Insomnimusing

Flashback Friday - Life's Been Good

2009-07-10T08:30:00.000-04:00

In spite of what the video description says, it's not the Eagles, it's Joe Walsh solo ... Life's Been Good

Flashback Friday - Jessie's Girl

2009-07-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

When I sing along with this one, I alter the words slightly...and it makes me smile. This week's Flashback Friday is Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl. :)

I miss my blog

2009-06-24T21:33:00.003-04:00

I miss my blog. I'm so busy I never have the time or energy to post....during those two hours a day or so that I'm home and conscious. The rest of the time I'm working. Ah, the glorious new job!

We started interviewing for a new reporter again. Man, I hope this one works out. We hired one guy and he quit after four days. Then we offered the job to a girl - after sending all the others on their way - and she ended up not taking the position...after supposedly being ALL enthusiastic about it. *Sigh* I can't take these insane hours much longer...

I have to post to the blog for work every day. Feel a little guilty about it every time I do. Hehe. (I've been at this blog so long, it's like my old friend.)

I suppose there's a lot happening that I should update on, but I can't really think of much of anything now. Work's shoved it's way into my every thought lately. I can't even have a decent fantasy without my brain changing the subject! LOL!

Flashback Friday - Break My Stride

2009-06-12T08:30:00.001-04:00

I missed the past two weeks, and I'm really sorry. :(
Here's one to make up for it a little...... Matthew Wilder's Break My Stride
Even better, it's on Solid Gold!

400th post

2009-06-01T23:07:00.005-04:00

Sure doesn't seem like it with my poor performance lately, does it?

Ironically, I got snarled at a bit at work regarding blogging today, too. See, I've been working 13 hours a day, five days a week, and trying to spend some quality time with my kids on the weekends, so I haven't been blogging here. And at work, I'm supposed to be posting to a blog every day there too, and I've been so busy doing the 800,000 other things that are absolute top priority that I haven't gotten around to posting on that one much either. I did do one last week, but that wasn't enough, naturally. Thirteen-hour days be damned! It should be fourteen!

This past weekend I took the kids to the nature preserve on Saturday. We walked the trails a little bit, but the mosquitoes were swarming, and Munch is terribly allergic. She went to a night party a couple of weeks ago and got bitten all over. She looked like someone had beaten her with a baseball bat. The worst of the bites actually developed bruising, and one on her arm swelled up so much that it looked like her arm was actually broken. We decided to check out the exhibits inside instead, but not before I snapped a couple good close-ups.

Sunday we went to the birthday party for my friend L's ridiculously adorable 2-year-old son. That boy is SUCH a little sweetheart! The kids were complaining about five minutes in that they were bored and there was nothing to do. Ahem... There was a giant inflatable jumper/ball pit, volleyball, badminton, horseshoes, ring toss, a racing slip-n-slide, a giant bowl full of squirt guns, not to mention an ice cream sundae/milkshake bar! Surprisingly enough, Book was the one who actually started playing and enjoying himself first. Then I grabbed a couple of squirt guns and started a battle royale among the kids. After that, everyone started having so much fun, they complained when it was time to leave and take Book home. Oh yeah, I had a darn good margarita too (very small and well before leaving time...).
Caught a photo finish of Book and Munch on the slip-n-slide - on my Blackberry camera, if you can believe it?!

Ramping up

2009-05-25T22:32:00.002-04:00

I'm starting to think sometimes, "why did I do this?" I REALLY needed the pay increase, for one. That might even have been the biggest one. But I also needed to FEEL something more about my work. I'd been sort of dying off inside before. Now, though, I do question the wisdom in it sometimes. It's been - what? - three weeks now? Or is it four? Nearly every day's been upward of 12 hours. Most right about 13. And those are packed hours, too. The time flies because it doesn't stop for a minute. In fact, minutes overlap. Things have to be done at the same time, or I even have to be in two places at once. And it doesn't end.

This week is going to be brutal, and I'm only working three days. Off today, although I went to shoot a parade for work. Tomorrow - almost certain to be hell. Wednesday, off, but wondering if I really will be off. Thursday and Friday - work. I'm expected to do so much - then I'm thrown two more. When I start dropping balls, the whole thing's going to collapse. I've never failed at work before. I'm thrown a problem and I solve it. I'm given a task and I complete it. Even sometimes when it seems that it would have required the bending of space and time, I could manage it. I'll just have to find a way.

With summer here and the girls off school, I can go into the office earlier in the mornings. I can do things then when it's quiet: maintenance, background work, sorting copy for the day, searching for news, going through e-mails. Then I'll be ahead when the normal workday begins and I can start making phone calls and start writing earlier. In between times I can try to keep up with the copy being entered into the system, so I can get it edited as quickly as possible. With our new paginator starting as early as she does, it's hard to keep up with getting everything edited immediately so she can get it on the page. Meantime, if the layouts are ready, I need to prep the front page, since I'll be building page one and two this week. (Hmmm, see why I was wondering if I would actually be getting Wednesday off. I'm also supposed to be learning how to paginate the entire paper, front to back, beginning to end. And I'm supposed to become the expert on, I think, four or five huge, complex long-term issues in the area, because apparently, I'll be taking them all on. I can do it. I can. There's more on the list. I'll sleep on it. And I'll start early in the morning. The girls are at my mother's tonight. I can leave early.

I hear thunder in the distance, I think. I hope it's not a false alarm. I want to fall asleep to a good thunderstorm tonight.

Girls' first flight

2009-05-23T15:47:00.000-04:00

I took the girls on their first flight today!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Flashback Friday - Naughty Naughty

2009-05-22T08:30:00.000-04:00

Oh this really IS a flashback! I don't think I'd heard this song since HIGH SCHOOL! It's Danger Danger's "Naughty, Naughty"!!!!!

Flashback Friday - Fantasy

2009-05-15T08:10:00.001-04:00

Man, I used to LOVE this song! It's Aldo Nova's Fantasy! Life is just a fantasy....

Where have you been?

2009-05-14T21:44:00.003-04:00

Where have I been? Well, I've been at work every waking hour, or close to it. I've put in minimum 13-hour days almost two weeks solid now. But I'm still loving it. Meanwhile, most of my readers have abandoned me. I don't blame them. I've been extremely neglectful. I have three (completely separate) blogs, and I give THIS one the most attention. So you can only imagine how my other ones are doing. I ~~might~~ will be adding a fourth blog for work. You know I love this one. I have a more emotional tie to it than either of my others. I've had it much longer. And I really don't want to see it die. I am hoping that things will be easier next week, so I'll have more time to spend here - oh yeah, and with my kids too. ;)

Why will next week be better? We started our new paginator this week. She's been in training, which is why my days have been longer, because I and the editor have been building all of the pages for the paper. We've also been writing most of the stories. (In addition to the old paginator, we also fired a reporter last week.)
We started a new reporter today too. We've been interviewing people for the job for the past two and a half weeks (the whole time I've been there). We're loving him already. He jumped right in, learned the new story filing system, started making phone calls, put in a good and solidly written article(which we held), and we actually ran out of things for him to do (because it was such a hectic day). We held the story because after we sent him home, a GREAT source called in with a perspective that will turn that good and solidly-written article into one pretty hot story. It's got government corruption, unethical business practices, environmental danger, angry citizens - the whole package. I love this business! :) So anyway, we're throwing the story back for more work - and I'm betting that he's going to do great things with it. High hopes for this guy.

I had a luncheon today with the local Women in Networking group and a banquet this evening for a new educational foundation. So I was pressing flesh with the community government and business leaders from the entire tri-county area all day.
It was another 13-hour day today, but I'm loving it.

:)

Blackberry

2009-05-09T21:46:00.003-04:00

I got my new Blackberry today. It's cute. It's pink. It's activated, but I'm transferring my phone number from my old phone, and my old phone company hasn't deactivated the number yet. Probably because customer service is only available during regular office hours now. Pathetic.
Anyway, the web browser and e-mail are working,so I'm still getting to play around with it a lot. So I ask you... what are the best Blackberry applications? Specifically free ones. I don't want to put a lot of garbage on my new toy. So I want to know which Blackberry apps you actually use all the time and love. And if you could, tell me what's so great about them. I was required to get a Blackberry or some sort of smart phone for work, so now I want to get as much bang out of my nifty little device as I can get.
By the way, does anyone know if I can watch streaming football (soccer, for the uninitiated) on this gizmo? A web site address that's got video compatible with the browser like YouTube does?
Thanks so much for any help you guys can offer.

Flashback Friday - I Wish I Had a Girl

2009-05-08T08:03:00.000-04:00

I had to do it. :) This week's Flashback Friday is Henry Lee Summer's "I Wish I Had a Girl."

First full week coming to a close

2009-05-07T22:05:00.002-04:00

It's been a long week, but it's flown by. Does that make sense? I've had ridiculously long days in the office this week - one was fourteen and a half hours. But I'm loving it. I'm exhausted. My house and my kids are being neglected. But I just FEEL happier. Tomorrow's going to be a rough one though. Next week too. After that though, I'm hoping that everything will be in order, and I can get back to some semblance of normal life. I'll reintroduce myself to my kids, and all will be well.

zzzzzzzzzzzz

2009-05-06T00:48:00.000-04:00

Fourteen and a half hours at work today. Frickin' exhausted. Bed. Now.

Busy week

2009-05-03T21:54:00.000-04:00

Well, I started my new job this week, and although I'm incredibly busy and working very long hours, I'm actually really loving it. :)
I spent Monday at my old office, then Tuesday, I went in to the new job. The morning started out with our weekly editorial meeting. I felt like I was pretty well received. As soon as I got out, I found that I had a message from the school saying Munch's tooth was hurting. (I'd had an appointment scheduled at the dentist for her on Thursday, but apparently, it was not going to wait any longer.) So I called and scheduled an appointment for her for Tuesday, then I called the school and said I'd pick her up. So, I'm called out of the office already on my first day. Munch had to get a “baby root canal.” She goes back for a permanent filling next Tuesday. My mom will take her for that. I returned to the office while Pooh watched the girls. Stayed until about 8 p.m.
Wednesday I was back in my old office again in the morning (they had a food day in my honor), then I went to the Piqua office to train my replacement. I went home after that to watch the football game, since it would be my last midweek game – maybe ever...or so it seems. After the game, I took Munch back into my old office to clear my workspace. No sappy goodbyes. It was barely noticed, I think, but at least my old boss will miss me.
Thursday, things got crazy. It was my first full day in the new office, and I was there for 11 ½ hours. But I loved it. I really did.
Friday was a little smoother. Still a long day. I still loved it too. We had a department head meeting, and I was in on it. Imagine that. Me. A department head. The publisher had everyone say something interesting about themselves, so I could get to know them better. They all got to know each other better too. My thing? My obsession with European football, naturally. :)

Flashback Friday - Had a Dream (Sleeping with the Enemy)

2009-05-01T08:37:00.001-04:00

Flashback Friday with Roger Hodgson's Had a Dream (Sleeping with the Enemy). I have to tell you, one verse of this song went through my head for YEARS, and it drove me nuts that I couldn't remember the artist or the name of the song or find any reference to it anywhere at all. Yet again, Google comes to my rescue! Enjoy the flashback! Hope someone else remembered this one too....

I got the job!

2009-04-24T22:18:00.001-04:00

I promised I'd tell about the job once it was decided. Today, I got the job. :)

A few weeks ago I was in my editor's office, and while looking through the paper he noticed an ad for the editor's position at one of our sister newspapers. The next day I asked him what he thought of the idea of me applying for the position. I was nervous - I tend to underestimate my own qualifications (though not my abilities). I realized that I was as qualified, if not more, than other editors in our group have been, so I decided to go for it.

A couple of weeks later I got a call from the publisher at the other paper asking for a phone interview. He said they'd received dozens of applicants, and from those they'd narrowed down the group and would do phone interviews to get down to a final three or four. The phone interview went well, but at that time, he told me that the senior reporter at that paper had applied for the position as well. That made me REALLY nervous. Not only would she have the advantage in getting the position, but if she DIDN'T and I did, I could be facing a hostile atmosphere from day one.

I got the call to come in for an interview in person, but that was postponed twice because the publisher's mother was hospitalized. Meanwhile, my editor was telling me that he'd spoken very highly of me, and he was giving me his full backing. He also let me in on the fact that it was down to three - me, the senior reporter and some guy from Montana. Well, he got word later that the guy from Montana was basically out of the running, when the publisher told him he'd heard something "disturbing" about him from a coworker.

So I finally got my interview in person on Tuesday this week. Tuesday evening, the senior reporter called me and asked me to come in to meet her Thursday. Wednesday the publisher called me and said that he'd set up the meeting with the senior reporter because he felt it would be good for us to get to know each other - "since you might be working together soon."

Thursday, I went in to meet with her. I got a very good impression of her right from the start. She told me that she'd been offered the editor's position, but they still wanted me, so they decided to also create a managing editor's position. It's all the things I WANTED to be doing - writing, editing, setting up the news budget, making assignments - without all the corporate and administrative stuff that I DIDN'T want to do. So it's almost like the job was tailor-made for me.

I spent the evening coming up with a number. If they could give me that much, I'd take it. They called me in today and offered it to me, at even a little higher than my minimum number. So I signed. I start next week. :)

Flashback Friday - Your Love

2009-04-24T08:23:00.000-04:00

It's Flashback Friday with The Outfield's Your Love!

There's a storm, all right

2009-04-22T18:47:00.002-04:00

This video was produced as a response to the NOM Gathering Storm commercial. I'm not linking to it. You can Google it if you're interested.

It's not about special rights - it's about equal rights.

Flashback Friday - The Stroke

2009-04-17T08:21:00.001-04:00

This soooooo rocked back in the day! It's Billy Squier's The Stroke!!

Still on hold

2009-04-14T23:22:00.002-04:00

My job interview had been rescheduled for today, but I got a call from the publisher this morning telling me that he couldn't be there - again. He said he'd considered having me talk to some of the other managers there, but he didn't think that would be fair to me - and I agree. So I'll wait for it to be rescheduled again. Maybe it's a good thing. With these false starts, my apprehension is lessening, and it's possible that it could even work in my favor. I wonder if the other finalists are facing the same thing?

Not having my interview allowed me to be stress-free today, so I got to watch both of my football games simultaneously. I'm getting better at that. I watched the Barca/Bayern game without sound, because it was in Spanish, in one window, while Liverpool/Chelsea played in the window next to it. Bayern managed to pull out a 1-1 finish, knocking them out of the Champions League tourney, but saving face a little after that dreadful 4-0 loss in the first leg. My Luca played his little heart out, and I got two nice long looks at his very lovely thigh, so that made it worth the challenge of watching both. (News stories from the match seem to have been very unkind to Luca Toni today. I didn't get the impression they got at all.)

The Chelsea match was INCREDIBLE though! Wow! What a nail-biter! (I was, at one point, literally biting my nails.) A 4-4 finish was enough to put Chelsea through to the semi-finals, but Liverpool certainly didn't make it easy for them. I shudder to think what might have happened had Stephen Gerrard been on the pitch for 'pool. Being a Man Utd fan, I REALLY don't like Liverpool, but I've got to admit, he is good. Damn good.

Housework can be hazardous to your health

2009-04-13T14:17:00.001-04:00

I had planned to spend last weekend cleaning the house, but when I got distracted by a friend overseas and got into a 10-hour long conversation, housework kinda fell by the wayside. Well, there were no distractions this weekend, so the kids and I got to work - and all did not go smoothly.

Gin was transferring clothes from the washer to the dryer, but short stuff couldn't quite reach everything, so she decided to climb up onto the washer to get it. She fell in. And the door was locked (our laundry room is also our half bath). Munch came running upstairs to tell me that her sister was stuck in the washing machine. I grabbed a paper clip and straightened it out to unlock the door. Sure enough, she was in there, one leg bent in half inside the washer tub with her foot folded behind it and one leg sticking straight up in the air by her shoulder. (I considered taking a picture before freeing her, but then I decided that might be kind of mean. Hehe.) I had her put her arms around my neck, and after some twisting and wiggling, we managed to get her free - she was wedged in there pretty tightly.

As for myself, I also sustained a couple of injuries. While mopping the kitchen, I pulled the mop back and hit my hand hard against the edge of the counter, so that the ball of my hand got firmly pinched between the mop handle and counter edge. There's a nasty bruise there now. I also got a chemical burn on my arm, as my rubber gloves weren't quite long enough to protect me from the caustic concoction I was using to clean my shower. (We have some vicious rusty hard water, and the shower turns orange on a weekly basis.) On the plus side, my shower's white again - however briefly. I got a bit of a burn on my shin too, but it's nothing too bad. As my lungs were burning from the fumes, I began to wonder just how toxic "toxic" was, and some images from an episode of "House" flashed through my head. Erm..... maybe I should cut back on the harsh chemicals a bit...

There's still more to do, but my job interview's been rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. So I'm making dinner tonight and taking the rest of the day off.

Flashback Friday - Two of Hearts

2009-04-10T08:15:00.002-04:00

Here's a fun flashback for you - Stacy Q's Two of Hearts! Claaaaaaaaassssic 80s pop!

Not yet.....

2009-04-09T23:30:00.005-04:00

I was supposed to have an interview for the new job I'm going for today. But after I got all ready and drove all the way there (shaking like a leaf, mind you), I was given a reprieve. The publisher's mother had been taken to the hospital earlier, so he was with her and out of the office. At least I got to drive there and find out exactly how to get there. It might help alleviate some of my nerves next time. Not much, but some. I really don't know why I'm so nervous. I don't even know if I want it anymore. I know I want the bigger paycheck and I even want the job itself, but with an in-house person in competition for it, I don't want to go into a hostile situation at work every day because someone thinks I've stolen her job. It was bad enough when I was in a hostile situation every day at my own place of work because someone THOUGHT I wanted her job. Of course, I suppose that means I can live through it. And if I get it, I'll be the woman's boss, so she won't have any choice but to come to terms with it.

The girls are out of school tomorrow. Their spring break is only Friday and Monday. Fortunately, my mother's not working tomorrow, so she's offered to take them. They stayed up too late watching movies tonight, but really, they probably got to bed about the same time they normally get to sleep anyway, considering how much chattering they always do. Hope they're not bears to get up in the morning.

It's early for me, but my high-stress day has me worn out already. Will I actually get to bed before midnight?!

Weekend update

2009-04-06T17:08:00.001-04:00

So, what a nice weekend..... The kids did get a little too rambunctious and test my patience a bit on Saturday, but it was smooth sailing after that. I got to watch two football matches on excellent streams; I finished off my wine (must start a new batch); I moved one step (or more) closer to a goal; I got to have dinner with an old friend I haven't seen in nearly 20 years ..... I probably should have been writing all this down as I went along, shouldn't I? Is it ok if I play catch up now?

Friday - It was Thursday evening when I was chatting online with an old friend from high school when he said he was coming up from Virginia the next day to Ohio to see his son. He suggested we find something fun to do and catch up a bit. The girls were supposed to spend the night at their dad's, so I thought, "great, no problem, I'm actually free." Well, Friday morning I get a call from their dad telling me he can't take them. Typical. I tell him I already made plans, and he essentially tells me, "too bad." So I sent off a text telling my friend, and he fires one back suggesting all of us going out for sushi. (My loyal readers might recall that I and my children are big sushi fans.) So Friday evening worked out for us, although there was little catching up to be done, as Munch decided to fill every moment of silence telling my friend all about giraffes and school and her friends and her art and her love of sushi and all the teachers she's had since kindergarten and ..... well, you get the idea. Anyway, if you fear there might ever be a lull in your conversation for the evening, take along an 8-year-old girl.

Saturday - After lunch - and after watching the Liverpool match - the kids and I took advantage of the nice day to go to the park so Gin and I could play some tennis. Gin twisted her ankle, so we headed home after a short stay. About an hour later, after showering and changing, I suddenly realized something was missing: I'd left my cell phone and keys on the tennis court. I sent Gin to run over and see if they were still there, since I was still wet and barefoot at the time. Not there. I'd finished getting dressed by the time she returned and took off with the kids back to the park myself. A little girl walked up to us and asked if I'd left a phone and keys. Yay! She'd turned them in at the concession stand (there was a baseball game going on at the time), so I got them back and no harm done. Although, a couple of people in my little town have now gotten to see my phone wallpaper of Luca Toni. :)
I spent most of the rest of the evening chatting with a friend of mine in England, keeping him up until after sunrise his time, and I drank far too much wine in the process. But we hadn't talked in a couple of weeks, so it was fun catching up.

Sunday - I woke up with a raging headache, but I was still in a good mood. I got to work early, so I'd be finished in time for the Manchester United match. FANTASTIC game! And my boys got the win and the three points to put them back on top of the Premier League. Whew! Props to young Machedo (I've said it before and I'll say it again: "Dear Lord, Thank you for Italian footballers. Amen."), and I think I might have to stop hating Cristiano Ronaldo. With Man Utd weakened as they were yesterday, he really came through and saved the day.