Well... Interview Time!

Today is my call back for UPS. I have to say I am a little bit nervous. I haven't been on a non-educational interview since my first year of teaching ended (other than last week). Last week, I had direction of what to wear. Today, I have NO clue. I think I will wear a nice polo shirt and khakis again. It worked well last week. Wish me luck.

Anyway... yesterday was our "family" gathering to celebrate my birthday. All-in-all, it went well. The only "glitch" in the thing was that my husband's grandmother, being the kind soul that she is, brought lemon cookies and two bite brownies. I only had some of the lemon cookies (and I thought they were great). But, my brother in law wasn't fond of either of the items. Some things got said that made my husband's grandmother sad. I made it a point to tell her how much I liked the lemon cookies.

We also had time to sit down and watch my new favorite movie, Keeping Mum. It is a dark comedy from the Brits. Great movie... but rated R for language and nudity.

I also received three great gifts. I got a copy of Flogging Molly's latest CD from my sister in law, and a cat pillow/picture frame from my niece. Cool, huh? :)

If all goes well, I'll try to blog again when I get home from the interview. Blogcentral OUT!

How'd It Go, Guy Smiley?

To answer the question, the interview went well! I have a call back interview for Monday! I really would like to be offered this job. Why, you may ask, would a teacher with a Masters degree who is starting law school on Sept. 3rd want to be a UPS package handler? One word and one word only can explain it. BENEFITS! Although I will have next to no take home pay (I made more take home pay per week as a newspaper carrier when I was 11), I will have some of the best benefits known to man. Once I have put in my required time, I will get 100% covered health, dental, and vision benefits. On top of that, they will pay 3,000 for my degree A YEAR! And the scholarship starts at the end of my first semester, meaning I could get 1,000 for this semester and each after it. WOOOOHOOO! It also has great hours. UPS also has great partnerships with companies such as Dell, Panasonic Electronics, and Verizon Wireless. Fingers crossed.... wish me luck!

Happy Birthday To Me?

So far, July 17th, 2008 has been a rather uneventful day. For a birthday, so far it really ranks very low on the birthday list. Once again, the C&O Historical Society's convention has hit upon my birthday. So, my parents are absent from being here. The highlight of my day plans is the fact I have an interview at UPS at noon. I just really think this is going to be a really blah day.

*SIDENOTE* I just got called to the phone. My sister in law called me to wish me good luck at the interview and to tell me happy birthday. I feel like this might be a slightly better day because of it.

I have to say, I wish it wasn't my birthday today. I want to be able to smile and be happy today and I have no desire to be happy or celebratory. I'll try to post later and tell people how the interview went.

The Memory Game From Ashli's blog

I stole this from Ashli's blog. She found this one on Kelly's blog and decided she'd play along since it sounded cool...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

The Blogger Catches Up On Vacation Blogging

Has it ever been a busy vacation! We are just getting settled back into the Dayton area after spending several days in Louisville and Columbus. Last weekend (Sunday) brought a really fun family gathering. We had some interesting pictures in which I attempted to get rid of all my unused disposable cameras. *SIDE NOTE* I noticed that all my older (at least 2 years old) gave me better pictures than my NEWER cameras.... what's up with that?!?** It was nice to see everyone... but, we really missed seeing Ashli and her family. Hopefully her children are "on the mend".

All I want to say about Louisville is that we had a good time. We saw some great stuff and did some things I'd always wanted to do... all lead by a born and bred Louisvillian... Louisvillien... person who lived in Louisville. I am equally going to say that our trip to Columbus was a success and that I personally had a good time seeing those people I had not seen in awhile.

Now that we are back in Dayton, I have a couple more things I want to get done. I want to visit one of my favorite restaurants, Elinor's Amber Rose. The Amber Rose is an Eastern European restaurant that specializes in homemade German, Polish, Hungarian, Russian and Italian dishes. I absolutely love their pieroggi and virtinai platter. I also would like to go down to the Cox Arboretum. We have been invited to a "wild" party on Saturday evening and it also looks like we may head down to CityFolk fest in Dayton. I really only have a couple more food requests... but I am really getting sick of fast food... so, I may give up my requests. In an ideal world, I would be able to eat Penn Station subs and W.G. Grinders subs and get in a trip to Ritter's Custard before we leave. Right now, I'd be happy if we hit ONE more before we leave on Tuesday.

Will blog more when we get back to the homestead on Tuesday. Blogmeister OUT!

Snakes In The Road

Stephen came home from work a couple evenings ago with a very sad story, or at least it was in my mind. While Stephen was at work, a local snake decided to cross the shopping center parking lot. Although this does NOT speak highly of said snake's intelligence, I am a snake owner and I realize that they are not usually thinking of anything other than getting out of the hot sunlight, where to find a good sleeping spot, or where their next field mouse is coming from. I highly suspect that REALLY hot pavement is not where this snake really wanted to be. But, back to the story.

Stephen said the snake was somewhere in the parking lot and this person in a car tried to run it over. *GASP* Why would someone do that. He sadly explained the story was about to get worse. The person, who missed the snake with the car on the first run at it, TURNED the car around, and tried again. The person kept going around in circles until they finally ran over the poor snake. End product? A snake that was squished to the point it popped out the eggs that it was carrying. *EGADS*

No matter what we personally think of snakes, my grandfather told me once that we need to be respectful of all things. We were in the Hocking Hills region of Southern Ohio walking near their house. Near the side of the road was a nest of baby copperhead snakes... with the mother about a foot away COMPLETELY dead. The babies were totally adorable (Yes, I know they are poisonous), but my grandfather pointed out, without a parent snake, they were going to die. I felt so sad. How could something so beautiful, so small, just die. My grandfather, wise man that he could be, used this as a teaching moment. He said that all animals have a reason for existing and that no one should just out and out kill an animal because it exists... just to kill it. He explained that, for food, it is okay to kill. He explained that it not okay to set fire to the copperhead nest or run over the copperhead JUST because it is there. And, sometimes we run over animals that dart across the road. He said we can feel bad... but that accidents happen. Burning out a snake nest is not an accident. He went on to explain that, although poisonous, Copperheads have a reason for being. They eat mice, frogs and toads, insects (like. cicadas), caterpillars, and salamanders. They do not transmit diseases to humans. Although they are pit vipers, they are normally non-aggressive. Their greatest threat to survival? Although eaten by hawks and King snakes, the human being is their greatest threat to survival. We destroy their habitats. And, 9 times out of 10, the Copperhead doesn't strike the target. It just wants people to go away and leave them alone. It is more like a "go away" greeting.

Anyways, I always remembered those baby snakes. I secretly suspect my grandfather went back and killed the babies in a mercy killing type fashion. But, I don't think he did it to kill to just kill. The person in the parking lot may have been petrified by snakes. But, this snake was likely not poisonous. There was NO need to circle multiple times to try to hit the snake. This is the same kind of person who would be mortified hearing on the news that someone had hit a dog and run away. As a snake owner, I understand the fear that people have concerning snakes. GROWN adults have seen my snake and screamed like children in fear that it could get out (it is in a rather large LOCKED cage). Very unlikely. He isn't slimy or gross. He doesn't want to hurt anyone and is more curious about where his next meal is coming from than bothering you. He serves a purpose. The snake in the parking lot served a purpose (and not as road kill). Those unborn eggs may have served a purpose. But, this experience has left me feeling sad that other people can be so callous about life. Maybe more people need to realize, even if we don't like the animal, it probably has some good. Walk away, don't look back. Let it live to do its thing!

Correction: The Columbus Welshes Confirmed

My apologies to my cousin Ashli. My mother had given me the message that NO one representing the Worthington Clements' had confirmed their attendance to the get together. Now I know Ashli HAS confirmed. We look forward to seeing her on the 29th!