A Job and a Half

Life is exhausting these days. Every workday I get up, drive across town to my Census job, put in 8 hours there, race across town to my second job (scoring tests at Pearson), put in 4 hours there, and then I hurry myself home (before I collapse) and unwind for about one hour before going to bed. This schedule has made me so tired that I spent 12 hours in bed on Saturday night.

Don't get me wrong, I like what I'm doing at Pearson. I'm just not as young as I was the last time I worked a string of 12 hour shifts. But scoring tests is fun and I feel like I might be making a difference in a child's education. The pay isn't bad either. It's temporary work. This project is till mid May, so about 4 weeks.

When I originally agreed to take a night shift at Pearson I was told 2 weeks. That changed on the first day of training. For a while I thought about only doing the 2 weeks I'd agreed to, we have that option, but then I heard from HR at the Census job that we may be down sizing the office where I work in a month. So when I told Sandi not to let me talk myself out of the 4 weeks of extra pay, I guess God was listening in. Four weeks working 12 hours sounds pretty good right now. It also means that I'll have possible day projects to fall back on if the Census job lays me off for a bit.

Because all my weekday evenings are filled I've missed 1 choir practice and will miss several more. That bums me out because I like having something social and vocal to do once a week. The choir director just added in several new pieces to our notebooks. I don't know when they are going to be performed and we move through them really quick. Hope I have several weeks to practice on them but probably not.

Sunday I did the bare minimum at church. Usually I go early to see if I'm needed for anything at the early service, have breakfast in the fellowship hall, make choir practice prior to service, and then church and home, after a short stop in to coffee hour. This time I cut the early service out. I've also asked for a sub for this Wednesday night when I'm on the schedule to be Lay Minister at the Healing Eucharist. No can do when income calls. I wish it were the other way around as I get much more from church, but I really think God has put this job in my life for a reason, so maybe it's time to learn a bit of time management.

When my friend, JS, sent me a blank time schedule out of some book she was reading it had something called "sharpening the saw" on it. She explained that was for rest or training. What ever it took to get you back on track and working better than the long hours had dragged you down to. Sunday could have been such a day and to a certain extent it was, but not as much as I wanted it to be. When I entered the sanctuary for choir practice I looked out the back windows. There were two guys walking around the labyrinth towards the gardens. That was when I noticed that they were in full bloom. Suddenly I no longer wanted to be inside. Instead I yearned to be outside getting down close and personal with those flowers. Sigh! I elected to be responsible and stayed inside for choir. Then I went home to call Mom and do the house keeping chores. What a loss! I won't have time to go back there till this weekend. I'm going to have to remember to pack my camera in whatever I use to haul a journal and purse around in because I definitely want to capture those blossoms. Last year I took some pics of the garden at the back of the church. I think it has expanded and someone has planted different flowers this year. If I'm supposed to learn something from all this more than busy time, maybe one of the things I need to learn is how to take those moments when they happen and also keep a fast and furious pace when necessary. That makes me look forward with joy and also the feeling of being challenged. All prayers gratefully accepted.

Peace! Hope! & Joy!

3rd Sandi Update

Sandi went home this weekend. She was supposed to spend the time resting and had her family arrive to give her comfort and support on Sunday. If I know Sandi, she over estimated the amount of energy she was going to have...which might explain why she hasn't put up a post about being gone for so long. Her doctor told her to rest for 3 weeks, no gardening. You gotta know that's gonna be hard for her to follow. I'm working two jobs this week and the next so I'm going to be hard pressed to read blogs much less write a post. But if I don't hear from her shortly I'm going to call between jobs or on a break and find out how things are going.

Peace! Hope! & Joy!

Sandi Update #2

Don't get me wrong, I'll never wish anyone ill! Certainly not a hospital stay! But Sandi ending up in the hospital has me calling her every day and I feel so good about the way our friendship is growing through this that I've labeled it a blessing! And I've missed our internet chatter so I'm doubly glad for the reason to call and talk.

I just got off the phone with her. Her doctor wants to keep her till the end of the week. It seems that when she walked in to the ER under her own power she was in critical condition from that infection and they didn't know how she was able to stand, much less walk. So now that the infection is healing they want to hold onto her till her white blood count, and I presume energy, returns to a more normal state. When she told me what her doctor had said I told her she had a new nickname, "Tankette!" She laughed!

The book I sent her, "The Whole Truth" by Baldacci, will hopefully keep her a bit busy, but if she reads as fast as I do when I'm bored and in bed the whole day probably not. Feel free to leave messages and comments if you know her or even think you might want to. I'll deliver them. Or you can leave one on her blog, Holding Patterns. There's a link to it on my left sidebar. She said to tell you all how much she appreciates the prayers and messages of care she's received so far.

Hope everyone had a good holy week! Peace! Hope! & Joy!

Puzzle Share

Today's puzzle made me think of David's pictures over at Authorblog. I loved the color and the way the glass stems aligned up to make an interesting pattern. Hope you have fun with this one. Enjoy!

Sandi Update

Just got off the phone with Sandi! She's doing fine and ate her first meal since Monday. The surgery went much better than even the doctors expected. They didn't have to cut anything much and successfully inserted a tube which is draining the infection. She says she will probably be home Monday and will post as soon as she can after her return. I think there is supposed to be a post on her blog, put there by her son, which gives some news too. She's got a great family! She said, "Thanks for all the prayers!"

Peace! Hope! & Joy!

Sandi is on Hiatus

For those of you who are also readers of Sandi McBride at Holding Patterns, I want to announce that Sandi is in the hospital. I spoke to her this evening. She has diverticulitis and they are doing surgery tomorrow morning. She asks you to please forgive her not being around and also please pray for healing. I'll call her tomorrow when I get home from work to get an update and will try to let you know how things are going.

Peace! Hope! & Prayers ascending!

Work Mishap

Monday started out good. I got two people to train on a certain function and found out that my Census job would last into 2010. Yay! I love the thought of long term work at this job.

Monday afternoon ended rather badly. A filing cabinet fell over onto me and bruised my right forearm and left knee. In many ways I was blessed when it happened. Two folk were with me, saw it happening and jumped under it to stop its fall. Then the HR manager jumped in as well to get it since all the 4 drawers were trying to fall down and were absolutely full of files. It took 3 or 4 people to stop that cabinet from hitting the ground, one of them was me since it landed on me first. It took 3 strong men to get it back upright from its over 45 degrees tilt towards being face down on the ground. And in the process they shoved it too far back so it took off that black rubber wall base trip that lines many offices. But get it upright they did, Thank God!

Then came the process of checking me out. My right wrist and forearm were dinged by the corner of a drawer and also scraped. That is ugly looking but not very bad. The knee which stopped a heavy drawer though is rather badly bruised and somewhat swollen. Every one was asking me if I was okay, including the HR manager. I said I thought so but wasn't sure. I was very shook up. HR Mgr asked me if I wanted to go to the doctor and I said I didn't know but wanted to fill out an incident report. He got me some paperwork to start on and called Dallas for advice. They said send me to my doctor or the ER. My Doc would have taken several days so the ER at the nearby VA hospital it was.

They asked me if I could drive. My leg could have handled it but when the Office Supervisor cracked a joke to make me laugh I lost control of my emotions and laughed and cried at the same time right on his shoulder. Ouch! I felt totally unprofessional but really grateful for his grabbing me and hugging me cause I needed that comfort. Then he made me laugh again and I had the same reaction so I got hugged twice. Based on that lack of emotional control I asked if someone could drive me in my car and another person followed in theirs to drive that employee back since it wasn't the end of the work day. What a great bunch of people!

When I got to Audey Murphy VA Hospital we used valet parking and they handed me my backpack. One of the gentlemen wanted me in a wheel chair but I said I could walk in. So I did and they headed back to work. This was about 3:30. That's a mere 40 minutes after the accident. I was "triaged" by the nurses and set at a fairly high priority based on my knee and possibly my blood pressure which had shot up due to stress, adrenolyn and anxiety. Even then I sat in the VA waiting area for 3 hours before being seen and sent home.

When I did get seen the doctor didn't have me unrobe, he just prodded my knee some through my slacks and asked where it hurt. He offered to x-ray my patella. I asked if I'd be able to walk if the knee cap was broken and he didn't offer again. He did say that if I wanted to come back and get it x-rayed later I could. His prescription was Motrin or Aleeve twice a day at a higher than usual dose. He also gave me an ace bandage for support and a return to work chit after asking me if I did lots of climbing. And that was it. I went to the front, got my car key, located my car, and drove myself home.

A good hot soak in the bath that night plus 2 Aleeve helped me relax. I took a pillow to bed to support the knee with and hit the sack about 8:30. When I woke up that morning I felt much better. I took myself to work and also the Aleeve and a cane just incase I felt the need of knee support later in the day. Everyone at work was asking me how I was and I'm really grateful for all the concern shown. One person told me that in the middle of the accident I cried out, "Don't worry about me, get the cabinet!" Everyone laughed and said that was dedication. I blushed, cause I didn't even remember saying that but it sounds just like me so I'm pretty sure I did. Heck, we had 4 drawers falling out with all their files, why wouldn't I have been concerned?

Today I'm going to work again. I'm doing better than yesterday when I felt a little tired and wanted to basically take things easy. Last night on the way home I stopped by Walgreens and bought an elastic knee brace and am wearing that today so I think I'm doing the right things. When I opened my door last night there was a Fedex envelope that had been slid under my door which has paperwork to fill out for my claim. I get mileage to the hospital, the hours I left work and maybe the extra time I spent in the waiting room. I'll get help filling that out at work today. On my way home tonight I want to get some lotion with arnica in it because that will accelerate the healing of the ugly bruise on my knee. Now I'm getting ready for work. Have a good day everyone!

Crying Purse, Smiling Car

Because I needed to get a safety inspection done for my car, and it also was time for an oil change, I scheduled a service appointment for this morning. Yes, you now have to make an appointment to get your car repaired. That amazed me the first time they asked me to do it but, in retrospect, it makes sense. No more waiting for hours and your car is ready when you want it. Plus, you set it by your schedule so you don't get as frustrated with things.

I'd requested 9 AM but they set me at 8:30. That's okay, first in first out! My dealership uses a web page to schedule these things and it has a comments area, so I asked for what I needed and included a request for a "tune up". This car maintenance procedure apparently no longer exists. When I described the problem, "It vibrates when sitting in traffic while in gear with my foot on the brake," they said they'd look into it. Turns out I needed more than a typical tune up. If such a procedure exists for a fuel injection engine, my dealership charges about $150 for it. That wasn't what I ended up paying. My car had a bigger problem. It had a gasket leak on the oil tank. This leak had dripped oil right onto a spark plug which had now been sitting in oil and not firing. So they needed to replace the gasket, the tubes for the spark plugs, and of course the spark plugs. There was also some carbon buildup on the throttle body and my air filter was nasty. So in addition to the oil change and safety inspection charge they added another $450. Ouch!

That's actually better than I'd expected. When they mention gaskets and cars I immediately think of head gaskets and replacing those pretty much rebuilds an engine. Thank goodness they didn't need to do that. It's happened to me twice over the life of times I've owned cars and I never want it to happen again. So I'm breathing a tentative, "Whew." And I think they actually took off the oil change price because the bill was about that much less than the near $600 I'd been told.

My car now drives very nicely. No vibrations and it picks up speed much, much better. Thank you Universal Toyota! For all the bad rep that dealerships get, Universal is really a good one. I base this opinion on 3 things:1) when I bought the car they actually listened to me; 2) when I took it back for a check oil light the day I bought it they went beyond the usual level of investigation on the car and I ended up with a better than purchase loaner and a new short block free of charge; 3) a couple of years later when a check engine light kept coming on within a week of being investigated and repaired, they completed the last 3 investigations free of charge and did a $500+ dollar repair gratis too. Yeah, I could have gotten a cheaper oil change at Wal-Mart, but I wouldn't have gotten the level of service this dealership gives to its customers. So, if you live in the San Antonio area and need work on your Toyota I highly recommend them.

Puzzle Share

The puzzle I worked this morning, and forwarded to my folks, is rather lovely. I enjoyed working it and thought you might too. Don't want to sound like I'm bragging but so many of you share your times with me that I guess maybe you want to know mine. Please don't rate yourselves against me, I do this kind of puzzle daily and I'm not the fastest person at it. Someone out there did it in 1.27 minutes. It took me over twice that, 3.57. Hope you do as well or better. Hey, if you beat my time tell me! I'll celebrate with you. Enjoy!

Reasons to Smile

Whenever I meet with my Cursillo Reunion group and we talk about study I always direct my talk away from books and instead say, "I'm studying people." It's true! I do study folk. That's how I learn my best lessons in life. How to face disappointments, be kind to others, see things from new perspectives, and be a better servant are just a few of the skills I'm learning from others. All of that's important in life and I'm blessed that I've got friends who accept being studied and seem to consider me just as valuable as they are to me. Friends have been stepping up to the plate a lot lately.

The new friends I'm making at my Census job are turning out to be fine examples of how to act in an office. Many of them have been managers or people in responsible positions and all are team players. We all work together towards a common goal, teach each other what we learn, and cover each other when closing out our day and getting ready for the next. So what am I learning from them? Besides the afore mentioned, I'm also learning how to take things in stride, how to coordinate things, and how to get good advice when needed. More subtle skills include tact, faith, and belief in a common goal.

One of my work friends, a very nice fellow named Kevin, has taken my poor job search skills and done his best to improve them with some well place instructions. He sat down with me over lunch one day, looked at my USA Jobs resume, and told me how to improve it to get a better shot at being hired by our government when I go looking for a new job. He pointed me towards OPM.gov which has handbooks for all the jobs listed on in the "job families/series" on USAJobs.gov and told me to match my job experience descriptions to the key words used to describe the skills used for the job I was trying for. That kind of advice was amazingly helpful! When I went to the site I had a general idea and instructions to do a "series search". I actually searched for those terms and learned about job families. Then I checked out the areas I had knowledge and experience in. I found 2 different jobs I can have a decent chance at by rewriting my resume, so that's my plan! I hadn't realized how varied resumes could be. That's something else I've picked up on this job. Apparently civilian ones are a page or two in length max, but the government job ones are several more pages with detailed descriptions of tasks you've mastered and experiences you've had. Whew! I always had a problem with writing short descriptions. Writing detailed ones should be a piece of cake. Oh! And they extended me at work so I'm employed by the Census for another 2 months! Yay!

Today I was headed to Target to buy a new watch and also Home Depot to get a new lamp. Instead I took a side trip to my friend Jerry's house, partly because he was on the way and could give me advice on whether I should buy a new lamp or fix the old one and also, because I hadn't seen him in a while and missed his company. Jerry and his family took me to their hearts long ago and have become my best resources for many things. If I need a house sitter or cat feeder I call them. If I'm going to the hospital for a procedure they are the ones to sit in the waiting room and drive me home afterward. They are also my emergency contacts and have permission to speak in my behalf if medical issues arise. It makes lots of sense. Jerry's an experienced OR nurse, knows my other friends with medical expertise, and would be able to ask questions that I wouldn't know to think of. They keep 10 cats and have taken care of mine by staying for several hours just to play with them when I've had occasion to travel.

When I stepped into Jerry's place he was relaxing with a book. I described my lamp problem and asked if I could fix it. He asked Susan if she needed him and got permission to go with me to my place where he proceeded to take the lamp apart. Discovering that the socket had gone bad, we drove to Target, followed by Home Depot to get the needed part to fix the lamp. While out running around we managed to get my watch replaced and a couple of very necessary belts of decent quality purchased. (My wardrobe is taking wear and tear now that I'm working 5 days a week.) Once back home the lamp got fixed, the windshield fluid in the car was topped off, bottles were recycled, and I had new CFL bulbs for most of the lights and a new R type bulb for the lamp. Then he played with the cats, or at least Hyram. Hooboo doesn't really trust anyone but me yet. A little later, I drove Jerry back to his place and borrowed a few books and a new computer game. I've promised to return tomorrow so that I can help them organize their myriad books. They need this badly because they are the best lending library I know and finding what they want to lend me is a whole house search project at present.

Earlier this morning, I popped over to my friend San's blog and then visited her friend Bob T Bear Esq. who was having a 500th post celebration. That was fun and I hope to share some of the jokes from his site with my friends at work. San has meant a lot to me as a friend because she started by making herself at home in my blog. She'd never met me, started reading and stayed and read and kept coming back till I think she has read every post I've ever written. In the process we became friends and I started learning how to love abstract art. I'd always been very much a realist and fantasy art lover till I met San. Now I'm seeing things in her work that I'd never have expected to. It's like visions just pop up for me when I look at something she's painted. Wow!

One of the things I shared with Jerry while he was watching Hyram eat was the start of my writing portfolio. David had a hand in that. In fact, I think it wouldn't have been started without his support. I also ran the articles I pulled from this blog past another new work friend. She said they were good too, but pointed out that if I wanted to be a technical writer I needed to write some technical articles. That makes sense. So I have to figure out a good "How To" article to put in there. Or describe a process that I'm familiar with that uses technology. She suggested blogging. I'm not so sure about that but there has to be something I can talk about and describe step by step. So I guess that somewhere in and around my rewriting my resume I need to write a couple more articles.

Well I don't think this article is turning out as I'd intended. It's become a ramble whose whole point seems to be that you can't survive without friends and that I've got some really great ones. But when Jerry and I were driving around we talked about disappointments in life. People often disappoint each other. Sometimes they hurt you very badly in the process. One can lose faith in other people if you hurt them often or badly enough. I've seen several examples of this during my life. The result seems to be that they lose faith in establishments, authorities, and powers too...including God. When Jerry and I are together we can seem like opposite sides of the coin. He's gloom and doom and I'm joy and light, but it wasn't always this way and I remember fondly the man who could convincingly make believe he was Merlin. So I talked about the need to forgive or just let things go. Granted, I'm not always good at that, but eventually I have to come around to that because I am, at heart, an optimist. I want a rosy tinted outlook and I'll move heaven and earth to get it. I wish I could gift that view to all my friends and anyone in need of a better feel about life because I think that without it I would have been a very unhappy teenager and possibly become a statistic of the worst sort. When I was just a kid my mother and I coined the label "Pollyannas" for ourselves signifying that we wanted to find something to be happy about in any situation, just like Pollyanna did in that Disney movie. So help me, it stuck! And I've never once looked back. In fact I resent any effort to teach me better. Life has a way of doing that despite our best efforts, so I can't claim that I'm totally unscathed, but I know things are getting better when I can share the smile that in my 20's earned me the nickname "Sunshine" and find time to appreciate the goodness of those around me. Thank goodness for friends! So yeah, let's smile! Just like the song!

Volunteering Fun!

For over a week now I've been meaning to get back here and post something new, but I got sick two weeks ago and while I'm back at work I haven't quite recovered fully. I apologize for the delay and, "Thank you!" to all who've asked if everything was well in my life.

Weekend before last I did my ever first volunteering. It was at a gaming convention here in San Antonio, the ChimaeraCon. Not a huge convention, but popular among its attendees. And it's growing. I had a blast! I'm not much of a gamer, but I loved being around people who love Science Fiction and are enthusiastic about playing games. Their enthusiasm for this is contagious and they have all spent enough time with their passion that they are very expert when you have questions. The people I met there share the same love of books and interaction with fantasy that I have.

My job was registration. I spent most of Saturday behind the counter. They turned me loose briefly to wander the floor and see all the fun stuff that had been set up and games that were happening. I also got time off to go to the food court (we were at Crossroad Mall) and get lunch. But most of the day I was watching folk come in, receiving their money and giving them badges to wander and enjoy the activities that had been planned. You'd think with a barrier between you and others you'd not get sick, right? Wrong, by the end of the day I was coughing and sweating with a fever. This was really disappointing because my volunteering got me into the convention free and I'd planned on coming back Sunday afternoon just to have fun. Now I couldn't do that.

When the planning for this convention started I'd expected bunches of compute games, and there was plenty of that. But there was also lots of board games. We had Game Masters running D&D games and other card or miniature based games. There was jousting. We had MechCorps there with 3 huge pods that you could sit in and fight an opponent from using cool technology. And there were several local guest stars. I met two of them. One was The Defuser, the winner of "So You Want to be a Superhero" from Texas and the other was his nemesis, Lord Vile.

There's a really neat video that the San Antonio Express created when they came and interviewed lots of folk there. I can't embed it, but here's the link. Go and watch, it's really very good. One of our volunteers has put up a really great MySpace page about ChimaeraCon. It isn't the official page which is now on hold till next year but you can get a good feel for the event and its history. Here's the link to that.

Even with me getting sick I had so much fun that I plan to volunteer again next year. This year I was shy and not ready to be fully involved in a large roll because I didn't know any of the ins and outs of running a convention. Now I do and I'll be ready to take on a larger role next time around. Thanks to everyone who took time to train me, explain things, and show me the way! You all were awesome!

An added benefit to having attended, actually one that was part of my reasoning for being there, is that I learned about other places in San Antonio to connect with folk who love SciFi and Fantasy as much as I do. And there are other conventions coming up to attend among them San Japan 2 in August. I've never been to any of these things before and plan on attending as many as I can. Life is looking a lot more fun for the future.

Tag Clouds and Tutors

Several people have asked me how I put the Tag (Label) Cloud on my blog. It was done for me by a friend, Terry of Terry's Playpen and Paradise Discovered. He's the technical genius who, with much patience, put together the look I envisioned for my blog. Terry doesn't like to title himself as an html wizard, but he does classy things with his blog and posts that I didn't know were possible. On his "Playpen" he shows you how he does certain kinds of blog magic, like images that expand when you mouse over them, or definitions/articles about a subject in a post popping up if you click on them without you losing your place in what you were reading. I asked him if he would be had/could/would put up a post on how to add tag clouds to blogs. He generously responded and his post includes a link to the blogger whose web site he got his from. If you want to know how to do lots of cool things to your blog, I highly recommend visiting Terry's.

All work and no play would make Terry a dull boy, and that would be a lie because his stories are certainly not that. A couple of Terry's Playpen posts are stories pulled from a very private blog in kind hearted response to meme tags he was inflicted with by Shrinky, of Shrink Wrapped Scream, and me. His Paradise Discovered is almost totally story oriented. Terry's writings are of such high quality that I number him among those whose skill makes me wonder why they aren't listed on Blogs of Note, far better than mine. If you visit either of Terry's blogs please take time to leave him a comment. And please let me know when you get a tag cloud of your own up and working, I'll be interested in seeing it. Thanks!

Beautiful Image

When I saw this puzzle my first reaction was, "This is the type of morning I like to go walking in." And it is. I've been fortunate enough to see and even photograph beautiful scenes like this. It was long ago when I was in college during the '70s, but the first black and white photo I ever took was of just such a misty morning and the trees that circled the campus center. It was taken with an Argus that was a gift from my uncle. I loved that camera, it made me a better photographer than I am without it's semi automatic settings and through the lens light metering. Got me an A for the photography course too. :-) So here's the puzzle that I enjoyed this morning. Hope you enjoy it too.

Working for the Census

I'm modifying this post at the suggestion of my HR director. It's good advice. He suggested that I simply direct folk to the census website. That's much more practical as I'm not the Census Bureau and don't want to say anything that might cause someone to think I am. Most of the article is still in tact. What has been deleted is the stuff that you can find on the Census website.

It's been almost a month since I started working for the Federal Government and the 2010 Census. The hours are good. The pay is decent, steady, and on time. The work crew is friendly and feels like a team. I couldn't have asked for better. The only things that are a downer to this job are: 1) it is designed to be temporary; 2) you don't get benefits. That's okay, I'm delighted to have work of any length and the skills I'm gaining will help the resume look better for the next job search. The lack of benefits I can handle through other resources like the VA and my bank.

I got hired just before Martin Luther King Day. The first thing that happened, after I'd been through the 1.5 days of training, was that I monitored the phones. That meant I was helping people apply for the job by scheduling them to take the mandatory employment test. For a first experience in customer service it was great! People really want jobs. Anything I told them about the process was important to them and they were very grateful. One guy even said so to my boss. I found that I was pretty good at phone work. It wouldn't be my dream job or even a favorite chore, but that I come across as friendly, caring, and helpful is a good thing to know about myself. That will definitely go on my resume.

Then I went and worked the data entry section. There we key in all the stuff from the applications, and if something is missing or confusing we may call to clear it up. That's an area where you have to be very discrete. Nothing that you learn about someone can be shared or even left where someone else could see it on your desk. This too is good experience because you learn how to handle sensitive issues and information.

While working data entry, I revamped some of my Excel skills and now create a report from other types of data (not personal) that I get to enter. I've signed up for "finger printing" and "advanced copier" training. These will all be handy at some point in my life and the training is free. Yay! More skills! Even better is the knowledge that I'll get cross trained in every position in the office. This cross training is vital to census operations running smoothly. It's even better for my resume.

This past week I put some budding coordination skills to work. I'd helped coordinate an event at my church once. On Friday at work, we held a "Jason's Deli" day and I was the mover and shaker on that. I'd driven past the deli along Loop 410, saw the sign, and was suddenly really hungry for a muffaletta. So I asked around to see if anyone was interested. Then I got the permission, requested a menu, and started taking orders. It went over well and I'll hold another in about a month. Folk were grateful and several who didn't participate will probably be ordering the next time. They kept sniffing and commenting on how good the food smelled as they walked past. LOL

One of the nice things about working for the Census is the job is flexible if that is what you need. I know that lots of us hold down more than one job, take care of kids, or go to school. If you need part time work you can do that, instead of full time, and flex your hours around your life. Everyone who's commented on my post, "Suddenly It's Raining Jobs," has said that this was the better choice. I couldn't agree more. And I want others to have the same opportunity that I had.

We have a website. Click here. Or if you need to write it down and give it to a friend the web address is www.census.gov. When you have reached the website, click on "Become a census taker". That's where you can read all about the job, the requirements, the nature of the work, and find the forms to fill out and where to call to apply. There is even a practice test. You will turn in your application at the same place you take the employment test.

Right now, the 2010 Census is happening in the U.S.A., and we are at the very beginning of a year and a half long project of conducting it. If you live in another country, I'm pretty sure that your country does the same sort of thing. I just don't know the census cycle over there, but you probably do. Census work is important because it helps your government put money and resources where they are needed based on population and area income. So, if you need a job, apply for a census one. It's worth the time it takes to apply in skills and income, and it will help your government put that economic stimulus package to work where it is needed the most. By applying you become a part of the biggest job creation project going on at the moment. Good luck!

The San Antonio Contingent is Quizzing Again

JS posted her results from the latest quiz. For new readers, who don't know about these quizzes, they are fun, silly, and very much tongue in cheek. JS and I often get the same score. God did a great job when he made her my best friend. (G) We treat them like games or mimis and if you like taking silly quizzes there's a link to all of them labeled "quiz" in my tag cloud. Here are my results. Hope you'll join us in the fun.

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Enjoy!

One by One

This past weekend, I'd intended to post a new story about working for the Census. Good intentions got waylaid by this amazing wave of you all visiting my blog, thanks to Blogger putting me on the Blogs of Note list. You came, you looked around, you decided to comment, or follow. And you're still coming! For a humble blogger who had only 8 followers when she went to work on Friday, and now has over 300, this has been an awesome experience. Thank you!

What I'm trying to do with all of this is answer each and every comment to the best of my ability. Since my comments are all moderated I have to read them, delete the duplicates, and of course get rid of the spam. Don't worry, just because you put a link in your comment doesn't mean that I delete it. Lots of you are leaving me links to your blogs and I love going there and seeing what you've done. Right now there are just SO many that I'm way behind, but I'll catch up one by one.

Many of you have just started your blogs. That's where I was 3 years ago. I'd actually created my blog by mistake. I wanted to leave a comment on a friend's blog and registered to do so. Suddenly there was this blog hanging out there with nothing on it. Couldn't let that happen, so I figured out what to write for a first post, and have been blogging ever since.

So far, comments have been left from many different countries, among them Brazil, Portugal, Myanmar, Romania, Australia, and a few that don't translate into a country I can determine. I took Spanish in school, but am not very good at it. I catch about one word in ten. That helps with Spanish and Portuguese, but doesn't get me much farther than knowing whether you left a compliment or not. Talking to friends across the work table I've learned that the characters I mistook to be Greek are actually Romanian. That gave me an interesting bit of history as I didn't know the history of the Romanian language or that they apparently got their alphabet from the Greeks. Being a lover of history and words, this is fascinating to me. And I want to thank all of you from other countries who speak the English language. You are awesome. America doesn't do it's part as a member of the global community when it fails to teach its students a second language well. We do get a couple of years of training, but, as those of you fluent in more than one know, that's no where near enough. It isn't even enough for the second language learners in our public schools. I hope someday that will be corrected, but I don't know that it will happen soon.

To any new comers, if I fail to comment immediately it's because I'm still catching up. There were over 3000 visitors this weekend. However, eventually, I'll reply and pay you a return visit if you've got a blog that I can visit. And forward we go, one by one.

I Did What?!!!

The first thing I noticed, when I got home from work and logged on, was that the number of folk following my blog had almost tripled. I was wondering who some of these folk were. Then I read my email and discovered that I'd been nominated for blogger's "blogs of note." I raced to check this out! Not only did I make this noted list, but so did our wonderful David's authorblog! Wow! What a treat to come home to! To all the well wishers, a hearty, "Thank you!" I've no idea what I did to get this honor but I'm delighted beyond words.

Puzzle Share

JigZone had another really beautiful puzzle today, full of blues, greens, and a very pretty flutterby. It's been a while since I last shared a puzzle so here's today's for you to enjoy.

More Quiz Fun!

You’re Origen! You do nothing by half-measures. If you’re going to read the Bible, you want to read it in the original languages. If you’re going to teach, you’re going to reach as many souls as possible, through a proliferation of lectures and books. If you’re a guy and you’re going to fight for purity … well, you’d better hide the kitchen shears. Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!

JSD located this test which is designed to tell you which church father you most resemble. True to more than half of the tests that JS and I take, my results are similar to hers. See above. Now if I could just figure out how to remove all the extra spacing above and below it I'd be really happy. In the meantime, the Gandhi Twins live on in the form of Origen Twins.

Suddenly It's Raining Jobs

Today's interview with Radio Shack seemed to go well. The hiring manager informed me that all potential employees are interviewed twice and, since the hours I wanted to work are day time, he said he'd call the manager of another store near me and ask her to call and set up a second interview as I would probably meet her needs better. I left feeling hopeful.

Went home, chatted briefly with Sandi, and then, while I was working at the computer, the Census Bureau called. I was offered a position working as an administrative clerk and the training is to start on Tuesday next week. Yay! I'm working! The Census job pays better than the sales one would have. I'd have loved the technology of Radio Shack, but more money and serving your government is even better. While talking to Lou, the hiring manager, I learned that the job may go for much longer than the 5 to 10 weeks being advertised. The training is paid. No overtime. Office dress is business casual. There will be about 30 to 40 people in the office. I'm to bring my own lunch and they don't have a refrigerator so I guess it will be peanut butter sandwiches till I get more creative.

After that good news I called my folks to share. No sooner had I gotten off the phone with Mom when Jenny, whom I met working at Pearson, called. She told me to call a certain person at Pearson because they were now taking on people and I could set myself up for work on evening shifts later when the projects start. That would be nice as it is something I'm familiar and good at. I called and left a message with my phone number and the information they asked for. Hopefully I'll hear back sometime next week.

Considering the state of the economy and the skyrocketing unemployment rate, I feel blessed. Thank God for friends who pray and a Lord and Saviour who has the grace to listen!