The happiest day

Saturday morning the love of my life made me the happiest woman on the planet. I am still smiling ear to ear, and I expect it will last a lifetime. Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQNA4e8-dwY It was an amazing day and I am so enjoying engagement bliss!

Death on my way to work, a little too often

So as many of you know, I started a new job that requires me to spend at least 30 minutes driving into the office every morning. I have ended my "road rage" period, and am now in the numb, just get me there before 9am routine. But today, I suddenly realized that at least 3 times in the past two weeks I have seen the various trucks carrying what look like casket holders. I am not sure what they are, but they aren't as nice as caskets, but they are shaped like something you might put in the ground to hold a casket? In any case, it's a very unsettling feeling seeing something like this on your way to work... makes starting the day a little slower.

Don't worry be happy

I am really concerned about the state of our nation, and not just the fact that I know way too many people without jobs and lost investment income. I am worried that all of this loss and general crappy self-esteem that comes with not having a job will reek havoc on the happiness of our society. I am invisioning increasing road rage, decreasing neighborly duties, etc. Nevermind the already constant negative reporting on our local and national news. I am looking for people or places that talk about the positives... I'll start: Today I was at the grocery store, and I love it b/c I get one of those self- shopping wands so I basically don't have to talk to anyone. I take my gun/wand and I shoot items as I put them into my re-usable bags. Well, as I was leaving today, my rosemary fell out of my bag and landed in the basket while I was unloading. A woman noticed as I was walking away from the cart and asked if they were mine as I was walking away from the cart at the front of the store. How great is that? Does anyone know of a site, or a blog where people are posting their Human kindness stories. I could use a higher dose these days.

Commuting Again

So, I took this new job, which I love. One of the things I am having to get used to is commuting. People are kinda mean in the AM. And it's totally unnecessary. I have to merge from one freeway to another and the other morning this guy would NOT let me into the lane. I don't have a choice here buddy. My lane ends, or I have to get back onto the freeway I just got off...obviously not the thing I want to do while trying to get to work. But even funnier than that, is that this ridiculous weather we have had in New England has caused some major pot holes. These pot holes could swallow your car, give you whip lash, or cost you thousands in car repairs. And it's so bad that the Boston Globe has a site where the worst pot holes are located in the city: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/specials/013009_pothole/ You have to click on some of the comments on washington street... it really is a terrible street... The other day I was driving past this street and I randomly saw 9 cars pulled over all with flat tires... yeah, awesome. I hope Obama approves some of that bail out $$ for our Mass Highways- just to re-fill those huge holes!

TV and Movie Observations

Did anyone else notice that Jack Bauer upgraded his bag once he was state side in the most recent episode of 24? It's way better than the one he had during the first episode and last seasons show. On another note, there are 4 movies out right now that are all about the Nazi's, WWII or Hitler: Valkyrie, the Reader, the Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Defiance. I find it really interesting, not sure why or what our recent fascination is with WWII and all of its horribleness. I guess we can hope that with more movies or perspectives we can learn how to prevent such a horrible occurrence in the future.

My new adventure

On Monday I will start a new job as a Marketing Manager for Makana Solutions. It's an on-demand sales compensation management software that is provided for Small and Medium sized businesses (SMB's) in all industries. I am really excited to work with a team of driven, smart people to help define and implement marketing plans. I feel very lucky to have a job and to have one at a company that makes me excited, selling to a market with such potential. It's a great way to start 2009!

Home Depot in the Morning

So, as many of you know, I am currently working as a consultant, which is great. I have all this time to be able to get things done on my own schedule. I can work late and get errands done in the morning. I have been to Home Depot on a few occasions in the past few weeks, since embarking on the consulting adventure. Home Depot is like a world of its own. There are all these construction people: the foreman, the project managers, the heavy lifters. It's a little micro-economy. I can never walk in there without asking someone where something is, and everyone is so helpful. But there are people that go there everyday, just like I might go to Starbucks. I will never be a part of that world, but it's nice to step out of my typical Starbucks routine and try something completely different.