A hope-inspiring email, visitors, and a deal has been struck

It's 11:30 on Saturday night & I can barely keep my eyes open, yet I'm here posting. How sad is that???

After my interview yesterday morning I sent a "thank-you" email to Fred, the gentleman who had told me about the job & given his company my resume. Here is part of the response I got back from him:

You made a great impression on them both...so all I can say at this point is stand by, we are still interviewing.

See that? "Great impression!" Like I said in my last post, I really, REALLY want this job!

Had a very nice visit with Sorcha & Kenrick, but it was way too short. :-( I'm hoping to be able to go to the Legion picnic in Mississippi next weekend. Yeah, long drive for a picnic but hanging with the Legion would be worth it!

I'm really excited about a trade I've made with them. When DJ moved out he left some of his armor behind for me to sell & put towards the money he owes me. I wasn't having any luck getting rid of it. Sorcha & Kenrick told me they'd like to have it and in exchange they would make me a "period" bed. A REAL bed for events! Not air mattresses that go flat over night. Not cots that are too small. An ACTUAL bed! (I totally swiped this picture from Sorcha's blog).


Is that sweet or what????

Then a couple hours after Sorcha & Kenrick left, some of my "kids" came to visit. Nic & Nita are the only ones who have made me a "grandma" so far, and their daughter, Jade, is just too adorable! Nita's sister, Amaris, came by too. It was really nice seeing all of them. But I'm betting my poor kittens were glad to see them go!



Ok, folks, it's bed time for Bonzo. Sweet dreams!

Did you ever want something so bad you could taste it?

Yesterday was a good day. I had my interview first thing in the morning & I think it went very well. A couple of things in my favor: 1-they're looking for people who can handle "baptism by fire"...hell, that seems to be my specialty. Did it at Starstruck, Tenax, and Nationwide. 2-Thorfinn (Fred), the knight who told me about the job. 3-there's two job openings. Yeah, I want this job in the worst way. So much so that if NW makes a counter offer they would have to just about double my salary to keep me.


Fred about made me lose it during my interview. The meeting took place in a conference room surrounded by windows. At one point I looked up to see Fred standing in a hall doorway looking at me. I tried to discretely acknowledge him. Next thing I know he's across the hall in the receptionist's area (which is also glassed-in), making these sweeping waves at me. 8-} I managed to igonore him but I called him afterwards to apologize, saying I didn't think it would have been appropriate to react to him. I haven't heard back from him....



As soon as I possibly could I sent thank-you notes to the ladies who interviewed me, naturally highlighting how my skills matched what their requirements. So however you communicate with Creator, if you could mention something to Him on my behalf I would be grateful. :-)


I came home to a very clean house. Vickie had done the last little bit of housework for me. Do I have the best kids in the world or what???


The rest of the day was pretty quiet til about 9 p.m., when Sorcha and Kenrick got here. We only visited a couple hours last night since they were tired from the drive but we'll be able to spend some time together today before they have to leave.


Gonna be a great weekend!

Too tired to post

I have too much to do to be working!

There are a couple of things I wanted to share. First is a story about great customer service. Aunt Etta && Uncle Bill for a long time have been going to the Great Clips here on Lila Ave. for a long time. On Monday Etta went to have her hair done for the funeral && when she told her hairdresser about Bill's passing the girl cried the whole time she was doing Etta's hair. She then told Etta there wouldn't be a charge for that day, and to come back before the funeral & she would freshen up the style, again at no cost. You just don't find dedication like that any more.

Vickie went to the Warped Tour concert on Wednesday. Every time she goes to that concert she somehow gets bruised. This time she got elbowed in the nose & it's pretty swollen. You would think that she'd get tired of getting hurt but I guess the experience is worth it to her.

Last but not least, I have an interview this morning. It's an interesting story how this came about: one of our SCAdian knights posted to our email list that his company in Milford was looking for a Software Implementation Specialist. I asked him for details & found out it's at a company where I had an interview (thru an agency) about 2 months ago for a Hardware position. I told him about that, and asked him if he thought it was worth trying again. Since he said it couldn't hurt, I forwarded my resume. But then I got to thinking about it: maybe he got the job I originally applied for! That would have been too funny - but I found out it wasn't. I have to say, since he's a knight I have a great deal of respect for him & he said he wouldn't have forwarded my resume if he didn't want to work with me. Really made me feel good to hear that!

Shout outs for today: Thanks Lynne & Pati for lunch, and so glad we're going to make this a regular thing!; Sorcha & Kenrich - please drive safely & can't wait to see you!

Families need to stay together

Especially families like ours, with a history going back to the 1400's. I do have to say that despite the circumstances, tonight was pleasant. The only family not represented tonight was Uncle Chuck's. Aunt Fran was able to convince Uncle Jim to come out for a change, and when a bunch of us went to Frisch's after the service, Uncle Jim really enjoyed himself. Hopefully he'll remember how nice it is to be out with family & not be such a recluse any more. I told a few cousins about our eGroup & hopefully it will generate some interest.

The Clan

There are so many good stories about Grandma, Grandpa, and Great-Gramma Geismann - I'm going to do my best to make sure they're not lost. Oh, and something else I learned about Uncle Bill tonight: he received two bronze medals for fighting in WWII. Aunt Etta is going to try to track them down.

Ok, time to grind the gears on the brain as I switch topics. (grin) How OCD am I? I decided to clean out & straighten up my sewing boxes last night. In my pin box I had short & long pins. I don't like the short pins. So I dumped the lot out & sorted them. Yup. Every last pin. It was like a miniture game of pick-up-sticks. Anybody need anything organized???

For those of you wondering about Jake & Vickie - I'll try to start posting news about them. In a nutshell: Jake made it back safe & sound from Iraq, is now sharing an apartment with his girlfriend (and hopefully soon-to-be-daughter-in-law), Megan, is back at work loading & unloading trucks & will be going back to school in the fall. Vickie turned 16 two weeks ago. She's looking for a job & keeping busy with the High School colorguard.

Vickie
Jake and Megan

I've decided to start a regular "feature" here: shout-outs. So here are today's shout outs: Thanks to Sandy for the alteration referral; Thanks to Pati for lunch yesterday (sorry it was so short!); Hi to Barb living down in Barbados (lucky woman!); Sorcha and Kenrick - can't wait for Friday!!!; and to all my Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins: KEEP IN TOUCH!!!!

Random thoughts from a swiss-cheesed mind

Instead of saying "Nothing much happened today" I thought to make notes about little things that happened so I could give all of you the benefit of my opinions. (grin)

Last night I went swimming at Aunt Bea's. There were two women there, looked to be in their late 20's or early 30's. When Bea & I first got there, they were sitting at a table, chatting, and wearing shorts. A little later I noticed they were in their suits walking around the edge of the pool. They asked me how cold the water was & I told them chilly until you got used to it. They must have spent a good ten minutes hemming & hawing over how cold the water felt & if they wanted to get in. I joked around with them a little bit, and at one point one said to the other, "Look at this lady! She's older than we are & probably thinking we're a couple of cowards!" Yeah, I know I'm getting old... you don't have to remind me. And do I *really* look that much older than you????


Next thought: for those of you who don't know, I got my hair cut short. As I've gotten older (there's that word again [sigh] ) my hair has developed waves. Of course, when my hair dresser styles it, it looks awesome. She tells me, "Just put a little scrunching cream on it, scrunch it real good, and it'll look great." But you KNOW... a hairstyle can NEVER be as nice when YOU do it! Personally I think my hair looks unkempt when I scrunch it, like I just rolled out of bed. But my friend Donna, who is my fashionista, told me when I curl & smooth it (like I did yesterday) it makes me look older. Her words to me as she left yesterday were, "Disheveled tomorrow, right???" So, yeah, I scrunched it this morning. She said it looked really cute, that "disheveled was hot!" Now there's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one!!!! So from now on it will be referred to as "My Oxymoronic Hair".

Soapbox time: why is it you hear everyone complaining about the price of gas, but yet when you go to a convenience store there's cars idling everywhere??? When I was in college I saw these business-card sized notes you could leave on people's cars that said, "Hey a$$hole!!! You're an idiot because...." I would love to have something like that to put on those fume-producing, gas-guzzling autos.


Another soapbox item: Today I saw these signs on the left side of the highway that said, "Shoulder - Authorized buses only". It sure didn't look to me like there was room enough there to fit a bus. And have you ever gotten behind one of those things?? They really boogie! How the hell are the drivers going to be able to maintain control when there's a Jersey barrier not six inches away??? I think whoever thought up that idea should get the Moron of the Year Award.


I have some other thoughts but I'll save them for tomorrow. Don't wanna strain your eyes too much! (grin)

I wish I had known.....

Uncle Bill's obituary is in the paper today. It doesn't say a whole lot but it does have a link to the funeral home & the write-up there was eye-opening. Things I didn't know: he was in WWII (I'm going to have to ask Aunt Etta if he saw combat); he was drafted by the Reds but decided to serve in the war instead; he was on the police force for 32 years.

A very glaring reminder that in the hustle & bustle of today's world, we need to take time to talk to the Elders. They have fabulous stories to tell.

Pfaehlers are stubborn... & why I love the Shadow Legion

(And anyone who knows my family will say, "No duh!") Uncle Henry had a seizure yesterday, we don't know if it was from diabetes or epilepsy (both of which run in our family). But he refuses to consider either possibility. That's a Pfaehler for ya.

Since I didn't have much happen today I shall regale everyone with the tale of my initiation into the household of Shadow Legion. Vickie & I are members of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). The SCA attempts to recreate the Middle Ages as they should have been. Within the SCA there are official groups (such as kingdoms, principalities, and baronies) and there are unofficial groups called households. Basically a household is a group of people who like to hang out together, but they usually have some type of entrance requirement. As I understand it, the initiation ritual for Shadow Legion is supposed to be a secret, so I'll only describe what happened afterwards. However, suffice it to say there was quite a bit of laughter & I ended up on my rear - and I wasn't even drinking!

[Warning - slightly mature & potentially offensive material ahead].

Shadow Legion is a group modelled after Vikings. Immediately after I was made a member, the head of the household, Duke Sir Kane, stood with one of his squires behind him and said, "Since I wasn't expecting this I left all my official regalia at home". With that his squire put a hand over his left eye so that he could portray Odin. With great pomp & solemnity, Kane declared it was now time to determine my official Shadow Legion nickname. Another of his squires stepped forward with a jester's cap filled with little pieces of paper. Kane fished around in the hat for a minute, pulled out a slip, held it with both hands & moved it around, exclaiming, "I can't see it!" (I guess that's what happens when your good eye is covered!) I waited expectantly while he pronounced, "Your new Legionnaire nickname is..... Sugar T*ts!" But it could have been a lot worse...one of the names in the hat was "Two Yaks". 8-} I've decided that before the next time I got to a Legion function I'm going to get a couple of those sugar packets from Starbucks that say "Pure Raw Sugar" on them, empty them out, have them laminated, and put pins on the back of them. And guess where they'll be worn!

Many thanks to my friends in the Legion for reminding me the SCA is supposed to be fun!

R.I.P. Uncle Bill...Please get well, Uncle Henry

My Uncle Bill Wright passed away today. He hasn't been well in body for a few years, and not well in spirit since the Beverly Hills Fire 30 years ago. He was the Captain of the Fort Thomas Police that night and it changed him drastically. He seemed to lose much of his boisterousness after that. After hearing the news I went to my Aunt Bea's house. She's very close with my Aunt Etta, Bill's wife, and I thought it would be good for her to have company. We stayed close to the phone because she was waiting to her from her sister, my Aunt Fran, and her brother, my Uncle Henry. Aunt Fran's husband, Jim, hasn't been doing too well either & Bea was beginning to worry that her calls weren't being returned. Turns out Aunt Fran was having phone problems. By the time I left we still hadn't heard from Henry, but we weren't as worried about him. He & his wife Barb recently bought a condo & Bea thought they might be working on it. Turns out we were wrong. He had a seizure and was in the hospital. It never rains but it pours. I've only got the info that Aunt Bea left me in a voice mail & her line is busy now. His granddaughter told Bea he's ok but I would sure like to know more.

I went looking thru my pictures to see if I have any of Uncle Bill & I don't. :-( I'm going to have to ask Aunt Etta for one. But here's a really old one of Aunt Barb (on the left), Uncle Henry, and my cousin Marie holding Vickie (at 3 months old!)


On the positive side I got an email tonight from my friend Barbara. I'd like to say she's in Connecticut but I'm not really sure. A while ago I got a message that she's working for some Caribbean resort but I don't know if she's there or still in CT or what. I keep asking her for news, and she keeps promising it... /:-) But I *did* get one piece of news from her tonight: her daughter got engaged. The email came with a picture and her daughter is gorgeous! And I now feel sooooo old.....