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?

More thoughts on Weather

Texas has been in a drought situation for a while now. We've been on water restrictions for the last two years and predictions were that we would continue to be dry and parched at least through this upcoming summer, with no foreseeable moisture. Lakes have completely dried up in the Panhandle. Large established trees died last summer, so I had visions of losing even more trees this next summer.

Of course, this IS Texas. We've had a wet winter so far, and as I sit here listening to the rain that's been falling since late last night, I just keep thinking, "More rain, please." Lakes around my area are close to full; the lake I grew up swimming and boating on up in the Panhandle is still empty and dry. Sad, really sad. Although I did lose a pair of glasses off the front of a boat once...guess I could find them now.

The job hunt is not going well, but that's an entry for another day. The web site for the book is almost complete and I'll share the url when it's up and running. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and if you've got some spare rain, please send it on to the still parched areas in the South and West states. Our lakes need it and will thank you for it.

Winter comes to Texas

People around here, including neighbors, radio personalities, newspapers and television weathermen, have been talking about the mild winter we've been having; bringing up the terrible ice storm we had a little over a year ago that shut down this area for almost a week. I kept hoping they would all just be quiet and not jinx us. Alas, it's cold outside (for here), and predictions are for snow and sleet tonight. So, okay, that's the only good reason for not having a job. I can sleep in tomorrow while everyone else skids and slides all over the streets. There's something good about everything I guess. (Pollyanna said something like that, right?)

Jypsy has been such a joy. She's been very playful lately - she likes to play, oh, well, I guess we can call it "Hide and Swat", where we hide around doorways from each other and I worm a finger around the doorway and she jumps up and swats at it (No claws! She knows not to do that and I didn't teach it to her either...), then she runs away to another doorway and we do it again. I can see the smile in her eyes - they're twinkling. (I was able to tell when my dog was laughing at me too. Guess I amuse my pets.)

So, I'm planning a cozy day at home - laundry, house cleaning, and who knows? Maybe a nap.

Tomorrow? Another round of job applications and visits to hiring companies. It's just too exciting, isn't it?

Cheering up my Staff Person

Well, Mom, oh...er...my main staff person, has started staying home again. She isn't working anymore. She sort of goes back and forth between being kinda angry and then really sad. She says things like "What do I do if I lose the house?" Which I think is pretty funny - we're here in the house...how do you lose it? Anyway, she's home most of the day typing on this silly keyboard (she's off in the kitchen getting something called 'breakfast' right now), and only going out on occasion. I guess she could get lost on the way back or something and that might be considered 'losing' the house, but...I dunno. She got all dressed up yesterday morning and left for a few hours but came home and told the guy in the front room "It was a very perfunctory interview, he only asked 4 questions and kept an eye on the clock the whole time." Don't have a clue what any of that means, especially perfunctory. ??

Anyway, I know she's really blue, so I've been spending more time with her. I jumped up on the bed the other night and slept next to her until about 4 o'clock in the morning. I hadn't done that in a long time, but it seemed to make her feel a little better. I tried it again a couple of nights later, but then the guy in the front room went into the kitchen and started banging pots and stuff around and my curiosity got the better of me and I had to go check it out. And then I kinda forgot to go back. She's such a good mom, uh, staff person I thought she should get a job doing that, but then I realized it would mean I'd have to share her with some other...(shudder)...animal...and I don't think so much of the idea now. I've got my little paws crossed that she finds another job soon.