The lion

Last night I dreamt that I was in a car driving on Danville boulevard. I saw a mother and her two daughters on the side of the road and just to the left of them, appeared a lion. The mother panicked and she and the two daughters ran across Danville Blvd... the lion proceeded to chase the girls.

All of a sudden, my sister Laura appeared. She had jumped out of the car behind us to go save the girls. So, the lion then decided to go after Laura. It was so vivid and the lion pounced so quickly that I swore Laura was history.

Before I had time to react or do anything, I woke up. Reflecting on the dream, I think about how Laura reacted but I didn't. That definitely speaks to our characters. Laura is definitely the more compassionate of the two of us.

I found Dream Moods, an online Dream Dictionary. Here is what they say about lions appearing in dreams:

"To see a lion in your dream, symbolizes great strength, aggression and power. You will overcome your emotions and/or difficulties. As king of the jungle, the lion also represents royalty, leadership, pride and dominion. You have much influence over others. You may also need to exercise restraint in your own personal and social life."

Royalty? I don't think so, but I'll take the rest of it as a positive.

Worried Mama...

This morning Lucy and I went on our daily "walkie". When we got to her favorite part where the trail opens up and there's a nice sized meadow where she can sprint around and around, I noted that the grass had gotten quite dry and tall.

About an hour after we returned home, Lucy started sneezing uncontrollably, clearly she was in agony. It wasn't subsiding so Pete took her to the vet.

Apparently she got a foxtail up her nose and they would need to sedate her and use forceps to get it out. Poor baby! She's at the vet now and the house seems so empty without her.

Oh, I must mention the pricetag for the vet visit: $420! Ouch. Ayelet told me, "you could stay at a five star hotel for that price!" Double ouch. Oh well, my Lucy is worth 5 stars!

Just like a drug

My girlfriend, Ayelet, wrote about this topic, so I am going to copy her! : )

I have weaned myself off caffeine. It's been going well... except for the dull headache I seem to have constantly.

This afternoon I was drinking one of those new & hip enhanced water drinks, called "Alive". It tasted pretty good!

I started to read the bottle and there was actually a note that the drink has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, as a benefit of course... doh!

No wonder that headache subsided for a while.

dreams

I have been having really whacky dreams lately... verging on psychotic. I am usually late to meet someone and I find myself lost in a crazy land I don't recognize. Last night there was a big gray and white fluffy dog (not Lucy?!?) who would take my finger in its mouth and flub (is that a word? dunno but it is the only way I can describe it) its lips around my finger. Bizarre. Then, I had my violin bow out... not sure what I was doing, but I recall feeling distraught cause the horsehair had completely fallen off.

What does that mean?!?! Am I losing it?

It's the last day of the month!

Update: Giants won today!

Unfortunately I was too busy today to spend much quality time watching the game, but I'm happy they won.

Something happened to the internet connection at my boss' house (yes, it is crazy, but our "corporate" server resides at his home!) so working was truly painful as every application we use was ridiculously slow.

I got the funniest email from the IT Director of a large East Coast University who had all but promised to purchase software from me by the end of April. He wrote me a 3 paragraph email that was basically a sob story about why he could not buy now but needed to wait until July 1 (school budgets are weird).

Too funny... I have never received an email like that before. I ended up working with him to commit to a purchase so he could secure the "special deal" that expires at the end of today. Truth be told, I wouldn't have cared if the order were to arrive tomorrow, but I felt like I should get the signed piece of paper just in case.

I really like this man and I intend to do everything I can to ensure things go smoothly for them. It is so refreshing to deal with a prospect who is honest, upfront and even HUMAN. He also bent over backward to get me what I needed, so I felt a sense of respect I usually do not get.

Baseball in the Afternoon

I'm getting ready to watch the final game of the Giants vs. Rockies series... I love day baseball and luckily since I work from home, I can have the game on in the background while I work (sshhh! Don't tell my boss!)

I am pleasantly surprised by how well the Giants are doing this year. I truly thought they would be an embarrassment to the Bay Area. Instead, they are young, scrappy, and eager to win. It's also fun to see so many of the young'uns stealing bases all the time -- we sure didn't have much of THAT the past few years.

Management seems committed to doing what they need to do to win as well. Barry Zito (see my blog on 4.23.2008) has been demoted to the Bull Pen -- as my KNBR morning guys say, "thank you GOD!" (you gotta hear the sound byte to get the full effect).

I'm not dumb enough to believe they have a chance at the playoffs, but hey, it's a start!

The right verdict

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/29/BAKU10DLNG.DTL&tsp=1

I am surprised by the news that the jury found him guilty of 1st degree murder, given no body has been found... but I'm happy with their decision.

There was just too much circumstantial evidence. I have been following this murder story and trial. It is shocking to me that this happened right here in the Bay Area and Nina seemed like someone who I could be friends with.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I found myself a bit envious of the check out gal at Safeway this morning. She has been working there for many years so she knows me by now -- it's kinda creepy how grocery store checkout folks know so much about their clientele based on their purchases. I digress.

I don't even know this gal's name, but she is eternally friendly, cheerful and has that "customer service atttude" that never seems to wane... regardless of what crazy, grocery store related dilemmas occur.

Sometimes I miss that job where at the end of your day or shift, you truly leave work behind. In the corporate world, our careers encompasses every aspect of life. No escape... we dream (or have nightmares!) about it, we research ways to be better at it, etc. Most importantly our work affords us the ability to enjoy life outside of the office

I have literally done it ALL in my life so far: waitress (seriously... the. most. stressful. job), pants presser at the dry cleaners, newspaper delivery gal, catering assistant, receptionist, games attendant at Great America, house cleaner, I have even cleaned test tubes before!

I'm proud of my "checkered past" and it does make me appreciate my current career, but there are times when I miss the low stress, low commitment, low brain power situation...

But I also know that given the choice to go back, I wouldn't!!

Ironic

I heard this morning that the "Free Tibet" flags many protesters are waving... were made in China!

Roller Coaster Ride

I'm having a rough morning. After another fun filled weekend, I should be feeling energized and inspired. Instead I feel drained and empty.

I get too optimistic about stuff then when things don't work out... well, let's just say I don't deal well with disappointment. When I want something, I typically get it... usually I get what I want by working hard, persevering, drive, discipline, etc.

With the situation I'm in currently, I have no control of anything that happens. I have given the controls to my doctors, I've cut out caffeine and alcohol, started eating healthier than ever and I pop vitamins like crazy. What else can I do?

The waiting game

Looks like my eggs are happy as can be, comfy cozy, hanging out in my ovaries for now. I am thinking I may as well move into the Reproductive Science Center as the new instructions are for me to come back tomorrow if I get a positive OPK reading and Wednesday no matter what. As if I have nothing better to do! Don't people work?!? Cause really this stuff ain't cheap. I pay a copayment each visit and the costs are starting to add up - thank goodness insurance is covering 95% of treatment cost!

I tell all my friends with kids trying to figure out what to do with their lives.... get into the fertility industry -- there is MONEY to be made, my friends.