for terri

Double the YUM!!

right place... wrong time

Accepting the unknown has always been difficult for me. Yet I find myself being taken there again and again (especially in the past 2 years). So far, I think I've done pretty well making my way through all the changes.

So, here I go again. Nothing 'official' yet, but my contract is being terminated. Could be next week... a couple weeks from now... or even a month (highly doubtful). Just another one of those being in the right place at the wrong time situations. In some ways I can understand the 'why', but it doesn't make it any easier to pick myself up and start looking for work again. And the fear of the unknown came roaring in last night. (Which is why I waited until today to try to make any sense of it.)

The sense that I've come to is this... I've proven to myself that I can still do it! I knew going in there were no guarantees. Then again, there never are guarantees in life, so that should have been a no brainer. I tried to keep the mindset of 'if my badge doesn't set off the alarm on the way in the door, and my computer boots with my login... then I'm working today'. Watching 'permanent employees' (what an oxymoron) be walked out the door (some 18 or 20 year workers) was awful. Working side by side with people who I now consider friends facing their own uncertainty has been a strain. But trying to keep a smile on my face and go about 'business as usual' knowing that my business will come to an abrupt end in a matter of days is the worst stress of all. I'll have another notch on my resume for my time spent there. I just hope someone sees that sooner than later.

I spent the night feeling sorry for myself. And today I'll spend some time picking myself up and moving on. But at least I'm not annoying!

holy shit is it ever HOT

Day 4 of 90+ weather here in the Pacific Northwest. Friday... 101, Saturday... 98, Sunday... 99, and as of now it's 95 frickin degrees. This is insane!

My neighbors across the street (who also moved here from AZ) asked on Saturday, "Remind you of Tucson?"

"Hell NO!", I said. "In Tucson I was hibernating in air conditioning." (A luxury I don't have here, but they do. Sheesh!)

At least I got to spend the day in the AC at work. Of course being at work was another story entirely, with org changes still being announced, and stupid people thinking it's thier business to tell me first thing in the morning "I hear you're contract's been cut" when they know NOTHING of the sort and are just bitter and angry that they had the axe lowered on them (as a permanent employee). Cut the dead wood... but watch that it doesn't come back and try to fall on you.

The weekend was pretty good even with the heat. WJ was with his dad and I got the carpets shampooed and went to the movies... by myself. LOL First time for that. But shit... it was hot... and I didn't feel like waiting around for someone to go with me. Saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest. Don't know what it is about Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom as pirates, but they sure are yummy! Good flick. If you haven't seen it, go. Great comedy and action mix.

Also read the 11th in the series of Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. The 12th comes out tomorrow, but I'm cheap so I'll wait for it to come in paperback.

So that's it. Nothing too exciting. Now I'm off to grab another beer and maybe stick my head in the freezer for awhile. Cheers!

exactly

"Never, never, never do the least bit more than what is expected of your job in this business. You will never get anything in reward, and the only gratitude you may sense from superiors is not for you, but that they found someone who would willingly overwork themselves."

- a bitter waitress

i'm back

Sheesh! Didn't mean to be gone for so long. It's been a busy few weeks with the Rents here, Wesley's birthday, Mom's birthday, 4th of July, and all the usual junk. So, here's a quick update and some pics from our past few weeks.

The Rents arrived June 21st and stayed until the 4th. Much to my surprise, it was the best visit we've had in many years. Not a single argument, no walking on eggshells. Just lots of fun, and laughs.

Wesley turned 6 on the 26th. This year's theme was.... (can you guess?).... sports! His favorite gift was a Seattle Sonics jersey I just happened upon at the last minute. In the past week, he's worn it at least 4 days. He spent a whole week celebrating his birthday starting with the weekend prior going camping (in a cabin) at a lake with his Dad, opening his presents from Grandma/Grandpa and me the day before (followed by dinner at his favorite restaurant - the Mayan), then going to see Cars on his actual birthday. Throughout the week, Wesley and the Rents played at the park, went on outings, and had a great time together. The following Saturday was a joint birthday party at the YMCA with his friend Cody (who turned 6 on the 30th). Again, a sports theme complete with basketball, hockey, rock climbing, and adventure zone play.

The holiday weekend was packed with a trip to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Mom's birthday, the Rents heading back to California, and the 4th. Got some great pics at the zoo. These are two of my favorite of the animals.
This crazy walrus came and sat right in front of us, posing for pics. He is 24 years old and weighs 3200 lbs. The look on his face is priceless, like there's 24 years of wisdom bottled up in his little head. My other favorite for the day is this pic of one of the polar bears. It was a hot, sunny day and after spending some time "sun bathing" he jumped in the water and started showing off. At one point, he came down right in front of Wesley and just looked at him (but there were too many people in front of me to get a good pic of it). Don't know how old or big this guy is, but I did learn that male polar bears can get as tall as 10 ft.

Wesley also got to go on stage at the animal show, having an Asian owl swoop down over him.

The 3rd was Mom's birthday... shhh... don't tell anyone. She doesn't like anyone to know. We had a pretty low key day, just hanging out, a little shopping, and the Rents packing to go home.

On the 4th, Wesley and I drove the Rents to the airport, then went to Fred Meyer and picked up some flowers, transplanted them, and kicked back until it got dark. Our neighbors who we normally celebrate the 4th with were gone this year, so we just lit a few fireworks off out front and then watched all the other crazies shoot hundreds of dollars worth of "bang" into the sky. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch, but for all the money spent on fireworks I might as well just roll up a wad a cash and set it on fire.

So, now we're back to the weekly routine of work (ugh!) and summer camp. And I'm missing my friends who are off on vacations themselves. Plans for this weekend: R-E-L-A-X