What's news?!

Well, as of next week, i’m officially a ‘full-timer’! \o/

Dave (Boss-Dave) took me into the office on Monday nite, & offered me full-time hrs, seeing as i’m on a ‘gap-year’ of sorts, & “i’m a good little worker”-albeit slightly ditzy (typical blonde!) He was incredibly supportive, & even voiced his concerns that i should not be content w/just ‘plodding along’. He wants me (along w/everyone else) to have some ambition, & further my writing dreams.  And if i do get an opportunity to work in publishing, even if it is on a voluntary basis, he said we could easily work my hrs around it, or just reduce them. Oh & did i mention i’ll be getting paid OVER-TIME?! Pus, i’d only be doing an extra 10ish hrs on-top of what i’m working now, & more importantly, it doesn’t interfere w/my social life. Fuck yes!

I really didn’t need to think about the offer for too long! I accepted straight away! I’ve love my job! & in this last year alone, i’m the happiest i’ve ever been! It’s not particularly hard, i get to look pretty (always a plus!), speak to people of all walks of life, have a daily gossip over the latest office dramaramas, & get paid for it! I’ve got some lovely friends, & i love them dearly, even Dave! lol! This just means that everyone gets more ‘Hayley-time’! Hahaha!

This also means good news for my overdraft-finally i can start saving again! I just need to remember to think ‘do i really need this in my life’ before i go on my next spending spree! lol! Aside from work, i need to focus my attention of my writing. Dave (Boyfriend-Dave) pointed out that if i find something that inspires me, i need to put pen-to-paper, & do what i’m good at. Write. Hmmm, where’s my muse?…

So i’ve told everyone, all except Mum, the good news, & they’re all happy for me (even if this is a temporary career move). Hmm, i might leave it ’till next week, and see if she notices that i’m up early on a Wednesday morning!

x

Belgians feel busier than Swedes and Germans

BRUSSELS – One out of three Belgians complain about being too busy at work, a survey from recruitment site StepStone reveals. Only 20% of Europeans in general think they have too much to do. A total of 11,238 job seekers in Europe have participated in the survey, including Belgians.

33% of Belgians indicated having too much work, against 28% of Swedes and 14% of Germans. These are instead 39% reported having too little work, thus occupying the top spot in the field, just ahead of the Belgians (33%).

Source:
La Capitale

My Very Own Fireside Chat - September 30, 2009

I finally feel like my life is back in order. I’m working steadily. I’m happy…actually…I’m content. I don’t think there’s a way one can be 100% happy. Life, after all, still happens. If you read my blog posts for the first 6 months or so of this blog’s existence, you can read nothing but negativity regarding my job. My outlook on my job has turned around completely. I feel like I’ve found my niche at work and I’m finally good at what I do. The amount of pay raises can attest for that. In under a year, I’m now making more  than I ever made at Dollywood. I started way under the amount I was making there, too. My job has more leadership opportunities to which I’ve been assigned. I’m trusted more, and I feel confident. It’s a nice change of pace for my life to have contentment. The one position of my job in which I feel the most confident, is Drive-Thru. I feel like it comes easily for me. My mom was always a Drive-Thru natural. Perhaps it’s genetic? Who knows. I love my job. I guess it’s good that I do, since I work six days a week.

Can you believe it’s already September 30?! Fall is definitely upon us. The air is nippy around here. Finally. I’m ready for it. I love cold weather. Tonight, on the way home from work, I bought a coffee. I don’t even like coffee that much, but every now and then…I just love it. My coffee habit is quite strange to some. For a 20 oz cup, I put about 10-13 creamers (yes, 10-13), two Splenda, and fill the rest up with Coffee. Mmm. Cream with some coffee. Weigel’s a local gas station chain has a coffee that I’m dying to try. It’s called Kona, and it’s coffee grown in Hawaii in Volcanic Ash. They were out of coffee tonight, so I had to get my coffee elsewhere. I’m dying to try it!

You may or may not have noticed some missing posts on my blog. I’ve decided to get rid of “Eye Candy Wednesdays” and “TMI Tuesdays.” Not for any reasons in particular, but just for the fact I just don’t think it’s me…anymore. Nothing religious or anything this time. Just…not me. I’m sure I could lose some readers, not that I have many anymore. I just don’t have the viewership I used to. The fact content was missing for so long doesn’t help. Oh well. One has to be true to one’s self, first and foremost. I needed to get rid of it.

Well, thanks for sticking with me tonight. I hope you have a great day, and you are living your life to the fullest! Life is too short to get hung up on our failures. Remember…struggling is just nature’s way of strengthening us.

Peace and Blessings!
Joie

job 1

1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

2And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

3His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

4And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

5And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

7And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

11But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

12And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

13And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:

14And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:

15And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

16While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

17While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

18While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:

19And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

20Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

21And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

22In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Cool Side Job: Selling on Etsy.com

Don’t let the fact that teens are facing one of the worst job markets ever get you down. Use your creativity to bring in cash—no job application needed. On Etsy.com, thousands of people are selling handmade and vintage items and craft supplies.   
  
Melissa Chan*, 15, from Fort Smith, Arkansas, stumbled upon Etsy two years ago. “I started looking at things people had made, and I thought it was really cool, so I made an account and started buying stuff,” she says. Melissa had always enjoyed making jewelry, and when she wore it, she received a lot of compliments. “People who I didn’t even know would be like, ‘Hey, could you make me a necklace?”’ So in January, Melissa decided to open her own Etsy store where she sells her jewelry and craft supplies.

“It’s really extremely easy,” she says. “All you have to have is a valid bank account, a passion for what you do, and the most important thing out of everything is being able to take good pictures of your things in order to sell.” Creating an Etsy store is free. Etsy charges 20 cents to list each item and 3.5 percent of your sales, and you pay and receive money through your bank account and PayPal. If you’re under 18, you’ll need adult supervision.

“I just get to sit down, make something that I like to do and sell it,” Melissa says. “I’m really grateful that my job is really flexible. It allows me to have time for my friends, my family, my homework.”

*name has been changed.

Orientation

Last week I wrote that Monday was training for my new job. Today is Monday.

Today I will meet my co-workers for the first time. I’ve mentioned before that I have some anxiety when meeting new people, and today is no different. I’m hoping that I will easily be able to introduce myself, remain curious yet professional toward my co-workers, and (hopefully) make new friends. This is the part I’m most nervous about.

Today I will learn the details of my benefits and vacation time. I attempted to ask these questions when I was given the job offer, but the details were still a bit foggy. I was given only brief and summarized explanations. Since I’m being hired for a new office and new team, the final and thorough details will be discussed today. I’m sure this will be in addition to mounds of HR paperwork I will complete.

Today I will learn the “processes” for counseling at the agency. Obviously, each agency has its own set of rules and regulations they follow regarding the counseling process. I was told during the interview that this agency uses mostly Solution-focused and short-term counseling. Today I will be further introduced to their procedures and techniques.

Today I will take notes. Today I will ask questions. Today I will be filled with new information.

Today is the first day of my professional career!

The Benefits of Online Degree Programs

My husband and I recently enrolled in a university online to get our bachelor degrees. Many factors have led to why we have chosen a curriculum on line over a stone and mortar traditional approach, the most important is the amount of flexibility offered by the curriculum in row. My husband works full time outside the home, and I am a stay-at-home mom who also schools, home, I need to be here for my children at any time of day or night . In researching various schools and programs, we found that a curriculum in line gave us everything we wanted: an education and the flexibility to maintain our current lifestyle, while achieving our diplomas. We took into account the strict discipline to adhere to the guidelines and rules of the school and looked at the time we needed to devote each day to our educational activities.

Curriculum online has been much attention lately, so how can you tell which program and school is accredited and who could possibly be a diploma mill? Your initial search should begin at the U.S. Department of the website education on the accreditation of schools, you will find a link to here: Website http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/ index.htmlThe above explains everything you need to know about accreditation and the importance of finding an accredited school. An accredited school means that you can apply for and obtain financial assistance through the federal government, without the accreditation of the school is nothing more than a diploma mill. Obtaining a degree from a school not accredited could also cost you in the future, as you may not be able to get a job since many employers look for school accreditation ….

Read full article: The Benefits of Online Degree Programs

Job 2:4: So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.

“Skin for skin” is a proverb of the east that has been variously interpreted. Most likely it means that Job has only been tested at only the superficial level and, therefore, has a superficial, response. His philosophy was (and is) that men are basically self-centered creatures. When you attack them directly, they will give way, and they will give up their faith, their religion, anything, to save their own possessions. Now that argument has been fully answered. God has allowed Satan to test Job, and, though he lost his family and all his wealth, Job remained steadfast in his integrity, refusing to charge God with wrong. It is really a very sobering thing to realize that the tests that come into our life are aimed at getting us to curse God to his face, to tell him that he is wrong, that he does not keep his promises, that he is not the kind of a God that we have been told he is. If you take note of your own life you will recognize that, when under pressure, the thing you want more than anything else is to cry out in protest to God that he is not keeping his promises. That is where Satan always aims. He has the same philosophy and the same objective today: he wants us to curse God, as he wanted Job to curse God. The book of Job shows us that there are reasons and purposes in these trials and sufferings that we do not see. Job could not see what was going on behind the scenes, and neither can we. And yet God knows, and God is working out an object. He has a purpose for it, and it is a proper and right purpose that will end up manifesting more fully the love and compassion of his heart. The test of every trial is always to this end. But Satan asks for a change in the rules because, in effect, he says to God, “You didn’t go far enough. You put a boundary about Job and said I couldn’t touch his body. That’s the problem. It’s true that a man may give up his possessions, but one thing he will never give up is his health. You let me get at him, let me destroy his health, and he will give up his integrity and his faith.”
Self centeredness dominates all of Satans thinking. He cannot believe that the loss of possessions and family really matters if the person himself is untouched. Therefore, he uses self-centeredness, the only motive he knows, as an excuse for his failure and as a way to advance his next challenge to God.

Help I'm a Grown Up and How Did It Happen?

So yes, I know it has been awhile. But I have a job. That’s right, I am getting paid $11/hour to work at a job that has nothing to do with my degree. I have become the statistic, however it is a job right now in this economy and its paying my bills.

Currently looking for apartments with my brother, our parents told us they wanted both our asses out by Jan 1st, and its so wicked expensive in this area to live by myself, so we’re teaming up and finding an apartment/house/whichever to rent. Some prospects. Saw one already, but it wasn’t my ideal one at all. We’ll be looking at another one next week.

Other than that, not much else truly exciting has been happening in my life. I’ve definately been breaking out of my romantic shell lately. Dates, parties, making out. I think that now that I’m away from the gay atmosphere of Arcadia (I mean Argaydia), I’ve been noticing all these men. lol. All the time in my head going “Why weren’t you around when I was in college? seriously”. Or it could be the fact that I’m the only girl my age who works at a car parts warehouse, so I’m just something for the always horny (and sometimes creepy) men to oggle at. Oh boy doesn’t that make you just want to jump for joy at the old creepy men. *shudders*    Although, not ALL are creepy. Nope. Makes me wonder though, out of all the ones that continuously say hi to me, which ones really mean it?

Meditation Matrix Movement

The linear digital and electric flow movement matrix  opens as our experience of the universe with every breath. Poetry in Action, while we ‘keep looking up’ as Carl Sagan admonished. You and I are dancing as we carry our individual castles toward one another.  Each castle wants to be transformed and seen for what it is truly as a form to help us, so as not to lose our minds in the reality of beauty. We are but a wisp of energy composed of so much Love. Waking up to this love is the point of meditation. Often when people sit and focus on a problem they are doing the most intense meditation but think that this is separate from whatever has been labeled either work or spiritual. Perhaps we can work together to close this gap?

Wouldn’t it have been good if every day was a Saturday?

One bad thing about doing what I do for a living, is the way it gets on my nerves at times. Numbers, eh? While I generally like numbers and am fairly good at what I do- it does take a lot out of me, too. I guess that’s true for almost EVERYONE. But the Financial Analysts… I have first-hand experience with that…

Macro Numbers Monday, originally uploaded by DodogoeSLR.

Ever wonder why that guy you know who works in the Finance department at your work seem so dry and humourless? I don’t… not anymore anyway. Chances are that I’m getting there too.

Where, did you ask?

To be honest, I don’t know exactly yet. I sometimes feel I’m loving life less with every passing day and I desperately desperately need a break- but, at the same time, I keep hoping that it’s just a phase…. it’s THAT place I’m talking about…. that is where I’m getting.

Oh whatever. I’m tired… it’s the exhaustion talking. I’ve slept a lot today- a little bit every now and then. It’s not helping. The migraine is still there and the wisdom tooth is still being a ‘MEGA’ pain.

If not anything else, I probably do need that break.

So, mate, this is life as usual; but enough about me. I’m sure I’m not making any sense whatsoever anyway; let’s hear from YOU now. Why is no one is making a meaningless silly post today? What’s wrong with the world!!?! I want to read FUN blog posts!

Tell me, how are YOU and WHERE IS THAT POST?!

Yay for Friday!

Greetings, readers!

Boy I’m so excited it’s Friday! Not that I really have anything particularly amazing coming up this weekend, but I’m ready for a few days of not getting up at 6:06am

To recap what’s been going on and what I’m happy about:

• I finished my first week of work! Things are going well. The patients are a huge varied mix – some are great to work with and counsel, some would rather fall asleep while I talk to them, or run away. Luckily they can’t get very far because every door is locked!

• My TV shows are back on this week. The Office has yet to excite me though, I hate to admit that the first 2 episodes have been slightly disappointing. But looking forward to the wedding episode in 2 weeks!

• Had an excellent sandwich at The Tomato Head for lunch today (yes, got off work by 12:30pm today haha). Baked tofu, walnut pesto, jack cheese, onions, herbed tomatoes, grilled pineapple on a wheat bun. Yum yum!

• More rain in the forecast this weekend means watching movies, and shopping with my mom! yay! But probably the most exciting thing about this weekend is that we’re getting cable and high-speed internet!!! I promise my blog will be much more active after that. It’s been a real hassle to try to use wordpress with dial-up.

Now I’m off for a workout. I looked into joining the local gym today. I hate having to spend all that money – this will be the first time I’ve ever had to buy a real gym membership… so long to the days when I had free memberships with school facilities     For now I rotate through some workout DVDs from the library. But once that first paycheck comes… I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and sign up. Add it to my list of “What to do with the first paycheck”. It’ll be gone in no time!

Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (Vizag Steel) Jobs 2009 @ www.vizagsteel.com

Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (Vizag Steel) Jobs 2009 @ www.vizagsteel.com

Vizag Steel bagged the first prize in Energy Conservation constituted by Ministry Of Power, Government Of India, consecutively for the last two years primarily due to its focus on energy conservation, cost reduction and waste utilization. Vizag Steel Plant today is among the lowest cost steel producers in the world.
Read More From Orginal Site

Application Developer Position

Hi Sethuraman,

I found your information on Sologig. I have a direct client requirement that I’d like you to review:

Location: Palo Alto, CA; Scottsdale, AZ
Type: TBD

Details:
Medical Services Industry

Third tier operational support of Salesforce.com

Identify regional CRM requirements and promote enhancements (including the hand-on development of the changes, testing, rollout, and documentation)

Develop and maintain CRM operational procedures and associated documentation

Support offices and teams in maintaining and managing client data accuracy and integrity

Essential Skills:
Saleforce.com experience in both development and analyst roles
Strong experience with technologies supporting:
SaaS applications
Web Services – HTML – JavaScript – DHTML, XML
Technical skills
Apex
Visualforce
Force.com IDE
Force.com Migration Tool
Web Services/SOA & Metadata APIs, Database
SQL
Strong web development skills including CSS
SOAP
AJAX
Web development
Object Oriented Development Skills
Experience evaluating, selecting, implementing, and integrating technology tools into a client solution
Experience with data migration practices, ETL tools, and enterprise integration technologies

While successful candidates will be expected to remain proficient with the former topics, he / she will be expected to provide general oversight as an “In House” Salesforce.com Programmer. My client is seeking candidates with the following personal characteristics:
- Self – Motivation
- Creativity
- Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit
- Solution seeking
- Honest while remaining open
- Remaining proactive
- Always thinking, “win – win”
- Strong leadership capacity

If you’re interested in learning more, please forward me your updated resume, availability and desired rate/salary expectations. Thanks!!

Fear, your time is up!

Fear, your time is up!

Fear- It strikes a melancholy chord whenever one hears this word. Fear saps the entire energy field in men and women and stops them from achieving big things.

–It poisoned you the moment you embraced it without knowing that it could take your entire life down.

–It poisoned you when you were told by someone that you were not as good as others. You believed their casually tossed remarks very seriously and took them to your heart. That’s your day of inauguration with your FEAR.

–It poisoned you when you were at your school as a kid, and told by someone that you are different from others and inferior to them.

–Again this thief poisoned you when you participated in that college event. You were falsely whispered in to your ears by him that you are not worth the prize, and worse yet, not even the participation.

–He got in your way once again when you got a job, inculcating in you the poisons, that you cannot do the job well, cannot handle even the petty issues, and worst of all is that your boss is a demon and you are his or her slave. So you were ill-at-ease each and every day in your office, just getting by.

–It interfered in your marriage life, in your spiritual life, when you were in front of an audience, each time you come face to face with your wealthier neighbor.

To add fuel to the fire, it is present in each and every activity of your life, intervening between you and success. Simply put, it is working round the clock.

Why is this so? Why such a gloomy life?

Because “Fear” made it a point to accompany you ever since you ignorantly gave an invitation to him. He accompanies you wherever you go.

This thing has played and has been playing the “Spoil game” in every area of your life and has confined you to a small dungeon of inferiority complex and false beliefs.

It literally cornered you! It has been chasing you everywhere you go!! Whatever undertaking, whatever endeavor, whatever venture you take to make your life a flourishing one, this Satan comes to the spot and seizes you by your shirt collar and imprisons you.

It sleeps with you and it is even by your side when you take a shower. It visits your mind whenever you attend a party, big or small, and rips you off making people to laugh at you!

He sits in your head when you visit a dental clinic and he is with you, creating doubts in you, when you think of going to a gym to get in to shape, after giving birth to your child. He is with you when you are thinking of switching your career.

when you are in your examination hall he is with you creating “Hopelessness” in you.

The “fear” surrounds you even when you are in a public place, shopping, making you an introvert. He is more severe in old-aged men and women.

He seems that he doesn’t miss the train!

You think that you cannot do a thing about it whereas in reality, you are the master and he will run away from you the moment you realize this. The moment you realize that he has nothing to do with you.

The moment you realize that he has already done severe damages to your life and you are no more going to allow him to do those same filthy acts by making you a coward.

Think of all the times you missed out opportunities, failed to ask somebody for something which could have changed your life, held back from trying something out, and many more things in your life–just because you FEARED!

Once, a long time ago, the FEAR captured you. But by then you were only a child, or at least ignorant. But no more are you ignorant. You know you can and, you will! Now you know what you are capable of doing back to your fears!!

For you are no ordinary living being that surrenders his or her life in to the hands of fear and fate. You are a human being—the ultimate creation of God. Yes the ultimate creation of God!! You shouldn’t submit to this small thief.

Your old ways and old thinking patterns, which held you in captivity for all these years, should be burned down now!

Within you is a family that consist of opportunities, positive thinking, good health, wealth, well-being, rugged mental health, and peace of mind. And don’t allow this culprit “FEAR” to kill off your family.

The great self-help guru Orison Swett Marden said in a tone that is full of longing to relieve you and me from this negative factor called FEAR. He said, “Fear demoralizes character, destroys ambitions, induces or causes disease, paralyses happiness in self and others, and prevents achievement. It has not one redeeming quality”

How true are those words! As true as the sun and the star’s existence!!

Gather all your resentment against this black force called “Fear” and once for all, tell yourself that “I had enough from this monster. I know God hasn’t intended me to be a coward and fear all those silly things. I am natural if I don’t live in fear each and everyday. I am very powerful and hereby I declare that I have overcome my “Fears” and they are now under my feet, lying dead”

More riches, more happiness and no more FEAR!

Wish you all the riches to come with God’s blessings

Peter Anand

Long Road Ahead

So as I type this I am listening to Velvet Brown play the tuba. Well actually right now she’s talking. I have never seen one performer talk so fucking much. I can’t stand it. Players should just come out and play. If you want to talk become a fucking actor.

As you can see, or read, I suppose, I am a little grumpy right now. Today has been a really long day. I was up @ 8, class @ 9:30, break for 2 hours, classes from 12:30 – 2:30, break, class @ 3:30, break for dinner, then two hour jazz band practice and then work.

Now if you don’t know, I work as a recording tech at the school of music here at UVic. I record quite a few of the concerts that roll in and out of this place. From tuba recitals, to the jazz band to the wind symphony. So yeah, I basically just press record and sit on my computer, but it’s still work. And it’s days like these that it’s no fun. I also work the next three days, so I really hope that I don’t die. I’d be really happy on that fact. It’s really fun some of the time, and the opportunities are great, just with 6 classes it’s not so fun always.

Now today was my first Jazz band rehearsal, and it was pretty friggen lame. Since I’m doing the auxillery percussion and don’t actually own any of my own instruments, I didn’t actually get anything to play today! I sat there for two hours doing absolutely nothing. I did do my music homework though! So that’s always nice. Hopefully I’ll be able to access some of the stuff, like vibes, or shakers. I doubt it’ll happen, so we’ll see.

So, if you are coming from the MuchMusic VJ site and reading my blog, then you should leave a comment! Because that’d be nifty! I really need to get on that video. It’s pretty hard to think up things to say about yourself while not sounding like a douche (Props to Jenn, who does a Vlog (ThoseWeekendGirls in the blogroll). Maybe this weekend if I get around to it. But leave me a comment MM viewers! (If you’re out there!)

Classes are going okay, my electrical engineering class sucks a lot though. We had the lab for it again today, and I have mentioned that it’s like teaching a parent how to use a mac when they’ve used windows all their life. It’s so fucking stupid. I got alot of my friends to send the prof an email about how bad it was, and he’s offering help and taking the computer part off the assignment. Which is nice. I’m going to go to him for help and see if I can understand it at all. So we’ll see how that one goes.

I’ve just gotta say that all my blogging counterparts out there, you guys stink. I feel like everyone hopped on the blog train and now they’re too lazy to actually do it. So to all of you out there. BLOG MORE. We want to read about your life without actually having to talk to you about it so that we can feel apart of your life without offering help advice or actually being there….Just sayin….

I suppose I should get back to work now. Just wanted to drop a quick update. This may be the last post I ever write if things go poorly. I could be dead by next week from all this work.

Later days,

Love,

- J

September 22, 2009

The recovery continues. This extended process has me feeling old.

The good news is that I’m pretty much 100%. I took today to focus on the final bits and pieces of errands. I finally finished my part in my initial freelance project, so all I need to do is to sit back and hope that it gets printed okay and hopefully I’ll have a few decent additions to my portfolio. The client is ecstatic which is a good feeling. So is eating on a regular basis.

The post-vacation depression is starting to set in. The letdown has been later than usual probably because of my crazy weekend but I was also still uplifted by the remnant impressions of my vacation. As those fade away to reality, I’ve begun to see more clearly that my life does not consist of 4 and 5 star hotels in picturesque European settings with fanciful meals of lobster and steak.

The real eye-opener was probably doing 3 loads of laundry this morning. Nothing brings you down to earth like walking in my local laundromat.

Sigh, back to being broke, desperately hunting for work, cooking my own meals again, and having to make my own bed.

Perhaps as an attempt to not fully confront my seemingly bleak reality, I jumped at my friend’s invitation to go over and play the Beatles Rock Band game. Can I take a minute to express how stunning this game is? Every aspect of the game is handled with an obvious affection for the band and the music. I was drooling over the graphics and the design of the game.

That was before I even got to play the first song, which was naturally Dear Prudence. Two friends jumped onboard and we pummeled through almost 90% of the Story-mode in that first sitting. I played bass lefty [wink towards Paul] and sang backing harmonies. Or at least attempted to. It was sobering to realize that I didn’t know the harmony vocals as well as I thought I did. Plus, none of us are endowed with much singing talent so there were more than a few cringe-inducing moments.

It’ll be hard to not get sucked into that game. I’ve been known to have my life absorbed by video games, luckily not since college. (See? I’m maturing.) But I’ve had those uber-nerdy times when my friends and I have stayed up all night playing Diablo 2 or Final Fantasy or whatever. One helpful effect keeping me from buying an Xbox and the Beatles game is being flat broke.

“Should I buy groceries or an Xbox?” Believe me, there was a moment of deliberation before acting on reason.

Daily Panic Level: Low
Financial Outlook: Still afraid to look
Job Scorecard (Interviews – Freelance Work – Freelance Busts): 5 – 2 – 16
Last Week’s Meals: Lamb chops with corn

New job opportunity w/ww PE in Des Moine Iowa

Our client is an engineering consulting firm with a large presence in Iowa and the rest of the midwest, known for quality infrastructure work. They are seeking an entrepreneurial  water wastewater design and construction supervision P.E. to join their Des Moines office. This is a chance for a project manager or senior project manager to grow their career. The firm has an attractive benefits package and is offering a six figure base.

Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and PE in IA. Ten years experience in the design of diverse stormwater, water and wastewater treatment plant systems and construction monitoring for public and private clients. Experience in managing an interdisciplinary team. Familiarity with Iowa market and existing relationships in the area.

Twitter: Getting interns jobs since 2009

So I have an internship. “But Tess, you’ve already graduated from a BIG TEN UNIVERSITY (go spartans!), why are you working for free?” you might ask…Well, because you can’t put a price on real world experience. I mean you can definitely put a price on an education, and we all do…but jumping head first into the world of business and social media and gaining all of that experience is priceless.

Enter: Bill Seaver, CEO/Founder/Social media mastermind behind Micro Explosion Media. I stumbled upon his blog one night, shortly after moving to Nashville. I was basically grasping at straws trying to find a job or even an internship and decided to research Nashville PR firms and I don’t exactly remember how I found it, but there it was…in all it’s social media glory, MicroExplosion.com.

I started skimming over some of his posts and watching some of his videos and made an executive decision to reach out to Bill and ask if he ever hired interns. But I couldn’t just send him an email…that would be too 2007 of me. So I decided to follow him on Twitter and within a couple hours he was following me right back. Next step: direct message him. What better way to reach out to a social media marketing firm/consultant than through Twitter? That way Bill knew that I was serious about my internship inquiries, and that I had a basic knowledge of how social media works.

And as it turns out, I was right (this is true 100% of the time) and next thing I knew we were meeting for coffee and figuring out the details of the internship. Then we made it official by creating an email address for me at MicroExplosion.com. So far it’s been a great learning experience and I’m actually getting to put my skills to the test which is nice. I can already tell how beneficial this internship has been and will be for me and it’s definitely worth the time and effort.

Stay tuned for more adventures with Bill and Micro Explosion Media, as I’m sure there will be a lot in the next few months!

Lately

I haven’t written much in a while, so this will be a conglomeration of the latest in life.

I’ve ventured around a good bit and found some neat places.  I’ll start with bookstores.  The first that I actually found (as in, the address did not turn out to be a Jackson-Hewitt tax office) was Book People on Granite Avenue.  The place appears to be run by an older lady who I think was born out of the states, but has lived in the area for 40+ years.  It was a neat shop with a large selection of books.  She was very helpful in the search, and I left with a couple of books, though they had nothing by Somerset Maughm, and there were no copies of War and Peace translated by Maude/Maude.  More recently, I visited Chop Suey Books on Cary Street.  It was a bit brighter, but the guy behind the counter seemed less knowledgeable, and though nice enough, was not particularly helpful.  I liked the place, though, including the concept of selling art in a room upstairs.  They had a great selection including a pretty decent spiritual/religious section from which I attained a book by the Dalai Lama.  I also purchased Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maughm.

The third of the bookstores that I have been able to find is Fountain Books (also on Cary Street).  It was a neat little place and the girl was friendly and seemed like she might have been helpful had I needed any.  While they didn’t have a huge selection of books, they were able to order.  I liked the area at the front with employee picks listed by the particular employee who chose the books.  Last, I visited Black Swan Books on Main Street (farther west than I thought).  They had a different personality as each of the former three had had.  There were a larger number of books of the categories rare/older/etc.  They did have a nicely sized literature section, and I was able to find a copy of War and Peace translated by Maude/Maude!  It was bound similarly to the copy I’d started from the FHU library, and I like it a good deal, though it does not have a cloth bookmark as the other did.

With the five books that I purchased from all three of the four stores, I think that I may have achieved my fifty dollars spread between three businesses for the month!  Go local business.

That’s all that I have to say for now.  It’s actually not, but there are some things that you just shouldn’t risk publishing for all to see.

Hucci Girl Contest

Hucci Girl Contest
I am looking for a few good Huccis. I need models for Hucci, I am really tired of taking pictures of myself. Read the rules, check the prizes, send a note card with questions. Have fun and be confident and be a Hucci.

Rules:
1) Wear a Hucci Outfit. It has to be a current item in the store. You can be naked in Jewelry or full dressed in Hucci but the primary focus of your attire needs to be Hucci. Be creatiave.
2) Post the Picture to Snapzilla! Cristiano added a new groups feature to Snapzilla for Hucci. Email your picture directly from SL to Snapzilla by sending it to Hucci@slpics.com or you can go directly to slpics.com and upload it, once you upload the picture you can send it to flickr if you want. If you don’t know Photoshop you can edit pictures on Snapzilla for free with Picnik! Never used the postcard feature? How to use Snapzilla.
3) The poster of the picture wins.
4) You can enter up to 4 entries. The 4 most recent pictures in the group will be considered.
5) Contest closes at 11:59 SLT October 18, 2009. Winners will announced October 24, 2009.

Prizes!

1st Place, the Hucci Girl
L$5000 Cash
L$5000 Gift Card
Hucci Crown
New product named with your name!
Photo Session with KG Photography & Design
2nd Place
L$2500 Cash
L$3000 Gift Card
Photo Session with KG Photography & Design
3rd Place
L$1000 Cash
L$1500 Gift Card

Honorable Mention
L$500 Giftcard

This is not a photo editing contest, I am looking for real customers that wear my products and want to be featured in ads. If you have crazy Photoshop skills, you can use them, but if you don’t have Photoshop skills, you can still win.

I'm Bored and Unemployed

I’m bored right now.  I need a job badly.  It feels like I’m taking advantage of something.  I mean I’m grateful for all of the help that I’m receiving, but I want to earn what I get.  I do fill out some job applications, but I feel like I can do more.  I can’t give up though.  I will get a job eventually.  All I have to do is keep filling out applications and hope that something good finally comes my way.

WMATAP - Skill Standards Woodwork Machinery and Tool Advisory Panel

OK, do we need to get the ‘experts’ writing the Skill Standards for their tools and machines? Is there any interest in setting up small, flexible, virtual WOODWORK MACHINE AND TOOL ADVISORY PANELS? WMATAPs could each focus on the best part of their tools and machines, and on observable, measurable skills on those? Here are the current working areas:
Tools for the next cycle:
001 Layout
Marking gauge

002 Sawing
Saber saw
Dovetail saw
Straight Line Rip
Gang Rip
Scroll saw
Radial Arm, (crosscut, rough cut)

003 Milling
Moulder
Hand plane
Scraper

004 Shaping
Pin router
Inverted pin router®
Tilting spindle shaper
Single end tenoner
Double spindle shaper

005 CNC
Beam Saw
CNC fixturing – add to wiki, possibly a widget
CNC Aggregate Head – add to wiki – dedicated to one specific purpose

006 Boring
Line boring
Dowel bore and insert
Multi-spindle horizontal bore
Slot Mortiser – add to wiki

007 Sanding
Portable Belt Sander
Oscillating Spindle Sander

008 Clamping & Laminating
009 Turning
010 Joinery & Assembly
Pneumatic nail gun

* Finish nailers
* Brad and pin nailers

011 Grinding & Sharpening
Hand file, check metal working

012 Finishing
Curtain coaters – add to wiki
Roll coaters – add to wiki
Robotic Spayers – add to wiki
Touch Up – Go to Mohawk, ask for standard for training, measurable, observable standard for that

In the land of Monkey's Mama part deux

Being a stay at home Mom is a privilege.  One that I love the opportunity of having.  It is my favorite job and I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.  But it is still a JOB.  Anyone who doesn’t agree with me can meet me at the flagpole after school!!

There are days when I feel like my job duties are monotonous and draining.  And then I have the dreaded “I don’t wanna” feeling.  All Mom’s do, right?

Well it has been raining non-stop for like 1290387412398412390 days and as I have expressed before, I *NEED* sunshine for my sanity.  When the weather gets like this I tend to start falling off in the chore department.  Laundry, house cleaning and even grocery shopping.

When I was single, I loved how on those days when I didn’t feel like grocery shopping, I could hop into my car, in my pajamas at whatever time I felt the urge, take a measly 3 bucks and get a fairly yummy dinner from my nearest fast food dump restaurant.  Then even better, no cooking and no dishes!!  Not really beneficial for my waistline but hey, what’s my waistline ever REALLY done for me?

Last week, I had to really start getting creative when it came to meals and snacks.  I have the basics to keep us going.  But I am usually so OCD that I have a list on the fridge of the meals I am going to make for the week.  Seriously.  It says on the top in bold script Meals by Mommy.   That is how I *usually* roll.  But then the rain hits me and all I care about is laying around, reading books to Jimmy, pretending my jammies are every day clothes, and letting the minutes slowly tick by during the day.

Then every day I glance at the clock around five o’clock and go “OH SHIT! What am I going to make for dinner?!?!”  And then proceed to run around the kitchen like a nut trying to find something suitable to feed us all.  The benefit to this is that I have created some really great meals with this tactic.  Meals that Hubby has asked me to repeat.

I am starting to ramble?  Oh.  Sorry.  Here is my actual point.  YES I did have one.

All of this made me start thinking of the little things that I miss.  None of which are missed enough to give up this rockin’ Mommy job of course, but they are things that I miss.  So I am going to share some of them with you.

I miss:

• Sleeping in (or the possibility of EVER sleeping in again)
• Pooping alone (they should tell kids in high school about this one! That would help eliminate a LOT of teen pregnancy, don’t you think? Lol)  Although when you have the toddler and both dogs in there, you can pretend it’s a party.  How fun, right? *eyeroll*
• Playing loud music in the car and SINGING out loud!  (and Monkey loves my singing! *sigh*)
• Sex anywhere in the house we want, whenever we want.  (I suppose there are always naps! LOL)
• Talking on the phone (which is the exact point in my sons head that he feels he needs to be the absolute LOUDEST he can possibly be… EVER!)
• Sunday lazy movies days spent all day on the couch in our jammies  (now if we try to watch any movie that doesn’t have Baby PainInTheAssCauseItsAllWeEverGetToWatch Einstein on the cover, Monkey screams and hits the TV, which makes movie watching less than pleasurable)
• Reading a book (I never thought I would have to give this up *sigh*)
• Going out to see a movie (in a THEATER!) anytime I want.
• Basically just having any privacy

I would love for everyone to share something they miss after becoming a Mommy.  And if you are not a Mommy, what is something you miss from… ummm… drawing a blank here… ummm…. You decide.  Kay?

Oh and thank BOB for the sun finally coming out this weekend!!  I feel much better!!  (Aside from the first trimester exhaustion, of course.)

Got the grocery shopping done.  Got the house cleaned… err… well sort of.  Things are sort of getting back to normal around these parts.  Mommy’s gloom is clearing.

Now today we have the ultrasound at 10:15 to check on the pregnancy.  That in and of itself is going to give me a heart attack.  Pray for me.  Please! 

Lets get it started

Here we are again…the Sunday night blues Feeling pretty optimistic about this week though…got a few things lined up in the great escape from the bank plan! Firstly on Wednesday I have an open day for a graduate scheme run by the Scottish enterprise which matches up students with year long placements and on Friday I have an interview at a new hotel. The positions I’ve applied for are a receptionist and a reservations agent…not quite my dream jobs but I figure if I get into the hotel business their could be opportunities to get into events management which is my dream! And anythings got to be better than banking these days!

In other news nothing much to report. Love life has hit a bit of a slump. Hadn’t heard from the guy I like for a few days then I got a text from him last night at 2am asking if I was out! Talk about booty call! Unfortunately I was tucked up in bed with my laptop(tragic!) and ready to hit the land of nod. Text him today and haven’t heard a thing so he’s clearly only after one thing and maybe he got that from someone else last night…who knows. The thing is we only ever meet up when we are drunk anyway so I guess I shouldn’t expect anything from him. And if he liked me as more than just a friend with benefits he would have asked me out by now surely???!!!!

Think I will lay low for a while then maybe invite him to the house party i’m planning for my birthday that way i’m still showing an interest but not exactly putting my heart on the line and declaring my undying love for him ha ha!

I think my ex has finally got the message that we are never getting back together. No texts from him this weekend woo hoo! Ok so in a screwed up kind of way it was nice to know he was still lusting after me but at the end of the day he never liked me for me anyway. I have been so much happier since it ended and wish I did it ages ago. I was naive but sometimes I think you need to be really badly hurt and let down by someone in order to grow and become a stronger better person. It’s definitely made me look at men in a different light and from now on I am not chasing after anyone unless they are crazy about me!

So now its time to focus on me time which will include going to the gym, spending lots of time with my fabulous friends and looking for that perfect job! I have a good feeling and I really believe that good things are going to happen for me…it’s about time!

xoxo granitecitygirl

Job

Anna und ich haben nun unseren ersten kleinen Job sicher.

Gestern wurde uns geantwortet und wir koennen am Anfang Oktober beginnen.

Es ist allerdings nur ein Aushilfsjob in einem Hostel, wo wir 2 Std. am Tag putzen muessen und dafuer dort leben duerfen.Essen ist allerdings nicht mit eingeschlossen, sodass wir selber dafuer aufkommen muessen.

Aber es ist besser als nichts.

Der Job ist zudem in Bay of Island, welches ein sehr schoener Ort ist.

Hoffentlichist es dann bereits so warm, dass ich schwimmen gehen kann.

Einen Sonnenbrand habe ich schon beim Weeding bekommen:)

Ich halte euch weiter auf dem Laufenden

eure Alex

Letting go....

Every once in awhile, I get someone’s story in my head and I just can’t let it go. Sometimes it’s because it’s just so horrible. Sometimes it’s because their story is inspiring to me. Sometimes I don’t know why I’m so hooked in by them. It takes me some time to process what it is about their story that sucks me in.

I had a case like that this week. I could not get this patient out of my head. All week long, my mind would drift back to them. This would happen when I was with someone else and sometimes would happen at home. It took me awhile to figure out what it was that was hooking me in.

I thought that there was nothing similar about us, at first glance. We had taken very different paths in life-educationally, culturally, economically, etc. You get the picture. But, this patient shared their story with me and it really got to me.

I think the reason this patient’s story sucked me in is because in some ways my own story could have had a similar ending as theirs. Fortunately, for me, my story had a happy ending. While I still have anxiety attacks about my son’s illness, he recovered. This patient had a different outcome with their family. And maybe, like I related in my last post, their story sucked me in because I realized how just a few moments being different in my life, everything could have been different.

Will then, Shakespeare now.

On Ex Libris, I discovered an article written by Leland Ryken (English professor at Wheaton) about Shakespeare and the Geneva Bible.

I shall have to spend a bit of time reading Ryken’s essay more deeply.  A chunk on the bus, a chunk after work, a chunk with my cup of tea, and so on.  I can certainly appreciate these sorts of essays for whatever fruit they may potentially bear when the time comes to not only interpret Shakespeare’s writing in the rehearsal room, but understand the components of the man himself.

However, some thoughts did immediately surface.

Shakespeare’s Use Of The Bible

“There are passages in which reference to the Bible is not strictly required to construe what Shakespeare has written, but where we are invited to see an allusion or echo.”  (Ryken)

When we analyze Shakespeare now—we sometimes forget that we’re reading from our vantage point, atop the mountains of scholarship amassed in the 393 years since Shakespeare’s death.  When Shakespeare was alive, times were different, religion was different, popular culture was different,  household names were different.

In Shakespeare’s day, if someone wanted to make an illustrative comment about suffering, nothingness, or poverty, they may likely conjure up images of Job.   That would have been a story with which many people were familiar.  (Shakespeare makes this allusion himself, in fact, when he has Falstaff saying, “I am as poor as Job, but not so patient.” in Henry IV 2)  Today, if we wanted to make a similar comment, we might conjure up the image of King Lear.

Today, we quote Shakespeare frequently.  Shakespeare quoted (or wrote phrases that resembled) passages of the Bible.

It’s absolutely foolish to deny the fact that Biblical themes and characters are very frequently included as part of what makes Shakespeare’s writing work.  But also included are many mythical references (Roman, Greek, and other).  The Player’s speech about Priam in Hamlet, is just one huge example.

Shakespeare’s Religion

As for arguments about whether Shakespeare was Catholic or Protestant and how important that is to his success as a playwright.  It’s clear that Shakespeare had (though not forever) received some support from a Catholic patron (Lord Strange/fifth earl of Derby).  For a time, that meant some financial stabilization.  I have also read some scholarly ruminations that Shakespeare may have had some minimal connections (friends-of friends-of friends-of friends) to people connected to the Gunpowder plot.  However, I can’t see that as anything too profound.  Lots of people have friends, including our friends.

At the end of the day, Shakespeare was a working, writing adult in a time of enormous change for England. The death of Elizabeth, James’ ascension to the throne, the very slow and gradual change from a Oral/poetic tradition to a printed, literary culture.  Everything was being shuffled around.  This shuffling—and its components—certainly influenced Shakespeare’s body-of-work as much as anything else.

Shakespeare was a writer.  He worked with a company of players.  It was imperative for their survival that he—and the players—work frequently, quickly, and successfully in order to bring an audience, keep them happy, and keep them coming back.  I can’t help but believe then that Necessity, coupled with a keen sense for what would/wouldn’t work for his audience, were likely the Mother and Father of Shakespeare’s invention.

©  Jeffrey Puukka, 2009

Neue Socken angestrickt

Wieder hat es ein älteres Opalknäuelchen auf meine Nadeln geschafft. Und ich bin von der Musterung echt überrascht. Ich weiß auch nicht, aber ich war irgentwie davon überzeugt, das das eher breitere Ringel gibt, aber egal. Mir gefällt es auch so, denn es sind mal wieder so richtig tolle Farben.

Und das beste an dem ganzen ist, das auch dieses Paar wieder für die Vorratskiste für Weihnachten ist. Ach ja, ich glaube dieses Jahr bin ich zeitlich gut dabei und ich hoffe mal, dem vorweihnachtlichen Strickstress entgehen zu können

Jetzt gehe ich aber erstmal mein Buch fertig lesen und heute Abend muss ich dann noch ein bissel Arbeiten gehen und dann habe ich erstmal 2 Wochen Urlaub .

Hach ja, das Leben kann so schön sein.

an office job

if you wonder what

an office job is like – consider this:

what if inside you lived a brutal death metal band, in your bladder, and its groupies – all wearing black and pierced – lived in your kidneys?  every stroke of the space bar sounds like a zildjian trash cymbal, every time you hit “send” it feels like the strum of a tritone against your fingers.

the slow march to the bathroom, at 9:46 every morning, feels like advancing in line for a concert you know you’ll hate.  you try to keep your cool going up the elevator, as working weary mumble how happy they are it’s friday like it was the only one history ever gave them.

imagine your favorite band tuning their guitars for 4 hours, taking a lunch break, and tuning for another 4 hours.  they play a 45 minute set, but only of contemporary christian worship songs. and for the encore, the death metal groupies hang them by their hair until their scalps fall off.

if you still wonder what

an office job is like – i hear

microsoft is hiring.

Check out PhillyJobFest.com

PhillyJobFest.com is owned and operated by One Lion, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. We are operated by a team of seasoned industry experts who value quality over quantity and strive to provide services with the philosophy that regional attention and service is superior to national audiences.

We work to make our site more relevant to our users rather than burying their efforts in a wide, unfocused, national market. We want our advertisers and our job seekers to not be lost in a huge system that lacks local relevance and effect.

We are interested in your suggestions for improvement. Please email your suggestions to us. As we grow, we will use your suggestions to help improve our tools and services so that they can continue to become more effective and relevant to you, our users.

We believe in helping people find jobs, but we also believe in giving back to our community. To that end, we provide a set amount of our revenue to charities.

www.phillyjobfest.com

37. Redeemed

Meditations in Job : 37.  A Redeemed Relationship

Job 14:15b-17 you will long for the creature your hands have made. Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin. My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin.

I have a feeling that in reality the measure of where we are boils down to two things: the revelation we have received and what we did with it. There was once a fascinating dialogue between Jesus and his disciples: “The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.” (Mt 13:10-12). Jesus spoke in parables so that only those with hearts that yearned to know and understand would receive what he was saying. As they received it and lived it out, so he gave them more revelation.

Jesus spoke another simple principle of spiritual life: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Lk 12:48). When we get revelation, the Lord expects us to respond to it. The Lord also measures accountability on the basis of revelation received. The Israelites at Sinai (Ex 19-) received an incredible revelation and so after Sinai the Lord held them to a stricter accounting than before. Job had very real revelation and, as we’ve noted before, if his book is one of the oldest in the Bible, he would not have had any of the revelation of God’s dealings with Israel and he certainly didn’t have the revelation of His Son that we have. That’s what makes some of the words in the next passage before us, so amazing.

“If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and then remember me!” (v.13). These two ‘if only’ desires are quite amazing. Job believes that he is experiencing the anger of the Lord, for surely, as his friends have been saying, suffering is a sign of God’s judgment, or God’s anger against sin. Yet he believes God’s anger will pass and then there will be a renewing of their relationship – then remember me. Until that anger abates, Job is quite happy to rest in death but what this clearly suggests is that Job believed in a life after death where it was possible to experience and know the Lord! Job is wiser than many people today!

Listen how he continues: “If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.” (v.14). The big question is all about whether there is something more beyond this life. This is Job in the midst of his pain and anguish, in the face of the negatives from his friends, who catches something in his spirit of the wonderful truth that we now know so surely through Scripture. Life may be tough on this earth, he feels, but there is going to come a time when he will be renewed by God; there is going to come a time of resurrection! This is incredible! Later he will refer to one who he considers will be his defender or redeemer before God (19:25). He, in the midst of his anguish, is catching something of reality that many people, even today, struggle with: God’s desire is to redeem or restore and reconcile people. Death is not the end.

He imagines this time of life after death, when God’s anger has passed and their relationship has been restored: “You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.” (v.15) There will be a future interaction when the Lord desires to communicate with the one He has made, after the trial of earth has finished. In all this there is a clear and distinct and gradually emerging future hope. Listen: “Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin. My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin.” (v.16,17). That is incredible! He believes there will come a time when the Lord will look over his whole life (count my steps) but will not be concerned with Job’s sin. What revelation is this? Job’s friends have been going on about the God of Judgment but Job is speaking about a God who puts away sin and takes no more notice of it. How can this be? Is it because of the redeemer we referred to just now? Whatever it is, it is an act of God who will seal up his sins so they can’t be seen or referred to again, an act of God whereby He will cover or deal with those sins by some act of divine justice perhaps. God will deal with Job’s sin so that it will not hinder their relationship. THAT is the wonderful revelation Job is teetering towards.

There is a major lesson here. It is that we don’t have to wait until everything is right and the sun seems to be shining on our life until we receive revelation. This incredible truth that Job is receiving and speaking out, is coming in the midst of his anguish, in the midst of a time when he feels that God is against him. That is amazing. He is sensing truth in the most adverse of circumstances!

What do we fill our minds with?  Paul said, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” (Phil 4:8) If we do this we find our minds harmonizing with God. As Paul exhorted us, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Col 3:1). When we do this, we find the Father sharing His heart with us. If you never think on these things, don’t be surprised that you have so little understanding of these things – but be sad about that! Job didn’t have the Bible, but he sensed amazing truths. He was receiving revelation. We have a whole book of revelation. What do we do with it? Remember, as we said earlier, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Lk 12:48).

Reasons why I hate my job !

Last time we talked about a few cases of people who chose an altogether different career or made their own paths though remaining in the same industry. Some turned entrepreneurs while others turned back towards school, in search of more knowledge and hence finding out what they actually love in life. But can all of us do the same ? I guess not. It’s difficult to opt of a standard job and start your firm, and not everyone choses that way. More importantly not everyone likes or can afford to put, career or better said, the “source of income” at risk! Neither can everyone go back to college and pursue a course which doesn’t coordinate with their previous education (even though that education solves no purpose, yet we are afraid to change our line of education, social pressures primary reason).

So what do we do in that scenario. Put our heads down and just believe that this is what I will be doing the rest of my life even though I hate it ! Not a good option either, then what else can we do ?

Let’s discuss a bit on this question. Have you ever tried to find out why do I hate my job ? Surveys state that more than 90% of the people leave their jobs because of their bosses/managers! That’s a high number I guess but the bottom line is that that’s a fact. Do we really hate the job profile or we hate our company? Our we fed up of the restrictions imposed ? Are we irritated by our managers behaviour ? Is it that we are working very hard but my team does not appreciate me and as a result I get annoyed ? Is the dirty office politics that’s what is causing me trouble ? Has my repetitive work made me think I hate it ? Maybe my job profile is very good, a dream profile, but the environment has made it impossible for me to work, hence I may be feeling that this is not the correct job altogether ? There may be numerous reasons why we hate our jobs but do we workout to find out the problem itself ? let alone the solution ! No, is the answer to that.

The moment we stop enjoying our jobs or office timings, we start thinking or rather saying, “I hate my job” or “this profile is not for me“. But did we sit down and think what is making me say that? A person very good in programming is given the similar job to be done over and over again. How long will he enjoy that, but that doesn’t mean that he hates coding. It’s just getting repetitive has made him feel so. He loves his work after all.

Similarly there me hundreds of reasons for you to not like your job, the verdict is relax, sit down and try to figure out, who knows maybe you seriously are in the wrong industry and need to shift focus before it’s too late. What we’d suggest is rather share your problems with us, in the comments section below, and let’s try to find out what the real problem is. If you are not comfortable, you may avoid writing your real name.

The wicked prospers? (Job 21-23)

after his friends spend the last round outlining the fate that befalls the wicked, Job argues that  the wicked people, who do not serve God,  do (and often) prosper: living on and growing old, increasing in power and seeing their children established around them, homes safe and free and the rod of God not upon them, spending their years in prosperity and going down to their grave in peace.

But he knows that their prosperity is not in their own hands, and that the might of God will come down on them. As God-rejecting people, they will end up in the lake of fire (Rev 20: 11-15)

Eliphaz, the Temanite, continues to accuse Job of wickedness e.g. not giving water and food to the weary and hungry despite being a land-owning powerful man. and that he should return to the Almighty for restoration. While it is indeed true that most of us we have some area in our Christian living that needs improvement and that we should confess that, ask for forgiveness and gain restoration, in Job’s case, God himself described Job to Satan by saying, “…there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”

Based upon that, an admission to guilt where no guilt exists would be what? …an attempt to fool God? The Book of Job shows us that conventional wisdom about God’s nature failed – miserably failed! No one, including Job himself, could cite a substantive example of sin in Job’s life or character. And…that’s why Job did not feel it would be appropriate to confess sin that simply didn’t exist.

Job seeks to state his case before God and he is confident that if he does get a chance to prove his righteousness, he will be delivered and that after this test, he will come forth as gold. He has never departed from the commands of his lips and treasures the word more than his daily bread.

36. Frailty

Meditations in Job : 36.  The Frailty of Mankind

Job 14:1 Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.

When reading Scripture, it is important that we always examine the context and realise that words spoken in one context may have a different purpose than when spoken in another. We say this because similar words to those found here were spoken by Eliphaz (e.g. 5:7 “man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.”) and Bildad (e.g. 8:9 “our days on earth are but a shadow.”) but in their case they sought to show that Job is part of the sinful human race and that he should repent of his sin. Now when Job says similar words he is asking the Lord why He bothers with frail mankind.

“Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” (v.1). This is his starting point and, as we’ve commented before, it is only half a picture, even though it is true. Living in this fallen world does mean that things go wrong and part of our life mission, if you like, is to learn to overcome difficulties.  “He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.” (v.2) The older you get the more you realise just how fleeting life is. You look back over the years and wonder where they have gone. As you look around you, you see people who seemed to be snatched away by death in youth or middle age and realise that life is indeed very frail. You read of floods, hurricanes, train crashes and so on, and realise that we are not the masters of our destiny.

He wonders why God bothers with us. “Do you fix your eye on such a one? Will you bring him before you for judgment?” (v.3) It’s like he says, “When I look at our lives in this fallen world, our weakness and frailty, I wonder why you should bother to play around with us; you know what we’re all like.”  He realises it is a fallen world and we are fallen people and so asks, “Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!” (v.4) Because we are fallen, how can God make us pure. We are inherently sinners and so it is a constant struggle to be pure – that is why he had continually offered sacrifices on behalf of his family. We are in God’s hands, so what’s the point: “Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.” (v.5) God can take us any time He wishes and indeed, He knows exactly how long He’s decreed we will be on this earth, so what’s all the fuss about! He concludes with a plea: “So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired man.” (v.6)  In other words, please leave me alone and let me work out the time you have allotted me. There’s no point in anything else (implied).

Then he turns and considers the futility of death in humans. He compares us with trees: “At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant.” (v.7-9). That’s the truth; cut a tree down and shoots will come forth and life will continue, but that’s not how it is with us: “But man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more.” (v.10) When we get ‘chopped down’ and die, that’s it, the end!  “As water disappears from the sea or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep.” (v.11,12) In the same way that a water bed dries up, so when a person dies their life ebbs away and nothing is left.

Now as we’ve commented before, in the midst of his suffering, Job loses perspective and so only sees half a picture, and indeed, because he lives so early in human history he hasn’t the revelation of the Bible. What he has just said is only half true. Yes, we do life in a fallen world and we are inherently sinners and we will one day die, but there is very much more to the picture than that. We are creatures who are made in the image of God and although we are fallen, God has worked through His Son at Calvary two thousand years ago, to redeem us, so that we can be truly called children of God, so we can live out meaningful, purposeful and glorious lives for however long we have on this earth, with all of His grace that is available to us, and then we ‘emigrate’ and go to heaven to live with God for eternity. Now if you are unsure about this, please read back over this last paragraph for this is the clear and distinct teaching of the New Testament.

We may not always understand what is going on in life – and indeed some would say we never truly know what is going on this side of heaven – yet God IS with us and He IS for us, and His grace and wisdom and power IS there for us, to help us through. Yes we can blow it and we can mess up, but even in that He IS working for our good. Trials, tests, and temptations may come but His objective in allowing them, is to teach us to overcome with His help. So important was what I said in the previous paragraph, that I am going to conclude this meditation with it again, so please read it through carefully, for this IS the teaching of the New Testament:

We are creatures who are made in the image of God and although we are fallen, God has worked through His Son at Calvary two thousand years ago, to redeem us, so that we can be truly called children of God, so we can live out meaningful, purposeful and glorious lives for however long we have on this earth, with all of His grace that is available to us, and then we ‘emigrate’ and go to heaven to live with God for eternity. We ARE people of purpose, and as the Westminster Catechism starts out:“What is the chief end of man?  Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever.”

For I will accept him

Job 42:8

“Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”

—

Are God’s standards too high? Are God’s expectations impossibly high? “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2b) Give me a break! I’m no saint. How could I EVER be “holy”? Even if I always spoke fairly of God and men, even if I always treated people right, I don’t think I could ever live up to God’s high standards.

That is the thought process of a lot of people who waver on the fence of faith. They go from wanting passionately that closeness with God they see others enjoying, to doubting that anyone ever could experience that closeness and love. Many people give up on God because they can’t see any way they might “qualify” for that exclusive group of holy people who get to experience God’s love and blessings. Yes, there are many who simply refuse to give up the sinful things in their lives that they enjoy, but I think many folks just don’t even try to give up their sinning because they don’t believe they could ever live up to God’s measure of holiness. Why bother trying if you think you’ll never get there?

The good news of the gospel is that we don’t have to hit the high mark of God’s holiness, only have faith in Christ and keep aiming for that mark.

In today’s verse we see that the Lord is telling Job’s friends that in order to redeem themselves from their own lack of true faith, they must let Job intercede for them. What makes a mere human like Job any more qualified? “For I have accepted him,” says the Lord. The literal translation is more like “His face I have lifted up,” which is like saying God has elevated Job to a position where He will listen to what Job has to say. Not that Job has the right to pass judgment on these men, but more that Job has been given the right to speak for these friends of his, to be their voice before the Holy of Holies, to be their high priest before God.

Today, Jesus is the great High Priest for us. Job’s role was a one-time event on behalf of three men, but Jesus’ priesthood is for all men for all time.

—

Hebrews 7:24-28

24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.

25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

—

But if Jesus always lives to make intercession for us, does that mean we can just go on sinning? Certainly not! (Romans 6:1-23) There is still the expectation that we should repent as we approach the Cross of Christ, that we should be working out our salvation “with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12-16), so that we do not fall back into a life of lawlessness and sin. As the Lord Jesus instructed us, we should be asking daily forgiveness for our “debts” (or “trespasses” or “sins”, depending on your translation of Matthew 6:12).

The simple truth is that none of us is without sin – no, not one. Only Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, could ever intercede for our fallen race, and so He does. OUR role is to come to the One whose face has been lifted up for all mankind, to keep our eyes fixed upon Him as we run this race called life. (Hebrews 12:1-2) OUR role is to come to the foot of the Cross broken and contrite, with a wholehearted desire to repent, to throw down the sins that have entangled us, for that is a sacrifice God will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)

Today, let us present to God all that we have that is holding us back, and give Him the chance to lift up OUR faces. Like Job’s friends, we must follow God’s explicit direction and come to the One who is exalted enough to face God on our behalf. When we come to God in such faith, humility, and reverence, His gentle hand will lift us up, too.

Lord God in heaven, I thank You that You have provided someone to intercede for us. I myself am not worthy to be called a “son of God.” And so I come to You today, O Precious Savior, and I lay down all that I have, my whole burden of sin and shame, so that You, my Lord, will speak for me before our Father. I praise Your Holy Name, Jesus Christ, Lamb of God, my High Priest for all time. Amen.

IPFW Job Zone

It may not be apparent to many of you IPFW students, but IPFW has a great resource for those students looking for a job or internship.  IPFW JobZone lists work study positions, internships, part time jobs, and full time jobs in the area and around the country.  It offers also some pretty interesting positions as well, so in no way would it be a waste of your time to check it out. 

The IPFW Consumer and Family Sciences department also offers a listing of current jobs that are available in the Hospitality industry specifically in the Fort Wayne market.  It can be found at http://www.ipfw.edu/cfs, and click on “Student Resources” on the left, then on “Job Opportunities and Internships”. 

If you are an employer that is looking to put a listing on the IPFW JobZone search, there is an area for you to do so.  Click on the link provided at the end of this post and click on “employers”. 

The link to JobZone is below:

http://ipfw-csm.symplicity.com/

2 down, 8 to go

I have to say, I actually don’t completely hate my job now that I know it will be ending soon.  There’s really something to be said for showing up 20 minutes late and not giving a fuck.  That got the day off to a great start, and from there it only got better. I only cussed 3 times, and once was just to make sure I still knew how. It is amazing to actually have an ok day.

I totally should have done this months ago!

Welfare Junkies

*Disclaimer: This post may be rude and offensive to some. If you are easily offended, please do not read this post.

 

Let’s talk about food stamps, shall we? After having the incident with the angry customer, I started to notice some things:

• There is a distinct “look” to the people on Government Assistance- yes, you can’t lie, there are distinct looks to people in my line who are on food stamps, and they look “trashy”.  Most people associate them having the looks of stringy hair, rotten teeth (or lack there of), smelling bad, normally wearing sweatpants OR they look decent but are covered in tattoos or look high all the time. It’s sad that in my years of being a cashier, I can pick them out of a crowd like a criminal line up.
• There is a distinct “look” to their food orders-yes, this is also true. I’m sorry, but when I see 35 of those $1 TV dinners, something snaps in my brain, and I KNOW that they’re not just “cheap”

 

Please don’t get me wrong, I think Government Assistance is great…for people who NEED it. There is a difference in people who NEED it and people who abuse the system to get a free ride. My ex-husband was like this. Notice how I said EX, lol. He was a lazy SOB who didn’t want to work, so he worked the minimum number of hours so he got assistance, and then bought steak and lobster for food every month. It made me sick. Don’t ask me why I married the dude because it was a complete lack of judgement on my part. In my state, you have to work a minimum of twenty hours a week to be considered for GA. So in order for the trash-bags to make sure they have their food stamps, they’ll just go to the local Mickey D’s and get a job, knowing they can do better, so they can get their weekly requirement.

Y’all make me sick! It’s called a freaking JOB. If you can’t afford what you have, it’s called a “second job”. It’s when you work TWO jobs. Oh, the audacity. Get off your lazy asses and do something.

The reason I don’t completely bash the whole GA program is simply due to the fact that as a child, I used GA health insurance. My parents didn’t have much, but knew I needed health coverage. They never asked for food stamps or cash assistance. They didn’t even ask for health insurance for THEMSELVES. We made do with what we call a “budget”. It’s when you have a JOB…and you make MONEY… and you only buy the things you can AFFORD and stretch the money in every way possible.

It’s sad that I’ve actually heard the excuse of “I can’t do any better for myself”. WTF? It’s called “beating the odds”. It’s when you take a bad situation and you make yourself better because of it. I’ve done it. Granted, I work as a cashier, but that’s not my only job. I also have a full-time salary, and I also have a home-based business. I can afford things like… hmmm… the internet. I wear sweatpants to sleep in, not formal attire. 

In this economy, a lot of people are relying on GA to get by. That’s great. Whatever. Do what you need to do. But if you go shopping with your mom and grandma, and all THREE of you use food stamps, you might be a government assistance whore. (Notice how using “redneck” would’ve completely changed the persona of this post.) This is when the government needs to step in and audit exactly what is going on. The IRS does it all the time, why can’t they?

Point being, get a life, Welfare Junkies, or better yet, get a job and learn to fend for yourself.

34. Security

Meditations in Job : 34.  Security in God

Job 13:13-15 “Keep silent and let me speak; then let come to me what may. Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands? Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him”

There are religious people who get upset at any wrong word spoken before God. The God they know is harsh and judgemental and who will strike out at anyone who says a word out of place. That is not the picture of the God of the Bible. I have always marvelled at Moses’ willingness to argue with God. His two-chapter dialogue (Ex 3 & 4) is an amazing example of someone making excuses before God, but then his knowledge of the Lord is very limited so he gets away with it. But after all the Exodus happenings, the deliverance from Egypt, the journeying to Sinai and the revelation received at Sinai, you might think Moses has learnt to hold his tongue before an Almighty and Holy God but when the Lord threatens to destroy the makers of the golden calf, we find Moses arguing with God not to do it. As a young Christian I was always fascinated by preachers speaking of Moses ‘importuning’ God. It means soliciting Him or persistently pressing Him. It becomes clear that this is exactly what the Lord wanted of him. When God comes in the flesh in the form of His Son, Jesus, there are lots of interactions between Jesus and his disciples, especially Peter who was always opening his mouth to put his foot in it. Having observed that at length, I conclude that Peter felt utterly secure in Jesus’ presence and felt quite able to speak his mind. When we come to Job, we find something very similar.

See how he starts out in this next part of our study: “Keep silent and let me speak;” (v.13a). Come on, guys, give me space, allow me to say what is on my heart, is what he is saying. But note how our verses above continue, “then let come to me what may.” (v.13b). Wow! In other words, let me speak my heart and I’ll take whatever comes. Now those are either words of careless folly or they are words spoken out of immense security, and I suggest it is the latter. In one sense, perhaps, he’s already received so much suffering and sorrow that perhaps he thinks there is nothing more that God can do, but the words that follow seem to have more assurance behind them than that somewhat negative and fatalistic view of it. He asks a question about his actions: “Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands?” (v.14). He realises that speaking rashly before God is a dangerous and foolhardy business, but then he speaks out words of immense confidence in the Lord: “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” (v.15a).

Those must be some of the great words of this book. God can take my life if that is His desire, yet I will trust Him for whatever comes after that, I will hope in Him, I will put my entire future into His hands and feel utterly secure in what He will do with me. Some of these Old Testament saints were incredible!  I always marvel at the way the writer to the Hebrews spoke about Abraham being willing to offer Isaac, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead.” (Heb 11:19) These men shame our often weak faith. Job has such confidence in the Lord and his relationship with Him that he is not afraid to say, “I will surely defend my ways to his face.” (v.15b) To His face? Job is willing to look God in the eye and defend himself!

But his confidence goes on and on: “Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless man would dare come before him!” (v.16). This will turn out for my deliverance? In this he trusts in God’s loving goodness and His faithfulness to what Job knows about Him, and then also in his own godliness. It is not pride to be able to look the truth in the face when it is about yourself. The apostle Paul taught, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Rom 12:3). Humility is the ability to see yourself as you are, to see your limitations AND to see your grace that God has given you. Job knew that he had been godly and wasn’t ashamed of it, and so also trusted that God would honour that godliness. In fact as he goes on, he builds on that certainty: “Listen carefully to my words; let your ears take in what I say.” (v.17). I’m happy to enlarge on this, is what he infers.

He continues, “Now that I have prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated.” (v.18). I’ve thought about this, is what he is saying, and I trust God and trust what I know about my own motivation and actions, and I believe I will be vindicated by Him. Indeed, when we come to the end of the book, as we’ve noted before, the Lord declare to the three friends, “you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:7). Job concludes his case, “Can anyone bring charges against me? If so, I will be silent and die.” (v.19). Look, he says, as I look back over my past life, I have examined myself and I am not conscious of having stepped out of line and having sinned, therefore you won’t be able to find anything legitimate to say against me; you can make these generalisations about me being a sinner, if you like, but I challenge you to find specific wrong things that I did. That is an amazing claim. It is similar to Paul’s claim to the Thessalonians: “You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.” (1 Thess 2:10). It’s not a pride thing to be able to say this. It is a simple statement of truth spoken in humility. We should not be ashamed to say, “With God’s help I have been righteous this day”. Job actually has some lessons in humility for us. May we heed them!

The light at the end of the tunnel

Dear ********,

 This letter is to give two weeks’ notice of my intent to leave my position as Office Manager/HR Assistant with (Organization Which Doesn’t Deserve Your Generous Funds).  I have decided to accept another position where I have a chance for professional growth and where my skills will be better utilized. 

I’d like to wish you and your organization all the best in your future endeavors. 

Sincerely,

ME

Home Sweet Home :)

yes thats right!!! home sweet home.. that’s where I’ve been in the past 2 months.

I’ve enjoyed sooo much in the past 2 months .. We were planning for an India Trip in August. So once my contract (job) was finished, I didnt bother looking for a new one. I decided I will look for one once I get back from India. So I had no stress or tension thinking about the “unemployment” phase. I sat around, watched tv, stupid sitcoms, movies, read books, cooking experiments,visited my family in east coast, shopping && soooo many more stuff..

Then here comes the best part… 1 month in Kerala… god’s ownnnnnn country … I cant explain how much we loved our stay.  One month went sooo fastttttt .  First week, we took a 1 week road trip w/ my inlaws. The main aim was a theerthadanam ( basically a food”adanam”). The taste of kottayam fish curry, kozhikodu biriyani… hmm I dont think I will ever like my cooking again …

Some Restaurant suggestions for foodies like us : Kozhikodu Sagar (try the old sagar), Al-Bake , Alapuzha Brother’s (its a small crowded  hotel , but their fish curry meals & chicken curry — just superb) , TVM (Tharavattil, Rajadhani (just ok), Zam Zam, Sindoor, & sooo many more)

For those who love beaches, but dont like to go crazy if people are around : try the private beaches in Kovalam. Somatheeram, Thapovan, Coconut Bay Beach Resort etc etc,… there are sooo many of them.

After  looooooong 9 yrs, I got to spend Onam in Kerala. Eventhough, my amma made a big sadya every year & we went to all the onam celebs in US, it can’t be compared with the Onam in Kerala. I think its the feeling of being around w/ the family.. not just parents… but the whole big extended family… I just love that … & ofcoz the sadhya w/ adapradhaman, paalada etc.

Few days before the trip, I had a small tension coz this was the first & longest time I was going to stay w/ my inlaws since wedding….. It was totally a great experience… I never knew inlaws could spoil you more than your own parents… and I experienced that….  and hats off to them for dealing with me … lol …  & on the way back we got free upgrade to business class … So, overall it was a greaaaaat trip. It’s been more than  a week since we got back and I’m still talking about the trip lol..

Now back to reality… back to job hunt .. back to “my” cooking & housekeeping … 

World spins madly on

Good gracious, I’ve been busy. And I keep sitting down to write this entry and getting side-tracked.

I started my training Tuesday. Staying up late doing homework then getting up early for work usually results in me coming home to take a nap everyday. So that’s what I’ve been doing.

sleepy becky.

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday. Friday we went out to Ham’s, then went to the art walk. But before that, something even better happened. On my way home from work, as I usually do, I scanned the flea market on the side of the road. I always look closely in the bike area to see if I see any road bikes… from the road I can usually tell that it’s mostly kid’s bikes or mountain bikes.

There, in the middle of the bikes as if a spotlight is shining down on it so I can see it perfeclty, is THIS:

my dream bike

Now, I know you probably don’t understand the significance of this, but I have wanted a bike EXACTLY like this probably since I first went to VCU and wanted to be cool like the other hipsters. But of course, that phase passed, and I never stopped wanting a road bike. Buying one brand new would cost an arm and a leg, and you can usually only get them at speciality bike stores. So I always looked for them in thrift stores and such, with no luck at all. This bike couldn’t be any more perfect, or exactly what I wanted.

I used the birthday money my parents gave me and bought her for $15. Fifteen bucks! All it needed was an inner tube for the front tire, and we went for a bike ride last night. I was going to go outside and clean it up real good today, but I’ve been so sick that I literally stayed in bed about 90% of the day today…

The new job is going good. Of course I’ve only been training this week, so it’s nothing like what the actual job is going to be like, so I am still keeping an open mind. I’m learning so much, but my nervousness is easing up a bit.

I’ve met some cool people so far, and I also bought and finished Jenny McCarthy’s book, Louder than Words, in about 2 days.

I also bought and have now started a book called When Rabbit Howls by The Troops for Truddi Chase.It has nothing to do with autism, but it was in the autism section, and it just looked too interesting to pass up.

I recommend both, even though I’m only about 5 chapters into When Rabbit Howls.

It’s back to work/training early tomorrow, getting back into the routine of homework, cutting back on naps, cleaning up my bike, and oh…I got turned down by another lawyer. I definitely don’t want to end on a bad note, so I want to say that I am happy. And for some reason, this situation, this conundrum, this medical debt… it’s starting to bother me less. It’s just money. It’s just credit. Who cares? Who cares if I never can buy a new car or a own a house? Todd still has his credit, what has happened to me has no effect on his credit, so we may still be okay. Even if we aren’t, who cares if we have to rent for the rest of our lives? (I just had a realization that this crap will only stay on my credit for 7 years. D’oh. Not so bad!)

But I do need to call a new lawyer tomorrow and keep trying. I can’t give up. I still feel like I have a case, and I even have a doctor willing to speak on my behalf. Even though I keep getting rejected by lawyers, they have YET to give me a reason. When I call tomorrow, I am going to ask for a face-to-face consultation. All the other lawyers have had me email them my case, but I am determined to see a lawyer face and face and find out why I keep getting denied.

I’ve even started to consider making a tape for Extreme Home Makeover… how sad is that? Pretty sad that my situation has gotten to the point where I think we might actually have a chance! Who knows?