No Rumination

I noticed that a lot of my friends have intelligent posts where they ruminate on something and give their smart person take. My entries are not like that at all! I guess I can never really think of anything to talk about that is intelligent. So, if you have any ideas, then give me suggestions and I'll see how well I can measure up.
But, on to my normal entry. I have had a great time the past week or so. First, I got to go to New York City for the weekend, which was fantastic. I do hate flying by myself, and it was not fun to have to drive to and from the airport in Norfolk or ride by myself to and from LaGuardia. I guess I just wish for some of those moments in Love Actually where there is hugging and excitement. Some of the magic is lost, for example, when you come back home and instead of running into your loved one's arm, you push past them so you can put down your bulky suitcase and you really just feel the need to shower or brush your teeth or find some way to feel human. This feeling is magnified, by the way, if you are coming home and surviving your first hangover. Oh well. NYC was great, I pretended ot be a real New Yorker. I went to a museum, and road in fancy taxis (they have tv screens and credit card scanners in the back!) and went to three clubs. Oh, and got drunk for the first, and hopefully ever time in my life. I also saw a famous person, Vincent D'ofrino. I steathly took a picture. It was great, and I loved spending some real time with my friend, a chance I haven't gotten in a long time.
Upon my return, I got to spend a week without work, doing nothing except some housework to feel like I wasn't completely useful. It was fantastic. This past weekend, I got to see most of my friends from college at a wedding, which was great. It was also great to see two people who truly love each other tie the knot and start their official married life together. Now, I have to go work and then get back to work. Oh well. Freedom was good while it lasted.

Why is my life so busy?

I am really baffled about how my life became so full, especially on the weekends. For example, the last weekend in March involved a 9 hour training on Saturday, which is actually not too fun. Then, this past weekend, we had to go to the mall to get a dress for me (I tried to get Austin to get one, but...) and we also had our engagement photo session. Next weekend I am going to visit my friend in NYC, and Austin is going to torture Hammy by taking him to the vet's for four shots. I am glad I"m missing that one. The weekend after that we have a wedding to go to, and Austin's birthday. Then, the weekend after that, Austin has to travel to North Carolina for a training. During all of this, I have to make sure I start sending out resumes and cover letters and somehow find contacts in the school districts. Do I think I will get a job next year teaching? No. But I have to try. Thank you, economy! Anyway, apart from that, there isn't much going on in my life. I am still working at my part-time job, and for the most part it's fun. Some of the kids are not so good, but that's life, I guess. One of my co-workers who I really like is leaving, which is sad. Even worse, we really cannot operate with only three people, which is what we'll be down to for two days out of the week. The site leader got an acting job, and I don't know if she is leaving or not. So, that's what's going on. Feel free to send money!

In High Gear

Well, in less than four months, Austin and I will have our official wedding and at this time be on our honeymoon. I am really excited about it, but at the same time I am starting to get stressed out. We have a lot of stuff to get done, flowers, cakes, plane tickets, and all of that. It is a lot of work, but I think in the end it will all be worth it. I hope it will be, anyway. I am also trying to go to NYC the 10th-12th of April to visit my friend at NYU and have a girl's weekend there. It's hard to coordinate with my husband, let alone other people. Oh well.
This month I have a total of five trainings for work. On Saturday I had defensive driving, which was half employees of the city, half people who have gotten in trouble for their driving. One guy had been in jail because of a ticket and had been caught going 119 miles an hour. He was.. interesting. Also interesting was the girl who maintained she could very easily drive while texting. Yeah.... good to say when you are in a class because you have a ticket. Good to say to your instructor. Oh well. I also get to do fun things like playground safety, and I am very excited to have a training at 7:30 on a Saturday morning that will be at least 8 hours long on how to properly administer medicine. If I just get through this month, then I only have one more scheduled training in May, none in April. Thank gooodness.
Wow, my life is not interesting. But maybe someday, it will be and this blog will be turned into a novel. You don't know.

New Job

Well, I guess it's been a little while since I have written in this. I actually have this thing called HassleBot that is supposed to hassle me every few days and tell me to write a blog entry, but I think it is slacking. Ok, so it has reminded me a few times, but I'm busy. Ok, that might be a little bit of a lie too. I have started a new job though. I am working about 21 hours a week, so that's about 4.25 hours a day. I know, it's not very much, but as Austin tells people, I don't really neeeed to work to provide money for our family. But I need to work to feel like a worthwhile person and to get out of the house. I do miss my long naps, but I have worked it out. I've also started going to the gym again on base, so I have to get up early enough to watch Regis and Kelly there at 9. They only have the same four channels on the tv, and I am not a big fan of Fox News, shockingly. Anyway, this means that I have a new schedule, which I am of course obsessed with. I am surprised sometimes how much I like things to be in order time wise, since I am a messy person in general. I'm sure there's some psychological reason for it. Oh well, it's all part of my specialness, I think anyway.

Teary Eyed

I'm sure anybody who has spent, oh, ten minutes with me, knows I am a Democrat. I think that the husband tries to hide it from his work buddies, but he's not too successful at it. The point is yesterday was a very exciting day for me. I think it was also a very exciting one for the country. It's not just that Obama is in the political party I support or that he is the first African-American to hold the office. It's that he is somebody the country is excited about. He brought a passion back to politics, I believe. It reminds me of the way people saw Kennedy. I hope that he can make a difference in the country, as well. I mean, obviously I don't have a job, or a real one, so I've been hit with the whole economic problem, I guess you could say. And I also know that it is possible that the troop escalation could include my husband. But I have faith that he can do what is best for the country, and that he will be able to lead us through the hard times ahead.

Busy... but not productive

Well, I guess this week kind of sums up how I feel about what I've done. I haven't subbed any this week. It's hard to find jobs, especially good ones. That means I have contributed no money to the family coffers the past two weeks. In my defense, I have family members that keep on giving us money for Christmas, the wedding, etc, so I think I still win because of that. At least that's what I'm claiming. I did however go to William and Mary to get some career counseling. It was kind of helpful, I got some advice on my resume and cover letter writing, two areas that I wasn't sure I was so great at. I also got the advice that I am not going to be good at taking. I am supposed to substitute and network with the teachers and the principals so they will know my name when I apply. That is not really in my skill set, I'm really quiet. I am going to contact the woman who said that she would write me a letter of recommendation from my long term sub job, that counts as networking, right? I am also going to be aggressive when it's time for teachers to turn in their contracts. Two weeks after contracts are due, I am going to paper the schools with my resume. If that doesn't work, I am going to try to become a permanent sub, meaning I sub at one school every day. That is all for next year, though.
I also filled out paperwork and got fingerprinted for my new job, which is working 20 hours a week at an after school program. I'm not sure when I will start, but I think it will be a good job. We don't really need me to make a lot of money right now, we're doing fine. it will let me sub some half days and pretend that I can actually network. It also gives me a chance to exercise during the day, keep the house semi-clean, and still be home in time to make dinner for the hubby. See how I have it all worked out? So, I dealt with all that this week, and went to the dentist, which is always unpleasant. My mom has weak teeth, and she passed it on to me. Well, time to work out, then make Hammy an appointment for the groomer. They are willing to squeeze his anal glands, and we are willing to pay for that.

New Year

So, here it is, the first full week of 2009, and I do not have a sub job for today. Sigh. Yesterday, I only saw three jobs open for today and I didn't get one of them. Woe is me. I think that the husband gets a raise this month though, so that's good. We also do not have Christmas presents to buy, also good. Last month was expensive, especially with the whole taking care of the puppy thing. I guess he's not a puppy anymore, but he will always be my baby. My annoying baby who would not stop barking this morning. I had Austin let him out so he could sleep with me after Austin left for work (he wanted to be at work by 6. I like sleep, it was a problem). For some reason, Hammy felt the need to bark at everything while I was trying to sleep. Maybe he was trying to be protective? All he really protected me from was the dangers of oversleeping. Does that mean I won't have a nap today? Heck no!

Anyway, my Christmas break was pretty much a marathon of traveling across Virginia, to the mountains, to Richmond, to NOVA, home, to Newport News for the New Year, a few trips to a friend's house near North Carolina... it was crazy. I'd like to say that we are spending time at home this month, but this upcoming weekend at least Austin is going up to Richmond to celebrate his mom's birthday, the weekend after I am at least going to Staunton to help my mom, I might go to NYC with my friend Lauren at the end of the month... it almost makes my life sound interesting.

Oh, and my New Year's Resolution? Be happy with what I have.