life goes on

hanging on

2012-02-13T11:03:00.004-05:00

Well, good news! I'm not going to ramble on about the sadness of my so called job search for this blog. I'm just going to say that all is still the same!

Anyway, I'm home today because I have a meeting this afternoon at B's school to discuss the college search and application process. This should be interesting because this was not a service offered by the public high school, and it isn't one which I'm sure I need to utilize. Nevertheless, off I am set to go and just in the nick of time, as B is experiencing his traditional third quarter slump. His SAT scores should be available at the end of this week, and that information, combined with what I learn today, will help us plan our first real round of college visits. We have one scheduled for Monday at one of the state schools, and if I don't work Friday, we'll hit up another one or two then.

The 'big' news for M is that next week is her conference championship meet. We have the hotel booked but still haven't been told if we are going to be able to get in to watch. I'm not too bothered by this personally, as I also don't have a backup plan for B and the dogs so will probably have to go late to the meet anyway (as usual). Also with having these two extra cats it's not really ok to just leave the litterboxes for a few days (or a few hours at this rate ... sigh). Also, M is missing quite a bit of instruction and examination, which is alarming. I think this is one of the biggest downfalls of being a student-athlete. The practice time is something to which you have to adapt - but being pulled out of class for events is the worst.

And speaking of the pets - they are still hanging in here. I would love to have them find homes. I like them OK, despite their standoffishness, but they are just too many. If only I could figure out how to train them to use the toilet! And someone has been peeing outside of the box, and on the dog bed. Poor Abby is now down to no bed at all. So she decided she would sleep on ours! This morning, I ordered one of the camp cots for dogs. This way if it gets peed on, I can just clean it - she'll sleep on a comforter on top of it instead of a cedar dog bed that's ruined by a urinator. We've thrown out about four of them in the past few months. This went on even before the baby cats arrived.

And in other news, our house was egged over the weekend! We don't know if it was personal, maybe someone who knows B, as they're in the right age group for such antics. The majority of the slime covered his window; there was just one egg that dripped across the frame to the dining room and smeared its windows. Several drives around the blocks revealed two other crime scenes, and Kevin found an uprooted mailbox with a name and house number that were unfamiliar to this neighborhood. So we will probably never know the story. As for the parkers, they continue to park. One neighbor did speak to the one on the street the other day, but it turned out she just asked him not to park at the end of her driveway, which sent him further down the road. At least it gave me the opportunity to explain their presence. She doesn't mind them, but she has four kids of her own and the youngest just got her permit. However, it's not her yard that they're accessing to get to the school!

parking wars

2012-02-08T19:02:00.002-05:00

It's snowing! B is disappointed because it's not sticking to roads or even driveways and probably will not. It looks very pretty on the trees though, and on the lawn. Abby is excited to run in it although it's not that exciting when your paws sink to the frozen grass. Wilbur came right back inside! Luckily we had a nice long walk this morning.

So the job front festers. I had a (very long) interview yesterday but don't expect to hear anything for a couple of weeks. I also sent out several resumes but, as always, don't expect to hear much from them either. Even the sub jobs have dried up. I would have liked to work tomorrow, but I like to have the jobs lined up ahead of time so I know where I'm going and it ain't looking good for that.

Speaking of school - what a quandary. As most know, B walks to school. He has to cross a neighbor's private driveway and yard, for which he asked and was granted permission in the beginning of his high school career. The school provides parking for seniors and some juniors, but it's limited for the juniors. So as they begin to get their licenses, they try to find creative parking alternatives so that they can avoid being bused or driven by parents. One such new driver is in B's classes and discussed this issue, I suspect opportunistically, with B. B, ever the nice guy, offered the kid to park in front of our house. I told him that this might annoy the neighbors, but it would be OK if one car parked in our driveway.

The kid showed up the next day and the day after BUT ... the following day so did another car! And the car parked (of course) in the street. Then that kid brought another kid with him! So now instead of just B, we have THREE additional kids walking across the neighbor's yard to get to the school. Although I suppose technically we don't even have the right to offer the one, I guess I figured as long as he was in our driveway it wouldn't be a big deal. But now this other kid is coming every day, sometimes with his passenger. And the worst is that when B asked the first kid about it, he denied knowing who it was! And then when pressed (after I saw the three of them walking through the woods together) he said that the kid just "followed him."

I'm not too happy. B is worried that there will be repercussions if I say anything (for example, to the Principal at one of our monthly club meetings, which he always attends) so I'm trying to remain calm. I am sure that the school discourages this practice or we would have these parkers every year. Once we had one, and it lasted about a week before someone stuck a note on the car and he never came back. A friend of mine said she would take the cowardly way out and stick one on and not mention it to B. But we will see. I'd like to tell the kid - tell your friend to stop coming or you can park in the street too! It's legal to park there, but not to cross through the yards.

A lesson learned at PTA meetings: sit on your hands when they ask for volunteers. And don't open your mouth when someone says they have nowhere to park!

And in other news, the foster cats are now listed on the shelter's main page as adoptable. So maybe someone will call for them. Meanwhile, they can stay here for a bit longer. I really love the one, she has a great personality and it isn't like she is indiscriminate. It took her a month to warm up, so you know she means it. And they both come around often, even the shy one. And they're completely fearless of the dogs. They really settled right in.

back to square one

2012-01-24T08:55:00.000-05:00

Yep that's the story of my life these days: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Here I sit, in a house full of cats and dogs, worrying about my hair, and without the prospect of finding work. It would seem that the temp position is not going to pan out after all. I'm being passed over for a younger, cheaper (and probably better-looking!) in-house version. But it's really not that heartbreaking because although I enjoyed getting up and putting on outfits and feeling employed, this was an incredibly boring job. I didn't really do anything all day long. I'm sure the actual person does more than a temp, but I read through every file I could find, but physical and electronic, and couldn't really find much evidence of anything requiring too much effort. So in that respect, I won't complain.

On the other hand, it's a blow to the ego. And another 'headhunter' responded to my resume and spoke to me on the phone. She, as many others, is in the city and wants to meet me. But she was forward enough to say that she doesn't want me to come in just to see her. But she also said that it would be better if my background had been in fixed income instead of, er er, what was it again? That annoyed me so I said well, it was asset management, and in fact, it WAS fixed income. So I don't know if I'll bother to go and see her. I actually only sent the resume by mistake, I didn't realize until too late that she wasn't the actual company placing the ad.

As for my hair, I finally got myself in and used my Groupon for the hair straightening. It looked ok, although a little TOO straight and greasy. But then someone told me they saw a TV show on the perils of keratin and I googled and threw myself into a panic! This woman who discounted the treatment so steeply surely doesn't use a safer formulation! Although, she didn't seem too concerned about protecting even herself during the application. As soon as I read that, I washed my hair, even though it was 12 hours too soon. It still feels kind of coated and straight so I imagine my head is still filled with formaldehyde. I guess the best I can do for now is wash it on a regular schedule and never do it again!! I did have burning eyes and a burning head, but that had begun strangely the morning of the treatment, so I know that it was caused by something else.

The little cats are starting to take over the house and I really have to think about getting them back to the shelter. It's such a Catch-22. You're supposed to make them more endearing to people so people will want to adopt them, but then they start to grow on you and you don't want to give them back! I'd like to time it so they go right into a good situation (not a smelly scary cage in the back but one of the nice digs up front where people can see them) and right out into a home. I guess this week I'll speak to the shelter about it. Five cats is just too many and they're tearing up everything! Plus, Wilbur keeps eating their kitten food.

And in other news, B got his midterm results back and, while better than past years, a couple of grades were disappointing. I always hope that he will learn from these experiences, but still, time after time, there he is locked in his room for a week before, trying to cram everything in that he should have been outlining and studying all along. He's also taking the SATs this weekend - going in sort of blindly because he had to study for midterms and didn't have time to prep, but I just wanted to know his true starting point. We're going to have to pay for one of those pricey prep places, so I'd like to know just how much improvement needs to be made, and in which areas.

As for me, I guess it's back to resume-bombing the job sites. The postings have been slow lately, which is a bit alarming. I took a sub job yesterday, figuring I've already blown the unemployment with the temp job; I'm not sure if I will have trouble extending benefits if I haven't found anything by 26 weeks. I had a nice day at the school. It's hard work trying to get an obstinate kindergartener to forsake fire trucks in favor of a math worksheet, but it's also a good environment and I received a warm welcome from all, so it was nice to feel appreciated. I'll keep an eye out for more jobs...in fact this same one should be posted regularly, but it requires ninja-job-snatching abilities to snare it; not sure how I got it in the first place, just a fluke, I guess! I'm beginning to regret taking the two week temp job, although it will help pay the Christmas bills. But had I not, I think I would have been offered a part time insurance job, and I would have had flexibility and income - albeit meager.

2012, here i come

2012-01-08T20:22:00.000-05:00

So the official start to my year is tomorrow. My two week temp job begins! I will be working true full time hours for the first time since before B was born, so over 16 years! Luckily I was somewhat broken in with my 36 hour work weeks, but even that ended at the end of October. So I am a little nervous and a little excited. I hope that it works out and there will be the potential to turn this into a permanent position, but I don't really want to say anything and jinx any likelihood!

Also back to 2012 tomorrow is M. Back from their training trip in places warm and exotic, the team is settled into their dorms and ready to start classes tomorrow! We will head down to watch a meet next weekend, and after that we don't expect to see her until spring break in March. She did finish out the last semester with a reasonably impressive GPA although the shock of anatomy and one of the other speech curriculum courses kept her off the Dean's List by a fraction of a percentage. And we thought that only happened in the pool!

B is winding down the first half of the year and allegedly studying hard for finals. His GPA remains in satisfactory standing but he's had a few stumbles recently and he needs to get himself back on track. Unfortunately, the mock trial competition in which he had been assigned a part falls on days 1 and 2 of his three days of midterms, so he's probably going to back out of the competition. I think he could probably swing it, but I can't force him and he is not historically one for efficient time management, so if he feels he needs those evenings to cram, he will have to use them. His favorite school club is stage crew anyway, so he'll probably just stick with that; they just started preparing for the musical.

And Kevin is, as usual, status quo. He just completed his own staff reviews and now awaits news of the new year's compensation. Hopefully the news will be good; he just passed by in the hall on his way to complete the FAFSA!

And in other news, the baby cats remain. The less shy one with the one eye is having a ball. She gets a little skittish but I think she is more independent (and also partly blind) than she is being unfriendly. The other is still pretty scared and anti-human, but she is appreciative of her meals. Unfortunately they don't seem to agree with her delicate constitution lately so I'm going to have to rethink her diet. They've had a much broader run of the house the past couple of days with long periods of time loose in the family room. I think the older of the two has developed a crush on our Rusty, and it may not be unrequited!

closing out the books

2011-12-30T09:33:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-19T12:01:00.001-05:00

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!

2011-12-16T20:49:00.001-05:00

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

2011-12-15T08:58:00.004-05:00

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!

2011-12-07T13:11:00.001-05:00

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

2011-12-05T08:31:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-28T21:42:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-10T13:48:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-08T09:55:00.001-05:00

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

2011-11-01T15:10:00.001-04:00

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

2011-09-29T20:51:00.002-04:00

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

2011-09-23T07:12:00.001-04:00

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

2011-09-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

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

2011-07-01T17:13:00.000-04:00

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

2011-06-12T21:04:00.001-04:00

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

2011-05-22T07:41:00.000-04:00

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

2011-05-19T21:34:00.000-04:00

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

2011-05-07T11:15:00.001-04:00

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?)

2011-04-10T16:05:00.001-04:00

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

2011-03-25T19:07:00.002-04:00

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!

2011-03-18T18:41:00.001-04:00

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

2011-03-16T21:43:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-03-06T22:00:00.001-05:00

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!

2011-02-28T21:41:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-23T21:02:00.000-05:00

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

2011-02-14T22:07:00.000-05:00

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???

2011-02-09T20:41:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-07T21:36:00.001-05:00

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

2011-02-03T20:02:00.001-05:00

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 :)

let it (not) snow!!!

2011-01-28T19:21:00.001-05:00

Well another foot fell on us yesterday. The good thing is that they plowed our neighborhood early and it's now clearer than it has been since the first snowfall at Christmas. The bad thing is that they neglected some main routes around town. Figures this would happen the first year that I have to worry about a teen driver. At least she is driving the Explorer. I am terrified in my little tiny car. Yesterday when I drove to work, two cars spun out and crashed in front of me on the parkway. I had taken the parkway only because I thought it would be the only road plowed! The rest were horrendous!

So Pegleg has her leg back! It looks pretty good, too. Of course she can't walk on it, but she will learn. She does have some irritation from being in the cast for so long, some pink pimples and little sores from the rubbing of the splint rods, but that should heal quickly now. She was licking at it but now she has curled herself into a nice little ball and she is resting comfortably.

As for Wilbur, his lump was tapped and the vet felt that what he got out was joint fluid. (It is on his 'wrist'). So we should have results of that back early next week. I am still worried, but the xray did show no bone involvement so let's just hope it was some sort of acute injury that will heal. It's gone down a lot since being tapped, but I guess it might fill back up. It did seem larger two days ago and smaller again yesterday, so it may be inflammation? Maybe? (What do I know..?)

And B is back to school, second semester in full swing. He already has a 50 in English, I guess he did poorly on his only homework, whatever it was that he did while he was home with the sickness. He seemed recovered from that, and he went to swim practice tonight, the first time in two weeks and he has a meet in the wee hours of morning. This may be the end of his high school season, as they only take the fastest to the state tournament meets, which are basically all that remain. There is one other, but it's also important.

M remains in the top five on the performance lists, but that is in jeopardy this weekend when there are several really fast meets around the state. She is now third in the state in both of her events; but I know there are girls who go faster but may not have been challenged yet. Still, it is exciting, and she has the conference meet next Sunday, her last meet of her high school career, since her high school coach doesn't let them go to the state meet. Too bad, it would be fun to go just once. But they have their Y State meet the following weekend and he is getting them ready for Nationals, so we have to do whatever he says. And the meet is a trek to a pool two hours away, and you have to go back the next day if you qualify for finals.

Speaking of Nationals, the bleachers at the pool have been condemned! A piece of them fell into a room below! So I guess it is better to know this now rather than to be on that piece that falls but now we don't know what their solution will be. A small part was closed even last year but we managed. There is no way there is going to be enough seating. Of course, Kevin has covered himself by volunteering to work the entire week, as an official on deck. I guess B and I will be doing a lot of sightseeing!

And in other news, will it ever stop snowing? I heard on the radio today that people are becoming depressed because of all the snow. I can believe it! Although sometimes when I drive down a quiet country road and just see all the untouched white, I do find it very peaceful. I also pass a lot of horse farms, and today I saw some black horses out in the snow, and their contrast to the white was striking. Of course, they are also fun to watch when they romp around in the fields of green!

project pegleg and related woes

2011-01-23T08:37:00.000-05:00

The surgery is a week in the past now on the lame beast called Abby. She sports a bright green cast to keep her splint in place while her kneecap heals back into its new location. She did have a pink cast, but she did a number on that when her lampshade wasn't long enough to keep her nose from poking out the end.

The good part about that was that she got the pain patch removed several days early. I think that the patch was bothering her more than the pain itself, plus it was in a spot on her back that hits me in the face if I try to pick her up. Which I finally did on Friday, and threw out my lower back trying to keep her from bolting around on the driveway.

Outside, she is slow to do her business, as she wants to eat snow, try to run in snow, or watch the world go by. We are cold and stressed, and want her to go, so we can bring her back in and box her back up. In the beginning, she got the idea that the crate was her home, and the pen we set up was her bathroom. So we have had to combat this with various hit or miss techniques. Last night, Kevin almost had to be committed to an institution because on one of his many ventures out, she was about to go (so he says) when the dog across the street started barking like crazy, a pizza delivery car cruised the block, and the dog next door came outside and her people called for her.

As if one dog with a woe is not enough, the other day Wilbur was licking his forepaw, and I checked to see why. He has a hard painless lump on his wrist! I looked this up, of course, internet hypochondria kicked in, and I spent the day in a near-panic, sure that he had bone cancer, which carries a very grim prognosis when found in the extremities. I got him into the vet that afternoon and was greatly relieved to find out that, whatever it is, is NOT on the bone. It's a soft tissue mass which seems to have no connection at all to the bone.

The vet said he could try to aspirate it, but he thought it would be ok to wait a couple of weeks to see if it would heal on its own. In two days it hasn't shrunk, but it hasn't grown either. I might ask for antibiotics tomorrow, when we take Abby in for her cast check. It reminds me of a lump Molly once had on her paw that went away when she took antibiotics. So I still don't know what it is, it could still be bad, but at least it is not bone cancer!

As for B, midterms were last week and it was a week of hell as usual. Grades are trickling in and so far, he hasn't failed a class ::knock wood - English grades are not online yet, nor religion:: but he did do poorly on history, which brought his average down. Math and chemistry were respectable grades, so that was a nice thing. But awaiting the rest of the grades is always a stressful time.

Today is the Y meet where they honor the seniors at their last home meet!! I don't think I will be able to stay composed. And this is only the first - we have nationals (at which, by the way, we may not even be able to watch, we got notice last week that the city condemned the bleachers at the pool!) and then the worst: the end of year banquet with the speeches !!! Not the speeches !!

We were looking online today and found a state performance list and saw that M is listed as top in the 200 and second in the 500! In the state! However, there's another story covering a county meet where a girl blew everyone away and took the top spot in both, which bumps M down at least one spot, and other county meets might have the effect of lowering her further. But it's exciting to see that anyway. Occasionally a story will say that someone's time is xth in the state, but we have never seen the actual list so we've always had to wonder.

And in other news, our house is a disaster, and they say more winter weather is to arrive on Tuesday and Wednesday .. enough of this!!! Can we just see some grass for a few days? I was thinking the other day about the snow at Christmas and how it looked so beautiful and everyone took pictures and posted them on Facebook. Now it's just so depressing that we all look at old pictures from springtime and vacations to warm locales and dream of better weather days!

doggone new year

2011-01-17T20:31:00.001-05:00

Happy new year! This is the first time blogger is allowing me to post in 2011! Maybe I had to age another year before it would work again. Last time I tried it just froze up.

Anyway, as many know already, the dog is gone :( After almost 15 years as our family dog, Molly couldn't hang on another second. So, despite my better judgment I replaced her with a new dog. And I broke the dog before I even brought her in the house! She was bounding around, so excited to have a home, and she slipped on a pile of snow and blew out her patella (knee). She is over at the vet now, eight days after her arrival, recovering from the repair. She is due home tomorrow, and she'll be in a splint for two weeks and slow rehab for several months after. Hopefully she will be ready for the spring season at the dog beach! I was really looking forward to having a dog who would enjoy things like ocean swims and dog parks. Wilbur IS my best friend, but sometimes as a dog he just doesn't fill that dogness void.

This week is midterm week for B. Hell week, one might say. We're all on edge not knowing how this will go! And with the blanket of snow, it's difficult for him to walk home, but I can't leave work to pick him up at 12:30 ... it takes me 45 minutes in travel time just to get here and back. So I'm making him carry some boots in a bag to change and walk home. Or he can try to figure out about the bus .. this is when it would have been convenient! He hasn't taken it all year.

As for M, she swam successfully at the HS meet the other week, so that was a relief because after her meet in December she wasn't sure if she still had it in her! And her college coach-to-be called her the other night so she was able to redeem herself a bit by reporting more impressive times even though she was not 'tapered' for the meet. Interestingly, her college team just came off of a tri-meet where they beat one of the other teams in the conference who has been ahead of them for the past few years. Exciting times for that team, as they may be able to rise up a bit in the conference rankings.

And in other news, my job plods along. At least some new business is finally in the pipeline but it's been quite a while since I heard talk of more money, or even paid vacation days and/or holidays. I hate having to stand up for myself in these situations but it might be time to do so. Of course, now that we have to pay for the dog's patella surgery, I'll be in dire straits for the next six months!(We got a credit line to pay for it but it has to be paid off within six months or we will have interest charges - otherwise it's a 0%...but we didn't see the final tab yet ... ouch) Stay tuned.

what is the reason for the season?

2010-12-21T20:20:00.000-05:00

I would love Christmas if I had the time. My boss continues to ask me when I can work longer hours (I am very happy with the hours that I have, by the way, regardless of kids or not) yet when I take days off, they are unpaid. It is the best and the worst of both worlds. But I drive around and see all of the lights and trees, and we just barely managed to get ours up over the weekend. Not even all, and somehow I never feel motivated to get the rest.

Traffic is picking up, and it's impossible to get anywhere. B is still having his math tutoring, which takes me up to the main strip twice a week, and the traffic is crazy. I guess with time having run out to make purchases online, shoppers are left with no choice.

I'm not even sure if the shopping is all done, although I am hoping that it is! I made one surprise last minute purchase for M, which I had told her she was getting but not until after New Years.

Speaking of M, perhaps the news has been seen that she did in fact get her scholarship to college! She wasn't admitted to the honors college which, while a bit insulting, is also somewhat of a relief. She would have lived in different housing, and she would have had additional requirements on top of swimming and the very specific program of the college to which she was admitted, the Speech/Language Pathology and Audiology program of the health sciences college.

Since her scores and GPA and class rank were high, I can only imagine it was either (a) her low science score on the ACT (b) something else in her application or (c) the fact that she will be an athlete on scholarship that caused her not to be offered that honors spot. No matter, we are very happy with the outcome. Oh, and she also did get into the other college to which she applied, with a $10,000 scholarship. I guess that validates that she made the right choice, as she'll get more from the one she chose anyway! And what a great city Boston is for a college student!

As for B, his grades continued to spiral downward with his venture into high school swimming. Although he's been enjoying the team, he isn't very good at time management and his grades have reflected this. Tonight he chose to stay home, because he has three tests tomorrow, his last day before break. One is in English, where he hovers at the low end of passing, and the other is history, where he's holding steady at a high C. The third is in math, where the additional tutoring funds are paying off and I no longer panic at the news of an impending exam. There are plenty of other opportunities for such panic, however.

And in other news, I'll get my car fixed on Monday and Kevin is off all week. My office is closed Friday and Monday and I'll probably take off one other day as well (maybe Tuesday). M will have to go to her training trip again, like it or not, and she will be back on New Years Eve. So that's our excitement for now. Run with it!

have no fear! we are here!

2010-12-11T14:06:00.000-05:00

Whew.

It's just been one thing after another, and I don't have much time now. M has her big meet this weekend and she really crashed and burned in her first event, which was the 500 free, adding 10 seconds to her time! Luckily she took it all in stride, and came back and took half a second off the 50 free and then swam a pretty close to best time in the 100 today, so she's back for finals in that.

And tomorrow is the 200, so please keep everything crossed for that! Her coach to be emailed and wished her luck and I hope he reads any result but the 500 first !!! She said halfway through she just lost her legs and couldn't kick. They felt like they were being sawed off from top to bottom and every push off the wall was excruciating. Most of the girls on her team are not doing well, although almost all of the boys are excelling.

I think it will be good for her next year when her school has only a womens' team! This meet always seems to be problematic for her with the distance events, they do a lot of sprints at practice in the days leading up to this weekend.

Otherwise, still buried in holiday needs, I am about to run up to the dog park with Pompom, and we are going to try to get a tree today even though it won't go up till next weekend, most likely. I'm just trying to leave the little dog out of his pen while I'm at work, because where his pen is is where the tree will be, so I don't know where else to put it. Anyway, he's almost two. And he didn't eat anything major yesterday, so maybe he is over that. Lately the worst he's done (if you don't count the rubber bracelet he ate last week) is carry some socks and washcloths around.

And in other news, the headlight is repaired, but Kevin decided to put the claim through insurance so now I have to take the car back in to get the scratches repaired as well. That will be the week between Christmas and New Years, while M will be away and I can use her car. B is in a bit of a downturn with his grades, which I attribute to the nightly swim practices, which are good for him but wear him out and challenge his already remedial time management skills. He presently has four Cs and two As. This is frustrating. One of the As is in math, because of course he is being heavily tutored. We can't pay extra for him to be tutored in every subject just to get him to pay attention to them all! And on that note, off to the dog park before the temperature drops.

it's that time again

2010-11-26T14:52:00.001-05:00

How can it already be the holiday shopping season? I haven't had time to pay off my credit card bills from the summer! How is it that the older I get, the less Christmas feels like Christmas? And working certainly doesn't help. At least when I worked in New York, there was Christmas everywhere. Somehow, the drive deeper into suburbia just doesn't pack the same punch.

Anyway, I did do a very little shopping online, and Kevin and I are going to take B to his swim practice and jump over to the outlet mall while he's there, hoping that the major crowds will have died down by late afternoon. M went to a friend's house and they were going to go to a mall by her house, before practice. M has opted to forgo her school's homecoming dance this year! Last year she deemed it 'boring' and left with the group she had gone with. I also think she doesn't like to put on a dress because of her hairy legs (it's a swimmer thing.)

The damage is in on the Jetta headlight and it's going to cost me just under $500 to fix. The good news is that Kevin paid for mine and B's plane tickets to Florida with a discounted fare through AMEX's new system so I won't have that $600 to chip away at this year. I could put the deer crash through my insurance, and as a comprehensive claim it "shouldn't" affect my rates. But the rep on the phone couldn't tell me that it was the best thing to do, and the woman at the body shop said she would pay it herself, because if another larger claim came in and they had a look at it, they'd sock it to me then. So we're coughing up an extra $400 to keep it off of the insurance. What a hassle! Insurance is a scam! Hate that deer!

Meanwhile, facing forward to the next month, I'm fixating on the merit aid issue with M and her college acceptance. I have been reading old postings on web forums where people posted how much money they were given, and what their SAT scores and grades were, and most with M's relative stats were given a fair amount of money. But one was given much less, and that was in 2006! So I keep thinking, what if they give her less because they know she already committed to come there? What if they give her less because they think they are not her first choice? (There was no way for her to indicate that they were, as far as I could tell.) And then I panic. It would be unfair of them to give her less because they know she has to attend anyway, since we were counting on this when she signed the letter. But the two awards are really separate, so we took a risk in allowing her to sign without confirmation. We should know in about three weeks.

And in other news,our Thanksgiving was a success. The food was well cooked, and the house weathered the guest without incident. The dogs behaved, no cats puked during dinner, and the dishes almost all fit into one running of the dishwasher (even if the soap dispenser did malfunction, requiring a second cycle to be imposed!) And the next few weeks will bring swim meets - M starts the high school meets on Friday; B's school has an alumni meet tomorrow, so that should be interesting. And M has a big club meet in two weeks, at which point she will finally be allowed to shave her legs!

oh deer me

2010-11-23T20:35:00.001-05:00

And it has happened again. I've been accused of bloglessness. Apparently my weekly blog-ventures are not enough to satisfy those who live them along with me. So here is the latest: yes, I hit my first deer. Really, the deer hit me. Deer stories are like birth stories, and mine follows.

Driving along a 40mph road with B's school on one side and a county park and community college on the other, B had just told me that he may become friends again with a certain friend from his past about whom we have had concerns. I was lost a bit in thought, and made some random comment, never taking my eyes off the road. Well, never until B exclaimed, in someone else's deep voice, "MOM MOM MOM MOM!"

If you are driving in a car, and someone calls out to you in such an alarmist tone, what do you do? Do you turn toward this person, or do you think, "oh! a deer must be coming from my left peripheral vision, let me look AWAY from this person!"??

Well, I'll tell you what I do. I look at the person who is yelling at me. And then, when I look back, as if in a dream, a deer sails across my windshield, like a movie playing in hyperspeed. I slam on the brakes, but then I feel a crushing blow and what look like feathers fly up in the air. But the car moves on, and a van behind me slows, then picks up again. I pull over and find what seems to be a deer's tail in my headlight, which no longer has much of a plastic covering. In my rear view mirror, there is no sign of my victim.

So there is my deer-tale, in all its entirety. I believe that the deer was probably just bruised...the car sustained no apparent damage other than the cracked plastic and subsequent trips to the scene (where I noted a deer crossing sign when I came from the other direction) yielded no sign of an injured beast. I fear I may have weakened the poor thing just in time for the shootout at the park, scheduled for next weekend.

Anyway, animals aside, this is a nice short week! B is done, thank goodness, as he had taken to failing quizzes again. At the teacher conferences, most of them said he forgets homeworks, but three of them said he has been participating a lot more this second marking period. So that was good to hear. Hopefully he's getting the confidence we had hoped he would get from this school.

And M continues on her usual way: swims and does homework. We are trying to lean on her to enjoy her senior year a little more by participating in school activities. This year she isn't even going to go to the homecoming dance, and she had to forego the powder puff game because (a) she couldn't make enough of the practices due to meets and (b) the game is tonight and she had a paper left over to finish for tomorrow.

So she didn't even go to watch, which we don't like to see. She has distanced herself a little too much from the extracurricular life at school. Swim team has started but twice they sent the club swimmers home because there wasn't room for them on the bus to practice! They only have to go to six practices, but those six are their only chance to actually be part of the team, except at the meets.

Anyway, in other news, PetSmart has stopped carrying the litterbox liners that I like, and I'm really mad! I might just not change the litterboxes ever again. I am also troubled by the high cost of absolutely everything. I still cannot believe how much money I have spent on the pets in just the one month that passed. Wilbur must understand what I am writing because he stopped chewing his bone and is just looking at me. Oh yeah, and I discovered a crime map of Boston that shows the worst part of the city just on the outskirts of M's campus-to-be. Just great.

windy wednesday

2010-11-17T20:11:00.000-05:00

Yes, here we are again, just us chickens and cats and dogs. Kevin is overseas this time and we are battening down the hatch. M and B are both swimming in high school now, which makes her charming and him exhausted. His practices are half an hour away, but I was lucky to have an offer from a former elementary classmate of hers to drive B home!! I am thrilled. I will have to thank him somehow - it isn't far out of his way but it saves me hours. I saw his parents at the meeting and they said he would be able to do it. It's nice because I'm able to have dinner ready.

The job has improved, at least for now. I can't say why, maybe it's just because my boss is not bad as a person, just sometimes as a boss. Also, I took a day off last week, so that helped a lot! That was when I went to watch M sign her letter and commit herself to the next four years in Boston, for a meager pittance. Now, fingers and toes are crossed for the rest. I ran into one of those people this weekend who always say the kinds of things that scare you, she did just that.

Told me that the NCAA won't let her have any other money until they approve it, that she won't be allowed to eat or drink certain foods and beverages anymore because they are on the banned list, and that we will have to be able to show proof of everything she bought with her own money for this entire year. So I don't know. If these things are true, we could be in trouble. Also, one by one, the girls she liked on her training trip are committing to other schools, except for one, so at least there is that one! And she also got a message from a very nice girl who used to be on her team here, saying that she wants to go to that school and has already applied early action. She might swim, but she's just be a walk-on. One more month till we hear from them about the aid and honors college!

All the pets are well now, thank goodness, even though Wilbur ate Molly's 5mg prednisone the other night when I put it down for her to eat in a chunk of meat roll and she failed to comply. In swooped the hawk and that was the end of that. But the only effect was that he ate all of his breakfast the next morning without enticement.

And now it is almost time for Thanksgiving! I am shocked. I didn't even realize that the time was already at hand until I was preparing my spreadsheet at work to keep track of my hours. I have two days off, the office is closed on Friday, which is nice, although I won't get paid.

And in other news, we had some bad news last week. A friend and fellow swim parent was killed in a terrible motorcycle wreck. It's very upsetting and untimely. And today there was an article in the local paper about helmet laws and motorcycles. Too bad the helmet didn't help him. Also today the Doll called to announce an untimely death in her family. Her brother's son died as a result of some sort of heart surgery, and she needs to sign some document and fax it to the funeral home. Something to do with the cemetery plot, and there's this crazed rush to get it back, but they don't even have it yet. I'm trying to help her, but I have to work tomorrow and they want it back by 4:30!! Sigh. And she wants Kevin to take her to the funeral mass on Friday morning, which I suppose he will. That was his day of recovery from the trip. She has been estranged from this brother for years, and now wants to patch things up.

quiet on the home front

2010-11-07T19:19:00.002-05:00

So, here it is, another Sunday night. Just me, kids, dogs, cats, and the sneezing couch. The weeks have just been flying by. High school swimming starts this week (at least the practices do) and that will be exhausting. B is going to give it a try this time, and his school practices half an hour away from 5-7. No bus. I sure hope I can arrange some sort of carpool. As for M, her senior year! No pressure. At least she is already accepted into college but there are bragging rights at stake as well. I'll say no more about that!

My job is pretty lame. I really don't know if I'll make it. I have realized that there is one aspect I'm just not going to be able to do the way the boss wants it, and that's manage the list of people he wants to call. I just can't make heads or tails out of the names that fly at me from all directions, and although I organize them into list after list, I never see those lists again, so I just really can't do it if he isn't going to cooperate. And I don't think he wants to. He tells me that he will not change, and expects me to adapt. So, I don't know. I'll give it my best go for as long as I can but meanwhile I think I'd better not get used to having these paychecks! He's out for the week this week, so it should be quiet.

Kevin is also off for a conference in San Antonio this week. He just left this afternoon while Wilbur and I were at the dog park. He'll be back Wednesday right before things get really crazy with obligations and evening commitments.

As far as the hospital goes, patient zero (Rusty) is 100% recovered. The girls have been to the vet as well, at $106 per cat, and they are being treated but not having the miraculous recovery enjoyed by their brother. Fortunately it doesn't seem to have crossed the species barrier, and the dogs seem well. As well as can be in Molly case, anyway, and she is just about out of her pills, so I'll have to call tomorrow for more of those. More $$. Please note that I will not be replacing those who depart. Although perhaps Molly. It's going to be hard on the pompom when she goes.

B's marking period ended Friday. We thought he had two C's, a bunch of B's and an A (computers, which is an elective), but his religion teacher graded a bunch of papers and a test at the last minute and all of a sudden he had three C's. But this was still a much better marking period than any other, because aside from the initial failures in math (which may have been a blessing because it drove us to Mathnasium where he is filling in the gaps left as a result of his weak middle school information retention) he has gotten through the classes mostly without guidance from us, which is the ultimate goal. Incidentally, math is no longer one of the C's!

And in the case of M, we all trekked up to Boston yesterday for an open house at her college. We sat in on the speech presentation and also the honors college. We toured the new dorm, which is where the freshmen who are accepted into honors are offered housing, and Kevin took B to the computer science presentation, where B was floored by the availability of resources. He loved it, but didn't like the urban setting. So we're getting an idea of what he wants out of a college, and will spend next year helping him narrow down his options, and helping him prepare for the SATs. (I keep running college searches for him and Hofstra comes up as one of his best matches!)

The speech department is interesting. It's very small, and the woman who presented at first kept getting confused and saying the wrong things (like calling their five year MS program a four year program and misunderstanding the questions she was asked) but the woman in charge of the coops was great, and she really made it exciting. Then they had two students, one in particular I wondered if he might not have been advised to wear a sign around his neck saying, "results not typical," because the things he had already done were truly amazing.

The problem that I foresee is going to be a conflict with swimming and coop in her sophomore year. She will have to do a six month coop from January through June, and they have their championship meets as well as their training trip in January. But obviously this can't be her issue only, as the school is based on cooperative experiences, so all athletes must confront this issue at some point. She just wants to put it off until the time comes, but I keep telling her she has to discuss it with the coach and the coop advisor as soon as she gets there.

And, if she gets into honors, there will be additional conflicts, but she'll have to decide if she wants to take them on. Honors certainly sets her above but will she be able to handle it all? But I put the cart before the horse here - we have another month or more to wait before the acceptance even arrives - although the letter she has to sign for the scholarship should be here later in the week. The signing period is Thursday to Thursday.

And in other news, what other news is there? I've rambled on enough already, have I not? It seems I've run out of things to say!

spooky saturday

2010-10-30T07:51:00.001-04:00

Last night when we went out for dinner, a black cat ran across the road right in front of us!! This after OUR cat finally captured the small furry creature who had been appearing only to B for two days. Kevin put the poor little thing outside in the cold, better then the fate it was about to have met. Hopefully it took up residence in a tree or a shed, anywhere but back in our house!

So the news on college may be well known by now, and M is going to go to school in Boston. Of course, she finally heard back from the coach of the small superior school yesterday, he told her that he was sorry that she wouldn't be swimming for them because she "really impressed" them while she was there. This may have been the case, but then why did he ignore her thank you email and her coach's call and email? But it's done now anyway as she's made the verbal commitment. The school will send official papers to be signed the week of November 8 (NCAA early signing period) and then we wait for the acceptance to come, hopefully with a nice merit award attached!

As for B, the first marking period is about to end so we're anxiously awaiting a couple of test scores. He's surprisingly off on Monday, I don't think about things like All Saints Day normally, and since it's the first day of the new month, I hadn't looked ahead on the calendar. He just found out yesterday in school. He'll have some time to sleep a little, and do a little work. Of course let's hope it's more work than sleep but I suspect this might not be.

Rusty is sick! He sneezes all the time. I have never heard a cat have this kind of cold. I was trying to wait it out but then I found a youtube video of a cat with the same sneeze, and that cat went to the vet and got antibiotics and got better, so I'm hoping for the same for the Rust. We're going today at 10:45. All three cats are behind on their shots and I have to get them in for those, but not while he's sick, so I guess it will have to wait.

The other news is that M was a 'school winner' in the Wendy's scholarship program. They were supposed to post the state finalists yesterday at 5, but they didn't. In fact, they still haven't. So we keep checking but now it's starting to look like they might have left for the weekend without knowing their site didn't update :/ So far she has gotten a $10 card to Wendy's and another of unknown value (you find out when you get to the store, that was the 'thanks for playing' card). The big prize is much more, but it's also much more competitive, obviously.

And in other news, we're now cleaning lady-less, as I went and told the cash-only, wash-rags-for-me, buy-me-a-broom lady that I was just going to do the house myself. So it looks like now that's what I'll have to do. Also, I have 'won' the Bookrags case in that they refunded money for two of my orders, gave me a credit for the third, and reactivated my account, but they tried to make it sound as if I was making up stories, or at least stretching the truth, because *they* would never do this to a customer! Anyway, I won't use their services again unless I use that credit. I don't think I'll have any such luck in the case of the Target VISA so I'll probably just pay that off and close it. I can't believe the interest rate is so high! With college real and on the horizon now, I'm trying to sock away as much as I can, which will be a tad easier without having cleaning people to pay every two weeks, and without so much available credit.

friday follies

2010-10-22T14:03:00.000-04:00

The Eagle has landed in Boston! So let the last and long awaited college visit commence! M was on a flight out at 10 and was on the ground by 11. Not a bad way to travel, if you discount the two hours she probably spent sitting around due to Kevin's hyper-reliability when it comes to airport arrivals. So stay tuned. Nothing from the school last weekend yet, we don't know if that means they're not interested or just overwhelmed with the job of choosing from the pool (no pun intended).

I'm weary of work because it isn't getting any better. I am tired of the implication that I'm not performing up to par, I take pride in my work and think I've worked pretty hard. And my paychecks are still pretty paltry and when I say I have to leave at a certain time for an appointment, I don't appreciate being kept until five minutes past that time. I find it rude. The problem is that I can't do the work of another person, I can only do my work. If that other person wants to give me more work, then I will be happy to do it. But I can't be responsible for some of these things. I think 90% of people would have walked off this job months ago. Many did. Although not always by their own choice, amazingly. I now understand the pitied looks I got in my first few weeks.

Anyway onto some better news, the bookrags case has resurfaced. I think at last update I had been stonewalled through my own efforts, the PayPal refusal to help me, and more recently the LL Bean VISA's reported inability to help because I had 'accepted the service rendered.' So I went to other levels, notified the Better Business Bureau, as well as reported my story to consumeraffairs.com (although I have yet to find it posted there, as a matter of fact).

So this morning, all of a sudden out of the blue appear two credits, two of the three charges were reversed! I was happy to see that but I don't know what brought it about - was it the Better Business Bureau? I will have to wait and see. And what of the third study guide to which I no longer have access? I had that one for about two weeks instead of just one, as the others. Does that mean I have to pay for it? At any rate, two refunds are better than none. But I should never have had to go to such extremes to gain resolution.

And I'm on a new crusade. A month or two ago, I was looking at my Target VISA statement (and I know, this makes me a terrible consumer not to have known this) and noticed my interest rate on purchases is over 20%! On my LL Bean VISA, it is less than 10%. After reading all the articles on how to streamline your debt and reduce expenses, I thought I would give it a shot and call to see if I could get it lowered. Well, guess what? I can't.

The woman on the phone informed me that not only could they not offer me a better interest rate, but they would respect my decision to close the card! Not even, we are very sorry to hear that after ten years you are going to close this account, let us send you some Target coupons to offset the fact that we can't work with you. Just, "Ok. See ya!"

I had been considering keeping it only to use at Target to get the 5% off. I may be cutting off my nose to spite my face, but they can keep their 5%. That new store is weird anyway. I can't find anything anymore, and I cannot come to terms with eating meat bought at Target.

And in other news, B is doing better in school!! :::knock wood:: He now has a 75 in English and a 77 in chemistry, and all the other grades are 80 and above!! Let's just hope he can hold steady and let's see what the PSATs show. This math tutoring center, though expensive, I think was necessary and is going to help him in a lot of ways. So I feel pretty good about that, at least. And he enjoys going and his grade has come up considerably in just two weeks. He's also planning to try the swim team this year so he's been doing their dry land workouts and coming home sore and happy. I hope he likes it. It will be good for him to be part of a group activity at school.

So this weekend I plan to spend cleaning the house tomorrow, to see if I can do it. I'm really having strong reservations about using the woman who wants me to pay her in cash and always have a bag of clean rags for her, along with about $100 in cleaning supplies each week. And she won't clean under anything, so it all has to be picked up and put away. I'll see how well I do and then maybe cancel her before she starts. I might anyway, because at this point in my life I resent being told that I have to wash rags and go to the bank for cash so my cleaning lady doesn't have to. If I had all this spare time I wouldn't need a cleaning lady! I can barely keep up on my own laundry!

weekend in review

2010-10-17T10:25:00.000-04:00

The weather sure is nicer here in NJ than it was up there in Central NY! But amazingly, for a weekend where everything seemed to be stacked against the school (the storm and their broken down pool, for example) it was a huge success, and M loved it there, as it seemed did the rest of the visitors.

So now next weekend she has her one more visit up in Boston, and then we'll see what everyone has to say as far as scholarship offers or not. I think both schools have an equal amount to divvy up but it depends on where the competition is greater, and how badly they want her, and just their general policies. This school this weekend seemed to be telling her that they have to cover the financial need of the athletes with their scholarship money, which means that we won't qualify unless nobody else does either, and then it can be split up as they see fit.

Anyway, we should know within a couple of weeks. The third school she applied to is having an open house today but she can't make it because she has a walk for the National Honor Society. B is going too, but he's just working the table for his school. Usually our church sends a small constituency, I guess they are again this year, but M&B will be representing other interests. It doesn't matter, all of the money goes to the same charity. But back to the college open house, since this is just a back-up, I guess we'll have to schedule it on our own time later on.

My plan for today is to try to clean the house. The new cleaning lady came last week, but she called when she was on the block, so I had to leave work in a hurry, luckily B was home to navigate her, and then, after telling me, "don't worry," in response to my query about what she might require, she came empty-handed and expected Brian to produce everything.

Then she said it was too late (2pm) for her to start the house, informed me that she doesn't pick things up off the floor, so if the kids leave their rooms cluttered, they won't get vacuumed well, and she gave me a list of items that will likely cost me $100 just to get her started! And demanded cash each time she comes so she won't have to go to the bank! I've paid cash for things like that before and it just doesn't work well for me. I don't pass a bank on the way to or from work, and although I can go to the grocery store and take cash back, I can't get enough. I never carry more than $40 or so in cash.

So I'm considering calling her and just telling her never mind. At this rate I have to do so much legwork for her to just come in and clean and vacuum that I might as well just do it myself. and save the badly needed money. How can I cry poverty and pay someone to clean my bathrooms? It doesn't really compute. No wonder all the schools are rejecting out applications for aid.

Well, really that appears to be my rant of the day. I have to work up the nerve to call her. The thing is, I never asked her to put us on the schedule. I asked her to come and see the house. And if she had come and seen it, then we would have taken it from there. She also made a comment about how big it was. I asked if she changed sheets and she said it didn't matter. Which to me means no. I have a feeling she'll be relieved. Our house is big and it's usually cluttered. I think she wanted a nice small easy one. And why pay someone if I know I won't be able to have the whole house impeccable? She'll end up just cleaning around everything we have left out, and it will never really get cleaned. Because she is "old." That's why she said she doesn't move things around.

And in other news, back to the workplace tomorrow. I'm not off any more days, at least I have none planned. Tomorrow we are supposed to 'discuss' my deficiencies, which basically means my inability to monitor things of which I have not been made aware. It's starting to wear on me. I was trying to think of ways to make myself more tolerant of the whole thing - like actively sending out resumes, or setting goal dates like through the holidays for things to take a turn for the better. Everyone in the office is nice, the boss included, and I do like him. But sometimes he can be downright rude, and when he forgets something and goofs, always tries to make it as if it happened because of something I did, or didn't do. I'm getting a little tired of it.

hello from the boondocks

2010-10-15T06:39:00.002-04:00

Here I am. I’m in the casino hotel in upstate New York, and there’s live horse racing at night out my window, poor things, running with chariots behind them in the pouring rain last night, and perhaps again tonight. I booked the first night for a great price through Expedia, but only booked the second room when I arrived (thinking if it was a dump I’d find another hotel but it’s quite cozy here in my room.) They may make me check out and back into a different room, but I am hoping they won't. I'm all settled into this one.

Yesterday morning I worked, put up with the usual scapegoating where it’s implied that I should have done things I was never told to do (such as add someone’s phone number to the database when only ‘call Tim’ was written on the calendar and not by me), then came home for a hurried packing job, and we were on the road by 2:30. We got to the college just after 7, and I meandered through dark scary wet country roads for half an hour to find this beacon in the darkness. It was almost bizarre to see the huge expanse of bright lights in a circle around the track in the middle of the wet, dark night.

So my plans for today involve: nothing. I guess I’ll just read my Shopaholic book, go to the gym, eat lunch, and shower. Then maybe I’ll venture out for a drive if the rain isn’t too bad. I have to pick up M at 10 tomorrow. It’s supposed to be windy but I think the rain is supposed to be done.

As for the bookrags debacle, I did indeed lose the case, they’re not going to (a) give me a refund (b) acknowledge that they have disabled my account although they guaranteed it for a year or (c) even respond to my complaint at all. So I also sent it in to consumeraffairs.com and I reported it to the Better Business Bureau. At least people should know that if they want to do business with Bookrags, they’re likely to lose their money and their access, and then be cast out in the cold by their nonexistent customer service.

And in other news, yesterday I left Wilbur out all morning while I was at work and he didn’t eat a thing! (not even his breakfast). M got home first and she said he cried the whole time she was walking around before I got home. I told her that was because he was so excited and proud of himself. As for B, I didn’t talk to him yesterday on the harrowing drive, so I texted him at 8 and received no response. So I called his cell, called at home, had Kevin check with the guy he works with to see if he was on xbox, and he wasn’t on Facebook. I panicked for 45 minutes and was about to call a neighbor when I tried one more time and a very groggy voice answered on the second ring, saying, “it was cold. I fell asleep.” Buy stock in L’Oreal, folks. The grays are winning the war.

Oktoberfest!

2010-10-08T17:32:00.001-04:00

Fall is finally here. The leaves are all over, the air is cool, and the stink bugs are trying to invade the house. They have been a little better this week than they were, but I think that is just because we had that little heatwave over the weekend. I expect they will grow in numbers in negative correlation to the mercury in the thermometer.

But at least they are not bedbugs! What a terrible plague! I have read accounts of them in local movie theaters, schools, police stations, shops...!!! There is this ominous invisible threat of them everywhere you go. And what can you do about it? Nothing. Yuck.

Anyway, as for life goes on. It does. The good news is that B is no longer failing any classes, at least not for the time being, and the general trend is upward. So we are hopeful. Math is looking a little shaky but we've embarked on a major investment and signed him up for one of those math tutoring centers, at fairly high expense, but I don't see that there are many options.

He's taking the PSATs on Wednesday and I'm just afraid his basic math skills are not where they should be. He had an evaluation yesterday but I haven't seen the results yet. His sessions will start on Monday and he'll go twice a week. Hopefully, it will help. He comes home from tests saying they were easy and then fails them, which is worse because it means he doesn't even know enough to know that he doesn't know what he's doing!

M is status quo. Tensions are high, and applications are starting to amble out. She submitted one, to her top choice school in Boston, but the high school's parts (recommendations and transcripts) will probably hold up the process for a week or two. Then another school, in NYC, sent her a free application online so she did that, and those final components are also pending from the high school. So, two applications so far. Next week, she goes up to the little college in upstate NY, and then up to Boston the following weekend, and back to Philadelphia (is the plan) for Halloween weekend. But that one might not happen.

My job also limps along. I'm a little disappointed in that it's failed to take shape as an actual role-playing job, rather I am more of a lackey and I heard my boss refer to me the other day as "my secretary." But, whatever. As long as I am not abused and I am paid I can stand it for a while. I really hope it takes on a more meaningful shape soon, though.

Well, another thought. I'm in the middle of what seems to be a losing battle with the website bookrags, which I thought at first was going to be the answer to our high school English problems. I ordered three online lesson plans at the end of summer. I was supposed to have access to them for one year. Two or so weeks later, they blew up my account and I couldn't get to them. The tests for which I needed them came and went, and they stopped answering my emails.

I tried to dispute the charge in PayPal but they wouldn't do it because it was electronically purchased. So I disputed it with my LL Bean Visa. Without notifying me, they have 'resolved' it ... and since my balance didn't go down, it looks as if I have lost again. So, they get to keep my money, and they don't have to provide the service in return. Apparently their language, to the effect of: customers can download and print everything on the entire study guide, is enough to release them from any liability should they fail to provide the service for a year, as their site says they will do.

I got two emails back from them (ever, in response to my 7 or 8), and the first explained that they had had some sort of technical problems, and the second said that they had not been resolved. I am just appalled that they are allowed to get away with this, and that they are as seemingly successful as they are with the level of customer service that they (don't) provide. I'll never darken their web-step again, that's for sure. And my next step is the Better Business Bureau, if I can ever figure out what their operating address is. They have absolutely no contact information on their site at all, and now I can see why. Whew. They have me so mad. Good thing it's over only $50 but the ethical principle is more irritating. They are completely inconsiderate, and if the law supports them, that's completely unfair.

And in other news, Molly's birthday is coming up in two weeks. With the wet weather last week and her leg weakness, she had some trouble getting up the back steps, and she hurt her leg a couple of times when she slipped. But she seems to have recovered and she's back to her old farting and sleeping self. And as for this weekend, no major plans, just an open house at M's only in-state college choice on Sunday, so that will be a short trip for a change!

random rambling

2010-09-30T20:39:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been so long I almost forgot how to login!! It's been busy and I've been lazy, and didn't want to trouble anyone as I went through my own panic over the false fibroid alarm sounded by my doctor, who told me that I had a uterus the size of a three month pregnancy. Is it funny or sad that I never once considered the possibility of actually *being* three months pregnant?

Anyway, the ultrasound did in fact show two fibroids but they are small and can be left unattended for now, so that was good news. In order to prolong some of my agony, I have scheduled both a mammogram and a dental cleaning for next week.

Otherwise, M's two college visits have not yielded a clear favorite. She didn't have the best vibe for the first, and she did love the second except for a few things: NO money, academic, need-based or athletic, will likely be offered, making this a $50K+ per year expenditure. I just don't know if the value provided is really worth that extra $10-25K! In fact, I suspect it may not be. (Not as if we have it, anyway!)

The other thing was that she had a cold when she left and while she was there there she attended a typical frat party! Not her cup of tea on the best of days, although she claims to have stuck it out like a trooper. Coincidentally, as I typed this, the coach called to check on her, which cannot be said for the coach of the first school she visited, which we found to be much less well-run anyway.

This weekend, she has her inter-squad meet at the Y and, next weekend, she wants to go to an open house at her 'back up' state school, which is TCNJ. She really liked it there when we visited a year and a half ago but we have never managed to make it back. The price tag is certainly attractive, and the quality of education is pretty high. I just don't know if she wants to stay in NJ, and I also don't know what major she would choose there if she still wants to end up in speech therapy or a related field.

Also to keep my life twisted, B's school went to an online grade reporting system, so I can log in now and see all of the grades up to the minute! (Subject to teacher reporting, of course.) The first day that I checked, he was failing three classes! I sent out a slew of emails. Thankfully, two days later, he was only failing one, and only by two points. We are working on this. M's prom date was here tonight tutoring B in chemistry, and refused to take payment! Hopefully, it was effective. He spent an hour and a half here, and all he would take was a bag of Skittles.

And in lieu of mock trial, this year B has signed up to work on the production team for the two plays that his school puts on each year. He also asked to go to Montana in November with the service club, but I said, let's see what happens with that GPA before we start signing you up for weeks away from school!

We also went to Back to School Night at M's school (her last one!) and saw some of the effects of the budget cuts: 29 kids in her section alone of AP English Literature, and a very unhappy teacher - then about the same number in her AP Spanish class, because it's mixed with Spanish 5. I was unable to see how this works in any way in favor of the AP students, but those in Spanish 5 are going to have one heck of a year.

And in other news, my cleaning people have got to go. Today they cleaned my stove with an SOS pad (which they took from under my sink, not something there for their use, actually), dragged a trash bag along the driveway, spilling clam sauce all over and then throwing the ripped bag into the garbage, which caused Kevin to have to rebag it and discover a thrown away dog license (reminiscent of the retainer debacle last month),knocked the cover off the baseboard heating and left it that way, left multiple pieces of furniture pulled away from the wall, unplugged my alarm clock which will cause me high anxiety in trying to resent the poor 27 year old thing, and left tufts of hair all over the floor. It does look like it's time to cut them loose.

Oh, and they left the scoop in the litter box again. IN the litter box!

holy cow! where does the time go?

2010-09-14T21:12:00.000-04:00

Slow down the world! It's moving too fast! I can't even believe it. M is driving, B is a sophomore, a gangly string bean, and tomorrow I will have been married for twenty years. Too much to process for my aging cell-depleted brain.

Anyway, nothing is exciting. Dogs are dogs, cats are cats, kids are kids. B passed his summer reading tests! Of course, the year that he decides to pass them, with 76s on three so far, the school decides to grade them with numbers and make them count. Up till now they were always pass/fail. So of course, last year, he, um...didn't pass (where were his 76's when they would have been Ps instead of Cs??) Now I don't even know if that will matter, does it even count? And he has one more to take tomorrow, and it's the one with no online study guides. I'm a little more than anxious, I have to admit. Whatever. Separate. Breathe. Drink wine.

As for M, she starts her recruiting trips this coming weekend. Two now, two next month. We found out we have no financial need. None. Tell that to our checking account. Oh, and tell it to Sleepy's, who rejected me for their 0% financing. Well, in the end that was a good thing because, while humiliating, it gave me time to rethink my impulse purchase.

I was actually prepared to spend $1099 on a set they had on 'sale,' but for some bizarre reason, when my credit was rejected, the price dropped further by close to $300. They wanted me to give a deposit to hold the mattress, after they told me my credit was no good! How pathetic is it to be told you have no need by a school whose tuition is $50,000+ per year, and then the next day be rejected for credit when trying to buy a $1000 bedding set?

And guess what? I found the same mattress online for another $150 less. My 'bad credit' saved our bank account. I don't even know why they rejected me, unless because my income is so low. So low, in fact, that the government won't even tax me :-)

I guess this is all good anyway because I'm also in the process of being taken for a ride by the website bookrags. I bought three lesson plans to help B prepare for the summer reading tests. Well, they knocked out my account so I can't access any of them anymore, they won't fix it, won't answer questions about refunds, and now PayPal won't reverse the charge because it wasn't a material good. Ridiculous! Buyer Beware takes on a whole new meaning. I'm going to try to get credit through my credit card instead, but this is ridiculous! How can they keep my money when I can't even access the site?!?

And in other news, everyone is back to school. M's classes now have 30+ kids in every one, and B's school is under construction and is only having back to school night for freshmen. M is back to swim practices now, and it's so delightful having her drive herself. I have afternoons and evenings uninterrupted by having to run out in the middle of cooking dinner to get her. And she is adjusting to having the Explorer as her car. It's about time for the Honda to go back. I plan on driving it on some of the college visits to run up the miles, since we have to pay for them anyway. But then it goes back. And we love the little Jettawagen. It's comfortable, fun to drive, and cute to look at!

labor day blues

2010-09-05T08:47:00.001-04:00

What a beautiful weekend! The air is cool and crisp and the sky is blue. The surf is calm(ish) once again, after the hurricane that never really was for the Jersey shore. But summer is over. One more day!

Yesterday, we drove M down to work and took a walk along the boardwalk, then picked her up and had dinner at one of the beach hot spots. She was grumpy today about the escort service, and I was tired anyway, so she drove herself. She texted that she had made it, so we'll see what the car looks like. Since being her work transport, the car has had several injuries: something sharp dragged across the rear bumper, something white opened into the side, and some seagull target practice all over everywhere. And this is the car that's up for lease return in a few short months.

B is in crunch mode for his summer reading test. He went in Friday morning for pictures and book issuance, and after that we went to see the neurologist, for a clean bill of neurological health for the half-year. No MRI! I'm sure this won't be forever, and I'll probably sweat it out even worse than ever when it's been more time in between, but for now I am happy about the outcome. And he had a strange little black thing removed from his face (to the tune of a non-reimbursable $175!!!) which was also pronounced nothing to worry about.

The problem he's run into is that the practice tests and lesson plans I bought from an online site are now no longer accessible, which they should have been for a year, and the only recourse is to send an email to the site, and they don't even promise to respond for 24-48 hours! This at $17 per lesson plan! I'm not happy about this. I found another site that had one of the tests on it, and paid $5 for that and printed it out ASAP. It's not as comprehensive, but hopefully he's done the due diligence already.

M is plugging through her summer work, and she ended up staying in the European history AP class, which added another huge packet to her first-day-of-school work. She emailed the teacher for extra time, but I don't think she has heard back. Her only real option to switch into was Calculus BC and she was more worried to do that - they had also had a large summer packet which she has not done. And yesterday I took the Explorer up, got a spare key made for it (the old one got severed by the power seat) and had it washed, waxed, vacuumed, etc for her to take to school on Tuesday. She wanted to take the Honda, but since it has to go back anyway, might as well start with the sticker on the other car from Day One.

She also finally got connected with the coach from a fourth school, who invited her for yet another official visit. So she has the two coming up this month in PA, and then one in NY and one in Boston in October, missing a day of school for each. I hope one of these produces a good fit for her and for us by November so she can be done with this process and focus on her classes for the rest of the year! Two of the schools are in the same league, and someone we spoke to sang the praises of this league for putting academics ahead of athletics. The other two may be more intense, which might mean missing more school for meets and meet-related travel. Stay tuned.

In other news, Molly's blood tests were all the same, meaning her Cushing's hasn't returned and she still needs the prednisone supplements indefinitely. This is a cheaper alternative to the drug that controls the adrenal glands, but it's a little dismaying that that drug killed them off so completely. It would seem to me they are never coming back. But this way of being for her is so much better than before. She no longer has 24 hour insatiable thirst, almost never pees in the house, and her rear legs are a lot less shaky. She rarely falls down the stairs, although she does still randomly collapse on slippery surfaces. But that could just mean it's time for a paw trim :-).

beep-beep-mm-beep-beep yeah!

2010-08-27T21:47:00.000-04:00

Yikes! So $10 for the license and the orange stickers later, plus $900 a year more in insurance, guess what we have? A new driver! Yikes. So it begins. They picked M up at 6:30 for a refresher course and then had her in line early at the DMV. In fact she texted me the telltale: WOO before her appointment time had even arrived!

So that was a bit of a relief as we were worried about what would happen if she did not pass. I was worried about her coming home alone and moping all day, and then being afraid to face the world. I also worried about how we would ever schedule her next appointment, as she is having to miss school for these college visits already in the first month or two of school. And also because she had to go back to pick her sticker up, so she can park in the lot.

We received a letter that said she had to come in to pick up the sticker, and gave her a two day window, yesterday and the day before. I called and said she had to work, and anyway wouldn't have her license till today. The assistant principal assured me that this was the only time she could come, and also that she should just bring her permit (which was what the letter said) to get the sticker. I was minorly annoyed that they wouldn't accommodate our work schedule, but I wasn't going to rock the boat so we both told our jobs we'd be late and we set out early to wait on line.

Power freaks that they are, the secretaries made everyone wait out in the hall until at least 8, although they weren't doing anything but puttering around and talking on the phone. I went outside when I noticed I was the only parent there (most of the kids could already drive). Ten minutes later, M came out without the sticker! She was told that they didn't know where she got that information, but it was wrong. I was so incensed that, as soon as she got the license and subsequent sticker, I wrote a letter to that guy and told him what had happened. Whether or not this was what they intended, once they had it written in the letter it should have been honored. And this particular secretary is just a nasty one. We've dealt with her for years, beginning at our old school. She wields an awful lot of power for a secretary, if you ask me. And I finally just had had enough. In this case, they were wrong.

So see if it did me any good. He'll probably ignore my mail and M will not be welcome in the guidance office again :/

But one good thing came of that visit. She got her schedule, and on it her new guidance counselor was listed, and it's her school swim coach. So that was nice to see. Her old counselor had to go back to teaching after the budget cuts and she had always wished she could switch the coach but never had a good reason. So now she doesn't have to.

She does have a problem with her schedule though. She is in an AP History class that she put down as a second choice to Economics and she doesn't want to take it. So she has to try to change that, but they don't want them changing anything until the first day of school. I am really, really hoping B can last the whole four years at his school. I don't want to have to go through any more time in this district's public schools than I have to!

Anyway, in other news, one more week left of summer. I left work both yesterday and today around 1:30 and took B to the beach club. It was beautiful today, but there was a lot of garbage in the water, which is terrible. You see a lot less of that on the beach down where M is working. This weekend will probably be beautiful too, although they say it will be hot on Sunday. I have been loving this cool air! Windows open!!

planetary misalignment

2010-08-22T11:46:00.001-04:00

Fortunately, M made it back home in one piece. There was some confusion because the flight before theirs was delayed and they ended up taking off a little late as well, and this time only had less than an hour to land, get off the plane and change terminals for the next one. They sprinted through DFW but they made it and their plane even landed a little early. So M had a ride home and we went to a work party. A little awkward because most of the people I feel I know the best didn't go (!) but it was pleasant enough that we stayed for three hours.

So M is home. She forgot her retainers, and left them in a plastic bag on the bathroom sink. She had texted about this situation earlier in the week, and I, not wanting anything to happen to them, had put them on a shelf in the bathroom closet. Fast forward to last night, and me with a headache and stiff neck on the couch, and she can't find them. Annoyed, I dragged up to show her what a fool she can be, always unable to find anything, even when it's right in front of her face. Only it's not there.

And at the same time, I have B telling me he left the $50 he got for his birthday on his dresser and it's gone and I'm thinking, just great, I have this cleaning lady that I'm not all that happy with, they use more cleaning supplies in one day than I think I have ever used in a lifetime of self-house-cleaning, they dumped a bucket of bleach-cleaner on our blacktop driveway, and now they are stealing money and throwing out retainers? But fortunately I did find the $50 in his top drawer, although he had "already looked there."

But no such luck with the retainers. Not good. I cannot even imagine how this happened, as these cleaning ladies have no business in that closet anyway. Did the bag get knocked to the floor and thrown out? Did they knock it down or did one of us? Did the dog get hold of it? But why is it just nowhere? Of course garbage is already collected. M happens to have what was supposed to be a regular checkup on Tuesday, but now I am going to have to call and find out what happens in this case. As if it's not bad enough that she forgot and didn't wear them for a week, now they are gone and can't be worn until they're replaced. I hope they don't need to take new molds, but they might. I'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out. Not the end of the world by far, but what a nuisance. And let me not talk about the cost :-(

As for B, he is done with camp. He has two weeks until he starts school and one book left to finish for summer reading, but he has all of them to review. I wish they would give them assignments over the summer instead of tests. It's much easier to judge preparedness when there's something he has to turn in than when he just says, yeah, I read the whole book. I'm trying to find tests and study guides online but not all of the books are commonly used, so I have only found help for one or two of the four.

M has a bunch of school stuff going on, too. She has to go this week to get her parking spot assigned, and she goes Friday for her driving test ::fingers crossed::. She missed a meeting for one of the clubs she is in and I'm annoyed about that because it was on a Tuesday and she could have gone. They did a makeup but of course that was last week and she wasn't here. And there's an orientation she is supposed to work due to her being in the club, and she won't be able to get off work at the beach for that, since she's already had so many days off and most of the college kids are out of the rotation by now. Plus she has packets of work for her AP classes that she hasn't finished, as well as the common app, which I think she needs to get started on, just in cases she decides to love one of these schools she will be visiting over the next two months and has to apply quickly.

But in other news, my job limps along. I don't hate it, so that is good, but sometimes it can be ridiculously unmanageable and other times unbearably slow. I did get a small raise but that's sort of had the effect of my being told to take time off when I need it! :-) Hopefully this will change after the summer ends, and the workload will stabilize and/or pick up. I need to start increasing my income! Oh, and sadly I will be officially resigned from my substitute teacher status effective next week. I couldn't string them along, as they would notice that I'm never available to work. Molly is hanging in there with her health although it is coming up on time to have her tested again. Another expense.

marinated cat, anyone?

2010-08-14T21:38:00.003-04:00

So, who read the news on the cats last week? Poor cat, ill-tempered, greedy, wasteful, and ungrateful, was marinated and packed into the trunk of the car. Of course this story is not funny, but the thing is that the cat looked just like Rusty! I can't seem to resist the urge to suggest to Rusty that perhaps he would get me some salad oil and some crushed red pepper. To which he usually responds with a murr and jumps up onto the bathroom sink just as I am about to take out my contacts, demanding that the water be turned on for him.

I'm also tempted to leave my vacuum cleaner plugged in, just to see if he can turn it on and if any neighbors will call 911!

Anyway, on to the more mundane. We bought a car today! Kevin has been obsessed with VW Jettas for years now, and they have the cutest little miniwagon which suits all of our needs and guess what? It was being offered at 0% financing!! So we haggled a little, always a horrible experience, and we were ready to walk out when, lo and behold, they came back with an offer we couldn't refuse (so we were probably robbed in the end, but left feeling as if we were the robbers).

We have only driven it on one adventure, and we were almost killed when a fool turned right into the lane we were in, I guess she didn't see us down so low, from where she sat up in her SUV. But it handles so well that we were able to survive the misguided driving. Now all that's left to do is to return the Honda. What a pain. I hate leasing cars.

Tomorrow begins M's big week away at camp in Colorado. She has an early morning flight and won't be back till late Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, the cough has gone on its own and she is ready for the challenge. And she just lined up her third college 'official visit,' so that's about all I think that we can fit in. These visits are going to eat up entire fall weekends, Fridays included, and although they're an important part of this process, they also take away from her study time.

And in other news, B enjoyed another week of tennis camp, and I took Friday off from work, which was much enjoyed. My boss is away and things were very slow. Of course I don't get paid when I don't work, but the thought of sitting there for five hours just trying to stay busy seemed incredibly unappealing after two days of cleaning up loose ends. I was just done with it all, and I needed a brief respite! So I hung with my friends, Molly and Pompom, and M and B were both home as well.

back to the working world

2010-08-09T16:36:00.000-04:00

That's how it was this morning for all of us: Kevin back to his job, M and I to ours, and B to his tennis camp again, for the next two weeks. He is wiped out, as am I. My boss has only a vague understanding of my outside responsibilities, so when I told him I would leave at 2:30, he chose (as usual) that time to give me a list of the things he still needed done, and then to close his door for a meeting with a colleague. Anyway, I managed to get out at 3, got gas and got to B around 3:15 or so so that wasn't too bad. Tomorrow M has a doctor's appointment at 2:30 so I have already told him I MUST leave at 1:30. I think B is going to do the extra clinic after camp so I won't have to get him until 6.

As for M, she has developed a cough, because of course she would do that before heading off to the high altitudes of the Colorado mountains for the week. She claims she feels fine but we'll see what the doctor says tomorrow at what was supposed to be a regular checkup.

Otherwise to report on the weekend travels, one of the schools emerged as a favorite while we were up there in Boston. But it's still early and lots can happen to change that so I won't get too excited or report on anything definite just yet. But everyone there was very nice, the campus was nice, and the coach was as well. So M will head up for a visit with the team later on in the fall. Now we have to visit a couple of Pennsylvania schools. Nothing south of that Delmarva area ever ended up working out, and for now there are enough to keep us busy. If nothing pans out by November, we'll broaden our horizons a bit. For now, it's the greater Northeast.

This is about all that's been going on lately! Trying to choose colleges and plan for college and decide which car to buy or trade in have been the dominant themes outside of Molly's status, which is still unchanged so that's a good thing. The Honda dealer crashed my car into a parked car while it was in for an oil change so they had me bring it in to be fixed which was a whole debacle because their loaner system is substandard as was the cleanup job they did on the car after they repaired the dent, which doesn't really make me want to buy another Honda from them! Although we are considering buying this out at the end of the lease. We'd pay for the car for eight years total but the payments would be less than $300 a month.

And in other news, it is time for me to fetch M from her beloved job in the swells. The surf has been rough lately with the tropical storm heading up the coast, and we went down for an hour yesterday to look at (and some to go in) the waves. It's been beautiful down there these past several weekends. I have been enjoying my morning strolls along the boardwalk every Saturday and Sunday! I'll miss those while she is away next week.

slow down please!

2010-08-01T07:15:00.000-04:00

Time is just moving way too fast now! With M and Kevin just back, now she has to work a bunch of days in a row so I can take her up to Boston to look at some schools at the end of the week. I will have to take off two days myself, which is something I really haven't done in months, aside from when we went to Florida. I'm actually nervous about that part, and it's also time to start thinking about how much money I will actually make in the fall when I increase my hours.

Anyway, she was absolutely wiped out (of course) because they decided to go back to finals and stayed beyond the end of it, so they didn't get home until 1:30am. We went out for dinner last night, which was nice but it's packed in the summer, and a bit of a drive, so that also was tiring. And now she has to get up and do it again today. At least she was in bed by 10, but when I went to my room, she was on her laptop.

B thoroughly enjoyed his week at the tennis camp, wants to go back to it again. It costs more than I make in a week, so maybe one more week when M goes away will work. He still has a bunch of work to do to get ready for the return to school and I have to make sure he has all the clothes he needs. He has grown probably close to three inches this year, we'll see tomorrow because he has a doctor's appointment. I measured him last week and he was 66 1/2 inches, last year he was 64, so if the doctor's scale is in agreement that will be 2 1/2 inches. But this was a few days ago, and it could be the full three by now!!

Molly is also hanging in there, right now there has been no change. She is taking steroids and they have brought her appetite back without making her overly thirsty. I don't know if this will last, and I'm running low on the pills. I might cut her to half the dosage and see if that changes anything. Then she has to have the $300 test again :-(

And in other news, the laptop battery is about to die. I hear M is awake upstairs and I must get dressed and ready to drive her to work. Although the day had been supposed to be rainy, this has now been altered to a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. I was actually hoping for a bit of a gloomier day so I would stay in and get some things done! And it seems like every time she works, the sun is relentless. I think there have been two stormy days all summer so far.

and she's off!

2010-07-25T22:14:00.000-04:00

B is back! He made it home without incident, although I must say, he is awfully skinny!! I guess he must have looked that way when he left, but it's shocking nonetheless. He went from being a round baby to a thinner child to a chubby cheeked steroid ten year old to a gradual transformation into what his father must have looked like at this age - a walking stick. We go to the doctor in a week for his annual check-up so that will be interesting. Last year he was 64 inches and about 105 pounds. I wouldn't be surprised if the 105 were still the case, just stretched out over a few more inches!

But he had a great whirlwind trip to the west coast. They didn't waste much of the time being idle!

And now M is milling about and packing for her trip to the meet. Kevin will go down and stay at a cousin's, caring for her ailing dog while leaving me to care for ours. M will stay with the team at the hotel, and they will all see each other at the pool. I'll be working although for the first three days the office will be quiet, with most of the workers out at the annual meeting. I'll watch M swim on the computer from there, and B will be doing a four day camp at the tennis academy.

Meanwhile, on the college front, things could get interesting or fizzle after this meet. M has had a couple of impressive calls this week, and she has been invited to an official weekend visit by one of the coaches. She had a fun run of lifeguard tournaments, and she did an ocean swim yesterday and was the first female finisher. She didn't ask her coach if it was OK, but of course he found out, he knows people everywhere, and she was worried about going to practice tonight but he didn't give her a hard time at all, just teased her a little and then said he heard she went really fast. So we'll see!

As for Kevin, he is on vacation starting now, for two weeks. He'll go to the meet with M, and then when he gets back, he'll spend some time with B. I, of course, will work. Although M and I may take another college-visiting jaunt later in the week up to Boston. It won't be long, possibly just one overnight.

And in other news, Molly continues her ups and downs with Cushings. I had her retested and she was still very low, so now she is still on the prednisone and will be retested in another month or so. But I'm not really sure what is going on because she peed on the floor in our room last night. So today I didn't give her the prednisone in the morning and she was lethargic and didn't eat again. Go figure. We gave her a whole pill then and she rebounded and came for a walk with us after the rain cooled things down. So it's one day at a time.

and he's off!!

2010-07-18T05:53:00.002-04:00

So here I am, just me, PomPom and the cats. M is still up in bed, but she will soon get up to go do an ocean swim/run this morning. Kevin and B are on their way to the airport to catch B's 7:45am flight!!! I can't even believe it. He's all packed up, I got him two new bathing suits yesterday and tried to help him but he was very insistent that he must do all of these things by himself. He didn't want Kevin to get a gate pass and walk him to the gate, but he might not get that wish. I don't think either Kevin or I want him roaming the airport alone at 6am. His plane should land just before 11, so that's 2 for us. I'll try to keep busy all morning!

Molly continues to swing back and forth between lethargy and panting/drinking episodes. She pees on the floor if we leave her too long. I was supposed to start her back on the maintenance medicine this week, but I think I'll have them do that two hour test one more time, only because she still isn't really eating and she is wasting away to skin and bones rapidly. The drinking is a sign of Cushing's, and the lethargy is a sign of Addison's, so it seems strange to me that she would have both. The not eating indicates Addison's as well, but the drinking and peeing confuse that for me. I joined an online list about it, but all they really did was insist that my doctor wasn't treating her properly, so I can't ask them anything because all they do is tell me to go to another vet.

And with M, she is so busy that it makes my head spin. Between work and swimming and tournaments, there just is no time for anything! Yesterday she complained at dinner that her back hurt, this after she told me that she and another small girl tried to drag the lifeguard stand by themselves until two regular dudes on the beach came along and helped them. I am going to try to impress upon her that this is not a good idea!! And as far as the schools go, I guess we're in a lull. A couple of new schools have called, but they're not really schools she has interest in, and she hasn't had the chance to call them back yet, since she got her big Locks of Love haircut on Friday in her spare time. She sent off all her scores and info to most of them, so now we're just waiting to see what (if anything) they'll do, and we're planning a revisit to Boston in August.

And in other news, one thing I am missing this summer is my weekday beach time. Working every day has taken that from me! Although I am home in time to get down there by mid-afternoon some days, most of the time I am either too tired, have somewhere else to be, or don't get out in time to come home and pick up B and then head down. And the beach club can be so crowded on the weekends that it's barely worth going there when we have a nice quiet pool in the backyard. Also, having seen all these beautiful town beaches within a half hour's drive, I can't believe we spent so much time sitting on the dirty dingy one we belong to while the kids were little. These other ones are so much nicer and more kid-friendly because of the way the waves break and the ocean floor slopes. (ie not straight down like at our beach!)

And I guess that's about it for now.

long overdue: rain, sharks, college, work

2010-07-14T20:59:00.000-04:00

The above about sums it all up. I have neglected the blog again, it is true. I'd promise to be better but I can't say for sure. There are so many minor distractions that I often just feel too tired to think too hard. This past weekend, my usual updating time, was spent at a swim meet. (Well, only in the evenings, but the days were spent rushing around because the evenings were to be lost).

Anyway, it rained!!! It didn't rain for weeks and then rained buckets on the night of the concert for which I had bought three tickets three months ago, which M took for herself and two friends. And it rained on the day when B said he would want to go to the beach. And it is raining again right now.

M said she had a lot of fun at work today. They swam out to the buoys, they played in the surf, and they paddled in the pond. People were getting stuck in the currents but there were no major mishaps. Half the day was somewhat sunny down there. But the scary part is the sharks! More seen just to the south. It's frightening. People claim to have seen them all up and down, but only a couple have made the news, and they try to downplay the ones that do. With all of these tournaments, they're way out there. And I thought the currents were going to be my major source of anxiety this summer!

As for college, it's the same old game. Trying to provide them with what they ask for, but not getting exactly the right documents from the school. Of course, I have sent whatever I can to the admissions offices, but the coaches want separate copies. I'd pay and have them sent if I could, but there is no code for that!

And the sadness again is Molly, who continues to deteriorate. She has been swinging back and forth between her panting and drinking episodes and her lying around motionless events. She falls down when she stands up because her legs are too weak to support her, especially on the ceramic tile. I cut the fur around her pads tonight so hopefully that will help her. Once she's up and walking, she does OK. Why is this always such a slow and helpless process with these pets? Most of the time, she still seems ok, just resting.

So that is about it for the 'big' news. In other news, B prepares for his west coast trip, which is to begin in just four days!!! I cannot believe it. His new shoes came yesterday (I ordered them online) and he has his fancy haircut. All we have to do is get him packed up and get his documents in order. I can't believe he's really going.

independence day

2010-07-03T19:48:00.001-04:00

Here it is already, Fourth of July again. Where does the time go? Today is the two month anniversary of my first day on the new job. And I'm still there! I have come to the conclusion that although I do like the job, I dislike the way I am underpaid and yet expected to perform beyond the agreement on a regular basis. If I can get through the summer with these issues, I will probably be OK, because I won't have constraints at home as much once school starts. But getting through the summer might be hard, since, for example, when I have to leave on time instead of being delayed and leaving late, I have to start impressing in the morning the importance of my leaving at the proper time. A far cry from the initial email offering me the job through the agency. But of course, there is no more agency. I am up the creek with no paddle now!

Anyway, M got her first paycheck ever and it's made out to "Morgan." I don't know if she can even cash it, and it's pretty small, only for the first two days, anyway. But they will certainly have to fix that. She has gone out tonight to sit around with a pair of friends from the team, after working all day. Tomorrow she will work and then we'll all watch the fireworks at the beach club. It will be a late night for her, and she has a morning swim practice at 6, work, and a night practice on Monday. But she will be off on Tuesday, at least.

And some more of her scores are in. She did very well on the ACTs despite doing just so-so in the science section, and she scored 4's on the three AP tests she took. And she heard from a few college coaches over the last few days, two of them who were quite notable and two of them who never even got through to her.

B has one more week of his camp, then he can work on some schoolwork and sleep a little before I get home to take him to the beach or somewhere fun for a couple of weeks, and then he leaves for his San Diego trip. I know he is looking forward to that. Otherwise, tennis and hanging around the house have been his life this summer so far.

As for Moll, she is not doing so well. Her follow-up test showed that her Cushing's had been overtreated and she basically has Addison's disease now. So she's taking prednisone but barely touching her food. She has been drinking better the last couple of days, and perhaps part of the reason she isn't eating is due to all the hamburger she's been getting just to entice her to eat. Why eat kibble when you can have hamburger, I guess ...? But she does seem more comfortable than when she couldn't even stop panting and was desperate for water all the time. The worst thing aside from the lack of eating is the weakness in her back legs. She doesn't really want to take walks or stay outside for very long.

And in other news, I had a flat tire in my truck this week. Turns out it had a nail just hanging right out of it, and Kevin managed to get it off and put on the spare. I'm trying to find the time to get it in for an oil change anyway, so I hope they can just patch the other tire up when I do that. Oh, and M was selected for the swim camp in Colorado. She got the official word last week. We haven't booked her flight because we're hoping that she and her friend can fly with their coach, and we don't know what flight he will be on yet. We hope to find out on Tuesday. But she will be there the week of her birthday, which meant I had to reschedule her road test. If she passes on the first try ::knock wood::, she will have her license for the last week of summer.

weekly review

2010-06-26T12:44:00.001-04:00

So here I am a day early, who knows - maybe I will manage a double update this weekend! Much has gone on, I hope I can remember it all. First, B finished his whole week in tennis camp. He's pretty low energy in general so it about wiped him out. Then I took him for new glasses because I found out that he hasn't had any he will wear for a while. He's just been keeping his contacts in until it's time to go to bed, then he takes them out and goes to sleep because he can't see anything anyway.

As for M, she is FINALLY done with school. All she knows is that she got a B on the physics final and a B+ for the class for the marking period. I don't know when report cards will come with the rest of the info. But that was a pretty good grade for that class. Her one friend got a 95 on the final, the highest grade ever for the final with this teacher.

Today she started her rookie training at the beach. Of course, as luck would have it, we had our semi-annual skin review for her face at the dermatologist. She also has ringworm (ew) but that's going away. He gave her something stronger than what I had, even though it did look a lot better than it had. He says this new one is better. But he gave the whole speech about sun protection and skin damage even with sunblock. I told her maybe next summer she can look into a study-abroad program for a few weeks so she can get a practical application for the Spanish she's been studying and she won't have to spend 400 hours in direct sunlight.

She got her SAT2 scores back and she scored quite well on the Spanish test, for a non-native speaker, I think. She did even better on the US History test. Now I'm anxious for her AP scores, which will be out during July. She's also waiting to see if she got a position with the National Honor Society (she is going to be secretary of the Spanish Honor Society) and also she's awaiting the ACT scores. And July 1 is the first date that college coaches can make actual contact with her, so that will be an interesting day - will she get lots of calls, or none?? Much to anticipate this month.

But, oh. The biggest milestone is B's trip, which we booked using Kevin's miles. He is going to fly out to San Diego in July, leaving on a Sunday morning and returning on a Friday night.I can't believe that I am going to put him on a plane alone for six hours! But it's a great opportunity for him to have an experience that's all his own. He has really never been able to do that. I'm trying to find ways to help him build his confidence.

And in other news, Molly is still on her "loading" dose of the Cushing's medicine. She takes it twice a day and once a day I give her prednisone. He had said to do the latter twice, but it seemed to be making her worse. I'd like to not give it at all but the danger is that the dogs can crash. This way, she's pretty mellow and doesn't pant a lot during the day, but at night after the prednisone, she starts the whole panting thing again. And her limbs seems a lot weaker too, but I don't think that has anything to do with this medicine. And the one thing she is enjoys is that the medication is fat-soluble, so I have been giving it to her with hamburger. Wilbur enjoys that, too.

As for Kevin, he is trying to fix cars today. He replaced the mirror on my Explorer and only lost 1/3 of the screws that hold it on. Should be OK, right? (Don't drive too close behind me). Now he has gone off to try to pick up a part to repair the blower in his truck, which lost all the speeds from 1-4 (of 5), as I discovered on Monday when I went to return the tables and chairs from the party. And I should be off to procure food. The cupboards are bare of anything with any nutritional value.

weekly review

2010-06-26T12:42:00.000-04:00

So here I am a day early, who knows - maybe I will manage a double update this weekend! Much has gone on, I hope I can remember it all. First, B finished his whole week in tennis camp. He's pretty low energy in general so it about wiped him out. Then I took him for new glasses because I found out that he hasn't had any he will wear for a while. He's just been keeping his contacts in until it's time to go to bed, then he takes them out and goes to sleep because he can't see anything anyway.

As for M, she is FINALLY done with school. All she knows is that she got a B on the physics final and a B+ for the class for the marking period. I don't know when report cards will come with the rest of the info. But that was a pretty good grade for that class. Her one friend got a 95 on the final, the highest grade ever for the final with this teacher.

Today she started her rookie training at the beach. Of course, as luck would have it, we had our semi-annual skin review for her face at the dermatologist. She also has ringworm (ew) but that's going away. He gave her something stronger than what I had, even though it did look a lot better than it had. He says this new one is better. But he gave the whole speech about sun protection and skin damage even with sunblock. I told her maybe next summer she can look into a study-abroad program for a few weeks so she can get a practical application for the Spanish she's been studying and she wont' have to spend 400 hours in direct sunlight.

She got her SAT2 scores back and she scored quite well on the Spanish test, for a non-native speaker, I think. She did even better on the US History test. Now I'm anxious for her AP scores, which will be out during July. She's also waiting to see if she got a position with the National Honor Society (she is going to be secretary of the Spanish Honor Society) and also she's awaiting the ACT scores. And July 1 is the first date that college coaches can make actual contact with her, so that will be an interesting day - will she get lots of calls, or none?? Much to anticipate this month.

But, oh. The biggest milestone is B's trip, which we booked using Kevin's miles. He is going to fly out to San Diego in July, leaving on a Sunday morning and returning on a Friday night.I can't believe that I am going to put him on a plane alone for six hours! But it's a great opportunity for him to have an experience that's all his own. He has really never been able to do that. I'm trying to find ways to help him build his confidence.

And in other news, Molly is still on her "loading" dose of the Cushing's medicine. She takes it twice a day and once a day I give her prednisone. He had said to do the latter twice, but it seemed to be making her worse. I'd like to not give it at all but the danger is that the dogs can crash. This way, she's pretty mellow and doesn't pant a lot during the day, but at night after the prednisone, she starts the whole panting thing again. And her limbs seems a lot weaker too, but I don't think that has anything to do with this medicine. And the one thing she is enjoys is that the medication is fat-soluble, so I have been giving it to her with hamburger. Wilbur enjoys that, too.

As for Kevin, he is trying to fix cars today. He replaced the mirror on my Explorer and only lost 1/3 of the screws that hold it on. Should be OK, right? (Don't drive too close behind me). Now he has gone off to try to pick up a part to repair the blower in his truck, which lost all the speeds from 1-4 (of 5), as I discovered on Monday when I went to return the tables and chairs from the party. And I should be off to procure food. The cupboards are bare of anything with any nutritional value.

summer starts soon!

2010-06-21T20:39:00.000-04:00

The party is over! The big surprise :-) It was a lot of fun. Lots of cousins, and long lost friends, and some we have not seen in decades. To me, everybody looked exactly the same, especially Koke, the birthday boy. And now the balloons begin to deflate and we are polishing off the leftovers and pouring the flat soda down the drain and following the adventures of those were lucky enough to move on to Cape May rather than work, finals, and tennis camp.

So, back to reality. Molly has Cushing's disease, whatever that is. She's starting her medicines tomorrow morning, she'll take some adrenal-gland-killing drug and then, ironically, some cortisone as well. She goes back in a week for more testing to see if it helped. Meanwhile, we're just glad the huge disgusting bloody growth she had on her eye rolled off right in the middle of the party! She looks great now!

And for M, one more final: physics. As if the year could end on a more stressful note. But I'm glad it worked out this way, she's able to study and spend the time on her own. And ew, now she has ringworm. Good grief, can she not get a break. After weeks in the podiatrist's office for an unsuccessful attempt to eradicate the return of the plantar warts I spotted a bright red circle on her calf.

"What is that?" I ask. "I got a pimple from shaving and scratched it," she responds. But I'm not buying it. It looks like ringworm, but I treat it for eczema and staph. Yeah, not the right thing. It gets bigger and uglier. We go to the EMO, and it's ringworm. He tells her to put OTC medication on it for up to six weeks, four times a day. I think, great. We'll take his advice for exactly six days, which is when we have her regular appointment with the dermatologist, thankfully. And it looks stable for now, on the Lotrimin.

And B started his tennis camp today. We were lucky to have cousins and aunt and uncle here this morning, to pick M up from school so she didn't have to stay for the time when she would have had a history final, and B led himself across to the tennis academy. He said he had fun, and knew one kid there, as well as met a bunch who will be freshmen next year. By the way, his report card did arrive last Friday, and although I was prepared to say, "I never thought I would be so excited to see so many Cs," this is not quite true, as there was an actual 85 in the midst! In Spanish, of all things. The rest, sigh, were Cs, but one was a 77 so that was encouraging. Of course, these are year-grades, and include the first semester when a lot of work was just review and there were some higher grades.

So now it's time for the summer reading. Apparently they are doing things differently, and the books are being applied to the first marking period grades in the various subjects rather than to a random score which, if you fail, means you have to take gym your senior year. I find that bizarre, but - whatever. You fail summer reading and have to take gym? Not a real strong motivator to try too hard. I'm going to try to make him study guides; I told him after each chapter to stop and write all the new characters, the main things that happened in the chapter, and what he thinks will happen next.

Anyway, as for Kevin, he is back from Europe yet again but carrying on that he needs to fly 3,000 more miles before September to maintain his status with SAS. Maybe we can go to London again ;-) That'd be worthwhile!!

But really, there will be no big trips this summer for us. Maryland for M, maybe Colorado in August, and B will go to San Diego if we can work that out. I'm saving my (unpaid) holidays for the fall to take M to visit some colleges. The next few weeks should be interesting with a lot of important milestones: she starts her job next weekend, gets SAT scores this week, ACT scores possibly next week (although I accidentally registered her with a 1983 birthdate), colleges can begin calling her July 1, and she'll get her AP test scores in July. So stay tuned!

And in other news, I am committed to my job through the end of summer, which is when I figure my boss will break even on his buyout of me from the agency, and hopefully he will pay me enough to make it worth my while to stay there and do the work I have been doing for less than it's worth! I am just happy to be able to hack away at bills, knowing there will be another paycheck along in a couple of weeks.

a new beginning

2010-06-13T09:49:00.000-04:00

So it's Sunday again and I realized it's time to update although again there is not much to report! But I was prompted to investigate new blog templates so I decided it was time for a facelift after all this time. Hope it's pleasing to the eye!

Anyway, this was a hectic week for me at the job. Since I have been bought out I seem to be facing increased demands, which might be OK, but they always come at the time that I'm supposed to leave, and they often seem to involve things that did not come up at the last minute. I'm beginning to worry, but I am committed to see this through the summer before making a final decision, although as long as I keep showing up, there is no decision to be made on my part! And who was beating down my door before I had this anyway? No one.

As for B, there's been no news of grades. I came home with my heart in my throat every day when I checked the mail, but not a thing showed up. Yesterday we went to the school picnic to commemorate the 50th anniversary, complete with the groundbreaking for the new building improvements, and someone told me that the notices of failures went out last week and we would have received them by now! Oh, I hope that is true !! Although the one I most worry about is the one from the last day, which had a couple of essays on it. But I do believe that the teachers were supposed to come in the next day and it was called 'rating day,' and then the day after that the grades were due. So hopefully this source provided accurate information. I will be SO excited if this is the case. I am praying that we'll get the report card this week. I just want to close that chapter (hopefully) and move on.

The other night we had the Doll over with her other son and companion, and it was a lovely dinner although I was harboring stress from the workday. But they made a proposition for Brian, inviting him to come out and spend a few days with them on the west coast. I think this is a great idea, although of course, I'll be a nervous wreck if and when he does go, quite a long flight and what if they have an earthquake? They have had a few recently already ! But I will send him if it turns out he doesn't have to go to summer school. That will take care of one more week for him this summer.

So he has three weeks of tennis camp, that week away, and I may put him in another week or two of tennis camp at the indoor Academy where he takes his weekly lessons. Then Kevin will have a bit of vacation, and B also has his summer reading. I was also considering putting him in a geometry class, so that when he starts school he'll already have an understanding of it. I want to make sure we don't watch history repeat itself next year (good luck with this). The stress was unbearable for all of us, at times.

As for M, she is still in school. She had the ACTs yesterday and she said the science section was horrible. She spent so much time on the biology that she didn't have time to complete the chemistry, and she just filled in bubbles. She said the physics was fine, but she's in physics now. So I'm not terribly optimistic for those scores, but it won't really matter unless her SAT2 scores from last week aren't good, and hopefully this will not be the case.

And she has swimming all the time still, they don't even have a weeknight off, which has been a real pain. They start their outdoor practices this week, and she has a meet today. The meet started Friday but this is the first and only day I signed her up for, because of the ACTs. She missed her better events, but at least she'll get into the pool and do a few races before Nationals in July. She won't start her job until after school gets out, probably around the 26th.

And in other news, Molly has her test for Cushing's Disease this week. It's a two hour test and she has to hang out at the vet the whole time. If it's positive, she'll go on a one week trial of the medicine, and repeat the test at the end of that week. If the test shows improvement, she goes on maintenance medication with repeat testing at three month intervals or so. If not, we are in trouble. And Kevin is off to his softball game this morning, the first since The Accident. Hopefully he returns in one piece. Otherwise, we prepare for the upcoming gala this weekend, keep our fingers crossed that the weather gods cooperate, and that a good time will be had by all!

june again and all is well?

2010-06-06T18:36:00.002-04:00

Yet another week gone by. Kevin is back from Denmark and the kids are winding down their schools, especially B. (I have decided to write about them in stealth format. It's faster and it protects their privacy, Facebook-style). He is upstairs now, studying for his last two finals, math and history. Of course, he forgot the history study guide, lost it, whatever. And who knows if he understands the math. I wanted M to sit with him for another hour tonight just to review a few things, maybe help him to remember some formulas or something.

She has had a sluggish weekend. Yesterday morning she took the SATs, US History and Spanish, and then we went to a confirmation dinner, which was quite fun. We left B at home, at his insistence, and it was good that we did, as we left at 3 and didn't get home until 9:45!! And then today, she had to do her re-certification class for CPR. She's all set to begin her job now, whenever that may happen. After she gets out of school for sure, which is the 23rd of June.

As for me, I plug along. I am still underpaid and am beginning to need some days off (or half days, which for me is really a half of a half-day). I still feel that it's unfair that I am required to work this many hours every week, although I am not held to it, but I can't have too many days off in one month or it would appear that I was not working the full number of hours. And the job is OK, not what I would have probably sought out, but I don't usually feel bored, and I like the people in the office, for the most part.

Kevin is back from Denmark and working a lot in the yard. We got our new carpets downstairs on Friday so we have to set all of those rooms back up again with the furniture where it belongs. I'd do it now but my feet are up!!

Anyway, I guess our lives are somewhat boring for now! I like that. In other news, I have to make an appointment with the vet to get Molly checked for Cushing's disease. It's moderately expensive to treat at first, but if you get it right the first time, the cost is not too bad and then it becomes manageable. And Wilbur is about due to go back for his next annual visit and rabies vaccine. He won't be happy about that!

and it's sunday again

2010-05-30T09:20:00.004-04:00

Well, this is becoming a weekly column for me instead of a blog! The week just went by so quickly. I always feel like it's dragging on Tuesdays and then it's Wednesday and there are just two days left, and before I know it, it's Friday and the weekend again! This is moving too fast!

And so I am officially employed. I don't know how I'll be paid, I have to set that up myself, but I'm no longer a temp. I have a job! Time will tell how it will play out, well for all, I hope. For the summer, the conditions will remain relatively unchanged but beyond that, I guess it depends on the way things go over the next three months or so.

Megan as well is going to be gainfully employed. She had her meeting yesterday, so she'll have about a week of training and then shadow someone for several days. She might take on a side assignment, working with the younger kids, that will be fun for her. They have a huge competition, though, held where she will be working, on the last day of her big summer meet. So we'll have to see about that too. Obviously she will have to miss something, whether it be the last day of the meet, or the tournament. More unknowns.

Brian is in the home stretch of his finals prep and I'm quite concerned with the volume of material he has to review, and how long it takes him to do everything. He likes to talk about what he is going to do and then take too long to do it all. Writing seems to elude him. I think sometimes he thinks too hard about what he thinks the answer is rather than just writing what he really thinks.

Incidentally, I read Megan's SAT essay on the website, and I see she actually did something similar. Although well written, she skirted the issue a few times, while it seemed like she was trying to wow them with her history knowledge or her use of famous quotes, as if she had been told this would bring her a better rating. However, by doing this, she wasn't able to effectively answer the question, which was, do you believe small decisions can have a larger impact in the long run, or something like that. She could have written a top-rated essay if she had talked about something like her first decision to be on a swim team at age 5 in the summer, and where that has led her today, but instead she chose to write about the Puritans decision to form their own church and how it led them to America. An OK response, but it ended up sounding more like she was trying to showcase than really answering the question.

Anyway, I am rambling. I got up early to go to the last church service preached by the pastor and I didn't even go. Someone had said to me that it would be very crowded, and it was only being held in the small hot church. They were having a building dedication afterward, but I missed that too! So now I'm making sure Brian gets started on his work, and then I think I'll ride out to see if I can find a place to park to watch Megan swim in the end of this brutal race. She has opted to swim the 2 miles although 1 was an alternative. Kevin got her a wetsuit, so I'm curious to see how she likes it. Her coach lent her his wife's last year, which he had accidentally thrown into the bag instead of his own.

And in other news, today is a beautiful day. Kevin embarks upon his Danish journey this evening, so we will be a one-parent household for the week. Megan will probably want to spend some time at the beach club today or tomorrow, and Brian will be locked into this studying for the rest of the weekend. Yesterday they spent the whole day volunteering at a fundraiser, so he got barely anything done. Just that he spent four hours working on an essay about a short poem about a man who shoos away a bird and then regrets it.

is it sunday already...?

2010-05-23T07:59:00.002-04:00

Well time flies when you work every single day, doesn't it? In theory, I am feeling a little panicky about it because I have committed my life away. However, in practice, when I get there, I feel pretty happy, mostly the people are nice and it's a pleasant place to be. And although I do look at the clock (who doesn't?) it's never the way it was on some days in the schools when I couldn't wait for that last half hour to go by. So that is a pretty good sign, despite the paltry pay I receive for my services. Which will hopefully not be forever. And I am home by early afternoon. And I have a regular weekly paycheck, for a predictable amount each time.

Today is the day we say farewell to our pastor, who is leaving the church after 20 years. Megan and I have put together a bunch of photos and a clip of him speaking into a video to show after the service. Both kids are carrying 'kites' into the church and then we have a brunch afterward. Brian is bogged down with work for his final weeks and final exams, but he's going to be unable to miss this day. He only has two more weeks of school before his finals. Megan has until the end of the month.

Speaking of Megan, there is still no word on either of the jobs for which she applied, but we know that so far, at least for one, that doesn't mean she didn't get it. I'm pretty sure the town isn't going to hire her to guard (their loss) but they may hire her as an assistant coach, they needed more kids to sign up before they were going to add more coaches. Allegedly.

Yesterday I took her driving out on the parkway. I realized that her birthday and her road test are just around the corner and she has almost no highway driving experience. Most of her driving has been on local two-lane roads, so there isn't even a lane to change into. She does have experience driving in stop and go traffic with stop signs and traffic lights and pedestrians, but nothing at high speeds. So that was a little harrowing but we made it. We're going to have to do it more often now, that's the only way she will get used to it. And I really hope they repeal that orange sticker part of Kyleigh's law!

And in other news, it's the holiday weekend just next weekend!!! We were down at the beach yesterday for the team practice, and drove by our beach club on the way home. This was a quick winter, I guess because of all the working and work-seeking that went on!! And Kevin continues to recover, he is now taking an NSAID for his shoulder as prescribed by the ortho and he says it hurts a lot less. He started PT for it, and is signed up for two weeks to start.

He also went to his new regular doctor (after the other left amidst a shameful illegal steroid scandal) and found out his cholesterol is higher than ever. He independently decided to lower the dose of one of the vitamins because on the bottle it recommended half of what he was taking. So now he has to go back to the higher dose and go back in six months for another test. Something was a little out of whack with the thyroid, to, but the doctor said to retest that in six months as well.

stupid is as stupid does

2010-05-18T16:44:00.005-04:00

So the total cost of my overdraft debacle: $65. I got more notices and went to the branch and had to confess that I never read anything they send me, so I didn't see the notice that said that they were adding the automatic overdraft. I was actually really mad but I did make a mistake so there wasn't much I could do. I was asking them for the credits in good faith but I was also prepared to vote with my feet. Most of our money is in Chase anyway, and Td is small pickins next to them, so I could have closed that account and just opened more at Chase, where they'd all be connected anyway. I didn't like the woman who credited me back $70 but not another $35 yesterday at the branch, though. She was bordering on condescending, but she did give me the $70 or I would have closed the account on the spot, online banking or not!

Anyway, work has been crazy. I have the voice of the woman from the agency in my mind telling me I am doing a lot of work for what they are paying me, which is true. If this remains the case after the summer I'll have to think about things. I've also heard many have come and gone before me. I felt very stupid and useless today but then things picked up and I helped to solve some problems so I felt better. None of what I have been doing is anything I'm particularly fond of or good at, so I've been having to try really hard to understand things (like administrative documentation issues). But all of this has to be done, and I have to get it out of the way before I can move on to the things that I think I might actually enjoy doing. And there are still mysterious goings-on that I don't understand.

But to summarize the weekend, the dogs were groomed by a new groomer and I love her. She opened a new shop that I saw once from the car wash and, desperate for a new person, I googled her and found all good reviews. So I made an appointment and she exceeded my expectations. She took the two dogs in and had them for nearly four hours. When we picked them up, Molly was walking around and Wilbur was sitting on the couch with the assistant, watching TV. He looked happy as could be. Much different from anywhere I have ever been. I will definitely go back, and I recommended her to the Doll as well.

And then there was Kevin, and his separated shoulder. At the hospital, of course they had to give him heavy medications just to get him to relax so they would be able to put it back in. So they got it in without incident; we thought an ortho doc did it but it turns out the ortho docs didn't even answer the page and the ER doc just did it. So they told Kevin to follow up with an ortho and he called the one they sent him to 14 years ago, the last time this happened, and their nasty rude receptionist did their usual "we don't take your insurance, and no ER doc would do that, our doctors probably won't even want to see you" routine (don't know how this group stays in business, their front desk staff is so rude).

Kevin checked with the ER and it was in fact the ER doc who did. He ended up getting an appointment for Thursday with the doctor E saw when she broke her collarbone, the one who didn't want to do surgery. So he was very nice and I really liked him and their staff is wonderful too. All he should need, hopefully, is some exercises and reassurance that he will be able to keep the shoulder in place without any sort of surgical reinforcement.

And that was that. So Brian, after giving me high anxiety (and himself, too, it takes the form of stomach problems with him now) has gotten three B's today: biology, religion, and math. In English, the class he is failing, he said he had done his homework and Sunday at 10:00 PM I checked the teacher's website to find there was a difficult assignment due to be collected the next day. Then last night I checked, to find he must FINISH Of Mice and Men by next Wednesday and he didn't even have the book! It's outside reading for the marking period! Good grief. So I ran out and picked that up last night.

Meanwhile, Megan plods along. She's now waiting to hear from the pool AND the beach about a summer job. If she gets neither, she can just volunteer somewhere for the summer. This is ridiculous. Her chances may be good for the beach (who can tell?), but I'm miffed at the pool club. She volunteered there and used one of their staff as a recommendation and they didn't even bother to call. They would have been lucky to have her, and they blew it. If she gets the beach, that's a better job for her. People are so mean!! :p

And in other news, there is big rain now. I had to run around after I got home today. Getting out at 2 is great because on days like this I can get Megan from the bus and she doesn't have to get soaked. Today she had her podiatrist appointment and her warts are looking really good. (he says, I think they look hair-raisingly horrendous) He told her to take a week off from treating them and see him, maybe they are gone. He needs the horrible white swollen tissue to subside so he can tell. Wouldn't that be so exciting?

spring springs at last

2010-05-15T11:50:00.007-04:00

I made it through week two! And week one with the boss in place. There is much confusion at my place of employment over space and seating arrangements as they are rapidly outgrowing what they have, and they apparently bring in batches of college kids to work as summer interns. Never in my wildest dreams would this have ever been a business that would have appealed to me, but I actually find it quite interesting to see how motivating a potential sale can be to the right personality (which would never be me, of course, but I don't mind backing up those to whom it applies - I'm a bottom feeder.)

Of course I continue to face financial woes. First, the agency overpaid me so I got a nice check but that means I will be docked for the same amount next week. Then I got my last school check and it was much less than I had expected. Still a large check, and I guess it eases the pain of transition because I'm not actually giving up as much potential as I had thought.

But then I got a letter from the bank, which resembled the letter that had come the day before, which I had assumed was my statement. So I opened it and it was an overdraft notice! Apparently I have overdraft protection unless I 'opt out' which I never even knew to do, and because I forgot (again) to write in an online credit card payment (this time it was EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS), my account went into the negative. And I thought I still had a few hundred in there so I went about spending as usual.

Well, the way the overdraft protection works is that it pays your transaction, whether it be check, debit or credit card transaction, and then charges you $35 per event and sends a letter which arrives the next day. I do multiple debit transactions on any given day. So a $10 purchase at Target is hit with a $35 charge! Not to mention the $15 I was charged for falling below $100 in the checking account. By the time I realized this I was in the hole for $105. Luckily I had the two large checks to deposit, which I did.

I called the bank in a near-tearful panic when I saw the magnitude of my idiocy, and they were actual quite helpful. They reversed the $105 and also enabled my online banking, which I had been resisting because it wanted me to enter my social security number. So I was able to go through and find the missing item, which was a couple of months old due to my avoidance maneuvers when it comes to matters of the checkbook.

Anyway, I checked in today and I was hit with another $35 charge but I'm just going to figure I deserved that one, and the total cost of this blunder is $50. It could have been a whole lot worse, and now I have online access to my accounts, which is wonderful. And I have a small buffer until my next check comes.

So that is my crisis-du-jour from yesterday. The day before that, it was Brian's progress reports. Megan and the biology tutor have successfully reversed those positions but now the failures are coming in English and history. So I traded some emails with the teachers and hopefully we can bring the grades up a few points to a passing level. I don't know how we are ever going to get on top of all the classes at once. And God help us all, the reading in English is the Odyssey right now.

And when he should be starting on these preparations, Brian is instead out with Kevin on a fishing trip, poorly timed for us, but run by the school. They won't be back till late afternoon, probably exhausted. I'm imagining a nice dinner of grilled chicken in the yard but I don't know if this beautiful weather will cooperate.

And in Megan's world, she still has not heard from the town about the pool club and I am more than annoyed so she got a friend to get her in for a beach guarding tryout. It's a bit of a longshot, as she signed up late and will be up against lots of boys, but at least she is going and if she enjoys it and feels sad if she doesn't get it, maybe she'll get on the ball and sign up earlier next year, when she will actually be able to drive herself to work! More to follow on this, but wish her luck. She's a little nervous, but I think she'd really enjoy it. Several of her teammates guard at this beach, and one of her teachers, the one who recommended her for peer leader in adaptive gym class, also has connections and told her to let him know if she wants to try out.

But in other news, the dogs are getting groomed tomorrow! I'm trying out a new groomer, and I am taking them BOTH. Molly hasn't been groomed since last year when that groomer at the vet cut off all her fur and gave her a seizure and an advanced case of embarrassment. I'm hopeful. This woman has her own new shop and she has good, recent reviews online.

midway through week two

2010-05-12T20:42:00.006-04:00

Here it is, Wednesday again. Kevin is back from Canada, in the rain, and he is off to fetch his daughter from the Y. Some of the kids in her English class were having a Lovely Bones and ramen noodles night to celebrate the (hopefully) successful completion of the AP exams, but she was going to try to see if it was worth going after practice. She is afraid to miss practice after missing so many to prep for said exams.

Anyway before I get into anything else I want to get the ugly out of the way. Today was progress report day. The good news? No biology or math on the page. And we were back to two classes, not the four of the third marking period. But the bad news is that the two classes, English and History, are not really acceptable for failures in my opinion. So we're on that. Do I need to homeschool this kid? Because it practically feels like that's what I'm doing. And there is a math test pending, every day I hear, we will get the grades tomorrow. The teacher told the class they all did poorly, but Brian spent a good hour with Megan the night before, and that helped him the last time, so we'll see. But why can't he get it on his own?

So there it is, the badness. Everything else is chugging along. It's clean for the cleaning lady night, and I put away all my clothes and emptied my suitcase from a month ago, so I feel pretty good about that. I guess it could be said that I had a decent day at work today, perhaps I almost understand what it is that we do although it is still going to take some time and this backwoods temp agency hasn't paid me and I don't know when they will, since they also have not send me another time card! (I am happy that they found me a job so quickly but I do miss the efficiency of the agency I worked for several years ago.)

Also, have I ever mentioned that our cleaning ladies are not so great? They took a damp rag and swiped it once across the screen of the new Mac, leaving a blurred path across the monitor. And they left the litter scoop IN the litterbox AGAIN despite specific instructions not to do so. Good grief.

Anyway, the college search. Nothing to report. There's a chance we will go to Penn State for a swim meet in June but I am lobbying against it as the timing is bad, the expense will be high, and I prefer to use precious vacation days for something that might actually constitute vacation for once. More letters arrived via club and school coaches, but so far nothing is concrete. SAT scores back in eight days. Then more testing: SAT 2's again, and the ACTs. AP scores in July.

And no summer job. I don't know if the ball is dropped or what but I am seriously considering the Acme angle. No risk of melanoma, unless caused by fluorescent lighting!

And in other news, it is absolutely freezing out. Obviously this is a universal east coast phenomenon but it is so horrendous that it is worthy of the written recognition. And finally, American Idol. We are down to four, three after tonight. Crystal still gets my vote. I'm afraid poor Wren prefers Casey, but I think it's just because she likes to walk on the couch behind people and bite their ponytails.

morning news

2010-05-10T08:17:00.003-04:00

Here it is again, that strange part of the day when I don't know what to do with myself for half an hour - dressed up too much to change litterboxes, heels too high to walk dogs, lunches packed and everyone else sent off, and already surfed to the ends of the internet. So I will throw in a quick update, if I can get my frozen fingers to move across the keyboard!

And so begins my first week with a boss in place. I feel anxious all over again, even though at least I have a little knowledge and understanding in my head now. And he won't be in until after lunch, so I will have the morning to go through whatever he may have left in his visit yesterday, when he picked up the materials he needed for his meeting today. So stay tuned for updates on this situation.

Yesterday was Mother's Day! I think my gift is invisible, but I am enjoying the fact that they thought of me anyway. We went to the Blue Claws game, and it was freezing cold and windy. The Blue Claws were pretty far back at one point, and didn't actually lead the game at all until they won it in the bottom of the 15th inning (we were long gone by then.) They tied it up at 10-10 in the bottom of the 9th.

One issue that has really irritated me lately, I discovered yesterday, is this issue of the reflective decals on the cars of teen drivers that are now mandated in NJ under Kyleigh's law. I was horrified at the suggestion and subsequent realization that these decals are also mandated for those driving with a learner's permit! Why? They can't drive without a parent in the car anyway! I was mildly annoyed at the requirement in the first place as it is true that you don't want your seventeen year old daughter driving around with a red flag saying "follow me down a deserted road and run me off the shoulder" prominently displayed. How would Kyleigh's parents have felt about that? We all want our teenaged drivers to be safe, of course we do.

But how about the kids who are posting all over Facebook that they were stopped by police and asked if they were drinking, to which they replied, 'no,' and were let go? Will these kids wear the badge of teenhood on their cars when they drive home drunk from their weekend revelry? Of course they won't. Yet my kid, the one who won't be drinking anyway, will have this on the car, and can be a potential target for creeps? This is the most ridiculous law.

Between Kyleigh's law, state cuts to education, and now the tax to the "rich" in New Jersey, this state is going to be turned into nothing but a bunch of gas stations and strip malls.

Anyway, all of that aside, the other issue now is summer work for Megan. She filled in just one application and has heard nothing. It's getting very annoying and I would like to encourage her to apply elsewhere but it has to be somewhere that's convenient for me on my way to work. If she doesn't get herself moving with it soon I'm going to have to insist she just apply at Acme or one of the local stores so she can ride her bike there. It doesn't necessarily have to be a lifeguard position, I guess!

And in other news, this has eaten up my morning time. I must hit the road and try to arrive on time and prepared for whatever the day holds in store. This will be a busy week as always, Brian's classes will be starting to wind down and prep for finals, although midterm progress reports were only due last Friday. Kevin will be heading off on a trip tomorrow for a couple of days, and Megan will have to get back to swimming regularly despite one more AP Exam on Wednesday. And so it goes.

midway through week one

2010-05-06T07:34:00.003-04:00

Well so far I made it! The job is hectic, to say the least. I don't know a thing, and I feel totally incompetent. The insurance world is full of so many acronyms, abbreviations, and foreign terminology that I am having trouble remembering words that I once knew! I now think it's a good thing that my boss-to-be has not been in this week, as it's given me a chance to get through some other things, including lots of 'training' that they keep having me do amidst the confusion.

My desk is kind of out in the middle of a floor, which also can make it awkward since I don't know what I'm doing, and a lot of the office machinery is outdated and simplified compared to what I've used in the past, counting both the offices of ten and twenty years ago AND the school copy machines. But I've found most of the others who are in similar positions to mine to be surprisingly well educated and well spoken, which is not what I expected and has been a refreshing surprise for a little field office set in the middle of nowhere.

Yesterday I signed into my gmail to send a mail to my boss since I don't have my own login with the company yet (I had to be processed and fingerprinted first) and found a notification from the teacher sub system, I was assigned to a job starting on Monday! They had, in desperation, assigned me to teach a fifth grade class all week next week! So I felt terribly guilty for having been caught in my non-removal mode from the list, and had to call the secretary and explain. I had to wait until I got outside so the office wouldn't hear me call the job a temp job, but I didn't want to imply to the school that it's permanent either, just in case they boot me out. I don't want to burn that bridge because it might be hard to get back across again if I need that option!

But it was a little melancholy to see that. I love being in the schools, but I don't like the instability and definitely not the uncertainty and the reduced pay for next year. While this is costing me in the short run (I would have made about $100+ more next week alone) my hope is that it will pay off in the long run, and it's certainly more steady and consistent.

And the best part of the new job so far has been having an excuse to buy new, nice clothes. I don't think I have done this in fifteen years.

Meanwhile, Brian continues to plod through his studies, and school ends for him exactly one month from tomorrow. We're waiting on a few grades from this past week (or he says we are, sometimes I wonder) but progress reports are due out tomorrow. Last time I thought all was well he ended up with twice as many bad reports, so I know not to get too placid regarding this final quarter's reports. I guess we'll know by Monday. They mail them out.

As for Megan, she took her AP Calculus exam yesterday and said it was really hard. She has the US History one tomorrow, and English next week. She is getting upset because she has not heard one word from her top choice (this week) school's swim coach so I'm trying to steer her in other directions. I guess it's a good lesson to have this happen because she will realize that she can't assume things are going to go the way she hopes, and she'll open herself up to more options. If this school doesn't give her a fair amount of aid, there's no way we can afford to send her there, even if she does get in. Also unknown are her more recent SAT scores, which are due online in 14 days.

In other news, the weather has been lovely, and the pool will be opened on Saturday. Megan has the junior prom tomorrow night, following her first haircut in nearly a year, so we'll be off taking pictures for that. I hope we don't all forget about Brian and his tennis! On a related note, we saw on Facebook that E was tagged in a prom picture, and she looked ghastly (by her standards). The wind was blowing her hair around, her face was twisted, and she was holding her dress up in what seemed to be wind. Within a day the tag on the photo was gone but the damage was done, and I was on the trail. So I sent her a message asking where the rest of the photos were, but I haven't yet heard back. And that, for now, is all I have.

dawn of a new day

2010-05-02T20:54:00.002-04:00

Well, here it is, Sunday night, and I start my new job in the morning, absentee boss and all. I was going to go in at 8:30 but since I don't know if I'll be able to get into the building that "early," I'll go in at 9 and stay till 3 for my first day. I have to try to dig up my time card. I thought I knew where it was but it wasn't there anymore yesterday.

The last few days in the other job were the usual rollercoaster of good and bad behaviors. The last day was fine, sad, but I guess that it is what it is. Now I am back to the corporate world, at least on a trial basis. To celebrate the transition, I went out and spent what amounts to two weeks' salary on new clothes :-) ...I was overdue for some dressy ones anyway after spending the last two months in the sort of clothes that one wears to be spit on, snotted on, coughed on, and to sit on the floor in. It's like my old favorite show, Ally McBeal, when she was contemplating not working and said, "but then I wouldn't get to wear any of my outfits!" It's time for me to have outfits again.

So we had a lot of fun watching the Phillies clobber the Mets last night (well all except for Kevin did, anyway!) Now although it's close, the Phils are not in command tonight. But the night is young. Hope they didn't use it all up last night. Maybe they shouldn't have used up all ten runs yesterday ... maybe they should have saved one or two of those for today!

And into the week we go. Brian has three tests tomorrow, and Megan has two AP exams this week and the junior prom on Friday night. I hope her dress still fits! Once she bought a dress while she was swimming a lot and by the time she wore it, her shoulders were smaller! That will be a problem, as this is a strapless dress. And she had her SAT experience yesterday, for what it's worth. I'm tired of all this testing, I can imagine how she must feel.

But she has confessed to having a frontrunner in the college search and although I won't name it now, it's the main one we went up to visit back in November, which fell out of favor but seems now to have returned. She'll have to go back for another visit or two, and maybe they will bring her for an 'official' visit for the swim team. Who knows ...?

And in other news, they come next weekend to open our pool! The landscaping is looking wonderful this year, aside from the dogwood, which strangely only bloomed with one flower this season. It looked like it was going to have many, but we came back from Florida and they were all gone. The one nursery guy ventured the guess that it was the extreme heat for that week in April, that the trees got confused and fried all their flowers. The one that remains is in the shade on the fence side of the tree, so maybe he is right.

Anyway, off I go. Check back soon!

morning update

2010-04-28T07:54:00.003-04:00

Well, very quickly I will post a status report.

Baxter has gone home, and the Doll continues her slow recovery. She is very worried that she won't be well enough to attend Grandparents Day at Brian's school on Sunday and I keep reassuring her that he will be fine if she can't make it. I know she wants to go herself but I think she is more concerned that she's letting him down, since she already missed his confirmation. I don't have the heart to tell her that he'd prefer to be strung up by his toenails than attend this function at all, so I just wait to see what will happen.

I am preparing to return to the grind this morning, for my last three days in this job. I am happy to have missed the day of gym class, since it tends to bring out the most obstinate character of my child. So I have no idea what frame of mind or types of behaviors I can expect from him today, knowing his time at the school is drawing to a close.

As for the job, they came back and asked me to do 1 to 4 or 4:30 or 5 three days and then one morning. I assume these would all be 3-4 hour days and would tie me up so I couldn't do anything. I'm also not crazy about the prospect of job sharing, as I told them initially that I could take on more hours as time went by. But to not start work till 1? And not be home when Brian gets home yet have the entire morning free, when I could be working in the morning somewhere instead? As I thought it through and also felt bait-and-switched with the whole thing, I emailed the agency and told her the afternoons were a no-go.

And I am trading phone calls with the woman about the other job, which sounds like a better prospect to me at this point, so hopefully I can catch up with her today and set something up, maybe for tomorrow. I hope.

Or I am just destined to be a lady of leisure, as the fates seem to be trying to show.

Well it is 8 and I must be letting dogs out and throwing my lunch together quickly. A local road closure that's been in effect for a month has caused more traffic to crop up on the other route I can take (the closed road was my favorite route) so I allow extra time in the mornings to get to the school.

But in other news, this will be a crazy afternoon of driving. Megan has SAT class, Brian has a Spanish Club dinner, then she thinks she wants to go to swimming but I have to assess her homework situation, and he has his tutor coming at 7. He got his lab back, the first one she helped him with. Everything they did was 100% right but he still got a 70, because he is Brian. He forgot to take it in on the day it was due (-10), and was somehow unaware that they were also supposed to diagram a fish's innards (-20). But he got a 94 on the test. :/ We tread on eggshells.

slacking

2010-04-27T10:54:00.002-04:00

Well, I do apologize. Being busy with working and the Doll and this blasted beast, I have neglected the blog. I'm home today, as luck would have it, and I have decided to update after all. So to bring things up to date, this will be my last week in my present position. I'm sad mainly because I've been upped to a great daily rate and it even pains me to have to miss today! (My boy was not going to be in school today so there's no need for me to go.) I do have the job lined up, or thought I did, but today I got an email from the agency. A few days ago they asked what my preferences were and I said three five hour days would be best but I would also consider four shorter ones. However, I am trying to keep a day or two open to still sub in case this one doesn't work out.

I didn't hear back till this morning and I didn't much care for the response. They asked about my flexibility to work afternoons so they can have me share the job with someone else who is going to work mornings. I'm getting a little bit uneasy now, because for one thing, that sounds like I'll never be able to grow to more hours. This other person works 1-5 at another job and is looking for a morning-only one so she won't have to give up her other one. :/ I don't have this kind of set-in-stone constraint but I do have people who will wonder where I am, and where is their dinner, if I have to drive home from this office at 5pm. Having the mornings free doesn't help me. I'll waste the time. I need free afternoons or I might as well have a full time job! And for the lowly rate of pay, I just don't know if it's worth it, sorry to say.

So she was going to speak to him again and see what he said. I suppose I could do it, and as I told her, I'd do two or three afternoons, but no way five. And I can also have more flexibility in the summer, when there is no school. I guess I just feel a little blind-sided by the request. Here I thought I was in for days, and they want me to do afternoons. I have to admit I'm a little unsure if I want to be involved in job-sharing. I'm kind of particular about the way I do things. :-(

Anyway, as far as the Doll goes, she came home yesterday. I picked up her stomach medicine and then drove her home. She said she felt ill and had had a terrible day. Apparently this is to be expected so they were not too sympathetic. I just don't know. She seems to have had more bad days than good for the past few years! Between the back episodes, and then the passing out, and now the stomach ... all I know is this dog better be welcomed back into his home and soon!

Megan is back from her trip to DC and they had a very nice time although she flew into an evil frenzy when she realized how much work she had to do while she was exhausted last night. And today we have the foot doctor and then she's getting back in the pool for the first time in two weeks. Tomorrow she has the SAT tutor and probably a swim obligation which I may force her to miss, to catch up on homework. I'm not sure, but he might be starting the afternoon beach training.

As for Brian, he has not failed anything in school THAT WE KNOW OF but progress reports will be issued soon. Some tests seem to be taking longer than they should to be returned, and a few of his teachers have been absent. In his school they don't use subs. Other teachers step up and proctor the class while the students just catch up on other work. So a day without a teacher is a missed day of instruction in that subject.

And in other news, Brian was confirmed on Sunday! So marks the end of the long years of preparation and requirements. I wonder if he will go to church ever again? Although we will all go as often as we can this month. Our rector's last day will be the last weekend of May! We are also gearing up for the baseball game this Saturday, after Megan retakes the SAT. Hopefully it will be better weather than last year when the game was rained out and rescheduled for a school night in September!

status updates

2010-04-21T20:36:00.003-04:00

Baxter: still here.

Doll: still there.

The news is that they are running tests. Tomorrow is a gallbladder test, there's been some talk of pacemaker adjustments. Who knows. The only known fact is that she has spent the night in the hospital with very little treatment, if any at all.

As for me, I have had my two interviews and have been offered one of the jobs! I tend to want to accept, but I have not heard from the other. In all fairness, I would like to hear from the other before I decide what it is I will do. But the second job (the one I have not heard from) sounds much more routine and lonesome at times. I think it would be a good job because of the hours, for right now, but in three years those hours will still be the same, and the pay cannot have gone up by much. So I will hope to have some revelation in my sleep, because I have promised the agency that I will let them know tomorrow.

And, of course, our school budget didn't pass. All incumbents of the Board of Ed were also voted out and three new guys are all in, sending a pretty strong message to the district. I have never had to wait at all to vote, perhaps behind one person during the Obama election. Last night I was behind six or seven when I arrived, and by the time I left, there were a good 25 or more people lined up behind me. So now we wait for the fallout.

On another school front, Brian has passed two tests this week: biology (after tutoring from a tutor) and algebra (after tutoring from Megan). So we hope this is the start of a trend but also know to not get too excited. The biology tutor just left: she was here for an hour helping him with his lab, and it's only about half finished, it's so long and involved.

And Megan had her SAT prep tutor session #1 today. She only has two, and then she retakes the SAT in May. The woman seemed pretty good, Megan said she left there wondering why she hadn't gotten a 2400 in the first place, the woman made it all sound so straightforward. But she didn't actually go through the math part of it, which was where Megan lost most of her points. So we'll see if she can do better at it this time around. (As long as she does at least the same I will be happy!)

So in other news, I have only the rest of this week and next in the job I am in at the school. The last two days were rough, but today was pretty good. If nothing else, the days do go fast. They can be stressful though, and especially with the budget woes having everyone on edge, especially after last night.

another three dog night

2010-04-19T21:44:00.005-04:00

Yes, that's right. Baxter is back. The Doll isn't feeling well and is planning to check herself into the hotel for more testing tomorrow (oh, I mean hospital). The doctor would have admitted her today, but the beds were all taken. So she plans to go in through the ER in the morning, and we have her dog again. They're telling her it could be her gallbladder. Of course, she assumes it's cancer.

So Brian has decided he should take showers at night now. I'm thinking it's not working out for his complexion, but whatever - last night he was in there for about 40 minutes and when he came out, the alarm system tripped from the humidity, and the fire department came! SO embarrassing. Anyway, that happened last year too and I don't know why. But in our dark, sleepy neighborhood where the biggest excitement of the year is a false fire alarm with lights ablaze at 11pm, you don't want to be the one who caused it!

Oh, and today, the house across the street went on the market. So now we have house stalkers :-( I'm sad. I really like the people, but I knew they'd move soon. I just thought in two years, because that was what they said. I guess they changed their minds.

On the job front, I started the first of my last two weeks today and it was one for the record-books. My boy was out of sorts from the start and it didn't get much better. I felt like I was spinning my wheels the whole day. Plus, I was dressed up for this interview after school, which I felt went pretty well even if I WAS half an hour early. But better early than late I guess. The job would be part time and temporary to start and then I guess subject to re-evaluation. Tomorrow I have another interview, this time at a church. So for once I feel like maybe I'll have options. Either that or all the moles will be back in their holes before I get to whack them.

And in other news, Megan has been asked to attend a special swim training session in the summer with her coach. That is exciting, but it will also mean she'll have to fly across the country, she'll be there on her birthday, and I will have to reschedule her driving test! At least there is more summer after she gets back, admittedly though, not much. But it will be a fun experience. And maybe we can all go out there and visit E!!!

sun-day

2010-04-18T08:41:00.006-04:00

At last the sun is shining! I should really be up in the shower but instead I will update my blog. I seem to be unable to get to it most days now, as my brain is usually in overdrive from a day of dealing with one small child. Two more weeks in the job! I will really miss the paychecks, especially since my credit card bills are also in overdrive from the expenses of the trip to Florida.

So it's Sunday morning and we are out of milk and toilet paper. We have to go to church this morning (Brian has his confirmation next Sunday!) and then the swim banquet this afternoon. Megan made the video again so that's always fun to watch. This year, I had to surrender the ad book so someone else could get volunteer points, so I am interested to see how it turned out. I was glad not to have to do all that work, but I also did enjoy it, so I have mixed feelings about having had to give it up.

And this is the week of my two interviews: one tomorrow and one on Tuesday. I'm trying to plan how I'll spend the day in the special ed class with the little ones and then wear the same outfit to an insurance company interview, so my plan is to wear nice black pants and a sweater and keep a blazer in the car for after school. The next day, the interview is later so I'll have time to come home and fix myself up.

Megan is still off from swimming so I have to try to get her to the podiatrist for the warts that won't go away. I would just as soon leave them alone because we have already tried a million things and I'm not keen on having them sliced off (they cover a large area but are relatively flat). But we're going to try a new doctor who was recommended by the dermatologist, if we can get in soon. I don't want her to have to have any treatment that restricts her activity for more than a few days, just to get rid of some warts. In fact, they used to look better than they do now, before she ever had them treated by the other guy! And he had almost gotten rid of them when he decided to freeze the remaining invisible (to me) one and as soon as he shot the freezing stuff on them, they ballooned into a monster and never receded.

And in other news, things have been relatively quiet - just Megan trying to catch back up in school, Brian trying (sometimes unsuccessfully) to pass tests and remember to turn in papers (paid for a tutor for him and she helped him finish the lab, then he left it at home) and the rest of us just trying to catch up on life after being away. Molly seems well although she eats and drinks like a monster, and the other day when Brian came home he didn't let her out (she doesn't get up sometimes) and she suddenly exploded in a puddle of pee, the likes of which have never been seen before. But that was his fault. She hadn't been out in seven hours, and I thought she had.

And nothing from any colleges, still waiting and thinking that one out. Today is 'junior day' at one of Megan's top choices but we can't go because of the banquet. And in her mind, the forerunner is back to a different school anyway. But many things will happen that may or may not change her mind. And despite her filling in forms and visiting the school, that coach has yet to even send her an introductory letter. So we'll see.

here we are again

2010-04-14T21:10:00.002-04:00

Well, we made it home. All three flights landed right on time. Kevin tried to fly standby on the plane Brian and I were on, but it was so overbooked that they were begging people to give up their seats, which nobody did until they upped the ante with first class tickets on the alternate flights. So he ended up being on his original flight, but his suitcase was on with us! So we had to pick it up and take it home for him.

Brian and I had a half hour wait for the shuttle to go back to the car park place, which was annoying, even if the place did save us $100 under what we would have paid in the daily lot at the airport (the one where you walk right out of your car and you're in the terminal.) Megan ended up being well enough to travel and she thought better of her plan to take a sick day from school when I asked her if she would miss anything important in her harder classes. She's stayed after school the past two days for extra tutoring or test-taking, and gone in early as well. Good thing she didn't miss another day!

Wilbur was thrilled to be saved, and he's back to playing fetch-on-demand all day long, except for the many hours he's spent locked up in the pen while I work. And speaking of work, I now have not one, but two interviews lined up for next week. One with an insurance guy and one in a church. So I don't know how they will go or what will become of me in either situation, but at least I am getting bites. It's exciting! And my job will wind down in just two weeks after this one. I double checked today, and it's a definite.

As for Brian, he had the biology tutor come today. In class yesterday, they dissected fish, so she helped him with the lab that's due on Friday, as well as a study guide for a Friday quiz. The funny thing is that the fish they dissected were not science lab fish, but smelly food market fish. I found that quite funny, although I'm also very glad I wasn't in that room while the lab was being conducted! Even the classroom snake hid out inside the paper towel dispenser to avoid the aromatic waves of fish innards.

And in other news, the cleaning people are coming tomorrow and I'm not prepared. For one thing, I haven't been able to scoop the litterboxes since I threw my back out picking up a laundry basket on Sunday (it is improving bit by bit) and I have to put out clean sheets for all the beds, which involves leaning over and digging them out of closets, another impossible maneuver in my crippled state. I have improved tremendously, but if anything is on the floor or I have to crouch and reach for it, I might as well just forget about it. I told the cleaning woman and she said that I should go to the Chinese people who "make massages." So maybe I will.

just a blog before I go

2010-04-11T06:23:00.002-04:00

Well, it's time to head home. I didn't update all week, sorry for that. It's been quite a week of extreme highs and lows. One of the swimmers got off of the plane on Sunday feeling fine. By 11:30 he was too sick to pick his head up off the pillow, puking for two days. We all held our breath but by Saturday, we had all but forgotten the threat.

We headed over to the meet as usual, only to find that two swimmers, a girl who had made the top 16 with Megan the night before and a boy who was the second seed in one of that day's events, were throwing up back at the hotel. One of the other girls swam her best time in breaststroke, went into the bathroom and threw up, swam in the relay again, helping them break a team record, and threw up again. The coach was seen puking in a trash can. And then when we went back for finals, Megan ran straight from her first All-American awards ceremony for the bathroom.

And we went out to dinner! One reason to be grateful that the team takes care of the kids. ;-) And this year, two coaches, a husband and wife, left early. They flew home the night before all of this happened. Of course, they were around it too, hope they are OK!

But that was the bad, humorous as it will probably be in a few days. Here is the good: Megan swam great. She could have done better in a few swims, but she swam best times in every event she swam. A great time in the 200 free that brought her back in the unofficial heat at finals, even if she failed to top the time that night. And it was a team record. She swam on three team-record-breaking relays, one of which made it back and ended up coming in 15th, which got them an award.

Just before falling to the stomach bug, she swam a personal best relay split in the 100 free. And even when she didn't slash time in her events, she still swam them in best times in the 100 free and 500 free. So it was a successful meet and I am just hoping her stomach is settled enough for travel this afternoon!

Brian had a decent time, there were some boys in the hotel for him to romp with, but they won't be back next year so he will have to come up with something to do instead. Next year is going to be tough anyway because he will have to miss school to come. This year was lucky for him, because they were on break for two weeks. Megan missed five days of school, and if she's too weak to go tomorrow, I may have to let her stay home, even though I was planning to send her.

And Kevin worked as an official all four days of the meet, and two of the nights. So he got a couple of fancy shirts and a new hat and patch.

But now I must climb in the shower so I can pack my final items and head downstairs to find a taxi. Our flight leaves at 10, and I am looking forward to being home. I have to get Molly, because of course the Doll's dog walker fell through. Last I heard things had been OK - Molly did have diarrhea, but she had managed to get outside. It was probably just upset from being taken away from her home again. I can't get Wilbur till tomorrow, and I hope the house wasn't too hot for the cats.

And in other news, it's back to the terror of my long term position tomorrow. This week of not going has made me realize how tough that job really is! Sometime this week I am supposed to have an interview for a part-time job. It's through the agency, working for an insurance agent. It's temporary to start so we'll see. It doesn't sound terribly exciting, and it's about 20-30 minutes away. But then again, so is the school where I have been - at least 15-20 minutes. I'll see when I make the drive just how long it really takes. Off to the showers!

hippity hoppity happy easter day

2010-04-04T07:37:00.003-04:00

And it is the morning of Easter, the day the team leaves, and the day we usually spend in church and at brunch with the Doll. This year, we won't be doing any of that. After three church services in a week for Brian, two each for Kevin and me, and one last night for Megan, we're not going this morning. Megan has schoolwork to finish, as does Brian, and Kevin and I will finish the little details of the trip: making sure Megan has cash, packing, and getting the house and pet-sitter details wrapped up. She has to be to the bus by 3.

It's very foggy out this morning despite all these reports of beautiful weather. I hope it will burn off for the departure, plus I would like to take a walk in a little while. I see that the trees are starting to get the green buds on them, which means that green coating all over cars and sidewalks will welcome us upon our return.

So I spent yesterday doing some more last minute running around, getting flip-flops for Megan because Wilbur ate her last cheap pair, and sorting through the summer clothes to get ready to pack for myself. Brian still has homework but after eight days of being on his own and still only finishing a handful of things, it's time for an intervention. And his room looks like it was hit by a mini-tornado, and he can't find anything. That will be our day.

I wonder what's open on Easter Sunday these days? In the past we haven't had much time to do anything, but today stretched out long and luxurious for all of us except for Megan, who probably feels the stress of having to finish up the work before she leaves. She's trying not to have too many books to take with her.

Well, this is sort of boring, so I'll move onto the other news. I found out last week that Megan won't be able to make Brian's confirmation! She is taking a two day trip to DC and they leave on the morning of the event, at 5:45 am from the school. So that will be another busy weekend for her. Then there are various other weekend obligations which prevent her from visiting colleges, which after the meet will become an urgent priority. Oh, and she has SATs again in May, and ACTs in June. Then her die will be cast, and she can sit back to see who is interested. Not much else going on with all the focus on the trip. So check back later. If I don't update before, I'll try to post from Florida!

countdown

2010-04-03T08:22:00.004-04:00

So here it is, the day before Easter and the day before Megan leaves, beginning our exodus from NJ heading for Florida. She is stressed, between pressure to perform at the meet (which I keep trying to decrease with motivational speeches encouraging her just to do her best and not worry about anything else) and pressure to complete the mountains of work she has hanging over her, before she leaves.

Brian continues through this Holy Week requirement for his confirmation with limited complaining, although I have to admit I didn't care for his behavior at church last night when I took him: hanging his head, yawning widely in the face of the people on the altar (from the front row), and not following along in the bulletin during the longer parts. Tonight we have a dinner with the Doll at 5, and then church at 7:30. We'll just all go and that will be our Easter visit. Megan has to be at the Y at some point tomorrow to get on the airport bus.

Otherwise, Brian's been supposedly doing his schoolwork as well, so he won't have any when we go away on Tuesday morning, and today I have to get him started packing and cleaning his room. He hasn't really been very social at all this break although I suppose he is somewhat in wait mode, waiting for the excitement of next week. There will be some kids there for him to hang out with as well. The swimmers won't be with us, so he won't have Megan. I'll miss E this year, it was nice to have her to leave in the room with him, and then to know they'd walk up together to meet us, or down to the beach. I knew he would be safe with her. This year, I'll worry if he goes down with the boys. I'm sure he will find them every morning.

As for me, I heard from the woman at the agency yesterday. She had an "opportunity" (been a while since I played this game) which she wanted to know if I'd be interested in ... so I told her sure, go ahead and send my resume. I can't start any job until after April 30, but I can interview in late afternoons and be ready to start on May 3. I also sent my resume for a menial hospital job and for a summer job working in the program through the public schools here in town, where Megan usually volunteers. Might as well keep the feelers going. I've been at it for several months now with only a nibble here and there, and the fiasco with the school job.

And in other news, the dogs seem to be doing well. No more accidents now that the weather is nice and they can go for walks and be in the yard more often. Even Molly seems more chipper. And the Doll did secure her dog walker, I may have said already, so that means Molly will have one walk per day. That ought to do it. Kevin is also preparing to leave, he goes early Monday morning. I usually drive him to the airport but this year since I'll need to leave for work by 8:10, I'll probably just drop him at the train station. I haven't decided yet where to park the car when Brian and I go - to pay the higher short term rates and have it be right there, or to pay half that and have to call for a van to come get us at the off-site parking lot. So stay tuned. The laptop is coming to Florida, so I expect to update. If not, results will be posted here: http://www.ymcaswimminganddiving.org/

free at last!!!

2010-03-31T13:34:00.002-04:00

FINALLY. I have not worked this much in years! And my paycheck arrived yesterday. Of course, it was less than I had hoped for but still probably the largest I have ever received. And today I went for my 'interview' at the employment agency. They don't ask you much, you just fill in a bunch of forms and take a LONG test on their computer. So I scored above average for all my Microsoft Office application skills, and I typed 60 wpm with six errors. So if they get anything in they will call, particularly in Excel.

The Excel thing is ironic, because I sent a resume over to a church on the recommendation of a friend. Her mother is retiring from the position and they need someone to work part time but to be their main office secretary. I am sure I'd be able to do the job and do it well, but I may not get the chance because it turns out they may want someone with bookkeeping experience, and related software. So I have experience annualizing rates of return and compiling statistics but since I have not used accounting software or kept a simple ledger, I may not even be granted an interview.

Otherwise, I am just happy to be off on a weekday! Brian had a tutor come by to try to help him with biology, but the teacher is so disorganized that there's nothing to help us figure out what he needs next. There's one assignment on the web but Brian claims it's not for his class. I had him do it anyway, with the tutor. She won't be cheap but if she comes once a week and helps him through his work, when he gets the study guide for the final, hopefully she can coach him through to a better grade than he got on the midterm!

Now I am going to take him out to get a couple of things for our trip. I am anxious to get down there - the stress leading up to it is always exhausting: dogs, cats, house, shopping, packing, flying ... and yesterday, Molly pooped on the rug again! Right next to me! I sat down on the floor to pet her and she started to come over - then walked away and went right into a squat! I threw her our, turds flying everywhere. It was just awful. She had been let out several times, but it was raining. I don't know whether to just take her to the kennel with Wilbur or to pray really hard that the dog walker comes through and walks her every day next week. She tries to hold out for those walks, and if she doesn't get them, nature takes over.

Of course, I think she did go outside this morning already. When I opened the door to let them in, I saw Wilbur eating what seemed to be a fresh pile. The fun is never-ending.

My horoscope for today says go to a very crowded place, that I will be energized by the crowds. I find this advice tough to follow - but maybe I'll give it a try in a little while. I've been feeling fairly anti-social lately!

And in other news, the sun is finally peeking through the clouds. We should have some monstrous shrubs and perennials this year. This has been crazy! I only hope it will hold off till after we have already flown to Florida to rain again ... and I hope it stays dry while we're down there!

spring broke

2010-03-29T19:19:00.003-04:00

Well, spring is here, they say. And I guess it is, it's soaking wet outside! Makes it not so bad to be working or in school today and tomorrow! Good thing Brian is off because last night when I went upstairs I found him in his room with all the lights out. He said his head and stomach hurt because he had eaten too much. He had several donuts (I assume), then McDonalds with a chocolate shake, and God knows what at the movies (he saw How to Train a Dragon), and then came home and ate pasta with bolognese sauce. So he said he didn't want motrin but Kevin pushed the issue and five minutes later there was chocolate shake puke all over the bathroom.

So Kevin had to clean it up.

Anyway, he is fine today; he really was a lot better even after that, and now tonight, is ravenous. He ate a muffin and a hot chocolate all day and devoured his dinner and is now scavenging for scraps on which to gorge himself. It's odd because that's the third time he's had cheeseburgers with some sort of chocolate milk or shake and thrown up afterward.

And today I subbed in regular ed. It was wonderful. They behaved the whole time and even though the lesson plans were a little scant, I managed to drag them out and they never complained. I think we had a good day! I checked the plans for tomorrow and it might be a little harder to drag the morning story out, so I may look for a book to read them or print out a puzzle instead. At least, I think they were wonderful. It may just be that I have lowered my standards! (no, they really were good!)

So one more day in that class, and one more day of school for Megan. She is at practice now, and is on her antibiotic for four more days. I don't like that she blows her nose non-stop in the morning for about an hour. Oh, and of course: H1N1 makes the news again. Mostly in Georgia? Right next to Florida? Great. Oh, and it was last year that all of this began just right after everyone came back from spring break!

And in other news, I have found someone to tutor Brian in biology and she will come on Wednesday morning. My fear for him in this class is that he will fail the final if he doesn't get it pulled together. If she can get him to start passing some tests with better than 70's, maybe he can get that average up a little more. And we'll work on the other classes on our own. So it will be a start. An expensive one. But necessary for right now. Also, I have my interview with that agency on Wednesday, the one I had to cancel, so we'll see how that goes. Maybe they can get me some temp work at least, for over the summer. I don't know how much they get in that's only part-time but I did get some jobs years back when I temped, that were only 9 till 1. I'm not holding my breath for the job referral I got from my friend. It would be lovely if it worked out, but I have learned not to allow my expectations to rise. But for now, I am looking forward to the week off. I am pretty sure this is the longest I have gone without a day off in ten years!

iPost!

2010-03-28T13:42:00.003-04:00

And so this is the first post from the new iMac! I guess Kevin was feeling a little entitled due to his upcoming bonus, and a little disgusted with the old PC, and he just came home with it yesterday. I usually use the old laptop which now has to be anchored to a wall at all times because it shuts down as soon as the charging cable becomes disconnected. Although the iMac is obviously superior, it also takes some getting used to. It's like Windows, but not. Or should I say - Windows is like the Mac, but not. But we were used to Windows.

Anyway, I have survived Round 1 of my long term temping job. The next two days will be in a third grade class, and then I have a break. Then the one day with the boy, and then off to Florida. It's been such a long time coming that I can't believe it is time for that trip again. Funny to think that we had E with us last year!

The good news is that Brian's report card arrived and yes - he passed everything. Mostly 'passed' being the silver lining to the actual numerical grades. The highest was an 80, and that was Spanish, where he used to have 90's, until he spent two weeks failing every test he took in school. I have devised a plan to try to get his grades up by the end of the year. First, I am going hire a biology tutor, probably once a week, to get him on track. I'd ask her to come more, but I don't know if we can afford it. She is expensive. Second, since he seems to keep missing points for stupid mistakes when he takes math tests, I am going to enlist Megan's help as a tutor after Nationals. I'll tie her pay to his performance, and reward him somehow as well, so he won't be belligerent to her. It will be unorthodox and perhaps not always recommended, but it will be better than paying 'real' tutors x2, on top of the tuition. I can handle the history and English. He will be on his own with religion and Spanish.

And then I have to figure out a way to ensure that he passes the summer reading test in the fall. I'm considering reading the books myself and then testing him on them. I guess it depends on how much free time I will have, which, right now, is unlimited.

On that front, I have sent out a couple of additional resumes, and I'm waiting to see if I will hear anything. I also want to contact that temp agency, possibly tomorrow, because I'll have prep and lunch, at least. In the other job I don't get a break at all, all day. If needed, I would be allowed to run off and make a call, but I can't ask to do it for no reason at all. And as a sub, I don't want to get the reputation of not being dedicated.

Megan is also waiting to hear something on an application we filled in for summer work. Supposedly she has the job as assistant swim coach, but she also applied to lifeguard and we have not heard anything at all. The coach is a reference, but we didn't specifically flag the application in any way so it may be at the bottom of a pile. The town held a job fair last week so I'm sure they got a lot more at that time. I don't know what she'll do if she doesn't hear back on this. She hasn't put in for anything else. I guess she will have to get on that when she gets back from Florida too.

Also on the horizon is her junior prom, which I guess she would be just as happy to skip. She hates the whole idea of the dress and probably also hates the one I suggested and she agreed to. Now it has to be shortened and we don't know where to take it. I have to work on that some more tomorrow. She will also need shoes, which she also hates to wear. No flip-flops, no sneakers. That's her only footwear.

Right now she is at the mall shopping for more things for their trip next week. I can't imagine what else she needs, so I hope she won't spend much more. I'm going to leave in a little while and go down to pick them up, but I'll get there a little early and shop a bit myself first.

And in other news, the plans for the pets are set for when we go away. Hopefully, Molly will hold herself together for the Doll, who is going to try to get her once-a-day dog walker in to walk Molly so she will do her business. She gets a little stubborn and holds it in when she is in unfamiliar territory. She's always been that way, but now that she is old, the results are usually unpleasant. In the absence of poor Buddy, the cats will only need to be looked in on every other day. Nobody trashes the litterbox or stinks it up the way he used to do. And nobody is particularly fond of wet food anymore either, so that usually ends up going to waste. I stretch one can out over three days for three cats and still throw some out every day.

But the real news is that someone stole our street sign again. It's that time of year, when the college acceptances arrive, and everybody wants a street sign that says 'Lehigh.' The question is, can the town afford a new one this year?

good grief

2010-03-25T20:09:00.003-04:00

I cannot believe how fast time has gone yet how long the week has seemed to be! I checked and I see my last blog post was four days ago. The crime! It's just been hectic. Of course, working till 3 and then having a meeting Tuesday night at the high school, a dinner with Brian through his school last night, and then tonight the foreign languages fundraising dinner at Megan's school. Not to mention a Monday and Tuesday from hell in my classroom, although thankfully they were balanced out by the two best days yet, in yesterday and today.

Times are a little stressful though. The school budget news has really been grim, and they posted the number of teachers to be cut as right around 72 in the district. The superintendent says to think of it as positions and not people, alleging that they will try to move everyone into open spots as people retire. But this really only applies to the tenured staff. So the non-tenured are really on edge. And I can forget about my dream of getting in there permanently, at least for now. So the search must go on.

Along those lines, I finally discovered who was hired for the job I didn't get, and as I suspected, they went the 'young and just out of college' route. I can't wait to see the first finished product, but I imagine they will be happy anyway. After all, Harvard they ain't, thought they may think they are just as good. I imagine as long as someone gets the job done reasonably well, they won't notice any different. And as long as she isn't asking to leave to go drive a kid somewhere for half an hour, they'll be happy.

Tomorrow is report card day for Brian. I think he is passing everything, albeit barely. He has a biology quiz tomorrow and that seems to be his worst subject, no matter what he does. I was actually considering moving him back to the public schools until this budget news hit. Now those C's aren't looking so bad. And anyway - he is happy there. Hopefully that will motivate him to improve.

Megan's health is improving, on this third course of antibiotics. I hope she will be healthy for nationals - terrible news for some of these poor college swimmers, all sick with the gastro ailment in Chicago! That happened to some swimmers in Florida two years ago. They ate chicken at our hotel and it landed them all in the hospital for a few days. What a shame.

My charge in school is going to be on vacation next week, so I will go in tomorrow and work wherever they need me, but then on Monday and Tuesday, I'm working in a third grade class in my other school. I'll go back in with my boy on Easter Monday but then we're off for Florida. Then when I come back, I'll stay with him until he leaves the school, which I believe will be the end of the month.

Anyway, in other news, Megan's prom dress is here. I have to find a seamstress and have it altered, it is too long and probably too big in some spots (she hasn't tried it on yet! they had another dress in the same size but not this one, they had just sold it when I estimated her as a smaller size than she actually needed). I'd like to get it into someone next week so it will be ready when we get back from our trip. Oh, and while I was out today, Wilbur ate the cushion off of one of the kitchen stools. Then later, when I took him (and Molly) for a walk, a neighbor asked if anything had happened at our house a few days ago. He said he heard the dog barking so badly that he almost came over to make sure we were OK! I said, no. That's just Wilbur.

weekends are different when you work

2010-03-21T20:22:00.002-04:00

They go so much faster! And I used to be able to say, well, if I don't finish this today, I'll just finish it tomorrow, I won't take any jobs. Now my days are spoken for from 8:15 through 3:30, and I get very little accomplished. With swimming winding down (two weeks till Nationals!) at least I'll have more time in the afternoons when I don't have to run the swim shuttle for a while. (although then the trips to the beach practices will begin! But at least those are enjoyable)

I didn't get much accomplished this weekend. Yesterday the entire morning went to Megan and her illness, as I had to take her in to the doctor when she woke herself up with a sneeze at 8am, after she had threatened bodily harm to anyone who dared disturb her slumber. The afternoon was spent shopping for a dress for her to wear to her prom, because I thought maybe I could find something without her there and if she didn't like it, I could just take it back. I did find one, but it was the wrong size, so she ended up having to come with me today anyway, to try on the other sizes.

In the end, they didn't have the right size anymore, and I had to order it. It should arrive this week, and then we'll have to find someone to alter it. It's too long and will probably be too big in some spots. It's hard to find a dress to fit her swimmer's shoulders :/. But the price was reasonable and I didn't think we'd have much luck (and after the E experience I was afraid to try) shopping at boutiques trying to spend less than $200, so I grabbed it up.

Speaking of E, after a chance encounter on Friday night, she stopped by today for a few hours to visit. She stayed for dinner and we had a nice chat, so she is doing well. She is en route to have her plate removed from her big collarbone accident last year.

As for Brian, he is passing all his classes, as far as we know. If he managed to get a 70 or higher on his biology test on Friday, he will be passing biology as well. If not, he'll have to cruise through the final marking period to ensure he passes the class for the year. It was a rough marking period, which it should not have been. He started off on a high note in all his classes, and ended up almost failing four of them. (!)

And in other news, Molly continues to show her age with a couple of accidents in the house. The other night, she peed (more like exploded) under the kitchen table, and tonight, she just suddenly got up and left behind a small pile of excrement! Horrible! This is not an easy time with her. I just hope she doesn't do anything like that at the Doll's when we're in Florida. I don't have anything else to do with her if she makes herself an unwelcome visitor! I don't think she is actually doing it on purpose. She just hates to get up so she lies around and then finally it just comes out when she goes to get up. But other times she can go for hours without incident. Poor Moll. At least both times were on the tile floor. So far. She has had long days all these past three weeks that I've been working without a problem. I hope she can keep that up! I usually walk them in the afternoon, and she waits for that.

budget blues

2010-03-18T19:28:00.002-04:00

Yep, so it's crazy around here these days! Brian's marking period is ending, which means tests galore for him, and emails from teachers, and worries of failures (and failures to worry about), not to mention my job, which absolutely wears me out! Also since I have been working in this school I have been sick! First I had a cough, and then it turned into a stuffy nose with sneezing. At least I am coughing less, but enough is enough! And Megan is starting to sniffle and cough again, too! I feel like she can't win - twice on antibiotics is the limit. She can't go on them again, so she is going to have to fight this one off on her own. She's taking Claritin-D, which usually helps. She is OK, just stuffy, but I've been wondering if I should try Zyrtec and see if that might work better.

I think she will improve once she doesn't have to swim in that indoor pool anymore!

So today I went to see a play for a huge array of kindergarteners at a local community theater. It was cute, but of course, too long for my charge, who announced he had to go to the bathroom at about an hour into it, and then just finally stood up when I had stalled him too long for his liking. I was practically shaking after the trip, worrying what he would do out on the street and in the theater, and then pushing ahead of others in line, and worrying about how the rest of the day would go. I think I have this job for next week and then two days the week after, which is when our spring break begins. After that, I have to find out what they want me to do since I'll be away the following week. If they want me to get a sub for myself, or if they just want to put someone else in there until the end of the assignment. I'll ask the principal either tomorrow or next week. She's always very busy, and I feel very menial and hate to trouble her.

As far as this job turning into anything permanent, I am not optimistic at all after the news that came out today on the state funding cuts to the district. Apparently they are way worse than feared and the district is going to have to resort to drastic measures. So this means teachers cut, classes cut, programs cut, and of course, classroom aides cut. They plan to cut 18 of these. Also, they're slashing the sub teacher pay by $10 and the sub aide pay by $1 per hour, which will make the substitute aides higher paid than the sub teachers, if you calculate the teacher rate on an hourly basis. But it also looks like there won't be any new jobs opening up for quite a while to those of us on the sub list!

I also worry about the high school swim team. It makes me wonder if this is why Megan and her friend got the awards that usually go to seniors. Was this some kind of foreshadowing, or simply giving credit where it's always been due? I guess we'll find out. Also, Megan is worried because she heard they'd cut AP classes. And AP classes which she needs to be in when she's applying to colleges next year! It's pretty bad, to be kind.

Anyway, in other news, I have some food in the oven that isn't cooperating and I must go and see if it is ready to come out. Seems like we eat later and later these days. I am looking forward to Florida and the end of the winter swim season!

home at last

2010-03-15T20:23:00.005-04:00

What a harrowing weekend! Driving out there in the rain after dropping Brian at school, getting gas, and dropping Wilbur at the kennel, only to watch Megan get overtaken in the final strokes of the race, and then having to rush her home to sleep, get back up and get her to the pool by 6:30, then home to rest again and then the back and forth, back and forth, all weekend long. Until the harrowing drive last night in the rain on the two turnpikes finally brought us into the driveway around 10:40.

And not to mention the time change! I'm just glad Megan didn't have the extra early session on Sunday! She didn't have to be to the pool until 8:30.

But it was a successful meet by all accounts. The reason she was out of energy at finals was because of her long distance swim in the mid-session, which she knew would probably cost her the top spot but was worth it because she qualified for nationals in that event as well. (and set a record at her Y)

Brian ended up stuck at the Doll's because of the nor'easter, which took down trees all around the home of the friend who was to be his Saturday night salvation. But they did manage to come by and pick Brian up early Sunday morning and take him to church, back to their house, and then back home to ours afterward. We are most grateful to have these friends to do that for us! Especially because the Doll was making noises about bringing Brian back here to wait alone in the house for us, even though I assured her we would be home by 11 and he would be fine. The last thing I wanted to do was add extra time to that trip home, when we all had to be up early today.

So today we are all back to our respective spots, except for Kevin, who stayed home to deal with the wet basement issues. I guess we have a rug to replace, but I think that may be about it. It was a pretty ugly rug anyway, and the smallest one of the three down there. Although admittedly not the ugliest.

I am sneezing, coughing, have no voice. Last week I had a cough with a tickle, but otherwise felt fine. I think I am coughing less, but now my nose is all stuffy. The hoarseness isn't a good thing in my line of work! Although most of the time I only have to talk to one kid, and he barely listens to me anyway.

But the good news is that the school is having their pajama day tomorrow and - I KNOW ABOUT IT! And then we have a trip on Thursday. I think it will be a pretty eventful week, but then, every day is eventful with this kid!

And in other news, the dogs are just thrilled to be here! Since Kevin was home, I asked him to go and pick them up. As much as I wanted to be Wilbur's savior myself, since it was still raining pretty hard today I thought he'd be happier at home where he'd have space to roam. I'm sure at the kennel they don't get out as much or for as long in rains like these. It's a shame. I'm sure it was pouring the entire time he was there. He probably never even got to have a really good playtime. Molly is, of course, sleeping.

And I keep forgetting to do things for them. Like it was 8:15 before I remembered I feed Wilbur at 5 or 6! I turned my back and his food was gone! Poor little guy. Molly was OK - someone had put some food in her bowl earlier and she still had a lot left. And now Kevin is off to get Megan from the Y and Brian is upstairs allegedly studying. I guess I should check on that.

morning ramblings

2010-03-12T06:24:00.005-05:00

Wow! I cannot believe it's been since Monday without an update. It's been a whirlwind of a week! The job is obviously keeping me busy all day, and I am exhausted when I get home. Tuesday I had to drive Megan to the newspaper for the all-conference photos, and then on Wednesday night they had their high school sports 'ceremony,' and she actually won MVP! We weren't expecting this at all, because in past years they have made sure that only seniors get the two plaques. So every year, Megan and her friend have carried the team, and every year they have watched others get the awards. We expected the same this year, but went anyway because they usually say a little about their accomplishments over the season.

This year was different in that too - other teams would announces this one or that one broke this or that record, won this or that event, or were selected for this or that conference team. Not hers - they said that the girls' team placed in the top ten at both the county and conference meets. That was it. So it was a bit disappointing, since she was undefeated the entire season, including the county and conference meets, and she broke her two records set last year after the old ones had stood for twenty years. (They did give her a trophy for this in their private session.) But when they got to the awards and gave one to a sophomore boy, my ears perked up. But the boys' has gone to younger kids before, just not the girls'. Then when they announced the first award for was Megan's friend, I really sat up straight. And sure enough, they announced her as MVP. So that was exciting.

And the job: it is rough. On Wednesday I had to be with the other kid, the one I had thought I would be with when I showed up on Monday. He was bad twice during the day and got in big big trouble. I feel like trouble follows me. I don't know if I am not doing what I should be to keep these kids from behaving like this, or if they don't respond to me, or if it's just the way they are. I assume I am going to have the job back for the remainder of the time but I have to double check on that today. I have always preferred the older kids when given the choice, and I definitely feel that I do better as a classroom aide than a personal aide - because that's when they kids just need a little help or extra focus, and not these major negotiations just to keep them in line. So I'm having a bit of a hard time with it too. A couple of times I had to fight off the urge to just get up and walk out of the school! (not really, but I felt like it.) But that didn't happen yesterday for the first time, so maybe I'm getting better. My kid still doesn't have the right kind of respect for me yet. And maybe he won't ever.

Finally, the weekend of the state meet has arrived. Kevin and Megan are out in PA already, and I have to drop off Brian and Wilbur this morning, then work. I'll leave straight from the school at 3 and hope to get to the pool in time for finals at 6:15. I'll expect texted updates throughout the day. I'm irritated that I can't leave sooner, and the weather is going to be awful. I feel bad for Wilbur because he won't have much fun outside with the other dogs in this projected mess. Molly won't like going out, but she lies around all day anyway, and she's with the Doll, who will also come by and pick up Brian after school.

As for Brian, he pulled his grades up in the two classes but then dropped the ball in a third. He has a bunch of tests coming up as the marking period draws to a close, and hopefully he is staying current on the material. He has instructions to study all day tomorrow, and then he is allowed to go sleep at a friend's house. They both have to be in church all day Sunday, He finished tennis tryouts yesterday and although teams are to be posted Monday, he heard only three freshmen would make it, and he feels he knows who they are based on yesterday's court placement. So that will make him a little sad, but he can use the time to pass the year!

And in other news, Kevin found out his bonus and compensation info this week. He was happy with the raise, but the bonus was the lowest it's been in three years. The bank explained it by saying blah blah blah and of course in this economy one has to be understanding. But it's still always a disappointment to see your total compensation go down, when you know your group has been a high performer. So you take a hit to cover for the others. But it's still a nice bonus. And on that note...I am off.

the good the bad and the ugly

2010-03-08T20:55:00.004-05:00

Well, first the good, for a change. I spoke to the vet today and Molly's blood work was .. OK. There was one enzyme that was elevated, and this could mean Cushing's Disease, so he wants me to monitor her water intake over two days and report back to him. If she is drinking way too much, then she will have to undergo additional testing and possibly be treated. If not, I don't think we do anything but keep an eye on her. She seems fine today. She's perking up with the nice weather, I guess. And she does not have any kidney issues at all!

I took them both for a double-length walk. They liked that. Wilbur is funny, he criss-crosses constantly in front of me the whole walk. It would be annoying if he were larger, but I feel like he's doing some deep-seated ancient cavedog ritual and that makes it kind of cute.

OK, so now the bad and the ugly. It could be worse. And it's certainly not to be unexpected, given my track record with jobs. I got into school today only to be told that there has been a change. It seems that one of the students in another class is moving out of town in a few weeks, and so the woman who is assigned to him has been reassigned to the spot that I was supposed to have. I am now with the soon-to-be-moving child, which is a finite (and exhausting) assignment. And I'm not even sure if I am in this spot for the whole time, or just for the five days I had signed on for, or what. And now I have to miss Friday at the meet in PA for this, and there is very little likelihood, if any at all in light of the news on budget cuts, that it will lead to anything more permanent. :-( How does this always happen?

And then another teacher called and asked if I would work for her in two weeks. I had to say no, but I wasn't happy having to do so. But I suppose I will be able to pay off my credit card bills and sock a little money aside for summer if I work for all these weeks. It's just a physically and emotionally tiring job, and not having expected it, I had some adjustment issues today.

Anyway, in other news, there is some more good news that I forgot to mention. Brian is no longer failing any classes. He managed to bring his grades up high enough, and although we don't know the biology test grade (but are not optimistic) hopefully his strong early scores this marking period will carry him for the remainder. And he had tennis tryouts today but all they did was run. They will play tomorrow, but he expects heavy cuts. I think he is hopeful but not expectant. I'm sure he will be sad if he is cut, but I don't think it will be devastating. He heard they were only going to take three freshmen. I guess he'll know this by the end of the week.

monday morning already

2010-03-08T06:31:00.003-05:00

So it's here - the first day of my assignment so we'll see how this turns out. It's already causing me all sorts of problems with Friday, because Megan has to be in PA for the swim meet Thursday night, swimming three sessions Friday (presuming she makes finals and they bring back 24 so I think she will) with nobody to ferry her back and forth to the pool, or to make sure she has food.

I keep thinking of a few years ago when I almost had that job and lost it when it went for board approval and they had the other woman who was in the union and needed a position, and I lost everything. If I have given up my day Friday and gone through all this trouble and this turns out to be just another sub assignment, I will be really upset. I want to say heartbroken, but that would imply that I have a strong expectation that it will be extended to permanent, and this is not the case. However, I do hope that after giving up this day, I will at least get to work in the room beyond the one week.

But the news last week was not good either, with massive budget cuts coming due to the governor's reduction in state aid to the schools. I understand the need to balance the budget but the threatened cuts can be devastating, even under the best scenario.

Anyway, we have decided to leave Brian here after all, rather than drag him to PA. So he'll stay with the Doll and she can make sure he gets all of his work and studying done, and then he should be able to stay with a friend from church for the second night, and he has to spend nearly the whole day at church on Sunday for his confirmation class. We probably won't get back till very late, which I hate, but that's what happened last year. So either someone will have to feed him dinner or I'll have to leave him something he can make himself.

And in other news, yesterday we took the dogs to the dog park for the first time since fall. The ground was a muddy mess but the place was full of dogs. At first Wilbur was his usual clingy self but then all of a sudden he became drawn to a shiba inu, and he started to play with her. Then, for about half an hour, he was just running crazy with everyone. It was so cute! I was trying to get him ready to go to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm on Friday. He has to get used to being around dogs that do more than sleep all day. Which reminds me, we had some blood work done on Molly on Saturday. I'll talk to the vet today and see if everything is OK with the poor old girl.

quick news

2010-03-04T08:18:00.002-05:00

Well, I do not have a job but I do have a trial assignment for five days beginning on Monday, and a two day assignment for today and tomorrow in a third grade class as an aide. So seven straight days of working as an aide, actually eight and a half in two weeks plus one day subbing. So that's good but I will have to put off my departure for the Y meet in PA by a day. Oh well.

If the week goes well I may have another three week trial and then the whole situation will be re-evaluated. Nothing is every easy in my life or in the life of a child with needs. So that's where I am today.

Kevin is on his way to Canada, Brian is in school hopefully passing tests, as this was just the worst report ever, with four classes reporting unacceptable progress. It's making us seriously consider removing him from the school. This isn't really doing any of us any good at this point, although I will say he IS learning despite failing all of these tests. Megan had some great test results on her physics and history tests and she got a message from her high school coach that she's on the all-conference team again, although this year we expected it because she won every race during the season.

On that note, I must be off as the school is about 20 minutes away on a good day, and I still have to call the agency with whom I am supposed to meet at 10 this morning to discuss possible temporary or part-time office assignments. I'll just postpone it a bit, and let them know at the end of next week what my latest situation will be. Also, there's still the summer to think of, and if they have part-time work at that point, I'd be thrilled to try it out.

And in other news, The orthodontist told us yesterday that probably in about three months he will begin what he calls 'Phase 2' of treatment, and put brackets on all of Brian's new teeth. Then it will just be a matter of lining them all up, which is practically done as a result of the five year long 'Phase 1' already! The only bad part is that we have paid off Phase 1 and will need to begin payments anew when we embark upon Phase 2. And now, I must run. More later. (disclaimer: post not proofread!)

headspins

2010-03-02T16:56:00.002-05:00

Oh, what a difference a day makes.

Last night in desperation, I called the sub caller for the classroom aides. She has not called me on her own in two years, but said that this was because she didn't know I wanted to work, and that she has trouble filling spots most days. So as of 7 last night when I still had nothing for today, I called her.

And she never called me back.

But at 6:45 this morning, a job popped up on my screen for one of the fifth grade teachers at my regular school. I snatched it up, and rushed to get ready. When I got there, I found out that it was the Dr. Seuss birthday celebration, and everyone in the entire school was in pajamas! But nobody told me! And, in an effort to make myself feel more professional so I can market myself as such in the near future, I even wore 'nice' pants instead of the usual jean/sweater outfits I put together when I'm in familiar territory.

Anyway, the day turned out just fine. There's an in class support teacher and an aide in the room in the morning, and an aide in the afternoon. The class had special and Spanish, and a guest reader. And they were pretty well behaved anyway. It was a very easy day. Although my feet hurt and I wish I had worn flannel pants and sneakers to school instead!

So I got home, found Brian's progress report with the Spanish and English classes that he's failing, as well as a failed biology quiz which he hadn't told us about. He isn't failing biology, but it isn't going to get easier, so he has to step it up in there. And then I took Megan to practice.

Then I got home again and the phone rang. Tomorrow I have a job as an aide again, covering for my friend. This was the secretary from the school, asking me if I would like to interview for a position that just opened up as an aide in a K class. =:-O

Would I ever! So of course I told her yes, I would, and she asked if I could be there at 10, and I told her I will be there at 9! Until 3! So she said she'd tell the principal that and she'll call me down at some point. So please keep your fingers crossed for me on this one. My ideal goal is to get hired by the district to which I've already committed eight years of my life! And the rate of pay is considerably higher than that bozo who made me call him and then never called me back! So stay tuned for news on this one. I didn't ask if they were interviewing others or if this was a formality. But I will find out tomorrow. Then the secretary also told me that she would like me to cover for a different aide on Thursday and Friday if this new job has not yet started! So I was happy to hear this news. Even if it doesn't pan out, I feel like things are beginning to happen.

And in other news, I also have an interview for Thursday morning, with an employment agency. I sent them my resume several days ago asking if they ever get in part time positions. They also have temporary positions. So I'll keep that on the back burner as well. I do want to work part time in the summer; although I also plan to try to apply for one of the spots in the summer school program here in town. As for the rest of the family, Megan continues her recovery (I may not have even posted this but she had to go on another antibiotic for the chest congestion issue and coughing fits, the doctor even gave her an inhaler although she hasn't used it yet) and Kevin prepares for some sort of international travel, although I do believe this time it will be intracontinental. Who can say...

working week?

2010-03-01T09:44:00.002-05:00

Here it is, a new week, and the sun is shining on the leftover blanket of white snow. I understand that on Long Island the rains of yesterday washed away much of the snow and they are seeing patches of green! Not so here in New Jersey. I wonder when Brian will be able to walk to school again. Soon, I hope! And home!

So far this week I have a day and a half of work, and it's as a classroom aide. This afternoon and again all day Wednesday, covering for the same friend who gave me the two days a couple of weeks ago. She's had some medical issues so I hope everything is OK, but she has follow-ups to tend to. Otherwise, I'll just keep stalking the system but as I've said, I'm awfully sick of doing this. I'm still sending out the resumes and I even contacted an agency, who had a lot of good jobs posted on their site, but the best ones all were marked "filled" anyway, and they haven't gotten back to me. I sent that one out on Thursday before the snow got bad.

I am waiting to see about this very low paying part-time job that was in the paper over the weekend. The guy told me to call him today for a telephone interview, very vaguely said anytime from 9 till 5, and I called and he was in a meeting. So now I can't dry my hair. I'll have to leave at 11:30 to get to work so if he doesn't call before then it will have to wait. I'm not going to hold my breath though - his emails were so abrupt that I can't imagine what it would be like working there!

And I'm still nursing the wounds from the rejection that I never got. I'm so annoyed still about the pompous guy asking me what my writing experience was AFTER they gave me a writing "test," and then asking me the stupidest questions while I was forced to sit there with a sore throat and dry mouth, staring at that bowl of jolly ranchers. I will say I am probably better off without that job, but if I had known this was how it would turn out, I would have gotten up and left rather than endure that obvious attempt to discredit me! I'll be watching their site, too, to see the quality of work that their selection does produce, when the time comes. And I'll be at the beach!

So it's back to school for everyone this week, and it looks as if a full week it will be. Megan has the state testing for three days starting tomorrow, but first she had to get through three tests. Brian has a bunch of tests this week, and he has to bring up his grades in Spanish and English, which he was failing at last check. Always two classes - every time. I expect to see progress reports in the mail today for those two, but at least it won't be a surprise. I got that when I signed on to register him for next year. He wants to try out for the tennis team. I wonder if he is allowed, if he is failing two classes at the mid-point of a marking period?

And in other news, now Wren is ailing. She has been puking and not eating much. Hopefully it's just one of those cat things. I can't afford all the care that they all need all at once. I'm glad I have fought off the urge to replace Buddy, though. Another expense would be painful! Oh, and we start the countdown to Florida now. April 6!!

honesty may not be the best policy

2010-02-27T11:49:00.005-05:00

Well I can say with a high degree of certainty that I blew the job on that final interview. However, it is true that if I blew it with the question about flexibility in taking less than an hour to run out and pick up one of the kids somewhere (allegedly a lunch break allocation in the 45+ hour week) then the job would not have worked out anyway. I had begun to worry about things like migraine cycles, kids on drugs and flunking out of school, and little dogs becoming weird in my extended absence. So now I don't have to worry about anything other than my usual concerns: my atrophying brain and my mounting credit card debt!

And sure enough I lost four of the five days I was supposed to work last week. This week, so far, I have nothing on the schedule, but obviously that will probably change. Also, I did find a menial low paying job listed in today's paper and I emailed them immediately and have already heard back. However, the response was more discouraging than encouraging: a simple: the job pays $10 an hour with no benefits. So, I have responded saying that this is fine, as I suppose in order to work I must sacrifice my lofty aspirations of making up to $13 per hour. But if I got it, I'd have flexibility, a steady paycheck, and perhaps even some time off to sub, if I were still inclined. And I would be keeping my skills sharp. At least, at that rate of pay, I hope I would. So stay tuned. And tomorrow is a new Help Wanted section.

Of course, I am steaming about the whole situation surrounding the job I didn't get and how rude of them to put me through so much and not even have the decency to reject me in an email. It does make me a little relieved not to work with such people. I didn't like the way I was always told that I'd be notified by Friday and then had to go through the weekend, only to get called back twice after giving up hope. And I didn't understand how all of the people I was introduced to fit into the organization, there were so many of them who all seemed to do marketing and PR types of jobs. I am sad not to have gotten it, but also probably relieved that now the decision is not mine. I would tell people, if I don't like it, I can just leave. But I knew that the reality of doing that would be much more difficult if I had had to imply 100% commitment in order to get the job.

Anyway, the snow is here. It's looking quite pretty outside and who knows how many more of these blizzards we'll endure before spring comes for real, if it ever does. But the roads at least are clear and it's a little sunny out. But what will it do to the basement when it all melts? That's the question.

And in other news, because our church somehow never digs out of snowstorms efficiently, they have canceled the overnight activity in which Brian was supposed to participate, and rescheduled it for the weekend that we'll be in Florida. So now Brian can't participate, it is a requirement for his confirmation, and the priest (our resigning one) has not emailed me back with his thoughts on this conflict. I'm not too happy about all of this. They planned it for months - and then canceled because they couldn't plow the walkways by 5pm? The whole rest of the world was in business by 2. But we just drove by and it's still not plowed. I don't know what that means for services tonight and tomorrow! Anyway, though, tonight, Megan's and Brian's schools are playing each other for the conference championship in basketball. We're going to drive them down there, and possibly stay and watch too, although I imagine it's going to be packed.

here we snow again!

2010-02-25T07:34:00.003-05:00

It's snowing. And last night, my job for today was canceled. That means that I'm now down 3 days in a row when I thought I had three days of work. And tomorrow is looking like a no-go day too, if noaa.gov is right about this weather. But last night, I got a message on my cell phone, an email from the sub system, a notification on my page on the sub system, and three phone calls home, all canceling the job today, which had nothing to do with the weather.

Thinking I might pick up a morning at least, I logged into the system this morning and job after job appeared and was taken. But in concert with the flow of job postings was the rate of falling snow. I worried if I took a full day and the district called for early dismissal, how would Megan get home from her bus stop 1/4 of a mile away on unplowed roads with already-unshoveled sidewalks? Maybe someone would give her a ride, but what about Brian? I checked his school's website and it was announced that they will be getting out at 1:10. So I already was cut off from afternoon work, even WITH early dismissal (which is 1:30 for elementary schools).

After I dropped Megan off, having noticed on the way home that I could feel something under the tires that hadn't been there on the way over, I checked the public school site. Another early dismissal announced. It's coming down good and hard now, and it's only 7:38. I thought of calling the para sub caller, but now I need to be out by noon, and feel that's asking too much. So I'll stay in and do laundry. And go buy milk and bread. Kevin took the train in. We'll see what happens. The last storm, he stayed home. This time, he might have to stay in the city! And I don't know how to start the snowblower!

But at least we got good news from the neurologist. As I posted on his carepage, Brian passed all the neuro exams and we found out that his MRI was fine although not initially read as so by the radiologist. I've encountered radiologist/neurologist discrepancies in the past, and I prefer to believe the opinion of the latter, so I NEVER look at what the radiologist has said unless I am forced to do so. But the doctor was so mad that he made her revise her report to the happier reading.

Of course we know that all of these things can change at any time, but it's been five years with mostly positive news on every scan. He promises with more force than usual that we won't have to re-scan in 2010. But I know although he says this, if he feels a need, he'll order it anyway. Even though he contrasted his promise of this year to last year's, when it was qualified with, "I reserve the right to change my mind." Which he did. Thanks to those legs on the swing test!

In other news, Wilbur is now booked into the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for our two upcoming swim meets. Molly will stay with the Doll, hopefully without incident or event. She mostly lies around all day anyway, and she seems very at home at the Doll's house. The first meet starts March 12 in PA and then the big on is April 7 in Florida. Although I don't know how they will do if they never get to practice, with all of this snow! I wonder what he'll do about that tonight and tomorrow? And on that note here is Brian. Time for Round 2 of school drop-offs in the snow. I always love dropping off at the prep school. The boys get out of their cars and open various other doors, trunks, hatchbacks, and just take their time, not a care in the world. In the public school, they're practically thrown out of the moving cars, mine included.

career meltdown

2010-02-23T21:08:00.003-05:00

Well, it isn't my day. I had a little trouble getting out of bed this morning, between the rain and all, so I was running a few minutes behind but managed to get Brian and myself out in time for him to make it to school. I think we left a little after 8. I got to the school, about 20 minutes away, only to be told that they had been 'trying to reach me.' Funny, because I had my cell phone with me the entire time.

So this is the world of disrespect in which a substitute teacher must exist. It's not OK to cancel a half day of covering meetings for anonymous teachers in order to take a full week for a regular customer, but it's fine for them to let me drag myself halfway across town, and then try to call me 18 minutes before the job starts, when I live 20 minutes away, and then just say, "oh, sorry." So I was quite upset about that. And it was canceled for both today and tomorrow.

So I came home and moped.

Then tonight I again stalked the page of my would-have-been employer, and found some updates, a non-occurrence ever since the former incumbent abandoned her post three weeks ago. To me, this says that a candidate has been selected and I did indeed blow my chances on that final ineffectual interview. I have mixed feelings: anger and sadness, but also relief. I just hope something better and less demanding comes along sometime before September! Hopefully they will have the consideration to send me some sort of notification so I can have closure and be sure. But I won't hold my breath.

And now we are getting a new snow storm! I hope it won't amount to much. It rained cats and dogs all day today and melted away some of the old snow but not nearly all of it. I am not happy about having this bad weather for our neurologist visit (also dreading discussing the MRI results! What if he never read them and that's why he hasn't called us, and not that everything was unchanged??:::knock wood!!::) but I also worry about Friday. I lost three full working days to snow days with the last storm and now I stand to lose another of this materializes. I guess the best I can hope for is a delayed opening but the latest report I saw said it could snow through noon on Friday. But I guess there isn't much to be done about it.

Interestingly enough, I remember 2005 as if it were yesterday, and tomorrow is the five year anniversary of the day we had to bring him in to get the pseudomeningocele drained and have him checked for meningitis. I remember the surgeon didn't want to admit us, but I was so afraid to bring him home because of how sick he had been all week, and because there was a blizzard rolling through. So that was February 24, 2005. However, it was also the day that Brian turned a corner. Once they drained that nasty thing, gave him motrin and put him on steroids, he felt a whole lot better. I also remember it was March 17 when the lump was finally gone, but I think it had actually receded a few days prior to that, but the doctor postponed our appointment.

In other news, Brian has recovered from his stomach trauma of yesterday. I spoke to the school nurse when I was working ans she suggested feeding him lots of fruits and vegetables. So I did, and it did seem to help. He was back to school and stayed for Homework Club afterwards. He took a math test, so let's hope for good results on that too! Progress reports are due tomorrow, so they'll be mailed out later this week. IF they are coming. ::fingers crossed but not holding breath::

wintry weather watch

2010-02-22T20:29:00.003-05:00

So they say this was the best day of the week! Brian stayed home from school with stomach pain. I evaluated him before I left and decided he'd be OK if I left him for four hours so I went to work, and he was. I brought him lots of food afterwards, and he ate it, beginning with turkey chili from Whole Foods. I think that perhaps his constitution is balking at 3/4 of my chicken quesadilla followed by a cheeseburger on Saturday night, and then a bagel for breakfast, another bagel for lunch, and a bowl of apple jacks as a chaser on Sunday, all of which comprised his weekend diet.

As I said, I worked the morning, and I have two more mornings. Then I have two full days! In my favorite special ed class. So I'm quite busy for these two weeks. This is nice, and I appreciate the half days as well. And fortunately this is not a cleaning lady week, so I won't have to worry about dog issues in the basement.

Speaking of dogs, I am quite concerned about Molly, as I think I have posted before. She is literally covered in tumors Covered beyond belief. I am ready to take her in to the vet and have her looked at. Certainly she is still being herself and aside from the pooping indiscretion and the possibility that she is the indoor pee-er, she's had no issues to speak of. But this sudden increased intake of water along with the excessive lumpiness and the crying head rubbing she's been doing merit attention. At the very least, she might need to go on some sort of pain killers or arthritis medication.

No critical decisions should need to be made at this point but I do wonder if she is masking some major pain. And I worry so much about leaving her in April! I have secured Wilbur's reservations, although I'm a bit annoyed that I have to pay for an extra day because they don't allow pick-ups after 10AM on Sunday. But I would never leave him anywhere else, if he has nearly as successful of a week as he did when we went to London it will be well worth it.

Very sad news from the CarePage I have been following today, the poor woman succumbed to her illness, after just over two weeks of valiant efforts on the part of the medical staff. They really tried everything they had, but it wasn't enough in the end. She was very young (31) and had been in excellent health. Sadly, she leaves behind a nine year old daughter, along with her husband and large family. They are a very religious group and I envy them the comfort that it brings them as they go through this most awful thing.

In other news, and I barely want to give it the benefit of the bits and bytes it might take up, but still not a peep on the job. I guess it doesn't matter right now, I'm working as if I have a full time job lately anyway so I can't complain, only I am home to drive kids and care for pets and shop as I need to. But how rude! Enough said about that. And now I am waiting for the Bachelor to come on. I understand this will be quite the unprecedented ending.

from bad to better

2010-02-21T15:06:00.005-05:00

Well, my day has improved since I slipped on dog pee while wearing my robe and then had to clean up wet mushy cat puke from the wood floor in the dining room. Kevin and I went to church and he actually stayed awake the whole time. The sermon was a good one, stayed on topic and made a point. The priest used a fifth grader's answer to an economics question to illustrate how society leads us away from basic values, by describing his response to the question: what happens when Country A has too much corn and Country B doesn't have enough? The boy had responded that Country A gives some corn to Country B because A has too much and B needs more. Obviously, this didn't score any points on the social studies test, but it gave good material for the sermon.

It also made me feel better about my jobless situation. With another weekend gone by and still no word, I've gone from feeling forsaken to feeling that perhaps this isn't an organization worthy of my services after all. I do feel a bit like a fool (well, more than a bit) for feeling so sure that the very next day I would receive a job offer, and for beginning to make some plans, at least in my head, of how I would rearrange our lives to fit in this new demand on my time. On ALL of my time. I even made Brian's next orthodontist appointment an evening one, just in case! I guess I counted my chickens too soon.

But the sermon was mainly about how we are driven by the need for possessions, prosperity,and prestige, so I asked myself why I wanted this job so badly. There is the obvious reason, and the main one: the money. It's a little more than just being about possessions and prestige but surely we should be able to make it without the extra salary, at least until Brian is in school, if I can at least pick up some extra days subbing. And although we'll have tuition and room and board, we will no longer have the few thousand dollars in fees that swim team costs us each year!

But the other reason, the fact that I did like the description of the job and felt like nothing similar to this position was likely to come along again, is a little harder to whisk away from my subconscious, until I remind myself of the long hours, and of the unknown reason for the relatively short tenure of what would have been my predecessor. So I focus on the hours that would have been required, and continue to comb websites and classified ads for some other use of my talents. It doesn't hurt that I have booked myself for three half-days subbing this week, and I got a call to work tomorrow which I had to decline due to my previous booking.

I also enjoyed my two days in the class I covered as an aide, and was thanked and appreciated at the end of it. It's always nice to have validation that I can make a difference.

Other than that, the weather seems to be turning. Some of the deadly looking icicles on the eaves proved just so to our outdoor spotlights, which were brought down with such apparent force that one of them was separated from the house, and lost a bulb! Kevin is out there now trying to fix it. (Can hardly wait for outcome)

And in other news, Megan's report card came and she did great! She knew about a C+ and a B+ on physics and calculus midterms, but she didn't know any others. Well, the rest were all As! And all of her marking period grades went up or stayed the same, so she had a bunch of As and A+s and two B+s, but nothing less than that. And two of the B+s are in AP courses. One is in honors physics, an equally challenging course. Hopefully she can hang on for the year like this. The third marking period is the hard one, with all the school she misses for swimming. Progress reports are due from Brian's school next week, and they only come for grades of 'C' or less. So far a marking period hasn't passed without two progress reports coming. He claims they won't this time. I'll believe it when I (don't) see it.

february frost

2010-02-18T17:44:00.004-05:00

The snow never did materialize beyond a few flakes glimpsed through the window last night. But it sure is sticking around on the lawns and sidewalks! Most people, of course in violation of local statutes, don't bother to clear a path along the sidewalks in our neighborhood. We are fortunate in this house not even to HAVE a sidewalk on our property, so we only have to shovel out the driveway(s) and anything else we would like available for our own use. I can turn my head right now and still see well over a foot of snow along every curb. I wonder if it will still be here when we head to Florida!

So I had a pretty good day in the fourth grade class I was 'aiding' in for my friend. At one point there were three teachers plus me in the class, and at that time, the principal was observing! It must be quite nerve-wracking for the classroom teacher to have all that going on. But my three charges behaved well for the whole day and time moved very quickly. I'll be back in there again tomorrow. The only bad thing was that I couldn't get home until 3:30, so I'm hoping Brian can figure out which bus to get on. He can at least ride the bus to our development, and then walk home (in the street, of course, as no sidewalks are cleared for pedestrians). I do love living out here where it's quiet, but some things make me really angry.

Which brings me to one thing that makes me angriest: the job that never was or may never be. I still haven't heard. And I get upset, mostly mad at myself for having had so much confidence that it was a sure thing. And then I get mad at them for giving me that sense. And then I get upset at having been put through such rigors three times, and then left to hang for two weeks (and counting) - snow days aside, it's a long time to wait after having been told that a call would be forthcoming the very next day. And so I mope.

The good news is that the cleaning woman came today, but the bad news is that Wilbur peed in his pen down in the basement! I didn't put Molly down there, for fear it would kill her, but I guess he was lonely and freaked out a little. He was alone from 8:15 till 2:30 when Megan got home and he has certainly been left longer than that in his pen without incident. Just always upstairs, where he could see everyone else and not have to listen to sounds over his head and be all alone. Tomorrow I'll leave him in his pen - it will be for the same amount of time - but upstairs. So we'll see how that goes.

And in other news, Brian's intramural basketball team lost today, by one point, in the playoff opening game. So they're now out, which means he can go back for homework help at school beginning on Tuesday. He has two tests tomorrow, which always makes for tension in the house as we worry if he'll pass them! And Megan's report card, which was due yesterday, has not yet arrived, due to the late submission of the grades over the snow days. Oh, and in my dream last night I had a visitor: Buddy! And he had a tail. I wonder what that means? And now, I must figure out the eternal quandary, what is for dinner?