Yuck.

YUCK. Mylanta is nasty. Really freaking nasty. But hopefully it will cure my stomach ache that I've had since Monday. (Well, off and on since last week to be honest.)

I wonder what's wrong with me? My parents reminded me that I always used to get this way before algebra or geometry tests back in junior high. (Thank goodness I don't have to do those anymore!)

I suppose there is something stressful going on. Haven't put my finger on it yet. I did get stressed out when I managed to spill the bottle of mylanta all over the kitchen counter tonight. Lovely! :)

On a positive note, I had a WONDERFUL day today. One of the best days I have had in months. I'm really happy to be back home.

Friday - YES!!!!

I'm so glad it's Friday. I was given the afternoon off, and this morning looks to be awesome. Breakfast with the old gang, and a tour of the new Hill Country Galleria.

Just knowing I don't have to work today (minus the tour) is liberating. :) Throw in Saturday & Sunday... and no trip to Houston until next Thursday.... life is great!!

Stress Level Rising...

I had a really fantastic weekend.

Friday I went to the Rogue happy hour and saw tons of friends that I haven't seen in a while; then Wiley & I hung out at Wahoo's before heading over the Burnett Road Challenge. My night went from "Quick stop at the happy hour then relaxing night at home" to "I probably should not have had that much to drink, been to that many bars, or allowed cameras in my presence." (Totally worth it, by the way!)

On Saturday I managed to drag myself out of bed and meet Holly for an easy 6 mile run at 5:45am. It was wonderful to run with Holly, and I'm looking forward to getting back into a schedule with her. Next was breakfast with Panther (who had yet made it home from the previous night!) and then errands with Phil. We went to IKEA and I bought a desk and a hot pink desk chair. I finally have my own little office space (set up in the music room), and I am very jazzed about it. (Phil has 3 rooms of his stuff, I had none.)

This morning I went to the Veloway to ride easy and have some alone time. I had a really great ride, and then headed to the H&B to meet Maggie for a run. 30 + 3 miles made for a great workout - I finally felt like I am getting back into the swing of things. Then I got to hang out with Maggie for the rest of the morning.

The thing is, now I have to go to Houston. I have to be in Conroe at 8:30am tomorrow. I will probably end up staying in Houston again on Monday night and heading back Tuesday evening. Once I get to Houston I will be fine, but the process of packing, going by my office, bringing everything for the event tomorrow, and getting some final things done here is really stressing me out. I hate giving up half of my Sunday. I hate feeling this stressed out at only 2:45pm.

This will all pay off in the long run, though. It better.

At any rate, at least I had an amazing/fun weekend until now.

New Addiction

Wiley took this last night... It's true, I have a new addiction. I picked up a Palm Treo yesterday, and now I am permanently attached to work. On that same note, I'm permanently attached to my email. I'm predicting trouble...

Great Great Great Day

Today may have been one of the best days of my professional career. I took on 2 things that I really didn't want to do, and I nailed them both.

I'm pretty damn happy. Thanks for all the well wishes!

Where have I been?

I've been lax in posting... Why?

It is 11:50PM. I just put the final touches on a 2 hour class I am teaching tomorrow.
This is the third night this week that I have stayed up until at least 11:30pm working.
I am about to get ready for bed, in my second hotel room of the week.
Tomorrow I will teach this class to anywhere from 50 to 200 people.
(Guess who speaks after me? The mayor of Houston. Gulp.)

And then.... Then... I will hopefully come back to Austin.

(Only to return to Houston on Sunday.)

The Amazing Race

One of the things I've been working on lately was a brand new adventure race, called the AAFAME Amazing Race. This was a fundraiser for one of my work associations (AAFAME = Austin Association of Facility & Maintenance Engineers). Our goal was to raise $5,000 for the Angelheart Children's Shelter; I'm proud to say that we raised over $6,000!! Not bad for our first year.

The race started at 301 Congress Avenue, and teams of 2 raced around downtown completing fun obstacle checkpoints and mystery checkpoints. This is similar to the Urban Assault Race, except it is on foot, not bike. I am so excited to announce that Tim & Carri won the whole race! Their prize - $500 in travel vouchers. They kicked butt & I am really happy for them.
Here is Mike completing the "wheel barrow" challenge at 816 Congress. Mike & Rob won 3rd place, but forfeited their prize so they could hang out at Barton Springs instead of wait for the awards ceremony. (I wasn't surprised.)
Here is me with Stac, my co-chair for the race. One thing that I love about the various work associations I am in is that I become friends with people I probably never would have met otherwise. This group is filled with guys that would do anything to help you if you needed it - true, kind, wonderful people. I know I have been less than enthusiastic about work lately, but I can never complain about the people I get to work with.
So, overall - a fantastic event. I don't think it could have gone better & I am really excited to do this again next year.