"I'm always happy if I have, like, humiliating asshole things that I did. I think: Oh good, that's a good story. Because if you write about humiliating asshole things other people do it doesn't work as well." ~ David Sedaris ~

Two Things!

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Geekerella

First off, I had a working interview yesterday! That meant I had to dig out my scrubs and pray that they still fit. They did, and I didn’t even look like a sausage that popped its casing. Winning.

It was really nerve-wracking at first because I hadn’t even been in a veterinary clinic for over a year. And not in a general practice clinic for a year before THAT. So the first thing I did when I woke up was dig out my old radiology textbook and start reading until I felt I was up to par.

Right away, the other techs and I got along. We talked about where we’d worked before (one of them worked at one of the same places I worked!) and a little about our backgrounds. I helped monitor anesthesia, held for procedures, and at one point drew blood on a patient that the others couldn’t get a drop from. Winning. Again.

I came home after talking to the doc again and tried to take a nap but failed because of the bad case of nerves I had worked myself into. He said he’d let me know by Friday afternoon, so I expected a whole day of freaking out and wondering if they had someone else in mind. If you know me, this is not unusual.

I finally managed to doze off after wrapping myself in a cocoon of blankets (Mister E stole mine so I had to get another out of the closet), and I was just getting to the good part in a dream about a concert pianist when I was awakened by my MC Frontalot ringtone. I recognized the number so I leapt out of bed, ran to the kitchen and answered with my “I AM NOW COMPLETELY SOBER/NO I WAS NOT ASLEEP” voice.

I guess the interview went really well because I got the job. I start Monday at the exciting time of 7:45, at which time I’m going to get my schedule. Double-plus bonus? I told them I was going to be out of town the 17th and 18th for the Ft. Worth Music Festival and to see The Dad and they said it was cool. Woo!

I’m so excited to be working again, you guys. It means I can go to Whole Foods and get chocolate soy ice cream again. It means we can go to Minnano and buy potato croquettes again. I can buy manga. Trader Joe’s edamame. More manga. I can go to Calhoun concerts and run up another $180 bar tab feeding the guys beer and shots (I bet you can imagine the look on my face when I woke up hungover with THAT receipt in my pocket).

Serious. Excitement.

The second thing is something I put on my other blog but I figured I should put it here in case you don’t follow it. I put Minor Side Effects – a story I wrote back in 2006 before the big “zombie boom” hit – over on Smashwords for the very reasonable price of “free.” Okay, actually it’s a pay-what-you-want book, but I just want you to read the damn thing. That means you can get yourself a fun little (okay, 55,000 words) book for free! You can also pay $0.99, $5, even $20 if you’ve got money lying around and you want to help feed my cats.

If you want to try before you buy, there’s an excerpt right here. Then you can hop on over to Smashwords and get your copy for whatever loose change you might have in the cushions of your couch. No couch money? No problem! All I really want is for you to read Minor Side Effects, enjoy it, and maybe share it with a friend. It’s my way of showing my readers (of my books and my blog) my appreciation for your support, even if the support is immoral at best.

When It Rains, It Snows

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Geekerella

So a few weeks ago I decided to spruce up my resume and start applying to jobs. It was encouraging at first. Within a day of sending out the resumes I got an interview for a nice little place close to us and I went in excited and full of promise. I have a hard time reading men, though, so I didn’t know if it went well or not but I still had hope.

I never heard back for a second interview so I assume it didn’t go very well.

I didn’t hear anything from anybody for a while after that and I was starting to get a little depressed so I looked for pet-sitting jobs on the Craig List and found a local company that was looking for someone. I applied and heard back right away, and they wanted me to interview that very evening.

This time things went well and I left thinking that if I didn’t get the job I would be amazed. All that was left to do was wait and I was sure I’d hear from them.

Then, last night, I got a call from one of the places I’d applied to the first round. He wanted to know if I was still looking for a job and I said that yes, I was. As nice as the pet-sitting job was, it would only be part-time and whenever they needed me. What our family needs right now is a steady income, though, so when the doctor asked if I could meet him right away for an interview I asked what time.

I got the idea that things went well last night. In fact, I kind of got the idea that unless my references told him I’m secretly Hitler I would get the job. My suspicions were confirmed when they called me this morning and asked if I could come in for a working interview tomorrow morning.

That wasn’t the end of it, though. A little while after that, I got a call from the pet-sitting place saying that they wanted to hire me. I sit around for weeks with no one calling or even seeming interested and now in one week I’ve got two interviews, a working interview, and a part-time job offer.

Like I said, we need the full-time job more so I called the pet-sitting lady and explained to her that I was being considered for another position but that I would still love to work for them doing overnight sitting if they needed that. She said she’d have to check her availability and wished me luck. She was so nice I feel completely guilty about it.

So tomorrow I’ve got a good shot at getting a job. I’ve got my scrubs laid out and my alarm set for the morning, and I’m already nervous, which is why I’m writing this post. Hopefully in the next couple of days I’ll be employed again. Trying not to get my hopes up, though, and think about how nice it would be if they wanted me to start next week.

Trying. Probably failing.

2013 Fiesta Fandango Wrap Up

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Geekerella

Saturday evening I put on my good sports bra and went downtown for a 2.6 mile fun run called the Fiesta Fandango.

To be perfectly honest, I had completely forgotten that these last two weeks were Fiesta. For those of you not in Texas or Lamesville proper, Fiesta is a two week long party that is fun if you like drinking beer and crowds. I usually spend my time hiding from it because my interests are neither. The only real Fiesta thing I’ve done was volunteer at Oyster Bake, which is exactly what it sounds like and is held on my university’s campus. Need to go to the library? Have fun with that. Want to head to the caf for dinner? Better have remembered your student ID and wristband because they will NOT let you through without them. I am speaking from experience.

But I digress.

The point is that Fiesta and I don’t get on. So I completely forgot that this was a Fiesta event until they told us we were going to be running on the parade route ahead of the Flambeau Night Parade’s vanguard. This meant that Mister E and I were thrilled to pieces about using the runners’ shuttles from Sunken Gardens. Unfortunately Google Maps and a broken-down Fiesta float turned that into a series of adventures that meant we barely got on the bus in time. Actually, separate buses. I was alone in mine so I made a friend. Her name was Cynthia.

There were way more people than I expected, some wearing costumes, some with babies in strollers. The run wasn’t officially timed, it was just for fun, so we all had the same bib number. Some people were lucky and got special black bibs supporting Boston but Cynthia and I missed out. Boo.

This was my first outdoor race (Jailbreak doesn’t count, it was on dirt and grass) and it became clear very quickly that I had made a miscalculation. I was ten minutes into the run when my shin decided it was time to start screaming in pain. I ran another couple of minutes, then had to stop and walk until the pain went away. I spent the rest of the run alternately walking and running, and I managed to suck it up long enough to run the last of the way over the finish line. My time was 35:55, which I think was pretty okay. Honestly, I was just proud of myself for finishing.

Once I’d made it over the finish line, it was time for refrescos. I was at the after-party chugging a Gatorade when I realized I had no idea how to find Mister E since we had been on separate buses and I didn’t have my phone. So what did I do? I found some really nice people in Adventure Time costumes and asked the wife to let me use her phone. She let me, I called my husband, and we found each other (and a paleta cart!). Guys. I TALKED TO STRANGERS. This is a huge thing.

When we got back to the car, there was a flyer on it for something called the Shiner Beer Run in November. Mister E’s favorite beer in the world is Shiner so he is insisting that I do it because then he will get free beer. If I can’t manage a 5K by November, it might be time to hang up my shoes.

Next month I might try to do a 5K, run/walking like I did this one.

New Plan

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Geekerella

I did a fun run yesterday, and learned something very important. Judging from the pain in my shin, I am not ready to be running long distances outside. I also learned that I need new shoes but that’s not gonna happen unless the shoe fairy comes to my house. Sigh.

Anyhow, I decided that I need a new plan.

Starting tomorrow I’m going to restart the C25K plan, only I’m gonna do it outside. Three times a week I’m gonna run on the plan wherever I can. There’s a park with good trails near my house, I might do it there. There are also some good trails by the library. I’ll start off with Week One, Day One and work myself up to it.

At the same time, I’m going to continue what I’ve been doing at the gym, which is run 10 minutes, walk 3 minutes, run 10 minutes, rinse, repeat. I’ve been able to run 30 minutes that way without getting completely bored or making my leg hurt. If I keep doing this twice a week I’ll be able to keep my endurance up too.

I think this is a plan that will work to get me ready for a real, live 5K. I’m shooting for July but I might do one in June and just run/walk it like I did yesterday.

More on that tomorrow with the full Fiesta Fandango wrap up. I just needed to babble a little today.

I bought this magnet at the running store where I picked up my packet. Even though I didn’t manage to run the whole way I think I have every right to have it on my car. Because I did finish.

iPod or Phone?

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Geekerella

Okay, so here’s my dilemma. I need to take some tunes for Saturday’s Fiesta Fandango (I’m already hyperventilating about it) and I’m kind of having a hard time deciding what to do. So I’m asking the advice of my lovely friends on Twitter and in the blog world to help me make the tough choices.

iPod

Pros

lightweight
durable
don’t have to worry about OS crashing
easy to switch playlists

Cons

limited amount of music
no holder for it, would have to carry
if I break it, I’m SOL for car music

Phone (not an iPhone)

Pros

unlimited music choices via Spotify
easy to switch playlists
fits perfectly in old CD fanny pack

Cons

it’s been crashing a lot lately
not durable – back cover will pop off if I drop it
chunky and awkward to hold
battery life is kind of sucky

If you have any sort of input on this, I would be much obliged. After looking at the pros and cons written out I’m leaning toward my iPod but I’d still welcome any advice. I know they always tell you not to take music to a race but everyone does it and I can’t just listen to myself think. I can’t. To quote Thomas Dolby, my brain is like a sieve.

Great, now I want to listen to Thomas Dolby.