Soberpotamus

V, I am so sorry your cat is not well.

More to post later...

Fantail, fingers crossed.

Jsbodhi

Fingers crossed soberp!
I went on a date the other night and was really nervous - I got food on my face and accidentally turned my face when he tried to kiss me and smashed my face into his mouth.
So you did better than me!

Jsbodhi

(((( hug)))) I'm sorry about your cat V

Soberpotamus

Sorry you were turned down, Fantail. And great job staying sober. I would do the same thing in the past, btw... drink after good or bad news like this.

I have a friend who's been teaching English in S. Korea for over ten years now. He loves it.

Yesterday was a particularly bad day at work for me, and then I received two emails telling me I wouldn't be further considered for two positions I applied for. It all seemed to heap onto my head at once. Those days are frustrating.

Anna

Jennie, I hope that your day today has been better than yesterday.

Venus, I'm sorry your lovely cat is unwell. I am going through something with my beautiful Kai. He is exhibiting the same symptoms that Kona had just before he died in November. I think he may have kidney problems.

Soberpotamus

Oh, Anna, I hope not!!

Soberpotamus

My thoughts are with Venus and Kai. Sending positive thoughts and vibes.

Soberpotamus

I'm having lunch and then back to work. I made the mistake of ordering jalapeño on a burger today. My mouth is now on fire.

Soberwolf

sorry to everyone who's pet is unwell x

Croissant

I agree with Anna, Jennie. That was a thoughtless comment for the interviewer to make and even so, if she wanted to make you relax, there were better ways to frame it. I always look at those things as clues that maybe it wouldn't work out if I worked with those people, so if you don't get the role, maybe you dodged a bullet?

Anyway, I just wanted to post and wish you well, and to have faith that the universe will send what's right, when it's right. The garden job may not be right, but for now $xxx every week is coming off your debt, and that's worth smiling about at work.

Sometimes I had to split my goals into logical chunks of time just to cope with them, because drinking had made my default expectation of wanting everything NOW!!! I know you are past that horrible stage, but sometimes we are just impatient anyway! Hehe. Anyway, I used to chunk my life out into 6 week stretches when it got tough doing my in-between jobs til I built back my career. Even now, I am saving for a house pretty hard, but you reminded me of my 6 week rule.

I will tell you, there was one job I really struggled at last year, so, I would wear a particularly big ring to work, to remind me I was saving to move back home. Every time I was in a stressful or annoying situation, I twiddled that ring madly, telling myself the day would pass, working with this person would pass etc. it helped. (Maybe I'm crazy! Hehe) Anyway, it did pass and I saved enough to get me home and finally got my dream job. But there were many days last year I thought it would never happen.

I know you have faith it will happen, I'm just reassuring you, that you aren't alone.

Soberpotamus

Thanks for replying, Croissant. I read it a few days ago but haven't had much time to post all week. I do like this idea and tend to try doing this myself at times. It's hard, but, yeah, I can see how it will make things better. Or at least, make my perception better. I keep a spreadsheet where I keep up with all our accounts and balances, and I really enjoy putting a PAID OFF stamp beside the ones I've paid down. That's a good feeling. Then, I snowball my money toward the next account until it's gone. I pay them off one-by-one that way.

I am taking things biweekly. That's when my schedule rolls out, anyway. So I guess it's as logical as any other time interval I could employ. Biweekly is as far as I want to imagine working at this place, lol. Some days are ok, and others are hellish. People are just mean as hell sometimes. And I'm a direct person, so I really have to hold myself back from speaking my mind. Fortunately, I'm an introvert and can go a long time without a desire to speak to anyone at all, and I tend to mostly speak only when spoken to, which is, obviously, often in this type of job. I kind of have this double existence going ... the one in my own mind, and reality, lol. I really let people have it in my mind sometimes.

Then, there's the odd, angelically sweet or interesting person who shows up at the right moment and assures me that all has not gone to hell.

Soberpotamus

The front door is ordered and will be ready for pick-up in one month. I saved $160. Plus, it was the door I really wanted. It's going to look great.

Venuscat, I bought a new houseplant yesterday. It's an umbrella plant! I think you have one, right? I didn't notice right away its name, and then later, I googled and realized what I'd bought. Its leaves are gorgeous. I love it. Now to find a nice planter for it.

Soberpotamus

I applied for another rural route carrier position that's in a neighboring town. Maybe I'll get an interview with someone who won't point out my nervousness, jeez. Lol.

Soberpotamus

How are the other Big Life Changers?? How's it going, everyone?

Soberpotamus

Oh ... more and more juicy details are coming to mind. Lots of things happened this week, and one interesting thing, in particular, was the talk of alcohol at work. A co-worker mentioned going home to a bath and a glass or two of wine, and I instinctively thought ... ah, how nice. And then ... uh, NO. Lol. That's not you anymore. Plus, you don't wanna end up like her (the co-worker, with perpetual red eyes, apparently from hangovers) at her age, and so on... I reined it in almost instantaneously.

Then, in response to her, I surprised myself. I said, ah, yes, that sounds nice (for anyone else, just, not me), I used to drink wine, myself. These days, I take my tea to the bath tub and enjoy my soak. I then told her about my new bamboo bath caddy and how awesome it is in the tub. The conversation transitioned smoothly, and there were no questions about drinking. It was natural. I felt so proud of my response. And I was completely comfortable discussing my past drinking in that way. We then talked about tea and growing herbs and plants.

It was a good, positive experience. Kind of felt like I was able to bridge gaps, you know? I wasn't omitting this huge chunk of my life where I was blacked-out drunk, lol. I mean, I didn't tell her about it, but just by that casual mention, it felt as if I'm pulling all parts of my life together into the present.

Anna

Well done on the co-worker conversation, Jennie. Instead of stopping the conversation, you made your statement and carried on to discuss other things and find some common interests with her.

Good luck with the rural carrier application.

Venecia

Haven't heard back on the job I applied for, which could mean something and could mean nothing. I think I'll drop them a "reiterate my interest" email tomorrow.

Venecia

And sending warm thoughts to all who are taking care of beloved pets.

fantail

Today was my first day in my new apartment after traveling all month. I've been washing the walls, the baseboards, the windows, the floors, etc, getting it into reasonable shape. Feels good.

Round 2 interview tomorrow. Plus starting a new freelance project that'll keep me busy for a few weeks.

On Friday I applied for I think 8 jobs! Going to try to set a weekly quota for myself.

fantail

Totally flubbed the interview. Frustration through the roof today. But got through it sober, so it'll all work out.