Today's the day I fly to San Francisco.
I'm not accomplishing a heck of a lot at work today. I have a tired brain and my eyes feel like they are filled with grains of sand. Yesterday afternoon I indulged in a second Bullet Proof Coffee (BPC) which resulted in not being tired at a decent hour. I finally nodded off around 12:45 am. Sunday night I barely slept as I was ready to jump out of bed bright and early to get Bond off to the airport. Sometimes I hate my brain.
I played hooky from work yesterday. It was glorious. I needed time to get ready for the trip, especially because I didn't want to shortchange date night with B. I went to the mall to find an outfit or two and stumbled into a Yellow Dot 80% off sale, combined with a Goodwill event, and then I decided to get the store credit card. All total I spent $125 and saved $579. I was so excited. Normally I can't find a freaking thing on the Yellow Dot sales, but this time they were hauling out rack after rack of clothing and I hit the jackpot. Partway through shopping I had to pee. By the time I checked out I was desperate. I put bag #1 into the cart, then bag #2 and headed to the cart corral in the mens department where I came in and rushed out to my car. I had two thoughts, first, I couldn't wait to message Bond and B to tell them what a deal I had gotten, and secondly, I needed to get home to pee! Two roads later, and about 50% of the way home, I was feeling smug that I had gotten two large bags of clothes for $125, when I looked over at the booty on the seat and discovered there was only one bag! OMG. All I could guess was that in my urgency I left one of the bags in the cart. Just as I was about to do a U-turn I spotted a police car, so I went up to an apartment complex and turned around in their drive and headed back as quickly as possible to the mall. Of course, I got behind a person who was in no hurry whatsoever who sat at the red light in the right turn lane instead of continuing through after stopping and waiting for an opportunity. Time crawled as I pictured my bag leaving with some fortunate shopper. My luck held though and the bag was sitting in the cart exactly where I had abandoned it ten minutes earlier. I need a keeper. That's all I can say.
I woke yesterday to a message from Josh asking me to call him when I got a chance. I messaged back letting him know that I was home for the day and to call me when it was convenient. My first thought was that he was going to ask if they could live with us when they move to WI until they can get on their feet. I have been dreading the possibility that he'll ask this. He called before I left to go shopping and we talked for quite a while. He was not asking to move in, but instead he was letting me know that things had gone awry with the plan on several fronts and he was making a new plan.
The issues: he learned on message boards that although heavy equipment schools will certify you, that employers expect you to work your way up to operator by starting at the laborer level. With his hip issue, that kind of heavy work is beyond what his body is capable of doing. He was also concerned about being away from home for work, because of the baby. Their lease is through December, so that was another concern. And finally, something was messed up with his GI Bill paperwork and that was why he wasn't getting notices.
His new plan is quite different. He is considering going to a technical college for Associate in IT-Network Administration. I couldn't be more surprised, but I think it's a great choice. Twitch has this degree and is making over $100k/year now. If he had gotten his certifications he would have advanced his career quicker. He'd like to go to the college in Madison, as both he and his GF still want to move to Wisconsin. This will give him more time to get things in order. The baby will be older which will make it easier to find childcare.
In the afternoon my youngest son called to fill me in on how his job interview at the papermill went. He arrived thinking he was applying for manufacturing process engineer, but instead it was for an environmental position that he thought was out of his reach. He was so excited. He is
trying to keep himself from becoming too excited, because it will be crushing if he isn't hired. Instead he is trying to keep the mindset that if nothing else comes of it that he'll have benefited from the interviewing experience and it's left him feeling that he can find a fantastic job in his field some place.
After listening to how the interview went and what great ideas he had for the position, I would be surprised if he isn't a leading contender. He reported back later that the sweet, little old lady recruiter called him to say she had spoken to the HR person and her impression was that she thought there was an 80% chance he had it. This recruiter lady is his biggest fan. She has totally fallen under his spell. She told him that in 35 years she's never had someone she has liked as much as him.
Exciting times for my boys!
My DD messaged for more money. Sigh. I have sent her $180 in the past 6 days now. She said she has started painting for a contractor, but hasn't made it to payday yet. I really hope she keeps this job.
B picked me up at 7:30 this morning and dropped me off at work. She'll pick me up at 4:00pm and shuttle me to the airport. I'm a lucky girl! It was fun to be able to see her before my day started and it felt great to be taken care of like that.
Someone asked B last night if anyone ever told her that she looks like Katy Perry. Why hadn't I realized this before? Hey world, my girlfriend looks like Katy Perry!