What to do, what to do...

Well, I'm back from my trip to Texas. I was so wore out by the time I got home Wednesday night. I was worried about Stinkerbelle while I was gone. I had left plenty of food and water out, but was worried about her being alone the three days. I left the TV on for her, though. And yes, it was on Animal Planet. When I walked in the door, she greeted me at the front like she always does, then wouldn't let me pet her, again, just like always. *grin* But I knew she had missed me when I went to bed. I've talked before about how she usually wakes me up between 3-5 a lot of times, to pet her. But Wednesday night, as soon as I laid down, she hopped up on the bed and laid on top of me for her petting. She came back in 3 more times for more petting.

Well, Thursday I was back in the office, and just a little before 5, my boss called me into her office. She's leaving. She received an offer from another company that is an opportunity she just didn't think she could pass up. I'm not happy about this. I mean, I'm happy for her, but I really wish she was not leaving. One, we're friends, and this job will mean her moving to Ohio. Two, she's a great boss to work for. She does NOT micro-manage at all. Her POV is that we're all adults, we know what our jobs are, and what we need to do, and we don't need her looking over our shoulders.

So now, I'm faced with a few decisions of my own. Do I apply for her job? More stress, more responsibilities, actually being a supervisor and responsible for all the A/R, not just the Medicare portion. Do I do nothing, just stay where I'm at? Do I look outside the company for a new job? My fear is if they promote from within, and one of the other two women in our department apply and get the job. Or if one of two regional people should apply and get the job. These 4 women are the type to micro-manage to the point to specify what font type and size to use on file labels, and what color pen to use for different things. I know, they could hire someone from outside of the company who could be just as bad.

tagged by mm
The rules:
a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

1. I'm having a very hard time linking.
2. Flying doesn't bother me, but the airports cause mild panic attacks.
3. I walked out of a restaurant the other night because I was tired of waiting for our food. Normally, I wait it out.
4. I want to lose weight, but not because it would make me healthier or look better. I want to lose weight so I can buy a costume for the renaissance festival next year. I want to be a wench, dammit!
5. I want to go back to one of the wineries in California that Miamicatt took me to, so I can buy more of a particular wine.
6. I think I'm getting burned out on reality tv. I didn't watch the most recent season of Big Brother, and I've watched that show since the beginning. I barely watched American Idol, which I've also watched from the beginning. Even the shows that I am watching - if I miss an episode, I really don't care. I don't feel like I've missed out on anything.

I tag:

txmomma
lights
deb
tummy
coco
bob

*sings*

I'm leavin'
on a jet plane...

Actually, not for a couple of weeks. But I have a feeling that when I get home, I will be sick of airports. Flying out on a Sunday to Houston, Monday to Dallas, Tuesday to San Antonio, and Wednesday back home.

I will be doing lots of training. By that Wednesday, I shouldn't even need the manual, right?

My baby...

Latest edition to my cookbook collection

Will I ever make any of these recipes? Probably not. But I love this cookbook.

Just some pics

A piece of Clint's artwork... He uses spray paint.





















His tattoo...



























My new sofa...


















Stinkerbelle, having staked out a section of the new sofa for her individual use. Too bad for Clint that it is the same section he is trying to claim as "his".

I'm relieved

Is it bad that I'm relieved? Clint will not be joining the Mormon church after all. He had went to services at a different church Sunday night, and afterwards, he said he was confused about what he should do. I told him he needed to pray, and then he needed to listen.

I've talked the talk,

but can I walk the walk?

I've always felt that each person has to make their own way, in regards to spiritual beliefs. I know what I believe, and I know that not every one believes the same way. I do believe in God. I believe that God has given each of us free will to decide whether or not to believe, whether or not to worship, and so on.

I was brought up as a Baptist. And while I still have questions about some of their beliefs, that's the label I put on myself.

Well, Clint has decided that God is leading him to become a Mormon. And I have to admit, I'm a little freaked out by this. A lot of my freaking out has to do with lack of knowledge of what Mormons belief and how they practice their religion. I keep telling myself, who am I to question what God's path for Clint is? If Clint believes that this is what God has planned for him, who am I to say he is wrong? That this can't be what Clint needs to do?

I'm also concerned because Clint is being very closed-mouth about it now. Before, he was very vocal about his beliefs (sometimes a little too vocal, in that he has all the arrogance that teenagers can have in feeling that they're right, and no one else knows anything). He went from talking to me about everything, to not saying hardly anything.

Because Kimmah said so

(And what Kimmah says, goes)

1. Are you a righty or a lefty? Righty

2. What is your official job title. Medicare Billing Manager

3. You can only watch one show---there are limitless episodes. What do you pick? The Soup.

4. What color eyeshadow do you wear most often? none.

5. Describe your current favorite outfit. Jeans and a red long-sleeve henley top.

6. What color is your kitchen? Beige-y

7. Who was your first kiss and what was the situation? John, behind the church.

8. Who is the smartest person you know online? This is a trap! And I'm not falling for it.

9. Why do you not have a myspace if you don't have one? When are you going to get one? If you DO have one--how long have you had it? I've had one for a couple of years.

10. Who is the most annoying famous person? Don't know.

my haircut

Today's random thoughts

My brain is like a sieve. I have all these thoughts of posts I want to do, and I completely forget them by the time I get some computer time.

I got my haircut yesterday. I went with a bob. I like it, but I'm not sure about the bangs. I also had my eyebrows done, and she made the right one too thin.

I bought a new TV Friday night. Got it all hooked up Saturday, everything was great, and then Sunday morning, I had sound but no picture. I had to fax my receipt to customer service, and am waiting on someone to call me and tell me where to ship the TV. That sucks. I'm sorry, but if I spend that much money on something, it should fucking work, and I shouldn't have to ship it back anywhere. I should be able to take it to the store where I bought it and exchange it. I think I should be reimbursed for the price of shipping it.

I currently have over 20 books in my TBR pile. And yet, I keep buying more. I'm going to need another bookcase just to shelve these books.

I have to go back to work tomorrow. I don't want to. I need more vacation.

Sometimes I wish I could take a knife, and carve away my fat.

This and that

You know, they say being a parent is one of the most rewarding "jobs" you can ever do. And while that may or may not be true, it can definitely be one of the hardest. Never knowing if you're really doing it right, being compared (and comparing yourself) to others and maybe feeling inadequate, being judged, getting unsolicited advice - fun stuff, really.

I'm going to do something this week (or actually let arkieboy do something this week) that I'm sure a lot of people would disapprove of. (Actually, I *know* a lot of people disapprove.) But I decided I really don't care if others disapprove and think I'm being too permissive or whatever. This is one of those things that I don't have a problem with, I've made him wait for well over a year and think about if it's what he really wants, and so? It's happening. He wants a tattoo, and assuming I can find a copy of his birth certificate so we can go get a photo ID for him, we will be going to Kentucky where it's legal for a minor to get a tat with parental consent. His dad does not like this.

And that's the thing I'm really questioning. How much weight should I give to his opinion? He's never been there for Clint very often - even when we lived less than 10 minutes away from him, he would only try to see Clint maybe twice a year. Yes, he pays child support, but that's only because after 4 years of non-payment, I turned him in to the child support agency, and it's held directly from his check - even then, we still don't get it on a regular basis. So, should his opinion really matter? Should it be given any consideration? I don't know. Clint doesn't feel his dad should have a say, and got rather ticked when his dad called him to gripe at him about it and then tried to guilt him into not getting it by saying that if Clint gets this tat, it will really hurt him (his dad).

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I'm on vacation starting today, until next Tuesday. I need this break. Yesterday at work, every time I heard the email delivery noise-thing, I would cuss. It was hard to be pleasant on the phone. But on the positive side, I've been totally kicking butt at my job. With my supervision, we've collected triple the outstanding amount than what we thought we could this month. So, yay me! yay me!

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I finally got some more bookcases for my books. Actually, what I bought was CD towers (from Target), but they are the perfect size for paperbacks. I have 5, and need one more (for now). Now I'm trying to decide if I want to alphabetize the books by authors, or just leave them shelved in the random order they are in.

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Stoooopid Daylight Savings Time and other rants

Rant #1
I forgot (or didn't even know) that this was the weekend. I hate DST. You want more "sunlight" hours? Get up earlier on your own, but don't make me do it. My body knows, that even though the clock says "6:00", that it's really Five.Freaking.O'clock. in the morning. And then when people say it gives you more hours in the day???? No, it doesn't. There are still only 24 hours in the day. Deal with it.

Rant #2
Book publishers who re-release books in different formats and book sellers who show those as "new releases". OK, and the moron who doesn't or can't remember that she already has that book, so orders it online because it's a new book! I think they should be required to include a statement to the effect that this book has already been published released in a different format (hardback vs trade paperback vs mass market paperback). The really bad part is I'm such a moron. I keep a spreadsheet listing all the books I own (I know, that makes me anal-retentive, not moronic), and I even checked the listing to "be sure" I didn't already have the book, because the title sounded familiar. (That's the part that makes me a moron.) Luckily, I was able to take the book to the local store of this chain, and return it for store credit.

Rant #3
Cats who bite. Or maybe the rant should just be about cats in general. It drives me nuts. Stinkerbelle will climb up on me, and then if I try to pet her while she's laying on me, she'll bite me. I'm also just a wee bit tired of being woken up between 3 & 5 in the morning, when she decides it's "quality time" and wants me to pet her. She climbs up on my shoulder and just starts meowing until I pet her. If I stop before she's ready, she puts her paw on my face. I haven't decided if the message is a gentle "please don't stop yet" or a more urgent "keep petting me, or I'll claw your face to shreds". Sometimes she makes this funny grunting sound if I stop or if I'm petting too slowly. Reminds me a bit of the grunts that the big cats make.

Rant #4
I went out to eat Friday night at a somewhat more upscale restaurant than I normally go to. When the hostess seated me, she makes this comment - "I wish I was brave enough to go eat by myself." Wow. Way to make me feel like a total loser by having to go out by myself. Not to mention the table she sat me at was waaaaaaaaaaay crappy. It wasn't so much the table as it was the floor. It wasn't even, so my chair and table were at a tilt. Seriously. Light-weight items would have slid off the table.
*Not ranting, just rambling*
I probably won't go back to that place. I would be tempted to go to the bar area, but only if they had happy hour specials. I tried 2 different drinks. The first one was $10. The 2nd one cost $9 - a passion fruit margarita. It was very good. I had 2 of those. I could have had another, but I was frugal. Frugal. *snort* Right. My check was $51 plus change, before tip. I'm soooooooooooooo frugal. I muchly prefer going somewhere that my check will be under $20. Especially when it's just for one person. I could deal with a $50 check if I was paying for 2 people.

*Back to ranting*
Rant #5
I really dislike Best Buy. I went to Best Buy last night, wanting to buy a laptop and/or a new TV (I want a flatscreen). I walked around looking at stuff for probably 30 minutes. I had questions, but the sales associates wouldn't even ask if I needed assistance. I was trying to catch their eyes, but they would walk right past me to offere assistance to someone else who just walked into the area. Arkieboy wanted a video camera, so I went over to that area (he already had one picked out). When I got over to the cameras, there were 3 associates standing together, just talking. We stood there, looking at the one camera, for about 5 minutes. I told arkieboy that I was going to count to 10, and if someone hadn't come over by then to help us, we were leaving. He was all, "But, Mom", but I told him I didn't care, this was pissing me off, and we would go somewhere else. Luckily for him, finally one of the dufus's came over before I could begin my count. Later, I went to Circuit City, because I really wanted a laptop. Service there was just as crappy. But I did go ahead and get a laptop. It just pisses me off when these snotty little teenagers decide that I (a potential customer) am not worth their time or something. I don't know if they think I can't afford the items, or what their deal is, but it really pisses me off.

Whoa

I can't believe it's already March. Time is just flying. Still haven't called ComCast. Still having intermittent internet service. They suck muchly.

Work is frustrating me. Yesterday, I worked my freakin azz off. At 12:45, I put my pen down and said (to myself), "I'm going to lunch. I have to stop." Got back from lunch, jumped right back into it, and didn't come up for air until 4:30. I need some help. It doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon. I'm taking a vacation in a couple of weeks, and if no one knows how to do any of my stuff while I'm gone, OH.WELL. I really don't want them mucking about in my stuff anyway.

I have been watching waaaaaaaaay too much Buffy and The Vampire Slayer lately. I bought all the seasons on DVD, and I'm up to season 4, I think. A couple of weeks ago, I had a really bizarre dream that was mostly work related, but it also had Giles, the Watcher from Buffy in it. There was also a Ukranian chef who had most recently lived in Russia and worked as a mercenary, whose name was Frody.

I'm getting new living room furniture in about 3 weeks. Hopefully, I'll have internet access from home then, and will be able to post pics. (If the house is clean enough to take pics I would be willing to share, that is.)

Oops! Lunch hour is over. See ya around!

*smooch*

A pinch of this, a dash of that

Bet you thought I was going to talk about cooking based on that title. Wrong! *sticks tongue out*

I need to reclaim my blog. I've lost sight of why I started blogging in the first place. I was going to say whatever I wanted to say, express whatever I was feeling, and then I started getting wigged out - thinking about who might read my blog and what they might think of me. But I'm over that. So, the blog is going public again. I will take the few links I have off, and won't have links, unless people specifically say I can link them. Just understand that this *is* a public blog, so, some stranger could find your blog through mine if I link you.

I came to the conclusion this morning that I need to get over myself already. And I have too much anger in me. I was running late (entirely my fault), and after dropping arkieboy off at school, was waiting to pull out on the main road. There was a lot of traffic, and I was getting pissed off because people were on the road, thereby delaying me. I'm sitting there cussing, just because people have the nerve to use a public road! How dare they? Don't they realize they are inconviencing me? Yeah. Definitely time to get over myself.

I've been feeling very disconnected from everyone lately. I blame Comcast. And work. No time at work to be on the internet, and very random connections at home. It will work for maybe a few hours, and then be off for days. I really need to call. I'm paying for 24 hour access, I should have 24 hour access, but if they don't know there's a problem, they're not going to be able to fix it, right?

I really do feel distant from you all. I hate it. I hate when life gets in the way. I hate being needy like this, too. I feel like I'm begging people to like me. And then I have to think, if they don't like me, maybe there's a reason for that. And maybe, it's not just that they have rotten judgement. *grin*

Well, back to work.

I had a thought that I wanted to share, but during the time that my internet connection has been out, I forgot it. Can I tell you how much Comcast sucks as an ISP? They totally bite like a big dog. I'm lucky it kicked back in tonight, but it will probably be off again tomorrow, and I just don't have time to call them and have an appointment for someone to come check it. Of course, every time I *do* call and set up an appointment, within 2 hours, it's back on.

She only *looks* sweet...

I think I've mentioned before, how when I tell Stinkerbelle to give me a kiss, she puts her paw on my mouth and pushes me away. Well, this morning, she decided to teach me a lesson, I guess. She put her paws on either side of my face, with the claws slightly extended, leans towards me, and bites me on the nose.

just a thought

Book publishers should be more careful about the style of font they choose for the spine of books. I was at Barnes and Noble earlier today. While I was there, I saw a book that had a rather flowery script style of font. The name of the book happens to be "Wine, Tarts & Sex", but you know? In certain font styles, "T" and "F" aren't always easy to distinguish from each other.

Arkie, doing Zombie's thing of doing Arkie's thing

You go back to your blog entries for last year, and post the first sentence of the first post for each month.

"If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes." ~St. Clement of Alexandra
"Hunger affects more than 38 million people in America today - and 14 million are children."
I thought I was the queen of overshare.
Help me with the profile, please?
I get emails like this:
it's all about me.
This Blog is rated PG13.
I made to round 4!!!!!!
Because I was feeling guilty about Cappy staying shut up in the little bathroom all day, and all night, and only getting out for a short time in the evenings, I decided last night to take her upstairs with me.
1. 20 years is a long time.
Yeah, I still don't like my co-workers any better than I did in the last post.
And yet, I'm sitting here blogging instead of doing any of it.

Well, that was fun

Yesterday, I did something that was probably incredibly stupid. I gave the cat a bath. I guess it didn't go too bad - I came away with a nasty scratch on my hand and forearm, and that was all. Her fur feels so soft after the bath, and she smells nicer.

Do any of you bathe your cats? How frequently?