Gainfully Employed

Just a little update - my temp $8 an hour job was the foot in the door I needed. Two weeks later and I'm on day one of a higher paying, with benefits, permanent job with these people. Granted it's still in the same agency as my last job down here, but different division. It's good though that I can just walk down the street during lunch and have lunch w/the girls from my old office. I did miss them and their good goss. By my birthday in Sept we'll all be in the same building, we move in August and they do on my birthday, so that'll be fun!

While I was pregnant I was sure I'd want to be a stay at home mom. After having Toby I thought I did then as well... 6 months later and I was dying to get out of the house and back to work. I do miss him but I don't envy my husband's job of taking care of him and the house and our pacifier business while I get rest at work. I get to have lunch, take my time and go to the bathroom when I need to, and talk to real adults about non baby stuff in non baby speak.

And the best part - I'm getting out of the house! And I have a reason to not wear pajamas all day.

I also really do appreciate my time with Toby more. I don't see it as a chore anymore. Phew.

The fun stuff is over on his blog, or here www.dropshots.com/adspencer

Hurricane Prep

To ex-Louisianans, present Louisianans, and future Louisianans:
Louisiana Hurricane Season Notes

Today is the start of hurricane season. In the coming months, you're
going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar
blob out in the Gulf of Mexico and making two basic meteorological
points:
(1) There is no need to panic.
(2) We could all be killed.

Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Louisiana. If you're
new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to
prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one."
Based on our experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple
three-step hurricane preparedness plan:

STEP 1. Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at
least three days.
STEP 2. Put these supplies into your car.
STEP 3. Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Halloween.

Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this
sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay here in Louisiana.
We'll
start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness
items:

HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE:

If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately, this
insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic
requirements:
(1) It is reasonably well-built, and (2) It is located in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, if your home is located in South Louisiana, or any other
area that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies
would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they
might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they
got into the insurance business in the first place.

So you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will
charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of
your house. At any moment, this company can drop you like used dental
floss.

Since Hurricane George, I have had an estimated 27 different
home-insurance companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan
Insurance Company, under a policy which states that, in addition to my
premium, Bob and Big Stan are entitled, on demand, to my kidneys.

SHUTTERS:

Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the
doors, and -- if it's a major hurricane -- all the toilets. There are
several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages:

Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself,
they're cheap.
The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they will fall
off.

Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you
get them all up.
The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands will be
useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.

Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use,
and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you
will have to sell your house to pay for them.

"Hurricane-proof" windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane
protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand
hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so.
He lives in Nebraska.

Hurricane Proofing Your Property:
As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for movable objects like
barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc. You
should, as a precaution, throw these items into your swimming pool (if
you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one built immediately).
Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects into deadly
missiles.
EVACUATION ROUTE:

If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route
planned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at
your driver's license; if it says "Louisiana," you live in a low-lying
area.) The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being
trapped in your home when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be
trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along
with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not
be lonely.

HURRICANE SUPPLIES:

If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them
now! Louisiana tradition requires that you wait until the last possible
minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with
strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM.

In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:

-23 flashlights

-At least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, when the power goes off,
to be the wrong size for the flashlights.

-Bleach (No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the
bleach is for, but it's traditional, so GET some!)

-A 55-gallon drum of underarm deodorant.

-A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a
hurricane, but it looks cool.)

-A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask anybody who went through Camille; after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.)

-$35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can
buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.

Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near,
it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by
turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers
stand right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally
important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean.

Good luck, and remember: It's great living in Paradise!

For all the naysayers

Suzie Orman called and said she had to meet the people whose financial actions shocked her so much... so we got her drunk, tied her up and threw her on a Greyhound bus headed for Lake Providence, Louisiana (welfare capital of the world). I think she might have fun there.

By the way for those keeping score:
Cost of gas to drive the truck to and from work a day - $7.56
Cost of gas to drive new car to and from work a day - $3.78
Cost of new tires on truck - $500
Estimated cost of new tires on car should we need them - $125
Percentage cheaper that oil changes will be on car rather than truck - 70%

Still have something to say? Put it on a postcard so I can frame it.

I went and took the Professional Entry Test for civil service in order to get one of the higher paying State jobs available, and passed with 30 points to spare. After applying for every job available that I could do, I went to the temp agency that placed me in the State where I was immediately hired permanently in 2003. They stuck me in a temp job, back in Social Services, but a different agency and a building 4 blocks down the street from where I used to work. It wasn't much, just sorting out a new filing system, oh the challenge. After I did what they thought would be 2 weeks of work in 2 days, the supervisors found out that I took the state PET test and passed, and almost literally jumped for joy. Apparently there is a position open in that department that they were about to start reviewing applications for, that is 2 pay scales higher than my former job in social services. They mentioned that they're already happy with me and can't wait to move me to that position and find "another temp" to do the job I was doing.

So Monday I'm supposed to bring in my test scores and state application and we'll go from there. That's the second time I've been hired from temp agency job to permanent state job within 2 days.

Speaking of working, I am loving it. Even the dreadfully boring filing, highlighting and sorting. It has been great to just get out of the house and feel like I am being useful in some way. I've spent so many years just evaluating my self-worth on my career, what type of work I was doing, and it has been so hard to shake that since becoming a Mother where my self-worth is loads higher and more important in THAT position. So being back at work has helped me progress tremendously in the happy-brain department. I went to see the psychiatrist yesterday and we're going to start trying to phase out one of the medicines in a few weeks, over about 2 months I think. Then I will only take it intermittently, like the time of month my hormones make my brain go nuts.

Also I have been making leaps and bounds with my new christian counselor. She has helped me so much more in the past 5 sessions than all of my previous 3 years of therapy combined. She's wonderful. And helping me realize that I'm not so bad myself, eh?

Anyway, I'm still not keeping this as a regular blog but had to share the news with someone. Continue to check out Toby's blog for new pictures and videos! http://tobiaspeter.blogspot.com