The Good and the Bad.

I'm tired of making excuses for myself and the fact that it has been so long since the last post. I know that everyone loves to read this. I love to know that I have posted and I love that I have people who care enough about me to read. I am really not good at being consistent about keeping up with the blog. I suppose I get tired. I suppose I get busy and it takes low priority. I suppose, if I am going to be really honest with everyone, that I get lazy. So I'm apologising, but I'm not making excuses.

Lately, it has been all about adjusting to the weather change (It's SPRING! There are flowers and it is not so bitter cold and the trees are growing leaves! There are nettles, which is the not-quite-so-good.) and the change from being in a classroom everyday for the past however long to being back at University and settling into working. I have minimal motivation for that as well. I have 2 large research projects that are due on the same day. I suspect that1 will get the majority of my time and attention, and the other will just get by. I have come to terms with that. I can't seem to split my attention well enough to focus on both at the same time. Overall, I do not think that it will affect my marks that much, as I still intent to pass. I think I'm to the point that I am content with scraping by. (can anyone say senior-itis?)

We re-arranged the house a few weeks ago, and I am enjoying the results. I was feeling a little like we were just staying here. Not everything had a home. Not everything was "moved in" after almost a year. And I confess to having a moment in which I just couldn't stand living here and not being settled. So we re-arranged and it has helped a lot. The living room, which is small to start with, was piled with the table behind the desk, so we were using only half the space and it was crowded and uncomfortable. Now it is more spread out and feels less crowded. We still don't have enough seats for everyone, but it is much better and a whole lot more bearable. We also found a new-to-us set of chairs at a second-hand shop. They are not great, and won't last long, but they are a lot better than the chairs that we had that didn't survive the overseas trip well. Those had fallen apart. There was 1 left, and it was wobbly. The new chairs are green, which I like.

I am actively job hunting at the same time as all the other things. This is actually a very hard thing. There is an expectation that everyone who applies for a position will go for a tour of the school. These are scheduled at specific times convenient for the school. Most of the schools are not bus or walking distance from us, so this means that I need to rent a car. Sometimes for 1 school visit. Then I apply, but the competition is fierce. I didn't even get an interview at the school that I did my placement at. I feel a bit disheartened. I'm not sure if there is a problem with my application, my cover letter, or my CV. I don't know if my Visa is an issue or if it is just bad luck of the draw. But I am starting to worry that I won't be able to find a job, won't be able to finally do my part in keeping our family afloat. We have such big plans: buying a house, the potentiality of future children, and none of it can happen if I continue to be a less-contributive member of the family.

*sigh* I feel like this post is a lot of whining, and that is not exactly what I intended to do when I started it. There are good things. Ashley is 17 now. (Ok - good and bad thing. I have very mixed emotions about her birthday. One one hand, yay for her, and on the other, my time with her as a child is almost over and that makes me sad.) We have solved the fungus gnat problem with the handy help of a pesticide spray and some silver sand. I have new house plants. I am well loved and cared for. Mostly, I am happy. I miss you all a lot, though. I feel a bit lonely without my friends even close enough to talk to.

No more now, or I'll do something silly like cry.

The Job Interview

Today I had a job interview. There were 4, possibly 5 other people being interviewed. The job, and the interview were in London.

I had to give a 5 minute presentation, which was almost perfectly timed. The interviewers were running late, so I had the chance to have a meet and greet with some of the team that I would be working with before hand. The actual interview itself went ok. I could have been better, but it could have been worse.

I won't know anything until next week, as there is one person who is not actually interviewing until then.

I feel ambivalently about the whole thing. I'll wait and see what happens.

Deja vu.

Happy Midsummer!

Today's Sunrise: 4:36:58 BST
Today's Sunset: 21:18:12 BST

(BST = British Summer Time. Subtract 7 hours to equal Mountain Daylight Savings Time.)

I think it is a good thing that I have people like Dan around to keep me motivated to write on this blog. He says:

Hi Amy,

I've been checking your blog to see an updated health post. How are you doing? Are you getting psyched to come back to the States?

The sick thing is an interesting tidbit right now. No, I am not healthy. Yes, I am sick. But I am sick again rather than still. Which I suppose is better. My chest is not full of gunk, though I go in for an x-ray on Monday just to be sure. I, however, have come to the conclusion that whoever told me that it takes 5 to 7 years to develop allergies in a new place LIED. (And I say that with venomous emphasis, just in case you were wondering.)

I had seasonal allergies in the states: mulberry pollen got to me just like it did everyone else. There must be something here, though, that I am really allergic to in the air. I have been hacking and sneezing repeatedly and strongly, and glad for doing it as it itches my throat when I do. (When I am not sneezing to itch my throat, I am rubbing my tongue as far down it as I can to try and itch it that way.) My nose is running, my throat is sore from the nastiness draining down it, AND my eyes and the inside of my ears are so itchy that I seriously consider scratching them out.

These allergies don't feel like allergies from mulberry pollen. They feel like the allergies I get when I roll in the Bermuda grass and my eyes swell up and I break out in hives. So today Stephen and I took a trip to the local chemist (pharmacy) and I found the anti-histimine Loratadine. I hope it is my friend. I am really tired of being sick.

The weather here has been about 65 to 70 degrees F. The other day a colleague was telling me that it was obvious that summer was here. I hesitated to ask. She told me that this was about as hot as it gets in the summer. Egad! I feel like an icicle. My sweater is still my best friend, and I never leave home without it.

As far as being excited to head back to the States, I am! I can't wait for the heat. I can't wait to see my family. I can't wait to hold and kiss Tristan and read him books. Still waiting on the inventor to show up with my portal for instant travel.

There is news going on in our world too. We are house hunting again. Our lease is up at the end of July. The rent is going up, and we can spend less fairly easily. So the weeks before my trip to the States will be filled with work and packing. Woohoo fun.

Remember the job Stephen applied for? Well, just the other day we were sitting in our favourite coffee shop talking about it. We decided that it had been too long without hearing anything, and that must mean that he had not been called back for an interview. We get home and Stephen finds an invitation to interview in his email inbox. It is July 10. We will let you know what happens.

Ashley leaves the country on Tuesday. She will be flying internationally all by herself. She is almost adult-like. She will have her old cell phone when she flies into Houston, and will be staying the night with her Uncle Jim.

That's the current scenario. We will keep you posted!