Big News, Everyone!
This will probably be long. Don't tell me you weren't warned. Feel free to read the parts you're most interested in and come back another time for the rest.
Writing:
I had my Saturday writers' group last week. It was our annual Christmas potluck and gift exchange, which is always fun. I didn't have time nor inclination to submit anything based on the prompts we were given, but some members came up with really good stories. I convinced my husband to participate in the gift exchange, since he's been sitting in on our meetings lately, and had an idea for the prompts. He just needs to find time to work on doing creative things in order to participate with the group. We do the gifts white-elephant style, meaning everyone gets a chance to steal a previously opened gift if they like it better than the one they opened. I got a coffee cup with a variety of statements regarding being a writer, which was cool. I may have to find someone to give the accompanying tea to, but that's no big deal. My husband got a writer's starter kit, with a folder and various writing-related items in it, much like the gifts we often get at our annual retreat with another group. Neither of our gifts were stolen, but the gift I brought was. I'd found some small booklets of word games, and a prompt book, all of which I'd have gladly kept, though you're not supposed to pick your own gift. Well, I know where I bought them, and can get myself my own, should I choose to.
Most of the books arrived yesterday, which was three days earlier than originally estimated. I had their tracking information, though, and knew they were scheduled to be here sometime during the day. Usually, UPS doesn't go until after 4, so I was prepared to spend the afternoon waiting within listening distance of the front door. Around 11, I went out to the porch and made sure there was space right next to the door to stack the boxes. I put up my Christmas wreath, and swept the snow off the steps. As I was putting the broom away, at the back of the house by the washing machine, I heard a weird thumping noise. The washer was running, and I thought it was having some sort of fit. This would have sucked, considering it's a fairly new machine. Immediately after the thumping, there was a rapping sound, and I realized someone was at my back door. I went to the door and opened it. Outside the door was a four-foot stack of boxes. I peered around the corner of the house in time to see the UPS driver get back into his truck and drive away. I'd missed him by less than five minutes, and now had to lug five boxes of books the length of my house to the front porch. I guess I should be happy that one box strayed from the group and will be delivered some time today. My husband will be out of town for tomorrow's writers' meeting, so he can't get me and them there. I don't want to carry them all into the library by myself, and the guy that's going to give me a ride has a heart condition, so I don't expect him to help. I sent an e-mail offering to deliver some of the books, anyway. Most people were content with getting them in two weeks, so I don't expect to get many taking me up on the offer. A few people were going to pay me tomorrow, and I'll at least take those books with me.
I have started doing some of the editing I'd promised. Instead of my usual way of doing it, I'm figuring out how to use "track changes" in Word, which isn't as difficult as I assumed it would be. I really should have learned to use it a long time ago.
Birthday:
I'd anticipated having to celebrate my birthday alone, but my husband was able to finish the work he was doing in IN and get back in time for it. He still had to work on the actual day, though he did so from home. In the evening, we went out to eat at our favorite Thai restaurant. He wanted to get me more gifts than he'd already bought, but I told him he didn't have to. Him getting home to celebrate with me was enough of a gift. When you reach my age, it's really less and less about the stuff. Don't get me wrong; I love stuff. I've just come to realize that I don't need as much of it as I used to think. When we got home from dinner, I had messages from both my mom and dad on the phone. My brother had e-mailed me the day before, and my daughter sent me an e-mail just in time to still catch the day. It's tricky working with time zones, and I was too thankful to have gotten a message from her to complain. I received a card from my mother-in-law the next day because Joliet has the slowest mail service in the universe. It may have been low-key, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless.
Job:
My husband spent most of the last month in IN, as I've been telling you. While he was there, a former supervisor, who now works at a different company, invited him to take a tour of his new facility. My husband took him up on the offer, and when the tour was complete, he was asked if he'd like to work there. My husband replied that he was willing to talk with them, arranged a time for an interview, and was given an official job offer afterward. After reviewing the offer, we decided to reject it. There was no relocation package, and we weren't confident we'd be able to move to a new area without one. The owner asked him to come back to discuss his concerns, and he left with an even better offer that addressed them all. We mulled it over for a couple of days, but could see no logical reason to refuse. He accepted the offer Friday evening, and will put in his notice tomorrow. We figure there's a high likelihood that he'll be told not to finish out the notice time, which will give us a head start on looking for a house in the Indianapolis area. His new job officially starts at the beginning of January, but they're willing to let him put in some time before that if he doesn't have to finish the year at his current employer. We knew we wouldn't stay in IL forever, but are very surprised our time there is already over. Our emotional state runs from excited to terrified, though we keep finding more and more positive things as we wrap our brains around our decision. If you know anyone who's looking for a house in the Joliet, IL area, point them in my direction.
Looking Ahead:
On the short-range radar, I've got a writers' meeting on Wednesday, and my husband flew out to MN this morning. He'll be back on Thursday, unless his boss tells him he's done when he turns in his resignation. Further ahead, I've got to pack up this house, find another one, move to it, and unpack, then sell this house. I feel like I did that not too long ago, and still have stuff in boxes. Well, I don't have to pack those things, do I?
In Closing:
Life certainly has its ways of keeping me on my toes. We are quite comfortable where we are, and weren't looking for a change of location. Still, we can see good things about it, despite some uncertain aspects. I hope you're keeping up with the plot twists in your own life. Sorry this was late; as you can see, I've got a lot on my plate. I'll see you next week. -S
Writing:
I had my Saturday writers' group last week. It was our annual Christmas potluck and gift exchange, which is always fun. I didn't have time nor inclination to submit anything based on the prompts we were given, but some members came up with really good stories. I convinced my husband to participate in the gift exchange, since he's been sitting in on our meetings lately, and had an idea for the prompts. He just needs to find time to work on doing creative things in order to participate with the group. We do the gifts white-elephant style, meaning everyone gets a chance to steal a previously opened gift if they like it better than the one they opened. I got a coffee cup with a variety of statements regarding being a writer, which was cool. I may have to find someone to give the accompanying tea to, but that's no big deal. My husband got a writer's starter kit, with a folder and various writing-related items in it, much like the gifts we often get at our annual retreat with another group. Neither of our gifts were stolen, but the gift I brought was. I'd found some small booklets of word games, and a prompt book, all of which I'd have gladly kept, though you're not supposed to pick your own gift. Well, I know where I bought them, and can get myself my own, should I choose to.
Most of the books arrived yesterday, which was three days earlier than originally estimated. I had their tracking information, though, and knew they were scheduled to be here sometime during the day. Usually, UPS doesn't go until after 4, so I was prepared to spend the afternoon waiting within listening distance of the front door. Around 11, I went out to the porch and made sure there was space right next to the door to stack the boxes. I put up my Christmas wreath, and swept the snow off the steps. As I was putting the broom away, at the back of the house by the washing machine, I heard a weird thumping noise. The washer was running, and I thought it was having some sort of fit. This would have sucked, considering it's a fairly new machine. Immediately after the thumping, there was a rapping sound, and I realized someone was at my back door. I went to the door and opened it. Outside the door was a four-foot stack of boxes. I peered around the corner of the house in time to see the UPS driver get back into his truck and drive away. I'd missed him by less than five minutes, and now had to lug five boxes of books the length of my house to the front porch. I guess I should be happy that one box strayed from the group and will be delivered some time today. My husband will be out of town for tomorrow's writers' meeting, so he can't get me and them there. I don't want to carry them all into the library by myself, and the guy that's going to give me a ride has a heart condition, so I don't expect him to help. I sent an e-mail offering to deliver some of the books, anyway. Most people were content with getting them in two weeks, so I don't expect to get many taking me up on the offer. A few people were going to pay me tomorrow, and I'll at least take those books with me.
I have started doing some of the editing I'd promised. Instead of my usual way of doing it, I'm figuring out how to use "track changes" in Word, which isn't as difficult as I assumed it would be. I really should have learned to use it a long time ago.
Birthday:
I'd anticipated having to celebrate my birthday alone, but my husband was able to finish the work he was doing in IN and get back in time for it. He still had to work on the actual day, though he did so from home. In the evening, we went out to eat at our favorite Thai restaurant. He wanted to get me more gifts than he'd already bought, but I told him he didn't have to. Him getting home to celebrate with me was enough of a gift. When you reach my age, it's really less and less about the stuff. Don't get me wrong; I love stuff. I've just come to realize that I don't need as much of it as I used to think. When we got home from dinner, I had messages from both my mom and dad on the phone. My brother had e-mailed me the day before, and my daughter sent me an e-mail just in time to still catch the day. It's tricky working with time zones, and I was too thankful to have gotten a message from her to complain. I received a card from my mother-in-law the next day because Joliet has the slowest mail service in the universe. It may have been low-key, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless.
Job:
My husband spent most of the last month in IN, as I've been telling you. While he was there, a former supervisor, who now works at a different company, invited him to take a tour of his new facility. My husband took him up on the offer, and when the tour was complete, he was asked if he'd like to work there. My husband replied that he was willing to talk with them, arranged a time for an interview, and was given an official job offer afterward. After reviewing the offer, we decided to reject it. There was no relocation package, and we weren't confident we'd be able to move to a new area without one. The owner asked him to come back to discuss his concerns, and he left with an even better offer that addressed them all. We mulled it over for a couple of days, but could see no logical reason to refuse. He accepted the offer Friday evening, and will put in his notice tomorrow. We figure there's a high likelihood that he'll be told not to finish out the notice time, which will give us a head start on looking for a house in the Indianapolis area. His new job officially starts at the beginning of January, but they're willing to let him put in some time before that if he doesn't have to finish the year at his current employer. We knew we wouldn't stay in IL forever, but are very surprised our time there is already over. Our emotional state runs from excited to terrified, though we keep finding more and more positive things as we wrap our brains around our decision. If you know anyone who's looking for a house in the Joliet, IL area, point them in my direction.
Looking Ahead:
On the short-range radar, I've got a writers' meeting on Wednesday, and my husband flew out to MN this morning. He'll be back on Thursday, unless his boss tells him he's done when he turns in his resignation. Further ahead, I've got to pack up this house, find another one, move to it, and unpack, then sell this house. I feel like I did that not too long ago, and still have stuff in boxes. Well, I don't have to pack those things, do I?
In Closing:
Life certainly has its ways of keeping me on my toes. We are quite comfortable where we are, and weren't looking for a change of location. Still, we can see good things about it, despite some uncertain aspects. I hope you're keeping up with the plot twists in your own life. Sorry this was late; as you can see, I've got a lot on my plate. I'll see you next week. -S