Retirement Funds

My experience consolidating my employer retirement accounts has been interesting so far. I have two accounts- one is teacher retirement and the other is a standard 401(k). I want to pull all the money from each and put all funds into a new IRA.

I began by setting up a new IRA account. The very helpful lady at Fidelity asked how much is in my 401(k). Then she asked how much is in my teacher retirement. I said 800.

IRA Lady: Eight hundred thousand?
Me: Um, no. Eight hundred dollars.

(Does anyone have $800,000 in their teacher retirement account?)

I was half time at the library for one year. I left the money at TRS when I left, because it earned a guaranteed 5% annually, which was great compared to some other cash investments. Last year the guaranteed rate went down to 2%. Just the other day they sent me notification that I would no longer be receiving any earnings on the money, because it has been five years since I worked for an entity that uses TRS. Perfect timing!

I was able to set up an IRA online. The Fidelity representative stayed on the phone and guided me through the process, in case I had any questions. If your employer retirement is at one of the companies listed on the site, Fidelity can process the entire thing and you don't have to contact the current holder at all. That was the case when Jeff left his last job. Super cool. Sadly, neither of my accounts was on the list, so I had to contact them myself.

Unfortunately, you can't roll over teacher retirement online via the TRS website. You have to download a paper form, which has to be notarized and mailed in via snail mail. If you are rolling your money over into an IRA instead of cashing out, they tell you on the website that there is another paper form required, but they won't give you that form to mail in with the first form. You have to send the first one, and then they will mail you the second one, which has to be signed by you AND the financial institution where your money is being sent. Then you mail the second one back to TRS for your money to be transferred.

Government at work, y'all. I can't even imagine what the reasoning behind this would be. It should all be on one form. If only there were a way to make it more labor intensive and prone to error...

Next up was my 401(k), through a large financial corporation competitive with Fidelity. I would have left it there, but our other accounts are at Fidelity, so it makes sense to move it. For that one, I just called the company and they enabled a link on the website for me to submit my information. They will handle the rest from here. Easy!

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Live Speech... 'n' Promposals!

Well, today was the last time I'll watch Live with Kelly and Cohost. She's been with ABC for 29 years, so she has earned two days AWOL to throw a toddler tantrum? Anyone out there try that at their own job? That's not okay.

Her uncomfortable speech this morning should have included an apology to her viewers and her staff. Instead, it was completely self-serving, including the insincere attempt to congratulate her cohost on his new job.

Let's just say that if Regis Philbin was replaceable, Kelly Ripa is definitely replaceable.  As for me, I'm crossing my fingers for an additional hour of GMA.

In other news, it's promposal season, when teenage boys have to come up with some uberfabulous, romantic, super-creative way to ask someone to prom. Back in the day, just being asked was the great excitement of the year! No hoopla required. My boyfriend was a junior my senior year of high school, so I would have had to come up with some fancy promposal. (Of COURSE mine would have been awesome. I'm just saying.)

The other fairly recent development in pampering your significant other is the 'push present,' when a mom gives birth. We didn't have those back in the day either. Now new moms get an expensive gift when baby comes.

Well, KathyG's daughter's promposal was supercute. Her boyfriend painted a wall at Graffiti Park with "Prom?" and two checkboxes- Yes and Hell Yes. Two thumbs up on that one.

And Melissa's push present was a gorgeous diamond encrusted wedding band, so I can't say anything bad about that either.

Great job, guys! Looking forward to the next gift-giving occasion you'll think up.

Or did the gals come up with these? ;)

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Let Me Guide You to the Purple Rain

I'm sure y'all know how much I love this. I'm embarrassed I didn't even know it happened (back in 2014), until two days ago!

Adam Levine.

And Train.

Together.

And Purple Rain!



If you watched 20/20 on Friday night, you saw this lady (I can't remember who she was exactly, but one of the interviewees on the Prince episode) who said about the lyrics of "Purple Rain" (misquoted, but we all know what she meant)...

"He said..."

She got choked up and dabbed her eyes with a tissue.

"...I don't want anything from you. I only want to see you crying in the purple rain. I don't even know what that is! AT ALL. But I want to be crying in it."

The other great quote- his hairstylist said he was so dedicated to his fans during performances, and when he gets to the pearly gates, he can tell God he left it all on the stage.

So true.

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Belton Day Trip

Scott, Julie, Jeff and I went to the Bell County Museum in Belton yesterday to see the Deadly Medicine exhibit, on loan from the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. It was really interesting, and also very disturbing.  It describes eugenics and the eventual killing of millions of Jews, along with the mentally or physically afflicted in the mid twentieth century in Germany.

Some cool things in the museum's regular local collections include Mean Joe Greene's NFL Hall of Fame certificate (he went to Dunbar High School in Temple) and a letter written on Hitler's personal stationery from a local soldier in WWII who was one of the first in, when US forces busted into Hitler's office. He says something like, "I never thought I would be sitting at Adolf Hitler's desk, writing you this letter on his stationery." Can you imagine? Chills.

Scott asked a museum employee about what the different colors of war ration tokens meant. She said she didn't know, but she would get the curator to come talk to us. The museum curator, Emily (SO great!), came out and gave us some more in-depth information about the tokens. 

She also told us the Temple newspaper didn't cover Joe Greene's high school career in the 60's, because the schools were segregated and they didn't cover the Black schools. So to this day, he doesn't do interviews with that paper. 

Then she took us back to their famous mustache cup collection (google it- I had never heard of them) to show us that there were left- and right-handed mustache cups. You would buy these teacups individually as they weren't part of a regular set. When I mentioned that they were all so feminine with flowers and girly colors, she explained that pink used to be a very masculine color back in the day, so these feminine-looking teacups were actually very manly.  Hmm!

We went to Schoepf's Barbecue afterwards. I had the brisket and venison sausage. The venison sausage was THE BEST.

Saturday 9: Little Red Corvette
In memory of Prince (1958-2016)

1) The subject of this song is frankly sexual. Do you blush easily?

No.

2) Prince was his real first name (Prince Rogers, to be exact). Growing up, his relatives called him "Skipper." Do you have any nicknames within your family?

Wait. I'm still giggling at "Skipper." Ahhhhh.... No one in our family really has a nickname. My mom frequently called me pet names like "pumpkin," but nothing cool like Skipper. 

3) Prince said he was "obsessed" with Mozart and read whatever he can find about the composer. What's the last book you read?

Every time Mozart is mentioned, I think of the Amadeus movie, when the Emperor tells Mozart his music has "too many notes." Ahaha! 

I keep telling y'all I don't read books anymore. My escapism vehicles of choice are film, television and theater. The last article I read was about the history of Paisley Park.

4) Between Prince and The Beach Boys, the Corvette is a much sung-about car. Tell us about your vehicle. 

I have a gorgeous deep blue Acura TLX with light grey interior. I love it. Sporty.

5) In the 1980s, when Prince was popular, MTV could turn a song into a hit. In 2016, where do you hear new music?

Radio, TV and social media.

6) In 1982, when "Little Red Corvette" ruled the airwaves, Braniff Airways shocked the travel industry and threw passengers into chaos by declaring bankruptcy. When did you last fly? Did your trip go smoothly? 

Last time I traveled by air was my Berlin trip. It was a rare occasion when travel did not go smoothly! I led Leslie out of the gate area when we arrived in Berlin, where we were told that baggage claim is AT the incoming gate, to which we could absolutely not return, due to security policy. So we waited an hour and a half for our bags, only to find that my bag wasn't on the plane. I had checked my work laptop, which was almost a disaster. They brought the bag to the hotel later that night. The trip back home went swimmingly though.

7) 1982 is also the year Disney opened Epcot. Have you ever been to a Disney park?

I've been to Disney World twice- once with Jeff before the kiddo, and once with Jeff & Lauren (age 4), the Angs and their son (age 2).

8) 1982 is the year Cheers premiered. The sitcom was set in a bar where "everybody knows your name." Tell us about your favorite local bar or restaurant. 

One of my favorites is The Grove Wine Bar and Kitchen. We order appetizers and wine, and always include their bruschetta with the fig/brie/green apple topping and the Grove Crispy Oysters. We go to the one on Bee Cave at 360, and sit outside in the supercool deck area, but there is also one in Lakeway I want to visit, to check out the view of the hills.

9) The 1980s were considered a highpoint in professional tennis, with Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe dominating the sport. Do you play tennis?

I played tennis for funzies with Frank and Bob in college, but I was also playing racquetball a lot at the time, which screws up your tennis swing. (Or vice versa, although I guess I was more suited to racquetball, because my racquetball swing didn't change.) Haven't played since.

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Paisley Park is in Your Heart

Prince is the only celebrity death I've shed real tears over. And not just once. I was really moved by the fans transitioning from complete shock to joyous celebration within a day of his death. Everyone is playing his music, dancing and having a good time, which is what we've done for decades, but now we're just doing it all over the world at the same time.

The rainbow over Paisley Park really got me, too. So cool.

We saw Prince live for the first time in 1982 at The Summit, during the 1999 Triple Threat Tour. We saw him again during the Purple Rain Tour in '85.

Last time I saw him was June 9, 2004 in San Antonio, during the Musicology tour. CJ and I went. It was perfection, as it always was. I can't say it enough- the guy put on an unbelievable stage show. He had those superhuman guitar skills and fabulous musicians backing him up as well. A complete sensory festival. It was just such a fun night. 

I cannot wait to hear the vaulted music. Harmonies the public wasn't ready for yet? Oh yes. YES! Let's hear it! And two movies? Bring those on, too.

Lyrics of the Day

...Sometimes I wish that life was never ending

And all good things, they say, never last...

Prince "Sometimes it Snows in April"

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RIP Prince

I'm in shock after hearing that Prince has died. He was an insanely gifted musician and a huge part of my life soundtrack.

I started to list my favorite Prince songs, but there are just too many! My very first favorite Prince song was D.M.S.R. This is a clean version (bah!), because it is more recent. Still awesome.



I saw him in concert a few times. He did the BEST live shows of anyone.

Very sad day for music.

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Kelly and Michael

I enjoyed watching Kelly Ripa on All My Children for years before she got the Live job. This week I've lost all respect for her.

She's a no-show to her own show, because she has sour grapes about Michael Strahan getting the GMA gig. What happened to sitting next to your cohost the day after the announcement and saying "Congratulations! We're all so happy for you!" Even if you're jealous (understandable) and/or you're hurt that your cohost didn't tell you about his new job before it was announced (also understandable, even though it's reported that he wasn't allowed to tell her), that's what you say. That's friendship... or support for your coworker... or at the very least, good manners. Her behavior is rude and childish.

I'm not sure at this point that I will continue watching when he's gone, because she's been so ridiculous.

Of course I will watch if Anderson Cooper is on.

Michael is great on the show and on GMA (my favorite morning show for years, so happy I can watch again!). Good for him!

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Public Service Announcement

Just watched my cat investigating the water squirter in the bedroom. When I approached, she ran off.

Evidently, water squirters don't spray bad kitties.  People spray bad kitties.

:D

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Randomness! Tra La!

One of the funniest things is when people our parents' age (and Julie) begin their texts and Facebook posts with a salutation and end them with a closing and signature.

Hee!

JeffC brought us back some maple candies and maple syrup from Pennsylvania when he returned from his annual visit home. Lauren had been wanting pancakes, so I took the opportunity to get some bacon and make both pancakes with bacon AND my favorite roasted brussels sprouts with maple syrup and bacon! Yum!

So Anderson Cooper doesn't VOTE? WHA? I admire him for many reasons, including the fact that he fights against being biased in his reporting (which more reporters should do!!), but he should be able to vote. No matter how unbiased you are as you present the news, you do have a candidate you support, and the voting booth is the place to voice your opinion.

Everyone who has a Discover Card, check the type of card you have. If you've had it for more than a few years, it may be a Discover More card. They don't make them anymore, because they have a new and improved cash back card called Discover It. Biggest difference is that you earn 1% cash back beginning with the first dollar you spend, rather than ramping up to 1% at the beginning of each year. There are other benefits, too, and it's an all-around better card than Discover More for most everyone, so check it out today! You can call to convert your More card to an It card.

And a survey, because why not?

Sunday Stealing: Healthy Meme

When was the last time you got a nose bleed? I've never had one.
Do you keep magazines by your toilet? Nope
If you were a waiter/waitress, would you make good tips? Yep
Have you ever stolen a road sign or traffic barrier? No
What are the best kind of Girl Scout cookies? Thin Mints
When was the last time you purchased alcohol? About two weeks ago, we tried Henry's Hard Orange Soda. (It tastes like orange soda.)
Do you find it attractive when a guy actually shows his feelings? Yes
Are you a fussy eater? No
List everything you ate and drank today: Leftover pancakes with milk for breakfast, a homemade hamburger on sourdough with roasted brussels sprouts for lunch, with tea.
How are you sitting? Ahhhahaha. I juuuuust slid down to "comfy position" mostly lying down, with my feet on the ottoman, my knees up and my upper back against the back of the sofa.
Waiting for something? a call from the neurosurgeon to schedule Lauren's surgery
Do you like pretzels? yes!
Do you wait until you’ve completely finished a certain makeup product before you buy a new one? I buy a new one before the old one is gone (I don't want to run out), but I finish the old one before I open the new one.
Did you wake up before 8:00 a.m. this morning? Of COURSE I did
Have you ever told anyone you were okay when you really weren’t? Haven't we all.
Do you have reason to cry right now? Yes, I'm quite frustrated with the surgeon not calling for over a week now.
How many sodas a week do you have? Usually zero.
Do you shop at Victoria’s Secret? Not recently.
Are you into sports? Some.
Can you easily touch your toes? Yes
What did the last shoes you wore look like? They look exactly like black flip flops.
What do you currently hear? TMZ Live on television
Have you ever done yoga? yes
Do you text a lot? I keep texting to a minimum. If we go back and forth more than about four times, I'm calling you.
Do you have a fax machine at home? Yes, but we don't have a land line, so I can't use it.
Do you know anyone who has diabetes? Yes
Have you ever had to block anyone online? Yes, years ago.
Are you afraid of thunder and lightning? No
Are you a shop-a-holic? I like shopping, but not to that point.
Are you healthy? I could be healthier. It hasn't been a priority for a while.

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Thursday Saturday 9

Saturday 9: That's What Friends Are For (1985)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This week's song is performed by an all-star quartet: Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder. You have your choice: which of these four would you most like to see in concert?

Well, I've seen Elton John, so... Stevie Wonder.

2) Dionne Warwick was Whitney Houston's cousin. Name a Whitney Houston song.
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody" 80's gold, baby. LOVE her hair.



3) Gladys Knight owns a chain of chicken and waffle restaurants around Atlanta. When you have waffles, what do you top them with? (Powdered sugar? Butter? Syrup? Fruit?)
I'm a traditionalist- butter and maple syrup.

4) Elton John has turned his bad eyesight into a hobby, claiming that over the years he has purchased well over than 200,000 pairs of glasses. Do you wear glasses? If so, how many prescription pairs do you own?
I don't wear glasses.

5) Stevie Wonder has a scar on his nose from a 1973 car crash. Have you ever been in a car accident?
just once, back in college, when a rogue deer ran into me

6) Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager were married when they wrote this. Do you know a husband and wife who work together?
Kathy and Michael. They can only do it because they are incredibly chill people. And because she moved from his office to ours.

7) This song celebrates friendship through good times and bad. Tell us about a happy time you recently shared with someone close to you.
The happiest time recently was my going-away happy hour for work. We celebrated with the best margs and Mexican food in town!

8) Now share a time when you were there for a friend through a tough time.
I've been going with Laura to some of her doctor visits and treatments. Her last radiation treatment is TODAY!!! Congratulations, L!

9) Random question: When is the last time you were out of breath?
This morning at the top of the hill on my daily walk with Jeff.

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Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: OLOGY Meme

MOUTHOLOGY
What is your least favorite salad dressing? Green Goddess
What is your least favorite fast food restaurant? Taco Bueno *shudder*
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Austin Land and Cattle
On average, what would cause you to flirt with the server? I wouldn't.
What food could you eat every day just to "get along"? watermelon
What pizza toppings would make you hurl? broccoli
What food is likely to get you "in the mood..."? chocolate
What is your favorite type of gum to get off your shoe? ha

TECHNOLOGY
Number of contacts you'd never let your significant other see on your cell phone? zero
Number of contacts in your email address book that are exes? zero
Do you judge others about the wallpaper on their computer? yes
What is your favorite technology from the past that is now obsolete? Nintendo Game Cube
Do you have stuff on your computer that you'd never want someone to see? No

BIOLOGY
Are you right-handed or left-handed? right
Do you like your smile? yes
What's your best feature? eyes
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? yes
Which of your five senses do you think is keenest? touch
When was the last time you had a cavity? over ten years ago
What is the heaviest item you lifted last? new towels yesterday
Have you ever been knocked unconscious? no

BULLCRAPOLOGY
If you could, would you wanna know the day you were going to die? no
Is love for real? yes
If you could change your first name, what would you change it to? I wouldn't.
What color do you think looks best on you? coral
Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? no
Have you ever saved someone's life? no
Has someone ever saved yours? my docs at MD Anderson and Texas Oncology

DAREOLOGY
Would you walk naked down a public street for $100,000? no
Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? sure
Would you cut off one of your little fingers for $200,000? no
Would you never blog again for $50,000? yes
Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? no
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? no
Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? no

DUMBOLOGY
What is in your left pocket? nothing
Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house? carpet
Do you sit or stand in the shower? stand
Could you live with roommates? if I had to
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? two
Where were you born? Heidelberg, Germany
Last time you had a run-in with the cops? was pulled over for speeding in Galveston four years ago, but just got a warning
What do you want to be when you grow up? a songwriter

LASTOLOGY
Friend you talked to? Kimberly
Last person you called? Crystal
Person you hugged? Lauren

FAVORITOLOGY
Number? 3
Color? green
Season? spring

CURRENTOLOGY
Missing someone? not in particular
Mood? sleepy
Listening to? "No" Meghan Trainor
Watching? The Voice
Worrying about? whether or not to contract with the former employer

RANDOMOLOGY
First place you went this morning? it's only 5:30 a.m. Yesterday morning- Chik-Fil-A
What can you not wait to do? get the gutter repaired
What's the last movie you saw? The Intern
When was the last time you got caught cheating? I haven't
Are you a sexy person? yes
Now that the survey's (or meme) done what are you going to do? shop online for a bedspread

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American Idol Finale

Gosh, I still have my "american idol" blog tag! I can use it today. Nice.

Haven't watched Idol regularly since season 8, after which the original judges began leaving the show, but it was our family TV show for years. It was fun to watch the series finale last night.

I remember vividly when Kelly Clarkson won Season 1, how beyond ecstatic she was, singing and crying. We were so happy for her. We also liked Nikki McKibbin that season, and of course Justin Guarini. Lauren was just the right age to become obsessed with the From Justin to Kelly movie soon after.

From here


To here


Season 2 (Clay/Ruben) we watched sporadically, for some reason.

Season 3- We always thought Fantasia had way too much attitude, talking back to the judges. Diana Degarmo and Jennifer Hudson were our faves.

Season 4- We really enjoyed Constantine Maroulis and we would mimic the sexy faces he always made to the camera. So funny, but he was really good. Carrie Underwood was always an exceptional singer, but she was quiet, which just led me to think she thought she was better than everyone. Later, when her mom commented that she was more comfortable with the farm animals than she was with people, I realized she was actually just shy rather than arrogant. I don't know if winning Idol gave her the confidence boost she needed to come out of her shell, or they gave her some sort of classes on being a country star or what, but she was extremely outgoing and personable not too long after the show. We've seen her live twice, and she is incredible!

Bo Bice looked fantastic last night! Love the short hair on him. The most memorable performance that season for me was this one...



Season 5 was Chris Daughtry season. We were FLABBERGASTED when he was voted off during the top 4 show. It was beyond crazy. Kellie Pickler was hilarious and really good. We liked Elliott Yamin, too. Chris Daughtry should have won!



Season 6- I'm fuzzy on this season, but I know we liked Melinda Doolittle and we were always confused when Sanjaya kept making it through from week to week. Jordin is great.

Season 7- David Cook season, baby. He is so good! I've seen him a couple of times live. I have no idea why he isn't a bigger force in the biz. His voice is amazing. We also liked Jason Castro and David Archuleta.

My favorite performances of the season:






Then there was... musical!DavidCook. Again, here's a rock guy who always did his own thing with songs on the show. I figured this would be the same, but he did it Broadway style.



Season 8- Loved Adam Lambert, but my feeling was always that his performance style was better suited for Broadway, rather than as a pop singer. We liked all rest of the top five as well- Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta, Danny Gokey and Matt Gireaud.

Thanks for the memories, AI!

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Real Housewives and Brain Surgery

I found out yesterday that one of my middle school friends, LeeAnne Locken, is one of the housewives on the new Real Housewives of Dallas! WOW. Good for her! We love the Real Housewives franchise. I can't wait to see what happens. Series premiere is Monday night!

I'll refrain from posting our 7th grade a capella choir photo, LeeAnne. You're welcome. ;)

We met Lauren's neurosurgeon yesterday. He was GREAT. He's the right age- not too young, not too old, within the 40-55 year old range. (I'm not firm on that requirement, it's more a "guideline." A very... narrow one, but a part of my evaluation, since most of it is actually about things like trust, which we have to determine in what will probably be less than two hours with the person prior to surgery.) The surgeons and oncologists meet periodically to discuss all their upcoming cases, and Lauren's will be on this Friday's agenda. We'll hear back Friday or Monday on what the plan will be.

Meanwhile, we have also sent her records to UT Southwestern for a second opinion. None of us has ever done the second opinion thing, but if brain surgery isn't the occasion, what is? The doc at UTSW is younger than my arbitrary age requirement (gasp), but she specializes in deep brain gliomas, so there's that. The doc here doesn't feel there are any procedures/equipment available in Dallas that aren't available in Austin at this point. He is confident that he can get at least most of the tumor out. We'll see what UTSW says.

My experience so far is that the docs usually have very different opinions, so Lauren will have to go with her gut and choose the one that is best for her. Hopefully she can stay in Austin, but if there is something better available somewhere else, we'll go wherever she needs to go.

Today, I'm taking Laura to her surgeon to get her SAVI port to begin her 5-day breast cancer radiation treatment. Five! Days! How cool is that? Very localized, too. Her radiation oncologist is 38. She likes him, but she does call him Doogie.

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I've Got You... Or Not

"Don't let go until I say so," the little boy says in the new Quaker Oats commercial, as he turns to tentatively start pedaling his bike. The mom says, "I've got you."

THEN SHE LETS GO.

Yikes!


Last night, one of the contestants on The Voice sang one of my favorite old songs, "You Ain't Woman Enough (to Take My Man)." I was looking for her performance on YouTube later and found this old performance... by Paramore!



I thought it was going to be some cool, alt-rock version, but she sings it straight up Loretta Lynn.
So great!

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Wunderlist

I just want to give a hearty recommendation for Wunderlist as a list app.

I've been using another list app for years and it was SUPERfun, letting me select a cute icon for each list. It was just cumbersome to use and never really fit my needs.

The old app's fatal flaw was that it required me to enter the details of every item as I entered it- due date, priority, etc. Ninety-nine percent of my list items just don't have details that I care about, so it was annoying to have to skip over that screen every single time. You'd think there would be a setting to eliminate the issue, but no.

Wunderlist lets you just type and go. It even lets you enter a list item on the fly and come back to file it to the correct list later. THAT is a big ol' serving of awesomesauce, right there.

When you check items off a list, you can choose whether to have them greyed out or hidden. There are many sorting options and it's simple to change them. There are a lot of settings. So nice.

There are notifications and dates, if you need them for an item. You can pull any item(s) to the top of a list by clicking the star next to them. Drag lists and list items to where you want them in order. It's very full-featured.

Free, with available premium version (if you want to share your lists or upload large files, etc.). Try it out!

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Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya

So I was saying not long ago that JC Chasez must have written, produced or otherwise had something to do with DNCE's tune "Cake By the Ocean." I finally Googled it today to find out, and evidently he didn't (nice work, those who did!).

I did find this blog post at EQ Music, where they say they described the song by asking...

"Did you ever hear JC Chasez's solo album?"

Ha! Great minds...  ;)

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At Home Again!

Since Lauren lives with us, can I still call myself a stay-at-home-mom? Laura calls me unemployed. I could be "semi retired." Hmm... I'll have to think about this.

My last day was Thursday and still it has not sunk in that I'm no longer working there. So weird. It's definitely "carryover stress." Maybe sometime next week it will finally leave my tense shoulders!

Jen threw a going away happy hour for me on Friday night. So fun! Even C and K came, so everyone who has moved on from the department was there. Some of us stayed for dinner, too. Great evening!!

I'll really miss the wonderful people at work, that's for sure. My teams are positively brilliant and always working together, with never any significant inter-departmental strife. They have also been so very supportive with Lauren's illness during the years and especially this recent tumultuous time. Great people.

Unfortunately, it won't be long before disaster strikes in the office, because no one has been hired to replace the three staff members they lost from the department. It's been almost three months since mid-January when the other two moved to another department and I gave my notice. I mean, honestly- what the heck? I specifically gave them a ton of notice because I wanted them to be able to hire someone who could transition in as seamlessly as possible. It's very frustrating to me that they didn't use that time. I could have used it myself, had I known that they weren't going to.

HR told me that they have been interviewing, but can't find anyone. If you can't find anyone to replace three lost staff members in a very small company, you need to change something about the candidate search.  You up the salary, you offer people flex time or work from home, you get less picky... something. You can't just say, Oh well!

I really need to stop worrying about them. That's someone else's problem now. :D


Saw this on Facebook... ahahaaa! YES!

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