Sunday, May 21, 2006

R.I.P.

I am sad to report that the -oldsmobile, a Cutlass Supreme, four door sedan, died yesterday at 4pm in the afternoon.

This passing came after a valient seven month struggle with a debilitating blown head gasket and various systems failures. Because of gauge failure, the overheating problem that finished her was not fully detected until too late.

She was born in 1995 and traveled several times across the continental United States during her 11 short years on earth, and had just passed the 125,000 mile mark. In her travels, she had the privilege of wearing license plates from four different states: Pennsylvania, Arizona, Utah, and finally Vermont. The Utah Centennial plates suited her dark green exterior the best, and I can't help but wonder if it was their removal that broke her spirit in the end.

She was faithful and courageous to the end. Long accustomed to hauling everything from mountain bikes, to bookshelves, to groceries, she put her final efforts into getting home safe from one last shopping run. However, it was not to be. At the turn into the driveway, she lost all power while crosswise in the street, and smoke began pouring from her hood. Two strangers pulled over and with our neighbor Tamara's help, managed to push her the last few feet to safety.

She now rests at the back of the driveway, awaiting her final trip to car heaven.

Rest in Peace. You will be missed.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Updates

Got a phone call back from one of those private school already. Don't know if anything will come of it, but it's nice to get a response.

Also, I finally uploaded more knitting pictures - everything from the end of February to last week. Oops. Well, except for a lace beanie I made. Forgot to take a picture of it. Note to self: document all efforts.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Casting a wider net

Sent out two more applications to two different private schools in the area. Can't hurt.
...

Called the school on Monday to withdraw my application from the Admissions position. I think I confused my enthusiasm for the school and the people there for enthusiasm over the job. I asked to still be considered for the position I originally applied for. Haven't heard a word back.

So I'm tending to the other job applications I should have submitted. I have the bad habit of getting very excited about one opportunity and neglecting the rest... and then the op I wanted falls through.

This sucks.

And my hair is a quarter inch longer in the back on the right side. I am not amused.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Babbleage

Still haven't heard a thing about the job, so quit yer askin'. Trust me, if I get news, I'm not going to keep it to myself, m'kay?

Yesterday Jay and I made our quatrennial (is that how one expresses 4 times yearly?) voyage to Burlington. Now, for those of you who look at the map and think But Vermont is so SMALL! How long could it take to get from the eastern border to the western? I'd like you to take a closer look at the roads in the northern half of the state. Note that all those nice, fat, blue Interstate type roads run mostly north to south. Now look at the few roads that do run east to west. Note how narrow they look on the map. Note how not straight they are. I think maybe the term "voyage" is more understandable.

Anyway, it was all for the good, because not only did I get to visit my favorite yarn store and buy Koigu (color 117), Cherry Tree Hill (Peacock), and Kid Silk Haze (in a dark, smoky teal color that isn't online)... I also finally managed to meet up with the fabulous Ms. Nita.

Quickie visit in the basement food court of the downtown mall - Nita had some other obligations involving body paint and a camel... but that's not my story to tell. Jay was very disappointed to not meet the charming Miss Rio, but he soothed his misery by flirting with the small child one table beyond us. And then with all the small children and doggies at the Gear Exchange.

I married a babe magnet, what can I say? And by babe, I mean any human under the age of ten.

Also, I am now completely convinced that the secret ingredient in Red Bull is crack cocaine. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But between Jay and Ms. Nita, all my words were gotten in edge-wise. Fortunately, my brain moves much faster than my mouth. But it's a good thing I wasn't drinking anything or I probably would have sprayed it all over the table laughing.

And then.

And then I stopped in to get my hair cut. As I said, haven't done that since Karen's wedding back in January, and it was starting to show.

I don't have very many expectations when it comes to haircuts. I mean, I expect my hair to be shorter when I leave. I expect the ends to be even. That's pretty much it. Back when I used to work at the hotel in Salt Lake, the Westcoast Beauty Supply convention people used to stay with us (and with the other four hotels surrounding the convention center). Some guy was hawking his special scissors and was drumming up models among the staff, and after he said he wouldn't be coloring my hair I jumped on that with both feet - because I really don't care much about how my hair is cut, as long as it's not all split-endy, and a free haircut by someone who theoretically knows what they are doing is a good thing in my book.

So. I go in, they can take me almost right away, great. I sent Jay off to the Gear Exchange to scope out the options based on his list. (He makes lists.)

First warning sign: stylist takes me straight to shampoo sinks, doesn't really scope out how my hair hangs dry.

Second warning sign: she cannot shut up. I don't mind chattiness. I'm cool with it, even. As long as I need not respond. But do not chat at me while you are washing my hair because I CAN'T HEAR over the roar of water in the basin. m'kay?

Third warning: When she asked what I wanted, I told her to chop it back to about jaw length and then do some layers just around my face. Generic directions, they've served me well enough in the past. And seem pretty straightforward to me. But no.

She asked, "Well do you want a half bang?"

WTF is a half bang? "Um," said I, "I'd prefer that the layery bits at the front be no more than about an inch shorter than the rest. Less is generally better." We - me, K2, and K3 have a dread over mullets - someday I'll post some of their baby pictures and my fourth grade picture to explain why.

"Okay well, your hair's in really good condition. What about blah blah blah blah blah?" because I don't know the lingo, it all sounds like blah blah blah to me.

"Um, you know, I just don't really care. I just want it shorter by about an inch and half - two inches with some layers around my face so it's not totally blunt."

"Okay, but what about blah blah blah? Or I could blah blah blahblahblah?"

Sigh. "Look, if you think it will look good, go ahead. Whatever. I really don't care as long as it's not going to require any maintenance."

"So what do you usually do in the morning? Mousse? Blowdry?"

"Shampoo and conditioner. Haven't seen my blowdryer since we moved last summer. Really low maintenance." And maybe that's WHY my hair's in good shape. d'uh.

Finally she shuts up and gets started. I close my eyes. I've found that I like most haircuts much better about a week later, so I don't fuss until then. Practical? No. Do I care? Not much.

I didn't figure I was in trouble until she picked up the curling iron. If there needs to be curl to make the haircut look good, it's probably not the right cut for my hair. My hair's not stick straight. It has decent body for fine hair, waves slighty under right below my cheekbone, slightly out just below my chin, but curl it does not.

So anyway. The cut's not awful. It might even be really cute if the back was about half an inch shorter. Or if the layers (god... she gave me layers...) were a little longer. It will grow.

But I did make sure to buy a hat at the Gear Exchange. And I'm putting off my passport renewal until this grows out... too "not me" to live with the reminder of it for the next ten years.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Still Waiting

I don't expect to hear anything until tomorrow at the earliest.

And if the Director of Admissions thing doesn't work out, they might take me for the post I originally applied for... we shall see.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

round three, coming up

Yesterday afternoon, met with the current Admissions Director who will be moving into the HR position and the Headmistress. Loved the Headmistress. Loved her. Pretty sure it was mutual. Tomorrow morning I meet with HER boss in what I hope will be the final interview before they say, "Ms. Fabulous, come work with us immediately. We'd like to pay you lots of money."

I knew all those years in the hospitality industry would come in handy some day. New job kind of equals Education + Customer Service. The education aspect takes care of the frivolous nature of most customer concerns - I could never muster the appropriate sympathy for a person who wanted a view of the Great Salt Lake from downtown. (For those of you who aren't familiar with Salt Lake, this would be an impossibility.) The admissions bit (which I think of as admin level customer service) means that I still get to interact with students, but don't have to create lesson plans that fulfil every last flaming hoop requirement, or grade a hundred badly written papers.

So hopefully... best of both worlds.

Tomorrow, 9:30am EDT... think happy thoughts my way.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Progressing

Interviewed this morning. They want me to apply for a Director of Admissions position instead. Still psyched. Should know by next week I think.