From the Inside Out

Since Leap Day is a unique event that occurs only once every four years, it should be celebrated (or at least made memorable).  In that spirit, Gary and I are doing something we haven’t done since the last leap year.  We are going skiing!

This morning we packed up the dogs, dropped them off with my Mom (thanks Mom!), and headed out to the airport.  We flew first class, so it was a comfortable flight with a decent lunch.  After arriving in Denver, we picked up the rental car and made our way to the lovely city of Breckenridge.

We arrived too late to ski, but not too late to enjoy the town.  Breckenridge is wonderful.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been here, but I still love it.  It has a neat “old west” atmosphere with lots of boutique shops and restaurants.  Tonight, we simply strolled about checking out the stores and soaking up the views of the mountains surrounding us.  It was a great evening.

Tomorrow, we ski.

PICS FROM TODAY:

Village at Breckenridge

Having fun trying on crazy ski hats

Our condo — just a few steps away from the Snowflake lift.

From my vantage point, tomorrow is looking really good.  I’m on vacation and headed to Breckenridge — yehaw! 

Today was a bit crazy, though, as I tried to wrap up the seemingly hundreds of work projects for which I’m currently responsible.  I was supposed to meet up with my sister tonight to grab a quick bite to eat and watch a movie.  Well, I made it to the movie, but I missed the dinner part.  Dang job.  

Luckily, she didn’t totally hate me for showing up late and volunteered to grab an extra sandwich so I’d have some food when I arrived.  Of course, she also knows that I’m pretty grouchy when I don’t eat, so maybe she was just making sure I’d be in a decent mood for the movie. 

Regardless, thanks for the sandwich and for not being too upset about my late arrival, sis.  I love ya!

So, we finally settled in for the movie, Vantage Point.  It started out well, but about 20 minutes into the movie it began to rewind.  “Huh, that’s odd,” I thought, but I went with it.  The movie started again at 11:59:58, but this time from another person’s POV (point of view for those who don’t know the lingo).  Okay, so now I know why they called the movie Vantage Point. 

I began to get worried as I realized how many main characters were in the movie.  “Uh oh,” I said, “Are we going to watch the same thing again and again from each person’s perspective?  It’s the 2008 version of Ground Hog Day.”  Well, about 15 more minutes into the movie, it happened again — rewind and start over from 11:59:58.  I think my sister counted about 6-7 replays, but we sort of lost count, so I’m not really sure how many there really were. 

Now, with all of that said, I would still have to say that we enjoyed the movie in spite of the “rewinds”.  While that part was a bit annoying, new information was revealed each time, enabling you to fit the pieces together and understand what had truly taken place.  And once the “rewinding” was over, the action was intense, and the story flowed nicely.  I also thought the characters were well developed.  It’s not the best movie of the year, but it’s probably worth seeing.  I’d give it a solid “B”.

And time with my sister….priceless.

Today, I decided to venture into a distant land, a place I once frequented every day –the office.  While I don’t miss the monotony of going into the office daily, there are some things I do miss.  Lunches, hallway conversations, networking, and breaks are a few of the things that will draw me out of my self-imposed hibernation at home.  Oh yeah….and the free soft drinks in the break room.  Then again, maybe it was the packages that had been waiting a couple of weeks for me to pick up.

Anyway, I had a nice lunch with one of my co-workers and decided to stick around for the afternoon.  I was hoping to depart a bit early to beat the traffic (one of the things I don’t miss about going into work), but my afternoon meetings ran long.  If you don’t leave before 5 pm, you’re out of luck.  So, I just decided to stay there and wrap up my projects.  I finally left around 7:30 pm (just like old times).  If it wasn’t for Gary, I would be a serious work-aholic.  Of course, he might argue that I am one already.  Maybe I’m in denial.

Tomorrow will be back to the normal routine.  Wake up, walk to my office, and work.  Ah, it’s so much simpler, but there are some potential dangers of teleworking.  You do have to be careful.  Check it out…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1z2aTcumlY&feature=related]

Long day = short blog. 

How about some Stealth Disco instead?

This weekend, we went on an ardous search for the perfect piece of luggage.  My suitcase was damaged beyond repair during it’s last trip through DFW, and with the ski trip drawing close, I needed a replacement.  Because I travel frequently, I’m really picky about my luggage.  I know what I like (and what I don’t like) in a suitcase.   Unfortunately, most luggage is geared towards male travelers, and what I like is hard to find.

At first, I thought the search would be simple.  I wanted an exact replica of my current suitcase.  It was the perfect size.  It had a separate expandable garment bag area for my clothes, great pockets and wet/dry areas to protect my suitcase from spills.  Reality sank in pretty fast; apparently, they don’t make ‘em like that anymore.  

So, we searched online and trekked from store to store at the mall trying to find a suitcase that would meet all of my requirements.  Who knew it was so hard to find luggage? 

I couldn’t find everything I needed in a single suitcase, but I finally narrowed it down to either a Samsonite Silhouette 10 Softside Spinner Garment Bag or a Kenneth Cole Zero Boundaries Upright Pullman.  Both had their pros and cons — they were very different pieces of luggage. 

The lucky winner is….The Kenneth Cole Zero Boundaries Upright Pullman.

At the end of the day, I wasn’t certain that the Spinner Garment Bag would be able to accommodate all of my clothes and accessories.  It was twice as expensive as the other option.  In addition, it was only available in black at the store, which is the color of almost every other bag on the carousel.  The Upright Pullman was similar to my previous suitcase, and it was a great color, “flame” (you’ll never get it confused with someone else’s luggage, which is a big plus for me).

I can’t give it a full review yet, but after the ski trip, I’ll let you know how well it works.

4/12/08 UPDATE:  The bag has survived 3 airline trips so far.  It has held up well, but I do have one complaint.  After only a few trips, the fabric has become very dingy.  The bag looks like it’s 2 or 3 years old instead of 2 months old.  I’m not sure if it is because of the light color or the type of fabric covering.  Inside, I still love the bag.  It has lots of room for my clothes, shoes and other personal items.  I just wish the bag didn’t look like I bought it at the Salvation Army — dirty, dingy and scuffed.  I didn’t expect that to happen so quickly.  One of the things I liked best about the bag was it’s color, but now I’m thinking I should have gone with something darker.  Although, at this rate, it may end up being black after only a few more trips.