round 2

So where was I?

As my wonderful Sis pointed out, I guess it's been awhile since I've updated. You'd think I'd have more time to do this with not working, but life's been pretty crazy the past week.

Well my last day at the big computer company that's STILL cleaning house (or so I've heard) was last Friday. It all went much better than I'd anticipated. Just roamed around saying my good-byes then went out to lunch with a pretty good sized group of (now former) co-workers. Yummy mexican food.... even BETTER margaritas!

The job search is going. Not sure where, but I'm working on it. Back on the 10th I took a "test" for State Farm (I use that term lightly as it was really more of a personality probe filling in the bubbles and then having the big dot reader in the sky determine if I'm full of myself). So after waiting much longer than the 3-5 days they said they would contact people, I finally got a phone call on Tuesday and have the Round 2 stuff to attend to tomorrow morning. Interview with an HR rep, take a typing test, and complete an application. Don't even know what they've got for openings right now, or the pay structure... so we'll see.

Other than that, just getting caught up on the piles around the house. And having a little play time too! It's like being on vacation... until I go to pay the bills and wonder where I'm gonna get the money.

It'll all work out.

pass the hat

Quick update on on a couple things...

Congratulations Steve, Stacie & Michael! Little Piper finally made her appearance this morning around 6:30am ET at a very healthy 7lbs+. Can't wait to see her!!

I've got my walking papers... A couple weeks ago you might remember I posted that I was in the right place at the wrong time. Well, this past Wednesday I was told my end date - Friday, August 18. Even when you know it's coming, it's still sort of surreal. I've never been in this situation before - getting laid off and not knowing where my next job would be. So I've been stressing pretty hard lately. Have a few irons in the fire and am just keeping my fingers crossed one of them turns out. If not, I may have to resort to one of the suggestions made by two friends - pass the hat before leaving on my last day, or get back out and work the street corner. Nice.

observations on the fair

By fair standards, the Thurston County Fair really isn't much of a fair. Oh, they have all the big fair events - livestock auctions, horse riding competitions, vendors, agriculture, art, concerts, food and the carnival - but on the scale of county fairs... it's peanuts.

Nonetheless, Wesley looks forward to going every year, and we made our annual trek last night with Cathy and Cody. This year I got smart and planned ahead.

• Dinner at Cathy's - FREE
• Parking - $2.50 (Cathy paid the other half)
• Entrance - $2.00 (plus two donations for the Thurston County Food Bank)
• Unlimited carnival ride wristband - $15.00 (purchased before the fair started saving an additional $5)

Besides the people we ran into from school, summer camp, or wherever else we know people from, I have to say there are some really weird people that hang out at the fair. Some of my favorites were:

• The couple who wanted to know where the stage was (there's 3) and then argued with me when I told them where each and every one of them were.
• The kid that kept going in the exit and out the entrance of the haunted house after being told by the carnie at least 6 times to go the other way. (Where the hell were the parents?)
• The mother who argued with one of the carnies about 'why would she be allowed to buy tickets for her daughter to ride the rides and then have her daughter not be allowed to ride them'. (The girl had a full cast on her right arm.)
• The man who dropped his cell phone while riding the Zipper and somehow got it stuck inside the fiberglass seat he was riding in causing the ride to be shut down for 15 minutes while they tried to retrieve it for him. (Didn't happen... maybe when they tear things down in the middle of the night on Sunday.)
• And my most favorite... the old fat lady who wanted me to watch her purse and bag while she rode the rides so she wouldn't have to take them on with her.

Of course there were many other skanky, poorly (or barely) dressed people floating about, but it's rare when you can say the carnies looked more normal and approachable than many of the fairgoers. The carnies are on their way to you next week, Stacie. Wish I could send the rest of the underworld with them!

referral denied

It's pretty bad when you have to submit a resume for review by some anonymous person, and they're the one who decides if they will give you a referral to the company looking to hire. I submitted such referral request this morning and by this afternoon I have a lovely email with the subject line "Referral Denied".

Let's take a look at the job posting and how I meet (or EX-freakin-CEED) the damn qualifications, shall we!?!

Job Requirements:
* AA Degree; Check!
* Five (5) years of increasingly responsible administrative support experience; I only have 15+, so apparently this should read "No more than five (5) years..."
* Strong computer skills, including MS Office Suite applications; proficiency w/ MS Access is a plus; MS Office Suite, PageMaker, FrameMaker, Photoshop, PrintShop, Acrobat... just to name a few
* Excellent written & verbal communication and customer service skills; last time I checked English was my first freakin language
* Self-motivated & self-initiating, with the ability to organize & prioritize workload, anticipate, plan and multi-task; uh... yeah... kinda have to have all these to do any freakin job, don't ya!?
* Detail-oriented, able to review & understand general instructions, prepare & provide detailed information, yet flexible and adaptable to change; English... I speak English
* Valid WA State Driver's License and own reliable transportation & telephone; I sure hope so since I'm putting at least 30 miles a day on my car and paying out the ass for all the gas
* Pass pre-employment drug screening and reference check. Check... done that 7 months ago

Maybe Stacie's right... I better go scope out my old street corner.

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

for all my chai loving friends

Run... don't walk.... to your nearest Baskin Robbins!! I hadn't been there in years, but stopped the other night on the way home from the dance recital (our neighbor's daughter... not Wesley). Anyway, there's a (new) ice cream called Tea of Tranquility and is it ever yum!! Chai tea ice cream with pieces of ginger cookie running through it. One scoop was the perfect ending to a very, very long day.

Enjoy!

for stacie

Heeeeeeyyyy!

for liss

tag.... you're it

favorite color: black... with pink coming in a close second
word i most like to be described as: evil
best meal i cook: spaghetti
favorite dessert: ice cream
favorite movie: thelma & louise
favorite outfit: skinny jeans, little white t, flip flops
usually in bed by: midnight unless there's evil lurking
favorite sounds: quiet
i wish: i try not to
what i crave: not appropriate for this blog
surround me with: silliness

it's you're turn:
Stacie
Liss
Jess
Sara
and anyone else who cares to share

frivilous drivel

It's been one year already since Stacie started this blog for me. One long, eventful year.

It's amazing to think about everything that's happened in that short time. And somehow I've managed to keep posting every now and then about frivilous drivel. Even though I've have fewer hours to post and less and less I can say out loud... here we are a year later.

If you still visit, enjoy!

day from hell

apparently i've been offensive.... work sucked.... so glad that today is only the beginning of the week

now i've got even more crappy days to look forward to

yeah, it's been a week........

And I still haven't said much here. My week's been filled with uncertainty, stupidity, boring drivel, and lots and lots of whining. None of them affecting me (neccessarily), just indirectly affecting me. KWIM?

My three bitches for the week are Johnny Jackass, night terrors and my meds.

Johnny's seen the kid twice in the last two weeks for 2-3 hrs each time. Summer hasn't even started and he's already on his flight plan. Which ties in to bitch #2.... night terrors. In the last week, the kid's had 3 of them. If you (or your kids) have never gone through them, let me just tell you they're AWFUL. Research tells me they're common at this age. It also tells me stress is one of the most common triggers. Yeah, I'd be stressed too if it was "that time" of the year and my Johnny was off playing without me again. Brings all the abandonment issues to the forefront again. And guess who's left holding the bag?

None of this helps with my meds being off. Damn doctors think they know what I need because some medical book gives them a "range". Fuck that! I am not one of the 99 people they tested that live in their freakin' range. But, of course, what do I know since I don't have a medical degree and only know that I was feeling the best I've felt in years and now feel like ass.

Time for another change.

some people

trying to get them to speak up is like pulling teeth...... i'm working on it

going awol

The rents arrive today. They'll be here for a week. That says it all.

catching flak

Nothing new, nothing to say, but don't want to catch flak for being the only one without an updated blog.

Phhhhffffffffffffttttttttttt!!!!!!!!

complicated

Take a look around, this is what I see
Is there anybody else that feels like me
You sweat, you bleed
What you get ain't what you see
Up is down and black is white to me
I'm complicated, I get frustrated
Right or wrong, love or hate it
I'm complicated, you can' t sedate it
I heard that song but I won't play it
It's alreight, i's OK, you wouldn't want me any other way
Momma, keep on praying 'cause I ain't changin'
I'm complicated
I'm smart enough to know what I don't know
I'm fool enough to stay when I should go
You work, you cry
You watch your whole life pass you by
Sometimes you've got to close your eyes to see
Is there anybody out there?
Just like everbody out there
Just one somebody out there, just like me
I'm complicated, I get frustrated
Right or wrong, love or hate it
I'm complicated, you can' t sedate it
I heard that song but I won't play it
Is there anybody out there?
Just like everybody out there
Just one somebody out there
Just like me

(written and sung by Jon Bon Jovi.... posted on this blog for a friend)