Nasty Boys

I had the best dream last night. With all the celebrity deaths last week, being nostalgic is understandable, but even my iPod seems to be in nostalgia mode. I washed my car Saturday to the tunes of Bon Jovi, GNR, Bob Marley and Eric Clapton. Not one modern song played, it was wierd, but cool.

Anyway, I was a kid again, in my parents old house in Maryland. Since someone was watching something lame on the only t.v. I was up in my room rocking out to Janet Jackson's Nasty Boys. Then, somehow I knew my BFF Joi was there to pick me up, so I went downstairs and we went to the beach with an unknown driver. After swimming and boogie boarding, we went up to buy an ice cream bar from the Good Humor guy. When we got our ice cream the guy gave us piles of mini Hershey bars, too, and when we opened the wrappers, there was even more candy wrapped up with the ice cream. Then I woke up - is that an awesome dream or what?! If I were to analyze it, I'd say it's time to call Joi and say whaddup.

I mentioned that I washed my car on Saturday, but I also detailed it. The hubby was in the doghouse after canceling our date, because he didn't feel like going into town, and I didn't feel like laying around the house with him. So I had some long island ice teas with the neighbor gals, and after playing Desperate Housewives for a while, I got off my pity party and made the Hybrid shine inside and out. So we decided that from here on out, the hubby will now be known as the Hermit. In fact, all the guys in the neighborhood got a name that day, but I think the Hermit fits so well, I'm keeping it. Ha ha - shouldn't act that old before you're 40!

Sadness and Quiet

Wow, I actually feel like I'm in mourning. My favorite Angel and Michael Jackson passed away on the same day! I know many of my friends in PNW aren't as sad about Michael Jackson, but where I grew up, he was just part of our lives.

I remember double dutching on the playground at Beaver Run to the Thriller album, and talking my mom into buying Bad for several of my black friends who couldn't afford it at North Salisbury. I even remember dancing to Off the Wall with my big sister at her first place when I was really little, and watching re-runs of the Jackson 5 cartoon. He became easy to laugh at when he was older, but I think his life story is so sad.

Farrah's story actually hits harder home to me, though. It didn't really bother me when my grandpa got a colonostomy, I thought it was something that happened to old people. Then I got really sick in 2003. I couldn't keep much food down, and I lost 17 pounds in 3 weeks. They ended up removing a good-sized polyp from my colon that was pre-cancerous, and I realized it could happen to anyone.

I was lucky my body reacted, Farrah had no symptoms, and her cancer was found at a routine screening. I had a hard time watching recent clips of her, because she was so beautiful and healthy, and was wasting away from colorectal cancer. You have no idea how painful your colon can become until it happens. I'm glad she's not in pain anymore.

Since I've been back in the "real world" of working full time, I've found my downtime quite boring. It was fine when it was sunny, I could go for a hike or run, but it's been typical PNW rainy lately here in the mountains. I have been able to get into a reality show on the History Channel that's based on Stanley's expedition to find Dr. Livingstone in Africa. It's called Expedition Africa: Out of the Wild, and it's on every Sunday evening.

I couldn't decide what to read in my free time this summer, but the show has inspired me to read some expedition journals. I realize that Stanley wasn't the nicest guy, beating his porters into carrying equipment with full-blown malaria, but after reading Howard Zinn, many great men have lost morality ground in my book. I've read Darwin a few times, but his journals lack excitement as he was more into taking detailed notes, after all, he was on to something.

So I'm going to read some expedition journals, and some adventure books recommended by one of my nieces. She's got great taste in music and literature, and I know she won't recommend a lame kids' book like Harry Snothead, I mean Potter. I do believe a trip to the library is in order tomorrow. We have an empty nest until Sunday, so I might as well enjoy the peace and quiet before the drums start up again. The youngest asked for money for his birthday, and bought a drumset. Here comes my trumpet karma.

Getting on Track

After a reality check of working full time in the pharmacy again, I was able to catch up on just about everything on my day off yesterday. I've been frustrated the last few weeks, trying to find an internship with one of the federal/state/county ecology agencies only to find out all of these new green collar jobs that Obama said the stimulus would create are not out there.

I'm also pretty upset that they are trying to put together a half-ass public healthcare plan written by the insurance company lobbyists. What we really need in this country is insurance reform - what other line of business can take your money (and a lot of money it is) for a just-in-case scenario, make a profit, trade on the stock market, and then refuse to pay-out when you need a claim paid? It's legalized theft is what it is, and the government it creating another cash cow for them.

But back to the job hunt... I cracked down on myself last night, after catching up on the dishes, laundry, vacuuming, etc. I took my employment resume and tweaked it into a student resume, so I could flaunt my newly acquired skills. Then I had an epiphony... what if the private sector has reacted faster than the public sector in applying for stimulus money, and do they have jobs available? Bingo!

I'm making a stop at Office Max this weekend to buy some thick, professional resume paper, and then swinging by the post office to buy a sheet of stamps. My resume will be scattered across King, Snohomish and Whatcom counties, and hopefully something will come of it. I've usually had great luck at the job hunt, mostly because I think I am more sure of myself than I should be, and my resumes always come across, crisp, clean and to the point. But hey, isn't finding a job nothing more than selling yourself?

It would be great if I could find something full time with benefits, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I've got no problem working in the pharmacy for as long as I need to, even if they don't want to treat me with respect. When your scheduler tells you that you can't have your mother-in-law's 60th birthday off because (and I quote word-for-word), "it's a Friday and she just needs to understand that people have to work on Fridays," you really begin to wonder where your own personal loyalties lie.

And yet, the same people get that three day weekend off, and I'm left being the weekend serf once again, despite all the weekends I've worked, and nights I've closed. So much for a "family oriented" company - guess I made friends with the wrong people. I've always said that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar, but sweet things turn sour over time if you don't take care of them.

Unwinding

Last night and today feel very strange to me. I finished up my final in Physical Geography and turned in my final Engineering project (the windmill got a perfect score thank-you-very-much), and I think I'm very close to a 4.0. So now I have an Associates Degree in Environmental Science, and I feel like I'm tightly wedged half way between a crevice. It's weird, I have nothing to read, and didn't know what to do with myself last night after the laundry was folded.

Really, I know I should be more proud and excited, but with the economy in the toilet, there are few internships in the field this summer, and I feel held back by working so much in the pharmacy. Agencies don't want to hire me, because I can't commit to a regular schedule with the pharmacy schedule being different every week. I'm crossing my fingers for Universal Health Care soon, and will decide what path to take from there.

In other news, Snohomish County is planning a Sustainability Fair, and I'm hoping to get involved in that soon. I have a friend that works for the city of Everett, and I'm trying to get my foot back in the door. It was so tempting not to apply for a SnoCo Park Ranger Assistant job this summer, but we need benefits, and that job is seasonal. Hopefully something will pan out soon - it usually does.

Enjoy another day in the sun in PNW - day 22 without rain! I heard a rumor of El Nino, which would mean drought up here :( I feel guilty watering the strawberries, but they will be tiny if we don't get rain soon. I think we'll get a first harvest in about 10 days! Yummy!