readera | Entries tagged with personal

I live in TX and have for years. I went to high school mostly on Tx & my partner's education was basicly all in tx. School shootings have always been a worry and a reality. Thankfully I never had to be in a active shooter situation myself but we did have bomb threats in high school. They sent us out in the football field while they swept the school. I remember joking with my friends that if we did get bombed at least we were close enough to the probably blast area that we would die first & have a relatively quick death.

I was numb to the recent elementary school shooting at first but as I read more details about it the more emotional I get. This post about a Dad who is standing as an unarmed guard over his kid's school, which is also his wife's work finally made my cry.

At this point I'm trying not to doomscroll or overwhelm myself. Time for some distraction till I can grieve & look for actionable things to do. Suggestions welcome, please note due to covid & personal concerns in person work is not an option for me rn.

Current Mood: irate

I wanted to share some links & a small update. My sober work week challenge went well. I noticed quite a difference and I enjoyed myself responsibly at home tonight!

Botanical Steak Knives (pretty)

The Largest Crime of all time (You're prob a victim of it too)

With You, Whatever Happens by Lauren Fairweather I have loved this album since it came out and it + the weather made walking the dog amazing today! It was windy and warm and lovely. :)

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: home
Current Music: youtube

So this past week was the first week of my new job! The whole process moved very fast, so I didn't have time or energy to talk about it online I am now the front desk lady for a staffing agency in my town. It is a bit unusual in that this office only recruits for 1 place, a call center that we are located in. Due to this, we also are kinda the HR office as well. So I get to learn recruiting work & HR work. I am super happy with how my first week went, even though it didn't go as planned. The office got a request for a class of 20 in 1 week, which is both large and fast, I am told. But we did it! Even if all i could do so far was answer the phone, and direct people to the other people, I am glad.

I haven't been in a truly business casual work setting before, so I had to go shopping for work clothes. I asked my friend, B, to help me with that since she works in HR for a bank. She lives about an 2.5 hours away, but her parents are in the area. So I ended up going shopping with her mom, C, today. I thought I was just going for advice but she offered to treat me. I also thought we were just going to get shoes and I would supplement my closet more after payday. What ended up happening was that she treated me to a full weeks worth of clothing, shoes. (*LKSDJFIOOMNlksjdlfkasdoliJSLDMKN) I didn't expect that but it is a really awesome blessing. Now all I need are new bras & socks. I may be able to get 2 or 3 bras even! Yay!

In other good news, I have been getting to do a lot of reading. More then I thought I was actually. I updated my goodreads today, and I have read 23 books this year. My original goal for the year was 30. I should probably update that. I forgot how much I read & how fast I can go through books when they are readily available. Yay for local libraries. I really wish I had a way to track online reading. Does anyone know of anything like goodreads to track online reading, like fan works or online original fiction?

The new job is also in downtown. Which means on my lovely hour long lunch break (omg I have a whole hour for lunch, what) I can wonder around outside. Friday I walked a block or so, and explored a new store that was having its Grand Opening. It was a little store that sold some clothing, shoes, bags and some home decor. It also had a single, sparse, shelf of books. They were all christian books, and the store had some other christian merch too. That's fairly common in the area, but I was not really interested in anything they had. Maybe I will find somewhere else to go to. I saw a little park or courtyard on the way home one day. I just have to make a note of where it is, so I can find it next time. A quiet place outside close to work would be awesome.

Current Mood: excited
Current Location: Home

Taken from ng_moonmoth:

Ask me for my top five favorite [blank] — any subject (but bear in mind that if I'm not comfy with it or it doesn't apply, I may get creative), and I will do my best to answer.

Life update time. It has been just over a week since I was let go from my job. I had a bad few days there as far as my mental state goes, but I am trying to stay positive. An offer from a friend, Kyo, to come visit her today really helped. She is offering to cover gas expenses & thrift store shopping for a mutual friends wedding that is coming up & let me borrow a dress from her, if one fits. This is a big issue that was weighing on me, as we currently have no nice clothes to go to the wedding in. Yay for amazingly generous friends! She is the one who gave me & J a car last Dec, so she is definitely in the running for winning most generous friend of the year.

On the job hunting front, I have had 2 interviews with 1 company that is supposed to get back to me by the end of this week. I also have an interview scheduled for Thursday with a call center about 30 mins away. I am fairly confident I can get that job, as I have been in call centers for the past 5ish years. The commute would suck, as J has to drive me there and back due to my current lack of drivers license. I guess we got spoiled by me working 5 mins away. * shrug

We didn't have any savings, so we were kinda screwed. Due to my parents and a few other generous friends' donations, we have enough funds to cover this months bills that were left, & rent for next month. If you would like to be a super generous person and donate some funds towards my household, you can do so at paypal.me/sfandjb

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Location: Home
Current Music: J chatting with gamer friends while playing online

Hey, y’all. Due to various things going on in my life right now, I am asking for help. My hours were just cut at work, my phone bill slipped through the cracks & rent is more this month due to having to have them come cut the grass. I just got over a cold, and my mental health is still not the best. Any amount you can give would be appreciated. If you want details, just ask. Thank you.

https://www.paypal.me/sfandjb

Current Mood: stressed

Our house hold is finally free of sickness! J is fine, except for the usual health problems, and my cold has pretty much gone. I still have a stuffy nose and a bit of an easily irritated throat. But considering we have been sick most of 2018, I'll take it! This does mean we have to catch up on all the things we didn't have the energy or time to do. Yesterday we both went to get eye exams, for the first time in at least 5 years. Turns out my prescription hasn't changed much, but J's sure has. J's insurance covered his glasses and exam & we only paid $8 for his glasses! Without insurance, last time they were $300, so that is amazing. My glasses will be a bit more expensive, so we need to save up a bit before we can get them. It is reassuring to know my glasses are still pretty close to my prescription. While we were in the Dr.'s office, he made a comment about any kids we have are screwed as far as their eyes go. Yup, we are aware. One of many reason's we don't have any.

On the reading front, I am almost done with all the books from the library. The Patricia Briggs books were great, and I am defiantly going to get more of the Mercy series. The Hurog books were better then I expected. Lots of character development, an interesting magic system, and realistic romance. The romance doesn't come in until the second book, and it is really just a small part of the story. It doesn't take over the book, once it is introduced, which is nice. I would recommend it if you are interested in a fantasy series with dragons, magic, and lots of character development. Superman vs the KKK was a good read if a bit dry. I would recommend it if you are interested in the early history of Superman, specifically the radio show.

I am still reading Chocolate & I haven't started Alex and Eliza but I am planning on reading that at work. I am going to try to pick out some books and put them on hold. Then we can swing by and be in and our quickly. I normally take my time at a library, so this will let us go grocery shopping or run another errand on the same trip. We need to go grocery shopping & do laundry & I need to clean, so anything that will help conserve time and spoons is very helpful.

Current Mood: content
Current Location: work

Yesterday, I had an adventure day! My partner, J and I meet up with our friend Britt. She is the amazing friend who gave us the car earlier this month. She is in town for the holidays and as yesterday was my last non working day, we thought we would hang out. We ended up playing a board game at her parent's, going to the local escape room, having lunch & seeing a movie. Literally everything was good.

We beat the escape room, despite it being J & I's first time doing it. We did a cell block themed room, that had an interesting twist. One person, who ended up being Britt, was locked in a jail cell and the other people were locked in the sheriffs office. We could hear each other but not see, except through a tiny tube in the wall for clues. So we had to get her out of her cell, get us out of the office and then get out of the room. We did it with 3 mins to spare! We did have to use all 3 clues + some complementary clues. The clues were given via a screen in the office and there was a button to ask for clues. The Room was great and it had a lot of atmosphere and set dressing. The puzzles where challenging, although we overthought a few of them. That was what most of the complementary clues they gave us was due to, lol.

After that we went to eat at a thai place close by. we hadn't been there before, but we sure will be going back. It was tasty! We all got lunch specials, which came with soup or egg rolls. My soup was delicious and J & B really liked the egg rolls. J tried something new, that was chicken with pepper, onions and other veg. Britt got pad thai and I got thai fried rice. The Fried Rice was soo big, I had leftovers! Everything was reasonably priced too.

We went to go see Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle after that. It was better then we expected it to be! We were all expecting a sequel grab movie with some cheap laughs, but it was much better. The basic premise is that Jumanji was found again and decided to transform itself into a video game, after being dissed in favor of a video game. Then instead of Jumanji invading the world while you play, you get sucked into Jumanji. Per usual the only way to leave is to play and beat the game. The other interesting thing they did was that the teenagers who find the game choose avatars, and become those avatars in game. This is where the celebrity actors come in. They did a great job of playing teenagers playing characters, esp Jack Black. His character was the popular girl who is attached to her phone. The other characters include the skinny nerd boy being the main character played by the Rock, the outcast/nerd girl being the killer of men played by Karen Gillen & the jock boy being the support character played by Kevin Hart. This is the best 'get sucked into a video game' movie that I've seen, and that's including SOA. They handle character vs player dynamics, items, NPCs in funny ways without being over the top or too nerdy for a mainstream audience to get. Two thumbs up, definitely see it.

The board game we played in two parts due to time issues, but it was still great fun. It was called Betrayal on Haunted Hill, and it is so much fun. The game has amazing re-playability, due to the board being set up as you go each time & the Haunt or the enemy you face, changing each time. We got the Star Sickness, which was an alien virus that infected me to make me the traitor. J ended up winning, but he had about 8 cards to my 4 and Britt's 4 by the end of it. It is even on Tabletop Simulator online, so J was super excited. He wants to play it with his online friends soon.

Thanks for reading about my adventure! Anyone else have any adventures recently?

Current Mood: good
Current Location: Work

My goals for 2017 were (according to my tumblr)

- Work on my mental health. Use the wellness tracker.
- Keep up with the housework. Keep the kitchen clean! Vacuum for your wheezing dog!
- Be sure to meal plan before you grocery shop.
- Start prepping meals, so that you eat before 10pm when I get off at 7.
- Walk the dog more often.
- Plan an exercise routine other then walking to & from work.
- Play more video games, with J and by myself.
- Keep journal or private blog for venting

Of these I have done some of them....
- Mental health as been a struggle this year, no thanks to a certain orange leader & his band of WTF - ery.
- Housework has been about the same. Still a cluttered mess, but see mental health. Also the dog is fine, he just does that. Small purebred dog, has lung issues.
- Meal plan / prepping - doing better about meal planning for grocery shopping. Less meal prepping needed as I work 6-3 rn. But I am planning on getting a second job once we get a car.... so I need to get back on the crockpot / meal prep train.
- I still don't walk the dog, but that is more due to our stupid annoying kid neighbors then anything else. I do make sure to play with him & get him some exercise. If I don't he is a crazy ball of fluff.
- Still walking to & from work so I have not done any exercise outside of that. I will have to get an exercise routine once we get the car. Exercise outside has been essential to my mental health.
- Play more video games .... not so much. I love the Animal Crossing app, but computer games still are annoying to me. J and I played a bit of the Lego Hobbit but it is such a slow start. We may play more but we'll see. I also need to play the Jack Black game, I got stuck on a car bit. I really can't drive video game cars.
- Journal writing in a paper book has been the way to go. I really like the physical act of writing, & I am enjoying writing in cursive. I got a new journal and I am on the last few pages of my old one. Not sure what I will do with it.

So I haven't gotten all of my goals done this year, but between J's health going downhill and my mental health doing the same, I am glad that I got this much done. 2018 needs to be a new year with a focus of getting shit done.

Possible 2018 Goals include
- Mental health care. I need it, J needs it. We need it. No ifs, ands or buts. Car will make this easier.
- Keep exercise up despite car use. Not sure exactly how I will do this, but it needs to happen.
- Get second job to save money. This year we are not renewing the lease. Not sure if we are moving in state, or out of state, but we are moving. J really wants somewhere quieter & I agree.
- Write more consistently. writing is a skill I want to have, and to have it I need to practice. Journal every day would be a good idea. I just need to figure out when.

Anyone else looking back on goals for 2017 yet or am I early? Did you accomplish what you wanted or did the world mess that up?

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: Work, per usual
Current Music: coworker noises

I had such a bad brain day yesterday. I didn't want to do anything even thought it was my day off & I was trying to spend time with J. We spent 3 hours doing bleh stuff while I failed to pick something to do. I'm stuck at work so I thought I would make an 'I did' list.

I did

Block my friends hat & got her address. Now I just have to mail it.
Made breakfast, lunch & dinner for both days off. Even if it was cereal it counts.
Watched 2 episodes of Gotham with J. (We are in Season 3. J and I both just want Penguin & Nygma to kiss already! Like Penguin said This is Gotham. no one cares!)
Washed the crockpot.
Did laundry. Thankfully it was sunny, if cold, so everything on the clothesline dried except 1 towel.
Was polite to my mom when she asked me what she could get us for christmas & then refused my gift ideas, because she wanted to 'give us something we need', not something we want like a game *grumble grumble* Does fun gifts end at adulthood or is this just my mother?
I got to work on time & without incident.

Ok that was nice to get it listed out. The list isn't as long as I would like but thats ok. Now i'm going to try to nap and get some more spoons.

Current Mood: drained
Current Location: Work, per usual
Current Music: People typing & talking occasionally

Here is a short piece I wrote today while thinking about Hurricane Harvey and its effects. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tragedy has a way of revealing people's inner truth.

Some people help without hesitation, rolling out trucks of food, supplies and hope. They serve meals and organize shelters. They open their stores and businesses and offer the help they can. The help you would have paid full price for last week. Before the storm.

Other people say 'our thoughts and prayers are with you'. Empty buildings the size of a stadium that echo with empty words, are only filled after public shaming spurs them into action. Vulnerable are left without explanation or guidance by the agencies that should have taken care of them. They were not taken care of before the storm.

Troops in uniforms are sent out leaving behind worried spouses and children just starting a new school year. Deployed to a disaster zone only a few hours from their home base. My hope is that they are there to help and not to do the harm on orders from our commander in chief. Some may go willingly, glad to help their country in a time of need. They were training and working hopefully for the this, before the storm.

We remain here, safely inland, waiting. The storm is not over, the tolls count ever upwards. Soon we will see prices soar, of gas and energy and other things not yet known. Soon we will see how our President will react. If he will step up as others have done, or step aside as we wish him to. He may do has he has done thus far, standing in the way of helpers, tearing down protections and telling lies. The same thing he did before the storm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am not too far from the worst part of Harvey's devastation, only a few hours drive away. We got rain and winds but soon our area will be a shelter for many affected by the storm. Please donate wisely, if you can. Money and blood are what people need most at this point and it is harder to get donations to the affected areas. Indivisible has a guide on how to give and how to advocate for help from our countries leaders. NPR has a detailed list of who you can give too. Please be sure to give responsibly so that your money will go to those in need.

Some places helping with relief efforts include local grocery store chain HEB, and many other local businesses and individuals.

You may or may not have heard of the Joel Osteen scandal. He runs a mega church out of a former stadium. They claimed to be inaccessible and asked people to seek shelter elsewhere. They later opened as a shelter after extreme protest from the community.

Meanwhile local Mosques are opening their doors to people who may hate them, without being asked. :)

Hurricane Harvey isn't over yet. Keep us in your thoughts and actions, now and in the months ahead. We're going to need it.

Current Mood: anxious
Current Location: central texas