.:: y'om say'n? word. ::.

.:: Friday, June 30, 2006 ::.

hurray!! starting tonight at midnight, smoking will be banned in all colorado bars and restaurants! that was one of the few negatives about living out here. it still throws me off when the hostess at a restaurant asks us "smoking or non?" huh? now we don't have to worry about that anymore! no more nasty smokers at the bar, no more leaving the restaurant smelling like you just smoked 2 packs, and no more silly questions from the hostess. ppl keep going on and on about how it will impact business, but you know, a lot of other states have this ban and their businesses are doing just fine. so get over it and go smoke your cancer stick outside!

:: joyce 5:31 PM [+] ::
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yesterday we went on our first hike in the rocky mountains! i was able to talk W out of attempting our first fourteener, cuz the thought of hiking up a mountain that is over 14k feet above sea level did not sound like a good idea to me. from what i had read, they sounded like fairly moderate to difficult hikes for more advanced hikers. plus, there's snow on the mountains at that elevation, and we don't have snow shoes!

so instead, we decided to try an easy to moderate hike just west of colorado springs, the catamount trail in green mountain falls. the entire trail is on one giant piece of pikes peak red rock! the drive from colorado to green mountain falls was very scenic, with lots of exposed red rock along the highway. we got there just after 9am and parked the car where the road begins to get to the trail (it's a private unpaved road with lots of really cool houses). i didn't think i'd make it to the trailhead, since the initial 0.8 miles uphill was enough to wipe me out! talk about being out of shape. you add that with the thinner air here and it's not a good combination!

we got to the trailhead and made our way up the side of the mountain. it was pretty rigorous, and i had to stop a few times to catch my breath. the views were breathtaking though. after about an hour of that, we got to a flat(ter) area right next to the "garden of eden meadow" with lots of butterflies and lush trees and flowers. we couldn't tell how far we were from the end of the trail, but after an hour and half of hiking, we decided to turn around and head back. a very good idea after W noticed the dark clouds off in the distance, making its way slowly toward us.

thankfully we made it back to the car, without getting stuck in some freak thunderstorm (we get sudden thunderstorms in the afternoons during the summer here), no mountain lion, bear or rattlesnake sightings, and still in one piece! although i felt like my knees were about to pop. all in all, it was a lot of fun (after i got over my anxiety of being followed by a mountain lion or attacked by a bear...the website we were reading said to bring bear spray!). we ended our first colorado hike with a great meat at the mucky duck, where i feasted on bacon and avocado eggs benedict! so good! here are some pictures...



for more pics we took on the hike, find them here

:: joyce 6:25 PM [+] ::
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i think i need to find a new job. things aren't looking so promising at work.

on tuesday, they announced that they were closing 3 of our offices. that leaves 2. luckily, we were one of the lucky 2, not the unlucky 3. well, not so lucky afterall. now the 2 offices are expected to do the work of 5, and then some. i fist thought, "great! more opportunities for me to choose from!" well, they made 2 new teams so far, but all they did was diassemble an existing team, throw some of their people in the new teams, and then mixed up our existing teams to add to the new teams. and move some other ppl to replace the existing team members moving to the new teams. i know, all a big confusing mess. basically, they haven't created any jobs, and we're losing 2 of our teammates and getting 2 new ppl for no apparent reason.

but today was what really ticked me off. when i accepted this job, i knew they were planning to get rid of my position, as ALS is moving to a paper-less system. but they had no time frame, and apparently have been talking about doing this for years. well, it looks like september is when the whole plan will be rolled out. so i basically have til the end of august to figure out where i'm gonna go, if there are even any positions for me to go to. the thing is, there are 21 other ppl in my position in the same boat, and i highly doubt there will be 22 positions created for us. and then me and my partner had to sit thru an hour and a half long training session talking about the new workflow process. none of this info included us, so why were we forced to waste our time? and they had pictures of the new offices they built in nebraska where they hired a ton of people to do our jobs, basically. the thing that really got to me was when the trainer lady kept going on and on about how happy the ppl in mumbai, india are for giving them these jobs (yes, they're hiring off-shore, can you believe this??), and how they're all living so wealthy with maids and cooks and drivers...what?! who the hell cares? they're taking our jobs! jobs away from americans, working for american companies! she went on to explain how indians don't have checking accounts, so they don't know the difference between a bank statement and a pay stub. okay, is this really gonna help the company save money if the ppl processing your loans don't know if they're looking at a pay stub or a bank statement? makes no sense to me. whatever. my boss is doing her best to try to keep us, but if there are no positions, what can she really do? i'm covering my ass, that's all i know. i'm looking for a new job. but if something should come up at ALS by the end of august, i might stick around.

the thing that bothers me most about all this is the fact that they're getting rid of us to hire new ppl in india. it just seems like more and more companies are moving their operations abroad. why doesn't the american gov't see this and do something about it? is it fair that americans are out of work, competing for jobs with ppl in other countries, working for american companies??? i just don't get it.

:: joyce 5:13 PM [+] ::
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holy smokes! this girl is pretty nuts, but i'm impressed! maybe i'll knit a porsche carrera GT3 RS for W...hehehe. altho i'll have to learn how to weld first.

:: joyce 12:10 PM [+] ::
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it was a "cool" 85 today. yesterday it was over 100. and supposedly july and august are our hottest months. greeeeaaaat...can't wait! :P

but you'd never know how hot it was if you worked in my office building, they have no troubles cranking the AC on high and forcing us to wear sweaters at work!

:: joyce 6:09 PM [+] ::
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this past weekend we got to see what la junta was all about. and it wasn't much...

we had our 3rd NASA event at la junta raceway, which is part of la junta airport that they converted into a little track. i had heard it wasn't much, so i didn't have very high expectations. but man, this was just sad.

so remember my control tower at miller?? here's my control "trailer" at la junta:


this was the old control tower...reminds me of something from a horror flick:


overall, we still had a good time. it was a small group, and by sunday afternoon, we had maybe a dozen cars left. it was also a small track, only 1.6 miles! W graduated to the next class, so he's now in HPDE 3! yea! the cool part about being in 3, aside from the cars being faster, is that you can get a transponder and record your best lap times! and it was really hot (in the upper 90's), but thankfully that trailer had AC! the town of la junta (and all the little towns on the way there) were nothing pretty. i don't know how or why ppl live out there. i understand it's cheap, but geez, i think they're living below the poverty level. but we did find a really great radio station out of pueblo, hot 95.5, that played "old school and new cool." they're calling bobby brown and whitney houston old school. man i feel old.

i'm so exhausted.

:: joyce 6:04 PM [+] ::
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three shows to keep me entertained this summer:

1. entourage - season 3...yay for HBO!
2. so you think you can dance - not the greatest, but still quite intertaining.
3. last comic standing - there are some really talented comics out there!

i'm addicted to cheddar and sour cream flavored baked lays. i've recently discovered cheddar and sour cream baked ruffles, baked cheetos and baked nacho cheese doritos. all the YUM without the guilt! nice.

:: joyce 7:30 PM [+] ::
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this just in...feto is on his way! a day shy of his due date (yes, 6/6/06, can you believe it??). it really just seems like yesterday L called to share the good news. it was just after we moved to denver metro. and now he's here! almost. crazy.

and it has recently been called to my attention (by hubby) that i talk in my sleep. hehehe...loud enough to wake him in the middle of the night. hehehe...

:: joyce 6:57 PM [+] ::
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i seriously don't know what's wrong with me. it's been 2 months, and already i'm bored of my new job. why can't i just find something and be happy with it?? the thing is, i don't know if i even want to be an underwriter! it doesn't sound that fun to me. it just sounds really stressful! sure, they make really good money, but at what price?! i dunno...i don't want to be a quitter, so i'm gonna stick it thru as long as i can, and hopefully find something else that might be interesting (claims? appraisal review? something non-mortgage related???). i guess the hard part is having such a fun team and a dream boss. those are really hard to come by, so i know i'm lucky in that department.

i just want to make a lot of money. hmph.

:: joyce 8:37 PM [+] ::
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