Life Is Good

Things have been going pretty good lately. I still haven't been hired on permanently (what an oxymoron since it only means I'm not a temp, but doesn't really mean I have a permanent job), but anyway, that doesn't matter so much. I should find out within a month or two whether I will be. Either my boss will get approval and then I'll get hired, or he won't and I'll be let go (which just means I'll be in the market for more temp jobs). If this happens, I'll just keep in touch with the Documentation manager and possibly get some temp work from him until he has something more permanent in his department. I think it will work out either way. But overall, things are good. I hope it stays this way.

I have been so busy, though. I've been trying to do better at keeping up with housework and so if I'm not doing other things, I'm cleaning. On top of that I spend about 10 or more hours a week working on Leading Edge stuff. Also exercising, eating, sleeping, and watching a little TV here and there. I've hardly had time to think. Even work has been very busy with lots to do (which hasn't always been the case).

Leading Edge Magazine

As some of you know, I work at Leading Edge magazine. I'd like to put a plug in for it because if you like science fiction and fantasy, it's a great magazine. Our last issue featured stories by Orson Scott Card, Dave Wolverton (Farland), and LE Modesitt Jr, as well as Brandon Sanderson, a new author who has a novel published by Tor entitled Elantris, as well as a wonderful short story after the style and feel of HP Lovecraft entitled "Empire of the Dead" by Chris Kugler. I'd like to encourage all of you to take a look at our Web site at www.leadingedgemagazine.com. There are excerpts for each of the stories as well as a sampling of the art. Check it out!

Protein Shakes

I got into having protein shakes for dinner lately. It's really great because I don't have to plan something for dinner, it fills me up so I'm not hungry, and it's only 220 calories. The protein in the milk I mix it with combined with the powdered mix is 36 grams, so I'm finally get close to the daily recommended amount of calories. It's whey protein, so it's totally healthy. And it's fast and easy, so when I'm in a hurry, I still get something to fill my stomach. Yea!

We're All Moved

Well, we got ourselves moved last weekend. I'm excited to be in the new apartment, but it's stressful to move and now we're living in a disaster! Everything is everywhere with hardly any organization. I've worked on putting stuff away and feel I haven't even made a dent in it and it stresses me out to have everything be such a mess. Sure I'm not the cleanest person, but I definitely don't like things to be so messy and disorganized. I know it's going to take a week or more to do it all (since I still have to work afterall), but I can't wait till everything is organized and put away! It'll be so nice.

We're definitely enjoying having a bigger place and having space! I put some stuff in the crawl space under the stairs and didn't even make a dent in the space that's available. We haven't even put stuff out in the storage shed yet. It's so great. I just hope we don't fill it up. I don't want to have to move even more stuff than I moved this time. It was enough. This is the first time we've had a real move. Last time we moved, the only furniture we had was a mattress, boxspring, and frame plus two small bookcases and a small computer desk. This time we had that plus dining table with 5 chairs, couch, a big computer desk, two dressers, nightstand, and a really tall bookcase. Plus, of course, all the other things we've accumulated in the last two years. But that's okay, we've moved and I'm happy :).

Bought a Washer and Dryer

Since Aaron and I are moving into an apartment with washer and dryer hookups, we figured it was time to get us a set. We've been looking around and trying to figure out which ones were best and I've been talking to my co-worker, whose son used to be in the business, about which ones were good, especially since we were thinking of possibly getting a used set. We, or I should say I because Aaron left the decision up to me basically, finally decided on what we should get. My co-worker had told us to avoid certain brands such as GE and Hotpoint and that the good brands are Kenmore, Maytag (except for their Neptune model), and Whirlpool. So I decided to look at Sears that has all three of these brands. We ended up deciding on a Kenmore 80 series washer and a Kenmore 70 series dryer. If you want to take a look at them, here are the two links to Sears.com:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=APPL&pid=02626852000&subcat=Conventional+Top+Load+Washers

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=APPL&pid=02666732000

Even though different "series," they match in the way they look and I'm very happy with the options they have on them. I read a lot of online reviews for other washers and many women talked about how great having the "Second Rinse" option is and how you need the ability to turn off the buzzer on the dryer in case you have a child napping near by (or maybe if you are going to go to bed after you start it). They also mentioned how nice it is to have the Handwash mode, which can wash even handwashables very gently. So that's why I decided to get what I got. I'm very happy with what I chose overall. I've heard great things about Kenmore washers and dryers. What's also great is they're going to deliver them next Saturday (12/31) for free (after a rebate anyway). That's the day we move into our new apartment. I'm so excited to do my own laundry without having to leave the apartment! It's been over six years (except for sporatic times when I've been home). So exciting!

Job Interview Tomorrow

I am so excited. I was sitting in a conference room waiting for a meeting to start, and the manager for documentation walked by and asked if he could talk to me after the meeting. I figured it was about that job I applied for so I was very excited. After the meeting he said that he would like to set up a time to interview me. I told him when I was free and so he's going to send me an email about when he wants to interview me tomorrow. I'm so excited! I figured that they already had someone for the job, but maybe I do have a chance. I feel that I'm pretty much perfect for the job, and so I hope that it works out if it's suppose. Cross your fingers people. I need all the luck I can get. Here's hoping!

Possible Job Opportunity

So as I've said, I'm just a temp at the company I work at (and have been for over 9 months) and even though I am really grateful to work here, and they pay decently (especially for the area), and they treat me as if I'm a real employee, I'd really like to get hired on and not be a "contractor" anymore. One reason is I figure that even though I get paid all right, I still deserve more and if I were hired on I would most likely get paid more. And the second (and biggest reason) is that if I were hired on, I would have all the benefits, including paid time off (3 weeks' worth), holiday pay (10 days total), and health insurance (which I have now, but theirs is better and cheaper, $70/mo for the whole family), as well as vision and dentist insurance. I've been hoping that I would be hired on and they said they were planning to eventually. Then two days ago the company posted a job for an "Editor." How perfect! It's in another department, documentation, and I totally qualify (without over-qualifying) and since I already work here, I'm familiar with the company and the products, and I even know some of the people who work in documentation. So I put in my application yesterday.

Now I just have to wait and see what happens. I figure if I don't get the job, it will be because one of the interns that is already working there has applied and they are planning on hiring him or her and only posted it so it would be more legal (I'm not sure if it's illegal to hire someone without publicly announcing a job, but it might be). So if I get it, and it is a full-time position with benefits, I could finally get what I want. Yea!