i am in a fantastic mood today and have no idea why (the story that follows will explain). it feels great to be back in the office, working my first day of the holiday season and trying to figure out how to get my check card to work so i can buy myself a ticket to guster for tomorrow night (i decided to treat myself--besides, the venue doesn't seem too out of the way, so i can be confident going without getting, like, killed or anything).

i greatly enjoyed my time in vermont, so let me begin with positive, sunny stories. well, maybe not sunny, as it was snowy or rainy for most of my time up north. and COLD! mom was joking that i've become southernized--i say not so much, i'm always cold, but mabye she had a point. not that i'd admit that to her, though...hehehe. so i spent a majority of the time shivering and wearing gloves, huddling under blankets, etc. etc.

i also spent a great deal of the time working, which was pleasant, contrary to what you might think. my fam was working, so i figured that would be a great way to spend time with them, socialize with a bunch of the work people and make money at the same time. why not, right? i can definitely deal with a few shifts there--i walk back in and take hold of the reigns again, as if i'd never left (well, actually, the reigns are handed right over to me, it's amusing), then i go back to my other life. can't complain...

thanksgiving was nice and enjoyable--good to see the fam, good to enjoy a tasty homecooked meal, etc. etc. my aunt always makes my brother this chocolate dream pie that he loves and my grandmother made my father the squash pie he loves, so i jokingly grumbled about how no one ever thinks to make my favorite pie--at which point my grandmother, aunt and mother all looked at me and asked, "hey, what type of pie do you like, anyway???" thanks, loving family!!! my mother finally remembered my love of all things lemon mereingue and avoided a huge guilt trip provided by yours truly. but then i had to assure my grandmother that i don't want a lemon mereingue pie made for me for holiday dinners, as i was only teasing. i've never been a big fan of eating pie for the sake of eating pie--i generally will have a piece of blueberry or apple or something, but i'm never crazy about it. for me, Pie is either cherry (yum), lemon mereingue or warm, homemade apple pie. when it comes to apple pie, i'm a snob. none of the store-bought, thank you very much--except for if it's dutch apple and someone's heated it up. then it can be really tasty. and i keep meaning to try pumpkin pie, but it never happens, for various and sundry reasons...but anyway. too early (and too much time until lunch) to further examine the world of pies...

anyway, the rest of the weekend was enjoyable--was able to catch up with becca and whatnot, which made me happy--and then sunday came and i had to prepare to go home. i worked until noon, then hopped into the car and drove to the mall to continue my search for a pair of jeans. i had been looking for what i thought was an easy pair of jeans to find: dark hipsters with a minimal flare. none of this fancy stuff. no pink piping, no embroidery, no distressing--just jeans. but they were nowhere to be found! so i found myself with two hours to find said jeans, get home, finish packing and be ready to head to the airport when my parents got home.

so i'm at the mall and, lo and behold, i find the jeans. they're great, i look good in them, they have the one acceptable form of distressing (the little crinkly lines on the front where it appears that the jeans wrinkled when you sit down), and best, they're on sale for $19.99. $40 jeans for half the price? it's a sign from the gods that i was right in not buying any other pair. so i go up to the register, deal with the woman who cut in front of me and finally place my jeans on the counter so the cashier can say, "that's $29.99, please."

??? nope, it was on the rack that said $19.99, which i explain to her. she asks me to show her the rack, so i do. and i show her the other jeans of the same style and price that are also on the rack. i'm expecting to get my $20 deal here! but she tells me that they are the jeans on the wall, which are on sale for $29.99. so i inform her that she, or someone else, should really take this huge mass of jeans off the rack that's advertising falsely because they should be $19.99. and i'm fully expecting the typical protocol--that i'll get my deal because i've shown her how it's expected.

but nooooo, she doesn't. and i don't have time to haggle over it or speak to a supervisor because i'm late. so i'm a bitch to her (only slightly, and, as beth put it, "the vickie version of being a bitch") and leave. but i intend to complain!

so then i have a voicemail from beth, saying that she's grocery shopping in rutland, so i head to the store to see if i can find her. i see her as soon as i walk in and we stand, like the cool gals we are, in the produce section and talk for awhile. yay--got to see bethy while i was home!!! so that brought me joy.

then i run home, pack and wait for the folks, who were running late. aurgh. but we pack up the car and head to the airport and chill until it's time for me to head to my gate. i hop on plane, read the first act of "the intention of love" (another stoppard gem), and arrive at bwi. after waiting forever for my luggage, i haul everything through the crowded airport to the bus stop, where a bus should arrive at 9:40.

the 9:40 doesn't show. after my hour of waiting in 26 degree weather (did i mention how i'm always cold anyway?), the 10:20 shows up and opens its doors to a huge mass of really pissed off people. luckily, i got a spot on the bus (granted, standing, but at that point i wasn't complaining) and rode it to the metro. where i hopped onto the train and waited twenty minutes for the metro to start moving. rode it to the stop at which i change lines and waited in the cold for ten minutes for the next train to arrive. i got to my stop on the last train of the night, was told to go to a different exit because the gate was being locked (ok, we pause for a slight tirade. i am lugging two wheeling suitcases, have a backpack on my back, am cold and frustrated. the gate wasn't closed yet. do you think the guy could have let me through? but noooo!), so i have to walk all over the place to get back to my apartment around 12:10. i was ready to cry.

but i got back in one piece and woke up today in a great mood (although exhausted). made myself a cup of my sugar plum spice tea (which i found in vt and LOVE), got ready for work and headed in for the day with a smile on my face and the new live dmb cd (disc 2) playing on my discman. happiness for me.