Whew. It's only been a week. I was afraid I'd find it's been two!
This week's been crazy. I'm back at the Chronicle, but on a day-to-day basis. The person who usually does the calendars (is it bad that I really want to call her the "Calendar Girl"??) is out sick and well...they can't afford to get behind. It's cool for me. It pads my wallet, I get to see my former co-workers, and I get none of the stress. It's a win-win-win situation. Except I'm doing calendars. I'll admit...it's bearable. Maybe because it's only my life for a few days.
(I think I have Calendar Girl on the brain. I have to interview Neil Sedaka tomorrow morning. I'll be studying him tonight. Yes, I'm nervous. It ought to be interesting.)
I think I've gotten lazy. I came home tonight tired, but before I sat down to blog I swept the kitchen, vacuumed, started supper and dug my kitchen table out from under a mountain of papers. (The desk is next.) It makes no sense. When I'm home all day, I have the hardest time making myself pick up a broom. Working does a body (and apparently a house) good, I tell ya!
On a different note, the other night Robb took me and the kids out to dinner with two of his three. It was the first time I met the younger one, and first time our kids met each other. His kids seem like really good kids. Someone once told me good kids come from good parents. The more I learn about this guy the better I like him.
And the four of them got along really well. Catie later declared Justin (Robb's oldest) to be just like Christopher. Apparently, while Robb and I were away from the table getting dessert, Christopher was picking at her. She turned to Justin and said "See what I have to put up with?" He laughed at her and said "What? I don't see anything wrong." Oh, boy!
Okay...I've got to finish supper. I'll try not to be gone so long. I know I keep saying that, but...you know... ;-)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Writing!
I just finished writing my first Today's Home as a freelancer. That was fun!
I think it's better than some of the ones I was turning in while I was working, just because I actually had time to think about what I was writing. It's nice. When you've got a million things due like today, it feels like you throw words on a page just to have something to turn in.
I've been working on this since about 9:30 a.m., and it's now noon-thirty. I'm still in my jammies and socks, and I really need a bath! I've now eaten breakfast and lunch at my desk (some things never change).
The thing that is irritating me about going from working in the office to freelancing (albeit a minor thing) is that I don't have access to resources that I had before. Like, once the photographers put photos in the system at the office, I could go back and check them before the story printed to make sure some detail I mentioned, like maybe a paint color, was accurate. Now I have to wait until it comes out in print to see the pictures and...well, leave out all those tiny details I'm not 100 percent sure about. Or call the homeowner.
But...it's still my favorite story to write. It's so much fun for me to try to make you see what I saw. I can never do it justice, but it's fun to try. I wish I had a background in home design or something, so that I'd have the vocabulary to do it right!
I also have a Your Life section front to work on. Those are fun, too. This one comes with a list of clubs. I've started on it, but I really need to make headway today. I mean...it's Wednesday. When I was working, Wednesday was the day by which I felt I needed to have something done on every story I had on my plate, just so that I didn't have to feel too much deadline pressure on Thursday or Friday. Even if all I had done was made a quick phone call. It didn't always work, but it was always a mental goal that contributed to my sanity.
Making a few of those calls today will make for a much happier Lisa on Thursday and Friday.
So what made me feel the need to blog right instead of picking up the phone? Beats me. :) Maybe I needed a mental break. (Facebook is good for that too!) I checked, though, and I haven't blogged in a week. I don't want y'all to think I don't love you anymore! I've just....got a lot of good stuff going on. And then there's writing and job hunting and all the day-to-day stuff to do.
But now I've accomplished stuff. And I've blogged. Time to hit the shower! :) (You're welcome!)
I think it's better than some of the ones I was turning in while I was working, just because I actually had time to think about what I was writing. It's nice. When you've got a million things due like today, it feels like you throw words on a page just to have something to turn in.
I've been working on this since about 9:30 a.m., and it's now noon-thirty. I'm still in my jammies and socks, and I really need a bath! I've now eaten breakfast and lunch at my desk (some things never change).
The thing that is irritating me about going from working in the office to freelancing (albeit a minor thing) is that I don't have access to resources that I had before. Like, once the photographers put photos in the system at the office, I could go back and check them before the story printed to make sure some detail I mentioned, like maybe a paint color, was accurate. Now I have to wait until it comes out in print to see the pictures and...well, leave out all those tiny details I'm not 100 percent sure about. Or call the homeowner.
But...it's still my favorite story to write. It's so much fun for me to try to make you see what I saw. I can never do it justice, but it's fun to try. I wish I had a background in home design or something, so that I'd have the vocabulary to do it right!
I also have a Your Life section front to work on. Those are fun, too. This one comes with a list of clubs. I've started on it, but I really need to make headway today. I mean...it's Wednesday. When I was working, Wednesday was the day by which I felt I needed to have something done on every story I had on my plate, just so that I didn't have to feel too much deadline pressure on Thursday or Friday. Even if all I had done was made a quick phone call. It didn't always work, but it was always a mental goal that contributed to my sanity.
Making a few of those calls today will make for a much happier Lisa on Thursday and Friday.
So what made me feel the need to blog right instead of picking up the phone? Beats me. :) Maybe I needed a mental break. (Facebook is good for that too!) I checked, though, and I haven't blogged in a week. I don't want y'all to think I don't love you anymore! I've just....got a lot of good stuff going on. And then there's writing and job hunting and all the day-to-day stuff to do.
But now I've accomplished stuff. And I've blogged. Time to hit the shower! :) (You're welcome!)
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
What's going on
I guess y'all are due for an update as to what's been going on around here!
No, I don't have a job yet. But my old one is keeping me pretty busy with freelance stories. It's nice. I can still do what I love, make a couple of dollars, and I still have time for other stuff (like job hunting). I almost wish I had enough stories each week to equal a paycheck, but at least it's something.
My food stamps came in. I ain't too proud to jump up and down about it! I figure it this way, unemployment will pay for the roof over our heads, and food stamps will keep us fat and happy. You think I'm kidding! Let me tell you, I get two-and-a-half times as much money now to spend on food as I was spending before I got laid off. I'm used to buying just what we need to cook meals, and maybe splurging on a bag of chips or popcorn. I went to the store the other day and was super excited to be able to buy a pot roast. There are other yummy meals now waiting to be prepared.
My kids only had one demand: buy snacks! Y'all...I stood there in that grocery aisle just staring at all that food like I've never seen any before. It was like sensory overload! I can buy anything I want...except it is possible to spend too much. (It might have taken another grocery cart, but it could be done!) I kept thinking do I get cookies or chips? Do I make cookies or buy packaged? Pudding cups or pudding mix? What kind of snacks do they want?? Too many decisions!
I think the kids are happy, though. They won't eat their snacks up in a day. It might actually take three. And they don't even know yet what I've stuck in the deep freeze! ;)
On a completely different note, I'm seeing a guy who's kind of incredible. I've been hesitant to talk about him much because I don't want to jinx it. But yeah...he's pretty awesome.
Okay, I'll gush a little bit. I figure it's fair, since one of his coworkers just today said he'd heard I was a good cook. :) He's as sweet as he can be. Every morning I get a text with the title of my song for the day...some song that he says reminds him of me. I have playlist of them going on YouTube, and sometimes I listen to them when I'm working on stuff. We're up to like 23.
There are two main things that make him awesome: 1) I sense that under it all I have a friend in him and 2) there are all the ways he doesn't make me feel -- anxious, insecure, distrustful, dissecting or beneath him in any way. I don't wonder what I should do next or what he's up to when he's not with me. This is new to me, but I like it!
It's early yet, but I think he just might mean it when he says he wants to be around a while.
I met him online about a month ago, but within an hour we wondered how we haven't met before. Hope is one of his good friends from middle school. She almost set us up last year...but I was going through a breakup. On a seperate occasion, she told me to call him as a source for a story I was working on. I didn't. And she invited him countless times to come to Margaritaz with us, but he didn't. (Yes, he sings. He's a bigger karaoke nut than me. :) )
But there's more. Christopher and his oldest son were in the same class at Walker. Catie's friend Danielle is his uncle's granddaughter, and they live in our neighborhood. He grew up maybe two miles from where I grew up, so if I hadn't moved in with Daddy when I was 14, we'd have graduated from Butler together. We even know some of the same people from Winn Dixie, because that was his first job, too. (Different location, though.)
One of his co-workers asked him recently how we met. He just said, "It was fate."
Yeah, kinda. Oh, and you know what else? He's really cute, too! ;)
No, I don't have a job yet. But my old one is keeping me pretty busy with freelance stories. It's nice. I can still do what I love, make a couple of dollars, and I still have time for other stuff (like job hunting). I almost wish I had enough stories each week to equal a paycheck, but at least it's something.
My food stamps came in. I ain't too proud to jump up and down about it! I figure it this way, unemployment will pay for the roof over our heads, and food stamps will keep us fat and happy. You think I'm kidding! Let me tell you, I get two-and-a-half times as much money now to spend on food as I was spending before I got laid off. I'm used to buying just what we need to cook meals, and maybe splurging on a bag of chips or popcorn. I went to the store the other day and was super excited to be able to buy a pot roast. There are other yummy meals now waiting to be prepared.
My kids only had one demand: buy snacks! Y'all...I stood there in that grocery aisle just staring at all that food like I've never seen any before. It was like sensory overload! I can buy anything I want...except it is possible to spend too much. (It might have taken another grocery cart, but it could be done!) I kept thinking do I get cookies or chips? Do I make cookies or buy packaged? Pudding cups or pudding mix? What kind of snacks do they want?? Too many decisions!
I think the kids are happy, though. They won't eat their snacks up in a day. It might actually take three. And they don't even know yet what I've stuck in the deep freeze! ;)
On a completely different note, I'm seeing a guy who's kind of incredible. I've been hesitant to talk about him much because I don't want to jinx it. But yeah...he's pretty awesome.
Okay, I'll gush a little bit. I figure it's fair, since one of his coworkers just today said he'd heard I was a good cook. :) He's as sweet as he can be. Every morning I get a text with the title of my song for the day...some song that he says reminds him of me. I have playlist of them going on YouTube, and sometimes I listen to them when I'm working on stuff. We're up to like 23.
There are two main things that make him awesome: 1) I sense that under it all I have a friend in him and 2) there are all the ways he doesn't make me feel -- anxious, insecure, distrustful, dissecting or beneath him in any way. I don't wonder what I should do next or what he's up to when he's not with me. This is new to me, but I like it!
It's early yet, but I think he just might mean it when he says he wants to be around a while.
I met him online about a month ago, but within an hour we wondered how we haven't met before. Hope is one of his good friends from middle school. She almost set us up last year...but I was going through a breakup. On a seperate occasion, she told me to call him as a source for a story I was working on. I didn't. And she invited him countless times to come to Margaritaz with us, but he didn't. (Yes, he sings. He's a bigger karaoke nut than me. :) )
But there's more. Christopher and his oldest son were in the same class at Walker. Catie's friend Danielle is his uncle's granddaughter, and they live in our neighborhood. He grew up maybe two miles from where I grew up, so if I hadn't moved in with Daddy when I was 14, we'd have graduated from Butler together. We even know some of the same people from Winn Dixie, because that was his first job, too. (Different location, though.)
One of his co-workers asked him recently how we met. He just said, "It was fate."
Yeah, kinda. Oh, and you know what else? He's really cute, too! ;)
Monday, September 26, 2011
Another dream
I wrote this this morning, and debated about posting it. After reading it again, I figured why not. I told my sister about my dream, and she suggested maybe this is some form of closure for me. Maybe she's right.
I had a very weird dream last night. And now I'm thinking, why in the heck am I dreaming about my ex-husband again?!? Go away already!
Truthfully, y'all, unlike the last dream I had, this was not my ex husband. This guy just looked like him and my dream said it was. This man had character...and remorse.
In this completely improbable scenario he looked well, although unhappy. He was holding down a job in some kind of small factory, where he had been secretly working for a number of years before we split up. We were talking and it was completely unemotional...just two people who used to know each other. I wasn't afraid. Nor was I angry.
I must have hung around for quite a while, because we moved from his workplace to his apartment. It turns out he'd been living a secret life for many years. He had had this nice apartment for a year and a half before we split and for the years since. So this is what happened to the money that we should have had but didn't, I asked, and he nodded. The run down places we'd lived in ran through my mind in succession. The rotting singlewide with the trash heap behind it. The 100-year-old house with poor heat and no hot water. The rotting doublewide in the middle of nowhere with the siding peeling off, but the gorgeous view of Horse Creek Valley. We could have done better.
He'd had "plans," he told me. Said he'd been planning all that time to leave me, but I left before he could. I asked if it was for another woman. It was. He currently had two girlfriends, both alcoholic, neither good women, and he talked as though he regretted the choices he made. As though he regretted what he gave up. But it didn't matter anymore.
I looked through his bookcases filled with my old Danille Steel novels and found my old yearbooks. I was so happy to see them again! I asked if I could have them back, and he said I could. I started asking for the family heirlooms he kept, like the bedspread my grandmother made for my parents' wedding, and the Georgia flag that had hung over my dad's bunker in Vietnam. He began looking for them, and promised to look in earnest after I left. For once, I believed he would.
It was all just so weird. But at least for the duration of the dream, everything about our life together made sense. There was a logic behind it all. The reality is...there wasn't. The beauty is...it doesn't matter anymore. Where ever he is, whatever he's doing, he has to live with the choices he's made. But the kids and I are happy now...and that is all that matters.
I had a very weird dream last night. And now I'm thinking, why in the heck am I dreaming about my ex-husband again?!? Go away already!
Truthfully, y'all, unlike the last dream I had, this was not my ex husband. This guy just looked like him and my dream said it was. This man had character...and remorse.
In this completely improbable scenario he looked well, although unhappy. He was holding down a job in some kind of small factory, where he had been secretly working for a number of years before we split up. We were talking and it was completely unemotional...just two people who used to know each other. I wasn't afraid. Nor was I angry.
I must have hung around for quite a while, because we moved from his workplace to his apartment. It turns out he'd been living a secret life for many years. He had had this nice apartment for a year and a half before we split and for the years since. So this is what happened to the money that we should have had but didn't, I asked, and he nodded. The run down places we'd lived in ran through my mind in succession. The rotting singlewide with the trash heap behind it. The 100-year-old house with poor heat and no hot water. The rotting doublewide in the middle of nowhere with the siding peeling off, but the gorgeous view of Horse Creek Valley. We could have done better.
He'd had "plans," he told me. Said he'd been planning all that time to leave me, but I left before he could. I asked if it was for another woman. It was. He currently had two girlfriends, both alcoholic, neither good women, and he talked as though he regretted the choices he made. As though he regretted what he gave up. But it didn't matter anymore.
I looked through his bookcases filled with my old Danille Steel novels and found my old yearbooks. I was so happy to see them again! I asked if I could have them back, and he said I could. I started asking for the family heirlooms he kept, like the bedspread my grandmother made for my parents' wedding, and the Georgia flag that had hung over my dad's bunker in Vietnam. He began looking for them, and promised to look in earnest after I left. For once, I believed he would.
It was all just so weird. But at least for the duration of the dream, everything about our life together made sense. There was a logic behind it all. The reality is...there wasn't. The beauty is...it doesn't matter anymore. Where ever he is, whatever he's doing, he has to live with the choices he's made. But the kids and I are happy now...and that is all that matters.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
I'm gonna write!
I am a happy girl! I get to write again!
I have been working at finding a job. Some jobs I'm applying for make me want to cry, just because well...it's not writing, and I am a writer. I have to pay the bills, though, so I'm willing to look other places.
If I've discovered anything through all of this, it's that I really do want to write. It's not even just something I want to do. It's who I am. It's what makes me happy. (Is this a surprise to anyone? LOL) I think my unhappiness at my former job rose in direct proportion to the amount of non-writing related responsibilites I was given.
So guess what? They're going to let me write again! Not as an employee, but as a freelancer. And I'm really excited about it. There was a point shortly after the layoff that the idea of writing made me break out in hives. Now I feel "important" again. LOL
I can't tell you how great it feels to sit down and plan out a story again, the kinds of stories I want to write. It's like....maybe it feels like a fish who's been out of water a little too long and just jumped back in. Maybe. I don't really know how a fish out of water feels. But I do know this feels pretty darned good.
And ya'll...I'm back in the Today's Home rotation!! And I get to do Your Life fronts! It has been too long since I've gotten to do a Your Life front. I just didn't have time. I'm going to check into other freelance opportunities around town, too. In a tough job market, it just may make more sense to get paid by the job. Provided I can find enough jobs.
So on that note, know anybody who needs a writer? No, seriously...and I don't just mean newspapers or magazines. I'll happily write anything from a business letter to resumes to ... well, what do you need written? :)
I have been working at finding a job. Some jobs I'm applying for make me want to cry, just because well...it's not writing, and I am a writer. I have to pay the bills, though, so I'm willing to look other places.
If I've discovered anything through all of this, it's that I really do want to write. It's not even just something I want to do. It's who I am. It's what makes me happy. (Is this a surprise to anyone? LOL) I think my unhappiness at my former job rose in direct proportion to the amount of non-writing related responsibilites I was given.
So guess what? They're going to let me write again! Not as an employee, but as a freelancer. And I'm really excited about it. There was a point shortly after the layoff that the idea of writing made me break out in hives. Now I feel "important" again. LOL
I can't tell you how great it feels to sit down and plan out a story again, the kinds of stories I want to write. It's like....maybe it feels like a fish who's been out of water a little too long and just jumped back in. Maybe. I don't really know how a fish out of water feels. But I do know this feels pretty darned good.
And ya'll...I'm back in the Today's Home rotation!! And I get to do Your Life fronts! It has been too long since I've gotten to do a Your Life front. I just didn't have time. I'm going to check into other freelance opportunities around town, too. In a tough job market, it just may make more sense to get paid by the job. Provided I can find enough jobs.
So on that note, know anybody who needs a writer? No, seriously...and I don't just mean newspapers or magazines. I'll happily write anything from a business letter to resumes to ... well, what do you need written? :)
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The dating thing
I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but there are two teenagers and one single woman living in our house.
Do you know what this means? It means we have new and rather interesting dynamic.
See, at this very moment, my son is taking a walk around the neighborhood with his girlfriend. My daughter is on the phone with her possibly-soon-to-be-boyfriend. And I'm heating up leftovers for dinner because I have a date tonight.
Should I try to describe how weird this all feels?
Let me see if I can put it into words for you. It's like we used to be this tiny little unit...me and my kids. My focus has been on them, and I was their world. We are a very close family. We've been coccooned, perhaps. Now, there's all these other people involved. I mean...not really yet, not in a serious sort of way. But I mean, there are still all these other people involved.
And now we're coordinating when Christopher can see his girlfriend around when I have a date, around when school stuff is happening, around church, around...you get the picture. (The extent of Catie's dating experience is the telephone and Facebook. We have pretty strict rules on this at her age.)
I'm clearly not new to this dating thing. Catie isn't either, really. She's had a few little "boyfriends". Maybe it's the addition of Christopher's girlfriend that makes it suddenly feel so odd. I'm not the center of his life anymore. He's branching out and expanding his world. It's great! All I'm saying is....it feels weird.
Do you know what this means? It means we have new and rather interesting dynamic.
See, at this very moment, my son is taking a walk around the neighborhood with his girlfriend. My daughter is on the phone with her possibly-soon-to-be-boyfriend. And I'm heating up leftovers for dinner because I have a date tonight.
Should I try to describe how weird this all feels?
Let me see if I can put it into words for you. It's like we used to be this tiny little unit...me and my kids. My focus has been on them, and I was their world. We are a very close family. We've been coccooned, perhaps. Now, there's all these other people involved. I mean...not really yet, not in a serious sort of way. But I mean, there are still all these other people involved.
And now we're coordinating when Christopher can see his girlfriend around when I have a date, around when school stuff is happening, around church, around...you get the picture. (The extent of Catie's dating experience is the telephone and Facebook. We have pretty strict rules on this at her age.)
I'm clearly not new to this dating thing. Catie isn't either, really. She's had a few little "boyfriends". Maybe it's the addition of Christopher's girlfriend that makes it suddenly feel so odd. I'm not the center of his life anymore. He's branching out and expanding his world. It's great! All I'm saying is....it feels weird.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Unemployment Chronicles, Pt. 3
The longer this unemployment thing wears on, the more I remember why I didn't enjoy being a stay-at-home mom.
Not that I don't enjoy having time to spend with my kids, and Heaven knows I adore having more time to spend with family and friends. But y'all....not knowing what came on at 10 p.m. Monday nights or who really sucked on American Idol this week was a point of pride with me. Now I'm thanking the gods of OnDemand, for they let me sample all the shows Facebook has been talking about. And it never fails, somewhere around Tuesday afternoon I smack myself in the forehead and think I missed Rizzoli and Isles last week!! So thank you, Xfinity, for allowing me to play catch up...two weeks later over breakfast.
I'm seeing the end of my severance, too, and it's starting to make me uncomfortable. There's still unemployment...they won't let me draw it just yet, but it's comforting to know it's in my future. And food stamps came through. We might not be able to do much else, but we will be eating good! (Side note: I'm thinking seriously about...just for fun and because I'll have the time and money to do it, picking several new recipes out of my stacks of cookbooks...all the things I've wanted to try but didn't have the time or money to do it. Don't be surprised if I invite you to dinner!)
Really, though, the worst part of all of this is feeling unproductive. I haven't been...at least that's what my mom and my career counselor tell me. I have uploaded my resume to several job banks. I have searched for jobs to apply for. I have resurrected and polished my LinkedIn profile. I have taken personality and career assessment tests. I try to do at least a little something every day. But mostly, I still feel like I'm just sitting around on my duff.
Last week, I found my dream job as an associate editor for a home magazine in Atlanta. It was the first job I've seen that I actually wanted to apply for. (I only considered the fact that I'd have to relocate for about a half a minute. I don't want to uproot the kids, but if the job's right, I'll do it in a heartbeat.) I was so excited!! I spent three days tailoring my resume, drafting a cover letter, creating a blog as a portfolio of my home stories, and meeting with my career counselor to perfect all of them....only to find the job had closed when I went to apply for it.
The upside is that I have now done all of that, my resume is suitably polished and I have figured out how to showcase my work. And I realized that, deep down and no matter what I say in the heat of the moment, I really do want to write for a living. Now to find another dream job to apply for. If you hear of any openings in which I can write about homes, please let me know!!
Not that I don't enjoy having time to spend with my kids, and Heaven knows I adore having more time to spend with family and friends. But y'all....not knowing what came on at 10 p.m. Monday nights or who really sucked on American Idol this week was a point of pride with me. Now I'm thanking the gods of OnDemand, for they let me sample all the shows Facebook has been talking about. And it never fails, somewhere around Tuesday afternoon I smack myself in the forehead and think I missed Rizzoli and Isles last week!! So thank you, Xfinity, for allowing me to play catch up...two weeks later over breakfast.
I'm seeing the end of my severance, too, and it's starting to make me uncomfortable. There's still unemployment...they won't let me draw it just yet, but it's comforting to know it's in my future. And food stamps came through. We might not be able to do much else, but we will be eating good! (Side note: I'm thinking seriously about...just for fun and because I'll have the time and money to do it, picking several new recipes out of my stacks of cookbooks...all the things I've wanted to try but didn't have the time or money to do it. Don't be surprised if I invite you to dinner!)
Really, though, the worst part of all of this is feeling unproductive. I haven't been...at least that's what my mom and my career counselor tell me. I have uploaded my resume to several job banks. I have searched for jobs to apply for. I have resurrected and polished my LinkedIn profile. I have taken personality and career assessment tests. I try to do at least a little something every day. But mostly, I still feel like I'm just sitting around on my duff.
Last week, I found my dream job as an associate editor for a home magazine in Atlanta. It was the first job I've seen that I actually wanted to apply for. (I only considered the fact that I'd have to relocate for about a half a minute. I don't want to uproot the kids, but if the job's right, I'll do it in a heartbeat.) I was so excited!! I spent three days tailoring my resume, drafting a cover letter, creating a blog as a portfolio of my home stories, and meeting with my career counselor to perfect all of them....only to find the job had closed when I went to apply for it.
The upside is that I have now done all of that, my resume is suitably polished and I have figured out how to showcase my work. And I realized that, deep down and no matter what I say in the heat of the moment, I really do want to write for a living. Now to find another dream job to apply for. If you hear of any openings in which I can write about homes, please let me know!!
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