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?