As most of you know, the passenger side mirror on my car was clipped off when I was at LAX a few years ago picking up a friend. Because it was snapped off and left hanging, the one tiny tension post that keeps mirrors like mine on, was broken in half (with half still being in the housing on the car side). This meant that I wasn't really able to fix it, so, being the classy gal I am, I flooded it with epoxy and slapped some black Gorilla Tape on it. I always hated it, but I could live with it... Until I started working in Brentwood.

Now, all of a sudden it's bothering me. What can I do? I can't really get a new one because the epoxy I originally used would have to be removed, and that would probably entail use of a heat gun. I figured I would probably melt off the plastic housing as well, so that's out. How about this, take off the tape and the adhesive residue (from 4 years of slapping new tape on) and see how well the mirror does on its own?

Great idea!!! So this past Sunday morning I go out to my car (early) armed with a microfiber cloth and a bottle of Goof Off. For AN HOUR I scrubbed. I kept going until all the adhesive was gone. Off the frame of the car and off the plastic housing for the mirror.

I thought my fingers were gonna die! Constant scrubbing for sixty minutes!

When I was done, I was really proud of myself! The mirror stayed up (barely) and my car looks presentable. A job well done!!

Until...... I woke up Monday morning to fingers swollen up to twice their normal size. It felt like I had on really sticky thick rubber gloves. It didn't hurt much, but it was hard to work (and grab things). Now that they're almost back to their normal size, guess what they're doing? Yup, PEELING!!!! Just from the knuckle to the tips mind you. So glamorous!

I hope, at the very least, the young kid who drives the Porsche and parks next to me every day at work notices the mirror before it falls off again. Maybe he won't give my car that sad look with a shake of his head anymore. :-(. Meanwhile, I'll just sit here scrubbing my hands and applying lotion.

What price vanity indeed!

(I typed this on my phone, so please excuse typos until I can get to a computer to fix them).

I recently posed this question to my friend Sam (Samantha): "how many times does it take for me to mutter to myself "well, you're just a c*nt in a Prius (or BMW, Mercedes, Ford or whatever)" on the way to/from work before it loses meaning?"  She said "never".

I hope she's right. I say it an awful lot to myself on the way to work and on the way home each night. :-)

I don't know which is worse, students on the way to UCLA (late for class, of course) in the morning or the rich Brentwood commuters getting off work each night....

Wow, I forgot what a great movie L.A. Confidential is.  Amazing acting all around.

It's been years since I saw it in the movie theater....

I came across the DVD while I was doing a little bit of cleaning this afternoon.  What a great way to spend a couple of hours and avoid finishing the cleaning.

Argh! Work was exhausting this week (again).

To add to the stress I'm experiencing at work (I still haven't gotten the hang of things yet),  the President was in town and, while I love our commander-in-chief, I really wish they would choose non-rush hour travel times when he needs to get around town. You know, 7pm instead of 5pm.  10am instead of 9am. They shut everything down WAY ahead of time!!!!  A stretch of Wilshire ended up getting shut down without it being announced ahead of time!!!  Luckily, I had my Waze up and running, so that when I made the snap decision to flee the snarl I was stuck in, it was there, guiding me along.

I still don't have the hang of things at work. I'm not used to things like this taking so long. What I AM used to is getting things at work right off the bat. It's a hit to my pride and confidence?

I'm frustrated and tired.

Week two-done!!!

Went to EC today after work with Sam and her husband David. We had fun! Danny is a hero behind the bar! I had a designated driver in David, so I was able to relax and have a cocktail.

I've changed my evening commute route to Wilshire - S. Santa Monica- Barton. Less traffic than the snarl I encounter in Beverly Hills each evening on Wilshire.

Bosses were out of the office the last couple of days, so we got a lot if training done AND I was able to rearrange things so that I'm not getting bruised shins when I sit at my desk.

Still haven't ventured out of the office yet during my lunch hour.  I'm using the heat as my excuse this week, but in all honesty, I'm just not at ease yet.

Not much on for the weekend. Thrilling Adventure Hour tomorrow night and chores the rest of the weekend. I'm behind because I was knocked out with a migraine last weekend.

You wouldn't believe the amount of laundry I have to do. And fabric steaming. And dusting. And vacuuming. BAH!!!

Week one at my job is done! There is so much still to learn, my head is spinning.

Apart from Thursday night, the commute has been pretty good. I usually leave my apt around 8am in the morning and have been getting there in under 30 minutes. Luckily the parking garage has amazing cell reception, so I'm able to reply to emails and send texts while I'm killing time waiting to go up to the office (the gal training me doesn't want me there until 9am). I usually leave the office between 5-5:30pm and was home either before or close to 6pm each night.  

Thursday evening was a nightmare! I FLEW through Brentwood and Westwood, but when I got to Beverly Hills, I hit a WALL of traffic. Of course it was also the day that my phone fell under the seat where I couldn't reach it, so I couldn't log-in to Waze and find another way home. It took OVER AN HOUR to get from Canon to S. San Vicente/Wilshire Blvd. I muscled my way over and made a left and took every tiny street I knew to get home. When I finally got home....no parking. I had to park three blocks away!  I was exhausted and cranky. I treated myself to a pink grapefruit juice Greyhound while I was fixing dinner. I think it was well deserved!!!! Anyway- Lesson learned! Always have my phone handy!!!!

Training has had its ups and downs. I think the only big issue I have is that I prefer to complete things from start to finish when I'm learning and that just isn't happening. It's more a case of bits and pieces here and there, so when I have to figure out the next step, I'm sometimes at a loss. 

HEAVILY REDACTED AT THIS POINT- a lot of funny (and totally immature) trash talking was at this point. If you would like the HUGE portion I cut out, let me know!!! I thought it would be best to cut it out since I've been pretty good about not doing it up to this point, no matter how much I wanted to!!!!

Everything else is going well. We've had a few bumps, but nothing major. Hopefully, I will get the hang of stuff and it will get easier.

I will try to explore the neighborhood soon. I'm just not comfortable enough to venture out yet. Ive been told there is a CVS down the way that I may walk down to one of these days. I've also got a few people who used to work with me at my last job who either live in the area or who now work there that want to either go to lunch or cocktails after work (if I go for cocktails I'll take the bus in).

Fingers-crossed I can learn everything and also get acclimated to the fancy neighborhood. :-)

Well, it's the end of the day after my first day at work and I'm exhausted. It was non-stop information overload. But, and this shows how great my new bosses are, I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I'm not expected to know and learn everything in one day. Being the people pleaser I am, I want so bad to do everything right and impress them....... Right off the bat with little instruction. I know that's an unreasonable expectation on my part, but it's in my DNA. It's what I do.

As I have said before, I'm really not that familiar with the area, but it seems nice. I, of course, got there early, so my commute was less than 25 minutes this morning and it was about 35-40 minutes going home, which is better than I thought it would be. Each way, to keep it easy, I took Wilshire straight to San Vicente.  

It's so weird, my goal was always to get a job on the west side, but I never dreamed I would be working where I finally ended up. I count myself so fortunate that my reputation and work ethic was so well known that I was recommended for this job so out of the blue. The application and interview process was long and arduous, to say the least, but it was my reputation and people recommending me that got me in the door.  As far as I know, this job was not advertised, so I'm flattered.

The best part of the day was when I was told "I am so happy you are here". That made me feel so good! So, as of day 1, I'm happy!

I guess I'm in what they call the honeymoon phase. :-)