I'm exhausted...

It was a great weekend except for the bad
ending after I got back to Florida.

~Landed in Nashville, picked up the rental car,
then had the pleasure and honor of meeting
Winston for lunch. Another Southern Gentleman
who is even more charming in person than he is
on his blog. Thank you, dear man. Repeat, ok?

~Drove to Cookeville, got settled in my hotel room
and called the HR manager. Made an appointment for
10 am Friday.

~The interview was more than I expected.
I talked to the HR Manager, the Production Supervisor
and the Engineering Manager.... for almost three hours.
Everyone there loves their job. Loves their boss.
The Engineering Manager was intrigued by my email
address. He googled it. He found my blog.
"So, you're a writer? You sounded pretty excited to come up here."
Yes. And yes.

I think it would be a great place to work. I think they liked me.
There is no pressure to be available right away. They understand
about needing to sell my house first.
They did not offer me a job yet. They said they would be in
touch soon.
Their pay range is comparable to where I am now, but I have
no idea what kind of rate they would offer to start.
I left there feeling good. Very positive.

The rest of Friday and most of Saturday I spent driving.
And driving some more. It's beautiful, even though it rained
almost every minute for three and a half days.
It actually reminded me of southern Ohio.... lots of rolling hills.
Fruit trees are in bloom everywhere, as well as daffodils, crocus,
forsythia, grape hyacinth and a few pink dogwood. True Spring.
Gorgeous.

I only took a few photos. I'll get them posted soon.

~Saturday I saw a realtor. Showed her the kinds of properties
I liked and told her what price range I would stay with.
She is going to email details of anything she thinks I would like.

~Now for the bad part of the weekend...
I should have been home by 6:30. Turned out to be after 9:30.
My car blew the radiator on the way home from the airport.
On Interstate 95, in the rain, about 75 miles from home.
I thought I had 'roadside assistance' coverage. Nope.
Tow truck = $310.
Shit.
I'll be using another vacation day tomorrow to get the car fixed.
I guess it can be fixed. I'm too tired right now to care.


p.s. the Spaghetti Monster did not get me... you crazy, sweet people.

UPDATE: got the car back this afternoon. $266 for the radiator.
Mechanic said they couldn't find any other problems. Yay!

Have a great weekend...

I'm off to Tennessee.
See ya Sunday night.

BOING! ...

ok, ignore my snarky title up there before Sparrow
bonks me with a coconut... she's in Hawaii, ya know.

Busy yourself with her Wednesday Haiku Contest.

This week's subject: SPRING.

boing,boing,boing...heh.

Intangible...

What I have
received
from you
cannot be
held
in my
hands.
It fills
my heart.

Made some plans...

I got tired of just thinking about it.
I want to see this place in person, damnit.

Thursday, this week, I am flying to Nashville
and renting a car to drive to Cookeville.
I emailed the company and asked if I might be
allowed to tour the facility on Friday. Of course,
I'm hoping they will say, "Why sure! And, as long as
you're here, stay around for an interview, too."

Got nuthin' to lose and a new life to gain.

If nothing else, I haven't had a vacation in a long time
and have never taken one by myself. I don't plan on doing
the usual tourist-y things this time. I want to look at the
area from the perspective of what it would be like to live there.

Fingers crossed, my friends... fingers crossed.

Haiku me, baby...

The weekly haiku contest at All Atwitter...

Topic: PASSION

Deadline, midnight.


my entry...

It's gone and I don't
care. It wore me out for naught.
Pleasure not worth pain.

One of us needs some help...

Usually, the people with the biggest hearts
and the people who are first to offer help to
others, are the last ones to ask for anything
for themselves.
Erica and her parents need her friends now.
Their beloved cat, Maya, is very sick and the
treatments are very expensive.

Please, do what you can.

FYI...

I've been remiss in noting some changes on my
blog roll. Some of my favorites have new addresses...

Mark is now Abbadon here,
Steph calls herself Death Chic(k) here.
Freddie got rid of her Warts.
Tammi moved here.
Maricopa Mark is now Cactus Mark.
T1G has streamlined his site here.

If I missed anyone... holler at me so I can fix your link.

Hello, my name is Jean and I am 57 years old...

today.

Not a bad day at all.

My boss baked a birthday cake for me.
One of my best friends gave me a book about Tennessee.
At the end of our shift, another co-worker gave me a birthday
card that all my co-workers signed.
Took myself to a wonderful restaurant for dinner and margaritas.
Got several phone calls and emails from siblings and friends.
Bought and watched the movie 'No Country For Old Men'...
loved it.
Bought and started reading a book Sparrow recommended a
while back, 'Eat, Pray, Love'... love it.
Found out I'm going to get flowers tomorrow from a very special friend.

A day full of love and good wishes. What more could a woman want?
ok, ok... a really good lay would have been the candle on the cake.
Maybe next year.



ooooohh... almost forgot.
GOT AN EMAIL FROM THE PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER
IN TENNESSEE.
THEY WANT TO SET UP A PHONE INTERVIEW!!!!
ASKED WHEN I MIGHT BE WILLING TO RELOCATE!

What a birthday, eh?

Snifffffff, ahhhhh...

The haiku topic at All Atwitter is SCENTS.

You have until midnight tonight to submit your
three-line odoriferous opinion.

Then, go back on Thursday to vote for your favorite.

you love strawberries...

you told me
once
that I taste
better
than strawberries.

Kindness and Compassion...

A beautiful piece of art that is helping an
entire community. Read the story that goes with it.

Follow the links to the artist collection and gallery
to see his other works.

h/t to Tammi.
Read her post "Handled With Dignity".

I hate socks...

feet are cold.
toes are blue.
ought to put
some socks
on you.

*sigh*
Is this the best I can do? Yes.

It feels like my writing soul is dead and there is no reason why.
Life is actually not too bad right now.

The new owners had a meeting with all of us this week.
Positive words were spewed that made the future there
look like it will last longer than another month or two.

Seems that we peons were fed some serious mis-information
by the in-between white-collar people. Schmucks.

The plan really is... a major renovation of our building, to
include lots of new equipment. Serious focusing on acquiring
new work. Diversify. Improve. Make money.
duh. Isn't that the purpose of most businesses?

They do not want us to go away. They want us to get better.

What this does for me is remove the panic factor.
I can research and plan a life change in a timely manner.
I can expect regular paychecks to continue for a while.
(No one can guarantee anything forever.)
I have a nice amount of vacation time that I can use to
make some trips to calmly check out other options.

I hope to spend a few days in Tennessee to do just that...
later this month, after I rack up a bit more overtime to
cover the cost of gasoline and a motel or two.
No... I haven't heard anything from the resume, yet.
I still feel that something is going to work out, though.
It may just be something I haven't considered yet, so I
am keeping myself open to input from the Universe.

I do have this vision of what, in my perfect little idealistic
romantic world, I would really, really want to happen.
It's that impossible dream that cannot come true.
Or, can it?

If I can write it out without sounding like a cross between
Pollyanna and Julie Andrews, I'll post it.

It is so very nice to breathe easier again. For now.

Haiku Genealogy

The topic for this week's Haiku Contest
at Sparrow's place is: RELATIVES.

Get over there before midnight tonight.
Listen to your Mother!


UPDATE: now, go back to Sparrow's and
vote for your favorite haiku from this week.
Mine is one of the finalists. Yay!

Silence...

there is no
understanding
of words left
unrevealed.
held in heart
inside the dark
bitter roots
take hold.