Those quickie temp jobs

I got a call a couple of weeks ago for a short term temp job. I've been helping a non-profit by entering data into their system for the people they've been helping with income taxes. It's very monotonous, but it's money. We started with 6 temps, but we're down to only 3. The project manager told us Friday we're so good, he expects us to be done by the middle of next week. That's a almost two weeks early. It's in a beautiful building and the people have been really amazing. I'm going to keep checking their web site in case something there pops up.

Just as this temp position was starting, I had an interview for a state job. Reading the job description, it sounded like they had written it by looking at my resume. I thought the interview went very well, but then I think most of my interviews go well. I haven't heard a word from them, not even the standard email or letter saying "We have chosen to go in another direction with someone who more closely meets our qualifications..." (translation: we don't want someone quite so old as you) so have already written it off. I guess I will continue to work what temp jobs I can muster up, and learn to be satisfied with that. I think it's sort of funny though - I see people in positions similar to what I've applied for, and they are pretty much incompetent, and, to my mind an even worse sin, absolutely unprofessional. All I can do is just wonder. It really does seem to me a company would want someone who could do the job and age shouldn't matter. Apparently I'm wrong.

Back yard missions

The weather has been pretty nice here recently. In the 70's, not much rain, although I can smell it coming. I've been going out a lot lately - gotta check and make sure the yard is secure, ya know. My staff person took the picture of me in my disguise, but the outfit didn't seem to help me catch any birds, darn it. As you can see from the photo, I've been rolling in the grass for camouflage.

Sometimes it's soooo nice outside I don't even get down off the deck - just laze around, sleep a little, stretch a little, and just enjoy the perfect weather.

She joked about this one of me, saying I had no head and no front legs. 'Course, I knew she was funnin'.

I knew I was there....didn't you?

It's out there!

A teenaged dream has finally come true. After the last few years of writing, editing, then editing some more, and finally editing again, I have put my first novel online.

I have no idea if anyone but my dearest friends and family will read it, but I have accomplished something I set out to do a long time ago. When I tell people I've written a book, their first question is always, "What's it about?" And my reply is always, "Well...it's kinda hard to describe." The closest I can come is it's about 2 young men who are best friends in a not-designated future time and run a delivery service between planets out of their revamped VW van. See what I mean? They have problems they run into, of course, and the overall theme is the importance of friends and family. I named the book 'Space Dude - the Novel', because the main character has a propensity for using the word 'dude' so much it's become his nickname. It's got humor and drama both; there were times when I was laughing as I typed away, and there were other times I could hardly write through the tears I was shedding (although the most tears have been shed in book two). I guess to say I became involved with these characters is an understatement.

Anyway, for those of you who didn't graciously act as guinea pigs for me and download the book so we could test the payment system, or those of you who I haven't already given the url for the website to....here it is:

www.spacedude.co

And yes, it is '.co', and not '.com'. Jypsy is on the website as well. My nephew, who put the absolutely cool site together, wanted a picture of me to put on the author's page. Photos of me are almost always horrible and I don't have any good ones to put on the site, so he used one of my very favorites - Jypsy sleeping on a clean pile of laundry.

I had an idea for the cover I really like, but as I'm not a graphics person, I had to paste a picture of a VW van onto a space shot; the green grass the VW is sitting on still shows. Oh well. It's not on the website but maybe someday I can get someone to do an actual cover. Here's what I came up with:

Please check the site out and let me know what you think. The first two chapters are free!

Spring!

I'm sorta thinking it's time for what my staff person calls 'Spring'. Stuff is growing out in the back yard, stuff that wasn't there a few weeks ago. And it's nice out there - not so hot I can hardly breathe and just wanna lay around in the shade, and not so cold my little paw pads freeze as soon as I step out the door. I wouldn't mind being out there all day, and tell my staff person that, oh, 8-10 times a day. I've learned if I keep asking to go out, she'll eventually get tired of me asking and go sit outside with me. Sometimes she'll check some of the stuff that's popped up and growing, occasionally grab a huge spoony-looking thing and dig some of it up, water other stuff and then finally go sit in the sun and read. She seems to think it's still a little chilly out, but I think it's purrfect. I like to make a circuit of the yard and make sure everything is as it was when I was last out. Sometimes it's not - you know - it doesn't smell quite the same (sniff and then rub face on it to re-mark it as mine), it's different (huh. this stuff was only this tall a couple of days ago and now it's a few inches taller), some stuff is in a completely different place (sniff chair leg, rub face on, claim as mine), and whoa! Where did that leaf/bug/limb/rock come from! (jump on, subdue, sniff, rub face on, claim as mine.) My favorite thing to do though is to roll in a particular dirt patch out there or roll over and stretch in the grass that hasn't really started growing yet and leaves me with pieces of brown grass from last year all over me. You women know how important it is to accessorize! She doesn't care much for that though, and always brushes me before I can come back in. Shoot, and I looked good!

Anyway, if she resists my plaintive requests to go out, which she does on occasion, I usually get miffed and go someplace and take a nap. I use a lot of energy caterwauling to go out, and have to replenish my reserves. My current favorite place is on her bed in this nice little sunny spot. It's almost the same as sleeping out in a sunny spot on the deck, but don't tell her that, 'k?