When It Rains, It Pours

Good news ~ the Oakland County Sheriff's Office called today and offered me a job! Yea!! The nice lady is going to call me back tomorrow to let me know exactly where & when my training will be, but she thinks I'll be starting on the 10th. If so, that'll work out perfectly because I'll probably be working a dayshift for at least a couple of weeks and this will allow me to catch some of the playoff games and possibly continue at WalMart on a part-time basis for a while. The lady I spoke to sounded very nice and Vickie's boss (an ex-police officer) is familiar with the Oakland County department and says it's a great place to work, so I'm pretty psyched about the whole thing. Now get this... a little later in the day, I got a call from the police department of one of the neighboring cities also asking me if I was still interested in their dispatcher position. Hazel Park is a little closer and supposedly pays a little better than Oakland County so I didn't want to burn any bridges and say "no." The Lt. I spoke to said that someone would probably contact me in the next couple days to set up an interview. If they call before I start at Oakland County, I'll meet with them and see what they have to offer. I've heard a lot of good things about Oakland County and nothing at all about Hazel Park, so chances are that I'll probably take the county job. I'm just happy to be out of WalMart (almost). Yea for me!!

Boring

On this, my night off, I'm looking forward to doing nothing. Well, almost nothing. I'm half way thru washing clothes, but then that's it! Nothing else task-related. My very boring plans for the evening include sitting on my ass and attempting to finish my cross-stitch while watching a bootleg copy of the last Star Wars movie and maybe a little baseball on ESPN. I wish the Indians were playing. It's really a tight race for the wild card position and any Cleveland game will be good one. (I know that if you're not interested in baseball all this means squat to you, but if you're an Indians, Yankees or Red Sox fan you're checking those standings daily!) Hopefully when the Indians are in the playoffs (and they will be in the playoffs!) I'll be in training or orientation for a new job and will be working a dayshift, enabling me to catch all the playoff games. I know Vic is very excited by this. There's nothing she likes better than baseball every night for three or four weeks!

A Good Omen

Today was a good leg day ~ the first in over a month. I actually had a pain-free evening at work and this has put me in an especially good mood. I'm still walking with a slight limp, but there is no more shooting pain and my knee didn't buckle once today! I hope when I wake up the hurt will be absolutely gone. Maybe this is a good omen. Maybe I'll get a call from the sheriff's office by the end of the week. Maybe I'll win the lottery. Maybe Shannon won't roll in unidentified yuck in the back yard any more.

Progress

I met with a detective from Oakland County yesterday to complete the last phase of the background investigation they are doing on me. I guess this means that they are still interested in hiring me for the dispatching position and this is very good news. The detective I spoke with also talked to some of my friends and my old boss and they all had really nice things to say about me (thanks!). The detective seemed impressed with what they had to say and I think the overall interview was pretty positive. Now he forwards his report to the people who do the hiring and they make the final decision and let me know either way. My initial interview was exactly one month ago, so I hope things progress a little more quickly now that we're at this point. Cross your fingers!

Happy Birthday Vic

Happy Birthday Vickie!! Unfortunately, for Vic, she had to go to some mandatory supervisor meeting thing this morning and will be spending the first 8 hours of her new year at GM. But then this means that I get to read thru all the newspaper sales ads and watch football all morning! (Yea!) When she comes home, we are going over to her mom's house for dinner and to open presents. I took all Vic's presents over there earlier in the week so she wouldn't nag me for days to open "just one." I'm looking forward to a relaxing morning and an early evening at Mom's.

Feast Sixty-Three
Friday, September 23, 2005

Appetizer
Name something someone has done lately that impressed you.
I was pretty impressed that Vic started working on cleaning out the garage the other day.

Soup
Do you have any relaxing rituals? If so, what are they?
At the end of the day I love to take a long, hot bubble bath and read my book while listening to jazz on the radio.

Salad
If you could spend the winter season somewhere other than your current location, where would you choose to stay?
I'm really looking forward to my first snow in years, but if I had to choose someplace else it would be Switzerland. I'd like to see the Alps with tons of snow on them.

Main Course
When was the last time you had dinner out, and what was the name of the restaurant?
Taco Bell on Wednesday. We really know how to live here in the "D."

Dessert
If you had a boat, what would you name it?
Water You Looking At

A Festive Fall

Happy Autumn! This is my absolute favorite time of the year. The weather is getting cooler and the leaves are changing color. I scooped up a handful of our first Fall leaves and am pressing them in a book for the scrapbook. We've been having cool nights and the last couple of mornings have been sweatpants weather, too! I look forward to soups and stews and chilis in the near future. I'm trying to arrange it so that Vic & I have at least one day off together so we can go to some of the cider mills around the area and check out some of the pumpkin festivals. Today was my day off and I slept late (till about 1:30!) then did some last minute birthday shopping and I'm now relaxing in front of the TV with my cross-stitch. I only took a break to come upstairs to close the windows because it started raining and thought I would jot down a quick post. It's been 4 weeks since my interview with Oakland County and I still haven't heard anything, so I guess I'm at the Wal Marts for a little while longer. My leg seems to be getting better, but I still have flare-ups so I'm trying to take it easy. Kinda hard to do, though, when I go back to work tomorrow. Oh well...I'm glad Autumn's finally here!

Lesbian Shopping

Do you like grocery shopping with or without your significant other? I would really prefer to shop with Vic than without her for seveal reasons. I don't have to drive, she lets me push the cart, I have someone to talk to in the long check-out line and I have to make few decisions; I tell her to get us some kind of detergent and hair stuff, then she meets me on aisle 5 with detergent, hair stuff, Oreos and brownie mix and I'm happy. I call this "Lesbian Shopping." Long ago, when I was single, I used to have a part time job at a grocery store and I'd see lesbians shopping together and I would feel sorry for myself. I wished I had a lesbian to shop with. Now I do! Today, though, I have to shop alone and already I'm dreading it. I wish I could take Shannon. I'm not sure if she's gay or not, but either way she could help me with the impending detergent issue.

Practitioner

My trip to the VA Clinic today turned out to be a colossal waste of time. My doctor is a nurse practitioner. She was very pleasant, but a little disinterested. She ordered x-rays and lab work for my leg to rule out any breaks or serious tears, but she seems to think that it's just a pulled muscle that needs time to work itself out. She figured this out without actually touching or looking at my leg. She was more interested in inputting my past medical history into the computer. I brought along copies of all my medical records, but she wanted no part of that even though I painstakingly slaved over a hot copier to provide the VA with the most current and comprehensive medical history I could provide. She did, however, give me a prescription for Lortab, so I guess the day wasn't a total failure. And actually, my leg is feeling quite a bit better already. I knew I just needed to make an appointment with a doctor (or nurse practitioner) and my sickness would go away! Maybe I need to start wearing a nice pair of orthopedic shoes and support hose so that I won't reinjure myself. I like those white hose that go up to your knee and help in the war against vericose veins. Maybe I'll get me a pair of the Dr. Scholl's inserts, too. I wonder if Dr. Scholl started out as a nurse practitioner?

Loopy & Feast

I had to go back to work today even though my leg still is no better. I took a few days off in the hope that the time off my feet would "fix" whatever is wrong with it, but it still hurts just as much as did before. I've found, though, that if I take a Lortab and sit for about 15 minutes all the pain goes completely away. Of course, I'm also a little loopy, but I'm loopy with two good legs!


Feast Sixty-Two
Thursday, September 15, 2005

Appetizer
Do your closer friends tend to be male or female? Why do you think that is?
With the exception of Shawn, all of my closest friends are female. I don't think it's a "gay thing" because, also with the exception of Shawn, my closest friends are also straight. Maybe it's because we worked together and had that and other things in common.

Soup
If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would it be?
I would love to be able to play a musical instrument really well.

Salad
Name a household cleaning item that you would recommend to others.
We have a toilet wand that I just adore.

Main Course
What do you strive for in life?
I would like to be wealthy enough to be able to take advantage of some of the great trips that are on sale for "only the next 24 hours." I guess I'd also have to have a job that would let me take off with very little notice...or perhaps no job at all!

Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how funny do you consider yourself?
I think I'm probably a 7 or 8. I tend to gravitate toward goofy jokes for some reason.

A Penguin

A penguin walks into a bar and says to the bartender, "Excuse me sir, but have you seen my brother?" "I don't know," says the bartender. "What does he look like?"

That's my new favorite joke and I just wanted to share it with everyone. (I like penguins.)

Leg Update

I headed over to the VA clinic today to see if I could have a doctor look at my quadricep. Really nice people and, surprisingly, I didn't have a long wait. But I also didn't get to see a doctor, either. Because my leg wasn't hanging off my torso by one thin blood vessel I was given an appointment for next Monday. I'm sure that by then my leg should be in great shape. It feels a little bit better already! At least I'm now entered into the VA system and can get health care and prescriptions for next to nothing. Another plus to all this is that I took the last two days off from work. I haven't done much more than cross-stitch both days. I really wasn't able to move or upack anything due to my leg ailment so I had no choice but to sit around outside enjoying the Fall-like weather and lay on the couch watching football on the TV. Really.

Strain Pain

I pulled or strained my quadricep muscle (front, upper thigh region) about 2 weeks ago and it still hurts like hell. I'm fine as long as I'm sitting, but if I try to walk I experience shooting pains all through the upper region of my right leg. I assume it happened due to something I did at work, but since I can't pinpoint the exact event or date it happened the WalMart ogres won't allow me to use Workman's Comp to see a doctor about it. And since I don't have insurance yet, and don't have a regular doctor, I'm screwed. And in pain. I called out sick from work today because I just couldn't stand it any longer. Vic said she would drive me to the VA or a free clinic to see if either of them can help, but until then I've been scouring the internet for possible solutions. It seems that the universal treatment is RICE ~ Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. I've been icing it all day and using a cane to relieve some of the pressure. Every morning it's the most excrutiating pain I've ever experienced. I'm going to try to sleep with my leg elevated tonight and see how I feel tomorrow morning. Hopefully I will be miraculously cured by dawn!

Weekends

I really look forward to the weekends, although I don't know why. I usually have to work every weekend. I guess it's just the whole idea of the work week being over and the thought of being able to relax. There are a lot more things to do on the weekends in MI then there were in P'Cola. I scan the paper every Friday for the upcoming Apple Festival or Greek Festival or St. Somebody-I've-Never-Heard-Of Festival. Also, football season has started again and every Michigan State, U of M and (surprisingly) Ohio State game is on TV here! I also have my new home team Lions every Sunday afternoon. I guess I just enjoy the idea of weekends.

Friday Feast Sixty-One

Appetizer
Who is the easiest person for you to talk to?
That one's easy ~ Vickie. I used to talk to Jeannine sometimes, too, if I needed to vent about a problem Vic & I might've been having. Now that Jeannine is so far away, I guess Vic & I can't have any more problems!

Soup
If you could live in any ancient city during the height of the quality of its society and culture, which one would you choose?
My first thought is Rome because of how technologically advanced they were. It would be interesting to see the beginnings of politics, too. But only if I was one of the politicians.

Salad
What is the most exciting event you've ever witnessed?
The 1980 US Hockey team beating Russia. I was only about 15 and was watching it on the TV, but I remember that it was so exciting that I kept moving closer and closer to the screen until I was right on top of it. I yelled and screamed at the top of my lungs! It still gives me goosebumps when I see replays of the game on TV. My second choice would have to be experiencing Hurricane Ivan, although that was more terrifying than exciting. I have a small idea of what the Katrina victims are going through. Although we didn't lose the house, we were without electricity for two weeks. That's a lot of cold showers (when the water was turned back on after three days!)!

Main Course
If you were a celebrity, what would you do for a publicity stunt?
Have an affair with Angelina Jolie or get engaged to Katie Holmes.

Dessert
What do you consider the ideal age to have a first child?
I'd have to say 26. Your body is still young enough and you've had time to experience some things in your life you may not get to after having a child.

The WalMart Monster

Have I mentioned lately how much I hate the Wal Mart? I really don't mind my job that much. It's very labor intensive, but I tell myself it's a great workout (I hit my 20lbs. mark yesterday!). It's just that they don't pay us very well and treat us like cattle. There's little to no compassion for anyone I work with. During my orientation I had to watch several films and in at least half a dozen of them some bigwig tried to drive home the point that unions are bad, "we don't need unions because here at Wal Mart, we are a family." Family my ass. We work long hours for little pay and at the end of the night I can barely drive home because I'm so exhausted. And just to show you that WM is a multi-trillion dollar conglomerate that cares about nobody but itself, they've posted a sign-up sheet for people who would like to go to the Katrina-ravaged cities to help rebuild the Wal Mart stores down there. Not help with clean-up or distribute much-needed supplies. No sir buddy, we gotta get them stores back up and running cuz we're losing gobs of money each day they're closed. I'm considering quitting and getting a paper route. Or maybe I could be fry girl at an area McDonald's.

Excellent Sunday

I had my first trip to the Michael's store here in Warren this past weekend! I absolutely loved the Michael's in P'Cola and especially loved it when I had 40 or 50% off coupons. Well...this Saturday's paper had a 50% off coupon in it! AND...we get two papers so we got TWO 50% off coupons!!! (The store sales papers come in the Saturday paper because there are so many of them and the Sunday paper is really big anyway, so we get a headstart on all the Sunday sales. And we get two newspapers because Vic just loves to read the newspaper and Detroit is big enough to have several papers.) Back to Michael's...So I dragged Vic and took our TWO 50% off coupons to the Michael's store (which is only a few blocks from our house!) and we bought two, that's TWO cute little stools to put on either side of the big bed. Vic stained them and they look wonderful! This made for a most excellent Sunday. TWO 50% off coupons!

Mums The Word

Okay, so we didn't actually finish the bedroom today, but we did buy some lovely Mums at the Home Depot. For some reason Vickie & I seem to be more productive when we attempt tasks on our own. When we get together to tackle a project we just never seem to get anywhere. I think we enjoy each other's company too much and want to do fun stuff instead of work stuff. So on my next day off (while Vic is at work) I will probably finish the bedroom. Until then, we have some beautiful flowers to look at!

Big Bed

On our move to MI, Vic & I stopped off at her brother's house in Nashville. Not only was it our half-way point, but it enabled us to finally pick up her grandmother's bed that her brother had been keeping for us for about 6 years. About an hour after we left her brother's house, he called to say we had forgotten the side rails! I tell you all this because he finally got around to sending us the rails and we got them from the UPS man just the other afternoon! Wow, is this ever a tall bed! We need little step-stools just to get in (or I guess we could dive in when feeling especially perky). It really looks nice in our bedroom. As a matter of fact, since I have this weekend off Vic & I are going to concentrate all our energy on fixing up the bedroom exactly how we want it. Hopefully this weekend our bedroom will be the first totally completed room in the house!

Interview

I think today's interview with the Sheriff's Dept. went really well. (I'm glad I wore my lucky bra!) They smiled and nodded and chuckled quite a bit and then gave me a tour of the workcenter, so I guess that's all positive feedback. I'm sure I won't hear what their decision is for at least a couple of weeks. I know they need to do a background check and it is a government agency after all, so everything moves at a snail's pace.

Vic's mom left for vacation this morning ~ she and a friend are driving to the Wisconsin Dells for a week. I kinda feel like Vic & I are going to be on our own for a week and her mom doesn't even live with us! She's not really here all the time, but she's an every day presence none the less. She calls at least once a day and sometimes she evens calls just to talk to me! It's nice. I think she's really glad to have Vickie nearby her again, although sometimes Vickie's not so glad. It seems like Mom always finds some project for Vic to do on Sundays while I'm at work. Hee-hee.