The funniest thing I've seen all day. And also one of the most relatable.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
So far today I've prepped two drawing transmittals and set up the catering for an executive meeting all by m'self. CAG popped in to check on me while I was handling the catering and was a bit amazed to see that I had it all under control. Not so much because she expected me to screw up, but she's had bad experiences with temps in the past, and this is an important meeting, so she was a little wary of leaving it all up to me for my first meeting set-up. Once the food was put out she had me fix myself a plate first, so I still got my free lunch today, yay! And I didn't even have to sit through a seminar for it.
She also made me take a cookie despite my attempts at refusal (seriously, she got all bossy about it and literally shoved the cookie at me). I'm looking at it, sitting there all chocolate-chippy and tempting, deciding whether to eat it. Lunch was a cheesy chicken casserole kind of thing, and I was proud of myself for keeping it Zone-friendly, leaving the noodles (mostly) alone and just skimming the chicken off the top and then loading the rest of my plate with salad. It's a perfectly yummy yet guilt-free meal if I don't eat the cookie. And I've already splurged on beer and chips and pizza this week, so I'm supposed to be extra good now. But I guess that's also a pretty good reason to throw up my hands and say "What the heck, this week's already shot as it is." Which option I'm leaning heavily towards, because dayum, those are seriously good cookies.
By the by, my feet hurt. At least I get to stay off them for the next couple hours.
She also made me take a cookie despite my attempts at refusal (seriously, she got all bossy about it and literally shoved the cookie at me). I'm looking at it, sitting there all chocolate-chippy and tempting, deciding whether to eat it. Lunch was a cheesy chicken casserole kind of thing, and I was proud of myself for keeping it Zone-friendly, leaving the noodles (mostly) alone and just skimming the chicken off the top and then loading the rest of my plate with salad. It's a perfectly yummy yet guilt-free meal if I don't eat the cookie. And I've already splurged on beer and chips and pizza this week, so I'm supposed to be extra good now. But I guess that's also a pretty good reason to throw up my hands and say "What the heck, this week's already shot as it is." Which option I'm leaning heavily towards, because dayum, those are seriously good cookies.
By the by, my feet hurt. At least I get to stay off them for the next couple hours.
Of COURSE the day I take a chance and choose my footwear based on form over function is the day I'm going to have to run my rear-end off (not a bad thing in itself, as a good portion of my rear-end could stand to be run off). Just like how the one day of the week I decide to dress up more than usual is the day I spill coffee right down the front of my blouse. And like how the day I didn't bring my lunch because I was scheduled to attend a lunch & learn seminar is the day I have to cancel and cover for CAG because she got pulled into all-day database training at the last minute. Grumble.
Actually, all of the above annoyances aside, I'm kind of stoked at being left on my own all day. It's like a test. Not that I tend to get stoked about taking tests, but I've basically been sitting around getting paid to surf the net and wait for somebody to need me to make copies (not that that's such a bad thing, either) and I'm happy for the chance to prove that I can handle more responsibility. Not to mention to prove my indispensibility and gain myself a little job security. They keep talking like it's a given that I'm going to be hired for real when the temp-to-hire contract is up, but it can't hurt to reinforce their good opinion of my abilities.
In other news, I finally got my first paycheck yesterday and made a trip to Hell-Mart last night for muchly needed groceries and toiletries. I also picked up a few tops for myself, and a pair of earphones so that I can finally listen to music at work (I'm listening to The Flaming Lips on Launchast as I type - Yay!). I looked for pants -- I need new work pants in the worst way -- but they had not a single office-appropriate pair of pants in the entire women's & juniors department. Everything was denim and shorts and cargo capris. Stupid Wal-Mart. I didn't want pants from them anyway. I'll go get my pants at Target, so there.
Pants is a funny word.
And on that random note, I'll leave you and go run until my cutely-shod feet can't take it anymore.
Actually, all of the above annoyances aside, I'm kind of stoked at being left on my own all day. It's like a test. Not that I tend to get stoked about taking tests, but I've basically been sitting around getting paid to surf the net and wait for somebody to need me to make copies (not that that's such a bad thing, either) and I'm happy for the chance to prove that I can handle more responsibility. Not to mention to prove my indispensibility and gain myself a little job security. They keep talking like it's a given that I'm going to be hired for real when the temp-to-hire contract is up, but it can't hurt to reinforce their good opinion of my abilities.
In other news, I finally got my first paycheck yesterday and made a trip to Hell-Mart last night for muchly needed groceries and toiletries. I also picked up a few tops for myself, and a pair of earphones so that I can finally listen to music at work (I'm listening to The Flaming Lips on Launchast as I type - Yay!). I looked for pants -- I need new work pants in the worst way -- but they had not a single office-appropriate pair of pants in the entire women's & juniors department. Everything was denim and shorts and cargo capris. Stupid Wal-Mart. I didn't want pants from them anyway. I'll go get my pants at Target, so there.
Pants is a funny word.
And on that random note, I'll leave you and go run until my cutely-shod feet can't take it anymore.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Apparently somebody nearby just returned from a cigarette break because their smoke reeks. It's making me nauseous and headachey and I can't concentrate on anything else. Of course, this could all be because I'm just the teensiest bit hungover. For the first time ever last night I drank more beer than Matt. Boy's a bad influence. I used to never even tolerate the taste of beer even the tiniest little bit, and now I'm all "Hooray beer!" Well, by the time I called it quits and went to bed last night I was more like, "Beer foamy." At least I did manage to quit before I went completely Cave Buffy. Ugh.
Otherwise, the long weekend was mostly good. Since I didn't get paid on Friday my planned personal Saturday morning shopping spree was replaced with a mother/daughter wedding supply run. We knocked out a pretty good chunk of my To Do list and picked up bags and bags full of ribbon, fake flowers and fancy paper for DIY bouquets and invitations, plus yarn for various wedding-related knitting projects. And let me tell you, if you don't know the first thing about putting together floral arrangements, it's a lot harder than it sounds. It took my mom and I several hours and three different craft stores and a lot of harrassing other customers for their opinions before we found a satisfactory combination of silk flowers. I think my bouquets are going to turn out really pretty, so it was worth it, but darn was I ever ready to give up and call in a real florist.
I think the invitations are also going to be purty, between the papers I picked out and the font layout I came up with in Photoshop, but I'm afraid to print them because I stupidly neglected to pick up extra sheets for practice. I also forgot a straight-edge paper cutter. Once I get both of those things I can get on with making the invitations.
Yeah, I know. Blah blah blah wedding-cakes.
Anyway. Before hitting the craft stores on Saturday, I got mom to drive me through the little starter-home neighborhood I've been fantasizing about lately, only to find an open house, so we went in and had a look around. It was as adorable on the inside as it was on the outside, all light-filled and airy with vaulted ceilings and a big open kitchen. Watch me covet. The only thing I didn't like about it (and that Matt would have hated) was that the kitchen opened right into the garage, which you had to go through to get to the back yard and patio. Otherwise, there was plenty about it to fuel my house envy. Maybe this will help to motivate us to stick to a budget and keep working on repairing our credit. I want a house, dag-nabbit!
But you know, the amazing thing is that for the first time in my life I feel like grown-up things like owning a house and having a family and whatnot are within my reach. That's... actually a pretty cool feeling.
Sunday was also pretty productive, as Matt had to work and I had the majority of the day to myself to get my oranization-fu on. I finished cleaning out the front closet and turning it into a pantry, and unpacked, cleaned and put away some of his dishes and small appliances. It only left a small dent in the mountain of his stuff that we still have to put away, but as baby steps go, this was a pretty big one.
On our mutual day off yesterday I finally introduced Matt to the new Battlestar Galactica via the pilot miniseries. He thought it pretty awesome and is eager to see the rest. I want to catch him up as much as possible before the new season starts in July, but I don't suppose there's much hope of the last half of last season being released on DVD before then. I might just have to save the new eps for him to watch after he's totally caught up. Maybe by then I'll have decided how I feel about the turn everything took in the season finale.
The only real downside to the whole weekend was a letter Matt received on Saturday from the company that owns his former apartment, charging him over a thousand dollars for things like May's rent (even though he moved out in April, after giving 60 days' notice and being assured by the management office that everything was copacetic), new paint (despite the fact that he never so much as thumbtacked a poster to the wall), cleaning the fridge and stove (both of which we cleaned ourselves on our last moving day) and replacing the carpet (never mind that the carpet was ruined in the first place when a water main broke and flooded the apartment and that management refused to replace it at the time). Yeah. AND they waited until the Friday of Memorial day weekend to send the letter and yet had the noive to insist that he respond within five days from the date the letter was written (not business days, mind, just days, nevermind that it was a holiday weekend with no mail running for two of those five days), or else they'll turn it over to a collection agency and report his delinquency to all of the credit bureaus.
So we spent all of his free time on Sunday writing a letter of dispute, pointing out things like that THEY ruined the carpet and the walls didn't need a new paint job and even if they did that's standard at most other apartment complexes and not something they try to stick to exiting tenants, and how the crazy "Don't kiss in the parking lot!" manager lady ran off one prospective tenant from taking over Matt's lease and then ran off yet a second by showing the apartment immediately after he moved out before any refurbishments were done and at LEAST had the good grace to feel bad for screwing him over and told him not to worry about the rent, not to mention the FIRE next door that made his apartment unliveable because of the smoke damage, and threatening to report them to the local news and the BBB and every other consumer advocate agency and also counter-sue for everything we can possibly sue them for if they put this on his credit report. He enclosed a check for the legitimate expenses like the remaining water bill and pointed out that the fact that they kept his cleaning deposit should more than cover any cleanup they had to do that he was responsible for. And I just spent my lunch hour taking it to the post office to mail certified with return receipt. So now we'll see what happens. Hopefully this was just a cheap attempt to bully him out of some more money and they'll drop it when they see he won't be bullied. Otherwise I guess we'll need to get ourselves a lawyer.
In other news, it's much later in the day than when I started this post, and I'm feeling a little more normal.
Otherwise, the long weekend was mostly good. Since I didn't get paid on Friday my planned personal Saturday morning shopping spree was replaced with a mother/daughter wedding supply run. We knocked out a pretty good chunk of my To Do list and picked up bags and bags full of ribbon, fake flowers and fancy paper for DIY bouquets and invitations, plus yarn for various wedding-related knitting projects. And let me tell you, if you don't know the first thing about putting together floral arrangements, it's a lot harder than it sounds. It took my mom and I several hours and three different craft stores and a lot of harrassing other customers for their opinions before we found a satisfactory combination of silk flowers. I think my bouquets are going to turn out really pretty, so it was worth it, but darn was I ever ready to give up and call in a real florist.
I think the invitations are also going to be purty, between the papers I picked out and the font layout I came up with in Photoshop, but I'm afraid to print them because I stupidly neglected to pick up extra sheets for practice. I also forgot a straight-edge paper cutter. Once I get both of those things I can get on with making the invitations.
Yeah, I know. Blah blah blah wedding-cakes.
Anyway. Before hitting the craft stores on Saturday, I got mom to drive me through the little starter-home neighborhood I've been fantasizing about lately, only to find an open house, so we went in and had a look around. It was as adorable on the inside as it was on the outside, all light-filled and airy with vaulted ceilings and a big open kitchen. Watch me covet. The only thing I didn't like about it (and that Matt would have hated) was that the kitchen opened right into the garage, which you had to go through to get to the back yard and patio. Otherwise, there was plenty about it to fuel my house envy. Maybe this will help to motivate us to stick to a budget and keep working on repairing our credit. I want a house, dag-nabbit!
But you know, the amazing thing is that for the first time in my life I feel like grown-up things like owning a house and having a family and whatnot are within my reach. That's... actually a pretty cool feeling.
Sunday was also pretty productive, as Matt had to work and I had the majority of the day to myself to get my oranization-fu on. I finished cleaning out the front closet and turning it into a pantry, and unpacked, cleaned and put away some of his dishes and small appliances. It only left a small dent in the mountain of his stuff that we still have to put away, but as baby steps go, this was a pretty big one.
On our mutual day off yesterday I finally introduced Matt to the new Battlestar Galactica via the pilot miniseries. He thought it pretty awesome and is eager to see the rest. I want to catch him up as much as possible before the new season starts in July, but I don't suppose there's much hope of the last half of last season being released on DVD before then. I might just have to save the new eps for him to watch after he's totally caught up. Maybe by then I'll have decided how I feel about the turn everything took in the season finale.
The only real downside to the whole weekend was a letter Matt received on Saturday from the company that owns his former apartment, charging him over a thousand dollars for things like May's rent (even though he moved out in April, after giving 60 days' notice and being assured by the management office that everything was copacetic), new paint (despite the fact that he never so much as thumbtacked a poster to the wall), cleaning the fridge and stove (both of which we cleaned ourselves on our last moving day) and replacing the carpet (never mind that the carpet was ruined in the first place when a water main broke and flooded the apartment and that management refused to replace it at the time). Yeah. AND they waited until the Friday of Memorial day weekend to send the letter and yet had the noive to insist that he respond within five days from the date the letter was written (not business days, mind, just days, nevermind that it was a holiday weekend with no mail running for two of those five days), or else they'll turn it over to a collection agency and report his delinquency to all of the credit bureaus.
So we spent all of his free time on Sunday writing a letter of dispute, pointing out things like that THEY ruined the carpet and the walls didn't need a new paint job and even if they did that's standard at most other apartment complexes and not something they try to stick to exiting tenants, and how the crazy "Don't kiss in the parking lot!" manager lady ran off one prospective tenant from taking over Matt's lease and then ran off yet a second by showing the apartment immediately after he moved out before any refurbishments were done and at LEAST had the good grace to feel bad for screwing him over and told him not to worry about the rent, not to mention the FIRE next door that made his apartment unliveable because of the smoke damage, and threatening to report them to the local news and the BBB and every other consumer advocate agency and also counter-sue for everything we can possibly sue them for if they put this on his credit report. He enclosed a check for the legitimate expenses like the remaining water bill and pointed out that the fact that they kept his cleaning deposit should more than cover any cleanup they had to do that he was responsible for. And I just spent my lunch hour taking it to the post office to mail certified with return receipt. So now we'll see what happens. Hopefully this was just a cheap attempt to bully him out of some more money and they'll drop it when they see he won't be bullied. Otherwise I guess we'll need to get ourselves a lawyer.
In other news, it's much later in the day than when I started this post, and I'm feeling a little more normal.
Friday, May 26, 2006
So it's allegedly pay day, yet I still have no money. I'm still crossing my fingers that this just means that electronic payments don't get issued until the end of the day and NOT that my direct deposit hasn't been set up yet and therefore they're mailing my paycheck. If it is indeed the latter, then I can forget both my weekend shopping spree and any hope of paying my credit card bill on time this month. Grumble.
Also, I'm creating my wedding To Do List, and holy Lord there's a lot to do, despite the fact that the Inn is taking care of the bulk of the preparations, and I'm realizing that I only have 3 months and a week to get it all done. And this isn't even counting the reception or honeymoon preparations. God help me.
Or maybe this article will, in a way--at least with managing all the usual overwhelmed feelings and prioritization issues that make such huge undertakings so terrifying for me. In any case, it's a good article, and one I can completely relate to as a productivity-challenged, so-called adult, as is this essay which the article spawned.
Also, I'm creating my wedding To Do List, and holy Lord there's a lot to do, despite the fact that the Inn is taking care of the bulk of the preparations, and I'm realizing that I only have 3 months and a week to get it all done. And this isn't even counting the reception or honeymoon preparations. God help me.
Or maybe this article will, in a way--at least with managing all the usual overwhelmed feelings and prioritization issues that make such huge undertakings so terrifying for me. In any case, it's a good article, and one I can completely relate to as a productivity-challenged, so-called adult, as is this essay which the article spawned.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Isn't it a fantastic feeling when everything starts to fall into place? Especially following months and months of one thing after another going so very wrong?
Matt had his interview yesterday. They're supposed to let him know by Friday. If he gets this job it'll be the icing on my happy cake, which is already turning out to be pretty good without any icing: I've got a good job that I like, I've got both the means and a solid plan to meet all of my financial obligations, my wedding is finally scheduled, and I've got a wonderful fiance who I might add looks really hot in a dress shirt and tie and I can only imagine how gorgeous he's going to look in his tux.
I'm taking time out to revel and bask before I start thinking about my to do list. At some point I'll need to remember that there's still the reception to plan, and still plenty to do to get ready for the wedding itself, but I'm not going to think about that today. Today I'm happy and stress-free. And thinking about all the stuff I'll get to buy when I finally get to go shopping for myself this weekend, for the first time in forever. Whee! Also: three days off! Double wheeee!
I finally brought my writing, too. I'm still working on Ray, but I couldn't find a disk to transfer the file so I just brought a print-out instead. I'm reading through it to re-familiarize myself (it's been a few weeks since I've even looked at it) and, of course, finding plenty to change. The great news is that this job seems tailor-made for my writing. I'm sure these long, long periods of having nothing to do will diminish as I'm given more responsibility, but most of the responsibilities are very short-term, some taking only a few minutes and none taking more than a couple of hours. If I can just keep myself from becoming too distracted, there should be plenty of opportunities to squeeze some writing time into my work day. See? Everything is going my way.
Now if only Matt can get this job so he'll have weekends off with me. Not to mention a less stressful work environment and more money for himself. Please send him vibes. Preferably good ones.
Matt had his interview yesterday. They're supposed to let him know by Friday. If he gets this job it'll be the icing on my happy cake, which is already turning out to be pretty good without any icing: I've got a good job that I like, I've got both the means and a solid plan to meet all of my financial obligations, my wedding is finally scheduled, and I've got a wonderful fiance who I might add looks really hot in a dress shirt and tie and I can only imagine how gorgeous he's going to look in his tux.
I'm taking time out to revel and bask before I start thinking about my to do list. At some point I'll need to remember that there's still the reception to plan, and still plenty to do to get ready for the wedding itself, but I'm not going to think about that today. Today I'm happy and stress-free. And thinking about all the stuff I'll get to buy when I finally get to go shopping for myself this weekend, for the first time in forever. Whee! Also: three days off! Double wheeee!
I finally brought my writing, too. I'm still working on Ray, but I couldn't find a disk to transfer the file so I just brought a print-out instead. I'm reading through it to re-familiarize myself (it's been a few weeks since I've even looked at it) and, of course, finding plenty to change. The great news is that this job seems tailor-made for my writing. I'm sure these long, long periods of having nothing to do will diminish as I'm given more responsibility, but most of the responsibilities are very short-term, some taking only a few minutes and none taking more than a couple of hours. If I can just keep myself from becoming too distracted, there should be plenty of opportunities to squeeze some writing time into my work day. See? Everything is going my way.
Now if only Matt can get this job so he'll have weekends off with me. Not to mention a less stressful work environment and more money for himself. Please send him vibes. Preferably good ones.
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(spoiler space)
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Okay, so... we know why the plane crashed, and that Mr. Krabs used to have his finger on the button, which is not fake, and that Henry Gale is the ambiguously aligned mastermind. All of which we (or at least I) had pretty much expected to be true, except for the part with Mr. Krabs. As revelations go, it didn't seem all that revealing, and I'm as confused about what's going on on this show/island as ever. They'd just better not have gone and KO'd the two most awesome characters, is all I've got to say.
Well, that, and also that I don't expect to see Walt again, since during "Three Minutes" it became pretty apparent that they needed to get rid of that "ten year old" before he starts shaving.
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(spoiler space)
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(spoiler space)
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Okay, so... we know why the plane crashed, and that Mr. Krabs used to have his finger on the button, which is not fake, and that Henry Gale is the ambiguously aligned mastermind. All of which we (or at least I) had pretty much expected to be true, except for the part with Mr. Krabs. As revelations go, it didn't seem all that revealing, and I'm as confused about what's going on on this show/island as ever. They'd just better not have gone and KO'd the two most awesome characters, is all I've got to say.
Well, that, and also that I don't expect to see Walt again, since during "Three Minutes" it became pretty apparent that they needed to get rid of that "ten year old" before he starts shaving.
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(spoiler space)
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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
I've renamed the wedding blog. And also updated it.
Slow, slow morning, and me without my writing files. Again. Le sigh.
I called my first (read: the prettiest) choice of wedding chapels/B&Bs and found out some very good things, namely that contrary to the info on their web site their affordable (to me) package does include a unity candle ceremony, and also that they have a very affordable photography package. I think, at last, that I know where I'm getting married. Now I just need to convince Matt that this is the place, and then I can book it. Eeeeeee!
~~~
I need to learn to slow down. I mean literally, not in a "life's too short, smell the flowers" kind of way. When I'm walking I have a tendency to be distracted (as I do when I'm doing pretty much anything else), so I barrel through without watching where I'm going. In this cubicle maze that sort of thing could lead to serious injury. I actually did minorly hurt someone yesterday when I plowed through the bathroom door while they were standing on the other side (D'oh!). I've been a lot more careful since, but I still keep having to remind myself to slow down and pay attention whenever I venture out of my cubby.
Speaking of venturing out, it looks like I'm going to lunch today with CAG and the lady whom I replaced. I have fear that it will be awkward and weird, but I always have that fear, and as I get older I'm learning that to suffer a little awkwardness is not the end of the world. We're going for Chinese. Mmm, Chinese. Maybe if I can keep away from the rice and noodles and fried crap it won't devastate my diet. I also need to figure out which credit card I can fit this on, since my having any money in the bank is still four days away. Normally I would have used that as an excuse to get out of the lunch, but I told myself that I wouldn't hide from my co-workers at this job and that I would actually try to make some work friends for a change. Even if it means risking awkwardness.
UPDATE: Lunch is cancelled. I get to put off my forced extraversion for another day.
I called my first (read: the prettiest) choice of wedding chapels/B&Bs and found out some very good things, namely that contrary to the info on their web site their affordable (to me) package does include a unity candle ceremony, and also that they have a very affordable photography package. I think, at last, that I know where I'm getting married. Now I just need to convince Matt that this is the place, and then I can book it. Eeeeeee!
~~~
I need to learn to slow down. I mean literally, not in a "life's too short, smell the flowers" kind of way. When I'm walking I have a tendency to be distracted (as I do when I'm doing pretty much anything else), so I barrel through without watching where I'm going. In this cubicle maze that sort of thing could lead to serious injury. I actually did minorly hurt someone yesterday when I plowed through the bathroom door while they were standing on the other side (D'oh!). I've been a lot more careful since, but I still keep having to remind myself to slow down and pay attention whenever I venture out of my cubby.
Speaking of venturing out, it looks like I'm going to lunch today with CAG and the lady whom I replaced. I have fear that it will be awkward and weird, but I always have that fear, and as I get older I'm learning that to suffer a little awkwardness is not the end of the world. We're going for Chinese. Mmm, Chinese. Maybe if I can keep away from the rice and noodles and fried crap it won't devastate my diet. I also need to figure out which credit card I can fit this on, since my having any money in the bank is still four days away. Normally I would have used that as an excuse to get out of the lunch, but I told myself that I wouldn't hide from my co-workers at this job and that I would actually try to make some work friends for a change. Even if it means risking awkwardness.
UPDATE: Lunch is cancelled. I get to put off my forced extraversion for another day.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Because that guy definitely knows from writing violent murder scenes. Oy vey, with a side of you've got to be kidding me. Via boingboing.
Didn't I mention something about this week being the week I start cracking down on myself about the writing? Well, so far, so forgetful. Now would sure be a good time to have my writing here. Today got off to a busy start, but an hour in I'm already caught up and now I'm just waiting for CAG to catch up on her stuff so she can show me some new thing she said I need to know. And so I blither on to you folks.
I do have another project to fill my time, though--I'm supposed to call wedding chapels and B&Bs in Eureka Springs and gather more info to help us narrow it down. I'm aiming to have something booked by the end of this week. I'm also aiming to have engagement portraits taken and anouncements posted by the end of next month. Both of these things might be overly ambitious/hopeful of me, considering our track record so far, but at least things are moving in the right direction.
The weekend was filled with cleaning and TV and quality couch time with the boy. I spent three hours Saturday morning catching up on Grey's Anatomy (and another hour after that on ALIAS) and my heart still hurts. But at least this should mean good things for Papa Winchester. Side note: Jeffrey Dean Morgan has always reminded me of a boy I went to high school with. He was a senior, I was a freshman, he played the trombone in Marching Band while I played the alto sax, he gave me a ride to a solo practice session at his grannie's one day and gave me my first driving lesson to boot. My crush was short, but it was raging.
...
AND we're back. CAG's call came, and the lesson was short and sweet and easy to pick up. As I was saying, the weekend was, aside from all of the excitment on the television, pretty relaxed and uneventful. Apart from my TV catch-up, Matt and I Netflixed Heat and also watched some S4 Angel, specifically "Supersymmetry" and "Spin the Bottle". I'm sad to say that S4 isn't any better than I remembered so far, but then it's not any worse, either. I'm trying to hurry Matt through it so we can get to S5 and I can let him watch "Smile Time" so he'll finally understand my "Wee little puppet man" key ring. And also my propensity for shouting "Stupid plastic piece of crap!" whenever something doesn't work right.
I also did my very first ever Sudoku puzzle yesterday. Normally I do my best to avoid anyting involving having to think about numbers like I avoid anything else that can potentially cause migraines, but I saw the Sudoku in the Sunday paper and for once felt up to the challenge, and also wanted to prove to myself that I'm smart enough to tackle one of these. And it wasn't so bad. I wouldn't call myself addicted, but I was into it enough that Matt kept having to coax me to put it down and pay attention to Angel.
I should sign off now and update my desk procedures manual (which is now up to 3 pages) before I forget how to do what I just learned. I may or may not post later about some thoughts I have about prayer and practicality, depending on time and mood. And if I remember. In the meantime, I hope y'all's weekend was as relaxing as mine.
I do have another project to fill my time, though--I'm supposed to call wedding chapels and B&Bs in Eureka Springs and gather more info to help us narrow it down. I'm aiming to have something booked by the end of this week. I'm also aiming to have engagement portraits taken and anouncements posted by the end of next month. Both of these things might be overly ambitious/hopeful of me, considering our track record so far, but at least things are moving in the right direction.
The weekend was filled with cleaning and TV and quality couch time with the boy. I spent three hours Saturday morning catching up on Grey's Anatomy (and another hour after that on ALIAS) and my heart still hurts. But at least this should mean good things for Papa Winchester. Side note: Jeffrey Dean Morgan has always reminded me of a boy I went to high school with. He was a senior, I was a freshman, he played the trombone in Marching Band while I played the alto sax, he gave me a ride to a solo practice session at his grannie's one day and gave me my first driving lesson to boot. My crush was short, but it was raging.
...
AND we're back. CAG's call came, and the lesson was short and sweet and easy to pick up. As I was saying, the weekend was, aside from all of the excitment on the television, pretty relaxed and uneventful. Apart from my TV catch-up, Matt and I Netflixed Heat and also watched some S4 Angel, specifically "Supersymmetry" and "Spin the Bottle". I'm sad to say that S4 isn't any better than I remembered so far, but then it's not any worse, either. I'm trying to hurry Matt through it so we can get to S5 and I can let him watch "Smile Time" so he'll finally understand my "Wee little puppet man" key ring. And also my propensity for shouting "Stupid plastic piece of crap!" whenever something doesn't work right.
I also did my very first ever Sudoku puzzle yesterday. Normally I do my best to avoid anyting involving having to think about numbers like I avoid anything else that can potentially cause migraines, but I saw the Sudoku in the Sunday paper and for once felt up to the challenge, and also wanted to prove to myself that I'm smart enough to tackle one of these. And it wasn't so bad. I wouldn't call myself addicted, but I was into it enough that Matt kept having to coax me to put it down and pay attention to Angel.
I should sign off now and update my desk procedures manual (which is now up to 3 pages) before I forget how to do what I just learned. I may or may not post later about some thoughts I have about prayer and practicality, depending on time and mood. And if I remember. In the meantime, I hope y'all's weekend was as relaxing as mine.
Friday, May 19, 2006
I'm doing my best to give every appearance of being an organized and efficient administrator. I'm filing things right away, creating folders for every little thing, both in Outlook and in my desk, writing meeting times on every calendar w/in my reach both online and off... basically being careful to do all of those things that DON'T come naturally that will save my butt, keep me out of trouble and prevent my Absent-minded Professor Syndrome from creeping into this job.
I have this theory, see, that if I keep pretending to be this together person that eventually I'll become that person. Or at the very least that the act will become so second-nature that I'll forget that it's an act. It's not so far-fetched. This has actually worked for me before. When I went back to school I started out ignoring the Cs, Ds and Fs I pulled down during my first attempt at college and pretending that I was a good student with good study habits. By the time I graduated I had actually become a straight A student. At my last job, acting like I was always on top of things kept my bosses happy even when I fell behind and became totally overwhelmed.
And at home, pretending to be a good housekeeper has gradually led to my actually having halfway decent housekeeping skills.
Of course, there's a down side. It means I put a lot of pressure on myself and don't leave myself much room for error. It means I beat myself up when I make mistakes. It means feeling like a failure if I can't live up to the pretense. It means living in constant fear that I'm going to be found out and the consequences will be catastrophic.
I've also learned that there are times and situations when this method simply isn't appropriate, when it's absolutely necessary to be yourself. Like in relationships, for instance. I realized recently that I've been trying to apply this theory to my relationship with Matt. I've been trying to live up to this idea in my head of a "Good Girlfriend," and training myself to be a "Good Wife." And I've figured out that this is a bad idea on so many levels. For one thing, it doesn't give him enough credit for being willing and able to accept me as I am. For another, it's a betrayal of trust. How can he be sure of anything about me if I'm not totally honest with him about who I am? How can we ever truly be intimate and connected if I'm always focused on keeping up appearances in front of him? To say nothing of how this sets me up for a lifetime of both pretending to be something I'm not and pressure to live up to the act.
But on the job front, this method works. It keeps me on my toes and keeps me from getting careless (even if it does increase the embarrassment factor when I do inevitably forget something important or screw something up). And while I work on becoming the sort of person who is always on top of things, in the meantime my bosses and coworkers already think I am that person. Now the challenge is to never let them find out otherwise.
I have this theory, see, that if I keep pretending to be this together person that eventually I'll become that person. Or at the very least that the act will become so second-nature that I'll forget that it's an act. It's not so far-fetched. This has actually worked for me before. When I went back to school I started out ignoring the Cs, Ds and Fs I pulled down during my first attempt at college and pretending that I was a good student with good study habits. By the time I graduated I had actually become a straight A student. At my last job, acting like I was always on top of things kept my bosses happy even when I fell behind and became totally overwhelmed.
And at home, pretending to be a good housekeeper has gradually led to my actually having halfway decent housekeeping skills.
Of course, there's a down side. It means I put a lot of pressure on myself and don't leave myself much room for error. It means I beat myself up when I make mistakes. It means feeling like a failure if I can't live up to the pretense. It means living in constant fear that I'm going to be found out and the consequences will be catastrophic.
I've also learned that there are times and situations when this method simply isn't appropriate, when it's absolutely necessary to be yourself. Like in relationships, for instance. I realized recently that I've been trying to apply this theory to my relationship with Matt. I've been trying to live up to this idea in my head of a "Good Girlfriend," and training myself to be a "Good Wife." And I've figured out that this is a bad idea on so many levels. For one thing, it doesn't give him enough credit for being willing and able to accept me as I am. For another, it's a betrayal of trust. How can he be sure of anything about me if I'm not totally honest with him about who I am? How can we ever truly be intimate and connected if I'm always focused on keeping up appearances in front of him? To say nothing of how this sets me up for a lifetime of both pretending to be something I'm not and pressure to live up to the act.
But on the job front, this method works. It keeps me on my toes and keeps me from getting careless (even if it does increase the embarrassment factor when I do inevitably forget something important or screw something up). And while I work on becoming the sort of person who is always on top of things, in the meantime my bosses and coworkers already think I am that person. Now the challenge is to never let them find out otherwise.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Oy. It's past lunch and the only "work" I've had to do all day is to deliver one piece of mail. I'm not complaining, and I know I'll be plenty busy this afternoon helping on a big printing project, but for now I'm teetering on the edge of boredom. I bet I'll never have days like this once I actually start bringing my writing to work on.
So to distract myself from the temptation of reinstating my productivity-killing TWoP habit, I shall dispense some random relationship advice. It's not so much advice, really, as something I'm just starting to figure out. I've established a new rule for myself: I'm not allowed to get angry at Matt for doing (or not doing) something if I never actually tell him that said activity (or lack thereof) makes me unhappy. No matter how obvious and common-sensical I think it is, or should be, that something would upset me, I can't and shouldn't expect it to be obvious to him, because boys are dumb.
Okay, scratch that. It's not that boys are dumb, or at least not all boys. It's that they truly are wired differently and things that are intuitive to us have to be spelled out for them, and vice versa. I'm finally starting to get this. I figured out that I can't be upset with Matt for blowing off my nephew's high school graduation when I never actually came out and told him that I wanted him to go. That "Do you want to go?" is not the same question as "Will you please go with me?" and that the latter question won't necessarily be inferred from the former. Or that a sniffly "No, it's cool, do whatever you want" will not translate to the male brain as "How dare you even contemplate making me go to this thing alone where I'll have to make embarrassed apologies for your absence and convince distant relatives that no, really, you do exist?". That I don't have the right to expect him to read my mind/emotions and get angry when he doesn't, especially when he'd probably do what I want if I'd just be straight with him in the first place.
I had a related epiphany the other day about myself that helped me reach this conclusion. I realized that--through no fault of his--I haven't been able to let myself trust him to put my happiness first. Even though I both want and am willing to go to great lengths for his happiness, I don't allow myself to expect the same from him. It has to do with daddy issues and a history of abuse, and I need to knock it off. I need to stop being passive-agressive and self-protective and assuming that if I come right out and tell him what I want I'll just set myself up for rejection and disappointment. I need to learn to take him at his word when he says that my happiness is his priority, and remember that, so long as I've been straightforward with him about what I want from him, he's never given me any reason to doubt that. I have to stop going out of my way to please him and depriving him of the opportunity to do likewise, which translates to never speaking up for what I want and then turning into a pissy, pouty martyr when all we ever do is what he wants.
Man. Every time I think I've got a handle on the depths of my screwed-up-ness I find a whole 'nother layer. Thank God I've found a mate who is as patient as he is loving. Hopefully I'll figure out how to trust in his love for me before his patience begins to wear out.
So to distract myself from the temptation of reinstating my productivity-killing TWoP habit, I shall dispense some random relationship advice. It's not so much advice, really, as something I'm just starting to figure out. I've established a new rule for myself: I'm not allowed to get angry at Matt for doing (or not doing) something if I never actually tell him that said activity (or lack thereof) makes me unhappy. No matter how obvious and common-sensical I think it is, or should be, that something would upset me, I can't and shouldn't expect it to be obvious to him, because boys are dumb.
Okay, scratch that. It's not that boys are dumb, or at least not all boys. It's that they truly are wired differently and things that are intuitive to us have to be spelled out for them, and vice versa. I'm finally starting to get this. I figured out that I can't be upset with Matt for blowing off my nephew's high school graduation when I never actually came out and told him that I wanted him to go. That "Do you want to go?" is not the same question as "Will you please go with me?" and that the latter question won't necessarily be inferred from the former. Or that a sniffly "No, it's cool, do whatever you want" will not translate to the male brain as "How dare you even contemplate making me go to this thing alone where I'll have to make embarrassed apologies for your absence and convince distant relatives that no, really, you do exist?". That I don't have the right to expect him to read my mind/emotions and get angry when he doesn't, especially when he'd probably do what I want if I'd just be straight with him in the first place.
I had a related epiphany the other day about myself that helped me reach this conclusion. I realized that--through no fault of his--I haven't been able to let myself trust him to put my happiness first. Even though I both want and am willing to go to great lengths for his happiness, I don't allow myself to expect the same from him. It has to do with daddy issues and a history of abuse, and I need to knock it off. I need to stop being passive-agressive and self-protective and assuming that if I come right out and tell him what I want I'll just set myself up for rejection and disappointment. I need to learn to take him at his word when he says that my happiness is his priority, and remember that, so long as I've been straightforward with him about what I want from him, he's never given me any reason to doubt that. I have to stop going out of my way to please him and depriving him of the opportunity to do likewise, which translates to never speaking up for what I want and then turning into a pissy, pouty martyr when all we ever do is what he wants.
Man. Every time I think I've got a handle on the depths of my screwed-up-ness I find a whole 'nother layer. Thank God I've found a mate who is as patient as he is loving. Hopefully I'll figure out how to trust in his love for me before his patience begins to wear out.
Finally, a slow morning. Co-Administrator Gal (who shall henceforth be known as CAG) has nothing for me to do, and neither does anybody else. At least journaling makes me look busy. Methinks I should bring my writing files up here for when these activity slumps happen, although I've a feeling they won't happen very often. The only way I'm going to figure out how to fit writing into my life is to get really strict with myself about setting aside a block of time each day to write. That's the only thing that ever works. I'll give myself the rest of this week to get settled in my new job/routine, and then I've got to get back on the writing wagon.
Speaking of new jobs, Matt has an interview next week. It's with a smaller hometown bank that he applied with weeks ago, where L'il Sis is working now. She used to work at the big-ass corporate bank where Matt currently works, and she finds her new job much less stressful. If he gets it it will mean longer hours for him, but more money, plus a much, much shorter commute, and just less stress all around. And best yet he'll get weekends off. Right now he works Saturdays, so we only have Sundays off together, which is of the suck. So please send prayers/good vibes/crossed fingers in Matt's direction, both that he'll get the job and that they'll give him all the time off he'll need in September.
~~~
In the "It's a Small World" file: there's a guy in my department who is the brother of one of the IT guys who were always on our floor fixing our server (which crashed almost daily, IIRC) back when I worked at Williams. That guy was a very nice guy and he used to hang out at my desk a lot to chat. When I first saw his brother on Monday I thought it was him, they look so much alike, but then I realized he had a different first name. Yesterday I finally got up the nerve to ask this new guy if they were related, and they are indeed brothers. The IT Guy's Brother (ITGB) seems every bit as nice as IT Guy was. Yay for nice guys in the office.
Speaking of new jobs, Matt has an interview next week. It's with a smaller hometown bank that he applied with weeks ago, where L'il Sis is working now. She used to work at the big-ass corporate bank where Matt currently works, and she finds her new job much less stressful. If he gets it it will mean longer hours for him, but more money, plus a much, much shorter commute, and just less stress all around. And best yet he'll get weekends off. Right now he works Saturdays, so we only have Sundays off together, which is of the suck. So please send prayers/good vibes/crossed fingers in Matt's direction, both that he'll get the job and that they'll give him all the time off he'll need in September.
~~~
In the "It's a Small World" file: there's a guy in my department who is the brother of one of the IT guys who were always on our floor fixing our server (which crashed almost daily, IIRC) back when I worked at Williams. That guy was a very nice guy and he used to hang out at my desk a lot to chat. When I first saw his brother on Monday I thought it was him, they look so much alike, but then I realized he had a different first name. Yesterday I finally got up the nerve to ask this new guy if they were related, and they are indeed brothers. The IT Guy's Brother (ITGB) seems every bit as nice as IT Guy was. Yay for nice guys in the office.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Day three, and all is well (I'm just thrilled to have made it to day three!). I'm settling in, starting to remember names and learning how to navigate the building without a field guide. I remember that the bad thing (or the good thing, depending on your perspective) about working in a large office is that they're constantly trying to shove food down your throat, and they don't take a simple "no thank you" for an answer. I'm going to have to be strong and toughen up if I'm going to meet my wedding gown goals. Especially when they keep waving freshly baked cookies under my nose. Mmmm, cookies.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Day two, and I still like my job and they still seem to like me. They've given me a permanent security badge with my picture on it (in which I look like I'm stoned, but I was really just very sleepy) and a name plate for my cubicle, and my co-administrator keeps thanking me for being so easy to train and telling everyone that I'm doing a great job, all of which I'm taking as good signs that I won't go home today and find out I'm fired. *knocks on particle board*
That would truly suck, because not only am I loving this job, but I also started personalizing my workspace. I brought in my T-Rex staple remover, my Chihuahua army and some pics of Matt to grace my desk. I need to bring some pics of Fizzgigg, too, to point to whenever anybody asks if I have kids. ;)
I wore my comfy Mary Janes today, and my blistered feet are grateful. I'm not so pleased with the rest of my outfit--the skirt I picked out last night looked a lot better in my memory than it does in the mirror. I can't wait till I start getting paid and I can start stocking up on work clothes that fit properly.
Speaking of fit, my weight is finally headed back in the right direction. It had gotten to an all-time (at least since 9th grade) low by the beginning of April, but between my birthday and Easter and various stress-induced comfort-food binges it shot back up by about 10 pounds. As of Saturday I was just a couple pounds shy of being back where I was before my birthday, and the smaller clothes I picked out on that day's shopping trip are fitting me again. Yay! Now if I can just lose about 8 more pounds I'll be ready to go get my wedding gown altered.
Now I'd better sign off and go call Matt and take care of some business with the temp agency before my lunch hour's up. Oh, and before I forget, I was wrong about the "no g-mail" rule. Or rather, I wasn't so much wrong about it as given the go-ahead to ignore it. So that's one more window to the outside world I can take advantage of. Again I say: Yay!
That would truly suck, because not only am I loving this job, but I also started personalizing my workspace. I brought in my T-Rex staple remover, my Chihuahua army and some pics of Matt to grace my desk. I need to bring some pics of Fizzgigg, too, to point to whenever anybody asks if I have kids. ;)
I wore my comfy Mary Janes today, and my blistered feet are grateful. I'm not so pleased with the rest of my outfit--the skirt I picked out last night looked a lot better in my memory than it does in the mirror. I can't wait till I start getting paid and I can start stocking up on work clothes that fit properly.
Speaking of fit, my weight is finally headed back in the right direction. It had gotten to an all-time (at least since 9th grade) low by the beginning of April, but between my birthday and Easter and various stress-induced comfort-food binges it shot back up by about 10 pounds. As of Saturday I was just a couple pounds shy of being back where I was before my birthday, and the smaller clothes I picked out on that day's shopping trip are fitting me again. Yay! Now if I can just lose about 8 more pounds I'll be ready to go get my wedding gown altered.
Now I'd better sign off and go call Matt and take care of some business with the temp agency before my lunch hour's up. Oh, and before I forget, I was wrong about the "no g-mail" rule. Or rather, I wasn't so much wrong about it as given the go-ahead to ignore it. So that's one more window to the outside world I can take advantage of. Again I say: Yay!
Monday, May 15, 2006
Lunchtime, day 1 of the new new job. So far so good. I like them, they seem to like me, so far nothing they've shown me that I'll be doing intimidates me other than the sheer volume of responsibilities and procedures and project names/numbers I'll have to learn. But I'm confident that all of that will come, and so far my trainer is a very patient woman. I think I've finally found The Job. Yay!
The could-be-better: It took me about 50 minutes to get here. I'm too out of the way and our schedules are to disparate to make carpooling feasible, so Matt's already stressing about gas money. But the route I took is both scenic and has a low volume of traffic, so the commute is pretty stress free. As for internet usage, it looks like my communication with the outside world will be limited to this here blog, since, for fear of viruses and such, accessing outside e-mail is verboten. No coffee-break g-mailing for me. No YIMing, either, as the IM program they use here is an in-house DOS based program. Bummer. I keep having to remind myself that these restrictions are both reasonable and common and that I was ridiculously spoilt at my last job.
Also, this is a weird, weird building and I can't go anywhere by myself yet without getting lost. They gave me a map, but it hasn't helped me much. I was going to eat at my desk and then go outside for a sunshine break, but just trying to find my way back from the bathroom was such an ordeal that now I'm afraid to leave my desk until my sherpa gets back from lunch. My feet hurt, anyway, so I'm good staying off them for as long as I'm able.
Which brings me to the Essential Lesson of the Day: Wear comfortable shoes. I need to invest in more comfortable office-appropriate shoes. My current collection of comfy shoes consists of a couple pairs of Chinese Mary Janes and a plethora of flip-flops. Looks like the MJs will be getting a lot of wear for the time being.
Regardless, unlike my last two false starts, I'm pretty confident that I'm going to love it here. And confident enough that they'll let me stay to start bringing in some pictures and knick-knacks to personalize my space tomorrow. I'm sure that my Tear-into-staples Rex is going to like his new home.
The could-be-better: It took me about 50 minutes to get here. I'm too out of the way and our schedules are to disparate to make carpooling feasible, so Matt's already stressing about gas money. But the route I took is both scenic and has a low volume of traffic, so the commute is pretty stress free. As for internet usage, it looks like my communication with the outside world will be limited to this here blog, since, for fear of viruses and such, accessing outside e-mail is verboten. No coffee-break g-mailing for me. No YIMing, either, as the IM program they use here is an in-house DOS based program. Bummer. I keep having to remind myself that these restrictions are both reasonable and common and that I was ridiculously spoilt at my last job.
Also, this is a weird, weird building and I can't go anywhere by myself yet without getting lost. They gave me a map, but it hasn't helped me much. I was going to eat at my desk and then go outside for a sunshine break, but just trying to find my way back from the bathroom was such an ordeal that now I'm afraid to leave my desk until my sherpa gets back from lunch. My feet hurt, anyway, so I'm good staying off them for as long as I'm able.
Which brings me to the Essential Lesson of the Day: Wear comfortable shoes. I need to invest in more comfortable office-appropriate shoes. My current collection of comfy shoes consists of a couple pairs of Chinese Mary Janes and a plethora of flip-flops. Looks like the MJs will be getting a lot of wear for the time being.
Regardless, unlike my last two false starts, I'm pretty confident that I'm going to love it here. And confident enough that they'll let me stay to start bringing in some pictures and knick-knacks to personalize my space tomorrow. I'm sure that my Tear-into-staples Rex is going to like his new home.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Something else that's never happened to me before: a bidding war for my services. Before this week, that is. Wednesday's interviews landed me two temp-to-hire offers. I turned down what would otherwise have been my preferred choice (Company B) in favor of the higher paying offer (from Company A), only to have the other company come back with an even higher offer. Squee!
There was some awkwardness, though--I had gotten Temp Agency A to set up a trial work day for me with Company A so that we could all be sure I was capable of doing the job before I officially accepted or rejected either offer. I really didn't want a repeat of what happened last week, see, and neither did they.
The filing clerk job was fine--pretty simple, really, except that it involved a lot of climbing and crouching (their files were stacked floor-to-ceiling) and it left me pretty sore by the end of the day, but nothing I couldn't put up with for what they would pay me. I felt comfortable with it and they felt comfortable with me, so I told them I would take it and called Temp Agency B to turn down Company B's offer. A few minutes later, Temp Agency B called back with a counter-offer that beat Company A's best. Considering that I already liked everything else about Company B and the job they wanted me for better already, it was a no-brainer. Company A couldn't offer me more money so they tried to sway me with benefits, but they didn't really have anything that beat what Company B had to offer. I told them I'd need to think about it overnight, and then yesterday I went in in the morning to finish out the filing project I'd started on Thursday and let them know I wouldn't be taking the job. They were really nice about it and wished me the best of luck.
Then that afternoon I went to a lab to pee in a cup so that Company B could see that I don't do drugs, yayfun. Aren't drug tests the best? I had a little trouble performing, shy bladder and all, and it didn't help that the lab tech performing the test was a guy. At least he went around the corner and gave me a little bit of privacy. Anyway, I got it done, they got the results back pretty quickly, and the short of it is that starting Monday, provided that nothing goes wrong (*crosses fingers, knocks wood and prays*), I'll be the new Project Administrator for yet another oil company in Tulsa. The job actually sounds pretty similar to my old admin assistant job at Williams, except with a slightly more prestigious title and a heckuva lot more pay. The people I met during my interview all seemd fab, too--all very friendly and jokey. Yay for a work environment with a sense of humor.
I'm very excited. Right now I feel really good about this being a job that I'll actually enjoy doing for the next several years, however long it takes for Matt to finish his degree and take over as the breadwinner. And my understanding is that this job actually comes with room for promotion, so who knows? And I'm starting to feel that it's safe to start daydreaming about buying a house again. Did I mention that I'll be making about $5K more a year than I even dared dream I'd pull down? Did I mention that I'm excited? Because I am. Wheeeee!
There was some awkwardness, though--I had gotten Temp Agency A to set up a trial work day for me with Company A so that we could all be sure I was capable of doing the job before I officially accepted or rejected either offer. I really didn't want a repeat of what happened last week, see, and neither did they.
The filing clerk job was fine--pretty simple, really, except that it involved a lot of climbing and crouching (their files were stacked floor-to-ceiling) and it left me pretty sore by the end of the day, but nothing I couldn't put up with for what they would pay me. I felt comfortable with it and they felt comfortable with me, so I told them I would take it and called Temp Agency B to turn down Company B's offer. A few minutes later, Temp Agency B called back with a counter-offer that beat Company A's best. Considering that I already liked everything else about Company B and the job they wanted me for better already, it was a no-brainer. Company A couldn't offer me more money so they tried to sway me with benefits, but they didn't really have anything that beat what Company B had to offer. I told them I'd need to think about it overnight, and then yesterday I went in in the morning to finish out the filing project I'd started on Thursday and let them know I wouldn't be taking the job. They were really nice about it and wished me the best of luck.
Then that afternoon I went to a lab to pee in a cup so that Company B could see that I don't do drugs, yayfun. Aren't drug tests the best? I had a little trouble performing, shy bladder and all, and it didn't help that the lab tech performing the test was a guy. At least he went around the corner and gave me a little bit of privacy. Anyway, I got it done, they got the results back pretty quickly, and the short of it is that starting Monday, provided that nothing goes wrong (*crosses fingers, knocks wood and prays*), I'll be the new Project Administrator for yet another oil company in Tulsa. The job actually sounds pretty similar to my old admin assistant job at Williams, except with a slightly more prestigious title and a heckuva lot more pay. The people I met during my interview all seemd fab, too--all very friendly and jokey. Yay for a work environment with a sense of humor.
I'm very excited. Right now I feel really good about this being a job that I'll actually enjoy doing for the next several years, however long it takes for Matt to finish his degree and take over as the breadwinner. And my understanding is that this job actually comes with room for promotion, so who knows? And I'm starting to feel that it's safe to start daydreaming about buying a house again. Did I mention that I'll be making about $5K more a year than I even dared dream I'd pull down? Did I mention that I'm excited? Because I am. Wheeeee!
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
I'm riding the interview train today. This week, actually. I had one Monday morning with another temp agency, and I had one this morning for a temp-to-hire job through my old agency. Then two more this afternoon, one with a contract-to-hire recruiting agency and one for another temp-to-hire job through the new temp agency (I've been with them all of three days and they're already sending me on interviews. They win at assignment finding!).
The one I just came from looks promising--great pay, great benefits, lots of filing and no phone answering or customer service, and I'd have my very own cubicle with walls that go all the way to the top. It seems like all stuff I can do and do well, except they mentioned light invoice processing, and after last week's fiasco with that invoicing job my confidence is a little shaken in that area. But they said they might not be able to give me the time off I'll need for my wedding and honeymoon, and that's pretty much a dealbreaker right there, so it might all be moot.
Next up is the recruiting agency interview, who is responding to the resume I put in a few weeks ago for an accounts receivable job. Again, my A/R confidence/experience levels are not that high, so this should be interesting. Maybe I can get them to put me on file for future administrative jobs. The third interview is for a straight-up high-level secretarial job, which is something I know I can do, even if there are parts I don't love. It's the farthest to drive, though, and a little out of the way for Matt and I to commute together. Hopefully it pays well enough to make the extra driving worth my while.
I've got about an hour and a half to kill before the next interview, so I came to the only coffee shop I know of in Tulsa with free 'net access, which just happens to be the same coffee shop Matt brought me to on our first solo date where we snuggled on the sofa in the corner. It looks like the shop has changed owners since then, but the sofa is still over there in the corner, and it's making me a little nostalgic and sad. So I'm gonna go find a table and add up the pros and cons from this morning's interview and fill out the application they gave me before I head out to find some cheap lunch. Maybe by the end of the day I'll actually have some employment options. Or maybe I'll still have a great big nothing. But whatever happens I gotta keep with the moving forward. Like a shark. On land.
Oh! I almost forgot--I found out via this new temp agency that I could have been drawing unemployment this entire time. I feel colossaly stupid for not checking this out. I was sure I'd read that temporary employment didn't count for unemployment benefits, but I realize now that I was confusing that with the rules for getting an unemployment deferment on my student loans. So, stupid. At least now if today's interviews don't lead to anything and I don't get any temp work this week, then next week I can go sign up for unemployment and still manage to pay all my bills. So the situation seems way less dire. Still, here's hopin' today leads to a real job.
The one I just came from looks promising--great pay, great benefits, lots of filing and no phone answering or customer service, and I'd have my very own cubicle with walls that go all the way to the top. It seems like all stuff I can do and do well, except they mentioned light invoice processing, and after last week's fiasco with that invoicing job my confidence is a little shaken in that area. But they said they might not be able to give me the time off I'll need for my wedding and honeymoon, and that's pretty much a dealbreaker right there, so it might all be moot.
Next up is the recruiting agency interview, who is responding to the resume I put in a few weeks ago for an accounts receivable job. Again, my A/R confidence/experience levels are not that high, so this should be interesting. Maybe I can get them to put me on file for future administrative jobs. The third interview is for a straight-up high-level secretarial job, which is something I know I can do, even if there are parts I don't love. It's the farthest to drive, though, and a little out of the way for Matt and I to commute together. Hopefully it pays well enough to make the extra driving worth my while.
I've got about an hour and a half to kill before the next interview, so I came to the only coffee shop I know of in Tulsa with free 'net access, which just happens to be the same coffee shop Matt brought me to on our first solo date where we snuggled on the sofa in the corner. It looks like the shop has changed owners since then, but the sofa is still over there in the corner, and it's making me a little nostalgic and sad. So I'm gonna go find a table and add up the pros and cons from this morning's interview and fill out the application they gave me before I head out to find some cheap lunch. Maybe by the end of the day I'll actually have some employment options. Or maybe I'll still have a great big nothing. But whatever happens I gotta keep with the moving forward. Like a shark. On land.
Oh! I almost forgot--I found out via this new temp agency that I could have been drawing unemployment this entire time. I feel colossaly stupid for not checking this out. I was sure I'd read that temporary employment didn't count for unemployment benefits, but I realize now that I was confusing that with the rules for getting an unemployment deferment on my student loans. So, stupid. At least now if today's interviews don't lead to anything and I don't get any temp work this week, then next week I can go sign up for unemployment and still manage to pay all my bills. So the situation seems way less dire. Still, here's hopin' today leads to a real job.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
I spent all morning (much longer than I meant to) printing off info on B&B wedding packages in Eureka Springs. This made me excited and happy, whereas researching wedding and reception accomodations in and around Tulsa makes me anxious and depressed. I'm thinking this choice is a no-brainer.
Yesterday I spent all morning sending out resumes. All for administrative/executive assistant positions. It's not my favorite job in all the world, but at least it's a job I know I'm good at. My logic is thus: being good at my job = performance-based raises = being able to afford a house sooner rather than later, and I so very much want a house. There's this newish neighborhood in Owasso (a town about halfway between Tulsa and where I currently live) made up of small starter homes that are both affordable and adorable. I drove through it on my way home the other day (when I thought I still had a job) and it kicked my house-owning fantasies into full gear. Now all I need is a job.
I'm feeling better about life, the universe, and everything today. Today I'm taking it easy and giving myself a break (and--Girly TMI alert--my uterus is thanking me). Tomorrow I'll get busy and start putting stuff up on eBay. Maybe that will earn me enough to cover the rest of this month's bills, if need be. Not to mention all of the closet space it'll free up in the process.
And now I suppose I should sign off and go get dressed. It'll look pretty pathetic if I'm still in my PJs when Matt gets home from work. Even though this is a perfect sort of day for staying in your PJs all day.
Yesterday I spent all morning sending out resumes. All for administrative/executive assistant positions. It's not my favorite job in all the world, but at least it's a job I know I'm good at. My logic is thus: being good at my job = performance-based raises = being able to afford a house sooner rather than later, and I so very much want a house. There's this newish neighborhood in Owasso (a town about halfway between Tulsa and where I currently live) made up of small starter homes that are both affordable and adorable. I drove through it on my way home the other day (when I thought I still had a job) and it kicked my house-owning fantasies into full gear. Now all I need is a job.
I'm feeling better about life, the universe, and everything today. Today I'm taking it easy and giving myself a break (and--Girly TMI alert--my uterus is thanking me). Tomorrow I'll get busy and start putting stuff up on eBay. Maybe that will earn me enough to cover the rest of this month's bills, if need be. Not to mention all of the closet space it'll free up in the process.
And now I suppose I should sign off and go get dressed. It'll look pretty pathetic if I'm still in my PJs when Matt gets home from work. Even though this is a perfect sort of day for staying in your PJs all day.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
So I get home today to find a message from the temp agency telling me not to bother going to work tomorrow. According to the recruiter, it's not me, it's them, they had many wonderful things to say about me but they feel they need someone with more experience in corporate invoicing blah-blah-blah-I'm-essentially-fired-cakes.
Yeah.
I gotta say, that was more than a little shocking. Not just because this sort of thing has never happened to me before--usually it's the opposite; I go in thinking it's just for a couple of days and they want to keep me--but also because they gave me the impression all day that I was doing really well. Hell, I gave me that impression. I was picking things up pretty darn fast, I thought, for it just to be my second day, and I was confident that by the end of my training week I'd have it down pat. But I guess that wasn't fast enough.
The cloud: I really, really, really needed this job. My bills are mounting and they're not going to pay themselves. And have I mentioned how much it sucks to be poor?
The silver lining: by the end of today despite doing my best to maintain a positive attitude, fueled by my desperation, I could already tell that the extreme tedium and repetition of this job were going to depress me fairly quickly. It made me appreciate being an administrative assistant. Answering phones is not something I love, but at least that job has variety. Maybe now the non-accounting side of my temp agency will finally come through with another administrative-type job that I can actually be whiz-bang at. Also: at least this paycheck should cover my car insurance bill that's due in two weeks. Phew to that.
Oh, and have I mentioned the parking ticket I got this afternoon because the parking lot attendant decided that the barely legible lot number between spaces 73 and 75 must be number 71, and not the number 74 whose slot I put my money in this morning? No? Well that happened to me today, too. Tomorrow I'll have to call the parking company and contest the ticket. Maybe I can just go down there while I'm in town getting my timesheet signed so I can actually get paid for the last two days so they won't be a complete waste of my time.
Frustration, thy name is Jean. So let's count some blessings before I go cry myself to sleep:
1. Thank God for my momma and the roof she's willing to provide for no charge until I get back on my proverbial feet.
2. Thank God for Matt and his emotional support. He's the best personal cheerleader I've ever had. And he's totally willing to put his schooling on hold until I find not just A job, but one that I can actually be content doing for a few years.
3. Thank God for His provision. The next big bill on my slate is covered now, and I just have to trust that the others will be covered as they come, too. He causes ALL things to work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose, so this is going to work out for the best somehow.
4. Thank God for more time to get our stuff squared away. I was trying not to let it stress me, but there's still so much to do around the house to get Matt settled in, not to mention to make wedding plans, big or small, and I didn't know how I was going to balance that with a full time job. At least now I've got more time to whittle it all down before I find a job that sticks.
5. Thank God that the temp assignments are finally starting to come in and I don't have to get myself a retail job. At least not yet.
I'm going to bed now, smug in the knowledge that I can sleep in tomorrow. Thank God for that, too.
Yeah.
I gotta say, that was more than a little shocking. Not just because this sort of thing has never happened to me before--usually it's the opposite; I go in thinking it's just for a couple of days and they want to keep me--but also because they gave me the impression all day that I was doing really well. Hell, I gave me that impression. I was picking things up pretty darn fast, I thought, for it just to be my second day, and I was confident that by the end of my training week I'd have it down pat. But I guess that wasn't fast enough.
The cloud: I really, really, really needed this job. My bills are mounting and they're not going to pay themselves. And have I mentioned how much it sucks to be poor?
The silver lining: by the end of today despite doing my best to maintain a positive attitude, fueled by my desperation, I could already tell that the extreme tedium and repetition of this job were going to depress me fairly quickly. It made me appreciate being an administrative assistant. Answering phones is not something I love, but at least that job has variety. Maybe now the non-accounting side of my temp agency will finally come through with another administrative-type job that I can actually be whiz-bang at. Also: at least this paycheck should cover my car insurance bill that's due in two weeks. Phew to that.
Oh, and have I mentioned the parking ticket I got this afternoon because the parking lot attendant decided that the barely legible lot number between spaces 73 and 75 must be number 71, and not the number 74 whose slot I put my money in this morning? No? Well that happened to me today, too. Tomorrow I'll have to call the parking company and contest the ticket. Maybe I can just go down there while I'm in town getting my timesheet signed so I can actually get paid for the last two days so they won't be a complete waste of my time.
Frustration, thy name is Jean. So let's count some blessings before I go cry myself to sleep:
1. Thank God for my momma and the roof she's willing to provide for no charge until I get back on my proverbial feet.
2. Thank God for Matt and his emotional support. He's the best personal cheerleader I've ever had. And he's totally willing to put his schooling on hold until I find not just A job, but one that I can actually be content doing for a few years.
3. Thank God for His provision. The next big bill on my slate is covered now, and I just have to trust that the others will be covered as they come, too. He causes ALL things to work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose, so this is going to work out for the best somehow.
4. Thank God for more time to get our stuff squared away. I was trying not to let it stress me, but there's still so much to do around the house to get Matt settled in, not to mention to make wedding plans, big or small, and I didn't know how I was going to balance that with a full time job. At least now I've got more time to whittle it all down before I find a job that sticks.
5. Thank God that the temp assignments are finally starting to come in and I don't have to get myself a retail job. At least not yet.
I'm going to bed now, smug in the knowledge that I can sleep in tomorrow. Thank God for that, too.
So here I am on the job. It's a very busy position, but at least I can sign on to blog and check e-mail during breaks. With what they're paying me I think I can probably afford to finally get myself some DSL at home so I can do everything else. Alas, they don't use IM, so no inter-office chats with my friends, boo. Though with as often as my trainer is hopping up to go to the boss's office to ask her something, I might suggest that we start using it.
I don't think this is something I want to do for too terribly long, but it's a good transitional job to build experience and tide me over until a better opportunity comes along. I'm finally feeling a little peace about settling into a career in office administration, but I think that's only because I know it will be a relatively short career, seeing as how Matt and I both want me to eventually be a full time writer/homemaker/stay-at-home mom and we're both working toward that goal. So in the meantime I don't mind bringing home the bacon while he gets himself all ejumicated. I'm still kicking myself for not majoring in IT or web design or something more creative and/or computer related when I went back to school, but there's not much I can do about that right now. At least I've finally moved up to a job that doesn't involve answering phones, so a big YAY! to that.
~~~
I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that I am not a person who is suited to a big wedding. Matt certainly isn't, and he came to terms with it a long time ago. So now we're leaning toward the idea of having a tiny wedding in Eureka Springs with just our nearest and dearest present, and then coming back home and having a big party/reception for the whole family. The more I think about this idea the happier it makes me. It would mean putting my dress back up on eBay and getting something better suited to a tiny, intimate wedding, but I'm okay with that, too. I love my current dress, but I'm kind of feeling deprived of the experience of shopping for a dress with my bridesmaids. Plus there's the whole making a plus size dress fit a no longer plus sized body thing. I still have to run this whole thing by my mom, who is pretty dang determined to see me in that particular dress, but I think she'll see reason when she realizes how much money we'll save her by running away to get married.
I don't think this is something I want to do for too terribly long, but it's a good transitional job to build experience and tide me over until a better opportunity comes along. I'm finally feeling a little peace about settling into a career in office administration, but I think that's only because I know it will be a relatively short career, seeing as how Matt and I both want me to eventually be a full time writer/homemaker/stay-at-home mom and we're both working toward that goal. So in the meantime I don't mind bringing home the bacon while he gets himself all ejumicated. I'm still kicking myself for not majoring in IT or web design or something more creative and/or computer related when I went back to school, but there's not much I can do about that right now. At least I've finally moved up to a job that doesn't involve answering phones, so a big YAY! to that.
~~~
I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that I am not a person who is suited to a big wedding. Matt certainly isn't, and he came to terms with it a long time ago. So now we're leaning toward the idea of having a tiny wedding in Eureka Springs with just our nearest and dearest present, and then coming back home and having a big party/reception for the whole family. The more I think about this idea the happier it makes me. It would mean putting my dress back up on eBay and getting something better suited to a tiny, intimate wedding, but I'm okay with that, too. I love my current dress, but I'm kind of feeling deprived of the experience of shopping for a dress with my bridesmaids. Plus there's the whole making a plus size dress fit a no longer plus sized body thing. I still have to run this whole thing by my mom, who is pretty dang determined to see me in that particular dress, but I think she'll see reason when she realizes how much money we'll save her by running away to get married.
