work

lady computer analyst 

well, i just got through my 2nd week of unemployment.  i like being home with the dogs, having time to make dinner and pack the husband a lunch.  i'm slowly getting back to the gym as i recover from surgery.

i had an interview last week.  it was... a boring office and a job i'm a bit overqualified for.  not to sound like a jerk.  they made me an offer that's a bit of a pay cut.  so i followed my instincts and said "no thank you."

i know in my heart that this is the right decision, and my awesome husband backs me up 100%, but there's a part of me that feels guilty for turning down a job.  i'm not comfortable in being unemployed.

today in the mail i got that annual letter from social security, where they list your annual earnings and how much you can expect to get each month in benefits when you retire.  i never pay much attention to this, but today i did.

it showed that i've been working since i was 15 (in 1985) and i've earned an income every year since.  it doesn't show that i had a paper route when i was 9 until i was 13.  and that at age 14 i started working in a pizza shop on weekends.

so yeah, i'm an independent girl who likes to make money.  and i love my career as a QA analyst.  i totally stumbled into this job back in 2000, but i get geeked out excited about it.  i love figuring out new software programs, websites, mobile apps, and finding the flaws.  i love working with developers on fixing those bugs and making things work.  it's brought me a lot of joy.

loving what you do, having a "career" that makes you happy, this is a rare and wonderful thing.  being able to work as a QA analyst for 12 years has been a blast.  i've worked on multi-million dollar systems and tiny mobile apps that only 50 people use.  i've had my own fancy cubicle, and i've sat in broom closets.  and i've pretty much loved it all.

and when i haven't, i've moved on.  in 12 years i've worked at 6 companies.  and now i'm looking for #7.  i'm taking my time, and trying to relax, trying to be patient.

and fun was had by all....

the birthday boy, totally surprised by the little party

chris cannot take a photo 

chris really cannot take a photo 

cool belt buckle thing of the guy from that rob zombie movie and cool moth sweatshirt 

classic jennette pic 

classic gilly & chris pic 

my mom 

elton john! 

cool belt buckle pic 2 

 artsy wine pic

ok, that's it.  we had a great time with our tiny little pizza party.  it was so much fun being able to surprise dan.  the dogs were ok.  fun was had.

planning for next week...

so, next week, the work week for most, is looming ahead of me.  i'm not used to this unemployment thing.  i have some plans to meet friends/former coworkers for lunch.  i have a job interview on wednesday.  which is good.

besides all of that, i want to focus on 4 things:

1.  finding a job (duh)
2.  going to the gym every day (it's paid for through the end of the year)
3.  home improvements (simple stuff that i can do on my own)
4.  healthy & inexpensive eating (we can eat all the fruits & vegetables!)

i think if i keep focused on these 4 things, i'll be good.  less tv, more walks.  less wine, more water.  less pinterest, more dog walking.

i want to find new things to photograph, new ways to be creative.  ways to be creative that don't cost money.  maybe get the dulcimer out, or the bass guitar.  paint some bad paintings.  draw some weird drawings on the iPad.  it's all free!

i'd like to go out into the woods and try to find deer antlers.  we found one once.  if i could deal with all the bugs and spider webs, i'd be fine.  maybe i can find an inexpensive bee keeper suit?

day 2 unemployment...

well, today has been quiet.  i stayed home from the gym (a bit sore still) and worked on my resume.  i really hate dealing with my resume.  and every job needs a slightly tweaked version to basically sell your skills.  boring.

so besides resume writing, i'm cleaning and organizing the house a bit.  and of course i had to send an email to my former CEO to thank him for the 1 1/2 years at a job i loved, but to also give my opinion of how some things were handled.  i am a girl who can't keep her pie hole shut.  sometimes i can, but other times it's good to speak my peace and be done.  so, there ya have it!

i'm super excited to see "the master" this weekend:

next week i have one interview set up, and lunch plans with my old coworkers.  and i want to try pickle-ball at the gym.  may as well use the gym membership since it's paid through the end of the year.  if i don't find a job, maybe i'll end up buff.  LOL!

gilly says hello!!!

unemployed, day one...

i thought about sleeping in, but instead went and swam for 25 minutes.  it will take a while to work back up to the hour i was swimming before surgery.  slow & steady...

i still can't believe i went to work on tuesday, got this awesome knitted uterus, and then got shit-canned the next day.  ah well.....

i went to get my haircut last night, and got there too early.  so i walked over to the gift shop next door and the first thing i saw was this card.  perfect message for me.

so after i swam i got on the laptop and worked on my resume.  i have a job interview wednesday next week.  i'm not getting my hopes up.  i need to take my time and find a job that's a good fit.

i meet my former work husbands at chipolte for lunch.  it was so much fun seeing them.  we compared notes over the lay-offs, shared job search info, and laughed our asses off.  nice to know life goes on after the job doesn't go on.

ok, day one was pretty decent.

my one political post, on why mitt romney scares me...

here's the wiki where the "dog incident" is discussed.  

here's my take after reading all the interviews with the romney's their supporters and detractors:  they seem to be lacking in remorse.  they think the dog liked being strapped to the hood of their car for a 12 hour ride.  even after the dog had diarrhea.  they just hosed off the dog & car and kept on driving.  they do not see anything wrong with this.

the dog ended up going to live with a family member because it kept running away from the romney's home.  that says a lot.

i know dogs are not the most important thing in life, or in an election.  but i believe that the way a person treats their family pet says a lot.  it says enough to me.

dogs...

gilly silently starves to death, by her empty food bowl...

until charlie laughs at the slightly plump pit bull girl acting like she's ever missed a meal.

post-surgery healing and various changes...

well, it's been a few weeks since i had my uterus yanked, and i'm still healing.  i have pain at times, and my stomach can swell.  it's all to be expected.  there are a lot of sutures inside, and healing takes time.

so i bought a pair of maternity pants!  this cracks me up to no end.  wearing maternity pants after having my baby-making parts removed is endless amusing to me.

i've been working from home for the last 2 weeks.  i love working from home, but 2 weeks is too much.  i found myself feeling very bored and lonely after a while.  the dogs have kept me company, but i need to see my work peeps!

speaking of work... it's not looking good.  we've had so many people resign.  there's barely anyone left. i don't see how we can fix things.  i'm beyond sad about it all.  i just have to remember that things change.  and the people i love at work while become the people i love outside of work.  more friends!

so what's good in my life?  well, fall is almost here.  my favorite time of the year.  sweater weather.  fall leaves, cool temps.  fall has always been a good time for me.  i feel like this fall will be my time.  i'll be able to finally get back to the gym, back to losing weight and getting strong.

never in my life would i have thought i'd be saying, "i miss the gym!"  but i do!

the photo at the top of this post is a pic of our "acorn bounty".  i've never seen so many acorns in my life.  are yard is full of them, and they are dropping on the house at all hours of the day and night.  the squirrels drop them, and when it's windy they rain down.  it's noisy and nerve wracking!

charlie brings one into the house every time he comes inside.  he brings one in, drops it at my feet in exchange for a treat.  i think my laughter has him thinking this is an awesome trick.  it kind of is!

back to clouds, barns, dogs...

no disrespect meant...

i've been playing around with photoshop, and taking pics of things in the house.  as a kid i was frightened of the pics of jesus i saw in everyone's homes.  

so i tried to make him smile, wink, or have some new color!

this...

more history... (my mom, dad, grandma & me)

history (where i live)...

 (leaves found in a very old family bible)

september 2012 marks the 100 year anniversary of dan's family being on this property. it started with his great-great aunt lizzie & uncle frank, then his great aunt ruth.  now us.

what's interesting to me is that none of us living on this land, for 100 years now, ever had children.  

(dan brought this old plow out from the barn and it looks great out front)

(this photo is inside the bible.  we don't know who she is.)

(the old chicken coop, my favorite thing to photograph.  i love how it's just naturally decaying and collapsing, becoming part of the land and the trees.) 

click here to see some old and some modern pics.