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Archive for June, 2014

Parking Ticket - Ugh!!

June 27th, 2014 at 04:22 am

I had my first hair appointment of the year this afternoon - a cut with some highlights.

The salon is downtown and parking is tight.
I parked in a two hour lot.
I was 15 minutes over and got a $35 ticket. Frown

The parking enforcement guy was making the ticket as I walked up. He asked if I had gotten/paid for a new pass. (You prepay for a minimum of 15 minutes to a maximum of two hours.)
I said, "No. I just finished getting my hair done. Should I get another one now?"
And he was like "Nope. Here's your ticket."

If you can park longer than two hours why not let people prepay for longer than two hours??
UGH!!

Somewhat Disappointed

June 16th, 2014 at 12:21 am

Received an email Friday from the company I had the phone interview with last week.

They said they are hiring someone internally for the position.

I did feel disappointed when I read the email.
Not terribly crushed or anything. But the disappointment I felt made me realize I was hoping for this more than I actually thought.

I'll just keep pluggin' along as usual for now.

Hot Weekend & Other Stuff

June 9th, 2014 at 01:12 am

Having a heat wave this weekend.
Today it got to a high of 94F.

DD has two friends staying over the weekend. I think they were all up until 3am last night. They were pretty quiet so I'm not sure exactly when they fell asleep.

DH took DS and the three girls to one of the city pools (very near the house) for the afternoon. That left me home alone to work on laundry and housework. (Oh Joy - lol - actually I like it better when I can be alone to get things done)

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Received an alert that someone used our Ting referral code. Yay!
We've had a couple the past few months. Big Grin
Thank you to all of you who have used my link!

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This past week some of DD's bees swarmed.
That means because the colony is doing well they outgrew the hive, so some of the bees volunteer to "move out" and make a new hive somewhere else.

As a beekeeper you try to stay ahead of the bees growth by adding additional boxes to the hive for them to fill. We had an empty box ready, but hadn't added it. Just wasn't thinking about it with all the busy end-of-the-school-year stuff going. Little bummed about that.

If we find the bees nearby DD and her project leaders might be able to recapture the bees and start a second hive. *fingers crossed*

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Big battle episode tonight on Game of Thrones - Can't wait!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone.

Phone Interview Went Smoothly

June 6th, 2014 at 06:44 am

Had my phone interview this afternoon. It went smoothly. I got the feeling there are many people they are phone screening, so we'll see.

I was told I should hear in about a week if there will be a face to face interview.

The interviewer asked what my desired salary would be and I said $42k, which is a decent increase over what I make now. She couldn't offer exact details on compensation, but there is base salary, commission, "spiffs", vehicle & fuel reimbursement.

Still feeling unsure/anxious about this, but as I keep saying, the possibilities are exciting.

If I do get a personal interview I am thinking at that point I will tell my current boss what is going on. If I do not get the job it will open a dialog about the fact I will be leaving at some point.
And if I do get the job I will have given him a bit more advanced notice - I think that is the right thing to do given nearly 14 years of employment.

What do you all think?
Everyone here (DH, coworker, friends) think I should just stick with the standard two weeks notice.

ETA: I was able to speak with the woman who just left this position after 13 years. I've known her for a long time so I told her I had applied and asked for her perspective.
She said she didn't get along with the regional manager (her boss) who was hired two years ago. She said, "she is very middle management. Some people get along fine with her. You might like her just fine."
She didn't say, "Heck NO - Run away!" So I guess that's good??

Final Days of School

June 4th, 2014 at 07:09 am

This is the last week of school.
DS will go to some summer sessions of preschool, but not with the regular teachers or program.
DD will be *free* of any schedules except for 4H camp and possibly a four week musical theater day camp.

The past few mornings I have had a really hard time getting going - we are all ready for a more relaxed "summer schedule".
I can get about 20 more minutes in bed or hanging around the house because I won't have to drive DD to school. Smile

Phone interview is on Thursday.
I plan to ask several questions since the job posting was so vague.

I told my co-worker if I don't get this job I will plan to leave current job next year when DS finishes his preschool year. It is hard to make changes, but I think it needs to happen. At the very least applying for this job has got my mind more accepting of change.

New Job Info & High Cost Rental Market

June 3rd, 2014 at 06:03 am

I received a phone call this morning from the company I applied with last month. They set up a phone interview with me for Thursday afternoon.

At first I got that scared feeling again.
I had to ask myself what am I so afraid of?
I've decided it's a fear of change and fear of the unknown. But I also know this could be a wonderful opportunity so I've got to keep moving forward on this.

The phone interview will give me a chance to gather more information.
For one, I want to find out if I will be given a company car or reimbursed somehow. I also want to ask about the training period and amount of travel outside of "home area".
Is it too soon to ask about salary?

Haven't said anything to my boss about any of this yet. I am thinking if I get called back for in-person interview then I will say something.
That is another hard part for me - I'm feeling disloyal about thinking of leaving. (I am sure that will seem silly to some of you, but I've been with this job/boss for 14 years.)

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My coworker rents a one bedroom house (part of a four-plex). This weekend she received notice from her landlord that he is planning to sell the property and she has 60 days to move. She is feeling really stressed. I feel bad for her - it sucks to move even when you want to, let alone when you don't. Frown

She has started searching - wow have the rents gone up since she moved a little over a year ago!

She called on a one bedroom apartment and its $1295/mo. Well over 50% of her income.

The voicemail message box for a $900/mo studio was full and not accepting new voicemails when she called on it.

She is feeling really discouraged right now.