Mid-week Thinks

1. I went to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert last night. Robert took me last year for my first time and I knew it needed to become a tradition. It's an amazing show, worth every penny. It's a great way to officially start the holiday season.

2. I'm going to Ukraine a week from today for work. I'll be there til Jan. 1st. I found out on Monday that I might be going to China on Jan. 2nd. This created a bit of a problem because I need a Visa for China. So, I had to hurry to VisAbility to get a rush Visa before I leave for Ukraine. Turns out my passport expires in June of '08 and because a Visa is good for 6 months and mine was suppose to start in Jan. of '08 they said I needed to renew my passport first. Long story short- I had to do the fastest passport renewal rush (3 days) and a same day Visa rush. So, 2 pictures, 2 applications, $717.00 for rush/renewal fees, $3.00 for parking, and an hour and a half later, I might have my passport back 15 hours before I'm suppose to be on the plane to Ukraine. The guy who was helping me (bless his heart) was really starting to bug me. He had so many dumb questions. The one that put me over the edge was, "Can you push your travel date to Ukraine back a day or 2 if you don't have your passport?" In my head I thought, "Sure I guess I wouldn't have a choice." But what came out of my mouth was, "NO. I'm leaving this country on Dec. 5th. With or without a passport!" He just kindof looked at me like he was thinking he should call security. I forget that people who don't know me well sometimes have a hard time sensing the tone. I just smiled and thanked him for all his help. Let's all hold our breath for 6 days...

3. Chris gave me a friendship bracelet from Key West. He's so cute. He and The Diz (Randi) are so perfect for each other...they almost make me wanna believe in soul mates. I'm bummed that I'll probably be in China when they get married...sad...

4. I went Christmas shopping yesterday. I miss the days when Santa did most of the work and my shoppong was complete in about a 20 minute trip to All-A-Dollar, and about $5.25 later I had presents for everyone. Chrismas is too commercialized. We lost Thanksgiving to it years ago and now Halloween is being taken over too. Maybe I'm thinking about it so much this year because I'll be like a bajillion miles from my family on Christmas.

5. I went to Target today with Melaine. Why are there like 9 versions of UNO, and like 380 kinds of toothbrushes. I needed both, and it's so exhosting. Isn't life complicated enough? Why can't there be one UNO and one toothbrush??

6. I don't like snow. In my mind I've been on the beach in Hawaii for a few weeks and now everything has changed. The snow made me realize that I'd be happy sitting on the beach in my flip flops eating a mango for the holidays. But bitter cold Ukraine will be good too.

7. I love "Friends" reruns on TV, even though I own all 10 seasons, the 4 best ofs, and the party DVD. I don't think I'll ever get sick of 'em.