Laid off...

The company I work for agreed to let me take the afternoons to go to school. I was working 6am to noon and then some evenings from 3pm to 6pm or so. Then work slowed a bit and there was no more afternoon/evening work. That was fine, I was stretching myself to thin with work and school anyway. Then yesterday I was given the option on moving to another department full-time or being laid-off. Since I'm not quitting school (and I have classes all week in the afternoons), I got laid off from my job yesterday. At first I was a little upset, but then I realized I really didn't like the job anyway and now I can concentrate on school for a while.

Valentine's Day...

Card and a box of candy...$20.00
Dinner for two at Ruth's Chris steakhouse...$150.00
Two tickets to the Greensboro Symphony and a special song dedication...$350.00

Seeing the dress come off to reveal sexy black lace stockings and matching undies..... PRICELESS!! :-)

Is 42 too old to change careers?

For those of you who do not know me, I have worked in the furniture production field and I worked as a computer programmer for several years. I have had good success in both, but have never really found my niche. Recently I decided to finish school and get my Masters Degree.

I'll spare you the details, but it seems that very few of my past educational credits will transfer so I'm basically starting over. No big deal, I've forgotten a lot of stuff and I enjoy school, so it's all good. (Do the kids still say things like that?:-)). Well, I've always thought of teaching and I enjoy subjects such as math/science/astronomy that have limited career options. (How many ads for astronomers do YOU see in the want ads?)

I also want to see the world (which was one reason I joined the Navy in 1983). I've been looking into TESL (Teach English as a Second Language) programs for a while now. Foreign countries hire qualified teachers to teach English to all grades (from elementary to university) and they pay you well for it. Well being relative of course, you'll make good money for the are you are living in. This would be the best of both worlds. You spend as long as you want (6 months, 2 years, whatever) living and working in a foreign country. You get to EXPERIENCE a place not just see it.

Anyway, to make a long story even longer, I've decided to change my major to Elementary Education. I feel like this will give me plenty of options for the future. Worse case I get stuck teaching here in central NC and that wouldn't be so bad would it. ;-)

Went to visit Miranda and Sam...

Joy, Landon, Jessica and I went to visit Miranda and Sam today in Raleigh. We had a good time eating lunch at a small grill/cafe and walking around at Best Buy. It was a fun day.

Smells...

It was very cold and raining when I left work Friday morning around 10am. The company is installing a new conveyor system in the assembly area and the plant was basically closed except for a few people coming in to catch up on their backlog of daily chores. As I opened the door and stepped out I took a deep breath (I love cold weather). I was immediatley taken back to a moment in my childhood when I was visiting relatives in the moutains of Kentucky.
I could smell the homecooked (any very artery clogging) fried meat and eggs cooking. We were getting ready for a big country breakfast including eggs, gravy, biscuits, various fried meats, etc.
Suddenly I stopped and thought, "Where did that (memory) come from?"
It took me a few seconds, but I realized that the frigid air carried smells from the mutiple fast-food resturants nearby still cooking and serving breakfast. I was amazed how that smell has taken me back in an instant to a memory I would not how thought of otherwise.

The human mind is an amazing piece of work. (Yes work, not happenstance, but I'll save that for another post.)