Excitement

My friend had her baby this morning! I haven't seen any pictures yet, but I know he is beautiful, and I can't wait to see him.

Also, I forgot to write last night that another big event is my friend's news of a new job and moving to North Carolina. I wish him all the best, and I'm so excited for him.

Today will be getting ready for my weekend in Atlanta. I'm a checklist kind of person, so I have to make lists about what to pack, my timeline, directions to and from all the wedding venues, and multiple reminders. Otherwise I forget everything.

Early this morning our apartment complex tested the fire alarms. I know most people were probably awake already, but I wasn't. I felt like I was living in the dorms again. I can't wait to have a house.

Hooray for babies and at least some people getting jobs! (Z starts next Tuesday!)

What is wrong with me?

It's been five days since my last post - gah! I thought I would be more dedicated than this. I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do.

Tonight is full of emotion. Tomorrow one of my good friends will be having a baby. Her C-section is scheduled for first thing in the morning, and I'm just so excited for her. OK, I'm crazy jealous too, but so so happy.

Also, my aunt is getting married this weekend, so Friday morning I'll be traveling to Hotlanta to help out with the festivities and celebrate.

I'll be getting my haircut on my way through Pell City. I'm trying something different, something I wanted to do right after the wedding but didn't have the guts. I've had a crappy haircut since the day before Z's graduation (great timing, I know), and I'm finally getting it fixed by my favorite hair person. She did my hair for the whole year starting with the day before my engagement pictures were taken to my wedding day. And I haven't seen her since. I've tried other people, but they have been a disappointment.

So, lots of changes coming up. But these are the kinds of changes I can get behind.

Finally, A Little Confirmation

After at least half a dozen calls this morning, Z finally heard back from his future employer today and got the confirmation that he will be able to start his job July 1st, as long as the criminal background check, fingerprint check, etc., goes without a hitch. Finally. Seriously, we are so excited and relieved about this. The guy promised Z that one day he will explain what all this - all this seriously sketchy behavior was about.

Tomorrow and Today

I am excited about tomorrow. Lately I have been bored, so, partly I'm excited to just get out of the house, but the main reason tomorrow will be great is because I am going to T-town to visit with my old work friends. We're going to lunch together and it's going to be wonderful.

Today I intended to get a new haircut, but that didn't work out, so maybe next week. I did go to the grocery store though, and had the most fun I'd had all week, because Food World was having an awesome sale. Everything was on sale, and they had snacks and games. I won a 12-pack of Coke just by spinning a wheel. I wound up saving over $25 with all the discounts and everything, so that was cool.

See what my life has become?

Reading

For those of you who don't remember, I was beyond burned out when I graduated college. Being an English major, my life was reading and writing. I loved it, mostly, but by the time graduation rolled around, I hadn't read for pleasure in a long time, and it was hard to get back into the swing of things.

Also, I was concerned with job hunting back then, and my fiance lived so far away from me that I felt like I was constantly driving. Then, I moved to Tuscaloosa, got a job, got very busy with that job, and was consumed by wedding planning. Then I was moving again before I knew it. Now I have lots of downtime and I've finally started reading again. When I say I didn't read before, I mean that I probably read what most adults read -- a little bit. I have always loved magazines, and I would read the occasional novel, but it took a long time. That's not normal for me. I used to devour books, and I'm finally there again.

Since I've moved to Prattvegas, I have read The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg, Wigfield by Amy Sedaris and various other authors, Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, and am now working on Soldier's Pay by the great Faulkner. (To be fair, I started that one last winter but it somehow got forgotten.)

Now that's more like it.

What are you reading?

Thankful

I almost forgot to say anything: we think Z will be starting his job at the first of July, but we have not received an official call from anyone with any authority. It was just news from the buddy who's been helping out. So, we still aren't sure.

I would just like to take this opportunity to point out that we have lost so much money by me quitting my job an entire month earlier than I had to, and by him not starting his until at least a month later than we intended.

Thankfully (seriously, I am so thankful) we have sort of gotten a financial windfall. First of all, our new apartment was running a special that waived the security deposit and administration fee of moving in, but we of course received our old apartment's security deposit back. Then, I got a check I'd been due for several months from my old job. (But if I'd gotten it several months ago, it would have been long gone of course.) Then Z sold his boat. That helped out a lot. Also, it's been pretty helpful that since I have no job, I don't use any gas. Z has night classes in Montgomery, so that's about a 30 minute drive, but only one of us driving has been good. Also, my birthday and Z's graduation brought monetary gifts from lots of people, and that was excellent. Somehow, lots of our utilities charged us the wrong fees within the same month, so we had lots of credits on our accounts and lots of rebate checks all show up at once. Seriously, I truly believe that God doesn't give us anything we can't handle, and it has been very helpful to have all of these things occur at one time. Things can seem crappy sometimes, but they are never as bad as I think, and there is always so much to be thankful for. So, check your attitude. It might need an adjustment like mine does.

It's Been Awhile

I've been MIA for several days. Mainly out of laziness I guess, although this weekend was extremely busy.

Saturday I did something that has been a long time coming. My siblings and I went to my grandmother's house (my father was living with her before he died) to remove my father's "estate" and divide it amongst ourselves. The estate mainly consisted of antique furniture: large wall clocks, mantel clocks, marble-top tables, a beautiful roll-top desk, chairs, etc. The reason I say it was a long time coming is because he died January 15, 2007. He had a will that clearly stated that his estate was to be divided amongst the 3 children, but my grandmother had some problems with that and thought those items should belong to her, and she should be able to sell them. After a very long process and some very hurtful words, the day had finally come. My uncle, executor of the will, was there to oversee things, which I'm thankful for.

Everything went OK. There were still hurt feelings, at least on my end, but it was as smooth as I could hope for. The furniture is with us now, although my portion is at my mother's house since I have no room for anything.

Sunday we went to my other grandmother's house (my Granny) for Father's Day and to celebrate my sister's birthday. She shares her birthday with Father's Day just like I share mine with Mother's Day. We celebrated with my grandfather and other family members, and then went to visit with Z's father that evening. We had a nice visit, and a very nice day, although quite long. (It sucked when we got on the interstate and I discovered it was almost 100 miles until home...)

Today I applied for another job. I am so sick of this, and very down on myself right now. I'm in a foul mood, though I try not to be. I just want to have a place to get up and go every morning and feel useful and not like a bum. I'm freaking unemployed and it makes me feel crappy. I think that's why I haven't blogged--because I have nothing to say! I wake up late every day, have to convince myself to even get dressed sometimes, and read, watch tv, generally hang around with Z (we have never had so much together time), then when he leaves for his night class, I cook dinner (and find myself searching for elaborate, time-consuming new recipes just to have something to do), apply for jobs, check email, visit with him when he comes home, and go to bed too late for normal non-college students. Most days I don't even have errands to run, because what errands would you have if you didn't work? You would not have to go to the bank, you would not be able to go shopping, you wouldn't run somewhere on the way to somewhere else, because you're never on your way anywhere. See what I mean?

OK, that's enough of that. Just had to get it out of my system.

"That's Bloggable"

This weekend was pretty good. Friday night my bro came over to spend the night. That was fun because we cooked a delicious dinner together and in general just hung out for a while.

Saturday afternoon Z and I went to the store to get one of those inflatable boats to take on the river. I wasn't sure how much fun it would be, and thought I would feel a little too dorky in it, but hey, we're poor. So we went to the river with the inflatable boat, the air pump we use for our air mattress, our radio cooler, and the intention to stay just for a while. (We didn't get to the water until 6:00.)

It was so much fun! We floated, rowed (we got the oars that go with it), swam, etc. It was great. We were each swimming in the river next to our raft when we saw a guy with a gigantic boat start to stear right towards us. I started to feel silly, because, everyone once in a while, some passing boater would assume we were floating away from our broken down boat, and think we needed help. Well, then he turned away and we realized he was just headed toward the boat ramp to go home. We proceeded to watch him drive right into an extremely shallow part, (like 2 inches deep) and get caught in a sand bar. We swam/pulled the raft to him and his wife, and all four of us had to push his boat until it slid back to the water. Z commented that it should make us feel much better to have rescued him. He said, "Now, that is bloggable." So there you go.

When it started getting slap-out dark we were rowing back in to go home. By the time we got the inflatable boat with all of our stuff out of the water and up the big hill to our car, it was completely dark (9:00). As we got closer to our car, a car alarm pierced the silence and scared me because it was totally dark and quiet all around us. The headlights were flashing, and I asked Z if that was our car, thinking one of us had accidentally hit the panic button while our hands were full. Then we see a guy running like hell in the opposite direction. He'd been trying to break into the truck just 15 feet from our car! So, bad ass that I am, yelled at him, "You better run!" I consider myself soley responsible for saving that person's truck and boat trailer.

Today we tried out another church. It's a no. They have been without a pastor for over a year now, and obviously lack leadership. I'm not into that. Also, they sing their songs with words displayed on a screen. Really not into that.

This afternoon I drove to T-town for my friend's baby shower. It made me so sad to go back and think that I don't live there anymore. It was kind of strange to drive around and realize it was not my home. Anyway, the shower was very nice, and it was great to see the almost-mama.

I'm worn out from all my paddling and swimming of yesterday, and I'm catching Z's cold, so I have a sore throat. Hope everyone's weekend was very nice.

Stuff I Like

In trying to find a new song for my myspace profile, I ran across Martha Wainwright. I am now in love with her. I'd heard some of her stuff before, and I've been intrigued with her father (Loudon Wainwright III) and her brother (Rufus Wainwright) for quite some time now. You should check out her new album, "I Know You're Married, But I've Got Feelings Too." I haven't listened to all of her songs yet, and I haven't bought the album yet (hello, I'm unemployed) but I really like her, and you should too. My current favorite song: BMFA. It's the one I chose for myspace.

Today was a horrible day...

Today was a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day. I don't know if that's exactly how it goes - whatever.

First of all, last night while Z was in class, I searched for houses in the area. We went to look at about 4 of them today. They all looked too tiny, too close to the road, too stupid, whatever. How crappy that online, the houses look more spacious, but in person you see the yard is the size of 4 sod squares, and the backyard has one giant "workshop" and nothing else.

Anyway, then I get a check in the mail. That doesn't sound too bad, right? Well I was expecting it to be around $500 and it was less than $200. Sucks.

Then the big one. I mean, hold on to your hard hat, Harry. (That was for you, Leslie.) Z had emailed his future boss this morning, but of course got no response. So he called this afternoon, and finally got in touch with him. The long and short of it: the department doesn't have the budget to hire him right now.

Cue dropped jaw.

I'm sorry, what? You pretty much insist we move here asap after graduation, and now you don't have the budget for him? Needless to say I fumed. And cried. And wanted to, well, choke a bitch. I mean, what in the world are we doing here in Prattvegas? We left friends, my job, comfortable environments, our great apartment (cheaper), etc., etc., etc. And we've been here for 3 weeks. And he's telling us Z may not be able to come to work until July, if that? IF THAT?

This simply doesn't register. I cannot comprehend.

Z was pretty worked up too. I mean, this was not news to that guy. He'd been lying to Z for at least weeks. At least. That doesn't bode well for the future. So Z talked to his friend from another department, and the response: that guy was shocked, and very mad on Z's behalf. Apparently he had been lied to as well. Interesting.

When I first moved to T-town, I was unemployed. I had been since my graduation 5 months previous. It was not cool. It actually sucked pretty bad. I cried a lot, felts lots of pressure, and generally hated myself for being such a loser. I hadn't realized how much I did NOT miss that feeling.

The crappiest part - Z can NOT get another job. Hello, studying for the bar IS a job. He studies at least 5 hours during the day, then he goes to night class for 4 hours, and usually studies a little before bed. The only reason he was taking the other job was because they were pretty much paying him to study. As in, it was in their best interest for him to pass the bar on the first go round, so he would be paid a little (about my old salary), he would study all day in a quiet office, and they'd promote him to attorney after the bar. So, other than that, he can't get another job.

The pressure is back on me.

I don't like that. Now I have everyone telling me, call them, see them, apply here, do this, say that. When was the last time these people applied for any job? Usually, when a job description says they want 5-10 years experience in upper-level management, they mean it. I don't have that. Senior editor doesn't mean entry-level. Give me a break. I have freakin' one year's experience, and that's it. I can't name my price, I can't demand anything, I needed to stay at my job where people were literally trying to bribe me to not quit. I hate starting over and groveling. Acting like I'm super excited about any crappy old job. Guess what, I'm not. I want my old job with my old friends. I want to see them and talk to them and go get ice cream with them in the afternoons. I want to work 4 minutes away from my apartment at a flexible job which gave me paid leave for my honeymoon. I want to walk in and have people compliment me, or say they heard so-and-so compliment me. That feels nice, and I don't want to start at the bottom again. I don't want to prove myself again. Worse yet, I don't want to find the place where I have to start over and prove myself again.

Today was a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day.

The end. (why can't I just get published?)

Church

This morning we visited a new church. This is our 3rd Sunday living here, but the first time we've attempted visiting churches. We picked one by going online and looking at which churches offered traditional services (contemporary is NOT for us), what time the services began, and where the churches are located. It turns out that Prattvegas is much larger than we first thought. I would estimate it at being about the size of my hometown and Z's hometown combined. Anyway, we found a church about 1.5 miles away that seemed to offer a traditional service, so we decided to give it a whirl.

It was OK. It was way more contemporary than we would have liked, but the people were very friendly. We probably won't go back, but instead will try other nearby churches until we find one that's a better fit.

This afternoon we went to the gym in our apartment complex, so now my legs feels like they're made out of jelly.

I made Taco Soup for dinner. It tasted very similar to chili, but not as good, so next time I decide to go through that much trouble, I will just make chili, which Z really likes.

Tomorrow, since Z will NOT begin work, we plan to go find the Prattvegas library and get some books, since I've read both books I received for my birthday already, and he is bored out of his mind.

The Creek Walk here is nice, and their downtown reminds me a lot of downtown Pell City, in a cool way.

I'm going to bed now.