Wednesday, June 11, 2014

O's and Cards

Last week we started watching House of Cards on Netflix.  I am totally hooked!  It's so, so good!  House of Cards is everything I love about living in DC!  The power struggles, the intrigue.  I think Kevin Spacey is one of the greatest actors of our generation and his on-screen wife, Claire, is portrayed by Robin Wright who was in two of my most favorite movies ever -- The Princess Bride and Forest Gump (aka Princess Butter Cup, aka Jenny).  Robin Wright was also married to the other actor I consider one of the greatest of our generation . . . Mr. Sean Penn.  I couldn't sleep one night and kind of went on a marathon and finished Season 1.  Champ is only on episode 5 or 6 but that's the beauty of Netflix . . . you can watch at your own pace.  T and The Dew are watching it also so that's been kind of fun.

Friday KJ had her 8th grade formal.  Sniff, Sniff.  Can't believe she's graduating from 8th grade in a few days and will be a high school freshman in the fall!  She had a couple of girls come over for photos beforehand and said she had a really good time at the dance.  Today they cleaned out their lockers, tomorrow she has her 8th grade field trip to Mountainside for zip lining, swimming, rope course and lunch.  Friday morning is the graduation ceremony and she's done!  Next week she's going to volleyball camp with her friend Corrine and next weekend we have two sets of friends coming to town!


This past weekend Champ surprised us with tickets to the O's home game vs. the A's and he made hotel arrangements in the Inner Harbor so we didn't have to drive home late at night.  The weather was incredibly perfect, mid-80's, and we had a wonderful late lunch before heading to the game.  I had never been to Camden Yards and it was quite an experience!  The O's have a HUGE fan base.  EVERY person in that stadium was wearing orange.  It was a great game and we had an easy walk back to our hotel.


I thought we had a graduation party on Sunday but totally read the invitation wrong and missed the party!  It was on Saturday, not Sunday.  I swear, sometimes I think I'm dyslexic!


Tuesday, June 3, 2014

First time for everything

There really is a first time for everything and I found that out firsthand on Friday.  At almost 47 years old, and having worked fairly steadily since I was 15, I was released from my duties at the hotel.  It kind of came as a shock, kind of not.  While Catering Sales were through the roof and basically carrying the hotel, Group Sales were sorely lacking and rumors were rampant.  We had been told that an older section of the hotel, "the Lodge," was closing effective June 1 but "the Towers" would remain open.  There was a lot of speculation on how this would affect the associates and management.  As it turns out, I, along with two others, were casualties of war.  Everyone kind of assumed that one of the Sales Managers was on the chopping block, possibly two.  So, it was a great surprise to most that I was one of the ones let go.  But, in reality, it kind of made sense.  My position was created in January after not having a Catering Coordinator for several years and as the old saying goes, "last one hired, first one fired."  I enjoyed my job very much, I liked the people I worked with and I liked the work I did.  That's that.

On the bright side, everything does happen for a reason and I think the reason was that I'm supposed to be home this summer.  Even though she's about to be a high schooler, we were still very nervous about KJ being home all summer with the pool.  We wanted her to enjoy the pool but we wanted her to be safe, too.  And, I certainly didn't want a bunch of kids at the house if I wasn't home.  We have some friends visiting in June, we have plans for July and now I don't have to feel guilty about asking for time off.

It's still a very weird feeling to be called into HR and be told the company is restructuring and there is no longer a spot for you on the team.  I flip-flop between acceptance and anger.  On Friday morning I walked into the hotel and for the first time thought that it could be me.  For weeks I had received the assurances of my supervisor that I "was fine"  but something hit me that morning and I told a co-worker I think my position is going to be eliminated only because it was newly created.  Obviously I knew the gig was up when I walked into HR and saw my boss crying her eyes out.  Apparently, she had been hit with the news just moments before I was called into HR.  In between packing up my desk, I spent most of the time reassuring her that I was going to be fine.  I think I was a little shell-shocked.  But on Sunday afternoon, I got mad.  I'm mad because in essence, this really has nothing to do with me.  It has to do more with the inadequacy of others and the inability to put "heads in beds."  I feel like I was a pawn in a twisted game of politics.  The Catering department was given the OK to finally get the Coordinator they so desperately needed only to have it snatched away at the first sign of trouble.  My position was viewed as a luxury, not a necessity.  The only thing that makes me feel better is knowing that it wasn't anything I did.

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"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -- Dr. Seuss

"Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful." -- Sophia Loren



"There must be quite a few things a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them." -- Sylvia Plath

“Life is too important to be taken seriously.” – Oscar Wilde

If people are truly, madly, deeply in love with each other, they will find a way.~Gilda Radner

“Never judge a day by its weather. Sunshine is uplifting; rain, nourishing; wind, exhilarating; snow, cleansing; hail, stimulating. Any weather is better than none.” -- Author Unknown

"Everything you see I owe to spaghetti." -- Sophia Loren

"I know I'm vulgar, but would you have me any other way?" -- Elizabeth Taylor

"After thirty, a body has a mind of its own." -- Bette Midler

"Cherish forever what makes you unique, 'cuz you're really a yawn if it goes." -- Bette Midler

“I know I can be diva-ish sometimes, but I have to be in control. The nature of my life, the nature of what I do, is divadom, it really is." -- Mariah Carey

"I want minimum information given with maximum politeness." -- Jackie Kennedy Onassis

"I've been called a diva, queen diva, diva supreme, and I love it. However, that's really for others to decide, not me." -- Aretha Franklin

"No one loves a party more than I. I am a people person." -- Aretha Franklin

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." -- Jackie Kennedy Onassis
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