and just because I can...

I've updated my profile as well - gee I feel productive today :P

And life continues...

Well, I finally have access at work again; I guess they realized that this site wasn't that bad after all . Which means I can update on a regular basis, as I obviously wasn't willing to do so when had to do from home :P So, the most exciting new stuff in my life is happening at my job - we've hired 3 new people, and plan to hire at least 8 more, hopefully by the end of the year! Obrseamus now has a job here, starting tomorrow, which is good because 1) he's got a job again, 2) it's a job I know from my own experience he'll be good at and enjoy, and 3) I get a referral bonus after he's been here 3 months, which will be good for me. I have another friend as well that just gave me his resume, and I'm hoping for him as well, esp. since my manager trusts my judgement, but since he doesn't have the same type of experience as Seamus has, not as sure on him. Regardless, with a total of 11 people being added, our department has more than doubled in size now; the company itself is taking notice of what we do - i.e. we're no longer considered experimental - and we do have supervisor positions that will be opening up. And, better yet, my manager is keeping an eye on me for a possibility - as she put it, we're going to be stretched to keep up with things, especially me since I'm the evening person with experience, and thus will need to do my own job, keep an eye on newcomers, and help them out when needed, so this is the time for me to show what I can do, and really shine :-) She already knows that I can come up with ideas and improvements, she knows I'm fairly decent with computers, and that I can multi-task, as well as help her out with some of the reports she has to do, so now it's just pulling everything together and wrapping it neatly with a bow :-) Keep your fingers crossed for me - I want that title!

On the home front, my brother and his wife have decided to separate, which though I feel for his pain, I think is the best thing for them to have done, since they weren't happy, and at least my brother was stressed enough to have some physical ailments. Call me selfish, but I'd prefer my brother not develop an ulcer if there's an alternative! So, because of this, I had Thanksgiving at my place, for the first time ever. And even though there were just the two of us, I did the whole turkey (also for the first time ever), stuffing, gravy, and green beans. Since the green beans were the only thing I've done before, it was slightly nerve-wracking, but it came alright in the end, and he was nice enough to tell me the turkey was tasty and tender. I think I like the turkey cooking bags, they definitely do help with the whole process! And, as a bonus side-effect, my place is currently extremely clean, which means instead of worrying about cleaning, for a few days at least I can concentrate on getting the presents done that I've planned and started for Pandy. I've got most of my presents already bought and wrapped so the worst part is over now, but this is going to be a strange Christmas since I'm not going out west to be with my folks. The family back here is going to hold a get-together instead, which should be nice, and in my case, relaxing. Flying is bad enough as it is, add a holiday to the mix, and it just gets 10x worse!

And of course, as normal, other stuff is going on in my life :-) Unfortunately, fencing isn't one of them yet We were going to be fencing inside along with the heavy fighters practice, however that washed out, and I'm not able to fence outside when it gets cold - if the renaulds didn't get me, the asthma would as soon as i warmed up and the cold air hit my lungs - sooo, I'm still hoping to be able to fence before spring reaches us, but am not holding my breath. I can't walk outside for the same reason, and because I'm getting ready for the holidays, I won't be able to DDR - no room with the tree. I've decided one year without any decorations is enough, so this year am putting up Christmas stuff for the cats to play with :-) I'm considering joining the "Y" again for the swimming, but I think that may wait until I can pay off/done some of my bills, which should be very soon. So, instead of fun exercise, we now have boring diet again

Other than that, Pandy, consider yourself *poked* to write in your blog - you've got your writing goal for that monthly thing, I know, but writing in your blog might count as well :-)