The End of Procrastination (until next time)

Too much stuff is happening; I've got to put it on here or the list will just keep growing!

So, on a Sunday somewhere back there in January (Fine, I looked it up...the 29th), Jon and I went on a slight spending spree:

We didn't actually buy this, but look how huge this chair is!!

Dyson.  Guilty...bought this.  It was on sale though and our old vaccuum stopped working.  So, there.

Also guilty of buying this crazily cheaply priced 55" TV.  Seriously - it was priced crazy low.  I believe also on sale.  Don't look at me like that.

By the way, Thomas and Shelby gave their couch to us somewhere back there, too...forgot about that...

Okay, so there are the incriminating pictures.  I must tell the vaccuum and TV stories, though.  But quickly...Jon and I went shopping for normal household things after trying out a hibachi grill that's new to town (It was pretty cool, by the way) and we ran across this huge TV in Target (71st & HWY 169).  We decided to go home and check it out on the Internet before we made such a huge decision.  We decided it would probably be a good buy.  We want to price check though, so we go to Best Buy (71st & HWY 169).  This is where I met the Dyson.  Since it was $100 off regular price (and everybody knows their reputation), we decided to get it.  Seems they are out of this model, though.  Oh, and the store closes in 30 minutes.  We get word that there is one available at the 71st and HWY 75 store across town and run to the car.  We get there with 10 minutes to buy the vaccuum and make it happen.  There just so happens to be a Target across the way over there.  We go in there to see if we can get the TV.  The very "attentive" electronics person, when only asked directly for help, told me that they were out.  I then asked if he could check the system and see if one is available nearby.  He says all of Tulsa is sold out.  I then told him about the one near HWY 169, he checks his computer, and tells me it is out, too.  I had a feeling it was still there.  So, we zoom over there and, wow, look at that, there it is.  +1 Tabitha.  Somehow, Jon, a Target employee, and maybe even Jesus got this beast in the trunk of the Mazda (Thank GOODNESS we switched out the Mini when we went home earlier....) and we got it home.  Thanks to our neighbor/friend/landlord, it got setup and it was watching movies that very night.  To spare you another story, it nearly took an act of congress (Not capitalized on purpose...) to get the silly thing to receive local channels, but after a week, that got resolved and here we are!  (And this was the story that starting all my procrastination!  SO glad it's finally typed out now!!!) 

Alright, now to backtrack a little.  A few events and circumstances led to me resolving to look for another job other than Saied's.  I won't go into details, but I made a pact with myself that I would constantly be on the lookout.  I found a job on the OU website on January 8th and applied, feeling pretty good about the job.  I felt I was very qualified and could easily do the job.  If memory serves, I got a call on January 24th from them wanting to set up an interview.  I went in for said interview on January 26th and left not knowing how it went or how I felt about it all.  It was the first interview I had since my Saied interview.  They said they would let me know by February 3rd if I got the job or not.  On January 31st, one of my old bosses called to say that they got a call checking references.  The next day, my coworker told me the same and I also got offered the job later that day.  The pay and benefits are significantly higher.  The hours are better.  The opportunity to work up within the company is much more likely.  Other than leaving a job I have come to dominate, and leaving a family that I have shared blood, tears, and laughter with for nearly 2.5 years, I had no other reason to say no.  And so, I didn't.  My last scheduled day at Saied's was February 10th and wow was that last week a difficult one.  It was pretty funny how much stuff came my way that week, yet it was still very hard to say goodbye.  And I guess in a way I haven't yet.  I still plan to be there at key points in the upcoming months and I will probably cover my former coworker when she leaves the country for 6 weeks. 

My OU (In affiliation with The College of Continuing Education) job at the National Resource Center For Youth Services (NRCYS) in the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance (RHYTTAC) area [Gonna be honest - it's painful explaining exactly where I work and what I do] started yesterday, February 13th, and in some weird way God knew to schedule a snow storm for the night before and all I was thinking about was if my old job was covered (I had a huge hand in the school closing process) and how I would make it to my new job in time.  I e-mailed my old boss an updated manual about how to close the school.  On the morning of the 13th, I was ready to walk out the door at 7:30, fully aware that the news was saying that OU-Tulsa opened at 10am (I wasn't sure if that included my new job or not and the only contact info I had was work numbers/e-mails).  I got an e-mail right before I left saying not to come in until 10am.  So, partial snow day on my first day....RAD.  I took that time to put together my valentines for my Saied people and went to Saied South to surprise Karrah and Kim.  They weren't in.  I left my treats with Lance and ventured to Saied Midtown to drop off more of my treats to a couple of my friends.  After meeting with my best friend from the other sto', MMYT, I left for OU.  I killed some time in the parking lot and then headed up a little early.  Most of the day was filled with orientation stuff and me learning things here and there.  I felt like a broken leg to my supervisor (and I guess in some respect to the company) because I could sense the urgency of my department to reform, but I didn't have the knowledge to really help out.  So, yesterday was frustrating and today was only a little less so.  That and I had "freezing fog" to worry about on my morning commute today.  Yikes, Mother Nature.  I just want to figure out when I can leave in the morning, on a NORMAL day and how long it takes to get to OU from here....it that SO much to ask????  Any way, this is all normal and par for the course, so I've just got to push hard and make it happen.  The environment, even with the sense of urgency abounding, is not nearly as stress-inducing as Saied's was for me.  Removing the walk-in customers has really taken a huge weight off my shoulders that I wasn't really aware was so large for me.  And I haven't had any nightmares or even really thought about OU after leaving work each day.  I don't really remember when those started with Saied's, but I don't think I will have that here.  And my goodness is that nice.  I think this will be a good fit for me.  BOOMER SOONER.  :^)  >>>Last minute add-in:  I asked my supervisor what my hiring process looked like and she said that they don't know how many people applied because OU gets first look before sending them to NRCYS, but they interviewed 4 people for my position (2 people had a language barrier situation...) and one wasn't as personable as they would have liked.  They also were technically interviewing for 2 positions, but they didn't fill the other one yet because there weren't 2 candidates that they liked.  They also liked that I didn't have my Master's Degree because they felt someone with their Master's would just be in the position for a limited time before moving to the next big thing for them.  I understand where they are coming from there, but in a weird way it felt kind of insulting to me....haha.  Basically, I wasn't just the best in the batch so they picked me, they actually felt I would be a good fit.  For some reason this knowledge is important to me and I've always been a bit bummed that I didn't know my Saied hiring story.  I tried asking my boss once or twice, but the story changed and I didn't really know what questions I wanted answered.  Anywho...I just wanted to throw that out there to be documented for all time also.

Oh, and finally, I was washing dishes earlier and I made a tone on a wine glass!!!!  I've never been able to do that and I totally did it by accident earlier!  It made my day.  :^D

Happy Valentine's/Phauxentine's Day!  (We swooped in and got Phaux 3 years ago today!)

Wow, that's a lot of stuff.  I'll never procrastinate ever again!  .....  (hehe)

Actually, let me throw these pictures in and that will make my slate clean!!!!

Phaux during "the standoff" a few days ago.  Ask for details, if you wish....

Lyka watching a program about raccoons, enriching her mind.

Where I make my new magic happen...for now.  (Will move sometime...probably....maybe)

Mailbox, part 3

So, found out tonight that it was our landlord that uprighted our mailbox....

hahaha!

I killed it today

*I woke up.
*I made breakfast (in a convenient, to-go style).
*I worked from 10-3.
*At 3pm, I came home, half fed the dogs, fed myself.
*Then I left for the tag agency.
*Forgot my purse...turned around....
*Then I re-left for the tag agency.
*There, I paid tag/tax/title for the Mini Cooper and I renewed the Mazda tag.  My quote from the dealership was about $150 shy of what the cost really was...letting that go....

Please never ask any questions about this picture.  It is evil in a way I can never explain with words.

*I then delived the new real tag to Jon at TU.
*Then it was haircut time!!!

So loooooong!

Kinda diggin' it!



-Side note: OMG photos are killing me tonight!!!!!!  I am about to strangle you, Blogger!!!

*After haircut, I went grocery shopping and got some good deals and pretty much stocked the kitchen.



*Then I came home.

*Then, it was 6pm.  Boom.

*Doing laundry and other like fun stuff now!





On the other side of the leaf

With the purchase of a new car came the turning over of a new leaf.  The bulk of our money went to eating out because we didn't have the time or energy to cook at home.  So I am proud to say that we are changing that.  We aren't completely there yet, but we are making leaps and bounds.  I am by no means comfortable in the kitchen, but I am trying.  All this to say that I am now eating at home for most of my meals (in fact, I think Jon and I mostly eat out now to socialize...I don't really remember the last time we ate out alone) and I feel better about that.  I feel like it is healthier and I physically feel better most of the time now.  Okay, well, I've been sick with a cold/flu/black plague this past week, but even then I could tell that my body felt more clear eating the stuff we made other than eating out.  I plan to dive deeper into this cooking thing and even into healthier cooking options.  Maybe the "plan a menu for each week" thing needs to happen.  It's overwhelming for me to go into the kitchen and try to pull a meal out of thin air based upon what we have.  *Seriously thinks about this plan a week thing...*  Yes, I do believe this needs to happen.  However, I won't have to cook every night because we will have leftovers.  Yes, this is my plan developing even as I type!  *back burner*  Okay...all that to say that here was my morning:

Jon requested that I make sure he is awake at 6:30am, so this is when I woke up.  I let the dogs out (it was me...now let the song die...), fed them, blah blah.  I didn't really need to be at work until 10am, and I can get there in like 10 minutes, so I really didn't need to be up until about 9am at the earliest.  This left time for me to pay bills.  I paid the gas bill, a student loan bill, our first car payment, and I even paid our phone bill even though we haven't even received it in the mail yet!  Then, I wrote Pikepass an e-mail about how to pay for the couple of times that Jon went through and the Pikepass didn't pick up (he has a paper tag right now AND the Pikepass is not secured to the window yet), complete with picture of his tag!  Then, I wondered if you would be able to renew your tag online and found that you could (I haven't received the little card in the mail yet, so I'm starting to get nervous).  I was almost done when I realized that they were adding an "online fee."  I am supposed to pay you for me doing most of the work?  No.  I will come bother you in person.  Besides, we have to do that whole title thing for Jon's car and I'm pretty sure you can't do that online, so I will have to go in there anyway.  So, I backed out on paying that online.  Then, I went and cooked myself breakfast after Jon left (he didn't want breakfast), got ready, pulled the trash can in from outside, and made it to work by 10am!  Granted, I only cooked an egg and put waffles in the toaster, but it's more than I used to do!   So, that was my morning.  I felt pretty accomplished after it.

The End of 2011

December 24th - Fort Gibson Christmas and saw my dad, too.  Mixed things up a little by watching a Christmas movie.

December 25th - Jon's parents came over for dinner and we played a board game.  This marked the first time the kitchen in our house had been truly cooked in.

December 26th - Jon and I had lunch with a lady he has worked for and other guests.  Afterward, we decided to go look at cars.  We checked out the Toyota FJ first and then went to Mazda to look at a Mini Cooper they had there that Jon had seen a few days prior.  Without deciding yet, we bring this home overnight:

His name is Toby.

We meet with them the next day at 1pm to either hand over the keys or sign the papers.  Jon's dad leaves the next day to go to Montana and pick up a truck he bought, so we took him to pick up Jon's mom at work.  This is where we learned that no one can sit behind Jon when he is driving.  I had to sit Indian-style (And I'm Indian, so don't cry PC on me...).  We stay up much of the night crunching numbers and seeing if we can afford the numbers we were given on this car.

December 27th: The paperwork is signed and we officially own this car.  2007 Mini Cooper S (Turbo).  Pretty much every bell and whistle.  Jon's dad heads out to Montana about the time we are signing the paperwork.  By the way, if anybody is in the car market and finds themselves at Nelson Mazda, PLEASE drop our names and we'll get a discount on our monthly bills.  ;^)  We took the Cooper out to Jon's mom's house to take car of her animals since she got called into work and she also needed to get a cell phone from out there.

December 28th:  Layla (My Mazda) evicted Jon's stuff and returned to being my car.  Jon picked up some stuff while I was at work and I came home to these and some Reese's hearts (not pictured - please note):

Awww...:^)

December 29th: The aforementioned Reese's hearts are not pictured because one or both of our dogs ate them on this day.  Jon called the vet and was told that if either of them ate the entire bag, they would be fine.  Turns out nothing ever happened.  I came home this night to dinner made by Jon.  Salmon, asparagus, pasta, and a greek salad.  We also met up with one of his friend's to discuss life insurance (his friend sells it).

December 30th: After work, Jon and I met up with some friends to eat at Genghis Grill, then went to see a friend's Christmas light display.  After this, we went to get pie and then pick up Jon's mom from work.

December 31st: I came home from work and Jon's dad's truck was in our driveway (so I got to see it for the first time).  After some crazy scheduling, Jon's insurance friend came over again and after that we were headed out to Jon's parents' house to pick up his dad to go get his mom from work.  After we picked up Jon's mom, we ate at Village Inn and brought in the New Year in the parking lot and then left immediately (to get as far down the road as possible before the drunkies got out)

And that's how 2011 left.  Not a bad end!