worker bee

It was an experience.  I attended an Apple hiring event today.  It was by invitation only, I submitted my resume several weeks ago and the company contacted me.  There were about forty people assembled at the local Hilton Inn for the occasion.  Upon checking in, we were herded down a hallway leading to the conference room.  Along the way there were Apple employees cheering, applauding, high-fiving.  Maddening.  Once settled into our seats, name tags prominently displayed, employee introductions made, the event got under way.  Everyone present was expected to participate.  First a brief slide presentation on Apple (company and products).  Discussion.  Then eveyone got paired up.  The object of the exercise, meet and interview your "new friend" and introduce them to the group.  The interview consisted of three things: name, unique characteristic, what they like about Apple.  My "new friend" liked to talk about herself.  Maddening.  All the while this was going on, the Apple employees wandered around the room, clipboard in hand, writing things down.  Maddening.  Then time for the introductions.  Then another slide presentation about positions available within Apple.  More discussion.  Then another exercise.  Everyone was divided into groups of five (my "new friend" was included in my group).  There was a dice with a question on each side.  Everyone had to roll the dice and answer the question that came up.  I learned more about my "new friend" when it was her turn, even though she really didn't directly answer the question.  After that there was forms to fill out, some last minute instruction, and the event concluded.  With cheers, applause, high-fives.

renovation

Originally it was going to be the dining room and kitchen that would get new paint, fixtures.  Then it was decided that the main bathroom should get updated, decorated.  The office ended up getting a nice new coat of paint today.  The closet shelfing unit got ripped out and a new one will be installed.  It has sparked the renovation, once the office is done, another room will undergo a transformation.  One thing I am not looking forward to doing is removing the ugly wallpaper borders in the dining room, living room, and guest bedrooms. 

in between

By and large the move went well.  Well, it went perfect to be exact.  Started out at 9:00am Saturday with a good old fashioned coffee and donut social.  Then the loading of the moving truck began.  Two truckloads and it was lunch time, sloppy joes, chips.  Another truckload and a half later things were pretty much finished.  5:00pm.  No dilemnas, no hassles.  Closing on the current house occurred on Friday, signed, sealed, no issues.  Closing on the new house was scheduled for early today.  It did not happen.  Still processing paperwork.  Luckily the homestead is still in the possession until Midnight Tuesday.  If everything goes as planned, the door to the current house will close for the last time tomorrow evening.  Until then, I sleep on the bare floor at one house while the belongings cover the floor space of the new house.

sounds of summer

Mowed the lawn today.  It was cool, comfortable, sunny.  Perfect day to get outside.  Over the rumbling of the engine I could hear birds chirping, calling.  I could hear kids playing.  I thought about putting on headphones to listen to music, but hearing the world around me was rythmic enough.  Squirrels rustling in the trees, the cats meowing in the window.  Ahh the sounds of Summer.

fired up

Temperatures have been in the 70s, beautiful days.  Spending time outdoors, appreciating the warm weather.  Rain and thunderstorms are forecasted to roll in later today.  I hope it holds off for a while, want to grill out this evening.  Have chicken breasts marinating in a lemon pepper mixture, mixed vegetables wrapped in foil, to throw on the grill.  I'm fired up about firing up the grill before the storms fire up.

somewhere out there

The weekend flew by.  Massive cleaning, pushing, shoving furniture, bins, decluttering.  The weather is warming back up again after a brief cool down.  I much prefer the warmer temperatures.  The cats are all freaked out by all the activity going on, doors opening, closing.  They much prefer quiet than chaos.  Sunday drive, looking at houses, dinner at Culver's, and movie night finished out the weekend.  Today started a diet for me, to lose the extra pounds, want my Summer clothes to fit.  Did I mention that I'm hungry?  Sent a few resumes out today in hopes of landing that elusive job.  Hope the phone rings, I really would like to find a job.  There's got to be one out there for me . . .

beastly

This post is about two things really. Tact and the trip to Chicago to see Beauty and the Beast. Started out early, 8:30am, driving to the airport to catch the train. 9:05am the train sets off for Chicago. Across the aisle from where I was, there was a woman on her cell phone. She was having a conversation with the train car and her mother. I am going to be tactless at this point. She was arguing that she was up on her boy tight and you know she couldn't catch the train the night before, so she wouldn't get to town in time to go to church. After she hung up, she called someone else. How did the conversation start? (Being tactless again.) "Happy Easter Bitch". The entire trip this woman proceded to call people and speak to everyone in the train. Shane and I were highly entertained by the Easter greeting. We arrived in Chicago, had a few hours to waste, ate a nice breakfast, shopped, wandered the riverwalk, then made our way over to the theater. Sitting stage right, had great seats. Next to me was a woman and her daughter. I don't know which one behaved worse. The woman sent text messages throughout the entire performance, I was distracted by the glowing screen in my peripheral vision, ate snacks, constantly crinkling the bag and drinking water, while her daughter talked constantly, climbed on the chairs, and whined about being bored. Next to Shane there was a little girl who constantly fussed, fidgeted, kicked, and complained. The girl in front of me decided she didn't like the show and spent most of it looking at people in the audience instead of paying attention. Not one of the parents attempted anything to change their childrens behavior. The show was incredible. I enjoyed the performance very much. The music was entertaining, the story amazing. I can't wait to see the Lion King when it comes to Chicago in the Fall! Afterward, we had dinner, then caught the train back, arriving home about 10:00pm. I had a wonderful time among the beasts!

a third view from the bridge

The St Joseph's River in Mishawaka.

the smell of freshly baked cookies

I slept in this morning.  Found it hard to wake up, harder to stay awake.  Once I managed to move about, headed out and got my eyes checked and a new pair of contacts.  Then home, to the couch, TV on, PC on, and fought to stay awake.  After lunch, fighting to stay awake, I decided to bake.  Chocolate chip cookies.  Guess what happened?  I woke up.  Fully alert.  There is something about the smell of freshly baked cookies that stimulates the senses.

planes, trains, automobiles

This entry has to do with travel.  Tickets have been purchased for Tucson by air, New York City by rail.  Where does the car come into the picture?  Well in an indirect way.  One has to drive to pick up tickets from the station and motor to another city to depart.  Going to see parts of the country I haven't been to yet and I want to leave now!

cats and birds

SUN!!!  I see the sun.  Welcome to March, how wonderful.  It even seemed much warmer today than the temperature showed.  Up this morning, (want to say bright and early, but it wasn't early) continued with the laundry started saturday (and obviously finished today.)  In between folding, getting Rocco out of the dryer, getting Waffle out of the laundry basket, I heard a bird chirping.  Loudly.  I stopped, listened.  Then I heard the staccato rhythm of a woodpecker.  Loudly echoing down the chimney.  Cats in the laundry and birds in the chimney and sunshine, what a perfect day!!!

*not the actual birds.

after the storm

Got up and immediately headed to the window.  Snow, heavy, wet.  Shortly before midnight the snow changed to rain.  Sometime after I went to bed it switched back.  Grabbed cereal, threw on my jacket, shoveled.  Yes, snow, heavy, wet.  Pushed more than threw.  Took Waffle to the veterinarian for a booster shot.  Roads were clear, driving decent.

days go by

Ran around the weekend.  Book store, Disney store, Pizza buffet, Book store.  Had planned on going to see The Wolfman at the movie theater but decided not to.  Car show in Chicago, rode the South Shore and dinner in the city.  Trader Joe's was giving out bunches of roses, grabbed one, the cats attacked once in the door, funny.  Weekend went fast, I'm moving slow, going out for food once motivated.

paper trail

Started completing my tax returns for 2009.  Got all the paperwork (W-2s, W-9s) to begin the process.  I am surprised and shocked by what my income for the year ended up being.  I'll be surprised if I get a refund.  Cleaned the kitchen completely, scoured counter tops, sinks, swept, vaccuumed, mopped yesterday.  Had a burger and fries for dinner before heading out for movie night.  Other than looking for work, not much else happening today, getting ready to start dinner, maybe pick up a book, or just stare at the TV for the evening.  Yay, I made it through January!!! 

night owl

My internal clock has shifted.  Changed time zones too.  For as long as I can remember I would wake at 6am every day.  Gradually it got earlier and earlier, up at 4:30am.  That has changed over the past year though.  I now want to stay in bed until 10am or later.  Some days I try to get up early.  Most days I want to sleep in.  I stay up late into the night mostly 1am before crawling into bed.  Should be interesting when I have to adjust my schedule to accomodate work.

home away from home

Got to spend a nice time with family this weekend.  It was wonderful to see everyone.  100s of words, lots of food, talk, chatter, laughing, lounging, movies made the days.  The train trip went smoothly, no hassles, delays, enjoyed riding the rails.