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!

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.

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.

carnival of the job seeker

That's what it's like - spinning teacups and screaming rollercoasters. One day there's a prospect and the next day, it's gone. Or maybe it's a prospect that makes you feel a little sick to your stomach, such as this temp job quandary. And then there are the criminals wandering around, the same level of person who haunts an amusement park looking just to snatch something from a wallet or pocket.  Such has been my week so far.

After implying that the temp job nearby was mine for the asking, the agency told me that they were interviewing one more person, sent by the employer. Then there were two! And the next afternoon, she left me a voice mail saying that they were hiring "someone who used to work there and was able to come back." I returned her call, was told she was on the phone, and haven't received a return call. There is a criminal.

On to the agency that I like, who I would actually prefer to have reap the rewards of my eventual employment, should it ever occur. She sent me on an interview for a one month long temp job, a forty minute drive each way.  I actually liked these people and the place very much, but the pay is $1 an hour LESS than my previous position (not that that should matter, not as if I have a job now) and I realized that with the holidays coming up, two of the four weeks won't even be full weeks! So it might end up not even paying more than I get through my benefits, and it could wreck my claim.  On the other hand, I may not have a decision to make, as they were interviewing others as well. For a one week assignment that is guaranteed to end when it ends with no future potential.  There are the teacups.

I remember when you signed up with a temp agency and they called you one day and asked if you'd go in the next. Nobody interviewed you, or grilled you on your experience. Nobody kept you hanging. You either said yes, or you said no and they moved on to the next temp. 

Finally, there are the online services, such as CareerBuilder.com, monster.com and indeed.com. Dozens of jobs! The perfect fit! Day after day I receive my job alerts, pore through new search results and apply for relevant spots. So exciting! Soon I will have a job.  A few days later, dejected, I realize that this was the rollercoaster.

And on and on it goes.

But on the other hand, the dogs are glad to have me. And I've been able to help out at the animal shelter quite a bit, petting cats and ogling the new puppies who have made headlines this week with their rescue.  Yesterday I just decided not to sit around the house and watch the email tab, waiting for a little (1) to pop up, only to find out it's another Christmas last chance notification. I felt much better about myself by the end of the day and I didn't wake up this morning with jaw pain as I have all week. (Although this is admittedly from the ill-fated dental visit a week ago, I'm sure I'm grinding my teeth all night long at the prospect of another day of job searching).

And in other news, M is home tomorrow for her brief visit. She was upgraded to first class and will arrive around noonish. I'm sure the week will go quickly before she is off to warmer climes, leaving the rest of us to sweep up pine needles and fight with strings of lights and wads of wrapping paper.  B will have to start studying for his midterms ... always a dreaded time of year.  Which reminds me of a dream I had last night. I had gone back to school, and it was the end of the semester.  Suddenly I realized that although I had been going to class, I really couldn't remember handing in any homework, or getting back any tests. So I'd been going to school, but how was I doing? I was taking all of my notes in one notebook, which had been given out at the beginning of the year.  Somehow I found a paper grade report and I had D in history and a D in something else. I was having a lot of trouble reading the report, and all of a sudden I was awake. I wanted to go back to sleep so I could make things right, but then I realized these were final grades! Hmm. A commentary on the amusement park?

the weather outside is frightful ... but warm!

So - global warming? I got an email from some petition group with whom I somehow have become affiliated, announcing their success at getting a documentary on global warming to include its last disturbing episode for broadcast.  This episode will allegedly reveal the speed with which the polar caps will be completely gone, and it's soon, according to my email.  That's not good...but I couldn't help thinking about it as I drove around in 62 degree rain in December in New Jersey.  Many years ago, this would have been a snowstorm. Although, apparently it will be, for our north and west inhabitants. They always get all the fun stuff.

Anyway, I'm sitting around here waiting for B's school to end so I can go pick him up and HE won't melt.  I bought him a new pair of really expensive weather resistant shoes so that he can walk through the wet and snowy grass all winter, just in case I find a job.  But they dug a hole in his ankle so he went back to wearing his summer Sperrys, and now they're just all water stained and lop-eared. So while I'm home and can go to get him, I will oblige. Then I have to go get cash so he can join the Spanish Club on their visit to the Mexican restaurant in the next town. I guess I'll bake some chicken breasts and eat them alone! Kevin is flying back from Houston, but I expect the airport delays to at least continue, if not worsen, for the night.

My job search is picking up some steam, albeit mainly from agencies. My latest quandary is one who is dangling a temp job in front of me. It's full time and starting yesterday. The hourly rate is $1 more than I made at my last job, and the office is probably five miles from home. It's a well-established organization, and I happen to be acquainted with its CEO. In other words, quite possibly a job I'd be a fool to turn down. But should I take it? It's a two month assignment, and it's only temporary. They have not even gone to the level of committing to 'temp to hire.' Plus, why is it not snatched up? What is wrong with it?

My main concern is that the job will in fact end in two months, and will I be able to continue with my claim? I know that at some point the temp agency will become my "employer" and they may be able to fight benefits. But perhaps that doesn't happen until after the original six months are up. I'd be getting much more than I do now on the unemployment benefit, but I run the risk of losing that benefit; which should last me through the end of April if I don't find something before then.

What's that you say? "Call the unemployment office?" Hahahaha! Yes, that would be a good idea. Too bad the phone goes to dead air when I dial the number, and when I try an alternate, it just rings and rings and rings. I think there are just so many unemployed people in NJ that the state can't hire enough people to help us all. How's that for irony?  But on a positive note, I did get some good critiques from the counselor I met with yesterday as part of the workshop I'm in, and that allowed me to shrink my resume down to one page.

I also did hear back from my former boss's contact, he responded that he still is not in a position to hire and still is unsure about the whole situation.  It may be best to move ahead with the bird-in-hand, although I'd hoped not to reach the level of desperation of taking temporary assignments until after the holidays.  Certainly I wouldn't take one unless I thought it had long-term potential.

And in other news, M will be home in two weeks and two days! I am anxious for her first semester grades, and beginning to worry about next semester, when she has to miss several days of school for meets.  B has shown the effects of having too many days off from school around Thanksgiving by stumbling in a few classes, and he also brought home his PSAT scores which were thankfully better than last year's but still have room for improvement. So the next project is to find him a review course and possibly register for the January SAT to get a true baseline score. And then comes the college search! Better hope a job shows up in time for that!

foggy outlook

The news says there is a dense fog warning today and they mean it! It looks like a scene from a science fiction movie out there! They moved the elementary school bus stop to the corner just outside our window, so every morning there gathers a small convention of cars and small people. Today they are just stick figures milling about in the haze. I can't tell the difference between the trees and the people! The sight is eliciting growl-woofs from Wilbur and drawing stares from Abby. At least she has something to look at.

I spent the entire weekend helping out at a puppy adoption event. It was very fun; much more fun than a day of actual WORK. And five of seven puppies found homes over the two days. They were all from the same litter, and very cute. The two who did not find homes were a little older and although they probably didn't have a single strand of pit bull DNA in their makeup, they did resemble pit mixes, which most families who come in to a puppy adoption event are not really going to favor. So, they are back to the shelter where they will surely appeal to someone and find homes within the next couple of weeks.

Friday was an odd day with the job search - I had applied for a job online but then also written to the agency (who tends to blow me off for long periods of time on occasion) and suddenly heard back from the her, and she told me about the same job. But because I have already sent my resume, she doesn't want to (says she can't, but what she means is that she won't be able to get paid). This is unfortunate because she tested my skills two years ago and can vouch for my strengths. So, I can probably scratch that off my list. But I guess it's OK because I passed the company yesterday morning (Sunday) and there were about 10-12 cars in the parking lot. The salary posted was quite high; and while I'd love to earn that much, I'm sure it doesn't come without a certain degree of bloodshed.

But she did have another position, slightly north of here, and so I told her yes, that I would be interested, and I am waiting to hear from her. Then I got a call from another agency, a woman who called me when she saw my resume online, to see if I would want to have one of her temp jobs. One did appeal to me, as it's at a local hospital and only for four weeks. So I could get some experience, make a little extra cash, and hopefully get a foot in the door. I'm finding it's nearly impossible to break into the more desirable companies if you don't know someone. In fact, even if you do. Still no word from my contact who said he might have something in a month or two. Oh, and no call on the phone interview job I blew. Not a surprise. I knew I had blown it halfway through the call, but didn't really feel too heartbroken, aside from the obvious ego-assault.

Anyway, for now, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. It's been nice to have some time off and at least I have a little income. Tomorrow I have another meeting with the unemployment office, where they will review my efforts and critique my resume. I think I have to go to one more after that. Otherwise, it's just a waiting game.  I guess I don't need to panic until May when the six months are up for my benefits.

And in other news, M is winding down her first semester. They had their last meet of the season on Saturday, and they won.  Anatomy continues to be the challenge, but I hope not at the expense of the other courses. We really get very limited information. I am just praying for a B in anatomy and B+'s or better in all the rest. She has to maintain a 3.0 average to keep the scholarship, and she has to remain in good standing in order to apply for the Masters' program in her third year.  Anatomy may be over for now, but she will be back in the second part of the course in January!

giving thanks

It seems my life of leisure has kept me off the blog for a bit! And not much has changed! I dragged myself back to the gym today for the first time in two weeks and felt, ironically, just as sapped of energy as I did on the day of my most recent blog nearly three weeks ago!  I attribute today's lack of motivation to the extra five pounds I seem to be hauling around as well as the general post-excitement letdown that follows a period of flurrying activity.

Thanksgiving was lovely - M and her roommate arrived on time and they spent a pretty low-key few days here. We had eight for Thanksgiving dinner and everything came out just wonderfully despite the fact that the pop-up timer popped an hour sooner than expected. I had bought a three crock-pot unit for the side dishes so they would stay warm while we waited for the bird, but they were not even prepared when the popper popped! But it all worked out, and everything was great. Well, except for B, who cut off the tip of one of his fingers chopping carrots for the meal. All was good, though, because the injury allowed him to exempt himself from any further service, and to sit for an hour with the hand elevated and watch a movie on his laptop.  As of today, we are down to a bandaid for a cover, and I can see new skin beginning to form.

Otherwise, my professional life remains mundane. I was selected for participation in a workshop through the state, so I and about 50 or so other misfortunate souls gathered at the reemployment office to listen to our fate for the next month. We are to report back three times within this period, and we must document our work search efforts as well as bring resumes along for critique. A motley crowd we were, too, although I will say that the average age was perhaps even a few years greater than my own, which was interesting.  I did somehow manage to secure a telephone interview for another job I had applied for online, but I have the feeling I just didn't quite answer half the questions correctly (that would be one of the two) so I may be among the group not granted the in-person follow-up. I'm to hear on this by the end of the week. If I do not, I am just to surmise that my rejection is complete.

And so there it is. I have passed some time by enlisting as an SPCA volunteer. I am a certified cat entertainer now. I completed my training on Saturday. So I go in and sit with the cats and pet them and play with them, and they sneeze all over me. Tonight I went out to the dollar store for a bag of tricks that I can bring the next time I go. My own neglected feline friends ripped everything out of the bag within two minutes of my having placed it on the table! After that we had a great time with all the feather toys, mousies and laser pointers. I hope my SPCA friends don't mind slightly used offerings.  Even the dogs got in on the festivities. One of the toys I got for the resident kitties was a puff on a spring, attached to a carpeted square. I put that down by the front door, and five minutes later found it soaking wet on the opposite side of the house.

But in other news, today is Kevin's original birthday, but he prefers to acknowledge the event tomorrow; which he will do in Scandinavia.  At the time of this writing he is en route to Finland, to return on Thursday afternoon. B had the day off from school today, so he will have a hard time shifting himself back into gear tomorrow. And as for me, I'm just thankful to have had a nice holiday, and a relatively presentable house!

hope through the fog

What a miserable morning! The fog was so thick you couldn't see to the end of the block.  A perfect day for a two-fer-one filling endured with severely chapped and unhealing lips! My lips have been so sore and dry and burning that I almost canceled this awful appointment, but in the end I felt like they would never heal anyway, so might as well just get it over with. Also, I have an appointment with the dermatologist tomorrow (the last of my scheduled torture sessions) so if there's a recurrence, maybe he can help me.

But the fog has lifted and the sun is shining, whether or not this is a metaphor for my near future I will soon see.  I spent the better part of the morning just waiting to get feeling back in my lip, nose and eye but also enjoying the lack of the burning sensation! That has returned, unfortunately, but the good news is so has the rest of my face.  Now if only I were motivated to do anything.

Yesterday was not a good day. I know why. It's because when I was driving to the Y in the morning, I was just driving along when a work van suddenly drifted out of its parking spot right into my path! I was so mad! So of course, I cursed him: "I hope you have a terrible day!" I hollered at the back of his truck, through the ladders and ropes. Punctuated with a glare when I passed him at a stop sign, I do believe that my curse came back to stick to me instead.

First, I had no energy at the Y. I have been battling a muscle pain in my hip since the summer and it flared up during the workout. The two machines that I like to use were both occupied, so I had to settle for one that faces a wall.  Then, when I reached the indoor track to do my laps, the preschool exercise class came up and pitter-pattered around while their mothers recorded the event on their iphones! None of his phased me much, because, as you're probably thinking, this is pretty much a normal day for me so far. But it didn't really end there.

As the day wore on, I received in my email TWO rejections from online job submissions.  Plans I had made to "mall walk" with a friend were foiled when B stayed at school longer than usual, and darkness fell. Not wanting him to suffer a goring at the antlers of a doe-hunting buck while walking home, I put his warm food in the microwave and waited around to pick him up. Then, while racing to get to the mall to get in a few quick laps, I came to a grinding halt in the mess of traffic, having completely forgotten that the rest of the world still goes to and comes home from work at a certain time every day.

But I got there and had a nice couple of laps and a few toothpick-servings of dueling Chinese/Japanese fast food offerings on the way.  Thinking maybe God thought I'd learned my lesson, I decided it would probably be best just to keep to myself.  Incidentally, I never did hear back from that interview a few weeks ago. Or so I thought. Kevin got home from work and announced a letter from them! It must have been sitting there since the day before, when I had my hands full and dragged up the empty garbage cans, wrapping the small mail in the large and then just setting it down amidst the mess, never to be given a second thought. Until the twist of the knife. Of course, it said, "NO JOB FOR YOU!" So, after that I went to bed.

And in other news, today will be the day that B finds out if he has secured a role on the mock trial team. I hope that he does, because two years ago he did not, he was told he was a "juror" and I had to drive him back and forth to the courthouse for the "trial" and all he did was sit there and listen. The "jurors" don't do anything because the judge decides the case; and he is an actual lawyer who volunteers to sit as judge.  Then last year he wasn't able to make it that far because he decided to do swim team and had to start going to practices. This year, he isn't doing swimming and he's been to every meeting.  But he's also working on the stage crew and they have their final meeting preparing for the play (which starts tomorrow) so if he gets put on the jury, he said he'd just leave and go to where he's really needed. So, fingers are crossed. More on that later!

Oh! And why did I forget? The meeting with the 'friend' of my former employer actually went quite well. I am, I have to admit, cautiously optimistic. But he's a pretty busy dude, so I hope that when the time comes, he remembers that he said he would help me. I'll follow up with pestering emails. So that's that.

week three is underway

And alas ... it happened. I have settled into complacency. I think I have applied for every listed position at every major university, hospital, business and employment agency in the NJ area, and as well as a few in NY.  My careerbuilder and monster daily updates contain nothing but jobs I've already seen and submitted. And still I wait. No word on the interview from two weeks ago either.  And remarkably, I don't even feel sad. Insulted, of course; not sad. That must be significant.

Over these three weeks, I've had a continuous onslaught of miserable personal appointments. I suppose it's convenient that all of this takes place with no disruption to an employer, but it sure is making it difficult for me to appreciate this little home-time I've suddenly been granted.  On the other hand, being able to go to the gym whenever I want, be home when B gets back from school, and wander the empty house without interruption does soften the blow. And I *have* gone to the gym! Four times so far, and I'll go two more this week! I also replenished my supply of jeans, since the same few pairs were plenty when I wore work clothes five days a week. (Maybe I should have waited for the gym results to set in!)

I wander around town and everywhere I go, I bump into someone from my former life, when I didn't spend seven hours a day at a desk, wondering where my boss was and if he had anything he needed done. It reminds me of just how miserable I really was there, and how I need to focus on making the right move for my next chapter rather than jump into something that leads to nowhere and returns nothing.

Today is a noteworthy day, because I have a meeting with a cohort of my former employer; the poor man agreed to the meeting just to get the former boss off his back, and he has already rescheduled me once. I almost feel sorry that I have to take up his time, but I'll try to shake that feeling by the time I step into his office.I also discovered that there was also a career fair to which I had been 'invited.' I thought the fair was tomorrow, but in my spam folder this morning I found a notice that the day had arrived - today. Sad to say, I won't be able to make it due to the conflict with the aforementioned meeting.  This revelation was not hard to accept: every single company is either an insurance/financial services firm looking for salespeople or an employment agency.

On the home front, we had a great weekend driving down to Virginia for M's meet. The girls did great, they did not expect to win any of the meets but in fact they beat two of the other four teams. A couple of the freshmen, one especially, are exceptional, and there are a few strong older girls as well. M is pushing herself harder than she ever did at this point in the season and her times are reflective of the effort. Unfortunately, in this D1 arena, those times aren't quite enough! I also believe she is training for distance, which is slowing her down on some of the shorter races. Her longer events are consistently impressive compared to past years' performances. It will be interesting to see how she does next weekend, when they rest for the meet in Boston.

And in other news, B has managed to complete the first marking period with only one grade below a B, and a GPA for the marking period in the low/mid-80s. This may not sound impressive but at his school and with his record, it's cause for celebration. He's also continuing with the tech crew, waiting to hear if he has a role for mock trial, attending the law explorers meetings and volunteering at the nursing home.  He met with a guidance counselor yesterday who really wasn't too helpful other than suggesting a couple of 'safety' schools, which is where we were coming up short. It's really easy to come up with a long list of reach schools! But still we await the PSATs and then have to schedule the SATs before any of it means anything concrete.

just me and the other 6,999,999,999 people applying for those jobs

So I am officially on the unemployment line now. Thank goodness they do it all electronically these days, but even that has been a pain and I've been amazed at the amount of correspondence they sent. Maybe they could save some of that tax money if they would wait and send one comprehensive notice. First they told me they had received my claim, then they sent me the amount I would get. The next day I got a letter telling me that I had to have a fact-finding interview because I "may be receiving wages" after my last day of work (I'm not so I got that canceled at least). Then they sent me a hard copy of a handbook which I had been linked to and told "you will not receive this by mail so bookmark it."  And yesterday I received a prepaid debit card on which I will be paid unless I sign up for direct deposit (which I was pretty sure I had done).

Anyway, tomorrow is the first day for me to certify my benefits.  I'll see what happens after that.

As for the job search, it's bleak. I send out about ten or more resumes a week, mostly online either through one of the job sites or directly on an employer's website. I have filled in so many that I had to start a spreadsheet to track them, and still I don't even get a call. I have a meeting with a contact from my former boss next week, and I also signed up for a job fair which I found about via email from the state.  I had an interview last week but although I felt I had a good rapport with the woman who interviewed me, I carried out the fear that I don't have the background they're looking for. That's the problem today.  Any one person might be perfectly capable of performing these jobs and performing them well. But the odds are that at least one of the other 6,999,999,999 people will have done *exactly* what they want, and will know the exact computer software and office procedures.

So I sit at home and wait for something to happen.

It's very inefficient, too, this having nothing to do. The dogs follow me around every time I stand up, expecting great fun to materialize with each move I make. So we go for a walk and they get barked at, they bark at me when I stop to talk to neighbors, dogs chase us, one chases cars, the other chases squirrels, and I vow to never walk them again! I think we'll try the dog park this afternoon.

Otherwise, even the house cleaning proves elusive. I should probably just buckle down and do it but with such a vast expanse of TIME, what is the hurry? Not like it's going anywhere and maybe I'll need something to do tomorrow!  At least this week I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday. But it's 45 minutes away and it's at 8am, because I made it nice and early so I wouldn't be very late for work.

And in other news, B's marking period is winding down and he is doing OK. At least he is showing a great interest in the college search and his top choices are out of his current range of GPA and PSAT scores. Of course, we will get the new PSAT scores next month and that will put him on a track for the SATs, which I guess he will take in March, if not before.  He's also doing a law explorer program and volunteering at the nursing home, in addition to a couple of clubs at school. He won't swim this year, but I  think that is the right choice. The commitment of time and money just don't justify the return that he receives, because he'd have to give up everything else that I just mentioned.

M should be coming into midterms but I have stopped asking after the jolt of her anatomy immersion shock (the bad first test, which was rectified by the second but I figured it stresses us both more if I keep asking) so we won't know how she has done until grades are posted somewhere, whenever that is.  We will see her this weekend, probably briefly and from afar, when she swims in their meet in Virginia. Then in two weeks we go back to Boston, and after that, Thanksgiving! Time flies. I should probably put my time at home to better use.

facing the future

So now that I have had three weeks to adapt my thoughts to the fact that I won't have this job that I have, shall we say, grown used to - I am trying to get a grip on what my next move should be. I think I have finally been given a date, which is the end of the month. But I am stuck in this freakish twilight zone where I am working harder than ever and knowing that this will be nothing to me in a few weeks. It's a very dichotomous life!

I finally did receive a response from one of my resumes, but it is a travel into the Big City, so I have to give it some thought. I'm going to go in for a meeting (it's only an agency so nothing concrete will come of this initial meeting, and they also have an NJ office so that's good) on Wednesday. The agency places a lot of temps, which I learned are now called "contracted positions," which was my reason for responding to this ad in the first place: I thought, if I'm not sure if I'm ready for city travel yet, what better way to find out than through a "contracted position?"

The problems, of course, with that would be B and the pets. As long as B is still home, he can solve the latter issue. Once he leaves, presumably, for college, I guess we'd have to get a dog walker to come in. But this year is the immediate quandary: I won't be able to drive him anywhere during the week, which means no swim team through school. He can ride his bike to the gym, and the school is full of activities that he can stay after school for. But in bad weather I have always driven him, and with a foot or two of snow on the ground, he will not be able to get to school. But this is all the cart before the horse for now. On the other hand, the pay is double. And the cost is $330 a month on the bus + travel time. Local jobs seem scarce. It is a quandary indeed.

As for M, we 'skyped' with her the other night and she was sick with a cold, and she had a cut on her shoulder from the bathing suit strap! (I would have rather not seen that).  I told her t take some medicine, which she did and said the next day she felt better. My little package of vitamins also arrived on that day; hope she is taking them.

Just today, she received the present I sent her, a small 7" TV so that she won't have to miss such historic events as The Office premiere ever again. Except that it's not just plug-n-play. She is going to have to figger out how to work it 'erself!! (Another reason to let your kids manage their own lives just a little before they leave your nest).

Well that is about all I can think of for now. Oh, yeah - in other news - I just found out that we have to go up to Boston on the 15th for a special sort of team parents weekend! I had had no idea. So I did get a hotel for just $125 a night. Kevin said he would try to find a freebie (I guess our impending poverty has him concerned, well I know it does, since his solution to the demise of our big TV was to plug in an old 13 inch on the family room rug!)

fall frenzy

It's fall this morning! In an effort to further procrastinate having to go get ready for work, I've decided to tend to the long-neglected blog. Where to begin?

So B is back in school and so far he has had a few tests with moderate success. I'd like to see him ace everything in the beginning because it never gets easier than it starts out and he needs the scores to bolster his GPA. But so far so good as far as we have been told. He's been to a few afterschool activities, including mock trial and he had planned on attending a swimming meeting, but they postponed it until next week. We're not sure if he will be able to swim because (a) they said they might effect cuts this year and (b) the pool is half an hour away and I don't know where I will be working or what hours by that time.

He also joined a gym and has been going a couple of times a week, as well as playing tennis. So he is beginning to feel better about himself, and he's gained a fair amount of weight so he no longer looks like a skinny string bean, and he doesn't have paunch either.

As for me, the job life is not good! Just as I was getting used to the longer hours (and nearly normal sized paychecks) they have been sucked right out from under me! My boss has informed me that he will be moving his practice an hour away, and I am not invited. I think I have been offered the opportunity to inquire as to whether or not I am needed there, but I get the feeling it's not with him. Or, if it is, I'd have to take less pay and drive farther to earn it. He is joining forces with a guy who has an existing staff of three, so I have become a redundancy.

My plan for now is to continue to put out feelers: my original agency says things are very slow right now, and I have completed countless online applications for jobs that have had hundreds of other applicants. As luck would have it, I am still on a sub list as a classroom aide (not a teacher anymore) in the schools, and I plan to keep my job search at this level until he finally cuts me loose. At that point I will file for unemployment, try to sub as much as possible, and contact temp agencies for interim assignments. With the economy, who knows if this will work. It's served me well in the past, but it did take me a full year to find the job I have now, last time I looked. The difference this time is that I am willing to move to full time now. It's only four hours a week more, and financially pretty much a requirement!

Just a few latitudes to our north, M is loving her new life as college student, Division 1 athlete and dorm dweller. Although I hate that she is in the dorm she is in. It's so far from everything else and her roommate seems to march to the beat of her own drum, which often finds M out alone late at night and needing to get back to that remote tenement safely. The campus has an escort service which I hope she will use when the weather is cooler and the streets are less populated. We have only 'spoken' to her once via skype, but we have almost daily contact with her through texting and messaging. No grades or swim results yet, but we are looking forward to next weekend when we can watch their intrasquad meet on the university's internet sports channel. Exciting!

And in other news, one of the downsides of the fuller time work schedule has been the neglect of home, garden and pantry. If I do end up with a break between jobs I plan to buckle down and whip things into shape. Since M is bringing her roommate with her at Thanksgiving, I really have to make sure the house is presentable! I booked their plane tickets the other day and they were $300 each! I could have had them for $100 had I booked in August but I didn't know swim schedules or if the roommate was really coming. They had discussed it online, but In Real Life can sometimes be another story. Although in retrospect I should have just done it, even paying the $200 and losing half of it would have been less than the $300 I spent on M's share. The roommate will pay us back, but not for a while. I booked them both together just to make sure they got on the same flight!

the end of our life as we knew it

So, a chapter has ended and a new one has begun. In a flurry of summer-end activities and last minute preparations, M is a college student. The move in actually went fairly well, we had the great fortune to be offered lodging with family just twenty minutes (in an ideal world, which we now know Boston at rush hour is not) from the school. We arrived and were given thirty minutes to unload into "bins" which were really just giant garbage cans for M's building, because the halls and elevators are so narrow that nothing else will fit.

We set about preparing when some hired movers converged upon us, and began to boss us around and rearrange. I, who had prepared a nice "bin" filled with manageable (for me) and easily controllable items, was told to take one of the containers packed by Kevin instead, and the professional mover took my light one. The one I was left with had a printer and a television perched and about to fall off, and I had to wheel the heavy bin about two blocks through the streets at a trot, trying to keep up with the rest of them. M was charged only with carrying a few handheld items. B had wisely opted not to join us. Good thing, because he would not have fit anyway!

So in the end, we managed, the printer had to be rescued and I managed to keep the TV at bay. The poor thing was returned home anyway, as M's room is so pathetically tiny that there was no place for her to put it. Her roommate has a large monitor which she put on her desk, and says she can stream live TV through that if they ever want to watch. Whatever. How do you live with no TV? Beats me. I can't sleep without it. But she will have to!

It is strange not having her around, but really not all that different. She responds to our texts, not prying but if we have something to tell her, such as that one of her classmates - yet another - was killed in a car crash yesterday morning. It wasn't someone she was close with, and perhaps not even someone she knew at all. But I texted her to let her know and that opens a short dialogue: so as best we can tell, she is having a great time, she eats but doesn't seem to exercise (I guess there will be plenty of that to come shortly) and she gets along well with her roommate ::knock wood:: but doesn't seem to be finding many kindred spirits in her dorm; they missed a meeting last night because they didn't know about it until later, they have been spending their time with kids from a neighboring dorm, I believe.

There are a couple more days of this welcome week, and then they have some mandatory advising and information meetings, as well as the President's Convocation and the Freshman BBQ. Classes will start on Wednesday. I hope she has her books! I got her two on amazon and left the rest up to her because I couldn't find them any cheaper than what the bookstore was charging at school.

Otherwise it's been quite a summer. We have survived almost nightly thunderstorms, random tornado watches and warnings, a hurricane and even an earthquake! M became as always unnaturally brown after spending every single day in the blazing sun, although I was grateful for at least a few cloudy days this summer. B had a busy summer as well, with volunteering at the hospital and a nursing home, and tennis camp on his days off. Now he has one more week to study his summer reading books before he has to return to school on the 12th. But his big news will be the driving. He should have his permit by Tuesday afternoon. Only one more two hour session with the driving school stands between him and the piece of paper with his name on it. And lastly on B, his neurologist rescheduled his appointment this year so it's been put off until the 20th of September. It's quite likely he will be sent for an MRI this year since it's been so long and he's grown so much. So please remember to storm the chiari gods for good results! He has been feeling fine. We even bought him a gym membership for his birthday. He goes on Monday for his inaugural session.

And in other news, the house is a disaster as my job has moved to full time, but I plan to spend the rest of this weekend trying to whip it into shape. We were lucky not to sustain any Irene damage, thanks to the waterbug in the basement that alerted us to the fact that water was just pouring in through a hole in the foundation, which was supposed to be sealed off around the pipe it had been cut to house. We only lost power for about ten hours and the backup sumps worked wonderfully.

After this weekend, it will be back to reality. Kevin has been on vacation but goes back on Wednesday. And our next big excitement will be when we go for Parents Weekend the third week of October. We are bringing the dogs because (a) it's cheaper to do that and (b) this way we know M will be sure to come and see us for a minute!

summersun and fun

Fourth of July weekend is here! And already I can't even believe how quickly this summer is going to go by. First, the recap. The thing on M's arm turned out to be nothing, thankfully. Of course, she has a cough now and a doctor's appointment next week, but otherwise she is doing OK. She's exhausted with swim practice and working at the beach, of course it never rains when she is there so she's already unnaturally darkened from all the sun. She won't have as much time off this year as she did last so I hope there will be more rainy days this summer! (sorry to those who planned to soak up the sun, for wishing it temporary respite).

Graduation day was also beautiful, which was a great thing. M ended up graduating fifth in the class, and today she found out her AP scores, which were good enough to get her out of three more classes in college! So now she has six AP tests with a score of 4 or 5, so she *should* be able to get those credits in college. And some, like Calculus, are two credit classes. Biology was a disaster, but we had been warned that her teacher was not very thorough. M had an A+ average in the class all year, and she could not possibly have done worse on the AP!

As for B, he did pretty well on all of his finals, except for one or two. He passed everything but he didn't score high enough on his drivers ed final to get exempt from taking it at the DMV. So he has to go down there on his birthday now, and he can't get the pre-permit six hours of driving lessons until he passes the test on their computer.

I have managed to keep him busy for the summer, too. He's been doing a low key summer swim team, which practices in the evenings, so that works for all of us (except those who come home looking for a dinner on the table!) and he is now signed up for about 19 hours per week volunteering, two 8 hour days in a big hospital, and two afternoons in a nursing home. He started the latter today and enjoyed it. I am hoping that he can continue that one throughout the school year. He said that today they had 'Happy Hour' where they sit around and eat cheese and crackers. He enjoyed that. At the nursing home the volunteers' main purpose is to keep the residents entertained. At the hospital, they are put to work a bit more.

As for me, I have been somewhat rooked into increasing my hours. I didn't really want to do it before the summer ended but then the way things worked out I sort of didn't have a choice. So I'll be working 36 hour weeks, but getting paid holidays and vacation days. I also stipulated that I would like to be able to continue taking vacation days without pay when I need to, so that will allow me to keep my flexibility. I am happy about the extra pay, and will expect that my wage will increase as well. We discussed it briefly but no resolution was reached. I'm sure I'll hear next week. If I'm not happy with the terms, I'll just keep looking. At this point, if the agreement is satisfactory, I think I'm in a good place for the next year or two. But one never knows with these things.

And in other news, Abby is regressing to devouring our personal items when we leave her in the house. I think she was rattled by her travel and our visitors, and now she gets nervous when we leave. I hate to have to crate her again, especially with the days being longer, but it may come to that. The most recent victim was B's tennis shoe. Oh, and that was the one activity I forgot - his free day will be Mondays. So he's doing the tennis camp every Monday for eight weeks (except for next Monday, when we will be in Boston for M's orientation). And speaking of M, she got her move-in date. She moves in August 31. Her dorm is an artsy/musical/creativity dorm. That ought to be interesting!

the eve of a new day

Back to the blog! These have been hectic days, although at the end it seems like there is nothing to tell. B is done with school, and all but two grades are in, and hopefully by tomorrow, they will all be known to us. So far ::knock wood:: so good, relatively speaking. This will be a restful week for him, he just has a take-home test for the volunteering position he has applied for at the hospital to complete, and he has until next week to do that.

M has one more day of high school (tomorrow!) and then three days of finals, during which she hay have to take one, or not. The teacher is dragging out telling them whether or not they are exempt, because I think he knows they have mentally checked out already. However, the top ten are set for graduation, at least they have been at practice, and M has a spot amongst them! So that could change if she has to take this final and it has a negative effect on her grade!!

As for me, I have been trying to get into my job and still am having a hard time. It's hard to manage when some of the things I do don't get taken to the next step, and then I'll be asked to redo work weeks later because now it's time to revisit. It's difficult to explain, but I will just say that I am happy I like the people that I work with and leave it at that!

And in other news, M gave me another scary lesion fright this weekend. On Friday I noticed a dark spot on the crook of her arm, and realized that it was a big red boil surrounded by bruised skin! Then she told me she had shown the nurse at school, who had treated it with benadryl spray! So I called around and found a covering pediatrician who would see her that day. We had tickets to Cirque de Soleil and I couldn't risk it being a scary MRSA outbreak!

Anyway to make a long story shorter, the doctor couldn't get anything out of it to culture it and decided that it looked like it would be able to wait a day. So she had us come back the next day and it looked a lot better, although now had a head so she was able to culture it. But so far, we have avoided antibiotics and it does seem to be healing. And I'll have those culture results by mid-week. It alarms me to think that she's prone to these things and I will have to send her off to college with the wits to choose which of her arsenal of creams and lotions and washes she should use for which type of condition. It's really a science; and you have to catch them early and treat them immediately at home. I'll have to set up weekly Skype sessions to make sure she's taking care of herself!

here i am lord

Yes, that's right. I am still here, and so is my entire family. Even my friend Doreen, who I most would have expected to have been raptured, responded to my text last night. So I guess now we wait and see. Maybe at work there will be some missing compadres.

Other than the cable phone, tv, and internet going out for an hour or so yesterday, and skies that alternated between threatening and bright hot sunny yesterday was a pretty ordinary day. I woke up with a headache from wine too late the night before, got a lot of laundry done, and took a walk with the dogs. Took B to tennis and hollered at M for not doing the cleaning she was supposed to do before having three friends show up to take her out for the evening. Three friends, might I add, who were very well received by our new guard dog!

And we look to the upcoming week, with Kevin off to Denmark. B is finishing up his time under math tutoring, as well as (should be) preparing for finals. M just has swimming and taking up space at school waiting for graduation (a month from now) and I will have to work although we're all off on Friday.

In other news, the newspaper just arrived, and me in my bathrobe. Abby is tall enough to reach the mailbox, I wish I could train her to go out and get it. I probably could, but she might eat any passers-by, and that just wouldn't be good.

Anyway, just wanted to weigh in and alert the world to my continued residency here; just in case anyone had any doubts.

rapture watch

I've been neglecting my blog. Again, I guess nothing ever happens, or so many things happen but they just don't seem all that interesting. There are swim meets, warts, graduations, dogs, and monsoons. And then, there is the End of Days.

I heard on the radio this morning that the end of the world should reach us at around 6am Saturday. Of course, we don't know who will be raptured. The radio personality isn't too worried about the population of NJ dwindling by much; he figures we'll probably lose very few residents. Who knows, maybe he is right. I guess at this point all we can do is hope we qualify. It's not too clear what to do at this point, probably too late to mend your ways.

So assuming we are still here on Sunday, what does that mean? Back to work on Monday, back to the dog park, M has a swim meet, and B only has two more (four day) weeks of school before finals. He's only failing one class at the moment, but oh! what bad timing. It's religion.

Anyway, summer still isn't falling into place as far as trips and plans, but M will go to the national meet after all, but we worked it out so she'll only swim two of the four days. We will pay less, and she can come back and work like she wants to do. So she and Kevin (he gets to go after all so he is happy about that) will fly out with the team and fly home the evening of the second day. I figured, she's never made top 16 on her own, and if she does it this year we will gladly pay the penalty to change the flights!

B and I will stay here and do what we do. If all goes well, he will be volunteering at the big hospital near my office. He has had and passed his first TB screen, and he has to go again in two weeks. Then he has an orientation the night of M's prom, and I guess at that point he will find out where he can request. He says he would like to be in neurology. I know when M volunteered at the other hospital, you had to be 16 to be on the peds floors. I don't know if that rule will apply here as well. But he is pretty excited to do this job and I think (hope!) it will be good for him. I'm hoping he can do two eight hour days a week, and I can drop him on my way to work and pick him up on my way home. Then he'll do tennis camps scattered about here and there, and we have our trip to Boston. Still trying to work in Cape May! We never made it there last year :(

On the canine front (what happens to the dogs in the doomsday scenario?) Abby has been behaving well. I have a friend helping me with interventions and today we went to her house where Abby only barked at her a little when we went through the door and then she settled right in and made herself right at home. We also stopped by the dog park, where she now feels very much a part of the community, and she didn't bark at a single person, even when they petted her! She did poop in the tall grass though, and then I stepped in it. (ew) We also met a neighbor on our walk the other night and stopped to chat and she was fairly easy to calm after the initial woofing.

And in other news, our town is embroiled in chaos over development. They want to build 340+ homes just behind our hamlet (I think I have said this before) but now the golf course on the other side of the road sued for the right to build 200 houses on their property and won! So we are looking at 500 new homes to be built in an area of a couple of square miles. Pretty scary. And to think that we moved across town, doubled our mortgage AND our taxes for roads that will now be equally trafficked, but are less equipped to handle it. Hopefully litigation will tie it up for years so that at least when we go eventually sell our house, we will have some equity in it.

month in review

Spring is finally here! It's a beautiful day, the birds are out, the boys are fishing, and M is at the beach for dryland training. We're going to church in a little while to set up some of the rooms for displaced families, a position for which I volunteered but have not quite figured out. But this will be my second time helping, and my first time "doing." And M needs her National Honor Society hours.

In M's world, school is almost over. She has one more AP exam to take, on Monday, and then she will consider herself "done with high school." (Even though her last day is over a month away.) Seniors don't have to take the finals in non-AP classes if their averages are A's, and she only has two non-AP classes, which she thinks are both A's. (one is gym) So she looks forward to the summer, her job, and orientation in July in Boston.

We're in a quandary over whether or not to go to the national meet. This year it's in Georgia, which will cause it to cost us well over $1000 for her, and another $1000 if even one person goes to watch. Not so good when we're trying to figure out how to pay the tuition for next year. Her coach-to-be said he doesn't mind if they don't do meets in the summer, he just wants them to train consistently. So she has to decide and we have to see. She thought of going for a couple of days but her coach may consider it all-or-nothing. She'd also lose a week of work pay in addition to the cost (as would I if I chose to attend). They want us to decide by the end of the weekend. This won't leave much money or time for a family vacation either.

As for B's summer plans, we sent off an application to volunteer at a local hospital. We were going to send in for a different one, but the paperwork was UNREAL, like he was applying for homeland security clearance. It was so cumbersome, and I would have had to pay for a two step TB test (so two copays instead of one.) The hospital we sent the paperwork to had only a one-sheet paper, and they said he would need that TB test but could have it done at their facilities. So we'll see what they come back with, they have actually been taken over by the group that uses the giant application, just haven't implemented it yet, I guess.

I actually had to write out an envelope even though it said one was enclosed. I sent that off thinking they were so disorganized, and this morning I found the envelope in one of my serving bowls on the bakers rack (Kevin thinks they're storage containers.) So who is disorganized now? Hope they still 'hire' B!

Also, he will do a couple of classes at the community college, one in writing and another in algebra review. He's been in this math tutoring center all year and while I'm sure it's boosted his math skills overall, lately it's not helping him with the tests in geometry. I think the tutors are more geared towards elementary math and possibly high school geometry skills are hit or miss, depending on what they actually remember. It's not part of the center's normal program. So next year I don't want to have to send him there, and I'm hoping a refresher course before the school year starts will give him that boost.

In animal news, Abby is doing very well except for her propensity to consume houseguests and people we encounter on our walks. She also enjoys a good terrorization of people who have just thrown out their poop bags at the dog park, when they spin around she seems to take it personally.

I'm becoming hesitant to take her, because although she never bares her teeth or lunges, she does bark very loudly and all her back hair stands on end. So tomorrow we're having a trainer spend an hour and a half with us to see if she can give us some tips on how to deal with it. I also suspect Sir Yapsalot is part of the problem. He just never shuts up and it's very obnoxious. But not scary at all. So that's why he's been allowed to get away with it. I wonder if the therapy session will end up more focused on his behaviors. Abby is very anxious to please, when she isn't afraid.

And in other news, our neighborhood is currently embroiled in a battle with the builder of a proposed mongo-development directly next to our little hamlet. The property, a former office complex which was rezoned for residential units, is going to house multifamily buildings which are totally out of character for this part of town. We have mostly two lane roads, no turning arrows at most of the intersections, and not really a large supermarket or school to handle the new influx of over 300 new resident families. Mostly what I'm worried about, traffic aside, is that this will cause a further plummeting of property values, which never seems to be accompanied by plummeting property tax bills. Good thing we weren't planning to try to sell the house anytime soon anyway because now it looks as if we will be stuck here for a while!

home alas (at last?)

Sob. Not that I am a Fort Lauderdale fan, but this was probably one of the most dramatic differences in temperature and conditions of any of the four years so it was one of the hardest years to leave that behind. Yesterday morning we were in the 80+ degree ocean, bobbing around with the manta rays and the man-o-wars, and this morning we were out in the gray, picking up our muddy dogs in 50 degree weather.

At least the warmth is not far behind. The trees have buds and the forsythia is in bloom. Maybe some blue sky will peek through sometime this week.

As for the meet, it was a success in that everyone made it home in one piece, no MRSA attacks while down there although a couple of the spots have small red raised dots in them, but this may just be scar tissue, because they don't look infected. But swimming-wise, it was not one of the better meets for M. Not one of her individual swims yielded a best time, except for the 50 free, which she swam at time trials and it isn't one of her better events anyway.

She did have two nice splits in the relay, the first of which helped to place her and her relay team in a tie for tenth place, bringing them back to swim at finals on the last night. Unfortunately, they weren't able to hang on the that spot, and they finished last in finals, but that still put them on the board with two points (the only points scored by the girls on the team during the meet) and qualified them for YMCA All-American status. So at least the meet ended on an up note.

All of our flights were early, and we got home around 10 to find the house and cats in one piece, if a little smelly from bowls with caked wet food in the trash can. The dogs had to wait one more night, but they were thrilled to see us at 9am. Wilbur was fine, but Abby had eaten her towel (which I had not expected her to spare, so it was an old one) within half an hour of arrival - and he said that was a generous estimate. Her more egregious crime was against the proprietor: she dug up, in 45 minutes, three of the ten new sprinkler heads he had installed.

And now it's back to the real world, at least for a week. The week after, both kids are off from school. I'd like to take a day off and go into NY with them, but I doubt I'll be able to, so soon after having three whole days off in a row. Without pay, of course. Unless something happens causing me to become unemployed, either on my own terms or otherwise. I'm terrified to go back in. I have never been out this long in a row before while my boss has been in, and it's bad enough when he spends an afternoon there and I have to go in and clean up his mess the next morning. I am literally feeling queasy over the thought. (A feeling which is not helped by my panic over Brian's educational situation, which was exacerbated by three days during which he chose to watch Law and Order instead of doing the 2-3 hours of homework a day I had required of him ... I guess you can lead a horse to water, but that's about it.)

let the whacking continue

Sigh. The end of another week. This one felt like forever and next week will be hectic too! B had so many tests this week and as I always say, it's like a game of whack a mole with him. He fails one class so I find out about it and buckle him down, then he does well, but at the expense of the others. You never know where the bad grades might pop up or if you can get to them fast enough to beat them away.

This time, it was chemistry which had to be improved. After sitting with him at first and then later just reviewing all of his homeworks before he turned them in, he got the only 100 in the class on the last test. But alas, he got a 50 on the history test he had over a week to study for (missed it when he was sick) and various other not-quite-so alarming but not acceptable grades in other classes. The final results are not yet in, but this weekend will be spent in preparation for the fourth marking period, which concerns me because of our plans to have him in Florida for three school days.

As for the family health, all is well ::knock wood::. The evil stomach virus so far has not claimed any more hosts since it felled Kevin for the better part of the weekend and Monday, and the sniffling of the kids is kept to a minimum; there are no more coughs or frightening body rashes. However, M comes off the antibiotic after this weekend, so that she won't have the side effect of sunburning while in Florida, but that means that her second week off of it will be spent out from under my watchful eye. I'll be sure to scan her every chance I get, and make sure that she remembers to check for anything that looks even remotely infected. I'll bring the pills down anyway, just in case. Sunburn is better than MRSA, but let's hope it doesn't come to that!!!

So she and Kevin leave on Saturday and B and I will follow along a few days later. The dogs will return to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, and we all come home the following Saturday night. I'll get the dogs back on Sunday, and I think both M&B have school that week and then spring break a week or two later. As for summer, we are trying to figure out what we will do, what we can afford timewise and moneywise, and what obligations M will have for college, we know there is a summer orientation and we'll probably all go up for that, as they run concurrent programs for the families.

The boring part of signing and applying early to college is that now, when all the excitement of finding out is so widespread amongst her classmates, her choice is old news. But she does have some excitement: she has a roommate! There are two girls from our state who are both going to be on the team, and she found out that they are rooming together! She had thought that you just let the coach know you want to live with a teammate and he puts you with one. But then she got nervous, and there are only a handful of new girls joining this year.

So she messaged one of the other girls she had met, but the girl had applied regular decision, so she was accepted later, just two weeks or so ago. M didn't know how to bring it up, so she was making a lot of small talk, and finally, the girl just asked her. So that is a relief. She thinks that the girl will make a good roommate. Interestingly, she is from Canada, and way out west.

And in other news, my job limped through the week without any major horrors, thankfully. Nothing new and exciting to report on that front, still underpaid but still happy to have an income at all. Hopefully some new business will start pouring in and I can insist on some better benefits as well as a better pay rate. I'm a little anxious though. I still feel a lot of loose ends, and we have a regulatory review next week (internal). One of the other guys told me that he had a dream that I left the company. And it must have been unplanned, because he said that he followed me out to my car asking, "what happened??" Uh oh.

it's the weekend!

Ugh! A giant dog just came over and breathed kitty litter breath on me! Now I know why she was so quiet before.

I guess I should explain the lack of creativity in my heading. It's because I am zapped of it all. This week began with such frustration that I did actually move towards improving my working life. However, it got me nowhere and the next couple of days were better. I don't *want* to have to find a new job but this one just sometimes pushes me to the point of futility. So I put some feelers out but to no avail.

In health news, maybe it is allergies, but M's sniffles have picked up and B's cough is the cough that won't quit. I have to run out and refill her doxy anyway, and I'm also getting her some Nasonex, so maybe I'll pick him up some allergy/cold combination for B as well and see if that will knock it out over the weekend. It's been more than five days since he finished that z-pack so if there were any germs left, there may not be much z left to fight them. Best to dry it out if I can before they put him on more medicine. I hate that!

The big dog news is that the town finally cashed my check! My dogs are legally dogs! And tomorrow Abby is going to have her first real bath, and I'll get that furry leg trimmed down a bit to match the shaved one, which is now fully covered in fuzz. Yesterday I took them to the dog park and she did pretty well, but I worried about her hurting her knee so we didn't stay too long. I see she has a sense of distrust of strangers, which concerns me, so I want to work on that. The Doll took B out for lunch today and when she brought him back, Abby barked and growled at her when she offered her hand to be sniffed.

She did settle down but then she started back up again. I can't really have a dog who acts like this! She needs socialization. I might also take her to puppy school at PetSmart. I think the eight weeks of rehabilitation pretty much made her more protective of the house than I would like, although it is nice to have a dog who will protect us from intruders. We just don't want her to protect us from family and friends!

And in other news, we got new neighbors the other day. Sadly, it seems that they got the house for about $100,000 less than we paid five years ago. That's not good for the market value of our house at all, which is not good news for our refinancing hopes. By the time we manage to get back up to a reasonable loan to value ratio, the rates will probably have soared!

back from the beyond

Finally! B is better, the staph is gone (please please stay that way!) and we are back from the state meet. It wasn't a great meet for M, but after she go a new suit it did improve. I hope she will still do well at Nationals, these were some of the slowest state times she has posted since her freshman year.

B finished his z-pack but he had googled possible side effects, and saw all these people who said that they were exhausted like zombies and totally lost their appetites so now he sleeps all day and eats next to nothing. He is a walking string bean, it is alarming. At least he is improved. He still coughs but overall he is 1000% better. It doesn't hurt that his school is on break all week, either!

In the case of M, we see the dermatologist on Saturday, which will be when we find out how long she stays on this doxycycline. It seems to have taken care of the MRSA, and her face is surely looking better. But will both remain true once she stops? Because surely we cannot sign onto this for the long term!

Kevin is also back from his many travels, next trip is Fort Lauderdale! He just found out that there is a customer who would like to see him while he is down there so he can get some of the expenses paid for! That's certainly a plus. He'll fly down for the whole week, but B and I will only be there a handful of days. We're missing the first even again, unfortunately. Although I feel less bad about it now that the bleachers collapsed and the on-deck seating is being meticulously rationed out. They sold tickets through an internet sale and revoked all the ticket sales for the evening sessions because some teams bought them all and others got none. It's going to be crazy down there this year!

And in other news, the dogs enjoyed their stay at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. Of course, he misunderstood me and put the two of them together in a pen for a while and they (she) ate Wilbur's dog bed. I guess I should just be glad she didn't eat Wilbur, too!

the only fever i want to have is spring fever!

Enough of the sickies! First B with the puking and fever, then M with the staph, and now he has a new mystery ailment. Tuesday, low fever, headache, sore throat. Thursday, red eye with white discharge, eye doctor says no infection maybe virus, wait it out. Yesterday wakes up 103 fever! Take straight to MD, fever still 102.7 an hour after advil. Gives tylenol, flu test negative. Fever comes down to 101.7, no sign of infection, probably viral? Take him for blood work so in case of no improvement don't have to wait two MORE days.

Update is improved but not out of the woods. Eyes a mess, coughing, sneezing, no more fever. Sniffling, lounging around. At least I'll get the blood test results tomorrow. Hopefully he will be better. Tomorrow is the first day of tennis tryouts, but he already is at a disadvantage because he can't wear his contacts till this eye thing works itself out. And he won't likely be back to 100% anyway, judging by the progression of this thing. Enough!

As for the staph, still much improved, just a spattering of dark scars from the pimples but they're basically gone. After a couple of hours at the pool they usually pink up a bit, which I don't like, but we have our appointment in two weeks anyway, and she will be on the antibiotic until then, though hopefully not after!

Otherwise, things are well. Kevin is back from Sweden and performed his usual perfunctory inspection of the basement sump pumps. The three of us spend the entire week not giving them a thought and he comes home and finds that coincidentally the pump will not shut off and has to be replaced. So that was his excitement, that and a haircut, which is where he was about to take B when B was found to be with fever.

Dogs are happy, especially Abby, who is finally starting to settle down considerably. She can even be in the room with certain cats at certain times and have no problems. Her fur is growing back and she walks with no limp at all. She and Wilbur are heading to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm on Friday, so I hope she won't think she is being traded away yet again! But hopefully having Wilbur there will make her feel more comfortable; and his familiarity with the place should put her at ease. They have to go back again in April, so she'd better do well!

Speaking of April, I am terribly concerned about B. I plan on taking him to Florida and actually have no backup plan anyway, as the Doll says she's having some anxiety issues again. But he would have to miss three days of school and he is currently doing extremely poorly in chemistry - so poorly that it may take divine intervention for him to pass! At least this marking period may be a bust...and at times his efforts are pretty lacking, I have to admit. So stay tuned for news on that.

And in other news, we have officially forsaken our beach club membership for the summer. I can't remember if I have already said this, but it means that we will have to be more creative this summer. Although with M working at the other beach and me also working, I'll just have to find things for B to do, like tennis camps and other longer-term activities, including getting him to jump start his volunteer hours for school!

wilbur is 2!

He sure is tired out for a young man! I usually like to take them to PetSmart and let them pick out a toy, but he had a feeling we were going in the car and he wanted no part of it. So instead, he had some good tug of wars with Abby, got extra wet food with his dinner, a stuffed Kong for dessert, and a bunch of grilled chicken as a bonus after-treat. Now they are both passed out and ready for bed. We're just waiting for M to get home from practice.

M seems to be doing well ::knock wood:: but I have outsmarted myself with my constant panic and calls to the doctor, who has now decided that she should stay on this antibiotic for two months instead of two weeks! But not to treat the staph anymore. If I understand him correctly, he is no longer worried about that. This is to treat ACNE! Argh! The only good thing (?) is that at least she will have some extra protection against the staph ... although I thought that was the point of not overusing antibiotics - so they will work when you do need them.

But her face was looking pretty bad and if this helps, well - we'll see. I won't leave her on it for long if I can help it but I'm not inclined to go against his advice either. And that infection seemed pretty stubborn, and I have heard it can take a while to get rid of. The redness was waxing and waning well into the second week of treatment. The spots still have their moments of redness, and occasionally a new one or two will pop up that I don't remember being there in the beginning.

As far as B is concerned, this is not a good semester for him. It's come to the point that I dread logging onto the grade portal but I just can't seem to stop myself. While I suppose it is better this year than last in that he is not failing EVERY single class, I do have serious concerns about his science class this year, and whether it's a reversible trend. And some of the grades are shockingly low, low enough to make you wonder if he falls asleep in class sometimes! What is the alternative? How would he fare at the public school?

And in other news, Kevin is in Sweden for the week. He flew out on Sunday and will return on Thursday. At least we aren't scheduled to get any blizzards this week! And thankfully Abby's recovery is going well and she is now able to go up AND down the stairs to outside. The bad news is, she is also able to go up and down the stairs to upstairs, which she likes to do when nobody is watching her closely. A gate at the bottom of the stairs has proved no match for her galumphy self when she's on a roll! Otherwise, everything is status quo. Next weekend is the state meet and then it won't be long before it's time for Florida. I'm getting anxious about that one already! And after that is summer and after that is ... college! Oh! I can't think about it now. It's too unreal!

mean people suck

A few weeks ago in church, we saw that they were collecting blankets, coats, etc, for a homeless community in a nearby town. The kids decided that they would do their own little drive in the neighborhood, earn a couple of community service hours, and help out at the same time. So they put flyers in all the mailboxes on our street and the connecting block, about 60 houses or so. About six or eight ended up participating, but they gave a lot. The whole truck was packed, and we dropped them off at the church the following week, to the delight of the recipients.

Today, in the mail, in an unmarked envelope mailed from Trenton, about an hour away, was a copy of the flyer! And on the back was written "IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO PUT THIS IN THE MAILBOX WITHOUT POSTAGE. WOULD YOU WANT A STRANGER IN YOUR MAILBOX?" =:-O !! Mean people suck!!!

As I said, they only put the flyers in our immediate neighborhood. The houses that we walk by, drive by, ride, by anytime we leave the neighborhood. Our names and phone numbers were on the flyer! It was not a solicitation, and nobody was even pressured to participate! It was a simple request.

But, sad to say, the cowardly objector is right. Apparently, it IS against the law to put things in people's mailboxes without stamping them! I guess I didn't realize after the countless geranium sales, pet food drives, and other humanitarian causes that have been promoted through this senseless disregard for the law!! Criminals are everywhere! This person is to be commended for bringing our horrific crime to our attention. I wish they had had the nerve to stand and be recognized.

And people wonder what is wrong with New Jersey.

And in other news, Abby is healing well, she saw the vet the other day and he was pleased with her progress, although it will be another three to five weeks before the bone can be considered healed enough to let her go all out running. She's unaware of this limitation, and frequently has to be stopped mid-gallop as she tears through the house. Wilbur is still unconvinced of her value, and she sometimes paws him a little harder than his fragile self can tolerate, but other times he likes to use her for a punching bag. There has been no more guarding or serious growling in weeks, so that's a good thing.

On the medical front, B passed the neuro test and M continues to battle this nasty staph. It's not infected or contagious, they tell us, but getting back into the pool causes more small spots to break out, which causes me to fly into a panic and send her back to the doctor for another check. She's two weeks into this antibiotic (tomorrow) and he gave her a refill, but I would like her off of it unless (a) she still needs it and (b) it is going to work to keep her on it longer, rather than just allow the bacteria to start growing again once she's off. There are others she can take, but they're apparently harder on the system and he wants to let this one do the trick.

So my parting advice: be nice, because (have I mentioned?) mean people suck.

one of those days

I should have known when I dropped my phone while I was putting it in my pocket. Or really before that, when I went to turn left out of the jughandle and there was a giant flatbed truck hauling concrete taking up the space of four cars, so that we couldn't turn out of the jughandle to get on the road. Or when I thought I had lost the keys to the file cabinets and searched for them four times before I found that they had just fallen into some papers.

But I didn't know. And I guess the day got better. It was a beautiful day outside, not that I spent much time in the outdoors, but it was nice to smell it briefly. I ended up taking M back to the dermatologist to have him recheck her and make sure the rash (now a confirmed staph infection) was responding to the antibiotics. He was happy that it was, he didn't even change her to the other one that had shown up as slightly more effective on the sensitivity testing that they did, and said that he thinks the worst is behind her, (I HOPE SO!!!) and that she is no longer contagious.

But she isn't quite out of the woods yet. She still has a special scrub for the shower, antibiotics for the next week or two, as well as topically and in her nose. It's a whole routine. And tonight, she went back to swimming for the first time so I am not happy! She is due back pretty soon and I'm afraid for the first look. Before she was taking the antibiotics, after swimming they would look angrier and redder, and then in the morning, they'd look pale again. But hopefully they're under control now and that won't happen this time.

As for B, the school is pounding him now. He's passing one class, and it's ENGLISH. Go figure. I don't worry too much about math because I always think he will catch up but he isn't doing well with volume formulas. (A few classes have not posted any grades yet. Maybe this will give me something to talk to the neurologist about when we see him on Thursday. Another thing to dwell on for me! The other classes he's floundering in are history and chemistry, but chemistry is by far the worst, because he took a test he was unprepared to take and the result was disaster. It exhausts me to the point where the public school doesn't seem like a bad option despite my concerns, but he is happy where he is, so we'll see. I worry also because I'm planning to take him to Florida when we go, but I can't do that if all of his grades are 68s and below!

But on other hand, M's report card came yesterday - looking good. She's trying to hold her spot in the rankings for graduation.

And in other news, M and I are supposed to head up to Boston for an overnight this weekend, they're having an Accepted Students Day for the College of Health Sciences and she wants to go. The problem is that she's missed so much swimming already, with the staph, but this has been planned for months So we will play that one by ear. I'm still plodding along at work, antagonized by my boss's new habit of coming back to the office or calling in in the 2:27-2:29 range with a list of items he wants done before I leave for the day, which is supposed to be at 2:30. It's really not funny at all anymore.

what is going on???

2011 is not a good year! Over the holidays (OK so still 2010 but close to not) our dog died, one of the moms from the team died on Christmas, and one of the dads died shoveling snow. Now we have bad news all over - in our area alone two senior boys have died - one from meningitis and one from a bizarre cardiac event after a short swimming race, a perfectly healthy kid. Today we found out that one of M's former classmates suffered a stroke - a STROKE - a week or so ago. What in the world is happening?

Around here, things are just a little hectic with Abby and her healing leg and the usual nonsense - B with his mysterious virus causing him to miss the first two days back to school after midterms and his now plummeting GPA as a result (or not??) ... the school has been using a grade portal this year and I can see on a daily basis which homeworks are incomplete and which tests he has failed; it's an extreme hazard to my health and his.

Today he told me when he got in the car that he got a 3 out of 3 on his chemistry homework. At parent teacher night, his teacher said that his homeworks are sub par. So I was happy to hear this. I checked the portal and his homework had an incomplete! I just cannot do this !!!

And so M. Her coach decided to change their practice from Sunday morning to Wednesday night. So now she can sleep in one day but she no longer has a weeknight off. And - of course, being Megan - she has a nasty rash of bumps on her legs! They look like maybe a folliculitis type of infection. I'm trying out my arsenal of creams but it isn't looking a whole lot better, although not worse except for some redness in one spot. I called the dermatologist and they told me to call tomorrow morning for a cancellation (hopefully). They're a pain that way. I think if they can't fit us in I'll just stick with the pediatrician. Better than nothing. Oh, and I am sick and tired of her not ever being able to breathe. What is up with that anyway. Add allergist to the list of doctors to take her to before college.

Forgot to mention that the Wednesday night practice is a half an hour drive up the parkway north - she never did that drive before and had to do it for the first time tonight in the dark! At the time of this writing, she is on her way home. Needless to say, this as well is hazardous to my health.

And in other news, my job is the same. My boss is getting busy and wants me to work full time, or at least more hours, but he doesn't want to have to do the same! He likes that I am in early but then when he comes in around 11, he doesn't get started until after lunch and that's when he wants me there for his last minute whims. I can manage most of it pretty well, but I have to admit that some days I feel like I am at the end of a very short rope!

So that's about all for now. Hoping things will start to turn and we'll hear all sorts of good news soon instead of all this gloom!

the last splash of the season

Hard to believe it, but M's high school swimming career is over! The conference meet yesterday was almost anticlimactic although I still felt nervous for her despite the fact that she was strongly seeded at the top of her two events. As it turned out, she swam a little slower than at the county meet, but well fast enough to win both. Her friend won impressively in her two events, and had to fight off challengers, so that was an exciting twist. It was a strange ending to the whole high school thing, but I guess that just hasn't been as big a part of her world as the club team. Nationals will be the shocker.

B is probably one who is glad to see it over, having been dragged to many a long lasting swim meet throughout his childhood! Of course, he will come to Nationals as well, and he and I will be on the beach or at the bar most of the week, since the bleachers are condemned anyway! That's less than two months away!! Hard to believe.

But she will swim throughout the summer, at least until she leaves for college, and she'll be doing the tournaments at the beach again, and then it will be straight into college swimming. It doesn't end.

Speaking of college, M and I are planning a trip to Boston in two weeks for 'accepted students day,' which is President's weekend. We had planned to all four go, but with the new dog in her state, she can't be left alone or with anyone, so Kevin and B will stay behind with her. I guess we'll be leaving before the sun comes up again, like the last time, in order to get up there by 8:30 or 9.

And in other news, the dogs continue to build their relationship. Today Wilbur got Abby all riled up, they were playing together with a tennis ball, she hits him and he bites her and stands on his two feet so his head will be as high as hers, and she got all excited and tried to jump on the couch !!! I'm terrified she wll wreck her new knee, so I had to lock her in her pen after that. So they played some more, she lying on her side and batting through the cage, and he on the outside bouncing around and biting at her paws. I wished I'd had a video camera! Otherwise, her recovery seems to be going well. It often feels like the only thing holding her back from fun is me! She is raring to go, bounding and running as soon as she thinks she can get away with it. I still say, she has two speeds, OFF and HYPERMODE.

on the road to recovery

Pegleg is enjoying her new leg, sometimes more than she should, and it's hard to keep her calm. She peed in the house today, something she hasn't done since she was heavily medicated, but luckily I was able to catch her in the act and get her outside (not in time, but she knew what I was mad about, I think).

We got the news from the vet that the lump on Wilbur's wrist is just a collection of synovial fluid, so some sort of cyst or injury, and nothing to worry about as long as it doesn't bother him.

And B is back to school but not without the ill effects of having missed the first two days of the marking period. They had parent teacher night tonight so we went and hit the three classes he's already dropping in: math, English, and chemistry. Turns out chemistry is the only one to worry about for now - the grammar tests that have dragged him down are soon to be a thing of the past, and his math grade will hopefully be an anomaly (he did poorly on the first quiz, but I don't worry too much because I know that he has the math tutoring and that is really helping him through.)

Well, I just got the notification that the laptop battery is dying so I will be brief! This weekend will be M's final performance representing her high school swim team at the conference meet. The girls are scheduled to swim Sunday afternoon this year. So send positive vibes!

So in other news, we are counting the days until we visit warmer climates (Florida!) in a few months, and also dreaming of crocuses and azaleas and forsythia. Someone on Facebook commented today on how it was 5pm and not dark out yet. Things are happening!! But for now, I am happy to be able to walk on the driveway without worrying about a wipeout :)