BashUp

Hey, Batterbatter: The calendar on the wall says spring starts March 21, but for me, it’s tomorrow, because tomorrow, there’s baseball. All signed up for MLB Gameday Audio (I only watch baseball in person, and always have the radio with me there - it’s a game invented for radio…or vice versa) and ready to break out the black and orange gear for the season. Play Ball! (And..Go Giants!)

…and into the Fire: Dunno how it happened, but several pieces of a project fell off of everyone’s plates over the last month or two, and today we had to sort out what we needed and start scrambling to meet those needs. Once we get it all handled, boy is it going to be fun trying to sort out how many balls were dropped on this one. Really hate it when these things happen.

UK Pal: Got a quick note from him today, saying he and his cohorts would be out my way in April and it was about time they finally got back out here. Hope we can find time for a meal together - I always enjoy feeding him and hearing his tales. Funny guy.

Palmer/Kennedy: Watching 24, it becomes apparent that being a Palmer in politics on that show is about as unsafe as it has been for some Kennedys in real life. Hoping Wayne doesn’t go the way of David… (I’d vote for David Palmer in a blink if it were possible).

Readers: Visitors who’ve stopped by recently range from various places in Florida to Indianapolis to a couple of curious spots in the U.K. Hope you’re all well out there!

Ka-BOOM!: And I’m not talking the KFOG Ka-Boom (that’s a set-to-music fireworks show held in SF every May). I’m talking thunder, lightning and coarse sea salt-sized hail, coming down in buckets. The hail isn’t that uncommon - it’s what we get instead of snow or freezing rain when a strong storm comes in off the Pacific Ocean. But the thunder is rare, and my two babies don’t like it. Sebastian is cowering in the hallway, all saucer-eyed, with a fluffed-out tail. Sabrina is hiding under the comforter, her usual place to be when scary things happen (most things are scary things to her). Poor babies - it’s going to be even worse when the heart of this storm blows in tomorrow evening…

The Truth Hurts: Finally got around to viewing An Inconvenient Truth, and admire Al Gore for crusading in this fashion. He’s found his calling, smartly breaking a complex issue into digestible chunks with an understated and sometimes humorous professiorial tone. Glad the film won its Oscar, and I hope it motivates most people to use trasnit, walk or drive hybrid cars.

(Not) Seeing Stars: Seems the LA Lakers - here to play the Warriors - are staying at the Ritz Carlton, just a half-block from my house. Walked by today while out on errands, and there was a big bus and a whole gaggle of fans with Lakers jackets, basketballs and Sharpies milling around beside it. Funny thing about this town - I’ve been here 10 years, and live on the block between the most celebrity-frequented hotels in the city, but I’ve only seen two the whole time I’ve been here. James Brown (RIP) nearly knocked me over on the sidewalk once. And Jennifer Lopez was trying on shoes in Macy’s (our Macy’s has an ENORMOUS shoe selection). I always see fans congregating outside the Ritz for some reason or another, but there’s never time to stop and observe. To quote the one true celebrity I know, “Life Goes On…” *grin*

GRRRR…: Transit (or, more accurately, human) stupidity strikes again. I was dragging home groceries in both hands, with a very weighty backpack as well, and trying to get off the 15 line to catch the cable car. But I ended up missing my stop and the next. It was a long, articulated bus with room to spread out, but people were crammed around the doors and I couldn’t push past the crowd to exit. The bus driver didn’t wait, either - they don’t care about anything but making their on-time record. That sorta thing just steams me and it happens so much on our transit system here. People act like they’re afraid they’ll miss their stop if they spread out, but no one can actually GET off because of it. So I slogged 4 very long big city blocks in the rain with too many bags and a bad foot, just to get back to where I needed to be. Grrrr…

Oscar: So, I’m not a movie buff, and I haven’t seen The Queen yet, but I hope Helen Mirren finally gets her Oscar, just because I loved her in the Prime Suspect series. I’m sure she was fabulous as the Queen, though, and will deserve the statue if she wins it. Lots of folks in the office loved her performance. Not planning to watch the telecast, but will be watching online for the winners.

Runnin’: Just caught the two songs by Arcade Fire on Saturday Night Live. They did Intervention and Keep the Car Running from the upcoming release, Neon Bible. Definitely sounded more pulled together than the concert on NPR the weekend before - the band has had time to recover from the flu bug that got them. Really looking forward to seeing them at the Greek in June…

Shop ’til You Drop: Well, sorta. Mostly I just walked around for ages, looking to replace my worn out black leather jacket. I hit Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Loehmann’s and Nordstrom’s before I remembered West Coast Leathers in Union Square. They have some gorgeous black coats, and I’m going to wait until my bonus next month so I’m not limited at all by the budget. However, I did find a great bargain on a bronze pearlized jacket and mulberry blazer - got them both and saved $800 on the purchase. So there’s my luxury purchase for February, and the March one is already figured out. Meanwhile, my feet are throbbing and hips are aching from all the hoofing around. It’s been hard for me to get back into a walking routine. I’m recovered enough from surgery to dive back in, but I can’t get away from my desk very often, and when I can, it’s usually raining. *sigh*

Fun with Pip: She and I joked around on our favorite band’s message board today - it’s been a while since we’ve been able to goof off together. We used to do it a lot more, but some folks got their shorts in a twist because our fun happened during the band’s tours and just may have involved members of the band itself. We are hardly the only folks there who know the guys, and we rarely talk about them outright - we just refer to each other and some other board members as being present. But our good times usually have included our musical pals. They are friends and sometimes we hook up with various members for meals or refreshments and some serious silliness. I miss joking with Pip like that. We indulged ourselves today and then texted each other for a while, catching each other up on our mundane lives…

Readers: My faithful viewer in Ashburn, VA, shows up regularly. Someone near Detroit uses Google Desktop to grab the feed for this blog. Racking my brain, I really don’t think I have close friends in either area, so it puzzles me why they keep coming back! It can’t be all that thrilling to read about my weekly battles with the bug du jour or what I made for dinner the other night. *grin* Also, visitors from Morocco and Saudi Arabia this week. Pretty random! Howdy to my friends and family in the Hoosier state and pals on the east coast. This blog’s for you!

Feelin’ Fine: Blogs worldwide are indexed by an organization called We Feel Fine. It stopped by my blog today, which is how I came to know about it. It indexes the emotions we express in our blogs, and also collects, where available, gender, age and location information and correlates the feelings with things like the weather in that area. You can view the data through several different filters. Interesting. Oh, and by the way, I feel good. *grin*

Argh: This is just getting OLD. Another bug is going around the office, and that means….yup. I’ve got it. Started and ended the week under the weather. Worked from home today, and got SO much work done. At least THAT was on the up side.

AKI, AKI!: Missed our company All-Hands meeting today, but was delighted that my awesome producer pal Aki won the Razorback award for the past quarter. (It’s a peer-bestowed award to recognize hard work and major contributions to the company.) He produces “Soundcheck”, which features in-studio interviews with and performances by the likes of Norah Jones, John Mellencamp, Switchfoot, Yellowcard, Fall Out Boy, Keith Urban, P. Diddy and more. He truly deserves the honor - you GO, Awk!

……. : What a day. Wall-to-wall meetings and catching up with email and juggling projects and trying to figure out what needed doing with my former co-worker’s projects. Tomorrow is a 6-hour offsite business meeting, plus more meetings when I get back in the office. Friday is our All-Hands meeting - we’re so big, it has to be held offsite, as well. Half of Friday wiped out by that. My awesome boss sent out a nice little promotion announcement today, so at least that’s starting to feel official. I never got around to opening that bubbly and celebrating. Just too damned tired. *grin* Maybe this weekend…

Shocking Good Ship Lollipop: Saw an amazing hairstyle today while out shopping. Too bad my digital camera’s broken - it was nearly indescribable…but I’ll try. It was atop the head of an African American gentleman. The sides and back were rows of short, tight curls and the top was blown out and straight up. A fellow shopper said, “Look - Shirley Temple meets Don King!” Most unusual look I’ve seen in a while…

Now Reading: The Audacity of Hope by Senator Barack Obama. He was seen about town for a few fundraisers yesterday, and there seems to be quite a buzz following him. I’ve just gotten a few pages into his book - interested to read about his ideas for leading America in a (hopefully) better direction.

SPAM: Someone left me a SPAM comment in French via anonymous proxy. Don’t bother folks…won’t get through here.

Ahhhh: I’m so pitta it hurts. (That’s one of three mind-body types in Ayurveda, in case it’s new to you.) But I just got back from Novella Spa, where I had a dosha-balancing massage and shirodhara - the stream of warm oil on the forehead treatment. Feelin’ pretty noodly at the moment. Can’t wait to do it again! One more day of relaxing and resting and getting things in order, then it’s back to work.

Next on NPR: The All Songs Considered folks are quick - the Arcade Fire gig from last night is available for streaming already, with downloads coming in the next two days. I’m listening again as I get the house in order. I’m particularly infatuated with the resurrected No Cars Go - one of the first tracks they recorded. It starts about 18 minutes into the stream if you wanna check it out. Just love the energy, the driving percussion and the great guitar tone. Then it morphs into Haiti, the song Regine wrote about her parents’ homeland. The whole gig manages to plow full speed ahead, even though the whole band was sick.

WOW: I’ve loved Arcade Fire’s Funeral ever since a co-worker let me hang out with his brand new Nano in 2005 and that’s what was playing. But I’ve not seen or heard them live - until tonight. A show from New York was webcast live on All Songs Considered from NPR. They’re a freakin’ force of nature live! They mainly did songs from their as-yet-unreleased new album, Neon Bible. Now, playing that high a percentage of unknown tunes will usually bog a set down a little, but not this band. The energy, passion and great new songs carried it straight ahead and the crowd was gonzo for it all. They’re booked for Coachella at end of April, and I’m hoping they work in a few more California shows around that time. I’m dying to see them for myself.

Woohoo!: Just checked the fan site, Us Kids Know, and the dates are now listed: June 1 and 2 at the Greek Theater in Berkeley! I’m SO there… And, they’re the musical guests on Saturday Night Live Feb 24.

Gorgeous: About 70 degrees and not a cloud to be seen. Ran a bunch of errands for the launch of Bash’s Home Upgrade. Bought new flatware at Crate and Barrel (the style called “Mix”), and a lot of storage and organizing objects at the Container Store. (I LOVE that place!) Gonna try to force some order into my kitchen. It’s a decent-sized space, but there’s very little storage. Going to toss out some stuff and get the remaining bits together. Throughout the spring, I’ll move room to room and do the whole place. It’s almost 10 years in this apartment - I love it here - but it’s time for a purge.

Readers: Besides my usual folks, a few people from BlogHer came by this week. Also, someone who opened only one post on my blog - my 2006 Year in Review. That happens either when they get that post from a search or someone sends them a link to it via email. The reader used a proxy in Sweden, so I don’t know where they came from and a referral source was not provided. I always like to see what keywords people use when they end up on my blog. Lots of folks end up here after searching for Webkinz, the plush toys that have a virtual online world associated with them. (My nephews sent me a Webkinz cat for Christmas, so I occasionally log on and play a game or two.)

Relaxing: Beginning a brief, four-day break from work. Need to catch up on this week’s 2-hour installment of 24. Monday, I’m booked for a dosha balancing massage and shirodhara at one of my favorite day spas. Can’t wait!

Done: It’s official - I’m now a Senior User Interface Writer. My first new task is to review the job description for my old job and fill out the job requisition form so HR can start looking for my replacement. That lucky individual will be my first direct report. Will crack open that bottle of bubbly tonight and celebrate!

Waiting…Waiting: I saw the numbers on the Change of Salary form, which has already gone to payroll. But still no offer letter (everything’s done very formally when you get promoted “out of season”). It’s been sent, probably via Interoffice Mail, which means it will take a full day to arrive from the building next door. I should have offered to walk over and get it. *grin*

Travelin’?: I may get a chance to head back east and see my family around the last weekend of April or first weekend of May. I’m hoping for May so I can hit the Speedway for some 500 practice sessions, but the timing depends on work and family plans.

(Almost) A Done Deal: I heard today that 1.) I will be promoted, 2.) it will happen immediately and 3.) the new salary plus the merit increase I’ll get for my review next month will put me right where I should be on the compensation scale. (This means a lovely increase in income.) The offer is drawn up, the numbers have approved by the VP and CEO, and it’s just a matter of a few details until the paperwork’s in front of me. That bottle of champagne is still chilling…I’m gonna wait until the ink’s all dried. Call me supersticious. *grin*

All Checked Off the List: The last of my “interviews” took place today. In almost every circumstance, the interviewer stated they were surprised I wasn’t already a senior level writer (and I always had to say “I am. We’re just trying to convince HR of it, that’s all…”). Most of them talked with me about the management aspects the job will entail, since that’s the only part of the job I’m not already doing. (Senior writers can remain individual contributors or take the management track at our company. I want the management gig.)

Late today, I had my chat with the VP of Creative, a notoriously tough (but very fair) interviewer. I wasn’t nervous, but had put some serious thought into how I’d answer the really sticky questions she can put forth. I got into her office, and she said, “I don’t even want to interview you for this job - you’ll be perfect for it. Let’s chat about what is expected of the role and what opportunities it will bring you.”

At the end of the day my boss said, “It’s 99% a done deal - and I’m only saying that because we’re both a little supersticious about these things.” We should find out tomorrow yea or nay, but the timing of the move is still up in the air. Reviews come next month, so HR is trying to sort out whether my promotion should be immediate or happen then. It could affect the level they place me in - the levels are a new thing as of this year and they haven’t completely sorted out which percentage of this and that should apply to a situation like this. The level determines the salary and bonus band I’m placed in, so I don’t mind if they take a little time to sort it out and get it right. *grin* Almost ready to celebrate. Stay tuned!

Blizzard: My whole family is snowed in - Central Indiana is getting whomped by a nasty snow storm. I remember the blizzard of ‘78…and I really don’t miss all that. Stay safe out there!

Zombie Love: Today I went back to Cinta Salon for another Aveda Tourmaline manicure, then slogged through the rain to Walgreens and Safeway. Loaded down with shopping bags and too hungry to think straight, I took the cable car up the hill to my apartment. It was still raining, and I was the only person sitting outside on the back of the car…until I was joined by a band of zombies. Seriously. A dozen 20-somethings, dressed in tatters, made up to look bloody and decomposing, carrying dead flowers, aged poetry pages and ragged hearts - a zombie flashmob Valentine’s parade. They loaded up the back of the cable car and moaned and growled as a chorus to the people we passed as we rode up the hill. Only in San Francisco…

‘Ello, Birming’um: Someone near Birmingham, UK did a Google search for bashup and landed here. Hope this is what you were looking for!

Whew: Made it through one tough week. Still have 3 interviews to do for my new position at work, including meeting with the VP of Creative. After that, some decision-making will happen. Next week is going to be slammed, just like this one. But after that, I’m taking a 4-day weekend and doing some serious relaxing.

Readers: Someone in the Ashburn, VA, area stops by often. Must be really bored on an overnight shift. Howdy to all my regulars. It’s been quiet lately in my inbox - when you get time, drop a line and let me know how you’re doing.

Under Way: The process of talking to various senior members of my department has started. Technically, they are interviews, but it’s really strange to be interviewed by your own boss for a job with tasks you’ve already been doing for over a year. The talking ends Friday and next week we learn what’s next.

Happy Birthday, Big Bunny!: I haven’t met him yet, but he took my Pippi away from me, so he must be somethin’ else! He’s likely out inhaling sushi with the Pipster in celebration. Then, a little gator rasslin’… LOL!

Superbowl 41 Champs!: What a sloppy mess to have to play in, but The Colts beat Da Bears 29-17. Quite fun!

Stuporbowl: I’m not planning to watch until the end, but will have it on radio while I try to get my house in order for the next week. Listening to Indianapolis radio online (WIBC) to get a taste of what’s going on back in the Hoosier state. I’ll bet it’s fun to be there or in Chicago right now.

Yoga Bowl: So, I’ve discovered the trick to keeping my practice going - don’t follow a routine. When I first started, I used the 15-minute beginner’s routine out of Yoga for Dummies. I was so bored that I couldn’t manage to do the 15 minutes more than 2 or 3 times a week. Then I just stopped all together for about 3 weeks. I started up again this week and have managed 4 days in a row of 40-minute sessions, doing just whatever pose my body seems to want. Really relaxing and not at all boring. “Just Wing It” will be my mantra.

The Other Shoe: Well, something in my strange work situation had to give, and today, it did. Those of you who read me regularly might recall my comments about assigning work to and reviewing work of someone who outranks me. Today, I learned that he is leaving the company. I’m really happy for him - he’s off to a small agency, where he’ll write for podcasts and streaming video being used in viral marketing campaigns. He LOVES that sort of thing. He found this new position through a friend. But I’m sad that we won’t have him around anymore. He’s a complete sweetheart and has handled our awkward working structure of late with total professionalism. Plus, he’s a really talented writer.

And, now, what’s next? He and I, with part-time help from a contractor, have barely kept up with the workload at a dead run. Now we’re a man down when we need to be a man up. The open position is a level above me, and my boss had planned to promote me to that same level next month. It was going to take some work to make a business case for having two senior writers, however. This may not be a problem anymore. I’ve been encouraged to apply for his position, but that would mean having to fill mine if I get his. I move up, but there’s still just me and part of a contractor, with enough work for about 4 people waiting for us. This could be the case for the next couple of months. depending on what happens. *sigh* I hear opportunity knocking…I just hope I have enough energy to answer.

Gavin, Gavin, Gavin: Our illustrious mayor, Gavin Newsom, is caught in a scandal. His campaign manager quit because he discovered that Newsom had an affair with his wife about a year and a half ago. Now, I think meddling in a politician’s personal relationships is not too cool - Monica or no, Clinton was an excellent statesman - but that very example (Monica) is proof enough that politicos would do well to keep it zipped. Someone WILL out you eventually - and the media will have a field day with you for well more than a day. I hope Newsom can overcome this and keep his political train on track. He’s done a lot of good stuff for our city.

Reading by Proxy (Server): There was an interesting attempt to read my blog today. There was a string of garbage in the “Agent” field in my stats for this one. (The agent identifies things like the browser/OS used, or the bot or feed aggregator if it’s a crawler.) Turns out someone was trying to read my blog through an anonymous proxy server in France. Of course, I can’t tell where they are connecting to that server from - that’s the point - but why would someone want to hide? It’s not like I have porn or anything at all exciting going on here! LOL! Too bad for my invisible would-be viewer, they goofed up the URL and got an HTTP Code 404 (Not Found) instead of my blog.

Feelin’ Groovy: Managed a nice 45-minute yoga session this morning, and am feeling the difference. Hadn’t managed to practice for almost 3 weeks, and even then, I’d only averaged about 20 minutes. It’s funny how just one good session can make the whole day go so much better.