Recent stuff

Yeah, yeah, it's Mother's Day. Not my favorite. My blog about it last year says all I have to say on that subject. I should be doing something productive today, but I got sick this week and have taken it easy all weekend. Mr. Salted and I watched "Whip It" last night and enjoyed it, which surprised me; I wasn't all that enamored of the book, but the movie had a great cast. We were in the mood for something fairly light, and it sufficed. It was fun to see Betty White on Saturday Night Live last night, too. Mr. Salted's mother has Alzheimer's disease and lives in a facility out of state, so this isn't his favorite day, either. I called my grandmother and sent her a card. She is doing as well as can be expected, and my uncles are taking care of her, which has been such a load off my shoulders. I call her about once a week, and send her a lot of little cards that don't say much.

I got a job with a very well-regarded Internet company. It starts in the next few weeks--I've accepted the position and done the paperwork with the staffing agency, but it was a mass hire (400+ people) and something like 80 of them will start each week, so I haven't gotten my firm start date as of yet. It's just a contract job for a minimum of one year (maximum of two) but it's also a foot in the door and I'm really happy to have it. I really enjoyed working in the tech industry in the past and that's where I'd like the rest of my career to be.

On that note, I took my first continuing-ed class on the way to a Technical Writing Certificate Wednesday. It was a level 2 Microsoft Word 2007 class, and a good way to dip my foot back in the educational pool. I'm a fairly adept Word user, but got to learn about all kinds of cool stuff the software can do now. It's come a long way since 1995, when the kids at my university were teaching it to me in the computer lab--I was six to eight years older than they were, and at times like that I felt as though they thought of me as a pet ("look at the old person learning computers!"). I still had an electric typewriter, and it was 1996. Ah, good times.

So the Word 2007 class was cool--I think there were eight people in it. I was neither the oldest nor the youngest there, and it was fun talking to the other people there about how they used Word and what they did for a living. I like continuing ed--it's geared toward working people (read: grounded in reality). The classes are small and the atmosphere is very laid-back. I take a Visio class this coming week. That one meets twice for four hours, which will be a lot easier than meeting once for eight--that was a bit of a marathon, and I think that's how I ended up sick. I think it was just that and the finally getting a job and my body just said, Okay, you're down now, REST.

My weight hasn't really changed much. I stay between 205 and 208. I think I worked out once this week, and my eating is fine, nothing out of the ordinary. I went through my clothes today and things are still shifting around, albeit slowly. I have a couple of things that fit with no X in the size, which is nothing short of amazing! Most of my stuff is 18s but some of the 16s fit or nearly fit. My stomach remains my biggest (literally and figuratively) nemesis. I can literally get all of me except my stomach into a pair of size 14 jeans. I want to know why they can't just do a tummy tuck NOW. Hmpf.

I want stuff, and so...

Life is really amusing sometimes. I met with my former coworker/friend last night. A friend of hers adopted my former trouble-child cat; he is on vacation, she is taking care of the cat, and I wanted to go down and visit. We did, and had a nice time. Just sat there for four hours or so, petting and playing with the cat and shooting the bull. We worked very closely together for a little over two years, and I really like her and miss working with her, but she's insanely busy so we tend to just catch up every few months. This was a great excuse to do so; as a bonus, the cat and new owner are a really great fit, which was also heartening to see.

I quit the job where I worked with this gal because I just couldn't handle the stress. It was in the low-income subsidized housing industry. The agency I worked for was a classic nonprofit--chronically understaffed and underfunded--and the boundaries of my job were about as clear as an Etch-A-Sketch someone just shook. I developed severe stomach problems no one could diagnose, and I had every expensive diagnostic test in the free world, including the one where you eat half an egg-salad sandwich with the crusts cut off so the radioactive waves can read how your stomach is digesting it. Those tests determined absolutely nothing.

Then I had what I thought was a heart attack; after a couple of horrible tests where I was shot full of something that made me break out in hives all over my body, they determined there had been no heart attack; by process of elimination, I assume now that it must have been a panic attack.

Almost immediately thereafter, I began to have migraines--to the point where I had to get Toradol shots and lie in a dark room with occasional vomiting episodes for several days. At this point, I had had enough pointed telegrams from the universe and decided not to wait for the lightning bolt and/or death--I quit the job. I tried to work part-time for them for a while after resigning from full-time, but the stress level decreased not one iota. I did do some writing for them--a Standard Operating Procedures manual. My relationship with them as a contractor ended about a year ago. I've stayed on good terms with everyone I worked with there, and kept in touch with my boss and several other folks. A good replacement was made for my position, but they are still understaffed because they have acquired more properties.

So, they are in a bad way and really need some help; according to my friend, they will allow me a key, let me come and go as I please, and work around my schedule. I don't have to deal with people, I'll just be doing paperwork, which is what I'm best at anyway. There aren't a lot of people running around for them to hire who are (a) available and (b) have the training and certifications in this field that are necessary, and hey! I REALLY want a laptop. Preferably a MacBook. I could use a new Ipod, too. And we need the money, period. So I said, what the heck? I'm not earning anything or drawing unemployment so there are no real conflicts if they work around the medical stuff. I emailed them my terms today; they're supposed to contact me Monday. If I get stressed out again? I'm done. No harm, no foul. A little extra cash.