Voted off the Island

So I just completed a series of hoop jumping. And not just any hoop jumping but hoops on fire!

It sounded like a nice job. A part time office clerk at a school. 10 months out of the year so summers off. Two locations one less than a mile from my home and the other less than 3. Sounds ideal right?

So I apply figuring I had a snowflake chance in hell and I got email invited to come on down and take a test. So I go. 100 multiple choice guess test. It was a thinker and not easy. At the test, I was told 411 people had applied. 66 were invited to take the test and probably about 50 had showed up. From the test they will be cutting the number down and those making it will get to interview with an oral panel. Oh yipee. So I take the test AND I get an email congrats you made the cut with a score of 93 come on down for the oral panel interview along with 11 other people. The interview was with 3 people from the school district. It went well. And from the 12 there would be 4 that got to interview with the principals for the two job positions. AND I got called. Congrats come on down, you get to interview with the principals. Both at the same time. AND you are ranked 2nd!

Sounds all good but, I didn't get the job. I think the ranking was a bogus and it really should have been we will be narrowing it down to four candidates because really a principal has time to interview more than that?

And here is where our crazy reasoning comes in. The something better is coming. It wasn't meant to be. And all the scenarios. They probably had an in house person and you out scored them.

Sure all these could be true.

But, the truth is someone had to be voted off the island. Well, two of us got voted off the island.


So now I have the choice of feeling a bit beat up and my confidence being bruised and feeling shaky.

OR...damn I beat 411 people to the final round.


And what did I learn? I need to have more confidence in my computer skills. So I need to break down and buy freaking microsoft office 2010. Blast it. And work with it and build my confidence back up. Shit maybe even take a class or two. I've worked with word and excel for years. Years but trying to tell someone about it I found a bit like trying to tell someone you can drive. Well, yes there's a steering wheel you turn and a gas peddle to make it go and a brake to make it stop. Yes I know how to drive.

In my brain you can teach a monkey office software but you can't teach a monkey people skills. So I think I sold my people skills hard and not enough office skills but, there we are back at crazy reasoning.

Someone had to get voted off the island.

Never Snowplow

I can not take credit for today's blog fodder. No this I stole from a dear friend's face book post.

This is life in a minute and forty-nine seconds.

It truly does represent the good, the bad and the ugly.

Facing something new?

Facing a new challenge?

Facing each new day?

Goes like this:




And this is our life. It is scary and exciting and full of the unknown.

I think the best piece of advice....


NEVER SNOWPLOW.

Here I GO!

What Must They Think

Why do they put themselves into those metal boxes
And race on rubber wheels
On asphalt trails
With their eyes on the destination
And not on the journey
They fear death
Yet peril is at every turn

And why is the apple
Provided freely
Taken and heated
Mashed
Placed into a jar
To be bartered?
When the apple has been provided
Freely
With no more effort than to pluck it from the tree

And why
When we provided the sun
Moon
Stars
Daylight and night
Do they measure by the blink of an eye
The passing of time

The natural wonders we placed
For all
Yet they barter these sights too

We gave them each other
For companionship
Yet granted and often hated
Has been the result

Oh, what must they think?

Communication, Where did I fail?

I tried. I swear to GOD I tried to forge an open, honest, safe place for my son to communicate with me. I feel we have that. And THEN I feel I shouldn't have even bothered with the effort!!

DMV saga continued today with a trip to the eye doc. Son was due for an exam so full exam it was. BUT the doc looked over the form from the DMV and said "he can see better than what the DMV says." Okay. So he should have been able to pass the eye test at the DMV.

Then we take the form and head on over to the DMV to turn it in. The DMV dude says "your doctor gave him a new prescription, so when are you going to fill it because it really should be filled first." So I start talking about the slight change in the prescription and how the doc said he should have been able to pass the eye exam so I'm not sure what is going on.

So the guy has my son put his head in the box again and try to look. Of course his eyes are still dilated and he says "I can't see because my eyes are dilated." The DMV guy gives in and gives him his permit but tells me that when he does the behind the wheel test, they will test his eyes again and if he fails then he will have to take a behind the wheel test every 2 years and you don't want to have to do that so make sure he comes with his new glasses. AND the doc form is only good for 6 months. His permit is good for a year. BUT if he doesn't take the behind the wheel in six months we have to have the doc fill out another form. Whatever. If he is not ready in six months, I'll take him back to the eye doc. BUT I don't want him to have to take the behind the wheel every two years!

So I ask the guy what does the chart test? He says that at 20/20, and the box? Oh he can set that at 20/40-20/100.

So this all leaves me with WTF? Because at the docs with his old glasses on he could see 20/60 with the bad eye.

Out we walk and I have my son sit down on a bench and I say "what's up? you should have been able to pass the last time. What are you seeing in the box?"

And the kid NOW says "well mom there is this divider in the box that is between your eyes and the left side is blank and the right side has the data I'm suppose to see but my brain turns off my right eye and tries to use my left when I use them together so my left eye is trying to look to the right but that thing is there blocking, so all the letters look cut in half." And if you know my son, then you know he said it just like that without taking a breath and no punctuation.

Jesus H CHRIST close your left eye!

Well, I was afraid they would yell at me.

They can't see you, your head is in a box!!!

At the eye doc, he covers each eye. Sigh.

BUT does the kid tell me this after the first trip to the DMV? NO. I have to dig it out of him.

AND does it get better. Yes, yes it does. So I'm doing green smoothies and I ordered a book from BnN and my son has the membership. It's under his name. So I order the book under his name for free shipping and discount.

The feeble aging mind realizes it's been over a week since I ordered the book. Where the Hell is it? This afternoon I say in general to the household. "Hey, my book should have come by now. Anyone see a package around here?" My dad says "oh, oh a package came for Chris a few days ago." And then my son pipes in with "Yeah, Grandpa gave me this package and it's a book on green smoothies and I thought oh God mom is trying to get me to drink green smoothies so I tossed it in my room."

THAT'S MY BOOK!!!

I've been drinking green smoothies. The kid knows I've been drinking green smoothies. A book comes about making green smoothies and he thinks I'm trying.....yeah.

I wish I was Spock and could do a mind meld but, I probably wouldn't survive.

The mind meld would probably go something like this, including the painful Red Lobster commercial.