"things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly." francis bacon

So the company I work for is changing owners. Actually, the office I work in is being bought by my manager. There really won't be much difference between now and then. The changes are effective January 1, 2006. I think it's going to be interesting, beginning again. It will be an opportunity to clean up both the electronic files and the hard copy files.
I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated my journal. So much has happened. I've been given even more management status here in the office. That could be both a good thing and a bad thing. It's what I've thought all along-I must learn to delegate. I'm getting better.
Us girls went to San Francisco for the day a couple weeks ago. I finally found a pair of slacks! I don't know what it is, for a long time, I haven't been able to find slacks which fit properly. Usually, they're too big in the waist, but not in the leg. When they fit my waist, they don't fit anywhere else. And even when I get those low-rise style, to get them to fit my thighs, they fall off my hips. Now you are picturing some beastly creature with no waist or hips and huge thighs. You probably have the picture about right. But I found slacks! They're black, which would be great for most, but I use brown as my main color. Most of my daily shoes are brown. So I had to get a pair of silly shoes to go with the pants. I think these pants will turn out to be a mistake, but for now, I have slacks! Now I can look the management part. (Although in this business, jeans are the standard.)
Saturday, my roommate and I went over to Cost Plus for some home goodies. We got a chinese three-lantern floor lamp and a Cote D'Azure 40's travel poster in a frame for the living room. We also got a table kerchief which ties all the colors together. I think the living room looks really good and finished now. I think as we live in it, it will get more personality. We'll eventually get an island for the kitchen, but I think we'll wait till late January for that. (Money talks, it says wait.)
Next, I had the family over for dinner on Sunday. We had chicken piccata, asparagus, and spinache salad. The hors d'hoeurves were: bruschetta, spinache artichoke dip, and garlic/herb cheese spread, all served with thin slices of baguette. To drink we had water, tea, and Pinot Grigio. For dessert, we had homemade brownies with ice cream and homemade fudge sauce. I think everyone enjoyed it very much. It was a good evening.
Well, that will have to do it for now. I've got to get back to work.

"there's no map to human behaviour." bjork

So I finished "How to Remodel a Man", the yoga class was the funniest episode! The author's name is Bruce Cameron. I highly recommend it.
Now it's on to another travel journal. This one is of Italy. I typically enjoy reading travel journals, however this one just isn't as charming as they usually are. I'll probably end up finishing it, though. I'm assured it has a good ending.
When I moved, I discovered I have a vast CD and music collection. Think of an artist, and I probably have at least one song performed pr written by them. I am a singer in a band, there are 10 other bandmembers. We play mostly old rock, like "I Feel Good", "Respect", "Piece of My Heart" etc. There is a guitarist, a bassist, drummer, keyboard, percussion, two trumpets, a saxophone, violinist, and another singer. The other singer sings the male songs. We have so much fun playing together. We haven't gotten together for a while, since we've all gotten too busy and there haven't been any gigs since September. It'd be fun to learn the bass during this break. A friend of mine went in to a music store and found a pink bass guitar for a very good price. Who wants a pink bass but a girl? I thought that was fabulous, not that I'd want a pink bass.
This Saturday is the annual girls' shopping excursion in San Francisco. We always go this time of year to take advantage of the sales. Plus we enjoy San Francisco. (Otherwise, we'd shop around home.) I hope to find a pair of boots or something exotic-looking for the living room....
So there it is. I hope you've had and will have a good week. Chat later!

"there is nothing like staying at home for real comfort." jane austen

Ah, yes, I finally use a Jane Austen quote. I thought I would finally discuss some of the books I have been reading. Lately, it's a book written by the same author as "8 Rules for Dating My Teenaged Daughter". It's called "How To Remodel a Man". I can't remember the author's full name, but his first name is Bruce. It's very amusing. I chose a silly book to read while on vacation. It's a Mary Stewart, "Nine Coaches Waiting". It wasn't untill I was in the ninth or so chapter that I realized I had read it before. I couldn't even remember the ending! It's about a woman who takes a nanny job in France. Of course she falls in love and the end is all good. There are enough twists in it to make one wonder. Usually I can tell the end of a bad book before it's even begun. I finished that book before we started for home, so I began a new book at the airport in Mexico City. I can't seem to remember the name, but it was also about a woman who took a nanny job, this time in London. This book was written fairly recently, so there were more innuendo moments which I would've preferred to have been omitted. It was an interesting enough book for the plane ride, but I wouldn't have read it had I had something more interesting available. It did have a good ending. I do prefer good endings. Reading is a form of escapism to me, so the ending can't be based in reality. What kind of escape would it be if it were too close to reality? None.
I have a lot of books in my reading list. One of them is Tale of Two Cities. Now I know most everyone read that in Junior High, but I never did for some reason. Chalk it up to California schooling, or maybe my own hatred of reading untill the age of 16, I don't know. So that book sits in the basket, ready for reading. But I just can't seem to get over that first "sentence". What kind of classic reading begins with the worst run-on, grammatically incorrect sentence ever?! I must get over it and just read on. Perhaps the second chapter (or sentence, whichever way you look at it) will be better.
Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment-merely a cleaning. I'll have to whip out the floss from my "Great Wall of Moving Boxes" tonight.....Have a good evening!

"when you jump for joy, beware that no one moves the ground from beneath your feet." stanislaw lec

Today during my lunch break I picked up the key to my new place. I dropped of a couple boxes while I was there. My tagine now has a home. The closet is bigger than I remember, but I'm sure once everything is in it, it will vastly shrink.
I need a picture for my lady bug bathroom. And I think I'm going to write some french script on the walls instead of painting them entirely. And I'm not sure about my room yet. My mother made me a quilt-let me tell you the story: the quilt is called Pink Lemonade and Chocolate", comprised of tones of brown and tones of pink. While she was making it, my mother would ask me my favorite fabrics, I would only assume so she could make them more prominent. Well, I think she got the two stacks confused, because you really have to hunt for my favorite fabrics. In short, I hate this quilt, but I can never, ever say that to her because she worked so hard on it. For a while, she was saying it was the hardest and best quilt she'd made to date, which made it even worse. Anyway, she keeps saying I should use it as a bedspread. I've come up with some pretty good excuses so far-my room is green and white, not pink and brown; the quilt is too small for my bed; I'm worried the cat will ruin it, etc. Well now I don't have a cat, my walls aren't green, and there are ways of making the quilt work on my big bed. Hm, to find an excuse which won't tear her heart out. Perhaps I'll just pull it out when she comes, then I don't have to think about it at all! Er, yeah....
So, as soon as the boss gets back from releasing cars to the transporter, I get to leave early! Yay! I better catch up on work, then. Have a great weekend!