A bit more than a quick hello

I actually have more to write home about than usual in update. In part because its been a month or more since my last post and additionally because I have been socializing a wee bit more. What?! Who Me?! Yes, me!!

As previously mentioned every two weeks I have been going to the salt cave with Wendy. We listen to the primordial sea and nap together under twinkling star lights before enjoying a little Thai (Spice-less for me) Ill bend ever two weeks and enjoy some rice. It makes me chuckle to know I have found my token Asian friend at the office. *momentarily trailing off in history*

Sweet Grace. I have carried her memory (and a card she gifted me) ever since Phoenix. Anyway, I know I have mentioned that the caves seem to be truly therapeutic to my system. To add further support to that claim, I have not seen any signs of Bronchitis developing this year as is typical.

A few weeks ago, Wendy asked me to join her at the Ice Bar at Shelborne Museum. The museum consists of some actual historical buildings from around the state have been transported there and are amid the main exhibits. A church, a round barn, the Ticonderoga ship (the likes of which, that when I board, I immediately shift (time spiral) into visions of a prior lifetime, a covered bridge and more adorn the property which was lit up with a variety of lights. At either end of the half mile stroll, were food trucks and a bar serving hot drinks. With the price of admission you got two drink tokens and two meal tickets. It was a decent little set up although it was a little chilly with temps hovering around 24 degrees and most of our time was spent standing in lines. We also were not allowed into any of the buildings which seemed a shame. Anyway, location gripes aside, there was the company. Wendy and I morphed into Wendy, her brother in law (who did the driving), Charles ( another coworker who joined us at our last game night) and myself on account of a ticketing mix-up that ended up with me purchasing 4 tickets. Charles is, by all intents and purposes, Wendy's work bestie. He is good company... in any weather. His congenial ribbing and general vibe remind me of my cousin Josh and we jive comfortably. I enjoyed the bone numbing stroll through the evening greatly. There was, however, a air of heartbreak among us. Word had come down that the company had reallocated their budget which meant that Wendy was transferred from Training to Call Center. It felt like a demotion despite level pay. It felt personal and would take her a few days to process that it was not personal. Anyway, the evening out was well timed and my flub with the tickets proved rather fortuitous. We were there to help her contend with her grief (for lack of a better word) and we were the perfect group to provide her with a little gentle attitude adjustment.

The day after that, was the company Holiday Party. It was different from my idea of holiday party, in that it was themed (neon 80s) and there was not white elephant exchange (thank heavens!). Wendy dressed to the 9's. Hot pink sparkly sequence Hot Pink dress and matching shoes. She embraced the material girl vibe. Lordy, that girl likes her shoes. I went as... well... generally as myself. To this day, I still rock the jean shorts and tights look. The only thing to really bring out the 1980s in me would have been my Surfing, Morris the Cat or Megadeth tee shirts. We were still with our eyes on Wendy, however, I missed the best moment when someone asked her if she was drunk and like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she exclaimed "I am NOT" and her hand opened and the glass dropped. It was decided then that there was not going to be any afterparty entertainment for her and we all trailed off home.

And here is were I digress momentarily, to say that the 80s music played at the party really sucked. This led me down a nostalgic rabbit hole of sorts. I remember enjoying music in the 80s. But was the music i used to listened to just as bad as what was played? What did I listen to? The 80s was a long decade because it encompassed so much growth and change for me and my musical exposure and tastes reflect that.

1980- I turned 7 that year and we lived in Vancouver Washington. .. You know this topic needs its own post... I'm going to get back to the story at hand. The more immediate past.

At the party there was a photo booth. I got some in with Melissa and Brian.. both call center coworkers. Mellissa and I will actually be working more closely with each other on a couple of different projects. One comes from Charles in the training dept who has organized us into small teams dedicated to to improve call quality and increasing of upsells. And the other project has to deal with calling customers about a recall and organizing shop visits. The project is immense and is what Wendy (and a few others) has mostly been contending with since her shift over. Brian.. well.. I obtained one of the many bottles of fireball he was toting. He didn't need it any. Ill probably gift it back to him. What can you do? I have an open invitation to hit him up for a night out, I cant keep up and I would not want to try. But otherwise hes a good guy.

In other office news, the tide changed on my poor dinosaur.

The skirmish was brief. Herb Ivore's heart began to race wildly at the sight of the soldiers... armed as they were. Every nerve awake to their presences. They advanced a foot. Herb fell over. Dead from a heart attack.

His peaceful grass loving nature was ill prepared for such excitement.

Little did he know that the soldiers were there to establish a base in-support of his Peaceful cousin.. Yoshi over on the other surface. (at least that's the rumor)

I have not even talked about home yet and the things going on there. But I have spent more than enough time writing away this morning. I have errands to run and chores to do. Sooo.. a stroll down memory lane is brewing as well a home update. and will post again soon. Im officially on vacation and playing a wicked game of catch up.