The end of days...

Today is my last day at current job.

This is kind of a surreal experience. I don't the desktop of my computer has ever been so "clean" (even when I first arrived), and my morning is consisting of posting "I'm no longer here" aut0-replies and messages. Well, and cleaning out my email inbox of all personal emails, as that mailbox will be turned over. Interesting.

Given that it is a Friday, it's also somewhat odd that everyone asks "oh, your last day?" and yes, it is- but it's also the weekend so everyone is leaving between 12:30 and 1 anyway, so it's somewhat anti-climactic. and as the "farewell breakfast" was Wednesday, the past day (and half-day today) mostly end up as filler... I mean, new position trained in, given over.... not much left for me to do, really. I hope that means I did okay with training, etc- but, then again- well, you have to let it go.

I'm giving back keys, cards, files, email inbox, etc... sure it's a little weird- but really, that's life. so I go home this afternoon to pack (Michigan for 10 days or so) and go to see HP 6 and have mexican for dinner.

All in all- an excellent plan for a last-day.

I'd say "so long, suckers," but i'd be lying- i think i'll miss this place. honestly. but i'll be back in april- at least for a weekend :o)

pictures

okay, a couple of pictures. The shoes are exact. The dress is the same style/cut, but the detailing is different (couldn't find the exact one).

http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&catentryId=6110579

http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=-49997462&currentIdx=11&subCategory=-49998498|-49997996&catentryId=6087422&sort=

bingo!

fruitful weekend.

dress purchased.
also shoes.
also veil.
also headpiece (tiara-thingy).

all a good deal.

rather pleased with self.

Question

Okay, you all know the saying, "something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue" does this mean the bride needs to wearing all these things, or can the groom be doing some of the wearing, or can it be in things you USE in the wedding?

Let's say, for example, a friend has offered me something that would be of use in the wedding ceremony/service- to borrow. Does that count as my borrowed?

If Tom wears a blue pocket silk (i don't think we're going the pocket silk route, but it was the first thing that came to mind), does that qualify as the blue?

and can you could the dress as new (if it is), given that some people do get resale dresses or remake friends/family members dresses?

just wondering....

it begins...

I have finally sucked it up and made an appointment to go and begin trying on dresses. I was somewhat perplexed at the questions you answer when just setting up a trying-on session. The salewoman asked me what kinds of dresses I would be trying on. I said "brides?" (because really, isn't that what you try on?) Her response "okay, bridal gowns?" elicited nothing more than an "uh, sure" from me.

you should know that the above interchange happened only after she asked my wedding date. hrm.

so, i did what all bride book advice tells you and gave her a fake date about a month prior to my actual wedding date. (for her purposes, May 22 instead of June 26.) Anyway- I'm taking my mom and we're going to play "dress up" in "gowns" Saturday afternoon.

side note: you know how some people get all skeevie about the word "panties?" (i'm neither here nor there about it.) I think I have the same feeling about the word "gown." i think this may come from being an English major with an affinity for Austen novels- i tend to think of gown in the sense of dressing gown and then i get weird images of old men with funky facial hair a-la-mr. bennett. So i'm getting a dress. not a gown. i don't care what those people call it.

I also believe that those "countdown" calendars and clocks, etc, are meant to freak you out. Then again, I had the church and the hotel picked out well ahead and didn't need to do anything else. Even had photographer ahead of time due to a good deal plus coupon.
Now, however, being less than a year away, and actually coming on 11 months away, I start hitting the "crap, haven't thought about that yet," and realizing, promptly, that i will have NO time to do any of this in the fall while student teaching- and therefore abot 4 weeks to get it all tucked in before then.
(engagement photos need to be scheduled, but likely not actually taken until september or october.) Gotten some quotes from DJs, working on florists- budget- feeling kind of overwhelmed, but also just fine about it.


odd. i am slightly unnerved by this feeling of calm and believe it will be fleeting. for now, i guess i'll take it!

vacation

having just spent an enormously slugginess-filled long-weekend in new hampshire, mostly in the sun and/or on a boat, work today was a bit tough to wake up to. why is that?
we purposefully planned to come home somewhat earlier (1 pm arrival at O'Hare) in order to be able to kind of recover from travel, much food/drink, family, etc, and deal with the unpacking and laundry, pick up necessary groceries, and get to bed at a decent hour.
I need to remind myself that, regardless of said pre-planning: work is never easy to come back to after that kind of break!

and here i am. it's time to begin counting down the days at this point- 11.5 working days left, not including today. That's given no other days off (and it's looking like there is an impending 1/2 friday that i'll take to make sure i get all my appointments and check-ups in while still fully covered health/dental.) (yes, i'll still have health care, but let's be real- get the stuff done that has to get done while other people pay and you're not shelling your life out to cobra!)

really- i just don't have many days left. just over 2 weeks. hm. sometimes, that hardly seems possible. and, amidst it all, there is still work to be done here, so i can't just give over to my replacement or stop doing things- it is odd to have a laundry list to accomplish and then train a person- and it's odd when you're trying to do this and figure out what the priority is- and when this all happens. hrm.

in other news- tom has made stupendous progress in our garage and we may be close to ready to garage sale. (interesting- i can't even remember the last time we held one of those- not even sure it was in our present house). so this may be interesting. i'll try to get the organ information up here- not that any of you all would be interested in an antique organ that needs some repair to be play-able, but it's kind of interesting what we've found out, just the same (and by we i mean tom and his penchant for research into odd things).

on to other things? i need to clean/organize the basement next. and it should probably happen pre-garage sale in order to get rid of stuff i no longer use/need (which is probably much more than i realize!!)

new things

so, major life changes happening with wedding, student teacher, etc. no biggie.

today, the person who will replace me started. this is a weird mix of emotions that causes some inner turmoil- and basic exhaustion.

i have no problem with this, knowing that she is likely qualified and i'm leaving on amicable terms, etc, but it's still weird to share 3.5 weeks with someone who will fully replace me and what i do.

i don't want things to be awkward, but i feel that's somewhat inevitable. has anyone had this? what do you do? or what suggestions might you have?

in other news- the FAFSA form is next to impossible. and that's just the end of it.