September 8, 2008 – 8:56 pm
My backyard neighbor Wife J came by on Saturday afternoon to sit on my back patio. Really, she was just sitting there with her eyes closed while I cooked some sausage sauce and pasta for me and the boys. Last I had heard from her and Husband J (who was turned away from a job in Allentown, PA 3 days before starting), he had a less than ideal (her words) job offer from a company in Cincinnatti, OH and was in Colorado before we left for NJ vacation for another job interview. I asked her if she was okay and she explained that there were people looking at their house from 4-5 pm and she has been coming over to my yard all week (good to know) if she didn’t want to pack up the kids and leave the house when having a walk-through. I dismissed this because this is just how they are and though I find it a bit odd, it is so them. So Husband J accepted the job offer in Cinn and now their house is back on the market. He starts tomorrow - will be living with his parents during the week. Apparently, both of their families are in Cinn and that is where they grew up.
I hardly asked about the job, I was much more interested in how many people had looked at their house in the week it has been up for sale. I was surprised that they have gotten alot of traffic and were getting a second walk-through on Sunday. There are several houses up for sale in our neighborhood - the ones that border Hague Road and/or 106th Street just do not sell. And those are the people that want to move…mainly because of the high traffic and rumors that they plan to expand the road. Of course, there is a house that is the first visible house when you come into the neighborhood off 106th St. that has two blue tarps on the roof…lovely, right??? Probably were refused a new roof by their insurance company two years ago and this is how they protest!
Good times. But I am happy that our neighbor finally has a job after being unemployed for several months. Hopefully a nice family (with kids) will move in. Our side by side neighbors are not ideal as far as kids go - one is over 80 years old (never see her!) and the other is a couply my Dad’s age with grandkids that come over every so often, but we hardly see them either.
September 7, 2008 – 8:07 pm
Today was my first venture into the Fantasy Football field. I have spent several years gawking over Husband’s FF team and his win 2 years ago. I usually keep to the weekly picks. Last year, I was invited to join an all-female fantasy league. Intriguing…but I was 32 weeks pregnant at the time. Can you imagine me neglecting my newborn to ensure my line up was in??? Yeah, me too! I’m the one who gave birth at 8:41 am and was watching ESPN Football at 11 am that same day. Hah! So I passed last year but told them to keep me in mind for 2009. They did and I joined up. I’m currently holding my own in Game #1 - winning 80 to 61. She has her defense (Minn) playing tomorrow night and I have two players (a RB and WR) playing tomorrow also. I’m hopeful but cautious to get too excited. My brother (who is like the Jimmy the Greek of Mendham, NJ) tried several times last weekend to give me “advice.” I brushed him off and asked him to just let me be…please!!!!
In other rewarding news this weekend for me, I’m flying solo on the homefront and I took the boys (A and Z) to the Indianapolis zoo yesterday and then to church today (they went to their classroom/infant room and I went to my group study worship). It felt good to not stay at home with them and venture out - with an “I think I can” attitude. It’s all worth trying. If it doesn’t work, I just pack them back into the minivan and hit the road. That is just the attitude that I have to have right now. Later in the week - A begins swim lessons, Z and I do Mommy & Child swim…stay tuned.
August 18, 2008 – 9:45 pm
Some may or may not know that I am a HUGE gaming and sci fi fan. I played D&D with my brother and then with the boys in high school in late 1980s. I am also a very happy gamer girl - atari, coleco, nintendo, xbox, playstation, wii…I’ve played on them all. I’m currently very happy to play Guitar Hero when my carpel tunnel is not acting up - probably from years with joysticks in my hands for hours on end and typing for the last 15 years non-stop.
I have now been to 4 Gen Cons (held yearly in August in downtown Indianapolis) and 1 Star Wars convention. Love it! Each year I seek out the coolness factor and enjoy the “sights” (people crazier than me who dress up, people who are so secluded in their gaming that don’t know how to dress properly, etc.), and have a good time with my husband and our friends. This year, I left the show the happiest that I have ever been at a Gen Con. Husband called me on Thursday from the show while I was at Newark Airport preparing to fly home. Peter Mayhew (aka Chewbacca) was this year’s Person of Honor and was appearing each day at the show, giving out autographs (for a fee) and posing for photos (if you pay said fee). Normally I balk at the thought of paying for an autograph…I did not pay 2 years ago for Kevin Sorbo…but this year I HAD to do it! So on Friday, Husband and I went over to see Peter Mayhew. He signed a photo of Chewbacca from Empire Strikes Back (in snow…Peter said that I had made an excellent choice of photo!) and Husband took a photo of us. I was like a school girl - utterly in awe. What I will remember most about him are his HUGE hands (incredible) and his talk with us on the differences of filming in 1970s/1980s and then on the final movie in 2000s.
This week - I am going to frame my autographed photo and will display it proudly!
First I want to say that Husband and I work for the same company and I do consider my company…publishing since 1807 stable in comparison to lots of companies right now. And I’m proud to have worked for this company for the last 14 years (!) since I graduated from college.
Our backyard neighbors - because they border us on the backyard - have not been as lucky. Husband J was notified back in April that he would be laid off by June 1st…and this happened. He is a civil engineer - a bit specialized in his expertise of computer chips but still marketable. He was offered a job 5 weeks ago in Allentown, PA that was to start on August 4th. So the family started working on a move to PA right away - getting their home in selling condition, looking at houses in the new area, transferring schools, telling family and friends, etc.
Husband J left a week ago to go out to Allentown. Wife J and their two kids followed a few days later with the plan of staying with brother-in-law while looking for a new home, then return to old home to move things and hopefully sell it. I was put in charge of watering their outdoor tomato plants and flowers. As promised, I watered on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I returned last night to water. On our way home from work, Husband and I noticed their car in the driveway so I assumed that Wife J was back to pack up things. When I went over with my water bucket, I noticed Husband J in the kitchen…hmmm. So I went up and knocked on the back door. I told him I was there to water the plants and wanted to see if there was anything else he needed. Then the bomb dropped on me that I cannot seem to forget. Wife J appeared from around the corner and they told me that the new company had rescinded their offer to him on Friday! I was shocked! They have now gone 2 months without a paycheck (Wife J is a Stay-At-Home Mom) and put $8k into their house for “repairs” to get it in shape to sell - which was supposed to come from the signing bonus that Husband J will likely NOT see. I was so stunned. I said that I was sad that they were moving, but happy that HJ had a job, but now I’m just sad.
Husband noticed me walking back to our house and was stunned to hear this news. The company told HJ that they were on the verge of laying off thousands of their employees and could not come through on his salary. I’m just sad - I know that I used this word before but I’m not sure how else to describe how I feel. You get a solid job offer and there is light at the end of the tunnel and suddenly it is gone for this family. And I am also grateful to have a Husband that got a new job/promotion to Publisher of our Tech UK editorial group. I’m still thinking of Husband and Wife J, knowing that lots of families are in this boat right now and hoping that they get through it…and grateful that Husband and I are keeping things in control at our own home.
I’ve spent the last 6 days in Wisconsin Dells, WI. This was the bi-annual (because I could not take annual) vacation with the Husband’s family - his parents as well as his brother and family (pregnant wife + two boys). So essentially we had 6 adults, 2 3-year old boys, 1 18-month old boy, and my 9 month old boy (baby Z) all in a 3 bedroom townhouse up on a mountain known as “Christmas Mountain” which was about 3 miles outside of “downtown Dells.” I was hoping to have internet connection to keep up on work email as well as keep up with my friends and family with regular blog posts at what I call my family blog. This just did not happen.
I was totally amazed at how secluded we really were…not wanting this to happen really. H and I had no cell phone reception and there were zero data ports for our laptops. H tried dial-up for about 45 minutes and gave up…remember when we thought that dial-up was fine???? I was half-expecting a rotary dial phone, but that thankfully wasn’t the case (though it certainly was not a new-ish hotel type phone…). As Lightning McQueen says in Disney’s Cars “I’m in hillbilly hell!” That is the only way to describe how disconnected I felt. It was weird. I think it was really the type of resort where we stayed and not Wisconsin (I rather like Wisconsin - go cheese!). We have vacationed several times over the last 3 years with kids and had no issues with staying in touch.
I’m really not one to be particularly dependent on my phone or internet. H lives and breathes by his blackberry. I can contain myself, but I was really feeling lost and worried thinking that if something happened…I could not call anyone. And news…forget it. I had to wait for CNN to come in - not on my schedule of checking online. So now I need to post photos, blog to my NJ-based family, and catch up on the happenings of the world and Indiana! Brangelina had babies and I didn’t find out for 2 days!
Speaking of babies, our marketing coordinator extraordinaire will be induced on Monday morning if nothing happens prior to that time. I doubt it will. Baby boy is on his way soon! Yay!
