Update – the hiatus continueth…sorta August 11, 2009

Ahem, ahem, ahem!

A bit over a month ago, I posted that I was taking a brief hiatus, thanks in no small part to the insantity that my life had become. Though the majority of the insanity has passed, I’m still waiting for the dust to completely settle and there are still a few minor roadblocks to overcome.

And since a few of you have emailed me asking, WTF? Let me ’splain. No, that would take too long. Let me sum up:

• The Job – though at times a wonderous thing, turned into the Job From Hell where the list of grievances, if turned into a movie script, would strain the bounds of willing suspension of disbelief – and yet, it was true. I know. I lived it.
• The Summertime Kid Visit – thank you, that went very well, the munchkins are wonderful and the visit was terrific. Pics later (and the reason for that will be clear later as well).
• The Move – Due in part to the Job From Hell, and in part because I hated Phoenix with a blind, screaming passion, and in part because of better opportunties on the east coast, and in part because of personal reasons… anyway… I left Phoenix behind and moved to just outside of Baltimore… Yes, as in Maryland.
• The Crash – No, not a car crash silly! My laptop decided to play dead. It’s currently in the capable (I hope!) hands of the manufacturer, since, wonder of wonders, it was still under warranty. Meanwhile, access to the Internet is limited at best.
• The Other Stuff – Including, but not limited to: dealing with the Maryland MVA, which is a PITA of the greatest scale, for both license and registration – a story fit for one of my (in)famous rants! Dealing with the various and sundry companies with whom I do business and updating my contact information, oh yeah, and still trying to get my married name removed from my car loan (three years later), learning my way about a new town, dealing with not knowing instinctively which way is which, since in my little west coast mind, “west” means “toward the ocean” (laugh all you want), dealing with my vehicle transportation from Phoenix to Baltimore (another rant), waiting for all the rest of my stuff to arrive (sometime after the 15th), and the list goes on… and the list goes on…

So, dear and faithful readers… The hiatus continueth, but… I have been giving great thought to where this blog is going, direction, style, content, everything… and it’s gonna be a long and perhaps bumpy road to get there… At this point, I’m simply waiting for my laptop to come home from the doctor, and then I’ll be back in business…

Taking a walk down memory lane… Blog style January 30, 2008

Yeah…

So, here I sit, up to my elbows in alligators (someone kindly remind me to look up the meaning/origin of that charming saying) and I’m trying to keep my promise to myself. That one where I said I would keep my blog all fresh and sparkly clean, full of cool updated posts by Yours Truly.

And then life got in the way.

Between packing my house, working out the final details of custody stuff, planning a move, working on training the new hire coming in to take over some aspects of my job, training the existing employees who are taking over the other aspects of my job, the job hunt for a new job (in a new city, where I’ve never lived before), and all that goes along with those things, my blog has fallen into disrepair. Or is it dishabille? Or… Oh, never mind.

In the interest of keeping things fun, and because I dealt with a charming gent on the phone who, after receiving my resume, apparently did some world-class digging and found my little hole in the Web (yipe), I am posting links to some of my older posts.

Why? Well, some of them are those “most popular” things, though I’ve no clue why. Others are just ones I like for some reason or another. And no, I’m not telling which is which!

Want proof that bigger isn’t always better? Go here.

How about a nostalgic look at color and those crayons we all loved? Click here.

A funny story about a family on a camp out and some rather pesky wind? Try this.

And finally, that question women should never ask, “Do these jeans make my butt look fat?” 

Counting down… The Work and Move Files January 18, 2008

As of today – it is precisely 5 weeks before my last day of work with this company.

I’ve been here for almost 8 years. It’s going to seem strange to leave.

As of today – it is precisely 6 weeks before we pack the moving truck.

I’ve been in Southern California nearly all of my life (except for a short jaunt in Northern Cal for school and a very brief period as a toddler in Iowa, which I mercifully don’t remember). It’s going to seem strange to leave.

Of kids, custody, craziness and me… January 17, 2008

Well, all the people who really need to know now know… Sort of… there are still a few who don’t – some who I really should take time to tell and some who it’s safe to say they don’t read this blog, so…

I’m not going to go into a helluva lot of detail here – mostly because the why really doesn’t matter to most people, but…

For the benefit of my kids – I have agreed to give my ex primary custody, and take visitation. There is a long list of reasons why this is best for them – chief among them being they identify better with their father and his religious values than they do with me and my ah… lack of them. It also eliminates this bouncing around during the school session – which is a nightmare. Expect some blogging on that topic in the future… It’s a rough choice for a mother.

And, in the man’s defense – I can’t say my ex is a bad father, just a really bad husband.

Add to this mix that The BF is being hauled off to Phoenix – and you’ve got this little Southern California native preparing to move to the freaking desert. 

Which was the cause of the house hunting chronicles…

Well, custody agreement settled, house found, moving date established… 

For the next six weeks, I go into crazy mode…

Clearing out my list of things to do at work, extricating myself from everything and training others to do what I do (which is to keep everybody else’s stuff organized… They’re in a worlda hurt.) 

Packing up the current residence – getting all that stuff and clutter of life organized and together, and then cleaned up after. The nice thing? The new place is much bigger – like 1,000 square feet bigger – so at least that’s not an issue.

Prepping for a relatively short move – it’s long enough that it can’t be done in a day, but short enough that hiring someone else to do it is not only ridiculously expensive, it’s impractical, as they take a minimum of four days to do the actual moving (hello – it’s 6 hours away! I want my stuff!)

And all the while, trying to keep job going, work on my freelance stuff, do the radio show on Feb 1, still have the kids half the time throughout February, etc, etc, etc.

Nah, the next six weeks are going to be cake.

Can someone please shorten my to do list? January 14, 2008

For the next six weeks, my participation in the online community is likely to be rare – or at least very sketchy!

Why? Well…

Moving – it sucks, and it means there is little “free” time.

More details to follow as I am able!

Some of my friends understand why I’m being so cryptic, others don’t (yet) but soon will.

For now – my “to do” list stretches out nearly to infinity!