Incredulous, Part II

So, I've been in email communication with the owner of this would-be amazing apartment in NYC! She lives in Germany, and had apparently moved back there after her American husband died in a car accident. Some of the details as to how she would like to proceed seem a little sketchy, so I have consulted with a friend who works in NYC real estate.

My friend read through the emails and said that it could be for real, but it could also be a scam. He recommend that I proceed with caution and get everything documented before proceeding to a definite closing/signing. The thing that had me scratch my head initially is that she is asking for the first three months upfront (which isn't a problem), but wants the funds to be held in escrow now before she even books a flight to the USA to pass off the keys and sign a lease. I am curious as to why she won't deal through a real estate agency, since that would be cheaper than booking a flight over to the USA every time someone shows interest in her apartment. Talk about things that make you go "hmmm..." Dealing in escrow, as she puts it, could be the European thing to do, or it could just be some fancy wording to make it all seem real and scam an unsuspecting renter out of $2,100!

My last email to her said that I wasn't comfortable place that large sum of money with a third party I didn't know. I asked her if I could either get all of the escrow services information first (so I could call and verify on my own), or I could do some research and recommend a few real estate agencies in NYC that she could pick from to deal with.

I'm still somewhat hopeful, because I'm not sure how else to be right now. Being hopeful is so much better for the psyche than being cynical, but damn that time-zone difference and the waiting!

Incredulous

Today's word-of-the-day is quite appropriate for a new piece of information that has passed my desk.

I've found an apartment listing in NYC, at 34th and 9th, which is a two bedroom, livingroom, kitchen, bathroom...the works! I've seen pictures and, a little outdated, but still beautiful. So, why am I so disbelieving? The asking price is only $700 a month! Yup, only $700 for a two bedroom, mid-town apartment! This could quite possibly be the answer to my prayers, if everything else in my life lately hasn't gone to crap!

I've emailed the person listing the apartment, so details to follow, but in my life experience, if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. So, we shall see, but I am hoping that the Goddess above might actually be throwing me a friggin' bone!

Corporate America at its Best

The announcement came today at 10:00 am, that the company I work for is moving its "Shared Services" plan forward in motion to the next step of meeting revenue goals. The announcement said, plainly, that the company will be outsourcing its editorial and manufacturing needs. Simply put, this means massive lay-offs. Two entire departments, probably consisting of just over 50 people, will no longer have a job here come the early months of 2007.

My manager informed me of this earlier in the morning, reassuring me that our jobs are not in jeopardy. Lucky me. But now I have to go through the next few months (already receiving cold shoulders because I'm new) being on the receiving end of hateful looks from those that know that I at least still have job security. This place just keeps getting better and better.

Recovery

Now with an emotionally rough weekend behind me (and I mean with a capital 'E'), I look to the rest of the week and the coming weekend ahead. As low as I am feeling, I am still trying to be optimistic and find the silver lining wherever I can. My horoscope said that October was pretty much the month of hell for me out of the year, but it seems November has its own plan. But if what occurred this past weekend is the worst of it, I'm hoping that my positive thinking will see me through, and the rest of the month will be ok. It has to be ok. There's too much going on for it not to be ok...

Tonight, I've been invited by CMC to a preview screening of Happy Feet! I have been looking forward to this movie since the spring, and am so thrilled to be seeing it with friends at an early viewing! Then, lunch with CMC on Thursday, and I've got a date of Friday, and this one I know will stick...because it's with my dad!

I am probably one of the extremely few females of the world that enjoys a James Bond story. What woman would promote a brougish, womanizing, rough-em-up/shoot-em-up character? Me, that's who. It has been something that I have shared with my dad since I was little. At Halloween, instead of Rainbow Brite, I wanted to be Bond...James Bond...Agent 007! For a while in High School, I actually contemplated joining the CIA to live out my fantasy of being an international spy with a license to kill. Plus, if Bond always got the girl, wouldn't I always get the guy?

So, Friday night, I'm treating my dad to the movie and popcorn. We don't do much father-daughter stuff now-a-days because I don't golf or scuba-dive anymore, but I certainly can do this with him, and he was ecstatic when I asked him out on a "date!" I'm really looking forward to it!

And then Saturday and Sunday are my very first craft fairs that I'll be vendoring in. I've always been really crafty, enjoying the creativity of the hobby as an outlet. So, now let's see if I can make some money doing what I love! I have a feeling that if this weekend goes well, I'll be selling a lot of my wares on e-bay, and that will just be fantastic!! And of course I'll post a link!

Then the following week brings a short work week, Thanksgiving, Mom's birthday and my parents' anniversary (a whopping 30 years)! So, there is way too much to do, and so little time to do it in, that I am trying to just plow through and do what I need to get done. Staying busy is the name of the game for the rest of this month!

Disappointment

So, I had a date for this evening, but The Artist just called to cancel. He says that the girl whose birthday party was tonight is sick. I at first thought that he would still try and make an effort in plans to hang out and see me, since he said the objective of inviting me tonight was to see me, but no! Rather, he said he was staying home to work on a large commissioned job.

Trying to encourage him in his art, and the possibility of 'us' I offered to come over and keep him company while he works. I said I could pick up some beer and a pizza, and always just hang out, watch some TV, and chill while he works.

No such luck...I've been shot down...twice.

So now disappointed and upset, I have made plans with a bottle of wine, my couch, and last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy that I D.V.R.'d. Maybe McDreamy will pull through for me on this one. One can only hope.

They say to always just get right back up on that horse, but God-damn, does the horse have to be so friggin' high up?

A Mid-Week High

I have a date! A real, 'grown-up' date as Ali Girl would put it. And on a Friday night, THIS Friday night, a real date night! It has been so long since I've been on a real date, and not just have The Boy come over for dinner, a movie and some fooling around.

And, the date isn't even with The Boy, so there! I am on my way in trying to get over him and any hopes I had that a real relationship would actually work between us. I'm actually pretty ok with it, too, and not just because I have a date lined up with another guy. I realize that not all things are meant to be, and it's not necessarily one's fault over another. It just isn't meant to be, period. We still have a great time when we do hang out, talking, joking, whatever, but he just isn't in a place that I want to be in. Unfortunate timing, yes, but we are still friends, and I'm thankful for that.

So, Friday night, I am joining the Artist for dinner and drinks in the City for his friend's girlfriend's birthday. I won't know anyone there but him. But you know what? I'm really looking forward to it. I am looking forward to seeing him interact with his friends in a laid-back environment, and I always love meeting new people anyway. I am very outgoing and never have a problem finding something or anything to talk about with people. Some would be intimidated by not knowing anyone else at a party but the person they came with, but I'm more likely to strike out on my own anyways.

Details definitely to follow. God, what am I going to wear?!

For the People, By the People

Today, Election Day, is a great day for Americans. The essence of Democracy, and why we as Americans are still so lucky, is upheld in what this day stands for. Today, we all have a civic duty to vote, whether it is for the President, the Senate, Congress, Judicial figures, or even legislation. This day is what our fore-fathers fought so hard to gain in the Revolution, so we don't have to answer to an autocracy.

Our voting process, with the electoral college, is a complex system that many people do not understand. Many feel it is better to have the 'popular vote' decide the winning candidates. I can't say as I completely understand the whole process, but I do understand the necessity for it. It is an extension of the checks and balances. No man-made organization is ever going to run perfectly and completely smooth, but the fact that we do have a government that is set up by our votes is a great accomplishment of the free world, and no matter what your political views and opinions, it has worked for the better part of over two hundred years. It has enabled us to worship how we choose, legally bear arms, and intelligently speak what we believe.

There is much about politics that I do not agree with. Much about it seems petty and saturated with too much testosterone, but I still have faith in the power of my voice. And every year I get to make my voice heard, no matter how softly, at least once. It is a wonderful thing, and I hope that all realize how lucky we still are to be living here.

Good For What Ails You!

Good food, great company, and lots of girl-talk!

Last night, I went to dinner with my two oldest friends. I have known them, and love them both for just over ten years now, having suffered through Catholic High School together...a bond that will forever be forged.

We hadn't done dinner together, the three of us, in so long, and I forgot how healing good food, great company and lots of girl-talk really can be. We went out to dinner, meaning to hit the Cheesecake Factory, but decided our stomachs weren't going to make the hour wait for a table. So, we did Chinese Bistro instead, which worked out just as well because they had a 'trainers' diet for Moni. Afterwards, Wangie and I popped Moni's cherry in regards to the best ice cream on earth! Both of us couldn't believe that she had never been!

It was possibly such a simple thing, going to dinner, but it was just so great! It makes me realize even more, every day, how important the simple things truly are in life. And, how real friendship will last years, no matter where you find yourself and what you've gone through. These two are more than friends, they are my family, my sisters.

Anniversaries

Anniversaries are, in my mind, a mark on time to remember a significant event which could be good or bad. Mostly, people only celebrate the good events in life that are worth remembering. I like to also celebrate the bad events as a reminder of a lesson learned.

This day, November 3, is an anniversary for me, and not of the good kind. On this day, four years ago, I went through something that I don't wish upon anyone, but yet many are forced to go through every day. On this day, I learned one of those life lessons.

I learned that when one speaks the words "I Love You," they don't always mean it. I learned that often, those closest people to you are the ones that hurt you the most. I learned that you really don't have to do anything you don't want to do even when pressure from those around you makes you feel less than you are really worth. I learned that it is what it is, even if he is your boyfriend. And most importantly, I learned that you don't need to go through anything in life alone. There is always someone out there that understands exactly what you are going through, no matter how little you may believe that at the time.

Surprisingly enough, this has not made me hate men...just one in particular. So, in good form of celebration, tonight I am going out with the girls. They won't know that I'll be celebrating on the inside, but just being with them is enough help to get me through this day.

He Said - She Said

Anyone who has ever worked in a corporate environment knows the "He Said - She Said" game. It's the game that takes place when people are trying to cover their butts because they are too afraid to stand by their word and work. It's a game that consists of finger-pointing, defensive statements and about a gazillion emails all about one topic!

When I worked at The Bird, there was always definite room for backstabbing and internal espionage. It all seemed rather childish and immature, like being back in high school with all of the rumors and accusations. Being confident in my own work and having my boss to back me up, I wasn't worried that it would ever come my way. My work spoke for itself, and anything anybody could've said was only out of jealousy and spite and had no bearing on my record whatsoever. Others aren't so lucky, though, when they unfortunately attract certain people that zone in on them, and it seems like a life-mission for those meanies to take them down, corporately speaking. My old boss has actually been through something like this, and from the sidelines and mildly involved, it was not something that I cared to be a part of. By the end, it got really nasty, to say the very least. I was lucky to have witnessed a situation like that so I know for the future what could happen, but I'm knocking on wood that I will never have to recall that wisdom.

Now that I am part of a new corporate culture, it has been a very interesting experience in getting comfortable in a new environment, in learning the rhythm and motion of this corporate wave, so to speak. The people here are only just starting to warm up to me, and I think that is partially because I brought in food the other day. It's almost been a situation of me walking on eggshells until I really know where I stand, and I still don't where I stand. I will officially be "the new girl" until someone else is hired. Damn that totem pole! One thing I have learned, though, is that in a smaller corporate company, the "He Said - She Said" game is ten times worse. With the amount of visibility placed on each employee, the risk of bad 'publicity' is so much more. I can receive a string of 35 emails in one afternoon alone on one issue, not mattering if it is about the stupidest, most infinitesimal item. "Should we sticker the ISBN on the lower left back corner, or the lower right back corner?" Really, people. Is this decision going to cause a tidal wave in Sri Lanka? It's not exactly the butterfly effect! And it really makes me wonder if this is what people's jobs consist of for the day, and maybe that's why I'm so unoccupied at work...I don't get involved in this bull crap, therefore I have nothing to do?! Hmmmm...