Monday, October 31, 2005

Job interview results

still waiting to hear

Today's the day, I wish they would just call and let me know. Certainly by now they have made a decision. I guess I'm very anxious, I need to get working so I can quit worrying about running out of money. I did plan to live for a while on my savings, but I would prefer to not use it all. You never know what I'll need and when I'll need it. A job would be great.

I keep looking on the job boards and everything is on the west coast, quite a drive for me, at least 3 hrs each way. So I have to realize that I am not going to find exactly what I want, but if I can find a job that is decent - I will be satisfied for the time being. I'm contacting recruiters in the area and tomorrow am going to start hitting on the consulting firms around town. It would be so much easier if I knew someone out here in the industry. Someone that could point me in the right direction. I've tried all the things I know, now I guess I just have to wait.

I'm not good at the waiting. Especially when I don't have anything to do except think about not working and wanting a paycheck.

It's nice when he gets home from work, then I have something to do. We have a great time and I don't regret a thing - I don't regret moving here, I don't regret walking away from the familiar and safe. Now that I'm here, I'm glad. I just have to realize that to be successful, I have to plug away, consistently job seeking, asking, applying, interviewing, and the right position will come my way.

I wish I knew enough people to start my own web consulting firm. I don't have any contacts. Don't you think that I need to know SOMEONE??? Maybe I don't. I need advice..........please help me if you have ideas or can tell me that I can do it and how.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Changes in my life

Changes in my life

Change is good. I’ve been here 3 weeks now. Everything is wonderful between the two of us. We are loving our time together, getting along great. He does so many nice things for me every day. If I say, I like “this thing” or “that thing” or I want “something” then he comes home the next day with whatever I said I liked or wanted. He’s so sweet, he actually listens to me and I couldn’t be more ecstatic! AND SHOCKED. A guy who actually LISTENS!! IT MARVELOUS! Then we do this thing: he gives, I give, he gives, I give, we are both so happy. We are both glad to have each other again. The change is good.

There are some things that are different here. First off, I’ve moved from a market where we had several Gannett newspapers, 5 local TV stations all with their own versions of the news, weather and local programming., tons of local radio stations (mostly owned by Clear Channel) with radio shows that are syndicated nationally. I’ve left a competitive media market. There is no local newspaper, no local TV or radio. If I want to know what’s going on, see the weather or something like that I have to listen to Fresno stations. They rarely mention the town that we live in. It’s like living in a small town in Ohio – like maybe Fayetteville?

My entire life I thought that people in the Midwest really had issues driving. I mean if it rains, watch out! They either crawl on the highway or they drive way too fast. And when it snows………..EEEEEK!! Fender benders galore during rush hour. I know how that goes, I’m still paying with higher insurance premiums for one that wasn’t even my fault.

Anyway, simply put THEY CANNOT DRIVE HERE!! AT ALL!! I mean it, in parking lots I swear people drive incredibly slow. Not even 2 mph. I mean it. It’s amazing, I like to get away from them and get the hell out of the lot. On the street, they are just “dilly dally”, no cares for the speed limit, they just drive as slow as they want to. But on the highway – it’s like 80! They just can’t get it together.

and in the stores – geez, everyone is just slow. I guess I didn’t think of Cincinnati being on a fast track or people hurrying around in Cincinnati, but they do. I suppose there are enough type A individuals there that things go a little faster. But here……..wow………..get the picture!!?!!

One thing I don’t hear living in Hanford, CRIME. I don’t hear about murders, kidnapping, rapes, racial unrest, stuff like that. I heard about all of that all the time in Cincinnati. People here are friendly and seem to get along nicely. Everyone smiles. It’s laid back here, like the driving, that people are just happy people.

And the city is growing. New housing everywhere and the shopping area is really getting built up. I suspect that one of these days, Hanford will be a good size city. Maybe like Mason or West Chester. I wish we were ready to buy a house, but until I sell mine, we’re not. Besides, we have to be married in order to buy a house – my rule, not the bank rule. But that will be soon enough that we’ll be married. (

All in all, it’s good here. It’s a good life, quiet, sunny, warmer here than in Cincinnati right now. No yard work, no leaves to rake, I’m loving it. I wish a couple of things would happen – one is sell my house, the other is find a job. I really wish my house would sell, it would save me so much every month. I will still have to pay a little bit for garbage pick up, a little bit for gas and electric, and of course the house payment…..come ‘on! Someone walk thru it that is interested. please oh please !! And the other is find a job. I hope the job that I interviewed for on Tuesday comes through. I will know by this time on Monday, I suspect…..I hope I hope I hope!!

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Job Interview Results

Job Interview –

I believe it went well

I interviewed with the President of the company. I was very pleased with how the interview went, we seemed to get along quite well from the start. He explained more about the company to me. It’s a small company that is filling a need in the market and I’m excited to be considered to be part of this company. I believe that I can bring quite a bit to the table for them and help their clients as well as the company grow. I believe there is a lot of growth and earnings potential for myself in this company as well. California is a fairly new market for them and I could be instrumental in helping them get a foothold in the market.

I will know more by Friday or not later than Monday. I can only hope at this point that I am a fit for their organization.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Interview on Tuesday!

This would be a great job to have!

I have an interview on Tuesday!! I'm really excited about this one. I have already interviewed on the phone while I was still in Cincinnati. That went great, so I've been invited to interview with the President of the company. He's flying in from Pennsylvania, the home office, to interview me and a couple of software engineers for a different position. The office is in Irvine, however, they are ok with me working from home and the client site, then going into the office a couple times a month. So, that's totally cool with me.

It's 250 miles from my house, about 4 1/4 hrs to drive it. To get to Irvine, you have to drive through Los Angeles on I-5. I've been to Irvine earlier in the summer and it's a very beautiful area. Big trees, clean streets, upscale office buildings, very nice.

The company has an interesting product, it's a financial software package, geared to help companies with their P&L, Revenue Recognition, Forecasting, etc. If I'm hired, my responsibilities will be to work mainly with the client, help them define their project details and work with the engineering team to implement their project. It's an end-to-end solution and responsibility. I like that.

I originally spoke with one of the founders of the company and he was very sharp, very nice and thorough on the phone. We had a good interview and now I just need to shine in front of the president. This company is a growth company, office in Pittsburgh (go Steelers!!) and Philadelphia (go Eagles!!) and Irvine. They are considering expansion into more markets. Very nice!!

Well, I am open to advice, things that I should be prepared to answer, like the all dreaded TELL ME YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES - I need to have these answers prepared in advance and am open to suggestions, especially if you've worked with me in the past.......please send! I'm going to go prepared with notes on my projects, methodologies I use, familiarity with finance - Skip and Gerry where are you???? :)

I could use not only your inputs on my strengths and weaknesses, but I can use your prayers. If I get this position, then I can plan for my kids to visit us in December for birthdays and early Christmas. I really miss them and would love to see them NOW!! Plus working will give me something to sink myself into and even though I've loved the "housewife" thing, I'm ready for more.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

My time today :)


Kind of wasting time, but it's fun! Well, today seems to be a waste-day. I mean, I'm doing stuff like: laundry, cleaned a little, will cook dinner, am balancing checkbooks, paying bills, looking for and applying online for jobs, emailing my friends and playing on the internet; now, writing in my blog. I mean, it's Thursday, I don't have an interviews lined up, so I might as well, take a day to have fun! Do the stuff I want to do. Geez, I'm a housewife!! Did you ever think that I would like it? I like it so well, I wish we would win the lottery so I wouldn't have to do anything but!! SURPRISE!!

I was looking through some pictures and found this one of my son, Jake and I right before we left on our respective trips. He's in the Nederlands and I'm here in California.
We both left on the same day. We had dinner with a good friend of ours, famous, you might say - Brian, the developer of http://www.molinecourt.com. Check out these homes!! They are absolutely gorgeous and in a great old neighborhood in Cincinnati, historic! They are lovely homes!

Anyway, we went to Ambar in Clifton for dinner before we left. Ambar is one of the best Indian Restaurants that I've ever been to. We had a great time, took pictures, laughed and spent time with our good friend. Wow I really miss him! I miss them both!! My son and my wonderful friend, Brian!!



love you both!! They sure are happy aren't they??

When I go back to Cincy for a visit, we're all gonna have the time of our lives!! It will be great to see each other!!

Well, I'm off for now. I am going to take a walk, then get back to my domestic goddess duties!! hehe!!

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Do you have project work?

Still job hunting.

Well, it’s already happening. I got all settled in, have been out and about learning my way around and now I want to get working. I’m already getting bored. You know, I don’t do well with RELAXATION. I feel relaxed and ready to work. Well, maybe today, I’ll get a facial – and I could use a massage, but other than that, I’m relaxed enough.

I don’t need full time employment; I could easily do independent consulting and get paid hourly. I can handle working from my home office. I have everything set up and it’s a great environment to work in. But I do need something to do. Do you have any work that I can get done for you? Something that is not bound by physical presence, something that technology can answer? If so, I’m the right person for the job. I have connections to all sorts of designers, software engineers, database administrators. We can get the job done, no matter the size, from anywhere we are. (

Currently, I have a strong lead on a job. I’m a good fit, they allow working from home offices and also the client-sites. It will require some travel and that’s fine with me. I am a good fit for the position and have passed the phone interviews. Now I’m just waiting for the founder of the company to make it to California to interview me in person. I’m sure I would work out and love their product. The customer interaction is PERFECT for me!! I would sure love to give it a try.

However, in the meantime, got work? I’m your person to get it done!! I’ll manage your project and deliver on-time, on-budget!! Contact me!

where's the pics


I put pictures in my blog about the trip out here and they're not showing, so basically, I'm trying to experiment and find out why.

Here's the most recent picture of me outside of my house in Cincinnati, on the deck. It's still not sold!! Come 'on! It's a great house - somebody must want to buy it!!

OK - now I'm convinced I'm going crazy. I can see the pictures in preview mode, but not in my blog! And I even changed the template thinking something was amiss in the code. AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Now here's the WORST part - I can see the pics if I use IE instead of Firefox..........YIKES!! I love Firefox. Someone must have a suggestion!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Cincinnati Advance Radio

new talk radio show in Cincinnati

This new radio show, Cincinnati Advance Radio on WAIF 88.3 FM in Cincinnati is hosted by my good friend, Joe Wessels. I listened to the premiere show yesterday on my iPod. I found the show to be very interesting, politically based, which is what I would expect with the current Cincinnati Mayoral race going on between Councilman David Pepper and Ohio State Senator Mark Mallory. Joe had two former Cincinnati mayors on the show - Roxanne Qualls mayor in the 90's noted for riverfront and neighborhood revitalization, responsible for the stadium tax and the building of two sports stadiums - Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati Bengals. David Mann, former mayor under the old system where the council members appointed a mayor from their ranks. Mr. Mann depicted it much like a team lead. I like that description, it makes it sound like the council would then work together on initiatives with their appointed leader. Seems like more would be accomplished under that system.

Joe asked some compelling questions and got great responses from the former mayors. They expressed their opinion on what it takes to be the mayor, what it was like, how diverse Cincinnati really is and what the major reforms should be - it's still the same as for most cities - jobs, housing, neighborhood improvements, crime. I think for Cincinnati, especially crime. Just as Joe about crime in his neighborhood!! See Joe's Blog, dated October 12, 2005!!

Joe also did a promo for Carnivale D'Expose. And had Leslie Isaiah Gaines close the show with his new Bengals promo song!! Very fun!!

Thanks Joe for a great show!

Cincinnati Political Blogs

DISCLAIMER: Some are good and some are offensive

I've been doing a little blog reading myself and have found several Cincinnati blogs that are tightly integrated into the politic scene there. Here's several for your reading enjoyment or not, in some cases. I have a couple of favorites, and others are offensive. Sorry if they offend you, I didn't write them and I don't endorse them, I'm just listing them.
http://cincinnati.blogspot.com
http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/gov/
http://prblog.typepad.com/strategic_public_relation/
http://blackcincinnati.blogspot.com/
http://www.independenteye.net/
http://projectlogic.blogspot.com/
http://revart.blogs.com/minister_of_rants/

Monday, October 17, 2005

Working out

Apt Complex has Workout Equipment

Today, I'm going to start a workout routine. If I'm going to work from home, there will be times when I can take my "lunch hour" and go hit the workout room. They have some equipment that I will use and some that I am uncertain. They have steppers, treadmills, stationary bikes - all stuff I would use. Then they have weight machines and I"m not that good with knowing what to do on them, however, I do know what my orthopedist says NOT to do on those machines.

Either way, walking, stepping and riding can be enough for me for now. Of course, I have set a goal to lose some weight and I know the only way it will come off is to work it off.

I must be doing something right if I could by a size 14 blazer this past weekend!! Then yesterday, I tried on all my good work clothes just to see where I am in my weightloss trek. Wow! I have to find a tailor. I have some very expensive clothes and they all need to be shortened - skirts too long - and taken in - make them a bit more form fitting and shapely, not to mention 3 sizes too big in most cases. I'm so proud!!

So, I'm off to listen to my iPod, read my book and walk my ass off!! Or at least tighten it up and walk some of it off :)

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Happy Birthday Mom!!

If she was still alive she'd be 89 today!! I love you Mom!!

the California Adventure

This was a fun trip for both of us. You know, even when we dated before, we couldn't afford to take a road trip. I mentioned before that I worked hard to get to the point that I would be ready to leave. I had to have a yard sale, donate tons of clothes, household items, etc., then I had to have a moving sale - getting rid of everything else that I had left to live on from the yard sale. Then I had to have time to tell my friends goodbye, finish my project and leave in good standing. There was a lot of pressure on me to wrap up on time. Of course, then there's the packing. I really didn't bring that much, but it ended up being more than I thought. But now that I'm here, I'm glad I brought what I did and only have to buy a few things. The most important thing is that I am here, I am happy and we are ecstatic to be together!! It's wonderful!

So here's a brief recap of the trip, state by state:

Indiana - you would think that it would be fairly uneventful to drive through Indiana. I mean afterall, I've lived by Indiana my whole life. I've spent summers camping in Indiana instead of living with my ex-husband. Believe me, living in a camper in the woods by the river with no electricity and no running water was better than living with my ex!! When we were younger, my honey and I did take trips to Indy 500 race, so we've had to drive up to Indianapolis many times before. So, you would think...............but that's not the case. We actually had to turn around twice because we missed our exit!! But you know the good thing was he didn't get upset because we had to turn around and he noticed right away that we went the wrong way.

Illinois - Pretty much the same looking as Ohio and Indiana. Hills, trees, grass - lots of green. The leaves weren't changing yet, so I guess I won't see autumn this year. I certainly thought that I'd see the leaves changing, but I guess it's too early. Oh well. The nice thing about the trip so far is that we haven't run out of things to talk about and we don't seem to be strangers at all. That's a wonderful feeling. I know I'm doing the right thing. You know, we racked up about 400 hours on the phone over the last 4 months talking, so I am sure that we've discussed everything possible!! We certainly know each other very well, have built on the years that we got to know each other when we were younger. In fact, the one thing that we've learned is that we are basically the same as we were back then and that's a great feeling!! We are a "little" more mature, however, I refuse to be anything but "forever young"!

Iowa - BORING!!
There is a city there named NORMAL - I doubt that there is anything normal about NORMAL. Besides, normal is a state of mind and is relative!
Then there were the KUM & GO truck stops. Geez, what kind of a name is that? I guess our minds were in the gutter, because they were so funny!! Other than that - it was corn, manure, farms, more corn and YIKES.





Nebraska - Could I tell I ever left Iowa??
Who could live here? Corn, cows,wheat, wind and cold!! By the time we drove through, which took "forever", it was predicted to snow that night with freeze warnings. Shit, I was wearing sandles - my feet were freezing!! Besides, the winds never stop because there is nothing to stop it, I can't imagine living somewhere were it's always windy.


Wyoming - 29 degrees in Cheyenne!! That's was frickin' cold with strong wind warnings on the artimis system. Snow! Snow! Brrrrr! SO COLD THERE WERE NO BUGS ON THE WINDSHIELD!! Again, I am just not that into winter and certainly wasn't dressed for cold, so I was not thrilled to see snow! You know, in the past when I've had the chance to drive in Wyoming, I really loved it. I loved the fact that there was no cities, alot of just land. But now that I'm driving across the entire state, it's all the same, brown, no houses, no cities, a few cattle, and they have those snow fences up and ready to use. It does smell good and fresh and clean.

we stopped in Lyman, Wyoming to catch a bite to eat - I thought I heard the banjo music in the background and was ready for the Deliverance team to show up. We went to the bathroom when we first got there and then got seated in the restaurant. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE stared at us. You know, he has long hair and of course, all I could think about was they were staring because of that and because we were strangers. I wished he would have had on his military work jacket. It's obviously very patriotic and if we ever needed people to know that we were patriotic and conservative it was NOW!! I swear it was reminiscent of the 60s when we dated before! YIKES! I was more than ready to eat and run!!

One thing that was prevalent in NE and WY - the accents. They were similar to a Minnesota or Canadian accent. Hm. Didn't expect it to sound like that.

We did find gas in Wyoming for $2.67/gal. Little did we know then that that was the cheapest we would see it again.

Utah - All I could say was WOW!! I certainly can understand why people want to live here. It's absolutely beautiful. We drove in on I-80 and came into Salt Lake City. The 2002 Winter Olympic Park, mountains, resorts, canyons, chalets, apartments, if I was a skier this would be the place to live. I'm sure it's very expensive, but I'm also sure that they make enough money in the winter to support themselves all summer. It was cool driving through the city after flying into SLC so many times in the past. We went by the airport and drove through at rush hour, but there was no traffic jams. It was just a nice drive. We drove around the Great Salt Lake and then through the Salt Flats. It's very cool and to me it's an amazing natural phenomenon.

Nevada - Our last night on the trip we stayed in Winnemucci. I'm sure it's an Indian name and mean's something - probably "sucker" for all the people at the casinos. There were casinos everywhere, slot machines everywhere. The town itself was closed unless you were a casino, so we had to eat at one of the casinos. The food was pretty good, I guess. Then we went back to our room, relaxed and hit the sack. In the morning, we had the best breakfast at a place up the street from the hotel. very good and filling - in fact, our best meals on this trip were breakfast meals. I guess he's right, you can't screw up breakfast too bad, so it's safe to order!! :)

Anyway, driving though Nevada was pretty nice, especially when we got into the mountains. But, I'm a sucker for mountains. I guess just knowing this was our last day of driving was really important too. It made the drive even more fun knowing we'd be home and sleeping in our own bed before the day was over.

We drove through Reno, it was ok, looked pretty nice, big office buildings - more than just a city with casinos. That's pretty cool.

California - Well, everything was going along great. I mean we were in the mountains, lots of steep grades up and down, but the scenary was awesome. I was so glad to be here. And now I really got excited just knowing that we were in CA and would for sure be home soon. Then, we were heading up a steep grade and a truck came by and told us to pull over - and kept pointing at our trailer. So I pulled over, he got out and checked and DAMN! The door of the trailer opened up!! We were heading up a steep grade and THANK GOD, BUT NOTHING FELL
OUT! I mean, all kinds of things could have fallen out and there could have been wrecks and everything!! Wow! I was freaking out and he was so calm. He didn't get upset or anything, he just closed it and relocked it and drove the rest of the way home :) I love this man, nothing seems to get him riled. That's fantastic because we know I can't take being yelled at or scolded.

We got home around 5pm and emptied the trailer, returned it the same night, ate dinner and cuddled in our own bed. I'm home and I love it!!
"Now this is not the end.
It is not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

--- Sir Winston Churchill, November 1942

Saturday, October 15, 2005

All my favorite brands

The brands … it’s surprising!!

It was a day of shopping. We went to Fresno this morning and spent the morning shopping. First we went out to breakfast at IHOP. The food was great and so was the service, however, the waitress called me “honey” and I’m not so sure I like those types of affectionate names from strangers. Then we shopped at Trader Joe’s, Guitar Center, and TJ Maxx. Of course, it was tons of fun, obviously, we love to shop!!

We bought organic food, fruit, natural bread, coffee, lowfat cheese, soy products and lots of healthy items at Trader Joe’s. I saw many of my favorite brands and items from just like the store in Cincinnati. That made me feel at home. ( Then my honey made a purchase at Guitar Center – I simply had fun looking around – until the sales woman called me “ma’am”! Well, she might as well called me “bitch”!!! I’m not OLD enough to be a “MA’AM”!! Needless to say, I put down the music book I was looking at and left the store without making a purchase.

Then we went to TJ Maxx, my favorite store in the world!! I had a return from Cincinnati that I brought with me. A shirt I bought for my honey. While I was making the return, my sweetie was shopping for me! I love this man! He wanted me to try on a leather jacket, just for size. The jacket was beautiful. The he was picking out clothes for me to interview in this week. He has great taste and helped me pick out an Anne Klein black blazer – very nice. This will make a great accompaniment with my brown tweed skirt and black boots, not to mention a great impression. PLUS it is a size 14! Wow! I’m very happy about that.

Then we ran into another blazer, this one is a Ralph Lauren blue tweed, looks great with jeans. Thought it would look good with navy pants, as well. At least I have a couple of nice blazers to wear to work. I don’t suspect I’ll be working in an office too terribly much, but I have to make a good first impression for interviews and meeting clients. I think most of my other clothes are too big. He wants me to find a tailor to take them in, instead of buying new clothes. hmm, a tailor, I’ll have to start looking for one in town.

We bought him a great IZOD shirt. Very nice material, nice feel, great color!! I hope he wears it soon.

Anyway, we had a great time today. Then we got back to Hanford and went to Michael’s then a discount grocery store. At Michael’s we bought yarn and patterns for afghans. He even crochets and makes afghans! How wonderful! I’m so blessed!! His craft abilities are endless!

We were at a discount grocery store today, something like Bigg’s in Cincinnati. A warehouse-type store, buy in bulk or by the singles, multiple name brands, bag your own groceries, save money. So we bought about 2 weeks of groceries and I was blown away. There were P&G products there, but some of them were kind of expensive. Especially TIDE, I think it’s quite more expensive than in Cincinnati. So, if you are living in Cincinnati, take advantage of the fact that you are in P&G heaven!! Although, I did find discount prices on Olay products, that makes me very happy! BUT THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF ALL – I found Kroger products all over the store!! I couldn’t believe it. I kept walking through the store, seeing all the Kroger brands and cracking up!! I even bought my favorite fruit bars!! wow!!

So today I really felt at home! It’s getting easier to be here every day. I miss my girls and my friends, but I don’t miss Reading or Cincinnati. Plus, I have the chance to spend time with my honey and be spoiled. He really enjoyed the day and it was great to come home and spend some time together.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Getting settled in

Getting settled in

Well, the garage is put together! I’m so glad, now the only thing that I have left to do to be “settled in” is organize my office and rearrange the clothes closets. I’ll finish that tomorrow. Then I’m all set. It’s really great being here. I am so relaxed and happy for once in my life. It’s amazing – me relaxed and happy at the same time! I mean I have been happy most of my life, I wouldn’t accept anything less from myself. I’m optimistic, always looking for the good in people and trying to be positive no matter what sort of shit has happened.

And boy the shit has happened. shitty guys, shitty jobs, shitty bosses, just plain old shit!! But no more! The shit has come to an end. I’m in the relationship that was meant to be. I’m in the relationship that I have always dreamed of and now here it is! I’m loving California, I’m loving being with him. I wouldn’t care where he lived, I would live with him wherever. It’s just that great.

The prices are the grocery store are a little higher here on some things. Like milk - $3.85/gallon. Oranges – bought 4 paid $6. YIKES!  Gas $2.93/gal., never went back down like in Ohio. But for other things, I will save money. I won’t have to worry about 50% increase in heating bills because I won’t have the low temps to deal with. I guess everything is relative.

I have a job interview next week. Pray!! I hope to get the job and start working before the end of the month. I would think that would make me only miss one paycheck. That would be sweet!! More on that later.

That’s about it. Hey, if you want to see what Jake’s up to:

Getting settled in

Getting settled in

Well, the garage is put together! I’m so glad, now the only thing that I have left to do to be “settled in” is organize my office and rearrange the clothes closets. I’ll finish that tomorrow. Then I’m all set. It’s really great being here. I am so relaxed and happy for once in my life. It’s amazing – me relaxed and happy at the same time! I mean I have been happy most of my life, I wouldn’t accept anything less from myself. I’m optimistic, always looking for the good in people and trying to be positive no matter what sort of shit has happened.

And boy the shit has happened. shitty guys, shitty jobs, shitty bosses, just plain old shit!! But no more! The shit has come to an end. I’m in the relationship that was meant to be. I’m in the relationship that I have always dreamed of and now here it is! I’m loving California, I’m loving being with him. I wouldn’t care where he lived, I would live with him wherever. It’s just that great.

The prices are the grocery store are a little higher here on some things. Like milk - $3.85/gallon. Oranges – bought 4 paid $6. YIKES! Gas $2.93/gal., never went back down like in Ohio. But for other things, I will save money. I won’t have to worry about 50% increase in heating bills because I won’t have the low temps to deal with. I guess everything is relative.

I have a job interview next week. Pray!! I hope to get the job and start working before the end of the month. I would think that would make me only miss one paycheck. That would be sweet!! More on that later.

That’s about it. Hey, if you want to see what Jake’s up to:

Arrived Safely

Made it just fine to California……

We made it last Thursday, 10/6. It was a great trip, fairly uneventful. I had technical difficulties during the trip with my blackberry. From my blackberry I can email my blog posts. Well, it wasn’t the device that was the problem it was the nationwide service. I think that it works great wherever there is a city, however, in the “middle of nowhere” the cell phone service isn’t quite up to snuff yet.  So, instead I kept a handwritten diary of the trip. It’s still in the car. Once I get everything else together, I’ll grab it and start posting my trip diary.

In recap I can say that we had a great time together. We talked and laughed and seem to be on the same page about everything. We were on the same schedule, in the same rhythm.

When it came time to pull out of the driveway, it was tough leaving. I knew I was going to have all these emotions but they came to the surface then. I knew how much I was going to miss my kids, my friends, my family, my job, and even my house. I have to look at it this way:  In the end, I was going to miss my kids anyway – because the youngest is in college and would be moving out sooner or later – I just thought later is all.  The rest will work itself out. My friends & family will keep in touch and we will talk on the phone all the time, email all the time and even get to visit on occasion. That will be fine, friends find a way to remain friends even over the miles.  And family is family PERIOD!!  I LOVE IT!!

Since we’ve been here, we went to San Francisco. I’ve never been there except to change planes and attend a conference, but I didn’t get to do anything while I was there. Didn’t get to see the city or eat outside of the hotel, etc. Well, he made sure to take me on a drive through the city, and then to Fisherman’s Wharf, ride the cable cars, drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. I took lots of pictures and will get them all posted and write just about our day in San Fran.

I’ve been mostly unpacking and resting.  Going for now.  More later.  

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Iowa

Glad I'm not from Iowa. Corn fields. Manure. Phew! Gas stations called KUM & GO. Wonder what the truckers do there!?! We even saw one next to The Lion's Den! I thought this was Midwest Bible Belt! How bizarre!
Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

On our way to CA

We got a late start yesterday, but its ok. We got everything taken care of and saw our families. It was lots of fun and both happy and sad. Didn't get to see too many friends. Good thing I saw them Thursday!

Thursday was FUN! So many of my friends came to see me off and wish me well. Thanks to all who showed up. I laughed, cried, was overjoyed and sad all at the same time. My friend from Kobe, Japan was even there! What a big surprise to see her! My friends from Atos were there. Some of my girlfriends showed up. The 'Brians' were there. The night was perfect!

I spent some time with my oldest daughter and her girlfriend. Time with my son before he took off for Amsterdam! And of course, time with my baby girl! Man, I will miss them a lot. Funny how it all played out for the moment. But tomorrow will be another adventure, for them and for me.

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.