Sunday afternoon, time to blog my little trip.

It was good, but fast.

 

( The condensed version... )

 

Anyway, that's my weekend.

Okay, let me catch you all up on progress so far.
I am getting A's in both my classes, EMT and Algebra, though it's not a cruising A.  I'm working for it, and while the math is not too hard, I get tired and do silly mistakes if I'm not careful. EMT stuff is harder, of course, and makes for a lot of memorization in brain as well as hands.  But I'm confident that I'll do well.
I've filled out my FAFSA for next school year, and we'll see if I can qualify for some financial aid.  If it's enough, I would consider going to school full-time for the paramedic courses.
Work has been "meh".  It's work, and the good calls and bad calls average out on most days.  It's the ones that come in at the last second and keep me way past my scheduled time that honk me off.  That, and the ones transferred from another center in particular; no info gathered that the rep should have gotten, nothing done at all, and sometimes they don't even tell the customer that they'll be getting transferred.  Grrrr!
I have been getting out and about a bit, though not as much as I'd like.  Ryan and I did get together last night for margaritas and Buffy DVDs, and it was worth skipping the margarita night with my co-workers.  I should stay away from tequila, though, because that's the one booze that ever gave me a hangover.  Granted, that was over 20 years ago, but I don't care to go through that ever again!  Just gotta remember to eat, and drink water.
Laundry today, while I catch up on the blog and my surfing.  I'll study more tomorrow, as we have a quiz Monday morning.  Memorizing drug doses and rules is very important, so it's good that we're getting another quiz on it.
The weather has started to get nice, and the sunshine makes it feel warmer than the thermometer says it is.  I'm just looking forward to getting out on my bicycle again.  Next weekend, when I'm helping with the Medieval conference (MAP 2009) at UNM, I'm just going to leave the truck at home and do the bus/bike thing.  Saves on parking fees, too.  As a bonus, the more I can walk/bike, the better my success with losing weight! I splurged on a couple of pairs of jeans at the thrift store, and ended up going with the pairs that I thought would be too small when I pulled them from the rack!  Nice feeling, that.  Pretty soon, I hope to be freecycling some of my clothes that have gotten too big. 
I'm working on getting the needed repairs done on my truck.  I have gotten hooked up with a local charity called Pit Stop Ministry that helps folks fix up and maintain cars.  They will help me with my brakes!  I need to get the front right hub bearing replaced first (about $300) and as much of the rest of the front end as I can manage, then front brakes will be done in March, rear at the April clinic, and then I can get the tires and alignment.  The truck will be paid off in May or June, and then things should improve greatly.  My EMT test will be in June, and we'll go on from there!
Other than that, Ostara's coming, and that's gonna be a nice celebration.  On top of St. Paddy's Day earlier that week, I'm gonna get my share of socializing, I'm sure!  Work hard, play hard. Sounds like a plan.

At last, a chance to blog. It's been a busy week, with school starting, changes in my work schedule because of it, and even some social activities.
School is good so far, despite the adjustment to getting up very early. I'm up at 6:30 a.m., with classes starting at 8:00 on Monday and Wednesday, or 8:30 on Friday. Add to that my work, which goes till 9:30 at least, and it makes for a long day. I'm glad to be able to recover on the other days! I have homework already, of course, and I needed to replace my printer. Darn thing starts off fine, then fades out halfway through the page. The ink is full, so I can't figure out what's going on. I think it's just worn out, as it was a cheap one to begin with. Luckily, I found another one that uses the same cartridges. Our EMT lectures have powerpoint slides, and we need to print out copies to make notes with.
I'm grateful to my friend Ryan for giving me a calculator to use for my algebra class. The prof prefers that we use them, which is very unusual to me. I can see his point, though, as the process of doing the algebra is far more important to learn, and we should all know math by now, so why waste time on doing it all by hand. I still do some of it in my head, though!
We don't have class tomorrow, for the MLK, Jr. holiday, but that just gives me a chance to catch up for Wednesday's class. There's a lot to learn, and I'm glad that I have a whole semester to do it in. I'm not sure which class will be hardest, so I'm trying to take it a bit at a time. There are many changes in the whole classroom setting, especially the online part. Yeah....last time I was in college for any length of time, there was no such thing! Now, my textbooks come with DVDs and online materials that are required for quizzes and tests. Very strange.
I have also had to break down and get a coffeemaker. It's a 4-cup, freecycled, but it's enough to get me through a morning. Finally found a use for the travel mug I got at the Woodwind/Brasswind! I'm not a big coffee drinker, honestly, but I may turn into one at this rate. I got myself some good coffee, too. All I need are some filters, and I'm running some weak vinegar water through it to make sure it's clean.
I also managed to come up with a better desktop computer over the weekend, on the extreme cheap, and have been putting it together. I'm missing some of my disks, so it was trial and error getting it going. Had to reformat and do a fresh install on the HD, and all I had available was XP Home. I much prefer Pro, and now that I've got the thing set up and online, I think I'll be upgrading at least that far soon. I'm tempted to try out Windows 7 Beta, and there's always Ubuntu, if I can ever manage to get it downloaded.
As for the socializing, one of my co-workers hosted a RockBand party at a local gaming center. I've never played it before, and was happy to find out that there's even a way to play by singing! Don't know how it compares to Guitar Hero, which I've also not played, but I really had a fun time with the crew from work. That was Saturday, and Friday was the ASFS meeting (which I missed 95% of, naturally) so I got to have some weekend fun. Coming up this Friday, a band containing two other co-workers is playing at a local bar, so I'll be going to that, I think.
All work and no play makes Harriet a raving stress-bomb, so hopefully I'll get to keep balancing the two.

Finally feeling up to a bit of blogging tonight. It's been a rough week. My broken tooth started acting up again, and developed an abcess infection. Not good, especially for someone who talks for a living! Luckily, my dental insurance kicked in on New Year's Day, and I was able to go to a dental clinic on Friday morning before work. Yay!
For now, the dentist was able to clean out some of the decayed tooth, pack medicine into it, drain some of the infection and put a temporary patch on the tooth. No more broken edge for a while, the swelling is going down, and the pain is subsiding. I have pain pills and antibiotics, and an appointment for Thursday to go back for an exam. Now the long-term work starts, to get my mouth healthy again. I'm just glad that I can eat and sleep. Granted, today started with me feeling like someone had punched me in the face! The only time I'm ever accused of having a small mouth is when I'm getting dental work, and my muscles are a bit sore. On the plus side, it looks like they'll be able to save the bad molar without too much trouble, and eventually straighten my front teeth.
Work was really busy this week, almost too hectic. I guess a lot of people got new computers or aircards for Christmas! It's rough when there's no time between calls to gather your thoughts or reset your brain, and most of our tech support calls are fairly long. Lunchtimes and breaks are often delayed till you can finish a call. At least my customers can't hear my stomach growl!
I'm looking forward to starting classes on the 12th. I've gotten one of my books in the mail already, and the others should be arriving soon. I'll have to pick the last one up at the bookstore when they open up again, since it's only available there. I think I've got the rest of what I need, though I might have to get a calculator if I can't find mine. I'm sure I'll find out more once I get to class.
For New Year's, I did go over to a friend's house after work that night, but left shortly after midnight due to my toothache. Had to work New Year's Day anyway, so didn't want to be out too late, especially that night.
I did go out on Monday night, though, to see a local band, My Majestic Mind. Two of the guys in the band are co-workers of mine. Good stuff, very talented group, and it was fun. Gonna hit their next show in a few weeks, too. They have a MySpace if you want to check them out.
Other than that, I've been working on a few projects. I'm still baking what I can, have some sewing to do, and am writing my latest bit of fiction. I've also got some non-fiction writing planned that will be shared online. More on that when it's ready to go.
Hopes and goals for 2009? Sure, I've got 'em. I'm optimistic, overall, as far as the material things I want to accomplish. The personal stuff, well, what I can control, I will. What I can't control, I will let the universe take care of. That's the harder part, for me, honestly. We'll see how that works out!

Seriously, is today over yet?

Thursday was good, had way too much food for Thanksgiving, and got to see Kung Fu Panda, among other DVDs. Good times.

Yesterday, back to work. Not fun. Everybody had to work. This means that there are not enough desks to go around, even if all the computers and phones at those desks worked. Which they don't. People would go to lunch and someone else would just chuck their stuff somewhere and take over the desk. Stupid, inefficient, and stressful. Luckily, I ended up 'floorwalking' for the day, so could use one of the nonworking pods as my base to log in at.

Today, not so lucky. Still horribly overcrowded, though I think some people did call in. I ended up back on the phones all day. Managed to get the pod I was at to work, finally. That was about the best part, then it started going downhill. That time of the month caught me without any supplies and ruined my last decent pair of undies. Then, at lunch, I broke my tooth. Not all of it, just a good sized chunk off the molar that's been plaguing me for the last few months. It doesn't hurt, but the sharp edge is a bit annoying. I'll see about getting some dental putty on it when I get a chance. Insurance doesn't kick in till after the first of the year, so hopefully I can hold off till then. Ugh. And all I was eating for lunch was bread and soup! I went to take a bite and somehow hit wrong and crunched my own tooth. I'm just glad that it's relatively minor and isn't painful. Sure didn't need the stress today, though.

Tomorrow's Sunday, so a day off. Gotta try to clean house, of course, and ought to do some laundry. I really need to go walkabout tomorrow, because I want to try and get a good spot arranged to do some busking on Thursday for the Nob Hill Shop-N-Stroll. It's up to the store owners, so I will be asking around the businesses. Otherwise, I'll find a vacant storefront to set up in front of. I'm nervous, I haven't done much public playing, and haven't had time to practice as much as I'd like. I'll just be taking the whistles and voice, I think. Guitar's got a possible spot, but fiddle's not nearly ready to debut yet. Weather is also a factor, but it shouldn't be too bad.

After all that, I'm tired. I've had some dinner, and a cup of green tea. Okay, a couple of cookies, too. A bit of TV, a bit of Internet, and bedtime soon.

It will get better, I know. I am officially registered for my classes at CNM, and the prospect of better employment through this education is keeping me going. I have the part I need to replace on my truck, so can fix that soon. I've found land that I can almost afford, putting me that much closer to my dream home. And I'm better off than I was last year at this time. Little steps still get me forward, as long as I keep them going in the right direction.

 

No extra hours this week.  Sucky boo.  Really could use the overtime, but the time away from work is helpful.  The house is a real mess lately.
On the plus side, I think I've found the black hole that's eating up my money.  Just not sure I can do anything about it in time to fix it before it gets worse.  Gotta try.  I'm looking at other money-making opportunities, too, and in order to do them, I need my internet.  So, I'm going with the cheaper alternative of dsl.  It's cheaper than tethering my cell phone, going back to cable or buying an aircard.  Dialup is right out.  The service should be turned on by Thursday evening, after Mercury has gone direct, thank you very much!
The weather's turned cool and rainy, so I fired up the furnaces in the apartment at long last.  They are both working fine, which is a good thing.  The cats are also pleased.  I did do a bit of walking today, but not a full hike.  Too much to get done on my 'day off' to take the time to walk everywhere.  But I am taking the time to enjoy one last pot of tea at the Flying Star and get on their wi-fi. 
I am rather pleased that my Paid Time Off request for MileHiCon has been approved.  That will give me time to enjoy the trip more.  It looks like I will have to fly, rather than drive, as the brake job that the truck needs would eat most of my budget for that pay period, and I need to get out of the hole.  The plane ticket is much cheaper, even if I have to go to an agency and pay by check before my paycheck comes in on 10/24.  I have crash space (as far as I know) and will be on several panels.  It's going to be fun.

Really, I'm about 90% recovered from my gallbladder removal last week.  Thanks for all the well-wishes!



I was back to work on Tuesday after getting out of the hospital, and work went pretty well.  Saturday was a busy day, as not only did I go down to Las Lunas to help finishing the horno oven, but I had won tickets to go see the WWE Raw show here in Abq.   I was a good girl and didn't lift any bricks for the oven.  I let the guys do that, and just spread mud and filled gaps in.  The oven will finish drying this week and we'll fire it up this coming weekend.
The wrestling show was fun!  I haven't really followed the WWE much since my ex-bf and I split up, so some of the characters were new to me.  There were some blasts from the past, though, like Hacksaw Jim Duggan!  I had no idea he was still around, and Ted DiBiase is back in the ring, too.  Of course, my favorite is still Shawn Michaels, but I knew he wouldn't be able to successfully challenge for a title in a podunk place like Albuquerque.  No titles changed hands,  but the matches were good, and I found myself going over a 'thesis' I had thought up ages ago about the links between gladiator matches, melodrama/commedia theater and modern wrestling entertainment.  Stock characters, somewhat predictable plots, crowd involvement....it's all there!  A fun spectacle, at any rate, and I did get myself a Degeneration X t-shirt. 
I'm still eating lightly, but my appetite is back and I'm trying not to overdo.  I want to get some fresh veggies, and if I'm lucky I'll get some good tomatoes at the Farmer's Market this week.  My garden never quite made it into reality this year, there was just too much prep work to be done that I couldn't get to.  So I'll keep working on the space and get it ready for next year.
Planning continues for the Lunasa event that I'm on the committee for.  I'm in charge of the opening ritual and also doing a workshop.  I want to have more stuff to perform at the bardic circle, too. 
Bubonicon's only a couple of months away, too, so there's lots of stuff to be done for that.  I am in charge of registration, want to get some stuff done up to enter into the art show, and I have my costume to make.  My other costume projects are for my friend Roslee's birthday party - a murder mystery, with a cast of 'immortals' and 'fey' types....oh, fun!

So there's my update.  Thanks again to all who sent me good thoughts this past week, it really did help.  I've got an earlier schedule this week, so I'm off to bed. 

So, here I was, thinking of posting a nice blog Sunday night with a re-telling of the first stage of building the adobe 'horno' oven.  Nope.  That post will have to wait a bit.  Not because it didn't happen; it did and it was a lot of fun.

So here I am, home again, somewhat perforated, rather sore, and hoping that my little drugs will help me sleep tonight.  My cats are glad to have me back, too.  I will be going to work tomorrow, and should be able to make it through the whole day.
Many thanks to all who have sent well-wishes, and my apologies to those I didn't have a chance to notify beforehand. 
Nap tiem nao, yes?  Kthxbai!

Darn near it, anyway....4 pm to midnight-thirty for the next three weeks. At least I have my weekends for a while. It's still a bit tough to adjust to the even later schedule.
On other fronts, I'm discovering even more neat places and activities in my new hometown.
This Friday and Saturday, there's a benefit for my friend Phoenix (Michael Rose) at the Verb Art Collective.  He's a musician and artist, and it's gonna be a combination gallery show of his art and jam of local musicians.  Phoenix had a stroke last year that's left him unable to work, and though his recovery's been pretty remarkable, he still has a ways to go.
I'm also working on some computer system upgrades for Peacecraft, a local fair trade shop.  Volunteer work for a good cause and a neat set of people.
A new project is Free-For-All Fruit, an urban harvesting group that's starting up.  We'll be not only getting fruit and nuts from trees on public land, where permissible, but also mapping edible plants and contacting homeowners to help them harvest fruit that they may not need or know how to use.  We'd also offer to trade foods between harvest sites, make products for sale at a local farmers' market, and build a community of people to harvest and preserve local foodstuffs.  Other cities are doing things like this, so it'll be interesting to see how it develops here.  I'm going to be working on a forum and eventually a website for the group.
And of course there's always my growing connection to the local pagan group, my work with the Abq Sci-Fi Society (ASFS) and Bubonicon, and the beginnings of my bakery business (research stage, for now).

I'm hoping that I'll be able to go up to the mountain home for Memorial Day weekend, but that depends on whether there's room for me.  Heck, I'll sleep in the truck if I have to!  (I doubt they'd let me do that, really, but that'll give you an idea of how much I want to be there!)
For now, I'm going to go to bed!  Hopefully I'll be able to sleep late enough to stay awake at work.  I'm not really a coffee drinker, and energy drinks are nasty even if I had the money for one.  I'm glad Friday is a payday, and gods willing, I'll get a 'stimulus check' this week, too.  Sure can use it.

I've at least thawed out, I think.  Been feeling icky for most of the week, but it was a combination of things, really.  Feeling much better now, thanks.
A bit of good news to share.  Work is going well, and starting Monday night, I'll be training for the CDS/tech department.  It's support for PDAs and smartphones, like the Blackberry.  It's a bit more money, as well as something I think I'll do well at.  I wasn't expecting to be able to move up this quickly, but they really need people, so are waiving the 3 month requirement.  I've been there for two and a bit.
Of course, my normal struggles continue, thanks to a domino effect of bank fees.  It ate my rent money.  Not good.  Guess where my government check's going....if/when I get it.  Hell, I just wish I had a few bucks to walk downtown with, even if I didn't spend it.  I'm not comfortable going to a new hangout if I haven't anything to spend on a munchie or drink.
This afternoon after work, I went down to the Abq Peace & Justice Center for the first meeting of the Free-For-All Fruit group.  Yeah, the name needs a bit of work ;-)   The basic premise of the group is to map and harvest food plants and fruit trees on public lands and in yards where the owners don't want or know what to do with the produce. It's modeled on other urban harvesting groups, and seems like it's going to be an enjoyable way to share food and knowledge in a community.
I've also made contact with a fellow who's willing to teach how to build an horno (adobe oven).  This ties right in with my dreams of having a masonry oven bakery someday.  The build will be in late May or early June, probably over two weekends.  More excellent networking!
Tomorrow's definitely a clean and housework day.  Even if the laundry's only being done by hand and hung on the line!  I also have a computer to work on.  Somewhere in here I also plan to make a batch or two of cookies.  But I am also going to make time to go for a good walk in the sunshine.  I need the exercise and the stress relief.  

Well, to be fair, I did get some things done. Not near as much as I'd have liked, but the day is only so long, y'know?
Since I was scheduled off for today, I do have to work Saturday. Bit of a bummer, that, as the Winterwolf SCA event is Saturday at UNM. I work 11:30-8, so it's not even worth trying to get to a day event like that.
Today I did my plasma donation, which takes about 2 hours or so including the wait time. Not bad, really, and I may have helped someone there get a job where I work. He was going to check it out, at least, and if he gets in and stays for 90 days, I'll get a reward, too! After that, I picked up a couple of Freecycle items I'd arranged for. I now have my very own Cibola HS Soccer t-shirt. Why is that important? Well, someones I like went there... I also got a bunch of homeopathic and dietary supplements to use and share. Stopped at Title Wave Books, where a couple of friends work, since I was in the area. Snagged a couple of free binders for work, even. A bit of lunch to follow, then off to the laundromat. I was running out of work-worthy clothes - I like to go for the upper end of the dress code when I can. Might help get brownie points and/or promotion in the future. A quick dinner at home, then I went down to the Guild Theater for this week's movie. Just got home from that a little while ago.
The movie this time was "The Rape of Europa", an excellent documentary from 2006 about the plundering and recovery of the great artworks of Europe during WWII. Fascinating, heartbreaking in spots, and very well done. I learned a lot from it, including the fact that there are still thousands of artworks that cannot be accounted for. There is hope that some may be found eventually. Work begun after the war is ongoing, especially with the frescoes of Pisa's Camposanto, and returning even small religious items to descendents of Holocaust victims. I have a new heroine, too. Her name is Rose Valland, and she single-handedly managed to keep an inventory of French artwork stolen by the Nazis and who it was stolen from. Nobody at the Jeu de Paume museum she worked at knew that she spoke German, and she memorized huge lists every day to write down at night. Amazing. She's in Wikipedia, btw, look her up.
So what didn't I get done? Garden stuff, mainly. I'm still trying to finish making notes from a book that needs to go back to the library. Gotta buy my own copy eventually. I need to get digging out back, finish measuring off areas...just all sorts of stuff. Maybe Sunday, I'm off then.
Work's going well, still a bit hectic when I come up with a situation I'm not sure how to handle, but there's always help handy. My team leader's cool, and the other TLs don't hesitate to help no matter who's asking. I'm encouraged. Hopefully this job will get me where I want to be, in the style I want to travel in!

Well, I've made it through my first week of work.  So, since I'm no longer falling asleep at 9 p.m., I will take a bit of time and post an entry. 

Okay, so I've been working for two days now.  So far, so good.  Monday was mainly orientation stuff, and yesterday we got into the real training.  The pace seems reasonable, if a bit uneven, and I'm confident that I'll be able to learn what I need in the time allotted.  It's still hard to stay awake and alert, partly because it's a night class, and partly because I'm usually very quick at learning on computers.  Pass the chocolate covered espresso beans!
I won't get a paycheck till the 14th, but it'll be a full two week check, which is good.  Biweekly pay can really suck, but it beats none at all.  I'm just hoping that my last W2 from last year shows up soon so I can get my taxes done and get caught up on stuff with my refund.  I have contacted the place that I'm missing, and hope they get off their arses soon.  It's the music store in Santa Fe, and I really don't want to deal with them any  more than necessary.  If I have to fight to get my W2, it will *not* be pretty.
Can't think of anything else that people might find interesting, so I guess I'll go pack my lunch and get ready to go to work!

Okay, the good news is....It looks like I have a job.  I don't start till Monday night, though, so I'm still on edge over my daily survival. Bills don't wait, as you all well know.
The job is at an incoming call center, paid training and then go from there.  My hours for the first two weeks are 4 p.m. to 12:30 a.m, then 2-11 p.m. for another week and after that we figure out schedules.  I'm still looking at ads, hoping to find a good part-time gig to fill in around that.  I'm also still doing plasma donations as best I can.  The pay at the call center starts at what I was making at the herb place, so that's a good thing, and with less commute expense, it's not bad at all.
The weather has turned cooler again, but still beats the heck out of Indiana in February.  The apartment is constantly chilly, but I'm afraid to turn the little furnaces up any higher than the 70 they're set at, because gas ain't cheap.  I have sealed the windows as much as I can, but even with a sweatshirt on I'm still feeling cold.  I still think it's my metabolism being weird, actually. Hot tea is a good thing, but even the teapot cools down quickly.  Dang...might have to make a 'tea cosy'...how utterly domestic of me ;-)
I did get out to the library yesterday, and got a bunch of interesting cookbooks to go through.  Alton Brown is a treat, even in print.  The World War II recipes are cool because they are economical and use alternatives to sugar, butter, etc. that would have been rationed.  Got a book on edible wild plants of the southwest, one on classic sourdough breads and a couple of manga for fluff. 
Other than that, and job hunting, I've been sticking pretty close to home.  Cheaper to eat at home, of course, and I don't want to miss a phone call or email from a possible employer. 
So that's my life at the moment.  Hopefully it'll be clear enough to see the lunar eclipse tonight.

Wow, where did the week go? Oh, yeah...work....
Work's going pretty well. I got moved over to formulation and production at the herb place this week. Lots of stuff to learn, and I think I'm catching on to it. I've been blending liquid extracts, percolating extract from the herbs, and learning all the proper procedures for doing it.
Home Depot's getting a bit easier, though Mondays are still rough because of the long day. I'm getting better at finding product and knowing what it's for, at least. I hate not knowing things!

The Weird Al Yankovic concert last night was great. I've been a fan of his for ages, but this is the first time I've ever seen him live. My friend Rozlee and I went to dinner beforehand at Turtle Mountain Brewing Company (excellent porter, decent fish 'n' chips). The concert totally rocked, and we had a great time. The poor idiots who left the concert before the six encores missed a lot of fun. And of course, Al finally finished off with a rousing rendition of "Albuquerque"! I did splurge on a t-shirt, and got a nice one. I'll wear it for MileHi, I think.
OMG, I've got a week till MileHiCon!!! I gotta get my stuff together! I've got my lists made, just have to hit the store and get things packed. I'm really glad that this mini-vacation is coming together. I really just want to kick back, help out a bit, and have as much fun as I can. As for what *kind* of fun, well, let's just say that I'm not going to limit my options!

Life in Mundania continues... the FT job is foing fine, PT is slow starting, but getting there. Still trying to work out scheduling there, but it should get better soon. The bills are really stressing me, and I'm gonna be busting my butt to catch up. The phone's out (but DSL is still on?) and my cellphone's off, too. Cable's acting funny, but I'm not sure if it's the bill or the box causing that. Rent's due, of course, but I'll have to pay what I can as I earn it. I really hate living on the edge like this.
I did go to the Gofer Appreciation Party for Bubonicon 39 on Saturday. It was a good time, and I'm glad I could go. I ate way too much, I'm sure, but as long as I don't make a habit of doing that, I should be able to keep losing weight. I'm down to 170 now, aiming for 150. Not bad, considering that a year ago I was about 210. Still gotta get back to eating right. It's hard to eat right when the cheapest foods are some of the ones that are the worst for your health.
I do have a recommendation now for an excellent Asian grocery in Abq. I haven't been able to find one in Santa Fe, darn it. I did manage to pull together a decent shrimp and veg curry for dinner last night, and leftovers later, but I am missing a lot of what I consider staple ingredients. I can't even find my usual favorite varieties of soba and ramen noodles. Guess I got spoiled in South Bend!

The weather is definitely changing. I turned off the A/C weeks ago, and it's getting to the point where the mornings are quite chilly. Makes crawling out of my nice warm bed just that much harder, y'know? Guess it's a good thing there's nobody else in there to make me want to stay in! ;-) I'm not quite ready to turn on the heat, though, as it's still within my comfort zone. I can't stand an overheated house, either. I'd much rather grab a sweater, robe or blanket and have the room on the cool side. Hmm, add a nice pot of tea and something to munch on, maybe a good book or tv show...that's about as good as it gets some days.
I think I'll go put the kettle on!

A very busy weekend, and my first day at work.
Friday night, I got called to go to Orientation for Home Depot on Saturday and Sunday. Got up way early and was in Albuquerque by 7:30 a.m. Spent the day at HD, then across town to the park where Dawn's birthday party was going to be. At dusk, we adjourned to her place, and I got offered crash space. Way cool. Of course, everyone was up far too late, like 3 a.m. late, and I was pretty tired when I got to HD on Sunday morning. After that day's orientation, I scooted over to the Con-Com meeting. We reviewed and dissected Bubonicon for a bit, then some of us went to dinner. I got home at 10 p.m. Sunday night, fed the cats and crashed!
I made it to work this morning with no problems, despite being tired. It's a good place to work, and I'm enjoying it so far. I'll be in shipping on Monday and Tuesday, and probably production the rest of the week. I also stopped by our Home Depot and got an hour on the clock there while I did a modicum of training. No set schedule there yet, so I didn't have to stay long!

So there's the mundane stuff. I should actually have a tiny paycheck this Friday from HD. Yay! That'll hopefully let me have gas money to go to the Gofer Pizza Party on Saturday, if I'm not totally worn out.  Don't worry, I know I have to catch up the bills and stuff! I'm not likely to forget that, much as I would like to...

I think that if I had three wishes right now, I would wish for a good meal (delivered), a full body massage (preferably from a really cute, sweet guy) and enough energy to take advantage of the fact that a really cute guy is giving me a backrub!  ;-)  Oh, well, I can dream!
 

Finally, I have a job! Yay!
I start Monday morning, doing shipping and production at a place called Herbs, Etc. They make herbal and homeopathic remedies in many forms, starting from fresh or dried herbs. I get to be a potionmaker! lol

I went to the big job fair today, and got some really good job leads. One was a temp agency that I got talking to, and this job was mentioned. I went to the agency's office later this afternoon, and they set up an interview at the company. Pretty cool, huh?
It's not as much money as I'd like to be making, and things may still be tight-budgeted for a while, but I've got some other part-time possibilities that could make up for that. The opportunity to learn at this company is good, and I think it's worth it. Since it's temp-to-hire, I have three months to decide if this is what I really want to be doing, and whether I can live well enough on it. I think I can.
I'm still going to keep my eyes out for other opportunities, of course. But for now, I have prospects of income again, and that goes a long way toward stress relief. Plus, having the paycheck will give me money to use toward some of my other possible income-producing project.

My toothache is subsiding a bit, thank goodness. I am still not going to try the crunchy foods yet, but the bean burritos I threw together tonight were really good! The diet cola and the clove/honey mix I made up are keeping the pain and swelling down, and I got a good night's sleep last night.