Today was my last day at my job at the UW. It doesn't feel like it's over yet and I can't believe that I don't HAVE to go into the office on Mon. or Tues. of next week. I say HAVE as opposed to SHOULD because technically, I don't have to go in but I should just to tie up a couple loose ends. Hey! That qualifies as volunteer work and that's okay, too. But for now, I will spend the holidays with friends and adopted family and try to relax and enjoy myself. I go to the temp agency on Friday to take my typing test so that I can get myself some temp work while I wait for my interviews to start. And that's pretty much it around here. I already got my PA drivers license and am just waiting on a title certificate for my car to arrive so that I can get my car registered in PA. I am totally psyched about my new car insurance. I have a great plan and my agent is really nice and super helpful. Yup...I've definitely reached adulthood. Only adults would be excited about car insurance. And health insurance. And all things having to do with insurance, I suppose. Did you know that they even have *cancer insurance*? Crazy...but then again, maybe not.

Bbbrrrrrrrrrrr! Ok. It's officially cold outside. But here in the House of G., there is a fire in the fireplace and a too hot hot tub to sit in. The too hot part was my own stupid fault. I quite enjoy t.v. or books in front of the fire with my baby girl curled up against me...yak, yak, yak. So, it looks like it is going to be a very Lanky Thanksgiving and a very Dysfunctional X-mas with the fam. Did I just write "fam"? WTF?!? Anyway, looking forward to being present for the annual fight b/w Nanny and Aunt Mamie over the neck and the wings (Nanny corrected me a dinner last night, Ang:>) and Larry saying "This is delicious, Dollllllllll" in that nasally Larry voice of his. Hee! This year will be a little odd since normally I go the G house for pie after dinner with my parents but this year I will do dinner with the G's & Co. and have pie (maybe) with my dad and his girlfriend. You know, I think that having your parents separate/divorce when you are an adult is probably more difficult in some ways. When you are a kid, and your parents split up and you start splitting the holidays between them, it's just something that you have to do. But when you are an adult, you don't HAVE to do anything and you have to make a decision to attend or not. Because then you have to take the high ground and go be nice to your mom/dad's new boyfriend/girlfriend and his/her kids and grandchildren even tho you don't want to. Bleah. And if you're my brother, you get to skip out on it entirely b/c you are 700 miles away. But he'll get his when he has T-giving with my mom's dysfunctional family;> Aren't I a downer? The only thing worse than holidays spent with your dysfunctional family is not having a job yet and having to say "No, I'm still looking" to everyone who asks.

It's a rainy Sunday afternoon and all I want to do is curl up with my dog and take a nap/read a book/watch t.v. or maybe do all three. I must, however, do job stuff and cannot allow relaxation to commence until I have finished with my appl. and essay. Fun, fun, fun...I suppose I should be thinking about holiday cards, as well. I always get really excited when I buy the cards and writing the first few is fun but then I get bored and wish I hadn't bought any at all. Maybe I should stop sending them...But then, how often do any of us send "snail mail?" And so it begins...

This time I made a list of things to mention, so here goes...First, I have to say that often times doing the right thing is hard. Really hard. I did not get the job offer that I was hoping to get and today the person who got the job over me had her first day. We were all expected to congregate in the lunch room for a "meet and greet" type-deal with fruit and bagels, etc. I had planned to sleep late and then take a leisurely stroll (ha!) to New Holland to pick up $$$$$. Then this morning I decided to take the "high ground" and not let them get me down. After all, it's not the new person's fault that I applied and interviewed for the same job twice within 2.5 months and got rejected twice within 2.5 months. So, bleah. She's very nice but that doesn't mean that I am volunteering to hang out with her. So, that's that. I am currently looking for employment elsewhere and hope to find something soon. I don't really want to have to talk about the Stamp Act to a room full of 8th graders:> I guess I could be Alissa's assistant...Second, I went to church for the first time since I was 12 or 13 years old. Well, not including weddings, etc. I tried out the UU church in Lanky and it was a very nice service. I didn't get that feeling like I was going to be struck down where I stood like I felt in my former church of long ago. I think I could get into this...it's a lot about community and tolerance and "thinking globally and acting locally" and that's something that really appeals to me. Third, I think that instead of being cremated and having my remains tossed any old place (upon my death that is--not just taking a stroll down to the old crematorium for fun) I think I'd like to have my remains made into diamonds. They did an article in the Sunday newspaper here and it was quite interesting. I think funerals, on the whole, are a ridiculous waste of money. I mean, you're dead. Why would you waste thousands and thousands of dollars to prolong decomposition? Just a plain old pine box costs $700. WTF?!? Put my ass in a cardboard box and shove me in the oven. Besides, burials are such a waste of space. I mean really. You're dead. What are you going to do about it? Use the life insurance money (if there is any) for a vacation or give some to charity or fund a scholarship for a family member or something. Or use it to create diamonds from the remains of your loved one. They reported in the paper that it only costs about $2-3k to do it. That is so much cheaper than a funeral and you could have a little piece of mom or dad or whomever to carry with you, unless you lost it and that would be bad. And they say that these diamonds are frequently of higher quality than diamonds found in nature. Interesting. Definitely some food for thought...

No time to blog today. Must be up at 4 am (well before the butt crack of dawn) to do some presentations. Only 2.5 weeks left of insanely early presentations. Then I will have a week off for the holidays and it will be back to looking for a job/temping/whatever the hell else comes along. I always have lots of things to address in my blog, but like Alissa and Scott have already mentioned, it's hard to remember what you wanted to say by the time you get to sit down and blog...sigh...Another day perhaps. Will blog soon--I promise:>