Monthly life update?
Okay, so I've been a bit busy lately. Or lazy. Or both.
. . .
More on the lazy side, but only in online laziness. Life's been interesting since the last time I posted.
Lisa, my ickle sis, finally got herself married off to a great guy. The wedding was wonderful, the party afterward was cool, and I shed a whole lot few tears. The inn where we had the wedding was beautiful - we got the place for the weekend, so the bridesmaids (minus Jesse) spent the night there, but he and Mom joined us for breakfast Saturday morning. It was soooo good. The day itself wasn't too bad, but a little stressful for everyone. Lisa looked beautiful in her dress, and I looked decent. Definitely more girly than I've been in a very long time.
Anyway, before I start tearing up again, I've been enjoying my new job at Build a Bear! I started last month right before the wedding, and now things are really getting fun. We get to dress up this weekend for Halloween, and Sunday night we have our store meeting. ^^ I think that's when we're doing our costume contest. I'll be in my kimono (which I need to fix), but I still have to decide if I'm going to do any major makeup with it. It's a solid maroon kimono, so I don't think a geisha look would be appropriate, and I don't want to scare the kids. And then I'd have to buy the makeup in the first place.
I'm still trying to decide what to do about teaching in Japan, regardless of the company. Especially after reading about some of the issues Jonathan (former SAC prez) had with both administrators and kids at his school. Yeah, it'd be really cool, but the more I think about it, the more I'd rather be a tourist in Japan than actually live there. Or maybe attend some post-grad classes at a university in their international program.
Regardless of the Japan-teaching issue, I'm seriously considering working for Farmers once I get some job experience under my belt and they move down to their new location. From talking to Leigh earlier in the summer, after they move, they'll be in a better position to hire people. If I can do that, I would love to move up there and seriously reduce my commute to work. I could carpool with Mom, but with her hours, I would either be in early and stay uber late - when it's not a bowling night, Mom often stays until 6 or later, ending up with 50+ hour weeks.
Blargh. It's all still in the thinking stage because I want to stay with BABW for at least 6 months. Cool parts include: cute little kids who are absolutely enthralled with the bears, guys coming in to get a bear for their girlfriends (esp. when they do the heart ceremony ::cackles::), and the grandmothers who come in for themselves, not just the grandkids. My managers are awesome, as are the people I work with (those I've met, anyway). The Big Bird weekend was okay, but I could've done with a different shirt. Yellow shirt + red hair = not exactly flattering. Oh well.
I've started reading "Inner Christianity," a book about Esoteric Christianity. Even though I haven't gotten very far into it, it seems to settle a part of me that's been uncomfortable with established religion for a very long time. Not since I'd seen the preacher who first taught me about Christianity embarrass, in my mind, an unwed, pregnant woman in front of the congregation. I'm glad he's finally retiring from the pastorship, but he is still there until a replacement can be found. At least I feel a little better that my stauchly Christian cousin doesn't care for him either - both she and her dad (my uncle) disagreed with the pastor calling for the removal of Christian children from public schools. But then my uncle did seem to agree to the pastor's calls to bomb the hell out of Iraq (paraphrasing here).
Keith Olbermann has some great commentaries about the state of, well, everything. Especially about Bush, Iraq, and the death of Habeus Corpus. You can find him here. And you can't beat a guy who gives the daily "Worst Person in the World." And Michael Jackson Puppet Theatre.
I took Mandi, my 12yo cat, to the vet today. She has some funky stomach thing, so she's on no food for a day, then we'll reintroduce food slowly over the next few days. Hopefully that'll be enough to resettle her system. Does anyone have any suggestions on flea treatments for the house, especially carpet and furniture? She's been scratching a lot lately. The vet tech suggested something chemical, but I'm wondering if there's anything organic that works well.
I look forward to Nov. We in Texas especially need major change in the governorship. Vote Kinky! And, of course, NaNo. Maybe third time's a charm! That, and I don't have to deal with school anymore.
Anyway, bed now. I'm on call in the morning, and I have to at least be ready to go if they need me (which I doubt - weekday morning). Maybe I'll get to work Friday afternoon when I'm on call again.
. . .
More on the lazy side, but only in online laziness. Life's been interesting since the last time I posted.
Lisa, my ickle sis, finally got herself married off to a great guy. The wedding was wonderful, the party afterward was cool, and I shed a whole lot few tears. The inn where we had the wedding was beautiful - we got the place for the weekend, so the bridesmaids (minus Jesse) spent the night there, but he and Mom joined us for breakfast Saturday morning. It was soooo good. The day itself wasn't too bad, but a little stressful for everyone. Lisa looked beautiful in her dress, and I looked decent. Definitely more girly than I've been in a very long time.
Anyway, before I start tearing up again, I've been enjoying my new job at Build a Bear! I started last month right before the wedding, and now things are really getting fun. We get to dress up this weekend for Halloween, and Sunday night we have our store meeting. ^^ I think that's when we're doing our costume contest. I'll be in my kimono (which I need to fix), but I still have to decide if I'm going to do any major makeup with it. It's a solid maroon kimono, so I don't think a geisha look would be appropriate, and I don't want to scare the kids. And then I'd have to buy the makeup in the first place.
I'm still trying to decide what to do about teaching in Japan, regardless of the company. Especially after reading about some of the issues Jonathan (former SAC prez) had with both administrators and kids at his school. Yeah, it'd be really cool, but the more I think about it, the more I'd rather be a tourist in Japan than actually live there. Or maybe attend some post-grad classes at a university in their international program.
Regardless of the Japan-teaching issue, I'm seriously considering working for Farmers once I get some job experience under my belt and they move down to their new location. From talking to Leigh earlier in the summer, after they move, they'll be in a better position to hire people. If I can do that, I would love to move up there and seriously reduce my commute to work. I could carpool with Mom, but with her hours, I would either be in early and stay uber late - when it's not a bowling night, Mom often stays until 6 or later, ending up with 50+ hour weeks.
Blargh. It's all still in the thinking stage because I want to stay with BABW for at least 6 months. Cool parts include: cute little kids who are absolutely enthralled with the bears, guys coming in to get a bear for their girlfriends (esp. when they do the heart ceremony ::cackles::), and the grandmothers who come in for themselves, not just the grandkids. My managers are awesome, as are the people I work with (those I've met, anyway). The Big Bird weekend was okay, but I could've done with a different shirt. Yellow shirt + red hair = not exactly flattering. Oh well.
I've started reading "Inner Christianity," a book about Esoteric Christianity. Even though I haven't gotten very far into it, it seems to settle a part of me that's been uncomfortable with established religion for a very long time. Not since I'd seen the preacher who first taught me about Christianity embarrass, in my mind, an unwed, pregnant woman in front of the congregation. I'm glad he's finally retiring from the pastorship, but he is still there until a replacement can be found. At least I feel a little better that my stauchly Christian cousin doesn't care for him either - both she and her dad (my uncle) disagreed with the pastor calling for the removal of Christian children from public schools. But then my uncle did seem to agree to the pastor's calls to bomb the hell out of Iraq (paraphrasing here).
Keith Olbermann has some great commentaries about the state of, well, everything. Especially about Bush, Iraq, and the death of Habeus Corpus. You can find him here. And you can't beat a guy who gives the daily "Worst Person in the World." And Michael Jackson Puppet Theatre.
I took Mandi, my 12yo cat, to the vet today. She has some funky stomach thing, so she's on no food for a day, then we'll reintroduce food slowly over the next few days. Hopefully that'll be enough to resettle her system. Does anyone have any suggestions on flea treatments for the house, especially carpet and furniture? She's been scratching a lot lately. The vet tech suggested something chemical, but I'm wondering if there's anything organic that works well.
I look forward to Nov. We in Texas especially need major change in the governorship. Vote Kinky! And, of course, NaNo. Maybe third time's a charm! That, and I don't have to deal with school anymore.
Anyway, bed now. I'm on call in the morning, and I have to at least be ready to go if they need me (which I doubt - weekday morning). Maybe I'll get to work Friday afternoon when I'm on call again.