i surrender….

I love Verizon wireless, I really do.  The service is fantastic, I never drop calls, and the prices are reasonable compared to others, but there is one giant let down.  The iPhone!   I’m sure every verizon customer shares my disappointment in the fact that they do not sell the iPhone.  Sure there are always reports that it is coming in 2009, then it was coming in 2010, now perhaps 2011 or 2012, but some of us just can’t wait that long.  I’ve wanted an iPhone since the first day they were sold, but always held out for numerous reasons, including that I didn’t want to drop down a notch in service and “settle” for AT&T.   I am giving in and saying “Adios” to verizon and switching over to the lesser network to satisfy my thirst for a seamless touchscreen, a huge storage capicity, and the apps… oh the apps!!

I will miss Verizon, and when my service drops a call from the comfort of my living room I will curse the day Apple decided to go with AT&T instead of Verizon, but then I will open my Pandora app & play some music, while ordering and paying for Chipotle in a few simple taps on my screen; and the memories of my dropped call will be so faint I’ll forget it ever happened.  That is until the next call is dropped….but I’ll get over it.

I decided to get the white iPhone (so sleek & trendy!).  I see it as a symbolic white flag to the corporate overlords at Apple & AT&T.  Yes, you got me, I am surrending to the AT&T  iPhone!!  I’ve never been more excited to get crappy cellphone coverage.. woohoo!

I <3 the iPhone!

story of my life…

So,  I’m at home watching a movie and a little monologue stuck out to me..kind of the story of what my life was like 1 year ago.  I’m usually not this sappy, so perhaps it’s just the margarita and wine I’ve had this evening…

“…….turns out he wasn’t in love with me like I thought.  What I’m trying to say is I understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible, and how it could actually ache in places that you didn’t know you had inside you.  And it doesn’t matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends; you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood and how in the hell for that breif moment you could think you were that happy.  And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he’ll see the light and show up at your door.  And after all that, however long all that may be, you’ll go somewhere new and you’ll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again, and little peices of your soul will finally come back.  And all that fuzzy stuff; those years of your life that you wasted; that will eventually begin to fade.”

I can totally relate…I went somewhere new, I met people who made me feel worthwhile, and yes it does begin to fade.

Giving back

When I was little, I remember my parents taking their Sunday School class of  high school freshmen to the mall to choose a child from the Angel Tree and then purchase gifts.  I always thought it was so cool to pick up a tag with nothing but a child’s first name, clothing sizes, and perhaps a favorite toy listed and to watch the 14 and 15 year olds (although when I was only 6 or 7 I swore they were like 25!) pick out gifts.   Buying a gift for someone you don’t know isn’t always easy, but it was such a great thing to do.

As I have gotten older, I always remember the Angel Trees at Christmas.  Sure, when I was in college and broke beyond belief I didn’t buy a gift for a needy child.  To be honest I was too busy wasting what little money I had on beer.   Now that I’ve matured just a bit and don’t spend every last dime I have on beer I tried to get back in the tradition.  The few years I lived in Alexandria there was an angel tree of sorts in the lobby of my office building so a colleague and I would choose a kid and go in together to get a gift.

Last year I skipped, but this year I got really excited when my office sent out an email saying they had a “Giving Tree” in the main lobby.  Same thing as the Angel Tree back home.  I think I’ve been to the office twice since Thanksgiving.  Once to pick out my giving tree tag, and then again to drop off my gift.

I picked a 4 year old girl named Olivia (last time I bought for an 11 year old boy).  It said she wanted Barbie or Dora the Explorer toys.  I immediately took this to mean she loved pink, so I headed to the outlet mall and got shopping!  I pick out the cutest pair of pink velcro Vans, a pair of flare jeans, a plaid shirt with ruffles, an adorable red caridgan (thanks to Lauren for finding that on the rack!) and matching socks!   The great thing about the outlet mall, was with my self-imposed $50 budget I was able to get her a ton of things.  The shoes were onyl $7.50!! and the whole outfit only $35.   I then swung by Target to pick out an awesome Holiday Barbie with a ton of accessories on sale for only $8!   I placed all my items neatly in the bag and tied my tag on.

Sure, she’s a four year old girl and she’ll think Santa brought her clothes and a Barbie, but I get the satisfaction in knowing that by just spending $50 I was able to help a little girl in need and buy her things that her parents would not be able to afford.

I plan to keep up my annual tradition of buying a gift for an angel tree/giving tree/or whatever people are calling it.   In all the craziness of the holidays;  with decorating and buying gifts for people who don’t really need them; I am happy to know I am doing my small part and giving back, even if I only do it once a year.

Happy Holidays!

27 years down…?? to go.

Today I turned 27!   Sorry to all my readers who are older than me, but I feel old!!   Where has the time gone?  I remember my toy story themed birthday party like it was yesterday, granted it was my 17th birthday, but still.   What the heck have I been doing for 27 years?   Looking back, sometimes I wonder how I even made it to 27.  I definitely had some reckless years in there, haha.  Oh how I miss college!!

Anyway, although today is my actually birthday, I took it upon myself to go out and celebrate last night with friends, it’s just easier to celebrate on a Saturday.   The day started with a fantastic lunch at Chipotle, followed by a Hokie Hoops win.  Then the night really started with friends at Black Bottle for a “classy” time (well, people tried to keep it classy, despite my inebriated picture taking).

The “classy” people went home, but the awesome people stayed out to join me in some dancing at Frontier Room.  As much as I talk that place down for being a little ghetto I always have a fabulous time there.   I’m sure the massive amounts of dancing santa’s and tequila shots helped a bit!

The night ended with some cream cheese hot dogs, and a phone call to the cops for a fight happening right outside my condo building.   Fun times!  I slept till 1:30pm, despite my mom trying to call me at 10am to wish me a Happy Birthday.  Sorry for not answering that call Mom, but you knew better than to call me that early!  haha.   I got a total of 3 hours of daylight in today, which is totally ok with me, and now I’m heading to dinner with my fantastic sister and brother-in-law.

I may feel old, but despite my good and bad choices over the past 27 years I have no regrets, and I’m healthy, happy, and lucky to have an amazing family, fantabulous friends, and one cute as heck fluffy rat dog in my life!

Plus…I even found a present in my boot from last night…can my birthday get any better?!?!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!

…and my heart skipped a beat.

It all started about 6 months ago.  It was a sunny Seattle afternoon and I was sitting at…well, I have no clue what the weather was like nor where I was sitting at the time, but I do remember a friend leaning across the table and saying these 6 magical words,

“They are opening a Chipotle Downtown.” (Thank you Donna!)

Now, I have no clue who “they” are, but who cares.   My eyes lit up at the mere mention of a Chipotle downtown.   After what I am sure was just a few more drinks, I headed home and immediately googled “Seattle Chipotle”.  There it was, staring me in the face like a doe-eyed college boy , “Chipotle at 3rd & Pike, coming soon!”

Over the next weeks I walked by the corner of 3rd & Pike on numerous occasions;  rubbing my eyes each time I saw the “Coming Soon” signs in the windows to ensure I wasn’t dreaming.  Sometime in August, a sign appeared  saying it would be opening in December 2009.  Hooray!   The countdown started.

I will admit that as the fall months pressed on and I got engrossed in Hokie Football and other activities the idea of the new Chipotle mere blocks from my apartment got pushed to the back burner, yet was still on my mind.   My enthusiasm was renewed on Black Friday when I met my sister to do a little downtown shopping.  I believe I squealed like a school girl when we walked past 3rd & Pike and saw the paper off the windows and signs saying “Grand Opening Friday Dec 4th”.   I paused for a moment to peer through the windows, and mark my mental calendar.  My sister laughed a bit when I promptly stated that we were eating there on the 4th.

The following Monday as I sat on my couch working from home, I took a break to check facebook (because that is what you do when you work from home!) and saw the best posting of the day!   Chipotle, which I am obviously a fan of on facebook posted a flyer saying, “The Burrito Has Landed“, announcing the Grand Opening in downtown Seattle.  On the flyer it said the store would be opening at 11:00 AM and that the first 100 people to purchase a burrito would not only receive a coupon for a free burrito on their next visit but also a free t-shirt.  Yes folks, a FREE Chipotle T-Shirt!!   I smiled with Glee and possibly did a little dance of celebration.   I hit the “share” button so fast I think I sprained a muscle in my thumb, and I asked who was up for 11AM lunch at Chipotle on Friday.  I was so proud when Eric (the bro-in-law) responded that he was up for it less than 1 minute later, and then a  few other friends expressed interest to join in as well.  I have looked at the flyer so many times I made a joke that I was going to back it my desktop background until Friday! (which I may or may not have done, I plea the 5th on that one).

Elizabeth (the sister) and I both bought boots on black Friday which we subsequently both decided to return, so we decided to meet on 1st & Pike tonight to head to Nordstroms for returns.  We walked a mere two blocks when I stopped dead in my tracks and stared in amazement.  Elizabeth claims I stared while drooling for 5 minutes, but it was probably more like 5 seconds.  My reason for the stop & stare?   People, lots of people, sitting inside the brand new Chipotle and eating!!   I glanced up to read the giant sign “Grand Opening Friday Dec 4th”, then I recall it’s only Wednesday Dec 2nd!  I did a little hop and immediately suggest to Elizabeth that I have not eaten dinner  and we should head inside and eat Chipotle because it was obviously open.   Elizabeth didn’t seem thrilled; which shocked me; made a comment that it was probably a private invite-only party and that Eric was going to make her dinner (which I found out later was only in her imagination).   I tried to resist the urge to rush the door which looked to be monitored by a Chipotle employee and woefully walked away to go return my boots.   The entire 10 minutes we were inside Nordstrom I gushed about how Chipotle was open and that we should call Eric to have him meet us there for dinner.  Elizabeth started to come around, and  after a phone call, Eric agreed to meet us there after he was done at the gym, so we headed out to at least check if it was open or really a private party.   The thought crossed my mind that if it was a private party, why wasn’t I invited?  Doesn’t Chipotle know how much I love them?!?   Where was my VIP invitation?!?!

We walked up to the door and as Elizabeth hesitated, I stormed in, asking the nice employee if they were open?  She said, it was a “mock” dinner and that they were paying.  This my folks is when my heart skipped a beat!!   I nearly jumped right out of my Uggs at the idea of a non-advertised mock dinner at a not- really-open-yet Chipotle completely for FREE!!

*Sidenote:  it is a very good thing that I did NOT physically jump out of my Uggs because they are old and smell something fierce and could have cleared an entire city block.  Mom – I would like a new pair for Christmas.  Kid’s size 2 (or Women’s 5), chestnut, medium height.  Just in case you’re reading.

We got in line and I started to happily chit chat with the employee.  The pure joy radiating off of me nearly caused me to break out in a jig.  Elizabeth laughed at how excited I was, trying to remind me, it was “just Chipotle”, but I know she was excited too because of the giant smile plastered across her face.  It was 7:10 PM and the nice employee, named Lucy, said the FREE dinner was ending at 7:30.  We called Eric to tell him to hurry up and get there, but he passed on the opportunity, instead opting to stay at the gym.  Elizabeth nearly threw the phone in my face in disgust when he said no.  Oh well, his loss!

I continued to chat it up with Lucy, the friendly Chipotle employee, while we stood in line for our free dinner.  I mentioned that we went to the Chipotle in Northgate so often that the manager recognized us, that I saw the flyer on facebook (which even she didn’t know about) and that I had already planned to be there at 10AM Friday just in case there was a line for the GRAND Opening at 11AM.   She laughed with slight concern of my obcession, but recognized my love for the burrito gods and asked if I was an MBA?  I looked confused, wondering how the conversation about my unadulteration lust for burritos and bols of goodness turned to my collegiate accomplishments.  She was shocked at my perplexed look and told me about the Master Burrito Ambassador program.  She told me she would be working Friday and to find her when I arrived for lunch and she would get me signed up. Upon hearing this, not only did my heart skip a beat, but it did a full on somersualt!  I leaned towards Elizabeth to inform her of my hiked up heart rate, she rolled her eyes and laughed.

Read it and weep folks.  I have been tapped to be an Master Burrito Ambassador!! (I did a little research when I got home and determined this is not a position they give away very often).   I am soooooo excited for my new found calling in life, the free perks, t-shirt, etc.   Dude, I am going to live this up!   Don’t worry Chipotle, I will do you proud and I will promote you to every single person I meet, which is exactly what I have been doing for years.

We finally got to order and the employees behind the counter were so happy that they finally had customers who knew how to order.  I guess Chipotle really is a secret in the NW.   The guys making our food let the secret out that they were doing another mock dinner on Thursday from 5-7:30 PM and invited us to come back.  We didn’t hear them tell anyone else.  The VIP treament was beginning already.  I continued to expressed my love for all things Chipotle as I walked my way through line, and then grabbed my bag containing my free burrito, free chips, and free guacomole.  I then walked to the drink machine to fill up my free cup with my free Mr. Pibb.  The manager stepped over to Elizabeth to hand her a lfyer letting her know about the new Chipotle iPhone App (1 more glorious reason to get the iphone I’ve been wanting).

As we walked back to E & E’s apartment to partake in our free Chipotle goodness, I joyously told a homeless man begging for money about the Free food!  It was my good deed for the day.

Even Eric was able to partake in the goodness by finishing off my burrito and Elizabeth’s bol as seen here.

Tonight was glorious.  It made my entire day..heck, I think it made my week!  Needless to say I plan to be there tomorrow night for more free Chipotle, and of course Friday morning to get my t-shirt and my MBA!   I’ll also be skipping lunch and hitting up the gym a ton to offset my Chipotle binge.
Have I mentioned??…I “heart” Chipotle!

a thanksgiving full of thanks for the family I’m far away from…

It’s Thanksgiving, and for the first time in 26 years I am not at my parent’s home with family, or at an Aunt or Uncle’s house to celebrate.   This is my first Thanksgiving being away from “home”.   Don’t get me wrong, I love Seattle, and I am extremely lucky to have my awesome sister and brother-in-law just a few blocks away to spend the evening with, but it’s still bittersweet to be so far away from the rest of my family on this holiday that normally brings families together.

As I sit at home alone this evening, with Lane snuggled next to me on the couch, I can’t help but to ponder the many things I am thankful for this year.  Some serious, some outrageous, some trivial, and some special, but being away from my family really makes me realize the most important thing I’m thankful for, above all else, is my family.

It may sound cliche to say “family” when asked what I am thankful for, but honestly it’s true.  This past month has been difficult for me.   At the beginning of November I was able to finagle a trip to Virginia Beach; tacked on to a business trip; to surprise my grandparents (on my dad’s side), whom I affectionately call  Baba & Bobo.  Baba was diagnosed with Alzheimers a few years ago and as the disease progresses it’s harder and harder to visit her, not physically, but mentally.  I love her, and no matter what she will always be my hero, but when visits are a barrage of the same 2 questions over and over, it’s hard to see past the disease and realize that the Baba I grew up with is still under there somewhere.   She has good and bad days, and I was lucky to see her on a good day.   I’m fairly certain she recognized me, as I’m sure I heard her say my name, but watching her dance around the living room, and laugh and giggle with my baby cousins like she hadn’t a care in the world, just made me realize that although she is there physically the grandmother that I used to sit on the ocuch with and chat about my day and life will never be back.   I love seeing her, but it’s hard to miss the loving mind that I adored and idealized as a child.   I can’t imagine my life without her, but part of me feels like she is already gone.  None the less, I can’t wait to fly home at Christmas and spend time with her, even if it means answering the “Where do you live?” and “When will you get married & make babies?” questions 20 times every hour.  I miss her, the way she was, but I’m still glad and incredibly thankful to have her in my life.

My grandpa’s (on my mom’s side)  health has been slowly deteriorating over the past couple years.  Seeing him in Washington, DC last summer made me realize how fragile he was, as he could barely get around, even with his walker.  Last week he was admitted to the hospital, and his prognosis isn’t good.  His heart is failing and the doctors have said there really isn’t anything they can do besides, give him medicine & monitor him.   Everytime my phone rang this week and the caller ID said “mom”, I dreaded picking up the phone to hear the next round of bad news about his health, or even worse.   I feel like a horrible granddaughter for not making time to visit Phoenix more, or not writing, or even emailing more.   Almost worse is I can tell the tole it’s taking on my mother.  She always tries to sound strong and just tell me the health news when she calls, but I can tell in her voice that she is scared and worried, and it breaks my heart to know she is hurting and there is nothing I can do to fix my grandpa or to make her feel better.   I am worried too.   Although I will admit to not being as close to my grandpa as I would like, mainly due me growing up in VA and him living in AZ, but he’s my family, and I love him, and I cherish the few times I do get to see him.   I think a trip to Phoenix will definitely be in the works soon, even if it’s just for a weekend to help take care of him or keep him company for a few days.  I don’t want to regret not spending more time with him after it’s too late.

Although this month has been emotionally tough on me, there are also good things to be thankful for in my family.  Lots of new cousin babies joining the Dominicci clan.  One due around Christmas time, and another on the way next year.  A marriage will bring Sarah (who has seemed like family for a long while now) officially into the Sprigings family next May, and over all everyone is happy and healthy.  Another positive is that I feel my relationship with my sister has been so great over the past year since moving to Seattle.  I don’t remember spending this much time with her since we were in elementary school, and I couldn’t be happier to have her living so close and being able to spend time with her.  We may bicker, because we are siblings and that’s what we do, but she is important to me and is a big part of my life.

Despite everything, I am extremely thankful for my family, and abundantly lucky to have such a large & loving family.   On this Thanksgiving Holiday, I hope they all know how much I love them, and how special they are to me.

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

 

dirty rotten wallet thiefs!

After spending a week travelling across the entire state of Virginia, ending with a 4 day stint in DC for work I couldn’t wait to get back to Seattle and just be home.  A friend of mine was defending her doctorate thesis in the AM and was having a bar night party to celebrate.  I got home by noon on Friday and rested up for the party.

Around 8pm I met up with my sister & brother-in-law to grab a quick bite to eat before meeting up with the rest of the party.  We went to a small bar/restaurant called The Bookstore in downtown Seattle and sat at a hightop.  I took my wallet out to show my ID to the waitress then promptly placed it back in my purse hanging on the back of my stool.  We sat for about an hour, ordered a round of drinks and some food.

We collected our things and walked out the door.  We walked a mere two blocks to the party and as I reached for my wallet to get out my ID, panic hit me.  I was feeling around furiously but could not find my wallet.  I opened my purse and peered in, grabbing everything in my hands.   My wallet was gone!  Now, I normally would’ve noticed my purse feeling extra “light” without my wallet, but it was pouring rain and I had thrown my umbrella in my purse earlier in the evening so it felt just as heavy as always.

We retraced our steps back to the bar.  Nothing.  We asked everyone who worked at the bar.  Nothing.  We asked the people at the hotel where the bar is located.  Nothing.  We asked the valet’s at the hotel.  Nothing.  My wallet had officially been stolen.  I called the police, filed a report, and immediately walked my depressed self home in the pouring rain and began calling every card company I had to cancel my accounts.

Today as I opened my AMEX corporate account to do my expense report I noticed charges that were definitely not mine.  I immediately called to dispute the charges.  AMEX had no answer as to how my card was able to be used on Saturday when I clearly called on Friday to cancel it, but none the less the dirty rotten wallet thief used my corporate amex at 2 different shell gas stations for a total of $100, then $12 at Mcdonald’s and another $53 at a chevron gas station.  Also, used another card of mine on Saturday at a shell gas station and then at a Jack in the Box 6 different times in 3 hours!!

Not sure how many times you can go to a gas station to purchase things, or how many times you can eat at Jack in the Box in a 3 hour window without looking suspicious, but…

Either way, I’m not being held to any of the charges since they happened after I reported the card stolen, but I still can’t believe that someone stole my wallet, from right next to me.  It’s a crazy world out there, filled with crazy idiot thiefs.   I feel kind of like my life was taken hostage…but I’m getting over it.  I’ll feel better once I purchase a new wallet, a new purse (with a zipper!) and get all my cards and driver’s license replaced.

Warning to ladies…have a purse with a zipper.  Not that it will stop someone from stealing your entire purse, but at least keep them from stealing just your wallet.

can’t sleep @ 36,000 feet! a story from seat 38A

It’s 2:17 AM, can’t sleep and I’m 36,000+ feet above the ground..in a plane!  Don’t worry, no snakes on this plane, just a whole ton of people, and one in particular who can’t sleep, me!  It’s been a really bumpy ride, and my ass is fast asleep.  If only my brain and eyes could follow.

Airplanes now have wi-fi.  Who knew?   Of course this service isn’t free.  it’s one of those, “open your web browser to a payment page” type things, but creating a first time account is free on Delta so I had to give it a try.   Hench how I am writing and posting a blog from the air!  Woohoo!   There is a first time for everything.  If only my friends were still awake so I could have someone to g-chat with, or to swamp FB status update comments with, but oh well.

I should be sleeping and resting for the big VT game, but I just can’t seem to sleep in a tiny uncomfortable seat on a bumpy plane ride.  I used to sleep on planes like it was my job.  I’d be passed out before we even left the run way and wake up when the plane hit the ground again.  Sometimes over hte past year, that changed.  Perhaps it’s the crazy long flights (which seems a little backwards) or the amount of times I’ve flown over the past year after moving to Seattle, but somewhere along the way my body forgot how to sleep on a plane.   It could have something to do with the overcrowded flights now, and no extra space to spread out, but who knows.  Either way, I’m wide awake at 2:30AM posting on my blog from 38A.  Wonder if my typing is kepeing people awake…oh well.

Questions for all 2 of my readers….why are red-eye flights always filled with young kids and babies??

when dogs fly!

The increasing price of airplane travel is ridiculous!   The amount of flights available this holiday season seem to be cut in half and with that the prices have more than doubled.  Last year I paid a whopping $232 including all taxes and fees to fly to VA for the holidays and today I just spent $625!!   Granted a portion of that paid for Lane’s ticket.  Yes, I bought my dog a plane ticket home, it’s cheaper than the cost of boarding her in a tiny cage for a week.   That said plane ticket cost me $250!!!   Now you would think I’d be paying for her to have her own tiny seat in first class for that price, but no, no, no!  $250 merely bought her a roundtrip ticket to sit crammed in a bag under the seat for the entirety of each flight segment.   How that is any different than bringing my laptop bag and stuffing it below my seat for free is beyond me, but leave it to the airline industry to charge you for something you normally get for free…carry-on luggage…just because it contains a living thing.

I am bitter about paying such a high price just to shove my dog in a bag and carry her on a plane where she’s stuck on the floor under the seat, but the alternative was having her sit in a cage for a week so I bit the dust with little arguement to the reservation agent (cause I knew I couldn’t win) and paid the fee.  Ugh!   Poor Lane, I should start putting her in the bag now to get her used to it.  It’s gonna be a stressful first day of travel for her come Dec 21st, but hopefully she does ok.

Holy Hole Batman!

Early this year I was able to cross off one of the items on my “Things to do before I’m 30” list.   This list doesn’t actually exist in a physical form, but it’s all in my head.  Either way, ever since high school I always wanted a few piercings, nothing crazy but more than just a hole in each ear.  First it started with my second hole in my ears, which I got done for free while I and other 18 year olds trained each other to pierce ears at The Limited Too.  Yes, I was a certified ear piercer while working at a children’s store in the mall…there are so many things wrong with that!  My mother was not happy.

Then I went and got my cartilage pierced.  This was a big rebellion.  My mother didn’t notice for a few weeks, but when she did, she was not happy once again and this time forced me to remove it.  I was mad because I had paid for it and of course it closed up quickly being only a few weeks old.  Either way, a few months later I was in college and got it pierced again, and without my mother around she didn’t see it till it was too late.  She did force me to remove it for my sister’s wedding…as if anyone would see it.  My mother was not happy.

What my mother didn’t know is that I always wanted my nose pierced.  Nothing crazy like a bull-ring, but just a simple little “sparkly freckle” as I like to call it, on my nostril.  I never went through with the piercing in college, although I got close a few times, but see as how I was still financially dependent on my parents, I just knew it would end badly so I resisted.

Then I moved to Northern Virginia and although I still wanted it done I felt it wouldn’t be the most appropriate thing while working in a corporate office environment and having government clients, so again, I restrained myself and just put it on my “list”.

Then I moved to Seattle!  Wonderful Seattle…land of way too many body piercings, tattoos, and who knows what else.   I would say 1 of every 5 females under the age of 30 living in downtown Seattle has some kind of piercing other than ears and a LOT of them are nose piercings.  Either way, I figure, this is the perfect time!  I’m still barely young enough to pull it off, and I knew no one in my office would care.  I up and went on a Thursday evening, all by myself to get it done.  It wasn’t painful at all.   I like it, it’s small and classy and exactly what I wanted, just a “sparkly freckle”.  I immediately posted a picture on Facebook after I got it done.  My mother was not happy.