I'm lovin' me some Tulsa

Life is really what you make it. When I was here for work eight years ago I hated Tulsa. I said I never wanted to come back to this little piece of hell.

Things have changed. Actually, what's really changed is me. When I was here in 2001 I was over 100 pounds overweight. The heat made me miserable. Worse than the heat was that I hated being in a lab all day with young, really smart guys. They made me feel old and ugly and stupid. Every night I'd go back to my hotel room and dread the next day. I'd drive to fast food places and buying two or three hamburgers and then drive to a grocery store and stock up on cookies and candy.

This visit couldn't be more different than my 2001 visit. I'm actually having fun. I'm enjoying working with the young guys, talking to them and getting to know them as we work towards getting our software certified.

I'm much more outgoing this time. Last time I didn't even try to talk to any of them. I just wanted to crawl in a hole and be invisible. I was ashamed of how I looked, I thought they probably thought I was fat, stupid and lazy. Whether they did or didn't it doesn't really matter. It was what I thought of myself.

Last time the coworker that I came here with didn't do a thing with me. I was certain he had a fat phobia, didn't want to be seen with a fat girl, someone might mistake me for his wife. Heaven forbid that would happen. Ironic twist on that is that his wife has gained over 80 pounds and he recently confided in me on how he could help her lose the weight.

This time I'm seeing the sights every night, hitting the gym every morning (LOVE the gym that's just down the road - beautiful!). I'm also going out to lunch and dinner with my coworker (he's also a good friend), and someitmes with the vendor. We're having a great time. Yup, loving Tulsa this time.

Note: I have lots of pictures from my Fairbanks trip and already a bunch from Tulsa, but my work laptop won't take a Sony Memory Stick and I forgot the cord to connecto the camera to the laptop. Sorry, pictures when I get back home.