February 15, 2006

Alive and Well

Waterfall one of over 100 on the road to Hana Maui

I am alive and well and in the land of the living. There is a lot of stuff going on right now and I may go under the radar for a bit.

First, the surgery has been put off for a week. I need my eyes this weekend to study for an exam for the people that provide the call agents for Home Shopping Network. If I can pass the 10 training courses and the final exam, I have a guaranteed place in the call center pool. For now it will be evenings nights, and weekends but eventually I can get as many hours as I want, and it pays pretty well. The best part is you do it from home.

So its study study study. I passed the first four modules, by the skin of my teeth and have until the 21st to get the rest done. Miss this deadline or fail any of the 10 training modules or the final test and I lose the opportunity. Its a distinct possibility, this is not easy in the least. I thought that the system at my job was complex, but this is the MOST complex computer matrix I have ever worked with. You just call and order stuff when you see it on the tv show. The agents get data as you provide it so that they have all of the answers for you fully intuitive and interactive. Fantastic...However its like mental Marine Corps boot camp to get where I need to be. This is how they weed out candidates. Out of 100,000 apllicants garnered by the MSN story last week they are down to around 1000, and everyday as people bomb out of the classes, more are weeded out. But its a great opportunity and I want to grab at it and see how things go.

We are up and running at the store and having sales. Soooo nice and I feel really good about that. We hope to bring in more lines and have a bigger selection of items as time goes on. The 100percent Kona coffee is a big hit. I can see the need comming for a bit of expansion of the lines as people are asking for different things

I interviewed for a new position here at my job, with so many people gunning for it I doubt that I will get it. My team has become a looney bin of high strung nervous individuals looking for ways to fill up time and look occupied. I am one of the few that sees this as dangerous, as I have been in situations like this before and layoffs are the result. Life is tough and the bottom line is the final arbiter of ones destiny.

But HSN will be a fine consolation prize and I am ok with that. Woody dithered around but finally admitted that he wants a "place to go" so I encouraged him to get on with looking and see what he comes up with. Its sort of like he wants direction. I am wondering if he is developing a mental disease. like alzheimers or something. He is so slow on the basis I find it so hard to forgive him and be paitent with him. I can see myself slapping him he makes me so crazy, and that scares me. And yet, Like he and I discussed, the stress I have been under distorts reality. Woody feels that I dont understand the true position of my life that I have all that I need and shouldnt be thrashing about mentally. I cant help the way I am and I find it all exasperating

But yesterday he came home jubulent. The local big shot car dealer has built a tiny three dealership at Stateline MO, two miles from my house. This area , just inside Missouri stateline is a local mecca as Benton County, on the Arkansas side, is a dry county so there are a lot of full line liquior dealers and WalMart built a huge store right there that is the only full line grocery and dry goods store within 25 miles. We do most of our shopping there.

To celebrate the job and Valentines day, the cut flowers went by the by and Woody came home the his present of choice, jewelry. Very cute braclet with flowers made of gemstones. Will try to take a photo of it and put it on the blog. These flowers will never wilt.

But no fancy dinner. I was so caught up in Home Shopping Training and all, that I didnt care so it was IHOP and breakfast... my favorite and it was all very good...Its good to be alive and well...