The good news is that in my disagreement with Dannon over whether or not I should have been trying to find any job possible right away versus holding out for a "good" job and trust that the unemployment was going to come in, I seem to have been proven right! Woo Hoo!! The bad news is that this means the unemployment did not, in fact, get approved and there are no "good" jobs to be found. For that matter, if the last three weeks are any indication, there are also no decent jobs around either.
I've tweaked my resumes. I say "resumes" becuase I have four of them, playing up and down my various qualifications for the different types of jobs I'm looking for. I have had only one interview in three weeks and I'm starting to get a little depressed about the whole thing. When I started to really pour on the steam after the unemployment decision came in, I was pleasantly surprised to find how many jobs were listed. There were certainly more than when Dannon had started looking. But after three weeks of no real leads I'm starting to wonder what the problem is.
My guess is that I'm looking for entry level positions with Mid-Career Manager qualifications. Even on the resume versions where I've tried to downplay my experience I'm afraid that I come across like someone who knows a little too well what she's talking about. Maybe there's too much jargon for me to pass myself as a generic customer service rep. I tried to scrub for things that make me sound overqualified, but I end up having to make myself sound dumb so I put it all back.
I've probably applied for about 125 jobs in the past few weeks. All it takes is for just one of them to break my way.
In the mean time, I'm getting an ungodly amount of spam wanting me to sell Life Insurnace. There are no words for how terrible I would be at that job. But all the things I'd be good at? No bites at all.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Milking It
A couple of weeks after Orion was born, I gave myself a firm pat on the back for having safely sidestepped postpartum depression. Of course, I was dealing with my stress by living on nothing but peanut butter cups and spending 20 hours a day on the Internet with my BabyCenter birth club. So, although I didn't FEEL like a depressed person I sure was playing one on TV. At least I had a chance to channel the Crazy by putting using my medical degree from the University of Google to diagnose Orion's GI issues.
The first thing I figured out was absolutely correct. He had a raging case of reflux. It took a couple of weeks and a trip across town to a specialist (who was kind enough to walk a screaming Orion down the hall for a few minutes to give me a break) but we got the right medication rolling and that has been under control ever since. The second thing I Googled up was a home-diagnosis of Milk Protein Allergy.
Orion had this horrible orange-yellow runny poop all the time. My research told me that it was the milk proteins in my diet that he was reacting to. I guess there are a lot of milk proteins in peanut butter cups. Faced with the possibility of having to cut out all of the dairy in my diet (read: I was addicted to the peanut butter cups) I made the decision to switch him to formula. Luckily, I was able to dodge all of the expensive and smelly specialty formulas by using Good Start, which doesn't have the milk protein Casein in it. All was right with the world. OK, life was still crazy but at least Orion's poop issues were resolved.
I kind of forgot that someday it would become highly unfashionable for Orion to still be drinking formula and that he'd be getting his milk proteins the old fashioned way, as the beverage included in a Chicken McNugget Happy Meal. I guess that's why, when his recent switch from formula to whole milk was followed by a return of the nasty yellow poop, I didn't instantly recognize the problem. But lo and behold, here we are over a year after my initial diagnosis dealing again with the potential of Milk Protein Allergy. Either that, or he isn't tolerating the peanut butter cups I'm feeding him. (I kid! He much prefers Snickers bars.)
Our first shot at defeating the Yellow Poop of Doom was to change his bottle-beverage to Almond milk, which Orion loves because its sweet and expensive. At three days post-switch, it's not seeming to be good enough. We're now facing down the elimination of all dairy products from Orion's diet.
What a pain in the ass. Anybody got a peanut butter cup?
The first thing I figured out was absolutely correct. He had a raging case of reflux. It took a couple of weeks and a trip across town to a specialist (who was kind enough to walk a screaming Orion down the hall for a few minutes to give me a break) but we got the right medication rolling and that has been under control ever since. The second thing I Googled up was a home-diagnosis of Milk Protein Allergy.
Orion had this horrible orange-yellow runny poop all the time. My research told me that it was the milk proteins in my diet that he was reacting to. I guess there are a lot of milk proteins in peanut butter cups. Faced with the possibility of having to cut out all of the dairy in my diet (read: I was addicted to the peanut butter cups) I made the decision to switch him to formula. Luckily, I was able to dodge all of the expensive and smelly specialty formulas by using Good Start, which doesn't have the milk protein Casein in it. All was right with the world. OK, life was still crazy but at least Orion's poop issues were resolved.
I kind of forgot that someday it would become highly unfashionable for Orion to still be drinking formula and that he'd be getting his milk proteins the old fashioned way, as the beverage included in a Chicken McNugget Happy Meal. I guess that's why, when his recent switch from formula to whole milk was followed by a return of the nasty yellow poop, I didn't instantly recognize the problem. But lo and behold, here we are over a year after my initial diagnosis dealing again with the potential of Milk Protein Allergy. Either that, or he isn't tolerating the peanut butter cups I'm feeding him. (I kid! He much prefers Snickers bars.)
Our first shot at defeating the Yellow Poop of Doom was to change his bottle-beverage to Almond milk, which Orion loves because its sweet and expensive. At three days post-switch, it's not seeming to be good enough. We're now facing down the elimination of all dairy products from Orion's diet.
What a pain in the ass. Anybody got a peanut butter cup?
Friday, June 5, 2009
Thanks GI Joe!
I have such paralyzing social anxiety, especially regarding use of the telephone, that I used to joke that if you left me at home with no car, a phone, and a $10 bill I would starve to death before I got the guts up to call and order a pizza. You can tell I've been suffering from this for a long time because we all know that, for starters, you can't get a pizza for $10 anymore and also that now I can just go online and put my debit card into the computer and for some amount greater than $10 (I try not to look) a creepy guy will show up at my door with the pie of my choice without my having to even pick up the phone. Ironic that I've spend the last 10 years working in call centers, no?
So it was a huge, HUGE, step for me today when I got a text message inviting Orion and I to a playdate today. A real one, with other kids, and other girls my age. Girls who cuss and laugh at farts just like me! These particular girls have known each other since highschool and I know how hard it is to find a new place withing those kinds of friendships. I'm not foooling myself into thinking that these are going to be my new BFF's or anything. But, how nice was it to sit and laugh while the kids played? Really nice, that's how.
----------
Dannon had an interview today for a job that he's overqualified for. We've got our fingers crossed that the company will see that they won't just be a pit stop (where else is he going to go?) so that they'll hire him and we can all eat again. We don't need much to live on now, but we do need something coming in soon. The feeling of not knowing where its going to come from is a little like having already jumped from the plane and then starting to wonder if you have a parachute or an empty backpack.
----------
When I was trying to get pregnant, or trying to get Dannon to let me try to get pregnant I Googled like a crazy person trying to figure out why I kept. Having. Miscarriages. In my searching, I came across A Little Pregnant. Julie's experiences were so similar to what I had been through, thought I would still have to go through, that I went back and read through her whole archive. I laughed with her and cried with her. Most of all, I realized I wasn't alone. When I'd devoured everything she'd written, I started chewing my way through her Blogroll.
I started at the beginning, and found All & Sundry right at the top of the list. I found that Linda's voice sounded even more like my own, and here we were at such similar points of our pregnancies. She with her second son, and me with my first. Again, I read every word I could find (note: let this be a lesson to employers not to allow emotional pregnant women unfettered access to the internet). From there I moved on, and now count Amalah and others as daily must reads, but it's Sundry that continues to speak to me like a little voice in my ear.
There's been a lot of self reflection going on on these blogs (I won't even THINK the MB word) in the last week about why bloggers do what they do as well as the morality and professionalism involved (or missing) from the decision to accept free products, trips, and other goodies in exchange for reviews. As a blog reader, I think its pretty cool that these awesome girls get thrown a little bone for their hard work. I take the trips vicariously through them and appreciate the giveaways they're able to sponsor. Frankly, I don't care if they spell out every single time that they've been compensated in some way for kind words aimed in the direction of a product. This may be SO last century, but I actually trust these writers. If they're going to tell me their kids' real names the very least I can do is believe them when they tell me that a certain kind of vacuum cleaner rocks out with it's cock out. I think that they go above and beyond when they add a disclaimer. FTC be damned, I'm smart enough not to need my hand held.
So that's that. However, the truth is that the BA Fearless Self Inventory had kind of prompted me to do something similar. Every time I read one of these posts, I just keep thinking about how very lucky these folks are to have people reading their words, laughing and crying along. Hey! I want people to read my words. Why aren't people reading my words?! There's a really simple answer. I have never given this link to another breathing human being. Well, I sort of described the link to one of my friends but I don't even know if she's come and read.
You may say, "But surely when you comment, you put the link in the little asky-bar custom made for these things!" Well, this is where we come full circle. I don't comment. I'm too chicken to comment. So my summer resolution is this:
I will commnet on blog posts that make me think, laugh, or cry. I will add my own blog link hoping people will find their ways here. I will see these ladies (and man...Hi! Danny) as torch-bearers and, though I am miles behind them in readership and book deals, I will get my writing out there.
It's going to mean that I open myself up for people to hate what I write, but that's ok. In order to hate it, people must first read it, and that's half the battle.
So it was a huge, HUGE, step for me today when I got a text message inviting Orion and I to a playdate today. A real one, with other kids, and other girls my age. Girls who cuss and laugh at farts just like me! These particular girls have known each other since highschool and I know how hard it is to find a new place withing those kinds of friendships. I'm not foooling myself into thinking that these are going to be my new BFF's or anything. But, how nice was it to sit and laugh while the kids played? Really nice, that's how.
----------
Dannon had an interview today for a job that he's overqualified for. We've got our fingers crossed that the company will see that they won't just be a pit stop (where else is he going to go?) so that they'll hire him and we can all eat again. We don't need much to live on now, but we do need something coming in soon. The feeling of not knowing where its going to come from is a little like having already jumped from the plane and then starting to wonder if you have a parachute or an empty backpack.
----------
When I was trying to get pregnant, or trying to get Dannon to let me try to get pregnant I Googled like a crazy person trying to figure out why I kept. Having. Miscarriages. In my searching, I came across A Little Pregnant. Julie's experiences were so similar to what I had been through, thought I would still have to go through, that I went back and read through her whole archive. I laughed with her and cried with her. Most of all, I realized I wasn't alone. When I'd devoured everything she'd written, I started chewing my way through her Blogroll.
I started at the beginning, and found All & Sundry right at the top of the list. I found that Linda's voice sounded even more like my own, and here we were at such similar points of our pregnancies. She with her second son, and me with my first. Again, I read every word I could find (note: let this be a lesson to employers not to allow emotional pregnant women unfettered access to the internet). From there I moved on, and now count Amalah and others as daily must reads, but it's Sundry that continues to speak to me like a little voice in my ear.
There's been a lot of self reflection going on on these blogs (I won't even THINK the MB word) in the last week about why bloggers do what they do as well as the morality and professionalism involved (or missing) from the decision to accept free products, trips, and other goodies in exchange for reviews. As a blog reader, I think its pretty cool that these awesome girls get thrown a little bone for their hard work. I take the trips vicariously through them and appreciate the giveaways they're able to sponsor. Frankly, I don't care if they spell out every single time that they've been compensated in some way for kind words aimed in the direction of a product. This may be SO last century, but I actually trust these writers. If they're going to tell me their kids' real names the very least I can do is believe them when they tell me that a certain kind of vacuum cleaner rocks out with it's cock out. I think that they go above and beyond when they add a disclaimer. FTC be damned, I'm smart enough not to need my hand held.
So that's that. However, the truth is that the BA Fearless Self Inventory had kind of prompted me to do something similar. Every time I read one of these posts, I just keep thinking about how very lucky these folks are to have people reading their words, laughing and crying along. Hey! I want people to read my words. Why aren't people reading my words?! There's a really simple answer. I have never given this link to another breathing human being. Well, I sort of described the link to one of my friends but I don't even know if she's come and read.
You may say, "But surely when you comment, you put the link in the little asky-bar custom made for these things!" Well, this is where we come full circle. I don't comment. I'm too chicken to comment. So my summer resolution is this:
I will commnet on blog posts that make me think, laugh, or cry. I will add my own blog link hoping people will find their ways here. I will see these ladies (and man...Hi! Danny) as torch-bearers and, though I am miles behind them in readership and book deals, I will get my writing out there.
It's going to mean that I open myself up for people to hate what I write, but that's ok. In order to hate it, people must first read it, and that's half the battle.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
When it matters most, trust Duracell
We were at the playplace today and while the kids were playing (less than 10 spread among 4 parties) one of the dads chatted me up trying to figure out where he recognized me from (Answer? Nowhere). His wife walked over and we were making typical parent playground smalltalk for a couple of minutes. When I did my routine child inventory, Orion was four feet behind me HUGGING A MAN. Luckily, this particular man was a good guy. He was there with his wife and kids, and was taking a break from body-slamming his 12 year old son in the ball pit. He was super friendly and kept rolling the ball back and forth with Orion for a few minutes, until I pulled the plug and left.
This time, we were lucky. Not only was this man a good guy, but we were in a video monitored facility where they check to make sure that the kid you're leaving with is the one you came in with. But the truth is, this isn't the first time I've had an "Oh, shit!" moment when it comes to Orion's safety.
We've recently gotten Season Passes for Disney, which means we spend a significant amount of time standing in line. Every single freaking time that he makes eye contact with someone in line, he's reaching his arms out to try to get them to hold him. I'm scared to death that one of these days someone is going to reach out to take him and I'm going to have to cut a bitch. Honestly though, why does he do that? Why does he approach every single stranger looking for love? I might as well put a T-shirt on him that says "I HEART WINDOWLESS WHITE VANS".
I guess vigilance is key, but jeesh.
Here's a lighter, but still a bit on topic, story from earlier today so that I'm not closing out with "OMG WTF MY BABY IS GOING TO BE ABDUCTED!!!" We used to frequent a fast food place before Orion was born and there was this girl working there that was kind of odd but very friendly. We only went there once with Orion before we left town because the girl didn't quite get the whole personal space thing. While we were in Oklahoma, our old haunt closed down. We had even wondered where the girl ended up. Today we went to another fast food place and there she was. We had a conversation similar to what we were used to, but then the oddest thing happened. Orion did the typical toddler thing where he takes a piece of food out of his mouth and holds it out in offer to the nearest adult. Of curse the standard response is, "Oh, no thank you! That's for you!" Not from this girl. This girl leaned down, opened her mouth, and fucking ATE the chunk of soggy chicken nugget right from his greasy paw.
It's good to be home. The End.
This time, we were lucky. Not only was this man a good guy, but we were in a video monitored facility where they check to make sure that the kid you're leaving with is the one you came in with. But the truth is, this isn't the first time I've had an "Oh, shit!" moment when it comes to Orion's safety.
We've recently gotten Season Passes for Disney, which means we spend a significant amount of time standing in line. Every single freaking time that he makes eye contact with someone in line, he's reaching his arms out to try to get them to hold him. I'm scared to death that one of these days someone is going to reach out to take him and I'm going to have to cut a bitch. Honestly though, why does he do that? Why does he approach every single stranger looking for love? I might as well put a T-shirt on him that says "I HEART WINDOWLESS WHITE VANS".
I guess vigilance is key, but jeesh.
Here's a lighter, but still a bit on topic, story from earlier today so that I'm not closing out with "OMG WTF MY BABY IS GOING TO BE ABDUCTED!!!" We used to frequent a fast food place before Orion was born and there was this girl working there that was kind of odd but very friendly. We only went there once with Orion before we left town because the girl didn't quite get the whole personal space thing. While we were in Oklahoma, our old haunt closed down. We had even wondered where the girl ended up. Today we went to another fast food place and there she was. We had a conversation similar to what we were used to, but then the oddest thing happened. Orion did the typical toddler thing where he takes a piece of food out of his mouth and holds it out in offer to the nearest adult. Of curse the standard response is, "Oh, no thank you! That's for you!" Not from this girl. This girl leaned down, opened her mouth, and fucking ATE the chunk of soggy chicken nugget right from his greasy paw.
It's good to be home. The End.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Party at my Crib
Orion has never had really consistent sleeping arrangments. The original plan when he was born was to have him sleep in the bassinet part of the Pack & Play in our room for a few weeks, then transition to his own crib in his own room. When we realized that bed time turned him into a head-spinning, projectile-vomitting, demon child we relaxed our goals a little bit. Eventually, we settled on co-sleeping as the best option for us. Mostly because I fell asleep feeding him one night and woke up four hours later which, at the time, was miraculous.
As time went on, we gradually transitioned away from co-sleeping using various combinations of bassinets, cribs, and co-sleeping time until he was finally spending all night in his crib in the weeks before we left Oklahoma. Well, except for the two to three times he was still getting up and coming into our bed for a bottle only to be carried back to his room when he was done.
When we hit the road to drive home, Orion was approaching his first birthday and was nowhere near sleeping through the night. When we got to the hotel the first night we set up his Pack & Play and put him down for bed, crossing our fingers that he wouldn't be confused by sleeping in the place he'd been playing and snacking at the old house. When I woke up, eight hours later, to the realization that Orion was STILL asleep I was amazed. Now, 45 days later, Orion is still sleeping through most nights and he's still sleeping in his Pack & Play.
I feel terrible about it. He's in there right now, sound asleep with his head and body backed against the narrow end and his feet straight out in front of him. There is room to spread out, if he lays just so, but many times he gets himself into the funny positions where it just doesn't seem like it can be comfortable. Dannon thinks he must be cozy. I think it looks restrictive. But I'll be damned if he isn't getting the best sleep of his life. Like, 12 hours a night with 0-1 wakings.
I'm just afraid to kill the mojo. We have plenty of space and plenty of opportunities to put the crib together, but there it sits. Leaning up against the wall in his new bedroom. I'm trying to convince Dannon to build the crib this weekend to give Orion a little bit more space, but I hope I'm not screwing up a good thing.
As time went on, we gradually transitioned away from co-sleeping using various combinations of bassinets, cribs, and co-sleeping time until he was finally spending all night in his crib in the weeks before we left Oklahoma. Well, except for the two to three times he was still getting up and coming into our bed for a bottle only to be carried back to his room when he was done.
When we hit the road to drive home, Orion was approaching his first birthday and was nowhere near sleeping through the night. When we got to the hotel the first night we set up his Pack & Play and put him down for bed, crossing our fingers that he wouldn't be confused by sleeping in the place he'd been playing and snacking at the old house. When I woke up, eight hours later, to the realization that Orion was STILL asleep I was amazed. Now, 45 days later, Orion is still sleeping through most nights and he's still sleeping in his Pack & Play.
I feel terrible about it. He's in there right now, sound asleep with his head and body backed against the narrow end and his feet straight out in front of him. There is room to spread out, if he lays just so, but many times he gets himself into the funny positions where it just doesn't seem like it can be comfortable. Dannon thinks he must be cozy. I think it looks restrictive. But I'll be damned if he isn't getting the best sleep of his life. Like, 12 hours a night with 0-1 wakings.
I'm just afraid to kill the mojo. We have plenty of space and plenty of opportunities to put the crib together, but there it sits. Leaning up against the wall in his new bedroom. I'm trying to convince Dannon to build the crib this weekend to give Orion a little bit more space, but I hope I'm not screwing up a good thing.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
This shit is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Last night, all I wanted was to do some laundry and watch American Idol. Ever since we moved into our apartment, our dryer has been out of commission. For some reason, this place requires a three prong dryer cord and our current one has four. I'm somewhat of a pro at this since we were living in this complex when the dryer was purchased and had to change the cord when we moved out. I'm convinced that no other place on earth has four pronged dryer outlets. Freaking communists. Anywho, one month, four trips to Home Depot, and a new power tool later we were all ready for the final push yesterday.
While I got the baby down, Dannon made the "final" trip to the store to replace the screw that we'd has to cut off. Just as Orion drifted off to sleep, the unthinkable occurred. The power went out due to the storm and stayed out for about 20 minutes, cutting a giant hole in the middle of my AI recording. I was bereft. Then Dannon came home and announced that Home Depot doesn't carry the right bolt. I was screwed. I had no other choice but to start getting caught up with Fringe on Hulu.
After a couple of stops this morning we finally found and old-timey hardware store with a couple of genuine old-time men who were willing to sell us a nut and bolt that "should work since it's not stainless steel". I have one more chance at my deal of catching up on laundry during AI. I think it's going to work, I just hope we don't burn the building down.
On the baby front, Orion has decided that he will be eating only bananas, Nilla wafers, and these vile toaster muffin-tops (heh!) I bought the other day on a whim. Since His Highness still requires warm stage-2 formula prior to falling asleep I'm not worried about nutrition, and I've read that it's a normal stage, but I'm getting a little bit tired of cleaning my thoughtfully homemade spagetti o's off the walls.
While I got the baby down, Dannon made the "final" trip to the store to replace the screw that we'd has to cut off. Just as Orion drifted off to sleep, the unthinkable occurred. The power went out due to the storm and stayed out for about 20 minutes, cutting a giant hole in the middle of my AI recording. I was bereft. Then Dannon came home and announced that Home Depot doesn't carry the right bolt. I was screwed. I had no other choice but to start getting caught up with Fringe on Hulu.
After a couple of stops this morning we finally found and old-timey hardware store with a couple of genuine old-time men who were willing to sell us a nut and bolt that "should work since it's not stainless steel". I have one more chance at my deal of catching up on laundry during AI. I think it's going to work, I just hope we don't burn the building down.
On the baby front, Orion has decided that he will be eating only bananas, Nilla wafers, and these vile toaster muffin-tops (heh!) I bought the other day on a whim. Since His Highness still requires warm stage-2 formula prior to falling asleep I'm not worried about nutrition, and I've read that it's a normal stage, but I'm getting a little bit tired of cleaning my thoughtfully homemade spagetti o's off the walls.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
We've strung a couple of rainy days together here, so the thee of us found ourselves at Family Fun Center again. For the third day in a row. Again. It's nice to be able to let Orion roam. Sometimes we're even lucky enough to meet nice people with nice little kids.
Today, I struck up a conversation with a couple of moms, one of whom I'd shared the L&D room with the day Orion was born. Soon we were talking about weaning strategies and growth curves and all that other great mommy stuff. I felt so...normal.
Then as the crazy elementary age kids worked the door for some afterschool running, jumping, and generalized mayhem I got the equivelent of the mommy secret handshake. That's right. An invitation to their Mommy and Me group. I know I should be all cool and aloof about this, but instead I feel like I'm sitting at the cool kids table in the lunchroom. It scares me to death but I think Im going to go tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.
Today, I struck up a conversation with a couple of moms, one of whom I'd shared the L&D room with the day Orion was born. Soon we were talking about weaning strategies and growth curves and all that other great mommy stuff. I felt so...normal.
Then as the crazy elementary age kids worked the door for some afterschool running, jumping, and generalized mayhem I got the equivelent of the mommy secret handshake. That's right. An invitation to their Mommy and Me group. I know I should be all cool and aloof about this, but instead I feel like I'm sitting at the cool kids table in the lunchroom. It scares me to death but I think Im going to go tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.
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