OK - No Infection....

No infection! Cool....

Just the muscles complaining about things. THAT! I can deal with!!! I'm so scared of health issues, anymore. I've had so many surgeries, that it's just a matter of averages before something goes seriously wrong. Like riding on a bus, motorcycle or in a plane. Something will go wrong after so many occurrences....

Other than that, the pain med got changed and I'm not sure how it's working yet. I'll keep trying it, and get back to you on that. I don't want to become an expert in pain meds, but the other stuff was making me too agitated to sleep, so it wasn't really helping.

I miss my meetings terribly! I don't feel comfortable going out in public much. I've got today, taking care of a kitty, and then I'm pretty much done till tomorrow. I was supposed to go to this thing tonight, but I think I'll pass. I'm too sore and I don't want to stand around for 2 hours - no matter how good it would be for my business - and pay the price later.

Garden Progress

I prepared the buckets for the tomatoes. I checked the trees, and they all have buds, except the crape myrtle. Those aren't going yet. I even have two flower buds on the dogwood! YEA!!!

I repotted a house plant, and potted up some Italian Oregano, and the Basil. I'm ready for greens and squash/cucumbers. I re-planted some of the beans, after the wind pulled over the support and pulled up several of the plants. I moved that planter to where it has more shelter from the wind.

I'm deciding where to put the grapes when they arrive. If the posts are in before my surgery, then I can easily have the plants put in the ground where they need to go. If the posts are not in the ground, who knows if they will even get planted!

Oh well, buckets are about $5 each.

I wrote up a list of stuff that needs to be done before I go into the hospital, and assigned tasks to each day. As long as I follow my schedule, no single day is overwhelming, and everything will get done.

I have this great organizing gene inside me, but it only gets to tell me what to do. It can't enforce things. My follow-through isn't as good as I'd like it to be. Well, I hope to post each day before surgery, and set out my accomplishments and cross stuff off my schedule! So, stay tuned...

Work on the Horizon & Surgery

Work is on the horizon. I've been hired by the US Census Bureau as an Enumerator. I don't start training till the end of April.

That leaves April to have the Surgery. Right now, we are talking about April 13, but if not, it won't be till May.

I'm about half-done with an e-book that I'll be selling on Clickbank about building a website. I hope that leads to workshops, seminars, and more consulting.

Trees Planted, General Updates

I have my 5 trees planted, now. I got the first 4 in, but they were too deep, so I had to dig them up and raise them. They arrived bare-root, so had to go in the ground right away. I got the 5th tree in a pot, but it was basically bare-root as well. However, it took me a couple of days to get it into the ground.

So, the trees are in, and the asparagus crowns arrived yesterday. I have no place prepared for them. I need to build the beds for the vegetables. The beans I started are taking over the kitchen. The other starts are all showing distress and need to be re-potted into flats with better drainage. I'm not prepared. It may be that this year's garden is a bust. I would like to get the strawberries going this year, though. And I'm really looking forward to some home-grown tomatoes. They taste so good!

I'll do what I can, but I think I bit off more than I could handle for this year. Just getting the perennials and trees in the ground is a great start this year, I guess.

On a completely different subject, work is looking a little better. I don't have a steady job, but my efforts are paying off for internet marketing, cat whispering, and coding sites for better SEO and SEM. If you don't understand the terms, don't worry about it. Just know that my efforts are showing fruit.

I've had to crash-learn several things lately, too. Moodle, Word Press, HostGator, PHP, Javascript, and others. It's fine, really. I needed to learn but didn't have any way to apply it, so didn't push it. Now, I have places for all of that to be applied, so it's sinking in better. It can be overwhelming, and my brain feels like mush after 6 solid hours, but TV is a good diversion, and the biggest problem is that I forget to eat.

I finally passed the Census test with a 100%, so when they begin hiring, I may have a job. I've also applied several other places for full- or part-time employment. I just need something I can count on, so that the bills get paid. The extras can be cut, removed, or ignored.

Money is dwindling, and I have expenses coming up, as usual. I can't really go out and purchase lumber or blocks to build the beds - not even for the asparagus!

I've canceled cable TV. Not a bad thing in the long run. I generally don't have time for it during the warmer weather, anyway. Running around, yard work, and so on. I'm in a 3-year contract on the internet/phone, so the only way to reduce expenses with Comcast is to cancel the TV.

I need to put brakes on the car, and it needs a full tune-up, to keep it running right. I'll do that, if and when the government finally sends the money on the first-time homebuyer's credit rebate. That, and pay my taxes. If there's anything left, I'll schedule the surgery.

On the surgery, I've been having symptoms, yes. It's like having a period, but I'm too old for them. The pain in my lower back is increasing, too. I'm pretty sure there is a growth around my colon/large intestine. The tests show something in that area, but they aren't specific enough to know exactly what. When it all comes out, I bet I'll feel like a million bucks!

I'm grateful, though. I have a breather - time to shift focus. I have enough food, the lights are on, the bills are not late (some are ahead!) and my debt load is very small. The house is new, so anything that's wrong is still under the warrantee.

I'm thinking about renting out my sewing room, too. The rent I receive will help with the house payment and electricity. Since I have the contract on the internet, I can offer wi-fi as a regular benefit. I just need to set-up the room. I'm working on it. That's the room that is a total mess right now. I still haven't unpacked all the boxes, you know.

Well, that's quite an update from an unemployed, but positive person....

Frustration - and Success!

I'm frustrated. With the IRS, my accountant, the system. I was supposed to be getting that first-time homebuyers credit, and things have delayed the funds so far out, that I can't count on them at all. Not a good thing, since they are spent - over half of it on the taxes for 2009! So, what to do??? Nothing.

Can't change city hall after all. Not unless I run for office, anyway.

Success - I've been taking the Census tests to be an enumerator at $12.75/hr. I need a job, and this is a perfect time, since I have no job and no unemployment....

Well, I kept getting the same score. Figuring it was the same section, I have been messing with the answers in that section and not really getting a better score. I took another test yesterday, and finally got the insight I needed. I'm taking it again today, and I'm confident that the 5th time will be the charm. I'll post back later, when I have the results.

The panic in my heart is about my surgery. I know I need it, but now it has to be delayed until the funds come in. I can't pay the Dr. if I don't have money. I called the office, and they are very understanding. If things get unbearable, I'll find a way to pay for the surgery. Six to eight weeks should not kill me - even if it's ovarian cancer.

On another topic completely....

How do I get from where I am, to where I want to be?

I had an interview this week with one of the call-center type places. I knew I didn't want to be there, but also know that without interviewing, I won't get a job. Period.

It was so painfully obvious to both the lady (Brenda) and myself, that I didn't belong there. It was a waste of her time, but it wasn't for me. I needed to see how far I've changed.

So, how do I get from here to there? I'm supposed to be helping folks, consulting, making websites better, improving online commerce. My coding skills are nominal, but improving. It's just the Javascript that I'm on now. I already have the HTML and CSS down. I also looked into the database stuff, for SQL, so I can incorporate the data tables on the pages. I've about got forms and stuff down. While I don't code new flash stuff, I can incorporate it. But all this is self-taught.

Thank you w3schools.org....

I'm intimidated by the folks who have the degrees in computers. I know that my experience counts for a lot, and my self-learning has put me in a position to blow them all out of the water - but I'm still intimidated by college-earned degrees.

Maybe it's a hold-over from mom...

Well, called a fellow about an interview on Monday. Maybe something will come of that...

Surgery on the Horizon...

Ok, this makes like the 5th or 6th major surgery to the old bod...

This time, we don't yet know if it's cancer or fibroids, but since pathology has to be done on the other end, we're waiting. No use borrowing trouble...

Yep, FINALLY getting the hysterectomy I should have had in 1983. Don't have a schedule yet, but I'll need help, this I know. It will be the kind of operation where I'll have yet another scar, and it won't be easy.

I'll probably be in the hospital 2-3 days, and then out of commission, unable to drive for a good week. I'll be able to work as soon as I can think straight, since work consists of walking from the bedroom to the office.

I'll need help for at least 2 weeks, I figure. Folks who are willing, start lining up, please...