downer week

It's been kind of a downer week. My Uncle Randy died of cancer last Friday. He's been battling esophogial cancer for over a year. I'm off to Wisconsin for a couple days for the wake and funeral. I pray God gives my aunt and cousins enough strength to make it through this. I worry about them.

And I just found out today that a girl who graduated the year before me died of Lukemia Sunday night. I didn't know her very well, and haven't really seen her since graduation. But at a small school like ours you got to know everyone.

It's amazing how things like this can make a person stop and think about their life and the choices they have made.

yeah for me

I got a job! Ryan's cousin called me today to tell me I got the temporary job at Principal (see previous post from 1.16.06 for more information). I have to fill out some paperwork with ManPower since it's a temp position. I start Feb. 13 so my last day with the paper is Feb. 10. They're having a going away party for me the 11th and I'll drive down the next morning. Since Ryan is moving down with most of our stuff Feb. 3 I will be sleeping on an air mattress and watching TV on the floor. Eh, it's only a week. It will be an adventure!

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. It's been awhile since I've done marketing/PR stuff. I don't really have any clear idea what I will be doing there either. I'm a little apprehensive about it. Just new job jitters. At the same time, I'm also really excited about it because it could be a tremendous opportunity and launch me into the more lucrative marketing world. Not a big fan of the world of cubicles, but I might be able to tolerate it. They just scream over-worked, high stress environments. Hopefully that isn't the case.

pack rat

I prefer to be called a collector. It sounds much better than pack rat, although one could label me that as well. I'm a collector of memories.
I don't have a problem with getting rid of stuff, I have a problem with keeping too much. I enjoy strolling down memory lane to recollect the good times I had with family and friends. Maybe I fear if I throw these things away, my memories associated with them will be lost.
Whatever the reason, I hang onto the most absurd things.
I still have three shoe boxes of old notes written between friends from middle school gossiping about boys.
After our high school football team lost the championship game senior year, my friends and I ate at an Olive Garden. I kept the coaster from the table.
Tucked away in my scrapbook are napkins from proms, every college class schedule, my lunch card from high school and the 176 page program from my college graduation.
I even have a wet nap given to me by a friend who told me to keep it forever to remind me of him. I'm sure he said it in jest, but the wet cloth that dried out years ago is still wedged between the pages of my scrapbook.
Why on earth would I keep something like that? That one even has me questioning.
Occasionally I shuffle through them, reminiscing about the time I died my hair brazen berry red #203 in the community bathroom of our dorm floor.
And for a few seconds, it's 2 a.m. again and I'm laughing hysterically with two of my best friends trying to clean up spilled hair dye.
There are a lot of collectors out there - toy collectors, stamp collectors, spoon collectors. One of my very best friends collected pigs of all things. She had pigs in every color, shape and size.
The difference between a collector and a collector of memories is time. The problem lies in realizing nearly every day I add to my collection of keepsakes. Before long I'll be drowning in memories.
Any other person could simply call their collection complete. Mine however, won't be complete until the day I die. And hopefully not for quite some time. Hmm.. in that length of time I could fill a whole house with my memory collection.
That's the best part. It's mine.
No one in the world has the same pieces I do. No one else knows the story behind the map of San Francisco.
That is why I'm a pack rat. After all, what better thing to collect than your very own life?

To be printed in the DCN Jan. 25

house in elkhart

This is the house we decided to rent in Elkhart. It was built in 1900 but has had some remodeling work done. We agreed to a six month lease, thinking we might find something else by then. The best part is our friends Holly and Jeff live just across town - all four blocks!

then i found twenty dollars

Have you ever told a story that you thought was hysterical, but just as you finish the punch line all you get is blank stares from your audience? Must have been one of those, "you had to be there" moments.
It happens to me all the time. I'm in the middle of telling my husband about something a co-worker did or said that had everyone in the office practically falling off their desk chairs. Nothing. Silence. He wasn't there.
I have adapted an easy way to take the awkwardness out of a story that falls flat. Just as the plot ends and I know the humor has failed me, I always add, "And then I found twenty dollars." That makes any story better.
Later finding twenty dollars was changed to finding a toothbrush, but that too is a story you wouldn't find the least bit amusing, whereas it makes me laugh just thinking about it.
Here's another story you may or may not find funny.
Sunday afternoon, when the sun was shining and the weather was gorgeous we took our dog for a walk.
Now, this is my husband's dog, which is quite obvious. With a simple "no" or "here," Gus comes trotting toward my husband. I could say the same thing and Gus would continue to eat garbage in the alley or drink from our neighbors bird bath.
This walk was supposed to teach Gus to listen to me as well as he obeys my husband.
We're walking along with no leash, just verbal commands. Gus strays into the road and I say "here."
This time he listens. Being the puppy that he is, he breaks into a run to meet us on the sidewalk. Not paying attention to his footing, he slips in a puddle and ends up tail over tea kettle in the water.
And then I found twenty dollars. Yet again, you weren't there, but trust me it was hysterical.
Here's where the story gets really funny. I really did find twenty dollars! After Gus shook himself off I found a bill floating in the puddle.
Who knew the ending to all of my failed stories would come true someday?

As printed in the DCN Jan. 18

tuesday nights

7:36 p.m. ~ Ahh yes, another Tuesday night spent in the Spencer office. Got here around 6 p.m. The graphic designer usually has a few sections printed when I arrive. Initially, it's an hour or two worth of proofing. Then I migrate to a computer and surf the web for a few hours. The sports guy (who's quite the character) usually finishes his stories by 10:30 or 11. Our very last deadline is 11:30 p.m. Sometimes we're early - if there are no Tuesday night games and sometimes we just squeak by.

7:47 p.m. ~ Given such late hours and a steady supply of caffeine and sugar from the vending machines, we often come up with pretty interesting conversation topics. Tonight the police scanner is providing our entertainment. They've been chasing some schmuck on foot since I got here - and having a heck of a time of it I might add. Oooh, they finally caught up with him! What will happen next? The idiot is laying in some brush trying to crawl away. Not the smartest of criminals are we! I wonder what this guy did to have the cops after him.

8:07 p.m. ~ All is quiet with the scanner. Now we're discussing names for gerbils. Pimp and Ho, Tango and Cash. Sometimes gerbils fight, wrestle or box each other. The graphic designers want to get their gerbils little boxing gloves. Now we've moved on to emu's and how they make excellent lip gloss and the possibility of riding llamas. See, I'm telling you... we get rather inventive as the night wears on.

9:15 p.m. ~ Just had a nice chat with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. They called to tell me the Discovery Channel was doing a special on wild fires out west. We chatted for awhile. After describing what I do on Tuesday nights, my sister-in-law wants to see if her class could take a tour of their hometown newspaper press. She teaches elementary kids. Most excellent!

9:55 p.m. ~ Silence. Just the annoying hum of the flourescent lights and the press running downstairs. Along with the occasional clicking of keyboards and computer mice. Just wanted to clarify - although I wouldn't be surprised if there were real mice in the Spencer office.

10:37 p.m. ~ I have officially exhuasted my resources of things to write about. Not to mention the fact that the sports guy should be done writing his articles by now so it's juat a matter of time before I can drive the half an hour home.

possible job

I might have a job lined up! Ryan's cousin works in the marketing department at Principal Financial in the city. There is a temporary job available in her department from mid-Feb. through July. I would be helping with a new sales piece they are working on. Chances are pretty good I would be able to get hired on full-time afterward. It pays pretty well (more than I make now) but doesn't offer benefits for now.

Ryan's cousin said she told her boss about me. She made it sound like the job is mine if I want it. I have to email her my resume and get some paperwork done but it sounds like I have a job. :-) And it's only temporary so if, by chance it's not what I'm looking for - I'm done in July.

I've been thinking about making a switch from newspaper to marketing/PR and it sounds like this job might just be the answer.

argg

I sent out two resumes this morning - one for a newspaper position and one for a marketing job. I just spent over an hour searching for other possibilities and have added four or five more to the growing list.

Already got my first rejection. That was lots of fun. I didn't have enough experience. Gee, thanks! I heard once that there's a bar in Ames where they'll give you a free drink for every rejection letter you bring in. Good thing we're moving to there huh!? I'm sure there will be many more before I finally get a job.

On a side note - Ryan and I are going to the Fire Dept. Christmas party tonight. After hearing a story from my boss I'm a little apprehensive. I guess her dad quit the fire dept. in a different town b/c they were swingers and their Christmas party was when they switched things up. Crazy huh?! I know it's not the case here, but it's fun to get people going! And if it is... I'm certianly glad we're moving! :-)

sunset

This is Smith's Bay, one of the most popular spots for ice fishing on West Lake Okoboji. It's also the most recognized spot on the lakes because the highway runs right next to it. I took this photo last Friday when Ryan and I were heading out of town.

surgery

Yesterday I was having surgery on Monday to fix my deviated septum and remove my tonsils and now I'm not.
The health insurance I have through the paper isn't great, and the insurance through Ryan's new job is better. So we're going to wait on the surgery until Ryan's insurance kicks in the first part of March.
I'm a little relieved. I've never had surgery before, and although it's a very common thing, I'm a little nervous. Maybe I'm just a big wuss. Either way, I'm glad I have more time to get used to the idea.
For those who may not know... a deviated septum means the cartilege that splits my nose in half isn't straight. It's crooked so one side of my nose is much smaller than the other. I may have been born with it or it could have happened by some trama to my nose - I have two older brothers and rode horses most of my life - the possibilities are numerous.

resolutions

The last New Year's resolution I vividly remember making was when I was ten-years-old. I made myself promise to talk to the boy I was crushing on at the time.
Since then, I haven't really jumped on the resolution-making band wagon. This year is going to be different.
However, I refuse to set unrealistic goals for myself, like loosing 20 pounds or running three miles every day. That, I think, is where people go wrong. They have the best intention to jump on their newly purchased treadmill three times a week, but their heart isn't behind it.
So as I thought about the promises I was going to make in the next twelve months, I decided to make a list of things I was fairly certain I could accomplish.
They are all things I really like to do, just don't take the extra effort to make time for them anymore.
I have resolved to read more, something I used to do all the time but have neglected in 2005.
I promise to sleep in at least once a month and spend one night curled up on the couch in my PJs watching movies with my husband.
I will make time to play with our dog more, who lately has seen nothing more of me than walking to and from my car.
My scrapbooks will come out from hiding and I will catch up on the two years worth of events and activities piling up in my photo storage.
I guess you could say my New Year's resolution is to make a little time just for me. These resolutions are just ways to help me achieve my goal.
Everyone needs to find new ways to improve their happiness. Spoiling yourself now and then is a good thing.
Happiness is infectious. When you're happy, the people you come in contact with can't help but catch a little of it.
By becoming a happier person, it's natural that becoming more healthy would follow.
Well, that and I really like to sleep in.

As printed in the DCN 1-4

without power

It was Monday. Go figure. Everything bad happens on Mondays. I no more than stepped in the office door and saw the lights flicker, fade and finally fizzle out.
The entire office came to a screeching halt. I imagine, for many businesses the power outage was crippling to a certain degree. For us at the newspaper, it was debilitating.
We had no computers. No phones. Nearly our whole office runs almost solely on one, or both of those two machines.
With no computer, I couldn’t work on any of my articles for Wednesdays paper. I couldn’t look over any of the other items due that day. I couldn’t check my e-mail or gain access to our server, which is basically the life blood of our office.
Without a phone I couldn’t call my contacts for the articles I was working on or set up interviews.
Life had just... stopped.
For a little while, everyone in our office was light hearted. We were joking about playing a game of cards or calling it quits for the day.
I read all six of the newspapers from the area we receive each day. I chatted with everyone in the office. I organized my desk.
After forty-five minutes, the atmosphere had changed. People started getting nervous. Without computers we had no way to finish our work to make deadline that afternoon. We couldn’t digitally send things to the Spencer office, where the paper is printed.
We started brainstorming options. Some could head to the Spencer office and work there for the day, but they didn’t really have computers to spare. After all, they had a paper to put out as well.
Even if we found other computers to work on, the outage had frozen our use of the server. Everything on it was unavailable to us and couldn’t be retrieved by another computer.
It’s amazing how much we take for granted. We think of technology as a staple, not a convenience. It’s always there. Only when it’s unusable to we realize to what extend it drives our lives.
Just seconds before panic set in, the lights sputtered, the server started clicking again and the furnace roared once more.
God bless those people at the electric company, as our technological, convenience driven lives moves on.

To be printed in the DCN 1-11.