Just kidding, I am not really writing about our economy, the failed buy out for credit, etc. I am thinking most of you have heard ENOUGH about that stuff lately! Althouhg, admittedly, not everyone has! Yesterday at lunch I was catching up on the news on my beautiful iPhone and saw that the House didn’t pass the $700billion deal…..I was like, “Oh my gosh, the buy out plan didn’t pass!” My co-worker was totally clueless! I really didn’t know what to say but hey, who am I to judge?

Yesterday was a much better day at work. Vernon is gone and that helped mucho. The drive was a bit better too – not sure if I am getting used to it or what. It’s still a long day. Hopefully soon I will take the plunge on my scooter and get comfortable on the freeway and then maybe the commute will be even better. We shall see.

My kids, however, sure make it great to come home! Kirstie had been texting me throughout the day and wanted to come over as she hadn’t really spent much time with me lately. Kenny was going to spend the night, which is something he begs to do pretty much everyday. I get concerned that I will get home too late, but was able to get home around 6:30. Yippee!

But the blessings don’t stop there – Kirstie went and got dinner for us! She has such a great attitude, never really gives me grief and has been VERY sweet about things like that especially lately. It warms my heart that she calls or texts just to see if work is okay and stuff. And Kenny, who has been missing me a lot, is always very kind. He asks about my day, just sits with me, we connect. Just hanging with them is such a blessing! I love it.

It’s a bit more tough with Josh – Kenny walks to my house after school, but Josh is too small so his Dad picks him up. So it’s more difficult to arrange this during the week. I miss him desperately but we had a blast Sunday!

Hey, is anyone watching Dancing with the Stars this season? I am partial to Lance Bass……aka former band partner with Justin…….and also very cute! LOL I loved his dance this week. But I also am rooting for Cloris Leachman……she is in great shape for her age, especially! Learn more about this special lady here.

Oh, and I am also starting my MBA program TOMORROW! I was able to test out of Business Writing, but miserably failed my statistics test……I couldn’t find my Biola textbooks and notes! Dun dun dun! Oh well, it should be fun. And I look forward to getting this brain filled with silly information again! I will let you know how it goes, especially with the long commute now!

Special shout out to my Aunt Kay, who is on my mind and in my heart more than usual lately. Someday I will have to tell you all more about this amazing lady! As for now, I need to get ready for work! (and YES, it is 4:39am!)

Gina OUT

Just some random occurrences that really bug me……

• The guy who I am replacing at my new job, Vernon, noticed I was left handed.  He said to me, “Oh, my son was born left handed, but I didn’t allow me to write with his left hand and punished him so that he would write with his right hand.”  “Why did you do that?” I asked nicely.  “Well, I just didn’t want him to be left handed.”  I let it go.  Later, he asked, “Does it feel natural to write with your left hand?”  I looked at him and said, “Well, does it feel natural for you to write with your right hand?  How would you like it if your parent punished you every time you wrote with it and said you had to use your left hand?”  He just looked at me.
• When I would get the boys from school before my job, we would often go to Weinerschnitzel ’cause Ken was addicted to chili cheese dogs.  They have a sign there showing they accept credit cards and the slogan it, “Eat now, pay later”.  That is a true concept, but boy it bugs me every time!  This society is so credit entrenched and this just adds to the philosophy of this!  Eat now, pay later!  Yeah, that chili cheese dog is gonna cost you way more than the $3 you just gave them when you finally pay it off (if you have a running balance and pay minimum payments, etc.)  Or better yet, why don’t you pay off those credit card balances by refinancing your house and consolidating your debt?  Woohoo, pay for that hot dog over 30 years!  YES!
• How come people (male or female) look at you as you’re both walking into a store, open the door, and then let if fall closed behind them?  I mean, seriously, they KNOW you’re right behind them!  Hold the freaking door behind you!  Have some courtesy people!

Okay, that’s all for now!

I am fighting the urge to write about the Presidential Debate that occurred this week. I wasn’t home as I work in practically another state now, but did catch a good portion of it on the radio. But I am NOT going to write about it other than I am proud of our country in that we, as citizens, are given the right to vote for our leaders. So on that, VOTE PEOPLE!

The new job is a bit tough, for myriad reasons……which I will not get into here and now. The drive is a huge part of that, but also there is no real “accounting” in this firm. Learning in 3.5 days what I need to do (which currently is not “accounting” but scary procedures) was tough enough……and eventually I am supposed to establish real accounting procedures and policies. Sigh. I can do it, those of you who know me know this is the sort of thing I thrive on……but there are aspects that have me concerned. But it’s only been a few days so I will wait and see……

The kids are doing well, although they miss having me here everyday to go to the skate park, go out to eat, etc. With all the bitterness and complaining you’ve heard over the last few months, having the summer off with the kids has been an amazing blessing. It is totally what we needed, it brought so many awesome memories into our lives, and I will always look on these months as a direct gift from God. I believe the Bible says something along the lines of “all things work out for those who love God”…..and it certainly was true in this respect for me.

My shoulder is, well, blah! It still hurts and is extremely sore from the procedure I had this week. My appointment for the results is scheduled for 10/6. This is the longest time I’ve had to deal with pain (other than my carpel tunnel), and it’s getting quite frustrating. I am getting better at protecting my arm (no body surfing, no indoor kart racing, etc.) as the pain bugs, but there are times when this is difficult as I am left handed. Instincts tell me to do something and then BAM, I am in pain. So yeah. But I AM toning my activities down.

The bike is AWESOME! Ken and I tooled around town yesterday and it was so much fun. Josh loves it too, but he was too busy with his friends yesterday to partake in the fun. LOL He is so funny.

Okay, well, let me know if you have any questions or topics you’d like to see on this blog. I know it’s getting a bit boring.

Okay, this has to be quick so sorry for no eloquent words or humor!

• I have a job!  I was hired as an accountant for a company that has 4 companies.  Not exactly sure what they do, which is funny since I’ve been there two days!  Good news – I have a job!  Bad news – 60 mile drive one way.  (I started Tuesday)
• I had my arthroscope and MRI yesterday.  What is an arthroscope?  Per the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, this is “In an arthroscopic examination, an orthopaedic surgeon makes a small incision in the patient’s skin and then inserts pencil-sized instruments that contain a small lens and lighting system to magnify and illuminate the structures inside the joint. Light is transmitted through fiber optics to the end of the arthroscope that is inserted into the joint.  By attaching the arthroscope to a miniature television camera, the surgeon is able to see the interior of the joint through this very small incision rather than a large incision needed for surgery.The television camera attached to the arthroscope displays the image of the joint on a television screen, allowing the surgeon to look, for example, throughout the knee. This lets the surgeon see the cartilage, ligaments, and under the kneecap. The surgeon can determine the amount or type of injury and then repair or correct the problem, if it is necessary.”  Um, this hurt like hell and my shoulder is screaming now as I type!
• The MRI was uneventful – just laid there and thought about sleeping but thought if I had a night terror in there, it would not be good……so I was wide awake!  Yes, I have night terrors!

Okay, must get ready for work!  More later!

I need to go to bed (it is after midnight), but yesterday I bought a scooter!  This is a big cruiser and can be ridden on the freeway, etc.  I love it.

More details tomorrow, I am tired!

As a person that has been unemployed for over three months, I can say finding a job right now is not fun.  Well, admittedly, I kind of coasted during the summer a little – hanging with the kids, going to the beach, etc.  But now that the kids are back in school, the days are LONG and I am going stir crazy……and have stepped up my effort to find work.  It is still encouraging; in the past, I would send out maybe 4-5 resumes and get 3-4 calls back right away.  It is very different now, although I DID have an interview this week……we shall see what happens.

But, overall, there are LOTS of people in my position and we are all fighting for the small amount of jobs being offered right now.  Everywhere you turn you hear about tough situations.  Such as:

HP Announces 24,600 Layoffs in wake of EDS Acquisition

US weekly jobless claims rise 10,000 to 455,000; cont. claims down 55,00

I could find lots more, but you get the idea.  So I am sitting here as I send out an average of 10 resumes a day wondering – how long before I find a job?  Should I go to McDonald’s and see what I can get?

Dun dun dun!

I am NOT meaning to sound all pitiful, for sure.  But I am but one person in thousands who is experiencing a big change in the market and the economy.  I have a good friend who is well educated, has had a work history at the executive level, and has only been able to do contract work in the last few months.  This is tough!

So anyway, I will persevere but yeah, “Dude, this sucks!”

Okay, the day started out ROUGH.  First thing, immediately when class started, we had to ride a low speeds making a figure 8 within a rectangle.  We could not touch the ground or use our brakes.  It was all clutch and throttle control as well as counterweight use.  IT WAS HARD!  We didn’t get to warm up, get used to the bikes, or anything!  We all sucked, were stalling out or fumbling, and it set a bad start to the day.  We were cranky!

Our Coach, Rich, explained and apologized that this was the schedule but agreed it was not a good plan.  We moved on to fun, fast, and EASIER lessons and started getting our mojo back!

One of the lessons was going about 15-20mph into a tight curve and making an emergency stop.  The thing about stopping when turning is that you CAN’T or else you will probably crash…..so you need to straighten up from the lean before you hit the brakes.  The guys in the class would go into the turn going about 10mpg and not lean…..really lame.  I was booking it and got pretty good.  Coach Rich says to me, “Well, you’re the only one really doing it, the guys are all chicken!”  (I was the only girl today)  Woohoo!

Okay, the test consisted of the figure 8 (doh!), an emergency swerve (no prob), a quick stop (no prob), and a controlled turn which included braking without downshifting (no prob).  Fortunately, I did pretty good on the figure 8 – I learned that my bike was easier to control in 2nd gear, although I DID pop out of the rectangle a little on my second loop.  The others I did pretty well, but I think my quick stop was about 2 feet too long.

Only 5 of the 6 in my class passed…….

1 rider has been riding for several years, using permits, and decided to finally get a license.

5 of us were first time riders.

I got the highest score in the class!

YIPPEE!

Next thing – to pass the written test at the DMV!

Okay, I am VERY tired and a little sore (shoulder is screaming) so this will be brief.

I rocked on the motorcycle! To see pics from the day, click here. Got up to 3rd gear, got really good with balancing on the tight curve course, mastered the emergency stop, and didn’t fall once. I DID stall the bike a couple times – oops, forgot to pull in the clutch! But the instructor DID say to me near the end of the day, “You said this is your first time riding? Wow, I would never have thought that!” Daddy would be proud!

So tomorrow a few more lessons and then THE TEST. We shall see!

As for now, some strong prescription drugs and sleep!

Addendum:

Okay, so let me admit something – I was a little scared.  I mean, the last time I tried to ride, I kind of crashed.  Okay, I crashed.  And I broke my Dad’s Harley.  Serious stuff!  So even though this bike was smaller, I was a-scared!  But the lessons were AWESOME and really eased us into moving the bike, using the clutch, using the bike, etc.  It was very good for building confidence and reducing the fear factor.

I need to get ready for my final class, but I wanted to share something.  As you can see from the pics I added, I was wearing boots, jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and a full face helmet.  It was probably in the mid 90’s yesterday.  IT WAS HOT!  I was really sweating, especially after a break and then sitting on the BLACK seat!  Whoa.  Sorry to gross you out, but I was sweating so much that, even though I had (seriously) 2 liters of water, I never had to go to the bathroom!  NOT ONCE ALL DAY!  When I finally got home, my bladder was not that full either!  TMI?  Well, at least I hope you get it in perspective!  So I am dreading that today as we HAVE to wear the gear noted.  Sheesh!  But I guess there ARE some safety bennies, huh?

Okay, have a great Sunday!