Lovely lists

Hello all! Since I've already worked a 12-hour day today, I thought I'd come home and sit in front of my computer for a while. Wait--did that sound sarcastic? Just a bit of tired frustration amidst the horror that is trying to launch a half-baked website at work. In any case, it is SO much easier to deal with stress when you love your job. What a concept. It's been almost 3 months since I last typed to you, so if you're all missing me as much as I'm missing you, I know you'll appreciate the firestorm of lists I will now unveil for your reading pleasure (I know, I know...lists are a cop out, but they're still better than no blog at all!).

Shows/sporting events I've been to this summer:

• Snoop Dogg
• Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
• Diamondbacks v. Cubbies
• Stone Temple Pilots
• Radiohead!!!!!!!!!!
• ASU Sun Devils vs. NAU Lumberjokes...I mean, Lumberjacks
• Steelers vs. Texans home opener :)

And I've got Sigur Ros in a few weeks and then a David Sedaris reading.

Places I've been:

• Picacho Peak, Tucson, AZ--Memorial Day weekend camping with Matt, Chara & The Doots
• Strathcona/Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON--8 hours of driving for less than one day in Toronto to see Radiohead the day after flying a red-eye flight to begin our 10 day vacation
  
• Keefer Camp, Sandy Pond, NY--for a mini-Keefer reunion/Mark & Ann's 60th birthdays/say goodbye to the camp before we tear it down/hang with Matt's sister/beach
• 34 4th St./Heinz Field--a quick trip home for the Steeler's home opener (took mom)
  
• Little America, Flagstaff, AZ--a weekend with Matt's vacationing parents

Headed to Portland in mid-October for a half-conference/work trip and then Matt joins me for a weekend of fun. Also have Orlando in November for a work conference.


Things I love about Nlets:

• My own parking spot with a placard that says 'Keefer'
• An office with a window that actually looks outside and a piece of glass with my name and position on it (though it's not really etched in, the sticker makes it look fancy enough)
• A full kitchen, a family atmosphere, good people, and no lack of interesting stories at lunch
• Staff meetings, team building events, and lunch with the ladies once a month
• The fact that I'm the only person on my team who lives in Phoenix
• Writing all day every day
• Paying my bills

I'm still adjusting to a HUGE learning curve (the list of acronyms on my wall is 200+ and flaps in the wind when the A/C kicks on), but I wake up in the morning knowing that I go to work every day to do what I want and love and learned in college to do.

Things on my 'To Do' list:

• Photoshop random photos stuck on the camera I've barely used as of late.
• Find a house. Organize bad timing for a move. Pack my crap. Move in with the boy.
  
• Go to San Fran once Brian is settled in. Road trip to San Diego. Pittsburgh/Cleveland visit families and see where we grew up trip. Rocky Point. Polar bear camping in Cottonwood.
• Pay off my debt. Vote for Obama. Get a dog. Save the world.

I know that's a pretty random list--though yinz guys know I only make lists so I can actually do the things on them. In this crazy world of failed investments, bottomed-out markets, and shaky dollars, I still get quite a bit of satisfaction from the simple action of crossing something off a hastily made and quickly forgotten list.

Anything I might be forgetting:

• In case it wasn't clear, yes, we are tearing down the Keefer Camp. My parents and I had a pow-wow with the architect while I was up there for vaca. Building should take all of next summer. Growing trees again should take the rest of my lifetime...
• Mom's doing great, with her hilarious sixth graders and crazy assignments and ever-evolving gossipy school district.
  
• Dad is in his 40th year of business, still sidewalk supervising and B.S.ing his way into the hearts of poeople with downed trees in their yards everywhere. Oh, and check out Cormick McCarthy's novel adapation for film The Road, staring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron, coming out in November. My dad/Keelen Bros. helped with the special effects for the scene with trees that appear to be blowing up.
• Ain't no fun, if the homies can't have none.

Hope all is well with each and every one of you. Wish I could be more of a blog-o-holic these days. Alas, I am full to the brim with life, love, and laughter. You can always catch my attention with an email; you can be sure to get a text; and, you know you're curious to see if I see have a Monty Python ringback tone.

BIG HUG!

XO

--Chelsea