In which Winter is hard

I've never been a winter person. I hate the cold, wet, always dark outside weather. I'm not particularly into the holidays. And I have cold urticaria, which means I have a cold allergy that causes hives when I get too cold and/or wet in the winter. It sucks just as much as it sounds like it does. I've had in my whole life, and I was hoping I'd grow out of it. No such luck, though.
I'm still at my new job. I'm hoping as I get used to it, I'll enjoy it more. I wish I had a job I liked, but maybe that'll happen someday. I can't afford to be picky right now, so I won't.

In which I'm back

Okay. I was away for a while. I just didn't feel like posting. My mom being in the hospital for most of a week was a really draining experience for the whole family. Thankfully she's doing much better. She needed to have her gallbladder out. The main duct was clogged and infected so she had a stent put in. Due to some of the infection leaking out, she ended up with pancreatitis. Luckily her numbers went down quickly enough that she could have the gallbladder out soon after the stent procedure. She'll need that out in a month or so but it's a very quick out patient procedure. She's still a bit more sore than I expected, but she tends to heal slower than most people so I'm not surprised.
I also got a job. It's an hour away for crap pay, but beggars can't be choosers. It's a temp to hire position, so I guess I'll see. If I don't get a raise when I'm not through an agency anymore, I'm done. I use up most of a day's pay on gas a week.
So that's the quick and dirty wrap up to where I've been.

In which my mom is home!

It's a long story, and it involved surgery. I just don't feel like typing it out right now. Long story short, she'll be okay.

In which my mom is hospitalized

It's been a rough few days here.My Mom got very sick Friday. She couldn't move with out extreme pain and yelping. It got so bad she couldn't even talk. The doctors finally discovered she had a blocked bile duct. She went for more tests and it turns out she needs her gallbladder out. They cleared out the infected duct and put some stents in. Due to the infection, she ended up with a case of pancreatitis. Now she's stuck on compete bowel rest while her numbers clear up. Hopefully she'll be able to get her gallbladder out Tuesday or Wednesday, and she'll be home the day after. She has her pain managed, and is able to move with her walker. Hopefully the pain continues to improve as they can't send her home with the heavy narcotics she's on. So now we wait, and hope for good news. Hopefully she'll be back Thursday at the latest.

In which my mom is sick

She's been doing pretty crappy for a few days. Last Monday she had to go to the hospital because she had horrible intestinal problems. She's had a partial intestinal blockage before, so we were very worried. She refused to go for three days, which pissed me off something awful. She finally went, and it was her IBS acting up in an extreme way. They hydrated her, and she was doing much better. The next day her back slipped out a bit, but was fine by that night. Sometime during the night it went out again. She didn't do anything and hobbled around a tiny bit yesterday, but she can't stand up at all or bear her full weight. She finally went to the hospital this morning with my dad because she's totally immobile without help, and she now has a fever. Now I wait for news, and hope they don't just pass her off as a whiner.

In which I need to be more productive

I'm incredibly proactive in my job hunting. I've been applying online, through temp agencies, and networking with friends. However, I'm not productive in terms of other aspects of my life. My social like is in shambles as most of the people I actually care about are hundreds of miles away. Those that aren't are often busy. And, in all honesty, when I'm not working, I don't feel like going out. I don't feel as though I can contribute much to the environment when I can barely drag myself out of the house anymore.
I also really need to get better at cleaning. I'm great with laundry, but not other basic household tasks. I try to keep a schedule, so it doesn't get so overwhelming. This really doesn't work. Any suggestions are welcome.
It doesn't help that it's cold, cloudy, and often wet this time of year. I hate winter.

In which I don't get the jobs

I didn't get the job I applied for last week. I also had an interview this morning and found out a few hours ago that I didn't get that either. I had two other interviews as well, no luck with those. What the hell? How do I get experience if no one will hire me? I've lost track of how many interviews have turned up nothing. Happy fucking holidays.

In which I hate Mondays

No, I don't hate them for the typical reason. Quite the opposite. I hate them because it's another week starting without a job. Another start to calling all of my temp agencies and massively applying to jobs online. Don't take your job for granted. Hate it? Use your lunch hour to find another one. Go home and look for a new one. But don't just bitch about it. Be thankful.

In which I'm getting tired

I had another interview today. It's just covering a two week vacation as an administrative assistant, but I have to try for what I can get. I should hear about the job I interviewed for yesterday some time next week. That's the one I want. It's not great pay to start, but there's a lot of room for advancement, and it's full time with paid vacation. I'm really hoping to ring in the new year with a job.
With a potential ice storm coming my family cleaned out our gutters and put the driveway markers up. A bunch of geese and crows came by. They seem to have left before the bad weather hit.

In which my dog is okay!

I took my big guy Riot to the vet today. His lump was just a fatty/oily bump. No questionable cells in the aspiration at all. I'm so releived. Now I can stop checking it every day or so.
I also had my interview. I think it went well, but I've felt that before. Hopefully I hear back one way or another sometime soon. I hate waiting.

In which I'm worried

One of my dogs, the almost 7 year old, has a small lump on his back. Today I noticed it was bigger. Tomorrow we're off to the vet. I'm very concerned. I'm hoping it's just a fatty lump. Other than that, he seems fine. I also have a half day of envelope stuffing, an important interview, all before the vet,so it's going to be a long stressful day.

In which I work a few days and have an interview

I got a job for today, tomorrow, and part of Thursday stuffing envelopes. Yep, it's as exciting as it sounds. I'm just doing it to keep a good relationship with this temp agency. I have another interview at the insurance company I've been trying to work for on Thursday. It's a different position this time. Fingers crossed.

In which I write things I've learned from scary movies

I have watched a lot of scary movies. These are movies from all sorts of decades, genres, budgets, and countries. They all run to pretty similar formulas, but I enjoy most of them. Just for shits and giggles, I thought I'd write down some of the things I've learned.

1.  Decide to go into the creepy house, abandoned summer camp, cave, train, plane, town to begin with. If your instincts are saying "bad idea, mate" they're probably right. That's why we have instinct. So when are inherent curiosity is piqued, we don't die. Ignoring that isn't brave, it just means most/all of your friends are gonna die.
2. Never, ever split up. First off, it's a bad idea. Clearly, something unpleasant is happening. People are getting scared, nervous, or just confused. So, rather than stay in a group, where people can watch each others back, they split off. Sometimes they pair up, but it's still a bad idea.
3. If you're a couple, particularly the main couple, you'll probably be okay. You'll have increasing horrible things happen to you, and at some point you'll almost definitely be separated, but you'll live. During this separation you'll either be convinced your partner is dead, or so sure of your love that you'll blindly throw yourself into harm's way to be reunited. Now just because one half of the partnership truly must be dead based on what's happened doesn't mean they should be counted out. Oh no. When all is lost, they'll probably appear wielding some off camera scrounged up item, attacking the terrifying force. Unless the body count hasn't been high enough. Then the guy must die, dramatically saving his gore smeared love.
4. Black people are gonna die. It's the rules. Unless they're famous. Like Samuel L. Jackson, Busta Rhymes or L.L. Cool J. Although Samuel did die in Deep Blue Sea, so sometimes things get shaken up. If there are multiple black people, sometimes they make it to the end. Not often though. I can't think of any horror movies where the black couple survives. Feel free to correct me.
5. Everyone's cell phones will die. Verizon can't hear you while you're desperately seeking help. Sorry. Or, if they're in a slightly more populated area, no one ever seems to break out the landlines. If they do try, the killer will have cut the power, the creature will have thrown  a power company employee into the wires, there will be a natural disaster occurring that shorts out the power, etc.
6. No matter how fast you run, the evil you're running from will slowly catch up to you. This will be for a myriad of reasons. There's always the good old standby of the attacking simply tripping, then there's the one safe place being locked, a car has no keys or has been somehow destroyed, you separated from your friends and now no one can help you, your friends are already dead. Depending on how important you are to the plot line will decide how you magically escape, at least for the time being. If it matters whether or not you survive, there will be something handy to strike back with. Reach around. There's probably a pipe, road flare, giant piece of glass, or sometimes a handy quickly eluded to early in the movie item nearby.
7. If there is a "troubled" character, they will have some really handy skills Say they've just gotten out of prison, or they're from the wrong side of the tracks. Bingo. They probably know how to hot wire a car, or build a wealth of MacGyver level weaponry. These characters are often the main male interest, or barring that, the black sheep relative of one.
8. Most movies exist in a realm where they must have never had a horror movie genre. If they did, perhaps more people would look at these situations, realize continuing was a terrible idea, and just go home. Or if they do mention horror movies, it's usually just one person who points out this is a terrible situations, and everyone else ignores them. Knowing they shouldn't continue doesn't seem to stop the one sane member of the party to actually leave.
9. It's important to completely ignore the old people in the old towns you pass. They must just be inbred and crazy when they day you shouldn't keep going. I mean, you know better, right? You're young and the world is your  soon to be blood covered oyster.
10. Shortcuts are never, ever a good idea. Now that we've entered the GPS generation fewer people read maps. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't turn around and try to find a main road. Continuing farther into the creepy back woods with no cell phone service never ends well.
11. The more "depraved" you are, the quicker you die. As a general rule anyway. If most of your screen time involves, drugs, drinking, sex, loud partying, or all of the above, your death will come quickly. But hey, you died having fun.
12. Try to make it to morning. More often than not, those left standing at the break of dawn will generally be the ones to survive.
13. If someone has a mysterious past, never go off on an adventure with them. When there's no help to be seen, and the body count starts to add up, you'll start getting bits and pieces of the ghosts in the reclusive person's closet. Interestingly enough, the one who brought down the terrible events will usually be one of the few survivors, if not the only one.  

These are just a few of the things I've learned. I'll add on more as I think of them.

In which I feel deflated

I had an interview yesterday. I took time away from my family to go to it. It was nearly an hour one way. When I got there the interviewer was late, and never apologized. As he was walking me back he asked about the drive but I could tell he wasn't paying attention. He quickly told me about the job, asked a few questions, mentioned that he's interviewed a lot of people several times, and sent me on my way. On the way out he again asked how my drive in had been. This was a 6 maybe 8 minute interview. In that tiny amount of time he'd forgotten he'd already asked me that. What a waste of my time.
I don't know why the news keeps saying the economy is looking up. If I can't find a job, then what am I doing wrong?

In which I wish you a happy Thanksgiving

I hope that wherever you were and whoever you were with, thank this Thanksgiving found you well. Even if you hate the day, and wish we didn't celebrate it, I wish you well also. And if you're going out into the cold for Black Friday, good luck. Don't get trampled. They won't find you to New Year at this rate.

In which I get ready for Thanksgiving

Honestly, I'm not in a festive, holiday mood. Not one bit. But I am incredibly grateful for my family, and I love them dearly. So Thanksgiving dinner it is. We are just doing immediate family this year. It's what we prefer. No dressing up, no avoiding religion/politics with one another. I don't have to leave my dogs with someone. So, tomorrow we'll stick our precooked turkey in the oven, heat up some sides, and start stuffing our faces.

Czar turns 3! (+playlist)

In which it's okay to shop the new Thanksgiving hours

First off, I can understand why many people are up in arms over Thanksgiving Black Friday shopping starting so early now. Personally, I think the whole Friday thing should have stayed on Friday. However, people grousing about it won't change anything. Neither will posting on Facebook or bitching to your friends. This is how retailers are going to do things now, and that's that. If you don't like it, don't go. Pretty simple, right? For a lot of people this is a social event. A nearly Olympic level challenge in  their mind. They go out as a group, tag team the deals, and come together at the end to regroup and share their hauls.
I hate when people get all up in arms about something that has little to no effect on their day to day life. There are plenty of people on Thanksgiving willing to work. Do you realize that retailers ask for volunteers? There are rarely not enough people willing to do it. Who doesn't want extra money this time of year? Many of the people who are working want it, or they may be unable or unwilling to make it to their families this year. Or they simply may not have anyone to be with. Most retailers give time and a half on Black Friday. Not bad, right?
So, what I'm trying to put out here is this is to each their own. Going, not going, either
one works. I do think that at least some of everyone's shopping should be done local and with small businesses. It benefits everyone.

In which I'm boring

Seriously. I took a few days off from the blog because I just didn't really have anything to add. I don't do a hell of a lot. I cleaned, did laundry, grocery shopped. I don't go anywhere or buy anything that I don't absolutely have to have.
So unfortunately there just isn't much to report on right now. I haven't heard anything back from any of the jobs I applied to last week. Or anything from the interview I had to see if they want to go forward with the second interview steps. I'm tired and beat down. I was really hoping to be thankful for a job this year. It would have really raised my spirits and sense of self worth. But nope. Why the fuck can't someone see me as the hard worker I am? I have great references, a clean background, my own car, very flexible schedule, etc. I get passed by because of limited experience. How am I supposed to get any if no one will give me a damn chance? I haven't had a job in two months. I'm getting really anxious.

In which I have a phone interview (and one of my dogs turns three)

I think my phone interview went well. But I've been wrong before, so I guess we'll just have to see. I'm supposed to hear whether I move on to the in person interview early next week. I'm really hoping my job hunt can finally be over for a long time. I'm so damn tired and burned out from this. It's taking a toll in every way. Physically, financially, emotionally, mentally. Pretty much all the bad allys.
On a better note, one of my dogs has turned three today. My no longer so little Rottweiler/German shepherd cross. He's such a good dog.

 

In which I had an interview today, one tomorrow, and another possibility in two weeks

      I missed yesterday as I had a migraine. Everyone knows looking at the computer has never done anyone any good when they have something like that going on. I don't have them very often, but when I do, they can be pretty debilitating. So now I'm almost back to my version of normal.
      I had an interview today for a secretarial position at an insurance agency. It won't need to be filled until the end of March, and I'd need to get my insurance license. I'm not feeling that as I'd be expected to harass friends and family into buying a policy with them. So if I get a call with an offer, I'll have to turn it down.
      I have a phone interview tomorrow for a recruiter position for a company that I've worked with before. I actually want this job so I hope it comes through. This will be my third interview with them, so here's hoping!
      I also had my resume submitted for some data entry work, but it's a pretty decent commute and I'm so very tired of data entry. I guess I'll see how that one goes.

In which I have my resume submitted for consideration

I've been applying to jobs everywhere. However, that's not to say I've been applying to every job. Thanks to some really bad knees, retail is completely out. I did it for nearly 10 years, and I'm physically, emotionally, and mentally kaput with the whole deal. Stick a fork in me.
So recently I've been working/applying for office jobs. I've mainly done secretarial and data entry. It's mostly sitting, inside, and has room for advancement. While I do a lot of temp work, it's not a long term solution by any means. So while I do those jobs, I apply to full time ones as well. I worked for an insurance company for nearly two months ending at the end of September. I liked it there. Amidst all of the other places I'm trying to find work out I've kept my eyes open for this opening at this office. I've been working with their recruiter, and have been on two interviews. So far, no luck. The recruiter submitted my resume for an entry level recruiter position that has become available. I should
know in a few days whether or not I get an interview. Fingers crossed.

In which I hate eczema

I've had it off and on for most of my life. I was actually pretty lucky. Growing up it was really only bad on the backs of ,y knees and sometimes my elbows. The last few years it's been slowly getting worse. Now it's a daily problem. I finally found a doctor who gave me more than hydrocortisone and crappy moisturizers. Unfortunately it comes in small tubes and I can only get two a month. Making it last can be hard. I wish I would outgrow it. But then again, people told me I'd outgrow my allergies, car sickness, and OCD/Anxiety. So I probably shouldn't have believed them. It could be worse. At least I don;t get any on my face or neck.

In which I hold out hope for the coming week

I actually really don't like the weekends. When I'm not working I don't feel like I can do anything that involves money. Which is pretty much everything. So I spend a lot of time at home. I'm grateful I have my dogs. They help to pass the time, and they're always a very sympathetic ear when I need to vent. I didn't do much today besides cleaning, walking the dogs, and trying to find something to watch on TV. Also, played some Candy Crush. . Damn addicting game!
I'm hopeful that the coming week will bring some good news. I have an interview for the front desk work/secretary at an insurance company. I'm hoping to get more experience before moving onto a better Admin Assistant position.

In which I go out with some family friends

Today was pretty low key. The usual dog walking, cleaning, etc. A close friend is getting married in March, and she was looking at wedding venues today. One of them is close to my house, so she and her mom came for lunch at a nearby diner, and my family met up with them. It was good to catch up and hear about what's coming down the pipeline for her. Weekends are often more boring than weekdays for me as I don't spend extraneous money when I'm not working. That makes for some terribly boring, and monotonous days.

In which I'm still jobless

I had high hopes for this week. I have no idea why. It's almost the start of the most useless time to be job hunting. Who wants to hire anyone right before Thanksgiving/Winter holidays? That's it. I've nothing else to say for today.

In which I fill out paperwork (again)

I had to renew some paperwork for a temp agency I'm signed up for. The only reason I did it was because it was less than half an hour to get there. I've been registered and updated with them for over a year and I've never received an assignment from them. However, I can't say I'm trying everything to find a job if I'm not. So off I went to watch inane safety videos and fill out the same paperwork I did last time. On top of the temp agencies I'm with, I also apply to every online job I see that I'm in the least bit qualified for. I hate job hunting so much. I haven't had reliable work since May.

Here are some pictures from the snow we got the other morning.

In which I won't censor myself (much)

As I've been jumping here and there through the blogosphere I've been noticing something more and more. It's the "trigger" or "content" warnings a lot of people have at the top of their posts, or sometime both at the top and interspersed through it. I'm fed up with this age of political correctness. So many people are constantly getting butt hurt over every little thing. Have people already forgot how to Internet? You can't take this world of opinions, misled facts, and just plain idiocy seriously. If you've entered that realm of being so easily set off into a self loathing/harming spiral, seek help. Now. Get off the computer, and stay away until you're able to handle things. There's a giant, amazing world out there. It's actually full of mostly decent people. However, the Internet isn't.
So, if I want to talk about drugs, sex, religion, politics, how I can't find jeans for skinny people anymore, how much I hate reality TV "stars", how amazing my dogs are, or yes, even say retarded, I will. There will be no caveats, no head's up. Before long we won't even be able to make eye contact with people for fear of offending them. Nope, not me. You do whatever you want, but don't you dare tell me what I should put out into the world.

On a different note, here's a pretty sunset from last night.

In which I miss a day.

Oh well. I just didn't much feel like writing anything yesterday. Today was mostly spent calling my temp agencies and putting in applications. No word yet on any possibilities. We got out first appreciable snow this morning. An Arctic front moved in a left us with less than an inch. Most of it is long gone. It will be a while before the snow sticks. For the first time the dogs didn't much seem to care about the snow. I guess they were unimpressed.

My Path in Pictures: In which nothing much happens in a year.

My Path in Pictures: In which nothing much happens in a year.: Hello, I know no one reads this, at least not yet. It's been over a year since I've posted. Not much has happened. I'm still lo...

My Path in Pictures: In which Fall is turning to Winter

My Path in Pictures: In which Fall is turning to Winter: Being as I live in New England, we can sense fall half way through August. For the most part, everyone is in denial about it. However, you c...

In which Fall is turning to Winter

Being as I live in New England, we can sense fall half way through August. For the most part, everyone is in denial about it. However, you can tell people are thinking about it. They look up at the sky more, people start going outside more out of obligation than enjoyment, the weather forecasters start emphasizing any and all great upcoming weather days, etc.
Now that it's the second week of November, the crappy weather has fully edged its way in. That doesn't mean there won't be nice semi-warm days. There will be. They'll just be tinged with the knowledge that it could snow the next day. I made sure I got outside earlier in the day as it was starting to look cloudy. I took the dogs on their usual walk down my road. It's a dead end street by a reservoir. It's a nice, albeit windy walk. The dogs love being off leash. Right before going back inside I noticed this little guy.

Thankfully the dogs didn't notice. It wouldn't have stood a chance. So now we're back inside, laundry is being done, the floor's been swept, trash picked up, and I wait for another week of job searching.

In which nothing much happens in a year.

Hello,
I know no one reads this, at least not yet. It's been over a year since I've posted. Not much has happened. I'm still looking for a full time job, I've been to a few weddings, I took a trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons, and worked a few temp jobs. I worked for 5 months as a admin, did some data entry, then two more months as an admin. I'm still looking. Again. It's been a long and confusing year, with limited progress.