I will be the CFO of a non-profit private foundation, operating in order to teach environmental and argicultural awareness, as well as arts education and charity for charity’s sake.
I had three rounds of interviews, the final one being visits to many of the different departments, meeting many of the leads. Everyone was friendly and brilliant at their respective positions. I can’t wait. I get to work with an excellent batch of people, working to make some big goals become reality.
My anticipated start date is Monday, August 11. I turned in my resignation today, and the process of drafting my letter was another sign that I am making a good move for my happiness.
Typed the letter, told the computer to save it to my main folder, subfolder of my current employment.
Kris gave me Batman: The Killing Joke as required reading before we went to see Dark Knight. I am thankful for the introduction to this version of the Joker before seeing him on the screen.
Without firsthand knowledge, I can only assume that this is a terrific portrayal of criminal insanity. It made me cringe and sent shivers up my spine, while showing me a much more devastating clash between good and evil than Jack Nicholson’s Joker had been able to do for me.
I’m in a funk, which means I’m not posting as much as I would like. Suffice to say, family life is good, though tiring.
Gabe was given the all-clear to have his surgery next week. (Ummm… have I mentioned he’s scheduled for ear tubes? Not sure I have. So, yes, our ten-month old is getting tubes put in to take care of his hearing deficiency. He reacts to sounds; he babbles; we’ve been in for numerous screenings, but he’s never gotten a passing score. He hadn’t been having too many issues with ear infections, but they seem to be blossoming now, so I’m a bit more content with the decision for surgery.)
He is so close to getting up and walking. He’s excellent at cruising aroung furniture and pulling himself up. He’s taken a few steps holding onto hands, and Kris thinks he might have stood without support on his own today. (Kris remembers noting that it looked like Gabe had just fallen, but there was nothing around for him to be holding.) I am so not ready for two completely mobile children.
Hayden is doing well with being a big brother still, but we’re trying to teach him that Gabe’s bones simply aren’t at the level of strength that Hayden’s or Mommy’s or Daddy’s are yet. We’re getting there, I hope. There have been a couple too many instances of pulling on arms, and one maternal heart-stopping moment of Hayden stepping on Gabe. Thank God Hayden is good at knowing when my voice means business and going directly to his room to give me a moment to clear my head.
I’ve found a tactic that’s working this week for getting Hayden to pay attention to rules a bit more. We’ve started the procedure of “Ask nicely twice. Tell twice. If someone else has to do it, there will be consequences.”
I’m waiting for the outcry of, “No, not consequences! I don’t want consequences!” coming from Hayden’s mouth when we are out in public. I’ll either get knowing smiles from parents or the police called by others.
We went to see Dark Knight yesterday. We finished Dr. Horrible tonight. It’s been a fairly depressing run of entertainment. (Read: Both were excellent, but not uplifting for me.)
The Choice is not the type of book I would normally pick up on my own, but whenever someone has the compassion to share a book with me, I feel it is my duty to read it. (Those free early reader books are good examples of this.) A co-worker brought it into my office a couple of weeks ago. “I know you like to read, and I loved this.” So, I finished what I was working on at the time (Cat’s Eye) and picked it up.
I know that I like Sparks. I loved The Notebook and A Walk to Remember (movies). So, I started reading, wondering where the unique voice was. It felt a bit cliche (as many people would argue most of his best selling books are) and didn’t seem to have the zing I normally crave, even in chick lit.
Then, the twist comes. Gabby and Travis are in a car accident. Gabby is hurt severely (coma), Travis more minorly (broken arm). Any my history comes flooding in. Now, my experience was far from the characters’. My trauma lasted a short time, and I was up and walking within weeks. Gabby is comatose for over 12 weeks and it becomes known that she had requested to be let go should something like this ever happen to her. Travis has to make a choice: follow through with Gabby’s predetermined choice to have feeding tubes removed, or keep up with the displays of love and dedication he has shown through their history and especially the past 12 weeks.
But… it still hit home. Would I have wanted to be let go if I had been more damaged in the accident? Would I now, now that I have the two children that Gabby and Travis do in the novel? Would I be able to ask Kris to let go, be able to demand it of him?
I’ll think about it now, but I can’t see myself making the choice, nor asking Kris to promise one choice over another. Though I realize that as an adult, I really should have that choice ready and legally binding. Damn adulthood.
Any book by Atwood can give you a glimpse into womanhood. Cat’s Eye does it superbly, taking the reader from childhood, through adolescence, into adulthood and maturity, providing moments in Elaine’s life that develop her, define her and often defeat her. It is one of the most beautifully depressing books I have ever read.
Perhaps growing up as an outsider allowed me to connect on numerous levels with Atwood’s main character. Perhaps thinking of myself as a writer (though not an author) allowed me to empathize more so than other readers might be able to. But anyone with haunting memories of childhood friendships will be able to relate in some way or another, and I believe most everyone has a childhood friend that lurks in the shadows of the consciousness.
While this might not be a fit for all readers, any woman who knows that her past has colored her present will appreciate it, in my opinion. Those women who have an artistic approach to life will appreciate it even more. If you know that life’s bleak moments are as meaningful as the bright, and that the pale moments tend to stick with you longer than the florescent, you’ll love it as much as I did.
Allow me to be a video game geek here for a minute.
In case you heard some squealing from my general area yesterday it was due to the news that Netflix is partnering with Xbox, Portal (my top game of 2007, previously only available as a purchase with several other games) is being released as a stand-alone game so that I can finally buy it, and Final Fantasy XIII is coming to Xbox.
I’ve been a Final Fantasy fan since I was a wee little geek, and despite the fact that XII made me so angry that I actually sold my PS2 (NOT exaggerating for comic effect!), I’m very excited to be able to play the next iteration.
It’s been a long couple of weeks and late nights at work for us lately, so we took full advantage of the unseasonably reasonable weather this weekend to spend time with our boys. We hit the zoo, played volleyball, ate outside, got ice cream, more or less lived at the park, Gabe got another tooth and climbed some stairs, and we took pictures.
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