Don't know yet...

I have an online meeting with my manager tomorrow. (Wednesday the 31st)
It was already scheduled, we try to meet every week via Zoom.
It's nice, I can get up, shower and put on clean pajamas and park in front of the computer for an hour or so.

I sent him an email with the reasons behind my wish to work at a different program this fall. I don't know what he will say or how it will turn out. I *hope* that I can just transfer to a different school and start a program from the beginning.

That's really where my heart is, although it took getting my ass kicked by the current job to really solidify that in my head. That and conversation with my best friend, the guy who is always my number one supporter and fan.

He has a way of cutting through the extraneous stuff and getting to the point, although he has lots of other talents, too. Still my favorite person in the whole universe.

And really, building a new program is the best utilization of my particular skill set. I have high regard for the company so far, and I know I can help them build a good reputation in a new location.

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In other news, one of my smalls, Sam, wrote a story in his Kindergarten class. He enthusiastically read it to me on Thursday last week.

He came to me, big brown eyes sparkling behind his glasses and said all in a rush, "Hey, I wrote this story and I drew some pictures it's about a famous baseball player in history do you want to hear it?"

Well of course I said yes. Sat down with him at a table so he could read it and show me the pictures.

I would love to have taken photos to share, but I have to settle for telling you which player he chose to write about.

Babe Root.

Yep. That's how he said it and wrote it. Of course I didn't laugh. I didn't correct him, either. I just listened and admired the art work that went along with it.

Babe Root.

Olympic Coverage

We've been watching a bit of Olympic coverage at our house.

Show of hands here... anyone miss Boob Costas?

I am not sure why I have always disliked him, but his stupid remark back in 2004 when the team from Djibouti entered the stadium in Athens, "You bet jaBOOTY," did not improve my feelings for the man.

Then he interviewed GW Bush in 2008 during the Olympics.
The interview was billed as a sort of rah rah thing, to discuss our athletes and the games.

Is that what happened?

Nope.
From my blog waaaay back then,

After years of being thought of as a sports commentator, he seemed intent on proving (a la Geraldo "I'm a serious journalist" Rivera) that he was also a serious journalist who could ask the hard hitting questions.
The 'gotcha' questions.

Questions that had nothing to do with the athletes who have worked their asses off most of their lives to get where they are. He asked human rights questions, political questions, and tried really hard to look professional.


It pissed me off. It pushed aside the accomplishments of the amazing people competing in the Olympics, solved nothing, and made Boob, once again, look like an asshole. He does not need to do more things that make him look that way.
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The DVR is set to catch the events we're interested in. We fast forward through a lot. We skip events in the middle of those recordings, too.

Can't wait for the balloon events, though.

Nope. Maybe there's hope? Don't know.

Got an email this afternoon with the news. The job I thought would be a good fit has hired someone... it wasn't me.

I'm disappointed, I think it would have been great. But it's not like there's anything I can do about it.

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Had my first physical therapy appointment for the ankle today. I've already improved the range of motion. I had not been aware that there was such a difference between the sides. The foot/ankle on the left is much more flexible and not as stiff.

I am one of those odd people who actually do the exercises given to me. I want the foot to get better. So I did all the exercises at my appointment and did them again this evening.

It was good to see Shawn again. We have kept in touch a bit, although both of us are busy people. So it wasn't like seeing a stranger. And I know that whatever he comes up with, he is considering my best interests and making sure I heal up the best way possible.

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While I was on my way home from there, Matt got here. He's been helping me on Mondays this summer. Dumping ballast. House is 90% dehoarded. Because we can't have that, oh goodness no, we filled up the car out at my school and brought my stuff home. We'll go out there again in a week and get the rest.
It's sitting in the living room in the cleaned up area. Of course.

I talked with the principal. He's always been a supportive and helpful guy. He doesn't want me to leave. I don't want to, either. But I can't stay. Unless of course NO ONE wants to hire me.

My friend Karen pointed out this evening that she thinks Fluffy will eventually implode and things will change/improve. I think she's probably right. I just don't know if I can wait for that to happen and retain the shreds of sanity I have left after dealing with the C.O.C. for the last year. Blech. What a bunch of nasty individuals.

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I got a call this afternoon from another prospective employer.
I have an interview at 1 on Tuesday afternoon. And of course I have to drive all the way to Butthump Egypt again.
I am getting tired of having to go places I've never been. I've been doing it a whole hell of a lot lately, though.

Interviews. Trips to train station. I get to do that again on Friday, wahoo. Finding the new physical therapy place. And since he's working out of two locations, I get to find a second place on Wednesday.

I'm going to end up not being able to remember where my comfort zone actually is!
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When I went to lunch with Sunshine and Carey on Saturday, we talked a little about my job search. Fluffy's husband works for a local organization that, among other things, runs youth camps. The organization has been advertising for people to fill spots running their after school sites. I told Sunshine that I had not applied because I thought that Fluffy's husband might somehow be involved in the office, see my application and tell her that I was job hunting. Sunshine used to work for this organization, and she assured me that what Mr. Fluffy does in his job is completely separate from the before/after school program. So when I got home on Saturday afternoon I answered the ad and emailed them my resumé.
That's who called me today.

So the interview is at one. I'll be leaving early. Again. I don't want a repeat of what happened a week ago when I left early and the exit I was supposed to take from the freeway did not exist. That was not a happy moment. And I ended up being late to the interview. Ugh. Not good.

I have not heard anything from that interview, either. The person who interviewed me was leaving on her vacation the very next morning, however. So they still might want to hire me. At this point, I do not know.

One other place I contacted has not called or emailed.
::shrug:::

So I'll bring my drawing supplies and sit in the parking lot and draw if I show up early to the interview.

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Are you watching the Olympics?

I wasn't going to watch. The coverage frustrates me.

So tired of the big events being televised at 3 AM and then having the event chopped up in segments in order to sandwich coverage of REALLY exciting sports like butt hair grooming and crotch fungus scraping in the middle of the main events.

That and Boob Costas. I don't like Boob. He's annoying. A pipsqueak. Every time he's on, I want to reach through the screen and slap him upside the head. He just has that 'slap me' look.
I can't understand why he's still allowed to announce anything.
He should win a gold medal for being inane. Or perhaps he's been in training all along for the butt hair grooming or crotch fungus scraping. He has that furtive, 'I am itchy in places you don't even want to know about' look.

But Eric has been recording events and we're watching them in the evenings. We can watch six hours of coverage in about 45 minutes. Once you fast forward through all the commercials and men's combined silverware washing/carpet cleaning, you can watch the stuff you're interested in fairly quickly.

So that's the news. I think it's probably a good idea for me to go back to bed. But I was lying there with all this stuff swirling around in my head and thought I should get up and write it down. Now I can probably rest a little better. Here's hoping.

Something special in the Olympics?

Evidently there are going to be some interesting moments for three Oregon athletes in Beijing.

From KGW's website comes this gem.

" Nick Symmonds, Andrew Wheating and Christian Smith, all Oregon-based runners, became half-mile heroes overnight with efforts that ranged from convincing to courageous. All three won births in next month's Olympic Games in Beijing."

What does that mean, exactly? Are they going to collect babies? Have one? One can win a birth?

Now I can see using the word berth. Perhaps that's what they meant?

::snicker:::

Stupid men yelling at other men's balls!

You know, I think a cheerleader ranks in the top 5 most useless things in the universe. When I was in high school, one of my friends had a crush on a wrestler from our school. She dragged me to a wrestling match one evening when I had nothing else to do. I had never been. I never went again, either.

I really pissed my friend off, actually. I could not stop laughing. I came very close to wetting my pants. (This was in the days when I still had full bladder control!)
Two sweaty boys were rolling around putting their faces and heads in embarrassing places on each other!!!! Girls in little skirts sitting around the edge of the mat, chanted and smacked the mat with their hands. The wrestling cheerleaders!! Just recalling it makes me snicker.

So today, my hubby was watching another really useless thing. Golf. He doesn't understand why it annoys me to hear the announcers and why I find the whole thing a crashing bore.

ANYWAY. I found it hysterical that every time Tiger or one of the other 'goffers' was making a putt, half the spectators bellowed, "Get in the hole!!" I wanted to reach into the television and smack the crap out of them. Their hollering added still another annoying layer to the bothersome coverage. Two stupid Englishmen trying to sound intelligent while describing men in funny clothing, chasing a little white ball out in the grass.

My grandfather used to watch golf on television on Sunday afternoons. As a child, I never could understand why people applauded when the golfer failed to hit that little ball into the hole on the first try. But the broadcast was always quite prim. No one yelled at the golfers.

It's only been the past few years that I've heard golfing's version of cheerleader hollering , "Get in the hole!" Useless. But entertaining.
I wonder if I can find an occasion to use the phrase while rolling around with ...

You know what? I probably won't finish that thought in writing.

The Boob Costas Show

The Olympics are over.

We watched a bit, but unlike NBC programming execs, we actually have to work for a living. So, we kept our regular bedtime schedule. Since the events they were televising occured hours and hours before they were shown, I find it difficult to understand why the stuff people wanted to see was on at midnight or 2 a.m..

On the AOL welcome screen yesterday was this gem: AOL News - 10 Suggestions to Boost the Olympics I don't know how long it will be up, but feel free to go look. Seems AOL's ratings are suffering, too. You might make one of the AOL execs take time out from listening to their customer's needs (HA! HA!) to rejoice at the boost in the ratings caused by you clicking on the link! But I digress. You may have noticed that already. I do it all the time.

Here are a few of the suggestions... paraphrased and changed so AOHell won't try to enhance their falling revenue by suing me for copyright infringement.

The first suggestion was to make the Olympics more like reality TV. Oh please. First, while lots of people watch that garbage, many more of us ignore it completely. And the idea of fitting cameras to top athletes so they can wear them 24/7... what crap. The worst thing about this idea is that someone actually gets paid to think these things up! I'm in the wrong business.

Another suggestion: Let viewers possibly vote in the competition. While they may not be able to judge, I'm sure they'd feel more engaged. And engaging them is the name of the game, right? Just like voting in a national election makes SUCH a difference. Can you see me rolling my eyes?

Suggestion 3... use technology to engage the people who are watching. Podcasting, text messages.. the one that cracks me up is making it possible to have a ringtone for your cell phone with 'Olympians saying cool phrases.' Can we pause a moment while I retch?

Moving on to number 4.
Play up the big rivalries. We could either feel like we're helping the underdog by rooting for him/her or join with the rest of the group by spitting on the underdog! Fun fun fun!! Just like seventh grade!

Number 5. Decide more medals by pitting all the athletes in an event against each other instead of the clock. It's not practical for every event, but this idea isn't actually too bad. The most exciting races I saw had the athletes going head to head. It's just not something that's going to work for most of the competitions.
Alissa Quart, author of teen marketing book Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers, says that teens like to watch losers. The teens she's talking about (the ones who are brand conscious and obsessed with status) also like to act like losers, dress like losers, smell like losers. Let's toss the idea of deriving enjoyment from losers, and maybe the youth of America will clean up their act? I tell ya, we're looking for oil in the wrong part of the world... there are all these greasy heads within just a few miles of all of us. Damn, I am digressing again.

Offer "hip" music... and "hip" talk. The "hip" is in quotes because guess who decides what's "hip"? THOSE SAME GREASY LOSERS!! Again, while lots of people care about that garbage, the vast majority of us ignore it completely, in favor of things a little more intelligent. Carol Moog, a blues harmonica player and consumer psychologist, (now there's an interesting combo...) thinks that Olympic events need to be set to more current music. One problem with that is the stuff that's current isn't music. Not even close. Remember, you can't spell CRAP without RAP. Personally, I am very tired of the constant sound of what passes for music today played on every commercial.

Here are my suggestions for NBC and anyone else who wants to boost the ratings for the Olympics.
1. Get rid of Boob Costas. The man is a dumbass. Inane comments, (thinking back to the Athens Olympics here and recalling his remark as the team from Djibuti entered the stadium, 'you bet Djibuti'... and the man still kept his job!!) annoying smirk... the worst part is, he takes himself seriously. He's a tool... just not the sharpest tool in the box. At least we were spared Katie Couric at the Turin Olympics.
2. Show the events that people want to watch at a decent hour. You'll boost your ratings hugely by just doing that one thing.
3. Stop breaking up the coverage. If you're going to show ice skating, then show the damn ice skating! Don't interrupt the competition by switching off to Men's combined basket weaving and silverware washing! FINISH THE DAMN EVENT! Just because the program executives learned most of what they know by watching Sesame Street with its 15 second chunks of knowledge doesn't mean everyone likes their life arranged that way. You're NOT engaging us, Doofus. You think most of America has the attention span of a Cheerio, but that's YOU... not us.
Only two years until the next Olympics. Email NBC now!
nbcolympicsfeedback@nbcuni.com