Power of Prayer

Recently our blogging community has come together in an overwhelming show of love and support for some of our own who are injured and hurting. I'm much overdue in this post, but better late than never, right? I know that these wonderful people are still in great need of prayers.

NieNie is an amazing Mommy Blogger who I did not have the privilege to read prior to the accident which claimed the life of her husband's flight instructor and left Nie and her darling husband Christian in the hospital. I have been simply amazed at the support and care the blog world is pouring out for them. Nie's sister, CJane has been a rallying point, keeping us updated as she and her husband care for 3 or Nie's 4 beautiful children (the fourth is with her sister Lucy) and help raise money and get prayers for her sister and brother-in-law. I am further amazed by the simple love shared across religions and cultures without regard to any disagreements between anyone, because those differences simply don't matter. Nie and Christian need prayers, not arguing. And that is exactly what they have been getting.

I found Scott & Carol Decker through a post by CJane. My heart broke as I read about their situation and the things which Carol is enduring and fighting. Even as her family struggles, CJane used her influence to point us in Scott & Carol's direction, bringing even more people together to offer prayers and support. I was brought to tears by Scott's recent post about the total money raised, and how he believed that Carol's medical expenses would be covered. What a beautiful community we have.

It is breathtaking to me how so many people from so many diverse backgrounds and life experiences can come together in a time of need with prayers, love, support and generosity. Reading these blogs and seeing the outpouring of human care and devotion has truly touched my heart. If only everyone all over the world could join together in such a display of human beauty, what a wonderful place this world would be.

Interview Day

So I have an interview today. Did I mention that I'd applied for one of our open desktop tech positions? Yeah. I did the phone interview with my boss' boss (who would be my boss) last Thursday, and did the technical test that evening with The Manager. I know I did really well on the practical simulation, the written was okay. But from what I gather, most people don't usually get all of it 100% right. So that's good, right?

So. Interview. I meet with my boss, my boss' boss and several of the current desktop techs at 10:45 for a first interview. Then I meet with the three reps from the School of Business...the Business School desktop tech is the position I'm currently interviewing for. (there are three open positions...and from what I can tell from various little things, I'm fairly sure that the boss' boss really wants me for one of the positions) After that I meet with the boss' boss' boss. (yeah, confusing, I know...you should hear me explain it on the phone) But I'm not too worried about that...she really likes me. Everyone in my department really likes me...our CIO likes me (he invited me out to dinner with him and the bf the other day, but I had too much studying/practicing to do for my conducting class...he said we'd do it another time)

So, yeah. Interview. I'm excited and nervous. The bf and I went to Kohl's last night because I wanted to buy a long sleeved black button down top. I ended up with a long sleeved black button down top AND a pair of nice, dark gray pants. The bf paid for part of it, which was super sweet. Because even though the pants WERE on sale, they were still a good $50 and I wouldn't have bought them...and he knew it. I also opened a Kohl's account and got 30% off, which was nice. I have to go back and finish paying that off. They only take cash or checks to pay off accounts like that. I used the cash the bf gave me, and then will have to swing by later this week next time I'm down there.

So I've got a cute new outfit, I'm going to wear my black ballet flats. I'm excited, and slightly nervous. I'm going to have my benefits either way (they just switched me to benefits, I'm so excited!) And if I get a desktop position, I get a raise. So it's kind of win-win no matter what happens. I'll update again after the interview(s), but right now I've got to get to work.

Surprise Visit

It never fails to amaze me how one person can make you feel so happy, just by seeing them. How running into someone you haven't seen in a long, long time can just make the world seem so much brighter, even when it's already shiny to begin with. I went to get a glass of water and happened to look out the front glass doors, and who should be out there talking to one of our techs, but my old boss. Our old boss, because the tech she was talking to was a student lead here when I started back my sophomore year. Kay was absolutely wonderful, I was so sad when she decided to leave to go back to school. Kay was just a wonderful person and a great boss. She truly cared about all of us student employees, and she is just a genuinely nice person. It was wonderful to see her and talk for a few minutes. Turns out she's starting part time work in another office near mine, so I can go visit her sometimes just across the hall. I'm so excited.
I was having a good, if busy day before I saw her. But I just feel so much lighter and happier, shinier, since I got to see her. :) Some people just do that to me. I love running into people I really like who I haven't seen in a while. Always makes the day brighter.

California Girls

So clearly I have work to do when it comes to blogging. I can't manage to keep up with it. And it's not like I don't have the time, at least at work I do. Sure I answer the phones and troubleshoot and occasionally remote into computers to fix things, but the majority of my day is spent playing on the internet. I should blog early in the morning when things are quiet, before the day really gets into full swing. I really need to stop overthinking. Honestly, blogging would be a much better use of my time than playing random games on Facebook or some equally silly website. Since I am so overdue, and have some fun pictures to share, I've decided to do a couple posts to canvas the past few weeks since I last wrote. Life has been crazy, keeping me plenty busy-I swear I'm hardly ever home. I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning, waking up without an alarm and having a nice day to myself in my new apartment...first ever! Don't get me wrong, I've LOVED having visitors the past two weeks, but it is nice to have some uninterrupted quiet time all to yourself. I plan to work on my cousin's birthday present. I'm driving up with a couple friends for her birthday dinner tomorrow.
Speaking of my cousin, the last time I posted was just before her visit, which was AMAZING! We had SUCH a great weekend, we both really needed the relax time. The weekend was full of laughs and stories, gossiping and just being cousins. We hit the beach (and both got lovely pink sunburns), visited the Farmer's Market, flirted with firemen (oh yes, they overheard us from INSIDE the car as we drove by), shared wine, did our nails, and watched plenty of chick-flicky movies. It was sad when she had to leave, but the weekend was SO amazing.
The picture is of my feet. We took a walk to show her my wonderful little neighborhood, starting off with the little park about three blocks away. We both LOVE the swings, so, since there were no kids playing on them at the time, we took the opportunity to let our inner five-year-olds out and went for a swing. I love swinging, second only to horseback riding...neither of which I get to do very often. But my little brothers are coming to visit me at the beginning of May, I'm planning to take them to the park while they're here. Should be fun.
I'll add photo stats later, since I'm off work now and have to go run errands with the boy. Yes, there is a new boy...very new, but a long time coming. Haha, there will be more about him later.

Photo specs: (bottom)
~taken March 29, 2008
~setting: auto, no flash