7 Days That Have Made My Weak...

OK…so it’s LATE on Thursday afternoon and I should be down the street at the kids’ school getting Kaylin enrolled. They start on Monday…nothing like Jodi waiting until the LAST MINUTE to do something, huh?

But I’m not. I’ll go in the morning. I was at my Mom’s earlier and her dog (Kasey’s sister, Madison) head butted my sore jaw and now my tooth’s aching all over again. So I am officially OFF for the afternoon- Ralph be damned, you’d use that an excuse, too, so I don’t wanna hear it.

Oh – by the way – this is that FABULOUS blog I’ve been promising you all.

So – lemme back up a little and say this last week has been DA BOMB!!!! :o)

The week started out a little slow around the 23rd and 24th of July, but then it was birthday and wedding anniversary BONANZA in mi familia over the 25th & 26th (There are FIVE people in my life that celebrate one or the other on 7/25…I think a few of your parents liked to have Halloween Nookie!). That was fun & memorable. Took my Mom & Dad to a new steakhouse out here by my house that is really kewl. They liked it too. Of course my horrible, awful, bratty children didn’t behave very well – but what else is new? I love them to death, but they drive me CRAY-ZAY!

So anyhow – I got THREE new Avon customers via my web store last week, too! A couple of them seem to be that “It’s ALL About Me” kind of women (so, hey, I CAN relate!) but that’s cool – with those kind of people, you just stroke their egos, give them tons of samples and sit back and wait for the money to roll in – my Mom is THAT kind of customer. So I am happy that after 9 MONTHS, my little Avon business is taking off somewhat. I mean really – it looks like there’s a chance I will be in The Black come income tax time! Woot! ;-)

And then also on Thursday the 26th I got THE BEST news of all (timpani drum roll please…) :

** MY FINANCIAL AID FOR COLLEGE CAME THROUGH! **

[Jodi does “Happy Dance” here] Aw yeah – go Jodi – it’s for college – go Jodi…

So – I’ve got to get all my ducks lined up in a row this month – letters to write, phone calls to make, appointments with counselors and for placement tests…it’s been 12 years since I was in college. It’s time. I want to get the little degree out of the way and then move onto bigger and better things. I just hope that I can make it this time – failure haunts me. Like my Mom said, “They don’t call it a “B.S.” degree for nothin’!” If you need a translation on that joke, just let me know. Anyhow – I am psyched about going back. I plan on going full time this semester just to see if I can graduate by December. It’s a possibility, since I am all full of ambition & motivation – and coffee – right now. I will keep everyone posted. I at least hope some of you out there are cheering for me.

So, moving along to the 27th – last Friday. I had a JOB INTERVIEW at the NEW hotel opening soon! (For those of you who know this – it’s the SAME hotel Ralph is going to work for next week that I’ve been talking about all summer…) The franchisee that owns the hotel I USED to work at is also the owners of the new one. It’s a Marriott. It’s GORGEOUS. I would love to LIVE there. Anyhow – I met with the assistant manager, had a nice chat, took a tour of some finished areas and all seemed well. I signed a couple of papers while I was there and everything was looking up! :-D

I floated through the weekend like a plastic shopping sack on a breeze! The only thing that really made me itch was my oldest daughter’s room – it was in pigsty condition. Man. It was BAD. Seriously. I thought I was doing a better job raising that child, but now I question myself. Ralph LITERALLY had to REMOVE the bed from the room in order for me to scrub paint off the walls, cut silly-putty and play-doh out of the carpet and then shampoo said carpet. It took both days. And I have warned that child that if I EVER find that room in that condition again – it’s boarding school for her. Oh who are we kidding – we couldn’t AFFORD boarding school, but we can afford to remove every toy that kid has in her room, the TV, the DVD player, the radio, etc., etc.. Of course my bark is 100 times worse than my bite…I’m more flexible than Ralph with the parenting thing, but I think she got the message. So now BOTH children have spotless rooms to start the school year off with! Yay. Maybe someday Mom can work on her OWN bedroom???

Then Monday comes. Oh Monday – destroyer of everything good. I get the call I’d been waiting for: The General Manager (GM) of the hotel, calling to offer me a position! How impressed they were with my interview, with my skills and my level of professionalism. Please go take your drug test – we want you here RIGHT NOW! It all sounded so good. I accepted. Take that Fat & Ham! In your fat faces! Too bad I will still have to see you and your minion fink (who snitched me with the My Space thing in the first place) at company functions where both hotel staffs will gather!

Apparently I go too smug too soon. (:-/

About an hour later, the GM calls back and sounds very distressed. She tells me that she has to rescind the offer she’d just made me because I have been BLACKLISTED by the home office as “Not Rehire-able.” >:-O Believe me, my chin hit the floor so fast I think I gave myself whiplash! She said she didn’t know why, but that I could call them and find out why.

I haven’t yet. I am not sure if I want to know? I am pretty sure I know, and the fact that one of my former co-workers heard Ham on the phone the other day giving what he thought was a negative job reference about me confirms what I think is true. No wonder I haven’t received any phone calls on all of the applications & resumes I’ve submitted to places! Jesus, people – let’s just give it a rest, huh? Water under the bridge – let bygones be bygones, et cetera.

The GM DID say this to me: “I just don’t know why SOME PEOPLE are being SO PETTY about what happened? I wish I had an answer for you, Jodi.” If that’s not semi-confirmation, I don’t know what is?

So screw ‘em all. I’ll just collect my unemployment and go to school. I have worked HARD over the last 5 years. I deserve to take a little time for ME now. I’ve had to give up a lot of FUN things because I only get a fraction in UI benefits of what I was making in wages, but we’re not destitute by any means. We’re making it OK – even if we are beyond any kind of family assistance. I’m a survivor and I can be VERY resourceful when I have to be. Ralph always said, “MacGyver ain’t got NOTHIN’ on you, Honey!”

Damned straight. >;-)

I don’t need no stinking hotel job… not working for THOSE KIND of people.

So – that’s what kind of week I’ve had. Sometimes up, sometimes down, but ALWAYS unpredictable! Story of my life…I wouldn’t KNOW how to do it any other way!?? :p

Thanks for reading! :o)