Diaries I Read:
B got his official job offer today. It looks pretty good � nice base salary, nice bonus potential, company car, medical, dental, 401k, the works. Get this: they also offer pet insurance! Who knows how much it costs, but isn�t that funny? I�ve never heard of a company offering that. They also provide �concierge service,� which means that, if B is traveling and we need a plumber or exterminator or something to come to the house, the company will send someone to meet them there. Hmm.
Anyway, he�s pretty excited about it, I can tell. They want him to start on August 30. But here�s where it gets sticky. See, we were supposed to be going on an all-expenses-paid Alaskan cruise in September; he earned it by being a top seller for his company. Obviously, if he leaves his job we don�t get to go on the cruise, which really bums me out. So that means that, if we want to go on a vacation this year, we have to go now. Before he starts his new job. Seeing as we have company until next Tuesday, that gives us a 2.5-week window to take a vacation.
And guess where we want to go.
Europe!
We�d been thinking about planning a European trip for next spring, but if Partyland (PL from now on) happens, we won�t be doing that. Too crazy, too soon. So it�s kind of now or never.
But planning a two-week European trip at the last minute is kind of scary. I don�t know what kind of rates they�ll have for flights or anything. We don�t even know exactly where we want to go � we�re thinking Italy, south of France, Spain, but we have to narrow it down a little bit more than that! I don�t even know where to start. I don�t know if it�s even realistic.
Or we could go on a cruise or something less complicated than Europe. But then, who knows if or when we�ll get another opportunity to go there? Especially if we do PL. Or have a kid.
This is all happening so fast. Just when I think I�ve come to grips with everything that�s going on, something else is thrown into the mix and I just can�t wrap my mind around everything.
Here�s what I think I want to have happen: B and I will go to Europe and have a fabulous time. He�ll start his new job and be happy. I�ll stay at my job until the end of the year so I get my bonus and get to go to the company Christmas party (where they give out even more money than they did at the picnic!). I�ll quit my job, stop taking my birth control pills, have a baby, and live happily ever after.
But that�s way too simple. First of all, I think PL is going to happen. And I think I want it to. That makes things much more complicated. Secondly, I don�t know if I�d �live happily ever after� if that�s all I did was stay home, changing diapers and doing laundry. But it sounded good for a moment.
With everything that�s going on, I cannot concentrate on work today. I�ve been distracted and jumpy all week. It�s only Wednesday. I need it to be Friday. Now.
I�m preoccupied about having the house ready for our company that arrives tonight and getting ready for the party on Saturday. The house is really in pretty good shape, and I�ll have some time after work tonight before they get here, but still. I�m thinking about making beds and vacuuming, not about writing my newsletter stories. As for the party, there�s actually not that much that I could do at the moment � most preparations will have to wait til the day of. But today I do have to go to the party store and order balloons (too bad we don�t own a PL already). I think I�m also going to get a Hawaiian lei headband for Dixie to wear over her collar so she�ll match the party decorations. (Yes, I know I�m a dork.) I also have to call El Pollo Loco (which is providing food for the party) and let them know that we�ll pick up the food at 6:00, not 5:00. And I need to make sure we�ve ordered a keg and that we can get a couple of those cheap boxes of wine.
As you can see, this journal has now turned into a glorified to-do list.
I think I�m losing my mind.
Working at home - Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004
Toronto - Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004
On the way to Toronto... - Tuesday, Nov. 09, 2004
A Good Day - Monday, Nov. 08, 2004
Another letter - Thursday, Nov. 04, 2004