Well, good news! I'm not going to ramble on about the sadness of my so called job search for this blog. I'm just going to say that all is still the same!
Anyway, I'm home today because I have a meeting this afternoon at B's school to discuss the college search and application process. This should be interesting because this was not a service offered by the public high school, and it isn't one which I'm sure I need to utilize. Nevertheless, off I am set to go and just in the nick of time, as B is experiencing his traditional third quarter slump. His SAT scores should be available at the end of this week, and that information, combined with what I learn today, will help us plan our first real round of college visits. We have one scheduled for Monday at one of the state schools, and if I don't work Friday, we'll hit up another one or two then.
The 'big' news for M is that next week is her conference championship meet. We have the hotel booked but still haven't been told if we are going to be able to get in to watch. I'm not too bothered by this personally, as I also don't have a backup plan for B and the dogs so will probably have to go late to the meet anyway (as usual). Also with having these two extra cats it's not really ok to just leave the litterboxes for a few days (or a few hours at this rate ... sigh). Also, M is missing quite a bit of instruction and examination, which is alarming. I think this is one of the biggest downfalls of being a student-athlete. The practice time is something to which you have to adapt - but being pulled out of class for events is the worst.
And speaking of the pets - they are still hanging in here. I would love to have them find homes. I like them OK, despite their standoffishness, but they are just too many. If only I could figure out how to train them to use the toilet! And someone has been peeing outside of the box, and on the dog bed. Poor Abby is now down to no bed at all. So she decided she would sleep on ours! This morning, I ordered one of the camp cots for dogs. This way if it gets peed on, I can just clean it - she'll sleep on a comforter on top of it instead of a cedar dog bed that's ruined by a urinator. We've thrown out about four of them in the past few months. This went on even before the baby cats arrived.
And in other news, our house was egged over the weekend! We don't know if it was personal, maybe someone who knows B, as they're in the right age group for such antics. The majority of the slime covered his window; there was just one egg that dripped across the frame to the dining room and smeared its windows. Several drives around the blocks revealed two other crime scenes, and Kevin found an uprooted mailbox with a name and house number that were unfamiliar to this neighborhood. So we will probably never know the story. As for the parkers, they continue to park. One neighbor did speak to the one on the street the other day, but it turned out she just asked him not to park at the end of her driveway, which sent him further down the road. At least it gave me the opportunity to explain their presence. She doesn't mind them, but she has four kids of her own and the youngest just got her permit. However, it's not her yard that they're accessing to get to the school!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
parking wars
It's snowing! B is disappointed because it's not sticking to roads or even driveways and probably will not. It looks very pretty on the trees though, and on the lawn. Abby is excited to run in it although it's not that exciting when your paws sink to the frozen grass. Wilbur came right back inside! Luckily we had a nice long walk this morning.
So the job front festers. I had a (very long) interview yesterday but don't expect to hear anything for a couple of weeks. I also sent out several resumes but, as always, don't expect to hear much from them either. Even the sub jobs have dried up. I would have liked to work tomorrow, but I like to have the jobs lined up ahead of time so I know where I'm going and it ain't looking good for that.
Speaking of school - what a quandary. As most know, B walks to school. He has to cross a neighbor's private driveway and yard, for which he asked and was granted permission in the beginning of his high school career. The school provides parking for seniors and some juniors, but it's limited for the juniors. So as they begin to get their licenses, they try to find creative parking alternatives so that they can avoid being bused or driven by parents. One such new driver is in B's classes and discussed this issue, I suspect opportunistically, with B. B, ever the nice guy, offered the kid to park in front of our house. I told him that this might annoy the neighbors, but it would be OK if one car parked in our driveway.
The kid showed up the next day and the day after BUT ... the following day so did another car! And the car parked (of course) in the street. Then that kid brought another kid with him! So now instead of just B, we have THREE additional kids walking across the neighbor's yard to get to the school. Although I suppose technically we don't even have the right to offer the one, I guess I figured as long as he was in our driveway it wouldn't be a big deal. But now this other kid is coming every day, sometimes with his passenger. And the worst is that when B asked the first kid about it, he denied knowing who it was! And then when pressed (after I saw the three of them walking through the woods together) he said that the kid just "followed him."
I'm not too happy. B is worried that there will be repercussions if I say anything (for example, to the Principal at one of our monthly club meetings, which he always attends) so I'm trying to remain calm. I am sure that the school discourages this practice or we would have these parkers every year. Once we had one, and it lasted about a week before someone stuck a note on the car and he never came back. A friend of mine said she would take the cowardly way out and stick one on and not mention it to B. But we will see. I'd like to tell the kid - tell your friend to stop coming or you can park in the street too! It's legal to park there, but not to cross through the yards.
A lesson learned at PTA meetings: sit on your hands when they ask for volunteers. And don't open your mouth when someone says they have nowhere to park!
And in other news, the foster cats are now listed on the shelter's main page as adoptable. So maybe someone will call for them. Meanwhile, they can stay here for a bit longer. I really love the one, she has a great personality and it isn't like she is indiscriminate. It took her a month to warm up, so you know she means it. And they both come around often, even the shy one. And they're completely fearless of the dogs. They really settled right in.
So the job front festers. I had a (very long) interview yesterday but don't expect to hear anything for a couple of weeks. I also sent out several resumes but, as always, don't expect to hear much from them either. Even the sub jobs have dried up. I would have liked to work tomorrow, but I like to have the jobs lined up ahead of time so I know where I'm going and it ain't looking good for that.
Speaking of school - what a quandary. As most know, B walks to school. He has to cross a neighbor's private driveway and yard, for which he asked and was granted permission in the beginning of his high school career. The school provides parking for seniors and some juniors, but it's limited for the juniors. So as they begin to get their licenses, they try to find creative parking alternatives so that they can avoid being bused or driven by parents. One such new driver is in B's classes and discussed this issue, I suspect opportunistically, with B. B, ever the nice guy, offered the kid to park in front of our house. I told him that this might annoy the neighbors, but it would be OK if one car parked in our driveway.
The kid showed up the next day and the day after BUT ... the following day so did another car! And the car parked (of course) in the street. Then that kid brought another kid with him! So now instead of just B, we have THREE additional kids walking across the neighbor's yard to get to the school. Although I suppose technically we don't even have the right to offer the one, I guess I figured as long as he was in our driveway it wouldn't be a big deal. But now this other kid is coming every day, sometimes with his passenger. And the worst is that when B asked the first kid about it, he denied knowing who it was! And then when pressed (after I saw the three of them walking through the woods together) he said that the kid just "followed him."
I'm not too happy. B is worried that there will be repercussions if I say anything (for example, to the Principal at one of our monthly club meetings, which he always attends) so I'm trying to remain calm. I am sure that the school discourages this practice or we would have these parkers every year. Once we had one, and it lasted about a week before someone stuck a note on the car and he never came back. A friend of mine said she would take the cowardly way out and stick one on and not mention it to B. But we will see. I'd like to tell the kid - tell your friend to stop coming or you can park in the street too! It's legal to park there, but not to cross through the yards.
A lesson learned at PTA meetings: sit on your hands when they ask for volunteers. And don't open your mouth when someone says they have nowhere to park!
And in other news, the foster cats are now listed on the shelter's main page as adoptable. So maybe someone will call for them. Meanwhile, they can stay here for a bit longer. I really love the one, she has a great personality and it isn't like she is indiscriminate. It took her a month to warm up, so you know she means it. And they both come around often, even the shy one. And they're completely fearless of the dogs. They really settled right in.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
back to square one
Yep that's the story of my life these days: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Here I sit, in a house full of cats and dogs, worrying about my hair, and without the prospect of finding work. It would seem that the temp position is not going to pan out after all. I'm being passed over for a younger, cheaper (and probably better-looking!) in-house version. But it's really not that heartbreaking because although I enjoyed getting up and putting on outfits and feeling employed, this was an incredibly boring job. I didn't really do anything all day long. I'm sure the actual person does more than a temp, but I read through every file I could find, but physical and electronic, and couldn't really find much evidence of anything requiring too much effort. So in that respect, I won't complain.
On the other hand, it's a blow to the ego. And another 'headhunter' responded to my resume and spoke to me on the phone. She, as many others, is in the city and wants to meet me. But she was forward enough to say that she doesn't want me to come in just to see her. But she also said that it would be better if my background had been in fixed income instead of, er er, what was it again? That annoyed me so I said well, it was asset management, and in fact, it WAS fixed income. So I don't know if I'll bother to go and see her. I actually only sent the resume by mistake, I didn't realize until too late that she wasn't the actual company placing the ad.
As for my hair, I finally got myself in and used my Groupon for the hair straightening. It looked ok, although a little TOO straight and greasy. But then someone told me they saw a TV show on the perils of keratin and I googled and threw myself into a panic! This woman who discounted the treatment so steeply surely doesn't use a safer formulation! Although, she didn't seem too concerned about protecting even herself during the application. As soon as I read that, I washed my hair, even though it was 12 hours too soon. It still feels kind of coated and straight so I imagine my head is still filled with formaldehyde. I guess the best I can do for now is wash it on a regular schedule and never do it again!! I did have burning eyes and a burning head, but that had begun strangely the morning of the treatment, so I know that it was caused by something else.
The little cats are starting to take over the house and I really have to think about getting them back to the shelter. It's such a Catch-22. You're supposed to make them more endearing to people so people will want to adopt them, but then they start to grow on you and you don't want to give them back! I'd like to time it so they go right into a good situation (not a smelly scary cage in the back but one of the nice digs up front where people can see them) and right out into a home. I guess this week I'll speak to the shelter about it. Five cats is just too many and they're tearing up everything! Plus, Wilbur keeps eating their kitten food.
And in other news, B got his midterm results back and, while better than past years, a couple of grades were disappointing. I always hope that he will learn from these experiences, but still, time after time, there he is locked in his room for a week before, trying to cram everything in that he should have been outlining and studying all along. He's also taking the SATs this weekend - going in sort of blindly because he had to study for midterms and didn't have time to prep, but I just wanted to know his true starting point. We're going to have to pay for one of those pricey prep places, so I'd like to know just how much improvement needs to be made, and in which areas.
As for me, I guess it's back to resume-bombing the job sites. The postings have been slow lately, which is a bit alarming. I took a sub job yesterday, figuring I've already blown the unemployment with the temp job; I'm not sure if I will have trouble extending benefits if I haven't found anything by 26 weeks. I had a nice day at the school. It's hard work trying to get an obstinate kindergartener to forsake fire trucks in favor of a math worksheet, but it's also a good environment and I received a warm welcome from all, so it was nice to feel appreciated. I'll keep an eye out for more jobs...in fact this same one should be posted regularly, but it requires ninja-job-snatching abilities to snare it; not sure how I got it in the first place, just a fluke, I guess! I'm beginning to regret taking the two week temp job, although it will help pay the Christmas bills. But had I not, I think I would have been offered a part time insurance job, and I would have had flexibility and income - albeit meager.
On the other hand, it's a blow to the ego. And another 'headhunter' responded to my resume and spoke to me on the phone. She, as many others, is in the city and wants to meet me. But she was forward enough to say that she doesn't want me to come in just to see her. But she also said that it would be better if my background had been in fixed income instead of, er er, what was it again? That annoyed me so I said well, it was asset management, and in fact, it WAS fixed income. So I don't know if I'll bother to go and see her. I actually only sent the resume by mistake, I didn't realize until too late that she wasn't the actual company placing the ad.
As for my hair, I finally got myself in and used my Groupon for the hair straightening. It looked ok, although a little TOO straight and greasy. But then someone told me they saw a TV show on the perils of keratin and I googled and threw myself into a panic! This woman who discounted the treatment so steeply surely doesn't use a safer formulation! Although, she didn't seem too concerned about protecting even herself during the application. As soon as I read that, I washed my hair, even though it was 12 hours too soon. It still feels kind of coated and straight so I imagine my head is still filled with formaldehyde. I guess the best I can do for now is wash it on a regular schedule and never do it again!! I did have burning eyes and a burning head, but that had begun strangely the morning of the treatment, so I know that it was caused by something else.
The little cats are starting to take over the house and I really have to think about getting them back to the shelter. It's such a Catch-22. You're supposed to make them more endearing to people so people will want to adopt them, but then they start to grow on you and you don't want to give them back! I'd like to time it so they go right into a good situation (not a smelly scary cage in the back but one of the nice digs up front where people can see them) and right out into a home. I guess this week I'll speak to the shelter about it. Five cats is just too many and they're tearing up everything! Plus, Wilbur keeps eating their kitten food.
And in other news, B got his midterm results back and, while better than past years, a couple of grades were disappointing. I always hope that he will learn from these experiences, but still, time after time, there he is locked in his room for a week before, trying to cram everything in that he should have been outlining and studying all along. He's also taking the SATs this weekend - going in sort of blindly because he had to study for midterms and didn't have time to prep, but I just wanted to know his true starting point. We're going to have to pay for one of those pricey prep places, so I'd like to know just how much improvement needs to be made, and in which areas.
As for me, I guess it's back to resume-bombing the job sites. The postings have been slow lately, which is a bit alarming. I took a sub job yesterday, figuring I've already blown the unemployment with the temp job; I'm not sure if I will have trouble extending benefits if I haven't found anything by 26 weeks. I had a nice day at the school. It's hard work trying to get an obstinate kindergartener to forsake fire trucks in favor of a math worksheet, but it's also a good environment and I received a warm welcome from all, so it was nice to feel appreciated. I'll keep an eye out for more jobs...in fact this same one should be posted regularly, but it requires ninja-job-snatching abilities to snare it; not sure how I got it in the first place, just a fluke, I guess! I'm beginning to regret taking the two week temp job, although it will help pay the Christmas bills. But had I not, I think I would have been offered a part time insurance job, and I would have had flexibility and income - albeit meager.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
2012, here i come
So the official start to my year is tomorrow. My two week temp job begins! I will be working true full time hours for the first time since before B was born, so over 16 years! Luckily I was somewhat broken in with my 36 hour work weeks, but even that ended at the end of October. So I am a little nervous and a little excited. I hope that it works out and there will be the potential to turn this into a permanent position, but I don't really want to say anything and jinx any likelihood!
Also back to 2012 tomorrow is M. Back from their training trip in places warm and exotic, the team is settled into their dorms and ready to start classes tomorrow! We will head down to watch a meet next weekend, and after that we don't expect to see her until spring break in March. She did finish out the last semester with a reasonably impressive GPA although the shock of anatomy and one of the other speech curriculum courses kept her off the Dean's List by a fraction of a percentage. And we thought that only happened in the pool!
B is winding down the first half of the year and allegedly studying hard for finals. His GPA remains in satisfactory standing but he's had a few stumbles recently and he needs to get himself back on track. Unfortunately, the mock trial competition in which he had been assigned a part falls on days 1 and 2 of his three days of midterms, so he's probably going to back out of the competition. I think he could probably swing it, but I can't force him and he is not historically one for efficient time management, so if he feels he needs those evenings to cram, he will have to use them. His favorite school club is stage crew anyway, so he'll probably just stick with that; they just started preparing for the musical.
And Kevin is, as usual, status quo. He just completed his own staff reviews and now awaits news of the new year's compensation. Hopefully the news will be good; he just passed by in the hall on his way to complete the FAFSA!
And in other news, the baby cats remain. The less shy one with the one eye is having a ball. She gets a little skittish but I think she is more independent (and also partly blind) than she is being unfriendly. The other is still pretty scared and anti-human, but she is appreciative of her meals. Unfortunately they don't seem to agree with her delicate constitution lately so I'm going to have to rethink her diet. They've had a much broader run of the house the past couple of days with long periods of time loose in the family room. I think the older of the two has developed a crush on our Rusty, and it may not be unrequited!
Also back to 2012 tomorrow is M. Back from their training trip in places warm and exotic, the team is settled into their dorms and ready to start classes tomorrow! We will head down to watch a meet next weekend, and after that we don't expect to see her until spring break in March. She did finish out the last semester with a reasonably impressive GPA although the shock of anatomy and one of the other speech curriculum courses kept her off the Dean's List by a fraction of a percentage. And we thought that only happened in the pool!
B is winding down the first half of the year and allegedly studying hard for finals. His GPA remains in satisfactory standing but he's had a few stumbles recently and he needs to get himself back on track. Unfortunately, the mock trial competition in which he had been assigned a part falls on days 1 and 2 of his three days of midterms, so he's probably going to back out of the competition. I think he could probably swing it, but I can't force him and he is not historically one for efficient time management, so if he feels he needs those evenings to cram, he will have to use them. His favorite school club is stage crew anyway, so he'll probably just stick with that; they just started preparing for the musical.
And Kevin is, as usual, status quo. He just completed his own staff reviews and now awaits news of the new year's compensation. Hopefully the news will be good; he just passed by in the hall on his way to complete the FAFSA!
And in other news, the baby cats remain. The less shy one with the one eye is having a ball. She gets a little skittish but I think she is more independent (and also partly blind) than she is being unfriendly. The other is still pretty scared and anti-human, but she is appreciative of her meals. Unfortunately they don't seem to agree with her delicate constitution lately so I'm going to have to rethink her diet. They've had a much broader run of the house the past couple of days with long periods of time loose in the family room. I think the older of the two has developed a crush on our Rusty, and it may not be unrequited!
Friday, December 30, 2011
closing out the books
The year is a wrap. Two more days and it will be 2012. I have a feeling that my days at home are winding down but that may just be a fantasy brought on by the flurry of interest I have had in my resume this last couple of weeks, and it could all fizzle out and end in my two week temp assignment actually ending in two weeks.
As far as that goes - nothing has come of the three interviews but I'm not surprised. The first and most appealing was with the office that moves extremely slowly. While I thought I was part of a second search because it had been so long since I'd been told "if you don't hear from us by next Friday you won't be hearing at all," the term 'next Friday', to them, was apparently a rough estimation (as in, x4 what we really say.) So although she said they hoped to bring some people back for a long interview in their office, she also said it would be before January. Which means today, and I haven't heard. But this time I don't know if I should count myself out or not. It seemed like a nice enough place to work, but the drive is one hour on a good day.
The other two interviews, both doing what I did in my last job, went OK. One is a long commute and I still have reservations about the circumstances, but the other was only part time and didn't pay even what I was making when I started the last job, still working for the temp agency. Also, he needed someone to start immediately and I won't be available until, at the earliest, the 23rd of January.
Which brings me to the latest job search news. The position I will be taking for two weeks showed up on the real job board! I always monitor this board and apply for everything that doesn't disqualify me with the posted required skills. So just this morning, I got an email and an interview! I am most excited about this, but try not to be, because it would be incredibly awkward if I don't get picked, and will be in the office for two weeks! I am going to buy some new shoes to replace the ones Abby ate, and I am getting my hair cut today too.
And in other news, I have two little foster kitties upstairs in the bathroom. After a big mixup where B and I showed up to pick up a pair, the pair we had come for were found to be too sick to leave. Instead we got two girls, and one is terrified. The other, a one eyed cat with seemingly impaired vision in her other eye, is sweeter, but also a bit unsure. The little one hisses and panics when you try to pick her up, but we are working on it. They're living in the bathroom for now, and will probably stay until they need to go back to the shelter. There is no way the little one would be adopted with her current temperament, poor little thing. M is off on her travels to warm and exotic places, and B spent the night out at a friend's. Kevin, the lucky guy, is on vacation for the rest of the year!
As far as that goes - nothing has come of the three interviews but I'm not surprised. The first and most appealing was with the office that moves extremely slowly. While I thought I was part of a second search because it had been so long since I'd been told "if you don't hear from us by next Friday you won't be hearing at all," the term 'next Friday', to them, was apparently a rough estimation (as in, x4 what we really say.) So although she said they hoped to bring some people back for a long interview in their office, she also said it would be before January. Which means today, and I haven't heard. But this time I don't know if I should count myself out or not. It seemed like a nice enough place to work, but the drive is one hour on a good day.
The other two interviews, both doing what I did in my last job, went OK. One is a long commute and I still have reservations about the circumstances, but the other was only part time and didn't pay even what I was making when I started the last job, still working for the temp agency. Also, he needed someone to start immediately and I won't be available until, at the earliest, the 23rd of January.
Which brings me to the latest job search news. The position I will be taking for two weeks showed up on the real job board! I always monitor this board and apply for everything that doesn't disqualify me with the posted required skills. So just this morning, I got an email and an interview! I am most excited about this, but try not to be, because it would be incredibly awkward if I don't get picked, and will be in the office for two weeks! I am going to buy some new shoes to replace the ones Abby ate, and I am getting my hair cut today too.
And in other news, I have two little foster kitties upstairs in the bathroom. After a big mixup where B and I showed up to pick up a pair, the pair we had come for were found to be too sick to leave. Instead we got two girls, and one is terrified. The other, a one eyed cat with seemingly impaired vision in her other eye, is sweeter, but also a bit unsure. The little one hisses and panics when you try to pick her up, but we are working on it. They're living in the bathroom for now, and will probably stay until they need to go back to the shelter. There is no way the little one would be adopted with her current temperament, poor little thing. M is off on her travels to warm and exotic places, and B spent the night out at a friend's. Kevin, the lucky guy, is on vacation for the rest of the year!
Monday, December 19, 2011
from famine to feast
the week before Christmas?? I can't believe the news held in this post.
So this morning I woke up like so many other mornings, thinking, 'why do I even have to get up so early?' and then remembering that B needs a lunch and my pets will all be demanding their various attentions. So I dragged myself down, made coffee and fed dry food to all (the cats don't like when I do this, I tell them the lions are fasting today, based on an old sign in the zoo that said that the lions fasted one day a week) since I ran out of wet food yesterday.
I had promised to stop in at the temp agency and show proof of who I am as well as my face in person to the rep who is placing me in an assignment for two weeks in mid-January. First, I made an appointment for my two little cats to get their shots updated tomorrow morning (there has been rabies in the news in town!!) and called the unemployment office to reschedule my final 'workshop' appointment, which falls in the midst of my two week assignment.
As I pulled into the agency's parking lot, I checked my phone for the first time today. Thinking this week and next should be pretty slow, I'm not really in hyper-job search mode, and in the spirit of the tone of the previous post, I am inclined to temporarily direct my thoughts elsewhere. But there was a message! I played it, and it's from an ad I answered in yesterday's paper. Again, a job much like the one I just lost, but this one is part-time and local, right around the corner from my former office. I put the phone away for the moment, and went in to the agency offices.
We made some small talk, mostly about the puppies who have been in the news, and then sat down to business.While we were talking, my phone rang again. I checked and the area code was from the southern part of the state. Hmm, thought I. So I hit the red phone to make the ringing stop. The rep told me that I have to schedule a medical for this job (it's in a hospital and even temps need clearance) and we wrapped things up. I went out to my car and played the other message: it was the job I was sure I had blown when I blithered like a fool during my first-ever-phone-interview!! And she wants me to come in. This is the one of which I was told "if you don't hear from us by the end of next week, you are not selected to come in." Hmm, I thought.
So I returned both calls and now I have three interviews. The one from the post prior to this one, which is the job in the city. I'm very much on the fence on this one for several reasons, not the least of which being the location. But there are some other red flags as well. However, probably a good idea to go on as many interviews as possible, and one never knows what the real chemistry will be like without a face-to-face meeting. Tomorrow, I will take the little cats for their vax's and then come home and dress to impress at the non-profit, affiliated with a major university (for now) and head out there for a 1pm meeting.
The would-be employer was anxious to set this up so I imagine her top picks didn't pan out, for whatever reason. Either they were just more skilled at the the art of the telephone interview than I, or the job has less to offer than the process to hire would justify. But the problem to me now is that I am committed to a temp job two weeks in the future, and I will be there for two weeks. I won't be available for work until after the 20th of January! Of course I can always back out but I hate to do that; so we will see.
Finally, I have set up a meeting at the other office for Thursday afternoon, which falls right after the luncheon at my old office, which I will now be able to attend. That job is part time and may not pay well. But it allows me to keep the flexibility I have enjoyed for the past two years and may not be quite ready to give up. Three very different options, and the variables of the temp job and the appointment at the unemployment office which I am trying to reschedule. If they dispute my claim because I didn't go to the appointment due to a temp job, I will be most unhappy (I'm going to have to suspend the claim for those two weeks anyway, even if I don't find a job - because the hours are full time).
Oh well I do feel as if I ramble so I'll just move on to other news. I can't believe it's just six days till Christmas. So much is going on this week, it's very exciting. B is trying to stay focused in school, somewhat unsuccessfully. I'm trying to catch up on laundry and groceries, also somewhat unsuccessfully. And Wilbur and Abby had their baths yesterday. Abby must have been terribly disturbed by the bows they put on her head and the way her back hair is curly (and she looks plump!!) because while we were out at a party, she ate another string of lights off the Christmas tree!! :-O I fed her a giant piece of Italian bread which she devoured and seems to have passed this morning, but devoid of shards of glass. I think she mainly chews and spits rather than actually ingests all these things that she destroys in the house.
So this morning I woke up like so many other mornings, thinking, 'why do I even have to get up so early?' and then remembering that B needs a lunch and my pets will all be demanding their various attentions. So I dragged myself down, made coffee and fed dry food to all (the cats don't like when I do this, I tell them the lions are fasting today, based on an old sign in the zoo that said that the lions fasted one day a week) since I ran out of wet food yesterday.
I had promised to stop in at the temp agency and show proof of who I am as well as my face in person to the rep who is placing me in an assignment for two weeks in mid-January. First, I made an appointment for my two little cats to get their shots updated tomorrow morning (there has been rabies in the news in town!!) and called the unemployment office to reschedule my final 'workshop' appointment, which falls in the midst of my two week assignment.
As I pulled into the agency's parking lot, I checked my phone for the first time today. Thinking this week and next should be pretty slow, I'm not really in hyper-job search mode, and in the spirit of the tone of the previous post, I am inclined to temporarily direct my thoughts elsewhere. But there was a message! I played it, and it's from an ad I answered in yesterday's paper. Again, a job much like the one I just lost, but this one is part-time and local, right around the corner from my former office. I put the phone away for the moment, and went in to the agency offices.
We made some small talk, mostly about the puppies who have been in the news, and then sat down to business.While we were talking, my phone rang again. I checked and the area code was from the southern part of the state. Hmm, thought I. So I hit the red phone to make the ringing stop. The rep told me that I have to schedule a medical for this job (it's in a hospital and even temps need clearance) and we wrapped things up. I went out to my car and played the other message: it was the job I was sure I had blown when I blithered like a fool during my first-ever-phone-interview!! And she wants me to come in. This is the one of which I was told "if you don't hear from us by the end of next week, you are not selected to come in." Hmm, I thought.
So I returned both calls and now I have three interviews. The one from the post prior to this one, which is the job in the city. I'm very much on the fence on this one for several reasons, not the least of which being the location. But there are some other red flags as well. However, probably a good idea to go on as many interviews as possible, and one never knows what the real chemistry will be like without a face-to-face meeting. Tomorrow, I will take the little cats for their vax's and then come home and dress to impress at the non-profit, affiliated with a major university (for now) and head out there for a 1pm meeting.
The would-be employer was anxious to set this up so I imagine her top picks didn't pan out, for whatever reason. Either they were just more skilled at the the art of the telephone interview than I, or the job has less to offer than the process to hire would justify. But the problem to me now is that I am committed to a temp job two weeks in the future, and I will be there for two weeks. I won't be available for work until after the 20th of January! Of course I can always back out but I hate to do that; so we will see.
Finally, I have set up a meeting at the other office for Thursday afternoon, which falls right after the luncheon at my old office, which I will now be able to attend. That job is part time and may not pay well. But it allows me to keep the flexibility I have enjoyed for the past two years and may not be quite ready to give up. Three very different options, and the variables of the temp job and the appointment at the unemployment office which I am trying to reschedule. If they dispute my claim because I didn't go to the appointment due to a temp job, I will be most unhappy (I'm going to have to suspend the claim for those two weeks anyway, even if I don't find a job - because the hours are full time).
Oh well I do feel as if I ramble so I'll just move on to other news. I can't believe it's just six days till Christmas. So much is going on this week, it's very exciting. B is trying to stay focused in school, somewhat unsuccessfully. I'm trying to catch up on laundry and groceries, also somewhat unsuccessfully. And Wilbur and Abby had their baths yesterday. Abby must have been terribly disturbed by the bows they put on her head and the way her back hair is curly (and she looks plump!!) because while we were out at a party, she ate another string of lights off the Christmas tree!! :-O I fed her a giant piece of Italian bread which she devoured and seems to have passed this morning, but devoid of shards of glass. I think she mainly chews and spits rather than actually ingests all these things that she destroys in the house.
Friday, December 16, 2011
holiday hullabaloo!
M is home!! She is back!! All is well. The flight landed without incident and her bag was second off the belt. She had been upgraded somehow to first class, and was at the baggage claim before I even finished my Dunkin coffee, and before the hot chocolate I had purchased for her had cooled enough not to singe her flesh on the first sip.
It won't be a long visit, though...and we don't have much planned. She will have to swim with her old team to stay in shape for the upcoming college training trip. I am sorry she doesn't have a job that will allow her to pick up a few hours here and there while she is home. Too bad the neighbors haven't asked her to babysit during the week.
So tonight is Kevin's office party. He hasn't gone in years, because it's historically fallen on the weekend of the big USA Swimming meet for the age group swimmers. So this year, when we don't have an age group swimmer, the meet was last weekend! I took M and B out to the new Bonefish Grill in town tonight. It was quite good, but it's never cheap (especially not since B discovered a love for filet mignon). Which brings me to a tipping rant. I can order a $15 glass of wine (or two) or a $5 glass (or two). The waitress brings the drink after a 20 minute wait. I have to tip three times as much for her to carry the more expensive glass over? WHY? Is it because I'm drunker then and don't know the difference? Same for the $20 filet vs. the $13 salmon. What is the point? the Europeans have got it right. Tips are unnecessary. Pay the servers realistically and let's be done with it. Factor it into the cost of food. We'll all be happy.
Anyway, I have reason to drink. The job search is enough to drive me crazy. I enjoy the time at home, I love my dog with his three dot face (two black eyes and a black nose) and the crazy new one who gets so excited at the silliest of things. The cats mostly don't care, or you think they don't, until you notice they are all gathered in the same room when you're just sitting around. But the thing is this: I have been rejected yet again. I do believe it's because the timing and circumstances were not right, and the truth is, I didn't want the job anyway. It was temporary, far away, and it interfered with my holidays. But the fact remains: I have been rejected yet again.
So then what happens? Another temp job dangled. I agreed to be submitted. And I didn't hear a thing! But then...I submitted a resume for an ad online in NYC and got called on it! So now I am going in for an interview for this on Wednesday. I had to lie to the job service to even be able to submit my resume. They wanted 3-5 years' experience and I have a mere 1.5 in this field. But I did make my apologies for this in the cover letter and I guess that sufficed, because while I was petting cats and gaping at the puppy line at the SPCA, I got a call. But the Pandora's box is open again: to commute or not to commute. Indeed, it's where the money is. It's where the energy is. It's where the fun is. But the thing is, it's just not where the three dot face is.
And in other news, M completed the decorating of the Christmas tree! But true to her heritage, not a box was put away. I guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow! Which reminds me, I'd better go and make her bed. I had to wash the sheets to get the cat hair off of them.
It won't be a long visit, though...and we don't have much planned. She will have to swim with her old team to stay in shape for the upcoming college training trip. I am sorry she doesn't have a job that will allow her to pick up a few hours here and there while she is home. Too bad the neighbors haven't asked her to babysit during the week.
So tonight is Kevin's office party. He hasn't gone in years, because it's historically fallen on the weekend of the big USA Swimming meet for the age group swimmers. So this year, when we don't have an age group swimmer, the meet was last weekend! I took M and B out to the new Bonefish Grill in town tonight. It was quite good, but it's never cheap (especially not since B discovered a love for filet mignon). Which brings me to a tipping rant. I can order a $15 glass of wine (or two) or a $5 glass (or two). The waitress brings the drink after a 20 minute wait. I have to tip three times as much for her to carry the more expensive glass over? WHY? Is it because I'm drunker then and don't know the difference? Same for the $20 filet vs. the $13 salmon. What is the point? the Europeans have got it right. Tips are unnecessary. Pay the servers realistically and let's be done with it. Factor it into the cost of food. We'll all be happy.
Anyway, I have reason to drink. The job search is enough to drive me crazy. I enjoy the time at home, I love my dog with his three dot face (two black eyes and a black nose) and the crazy new one who gets so excited at the silliest of things. The cats mostly don't care, or you think they don't, until you notice they are all gathered in the same room when you're just sitting around. But the thing is this: I have been rejected yet again. I do believe it's because the timing and circumstances were not right, and the truth is, I didn't want the job anyway. It was temporary, far away, and it interfered with my holidays. But the fact remains: I have been rejected yet again.
So then what happens? Another temp job dangled. I agreed to be submitted. And I didn't hear a thing! But then...I submitted a resume for an ad online in NYC and got called on it! So now I am going in for an interview for this on Wednesday. I had to lie to the job service to even be able to submit my resume. They wanted 3-5 years' experience and I have a mere 1.5 in this field. But I did make my apologies for this in the cover letter and I guess that sufficed, because while I was petting cats and gaping at the puppy line at the SPCA, I got a call. But the Pandora's box is open again: to commute or not to commute. Indeed, it's where the money is. It's where the energy is. It's where the fun is. But the thing is, it's just not where the three dot face is.
And in other news, M completed the decorating of the Christmas tree! But true to her heritage, not a box was put away. I guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow! Which reminds me, I'd better go and make her bed. I had to wash the sheets to get the cat hair off of them.
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