Mondays Aren't So Bad Sometimes Like Today

I was chatting on the telephone with my friend Marla telling her I had decided I wasn't going to go into the office for my part-time job this morning.  I had decided that when Joe left for dialysis I was going to stay home so I could get a million-bijillion things done and would be able to do so with no one bothering or interrupting me.

While in the middle of this conversation, the phone rang with great news.  I am now going to be gainfully employed full-time as of next week.  Apparently I must have aced my last job interview or appeared to be extraordinarily pitiful and they felt sorry for me.  Either way, I'll take the job. It's for an RV dealership which states "that they were established in 1976 and since then have become the largest and oldest RV dealerships in the Rocky Mountain region with extremely knowledgeable employees and personalized customer service".  And, as of today, I will one day be one of those extremely knowledgeable employees who offers personalized customer service.

I called Marla back to tell her the wonderful news and she insisted on taking me to lunch to celebrate.  (So much for staying home for a few hours of some extreme house cleaning done to the beat of my jammin' music on the television.  No interruptions of anyone asking me where to find something or listening to a blaring television sprinkled with constant news furnished by CNN, MSNBC, Fox, HLN or listening to stations being flipped and surfed at the beginning of every LOUD commercial break).  Now with Marla's call it was hurry, hurry, hurry and get what I could get down in 60 glorious minutes and then hop into the shower and become a beautifully dressed individual going to lunch with one of her favorite friends.

She told me in advance to pick the place, but since she was the one buying the lunch, I felt it was better for her to do so.  After listing off a half dozen places we decided to go to the Firerock since I'd never been there.  Hey, I'm up to trying new restaurants when possible.  So, we met for lunch.  The hostess was going to sit us at one table and then we asked for a booth.  Because of those two bolded sentences, we wound up with Erica, the cutest young waitress who was "our kind of people" in personality and conversation.  Through discussions throughout our meal, we discovered that Erica who is from Boise, Idaho was a convert to the church but because of some wrong information that someone told her in the recent past, she has not been to church in a while.   It was determined that she would be in Marla's ward and Marla who is in Relief Society presidency can assign her the perfect visiting teachers.  I, who am in the other ward, can provide opportunities to feed the sweet thing and her friends if she desires.  We exchanged phone numbers - all three parties being excited that we had the opportunity to meet each other.  What a coincidence about all of this?!  My co-mommy and I have decided though it was not coincidence at all, but rather providence for us to meet Erica and love her and maybe she will join us in church.  So, we'll be having Erica and Marla over for dinner next week.  Throughout the day I was reminded of a quote that I used to have hanging on my office wall in Georgia which read...

"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." 
   

After lunch I headed to the part-time job since I wasn't dressed for housecleaning any longer and I had about an hour before time to pick Joe up from dialysis.  I informed the powers that be that I had secured permanent full-time employment and would be leaving them entirely next week.  I was then offered the opportunity to keep my job and work on it at my own convenience.  Hmmm, additional money - who can't use that?  It's something to consider.

Then ward friends invited us to dinner to celebrate my new employment so off we went this evening to eat at Olive Garden.  It was a very nice pleasant evening, but I am so "fooded out".

So, tomorrow brings another day and if it goes as well as today, I am one lucky and blessed female type person!

Joey's Got A Job...

and he started it today. He was only supposed to go in for his 1-2 hour orientation, but they went ahead and put him on the clock. These pictures show me dropping my sweetie off at work and then I got to go home all by myself!


It's official. Here is his bona fide Walmart sales associate tag...

"When Can You Start"?

Disclaimer...this is the written rantings of a semi-crazy woman. Proceed at your own risk! Consider yourself warned!!!

What a month it's been for me thus far. Joe and I left for an innocent visit to see the kids and the gbaby in Utah and that got divided up into job searching in Wyoming.

It's amazing how life can change so quickly. When we made our reservations six months ago, I was truly in a very happy place. I had a great job, was paying bills on time, Joe was healthy, etc., etc., etc.

Then a couple of weeks before we leave - there went the job and the subtle concerns about earning a livelihood began. It's like deja vu all over again. But, I can't complain and I'm really not. Life is still good. It's just kinda screwed up at the moment and I've got to sort it all out again.

The trip to Wyoming and the scheduled job interviews went well. Thank God no one said "We want you to come work for us. When can you start?" I WOULD HAVE DIED!!! I know that I sound like a nut case about that, but I hadn't made any preparations to move, yet. I'm having to figure this all out as I go along and haven't had time. Even after leaving Wyoming, I was and still am being contacted for interviews. Someone wants to speak with me so badly, that they're even doing a phone interview tomorrow (oops, later this afternoon). Yes, I do feel flattered, but I do feel severely overwhelmed at the moment.

When we arrived home on last Wednesday, my computer was offline and I had to wait for three days for the cable repairman to show up. Still during that time, I was receiving new employment questions via phone and using Dad's computer. Slow down people! Give me a moment to think this all through. And, that's what Joe and I did. We sat down and I typed out what we would need to do to move if those words came across the telephone - "When can you start to work with us"? We decided to use one of my airline vouchers and make the trek back west to Wyoming alone for two weeks. I need time to speak with people and check out the housing situation. Would you believe I have or I am in the process of submitting another 24, yes 24, applications for employment by tomorrow? And, they are all specific jobs I am very qualified to do and pretty much confined to two cities - Casper and Laramie. (Believe me I'm not getting that kind of results around here even within a 50 mile radius of my home. In fact, the pickin's have been so slim around this area that I don't even have to use all my fingers and toes to count the "real" jobs I've had the chance to apply for).

With the decision made for me to return to Wyoming comes new thoughts for me:

• Is Joe going to be alright while I'm gone? Who's going to change his "tummy worm" bandage? What is he going to do virtually by himself for the two weeks since he will have no means of transportation? Will he let the dogs sleep on the bed with him and lick his dishes since I'll be gone?


• What if I get out there and those words come ("When can you start")? I won't have the house packed up and ready to leave.

Other questions come up like:

• What do we do about the house? We don't know yet! (I did find out it is able to be an assumable mortgage. And, I'm also waiting on the payoff to come in the mail since they don't give it over the phone).


• What do we do with all our "stuff"? I've lived in this house for almost 30 years. I've got things that I don't remember having. But, regardless if we move or not, it's time to do some cleaning out. We'll be selling furniture, giving away things, E-Baying other goodies, storing other things somewhere else and doing whatever we have to.


• What if someone wants to buy the house and we're not moved? What will we do?


• What if the jobs in Wyoming don't come through? What if the jobs around here don't come through?


• What do we do if my unemployment runs out the first week in January and I still have no job? (You and I both know that after the week of Thanksgiving that finding a job is pretty much a gonner. No one will be hiring until after the first of the year. Remember, I went through this at the same time last year).

Do I want to move? Maybe yes and maybe no. I don't want to leave Mom and Dad, first and foremost. I have family and friends here and none there. Wyoming could be a scary place with just my sweetie and I. But, we'd be closer to the kids and I'd have a job! And, lots of new places to explore. It would be a new start, a new beginning and I know that Joe would love it since he was in that area and practically lived there for many years. If a good job came along here in the next couple of weeks, this dilemma would all be over and I would at least have a better cleaned-out house.

So, dear friends and family members, keep us in your prayers and if you've got any suggestions bring 'em on! (Then I could get back to some fun blogging).

What's The Future Hold For Us?

Well, this weekend has been spent primarily checking on possible new jobs. When I go to work this coming week, I'll be lucky to be there another three weeks. I hope I can at least be able to stay around until October 3rd. Joe and I will go to Utah the next week and then life will definitely change for us once we return to Georgia. It'll be my second job loss in one year. Lucky me, huh?

I've spent the weekend submitting my resume to various employers in Wyoming, including the State of Wyoming, to see if I get any nibbles for a potential job. Since we're going out west, maybe someone will be interested in speaking with me about employment. You ask why Wyoming? We say why not? It would be close enough to the kids (about 3 hours drive) to visit regularly. Do we know anyone in Wyoming? No. Have we been there? Yes. Look at it this way - nothing ventured, nothing gained.

In the meantime, I'm still proceeding with looking for employment around the Tifton area. Unfortunately it took 5 months to find the last job and the job market is worse now. But, I know that my Heavenly Father has plans for me and Joe and all I can do is do my part with the job process. So, I'm also submitting my resume around this area.

I just know that I am in the stage of my life when most people are getting ready to retire and that's not even an option for me. Retirement will be a foreign word for me. When I was 49, I had been married for 23 years, had a retirement account with a husband and life seemed to be going in the right direction. Then there was the divorce and life changed - no husband, no money and having to start all over again. I started all over again the second time with a new job, with my own retirement account, which I keep for six years until the grant ends and I, at age 52, get a fantastic new husband who had recently had his own 23 year marriage ended by his wife (she got all the money).

So here I am at age 56, losing my second job in a year, retirement account still in tact for the moment and starting all over again for the third time. You know what they say about "third times"? It's a charm. I hope so!!!

So, will we stay in Georgia? I hope so, but something's gotta happen soon. I love the network of people and family we have here and though we would love to be out West with the kids, I'd rather stick around here, if possible.

“Don't worry about life, you're not going to survive it anyway.”

I've begun to wonder what else can go crazy in our lives?!?!

We've been having so much fun with Joe in the past few weeks with his hospital stays, doctor visits, outpatients surgeries and the "tummy worm". I guess my inner self wanted some sympathy. So, I've...

1. Been having right leg pain. It's felt like someone hit my entire leg with a baseball bat. Add to that the feeling that my leg is extremely tired and feels like I'm dragging a cannon for a leg.

2. Then one night, I'm lying on the bed watching TV and both of my feet (ankles down) lock up in the most excruciating pain I've ever had in my feet. Even wearing 3" heels with a foot blister never hurt this bad! I couldn't move, I couldn't stand up. This lasted for about 20 minutes.

3. Next I develop back spasms that make it almost impossible to walk and to stand up straight. I go to the doctor, he schedules me for my first MRI. Now that was an experience. Lying in a rocket tube that makes sounds like you're going to become a human firecracker.

4. The awful sound of my alarm clock jars me awake and I can't bring myself to get out of bed. The pain is too great. I even call my boss to tell her I won't be coming into work. I stay in the bed for a few more minutes and realize I have to go to work. Something doesn't feel right. No matter what, I've got to get there. It's a good thing I did. Someone comes from the corporate office in Nashville, Tennessee to tell the entire distribution center that it will be closing in 30-60 days. We were told about 4 weeks ago that the company was going through a restructuring bankruptcy, but things looked very hopeful. Yeah right. There goes my health insurance, there goes my dental insurance, there goes my life insurance, there goes all my benefits again. Then that afternoon, I went back to the doctor and find out that I have fluid on the knee, some tear in my leg muscle, etc. And, my back is still having spasms! Thank God it's Friday and I can go home for the weekend!!!

5. After doping myself up with every legal and over-the-counter medicine possible, I sleep a wonderful sleep. Duh, you think!!! Then later in the morning, my sweet husband gave me his first blessing. Our Heavenly Father must have heard it because I realized sometime later in the day that the pain had disappeared entirely from my body. I was almost afraid to acknowledge that fact for fear it would return.

6. I've been virtually pain-free for the weekend. But then comes today - Monday!!! I came to work not knowing if today would be my last day or tomorrow or the next day or the next. But no, I find out my boss has given her two week notice. That means I'll be the Human Resources department until whenever. Holy Moly! Then it was back to the doctor this afternoon for a follow up to my July mammograms and having him check my "girls" and my legs.

7. Joe went for blood workup today and got the results from his kidney doctor that his blood appears to be great. Consequently he doesn't have to go on dialysis at this time. Yeah!!! Thank goodness things are looking up for him.

Hey, it's only Monday. I can hardly wait to see what's gonna happen the rest of the week!