Saturday, June 28, 2008

Week of Doctors...

This week was the week to see doctors. Tuesday, I got to see a Dermatologist (thought it was Wednesday, but I had my interview Wednesday). She took a look at my back (enjoyed living in the sun when I was a teen). There were some spots that Rob wanted her to see. Have been having BAD acne on my face and seems to get worse just before "that" time of the month. Then, even with help from Marie, have had trouble with dry scalp. The results? First, she gave me an antibiotic for the acne and said it will help clear it up. Already seeing improvement. Next, gave me a prescription shampoo for my scalp. Turns out I've got eczema going on. Had that when I was a kid on my forearms. Finally, the freckles (and I've got DOZENS of them) on my back look OK, except for one spot. I'm scheduled on the 23rd to have it removed and biopsied.

Then, I finally went to the OB yesterday. It's been 3 years since my last pap, which is OK, but should go every year (not daily) for pelvic exam. Have been having problems lately. Don't really want to go into it, but the short-short version is that I'm bleeding other than my period times.

So, he does the exam. My uterus feels enlarged. Not sure what's going on. Could be from my full c-section when I had Cassi; maybe not. Then, he felt my neck next (how goofy, originally said, "he felt my next" huh?). This is the first time a doctor has looked there and said he thought my thyroid felt enlarged. So, I have to go get blood work done. Then, I have to have a cat scan done of my uterus to check for cysts or other things that might be going on. When they do this, they will inject fluid up there to open it up for a clearer result. Then, he also wants to do a biopsy because mom had a full hysterectomy when she was 36. Well, I just turned 37. Could run in the family.

The tough part right now is, the doctor was called away to an emergency surgery and my appointment was late. Because of this, I couldn't get anything scheduled, because, of course, my appointment was on Friday at 4pm. I didn't get to see him until after 5. So, now I have to wait until Monday to even make any appointments. He's looking at everything, even the possibility of uterine cancer.

So, until any tests get to be scheduled and done, I'm stuck. I don't know what to say or do. Yes, Marie, I'm trying to be positive. It's tough!

The only positive thing that happened this week was I had my interview for a part-time Administrative Assistant position at Ridge Tool. They are the people who make RIGID tools that are sold at Home Depot. The position is 30 hours a week, supporting the Marketing Department. They were really impressed with my background and desire to work there. I interviewed with the three individuals I would support, and even saw what they are in need of me to do and how to do it. They are big on using PowerPoint and Excel because they have to give sales figures and presentations. By the time I came home in the afternoon after going to get gas for Rob and some steak for dinner, I was walking into the house to the main house phone ringing from them saying they were going forward with the background investigation. This means they're serious because it costs money to do these things. I emailed the people who I used for references, my intern boss, former boss and client at E&Y and my Tech Writing professor. They all said they had no problem giving a positive reference for me. Yesterday, got an email from Professor Mary who said they called her and left a message. She called them back, leaving a message for them about my character and even gave the girl her home phone number. What a nice thing to do! If I get offered the job, I think I would start July 7, just one week away.

Not sure what the pay is yet. But, 30 hours a week is great, working from 8-3 with an hour for lunch. And, there are opportunities for extra hours. And, the offices are only 3 miles from my house. That's even better. When Cassi starts school, I'll have to get someone to keep her in the am before school starts but would be able to pick her up after.

OK. Gonna go now. Don't want to depress anyone too much more than I have.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

So, it would just be my luck to have medical problems happen and be offered a job.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

VERY Frustrating!

I'm working, after having some fun on my blog, to apply to other jobs. I'm looking at other types of opportunities with companies that would allow me to move within the company after being hired, which is usually a good idea.

The problem I face: browser problems. When companies develop Web sites, they don't realize what browsers individuals use. I know the standard browser is Internet Explorer. But, some people enjoy using other browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox.

Even I have this difficulty with my own Web sites. Note to self, install Dreamweaver and update all Web sites for viewing within Firefox.

But, I digress.

I try to use the Taleo HR hiring system that many companies are now using to apply to jobs online. You cannot apply to jobs through Firefox. At least, I cannot do so. So, every time I apply to a job, I have to remember to determine where I'm applying to and use the correct browser.

Ugh!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

P.S. This evening, I applied to:

Adecco Technology as a Entry Level Scientific/Technical Writer (temp-to-hire)
Bendix Manufacturing as an Administrative Assistant (full time)
Toys R' Us as a Department Manager Trainee (gotta at least try)

My Birthday...

Yep, this past Thursday, it was my birthday. Rob, Cassi, and I spent the day together. I woke up the day nicely. Got online early and saw a birthday email card from Marie. I LAUGHED so hard. Then, my girlfriend, Patty, sent me an email of happy birthday.

We spent the day together. Rob worked the night before and Cassi spent the night over Sarah's house. So, I was pretty much by myself until 2:30 pm. Cassi and Sarah kept running in and out of the house. I had to keep shewing them out.

So, what did I do while I was by myself? I applied for jobs. I applied for Bank Teller positions at National City Bank and Charter One. Some of the other banks don't have openings. I need to apply at US Bank (where our main mortgage resides). Who knows? I agree with my career coordinator. I need to just GET IN to a company and move from there. She called me and said again that she thinks I need to dumb myself down for prospective employers, that they are intimidated by me and my skills. I'm sorry; I just find it so hard to do that. Maybe the idea of "Less is More" is better.

One of our camping friends specifically said to me that even though she knows I have higher education than she does, I don't make her feel inferior with my education. She says I use my education when I speak, but not overbearing. It's nice to hear comments like that.

But, after Rob got up, we goofed off a little before we decided to go to dinner. When the school had the spring picnic, PTO offered up $100 worth of restaurant gift cards. I won one of them. I was able to get a $25 gift card from Olive Garden. Then, because we bank with National City Bank, they have an opportunity to earn points for gift cards. I was able to get 2 $10 gift cards for Olive Garden. We used them for dinner Thursday night. Cassi loves Olive Garden.

We got there. As usual, almost immediately, she had to potty (does that everywhere we go). So, while we were gone, unknown to me, Rob decides with the server to order a special cake. In the end, we ended up paying $15 extra with the tip. It was nice though.

Then, we went to Best Buy to walk around and look at stuff. Didn't realize that my favorite PS games come as PC versions too. That game? Star Wars Legos. The most hilarious game. Will have to try to find it on PC somewhere and save up to get it.

We noticed some sale priced Game Boy Advanced and Nintendo DS games. I was considering getting a $15 game for Cassi from my birthday money. Since we really haven't had money to get games and things for her, I thought it would be nice. There really isn't anything I'm in need of right now. I told her to put the game down for the time being, and I would think about it. She threw a fit and said she NEVER gets anything at the store. OK. That was enough for me. I wasn't listening to that from her. She gets SOOOOO much from Pa, Nana, and Aunt Marie. We have been giving her the necessities. Sorry that I can't buy EVERY item she wants! So, I told her if she felt that way she wasn't getting that game either. It was a Polly Pocket game.

After we went to Best Buy, we went to Sam's and got a floor protector for the carpet in our bedroom office. We went to Home Depot because we needed to buy a new shower head for the bathroom. The old one was ready to die. Home Depot was very disappointing as we couldn't find JUST the shower head. We ended up at Lowe's and found a cool one that actually has 2 heads. It has a hand-held shower head and stationery one. The hand-held one will work well when I'm ready to bathe the cat and can be used when I shower Cassi (versus her doing it herself).

Got home and got the shower head in. Rob and I also watched the Denzel Washington movie, The Great Debaters. It was a really good movie. And, be shocked! Even though it is a relatively new movie to DVD, I found it...


at...


THE LIBRARY! Yep, sure did! I've also got The Waterhorse to watch too.

OK. Gonna go for now. I'm working on designing a new template for this blog. REALLY need something new. Maybe change will be good for me.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Today...

While Rob was sleeping as he worked last night, I had to take out a bill. Took it to the bank. Ran into one of the mom's shopping while was there (the bank is in the grocery store). From there, I ran to Sam's Club and filled the wagon. Can't believe, even with a quarter of a tank (I think), it took almost 30 dollars to fill it!

But, from there, I had to decide which way to drive home. I opted for the local roads, even though I knew one of the roads is under MAJOR construction to rebuild it. That was road in particular that we blew a tire on in February from a bad pot hole, but the city refused to be liable for.

Anyway, I decided to stop at a Goodwill along the way. Cassi needs some summer jammies. Oh, she's got a few night shirts, and I just gave her a night gown from Nana that doesn't fit me, even though Nana gave it to me, I wanted to find a few more. Got there and NOTHING. So, while I was there, I decided to walk around to see what they had for sale. Along the back wall, there's all kinds of computer monitors. There's a nice dresser, desk, and headboard that looked very interesting to buy for Cassi to have a bedroom set, but I wasn't paying $45 each, even though they were probably worth 3 times as much. But, along that wall with the monitors, sits this HP Scanner. It's an HP Scanjet 8290, complete with power supply, software, and USB cable. The price on it:

$5

Yes, that's it, FIVE DOLLARS! But, there's a warning, the scanner can't be returned. This is one item that's an ALL SALES FINAL type of item. Why not? This is the scanner I had been using while I worked on my internship. It has an Auto Document Feeder (that's the contraption on top of the scanner that allows you to feed multiple pages into the scanner and create PDF files. Rob's co-worker gave him a set of books from when she went through RN school. It was a self-paced school that allowed her to learn at her own pace and didn't cut into her job because there was no lab or clinical like a traditional school requires. The clinical testing happens at the end before you complete your degree. I was able to scan all but 1 book. I'm now able to get it done now.

But, this scanner, even though it's no longer directly for sale from HP can run brand new between $700 and $900. This scanner is in almost new condition. I had to update the software that came from the included CD because it initially had trouble with the doc feed capabilities.

But, for my lonely $5 plus 31 cents for sales tax, I got a BRAND NEW scanner. This is the type of scanner I've been looking for. AND, even though I have to watch EVERY PENNY I spend, I believe I did well finding this scanner.

AND, I'm still looking for jammies for Cassi. She's got 3 t-shirts from me that work for her, 1 night gown she had and 2 night gowns from Nana (doesn't know about the second one yet).

OK. Gotta go.

Lots of love,

Cathy
8^ )

P.S. Oh, where was I over the last few weeks? We went camping as Rob took off work. He was finally able to take a week vacation. I've got posts to write about it and pictures.

And, for those of you who didn't know (because I wasn't flagrant about it), my birthday was this past Thursday, June 19. I turned 37. It was just another day for me.

Grad Pics...

Howdy, ALL! Sorry I've been away for a while. It's been rough on me trying to find a job. So much so that I've been experiencing bad mood swings and not interacting with people much, not more than I have had to. I applied to Thompson Reuters for an Assistant Publishing Specialist. Had a phone interview and had to go through testing....

NOPE! My test scores were not good enough to go forward. Huh? But, they declined to tell me what my scores were.

I'm waiting on going to an interview next Wednesday. It's for a part-time Administrative Assistant position (30 hours). The person supports the Marketing Department. The company is called Ridge Tool. Probably wondering? Huh? Who are they? They are a local manufacturing company take makes RIGID tools. You might have seen the tool brand if you've ever been in Home Depot. I believe they sell these tools. Sounds like an interesting job and good time to work. I applied Wednesday night and had an email response Thursday and a phone interview on Friday. It would give me an opportunity to learn how a marketing department works and see the types of advertising/marketing materials they create. Oh, wonder on those hours? Monday through Friday from 8am til 3pm (that's an hour for lunch). I've got to remember to listen, only answer what they ask for, and be calm. Would love to start a job like this quickly. They seemed interested in my skill set as I'm not in need of technology training like others might.

But, below are a few photos. The first is the coveted Bachelor's Degree. Got it a few weeks ago. Below it is the entrance ticket needed to enter the ceremony. And, WONDERFUL MARIE! She purchased the photos that were taken professionally of me during the ceremony. I can't believe what they charge for photos! For a single 8x10, without ANY touch-ups or lamination, cost $16.95 each. I REALLY need to find a way to get into the photography business. I've got the digital camera and and ability to do it, even part-time. Just blabbing!





With all this, I'll close for now. I've got more to write about. Cool stuff! Like the fact that I found a $900 scanner today at Goodwill for $5.31 (with tax). And, the good news...


IT WORKS!

OK.

Lots of love,

Cathy
8^ )

Friday, June 06, 2008

This is WHY English is SOOOO Important...

Gotta give it to a Cleveland-area local city's high school. According to the Yahoo! story, the Westlake High School gave it's 330 graduates diplomas with a spelling error.

EDUCAITON

was the word they saw on the diplomas. AND, this was after the first error that was sent back to the printer of the diplomas.

And I can't get a job! Believe me, if I was working there, this wouldn't have HAPPENED!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Economy SUCKS!

Well, the news story is now living on the home page of Yahoo!

Plus, was emailing my intern supervisor, Tina, telling her how I have yet to find a job. This is what she said to me,

"
I saw a report on the BBC this morning that the US is now reporting the jobless rate at 5.5% - - which can only mean it is more like 7%."

This is very sad indeed.

But, as Marie suggested, I should sign up to the temp services. When I worked for Tri-C, a local community college, that is how I originally got the job. I was signed up at the time with OfficeTeam. I am re-registered with them. They've got nothing. I've not registered with Kelly Services (they helped me get my first job here with E&Y). But, I've searched their openings online. NOTHING. I'm registered with Ajilon. NOTHING!

It's BAD! So, my next step is doing babysitting jobs, etc. I'm registered on Care.com for employment opportunities. We'll see what happens there. And, I applied for a summer internship (paid) with the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. It's for a news writer position. We'll see.

I can't believe how BAD it is. My problem now is that I can't even get a job at any retail establishment because they want people who can work nights. Like, take for example, Wal-Mart. You must be available to work EVERY NIGHT from 5pm till 11pm. If you can't, they won't even consider you. I did pass the management opportunities exam. We'll see what happens there, if and when they decide to hire more managers/assistant managers.

I'm just REALLY tired. I could try running the business that I've longed to run. But, my credit SUCKS! That means, no one will want to invest in my idea to help me get it going. I don't want to ask friends and family, just in case it doesn't work out. I want to run a Wedding and Creative Services biz, designing custom wedding invitations, party favors, and all the goodies I made and sold at craft shows last year. I've got the technology and the designs running. What I'm in need of capital now is for: 1. more ink supplies for printers, 2. advertising in newspapers of my biz, and 3. payments for craft shows and wedding shows where I can advertise my services and sell my kid-friendly products. If you know of any rich relatives in need of someone to donate money to, I'm here and waiting. I know I don't need much to get me going. And, I think, once I'm going I would be able to keep the flow.

OK. Yep, I'm REALLY tired. Cassi finished school yesterday for the year. YEAH! Her new friend from around the corner came over and played in the pool with Cassi. Her mom's not working right now either. I went over and gossiped with them, then had Sarah spend the night. She was here until 2pm today, up before 8 and out in the pool by 8. Pa came to get Cassi. They ended up hanging around until 4pm. Rob's been at his house. He started his 3 days of work, where he sleeps during the day at their house. You see, from home to work, it's about a 30-40 minute drive. Mom is even closer, more than half way closer. He's about 10 minutes from work then. He sleeps there in between because of the gas prices. He's been driving our Focus. When I went to school, I was able to get almost 300 per tank of gas. With staying at mom's, he can go 2 weeks on one tank of gas. So, he's working these 3 days (Thurs-Fri-Sat), then coming home. He started this week with a half tank of gas. Next week, he's on vacation and we're going camping. Need to be hillbilly as he says. Then, we'll come home Tuesday when I can wash laundry and clean kitty's litterpan. He has a mason's meeting. Thursday, we'll come home in the am when Marie will meet us here. This will be the first time Cassi gets to visit with Marie at Marie's house all by herself. Then, mom, dad, and I will travel to Marie's on Sunday to pick her up, leaving from my house by 7am.

Shew, I'm tired just thinking about it.

Ok. Gotta go. Need to go pick up teacher's lounge supplies from Cassi's school. Not supplying summer school with these extra supplies. Because there's extra stuff, I'll be able to not have to buy some things come August.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Moderating Comments...

I'm really enjoying this moderating of comments. Just had 2 comments about a posting a while ago about a term paper I wrote. After looking at the posts and who they might have come from, I ended up rejecting the comments.

It seemed they only wanted to comment based on wanting to advertise their Web site businesses. And, since I'm no longer in school and don't FREELY advertise anyone unless I choose to, these businesses get the 'ol heave-ho!

Plus, one of the comments was from a blogger who didn't even want the profile viewed. That's another NO for me.

Don't try to advertise your biz here for free because IT WON'T HAPPEN!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

P.S. They tried to post on a story I wrote in 2007! Can you believe it?