Wednesday, April 6, 2016

All I Needed to Know About Life, I Learned Before Kindergarten

I think that most lessons that I needed to learn for life, I learned by Kindergarten.  I did not go to preschool. I stayed instead at my grandmother's house while my newly single mom worked. I watched The Young & The Restless. I watched Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street. I practiced counting with my good friend The Count from Sesame Street and I learned shapes and colors from my granny.

I learned that you cannot make a square peg fit into a round hole. If it does not fit, you cannot force it. I believe I picked that up on Sesame Street.  Or maybe that was from the game Perfection. I cannot really be sure.

I learned that only one person should talk at a time otherwise no one was being heard. I also learned by watching my mom then nothing is more important than taking care of your household first. That means it all I do is dedicated to my daughter. Anything else that comes along falls in line after that. If that is a problem for anyone, then they can continue on about about their way. I put nothing in front of my house because no one would foresake theirs for me.

I also learned by Kindergarten that I like to play outside. I liked to play with other kids. I liked dirt. I enjoyed playing with Barbies.  Therefore I learned to cultivate a variety of interests. I don't rely on one person from my source of entertainment or my connection to the world. It becomes really sad to me when people don't have any outside interests other than their significant other or spouse.

So with these things in mind, I have come to assess the state of my relationship. If you must choose between me and someone else -- by all means -- pick the other person. I am not a choice to be made. You just don't happen upon people like me every day.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Shifting my world to the friendly skies


I've craved change for a while now.  I have tried to no avail to get into the airline industry.  And when I tell you that I have tried, I mean I have tried.  I have applied to be everything from an airline store manager to a ticketing agent and everything in between.

Why?  Well, it's simple really.  I crave change.  I've been in the same job title since 2007 and the same career field from 2002 and for what?  The field has consistently shifted and left us further and further away from civilization.  I know.  It's a library.  How bad could it be?  I could tell you stories that you wouldn't believe, but that is neither here nor there.

I have longed for a job with some stability and fabulous benefits.  When I say benefits, I mean flight benefits .  I've got my obligatory substandard health care courtesy of my employer -- for the record, it's expensive as hell -- and my flexible spending account for health stuff.

This opportunity could change a girl's life right here. I'm so mobile and I need to be able to fly like I want to, especially since I travel with a little one in tow, which equals two times the fare.  Last year alone, I cannot tell you how much I spent on travel.  As far as I can see, working for an airline is truly the move for me.

So now, I'm up at bat again.  The company has contacted me back for an interview for the second time.  The first time was for a  highly competitive position and I still remain a candidate on that list I believe.  But this one,  this one feels different.  This one has legs and I think it's going somewhere.  I feel really optimistic, so wish me luck.

Monday, March 28, 2016

Keeping up with the Joneses... Well kinda

I'm a girly girl.  Well, as girly as a chick who always wears pants can be.  So when it comes to lip gloss, I'm on it!  Anything that adorns the face? I'm with it.  So when I looked at a fellow dance mom's eyelash extensions back in November at a dance competition, I knew I had to have some.  So I did what any savvy mom would do, I waited till there was a Black Friday special on them!

So for months, I did the dance of getting this filled in.  Working like the dickens to not rub my eyes (knowing that my Bambi-like curled lashed couldn't withstand that much human touch.  Hell, they were barely making it through my oh-so-gentle cleaning with lavender baby shampoo.

And then came the fateful February night that I ran into another dance mom who had also boarded the eyelash express with us on the quest for extra-girly lashes.  I asked where were her lashes as I knew that she was going just as diligently as I had been.  Then she pointed out that she'd had hers removed and lo and behold, her own natural lashes were thin and short now.  Oh, shit.

Yep.  Just oh, shit. Nothing more poetic to say than that.

So I decided then that I would not continue applying my well-loved, long lashes because they could have been wearing down my very own.  So the next weekend, on what would have been a eyelash fill in weekend, I decided they were sparse enough to begin removing them at home.  Yes, I said at home because I'm a renegade like that. For the record, there is a professional removal method, but I took matters into my own hands because I had so few lashes remaining.

About an hour and a fair amount of olive oil later, the faux lashes slid off and, yes, some of my own had disappeared, too.  My eyes looked funny,  They were no longer framed by curly lashes that would make any doe envious.  My remaining lashes were tiny, faint and stubby.  Oh God!  What have I done to you? 

Here it is exactly a month later and I have lived to tell the story and, yes, they did grow back. But this last month of transition was pretty ugly.  I couldn't leave without my very own Younique 3D+ Mascara.  I didn't want anyone to see me bare-faced.

Lesson learned.  Everything ain't for everybody... Back to my mascara I go!