the next phase

I do love my job. The project, the people, the commute, the paycheck. Simply everything. I dwell in amazement that I quite literally got everything I wanted with this job.

We all know I am slow when it comes to men, so the fact that I figured this situation out in less than a year is absolutely stellar. There is a man at Disneyland that is interested in me. He isn't some geeky cast-off or short strange guy, which is delightful. The attraction is mutual; however, he is vocal about it whereas I am not. He's got spunk, drive, and confidence, which makes me weak in the knees.

Yesterday he marched into my office while I was speaking with a co-worker and declared, "I need you." The co-worker instinctively scattered like a cockroach citing he didn't need to be around for this conversation. The declaration was only Johnny needed me to help him with an errand but he did so in such a way to deliver two messages with one sentence. Johnny does this a lot. He also finds any reason to be close to me, like millimeters away close. A prime example being that when we left to run the errand, he did not walk ahead of me as he was blocking the aisle way but instead made me brush past him.

Later in the afternoon, I was speaking to a co-worker. Johnny came up behind me, within millimeters once again, his front to my back and placed his face near mine.

Today, again, bright and early he was back at my desk asking me to run an errand with him. Then this afternoon when we were in the desk farm, Johnny was right there next to me with barely air moving between us and of course found an excuse to lean into me.

All this lead me to send Johnny a text after work today inquiring about a cocktail this week. He isn't going to make the first move, that is very clear because while he is very forward, he hasn't pulled the trigger. Only when I provide a bit of encouragement does he then kick it up a notch. For some reason, I need to be the instigator of this grand affair.

And so I did. The text was warmly received and immediately responded to.

The story unfolds and the adventure continues...

unlisted

Last week, I received a weird voice mail on both my office and mobile phones. It was an unsolicited call from a man who explained that he works for a large company and would like to speak to me about networking. Networking?! Seriously? Like any skeptical girl, I ignored the calls. In fact, I was rather disturbed that he had both my office and mobile number since neither is widely available.

Today, I received another round of inquiries from this man. As I was at my desk rushing to leave for an off-site meeting, I answered my desk phone. I hastily agreed to speak with him tomorrow. Later when I listened to my mobile messages, he stated that he would like to speak about my background and employment opportunities with his company. Aha! So that is the point of tomorrow's call.

However, I remain slightly confused as I have not actively searched for a job outside of my company for twelve years. How this man stumbled upon my details baffles me and will certainly be one of my first questions. I am quite flattered though at the fact that I am actually being recruited. Especially now, at a time when so many people are vying for jobs.

It may be nothing. It may be the start of something new and exciting.

spanks of success

I have always know that I am a blessed/lucky woman. For the most part, I have my act together. I can dress myself, have a good eye for color, know what looks best on my curvy figure. There is a brain ticking away upstairs and I possess a good sense of humor. However, what I view as the most important facet of being me is that I am humble.

Life-sucking vampire project is complete. I successfully finished it, even though there were moments I thought it might slay me. I won the well-deserved laurel wreath. As a result of my success, I was given a new position, which was a promotion (although I did not receive any monetary raise that one would think normally comes with a promotion). I was completely thrilled to receive this new opportunity and there are times I catch myself thinking it is dream. However, until this week, I did not realize the colossalness of my new job. It is an entry level executive position of sorts. People have been congratulating me with caveats along the lines of "I have to be super nice to you now because you're important". Me? Little old me. I continue to have a difficult time with those comments.

Every day I pull on my spanks to keep everything in place and slip my dress on over my head, the same as everyone else. The learning curve is significantly steeper than I anticipated. Frustration is running deep and fast because I feel lost. I am constantly reminding myself that I felt the exact same frustration when I started the life-sucking vampire project. This too shall pass, Patsy. I want to be stellar, have happy customers.

I am no one special. I am simply a girl with an unwavering drive to succeed. High hopes for making the new gig as shining super star success like the life-sucking vampire project (with no life sucking this time!).

b and c

some days i simply shake my head and realize how boring my life was when i worked from home. during my work from home time, interaction with my work colleagues was limited to conference calls and messaging. there would be some trips to the client site if necessary but basically colleagues were merely voices in la la land somewhere.


fast forward to today. i am back in an office setting where people are real individuals with eyeballs and not just some mystery voice on the other end of the line. there is no mute button, let alone my favorite muted potty breaks. i do enjoy the office because it gives me a wonderful excuse to buy hordes of shoes and clothes.


but being a clothes horse comes with a price when working with a gaggle of dirty old men. for a glimmering moment one week a month, my push-up bra induced b's become actual c's. it is a cleavage moment i strive to thoroughly enjoy.

so i am wearing a cute empire waist dress that only fits best when the c's arrive. now keep in mind, the cleavage portion of the program is not over the top. they are definitely there but not not overflowing. One of the geezers (a quiet one who I have said hello to every day for months now without receiving a response) lumbered over to my cube, darting his eyes back and forth nervously, hesitantly stating, "Patsy, I don't mean to embarrass you but next time you are bending over at the receptionist's counter, don't bend over quite so far. There were too many men milling around the area." He was blushing. Obviously, he got an unintended eyeful, which really isn't much of an eyeful; however, I truly feel is a product of the fact I am the only woman here under the age of 100 and these geezers have long forgotten what boobies look like outside the confines of a gentleman's club. I graciously thanked him for the head's up and all the while he was blushing.

Goodness, if a spot of cleavage was the talk of the office, what would these old guys say if they knew what I wore when I worked from home! Some days I wish I could be a cockroach in the men's loo to hear what else the oldies say about me. But then again, ignorance is probably bliss.

overwhelmed

I feel overwhelmed... wishing that there were at least two of me. Fiona's post keeps whirling round in my mind... as I am identifying with it to the nth degree.

Too much to do. Not enough time. Yada, yada, yada. As a chick who thrives on stress, even now I have finally found my limits. Limits I never thought I had. Never knew I had. Finding myself dreaming of the day when I no longer have to do this. When I can be working side-by-side with The Southern Gentleman.

Reason #342 that I cannot wait for The Southern Gentleman to take the leap to the next level. now.