This one has a title, even. It's angsty as all get-out, too.

Spoilers for "Journey's End".

( Small Comfort )



Another one is coming. Fluffy, rather than angsty.

And since my thoughts on my life are too scattered right now to write a coherent entry (I blame Doctor Who), I might as well. I'm not tagging anyone else, though. If you want to do it, go ahead. I think most of my flist has done it already.

So. Answering the questions-- if I don't like one, I can change it. So.


( 20 questions meme )

I have two reactions to this episode.

( not really spoilery, but some people are really uptight. . . )

Saw it at a Team Screening tonight.

GO. SEE. THIS. MOVIE.

Adorable and touching and hilarious and-- there was spontaneous clapping at several points. Seriously.

Gotta see it again.

The short beforehand was hilarious, too.

This is just a bit of silliness, really. I'm sure it's been done before, but since I've read a grand total of 3 Doctor Who fics in my life (if that), if someone has, I haven't read it. I still haven't thought of a title, but I thought I'd post it anyway. So.

Title: None, yet
Fandoms: Doctor Who, Star Trek: Voyager
Characters: Ten, Rose, the Doctor
Word Count: 2690
Rating: PG (for one use of a British swearword)


( What if the Doctor met the Doctor? )

Now, on to that fic where the Doctor and Martha meet Jane Austen. . .

Today at work, one of my coworkers (whom I really like) came to my desk to meter some mail. As she did so, she whistled 11 notes of a tune. A tune I immediately recognized.

"Kathy," I said, "why in the world are you whistling 'Theme From Flood'?"

She was very impressed. Especially as the 11 notes were from the middle of the song. She gave me a high five, then spread the news of my familiarity with They Might be Giants around the office.

In the meantime, in another room, another coworker was loudly singing "Yellow Submarine."

Yeah, I like my job. :P


I've got some fic to post later tonight. After I come up with a title.

I've now officially been working at my job for a week and one day. I like it. There are still some things I'm unsure about, but most of it is starting to become familiar. At the moment I'm concentrating on the front desk, although there is a strong possibility that I'll move to the actual HR department in a more traditional admin assistant role, concentrating on insurance and benefits. The girl I'm replacing did both, but she was filling in until they hired a replacement, and they always planned on hiring two people. At first they tried to teach me both roles at once, but I was feeling overwhelmed. It's not that the front desk job is particularly challenging, because it isn't really, but it is considerably more complicated than my last receptionist job. Since, you know, the last company I worked for had 40 employees total, whereas Jordan Commons is responsible for 5 theaters, two restaurants, and a number of administrative staff. Plus we coordinate with several of the other Larry H. Miller companies. There's a lot more bureaucracy to deal with-- more making of copies (under department codes) and logging and cross-checking and this going to this place and this other very similar thing going to a completely different place. And my predecessor was spreadsheet-happy. And she's not the only one. But it's still good. I'm starting to remember what things need how many copies and where they go, and everyone I work with is really really nice. So, I'm satisfied.

I finished knitting my Dalek. It's really funny to have a nice cuddly friend who can kill you in an instant (and wants to!). I took a picture today, but haven't had a chance to upload it. I'll try to do that tomorrow.

The day I found out I got the job, I went shopping. In the past week, I have bought 3 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shoes, and a purse. They were all needed (well, maybe not the purse, but I tend to buy purses every season change whether I need them or not :P)-- I've gained a few pounds since last spring/summer, and I'd planned to buy new work clothes when I lost my job. Since there was no real reason to buy business clothes when I didn't have a job (and I didn't have the money anyway), I put it off. But now that I have the prospect of a paycheck in a couple of weeks, I felt justified in spending a couple of hundred of my hard-hoarded money. I actually put my stimulus check aside for just such a purpose.

I am trying to be more conservative with my money, though. I hope to keep a nice cushion in both checking and savings, just in case I should find myself unemployed again. It's not very likely-- business is booming for the theaters-- but it's better to be safe than sorry. I also want to pay off my credit card balance as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, I haven't been able to work much on my thesis. My body is still adjusting to getting up at 6:30 again, and I just haven't had the mind power. But I hope to set aside at least a couple of hours every night to work on it. I really, really, need to get this off my plate.

My grandma is coming home from her rehab facility tomorrow. She's getting a bit stir-crazy. I hope she does well at home.

Midnight was amazing. Much looking forward to the last few episodes of Series Four. Oh, and David Tennant can sit by me. :P

So Wednesday was my birthday. It was good. There was lunch at Tucano's (a Brazilian steakhouse) and yarn shopping and other shopping and See's chocolate and Backer's Bakery cake and Litza's pizza. I bought enough yarn to make a sweater. I finished knitting a Dalek. I watched Doctor Who.

And my sister got a phone call from human resources at her work, asking if she'd thought about applying for the Administrative Assistant position. She said no, she hadn't really thought about it, because she liked her job very well. And then she hung up and told us (we were shopping) what the call was about, and I said ". . . I need a job, Lisa." :P She hadn't even thought of it. So she called them back and said that while she didn't need the job, her older sister did. And Kathy (the human resources person) asked if I could come in for an interview yesterday.

Of course I could!

So after I opened the Sonic Screwdriver that connielane, angua9, and redwood7 sent me for my birthday (yay!), I went in for the interview. And she seemed very impressed.

And then I came home and proceeded to get very nervous. You know, the longer you have to wait, the more you start second-guessing yourself-- did the interview really go as well as I thought? Will someone else wow her more than I did? Did I seem overeager? GAH! I was good for absolutely nothing today.

And at 4:30, I got the call. Offering me the job.

YAYNESS!!!

So. I'm now working at Jordan Commons, as an admin assistant for the human resources department. I'm earning $2 more an hour than I was at New Life. I get to go to movies for free (even in the "no passes or discounts" period). I'll have benefits and paid holidays and sick leave. I start Monday.

I'M EMPLOYED!!!!

So I'm flipping channels a few minutes ago, looking for something to watch that I haven't seen a million times, and I notice that, starting at 6:00 Mountain time, TCM is playing Hobson's Choice. This is a FABULOUS movie. It's never been played on TCM before. It's not available on DVD in region 1 (apparently there is a region 2 version, though). You're lucky if you can get in on VHS.

If you have a chance, watch it. Charles Laughton doing comedy. John Mills. Brenda de Banzie. Good, good, stuff.

I'm not sure what feed I've got from TCM, so it might even be on right now in your time zone. Go! Watch! You won't be disappointed.

Yesterday, I had two job interviews. I was picking up lunch after the second when my mom called my cell.

My grandmother had fallen when she got out of bed, and had broken her ankle.

Great.

So I spent the afternoon in the emergency room. Grandma's ankle would definitely require surgery. But she's 83 years old, has had diabetes for 40 years (that's why she managed to break the ankle in the first place-- she was in low blood sugar), has heart trouble (had a triple bypass 15 years ago), and is just frail in general, and surgery would be dangerous. So they delayed surgery until this morning.

Luckily, she did fine with the surgery. 8 pins and a plate later, and she. . . won't be able to stand on her foot for 2 months. Lovely. Because my 85-year-old grandfather surely can't lift her in and out of bed. Plus she's stubborn as all get-out (although today she insisted that she's not stubborn, she's persistent). We've found a good rehab facility for her (Aspen Ridge, I'm sure Nicole is wondering-- the new one is our first choice, but the Wheeler one is second on the list, so maybe she'll see your dad) where she'll hopefully be able to stay for at least 21 days. And they said they won't let her leave until she can get herself in and out of bed and into a wheelchair. Now we just need to find a solution for their super-skinny bathroom door.

What is up with the medical stuff lately? First my aunt has heart trouble, then my sister-in-law has a baby (at least that was good news, but, still, it's a hospital), then my paternal grandmother gets vertigo, then my mom's surgery, then my cousin falls out of the sky, and now my maternal grandma breaks her ankle getting out of bed. Fantastic. Now all we need is for my dad's kidney to go into a sudden decline, or my sister to get into a car accident on the way home from work.

Long time, no update. I'm so bad. Really must get back into the groove of doing this. Because it's not like things haven't been happening.

We had a fabulous time in Disneyland. Seriously, it was one of the best trips ever. The only damper on the thing was that I got tendonitis in both legs (it's the tendon that's on the outside of my calves) and in one foot (I think it was the pereneal tendon, which is below your ankle and on the bottom of your foot), and it was bad enough on Saturday that even the 3-minute walk from our hotel to the gate was enough for me to be nearly crying in agony. Not a good thing. So, we rented a wheelchair. :P I felt like an idiot, and felt badly that Sarah and Lisa had to push me around Disney, but it made it possible for us to actually go on rides. So I guess it was worth it. I didn't go so far as to use the disabled entrances and jump the queue-- instead we parked the wheelchair and I walked on to the rides like a normal person. The breaks between the queues was enough to keep the tendons from cramping too awfully much, so it worked out. $10 well spent.

Two days before we left for California, my mom had back surgery. This was planned-- we got out of the house while mom was still in the hospital, and then were home and available when she was home. Luckily, instead of the vertebrae fusion that had been recommended, she qualified (and was randomized to) a research study for a new product called a Stabilimax. She actually got a level 2 Stabilimax, meaning that she's been stabilized on two vertebrae instead of just one. She also had a herniated disc repaired. This surgery has been nothing short of amazing. If she'd had a fusion, she'd still be flat on her back right now. There would have been no bending for 6 months. Full recovery might have taken as long as a year. Instead, she's up and walking and even drove herself to physical therapy today. The doctor expects her to be back to normal activity in 4-6 weeks. And mom's so happy. Instead of being in constant pain in her back and down her leg, the only pain she's feeling is from the incision. She feels better than she has in more than a year.

But while Mom is improving apace, we're really worried about my cousin. She was in a paragliding accident on Saturday-- fell 80 feet after hitting a windshaft. She has a crushed ankle, a broken pelvis and arm, and an abdominal hematoma that they're worried about. Truly, she's lucky to be alive. She went in for surgery this morning, which apparently went much better than expected, but she's still not going to be able to stand for at least 6 weeks, and they expect at least a 6-month recovery. Rebecca is 9 months older than me-- she was my "can I PLEEAAAAASE have a sleepover?" after every family event cousin-- and has a 5-year-old little boy who saw the accident, saw the ambulances, saw the LifeFlight helicopter. The day before Mother's Day. I can only imagine how horrible that must have been for him. It's been an anxious weekend for us all, and it's far from over.

In the meantime, I've been working out my anxieties by doing DDR for about an hour this afternoon. My sister bought my brother's Wii from him (with 2 kids, he just doesn't have time to use it), and I went out and bought the pad today. I haven't moved that much since I went to the Keane concert. :P

Still no job. Still little progress on the thesis. But things are looking up.

You know why? 'Cause I just spent the last 12 hours (give or take a few breaks here and there) walking around Disneyland. Yup! Lisa and Sarah and I have escaped to Anaheim, and boy are we happy about it. :D We're also completely exhausted. My feet hurt, my back hurts, the back of my heels are bleeding from wearing shoes I only bought last week (I know, I know, but they're trainers! That look vaguely Doctor-ish! And they match!), and I'm having a fabulous time.

( Details, for those that want them )

I'll be lucky if I get out of bed next Tuesday. But I'll love it just the same. :)

In addition to our new addition (yay!) there are actual things going on in my life.

1) I've had to ask for another week on Chapter 4. Life got in the way. So now I have until next Thursday (had to go down for a mandatory meeting anyway, so we're doing it Thursday instead of Tuesday), hopefully with Chapter 4 in hand and a bit of Chapter 3 done too.

2) Last week I went to 4 job interviews (one was a second interview) and none ended up with an actual offer. Although one of the places said I was in their top 3, and another asked if they could keep my resume on file. Feels a bit like damning with faint praise. *sigh* Another interview tomorrow, at a dermatologist's office.

3) I got to play with cuteculturechic last week, though. Outlet shopping and Hires Big H. That was good.

4) I went to my doctor one last time to make sure everything's okay before I lose my benefits (today). He did a cholesterol and blood sugar test. Both are higher than he wants them to be. Not diabetes yet, not anything that medication would help yet, but diet and exercise, he tells me, and lose some of that weight, too. So I'm heading full-throttle into Intuitive Eating. I've dabbled with it before, but haven't ever done the whole program. So far, it's good. Very good.

5) My fannish interests have changed slightly. This was brought home to me when, the other night, my sister and I put in the DVD of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire solely for the purpose of watching any and all scenes in which Barty Crouch, Jr. appeared. We're also planning on having t-shirts made with the phrase "The angels have the phone box" and wearing them to Disneyland. Yup. We're that far gone.

Say hello to Molly Elizabeth, born on Saturday, March 29, 2008, at 5:32 a.m. 6 lbs. 9 oz., 19 1/2" long.



I haven't been able to post before now, because we've been taking care of her big sister while mom and dad are still at the hospital.



Anna's not so sure about this whole little sister thing. :P

They're coming home today! Hooray!

I don't do this often, but I'm particularly proud of the three projects I most recently uploaded to Flickr and Ravelry, and so-- I'm showing off here, too.

Behold, my three most recent Finished Objects (click the thumbnail to see the big pictures at Flickr):


Mitt Envy, fingerless mitts with a cable, knit with Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino, which is meant as a sock yarn. Knitted on size 1 needles, in the round. Those needles were TINY. But I was glad for the practice on the teeny tiny needles when my sister in law asked me to make these for the new baby girl who's due any day now:


Saartje's Booties, made with Bristol Yarn Gallery's Lyndon Hill (a cotton/silk blend). In order to get gauge on these things I had to go down to a size 0 needle. Lucky I bought circulars in all the sock sizes from Knit Picks a few weeks ago. :P These were knit flat and then seamed. Amanda picked the yarn and the buttons, I picked the pattern. They're all ready for the new baby girl to come home in. :)

And now, my proudest moment:


The Spring Break Bag, made with Cascade 220 wool. I designed this. All by my own self. I test-felted my yarn, to see how much it would shrink. I did the math. I just spent the last hour or so typing up the pattern. I made it both as a bag to take with me to Disneyland and as a good beginner's project for the knitting group I started in my neighborhood a couple of months ago. I'm going to distribute it tonight Hopefully, I'll be able to post the pattern online after my knitting group beta-knits it for me.

Look at the needle felting detail!


And yes, I admit that the needle felting could be a bit more felted. I'm planning on doing that tonight, so the gals can see exactly what needle felting entails.

I'm excited.

Because I've managed to be once again screwed around with by my former employer (they assured me that my benefits would last till the end of March, and I just got a letter today saying they actually ended Februrary 29, oh, and apparently I WON'T be getting my 49 hours of paid time off reimbursed), and I desperately need a distraction, here's a meme.

Everyone has things they blog about. Everyone has things they don't blog about. Challenge me out of my comfort zone by telling me something I don't blog about, but you'd like to hear about, and I'll write a post about it. Ask for anything: latest movie watched, last book read, political leanings, etc. Repost in your own journal if you are so inclined.


Oh, I did have an interview yesterday, at a podiatrist's office. That doesn't offer benefits. GAH.

Number of resumes submitted: 12

Number of responses recieved: 2

Number of interviews had: 1

*sigh*

One of the responses called for an interview, but then called again the next day and cancelled it. The other one I actually had an interview at a dentist's office, and I think it went pretty well, but I haven't been called back for a second interview. I'll call them tomorrow (which will be a week from the interview) to see if the position's been filled yet or not, and to let them know I'm still available and interested.

And today I've got a bad cold and feel terrible. So I only applied one more place (for a podiatrist's office, and I would have applied for more except there haven't been any good jobs posted since Friday) and checked on whether or not I'm going to get paid for my accumated vacation (looking like the answer is no) and then played around on the internet all day long. And I've hardly eaten anything because nothing tastes at all good. Gah.

Oh, I guess I've read a few chapters of thesis-related stuff. Hopefully I'll feel well enough tomorrow to do more. I mean to put all this free time to good use. Yes, precious.

On the other hand, I have successfully made connielane into a Doctor Who fan. Go me. :P

• I woke up far too early (8:30) despite my best intentions of being lazy today. It seems I am now incapable of sleeping in. Oh, well. More time to get stuff done.


• I applied for unemployment
  
• I updated my resume
  
• I found a few more connections on LinkedIn (thanks for the tip, B.K.) and even sent a message to my former manager at Deseret Book
  
• Asked one person to be a reference
  
• Applied by e-mail for 4 jobs and by fax for 3 more
  

Stuff I still need to do:

• Laundry
  
• Break down boxes from the new bookshelves I've put together, so there's room for one more
  
• Move computer desk, computer, and as many of my books as possible back into my room
  
• Figure out something fun to do tonight, because it's my parent's 30th anniversary (congrats, folks. :P) and my sister is working so otherwise I'll be all alone
  
• Look for more places to apply
  
• Contact 2 more people for references
  

Keeping busy is at least keeping me from getting too depressed. So, I'll stay busy.

Today at work has been-- interesting. We've all moved past the shock of coming in and hearing "We're closing. As of now. As soon as we can get the patients moved out. Friday, hopefully. Monday at the latest." We've done the depression and the anger and the sadness, and now we're all just kind of-- making the best of the situation in which we find ourselves. Most people wore jeans today (strictly against the dress code). They're cleaning out their offices. They're joking and laughing and talking about where they might go next. I brought Pride and Prejudice with me and am sitting with my feet on my desk when I'm not answering calls. And we are still getting calls-- we've got at least 3 patients that we're trying to transfer to another facility here in the state, plus all the vendors and insurance companies and other folks who we work with and who are trying to figure out the situation. One guy who works with one of the local insurance companies chatted with me a while, saying how sorry he was about this all (because we really are a very valuable resource here in Salt Lake, and, indeed, for the country as a whole-- it's not like we're not needed, or couldn't turn a profit if we tried hard. Our owners just gave up, is what it amounts to), and saying that I've always been friendly and competent and his company has lots of openings.

The company is really doing precious little for us. No severance packages. It's even kind of up in the air as to whether our accrued vacation/sick leave will be paid out (it'd better. I've got at least a week's worth of paid leave sitting there). The best they're doing is allowing the 16 employees who are on the company benefit plan to work one full-time shift in the month of March, thereby extending our coverage until the end of March instead of having it end today. So I'll be working on Monday, probably, as my very last day here. Unfortunately COBRA isn't an option, since our company will no longer exist as an entity. So people are kind of taking their severance as they can find it. I think the plan right now is to raid the marketing closet for New Life-branded stuff (which won't be of any use to anyone. They'll just have to throw it out). I think I might snag one of the little keychain flashlight thingies. I've already got a water bottle, and I don't particularly want an apron. I feel worst for our head dietitian, whose husband is still in school and who just found out she's pregnant.

I was too depressed last night to actually update my resume, but I have done a bit of job searching. Luckily I now have a year of experience under my belt (I just got a $.40 an hour raise with my annual review) and therefore qualify for some of the better receptionist jobs. Many of them pay anywhere from slightly more to significantly more than I'm currently making. So this may end up being a positive move. It sure doesn't feel like it at the moment, though. I liked my job. I liked the people I worked with. I especially liked that we were actually helping people, rather than just selling things to people that they don't really need. And I really hate searching for jobs. I wish I had my brother's luck. Great jobs just tend to fall in his lap. I do have the advantage of being in Utah, at least, where the economy is still pretty strong and unemployment still pretty low. There's lots of jobs out there. I just need to land one.

Because the company is closing, we're all eligible for unemployment. I haven't quite decided if I want to file yet. According to the calculator, I'd only get about $175 a week, which is better than nothing, I suppose. But doing all the paperwork and such seems like such a hassle. More trouble than it's worth, almost. I can't see that I have a time limit as to when I have to file after losing my job, so I might just start the job search. If nothing turns up after a couple of weeks, I'll file.

I'm planning on doing my taxes tomorrow and e-filing, so I can get my refund quickly. It should be a goodly amount, which will at least help me pay my minimum payments on my credit card (luckily I only have one with a balance at this point) and my student loan, until I can get a job. And I do have a bit of money in my savings account, so I'm not left completely high and dry financially, at least.

And if my job search extends for some time, or if I have to wait for 90 days or something before the benefits kick in, I can at least go back on BYU insurance. No prescription benefit, but it's better than nothing. BYU requires that all students have health insurance, anyway. And I'm still technically a student.

Anyway. Happy birthday to my uncle Kevin, who I believe is turning 13 this leap year. He's the only person I know who is younger than all of his kids. :P Also happy half-birthday to susy_gwen, 'cause I know she looks forward to those. :P

Because I have to do something to distract me, and searching job listings is just depressing.

Some of these are rather obscure, so Google if you want. I don't really care right now.

Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
Post them here for everyone to guess.
Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.


1) "You get rid of summat at dentist's, but it's taking summat on to go to church with a wench."

2) "No, sir, the one who isn't my fiancée doesn't call me Howard and the one who isn't my wife doesn't call me Howard because the one who isn't my fiancée is also the one who isn't my wife. The other one who ISN'T my wife, the one who IS my fiancée... she doesn't call me 'Steve.' She calls me Howard. Do you see?" What's Up, Doc?, guessed by jiminyc

3) "Well, which is it? That seems like a pretty crucial conjunction." The Emperor's New Groove, guessed by miss_celestine

4) "No, thank heaven. The Coles are nice people, but we should have to go outside to get there." Emma, guessed by divinemum

5) "You don't behave as if you are in love."
"How does one behave as if one is in love?"
"One doesn't read The Social Evil and The Social Good. One reads Lord Byron." The Winslow Boy, guessed by andmore

6) "Well, since you said please. But if you scream once more, I'll smother you with a pillow." The Secret Garden (1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame Version), guessed by susy_gwen

7) "She's heading an expedition to China shortly. I'm to go as her servant. But only on the understanding that I am to be very badly treated." Sense and Sensibility, guessed by divinemum

8) "You'll sweat the lard out of that fat carcass of yours before this day is over, my pudgy friend."
"And I hope some Norman sword whittles you down to size." The Adventures of Robin Hood, guessed by queenriley

9) "Strike hard on Sunday the excessiveness of God's wrath and hope they carry it with them a few days into the week!" Pollyanna, guessed by divinemum

10) "He just likes to hold it." Back to the Future III, guessed by cambryn

11) "I do not see that! Why should I see that? Why should that be?" Pride and Prejudice, guessed by divinemum

12) "Oh, no, she's beautiful; but, she's a pill." You've Got Mail, guessed by connielane

13) "Do you always understand everything you say, sir?"
"Yes... if I listen attentively. *shakes head and makes "brbrbrb" noise* An Ideal Husband, guessed by susy_gwen

14) "You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays." The Music Man, guessed by sannalim

15) "Fashionably late, as usual."
"Sink me, your highness, it was this damned cravat. Simply refused to tie. I ask you. Sticking out like a pincushion."
"I might have known it would be something serious." The Scarlet Pimpernel, guessed by sannalim