From the Gulf of Mexico to the Blue Ridge Mountains!

No rest for us!  I had a telephone interview a couple of weeks ago for a job in Panama City and they wanted me to come meet the team and see the facilities.  I got free time to spare so why not!  Joe was able to take the whole week off, he was taking Thursday and Friday off for our own little get away so it worked out well.

Darien, GA

It's about a 10 hr drive :(  We stopped in a cute little town in GA and then had lunch at a fun place in Tallahassee, FL.  We got to PC early evening so we could scope out some apartments that we wanted to look at after my job interviews.  I ended up having two!  Another place called me to set up an interview that day so I had a day packed and it was Joe's birthday!  He got to play interview chauffeur and scope out the area while I was getting questioned :P

First interview went o.k.  It was to be a Child Protective Investigator.  It is a state job and I would be investigating reports of child abuse.  I would have to pull call off and on, and drive up to 2 hours away.  One place in the region I would have to take a ferry to get to!  It would be a very taxing and mentally stressful job.  It would not be a boring job that is for sure!  One of the questions I asked was about how they support their workers to avoid burn out, they did report a heavy turn over rate and their "seasoned" person had been there 3 years!  I was told by one of the supervisors that they highly recommend that their workers take a week off ever couple of months for a reset and to "catch up on paperwork".  Ummm not a good selling point to me!  Knowing how I am in the work environment, I would work myself to the bone to do the best I could do!  Additionally, this job would not get me towards my LCSW which I want to get.  I would have to take additional work to get my therapy hours :(  I researched the pay average for MSWs in FL (they are lower than the national average) and the range is from $21-$31/hr, this job was $20 and some change :(.  They wanted me to come back after my other interview for the background check portion but....

Next interview was the follow up.  It's working with active duty and retired military in an in-patient setting...mainly PTSD and substance abuse.  The population I want to work with and it's therapy focused!  Only downside is that it's an PRN so it depends on the patient load how many days/hours I will get.  I was told during the interview at a minimum it would be 2-3 days.  This work environment would be a perfect fit for me for it's population and it's workers.  I spent a few hours there.  I sat through one of their team meetings where they staff clients and I got a good feel for how they operate.  I talked to some of the other MSWs and also the nursing staff and everyone enjoys the clientele and the work environment!  I walked away with a job offer for $23/hr :D  WOOT!  I start orientation on 5 October.  That gives us a couple of weeks to get settled in FL!  

After that interview we had a light snack, I changed, and we started apartment shopping. We had Joe's bday dinner on the water and it was wonderful and we were both in awe that this was going to be our new home!  Tuesday morning we checked out another apartment and then headed back to N.C. 

first FL sunset!

We took Wednesday as a reset day and then Thursday heading to the mountains of N.C.  Beautiful area and we both loved the city of Asheville!  It didn't feel like we were in N.C.!  The Biltmore is amazing and I recommend that to anyone in the area!  I'm fascinated with the Vanderbilts now!  

Biltmore

it use to be a dairy, holding 40 dairy cows...now it's a winery and we sure did enjoy the wine tasting!

Saturday we headed home and stopped at Chimney Rock.  The elevator was broken so we got an entrance discount since we had to climb 499 stairs to get to the top!  But it was worth it!

Chimney Rock

We have a garage sale to get ready for this weekend and then a short trip to Charleston for Labor Day Weekend!  Then the weekend of the 11th we are off to the Outer Banks and then we MOVE!  

It's a rainy day, the furkids are lazy and I need to get motivated! ugh  I need to sort through stuff to get rid of.  I kept some "winter" stuff because it does get chilly here in N.C. but now.... I  have to downsize even more!  Plus I have my work starting paperwork to fill out and send back to my new job!!!!!  Time for some income!  

Life is crazy, wonderful, and I plan to live it to the fullest!

Busy Judged Bee!

Next month, this time we will be in Florida!  WOW!  This month has flown by with my trips up the east coast and more trips to squeeze in prior to moving!  Craziness.... 
Baltimore with Natalie was fun!  I had some firsts: raw oysters, cigar, and hookah!  We had a random night downtown where we just did and went where the night took us!  That's the way to experience randomness of a city :D

on the water taxi with downtown behind us

at our raw oyster place of the night! delish!

To add to the business of moving, Joe will be going to PA this friday to pick up his motorcycle...which will be more comfortable for me to ride compared to his current one! Sunday we turn around and drive to Panama City.  I have a job interview (high five) and we will check out apartments before heading back home where we promptly turn around and head out for our already planned visit of the NC mountains!  

I may have two interviews on Monday in FL, I need to call this lady back.... ugh  This second job isn't what I want to do but I do want a job and it's in my social worker realm.  It will be good interview experience for me even if I don't get or take the job.   I've been in NC and in this area for about 4 months, I've gotten NO bites on anything :(  but I'm not even in FL and I have two interviews.  There is a reason for everything!  Additionally, a Chief Joe knows has a daughter in the same field working in that area and I'm going to forward my resume her way and she's going to check out some areas for me!  WOW  Things like that remind me of how the military use to be back when I first joined in, more family and support!

It's amazing how half of the day can be negative and draining and then things can quickly turn around.  Yesterday evening is when the Chief connect happened.  Earlier that day I was judged while in Lowe's.  :(

I am not anti religion, I am anti organized religion especially if you are going to use your religion to tell me how I'm suppose to live my life!  I'm in Lowe's looking for something specific and an older gentlemen, who works there, strikes up a conversation with me and I ask him for assistance.  I was feeling good, just got my retired I.D. card!  Well, the  normal course of conversation he asked if I had any kids and I told him no, but I do have furkids ;) Next thing I know I'm being told that it's "god's will" that I have children to populate the earth. To which I pointed out that many others are populating the earth just fine and by me not having children will  not cause any imbalances.  He then said that "it's to impart wisdom" which I can do without birthing a child, I can help those in need through my work and my good deeds. Then he talked about when I'm older, having kids will ensure I'm taking care of.... first off that is NOT a guarantee and if I'm having children as a retirement policy that is the wrong reason to do that.   Then it was that god wants me to pass down my specific genetic code.  Ummm  I have not read the bible cover to cover but I do not think that god mentions genetic code anywhere in the writings.  :P  I went into Lowe's for an electrical outlet plate and I get questioned by a random man on MY life choices!  Do guys have these conversations? Would a male worker in Lowe's ask a male customer if he has kids and if not, well.... that's YOUR job to pass down your specific genetic code.  I need to work on my responses, after the initial question of "do you have kids"...if it progresses, I'm going to start questioning them.  

Do you ask all your customers about why or why not they have kids?

Do you tell them WHY they should have kids via "god's word"?

I don't know you, so I feel no need to discuss my personal life with a random man so thank you for your assistance.

Grrrrr

I was polite and didn't question his belief system, just responded to his reasons as to why I didn't feel the need to procreate.  I was respectful of his views and didn't condensed him, although he looked at me as if I was a silly "lost" girl, a female who had lost her way.... a female who had grown horns as soon as I said I am not having children.  If I said I couldn't have children as compared to a I am choosing not to, his reaction would have been COMPLETELY different.   

I left Lowe's without a wall plate AND feeling irritated and pissed.  Got home and ordered the wall plate off of Amazon, no judgement there!

A pirate looks at 40

Well, I'm not a pirate and I'm not turning 40....but I'm just about there.  I will be turning 39 in a manner of weeks and whoa what a ride it's been thus far.  I've moved more times that I care to count and by the end of September I'll have another move tallied up!  I can't believe it, I'm already hunting for apartments and there is so much to do AGAIN! We want to downsize even more with this move so I need to start going through my stuff again.  I did keep some cold weather stuff/clothing which I can downsize :D  Yeah for Florida, no winter weather!  We have our must see NC items scheduled.  
I just returned from visiting a friend up near Boston and had a great time!  I thought when people talk of north easterners they embellish the "wicked" and other words.  They don't!  It is beautiful up there, all the towns but I would hate to live up there in the winter :(  We checked out Salem and some other historical areas.  My Mom lived up there as a little girl so it was nice to see some of the area.  We bought fresh lobster off the boat one day!  My first lobster eating experience!  I've avoided having lobster in restaurants, mainly because if I'm going out to eat I don't want to work that hard to get to my food!  So buying it off of the fisherman, then taking it back for some home cooking, and eating it outside with great people... it was worth the wait!  I was gone about 6 days and I was so happy to come back home!  
We have a somewhat chill weekend coming up then I'm heading to the Baltimore area to visit a friend there just for a long weekend.  I need to get all this visiting in now before I get a job! *fingers crossed* that the job happens soon after we get to FL.  I applied for a hospital social worker position this week and that would be great if I got that job!  
My life has never felt more surreal to me before!  Even living in different countries I've had moments of "wow, is this really happening to me" but it's not been constant. The compatibility that I have with Joe amazes me, the ease of our relationship is something I've always wanted but never lasted.  It's the little things.... Yesterday I texted Joe about dinner, asked about pork chops (I found a recipe) and he stated he wanted to grill them so I looked for some sides to go with.  He invited his friend John over (John's girl had other plans) and we were just going to hang out.  Joe gets home, seasons the chops, I get working on the homemade mac and cheese with Joe's assistance.  John shows up and he "monitors" Joe's grilling and I finish up with the mac and cheese, and broccoli.  We timed things wonderfully and it all finishes about the same time.  We sit down and the food was wonderful, conversation is easy...after dinner we did a quick clean up and move out to the porch.  The guys light up their cigars and I have a glass of wine.  Easy, comfortable, good times!  It starts to rain and we start to relocate to the garage, I tell Joe I'm going to go inside (I'm engaged in this book and I'm almost done) plus the guys were talking shop and well...I had enough of that.  No hard feeling and it was easy going. After John left Joe said they had some good conversations on relationships and other things, so I'm glad that I stepped away and they could have those conversations.  
A wonderful evening!  So comfortable, everyone was in a good mood, and the vibe was relaxed and comfortable!  
I am really blessed!

Two Weeks to Go!

     Only a couple of more weeks until my first year in the MSW program is over!  I cannot believe that I'm practically half way through the program.  I ended with my practicum the other week.  I was happy to end my time there.  It was a good experience but I was ready to be done.  Next year I'll be working at the Vet Center with combat vets.  I'm excited for the experience but I realize that it will probably be harder for me than this first year.  I had a few interviews for next year's practicum.  I interviewed at the prison, which would have been an amazing experience (but both Shane and my Dad were hoping it wouldn't pan out), the Vet Center, and the VA.  I never heard back from the prison but the Vet Center called me back the very next day after the interview!  I thought it was a great interview because they had a dog there!  I was able to sit there for the first half of the interview petting this sweet dog!  I think that should be a requirement for interviews ;)  The interview at the VA went well too, even though there was no dog.  They actually called me back and offered me a slot but I decided the Vet Center would be a better fit.  I struggled with the decision but after talking to some people that work at the VA, they even said I made a good decision!  The VA is so BIG, and the red tape.... I want to be able to learn and grow in this practicum.  I am worried about showing up, shadowing another therapist and then sent on my own way like I was this first year.  I feel that the Vet Center will be more intimate of a learning experience!  Plus the intern office had a window ;)
     During the summer I'll be working with my guard unit.  Our programs need work and I have an opportunity to get orders.  We are in a transition and we are bringing online a new inspection program so I'll be busy.  It will be good and the pay will be nice.  The practicum I just left offered a job and talked to me about working with them but the pay won't be nearly as much as doing orders!
     Shane and I have some big changes ahead of us!  Shane is retiring in June and around that same time we are moving downtown SLC.  I'll be close to next year's practicum and school.  We are excited.  We are close to the park where they do the big farmer's market and Shane's excited to be near Squatters :P  We have a lot of downsizing to do and get the house on the market.  Codi recently moved out, which was exciting for him but at the same time an adjustment.  





     

The Purge

Started going through boxes last night.  I was a little worried about this activity.  Back in the day I would get side tracked by photo albums, letters from ex's, books, movies... pretty much everything I had to touch.  It's a hoarder moment.  Memories and times in life are attached to every day objects.

Last night was not the norm for me.  I started with boxes with "books" on them because I know I had kept a lot of books that I probably didn't need to.  I love books.  Hell, I got rid of a lot of books when I left Hawaii and I'm not talking school books.  Of course some of the boxes had other things besides books, stuff to hang on the wall, year books, letters and cards from ex's, anything to fill up the box.  

Yes, I looked at a couple of photo albums and I smiled.  

I've had a lot of good times with  good people.  I was really good about tossing away the letters and cards.  Before, I would read these and feel the emotions that I did the first time and then I'd be sucked into memory lane, not in a good way.  I would focus on the good times, wonder about the "what if's", about the what went wrong BLAH BLAH BLAH.  There is no need for such behavior.  I know once I go there, I end up being melancholy which merges with depressing and then I'm in the fast lane for being antisocial and dancing with my monkey brain.  

There is no need for such behavior :P
I posted before that my new apartment is a clean slate. I am taking stuff over that has memories attached but there is no furniture, there is no guy that I'm dating in the back of my mind that is in some weird way influencing any behaviors.  Granted I got a message from a cutie that really made my night, but like most of my luck... find a guy that has potentional for being something special and he lives in another country! LOL  
It's the year of me anyway so I'll just enjoy our correspondences.
Today I need to do errands and then it's back to the purging of boxes.  I also need to organize the room that I've actually been living in with all the stuff that has been carried over from Hawaii.  
I MOVE NEXT WEEKEND! 

 

Signed sealed....and almost delivered!

Lease was signed yesterday after work.  Today I went over to the apartment to get some measurements and take some pictures :D

I'll be moving 29 Jan! I'm so excited! Here are pictures of my cute, old, cozy (small) apartment:)

This is standing at the front door looking into the living room.  Love all the windows and hardwood floors :)

This is standing at the right side of the living room by the windows.  I have built in storage and the closet looking thing at the right was a Murphy bed at one point but they put shelves in and the doors for more storage.

 On to the one cook kitchen :P  There seems to be a lot of storage but we'll see how well my stuff fits into them.  Back in the day everything was smaller ;)  Also, the shelves go all the way to the ceiling, so I'll need to get a step stool or something so I can utilize those shelves.  I know back in the day people were short too so I'm not sure what that's all about!  Above the stove the box thing that looks like the electrical box is actually a place to put spices and cooking stuff!

 My quaint dining area LOL.  There is storage under the seats, not much but it's better than nothing.

The bedroom, this is standing in the bathroom doorway.  Yes, for you folks that will be visiting... to use the bathroom you'll have to go through the kitchen and through the bedroom.  It doesn't bother me, that's how my place was in Hawaii.  Plus, it means I have to keep my bedroom clean and neat!

 This is standing in front of the windows in the bedroom, so you can see there is a closet and of course the bathroom.

So there you have it, my blank canvas of an apartment! 

My "new year" begins 1 Feb, because this is the real start to my next life chapter.  What is so cool about where my apartment is that I can easily walk to "city life" one way or go the opposite direction for a run in the avenues and old school neighborhoods!  I'd also like to mention that my work commute is going from about 40 minutes to 6!   I'm on the top floor so no one is above me, I'll get a good work out walking up and down 4 flights of stairs (5 flights on laundry days), and for the next week I'm going to be going through my stuff that's been boxed up for 3 years and do a major purge/cleanse of my past. 

AWESOME!

Apartment hunting

So I flew in from Dayton OH last night about midnight, took a taxi home, crawled into bed and passed out.  This morning I hit the ground running in looking for an apartment.  I started making some calls and Marcia and I were off!  Looking for apartments in the Avenues and in SLC is similar to Hawaii in that you got to check out Craigslist. 
The first one, well... we did a drive by and it was a major "NO", we didn't even get out of the car.  Not what I wanted in any sense of the word. 
I want to be able to walk places, take advantage of public transportation, some sense of security, covered parking would be awesome but this is the Avenues so that's something I won't be stickler on.
So we were way early for my scheduled apartment viewing so we made some calls and one was a just "show up and view it" because it was unlocked.  That was a no.  Not sure  how they worked the "one bedroom" in the ad but it wasn't nice.  We then drove around and we made a call on this one place, the outside looked decent and the guy they showed us was questionable and it had a moldy stagnet smell... not good. 
We then went to Trolley Square to waste some time and then we headed out to the next apartment. 
AWESOME. 
I could walk to everywhere I would need to go to, Trax is just about a block away, Trolley square about 2 blocks away, Whole Foods is almost across the damn street!  It has street parking   :(  but whatever at this point.  It was a little on the small side, storage is limited but it is on the top floor of this cute little brownstone type building so no one is living above me :)  It's a corner apartment so I have a lot of windows :)  I need to keep downsizing my stuff anyway so this could be a very good thing.  The landlord guy was very knowledgeable about all his tenants, is doing a lot of upgrades on the building, concerned about security and I just got a very good vibe about the building in general. Most of the tennants have been there awhile, he doesn't put up with crazy party behavior, and the age range of the tenants is about mid 20's to 40ish. There is a code to get in the building so that is nice also.  He's not showing tomorrow and I have another apartment I'm looking at tomorrow but if I'm not feeling the warm fuzzies with this other place then this is going to be it!  It's been the cheapest of the apartments I looked at which is nice cuz it will give me some more wiggle room with my finances.  Oh yeah... free wireless and all I need to pay is electricity :D
The next apartment had more room, carpet throughout, more storage, covered parking, and it cost more (of course).  I liked the place and the room that it provided but I didn't feel the "whoo hoo vibe" as I did the last one.  Laundry in the basement along with extra storage but it was like amityville horror down there!  I won't be doing laundry at night NO THANK YOU!
I then looked at another one that is doable, more room and other amenities that I liked but to do laundry, which is in the basement you have to go outside and around the building to the back (the building is an old victorian type house).  These last two were in the Avenues also, but not as close to everything as the smaller apartment.  So I got some thinking to do.
This is a pic of the apartment building I like back from 1933 :)