The plumber showed up 24 hours after we realized the pipes were frozen. He said that after 6 hours of freezing, they were usually cracked, so ours surely were. But they somehow weren’t. Relief.

The whole “ordeal” ended up being a blessing. It brought our landlord to our place for most of the afternoon, and at the end he declared to T how much he appreciated us as tenants, and to tell him if there’s anything he can do. This is perfect timing as I had gotten permission for a chihuahua and now need to upgrade to a Boston. Plus, we now have decent water pressure.

Matt called around 8 pm and said there might be one puppy left, but they weren’t sure. We should know today. In any case, I spent part of the evening making a list of nearby Boston breeders (7 in Quebec, 17 in Ontario), so I think we’re going to find one anyway.

Nothing’s changed at the job, but like I said everything feels less intense now that I’ve started the process of transferring to a more exciting workscape.

And how’ve you been?

Last night I went to see shih-tzus up in Bromont, thinking of maybe reserving one of them.

I have to say, however, that although they were really nice and well-behaved, playful and friendly, I didn’t get that gut “YES!” reaction to them. Maybe it’s because they were all so hairy and I don’t like hairy dogs. I’ve always had the intention of shaving the shih if I got one.

On the way home, I called Matt the vet to discuss this. We talked about other breeds I have disqualified and why. Chihuahua because of the reputation, Boston Terrier (my faaaaavorite) because T finds them ugly.

15 minutes later Matt calls me back and says that at his girlfriend’s clinic (she’s also a vet), they’ve had a litter of Bostons and are looking to give them away. FREE. Ooooooh, if I could just talk T into it. Call T, and he says okay. (Can you say zillions of brownie points? I knew you could.)

Read up some more on Bostons this morning, and just seeing the pictures I had that “YES!” gut feeling. So now I’m just waiting to find out if there are any Bostons left at the clinic, as Matt is supposed to check today.

So I’m waiting for my boyfriend to call*.
And I’m waiting for my ex-boyfriend to call.

(*see previous post)

It’s so cold that our pipes froze and we’ve had no water since last night.

I’m waiting for T to call. Either to tell me the plumber’s made it in time, or that he didn’t, and the pipes burst and our dining room table is now afloat.

Hey, if we open the windows and it freezes, we can have an indoor skating party this weekend! How cool would that be!

Last year I started feeling quite unhappy at work. The source of the dissatisfaction was a mixture of things: because we’ve been bought by another company, making our client base a little nervous, and because the market is bad, we haven’t sold much lately. And since my job consists mostly in training new clients, I haven’t been doing a whole lot of that.

December marked a year of putzing around, trying to help sales by doing demos, trying to help development by making recommendations to improve the products, writing new exercises for my training manuals that meanwhile sat gathering dust. But mostly, gaining weight and inertia in a cubicle. Thinking I could be doing so many other things. Like starting a gym franchise. Or becoming an vending machine refiller. Anything.

In the fall I had been told confidentially by someone in authority to stay put, that major changes (presumably in management) were coming. So I stayed on. I refused to let my characteristic impatience be my downfall. Every time I wanted to call in sick (something I’ve never done in my whole career), just to avoid going in, I told myself I wasn’t that kind of person.

I didn’t blog about any of it because I was tired of hearing my bitching in my own head. I didn’t want anyone else to grow tired of it too.

This Monday I returned to work, resolved on bitching no more, but doing something about it instead. By 9:30 am my job had started sucking again. In the afternoon my source told me the “changes” would probably not happen.

Tuesday I e-mailed HR and asked for a meeting to discuss a transfer. This is a huge company with thousands and thousands of people, and there are exciting things happening elsewhere.

Wednesday the job kept sucking, and I was saddened that HR didn’t get back to me. But having made the overt move of requesting a transfer, I felt divorced from the whole thing and my mood was much lighter. Whenever one of the things that have annoyed me happened, I would just shake my head and laugh.

Thursday, it seems everything I’d been hoping for in 2003 happened. In the morning, my boss kicked off an exciting new project and put me in charge of it. In the afternoon, a VP came to see me out of the blue to discuss the possibility of recruiting me to his team. At 5:01, there was an emergency with one of our clients in D.C., and I was the only one left who could solve it. So I got to save the day.

And then on Friday, HR contacted me to discuss my transfer out of here.

But it’s all good.

In a meeting with three people way more important than me. They’re discussing how they want to give me the task of marketing our product to a new industry.

I want to say: “…the issues our existing clients solve using our product”.

I actually say: “…the issues our existing clients solve using our problem”.

I don’t think I’m cut out for marketing.

(making up for lost time here!)

My friend Ced has a theory, that the number of female friends a chick has is directly related to her maintenance requirements.

Discuss.

No, not really.

(off diepunyhumans, via Denis)

So Lou mentions that after having given beau Ricky a model boat to build as a Christmas gift, she’s hardly been seeing him.

Funny, I was thinking about blogging something very similar about T and the iPod I got him. Although I’ve seen significantly less of him as a result, I’m ecstatic about the fact that he likes this year’s gift better than last year’s (now dust covered) rollerblades.

And to think one of his arguments against getting me a dog was that he might be neglected in its favor. Well, if all goes well, I’m picking out a baby on Thursday night.

(Footnote: of course, now having seen what the iPod really is, and what the fuss is all about, I totally need one).

Me: Well, he should just grow some balls.
Bill: Yeah.
Me: Speaking of which, something weird’s been happening lately…
Bill: Wait, you said “grow some balls” then “something weird’s been happening lately”?
(hilarity ensues)
Bill: Okay, which one of us blogs this? Oh, you go ahead, you haven’t blogged in a while…

In 2003 I fulfilled my resolution to spend more time with friends.
In 2004 I’d like to work on being a good friend, not just on showing up.

In 2003 T and I moved in and took our first trip together.
In 2004 I’d like us to travel together again.

In 2003 I did not fulfill my resolution to draw more, and in fact my confidence in my abilities is at an all-time low.
In 2004, I’ll concentrate on guitar playing. Music being something I feel much more comfortable with, perhaps this will bolster my confidence.

In 2003 I ran a 10 km race. It took me an hour.
In 2004 I want to run a half-marathon. I don’t care how long it takes.

In 2003 I slept in the Sahara and jumped out of an airplane.
In 2004 I plan on adopting a dog and starting night school.

In 2003 I have grown very unhappy at work.
In 2004 I need to solve this early in the year, because it’s affecting other aspects of life. Luckily I’m pretty sure this can be resolved.

In 2003 I went to Vegas for the first time.
In 2004 I want to do as little business travel as possible.

In 2003 I made some wonderful new friends.
In 2004 I’ll start making them wonderful old friends.

In 2003 I gained ten pounds.
In 2004 I’d like to lose them.

I wish us all the best possible year 2004.