Let's go join Stu and Muffy on the seashore...

Recently, I found that a childhood crush of mine is now some big fashion person out in New York. This kid was setting trends back when I was in fourth grade. Now he's a fashion editor for magazines...that I see on the shelf at Target! And has been the Public Relations person for Bergdorf NY. Seriously? Bergdorfs...the one that is spoken of in reverence on the show Will and Grace. Crazy!

So, I was talking to my friend Trish about all of the little benefits that he must get for being who he is. Does he have a collection of Burberry scarves in a bag in his closet? Might the man have a pair of Jimmy Choo women's shoes...a-hem size 6 in a box under his bed? The man has actually met Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. Is it not possible he's got the hook up on the Polo cable knit poncho that I admired a couple seasons ago? These are the job benefits that I dream of in the closet of my mind!

Let's see..

I don't rub shoulders with famous people at my job. I have been yelled at by someone who worked in Donald Rumsfeld's office a couple of years ago. The people at Ferrari send me nasty emails once in a while.

I do, however, have a few little benefits that I suppose I should be grateful for:

My company cabin - Located in northern Minnesota, it is just the place for a quiet vacation for me and up to 15 of my friends. The grounds include a private 9-hole golf course, which can be used for cross country skiing or snow mobiling in the winter. There's a lake for swimming during the summer and ice fishing in the winter (yeah, not happening!). We're making use of the cabin in December.

Quarterly dinners - My division is the big money maker of the company. So, every quarter we are taken out for a nice dinner. We are just about to enjoy our third quarter dinner next week. Italian food is always nice! Next quarter is our biggest dinner. The company always takes us to the swankiest venue by limousine. At the end of the evening, they even drop us off at home. It is pretty nice.

Dog day - We have dogs roaming around the office every Friday. So, once Song Min and I have a four-legged friend, I'll be carting Rover off to keep me company on Fridays. It's fun and always a surprise (especially when the gigantic great dane sneaks up behind me and noses my ear as I type).

Cape Cod - My amazingly annoying distributor, Stu, calls me daily no less than four times. There have been times that he's called and just said "I forgot what I called about...just needed to call every day". He's accidentally told me that he loved me. He's asked me to do favors for him, such as calling him right back to see if his phone was working. Well, surprise! Stu and his family owns a couple of houses in Cape Cod and has offered one of them this fall. So, my hubby and I are booking our tickets tomorrow for a long weekend in the Cape. Clam bakes on the beach, J Crew sweaters, big sunglasses (gosh, would a scarf for my hair be too much?)...I'm gonna love it!





Say cheese! - I have a good, and yet again, major pain customer who is in Italy. He finally made it to the U.S. for some training and made the promise of parmigiano reggiano...the real deal. Well, a year and a half has flown by and no cheese...until yesterday. Guess who will be making lasagna this weekend?






So, I'm not getting Prada purses or Fendi umbrellas at my office, but I certainly don't have much to complain about. I guess even aside from the fun things that my job offers me, every other week, they place a nice sized check on my desk so that I can once again press the "continue" button in the game of life.