Feeling Blessed!

I had my first "Monday" at my new job today. I started setting up my new office and files, and I even cut a couple of po's on my first real day on the job. So far so good. I like my new boss, who is super nice..and I am loving the fact that I have my own office with a door. I can totally block out any noise, etc if I am on the phone and actually have a private conversation. It's a new thing for me!

In other news... US A-hole Company laid off 20 more people today- and the 2 people that were left there that I truly liked were among the unlucky ones...my ex boss and my one friend D. My ex boss Facebooked me to let me know that he was laid off- I haven't heard from D yet..but I did send her a message telling her that I was sorry to hear about it. I know her husband was laid off last year around the holidays and now it happened to her this year. I hope that she will be ok. I hope she emails me back..... I find it ironic that I started this job just as they started cutting personnel again... It's also ironic that my ex boss JUST was a reference for me last week when I was being hired for my current job. Thank goodness I got the job before all this happened...it would have been hard to do a reference for my last position otherwise...

My baby boy is cutting TWO more top teeth for a new total of 6 teeth...so he's been a little cranky, but thank GOD he has been SO much better for my mom when she babysits him for me so I can work. I think that once I get into the groove of this company and the routine of dropping off the baby and picking him up every day, I will do great. It's another period of adjustment is all...and since I have had constant changes for the past year it's not a big deal anymore...we are on to a new phase in our lives!

In summation...I feel so very blessed to have this new job and an opportunity to start a new career at a different company and may I have a long and successful career there!

That's it and that's all!!!

I got the Job!!

I am pleased to announce that I got the job that I had previously posted about.... I have been too busy to post, but I am pretty shocked and happy about it. I can't believe that it's the same company that I had applied to back in July and they called me back! I will be the newest buyer there, and although it's part time (20 hrs/week) with no benefits like paid time off, I got to choose my hours, which will be 8 am-12 noon Monday thru Friday, and I will have my own office for the first time ever...also I will be paid more $ per hour than my last job, so when this eventually turns to a full time position, it will be more $ than before. I can only hope that they haven't sold me on a sham position with no future, because I am TIRED of job hunting and want to have a permanent place to call home so to speak. My first day is tomorrow- I will be working in the warehouse for 2 days then moving to the office after that. Needless to say, after being out of work for exactly 9 months today- I am nervous about starting over AGAIN and even more nervous about how my baby boy will react to being away from me for about 5 hrs per day. He has gotten a tiny bit better about staying with my Mom, but it was a rough go yesterday when my Mother in law had him for a couple of hours while I went to a chiro appt. It's going to be a huge adjustment for both of us. I can only hope it's easier on him than on me.

That's about it for now...I will post more when I get started in my new place!

That's it and that's all!

Job Update

So, I had my 2nd interview at that manufacturing company yesterday....and it looks like I am being offered the job! I spent another 2 hours there with the guy who will be my boss, who is SUPER nice and I think I will like working with him.... I think once I learn the ins and outs of this business I will be a super star there...here are the details of the position:

It is part time for now- they are going to make sure that I am hired as a permanent employee and not a temp, so that I don't get laid off in a couple of months once the busy season ends. The new boss said that if I catch on well and do well, he can make a case for me to be a full time employee. I will work about 20 hrs per week to start off...and I can make my schedule to whatever works for me and the baby. For now, I will work 8 am to noon or 9 am to 1 pm, whichever works better for me. I was also told that they will try to get approval for me to be paid for the holidays that the office is closed, which would be nice. This is the first place I have seen that actually has nice holiday time off: Paid for Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, and even Good Friday- I have never even heard of a company that gives you Good Friday off! (Essentially that is compensating you for Easter Sunday, since it's always a Sunday you would not normally get paid for that holiday at any other company!) Another perk- I will have my own office for the first time in my working career! It's a nice size too- they already showed it to me. It just needs to be outfitted with a desk and stuff, it's currently empty. Basically the only thing I am waiting for is for them to get the approval to pay me the money I asked for (which comes out to more $ per hour than the last job I worked at USA A-hole company) and to get me the paid holidays as well. If they accomplish that for me I will be THRILLED. This is the type of job that I was looking to find once I had the baby...Part time, well paying, and flexible. It's almost too good to be true. I hope that there are no catches to this thing, I want it too much!

I made sure to let them know that I was so disappointed when they never responded to me back in July and August when I asked about the status of the position. They claim to have been hit with a hiring freeze right after I interviewed. However, that cannot explain the lack of courtesy in getting a response back. All they needed to do was let me know about the hiring freeze and I would have understood that. As it turns out, the reason why I am being hired now is because the guy that will be my boss was SO overwhelmed with work (apparently Wal-Mart put in an unexpected huge order not figured into their demand) that he couldn't physically do it all anymore, and he started having panic attacks (gee that sounds familiar!) So they finally got approval to hire a part timer to help out. His goal is to get me in there full time. He told me at one time there were 3 buyers doing what he does now. I could only imagine the pressure he is under. I think he is very well paid though. He travels for the company all the time- international and all...but all the money in the world is not worth your health and well being, so I think that is why he is pushing so hard to get me hired in at my terms. The HR lady told me that I was the front runner for the job all along and once he got the ok to hire someone, he asked for me specifically. He knew from the get go that I was what he wanted. I guess I REALLY impressed him in the interview. I had a feeling that I did...which is why I was SO confused when I never heard back from them again.

So anyway, that's the deal there...and on a side note, I have finally decided to wean baby boy from the breast...he made it easy for me, since he has not wanted to nurse. He prefers the faster flow of the bottle and doesn't want to work for it anymore, so I stopped pumping (I wasn't getting more than an ounce anyway after an entire hour of pumping!) I guess it's time now. I am saddened a little, I actually came to enjoy the time I spent feeding him- but he's getting bigger now, and I am going back to work soon, so it all worked out for the best. As I have said before, God has his plan for you and things will always work out the way he wants them to. I have my faith in Him and it has once again brought me through.

That's it and that's all!!

Quick update

This is an interesting development....the company that I last interviewed with back in early July- the one that IGNORED my phone calls, email and thank you note...has CALLED me again!! I am listening to the voice mail right now..and I am so ambivalent about calling them back...I mean...they BLEW me off...and would I WANT to work for a company like this? And KNOWING that I am a second choice at this point? I can only think that they probably had a new hire that didn't work out and now they are coming back to me. It also makes me wonder... is the job really crappy? Maybe that's why it has a turnover... I am not sure what to do....gonna call hubby now and see what he says..I know he will say... TAKE THE JOB...what I am wondering is... is it going to be worthwhile to take the job? It sounds like they are desperate to get someone in there... it's still a part time seasonal job...just hope it's not all smoke and mirrors....

Will update later!!!

It's my birthday.....

So today is my 37th birthday... it sure doesn't feel like a birthday... Hubby had to work (and will likely have to work overtime), my parents are out of town on their 40th anniversary trip that I arranged, my in laws are in Atlanta babysitting my niece... I'm pretty much alone today, except for my precious baby boy! Who, by the way is now 8 1/2 months old and starting to CRAWL!! He scoots most of the time, but he is very proud to show me his crawling stance and he takes a few tentative "steps" so to speak..he also sits up independently now..he is sprouting his 3rd tooth (it's the first of the top 2) and to my dismay, is starting to wean himself from breastfeeding...he prefers getting his milk from the bottle instead of the breast, he hates to work for it!! So I have been pumping my milk and freezing it, and dear Hubby feeds him a 1/2 mommy milk, half formula bottle in the morning...the rest of the day is formula and his solids. My boy is growing so much! We finally brought him to an upper GI specialist to get him help for his reflux..he started Prevacid along with his Zantac, and he's greatly improved, although he still spits up some. He gained an entire lb in the first 13 days of being on the meds, so that is a positive indication that the meds are working. My baby boy is now 27.5 in and 18.06 lbs! He's starting to outgrow the 6-9 month clothes and going into the 12 month ones. :)

As far as the job hunt goes, it's been really slow. There is not much out there to apply to in my field, and those jobs I do apply to I never hear back from them- and there is no contact info to follow up on, so it's a black hole. I get about 1 or 2 calls every week from one recruiter or another that is looking to fill some job in my field that is either 1) out of state or 2) way above my experience level. I truly believe that recruiters are a complete waste of time and energy for the average job seeker. They are only looking to score a commission off their job order, not to help anyone but themselves. I have come to really dislike recruiters and I am very cynical every time I hear from one. There have been a couple that I have spoken with that were probably ok, but once they knew I didn't fit what they needed they moved on. There are a couple that keep calling me, and try to fit me in a much lower level position that I don't want, and when I return their calls, they don't even answer the phone, or call me back either. I truly believe that they are just looking for people to send on interviews to keep the client interested or else they will move on to another agency. It's all BS and nonsense and I have no patience for it anymore.

With that being said, I DO need a job, but I just think I am going to be out of work until the new year. That does dismay me- however, I believe that things should pick up by then and if we can hang on long enough, we will be ok. I do my part and NOT spend money at all unless it's an essential for the household or the baby- I have become pretty savvy with "couponing" and have managed to save up to 50% on my grocery bill most weeks. It's a lot of work- a part time job in itself- but it's worth my time. Plus, it's super satisfying to see the detail on your receipts that show how much you save. It's fun and addicting all at the same time!

So, it's my birthday and I do wonder if my "friends" will even bother to acknowledge my birthday today. A few of my FB friends and old HS classmates have done so already. I am still waiting to hear from my family, Shell, B&A (not likely, but curious to see if they say anything), Miss G (another not likely) and Scooter (my gay, bi-polar friend of 20 years that I hear from occasionally.)

So, I guess I will update later on if I have time...

That's it and that's all for now!

And they did it again...

So last nite I am checking out my FB page and I see an status message from one of my former co-workers at USA A-hole Company that said that there were more layoffs again. I am amazed that this place can continue to function without all the people. They laid off 52 ppl in January (which included yours truly) then in July I know they got rid of the HR contact that I was friendly with (not sure if there were others at that point.) then I heard of the 10 people that were let go yesterday, one of whom was a buyer. I also found out from this former co-worker that they let go another buyer only 2 weeks ago, and there is a rumor of yet one more getting the ax! All I have to say is that I feel a little bit better knowing this....not because I am happy about anyone losing their job, quite the contrary...it's more the confirmation that it was a totally non-personal decision to get rid of me when they did. I think that even if I had been kept on up until now, I'd still be in jeopardy of getting laid off, and if not, then I'd be SO overworked that I'd be a panic ridden mess. More and more I believe that it was God's plan to get me out of that place at that time. It gave me time to truly focus on my baby boy, and hopefully figure out what I need to do next. I am still uncertain where this path will lead me...but I will continue to have faith that God is guiding my hand in it.

Speaking of my little boy...he's 7 months old. He is sitting up pretty well now (with some help to get there) and is "army crawling" on the floor. I am also proud to announce that he is now sleeping in his crib at night, although he is still not sleeping through the night every night...I get up at least once to nurse him in the middle of the night...I think that he wakes up and realizes he is alone and gets upset..but hopefully the longer he stays in there the better things will be in the end. I wake up and check on him at least once a night aside from when he wakes himself up anyway. I have a little bit of anxiety with him away from me...for his entire life I have had him by my side. I feel like something is missing when he's not there...it's hard to explain if you have never had a baby. It's an adjustment for me as much as for him.

Anyway, that's the most recent update on former job and baby...

That's it and that's all!

A Day To Reflect- Never Forget

Today is 9/11/09, and 8 years ago today was the attack on our country that killed 3,000 citizens going about their day, not knowing that it would be their last. I remember that day and the following ones so vividly, it seems like it was only yesterday. I remember being on the phone with Shell that Tuesday morning during our daily morning call when she was commuting to work. At 8:46 am, I heard on my radio that there was a plane crash at the WTC tower 1... I remember saying..OMG how does a pilot do that by accident? My first thought was that the pilot was ill...maybe passed out or had a heart attack or something...then the 2nd plane hit and I knew that we had been attacked...it was such a sickening feeling... I remember Shell getting very upset... her hubby worked down in that area and couldn't get a hold of him for hours...My cousin worked on Wall Street and I feared for his safety as well... I was so relieved when he called us later that evening and let us know that he was ok...He had to walk over the bridge into Brooklyn and catch a train from there to get home to Long Island..it took hours he said. My hubby's cousin and then gf (now wife) had an apartment just a block or 2 away from there... their place was covered in soot and ash and the air quality was so terrible that they ended up leaving the place and moving out to CT nearer to her parents to get away from it. Despite all that, I feel fortunate that I didn't have a personal connection to a loss at that place. It could have been much much worse... I visited the site back in 2005. It was all cleaned up by then, but the surrounding buildings were still heavily damaged and had scaffolding and tarps on them. You weren't allowed to photograph any of them, they had cops there making sure that was not happening. Not really sure why, but they said it had something to do with security. It was never explained sufficiently.

So today I reflect on that terrible day and remember the victims of that attack, including the first responders of the NYPD and the Firefighters that gave their lives trying to save others. I pray for their souls, and I pray that something like this can never happen again.

God Bless America.

That's it and that's all....