15 years (actually, coming up on 24 since I Elvised the UI with a MA in Urban and Regional Planning). I keep thinking of the line from Grosse Point Blank, where John Cusack's character is sitting in the BMW owned by a high school buddy who is in real estate now, and the dude keeps going "10 years, man! 10 years!"
Some of you know who I work for (and if you really are dying to know, you can email me and ask), but today was acknowledgement of 15 years with the same employer (but in three different offices in Virginia, Mississippi and now California). Technically, the anniversary isn't until a week from tomorrow (Friday), but they hand out the awards on a monthly basis; I got a certificate suitable for coffee table display and a 15 year pin that will likely end up on the Kors blazer, rarely worn.
Its been a long weird journey to 15 years/23+ years, starting out with short stint in the Twin Cities, then moving to Battle Creek, MI, Indianapolis, IN, Dayton, OH, Fairfax, VA, Fredericksburg, VA, Richmond, VA, Jackson, MS and now Sacramento, CA... and who knows if the journey is over yet. Having my children on the opposite coast most of the time, is, well, a bummer, but its not always possible to have the career/family balance exactly as one wants it, particularly when you are a 2x loser in the marriage sweepstakes.
That said, it was nice to have my hand shook during the office meeting and of course, now, its 8 hours of leave per pay period sportsfans. Everyone keeps telling me that "now you'll find yourself with leave you can't use." Ha. I'll believe that when it happens.
Speaking of leaving, in < 72 hours I will be at Disneyland, and fingers crossed the children will be there with me. Driving down on Saturday, and yesterday, I got a phone call from their mother wanting to know if I was going to be in LA on Saturday (the answer to that is Yes), as she was contemplating re-arranging her work schedule at the airport so that she could get off early, and they could take the last flight out of Hartford and perhaps make Orange County or LAX late at night. I'm pretty amenable to that. The Blonde also loves Disneyland (and they go to great lengths to decorate it for Halloween - apparently they've put ghosts into Space Mountain (that should be way cool)), and will be assisting this trip, although I do not plan to stick her with Meredith, who does not like scary rides, while Davis and I try to see how manly we are (or, more likely, he'll try to see if he can watch his old man puke from being on the roller coasters a little too much). I may have to use a financial incentive to get Meredith on the coasters, we shall see on that one...
So perhaps the Non Revenue Stand By Flight Gods will cooperate and they'll be there on Saturday... I've reserved a different hotel as we check into the Disneyland Grand Californian on Sunday until Thursday. I've coughed up for the Tuesday night "private" Halloween party tickets at Disneyland, apparently they will have a special fireworks show (and I'm thinking, contemplating that, that this must be one fucking rock out of a fireworks show, because the "regular" one that I saw back in '08 is the best one I've ever seen. Tinkerbell laser holograms flying in the air. Yes, really really) that will consume several thousand of my brain cells in wonderment. I told the kids to pack their Harry Potterverse Gryffindor costumes from last year (they don't have masks, so they'll be able to see and while there will probably be forty zillion other kids there in Harry Potter crap at least I'll be able to easily recognize my kids).
But I can't wait to get Davis on California Screaming. We must ride that coaster together. It is truly sick, 6000' of metal coaster, the only one in the US that uses magnetic induction rather than chains, the longest with an upside down loop and it accelerates from 0 to 55 at the start in 3 1/2 seconds. My three favorite rides at Disneyland are that, Space Mountain and the Hollywood Tower of Terror. They all rock. The Indiana Jones ride isn't bad either but the lines for it are monsterous...
The nice thing about staying at the GC is that it is the only Disneyland property hotel with a private entrance to the park (California Adventure side), so once you've parked your car and checked in, you can come and go as you please as long as the parks are open. Its great. One thing I have learned since the '08 trip is that even if fly down like we did last time, it really makes sense to have a car in LA, because you are stuck with the eateries in downtown Disney and while there are a few places within walking distance, its barely walking distance because, its well, LA, where the car is Darth Vader. So tomorrow morning I'm picking up a rental from Enterprise... something with a little more power and oomph than my riceburner - er Civic EX - that will be comfortable to drive down to LA and creep and crawl along the freeways.
And thinking about all the walking I'll be doing in Anaheim, I had to feed the REI habit - er addiction - today. Since I am a member, I went by to pick up a California topographic atlas. This is because no one makes decent maps anymore of anything. AAA has quit giving out free maps, and IMHO there is overdependence on mapping functions on your iPhone (Google Maps is not always correct). Plus a book of topo maps you don't have to worry about it running out of battery charge, you just flip the thing open and *look*. Of course, I started wandering around, and before I knew it, I'd bought two new The North Face 1/4 zip fleece tops (it can be chilly in Anaheim in the mornings and at night, but a hoodie can be overkill), and they had a pair of discontinued Asics Gel Kayano 15s that feel so good on my feet. Well, at least I get a little back on each purchase for next year... LOL
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