Cher-aoke and Swingers and "the hill"

So one of our local radio stations has tickets to the sold-out Cher concert. My aunt LOVES Cher. I'd like to get her some of these tickets, but in order to do that I will probably have to participate in and win a "Cher-aoke" contest. They already did one of these contests, and I think I have a good shot to make the finals. It would require me to sing a Cher song live on the radio in the morning before work. Do you guys think I should give it a try? Also, what Cher song do you suggest I perform for the contest if I do? Most importantly, if I do participate and make it to the finals, would you guys to call in and vote for me?! They pick the winner like on American Idol with listener votes. There's no limit to the number of times you can call, but there is a time limit for when you can call. (Please note that I am not sure if there will be another of these contests, I just think there will be and if so, I'm considering participating.)

My family has become a bunch of swingers. Yes, I know that doesn't sound like us, but it's so much fun! Mom got Dad this really cool yard swing with dual reclining seats and a console to hold your drinks and stuff in between. It has a canopy over the top, too. I must say, it's quite comfy. But MAN did it have a lot of assembly required! Dad and I worked together to assemble the swing. That was somewhat fun and somewhat anoying, because Dad did it in a goofy order and yet wanted me to read the instructions and follow them. He also did things that made the process much more difficult, like had me hold the heavy seat assembly in the air to attach it to the hanging arms instead of just attach the arms while it sat on the ground and hang it up after. Whoever writes those instructions needs to write two separate sets. One for people who like parts denoted by number and letter and another set for those who like dimension and type descriptions of the parts. The instructions we had used both, and it got very confusing. (For example it would have a 20mm x M8 screw, like I know what that means, with the whole screw assembly of washers and nuts labeled as "C".) But anyway, we got the thing together (on the second try - the first one we got was missing pieces) and it's really nice to swing in.

Today's bike ride was a bit different from the previous ones of the summer. Today, I went on "the hill." There's a fairly steep, long, curving drive that goes from the main road to the lower "Mother House" parking lot at the midpoint of my ride route. It's really fun, because you really get to fly down it, and there's really no reason to go slow (there isn't any traffic in the evening due to construction down at the bottom). Why, if it's so fun, have I not been doing this all along? Well, you see, you also have to bike back UP "the hill" and that requires quite a bit more effort. But I felt up to it today, and I was glad I did it. I totally freaked out some poor animal on my way down. I have no clue what kind of animal it was, because it dove into a small drainage pipe on the hillside next to the road the instant it saw me coming. As I flew past, (and again as I labored past on the way up) I could hear it scrambling and clunking around in there, so I hope it didn't get stuck...

Well, it's past my bedtime. Comments = smiles for Beth.

Squirrel, Etc.

So today there was an adult squirrel in the yard. However, it was not "our" squirrel. This one was not as pretty. It was darker brown on its back and its tail was much thinner. Perhaps it's the other half (I'm guessing female) of the equation that resulted in the baby squirrel. Whatever the case, it was cool to see a squirrel in the yard again, but I still miss "our" squirrel and hope to see it again soon.

Tomorrow is youth Sunday at church, meaning the youth do the leading of the service, mainly by detailing things learned from their time at Centrifuge camp (which they just got back from tonight). Hopefully it goes well. Some years it's really cool, other years it doesn't really strike a chord with me. The one time I went to Centrifuge was a really nifterly experience for me when I was in high school, so I'm really glad they continue to go each year. (I mean, chaperoning a charter bus full of middle and high school kids who all have raging hormones and/or attitudes is no small task, especially when the ride takes at least half a day, and then they have to keep track of them all week, too!)

I need to get my financial aid stuff for school figured out. Unfortunatly, that requires having Dad decide how much of the loan money to accept. He wants to talk to Uncle Gary about it first, which means he's likely to wait until mid July when he would see him at a reunion. I don't quite know how to tell him that I don't want to wait that long to get this taken care of... I guess I'll try to be blunt about it tomorrow. Hopefully he'll not get upset and just give him a call.

Dr. Scholl's inserts are the new best friends for my feet. I was getting a sore on my foot from all the walking at work, so I bought some and MAN, are they nice! I should have discovered these years ago when I started working at the vet clinic - I was on my feet all the time there, too. Oh well, better late than never. I have a whole career to use them in the future... ;-)

Well, it's that time. TOODLES!!

Enjoying Nature

For those of you who don't know, I bike several miles about 3 or 4 days a week. Since I live in a rural area, it's easy to do. Before I got a job, I did this earlier in the day, but now I go ride after work at around 5:30. That didn't work out today, so I went after dinner at about 7:30. Some days the ride is more interesting than others even though I take the same route (with minor differences) each time. Tonight it was filled with some interesting (at least to me) interactions with animals. Our neighbors two houses down have two beautiful shelties that used to always go nuts when I rode my bike past their turf. Today, however, I noted that only one seemed intent on chasing me down the fenceline barking like crazy - the other trailed behind silently. It seemed to disappoint the louder one that the other dog wasn't really participating. On the trip back past the place the second dog refused to even run after me, and the first only went a few strides before it stopped to look back at its partner as if to plead with it to join in. (It occured to me that we too can have experiences a lot like that - some things just aren't much fun if there's nobody to enthusiastically participate with you.) Later in the ride, I passed a cattle pasture. It appeared to be empty, but I heard mooing that indicated otherwise. Suddenly a calf burst out of some brush. It appeared that he had gotten too far ahead of his mom, and that's why he was mooing - to call to her. The next animal encounter was the coolest of the evening. At the midpoint of my bike ride, I go by a convent (affectionately referred to as "the Mother House"), and it was just before this that I saw a deer. She was standing just outside the edge of a grassy field along a row of pine trees about 25 yard from the road. I wouldn't have seen her, except she was standing in a space between two of the trees with the evening sun blazing on her, making her glow a brilliant gold. It was really a beautiful sight. I stared at her as long as I could while trying not to go off the road with my bike. She had her head up and her ears pricked, very alert. I think she saw me looking at her, but she didn't run away. I turned back for home on the opposite side of the field, but she was already gone from sight by the time I passed that spot again. My second time past the pasture, several cows were out in sight, and it appeared that the calf was safely nursing. Now usually, the cows ignore passing traffic, but one of the cows was trotting along and staring at me, mooing loudly. Wonder what that was all about. At the end of my ride, I went and visited Lilly, a horse that lives down the road from my house. She's very friendly, so she came to the fence to greet me. As usual, she acted like she wanted to bite my arm (it's an odd habit of hers - she really does like having company, trust me) until I pulled some grass for her to munch on. It reminded me that it's been a really long time since I went horseback riding... I'd like to do that again some time soon. Well, I'm sure that was more than you cared to know about my bike ride, but I enjoyed it. I should get to bed now.

P.S. - I got Dad's "approval" to visit Ryan for the 4th of July weekend, i.e. he came to grips with the fact that I'd already made the plans (like a year ago) and he had no good reason to prevent me from going, so yay for no big argument over it!

P.P.S - If you guys would prefer I write about something else in order for you to comment, give me suggestions!

A Good Day

I would have to say that overall, today was a really good day. Work was just busy enough that I didn't get bored and slow enough that it wasn't crazy or stressful. I finally heard from my sophomore contact at Iowa State today, and she seems really nice and helpful. I found some deals on a few books/supplies for school online, so that's nice. I had Bible study tonight at church, and it was a really good evening. I learned stuff I never expected from Malachi (we studied the whole book, it's pretty cool). Man, sometimes it's good that God shows us blatantly what things just displease Him. He's been so patient with me, and He waits so long for each of us to do our part. (Speaking of waiting, go see "The Terminal" - it's fabulous.) It's amazing how much He wants us to turn to Him so he can shower us with even more blessings than he already does when we ignore Him. At Bible study I also re-connected a bit with a friend that I haven't really talked to in years. It made me feel really peaceful inside, because I'd kinda assumed he didn't WANT to talk to me (for no good reason) and I was kinda bitter about it, so it was good to internally forgive and move on.

My brother has joined the ranks at Wal-Mart. Sometimes the Lord really does work in mysterious ways... ;-) Oh well, it's a job, and a full-time one at that. It will even provide benefits after a month or something like that. Yay for another employment blessing, no matter how much it wasn't what we were expecting!

Well, I should get to bed.

A few things

Okay, so my Mom keeps getting light-headed and feeling really yucky at random times for about an hour. She thinks it has something to do with driving her van, because it tends to start at the end of trips in it but she's really not sure. She thinks she smells something when the a/c is on. Nobody else who rides in the van has this problem or smells anything. She also has upper arm pain at times. It's all seeming kinda strange and it concerns me. I don't want my Mom having a heart attack or something. Dad doesn't seem that concerned. He checked her blood pressure and then made her drink some juice when she was laying on the couch during a "spell" today, but that's it. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I read something in the paper recently about women tending to have very unusual symptoms of heart disease. Anyway, I'd appreciate prayers for Mom's health.

The family went to see "The Terminal" today. I'd have to say it was totally awesome. It was funny without being ridiculous and warm without being sappy. You should go see it!

So I just looked at book/supply prices for Fall. Oh my goodness! Never EVER complain about undergrad book costs! I'm shelling out about $600 and that DOESN'T include course packets or equipment/lab fees that I anticipate. At least it looks like the 2nd year is quite a bit cheaper. 3rd year is over $700, but they're all recommended, not required. My biggest problem is that I have to order a white lab coat, but I have no clue what size to get. Size ranges from 32-52. They say "Oh, come in and try them on in the bookstore!" but that's about 6 hours away from here... Perhaps I can stop by West Lake after work and try on their lab coats for comparison. I'll just have to hope that the brands and/or sizing are similar. I also need to contact my health insurance provider about the mandatory rabies vaccinations to see if they'll cover any of the cost. Here's hoping. I got my financial aid letter from Iowa, and it covers my need, but all in loans and most of it is unsubsidized. Oh well, this is what I want to do and feel I'm supposed to do, so I'm sure it'll all be fine. To quote Dr. Simon, "Don't worry about the debt! Just get the [darned] degree!!"

Well, it's bedtime. Someone please read these and comment, or the whole "staying in touch" point of this is a total bust!

Week One Complete

So I finished up my first week at Bunn-O-Matic today. I must say, it's a very nice place to work. I've decided that Orange Cream and Kiwi-Strawberry are my two most favorite flavors of Gourmet Ice. I sip on slushies all day at work, it's fabulous. It's a much bigger place than you realize when you drive by. I wouldn't be surprised to find that I walk a few miles a day just running mail to and from all the different departments, and I don't even take mail out to the warehouse or Bunn Capital (their neighboring, family-owned, but separate company that does paper products). I should get one of those pedometers and find out just how much I walk... Everybody says I've learned the job really fast, so I guess I'm doing okay. I still don't remember a lot of "what names belong to what departments," but I'm getting there. I'm eternally grateful for my staff list that tells me that kind of thing. It will probably be easier to remember it all starting next week when Lisa is gone and I get to do it all by myself. That's right, starting Monday I will be Master of the Mailroom! MWAAHAAAAHAAAA!! I already have plans to rearrange some things, such as re-alphabetizing some scrambled mail slots. I put in a couple new departmental slots already today when we ran out of better things to do. That will be another nice thing about next week - with only one person to do the work, it will take longer and there will be less hunting for things to keep me busy. That's how it was when Lisa was gone on Wednesday. I didn't have much trouble staying busy that day. However, I feel that Lisa left some really big shoes to fill. Everybody seems really sad to see her go and I don't know if I'll be someone they can connect with like that. Oh well, I'll find out.

Mandy and Chris came today to celebrate Father's Day with us. He finally got another couple interviews this week, so hopefully he can finally find a job and bring in some income. Another place asked him to come fill out an application after he sent in a resume, so things are looking a bit brighter for them. Keep up the good work with the prayers. Dad liked his presents - I got him a new belt clip for the cell phone (the old one was cheap, crappy, and broken).

I had terrible luck in the family card gaming. I managed to come in last in "Pit" (and "Progressive Rummy" too, I think) as well as barely lost "Pass the Trash" in a heartbreaker to Dad. If Dad hadn't won the last round of "Progressive" when he did, I would have won on my very next turn, too. Oh well, it was Dad's celebration, so he was supposed to win. Tabby won tonight, though. While we were playing cards, some stray cat was stealing her food and I heard her squalling at him (she always sounds like she's being hurt when she "argues" with other cats) and ran to "save" her, only to see her run him out of the garage. I checked her out once I coaxed her out from under the van - she was quite upset, but not hurt.

Well, this whole getting up early and working all day thing has me worn out, so I should get to bed.

P.S. - Please be praying for Lisa - the reason she is leaving Bunn-O-Matic is that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her double mastectomy surgery is on Friday the 25th, and she's understandably pretty nervous about it.

Postage Princess and Lawnmower Lifesaver

Okay, so my first day at Bunn-o-Matic went well. I have to say it's the biggest, most corporate place I've ever worked, but everybody seems really nice. I even got Krispy Kremes from one of my new co-workers! I'm learning where all the departments and their respective in/out boxes are. It will take awhile for me to get it all memorized, because there are LOTS of departments and the place is a bit maze-like. I got the priviledge of sorting out 3 letters from President George W. Bush to various Bunn-o-Matic staff. The job isn't as boring as mailroom work sounds, but it's not a thrill either. I definately like all the perks, though. I have to learn fast because I'll be pretty much on my own starting Monday, and this Wednesday the two main people who would train/help will be gone. I'm not too worried, though. I'm just glad to finally be working somewhere and glad it's such a nice place to boot. So until Monday, I'm the Postage Princess. Then I will take over and reign as Mailroom Master!!

Did you know that extension cords and rope don't mix well with moving mower blades? I did too, but I didn't know they were there when I was riding the mower around our yard on Friday. My Mom had put them out to map out some of her dream landscaping and forgot to bring them back in. And I forgot they were there. The mower found them for me, and MAN, they didn't get along at all!! I had to drive the mower up on car repair ramps and painstakingly cut the cord and the rope many times to get it all untangled after lots of yanking. It took about 45 minutes to fix it, but I was able to finish the mowing eventually. I'm very glad Dad was out of town and still doesn't know about it. For awhile I was afraid I'd have to buy him a new lawn tractor for Father's Day. (It had gotten so tangled up so fast that the blades had stopped before I even got a chance to turn them off!) That's soooo not in my budget! Many thanks to the Lord for saving the mower and me!

So it's past my bedtime. That comes so much earlier for working people, but I really can't complain!

P.S.: Leave comments people!! I'm not feeling the love!

EMPLOYMENT!!

HOORAY!! The Lord has seen fit to bestow a summer job upon me! I almost missed the call from my temp agency, too. They called while I was showering, and since my parents are wierdos, they put the answering machine in their bedroom where I almost never go, so I had no idea the phone rang. However, my Mom had left the cordless in another room, so I decided to return it to the charger/answering machine and lo and behold, there was a message saying Alice Campbell Staffing had a position for me! And I didn't even have to apply at those 5 places I had planned for today. I will be doing mail handling and distribution for Bunn-o-Matic (yes, I know they make these fancy coffee machines, but I still think it sounds like a knock-off of Buns of Steel or something like that) for the rest of the summer, starting Monday. I just have to pass my drug test first... Man, it wasn't enough that I passed my criminal background check! I might be in trouble!! ;-) Let me tell you, though, I hate - absolutely HATE - having to pee in a cup! It's such an unpleasant process. I think I'd rather have blood drawn, honestly... Oh well. At least I will sympathize with my animal clients who need U/A's in the future. (That's urinalysis for those who don't know.) But anyway, enough about pee. I have high hopes for this job. It will be 30-40 hours per week from 8-3 or after, but not past 5, Monday-Friday. It's not very far from home - just down the road from the vet clinic I used to work at. It's also really close to my favorite (aka cheapest) gas station. I'd been by the building before, and it doesn't look that interesting from the outside, but it's really nice inside. They even have slushy machines in the lobby! Could I have asked for anything more perfect?! It will probably employ my telephone skills at times as well. And I really like that it will have me running around and on my feet most of the day - exercise is good. Also, I hope to use part of my lunch break for some extra Quiet Time reading the Bible and such. I did that when I worked in the mailroom for that crop insurance company, and I really enjoyed it. So, as usual, it all makes sense in retrospect why God had me wait so long to find a job - He had something great waiting for me after all. I have totally been having my own versions of songs running through my head such as "At Last (My Job Has Come Along)" and "Employment" (instead of "It's Magic"). Yay, God! "Yes" answers to prayer are so exciting.

Today I was also trained as a banquet server for Express. This means that I can work even more by serving on evenings and weekends every once in awhile. It sounds like I can expect to work once a week or so at that, and I would get paid for a minimum of four hours each time. All in all, I think I will be able to feel like I helped out with vet school expenses by the end of the summer. Prayers would be greatly appreciated for my brother, though - he still hasn't found a job, and he's going to be applying at places like McDonald's soon. He and Mandy are getting very very low on funds, so the Lord is going to have to provide something soon.

So apparently we have a gigantic possum living somewhere in or near our yard. I saw it once several months ago out our back sliding glass door, and Mom saw it again yesterday while she was landscaping in the front. I also saw the baby squirrel again. And a mouse, I think. Still no sign of "our" squirrel. Maybe it doesn't like the baby, or something.

I stopped by the vet clinic to get flea treatment for Tabby today. It was fun to see everybody (although Dr. Hill wasn't in - perhaps that's for the best) and it turns out that the tech's daughter was in "Honk!" at the Muni as a froglet. They totally had the best scene and song in the whole show. (Excerpt- "Somewhere out there someone's gonna love ya - warts and all!") They also have adopted Isabella as an office cat (that or she was boarding and they let her run around the whole clinic). She's a total sweetheart who we cared for last summer. We had to amputate her leg (she had gotten it caught in a fence and hung by it) and take care of her kittens (some of them had deformed legs from the anesthesia). You'd never think a three-legged cat would be so nice and incredibly mobile, but she really is. I also said hi to Dale, another office cat, but didn't see Max, the other one. I'll have to drop in there when I get off work once in awhile.

Well, enough of me gushing about everything - it's time for bed.

Will Work for Almost Anybody and other random stuff

So I didn't get called today about the telemarketing job... Do you know how sad it is to know that you can't even be hired to do one of the world's most despised jobs??! I've been putting in applications all over town. So far this week, I've applied at 11 places in person, and I have 5 more to stop at tomorrow. I also applied for at least 5 positions online today. My next step is a training session to be a banquet server tomorrow night through Express. I really hope they find places for us to serve soon and often, because I don't want to go buy the clothing for it (tuxedo shirt, bow tie, and black pants) and then hardly use it. Perhaps if Steak n Shake hires me it would come in handy anyway. Manda U. tells me that her 6-week temp job from last summer is supposed to be an annual thing, so perhaps I have that to look forward to. I'm sure you are all sick of reading about my job search, but I have little else to write about these days. At least Mom was nice enough to tell me that I shouldn't worry about it if I can't find anything because she knows I tried really hard. I can potentially work for Famous Barr doing their inventory for 4 days (starting at like 5:45 am on the 21st). Sadly, that's sounding pretty good about now. Alas, my most favorite store in the mall, Aeropostale, is not hiring right now. I would have loved working there (not that they would have hired me - that appears to be illegal ;-) ).

So my cat is getting very old. She seems pretty arthritic lately, or something. She limps pretty bad, especially when she first gets moving (which is a rare event). I mean, Tabby was lazy before, but now it seems that even if she ventures out of the garage it is only to work at holding the driveway in place by laying in various spots on it. Poor kitty, she's fifteen and it shows...

And I'm afraid that "our" squirrel (the only one that hangs around our yard - it's a very pretty reddish gold one) may be dead. I haven't seen it in awhile, which happens from time to time, but there's also a dead one along IL-54 by my house that looks a lot like "ours". I sure hope it's a different one, I like to watch "ours" runs around the yard.

I laid out to catch some sun yesterday. I am a seriously white wonder, it's scary. I managed to not burn for once (yay SPF 45 and moderate exposure time), so I'd say it was a success. I'll try again next time I'm around the house on a sunny afternoon. It gave me a chance to do some recreational reading, which was nice. Speaking of which, I'm debating about reading "The Da Vinci Code" this summer. Everything I hear about it is very polarized: it's either totally awesome, or it's being decried as a horrible sham that wasn't researched well or based on facts like it claims. I suppose I should see for myself, but considering that it might say a bunch of lies about my beliefs and others, I'm a bit wary.

Well, I guess I should get to bed and rest up for the application fest in the morning. Lord, please help me find something. And help me let go of the things You don't have in Your plans for me.

Goodbye copier, hello __??__

So my job for Refreshment Services (Pepsi) as the copy-o-matic girl had come to a close. Today I wheeled all the piles and boxes of files back out to the storage shed. I must say, I'm not too sad that I don't have any more of this "interesting" work to do. I am, however, very unsure what I will be doing next. I go in tomorrow morning for an interview to do telemarketing. Yes, I am that desperate. At least it's not public enemy number one-type of telemarketing. I wouldn't be calling homes, just area businesses, asking them to compare their current accounting service with the people I would be working for. And if I hate it, I'll quit. There has been a recent crop of rather nice job offers, so who knows, maybe I'll finally find the employment God has kept me waiting for all these weeks. I've applied at several resaurants and a couple hotels as well as some doctor/dentist/chiropractor offices. I have more hope for the former than the latter, but we'll see.

I've been breaking up the monotony of job hunting and feeling trapped at home by seeing friends lately. I saw some movies with Ashley and Becky, then with Manda U. Manda and I also went to see part of the police dog trials, which was kinda cool. I also went to the Muni to see "Honk!" with my parents (it's an adaptation of the Ugly Duckling). It was funny and a better show than I was expecting. And on Saturday, Ruthi is coming to see me! That should be fun times. Well, I should get to bed now.

Most Amusing!!

Found this on a friend's live journal.

> WARNING

nifterlyb is radioactive. Wear protective clothing at all times.

Username:

From Go-Quiz.com

Fraud Sucks, but Busey is Nice!

So I'm an idiot and I fell for an eBay impersonating scam back in like March that left my debit card info in the hands of criminals, who went on a spree in Italy. Luckily, it all got worked out okay, and Busey Bank cleared me of responsibility and fixed my account and got me a new debit card number. I thought it was all in the past - WRONG! Apparently I gave them my checking info, too (I don't recall, as it was so long ago), and now they're ripped me off with that! The crooks wired $148 from my account via Western Union... It bothers me a lot that the billing information they put with my account number was totally made up (somewhere in NY, not at all in Champaign, IL where the account is) and the transaction still went through. Honestly, wasn't it enough to steal from me once?! Luckily, it sounds like Western Union stopped payment in time and I'll get it back (I'm still working on the details) and Busey Bank was their usual helpful and friendly self and are willing to work it out with me, then close my account (which I luckily don't need anymore). I suppose this is better than having to order new checks and such last semester - that would have been a pain! These fraud artists really need to not steal from poor college students - they'll make way more money robbing Bill Gates. He probably wouldn't even notice. Or better yet, they could put their crafty little minds to better use - aka EMPLOYMENT!! They're obviously bold and intelligent, so I'm sure they could find a nice job out there somewhere... Perhaps in Italy. ;-)

So I was upgraded to some unstapling and stapling as well as envelope stuffing today at the temp job. And they probably will need me again on Friday. That is, if I haven't been put to work as a banquet server by a different temp agency. I'm applying for that tomorrow. It would only be part-time, but it should last the whole summer and be more interesting than copying invoices for hours on end. I also applied at Bob Evans yesterday, so we'll see what happens. I'm optimistic. I got my first pay-stub today, so that felt good.

Also, my whole family is on a diet. Mom, Dad, and I could all stand to lose several pounds, so we're on a diet Mom has used many times in the past. It's very strict, and it entails eating lots of grapefruit and salad, among other very simple things. The meals are the same every week, so it may get old, but at least it only takes 2 weeks to drop about 14 pounds. Then you go off the diet for 2 weeks (being sensible, of course), and only go back on if you still need to lose more. Every no-no food is about 1000 times more tempting now than before (it's totally mental), but I don't feel like I'm starving yet, so that's good. We're also all excercising, so we will probably do pretty well. I'm hoping that work-out are easier on my knees once I drop some weight. We'll see how it goes.