My new job..... I think this might be a good thing!

So, I started my new job yesterday.......

I knew that I was going to have a full day of orientation, which is already ahead of what my previous employer would do (which is nothing!). Well, before the day was over, we had our ID and security badges, parking passes and computers. We had learned about the background of the company, about office security, payroll, etc...., gone on a tour of the executive floor, gone on a little scavenger hunt, talked to a panel of employees and had cake with our new bosses. I was shown where my desk was and there were already office supplies there! Pretty obvious that I am not in "Kansas" anymore!

I knew that the atmosphere at this company would be different --- it is much smaller, scrappier, and younger..... the average age of employees is 32. It values individuality, initiative and accountability..... When I was there to interview I felt really overdressed in my suit. Folks were walking around in jeans.... and shorts!

Second day on the job and I met with my boss for the first 2 hrs and he gave me an overview of the products we are working on. I didn't have a docking station so I asked him where I could get one. He introduced me to our group's assistant, who was going to order one for me but when i got back to my desk, there was one already sitting there..... Magic! I sat in on a bunch of calls/mtgs in the afternoon. At the end of the day, my boss stopped by and brought me some candy and asked if I had any questions. Very nice..... Maybe it is first week euphoria but it is working for me right now.

Everyone is very nice and friendly and there seem to be tons of black folks working there. In my group, there are 3 of us and 2 of us are black women. The woman sitting behind me is from HR and she had locks..... Needless to say, I have no worries about my hair in this work environment. The CEO wears Hawaiian shirts to work all the time. I am thinking, hoping, that I will like it here!

Living in a house that is being sold :-(

So right now I am living in a house that is being sold.......

My roommate is selling her townhouse and we have to keep everything perfectly neat all the time to be prepared for any potential buyers who would stop by at any time during the the day.....

Also, my roommate's real estate agent is sort of a nazi..... I understand making things neat but we have basically had to totally sanitize the house, meaning get rid of anything unique or unusual. So, I have nothing on the walls in my room now (too distracting) ....... Had to pack up all my cookbooks (too many) ...... Nothing on the sink in the bathroom......

But, if things go as planned, it will only be for the next week and a half! :-) And, at least, i guess it is geting me to make up my bed everyday......

Changes........

So, back from my vacation for a week and what has happened? Lots!


1) I put in notice at my job! Yes, next week I will be starting a new job at a new company! Exciting, yes, because I have been so uninspired by my job it is not even funny. It has not lived up to its promise for the past year and a half and my relationship with my boss has deteriorated as she has continued to poorly manage our group. It is sad because I used to have respect for her as a professional (this is the second time that I have worked for her so she didnt start out this way!)

Anyway, I have been on a job search, but had been looking for opportunities in other cities because I have been interested in moving from the city. But it seems that it is not meant to be right now...... An opportunity (totally unsolicited) presented itself to work in this new company in a new group in the company that has a lot of visibility and is about the only thing there that is of interest to me. So...... I decided to take it..... I negotiated an, albeit small, salary increase despite the fact it is a lateral move. I am ready for new challenges --- hopefully, this will fit the bill! ;-)

2) Change number 2 is that I am now looking for property to buy! (Ugh!) So, since I was planning on moving out of the city, I decide to move in with a friend last year when my rent was up. She has a large townhouse in an area near my (soon to be old) job and the price was right. And it gave me the flexibility to leave whenever I wanted. Well, now that I know that I am not leaving for at least a year most likely, I am being compelled to look at home-ownership. I would probably move a little more slowly if given the chance, for both financial and just comfort reasons, but my roommate has just put her house on the market and wants to sell it in the next couple months so that is putting a little added pressure on me. I am actually looking at duplexes or something that could have some rental income coming in to defray some of my mortgage expense. My agent is trying to encourage me to buy in some transitionary areas on the edge of some really popular parts of town. (He actually owns a duplex nearby.) It is amazing to me that there are new loft buildings right around the corner from these places with units that are selling for ridiculous amounts of money and I get nervous driving down the street to get to it. But apparently the white folks who are buying up stuff in the area do not have the same concern. So, would I be taking a risk buying there? Or getting ahead of a wave of gentrification in that area? Will the neighborhood be cleaned up? How long would it take for the neighborhood to turn? It is all little risky and a little scary.....

So everything is changing, in the matter of a week or so! Whew! I guess I will just hang on for the ride! Wish me luck!

Aruba Inspiration....

Thought I would share a couple artistic shots from the trip......






Some things about Picasa are very cool..... Sepia tone!












My high school art teacher would be proud! Compostion! Perspective! Okay, can you tell I am a litte impressed with myself..... :-)

Aruba Ariba!

Well, if you have kept up with Brunsli's posts, then you know that we did make it to Aruba and we did have a great time!










Here are a few pictures that you didnt see on her blog....







Me on the dunes on the north end of the beach








During a little off-roading........ Technically, I think we were supposed to rent a jeep or something to go off road but we took our little Suburu Liana and put it to the test! Brunsli handled the dirt roads like a professional stunt driver.









Us at Bushiribana Ruins.....










Let me just say, the sun in Aruba is intense! I saw beet-red white folks walking around all the time, continuing to sunbathe despite the condition of their skin. One woman, who had freckles all over her shoulders to start, was so red I didn't even know that color was possible. And she was sitting in a chair in the shallow water on the beach, reading a book. Can you say skin cancer! I also met this guy from the DC area who was dark (like Morris Chesnut dark -- or a little darker) and has probably never had a sunburn in his life. He was about to put more Cocoa Butter on his shoulders (his first day there in Aruba) and I was like "Boy, you need to get yourself some sunscreen! As dark as he was, you could still see bright red under the tint of his skin. Next time we saw him, he was wearing a t-shirt on the beach. I guess he learned his lesson. Black people be warned, despite all your natural protection, you can burn too!









Me and the sea!
(wearing SPF 50 :-)












Sadly, this is becoming a distant memory already! So much has happened since I got back! Its all sort of been a whirlwind. I will post more about all that in a few.......

I just want to get to the beach!!!! Ugh!

Well, my nice long beach vacation is being challenged with flight cancellations! We have given up getting there for the second time in two days (this time with a side trip to Charlotte -- woopee!) Anyway, we are keeping our fingers crossed for our flight tomorrow.

Third times the charm, right?

For more details, check out Brunsli's posts here and here. She is a much more enthusiatic and consistent blogger than I am...... Right now I am more concerned about getting some good food and drink! But I hd to represent a little bit!

Shout out to Soufriere! You definitely got us, dawg!

My brush with fame......

My roommate saw Boris Kodjo and Nicole Ari Parker with their baby in Whole Foods this weekend. Apparently, people are always running into famous people around here. I have lived here for almost 4 years and the only famous person I have met has been Dominique Wilkins.....

So I was talking to my friend from DFW tonight about this and I was reminded of my only true brush with fame. I was actually in South Africa, taking a tour of Soweto, the famous township in Johannesburg that was the seat of the Uprising against apartheid.


















We had gone to all the spots and, as is tradition with these tours, ended up at Wandi's, a famous restaurant where tour goers eat lunch at the end of their tours and leave business cards up on the walls to mark their visit.




A classmate and I were just leaving the restaurant (everyone else was already outside) and we were looking at the wall for the business cards of our friends who had been there the year before.




I was standing in front of her and was just about to step thru the bright sunny doorway when, framed in the light, appeared the silhouette of a tall slim man with a child riding on his back. I gasped and my friend behind me nudged me, wondering why I stopped.


There, coming in the door, was Will Smith with his son riding piggyback on his back. We said hi and he smiled, said hi, and walked past us into the restuarant and was starting to sit down at a table, his "entourage" behind him. We had heard that he was in South Africa promoting "Ali" but had no reason we would run into him in a South African township!

We decided that we could not let this opportunity pass us by so we went back into the restaurant to talk to him. Will, besides looking even better than he does in the movies, with nice curly hair and little freckles sprinkled across his nose, was very nice. He took the time to take pictures with both of us and invited us to stay for lunch. Unfortunately, we had just finished eating and the rest of our tour group was ready to go so we couldn't stay :-( But I will always have my picture!

Good News!!

The friend of Brunsli and mine, who she mentioned in her post last week, who was shot on the job is out of the hospital! We are very happy that he is on the mend! He had actually been pretty seriously injured, was critical condition for a number of days, and had a deflated lung so we are very relieved. Thanks to all of you who sent well wishes and positive thoughts his way!

They are dropping like flies!.....

So this past weekend I attended the wedding of a friend of mine from undergrad in Baltimore. Actually, I was in the wedding. I was one of the bridesmaids even though I am friends with the groom. (Originally, he was told that if he wanted me to be in the wedding I would have to be a groomsman and wear a tux but, as you can see, things change....)

We really had a great time. They pulled out all the stops. The rehearsal dinner was delicious and so much food! A four course meal with champagne and wine flowing.... If any of you are in Baltimore you have to go have a meal at Helen's Garden ( http://www.helensgarden.com/V2/) in Canton.

The wedding was in this beautiful old church in downtown Baltimore and the wedding reception was at the Inner Harbor Marriott. They reserved the whole ballroom floor and had a cocktail reception with a jazz band before the dinner. There was also a private reception for the wedding party at this time in another room.

Then, the dinner was another four course affair. They also had an open bar and a vodka luge (see picture below) Very dangerous! And the bartender wasn't mixing martinis and pouring them through -- just mixtures of flavored vodka, straight vodka.



Anyway, their wedding cake was from this renouned bakery called Sugarbaker's so who knows how much that cost and they had a really famous Baltimore DJ for music after the dinner. And it was good music too! We were jammin! Here is a picture of the cake and the happy couple dancing up a storm!




I will see if I can get any pictures from someone else of me getting my groove on because I sure was burning up the dance floor!

Here I am with my good friend, Eve (also from undergrad), and the groom.

As for my hair, I had seen someone with their hair like this and asked her how she did it and this has become one of my formal hairstyles. Basically, you pull your hair back in a ponytail placed about where you want the bun to be and then you take each lock and start twisting it individually. They twist up on each other and stay twisted. when you are done you have this big twisty bun! And, if one sticks out, you just tuck it in. Very easy to maintain. And it passed the hardcore dancing test no sweat. Also, it stays pretty well when you sleep. I decided to take it down the next day though because it was getting heavy and my neck was getting tired. But I love the style. I might have to wear it more often!




Addendum: So..... in response to some of the comments...... it took about an hour or so to twist all the hair up. The bride was actually very practical about the bridesmaid dresses -- the only requirements were that they be black and floor length and we could wear something we already owned if we had it. Halleluyah! So I did, I wore a dress I already owned and had only worn once or twice. Worked out great. As for the bouquet, i was standing right behind the bride but she threw the bouquet off to the left, nowhere near me. Life goes on!

Reply to a comment....

I was asked in a comment to my last post (which was so long ago that I am embarrased) if my hair is heavy when it is wet since it is so long. I have to say that I am really surprised (and others are too) at how light my locks are, whether dry or wet. They are obviously heavier when they are wet but not all that noticeably so. I also try to get as much of the water out of them as I can by using one of those super absorbant travel towels to sqeeze the water out and wrap my head of with after I wash them. I got mine from www.travelsmith.com.