Hummingbird, Class Ring, Career Stuff

I saw my first, real, up-close, hummingbird the other morning. I heard a noise go past my head as I locked the front door. I looked up and saw this tiny bird with wings moving so fast I could barely see them. It was really cute and I felt grateful to have finally seen one that wasn't on TV. I just stood there and watched it for awhile.

I finally have my MHC ring back in one piece! As some of you may remember, the stone fell out about six months after I graduated. Thankfully, Balfour has a lifetime guarantee. Unfortunately, when I called them, they suggested I wait to send it in because they were swamped with new orders at that time and they didn't want mine to get held up or misplaced. I complied, then forgot about it, then moved, and then 10 years went by. At my 10 year reunion in May I gave the ring to the on campus Balfour rep. and she sent it in to be repaired. I finally got the ring back in the mail at the end of last week and am now wearing it proudly. Yeah!

I have a hopeful note on the career front. My friend Deborah, who knows an LA producer, emailed me today with the producer's email address and said that his show is coming to Vermont next week. I'm offering to volunteer while they are in New England and I'll keep you posted.

Boy, I didn't realize that more than a week had gone by.

I'm sorry for not posting in over a week. Things got away from me.

I wrapped up taking care of Max and Chloe last Saturday with a long day of household chores and moving to my next abode. I picked up Keith & Wendy at the airport at 8:30pm, brought them back to their place, talked with them for awhile, and then drove 30-40 minutes back up to Susan's. I went out to the eastern part of the state on Sunday to picnic with friends. We had a good time and I got to play catch (complete with baseball and mitts) and kick around a football. I also got some sun, which was nice.

Unfortunately, I spent most of Monday through Thursday watching TV. I love science fiction and suddenly I have access to the Sci. Fi. Channel and Spike TV. Oh, boy!

Today I am out enjoying the beautiful day, running errands, and catching up on my email here at the library. I'm at a table on the mezzanine because our library has laptops that can be checked out and used all over the library with free wi fi access. I plan on getting my hair cut today or tomorrow and I'm going to a farmstand on the way home to get corn, tomatoes, green beans, and other yummy stuff.

Oh, and I did go to Best Buy on Wednesday and got a really good deal. I purchased all five season's of "Angel" for $15.99 each! (I used my left over vacation money and my birthday money.)

That's it for now. I need to look at some sample resumes on the MHC-CDC website and then finish my errands so that I can go home and watch Doctor Who tonight. I can't wait to see an all new episode! Have I mentioned how cute David Tenant is? :)

Career Update Stuff

Yesterday I started exploring internships as an entry into television production. Our local PBS station has a full-time, semester long, program that is open to almost anyone. Unfortunately, their Fall semester is already full. I also looked at some entry level positions with local commercial stations. I haven't heard back from my friend yet about her friend in LA. I think I'll be going to the career resource center on Friday to see what they have in terms of internships and resume samples. My resume is mostly up to date but it's old school now (chronological) so I have to turn it into an achievement based one.

I'll be moving back to Susan's sometime in the next three days and she said it's fine to give out her phone number and to use her phone for long distance so I will call everyone when I get there.

Oh, I went to the farmer's market yesterday and brought home all natural, semi-local, smoked gouda. Today I made a fancy mac and cheese with it. I re-heated some whole wheat blend pasta, chopped up the gouda into tiny pieces, and chopped up a gigantic scallion that I also got at the market. It was nice. The mac and cheese went well with the IPM corn, organic green beans, and both the organic and non-organic tomatoes that I got there as well. These, along with store bought cherries for dessert, made a really yummy and healthy lunch. For dinner I'm planning on doing the gouda & scallion thing with organic potatoes that I bought at Trader Joe's last week. I LOVE being able to go to farmer's markets!

Warning---Harry Potter SPOILERS!

I finally read "Deathly Hallows" and it was great! I think it made up for "Half Blood Prince" which was more than 600 pages of exposition. I spent most of yesterday reading and crying. I started crying when Dobby was killed and kept crying off and on until the end of the book. I loved Kreature's redemption. I have a few small nits to pick, too much use of deus ex machina for example, but other than that it was very satisfying. I really liked the fact that the center of the story was Ron, Hermione, and Harry working together puzzling things out to defeat Lord Voldemort. I really missed that in books five and six. Oh, and can I just say, "Go, Neville!"?

I celebrated my birthday, for the second time this summer, on Saturday. I received a lot of disposable presents (candy!) since I'm in transition. I had a great time with Steve's family (we were celebrating his birthday too). We had a cookout (I had really yummy vegetable lasagna), played "Sorry" & "Yahtzee", ate cake & ice cream, and exchanged gifts. I also showed them my pictures and some souvenirs from my China trip. Steve gave me season one of "Bones" and I watched the first three episodes last night. I really liked it. She kicks butt and he's cute and funny. (For those of you who don't know, this is David Boreanaz's new series. He played Angel on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and it's spinoff "Angel". I'm a big fan!)

Anyway, I had an interesting experience this morning when I walked Max. We were passing a group of summer campers who were probably elementary school age (but some of them might have been middle school) and most of them were oohing and ahing over Max. However, I could of sworn that I heard one kid say "nice boobs!" as I passed him. That was very strange and I really hope I heard him wrong! :)

I feel better about my blog.

I was feeling a little sorry for my blog because it seemed like no one was reading it. There have only been two comments posted since I started and I felt like I was sending my words out into empty space. Recently, however, two of my friends (Raymah and Susan you two rock!) have told me they have enjoy reading it and they've even referenced some of my entries in our conversations. Yeah!

Update time: I left the house at a few minutes after ten this morning, only a few minutes behind when I had wanted to leave (I'm focusing, once again, on being on time/early for things because I've slipped back into the bad habit of being late). I ran an errand and then arrived early to meet Raymah for lunch. I showed her my China tour pics by inserting my photo cds into her computer. We had a nice lunch and I drove the rest of the way to where I used to live to check my post office box. (I got my new driver's license in the mail today!) I then came back into town to run some errands and now I'm getting ready to go out for sushi with another friend.

Not so random stuff

Okay, it's really warm and humid here. Yesterday, I had my exit interview at work to discuss owed pay, vacation days, bonus, health insurance, etc. It went really well and I got what I asked for. I discovered that there is a farmer's market about 100 feet from where I'm staying and was able to get IPM (Integrated Pest Management-not organic but not full of horrible chemicals either) corn, a nice variety of tomatoes, and some semi-local/non rbgh (bovine growth hormone) half and half in a glass bottle. Around 5pm I got a call I've been waiting for. It's my turn to read the library's copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'll be picking it up later today. That's about it. I've got writing, bills, and resume stuff to do this afternoon and evening, plus some errands. Thanks to everyone who called or emailed for my birthday. I haven't checked my post office box this week so if you mailed me a card I'll be getting it soon. It's a great way to make my birthday last even longer. :)

I had a fabulous weekend!

I was out in the Eastern part of the state on a spiritual retreat with the teenagers that I volunteer with. It was an amazing weekend and I had an awesome time even though I didn't get much sleep. Yesterday, I played three on three basketball for the first time in fifteen or more years and had a blast even though my team lost 11-3. Today, the teens and my fellow chaperones gave me a card and long-sleeve t-shirt for my birthday. I came home to find a happy and relaxed Max waiting for me. We went for a walk, watched some TV, and now I'm going to bed.

I'm up waaaaaay too late!

I was running errands most of today (technically yesterday since it's after midnight). I updated my info. with my insurance company, renewed my driver's license, checked my P. O. Box, got gas, took care of Max & Chloe, finished my laundry, met with some friends, took out the trash and recycling, and now I'm packing for my weekend trip. I accomplished a lot but, boy, am I tired. That's why I checked my email and now I'm blogging. I'm procrastinating. :)

My first day after leaving my job

Wow, does this feel weird. After seven and a half years I finally stopped working for the Symphony around 6:20pm last night. (Actually, I still have to go back on Monday for my exit interview.) I stayed up until midnight last night watching TV and playing with Max. I woke up at 8:30 this morning, had a nice breakfast while reading the paper, and then took Max for a half hour walk through the park. I also finally cleaned up my email account. I'm going to spend the next two days resting, decompressing, and running errands. I'm also working on my career stuff. Now it's time for some lunch.