Lists, lists, lists....

1. I'm writing this entry on my iPhone.
2. I miss you all somethin' terrible.
3. The new job is great.
4. The people here are happy.
5. The people here are friendly.
6. The people here chat with one another and have fun.
7. My commute is long, but it's not 'traffic-y' so I don't mind.
8. Jim is glad to have the 'old' John back.
9. I'm glad to have the 'old' John back.
10. Keep your 'old' comments to yourself.
11. Zachary is doing great since his surgery and is back to normal.
12. We are all set to have the pool re-lined as well as getting some other 'cosmetic' stuff done in the pool area.
13. Jim and Scooter can't wait to swim.
14. I split a second pair of pants at work last week.
15. My diet starts today.
16. Lists make blogging easy.
17. I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as the pool area transformation is underway.
18. xoxo

When It's Time to Change...

The day that I never thought would arrive, has arrived.  :-)

Today is my last day at my current job.  When people ask me how long I've been with the company, it's kind of difficult to give a simple answer, because it's a complicated situation.  I generally say that I've been here just about 11 years, but then I have to add the qualifier that I've only been with my 'current' company for the past 5 years, but I was with the previous company for 6 years, before they were acquired by my current company.  Make sense?  It's been just about 11 years in total, but that technically split up between two companies.

That being said, it's been a long time since I've started a BRAND new job....and that will happen on Monday.  YIKES!  As you'd expect, I'm a little bit nervous, but mostly excited.  For the first time since 1996, I won't be working for a financial company, and that alone sends me through the roof.
There will be no talk of trade processing, no buys and sells to process, no variation margins, no trade extracts, no amortization, etc.and that makes me very happy.

I'll be sure you do my best to keep you all updated as to how things are going, you can be sure of that.

In the meantime, our little boy, Zachary underwent his second (and hopefully final) surgery last Wednesday and is doing great with his recuperation. 
Here are some photos:

Jim and Zachary hanging out before he went in for the surgery (Jim went downstairs with him, which explains why he's in scrubs)

One last photo before he went down to the O.R.

He was very sleepy/cuddly after surgery, and required a constant flow of oxygen 'mist' just to be safe.

Spending some time with Scooter at home after being discharged.  The 'braces' on his arms are to keep him from putting anything in his mouth, since that's where the surgery was....they're only temporary, and he doesn't mind wearing them. 

For the most part.  :-)

As I mentioned, Z is doing well with his recovery and aside from having a little bit of a cold (of course) he's just about back to normal.

In other news, Jim and I got a bit of bad news/shock of our lives when the pool company came to open our pool yesterday afternoon. 

Long story short:  They took off the pool cover, and the pool was empty.

SHIT. 

It seems that there's a leak in the liner, and we'll need to get a new one ASAP.  Of course, we don't have an extra $4,000 lying around (which is the estimated cost) so we're going to have to do some creative financial planning in order to take care of it.  Until then, we've got an eyesore of a pool that we have to keep under lock and key, since it's a very dangerous place right now.

Here's a picture of what we saw when it was opened, and the picture doesn't nearly capture what it really looks like.  It looks AWFUL and we feel like ultra white-trash having this mess in our backyard.

I look forward to the day (hopefully SOON) when I can post some "Look at our beautiful new pool!!" pictures.  :-)

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll be sure to keep you posted on what's going on in my world.

Thank you again for all your kind words and support.

Also - to all my Boston readers, have a GREAT Pride weekend!!!!

xoxo