I am still doing those evil 30-day challenges with @Karoline1982. I went through an “I hate this” stage, passed the “hey, this isn’t so bad” phase, and have now firmly landed in the “I don’t wanna” realm. I am also paying more attention to what and how much I eat, choosing healthier things and stopped snacking out of boredom. I can’t say I’m losing much weight yet, but I have lost a couple inches of fat here and there –not where I want to lose it, but I’m hopeful that will come. I want to look hawt for my trip to Ireland next summer… okay, and be healthier.

The exception of watching what we eat occured when I went to visit Karo on Saturday. We totally pigged out on Blarney Chips (BEST THING EVER) and tried veggie burgers (not that good). If you want to see pictures just check out her blog post the other day. We’re a bit nutty *L0L* I had to get up at 5:30am to catch a ride with my dad who was going to a competition and would be passing by, but Karo let me crash for a couple hours while she watched TV. We then went to the wonderous Fionn MacCool’s Irish Pub for lunch –which ended up being a late lunch due to having to wait for the bus in a thunderstorm for an entire frikken hour. We did a bit of shopping, Karo got some cute capris and I picked up a book that was half-price. I also got Karo a good-bye prezzie of a mustache bookmark that we modelled right there in the store. I also made her a throw pillow with a karo-ized superman symbol, which is technically a birthday/christmas present I didn’t want to mail/ship to her later

I had hoped to tell y’all about my date with one of the guys on the dating site. I knew him from high school when we were in a band together, but had lost track of each other after the band broke up. The plan was to go to the movies, but I haven’t heard from him in a week so I’m thinking he’s no longer a dating option. Unless he got hit by a car or something, he could have easily sent me a text or email –I don’t do the whole “maybe he was really busy” excuse because texts only take a few seconds to type a quick message. I kind of lost interest in the dating site after this, and haven’t been on all week. Ugh, boys. 

I still only have twelve hours of work per week at work, which totally ticks me off. Last week the boss-man asked me to come in on Thursday because he wouldn’t be in Wednesday to discuss the project with me, but when he saw me he asked why I was in AND we didn’t meet about the project *Arg!* I was right that I had to fix things on my project when I got to work on Monday, and more was done to my “baby” this past Friday which is aggravating. Boss-man and his daughter really need to sit down together to talk, and hopefully both the gallery administrator and myself will be in on that conversation too because this lack of communication is just nuts! I have lucked out that the Gallery Admin needs me to cover twelve hours for her this week, so I’ll actually be pretty on par with what I need this month. The problem will be next month if my hours don’t get put back or higher (which I was told would happen before)… 

So aside from the fact that I’m not getting the expected pay from my work, my mother has decided that I should start paying rent. A bit of a change from the last rent discussion that was had, considering she said I didn’t have to pay anything until I got full-time work provided I do chores around the house. The reason behind this is that my parents want a new car and basically want me to buy it for them via giving them rent money. My hours get cut to nearly nothing and they want to take it from me when they know I’m trying to go to Ireland?! My mum outright said I have enough for a week-long trip and that should be good enough, and I wasn’t to move there. Um, excuse me? MY FREAKING LIFE! 

Speaking of moving, two of my castmates from “Ernest” are moving. Or rather my faux-finace Algernon moved today and my faux future sis-in-law will be leaving at the end of the month. I only saw them periodically since the play ended in October, but I knew they were around and could hang out whenever we could find the time. It’s sad that it won’t be an option anymore and now I’ll have even less friends in town than I do already. I really haven’t got much to stay here for, and I think a change would be good for me. 

On a plus note, the friend of my brother’s who wants to have a book published met with me this past Friday and intends to send his ms to me shortly for editing. He said that he would pay the rate I quoted (with a “family friend discount” of half-price since I knew he was on a tight budget), and once he makes money from his book he’ll actually give me another payment for the equivelent amount. So with this one manuscript, I’d actually be making around three times what I made at the publishing company the past year and a half. Considering what I make as a satellite editor is peanuts and that actually doesn’t say much, I’m proud anyways *L0L*

SUMR

I am just so incredibly frustrated right now! 

Yesterday I mentioned I nearly lost eight more hours of work due to the scheduling of both myself and the Gallery Admin for two of the same afternoons, but the studio owner asked me to finish working on a project for him this week. It was a project he gave me so I would have more hours, as he hated laying me off. I was so happy when I was hired back on by his daughter for the company she was buying from him and he wanted me to basically start a new company for his side of things. It was mostly because he wanted a way to make money, but also so I could still work for him too. That project became my “baby” as I’d been putting every minute I could towards it for weeks now. 

Today I was told not to come in to work for the next two days because my new boss, the studio owner’s daughter, said it was a waste of money for both me and the GA to be there. I don’t know what she’s worried about as it isn’t her company’s money that would be paying either of us. GA told me that boss-lady is going ahead and making decisions because she feels her dad is taking too long to get around to it. She is having GA, and a couple others working on what she’s decided. It would be one thing if she came to me to discuss everything I’d done and what she felt we should go forward with, but she’s not. She is making decisions without even looking at all I have worked on. I have pages upon pages; I have check lists, and scenarios, and comparisons with other companies, and general notes, and floor plans, and advertising ideas, and social media plans,  and just everything! 

Last week the studio owner told the GA that she was to focus on the gallery projects he gave her, and not to touch mine. I felt GA and I should each know what the other was doing as the assignments were relatable, but we each were in control of our own projects. This week boss-lady says I’m not to come into work to finish my project and has the GA doing it. It is really hard to know who to listen to when the two people who are your bosses tell you opposing things. Before when it was just the studio owner who was my boss I knew he had the final say, but now she’s my boss and he just has me doing work on a “freelance” basis right now. There is also the fact that the studio owner isn’t in the office at present because he is in the midst of moving –the reason why he wasn’t fast enough to suit everyone else. He knew I was truckin’ away on it, so he wasn’t worried; I’m sure he knew I’d have everything ready to be finalized when he wanted it done for. 

I don’t think it is right for boss-lady to undermine her dad within his own company. She was so angry with him for laying me off without talking to her first, so that I could be informed I was being hired back on by her. Yet now here she is not communicating with him, and once again it is screwing my life over. I love the work I do for both of them, but having to deal with two bosses who don’t discuss things with each other is stressful. GA thinks that she won’t be kept on at the company much longer, the end of the month at best, and therefore I’ll be getting my shifts back and maybe even more hours… but if she gets her gallery project off the ground she will be needed and thus not laid off after all. If the bosses see they can do things without me, then who is to say that I won’t be the one who gets laid off instead? 

SUMR

I am pretty sure I mentioned a week ago that I started doing three 30-day exercise challenges, two of which @Karoline1982 is also doing. I’m still doing it, and for the most part I don’t mind it too much. I have learned that exercising first thing in the morning helps wake you up and also boosts your metabolism, and both those things need all the help they can get! So I can deal with the crunches, and pushups, and plank, and squats, and even leg raises, but I absolutely DESPISES sit-ups. Those things are the most horrible things I have ever done in my entire life. If my gut doesn’t feel like knives are being stabbed through it, then it feels like my thighs are on fire. Why the heck does it feel like I’m being tortured by a psycho-killer who is actually a multiple-personality of myself since I’m the one doing the exercising?!? 

I haven’t done any work on my freelance editing in the past couple weeks; I just haven’t felt like it *wince* I’m going to have to get to it soon as I have a deadline next week. The good news is that I have already done the first edits last month, so I just need to do second edits and formatting. I also got an email from my brother’s friend who would like me to edit his manuscript before he sends it to publishers. I’ve not done any paid freelance work before, so I’m not quite sure how to go about payment.

Last week, due to my new shifts and the Gallery Admin not yet being laid off/rescheduled, there were two receptionists scheduled for two same afternoons. Today I was told that I wasn’t needed for those two days until the GA is gone which cuts an additional eight hours with the five I’ve already lost.  This would have left me with just twelve hours to my previous 25, while the GA would have her usual 20-25… and she already has another job that has her working four days a week for 6-10 hour shifts. Guess who needs the hours more?! Thankfully the studio owner said he wanted me to continue working on a project that he’d like me to present to him next week, so I’ll be coming in anyways. I didn’t really like the idea of not going in just because the project manager said I wasn’t needed, I’d rather have the new owner tell me. She wasn’t in today, but she could have told me yesterday or easily sent me an email.  

I went a little OCD on the organizational front I had seventeen guys writing to me within my first seven days on the online dating site, and some are already asking to meet. Karo said it’s okay that I’m that nerdy because, and I quote her exactly: “you rock” <– as in me. What I have done is started a spreadsheet to keep track of each guy who has messaged me and a few details about each to help decide whether I’d want to meet said persons. I have listed location, age, education, current job, and how well he writes. 

Some of these guys are living in places that take anywhere from an hour or more to drive, so they basically get cut (unless it’s Ireland). Age is just so I know, and if he didn’t specify or wasn’t willing to tell me what sort of work he did meant he likes to keep secrets, therefore they usually got a no. Education and writing skills lets me know if he has a modicum of intelligence and interest-factor; as long as they were decent at writing they were possibilities, and if they also had at least some post-secondary they have an even better chance of a meeting. 

Now I have two guys hinting at a meeting, and two more guys who have actually asked for a meeting. The first guy who asked inquired if I wanted to go for a walk this weekend, but has not given me his name nor told me what sort of job he has. He’s a good writer, yet I’m not sure about him because not only did he get impatient with my not answering his email within 24-hours, but I don’t really find him that attractive. He’s also looking for a “long term” relationship, but I intend to move away within a year. So what do I tell him about meeting? 

The second guy is fairly interesting, decent writer, gave me his cell number, but lives in a different town and is just here while working on a project for his job. He’s looking for a relationship/dating, and is potentially cute. I’m not sure if it is a better idea to text before meeting him or if I should meet before giving out my cell number… but then if we try to meet, won’t we need each other’s cell to ensure we’re in the right place at the right time? That is, if I decide I want to meet him. I’m less worried about him because he didn’t state looking for long term or marriage. Do you think I should text him or agree to meet? 

The thing is, first dates terrify me! I’ve only ever managed to meet one guy through an online dating site, which went rather well but he was a student and a wee bit younger than me rather than an older professional guy. There is a guy I will definitely meet who has written me, but that is because I knew him in high school and had a crush on him then. I’d totally be willing to get to know him again, even though he’s no longer dating potential due to a variety of things –namely that he’s anti-religious. But he did tell me I look like Bernadette on Big Bang Theory and he thinks she’s gorgeous 

The only guys I have written to first are the ones who live in Ireland. I figure they wouldn’t know that I’m looking to meet Irish guys unless I message them first  I sent emails to about a half-dozen to a dozen guys living in Ireland, and so far two have replied. One seems like a maybe to meet, and the other sounds like he’d be fun to hang out with. 

SUMR

A few friends of mine said I will have to start a blog for my trip to Ireland. I’ll probably do sporadic posts about preparing for the trip up until I go, then write more frequently once I’m there. By the sounds of things I’ll have to find a different blogging website, because I’m not going to be able to afford to splurge for a paid format blogging site in the next three to four years –traveling is going to be expensive!

I’ve asked my cousin to design a banner for said new website; I can only hope she’ll have the time and capabilities to do it. I don’t have any photoshopping programs that will allow me to put something together myself, not that I’m any good at doing it either. I used to have access to them back when I was in college, but if you’ve seen my book blog banner you know I kinda suck. 

So here is the thing: What should I name this new blog? I have some ideas, but nothing really sounds perfect for my new site. Some suggestions are downright abysmal, but I’ll post some options here for you to check out. If y’all have any better monikers, please do share! 

A Daisy in Dublin
A Daisy in Donegal
A Canadian in Cork
A Canadian in County Clare 
A Belle in Belfast
Sumr’s Swap
Jaike’s Journey
The Journeys of JaiKaies
JK’s Journey
JaimeKristal: A Dream Come True
JaimeKristal: [something about Ireland]
Wanderings and Ponderings

So if you like any, let me know!

SUMR

One of my best friends is @Karoline1982. We didn’t know each other IRL, but became friends through xanga. When she was driving past my hometown a few years ago she stopped by, and we had a great visit. Then I moved to the GTA for school and we hung out all the time! Now she is moving all the way across the country from me –okay, so it isn’t even an entire province away– and that is sad cuz I’ll miss her *sniffle*  I’m also dying to meet @Persiankitty and @Garistotle cuz they’re so fantabulous! *Ooops* And @Brae, I can’t forget her! 

Not only did this girl talk me into exercising more–which I already hate and she loves–but she had also talked me into trying online dating a couple years ago. Neither of us were too impressed with the guys, and I ended up hiding my profile shortly before moving back home. Karo, on the other hand, has recently found an amazing guy (see her page for details) I’m dying to meet because he sounds so perfect for her! And what do you know, but that she found him on an online dating site… 

So now I’m willing to give it another go and reopened my profile on Thursday. I haven’t met any attractive single guys my age who are interested in a relationship in the entire year I’ve been back home, which I thought was because I didn’t go out bar-hopping (but I don’t really want to date a partier anyways). Nope! It is that there really aren’t that many interesting guys in this town  There weren’t too many local boys on the site, but considering the city has less people than my old university had on a daily basis I wasn’t overly surprised by the smaller number. The problem is the options themselves…

If you don’t want to deal with me whine and whinge and go into a very mean rant, you may want to skip this next paragraph: 
Most of the guys had no more education than high school, and maybe it’s a bit snobby of me, but I want someone who has some sort of diploma or degree. I’d also like someone who can tell the difference between their/there/they’re and two/to/too, things everyone should have learned by the time they were seven, but capitalization and punctuation are beyond these guys–never mind using the correct words! Most of the males also have children, and I’m not ready to be a mum… did I mention that my town has a high pregnancy rate for high school and college students? Yeah, basically these guys just couldn’t keep it in their pants. Many had pictures with drinks in hand, as in every single picture had alcoholic beverages firmly grasped; I really wanted to leave messages suggesting they attend an AA meeting. The few that didn’t sound like drunken drop-outs with no understanding of safe sex were prematurely balding, appeared to have bad hygiene, or their profiles sounded like they really should be locked up in padded rooms. 

During break at work Friday, a coworker and I were looking through the locals –and we’re talking within an hour driving distance, I was that desperate– and she had a look of horror on her face the entire time. She then turned to me and said, “Maybe you should check out the guys in Ireland since you’re going there next year”. So we did that until we had to get back to work, and she found one she thought perfect for me: he’s a redheaded English teacher from Dublin. He was cute, so I guess I’ll have to think of something to write! 

I looked at more guys from Ireland after work and emailed a couple with profiles that allowed me to easily come up with something to say. (Yes, I’m one of those people who actually read the profiles to use as a conversation starter.) It is really hard to do a search as I’m not actually sure where I’d be living, plus most want someone to meet in person and I won’t be there for a year. I have also discovered that I have a thing for redheads –two of my bffs have red hair and I think ginger boys are adorable 

Ten guys had emailed me within the first 24 hours. While I will reply to them, as they worked up the nerve to actually write something, there really isn’t a one in the bunch I want to meet in person. I cannot even see myself become friends with some let alone go on a date with any. What is with this place that there are no single guys who are my type? I find myself despairing of ever falling in love *cries* I guess all I can really do is keep praying I’ll eventually find the person meant for me. I keep getting told one of two things: It’s time I got married and had kids, or God has another plan for me and it’s okay to be single. Both suck.

Also, I’d really rather not meet the love of my life online as, hopeless romantic that I am, I want my “meet-cute”. I guess I still have a bit of that preconceived notion men looking for love online must have something horribly wrong with them that they can’t get a date in real life. Yeah, I know, I am online looking to meet people. Shut up. Maybe I should just hang out at the library all day from now on… *sigh*

SUMR

My friends say do it; my family says don’t do it. Weird isn’t it? I always thought it was your family who was supposed to support you and love you unconditionally, but it’s really friends who fill that role. They chose to be with you while your relatives are merely stuck with you. My besties helped me through all the drama that is high school, swooning and crying over boys, helping me apply for uni and again later for college, giving encouragement to get through one more day at the evilness of numerous menial jobs, and now they are the ones who are rooting for my plans… the achievement of reaching my biggest dream. 

Yeah, you’ve probably guessed it by now: Ireland. When I saved the funds to take a two week holiday in Ireland my friends all cheered, while my parents said “Oh” then went back to what they were doing and my brother said “whatever”. Now I have decided I want to take that one step further, do something even better than a mere two weeks on a magical island… I want to live there. 

Okay, so technically it would be a work exchange and can only last up to two years, but it’s a start! Two weeks is not nearly enough time to see all the things I want to see and do all the things I want to do… Two weeks is not long enough to fall desperately in love with some hawtie local with a swoon-worthy lilting accent. (I CAN DREAM CAN’T I?) I’ve been looking into a couple programs that do an exchange, and I’m not sure which one is better. I’m going to give y’all the deets, and I’d really like your input. 

GO INTERNATIONAL

It’s for the UK, which  is anywhere in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland… but I’m not sure if you get a choice of location. Helps you apply for a visa. Welcome pack of information and assistance from partnered organization if any problems.  Guarantees a job and accommodation (usually the same place), you don’t get options and it is usually somewhere rural. If you don’t like the job they find you, then you have to find your own work and housing. 

SWAP

It’s for southern Ireland. Helps you apply for a visa. Gives you a pre-departure kit with information of what you need to do before and after you get to your destination. Have an arrival orientation to meet other exchange people. Has a  hosting centre to help you get started with arranging for working in a foreign country (ie. banking, taxes, etc) and finding a place to live, as well unlimited access to internet and assistance for any problems. Does not provide you with work or accommodation. 

SUMR

As in, mine’s NOT anywhere close to being ab-tastic. I am so short I struggle with my weight… well, that and my love of carbs and chocolate. I have managed to nix much of my junk food consummation over the past few months, but pasta and muffins and such have been my go-to lunches for work. 

I had asked my doctor a couple of times what my idea weight should be for my height, but he said not to worry. Excuse me, but I am worrying. I don’t like the way I look and my genetics tend to various health issues. I wanted to know what I should weigh so I could stay healthy! Then again, my doctor doesn’t seem to care that my dad is a hundred pounds overweight and a heart attack weighting to happen, either. The most advice my dad got was to stop going back for third helpings and eat more salad.

I have done a bit of research, but that was a bit hard given that most online calculators only go from 5-feet tall and up. Hello? There are short people in the world, too! I can’t help the fact my spine didn’t grow straight and am stuck being miniscule! Regardless of this obstacle, I have decided that based on what I’ve figured out online plus my past-weight knowledge, I should to try to loose ten to twenty pounds. 

Now that my work schedule has changed to just four hours every afternoon, I am making a few changes to my life that should make me healthier and thus happier.

First, less frikken microwave dinners! I’m pretty sure they are the main reason I’ve gained over ten pounds in the last year. Okay, my lack of exercise may have been a problem, too. I walk to work every day, but that is only 15 to 20 minutes total. I also try to take the stairs as much as possible, so that rather than using the phone to talk to someone I walk to a person’s desk no matter what floor they are on. But it just isn’t enough to keep my weight down, so I’m going to try to continue improving my eating habits. I’m not eating salad though, I’m not a rabbit or a goat and thus lettuce and celery and other disgusting grass-flavoured things are not even going to be considered.

Second, I’m going to start doing more exercise. @Karoline1982 has a couple challenges on a previous post that I thought were a good idea. Below are the three that I’m going to do every day for the month of June. Or I’ll try to anyways. The plan is to do them each morning after waking up, but that might be difficult on the days I get called in to work extra hours. I suppose I could do them after work, but it wouldn’t be the only think I’m doing… I shall just have to do it anyways, right? I am also thinking of doing two mornings of extra cardio for a half-hour to start. Both my parents go to work early on Tuesdays and Thursday, so I should be able to jump on my mum’s elliptical trainer on those days without worrying about waking someone up. 

Third, I intend to do editing every day rather than just when a due date is coming up. This way I won’t be doing six-hour stints, but rather a couple hours from Monday to Friday before I go into work. I figure this will help me continue waking up at a decent hour every morning –no more sleeping in until noon or later– which will mean I get to bed at a decent hour too. This will help for whenever I’m called in early to work, give me a set time period to work within, and thus be more like a real job. 

So that is my plan. I’m not sure what I should do after the month is up so that I con continue on my daily exercise plan. Can I just do the same challenges over again each month or will I need something different? I understand that when it all gets too easy I should change things up, but how long does that take? Will I be okay doing the three challenges for the summer (three months) or will I need something more difficult before then? Any helpful hints would be appreciated! 

SUMR

Okay, I finally have more time in which to start posting again only to find out that Xanga may be gone in little over a month? That just isn’t right! I’ve been on this site for over ten years: it got me through university, a sucky job at a call centre, going back to school, living in the Big City by myself and the disappointing return home… It’s the story of my life from the moment I left home. Sure, I didn’t act like I was a grown up and still don’t, but that is beside the point

Some of you I have on facebook, others became friends in my real life, and there are still more I hope to meet. If xanga’s sad demise is to be we’ll have to keep in touch another way, so message me if you want to!

*sniffle*

SUMR

Hey lovelies, 

I am finally taking the time to update all that’s been going on in my life since in the past couple months… Okay, so I’m totally procrastinating work I should be doing that is deadly dull. So I believe it was in March that I finally applied for my passport, and what a to-do that was! Thankfully my dad had a lot of vacation time so he could drive me to the nearest passport office. Dad’s work kept saying they couldn’t spare him to take all of his holidays, so he ended up with a good five weeks off. 

Dad and I left way early in the morning–okay, so it was around 9am– and got to the passport office by 11:30am. It wasn’t too busy, maybe 10-20 people in line before me and a good seven people working the desks. I’d say we were in and out of there in about an hour, then headed to a store my dad likes in the next town over. While there I realized that I forgot to ask the passport people a question regarding getting certified copies (which I need for my editing job) and called them on my cell phone. I was told I’d have to come back to the passport office to fill out a request form, so back we went. Once I got to the office and told them what I needed, I was informed that I couldn’t fill out the form until I actually had my passport. Why the heck did they tell me to come back then?!? 

I got my passport a little over a week later. Pretty sweet, huh? Then dad and I went back to that same passport office to deal with my certified copy request. It’s free, so I asked for three: one each for the two forms I have to send out and one for myself to keep on file (which we’re advised to have). It is about the same timeline as for passports to get the copies certified, and I think I got my copies within a couple weeks at most. It’s those dang forms I have to fill out for my editing work that take forever! I sent out my certified copy with the first form shortly after getting them, and it wasn’t until late May that I got the information back to fill out the second form *shakes head*

I did post in April, but I honestly can’t remember much of what happened in that month. I nearly forgot about my dad’s birthday… well, not his birthday exactly, as I know when it is, I merely had my weeks mixed up and thought I still had a week before having to get his present. My mum’s birthday is a month later and I had the same problem. I knew when her birthday was, but all my days were mixed up. 

But the weekend before my mum’s birthday was the church fundraiser. I was going to volunteer for it, but then I thought it was on my mum’s birthday, then I found out I was wrong and it was the weekend prior… but I thought it was on the same day as the Gallery’s new exhibit opening reception, then found out it was the day prior. I managed to go to the fundraiser, which was a 50s-themed dinner with a local comedian and an auction. It was a lot of fun! 

It was around that time that I had a horrible realization: sometimes I get so frikken bored when editing. I love the first round of edits when the manuscript is new and exciting, and it’s kind of like you’re just reading a book but you get to make notes and changes to make it even better. The second round, though, is like reading the same book twice in a row: you already know what happens and now you’re just looking for anything that sucks you had missed the first time. Then comes the copyediting and formatting, which is beyond tedious and I hate doing it. I cannot for the life of my figure out why authors can send out their manuscripts without checking the “show characters” function. You can always tell when an author got stuck and paused for a moment to think, because that is when you see the space bar hit a few times. Well, that or the eejit doesn’t know how to hit the right buttons, but I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I went through five years of school, spent seventy-five thousand dollars (which I thankfully only had to pay three-quarters of, as the government gave me grants and such). Nevertheless, I could have bought a frikken house and car with that kind of money only to discover that I really like being a receptionist… at least for the studio. I’d been an evening receptionist at a dance school and wasn’t overly fond of it due to the daytime receptionist never keeping me in the loop. Here I’m the “head honcho”, and my counterpart Gallery Administrator keeps me up-to-date as I do her.

I think part of my problem with my editing work is that it isn’t in an office. While I love working in my jammies, I get so distracted when I’m at home. I can watch a movie or read a book, and my parents… well, let’s just say I tracked how many times my mum comes in my room. The answer is, on average, my mum bugs me six times per hour. *ARG!*

So a week or two after I make this realization, my boss asks me to have a meeting with him. I was a bit worried as I knew the pub company and the gallery were struggling, and the branding company was being bought by the owner’s daughter, BUT it was also nearing my one year marker as it was only a month away. Yeah, that’s when I was told I was getting laid off. I was told that if I was interested he would hire me on on a per project basis as a freelancer, and I said I would until I found another job. 

At first I was horrified, because it took me six months just to get that part-time job in our sucky economy AND I like my job (usually). Then I realized this was a sign that was I was to to Ireland for a year doing a work-exchange, and I started looking into that. I was getting pretty excited about it, but realized I was short some of the money I’d need for living expenses as I wanted to have a portion of that so I wouldn’t have to worry too much about finding a job right away. I was trying to figure out where I could get a decent job (aka no fast food), especially at the same time that college students are looking for work as well, when the owner’s daughter told me that she’s hiring me back on part-time. 

There won’t be a raise and it’s actually less hours, but I’ll be able to save the money I need in about 4-10 months (depending how much of a cushion I want). I’ll be working four hours in the afternoon Monday through Friday, and if the other company needs me to do some work for them I’d do so in the mornings. Also, the boss-man is having me and the Gallery Administrator looking into “coworking”. I’d never heard of it before, but apparently some companies will rent out desk space per day or per month, and he’s having me looking into that for half the current gallery. The other half of the gallery he is having the GA look into artists renting the space to hold their own shows. 

I haven’t decided what to do about my tentative plans to go to Ireland now that I know I get to keep my job. If I do go for a year, I was thinking about early January to mid-december. I’m not to keen on the idea of not being home for Christmas, but I may decide it was time to do my own thing for the first time ever and stay… especially if I don’t end up going until summer-time. The only thing is that I doubt the company will give me a year off without losing my position, and I am not sure if I want to quit a job I rather like. But then, for all I know, I may hate it after another year as the last couple receptionists quit before finishing a year there. I could still do a two week holiday later this year or sometime next year because I was already told by my new boss that she thinks everyone should get the opportunity to travel. What say y’all? Should I just do a vacation or do the year? 

SUMR

I fully intended to spend much of my Thursday finishing up some editing on a manuscript that is due next week. I thought I might fit some time in this morning before my dentist appointment, but seeing as I forgot the latest draft at work I was not able to. I tried asking the gallery administrator –who takes my place on thursday through saturday– via email, facebook, and text messaging but she seemed to never get around to sending it to me. So after my little trip to the dentist, where upon SEVEN cavities were discovered and one of which may actually require a root canal, I stopped by the office to send myself the dang manuscript. 

I ended up chatting with GA for a couple hours, some of it about work related things and some not, before heading home. Once I arrived at the house and hid myself away in my room, I decided to relax with the novel I was nearly finished before gearing up for some hardcore editing. I did finish my book, but I kept my mind kept wandering to the dream I had before waking. It was a strange dream, one where a group of us were trying to mimic an ancient water burial (kind of a la Anne of Green Gables doing the Lady of Shallot scene) and one guy –a playboy type recently back from a tryst– volunteered to be dead. It was agreed that he could be the floater, but another person had to go with him to witness what happens on the journey. 

I was the one who was sent, following on my dolphin, even though my father had strict rules about what parts of the water I was allowed to swim in. In one place my dream father didn’t want me in a certain area and directed me to a lagoon-type location with glowing water and had land with a white picket fence guarding fruit trees and berry bushes. My dog –which I presume had moments ago had been my dolphin– went into the floating orchard and picked fruits to bring back to me so I could eat too.

Nearby was a hut out on the water, and that is where the “dead” boy had gone to rest for the night. I went over to the hut to join him, as did my dog, but mean kids kept throwing things over the roof that you’d get hit by whenever you tried to leave. We managed to escape because my dog-dolphin distracted the mean ones somehow, and we quietly walk/swam to the lagoon area in which others were not permitted to inhabit. He also ate or else he would truly be dead, then slept on his raft while I slept on another. I had a crush on him though I knew he tended to use girls and then move on, but after going on this excursion with him I was seeing a more softer/vulnerable side to his personality. 

I woke up around then, but the part that stayed with me all day was my pet dog/dolphin. I thought it would be interesting for an animal to shape-shift like that, could shift into a creatures that could take to land, water, or air. Then I tried to figure out what would cause an animal to be able to do that, why would it want to, and what kind of world would it be living in? Thus started the germination of a story. 

At first I was just jotting down a couple point-form notes so I wouldn’t forget, but started looking up some information to verify that my ideas were doable. Then I decided if I was going to jot down so many notes I may as well organize them on my computer and save them as a doc, but instead I ended up just writing the backstory, the prologue as it were. I spent EIGHT hours writing and researching, there are nearly three thousand words depicting this strange world and how it came to be… but I haven’t the slightest idea of the actual plot. 

Oh, and I didn’t get around to doing any editing either *wince*

*   *   *   *   *

Update: I just spent all of today doing further research and writing up the basic background information for how the world in this story works. This background can be used to write any book set there as it has information like laws, education, languages, etc. 

I now have ONE LINE for a plot idea and still no editing got done. I’m going to finish my editing now, I swear!!!

SUMR