Officially Started!

Alright!  I have officially started the "garden" in my kitchen.  So far I have basil, cilantro, chives, red bell peppers, tomatoes, and a mixture of different "gourmet" lettuce types growing in containers.  Instead of going completely crazy, as I originally intended, with the first iteration of my container garden I decided to reign it in a bit and see how it goes.  I hope to be able to expand this next year, or even later in the spring since we have such a long growing season here in Georgia.  Instead of investing in large outdoor garden containers, I used a combination of smaller pots that I had on hand with the addition of a few that I had to go pick up.  All of the containers are small enough to be moved easily.  The intention is to keep the herbs on the kitchen window sill all year long, with the lettuce, red bell peppers, and tomatoes being mobile and moving back and forth between the back porch and the house (we have huge rain storms that have literally washed tomatoes off the back porch in previous years).  I did all of the planting (seeds, not existing plants) yesterday using organic plant/veggie soil.  I still have a few herbs to add such as mint and rosemary. I am contemplating adding a few other things as well, but we will see how it goes.  I also re-potted all of our house plants including the new baby spider plants that I have been "growing" in jelly jars on the window sill.  I gently removed the baby plants from their Momma plant and placed them in water until they started to sprout little white roots.  They are now securely tucked into their own tiny pots (to be transplanted as they grow).  In a few more weeks I should be able to move some more into water.  It's much cheaper (and very easy) to replicate the plants at home.  I want to have enough per room to do a good job of cleaning the air.  I have discovered one small problem with the house: we get no direct sunlight in the main living areas.  There is a lot of direct sunlight in the kitchen, as well as one of the bedrooms, but the rest of the house is in the dark until about 4 PM.  I guess I will have a kitchen green house.  Which also led me to this thought: our garage gets SO HOT in the summer that I think I may try to use that as a green house as well (baby plants, etc).  I am not sure if this will work or not...but I think I am going to try.  

Maybe I should re-title this...

Monthly dose of sunshine? 

Honestly, it is not due to a lack of desire to post. I love to write, love to type.  But I have made a concentrated effort to keep myself from sitting at this table, at this laptop.  I was going crazy reading the news, looking for jobs, etc.  I had to get away.  And when I got away, I found out that things weren't quite as bad as I thought they were...or maybe it is just that it wasn't screaming in my face from the pages of the web.  So, I limit the amount of time that I spend sitting here.  I do other things.  I do yard work in the back yard, and the front yard.  I clean the house, I do laundry.  I do yoga.  I work out.  I read.  I applied for a part-time retail job...literally just to get out of the house and get some kind of income coming in. And I got it!  And it's fun.  And I get to dress up and go out to the retail job every once in awhile and do something productive with others.  And I have been cooking a lot.  I am doing everything I can to make this as positive a situation as I can.  We aren't spending as much money, because I am cooking nearly every meal.  And we have both been skipping some meals too.  Not because we can't afford to eat, we have plenty of food.  I think for me it's more because I am realizing that I don't need to eat as much and for him it's partially lack of time.  I also like to think that it might also be because we are eating more nutritious food to begin with...so we have less need for the junk.  

And today I finally responded to some emails from friends.  Something that I have been putting off for awhile.  I know that their intentions are good and that they are only worried and want to know how I am doing and whether I have found a job.  It was just depressing to admit it, to have to tell them what I am doing.  But when I got the "permanent" job offer yesterday (from the company that I contracted with earlier in the year) the first thing I thought was...wow, how am I going to find the time to do all of the wonderful things that I have been packing in to my day for the last month or so?  That is huge to me.  The fact that I was able to step back from a horrible situation and make certain things in my life better even while another part of my life was falling apart.  There are a lot of articles in the news right now about keeping yourself sane while dealing with a job loss/the economy, etc, and I think in my own way I found what I need.  So I think I am trading yoga, yard work, maybe even some gardening for sitting at the laptop.  

Ahem! (Farmer's Market Cashier Lady)

A discussion with a woman I've named Ahem! who works at the fake Farmer's Market that I like to shop at for our weekly vegetables and meat.  

Me:                 Do you like working here?
Ahem!:           I don't know if I should say. What do you do?
Me:                 I am laid-off. Otherwise unemployed. A loser.
Ahem!:           Oh, is it just you? 
Me:                 No.  Me, the dog, and my boyfriend.
Ahem!:           Oh, so you don't have any children.
Me:                 No.
Ahem!:           Hm. How old are you?
Me:                 How old are the red bell peppers you are trying to sell me? hm, no?  Ok, I am 32.

Ahem!:           You should have children. Before it's too late.

Me:                  I don't really want to have children. I might adopt one.

The whole time I am speaking, she gives me curious looks. Literally she is unsure of what I am.  Am I from another planet?  Why in the world does she not want to have children?  I am uncomfortable with the silence and the curious looks coming from the other side of the register.  And for some reason I feel the need to talk, a geyser of talking.  

Me:     Well, why would I want to make another one when there are SO many others out there                 that need to be loved, that need good homes, you know…all that.

Ahem!: <> you don't want to have it here?

I should mention that this is the International Farmer's Market and one of their "things" is that everyone that works there is bi or even tri-lingual. So there is an ever so slight (not really slight) language barrier here. Although I can see on Ahem!’s name tag that she does speak two other languages besides English. They are not languages that I am familiar with so I am unable to just switch over.

Ahem!: But they will take care of you. When you cannot afford things, they will help you.

I only tried to get her to talk because she looked miserable after the manager guy came over and gave her and the next cashier down a talking to about something that they are NOT supposed to do regardless of whether or not they have a customer with them.

Oye. That's what I get for actually trying to engage someone in a little friendly conversation.

Trying

to find a job

to stay away from the computer once I've done my requisite daily job hunt, email check, bill pay, news read, etc. 

But I find myself drawn back to the laptop for a few things: 1)  I can't stop watching the stock market.   I watch it like a mother hen, crossing my fingers every time it ends the day on the plus side.  2)  I refresh the websites that contain my resume to see how many hits I have had on each.  3) I feel the need to look up RANDOM stuff all day long.  

So more on 3) later on.  

As a part of my 1) I have a tendency to read pretty much every article on CNN.com.  I read an article today about successful start ups.  These are start up companies that have really come in to their own (or even been developed) as a part of this current recession (for the most part, since December of 2008).  One of these new companies has a website called path101.com.  This website allows you to take quizzes, and blog, but it's all career based.  Well, hell, I say to myself.  Self: that's GOT to be better than making buttermilk and wondering if the El Jefe is jealous because I fed a stray cat on the porch.  Well, actually, I had a whole conversation with the cat, including checking to make sure it didn't have any obvious injuries, checked for fleas and ear mites as well as making sure it had claws to defend itself in the wide, wide world of our cul de sac and where ever else it might roam.  So, self and I, we roam over to this site and take the quiz and upload the resume (the best resume I have ever written about myself, I might add).  And what does it say about me?  My top three highest scoring traits are, in this order: Neuroticism, Emotion, and Openness.  My three lowest scoring traits are, in this order: Compartmentalization, Experimentation, and Initiative.  It also told me in no uncertain terms that it isn't actually sure how I got my last job, because "I don't stay in the same place long enough".  I was promoted 2 times in under 3 years.  What the hell?  This is supposedly some great resume "genome" project (like pandora.com is for music).  I like Pandora.  I don't like this website.  I am now off to research a bit more on Neuroticism on wikipedia (who has yet to fail me) and finish making the buttermilk for my banana bread.  bah. 

 

And FINALLY we get a hit!

So, officially, it will be a month on Sunday since I have been gainfully employed.  I have submitted 50+ applications to a variety of different companies.  

I have received one email so far requesting additional information and purporting that I am one of a chosen few that this email has been sent to (with the request for additional information) based on their desire to include me as one of the people they would like to consider for this position.  

I answered the questions, 1 of them required assistance from a couple of additional people including Sol primarily because of the complicated nature of the question.  Basically, the question was: how much was your last salary/bonus and how much do you want to make now?  That is a VERY weighted question at this point in time.  The economy  is in the toilet and will probably continue to get worse.  It's harder and harder to even get noticed on a job site, let alone get a response to an application that is anything other than a computer generated answer.  What has really made this question a difficult one to answer is the fact that they are offering as the maximum salary (according to the job post) approximately half of what I made as of 1 month ago Sunday.  But there are benefits attached to this job.  When I say benefits I mean simply that I would have them again.  I would have health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, etc.  Something that I haven't been without, October to now being the exception, since I was in elementary school.  

So I answered the question as best as we ALL could.  Sent the email.  And now I will start to wait again. 

Ode to Snow

I live in the south.  And it's snowing.  Not the small quantities that we normally get, but slow, fat snowflakes that land on the ground and stay.  They stay where ever they land!  In the south this is also known as "Apocalypse Snowish".  All bread, milk, eggs, butter (and beer if it weren't Sunday) disappear off of the shelves of local grocery stores.  It is the end of the world as we know it...actually the increase in sirens is a little nerve wracking as I am hearing a lot of them even for our neighborHOOD.  

 Half of a snow man now exists on my back deck because the snow is sticking (not just melting as soon as it touches the ground as it normally does here)!  It's thick and heavy and the PERFECT consistency for snow balls and other snow related activities.  I made two snow balls in the parking lot at the grocery store as I was cleaning my car off.  The rest of the people in the parking lot stood watching me as I brushed my car off with my bare hands.  Snow will not kill you...nor will it instantly turn you into ice.  And when I got home,I took El Jefe outside (both front and back) to play in it.  Me in my jeans and funny hat, and him in his pepper and salt fur.  I did not make a snow angel (too much mud under the snow) but I seriously considered it and El Jefe, who is nearly 78 in our years, jumped in the snow like a jack rabbit.  He also ate every snow ball I tried to round out for the snow man.  He pounced on my half completed snow man and took a huge bite out of the second snow ball... not just once but every time I was almost done.  I tried explaining the significance of snow in the ATL, also tried to explain that it wouldn't last long and that we had to work quickly.  In one furry ear and out the other furry ear.  Instead of a snow man I now have a snow child...or a snow dog depending on how you look at it.  We didn't have any mittens laying around either, so before I started working in the snow I put on large work gloves that are normally used when Sol does the yard work.  They are now all wet and have been laid out on the counter to dry...so much fun to play in the snow even if you don't have the right equipment (such as shovels and snow pants).  My jeans and sweater are soaked from our romp on the deck in the snow.  

A rather large tree branch fell on my car due to the weight of the heavy snow. I think the car is ok, but the tree the branch came from is not.  I am going to investigate the status of the tree to determine if I need to move my car for fear of additional tree limbs coming to visit it.  

It is now about 3 hours after the beginning of our snow storm.  This is not only unusual for this area but I am fairly certain that this hasn't happened in years.  All of the traffic out of the airport has been grounded, a yearly 10K (or some length) has been cancelled, and the ptb (powers that be) are determining whether or not the little ones that are outside making muddy snow men will have to be in school tomorrow morning.  

Oh, how I wish I had a job or was going to school as snow days in the south are few and far between!  I have taken pictures to commemorate the occasion and will post them here eventually.  Ah, and chocolate cupcakes will soon go into the oven!  I guess that's a good way to celebrate the snow.   

On Behalf of Tuesday

It is now Tuesday. Tuesday is one of those days that has little or no meaning during the average week. Monday...the dreaded beginning of the week. The appearance of Wednesday indicates the middle of the week and half way to the weekend. Thursday is the day before Friday (which I believe I have explained before)! Thursday indicates that Friday is almost here. Finally, Friday. Friday is self-explanatory, since it is the beginning of the weekend, as is Saturday. Sunday is a mixed bag. Still the weekend but technically the day before Monday (which is not a good place to be in the grand scheme of things). Tuesday is just there. There is no pre-Wednesday anticipation at this point, nothing inherently interesting, exciting, or different about Tuesday's to point out.

The whole reason that we get so excited about Friday is because we don't have to work on the weekends. Right? The weekend is the time to go out with friends, go shopping, sleep in, investigate new and interesting places in your city. It's a time for rest and relaxation. It is the time away from the time you spend working...working time The whole point of the weekend is really to rejuvenate you for another long week at work.

So...I guess my thought is this: Tuesday really isn't so bad. In fact, there really is no difference between a Tuesday and a Friday. Ok, so I hear what you're thinking. Tuesday is not WONDERFUL, like a Friday, but when you don't have a job there is nothing to get away from and therefore nothing to look forward to on the weekend. There is really no difference between a Monday, a Wednesday, or a Tuesday (or any of the other days in the week). I am going to find something fun to do every Tuesday until I find something better to do with my time and I start living for Friday again.