Beer, food, and a declined phone call

Last night, I invited my intern to a beer and food event. He loved it. I had a great time, too. The company was welcomed.

I drove him home. We get along well. It was around 9 pm and I didn't want him to take public transit when I could easily drive him home.

While we were talking and driving, my cell phone rang. It was my ex-guy.

I immediately declined his call. I wasn't ready to take it. I didn't want to take it.

I don't know why he wanted to talk to me. He didn't leave me a voice message.

Weird. I am relieved that he didn't leave a message.

I do wish that he'd stop contacting me. He obviously can't take a hint that I want nothing to do with him. He broke my heart. I have nothing to say to him.

These days, things are good. I am finally in a good place.

Phone chats should not be a part of an agenda!

The new guy in my life had an "agenda" request yesterday. He wants to talk on the phone with me every morning. I gently let him know that conversations should be natural and spontaneous. They shouldn't be scheduled and treated like business meetings!

I appreciate that he wants to talk with me and enjoys our chats, but it becomes overkill doing it daily. Besides, who wants to talk to me first thing in the morning when I am barely functioning and trying to get out the door in one piece?!

He's funny in his own way. Getting to know each other is going well. He listens and trusts me. It's good.

Early starts tire me out faster

The great perk about starting my workday at 7 am is that I can quit early.

The downside is that I'm tired. I should be in bed now.

I am nearly packed for my trip this weekend. I still feel like I have forgotten to pack something, though.

Trip,Tuesday, and tired

I need to start getting ready for a brief jaunt down to the Twin Cities. I have somewhat packed, but I'm missing a few items.

This week, I only have Tuesday to work from home. I need to get my packing done after work. It's a busy time releasing software out to customers. I have a writer who is taking over some of my responsibilities. We'll see how she does.

I do have plenty to say, but I'm tired. I'll save it for another day.

Take care, everyone!

Pillow and devastating news

I sleep with a pillow under my knees. It helps with my back.

For the past week, the filling from this pillow was coming out. It is an old pillow. It has seen better days.

On Sunday, I went to get a replacement. It doesn't have to be an expensive pillow. It simply needs to support my knees.

I found one at a local store. It was $6. It was a great find.

After running a few errands and then coming home, I learned that Kobe Bryant, along with his daughter and everyone else on his private helicopter, had passed away from the helicopter crashing down. It was devastating news. May Kobe and everyone on that plane rest easy.

It makes you realize how precious life is and to cherish it more than we do.

Weather forecast lost its accuracy on lunar new year

Weather forecasts are interesting. As of late, they have been accurate.

On Saturday, we were expecting a mix of rain and snow. I decided to get all my errands done on Friday and take it easy at home on Saturday.

One in a while, the weather forecast is off. It was on Saturday. I didn't see any snow.

I hope to get out on Sunday. There is supposed to be snow in the afternoon. We'll see!

I did spend some time cooking and catching up with things at home. It all worked out.

Happy lunar new year!

It's lunar new year! May it be happy, healthy, and wondrous.

It's raining a ton outside. It has been for hours. We have rain and snow advisories. Fun!

Have a great weekend and stay safe.

Surprise text full of honest, sweet thoughts

The man in my life is sweet and mushy. He poured his heart out in a text last night to me. It was poignant.

He had said that he can't write a novel. He proved himself wrong. It was nice and I woke up wiht a smile on my face reading it.

It's nice to feel loved again. To feel like someone out there cares and is genuinely sweet.

Getting rid of dry roses

When it was almost Valentine's Day nearly a decade ago, my ex-guy brought me a dozen roses. I loved the sweet gesture. I had the roses dried. They remained in a nice vase, on my desk, ever since.

A few days ago, I threw them away. It was time. It felt good.

I never got fresh flowers from him. It was a one-time deal. I suppose that's why I kept the roses for so long. I wanted to hold on to that special time.

I decided to let that special time go. The memories are fond, but they need to stay that way.

New love - pacing it

I have been chatting with a guy online for three weeks. It has been great getting to know each other.

He told me that he is falling in love with me. That's sweet. It's nice to feel loved again. The feeling is mutual.

We are taking things slow. We are similar in that we got our hearts broken. It's a question of trusting that we can love and find love again. So far, we are doing great.

My friend, elephants, and a case

My colleague and friend returned home to be with her mom, who was sick, in late November of last year. My friend has been away from work for nearly two months. Her mom is doing much better.

On Monday, my friend returned to work. She got me a present. I let her know quietly that she shouldn't have. She got me a cute bag with elephants on it. She knows that I love elephants. It was thoughtful and sweet of her.

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered a case for my cell phone. Last week, it arrived. I ordered it in rose gold. I got a grey and green one. Obviously, my order was messed up.

I tried putting the case on my phone. It fit. The problem was that the volume keys were on the other side of the case. I basically could not use my phone with this case on.

I contacted support on how I could return the item. The company refunded my money and said that I could keep the case. It was generous, but what do I do with a phone case that it useless to me?

I didn't know what phone model this case was for. It certainly was not for a Google Pixel 2XL.

I brought this case into work. I asked my friend whether it would fit her iPhone 8 Plus. It was like Cinderella's slipper, but for a phone. It fit! I gave it to her. She was happy. So, I was I to have her back.

Staying at home all weekend and getting free food to cook

I have been at home all weekend. The snow has ended at long last. All is well.

I got free food from Goodfood for a week on Sunday. All fresh ingredients to cook various meals are included. I look forward to cooking and trying out these recipes.

I should go to bed. I have enjoyed sleeping in all weekend. Sadly, I won't be able to sleep in until this upcoming weekend.

Grammar matters, especially being tied up

I enjoyed this post on Facebook from Grammar Pants:

Wow, Debbie!

Snowy Saturday to come

It's the weekend! In a few hours, my area will be hit with yet another winter storm.

Roughly 15 cm of snow is expected to fall throughout the day. I will be hibernating. I'll be doing a bit of writing, watching some TV, cooking, and chilling.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Dating and falling in love

Getting to know someone through texts is going surprisingly well right now. It requires some effort, but it has been pretty enjoyable getting to know each other.

He told me that he is starting to fall in love with me. We have been texting daily for nearly two weeks now. It's nice that we have feelings for each other. He's a decent person and we are taking it slow.

I like not being under any pressure. I like that our conversations evolve naturally. We think of each other often.

It's all about taking it at a comfortable pace. It's good.

Figure it out!

I worked from home on Wednesday. I realize that a number of my colleagues can't figure out things on their own. They simply ask questions and hope that someone like me will hand them these answers on a silver platter.

I am tired of this mentality. I figure out answers on my own. Why can't they do the same thing?

My manager is a part of this group. He can't do work himself. It is that part of management that I don't want to aspire to. I don't want to look or be incompetent.

Anyway, that's my little rant. I'm off to bed, hoping that Thursday will be happier and far more promising.

Being kind at the luggage carousel

Roughly a couple of weeks ago, I flew into Minneapolis airport. I was waiting for my lone piece of luggage at the baggage carousel.

A few feet away from me was an older woman. She saw a red suitcase, and tried to flip it or look at it. It was getting away from her. The luggage was heading in my direction.

"Is that yours?" I asked her.
"I thought it was, but it doesn't have a tag like mine does," she replied.

Moments later, another red suitcase had arrived in front of this woman. She checked and it got away from her.

"How about that one?" I asked her.
"That one is mine," she said. "I'll wait for it."
"I've got it," I said.

I pulled it off the carousel.

"Thank you so much. Bless you," she said.
"You're welcome. It was good timing. Here comes my luggage," I said.

I got my luggage. I wished her a good day. She reciprocated.

It's good to be kind. It's also nice to help others and brighten their day.

Dating again and observations

I'm so rusty with the dating scene. I haven't done it since 2011. I am taking it slow. It has been a learning experience.

The guy that I have been chatting with as of late takes some coaxing to open up. I realize that I am such a natural conversationalist in comparison.

So far, things are clicking. One day at a time. I remind myself and have told him that I'm not in a rush to do anything or to get to some major stage. He respects that. I'm pleased.

Thoughts about dating and double-standards

I was wrong. The guy whom I've been chatting with online as of late resurfaced online. He said that he was out with friends.

I feel like there's such a double-standard already. He put the guilt trip by saying that I am busy with work. Meanwhile, he decided to not respond to anything for an entire day. It didn't exactly bug me that he didn't. We have lives. I just don't like the guilt trip that he did.

The other odd thing about this man and online dating is why does he insist on getting a photo of me. My profile pic is good enough. I don't do selfies. I find them superficial. Why insist? It's not my style and I should not be pressured to take a selfie just to appease someone who doesn't have a clear profile picture of himself to begin with.

I feel like I should stick to being single. Dating is far too complicated and annoying.

Fizzled chat

I think that my recent chat with a potential dating interest has fizzled. I'm oddly not upset by it.

On Friday, he said that I am always busy with work. I pointed out that it could be a potential problem. He took an early retirement. Already, his remark made me feel guilty for not being available for him.

I need to work. There are bills to pay. I am not at the stage for early retirement. Deal with it.

He apologized. I text him while I break at work. It doesn't seem like it's enough.

We have not chatted since I sent him messages on Saturday morning. He has seen my messages. He never responded to any of them.

It's better that we stop now, rather than getting serious and realizing that our career phases are out of sync.

Aging Mac mini

My Mac mini is acting up again. I haven't been able to boot it up for a couple of days. It is a decade old.

Luckily, I have a MacBook Air that still works. Frankly, both device are getting up there in years. I just don't feel like shelling out money to replace the Mac mini. My MacBook Air functions just fine that I still think it has a few years of good use.

I'll probably spend the the weekend troubleshooting. Right now, I need sleep.

Dating and chatting online

I have been chatting online with a man who took the first step to communicate with me. It has been good on the whole. He is one of a handful of folks who saw my profile picture change. Social media is interesting.

The downside? It would be a long-distance relationship with this man. He lives in the States. I'm here in Canada. I'm not sure if I am ready to go through that again. My ex-hubby and I had spent three years living apart before we got married. It does work, but it requires effort, hard work, and communication.

This man seems nice and grounded. We are in chatting mode these days. Our schedules don't sync that well, but we do manage to exchange messages throughout the day.

It's different. It's weird being back into the dating scene. I kind of miss verbally talking to people, though!

Profile photo change and its aftermath

I recently changed my profile photo on a social site. I don't make this change often.

I have been getting a number of nice messages from men. They like my smile. They say that I'm beautiful. They want to talk to me.

It's flattering. It sounds like I made the photo change on a dating site, but that's not the case. We'll see what happens.

Missing detail from my previous post

Just a follow-up post.

I appreciate the comments that have come in. I do need to mention a detail that makes sense to those who have been following along for a while.

My ex-guy and I work for the same company. That's how we met -- at work.

He sent me his e-mail using his work account to my work account. Simply blocking him can be done, but it's unprofessional. Our departments work together now and again.

The consensus is to ignore his e-mail. It reinforces what I have been doing for months, which is reassuring.

Thanks to all who provided helpful, meaningful feedback.

My ex-guy wrote to my work e-mail account - respond or ignore

It has been over two weeks since I checked my work e-mail. I returned to work on Monday and had 100 e-mail messages waiting for me in my inbox.

Oh, joy.

One of them was from my ex-guy. He sent me a message using my work account. How charming.

He wished me a happy, prosperous new year. It seems like a slap in the face considering that he ruined 2019 for me.

Question for you:

I have not responded to his e-mails that he sent to my personal account seven months ago. I am guessing that it is the reason why he has chosen to drop me a line through my work account. Should I respond? Continue to ignore him? Respond with a YouTube music video that explains how much of a jerk he is?

I would like to know what your thoughts are. I could use a different, helpful perspective.

Back to the grind

My vacation is officially over. I head back to work in a few hours.

It's snowing right now. It's pretty and serene.

Home and relaxed

Home. It's good to be home.

As much as I have enjoyed being on vacation, visiting old and new spots, and catching up with a good friend, it always feels good to be back home.

Last night, I had a smooth trip home. The car rental return was fine. I had a decent seat on the plane that was roomy, and I didn't have to speak with border security to have my luggage searched. I even got into a taxi immediately to fetch by car at my workplace.

I'm spending today unpacking, doing laundry, and taking it easy before I had back to work tomorrow.

Packing more than I had expected

My vacation is coming to an end. Later on today, I fly back home.

I have bought more items than I had anticipated. I have spent the last hour packing. I have two stuffed plush Peanuts characters. I think that they should fit in my luggage, but they are so oddly shaped that I'll have to scrunch them in. Otherwise, they may need to be  in my rolling computer bag.

Luckily, I don't fly out until late in the afternoon, so I should be able to sort these details out by then.

Cheeky, handsy photo

I do like this photo of Ansel Elgort with his girlfriend, Violetta Komyshan.

I like his hand placement. It turns me on, even though I am not a huge fan of thongs, especially wearing them.

Travel plans with a good friend while catching up

The other day, I met up with a good friend whom I haven't seen in a decade. We had a good lunch and caught up.

She let me know that once she's retired, she'd like to travel with me. She's ten years older than I am. We have been on vacation together and it feels like one with her. We like the same things. We don't have a cross word to say to each other. We like rooming together. It's good.

I let her know that I'd be around when she's ready. She smiled, which is a silent approval from her.

Even though we don't talk often, it hasn't affected our friendship. It's intact. It still goes on after nearly two decades. It's great.

Happy 2020!

Happy new year! Here's hoping that 2020 will be healthy, joyous, and wondrous for you.

Thanks for your support, especially in 2019 when things were rough for me. It means a lot!