1. Bridget has moved to a downstairs bedroom. Since Gary and I have a new bed, that left our old bed (not a horrible one, but not one I wanted to sleep on for the rest of my life) with no good place to be. So once Bridget moved downstairs, we set up our old bed in her old room. Then I decided to put the sewing machine up there too, so when I finally got around to making that denim quilt I could leave stuff out and not have a huge mess visible.
Also, Bridget didn't want to take her old dresser downstairs with her, since it would have crowded her new room too much. Rather than leave it empty, I filled it up with all of the gift wrapping supplies that have been scattered around the house (but mostly in our closet) for years. Know what that means? It means that when I want to wrap a gift for birthdays, Christmas, weddings, or whatever, everything I need is in one place. It's amazing. One drawer has all the tape, scissors, name tags, and other tiny stuff, another drawer has a ton of bows, a few small drawers have ribbons of various colors and widths. There are a few drawers dedicated to gift bags (separated by whether or not they're generic or for a specific occasion like Christmas or baby/wedding). Plus there's a drawer for tissue paper and a drawer for boxes. And along side of the dresser is one of those big plastic holders full of a bunch of rolls of paper.
Of course, none of the drawers are packed full, so you can actually find all the different stuff. I suppose it could be considered a waste, having all this space dedicated to gift wrapping. After all, it's a whole dresser. But the way I see it, Bridget didn't want it in her room. All the stuff that's in it now used to be strewn all over but mostly in my closet.
Gift wrapping used to be so miserable, and for the most part I just yanked out the nearest roll of paper and did a hap-hazard job, skipped the ribbons and bows because I didn't want to try to rummage around finding anything else, and called it good enough. Now it's actually fun to do a decent job because everything is at my fingertips. Yay! And as for the rest of the room, it has a California king bed in it, which means if we have company they can choose to use the real guest room, which is pretty, or if they prefer a larger bed they can use this one.
2. We have a new dishwasher. The old one was leaving dishes mucky. Sometimes the glasses came out dirtier than they went in. You know what I mean, that light brown gritty stuff that gets deposited in the glass when you know darn well that nobody had anything to drink that even remotely looked like that. Anyway, the new one works great and I love it.
3. I am looking for a Manx kitten. A manx cat has been described as a dog in cat's clothing. They are people-friendly, seeking out human companionship. They are good rodent-hunters. They are the most hypo-allergenic cat because they do not produce the protein most associated with allergies. Gary is not thrilled about this, but I am FINISHED with the winters full of tiptoeing into the kitchen, with my heart pounding, looking for the inevitable evidence of mouse habitation.
4. I got an email from our realtor in Florida. The town house is still coming along. I am getting excited about it. :) I get even more excited about it when we have those stupid frigid days here. My WDW annual pass is about to expire, but I am hoping to renew as a resident. SO much cheaper.
5. I had a job interview with a company called "One Earth Future." They are a think tank. Currently their project is vanquishing pirates. (Real ones, swashbuckling pirates.) I am still awaiting word on whether or not I got the job.
And that's all the news that's fit to print...
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
No Delta connection for me...
Well, it took some time but I finally got a response from Delta. It seems there will be no Delta career in my near future. But I can always apply again if I so desire. Well, to be honest the odds were not in my favor, there were a thousand openings and over a hundred thousand applicants. And most of those thousand openings were for non-English speaking flight attendants.
I still have an application in for Air Tran, and that's for an Orlando-based flight attendant job, so we'll see about that one. Since Air Tran has been bought out by Southwest, I'd be happy to have a job with them.
Oh, and I had an interview with a place called "One Earth Future." It was interesting. When I was offered the interview I searched all over their web site and couldn't figure out what they do so I asked Gary to search and he couldn't figure it out either. Carolyn searched and all she could find out is that they fight pirates (yes, the swash-buckling kind), which kind of excited Erik a bit. David couldn't find a lot of info either. So anyway, the first thing I did at the interview was ask them what the heck they did. (Okay, I asked in a little more professional language than that.) Turns out this place is a "Think tank." Or, actually, to be more precise, a "Think and DO tank." (An important distinction. I feel safer already, don't you?) Heh. Anyway, this place has decent funding and is a bunch of PhD holding geniuses who are taking upon themselves the burden of solving many of the world's problems, thus bringing about a greater likelihood of world peace.
I think the interview went well enough. I won't know for several weeks whether or not I passed muster. In the meantime I mentioned the interview to Lilia and she said if I'd rather have a part time job she could offer me that (she'd offer me a full time job if I wanted one) for 20 hour a week, which I admit would be nice. She'd be flexible with my travel, too. The biggest issue I have with that is the pay, which would be $3 or $4 less per hour than I made at United. If I were to accept that, I would then have to apply and accept for jobs which pay that in order to still qualify for my unemployment. (Basically, by accepting something that low, I'm indicating it's acceptable not only for this one job, but for all future jobs.) Not a way I want to go at this time, but maybe once my unemployment runs out if it's still available.
In Orlando town home news, we're still waiting on paperwork, so nothing new to report there. I hope they haven't forgotten about us.
I still have an application in for Air Tran, and that's for an Orlando-based flight attendant job, so we'll see about that one. Since Air Tran has been bought out by Southwest, I'd be happy to have a job with them.
Oh, and I had an interview with a place called "One Earth Future." It was interesting. When I was offered the interview I searched all over their web site and couldn't figure out what they do so I asked Gary to search and he couldn't figure it out either. Carolyn searched and all she could find out is that they fight pirates (yes, the swash-buckling kind), which kind of excited Erik a bit. David couldn't find a lot of info either. So anyway, the first thing I did at the interview was ask them what the heck they did. (Okay, I asked in a little more professional language than that.) Turns out this place is a "Think tank." Or, actually, to be more precise, a "Think and DO tank." (An important distinction. I feel safer already, don't you?) Heh. Anyway, this place has decent funding and is a bunch of PhD holding geniuses who are taking upon themselves the burden of solving many of the world's problems, thus bringing about a greater likelihood of world peace.
I think the interview went well enough. I won't know for several weeks whether or not I passed muster. In the meantime I mentioned the interview to Lilia and she said if I'd rather have a part time job she could offer me that (she'd offer me a full time job if I wanted one) for 20 hour a week, which I admit would be nice. She'd be flexible with my travel, too. The biggest issue I have with that is the pay, which would be $3 or $4 less per hour than I made at United. If I were to accept that, I would then have to apply and accept for jobs which pay that in order to still qualify for my unemployment. (Basically, by accepting something that low, I'm indicating it's acceptable not only for this one job, but for all future jobs.) Not a way I want to go at this time, but maybe once my unemployment runs out if it's still available.
In Orlando town home news, we're still waiting on paperwork, so nothing new to report there. I hope they haven't forgotten about us.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
An update on things...
Okay, an update. First of all, we got a call back on the townhome I liked best. (the one with the garage.) The bank came back with a counter offer and we have accepted it. Now we need to get the earnest money to them and get the financing taken care of and we have our Florida home. Yay!
Second, I got a call from (wait for it...) Delta Airlines for a flight attendant position. Yes, first a few preliminary qualifying questions. Mostly to see if I would follow FAA rules and regulations. I passed those so I was offered a phone interview. I may be offered an interview in Atlanta. Keep your fingers crossed for me! The odds are still tough, of course. There were a thousand positions and over a hundred thousand applicants. But hey, not everyone got a phone interview, and I got that much so at least I can say I got that far, right? And that much of it was fun.
Second, I got a call from (wait for it...) Delta Airlines for a flight attendant position. Yes, first a few preliminary qualifying questions. Mostly to see if I would follow FAA rules and regulations. I passed those so I was offered a phone interview. I may be offered an interview in Atlanta. Keep your fingers crossed for me! The odds are still tough, of course. There were a thousand positions and over a hundred thousand applicants. But hey, not everyone got a phone interview, and I got that much so at least I can say I got that far, right? And that much of it was fun.
Monday, October 25, 2010
A mouse visit with an ulterior motive...
Okay, so last week we were in Orlando to visit the mouse, but we had an ulterior motive... We were actually there to scout out a second home. We saw several townhomes that we really liked and ended up putting offers on two of them. They're both "short sales" which sounds like they'll be settled quickly but the opposite is actually true. A short sale actually takes a lot longer than a regular sale. Our realtor (a really great realtor, by the way. If anyone needs a good realtor in the Orlando area, contact "In Touch Real Estate" and ask for D'Anne Kincannon or Mary Henderson) said she's never seen one settled in less than three months and they usually take a lot longer than that.
A short sale is one where the asking price is actually less than the bank is owed. But the owners are about to be foreclosed on and they're desperate to sell and they're hoping the bank will allow them to sell the property at the lower price to enable them to have a sale and avoid the foreclosure. Many times it's in the bank's best interest to accept the short sale because a foreclosure costs the bank money too, but if the short sale is too low, the bank won't accept it. It takes a lot of negotiating, which is why it takes so long for a short sale to go through. Anyway, we'll see what happens.
The first one is the one I hope we actually get. It has three bedrooms. One of them is downstairs as you come in the front door. It's a decent size. There is a full bath downstairs as well. There's a dining area (pretty large), a living room area, and a decent sized kitchen. There's a one-car attached garage. There's also a small screened porch. Upstairs has two bedrooms and two baths. There's also a balcony that's accessible by both bedrooms and a laundry closet with a stacked washer and dryer. The place is in good condition but will need some pretty thorough cleaning. The location is good, about 15 minutes away from Disney, and at the opening of a small cul-de-sac that's gated and has a pool. The view behind the house (from the screened porch and from the balcony on the second floor) is of a wooded area that probably won't be built on for a long time, if ever.
The other one is also very nice and I would be fine if we got that one, too. It has four bedrooms with the master bedroom and master bath on the main floor (which Gary likes, since he's starting to not love stairs so much.) The master bath has a jetted tub, which would be fun. The living area is a little on the compact size, but not unlivable. The kitchen is small, but nice and open to the rest of the living are so you don't feel closed in. Upstairs has three more bedrooms with another full bath. The real plus for this particular townhome is that the complex has a lot of amenities. There are several playgrounds and four pools. There's also a theater and they play movies a couple times a week. And the security is excellent. This location is 95% vacation homes and short term rentals, so they make sure that only people who are supposed to be there get through the gate. It was very impressive. Oh, and there's a fitness area as well.
There were also several houses we saw that were nice, but I feel like a house is more than I want right now. For the next ten years we won't actually live there, we'll only be vacationing there and I will be there without Gary a lot of the time since I visit Mickey more often than he does. I felt I would be a lot safer in a gated community than I would be in the houses.
Anyway, that's how we spent the week. And between realtor visits we visited with Mickey, so we had a good time. It was good to be in Florida again, with my sweetheart.
A short sale is one where the asking price is actually less than the bank is owed. But the owners are about to be foreclosed on and they're desperate to sell and they're hoping the bank will allow them to sell the property at the lower price to enable them to have a sale and avoid the foreclosure. Many times it's in the bank's best interest to accept the short sale because a foreclosure costs the bank money too, but if the short sale is too low, the bank won't accept it. It takes a lot of negotiating, which is why it takes so long for a short sale to go through. Anyway, we'll see what happens.
The first one is the one I hope we actually get. It has three bedrooms. One of them is downstairs as you come in the front door. It's a decent size. There is a full bath downstairs as well. There's a dining area (pretty large), a living room area, and a decent sized kitchen. There's a one-car attached garage. There's also a small screened porch. Upstairs has two bedrooms and two baths. There's also a balcony that's accessible by both bedrooms and a laundry closet with a stacked washer and dryer. The place is in good condition but will need some pretty thorough cleaning. The location is good, about 15 minutes away from Disney, and at the opening of a small cul-de-sac that's gated and has a pool. The view behind the house (from the screened porch and from the balcony on the second floor) is of a wooded area that probably won't be built on for a long time, if ever.
The other one is also very nice and I would be fine if we got that one, too. It has four bedrooms with the master bedroom and master bath on the main floor (which Gary likes, since he's starting to not love stairs so much.) The master bath has a jetted tub, which would be fun. The living area is a little on the compact size, but not unlivable. The kitchen is small, but nice and open to the rest of the living are so you don't feel closed in. Upstairs has three more bedrooms with another full bath. The real plus for this particular townhome is that the complex has a lot of amenities. There are several playgrounds and four pools. There's also a theater and they play movies a couple times a week. And the security is excellent. This location is 95% vacation homes and short term rentals, so they make sure that only people who are supposed to be there get through the gate. It was very impressive. Oh, and there's a fitness area as well.
There were also several houses we saw that were nice, but I feel like a house is more than I want right now. For the next ten years we won't actually live there, we'll only be vacationing there and I will be there without Gary a lot of the time since I visit Mickey more often than he does. I felt I would be a lot safer in a gated community than I would be in the houses.
Anyway, that's how we spent the week. And between realtor visits we visited with Mickey, so we had a good time. It was good to be in Florida again, with my sweetheart.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
A bolt out of the blue...
I have applied for a job. And of all the jobs I have applied for, this is the first one that I really, REALLY want. Of course, I have no idea how many openings there are. And I know that for every opening there are probably a thousand applicants. But that's okay, even applying for it has been fun and imagining the possibilities has been a blast. Want to know what I applied for?
I applied to be a flight attendant with Delta Airlines. :)
As soon as I applied I texted Dad, and he called almost immediately. I answered the phone with, "I figured that'd get a call out of you." He was laughing with a really delighted laugh, which made me happy. I didn't know at first if I would need to talk him into this or what. Shoot, for that matter I didn't know if I would have to talk MYSELF into this kind of thing or not. But Gary's been super supportive, which I appreciate more than I can express. Gary's always been supportive, it's one of the things that I love most about him.
Like I said before, I don't know if this will actually go anywhere because flight attendant jobs are not easy to get, but the more I think about it the more I really want to do this. My last baby is in college, for Pete's sake. Michael and Melissa will be moving out soon. What better time is there to take on a brand new kind of life?
If I am successful, there will be 8 weeks of training in Atlanta, GA, and I'm not sure when it would start but the sooner the better. Room and board is provided, and I'll get a small salary in addition. After that, I'd be assigned to one of Delta's hubs. I'm not certain which it would be, but I assume that it would be one of the following: Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis, or New York City (JFK). (I would be hoping to be assigned to SLC, or course.)
Anyway, I'd have to stay in the area where I'd be assigned, so I'd have to have an apartment, most likely shared with other flight attendants. These are called "crash pads." Flight attendants work 3-4 days per week. The rest of the time I could be at home. Flying home would be on a space available basis, but as a flight attendant I would have the option of using an unoccupied jump seat if the passenger seats on the flight were full so it would be somewhat easier to get on a plane.
Anyway, in other news I just got back from a wonderful trip to Vacaville where I spent over a week with Mona. She treated me to an early birthday gift, we went to see a production of "Wicked," which is the story of the Wizard of Oz told from the witch's point of view. It was absolutely amazing and the music is memorable. We also had a wonderful dinner afterwards and I tasted veal for the first time. Delicious. (For a couple of days of that week I house- and kitty- sat for Mona while she was on a business trip to the Reno area.) I also cooked a couple of times and filled up Mona's freezer with some meals she can pop out when she's in the mood for some home cooking. It was fun. Mona has a great house and her back yard is a little slice of heaven. I could stay back there for hours and watch the play of shadows across her little plants and statues. So peaceful and comfortable.
Well, I suppose I should get this posted. I probably should have some dinner since it's nearly 8:00. Oh, and Mona and I saw both Inception and Toy Story 3. :)
I applied to be a flight attendant with Delta Airlines. :)
As soon as I applied I texted Dad, and he called almost immediately. I answered the phone with, "I figured that'd get a call out of you." He was laughing with a really delighted laugh, which made me happy. I didn't know at first if I would need to talk him into this or what. Shoot, for that matter I didn't know if I would have to talk MYSELF into this kind of thing or not. But Gary's been super supportive, which I appreciate more than I can express. Gary's always been supportive, it's one of the things that I love most about him.
Like I said before, I don't know if this will actually go anywhere because flight attendant jobs are not easy to get, but the more I think about it the more I really want to do this. My last baby is in college, for Pete's sake. Michael and Melissa will be moving out soon. What better time is there to take on a brand new kind of life?
If I am successful, there will be 8 weeks of training in Atlanta, GA, and I'm not sure when it would start but the sooner the better. Room and board is provided, and I'll get a small salary in addition. After that, I'd be assigned to one of Delta's hubs. I'm not certain which it would be, but I assume that it would be one of the following: Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis, or New York City (JFK). (I would be hoping to be assigned to SLC, or course.)
Anyway, I'd have to stay in the area where I'd be assigned, so I'd have to have an apartment, most likely shared with other flight attendants. These are called "crash pads." Flight attendants work 3-4 days per week. The rest of the time I could be at home. Flying home would be on a space available basis, but as a flight attendant I would have the option of using an unoccupied jump seat if the passenger seats on the flight were full so it would be somewhat easier to get on a plane.
Anyway, in other news I just got back from a wonderful trip to Vacaville where I spent over a week with Mona. She treated me to an early birthday gift, we went to see a production of "Wicked," which is the story of the Wizard of Oz told from the witch's point of view. It was absolutely amazing and the music is memorable. We also had a wonderful dinner afterwards and I tasted veal for the first time. Delicious. (For a couple of days of that week I house- and kitty- sat for Mona while she was on a business trip to the Reno area.) I also cooked a couple of times and filled up Mona's freezer with some meals she can pop out when she's in the mood for some home cooking. It was fun. Mona has a great house and her back yard is a little slice of heaven. I could stay back there for hours and watch the play of shadows across her little plants and statues. So peaceful and comfortable.
Well, I suppose I should get this posted. I probably should have some dinner since it's nearly 8:00. Oh, and Mona and I saw both Inception and Toy Story 3. :)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Even the tomatoes know...
Even the TOMATOES know about hidden mickeys!
See that? It's a hidden mickey in my very own garden! I love it! I saw it when I was watering the garden this morning. Amazing.
On another note, I have now seen Toy Story 3 10 times. I don't want to call it pathetic but I believe that some of you have used that exact term. Oh well. There's just something about that movie, and yes I cry every single time I see it. And I plan to see it again tomorrow. Milk duds, pop corn, and coke zero included.
See that? It's a hidden mickey in my very own garden! I love it! I saw it when I was watering the garden this morning. Amazing.
On another note, I have now seen Toy Story 3 10 times. I don't want to call it pathetic but I believe that some of you have used that exact term. Oh well. There's just something about that movie, and yes I cry every single time I see it. And I plan to see it again tomorrow. Milk duds, pop corn, and coke zero included.
Friday, August 20, 2010
The job hunt...
Okay, the job hunt goes on and on... Now how do I describe this? On one hand, I feel kind of pampered and spoiled that I can stay home and look for a job, not necessarily snagging the first thing out of desperation. I haven't had to resort to working at McDonald's or whatever. I apply for 5 jobs a week unless something looks REALLY tempting, then I'll go ahead and apply for that too. (Five is the number of job contacts I need to make in order to qualify for unemployment.) Once I make my five contacts, I pretty much don't worry about applying again until the next week.
On the other hand, It's now been nearly 9 months since I lost my job and I have had only two real nibbles job-wise. The first nibble was a phone interview followed by an in-person interview that I thought went pretty well. Unfortunately I got a "thanks but no thanks" letter about a week later. The second nibble was this last week, an email requesting a phone interview, which led to some computer testing, which in turn led to an in-person interview (today.) The interview went pretty well, I think, and if I do NOT get the job I am pretty sure it will be because I have some travel plans coming up for the remainder of the year (Carebear's baby, and the family vacation in November) that will make me a less-desirable candidate than whomever else they are considering. Other than that I think my skills are what they're looking for.
So now I'm trying to figure out exactly how I feel about this. I kind of want the job for a couple of reasons. First of all, the pay is okay. It's not spectacular. It's about what I was getting at United. The problem with that is, airlines pay notoriously low because they can get away with that due to their benefits (mostly travel benefits.) So here I'm going to be getting about the same thing, but for a company that isn't going to offer something spectacular like free flight. (Yes, I still have that from United, but even so.) But at least it's decent pay, not LESS than I was making before. There are so many jobs out there offering in the $10 to $12 range for what seems like a whole shopping list of requirements. Getting a job that pays about the same is almost a relief. The second reason I kind of want the job is because I'm starting to feel like Gary is really, REALLY the only one who thinks my skill set is amazing. If it were all he thought it was, wouldn't I have a job by NOW? It's hard not to doubt your worth when no one has beat a path to your door and you've been available for 9 months. The jobs I've applied for I have been very qualified for, and yet very little interest has been shown.
Okay, so why do I NOT want the job? I was hoping for a part time job and this is definitely full time. Also, it's further away than I wanted it to be, but it's not horribly far so that's workable I suppose. Also, it offers only 2 weeks vacation and I was up to 4 weeks vacation with United. It'll be hard to slide back to the beginning again, especially with my travel benefits. Most of my traveling hinges on being pretty flexible since it's standby travel. I've been pretty spoiled for the last 9 months, being able to look at a flight and not having to worry about not being back in Denver to get to work. If a flight has looked full, I've been able to say, "Eh, I'll wait till the next day." That will come to a screeching halt. And I haven't traveled nearly as much as I would like to. I planned to do it, I just didn't get around to it.
If I do get the job, I will miss being at home, keeping things clean and keeping all the laundry caught up all the time. It's actually been nice to be on top of things again. I think Gary will miss that too.
Well, no sense counting my chicks before they're hatched. But I think if I am offered the job I will counter with an additional week of vacation. I don't even care about whether or not it's a paid week, I just want to be able to have the time off if I need it. We'll see.
On the other hand, It's now been nearly 9 months since I lost my job and I have had only two real nibbles job-wise. The first nibble was a phone interview followed by an in-person interview that I thought went pretty well. Unfortunately I got a "thanks but no thanks" letter about a week later. The second nibble was this last week, an email requesting a phone interview, which led to some computer testing, which in turn led to an in-person interview (today.) The interview went pretty well, I think, and if I do NOT get the job I am pretty sure it will be because I have some travel plans coming up for the remainder of the year (Carebear's baby, and the family vacation in November) that will make me a less-desirable candidate than whomever else they are considering. Other than that I think my skills are what they're looking for.
So now I'm trying to figure out exactly how I feel about this. I kind of want the job for a couple of reasons. First of all, the pay is okay. It's not spectacular. It's about what I was getting at United. The problem with that is, airlines pay notoriously low because they can get away with that due to their benefits (mostly travel benefits.) So here I'm going to be getting about the same thing, but for a company that isn't going to offer something spectacular like free flight. (Yes, I still have that from United, but even so.) But at least it's decent pay, not LESS than I was making before. There are so many jobs out there offering in the $10 to $12 range for what seems like a whole shopping list of requirements. Getting a job that pays about the same is almost a relief. The second reason I kind of want the job is because I'm starting to feel like Gary is really, REALLY the only one who thinks my skill set is amazing. If it were all he thought it was, wouldn't I have a job by NOW? It's hard not to doubt your worth when no one has beat a path to your door and you've been available for 9 months. The jobs I've applied for I have been very qualified for, and yet very little interest has been shown.
Okay, so why do I NOT want the job? I was hoping for a part time job and this is definitely full time. Also, it's further away than I wanted it to be, but it's not horribly far so that's workable I suppose. Also, it offers only 2 weeks vacation and I was up to 4 weeks vacation with United. It'll be hard to slide back to the beginning again, especially with my travel benefits. Most of my traveling hinges on being pretty flexible since it's standby travel. I've been pretty spoiled for the last 9 months, being able to look at a flight and not having to worry about not being back in Denver to get to work. If a flight has looked full, I've been able to say, "Eh, I'll wait till the next day." That will come to a screeching halt. And I haven't traveled nearly as much as I would like to. I planned to do it, I just didn't get around to it.
If I do get the job, I will miss being at home, keeping things clean and keeping all the laundry caught up all the time. It's actually been nice to be on top of things again. I think Gary will miss that too.
Well, no sense counting my chicks before they're hatched. But I think if I am offered the job I will counter with an additional week of vacation. I don't even care about whether or not it's a paid week, I just want to be able to have the time off if I need it. We'll see.
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