Margo's got Moxie ! : the diary of miss red high heels

Aerojet Rocketdyne had to go through a layoff of 60 employees at our sight. I have never been through layoff before. My father has been through several as have some of my friends. However, this will mark my first time right in the middle of it all. This morning I came into work like any other day and began my daily routine. The company informed us the layoff would happen at the end of the month. People weren't sure when and or how. I can tell you, that it was a killer to everyone's overall morale and stability for the past couple weeks. Imagine not knowing if you are going to be packing your bags and leaving at any second. Programs I support are losing funding and the reality hits like a stone cold rock to a window, shattering safety, or what we hoped would be job security. Now I can't sit here and gloat, but I often felt guilty today because I passed. I made it through and I didn't get called... some of my colleagues did. Ciro Morales, Diana Davis, Art Mclevy, Paul Par...

The spring time for work can ultimately be a very busy time for myself and a few of my colleagues and especially the company. With the onset of layoffs and stress from work, I felt I really needed a get away trip this month with some gals from work. We left on a Thursday late afternoon from Sacramento and flew into San Diego. I was so excited I could hardly sleep the night before! I wanted to get out of dodge and it is so important to simply take a breath or take a break, otherwise you will go crazy. Tara and Julie accompanied me on this trip and we arrived at the St. James Historic Hotel in downtown SD. The hotel was not your average Westin or Marriot, it had a 24 hour restaurant and bar right within the place as you walked in the lobby. I had a great eggs benedict there and a mimosa for Friday breakfast and so worth wait.  The elevators were old glass doors that you opened and pushed the crate slider aside to get in and go up or down. The beds were comfy, and the room w...

I wake up at 6am during the week, Monday through Friday for work. I used to be getting up at 5am to go to the gym then work. There is something about waking up early to start the day. You look out the window of your car on the drive and see the sun rising from across the sky and smell the air. Traffic is light when its not 9am, and my drive is short. I feel comfortable knowing that if I forget something I can turn around and come back and I am not late, because I make my own hours. I work a nine hour day and then go to the gym usually in the afternoons if not in the am. I feel the day is wasted if you sleep in, but it isn't wasted if you went to bed at 2am and really need to catch up on some z's. My mind may not be sharpest some days, but I become alert after a cocoa or a cup of coffee followed by some oat meal. At work I check my emails and begin tasks and cherish to-do lists and check them off as I go along. The day goes faster if you start earlier. Lately, though I have been...

Anxiety is that little fear in the back of your mind that things won't go as you want them to or that automatically you assume the worst. According to the awesome book Monkey Mind, “Anxiousness isn't shameful. It's being alive to life's contradictions.” I am 25 years old and I experience anxiety almost every day, but the trick is to not let it win. There are some days where I feel like my world is falling apart even if one thing doesn’t go as a planned an angst mind becomes uncomfortable. I truly have to remind myself that God is in control. Take dating for instance. I am an open book and as great as that may sound, it’s as if I’m diving head first into the shallow end of a pool without thinking. Everyone wants in your business; just ask the people at the office who have slow days or are so bored they will listen to you babble about whatever is on your mind, even your most personal of discussions. Sure, it’s great to talk about it, but about three or four people later,...

The Sunday before my 25th birthday this year, 2014, my friend Julie surprised me by taking Tara and myself wine tasting up in the beautiful hills of Napa. We went to Paraduxx Winery and Frog Leap. The weather was gorgeous and she packed a meal full of cheeses, crackers, salami, strawberries, hummus, and pretzel sticks for the wine drinkers to munch on. I thought it was the smartest thing ever since of course, I know I would have the worst headache the size of Texas if I didn't eat anything. Of course silly girl forgot to eat breakfast on the way, so I was chowing on an apple I brought and couldn't wait to get up to the pretty area. The first winery, man named John, set us up outdoors in a picnic spot, reserved just for the three of us and in the sunshine it was the place to be. He brought out wine flights, different kinds to try and put their place cards by each one. I would say it was 2 flights ordered and six tastings each, so enough for us all, especially since Julie was lov...

For my birthday this year, I wanted to have a weekend get-away that was simple, relaxing, and fun. My best friend Krysta's birthday was last month, so I figured we could join our birthday celebration and go on the trip together. We choose the town of Campbell for the first night. It's a nice little area with shops and restaurants and historic spots as well. We went to a place called Sonoma Chicken Coop for dinner. I had a mushroom, vegetable pasta, and she ordered delicious steak. There was live music from a cover band playing oldies songs and lots of people there. The food was reasonably priced and I ordered a beer with my meal. We walked to a little gelato place down the street and I ordered a coconut chip gelate and she had an expresso chip. The guy behind the counter was probably mid 40's, nice man, but rather unfocused at the time. When I went to pay, he charged me two receipts: one said .45 cents the other said $4 dollars. I looked down dumbfounded and annoyed but he ...

February is a very short month, but I find myself during the first half of it, counting down until my birthday and hiding underneath a pillow or a book come Valentines day. True to my form, I am a romantic. Don't believe me? Okay, last week I finished the latest Nicholas Sparks novel, "The Longest Ride." I gripped the pages and could not put that book down until the last final page where yes as Sparks novels are known for, emotional stories, I cried. No shame there, I admit that was by choice to read a sappy story that would invoke tears, and enjoyed the whole thing. Lots of people talk about Valentines Day, who their date will be, or what their signficant other has planned for the event and meanwhile I am in a cloud, trying to speed up time to my birthday, which is three days later, hoping the hype will just go away. This is coming from the woman who wears lots of pinks, and reds, and purples all month long, and purchases cards for friends and family. Dear special someon...