It's a dog-eat-dog world in the water

I have a good job. I have a really, really good job. It's fairly cushy, with lots of great perks (like free soda out of either of the soda fountains).

On the other hand, I've had some not-so-good jobs. I've been a telemarketer (okay, so it was only for 2 days, but still...). I've been a hostess at the O'Charley's on the UT Strip, trying to get all the sorority girls & fraternity boys seated on the patio so they can listen to Dave Landeo play cover songs ($2.38 an hour plus 10 percent of the tip pool. Wow. What will I ever do with all that money?). I've been the Phone Chick at the Papa John's Pizza, also on the UT Strip, explaining the menu over & over again to all the drunk sorority girls and drunk fraternity boys who've come home after sitting on the O'Charley's patio, listening to Dave Landeo all night (No, we don't have salads or calzones. We have pizza & breadsticks. No, we can't bring you a salad or a calzone. We can only bring you pizza & breadsticks.).

This brings me to one of the shows that I really enjoy watching (which means that it'll probably be cancelled, so catch it quick): "Dirty Jobs." We have PiVo (the generic form of TiVo), so I don't know what night it's on; otherwise I'd tell you, and you, too, can be disappointed when it's cancelled. "Dirty Jobs" is an hour long program where this guy (I think his name is Mike Rowe) goes around, doing dirty jobs. You know the guy who goes deep into the San Francisco sewer system to inspect the pipes? The one that tries not to let the cockroaches fall from the ceiling down his coveralls & into his shorts (no, not the outer shorts...the inner shorts)....yeah, Mr. Rowe does his job for a day.

I think it's good to maintain perspective on what I could be doing to earn a days' wages. Not that I'd be qualified to inspect sewer pipes. My aversion to cockroaches (they make me all oogy & I scream like a girl) would be the main reason I couldn't do that job....But Mr. Rowe goes on other jobs--he cleans out septic tanks. He cleans out the grease trap from a school cafeteria. He sexes chickens, which means that you've got to squeeze the poo out of the chicks so that you can look for a miniscule bump that may or may not be there, and may or may not be shiny.

On one of the last episodes we saw, he went noodling. Now, I'd never heard of noodling. I've heard of canoodling, but that's something different. Let me explain: he was in....Alabama, I think it was...with two good ol' boys who were going to show Mr. Rowe how to noodle a catfish. Here's how it works:

You jump into a pond. (See, right there, I'm gone. I don't do ponds. I just know there's a snake or a turtle waiting for me, and will bite my toe. I just know it, and so therefore, I don't tempt fate.) You feel around for a hole. You stick your hand into the hole. (Are any of you out there seeing the scene from "The Deep"? Me too.) You wait for a catfish to bite your arm. Then you pull your arm, with the catfish still attached, out of the water. That's noodling.

These catfish weren't small. They were HUGE. I think they caught one that was about 27 lbs. Okay, no record breakers, but keep in mind: these catfish were attached to your arm. With their razor-like gill slits, and their nasty little catfish teeth. (Okay, I'm not sure if they actually have teeth, but if they did...they'd be nasty.)

When Mr. Rowe commented that noodling was harder than it looked, one of the good ol' boys (who had a tattoo of a catfish with a severed arm in it's mouth...hey, Rachel--how 'bout that for your tattoo???) said, and I do quote here:

It's a dog-eat-dog world in the water.

The boys also mentioned that sometimes that the hole you're sticking your arm into will have an airpocket in it, and snakes and muskrats will get in that hole (except for the snake that's waiting to bite my toe...he holds his breath). And you gotta watch out for them muskrats--they're like a water chihuahua with teeth (another direct quote there).

I don't know what they mean, but I do know this: I've got a cushy, nice job, where I don't have to stick my hand in some pond hole, waiting for a catfish to bite me.

The Curse

I do think that Patrick & I are directly to blame for several shows being cancelled. "The Others" (okay, that was more my fault than Patrick’s, but he did watch it with me); "Cupid" (I'm sure it would go gang-busters now, what with Jeremy Piven-mania and the whole "LHIOB" popularity); "Buffy" and "Angel" (although Whedon did say it was time to end Buffy...but still. I blame us.); "Undeclared," "Freaks & Geeks," "Wonderfalls" and the list can keep going on & on & on...

See, it's my theory that we're sort of the Bizarro Nielson family. You know the Nielson Family—they’re the ones that have the magic box attached to their TVs that report back to the networks what shows people are watching, and therefore, what shows are “hits.”

When Patrick & I watch a show, it’s doomed. Just about every good show that we’ve really gotten attached to—cancelled. Not renewed. Left us hanging cliff-side.

It may be me, but I never watched “Nash Bridges.” I was happy that Cheech had gainful employment, but I can’t remember watching the show one single time. And yet, I think that “Nash” was the reason that “Homicide” was cancelled. We did watch “Homicide.” We liked it very much. We had several VCR tapes that we used so that we could catch all the episodes. I still watch it in re-runs. And yet, cancelled. We watched it faithfully, and look what happened.

Same with “Wonderfalls.” I tried to ward off the demons with involving friends and family to watch it. I thought with enough people watching it, surely whatever power Patrick & I hold over the fate of TV programming would be overcome. Who knows—maybe someone in our friends & family group was a member of the famed Nielson family and the show would be saved.

Nope.

After 4 episodes, “Wonderfalls” was no more. Thank God for Netflix, because the series—they filmed like 14 episodes!!!—can be seen in its entirety.

The same with “Firefly.” I’ve yet to watch as many episodes at Patrick, but again—thanks be to Netflix—we can watch all the glorious episodes. As an aside, “Firefly” was not really totally our fault. The network did sort of screw with Whedon and neglected to show the 1st episode as the pilot. Yup. They started the series with Episode Two. So all the stuff in the beginning, where you learn who the Captain is, and who the rag-tag bunch of scoundrels on his ship are? Yeah, you’re left to kinda figure it out on your own. But still—we tried to watch it (and Patrick’s right—the network did move the show around. I think it was on a different day & time every episode), but because we liked it, it was never meant to be. I only hope that the movie doesn’t suck, and maybe it’ll revive the show.

The curse operates in reverse, too—the shows that we never watch (“JAG” or “Touched by an Angel” or the latest Jane Seymour vehicle), those shows never end. They go down in the history books as “the most watched TV show ever!” And those shows crush the programs that we do care about.

So, let that be a lesson to everyone—if you like a show, don’t let us know about it. If we do start watching it, and it fails, we’re truly sorry.

My View

Well, Patrick & I ventured to my new office space on Saturday, and took a few pictures. Our first stop was to go to the top of the parking garage that's next to the building & take a snap of the actual office building where I work:


Keep in mind that I'm on the 14th floor of a 17-story building--if you count four rows down (on the right side of the building you can see the windows separated by cement), that's my floor!

Here's my cubicle:


And the view I get if I'm sitting in my chair and look 90 degrees to my left:


We toured the conference rooms, and here's a view from one of them, looking away from the city (notice the huge cemetary....I think there are some really old graves in there.):



And looking towards town:


I think if you click on the pictures, it'll show them a little more clearly...Anyway, I still think it's cool when I'm walking down the halls & all the attorneys have their doors open & I can see all around the city & beyond.

So, this is where I spend my 7.5 hours per day, Monday through Friday....

The Diabetes

I took Smokey to the vet the other week....he didn't look "right." Now, those of us who are pet owners are not to proud to admit that we spend way too much time paying attention to all the little habits of our animals. I knew that Smokey was drinking. A lot. So much so that our tub was covered in fur & kitty litter detritus, because that's where he was spending his time. And when he wasn't drinking, he was peeing. A lot. And not doing such a great job of covering it up, which meant that he was flinging nasty litter clumps everywhere. And, he just seemed to be laying around. More than usual.

So, off to the vet we went. I just still feel bad that I didn't take Roo sooner--maybe there was nothing they could have done, but maybe if I'd called them when she first didn't seem to be her kitty-self....

Smokey was not happy at the vet's office. Now, I know that cats don't like going to the vet, but usually he's just a wuss & takes it. Not this time. He was really, really vocal--and hissing. He hardly ever hisses. It just takes too much energy. They weighed him--he normally weighs in around 18-20 lbs., depending on how much vomiting he does on the way to the vet's. He weighed 16 lbs. Four lbs. less than the last time the Henderson vet weighed him...not good.

The vet's office kept him for a bit; apparently they needed him to pee, and even though my cat had been a veritable peeing machine the week leading up to the visit, I guess he became shy.

The Dr. called that afternoon, and said that Smokey had diabetes. Or, as the Dr. called it: "THE Dia-BEET-eez." Smokey also had a bad bladder infection, too. I guess that's opposed to the good kind of bladder infection. Anyway, the vet said Smokey's sugar levels were at 438, and they should be around 100. He gave me the low-down on insulin, and about how much it would cost...the tricky thing is, you need to really manage it closely, and the shots must be given at the same time every day. So that immediately brought to mind family--what do we do when we travel? We don't have anyone here that we like well enough to ask them if they can come over & give our cat a shot. We don't even know anyone that we don't like well enough to ask them....so, I started doing some research, and there's a ton of info out there on kitty diabetes. Who'd a-thunk it?

Anyway, one particular site seemed to think that 1) hard food is horrible for cats; 2) hard food has way more carbohydrates than kitties need; and 3) excessive carbohydrates can lead to & exacerbate "the diabetes." (They didn't refer to it as "THE diabetes" on the site, I'm just so tickled that the vet continuously refered to it as "the" that I'm trying to get a lot of mileage out of it.) The site also mentioned that there are several diabetic cats who've had the diabetes under control solely via diet with some good, high-quality soft food...so I thought we'd try that.

Luckily we're trying the soft food at the same time that I'm having to give Smokey his antibiotics. He's on amoxicillin, 3 times per day. I was just trying to pill him, but as anyone who's tried to wrestle a mad weasel covered in dandruff & grease can tell you--it ain't easy. First of all, my cat is a vomiter. I'm not sure when it started, but it's not pretty. So you get the pill down his throat (after he's moved his tongue around several times & spit it out, you pick it up, now it's all slimy, and try to hold on to the pill AND the cat, and wrench his mouth open, and shove it way back there and you think he's swallowed it, then you see it stuck to the side of his mouth, so you pull it off, it's really gross now, and...well, finally you get the pill down) and he starts that urp, urp, urp sound, with the whole head spasm motion & you know what's next. Hey, looky there! A pill in the middle of kitty vomit! Whattaya know. So I'm thinking 1) this is really gross, and 2) we've got to finish out the antibiotics. So I go in after the pill, rinse it off, and try again. I only did that for about 4 days when I found out that you can crush up amoxicillin & try to disguise it.

Now, for those of you who are saying, "Duh!" (Dad!) I thought that maybe the tablets were time-release tabs or something, and crushing them up may affect that. Well, I didn't find anything saying not to crush them, and it was down to sheer desperation. So, crush, crush, crush, and into the soft, stinky cat food. Boy, that works a whole lot better. And I've found that the stinkier the kitty food, the better--amoxicillin stinks. Really, really stinks. I wouldn't want that stinky tablet in my mouth, either!!!

So, we've got a nice routine down...in fact, last night I gave Smokey a treat and gave him a little ice cream mixed with the turkey & giblets in sauce. He really liked that. I could tell. He was smiling at me.

Only four more days to go with the antibiotics....and we're weaning both cats off of the dry food. Of course Smokey would have been diagnosed with The Diabetes after I just bought a bag of Iams cat food....at least it was only an 8lb bag....

So, we're just kind of taking a "wait & see" attitude. The vet said that he's been treating a cat for four years where the cat just won't take the insulin injections, so the owner just doesn't do the injections. The vet didn't talk to me about diet, so I'm not sure if that's something he's experimented with or not, but we're hoping it works. So far, Smokey seems to be looking better. Hopefully he will be okay; if not--well, I guess we'll have to find a big box for him & wait until it gets dark to dig a hole in the green area behind our apartment. I have a feeling that burying one's pet would cause you to forfeit your security deposit.

Patrick Is One Big, Bad Biker Dude

We went to Atlanta this past weekend to spend time with my family; Uncle Steve has a motorcycle, and was gracious enough to give us rides on it--it was fabulous, and I think you can see that Patrick had a great time as well....although my helmet was just a bit too big. The word "Bobblehead" was thrown around more than once!!! (If you haven't, you really ought to click on the photos & view them in the manner in which they really need to be seen!)

Thanks, Steve!!!!!

I have a view!

Well, it's not really my view, but it's one that I can borrow. And look at as long as the attorney who occupies the office right across from me keeps his door open.

I had my first day today, and I thought it went really, really well. I met a ton of people, and everyone seemed very nice, and the people that I talked to all enjoyed working for GWB, so that makes me really happy.

I have a desk, and it's huge. And did I mention that it's right across the hall from a window with a view????

My attorney is very, very nice--she & I raided the supply cabinet after I was done with orientation and set my desk up... The other attorney that I'll work for works only 20 hrs/week, and the other attorney I'll work for starts next week.

The firm has two soft drink dispensers (like the fountain drink dispensers that you see at fast food places!) for the employees to have free soda; they also have cans for the soda types that aren't dispensed via machine. They also provide coffee; I saw a coffee machine that reminded me of a vending machine--you push a button for various flavors. And this was a Gevalia machine, not one of those awful coffee/hot chocolate/hot tea machines that you use where everything pretty much tastes the same, and it's not a good taste, either. They provide cider & tea bags & chocolate mix for those of us who aren't coffee drinkers. They provide the cups--both mugs and styrofoam. They have a loaded medicine cabinet. They've got a sub-zero fridge to put your lunches in. And the breakroom doesn't smell funny, either.

The HR person took me out to lunch--we had Thai food at Lemongrass, a really nice restaurant downtown that we walked to. I'm still so excited that I work downtown. I'm on the 14th floor of a building with 17 floors--actually 16, since there's no 13th floor--but still, I'm right up there close to the top. I've got my parking pass (a credit-card thing that allows me to park free--a $65/month charge that GWB pays for!). I'll have medical & dental coverage after one month, and I begin accruing personal days after one month. I'll accrue 1 day/month...and since I can't use the one I'll get at midnight on Dec. 31 (for various & complicated reasons that I won't go into here), but since I've earned it, but can't use it--they pay me for it. In fact, they pay you for any personal days that you don't use. I'd say that's an incentive to not be sick. Or "sick." However you choose to look at it.

They're also paying me for my lunch hour today, too, since it was my first day. And I do get paid overtime. In fact, I'll have two days this week that I'll get overtime pay for (two whole hours my first week!)--on Wednesday, they've got this "Lunch -n- Learn" thing where they cater lunch in, and we learn about a Windows program (Word, Excel, PowerPoint...) and since it's learning, they pay you for that time. How cool is that??? Plus, if I understand the HR person, I may actually get a check on the 31st, rather than having to wait until Sept. 15 (I was going on the assumption that they'd work like the State, who pays 2 weeks in arrears, so you wouldn't get your 8/15-8/31 check until 9/15....two weeks after the previous payperiod ended)....so that would be great news.

I'm pretty darn happy. I'll try to take the camera with me to work & get a picture of my view so I can share it with y'all. It sure is a nice change from the basement and the scary spider room!

I think I'm getting old...

I'm watching TV tonight, as Patrick is in Clemson, working the 2nd shift (but only until the end of August!), and I've got a lot of time to think about stuff.

I'm not sure when it happened...it sorta snuck up on me. I'm getting old. Not that I feel crotchety, or anything like that (though I'm sure some people would argue on the "crotchety" part), but just advancing in age, and I'm not sure when that started happening.

I'm sitting on our sofa, petting Mouse in all her furriness, content with the world and my place in it, when I hear AC/DC's "Back in Black." Well, anyone who really knows me knows that I'm a fan of AC/DC, so I look up to see what's on TV that is using "Back in Black" as a jingle. It's a Cingular commercial for the Motorola Razr phone. A phone. Correct me if I'm wrong but cell phones aren't usually known for being "metal." People don't throw up devil horn signs at the thought of Cingular Wireless (you know the sign--you stick your index & pinky finger out, curling the middle & 4th fingers to the palm, held in place with your thumb).

This brings to mind a few other things that I've noticed lately. Led Zeppelin is being used to peddle Cadillacs. Now, I really don't want to offend anyone, but I never thought, as a young person, that Cadillacs were particularly cool. They were a nice car, but more for, well, my grandparent's generation, not mine. But I like Led Zeppelin. A lot. I grew up listening to them...which means that, if I'm drawing a pleasant association to Led Zeppelin and like the music, Cadillac is marketing to me. Not to my grandparents. To me.

I've also witnessed MC Hammer hawking Investment and Life Planning--although for him, that sorta makes sense, as he hit big, had a lot of money, then lost it about 16 minutes later. So I can see that, but still--the music ("U Can't Touch This" and all the big pants glory that came with the song) is from my generation. Which means that these stodgy, uptight bankers are talking to me, telling me that I need to plan for the future. Which is something that I expect other people--older people--to need to worry about. Not me...I'm young. Right?

Sir Mix-A-Lot is selling backpacks for Target. I like Target. I like Sir Mix-A-Lot. I like the fact that baby's got back and no, I cannot lie. But the song (though changed to "backpacks" not "back") is being marketed to sell children's backpacks for back-to-school. There's a part of me that thinks that it's sorta wrong to use a song that praised a woman's ample heinie to sell backpacks to kids. But again--the song is very much from my generation. And now it's used to get parents to buy their kids backpacks...which means that I'm the parent, buying my child a backpack.

Wait a minute!!!! If I'm supposed to be parent-aged, that means I'm old! Do you remember how old your parents seemed when they were buying your school supplies??? That's me! I'm that age. Of course, now my parents don't seem old at all....I'm very lucky--I have parents that do not look their age (no, Mom, I won't tell....and I'm not sucking up, either.), and are still very active, and still very vibrant and full of live & adventure (my parents are talking about getting motorcycles. Maybe I can convince them to go to a rally & get tattoos.). My Mee Ma & Pee Pa, too, have never acted their age or seemed "old", so it's not like I draw negative connotations about getting up there in years.

It's just sort of snuck up & surprised me, that's all.

However, if I ever see Metallica plugging Metamucil, I'm outta here.

Some hummingbird pictures...

Here are a couple of pics I took of the hummingbirds that frequent our feeder. We've also got a couple of males, but they're still somewhat shy, and fly away when they see me approach with the camera....hopefully I can get some better pictures in the future! (Also, if you click on the pictures, you'll see a larger version that are a bit clearer than the small ones that show up in this post. The one where the hummer is facing you--if you click on it again, you can really see the detail on her little neck. I'm kinda proud of this picture!)

Woo Hoo!!!!

You all know that I had my first interview at the law firm on Wed. Thursday morning, I received a call asking if I could come back this morning (Friday) at 10 to talk to the attorney that this secretarial position will be reporting to; of course I said yes. I had a really good talk with her (Michelle de Luca is her name), and we went through another interview. We talked for about 45 minutes, and I left with a really good feeling. I just got a call (well, about an hour ago)--I was finishing blow-drying my hair (I'd done a straightener on it), and Patrick (he'd gotten home early) walked into the bathroom with the phone, saying, "You need to take this call." On the other line was Christie--the woman I've been in contact with--offering me the job!!!!! My first day will be August 15!!!

I AM GAINFULLY EMPLOYED!!!!!

They're paying me more than I was making at either my last job or at TBI, so I'm thrilled about that. After 1 month, I get full medical insurance that the firm pays for completely, which is great, because right now for Patrick to carry me on his insurance, it's about $100/month--so we'd be saving that money. The bummer is, I'm not eligible for vacation until I've been there a year, then I'd have 4 days (they give you 10 days/year vacation, but it would be prorated from Sept-December). They also give employees 10 personal days/year that are accrued at 1 day/month (up to 10/year), so I think Christie said I'd have those.... They also give 8 paid holidays/year, which is really great to have in the private sector (I'm used to it with Gov't work, but not everyone is like the government!!!). I'm pretty happy about it; it's nice to not have to worry anymore, and the fact that it's more money than I had thought I may be able to get is just thrilling me beyond mention. It's also a Mon-Fri job, 8:30-5, and I was afraid that I may have to take a job that #1, is way less money, and #2, wouldn't be a M-F job, so visiting family would prove difficult. They've got a parking garage right next to the office, so parking downtown won't be an issue. And oh yeah--it's downtown so I'll have access to all the great eateries & shops!!! It takes me 20 minutes from the apartment to the parking garage (and that's having to stop for every red light and the construction they're doing on a major part of the commute--I385--which should be finished by the end of the summer), so that's a nice change from the 45-50 minutes I was doing back in West TN.

Hurrah!!!

On another note, Patrick will be in Clemson beginning next week; it's about an hour away, which isn't too great as far as the commute, but the town is supposed to be really nice. Mom & Dad have been through it, and said it was nice, and one of the SC Guidebooks we have said the downtown is really cute (so cute that people ask when the electric parade will begin....). They also have a major Botanical Garden, so I think on Friday I may leave here & bop around the Garden for a bit, then pick Patrick up, and then to Atlanta to spend some time with Mom & Dad, Grandma, Patti & Steve and the girls--this weekend would have been Steph's 19th birthday, so we're going down to celebrate her life.

Still no news on the house; I need to pester our realtor--I don't know if there's just no news, or if she feels that since we're not in the house to arrange viewing schedules around that she doesn't need to notify us if someone is looking....but I'd like to know if people are looking at it, what are they saying, etc. I'm not sure when we'll have a chance to get back to see how the house is doing; it'll be a tough weekend, but maybe end of August? I dread seeing the plants--even though I've set up a self-timer to water the garden, I just have this vision of a brown, crispy dead patch in the middle of a jungle where our live plants used to be.

Tomorrow we're going to a co-worker of Patrick's lake house...I'm not sure exactly where it's located, but it's a big cookout and I thought it was awfully nice for them to invite us, and we're really looking forward to it. There will be quite a few people there, and it'll be nice for me to be able to match a face to the names that Patrick talks about. They're doing hamburgers & hotdogs. I wanted to make my famous chocolate chocolate chunk cookies, but not sure if I'll have time tonight or not.

We're changing our cell phone # tonight to a SC number....I tried to get it done today, but their system went down, so I said I'll just come & pick up the phone tonight--as soon as we get the number we'll send an email to all.

Kelley, we're keeping our fingers crossed on the house; it is so much nicer to be in a house (even if you're just renting!), and I know that you & Adam will be happy to have your own space again.

Janet, no Nancy Lackeys in either the G'vill or the Greer/Taylors/Travelers Rest/etc. phone books....there were a few Lackeys, but no listing for "N" or "Nancy". Or "Nance." I looked at all possibilites....

I think we're going out to the Sub Station to celebrate the end of my joblessness. Hip Hip Hooray!!!

Hooray!! A foot in the door....

I received a call yesterday morning from a woman interviewing for a law firm--they received my resume and were interested in talking to me. So I went downtown at 3pm to talk to them. It's a really big law firm here in Greenville--they do primarily business law & litigation. They represent the city and county of Greenville, as well as other really big clients. They've got the 12th & 14th (no 13th!) floors of a nice, big, shiny building downtown. It has an amazing view of the hills just rolling away from downtown. I really enjoyed talking to the interviewer; her in-laws are from Knoxville--Louisville, in fact, which is where Patrick & I lived before we rented the house on Woodpointe! Such a small world. We talked for about an hour; I think I'd be well-qualified for the job, and she let me know that my salary requirements are within the range for this position. They're calling back the top applicants next week to meet with the attorney this position will report to, so we'll see. I'll keep everyone posted. It's just nice to know that my resume is out there & getting responses!

And, to cap off a nice day, Patrick & I went to the park downtown to watch a local play company put on a play...."The Knight of the Burning Pestle." It's not Shakespeare; some other playwright, but it's a play-within-a-play. The play begins on stage, and then people in the audience interrupt it, so then you get that interaction. It really made no sense, but the actors were good, and the play(s) had a lot of humor, so it was fun. Nice to just go downtown, spread a blanket on the lawn & just watch the play & people watch. We're really enjoying being in an area that offers so much; we're trying to take advantage of everything that Greenville has (other than food!)--it's so easy to get into a rut & just do things on the weekend. We need to remember that we can get downtown in 15 minutes, or pretty much anywhere else in Greenville in 15 minutes, and not just come home & sit on the sofa watching TV. I think tonight we'll go back to the park--the Reedy River Falls park is connected to the Cleveland Park (where the zoo is) via Greenways--I think we may wander around tonight after Patrick gets home & see where the trails lead us.

Other than that, I've pretty much just tried to stay busy at home....rearranging a bit of furniture, going out to run small errands. I did get a haircut yesterday, so that was exciting. It had been almost a couple of months, and I wasn't able to see through my bangs, so something had to be done. The cats & I have done a lot of bonding.

I'll keep everyone posted on the job situation; I probably won't hear anything until next week, so I'm going to try to keep myself occupied!

Love to all!!!

Well, it's August...

...and I've been out of work for 1 whole month. Wow. I've changed my morning routine a bit...I think I'm getting to be like those baseball players that keep the same underwear on so they don't mess up a loosing streak. Except with clean undies. And instead of trying to win a baseball game, I'm trying to get gainfully employed. So I've switched up the routine, looking for the magic combination--do I get up, get a shower & then log on to the internet? Or do I get up, go work out at the Apartment's workout room, then come back, and start sending out resumes? Or do I need to get a cup of tea & sneak up on the online job listings when they're least expecting it?

See, I know that I'm employable. I know that if I can just get a call for an interview, I've got a 95% chance of getting the job. It's just getting them to call me. I've filled out several cover letters this morning, and will fax them off in just a bit--and I've had a bit of fun with them. I figure that my professional, boring, run-of-the-mill approach to a cover letter doesn't seem to be working, so on a couple today I've had fun. One was for a Matchmaker service....I figure that since I don't exactly have any matchmaking experience, I need to show them a bit of my personality. Who knows....they may be the ones to call me back!

I know I shouldn't be worried--after all, I only started faxing/sending stuff out last week. Some of the jobs I've applied for were open until last Friday, which means they'll get all the applications they've received & start going through them today. I guess I could start sending my stuff out on hot pink paper. It would get their attention, at least....I may need to resort to that. Or, showing up & putting on a puppet show. I draw the line at dummies, though. They freak me out.

On another subject--Carowinds was a whole lotta fun on Saturday. Yes, it rained. At times, it rained a lot. In fact, it was pretty much pouring as we got into the last car on "The Hurler." (A great wooden coaster--it is in the section of the park that used to be "Wayne's World" themed...now it's Happy Days/50's & 60's themed, but I guess they figured "The Hurler" was a better name than "Fonzie's Revenge" or "What Happened to Richie's Big Brother?") Now let me give you some stats: "Hurler" is a wooden coaster, with an 83' lift hill. Not the biggest, but certainly respectable. It goes 50 mph, and the ride lasts about 2 minutes. It's got a lot of airtime on it, and is pretty smooth for a wooden coaster. So now you've got the general picture of the ride...now add pouring rain. Yes, we got on a coaster and proceeded to ride at 50 mph through some respectable rain drops. Ever put your head out of a car going 50 mph while it's raining? Well, don't. Why? You can't see a thing. We both had our eyes closed because getting hit on your eyeball with water coming at you whilst going very fast is not fun. It actually kinda hurts. But man, oh man, I think that was one of the best roller coaster rides I've ever had. We knew we were in for a time when we were soaked before we even got to the top of the lift hill. By the time we were going down that first hill, our eyes were closed, and I was slipping around on the seat because it was so wet. My eyes were closed, and the airtime was amazing (you get the best airtime in the back seat--where we were--on wooden coasters), and the rain made the coaster go just that much faster. I was laughing & giggling so hard, I was afraid I would wet my pants. Not that it would have mattered any...no one would have been able to tell.

We proceeded to walk around, in the rain, and rode a few other coasters, eventually drying out. Then it was "Borg" time. It was about an hour from the time we got in line to the time we got off the ride. Not bad, considering this coaster is a huge deal for Carowinds. It was a trip watching the coaster go over & around us as we waited in line (Carowinds likes to build the queue lines through the rides...it's kinda cool. You can see the people's expressions as they fly by you. You just hope that they don't get sick as they pass.). We get to the end of the line, and take our seats. They have over-the-shoulder harnesses that are weighted down and strap across your chest (I can imagine these are something that fighter pilots wear in their planes), and then a restraint comes up covering your lower legs & knees. Then you're tipped backwards. So now, we're strapped in, held in, and facing upwards as the car begins to go.... We go backwards up the lift hill...we can't see a thing but the sky above us (thank goodness it's not pouring!). If you tilt your head up, you can kinda see the track in front of you...then it's gone, and you realize it's because you're being flipped over, and going down the lift hill and oh my God, there's the ground, and I'm going so fast, and I'm not sure if I like this, but oh yes I do, and now you're back on your back, flying up & over...you can see the people in the chairs ahead of you because you're doing a loop-the-loop, and now you're flipped back over, watching the faces of the people standing in line, and YEE HAW! you're going down and zooming around...and then it slows down...you're on your back again, stopped, waiting to get pulled back into the station. It was something else. I'm not sure that I would be ready to let go & let my hands & arms go out in front of me like Superman (like some riders were doing). I think next time I ride it, I may still be clenching the straps on the shoulder harness (now I know why they put those there....) but maybe just a little less tightly.