Auspicious Week's End

I don't get to say this too often, so I am going to relish it. Like relish made from the tomatoes at right, which are found ON MY DESK, which is AT MY WORK PLACE. That's right kiddies, I have been working at the actual workplace for three days this week. I'd begun to think they'd never let me back in the building. I like working from home, but it is easier to ingratiate yourself if you are in the room with people.

So yeah, I even got some tomatoes. Wow. And two free lunches. I will be in the office all next week, too. It sounds like, at last, things are coming together so that I will be able to earn enough to not just get by, but make it--pay off the repairs to Tuba Boy's car, and such, and maybe even SAVE. My fingers are crossed for a real job with those mythical benefits, but this one picking up a bit is the next best thing.

We have also gotten a lot of little bits of good news that have lowered the stress levels around here. Small mix-ups with the college seem to have been taken care of--and Tuba Boy did a lot of it himself. Beccano did his first week of summer school, and that was not as bad as he had feared, either.

Lee has strong prospects of good news about work, too, so our fingers, toes and imaginary other appendages are all crossed. Plus, it appears that his dad's situation may get taken care of by his niece and her husband buying out the farm and living there. His dad would have someone to take care of him, and they'd have some income to supplement their other work. That really does sound like a good plan to me. Who knows how it will all work out, of course, but at least things are looking up!

I'm not giving up my blog for Facebook, by the way. You get to share more deeply and be a bit more coherent on a blog. I love the immediacy of FB, and I am especially grateful to have re-connected with some old friends (and made new ones) there. But, I won't be giving this up any time soon. Now that I feel a little better about things, I may be writing more, too.

Waiting Game

There isn't too much going on here, but there is nothing wrong with that. Last week was LONG, since there was no work (contract hadn't been signed). But then yesterday they called begging me to work this weekend. Happy to do it at time and a half, but I can't do it until the dude produces work for me to do, so I spent much of yesterday waiting (finally got the work at 2 and had to rush and get it done by 6) and am now doing the same today. I missed a book signing (The Day-Glo Brothers, written by Chris Barton, who goes to my church) yesterday. Today I have missed church and am missing the Steering Committee.

At least last night I got to go out and hear my friends Jim and Sherry play music at a house concert. I miss their rock and roll act, but they sounded pretty good with just a fiddle player accompanying them. I enjoyed doing the harmonies from the back row (I learned all their older songs when Jeff used to play guitar for them for a number of months). At least I made it out of the house!

I've enjoyed having teen visitors. Beccano and the Debate King even got to jam on guitars Friday night. That sounded so nice. I love having live music in the home!

Beccano even grudgingly started his driver's ed again. Let's see if he keeps it up.

Lots of worrying about the elderly is all the rest of life has brought. Lee's dad seems ready to sell everything off and fade away. That is sad, but I can see why he feels that way. My stepmother isn't sounding too good, either, so perhaps it is good they moved into an old folks condo, though Dad is really not ready. Jeff's mother is planning to move into one of those, here in Austin, fairly soon, too, so we all have parental worries.

It is so hot here that you can't really do anything outdoors. It has been over 100 degrees every day for ages. It wears you out. So, I will go wait for work for a while longer and feel grateful for air conditioning. I am trying not to envy Kelli's extended stay in Paris TOO much...

Hello from Work, Which Is Home

And that's part of the problem--when you work from home, you get all of the stuff that goes with being home. Sometimes that's good. You can get food, take a break and clean something, watch TV, etc.

But for the past couple of weeks my work has involved recording audio for e-learning courses. To record sounds, you need to not have other sounds competing. I am very lucky that I am using my new computer, which has a stereo microphone that is very focused at only what is coming directly at it. A lot of sounds don't come through.

But, some challenges from the past couple of days have included:

• The garbage truck, not only when it is on our street but when it is on the next street. And don't forget the separate recycling truck. Each sets off the dogs for many blocks.
• The "lovely" people behind us and their screeching children in their pool. There is no way to go swimming without screeching, it appears.
• Our avian friends. Mostly it is mockingbirds, which I love, but are very loud in a tree like 6 feet from your window. I have also "enjoyed" mourning doves, blue jays and warblers. The wrens don't register, thankfully. I hear a dove right now.
  
• Freakin' dogs. Actually, mine are a lot better now that Gwynnie is gone, and mostly just bark if people arrive or (gasp) Tuba Boy walks down the hall. Buddy has to alert me to that. Right now they are outside and setting off neighbor dogs for unknown reasons.
• The house cleaners. Yes, I am very lucky to have house cleaners--that's one reason we need two incomes. I've been vacuuming like a fiend anyway, but it's worth it to have the bathrooms clean. Only, well, between them running the showers and vacuuming, recording is a challenge. And I had to take my entire set-up to the guest room so they could clean my room.
  
• Why am I working in my bedroom. That's right--as I mentioned before, Skylight thinks me reading aloud is an invitation to converse in Parakeeteese.
  
• Sounds the computer makes. I have turned off my email from coming in automatically and making that precious mail noise, but my anti-virus software decided to ding at me during a particularly long stretch of reading earlier today. Sigh.

What's the good news? I think I'll have worked every day this week, the first time since I started the new job. This means that I will be able to pay college and even get the Visa back down to zero again soon. If it will just keep up a while, gasp...I may be able to SAVE money. I don't want to jinx myself of course, but I am really glad things have turned around for a while.

I'll write about other stuff soon. I just had to do something while all the vacuuming and shower running were going on. Ahh, the mockingbird has started up again...

Quick Update

I have a whole bunch of stuff to blog about, but got into a cleaning frenzy so I ran out of time. My closet has had at least half of its contents removed. I feel like I didn't waste all my unemployed days. Boy have I been stressed about the lack of work, though.

The good news is that work called and I have something to do the rest of the week that is fun, fun, fun. I am recording voiceovers on online instructional stuff. Whee. I get to use fun software, and listen to the sound of my own voice. Which is fun. Funny: I tried to do it in the media room where I usually work, but every time I started to talk, the bird started to sing. When I stopped, she stopped. I think she thought I was talking to her.

So far a bunch of kids have visited (last day of school), the dogs barked, etc., but I am plowing through these big ole words I don't understand, like I know what I am doing!

More soon--lots of parties, events, and tomorrow: Tuba Boy graduates!

Happy Wedding Week!

I can now go enjoy my pre-wedding week with my wonderful friends and family, because I am not losing my job at this time! My boss asked if that sorta counted as a wedding gift, which I said, of course it did. The stress reduction alone is quite a gift.

Just an update

I was waiting until I had a photo to share of the flower bed edging Lee is putting around the house, but it keeps being rainy or something, so I don't have any.

Mostly I wanted anyone who was worrying along with me to know I met with the boss yesterday and got much better feedback on me and my work, so I get to stay in the office. I guess it helps that the super-competent next-newest person just got a different position at the university, so if they canned me they'd be down 2 out of 3 people in our sub group. Gee, that's great job security (sarcasm off). No, really, things are going much better at work. There is now some laughter and it is a bit calmer, even with the person who likes me least back from vacation and the one that likes me most on vacation this week. I feel like I will be able to handle things from here on out, and will concentrate on working to make things stable at home, helping Lee get another position, etc.

In semi-good news, the stress has helped me in my weight loss plan, and I am only two pounds above the upper limit I usually like to keep to. So if I lose about 7 more pounds, I will be real happy. My clothing is back to fitting normally, too, though the new jeans I bought a month or two ago are now really too large. Oh, what torture, hee hee.

Other good stuff. Beccano's guitar playing is really, really improving. He sounds very musical, and I am very impressed with his practicing and work ethic on that. And Tuba Boy has stepped back a little from the silent surliness and has been pleasant to be around for a few days. Something like his old cheery self. He's messing up the car a bit, but handling it OK. I have been helping him with some school registration challenges, and it was SO nice to get a call from him just wanting some support. I feel useful as a parent again.

So, things are not too bad. At least I am in still love and someone wants to move my wedding date earlier. Aww.

Welcoming

Blooming Pineapple
Originally uploaded by ninehermits

Pineapples are a sign of welcome, so I thought this would be a good photo for this post. I have been putting it off a few days, but I should write it all down.

Here is some stuff I wrote on a piece of paper on Wednesday:

I had a rough day yesterday and did not feel welcome--one of those days that make me glad I draw tarot cards every day for guidance. The cards told me to keep to my highest principles and protect myself, because there was some strife/duplicity in the surroundings. It's about work stuff, which I try not to write too much specifically about in here. Mainly I have been feeling rather unwelcome there--just noting that I am specifically not asked for input even on things I am "up" on, not included in office small talk (to the extent that, if I do try, I am ignored/talked over), etc. And the couple of people who are OK to me even seem to think I am dim--tell me stuff is "over my head" or assume I don't know how things are done (like I wouldn't know not to use materials straight from another source, or that handouts/presentations need to be reviewed). What corporate rock must I have been living under in my entire working life? On that one, I think it's just that the person may be worried that I want to do "their thing." I was sort of shocked by getting what felt like a reprimand for saying there would be handouts in a training session. I felt bad--I didn't know you could DO training without handouts, so I didn't view it as a special added bonus.

Worse, though, was yesterday, when I slipped up and tried to offer words of support to a new mother and got a very rude and unkind reaction because of where I used to work/volunteer. I immediately apologized and backed away. Luckily it was about lunch time, so I was able to just leave. This reaction I got does explain why the pregnant person and the new mother have been noticeably unfriendly--I guess a couple of others are just going along with them as part of a clique. I find it regrettable that they prejudged me before actually getting to know my opinions or views. But, it's easy enough to be quiet, speak when spoken to, and stick to work topics.

I am proud of myself for not doing what I usually do and try to explain myself or defend myself (or the incredibly dysfunctional nonprofit organization whose judgmental representatives probably gave these women the bad impression in the first place). When she apologized later via IM, I just said my intention was to support her instincts because she knows her situation best. She said she appreciated that and I said OK. The end. I will not participate in conversations about child rearing in the office again. That is easy to do. Just act busy. I have church, email and knitting friends willing to talk about family stuff with me, so I don't need support or openness at work.

I hope that, in time, I find friends or a place of comfort on campus. Otherwise, days will be long. I hope they fill me with lots to do soon, too. That will help. I can easily bury myself in work when I have some. This kind of unkindness makes me sad. But, I have insurance here. I need to stick with it and be strong.

....

The good news is that I am feeling a lot better at the end of this week than I was earlier. I have had plenty of work the past couple of days to keep me busy, and people have been treating me "normally" (including me in conversations, etc.) Maybe it's blown over.

It has also helped greatly to have Lee's support and kindness when I have needed it. Just to sit together and watch the oak pollen blow around has been healing. (We had a rain night before last that knocked most of the oak blossoms off the trees--the volume is incredible.)

My knitting friends made me feel better on Wednesday, too. They are very welcoming! Just sitting at the big table and enjoying the friendly conversation, kindness and generosity of the very diverse group there reminded me that people CAN get along even when they have different views on lots of subjects. It's been a lot more open and friendly there in recent months, and that makes me happier. It helps me remember I do still have friends and support, even with Tuba Boy distancing himself and Jody moving across the Big Ocean.

Job Seeker Blog #6

Whew, I am feeling marginally better. I'd been a bit worried that the place I liked so much hadn't contacted me about the follow-up call, but then yesterday I got an email saying the VP was in town this week, so please could I meet with him personally on Wednesday (tomorrow). Yay and hooray. I also found out that one of my church friends just got a job there, and it would be neat to work in the same place as this nice kid (OK, man, he's about to be a father).

I am having trouble finding even marginally appropriate new things to apply for, but I do hope some of the interviews I had the last two weeks will pan out.

And the lovely unemployment money is in the bank, which is good. What is not to great is that it really takes some doing to get the money OFF the debit card they give it to me on, and ON to my bank account, which is where my bills get paid from. I'm sure this system works well for people who don't have bank accounts or mostly pay things by credit card, but if you use your own bank account to pay things, having to force the bank to reluctantly do a cash advance to get money into your account is not fun. It took forever for the bank person to accomplish this, whereas a check could get deposited from the drive-through lane. I guess there aren't as many unemployed people out there as I thought.

Good thoughts for tomorrow!

I am very grateful for the money, though. Looks like we won't go bankrupt while I am looking.

Slow Day

It's been a slow day, but not a bad one. The person who was supposed to give me a ton of work isn't at work today, so not much to do but apply for jobs. I have done so with a vengeance, including a couple as an online community manager. I loved that part of my old job, so that would be great to do. I just hope there aren't thousands applying for each of these positions.

The boss took the department out to lunch today, though one was not able to come, "too busy," she said. Wah. Now I wish I had gone out last week when she took my friend who's already gone out to lunch--but that day I was just way too down. Anyway, we went to the Hyde Park Grill in the scenic part of Austin, where we people up on the northwest boonies never get to go (it's the restaurant famous for its sign that is a giant fork). I'd forgotten how good this place is--I stopped going to "good" restaurants while Jeff was around, and never got back to it since. Maybe when the "good" job manifests, I can start going fun places with Lee (who never wants to go in to Austin, but I miss places like Central Market and such). I really, really like to eat at upscale restaurants, and keep picking guys who don't like to do that--the XH and I did have some fun times with our fancy meals! I just love the ambiance and interesting combinations of flavors you don't get at barbecue spots and the ubiquitous generic Chinese/Vietnamese restaurants!

Our food was delicious but really copious. The new girl got a HUGE pork chop. I had meatloaf, with delicious homemade mashed potatoes and collards sauteed with bacon. The latter were delicious, but I believe have made me a bit sick to the stomach. I need to remember I have no gall bladder and can't do a lot of fat. Then we all had wonderful desserts. A peach cake/pudding and a chocolate brownie. Each of them was gigantic. We could not finish either, so will eat them tomorrow at lunch. Wow, if you go there, try one of those desserts!

As you can tell, I am still in a better mood. Doing what my tarot cards said and not letting stuff get to me. I am trying to assume the good things will happen, and stop the panic. I know it pleases Lee to see me happier, and I will be trying harder to do so, and maybe the bad downer feelings will abate for a while. Fingers crossed.

Fun Is Where You Make It

A Successful Prank!
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I think I mentioned that we tee-pee-ed the boss's office earlier this week. This is all its glory (since the toilet paper effectively eliminates any way to tell where the heck this is as well as the poor woman's face, I figure it's OK to post). I had the most fun strangling her Elvis Presley figure and hanging him from the blinds. He's fine now, btw. She left it up all day yesterday, and even showed her boss, who was visiting. I have got to say that the department across from mine sure has a lot of fun. They also work hard. That is perfect.

It hasn't been all that fun at our house, but we are trying to make fun as well. I completely lost it yesterday, though, when I got a phone call from Beccano's English teacher saying he was failing English due to not doing his homework. NOT that AGAIN! To his credit he had already approached her himself, looking for ways to remedy things. And he has already remedied math issues. But, on top of Lee's job situation, the massive bills, the drama of Lee selling his old house (it was sad for him--lots of work had gone into it by both him and the ex), the school bus thing (still no apology from the intolerant woman and I have to ride the bus today)...anyway, this incident was the last straw.

I cried at my desk, but thankfully no one was there at the time (lunch combined with the guy across from me having a crown done). Then I cried at Bill when he called wanting to go to lunch. Then I cried at Lee. I got it all back together, but developed a massive headache and sore muscles from being so tense. Thank goodness I had a nice juicy task to do, which kept my mind occupied.

By the time I got home, having managed to do an errand for Lee, avoid an accident two cars ahead of me, and not run out of gas, I was dead. Luckily Beccano agreed to all the things I wanted him to do until he got back under control, and we had a fairly nice time doing homework. I managed to help with Algebra 1, too. It is still hard, but I gave him some tips that seemed to help. All this teaching experience comes in handy at home!

We were supposed to have a committee meeting for the church coffeehouse, but once again, no one showed. So, that looks like we will have one more concert and put it all on hiatus or call it quits. Yay, one more web site I won't have to do any more. I used to really love this coffeehouse, and will be sorry to see it go, but if no one wants to work on it...I guess my friend who booked all the acts will be able to just book them into house concerts at his newly renovated house from now on, so he will still get to be a mover and shaker on the folk scene. Good for him. We need venues for quality folk music up in north Austin still!

So, lots of endings these days. But, Lee and I have our new beginning to focus on, Lee has a new job beginning to hope for, and the kids are still happy...even with all the new homework rules for Beccano. Could be worse. At least no one has tee-pee-ed the house. So far.

Tonight, ugh, long bus ride to Belton for a game, then tomorrow we will drive right back up there for Beccano's percussion section competition right where the game was. Lee will get to come to that, anyway. So will the kids' dad and Tuba Boy, so it should be quite the family event. We will make it fun, in keeping with this entry's theme. I hope we can get up there fairly early and see some of the other competitors. Then, sigh, back to old house or new house work.

Respite?

I put my tarot card of the day in here because it summarizes my hopes for right now--a bit of a break, a respite, a lull. Of course, there is Lee's court appearance tomorrow. Those are always stressful, and no matter how glad you are for it, divorces are not "fun" events. I know I didn't "make" him do it, but I know it might not have happened right now if it weren't for me. But, hey, we have had this many months of happiness, and he was so miserable before.

We did survive the big reorganization at ALE, and Lee still has a job, just a new manager and different team, I guess. Now maybe they'll hire someone? I keep dreaming. That stress being over will make a real difference for all of us, though. We both have jobs that are stable for the time being. Yay. I even have a thing to DO now at work. That helps, because yesterday I arrived at 7:30 am and no one spoke to me or emailed me until 4:45 pm. That's weird. Today I have already spoken to more than one person and the boss has sent more than one email. Woo. Plus, the arm warmers I knitted over the weekend have actually helped me deal with the cold in the office better!

All the kid drama seems to have faded, too. The Girl has disappeared, so Older Boy isn't quite as manic (though I am sure he is sad), and Beccano finished making up all his work and is back on track to make reasonable math grades this semester. Let's hope the other grades come up, too. He is having a lot of fun building a rocket in shop class and making a movie in Multimedia. Plus reading a very large book on ninja training that I got him for his birthday. It's nice to see him reading.

Hey readers! Have any of you heard of locker hooking? It is a craft I never heard of before, but I met a man whose wife does it obsessively, apparently. It looks...different.

So...I planted some new flowers in the front yard, and will share pix of that later. Until then, I will rest in peace.

Stop and Smell the Honeysuckle

So, this is not a picture of honeysuckle, but it's been so long since I posted anything I knitted that I just had to put this in. Click on it to see what a pretty pattern this is, and it IS floral--so it counts. The scarf is in Noro Aurora, which has interesting colors and some lurex, but not too much. It's a Eugen Beugler pattern, with a lovely scalloped edge with twisted garter stitch. It was a real pleasure to knit--just took me a while to block it--had to find a dog-free space (Jeff's room since he is gone house sitting).

As for honeysuckle, I finally found the door OUT of the building at work, and lo and behold, not only is there a jogging path but also a hiking trail out there! It was so beautiful and quiet and shady. Suddenly I thought it smelled like bath gel, and I realized the wild honeysuckle was blooming. Oh, so wonderful to smell real honeysuckle, not the Bath and Bodyworks kind! I found a map that pointed to an overlook, which led me to a wooden bench beside one of those local limestone cliffs where water was gurgling away. There were many kinds of butterflies on the wildflowers, including some beautiful blue ones. I sat and knitted a row and basked--if it weren't for the construction sounds off of 2222 (a road), you'd never have known you were near a city or a large workplace. So, now I have a place to go escape. I LIKE it at work now!!!


May 6: In response to Kris's thoughtful comment, I want to point out that I agree with her on vines. In fact, on March 28 I wrote a post labeled "Pollen" in which I go into great detail about the thrill I have when I murderize a vine in my yard. (Don't get me started about how the grapevine is coming back with a vengeance, either.) And honeysuckle is a VINE, and thus not my favorite garden friend. Wild honeysuckle smells wonderful, but I am very glad it has not appeared in my yard. I have plenty of irritating coral honeysuckle, thanks, which has died where I want it to be, but in its death throes sent out many seedlings. Each corner of my house now has one trying to strangulate something (a crape myrtle or a Texas sage). And there is one in the back corner that is "allowed" to stay because I had tried to plant a "good" vine there earlier but it is too shady for words.

Here I Am!

Did you miss me? This is the last day of my first week at the Delicious Employer (mmm). I've been so worn out at the end of the day that I haven't been able to blog about what it's like here so far, but now I have a better set-up, so I can.

Things are fine at home, except I just learned that the ex won't be able to help Older Boy go to the camp he wants to attend this summer. I don't really think *I* can do it either, but I guess I will have to try, somehow. Ex suggested I sell the lacrosse equipment. I'll have to see if the son wants to do that or not. I guess I can sell my lovely bicycle (sniff) and all my cool cycling shirts. That should get me something. And give me closet space. Other ideas appreciated. No, I will not sell my yarn stash, LOL.

The new job is OK. As usual, a bit slow to start. I didn't get a computer until yesterday, and it's a little HP portable. I also got a phone yesterday so now I am all set. I spent a lot of the week reading Training for Dummies, which actually turned out to be a pretty good book. The stuff I will be teaching at first is a bit of a snooze, but it won't kill me. And hopefully I will get to learn a lot of new software for developing computer-based training. They seem to have killed off the in-person based training here.

Coworkers are nowhere nearly as sparkling and fascinating as the old ones, but then I don't know them very well yet, so they may be hiding their sparkles. So far just a LOT of talking about golf, which has me concerned! Besides, my old coworkers were just so wonderful that they can't be replaced. So I have their photos on my desk. But it's OK. The new boss is a very calm person, a woman of few words. But she has been helpful and nice and not obtrusive. Not bad.

That would be my very large u-shaped desk. Right next to my genuine walls (two!). Cubes are as big as manager ones where we were before, as big as Lee's, and with big wide aisles. That's because there is NO ONE in this place. Reminds me of the Dysfunctional Nonprofit Organization's old offices when I worked there. Many large rooms full of unused stuff.

The best thing is knitting at lunch on the patio, though it's very breezy. You can smell these trees that are blooming in light purple (I wish I remembered what they were) and hear lots of birds. This whole place is surrounded by wildflowers and trees--very pretty and great for butterflies and views. And it was obviously very nice looking when fully staffed and occupied. I hope someone will tell me soon how to exit so I can walk the trails!

I will catch up on my words for others and summarize them over the weekend. I hope to also write about issues related to what's in the news these days.

Another Crisis Bites the Dust

MMM

That's what Greg would say. The recruiter called this morning to offer me the position at a company whose name reminds one of those letters. It will be a challenge to do this, but I enjoy learning and especially enjoy not going into debt and being unemployed. This is a year contract, so my new goal is to find something permanent before it is up. Still have that ALE dream.

I am very relieved. And grateful for all the vibes, candles and such. It seems to have worked.

Next up: hair cut and coloring appointment! I can spend money again! Let's go buy a refrigerator! Then a week of relaxing, resting, and enjoying life rather than worrying.

Must find the next thing to worry about...JUST KIDDING

Happenin's and Transitions

The past couple of days have been a whirlwind of telephone calls, job interviews, and applying for jobs. I am not exaggerating when I say it is as much work to look for work as it is to work. Maybe more. I have a lot of interesting possibilities, and one that may very well work out soon--not the best one. However, this one is offering me more money than they originally said (good!). So, we'll see. Here are the possibilities:

1. Nonprofit organization software: the place I interviewed for 5 hours at on Monday. That is a REAL job, not too far away, and with nice folks. It has a little travel. You get to help people figure out their web needs and then let other people meet those. That is so good. I have no idea what it pays because I forgot to ask. Duh.



2. Short contract doing Wikis at a place only 5 minutes from the house. I like this one because it would last long enough for me to be eligible to go back to ALE and hang out with my beloved Lee again, if I desired. Or get a REAL job there. And this one does not sound too hard. I know my wikis. This just popped up yesterday.



3. The one that's a long-term contract doing training stuff is third. It looks like the hardest job, and the one I have the least confidence in. But I like the contracting agency staff.



4. There is another one that came up this week and I have interviewed for. It is located SO FAR from here that it is not funny. But it is working with interesting people and is a high-level web strategy position.

Lots to think about. I have interviewed at least once with everything but the wiki place. That should be soon, I think.

Transition

In other news, my baby is growing up. Younger Son is now Beccano in this blog, because he has his own blog now (only for people he KNOWS) and has joined Lee and me on our tarot blog. He draws cards many days, and wanted to record them. So now we all get to blog together. He is definitely mature enough to read the tarot blog--Lee and I don't go into anything he can't know about there, other than some mushiness. And Beccano knows we are mushy. I am proud of him. Today we are enjoying a day together because he had a fever last night. We all got some "gastrointestinal distress" yesterday.

Beccano is his Wookie name on Star Wars Galaxies. And part of his AIM screen name. I guess it is for him like Suna is for me--another part of himself.

We think the pollen is passing. I have never seen so much oak debris in my life. I keep sweeping up huge piles. And the grass is 3-4 inches tall in spots! Lee brought home a cool turtle planter he had at his old house, and we are going to put nice flowers in it shortly, in the front of the house. Really looking nice around here.

Green, Green Grass

Look, look look. See, see see. See grass grow.

Grow grass, grow!

This is not a very exciting photo unless you are familiar with the vast expanse of bare dirt that is my back yard. Then, you are thrilled to see those li'l blades of grass shimmering in the sun! And that photo was taken on Sunday. Today you can REALLY see the grass, and Lee has filled in some gaps with more seed. It is conceivable that, soon, a person would consider us to have a "lawn."

Whoa.

I didn't spend all weekend watching grass grow. I taught a lot of knitting, went to church and learned interesting things about societies in an exercise we all did as a family. We were all members of different "cities" named after types of ice cream, and the "mayor" and "sherrif" wandered around doling out favors or not. And there was someone acting as permit person who showed favoritism too. It was supposed to be a microcosm of society and show how you start to act like how you are treated. It was pretty fun! We made our city a commune off the grid, but still could not avoid influences of others.

So, what else...last night was the annual birthday bash of my friend Austin. Not as many people as usual, but still a lot of music. I got to introduce Lee to a lot of my music friends, and was relieved to find out that some of the ones I really care about ARE my friends, and not just people who were nice to me because I was with Jeff. A couple of people made a big point of saying that they would like to see me more and do stuff with me and Lee. And more than one told me how wonderful I am for being so kind to Jeff. I told one woman that Jeff had been hard to live with and she said, "Oh, I KNOW, you are an ANGEL to have been to good to him for so long." So, that was nice.

Lee spent a lot of time out on the labyrinth. He sure loves it, and it had a big pool of moonlight right in the center. Beautiful.

Unfortunately, I ended up having two too many margaritas from the marvelous frozen margarita machine. Lee kept refilling. Then he made another one when we got home. It ended up being QUITE the fun evening, but this morning my head sure hurt, and I had job interview stuff to do!

And Job Interview Marathon went well. 4 hours of talking, but it ended up really, really good. I loved the place and the people seemed very nice as well. Tomorrow I have two--someone called in this morning having looked at my resume from last year and gave me a call--wow, someone actually DID call when something fitting my skills came up!

Good Attitude Bonus Day

I was going to put a lot of bird pix in here, since I have watched birds a lot today, but you can just imagine a female red breasted woodpecker and a Carolina wren in your own mind, OK? It WAS neat to see a woodpecker on my tree--I have not seen many around here.

What you do see is the Older Boy after his "bud" who is "a girl, Mom!" straightened it. Look how shiny it came out! Everyone says he looks "emo" in the picture. I think he looks like he stepped out of an anime comic. In any case, what a cutie.

I am enjoying my little "vacation" fairly well. I got two web sites all caught up and did my taxes today. My good attitude is paying off, I think, because I got a nice refund, even after paying self-employment tax on all my knitting teaching. It will get us through another unemployment week! Plus, lo and behold, I had misplaced an envelope containing a $600 check for escrow overpayment, and I found it during tax prep time. WOO! Another little cushion for the upcoming drought. Every little bit helps!

And speaking of that drought, not only do I have one interview next week, but I have two now! A local company that does software for nonprofits has me scheduled for next Monday! It's a place I would really like to work, and would be an easy commute to visit Lee for lunch (a bonus). So, that has made me extra hopeful. Glad I lit my "trabajo" candle for a while! So, I can see that by remaining calm and thinking positively, things have slowly begun to show improvement signs. Rockin'.

I am a bit worried about Younger Boy. He is having trouble sleeping. Otherwise, things are really good. It stopped raining and I am making bread. Last night, Younger Son and I made banana bread, too. It is such fun cooking together!

Old Blog News

Still working hard at adding posts from my old blog to this one. I also changed the title of this one back to "What, Suna's Not Knitting," which was the old title. The other one is now "Suna's Old Blog," and it will go away once I have all the posts transferred older. I need to warn you that on occasion, I will forget to post-date an old post and it will end up looking new. Let me know if you see any of those!

Good Attitude Pays Off

As I will post later, I have been having a good time and enjoying things pretty well. And I am so glad I have, since I got a call from the recruiter lady and she said that the "perfect candidate" from last week fell through and now the manager wants to meet with me! Next week! Which gives me some real vacation time this week and takes a lot of pressure off.

No, not going to stop looking for things, nor hoping that ALE comes through. But I am glad I didn't let myself get upset more than a little while. Things come through. It just takes a while.

Last Day at ALE

My last day at the job went really well. I am impressed at how well I managed to keep up good spirits and professionalism right until the end. One coworker even sent me a note about how well I did under the difficult circumstances. That was nice.

We continued in "business partner review" meetings and worked really hard on that, then ran off to revise all our materials in practically no time. I pitched in and helped out right until 3:55, when I said, "I quit." Ha ha, my hours were already actually expired--I just could not quit until I was done. I am really glad I got to finish at a "stopping point," rather than right in the middle of a project. That felt good.

After I turned in my badge, all the coworkers started slowly showing up at my now-bland cube. They just stood there shuffling around and chatting. It was really sweet. So I hugged them all and reminded them they'd see me on Monday at my "lunch." That sounds like it will be good. Lee invited all sorts of people!

After work I was just fine and enjoyed the rest of the day with the family. Older Boy's friends came over and it was very fun observing their teenager-i-ness. They seem like really good kids. Every time we snuck down to see what they were doing, they were fine. Playing cards, chatting, lying on the couch. Good kids.

Deja vu, all over again

Gee, I remember writing this last December. "You are a great candidate, but we picked someone else who was just PERFECT." So, one down, and the job I had been hoping for most is history.

Apparently I impressed them with my background and how I "sold myself" (remember, the lady didn't ask many questions so I TOLD her how I would fit their job), so the recruiter claimed they are shopping my resume to other departments at this place. Yeah, ALE said that, too. I am so wonderful and such a good candidate, but just not quite good enough. My feeling is that someone who had worked at that company before and knew all their proprietary software systems (which, of course, I don't know, having never worked there) suddenly applied--because the recruiter seemed genuinely surprised at the development. I think they thought they had a sale in me.

Oh well, I looked all day and applied to a couple more things. The recruiting company said they'd work extra hard to find me something, too. I will endeavor to take her word for it.

Sigh. I sure hear a lot about what a great gal I am (and appreciate it when not depressed and weary). I just wish someone would compensate me for something I can do.