That wasn’t in the job description!

So today one of the reoccurring commercials during my Stephen King EXTRAVAGANZA (Rose Red and IT) on USA was an ad for a showing of The Substitute 4: Failure Is Not An Option with Treat Williams (Known now as the loveable DR. Brown on Everwood) as bad ass Karl Thomasson who infiltrates a military academy under the guise of “substitute teacher” and does battle with white supremacist. *Karate CHOP!* … it is too late to retract my resume? … ‘cause I don’t think I can do that!

In other news we are retiling the downstairs bathroom (White, Red, and Green. No, we are not Christmas crazed … we are Coke crazed … my Dad’s Coca-cola memorabilia collection has spilled out of the family room and into the adjoining bathroom.) While the tile job in MY bathroom in the apartment remains unfinished … we are considering tiling part of the floor of the downstairs bathroom with Coke bottle caps.

12 days

Nothing to lose

I am steeling myself for beatings and yelling, but here it is.
I have agreed that if MMA doesn’t want me I will take one week to job hunt in Hillsdale. Even now, before this is officially posted I can hear the anguished cries of “AMBER! NO!” … but sit with me a moment and clear your mind for my logic in this.

I got a phone call last night from Heidi Morris saying the apartment above her, Luke and Tyrian is available and I should return to the ‘Dale. I immediately said no and went about my business. Today I got emails from Heidi, Jane and Scott reiterating that I should return to the ‘Dale. The job market is good and cost of living there is lower than Baraboo. Still I said no. Then as I went out in the snow to buy my herbs for my snake oil I began thinking about what prompted my answer of no. Long before I was dating Lee, Scott and I had talked about the possibility of me moving back to Hillsdale once my county contract ended. I realized I was saying no, not because I so dislike the idea of living and working in Hillsdale, close to my friends (whom I consider family), but because I didn’t want to move to Hillsdale to be with Lee (as in, my sole reason for going to Hillsdale is to be close to my new boyfriend) then I realized that Lee ISN’T my reason for a possible return to Hillsdale … all of the same reasons I had in September for possibly returning to the ‘Dale for a short time* (Low cost of living, expanding job market, close proximity to my friends) were still there … with the added benefit of close proximity to my new boyfriend. So I decided that I will spend a week in Hillsdale looking for a job … if I find one GREAT! I can move to Hillsdale and enjoy all of the afore mentioned benefits. If I don’t find a job FINE! I can return to Baraboo no worse for the attempt.

Now, with that understood … you may commence yelling at me.

*Read no more than a year or two

The Miracle of Bag Balm

O.K. since everyone is suffering from a cold snap … I figure I’ll tell you about Bag Balm … the best stuff EVER for dry, chapped skin. Forget Fisherman’s Friend or what ever the hell that stuff is called. Useless crap. Bag Balm is the thing (so named because it was designed for use on cow udders to prevent chapping from winter milking). So it doesn’t smell the greatest (if you can give me ONE good reason cow udders should smell like lilac I’ll give you $5) … but you can mix it with a few drops of your favorite oil based scent if the smell really bothers you … and it keeps your skin soft and heals cracks from the insidious combination of cold, dry air and warm, moist flesh. It is cheap as all hell and one green can of it will last FOREVER if it is used only on humans. Your puppy or kitty suffering from cracked pads from walking on winter ice? Slather those paws with Bag Balm. Your little one suffering from a chapped nose due to those incessant winter nose runs? Coat you baby in Bag Balm. You can get it at farm Co-ops or those of you trapped in cities where the odds of finding a feed store is slim (like Ms. Havlin) can go here to order direct.

Yeah, I like Bag Balm.
And I am feeling much better!

BOB SUCKS.

No, he probably doesn’t … but at least my being cranky is a sign that my flu will be short lived (As my mother says, she kind of likes it when I am sick because I don’t have the energy to be a bitch)

Then again the pain in my left side is very similar to the pain I had on my right side at this time yesterday … which grew until I couldn’t walk or move w/o pain and I wanted to vomit. My fever (low grade as it was) was gone by late last night … and now I am a normal, cool 97 degrees.

I’m feeling a bit lonely right now … ah well.

Magic of all kinds

So, my boy is off helping a friend. Though I worry about him (and Bob and Silliman too!) I can’t express how happy his choice made me. In true girl form I was not going to tell him any of this before he left … instead I watched his choices carefully and judged his character accordingly. Had he not gathered his things and driven through the night to rescue his friend, I would have TRIED to get over it, I would have reminded myself of his other good qualities, but in the back of my mind I would have wondered about the staying power of a relationship in which the two people have such different priorities. (I am recalling now being dragged off to my Graduate Advisors office after taking off for Gunar’s wedding and being told that if that is where my priorities lay perhaps CalArts was not the place for me. I agreed, and to the shock of my Graduate Advisor offered no remorse and certainly no promise not to pull such a “stunt” again. Instead, I elected not to return to Grad School.) My first priority in my life is my friends. If they are in need I will split my last $10 with them (lying of course … I didn’t have $10 … I had $5) … But as I said … in true girl form I was not going to tell Lee that his choice in this situation could make or break our relationship. My reward for this was discovering once again what a wonderful man Lee is.

Speaking of friends … I got a call last night from the former Ms. Perkins (Now Jennifer Giacinti) after catching up on all the Hillsdale gossip and discussing our men she informed me there might be a job for me in Mexico, Missouri. So once again I may have tripped and fallen into something good. This seems to be a regular habit of mine. I stumble and fall … only to land on soft grass and have a stunt coordinator say he likes my style.

And before I forget … the drive time to Mexico, MO from Hillsdale is only and hour more than the drive to Baraboo, and 6 hours from Hawesville … (And NO BOB neither trip is 12 hours!)

Edit: Further joy ... the Spring Break (or Spring Furlough as they call it) at the MMA is the same as Hillsdale's. I have not applied yet ... but things are looking up and hope is always welcome.

Hmmmm

So, I continued my job hunt today … I am not seeing anything I am qualified for. I don’t understand all of those people who are jealous of my unemployed status. They seem to think unemployment is a blessing of lazy days. I like working. I enjoy accomplishing things … “lazy days” just depress me. I wish I could fling myself 20 years into the future to a point when I KNOW how this works out. I also wish it wasn’t so cold that it is dangerous to be outside. That REALLY limits my job searching.

Well, I guess I’ll go, make some lunch, wash my dishes and mop and wax my kitchen floor. Then maybe I’ll repair my bed, so I can feel like I accomplished something with my day.

Thoughts of youth.

I sort of resent Lee and I being swept up into the group of engaged people. I love the fact that our friends are so supportive and have so much faith that our relationship will stand the test of time … but I agree with my mother (mark THAT down in your calendars kids!) that it puts quite a bit of unneeded pressure on a fairly new relationship. I don’t want Lee and myself to be in our relationship for anyone other than ourselves. With so many people mentally and emotionally invested in our relationship instead of "staying together for the kids" we could end up "staying together for our friends" ... which is not what I want my life to be.

Next:
I want my own advice column. I have several reasons for this:
1. I am unemployed and an advice column would hopefully provide a good use of my time and an income.
2.People ask for my advice all the time. I give it gladly and it usually works out well.
3. People don't ask me specifically for my advice and I give it gladly and it usually works out well.
4. There is a SERIOUS lack of younger advice columnists (part of the reason why I LOVE “Tell Me About It” by Carolyn Hax, who has a younger voice) most advice seems to be handed out by older women who, when asked about young love or “just out of college” roommate situations, have to reach back to many a year past to remember what those things were like and their world view does not necessarily translate to younger people.

So yes, now I just need to figure out how to convince a news paper that they need their own advice columnist and that columnist should be me.
Maybe I'll pitch it to Coreweekly ... they want to be hip and young ... or maybe I'll pitch it to the 'Boo News.
Any ideas on how to do that?