Answers and Updates

In no particular order:

ARR! Update

My first day at Anonymous Regional Retailer (ARR!) wasn't bad, but my second day was better. I was too wound up about starting a new job to get much sleep Sunday night, and I've never had a first day on any job in which I wasn't a bit stressed and nervous. Everyone was wonderful, though. I was encouraged by other factors as well, from the similarity of the accounting software to what I've used before, to my job title and the fact that I have an office instead of one of the cubicles.

Last night I went to bed a bit earlier, but kept waking up, at one point having dreamed that I woke up at 11 AM, two hours late for work! In reality I awoke for the last time of the morning at 7:53 AM, just before the alarm went off, and made it to work a few minutes early. I got my computer log-in, worked with someone one learning one major accounting process and getting an introduction to another, and was able to do a little actual work in addition to watching other people and asking questions. My new boss took me out to lunch and then took me around to the business office, where I got to meet one of the company's founders. Carly, you may be interested to know there there are a few ARR! stores near you, though of course that's not what they're really called.

At the end of the day I organized some notes my predecessor(s) left behind about a variety of procedures, and tomorrow I'll be typing up some of the handwritten ones, as much to learn what they say as to get the info in one place and one readable format. Then I'll get more hands-on training. One thing I will need to overcome is my shyness; part of my job involves making the rounds and chatting with co-workers, getting a handle on what people are doing, learning their names and all that good stuff. I'll manage it, I'm sure, but it will require more effort and spunk on my part than anything else. Still, so far, so good!

Oh, and I think I've found a faster route for the painfully slow drive across town, after three days of experimenting.

Cavities Can Wait

My dental appointment last Thursday (the 23rd) revealed two small cavities, so I made an appointment to have them filled on Wednesday the 29th, before the First Magnus health plans were scheduled to run out. Then on Friday the 24th, the Arizona Daily Star reported that on Thursday, FMFC canceled its health insurance policy. The company had previously stated that the insurance "should" be good to the end of the month, but the article seemed to say otherwise. Rather than take a chance on being stuck with the entire bill, I canceled the appointment for the 29th. Heck, I can live with a few cavities for a while. I just feel sorry for the ex-FMFC employees that still have no job, no $2,000 check (which was only for Southern AZ employees) and now no health insurance. For people with more serious medical issues, this is a disaster. They can't even get COBRA coverage now.

About a Dog


ColleenG asks,

Hi Karen,
Fell across your blog last night(midnight in Aus), interesting, I have to ask, why does Tuffy have a blueish tongue? Is she part Chow Chow or had she just been eating something that coloured her tongue when the photo was taken?

Yes, the vet's office and Tuffy's trainer have both said that she's part Chow, mostly on the basis of that tongue, but also because of her personality. Sorry to say, she's not the friendliest dog in the world. I doubt that the average Chow is as afraid of strangers (and anyone outside the family, really) as Tuffy is, but I gather that the breed isn't big on instantly making friends with everyone they meet. Still, she's a good little dog and we love her.

The Kindness of Bloggers

My good friend Carly was recently awarded a "Kindness Matters" award by Suzanne R, and generously passed on the honor to a number of excellent bloggers and, well, me. Thanks, Carly! I'm not really very good about passing these things on (just ask Pat and Bea), but I'd like to add my hearty endorsement of all the blogs Carly mentions, plus the one's I've linked to in this paragraph. Carly has been going through a rough summer, having recently been diagnosed as diabetic, but she's hanging in there. She has also posted some truly amazing photos recently, especially a series of shots of the moon on the night of an eclipse. (Heck, I didn't even know an eclipse was coming!) Good stuff!

Looking for the End

I'm on Chapter 12 out of 11 in my edit of Another Mâvarin, and pretty much spent the whole evening tonight fussing with that chapter and the ones around it. Aside from tweaking and some minor continuity stuff, I'm mostly trying to select a chapter capable of at least pretending to be the end of a book. Chapter 11 wasn't so much a reasonable stopping point in the overall saga as it was a series of cliffhangers involving a number of major characters. I have hopes that 12, as I get through it, will resolve things enough that I can revise it to give the reader a semblance of closure before Return to Mâvarin, the third volume in my saga-disguised-as a trilogy, throws my characters back into crisis mode.

And now to bed.

Karen