Office Moving Day!

We finally moved out of our office at the Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center (CBBIC from now on) and, contrary to popular belief, we didn't end up moving across the city. Instead, we opted to move ONE FLOOR down, into what Dale calls "The Serpentarium". For an exhibit-inspired floor, it aint half bad. See below: 

We have a "stress relief" area. Highly underused, but still nice.

Communal Putt-putt for anyone that actually has free time

And best of all... I got the biggest office on the floor! This actually used to belong to the building director.
*proceeds to feel important*

For some quirky architectural reason, my office has a balcony overlooking the first floor. I kinda love it. 

Today was a hard day of moving tons and tons of files and rearranging furniture, and we aren't even halfway done yet. I'd like to record some of the best quotes of the day: 

Director: That nice furniture is going to cost a little extra, just so you know.
Dale: That's alright, it's just money! And its not even my money!
Director: This is why it's great to do business with you. 

Michael: How's the temperature for ya?
Damaris: It's warm, but there's a nice breeze when I open this door.
Michael: Man, this building. They can fly drones to outer space, but they can't fix the AC. 

(After moving ginormous filing cabinets with much difficulty)
Michael: Well, at least gravity was in our favor. 

(When Michael saw me sitting under my desk hopelessly staring at a mess of wires)
Michael: Hey, Damaris, it might be a lot easier to use the computer if you were sitting on a chair, not on the floor.
Damaris: Thanks for the tip. 

First Letter Home

So I've been waiting 6 long days to know that Chris made it to the MTC safely, and I finally got an email from him today! It's strange to write this, but I can already feel a big change in him, just by the short paragraph he sent me. Man was it great to hear from him... all this time I'd been worried about him getting lost at the airport and ending up in another country or something. He's asked me not to post the "personal stuff" up on his blog (which is totally understandable) but whatever else he sends is pretty much up for grabs. All the good info is going to be there, so there's really no need for this post other than to exclaim how wonderful it was to finally get that email from Elder Zuniga. I can live a happy life now :)

My Besties

I've been feeling pretty down for the past 6 days, and my last two posts really show it. I dislike being so touchy-feely and having everyone know about it, so today I'll be boosting my own mood and hopefully snapping out of this "lets all be sad and lonely" disgustingness by writing about a wonderful group of girls; my besties.

From L to R:: Denisse, Brenda, Myself, & Tania. Not pictured is Sami because with two adorable boys to look after, it was pretty hard for her to take a day trip to CC. 

This pic was taken at my apartment when they came to visit me for our annual christmas gift exchange, it was great having them here! We didn't really do anything out of the ordinary, but once they left I started thinking about what it really means to have friendships as old and deep as these. I came up with the following:

1. Old friendships mean you get to keep memories forever. Talking with these girls is way better (and much more effective) than re-reading my own journal because the same memory is retold in at least 3 different perspectives depending on who was involved. Of course, we all remember more of the good and funny than the bad, so sitting and reminiscing is always hilarious.
2. Old friendships allow you to have constant access to a counselor. I can't recall how many times we've all depended on a group message to relay feelings of frustration, insecurity, unhappiness, etc. to each other. Sometimes we genuinely want advice, sometimes we need a virtual shoulder to cry on, and sometimes we just want to vent. Whatever it may be, we can always count on whomever is Facebook-available to offer her thoughts, shoulders, or ears to whoever needs it. And then there's the times when we talk about why maybe it's not a good idea to text and poop at the same time. 
3. Old friendships allow us to share in each other's joys and accomplishments. Although we don't talk to each other every day and honestly don't keep our life's status that up-to-date, there's very few people I want to share a "big deal" moment with before my besties. We all understand that we are busy living our own lives, (lives which are, for the most part, pretty different) yet I have always had that voice in the back of my mind saying "I need to tell them about this". Examples: when I decided to move to CC, when I started dating this guy, when I graduated college, when I got engaged... etc. I just really enjoy sharing good news with those I love best. 
4. Old friendships mean you have deep foundations. I sometimes tend to use the "I need a counselor" feature as a last resort. I only go crying to them when many of my other options have been exhausted. I used to think this might be insulting... but then I asked myself: "Would I be insulted if I were a last resort?" And the answer was No. I wouldn't get my feelings hurt, because this is what it implies: If anyone uses you as a last resort, it doesn't mean they thought of you last... on the contrary; It means that you are their foundation and the one thing they can surely count on when all else fails. 
5. Old friendships mean at least one thing in common. In high school we were all thrown together in one building with nowhere else to go, so naturally we were inseparable. Add to that the fact that teenagers have "chameleon personalities" and tend to like whatever their friends like, and you basically have 5 girls that could pass for each other without a problem. It wasn't until later that we realized just how different we really are. We lead such different lives and have such different goals, problems, views, struggles, and achievements that it's incredible we even know each other. The wonderful thing about this is that even though we've become individuals, we are a part of this friendship that is our glue to one another no matter our differences.
6. Old friendships mean giving birth to traditions. These girls and I only really have the two traditions of "darn it, we are DOING this gift exchange" and posing in the right order for baby shower photos (that one's only happened twice so far), but hey... these are our deal and they're not going away. So what if we only see each other once or twice a year? These get togethers are much like muffins: It's not about the quantity, it's about the quality. (that's what my 10th grade Nutrition and Food Science teacher told me). Maybe when we all have kids we can have monthly playdates or something, but for now, this is good enough for me. :)

Ahh... mood instantly lifted. Girls, if you're reading this, I love you! 

Happy Birthday To Me

Of all the birthdays I've ever had, this year's was probably the least exciting one for one reason only: my brother left at 6am the next morning. On January 21 at around midnight I began receiving the usual deluge of "Happy Birthdays" from all kinds of wonderful people and automated emails, but I felt anything but happy. If anyone of you well-wishers is reading this today, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your friendship and love, and I regret not being appreciative of you that day. It is only now, 3 days later, that I have taken the first baby step in the 'healing process' of saying goodbye to Chris. I ate a slice of birthday cake my mom bought for me (first bite to eat in about 48 hours), I finished reading a book, I went to ATT go get Philip a new phone, and I deleted all the games Chris used to play on my phone, and I went shopping for a journal. 

Things are getting better! This morning I walked into my office and did two things before turning on my computer: 1) turned on a space heater by my feet and 2) made some very hot herbal tea. About 2 minutes after my de-thawing process had begun Dale walked in carrying a huge candle and a paper bag with an equally huge cinnamon bun. Here's the pic. 

Why does that look like such a forced smile? Because I COULDN'T FEEL MY FACE! And maybe because the hot wax burned my fingers and I destroyed my cinnamon bun trying to get it out of the bag, but I actually laughed a genuine laugh this morning. That's an achievement. Dale is such a great guy, he's brought me cinnamon buns multiple times and tells me funny stories to lighten the mood almost every day. Yay sugar for breakfast! 

CVS Couponing In 2013

Today I received this email from CVS: 

I only did "extreme couponing" for about two months and I saved over $350! I should take this up again. 

The Serpentarium

In two weeks we are supposed to be relocating our offices to the second floor of this building, which is basically a long hallway with glass doors and walls leading into the offices. This description sucks, so I went downstairs and took a picture. Here it is:

Doesn't that remind you of a zoo's reptile exhibit? I was filing something in Dale's office when he told me we were "moving downstairs to the serpentarium", and Michael overheard. Naturally they both had to go off on this joke.

Michael: "I'm going to put a sign on Damaris' office that says DO NOT TAP ON GLASS"

Dale: "PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE WORKERS"

Michael: "OBSERVED IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT"

Dale: "Heck we can even chop some tree logs and stick 'em in there!"  

Har har, so funny guys.

 

 

 

Just A Little Positivity

Do you remember those horrible high school days where your hormones decided to lavishly decorate your face with zits and blackheads and anything in between and life just sucked because wearing full faced masks just wasn't a thing? Well... I grew out of that stage, and thanks to a careful regimen of apricot scrub and oil-free moisturizer my skin looks almost normal every day. Except today. TODAY my face decided it wanted to go be an acne-prone teenager again. TODAY my dog decided to hide my contacts case so I have to wear my glasses. TODAY the unusually clear, dry weather decided to go back to heavy humidity. TODAY is one day I really didn't want to show my face at work because my boss is conducting interviews. I sat in my car this morning for 10 minutes longer than necessary and wished I could be invisible. Or better; have perfect skin.
So what ended up happening is that I walked into the office and all the lights were turned off for no good reason. (we have huge windows and monitors, so visibility isn't a problem) Basically just the fact that nobody's bothered to hit the light switch and everything has a slightly dimmer feel to it has made this day better because darker room = less noticeable blackheads across my heavily freckled nose. Way to be positive, Dam.

Dale's Monologue

Since I was supposed to move to San Antonio (no longer happening) and leave my office job (also no longer happening) Dale and Michael are conducting interviews today for several positions that need to be filled. About 20 minutes ago Dale went and sat by the window to keep a lookout for a woman that was supposed to arrive at 12PM. This was his monologue:

"I think that's her down there. Came in and parked sideways, took up two spots."

"Now she's looking for something in her trunk. She's probably messy."

"... Still looking. Wonder what's so important back there..."

"A notepad! After all this time she just took out a tiny little spiral notebook."

"Spat her gum out on the ground and walked away."

"Now she's walking towards the entrance reeaaal slow."

"Ran her fingers through them oleander leaves, that mean's she's a feeler."

"Alright, now she's squared her shoulders and she's walking towards the entrance with her chin up. That's got to be her. Nobody walks like that unless they're going to a job interview or to the gallows."

"But Michael's not here yet, what am I supposed to do to entertain her?"

(co-worker's response: Make her fill out a job application.)

"Yeah, good idea, that'll keep her busy."

As it turns out, this wasnt the woman we were waiting for. The real one showed up 30 minutes later and is currently cheerfully talking away (it sounds cheerful, anyway) in Michael's office.

2014 01 01 Sleep Talking

Philip welcomed the New Year with some more of his "sleep talking." This time the conversation went as follows:

*complete silence at 2 am* 

Phil: Are you going to pray!

Me: Why pray? (extremely drowsy) 

Phil: THE EAGLES ARE PLAYING! 

Me: So? 

Phil: Are you going to pray or not?

Me: I'm not praying, go back to sleep

Phil: FINE. I'll pray. 

Me: (under my breath) ugh you're so strange.