October is infertility awareness month and the 19th through the 25th is National Infertility Awareness Week. Please check the Resolve website for information on infertility and how it affects nearly 10% of the population.
So, it's been a while. Let's catch up, shall we?
Bob and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary at the end of September. We were given a 2-night stay at a local casino's luxury hotel. It was fabulous. I'm not much of a gambler so I enjoyed the in room movies, the casino bowling alley, and the hotel pool and whirlpool (one night I had both all to myself for nearly an hour!). Bob won 2nd place in a Texas Hold'em tournament so we actually had some money to play with, which was nice. We also drove around the area in which we stayed and had a lovely day outside enjoying the sunny autumn weather. Bob surprised me with some Fiestaware for an anniversary present, so that was nice too.
School continues to go well. I find that though the work can be overwhelming at times, I am really enjoying what I am learning. My professors are knowledgeable and helpful without being condescending. I am getting pretty good marks so far and feel good about what I am doing there. I recently met with my advisor to go over next semester's class picks and while I am adding an extra class compared to what I'm doing now, I'm only adding an extra credit. Interestingly, 3 of my classes meet on Tuesday and my other class meets on Wednesday. That leaves the rest of the week open to more job hunting/working.
Speaking of...the temporary jobs seemed to have all but dried up. I used to get weekly notices of openings but lately I've not heard anything. I've called the agencies and they have my info on file but no openings ready. However, I do have an interview at a local camera store tomorrow at 11. They are looking for some type of manager. I don't have manager experience but I am hoping some life experience will qualify me for the position. I submitted my resume this morning and he called me at noon for the interview so it seems he is really looking for someone. Who knows, this could be a door into bigger and better things.
Things at my old workplace seem to still be in turmoil. One of my former co-workers keeps me abreast of what's going on and she says things are crazy. People are cashing in their annuities left and right which makes the workload quite large. Normal cash outs when I was working there were about 5-8 per day. My friend told me they are now processing hundreds per day. Also, it seems that they are beginning to treat her the way I was being treated. I am not happy that she is getting hassled but I am happy to know that it wasn't just me reading too much into things. It was really real and it really happened. I just hope she can stand her ground and take it or face it better than I could.
Finally because we are getting down to the last of the money we'd put aside we made a decision and followed through with it on Wednesday. We went and applied for public assistance. Bob needs medical assistance for sure and we are looking into a grant we'd heard about for familial care-givers for persons with disabilities. Applying wasn't fun. We got to the office around 10am and got our number. They called our number once to see what we were there for. We got the paperwork we needed to fill out. They called our number again to get our paperwork. Then we had to wait for our number to be called a third time to meet with someone to go over our paperwork. When we were done we had a list of more paperwork they require before they can make a decision on our acceptance into the program. I have all but one thing on the list as of right now. I am waiting for that to be mailed to me and when it is, I can fax everything else in. I don't know how fast the wheels turn, but I hope it's faster than our money runs out.
Bob was bummed to apply for assistance but I was less so. It's there for people who need it when they need it. When we don't need it anymore, we won't use it. I don't expect to need it for a long period of time...it's just to help us through this tough spot.
Being at the county assistance office sure was an interesting social study. Lots of faces of color. Lots of elderly. Lots of men. One woman got arrested while we were there waiting and that was interesting as well. She was compliant and the police officers were polite, quiet, and quick about it. As we were leaving, an African American man got on the elevator with us. Just as the doors closed a woman in head to toe coverings tried to get on but was unsuccessful. The whole trip down the gentleman (and I use that term loosely) spat the worst racist language I'd heard in a while. He spoke out loud to us as though we might share his opinion of "that kind of person". Unfortunately, he got off on another floor and we weren't able to respond one way or the other. I am not used to hearing such hatred spoken so smoothly and it sat with me (and apparently continues to sit with me) the rest of the day.
Oh! My friend is still pregnant and we are still friends. I look forward to an upcoming retreat we are going on with all our friends next month so we can talk even more. I got her a newborn size onesie while we were at the casino and a Target Baby gift card. All her kids are teenagers so for her, it is like she is starting completely over and I am sure she needs lots of new stuff. Right now she can barely think of that because she is sick quite a bit. The first trimester is kicking her butt.
This weekend is the annual MDA Stride and Ride. If you would like to donate to our walk for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, email me or post a comment and I will give you our mailing address. All gifts are tax deductable. Thanks!
So, it's been a while. Let's catch up, shall we?
Bob and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary at the end of September. We were given a 2-night stay at a local casino's luxury hotel. It was fabulous. I'm not much of a gambler so I enjoyed the in room movies, the casino bowling alley, and the hotel pool and whirlpool (one night I had both all to myself for nearly an hour!). Bob won 2nd place in a Texas Hold'em tournament so we actually had some money to play with, which was nice. We also drove around the area in which we stayed and had a lovely day outside enjoying the sunny autumn weather. Bob surprised me with some Fiestaware for an anniversary present, so that was nice too.
School continues to go well. I find that though the work can be overwhelming at times, I am really enjoying what I am learning. My professors are knowledgeable and helpful without being condescending. I am getting pretty good marks so far and feel good about what I am doing there. I recently met with my advisor to go over next semester's class picks and while I am adding an extra class compared to what I'm doing now, I'm only adding an extra credit. Interestingly, 3 of my classes meet on Tuesday and my other class meets on Wednesday. That leaves the rest of the week open to more job hunting/working.
Speaking of...the temporary jobs seemed to have all but dried up. I used to get weekly notices of openings but lately I've not heard anything. I've called the agencies and they have my info on file but no openings ready. However, I do have an interview at a local camera store tomorrow at 11. They are looking for some type of manager. I don't have manager experience but I am hoping some life experience will qualify me for the position. I submitted my resume this morning and he called me at noon for the interview so it seems he is really looking for someone. Who knows, this could be a door into bigger and better things.
Things at my old workplace seem to still be in turmoil. One of my former co-workers keeps me abreast of what's going on and she says things are crazy. People are cashing in their annuities left and right which makes the workload quite large. Normal cash outs when I was working there were about 5-8 per day. My friend told me they are now processing hundreds per day. Also, it seems that they are beginning to treat her the way I was being treated. I am not happy that she is getting hassled but I am happy to know that it wasn't just me reading too much into things. It was really real and it really happened. I just hope she can stand her ground and take it or face it better than I could.
Finally because we are getting down to the last of the money we'd put aside we made a decision and followed through with it on Wednesday. We went and applied for public assistance. Bob needs medical assistance for sure and we are looking into a grant we'd heard about for familial care-givers for persons with disabilities. Applying wasn't fun. We got to the office around 10am and got our number. They called our number once to see what we were there for. We got the paperwork we needed to fill out. They called our number again to get our paperwork. Then we had to wait for our number to be called a third time to meet with someone to go over our paperwork. When we were done we had a list of more paperwork they require before they can make a decision on our acceptance into the program. I have all but one thing on the list as of right now. I am waiting for that to be mailed to me and when it is, I can fax everything else in. I don't know how fast the wheels turn, but I hope it's faster than our money runs out.
Bob was bummed to apply for assistance but I was less so. It's there for people who need it when they need it. When we don't need it anymore, we won't use it. I don't expect to need it for a long period of time...it's just to help us through this tough spot.
Being at the county assistance office sure was an interesting social study. Lots of faces of color. Lots of elderly. Lots of men. One woman got arrested while we were there waiting and that was interesting as well. She was compliant and the police officers were polite, quiet, and quick about it. As we were leaving, an African American man got on the elevator with us. Just as the doors closed a woman in head to toe coverings tried to get on but was unsuccessful. The whole trip down the gentleman (and I use that term loosely) spat the worst racist language I'd heard in a while. He spoke out loud to us as though we might share his opinion of "that kind of person". Unfortunately, he got off on another floor and we weren't able to respond one way or the other. I am not used to hearing such hatred spoken so smoothly and it sat with me (and apparently continues to sit with me) the rest of the day.
Oh! My friend is still pregnant and we are still friends. I look forward to an upcoming retreat we are going on with all our friends next month so we can talk even more. I got her a newborn size onesie while we were at the casino and a Target Baby gift card. All her kids are teenagers so for her, it is like she is starting completely over and I am sure she needs lots of new stuff. Right now she can barely think of that because she is sick quite a bit. The first trimester is kicking her butt.
This weekend is the annual MDA Stride and Ride. If you would like to donate to our walk for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, email me or post a comment and I will give you our mailing address. All gifts are tax deductable. Thanks!
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