We've been seeing a lot of theatre lately. Two weeks ago we went with my dad, stepmother, and stepgrandmother Nabu (more on them shortly) to see a matinee of The Lion King in London. My family very kindly treated all of us to seats about 10 rows from the stage, smack in the middle of the theatre. None of us had ever seen The Lion King, and Nabu in particular was extremely keen to see it.

It was unbelievable.

The costumes themselves were amazing. The dancing, the singing, the sheer commitment of the actors, even on a Wednesday matinee....we were thoroughly impressed. It was fantastic.

Tonight, Angus and I are off to London as I've booked tickets to see Wicked. I'm nearly wetting myself in anticipation. I first read the book Wicked in 1997 as a poor soulless post-college slave in a stockbroking firm, and I was wildly in love with it from word go. Wicked the show has finally come to London and luckily we get to go-the tickets were so expensive they made my hands shake as I entered my credit card details on the website (is it too socialist of me to wish that theatre tickets were free? Work is life, comrade?) but we have great seats and we get to see the lead, Idina Menzel, who originated the role of Elphaba on Broadway (she's only here for three months).

And then Angus, taking pity on me because I have missed How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? so much (I can't believe I got addicted to a reality show), booked us tickets to see The Sound of Music. Due to the popularity of the reality show, the first time we can get see it is March 2007, so we've a long wait.

But I love seeing these shows, and I'm a bit like a kid in a candy shop just now.

So hey. A little culture.

***************************************

We've also stepped up the holiday plans. We're leave in a week and a half for a 5-day stay in the far northern Highlands in Scotland (including a stay at a whiskey distillery). We both love Scotland, and the way up there we're travelling by sleeper train. Now, I suffer from sleep issues but sleeper cars? I sleep like a baby.

November we're off to my friend's wedding in Atlanta, albeit taking an incredibly circuitous route and only staying 4 days. But still...Target. There's an enormous Target close to the hotel. That's all I can say about that.

Then because we have a British Airways American Express card and we reached a certain limit on it, we got a "buy one ticket, get one free" voucher. Plus, Angus has masses of air miles. So, with recent stresses on our mind and a need to cheer up, we decided to go away for New Years. We have his kids for Christmas but they have to go back to Sweden just after, so we did some searching. The goal was to use these vouchers and fuck off to Australia, while upgrading to business class, and spend New Years there. Turns out offers to Australia fill up a year in advance, so that was a no-go.

So we booked something else.

We fly in to Seattle two days after Christmas in business class, and once there we'll then go spend three days with my dad, stepmother, and Nabu. Then we hire a car and drive up to Canada to the ski area of Whistler, where we've pushed the boat out and booked a posh hotel, so we can go skiing and ring in the New Year and drink and relax for 6 days.

A New Year, a New Start, right?

Then we fly home.

In first class, something neither of us have ever done.

Frequent flier miles rule.

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On the work front, I rejected Option A. I thanked them very much. I told them I was honored but due to compensation, I couldn't accept their offer, and wished them the best of success. There have been no hard feelings (I know this, I do work with them still.) I recognized the job for what it was-the chance at a massive leg-up. An opportunity to bust through a glass ceiling, the first step to management. I saw it....and I said goodbye to it.

It's just not what I want for myself right now.

And this isn't about me, as a woman, not being strong enough to do this. This isn't about me, as a woman, caving in and saying: I can't do this fight. This isn't about me, as a woman, settling for a lesser position because I'm afraid I can't hack it in that role.

This is about me, as a woman with history and issues, putting her health and her happiness first.

I haven't accepted Option B yet because I'm just not sure if the job is something I really want-I'm not very excited about the product itself, and I worry that if I can't get excited about the product it will relate as me being lax in my role. I do have to find something as the project I'm on finishes the end of the year, and although I won't lose my job at the end of it, I'd rather choose what I'm going to do next as opposed to my bosses just moving me to what they want me to do.

Jump, not push.

I'm getting there.

-H.

PS-I've been invited by Maison Pants to join the Flickr Group called 365Days-it's about self-portraits, everyday for one year. I thought it was nice and introspective, and a great idea. I've joined, so if you see a lot of pics of myself in my Flickr account, I assure you I have not become a practicing narcissist.

PPS-it's that time again. It's picture taking in our house this weekend, so get your wallets ready-we even do the "not safe for work" portion of the site. October is all about pumpkins, fallen leaves, apple cider...and boobies.

Posted by: Everydaystranger at 11:08 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 1023 words, total size 6 kb.

1 I just posted a Boobie link myself. Hopefully we can raise even more this year.

Posted by: Mia at September 29, 2006 11:54 AM (OQZ7R)

2 They've been advertising the Lion King coming to Raleigh for a few months now. It seems really cool but I doubt I'll be able to convince anyone to go.

Posted by: Erin at September 29, 2006 02:29 PM (zw8QA)

3 I live a few hours' drive from Whistler, and it's gorgeous (they just opened a bunch of new alpine terrain, making it the largest ski area in North America). You'll love it I'm sure!

Posted by: loribo at September 29, 2006 02:58 PM (RYVp+)

4 Wicked was incredible. You won't be disappointed. I didn't read the book until after I saw the play, so I'm a little biased towards the play over the book, but I liked the book a lot. As for your upcoming trip to Scotland, say hello to the valleys of green and grey for me. Lord only knows if I'll ever make it back there to say hello myself.

Posted by: amy t. at September 29, 2006 06:10 PM (3dOTd)

5 I am highly jealous that you are going to Wicked. HIGHLY. I love it too. Of course, I live less than 2 miles from what used ot be the world's biggest Target and I go at least once a week to walk around, if nothing else. Don't forget us lowly peons in your jet-setting adventures

Posted by: caltechgirl at September 29, 2006 09:10 PM (r0kgl)

6 My daughter gave us tickets for the Lion King as an early birthday prsent for me. We saw it 2 weeks ago and I am still thinking about how fabulous it was! Heard Wicked was wonderful too. Your travel plans sound fabulous; especially New Year's! Good for you.

Posted by: kenju at September 29, 2006 09:47 PM (2+7OT)

7 When in Seattle you would be remiss not to stay at the Edgewater Hotel, http://www.edgewaterhotel.com/ and get a first floor water room, fishing pools provided!

Posted by: Fred at September 30, 2006 03:31 AM (JXMxY)

8 Ooh, I live in Atlanta, and I love Target, too. There's a fabulous two-story (it has an escalator especially for your CART!) Target on Peachtree just north of Lenox Mall, and there's a Super-Monster-Fuck Off-Target (or whatever they're called) on North Druid Hills, east of 85 (left side if you're eastbound.)

Posted by: Marian at September 30, 2006 03:27 PM (ZD4nv)

9 If you ever do get to Australia - I'm in Melbourne and would LOVE to show you guys around. )

Posted by: Flikka at October 01, 2006 05:33 AM (dh/+g)

10 Hurray for Boobies! I just charged up the camera battery this morning and will be taking some pictures tonight as well as making my donation so I get to see all the "not safe for work" goodies.

Posted by: girl at October 03, 2006 04:08 PM (ZIi+3)

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