The Friday Chronicles

So I'm a couple days late again. I can't help it; lately, I've been so stressed out and busy that sometimes my blog falls to the backburner and it's a constant cycle of "I'll get to it in the morning, or I'll blog tonight before bed." Neither happens and the next thing you know it's been two days.

Anyway, my thoughts for the week...

.....................................................................................

We discovered today that California's technology is a few steps behind Pennsylvania's, at least as far as the state's concerned. You know how you can call pretty much any office and get a full-service automated menu? [Aside: Does anyone else get really annoyed when you call a company's phone number and can't seem to get a real person on the other end of the line? What happened to the days when you called a company and a person answered the phone?] Well, when I filed for unemployment from Pennsylvania when I lost my job in January 2004, I was able to phone in every other week and re-file my claim. Out here, apparently, you can't call. You have to fill out your bi-weekly claim and mail it in. Like, snail mail. THEN, you have to wait up to 10 days before you get the checks. I understand having to jump through hoops for this sort of thing but c'mon...you can't provide an automated service with a 1-800 number? Join the new millenium, California. You're the friggin' pioneer state of technology.

.....................................................................................

Buy shoes that fit. I cannot emphasize this point strongly enough. Ill-fitting shoes will make you want to take a hacksaw to your feet after three blocks of walking in them. Remember Saw? Okay, maybe it's not that bad. But you get the idea.

.....................................................................................

I am absolutely loving this cold spell we're having here! It's 50ºF here, which may not seem cold to all of you back east or in the midwest, but it's cool here and at night, we get down to 40º and it's AWESOME. Don't get me wrong: I don't miss the snow. Not in the least. But when you only get two seasons per year (summer and "winter") you look forward to either being cold or hot. So I'm totally relishing wearing jeans, socks, slippers, t-shirts and sweatshirts. I even got to put a blanket on my little boy when he took his nap today - he wrapped himself up like a burrito!



.....................................................................................

.....................................................................................

I'm really hoping something happens this week, job-wise. Things are getting kinda scary here. I need an office job, something that pays a decent salary, because in order to collect unemployment, Rob has to keep actively looking for work (that is the idea behind Unemployment Insurance) but if he's offered work, he has to accept it. The idea is to get me working so he can focus on school. And if I'm working, I have to make enough to support us right off the bat. So keep your fingers crossed - or pray if that's what you do - for a Christmas miracle. We need one.