Friday, June 30, 2006

FRIDAY!!!!!!!!

I haven't gotten anything work-related done at work today. Not a single thing. I was also at lunch for like two hours. Of course we were saying goodbye to a co-worker so my boss was there which took some of the fun out of it but it was still cool. The co-worker who is leaving makes me very sad because she is such a cool person and has been sort of an inspiration for me as a fellow female in an athletic administration career, and I don't like seeing her go. She is also one of the few non-conservatives around here who I could always count on to speak up with many of the same viewpoints that I hold.

I also found out that my supervisor may be leaving the field of sports information and doing pharmaceutical sales. Can't say that I blame him, I've been waffling about this issue for the past few weeks, ever since we found out we're dropping down to Division III. On one hand, this job is great because office hours aren't strict since we work so many nights and weekends, I get a lot of free meals at games and when I travel with the teams, and it's pretty fun. On the other hand, the pay is crap and there are a lot of nights, weekends, and travel involved. I don't have a family yet but I don't see myself looking forward to working all these sporting events when, in the future, I've got a kid (or kids) at home. Maybe I'll go back to school but I don't know what career I would want to pursue. The easy choice (as far as decisions go) seems to be teaching but after living with Mike this past year, and living with teachers in my immediate family growing up, I'm not sure it's for me. I'm sure that I could do a decent job of it, but I don't know if I'd be any happier doing that than what I am doing now. I also (fleetingly) thought of nursing school but it seems like a HUGE commitment and something that would be really hard to do while still holding down some other sort of job. Other than that I'm open to suggestions. Oh yeah, and there's always the option of being a phone actress.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Today was Meals on Wheels day for me & Mike. It's only the second time we've done the route but I already feel protective of some of the folks we deliver to. It's really an eye-opening experience for me. There are about 13 stops (16 meals total) around the roughest part of Birmingham, and all of the people are very elderly and/or living in really bad conditions. Also, we can tell that for some of these people, seeing us is the only face-to-face contact they have on a daily basis. One lady today kept us talking and would have kept chatting for a while if we'd let her. She lives with her husband who I think cannot speak, he usually grunts at us when we say hello, so I'm sure she loves to have someone to talk to. I can also tell that a lot of the people are scared because they keep their doors locked and have bars on the windows. It makes me really sad and angry to think about people preying on the elderly. Anyway, I highly recommend doing something like this if it is available in your area. It doesn't take much time and is really rewarding. I know doing volunteer work is about helping people, not making yourself feel good, but I do feel good about doing something for my community.

Anyway, it's another hot day in the 'Ham (but not as hot as it could be), and I can't wait to head home to Richlands this Sunday. I'm really looking forward to seeing my grandmothers. Doing the Meals on Wheels thing makes me appreciate how independent and well-off my grandmas are: my mom's mother is close to 80 years old and still drives, attends church, cooks, shops, and my dad's mother is close to 90 years old and volunteers at church, cooks, drives, shops, sews, all that stuff. They are both really cool ladies to talk to, it's quite amazing to think of everything they have seen and experienced.

I have been really blessed in the grandparent department - my dad's father lived to 89 (he passed away in December '04 of old age) and was really the figurehead of our family. Everyone called him "Pop" and after Mike met him for the first time he was dubbed "The Godfather" because of his ability to pick up the phone and make things happen. When we were there that day, after Pop met Mike, he picked up the phone and called each of his three other boys (my dad was already with us) and they all came over. We had a little impromptu party. I was just thinking today of how awesome it is that I have such a large, wonderful family. It's really comforting to think that no matter what happens in my life, I will have somebody there to help me. I know everyone doesn't have that and I'm really thankful.

ADDENDUM: After he read this, Mike said that I forgot to mention that after Pop called everybody and they were at his house, he fell asleep in his recliner for most of the evening. LOL! Classic Pop. Also, I forgot to write about my mom's father, who I never knew because he died when my mom was nine from lung cancer after smoking for most of his life. I think that speaks volumes for my grandma, his widow, who raised four kids up pretty damn well after that.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

I hate working during the summer for a myriad of reasons, but I think the main one is dealing with all the obnoxious kids on campus for the sundry athletic camps that are offered. My office has a glass wall overlooking the pool, and I have to listen to kids yelling down there just about all day, every day, in the summer. Also, as I type this, I can hear a bunch of kids running around in the racquetball courts, screaming their heads off (we have a window overlooking one of the courts in the office). Seriously, the girls are screaming at the top of their lungs, in true horror-movie fashion. I don't know how I can be expected to get any real work done.

However, I am listening to my station on Pandora so I'm happy for now and it's somewhat drowning out the sounds of the kids.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Today had a not so fun start as I realized today is not payday, which I had been looking forward to. I'm not sure why I thought I was getting paid on the 27th instead of the 29th. Oh, well.

On a brighter note, eight days til my birthday, and Mike & I are heading to NC this Sunday. Of course this also means eight days until I am officially on the downward slide to 30. Not sure how I feel about that. Some great presents would probably make me feel better, though.

Another thing that happened today that has been bothering me is dealing with the people in our apartment complex's front office. Our lease is ending at the end of August and we were hoping to get a decent deal for next year, hopefully on a 10-month lease instead of 12 months since we will probably be out of here next summer due to my job situation. Anyway, so we are told that a) they are required to raise our rent by at least $20/month (but probably more) if we re-sign and b) we can't get any sort of special on a 10-month lease, so rent would go up by about $75/month. It would be cheaper for us to start new at a new complex instead of staying here, where we have paid rent on time for two years now. Ugh. So that is what we are dealing with. I wish we could find a house to rent, too, because the pet fees at all the apartment complexes are getting higher every month.

This is a boring post. Also, Mike needs to hurry up and start his blog instead of obsessing over what to name it. :)

Monday, June 26, 2006

Well, I suppose I've decided to start the blogging thing. I guess I am a classic "joiner" because I really had no interest in this until lots of other people started doing it.

I have no idea how often this thing will be updated, depending on if I want everyone else to know just how boring my life is, or if I'd rather retain an aura of mystery and let everyone think that I'm not posting because I'm traveling abroad instead of just watching reruns of 'Law & Order: SVU' on DVR.

At any rate, this is as good a time as any to start this thing since it's summer and no sports are active. Come mid-August I will begin my annual immersion into what everyone else calls "Fall Sports" but what I like to call "Oh God, Where Did the Summer Go?" At that time I'll become obsessed with goals against average ratings and kill percentages so I probably won't be around much. But for now, this should be fun.