we got there was go to Cafe Rio. Lol. It was soooooo good. :D

Then we went to my grandparents' house and visited my aunt and uncle for a while and then went to bed. It was still on Pitt time so the next morning I got up at 7:30 thinking I had slept in until 9:30. Haha - that will never happen again. We spent the day going around and visiting different family members and friends and basically relaxing. Also, a friend of mine had recently published a book and was having a book signing that night, so in support of them we went and got a book and got it signed (so far it is not the greatest thing I have ever read, but it isn't the worst either - gives me hope to publish lol). The next day we visited some more and then I went to the airport. I had a great time in Utah, that is for sure. I wish I had been able to see a few more of my family members but I guess that will have to wait until next time.

Overall I really enjoyed my two weeks away. I saw some new things, saw some familiar things (I was going to say I saw some old things but then I thought you would think I was calling my Mom old, lol) met some new people, caught up with people I know and love. I am glad I am home. My room is finally unpacked and everything is back how it should be. The problem is I liked it too much and now I want more. More. MORE! But this time I want it to be a REAL vacation. Not a work-cation. I just feel unsettled, but settled as well. Does that even make any sense at all? Probably not (even I am confused!) Sorry for the confusion, but I am glad to be back. :D

Pittsburgh!

So, I have been meaning to write an update for days now and I have just been enjoying myself soooo much taht I haven't done it yet. Lol. It is a bit weird to me that I can be enjoying working so much that I haven't posted. Of course, the enjoyment hasn't been had at work, it has been all the time not at work. I think I will start from the beginning. Monday was 'travel day' for me. My flight left for Las Vegas at noon, so I left for the airport at about 10am. I had to wait a couple of hours in Vegas before flying to Pitt so I called and chatted with my mom and I even had time to chat with my older brother for a bit, which is amazing since I almost never talk to him on the phone. Anyway, so as I was waiting in line for my turn to board the plane to Pitt from Vegas I noticed that the lady behind me in line looked familiar. I asked her if she just came from Portland and she said yes. I started chatting with her and she said she was from Pittsburgh. I mentioned that I had never been to Pitt before and asked if she had any suggestions about things that I should do while I was there. She said that there is a place that you can rent a kayak and go up and down the river. That was all she could think of at the time, and then we had to get on plane so I didn't see her again. I ended up not sitting by her and instead sat next to this cute couple from Pitt who were in Vegas for a niece's wedding. They were cute and told me that while I was in Pitt I had to make sure that I had a sandwich at the Primanti Bros and that I had to have a salad with french fries on it which is apparently something they do in Pitt. Anyway, I get off the plane and go to the baggage check and there is the woman that I met in line. She says "I am so glad to see you! We discussed it on the plane and we made a map for you of things to do while you are in town," and then she hands me a little map that she and her seat mates had drawn of Pittsburgh with numbers all over it, and a little key at the bottom with the names of things I should go. It was super sweet of them I thought.

Anyway, Judy was nice enough to let me sleep in on Tues since I was on west coast time. Still I was super tired when we got back home that evening because I had stayed up later than I meant to so Tues night I fell asleep about 6pm and slept until the next morning. It was glorious. :) So then on Wednesday I went for a little walk around the area that Judy lives over to squirrel hill area and that was super fun. It is a cute little area where they have all sorts of shops and a movie theatre and cool things like that. On Thursday I just stayed in and read a book and chillaxed around the house. Friday we went to Primanti Bros and then we went over the Incline (we went to the Duquesne Incline if anyone knows that there are more than one Incline) and that was super cool. You should look at the pics from it on my facebook if you get a chance - there was a great view of the city! Then we went and got frozen yogurt and that was yummy.

Saturday was busy. I slept in (yay!). Then I got to babysit some kittens outside for a while which was fun. They are super cute. Then I went down to the Phipps Conservatory and walked around there for a while which was really pretty. I took tons of pics there but I have been haven't uploaded them yet (don't worry I will!) and then I walked back from that and only got a little bit of a sunburn ;) (It has faded to a tan already!) Then a bunch of people from the lab came over to the house for dinner and that was fun. It was interesting to meet everyone's significant others. After everyone left from there we went to a concert that was being performed by a friend of Judy's ... or something. This country singer named Dallas Marks sang, and then he rappelled down from the top of a fire hall, which was daring but turned out okay (although his wife was pissed!) Today instead of going to church (I know, I am a bad girl lol) I slept in again, and then we went to the Cathedral of Learning and the Carnegie Natural History museum. After that we went to a taiwanese place for dinner which was awesome and then we went to see 'Inception' which I thought was pretty good (kinda Matrix-esque and mind blowing!).

Monday was good for work things. We ended up having a very successful day at work which was great, since I felt like we had sort of been treading water on the reason I came here until then. So that was good. Today we also had a good day at work and tomorrow will be good too (knock on wood!). And then that is it! That is my last day! My flight out is on Thurs morning at like 10ish (must remember to check in for flight 24 hours in advance!) and then I will be getting to Utah around 6pm on Thursday night (with a long and probably boring bout in Vegas in the middle - ugh). I am super excited to get to Utah because then I can see my family and enjoy a few non-work, non-boss days. Even the days off that I have had here have seemed a bit like work since the boss was still around. I am grateful that I get to stay in her house and that she has cooked for me and made sure I wasn't bored to tears while I was here, but I will be glad to not be with her all the time.

I am only going to be in Utah for almost exactly 48hours (give or take 10 minutes!) and I plan to make the most of it. I will be glad to see my mother who I haven't seen since she came to visit me at Easter and I will be glad to see my grandparents and other family members who I haven't seen in even longer than that. And then do you know what? I will be glad to go home! I miss my bed and my friends and my car and my office at work and my roommates and even my weather! Okay, that last bit might be pushing it, but you get the picture. I mean, if I was not working at all and this was a vacation it would be different, but since I am still doing work while I am here it is a bit stressful and it will be nice to get back to my un-stressful (heh - not exactly I guess) regular job. I don't mind training people but I will be glad when it is over. :D

So, that has been what I have been up to for the last little while. Hope you have enjoyed reading about it as much as I have enjoyed doing it!

Oops?

Heh, so much for being better at posting. Oh well. You guys have all lived so I think no harm done. A lot has been going on lately and I just haven't really wanted to sit and type it all out because that means that I have organize my thoughts into some kind of coherent manner and that is tough to do.

First off one of my best friend's was diagnosed with what is called psuedo-tumor cerebri which basically means that she has many of the symptoms of a tumor but without an actual physical tumor. She had extra cerebral spinal fluid build up which was giving her headaches and all other sorts of nasty symptoms. Anyway, this diagnosis was then followed by getting a shunt placed in her brain so that the extra fluid would drain off and she wouldn't have the pressure anymore. The surgery went well, but then the next day her heart stopped and so she required another surgery to get a pacemaker put in. So there was about a week in there that I spent mostly at the hospital or at her house helping her out and just basically being there for her. Through it all I realized a couple of things.

One is that I have great friends. She was such a trooper the whole time. I know it is hard to maintain a positive outlook on things when you are facing so much, but she has been so good. I am continually amazed at what people can go through emotionally and physically and still manage to come out okay.

I also realized that I am like my Grandma in ways that I never really realized. My Grandma is a worrier. She has stayed up nights worrying about every single one of her children and grandchildren because she wants so much to help them out. Now, I don't stay up nights, but I worry. I am pretty good about keeping things internal and not letting it effect me too much, but I still worry about things. Sometimes even ridiculous things that I shouldn't worry about. Also, my Grandma is a fixer. I know that if she could just fix all her loved ones' problems she would. Of course this isn't possible, so that leads to the worrying. I also just want to fix things for people. If I could have been the one to have the surgeries for my friend I would. It really sucks when you just want to help someone and there is absolutely nothing you can do.

Other things that have been going on include that I had to get my status renewed so that I could continue to work in the US. I am on TN status and this requires that I go through a border crossing and apply for status every year. It has always been a pain because almost every time I have been missing some kind of paperwork (despite double and triple checking on my part) or something else has gone wrong. This time, thankfully, nothing went wrong. But it made me sick with worry the whole 2 or 3 weeks leading up to it. Add that to worry about my friend who's surgeries were the week before the planned trip and I was a little bit of a wreck.

Thankfully - status is approved for a year, so the worry about that is gone. Thankfully - surgeries are over and my friend is on the mend, so that worry is alleviating. Of course, new things to worry about always pop up. Now I have to take the previously mentioned trip to Pittsburgh for my job for 2 weeks and that is nerve-wracking for about a million different reasons that I don't want to go into because it will just make me freak out more. It will be good. And at the end of it I am going to Utah to visit my family for 2 days, which will be a good end to that adventure. I have been wanting to go to Utah for a while now and so even though it will be a short trip it will be very fulfilling I think. I hope!

Anyway, I will make sure I take pics in Pitt and keep everyone updated on how things go there. I leave on Monday and I am totally not ready to do so (ack!) but I still have 2 days ... that's enough time right? I better go do laundry.