If you're viewing this page using Internet Crapola...I meant...Internet Explorer, you won't see my sidebar with Archives, Last Posts, Blog Roll, etc...

*sigh*

Thanks for the alert, firedancerdancin!

UPDATE: Back to the past template for now. I've been under the weather and not enthused enough to blog or do any HTML type stuff.

Labels: Blog Update

...and feeling extremely lazy today.

The kitties survived the drive down. I purchased a soft crate made by Firstrax in April so that they could cuddle together and have room for a small litterbox, food and water. Pumpkin barely meowed. She complained a little when Unfriendly put her in the crate and then a couple of times when he'd drive over 80 m.p.h. Other than that, she was just perfect. She's such a great cat.

Pooky, on the other hand...*sigh*

As predicted, he wouldn't stop meowing. Poor little guy was super stressed and pretty much meowed non stop for the first 2 or 3 hours until he 'settled' in by clinging on to the soft crate and purring to calm himself down.


He intially had both front paws up in a V formation. His meows eventually trailed off as he fell asleep. Every time he'd wake up, he'd readjust his V grip, meow a bit and then nod off again.

See how Pumpkin is just observing him in the first picture? She eventually took over the kitty bed since Pooky wouldn't stay in it.




They eventually shared it. Note Pooky's diminshed grip.

Luckily, there were no kitty accidents. What did have me worried was how Pooky would meow and then keep his mouth open..almost like panting. I've since found out that the odd panting and purring combo is a stress response in some cats.


This is the view from my new balcony. I have no idea where the digital camera case is with the cable for uploading, so here's a not so great quality cell phone pic.

I believe those are the North Georgia mountain foothills.


Unpacking beckons...more eventually.

Labels: Alpharetta, Kitty Kids, Photos, Pooky, Pumpkin

Since Easter weekend my life has been a blur. Unfriendly was offered an opportunity to interview with a company in Alpharetta, GA the Friday before Easter and was offered the job about 7 hours after he interviewed. We found an apartment the next day. Now, he is in GA with a weeks worth of work under his belt and I am packing the rest of our belongings.

I am covered in cat fur and dust.

Looking back on the weekend in GA, I remember:

Being very tired and agitated.
We barely made our flight out which was scheduled to leave at 6:40 am and land in DC at 8 something something on Thursday, 4/14. "Your bags probably won't make it and I'd be really suprised if you made it," said the largish black woman who checked us in. Initially we had to refuel and waited about an hour before we taxied out, only to head back like a dog with its tail between its legs.

"We're sorry folks. Apparently there are other technical difficulties with the fuel system. We hope to get it resolved and get you in the air momentarily"

Momentarily was about 4 hours later on another plane. seems that the fuel system wasn't relfecting whether or not the plane actually had gas.

Being in pain.
Remember my Invisalign? Well, I had gotten a set that wasn't trimmed or filed right and as a result, was wreaking havoc on the gum line area behind my front teeth. I had gotten them trimmed at the ortho earlier in the week but didn't realize that the gum area right above where my two front teeth meet was being cut into. I had to get cuticle scissors and a nail file to trim the rest of the plastic away.

Being really wary of the whole interview thing.
I used to be in staffing and ultimately was a recruiter for a short while. I was that gal who would e-mail / phone you about your resume and set up an interview. As a result, I am very, very critical about the almost haphazard and lacksadasiacal way these so called 'recruiters' go about contacting me and Unfriendly about our resumes. On Thursday morning, Unfriendly had no idea when his interview was on Friday. That drove me bonkers.
That following week both of my bosses were out. One was on vacation in Chicago (I think) and the other was out turkey hunting. So, I waited to turn in my notice until the following week. I did, however, tell CoffeeGal and Cedric. Some friends of Unfriendly's from the Evil Pizza Corporation days hosted a little going away party for us that Sunday (4/23) and invited both C folk. Cedric made it. C-gal couldn't since it happened to be her mom's bday.

I turned in my notice on the 24th and before I could really tell a bunch of people, it seemed like everyone knew. The last two weeks at work are a bit of a blur. I did work some paid over time though. Cedric was very cool and organized a going away lunch for me at Mongolian BBQ (my choice). I think about 30 people showed up so I was pretty overwhelmed. Even the CIO showed up. A couple of people were impressed about that and mentioned to me that he never goes to these things. He even came looking for me that afternoon to wish me luck. I got lots of compliments and lots of folks told me I'd do just fine, which is the complete opposite of how I feel.

I haven't been without a job since after I graduated college in Dec of 1998. I was even able to switch careers during the economic slump of the early 00's. My current feelings cocktail is 1 part worry, 1 part confidence and about 3 parts sleep..add a dash of dust and cat fur and voila! Glitzy!

Actually, add about 1 part hungry to that too. I'm waiting for my dinner (delivery is a beautiful thing)
Things I'm dreading:

Finishing packing.
I'm such a procrastinator.

Driving Pooky and Pumpkin for all of 12 hours.
I took them to the vet to get microchipped two weeks ago. Pooky's meow hits something in the back of my neck. I'm not sure how else to describe it. Pumpkin just sits there and enjoys his misery. The drive to GA should be a hoot.

Unpacking.
It always seems to drag on longer than packing. I'm actually glad I'm not working yet just so I can focus on unpacking.

Traffic.
Ever driven in Atlanta? Near Atlanta? Holy moly. It's unreal. Unfriendly works 7 miles from where we live. It took him 45 minutes on the highway during rush hour in the morn. Side roads only shaved off about 10 minutes of that.

Being Stalked.
Well..not me...Unfriendly. He has what I call a fan club. Think I've mentioned that before. Well, one of the guys who he worked with who I'm pretty sure has a crush on him has suddenly decided that he also wants to move to Atlanta. Unfriendly is non plussed. He even gave Stalker his recruiter's contact information since all Stalker has said about his sudden desire to live in GA is that the market is better and he "needs a change". I asked Stalker, "So, if UF would have gotten a job in Charlotte, would your need for change also have occured in Charlotte?" and he said no. Right. Totally believable. (Not) I can't say I agree with UF giving Stalker the recruiter's info. Ignoring his e-mail would have probably been the better course of action. Guess we'll see how that all goes, especially since Recruiter thinks he's found a job for him *rolls eyes*.

Labels: Coffee Gal, Events, Invisalign, Procrasinate-y Glitzy, Unfriendly

Unfriendly and I are on the move to Alpharetta, GA.
All the fine details as to how and why are in his post.

Be sure to check out his resignation letter. He actually turned the letter you see online to his boss during his perfomance review. More from me in mid May!

Labels: Alpharetta, Events, Unfriendly