Mindless thoughts of the day

I thought I'd check in since it's been a few weeks. The reason it's been a few weeks is nothing has really happened. Work is still boring as all get-out. Here's a picture of what our project looked like a month ago:

Here's what it looks like now:

Well, I guess something has happened. We now have a porta-pottie on site.

It's a little slow due to a number of factors. Hopefully they get resolved some day soon. I think we're all going a little batty here. We take turns with who gets to go home early. Like at lunch time. We spend more time shootin the bull than we do doing anything of importance. The other day I was getting ready for my first real prep meeting, on concrete, and my superintendent told me it was just for the footings, not everything. I wanted to cry. I said, "Don't take this away from me, I finally have something to do!" He was convinced, and I had a half-days worth of work to do. It was nice. I suppose the one nice thing about this is our 1 contractor on site decided to take tomorrow off, so I get a 4-day weekend. Can't complain.

The only exciting thing that has happened is we've found 3 of these so far:

Look just below the wood stake, to the left, sitting on top of the rocks. That's a WWI era UXO - unexploded ordinance, a.k.a. a bomb. They are live, but they don't have the fuse on them. So unless the are hit just right, or wrong, they won't explode. But the funny story here is after we found the first one, we had that sonic blast from the 2 jets that had to come up to chase down the plane that got too close to Obama's plane. We didn't know it was sonic blast. We thought the dirt guys hit a bomb. We freaked little, it was a loud blast and shook the ground. We got a good laugh out of our reaction. We were on a conference call and were running around the office yelling "Holy crap, they hit a UXO!" Glad it wasn't though, I'd rather not find out what that would be like.

Also on the topic of work, the company that has contracted me to be their temp quality control manager is now going to hire me permanent. So that's one less headache for me. I now know I have a job past October. I'm still holding out hope the Corps comes around with something, but at least I know I have something permanent. And this despite throwing my boss under the buss last week on a conference call. Always know who's on the other end of a conference call. Just my advice for the day. :-)

As for other life stuff, I officially took the house off the market today. I am in the process of trying to refinance it in my name since no one has even called on it in the 5 months it's been listed. We'll see if the banks want to help me out a little. Keepin' the fingers crossed here.

And lastly, my pinched nerve issue. This whole thing has caused me to want to pinch a few people's necks, I hate dealing with doctor's. And insurance companies. Thank goodness I have some family and friends in the profession who have given me some good advice and can steer me in the right direction. At least I know they will be honest with me and not want to make me their practice dummy. It's not like it's anything important they're working on, you know....

So we've determined through various tests that my C6/C7 nerve is seriously messed up. So I need to have surgery on it. The debate has been whether they do a disk replacement, which is apparently still experimental in the US, or the typical disk fusion, which tends to be a lifelong pain. The doctor I have been going to wants to do the replacement, but through advice from my aunt, this is probably not the best idea at this point, mostly since it sounds like I will be a practice dummy. Also, insurance companies don't like to pay for this surgery. So now I sit at the mercy of an insurance company deciding what they'll pay for, a doctor who would rather do one surgery instead of another, and the advice from many to seek a second opinion. Stupid falling apart neck, what have I ever done to you!!!!!!

So tonight I will go to Seattle to watch what will hopefully be a good basketball game. Then I'm going to sleep in tomorrow and enjoy the long weekend and try to foget the craziness that is my life right now. Hope everyone has a fun Labor Day Weekend!!

Summer cleaning

We always knew KB was an EL Fudge cookie. Check out the style, startin' at a young age...

KB's in da house! ..... Wha's up?

In my efforts to assist Karl in packing his stuff, I discovered how much crap I have. In all the moving I did with my job before getting married, I just kept everything in Tupperware bins, and moved it from place to place. I have finally decided that those tax returns from 1993 aren't necessary anymore. And those papers I wrote in college, not applicable in any way to my current career. And those chair cushions that I have been packing along for years because I might need them at some point in time, but have never once used, can probably go.

So I have a pledge with myself to do at least one hour of cleaning of crap a weekend. Today I managed to find the bin with a long lost picture collection, mostly from our time living in Wilbraham, Massachusettes. It was from '86 - '88 I think, Mom can correct me if I'm off. I think I may be the only Dixon kid old enough to remember most of our time there, which was plenty fun. Anyway, here's our crib, plush with Dad's pimp-mobile, a Chevy Chevette:

Us chillin' in the pool with some friends. When I drove by the house a few years ago, the pool was gone. Sad loss there, pleny of memories. Like KB trying to swim before she knew how to, and Dad jumping in boots and all to save her. And me being the lucky winner of the kid who was oldest and wisest on how to clean the thing every day!!

I'm looking pretty fly in my short shorts. That's me, hands in pockets. My basketball career started young, I actually still remember one of the plays our coach taught us.

Check out the chair fabric. At least this fabric wasn't removable so Mom could make another dress for me.... :-). Just playin' Mom. I think this below picture is Jessica. Fortunately she decided clothes were a good thing to wear.

And here's Beth, chilling on the porch, with her rad boom box and shades.

I don't have any of Jeff from MA, but here's one from Kentucky when he and I went hiking one day. Notice the hair, he did have some at one point in time. So young. Now he's old. Hee hee!!

And if Kaari reads this post, this is for you. I read one of hers recently that had me giggling over her music discussion. Well, in my bin scrounging today, I found a shoe box full of cassette tapes. Here's a sampling of music I listened to in high school. Scary!!

Though this does really make me want to go out and buy a tape player to listen to them. Can you even buy tape players anymore? If not, I'll have to check iTunes to see I if I can find them. I need to have some Marky Mark to thump to in my ride. :-)

Goings on

When I was in 8th or 9th grade at Beaumont Jr High, I was on the basketball team. We loved to play this game called knockout. For those not familiar, this game entails everyone lining up behind the free-throw line, the first two people have a ball. The first person in line shoots, if they make it they go to the end of the line. If they miss, the person behind them shoots and attempts to make the shot before the first person makes their follow-up shot. And so it goes through the line like this until the last person standing knocks out the second to last person. Sounds simple, just make your free throw. But when you've got numerous teammates standing behind you, taunting you, and you know the person behind you can knock you from this game, you're a little freaked out, and tend to rush things. I will never forget the first time I played this game. I was so stressed about missing my shot, because I am uber competitive and didn't want to be the loser who can't knock out the rest of my team. Of course, my stress caused me to miss my shot, and I was knocked out on my first shot. I remember standing to the side watching the rest of the team go through the line, and thinking if I had just taken a minute to breathe, get my shot off correctly, I would eventually win.

This lesson still sticks with me, as it did yesterday when I took the test to be an ICC Commercial Building Inspector. It's a timed test, 80 multiple choice questions in 3-1/2 hours. Sounds easy enough, especially since it's open book. But I used the ENTIRE 3-1/2 hours, not a second less. And I passed.

The picture is indicative of how I felt afterwards - drained. One of the hardest parts was convincing myself that was plenty of time, not to rush and answer just because I didn't feel like I was going to make it in time. Especially at the 2-1/2 hour mark when my brain went foggy and my eyes were screaming at me for a break. I pushed through, and actually finished answering all the questions at the 3 hour mark. I spent the last half hour going through the questions I had marked as ones to go back and double check. When the clock ran out and the computer closed me out of the program, I felt good. They don't tell you your score if you pass, so I don't know how well I actually did. But I felt wonderful that I passed. So now I can officially look at a building and tell someone if it's built correctly or not. Kind of scary.

This is a good thing for me in two ways. One, the job I took a few weeks ago was conditional on me passing this test. While my company didn't seem to care if I did this or not, because this is a temp job, our Corps team bugged me about it several times a week. So now I can make them go away. Second, there is a position open with the Corps that I think this may help get me a leg up on the competition for. So we'll see.

Speaking of my current job, I took a temp job with the company I was laid off from in May. They have me contracted to a general contractor as a quality control manager on a project at Fort Lewis. The company is based in Alabama, so you know I had to decorate my desk with my UK stuff :-). Anyway, it's their first foray at Ft. Lewis, and this base apparently operates differently than others they've worked at. So I am having to hold their hands a little to get through things. This company also does not have any kind of quality control or safety program, which amazes me that they are getting theses contracts with this. So between me and the safety guy that was also just hired, we are establishing the programs out here. The job for me is only suppposed to last till October, when their permanent guy is supposed to come out. From what I've heard about what he's currently doing, it will be later than that. In the meantime, I'm still keeping my ears and eyes open for other opportunities. Permanent ones.

Other than job stuff, it's been quiet around here. Karl left on July 4th, and headed back to Maine. I took the rest of the holiday weekend to clean up a little, go for a ride on the motorcycle, and relax. That's a weird thing to wrap ones mind around fully. It's been interesting, I'm definitely glad the job came up when it did. I think I would have gone a little loopy if I had to sit at home and dwell on things. We still have not had a single call on the house, I'm convinced there's a reason for that. When things settle down, the interest will come. In the meantime, I go for at least one ride a weekend, even if it's just a short one, and hang out.

The last crazy thing that has happened, that I noted in my last post, is I have finally found out what is wrong with my arm. I have a pinched nerve in my neck. So off to an orthopedic doctor to get that addressed. The pain has pretty much subsided, but I still don't have feeling in my right thumb or index finger, and my right arm is a little weaker than usual. Makes for a fun time when typing or trying to pick things up. The best thing to come out of this was getting out of an exercise in my CPR/first aid class last week. We were practicing the heimlich, and had to act like we actually fainted for our partner to practice letting the person down without dropping them. The guy I was working with was huge. The teacher offered to let me switch, but I said no thanks, mentioned my arm, and he let me off the hook. The lesson there, if you pass out around me, plan on hitting the ground hard :-).

Life is an adventure

Life is simple, it's just not easy. ~Author Unknown

I'm back into the swing of things, which is not much. I have taken a more active approach to my job search, especially now that I've hit week 7 of unemployment. It's really sad how little there is out there for jobs. So I am having little luck finding anyone who is hiring, as I'm sure most unemployed people in America are. I may have something coming up though. It is with my former company, and it's at Fort Lewis. The problem is it's with a contractor, which means back to the long hours and stupid stress. Those two things were inevitable to happen, but I kept wishing they wouldn't.

The stupid thing is it is only supposed to be for three months, then back to the unemployment line. I called the unemployment office to ask if there was a way out of this, why would I want to go to work knowing it was only for three months, when I could be using that time to look for a better opportunity? No go. Turns out if you are getting unemployment, you are required to take a job if it's offered to you, unless it has nothing to do with what you do, or the pay is nothing compared to what you were making. Even then, they can tell you to take the job. So the lesson there is - make sure you really do want the jobs you're applying to.

Anyway, so I'm supposed to find out tomorrow if I am supposed to start working on Wednesday. Fun times. The search will continue for a real job that will last a while.

On top of this fun, I woke up a couple of weeks ago with a tremendous pain in my upper back. I figured it was a rib out of place. So did my chiropactor. He popped it back into place, and off I went. A couple days later it was bugging me again. So back the the chiropractor. This was on a Friday. I woke up Saturday morning and could barely move my upper body, I was in a ton of pain. So I suffered for the remainder of the weekend before I could get back into the chiropractor. After a couple more days of popping my back and neck around, my right arm and finger tips started losing strength and going numb. Long story short, I'm now on week 2 of daily trips to the chiropractor for what is presumably a pinched nerve in my neck. I spent the weekend high on oxycodone left over from a surgery last year, just so I could function. And take naps, that stuff makes me tired. He's giving me two more days before he sends me to get an MRI. Given it's been 2 weeks, I'm not putting any money on it healing in 2 days. So this will coincide well with starting a new job... :-)!!


Today I will not imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different. I will make success with what... I have. ~Author Unknown

Now the not so fun - say what! - part of the post. Some know about this already, most don't. We've managed to keep it pretty much under wraps. There's no real nonchalant way of saying it, so out it comes. Karl and I have decided to go our separate ways. It's been an interesting, fun, challenging, adventurous five years of marriage. We've learned a lot about each other, and about ourselves. The biggest things we learned, though, is that we are both workaholics at the wrong stuff. We worked on everything but what was important. And that made what was important suffer.

So Karl is moving back to Maine to be closer to his family, and I am looking for something somewhere in this country (though I hear Australia is nice...). Our house has been on the market for a few months. I'll stay with it as long as it's for sale or I have a job in Washington. Karl is heading out this weekend for his trek back across the country. It's going to be a challenge for both of us to deal with and understand why this happened. But it's also a new beginning for both, one that hopefully we can both make a successful adventure.

i r a english majur

I have been the definition of discombobulation lately. I think largely due to the fact that I am bored out of my mind. Today, I didn't even take a shower till 1:15. And I haven't done a thing since then. Well, I cooked dinner. And to top it off, I have had some nasty heartburn tonight. I found on the internet that honey can fix it. So I've swollowed about a 1/2 cup of honey, straight from the bottle. It seems to be working. The things I do to entertain myself.

I was doing okay with this unemployment thing until about the time I left for Utah, so that was a well timed trip. But now.... I've been back since Friday, and I am going stir crazy. I had a thought today. Of all the things they take money out of your paycheck for, one item is unemployment. Since I've been paying into that fund since I was about 12 years old, I think I have a right to that money. How much I want, and when I want it. That way I can do something instead of sit in my house and stare at the ceiling. Or tv. Or the view out my window. Or challenge the electrical inspector when he comes by and tells me we didn't pass. Never challenge an inspector. Even if you know what you're saying. I should know this. Anyway, I need to find my motivation, and start doing things.

While I was gone, I got a letter from the WA state unemployment people saying I am required to attend a 3 hour class to learn how to be unemployed. It's required by law apparently. When I called the office to tell them I was out of town on the day I was supposed to attend, and that I figured that was not a good thing, the lady I was talking to shrieked a little and frantically told me who to call. Immediately! Apparently this is similar to a felony. Regardless, I get to go do this class tomorrow. I'm so excited. At least it's something to do.

Anyway, so my plan was to leave for Utah on my birthday, the 2nd. I, of course, took my own sweet time getting myself together. I slept in, was lazy all morning, figuring I'd pack after lunch. A friend called at about 10:30 in the morning to see if I wanted to go to lunch. That totally threw me off. I had to be on the road by 3:30, so I went to lunch, then frantically threw things in a suitcase and into my car and took off. Needless to say, as the trip went along, I found at least one thing a day that I forgot. Thank goodness my parents live near Walmart.

It took 14 hours to get there, split over two days. That's a long time in a car by oneself. I contacted my inner truck driver, and made it through. It was fun to see everyone, and get to hang out for a few days. On Saturday, we went to a family reunion for my Mom's side of the family. It was good to see some extended family, and get to visit. My family then loaded into the cars and headed to Bear Lake. We had a couple of condos up there, and they turned out to be pretty nice. Here's a view from the deck of one:

It worked out well I think. There was enough room for the little ones to run around, but not too tight that everyone went crazy. Although, in this picture, Jefferson may argue that point:

Then he realized I was watching:

I apparently scare kids easily. Jefferson and Chase would laugh and carry on with me as long as I was at least five feet away. Any closer, and their defenses went up. I had better luck with my friend Emily's kids, and I haven't seen them in at least a year. Chase finally decided I was okay when I was leaving. She allowed me to give her a hug as I was getting in my car. Perhaps I should read into that...

Anyway, we hung out Sunday, then Monday we drove up to Minnetonka cave. This sign doesn't make one too excited about going in:

It was actually pretty fun, I played with Chase most of the time. I must say though, Kentucky caves are better. Kara peacin' out on the way in:

On the way out. It was a good time...

A rainbow on one of the nights:

On Tuesday, we went over to the lake to play. We decided to rent a boat and some wave runners for a little while. It was definitely worth it, even if it was a touch on the chilly side when we started. It was sunny, and the water was beautiful. Here's Emerson, Beth, and Ada on a wave runner:

Jason was the first brave one to get on the tube, which required touching the water. The water temp was 58 degrees. Even with a full-body wet suit, he shrieked a little when he got in.

Jason managed to stay on the tube. So Beth and Jessie decided to try it. I couldn't resist posting this picture. Not sure what they're doing...

Anyway, they did good for a little while. I was driving the boat, so I was speeding up and turning a lot to try and get them a little movement. After a few minutes, I managed to get them to hit a wave, and off they went. You could hear Beth shrieking above the sound of the boat motor. Emerson was on his wave runner behind them, and came up to pull them from the freezing water.

We had a good laugh at their expense. Here's Ada hiding, she got a little cold: After an hour on the boat, we returned it and took out two more wave runners. It was an awesome time chasing each other around and enjoying the day. That night we had a Glee viewing party. We watched the first 4 episodes of the show, plus the season finale, which was awesome. I think we got my Dad addicted to that show.

We headed out back to Sandy on Wednesday, I got to hang out and catch up with a great friend that night, and I headed home on Thursday. Another 14 hours in a car.

I had a roomate once that couldn't understand why a person would want to drive across the country, or spend long amounts of time in a car. She didn't understand my stories of the "World's largest ______" (fill in the blank) stands that you find throughout the midwest. Or the fun you have with people in the car. Or the things you see along the way. Like this sunset, this picture doesn't do it justice:

Or this farm and view somewhere in eastern Washington:

The earth is truly a beautiful place. There are so many buildings and structures along the way in Oregon that I would love to stop and take pictures of, objects that have withstood the test of time. They are truly awesome and awe inspiring. So, while some people can't fathom sitting in a car for hours on end, I find it educational, wonderful and relaxing. Also, it's really fun to stick your camera out the sunroof to take pictures while there are cars all around. They tend to fall back and let you drive by yourself. The smart legislators of Washington state thought to ban cell phone use while driving, but no mention of camera use....

And the title of this post. My sister Jessie is an official high school english teacher now. I told her to write that on the board on her first day to see how many kids find that totally incorrect. I'm guessing most students would miss most of the problems. I'm curious to hear how it went.

And I'm spent...

Okay, not really. I'm just bored. I'm one week into my unemployment, and that feeling of "I need to be working" is slowly creeping in. Don't get me wrong, I'm thoroughly enjoying sleeping past 5:00 am, not having any real stress, and having time to do things I want to do. But there's this thing in my head that is starting to steer me towards that need to work thing. I blame my parents for raising me with a sense of purpose and a work ethic. I learned it by watching you!!!! Why couldn't you have raised me to be one of those lazy people that relies on all you hard working individuals to pay for me to survive? Sheesh.

Anyway, I am finding things to do to occupy my time. I spread them out so I don't leave myself totally bored after three days. For instance, Monday I did a load of laundry, went grocery shopping, got my windshield fixed, and went to Target and bought everything but what I went there for. Go figure. Yes, that was a lot for one day. I should have done the windshield another day. But whatever.

I am job searching a little each day. The Corps jobs finally posted, so I've got my name in for those. Wish me luck. The funny thing here is, if you get hired by the government, they want to see your official transcripts from school. Who knows why, given most people aren't even working in the field they got their degree in. Anyway, so I contact Utah State to get mine, and they inform me I have a past due balance. Of course my first thought is - 14 years later I find this out. Nice. So I call them up, and they tell me it's a housing bill for $100 from 2004. Okay, first of all, a major university is worried about $100 from six years ago?! Second, I tell them I haven't been back to Logan since 1996, so that certainly can't be mine. They agree, and off goes my transcript. Adventures.

In an effort to help my employment cause, I have decided to take the test to become a certified commercial building inspector. It will allow me to work on government projects, which are not going to be ending any time soon. And being an official inspector always goes farther than just saying you have a degree in something.

I've heard the test is quite difficult, and we all remember my adventures in attaining this certificate:

So I'm mentally preparing for this new challenge. So far, I've dropped $250 on three books. I'm still awaiting the concrete code book. Aren't you sad you don't get to read these?

The test itself is $180. So now my dilemma is do I fork over $800 to take a class that guarantees you'll pass the test, or pay $80 to do self-study tests. My former co-worker suggested I take the test once, just to see what they're looking for, then study, then take it again. In theory, I should pass the second time. This would be cheaper than the class. I'm still working this one out in my head. Before I left my job, I was talking to some of the guys I was working with about this, and they were baffled as to why I would voluntarily take the test. First of all, I thought in my head that it was amazing that people would be amazed at why you would want to further your education. Second, I responded with, "when facing unemployment, you do what's necessary to get a job." Funny thing is, one of the guys works for the company I talked to about a job. Better look out, I may take your job.....

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Lastly, my saving grace in the insanity of my life right now is this:

Yes, those picutes are really close to the team. I sat next to their bench. It allows me to get away for two hours once in a while.

.

As if the game on Sunday wasn't fun enough, this was sitting on my car when I left:

That would be Sue Bird's autograph on a jersey. I have no idea where it came from, or why it was there. It's oviously old and worn, so the most I can figure is someone dropped it while walking by. It's too bad autographs from WNBA players aren't as valued as male sports figures, this would be worth a bit of money. Such is life, I'll add it to my collection.

.

So I am heading to Salt Lake in a couple of weeks to spend a week or so with the family. This trip was planned before the lay-off, so this worked out well for a get-away. After much thought and map measuring, I will be down on the night of the 2nd. I'll get to go to a game, then head out. Birthday party to be held at Mom and Dad's upon arrival.

.

I'll be leaving Utah on the 10th. So I can go to a game on the 11th.

.

Sanity. Whatever I can get these days.

.

Update and thoughts

So as of 2:30 today, I will officially be unemployed again. This one stands to last longer than 24 hours though, unlike the last time I played this game. The contract I'm working under officially expires today, and there's no fixes for now. They supposedly have one, but it could take months to get it in place. The funny thing about this is when the field rep for my company told me this, and didn't understand my dis-interest in sitting around for months waiting to see if I have a job or not. He actually asked me, "can't you go on unemployment?" And we wonder why our unemployment and welfare systems are so jacked up.

Anyway, I could be back here in a few weeks, or I could be elsewhere. I am talking to one of the contractors we're overseeing right now about coming on their team. I'd rather not, that means going back to endless hours and stress. But it's a job. My other option is to wait for the Corps to post their job openings, which are supposedly going to happen soon. They said that 4 weeks ago. And those aren't a guarantee, despite having spoken with the head of the Corps at Fort Lewis and having several employees vouch for me. Stupid hiring system the government has. So I am going to take a few weeks off, relax and play around the house a little, maybe play some golf, then go to Utah for a week or so and hang out with the family. Hopefully I won't go too stir crazy.

Now on to other thoughts. Has anyone ever been listening to the radio and had a song come on and thought, "they sang that on an episode of Glee!" That show is ruining my radio listening. But it sure is funny. Sometimes I think it would be fun to be Sue Sylvester.

So I went for a bike ride last night. Here's how my brain went:
The weather is nice, perhaps I should go for a ride instead of the treadmill tonight.
Need motivational music to push me through.
Are you sure you want to tackle the hill today? Perhaps not the best idea just yet.
Boy it's nice to get out in the fresh air. Okay, I do that when I walk around a job site. This is different though.
I hope that dog doesn't come after my ankles again.
Okay, the hill is not much further. Turn around when you get to the hill.
Do I really want to turn around? I can do this.
Turn Around.
Turn AROund!
Turn AROUND!
TURN AROUND!!!!!! For the love of legs and lungs that will continue to function, TURN AROUND!!!!!!

Crap.....
Do I really have to go up that thing now?
Push through it, go go go go go!
And let a little smile out, even if you can't breath and your legs are going to laugh when you try to stand on them.


I'm going to miss my morning eye candy, a.k.a soldiers doing their morning PT. It's rather nice to live vicariously through them when it comes to exercise. I feel your pain, man. Keep going.

Ever opened your fridge to have some horrendous smell come out, and not be able to identify it's origin? Then clean out the fridge of anything that comes remotely close to causing the smell. Only to find the smell still there. Even though you have one of those baking soda smell-eater-upper things in there. Annoying.

In doing several inspections of one of the buildings lately, I've done a lot of research on how things get built to ensure people's safety. While most people go into a building and think of aesthetics, I look at how it's constructed. It really is amazing what goes into making a building safe, and how much we think about how people will get out in case of fire, earthquake, or other emergency when building it. It's not just studs and drywall my friends.

I don't know if I want to go out to eat for lunch, or eat my frozen dinner. Coin flip coming. Till next time....