Thursday, September 28, 2006

Been Working for a Week

OK...I've been working for a week now. Not too shabby. The job is pretty easy (secretarial work - comes easy for me and I enjoy it). Including me, there are only 12 people that work in this office although there are other facilities and people that work for this company. I've been extremely busy at work the past week - which is a GREAT thing...I hate to be bored. I've been catching up the office with their paper work and filing. They soooo needed the help.

Here are some things I have noticed regarding my new workplace:
1. I love that I live about 10 minutes from work. I can come home for lunch, let the dog out, read a book, whatever. It's great.

2. Since this is a small company, they have no sick time. An employee gets only 1 week of vacation for the first 3 years they work there - the first year the week is unpaid if you choose to use it. That part SUCKS!

3. They are not big on ergonomically correct anything, so I have been coming home with a backache each night. There's been a lot of bending over to stamp a few pages - every copy has to be stamped. This part SUCKS, too.

4. A small company is great when it comes to giving your employees a little leeway when it comes to coming/going or a person's lunch hour . No one hovers over you...there is no time clock...you just fill out your timecard. IF you need to come in late due to a doctor's appointment, it's not a problem - you don't get paid for it, but you can make up that time.

On to other things....
I found out that the reason my brother didn't come to my graduation had NOTHING to do with finances. He just bought a brand new car and they are moving into a house that costs more than twice what they were paying before. Oh well...it's nice to know where I stand.

I've been in the habit of calling my mom on a daily basis. I'm not doing that anymore. I haven't called her since they left on Sunday, and mom hasn't missed me that much. She's called me only once since then. I never leave a conversation with my mom feeling good anyway. She kind of stresses me and is always negative, so it's been kind of good not talking to her everyday. Oh well...it's nice to know where I stand.

I have an appointment Saturday to get my nails done. Normally, I get my nails done every 3 weeks, but with this new job...I'm finding that I can't let them go that long because I'm having a hard time typing. I guess I'll start going every 2 weeks. Too bad my nails grow so fast. I'm not really complaining. :-)

I also have an appointment to get my hair cut Saturday (actually gonna get a little style put into it). I've had the style I'm getting before, so I know I can fix it each day. I need to remember to get some texturizer while I'm there to make the style work. I'm getting tired of my hair getting in my eyes and having no body. It's driving me crazy.

So...that's what's been going on with me for the past week. I'll try to blog more often. HEY!! I realized yesterday that as of next week, I will have been blogging for a YEAR! It sure doesn't seem like it's been that long already. WooHoo!

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Lots of stuff to talk about today

OK. First of all, I start work tomorrow. I did not get the position that I interviewed for - they chose someone that had experience with their leasing software (totally understandable). After interviewing me, they decided they wanted me in their company (I've been told I interview extremely well), so they made a secretarial position and are now hiring 3 people instead of 2. I am the third. WooHoo!! I don't know exactly what I'll be doing - probably typing a lot of letters/memos/etc., running errands, filing, learning their software (leasing/AR/AP) - they want everyone to be cross-trained which is a VERY good idea, and who knows what else. That's ok. I've got a job. We can start putting extra money toward our credit cards to pay them down and eventually get out of debt. I have student loans I'll have to start paying on in February, so they won't be a problem now. I'm sooo excited. I'll be working (during training) from 8:30-5:00. I don't know if that's a half-hour lunch or a full-hour lunch. I guess I'll find that out tomorrow.

next...
We spent this past weekend at my parents house. Saturday was my Grandma's 81st birthday. I love that old Bat. That isn't as harsh as it sounds. She called me a Jack Ass this weekend. :-) She cracks me up. She's the one person in my family that gets me, understands me, and loves me completely for who I am. She's the main reason we go up to my parent's house. Not sure if she knows that or not.

On the drive home, I started to cry. I seem to do that on the drive home a lot from their house. It seems that the drive gives me plenty of time to think about stuff that I keep buried inside. The songs on the CD weren't helping either. That's ok. I realized that my family loves me, but they have no clue who I am. I've been hurt so much that it's hard to get past the pain. That's ok, too. I may never get past the pain. I just need to accept it. My parents are under the mistaken notion that I can do nothing right and my brother can do nothing wrong. OK, that last part isn't quite true - well, it was until recently. My dad is currently hurt and upset at my brother for not coming to my graduation. Dad thought it was a money issue and was going to pay for Bro to come out here, but Bro cut him off and never let him get to his offer. Bro and BroWife have bought a new car and are moving into a house (in CA, which means rent is probably twice what they are currently paying - they're going from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom house). So...money is not the reason they didn't come out. Dad says he isn't holding a grudge, but he hasn't talked to my brother since about a week before my graduation which was the 12th of August. I told my dad that I'm not worrying about it. I don't care. I love Bro, but I don't always like who he is. He's not going to bother me anymore. I told all of that to my dad. I think I shocked him. Oh well.

lastly...
It amazes me that people who say family is the most important thing in the world to them can have no idea who their children are. I know who my family is. I know their strengths and weaknesses. I love them anyway. I don't always like them, but I love them. I know that my mom has to have things her way or she gets pissed. When momma ain't happy...ain't nobody happy. That's the truth when it comes to mom. You can cut the tension with a knife if mom is unhappy about something. Dad goes along with mom to keep the peace. When it comes to the big issues, mom and dad agree. Which is a shame, because I don't agree on any of those issues. Bro agrees with mom and dad on the major issues. Maybe that's why they think he can do no wrong. He likes things his own way just like mom and makes things uncomfortable if things don't go his way. If you don't agree with him...you're wrong. Period.

If I know them so well...how come they don't know me? I just don't get it. Oh well.

I think I'll take a break before going back up there. Probably wait until Thanksgiving - depending on the holiday schedule at work. :-)

So now, there are things I need to do before work tomorrow...
1. hem my new suit pants
2. shorten the straps on a few of my tanks/shells
3. figure out lunch for tomorrow - in case it's only 30 minutes
4. clean my living room
5. clean the kitchen
6. clean the bathroom

I really need to organize my house. I'm extremely organized at work and extremely NOT at home. I'll work on that.

Monday, September 11, 2006

5 Years Later

5 years later, and seeing those pictures on TV bring back the tears that I shed that day and remind me of the fear, shock and uncertainty that I felt back then.

I remember being at work when my boss heard on the radio that one of the twin towers had been hit by an airplane. Of course, we thought it was a fluke and just pilot error. I called my husband because he was in college and not working full-time that year. I knew he would be home. I told him to turn the TV on.

He turned it on and I remember hearing him say, "Oh, my God, it's gonna hit!" I told him it already hit. He told me that there was a second plane and he saw it turn around to deliberately hit the second tower. The next words out of his mouth have etched themselves in my heart, mind, and memory. He said, "We're under attack." He didn't yell it, he just said it. He served our country for 8 years. To hear him say that, I believed it and it scared me to death.

Work did not get accomplished that day even though we all stayed at the office. We were all in my boss' office listening to the radio. When I came home, I saw the whole thing played out on TV. Though I was worried and scared all day at work, I didn't shed many tears. I was more scared than anything at that point and without actually "seeing" what happened, I didn't completely grasp the whole situation. When I came home and saw everything on TV, I held onto my husband and cried my eyes out.

It's hard to believe 5 years have passed. I think of that day often. Keeping those that died in my thoughts, and sending up prayers for the family, friends, and nation that were left behind.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

After thinking my Book Meme over...

I have realized that "Siddhartha" did not change my life as I read it for the first time summer '05.

The book that changed my life was actually "What Dreams May Come". Don't waste your time watching the movie...it's nothing like the book and the items that made me stop and think about my life never made it into the movie at all. I read this book about 8 years ago and I would have to say that this is the book that changed my life and really got me thinking about what life is all about and what I want to get out of life.

In regards to my words regarding the Bible, I do not mean to say that there are not lessons to be learned or truths that can be gleaned from its pages. All I am trying to say is that...how are we to know which words are "those of God" and which were added by man? History was written by the winners. King James had the Bible translated. He was a winner, so who is to say that he did not have his own twist added to the pages during translation? Or that someone fearing his wrath would not change the words to better their position with the King?

Just my two cents.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

I've been tagged...

I've been tagged by The Contemplator on the book meme.

A book that changed my life:
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Great book! It helped me to realize that life has to be lived. Scheduling and worrying about everything is not living. Worrying about what other people think about you or your choices is not living.

A book I’ve read more than once:
Janet Evanovich’s One for the Money series, quite a few of Johanna Lindsay’s novels, as well as those by Nora Roberts.

A book I would take with me if I were stuck on a desert island:
The Book of Chuang Tzu translated by Martin Palmer with Elizabeth Breuilly

A book that made me laugh:
Anything by Johanna Lindsay, Janet Evanovich, or Nora Roberts. These are romance novels, but they are full of humor that make me laugh out loud and even make me cry at times.

A book that made me cry:
Diary of Anne Frank and other books I’ve read about the Holocaust. Everything this girl and the others went through breaks my heart. What’s worse is how short a time period it has been since all these things happened.

A book that I wish had been written:
The 7th book in the Harry Potter series. I’ll have to re-read the first six to refresh my memory by the time this one comes out.

A book that I wish had never been written:
All the versions of The Holy Bible. I know that sounds terrible, but if this were “God’s” book, why does it have to have so many translations? It should be what it was with nothing more and nothing less. People should not have added to it or taken away from it over the years. How are we to know the “real” words of God and what man has put in? How can this book be “Holy” when we no longer know what is real and truth and what man has put in to make himself feel or look better over the years?

A book I’ve been meaning to read:
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

I’m currently reading:
Self Matters by Dr. Phil McGraw
Rules of Play by Nora Roberts
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Morrigan’s Cross by Nora Roberts
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Blogs I’m tagging:
Damn It Earth because I’m curious to know what he reads. He keeps me entertained and thinking.
Miranda because I love her blog and get a lot of humor out of it. I’m sure I will from her reads as well.
Manda because I love how much she adores her pugs.