Well, this is becoming a weekly column for me instead of a blog! The week just went by so quickly. I always feel like it's dragging on Tuesdays and then it's Wednesday and there are just two days left, and before I know it, it's Friday and the weekend again! This is moving too fast!
And so I am officially employed. I don't know how I'll be paid, I have to set that up myself, but I'm no longer a temp. I have a job! Time will tell how it will play out, well for all, I hope. For the summer, the conditions will remain relatively unchanged but beyond that, I guess it depends on the way things go over the next three months or so.
Megan as well is going to be gainfully employed. She had her meeting yesterday, so she'll have about a week of training and then shadow someone for several days. She might take on a side assignment, working with the younger kids, that will be fun for her. They have a huge competition, though, held where she will be working, on the last day of her big summer meet. So we'll have to see about that too. Obviously she will have to miss something, whether it be the last day of the meet, or the tournament. More unknowns.
Brian is in the home stretch of his finals prep and I'm quite concerned with the volume of material he has to review, and how long it takes him to do everything. He likes to talk about what he is going to do and then take too long to do it all. Writing seems to elude him. I think sometimes he thinks too hard about what he thinks the answer is rather than just writing what he really thinks.
Incidentally, I read Megan's SAT essay on the website, and I see she actually did something similar. Although well written, she skirted the issue a few times, while it seemed like she was trying to wow them with her history knowledge or her use of famous quotes, as if she had been told this would bring her a better rating. However, by doing this, she wasn't able to effectively answer the question, which was, do you believe small decisions can have a larger impact in the long run, or something like that. She could have written a top-rated essay if she had talked about something like her first decision to be on a swim team at age 5 in the summer, and where that has led her today, but instead she chose to write about the Puritans decision to form their own church and how it led them to America. An OK response, but it ended up sounding more like she was trying to showcase than really answering the question.
Anyway, I am rambling. I got up early to go to the last church service preached by the pastor and I didn't even go. Someone had said to me that it would be very crowded, and it was only being held in the small hot church. They were having a building dedication afterward, but I missed that too! So now I'm making sure Brian gets started on his work, and then I think I'll ride out to see if I can find a place to park to watch Megan swim in the end of this brutal race. She has opted to swim the 2 miles although 1 was an alternative. Kevin got her a wetsuit, so I'm curious to see how she likes it. Her coach lent her his wife's last year, which he had accidentally thrown into the bag instead of his own.
And in other news, today is a beautiful day. Kevin embarks upon his Danish journey this evening, so we will be a one-parent household for the week. Megan will probably want to spend some time at the beach club today or tomorrow, and Brian will be locked into this studying for the rest of the weekend. Yesterday they spent the whole day volunteering at a fundraiser, so he got barely anything done. Just that he spent four hours working on an essay about a short poem about a man who shoos away a bird and then regrets it.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
is it sunday already...?
Well time flies when you work every single day, doesn't it? In theory, I am feeling a little panicky about it because I have committed my life away. However, in practice, when I get there, I feel pretty happy, mostly the people are nice and it's a pleasant place to be. And although I do look at the clock (who doesn't?) it's never the way it was on some days in the schools when I couldn't wait for that last half hour to go by. So that is a pretty good sign, despite the paltry pay I receive for my services. Which will hopefully not be forever. And I am home by early afternoon. And I have a regular weekly paycheck, for a predictable amount each time.
Today is the day we say farewell to our pastor, who is leaving the church after 20 years. Megan and I have put together a bunch of photos and a clip of him speaking into a video to show after the service. Both kids are carrying 'kites' into the church and then we have a brunch afterward. Brian is bogged down with work for his final weeks and final exams, but he's going to be unable to miss this day. He only has two more weeks of school before his finals. Megan has until the end of the month.
Speaking of Megan, there is still no word on either of the jobs for which she applied, but we know that so far, at least for one, that doesn't mean she didn't get it. I'm pretty sure the town isn't going to hire her to guard (their loss) but they may hire her as an assistant coach, they needed more kids to sign up before they were going to add more coaches. Allegedly.
Yesterday I took her driving out on the parkway. I realized that her birthday and her road test are just around the corner and she has almost no highway driving experience. Most of her driving has been on local two-lane roads, so there isn't even a lane to change into. She does have experience driving in stop and go traffic with stop signs and traffic lights and pedestrians, but nothing at high speeds. So that was a little harrowing but we made it. We're going to have to do it more often now, that's the only way she will get used to it. And I really hope they repeal that orange sticker part of Kyleigh's law!
And in other news, it's the holiday weekend just next weekend!!! We were down at the beach yesterday for the team practice, and drove by our beach club on the way home. This was a quick winter, I guess because of all the working and work-seeking that went on!! And Kevin continues to recover, he is now taking an NSAID for his shoulder as prescribed by the ortho and he says it hurts a lot less. He started PT for it, and is signed up for two weeks to start.
He also went to his new regular doctor (after the other left amidst a shameful illegal steroid scandal) and found out his cholesterol is higher than ever. He independently decided to lower the dose of one of the vitamins because on the bottle it recommended half of what he was taking. So now he has to go back to the higher dose and go back in six months for another test. Something was a little out of whack with the thyroid, to, but the doctor said to retest that in six months as well.
Today is the day we say farewell to our pastor, who is leaving the church after 20 years. Megan and I have put together a bunch of photos and a clip of him speaking into a video to show after the service. Both kids are carrying 'kites' into the church and then we have a brunch afterward. Brian is bogged down with work for his final weeks and final exams, but he's going to be unable to miss this day. He only has two more weeks of school before his finals. Megan has until the end of the month.
Speaking of Megan, there is still no word on either of the jobs for which she applied, but we know that so far, at least for one, that doesn't mean she didn't get it. I'm pretty sure the town isn't going to hire her to guard (their loss) but they may hire her as an assistant coach, they needed more kids to sign up before they were going to add more coaches. Allegedly.
Yesterday I took her driving out on the parkway. I realized that her birthday and her road test are just around the corner and she has almost no highway driving experience. Most of her driving has been on local two-lane roads, so there isn't even a lane to change into. She does have experience driving in stop and go traffic with stop signs and traffic lights and pedestrians, but nothing at high speeds. So that was a little harrowing but we made it. We're going to have to do it more often now, that's the only way she will get used to it. And I really hope they repeal that orange sticker part of Kyleigh's law!
And in other news, it's the holiday weekend just next weekend!!! We were down at the beach yesterday for the team practice, and drove by our beach club on the way home. This was a quick winter, I guess because of all the working and work-seeking that went on!! And Kevin continues to recover, he is now taking an NSAID for his shoulder as prescribed by the ortho and he says it hurts a lot less. He started PT for it, and is signed up for two weeks to start.
He also went to his new regular doctor (after the other left amidst a shameful illegal steroid scandal) and found out his cholesterol is higher than ever. He independently decided to lower the dose of one of the vitamins because on the bottle it recommended half of what he was taking. So now he has to go back to the higher dose and go back in six months for another test. Something was a little out of whack with the thyroid, to, but the doctor said to retest that in six months as well.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
stupid is as stupid does
So the total cost of my overdraft debacle: $65. I got more notices and went to the branch and had to confess that I never read anything they send me, so I didn't see the notice that said that they were adding the automatic overdraft. I was actually really mad but I did make a mistake so there wasn't much I could do. I was asking them for the credits in good faith but I was also prepared to vote with my feet. Most of our money is in Chase anyway, and Td is small pickins next to them, so I could have closed that account and just opened more at Chase, where they'd all be connected anyway. I didn't like the woman who credited me back $70 but not another $35 yesterday at the branch, though. She was bordering on condescending, but she did give me the $70 or I would have closed the account on the spot, online banking or not!
Anyway, work has been crazy. I have the voice of the woman from the agency in my mind telling me I am doing a lot of work for what they are paying me, which is true. If this remains the case after the summer I'll have to think about things. I've also heard many have come and gone before me. I felt very stupid and useless today but then things picked up and I helped to solve some problems so I felt better. None of what I have been doing is anything I'm particularly fond of or good at, so I've been having to try really hard to understand things (like administrative documentation issues). But all of this has to be done, and I have to get it out of the way before I can move on to the things that I think I might actually enjoy doing. And there are still mysterious goings-on that I don't understand.
But to summarize the weekend, the dogs were groomed by a new groomer and I love her. She opened a new shop that I saw once from the car wash and, desperate for a new person, I googled her and found all good reviews. So I made an appointment and she exceeded my expectations. She took the two dogs in and had them for nearly four hours. When we picked them up, Molly was walking around and Wilbur was sitting on the couch with the assistant, watching TV. He looked happy as could be. Much different from anywhere I have ever been. I will definitely go back, and I recommended her to the Doll as well.
And then there was Kevin, and his separated shoulder. At the hospital, of course they had to give him heavy medications just to get him to relax so they would be able to put it back in. So they got it in without incident; we thought an ortho doc did it but it turns out the ortho docs didn't even answer the page and the ER doc just did it. So they told Kevin to follow up with an ortho and he called the one they sent him to 14 years ago, the last time this happened, and their nasty rude receptionist did their usual "we don't take your insurance, and no ER doc would do that, our doctors probably won't even want to see you" routine (don't know how this group stays in business, their front desk staff is so rude).
Kevin checked with the ER and it was in fact the ER doc who did. He ended up getting an appointment for Thursday with the doctor E saw when she broke her collarbone, the one who didn't want to do surgery. So he was very nice and I really liked him and their staff is wonderful too. All he should need, hopefully, is some exercises and reassurance that he will be able to keep the shoulder in place without any sort of surgical reinforcement.
And that was that. So Brian, after giving me high anxiety (and himself, too, it takes the form of stomach problems with him now) has gotten three B's today: biology, religion, and math. In English, the class he is failing, he said he had done his homework and Sunday at 10:00 PM I checked the teacher's website to find there was a difficult assignment due to be collected the next day. Then last night I checked, to find he must FINISH Of Mice and Men by next Wednesday and he didn't even have the book! It's outside reading for the marking period! Good grief. So I ran out and picked that up last night.
Meanwhile, Megan plods along. She's now waiting to hear from the pool AND the beach about a summer job. If she gets neither, she can just volunteer somewhere for the summer. This is ridiculous. Her chances may be good for the beach (who can tell?), but I'm miffed at the pool club. She volunteered there and used one of their staff as a recommendation and they didn't even bother to call. They would have been lucky to have her, and they blew it. If she gets the beach, that's a better job for her. People are so mean!! :p
And in other news, there is big rain now. I had to run around after I got home today. Getting out at 2 is great because on days like this I can get Megan from the bus and she doesn't have to get soaked. Today she had her podiatrist appointment and her warts are looking really good. (he says, I think they look hair-raisingly horrendous) He told her to take a week off from treating them and see him, maybe they are gone. He needs the horrible white swollen tissue to subside so he can tell. Wouldn't that be so exciting?
Anyway, work has been crazy. I have the voice of the woman from the agency in my mind telling me I am doing a lot of work for what they are paying me, which is true. If this remains the case after the summer I'll have to think about things. I've also heard many have come and gone before me. I felt very stupid and useless today but then things picked up and I helped to solve some problems so I felt better. None of what I have been doing is anything I'm particularly fond of or good at, so I've been having to try really hard to understand things (like administrative documentation issues). But all of this has to be done, and I have to get it out of the way before I can move on to the things that I think I might actually enjoy doing. And there are still mysterious goings-on that I don't understand.
But to summarize the weekend, the dogs were groomed by a new groomer and I love her. She opened a new shop that I saw once from the car wash and, desperate for a new person, I googled her and found all good reviews. So I made an appointment and she exceeded my expectations. She took the two dogs in and had them for nearly four hours. When we picked them up, Molly was walking around and Wilbur was sitting on the couch with the assistant, watching TV. He looked happy as could be. Much different from anywhere I have ever been. I will definitely go back, and I recommended her to the Doll as well.
And then there was Kevin, and his separated shoulder. At the hospital, of course they had to give him heavy medications just to get him to relax so they would be able to put it back in. So they got it in without incident; we thought an ortho doc did it but it turns out the ortho docs didn't even answer the page and the ER doc just did it. So they told Kevin to follow up with an ortho and he called the one they sent him to 14 years ago, the last time this happened, and their nasty rude receptionist did their usual "we don't take your insurance, and no ER doc would do that, our doctors probably won't even want to see you" routine (don't know how this group stays in business, their front desk staff is so rude).
Kevin checked with the ER and it was in fact the ER doc who did. He ended up getting an appointment for Thursday with the doctor E saw when she broke her collarbone, the one who didn't want to do surgery. So he was very nice and I really liked him and their staff is wonderful too. All he should need, hopefully, is some exercises and reassurance that he will be able to keep the shoulder in place without any sort of surgical reinforcement.
And that was that. So Brian, after giving me high anxiety (and himself, too, it takes the form of stomach problems with him now) has gotten three B's today: biology, religion, and math. In English, the class he is failing, he said he had done his homework and Sunday at 10:00 PM I checked the teacher's website to find there was a difficult assignment due to be collected the next day. Then last night I checked, to find he must FINISH Of Mice and Men by next Wednesday and he didn't even have the book! It's outside reading for the marking period! Good grief. So I ran out and picked that up last night.
Meanwhile, Megan plods along. She's now waiting to hear from the pool AND the beach about a summer job. If she gets neither, she can just volunteer somewhere for the summer. This is ridiculous. Her chances may be good for the beach (who can tell?), but I'm miffed at the pool club. She volunteered there and used one of their staff as a recommendation and they didn't even bother to call. They would have been lucky to have her, and they blew it. If she gets the beach, that's a better job for her. People are so mean!! :p
And in other news, there is big rain now. I had to run around after I got home today. Getting out at 2 is great because on days like this I can get Megan from the bus and she doesn't have to get soaked. Today she had her podiatrist appointment and her warts are looking really good. (he says, I think they look hair-raisingly horrendous) He told her to take a week off from treating them and see him, maybe they are gone. He needs the horrible white swollen tissue to subside so he can tell. Wouldn't that be so exciting?
Saturday, May 15, 2010
spring springs at last
I made it through week two! And week one with the boss in place. There is much confusion at my place of employment over space and seating arrangements as they are rapidly outgrowing what they have, and they apparently bring in batches of college kids to work as summer interns. Never in my wildest dreams would this have ever been a business that would have appealed to me, but I actually find it quite interesting to see how motivating a potential sale can be to the right personality (which would never be me, of course, but I don't mind backing up those to whom it applies - I'm a bottom feeder.)
Of course I continue to face financial woes. First, the agency overpaid me so I got a nice check but that means I will be docked for the same amount next week. Then I got my last school check and it was much less than I had expected. Still a large check, and I guess it eases the pain of transition because I'm not actually giving up as much potential as I had thought.
But then I got a letter from the bank, which resembled the letter that had come the day before, which I had assumed was my statement. So I opened it and it was an overdraft notice! Apparently I have overdraft protection unless I 'opt out' which I never even knew to do, and because I forgot (again) to write in an online credit card payment (this time it was EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS), my account went into the negative. And I thought I still had a few hundred in there so I went about spending as usual.
Well, the way the overdraft protection works is that it pays your transaction, whether it be check, debit or credit card transaction, and then charges you $35 per event and sends a letter which arrives the next day. I do multiple debit transactions on any given day. So a $10 purchase at Target is hit with a $35 charge! Not to mention the $15 I was charged for falling below $100 in the checking account. By the time I realized this I was in the hole for $105. Luckily I had the two large checks to deposit, which I did.
I called the bank in a near-tearful panic when I saw the magnitude of my idiocy, and they were actual quite helpful. They reversed the $105 and also enabled my online banking, which I had been resisting because it wanted me to enter my social security number. So I was able to go through and find the missing item, which was a couple of months old due to my avoidance maneuvers when it comes to matters of the checkbook.
Anyway, I checked in today and I was hit with another $35 charge but I'm just going to figure I deserved that one, and the total cost of this blunder is $50. It could have been a whole lot worse, and now I have online access to my accounts, which is wonderful. And I have a small buffer until my next check comes.
So that is my crisis-du-jour from yesterday. The day before that, it was Brian's progress reports. Megan and the biology tutor have successfully reversed those positions but now the failures are coming in English and history. So I traded some emails with the teachers and hopefully we can bring the grades up a few points to a passing level. I don't know how we are ever going to get on top of all the classes at once. And God help us all, the reading in English is the Odyssey right now.
And when he should be starting on these preparations, Brian is instead out with Kevin on a fishing trip, poorly timed for us, but run by the school. They won't be back till late afternoon, probably exhausted. I'm imagining a nice dinner of grilled chicken in the yard but I don't know if this beautiful weather will cooperate.
And in Megan's world, she still has not heard from the town about the pool club and I am more than annoyed so she got a friend to get her in for a beach guarding tryout. It's a bit of a longshot, as she signed up late and will be up against lots of boys, but at least she is going and if she enjoys it and feels sad if she doesn't get it, maybe she'll get on the ball and sign up earlier next year, when she will actually be able to drive herself to work! More to follow on this, but wish her luck. She's a little nervous, but I think she'd really enjoy it. Several of her teammates guard at this beach, and one of her teachers, the one who recommended her for peer leader in adaptive gym class, also has connections and told her to let him know if she wants to try out.
But in other news, the dogs are getting groomed tomorrow! I'm trying out a new groomer, and I am taking them BOTH. Molly hasn't been groomed since last year when that groomer at the vet cut off all her fur and gave her a seizure and an advanced case of embarrassment. I'm hopeful. This woman has her own new shop and she has good, recent reviews online.
Of course I continue to face financial woes. First, the agency overpaid me so I got a nice check but that means I will be docked for the same amount next week. Then I got my last school check and it was much less than I had expected. Still a large check, and I guess it eases the pain of transition because I'm not actually giving up as much potential as I had thought.
But then I got a letter from the bank, which resembled the letter that had come the day before, which I had assumed was my statement. So I opened it and it was an overdraft notice! Apparently I have overdraft protection unless I 'opt out' which I never even knew to do, and because I forgot (again) to write in an online credit card payment (this time it was EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS), my account went into the negative. And I thought I still had a few hundred in there so I went about spending as usual.
Well, the way the overdraft protection works is that it pays your transaction, whether it be check, debit or credit card transaction, and then charges you $35 per event and sends a letter which arrives the next day. I do multiple debit transactions on any given day. So a $10 purchase at Target is hit with a $35 charge! Not to mention the $15 I was charged for falling below $100 in the checking account. By the time I realized this I was in the hole for $105. Luckily I had the two large checks to deposit, which I did.
I called the bank in a near-tearful panic when I saw the magnitude of my idiocy, and they were actual quite helpful. They reversed the $105 and also enabled my online banking, which I had been resisting because it wanted me to enter my social security number. So I was able to go through and find the missing item, which was a couple of months old due to my avoidance maneuvers when it comes to matters of the checkbook.
Anyway, I checked in today and I was hit with another $35 charge but I'm just going to figure I deserved that one, and the total cost of this blunder is $50. It could have been a whole lot worse, and now I have online access to my accounts, which is wonderful. And I have a small buffer until my next check comes.
So that is my crisis-du-jour from yesterday. The day before that, it was Brian's progress reports. Megan and the biology tutor have successfully reversed those positions but now the failures are coming in English and history. So I traded some emails with the teachers and hopefully we can bring the grades up a few points to a passing level. I don't know how we are ever going to get on top of all the classes at once. And God help us all, the reading in English is the Odyssey right now.
And when he should be starting on these preparations, Brian is instead out with Kevin on a fishing trip, poorly timed for us, but run by the school. They won't be back till late afternoon, probably exhausted. I'm imagining a nice dinner of grilled chicken in the yard but I don't know if this beautiful weather will cooperate.
And in Megan's world, she still has not heard from the town about the pool club and I am more than annoyed so she got a friend to get her in for a beach guarding tryout. It's a bit of a longshot, as she signed up late and will be up against lots of boys, but at least she is going and if she enjoys it and feels sad if she doesn't get it, maybe she'll get on the ball and sign up earlier next year, when she will actually be able to drive herself to work! More to follow on this, but wish her luck. She's a little nervous, but I think she'd really enjoy it. Several of her teammates guard at this beach, and one of her teachers, the one who recommended her for peer leader in adaptive gym class, also has connections and told her to let him know if she wants to try out.
But in other news, the dogs are getting groomed tomorrow! I'm trying out a new groomer, and I am taking them BOTH. Molly hasn't been groomed since last year when that groomer at the vet cut off all her fur and gave her a seizure and an advanced case of embarrassment. I'm hopeful. This woman has her own new shop and she has good, recent reviews online.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
midway through week two
Here it is, Wednesday again. Kevin is back from Canada, in the rain, and he is off to fetch his daughter from the Y. Some of the kids in her English class were having a Lovely Bones and ramen noodles night to celebrate the (hopefully) successful completion of the AP exams, but she was going to try to see if it was worth going after practice. She is afraid to miss practice after missing so many to prep for said exams.
Anyway before I get into anything else I want to get the ugly out of the way. Today was progress report day. The good news? No biology or math on the page. And we were back to two classes, not the four of the third marking period. But the bad news is that the two classes, English and History, are not really acceptable for failures in my opinion. So we're on that. Do I need to homeschool this kid? Because it practically feels like that's what I'm doing. And there is a math test pending, every day I hear, we will get the grades tomorrow. The teacher told the class they all did poorly, but Brian spent a good hour with Megan the night before, and that helped him the last time, so we'll see. But why can't he get it on his own?
So there it is, the badness. Everything else is chugging along. It's clean for the cleaning lady night, and I put away all my clothes and emptied my suitcase from a month ago, so I feel pretty good about that. I guess it could be said that I had a decent day at work today, perhaps I almost understand what it is that we do although it is still going to take some time and this backwoods temp agency hasn't paid me and I don't know when they will, since they also have not send me another time card! (I am happy that they found me a job so quickly but I do miss the efficiency of the agency I worked for several years ago.)
Also, have I ever mentioned that our cleaning ladies are not so great? They took a damp rag and swiped it once across the screen of the new Mac, leaving a blurred path across the monitor. And they left the litter scoop IN the litterbox AGAIN despite specific instructions not to do so. Good grief.
Anyway, the college search. Nothing to report. There's a chance we will go to Penn State for a swim meet in June but I am lobbying against it as the timing is bad, the expense will be high, and I prefer to use precious vacation days for something that might actually constitute vacation for once. More letters arrived via club and school coaches, but so far nothing is concrete. SAT scores back in eight days. Then more testing: SAT 2's again, and the ACTs. AP scores in July.
And no summer job. I don't know if the ball is dropped or what but I am seriously considering the Acme angle. No risk of melanoma, unless caused by fluorescent lighting!
And in other news, it is absolutely freezing out. Obviously this is a universal east coast phenomenon but it is so horrendous that it is worthy of the written recognition. And finally, American Idol. We are down to four, three after tonight. Crystal still gets my vote. I'm afraid poor Wren prefers Casey, but I think it's just because she likes to walk on the couch behind people and bite their ponytails.
Anyway before I get into anything else I want to get the ugly out of the way. Today was progress report day. The good news? No biology or math on the page. And we were back to two classes, not the four of the third marking period. But the bad news is that the two classes, English and History, are not really acceptable for failures in my opinion. So we're on that. Do I need to homeschool this kid? Because it practically feels like that's what I'm doing. And there is a math test pending, every day I hear, we will get the grades tomorrow. The teacher told the class they all did poorly, but Brian spent a good hour with Megan the night before, and that helped him the last time, so we'll see. But why can't he get it on his own?
So there it is, the badness. Everything else is chugging along. It's clean for the cleaning lady night, and I put away all my clothes and emptied my suitcase from a month ago, so I feel pretty good about that. I guess it could be said that I had a decent day at work today, perhaps I almost understand what it is that we do although it is still going to take some time and this backwoods temp agency hasn't paid me and I don't know when they will, since they also have not send me another time card! (I am happy that they found me a job so quickly but I do miss the efficiency of the agency I worked for several years ago.)
Also, have I ever mentioned that our cleaning ladies are not so great? They took a damp rag and swiped it once across the screen of the new Mac, leaving a blurred path across the monitor. And they left the litter scoop IN the litterbox AGAIN despite specific instructions not to do so. Good grief.
Anyway, the college search. Nothing to report. There's a chance we will go to Penn State for a swim meet in June but I am lobbying against it as the timing is bad, the expense will be high, and I prefer to use precious vacation days for something that might actually constitute vacation for once. More letters arrived via club and school coaches, but so far nothing is concrete. SAT scores back in eight days. Then more testing: SAT 2's again, and the ACTs. AP scores in July.
And no summer job. I don't know if the ball is dropped or what but I am seriously considering the Acme angle. No risk of melanoma, unless caused by fluorescent lighting!
And in other news, it is absolutely freezing out. Obviously this is a universal east coast phenomenon but it is so horrendous that it is worthy of the written recognition. And finally, American Idol. We are down to four, three after tonight. Crystal still gets my vote. I'm afraid poor Wren prefers Casey, but I think it's just because she likes to walk on the couch behind people and bite their ponytails.
Monday, May 10, 2010
morning news
Here it is again, that strange part of the day when I don't know what to do with myself for half an hour - dressed up too much to change litterboxes, heels too high to walk dogs, lunches packed and everyone else sent off, and already surfed to the ends of the internet. So I will throw in a quick update, if I can get my frozen fingers to move across the keyboard!
And so begins my first week with a boss in place. I feel anxious all over again, even though at least I have a little knowledge and understanding in my head now. And he won't be in until after lunch, so I will have the morning to go through whatever he may have left in his visit yesterday, when he picked up the materials he needed for his meeting today. So stay tuned for updates on this situation.
Yesterday was Mother's Day! I think my gift is invisible, but I am enjoying the fact that they thought of me anyway. We went to the Blue Claws game, and it was freezing cold and windy. The Blue Claws were pretty far back at one point, and didn't actually lead the game at all until they won it in the bottom of the 15th inning (we were long gone by then.) They tied it up at 10-10 in the bottom of the 9th.
One issue that has really irritated me lately, I discovered yesterday, is this issue of the reflective decals on the cars of teen drivers that are now mandated in NJ under Kyleigh's law. I was horrified at the suggestion and subsequent realization that these decals are also mandated for those driving with a learner's permit! Why? They can't drive without a parent in the car anyway! I was mildly annoyed at the requirement in the first place as it is true that you don't want your seventeen year old daughter driving around with a red flag saying "follow me down a deserted road and run me off the shoulder" prominently displayed. How would Kyleigh's parents have felt about that? We all want our teenaged drivers to be safe, of course we do.
But how about the kids who are posting all over Facebook that they were stopped by police and asked if they were drinking, to which they replied, 'no,' and were let go? Will these kids wear the badge of teenhood on their cars when they drive home drunk from their weekend revelry? Of course they won't. Yet my kid, the one who won't be drinking anyway, will have this on the car, and can be a potential target for creeps? This is the most ridiculous law.
Between Kyleigh's law, state cuts to education, and now the tax to the "rich" in New Jersey, this state is going to be turned into nothing but a bunch of gas stations and strip malls.
Anyway, all of that aside, the other issue now is summer work for Megan. She filled in just one application and has heard nothing. It's getting very annoying and I would like to encourage her to apply elsewhere but it has to be somewhere that's convenient for me on my way to work. If she doesn't get herself moving with it soon I'm going to have to insist she just apply at Acme or one of the local stores so she can ride her bike there. It doesn't necessarily have to be a lifeguard position, I guess!
And in other news, this has eaten up my morning time. I must hit the road and try to arrive on time and prepared for whatever the day holds in store. This will be a busy week as always, Brian's classes will be starting to wind down and prep for finals, although midterm progress reports were only due last Friday. Kevin will be heading off on a trip tomorrow for a couple of days, and Megan will have to get back to swimming regularly despite one more AP Exam on Wednesday. And so it goes.
And so begins my first week with a boss in place. I feel anxious all over again, even though at least I have a little knowledge and understanding in my head now. And he won't be in until after lunch, so I will have the morning to go through whatever he may have left in his visit yesterday, when he picked up the materials he needed for his meeting today. So stay tuned for updates on this situation.
Yesterday was Mother's Day! I think my gift is invisible, but I am enjoying the fact that they thought of me anyway. We went to the Blue Claws game, and it was freezing cold and windy. The Blue Claws were pretty far back at one point, and didn't actually lead the game at all until they won it in the bottom of the 15th inning (we were long gone by then.) They tied it up at 10-10 in the bottom of the 9th.
One issue that has really irritated me lately, I discovered yesterday, is this issue of the reflective decals on the cars of teen drivers that are now mandated in NJ under Kyleigh's law. I was horrified at the suggestion and subsequent realization that these decals are also mandated for those driving with a learner's permit! Why? They can't drive without a parent in the car anyway! I was mildly annoyed at the requirement in the first place as it is true that you don't want your seventeen year old daughter driving around with a red flag saying "follow me down a deserted road and run me off the shoulder" prominently displayed. How would Kyleigh's parents have felt about that? We all want our teenaged drivers to be safe, of course we do.
But how about the kids who are posting all over Facebook that they were stopped by police and asked if they were drinking, to which they replied, 'no,' and were let go? Will these kids wear the badge of teenhood on their cars when they drive home drunk from their weekend revelry? Of course they won't. Yet my kid, the one who won't be drinking anyway, will have this on the car, and can be a potential target for creeps? This is the most ridiculous law.
Between Kyleigh's law, state cuts to education, and now the tax to the "rich" in New Jersey, this state is going to be turned into nothing but a bunch of gas stations and strip malls.
Anyway, all of that aside, the other issue now is summer work for Megan. She filled in just one application and has heard nothing. It's getting very annoying and I would like to encourage her to apply elsewhere but it has to be somewhere that's convenient for me on my way to work. If she doesn't get herself moving with it soon I'm going to have to insist she just apply at Acme or one of the local stores so she can ride her bike there. It doesn't necessarily have to be a lifeguard position, I guess!
And in other news, this has eaten up my morning time. I must hit the road and try to arrive on time and prepared for whatever the day holds in store. This will be a busy week as always, Brian's classes will be starting to wind down and prep for finals, although midterm progress reports were only due last Friday. Kevin will be heading off on a trip tomorrow for a couple of days, and Megan will have to get back to swimming regularly despite one more AP Exam on Wednesday. And so it goes.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
midway through week one
Well so far I made it! The job is hectic, to say the least. I don't know a thing, and I feel totally incompetent. The insurance world is full of so many acronyms, abbreviations, and foreign terminology that I am having trouble remembering words that I once knew! I now think it's a good thing that my boss-to-be has not been in this week, as it's given me a chance to get through some other things, including lots of 'training' that they keep having me do amidst the confusion.
My desk is kind of out in the middle of a floor, which also can make it awkward since I don't know what I'm doing, and a lot of the office machinery is outdated and simplified compared to what I've used in the past, counting both the offices of ten and twenty years ago AND the school copy machines. But I've found most of the others who are in similar positions to mine to be surprisingly well educated and well spoken, which is not what I expected and has been a refreshing surprise for a little field office set in the middle of nowhere.
Yesterday I signed into my gmail to send a mail to my boss since I don't have my own login with the company yet (I had to be processed and fingerprinted first) and found a notification from the teacher sub system, I was assigned to a job starting on Monday! They had, in desperation, assigned me to teach a fifth grade class all week next week! So I felt terribly guilty for having been caught in my non-removal mode from the list, and had to call the secretary and explain. I had to wait until I got outside so the office wouldn't hear me call the job a temp job, but I didn't want to imply to the school that it's permanent either, just in case they boot me out. I don't want to burn that bridge because it might be hard to get back across again if I need that option!
But it was a little melancholy to see that. I love being in the schools, but I don't like the instability and definitely not the uncertainty and the reduced pay for next year. While this is costing me in the short run (I would have made about $100+ more next week alone) my hope is that it will pay off in the long run, and it's certainly more steady and consistent.
And the best part of the new job so far has been having an excuse to buy new, nice clothes. I don't think I have done this in fifteen years.
Meanwhile, Brian continues to plod through his studies, and school ends for him exactly one month from tomorrow. We're waiting on a few grades from this past week (or he says we are, sometimes I wonder) but progress reports are due out tomorrow. Last time I thought all was well he ended up with twice as many bad reports, so I know not to get too placid regarding this final quarter's reports. I guess we'll know by Monday. They mail them out.
As for Megan, she took her AP Calculus exam yesterday and said it was really hard. She has the US History one tomorrow, and English next week. She is getting upset because she has not heard one word from her top choice (this week) school's swim coach so I'm trying to steer her in other directions. I guess it's a good lesson to have this happen because she will realize that she can't assume things are going to go the way she hopes, and she'll open herself up to more options. If this school doesn't give her a fair amount of aid, there's no way we can afford to send her there, even if she does get in. Also unknown are her more recent SAT scores, which are due online in 14 days.
In other news, the weather has been lovely, and the pool will be opened on Saturday. Megan has the junior prom tomorrow night, following her first haircut in nearly a year, so we'll be off taking pictures for that. I hope we don't all forget about Brian and his tennis! On a related note, we saw on Facebook that E was tagged in a prom picture, and she looked ghastly (by her standards). The wind was blowing her hair around, her face was twisted, and she was holding her dress up in what seemed to be wind. Within a day the tag on the photo was gone but the damage was done, and I was on the trail. So I sent her a message asking where the rest of the photos were, but I haven't yet heard back. And that, for now, is all I have.
My desk is kind of out in the middle of a floor, which also can make it awkward since I don't know what I'm doing, and a lot of the office machinery is outdated and simplified compared to what I've used in the past, counting both the offices of ten and twenty years ago AND the school copy machines. But I've found most of the others who are in similar positions to mine to be surprisingly well educated and well spoken, which is not what I expected and has been a refreshing surprise for a little field office set in the middle of nowhere.
Yesterday I signed into my gmail to send a mail to my boss since I don't have my own login with the company yet (I had to be processed and fingerprinted first) and found a notification from the teacher sub system, I was assigned to a job starting on Monday! They had, in desperation, assigned me to teach a fifth grade class all week next week! So I felt terribly guilty for having been caught in my non-removal mode from the list, and had to call the secretary and explain. I had to wait until I got outside so the office wouldn't hear me call the job a temp job, but I didn't want to imply to the school that it's permanent either, just in case they boot me out. I don't want to burn that bridge because it might be hard to get back across again if I need that option!
But it was a little melancholy to see that. I love being in the schools, but I don't like the instability and definitely not the uncertainty and the reduced pay for next year. While this is costing me in the short run (I would have made about $100+ more next week alone) my hope is that it will pay off in the long run, and it's certainly more steady and consistent.
And the best part of the new job so far has been having an excuse to buy new, nice clothes. I don't think I have done this in fifteen years.
Meanwhile, Brian continues to plod through his studies, and school ends for him exactly one month from tomorrow. We're waiting on a few grades from this past week (or he says we are, sometimes I wonder) but progress reports are due out tomorrow. Last time I thought all was well he ended up with twice as many bad reports, so I know not to get too placid regarding this final quarter's reports. I guess we'll know by Monday. They mail them out.
As for Megan, she took her AP Calculus exam yesterday and said it was really hard. She has the US History one tomorrow, and English next week. She is getting upset because she has not heard one word from her top choice (this week) school's swim coach so I'm trying to steer her in other directions. I guess it's a good lesson to have this happen because she will realize that she can't assume things are going to go the way she hopes, and she'll open herself up to more options. If this school doesn't give her a fair amount of aid, there's no way we can afford to send her there, even if she does get in. Also unknown are her more recent SAT scores, which are due online in 14 days.
In other news, the weather has been lovely, and the pool will be opened on Saturday. Megan has the junior prom tomorrow night, following her first haircut in nearly a year, so we'll be off taking pictures for that. I hope we don't all forget about Brian and his tennis! On a related note, we saw on Facebook that E was tagged in a prom picture, and she looked ghastly (by her standards). The wind was blowing her hair around, her face was twisted, and she was holding her dress up in what seemed to be wind. Within a day the tag on the photo was gone but the damage was done, and I was on the trail. So I sent her a message asking where the rest of the photos were, but I haven't yet heard back. And that, for now, is all I have.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
dawn of a new day
Well, here it is, Sunday night, and I start my new job in the morning, absentee boss and all. I was going to go in at 8:30 but since I don't know if I'll be able to get into the building that "early," I'll go in at 9 and stay till 3 for my first day. I have to try to dig up my time card. I thought I knew where it was but it wasn't there anymore yesterday.
The last few days in the other job were the usual rollercoaster of good and bad behaviors. The last day was fine, sad, but I guess that it is what it is. Now I am back to the corporate world, at least on a trial basis. To celebrate the transition, I went out and spent what amounts to two weeks' salary on new clothes :-) ...I was overdue for some dressy ones anyway after spending the last two months in the sort of clothes that one wears to be spit on, snotted on, coughed on, and to sit on the floor in. It's like my old favorite show, Ally McBeal, when she was contemplating not working and said, "but then I wouldn't get to wear any of my outfits!" It's time for me to have outfits again.
So we had a lot of fun watching the Phillies clobber the Mets last night (well all except for Kevin did, anyway!) Now although it's close, the Phils are not in command tonight. But the night is young. Hope they didn't use it all up last night. Maybe they shouldn't have used up all ten runs yesterday ... maybe they should have saved one or two of those for today!
And into the week we go. Brian has three tests tomorrow, and Megan has two AP exams this week and the junior prom on Friday night. I hope her dress still fits! Once she bought a dress while she was swimming a lot and by the time she wore it, her shoulders were smaller! That will be a problem, as this is a strapless dress. And she had her SAT experience yesterday, for what it's worth. I'm tired of all this testing, I can imagine how she must feel.
But she has confessed to having a frontrunner in the college search and although I won't name it now, it's the main one we went up to visit back in November, which fell out of favor but seems now to have returned. She'll have to go back for another visit or two, and maybe they will bring her for an 'official' visit for the swim team. Who knows ...?
And in other news, they come next weekend to open our pool! The landscaping is looking wonderful this year, aside from the dogwood, which strangely only bloomed with one flower this season. It looked like it was going to have many, but we came back from Florida and they were all gone. The one nursery guy ventured the guess that it was the extreme heat for that week in April, that the trees got confused and fried all their flowers. The one that remains is in the shade on the fence side of the tree, so maybe he is right.
Anyway, off I go. Check back soon!
The last few days in the other job were the usual rollercoaster of good and bad behaviors. The last day was fine, sad, but I guess that it is what it is. Now I am back to the corporate world, at least on a trial basis. To celebrate the transition, I went out and spent what amounts to two weeks' salary on new clothes :-) ...I was overdue for some dressy ones anyway after spending the last two months in the sort of clothes that one wears to be spit on, snotted on, coughed on, and to sit on the floor in. It's like my old favorite show, Ally McBeal, when she was contemplating not working and said, "but then I wouldn't get to wear any of my outfits!" It's time for me to have outfits again.
So we had a lot of fun watching the Phillies clobber the Mets last night (well all except for Kevin did, anyway!) Now although it's close, the Phils are not in command tonight. But the night is young. Hope they didn't use it all up last night. Maybe they shouldn't have used up all ten runs yesterday ... maybe they should have saved one or two of those for today!
And into the week we go. Brian has three tests tomorrow, and Megan has two AP exams this week and the junior prom on Friday night. I hope her dress still fits! Once she bought a dress while she was swimming a lot and by the time she wore it, her shoulders were smaller! That will be a problem, as this is a strapless dress. And she had her SAT experience yesterday, for what it's worth. I'm tired of all this testing, I can imagine how she must feel.
But she has confessed to having a frontrunner in the college search and although I won't name it now, it's the main one we went up to visit back in November, which fell out of favor but seems now to have returned. She'll have to go back for another visit or two, and maybe they will bring her for an 'official' visit for the swim team. Who knows ...?
And in other news, they come next weekend to open our pool! The landscaping is looking wonderful this year, aside from the dogwood, which strangely only bloomed with one flower this season. It looked like it was going to have many, but we came back from Florida and they were all gone. The one nursery guy ventured the guess that it was the extreme heat for that week in April, that the trees got confused and fried all their flowers. The one that remains is in the shade on the fence side of the tree, so maybe he is right.
Anyway, off I go. Check back soon!
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