Why am I awake before 5 a.m. on a Saturday??

...or in this case awake just before 3 a.m.?

While I'm a long time sufferer of stress induced insomnia, this isn't that.  How do I know?  Well because I'm going for my first manicure in over 5 years.

I'll wait while you try to see where that's going.  No it's ok - I need another cup of coffee.

....

give up?  HA  As some of you are aware, I'm a twice quit smoker, stress eater, stress insomniac, and perhaps don't know but habitual nail biter.  That is unless things are going smoothly.  Well I will still be twice quit on the smoking with hopefully the brains not to try and resurrect my long love affair with nicotine.

Amazing how much stress can be relieved by a simple job change.  Amazing how you learn to cope as the pressure increases and increases until you almost get used to it.  The atmosphere of anger and dissidence becomes - if not tolerable then the norm rather than the exception.  The daily hate spewed talk radio blaring from across the hall becomes oh so much background noise for the stress and angst and anger fueled conversations.

So - the photo above is from Virginia Beach this year back in June.  I see this photo and I want to think "it was a dark and stormy night" but things are sometimes not what they appear.  It was dark.  It was stormy.  It was mid-morning and the last of the windy weather front was finally dissipating.

May we all find blue skies ahead during these dark and stormy times.

Good Morning Sunshine

Yeah and HI y'all

So the 2nd week on new job:  good and not good/pleasure pain/ you know the drill ... what do you expect from an ambidextrous confused individual such as myself?

In this case my confusion has merit.  I'm working for a security company.  Yay - I like security.  Security is good.  Things secure - zero problemos with da Stephanie.

WTF?  you  mean GUNS?  HANDGUNS?

Zero problemos went straight to OMG what? in 6 seconds flat

7 seconds if you're the east german judge


It's tough.  As you may or may not know, I abhor handguns.  They're just too easy to get out of a persons control and then boom the wrong person has it, be a child or a perpetrator or OMG honey was that you coming up the stairs -- too bad I really didn't mean to like shoot and kill you ya know.

A friend of mine reminded me that better trained security than the Barney Fife School of Deputy-ship.

Oh well.  I shall see if this is a hurdle I can overcome.  I think it is simply because my issue always has been the ease of purchase of handguns and of course the the ease of concealment (where concealed carry is legal) and the idiots that leave it on the end table for their kid to find.  I would hope and pray that the persons we employ who are armed are smarter than that.

I will hope and pray.  Because if they're not -- well then my hope for the human race in regards to firearms just took a giant dunk in the toiliet.

and not in a Will Smith "flushed" sorta way.


fwiw - photo above - while looking like a sunset is actually a sunrise at virginia beach - just after I accepted the employment agreement for the place where I currently work.

Places you never thought you'd find yourself

The last few weeks have been something else alllll together.  Last we left our intrepid heroine, we were making room for change.  Apparently we did such a good job it was changes.

and then some.

I'm certain you will recognize the Virginia Beach view from the photo.  We had planned a Wednesday - Saturday mini-vacay end of June.  However, I was contacted by a security company who wanted to interview me so I figured oh well we'll just leave a little later on Wednesday and I'll squeeze that interview in first.

HA.  After 3 hours, they offered me the job and I agreed to start 2 weeks after the following Monday.  That meant we left for Va Beach a bit later and of course that was alllll we talked about on the way down but it did give us 3 days to make plans and such.  As you can see from the photo, it was a stormy windy vacation. Still the ocean doesn't close for wind or rain.

I now find myself doing payroll and general accounting for a union based security firm.  That is definitely not something I ever anticipated.  I find myself driving the beltway to get to work - another thing I thought I would never do again.  Instead of the relaxed atmosphere of my prior employment, I am not in a place that does not even recognize dress down Friday nor are jeans allowed.

However it's room to grow and learn and Jon bless him is sooooo proud.  Also the insurance, while still quite expensive, is a better plan that what I had before.

My darling husband.  Make room for it and it will happen.  Perhaps I need to ask him how to make room for a winning lottery ticket.  Do you give it its own room?  :)

photo taken June 2012 Virginia Beach, VA