Last Splash

The gene pool could use a little Chlorine.

Can I tell you how much the healthcare/insurance industry sucks? Now, I could go on a rant about how I understand that unethical doctors and lawyers and the people that go into surgury understanding the risks but still want to sue someone when something goes wrong are what causes the stupid insurance industry to charge out the ass, but I'm not. I'd rather rant about my Dental Insurance, and specifically whether or not I want to pick up COBRA insurance so that my husband and I can get our mouths checked.

So, I called the Dental Insurance company that I have been carrying to ask about the differences in coverage...I figured that I would do some math and figure out if it makes sense to pay the $125 to finish insurance coverage for the year and pay less for our dental appts, or to just scrap it and pay for the dentist out of pocket. (I am a very high-fear dental patient, so the idea of waiting until April or so to have my teeth cleaned instead of going in December is VERY appealing to me anyway.) And they can't give me a number, b/c my dentist (and my husband's) are out of network. They can give me an estimated range of what the average service is in my area, but they cannot tell me what they would actually pay once the paperwork was submitted. I had to tell the lady twice that I was just interested in a cleaning and exam, and she kept saying "but for what type of service?" A CLEANING AND EXAM...DID I STUTTER? And I had to force her to even give me a price. She kept saying "I don't really have that information in front of me." So, I kept saying "can you connect me with someone who does" thinking "because if you don't I'm going to rip my hair out and send it through the phone lines until it comes out on your end and wraps around your neck". Anyway...it just sucks, that's all. Losing my job sucked, too, but not nearly as much as the red tape involved with transferring insurance and deciding what to do with my 401K and on and on.

So, that's my rant today. It probably wasn't all that entertaining, but I really needed to vent because it has not been a great day so far. It's all good, though, b/c I have a buy one get one free buffet coupon for Pizza Inn, and it's date night. Woohoo...

posted by: Cannonball14 at 19:20 | link | comments |
meow

Today I have come to a realization about success. While I was employed in a job where I had a lot of responsibility and was very well-payed accordingly, I thought success meant getting promoted and getting raises. That was my measure for having a successful career. I think I may have been wrong on this one.

I'm interviewing for a position that probably 60% of high school graduates could do effectively. It pays about half what my former job did, and with it comes the repsonsibility of managing one person: myself. It's a job a lot of people may be bored with, or think was easy or beneath them. I used to be one of the people that would think that, so I know. I used to think that I had to work my ass off to gain fancy titles to make up for the fact that I do not have a college educated mind. (Just a life educated one, and a very opinionated one at that.) After interviewing with six different managers at this very small company, I'm realizing that while the job might be simple, the people that work there are friendly, jovial, and down to earth. They laugh with each other, they tease each other, and they work together in a positive way. This is so much more important to me than any title I would have. I realized halfway through my second interview with them something I had forgotten back when I interviewed for my former job almost five years ago: the company is sometimes more important than the job. My previous employer went through a lot of changes since I began, changes that made them different from the company I started with in 2003. The reason I chose that company was because of the people, and 80% of the people had changed.

I'm also ready to start a family. Everyone says that when you are ready to have kids, it just hits you, like overnight, and for five years I've gone along and said "yeah, one day that could be me...I mean, it would be nice and all, but I'm happy with my lifestyle now" but I haven't really felt the time was right. Before I lost my job, my husband and I were talking about trying around Christmas, but still not committed to it. Then, I lost my job, and suddenly had nights and weekends off with him and we started to do things as a family, and it just clicked. I am ready. This is the right time. It's amazing how a drastic change in income makes you realize that there are lots of nights out and fancy meals and $25 bottles of wine and massages and pedicures and giving expensive gifts and going back to Marin County for your anniversary you can give up and still be just as happy.

So, that really solidified what my new definition of success will be: a job that gives me time to spend with my family and a work environment where I feel comfortable with everyone I work with, and being a good wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, and friend. And hockey fan.

posted by: Cannonball14 at 16:28 | link | comments |
the retail beast

So, this time it's only been three months, right? What's changed? I'm an aunt, the office is painted, and I lost my job. No kidding...I made a dumb mistake and got fired for it. But I'm not bitter, not at all. In fact, once I had that first weekend off and then realized I didn't have to work Black Friday or Christmas Eve for the first time in almost 10 years, any sense of regret flew out the window.

I'm in a new phase in life now...feeling like maybe what I was doing only felt right because it was what I knew for so long, but after interviewing for some jobs with less pressure, less hours, and less turnover, I feel like I'm where I need to be. Albeit less money, too, but if I ever want to start a family then I need to find a job that will allow me the freedom to spend time with my family.

So, for now...I have a lot of time on my hands, my resume is burning up the internet, and I am spending every weekend doing exactly what I want to do. Not at a mall. I'm home with my husband in the evening, I've discovered that I really do have a passion and a knowledge for cooking, and I have seen my mom, sister, grandmother, and John's grandparents more in the last month than the entire six months before that.

I promise this time, it will not be six or even three months. I have to keep you guys updated on the job search, the beautiful niece that I'm going to visit tonight after dropping by my favorite culinary landmark in Chapel Hill, and how my enormous homemade Christmas project is going. There is very little Christmas giving going on this year that does not come out of my creative mind (or an extensive internet search for DIY presents). We're making homemade liqueurs, chile scented olive oil, spice rubs, doggie bark, Christmas scented topiary trees, newspaper firelogs, biscotti, shortbread cookies, and the ever popular cookies in a jar. And there's only one store in a hundred mile radius that carries chocolate extract, and they also happen to have the best wine dept in NC. Wish me luck!

posted by: Cannonball14 at 20:58 | link | comments (3) |
the retail beast