12/31/09

1. Balanced check book and paid bills. I find it satisfying.
2. Inventoried closet to list out gaps in basic items needed. Gaps will be remedied shortly, hopefully.
3. Decided to splurge on some red shoes from Zappos! Red! If they're comfortable, they'll be a delightful pop of color on the peds.
4. Parents came to pick me up from the apartment, no need to take the train go back.
5. Finished knitting fuzzy feet for my mom.
6. Fire lit, family around, ringing in the new year.

12/30/09

1. AJ was back in the office after being at her mom's in FL for over a week. It's nice to have her back and around.
2. Diagnosed and answered a Rich Media ticket pretty quickly.
3. Finally got in touch with a fellow Googler (out on maternity leave) who advised me on braces and Invisalign options.
4. The guy manning the jeans section of the A.P.C. store was really nice and not snobby at all. He even poked a bit of fun at the raw denim purists when explaining the red selvedge thing.
5. Dug out a pair of Citizens for Humanity jeans in my size at Atrium, the one pair of jeans in a dark wash in my size that I found there, that AJ and MG gave a thumbs up to and that I then got for just over 50% off the original price for.
6. Long dinner with AJ and MG to chat about life and gossip about work. I really enjoyed spending time with them tonight.

12/29/09

1. Another pretty light day at work.
2. Got a dentist recommendation from MG, corroborated by Yelp reviews. You can watch TV/movies while getting your teeth cleaned at this place! Appt. next week and I'm actually kind of excited about it.
3. Learned that you don't need a dentist referral to go see an orthodontist, can just call them up and ask about getting a free consultation.
4. Got a library card at the Jefferson Market branch, which is right by the 9th St. PATH station.
5. Found a DVD there that was on my Netflix.
6. Noticed the sign that the membership special for local residents at the nearby gym would be ending in the next couple of days, so signed up and saved $150+ on the enrollment fee. Pretty reasonable monthly fee, too, from the limited research I've done in the past. First time I've signed up for a gym membership!

12/28/09

1. Today, I fought DSM...and won.
2. Only received one call today.
3. Got a drying rack for free because it was a bit rusty and neither she nor I had change for the $10.
4. Redeemed the $9 I won in the scratch-off tickets I got in my Christmas package from Dan's dad.
5. Successfully fixed the tear in the side seams of my mom's pants.
6. Catching up with LW.

12/27/09

1. Waking up with a whole 'nother day before work starts up again.
2. Sunny day today...even though I didn't go outside at all, it made me feel better to see stronger sunlight than we've had in a bit.
3. Getting going again with a knitting project (felted slippers for my mom...that were requested last year).
4. Watching a Doctor Who episode (Planet of the Dead) from Netflix.
5. Spending the afternoon on the couch with Dan, watching football.
6. Catching up with EN and DC over the phone.

12/26/09

1. Not being really behind for once when Dan came to pick me up to get back to JC.
2. Accomplishing suburban-area errands quickly.
3. Setting up the little things from BBB to get things comfortable: hooks, handtowel racks, etc.
4. AL and SP being our second set of official guests to the apartment.
5. Got pictures up for beef noodle stew recipe.
6. That German guy in Inglourious Basterds.

12/25/09

1. Sitting down with some good old HP7.
2. Dim sum for lunch.
3. Seeing Gran really happy that we all went to see her.
4. Getting stuff for beef noodle stew and meat sauce at Asian grocery store.
5. Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes exceeded expectations. Excellent fun.
6. Opening presents around the tree.

12/24/09

1. Delicious 'Indian' bread and fried tofu at Malaysian-Chinese restaurant.
2. Feeling revitalized after showering. I very well could have napped away the entire afternoon otherwise.
3. Setting up my old laptop to transfer files to the new laptop. I'm not sure this worked fully, but you know, first step.
4. Light lines at Target and Bed Bath & Beyond.
5. Finding the coveted set of nested mixing bowls at Kohl's, right before they closed the doors.
6. Spending the evening working on a puzzle with my sis while watching Night at the Museum.

12/23/09

1. Felix (one of the doormen) quite enjoyed getting the plate of cookies, I think.
2. Though it was really busy with so many people out, clients were still really very nice and a pleasure to work with. My job is so much better now.
3. Beat the Easy level of Abduction multiple times on the PATH train home.
4. Getting JR's Christmas card and LW's Christmas present in the mail.
5. Getting ready to leave the apartment much more quickly than expected.
6. Wonderful, hilarious time at SP's Festivus gathering. High school classmates I haven't seen in years, getting to know one of them's extraordinary fiancé, and hanging out playing Quelf.

12/22/09

1. Even better potato pancakes at breakfast this morning.
2. Told my boss' boss about how I really do not want our work to head in the direction of being Sales again.
3. Wrote up a generic response on using FlashVars to handle over-long URL paths for .swf files.
4. Coming home to an unpacked apartment.
5. The chocolate chip cookies for the doormen turned out quite well, very prettily cracked.
6. Crushed Dan in Scrabble...296 to 295.

12/21/09

1. Potato latkes and scrambled eggs at breakfast today.
2. Fascinating peek into the world of engineers at the Lunch&Learn today. We should remember to give them more credit for having good intentions.
3. All meetings scheduled today went really quickly.
4. Got a peer bonus for a project I've been working on on the side.
5. Random guy outside a Hoboken bar gave us two tickets to use the Light Rail to bring the chair frame back to Newport.
6. Despite the perversities of NJTransit, we made it home with the chair and our relationship intact.

12/20/09

1. Dan went out in the cold to get groceries.
2. Found places for most of the knick knacks and tchotkes. Bulk of the stuff left is 'things that go on the wall.'
3. Made Meyer lemon-cranberry scones for dessert, with some left over and frozen for tea snacks some time. If I ever live in a place with mild weather and a yard, I'm definitely getting a Meyer lemon tree.
   
4. Had MG and AM over for dinner, our first official guests to the apartment.
5. MG brought over the stuff I left at her apartment from getting ready for the holiday party. I didn't know how much I'd miss all that random non-essential stuff in my purse.
6. I'm just so happy with how the apartment looks unpacked and furnished.
   

12/19/09

1. Picked up the cushions for the chair from Hoboken just before it started to snow in earnest.
2. Unpacked all boxes! All boxes have been put away!!
3. Dan vacuumed the apartment. Gross gray dustballs, begone.
4. Set up items purchased from BBB the other night, the kitchen shelves make dealing with plates and bowls so much easier.
5. Hung up some sheer gold curtains (formerly EN's, actually, that I grabbed from her 'I'm spending a year in Turkey' giveaway and then hung onto for over a year) to frame the big windows in the living, warms it up a bit.
6. Rediscovered the goat hair rugs we got for really cheap in Hassankeyf, Turkey and laid them down in the living room. One fewer item to be hunting craigslist for.

12/18/09

1. Lunch outing with work colleagues to the new, flagship Chipotle up a couple blocks from us.
2. Pretty light work day overall (excellent for all of us getting by on 6 hours of sleep or so).
3. Bought movie passes from work and got the last 2 Gold (good for new releases) tickets they had.
4. Excellent time at the Kevin Pollak show at Comix with Dan, my mom, and my sister, particularly with the Canadian opener, Steve Patterson.
5. Wasn't too difficult to fulfill the 2-drink minimum at said show, I got a delicious hot chocolate and some mint tea.
6. Finished The Girl Who Played With Fire. It's a shame he didn't get the chance to write more novels. Now to get the last one, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest.

12/17/09

1. Got clients assigned to me, hooray.
2. Interesting 1:1 with my manager about managing at Google.
3. Got The Girl Who Played With Fire from MG.
4. Got a lot of compliments on my handmade dress.
5. Potential new regular drink, courtesy of SK: ginger ale + Malibu
6. Awesome, awesome dancing at the holiday party--these teams can party!

12/16/09

1. Grabbed a bunch of good tickets to work on (these kept me busy until Friday, pretty much).
2. Interesting team meeting discussing potential OKRs (objectives and key results) for next quarter. My previous team never asked us for our input like this, thumbs up current team.
3. Went to see and decided to buy that cute reading chair I've been coveting off of craigslist.
4. Made usually soba noodle meal (poached eggs, soba tsuyu) with udon noodles instead and was just as satisfying.
5. Made the first big trip to Bed Bath and Beyond and got a bunch of sorely needed items: kitchen shelving, trash cans, etc.
6. Put together an outfit for the holiday party with the red infinity dress I made last year for the play MB set designed and EN costume designed. Felt particularly clever about the wide belt to hide up the fraying middle band section.

12/15/09

1. Return to hot breakfast at work (I didn't get it yesterday because needed to fast for blood drawing at the doctor's).
2. Morning completely free of meetings so just open for steady work.
3. Got help from different sources to address client questions.
4. After work happy hour was fun, at the Fat Cat on Christopher St., which has pool tables as well as Scrabble and chess sets at their tables. Dorky bar? We're all over that.
5. Even though I was out in Manhattan until past 9, I got home by 9:30. I won't be over this convenience for awhile, I suspect.
6. Got the last parts to my birthday/Christmas gift from EN, which included: the notepad w/ pen set I've been coveting since I saw hers, refills for said notepad, pink wristwarmers so we can save money on our heating bill, and a SPACE PEN. Best gifts ever.

12/14/09

1. MG back from her trip to Thailand!
2. Finally made it to the doctor, who was just as efficient and nice as the colleague recommendations said she'd be.
3. Munched on MG's holiday gift to colleagues of peppermint/caramel/coconut bark, mmm.
4. Got to know AF (recent transfer from MTV team) a bit more at lunch, she seems really funny and nice and self-admittedly has no filter, which is pretty much exactly what I look for in people (though I can be sensitive at times, I prefer getting feelings hurt to ever feeling like stepping on eggshells to guess at what someone else really thinks/feels).
   
5. Got a coffee table and side table for me to use a nightstand, transported by seller with his car.
6. Overall the apartment is looking like it's coming together! Just a couple more boxes to unpack, mostly decorative stuff, and then various small touches that can be done over time.
   

12/13/09

1. The man we bought a lamp from off a craigslist was extremely nice and threw in a random side table he'd picked up a couple streets over.
2. Stopped at Trader Joe's on the way back--how I've missed you! Really, it was so comforting.
3. Stopped at Mitsuwa as well, picked up a few Asian food staples.
4. Found an armchair on craigslist for only $10.
5. Dan found Honey Bunches of Oats on massive sale, 4 boxes for $6.
6. Made beef noodle soup for dinner even though I didn't really have the right cut of meat, just because I was so determined to have it after such a miserably rainy day.
   

12/12/09

1. Got dropped off at our JC apartment by my dad, no need to mess with the trains!
2. Brunch in bed, courtesy of Dan.
3. Lazed around in the afternoon watching TV.
4. Ordered in Thai food for dinner, which wasn't too expensive.
5. Joined Dan in his revisiting of Alias season 1. What an excellent show it was, in the beginning.
6. Fell asleep quite quickly, so the red-eye flight back and sleeping in after that didn't screw up the sleep schedule too much.

12/11/09

1. Met some very nice Canadians on our limo over to the helicopter tour (which was canceled, alas).
2. Mom had a good time at the Mac King comedy show.
3. Had a delicious (virgin) pina colada as my free drink with ticket purchase.
4. Our waitress at the California Pizza Kitchen in the airport was really cheerful and pleasant.
5. Picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which fulfilled its killing time until the flight purpose extremely well.
6. Our seats on the airplane were pretty close to the front, easier to get off quickly.

12/10/09

1. Blue, blue skies.
2. Mom being impressed with the Hoover dam. Also, courtesy of my sister: 2 fish are swimming around. 1 runs into a concrete wall. Dam!
3. Lake Mead cruise tour, cute red paddler and nice vistas of the Black Canyon.
4. Getting to a grocery store and buying bottled water. I am sorry about the plastic but I can't get over the (Asian) family aversion to tap water. Filtered is ok and for the most part, tap at restaurants too, since I don't need to see the water being filled from the faucet. Weird, I know.
5. Talking my mom into probably doing a helicopter tour to the Grand Canyon tomorrow.
6. Received news at work of a pretty big presentation for me to do next quarter!

12/9/09

1. Breakfast at random 'diner' in Newark airport was actually pretty decent
2. Learned all the crazy yet hilarious things my dad's relatives have done to each other while waiting for takeoff.
3. Flight passed by pretty quickly and smoothly.
4. So many lights in Vegas, even in the afternoon!
5. Terry Fator show was great, he seems like a truly humble and nice guy.
6. Very nice birthday wishes from people.

12/8/09

1. Packed fairly efficiently for the trip to Vegas.
2. Dropped off bag of clothing cast-offs at Goodwill bin near 8th ave. entrance to office.
3. Made use of the luggage storage there for my little suitcase.
4. Delicious scallop dish for lunch.
5. Training webinar I ran went off pretty well, I think.
6. Light afternoon so got a bit of work done on an ongoing project.

12/7/09

1. Amazingly productive spurts of work from home while in PJs.
2. No technical issues with VC'ing in to training events from home (this is a surprise).
3. Was still able to answer a couple tickets even though not in the office.
4. Finally bought a cutlery organizer!
5. Stocked fridge with a bit more food.
6. Made a pizza with caramelized onions, orange bell pepper, and goat cheese...mmm.

12/6/09

1. Managed to fit everything in Dan's car to bring back to JC.
2. King size sheet set and duvet cover don't look too ridiculous on our queen size bed.
3. Color scheme of those bed linens matches my prized silk Turkish carpet quite well.
4. Dan's grandma's lentil soup for dinner.
5. Got in a good amount of unpacking, just craft supplies, random pantry stuff, and decorative stuff left.
6. Finally got to watch Up, on Blu-ray, courtesy of Netflix and my mom's Blu-ray player.

12/5/09

1. Made it from our apartment to pick up the car in Newark in less than an hour.
2. Found the bag of sheets and duvet cover that I'd left behind in the move.
3. Found an additional piece of furniture in the garage that my dad let me take, will be used for craft supplies storage.
4. Found frozen food (chive patties) in the basement fridge.
5. Cooked said patties (somewhat) successfully for the first time.
6. Spent quality time with the kitty, even if she did also flinch and run away when I coughed.

12/4/09

1. Our clients are the best: I told one of them I wouldn't take his ticket myself because I was probably going to go home early sick and he was totally understanding of it.
2. People being very nice in general about me leaving work early to go home sick.
3. Managed to still make the biweekly 1:1 with my manager by vc'ing from home.
4. Bought the cutest vintage bird sewing caddy from Etsy, off a tip from Frecklewonder's blog. Look at the clever cute with the scissors!
5. Though being sick is gross, Dan is here to take care of me and run out to get me tissues, cough drops, and ingredients to make chicken soup (I did still have to make it myself).
   
6. Also, Friday night catching up on email/internet to-do's! It's always exciting in mi casa.

12/3/09

1. Ran into KP at the PATH station--we're neighbors.
2. Had plenty of time to fix up my presentation before sending it off to Legal.
3. Lunch w/ BB & co., felt like it was the first time in awhile.
4. Figuring out that the one call I got during my shift wasn't actually an issue directed at us.
5. Sewing class: the work itself wasn't great, I think I might throw out the fabric for this skirt entire because it's so irritating to work with (you get what you pay for, etc.) but someone else managed to get far enough along that Jenny could demonstrate the rest of the steps and I think I could figure it out.
6. Got home by 9:20 after leaving the class at 8 (back to my parents' = 10pm, maybe).
   

12/2/09

1. Got to pick out today's outfit from clothes that were hanging up in my spacious closet.
2. Found out the renter's insurance under MetLife can probably cover things that go outside of the apartment too, like laptop, jewelry (ring), and phone.
3. Finished putting together the slides for a presentation just before the self-imposed deadline of noon (west coast morning).
4. Pretty light afternoon overall, a nice breather, so left work a bit early and got home before 7.
   
5. Unpacked and set up the kitchen a bit more, made our first dinner (soba noodles with spinach and poached eggs, my go-to easy weeknight meal).
   

12/1/09

1. Finally got around to finding a new doctor. She does online appointment scheduling!
2. With some finagling, copied all the info sent in for my Droid rebate onto one sheet of paper.
3. The gentleman who received my call to ask about renter's insurance was very excited about it.
4. Brought home the rest of the plates and such bought from the guy at work.
5. Unpacked most of my clothes; going to leave the ones that have been packed for months in their plastic bins a little longer, though.
6. Discovered we now own a potato masher and a baster, among other things in the kitchen implements bought from the guy at work.

11/30/09

1. Got up at 7:45 to get to work, an hour and 15 minutes later than I've been doing for the last two months.
2. Not as crazed as I thought it might be, right after a holiday break.
3. Dan getting cable/internet set up at home.
4. Online submission form for setting up electric bill in our name.
5. Managed to bring back half of the various household stuff I got pretty cheaply from a guy at work, including a vacuum.
6. New laptop came! No time to set it up now, but it's so shiny and pretty...

11/29/09

1. Got my new Droid phone, finally.
2. Mom's advice on the places to get the best prices on common household goods.
3. Dim sum with Mom and sis.
4. Managing to fit our queen mattress into the minivan--just barely.
5. Doorman letting us use the freight elevator even though it was Sunday. Got everything up in just one trip.
6. Moved in to our apartment, officially.

11/28/09

1. Sunny (if windy) day.
2. Dan's furniture being pretty boxy and therefore easy to pack into the minivan.
3. Our rapid unload of said furniture at the apartment.
4. Success in building the bed frame!!! It looks just like it does in the picture!
5. Moving most of our furniture into place and clearing it up a bit so it doesn't look like a complete disaster.
6. Discovering a down comforter with 'X-Treme Clean technology' that hopefully Dan won't be allergic to.

11/27/09

1. The spectacle of midnight shopping at the Jersey Shore outlets.
2. The guy at Monmouth Building Center making the final cuts on our lumber for free!
3. My uncle and aunt moving up my furniture from the basement.
4. My awesome, awesome minivan packing skills.
5. My sister driving the minivan up to JC for us.
6. Getting pretty much everything out from my house with an evening load of the chairs and remaining furniture.

11/26/09

1. Woke up feeling quite refreshed.
2. Dan moved the first set of boxes into our apartment.
3. Read To Kill a Mockingbird and very much enjoyed it. I thought it would be one of those 'classics' that actually turns out to be pretty boring and not much that you can get out of it except with a seminar, but that was not the case at all.
4. Turkey was perfectly cooked, though overly salted.  Note to self that kosher turkeys don't need any more salt.
5. Pie dough came together relatively easily, even though I didn't use a pastry blender.
6. Cranberry sauce from scratch is delicious.

11/25/09

1. Last day of getting up at 6:30 to commute in!
2. Brunch with sushi.
3. SF visiting from Boston, he's hilarious.
4. Finding the apartment to be in really pretty good condition, cleanliness-wise.
5. No frantic pre-holiday calls from clients.
6. Had Dan's grandma's pasta fagioli for dinner.
   

11/24/09

1. Spent a long time in a massage chair while reviewing materials to prep for a meeting/training I'm running.
2. Pumpkin pie at lunch.
3. Made the 6:01 train with Dan.
4. Said train is the last one we'll be taking down to Central NJ as commuters.
5. Beef noodle soup for dinner, mmm.
6. Found out that the cutting boards I wanted to get from Amazon are the same price at Bed Bath and Beyond, pre-coupon, so don't have to wait for them to get shipped and they'll be a couple dollars cheaper.

11/23/09

1. Grabbed a bunch of kitchen and other home stuff for excellent prices from a colleague at work.
2. Was offered a fondue set and salad spinner for free by MG.
3. Received a really sweet email from AL, I love seeing her happy.
4. Finally figured out a solution to a question from last week, very satisfying to test it and see it work.
5. Good lunch with SK to catch up since she was swamped all last week.
6. Dan trying to stay late to sync with me but even when that went too late he still came back to the train station to give me a ride.

11/22/09

1. Found out I actually already have the light-weight interfacing needed for the skirt project for my sewing class.
2. Got a 25% (!) discount on the lumber Dan and I purchased for our bed frame project from their Wheel O' Discounts.
3. Dim sum with the fam.
4. Finished the top from my sewing class, buttonholes and all, and it doesn't look bad at all if I do say so myself.
5. Found out SF will be visiting NY this week.
6. MS called to catch up.

11/21/09

1. The people sitting a few rows in front of us at New Moon that would audibly snort and laugh at the ridiculous parts, which is to say, all of it.
2. Getting to sleep in while Di took Em to train station after 3 hours of sleep.
3. Getting the famed 'High School Special' from Garden Catering in Greenwich. The standard to which I will hold all over chicken nuggets.
4. Walking on the Greenwich beach with Di on a sunny day.
5. Getting sent home with pumpkin bread.
6. Perfect timing to make the trains back from CT to NJ.

11/20/09

1. MF, former architect and costume designer, volunteered her services for any and all wedding projects. Yes!
2. Managed to squeeze out just enough work before an afternoon meeting to not be entirely embarrassed by my lack of progress throughout the week. Well, hopefully anyway.
3. Hanging out with Dan at the office in the game room while waiting to meet up with friends later on. He is surprisingly good at pool. We both suck at hockey foosball.
4. Buy 2 pairs get 1 free on tights at American Apparel. I despise their marketing and think their quality in general isn't great, but the tights I have from there are the most comfortable I've ever owned.
5. Dinner at Menchanko-tei. I love noodles.
6. Em & co. appreciating the Thomas Kinkaid puzzle I found at our house and wrapped up for her as the joke portion of her gift (Em hates TK).

11/19/09

1. Had a fantastic lunch with MF, feel much less along about struggles to 'communicate effectively' with people.
2. Also had an excellent and open 1:1 with my manager.
3. Manager was the exact same amount of time late to said 1:1 as I was.
4. Found out that a certain type of braces is 100% covered by our dental plan. A chance to reverse my failing to wear my retainer?
5. Putting the finishing touches on my shirt in my sewing class.
6. Saw some more of the Boston friends in town.

11/18/09

1. Visits by many Boston folk, including my adopted buddy AD!
2. Ran into Dan's boss on our train in the morning.
3. Received a Peer Bonus for jumping on to cover a shift.
4. Had a healthy salad for lunch.
5. Caught the 8:41 train home after the team happy hour.
6. Got started on (and sucked into) the book Meghan's lent me.

11/17/09

1. I have a new for-fun book to read from Meghan, apparently it's like Twilight but actually written well.
2. I ended up being able to go home on the usual train with Dan after all.
3. We had another good conversation about things I can change to come off better at work.
4. I'll get to bed at a reasonable time tonight.
5. I was able to correctly answer a DSM question right on a call.
6. We met our new manager (starts January) and he has a strong Aussie accent.