chatty's chat

wow...has it really been that long?

2009-02-03T10:09:00.007-05:00

here i am again...nearly a year since my last entry. i am currently unemployed and rather enjoying it. however, having said that...i spend so much more time on the computer now, searching for employment, fine-tuning my resume, gathering information, taking classes and, really, making a lot of new connections, as well. facebook has become the outlet for so many now and in the past 2 weeks alone, it has also become the times of trenton chat room! i have even hooked up with old high school friends, friends from college and family members spanning miles as well as generations! so...
here i am again...
as i am here at home, trying to make every day a productive one, i can't help but wonder where i will find my next "9-5." the job market is awful but each time i submit a resume for "that perfect job" i feel a certain tingle of hope and excitement. it's a strange situation to be in - i was home for so many years, raising my kids and doing the p.t.a. thing, among others, but this is different. the kids are young adults now and, instead, the dogs are here with me. now... they are so damn happy! they think they've hit the jackpot...and, not for nothin' but, so do i. today, a cookie (them!) & some oatmeal and a cup of joe (me!) was followed by a cuddle on the bed, a decently long shower and a romp in the snow. if that isn't a "dog's life", i don't know what is!
here i am again...
on the computer as is my normal morning routine. i'm planning my day of errands, practice-time on excel, perusing company websites - sort of "stalking" my potential next employer...in a good way, of course! so...until my next post...
here i am again...and here i go!

john denver and bill bowers

2008-03-22T18:06:00.004-04:00

Well...I know that you have all heard of John Denver. And I also know that there is a lot of contoversy surrounding his later life practices...this man who was the singing nature boy of my teenage years. This very talented man who my family ribbed me about when I would listen to one of my very first LPs...John Denver's Greatest Hits. (They did that simply because they knew it would drive me nuts!) I have now decided that I would like to read about him and see what sorts of things took up his time preceding his tragic death a few years ago (hmmm...what year was it, anyhow?) So, Beki lent me her turntable while she is away, enjoying the Ireland coast and every single part of that beautiful country that she can possibly get her hands on. Yesterday I decided to be rather daring and try out one my old JD albums and see if the old feelings surfaced. Would any nostalgia stir up inside of me? I had no idea...I really just wanted to give it a listen! I put the needle down on the first track of this large black vinyl disc...a rush all in itself! The song began a few seconds into it, as I seem to be out of practice in getting the arm to hover over just the right place on the album, before letting the needle carefully touch down onto it. Immediately I recognized the melody and the voice and...yep...the feelings that ran thru my head and into my gut. A beautiful song that I remembered hitting my stomach, my heart...very much the way it did now. I can proudly state that I have a very broad range of musical preferences and, well, now it seems that country-boy-John has found his way back onto that list.

Bill Bowers, on the other hand...more than likely there are less people, in general, that know his name and his talents. He is my new love! I even told him, "I love you!" What I mean to say is, his stories (all true, by the way!), his amazingly fluid and beautiful and musical way of telling them and his smile, his radiance, his aura...they have touched me beyond these words. I was lucky enough to score free tickets to one of many in a group of performances under the title of Cheat on your TV. Bill Bowers, mime & storyteller & actor & everything extraordinaire, presented it goes without saying (pretty clever, eh?!). I read that this would be a comedic play/performance and that was all I knew. I now know so much more! He hails from Missoula (sp?), Montana and brings this along with him on a journey where we, as the audience, get to watch his metamorphosis from shy little boy to a young man exploring the country, the world, his god-given talent and his own identity. And, really...we were more like friends than an audience...at least, that's how I felt. And then we were able to meet him in the lobby, get his autograph (oy!) and profess my feelings for him (hahaha!). Look him up, check him out, become a "friend"...I'm glad I did!

trying to bust out of the cocoon...

2008-03-05T15:12:00.003-05:00

well...got an email today from a contact of a contact that i've never met. hmmm...this could be good! i used to work for mc call patterns in nyc as a diagram artist. definition? we were the ones who painstakingly (doesn't that sound great?!) drew the instructional "step-by-steps" for home sewing patterns. they could be garments, crafts, accessories - anything that the designers at mc calls felt the seamstresses and crafters of the world needed to be able to create themselves, on a sewing machine. ahh - yes, i must get to the point about now! several months ago i was in contact with a pattern company located in florida. they were looking for someone to do some diagram art and would, eventually, contact me when they were ready. today i received an email from one of their contacts who has around 500 patterns/instructions, translated from russian, that need some re-writing. wow! i'm cautiously optimistic that this could be the start of some freelance work and extra money...weeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh...and here's something else that's very exciting - i got to have a, albeit very much delayed, conversation with beki...over in ireland! we used skype and i'd just purchased a new headset for the occasion! the delay was around 15 seconds and it made it very difficult to actually converse...but it was fun, just the same! we sorta mixed it up with some talking and some im-ing...even the im's were delayed! and in the midst of it all, they were getting this crazy hail storm that was really mucking up the process...VERY LOUD and disruptive...but kinda funny, too. gonna try again - hoping that better weather will prevail and make the experience much easier...top o' the afternoon to ya!

mom's guilt

2008-03-01T08:04:00.001-05:00

it's natural, i know....but i feel like if i don't always say yes, i'm a "mean mom." ok, no...that sounds stupid. i know that you canNOT always say yes... i mean, sometimes ya just gotta hold your ground and that's the only way to make an impression concerning responsibility and the old "oh well, guess i just have to do something i don't wanna and my mom coulda done it, after all." he forgot his SAT admission ticket and wanted me to bring it to him. he had time to get it and all we did was argue on the phone. i feel horrible even though i know i did the right thing and i will not even know if he figured out another solution until at least 1:30 this afternoon! and then, there's the idea that an argument might very well ensue and so i have that hanging over my head, as well. i just sit here being all stressed out and anxious...wow, this is nuts! and this kid is so awesome and thoughtful and i love him and yet i still know i did the right thing. arrrrrgh!!!!!!!!!!

not a virgin anymore!

2008-02-29T13:32:00.000-05:00

this blog thing is something that i never intended to do. my sister never intended to do it, either...but then she did...and told me i should try it...so here i am! i kept a "journal" in college but i believe this will be quite different. after all, that was for only me to read...!
today is friday and it has been one of the slowest work-days (aside from yesterday!) ever! not so busy and not particularly motivated and that's a bad combination. happy leap day, btw. i'm hoping to gather together much more motivation for the weekend and get on the bike, should the weather actually improve. well...hmmmm....that was boring. better luck next time!