Catching Up

It's been crazy, there's no other way to describe it.  This was me over the last two weeks.  Where do I start without turning this into a novel and boring you all to death?

My old job - the one that was my dream job and the one I gave up when Vic wanted me to move to Virginia with him - is open again.  The woman I thought was keeping my seat warm until I got back (we talked when she took the position that her husband was stationed in Washington for two years and we were hopefully coming back in two years, hey presto, she would leave and I would move right back into my old job) decided that she wants some upward mobility and found a higher level position in another department.  All I could think of was my poor boss, four Executive Assistants in one year, not fun.  Anyway, I knew that all I had to do was pick up the phone and the job would be mine.  Vic was in Japan so I called him on Viber - do you know Viber?  It's like an international FaceTime and free.  He encouraged me to go for it - it was a pretty sure way to make sure that his next assignment would be there.  If we're here in Virginia together, the Navy could impose the "no coast to coast moves" directive that is in place (with exceptions, of course) in his community and Washington would be totally off the table.

What a dilemma - the prospect of the two of us being apart was not the problem, the logistics of moving me, my car, and a good portion of our household belongings back to Washington was overwhelming.  There was just something telling me to hold off on making that phone call to my former boss.

I waited twelve hours and then called Vic back.  Lo and behold, he wasn't thinking it was such a good idea after all.  I should have played the lottery - I knew he was going to say that.  He's getting a little used to me being at home when he gets off work, being at the airport when he returns from an inspection trip, and being at his beck and call when he needs something and honestly, I'm perfectly happy with that arrangement too.  By the way, don't think badly of him, the beck and call thing happens about once a month, usually when he can't remember where to find something he needs and I, of course, can immediately put my hand on it.  I call it job security.

I need to buy Vic this bumper sticker.

Just about this time, I finally got a call for a job interview.  The federal hiring freeze still hasn't been lifted across the board but it has for this particular agency so I began the process of practicing my interview skills when it dawned on my that I hadn't done a formal interview in over ten years!  It was just as bad as I imagined - a panel of three interviewers, and a set of seven questions (each one about half a page long - I had a hard time remembering what was at the beginning of the question by the time they got to the end).  They said they hoped to make a selection in a week at which time their Human Resources Department would take over and notify the successful applicant.  They said HR was a bit backed up but they were hopeful that the job vacancy would be filled in 60 days.  60 days?  Thank goodness I'm not dependent on a job to survive.  I'm still waiting to hear about the outcome.

As if all that wasn't enough, my torn/strained/sprained/pulled/whatever muscle/tendon/ligament in my leg turns out to be a strained popliteus muscle which is a muscle that starts just below the knee and wraps around the back.  Although I'm thankful that I finally found a physical therapist who knew the exact problem ("Does it hurt here?  Here?  YES! YES!"), the therapy itself is painful and I am still limping around.

When the news from Manchester hit, I was gutted.  It's my home, it hit so close to my heart.  All my family and friends are safe, no-one in their immediate circle was there but my heart breaks for the families of the victims.  Senseless violence, when will it end?

So, how's it been going for you over the last two weeks?  All I can say now is that I have about three weeks to go before I hop on a plane and head to my Sisterchicks reunion where I plan to sit by the lake and drink copious amounts of wine to dull the pain in my leg and the brain cramp from dealing with everything else that is going on in my life or as luck may have it, I'll get a call saying my new desk is waiting for me and the whole reunion will be a non-starter.  As much as I would like to go back to work, the prospect of copious amounts of wine is most definitely preferable at this point.  LOL, who am I kidding?  One glass and I'll be fast asleep.

If you're still reading, have a glass of wine, you deserve it!