Thursday, May 26, 2011

Feeling Old At 30

I never feel old...until I have a hard day of manual labor.  No matter how much I stretch before and after, the next day I definitely feel my aching muscles.  No amount of warm up is enough anymore. 

I spent the day yesterday sanitizing my kitchen.  Not the normal kind of clean up either.  I moved appliances around, scrubbed walls and the floor.  As I found miscellaneous things that DID NOT belong in there, I came to this conclusion: my family can no longer eat.

If you cannot wipe up kool-aid after you have spilled it, and I cannot kick you out of my home, then you are not allowed access to beverages...except water.  Food?  Forget it!  Since you cannot throw garbage in the trashcan, you can dine outside.

I got up this morning with my bones creaking and popping, and I feel every muscle in my body as I move.  This is my reminder of what a thankless job it is to be a stay-at-home mother.  Now I remember why I was so gung-ho to get a job outside the home!

I look around my home at all the unfinished chores and I can almost hear my body weeping…more floors to scrub and carpets to be cleaned.  And that pile of laundry waiting for me? Ugh.  I wonder if I will be able to stand up by weeks’ end.  

I did not have a problem turning 30.  It did not make me feel “old” or any different.  That is, until I started moving.  Now I feel each and every movement my 30-year-old body makes.  I definitely feel “old” now!

Animal Adventure


Wildwood Park
My little family went on an animal adventure on Sunday.  We went through the thick jungle forest in search of the elusive black mamba....


In reality, we were not too far from our backyard at Wildwood Park looking for frogs and turtles.   It was a beautiful day for a walk, and after a week of rain, the walk did not disappoint!





We were all ready and dressed with our gear.  My daughter looked like Dora the Explorer with her backpack! We found numerous frogs, a box turtle, a dragonfly, some fish (mating, I think), snails, squirrels, chipmunks and a couple of bluejays.  There was a family with 3 rambunctious boys behind us, so every time we found something, we had to let them know so they could see.  Everything was, "So cool!" to them.

Originally, the slotted time was to go for a community flower walk, but we found the animals a tad more interesting.  All in all, a pretty good day!  Check out some of our finds below:
Frog

Frog peeking out of the water

Dragonfly


Ducks!

Blue Jay

Fish mating

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Unemployment: Week 2

Week 2 of unemployment has come to a close.  I have finished the deed of applying for unemployment benefits and making my first call for a paycheck to sustain my existence.

The man whom I spoke with was really depressing.  Maybe it's just my previous experience with customer service, but I could soooo tell he was reading from a script.  I know it can be really repetitive, but at least try to act like you're having a conversation with me. 

I answered his questions, and when he heard I was studying computer science...he was instantly bitter.  Apparently, he had lost his job last July to a younger, cheaper version of himself and was forced to take a job on the phone.  Ouch. 

No industry is recession-proof.  Lay-offs will happen wherever you are.  It is a little disheartening when you are laid off twice within 2 years, but you must keep on trucking.  Right now my dilemna lies in whether I should accept a full-time position (if I can find one I want), only work part-time or go full-time to school. 

I have a bit of time to dwell on this fact.  I'm leaning towards school, but it is still a hard decision to make!  Living on one paycheck is hard, but it can be done.  Decisions, decisions.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Going To The Beat of Your Own Drummer

I'm watching my son splash though puddles and I see how much fun he is having. It's just clothes, who cares if it gets wet? That's what dryers are for.

Well, apparently the school cares. My carefree bundle of joy received a detention point for splashing in puddles.  He didn't get anyone wet except himself, but it was still unacceptable.

Note to boy who follows the beat of his own drummer: wait until you get home to jump for joy into puddles.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

A Week of Unemployment

A friend of mine brought to my attention that I have not done much writing since I was laid off last week.   Even though I knew better, I figured I would have all the time in the world to write my days away.
Ha!  My existence has been filled with laundry and cleaning out the closets of clothes that no longer fit anyone.  Any free time is spent walking the pooch.  Poor Gryffin, with the numerous walks we have been on, he should be losing weight in no time!
Aside from housework and dog chasing, my time has been spent on that evil villain: TELEVISION.  Yes, I have made use of the boob tube, the small screen, the idiot box…all of the above.  Watching series I have always wanted to but never had the time to enjoy.
So even though I am enthralled by Battlestar Galactica, your tax dollars are not going to waste.  I am allowed to wallow in self-pity for a tad, but soon enough summer will be here. 
Summer = kids home all day + 2 college classes.  BOOM!  There goes my life of leisure.  Let’s not even get into the fact that I still have to find, apply and interview for a new job.  Ugh.
That closes out Week 1 of unemployment.  Moral of the story? Enjoy what you have when you have it, you never know when it will be gone.  Nothing is promised tomorrow. 
iHasta Luego!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Silver Lining

A new phase of life began for me on Tuesday: I once again joined the ranks of the unemployed.  This is the second time in 2 years.  Ouch.  I know the statistics.  Unemployment rates are high.   It looks like the odds are against me.  I have two choices here: I can shrivel up and succumb to depression or look for that silver lining.  I choose door #2.
However, I am human.  I was taken aback to hear of my sudden joblessness.  My first thought was ‘Really?  After all I have contributed?’ But I do have a nifty filter that stops me from blurting the reactionary thoughts, and once I thought about it, you know what?  It really is all right.
I put my all into every job I take, whether it is managing an office or running a cash register.  This job was no different.  I was given the opportunity to make change and create a more efficient way of gathering information.  I think I did too well a job! 
No job is perfect.  I was not always happy and did not agree with all decisions made.  Either way, I don’t regret my decision to take the job so soon after being let go from my previous one. 
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the company.  While all places have their ups and downs, the people I was helping are absolutely amazing.  The amount of time they had to fulfill their duties was never enough and yet they somehow managed.   It was a pleasure working alongside such a wonderful group and I will not forget them. 
I’d like to think I made an impact and left the place better than when I first arrived.  It gave me insight into what I could do in the future, and now I have a new passion to follow. 
Though I have no current prospects into a new paycheck, I do have summer to look forward to with my children and family I haven’t seen in over 10 years.  Plus, summer classes to will keep me busy and then the fall semester to flow into a new career.  Things do not look so bad after all once you look at the silver lining.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Thank You

I am sure by now you have heard: Osama bin Laden is dead.  Navy Seals and CIA operatives eradicated the elusive man.   There is much joyous celebration going on in America, but should there be?
Sometimes, you must cut off a gangrene limb in order to save what is left of the body.  There is nothing pleasant about it, but you must take action to not lose the whole.  If you let the infection go, you may die.
That is what I feel the military’s mission is: get rid of the bad to conserve the good.  There is nothing pleasant about it.  No one in their right mind wants to kill another human being, but when a person does not value human life, what is the answer?
I feel like we’re in that scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy has squashed the wicked witch and the Munchkins are singing, “Ding, dong the witch is dead.  Which old witch?  The wicked witch!”
And before you know it, another evil witch pops up.
I do not in any way condemn nor approve of the methods used to rid the world of the evil known as Osama, because I sure am not up to making those kinds of decisions, but there is always someone else right behind him to take his place. 
I understand some people feel closure in bin Laden’s death, but instead of rejoicing, let us instead remember those he has hurt, and those others will continue to hurt, in his name. 
There are many service members out there patrolling and protecting our country so that we may feel safe from terrorists like bin Laden.  They sacrifice a lot for us and are there to rid the world of those that do not value life.  They are the ones who will have to deal with any backlash.
Thank a member of the military when you get a chance.  They take the shots so that you do not have to.