I have come to the conclusion I am in desperate need of a vacation.  Two problems exist though.  One, I have no one to go anywhere with.  Two, I have no money to go anywhere with.  Well, I have money but that’s in reserve for a down payment on a house.  I really need one of those “college” trips we took where we just picked a place and found a crappy hotel to stay out.  Drove… enjoyed… and came home.  Actually, shopping sounds kind of fun.  Some place besides the Targets and Walmarts of the world.  Places where I can get little unique trinkets to fill my apartment.  If it was only a little nicer out, I’d just pack up and take off for a weekend.  So, if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know.

Today was one of those days where you wake up and walk outside and you feel great.  You woke up on time and weren’t tired.  The weather was so promising for a nice spring day.  Then I get to work and everything crashes down on my head.  I’ve come to the conclusion I should just close all possible lines of communication to me at work.  People are upset I’m not doing things their way, quickly enough, but those people have no clue how many freaking interruptions I get in a day.  They claim to know, but when I was new to that company, not one of these people that tell me “I know what it is like” were people I’d ever go to for help.  So, to all those people that think they know what it is like to be me, you have no idea.  Granted, I can give you a list of people in my same shoes at work and I sympathize to them cause it sucks and it is unfair.  We’ve all battled the same battles trying to inform those people that decide our fate but they are incapable of listening.  I recently learned an interesting fact; on a national level the average person stays with the same company for about 6-9 years.  Why is that?  That is because as a new employee, companies flood you with raises and make you feel this is where you belong.  Then you fall into the rut of your normal raise.  Over time, to compete, they have to up the standards and pay for new employees.  Current employees do not get this benefit.  So in order to “catch-up” with industry standards you move to a new job and start over.  Small step back for a big step forward.  Now, when you look at the cost of losing an employee, why in the world wouldn’t an employer fix this before it became a problem?

What do so many people have to hide?  I realize I’m on the 3rd floor and leaving my blinds open is a little less intrusive.  I’m on the end of the building so my deck faces the end of another building.  Six patios/decks per side facing each other and only 30 yards apart.  I don’t think I’ve closed my patio blinds yet in three weeks.  Tonight I was on the deck and the elderly lady across the way promptly got up, walked to her blinds and closed them in what seemed to be a fit of anger as soon as she saw me out there.  Okay, if you have gray hair and you are sitting on your catch by yourself, I promise I have no desire to pry into your window.  If you were 21 and tightly dressed, that would be a different story and it would merely be out of appreciation for your hard work and effort to remain attractive and in shape.  What in the world is this lady trying to hide and why in the world does she think I’d be interested in peering into her apartment.  Maybe I should starting coming home at 5 and leaving my clothes at the door with the blinds wide open and sitting on my couch watching TV all night.  We’ll see who’s peering into who’s apartment… I have nothing to hide.