More shopping

I went to Wal Mart today to return some things. I ended up spending a lot more. :)

I bought a new lamp. I'm tired of sitting in the dark. It is a simple black floor lamp and it was $12.00 I'm not breaking the bank with it. I also gave up and bought 2 plates, 2 forks and 2 bowls. I'm tired of using paper and plastic all the time. (And worse, washing the damn plastic forks). I have no idea where my stuff is at this point, but I've probably guarnateed it will arrive on Tuesday. (It won't actually. On Thursday it hadn't even left WA yet I don't think... or maybe CA.)

I bought 3 new plants today. Two look like they're on the brink of death. We'll see if I can rescue them. The other is a Christmas Cactus and just needs some water to perk up. (hmm... a Christmas cactus is not a true cactus. I never knew that)

I'm starting to settle in, well as much as I can. I baked cornbread this morning which I put in a bunch of pepper jack cheese. It tasted awesome. :) \

I'm surrounded by "super" stores. I have decided I don't like them. I was telling Lyday yesterday that I feel like they don't give you enough variety. It's like they mash up 2 stores into one space that is not the equivalent of 2 stores but MAYBE 1.5 stores tops. I think that means they don't have enough variety. Although I've never thought that about the Fred Meyer in Fairbanks.

One thing I'm working on is finding new GF stores and suppliers. I've found a few things at Wal Mart and at one of the two different grocery stores nearby, but nothing as much as I used to be able to find in Seattle. Of course, I haven't looked for a Whole Foods or a health food store. I was actually fairly shocked I found what I found at Wal Mart. I found pasta and mixes and a few other things. No bagels though. :(

Some things

There's a part of me that kind of loves my apartment right now. There's almost nothing in it. I have a coffee table, and washer and dryer and a dresser brought by my dad and nephew last week. They also brought me a kitchen aid mixer that I originally told my mom I didn't want, but for a change I'm glad she ignored me. She also sent a little pan so I have that to cook on. I bought myself a new TV when I realized it might actually be 2 weeks before my stuff gets here and I have a new bed. I got rid of my mattress in Seattle because it was over 12 years old, from Ikea and $200 when I got it and had a big sag in the middle. Obviously not quality. So although in a weird way I kind of like this minimalist life, I dislike that I'm sitting/laying whatever on the floor all the time. The living room does not have any light so I leave the kitchen/dining space light on all the time. Sometimes, though, (like when I'm poking around behind the TV) I have to use a flashlight. I think it is also helping to keep me from feeling truly settled.

I keep buying little things. Today I bought a baking pan so I could bake a cake. Two days ago I bought some spoons. I've been using paper plates and plasticware. Since this was a "celebration" model apartment, they left me 4 cups in the fridge. Oh and I bought a new rice cooker.

I AM about to run out of money, though, so no more shopping until payday. Sadly, for me payday isn't until the 23rd. Sigh. (hee, when I set up my labels, I set my home one to be "home home on the range"... that's kind of funny given my new home)

1 Week almost down, who knows how many to go...

So I've survived most of the week. My first thoughts are:

1 - In the future I will not live to the west of my job, I'm always driving into the sun and it is blinding.

2 - I'm shopping like a fiend. I think I might be sublimating my loneliness with my master card. (And by master card I mean debit card)

3 - I can't decide how I feel about living here. I think I'm still not 100% convinced I live here. Even though I drive to and from work each day it is still kind of surreal. Probably once my stuff shows up I'll feel more settled. Now it is just more like I'm staying in a hotel.

4 - I think I like my job. I didn't realize that I am basically #2 in the office. And they have some weird rules. I learned tonight that my coworkers have to leave when the managers leave. I packed up my crap and was about to leave when one of them said something about just finishing one more thing and the other said that they had to leave if I left. It was fine. I dawdled (is that how you spell that?) so that they weren't rushed.

5 - I need to buy a sofa. I'm sick of sitting on the floor. (Also, my hips are sick of me sitting on the floor).

That's all for now.

A Hippie Chick arrives in Dallas

I made it to Dallas in one piece and relatively unscathed. Spent most of yesterday afternoon settling into the apartment and helping the nephew and my dad bring in some things for me. I now have a washer and a dryer of my own. Whee. (And in the great tradition of doing laundry on Sunday mornings, there is a load in both the washer and the dryer right now. :) )

My apartment is GLORIOUS. I'm really excited to be here. The bedroom is HUGE. My tiny air mattress and the small dresser I asked for from my folks look like children's furniture. I have a nice little balcony. I'm going to get a chair at some point and put it out there so I can sit on the balcony and read. I think I'm going to try my hand at container gardening again. I liked doing that in CA.

I slept terribly last night though. The air mattress is NOT comfortable and it needed more air sometime in the night. BUT when I get a real bed it will be much better. I also got surprisingly cold last night. I think partially it is due to the air mattress so if the Super Walmart is open today I'm going to head there and get an extra blanket. :)

I haven't quite figured out how I feel about all this. It is still kind of surreal. People are freakishly friendly here, though. Like beyond anything I'm used to. My leasing person hugged me for goodness sake. I don't hug people. I also met my downstairs neighbor and a woman who lives in a nearby building. My sister ordered me flowers (isn't that awesome!) and the across the building neighbor received them for me.

There are definitely aspects of TX that remind me of Arizona. There are doves cooing (is that what doves do?) outside and I remember them from growing up in AZ. We'll see. With any luck I've got a long time to figure it out. :) One thing I did see that made me think that I wasn't in Kansas anymore... a bumper sticker on a truck "Visualize no Liberals" I'm sure that will go nicely with my equal rights bumper sticker and whatever else I put on my hatchback.

Burning the candle at both ends

I woke up this morning and my first thought was not WTF am I doing up at 4:45? It was "I hate the phrase meet-cute." I don't know why I hate it, but I really do.

Despite going to bed last night at midnight I purposefully woke up this morning at 5 to capitalize on my morningpersonness. I finished some pots in the kitchen and boxed them up. I've realized I'm at that space where I just want shit in boxes and I don't care if things get broken in the move. I should care. I'm not independently wealthy.

My eyeballs are like sand. They burn the flesh. I've been rubbing them like a toddler an hour past her naptime. I think it is allergies.

I finally found my netflix dvd that I've had out since...November. That's right... november. I could have bought this DVD 4 times over with that. I'm going to watch it at lunch time today and then suspend my account for 1 month and mail it back. (Awesome. Holding the acct on netflix is totally easy!)

Today I'm going to pack up my office. This will allow me to just have a box already ready and sealed so I don't have to repack this stuff when I get home.

Holy crap, if I find any more arts & crap supplies or girl scout stuff while moving my head may explode. Just fair warning.

My White Whale

So in the course of packing I've discovered the room I thought was going to be the easiest, my bedroom, is turning out to be the biggest pain in the ass. First of all there's no space. I have to put the boxes on my bed because there's no room at the foot of it for boxes. Apparently I've also taken to just dumping stuff in the bedroom. It's the first room as I walk in the door and about 99% of the time I walk in and immediately have to pee. It doesn't matter if I'm coming home from work, from dinner, from an evening out, the movies... whatever. 99% of the time I walk in the door, throw off my coat, backpack and anything I'm carrying on the bed and then go to the bathroom. My bedroom has become sort of a catch all for everything... old mail, dry goods, bathroom stuff, etc. It is ridiculous.

I have to begin making lists. I'm not a list person naturally, but there's a lot of shit that has to be dealt with for my move... like my cable box... if I sign up for comcast in Dallas can I just bring this one? Do I have to return it to them... and on and on and on. I don't think I have time for this.

Tonight's my last scout meeting. I have mixed emotions on this. On the one hand, of course I'm sad. I love these girls. I've been with many of them for YEARS. I will miss them terribly. On the other... I'm tired. I've been burnt out for the past few years and I know the troop has suffered as a result. I will consider doing it again after Michelle & Bryan move with K & O. If Michelle is interested in having the girls in scouts I'll consider doing it again... or not. :)

April 5th.

I start my fancypants new job on April 5th. I end my current job on April 1. I'm probably going to fly to Dallas on April 3rd. Eek. This is very soon. I might die of soonness. :)

I have sent in my application and fees for a new apartment in Ft. Worth. It is about 8 miles from my new job. I'm pretty excited about the place. It is gorgeous. It has a pool and a dishwasher and a walk in closet and a balcony. I'm getting a corner unit. It doesn't have a washer/dryer in the unit, but there are hookups for one and my crazy mother has one in her garage for me. I can park my car and not pay $100/mo to do so. It has a fire place. And the one they are holding for me is a corner unit! Below is a sample floor plan for it. Isn't it cute?



I'm being stubborn. My mother has offered me her car, a Nissan something or other from some time in 2000. I don't want it. I've driven it before. I didn't like driving it. It would be free for me though. but I really want to buy my own. I want to pick out my own cute little hatchback and pay for it and negotiate for it and all that jazz.

It's all done but the details...

I submitted my letter of resignation today. I'd already verbally resigned, they just needed the letter for my file. I also submitted my intent to vacate to my apartment people. Now I just need to pack. Ugh.

I hope I have found an apartment. The place is beautiful and has good ratings from an apartment ratings website I found. The costs are more expensive than move.com posted but still cheaper than my current rent for a 2 bedroom. Although maybe in the interest of saving money and paying down debt I should just go with a 1 bedroom. The 1 bedrooms they have are even cheaper (obviously they're only 1 bedroom. :P ) Ugh. This indecisiveness is annoying me. I like the idea of having a 2nd bedroom to put like my sewing machine and for when guests visit. The cost difference is only 120/mo (2160/yr).

The Pros and Cons

I've been offered the job in Dallas. They called an hour (ish) after I left from my interview. I don't even know if they called my references. I think she already knew I was the one she wanted but just needed to meet me in person to finalize. I just emailed my potential new boss with a few questions about vacation, retirement and holidays. The holidays thing because the casino bragged about how they gave you 9 personal holidays but only 1 week of vacation. It sounds good (because that is more than 2 weeks vacay) until you realize that they do not give you time off for ANY holiday. Had I stayed I would have been expected to work Christmas and Thanksgiving, day after Thanksgiving etc. That would have sucked balls.

So the pros of moving to Dallas:
1 - It is on the approved list (although in all honesty Michelle had to convince me of Texas to begin with and then Dallas was not approved until desperation set in)
2 - It is much less expensive to live there than it is here. I can rent a 2 bedroom apt near my work for less than I pay in rent for my barely 1 bedroom now.
3 - I think it would be a really interesting and challenging job. I would be the sole benefits person eventually teaching the HR asst benefits as well.
4 - I'll get to work on implementation of a completely new software for benefits & hr. That's exciting.
5 - PM is interested in Texas and hopefully would be moving there too in a couple years.
6 - My sister is really excited to have me move nearer to where she is. And it would be nice to live near her.
7 - I could eventually buy a kickass house for pennies. (Seriously, on move.com today and there are some really nice houses (to my eyes at least) for 100k or less. The one I saw for 280 was like a palace. Appeared as nice as the one PM just moved out of, and I'm pretty sure she didn't pay only 280.

Cons:
1 - I will have to move! I know I've wanted to, but it has always been such an abstract thought. Not something that ACTUALLY will happen.
2 - I'll miss my girls.
3 - I'll miss my friends.
4 - I'll have to make new ones. (I'm not so good at that. At All.)
5 - Maybe I wouldn't be good enough for my job.
6 - I'll miss the people I work with now.
7 - There are benefits I will be giving up. I'm pretty sure they don't do a 10% contribution to retirement. They don't have dental. I'm checking on a couple things before I decide.

I don't want to say no just because I'm terrified, but I also don't want to say yes just because I'm desperate.

Terrified

I'm heading out on a plane in a few hours to Phoenix and then to Dallas for a job interview. Hopefully I'll also hit Houston while there, but I haven't confirmed that one yet.

Currently terrifying me:

What if I hate Texas? I mean really HATE Texas? TX is high on the list. What if it is God-awful? The last time I went into TX I was like 11ish and we were driving to Disney on vacation. (Maybe 13ish). All I remember about Texas is that the states were just starting to pass seat belt laws and TX was a seat belt state. It was a hugeass state that took us like 2 days to get through and we had to be in our seats the entire time.

Awkward

This whole job hunting thing feels very awkward to me. There is A LOT of deception around it. While I am not above lying and I firmly believe everyone does so and that in some situations there's nothing wrong with it (honestly future husband, find a tactful way to say that dress makes my ass look huge or say nothing at all but never be "brutally honest"), if your current boss doesn't know you are looking it is all about the deception. My boss thinks I'm going to PM's house to help her move this weekend. Next week when I have to go to Pitt... well luckily I sneezed several times in my meeting this morning so... But I kind of hate the whole thing. Half my coworkers know what's going on. My boss, notboss and one coworker don't. And, as I've said before, 1/2 my coworkers are looking themselves.

If I think about it too hard, this makes me sad. My boss has no idea that 4/8 members of a department are planning on leaving sometime in the nearish future. I know I know he has done some toolish things, but he is still a person.

I'll Believe it When I See it

I tend to not believe things are happening until they are actually happening. I think that's why I've had such a hard time believing a - the job bs IS actually happening and b - I might actually have to move. I haven't been offered a job yet. I've got 2 face to face interviews sometime in the next 2ish weeks. Well... I definitely have one. I have been called on to go to the other one, but I can't decide if I should go. I'm hoping to hear from the oen in Houston this week. I thought that phone screen went really well.

Now, given that I have known about this possibility since April of 2009, you'd think I'd be almost totally ready to move, right? I'm not. I'm not even close. I know what big furniture/stuff I want to get rid of. Beyond that, I'm still out of control. :)

High Hopes

I had a phone interview with a bank in TX today. So far of all the jobs I've interviewed for this is one I'm pretty excited about. I think I would be the only benefits person there which I LOVE. It seems like a small department which I also love. There's growth happening and change happening which is all very exciting. I'll be really disappointed if this one doesn't pan out.

The one I interviewed with Pitt isn't going to happen I don't think. I'm not disappointed about that one predominantly because it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. It is a new role but strictly operational in nature - improving processes, mapping processes, blah blah blah. Not a lot of employee interaction.

The other role was for a medical provider also in Texas. I'd be okay with that one too. It is interesting in that there is a person in the role, but the position is getting upgraded and that is what I would be doing. Could be fun and interesting, but the thought of physicians after faculty members doesn't necessarily thrill me.

I do believe... :)

So my horoscope for today:

Congratulations. What you are about to enjoy is better than Ed McMahon showing up at your door with a giant check. The heavens have arranged an absolutely heavenly - if you'll pardon the pun - array of callers, all of whom will be intent on making you happy. Fortunately, the right one will indeed be among the crowd that is amassing. All you have to do is show up and interview applicants. Tough job.



Seems pretty nice right? I can hope this means job possibility is night. Maybe. :)



I had a bad phone interview with Pittsburgh. That's okay. Once she started talking about the job I realized I didn't think I wanted it. Plus I don't think I wanted to work for that lady.



I had what I think was a good phone screen with a medical group in TX. I should hear from that later this week.



I have another one tomorrow with a bank in TX. And hopefully I'll hear from a place in New England tomorrow. This could finally work out for me. :)

Adjustment

I wonder if Peruvian food is good? That annoying guy from Diners Drive-ins and Dives was at a Peruvian restaurant tonight and it looked good. Sort of related - the Peruvian delegation just went by on the Opening Games. The flag guy lives here. I find it kind of fascinating how many people in the less than winter countries have delegations to the winter Olympics because they lived and trained someplace cold. It is also fascinating how many NHL players are able to play for their various countries. I know in the summer games the basketball players are the same way. Somehow it seems unfair a little bit. (thank heavens for auto-save. I almost lost this entire post. That may not be a bad thing. ;) ) How awful this must be for Georgia. They want to be happy and proud and yet there's such sorrow and tragedy for them. (Am I really blogging about the Olympics? What's wrong with me? I don't like the Olympics and never really watch them.)



This use cash only thing is working out pretty good so far. I slipped last week and used my debit card to buy pizza. I took out my $100 today and I'm down to $25ish for the rest of the week. I know... that's bad, right? That's the whole point of this exercise though. To force me to rein this all in. I did buy $45 worth of groceries so that's a big part of it. Spent 10 on a movie and 16ish on dinner. I'll get better at it. If I don't get a new job before the new boss starts I'm going to have to figure out how to live on less.

I did use it also to order tickets for 2 different events. Next weekend I'm going bowling to support the Human Rights Campaign. Big R wanted to go and I'm down with it. In March I'll go to Gay Bingo again. It should be fun. With any luck it'll be one of the last things I do here for fun.

I have received 4 calls on possible jobs in this past week. After months of hearing nothing, I'm really stoked about that. My coworker told me about indeed.com. It is a crawler of some sort so it pulls jobs from all sorts of sites that you may not think of. (If you're interested in the search part put in title:(job title you want) ) Three out of 4 jobs I've gotten calls from I found using indeed. One of those jobs... (KATE in VT pay attention!) is for a large college hospital in New Hampshire. I know New Hampshire isn't on Michelle's list, but I really liked the VT, NH area. (Nelly Furtado is from Canada?) (Also this song's lyrics are rather cheesy aren't they?) I like that I could live a small town life like I think I want to. Plus, New Hampshire doesn't have state income tax. :) We'll see how it all pans out. I may not get any of them. (Actually Murphy's Law says I'll get offered the worst most lowest paying choice that I would only take out of desperation even though I know that's a bad idea). (NO Positivity! I will get offered the best one and it will pay handsomely and I will live happily ever after!)

At the moment it is a good time to be me. (That's subject to change at any moment so I shouldn't get too cocky about it.) :)

Hmm... not what I had in mind.

So this new money thing I'm trying... I took out my $100 on Sunday. I have $15 in my pocket until next Sunday. Now, I did use $35 on my water aerobics class for the next 8 weeks and that's a one time charge. But still... oh and I owe $8 to Lyndsy. I may not make it this week on only $100. :) (But, luckily, I'll be paid for some focus group study on Wednesday so I'll have a random $200. :P )

A New Theory

I'm trying a new thing. I read somewhere that if you are trying to get a handle on your money, you should only pay in cash. So that's what I'm going to do. I am going to take out cash each week and that's what I'm going to use for groceries, eating out, incidentals, etc. Bills, of course, will continue to be paid electronically, but everything else will be cash and carry. Hopefully it will reign in my spending.

Mosiac of Sleep

I had a dream last night that started out kind of weird and then got very weird. I dreamt I was at my parents house visiting. We were all getting ready to go to bed but my mom couldn't go to bed since it was her night to guard the door. Guard the door? Apparently my the front of my parents' house had been burned and since my parents are DIYers they had just built a new wall out of like particle board and then mosiaced tiles all on the front. The problem... they hadn't attached the new wall to the existing structure yet, so it just leaned against the house. So people could come in through the big hole. The hole was kind of covered by the "wall" so the intruders would have to move the wall a little bit to get in. My mom was exhausted so I accepted the job of "guarding the house." Here's where it gets weirder... people were actually coming in. There were groups of teenagers and I would throw them out... sometimes physically. Then an older group and I physically removed them. And then when I poked my head outside to see there were still more groups planning on coming in and they started throwing grapes and other little berried fruit at me. So damn weird.

Giving In (sort of)

I bought some "sleep aids" today. I've been having a horrible time sleeping lately. Weird dreams. Sometimes difficult dreams. Definitely a lot of dreaming. I also wake up a lot. Last night I was up 4 different times and since I couldn't fall asleep until after 11 and just gave up trying to sleep at 5:05 that's a lot of awake time. Now, in truth, I've always had a hard time sleeping. I can almost never sleep late. My sister commented when I was in FL over the holiday break that she's heard me say I don't sleep but she didn't think I was serious. The problem is, though, since I can literally fall asleep on my sofa for 30 - 45 minutes in a matter of seconds, clearly I'm sleep deprived.

As a person who supports drugs as much as I do, it is kind of weird that I've been so hesitant about sleeping pills. I think I'm afraid that I'll have a hard time waking up in the AM and spend the day kind of foggy. I don't have time for that crap. :) +

Getting Desperate

On a cognitive level, I understand that the job market is in the toilet. I understand that in a recession, I'm trying to get a job someplace that isn't here. There are hundreds of people out of work. On a cognitive level I get that. The rest of me, though... starting to really get bogged down by this job search. I've been searching for 10 months. I've gotten (I think) pretty close a couple of times but something failed to seal the deal for me. What it is, who knows? In both cases they were far away jobs and perhaps that was the problem. I'm a bigger risk than a local candidate. I know bossman originally was only looking at local candidates. But even though I KNOW all this... I'm still freaking out. It doesn't help that he actually has some viable candidates this time around. We may actually fill this position. Happy 36th birthday, Joanne, you're getting your big fat negative pay increase. (Pay cut for those of you mathematically challenged).

I'm also scaring myself in that I'm starting to think about places I previously declined. Places like Phoenix. I don't want to live in Phoenix. I HATE Phoenix. BUT there are jobs in Phoenix. Baltimore. There's a job at a University there. I don't think I want to work for colleges anymore but it is a job and Maryland is on the approved list. I may have to look at places that aren't on the Michelle & Joanne list. Places like New Mexico or Vermont or Montana. Or Florida. (Just kidding about Florida. Florida will never be on the approved list.... or will it... Disney World! :) No. Never... flying cockroaches. Repeat ... FLYING COCKROACHES!)

Found 3 more jobs to apply for. I know I should be grateful. I've been applying for jobs fairly steadily since April. (Wait, how should I be grateful for that??!!) At least there've been jobs for me to apply for. I know looking every single day is tormenting me. I can't help it. I'm just so desperate to find a new job.

TV & Exercise and whatnot

I wish How I met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory were on in a single hour instead of HIMYM and BBT being an hour apart. I am meh on Accidentally On Purpose and really don't like 2.5 Men. I dislike the "mooch" kinds of shows. Family A takes Family B in. Family A then spends the next indeterminate number of seasons complaining about how Family B is a mooch. Either let them live with you without complaint of mooch status or throw their asses out.

My niece is perpetuating flu shot myths. This peeves me.

I want a Hershey's bar with almonds. Damn tv commercial.

So here's the question... I can do 35 minutes on the elliptical trainer and feel pretty good but not like overwhelmingly out of breath or anything yet I can't walk up the stairs in freeway park without getting winded. What's that about? I'm moving faster on the elliptical. I'm working out for longer than I am walking up the stairs. I don't get it.

The Quest for the Circle

Subtitled: How Lyday and Joanne completely lost their shit and drove all around Seattle last night.

Once upon a time there were two single gals who decided to spend a spinster filled Saturday night at one of their homes. Their names were Lyday and Joanne and the plan was to make enchiladas for dinner, watch Circle of Friends and make soap. Initially the plan went off without a hitch. Enchiladas were made and consumed and declared awesome. (Of course they were, they were made by Joanne who is a decent cook and not by Lyday who could burn water (but to be fair can bake a cake from scratch which Joanne has no interest in doing).) It came time for the movie. Oh where oh where could that movie be? Lyday swore she owned it. Both searched the apartment valiantly for the movie. It was not there. Lyday is fairly sure that the Wal of the Marts carries said movie for the reasonable price of $5.00. Does the daring duo go to the Wal of the Marts or do they change their viewing choice and watch Ever After?

Well obviously since this is a quest they head for the Wal of the Marts. Now Joanne HATES the Wal of the Marts. But she agrees to go along in the hopes of finding the Circle for the low low price of $5.00. Off they go protected by William Christopher to the kingdom of Renton. Into the Wal of the Marts they brave. And they search. And they search. And they search through every shelf/bin/whatever of DVDs that are there. No Circle. Is this the end of their quest? Do the girls go home and give up??

Of course not! They decide to try Target. Maybe, just maybe Target will have this. I'll save you some of the action. It does not. Nor does Fry's. Nor, according to a phone call, does Best Buy in Tukwila. Oho! Joanne says. I have this movie at home. Let's try my house. Sadly, she is either mistaken or messy because the DVD cannot be found at Joanne's house either. Now (if you're keeping track) they have attempted to find this movie at 4.5 places (phone call counts for half). This has taken over an hour at this point. Do they give up?!

Of course not. Now it has become somewhat of a "THING" for them. You can't just give up on a quest unfulfilled. Obviously somebody somewhere does not want them to watch this movie. For what nefarious reasons could that be? Who knows... but the girls will not be thwarted. Off they go to Blockbuster. It's a video rental place. It will have it, right? RIGHT? The Blockbuster on the Hill of Capitols does not. Sadly and almost defeated the girls ponder their next move. Huzzah! According to the fair maid behind the counter, the DVD can be found in Queen Anne's realm near the burger joint known as Dick's. The maidens stand outside and contemplate... Do they go to Queen Anne's or not?

Of course they do! How could they not? But first, on the way, they attempt one more spot. Half Price Books (which also sells DVDs). Alas and Alack (and not at all shocking) they don't have it either. Fearful that their little detour to Half Price Books has caused some other evil-doer to grab the Circle off the shelf they rush over to Queen Anne's kingdom. There it is! On the shelf! For a mere $1.49 it was theirs all theirs for the night. Or for an additional $4.49 it could be theirs forever.

The happy gals travelled home after getting some fries and milkshakes from Dick's. There they watched Circle of Friends and it was as awesome as it always is.

The End.

I've joined REAL people...

Guess what I just did... you'll never guess... I just ordered pizza. To be delivered. Pizza. Delivered to MY apartment! This is the most exciting thing ever! Since I've been Gluten Free I've not had pizza delivered to my house. Pizza. Delivery. I'm so excited!!!

Question of today:

Does being a friend mean you support your friend's choices even though they are making choices that may not be what you consider to be in their best interest or the best choices they could make?

I'm not saying lying down and just accepting those choices. I don't mean just passively accepting what they do without ever talking with them about it. I think I mean they make a choice... you may say your piece... they have disagreed. Should you continue to support them even though they've continued down that path? I'm mostly referring to choices that don't really impact you. I do recognize that there can come a point in a friendship where what they are doing is too self-distructive to continue supporting that behavior and it becomes too hard for you to be with them and watch them destory their lives. Believe me I know that.

We briefly discussed this at dinner yesterday and I was roundly shot down. I think if a person is your friend, you should support their decisions. You can disagree with them, but really being a friend means (to me) putting your feelings aside and supporting your friend as best you can.

Snipping the threads

One of the things the psychic told me is that I haven't really begun pulling back and preparing for moving and whatnot. That is totally correct. It isn't really in my nature to believe something until it is actually happening. I don't believe I'm on vacation until I'm in the airport at my destination. (You never know, the plane could crash). I looked around my apartment last night and realized if I were offered a job tomorrow (obviously that won't happen but if) I wouldn't be anywhere near ready to move in 30 days. Even with Stephen and Lyday and PM coming from California to help basically full time I wouldn't be ready to move in 30 days. I'm going to have to adopt PM's resolution of getting rid of 10 things every day. I will adapt it slightly, though, to getting rid of or packing up 10 things every day. And perhaps this weekend I should spend time down in my storage unit figuring it out. This way I have a place to put the boxes as I pack them away. (On that note, perhaps this weekend I should pick up a flexcar and drop off some boxes to charity since there's a ton of that to go too.)

A Number of Little Things

Carbonite: Carbonite FINALLY finished backing up Sampson. I transferred the account to Bianca today and now she is receiving a dump of everything that was on Sampson... my music, photos, documents etc. It is so much easier than it was when I went from Jakob to Sampson. (Hmm unrelated to anything, Bianca might be the first female thing I've owned. Wait, I forgot. My Mac (which is still in the basement and is 15 years old) was named Zelma after my first landlord in Alaska.) Then I had to load things onto my MP3 player and transfer the files that way. With Carbonite I don't have to do anything. It will include everything. Michelle was the one who suggested it to me, and I think it is totally worth the money. (I could be wrong).

Back to work: I don't want to go back to work tomorrow. It has been nice to be off the week +. Luckily job hunting will be back on track.

Sampson: I know it is irrational but I do feel a tiny bit sad about replacing Sampson. I do recognize it is irrational. Perhaps it is bad for me to name things. ;)

Let's Hope She's Right

Lyday had a brilliant idea to go see a psychic. I'm game for that kind of stuff so I went too. It was interesting. She had me pegged right off the bat and I don't think I had said anything. I'm sarcastic but that's mostly to cover up blah blah blah. I am fiercely independent and that's important to me. The bottom line is she was mostly right about my personality. I take on too much from other people but don't take care of my own needs. I think that's fairly accurate. I am also not good with boundries.

So on the job front, she thinks I'll find something in 3 - 4 but didn't know if that was weeks, months or a specific date. She said I'll have an interview where I'll just know it is the right position. He'll have the same dry sense of humour I have and I'll know it because someone will interrupt the interview and he'll comment in such a way it would be similar to my point of view. I hope she's right. It would be nice if it all worked out in 3 -4 months. :)

So far so good...

Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon.

It is day 2ish (well technically I've been here a day and a half) and we are all still alive. My sister has a new kitten. My parents (in a weird move) brought their two cats with them AZ. My sister has a dog. The cats don't exactly get along, but they're getting over it. They are all unified in their hate of the dog. (Currently Jack, the kitten, is playing with a toy under the table I'm sitting at. Sweetums, big cat, is sitting on the table and growling so hard at Jack I can feel the table vibrating through the computer.)

We're making New York Cheesecake for my mom and niece tomorrow. (Kayla's birthday was last week and my mom's is tomorrow.) We'll also make the cake balls. I got everything we needed to make them from Wal-Mart. I do not love the Wal Mart, but it was useful in this situation.

Since my sister and I have had control of the remote, I have not been subject to hours of Tru TV's "Most shocking" shows.

On Monday through Wednesday, we go to Savannah. I'm pretty excited about that. We made reservations for a haunted pub crawl and a tour in a hearse. How fun! Also, just to support my nerdishness, we're going to the Girl Scout birthplace. I will have to do some more planning to know where else to go so we don't get caught unawares.

We get back sometime Wednesday afternoon and I leave on Friday evening. Nice easy trip.

A Christmas Eve Adventure

Yesterday, I thought I was going to have a nice easy day. I had a lot I wanted to get done, but it seemed not impossible. I woke up early. I did laundry and finished up the frame for my parents. I packed my suitcase and then headed out to lunch with Stephen.

Here's where my day went completely awry. I was tossing my garbage in the dumpster when the bag kind of fell against my face. I thought I had knocked out the left lens on my glasses and I was thrilled when I hadn't. Unfortunately, I had no idea that I had knocked out the RIGHT lens. Stephen came into my parking garage to see if we could find it. He even climbed into the dumpster for me! Sadly we couldn't. I'm pretty sure it fell into the storm drain I was standing on. I called my vision place. They were closed for the holiday. I called lLens Crafters. They were open and could get me in. Unfortunately I had to have a new exam since I didn't have my prescription. (Yes I know I'm entitled to have my prescription, but since I've been going to the same place since I started work at my current employer, it isn't like I've ever needed it before.)

I went there at 2. I had plans for a 4:10 movie and I still had to go home and get my suitcase and pack my back pack. Luckily, I had good bus luck and caught the bus I wanted to catch right as it was pulling up. I managed to get myself packed and get downstairs. We JUST made it to the movie as it was starting.

I went and saw the Princess and the Frog. I liked it. I thought it was pretty good. Kind of intense, but really good.

Caught my plane at 10:15 and now I'm in FL with my sister and parents.

Not What I Expected

I volunteered for The Rockettes' Christmas Show this morning. At 9:30 this morning. I don't know what I thought the Rockettes' show would be like but it seemed weird to me. I think I mostly liked it. Maybe. It was kind of cheesy. There was singing and dancing and kicking and precision moving. I think I might have thought the Rockettes danced more than they do. I mean they dance, but a lot of their schtick is the precision work, which was very cool. The turns completely in sync and of course the kicking. It did make me wonder if there were like 2 troupes to the Rockettes... a touring one and one that stays in NYC. My friend Jen from high school used to tap dance and one of the performances they always did was the toy soldier march from the Rockettes. It was interesting to see it done by the real thing.

The thing that surprised me the most was the end. They do a big song about winter and there's singing and dancing and you think it is done, unless you work for the theater and know that the show runs 1 hr and 57 minutes and there are still about 17 minutes left. Then you think hmm... And then it starts. The religious portion of the show. I wasn't expecting this twist at all, but they did a living nativity and the whole Jesus story and all that. It was all very solemn and religious. The most interesting part, to me at least, was that they had 2 real camels and sheep and a real donkey on the stage. Who was expecting a real camel?

I have 2 more shows to do. I don't think I love it enough to sit through 2 more shows. Both shows are 9:30 am shows (we have to be there an hour and a half before showtime). They scheduled these shows very tightly... my show starts at 11 and ends at 1, the next one starts at 2 and ends at 4 and the 3rd starts at 5 and ends at 7. Since they open the doors an hour before showtime it is very close.

Sometimes

I want to stomp my feet and sulk and scream "Give me want I want Universe! I'm a good person! I deserve it dammit!" And then I remember I don't believe in that crap and life goes on. :)

A tale of insanity

Once upon a time, Michelle and I were sane, rational people who did enjoy the holiday known as Black Friday and would be up to shop at about 4 AM. We made it a point to not go to Best Buy because that place is just madness. Madness I say! This year, those sane, rational people were replaced by lunatics. This year... we braved Best Buy. Starting at 8:30 on Thanksgiving night Michelle and I were camped out at Best Buy. There were about 30 people ahead of us in line which we figured gave us pretty decent odds at getting what we were looking for. I wanted a cheap cheap laptop and Michelle had her eyes set on a netbook.

Armed with a kindle each, blankets, some snacks and my Nintendo, we braved the California cold and set up our chairs for the long winter's night. At about 11:30ish I started to doze off. I can sleep anywhere apparently. I was just at that place between awake and asleep when some jackhole drove by in his big truck and honked his big truck horn loudly. I jumped out of my chair and when the nice young man behind me asked how I was doing I assured him I was fine and went about arranging my blankets as though THAT was what I was doing.

At midnight we got cold. Really cold. Michelle went home for more blankets. She came back with what must have been every blanket in their house: 2 quilts, more afghans, jackets and mittens. Warm and toasty I know I dozed off for like 2 hours. I think she did too. I woke up at about 3 when things were starting to shuffle around. We did our shopping. Michelle got her netbook and I did not get my laptop. (That's okay my mom picked one up for me at Staples so it all worked out in the end... the advantage of tiny town life). We did the rest of our shopping and were done by around 11.

The problem with the all night Best Buy adventure reared its ugly head later. We got home about 11ish and almost immediately fell asleep. I think I slept until like 3 and was pretty much wiped out the rest of the day.

The rest of the visit was good. Michelle's kids Kay and Oh are so big. Kay cracked me up most of the weekend, however I could tell I'm totally used to living by myself because Kay would sing. And initially I was fine with it but the longer she would sing the more I would cringe. Michelle pointed out that eventually you tune it out.

Could this have BEEN a more Seattle morning?

So this morning wearing my Converse high tops and my Columbia fleece jacket I hopped into the Zipcar to take my pet to the vet. She's getting a shot that isn't necessary to extend her life but it will give her more fur. After that I stopped on an impulse at Whole Foods where I spent a ridiculous amount of money on gluten free food and I bought a reusable bag. Then I popped in to an independently owned pet store and bought Rigby a ridiculously overpriced pet sweater that I'm sure she won't wear (because I've put it on her twice and she slides right out of it). The only way I could be more a Seattleite after today would be if I were driving a Subaru and was planning on going hiking.

Another one bites the dust

Just got home and there was a sign on my door. Another apartment manager has bitten the dust. The weird poly couple is no longer our managers. I wonder if they know this or if they discovered it the same way one of the other ones did - sign on the door indicating a new manager in place. They at least lasted six months I think.

That's one way to lose weight

So when I got home on Sunday I had to lug my suitcase up 5 flights of stairs because the elevator was broken. I was unhappy with that. Yesterday morning I left and elevator was still broken (makes sense since it isn't like the repair guy came out overnight). HOWEVER yesterday evening I got home from Girl Scouts to discover the elevator was still broken. Apparently it needs a part. That part has to come from Germany. Now when the apartment managers told me that I thought wow... god this is going to take forever. Upon further reflection this morning I thought, are you kidding me? It is 2009. Fedex, UPS, and a wide variety of other shipping companies can have a part here in less than a week. This should not take forever to fix. However if the part doesn't fix the elevator then it may need a new motor. The apt manager in the next building (who is owned by the same owners that own my building) says if that's the case the prop managers (higher than apt manager on the food chain) may not get it fixed. Fuck that. Damn good thing I'm moving out. Then I thought... how on earth will movers get my bed down the stairs? It isn't like these stairs were designed to have people moving couches and whatnot up and around and over them. Christ what a pain in the ass. Also, depending on how long this goes, I may end up with a pretty nice ass. :)

Tattoo #3

I'm considering getting another tattoo. This, of course, prompts 2 questions. #1 - what and #2 where? Both are a little bit difficult for me since I have all sorts of rules about location. I am toying around with one of the two below, perhaps drawn by a far better artist than I using something better than Microsoft paint. The one is Mickey Mouse ears stylized like my dragonfly. The other is obviously a girl in a tent. I don't know. Maybe I won't.

One is the lonliest number blah blah blah.

In college our friend Shelley used to sing this song regularly. It was not the best singing possible.

I dropped Rigby off at the pet sitter's yesterday morning. I don't like being petless. Nothing curled up at my knees while I fell asleep last night. Nobody to talk to when I got home from the movies yesterday.

Go speed dater you're burnin' up the quarter mile...

Hee.

So I went speed dating with Lyday and her friend June yesterday evening. I was totally regretting it in the afternoon and contemplated backing out of it. I may still be regretting it but it has only been since last night that we all finished. (I just mean if nobody wants me and everybody hates me and maybe I should go eat worms fashion.) :)

It was fun in a weird way. (And in a 2 drinks in way but this is a straight bar so they don't pour as well as my gay bars used to) There were 9 guys and 10 girls. The host decided to sit in but he just chatted about nothing and wasn't actually an option (plus I think he might have been gay and by think I mean pretty sure). There were three Aussies, two of whom worked on the same boat and were H-O-T. Seriously one was so hmm... what's the word... engaging. He held amazing eye contact and it really seemed like you were the only person in the room at that time. All three of us loved him. The other one just seemed like he'd be really fun. ;) There were about 3 or 4 microsofties and 1 amazonian. Weirdly 2 of the microsofties were from Toronto but they didn't know each other. (I only think that's weird because they both currently worked at Microsoft and both had been there about 14 months and both were from Toronto so it almost sounded like Microsoft had acquired a business and then moved people here.)

So now I'm waiting. I said yes to a whopping 7 out of 9. None of them were too bad. (totally unlike Catholic speed dating). I might have a bit of self-esteem trouble if NOBODY says yes to me because seriously... 7 out of 9. But they were all mostly normal guys. None were overly physically hideous. It was fine. I survived. However if none say yes to me I'm never doing it again, just so you know. :)

Psychosomatic

It's a good thing I don't take birth control pills. Apparently I am incapable of taking any pill regularly. I'm supposed to take Dapsone once a day to help keep any accidental ingestion of wheat from covering me in blisters. Usually I take 4 at one time once a week. Now that I'm on antidepressants, I am supposed to take those in the AM. In the last 4 days I've remembered to take them once. That day would be this morning. This afternoon I felt rather energetic, like I could actually accomplish something after work (I did attend 2 meetings but I did not boil chicken like I thought about doing). I think it's mostly psychosomatic. Similar to when I first started taking them and I thought I felt better. According to science I couldn't but I felt like I did. Part of the problem is that I am supposed to take them with food. Do you know when I eat on the weekends? Late. Sometimes not until 3 or 4 pm. It is ridiculous I know. I blame the whole no wheat no bread thing. If I could eat sandwiches that would be much easier.

Please, Please, Please let me get what I want....

Only Morrissey understands!

I want a new job. However, I don't actually want to have to do anything to get it. I just want it. Won't someone hire me? Please? Oh wait... won't someone hire me in a state or city I might want to live in? Please?

Went to my employer's fancy party Sat night. It was fine. I didn't have as good a time as I had last year. I think Frankie Valli(y?) has more upbeat and peppy songs than Gladys Knight. I didn't recognize most of her songs.

I'm sick of job hunting. I'm going to whine about that (obviously. :) ) But I'm going to have to really step it up (ugh, every competitive reality show in the history of competitive reality shows use that phrase) to find a job. Bossman has recommitted himself to finding a new comp/ben director starting in Jan. Sigh.

In happy golucky news... I'm headed to CA on Monday to shop with Michelle. Yay! You're jeelus aren't you? I'll also get to hang out with the kiddos. I really only like the one, but the other might be gaining on her. (probably). Now that she's out of the baby burrito stage I like her more. (Or I will when I see her. Baby burritos freak me out)

Take the good take the bad....

So I think I've ensured I'll have a new job in a new city by May. I told my apartment managers I would sign a 6 month lease. Here's my logic: Right now over the holidays there typically isn't much hiring going on. So that leaves me until January for the jobs to start rolling in. I can start applying then (I'll keep applying now but the well, she is drying up). It usually takes about a month to actually get a job through the whole process. I have to give 30 days notice here. It could quite possibly be until April that I have a new job and my new 6 mo lease would run out at the end of April. In other thoughts about April... if I'm still at the U in April I will have been job hunting for an entire year. That kind of sucks. However, I don't feel too badly about myself over that. I'm in a niche job. It is a bad job market AND I'm trying to move away. All of these create a bit of a problem. If I believed in fate or karma or cosmic balance or whatever I would say "I'll get a job when the time is right blah blah blah" in reality it is more I'll get a job when I get one hopefully.

I have totally failed at the posting a blog a day. I'm also failing at writing a novel in a month. Crikey it is just FAIL! month. :) That's okay. I never finish nanowrimo and usually I can find something else I'd rather do when I'm at home, like watching SpongeBob SquarePants while sitting in my pjs.

This weekend is the big fancypants dance. I'm going to get a mani/pedi in the am and my hair cut and styled at 12:40. I'm excited for that. It is nice to be pampered a little bit. :)

Better Dress

Please ignore the bad angle and the stupid face I'm making. It is hard for me to take a picture of myself and get the dress in the photo too so I balance the camera on a stair in the stair well. But this is the newest dress. It is a steel/purple with black net overlay and sparkles! I love sparkles. This was the first dress I tried on today and I LURVE it! It is knee length and I feel like it is a younger dress than the other one.

Gala Dress

Here's what I bought for the gala next weekend. I'm not 100% sold on it the way I was with the other one. I'm going shopping for shoes today. I may look and see what's out there again. What do you think?

Please ignore the pigtails that are worn on weekends until I can get my haircut next week. I think Michelle's kid has longer pigtails than I do.

The crystal pattern only goes on the front. I think that bugs me.

Big Ups to Kate in VT

So my friend Kate in Vermont reads this semi-regularly (or maybe even regularly) so Hi Katie Girl! Glad the kiddos are good. :)

I took Rigby to the vet today. She has the Adrenal Disease. This means 100% of the ferrets I have owned have had it. Sigh. She'll now go get a 40ish dollar shot every month until she dies. Since she is 8, that could be any month now. Although since I think she might be pure evil, she'll never die. (She's not really pure evil. Baxter was pure evil. She BIT. Rigby does not bite. She just doesn't seem to like me very much. ALthough all ferrets I have owned seemed to be like that. I am getting a cat next - maybe one of those creeeeeeeepy sphinx cats that are hairless so Michelle and the kiddos and her husband can visit me - but definitely I'm getting a pet that will let me pet it and love it and squeeze it and call it George.)

I do love this episode of Friends where Phoebe gets married. If I ever get married I want to do it outside. (Ok that's just a romantic notion and reality will probably prevail and I wouldn't want my like 800 year old dad to freeze to death in the snow)

I'm making chili tomorrow night. I am weirdly excited about that. I'll make chili and corn bread. Whee!

I need to try on my fancy dress again with my industrial undergarment. I am going tomorrow to get new shoes to go with the dress and I need to figure out if I also need a new industrial undergarment and/or a slip. My back is fairly exposed in this new dress. And at least when I tried it on, the new dress was all about the static. I'm going to get my hair trimmed next Saturday before the fancy pants gala. I'm contemplating bangs. I probably won't do it though because I'll hate them approximately 15 minutes after cutting them. But it could be fun for a change.

I finally saw that Single Ladies video by Beyonce. I don't get why it was such a great video. Whatevs.

Dreaming of Suburbia

I know Stephen will disagree with this because he hates living in suburbia, but sometimes (and more and more frequently actually) I really want to live in the suburbs. I live in downtown Seattle. It is awesome that I can get to the theater, movies, restaurants, a couple malls, work and the grocery store all on foot. Don't get me wrong. I love that. Here's what I don't love:

1 -Very few restaurants deliver to my neighborhood. Several pizza places in Seattle have a Gluten-Free option. I would LOVE it if I could be like a normal person and just pick up a phone and get delivery. I could if I lived in various suburbs. There's ONE Chinese and ONE Indian restaurant that delivers to my area as far as I know. There is a couple pizza places, but they have no GF options.

2 - We have few normal stores to buy normal things. There are multiple drug stores in the area which is kind of helpful, but sometimes you need like two towels, a plate and a laundry basket. No dice around here, unless you want to spend a fortune on Macy's or similar for towels. Well maybe Ross would be an option, but is Ross ever really an option? I would love to live closer to Fred Meyer or Target.

3 - For seven years I have lived down the hill - literally - from 3 - 4 hospitals. My road is the main road ambulances go down to get to the hospitals. Sometimes I would like to not hear the wailing of the sirens all evening long. Let's not forget the ones that wail for the old folks home across the street and the 2nd one down the block.

Is back-dating cheating?

I'm trying to do the blog a day thing for a month but I have already failed! I can't help it. I was so exhausted after water aerobics that I fell asleep on the sofa at 9:45. 9:45! I only got home at 8:00. I woke up at about 11:15 and stumbled to bed and fell back asleep until this morning. When I woke up again and then laid in bed for about half an hour - 45 minutes and then fell asleep again! Seriously I'm wiped out. Damn bronchitis.

I may not have been fully up to attending water aerobics anyway. About 3/4ths of the way through class I started the deep coughing. I persevered but mostly was doing relatively easy exercises. I wanted to go because my damn foot (christ I'm an OLD person aren't I? An entire post devoted to my crappy health. Why don't I start bitching about where my cane is and those damn kids on my lawn next?) has been bugging me.

There are no lamps in Seattle

Ok. There are. But there are none that I'm looking for. And it isn't like I'm looking for anything special or fancy. I need a lamp that will clip to my headboard because my current one died. Admittedly I haven't field tripped to Target or Fred Meyer yet because it only died Monday evening and I haven't had the chance to go to the burbs. But Ross, 2 different drug stores, the bookstore at my employer (who did have other lamps but none that clipped to things and since I work for a college with dorms shouldn't they have clip lamps? I'm 100% sure that's where I bought this one) and Bed Bath and Beyond didn't have them. How could Bed Bath and Beyond not have clip lamps? I don't get it. I was going to try Office Depot but they were already closed by the time I got there. Saturday I have to take Rig to the vet. I shall endeavor to find a Fred Meyer or Target at about the same time.

V did not disappoint

I really liked it! It was a great update of the original. I love how they have such kick-ass women in the series. With the original the leader of both the resistence and the visitors were women. In this one, same thing... That's just awesome!

The chick who plays Anna... gorgeous. Seriously. And yet seriously creepy at the same time. I'll be sad if it gets cancelled. ABC is not the greatest channel for holding onto shows, but maybe they'll hold onto this one.

Time to buy a new lamp

I don't know what it is I do to them, but I've broken another bedside lamp. This is the 2nd one in 7 years. It just stopped working yesterday... no warning. I know it isn't the bulb because it is a brand new flourescent bulb inside. So I headed down to the bookstore to buy a new one. This is where I got the current lamp. They are no longer carrying them. What? Don't kids in dorm rooms need bedside lamps? Apparently not. On the way home I went into my local drug store. I find it weird that I can find so many things that are not drug store products there. I'm not sure which annoys me worse... the weird shit I can buy there or when I can't find some weird thing. For example, I could buy a new cell phone, a bunch of packages of ramen, a screw driver, or even a Snuggie, but I couldn't buy a new clip on lamp. I'll have to head to Fred Meyer or Target this weekend to replace it. Grr.

Now that day light savings time is over, it is so freakin' dark at 5:00 pm. I find I can't walk home and read anymore because it is too dark. I did solve this problem. It is probably extremely geeky of me the way I did it... I bought a book light. So now I hook the book light to the kindle and I can read as I walk again. :)

I'm so excited about the new series V tonight. I hope beyond hope it is good and it doesn't get cancelled.

Cracked me up

I had to call Comcast today to ask a question. I had a voicemail that I needed to order some special digital add on to keep my cable working. I thought I had digital cable so why would I need this special add on. Turns out I don't. I do have digital cable and so the phone message was just stupid. BUT the part that cracked me up was one of the options on the IVR. As I'm listening it says "If you are in the Spokane area and your cable is stuck on CSPAN please press 7." I wonder how many people have been stuck for hours watching CSPAN.

Unrelated, I cleaned out my freezer over the weekend. There was a HUGE shelf of ice off the ceiling of the freezer (top?). I threw away a trash bag full of food from the fridge and the freezer. Today on my way home from work I stopped at the grocery store to restock. There's so much space in the freezer I don't even know how to cope. Now to hope it doesn't all get freezerburn in the next 2 days. Sigh.

Party People!

It's been a LONG time since I've been to a Halloween party. Back when V and I were still friends we went out to a bar one night in costume, but in general I'm fairly anti-Halloween. I do LOVE to give out candy to kids and all that, but I don't live in a house and even the last time I did, there weren't a lot of trick or treaters coming around which was a bigass bummer to me.

So Lyday is seeing a vegan. Let's all pause to consider the inconceivability of that... lyday is like me in that she eats meat and not so many of those things called vegetables. And she tends to be less adventurous in her food than I am and who really knew that was possible? (Although she has now eaten tofu and fake something else and she didn't hate them so more power to her, but in my defense fake meat tends to have wheat in it so I can't have it). Vegan had a Halloween party which we attended. I chatted with several guys there. One was a vegetarian, one was not, one was a vegan. The omnivore I met when I noticed he took some chocolate from the bowl for the trick or treaters. I joked that clearly he isn't a vegan. (Vegans can't eat commercial chocolate... milk you know. Vegans are weird). Clearly I had been drinking because honestly, I can't really talk to men otherwise. OMG! I'm like Raj on Big Bang Theory. (Not quite that bad, but I'm fairly anti-social. I know this.) (Also if that's not a sign I'm turning into a hermit, I don't know what is). Anyway, it wasn't bad. It could've been better. It could've been worse. I'm not too sad I went. :)

No Pigflu Here

Well the good news is that I don't have swine flu. I think it was realtively unlikely that I did anyway, but I don't. I do have acute bronchitis. Sigh. Last week when they checked my blood oxygen levels it was only 95%. This week... 93%. Apparently that is bad. So we did another albuterol treatment and she gave me more drugs. Whee drugs. But since I'm allergic to hydrocodone, no good cough drugs. Sad for me. Just predinsone which I'm not a huge fan of, but only for 5 days. According to Webmd, it should take 2 - 3 weeks to clear up. Sigh. Although apparently the hoops I get are strictly for those with asthma history. If that's the case, I can't imagine being a non-asthmatic and having bronchitis. Nothing was helping me at all. It is just too much!

Michelle's husband got laid off. This presents an interesting change in our plans. He may take a new job somewhere else and then I would move there. I guess. I think in reality I have to figure out what my real end game is. I think I really want to live near Michelle. I miss hanging out with her. I miss hanging out with her kids. I may even miss hanging out with her husband, even though he's a Republican. (Michelle is too, it is a flaw I have to overlook. :P ) Michelle knows me. And there's something comforting in that. So, I suppose if hubby gets a job in Dallas that's where I'll head. Maybe it will make my job hunting a little easier... to have a end place already in mind (as opposed to a vague list). I could live in a place that lets me have a dog. This dog on tonight's episode of Monk is so freaking cute! I wonder what kind it is.

Happy Fucking Monday

This whiney post brought to you by the letters I and K and the number 4.

• I'm still ridiculously sick. (No fever though!)
• Due to aforementioned sickness I slept very very very poorly.
• It is pouring rain outside.
• Due to aforementioned rain my pants are soaked and sticking to my legs.
• I have a shitton of work to do this week.

Dead Sexy

I made the mistake of looking in the mirror a few minutes ago. My hair is oily and sticking out at odd angles. Bags under my eyes. Rough red nose. Ratty green Jawbone Hill t-shirt on. There's little hotter than me with a cold.

Momentary Update

I'll write up my Vegas trip later once I've pulled my pics off my camera. I haven't felt well enough to do that since I've gotten back on Monday.

So Sunday I started wheezing. WHEEZING. Monday - Wheezing. Tuesday - Wheezing and doubling over coughing. Wednesday - Wheezing, Doubling Over coughing and unable to sleep except sitting upright. Thursday - I go to the doctor. I have a slight (99.9) fever and they do an albuteral treatment on me. I both love and hate those. I love them because the wheezing... gone. I hate them because the wheezing is gone but now my entire body is trembling from the adrenaline. It eventually calms down. Apparently whatever is causing this cough is something the dr. has seen before. It may or may not be H1N1. Probably it isn't. (That's reassuring isn't it?) If it is, though, I'll have severe respritory problems in the next few days and then I have to go back immediately when that happens. I'll keep my eye right on that.

I think it is probably wheezing from the smoke in the Vegas casinos and now a cold. (I hope.) :)

Could be a bad luck sign...

So I left work early today and hopped on multiple buses and the light rail to catch a 5:45 flight to Vegas to join my sister. At 5:30 pm I found myself walking back out to the buses to come back into Seattle.

Since I fly stand by non-rev, basically anybody gets on before I do. I was waiting and waiting and waiting and finally it seemed like everyone was on who was supposed to be on. I'm going to barely make it I thought and then he came... Professional looking dude in suit and tie. I think he was supposed to be on the delayed Phoenix flight and managed to get changed over to the Vegas flight. Seriously I'm pretty sure they were about to print my ticket and he took it. I could have cried.

So the question is... do I even bother gambling in Vegas because obviously there's no luck with me these days, OR do I gamble in Vegas because after that bad luck I should be due some good luck? :)

(I don't really believe in any karmic luck. Things happen irrespective of other things. But it is sometimes fun to pretend. Also Good Luck Care Bear is going in my purse. :) )

How are Eminem and I alike?

We cleaned out our closets. :) However, as a result, I am now completely sneezy and wheezy from all the dust I kicked up. The left half of my closet hasn't seen the rustle of hangers in years. Almost everything on that side went out. A couple of coats stayed because, well they only got stuffed on that side because the right side was full and I still do actually wear them. A few old sweatshirts and shirts stayed because I find I can't get rid of anything Disney or former employer swag. I should I know. I was dismayed to find a dress and a pajama top I used to wear completely singed from the heat pipe that is in my closet. In the end I have 2 boxes for charity... one a "Large" moving box and one a "Medium" moving box. I also bagged up one of those black trash bags full of torn jeans, stained shirts and other assorted unwearable crap. Next step... the wire rack I put things like panties and socks on/in. I also boxed up all my volunteer t-shirts so I can have them together to make my volunteer t-shirt quilt.

Can someone explain to me what I was thinking when I bought a pair of black shiny pants? (I'm pretty sure Michelle was with me when I bought them and I'm pretty sure I had a theory about them. I've never worn them). If I had been thinking, I would have photographed some of the various dregs from the back of my closet and regaled you with tales of my fashion insanity. Sadly, I didn't think of it and those boxes are now sealed.

I wonder if those space bags work? That could help with this process.

She IS mean and spiteful!

So over the weekend I bought a new mattress cover. Holy crap, it is making my bed so soft and comfy. And I put on a nice new clean set of sheets. Holy crap is my bed so soft, comfy and cozy. Prior to making my bed, I sprayed the memory foam thingie with air freshener to get rid of any pet smell (theoretically). This morning when I went to hop in the shower, Rig was out but earlier she hadn't been able to climb onto the bed. I carefully put the puppy pad down on 'her' poop spot despite the fact that she hadn't been able to climb on the bed. I wasn't taking any chances.

Bitch peed in a totally new spot. I don't know how she managed to get onto the bed. It is on.

Who moved my what?

My boss is making me read Who Moved My Cheese? I read it whilst walking to work this morning. It is a parable about change in the work place and how to meet it. The funny part... I'm totally changing in the workplace... I'm changing MY workplace. And yes I was scared at first (and still am sometimes) but seriously I'm scurrying about looking for a new place to get my cheese. So take that bossman.

Also I just read Broken For You. Excellent. I had been eyeing it at the used bookstore for sometime, but for some reason couldn't bring myself to actually buy it. Over the summer when I went to the big ass used book sale, I picked it up. I thought it was really well written. Since I appreciate the concept of building your own family I liked that theme of the story. I also really liked how the MCs were pushing outside their comfort zone to make a life they wanted. All in all a really positive book.

I downloaded Patrick Swayze's book Time of My Life for the Kindle. This was another book I really enjoyed. I really love reading about the back story on movies and how they come to be the way they are. Patrick's love story for his wife was also really touching.

On Saturday I went and saw Couples Retreat. Critics seem to hate it, but I found it hysterical. I can see some of their point... is this a raunchy comedy or a touching one, but why can't it be both? I only had trouble with one thing and that was with the Vince Vaughn's character's job. I know what a dumb thing, right? But in the beginning he seems to indicate he does something with video games and based on working 10 - 12 hour days I automatically presumed that meant development. Later in the movie he says something that implies something entirely different. I may have to rewatch to figure it out. :) Also, this was not one of those movies where they show all the funny parts in the previews. There was plenty of funny all through the movie.

Spiteful

I've been a bit worried about Rigby lately. She's old. If she was the same age as Tess as the shelter thought, she's now 8. Eight is old for a ferret. Very old. She's begun doing that thing Tess did just before she died... pooping on my bed. This is obviously not my favorite thing ever and this time, unlike with Tess where clearly I was an idiot, I have it figured out... I put down a puppy pad on the bed where Rigby always goes and so then I don't have to change the sheets every fucking day. This worked for a few days. Until today. The bitch pushed the pad off the bed and then went on the bed. I'm starting to think that Rig is not in a death spiral as Tess was, but is actually spiteful and mean.

I could cage her. I probably should cage her, but she's been allowed to roam free in the apartment for so long I feel badly putting her into the cage while I'm at work all day.

Harvey Weinstein makes my boycott hard

Well it isn't a boycott if it is easy, right? Since Harvey seems to slap his name on anything that comes out of his production studio, technically he probably hasn't touched any of these films, however I'm about not lining his pockets, so boycott on. Thanks to IMDB I know now that I will not be seeing Fraggle Rock, the Movie, Untitled Kevin Smith project, Capitalism, A love Story (I was on the fence about that one anyway since I find Michael what'shisname to be a blowhard), The Reader (which I did want to see since I read the book).

Thanks to Buck Henry, a writer, I will not be seeing Get Smart or Get Smart 2. Probably no loss there, but I did kind of want to see Get Smart.

And thanks to Kristie Alley, I will be seeing Nailed, no matter how terrible it is because she is one of the few who has vocally come out condemning Polanski and his supporters.

Boycotting

I've been thinking about this since I heard about the petition signed by many of Hollywood's elite to free Roman Polanski. I'm going to boycott those who signed it. Mostly this will be a fairly easy boycott for me. Jonathan Demme has never made a chick flick. Martin Scorsese isn't known for his rom-coms. And I always have hated Woody Allen films. However since Alfonson Cuaron has signed it I will be getting rid of my Harry Potter 3 DVD. Also, I may have wanted to watch G-Force, but Penelope Cruz also signed so that's a no go. I think IMDB and I are about to become BFFs.

Giving away old friends

Michelle introduced me to bookmooch.com. Obviously I love books. I read all the time. I read probably 2 books a week. I was about to post about how sad it is to me to get rid of books I have loved when I just realized I'm not getting rid of books I have loved. So far I've posted 11 books. Either I didn't like the book to begin with or it was rather unmemorable. Curtis Sittenfeld's Guy Not Taken... I was 2/3rds of the way through it when I realized I had already read it. Jodi Picoult... I went through a phase where I loved her stuff. Now I find I read the first few chapters and then the last few chapters and get everything I need from the story. I was thinking of packing up the books I want to move with tonight, but I just realized I only have middle sized boxes and filling that full of books would be so heavy I wouldn't be able to move the box.

On Monday night I like How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory on CBS. Unfortunately one is on at 8 and the other at 9:30. In between those two, craptastic shows I don't like. I wish there was something good in the middle. Tonight I'm watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall for about the millionth time. Movie cracks my shit up. It is currently my go to movie for boredom (as opposed to my go to movie for sadness, Mama Mia)

A conundrum

I've been an atheist for a very long time, well over 1/2 my life. Growing up as a family we usually supported The Salvation Army. We donated our goods to them. We would shop in their store. We dumped change in the buckets at Christmas. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that they are a religious organization. And, based on their position statements on their website they are a religious organization that doesn't support the things I do. If I were voting, I wouldn't vote for them.

There are a couple of places local that I could donate to. I'm not really that fond of either of their stores. I find them kind of icky. They do good work, though, so I'm just being shallow.

So do I donate to the charity my family has always supported but whose values aren't mine or do I break out and start giving to some place new? (Of course, who am I kidding... I'll end up donating to the place that is open on the weekend since I'm not taking a day off to donate crap.)

the rain rain rain comes down down down

While walking home it started raining. Then it rained harder. Then it hailed. Hail hurts. But the dumbest part of this not very entertaining tale is what I did when I got home. I pulled off my shirt because it was soaked and then I could hear the rain dripping in my bedroom window so I went over and opened the blind to close the window. Opened the blind. No shirt on. Bedroom window faces living rooms that are so close I could watch TV with the neighbors if I wanted to. Awesome albiet very brief show I just gave the guy next door.

Experimental Cooking

I love it when the cooking I do actually turns out results that are edible instead of gross.

Lyday and I got lost Friday night looking for Wal-Mart out in Lakewood, but we found Fred Meyer instead. Oh how I love Fred Meyer. They had a muffin mix that I have been looking for so last night after going to the movies I stopped up at my grocery store. I picked up some raspberries, blood oranges and raspberry yoghurt. The instructions for the muffins say just add 2 cups water, 1/3rd cup oil and 1 1/4 cup sugar. Instead I mashed the raspberries with sugar and then squeezed 2 blood oranges into the mix. Added the yoghurt and then mixed in the dry mix and more sugar. I wasn't really sure how it was going to work out. After that I tossed in some mini-chocolate chips. Was that too much? Turns out, nope. :) They were really good. I'm excited. That'll be breakfast the rest of the week.

For dinner I had planned on simple pork fried rice. I browned the pork in chili oil with some garlic and ginger. I threw in a little sweet/spicy sauce and thought I was good. Until I discovered I was out of soy sauce. How can you make pork fried rice with no soy sauce? So I poked around the fridge and decided to make it an asian bbq kind of sauce and I tossed in some honey bbq sauce and a little worschester sauce. (then I found the soy sauce in the fridge which is not where it goes.) So then I tossed some soy sauce in too and it turned out pretty darn good. Who knew?

I went to see the movie Whip It last night. It was the preview before the movie actually starts next week. I really liked. I thought it was cute and fun. I really liked all the characters and thought it was well cast. I believe, although I could be wrong, the ladies in the audience who were there from our own roller derby thought it was pretty good too. I have a better concept of roller derby now, although I still don't know what the slapping the waist is about. :)

Now with 50% more Carol Brady hair

I looked in a window and saw my reflection as I was walking somewhere yesterday and realized I had Carol Brady hair... but only on one side. I don't have the bangs across the forehead, and the length on the sides is a bit longer, but that flip in the back... totally there. Only on my right hand side though. I can't wait until this weird length phase is over for my hair. I may do something drastic if it doesn't improve soon. (Also it is too short to tie up, but long enough to hang on my neck so it gets hot!)

Terrified

(Look 3 posts in one day, somebody is feeling better! Ooh and look there'll probably be a 4th post forthcoming too)

Tuesdays interview went really well I think. I could be shooting myself in the foot, who knows, but the person who would be my manager liked what I had to say. I answered the questions well and when I was done I thought, wow I really do know my shit. Look at that. :) It was a good feeling.

The terror... what if I actually get this job? What if I actually have to make a decision? What if I actually have to move?!?!?! I've been talking about it for 5 months, but talking doesn't mean doing. It doesn't mean something is actually happening. I'm not sure I can wrap my head around it all. Maybe a little teeny tiny part of me hopes I don't get the job so I can continue the status quo. Status quo is easy. I like status quo. If I get offered it I will have to weigh it carefully. Portland is not on the 'approved list' so if I wanted to live near Michelle I'd have to move again in a couple of years. But I might be in a better position fiscally to do that (and probably career wise... I wasn't kidding when I told one of the people I was interviewing with that Universities are where employees go to die. We have staff who have worked here 15, 20 even 30 years!) So we'll have to wait and see... (I'll take it, I think... I'm pretty sure... I don't know!)

If I don't get this job, I'm going to take a break from searching for awhile. My boss isn't going to move on with the hiring of a new boss for me. He doesn't think he'll be able to do it so he is going to hire another generalist instead. (I don't know this, one of his favorites told me). Since no changes will be happening I'll get my employee through this year's open enrollment and then begin looking again in November. I do feel badly if I were to leave in the middle of open enrollment. It is a lot of work and it won't fall to my boss... it will fall to the rest of the team and that would suck for them. When I first started this process I had hoped I'd be gone by now. Sigh. Why is being a grown up so hard?

So Innocent

I was watching a couple of episodes of Friends last night and I was kind of shocked at how 'innocent' Chandler was. It was the episode with Julia Roberts and he was:
a - Scandalized about wearing her panites
b - Tongue tied about having relations in a public place
c - When she asked him to wear her panties, he couldn't figure out what she'd be wearing.

It was kind of refreshing and yet at the same time a little bit sad that I consider that innocent. If I watched Gossip Girl or 90120, those kids are probably having sex in the glass elevator in the mall with some guy videoing it and posting it on youtube.

Told You So

One of the things my boss is unhappy with me about is that I'm not innovative in ways to curb medical costs and plan design. The thing is, and I told him this, we have tried several times over the years to make changes to help with our ridiculous costs of benefits for our dependent and family coverage. We always get shot down. I read an analogy once about why you don't smack toddler's hands... if you continue to do so, they eventually stop reaching for things and it can impact curiosity. It is the same situation here. We'd do work and propose changes and get shot down. After awhile you stop reaching. SO... my boss and to a lesser extent me did a bunch of work to propose new coverage levels and new cost for employees blah blah blah. He and our broker presented it to our executives last week. This week... No go. No changes (except a higher cost for dependents yet again as they have no more money to give us either). They want to form a committee to study the possibility of considering forming a task force who will think about the feasability of forming a consortium to ponder the conversation around benefit changes. (Or something like that :) ) I totally want to say "Told you so" but obviously will not. Maybe in my exit interview if and when I get a new job.

The Opposite of Me

The rental car that I just picked up is the complete opposite of me. I like to rent from the Enterprise in my neighborhood because usually they don't have the teeny tiny economy cars. I always end up somewhat upgraded. Today I have a Pontiac G5. It is kind of sporty I guess. Totally not me. It is also bright yellow. It's like Big Bird yellow. It also has a rear spoiler. Seriously. This car could not be more notme if it tried.

I get to submit my mileage to the place I'm interviewing with. Since it is almost 350 miles to Portland and back, I'll be getting a nice amount of cash out of that. So weird to me.

I learned today that bossman refrains about talking about the proposed changes to our staffing because he doesn't want to upset me. It upsets me more to not know what the hell is going on.

Crazy Dreams

Probably I shouldn't eat so late at night, but I had some of the weirdest and yet most vivid dreams last night. The one that really made me sad was that I was dreaming I was pregnant. And in my dream I started miscarrying. I knew that was what was going on, but I wouldn't go use the restroom because I didn't want it to happen. I figured if I just crossed my legs and didn't use the bathroom I would keep it. Obviously my awake brain knows this is not the case but my subconscious was positive that was all I would have to do.

The interpretation from dreammoods.com... not reassuring. I'll chose the last part of the definition if I have to pick part of it.

Miscarriage: To dream that you have a miscarriage, suggests that some idea or plan did not follow through or has gone awry. The dream may also serve as a warning against your continued course of action. You should alter your path or may risk losing something of significance and value to you. Alternatively, the dream may indicate that you have been wronged in some way.

I also dreamt I was back in college and I was just moving into the dorms. I was headed to go take a shower but in order to do that I had to go to this huge shower complex. I left my room but then had to go back because I hadn't grabbed my shower stuff. I actually had packed a little bit of it (but not everything I use in my daily regime). I left again and went to the women's shower and it was actually the men's shower and it was a huge locker room type shower place. I backtracked out and went to the women's side but then there wasn't much separating the two halves and men were totally in our area. So then I left and went outside because all the showers were being used and I was waiting for one to open up. I go back inside to discover I had forgotten all my shower stuff an my camera (why I had my camera in the showers I do not want to know) outside. I went back outside to look and I couldn't find my stuff. I was getting more and more anxious about it and then woke up.

Nice and crazy:

Searching: To dream that you are searching for something, signifies the need to find something that is missing or needed in your life. You may be searching for love, spiritual enlightenment, peace or even a solution to a problem.

Shower: To dream that you (or someone) is showering with their clothes on, suggests that even though you (or someone) may change your outer appearances, it does not change who you are on the inside. Alternatively, your dream may indicate that you are unwilling to let your guard down. You are still keeping up a protective barrier between you and others.

Camera: To see a camera in your dream, signifies your desires to cling on and/or live in the past. Alternatively, it may indicate that you need to focus on a particular situation. Perhaps you need to get a clearer picture or idea.

Clearly this job thing is bugging my subconscious way more than I thought.

A tale of two interviews

I had two phone interviews today that couldn't possibly have been for more different jobs and couldn't possibly have been more different interviews. The funny thing is that I had an idea in my head about which job I wanted and once I was done, I that had flip flopped.

Job 1 - Is a benefits job for a school district on the east coast. The woman questioned me for over an hour with the most weird questions I've ever had, some of which, in retrospect, totally not necessarily legal. Among the questions asked - what beliefs do I have that are unshakable? What organizations do I belong to? What awards have I won? She also asked if I considered myself a perfectionist, how honest am I on a scale of 1 - 5, how do I show people I'm honest... and on and on. It seemed rather rote and not at all interactive. If I don't get called back for that one I won't be very sad. It would definitely be a safe job and I don't think a lot of innovation or creativity or thought will be required from me.

Job 2 - Is a benefits job for a company that is established but not very. When I did the phone screen, I thought I wasn't what they were looking for and I wouldn't get a 2nd call. I was really surprised when I did. This interview was much more conversatinal in tone. The woman seemed to want to be sure I knew what I would be getting into and asking about philosophies of benefits and what not. It got me really excited for what I do. I have forgotten how cool and fun benefits can be. Michelle posted an article to twitter earlier today about how non-profits abhor change. It was an incredibly true sentiment. We've spent years trying to get programs or policies passed and the ideas just die in committee. I would get to help build a benefits program from the ground up and that's just interesting and exciting. The best part about this interview... the very best part... I got called an hour and a half after the interview ended to come down for a face to face interview. On Tuesday. *cough cough* That was an awesome feeling... that someone thinks I can do my job well and wants me. The negative to the job... it is in a place that is not on the approved list. I'd either have to move again after Michelle & Fam did or I would have to just not live near them. Of course I'm getting ahead of myself. Another interview is not getting hired so I shouldn't count my chickens. It'll just break my heart.

Invoking Murphy

I'm planning my trip to CA for Thanksgiving. I'm excited to go. K remembers me apparently and sometimes talks about me so I want to get back and hang out with her. OH and see Michelle and shop. :) I've decided to buy my ticket sometime this week (I think).

I've got a theory... Given that Murphy's Law is a big influence in my world, I've decided that if I buy a ticket from Seattle to Burbank (or LAX?) leaving on Wednesday afternoon and returning on Sunday I'll get a new job offer which will cause me to either have already moved or have to spend Thanksgiving weekend finalizing a move. Either that, or I'll get a pretty good rate for my flight and that'll be just dandy. (I'm seriously hoping beyond all hope it will be the former. :) )

Unrelated to anything else, I just cooked lemon chicken and I added sweet chili sauce. I don't know why I thought it wouldn't make it super sweet, but it is a bit more sweet than I expected. The spicyness is just right, though. Next time leave out a little sugar and it will be dandy I think.

Barefooted

As a child I would change out of shoes the moment I could. I would walk out to the car with shoes in hand and only put them on when we got to the destination. Back in the car I'd take them off again and this would repeat as we went about our errands. I think that drove my family crazy. Although this was back before the 'clickers' for cars so I could just lock my own door and catch up. I used to get chastised for going out into the garage barefoot. We had black widows and other spiders out there and it was my dad's shop so there'd be wood pieces and nails. Seriously in retrospect it was lucky I never got tetnus or a nasty spiderbite. The bottoms of my feet were regularly black from going out the front door barefoot... walking through the cacti barefoot... down the driveway and on the sidewalk barefoot. You get the picture, right. Barefoot is where it is at!

Fast forward to being an adult. I still hate shoes. I sit in my office barefoot when I can. The moment I get home I kick off my shoes. (Doubt it? There's a pile in the front hallway of the shoes I regularly wear which is the spot I kick them off). Hence, shoe buying is always a THING for me. I like comfortable shoes. I like simple shoes. I loathe buying shoes. Currently I'm looking for a black pair for work. I'm hoping to buy a simple versatile pair I can wear with socks and I'll probably end up with some ugly vaguely lesbian pair because that's what I always end up with when I take function over form. Part of me thinks I should wait and see what kind of job I get so I can tailor this shoe purchase to match that... as though this will be the only shoe purchase I make for a year (sadly, it probably will be. I buy shoes in fall for the coming winter and spring for the coming summer and I buy 2 pair max - one black and one brown. Sometimes I buy tennis shoes but not too often). Blech.

Ridiculousness

I'm working on a job application for a position and it requires THREE background checks. Three. One of which is an FBI clearance. Wouldn't you think the FBI would come up with issues if I were a child abuser or a meth head? (Maybe not I don't know...) But the easiest was the criminal background check for the state. (Wouldn't that also show up if I were a child abuser?) I went online and entered some info and I have a certificate indicating I have never been convicted of a crime in XYZ state. Awesome.

I didn't look at the third required check until this morning. One of the things it requires... all of my addresses since 1975 and... and here's where it gets even better... everyone I've lived with since 1975. Given that I was born in 1974, I'm 100% certain I was not a child abuser in 1975. I don't even think I could be considered a child abuser until maybe 1980 when my little sister turned 2. (I'm going to presume I didn't beat on her when she was an infant and young toddler.) And technically since I would have only been six at that point, I'm pretty sure I'm still not considered a child abuser. (Although my baby sister may beg to differ... ) So that puts me at 18. Thanks to college, I lived in a lot of different spaces for 4 years. I'm not 100% certain I can remember the addresses for each of those locations and I'm fairly certain I can't remember the apartment numbers for Anderslum and Little Beruit. I think we were #2 in the tri-plex, but the physical address of the tri-plex? No clue. Then there was the place I lived with with Brenda that had all the dogs. Can't remember anything about that place except it had a lot of dogs. (And what constitutes living? I couch surfed for about a month or two in Fairbanks does that count?) (I think in the past I've put down the PO BOX address I had all 4 years and call it good, but given the purpose of this form, that may not be the right answer).

While I'm walking down memory lane let's recall the quality places I lived in in Alaska:

Little Beruit - You could unlock the door with a butter knife. We were known as "The college girls in the back" and we went on a rent strike and THEY DIDN'T NOTICE!

The Tri-plex - Neighbors were probably drug dealers... they had A LOT of 15 minute friends. Came home one day and there was a girl sitting on the front step staring at her hand. Apparently she was like that when Michelle returned from work too... like half an hour earlier. Guy in the 'apartment' building behind ours shot his dad, in the front yard, while I was home taking a nap and I DIDN'T NOTICE!

Anderslum - All my undies and bras stolen from the laundry. Actually had to call 911 on my neighbor. Bought my own damn peephole and insisted they install it after that incident. And I had the Jehovah's Witnesses coming to my door regularly. It got so bad my friend Katie would yell "It isn't the Jehovah's Witnesses" when she would knock and I wouldn't answer.

Those were some good times. :)