My little corner of the world where I ramble about life and a whole lotta nothing. When I started I wondered if folks read this stuff, and it turns out they do. I think that's pretty freaking cool...Grab a beer, pull up a chair and take a peek into my world.
I don't know Bev. I haven't really read much of her blog yet, but I think she's extremely cool. Why? Because I stumbled upon her in the comments of someone else's blog. You see, today when I was reading Anne's blog, which I do everyday, I saw a comment by Okie, and decided to check out his blog. (Are you still following?) Anyhow, Okie's latest post was simply a Bible verse. (Matthew 7:2, for those keeping score at home.) For some reason (the reason will become apparent very soon), I read the comments on that post.
And Bev, in the spirit of posting Bible verses, contributed Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope.
So, I was completely inspired by that verse. Not wanting to steal from Bev, I hopped on over to the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishop's Web site where they have the entire Bible posted for our quick viewing pleasure. I read a little more of Jeremiah 29, which I have posted for all of my loyal readers.
you will find me with you, says the LORD, and I will change your lot
Needless to say, I do believe that God has once again spoken to me through a blog (or three). This is just where I am right now, and I think I needed to hear it directly from the Good Lord's lips, so to speak.
Sometimes when I pray, I just sit there with my Bible in my hand and concentrate on the issues in my life, and then open the Bible up to wherever and read. Sometimes this works and I find a verse that fits the situation. However, other times I get Sirach begat Melchizedech who begat blah blah blah (and YES, I know that's not a real verse. Sirach, I'm sure did NOT begat Melchizedech. It's just an example. ) And then there are other times, like today, when I am just trying to catch up on reading blogs when God tosses me a softball and doesn't make me work quite so hard for his wisdom.
Anyhow, this is my verse for the day.
And while I haven't really dived into Bev and Okie's blogs, I read Anne's everyday. She's amazing. Give them all a looksie if you'd like.
Just don't be a dick if you don't want to be Anne's Internet friend. It's rude and it makes her sad. (And after reading that post, I wonder exactly what some other bloggers think about me, too. Hmmm. Not like I care, but interesting to ponder.)
So, last night I got a call from my friend Karen reminding me we were going to the zoo today.
Karen used to live in Nashville and she and her hubby brought their three kids to see all their friends. I found out that Karen went to church Sunday morning at the church on the corner by my house. That was kind of funny, but it explains why I've thought that place sounded familiar the whole time I've been here. Everytime I went by on my evening walks, I'd think "WHO goes to that church? Someone has mentioned it before."
Anyhow, I met Doug and Karen and their three boys at the zoo. I hadn't seen the boys for a while, but we didn't even miss a beat. I held Andrew's hand as we went around the zoo. He even liked that I had a pocket in my bib overalls for his little disposable camera. (See, I could be a mom. I knew kids=lots of pockets.)
The best part? The zoo was free. They have a family membership and that let's them bring a guest!!!
I had a great day and I loved meeting up with old friends. It was a great time.
I should've known better than to trust liars to keep their word. Silly, silly me.
The truce seemed to be going so well. We seemed to all be living so peacefully. At least on the surface, people were being nice. And since I really didn't give two shits about any of them, I didn't care what was going on below the surface. Now I wonder, because people had to start being assholes again.
Once again I get completely and totally fucked over for being a good person. Do they really want to start telling stories over in KennyLand? Because I could. With pictures.
I got so excited about Keith and Nicole that I forgot...
... the most important part of the church post!!!!!
We never know when God will surprise us. And no matter how hard we try to do things on our own, He's very careful to remind us that we are not in charge.
I think I told you all how stressed I am right now. I'm very worried about the job situation. I'm very worried that I've made the right choice, even though I know in my heart that this is where God wants me to be. I am still struggling with it. I think that I will be fine if I can get some type of job, but that hasn't materialized lately. I don't remember how bad I made it sound here, but lately I've been in a full-fledged panic attack most of the time. I am terrified that I'm going to end up down here with no job and have to go home with no savings and no plan. Every day that gets closer to the end of unemployment the more I worry about this.
So, in addition to getting a plan together this week, I've been praying. Lots.
And this was today's gospel. (And 10 bonus points if you correctly guess which evangelist wrote this. Stop laughing at me. Now.)
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
Mark 4: 35-41
God will not let me perish. There is no need to be terrified. I just have to have faith. More faith than I've ever had before in my life, I think, but that's not a bad thing.
He can move mountains. He can move oceans. He can calm the sea and quiet the wind.
Surely helping me find a job and continue with his plan is nothing in a day's work for the Lord.
Only in Nashville would a church choir (especially a Catholic church choir) have someone playing the upright bass.
When I was in grade school, Sr. Virginia gave us all "the talk" about what was and wasn't appropriate attire for church.
Basically what Sr. Virginia told us was that our attire was part of our reverance to God. We should try to wear the best clothes that we have possible, but not let not having good clothes keep us from going to church. Then she said she knew that we all had something better than jeans because she saw us in uniforms everyday.
To this day, I rarely wear jeans to Mass. I can only think of two, maybe three, times I have at Holy Cross, and I am in the choir loft and no one actually ever sees me. And trust me, "dress clothes" are overdressed there.
So, I guess I am perplexed when I see how many kids let their kids "dress down" for church. Surely your child has one pair of khakis and a dress shirt that isn't wrinkled. If not, invest in it and save it for church and the family Christmas photo. There is no need for children to wear jeans and tank tops or tee shirts and athletic shorts to church. And I know to this day my mother would stop me if I tried to go out of the house in that.
That being said, I guess part of me feels like if a young person gets to church and does feel the need to wear jeans and a tank top and flip-flops then perhaps it's just better that they are there at Mass. Because most of their classmates aren't.
But I'm still not going to wear anything that my mother or Sr. Virginia would be ashamed to see me in.
Last story from Church. I just love Fr. Breen. I told him I was telling you all about this.
This week Fr. Breen gets a call from People Magazine. At first he thought it was a joke. Why would People call him? Well, he kept asking questions, and the woman was a reporter from People. Turns out the hot new rumor was that Nicole Kidman attended St. Ann's. And, of course, you'll remember that there was another rumor that Keith and Nicole set up the whole Australia thing as a decoy and were going to get married in Nashville after all the press went to Australia. Well, we now know all that to be untrue. But what a funny thing to think of Keith and Nicole and their fancy-schmancy nuptials down at our little church on Charlotte Ave. So, needless to say, Miss Kidman -- or I guess I should say Mrs. Urban -- is not a member of my church.
And speaking of Keith and Nicole, I thought I'd post a picture of the happy couple. They look so in love and their story is so moving. They are truly soulmates if I've ever seen them. Two people both from Australia. Both end up in the states as entertainers and meet at a celebrity dinner. They fall in love and then a little over a year later they are back in Australia to unite as one with family and friends. How could you not be inspired by that? They just might make a fan of me yet. I'm just wondering what Keith sang for her at the reception...
This is their official wedding photo from Reuters. If nothing else their babies will have some long, beautiful hair.
So, a while ago my friend Tammy invited me to a Spa Day fundraiser planned by an organization that she's in. I decided earlier this week when I realized I am poor and have no job that I couldn't afford to go. But the more I talked to people, I realized that I am stressed to the max and honestly the price of admission was worth it for a good massage. Well, I am home and rested and I feel like I could conquer the world.
And I probably will. Tomorrow after church I'm sitting down with my legal pad and coming up with a plan to raise money for Ivan and Sam. I'm putting together my huge list and going to the board and asking for their help and just diving in. If I can raise the money Karen needs to make the project happen, then I will be set until my next project comes along. I just need to start making it happen. No grass needs to grow under these two feet of mine.
I was toying with the idea of doing the Las Vegas Marathon in December, but it's not happening this year. You see, there's a new group of organizers and the pace is now at 13 min/mile. Seriously, that's fast. It's not very walker-friendly anymore. I'm definitely planning on the Country Music Marathon in April, but we'll see what else we might come up with. I'd like to do an event in November or December just so I stick with working out everyday.
Oh, I'm going to leave you with one last thought before bedtime: If you are from the North and wear a Colts t-shirt, people are going to think you are from Indiana, no matter where you tell them you're from. This in the land of Peyton Manning. I don't understand.
We'll start with the stuff from yesterday, then I'll add some thoughts for today.
First of all, remember the good ol' days when rich people had drivers? Let's go back to that. I went to Kroger yesterday. I happen -- completely by accident -- to live in one of Nashville's more hoity-toity neighborhoods. I noticed that on Friday afternoons (because I've never noticed it before), our Kroger has a valet. Wow. Even the very upscale grocery store Gary used to work in Detroit didn't have that. Of course, much like that grocery store, I get bad looks when I wear jeans and a t-shirt. I'm not ever getting dressed up to go grocery shopping. Y'all need to deal. But back to the parking situation. The valet was a brilliant idea. Because old, rich people can't drive. At all. They are the shittiest parkers ever. Why would ANYONE try to park a Suburban or a Lincoln Town Car in a spot that says "Compact Car Only"? Because I would've very much liked to park my cheap-ass Chevy Cavalier with its totally redneck broken windshield in one of those spots. My other favorite manuever? Where they take TWO parking spots so no one bumps their Lexus. Anyhow, have I mentioned yet today that I LOVE rich people?
Speaking of rich people from the neighborhood, my old buddy Vice President Gore had a book-signing at the mall yesterday. Of course, I didn't know this until I saw it on the news. I was devastated to miss it. It'd be nice to see him again, since I have not seen him since October, 2000. Not that he remembers me. But he and Tipper are good people or I wouldn't have helped him with his campaign. I only help good people. (Maybe that's why I'm semi-retired from politics!) Well, maybe I'll run into Al at Kroger. But he better hope two things: 1) that he drives an American car (he's a Democrat for God's sake!) and 2) that he knows how to park. He's also an environmentalist, so I'm gonna guess he drives something all good for the earth like a Honda Civic hybrid. And no, I'm not making fun of anyone. But if that anyone, who happens to live in Atlanta, were still friends with me, he'd have much fun following the life of the Veep when he came to visit me in Belle Meade. Just saying, that's all.
I went over to St. Ann's to register yesterday, but the gal who does that was out for the day. I think I can fill out a card in my pew (although I've NEVER seen them) at mass tonight OR she said I can go back Tuesday. She gave me a parish directory. It's very nice. Yay, St. Ann.
Speaking of such things, I got a beautiful Connemara marble rosary bracelet in the mail the other day. It was a total surprise. I had mentioned to one of my longest, dearest friends that when my family went to Ireland that's the rosary I wanted. Instead they brought home one with green beads with shamrocks that I do love, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted. Needless to say, I'd have appreciated this gift even if it hadn't come at a perfect time.
There have been days lately that I've totally felt like I hit my boiling point. And reality is that I probably have. I am unemployed and money is leaving the old savings account quickly. I've had a few interviews lately, but no offers yet. I had an interview Wednesday that went well. So well that I've been invited back for a second interview. However, that interview's a group interview and we all know that the most obnoxious person who dominates the conversation always wins those because they don't get to hear a word from everyone else.
So, God and I had a heart-to-heart chat last night. It was late at night. I told Him I trust Him, and I know He has a plan. But I'm starting to get worried because that plan isn't apparent to me and that isn't going to pay the bills. Right then it became clear to me that I made a commitment to Karen to help get this Ivan and Sam project into the hands of kids with cancer. And that' s going to cost $150,000. And if I start raising that money for her, I WILL have money. I don't have anything else to do, now do I. And yes, Carol had some doom and gloom and said there's a reason no one's given money yet. I firmly believe it's just because Karen hasn't asked yet. We'll see. I'm putting the feelers out this week. Because last night, at about 1 a.m. God gave me a HUGE list of places to start. So I'm going to. I'm going to do some digging and shoot an email with my plan over to Karen first thing Monday morning.
What an exciting way to spend a Saturday night!!! But seriously, it is. I am excited to help make this project happen. And seriously, it could be a huge stepping stone for my career. Wow.
Lastly, I am doing very well on the diet. OK, not great on the diet. Yesterday I had a pint of Purity Caramel Pie ice cream (it was on sale at Kroger; 10 pints for $10!) for dinner. That wasn't a good idea. BUT I have been going for a run/walk thing everyday. At least 2 miles. My pants all fit better. Yay, me!!!! Sometimes I take the dog who lives here, Dawson, with me. He's just a puppy, so I think I get a better workout when he comes.
Last night when we got back to West End and Bowling, there were a whole bunch of Orthodox Jews leaving the temple there and we had to follow some of them. I am pretty sure at one point this younger, slightly more progressive bloke was hitting on me just a little. Very interesting. I'm just glad Dawson didn't try to sniff any of their asses.
I'm not going to lie to anyone. It's hotter than a bitch here most of the time. But I love it. Even though I end up so drenched in sweat that my roommate asks me if it's still raining, nothing can compare with the smell of magnolia blossoms on your evening run.
I was just wondering: Are you still technically a writer if you NEVER have time to write?
That's how I've been feeling lately. Between job interviews and getting settled and having lots of out-of-town guests, I seem like I am running in slow motion. There's so much to do that I very rarely just feel the urge to sit down and write. That's hard for me; I'm usually always writing. I think I'm going to have to be much more disciplined about it. My blogs are both way behind. I'm forgetting witty observations throughout the day because I just haven't been sitting down to type them out. I have folks begging for the next chapter of my little "book."
But it's just nice to be able to sit in the living room, drink wine and shoot the shit with my roommates, you know?
I love going out everyday and running 2 miles in my neighborhood. My liberal friends would love it. Lamar Alexander lives at the end of my street and Bill Frist lives just a few houses down from him. (The dogs who live here like to pee on Lamar's mailbox. But you didn't hear it from me. Yay for Democrat dogs!) Luckily they tell me that the last fine Senator from the Great State of Tennessee, Vice President Gore, lives just a stone's throw away as well. I'd say between Al and Tipper and me and my roommates we balance out the political viewpoint here in the neighborhood.
Nothing much else to report, I don't think. In just about two weeks a whole bunch of my friends will converge onto the Music City to see TBWYH. Oh wait. I'm going to see TBWYH; they are going to see his boss. But you got me, right? Of course, there are massive amounts of folks from KennyLand who are also coming to town, and where there is KennyLand, there is drama. Luckily there is also rum where there is KennyLand.
Ooops, almost forgot job updates. I've had some great interviews and some great feedback, but no offers yet. I have a few great things still on the table and still quite a few leads. I had a good interview today and got invited back for a second interview on July 5. The only problem? It's a group interview, and those suck. I'm thinking if I get that position that I could really have a plan. I will keep you posted.
Just keep praying. I really am starting to get a little nervous, and I'm hoping that I can find something very soon.
So yesterday I bought tickets for the Fort Wayne bloggers to join me to see the K-man in Indiana Labor Day weekend! What a blast it will be. I am really looking forward to it. I'll be more looking forward to it if I can find a job and pay for it, but you'll have that...
Regardless, I'm sure that evening we will see a sight that looks a little like this. Except it's an outdoor show so ole KC will have on his white hat and TBWYH will be wearing a lot less clothes too!
Sorry, I'm back now. I got a little sidetracked thinking about TBWYH with less clothes on.
First of all, I arrived last week just in time for two job interviews and the CMA Music Fest. My friend Brooke from Michigan and her son came for the festivities and we really enjoyed ourselves. I also made a new friend who attended the shows with us. I am looking forward to seeing her more often.
I have barely stopped all week. I finally got hangers and laundry detergent last night. I still need to buy groceries at some point. I think I'm finally getting settled.
I haven't had any particularly shitty interviews, but I haven't gotten any job offers yet either. The interview I had today might be ideal, but we will see. If it's meant to happen, it will. In the meantime, can someone PLEASE stop the sound of the money leaving my savings account? Yikes. I hate to panic. Really I do. But I need to find something soon.
I figure that I might call all the PR agencies in town tomorrow and see where I can send resumes. Someone has to be hiring, right?
I love my roommates. They are great. We all seem to get along really well. I will be very sad to see Emily go in August. I went tonight to a dinner for Carol's Sunday School group at church, and they are all very nice. I may hit the 4:30 mass on Saturday at St. Ann's and then go to church with her on Sunday. It wouldn't be an every week thing, being that I'm not Methodist and all, but they were just great folks. They are all praying for me, and they don't even know me.
Which reminds me, I love St. Ann's. It is a fantastic parish, and I can't wait to get more involved. I can see me going there forever and sending my kids to school there.
I can't think of much else to report for now. I still have no furniture. I still have no job. But I'm working on it, honest.
So, last night some of my friends went to a show without me. Seriously, I need to win the lottery, buy a Prevost bus (I have an idea of whom I'd hire to drive it) and follow the K-man across America like I belong there. Because I miss all the fun. Like the Sandbar Lady bonking her head and giving all my friends passes. Well, the best thing about everyone being in the sandbar?
Did you guess looking at Kenny's butt all night long?
Wrong. It's awesome pictures of The Boy With Yellow Hair ... just for me.
Like this one:
This is also another sneak preview for my Indiana crew, which is 100% official now.
Off to the end of packing hell. Have I mentioned yet today that I have too much freaking stuff?!?
I am surrounded by massive amounts of all kinds of stuff that I will be attempting to take with me to Nashville tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure how I'll get it all in my car, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I have shit in piles EVERYWHERE. I should probably be further along than I am, but I totally underestimated exactly how much shit I've accumulated in the past year. Wow. Seriously, I am not buying one more piece of clothing until I lose weight and nothing fits.
Finally I'm feeling like I could use a little sleep, so I'm going to head to bed and get a good 6 hours in. I'll be up at 7, and then I plan to keep on trucking along until 5ish tomorrow. I'm going to head over to Cincinnati to spend the evening with my brother, and then I will be heading to Nashville Tuesday morning (bright and early). I wouldn't be in such a rush to get down there, but I have a ticket to Chris Cagle's fan club party on Tuesday, and frankly I'm looking forward to it. Wednesday I have two interviews. I figure I won't even be nervous for the first one, because I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the opportunity I told you about earlier. One4JC is 100% right. I did say I'd work 2-3 jobs to make it happen. I also found out that I should be OK on unemployment and savings through the end of July. Sooooo, I've got plenty of time to give it a good trial run. If I haven't found the perfect permanant job by then or haven't made what I need to be making with this job, then I'll move on to something else. I think I'll be fine, and I really hope so, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't worry.
So, I don't plan to be back on here until I get the laptop set up in the Music City. I figured I'd just post again so no one worried about me.
With that, it's time for me to go to bed for now. Tomorrow will be another busy day. I'm not 100% sure I can get everything done in 10 hours, but I may just kill myself trying...
So, Al Gore says he ISN'T running for president in 2008. That's a shame; he's been the best Democratic contender for president since, well, since he won in 2000.
I hope that Al reconsiders. I look at the rest of the folks who are looking into it. I don't dislike Joe Biden, but he can't win. Hillary? Well, I think the only way the world is ready for Hillary is if her Republican contender is Condi. Ted Kennedy seems to be positioning himself with some of this comments. Seriously, now. Teddy how many times have you tried? Patrick Kennedy's a bit green, but if he'd do a couple of terms in the Senate he'd be a phenomenal president. Well, that and kick that drug problem of his.
Evan Bayh has been my man all along. I would absolutely love for Bayh to run. Although I worry that he's not well-positioned enough. So therefore, I'm advocating the ticket I advocated in 2000. The ticket that would've won and really helped keep our country out of the mess that it's in right now. How about the Gore-Bayh ticket? Seriously. A Southerner and a Midwesterner is always a great combo. I'm gonna sit over here and cross my fingers. This would be my dream team.
But frankly we just need someone who can beat whatever Republican runs. We can't have eight more years of what's going on right now...
And two years is a long time away.
The second piece of news actually concerns me. I am hesitant to mention this yet, so I'll be kind of general at this point. You know how I am about jinxing things.
I am pretty sure I got a job offer of sorts today. I have a meeting on Wednesday, so I hope to know more by then, but I spent an hour on the phone today with an absolutely phenomenal woman. The gist of it is that she has started a new nonprofit to work with kids with cancer. They have a HUGE project coming up very soon. There are some pretty big names already attached to it, and frankly I think it's really a no-brainer for people to get behind this and support it.
So, why isn't a no-brainer for me to take the job? Well, right now it'd be a contract position. And not just a contract position, but a commission-based position. Basically, my job would be to find corporate sponsors and I'd get a percentage of the money we raise. At some point I could go full-time or I could keep doing contract work. Honestly, it'd be a huge stepping stone for me to get started with my own company. But a little bit of me wonders if I have what it takes. I think that I do, but it's pretty scary too. I have other part-time, freelance stuff that's in the hopper too. Frankly, I don't think it can hurt to try.
I will keep you all posted, but please keep praying. I think this just might be it, but I guess I will know for sure this week. I have both this interview and another on Wednesday.
Oh, and if it is the right job? Y'all need to get out your rolodexes and checkbooks!
Is it just me or is job hunting a lot like a pick-up game of dodgeball on the grade school playground? The competition is fierce. You know you could be good at it if someone picked you for their team. The cool kids are the captains, of course. One by one, they pick all their cool kid friends. You, along with everyone else, stand there waiting patiently, thinking "Pick me, pick me."
That's how I feel when I'm looking for a job. Now that I have an address and will be a semi-permanant resident of The Music City next week, I am starting to really attract attention. And there are plenty of jobs listed online that I can apply for. Once I get down there I'll really start networking and meeting people and making the connections that I need.
I am a writer. I said when I got to Nashville I was going to write. You'll remember last fall I'd decided that I was done with nonprofit fundraising. But you know what? I am good at nonprofit fundraising. My last job just sucked. My boss was too busy to work with me and didn't give me the information I needed to do it on my own. It didn't help that there wasn't a lot of untapped potential here in rural Ohio. It's different in a big city. So, anyhow, here I am unemployed, seriously starting to panic about the lack of funds that I'm going to be facing soon enough. I figured rather than be unemployed, I could look at some nonprofit gigs. I know how to do the work. And frankly, that system that we used at my last job really works and we could make a lot of money if we follow that plan.
So, I have been applying for fundraising jobs too, especially ones that have a PR component to them. I have an interview next week that sounds very promising. And this morning I got an email about another open position that would be really, really cool. I'm definitely not going to say anything until I've talked to the Executive Director in case anything she's told me is proprietary, but let's say if I get this, all my hopes and dreams for starting my own company would start to be realized. I'll just have to work my ass off to make it happen. Not that I ever thought it would be easy. There are several jobs that I've applied for recently. Some would be excellent opportunities; others would just put food on the table.
Another project that I've been working on, that at this point has no intentions of putting food on the table, is my other blog. I snagged this space a while ago, with no idea of what I'd do with it. Originally I thought it might be a place where folks could submit gigs or something like that. Maybe I could put celebrity snark and my sightings about town (in a way that doesn't burn bridges). However, the current use for it will be that I am going to put everything I see, hear and even smell from Fan Fair next week. I'm just going to cover the whole event like a "real" journalist. After all, you never know who might see it. I got so many compliments about my review on Kenny's show last week. (Hey! That's where I could put that for all y'all to read!) I had a few people tell me if I weren't a journalist, that I should become one. But luckily, I am one, and that's where I'll keep you posted on everything you NEVER wanted to know about country music.
Thanks again to all of you who have been praying or sending good thoughts up for me. I really appreciate it. I'm still scared shitless about moving and not quite sure how I'm going to make it, but I know God will look out for me and listen to all our prayers. I hope you all know how nice it is to have so many people who believe in me. I never would've had the courage to pursue my dreams without that.
And I'm hoping if it doesn't work out, one of you will have a couch I can sleep on!!!
I am done procrastinating in like 15 seconds. Too much to do. Especially now since I have a job interview on Wednesday, and I need to find some work samples to take with me. Yowsers!!!
Anyhoo, I stopped over at CoffeeBigPlz's blog to see what she's up to because I haven't had any time to ask her, and wow. She's had a very exciting day, but it really put things into perspective.
She also had this great quiz that fit right into the mood. Go take it. I am not sure how that quiz knew all this stuff by the questions it asked, but it sure did sound a lot like me...
How You Life Your Life
You seem to be straight forward, but you keep a lot inside. You tend to avoid confrontation and stay away from sticky situations. You prefer a variety of friends and tend to change friends quickly. You tend to dream big, but you worry that your dreams aren't attainable.
Many of you know that I started this wonderful ride I call life as a copyeditor. I love editing. I'm a writer, but I am a stickler when it comes to grammar and spelling. I tried to do online dating a few years ago, and I couldn't do it because of the typos.
When I was dating an engineer, he gave me one opportunity per date to correct his grammar. I got one and then after that he could coast and I couldn't say anything. (To be fair, his dad was an English teacher, so he had a good grasp of the English language compared to most engineers.) One time I got lost on the way to meet him, so I called him on my cell phone. I don't remember what he said, but I remember correcting him. And he said, "Wow, you just used your one correction before you ever got here." Dammit!
I probably don't read as much as I should because I can't get past the mistakes I see in books, newspapers, etc. I used to actually read the paper with a red pen because it made me feel better.
I don't have a red pen today, but I do have a blog. And here instead of just correcting stuff, I can make fun of it, too.
This is from Reuters. Not The Podunk Daily Times. Reuters. Their content is distributed internationally and all over the Web, which is how I happened to stumble upon it.
Your lead of your article should be the best part. It's what draws readers in and gets them to keep reading. It should sum up the story and attract attention. And it should be error-free.
So, I present to you the worst lead that I've read in a long time. (I've excepted the leads of a certain PR person who lives and breathes for run-on sentences. If she were in the competition, no one else could win.)
The entire article can be found here. It was interesting.
Maybe you should click on the whole link instead of relying on the lead to draw you in. I'll be honest. I was so turned off by the major errors (it looks like an editor never saw it), that I only read down a few graphs. I was afraid of what I might find if I kept reading...
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teenagers who take pledges to remain virgins until marriage are likely to deny having taken the pledge if they later become sexually active. Conversely, those who were sexual active before taking the pledge frequency deny their sexual history, according to new study findings.
Anyhow, it'd be fun to make this a little grammar game. If you'd like to guess the errors, leave them in the comments.
I know everyone loves updates, so here's where I am.
I am going to move on Sunday. My belongings? Not so much. I need a good air mattress for all the house guests who are in my planner anyhow, so I'll just sleep on it until my dad and my uncle can bring my furniture. I just need to get down there and find a job before I run out of money and/or unemployment. I have about a month's worth of both, so I'm a little in panic mode. I just need to be there and working.
I had a phone interview Tuesday with an HR person. She really liked me. She made it sound urgent that I get an interview right away with the person who'd be supervising me. She was not as big of a fan of little ole me, I don't think. Anyhow, she told me it'd be the end of June before she made any decisions. I'm not hopeful, but it's best not to put all my eggs in one basket anyhow.
I sent out several resumes yesterday and I did get a few nibbles, so I thought that was nice. I even got an email from one company that pretty much said, "We like you but you're not the perfect fit for this job. We're looking for something that would be better for you." I thought that was very cool.
In the ultimate of irony (not really this happens a lot), remember the awful interview I had in January where the gal went all "Simon Cowell" on me and I said the f-word more than I've ever said it before? Well...the other person, the one who was so much better than me? Apparently not so much because they are gone. The job is already posted again. So I emailed the girl who liked me and asked if it was worth throwing my hat in the ring. We will see...
I don't feel terrible at my move. I am prepared to work 2, 3 jobs until I find the perfect fit. I will do what it takes to pay the bills. I wish that I hadn't run out of money first, but you'll have that sometimes, I guess. I'm trying to be positive. Much like other recent events, I've just been praying and trusting that The Big Guy Upstairs has my back!
Oh, and one last note. I wanted to apply for a certain job. It'd be a good job. It's a great organization that I have worked with for many years. I went to fill out the application last night, and I am worried that I'm not Christian enough for them. That's sad, but I'm still going to apply. The worst they can do is say "You're not Christian enough for us."
And they might. And when I go to make another donation, I'll donate somewhere that thinks I'm a good Christian. It kind of reminds me of the church in Nashville (unnamed to protect the not-so-innocent) that turned me off with their bazillion pages of begging for money on their web site. Thank goodness I found St. Anne's. But that's for another day of "the ultimate irony" files!
