It's been a while...

I'm back. Maybe only briefly, but here I am. Sorry for the silence lately. Here I am with only 2.5 days left of work, a whole house to finish packing and a new life waiting for me on the other side of the country. It's been possibly the most stressful few months of my life, but I am hoping it all pays off soon.

We start our cross-country drive (in a moving truck) on Monday and are due to arrive at our new apartment at 9:30 a.m. Friday. On the way, we're staying with friends in Oklahoma City, Memphis and Chapel Hill. It should be fun. I actually think that as soon as we get our belongings packed into the truck and drive away from our house, I will be able to take a deep breath and begin to enjoy myself.

Right now, however, I'm thinking about the gala dinner taking place tomorrow that I'm the co-chair of. We're set to raise about $26,000 for the local children's hospital in one night which feels pretty good. I just hope everything goes well tomorrow night. It is scary being responsible for such a big event. Plus, all the attendees paid quite a bit to attend so they need to enjoy themselves. Needless to say, I am nervous.

Anyways, I promise there will be more inspiring blog posts soon.... hang in there...don't give up on me yet

Clean Carpet

Right now a man is in my house cleaning my carpet. He has already removed a giant stain that has been there for a month or so and came from my overzealous use of stain remover. (how ironic, I know) He has also made the room considerably less smelly. It got smelly this weekend when the dogs got sick and couldn't get to their dog door and went to the bathroom all over the living room. This event is the reason I had to call the carpet cleaning people and will be paying them $150 in a little while once they're done extracting all the urine from the carpet. Lovely.

Cleaning the carpet was the last thing I really wanted to do right now. I planed to do it when we were moved out -- you know, to leave it in good condition for whoever we sell or rent it to. But, I suppose you don't really get to plan these things.

We're in the middle of two weekends of house guests which is fun, but exhausting. Oh, and that whole thing about how we're MOVING IN TWO WEEKS!!!! But at least we'll have clean carpet...

Losing It?

I think it is entirely possible that I am losing my mind. It's a slow process.. but it's happening. I am trying to do so many things at once and tie up so many loose ends that my mind is becoming a loose end. I have been typing things I don't mean to type (for example, I wrote "let me know" instead of "I'll let you know") I've been forgetting to do things, spacing out mid-sentence and am basically a frazzled basket case.

Sleep has been pretty much impossible this week. So I am sure that's not helping matters at all. There's nothing like the combo of stress and lack of sleep to make one feel a bit dumber than usual.

Hired and not Homeless

I have a job! I have an apartment! I can finally move on to blogging about more interesting topics!

I was in D.C. for five days with my mom and on the second day (first full day) I got hired to be a PR and Marketing Director at an awesome nonprofit in Maryland (a 30 minute metro ride from where I will be living). After accepting the job offer, my mom and I went back for a second look at an apartment we first saw Thursday evening and I decided to rent it. It's a one-bedroom in a great building in the Penn Quarter neighborhood. The building has a roof deck and a rooftop pool and a movie theatre for residents to screen DVDs and a community room with a pool table. It's awesome. So, in one day my two big big worries were taken care of. (insert big sigh or relief here.)

The rest of the trip was spent shopping and it was fun and exhausting. I had a really good time just hanging out with my mom without the stress of either of our jobs weighing on us.

I am sure there is more stress in my future.. (how to get rid of a bunch of our stuff so we fit into our apartment, how to retrain the dogs for apartment living, how to unload our stuff once we get to D.C., adjusting to a new job and new life...) The list goes on... but I am really excited about all of it, even if it will be a pain in the butt. Adventure here I come...

Possibilities

Ooh ooh... I have a really exciting new job possibility! No details will be disclosed yet, but more crossed fingers and good wishes are in order.

Also, I have new hair (and I think I am pleased with it), my ugly yellow chair is getting a makeover and will soon be dark blue, and the dresser has been partially stripped of its 50-year-old varnish. All makeovers are well underway!

We went to the NM State Fair twice this weekend and I ate Tom Thumb dounughts, a chocolate-covered banana and some good pizza. I also saw baby pygmy goats and lots of cute bunnies along with other animals. We went in the exhibit hall and watched a bunch of demonstrations for mops and choppers and a sushi-maker -- always entertaining. And mostly, we reveled in the tradition and the folksiness and felt happy about New Mexico. This is one event we will really miss next year.

Happy Monday everyone!

Oh bla di...

It would be an understatement to say that this has been a rough week. The combination of not yet having a job, not having a place to live, not knowing how we're moving our stuff across the country, not knowing whether or not we're selling our cars and our house, not getting enough sleep and being extremely stressed out at work (I am one of two people responsible for getting 300 people to plunk down $125 to come to a gala dinner and for getting a bunch of businesses to just give us money in exchange for their name in the program and on a sign.) has had me in a sad mood.

Then, on Tuesday, Neil and I realized that we most likely can't move Boo Boo, our four-year-old bunny, to Washington D.C. with us. Rabbits don't do well with moving and especially not our rabbit. When we moved from El Paso to Albuquerque (a 4 hour drive) she freaked out and barely moved and didn't eat or drink for several days. And so, I placed a call to a local rabbit rescue (a much safer way to adopt her out than putting an ad in the paper or something.) I started crying while talking to the lady on the phone, but thankfully, she was really nice and sympathetic instead of making me feel like a bad person. The decision isn't 100% made yet, but it's very likely that we'll not be taking her with us and while I think it's probably the best thing to do, I still feel terrible about it.

Add to all this the fact that I really really really want to work for my favorite tea company and I got pretty far in the interviews and was feeling positive about my chances of being hired and really excited about doing the job. I loved the people I'd be working with. I loved the office. I loved the attitude of the company in general, the team spirit that was apparent, everything seemed perfect...but now I have been waiting for three weeks to hear back from them about whether or not I have been hired. They did tell me that I'd hear this week or next, so maybe next week I will have reason to celebrate? Of course, visions of the super-job-candidate are dancing in my head. My paranoid thinking goes something like this: "What if they found someone who has already been a marketing person for a beverage company and he or she wore a better outfit to the interview than I did and was more charismatic and looked older than me and has already been offered the job, but is thinking about it and I'm just waiting around in case he or she doesn't accept." This probably isn't the case and I realize that trying to imagine what is going on inside their offices is couterproductive and pointless... but here I am imagining.

In good news, last weekend's trip to Colorado with Ryan and Shay was fantastic. We stayed at the Stanley Hotel, the place that Steven King wrote The Shining. We hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park, we saw awesome street performers in Boulder, We went to an amazing Dave Matthews concert at Red Rocks and we got to see Josh at a Rockies game before driving home Sunday night. It was really a perfect weekend. We had a great time with our friends and it was a nice way to celebrate our third anniversary (a little late.) Maybe coming home from all that fun also led to a bit of a let down and put me in a funk this week? Who knows.

Whatever the case, I'm feeling more optimistic today. Tonight we're going to the state fair. Tomorrow, I'm getting a chair re-upholstered and am re-finishing a dresser. And Sunday, I get to have my hair cut and highlighted. There's nothing like some makeovers (me and the furniture) to get back on the right track.

For those of you waiting on CDs... give me another week. I need to design a good label for them.

Mix CD

In the late 90's I was in the habit of making a mix tape every summer and sending a copy to all of my friends. This was no small undertaking. It involved hours of pressing record and then remembering to flip the tape over and press record again. I also designed elaborate covers for each mix and then spent time at Kinkos and money on color copies. Additionally, I wrote something short about each song -- when to listen to it, who helped me discover it, what it made me think of, etc. For our wedding, Neil and I made a mix for our guests as a favor, but since we got married in 2002, we made a Mix CD instead of a Mix Tape. While a little easier, we still spent hours designing the label and then gluing together our own paper CD cases.

I have been planning to make a CD and mail it to my friends again for some time. In addition to the regular list (Find a job, find a place to live, pack up worldly possessions, etc. etc.) It has been my goal to make this CD before moving in October. And so, this evening, I am proud to report that the song list has been finalized and we are only days (possibly a week or two) away from the big launch of the 2005 Jodi Mix CD. Hopefully I still have good enough taste in music that this hasn't been a total waste of time.

Anyways, I decided that I will mail five lucky blog readers a copy of the CD too. So, if I don't actually know you and you read my blog and would like a copy of the CD, e-mail me via the link on my sidebar and give me your mailing address and sometime before late October, you too will receive some mail from me. (If I do know you and you suspect I don't have your address, please supply it also.)

I'm off to write little descriptions of all the songs. (Nope, I'm not kidding.)

Unexpected Musical Bliss

Tonight, I attended my first house concert. Apparently, all over the country, people invite musicians to perform in their homes and then open their homes up to the public so that musicians have venues and music-lovers can see their favorite artists in intimate settings. The suggested donation for tonight's concert was $15 and all of the money went directly to the band. Additionally, there were free refreshments from fruit and cheese (donated by Whole Foods) to Angelica's Chocolate bunt Cake (donated by Angelica herself).

The band I saw is called The Bills. Originally, they were named The Bill Hilly Band, but since shortened the name to The Bills. There are five band members from Canada, none of whom are named Bill. I think the music is best classified as Folk. But even if you're not a folk music fan, I would recommend listening to the Bills and, by all means, if you have the chance, go see them in concert. Tonight's show was awesome. Not only was the music surprisingly compelling, but the musicians were so into what they were doing and were enjoying themselves so much that it made the show that much more amazing. (Additionally, it should be noted that they say the word "about" like Canadians and that makes them that much more endearing.)

I have been meaning to write about the experience of listening to live music since I went to the Coldplay concert two weeks ago. Then after the Dave Matthews concert last week, I had even more to say about the wonder of concert attendance... the joy of holding a just-purchased concert ticket...the weeks of anticipation while waiting to attend the show...the pure joy that one feels only when all you're doing is experiencing a song - when the music is too loud to allow you to think of anything else and the performance is so moving that you don't want to. I had intended to write quite a bit more about all of this, but as life is wont to do, it's been keeping me busy. Now, it's well past my bed time and, sadly, I have two loads of unfolded laundry on my bed preventing me from sleeping for at least another half hour while I fold everything...

Moral: 1. Go listen to The Bills or download their album on iTunes.
2. Live music is great, amazing, wonderful...when I am listening to music, I
feel more alive, or remember that I am alive which is a really fantastic
and necessary feeling.

Katrina

Watching the news coverage of the hurricane makes me cry -- but I can't stop watching. All of my problems, needs etc. seem beyond trivial when I see little children standing on top of cars in a city that has become a river screaming "Help us! Please help us!"

I am so glad to see people on a broad scale finally criticizing the president for his inaction and inadequate action. We may never know how many more people might have lived had the rescue efforts begun in earnest on Tuesday instead of Thursday night...

I am watching the Concert for Hurricane Relief on NBC right now. It's very moving to see celebrities use their fame for good. I wonder if in any other countries, when disaster strikes, they hold a concert? I remember watching a similar fundraising tribute after Sept. 11th...

I realize this post is only a string of thoughts...It's just all so disturbing, sad, devastating.....I wish I could do more to help...

Disaster

This morning on the way to work, my favorite morning show DJs were making a plea for people to stop by a grocery store called Raley's and donate money for the hurricane victims in New Orleans and Biloxi and the rest of that region. I had about $30 on me and without even thinking I pulled over and put all of it into one of the radio station milk jugs slated to go to the Red Cross. I don't have time to fully express my sadness at the devastation right now, but suffice it to say that I wish I could do much much more. Disasters like this really put all of the trivial things into perspective. I am immensely grateful to have my family and pets and know everyone is safe and I am certainly guilty of taking all that I have for granted. Seeing other peoples' lives and livelyhoods swept away the way they have been is very sobering.

Yes, I sound like everyone else who has been moved by this disaster... but sometimes it is ok to reiterate the cliche.

Neil and I have been married three years today. I feel very lucky to have him in my life and to be celebrating three years of marriage.

More to report, including possible very exciting job news and a treatise on the power of live music...

Entonces...

Last week, I spent the entire work week serving as a tour guide for a group of people from Leon, Mexico who work for a similar trade association and came here to sign a partnership agreement with my association. There were five men and one woman in the group, along with a translator from the international organization facilitating this partnership. In spite of having a translator present, I ended up being on my own with the group or a part of the group much of the time and had to rely on my limited Spanish (which allows me to understand a lot but not say much) and two of the men's limited English for communication.

The week was really exhausting overall. Trying to listen and communicate in Spanish is about 50 times more difficult than lazily communicating in my own language. In addition, the language barrier made it difficult to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves etc. However, I think I have had few weeks at work that have been more rewarding than last week. When my coworker and I dropped our new friends off at the airport Friday afternoon we both felt really sad. We got hugs and kisses from everyone and a couple of them even busted out with their first sentence of English to say, "Jodi, thank you very much." That was particularly touching because I know how embarrassed I felt speaking in Spanish and could only imagine that my new friends felt the same about talking to me in English.

I went home that night missing my new friends and I began to wonder if perhaps the absence of language allows people to reveal more of themselves. I realize this new theory of mine seems counterintuitive, but maybe it's not. For the most part, language couldn't get in the way last week and so I could see my new friends for who they are. We had gestures, a few words and that's it so we just existed in each others' company much of the time. Or we spoke in full sentences in our own language and talked right past each other but somehow we understood each other.

Anyways, I am really grateful that I got to meet Angel, Javier, Josee, Thomas, Oscar and Cora Emma. My life has been enriched by the connections we made last week.

Dadgum

Last week I went to Austin for the annual conference attended by the other 35 people across the country who have the same job as me. Each year the conference is in a different location. Over the past three years I got to go to Seattle, Washington, D.C. and Austin. The first year I was so thrilled to hear about other people having the same struggles and successes in their jobs that I didn't think about much else. I made a couple friends and felt this great sense of camaraderie and went back to work newly energized.

The second year, I was really excited to see the friends I had made the previous year. I went sightseeing in D.C. and learned from my peers and went home.

This year, as I have one foot out of my job and possibly out of the credit union movement, I realized a few other things. First of all, I realized how much I like my job and the movement as a whole, how amazing my peers are and how smart they are.

I also realized how incredibly cool it is to gather people from every state in the country (or at least about 30 of the 50 states). When else can I hang out with a friend from South Carolina who uses the word "dadgum" in conversation and opens doors for women, a friend from Oregon who shares nearly all of my liberal sensibilities and has an awesome sense of style, a friend from Minnesota who has a cute Midwestern accent and drinks beer like nobody else I know, a friend from Florida who wears higher heels than I've ever seen and makes me laugh without fail, a friend from Missouri who had a job interview in a limousine with a crazy classmate...and the list goes on. I would probably not be friends with more than one or two of these people if we didn't have our jobs in common, and yet, I feel so enriched to have been able to spend a week for the past three summers with them. Hopefully this is adequately cheesy and sentimental??

But I am serious, sometimes it is our differences that bring us together and since we all tend to be surrounded by people at least slightly similar to ourselves, I really love having the opportunity to notice and appreciate those differences in others.

The Quest For Employment

I continue to look for a job. So far I've had four phone interviews, one rejection and one reference check (that I know of). I have sent out at least 25 resumes and applied for at least 15 positions. I've also printed at least 80 job listings and stacked them up by my computer at home -- you know, just so I can make myself feel completely overwhelmed...

In any case, there is one really exciting possible job and, for the moment, I'm putting nearly all my eggs in one basket and hoping this one works out. I know, I am slightly insane. Can't say too much about it because I'd hate to jinx it...

Please send good job vibes, D.C. job listings and monetary donations my way. I am accepting all three.

Concert Fiend

In the next three weeks, I will be going to three live concerts. This week it's Coldplay (I got free tickets, parking passes and VIP passes from a printer my office does business with.) The next two weeks I'm seeing Dave Matthews. That's right, I am in the Dave Matthews Band fan club and have been since it started in 1999. I am not ashamed. I'm proud. However, this will be the first time I've crammed two Dave Matthews Band concerts within two weeks. I suppose it's a test of my fandom...either I will love it, or I will be sick of it. We'll see.

In Conclusion

I just saw the WORST commercial I've seen recently. It is the one for Wendy's about the ranch tooth. Who gets paid to produce stuff like that? Ohdeargodineedtogopokemyeyesout.

Happy Happy

Oooh...Happy Birthday Sean!!!
And happy birthday to my dad last Saturday.

Frenetic

Have you ever had one of those days/weeks/months where you can't slow your heart rate or make your mind go quiet regardless of where you are or what you're doing? You know, you're in a meeting and you can't stop running the To Do list through your mind long enough to pay attention to what's being said. You're stuck in traffic and instead of being glad for the small break in your day, you come close to hyperventilation...This is what has been happening to me lately.

Last weekend was Josh and Katie's wedding in Breckenridge, CO. Neil and I drove with my mom and dad in what was the first family road trip in years. It was surprising and comforting how easily we fell back into our old road trip rhythms. My parents, perfectly in-synch with each other about roadside stops and souvenir shopping expeditions. We made a wrong turn on the way there, but it didn't even matter that much because we got to go over a beautiful pass and see the Continental Divide (twice) and spend a little more time together. Neil fit in seamlessly and, while we missed having my little brother along for the ride, it was really a lot of fun. The wedding itself was really nice too. I have no idea why I cry at weddings, or why anyone else does for that matter. I never cried at a wedding before my own. But on Sept. 1, 2002, I sobbed during my ceremony. They were totally tears of happiness, but remain mystifying to me. In any case, Josh and Katie got me crying too. It is always amazing to celebrate the marriage of an old friend to someone who is absolutely perfect for them and who you can now consider a new friend.

Since we've been back from the wedding, things could not be crazier. Work is completely overwhelming because I am trying to do too many things at once and want to accomplish so much before I leave. Home is overwhelming because when I get here in the evening I don't know if I should be applying for jobs, packing, collecting things to sell at the garage sale or trying to take care of myself. I have about 15 phone calls to return, a bunch of wedding and birthday presents to purchase and mail, at least 12 random errands to run and so many things I want to do. But, I've got two more days of work and then we fly to El Paso on Friday. We return Sunday afternoon giving me a little bit of time to spend with my brother and pack again for my week-long trip to Austin for work. I am sure there are other stresses I am not even mentioning as well...

Today after work I got a short respite from the insanity when I got in my car and turned the music up so loud I couldn't hear myself thinking and I finally forgot to think. Instead, I started to feel like anything is possible, like there is a whole big world waiting to open up in front of me, like I only need to clear a few more hurdles and things will start making sense again...and for now, I just need to cling to this hope.

An aside: In other news, I applied for my favorite job yet this week. cross your fingers for me...

Keep Your Bad Day To Yourself

Have you ever been having a good day, one of those sing-out-loud-to-the-car-stereo kind of days when someone called you up and ruined it for you? This happened to me yesterday evening as I was heading home to be productive and apply for jobs. I had just been to the gym and then to dinner with friends and I was feeling on top of the world. Then my phone rang and it was a family member who yelled at me for something that did not deserve yelling and before I knew it, I'd been home for 40 minutes, I was still in my sweaty gym clothes and my eyes were red and swollen from crying. I was pissed. It was 9:30 already, the crying left me exhausted and it was all I could do to turn on some loud music (OK GO's Get Over It) and take a shower.

So, I am not angry or hurt by the family member who dumped on me anymore, but the experience got me thinking about how easily we can impact the people around us and how if we all thought a little longer before acting, we might be a happier society as a whole. Just a few moments of consideration last night could have changed the course of my night. I might have had the time to apply for one or two jobs, I would have called Patty back as planned and then I would have gone to bed in a good mood. Instead, I woke up with still-swollen eyes from crying. Of course, part of the problem is the fact that I'm an extremely sensitive person. But even if your actions don't result in tears, they can still significantly impact someone's day. I am going to try to be nicer to people, even on my worst days.

Weddings, Concerts and a General Lack of Sleep

Last week, we had four different house guests over a period of six days. One guest was a singer Neil met in college who was in town for a show. Two were wedding guests in town to attend my friend Chris's wedding to his lovely new wife Sarah. The fourth guest was Britten and since she's family, it hardly counts -- but it was still someone sleeping in the guest room. Sheets were washed several times, every night was a late one, and it felt great. I love having old and new friends around. I think Neil shares this feeling, and so we are house guest junkies. Often we invite people to stay with us, even when we're technically too busy.

This past weekend was particularly fun. I got to meet Brooke, who, in addition to being a talented singer/songwriter, is a lot of fun. I got to see Eric and Topher and we went to Chris's wedding where we had a really good time and danced all night. And I got to spend some much-needed time with one of my best and oldest friends Britten. Now it's quiet around the house again, which is nice after a week of chaos. But I like to think that all of our guests leave a little of their good energy behind, making our house feel more like home, for us, and maybe even for the next occupants.

More reasons to love New Mexico.
My favorite photo of the summer. I took this at an arts and crafts fair on the Santa Fe plaza. Who knew that saints could be flawed, or worse, discontinued! 

The Drive


Click Here to Watch

Finally another video. This is just a short video about a drive that I will miss when we move this Fall. Neil thinks this drive is one of the worst, but I love it for the subtlety of the southwest landscape. I know it's not as green as other drives and it's not as hilly, but the sky stretches forever and the mountains touch the horizon and it's New Mexico.

We went to the Santa Fe Opera over the weekend and saw The Barber of Seville, which was amazing. I was afraid I might be bored or too tired to stay awake, but even though the opera is sung in Italian, I still found myself riveted. (the little translator screens helped, of course)

We also saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- awesome. It really exceeded my expectations.

Happy Monday.

Another one of these things

O.K. Stan. You got me. Here goes.

Remove the blog at #1 from the following list.
Bump every one up one place.
Add your blog's name in the #5 spot.
Link to each of the other blogs for the desired cross-pollenation effect.

the girl in camouflage
naughty maverick
musings
Whatever!
j.g.s.


What five things do you miss about your childhood?

I am not tagging anyone for this one, but maybe a couple of you will feel like reminiscing?

1) I miss always having someone cook for me. This sounds a little silly, I realize, but there is something so wonderful about being fed three meals a day plus snacks. The food my parents made ALWAYS tasted better than anything I could make myself, and it was probably healthier than what I might choose for myself. I miss ants on a log and deviled eggs and (don't laugh) Mommy McMuffins (my mom's healthier version of Egg McMuffins from McDonald's).

2) I miss my little brother. I miss living with Dustin and I miss the way he used to look up to me. Now, I am always trying to be cool enough for him! I miss dressing up as monsters together, which involved taking out all of the winter accessories and draping ourselves in them. I miss playing video games with him and just getting to see him every day.

3)I miss endless afternoons on my bike with friends. There was a sense of freedom I got from riding my bike around the neighborhood that was so wonderful and simple. Now I have to board a plane that's taking me to another continent to achieve that same sense of freedom.

4) I miss not having to worry about things like money and debt and not being able to have things I wanted. I was completely sheltered from all of that for most of the time I lived in my parents' house and it was wonderful.

5) I miss the way my family was (parents were) when we were growing up. I miss the way family holidays felt and the togetherness we used to have. It has been gone for a while now and maybe that's just something that once it has dissipated, cannot be recreated... but I miss it. I miss that feeling of closeness and the security and contentment that came with it.

Whewh. Well that was a little bit of a bummer. I probably could have kept going to ten things at least. Maybe next time it will be five things you'd miss if you went back to childhood... Like, independence, confidence, my husband, my freedom, not having to live by my parents' rules etc. etc. Ok. I feel better now.

The Dangers of Blogging

So, as I am wont to do, I was reading CNN.com today and came across an article titled: Bloggers Learn The Price of Telling Too Much. The article is interesting and doesn't really mention anything I hadn't thought of before. It warns not to say anything scandalous about work or about your wild personal life. I have always thought about this when blogging, but not too many scandalous things happen at work and I have a pretty hum-drum personal life when it comes to scandal. So, regardless, I am probably safe from the kind of damage some blogs are doing to college students or disgruntled employees. However, I do wonder if there is anything on my blog that would make somebody not want to hire me, or that a person could find offensive and/or scandalous.

Of course, I am thinking in terms of employment because I'm currently searching for a job. I do tend to express my political views on here on occasion, especially during campaign season, but I suppose if an employer doesn't want to hire me because of my politics, I wouldn't want to work there anyways. I have a blog so that I can a keep in touch with friends, b)have a place where I have to keep writing and can express myself and c)have a place to post videos (even though I haven't done so in a while.) So I think it would be slightly tragic to start censoring myself just because I don't want to really expose any of myself on the internet. It's a delicate line to walk. If I have a really bad day at work, can I blog about it? If I'm in a fight with a friend or parent, is it inappropriate to mention it here? What if I go out drinking with girlfriends once or twice a year -- is retelling the tale of our night out something that will later come back and haunt me? I like to think I did all of those come-back-and-haunt-you things a long time ago, so long ago that I will not be haunted. But who knows what I will regret in five or 10 years from now?

If any of you can think of a particularly scandal-ridden or humiliating post that's on this blog somewhere, please do let me know so I can clean up my act.

Speaking of...

ten years. I am responsible for planning my 10 year high school reunion next summer. Have I mentioned this here before? My friend Julia and I volunteered upon our graduation to be the class alumni liaisons and are charged with reunion planning. Of course, when I said I would be the alumni liaison, I imagined that in 10 years, I would be a completely different person, totally grown up, rich and successful and planning a reunion would be no big thing. I am successful, but I'm still not really that grown up and I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination, yet here I am with a 10-year reunion in my lap. What complicates matters is that we're moving in October and I will be (cross your fingers) starting a new job in a new city and be presumably very busy for the foreseeable future, so I probably need to get this whole event planned before I leave the state. Does anyone know anything about planning a 10-year reunion for a class of 33 (or was it 35) people? I am completely at a loss. Also, how on earth did I get this old?

Hunting

I honestly believe that there are few tasks worse than searching for employment. Each new job application is like getting ready for a blind date (not that I've ever had one... but I imagine that's what it's like.) You get yourself (or your resume and cover letter) all dolled up, all the while knowing that it's highly likely you will either be rejected or that you will be completely unattracted to the guy (job). You even learn as much about the guy (job) as possible so that you can tailor your outfit (cover letter) and makeup (resume) to suit what you imagine he likes. You hear about his background (read the job description) and try to squeeze yourself into a version of you that will be appealing to him (the resume screener). "It says here he is a deep sea diver... and I have been snorkeling a couple of times."

Oh my goodness it is exhausting. But the application process continues. I actually have found several jobs that I would really like to have, which is a great sign. Tonight, it's time to write a few more cover letters.

Why I Love New Mexico

Overheard conversation tonight at the Isotopes game while Orbit (the team's mascot) was dancing.

Man: "It's a girl, no?"

Woman: "No, it's a guy."

Man: "Yeah, I think it's a girl"

(Orbit shakes his butt.)

Woman: "If it was a girl, it would be named Orbita."