A "here-comes-fall" type of entry

When I last updated it was to explain how studying for a pharmacy technician certification test was eating all of my spare time, as it should have. I passed the test in April, got my license and registration taken care of in May and by June I was officially a Certified Pharmacy Tech. I even got a new badge (and photo!) with the updated title.

I had so much free time and it would seem what I missed more than anything was reading, because I started doing it again with a gusto. Between May and now, early September, I finished The Magician King (second in the Magicians trilogy), My Side of The Mountain (a recommendation from Brian), Angelfall and When She Woke (a couple books sitting on my Kindle for a while), The Incredible Journey and even two comics: X-Men Season One and Wonder Woman: The Contest. I also started but did not finish Storm Front, the second novel of the Dresden Files. In mid- to late-July I started A Game of Thrones after meaning to for months, if not years. I'm about a hundred pages from finishing it finally and I'm enjoying it so much I've already ordered the next two books of the series from www.thriftbooks.com, where they were only about $4 each and shipping was free with an order over $10.

Aside of the Dresden Files book, I'm actually enjoying what I'm reading again. When She Woke is probably one of the most feminist things I've ever read and while I don't read to be preached at (I get more than enough of that on Facebook), it did give me several thoughts to chew on mentally, which I liked a lot. Angelfall was somewhat different than a lot of the young adult lit I read in its premise; yes, it was another dystopian novel, but the apocalypse was brought on by angels, so it's not a "man destroys himself" storyline again. The story lost me on the romance aspect though. I hate reading romance and shoehorning it into storylines for what should be a very good adventure series. It makes everything predictable and is one of my biggest pet peeves in YA (or any other) literature.

The Magicians trilogy has stayed kind of flat for me, so I haven't made any plans to read the final installment, though the TV series was very good from what I saw. The side-story of The Magician King, in which we find out what the main character's best friend had been up to after he left her to go to Brakebills in the first book, completely overshadowed the primary story line to me. Julia's journey was so much more intriguing than whatever Quintin was complaining about this time, so I feel the book failed its readers in this regard. The last novel seems to be following whiny Quintin yet again, so I'm not interested in seeing what happens anymore.

Now that I'm all caught up with the Game of Thrones television series, I'm even more happy to have started the Song of Ice and Fire book series. They are hefty stories and I don't think I'd have as easy a time comprehending them if I hadn't seen the show and already had some idea of the relationships between characters. So far, A Game of Thrones has been very much like the first season of the show, with a few differences here and there, so I'm looking forward to how the written story progresses from what I've seen in the TV series. Tyrion is as sarcastic as ever, so at least there's that.

Brian and I also had the idea to take steps to start the process of revamping our master bathroom. We bought a vanity on sale about a month ago (it has drawers!) and decided a paint color and bought a couple gallons last week, along with some hole repair supplies. Really all we have left to do is decide what type of flooring we want and acquire it. Neither of us have ever done a full remodel like this and we are anticipating the entire project, once we actually get started on taking things apart, to take a couple of months of time. But we are trying to buy the materials we need as we can afford them with the idea of not rushing into it and not going into debt doing so. It's a very small room though, so probably a good idea to start with to see how the process will actually go when we decide to re-do something else, like the bedroom or living room.

I will miss this one particular paint blob though. It kind of looks like a thoughtful cow...

I never got into actually gardening this year, aside of buying a $2 clearance mint plant on a whim at HEB. We started the process of building a flower bed out front sometime in May or June, but it was just too freaking hot to finish. Though we went and spent $200 on a tiller that has yet to leave the garage, we are going to try to hit it again once things cool off. Hopefully around the same time we will be able to spread some weed and seed on the lawn for fall too. I'll be damned if I let these stupid weeds - parthenium hysterophorus - take over EVERYTHING again. Geez they were relentless...

Also looking forward, we had a break in the heat last week! It's only getting into the 80s for highs lately and in Texas, that's good enough to start acting like it's finally fall. No sweaters yet, but I'm planning to set aside a day, probably in late October or early November, to focus on baking some of the pretty fall treats I pin to my Pinterest boards every year but never make. It worked well last Christmastime when I said "this day I am going to bake cookies," and it was fun, so I want to do it again in the fall. Pumpkin is obviously the favorite for fall flavors now, but I really like cinnamon and gingerbread, to an extent, so I want to play with those on my grand day of baking.

Fall also means Ren Fest is coming up. According to a video shared on Facebook, the fairgrounds were not horribly damaged by Harvey, so there's no good reason to expect the festival to be delayed. I have grand plans for a costume this year. Like, real plans: I've pinned and priced a few pieces from a costume site that is relatively affordable with great reviews, so here's hoping not to be rocking just the hat this year, but a full on outfit - and maybe persona?

And so there's a small "hello" and look into what's been going on lately. It doesn't include everything (I'm sure you were all here to hear about our trip to Oklahoma last month, my dabbles in Pilates or how much Supernatural we've been watching), but I missed the blogging experience and just wanted to get back to it again.

Here's a picture of Inky and I to send you off with:

And from the shadows of the interwebs...

Oh hot damn, I'm back.

Where the heck has Audrey been in the last six months? Well, busy.

The biggest task was a move. Yes, we packed up the house in Temple and moved to Killeen. By the time we got the Temple house fixed up and (finally) on the market, it was available a whole two days and saw two prospective buyers before someone decided they wanted it. A few more repairs and a month-ish later (late December) it was sold.

Obviously that takes a bit of time. Then we were sans internet for about two months while we got settled in. The water and electricity still has to be transferred to our names, but, you know, priorities.

I've also been reading a lot more thanks to getting into this Goodreads website. There are so many books on my "to-read" shelf now I don't think I'll really ever make a dent, but the yearly reading challenges give me a reason to try.

Something about a goal other people can see makes a great driving factor. I even surpassed my 2016 goal of 10 books!

I've also been studying for my pharmacy tech certification in both the downtime at work and on free evenings at home. We've been given access to an online course through our employer, and now that we have internet at home I should be able to run through it pretty quickly to hit my spring goal of taking the test.

Now that we're in January (aka pre-spring in Texas with the sun and allergies I've been seeing), I've been thinking about this year's gardening endeavors. With a new yard that gets quite a bit more sun than the last one, I'm thinking real seriously about having a strictly herbal focus this year. My basil from last year is still alive, but not enjoying the alternating winter-summer thing we've had lately, but the hardware stores already have their herbs for sale now, including some fennel I saw yesterday that I've never seen before.

So that's kind of where I've been and where I am now. I need to go shower before class, but hopefully this won't be the last update for another six months.

Attempting something new

It's finally happened. The result of dissatisfaction in customer service and not using my degree and professional experience to work for me has led to creating a profile on a ghostwriting job site.

I did a little reading before setting up the profile. Ghostwriting is obviously not the place to go for public recognition of ability and isn't steady work for a newcomer. But I miss writing. Lack of blog posts aside, there's a creative buildup in me that Pinterest, reading and cooking haven't been able to alleviate. I want to create something again. My first attempt at NaNoWriMo was a gigantic flop, I admit, but it did make me realize how much I miss creating stories or informing people through the written word.

There is also a secondary reason for pursuing the ghostwriting opportunity. The amount of money that goes from my earnings into paying off debt has begun to bother me. Several websites suggest securing a second income and devoting all earnings toward paying off debt. If I can start getting gigs writing things for other people, it would be a nice way to start really chipping away at student loan or other debts.

So while I wait for my profile to be reviewed, I'm browsing the job posts, seeing what might be easy to break into, while visions of creative bliss and freed-up income dance in my head. Goodnight!

NaNoWriMo -- I have not been writing

I have not been writing, despite the zest I had two weeks ago to hit 20,000 words by the end of the month. Is it really that surprising though?

It's so easy for life to get in the way. To let life get in the way. Brian has been sick. I got a little sick. I'm in the middle of becoming a full-fledged employee at the pharmacy instead of a contract worker. I'm thinking about the upcoming holidays. We went to Ren Faire this weekend with friends. Yeah, it's easy to let things get in the way.

I did get a pretty sweet hat there though.

Someone I knew in college maintains a blog I've started to creep follow and is trying to accomplish a post-something-every-day challenge this month. I'm starting to wonder if she had the better idea. Prompts are much easier to follow for me than some open-ended "write something" challenge.

It's not that I'm completely devoid of ideas, I just don't have any that are cohesive or I feel the need to ramble on about for thousands of words. Or I feel like there's just so much to say, I'm too intimidated to start on them. For example, I've toyed with the idea of writing a major dissertation on where I feel I am in studying aikido; my strengths, weaknesses, goals, roadblocks, etc. It would fill a lot of space, yes, but would require me to make outlines and rough drafts and possibly publish in parts, and I just don't feel that engaged with the idea yet.

I also thought of doing a reflection on this year's attempt at gardening - yeah, the one I wrote so many blogs about then kind of stopped mentioning? Most everything died. I got two red bell peppers that were smaller than golf balls. I wonder if it needed the magnesium I saw about half a dozen articles suggest. My tomato plants shriveled (except the one random one I planted in the box that decided it wanted to be ground-cover but never make fruit; it's still green and happy out there). Rabbits ate two attempts at radishes. The third, container-attempt have had something chew on them, but in fairness have maintained foliage for a couple months. The herb tower dried up. The basil still looks all right, but I don't know if it will survive the winter. Aaaannnd... that's about it.

In regards to the hat above, it was the first step in my goal of building a costume for Ren Faire. Brian and I both agreed that we've been going for so many years, it was time to start dressing up. He can't decide between being a musketeer or going with a steampunk idea. I was bouncing between a pretty standard wench costume and a pirate. Finding this hat though kind of cemented the pirate idea. The rest of the costume exists perfectly in my head, I just need to find the other pieces in the real world.

Anyway, the point of that was that I also thought of writing out a complete character sketch for the pirate I wanted to be. If you're going to dress up, you might as well adopt a persona as well, right? I even started writing about her during a break in my new employee orientation today. The bones of a backstory with the barest traces of fleshing out.

Every time I try to write an actual story though all my inspiration peters out within a couple paragraphs. It's not that I don't intend to write much, I just can't seem to stretch it out. Blame the three years of journalism?

I suppose I have managed to write more, even if nothing is related. And I think about writing more now, but it's coupled with the frustration of "Why can't I think of more to write about??" Baby steps, I guess.

If I have learned one thing it was that I shouldn't even try to drink decaf coffee in the evening. I tried that first night I wrote something and I could NOT fall asleep. Sticking with tea or alcohol in the evening, methinks. Maybe this quote will spur my next writing venture:

Hemingway apparently didn't say this, but I'm willing to give it a shot (har) anyway.

Word Count: 713
Total Word Count: 4,722

Sometimes things get too quiet

Looks like it had been too long since something shook up life for Audrey and Brian, so fate decided we needed two extra dogs, a parrot and eventually another person in the house.

Sunday we heard that Brian's friend/ex-stepmother had fallen from a tree and broken her back. While checking on her in the hospital, she was concerned about her animals (four dogs hers, three foster dogs and a parrot). Collaborating with her rescue friends, we got everyone into temporary homes. Brian and I took the parrot, one boxer and one jack russell terrier, the dogs that our dog would not have a problem with.

I was able to adjust okay the first couple days to keeping three mouths and a beak fed -- though that last one did require a battle of wills -- but after three days I realized I needed to make sure I took care of myself too. I took a night to not drive to Moody or Killeen and just relax and I felt a lot better this morning.

Oddly, relaxing is all they've done this morning too.

My eventual-mother-in-law (by-default) had surgery a couple days ago and is doing well and will be coming to live with us when she is discharged. Our house is closer to the hospital and will not leave her living alone while trying to recover, so it makes sense to have her here. I'm not antsy about it; she's awesome and I'd love to help her out, even if she would rather do it on her own. I just don't know what all I will be expected to do. Transport to therapy? Cook every night? Tie her to the couch to make sure she doesn't hurt herself trying to do too much? All are possibilities.

But other than that excitement, things are still okay here. The bell peppers are growing a total of two peppers, and I made a last-ditch effort at radishes in a pot, which look to be doing well. Most everything else has died though. Sometimes I wonder why I put in so much effort in the spring and early summer when I get almost no results, then I remember how much I enjoy the process and keep on daydreaming about next year.

I've also been thinking a bit about future career paths and am wondering how to start teaching myself graphic design. What I've researched makes me think I can do it if I can get past the technology challenge. The best idea seems to be trying it out as a hobby first, then attempting some freelance if I like it enough. If I don't, well, at least I've learned something new.

But I need to really get off and try to get some tasks accomplished today. I want to visit the hospital, get the transition lenses for Brian and go to the grocery store. Though staying here surrounded by sleeping dogs, Pandora and Pinterest also sounds like a good plan...

Quick and dirty check-in

Hi there. I know nobody is probably checking this blog for updates, but I realize I haven't posted in almost a month and wanted to do so. I don't have a lot of time, so this will be picture-free.

My Facebook friends are aware that not long after I put a slew of seeds and sprouts in my garden, they were devoured by fiends unknown. Most likely rabbits, but I'm suspecting certain bugs and squishy things outside also played a small part. "Devastating" is only slightly too strong a word. I cried a little. All that work, gone in just a few days. With it being so late in the season, I'd almost resigned myself to buying some plants at Home Depot to replace them, but decided to give the pumpkin seeds another shot. My rationale now is to get the sprouts to be big enough that a few nibbled leaves won't destroy everything. There are two of them pushing up on the porch now.

I haven't replanted the radishes and a few spinach sprouts seem to have survived. The shallots haven't been touched and -- the most relieving point for me -- I hadn't put the bell peppers in the ground yet. I still have four of them, currently sitting on the surface of the dirt in a large houseplant's pot that I left outside for some reason. It's on the porch and kind of high off the ground, so the only thing knocking them over is the strong wind from all the freaking rain we've been getting.

Seriously, more than two weeks almost straight of rain we've had. When did I move to the Pacific Northwest?

Anyway, the lack of sunlight also killed the sunflower sprout from the seed kit my mom gave me for Christmas. The zinnias, likewise, didn't survive the transplanting. Either I watered them too much in their bags or they were too shocked from the move to the pot. I just don't have luck with gifted plants it seems.

However, I was gifted some other seeds after furry demons ate my garden. A good friend in Dallas saw my post and sent me a whole set of Miracle-Gro seed pods. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, herbs, watermelons, a really nice assortment. It still feels too late in the year to be messing with seeds, but I have put one each of spinach, basil and green bean pods into some dirt to see how they do. The beans already have a sprout, and I put them in the dirt on Saturday(?). I will probably hold on to the rest until next year, when I can get them started ahead of time. Yay for pre-preparedness! (In case I didn't say it enough, Thank You, Korri!)

So, I've lowered the expectations of, but not quite given up on, my horticulture daydreams. If I ever find time with my new full-time schedule, I do intend on buying some established plants, but I'd really like to wait for the sun to come back. The rain is nice and oh-so-needed, don't get me wrong, but I can't keep things alive on moisture alone.

In other news, Brian and I have fallen off the push up challenge wagon. We are both working full-time now (horray!), but it quickly took a backseat to us figuring out how to schedule dinner when he gets home after 5 p.m. and I'm not there until almost 8:00 p.m. But with two full-time incomes, we managed to get me a new car last week! Now we are both mobile!

Ok, I lied. One picture. I'm squinting because it was one of those weird "overcast-but-bright" days.

 

Hopefully soon I can find time to update with more photos, but I didn't want the silence to unnerve anyone. I'm just busy with life at the moment. :-)

Reflecting on my 20s thus far

Not long ago I read this Buzzfeed article titled "17 Things Twentysomethings Need to Chill Out About." If you've read any number of posts in this blog not related to my plants, you know that the last couple of years I have struggled in the job realm. Those difficulties and the secondary ones that stem from joblessness and job searching and wondering what in the heck I want to do with my life made this listicle hit really close to home. I wanted to reflect on some items in the list today.

1. You didn’t study the right thing at university.

Is it bad that I was wondering if I was on the right path by my sophomore year of college? I remember starting my very first newswriting class and having a hell of a time getting interested in it. I struggled with the vague directions and made-up news assignments. But by Newswriting II, I kind of enjoyed it. The class required us to pick a campus beat and find stories from it to turn in. This made it interesting, as I chose the College of Fine Arts (where my next choice of major probably would have fallen, had I decided to change).

I think now about returning to school to start over, but I'm not sure what to study. Design and hospitality cross my mind a lot, but I fear getting burnt out in these industries as easily as I did the reporting one. 

2. Your uni[versity] experience wasn’t as fun as everyone else’s.

I do regret not taking some of the chances I was offered in college. Traveling, studying random subjects, getting involved with different groups, even going to more parties. I was actually to a happy point of being able to stay up late and hold my liquor fairly well before I graduated. Two months into the working world and my habit of staying up past midnight every night was gone. I drink far less now, so my tolerance is also significantly lower. It's all to be expected, I'm aware, but I do miss being the age where it was expected to make terrible decisions (and share the resulting stories).

3. You have absolutely no idea what you want to do with your life. and 4. You don't have your dream job.

This is a topic I've blogged about before. I am 26. I was a reporter in the "real world" for about two and a half years (maybe a little longer if you count my internship), and the impression of experiences were not always enjoyable. I did like parts of it, and I got to meet a lot of really awesome people and learn really cool stuff about a whole variety of topics, but the eternal stress of deadlines apparently isn't the way I work. Yes I need a deadline to really get going, but maybe I was just too young to discipline myself into meeting them all.

Then again, maybe I was too young for the professional world in general. Looking back, I can see all the mistakes I made. If I went back to it, I might be able to do better. But for now, I'm still washing out the bitter taste the reporting industry has left in my mouth.

It's a very humbling experience, however, to know that you're qualified to work in an office or professional environment, earning a very livable wage and holding nice vacation and health benefits, but sending all of your job applications to gas stations and retail and customer service positions. I don't know how many coworkers I've come across in my last few jobs who were surprised when I told them I'd been to (and graduated from) college. "What are you doing working here?" they ask.

The truth is it's a combination of fear and desperation. I'm afraid to get back into a professional job again because what if I fail at it like I did the last time? What if I get fired just a few months in and have to go back to looking for another job? It's overwhelming. So I take low-pay, low-hours, entry-level jobs when I can get them just so I have some money coming in and do not have a long employment gap in my resume.

The jobs are easy. They have low expectations. I don't bring the stress of them home with me in the evening. Once that drawer is pulled and the money is counted and till is balanced, I go home and don't worry about it anymore. As some kind of professional, the stress follows you well beyond your eight hours per day. Your back is tight from sitting all day and worrying if what you turned in will be good enough, if your supervisor has some hidden agenda against you, if you may be walking a razors-edge line and not even know it.

But I know this isn't the kind of work I want to do for the rest of my life. Yes, I want something more. I just don't know what it is specifically yet.

8. You’re not able to afford to buy your own place.

I've actually been quite lucky in this area. From the time I started my first reporting job until now, I have managed to keep up with rent, even while job hunting. A very strange turn of events led me to living in a house as I am now, which is much preferable to having been forced to move back home (number 5 on the original list). However, I have felt stuck in Central Texas since about the second month of living here in 2011. I find myself dreaming most days of moving back to the eastern part of the state, under the pine trees, but the whole not having a great job and trying to help the fiancee settle the estate means we could be here a while.

But why shouldn't we? This house is paid for. We would only have to pay property taxes on it once per year. It's kind of hard to maintain (having never tried to keep more than a one bedroom apartment moderately clean before), but we have a roommate for now paying rent, a small yard for my plants and both of us are working. Neither are great jobs or hours or pay, but there is income. Moving would mean finding new jobs, new places to live, etc. I honestly think I'm okay staying here for a little while while we try to save our money back up.

12. You feel like your time is running out.

I've had an itch to travel the country or even to another part of the world for years now. I was actually planning to go somewhere in 2013, as I'd worked over a year at the paper I was at and would have actual vacation time to use. Then my position was cut, and I had to start a new job and try to rebuild vacation time from scratch there.

Obviously the time and money situations haven't improved. I'm still dying to visit other states and cities and even countries. I feel like the older I get the harder it will become to do these things (especially if I don't get in good with some company). Brian and I took the Amtrak to Fort Worth last weekend and picked up several brochures and a magazine of the routes the train takes. I'm enamored with the routes that go to Nashville and New Orleans and Memphis. I want to traverse other cities, try new foods, listen to local music and just escape the annoyances of my life for a little while.

As it becomes less likely looking that I can really travel abroad, I shift my focus. I've wanted to go to Louisiana for months now. It's just a state over. I've actually visited Shreveport before, but I want to visit the French Quarter. Try a bakery, visit a jazz club, take a ghost tour. Be a freaking tourist, you know? I guess someday, but damn I wish it was sooner.

17. You’re getting old.

I know for a fact I'm not the only "twentysomething" worried about this. I found my first gray hair a week before my 23rd birthday, and it's far from the only one there now. My forehead and corners of my eyes are already showing signs of where the wrinkles will be.

These combined with the item discussed above really make me feel like time has gotten away from me in this decade of my life. But I look at the other people I know in my life, the people who have survived their twenties and still seem happy, and I have hope.

Some of them struggled working multiple part-time jobs well into their 40s before they found a well-paying full-time position (regardless of whether they enjoy it or not) and make time for activities they enjoy outside of work hours. Some branched out to do their own thing a few years before turning 30 and now travel and do everything they wanted to and seem thrilled with how things are going (but no one really broadcasts all their insecurities).

On the flipside, there are a few items on the list I seem to have conquered. I have not yet had to move back home (#5), I'm not a flippant spender (#6. You're rubbish with your finances) and I am a decent cook (#7. You're a terrible cook). I am engaged (#10. Everyone around you is getting hitched), though planning a wedding has taken a backseat to everything else going on. I've dated around and know the relationships that ended did so for a reason (#11. You're hung up on someone). I know that my friends are struggling with the same assortment of things I am (#13. You're not as cool as your friends) and the changes in my body seem to be for the positive (#15. Your body is changing).

I guess I'm saying I know that there is still time to grow and improve myself when the first digit of my age is no longer a 2. I'm just hoping that everything I want to accomplish is still doable by then.

On being a pharmacy cashier

All right, I just submitted my first timecard for the new pharmacy cashier position I started last week.

 I get to wear comfy clothes.

First, I want to state how glad I am I started a part-time job instead of taking on a full-time. I have felt so exhausted every morning since starting this job, and it's only four hours a day. If this was going back into the corporate world, I probably wouldn't have managed to do anything but work and sleep last week.

That stated, I think I will like this job. There's a lot to learn on using the computer systems, but everyone else seems to have a good grasp on it and I was already starting to get the hang of it after the second day. Obviously the easiest scenario is when everything goes right: the person gives you their name, you find their prescription in the proper bin, you scan it, they pay for it, and they go on their merry way.

Unfortunately, everything goes right seemingly two or three out of ten times. The rest of the time, the prescription hasn't been put away yet, the doctor hasn't called in a change in medication yet, insurance hasn't processed or paid their part yet, etc. etc. Usually it's not too hard to fix these problems and inform the patient of the situation. Other times you get the people who swear this happens every time or want the prescription 10 minutes after leaving their doctor appointment.

All that aside, it's not a bad gig. The people I am working with are great. Good senses of humor, generally, and happy to help when newbie Audrey has another question.

I'm even scheduled to work a whole eight-hour shift (eep) next Saturday, so I have a lot to practice and get proficient on this week. Not an insurmountable task, and hopefully I'll readjust to working again. I even got sweet new shoes with some birthday money this weekend so my feet aren't killing me when I get home.

Mmmmemory foam.