MORE BIKE RIDING AND SHOPPING

Last weekend Tom and I went on our longest bike ride so far - 33 miles.  We were back on the Iron Horse Trail for most of it, but rode from out from our house to the trail on the streets.  I am getting much more comfortable with riding with cars.


Killer Tree Balls of Death

At a couple of points Tom had me riding in front of him because I was wearing dark colors and he felt he was more visible in traffic.  He reminded me that the lead rider is supposed to point out road hazards.  So I was pointing out the sights - like poppies, graffiti and dachshunds in addition to potholes and "killer tree balls" which, fortunately are falling in fewer numbers in the past weeks (hit those things with your bike tire and be prepared for a fall.)

Then I got a call Saturday afternoon about a job I applied for.  Had a nice phone interview and was scheduled for an interview - hurrah.  So, of course, I had to go shopping for an interview outfit. I headed over to JCP, coupon in hand.




Aren't these cute?



I told Tom I would only be out a short while.  I got there and had pulled about 10 things to try on from the plus size department and they were all too big.  So I had to start over, figure out where to go and start pulling things to try on all over again. 

Tom thought this was hilarious when I explained why it took so long.  I know I am much smaller but I guess I am still plus size in my mind. I actually bought a pair of pants in a size 14!  Strangely enough, another similar pair by the same designer fit me in size 16.  So I really had to try 2 sizes of everything and made several trips in and out of the dressing rooms. 



Sheer with a Cami underneath - goes with 2 pairs of pants I own.

 

I managed to buy 5 tops and 3 bottoms for about $125.00 - all of them in the Liz Claiborne department.  I wore a lot of her clothes back in my college days - just love that the designer who has taken over the line, Isaac Mizrahi, is still doing such great, colorful and classic clothes.

Now I just have to figure out which outfit to wear for my interview today!

PS - The interveiw went really well - I should hear by Friday...

ANOTHER INTERVIEW

After my near miss encounter with the jaywalker the other day, I came down with a cold.  Karma?  I think not.  Rather the trip to the mall for school clothes, surrounded by hoards of people.  I need to start carrying that anti-bacterial stuff with me...

Anyway, I was laid low all week and weekend.  I watched  a great deal of some TV and felt very sorry for myself and ate pasta for the first time is many months.  I recovered enough to enjoy the first hour or so of the Emmy Awards last night and today I am up and in business casual dress for yet another job interview.  Business casual means I am not wearing pantyhose as another job seeking blogger mentioned the other day (hear anything Jen?) 

I am not sure why I applied for this job - I certainly never thought I would get a call.  Maybe that should be my new strategy?  It is a part-time position on the weekend in an Animal Emergency Center.  I like that it is 20 hours a week in 2 days, I like that it is on the weekend so I could still work with my sister during the week.  I know I could be calm and cool dealing with the situations I would encounter (both the people and the animal ones) and all in all I just thought - well, it is not ideal, but I could make some money.

It isn't like we do much of anything on the weekend.  On the other hand, if I am never available, we certainly never will do anything much!  I am a bit concerned about spoiling it for doing things with Ally - again, few and far between...

I have not discussed it with my husband because I suspect he will not understand or approve my thinking and at this point - why bother since I have yet to be offered a job.  So I am going in to see how it goes.  Nothing gained, nothing lost.

I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN

My sister Polly and I have decided on a name for our new company.  I have registered our domain name, started designing our website and blog.  I signed up for an e-mail account.  We are deciding on fonts and colors and styles.  I am writing, writing, writing for brochures, website, price lists.  We are planning how to organize our inventory.  We have been interviewing people in the field to learn more for our marketing plan.  We are very excited and jazzed up about our new venture!

And what happened?  Out of the blue I got an e-mail from a company to come in for a job interview.  I had a great conversation with the HR woman a couple of months ago, but my test scores didn't qualify me for the position they were filling at that time and she kept my resume...

A job interview is not a job offer, as I well know.  Tom, however, is expecting me to go after this job opportunity because it comes with full benefits.  Considering that I just paid $365 for a filling for Ally (she needs another filling done and I have been putting it off because, well, no dental insurance for the past 7 years...)  I can't say as I blame him for his insistence.

So, I finally have something I am excited about doing  AND I must go into an interview tomorrow afternoon and be convincing that I want to become an Insurance Verification Specialist.  Friends out there in blogland, please send out your positive thoughts.

One way or the other would be fine.