OK, so I didn’t get selected for the 2010 cohort for the MSU Accelerated Nursing Program. There’s a long story that goes with that, it comes down to “they don’t do interviews, they DO go strictly on GPA”. And my 1981 GPA of 3.14 (hey, pi is very appropriate for a Mathematician, don’t you think?) just wasn’t good enough; however, the complication is that MTU at that time did not use the x.5 modifier on the GPAs - it was strictly 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, etc. You could be carrying an 89% and your grade would still be 3.0 (whereas nowadays it would be 3.5).

So, anyway, I’m working on getting lined up with the Windiana China Concert Tour kicking off in mid-June. Hopefully my passport renewal occurs quickly and I get it back in record time… (they did cash my check for the renewal fee just this morning).

And in other info, Valdemort has started posting in her blog again - she’s got fascinating geological stuff that she finds or experiences, and posts. Go visit (you’ll have to go back a few pages to get caught up…her photos from her Curacao trip are AMAZING!!) at http://petrifiedlava.blogspot.com/

An anniversary that is not forgotten… Love to Mom & Dad…

Trash & recycling have been to the curb over over an hour as I write this. Breakfast is but a memory. The last of the press of coffee is residing in the bottom 1/2 inch of my mug. There’s snow outside, dogs on either side of me (well, one under my right elbow, the other is on top of the back of couch to my left).

It is VERY weird not having a job to go to… as much as I have bitched (with good reason) about the G.M. of the place I worked at, it was kind of nice to have someplace to go and people to interact with. I do not have a “social life” here in GB… it’s just the way things have worked out. Places I have worked had people commuting from all over SE Michigan, so no one was in a position to get together after work or socialize on weekends, because we were spread so far apart. And because of my own commutes, I wasn’t in the neighborhood during the “social times” (if they even existed) when getting to know folks would have been possible.

Yet in odd ways, I do have “roots” of a sort here. Now I’m one of the long-time residents of the ‘hood (going on 26 years), something I never had dreamed could happen. I’ve been involved with the school district off and on since Val started kindergarten back in 1991 with the PTO & classroom volunteering through to my current stint with the Educational Foundation. I am also a member of one of the community bands, and have been their “webmaster” since the Fall. I’m even recognized as a long-time customer at my favorite family-owned grocery store!

So… yesterday I stressed-out. Yup. The wait for the response to my app for the College of Nursing plus having been laid off plus all the “happy Valentine’s Day” crap on the social networks finally got to me. However, I did “chat” online with a good friend for a bit, and that really helped; fortunately, my VERY GRUMPY period yesterday was VERY short-lived, in large part thanks to having a friend I *could* chat with. Not the same as yakking over a cuppa coffee, but it still worked. Thank you, Friend!

Yup, it’s official. I’m for-real laid off (again), as of the time I clocked out this evening.

So, what happens Monday? Welllll, after I sign up (again) for Unemployment, I’m meeting a couple of folks from The Company for lunch! I must be crazy (while I do not agree with The Company’s politics - or at least those of the local office, I did make some good friends during my time there) - or not.

Anyhow, using MY OWN PERSONAL Mac, I’ve created a pile of Procedures for their Quality System, created several templates, and then made a CD copy of everything I created (sigh, couldn’t do a bloody thing on that Company-provided technological abortion known as a “Thin Client” and that software & network disaster known as “Windows Server”). The whole problem is, there’s been no time to TRAIN anyone in how to USE or MAINTAIN what I’ve created! It would be easy if folks in general were literate in a few simple “tricks” of Microsoft Word and Powerpoint, but sadly, that is not the case here. As much as I love the folks I work with, I was aghast to find that all the original procedures & work instructions were created in Excel (and ALL CAPS)….. the Tech Writer in me took that as Opportunity and dove in and actually had some fun finding common steps that would become boilerplate in the template, setting up “picture placeholders” with “dummy captions” that would be simple to replace with real photos, then going out, hunting down all the equipment and photographing each item for the new procedures. When the person I was understudying saw what I’d created, she got really excited! Apparently, it was not *just* what she’d imagined, but BETTER! w00t! Too bad that all this came together in my last 3 days this week (I’d been working on these 35+ documents since - oh - January 11?)… and when she showed them to the Boss, his reaction was a sort of “oh, ok.” That’s all. He didn’t even acknowledge anything to me! *poof*

Quickie update:

School: Still going to school (one class, 2x/week, “Microbiology”). Nice excuse to take Nook out for bagels every so often!

Work: As of Monday 1/25/2010, I was informed that the branch is doing poorly (again) and that I am to be laid off (again) - unless business does a magical turn-around - this Friday is my last day of employment (for now). Don’t worry about me, I’m in good shape to get thru the next 18+ months of schooling (think positive: I don’t hear about acceptance for another 2-3 weeks…). If I need to fill time, I can always pretend to be a “home remodeler” and get this place cleared out and spiffed up!!

Dogs: Ernie & Alfred are still chugging along! They get me out for walks almost every day and see to it their Cookie Quota is always met. Alfred is also VERY insistent upon a regular bedtime (usually coincident with “not long after the sun sets”), which helps me to get up early (~5AM-ish) every morning.

Music: Still with the FSWE; we have the Red Cedar Festival coming up on Feb 27 (Okemos High School) and a pre-Festival concert tentatively scheduled with the Mt. Morris HS band on Feb 23.

GBEF: Still meeting on the 2nd Tues of odd-numbered months. Still doing mini-grants to help with the “extras” for education. Probably one of the most-efficiently-run groups I have been associated with, and a good & intelligent group of people.

Because I feel so helpless right now that I don’t have the “tools” to dive in and help In Person, I did a little digging and discovered that Doctors Without Borders’s facilities in Haiti have been destroyed. Since DWB is one organization that I not only believe in, but would seriously consider becoming a part of when I do earn my BSN (and get some experience under my belt), I chose to send them a donation. Use the following link to do the same, if you so choose:

Nook & I were discussing some variety of “stuff” today on our trip to Meijer (for a DIFFERENT variety of “stuff”)… amongst all that was how “House” is about an amazing diagnostician who resembles - in some respects - Sherlock Holmes (think addiction, incredible ability to associate apparently disconnected characteristics to create a result, etc) - and recalling that the individual that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the character of Sherlock Holmes was … get this … a physician who was an amazing diagnostician!!

As part of the whole story of the original personality, my understanding is that the physician upon whom Holmes was based was upset that Conan’s character was created as a detective, not as a physician… weird how that “palindrome” [of sorts - physician to detective back to physician] took, what, over a century to be completed???

Info about Nook’s upcoming Study Abroad (Summer 2010)

I’m smiling all over right now… Nook got her Official Notification of ACCEPTANCE to next summer’s Study Abroad for Forensic Anthropology in London… as in ENGLAND!!!

This is really exciting, as she will be living there for nearly 2 months, taking classes, and getting experience with Forensic Anthropological field work (including - if I remember correctly - a trip to Scotland Yard!… wonder if Interpol might show up in the itinerary, too?). Man… a lot of my favorite “cosies” (i.e., murder mysteries set in Great Britain) involve Scotland Yard (remember Sherlock Holmes’ Scotland Yard contact, Inspector Lestrade, probably the most-recognized, at least?? Along with about a bazillion others, familiar and otherwise!).

So… that raises an interesting conundrum for me: if I get accepted into the Accelerated Nursing Program, I’ll be in school at the time that Janet’s heading to the UK and won’t be able to visit; if I don’t, I’ll go over for a short period! I’ll play it by ear for now

Regardless, Nook has the opportunity of a lifetime for an experience not for the timid! *bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce*

I have to laugh - I have been AT BEST a very sporadic blogger of late… I discovered on my post just before this one (it was my equivalent of a “Groundhog Day” post: stick head out of that hole in the ground and see if the sun is out!) that a friend/former coworker’s spouse tagged me with the “Honest Scrap” award!!!

So, let me properly thank Candice at Wolfs on Safari for passing this award on to me. Candice, her husband Joel and their son Graham are on “TDY” (temporary duty yonder) in South Africa… well, OK, Graham has spent most of his life in S. Africa, so I guess Mom & Dad are TDY and Graham is in his “home country” ; they started this blog as a way to maintain contact with all the folks they’ve met during their respective professional lives prior to this assignment! What an adventure they are having!!

Rules go along with this award: Thank the person who gave you the award and link to their blog. Share 10 honest things about yourself. Present this award to others whose blogs you find brilliant in design or content.

Oh heck… guess I’ll pass it on to the following Honestly Scrappy Bloggers:

Agate Gal
Escapades of an Obsessed Runner
Petrified Lava
The Mouse Nest
Margaret and Helen

Now for “10 Honest Things About Myself”

1. Yes, my dogs frustrate me at times, and I’m sure there are times I frustrate them. But I love them dearly and they are the most loyal and loving non-human beings that I could hope for.
2. Having been laid off from work for 6.5 months gave me the opportunity to redesign my life; having been called back to work after that period of time has definitely convinced me that my intended “redesign” is the right way to go.
3. I’ve been a bad girl lately… have barely cracked a textbook for nearly 2 weeks. And I have a Pathophysiology exam on Thursday.
4. I am VERY proud of my two daughters - I know you know that! The fact that they are both in science-heavy fields of study and are not hesitating to try new ventures or work hard is something that I just about burst my buttons over! One’s waiting for official notification of acceptance to Study Abroad for Forensic Anthropology in London next summer, the other is looking at converting her current M.Sci. program to a Ph.D. program in Geology. Frankly, I love learning about what THEY are learning!
5. I am SO glad that neither of my parents insisted on “normal” dinnertime conversations while I was growing up. I learned so much about the medical terminology and about surgical procedures during meals - and that is coming in pretty handy with my current classes. Guess getting “grossed out” by medical conversations doesn’t run in my family - LOL!
6. I love my Honda CR-V. Apparently for all the right reasons, too. While waiting for its oil to be changed, I was “interviewed” by the new store manager at my local dealership (he/his family had previously owned & run GM dealerships until recently) about what I thought about my car (along with related questions); turns out he’s heard very similar stories from others. I was very interested to hear him say that he has seen in one day more people working on laptops in the Honda dealership (while waiting for their cars to be serviced) than he’d seen at the Chevy dealership in one year. Different clientele, that’s for sure!
7. One of my goals is to get out of Grand Blanc eventually. Why? Well, the entire country knows about Michigan’s economy - and most of that issue feels like it is centered in this county. I have things to complete first and eventually get this house ready to sell. If I can swing it, I would love to be in the UP - heck, they’ve been dealing with being the “red-headed stepchild” in the eyes of the State Legislature for decades, so whatever is going on up there has them in better economic position than the entire SE portion of the LP! IMHO, of course!
8. I hate doing housework. There’s always something more interesting & constructive & intellectually stimulating to do than to do dishes or laundry or vacuum or wash floors. I still get around to doing those chores, but I have to twist my own arm to do them. I MUCH prefer mowing the lawn, fighting with the weed-whacker, clearing the driveway of snow, washing the car, walking the dogs, etc.
9. I do enjoy cooking & baking. Just, when there’s just me and the dogs, I don’t do it. Like, why heat the oven to cook a one-portion-sized piece of something? Or how to re-proportion recipes so that I’m not facing the leftovers for a whole week? (If I freeze leftovers, I tend to forget that I’ve done that and they languish until frostbitten!) …and home-baked goods just get stale before they’re consumed…
10. I’m trying to figure out how I’ve managed to acquire a “green thumb”… used to be I could not keep a houseplant alive for anything! Now? I have a dieffenbachia that I’ve had to split into 3 pots; a “Peace Lily” that is now in 2 pots; a sort-of tree-like plant that I had to re-pot (larger); 2 vining (trailing?) plants that I’ve nicknamed “Rapunzel I & II” and have had to cut back drastically. Even have a dwarf sago palm that is getting bigger…. Two orchids; a bromeliad; and a “mother-in-law’s tongue” plant that is shooting toward the ceiling! Most of these plants did come from my late hubby’s memorial, so I do have some incentive to keep them going….