I knocked out 2 projects this week, pretty much start to finish, with much help from the Wilkies. They’re beyond dependable. So nice. I’ve been completely busy with work, which has been awesome. As much as I’m annoyed that projects get side-tracked, I do enjoy the challenge, especially when it’s HTML/CSS work.

So Wednesday evening, a group of us from work staffed the Wish Home in Carmel. Not too rough having to chill in a $2.2 million home for 4 hours. I spent a good part of the evening watching president Dave play virtual golf. He got in 36 holes that night. He cracks me up to no end. He always insisted on the automated advice at each hole. Mike wondered why they had Dr. Phil do the voice hehe. I had a really good time. I only wish we could have played with the pool table. Dave forced me to attempt a swing, and luckily, even though my camera was available, both he & his caddy were too unskilled to use it. Now I have golfed in my day but of course, the moment I step up, 7 strangers from around the house turn to stare from throughout the basement. Needless to say, my attempt was quite pitiful but I did remember the right grip which I think gave me points.

So lovely Amy let me stay with she & Alex that night to save me driving home at 8pm, only to turn around at 6:45am the next morning to go back. They are seriously 2 of my favorite people in the world. We get along so well. Watched Polar Express, which was impressive visually, but the random song & dance numbers really were really creepy, especially since all 3 of us applied our modern sense of the world to the story…seriously, bunches of little kids getting on a train in the middle of the night with an old man conductor…umm pedophile?

So the next morning we had the company meeting and monthly birthday pitch-in. We watched old x-men cartoons while we devoured the food. Corey’s wife made the most yum toffee and chocolate covered pretzel sticks. I worked late to get everything done, knowing I wouldn’t be in for almost a week. I wish I could always work late. It’s not so productive, but it’s nice being around just a few people and having some good laughs. I just get so tired for that drive home if I do that. Last night a group of us discussed the moment we learned there was no Santa. Amy frowned at my lack of recollection of the moment, which I attributed to always being a skeptic so I really never fully believed past a very young age. Luckily, Mitch came by and had the exact same story, so I wasn’t the only smart kid. He also matched my skill at locating the list of gifts our mom’s had purchased. His mom also keeps a book of those lists from each year. Silly moms.

I was officially asked to think about changing my work role a bit. Extremely thrilling and scary at the same time. It’s like a dream come true way ahead of schedule. I don’t know that I’ll have the title, but the creative director is going to start transitioning his work to me, since he’s evolved his job in a different direction. And so this should mean a lot of changes, even more after I get moved or decide to deal with the drive everyday. It’s a challenging move for me, officially leaving my field of expertise, but I know I have the backing of everyone at work. Further, I know I don’t have to fill Mitch’s shoes exactly, but morph the role to better fit my style. It’s going to be quite a ride.

And in other news, 2 more days of my roommate. Could I be any happier? Well, yes, if she had paid me everything she owed. After my holiday at Amy’s, I came home to my house, discovering lots of hair in the kitchen sink and lots of plates missing. Well, one open of her closet found them all dirty and stacked in there. WTF. Also, since I never replaced the laundry detergent she’d used up, I’ve been curious what exactly she’s been washing her clothes with. Probably just hot water, running up my gas bill even more. And today, she left two boxes for UPS to pick up. Well, I just looked at them, and one seriously had the top shredded apart and neither of them were at all taped shut. Seriously. Seriously. I cannot wait to wake up to an empty house. I may just have a solo new years party here just to celebrate having my house back. I may invite Snippy to come hang out too though. I’ll be seeing her this weekend. I’m going home to watch my mom in the cantata, my one church visit/year. Seems one of my exes will be singing a solo. It’ll be nice to see him and maybe John.

...and PS, writing this reminded me of my drive last night when the song “You don’t have to say you love me” came on and somehow i knew most the words and so I was belting it out. Except I thought the words were “just because I have” not “just be close at hand”. So i just made my first iTunes purchase b/c i *needed* to jam to this song again.