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I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. We had a nice time, ate lots of good food and gave each other cool gifts.
My brother and sis-in-law bought a house!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations to them!
I've done some tweaks and updates to my web site. The most obvious is the addition of the Amber Alert. The other stuff probably isn't noticable.
 A friend from FL is in town and I haven't called her. I'm terrible. I don't know why I have such an aversion to talking on the phone. I hate to answer the phone. I hate to make phone calls. I don't know why. It's not because I don't want to talk to or see her so why am I so against calling her (or anyone else)? Maybe the 7 a.m. call this morning from an unknown caller has something to do with my phone aversion. Intrusive calls have taken their toll over the years, I guess.
Yes, I'm still going to join Weight Watchers. I'll be posting about it regularly. Wish me success!
 My Verizon DSL service is normally trouble free. But when I have a problem it's next to impossible to get it resolved. My ability to log into my web space (where I keep my web page) via ftp (stands for "file transfer protocol") died Wednesday night while I was trying to help a friend with a project. I let her transfer her files to my web space so I could get to them. I was running out of space so I quickly upgraded my account to add more space. BAD! After I did that I couldn't log into my web space. I called Verizon. Three days and FOUR calls to tech support later and I still can't get to my web space! The last time I had a problem it took calling every day for a week to get it fixed.
So, I upgraded my Yahoo! service so I have more space there (and will be cancelling my Verizon upgrade) and have moved all my sites to my Yahoo! web hosting service. As long as you access my blog through www.niteflytes.us you won't notice any difference.
My mom is here for Christmas & New Year and she brought her special COOKIES and banana bread!!! I think I'll wait to join Weight Watchers until after the cookies are gone!
 How cool is this? You can control this guys Christmas lights via the web...for real! Alek's Christmas Lights Webcam Take a tour of his web site, it's full of fun stuff!
I STILL have laryngitis! It's going on 3 weeks! How long can this last? A word of advice...NEVER look up your own health concerns online.  There's pictures out there of things you will wish you never looked at! I'm going to see my doctor tomorrow unless I make a miraculous recovery in my sleep and wake up singing.
I recently revisted a favorite old web site, Bingo Zone. A lot has changed since I last played bingo there. Used to be able to win real money. Now you win points. I haven't quite figured out what to do with them yet. They've added a little chat feature to the bingo games too. I liked that and the people I chatted with were nice.
Two friends are having surgery Friday, the 17th. One is having carpal tunnel surgery, the other is having back surgery. I wish both of them the best of luck and a speedy recovery. 
 Here's a gift for all you gals out there. Make sure you turn up the volume. It's a big file so I'm only leaving it up until Christmas.
Check out my Cellular photo gallery for a few new pictures. Tonight was E's Holiday concert. It was great! I saw a friend who was with a teacher from the school. The teacher had her guide dog with her (of course). She let me give him a little pet and he's SO soft! During the concert my bottle of diet Coke fell over and rolled down the aisle!!! I was SO embarrased!!! At least the lid was on it.
 I have a camera phone now. I wanted a smaller phone with reception equal to my old phone and ended up with a Motorola V400. It just happens to have a camera. Like I needed a camera phone. My kid wants one too, now that I have one. So what does one do with a camera phone? Play, of course! Click below to see some of the pics we've taken.
Yahoo! Photos - niteflytes's Photos
The tree is up and full of ornaments. The village is on the mantle (ok, the top of the entertainment center), the candles are placed around the living room, the mini tree is in the kitchen, the wreath is on the door. Lights adorn the deck and the front of the house along with red bows and garland. A big Christmas polar bear and a spiral tree of lights sit in the front garden. Lighted candy canes lead the way to the deck. Christmas tunes play on the computer, acompanied by coordinating Media Player visualizations (my favorite is the Yule log), Webshots randomly chooses a new Christmas picture for my desktop every hour and when idle the computer plays an entertaining screen saver.
It doesn't stop here. I have my holiday jewlery out, my holiday sweaters are ready to wear...does it ever end???
Best of all, I can work at home if I want to and enjoy my decorations until I'm thoroughly sick of them. Yay.
I'm mostly over my cold, except I still can't talk. Not so yay.
That's me...sick sick sick. I have laryingitis now. I sound worse than I feel but that's not to say I feel fine. I'm really tired and sleeping a lot. I haven't been sick like this in years. I really want to feel good so I can get excited about my new job.
Heard from a friend today and found out he's moving to CA. Wow! Big move. Hope all goes well with him.
24 shopping days till Christmas! If this rain ever lets up I'll be able to finish my decorating. I've taken to doing even more online shopping this year and I really enjoy it! It's great getting stuff in the mail instead of having to fight the crowds. Of course, I still enjoy going to stores and wandering around just as much as always.
No, I haven't seen the movie...yet. But I read the book when it first came out. It's a great book and I hope to enjoy the movie too. The basic message of the book is simple though. It's about the importance of being with family at Christmas. Time with the people we love is time well spent, even at the cost of things that at the moment seem more important. Time with family, once lost, can never be reclaimed. I have my daughter, my mom, my brother and my sis-in-law to celebrate Christmas with. It's one of the few times we're able to all be together. I'm deeply saddened that we can't all be together this year. It just won't be the same without my brother, sis-in-law and their bird, Chipper.
As for a life update...My new job has kept me busy. I have the keys to my office and over the TG weekend I dragged my mom & daughter with me to my new office to move the desk. It's not a small desk and it's very heavy. It's one of those L shaped things, with drawers on each end. But we got it moved to the opposite wall where I wanted it. And, for the first time, I'm actually going to frame my degrees and hang them on the wall.
Thanksgiving was nice. My mom's been visiting and we went to Cracker Barrel instead of cooking. I did get my oven fixed, in case you were wondering, but why cook a huge turkey dinner for three people...one of who does not like turkey?! After dinner we went to urgent care. No, we didn't get food poisening! I've been sick with bronchitis and my asthma was acting up and then I got a cold on top of it all. I wasn't breathing very well, my cough was worse and we thought it would just be a good idea for me to see a doctor. I'm feeling a little better now on the asthma side but the cold is still going strong.
Day two as a state employee: Learned about the mind-boggling paperwork associated with travel and when we get reimbursed for this and when we don't get reimbursed for that except in these situations but only with prior approval...yikes. Documentation and accountability is beyond anything I've ever dealt with before, but understandable since there are so many people doing so many different jobs plus we have to be accountable to the public.
Had some more trainings, lunch, trainings, tour of the building, met more people and back to the hotel. ISDH does so much more than I ever realized! There's over 1000 people employed by ISDH and I realized today I've never worked for such a large organization. Everyone I've met has been very friendly and welcoming.
Tomorrow we hope to get our laptops, Blackberry's and access to our email and from what everyone has said in the trainings, there should be a lot of emails waiting for us already!
My cough from Hell wasn't as scary today as it was yesterday which I'm so thankful for...for several reasons *sigh*
Tonight I need to finish my benefits paperwork so I can turn it in tomorrow. It's nice to have some choices for my benefits so I can choose the package that meets my needs the best. My only complain is that the batteries in my TV remote don't work and the hotel doesn't have any new ones! And YES, I'm watching TV again *sigh*
Day One as a state employee:
Started out with HR training, watched the required HIPAA & ethics videos. Had photo taken and received ID card, received access key to parts of the building I'm allowed in, received parking permit. Have big binder of HR materials and huge folder of benefits options. And that's just the beginning. I'll be getting a laptop, a Blackberry PDA, more stuff to read, travel status training and the list goes on.
Since I had to travel more than 50 miles I get to stay in a hotel and the hotel offers FREE high-speed internet access! Everyone I met today was super nice and a group of 5 of us had a late lunch together because the HR training lasted until 2:00.
I have a better grasp of what I'll be doing now. I'll be coordinating emergency preparedness plans with local health depts in region 4 of the state along with other various projects. My division at ISDH is Public Health Preparedness.
Did I mention there's a Colt's game tonight? The hotel is selling parking to those attending the game so the parking lot (outside my 3rd floor window) is a bit noisy. Lovely...
I'm contemplating what I will do for dinner. I don't want to go out...too much chaos out there tongiht due to the game. I'm thinking Pizza Hut delivery might be the best choice.
Since I can't get a house right now I decided to get something else instead...a new computer! How was I able to do that since I've been unemployed and broke for months? Ahh, the beauty of credit. I was good though and didn't charge anything until after I received the official letter from the state confirming my job offer.
Ok, I didn't really NEEEED a new computer but I wanted to be able to write to DVD's. I could have purchased an external DVD writer and hooked it up to my laptop along with the external hard drive because I was running out of storage space...or just get a new laptop. So I did. I bought a Gateway 7405GX. It was the best value for what I wanted in a laptop and this time I made the wise choice to purchase the service plan. Normally I don't. I just bite my lip, void the warranty and do my own repairs. But not this time. These things are getting more complicated and I can't afford to make a mistake and damage my own computer.
The new addition to the family has a wide-screen display. Not by my choice but I'm getting used to it. It also has that bright-screen display. Everything is much clearer and crisper than on a traditional laptop screen. I haven't tried to write a DVD yet because I've been busy transferring and installing stuff on to the Gateway. As for the old one, I already have someone interested in buying it. That and my tax refund will pay off this purchase.
I also saw the cell phone of my dreams while I was at Best Buy. I MIGHT look into getting it and selling my trusty little HP Jornada. I mainly use my Jornada to synch it with my Outlook contacts and calendar along with a few games and to carry around some tunes. If I can do all that on this phone I will really consider getting it.
I asked my kidlet what she would like to do to her room to make it more to her liking since we won't be moving right away. I nixed painting the walls black and we came up with a plan to paint the walls off-white with some sort of black border. She wants new bedding, repaint the headboard and the mirror frame, black curtains...all easy changes to make.
For now I am thankful we have a nice house, good neighbors and wireless internet. I'm also thankful for my new job...which starts Monday!!!!!
That was a lovely rant, wasn't it? I might as well leave it here for posterity.
Wishing a HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST BROTHER IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wishing everyone a safe & happy Halloween!
Ok...my dog is afraid of the wind. She's sneaking up on it now.
I need to lose weight for my health; it will improve my blood pressure, my asthma and my self-image. A friend told me about America on the Move and I bought a cute, little pedometer at Wal-Mart for under $4. Visit the site, take the pledge and walk!
My kid had a Halloween party tonight (for anyone who thought it was on Saturday night, it was changed). Ever eaten blood red pasta? It looks really weird on black plates in dim light. I told her it looked like entrails. hehehe. She cobwebbeed the entire house with that cotteny cobweb stuff *shudder*. There's black lights in the living room ceiling fan and an orange bulb in the lamp. The Halloween town and candles are lit up, there's caution tape around the deck and she and her one friend that came are in her room watching a movie. Oh, to be 14.
Last night I had to perform laptop surgery on my computer. The fan sounded like it was going to die. It scares me to take my laptop apart. I'm afraid I'll break something more important than the little plastic tabbies that hold the case together and hold the keyboard down (count is up to 3 lost tabbies and a few nearly stripped screws). What really bites is that I have to take the entire laptop apart just to lube the little fan that cools the computer - after I take the fan OUT because I have to lube it on the bottom. Luck struck again and the patient survived the surgery in nearly one piece (minus the 3rd broken tabbie).
Still knitting. I used to crochet when I was a kid and I knitted a little but never very well. I preferred crocheting because it's faster and easier to learn. I had to teach myself to crochet and knit because I'm left handed and no one could teach me. So, I bought a book (it had lefty instructions, of course) and taught myself. I found knitting to be awkward and slow. The other day I decided to try knitting again and since it's been such a long time and I don't have the instruction book anymore I looked up knitting on the net. I learned there's two styles of knitting - English and Continental. I was knitting in the English style but with left & right reversed...that's how the book taught me. I always found that style of knitting to be slow and awkward so I'm teaching myself to knit using the Continental method. I'm slow at it now but it is a much faster and efficient way to knit and I like it enough that I'm actually enjoying knitting for once. Today I was in a bookstore and browsed through some knitting books and learned something new. Using wool yarn a garment can be knitted too large (intentionally) then it's shrunk and the wool fibers bind together (shrinkage) and this is called felting and it creates a fuzzy, tightly woven fabric. Sounds interesting. Maybe I'll try it some day.
No new house news yet. I'm still waiting for the payoff amount on my current house. I hate waiting. I can't even escape into the world of The Sims to get away from thinking about the house because I built that house in the game!!! I built it, furnished it and even landscaped it. Now if I play The Sims I'll just stare at that house, add on a shed, a driveway....it's hopeless.
Took E to job shadow a forensics prof as part of a school assignment. She seemed to have a great time and wants to go back tomorrow even though she'd originally planned to go back Thursday. I guess tomorrow they're going to take forensics pictures and she can participate.
Yes, it's true. There are only 9 weeks until Christmas. Scary, isn't it? Scares me since I decided to make all my Christmas gifts this year.
I have to brag....it's a mom thing. I went to parent/teacher conferences yesterday. All of E's teachers think she's wonderful. She got an excellent report card too.
Not much new to report on my house buying plans. I did find out that my credit report says that I was terminated from my last job. Uhhh...yes, I was but I was not fired. But it sounds like "fired" when a lender sees that on my credit report. I had to explain about the funding situation and how that eliminated my job. Then it looks as though I've been unemployed since the end of July. So I had to explain how I've been working temp, part time at my former place of employment. Think positive thoughts that my bout of unemployment will not adversly affect my chances at buying that house.
I've taken up knitting scarves with fancy yarn. I figure if they can do so can I (they being people at A4 who knit neat scarves).
I went to a craft store yesterday and while there decided what to give my family members for Christmas. I need to come up with some idea for my friends now.
I went back to bed around 1:00 this afternoon....after being up a grand total of a few hours. I had the WEIRDEST dream! Most of it has faded away by now but the weird feeling remains. It also pushed aside the other weird dream I woke up with this morning and that I just remembered having. The first dream brought up old memories, the second one highlighted a fear. Nice.
I had some "technical difficulties" with my blog page if you visited here earlier today. I accidentally messed up the code that makes my blog entries show up and I had to redo it so it may look a bit different now.
Don't forget you can leave messages, grafitti, words of wisdom or anything else you want on my tag board (left).
Webshots Community - House
Yes, it's a house. Hopefully it will soon be MY house. It's a modular, not to be confused with a double wide. Double wides are built to HUD codes and are on steel frames. Modular houses are built to local building codes and are on permanent foundations. Modulars are considered to be equvilant to stick or site built homes and appreciate just like any other house. From the research I've done modulars are often considered to be better built than site built houses for a variety of reasons. If you're that interested go here to find out more. Anyway, it's a Redman home and here's the floor plan (the one on the bottom right, M3036 The Grandview).
I plan to trade in my trailer for that modular. Today I completed the credit application. The other night I checked my credit and it's...there. what? You think I'm going to publish my credit rating on a public forum?! I'll just say that it's not hopeless but there's always room for improvement. I know my credit rating & score, I know my personal limits and no, dad, I won't let myself become house poor. For those who don't know...my dad is sitting on a cloud and shouts his words of wisdom down to me at times like this.
Check back from time to time for house updates. Oh, and if this all works out I'll be moving in the dead of winter. How dumb is that?!? Like anyone is going to want to help us move in subzero weather!!! And if it's not that cold then it will be muddy and slushy and yucky and wet...no no no - not in the new house!!! But if it's freezing out someone could fall on the ice. What am I thinking, doing this now??? Let me tell you what I'm thinking...there's too many people who want out of Woods Edge and only one lot priced as low as the one I want. And if I don't do it now then when? I hate moving in the summer heat anyway...
We've been sick all week. I'm feeling a little better. E claims she isn't but I'm kicking her butt back into school tomorrow morning anyway. She survived an afternoon trip to look at the house, get her hair cut and eat a light dinner out. Wish I'd picked up more rootbeer while we were out though *sigh*
I want to say thank you to all the friends who offered to go to the store or do anything else I needed while I was so sick. And a special thank you to the friend I took up on that offer. Thanks everyone!!!
I am sick. E is sick.
The X was nice enough to take her to the doctor for me however he made a big stink about he's not paying for it and how do I want to handle the payment. WTF? She IS his biological offspring and I AM unemployed. A fact he's aware of. What a loser.
On to something happier. I was offered a job at Indiana State Dept. of Health!!! As agreed during an interview with my former employer, I informed them of the job offer before I accepted the job. I start November 8th!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!!
You know I'm sick when I haven't played The Sims all weekend! Even more amazing, I sat and watched 4 movies over the weekend!!
Taking a much needed break from staring at spreadsheets all morning.
No, I'm not yelling. The large, bold type is here to stay.
What's new... - E is sick with the latest virus
- ISDH is checking my references. Could there be a job offer in the near future?
- I'm still hooked on The Sims. It's hopeless...
The interview is over. I think it went well. It wasn't a disaster, at least. Now I just have to be patient and wait. They asked excellent, thought provoking questions and I had some questions in mind to ask when given the opportunity. Think positive thoughts! Have to get to work now...
Orange hair looked REALLY orange in sunlight! Thanks to a box of brown hair color for only $2.97 at Wally World I now have brown hair with a hint of orange. MUCH better. Took E and her friend with me to the mall today and got a nice interview suit from CJ Banks. Thankfully I had a gift card with a large amount of money on it or I'd never have bought anything from CJ Banks. They wrapped my purchase in tissue paper then put it in a nice tote bag. I may call them and thank them for wrapping the clothes in tissue paper! The roasted chicken I bought for dinner dripped into the tote bag and if not for the tissue paper the clothes would be ruined!!! But the tissue paper caught the juice drippings and saved my expensive clothes. Well, I'm off the play the sims for a bit... 
Forgive me for not posting much lately...it's The Sims 2!!! I'm so addicted to that game! AGH! The game moves too fast to keep up with posting about it on my Sims page so I'm probably going to completely redo the page...later.
What's new?
I have an interview Monday at my former place of employment :-)
My hair is a subtle shade of orange as of today. The color is supposed to be "very berry" and it does NOT look orange on the box!!! It's not Bozo the clown orange (or contruction zone orange for those not familiar with Bozo) but there is an orange tinge to it. I may change that tomorrow...considering that I have that interview Monday. Otherwise I'd leave it. I'll see how it looks tomorrow after I wash it.
I'm in the process of moving my pics from Club Photo to Webshots. There's still a few albums at Club Photo but they will get moved to Webshots soon. There's also NEW pics at Webshots...specifically pics from Suessical The Musical, the play E was in this summer. Take a look! I'll be adding more new pics soon.
If I seem to answer the phone even less than usual keep in mind that my income is not enough to pay my bills...there's certain people who may be calling who I REALLY don't want to talk to...if you get my point. That plus no more caller ID, except on my cell phone and I forget to charge it, or leave it in the car half the time *sigh*. I miss caller ID on my home phone.
I dreamed about Sims last night. There was a green man in my dream (and it was perfectly normal), a blue woman near the end of the dream and they were like real people. I also saw little plus and minus signs appear next to people as they talked...just like in the game. OK! Maybe I AM playing The Sims 2 a bit too much but it's better than obsessing about whether or not I'll get this job I applied for and worrying about paying my bills.
I REALLY want to get this job I applied for. I NEED this job!!! If I get this job I have found a way OUT of this trailer park and OUT of this mobile home!!! Please send your positive thoughts and prayers my way so that I have a better chance of getting this job. And when I get a new house I PROMISE to invite everyone I know over for a big pizza party!!!
Back to the Sims. My Sim had her baby...did she turn out green??? As soon as I'm done posting to my blog I'll be updating my Sims page so you can find out what kind of baby my Sim had....TTFN!
Sorry I haven't updated much lately. I've been playing the new Sims 2 game. You can view my Sims story & pictures here.
Other than playing the Sims 2 there isn't much new in my life lately. I'm still job hunting. I'm broke. At least in the Sims game I can enter a cheat code for more money! I'm still working the temp job and praying for a job offer soon. A friend gave me a job lead this evening so I'm going to drag myself away from my game and write a cover letter tonight.
My friend L.O., who lives in FL, got a teaching job! Congrats to her!!! Due to the hurricaine she got her first day on the job as a paid day off because the school is a shelter.
Some people were shocked that I was so honest about myself in a recent post. Hey...I have nothing to be ashamed of! At least nothing I'm going to post in my blog *grin*. There's far worse things that can happen to a person than depression and feeling suicidal. Things like fires, major earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurrcaines, tornadoes, floods, crime...to name a few. I consider myself lucky to not have been in the middle of one of those crisis. At least my problem was something I could take control of and fix.
Speaking of hurricaines...it's unreal how many have hit Florida. And my ex is taking a family vacation (without E due to school) to Orlando, FL in a few weeks. Brilliant. *rolls eyes*.
E has her own website now and she worked on it all by herself...no help from mom! She's been writing a story too...busy kid! It's a work in progress and what she's written is excellent. Take a few minutes to read it and let her know what you think. *looks around* Now that she's left the room I can also BRAG that she's getting all A's in school so far. And after a not so minor dispute over the importance of getting involved in other activities she has decided to spend more time volunteering at Wolf Park.
Oh, for anyone interested in making fractal pictures I used a program called Xaos. It's free and very easy to use so get it and have fun making art with math :-)
I'm a candid, honest person and just get worse with age. I don't care if you don't like what I believe in or who I am. I'm 40 years old. I refuse to walk on eggshells after 40. Unless I get to crush them and make lots of noise!
So...here I am. I take an anti-depressant because I was once suicidal during a low period of my life. I'm not suicidal anymore. I'm very happy with my life and intend to live to a ripe, cantankerous old age. I believe in gay rights and gay marriage. I believe in weird hair styles and colors. I rarely watch TV and neither does my daughter. I eat carbs. I want a REAL tatoo. I'm happy being single and not in a relationship. I say what's on my mind. I sleep in...never mind, this isn't *WTMI blog.
SOAPBOX ALERT!!!!!
I admire people who are comitted to a cause and find creative ways to get involved and raise money for the cause. I have no respect for people who complain behind another persons back about making items available for purchase to raise money for a cause. Unless of course, that person held a loaded gun to those people's heads and told them to buy things or die. That might be taking it bit too far. Fortunatly, that doesn't happen very often.
I strongly believe that people who complain behind someone's back don't have enough to do to keep them busy during the day. They must have far too much time on their hands to engage in such juvinile behaviors. Perhaps no one's bothered to tell them that they aren't in high school anymore and the world doesn't revolve around them. Perhaps the soda machines and snack machine should be removed from the building so they aren't tempted to spend their money in them either. Afterall, the sodas and snacks are just sitting there, calling to them day after day. There's no escape! The horror of it all!!! It's so...so...UNFAIR! And what about those change catchers at drive throughs? They just DARE you to toss your change in...and for what? NOTHING! I mean, think about it. Some organizations and people ask for your money and don't even give you the time of day in return! How thoughtless...using our hard-earned pennies to raise money for a good cause and using ALL of it for themselves. It sure would be nice to get a little handout for the hard work it takes to donate a little bit of change...something like a nice nail file, for example. Really...raising money for a good cause...it's so altruistic, isn't it? Much more fun to gossip, back-stab, and play tattle-tale than it is to do something for the good of others...*rolls eyes into back of head. Folds soapbox and puts it back into pocket. Wonders how many people have to look up 'altruistic' in the dictonary and guesses it's the same people who like to spend their time acting like they're still in high school.*
Oh yeah...the second interview went ok, as far as I could tell. There's a job opening up where I used to work that I may consider applying for. E is taking the ISTEP this week. I fixed her computer so it will play the Sims 2.
*WTMI = Way Too Much Information (but you already knew that, right?)
My oven is still broke but I did get a toaster oven for $20 thanks to my sis-in-law's suggestion (why didn't I think of that???). I've never paid any attention to the selection of toaster ovens before. There was one big enough to roast a chicken! Why do we even bother spending hundreds of dollars on a stove when Walmart has toaster ovens and hot plates? All I need is a set of toaster oven sized bakeware and I can bake anything I want! Too bad we don't have my daughter's old Easy Bake oven. Those little pans would be just about the right size!!!
I just at my first non-toast item fixed in my toaster oven. A little pizza that I normally would have nuked. I have to admit...convection baking makes a cruncier crust.
A friend gave me the name & number of someone who does appliance repairs. I figure I'll just wait for another appliance to break down and then ask if he gives a discount for coming out to fix 2 appliances in one trip.
What appliances can I live without? I could live without a dishwasher. I already live w/o a garbage disposal and trash compactor. Oven....check. Stove top....yeah, I can get a hot plate a Wally World. Looks like the essential appliances are the fridge, washer and dryer. The laundromat is too expensive to justify not getting the washer or dryer fixed if they break otherwise I'd say I could live w/o those. So the fridge wins as the #1 essential kitchen appliance. Oh, and the microwave. Although if the oven wasn't broke I could live w/o the microwave...so that's one or the other that's essential, but not both. How stupid is this subject? On to something else...
Last night I participated in the Light the Night walk for lymphoma, luekemia and other blood related cancers. Went with my friend SP and some of her family and friends were there. We had a fun time and it was a perfect evening for walking.
Tomorrow I have a second interview for the ISDH job. Wish me luck or something...
I got the Sims 2! It's FREAKY!!!! The Sims are so lifelike in this game that it's almost creepy, especially when they seem to peer out of the computer screen at me! Unfortunately the game won't run on E's computer. I don't know why. It should work on it but the graphics controller crashes when the game is loading. I've tried everything I know of to get it working. My next step is to take it to a Toshiba warranty service center and see if I can get it fixed under the warranty. There's a place in Indy, which isn't too terribly far away. It beats having to ship the computer to Toshiba at least! So, tomorrow morning I may make a trip to Indy with her computer.
TTFN
I've been busy, give me a break! Speaking of breaks, my oven broke. The stovetop works but not the oven. After 2 days I decided to call the gas co. just to be sure there wasn't a leak since I smelled gas when I opened the oven door. The rep told me DO NOT hang up the phone, leave the call connected when we are done talking and get out of the house. Don't turn anything on or off. Just get outside. So what did I do when we ended the call? I hung up! Good thing there wasn't a gas leak! Of course, we took the dog and the computers outside with us. The rep who came out and tested the gas line figures I have a bad "glow coil". Yeah...whatever. I have no $$$ to get it fixed so he can call it whatever he wants!
Yes, I'm still working "temp" at my old place of employment. The woman who's out on FMLA was originally supposed to come back this week but she extended her leave. I know they want to try and hire me FT but we'll see. I had a job interview today at ISDH for a public health admin position. I had to drive to Indy for the interview and was interview by 3 people at once. I don't know if it's a job I'd like or not. Personally, I like the accounting stuff I'm learning.
Someone called about the house yesterday. I think it was someone from one of those places that claims "we will buy your house!". I directed him to my house web site and didn't hear back from him. I called him again today and gave him the web site address again and haven't heard from him. There's always tomorrow!
Saturday I spent the day at SP's house, selling stuff in her yard sale. It was a nice day. Took the dog along and she had lots of fun running around S's yard and being an ol' country dog for the day. She wandered all over the place and even tried to get in a few of our customer's cars!!! S's neighbor kid came over a few times. He's 14 and built small. He folded himself into the dog crate I'm selling and closed the door. Some people stopped to look at our stuff and the woman said, "Now that's the way it should be! The kid in the crate and the dog running looose!". We all got a good laugh out of that.
Back to my interview today. I parked in the Circle Center Mall parking garage (it's cheap parking and close to ISDH) and thought I parked on level 1. When I went back to my car I couldn't find it so I pressed the "panic button" on my remote to set off the horn. I walked all around the entrance to the mall since I parked close to it, pushing the horn button with no results. I figured I must have parked on level 2 instead and when I opened the doors to level 2 I heard HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK!!!!!!!!!!
Other than that, nothing else is new. Until Thursday. Thursday is when the new Sims 2 game will be available at Best Buy. I KNOW!!!! I'm on a limited income. That's why I took advantage of eBay to sell my collection of The Sims games. The bid is up to $50...enough to pay for the new game. I was annoyed that I couldn't get the game today since it's release date is the 14th. I figured the stores would already have it in stock to put on display today. But no...have to wait. Until then I'll be building an amusement park in my spare time. And no, I am NOT using the $50 from the sale of my Sims games to fix the oven! Geez...I do have priorities ya know! B'sides, it will probably cost at least twice that *sigh*
Why is it called a Grahm er?
Why is there Braille on drive through ATM machines?
Where does marshmallow come from?
Why don't sheep wrinkle?
Why do cows have spots?
Why is it called "cottage" cheese?
What happens to the holes when you eat swiss cheese?
Why don't we get cut on sharp cheddar cheese?
What's the point of scented kleenex?
Why are we loathe to eat from the same fork without washing it yet we brush out teeth with a toothbrush we use over & over and never wash? And think of where your toothbrush lives...
Why say "children under 5 (or any age)"? Who else is going to be under 5? Adults? Monkeys?
Why do construction sites only have signs that say "Men Working"? What about the women?
Why doesn't anyone ever use my tag board?
My temp job has been extended. The time I'm there seems to increase exponentially based on the amount of work that PC piles on my temporary desk. Or, in her words, I'm there until she kicks me out. Of course, she'll have to dig me out of the pile of paper I'm buried under first! I agreed to continue indefinately under one condition. I can use the chair from my old office. The chair I'm using now scares me.
In all seriousness, I'm happy to be there doing something useful and PC tells me daily how much they appreciate the help. I'm learning a lot of new things too. Number things and accounting things and more number things. I like doing something that is not social services for once.
It's funny...I paid off a credit card last month and recently they sent me an upgraded credit card. My account has gone from silver to gold. Other than getting a pretty gold piece of plastic and few extra discounts what's the big deal?
Oh, please excuse the next thought, but it's one I need to express loudly in a public forum...
MICHAEL MEYERS of COLUMBUS OHIO (no relation to the celeb Mike Myers) is a deadbeat dad!!!! He left his wife and 3 chilren for another woman after having an affair for a year, is forcing them to move out of their house and won't pay a cent to support his children until it's court ordered (which could be awhile)!!!!! What a worthless, irresponsible piece of slime! He isn't even man enough to take care of his own children. And I thought my X was a loser. This guy is beyond loser! He could care less if his kids have to change schools or even if they have clothes, food and a roof over their heads! I have to give my X credit for at least taking care of his own flesh & blood, if nothing else. If ANYONE out there can please shed some light on what the EFF goes through the minds of men (or women) who treat their own children like this I sure would appreciate some insight because I just don't get it! *kicks soapbox and watches it shatter into a million pieces & walks away, muttering about excruciatingly painful things that should be done to parents like him*
ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz *thunk*
Stop the presses...I put something new on my writings page! I actually wrote a NEW poem!
Thoughts for the day...
- A German Baptist town is not the best place to try and sell henna tattoos.
Spent the morning at the Rossville end of summer festival. SP had a booth there to raise money for the leukemia and lymphoma society. E and I stayed all morning, until the heat got to us. The raffle tickets sold the best and some people just donated money and didn't want a raffle ticket. No one wanted a henna tattoo. I brought home a sunburn and a headache from the festival. E and I both crashed and took long naps after we got home.
My data entry job isn't quite over yet. Friday they asked me to come back for a few days next week so I'll be working Monday and Tuesday. It was nice during the job interview the other day to say that my former employer asked me to come back and do some temp work. That's the best recommendation of all.
I just had my first interview in over 5 years this afternoon. Now I remember why I took a Xanax right before my interview for my job that recently ended. 'Tense and babbles incoherently, except during long pauses that occur in the middle of run-on sentences.' I'm sure that's what she wrote down in her notes.
I sat stiffly on the edge of the chair, partly because every time I moved, the chair responded with a symphony of loud, sqeaky protests. The overdose of caffiene I had today in order to remain altert while doing data entry didn't help either. And did I mention the long, silent pauses? Yes, in the middle of answering a question my brain would "lock up" worse than a computer running Windows ME. When that happened I just stopped talking. And what's up with having to complete a "job application" after submitting a resume? How redundant is that? The only new information they gained was a list of my references. Ooh. Gotta have a form for that!
If offered the job (unlikely) would I take it? Probably not. It sounds like a very good job and something I could easily do given my experience and skills. The pay scale ranged from below what I made to slightly above. Chances are I would be offered less than what I was making at my former job. I want more. Not just more money but more of a challenge. I want to learn something new and become good at it. I want out of social services.
I have a newfound respect for people who make a living doing straight data entry and nothing else. Today I woke up with gunk in my left eye. I think maybe it's from eye strain and the cat hair (see previous post). If I had to do data entry full time for a living I'd go insane. It's so mindless. AGH!!!! I would only do it for this particular place because they were so good to me when the funding was cut for my job and because they're my friends.
Yesterday I tromped all over what used to be called Purdue's Married Student Housing hanging up flyers advertising my house for sale. It's now called Purdue Village or something similar. A lot has changed. Like half the buildings are gone! The buildings are all non-smoking now. But a lot is the same. The buildings still look the same. The first apartment I lived in is still there. Squirrel park hasn't changed much either.
While on my way to hang up flyers I received a phone call from my former place of employment and a plea for help with data entry in the fiscal department - needed immediately and lasting until Friday. I hate data entry. I took the job and started today. I spent the entire day typing numbers into some mysterious fiscal program and at the end of each page I entered, if the number in the corner magically turned to zero I'd "post" and the screen would clear and I'd start again on another page. I also get printouts and match them with the sheets I entered. I'm so clueless. I don't know what I'm entering but I get all excited when the numbers come out like they're supposed to and the sheets match the printouts! And if the value of something on the sheet is zero I don't have to enter it! Whoohooo! I can skip it and go on to the next one! I think I got 4 or 5 stacks done.
A few hours into my temp job my cell phone rang. This was after it was sternly stressed to me by PC, who KNOWS me quite well btw, that I'm not to chat, be on the phone, walk around...basically I'm chained to a desk normally used by a woman who has cat hair all over her chair. Let's just say that PC is a bit stressed out so I'll forgive her...this time ;-) What I don't understand is how on earth she thinks I'm going to enter data "even faster" tomorrow! I think not! My fingers have already exceeded the speed limit in my brain. If I type any faster I might blow a gasket or something.
Oh, I was talking about my phone call, wasn't I? I let it go to voice mail and called back a bit later. Of all days...OF ALL WEEKS I get a phone call about an interview! Never mind that I had to reschedule my hair cut and my bangs are now providing more shade than my sunglasses. Never mind that I don't have a decent interview suit and no time to shop for one. Never mind that I'm working 8 to 5 the rest of the week. The woman was very nice and offered to interview me after work on Thursday. This is going to be good. I have an interview after a full day of mind-numbing data entry. I will be wired to the hilt on caffiene (necessary so I don't fall asleep while keying in numbers. And yes, it IS possible. I caught myself doing it several times after lunch), antsy as a kid in church on a sunny day, HUNGRY, tired, and in desperate need of a haircut and something interview appropriate to wear. And lets not forget the desk chair of death. Being uncomfortable and about ready to break isn't bad enough. It also has to be covered in cat hair. Can we say ASTHMA and ALLERGIES? I'm taking my allergen reducing Febreeze with me tomorrow! Like I need to go into an interview at Head Start with sneezing, coughing and watering eyes.
[On a serious note - the womam I'm filling in for is gone because her son was in a near fatal car accident several weeks ago. Oh, and the cat hair didn't really bother me...yet.]
Back to selling the house. I put an ad in the Purdue newspaper, the Exponent but I can't remember what days I put it in for. Duh. And my web site stats show a marked increase in page views over the past 2 days. I feel like I'm holding out a big, juicy piece of cheese filled with poison and I'm waiting for some desperate, cheese deprived mouse to eat it.
I mentioned the interview at Head Start. I'm happy to have an interview but I really don't want to stay in social services. I especially don't want a job that is dependent upon state or federal funding. Especially not after how the state EFFED over my clients (with federal funds that are allocated to each state for HIV care) who STILL don't have a local care site after 2 FREAKIN months! And has that place contacted me for an interview? Hell no! *mutters incoherently under breath*
Tired now.
Another day of unemployment. On a positive note, the house is really clean! With such unending excitement in my life I'm finding it difficult to decide what, of the many interesting events in my life, I shall share with you first.
While I'm thinking you could go to my friend's Light The Night web site and donate to raise money to help fight luekemia, lymphoma & myeloma. Sandy is a lymphoma survivor - a ray of hope for other's with cancer - so please visit her web site and donate whatever you can.
I've put up a few 'house for sale' flyers around town and hope to make it over to Purdue's married student housing today to put up a bunch there. I found a site online that specializes in advertising mobile homes for sale and they offer a money back guarantee. If the house doesn't sell within 6 months they will refund my money. That's definately a win-win deal. Take a look at the the ad.
Ever wonder if anti-virus software really works? Ever wonder if those free anti-virus programs are as good as the expensive, brand name versions? Here's how you find out. Give a teen a computer of her own. Install one of those free anti-virus program (I've had excellent results with Avast!) and wait. It won't be long you'll hear virus warning sirens going off every time she checks her email! Avast has caught infections from the newest viruses, worms and trojans to older ones that aren't seen as often anymore. So, now you know. Anti-virus software really does work when a computer gets infected. Me, I rarely have a virus. Only a few times and that's just been in the past year.
Busy week! E's locker problem is all taken care of. I went into school with her Wednesday morning, about died going up 3 flights of stairs to her locker! Her locker still wouldn't open for us so we went to the office and they had a maintenace person meet us at her locker. He opened it on the first try. ARGH! He told her the locker is new and stiff and told her what to do so now she can open it ok.
I made flyers to advertize the house for sale on colored paper. The colors are loud and obnoxious!
E was supposed to ride the bus the next day since I can't take her every day. It was time to leave and she couldn't remember the bus # or the spot it parks in after school. I suggested she look at the bus # when she gets on the bus but she wasn't sure if it would be the same bus # after school (I think it would be). We searched all over for the little note with the bus driver's info on it and gave up. I drove her to the bus stop and wouldn't ya know - the bus had already been there. So, I ended up taking her to school anyway.
Went to lunch with a friend and we had a nice chat. Afterwards I went to Goodwill with SP and found a few things including some owls really cheap. Then I picked E up and SP came over. She'd printed out a banner for her brother's 50th birthday and needed help putting it together. It's 9 pages by 9 pages! We laid it out in the driveway because it wasn't windy so what happens? It gets breezy! We took it inside and taped it all together, laid it out in the driveway again and taped over the seams with clear packing tape then taped it to the side of the house to see how it looked. WOW! It's HUGE!!! She and her nephew put it in his yard last night along with a huge birthday cake. He lives right on a busy highway and the sign says to honk for his birthday!!!!
Last night E and I went to a Weird Al concert in Merrillville. We met a friend for dinner and met up with more Al Gals at the concert. Before the concert we saw Steve Jay, one of the band members. He gave us each a hug and chatted for a few minutes. Afterwards E asked who he was! I told her and she was really surprised. E ended up with an aisle seat so she was really hoping to get some Al attention when he went into the audience. The concert was wonderful! During one song Al came into our side of the audience and sang right in E's face for a few seconds! She was on cloud 9 after that :-) Afterwards we waited a long time hopeing Al would do a meet & greet but it was finally announced that he really wanted to meet his fans but couldn't tonight. There was a REALLY big crowd waiting but we stayed a little longer and Al waved to everyone as he got on the tour bus. While we were waiting we did get to see Steve Jay again and I got a picture of E with him. She also got to meet Jim West (another band member) and get his autograph and picture with him.
Went to the state fair Saturday. Felt like I'd walked my a$$ off but it was still there the next day. While there I got a henna tattoo. Don't panic - it's not permanent but it does last several weeks. Found a new copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vampires on sale through The Literary Guild for only $2. No, it's not for me! It's for E.
I moved my fractal pics to Web Shots to save space on my Verizon account.
I made a web site for the house to help sell it. It's at www.house4u.info
No job yet but I am signed up for unemployment benefits.
E started high school today! I think it went well other than a problem with her locker. I plan on going to the school with her early tomorrow morning to get the situation dealt with. They seem to think that if the maintenence person can get it open that there's nothing wrong with it. I tried at least a dozen times to open it with no luck! She had teacher and other kids trying to open it today and they had a lot of trouble with it. When I called the school and told them about it for the 3rd time since registration they got a little snippy with me. So, tomorrow we are going to deal with the problem in person....which shouldn't even be a problem. It's locker! It's not like I'm asking for some kind of special priveledge for her like a light in it or a cooler or a bigger locker. Every student gets a locker and should be able to open it with little to no problems. I will not stand for a locker making her late for classes or missing the bus. It concerns me that such a small, easy to fix problem is becoming an issue. If the school can't efficiently and effectively deal with something this small how do they deal with bigger problems? Oh, and the woman I talked to implied that we don't know how to open a locker. Give me a break. It's not rocket science. Dial the combination, pull up on the handle and pull the door open. DUH! The stupid lockers use exactly the same type of lock & handle that MY lockers in high school used! AGH! I'm throughly irritated.
*kicks soapbox under desk* I'm done now.
Going to see Weird Al Friday. Got the tix month's ago. It'd be a aste not to go.
Due to verizon's sitebuilder giving my house site a standard index.html file name there's a bit of confusion now as to which index page browsers go to. Sometimes they want to go here, to my blog page, which is named index.htm (one letter difference!)
If you're having trouble getting to the house site with the url I gave you try this one
http://mysite.verizon.net/res16vtj/index.html
Hopefully the url forwarding will be working soon and you can use www.house4u.info
Went away for a few day to visit my mom. Had to come home today for kids freshman orientation at the high school. She said hello to at least 20 kids in the half hour we had to wander around the building. As we waited in the auditorium for the presentation she wailed, "None of my friends are here!"
No interviews yet. I have a plan though. The plan is this: aggressively market the house and sell it, even if I have to take a small loss. Move in with mom. Find excellent paying job within approx. 120 mile radius of mom so she doesn't have to drive any farther to visit than she does now. A few of the cities I'm considering are Fort Wayne, Chicago, and Ann Arbor, MI. Other than the friends I've made I have nothing keeping me here. E loves the idea of moving away as long as she can still have contact with her friends. The only way I could possibly avoid moving in with mom is to get a new job and sell the house at the same time. Not likely. I can't really search for a job outside of the local area until I sell the house because I can't accept a job, move and continue to pay on this house.
My marketing ideas are simple. Create a website for selling the house with pictures and lots of info about the house. Put flyers all over the place with the web address on them. Advertise online. Advertise everywhere. SELL SELL SELL!!!!! I may even register a domain name just for this purpose so it's easy for people to remember. Domain names are cheap at My Domain. That's where I have my niteflytes.us name registered. Speaking of...I recently discoverd I could get niteflytes.com back. But, sadly, that will have to wait.
Applied for unemployment today. Not much to say about it. I think the worst part was my cell phone ringing while I was there. It was so quiet in that place and then my phone blasts out a David Bowie ringtone at full volume!
Sunday was busy. I spent the day helping a friend pick out a computer. She took me out to lunch and then we took her computer to her house and I got it all set up. When I got home I decided it was time to get all the sap spots off my car. Note to self...never let sap spots bake in the sun for several weeks before trying to clean them off. My arms are SO sore! I scrubbed and scrubbed and there's still spots on it. I got some bug & tar remover and it's also supposed to remove sap. When I can use my arms again I'll give it a whirl.
Spent most of the weekend and today using Linux (you thought I gave up on it, didn't you?). I'm using Mandrake Linux. Ease of installation gets a 10. It's easier than installing windows and it found and recognized my printer, sound, video and internet. For ease of setup with a wireless internet connection I give it a 1 right now. I searched the net and tried everything I could think of and I still can't get wireless internet in Linux. Ease of overall use I give it an 8. Ease of installing software I have to give it a 4. Some things are easier than others and I'm still trying to figure out how to compile. System stability I give it a 7. I seem to have the ability to crash any computer I touch.
Tomorrow is registration and the kid has a Dr. appt at 7:30 am. AGH!
I woke up last night and when I got out of bed I almost fell flat on my face. My equlibrium was all messed up and it felt like the room was tilted. I stumbled to the bathroom and grabbed the doorframe while trying not to step on my dog. What a weird feeling! When I got up this morning I still felt dizzy and that made me feel sick to my stomach. I guess it was from my allergies & sinus problems. I was going to make a trip to my mom's for the weekend but decided it might be better to stay home since I'm not feeling too good.
Left the house again today! Have to wait until Monday to get my meds filled because the HMO is taking their sweet time getting my COBRA activated. But the pharmacist gave me enough to get through the weekend so it's no big deal.
My head is swimming. I think it's time for bed.
AGH! I had a blog here and I accidentally hit the back button before I posted and now it's all gone!
In a nutshell....Talked to insurance agent about purchasing health insurance. Got out of the house. Ate a Happy Meal. Shopped at Goodwill. Went into former place of employment and wasted people's time. Rented movies. Tried to refill Rx's and discovered little problem with COBRA. Went home. Discovered kid left her purse at Goodwill. Went back to Goodwill and got purse. Went home. Daughter & friend having Freddy Krueger marathon. Watched Legally Blonde 2. Blogged in bed. Dog joined me on bed. Lost entire post. Started over. Too lazy to add links & details because it's 2 am.
I got out of the house today and went places! It was amazing! The sun was out, I actually got to see AND talk to real people! For lunch I had McD's and to save $ I got a "Happy Meal". I'm now the proud owner of a mini beanie Hamburgler. My daughter was mortified that I got a Happy Meal.
Hey! My dog just invited herself into my room and jumped up on my bed. Yes, I blog in bed sometimes. Gotta love wireless internet and laptop computers. The only disadvantage is the heat my laptop generates. I'm only in here because my daughter and her friend are having a Freddy Krueger marathon tonight. I can only take so much Freddy in one night. I was surprised to learn there are 7 Freddy Krueger movies now. He's quite the resiliant and resourceful villian. Between Freddy movies I plopped Legally Blonde 2 into the DVD player. It was cute but not as funny as the first Legally Blonde.
Kid & I went to Goodwill today. She looked at the clothes. I helped. I found a few things that looked new and were what I thought was her style. Nope. She didn't like them. Next thing I held up was a bright pink tank top that was made out of fake fur. She wasn't impressed. She didn't like the red, quilted, zippered vest either. I got bored and drifted over to the stuff in my size. I held up every hideous shirt I found and yelled across the store, "E--, Look at this!" I'm such an obnoxious mother. :-)
That's a book by Philip K. Dick. The movie Blade Runner was based on it. If you thought the movie was strange, the book is far stranger. Not sure why I thought of that. I think it was one of my free associations while trying to think of a title for this post.
I spent a good part of my day adding some cool, yet totally useless, gizmos to my web page. You can see the slide show. There's 49 pictures in it. And there's the tag board where you can leave messages & comments (which I've enjoyed reading so far!). On the Fun Stuff page I slaved over adding a cute, little game. I might add more. Maybe.
Said to daughter and her friend today..."If you're going to laugh until you spit out your Pepsi, spit it in your glass! Recycle! I'm on a budget here! It's your own backwash. It won't kill you!"
At my belated birthday lunch last week, with some friends, one of them asked me what I did with my dog while I was on vacation. I honestly don't know what comes over me sometimes. I replied, "You know those bags that you put things in and then suck all the air out of?" She just stared blankly at me.
I had a dream the other night that was really odd and I may turn it into a story. I dreamed that a family (mom, dad, son, daughter) somehow ended up on a planet that looked a lot like Earth but wasn't. The people there spoke the same language, lived in houses, had jobs, etc. very similar to us but there were little things that weren't quite the same. My dream even had a plot. It was so detailed and vivid that I woke up thinking this had to be a movie I saw or a book I read. But I don't think so. Since this is a highly public forum I'm not going to give away my story idea and tell you the plot. But after I write it, I'll let you know where you can read it.
The dream got totally weird, like dreams do, in some parts. At one point I was in the story rather than watching it like a movie. I was in a cave-like tunnel with some other people. It was brightly lit, not dark. I walked down the tunnel to a small group of people and sat down with them. Then I watched ME walk down the tunnel and sit down in the group of people. Then I started talking to the other me. I was sitting face-to-face, talking to myself! My mother has been known to use the phrase, "beside yourself". I've often wondered how anyone could do that. Now I know.
I dreamed about fractals last night. I've got to get out of the house tomorrow. In the morning...since it seems it's already tomorrow.
*BLINK* OMG!!!! I figured out why my archives didn't look right!!!!!!!!!! *tralalalalala* I'm so happy! *happy dance*. I fixed it I fixed it I fixed it! Go on...take a look at an archive. Any archive and it will look just like this page except it will have old posts on it!!!
It takes so little to amuse me these days *sigh*
Who knew math could be beautiful? Fractals are images made from mathematical equations and have their basis in chaos theory. Fractals have some interesting properites. They often resemble things in nature, they are self similar and they are independent of scale. Thanks to computers I don't have to understand the math to make them! I used a free fractal generator called xaos to make my fractals.
Comments section is gone. In it's place is a tag board located on the left side. Scroll down until you see it. Just type in your name and a comment and click on tag. Easy nuff, so go use it. I'll wait...................See that wasn't so bad.
I'm tired of being at home all the time. I need something to do! I think hell has frozen over because I'm actually getting tired of being on the computer!!!
My life is full of overwhelming excitement. How much can one person take?
Diablo II is an excellent time waster and one of my all time favorite computer games. I played that a little bit today until I got frustrtated with my character constanly dying. I also created a silly little web page on a whim.
My daughter has me hooked on a country song about being a redneck woman who keeps her Christmas lights on all year long. I keep telling everyone they are NOT my Christmas lights! It is decorative deck lighting.
Coming soon...I will be eliminating the "comment" section of the blogs and go back to using a tag board for comments since I've had complaints that Blogger is making it difficult to actually leave comments.
It's 1:21 and my dog wants to go out *sigh*
I dropped off a resume today. It's never a good idea to assume that a business will still be in the same place it was 8 years ago. It's also not wise to assume that all Wendy's restaurants have a .99 cent menu.
The child came out of her room today! Just long enough to ask to spend the night at a friends house. I think she might have eaten dinner but I never wittnessed this event. However I did find an empty dish that I didn't use.
I'm helping a friend try to avoid eviction by signing her up at roomate.com and spent part of the evening contacting prospective roomies for her. I hope she finds a roommate!
I found out that I can get Launchcast Radio to work on my computer again! Best of all, it's free.
My friend J started her own blog. Check it out!
I remodelled my blog site...really!
I'm learning what exciting things go on at home when I used to be at work. My 14 year-old daughter sleeps half the day and rarely leaves her room. She stumbles out of her cave ocasionally and wanders through the living room to stare blankly at the kitchen, then turns around and goes back into her lair. The dog wanders throughout the house all day with a look of "what was I going to do?" on her face. Sometimes she notices I'm here and gets all excited and wants to be petted. This happens approximately every hour until it's time for me to get home from work. Then she goes all Border Collie crazy and wants to go on her walk. That and eating her dinner exhausts the poor creature and she passes out on the floor for the rest of the evening.
I spent most of the day agonizing over writing cover letters until I caved and bought a cover letter program. It came with a resume builder, job hunting tips, I learned some new things, so I think it was worth the money.
I'm reading a lot when not busy wasting time. My reads include PC World Magazine, Reader's Digest, Angels on Earth, Janet Evanovich books, and the Utah News. Life can't get much more exciting that this.
Note to self: do not drink and entire 2 quart pitcher of iced tea in one day
Started the serious job hunting today. What amazes me is that I can now do this all online. I don't have to leave the house or touch a newspaper! There wasn't much out there today but I will not despair.
I like to read the news online. I can't believe some of the stuff that happens! Female rentacop allegedly executes alleged thief. This alleged story is bizarre!
Here's an alarming report. 73 Percent Of U.S. Livestock Show Signs Of Clinical Depression. As if Mad Cow isn't bad enough. I may have to go vegetarian. I have enough problems of my own with depression without eating depressed beef.
So...3 hours later I'm finishing my blog. Spent a little time chatting with a friend who's life is taking a similar path as mine did 5 years ago. Lots of hugs and support to S.M.
Now, to turn off the lights. My jaw aches from dental work today and bed time is long overdue.
How exciting is it to read about my life? Do you feel like a virtual voyeur, lifting up the lid on my brain and peeking inside? That thought reminds me of Being John Malkovich.
Tonights teenage entertainment was "Freddy" movies. I didn't want to watch but I couldn't stop myself. I finally hid in my room and visited WheresGeorge and grow-a-brain.
Breath strips for dogs. What's next? I just hope my daughter doesn't mistake them for the Listerine strips. Maybe I should point out the little blue box and tell her they're for the dog...
Did I mention the Sanrio store I visited in Florida? An entire store of Hello Kitty stuff! There's even Hello Kitty kitchen appliances! Sorry Cricket...
Speaking of my dog, on my birthday I was coerced into building my own stuffed animal at a Build A Bear store in the mall in Florida. I didn't build a bear though. I built my dog!
What's NOT on the net? We went to Indiana Beach with a friend today. It was her husband's company picnic. He works at Indiana Packers. We had fun walking around while the girls (E and a friend) took off with the wrist bands and enjoyed the rides.
Last week my blog got 22 hits and no one leaves a comment???
Don't you HATE those 'Error 404 - file not found' pages? Who reads all that crap anyway? Here's an entertaining Error 404 page. It's worth taking 5 minutes to read the whole thing (yes, it does end eventually).
What? Job search? Oh...yeah, that. That Zyrtec I took yesterday didn't help. 5 mg of Zyrtec and I'm a zombie. But at least I stopped sneezing! I'm working on it. Really. Sent out some resume's. Doing job searches online. Getting leads from friends. Not working is already getting OLD. My neighbors are a lot more interesting than I ever noticed before. They leave, they come home, they work in their yards...*yawn* I'm still out of it from the Zyrtec.
Have to run...ok, drive...to the store and get a few things. TTFN
Florida was a lot of fun. Even though it rained a lot we did get to go to the beach for a short while. That was on Sunday. We nabbed L at her apartment and dragged her to the Tampa Aquarium with us since it was storming. It's a very nice aquarium with a lot of unusual sea life and awesome displays. When we left the aquarium we noticed the sun was out! BEACH TIME!!! We headed south! On the way to Clearwater, while crossing the bridge (FYI - I HATE THOSE FRIGGIN BRIDGES) L decides she wants to change into her suit...now. She has me pull off the main road onto a small access road that is literally FEET away from the water. I stop so she
can get her suit out of the trunk. While she's in the car changing I'm frantically digging through my beach bag for my suit. It's NOT there!!! A truck pulls up behind us, tries to go around, can't, stops, waits. I get in the car and E is holding up a shirt to give L some privacy while she changes into her suit top. A car pulls up behind us. Did I mention both cars were driven by males? They're both smirking as they watch us like they know what's going on. As I take off L notices the vehicles waiting behind us. She freaks out thinking they got a peek show! LOL
Now is as good a time as any to point out to L & E that I don't have my suit. DUH!!! I packed everything in my beach bag BUT a suit! We stop at a Target in Clearwater and I buy the only suit in my size and change in the restroom. At the beach the waves were big & choppy and the water was on the cooler side. That plus the wind was really a little too cold for L but she was a good sport about it and got in the water for a few minutes. Of course, she was paranoid about sharks, jellyfish and other assorted wildlife. Us ignorant tourists ignored the dangers that lie beneath the surf & sand and played in the waves without a care. We didn't stay long because it was getting windier and too cold for L.
The next day L had to work and we stayed at home mostly. We did go see L after work to say goodbye, then stopped at the mall for a little bit before heading back to Aunt J's house. The next morning it was time to leave *SIGH* Remember how I said I HATE the bridges? And remember I mentioned the rain? It was POURING when we left for the airport. Our flight departed at 11:25. We left at 8 AM to get to the St. Petersburg airport from Tampa. Three hours should be enough time, even in rush hour traffic. Rush hour, pouring rain, I don't know where the heck I'm going but I'm headed south and by some miracle I make it through the storms & traffic to the airport. I was AT THE FREAKING AIRPORT!!!!
Oh look! The rental car needs gas. We're WAY early so I head off to find a gas station. Find one, fill up, head back. OMG! All roads point north and where's the airport??? North means a bridge across the bay. Once on a bridge you are SCREWED if you're going the wrong way. Have to go all the way across the bridge to turn around. If I get on that bridge it will take an hour to get back across. I'm so paranoid that I keet going south away from the airport to avoid the bridge. I get "lost". I put that in quotes because I knew where I was...I just couldn't find the airport! I knew I needed to head north but I was terrified I'd get on that bridge. I had a map! I used it! I followed it! And can you believe it? I ended up on the @%#@$#%^@#^#$@ bridge going back to Tampa!!!!!! Thank all that's good & holy that rush hour was over. We got to the airport literally just in time to check our bags, grab some snacks from a machine, get through security and find gate 11. The St. Petersburg airport is small. No enclosed gates for exit/entry onto the planes. Just stairs...outside. In the POURING rain. YUK! The flight home was relaxing and we had a nice salad for lunch which I guess made up for making a mad dash to the plane through pouring rain.
Baggage claim #7. E's bag ended up missing in action. Ahhh...lost luggage! We waited around at the Circle Center mall for awhile but finally went home. The bag showed up at the airport around 7 PM. We have to go pick it up today. Then we get our dog back from J. I miss our poochie!!! It's nice to be home and it was good to sleep in my own bed. Sometimes I think coming home is the best part of vacation. On the other hand, I can't wait to go back!!!
Flight to Florida was nice. Florida is wonderful! Great to be here. Spent the first day relaxing and took a short trip to the mall. Fixed Aunt's computer (put XP on it!). Today E and I went to the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg, FL. Talk about WEIRD art! For a taste of Dali go here http://dali.karelia.ru/html/dali.htm Hit a speed trap on the way to the museum and got a ticket *sigh* but the cop was nice and didn't actually give me a speeding ticket. Just a violation, which was cheaper than the ticket. We hit rush hour traffic (which lasts longer than an hour) on the way back. Then we stopped by our friend, L's apartment and with J's help in calling L for us on the sly we figured out which apartment was L's. But by the time we found it, L had already gone to the pool. So we walked to the pool, found a resident who let us in the pool area and there was L, at the far end of the pool. The look on her face when she realized who we were was awesome!!! Her eyes got big and her mouth dropped open. She got out of the pool and gave me a big, soggy hug :-) If the weather is nice tomorrow we're going to the beach and taking L with us. Aunt J took us out to dinner tonight at a great seafood place. I'm in a post dinner stupor now...full and happy!
Here's a story! Here's hoping we don't get as much exposure as the people at that airport got!!!!
Oh for pity's sake! I'm supposed to be able to post to this thing through email. Not working!
A baby was scalded with hot coffee on an airline flight a few weeks ago. Now
we have hot coffee to worry about while flying.
I am sending out a resume today for a state job. Wish me luck!
A friend just reminded me that we DO have a beach in Indiana. Well, duh..
yes, we do. It's only a national lakeshore! I meant the ocean when I said
beach. Let's see her find an ocean in Indiana! ha!
I gave a friend a sick dog to take care of while I'm on vacation. I feel
horrible!!!! I'm a mean person...a bad dog mommie, a terrible friend. *sigh*
So...after I fix my Aunt's computer I'll make another bloggie post. TTFN!!!
I've been bitten by the Linux penguin! Days 2 & 3 have been 75% Linux. I've used Windows only for things I haven't quite figured out how to get working in Linux. I'm bummmed that .wma files won't play in Linux, meaning I'll have to convert all my .wma files to .mp3 files and reburn them to CD's which is irritating because I just used up my way cool "vinyl" blank CD's. They look like little records!!! And I can't get my CD writer to write in Linux nor can I get the wireless networking to work. Both minor problems since the word online is that those things should work...or have for other owners of the same computer.
Silly me! I forget that I should wear my glasses when using the computer a lot and then wonder why I get so sleepy! DUH!
Vacation time is almost here. I'm so broke in an "I can't afford to spend the money I have" way. It will work out...it will. Who needs to eat or buy gas for the rental?
And yes, I'm working in Linux right now...in case you were wondering. Oh, the job hunt. Well, with vacation in a few days and being gone for a week I'm putting that on hold until I get back unless someone gives me an awesome job lead that I can't pass up.
happy birthday to me, I'll be 40 in 6 days, I'll be 40 and unemployed, happy birthday to me!
Y'know, with all the other crap that's happened in the past 6 years...I really don't care! I think back to the divorce, the grandma funeral, the dad funeral, the "friend" from hell, to depression and back and now the job thing. It's nothing in comparison. Oh yeah, it'll be tight until I find something else but it could be worse.
Back to my Linuxverse where things like gimp, xmms, mounting drives, Konquerer, and other weird terms are becoming familiar.
I cleaned out my office today. There's a few things left but not much. It's all in my car now. I could tell it bothered people to see me clean it out. I didn't seem to care...I just focused on what I had to do. Besides, I didn't want to leave anything extra for the state to try & claim as theirs and take. At night, when I go to bed...that's when it hits me. That's when it gets to me. I'm not worried about finding another job or about paying bills. That will work out. What gets to me is leaving a place I enjoyed going to every day. I'll miss everyone. And I can't stand how the clients are being treated during this change. It's disgraceful. Makes me wish I didn't live in Indiana.
LINUX DAY ONE: I installed Mandrake Linux on my computer today. I tried it a few years ago and couldn't quite catch on to it. The newest version is much easier to use. I'm using it now. I still have to figure out how to get the wireless net to work on it but beyond that it seems to be working fine. It takes some getting used to though.
My dog won't stop whining! She's making me crazy! I wish there was a Border Collie version of Linux. Then maybe her OS wouldn't make that 'critical error' whining sound as often.
I need to go to bed. It's already tomorrow, which means this blog will not show up in the reality of my today but instead it will invade my if I want to post tomrrow when tomorrow really feels like today and today feels like yesterday.
I'm hungry! I hate that!
After giving my website address to all of my soon-to-be former co-workers I thought it might be nice to welcome all new visitors to my blog.
I post something new several times a week. The archives don't exactly work right. They should look the same as this page, but for some unknown reason the formatting is stripped away. Go figure.
You can add comments at the end of each of my posts.
For anyone who dares to come back to steal more peeks into my life and mind...look out. It's going to be a wild ride! Who knows what direction my life will take after July 30th :-)
A friend saw "Tattoos While You Wait " on a sign while on vacation. What the -? Is there any other way to get a tattoo??? Is the alternative a drive by tattooing? Today was exhausting. All the phone calls, the reactions, the clients, the heat, my office. It's different when something has a definite end to it. I look at everything I've collected in that little room and wonder how to fit it into life without my office. I'm still sorting it all out in my head, fitting this into my new definition of reality. And yes, I've worked on my resume, and no I haven't written a cover letter yet because how do I sell myself when I feel like I've been slammed into a brick wall? And just because it's over doesn't mean it stops. The clients still have problems to solve, needs to meet, questions to be answered so what is my role now? What do I do? I have "work" to do...tasks that need to be done before I leave. Decisions to make. Like what to do with my little plaque I got for being there 5 years? It hangs on my office wall and shouts to me, "5 YEARS", more as a symbol of an end than an accomplishment. And where am I going to put that stupid doll house now?! It's too big to put anywhere in the house! I'm trying to download Mandrake Linux. It's free. There's 3 disk images (translation=huge files) to download. Can I get them to download? NO! I'm about ready to buy...YES, buy a copy of the FREE download off of eBay. When I first saw people selling copies of the free version I thought anyone who bought it had to be a complete moron. NOPE. I've concluded that anyone who tries to download it is a complete moron! So, gotta go try to download it again... 
New look & added comments. Please comment
Life is exciting and adventuresome! As of the end of July I will be 40 years old and unemployed. One single parent out of work due to the funding carpet being yanked out from under my program. What a golden opportunity this is (or so everyone tells me). When one door closes, another one opens! Ok, I looked through this new open door and all I saw was a deep abyss. CAN I CLOSE THE DOOR NOW? I don't want to leave my friends, clients and comfy little office! Those in power at the agency were kind enough to give me 30 days notice even though the funding ended as of July 1st (and that's the day we found out too). I appreciate the extra time (and paychecks). I'd appreciate another JOB at the agency even more. Oh, but they did "rack their brains" to think of something else I could do. For what? 5 minutes? My termination letter was printed and signed long before I came into the office to find out what my supervisor need to discuss ASAP "in person" (on my sick day no less). And the clients? I don't want to talk about how they're being treated by the state. It hurts too much. I'll cry and short out my laptop keyboard and I can't afford to do that. I'm going to miss all of the clients and I wish them the very best.
I've noticed a pattern in my life. Every single time I allow myself to be happy with my life something bad happens. I'm turning into a cynical old fart. When I get old I will beat on people with my cane when they piss me off. I'll fart loudly in public and then claim it. I'll belch at the dinner table...constantly. I'll be sure to tell everyone about all that ails me. I'll turn into a reclusive, anti-social old bat and collect tons of junk. Then someone at Area IV will become my case manager and I will be their worst nightmare.
Lexapro don't fail me now!
 Last evening I went with JC and two of her friends to meet Janet Evanovich, author of the Stephanie Plum novels! We drove to Skokie, IL to a Barnes & Noble bookstore. The store was packed with people and they had a live band. Janet's daughter, Alex, gave us each some stickers and a keychain and we had our picture taken with Janet. They even had free samples of cheesecake! On our way home we stopped at a McDonalds for dinner. It was a fun evening full of laughter, silliness, cheesecake, books and friends. (Click on the little picture for a bigger view.) Check out Janet's website at www.evanovich.com
Someone snatched up niteflytes.com so I won't be getting that back any time soon.
The muscial my daughter was in was EXCELLENT and a lot of fun to see. Everyone involved worked really hard and it showed in the performances. Big thanks to TS who loaned me his video recorder! Mucho thanks to JC for help with makeup. Enormous thanks to my mom for spending the entire month at our house and taking E to her drama class and for all the trips to Subway and Walmart!!!! We couldn't have done this without mom's help! SP & family...glad you were able to make it to the performance on Saturday and for taking pics with my good camera. I can't wait to get them developed. Did I mention I took 3 cameras with me on Saturday? A digital, a 34mm SLR and a video camera! And just found out that TH made it to the Friday night show. She said she enjoyed the show and had a wonderful time. Thanks TH!
Now I get a break because mom's gone home and E is on vacation with her dad. So if I owe you something, such as a Bowie CD or a clarinet I will be working on getting those things in the mail this week.
Back to work now...
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