tgif!!!

15 years ago

After one year and 49 weeks and more than 700 job applications I have a job! That's right - 3 weeks shy of two years of no gainful employment and I am back working for my former employer of almost 12 years in the same department - Interactive Marketing, Advertising & Media.

What a long haul this has been! Being unemployed for so long was not all bad however. I was able to go back to school and do some other things I would not have done if I had been employed. But I am REALLY fortunate and grateful to have a job again!

And to top it off the snow pack all but disappeared over the last two days. It does not get much better than this! :-)

Up North Teresa

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Comments (18)

lowspark
15 years ago
Congratulations!! I'm sure it's a huge relief to be getting an income again!

My plan for the weekend, in a word, taxes. Well anyway, that should fill up my Saturday morning. After that, relaxing. Not much else on the agenda. Maybe I'll get some things done around the house...

Here's clinking my cup of water to the weekend, and to your job Teresa. I'll raise a glass of wine tonight!
jimster
15 years ago
Congartulations, Teresa! I'm sure it is a good thing for your employer also to have you back.

Jim
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Well, TGIF night, that's for sure. My day started out at 9 am on the farm. No water, the frost free spout is officially frozen. We took a 50 gallon barrel to Amanda's and filled it. 3 times. Back to the farm where we dipped it out with 5 gallon buckets and filled the tank. OK, time to set hay. Except the tractor won't start. We spend about an hour trying to jump start the tractor, give up and wrap a chain around a big round bale of hay and drag it out to the animals. One egg that wasn't frozen, hooray. On the way home, we lost power steering in the truck, apparently a bearing froze up on the tensioner pulley and the belt broke. If it had been warmer than 7F, with wind chills of about -20, the truck might have overheated. We limped it to Dave's, where he fixed it and we came home. Right now there are blizzard conditions and white outs and the wind is about 25 MPH. Did I mention that I woke up with a sore throat? Elery made chicken soup for supper and I'm sitting here with a cup of tea and a bag of Hall's cough drops. Tomorrow we go out and see if we can chop down through the frozen ground to find the problem with the water. The valve is 5 feet under ground, so we may or may not get that fixed. If not, we'll be hauling water in barrels for a couple of months. (sigh) Clink with my cup of Irish Breakfast tea, and think about me about 9 am tomorrow, out in the storm, using a pick ax to break frozen ground. Yes indeed, we farmers just sit on our butts and wait for that government subsidy, that's what we do. Annie
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Sounds fun (Palm Springs). I'm in New Jersey. Flew here today for my grandmother's funeral. She passed away last week, at 105 y/o. Her life was very full and long, her last year had been in a sort of gently fading twilight, and her death was, it seems, pretty peaceful and painless, at home with no tubes or machines. So her passing was as gentle as it should have been. Life was kind to her, and at the end no less. Laying on the couch, lights off, thinking about this house and the things left over from fifty years of being my grandparents' home. There are photographs, my grandfather's calligraphy scrolls, my grandmother's needlepoint art. Those will be taken, I suppose many have already been over the past couple of years. Then there is the random daily stuff that has no value, but that I recognize from fifty years of visiting and sometimes living here. Old toys and books, dishes, things like that. I suppose it will all be disposed of, except for a few bits that people might take for sentimental reasons. Then the house will be sold, as a fixer because it needs a total remodel, although in a nice neighborhood with a good sized lot. And that may, I think, be it for New Jersey, for me. My aunt and uncle and one first cousin live here, but without my grandparents, my connection to this place, a place I never liked much, will be done. I think I'm going to cook dinner tomorrow at my aunt's. She has a nice Bluestar range and that is where most of the family will be. Her daughter, my other first cousin, is flying in tomorrow. She lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where her husband works for the United Nations. I don't think they like it as much as Switzerland, where they lived for the last several years. But the UN HCR (High Commission For Refugees) moves its senior staff around every several years. They don't get permanent cushy posts in comfortable cities; they have to go where the refugees are, so Ethiopia was, I think, better than some places they might have ended up. There isn't much scope for home cooking as an expat in Addis Ababa, I'm told. Especially with young kids who are adapting from their previous Franco-Swiss diet (and life). So I figure she might like a dinner at home, at her mom's home anyway. Menu undecided but I'm thinking about chicken marbela. I also have a hankering for ceviche. They may not go together, but tough. Otherwise, no interesting cooking recently. I have spent the last month on back to back to back business trips. So I've been eating like crap - airport food, hotel food, restaurant food. Occasionally a good ramen or other street food in New York, but mostly crap. As the weeks of this have dragged on, and I've gotten fatter and flabbier, I've started skipping restaurants altogether and going to grocery stores and delis to get "healthy" things to eat. So my diet has mostly dwindled to Greek yoghurt, canned sardines and tuna, bread and cheese, fruit, takeout sushi, and coffee. It's not a bad diet but there isn't much cooking or variety involved. Although I have discovered that canned tuna plus Greek yoghurt plus a little salt or soy sauce makes a creditable and oh-so-healthy tuna salad. And that chopped raw salmon, Greek yoghurt, and one of those super-miniature bottles of hot sauce that you can filch from restaurants makes a reasonable spicy salmon filling. When I get home on Monday, I don't have another trip on the calendar for months. I'm going to cook up a storm, enjoy being home on weekends, re-acquaint myself with bicycling everywhere, lose this travel flab, and appreciate springtime in Portland.
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It is damp here today too, we got some flurries last evening and now it is more of a mist with it turning to rain I think by the end of the day. I will just be here doing housework stuff as we are still in the orange alert, no schools in session once again. Izzi and I are sharing my breakfast of eggs and toast. I am having hot tea. My son just called and let me know what his plans are for today. Husband is off to work, so I have the day to work around here hopefully with out too much interruption. I hope everyone keeps safe as it is icy underfoot, at least it is here. Sue in Central Indiana
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No cooking this weekend, no interesting cooking anyway. Took daughter to school for her Speech & Debate tournament at 6:30 am. I was not happy about getting up at 5:30 am on Saturday. By the time I got home, it was still dark, but it seemed pointless to go back to bed, so I put on bike gear and went to ride laps up Mt Tabor, our local hilltop park. The "mountain" in Mt Tabor is a very miniature one, it is really just a big hill that used to be a volcano way back when. There are a couple different roads that lead to the top. They start in pretty neighborhoods then climb up through trees and past fields and reservoirs for about a mile, though some are shorter and steeper while others are longer and easier. On my first ride up the hill, I watched the sun rise through the tall trees, and that really made my morning. I kept climbing to the top, circling the peak of the hill which became more sunlit on each lap, descending through the fog and mist, turning around at the bottom and trying a different route up. On one lap I saw a familiar jacket ahead and caught up to it. When I first took my bike to Mt Tabor a few years ago, I met a guy who rides laps up the hill every day. On weekdays he does a few laps as part of his bike commute, on weekends he does laps in the mornings. He'd explained to me that severe arthritis runs in his family, and climbing hills on the bike was the only way he could stay pain free. His mother had both hips replaced, his sister has had one replacement and is needing another, but he is still fit and mobile on his original equipment. I was so impressed that I started riding Mt a Tabor semi-regularly, and have done ever since. But not like this guy. He's ridden up the hill over 40,000 times. When I first rode up the hill it seemed awfully hard, even on a mountain bike with very low gears. I struggled and my heart pounded as I gasped for breath. Now I'm better at climbing, so I ride a road bike with fairly high gears and can have a conversation while climbing, as I did today with this guy. There are much steeper climbs around Portland and I am still not a good enough climber for some of them. The idea I had a few months ago is to make my Mt Tabor laps more difficult by only using the big chainring (that is, forcing myself to use the harder gears) and pushing so that I am struggling on my last lap. I hope it works like weightlifting, where you get stronger by pushing your muscles to failure, and that I'll do better on the steeper climbs now. If I really wanted to be a better climber, I'd lose 20 or more lbs. The best climbers on a bike weigh 140 lbs. But they don't hang around the Cooking Forum either. When I was done, it was still early. I rode to a Saturday farmers' market where they were just setting up. One stall sold breakfast burritos, and I got a duck and lamb burrito (only in Portland). It came fat and hot and wrapped in foil. I slipped the burrito in one of my jersey pockets and it kept me warm on the ride home. Unfortunately, when I got home I was so hungry that I ate the whole burrito and raided the fridge and didn't stop until I'd eaten what I estimate was 1,600 calories. It wasn't even 10 am yet. Talk about undoing all the morning's good work on the bike. And that is why I am not cooking this weekend. I think I need to not think about food for a couple of days! This post was edited by johnliu on Sat, Nov 9, 13 at 23:45
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rob333 (zone 7b)
15 years ago
Yea Teresa! Fantastic.

May, I may raise one of those tonight too. Enjoy? taxes. Ok, enjoy getting it done.

I too am excited about a two year haul that has ended. Mine was that I had a spot doctors were watching. I've gone from the endangered list, past the threatened, and back into the general population. No more intensive watching. It's an awesome feeling to be back to "normal".

Raising my warm beverage and toasting normalcy (not just mine, hurray Teresa!!!).
katefisher
15 years ago
Congratulations. You should be proud of yourself.

We are poised for at least a foot of snow here tonight so I expect to be hunkered down this evening with plans to make a tri tip tomorrow after snow shoveling is completed:) Spring will come one day.

Have a great weekend all.

Kate
annie1992
15 years ago
Congratulations on the job, Teresa.

rob, thank goodness you got the all clear, what a wonderful feeling that has to be.

My taxes were done last month, thank goodness. I hate that.

Here, Elery will be home tonight. I'm taking the Jeep to David's for some repair, I'll stop and check on my hopefully very pregnant cows, be sure the feeders are full and drop off a mineral block to keep them happy, see how the hay supply is holding out.

I think elery is wanting to have dinner at Schuberg's, the Friday night fish special probably.

Tomorrow, rolling more cannelloni for th ewedding, LOL, I'm going to be doing that for a while, I think, and finishing up the last handful of wedding invitations.

Clinking with a cup of coffee.

Annie
Lars
15 years ago
Congratulations, Teresa! I do know the feeling, but I had to wait a bit longer to get rehired. I was laid off in 2001 and then get rehired as part time in 2007 and promoted to full time in 2008, just in time before the economic downturn, which could have delayed my return to full time. I'm glad your delay was not to long and that you were able to use your time to your advantage.

Kevin and I will be going to Texas one week from tomorrow for a family reunion and will be there for one week. I'm getting used to the idea of having to deal with family again, but at least it won't be Christmas or Thanksgiving, when travelling is more irritating. March is my favorite month in Texas, and this is why I suggested we have our reunion at this time.

Rain is forecast for the week-end, and so I'll be doing housework, although I do want to plant some of the herbs I bought last week-end. I also bought some seeds to plant, but I might wait until we get back to plant those. I have quite a few tomato plants that lasted through the winter, but I will also be planting new ones. Now that your snowpack has disappeared, perhaps you can do some gardening as well.

Lars
caliloo
15 years ago
Congrrats on the job Teresa, it is awesome that the job market has opened up so much. There are lots of companies hiring in my area now, I hope it is the same all over.

Rob - WHEW! Glad to hear all is well again.

Taxes? EW... I have an appointment to drop everything at the accountant next week. I guess that means I have to find all the bits and pieces.

Annie - Enjoy having Elery around and find a little time to relax this weekend. It makes me tired just thinking about all you do :-)

Had a lovely time at Irish Fest yesterday - they weather was delightful. Mid 60's and sunny. Did a little gardening this morning, pruned the roses, and wandered around admiring all the daffys, hellebores, witchhazel, etc that is in full bloom. Having a few friends over to grill tonight. The kids will exhaust themselves on the trampoline while the grownups relax and enjoy the mid 70's sunny afternoon and evening. We dragged one of the old TVs out to the patio so we can have basketball on while we sit outside. We may light the fire pit if it gets chilly later. Tomorrow we are going to another Irish party at friends and Sunday I am thinking of painting the laundry room. Not completely decided on that though, we may jsut relax and watch more basketball.

Have a happy and safe weekend everyone!

Alexa
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
15 years ago
TGIF indeed Teresa! TGI2011!

So when will the kitchen renovation start?
----------------
I will be making maple syrup this weekend.

There is one lonely maple tree in my front yard. Out of curiosity, I drilled a hole in the trunk and fashioned a spile. Hahaa! Two days now I have two quarts of sap in the bucket!

I will be having one tea spoon of home-made maple syrup. :-)

I need recipes for making an one-inch diameter pancake to go with the syrup.

dcarch
jimster
15 years ago
"I will be having one tea spoon of home-made maple syrup. :-)"

LOL!!!! Don't exaggerate. Two quarts of sap will make almost 10 teaspoons of syrup. That's enough for a 2" pancake.

Jim
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
15 years ago
"--LOL!!!! Don't exaggerate. Two quarts of sap will make almost 10 teaspoons of syrup. That's enough for a 2" pancake. "

2" pancake! OMG! I guess I will have to invite you over for breakfast. :-)

dcarch
cookie8
15 years ago
Congratulations on the new job.
We made maple syrup for the first time too last week and ended up with 1/4 cup. I really did think there would be more even though I read there wouldn't be much with the sap we collected. This weekend will be me watching my snow melt. I want it gone!
jimster
15 years ago
FWIW, It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup, although you might get away with 30 if you are chintzy. IOW, 10 quarts to make a cup.

Jim
Teresa_MN
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks all! Rob - that's great news! Health worries are far worse than employment worries.

Dcarch - the kitchen remodel will begin this summer. Thank God I did not have to dig into the remodel fund while I was out of work.

I was out at the mailbox last night and I told my elderly neighbor that I finally got a job. He replied "does that mean you won't be mowing and shoveling for me anymore?" LOL Yes it's true. I've attended to several of my neighbors lawns and driveways during the time I was out of work. The neighbor's son used to come over and do the work for his parents. When I told him I was out of work he said I'll pay you to do this for me. And then other neighbors hired me also. I have no idea why but my mother was horrified when she learned of this. I said "it's cash and I'm getting a workout. What's not to like? Besides, I'll do almost anything before digging into the remodel fund!"

Dcarch - you will have some extensive and creative plating to do to dress up a 2" pancake! I can't wait to see what you come up with.

I'm tempted to buy something special to toast with tonite.
jude31
15 years ago
Congratulations Teresa and to you, Rob. What good news for both of you and I agree about the health worries.

jude
hawk307
15 years ago
Hi Teresa:
Congrats on the new job. Sip on one for me !!!
I can-t drink right now.

If you need help with the Kitchen, or construction info,
I am available.
Right now I am going to make a 3 inch Pancake, maybe 3.

But I am going to buy my Syrup, I am not a sap, LOL!!!

LOU
rachelellen
15 years ago
Teresa, that's great!! I'm just starting in the job search myself. I agree with you about the cash and workout. The money you made you didn't have to take out of your fund, and honest money is honest money. If I don't hear some sugar about a second interview I'm expecting on Monday, I'm gonna grab a job waiting tables in the meanwhile...what the heck! I'm living temp with my SBSIL (should be sister in law) and her family, so my bills are low, but at least I could make sure and contribute. Glad your long wait is over!

And Rob, Yee Haaaa! What a thing to have to carry around in the back of your mind so long!

Oh heck...I forgot to get something to 'tink' with, just a sec...............
..................
...............'Kay...TINK Y'ALL!!! :D
coconut_nj
15 years ago
Yay for Friday and what a Friday it's been! Seventy, sunny and the spring bulbs are all greens showing. Wisteria is getting it's buds started. Beautiful day. The dog, Jessie, was sunning himself on the driveway.

Teresa that is most excellent news. Even back at your former company. Congratulations!

Oh Rob, I'm so glad that spot resolved itself. I couldn't be more happy at that news. I'll definitely drink to that!

Taxes. We got our Federal Refund last week but I still need to do the State taxes and that will be tonight or tomorrow. Now with the Civil Union we have to do the taxes two ways. Federal as singles with Christy as head of household and State as Married/Civil Union. Ah well, one day.

Lars, good luck with the reunion. I know you had mentioned trying to get them to do it this spring but didn't think they'd agree. I'm glad it's going to happen on terms more to your liking.

DCArch, you sure know how to have a good time. Hey, silver dollar pancakes are very popular world wide. You could have a sampler. When I have pancakes I like to have one with maple syrup, one with just lots of butter and one with either butter and sugar or raspberry jam. ;]
KatieC
15 years ago
Congrats on the job Teresa, and also to you Rob. 'All clear' is always good to hear.

It's been he!! week here. Trying to catch up after being severely short-staffed for a few weeks. And yesterday I had to formally threaten one of my long-time employees with termination, always an unpleasant task.

Today I stayed home and puttered. Still too much snow to get outside but I can finally see my flower beds. (Coconut..."Seventy, sunny and the spring bulbs are all greens showing.". Phffflllt!)

Tomorrow is work, but I have more than a full crew, so I plan on shutting myself in my office and not coming out until I've plowed through all the stacks of paperwork on my desk.

Sunday we'll plant peppers in the greenhouse. I have a bowl of mesclun growing down there that's ready to thin...we'll have a lovely, fresh salad tonight.

Have a good weekend everyone! ~Clink~

tgif!!!

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