Katrina coming to visit

I talked to my sister this morning. They were laying awake in bed watching the storm come in. I'm so nervous about what's happening back home. I hope they come through alright. As you can imaging the cell phone service is busy so I'm not sure when I'll be able to talk to them again. Soon i hope; I worry until then.

When I talked to my brother they were going to Fallyn's parents house because they have a theatre room with no windows where they could at least be safe from flying glass. They live on the Northshore of New Orleans on Lake Ramsey. I just hope they're far enough away to stay safe.

I guess we'll just watch and wait. I'm sure dad will put in plenty of overtime in the coming weeks.

Not sure if anyone reads my blog, but this is one I've been keeping up and refreshed as this begins: http://www.nola.com/weblogs/nola/

a Tide-al wave

What an eventful evening. Instead of going upstairs and working like I should have, Kelvin and I popped in our second Netflix: Million Dollar Baby. It was the first few minutes of the movie and i was having a hard time focusing. All of a sudden this loud explosion sound came from the laundry room. I jumped up only to realize the huge bottle of Tide that I had used for the first time to wash this load had wiggled off the washing machine in it's final spin cycle. It's not just a regular bottle, it's the he Tide from sams that does 150 loads or something crazy like that. It fell on the top and the lid shattered and a font of blue slimy liquid was gushing all over the laundry room floor.

Kelvin went up and got a handful of towels and I began cleaning up the mess... Boy we have some clean towels this week.

Cheeseburgers in Paradise

Last night I was able to finally experience a Jimmy Buffet concert live and in person. It was such an experience... I think if I ever have a third opportunity to go, I'd even enjoy just doing the tail-gating that happens pre-concert. What a fun party. Kelvin says it's such a white-person thing... wear grass skirts and crazy costumes, drink beer, eat crap, bring pools with sand or water... you probably get the picture.

Kelvin and I are going to run some errands today since he took the day off. We're in search of a book shelf for the office that will hold all our written treasures. Seems with me not having an office we have way more crap in here. Other than that, no real weekend plans. Maybe a movie or dinner out... we're so wild and crazy.

in search of a purple shirt

good thing i got an early start on work this morning seeing as how i took a two hour "lunch" to get a USB hub and ended up searching all over for a purple dress shirt for kelvin. he's finally decided that purple might be nice, and it would go especially well with the pants and tie i bought him this weekend so i hate to not look. it's just hard to find a 18.5 neck that has 36-37 inch sleeves.

i always seem to have issues with clothing makers. when will they realize that not all of us who have large chests also have ass for days? and in kelvin's case, why do they think all men who have thick necks also have short stubby arms? we also have these issues with shoes, but i'll not get into that right now. i just hate it for any offspring we may bring into this world... they're screwed!

I talk too much and say too little

I think too much; it gets me in trouble.

I know those aren't the actual lyrics for you Better than Ezra fans, but I think the last line is more appropriate for me. I do feel a little like I have nothing profound to say; but some of you have been harassing me about not writing so here goes...

This working from home is getting better I guess. I feel much more productive if I sit in the office upstairs, but I still feel guilty that I haven't really produced as much tangible product as I usually do in the office. Hopefully that is about to change. I'm working on this Captivate course that feels like has taken me forever. I finally have a pressing deadline so I think I'll be done next week; I hope so cause I'm ready to move on to some other things that excite me more.

I must say there are some drawbacks to working from home. Yesterday the cat barfed her breakfast up on the table so I had to clean that up; that would never happen in a real office.

I did have a good time with my sister here last week. She left on Monday and she never had a bunny spotting the whole time she was here. That's why the photo of the bunny. I hope we didn't bore her; but I'm afraid we did. Her being here made me realize how old kelvin and I act. We really don't lead exciting lives anymore; not that I ever did really. Hopefully we'll find some connections soon and have some stories to tell. While she was here we (should I say her because I simply assisted) added a third coat to the red in the laundry and kitchen. I love it. You can see updated photos here.

Still no word form the new LC. I was hoping that by sending my interview suit to my seamstress mother they would call in an ironic turn of events and I would have to wear my old suit. But alas, no call. I do know that one of my three references just got information in to them this week so maybe that is all they were waiting on. I can be optimistic right?

I began to panic yesterday morning about money. I guess I finally realize we are going to have to pay for this wonderful house we're living in. Tough to grow up huh? Anyway, I know we'll be fine financially, but something flipped my panic button and I've begun to obsess about ways to save money and make more money. As a matter of fact, I know kelvin wants to go out to dinner tonight and to lunch and a movie tomorrow, but I've been thinking of things I could cook tonight instead so we can save that money just in case. It's okay to be frugal right? Or am I going crazy?

In other household news, the green bell peppers are growing. Ironic that neither of us like bell peppers and yet it's the only vegetable growing in our yard. I guess the people before us like them. I think if the rabbits don't eat them I'll at least try them just to say I've eaten something grown in our yard. I just wish it was yellow squash or something I might appreciate more. But it has been fun to watch them grow. It's amazing to see the daily changes in living things. I guess we don't realize the changes in one another as dramatically. Maybe if we did we could be more sensitive to the needs of others.

I guess I've gotten a little philosophical being at home alone all day. I think it's helped to slow down and examine things from a different perspective. If I come to any real dramatic realizations I'll be sure to share those.

one of those bloggers i hate

I'm becoming that. That blogger who drives me crazy because they don't post for a couple of days and then when they do it's stupid. eek. I don't want to be that...

They finally got the Internet working consistently on Saturday. I worked a full day yesterday here in my home office. It was quite nice. I had a helper too.

She's so funny. We had a storm come through and last a while. She finally gave up on watching the rain fall and she crashed. We have bunnies and some sort of prairie dog looking animal who come visit her at the back porch. I really think one day she may break through the sliding glass door.

Our other excitment yesterday was getting PA insurance and plates for the cars. Today we're going to attempt the DMV; I'm sure that will lend itself to some great stories.

I guess I should attempt to get caught up with work since I'm not two weeks behind because of the move and the lack of Internet that actually worked. (Can you tell i'm a little bitter?)

Frazzled week

It's been one of those weeks where I want to get in bed and wake up next week. I think some times I underestimate what can really be done in a set timeframe. Of course, the most frustrating part of the week has been the Internet connection. First it was our frying of the wireless router. That was replaced and now the cable signal comes and goes throughout the day. It works first thing in the morning so I am attempting to get as much done between 5:30 and 9 am before it decides to crap out. Yesterday afternoon I worked on getting the office put together so I could get work done. If it doesn't work this afternoon I'll work on the Captivate course. I'd like to finish the course by the end of next week so it's off my plate.

I've had some exciting things on the job front. I got a call on Monday from a school we'll call NJ2. I did a phone interview with them the same afternoon. It was a great conversation and it was equally as sad to pull my name out of their search. The school is about 80 miles from here and while the 55K salary was tempting, I just don't think I can do that commute every day.

Yesterday I went on a face-to-face interview with NJ1. I think they would be really great to work for. They have a great program and the boss seems exceptional. They do lots of pilots, and I think they have lots of room for creativity. I worry about the commute there too. It's not that it's a bad drive, I just hate for kelvin and I both to drive to NJ everyday.

The best news (in my opinion) is from Lafayette. I got email from the boss there, we talked by phone Monday, and I am going to campus this afternoon to "talk" to him. I can't really decide if this is an interview or what exactly. I mean obviously he wants to meet me to check me out. He said on the phone that the committee was impressed with what they saw. I might feel differently later, but for now, I think this is my best option. The location is great, the fact that I would get to work with faculty, staff and students is exciting to me, and of course the idea that they have two classrooms of Mac's is always a plus.

So say a prayer if you think about it. I just don't think this work from home thing is going to work for me for the long term.

In other news, the house is still coming along. I don't have much time to work on things during the day, but I've tried to do a little each evening. Hopefully I'll get more done this weekend.

Settling in

it's only been a few days but i feel like we're beginning to settle in a bit. we've cooked three meals here now so i think in some weird way that equates settling. i've posted some pictures of the house it's not perfect by any means but it's coming along.

today we fixed breakfast and sat for a while watching tv. i unpacked two or three more boxes and put some things away. then we left here in the big Penske truck to run errands. (let me plug Penske right now... they're great. the truck was relatively new and their rates are so much better than the other rental places; we got discounts for reserving online and for AAA. we had the truck from wednesday to sunday which is much longer than the others too. So what i'm saying is, rent penske if you need a big truck.-- enough of the shameless plug.)

So we ran errands in the big truck. We headed out and went to U-haul to return the six dozen furniture pads we rented for the move. We left there and went to Lowe's. I bought the parts to put up wire shelving in the laundry room. They make charcoal shelves now supposedly for the garage, but i'm all about matching and since the washer and dryer are black i went with the super duty shelves. I'll tackle that project maybe on my lunch break tomorrow. We also picked up a super cool water sprinkler. It has this track thing where you can create a water pattern so it only waters where you want it to as it goes around. It's hard to explain, but it's super cool. We also picked up a sprayer for the hose. It's going to be a challenge to keep this yard as beautiful as it is so we are trying to gather the tools to keep it looking good.

After Lowes we went to Wal-mart. I must say it's nice to be back in a place where wal-mart isn't a bad word. We bought an outside trash can and got a discount because they didn't have the lid. We also bought a weed eater and some other miscellaneous stuff we needed but forgot yesterday when we were there.

After depositing the purchases at the house we took the truck back. i think kelvin was a little sad; he had become attached to driving it, and he did a great job.

Of course at this point in the day it was about 3 and our orange danish and sausage was long gone. Kelvin grilled up steaks and i fixed sliced potatoes with Tony's. It was a yummy meal, and luckily we didn't run out of propane.

i have lots to do tomorrow for work. it'll be my first official day on the job as a telecommuter. We'll see how that goes.

on the road

it was about 53 degress outside when we woke up this morning. i just hope the coolness holds on sans rain so we can get packed up. kelvin and i have been up an hour or so finishing up packing. taking the bed apart and such as that. we hope to be on the road as soon as Red's crew gets us loaded and i vacuum and wipe down the bathrooms. just trying to get that deposit back from the rental office.

i can't believe today is here. if all goes well we'll rest our heads in Easton tonight and in our new house tomorrow night. i can't wait.

if anyone reads this and is bored tonight, give me a call on the cell; i'll be on the road. just think about braut and hairy in the car for 10 hours. call for my sanity.

on the job front

well, i had a second round phone interview this morning with a great school in NJ not far from where Kelvin is working. the boss i visited with seems cool. i emailed more stuff to her after we finished and I've already heard back. i have a campus interview on Wednesday next week. woo hoo. confidence builder if nothing else.

i decided last night i need to write a short comedy piece about moving since i have so much experience. i think i'll start with a lesson i learned last night... make sure your grandmothers dining room table is locked before you unscrew the thing and stand the top on it's side. there IS a story there, and you can just imagine me with this wood table top flinging apart. luckly i was home alone and the dog had finally decided to go take a nap in another room.

i have plenty more, but time is short and kelvin flies in in about 35 minutes. i guess i should head that direction.

a week away

It's absolutley exciting and terrifying that in exactly a week we'll be closing on the house, and there's so much to do before then. I have some photos up of the place: the house.

more at ease

I finally broke down and called Lafayette College again.. Seems mister McElroy has been on vacation for THREE weeks. Who puts up a job ad and then goes on vacation for three weeks straight? I guess it's pretty smart on his part, but it's grueling for me.

Anyway, I talked to the secretary and they did get my application materials. She said he should be back in early next week. They haven't even started putting the selection committee together so she said 'it could be a while'. So my mind is a bit more at ease. Their delay could allow me to work for a month or two for UM-Flint and finish some projects as well as get the house settled and cute before I make new friends for us at the new LC :) I'm wishful thinking again, but it's good to think positive right?

packing, packing and more packing

my weekend was spent with my lovers: clear tape and cardboard. i got lots done, but it seems the longer i work and more i pack the more i have left to do. sigh.

i also watched movies this weekend. i made sure i had Netflix at the house that i knew kelvin wouldn't want to watch. Taxi, Soul Plane and the United States of Leland. The two former were stupid no-brain sorts of movies so i could chill on the couch and not think about all the stuff i have to do. united states of leland was a bit dark but i think i liked it. it seems to lack some of the connections i needed to make it work for me, but i like kevin spacy and the girl who played jen on dawson's creek so it was an okay way to waste some time.

just one week to come to work in "real" clothes. i need to get my head really around this work at home concept. i have so much i want to get accomplished; i think i can make it happen.

fired over flip-flops?

I'm feeling rebellious today so i wore flip-flops to work. they aren't the really cheap obnoxious foamy ones so i'm hoping my boss will not fire me or anything. i mean, it's not like anyone else is at work on a friday in the summer.

i would really prefer to be at home packing the contents of my life into cardboard boxes but I guess income is more important that what i prefer. this move really doesn't feel all that real to me yet.. i mean yes, i've already begun signing my life away to the mortgage broker, but the paperwork doesn't feel real. real will be moving stuff in, cleaning, pulling weeds from the flowerbeds, not being angry at the women who insists on walking her mangy dogs outside our back door every morning, and not having the old lady above us run her dogs around the house like a race track.

a fresh start

i figure it's time for a fresh start. another summer, another move. i can't believe i'm packing up again. i guess the present stress will be worth the future payoff.

i guess i should maybe give some back information. the current situation is that:

1. Kelvin left today for his new job in NJ. Seton Hall. Impressive huh?
2. We close on a house in Forks Twp, PA on July 28
3. I've applied for a few jobs, but then my boss decided I could work at a distance so I'll be an official tele-commuter come August 1.

I'll fill you in more tomorrow...