Call me Sidney f-ing Bristow

So last week we added another four-legged critter to our menagerie, albeit temporarily. We dog-sat B's family pooch, Bailey the 90+ pound Yellow Lab. The dog doesn't have a mean bone in his body, but he is the most stubborn creature on the planet, and his training is somewhat limited despite his intelligence. But he and the Jakester get along wonderfully, so he stayed at our place for a week while the in-law's were on vacation.

So mom-in-law dropped off Bailey Beans on the Thursday before their trip, but she failed to give us any details about when they would be home and what we would need to do at that point (if she was picking him up or if we were dropping him off, what day, what time, etc).

First, that same weekend B & I had a wedding reception to attend outside Cleve-hole, and since that is the general area that the in-law's live, we decided the best course of action was to drop off both pooches at their house to chill while we were out, and then B & I would probably stay the night there in the guest apartment and make the 2-hour drive back home the next morning. Good plan, right? That is, until we realized 1 hour and 45 minutes into the drive to Cleve-hole that we had forgotten the keys to their house. B is somewhat skilled at the art of b&e however, so we weren't all that worried about it. (And no, my husband is not a felon... he was bored during the year spent in the Sandbox and taught himself how to pick locks so he could fuck with his buddies by leaving bottles of KY Warming Sensation in their footlockers.) ('Cuz we all know that it's a BIG hit with our troops.)

So upon arrival I manned the dogs while he found a way in... (details not included... you can never be too careful). Dogs ensconced, we headed to the reception and the rest of the weekend was fine.

So the following Thursday we gave the mom-in-law a call and got the scoop... they were returning Saturday, could we bring him home please. No prob! B would be out of town but I could take care of it. That is, until 1 hour 45 minutes into the drive when I realized, FUCK! I'd forgotten the damn key again. One call to B for instructions, an hour of sweat and swearing later, and I'm in. I felt so fucking empowered, it was amazing!

Oh, but it doesn't end here. Ooooh no.

I headed back to Toledo early that same afternoon, leaving Bailey on his own until the folks arrived home around 5 that evening. Not a big deal, just a few hours, right? I got home, worked in the garden, ate some dinner, read a book... then checked the clock and realized, it's 8:30 pm and they haven't called yet. So I called their house, no answer. So I called their cell.

"Hi Mom! How was your trip?"

"Oh it's so beautiful! Next year we'll all have to come up here together."

"That would be great! So you made it home okay?"

"Oh no, we're still in Boston. Our flight isn't until tomorrow you know."

"....really."

"Is everything okay?"

"Um, no... B said you had told him your flight was today."

"Oh no, tomorrow." (not realizing the impact of this yet.)

"I took Bailey home this morning."

"Oh. OH. Oh dear! I'm so sorry!"

So I loaded Jake into the car and drove the 2 hours back to Cleveland, let Bailey out for the longest pee ever, gave him his dinner about 6 hours late, and drove home again the following morning.

At least that time I remembered the key!

I was really hoping to NOT go to Cleveland again anytime soon, but we're on our way there again tonight for a concert... but at least this time there are no dogs involved.

Back in the Windy City again...

... this time for NeoCon, a gi-normous interior design trade show. I went in to register today & maybe walk around... okay first, the show takes up around 8 floors of this building, and there must have been over 200,000 people milling around this place (half of them in line for the elevators). No thanks. I grabbed my nametag & a guidebook and headed back to my hotel to forge a plan of attack for tomorrow.

On my way to the show I noticed one street blocked off by cops and a rather large crowd gathered. I'm not a rubbernecker, but it didn't seem to be an accident or anything bad going on so I stopped to see... and they're filming a movie! It's Public Enemies, a gangster film about John Dillinger, so they'd re-done a bunch of buildings with 1920's facades and there were a bunch of cars and motorcycles from the era driving up & down the street. I looked up the movie on IMBD when I got back to my room, and discovered that Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Giovanni Ribisi are all in this movie! Holy crap! Not like I'd get to see any of them (they had the street blocked off several blocks down from where the filming was happening) but it's still pretty cool.
Otherwise this trip is okay so far. I went to check in to my original hotel this morning & they were oversold, so they moved me to Hilton Garden Inn which I think is probably a bit nicer than the other one (The Silversmith), but I'm not really that picky. I'm in a wheelchair-accessible room actually, which is kind of neat because the bathroom is big enough for a wheelchair to spin donuts in (and considering my hotel last week had bathrooms that even MY ass couldn't turn around in, that's definitely exciting) and the shower is a roll-in type with one of those cool overhead showerheads. The bed is like a faux "Sleep Number" with dials on each side to adjust the comfort level, which is interesting. I'll definitely be experimenting with it to see what my back really likes. It can't seem to decide whether soft or firm matresses are better... so far both have given me kinks & made my arms fall asleep!

I can't wait to be home for a while though. I only get to see B one day this week before he heads up to Michigan to do Army stuff, so I'm kind of bummed about that... plus we're still dog-sitting Bailey, my in-law's stubborn as hell Lab, and he and Jake are pretty obnoxious together. My next trip after this is mid-July out in Boulder, which is going to be friggin awesome! Partly because the seminar is held at this swanky resort (St. Julien's) but mainly because I get to see my BFF Kelly while I'm there! I haven't seen her in about 2 years and I miss her a ton.

My dinner is not sitting well, so I'm off to drink some water & read a book. 'Nite all.

Thank god for nice weather, cuz summer tv is gonna SUCK

Yes, I readily admit my obsession with crime dramas on tv. What with the long break in the middle of the season, I think the writers felt they had to make up for their selfishness by writing shocking (yet surprisingly similar) season finales. (Warning: if you for some reason haven't seen these yet, you might want to skip reading this for now!)

Bones - Seeley gets shot & you think he's dead, but then he's not (kind of lame plot twist about faking it but made for funny conversation between him & Tempe). But then it turns out that Zach is Gormogon's apprentice and therefore a murderer & potential cannibal... kind of a bummer but at least it wasn't Hodgins (who is my 2nd fave character).

CSI - Warrick's downward spiral gets a little out of control... a few episodes ago he went on a stoned/drunken spree with a stripper & was framed for her murder, and now he got framed for the murder of the mob boss that actually did kill her... but the real killer was a crooked cop that they didn't catch, but they figure he's just a pawn too & there has to be someone higher up in the department who is in the mob's pocket... so Warrick, being the slightly naive dude that he is, swears to the under-sheriff to find this crooked cop... and of course it was the under-sheriff the whole time, and he takes offense & shoots Warrick & leaves him for dead. But... Nick is still in the restaurant around the corner so there is the off-chance that he'll find Warrick & save his ass before he bleeds out in his pimped out black Mustang (and how he can afford that is questionable too).

House - Amber dies but not before having a heart-breaking last conversation & cuddle-time with Wilson... and House has a stroke that he manages to wake up from (with a little help from the after-life from Amber... do we foresee a change in belief structures in the future? Hmmm) and Wilson apparently blames him for Amber's death.

CSI: Miami - My least favorite actor on any CSI series is finally dead!! Hopefully! Considering they brought Eric back after he was shot in the friggin head (who shoots epinephrine into a guy's heart when he has a bullet lodged in his brain?? Sheesh) I won't be too surprised if they resurrect Horatio but I sure as hell hope not. And Wolfe of all people is a black-market arms dealer... this show is such a soap-opera. Maybe it'll get better next season...?

NCIS - I haven't been watching all season so I was a little bit lost, but I always had a sneaking suspicion that Jenny wasn't a very good girl... and now she's dead too & the new director is a chode and split up the team. I'm sure it won't last though.... Ziva is too hot & she and Tony need to hook up still after all.

Dexter & New Amsterdam both ended earlier in the year already... I might not wait for the second season of Dexter to be aired on CBS & get the Showtime version on DVD from NetFlix. I love cheering for a bad guy!

Still waiting on CSI: NY later this week but from the previews, I actually think this will be the only one of my shows that they don't kill somebody off (or turn them into a psycho killer).

See, told you I was obsessed! I'm glad these shows all run during the yucky-weather months so I don't feel like I'm missing a nice evening.

Am I forgetting any?

Thank god for flip flops!

I didn't have time to post anything while I was in Vegas this past week, so that should be a good indication of how the trip went! Busy as hell, but a pretty good time overall.

My presentations at the sales meeting went awesome... I kicked some serious ass & even surprised myself! It felt really good to be done with it though. Some people were pretty blatantly rude, but most of the reps were really receptive and encouraging so that definitely made it all worth it. Went out for dinner that night with a motley group of folks including the ONE guy that totally gives me the creeps & sets off my "sexual predator" radar, but he was surprisingly well behaved (mainly because he hadn't been drinking all day). The others in my group turned out to be the funniest damn guys ever, and we went out after dinner and proceeded to get pretty trashed. I had a pass to an industry party at Margaritaville... can you say, open top-shelf bar?! Whee, tequila!! The conversation was along the lines of "have another" and "gee Jen, aren't you hot in that shirt? Maybe you should undo some buttons." It went downhill from there!

The trade show was great, and best of all I got to see some old friends! I miss my Jodi girl, she is the BESTEST. And of course my Scottish Stalker was there... we actually ran into each other in the middle of the street at like 11 pm, it was bizarre.

Overall, a pretty good time!

Although I will say that I REALLY hope they change hotels next year. Tuscany is not on my list of favorites... the rooms were huge which was cool, but the a/c unit was miniscule & failed to keep the room comfortable. Plus I don't like not being on the strip... crowded and crazy as it is, it's so much more convenient to be able to walk.

Asshattery & other headaches

Migraine, thy name is Wednesday. (If you heard me cursing and throwing things at work today, this is what that was all about. )

Throbbing Pain 1: BGSU not understanding the logistics behind paying for school using GI Bill. They want their $$ before the semester even starts, while the Army College Fund wants proof that the student is in class and getting decent grades before issuing said $$. And then when the school doesn't deposit your check until 3 weeks later and you have 4 major payments come out of your account within 2 days of each other, you have a problem.

Throbbing Pain 2: Bosses who are skilled in the art of micro-management... and not just micro-management, but last-minute micro-management. I'm not a fan of speaking in front of groups, so I've had my presentation ready for about a week and I've been reading over it every day and tweaking my talking points to flow better. I had gotten good feedback from my immediate boss and was feeling confident, and then had all the wind taken out of my sails in the course of a day, and not just any day but the day before my presentation, by my boss's boss who suddenly has all sorts of criticism and apparently no time to listen to what I have to say about it. He wasn't mean about it so much, but he kept talking over me when I would try to explain, so it was really frustrating.

Throbbing Pain 3: While I did get my car back in a timely fashion yesterday, the mere fact that I had to take it back to the shop again gives me an aneurism. And if Throbbing Pain 1 wasn't so insistent a pain, I would probably have gone to the Honda dealership after work today to test drive a Fit.

But, I had an "ultimate grilled cheese & chicken wrap" for dinner (cream cheese, swiss, cheddar, chicken & BBQ sauce... only thing that would make it better is bacon) and I'm going to watch some TV & spend some quality time on the couch with my hubby, and forget about it all for a while.