A Brief Update

It's Election Day! Get out there and vote, damnit!! :)

I know it's been awhile since I last wrote here, but it's been for good reason. I had a few things to work on that required more attention than a blog. But I'll try to get caught up for as long as my back will hold out.

Let's start with, as Angela likes to say, "Job in 'Job Category'": B&BW has been pretty good so far. I'm not really a fan of their "call in" shifts... basically, I have to call the store an hour before the shift is scheduled to start to find out if I actually need to go in. It just makes it really hard to plan out a day. I did work almost 30 hours in the last pay period though, which I'll receive on Friday, so hopefully things will start floating back into place. We still won't be able to go out to eat or buy frivolous things but we should be able to get groceries! I'm pretty confident that they'll ask me to stay on after the holidays, which would be fine. It'll depend on what happens with school. I did finally start at Old Navy last week, and though all I've done is training I think I'll like it for what it is. The discounts, if we can figure a way I can order my petites online and use my employee card, will be super awesome once I get back on my diet. I have my first actual shift there tomorrow night so it'll be interesting to see how it goes. I was actually hired into the logistics position (5-9 am three days a week) but the sales and training manager really wanted me to work upfront so I'll be doing both... and hopefully will get at least 20 hours a week there. I just hope that both jobs play nice with each other. I gave open availability for three days a week at each place, so they better behave!

We finally got the Subaru back today: when all was said and done, almost $800 later, we had a new fuel pump/filter, new spark plugs, new water pump, new throttle sensor, and new timing belt. It seems to be running fine, but we've been here before and we're just keeping our fingers crossed. Our mechanic (who has been just amazing through this whole process) did tell us that the seals in the engine need to be re-done in the next three months or so (another $400, probably) but that once it is done we'll essentially have a brand new car. In the meantime, we're trying to decide if we want to sell the Beetle. We got our pay-off letter for it today, and we still have about $3800 on our loan. The KBB value for it is about $5300. I don't know if we could sell it before I get a train pass but I'd really like to get rid of the payment and insurance on it every month. I know the Beetle needs new shocks and that I should probably replace them before I sell it, but I really don't think I can afford it. I might just have to knock a few hundred bucks off what I want for it and be done with it.

My application for UC Denver went in last week and I took the GMAT exam yesterday (hence the radio silence for a couple weeks) and I am hopeful things will go well. I got a preliminary score on my GMAT of a 480. It doesn't include the writing scores, but I got 25/37 on my math section and 32/41 on my reading section. The average of applicants at UC Denver is about 550, so hopefully my writing scores will bump me up close to that. My biggest fear is that they won't accept my scores because I took the test on November 1 - the day the application was due. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. If it doesn't pan out now I'll just keep doing the retail thing until summer... which would suck, but it's not in my hands anymore.

I made a doctor's appointment for November 12. As I've mentioned a few times I've been having pretty severe back pain for about two months now. We came to the conclusion that it's a pinched nerve, as I've been having sharp pains down my legs and numb feet as well. I'm hoping my doctor will recommend a chiropractor to do whatever needs to be done to fix this. Pain meds and heating pads haven't been helping. I just hope I can make it another week and a half!

Matt, Angela, and I have been looking for a new place to live. Ideally we want to find a duplex so Matt and I can live on one side and Angela can live on the other, but in our price range and in the areas we want to be I worry that just doesn't exist. Matt and I are pretty fed up with our current condo: the sink drips and leaks despite our best attempts to fix it, the fridge leaks, the neighbors are just awful, and a couple days ago we found out that our microwave is on its way out. Angela's got it worse for sure, but we'd love to find a place to live that we can all share. We also had it out with Comcast, and unfortunately we couldn't switch to Direct TV because we don't have a clear view of their satellites from our patio and the condo complex won't allow rooftop access for it. We did, however, switch to Qwest for our internet and got rid of our home phone line. The gal I talked to from Comcast was really understanding once I told her all the crap we've been through with them so she knocked $15 off our monthly cable bill. Hopefully they won't be so awful to deal with when we only have one service with them!

Ozzie was neutered a couple weeks ago and everything has been fine, other than a little sickness the night he came home. He hasn't had an accident in the house since, so knock on wood, maybe he's on his way to potty-trained! He had a yeast infection in his ear but it should be cleared up by now. He also had a baby tooth pulled... so it was a big day for our little guy!

And that's pretty much all that's happened in the last couple weeks. Nothing terribly exciting, but hopefully on the rise. Just hoping things continue to improve opposed to the rollercoaster we've been on in the last two months. In the meantime I'm going to lay back down on the couch and try to ignore my back pain...