Hi, my name is Amy...

...and I'm a shopaholic. I don't think my BH realized that living in Japan would feed this newfound addiction. So, it's no lie the Japanese are the number one consumers of luxury goods. I hop on the train in a pair of jeans, t-shirt, nothing spectacular but these women and I feel like Dowdy McDowdy. Not to mention, with no family obligations or a laundry list of things to do like I would in the States, I find myself spending lots of time shopping ONLINE! I always shop the sale section, though! I've gotten some CHEAPO items! The dress I wore for BH's Christmas Party, Diane von Furstenberg at almost 70% off! Ka-ching!

Neiman Marcus, Saks, Barney's, Gilt, I can't help myself! Speaking of Gilt, I LOVE it! If anyone wants an e-vite, let me know!

Birthday Recap

This past Thursday was my 23rd birthday! I definitely feel older. I think a lot of it is conventional math: graduate high school (18), graduate college (22), old fart (23). While I didn't necessarily follow that pattern, 22 for me seems like a "young" age and everything else is an abyss. It's weird, I know. No big deal.

I have to say that even though I saw Tom for a grand total of 90 minutes, it wasn't a bad birthday. I worked which kept me occupied. The best part... HM's birthday present to me was to leave me ALONE! My employees took me out to lunch and got me flowers and balloons! BH got me flowers and balloons, too! My office smelled like a garden! Loves it! BH's present hasn't come in yet, though!

Thanks for all the warm wishes!

I Want!

My birthday is coming up. And I want...

Yes! Yes! Yes! My beloved husband said it might come true! I'm a rotten little girl and I love it! Actually, this rotten little girl has been eying this little sucker since 2007! I was unemployed (poo!) and when I started working, I said mine! BH said, "Wait till October so we can pay some bills off and you can have it then." To my surprise, I agreed. How old and married of me! Little did I know that my dreams would be DASHED for October came and went, November came and went, the Yen plummetted, December came and went and now January has come and is going. But this little lovely will be all mine soon!

I'm back!

Sorry, ya'll! I had a hell of a week last week. All I wanted to do was give one giant middle finger to HM. It was THAT bad! Luckily, HM was golfing today! It was fabulous. I actually had time to draft a termination letter that I had to have done last week!

On a brighter note... we went to Tokyo Disney yesterday! Not Disneyland, but DisneySEA! It was so freakin' cool! I'll post pictures up soon. We went to Disneyland back in September for Labor Day. It was a Monday and we figured all the Japanese squirts would be in school. Boy, were we wrong. It was chock-full-o-squirts! Disneysea was no where near as busy! It took us longer to walk through the ropes than it did to wait in line. Tower of Terror had a 40 minute wait, and we didn't mind since we hadn't lined up for any ride ALL DAY!

Tom and I are going to chillax tonight and watch the Obama inauguration. It's a historical moment! I think all inaugurations are historic! I remember Bush's back in 2000. I personally didn't vote for Obama. I liked that McCain had no problem crossing party lines and his experience was definite plus. It's not that I didn't like Obama. I think part of me wanted to go against the grain and fight the "fad". I wasn't upset when he won, though. I kind of expected it in all honesty. There was Republican fatigue and America wasn't going to vote another one in for an additional 4, or possibly 8, years. Looking back, I think, and hope, that it was a great thing that he was elected. The good will he brings to the Office of the President is something, I think, will unite America as well as change many international opinions. I'm not so sure McCain could have done the same. I hope he ends up becoming one of our best presidents. He has a lot of work ahead of him and hopefully he can show everyone what he's made of! We won't look to him in anticipation of his failure, but of his success.

I must be honest and voice how peeved I am at the whole inauguration circus thing going on. I resent how they're making this all out to be a black thing. I like my presidents to be American. Not black, white, yellow, red, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish...I think I've made my point. All the celebrities are buzzing and yes, he will be the first African-American president. Amazing strides for America, without a doubt. I kind of feel cheated that no one has really come out to say, "Yes, he is America's first African-American president. However, he is American first and foremost." Like me, I'm Cuban-American. But I am 100% American. My Cuban roots are secondary. Do I understand the Latino plight? Certainly! Would a Latino or woman president cause a similar stir? Probably. But at some point, I'd expect them to call it for what it is.

My two cents...

His Majesty

I have titled this blog post after my beloved boss. Words cannot describe this man. And I am not alone! HM has no regard for ethics, does as he pleases, belittles and humiliates employees and if you make his sh*t list...you'll know it. I think I'm well on my way on it, but I just can't help myself! He's infuriating!

So he drives this one manager away and suckers like me are to pick up the pieces. I get assigned to take over this manager's change fund only to find it sub-custodied to a bunch of buffoons! Mind you, I'm not included in the email ASSIGNING me to the change fund. I've had an amazing mentor throughout these last couple months whom I've nicknamed as Sunshine and he's been an excellent source of knowledge! I would have lost my marbles LOOONG ago were it not for Sunshine!

So, my Finance guy is out of town for another two WEEKS! GRR!!! The first two weeks were okay, but this week was HELL! We've duked it out before, but he really does handle everything. He's also a major kiss ass! I guess this is why it's been so hot under the sun lately. He needs to come back ASAP!

I really was excited about this job. I loved it then and love it still...somewhat. I can do without a few people and a few tasks, but when all is said and done it's a great opportunity and the pay isn't bad. But it doesn't mean I'll stop looking for my next job!

*sigh*

My four day weekend is OVER! I'm so saddened. I have a full week ahead of work and I am so excited I can barely contain myself, not.

On another note, the husband has managed to piss me off yet again this weekend. The man really does try to make me raise an ulcer farm every Sunday night (cleaning time). I just did some damage at Saks and Victoria's Secret and that always makes me feel better! Yay! I can't wait till my packages come in!

I'll be posting pictures of our New Year festivities soon. I haven't seen them yet, but let's just say I was VERY festive!

First!

So, I have been wanting to start a blog for a while. With the start of a new year, I decided it's now or never. Call it a resolution of sorts. I'm hoping it will be an outlet for me as well as a way for family and friends to stay abreast on the happenings in my life.

Feel free to let me know your thoughts!