Month: November 2005

  • The Knock at the Door


    The boys and I curled up together to read. 


    It's been a week full of employment applications, phone calls, resume submissions and cover letters written.  I met with a volunteer who has been a career HR director and he went over my resume to give me suggestions for ways to make it more effective. 


    For it to only have been two weeks since I lost my job is hard to believe, it feels like forever.  The supply of some things is getting low in the house and I'm trying to decide do we need that enough to break into savings for replacements?  Or was that a luxury we can live without until our situation improves. 


    The kids saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with me a month or so ago.  We have a theater down the street that has second run (is that the right term?  the films that are not brand new releases) with admission for $1.  So I took the guys to see it. I was pleasantly surprised because I'd heard such horrible things about this version from the critics, but I liked it in some ways better than the original film. 


    Anyway, the point of that is Charlie's father lost his job and they all had to eat cabbage soup.  So the guys have been asking me whether they have to eat cabbage soup, too.  (Tucker says he doesn't mind because he's a vegetarian - the kind that eats pork, and fish, and chicken, and hamburgers - and also cabbage soup.)


    One of the things that has been very important to me has been to give the kids a sense of security.  I worked very hard through the summer at putting aside a portion of every dollar I earned so that if something happened I would know that we have a cushion.  My theory here is that as long as I'm not panicked, they will be okay too.  And I'm not panicked.  I'm unhappy about it.  I've had more than one night of horrible dreams.  And I've had days of feeling pretty down on myself.  But I'm not panicked. 


    I have an interview this morning.  And even after this, I have prospects for other positions so I'm busy.  I feel like I'm at least DOING something.  Here's what I've decided to do about the being fired situation.  I'm not putting Mimi's on my resume at all.  I'm not applying for serving positions at this point.  That work is physically demanding and no one is perfect.  If I can lose that job over one complaint as I've learned, then I'd never feel any sense of security there. 


    But enough of the week in review.  I was telling you about the loud knock at my door in the midst of last night's reading session.  I was wearing my pajamas, so the boys beat me to the door while I stopped to grab my robe.  They peeked through the little spy hole, but didn't see anyone.  So they opened the door a little crack.  And there wasn't anyone there, but there was a box.  A very large box.  A box that contained a turkey, ingredients for desserts, veggies, stuffing, gravy, and a pan to cook the turkey and little turkey timers, and potatoes, and ... I'm having trouble making sure that everything gets on the list here.  There was even a shopping card from a local grocery store.


    I don't know who in Colorado Springs even knows about our circumstances.  The shopping card was signed "God".  Here is what I know.  All the bills are paid.  Our pantry is full.  And I have hope and prospects for finding work.  The knock at the door might not always be opportunity as we think of opportunity leading outward.  The knock last night was my opportunity to rethink where I am, and to take another step or two back from panic.  We are going to make it.    

  • Yeah Broncos - Go Team


    Already this morning, I have had two positive signs.  First, since the Broncos won yesterday,



    my Monday morning coffee was free.  And in response to my first application of the day I received an automated responsed acknowledging my interest.  Since none of the online applications I submitted last week gave me even that much, I'm thinking this is a step up.


    I don't know why it is that people don't bother to program the basic civility of acknowledging a submission into their online applications form.  But I have to say that the ones that do this, move up a step or two in my estimation.


    Keeping my hopes up and my eyes open for something to happen soon on the job front. 


     

  • Looking Up


    I decided earlier in the week that I'd take today "off" from the job hunt.  It's Veteran's Day, my kids are out of school, and I think I was in need of another day for rest and recovery.  Things ARE looking up though.  I met a recruiter on Wednesday, and although I wasn't interested in the position she was recruiting for, she took an interest in me and called late yesterday afternoon.  She had some WONDERFUL ideas, that I'll be following up on immediately.  I'd been thinking that I needed to take something ANYTHING just to have a job, but she said, "no".  She said that she's been where I am and that she thinks I'm highly employable.  She had some ideas for "out of the box" positions that I hadn't eve thought of much less wondered whether I was qualified for.  But I'm very encouraged that there is something out there for me, and something GOOD.


    Word count stalled yesterday at exactly where it needed to be for me to be on target for my 50k.  I've been running ahead, so that means that I didn't get much writing done.  But I can afford a day (or maybe even two) where I don't work at my standard pace. 


    Happy Weekend to All - and to All a Good Write


  • AND THEY"RE OFF


    The official start of NaNoWriMo was last night at midnight. 


    NaNoWriMo By The Numbers

    Founded: 1999, Oakland, CA
    Annual participant/winner totals:
    1999: 21 participants and six winners
    2000: 140 participants and 29 winners
    2001: 5000 participants and more than 700 winners
    2002: 13,500 participants and around 2100 winners
    2003: 25,500 participants and about 3500 winners
    2004: 42,000 participants and just shy of 6000 winners
    We're estimating about 60,000 participants will head out into the noveling frontier on November 1, 2005.


    Last year I was one of those 6,000 as was my friend Maryt63, and Kluless,  And Lovingmy40s COULD have been included if she'd been officially signed up instead of just happening to stroll in a week late and churn out her 50,000 words without breaking a sweat.  (yeah - thanks for showing up and making the rest of us look bad ... LOL) 


    This year, I don't know how many people will win, but I know that our little circle had a better than average finish with four of our five making it across the finish line.  This year our circle is larger but our comitment is the same.  Get those strories written! 


    If you wanted to swim in our little NaNo pond and you HAVEN'T gotten a group email - that's because I don't have your email address.  It's not too late.  Send it to me today and you'll be wrapped in the loving arms of the rest of us cranky, caffeine and chocolate eating, sleep-deprived writers who are determined to fly, soar, limp and crawl across that finish line in 29 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes ...