Settling In.

Well, I've not yet gotten to making the new blog because I just got internet in the past few days and had some housekeeping to do.

First things first: do not use Verizon as your internet provider. Being a planner and wanting to get internet up and running as soon as we moved in, we contacted Verizon at the end of December. We were told January 11 would be our start date. Meh. On Friday, the 8th, I contacted Verizon to see where the modem was, as we were supposed to have it already. One person told us to wait until Monday and then if it hadn't arrived, to call. No thank you, so I talked to someone else who said they couldn't find that we'd placed the order and to call the very same people who just told us to wait. No thank you, so I told this guy we'd been there and done that and what was HE going to do to help me TODAY. Before we were done, I had an order number and a promise for a modem to arrive on Monday.

On Tuesday, said modem arrived with a user manual CD and a few cords. But the modem didn't work. So again I called Verizon and talked to a couple of people, one of whom said that the internet should be working and if our DSL light was not solid, then something was wrong with our jacks, and someone would have to take a look at them but couldn't do it until Thursday. My patience wearing thin, and my scalp getting irritated at all the hair-pulling, I waited on Thursday for someone to come, and of course, they didn't. So at 12:00, I called Verizon again to ask where the technician was that was supposed to come check my jacks, and Verizon had no idea what I was talking about. The conversations that ensued still irritate me, so let's just say that after 3 hours on the phone and talking with 3 different customer service reps, after saying, "This is not 1995 and this is not new technology", along with, "I thought Comcast was bad, but I'm considering going to them because this is ridiculous", and "I'm not getting off the phone with you until this is solved", on Friday, my internet was up and running. No jack problem, just people who don't know what they're doing. But now I'm back!

It's 7:34 a.m. CST. Do you know where your mind is?

Dear Reader,

How I have longed to share with you some important news. I finally am able to do so today.

Wiley and I are moving to Virginia at the end of this month. That's right, Bloomington will be on the list of places we've lived, and we continue our journey on the border with West Virginia. Wiley got a fantastic job at a university, and we move at the end of this month. I gave my notice at work on Thursday, and have been uber-busy since then showing the apartment, baking, and traveling to Chicago to see friends and go to the Christmas market.

Leaving Bloomington is bittersweet. We have friends here that we won't see very often. We have a baby we've watched grow from a little sleeping lump to an interactive little guy who is less and less fussy when we see him. I leave a job without having another to replace it. But mountains are waiting! New things to explore! Hiking! Maybe less snow (which I'm not sure is a good thing because I do like it a bit chilly)! Washington DC is two hours away! The coast is two hours away! Did I mention mountains?

The timing, unfortunately, couldn't be worse. I can't unpack Christmas decorations because I just have to pack them up again! We're going to Arkansas for the holiday and then two days later will attempt a move. Our apartment in Bloomington may go unrented, which is very scary paying for two rents that are expensive. But all of these things will pass. I'll find work doing something, and maybe it'll be something I really enjoy that is right now unexpected. Who knows what this move will bring?

Right now, I'm in Chicago, and I'll be heading out to shop soon (more like window-shop, but I'm getting some exercise). And tomorrow, I get to meet Logtar and his wife for the first time face to face! Logtar and I have read each other's blogs for awhile now, and I can count on him to give an honest comment, which is appreciated, and his writing is introspective, which I find fascinating for a guy to do. I'm very excited!!

And while people have counseled against it, I think I need to change the blog name. If I lose people in the move, then I guess I'll lose people in the move, but dangit, it's misleading, and I miss Sarajevo alot, but I'm just not there right now. Soooooo, if you have any ideas about a new blog name, let me know. (Cara, I'm looking at you - you have such good names for things!)

Moving on Up.

Changes to be made to the little site soon, and then I think I shall be posting a bit more on an array of topics.

I win.

Got my butt up at 3:10 this morning, headed out at 4 am with my warm Glogg in my thermos (like the smell of coffee, hate the taste) to grab my friend, and 45 minutes later, we were in Greenwood at the mall. My timing was off just a bit, as I thought that while the mall would be open at 5, most stores would still be closed until 6. Imagine my surprise when I turn the corner and find the entire parking lot littered with cars. Last night, friends made fun of me for getting up so early and dealing with the throngs of people, but really, it wasn't too bad except in Bath and Body Works, where the B&B Babies didn't know how to snake a line so people kept cutting and 30 minutes later, we finally got to the register. All in all, it was a good time - I got the gifts I needed and hardly any money spent due to returning some other items. And I'd much rather get going early in the morning than go later in the afternoon. By 9:15, which is when we left the mall to come home, walking through the mall was treacherous.

My rules of Black Friday are as follows and I quote:

"No Wal Mart."

"No Best Buy."

"Don't buy crap you don't need just because it's on sale."

For Pom.

Ok, here I am, updating a blog that hardly anyone reads anymore because I don't post anymore. It kinda feels like the chicken and the egg merry-go-round.

Well, let's see. Pom said to write about the mundane, or take an adventure, so...Wiley has a job interview tomorrow at a university. Tonight we tried to figure out how to fold a suit jacket so it would be as little wrinkled as possible.

Yeah. Right.

I have started two part-time jobs...one is helping out a friend with some marketing things, and the other is being an admin assistant to an older guy who doesn't want to retire. Last weekend I spent some time typing up his original war letters from 1944. Right now, we're in the jungle of New Guinea and the military men only get 1 candle at a time. Being the entrepreneur that he was, my guy got the melted wax from all the other guys in the unit and melted it all together, stuck some rope in for wicks, and put a metal can behind it to make it quite bright. He has a beautiful house, and in addition to being smart, he's pretty nice. He hired me because of my wit, he said. "You hear something, and then you take it and kick it back out in an unusual way," he said. So far, so good. In addition to typing, I also am a bit of maid. I cook breakfast and lunch and clean up the house a bit. Unfortunately, he doesn't care one bit that I hate fish of any kind, and on three occasions now, I've had to cook some sort of fish, or at the very least, prepare it. Smoked salmon with crackers. Sardines with crackers. Fish soup. Gag gag gag.

The most fun thing lately is taking care of friends' 2.75 month old baby for the past month or so. Usually just once a week, Baby Boy and I get together at his crankiest time and figure out how long I can keep him from crying. Wiley also helps most days. Sunday was difficult, though - I was all alone, and everything was going swell until his nap time before bedtime. Before I knew it, he was inconsolable, and for 14 minutes, I held him, changed his diaper, made sure he wasn't too hot or cold, tried to use a pacifier, and came to the realization that he just needed to tire himself out. Into the swing he went, and after 1 good suck on the pacifier, was out for about 35 minutes. Then, he was happy to coo until bathtime, when he screamed again (Mommy said it was her ice cold hands).

So cross your fingers that Wiley comes home with good news! That's all for now Pom!

Howdy Stranger.

What a busy time this has been. Wiley and I moved into a townhome, did I tell you this, Dear Reader? We are no longer renting our friends' house with our friends' possessions still in it. This townhome we have rented has only OUR belongings in it, and it makes me so happy. So happy that I can even deal with evil college students who don't know how to shut up because their neighbors have ears.

A friend had a baby, and I've gotten to spend time with the little one. The day after he was born, we went to the hospital, and he cried like a little donkey. It was darling. Well, now he's got some lungs, and it's slightly less darling, though I understand that you just want to figure out what they're trying to tell you. I'm told the feeding is touch and go, so some days are better than others, but hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon or else my friend's twins are going to fall off. They were told not to introduce a bottle until after a month of feeding, which to me sounds awful for them. Syringe feeding so there's no nipple confusion? Gack.

This could be one reason I'm not a mother.

But in light of that, the baby is doing well. This weekend is a baby shower, and I made the diaper cake and fondant for the shower cake. Fondant is sticky business. The premade stuff tastes rather awful, but if you make it from scratch, it's much tastier...it's still powdered sugar, but with a hint of almond, it brightens it up. Working with fondant could turn out to be a disaster, as this will be the first time I use fondant on a cake. I know, I know, I should practice, but I am baked out. In addition to the fondant, I made pumpkin cupcakes with cream-cheese frosting and peanut butter cup cookies for the holiday weekend. I got good marks from people on both counts. But that also means I'm not interested in baking until later in the week, and I also find that sometimes on the first try, I do really well, and then the second time, it's a disaster. So while I've made the cake and the buttercream icing before, and know that will be fine, then I'll see how the fondant does. If it doesn't work, I can always take it off and make some more buttercream icing. I'm not worried except I still need to figure out the shape. For a planner, it's not really like me to wait until a few days before something is due to decide.

But this is what I call "living a little".

And hooray, it's fall!!!

Ketchup.

Nothing about ketchup, sorry, but instead a post to catch-up.

Wiley and I are moved into our own living space...still renting, but everything inside is ours. No more three kitchen tables, two couches and two pianos. No, Dear Reader, it's a treadmill, a couch, a chair, and an ottoman! With 1 dining room table! And some end tables! It's marvelous. Our two-bedroom townhome is close to work so I can walk on the days it's not too hot (oh yes, I will drive .5 miles to work; I've done it, and I'm ok with it). It's on the busline so Wiley can bus it to school when it's rainy. The walls don't seem to be too thin, though we live next to unknowns on one side and an Indian couple on the other. I'm tempted to ask them to come over and make Indian food with us, as we are big fans, though Wiley makes a wonderful coconut curry chicken already.

So the move went smoothly, with A Better Way Moving and Storage loading us up and unloading us at the new place. No scratches, no dings, nothing broken, and all in less than 2 hours. Couldn't have been more beautiful. We thought we lost 3 books and a vacuum cleaner attachment, but all of those items showed up yesterday as we went through our unpacked bins for the third time. As students move in for the year, I'm sure my rosy glasses will become a bit more purple when it comes time to fight for parking spaces, but for this weekend at least, I will enjoy. Wiley also bought a charcoal grill/smoker and has been a caveman ever since he got it. Anytime he can, he's outside playing with his new toy. I can't complain (except he did burn the grass, and it looks a little bad) because the food he's cooked has been fantastic, and all I have to do is set the table and eat.

For one weekend, I was a kennel attendant at a local kennel. I cleaned kennels of 20 dogs, inside and out, on Saturday and Sunday, and when time allowed, I was even able to walk and romp with the dogs. Such dogs included two Great Danes (who were the best-behaved dogs of the whole group), two German shepards, a border collie, a Boston terrier, a collie/shepard mix, a St. Bernard, a Labradoodle, a Bichon Frese, two Schnauzers, a golden Retriever, and a little yellow dog that looked like a fox (bushy tail and pointy ears and just a doll). There was also a dog named Starbuck that scared me to death, so he was walked by others. Call me a coward, but when I see you foaming at the mouth when I'm trying to put water in your bowl and you're trying to chew a hole in the fence to get at me, I'm going to leave you alone. The Retriever tried to have his way with me, but I was able to fight him off by telling him to sit. The Labradoodle was impossible to put a collar on, but with the help of my boss, I got it on him, and he was just as giddy and jumpy. I'd had enough by this time and realized if I was ever going to be able to actually walk him, I'd have to show I was top dog, so I said, "Sit." Nothing happened except more bouncy. "Sit." This time, a lap around me. "SIT." He sat. And stayed sat until I said, "Ok, let's go." I patted myself on the back. Sadie, the St. Bernard, however, had a mind of her own, and refused to go back into her kennel after her walk. Tugging on a St. Bernard's collar is not going to work. Pushing on a St. Bernard's rump also has no effect. I think Sadie just got a little tired of my pleads because she finally went in after about 5 minutes of me throwing up my hands.

In addition to cleaning out the kennels, I also got to experience just what a dog feels when that door is closed because I ended up locking myself in the kennel no less than three times. I was able to get out one time, but the doors were a little stickier on the other two, so I was glad my boss was there to get me out. She said she used to do it all the time, which made me feel better.

Unfortunately, the job was short-lived, and I am not working there anymore, though I have made a new friend who shares my love of Indian food, and I'm hopeful that we will get together for lunches around the kennel schedule. When I got home, I picked up my cats and danced around the room with them, telling them how happy I was that they were little so I could pick them up and place them wherever I wanted them to be (not that they stay, but that's ok).