Jokes and Office Politics

Last night D did a stand up comedy routine on stage at the school's Talent Show. He was calm, poised and hilarious :) If you'll forgive the shaky camera thing, I'll post it later.

The job is going better. Although, a strange thing happened today. A woman came up and told me she owed me an apology.
Last week I was a bit petulant when asked to sort paperwork for a few reps. I said some shitty things, like "I can already staple the SHIT out of some paper. What I NEED is someone to take the time to explain the damn paper work."
Afterwards I heard that someone complained about me to management. Great way to start a new job, right? But then someone else had agreed with me and said so, and in the end, it amounted to nothing.
Anyway, the woman came up to me and said that she'd been too judgemental last week over the paperwork mess, she'd judged me and my response too harshly, and she was very sorry. That took some nerve, and so I told her it was okay, she's forgiven.
And do you know what? It never occurred to me that maybe *I* should have apologized to them for my less than stellar behavior and snarky comments. Hm, maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

Then again, probably not. I've got a reputation to uphold, afterall.


Today is my grandpa's birthday, so I went to visit him with a card and a balloon. He's such a great guy, I just adore him. The look on his face when I told him I'm going back to school to be a history teacher was priceless. You see, my grandpa is all about history. Personal, country, world. He's my hero. He raised a family, including a child that wasn't his, but was never treated different for even a moment. A child with developmental delays and learning disabilities, who was always loved and supported. He defended this country over many years as a chief in the Navy. For me, his only grandchild, he always had a smile and a few bucks for ice cream - for me AND all my friends. He's got a great sense of humor, he's the most dependable human I know, AND he gives great hugs :)

Me Against the World

And a big thank you to Tupac, rest his tattooed little soul, for supplying today's title.
HB3925 passed, AFTER our esteemed lawmakers took out all the important parts. Seriously, some days I wonder if other countries are this ass backwards. Then there's HB2354, which I'm supporting because, well, I'm a woman and I have a brain.

That's me in the house gallery, preparing to take over the world. Yes, with a smile.

Yesterday I picked up my new car. Just like this one here:

Well, except it's black. So I'm all excited, right, because I'm back in a Jetta where I belong - and today I won't drive it because it's buried in snow. Come on, mother nature, cut me some slack!

Next week my darling Daimean will turn 11. I can hardly believe it. The school's talent show is Wed, and he's doing a stand up comedy routine, all stolen from Dane Cook. I asked him to please not use the Jesus jokes....

As Close to Heaven

Last night, after my first day at the new job, wading through my tax stuff, sending a credit app for a second car, and sadly kissing Hubs good bye on his way out to work.... Belly was tossing and turning, unable to sleep. I went and stretched out next to him in bed, he curled his arms around me and tucked his head just under my chin, and I realized that moment must be the closest thing to heaven on earth. To be able to comfort someone who wants nothing more than *you*, and to lose the stress of the day in just one hug. Truly amazing.

Mrs Me Goes to Springfield

I'll be in Springfield for a few days to gather support of HB 3925, which will expand the Safe Haven law in IL. Read all about it here
It's exciting for me because I actually enjoy politics and seeing how everything works (or in some cases, doesn't work) within our government. And, being the lover of history that I am, I enjoy visiting places like the Lincoln Presidential Museum.
Since I was always working when these trips came up before, I took advantage of my jobless state and agreed to go. AND it gave me a perfect excuse to put off starting the new job right away :)
Now, I'm off to use my extensive powers of persuasion on our state reps, enjoy working with my friends, and continue saving the world, one baby at a time.

On Being Thankful

Got the self pity out of the way last night. Had to. Wasn't looking at it the right way, a cognitive mistake, that's all. I'm better now, really. Thankful. Optimistic. I swear it.
Well, this helps, too.

On Starting Over

I got the job today, the one where my friend will be my boss. Ironically, THAT isn't what I'm having problems with. We're adults, and professional adults at that - I'm sure we'll be fine. It's the starting over thing. Going from having my own office and lots of flexibility to sharing an office with 10 people and having zero seniority. From being the one who answered questions to being the one asking them. And the pay cut - did I mention the pay cut? Yeah, to the tune of $16K. Ouch. To be fair, since my severance ran out a week and a half ago, technically I make nothing now, so maybe I should look at is as a BIG increase. And I'm trying to, I really am. I'm sooo trying to stay positive. My friend warned me before I went in there, he said, "The place is a dump." Sure, coming from where I was before, everything else looks like a dump. He said he was worried that I'd be unhappy with the pay, and I assured him I'd be okay. They called me half an hour after I left the interview to offer me the position. They said they knew I was looking for more money than that, and said they're willing to re-negotiate in a few months. I should be happy - so why do I feel like crying?

Meh.

That's how I feel. Blah. Bleh.
Meh.
Got to wait until August to start school.
Got to wait for Hubs to get up to finish the bathroom tile.
Got to wait for the economy to shore up to get a job.
Got to replace the dead microwave.
Got to get the dogs rabies shots.
I'm feeling like everything is a big To Do list.

But I *am* going to see How to Be this weekend, and I have a dinner date tonight, and Daimean's doing a reading at family mass this weekend (don't start, I still hate organized religion, but they offer a much better school than the public ones that my tax dollars do) so okay, maybe I'm just feeling down.

*glances at calendar*

Nope. It's PMS. Ahhh, so that explains it! Guess I'll be back to normal in a few days then. Please, carry on with what you were doing prior to coming and getting engulfed in my whining.