04.04.2009 Update

Let's see what has been going on lately....

I finally got my car back from the repair shop this past Wednesday. It had been in the shop for three whole weeks for repairs from Christmas when the 14-year old kid ran into my parked car. The repairs were supposed to take 5-7 days.... 21 days later. And they didn't even fix the extra repair I requested. The cover of the gear stick is broken and needs replaced... part backordered. Nice.

Texas Ranger has passed away. He is one of the dogs at the warehouse. He had been sick since before I moved, back in October is probably the first time I took him to the vet. He had lost weight and became really lethargic. The vet diagnosed an infection and prescribed antibiotics. He would get better and then get sicker again... this went on for a couple more months. My mom finally took him back to the vet when he really got bad. The vet didn't know if it was cancer or not... or exactly what it was. Blood was drawn, other tests taken. Then while he was at the vet's office for an extended boarding period until things were figured out and he was getting better, he passed away. Needless to say my mom and I were devestated. While Texas Ranger was a trouble maker with the rest of the dogs, he was family. And to top it off, the vet discovered that Texas Ranger didn't have cancer after all just a really bad infection. You would think they could cure the infection versus letting the dog die. Very said indeed.

Work has been going relatively well. I am very insecure in my job and not confident at all. And if you know me, that is not like me at all. I don't know what it is but I am trying to get passed it and master my job. It is a very difficult situation that I find myself in. I don't fear of being let go but it isn't making my job any easier nor more comfortable. Just a weird feeling.

Even with the lack of confidence in my abilities at work, I am considering buying a house. With the housing market what it is and all the incentives, it is hard not to think about buying a house. Course my credit is not the greatest and I have virtually no down payment but I think buying a house is doable... I just want to make sure the mortgage payment is doable. So I took the plunge and viewed four houses today. I liked two of the four and really liked one of the two. It is a three bedroom, two (or rather 1-3/4) bath house with two living areas. A nice big kitchen with plenty of pantry/storage. The house has new carpet/tile and roof. It is an older home and the cabinets and kitchen counters look their age. They are in good condition but you can tell it is an older home. The larger of the living areas also has panelling. I am not a fan of panelling but my realtor knows a guy that can spray the panelling and it will look just like a normal wall. So I am not worried about that. I am going to call a mortgage broker on Monday to see where I stand with financing. Keep your fingers crossed.

I haven't been working on my sewing too much the past couple of weeks. I hope to get something done tomorrow. I have been buying fabric for the dolls but I don't think that can actually be considered progress toward the completion of some dolls.

While my car was in the shop, my rental was a Jeep Commander with satellite radio. Can I say delish? It was a very nice car and the satellite radio came in hand when I drove back home last month. I had to house/pet sit for my parents when they went out of town and Nikki had plans. It was a long weekend considering it is an 11 hour drive one way. I was very happy to see the dogs and especially Sugar. She appeared to be excited to see me... but then she wags her ass at pretty much anything so I don't know if it was evidence or not. I did get stopped on the return trip home to El Paso. I was clocked at doign 83 in an 80 mph zone. Three miles over and I get stopped. Really? Lucky for me the officer decided on a warning. I was extremely grateful.

I am thinking this is all I have to report for now... I know BORING. What can I say, I haven't been up to much lately.

12.21.2008 Pecans

I have had a pretty exciting week. Lots of holiday cheer at work. We had a birthday lunch for the boss on Monday, the boss threw a department holiday luncheon on Wednesday, and we had an employee holiday party for the entire agency on Thursday. So you can see we Federal employees didn't do much work this week and will do even less work this next week considering we have half of the week off for the holiday. Our Commissioner gave us half the day off on Wednesday, Christmas on Thursday, and the President gave us Friday off. Yay me!

Now the exciting part that happened this week, happened to me on Thursday at the employee holiday party. Right before they were going to serve our meal, a police officer came to the party asking for the owner of a certain vehicle. Before the vehicle was announced, my table was laughing saying they were looking for each other's vehicle. As you guessed it, I was the lucky owner of the vehicle in question.

I got down to my vehicle to discover while parked, a 14 year old kid and his girlfriend had hit my car. They were driving a friends car and the young man was digging for something in the backseat when he jumped the curb and hit my car. He just happened to miss a tree and a street sign, going through them like a goal post to land on my car He pushed my car a good foot and without hitting the car parked next to me. Of course his car, or shall I say his friend's car was toast. The front airbags deployed shattering the windshield. The front right tire was blown and fluids were leaking. My car suffered damage to the dumper and left fender, maybe a little to the grill too. I do have uninsured motorist coverage which is a good thing because this kid wasn't insured as any 14 year old that isn't legally allowed to drive wouldn't be. I did feel a little for the kid though... his older brother showed up to the scene and between him and the cop, they gave this kid a lecture of a lifetime. They were going to have to take him and the girl to some juvenile detention facility until their parents showed up which wasn't going to be anytime soon. The kid was so apologetic and I really wasn't upset. Really it was just one of those things. Shit really happens. Yes I am not happy that my insurance company will probably have to foot the bill. I am happy that I have uninsured motorist coverage to my deductible is $250 vs. $500 and I am not limited to a $20 a day rental car. I can get a rental comparible to my car while the repairs are being done.

My appointment isn't until Wednesday to see the insurance adjuster. My car is drivable. My insurance premium will probably increase. So overall I am not too happy but what can you do.

Maria and I went to Stahmann's Farms yesterday and loaded up on pecan candy goodness. They have the best local pecans and make the most delicious candies and goodies. Always a nice trip "out of state". They are located in La Mesa, NM.

Nothing really planned for this Christmas week except to get a little work done. Seriously need to get some boxes unpacked today. Make room for my new furniture which I still don't know when it will be delivered. Making a roast today in the Crock Pot for dinner. Basically I will try to be a hermit today and not leave the apartment. Now if I could just get dressed and out of bed!!!

12.07.2008 El Paso

So I am finally settled in El Paso. Okay not really unpacked but I am in my new apartment. The best thing I can say about my apartment is that it is cheap and close to work. Super close. It takes about 5 minutes to get to work. The apartment is just old... it will work for a six months. At that point I will start looking for a new place, probably a rental house so I can bring Sugar. Baby had no issues adjusting to a new home... now Pearl on the other hand has had it rougher. She isn't used to being confined inside the house or on a leash outside. She also isn't used to all the noises an apartment brings. So she tends to bark a lot at people taking outside or the upstairs neighbors. She is getting better though.

Pearl has learned a new trick on her own that was rather impressive to me. We were eating a cheeseburger and fries the other day. I threw a fry and she caught it. Three times even. This isn't anything we have really worked on. I don't necessarily throw her food to get her to catch it. She just did. Well... it did help that I threw the fries right at her mouth. Regardless I was impressed.

You should see Baby play with Pearl. Pearl is always going up to Baby and putting her paw on her or nipping her butt to start some shit. Normally I get Baby away from Pearl to protect Baby... since she is a senior as well as blind. Now Baby is starting her own shit with Pearl. Baby will start to search for Pearl to play. It is the cutest... so I guess I dont' have to protect Baby anymore.

I have got two weeks on the job minus a day and a half for the Thanksgiving holiday. And it has been a great two weeks. Kind of laid back since I am the new girl and don't have too many responsibilities. The ladies I work with are great. We are a three and a half person office. Two other full-time staff and one part-time staff besides myself. They have been great to me... plus I think I have impressed them a little with the skills I bring to the office.

I have ate some great Mexican food since I have been here. I have now ate a cream of green chile soup twice this week... it is wonderful. My friend Maria and her office buddies took me to Rosa's Cantina, the famous one from the Marty Robbins song. Just a small little dive that was super busy. We all ate the Mexican plate special. I ended up in tears the damn chile relleno was so freaking hot. My face turned red from the heat and literally tears were shed from the heat. Never again!

I saw Four Christmases last weekend with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. What a disappointment. The two leads have a rather weird relationship. And the funniest parts you have already seen in the trailers without even going to the movie. It was an okay movie but considering who is in it... it was disappointing.

Not much new other than the job and move have been going on. I am shopping for new living room furniture. I have found one set that I like but want to keep searching. I might go today to another furniture store. What I really need to do today is unpack some boxes. Coure my apartment is so small with very little storage I don't even know where I am going to put everything. Much of it is my scrapbooking junk that needs to be organized. Even with all the stuff I threw away before the move, I probably have plenty that needs to be discarded still. And I probably need to do some laundry today too. Not fun in a laundromat. Luckily there are some washers and dryers on site. The problem is finding enough quarters. Plus I need to find my dryer sheets!

I went to one of the three scrapbooking stores in the area. This one, unfortunately, is closing at the end of the month. They really dont' carry anything except A-Muse stamps. It didn't stop me from making a rather large purchase. I still don't know how I spent that much money for what I brought home considering everything was 25% off. I did pick up some supplies to make a few Christmas cards. I only need to make about 10.

10.23.2008 Happy Day!

I am happy to report that I got offered a job today. Not just any job but THE job. THE job that I coveted. The job that was worth the wait. I officially report to my new job with the Federal government in El Paso, Texas, on 11.23.2008. Well I don't actually report on Sunday but Monday... Sunday is just the start of the new pay period. I am truly excited. While it is sad to leave my family but it is a nice new beginning!

Thanks to everyone that took this job journey with me offering me great support!

Now off to find a place to live...