is I think the most misused and abused word in the English language. Why do people think that in order to achieve full dramatic effect, they have to add 'literally' to whatever mundane thing they did that day, not realizing they're using it wrongly!

Just in the last week, I've heard the following:
"I literally died when he said that!"
"I literally gave him the shirt off my back!" (on TV!)
"She, li-te-ra-lly, was over the moon when she saw me!"

I literally barfed.

Vangie Fuhrman got cold on 5.03.2006 7:16 AM. |

I went back to work this week. It's not as difficult as I thought it would be. Although I miss my son very much, I have been busy catching up with the workload that before I know it, it's lunchtime or the end of the day. I go home during lunch to be with my son and express milk. I didn't want to do the latter here. Even if we have a private room adjoining to the womens' restroom, which I think the building's designers intended to be a nursing moms' room, I find it much of a hassle to bring the pump here and deal with ice packs.

I have been getting a lot of compliments with how I look. I love it because people who I usually don't shoot the breeze with come up to me just to pay me a compliment. The most common one is that I don't even look like I gave birth. One even asked if he was only imagining seeing me pregnant last year. The best compliment I got was that I look even better than before I got pregnant. Thank you boobies!

I must admit I'm also surprised I lost much of the weight really quickly, especially the tummy. Two weeks after giving birth I could already fit in my regular jeans, without doing anything. I now believe that breastfeeding is not only great for the baby, but for the mom as well. I thought that was just a marketing gimmick to get moms to breastfeed, hee hee. I'm sure another huge factor is the sleeplessness. Hey, I'll take raccoon eyes over a big paunch anytime!

Vangie Fuhrman got cold on 3.09.2006 10:38 AM. |

Yesterday was the first day I was away from my baby for most of the day. Shhh, I went for a job interview, or should I say, a marathon of interviews! I only found out I was going in for the interview the day before, at 5:00 pm via email! I was surprised to find eleven people on the roster. I was expecting four or five, or maybe go in for two or three days for eleven people. Furthermore, I just got eleven names, without job titles, so I didn't really know how to prepare for each. It wouldn't have mattered, since I didn't have time anyway. I figured I should just relax that night to be all fresh and calm the next day.

Which is easier said than done. Over the last twelve years, I've only gone on one job interview, and that didn't go over well. That plus the lack of time to prepare plus being away from work for six weeks plus having racoon eyes from the lack of sleep didn't give me much confidence. The only thing going for me is that it's my former manager who wanted to get me for this position so I have a major backer within the firm. Even so, the nerves taking over are making me rationalize that that may not be a good thing, since my former manager is relatively new to the company and the others may view this as bringing in a crony. Aaargh! I guess it's good I didn't have much time - less time for nervousness!

One thing I hated about the day was being away from my baby for a long time. Aside from missing him, I know the time away will wreak havoc on my breastfeeding. I wanted to bring a breast pump so I can pump during the lunch break, but I got a call from my former manager that she wanted to have lunch with me, so that's out.

So I went ahead with the interview, and I ended up talking with the following people from the company:
Director of Sales Operations
SVP of Finance
HR Director
CFO
VP of HR
SVP of Market Development
IT Director, Infrastructure
SVP of Customer Support
Director of Customer Support
Finance Controller
SVP of Maintenance Revenue and Sales Operations

Whew. The whole thing started at 9 and ended a little after 5. At the end of the day, I felt pretty good about how I did (and that it was over!) but man were my breasts sore and hurting like !@#$. They were engorged and hard as rocks, and I don't know how I managed to drive home in that condition. I didn't even dwell on the interviews, just literally aching to go home to my baby.

Out of all the interviewers, I'm most concerned with the Director of Customer Support. I don't know why but I was all nerves with this guy. I felt like I babbled unnecessarily and didn't give satisfactory replies. Oh well, if nothing else, at least I had a good albeit fast-track experience with the interview process. I'm sure I'll need it in the future.

Wish me luck!

Vangie Fuhrman got cold on 2.16.2006 10:15 PM. |

at 2 hours old


sunning at 3 days old to get rid of that dang bilirubin


just chillin' on my boppy


hangin' with a sea otter

Vangie Fuhrman got cold on 1.26.2006 6:56 PM. |

Vangie Fuhrman got cold on 1.10.2006 10:13 PM. |

Last night I was busy working on my computer when suddenly, I heard my husband yell from the kitchen "Aaaah! Your crab's attacking my crab!". I went to see what the commotion's about and this is what I witness:



This made me laugh and suddenly hungry. I scooped up a big plate of steaming rice, made the sauces (Silver Swan soy sauce and Datu Puti vinegar with lemon for me, garlic butter for hubby) and we started to attack the crabs ourselves. Oh boy, this crab was the fattest and meatiest crab I've ever had in my life. I didn't even finish one, which is very rare for me.

In unrelated news, I'm sad to see Monday Night Football end. I've had a lot of good times watching it with my husband and/or friends, including while eating the crab last night. I have never liked watching ESPN so I'm sure I won't follow it there. It just isn't the same.

"Turn out the lights, the party's over."

Vangie Fuhrman got cold on 12.27.2005 11:42 PM. |

Vangie Fuhrman got cold on 12.24.2005 6:32 PM. |