How Rancid can I get?

Believe it or not - it STILL hasn’t really hit me that I am not working. With all this traveling (I am leaving for D.C. this afternoon), it does feel I am on an extended vacation of sorts. One thing I have noticed - I do not miss the Federal Reserve AT ALL. In the past, when I have left jobs, I have missed some aspect of the place - be it the people, the location, SOMETHING. Um, not so much with the Fed*. I’ll admit that I was a little nervous that merely leaving work would not make me happy, but so far, it HAS. I do realize that I am in the “honeymoon phase” of not working since I am primarily on vacation. However, leaving there has removed a huge boulder of negativity off my shoulders and has certainly increased the needle on my Happiness Meter. I simply don’t miss the bad attitudes of the people there, the High School-level headgames from my manager, and the boring work. However, I will be grounded from Southwest Airlines (thanks Freeloader!) beginning in August, so the reality of staying home will set in at that time.

I believe the primary key to my happiness while I stay home is KEEPING BUSY. I have so many projects to work on, that should not be too hard. Honestly! The few days I have been home between trips, I have had to wonder “how did I do this stuff while working?”. I have had car appointments, doctor’s appointments, electrician visits, landscaping, various errands to contend with these days. My boss would have been hating me right now and I would have been stressed with all the time I would have to take off work to get these things done. X is working and traveling more than ever right now, so my quitting right now was the best thing for us.

So, X and I head for D.C. His company is based out of Reston, VA so he travels there quite a bit. ** I decided to tag along this trip. Actually, I foresee many more trips to the area post-Freeloader, so the kid can oh, I don’t know, BOND WITH HIS FATHER***, but for this trip, I am going solely for fun. During past visits, I have already seen the memorials****, etc, so I am going to concentrate on the Smithsonian - the Museum of American History, Natural History and Modern Art. Assuming, of course, that I have finished the new Harry Potter release*****. Well, we must have priorities.

Social Life: I actually went to a MOVIE and a BAR! In ONE weekend! I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - I liked it! On a scale of 1-4, I would give it a 3.5. The score was beautiful and effects were wonderful. Keep in mind that I had not seen the original with Gene Wilder, so I had no pre-conceived notions going into it. Saturday night, I met some people from the KC Bloggers group for some cheeseburgers and soda (well, THEY drank beer. Sob.) I highly recommend meeting up with your local blogger group - it was fun to see what else is out there and just hang with a different crowd for a change. I will definitely be attending these gatherings in the future.

Freeloader Status: Well, we have rounded the bend towards a name for the little guy. I am not sure if I am going to tell my family, though. I remember being shocked that Pharmgirl kept her son’s name a secret til after his birth, but now I understand. You see, I already had one bad experience with the whole Name Game - before we knew the gender, I had told The Grandmothers that if the Freeloader was a girl, her middle name would be Lily (after X’s mother). The Grandmothers immediately declared that Lily wasn’t an appropriate middle name and made a better first name. By the time I attended a family reunion a month later, I was getting congratulated on the fact that we were going to name our daughter Lily. X and I put a lot of thought into the little Freeloader’s moniker and I really don’t care for getting people’s “opinions”.

Family Fun: I took my Great Aunt P for some errands yesterday. In addition to her constant warnings whenever she passed gas (THANKS!), we had this cute exchange.
Great Aunt P: Oh. I was hoping my voice would clear up today, but I fear that I must be yelling.
Me: DON’T WORRY, YOU AREN’T YELLING BUT BOY, I SURE AM!!

She laughed equally as hard as I did. Which is exactly why I love her so much.


Anyway, I realize this blog has gotten well, rather RANCID while I have been traveling, but at least I am keeping with the theme. Ironically, just as my blogging has been slacking, I am preparing to go to the BlogHer Blogher conference in Santa Clara CA with Average Jane next week. Yikes.

*Piece of trivia for your next Game Night - the “Fed” is the Federal Reserve, the “Feds” are the FBI. Interesting! No? Oh.

**Why do we live in Kansas City? To truly test X’s undying devotion to me. Seriously - the guy is living in freakin’ KANSAS CITY for me - how much more could he love me?

***Refer to post Since When is Cynical a Bad Thing? where I address the tiresome question of “Will X reduce his travel after the baby is born?”

****My favorite memorial is the little known Teddy Roosevelt memorial - it’s a small island on the Potomac that used to a bird sanctuary. It is so beautiful and peaceful. Probably because no one visits it!

*****The new Harry Potter is certainly exceeding my expectations. I admit I wasn’t a big fan of the last one, but I am really enjoying this one!