It’s been nearly a month since I looked at an Internet form with a header that read “Adde New Post.” Okay, there’s no Olde Englishe “E“, that’s just a typo I decided to leave in because I’m entirely too easily amused.
To quote Jim Anchower from The Onion, “I know it’s been a long time since I rapped at ya, but I’ve barely had a chance to catch my breath these days.”
This past month has been mad, insane, crazy-go-nuts, but actually in a good way. I think I’m just gonna have to break it all down listy-style to make sure I don’t forget anything good.
1. Starting off in October, Joel and I went on vacation. We went to Lake Ouachita, and it was fantastic! We rode mountain bikes, read library books, and took pictures. Some evidence of that can be witnessed here.
The guy who owns the Hwy 27 Fishing Village has two cute dogs:
Rascal
and Ace.
The more funny-looking and disproportionate your dog is, the more likely I am going to find him/her completely, ridiculously adorable.
2. Most of the rest of October pretty much was business as usual…crappy call center job, Joel working weird hours, days getting shorter. Bleh.
3. Then, toward the end of October, a friend of a friend offered to forward my resume to an architect who needed an office manager. She forwarded, I was interviewed, he hired me, new job starts 11-8-2010.
4. But before that, we had planned a trip to visit my parents in Nebraska during the last weekend of the month. So we packed up to the Panhandle and visited my folks. Joel and Dad patched a hole in the kitchen ceiling, Mom and I dug up some volunteer asparagus which have been migrated to Kansas City and we all had a real nice time. Took the dog out to raise hell in the neighbor’s empty pasture again. She did. And how. She was in and out of the river about 17 times, rolled around on a dried cowpat, and generally acted like the wild animal she fondly believes herself to be. While we were up in NE, Joel, Dad, and I did some logistics figuring regarding getting the old VW toted back to KC., and I think this coming spring we’re going down there with a light bar and a ball hitch, and will be dragging the old car to KC, to a body shop. I’m pretty stoked about that.
5. This brings us up pretty close to now, which is my first weekend after a full week at my new job. I’m still getting the lay of the land there, so to speak. Trying to get to grips with my predecessors’ arcane filing “system” and come to an understanding with four antiquated and decrepit printers and a phone system straight out of 1980. I’ve been alternately feeling super efficient (“YEAH, I showed Excel who ain’t a chump”) and like a complete incompetent when I could not get the photocopier to do a two-sided copy. The printers love me, the photocopier hates me, and the e-mail system is still baffling me. But I think the office and I will come to an understanding, and sooner rather than later!
6. Oh, and in between visiting my parents and starting the new job, I managed to catch a particularly noisome, snot-ridden, hacking-fit cold. I’m still slightly under the weather but definitely on the mend. Last Saturday, I literally slept all day.
7. Oh, and somewhere in there, I made a great new jacket:
It’s Butterick B5232 “Option B” and it was super easy and came out exactly the way I had hoped it would. I made this of natural cotton canvas, lined with some acetate brocade that I have a crapload of. I wish I’d had more canvas to make a matching pair of bloomers and an overskirt. This jacket works well with modern clothes, too. I wore it to work the other day with a pair of corduroys and a v-neck knit top and it looked pretty sharp.
8. So, after my first day at the new job, Joel got a job offer at a shop much closer to home, guaranteed full-time, insurance, and a fixed, reliable working schedule. As much fun as the Trek store people have been to work with, the balance of a predictable schedule and a 2.5 mile commute won out.
9. He also bought a motor scooter, a Honda Ruckus (his is red). This is for trips that are too long to be conveniently bike-able, but not worth firing up the truck for. He’d been wanting one for ages; he claims to look like Dumb & Dumber while riding it.
I’ll have to shoot a video soon for comparison. It’s not quite as bad as Harry & Lloyd, but it is really a spectacular sight to see the entirety of Joel folded up and perched on the seat of the Ruckus.
So, that’s life around here. Two new jobs, a couple of road trips, some sewing stuff, and some silly pictures.
Maybe now that all that’s out of the way I’ll get back to blogging on something like a regular basis.
Yay!! Happy stuff – congrats to both of you. Joel’s commute is now shorter than ours!
Congrats to both of you. A bike store job with bennies seems like a rarity these days. Good luck wrangling technology. It can be challenging. 🙂