Vewwy Vewwy Qwuiet ...

That's what it is here without the boys.  Oh, I've talked to them.  Several times a day, because I'm all needy that way.  But it's still very quiet. 

I've even been playing with the hamster.  Abdul misses them too.

I'm glad they are getting time with their dad.  I'll be glad when they come home. 

More Change Coming

During my divorce two years ago (hard to believe it's been two years), I fantasized that this might be the time to go back to school.  But in the midst of all the uncertainty and change, that dream got pushed to the back burner.  Now it's waking up again and I'm actively pursuing it.

This week is Spring Break and the boys have gone to visit their father.  Tim had offered to arrange plane tickets for them, but Tucker was afraid to fly without a grown-up along for the ride, so we met last night at the halfway point (Salina, KS).  On the drive back today, I listened to the audio book version of "Hero With a Thousand Faces." 

Campbell was an interesting person and had wonderful ideas that changed the way we look at Myth, Truth, Story, Psychology, and Wisdom.  A professor of mythology for 39 years at Sarah Lawrence college, his work wasn't widely known in his lifetime.  But shortly after his death in 1987, PBS aired the six hours of interviews between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell "The Power of Myth" and the erudite scholar set fire to the imaginations of millions with the mantra "Follow Your Bliss".

Maybe it's that I've reached a stage in life.  Or maybe it's more simple than that even, it could be that after months in a job and industry that I don't enjoy, I've reached the conviction that it's better to do almost anything than simply work for money.  I know I need money.  Believe me, I'm obsessed on the subject.  But there is more than one way to prostitute yourself and I am feeling ... dirty.  Time to clean up, and do the thing that enflames my passion.

I've toyed with multiple different possibilities for study over the years but have mostly vacillated between philosophy and English.  Now, I have found a masters program that combines the two.  I have my fingers crossed and am gathering the documents to make my application.  I don't know if I've got time to get it all together for this coming fall but one way or the other, I'm determined to make this happen.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun ...

My sister was driving along and saw in the window of a boutique the perfect bear.  The white bear wears a red velvet hat, a purple feather boa, and when you squeeze her hand, she bobs her head and sings "Girls just wanna have fun..."  (The tag describes that as an enchanting melody which kind of cracks me up.)

She sent the bear to me for a bushel of different reasons all tied up in the way that she sees me, the way I see myself, and her desire that I remember that life should have some fun in it.  Cheryl has long taken it as her task in life to point me in that direction, from the spur of the moment invitations she used to issue for lunch, dessert, or a walk through the art festival to the sexy underwear she gave me several years ago, she has always known exactly what I needed to life my spirits from the routine of life's concerns.

I love the bear.

I love my sister.

Thanks Cheryl

Looking Up!

This morning I received advice from a trusted cousellor on things that might be helpful in working things out with Tucker's teacher and in helping him.  I didn't go into detail in the previous post, but Tucker has been acting out at school, being aggressive with the other kids, negative with the teacher, and generally expressing some serious lack of self esteem. 

When I met with Mrs. Strutton earlier this week, we worked out a plan that will allow Tucker to earn up to five points a day.  For each point he earns he gets a dime for his special jar.  When he has earned $5 I told him that he can choose the restaurant and I'll take him out to dinner to anywhere he wants. 

The additional suggestion I got this morning was that Tucker responds very well to responsibility.  So why not suggest to the teacher that she assign him a particular classroom duty?  See how that works?

I Will Survive!!!

I was back at the gym this morning.  And I am feeling really really good about this thing.  I had another good workout with the trainer and I don't even have serious plans to do him bodily harm.  I'm supposed to go in on Mondy morning to be measured and weighed.  We'll see then whether I've made progress.

The diet I'm on now, is kind of strange for me.  I'm having to eat more and that makes me very nervous.  He told me this morning that I'm to increase my protein again.  But I don't have to increase my overall calories, just adjust a little.  He wants the percentage of fat to be the same and the percentage of carbs to come down a little.  Overall, I feel good about it. 

It's cold again today, so Spring is doing the hide away part of the peek-a-bo game.  I'll get over it.

My parents' wedding anniversary was yesterday.  They have been married for 44 years.  Wow.  Way to go folks. 

This has been a strange week.  I'm cranky and disappointed about the situation at work, but just about resigned that I need to just bite the bullet for a couple more months.  I had a meeting with Tucker's teacher on Wednesday morning and there's more adjusting that we need to do to get him all squared away.  The kid is just determined to be difficult.  Yes, all in all this week has been rough.  But I'm hanging in there and for some reason I feel really positive and optimistic today. 

Hugs and Happy Weekend.

Spring is Peeking At Me

We've had a week of warmer temps and sunshine.  It's glorious.  Okay, we do need some kind of moisture to lower the fire danger which is currently high.  But I'm not fussing.  I'm hoping that the predicted snow for tomorrow turns out to be a rain shower instead. 

When the weather gets warmer, my mind turns to happy songs.  Bouncy songs.  Songs that make me feel like dancing.  And with that in mind, I offer you this ...

http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/animals/In_The_Jungle/?c=&p=10 

I Like to Move it, Move it ...

Okay, I went back to the fitness center.  I went back on Wednesday and had a lovely session with the trainer on the basics of stretching.  I went back on Friday (was it only yesterday?) and had an hour long session of resistance training with a bit of cardio at the end. 

Yesterday  I was thinking how cool it was that I'm working with such a cute, adorable little trainer guy.  Today, I'm thinking he will make a lovely CORPSE.  I didn't feel bad yesterday.  In fact I felt pretty good.  Energetic, loose, it was all good. This morning I woke up and I still felt good until I tried to move. 

Yesterday I was thinking "how could he say that we hit every major muscle group?  We didn't do that much?"  Today, I KNOW that we hit every muscle group because they are ALL mad at me and they are hitting back. 

Ouch. 

Double ouch.

Things at work have been ... rocky. 

They changed our schedule to almost impossible hours, but hey, I need a job right?  Well, last night there was a meeting of the managers of my region and the upshot of that is that I as an Assistant Manager am no longer eligible for bonus.  Let's bear in mind a couple things as I'm telling my story.  Although I'm not expected to work collections, I have been.  To the tune that between our efforts, my boss and I are working the branch that now leads the region in percentage of revenue above budget, percentage of collections, actual dollars collected, every statistic you can use to guage performance, our store is now in the lead. 

But they decided that Assistant Managers don't work hard enough to deserve bonuses.  Now to be fair to my boss, she has said that as hard as I work, I'll be getting bonus even if she has to write me a check out of her own pocket when they are handed out.  I'm kind of tired of these kinds of situations.  I think my only option is to retire from working.  But there isn't much profit in that as far as I can tell.

I did have a good thing that happened today.  My last customer called and said that she was going to be late, she had fallen asleep and would I wait for her.  Well, of COURSE I'll wait, because I'm that kind of person.  So she came in, talked to me for a few minutes and then asked me if I'm familiar with MS Office. 

o_0

the end of that?  She is in a position to hire an admin assistant for a position at the local utility company.  She wants me to submit my resume.