2003-01-04 - 9:39 a.m. prithee, my dear, why are we here? 2003 has lots of promise. After all, I'm running out of family members to say goodbye to, and don't intend to marry this year, thus ruling out the possibility of divorce. ;-) Overall, despite the notable exceptions, 2002, even including the holidays, was not all that bad of a year, as my travelogue will attest. Although fate has a way of creating intrigue in life, I am fully aware that she sometimes needs a little help. This is what motivated me to hatch a plan with my meeting planner at work to hold two client meetings back to back the week after my boss gets married. She won't be able to attend the one she was scheduled for, which means I'll need to go in her place. And wouldn't you think that two back to back meetings should be held in the same city, to shave off costs? And don't all of our clients *love* NYC in springtime? Heh heh heh. This is the one major perk of my employment these days. A week in NYC, probably staying at a Union Square Hotel ('cuz I need more of the Olives prosciutto and fig pizza, and more treats form City Bakery), all on expense account. Except for the work part of it during the day, it's like having a mini vacation... Boston -- another City I've never explored -- is likely to be on this year's work travel list too, along with Chicago. This all hinges, of course, on my continued employment with my current employer. The horror show that is the SF Bay Area employment marketplace (especially for marketing and journalism jobs) is certainly a factor in my reluctance to look for another job. In the past 6 months of casual looking, I only saw one job listing that got me at all excited, BUT it paid about half of my current salary. That would mean probably having to move in with 3 roommates somewhere to shave off my rent costs. That's a trade off that may seem viable in the heat of the moment (i.e. on a day when I really hate my job), but would ultimately cause me long term unhappiness. After all, work has never been my life. Thus, a job that doesn't pay me enough to enjoy City life or allow me to afford to travel isn't a good fit, no matter how interesting/engaging the work sounds. I hope this year brings me increased opportunities to explore my creativity, increased ability to love and support my friends, and, as always, increased ability to travel. And now, off the computer to get this place whipped into shape!! xo almost gold any comments? (0 so far) previous - next recently on almostgoldsf... in defense of an email box I came to do battle with SPAM - 2008-05-17 hello 2006 - 2005-12-31 Happy Thanksgiving - 2005-11-14 bon voyage - 2005-11-05 October already? - 2005-10-09