Applications...

Ok, my friend said I should apply at University of Tennessee, and get into their "temp pool." I downloaded the application, filled it out and attached my resume and transcripts. For a university, the transcripts are always needed.

So, I'm getting ready to take it over and drop it off, and I see that I didn't add any position announcement numbers. These are a way for the university to track an opening and get it filled. I had all of them on the screen, so I started skimming....

Boy. Oh. Boy! I found 6. And one wanted event planning experience - which I'd already listed!!! Man! Maybe this will work out, after all.

In the middle of all this paperwork, I got a call from another agency where I'd put in my resume. They called to ask if they can put in my resume for a job they have.

Like YEAH!

So, I have an appointment in the morning to be "tested" again. Yeah, I'll blow them away on Windows, Word, Excel, Math, Spelling, and typing speed. I always do.

Parking downtown was a complete bust. The lot I used to use for free parking is now only accessible by a long ramp. The elevator has been co-opted and the museum that used to be there is no longer. Too hot for that. I only stayed downtown for a few minutes, so it worked out.

If I have to spend a day downtown, I'm not sure where I'll park. Most of the lots seem to be $7 for a whole day, so that might be my only option. Still, not as expensive as some other places, I guess.

I got my other chores done, too. A good day all around....

Prayers DO work! They really do!

Work -

It's been a complete bust, looking for work. There is nothing out there. I'm now signed up with another agency, where I'd submitted my resume, and they called. That's good, right?

I have a large task today - go downtown for a few hours.

I need to get my meds - so that is an important stop...
My books are due at the library, and not all of them were read, so some have to be renewed...
I'm applying at the UT HR dept, for their temp pool...

I should be downtown for about 3-4 hours. I need to find parking that is close to a shuttle stop, and won't take all my cash. I need to carry all my stuff (books, work-search file, purse) and not be bogged down by too much stuff. I need to wear good shoes, so I can walk comfortably.

I can get my meds on the way back home. The biggest issue is to remember my checkbook, for those. So, take that out now and get it into my purse...

So, off I go! Wish me luck... I need it right now.

Networking Women, Early Morning Alarm

I went to my networking meeting last night...

http://www.meetup.com/Women-Creating-Wealth/

We learned how to become celebrities in our town! It was a lot of fun. I heartily suggest any entrepreneurial woman find a network and use it. Of course, I use LinkedIn, as well. But this group was personally recommended to me, and I'm finding all kinds of information in it. It's like a pressure-cooker environment, creating successful women entrepreneurs. Our leader, Rachel Young, is really great!

Then, this morning, I got up early and mowed the yard.

Have I told you this story? I've been woken up since I moved into my house - in October - at 4AM every weekday.

I thought it was the neighbor's alarm, set too close to the window. Then, I thought it might be a truck's backup alarm, at the yard down the street.

It turns out that when the house was built, someone left their watch, alarm set for 4AM on weekdays only (not Monday! The crews were off on Mondays) somewhere in the wall of my bedroom before the drywall was put up. It got sealed in the wall. There is no way to find it that will be successful, and not leave a mess.

I decided to make lemonade out of lemons - use that 4AM alarm for when I need to do the yard and it's scorching hot or high humidity or both (like right now!) and get out of bed early. Why not?

So - Never think that just because you have an obstacle, you can't find something positive about it!

I'm a complete night-owl! I like late-night TV. I don't sleep worth beans. I like to sleep late in the morning. So what! My sleep has been messed up for so long, it doesn't hurt me to get my butt out of bed in the early morning and do something instead of laying around until noon.

Besides, I take a nap most evenings anyway. They might as well serve a purpose besides after-dinner boredom!

Been sick again...

A whopping 5 days in bed! High fevers, delerium, unable to eat or drink, got dehydrated of course, and even had thoughts of waking on the other side...

I've been drinking electrolyte drinks for the last several days, and eating PBJ, as that seems to be the only thing I can handle. Chicken soup was too much for me.

I was up for several hours yesterday after the fever broke, but I was so exhausted, that I slept another 13 hours. I'm finally up and about, and reasonably functional.

Did anyone get the number on that truck???

I closed the door on the phone so it would quit waking me up, and I didn't check e-mail during my illness. I had over 130 e-mails in one account, and several in each of the others...

Sorry, but I had to check out for a few days....

Sore Throat Followed by Laryngitis...

This happened to me last year, too. I wonder how many years I'll put up with this before I change something? It lasted about 2 weeks last year. It started Wednesday afternoon. I'd used the weed-eater on the yard that day.

Yep, a grass allergy! Who knew???

I lived for 22 years in Los Angeles. There are numerous lawns there that are cut weekly, and I never had a problem except with some flowers (Allysum, I think).

I moved to Nevada, and mold became a problem during the winter, and sage blossoms in the summer, but otherwise I was fine.

I move to Tennessee, and suddenly I'm allergic to all kinds of stuff! Grass, mold, Corn (it's endemic in our food today!) and a whole lot of trees and stuff...

Don't get me started on Corn! It isn't fit for consumption, human or animal. It's now degenerated into a fuel producing plant, and it isn't good for anything else. And 20% or more of global agriculture is dedicated to it.

Yes, you can grow corn in your backyard, but it's open-pollinated. That means that any corn grown in a 20 mile radius might pollinate your corn and you end up with useless corn. And how do you know the seed-corn is any good to begin with?

Agribusiness has ruined one of the great grain crops of the earth in the name of profit. What a waste! And they put corn products into just about every prepared food in the supermarket. Even cat food!

Cats don't eat corn - or wheat. It causes digestive upsets, as it does in people. The upsets may take a different form, but there is a problem with it in their system.

Read the labels on your food. Anything that ends in -ose or -ethyl is a sugar additive to your food. Anything that begins with chlor- is likely a salt. If you can't pronounce it, it came from a test tube. Shop on the edges of your store. Stay away from prepared foods. If you can bake your own bread, do so.

See, I've gotten off on corn, and I meant to stay on my sore throat and laryngitis... That's what happens when I get onto our food supply....

Beds and Sleep

Have you ever gotten a new bed and been unable to sleep? That's what's happened to me.

I got a new bed right about the same time I came home from the hospital. I haven't been sleeping well ever since. At first, I thought it was because of the surgery, but I realized it's the bed, and I'm reluctant to deal with it... They are very expensive!

However, every time the cats jump on the bed, it shakes and jiggles, and I wake up. It isn't their fault, but I kick them off the bed anyway. And then I can't get back to sleep, no matter what I do!

I spent the greater part of last night saying over and over again "My needs are met and I'm in good health" as a mantra of gratitude. It didn't help. You see, when I wake in the middle of the night, I'm crabby. I want to sleep, naturally. I start thinking about all the stuff that's "wrong" with my life, and then I get worked up, and can't sleep no matter how hard I try. So, the mantra usually helps. Not last night. I've been awake since 4:30AM again....

On the old bed, my hips would wake me from pressure points, but when the cats jumped on the bed, I didn't notice. There was no shake or jiggle. If one of the cats decided to take a bath, I only noticed if they were touching me. Now, every little movement shakes the whole thing!

I wanted a new bed, don't get me wrong, but I'm not the universal dumping ground. Just because someone wanted to gift it to me, doesn't mean it's the right thing for me. I guess I need to learn to say no to gifts...

This bed needs to go to the trash, or the thrift store! I need a hard bed that doesn't move and jiggle every time a cat jumps up on it. And I really don't like pillow top mattresses! Whoever thought up that great idea was nuts! I have a memory foam topper I use, and it works perfectly. I just want a hard box spring and a firm mattress that isn't more than 8" tall. My sheets barely fit over this thing!

So, out with the almost new, and in with the new!

Maybe I'll finally get some sleep!

The cats will be happier, too. They will get to sleep with me again....