And Life Takes Another Weird Turn
It's been more than a year since I updated this. In the "Reader's Digest Condensed" version:
The relationship didn't work out and I am, once again single (See more about that below)
I changed jobs...to a better one with better pay
I moved to the bigger house next door to where I was living (good thing too)
My eldest, Garion moved "back home" (wait for it.....)
Garion's girlfriend, Tessa, moved home with him (wait for it......)
They are having a baby
Elaena is due on Groundhog's day. SOrry, I guess I should say that Elaena Lee is due on Groundhog'd day. Yes, her name is a big deal to me. Elaena is Garion's idea of a unique spelling of Elena, which just so happens to be my middle name. Lee just so happens to be my mother's first name. The kids named their daughter after my mother and me. I still get a little teary-eyed when I say that out loud (or in a blog that I know people actually read). So, for those of you waiting for the "grand-parents update," there it is. I know. little out of order, but I'm excited about my first grandchild being born.
OK, back to the order I listed.....
The relationship didn't work out. Part of it was me. Since I am face blind (can't tell one person from another by face, even though I CAN recognize a face and all of its parts) Couple that with his own brand of social awkwardness, and it just wasn't going to work out. I have trust issues because I never REALLY know I'm with the person I think I am, and he was a teen-ager trapped in an adult's body who had only ever had 1 other girlfriend and NO ability to empathize with other people when they have any emotion other than shiny and happy. We were supposed to have ended things as adults, but that didn't happen either. He actually threw not 1, not 2 but 3 temper tantrums, in public, about how I was "an ungrateful bitch," trying to get MY friends to side with him, while I said NOTHING about the breakup to ANYONE for 6 months, and even when I talked to my best friend about it, I said very little. That is something he corroborated to my ex-boyfriend when said ex-boyfriend trying to badger what "must have gossiped to my best friend about the breakup." Ok, rant over.
I was let go from the job I started in December of 2012 for "insubordination," for asking what to replace documentation with in an employee write-up to keep the write-up legal. So, I filed a suit with the EEOC who investigated and has determined that the REAL reason I was let go was that the HR director didn't like the fact that a minority, especially a disabled one, was questioning her on HR matters. So, that lawsuit is is slowly winding its way through the legal system. Low and behold, it isn't the first discrimination suit filed against them (more like the 20th) and they don't have mush of a record of winning those suits.
So, I was on maximum unemployment for about 90 days. In those 90 days, I flooded the internet with resumes and applications. It paid off. I landed a position with a MAJOR auditing firm as a business analyst. I've been there since May. It's a contractor position with a 2 year term limit, but a lot can happen in 2 years. And since it is through an agency, and I have a fantastic recruiter, when it comes time to start looking for the next contract, I am confident that he will be on top of it. OK, so there is the job thing.
With the better job and better pay came a better home. As I mentioned, it worked out to be a great thing because the kids ended up here with me. Garion's father had a hard time with the whole grandchild thing. He's come around now, but, as always, when the fit hits the shan, the kids always come back to momma, and momma always manages to make it work. Well, that took care of the change in houses AND the kids moving home.
And we are back to the baby on the way thing.
OK. I guess that is everything for the "update" post. Where I am going to go with this blog from here, I have no idea, but I'll think of something. Somehow, I typically manage to do that.
OH! Cookie Monster (formerly known as Monster) had an eventful year this past year.
He "protected" me from a raccoon at the old office, then an opossum that wandered into the yard. Those have been 2 of the, to date, 3 times that he actually got the memo that he is supposed to be a "badass pit bull." The rest of the time, I think he thinks he is a *beep* tzu...or a cat.
We went on a dolphin watching cruise for our birthday last year. He got to go on a boat for the first time. When we pulled away from the dock, he freaked out a little bit, but held it together. When we landed on a barrier island for shell hunting, he went nuts romping in the tidal pools, even though our birthday is November 30th and it was a cold and windy day. Good thing I brought towels with us, just in case.
On Christmas, we went to my parents' for the day. He hadn't been there before. My dad isn't much of an animal person. But, with the kids coming with me and no boyfriend's parents to puppysit, there was no other choice but to bring Cookie Monster with us. Well, the furkid won my dad over in a big way and "is welcome to come visit his grandparents ANY time he wants to," so says my dad. The 2 of them sit together in front of the tv, and my dad sneaks Cookie Monster snacks. Dad feeds him under the table at dinner too, but Cookie Monster plays it cool and doesn't bed. Hell! He doesn't have to beg, and he knows it!!
Cookie Monster LOVES going to work at the ne job. The company has been VERY accepting and accommodating of him, even spotlighting him an the company newsletter as a piece of employee diversity. The Tampa branch of my company is the only branch that "has a service dog in residence," and they are very proud of that. They spoil him in the cafeteria by adding bacon to my tray once a week - usually on Friday. The Security staff greet him at the door with a "good morning" scratch every morning. The IT guys keep milkbones behind the counter for when we drop by to check out an accessory or have something done to my laptop. The mailroom guys bring him treats when they deliver ANYTHING to the floor we work on. HR drops by once every couple of weeks to make sure Cookie and I are doing ok, usually with a treat for Cookie. The fire warden on our floor sits on the other side of the cabinets from us and brings Cookie a treat every now and then, and stops at our desk to give him a "good morning" pet. So do the coworkers who sit around us. And once everyone says hello to Cookie, he settles down in front of the window we sit by and looks out over the lake below us. He loves the office. They treat him like a rock star there.
Easter sunday was a bad day. The new tenants who moved into the place I used to rent had a pit bull that wasn't well trained, wasn't well socialized and was known to be male dog aggressive. Easter Sunday, that dog broke through the chainlink fence and attacked Cookie. We pulled them apart, but in the process, Cookie broke his left upper canine. It didn't have to be removed. But his face was pretty well cut up and swollen, not cut up bad enough to need stitches, thank God, but Cookie ended up on antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and pain killers for 10 days. Since then, he has decided that he prefers the company of small dogs and cats. When the kids moved in, they brought their 2 cats with them. Inside of a week, it was common to see the cats and Cookie all sleeping on a bed in one of the bedrooms....usually mine.
And here we are, 11 days from our birthday. We are going to my parents' for dinner on our day, with the kids. Dinner with my family was my birthday request.
OK, that about wraps up the update post. Wow. That was more than I thought it would be, but a lot can happen in a year.
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