Recession Part III; Week One

Where have you been?
Why haven't you posted.
By now, I would hope that the readers of this blog are used to my sporadic postings.
You bloggers with real jobs and families that blog everyday just for the "love of it" amaze me.
Actually people with real jobs amaze me.
"The pay phone outside always amazes me"
If you can tell me what move the above quote is from, you will win a prize!

Well I can tell you what I have been up to:

• saving the neighborhood from fire
• making and freezing soup
• taking part in neighborhood activities begrudgingly
• getting my foster dog adopted (this weekend!)
• closing Miller Park
• reading a pretty bad book from the library
• recovering from a two phase sickness
• being a dance-dance-dance-dance-dancin' machine (watchyagetdown, watchyagetdown)
• getting keys at my job (looks like somebody's a for-real employee!)
• planning my annual halloween party--co-hosted this year by my CSPBFF, MG!
• being text-stalked on the MCTS.
  

So it's not as if I've just been lazing about. Well the recovering part of sickness, yes, but for the most part even my last Brewer games (sigh.) were listened to/watched while cleaning our incessant mess of a house.

Before I delve into the details of what has been going on, I should say why this is the third (but let's be real, most likely not final) part of the recession. For October is the month that we start with our budget. Our for-real, make or break budget to get us out of debt. Not all debt, but at least credit card debt. I've asked you once, and I will ask you again. Please bear with us as we deny activities because we're picking up extra shifts, or if we can't go out because we blew our going-out money for the month (oh yes, we have a wee bit budgeted for) on strippers and cocaine.
That last part was a joke people. It would be whores.
Stripper+coke=whores
Or, you know, we blew our going out money on dog food. That is probably a little bit more likely.
On to bigger, less depressing things.

We don't need to water, let the mother fucker burn. Burn mother fucker, burn.
I had a wee bit of cash left over from my cousin's wedding and I decided I really liked the way nail polish looked on my fingers. However, it kept chipping and chipping. After two days of wearing it I looked like a hooker.
So I called the one who knows all about beauty and glamour.
David Bowie.
Jk jk.
PO.
She advised me that a base and top coat were necessary.
So off I went to Target to find a base and top coat (PO advised to not get the 2-in-1).
And that is when I see a fire down the alley.
In a garbage can.
In a plastic garbage can.
For a split second I think about not calling 911 as I am tired.
But then the whole, saving-the neighborhood thing kicks in.
So I call 911.
After 4 rings they pick up and I inform them of the fire.
Within about a minute, the fire truck is there putting out the fire in the alley, then a girl comes running down the alley to inform us all watching the action, that there is another trash can fire.
So the group of us that has amassed goes down the block to look at the other fire.
And this fire was alot bigger than our pesky fire in the alley.
My one neighbor then continued talking about how if he would have seen the arsonist he would have popped him.
These are the people in your neighborhood.

Soup is good food!
It's true it is, and E and I have been getting really good at making it.
Weekend days= bread making and soup making.
Not to mention, homemade soup is so so good for you.
Currently frozen in our freezer; cabbage-beer stew (surprisingly delicious!), carrot-dill soup (okay, would add a thickener next time...maybe a turnip or rutabaga?), homemade mac-n-cheese (okay so it's not a soup but freezes just the same!)
This weekend I plan on making the Comet tomato soup which everyone agrees is actually better than Comet's tomato soup.

Won't you be my neighbor?
As some of you know, I serve on the board of our neighborhood association.
And this year, I am serving begrudgingly.
Maybe it's the weather, or maybe it's because I've lived here a while and just see the same stuff all the time.
Or maybe it's because most people only seem to care about the board when a road isn't paved to their liking.
Oh yes. This really happens.
I am thinking I might just not have the You-Rah-Rah CSP attitude.
So we plan this event.
Fall Fest.
And it's a big event. Mostly it's for the neighborhood kids to take part in some free activities and it's a good internal marketing for the association. I get that. I really do.
It's just SO full of kids, and not quiet church kids.
But loud, and let's be real, sometimes rude and sassy city kids.
Now there were plenty of behaved kids, a surprising amount in fact. But few parents, and literally one of the parent's was wasted. So while it is a good, there is also a twinge of sadness to the event.
Anyway. So E had to back out of his previous commitment to volunteer as he picked up a shift for two hours (see above regarding recession part III), shitty? Of course, but it's not as if the event rested solely on his shoulders, and I had alerted the board that I would not be able to help until 1-ish as I had to work that day.
So I get this email chastising me for backing out and blah blah blah. Not addressed just to me, but to the whole board. I then air our dirty laundry saying exactly what I've told you; we're broke, we come first, we need the money, etc. NOT TO mention that I told the board two months ago I had to work.
I then get an email, addressed just to me, of course, saying "I do remember you saying something about that."
Of course you do.
Now.
And I suppose it might help to mention that there was a board member who didn't show up to the event.
At all.
And as far as I could tell he didn't get any emails.
And if he did, they weren't addressed to the whole board.
In spite of this in-fighting (ha ha ha) the event went well, a scant amount of money was raised, and kids got free food, games and prizes.

Logan
The weekend prior to Fall Fest was our annual Greyhound Gala, which, much to our dismay we were unable to attend due to weddings and film festivals. According to everyone, he was going to get adopted at the gala.
He is currently napping in our t.v. room.
BUT!
He IS getting adopted this weekend.
YES!
While we have enjoyed Logan's stay with us, I truly feel he will have a great home with his new family, complete with greyhounds who actually want to play with him!
Logan has also cured me from ever thinking I could handle a puppy of any kind.
Working at the WHS has also helped me with this.

It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.
Yeah that's right.
I'm breaking out the Boyz II Men.
Because who doesn't love/hate that song?
So my dear friend AA accompanied me to the final Brewer game of the o9 season at Miller Park.
It was, like so many other games I've seen there this year, a loss, but we had fun. And I have to say, as cheesy as it is, it was a good feeling that although the Brewers were totally out of any playoff race, and most likely finishing under .500 at that point, and there was a Packer game on, the stadium was pretty full.
Nice work, Crew.
Now comes the off-season guessing game.
Will we trade Fielder?
Who should we trade?
Who can we get for who?
Boring to most people, but interesting for people with theories.
So I will say it here first.
Fielder doesn't go UNLESS we get two ace pitchers for him.
Not two Dave Bushes.
Not two Jeff Suppans (which only one year left on his ridick contract!)
Two CC's.
Two Sheets, but healthy Sheets.
Then, and only then, will I support a Fielder trade.

Arabian Jazz
While I'm almost done with this book, I don't recommend it to anyone. While the writer has some pretty passages, as a whole the book doesn't work and is wholly unbelievable. Nurses wearing white caps in the 90s? WHAT?!? Skip it.

Sick.
And not the way skaters say sick.
Literally.
I *kind of* had a cold two weeks ago. But I shrugged it off, got a little more sleep than usual, and plowed through. Then Saturday night came and I had a sore throat.
Sore throat?
I haven't had one of those since my tonsils were removed in the 4th grade. I painted my nails, watched some recorded television, and called it a night.
The next day I felt a little worse, but stayed in my jammies all day, cleaned the downstairs, and went to bed early.
Monday, Monday. Can't trust that day.
I sounded awful, and felt worse.
Buckets. It was bad.
I went home and even though the game of the century was on, Favre-less Packers vs. Favre-full Vikings, I went to bed.
At 6pm.
And didn't wake up until the next day.
While I didn't feel completely better.
I felt a helluva lot better.
And today I'm up at 4am, blogging.
My throat is still a bit scratchy, but all in all, better? You bet!

Dancin' Queen
Not even drunk at my cousin's wedding, but I was a dancing fool. At one point it was just me and my cousin EB dancing and singing to love shack together. After interprative dancing to "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green, my aunts told me I should be an "entertainer."
Because that is a real job.

Keys.
Yep I'm a key holder now.
This doesn't really mean anything, except I don't have to wait for people to get there, and I will be able to come in whenever I want. I also got glowing reviews, but reviews don't really mean all that much to me when no pay-raise is involved.
True.
I take some pride, but not THAT much pride.

This is Halloween!
As I'm sure most of you know. I will be throwing the annual Halloween bash this year.
BUT!
Added bonus!
MG (writer of Gerni in Mke) will be hosting part one, which is a classy-costumed potluck.
Part II is the usual debauchery and mayhem that takes place almost on a monthly basis at my house.
It is recession style so BYOB to part II, although some beer and wine will be provided.

Jeepers Creepers, where'd you get those peepers?
So I am pretty sure I was texted about incessantly on the bus yesterday. It's very rare that I ever think people are paying attention to me, but this was a little strange.
First of all, the dude appeared out of nowhere, I think he may have moved to sit closer me.
Second, either my timing was amazing, or he was literally giving somebody a play by play of everything I was doing: turning pages in my book warranted texts, tapping my foot to my ipod, yawning--kind of creepy right? Or am I just totally full of myself? Either way, I like to think of as the official start of the halloween season, creeped on on the bus.

Recession Part II; Shorty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low

Apparently, much to my shock and awe.
People read this thing.
They miss it when I don't post.
They always ask when more posts are coming.
They ask if it will continue since I am now employed.

So I will soldier on.

You may have been wondering, "What has blogger Jj been up to?"
Mostly.
I've been in a facebook war.
A facebook war with the anti-healthcare reform people.
And by anti-healthcare reform people, I mean my brother, some of his friends, and my aunt.
Mostly the argument consists of this:
If you can't afford healthcare it is because you spend your money on useless crap (extra cars, vacations, designer clothes) and really everyone should be able to budget for healthcare.
And that if we become a socialist country (I love that single payer= socialism, and I love that socialism is still a bad word), we won't get to pick which doctors we see, or what procedures to have done, and abortions! Death panels!
When a liberal like me brings up the fact that lots of things in 'Mrrrka are socialist like the fire and police departments, the USPS, the public school systems, they then bring it back to a family-budgeting issue.
So I gave up.
But I would like to say:
E and I only have one car (and it's almost paid off!), live in a place we can afford, don't buy designer clothes (hells we can't even get haircuts!), and WE haven't taken a vacation since 2002, and the $800 we spent on that vacation isn't going to help much if I needed to fix a broken leg.
I guess it's just painful to hear that people think I shouldn't have healthcare.
Because that is the bottom line.

In addition to the argument with my aunt, I have also been victim to my first facebook snub!
Can you believe it?
Aunt KB, the super anti-choice (she sends web videos!), Nobama, refused me as a friend.
Or ignored me.
I don't know.
All I know is this:
Friendship was pending, and now, I have to request all over again.
Now some of you might be saying, why would even WANT to be friends with someone like that?
Who cares?
We love Obama!
But.
She is family, number one.
I do like her, and she is pretty funny.
Sure her political alignments are all out of whack (I still don't understand how so many "Christians" are against helping the poor and un/der insured, but I decided I wouldn't play that card), and she just sent my cousin an email telling her how important it was to repent before her wedding so she can be pure for her wedding and tell her children (yep, two kids out of wedlock), that although they're here, she was still pure before god.
People, you don't even understand this, until it happens to you.
So.
I totally called her out on it.
I emailed her and said something along the lines of "Why no friend add? Thanks alot, jerkzoes." Then added something pertinent.
Bonus?
I get to see the WHOLE lot of the anti-choice Nobamas this weekend at the said non-pure wedding.
I hope they play "Low" by Flo-Rida:


Because I've had this song in my head for the past three days.
I'm a ridiculous white person.
I will probably learn the lyrics.
Yep.
I'm thinking this will be the jam for Halloween 09.
And Logan, the foster dog really seems to dig it.

Also, I may have said it before, but Bill Maher and I are of one mind.
Just sayin'
I'm very glad there is somebody famous sharing my points of view with the world.
Well done, Mr. Maher.
Well done indeed.

And who doesn't love T-Pain?

Recession Part II; Week ???

I'll figure out the week later and edit it.
And then I will have to erase this whole introduction.

But.
Back by popular demand.
It's as if the fates had this all lined up.
First the CSPBFF tells me I need to right this blog and write this blog.
Then JV, one of my old corporate coffeemates tells me she misses me.

You guys!
You really do know how to make a kid blush.

So here I am, with the grand return of VOTR.
I have to say you haven't missed all that much.
Still working, although things are starting to irritate me.
Which probably means I'm a bit too invested.
It's the midwestern in me, what can I say?

Things that have happened that I've been thinking about.
E and I are probably going to consolidate our debt, which would enable us to get out of pesky credit card debt alot sooner than if we didn't.
While we were both worried about his option at first, I realized we could keep our budget for booze/going out pretty much the same! And if we take home-booze out of the grocery budget, well. Who needs to eat when you have a box of Franzia to drink.
So I'm asking all my friends to bear with us as we navigate the waters of having (and sticking to!) a budget.

Another thing that happened that I have been thinking about is Obama's speech to Congress.
And the ridiculous outburst of Joe Wilson.
What I was REALLY excited about is there was a man being interviewed on NPR who basically said my thoughts exactly.
It's not only a ridiculous lack of respect, but if you compound this with the birthers' movement, the death panels, the nazi-sympathizers, etc, it's not just a difference of opinion. There is a deeper issue.
And I think we all know what this deeper issue is.
Color!
If this were a white male democrat, I don't think we would be having half of these issues.
Yes, we would still have those calling us libbies socialists.
But I'm convinced there would be no name calling, no birthers' movements.

And since we're on the topic of racism in American.
Serena Williams had what the press is calling a "meltdown" but what I would prefer to call "outburst" or "how I talk internally."
After missing match point at some tennis match (E will be divorcing me shortly for not knowing this), she said to the line judge, audibly "I will take this expletive ball and shove it down your expletive throat."
One of my favorite games to play after an incident like this is to think of the most ridiculous swear words:
I will take this shit ball and shove it down your ass throat.
I will take this dickie shiner ball and shove it down your thunder cunt throat (those ones actually make sense!)
What can you come up with?!
But back to the race issue.
I found this interesting because, I don't particularily like the Williams sisters.
I'm still stuck on Jennifer Capriatti.
But the fact that this was the HUGE news.
Was it because it was tennis?
Was it because it was lady tennis?
Was it because it was black lady tennis?
Most of me thinks it's because it's tennis, as John McEnroe also got alot of media attention for his "meltdowns."
But I don't think they were called meltdowns for him.
He was just an angry dude.
But ladies, or maybe just black ladies, can't be angry.
We have to have a meltdown, an emotional freakout, for us to use language that way.
Just some thoughts.

In television news:
The True Blood season finale was fantastic.
I heart that show.
And I wish vampers were real.

The Brewers are still playing baseball, and I have to say, I kind of enjoy watching baseball when every strike/hit/play doesn't mean we will/won't go to the playoffs. Now I just watch/listen for fun. And it's great.
Which I like to think makes me a True Blue Brew Crew fan.
Rhyming is fun.

I would also like to take this time to apologize to my readers for letting this dear blog fall by the wayside.
I was fairly depressed and/or sick the past couple of weeks and was in no way prepared to entertain the masses with my pithy remarks about what's going on in my world.
But you guys still love me.
Just like Jesus.

This weekend was E's film premiere.
And apparently I made a faux pas by telling the director of said film, when asked what I thought about the film, "It was better than I thought it was going to be."
Oops.
E will most likely never work in this town again.
I would like to defend myself by saying that E said this to EVERYONE he saw that night.
Everyone, except the director apparently.
Would have been nice to know that.
In more defense, I thought that having been trapped in a 40 minute phone call with this dude about film theory (after meeting him once), also entitled me to this answer.
Apparently not.

And if I ever made a film?
I would like all of you to be brutally honest with me.
Just an FYI.

My hair is getting ridiculously long, but I kind of like the side swoopiness of my bangs.
It's very Mandy Slade post-Maxwell Demon.
Which is actually a science term regarding paradox.
I learned that from Carl Sagan.

In other news, I made a delicious cinnamon-raisin bread which I had to give to my grandmother as part of her 12 month Christmas present.
But rest assured some of you will be receiving this for Christmas.
See above regarding budgets and bearing with me.

The bad news?
Summer is almost over.
But my tomatoes are growing and they are constant and delicious!
Plus I still have to harvest my carrots!
Gardening is radical.

The good news?
With summer ending comes everyone's favorite time of year.
HALLOWEEN!
Stay tuned for details.

Love is kind of crazy with a spooky little thing like you.

Recession Part II; Week Three

Well I still haven't gotten fired.
Or "laid off."
But I did get two wee reprimands!
Yep.

Reprimand #1:
Passive aggressive in nature, said in front of almost the entire staff:
"Having a time issue, are we?"
Which I replied honestly, "Yep, I guess I can't seem to figure out the traffic."
Which is true.
The biggest thing about this job that I don't like is that it's 20-30 minutes away.
Which isn't a huge deal, I guess. The whole "beggars can't be choosers" adage.
But christ-on-a-cracker do I hate traffic.
I wouldn't hate it so much if it was the same everyday. If I could leave at the same time and get to work at the same time. But this doesn't happen in my world.
So I continue to hate traffic with a passion.
I hate it so much that I've resigned myself to getting to work 15 minutes early so I don't have to deal with it.
I hate it so much that I've decided to skip the freeway altogether and take the "backroads" there. Which adds about 10 minutes to my drive time, but I don't have to deal with multiple d-bags cutting me off only to slam on the brakes because there really was a reason I wasn't tailgating the person in front of me.
I would also like to note that with this many people currently out of work, I would really hate to see traffic when the recession is over.

Reprimand #2 was done privately, and in a friendly tone.
I found this reprimand quite hilarious, because it plays right into my whole "Homeless Barbie" routine.
As I'm sitting at my desk-ish area, the practice manager (PM) says to me, "Do you know the sole of your shoes is coming undone?"
"Oh that? Yeah, I guess." Then I pause and maybe shrug my shoulders, as I flip the part of the sole that is coming off of the shoe, not extremely noticeable in my opinion, but whatevs. PM keeps kind of looking at me and my old old shoes.
"Is that I problem?" I ask. Thinking she's going to say something about slipping and falling, or a health issue.
"Well, it just looks kind of scruffy."
"Oh, alright. Well I will just wear other shoes then."
Because let's be real, it's not like I don't have other shoes. But I thought the way she went about it was just really funny. Like I almost had to control myself from laughing.
And to be clear, the rest of the staff, well most of them, wear CROCS.
Because THOSE are the epitome of class and non-scruffiness.
Even E was like, you should just wear your crocs.
To which I replied, "I don't want to be seen in public with those things on."
And he laughed.
Because it's true.
I will admit to owning crocs, but I wear them for their intended use, around the house and gardening.
And going into our gross basement.
Kind of like a rubber house-shoe.
Not to mention, the faux-sherpa lined ones are PERFECT for the winter-time and letting the dog out.
But we don't wear them to the store.
We don't wear them to bars.
And, I refuse to wear them to work.
At least at this point.
I have a super cute pair of pink and olive KangaRoos that I will be rocking at the Vet office from now on.
But that doesn't mean I will look any less homeless.
Just a fair warning.

Recession food:
Homemade black bean burgers made by E.
I have since deemed him the official BBB of our household.
They were delicious and will go excellently with the gazpacho that I whipped up today.
If we ever have expendable income, I think one of my first purchases will be a food processor.
Hand chopping the gazpacho veggies has deemed this necessary by my account.
But the gazpacho is delicious, especially for the first time ever making it! Here is the recipe, take from "The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook" by Karen Brooks, a cookbook picked up after our neighbor couldn't sell it at our neighborhood rummage sale. This recipe turned out great and I have to say, it ain't just for vegetarians! Not to mention, this recipe is vegan and requires no oven! And let's be real...it's been warm lately.

Gazpacho (cold spanish soup)

• 4 tomatoes, cut into small pieces
• 1 green pepper, chopped (I used a HUGE red pepper cos that is what we had)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 2 c. tomato juice (in true recession fashion, I didn't have tomato juice, but I thinned about a 1/2 c. of pasta sauce and made it into tomato juice!)
• 1 1/2 cloves of garlic, crushed (I used about 3-4 cloves of garlic as it wasn't the freshest garlic around)
• 1 tbsp. parsley (I have fresh basil so I coarsely chopped about a 1/3 c. of it)
• 3 tbsp. oil (I used olive oil)
• 3 tbsp cider or wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
• salt and cayenned pepper to taste (I sprinkled a liberal amount of each)
• 10 pitted black olives (I left these out, because while I love to draw olives, they are on the food I hate list)

In a large bowl mix all ingredients. Blend half of mixture and mix with unblended mixture. Add olives if you're using them. It says to serve with croutons, but I think it's delicious all on it's own.

In other news.
Tonight's tv schedule is looking to be tops:
True Blood
Mad Men
Hung
Entourage.
Although, I have to say, Entourage is kind of getting lame. Ari isn't as funny as he used to be, and all his friends just seem to be lame. I gues it's still better than network, but it truly is a mind suck and doesn't offer too much in the way of entertainment...but maybe something exciting is bound to happen. Whatevs.

Recession Part II; Week Two

Well I made it.
I've been gainfully employed for two weeks now.
Still haven't gotten fired, feel like I know what I'm doing a bit more.
But most importantly.
My first paycheck!
Without delving too much into the dire financial straits E and I seem t constantly be in (I really don't know how two people can be so bad with money, but voila!), the UI was getting hard to live on. Upon accepting this job, I was told it would be part time averaging 30 hours a week. When I worked this out with my hourly wage I was getting, subtracting out the taxes (well, an estimate of the taxes), I wasn't terribly excited at the weekly paycheck I would be getting. I took the job mostly knowing that it would EVENTUALLY get me out of the UI hole, plus eventual free vet care for the Super Code.
But Friday rolled around, and with great trepidation I logged into our bank account.
But to my surprise, my paycheck was almost $100 more than I expected!
Joy of joys!
My secret hope is that they "forget" they told me I was only supposed to get 30 hours a week, and keep letting me go at full speed.

In other news.

The 5K is COMPLETED!



The day begin wet, but by the time we got to the Sausage Haus it had stopped and it looked like I would be able to run my first 5K after all.
But then there was thunder.
Lightning.
The way you love me is frightening.
And the 5K was postponed for a half an hour.
We all huddled in the Sausage Haus, listening to the sounds of De La Buena, and eating our free snacks and coffee provided by Alterra.
After my second cup of coffee, my hands were sufficiently pruned and were losing feeling, as I was soaked to the bone and it was kind of cool out. I knew, however, that once I started running the blood would beging flowing again.
Finally they announced the race would start at 9:20.
So two hours after arriving, picking up my goody bag and free t-shirt, I finally took my place next to other soaked people.
And then we were off.
As predicted, I forgot about the cold, wetness of me, and focused on heating myself up, so I may have ran faster than usual trying to get the blood flowing to all of my digits. But with ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky" playing, how could you not run fast?!
Towards the end, I did get tired, but there was something exhilirating about running with a huge group of people, knowing that E was waiting for me at the end, and as cheesy as it sounds, having people clap when you finish.
Not to mention, the endorphin rush was perfection and lasted until about 3 pm that day!
Official time:
31:37
I was 462 over all.
34th out of 53 in my division.
150th out of 316 for my sex.
So I completed a goal!
5K-check.
Ran the whole thing-check.
Ran it under 45:00-check.

Next on the list, training for an 8K in October.
Which I think will be alot harder than training for a 5K, but I have two months to do it.

In dog news, it appears that we will be fostering a greyhound mix puppy.
Yep.
You heard right, a puppy.
I think by the time we get him he will be about 8 months old.
We've been told he has ADD, and has an insane level of energy, but with my training getting a little more intensive, we (okay maybe just me) thought it would be a fun challenge.
His name?
Logan, soon to be Detective Logan (Chris Noth's character from L&O):




I will let you know how this Adventure in Fostering goes.

In other L&O news, it turns out that our CSPBFF's M&Z are going to a wedding which will have Jeremy Sisto featured as a groomsmen. I have asked them to report back on his height, because he is a tv bf of mine, and he seems really tall. Plus he's beardy!
This has made me realize that E and I really don't know enough people.
*SIGH*
M&Z also alerted us to a Pick-n-Save on the southside that has beans in bulk! For cheap!
And how to make said beans in a slow cooker! Thanks guys!

On the docket for next week:
Brewers v. Padres, the ol' Castraburch rivalry.
Me pops' b-day/tailgate party.
E's dad and "step-mom" will be staying at the Castraburch B&B.
And perhaps the most important of all:
August 13 is National Left-Handers' Day!
Know a lefty?!
(and if you're reading this blog, you most assuredly know a lefty!)
Thank them for being so awesome.

Recession Part II; Week One

As you can see from the title of this blog, I have divided this recession into parts.
According to my calculations we are in the second stages of the recession.
The job part.

As I stated before, my new gig will most likely be quite comparable to the unemployment I was getting. So while it's not exactly a step up, hopefully I will do this job well and get my scheduled raises, and then it WILL be a step up. Not a huge step. But a baby step...and soon I will be able to say:




And to keep the nautical theme going, the first week of the new gig just sailed on by.
As most of you know, I hate being the new kid.
People who know me find this to be shocking, as most people say I'm outgoing.
But this is true only in situations where I feel comfortable.
So if I don't know anybody AND I have no idea what I'm doing.
It spells critical uncomfortability for Jj.
However, if we were allowed to drink on the job, this might change.
I'm just being honest here, folks.

With that being said. By the end of the week I was at least treading water. I was able to take some phone calls, schedule some appointments, answer some questions, etc. So I'm hoping by the end of next week things will be better.

I haven't been fired yet, so that is a plus.

What I find humorous about the job is how BUSY/CRAZY everyone says it is.
Obviously they have never worked at a coffee shop when you have a line out the door.
So it doesn't seem that crazy (knock on wood). But maybe I just don't know enough about anything yet.
Which could totally be the case.
This is what I do know:
1. We get lots of birds.
2. The dr's, thus far, have been incredibly nice and approachable, which is a nice switch from other mecial practices I've worked at (vet and human).
3. The people seem pretty nice, I suppose. Lots of moms. I think I will get along with the other receptionist quite well as she reminds me a bit of my mom in her demeanor and how she relates to people. Plus she has a huge St. Bernard mix that I got to see. So so cute.
4. It's already 100% less depressing than the WHS. PLUS!

I will keep you posted as to how week two goes.

In other news:
The 5K training is coming to an end!
I run my 5K on SATURDAY!
I'm not looking to win (obs), just to run the whole thing. This could be quite the task as I totally slacked on training this week, due to E's wonky schedule. But this week we should be good to go. Upon completion of the 5K, I'm considering keeping the training going and training for the Al's Run, or I think now it's known as the Brigg's Stratton Corporate run for Kids or something.
For us native Milwaukeeans, it's Al's Run.
This would be an 8k in October, which would mean two months to add another 3Ks.
We'll see.
We'll see how the 5K goes.

Farm Share news!
Well E and I have been very successful eating most, if not all of our farm share during the week.
Most of the time we both enjoy what I prepare.
I'm not afraid to try making new things, knowing that usually E or I will end up eating it.
I've also learned I don't like beets, but at least I did try them.
Yesterday was a fail and a half for me:

Upon receiving our farm share and divvy-ing everything up I realized we had a lot of carrots. Upon looking through the vast array of cookbooks I have acquired, I found two recipes that looked interesting.

The first was a carrot salad, taken from the cookbook PO got me for my birthday:

This is a vegan recipe and while I thought it was interesting, and I will eat it, E didn't like it at all, and I probably won't make it again, although it was incredibly easy:

• 1/2 lb carrots
• 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 sm. clove of garlic, finely minced
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh chives
• salt to taste

Peel carrots; grate on the large holed side of a four sided grater. Transfer to a bowl and stir in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, chives and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Like I said, the recipe is incredibly easy, but there was something about it that seemed "too much." We couldn't decide if it was the lemon juice, or if it was because I used fresh-from-the-farm-super-punguent garlic. I should also note we did not have chives, so I skipped those. That may have helped. This was the half-fail recipe. All though now that I think about it I may try it again but with the chives. We'll see.

The epic-fail recipe I made was a dish called Carrot Timbales, which I had never made before. And although the process seemed rather long, it wasn't anything we could handle...I thought we would be making mini-quiches as the recipe called for this egg/milk mixture to be mixed with the carrots and onion. Except then in got weird. Then it instructed us to put ramekins in casserole dish, fill with hot tap water (the casserole dish) so only a 1/3 of the ramekin wasn't in the bath, and then cover with foil. They cook then you open the oven door, loosen the foil and cook for another 10 minutes. Then you let them sit for ten minutes and invert them and eat them.

After putting the casserole dish/ramekins in the oven E became enlightened with some information:
E: Jj I don't think you're going to like this recipe.
Jj: Why?
E: Well I think the reason we have to do the water thing and cover with foil is that we're steaming the eggs.
Jj: Ew. So they will be like poached eggs?
E: Yeah, I think so. But I could be wrong.
Jj: I'm totally not going to like this.

So we waited. We followed the instructions and.
E was right.
It was like five little poached eggs meals.
And if you know anything about me, it's that I only eat eggs dry.
Scrambled hard.
Quiche baked well.
There cannot be a hint of ooze from the eggs.
And these were the ooziest of ooze. Steamed eggs.
Whoever thought of such an idea?
Ga-ross.
However, if you like steamed eggs, and vegetables, this could be the recipe for you.
Email me and I will email you the recipe if interested.

Another Epic fail?
The Brewers. My team is slowly bleeding out and there is nothing I can do. First we lose to the Nationals. Now the Padres.
To clarify:
The Nats have the worst record in ALL of the MLB.
The Pads are in LAST in the NL West.
The good news is that E is a Padre fan, so there is at least that.
But still.
Ugh.

Day 139

NEWS!

Now I know some of you may find this hard to believe but...

I GOT A JOB!
(throws confetti, shakes noisemakers, cheers)

It's true.

Here are some FAQs regarding my new employ:

What will you be doing?
I will be working as a receptionist/assistant at a vet clinic. This clinic also sees snakes, which I'm not terribly excited about, but I will cope. It also sees some wildlife which will be pretty cool, I think and will take me back to my Junior DNR Ranger days.

When do you start?
I start this Monday!

Are you excited?
Yes, I suppose one could say I'm excited. I hate the beginning stages of any job because I don't like not knowing what I'm doing.

You're still going to blog aren't you?
Yes, unfortunately the job pays *basically* the same as unemployment, for now. So the recession is still in full swing! Not to worry. You will still get to hear about how the recession-filled life is going, among other things.

The funny thing about this job, is I got basically via networking.
I know, I know.
I hate networking.
I truly do hate it.
I think it's entirely not fair to people who don't have an in.
This is especially true in the entertainment industry, which E has toiled in.
It's truly not about talent, it's about who you know.
And I'm finding this is true not only in the entertainment industry, but in life.
It's all about luck, not necessarily hard work, but luck.
The New York Times magazine had a great article about this such fact.
A former drug addict, now New York Times reporter.
Ask him how he got where he is today?
Luck.
Ask any Holocaust survivor how they survived.
Luck.
Just so you don't think I'm this eternal pessimist.
Although I kind of am.

So I get a phone call one morning from a fellow greyhound adopter who tells me her vet office is looking for a receptionist and while she was currently happy with her work, she did think of me and gave them my name, and said if I was interested to give them a call.

Later in the day, I called had a phone interview right then and there, and then set up an interview for later in the week. Easy-peasy as some folks would say.

I then discussed the prospect with E. Unfortunately the job is not technically full time, although I think there is potential to make it such in the future. And unfortunately, the job doesn't pay "great." But I think, as mentioned above, it will be a wee bit more than unemployment.

We decided since we have become quite awesome at being poor, minus the parts where we don't get to do anything that involves money, that if offered the job, I would accept it.

Another perk I learned of during the interview was that they offer discounted vet care to their employees! Which is definitely great. Not that Super goes to the vet all the time, but once a year (or more for various other issues that come up) that will definitely save us some $$. So it's not all bad. And, if ever want to get another dog, this would surely be helpful.