I hate being awake at 4 am

Being awake at 4 am is the worst. I actually woke up at shortly after 3, but I kept thinking I would get back to sleep…until about 4. Then I got up, made coffee, and started tidying stuff in preparation for the massive pre-sale housecleaning operation scheduled to begin at 7:30. (And I thought THAT was annoyingly early!)

I have this cough that I have now had for a week. The urgent care facility said it was a virus and would be gone in 7-10 days. They better be right. I am so sick of not being able to take a deep breath.

Last night was lovely.

A small group of friends went out for goodbye dinner and 2-stepping, with much laughter. I can’t believe I’m leaving. Mindy pointed out that perhaps since I’m moving away, they may see me more than they did when I was their next door neighbor. I hope so. (I couldn’t possibly see them less!) I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends.

Earlier in the day, Christa and I went for lunch at MaMa Wok — mmmmm, 3 cup chicken — and manicures and pedicures. Amazingly, my "mani" hasn’t chipped or smudged yet. I went for short and subtle, on the theory that it might possibly last to my first day of work.

I’m getting excited about the new job. Yesterday I had an idea that I sent off to my new boss and asked him to think about/look for related products at CES.

I’ve also been thinking about what a treat it is to get to start somewhere so completely fresh. I get to say how I’ll be, not just in the new job, but in a whole new city. The only person at Earthlink who has known me before is someone I met during the buildup for GetNetWise, but even he didn’t know me well.

When I interviewed, everyone I met with except the lovely woman from HR was in jeans. I want to hit that sweet spot of presenting myself so I get taken seriously without being intimidating.

I have this idea that being a somewhat senior woman in a tech company, jeans are not in that sweet spot. I don’t want to dress like a lawyer — that would be wierd — so I’ve been bargain hunting for pants and shirts one step up from jeans. It isn’t an area that’s been well developed in my wardrobe in the past. I should have gone for that spot while at AOL, but I was taken by surprise. It was too big of a change from Washington Lawyer. Over the past few weeks, as I’ve gone downtown to say goodbye to people from old jobs, I kept getting surprised by how formal everyone looked. I guess I adjusted!