I'm really bad about this updating thing.

So, I keep thinking that I should post an update and then always seem to find something else to do... But I am having a nice, calm lazy morning and the whim has finally hit!

Work has been absolutely crazy of late. We had inventory last month, which led to a lot of overtime and long days of literally crawling on my hands and knees counting every item in the store that was under five dollars... You know this little twenty five cent bouncy balls your kids grab and then drop all over the store? I crawled around tracking them down and then counted every single one! Now that that is over, it is tax free weekend in Missouri and I just happen to work the back to school section... it is a war zone in there!

I am currently up for a promotion at work, too. It would be a really big step up, financially and on the corporate ladder... Management seems really keen on me to get the position, but they are still required to go through the open interview process and you never know who might apply - so it is not a sure thing. I am really hopeful, though. I have been working really hard and could really use this!

On the personal side of things, not too much has changed... Been trying to get out a bit more. Went to the farmer's market with my friend Ruth the other day, planning on meeting an old co-worker for drinks after I get off of work tonight - that sort of thing. Chris and I have been having a "movie night" kind of thing on most Mondays, so that has been fun. (He and I have been pretty damn successful in this whole friends thing - a few bumps in the road, but doing well and really enjoying having such a good friend.)

So, yeah, in general things are going pretty well. Quiet, mostly work-focused, with a little bit of fun here and there... actually have been able to pay all my bills and stand on my own two feet with no help from anyone for a few months now and that is a really nice feeling.

A very over due update

Sorry about the long gap in updates - was kind of waiting for things in life to settle down so there wasn't this big section of "why me?" "I'm ok" "I feel horrible!" up and down posts every five seconds.

Well, things are settling in...

The break up was rough for a while, and still is in some ways... but Chris and I have kept up a really good friendship through the whole thing, which really helps. It is almost like we just dropped the last 4 1/2 or 5 months and picked back up at the couple of months of friendship we had before that. We still hang out, just much less frequently, and I still know I can call on him for help... Like on Monday when I tripped and dropped a full glass of wine into my laptop and he had to come take it apart and make it all better - and I haven't even had a sip yet, so I can't claim drunkenness... just pure clumsiness! I think we will be okay. There may be a few bumps along the time period of adjustment, but I genuinely think that I am lucky to have a good relationship end not only without a fight or resentment but with me getting to keep someone who I consider to be one of my best friends.

Work is going fairly well. Had my 90 day evaluation and was told that I was definitely on a path to management, if that is what I wanted. I don't really know how long that path is... they weren't very specific. I don't know if that will be in 3 months, a year, or more... But, at the very least it is nice to know that (1) they see how hard I try and how much work I put in; and, (2) that it is at least possible that this job can go somewhere.

The apartment is coming together fairly well. I am about 80% unpacked... the hold-ups being the fact that almost all my clothes are dirty and I don't have the money to get the laundry all done, so the closet is a complete wreck... and that I have no place to store all my old memory stuff (photo albums, baby stuff, etc) and all the seasonal things like Christmas decorations so they are just piled in the entry way. If you can ignore the mess of a closet and the huge pile of storage in the entry, everything else is actually pretty much put together. Once I get the storage and laundry issues dealt with, I will go through with my camera and show off my decorating skillz. :-)

I have a few anecdotes and things from the last month, but I will leave this post as just a generalized update and try to mix in those things when I get so much better at updating. ;-P

Ugh.

Moved in.

Chris and I broke up... :-(

Small details will come about both, but right now I just need to talk some things out to my friends. Chris does have the ability to read this, so... Hi there, if you are. I don't mean to air dirty laundry and I want to point out the fact that he did not do anything wrong and I have no anger about it.

The Countdown Continues...

Nine days left until I get the keys and move into my new apartment!

This has been the topic pretty much owning my mind for the last couple weeks - possibly to the annoyance of all those around me. This Saturday I will be having a garage sale at Chris' parents house in Olathe... my Grandma had a bunch of stuff she wanted to get rid of and is letting me keep the profits from that, and I am selling a few large pieces of furniture that won't fit into the new place (computer desk, armchair, etc) as well as a few small pieces of my own. Hopefully this will fill in the financial gap for the move (paying for gas, feeding any of those that help me move, etc).

Then, next Saturday, I get the keys in the late afternoon (to save me from paying an extra day of May rent) and I have Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to make the move itself happen. Almost nothing is packed because I didn't want to pack too much too soon and not be able to live my life for a month - but now I only have a couple days off before the move happens and it all seems pretty overwhelming to get it done.

(So, wasting time by typing this update is brilliant, right?)

Otherwise, work is pretty much the same - but it does look like things may trend upwards in a slow way... better than nothing! If I can just trend toward more money, that'd be great...

Ok, it is time to force myself to get some work done rather than type my every last thought down for the interwebz to see...

Moving Along...

Many things going on right now...

Fred the Fish died this morning. :-( He had seemed pale and listless for a few days, and this morning he was wrapped around his little filter. I got him loose and he was still alive, but barely... his fin was all ripped and he just kind of laid there... After a few minutes he twitched a bit and he was gone. I am very sad... poor Fred.

In other news, I did find a place to live. It is smaller than what I have now, but the quality of the community and the place itself is higher. The kitchen is much nicer but the living room is much smaller... I get the keys on the evening of Saturday the 29th and then do the move on the 30th and 31st. Nothing is packed yet, of course... sigh... I spent like 6 hours yesterday getting all my utilities, insurance, etc switched over. Crossing state lines is a pain in the ass!

I have 20+ days to pack everything, throw out all the trash I have collected, sell what things won't fit in the new place, and all other various moving necessities.... Ugh... so much work.

Okay, well... time to cuddle the kitty and be a bit sad about the loss of the fishy... and then hopefully get a little bit of moving work done before I go to work this evening.

Oh Dear...

Well, mostly, life has been going along as usual. I work 4-5 days a week, depending on the length of each shift - mostly coming to about 30 hours a week. It's not enough to live on, not really, and money is kind of hemorrhaging... but it is still better than going crazy at home with no income at all.

Chris and his friends were officially cast in this years Renaissance Festival here in KC - and they got a very nice stage, which is a really big vote of confidence in how good the show they wrote is. They will have one show running, perhaps two if they can write one in time, and they will be performing all weekend, every weekend, through the course of the festival (Sept 4th to Oct 17th). It's a really great thing. Their show is really very funny - so if you plan on being in KC this Fall, you've got to go check it out!

In other news, I got the news yesterday that my lease is up on May 31st instead of the last day of June... cutting my timeline practically in half. Plus, I have to give my current apartment notice by April 30th... just 3 days from today. So, basically, I have 3 days to find an apartment that will actually rent to someone with a part time job and terrible credit that is in the area that I need to be in so that when I give notice I don't find myself suddenly with no place to live at all. And, then, after I give that notice on Friday I will have about 4 weeks to pack everything up and arrange the move itself. It's a bit high stress at my house right now...

I hate moving... the process of packing and literally moving the items from house to house... it SUCKS. I am sure everyone agrees with me... I am just trying to focus on the fun of getting to decorate a new place once all the crappy parts are over - plus the amount of $ that can be saved in gas once I am living closer to work/friends/etc... And I am willing to take a smaller place to make my monthly rent lower, too... I might be able to cut a hundred or more dollars out of my bills - let's hope!

An update that has been long coming...

So, it has been a few weeks...

So, didn't get any of the other jobs so now I am working my 32 hours a week at WalMart. It is all evenings, so at least there are no early mornings... It should bring in *just* enough to cover all my bills, and the slow selling of everything I own that is not necessary is paying for gas money and occasional food.

Otherwise, my Birthday was a nice one. Spent the day with Chris... We wondered around, found a really ghetto fabulous mini-golf course that was half falling apart, and had a meal at a nice place that is usually one of our favorites but ending up pretty comically bad because our server was a bad one for the record books. But, it was still very fun and because the service was so bad we did end up with a free gift certificate to go back again - not enough to cover one of their big fancy meals, but enough to go in for one of their appetizer happy hour specials and get a drink and some yummy food. Chris gave me a Nintendo DS and Pokemon Platinum... The geek in me was very pleased. I have played it during pretty much every lunch break and it has made me do a happy dance.

There have been a couple rough patches in the last few weeks, but nothing I really like to air out in full view of the interwebz... Never been a fan of airing my dirty laundry for all to see. I usually talk to friends one on one while I'm dealing with it, but beyond that it strikes me as kind of disrespectful to anyone else involved in the issues to go all public. Things look like they will be okay, though, I'll say that much.... just a kind of sucky rough patch.

Otherwise... Still looking for either a different job that will give me the pay/hours I need or finding a way to get kicked up into full time where I am now.

I'm also looking for a new place to live. Right now I am living about 25-30 miles north from my job, most of my local friends, and from the man. The last two or three jobs I have had have all been in that same area down south. Plus, my current area seems to have a penchant for rapid gunfire, screaming fights/domestic abuse, and a strong need for police presence that happens to have drawn weapons. My current lease is up at the end of June, so I'll have to get moving on that pretty soon.

Well, I am sleepy as heck so I will have to keep this as a pretty simple summary. Hopefully I will get better at posting more regularly...