Jaime Blog

I’m weird Current mood: crazy Category: Food and Restaurants

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:47:00 -0800

Today Mike and I got one of those awesome rotisserie chickens you buy at grocery stores. I have no idea how they make them taste soooo good but they are well worth the $4.98. We barely got in the door before I was chowing down on it. So I'm sitting at the table and I noticed there are some cute chickadees on my bird feeder....looking at me. All of a sudden my chicken didn't taste so good. Birds were watching me eat bird. I felt terribly guilty.

This is also the reason I won't go into the Aquarium resturaurant at Opry Mills. It's a beautiful restaurant surrounded by aquariums full of fish. The catch for me is that they are a seafood restaurant...and fish like to stare. I could not eat fish while having a fish stare at me. The guilt of it all would just be overwhelming.

Now, having raised chickens, I know birds are not sympathic to one another. They will peck each other's brains out for no good reason. I know they don't care that I am eating another bird. Mike even tried to make me feel better about the situation by saying "Aren't there some farm animals like pigs that they feed the trimmings of pigs they kill?" So pigs eat pigs. Awesome, Mike. Way to go. Needless to say, that did not make me feel better. Instead, I started thinking "I could eat people and not know it was people and then people would be watching me eat people" Ugh.....soilent green

There's just a part of my brain that sees the eyes of the live birds and hears the little voice of Cindy Lou Who saying "Jaime, why are you eating me, why?"

New job = no stress Current mood: bouncy Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:03:00 -0800

I started my new job on Wednesday and I am already less stressed. I'm eating worse and drinking more but feeling better about the whole thing. Really, Mike is just a bad influence on me. Broadway Brewhouse is about 3 blocks away and every time he was downtown, we went out and had beer. 2 out of 3 days. I did get to hang around James White for a while on Friday though. That's always an adventure. He's kind of a friend of a friend but for the life of me, I can't figure out why I don't hang out with this guy more. Friday he army crawled on a bar floor and became Loud James for a few minutes. I like Loud James....or at least I do as long as he isn't ranting about me. I found out about how he found out his sister was gay, about bar fights in Germany (I think it was Germany) and how you never want to fight a Turk, cuz they bring out knives.

I have a trip to Peoria scheduled for March. I'll be coming in March 24th at night and leave March 26th at night. This really means 1 thing for me. Pizza night with Steve!!!! I have no idea how I'll get back to my hotel room. I think it's at the friggin AmericInn over by the mall. Boo. I didn't get to pick the hotel. Otherwise, it would have been the Stoney Creek. I have some sort of orientation to go to for joining ATS. I have mixed feelings about going to Peoria, but I suppose for the whopping 2 days I'll be there, I can suck it up. I'm trying to think of anything Peoria specific I could do while I'm there but the only thing I can think of is going to Goodfellas and hanging out with Steve and Frank. Good times.

I'm going to try to blog more now that I feel less like tearing out my hair and I have a little bit of energy left at the end of the day. I've been told that my job will get more stressful but I am not worried about it. I'm going to enjoy right now and hope that it continues indefinitely. Oh, and the most important thing going on right now? My Dad only has 1 more round of chemo and then he's done!!!! DONE!!! Thank goodness!

New job...again Current mood: hyper Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 22:48:00 -0800

I'm flaky. I went through a giant dilemma in my life with that job vs. career thing about 3 months ago. Anyone remember? I chose the job that I really thought would make me happy versus looking for one that would use my degree. I really fretted about it. And now? I'm changing my mind. A girl's prerogative, I suppose. I still feel like I'm being flaky.

Let me attempt to justify my decision again to strangers and friends alike who probably don't give one hoot what I do for a living. Seriously, it wasn't like people weren't congratulatory on the last job. I'm sure that their happiness for me had absolutely nothing to do with my persuasive skills and had more to do with the fact that they are my friends and want me to be happy. I'm really only partially deluding myself on this one.

So, I started the job working as a bank teller and by the end of the first day, I thought to myself "I am too old for this shit". Yes, I am only 28 (still 27 at the time) but having had nearly a year off of work completely and then working a desk job for nearly a year before that, I was no longer used to this much physical exertion. I was in so much pain. I still am, but for a different reason. I have gotten to the age of back problems. I think I have a pinched nerve in my back which causes excrutiating pain in my right shoulder and sometimes causes it to shoot all the way down to my fingertips. I probably got this from moving the wrong way at work. See? Too old. Other than the pain, I had all of this optimism. I passed the Teller I test with flying colors (which means what, by the way?) and just before I started my first day at my 'real' branch.....

They fired my ops manager. So now, I am the only permanent teller in the entire branch. They have fired everyone else on the teller line and then they fire one of the women responsible for hiring me. Not for anything illegal. For making a bad call on a check. OMG So, I start and there are only floaters there. Yes, as much as I complained about that term when I was in the scheduling pool, everyone calls them floaters here. I can't help but think of buoyant poo and it bothers me to no end. Oh well. I'm not in any of their systems and it is chaos. They packed on so much responsibility in such a short time because they kept friggin firing everyone else. Arg. I could really get going here. So the bank is poorly managed and in horrible financial condition and has horrible processes. Nice people, the ones that remain anyway but every teller I have met since starting there is terrified of getting fired. For what I make an hour, I should never have to worry about getting fired if I show up for work every day and don't steal.

So Mike comes home from work one day and says "Do you remember Doug from ATS?" Well, no, I didn't but I played along because I figured it was a work story and I'd get the jist of it without knowing Doug. Look up 'jist' in the urban dictionary. There are two definitions and one of them is NOT fun. Anyway, turns out Doug is a guy I interviewed with a few months after I moved here. They ended up hiring for the position within the company (i.e. not me) and while I was bummed, it was really for the best. Dad had his heart attack after that and it would have killed me to not be able to go up there. I probably would have quit or taken family leave or something. So Doug asks Mike "Is your wife still looking for a job?" The answer was really no, I wasn't looking at all but anyway, they had a position available and wanted to see if I'd be interested in it. I was intrigued but had no position title to look up or anything so I let it slide. Doug bugs Mike again and gives Mike the number of this lady I'm supposed to call. So I call and talk to her and I apply and I interview 3 times. Yes, 3 times. Who interviews 3 times? The last one was with 5 people. They thought I'd be nervous with all of those people filing into a meeting room but I wasn't because I had already talked to all of them at some point during the other 2 interviews. I also think I wasn't nervous because I didn't really care too much if I didn't get the job. I had a job. I did decide that if I didn't get the job and ATS asked if I was still looking for a job again, I would probably say no. 3 interviews to get turned down is a lot.

But I got the job so I guess I don't have to worry about that. It's a salaried position. First time ever on that one. I wonder if I'll like that. Less money overall than the database job but also seems like less chaos. Less of a learning curve. I'm essentially an email help desk. Seriously, in Peoria, you would have just contacted the help desk for this stuff. Here the help desk just diagnoses problems and my position is the one that deals with any new access. I don't grant the access. I get the various tickets out to the various groups and get the appropriate approvals and blah blah blah. So...what is it ya do here? No really, it apparently is something that works out really well for all involved. They are always looking for ways to improve it but they seemed to like having a separate person to deal with new access requests. So I guess I'll try it. It's more technical (just slightly) and better paying with better benefits than I have now and most of all, I would feel like I had a semblance of job security. Seriously, I don't know if I could handle it if I got fired from a teller position. Any self esteem I have would be destroyed.

And...here I am. I've already given my 2 weeks and my last day is Tuesday. My first day is Wednesday and I am in desperate need of a chiropractor due to my desperate attempt to return to the carefree days of CEFCU. Being an adult is the coolest.

Work, work, and more work Current mood: exhausted Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:33:00 -0800

I forgot how tired I get after being on my feet all day. The new job is going well but I am still getting used to just being employed. I feel like I don't have time to do anything and when I do, I am too tired to do it. Ah, welcome to the real world, right? Some of the ladies that work there have 2 jobs...they are superwomen to me. I don't know how they do it. I am lucky in that I don't have to drive to Franklin to go to First Tennessee's training facility. They decided to make an exception and just send me over to the Hermitage branch for on the job training and then see if I can pass the test. No pressure, right? Certain things at this bank are identical to CEFCU. Some are very different and I have to try to unlearn some things I already knew. It's a challenge. They are also already talking about me testing to get a promotion 4-6 weeks after I take the first test. It would mean a raise and a bonus, neither of which is huge but still, a raise is a raise. I am really glad that they are already looking to promote me 3 days after my start date but really nervous that I will let them down. They've had a lot of employee issues and see my coming as their 'salvation'. Yes, they used that word. Frightening. I want to help and I think I will be a good asset to their company. I just don't want to be put on a pedestal and then fall off and never be able to recover. I'm such a pessimist sometimes.

I am going to an after work function today. I'm not sure what it is all about but I think it is to celebrate the end of a sales promotion. I wasn't invited but my branch manager said she wants to take me. I know they will have a quesadilla bar. Woo hoo! Basically, Mike is going to be out tonight with his dynamic languages group so I thought I would find something to do as well. As long as I don't hit the wine, I think it will look good that I am there. That's all I've got for now. And I thought I was boring when I stayed home all day....

Ick Current mood: nauseated Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:25:00 -0800

I just had to tell another recruiter thanks but no thanks. Ick. It makes me feel like I am going to throw up. When did I get this total aversion to telling people no? Am I regretting my decision or just folding under pressure? It's not even that much pressure. 3 or 4 phone calls and 2 emails should not be so excrutiating. I should be happy that recruiters are trying to work so hard for me. I'm not. I keep waiting for this to stop. I'm not someone who makes decisions lightly. I actually did deliberate over this particular one. Maybe even obsessed a little. (Obsess, me? ) I know I should just move forward. I've made my decision and I should stick to it and make the best of it. I'm still obsessing. Am I an embarassment to my family? Am I just being lazy? I'm hoping that once I actually start the job, I will be so busy I won't think about these things. I worry that they will always be there below the surface. I tend to blame other people for expecting things of me that I don't want to do. Maybe I'm the one who expects these things and just see myself looking disappointed in their eyes. Yep, I'm going to go puke.

Awesome concert Current mood: happy Category: Music

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 21:26:00 -0800

I am still recovering from my Pat Monahan concert last night. For anyone who doesn't know who that is, it's the lead singer from Train, one of my favorite bands. My ears are still ringing. It was mostly from the first act. We stood closer for them. I learned my lesson but the damage was done. The opening band was called 'I nine'. I think they have a myspace page if you want to check them out. Mike and I both really liked them. Kind of Jefferson Airplane-like. Cute hippy blonde girl rocking out to her own music. The Pat Monahan section started out a little weak but got a lot better. He needs to do less mom rock and more just rock. He did a cover of "Whole lotta love" that just blew my mind. I'd pretty much have his baby. His voice just rules. He's kind of like Christina Aguilera. Even if you don't like what he's singing, you have to admit he's got an awesome voice. He did a lot of Train, some covers and some originals. He sang a song called "Always Midnight" without a mic and with only a keyboard accompanying him. It was freaking awesome. All in all, a good concert. I wish he'd go a little more rootsy rock but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. So you can hear one of his more rock-like songs on my myspace page.

I think the job thing has resolved itself, more or less. The Stryker healthcare place hasn't called back yet and the Teksystems job doesn't appear to be panning out either. After teching up my resume to make me look more qualified, they are still hesitant to even interview me. My recruiter finally sent me the requirements and I don't blame them. It wants 3+ years of SQL Server 2000 experience and 1+ years of SQL Server 2005. I've got 10 months of 2000 with only a brief look at 2005. My recruiter wanted me to try to convince them somehow but I think I'll just tell her I have another job and I don't seem like a good fit for the one she is trying so hard to get me into. I would hate to be struggling to keep up because I wasn't really qualified to begin with. So, the bank job it is. I don't start until the Monday after Thanksgiving so I can go see my parents. Better yet, they postponed my dad's chemo out one week so he can have Thanksgiving off so he will be coherent and feel ok when I am there. We probably won't be able to make it out for Christmas so I am going to try to get my shopping done before Thanksgiving. I need to get shopping!

New Job Current mood: stressed Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:36:00 -0800

So I think I'm going to take the job with First Tennessee Bank. I know, I know, I went on my spiel about careers and using my degree and now I'm doing a 180 again. I went to my interview on Wednesday over in the Cool Springs area for a company called Stryker. They do orthopedics: knees, hips, etc. I met with the ops manager there and I liked him. He pretty much told me I was over qualified and wanted to know why I would want a job there. I hate when they ask me things like that. What am I going to say? I hated my last job so I'd rather do anything else? I just want to get out of the house so I don't care what job I get? Seriously, I could only be so honest. So I rattled off something about loving customer service...which I actually do... freakishly. I am one of the only people I know that loves customer service and even (gasp) retail. I liked working at Office Depot. Anyway, after meeting with the ops manager I had to meet one of the ladies I'd be working with. I am pretty sure she hates her job. She talked about how much their system sucks for a good 15 minutes. It's hard to be excited about a job like that, especially when I know I'd be working very closely with her.

Now today, I went to the interview with First Tennessee Bank. It isn't where I thought it would be. It is supposed to be the Donelson branch but it is actually fairly close to Hermitage. So nicer area, a little farther away. Only about a 15-20 minute drive though. I was floored when I walked in. It is one of the nicest modern bank branches I've ever been to. No marble statues or fountains like old bank branches used to have, but also no musty smell. It had ceramic tile and cherry wood looking cubicles. It also had a sitting area with hardwood floors, a coffee pot and a giant plasma tv. I want to live there. I met the branch manager and the ops manager and loved them. I just seem to fit in with bank people. I don't know what that is. IT, or my experience with IT anyway, is very cover-your-ass. Banking is super friendly, work hard to please customers. They had 2 more interviews after me but pretty much told me that I seemed like the best candidate. So my interview was at 9:00. They had another interview at 10:00 and another at 11:00. They called me back at 1:00 pm. The pay is much more than the $8 an hour I was expecting which is great but still, obviously, not great paying. They only give me 48 hours to accept because of drug testing and since the 48 hours would end on a weekend I pretty much have to let them know tomorrow. Which means that the Teksystems thing would be out should I choose to accept.

So I'm torn really. I like the people, love the facility, know I love the work. Those are my pros. It's not using my degree and it doesn't pay well. Those are my cons. And I can argue away both the pros and the cons. Who's to say I won't love the people, facility or work at wherever Teksystems sends me? And what does it matter if I use my degree if I'm happy in my position? I know that there are opportunities for advancement so who's to say that in a couple of years, I won't be making a lot more? Arg, I think too much. So I think I'm going to take it.

Feel free to comment.

Avoiding the hair dryer Current mood: anxious Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:55:00 -0800

So I decided to blog instead of getting ready for my job interview today. I will soon. I have about an hour and a half right now before I should leave. Sadly, when I get ready for interviews, I need about an hour and a half. I become....gasp.....girly. I blow dry my hair, curl it, spray it with hair spray, I put on lipstick and foundation and powder and blush and eyeshadow and mascara. It's painful. Today is only day 3 and my hair is already angry with me. It feels like straw. I've got one more day to go. Yes, another interview. Why do I have to do 2 at each place? This one is for the bank teller position. Tell me, why is it I need to take math and vocabulary tests, have a phone interview, then another interview to make something like $8 an hour? What's sad is that I'm not sure I am going to take either of the positions I am interviewing for this week. I met with Teksystems and the position they are looking to put me in sounds like it is right up my alley. I was tested on my knowledge of SQL Server 2000 and came out proficient. I swear I did better on that test than the Excel or Word test I took for the job I am interviewing for today. I guess I am just at a crossroads about whether to look for a career or a job. A job would just be extra cash in my pocket, something I wouldn't feel bad about leaving if I decide to have kids but I would feel bad about spending tens of thousands of dollars in school and then not utilizing it. That and I think you can go from career to job pretty easily but not so much from job back to career. Make sense or am I just blabbing? So I am leaning towards career but that is the one that is farthest out and the least certain. Arg. I remember in Peoria, I couldn't get a call back on anything. Now I have too many. Maybe I just like to complain. It really should feel good to be wanted.

Not too long Current mood: stressed Category: Life

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:54:00 -0800

I don't have very long to blog but I thought that I should. A lot has been going on. My dad went in to get his kidney stints put in last Wednesday (yes, Halloween) and they found he was running a fever over 100 and he had a painful lump behind one of his knees. They did an ultrasound and found he had a blood clot in his leg. They admitted him to the hospital but decided to do the kidney stints before they started him on any blood thinners. I guess clots formed at your knees and below are much less likely to travel. They had to do the procedure differently than normal because they couldn't elevate his legs. I guess it went fine. He is out already...although the clot is still there. I guess his leg looks horrible and he is using crutches to get around. It's too painful for him to walk otherwise. He has a home healthcare nurse coming in every day to check his blood to see if it is thin enough. Thus far, no dice. Mom has to give him shots of blood thinners in his belly and he is up to the maximum dosage of oral blood thinners. They think the clot is starting to break up but it could be a while yet before it is gone. That being said, they still gave him chemo this week. Poor guy, on crutches with a swollen leg, permanent colostomy, kidney stints, heart damage, and a chemo pump on. The doctors and nurses are starting to say they don't think he could get any more complications if he tried. Ah, medical humor. Mike doesn't like it. I guess he is worried about the more coming true. I talked to Dad on the phone yesterday, with the chemo pump even and he was trying to reassure me he was fine. I hate being far away.

I started getting callbacks on my resume and now I kind of wish I wasn't. It's really stressful. Thus far I've been tested on Excel, Word, basic math, vocabulary, typing speed and SQL Server 2000. Testing is hard when you don't know what to study. I wasn't one of those students that didn't have to study. I studied and aced things. I liked it that way. Anyway, I had an interview in Cool Springs yesterday. I have a phone interview today at 10:00 and another interview at 2:00. Then Wednesday I have another interview in Cool Springs at 2:00. Can't I just get a job already? Maybe I'll just stay a housewife. It's boring but way easier. I got a migraine yesterday. I think it is because I haven't used my brain that much in a year. LOL

Pretty good weekend Current mood: good Category: Life

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:53:00 -0700

This past weekend started out really nice. Mike bought me a dozen roses. They are beautiful and haven't started wilting in the least yet. I always wonder why store bought roses don't smell. Roses you grow at home smell WONDERFUL. Not so much with store bought ones....but I digress. Then Mike took me out to dinner at a fancy restaurant called Darfons. I don't think they are a chain. It was OK. It was probably more the thought that counted for me. They didn't have French dressing for the salads and they got my order wrong so I sent it back. I am not picky. I didn't special order anything. They just plain gave me the wrong dish and I despise crab cakes. So I had to watch Mike eat and then he watched me eat. Again, no points lost for Mike. It was a great idea. Then we went home and opened the hot tub!!!!!! It was wonderful. The champagne I picked out was really sweet. Kind of like a muscat only fizzier and with more alcohol in it. I put frozen strawberries in like ice cubes so that when you got to the bottom of your glass it was thawed and you got to eat a strawberry. I think it would have been better with fresh strawberries but Kroger seriously didn't have any. Weird, huh? I also had to go to an actual liquor store to buy the champagne. It always makes me so uncomfortable. I like it much better in a grocery store where I can pretend getting a bottle of wine is just part of my grocery list. Liquor stores remind me of old dirty men with drinking problems. I survived, although there were old dirty men there. The hot tub was glorious. We used it Saturday too. We went to Stones River Battlefield park and walked a 4 mile trail. They were doing some sort of Civil War reenactment but we didn't hang around for it. Afterwards I was so sore that we went home and relaxed in the hot tub for a while. Then...I started getting sick. It's just a mild flu but enough to make me tired walking up and down stairs. Right now it is just a sore throat, headache and body aches and I am determined to keep it that way. Well, not worse, anyway. The rest of Saturday and Sunday I pretty much napped and was lazy. Napping and being lazy is not necessarily a bad thing but I had plans to plant bulbs and work on edging the front yard. Oh well, later in the week, I guess.

So roses, hot tub, champagne, long walk in a park...I'd say this was a pretty good weekend.