The Great Midwest

Justin and I are taking of in the morning and won't return for a week! We'll spend one day in Denver, Colorado and the Rocky Mountains!! I am so psyched to see the Rockies. Justin has talked to me about them, and visiting Glenwood Springs specifically, ever since I have known him, so I am really glad we'll get to snoop around a little bit.

The majority of our trip will be spent in Montana with three days in Billings and two full days in Yellowstone. It's guide training time for Austin-Lehman, which is as good a reason as any for me to fly out and meet everyone, see our offices, and work on face-to-face projects.

Justin plans to set up a remote JetBlue camp for the first few days from our LaQuinta hotel room before heading out to Yellowstone with the ALA crew. I am sure we'll keep you updated via Twitter (easy with my phone) and the blog for more thoughts, feelings, and photos.

Special thanks a mucho love to the Val! for watching our babies and inhabiting our apartment while we are gone. Happy birthday to Olivia!!!

Love you guys and I'll miss you!
Ness

Photo Editor of Exotic Images

One of my many job functions at ALA is photo editor... I do it mostly because, when I look at a picture, I automatically see how much more compelling it can be with just a little TLC. To the right is a photo of a river in Hawaii.
Much better, I think, on a sunny day.

Find out about Austin-Lehman's Kauai Hawaii custom vacation - or just check out the page I built for it, sheesh! :) Tough crowd.

addendum: internet bookings are now up 3% over last year and I am pleased. they'd been down for a while. let's hope they continue to grow.

Event at the Scandinavia House

Event at the Scandinavia House
Originally uploaded by pandoralyrael

What a nice day! I accomplished a lot at work today - discussed SEO objectives with our analysts, communicated with our web team in India regarding their progress on our social networking site, added photos to a press release (ALA's Favorite Top Ten Hikes), and changed all the maps from their previous, ugly Google Earth images to beautiful and colorful images created by our designer that truly evokes the ALA brand.

As I was about to hunker down into catching up on work email, my Outlook popped up a reminder. This afternoon was the ExOfficio PR event and mixer! Uh oh! Thank goodness for technology reminding me about things. I rushed to change out of my casual clothes to more appropriate attire, quickly fixed up my hair and makeup, and rushed Justin home from work (thanks for hurrying home, sweetie). We were on our way to Manhattan in record time.

I was so glad to be in the city during daylight hours. Well-dressed individuals were leaving work or heading out, arm in arm, for the evening. The best part was seeing the trees full of heavy buds. Some were already blossoming! Are they dogwoods? Magnolias? I am not sure. It was so lovely. The trees in Forest Hills haven't gotten their flowers yet. Strange how the environment changes in 4 miles! :)

Justin and I had a nice time at the mixer. The ExOfficio (Chris and Rudy) people and their PR people were very nice. I really enjoy talking to Chris. She is such a vibrant, fun person. We both talked about engagements, traveling, work, marketing, etc. She is also going to Brazil for the Adventure Travel World Summit! Ahh!! I want to go! Isn't that something I should be, like, required by LAW to attend??? Justin and Rudy talked about domain names and web stuff. Now it's late - again. I am exhausted - again. At least it was all for a good reason.

I am looking forward to hearing all about Tizzle's trip to Africa tomorrow! She is back and coming over for dinner. Yippy!!! :)

For those of you that haven't checked out Follow Your Happiness yet - you're missing out! We've just discusses Wellness Wednesday - don't miss Tout your Talents Thursday for crying outloud.

Even More Photos!!!! SXSWi Photos

Check out our SXSW interactive photos thus far here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nowends/sets/72157604068476202/

Morgan's beautiful photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhjohnston/sets/72157604109099946/

Off to SXSW in Austin!

That's right! The Adventured.net team (moi and Justin) are off to SXSW in Austin... Not for the traditionally cool things like Music or Film, but for the truly ultra cool thing: Interactive! What what! See you there if you're going! :)

I have waaaay too many panels on my schedule.

JUST DON'T TRY!

So this may not make sense.

People who do not try really make it!

Thao turned me on to this author not too long ago: NotSalmon.com. I sometimes enjoy the emails sent from her website.

I didn't even realize that I have a history with at least one of her books. But it leads me to reveal: I have to admit that people who put in less effort and pump out MORE really make it!

So, long story short - make connections, pump out stuff, be successful.
Now I am sure you all want the back story, but just take my word for it.

bizarre... Life really does answer questions. ;)

Will Google Shutdown Wikipedia?

I have read only this morning that Google is coming out with a Wikipedia-esque content system. You can read about it on Google's Blog here. A great follow-up article can be found here. I especially like (well, fear really) what the author points out about search results.

Justin, I hope your admiration and love for Google is depleting, because I feel that, in the name of free-happy-go-lucky services they're really destroying the beauty and diversity of the world wide web by taking it over with their freaky, unlimited enterprise. Blah. Sad that I feel that way but I am so tired of Google developing (and destroying) one thing after another just to turn a profit.

What Google is proposing sounds an awful lot like about.com to me since articles are written by experts in the same manner that About.com is sort of owned by experts. I know a lot of people get onto Wikipedia's case because you cannot site precisely who wrote which bit of information and therefore cannot prove 100% accuracy. However, I personally am so tired of the web existing strictly for personal or business promotion. One beautiful thing about Wikipedia is that it exists mostly for knowledge and not self-promotion - it's faceless. Google's Knols will definitely abolish this small shred of purity. *sigh*

Maybe it's part of my Nomadic Tendencies

But another year, another job. At least that is what it seems like. Am I unstable, or is it the world? Maybe it's a little this, a little that. At any rate, I feel I have found a position where I will be challenged and can stay for a while.

I thought that about JetBlue at first too, but you know, you never really know.

The position is Marketing Manager for an Adventure Travel company. It doesn't get much more perfect than that. I'll post more details soon. :D

Life is all about decisions...

And that is not usually a problem for me. I am certainly not the most indecisive person in the world, yet recently (like the last few weeks), I have felt emotionally and pathologically torn in several different directions. What is best for my future, career, happiness, life? Agh!!! I am driving myself crazy looking for a clear path. If only it were all about money, that would make things SO clear - so EASY.

I just want to do my best.
I just want to make a difference.
I want to feel happy, important, and have FUN at work.
I want to truly enjoy what I do and look forward to getting up everyday.
Oh, and be paid fairly. Which doesn't mean get rich (well - one day). I just want to be treated fairly. I wonder if I complain too much.

I am going to snuggle with the babies.

Happy Thoughts: Texas two weekends in a row with friends from work! Yes! AND I get to see my Dad this weekend. Score!

Awesomeness of The Simpsons Premiere

Phew, sorry it's taken me a bit of time to post about this. Last week, on Tuesday, Justin and I (and Thao and some other cool peeps from work) flew out to Burbank, CA.
The reason?
We were going to the premiere of the Simpsons Movie in Los Angeles!!!
(more photos from premiere to come)

Because we all worked on the jetblue.com Simpson's site, or other JetBlue & Simpsons initiatives, and because JetBlue had partnered with The Simpsons, we were lucky enough to be flown out. Also, a rockin' JetBlue sales gal hooked us up with a much, MUCH nicer hotel (Luxe) than we were going to be staying in. Thank you sooo much!

Justin and I drove around a little when we first landed because I'd never been to LA before, so he wanted to show me some sites. We saw Santa Monica Pier and Muscle Beach. hahaha - looked like fun. There are so many fun gymnastic things to swing around on. Unfortunately, my allergies were really irking me, so I wasn't up to doing a whole lot.

We got to the hotel, and I really didn't want to leave. It was gorgeous. I totally could have moved in. I love the brown walls, spacious bedroom, super modern, clean edged furniture but mostly the bathroom, with its jacuzzi tub, spacious counter with dual sink and fabulous shower which really doesn't allow the humidity to seep into the rest of the bathroom. I hate humid bathrooms.

We headed to the pool where a few of the girls were laying out catching some last minute sun before the big night. I got in and started swimming, and Thao joined me straight away, then Justin got in. He and Thao stayed in splashing around for a while after I got out to lay down. I was exhausted. We'd had to get up at 6:00 AM for our flight, and I didn't sleep much on the plane. There really was no time for sleeping, though, because I had to get ready for the festivities!

A couple hours later, we all converged downstairs and drove to a bar near the theaters where the Simpsons Movie was premiering. We all looked STUNNING! We met up with a couple of people from the Ad/Promotions team that had beat us to LA by a day or two, then the GM of the Burbank airport joined us, and we all had drinks and appetizers. It was a really good time.

I was disappointed when we arrived at the theater because we had to wait in line! I was not at all prepared for that, in my beautiful fuschia gown and high heels. I promptly got over it, however, as the star sightings began. There were some people from Heros as well as Lisa Edelstein from House (had to look her up), Dr. Phil, David Hasselhoff, and of course, all the voice actors. One other saving grace: they had popcorn and soda at the ready upon entering the theater!

We laughed the WHOLE time we were in there. I am sure it helped having a lot of the animators in the same theater. The way I know we had some of the animators in the same theater is because of their reaction during the credits. It was awesome. Anyway, definitely go see the movie if you haven't done so yet. You won't be disappointed!!!

We headed to the after party at about 1 AM EST. We were exhausted. One of the girls admitted to dozing off a few times during the movie. What a bummer! At the after party, there was a carnivalesque atmosphere with yellow domes containing bars, an ice cream stand (not any old ice cream stand - DOTS!) and seating areas. There was also an area where you could get the same kind of hot chocolate Ned Flanders made in the movie. Once you see the movie, you will know how awesome this is. Janid (one of our coworkers that is also a singer), Thao, Justin, and I posed for a photograph on the Simpsons couch with the whole Simpsons family (see above)!!! okay, okay, they were not real, but still! That was awesome!
There were copious amounts of food, dessert, squishees, and several strategically located opened bars serving up any drink you could possibly want.
Matt Groening was there signing autographs and posing for pictures. Some of the cast from Reno 911 was there. I had my photo taken with Anna Nicole Smith's Baby's Daddy. I thought it was probably the funniest and most controversial image I could get. ;)
All in all, it was such a fun night.

Justin and I fell asleep practically as soon as we got back to the hotel room. We chose to leave on the later flight the next day, at 3 PM, so we could have a relaxing morning (we didn't get to bed til after 3 AM EST) and see Justin's friend Eric that lives very near BUR. We ate breakfast, drove down Sunset and Hollywood Blvd, caught a glimpse of the Hollywood sign, and met Eric at a cafe to chat for a few minutes before heading to the airport. Eric will actually be landing in NYC tomorrow and spending a week or so with us. Cool beans. :)

Birthday Decorations!

Random July - Birthday, etc.

I really had a great birthday. When I got to work, I saw that my desk area was completely covered in sparkling silver confetti type stuff and there were streamers and balloons (Texas colored balloons, mind you) everywhere! Justin had stayed up late the night before baking batch after batch of sugar cookies. They were so delicious. We got to share them with a lot of ppl from work, but I still had probably 8 or 9 for myself over those two days. ;) As the day progressed, I received a delivery of absolutely beautiful flowers from Justin's Mom, Lyndia. That rocked my socks and continued the momentum of the day. That evening I met up with Val!, my Mom, Dao and Rob, and Leanne at one of the neatest dining establishments to ever grace NYC. It's called Ninja New York and you are served by Ninjas in a super cool atmosphere.
Thanks to everyone for all the awesome gifts, sweet cards, and, mostly, love and caring. :)

So Kirkwood Called...

And I got to make a puppy e-mail to send out! Yay! So if you are in the San Antonio/Austin area, scurry on over to the studio and get a pet portrait made.

I so miss working for Mary and William. Mary is so supportive and appreciative, and she also gives me free reign and unbounded creativity. I know the corporate world cannot be like that. I just think it's unfortunate. I am also aware my designs (puppy one included) are not up to snuff with people that have studied graphic design.

The Difference a Year can Make.

I was going through MySpace tonight to see if I'd missed anything recently. Surprisingly, posts have been slim, but I had some emails and a page of friend request. Unsurprisingly, I didn't know any of the people making the requests.

I decided to go back and see when the last time I posted on my MySpace blog was, and it was July 27, 2006. About a year ago.

oh yeah
Happy Friday the 13th!!!

At any rate, I was reading the post, and one thing that really stuck out was my "To-Do list:"
"Go to Chicago in Oct. (oh yeah, and Albuquerque)."

For some reason, despite working for an airline now, the ability, care-free requirement, and opportunity to flit off to Albuquerque seems so much less possible now. It strikes me as very odd, but then again, I also feel a lot more isolated being in NYC than I ever did in Texas, even though Justin and I kept very much to ourselves even then... strange.

Oh, yeah, I guess I am still never satisfied. ;) And I miss the convenience of living in the semi-country, and being able to wander downstairs to the Keurig and get a cup of coffee. I miss the nice moments of living with people, but separate from them, so I could make the observation, as I had in my survey from a year ago, that I got a bowl of cereal because Dad had left the Honey Bunches of Oats on the counter.

And, at 9 PM last night I was probably just getting home from eating Queens's version of Mexican food, and laying down to go to bed. I went to bed super early yesterday. I guess I have been exhausted this week, and the one margarita I drank got to me.

Onto more exciting news: Justin and I (and Thao and some other work peeps) will be flying to California, Los Angeles to be exact, to attend the premiere of The Simpsons Movie!!! We get to go because we worked so hard on everything for JetBlue.com. I am very excited about this, but I still don't know what to wear. I am a little sad it's the same day as my JavaScript final is supposed to be. I really need to practice and study. :<

Anyway, I was planning on going to Chicago with Mom, Val!, Dad, and Justin the weekend before that to celebrate our birthday. I just feel like it would be too much traveling all at once, and a little too stressful, so I wanted to cancel or postpone the trip. Val!'s very bummed and angry about it, which sucks. I am not exactly sure what to do now, but I just don't feel comfortable with trying to rush to Chicago.

I thought it would be cool to go to Hill Country BBQ. I guess we'll see.

I hope to update soon with photos. ;)

Overdue Upate

As usual, I have much to write about and have waited until it is practically bedtime to do so.

Budget, you question?

First things first - to answer the anonymous poster's question about budget: We had guests in town a couple of weeks ago, so we managed to go over budget a few times. The last couple of weeks we've done very well, staying within our budget when food is in question. Today, for instance, we may have spent $25. However, as Justin's birthday is coming up, as is Val!'s, I have purchased some small gifts that fall outside the budget. Even still, I don't expect birthday purchases to TOTAL over $150 - $200. Very much on the cheap this year. I guess my summary is that the budget is being minded and is going well. We did go over budget the night we ate at Carrabbas, however!

Hiking in The Gunks

Justin and I went hiking in Minnewaska State Park/Mohonk Preserve the weekend before last. It was lovely. Tons of rock climbers there too, very hardcore. It makes me want to be more into that sort of thing. I love hiking and climbing. I wish I lived upstate so I could more readily pursue such things. The expedition was nice, though, and the views were delightful.

"Fun Day" at work

Last Friday we had "Fun Day" at work, which was sort of a team building thing for the marketing/revenue departments. It was basically a "Revenge of the Nerds" style decathlon. 7 people were chosen to be captains and I was lucky enough to be one of them. My team consisted of 12 other people (two of which could not attend). Every other team (7 captains = 7 teams) had between 11 - 12 other people.

Leading up to the Fun Day, I was madly preparing for the Simpsons Launch and still trying to get my team organized, motivated, and stylish. Luckily, I had an awesome group of people on my team. We were the "red team." Every team was based on a color (no one was blue - but I bet you can guess why). After a brain storming session, we decided we'd call ourselves the "Chili Peppers" and all have names that would include the word Pepper. I was ONI, for instance, like Pepperoni. We had a Pepper Jack, Peppermint Patty, Fresh Ground Pepper, Pepper Spray, Hot Pepper, Sergeant Pepper, Pickled Pepper, Dr. Pepper, and Salt & Pepper. We had an awesome logo (a fabulous graphics designer was on our team), kick ass bandanas with chili peppers on them (a very motivated gal in Revenue Management was on our team) along with cool socks, and we were all wearing fantastic matching red shirts (tanks for the girls, tees for the boys) with our logo on them. Thank heavens for Old Navy.

Throughout the day we supported one another, strategized, cheered each other on, and competed our little hearts out. It was definitely worth it, because our team WON #1 OVERALL, and, perhaps more importantly, we won for Team Spirit!!! Now we all have positive space tickets as a result of winning 1st and one of our members won a getaway (it was a random drawing out of a hat - but the winner definitely deserves it)! I got a couple of freezing cold bowls of ice poured on my head by my teammates. I have to say, leading a group to public, undisputed victory where everyone enjoyed themselves the whole time and was really proud to be a part of the entire process was incredible. Even more so than successfully launching a promotion. Not that there is anything wrong with quiet victories, but they are not as satisfying.

House

We are looking at buying a house. We looked around Queens, but everything is so unreasonable. I wish we could live upstate, as mentioned before, but I think the commute would kill us. I am open to any and all suggestions, however. I'd like to stay within 1 hour of Forest Hills, and prefer north NY to south (not the Bronx, from what I've seen of it, however).

I will try to get some images of hiking and Fun Day up soon!

Check out our JetBlue Simpsons Page!!!!

That's right! JetBlue is the OFFICIAL Airline of Springfield! Tara is responsible for organizing the whole promotion - TJ for the graphics, and Janid for the awesome copy.

Thao and I are responsible for Rockin' the webpage. Hellz yeah! I did the destination and character matching concept as well as the javascript to make the dropdown list box function to swap the images. The images also change every 30 seconds. Listening to my mom use it - I think that may really bug some people. "Is that my computer or your page? It must be my computer." Woops! I guess we'll see about that. hehe

Thao did a beautiful job integrating the animation into the site... but DON'T click the donut after the little movie plays, no matter how much the pulsating, shiny orb tempts you...

Woohoo!

What the F? A midterm!?

I thought I was out of school, but lo and behold, I enrolled in a javascript class to improve my programming skills and thus become a more valuable employee. For some reason, it didn't quite sink in that I would have to take a midterm.

As I sit here in javascript class, having just finished my midterm, I am very surprised at how much easier it seems to be now, out of school, just doing this for my own edification, than it seemed when I was actually in the thick of it. I wonder if I went back to school if it would be as hard as it once was.

I guess we'll see how I feel after I actually get my grade. :)

Thoughts from my old notebook

Today, we went to the Museum of Natural History with Jenny and Cody. I love that museum. They are having a mythical creatures exhibit right now but it wasn't as fantastic as I'd hoped. I enjoyed going through the NY State history/ecosystem hall better.

We also tried Pinkberry. My apologies if you actually go to that link and hear the incredibly catchy music. It was pretty darn good. I'd go again if it was more convenient.

Val! and I have been commenting back and forth on a lot of our photos from Portland. Good times.

I switched to a new notebook at work, which resulted in my going through my old one, transferring some still-relevant notes, throwing most everything away, and stealing a couple of sheets of musings I'd written while sitting in meetings but being "checked-out." I thought I'd transcribe them here, despite the fact that they're lacking. Then again, most of my posts here are anyway.

"because you have changed, or because you are new... or because once we fought with you, with your citizens, but have since made amends and you are once again new to us <3"

I am not sure what the above was about.

I like this one a little better;

I am remiss to damage a page completely blank, full of purpose, a thing of beauty almost - not at all ugly or hideous as it sometimes becomes once I've begun my regular scribblings.
              And yet - I have that unfortunate human condition that requires me to deface or destroy those beautiful, pristine things.

He called in... who cares. Half of the time he just sits there bored out of his mind anyway.

I feel sad or lonely or maybe that's not it. Maybe what I feel is dispassionate and insignificant. I don't know, but I imagine that could be it.

I want pizza. I want Cosi. I want happy. I want cozy.

TB strategy - "it's a little all over the place" and "We're still trying to figure out just what it will be." Meaning if you're a man or have the right title people will actually listen and respond to your ideas. What am I missing?

Everything is so small if you want it to be - feels so small.

Like I am so in debt and I don't want to be an insignificant worker bee all my life and I want to do fun stuff and How will I be able to get out of debt in order to justify going back to school.

!

Thao n Val!

Watching TV - Arrested Development

Justin posted this photo a little earlier. I just wanted to add a little update. We woke up SUPER early this morning, in the 6 AM time frame, to get ready to meet Thao at work at 7:50 AM. We were on the 8 AM shuttle to the airport to pick up our SIDA badges. The longest part of the entire experience was transportation to and from the airport. We missed the shuttle back and had to take the bus. Work passed smoothly enough, and at the end of the day, Thao, Justin and I walked an area near the house to buy some groceries and head home. We all BBQ'd and Vallie! came over for dinner (burgers, salmon, a nice salad and some baked beans for dinner, then oreos and cake for dessert) and to spend the night. After dinner, Val! and Thao enjoyed some Arrested Development. Val! offered to drive Thao home, so I went along for the ride. All in all, it was a good night. I should be in bed now! I am crazy. :)

Budget update:
$5.00 - breakfast (Justin and I had oatmeal from hot n tasty)
$15.00 - lunch (both of us)
$25.50 - dinner/groceries
--------
45.50 - over budget today! maahhhh Oh well, one day over budget isn't terrible!

Hope y'all all have a good night! In the meantime, check out this AWESOME Google Contest Thao is working on for JetBlue.com, and send in your photos people (example)!

You may have guessed it!

The Spurs are in the playoffs and Justin has an ongoing debate with one of his former coworkers, Jason, about whether they'll win or lose. Of course, Justin is rooting for the Spurs. He went to their website while on the phone with Jason a few minutes ago and called over to me, "Hey, isn't this what you wanted them to do when you were there?"
I looked at his monitor and was met with a streaming webcast of the playoff game.
"That can't be live." I was in denial.
"It is!"

...
Don't that beat all.

Good for them. It only took them four years to do what I was trying to do in 2003. The only thing I was able to get permission to do in the realm of video streaming was done at the last minute with my own personal webcam and a page that kept refreshing, aimed at the outside festivities of the SBC Center. Still, it was a big hit. And no, it was not possible to set it up inside.
My web advertising idea was also a big hit, and they've taken the concept a very long way, especially considering my director at the time scoffed at the idea. We are really living in a strange world, let me tell ya.

Being at the point in my life that I am, I can look back with perfectly clear hindsight and see the situation differently than I did at the time. Sure, my severance package was more than amiable, but what was the real reason that the Spurs and I had to go separate ways? Sure, the fit wasn't right. Whose fault was that, though?

I don't like to internalize things. I suppose it is a constant struggle. I am definitely better about it than I was ten years ago. I am sure I'll be that much better ten years from now. I just sometimes wonder if being motivated, self-assured, and intelligent is more of a hindrance than a blessing...



Budget update:

$20 - Dinner at the diner (both of us)
----
$20 - Yeah, total. We made sandwiches for lunch and had breakfast at home. Rock! Unfortunately, we also discovered that the refrigerator is on the fritz. So far, our milk and yogurt seem to have soured. Hrmph :(

Rock-n-Roll! JetBlue adding real-time flight tracking using Google Maps!

Low-cost American airline JetBlue announced yesterday they have struck a deal with search giant Google to provide real-time in-flight tracking via the wildly popular Google Maps software on the seat-back screens.



read more | digg story

In other news I think it's a little sad that my budget is what has me posting here on a (for the last few days) regular basis. Oh well, better something than nothing. ;)

$1.00 - soda (me)
$10.00 - internet access at Starbucks (Justin needed entertainment while I was in class)
$17.00 - dinner at Chipotle (me and Justin)
-----
$28.00 total. Might be a little more with the change, but still just barely under our budget.

I had a good time talking with Thao, Oscar, and Justin this afternoon. Thao, Oscar, and I had javascript class in the city tonight. The subway ride, dinner, and chatting outside of Chipotle before we went our separate ways was a lot of fun.

Justin and I are getting cable tomorrow. We have our internet right now through Earthlink, but tomorrow Time Warner is going to switch us over to them and we will be getting cable TV, which I am actually happy about! :)

I need to start getting home and writing on here earlier. It always seems like I am too tired to really concentrate on saying something interesting!

Val! sent me an interesting article about female sexual issues and enhancements. Its a worthwhile read. Sweet dreams!

Budget?

That's right, you read my title correctly. Justin and I decided, once again, we need a budget. Sure, we live ok month to month right now, but if we really want to save money to pay off debt and go on a VACATION in October, we have got to get serious and save some cash.

I feel that since living with a budget is relatively new to me since I haven't done it for a long time, I'll probably be writing about it quite a bit, so why not start now, on our first budget day?

A lot of people will probably scoff at our budget, but it will prove challenging for us, I imagine. We are allotting ourselves $30/day together, or $15/day/person. Here is our budget breakdown for today.

We brought our breakfast and lunch to work with food we'd bought prior to our budget, so that doesn't count. ;)
$1 - diet coke (Justin)
$22 - dinner at TGIFridays (both of us!)
$5 - ice cream from the store (I am on an ice cream kick)
-----
$28 total.

Not great considering we didn't have to buy breakfast or lunch, but not too shabby for our first day either. We realize we won't be eating out very often, especially without planning for it.

In other news, I had a disheartening meeting with our VP today. I found out that, unlike I thought and had been lead to believe, my direct boss has never discussed the possibility of giving me a promotion, which he mentioned to me 5 months ago. Now I feel betrayed and exploited. Fun stuff. I hope that my VP at least feels I am doing a good job. We are also getting a new director soon, so in a way, it's a good thing to be starting over with someone new. I just hope I can be peppy and driven again when he gets here. Not that I have completely lost those qualities, I just feel a little down. Honesty being important and all that rot.