Woot Woot!

I'm leaving work today at 12.30PM to begin my loooooong (and hopefully restful - we'll see) 4-day weekend! Goodness how I do love leaving my job. I haven't encountered a negative thing yet. Gotta use up that vacation time!!!

I'm going to take advantage of my short day and go to the salon to get my hair cut. I did the whole post-wedding chop thing shortly after we returned from our honeymoon. Actually, it was like 4 days after we returned... ANYWAY, after that, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about shorter hair. I took a lot off! Now, I've decided that I like it, at least for now, and it's time for a trim. I'm thinking of doing something even more dramatic than before... I guess now is as good a time as any. We'll see if I have the guts this afternoon!!!

*UPDATE!*

So, I went for it! I got the Posh-bob, or the "Pob" as it has been dubbed. I know. I know. It's supah popular right now, and I suspect it's becoming the new "Rachel" do from the 90s. Remember that? Yeah... I had my hair cut like that too, but at least mullets haven't made a comeback.

ANYHOO, here's the result for your viewing pleasure - I think it's pretty cute:

This is also my best Posh impression. I need to work on looking a bit more alien-like I think. Ah well.

And also, Kitteh - because she's cute:

*Le Sigh*

I am very discouraged that once I finally scrape myself out of bed in the mornings it is now dark when I venture out to work. Not to mention the lack of light makes it even harder to do the scraping to begin with.

The morning darkness is a sign of impending cold weather. To be honest, I like this time of year. It gets a little cooler, just enough to be able to shut the air conditioning off and open the windows to a nice breeze, but it's still warm and sunny outside - just not stiflingly so.

However, this super-nice weather doesn't last forever. Don't let it trick you like it does so many other Fall-lovers! The leaves are already starting to turn yellow and a few have even fallen off the trees. I know what this means - Winter - icky gray, slushy, ice on the roads so you wreck your new Mustang into a guardrail, so cold your face might freeze off weather! Winter in Ohio, is on it's way. Brace yourselves.

*sigh*

I am not yet mentally prepared for this.

At least it's nearing soup eating weather and I got a new dutch oven for the wedding.

Weekend Recap.

I stayed home from work on Friday - thank goodness! - to use up some of my very sad vacation time. I decided that I would rather just take the time off than get paid the very sad, small amount that I would get in a lump sum after taxes. We stayed around the house on Friday night, had a relaxing evening.

Saturday we were up and running errands. First to get some breadfast, then down to Grove City to pick up Mark's truck, over to his Mom's house to quickly drop off the truck that he had been using while his was getting "fixed" (really just looked at because nothing was fixed), then over near Canal to pick up my radiator - buh bye $215, I didn't like you anyhow - THEN back to our house to meet my Dad and brother who were there pulling off my old radiator. My Dad fixed me up and got me running. My little brother terrorized the cat and voluntarily cut our back grass. My Dad also took a look at Mark's truck and found out what the actual problem was and it was a simple fix - thank goodness! And then they went home and it was quiet at our house again.

After that, we went out to dinner (YUM!) and then rented a dollar movie - What Happens in Vegas - I think that's what it's called at least - it was a'ight. Kind of predictable, but cute, for $1 anyway.

Sunday we spent doing things around the house. Laundry, cleaning, vacuuming, etc. Mark finished putting the last cabinets up (above the refridgerator) and touching up any little places that needed it. They look really great! We are supposed to be getting an electrician out ASAP to deal with the wiring, and then we can finish up the walls - our last major project for the kitchen. I got a ton of reading done both Saturday and Sunday. I'm completely engrossed in The Other Boleyn Girl right now. Surprising, but good.

Sunday evening, we didn't know what to make for dinner. I ended up throwing in a Supper Bake that I had found in the cabinet. Somehow, I ended up burning it. I think this was due to the fact that I didn't have any foil. Meanwhile, as the doomed Supper Bake was cooking, I was throwing together some Oatmeal muffins for breakfast this week. Somehow, I got them all together and in the pan and then realized that I had forgotten to add the melted butter. Hmm... the muffins turned out interesting anyway. They're edible, but not great. At that point, I burned my finger on the singed Supper Bake and decided that I was done cooking for the evening and just put the cup of melted butter back into the fridge to re-harden. Not sure what I'm going to do with that, but I guess it had better be something where I need melted butter...

Now it's Monday. Maybe my last Monday here. I think I'm going to take next Monday off as well as this Friday for a nice 4-day weekend treat for me! : )

Update on the Financial Front.

We are making some headway on our Financial Reviatalization goal.

We got all of our checking and savings accounts straightened out. All of our cards came in the mail yesterday - mine with my new married name! The last thing that we - erm, MARK! needs to do, but is dragging his feet and he'd better do it today if he knows what's good for him, is get his paperwork in to get his paychecks direct deposited into our joint checking account, which will then allow him to close out the personal account that he has with another bank and move it over to the bank where his new accounts are. ::gives Mark the side-eye::

Today, I called to finish off the last part of getting my name changed - my credit cards. I have two CCs in my name.

I called the first company and after getting all of my name info updated, I requested a reduction in my APR. This card is kind of a secondary card for me. I usually don't carry a balance on it. I just put small things on there and then pay it off. First, they were willing to reduce my APR by 11% (yeah, my request was WAY overdue). Then, I talked them into an additional 2% by offering to do a balance transfer of $500, which is fine with me because I was just getting ready to pay that off anyway. Overall, they cut my APR by 50%! Yay for me and my lightening-fast-ninja-financial skillz!

::pats self on back::

I called the second company and got my name stuff straightened out, but they were unable to lower my APR at all (it's already low anyway so I'm not surprised). They claimed it's because I don't use it enough. Whatever, dude. It's just because I don't carry a balance on it for very long.

We are also getting ready to move some of Mark's debt around in order to make things work better for us in paying that off. I'm excited to get started!

ALSO, I just checked out our new ING Orange Savings Account (this is the first whole month that we've had it) and we earned $10 in interest on our balance! Woohoo! You can't beat that! I wish that I had known about the wonders of ING Direct sooner, but at least we are using it now.

Check Out My Little Widget -->

It's by LibraryThing and it helps me keep track of what I've read, and what I'm currently reading. My hubby helped me set it up. Isn't he great?!

Anyway, I lub it : )

!!! I GOT THE JOB!!!

This is so exciting!

Okay, so lately, well, for a while now really... my job has been The Suck. Honestly, I just don't think that I'm cut out to be a state employee, at least not in this agency. There is too much crap that goes on around here besides work and serving the public. It drives me crazy!

Anyhoo, I started perusing for a new job about... 3 weeks ago maybe? I talked to Mark about it, and he really encouraged me (and has for a long time) to get the heck out of where I am. This agency is a sinking ship. The state has cut their budget and they are doing major lay offs as it is. My agency has always been an incestuous little cess pool of ridiculousness and it has only gotten worse as of late. I don't think it's too much to ask to want to come into work, do a good job, serve the public, and then go home without complication. Apparently the joke that they call management around here does not agree with my philosophy. Because of this disconnect I am getting out before I drown with the rest of them!

Soooo, like I said, I've been looking around for another job for a few weeks now. Mark and I talked it over and we agreed that I'd be willing to even take a pay cut as long as I was moving to a position/company that I liked and there was more opportunity for growth than I currently have. So I started applying for open positions, mostly administrative assistant/executive secretary/office manager sort of jobs. At some point, I ended up posting my resume on CareerBuilder.com and about 2-3 days after that, I got a call from someone in HR of a company that I'd never heard of before. She asked if it was a good time, I said no - because it wasn't - and she ended up calling me back later that evening.

That's when she told me about this UNBELIEVABLE job opportunity! I couldn't believe it. I mean, honestly, they couldn't have designed a better position for me if they had consulted with me first! It was just awesome! That was Thursday of last week. Monday was a holiday, so we scheduled an interview for Tuesday afternoon, and late Wednesday morning they called me to offer me the position!

!!!I'm so excited!!!

The benefits are awesome, the company sounds just perfect, and the building has windows! Windows, I tell ya! You can see the outside while working, which is not the case in the ex-airport hanger where I currently work. (Note: This is not an over exaggeration. I am speaking literally here. The other half of our building still houses giant airplanes while they are being worked on!)

I just put in my resignation this morning. I kept it very short and sweet. My last official day is supposed to be Thursday, September 18th, but I'm thinking of taking that as a vacation day and having my last day be Wednesday the 17th. I start my brand new job on Monday, September 22nd. I think that sounds like a great start day! I really can't take the recent chain of events, culminating with this AWESOME opportunity falling into my lap, as anything other than the universe tossing me a life preserver and I'm gonna cling to that thing with all my strength!

I know that my smarmy little puppet of a Supervisor has read my resignation letter. How do I know this? Well, of course I can track the e-mail, but also, I heard her audibly groan from her office. Of course she won't say anything to me until she's been told what to do by her Supervisor, but that will be a while still since said Secretary of Agency doesn't breeze into work for her $100,000+/year, 4 hour work day position until around 10AM every morning. Sure would be nice. Oh well, I can't wait for the fall out. I can't help but be a bit excited about abandoning ship after all of the negative crap fumes that have been swirling around this shit hole for so long.

Bon Voyage Bitches!

Long-weekend Recap.

First, I must say that I LOVE 3-day weekends. Who doesn't? I'm not sure why we as Americans settled for a 5-day, 40 hour work week once we got that worked out early in the 20th century, but I for one think that a 4-day, 32 hour work week should certainly be the norm. I have real reasons to back this up besides laziness, but I suppose I should save this argument for another day.

Here's what I did with my lovely 3-day, escape from the prison that is my job, weekend:

Friday: I was having a wonderful day at work, of course the Powers that Be couldn't let me leave for 3 whole days feeling good, so they had to catch me in a late meeting that ticked me off. I don't want to recap that and venture back there. When Mark saved me (a.k.a. picked me up from work) we decided that we would run to the bank to deposit a few things as well as bring in my new license with my new name so that I could get my name changed over on my accounts so that I can get new debit cards, order new checks, etc., etc.

Side note: Shortly after the wedding, Mark and I went into my bank to set up some accounts and close others. We set up a joint account and he opened a personal checking, and we closed out 2 savings accounts that I had there so that we could move the funds elsewhere. We were doing all of this right after I received my new Social Security card with my new name on it, but before I had a chance to update my license.

The woman that was helping us at the time said (after verifying with a co-worker) that they couldn't accept my Social Security card with my new name as proper identification, they HAD to have my updated driver's license. She assured me that we should set up the new account and whatnot with my old name and then once I got my license updated all I had to do is bring it in and anyone would be able to just change the name on the account for me.

Back to the story: We go to the bank fairly early on a Friday trying to beat the rush which is sure to come. We go inside, which I could have just made a deposit through the ATM or drive-thru, but Noooooooooo! I wanted to get my name stuff taken care of. I go up to the counter and have to deal with the teller that creeps me out for some reason, but she's ALWAYS there and I ALWAYS get her. She makes my deposit without even checking my ID, then I say that I have changed my name and I need to get my accounts updated to reflect that. She looks at me and asks if I have my marriage license with me, because if I don't, they won't be able to change my name.

WHAT?!

The woman that I spoke with before never mentioned needing my marriage license at all. Not to mention the agencies who have issued me a new Social Security card, and a new driver's license have already seen my marriage license and approved my change of name. Why the heck does my bank need to have a copy of my marriage license on file? If I closed out my current accounts and then re-opened them under my new name (which is what Mark suggested I do) they certainly wouldn't need to verify that I got married and that's why my name changed.

So, I explain to the creepy Teller what the other woman had told me about a month before and she goes over to verify with a few co-workers, comes back and explains that I need my marriage license AND new driver's license in order to get my name changed over on my accounts. This does not please me.

So, we run BACK across town, get our marriage license, go BACK to the bank, which is very busy by now because it's getting into a Friday evening and I finally got my name changed over and my new debit cards ordered, but not without struggle as usual. Stupid bank.

After that debacle, we spent the rest of Friday evening relaxing.

Saturday: Mark watched the first Buckeye game of the season while I started my "Fall Reading Club" as he calls it. I read an entire book, which was much nicer than having to watch the game in my opinion. That evening we went out to dinner with Mark and Carrie (friends of ours) and hung out at their house for a bit where I got hissed at by the evil-cat Daisy as usual.

Sunday: We went out to my parents house to belatedly celebrate my little brother's 10th birthday as it was supposed to be last Sunday, but he got sick. When we got home I was just glad that I didn't have to work the next day.

Monday (labor day!): Mark went out to his mom's house to do some things, and I spent time doing housework/laundry and relaxing with out the noise of sports in the background, which after 3 days it can be REALLY annoying listening to the crowds yelling and the obnoxious announcers doing whatever they do. I was definitely fed up with that white noise by Monday evening.

That afternoon, we went to Kohl's to get a new outfit for me because I have an INTERVIEW TODAY! (more to come on this later I'm sure) and then we went to check out a chair and ottoman that we found on Craig'sList that I wanted for the bedroom. We ended up buying it and I think we got a pretty good deal. We paid $100 for a big overstuffed chair and ottoman. I was hoping to spend around $75 ($35 for a chair and $30 for an ottoman), but really, that was pretty low from what I've seen. I'm okay with $50 for each piece, but now I'm on the look out for a cheap chair cover.

On the way home from our errands, we stopped for some Sweet Tea (and a Coke for Mark because they have The Best, ya know! ... ) from McDonald's. I'm completely addicted to their Sweet Tea, I crave it. Very strange, but it could be worse I guess. First, we waited in the drive-thru line forever, eventually Mark decided to run inside, which also took forever. Once he finally got back, I took a sip of the Sweet Tea, it was REALLY bad. I don't know why it was so gross, but whatever it was, wasn't good. Mark refused to go back in to get refunded $1 because he said it was craziness in there. Actually, I think what he said exactly was that there was one person in there who knew what they were doing and the rest of them were standing around "holding their nuts". Heheeeeheee!

We went to a location closer to our house to get me a replacement Sweet Tea. Good thing.

When we got home we unloaded the chair and decided what outfit I would wear to my interview today. I couponed for a bit, and then sadly it was time to go to bed and the long weekend was over.

I can't believe that it's going to be Fall in a couple of weeks : (

Oh, and P.S. we ordered the matching brown leather chair for our living room suite. Now we just need to plan a yard sale for tenatively 2 weeks from this past weekend to get rid of our old furniture and other random crap.