The Wind From The West

So...instead of boring you with excuses, I shall regale you with tales of my adventures!!! Or...something. Hopefully. Maybe.

Alright, I have started the job at North Kern. My celebration of being there three months consists of me NOT being there on Monday the 19th. I will be sleeping in, and quite possibly watching a prison-based movie (The Rock, Spy Games, etc.). I haven't decided yet. For those of you that have been watching the news about the budget, for July and August we will not be going to minimum wage. Pray, hope, shake rattles, whatever you do, I am asking that you do it so the bleeping parties involved with bargaining wages, state budget, and the overall status of California come to some sort of resolution that doesn't leave all state workers screwed with their pants on. I'm not just asking for me, but my mom too.

In other news, I was completely moved in (final box unpacked) in the middle of May. I have an odd shift for non-nursing work, and couldn't do much on the week. Also, I wasn't at the apartment the entire time. I currently live in Bakersfield, in a one-bedroom apt. and drive about 40 minutes to work. Not as close as I would have liked, but I took what I could get.

Also in May, I attended a hand-fasting. I thought it was very interesting, especially since it was my friend that was taking part in the ceremony. There was an interesting dynamic though; about 3/4 of the people there treated it as a pre-engagement ceremony, emphasis on the ceremony part, and the other 1/4 treated it as practice for the wedding ceremony. I was in the majority, for this event. Other than that, it was very enjoyable.

In June, I attended Godspell at the Beekay in Tehachapi. I was supposed to be stage manager, but when the job got offered, that took priority. I sill rated a comp ticket though. I love knowing the right people. :D

I also went to Disneyland with my mom and our family friend from Russia who had never been. None of us could really afford it, but it was definitely worth it. Our friend was like a kid in a candy shop....or at Disney. I considered inviting my friend down south, but I knew she was working on moving so I figured she'd be stressed/busy with that. And I knew it would also be a different pace. When we've gone, it was always a mad scramble to get the rides. Which is fine, but this time I ended up going with people that took things at a slower pace. Which I was happy with, because I normally haven't had that much luck with getting character photos, but we got quite a few this time around.

My brother also moved out. He got an apartment with his friend since forever, and they moved in about the middle of the month. Joe got accepted to Le Cordon Bleu, and his friend got accepted to a mechanic school.

For Independence weekend, I was supposed to go up the coast with my parents, the dogs, and a family friend, but it didn't quite work out that way. Our family friend ended up having to work, so did another couple we were supposed to go with, so I called in another of my friends instead. We were supposed to leave Saturday~turns out that there was something wrong with the travel trailer. My friend had met me in Bakersfield and we were already on the road. So we went to Oceano for the melodrama that night, and had dinner in Arroyo Grande. We ended up getting back around midnight.

The actual 4th, my friend and I watched anime and went to one of my aunt's houses for the 4th of July golf cart parade their neighborhood normally put on. We got there kinda late, but we did the parade and went swimming. To round off the night, we played disc golf with some of my cousins at a park. At around 11 at night, mind you. After the game, we crashed again around midnight. My friend left the next day. We had a blast.

I think that pretty much covers anything. If I think of anything else I need to add, I'll put in an addendum. Or maybe another full post. Who knows but the wind?

"The Wind From The West"-Golden Bough

Changes

Howdy ya'll. So, my second posting for March. Go me!

So, I was offered the job for North Kern. Yay! And I'm taking. Pros: I will be moving out (finally), it's a bit more likely to roll over to permanent than the county job, I think I'll be making a dollar to two dollars more than I am now, AND once I'm there, I'm there! No more drives to Ridgecrest 2 or more times a week! No side trips to Rosamond! No field trips to Palmdale or LittleRock! The only driving I have to worry about after that is getting OFF of work! Cons: I haven't been able to save extra money because life happens, I highly doubt I'll be able to move into my apartment right away, I will have to furlough since it's a state job, and I'll be on pins and needles budget wise the next 3 or 4 months at least. BUT (and here's the juicy part) I HAVE A JOB THAT I WON'T BE LEAVING IN 3 MONTHS!!!

In other news, I went to Shakespeare in Cal Poly. It wasn't the entire original cast, but honestly 2 outta 3 ain't bad at all. And I replaced my dvd which some family friends lost. They won't admit to it, but they did lose it. I lent it to them last November, and it is now March. On the eve of April. You can see why I'm justified.

My friend down south is doing fairly good. And my friend across the states seems to be doing okay too. Things are slowing down and being better, at least for a little bit. Word to the wise? Enjoy what you can, when you can. I'm feeling very lucky, and far more upbeat than I have in a while.

"Changes"-BaseBall Bear (Library War soundtrack)

Callin' Baton Rouge

So, I promise there's a reason for the Cajun title. For those who I've talked to about it, they know I do a lot of driving for my job. For those that don't know, I'm in the car driving a lot for the job. Solution? Audiobooks. The one I've been listening to recently is called "Crusader's Cross," by James Lee Burke. The actual book itself is fairly good, sort of a film noir hard-bitten detective in a mess of trouble story, but it takes place in Louisiana. And the reader, whom I may have to start following, has an AWESOME voice to listen to. Anyone remember Gambit, from the original X-men tv show? You could tell it was such an affected accent, but it still worked. This reader, who has also played in the movies "Armageddon" and "Remember the Titans" and has made appearances on "24," "Num3ers," and "CSI" , is wonderful to listen to with the accent (a cookie if you get the answer). If it's not natural, it's professional enough you can't tell. And I'm talking just enough Cajun to make you warm and runny inside and head straight for New Orleans just to see how close it comes to the real article. Mmm-hmmm.

So, the word is official: all extra help is getting laid off again. Big shocker there. I'm job searching yet again (joyfulness), although I did have an interview in Delano for North Kern State Prison. We'll see what happens.

And in other news, I GET TO GO SEE THE REDUCED SHAKESPEARE COMPANY!!! Not the community theatre production next month, but the ORIGINAL COMPANY!!! I am STOKED!!! I'm going with a friend of mine to Cal Poly for the show. I was hoping to go with a couple other people, but none of us had the money. :( I offered to pay, but then it turns out my dad had to borrow money. My health insurance company also took my payment out of this last paycheck as opposed to my next one. But I'm determined to have a good time for her. :)

"Callin' Baton Rouge"-Garth Brooks

The Entertainer

So, my long awaited update. Ready or not, here it comes!

Let's start with the good. Or mixed, at any rate. I was asked to stage manage for the Christmas show in TCT. As my first time as stage manager, I didn't think I did too bad. According to the director, the crew, and the actors they also think I did fairly well. Well enough that the spot operator asked me to stage manage for his show, whenever it was, a family friend who is also a director asked me to run sound for the current show, I got asked last minute to step in as stage manager for another director who had one but his SM had family problems and couldn't do it, and the husband of the director for the Christmas show asked me to SM for his show in June. Apparently word is getting around that I didn't completely fail. Which is definitely an ego-boost for moi.

Work is being stupid. I've started a list of "what they don't teach you in training," and while darkly humorous it is also somewhat depressing. Things started blowing up for the workers at the beginning/middle of December, which means stuff had to get shuffled to me, which means things have been blowing up for me. While the rate of explosion has gone down, it's still near the "barely tolerable" zone. And I'm convinced that the workers (including my supervisor, I might add) have bonded together to form the "Convince Ch**** to become a Social Worker." Not 1, not 2, but 3 separate workers have told me to become an SW within the past couple weeks. And one of the workers mentioned that at the staff meeting they had with my supe, even my supe said I should be an SW. You can see where I'm basing my convictions. Normally one of the workers will just bring it up once or twice a month, but not all at once. Grr.

On the upside, I should be owning a dresser soon. I already put half down on the payment, I just need to put in the other half...which will be after next week's paycheck. Also on the paycheck front, I am no longer working for the bookstore. It makes me kinda sad, but at the same time it means I get weekends back. And considering how involved I am getting with theater again, it's actually better to have at least some free time. I also hope to spackle and repaint my room by the end of February. I'm not saying it will happen, but it might.

Hmm, I think that's pretty much it. There's some inner drama with my extended family, and things may be changing very soon with my immediate family, but that's it. I'm planning to go down south for a weekend at the end of this month, which will be some nice R & R. Well, the second R for sure. My friend and I don't seem to rest that much when we get together. What can I say?

"The Entertainer"-in the spirit of Billy Joel as opposed to Scott Joplin