Integration

Well... just got home from a visit with Dr. Rory.

I've set an intention for this time off from work to give full rein to the grief I've been denying for years. We're between a full lunar eclipse that happened on the winter solstice and a full solar eclipse on January 4. It's a time of huge changes for most people. If you chose not to change, to be stiff and unyielding, you will pay for it with lots of pain.

My grief came up loud and clear while I was on the table. He poked a couple places in my back and I was sobbing. I told him I was working on letting go of not only my fears but all my hopes and dreams as well. I have to let go of the grief that's been pushed aside and stuffed away to let go of the weight.

He's not the first to comment on my grief. My acupuncturist did as well. During our last session she put a needle into a point on my left wrist that had been hurting. It zinged all the way to the end of my finger. The point she hit is on the heart meridian, which is loaded with grief.

He saw my Open Hearts pendant. My gift to myself this year was this pendant. I bought it for myself as a reminder that I can't let anything new into my life if my heart isn't open. I also can't let anything out, either. If I want to make new choices, the old choices have to go.
Open hearts, open circles, spirals. The dark feminine is coming to the fore.

Rory told me that 2011 is a year of connection, desire, understanding. What he called the dark hag of desire is coming up, the things we desire in our lives are coming to the front and demanding attention. We can either consciously chose to bring her into the light or ignore her and she will come up when she damn well wants to. I choose to bring her up now, to gently coax her into the light so we can work together on my terms.

He also pointed out we have two balls in our lives, one rubber, one glass. Our rubber balls are our careers, our jobs. If we let them drop we can bounce back and re-define ourselves. How many times have I changed careers?

Our relationships with each other are glass. Especially this year, if we let these drop they will shatter beyond repair. Some are already cracked before they fall, they may be able to be healed. Those already in free fall will break this year. Some people may not realize their relationships are in free fall and will try to hang on, only to watch them shatter anyways.

I suspect there will be a lot of divorces and business partnerships dissolving this year. And if they don't dissolve, the death of one of the partners because they chose not to change or adapt to the new energy.

See what the acupuncturist has to say tomorrow, and my Quantum Touch instructor on Thursday. It's going to be an intense week.

A week to the holiday

Bah humbug.

No, that's not for the season, just for the over commercialization. I'm avoiding the malls as much as possible, and since I don't have to buy gifts for anyone, not much of an issue.

Went to see my therapeutic coach instructor Monday night since I couldn't seem to solve my parts issues. One of the first things out of her mouth was that I'm trying to do too much, hence why nothing seems to get done. I need to focus on one thing, give it time to integrate, play with a limited amount of other things, then go back to the focus subject.

In other words, pick one thing and stick with it. So I'm choosing to focus on the tai chi, as that feeds not only my head, but my heart and body as well. The rest will just have to wait.

The other thing that has me wondering is the integration time. Just how much time do I need to give my brain in order to integrate what I've learned? It feels like I'm spending a lot of time in idle when I should be doing things. Perhaps I really do have that much to integrate.

A week from today is the DoJoKo holiday party. Weather is supposed to be good, so everyone should be able to make it this year. The party room is reserved, I can borrow the projector from work, encourage Jones clan to bring their latest games and controllers and go from there.

I'll do some baking on Friday and Saturday, stuff that John and I can have that's low carb. Dig out the almond and coconut flours and other good stuff.

Short week at work, since we have Friday and all of the following week off. See if I can find a working laptop to bring home and do some work on the sly for licensing.

And now for the snowstorm...

Gotta love winter in Minnesota. Just got through the 5th snowiest blizzard in recorded weather history. The worst was the Halloween blizzard in 1991 with 28", this one had 17.1" officially. Some friends in Savage, about 20 miles south of me, had 22", where I have about a foot in my backyard, not including the drifting.

With the snow comes the subzero cold. A high today of 3 degrees F with an overnight low of -14. Brrr. At least the heat is keeping up and it's comfortable in here.

And as it's storming outside, it's storming inside. Went to see an acupuncturist Friday night that is willing to trade acupuncture for me ghostwriting a Traditional Chinese Medicine nutritional guide for her. As we went through my patient intake she noted several things and are in direct relation to what I've been noticing.

When she put the needles in me, more than energy began to flow. Thursday night my former boss and I had a discussion about software licensing and how the Boy is doing. She asked me to stop helping him keep up with the EUSR's and SR's for two reasons. One is she's afraid of legal ramifications of me not being on her payroll while I'm doing the work. The other is that the Boy isn't keeping up. Her thinking is that if he fails, then she has justification with the !@#$%!! VP to bring me back because he can't keep up. She can leverage that it's a two person job and who better to bring back than the person that knows how to do it best.

In the Boy's words from a previous conversation, let them feel the pain, that things won't change until the higher ups feel the pain. I fear that if they feel the pain he may lose his job.

As soon as I started talking about this situation, the acupuncturist picked up that I am in love with him. I told her I'm working through Calling in The One, and it turns out she has the book as well. She thinks I need to ask him where I fit into things.

Here's how this all ties together between the conversations I had with my former boss and the acupuncturist. The Boy has had very little motivation since his wife hit him with the divorce request in the fall of 2008. She took away the one thing that makes him him - his martial arts. In essence, she blackmailed him into giving up what makes him happy to make her happy. Without his martial arts he doesn't have an outlet for his energy, his feelings, so he's not whole, and it shows.

It shows in his lack of motivation at work. With as many EUSR's and SR's piled up as there are right now, I could have most of that knocked down in a week and keep it stable. He's plain and simple not keeping up. Now if that's part of his plan to get me back in, then I need to know that so I don't fight our boss on that.

It shows on his face and in his hair. Every time I see him the lines are deeper and his hair gets more and more gray. He's more salt and pepper than his dad is, and he's only 41, whereas his dad is in his 70's.

As I've been working through Calling in The One, two themes keep coming up: one is letting people see that I am vulnerable and am willing to ask for and accept help; the other is telling people what I need from them in a way that they understand and are willing to give it to me. Best way to start is to tell the Boy what I need from him, both personally and professionally.

If it works, yeah, I get what I need. If it backfires, then I've expressed my need and the Universe can act on it from there.

Heat, finally...

I believe the heat saga is finally solved. Helps when you get competent people out to do the repairs...

This morning the association had the company that maintains the boiler come out to take a look at things. The gentleman they sent out, Pat, took at look at things, took apart what Richard the plumber did a couple weeks ago, and discovered that the valve that lets the hot water into my heating lines was put in backwards. The incompetent idiot that put it in two years ago put it flowing the wrong direction.

To add to that, there was a good sized air bubble in the system somewhere in the pipes around my bedroom. Since the bleeder valve was put in on the wrong side of the shut off valve (by the incompetent idiot), bleeding the line did no good.

Pat took out the incoming valve and put it in so the hot water flows the correct direction. He then also moved the bleeder valve so it's on the correct side of the shut off valve. He confirmed that I did install my thermostat correctly so the system will now heat my unit.

He cranked up the thermostat to 80 before he left, so I'm actually starting to get some heat in the house. You have no idea of how happy I am to have heat and know that I'm not going to freeze this winter.
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I will make one last comment about the last temp job I had. The VP had asked the director to have flowers delivered to me for doing such a 'wonderful job' - gag. The director picked out a beautiful bouquet.

Pink, orange and lavender roses, dark purple and green carnations in a square glass vase with colored glass stones in the bottom. I got them last week Tuesday.

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Lots of other stuff going on. The tai chi and 'Calling in "The One"' classes are surfacing a lot of stuff, layers of onion I thought I was done peeling. Evidently not.
Several of the issues are parts issues with very similar things going on. I emailed my therapeutic coaching teacher and she has time Monday night, so I'll go see her to get some help. See if between us we can't collapse the sugar addiction, the weight plateau, not practicing my tai chi, not doing my Calling homework, not taking care of myself.

I'm also hooking up with an acupuncturist I met while I was doing the rounds of BNI groups. She wants help writing and editing a nutritional e-book and is willing to trade acupuncture for writing. Now we just need to find a time to meet and figure out how this will work.

Gotta do something. My back, right about my heart level, hurts. I saw Dr. Rory Friday night and he couldn't get my back to move at all. Been doing a few things to loosen it up, but I can feel the energy getting stuck. I believe the acupuncture can help open up the meridians, get the energy moving so I can get beyond this. Do the qigong exercise Frank gave me to help realign my posture as well.

I feel like the bubble is ready to pop on a lot of things. Have my teacher lance the mental/emotional side, the acupuncture get the physical energy moving and the spiritual will flow into harmony.

Things are moving...

Things are moving, indeed.

As I've been writing about for a few weeks, I started Tai Chi Chaun Tuesday night with the Boy's dad. Frank has one other student currently that's been taking class from him for two years. She's OK with me starting class, so she said, because it never hurts to review the basics. And I am starting from scratch.

Learned the basic Tai Chi stance. Been working on it twice a day, 10 minutes at a time. Thankfully I have an iPad app called Zen Meditation that allows me to set timers within the meditation timer. It does a countdown so I can get into position, sounds a bell to signal the start, sounds a different bell to let me know I can lower my arms, and another bell to let me know the meditation is done. I can change the timing so as I can tolerate standing in stance longer, I can easily change the times and save them as presets for later use.

Frank is also a believer in the old school 174 move tai chi, not the 24 or 48 move versions. So I have a bit to learn yet. Duh, I just started, yes I have a LOT to learn, and hopefully he'll be around for many more years to teach me.

I did poke the Boy on Tuesday when I was over in his building about starting his practice up again. Not until he's done with school in another year and a half. See if I can't prod him back when he's on break between class.

Another thing Frank asked me to do was keep a journal. Back to the iPad and another app called Chapters. One app, many 'chapters' to keep track of different writing projects. I have one journal for tai chi, one for questions for Frank as they come up, and another for as I work through the book 'Calling in "The One"'.

I've noted what has been happening in my body as I am in stance. If my eyes are closed I sway like I used to when I was regularly doing healing shares. If my eyes are open, little to no sway. One of my questions for next week is about the breathing - how am I to direct the energy as I breathe in and out? I can feel the energy moving, but not sure if it's clockwise, counterclockwise, if each of the circles can go their own direction... Yeah, lots of questions not answered so far in any of the books I have.

Thinking of "The One", got an email from them that they had scholarships available for the seven week teleclass. Didn't know if I'd get one or not, but I sure wouldn't if I didn't apply. I did get a partial scholarship for 25% off the class and the option to pay for it over three months.
I've already been working through the book, doing the assignments. I do believe, however, that attending the class will reinforce what I've already been doing. Hold me accountable for getting through it in seven weeks.

Yes, letting go of the Boy is one of the things I suspect I'll have to do during this class. Can I salvage the friendship while letting go of the roadblocks? Time will tell.

Yeah...

So yesterday conspired to be a crazy day. I knew a couple weeks ago I was having a friend over for supper. In going back to work I needed to Taez's oil changed cause he's two months overdue but at the correct mileage for an oil change, so I scheduled that.

Then came AB's slow decline. I knew after talking to Jodi the animal communicator that he was starting to wind down. He'd gone off his food a couple times this week and didn't want me holding or touching him. He did choose to come and meditate with me both Friday and Saturday mornings...

I've gotten to the point I would rather let him go too early than too late. I let Raini go too long, same with Shadow and Tabby. I wasn't willing to put him through that. Could he have made it another week or two? Maybe, but I suspect he would have been suffering with the coughs, not feeling good, etc. Quality of life vs. quantity. I'd rather do quality.

That meant scheduling his euthanasia for yesterday. His first set of parents wanted to be there, as Tabby's happened so suddenly. Tuesday they euthanized the one they did keep, so to have a second go in the same week, the third in a month was hard for them.

They took his body home to bury him next to the one they let go of. Their kids are making garden stones for all three cats.

In a way I'm glad I was crazy busy yesterday. I cried when I got home from the vet, then had to get right back to cleaning and getting ready for dinner. I didn't have the house perfectly clean like I wanted. The main areas were clean and clutter free (my office, not so much). For those that know me and have been to my place, these pictures may astound you - clean floors, clear countertops, the kitchen table is usable...




Yes, I have a ways to go. There are 8-9 bags of stuff in Taez to go to ARC for donation. There will be more before the year is done. Time to clean house and make space.

Thinking of making space... Dinner and conversation with Stacey last night were just what I needed. To be able to talk about the metaphysical side of things and have someone know and understand the references and get the meaning is a wonderful gift. She borrowed my copy of the Debbie Ford documentary "The Shadow Effect." I think she'll like it.

RIP AB

Rest in peace, AB.

Go play with Tabby, your brother Joey (who his first parents just let go of on Tuesday), Raini, Shadow, Gilly, Tish, Poochie, Duke and all the others waiting at Rainbow Bridge. I'll see in you in a while.

More on the circumstances tomorrow.

Best laid plans...

Well, the idea of having a cleaning service come in to help on Friday was cancelled because I had to go in to work on Friday. The cleaning service is Monday - Friday only, so there went that.

It's going to be an interesting five weeks. The woman I'll be working for is reviled on the floor she works on. The company had a not so good quarter, so all budgets have been cut. Evidently she doesn't think that applies to her. She's dropped over a million dollars on a consulting firm to help plan out what she's supposed to be doing, and at a quarter million a month, there's several months to go. Website work that should and can be easily done in house she's farming out at over $125k, and the branding package will be about the same.

She's one of those nightmares that is sweet to your face and throws you under the bus the minute your back is turned. Or blames everyone else for decisions she made that she no longer likes. Piece of work this one is.

Hopefully soon the senior VP above her will call her on the carpet for her extravagance. Her current admin found a new position because she couldn't tolerate the nonsense. She also talked to HR about what's going on so they are aware of this BS.

As the boy said to me today, grit your teeth and think of the money. And move as much energy as I can.

Thinking of energy and the boy, I start Tai Chi with his dad next week Tuesday. His other student is from my area so we may be able to carpool back and forth. That would be nice on nights when the weather isn't so good.

I've picked up several books on Tai Chi over the last couple weeks. This would be a good time to PhotoRead all of them to get a good overview. That will have to wait until Sunday.

Still trying to prep for dinner Saturday night. Last night I made butternut squash soup. Cut up two squash, simmered them in chicken stock and water, then took the stick blender to it. Ended up with a gallon+ of soup. Tonight I made nut meal crackers - almond meal, parmesan cheese, oregano & chives with a bit of water and olive oil to bind it together. YUM! Tomorrow night I need to make the olive dip - one can black olives, one jar green olives, one 8 oz block of cream cheese. Add drained olives to food processor, buzz once or twice, add in cream cheese and buzz until smooth. Addicting.

I figure if I get something done every night this week there will be less I need to do on Saturday so I can concentrate on the cleaning. At least find the dining room table so we can eat at it, mop the floor, put stuff in the office and close the door. It will be better the next time she comes over.

AB is still hanging in there, barely. I suspect soon I will have to lay him to rest as well. At least these last 10 months of his life have been quiet and peaceful where he can bask in the sunshine on my bed.

For now, my rest will have to wait, got too much to do.

Back to work

After two months of freedom I'm back to work on Monday. I'll be working at the same company for a VP in a different business unit and location. She needs a fill in admin, as her current contract admin picked up a permanent job in the company and the VP needs to interview and settle on a permanent admin herself.

No, this isn't a position I want long term. Go in, babysit, make sure the place keeps running, hand over the keys to the next person. I'll be there for about a month.

Been working like crazy on finishing a wedding afghan for a co-worker. See if I can fit in lunch with her before the current admin leaves. It's seven plus miles between the two buildings, so an hour lunch will still take almost two hours with travel time and walking within the buildings.

Talked to the Boy's dad over the weekend about becoming his student. We talked for 45 minutes on the phone, him trying to figure out where I fit into his training and me trying to explain what I'm looking for. I'll head out for class November 9 to see if tai chi is what I'm looking for.

When you hear tai chi, you're probably thinking of the pictures of older folks in China doing the movements in slow motion in the park. While that is part of tai chi, it is in fact a deadly and healing martial art. What can harm can heal and healing can be hurtful. Intent and how you use the knowledge is the difference.

If the Boy's dad accepts me as a student, his tai chi class is Tuesday nights at 7. I've already set an intention that Tuesday nights will be calm, the roads dry and the temps above zero.
I may also prod the Boy into resuming his tai chi studies as well. I'll be taking at least three hours a week just for class - an hour's drive out and back, an hour for class, more for drive time if the weather isn't good. He's got a few blocks to walk/drive - maybe 90 minutes. See what happens.

If you haven't heard, Minnesota has been brutally windy the last two days. Our barometric pressure hit levels that are normally seen in a category 3 hurricane. We've been dealing with steady winds of 25-45 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. It's been dying down as today wore on.
Enough to make me and AB a bit squirley. Back to normal tomorrow.

Actually, tomorrow I need to organize the kitchen. I've hired a maid service to come in and clean the kitchen/dining room and bathroom before next week. I don't own a mop and bucket, nor do I want to invest in them. This is one of those times that paying someone to come in and clean is worth the money. If I like the service, I may have them come in once every six to eight weeks just to keep the place up.
Pay people for what they are passionate about. If they like to clean, let them do it. I'll focus on what I'm good at.

Lessons and reflections

I'm not fond of mirrors for a myriad of reasons. Some, yes, are due to my current body size and being overweight for 35 of my 43 years. Others are due to the metaphysical implications of mirrors and their meaning.

Metaphysical mirrors seem to be almost everywhere I look lately. Then again, if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything you see is a nail.

So what's the latest mirror? Tabby and AB. I spent an hour with Jodi the animal communicator Saturday morning. AB is winding down. His mind is still clear, his body is starting to fail him. He's been wobbly, his appetite is still good, needs more fluids. We're headed to the vet in an hour because when he purrs I can hear the mucus rattling in his lungs.
At this point all I can do is keep him comfortable. Saturday night he scared me because he just couldn't get comfortable. He'd be on my lap, couldn't sit still, jump down, want back up but couldn't make the jump himself. He was hurting and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. He's got maybe a month left, if that.

Tabby I couldn't have helped if I'd wanted to. Somewhere along the way she was damaged pretty badly and was not about to bond with anyone. By giving her a clean, quiet space for the last 10 months of her life I did the best I could for her.

Whatever happened to her, she wasn't willing to risk bonding with anyone for fear she'd be hurt again. That's a direct reflection on what's happened with me. As Jodi pointed out, part of why I have fallen for unavailable men is that I am unavailable myself. I'm not ready for a relationship yet. When I get my ducks together internally, the external will reflect that back to me. Someone will walk into my life and want me as I am.

As John Berry's song "She's Taken a Shine" says, "She's got a different air/She's taken a shine to him/becoming the woman she's never been/all the guys are wishin' they hadn't been so blind/She's taken a shine to life/now there's a sparkle in her eyes/they all missed a gem, a diamond within/she's taken a shine..."

So it's back to work on the list of what I need to have in the man in my life. The Boy reflected a lot of the good in me, helped me see and realize what I want. I was cleaning out a tablet to separate out my house ideas from my crocheting patterns and came across a list I'd written a year or two ago of the traits I want in a man. The Boy had all of those traits. What I had forgotten to list was legally available. In the next couple days I'll post my list of what I need/want in my male companion - let the Universe know I'm working my way to being ready for him.

Along the way I need to let go of things. Hence Tabby, and soon AB's, leaving my life. Let them go with grace and ease. I get the lessons they had for me, now they can move on to help others.

Some pets, however, seem to stay with me for lifetimes. I asked about Raini, and she's still hanging around. Evidently we've been doing this since ancient Egyptian times. Makes me wonder what has caused her to stay in cat form - why not evolve as I have? Figure it out when I go back to spirit.

Work on other stuff continues. I'm cranking on a wedding afghan. I'm now more than half done with it. I want to get it done so I can get it in to a gal at my former workplace - make a day of it to do lunch with her and check in on the boys doing my job.
Once that's done, I need to experiment with some baby afghans. I found a star pattern I like, but I want to modify it to fill in between the arms. If it works on the baby afghans, then I'll use that pattern for my kids' graduation afghans. First one is due by Memorial Day next year (aack - when did that happen?).

One thing at a time.

Days like this...

Gorgeous day. Not sure if we made another record or not, I'll take 80's in October any day.

Took Chael out for a 95 mile ride today. Went to my martial arts class, then headed out to look at the fall colors. Spent a good 2.5 hours out on the bike just wandering around. Been threatening to do that all summer and finally did it.

I'll admit that part of it I needed to get mileage and drive time to a potential new martial arts school. It's not that my current martial arts teacher is a bad teacher - far from it. There are some key differences in our opinions about chi - the body's energy field - and it's use in martial arts.

My current instructor does not believe in chi, or that the body's energy fields exist. I, on the other hand, do believe in the bio-electric field that I know for sure exists around and within the body. Hello, Quantum Touch instructor and Reiki Master Teacher, plus level three Spring Forest Qigong here? So, yeah, a bit disconcerting to find out he doesn't get it. What caused me to not pick up on this before, not sure, and at this point it doesn't matter.

What it does mean is that I've got until December to find a new instructor. I've paid through the end of the year and will keep going until then. Maybe I'll even continue after that. I do know I need to find someone that understands the energy flow and is open to me tweaking it once I understand the hows and whys of what they do.

One of the first people I want to talk to is the Boy's dad. He's been teaching since 1988 and has been doing martial arts for almost 40 years. I'm not fond of the idea of tae kwon do, but if doing that gets me what I am seeking, so be it.

If I do decide to go with the Boy's dad, it's a 70 mile round trip out to where he teaches twice a week. On top of class fees there's an additional 40 gallons of gas and 560 miles on my truck a month. At night. So another consideration would be weather, especially in January and February when it hits sub-zero for extended periods of time. Is he flexible if I miss class due to weather?

I shot an email off to the boy this morning asking him to forward my contact info to his dad. See if he does, or if I need to get after him - with only one brain cell functioning (so he says) his memory is a little short.

Then there's the furry boy, AB. He doesn't have hyperthyroid, but there are liver and kidney issues. I'm giving him canned food with extra water twice a day and adding milk thistle extract to his food to help with the liver functioning. He's mowing the food down, so he may not be noticing the milk thistle.

He's still a bit depressed without Tabby around. He's taken to sleeping on the bottom tier of a two tier cat hammock I bought for Raini and Shadow a couple years ago. He used to sleep in the living room recliner and be a bit of a pest when I was eating. Now he barely comes out of my room, except to use the litter box and eat.

I've got an appointment with our animal communicator next week. See what she can tell me about how Tabby is doing and what AB needs.

My gray ghost

My grey ghost has crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

For the last couple weeks Tabby hasn't been herself. In the last week she's been really wobbly, walking on her hind hocks (from her knees down), and her pupils weren't even. Since Sunday she's let me get close enough to pet her and pick her up without running away.

This was another of those days that when I made the vet appointment yesterday I knew I wouldn't be bringing her home. I got to hold her right up until they did the final shot. She knew I was there and I loved her.

AB is still going. We'll know tomorrow if he has hyperthyroidism for sure. I suspect he does given how much he eats despite his dental issues. I'll treat him like I did Raini - herbally and with energy work. No radiation or surgery.

I've got distractions coming in about a half hour in the form of the Jones clan. Mom and three of the girls are coming in for a concert. We'll drop the kids off at the concert and go enjoy ourselves.

I'll figure out what lessons Tabby had for me later.

Quick notes

Quick note on how things are going.

The new DSL is up and running. Had some fits and kittens to get my modem to work with Qwest, but now we're up to speed.

The new windows are in. That was an ordeal. I came home after a BNI meeting this morning to find my patio door WIDE open, two windows already torn out and a mess all over. Evidently the construction manager didn't bother to tell the crew I had cats or to only work on the office window until I got home so I could keep an eye on the cats. The construction manager will be getting a formal written complaint. The guys didn't bother to clean up after themselves, either.

Thankfully Tabby stayed under my bed and the open door didn't tempt AB to take a walk about.

I've made three BNI meetings so far this week. I've gotten one referral and one of the guys I talked to, his wife is a writer and his brother-in-law is a copy writer. I'll follow up with them next week once the website is built.

The next thing tonight is the third class for the website building. I need to sit down and write the content - at least now I know what content I need to write. Between meetings tomorrow I'll get that rolling.

Friday I head back to my old job to help the boys that took over my job. Sounds more and more like the boy will end up doing most, if not all, of my job. Cell phone guy is pushing back and not wanting to do what I assigned to him. Have a chat with them and my old boss about all of this and see where they want to go.

Ren Fest was a blast on Sunday. Spent 9+ hours walking around with Jones and Dominik clans. Made it before opening cannon and left not long before closing cannon. Due to a friend's generosity in getting the clan in for free, I am going back this coming weekend to pick up the sky chair I want. Since it's the last weekend, there should be some discounts so the merchants don't have to take stuff home.

Class is about to start, so more later.

Changes

Lots of things moving and changing in the next week.

Time to move up in internet speed. I've been using a local ISP since I hooked up to the net years ago. First it was Goldengate, who then got bought out by IP House. Now I'm running into the issue that Qwest limits the MPS that IPHouse can do. In my area I've maxed out at 1.5 MPS. If I want anything faster I need to move to Qwest as my ISP since they own the fiber optic backbone.

So I've bitten the bullet and put the order in to move to Qwest as my ISP. I'll email IPHouse and tell them to shut down as of next Thursday. Good timing, as they bill on the first of the month.

New windows are FINALLY being installed next Wednesday and Thursday. Given that my current windows are leaking like sieves in the monsoon we're dealing with, it's a really good thing. That I had to go round and round with the contractor to get those dates, not so fun.

Next Friday I will be back in my former office for most of the day. I'm having lunch with the boss who was out for my last two weeks so we can play catch up. I'm also meeting with the boy before lunch to go over stuff and with the cell phone guy after lunch.

The emails have been flying back and forth this week. Cell phone guy is trying to remember how to do something he should have been doing weekly - meaning he's three weeks behind on that task. That is causing the boy problems because he needs that weekly purchase data to keep up with the licensing tasks. Given how the boy can intimidate people, I suspect there is some friction between the two of them I may have to work on when I'm in the office next week. Mirrors...

House cleaning. Started in on the living room yesterday because there may be a Jones invasion tomorrow night. If everyone and the friend shows up that's 9 more people in a space for 1. It will be tight, but we can do it.

I can see most of the living room floor, which is a huge thing. No more carpet skating. I need to figure out what to do with my old cassette tapes and video tapes that have outlived their usefulness. Find new homes for things or move them out entirely. I sense another 'thing purge' about to happen.

I'm starting to pull stuff together for The Write Support. I've attended a couple networking events and have started handing out business cards. I'm also gathering business cards to connect with. I'm watching The International Freelance online conference today, trying to pick up info to help me get the word out. Between sessions I'm researching author groups, small publishing houses, virtual admins, copywriters, marketers, script/screen writers, playwrights, anyone that needs research done. (If you have ideas for others I should go after, comment with your idea.)

Next week I've got an online class that will help me build a marketing website. This class is specifically for freelancers in research, copywriting, writing and photography markets. They are offering four nights of class plus a critique of the site once it's up and running. There's also another class specifically for researchers, so I'll take advantage of that.

I also need to hit more networking groups. I did one yesterday morning. A small group, not so sure they would work with my long term plans. I need to see what other groups are available besides BNI. I'll hit BNI groups here on the west side of the Cities as an initial method to get the word out. I expect in the long term my pursuit of my target markets will bring me the most business.

And communication issues. Found out Sunday when P came over that my name wasn't in the entry door security panel. We went through it, I wasn't in there. Emailed the association so that's been fixed.
But it has caused problems. I had to go pick up a package from UPS in Maple Grove because they couldn't find me on the directory. Now I have to go to St. Paul because Fed Ex drivers are crap. They attempted to deliver once, then sent me a post card. I will not use Fed Ex because they are so unreliable about delivery.

Finally, for the first time since I got my driver's license, I weigh less than what my driver's license says I do. That means I'm 40 pounds lighter since I started tracking in February. Still got a ways to go, I'm almost half way there.

Sometimes...

Sometimes you need to get sick before you can get better.

Such is my life this past week. I picked up a job, supposedly Tuesday to Friday, for a medical device company that takes other companies products that have been used, clean them up, refurbish them if they can be, and sends them back out for use. This can include anything from surgical tools to pacemakers, defibulators and more.

Been working in the HR department doing all sorts of things. Part of Tuesday, all of Wednesday and most of Thursday I spent stuffing T-shirts into envelopes and mailing them. I've scanned, re-wrote policy, figured out how to add drop down lists to Word docs and more. Yeah rah. I got extended to tomorrow, so I can finish up all the stuff they wanted done.

I also got sick. Friday morning I woke up to a really unhappy gut. Got a few bites of breakfast down, then dealt with pain the rest of the day, along with a bit of a fever. Came home, crashed in my chair to sleep off the worst of the fever. (I'm a firm believer in letting a fever run it's course. The body creates extra heat to kill whatever is ailing you.) I slept from 5:30 Friday night until 7 the next morning.

Went to the farmer's market to get a few things, stopped and picked up plain yogurt on the way home to see if the gut would tolerate that. It did, and the pain subsided as the day went on. I felt good enough that I went ahead with plans to see a new friend for supper Saturday night.

SS is someone I met on the job and was my main Accounts team contact. We didn't find out until shortly before I left that we had a lot in common. I'd given her some of the Alison Armstrong stuff, so she offered to cook supper for me.
What a joy that turned out to be. Turns out we have much the same view points on spirituality, food, cooking, how the world works, what to do about the men in our lives. On top of working full time she's also attending Le Cordon Bleu cooking school at night.

Now, granted, I'm not about to go to cooking school, and I'm far from a foodie. I do like to cook and play and see what I can figure out. And I love eating things that taste good, smell good, and are good for me. Add in good conversation with someone who gets what I'm talking about... ahhhhh.

So she's coming up to my house in October (AACK!) so I can cook for her. (Gives me a deadline to clean house.) I'm thinking a pumpkin or squash soup, a leg of lamb or beef roast and veggies, and some type of dessert. She can bring a good cabernet or merlot and we'll eat and talk.

I have another reason to clean house that comes in less than two weeks. G is bringing two of her girls to the Muse concert October 5 and needs a place to crash. Then they can drive from here to Willmar the next morning to deal with other issues. So, first I must find bottom to the living room so that the sofa bed can be pulled out. And I need to fix my recliner so it too can be used as a bed.

Got a call from my former boss Thursday night. The !@#$%^&!! VP cut her budget, and the first thing he cut was the money to bring me back in November. They are in the middle of a hiring freeze, so she can't even bring in the rest of the people she needs to make Win7 happen.
We're in the middle of figuring out when we can do lunch, so I can get a better idea of what's going on. I suggested she plan a meeting with the two guys that took over my job after lunch so they can vent and ask questions. Then she can hear and ask questions as well.

I am taking care of myself in the process. Friday and Saturday this week is the International Freelancer's Day online conference. Since it's no cost and covers topics I need to know about, I'm taking the time to watch it. It's perfect timing to help get The Write Support off the ground.

Energy and resources

Physically, I feel like my energy and resources are tapped out. I've been sleeping as much as I can this last week and it still doesn't feel like it's enough. Whether that's from the low carb flu, since I'm cutting back on the carbs as much as I can, or from the sheer physical exhaustion of working 88 straight weeks with no down time, doesn't matter.

I have gotten a few things done between naps this week. The resume has been updated for admin work and turned in to the staffing company. They found me a four day job for next week at another local medical device company. It's something they need done with Publisher, so I'll spend four days doing that.

Been pulling together stuff to do my taxes. I've got the profit and loss statements done for both the farm and Inquire. I've found a few tax documents, at the moment I have yet to find my W-2 from the staffing company. I may have to do some scrambling on that one. Hopefully the local accounting office can print me a new one so I can get my taxes done tomorrow afternoon. Or the Universe is kind enough to point out to me where the first copy is in my mess of a house.

In pulling the tax stuff together I have found a bit of the house. The kitchen table is kind of cleared off. Not enough to actually eat at the table, but getting there. I can see the surface of it. I can also see under the table, where all the dust bunnies are at.

Went to see Dr. Rory Friday. He could sense my exhaustion, yet he said there was a vigor underneath waiting to be tapped into. He gave me permission to keep napping and taking care of myself. While poking and prodding he found three nasty knots in my ribs, besides the rib that won't stay in place. Not surprising since I was figuratively tied up in knots for weeks about the job.

Been working on some stuff for my internet research business. Been looking up virtual admins, small local publishing houses, authors, copywriters, marketers. Anyone who needs research done. I need to move the website to a different provider so I can get a basic front page built. I've got a class in a couple weeks on how to write a specific internet research site to bring in business.
There are a couple chamber mixers coming up that I'll hit, along with some BNI and other networking groups as I get time in the coming weeks. Get my name out, get the emails out, get this thing cooking.

As I've told the boy and others, I'm getting tired of this merry-go-round. I need some stability. Even if I do the internet research part time and put the money away as a slush fund, it helps. If I do get my job back, then the money can go towards having plastic surgery next summer. Or I can get a different vehicle. Or I can look at moving out of this @#$%^& place I live in.

This place I live in... I suspect we've got some big issues we're about to get hit with. The structural engineers have warned us to not use the decks and catwalks because they are structurally unsound. Now it turns out there may be even more structural problems with the building. There's an owner's meeting Thursday night to get the latest.
I suspect a good tornado would be the best thing for this place. Take it down by an act of the Universe so they can start over again.

Didn't hear from either of the boys this week. I suspect they are at the 'I don't know what I don't know' stage. Drop them an email and let them know my availability. Also didn't hear from my boss, don't quite know what to think about that, other than I know how crazy her schedule can be.

So, back to conjuring up a W-2.

The boy

Ok, so I promised a post about the boy. See how far I can get without bursting into tears. Hopefully I've cried myself out on this one. If not...

The tears are of joy, not of sadness. Joy because somewhere along the line he figured out that I had feelings for him. Joy because he continued to treat me as a sister even after he figured it out. And most of all, joy because he's still willing to be friends.

Most of last week is still a blur. I was working 12-15 hour days trying to pull together all I know about software licensing into a form the boy and the cell phone guy could use and remember. I used my Livescribe pen to record as much as I could, thinking at the time that when I watched him walk away on Friday that I would not see him again.

I spent most of Thursday and Friday with him, either in meetings or one on one. He's very process driven, how does this flow from one thing to the next? Not everything I was doing was logical in his eyes. A lot of what I was doing screamed for automation, so his head was going a mile a minute on how to create a properly laid out and normalized Access database, then tie SCCM and PeopleSoft or Oracle into the database. He'd jump ahead of me, asking questions that were three or four operations ahead of where we were at.

He was a lot more open last week. More willing to talk, let me poke fun at him, physically let me touch him, poke him in the belly when he said he wasn't a marshmallow. I mentioned to him one of the gals I've been working with is going to cooking school, which set him off on a 10 minute spiel about how he likes to cook, how he tweaks recipes, cooks on weekend mornings.

All last week I've been pulling together a gift for him, the cell phone guy and the project manager. I think I mentioned a couple weeks ago about finding Alison Armstrong and her work after studying men for 20 years.

For the cell phone guy, I included the Radical Forgiveness audio. He's still got a huge chip on his shoulder from his father abandoning him and from the kids he grew up with calling him a bastard. He's getting high blood pressure and migraines, I suspect because of the unresolved anger that still comes through.
For the project manager, I gave her an audio book of some of Alison's work. She's raising four boys and one girl, plus her husband. Hopefully it will help her understand her boys better and help her daughter when she's old enough to understand.

For the boy, I gave him everything. A copy of Radical Forgiveness, if not for himself for what his oldest daughter will have to endure as a single mom. All of Alison's work, from the Conversations that introduced me to her work, to The Amazing Development of Men, Keys to the Kingdom, Understanding Women and Celebrating Partnership. I also gave him Celestine back.

As I walked him out - I still had a lot to do before I could go home Friday night - I was in a fear-full place. I was sure at the time that when I watched him walk away it would be the last time I would ever see him. I wasn't hearing much of what he was saying.
I did hear something about there being someone else in the cities that looks much like him with the same interests and personality.

He needed yet another shot of caffeine and a snack for the ride home, so we walked over to the last vending machines before you walk out of the building. I did manage to get out that he had been a blessing to me, and that the biggest reason he's been a blessing is that I knew he had my back. By this time I was in tears, and when I said it, the next thing I knew he'd pulled me into a hug and didn't let go until I did.
He told me he was only an email or a phone call away. Something about hope being for laying around on the couch at night, the next morning you get up and do. And that there was someone out there waiting for me.

That was when I finally had the a-ha that he knew. For how long I don't know, but somehow he knew I cared about him and was still willing to be friends with me. Willing to be a reference for me. Willing to continue our martial arts conversations by email - at his home email address. Willing to do lunch if I'm not half way across the cities, and if I am it will just take some more planning to make it happen.

That's why I've been in a state of shock over the last couple days, and bursting into tears when I think about this. Knowing how I feel about him, he's still treated me like a sister and is still willing to stay in contact. There's no words to describe the comfort and safety knowing he still has my back.

Some day I will ask him how and when he knew. What did I do, how did I slip up in my hiding? It will be interesting to find out when it became obvious to him. I need to know so I can better hide my feelings in the future.

He was perfect for me in all but two ways - not quite awake and not legally available. All the rest, the little things like cooking, his height & build, his manners, the way he treated me, the martial arts and motorcycles, etc, etc, etc are all the things I want and need in someone to be my life partner. I'm hoping the next one is the one. A friend that has all the qualities I'm looking for that I can learn to love, respect, trust to have my back and more.

Well done...

As in brain fried, emotions fried, physically fried well done. I suppose I could say job well done as well.

Yesterday was my last day at the job. I think it's been clear I didn't want to go and the people I was working with didn't want me to go. Contracting rules made the decision for me.

In four and a half days I did my best to hand over what I've been doing for the last 20 months to two of the best men I know: the boy and another guy. The other guy has been working with me since February to help with the data analysis, so he's got an idea of what is going on.

The boy (who will get a post of his own tomorrow or Monday when I don't start crying every time I think about him) has been... willingly and unwillingly... picking up the daily stuff I do. Since he's so process driven, he nitpicked everything I was doing to understand the how and why of it. He got ahead of himself in some ways ('be patient,' I'd tell him, to which he replied 'I don't have patients, I have victims.') Hopefully he understands it and remembers it when he comes back next Wednesday.
He's also going to look at automating this as much as possible. He's got some experience in Access database management, and his wife is an Access whiz who could, for a week or two of work, come in and build a database that could hold all the data long term.

I told both of them to call me with questions, things they need explained, and that I'm willing to come up for refresher courses if they need.

What doesn't help matters any is that the project manager is done next Friday as well. Her contract is up and she's moving to a different project in the company. That leaves the boy essentially in charge. He's got a big mouth and is willing to use it, so we'll see what happens.

The people I talked to this last week were amazed that the VP's and others were not willing to make this happen. They are talking to their bosses (who have some power and pull) to go kick the VP in the butt. It simply comes down to the fact that I saved the company at least $1.4 million in recycled licenses on two applications alone, and who knows how much will be recycled when the analysis is finished on the other four applications.

Meanwhile, I'm tired, physically and emotionally. I put in 12+hour days the last couple weeks, and Thursday and Friday were long.
I've already been in to donate platelets this morning and hit the farmer's market on the way home. I need to go eat lunch so I can go to my martial arts class, then go to Whole Foods for groceries. Then I am coming home to sleep and relax for a a while, put my nose in a book and forget about things.

Maybe then I can pull things together to get on with the rest of my life.

Done waiting

I've got a lot to do in the next four days.

None of the VP's could see their way clear to pull enough money together to hire me. And there is no word if I will be back after 60 days or not.

I'm not entirely surprised. Just sad that they can't see their way clear at the moment.

Good news is, it takes two men to replace me. The finance director realizes that her cell phone guy can't do it all, so the boy gets to pick up half of my job. I think it will work, actually. Cell phone guy can continue with the analysis part and watch over the email box. The boy has access to the secure AD groups and knows GRS so he can do the RFC's, set up the uninstalls, take care of license transfers for the secure AD groups, stuff like that.

Neither one of them deserve to have this dumped on their laps.

I've set up a meeting tomorrow afternoon for the three of us to sit down and go through my day so we can figure out who does what. The boy wants to flow things out and add headers to my how to's so he knows what to do. He's also got training to do so he can approve the EUSR's.

Lots of overtime from now until Thursday night, and I won't get paid for a cent of it. I'm doing what's right, to leave the boys in the best shape possible. That's all I can do.

Suppose, better get back at it. Asia Pacific finally got us their Acrobat data, so I need to get that in so they can figure out how bad off things are.

Continuing to wait

I don't know what to think or feel at this point with the job situation.

Here's the latest. Yesterday I was asked to put together a detailed list of what I do and how long it takes me to do my job. I mind mapped it all out and the project manager took it to the finance director. Finance director then realized that she can't add another full time job to her cell phone guy that's been helping us out. She wants to see ITAM continue in some form, as does a higher VP. So the finance director asked the project manager for more numbers to take to the higher VP and his council on Monday morning.

There are three options.
1. Hire me at a full time equivalent so I can keep doing what I'm doing and keep this project alive until such time as the computer system is ready to take on asset management. Even then, there will still be plenty of analysis work to do as more applications come online.
2. Hire a contractor to come in and cover for me for the 60 days I have to be out, then let me come back and keep going until I can be hired under the next fiscal year budget.
3. Pare the entire program back. Reconcile licenses once a quarter and call it good until they get hit with another big audit.

So, let's hope that the higher VP sees the value in continuing this program and will pony up the money to hire me.

Had lunch today with one of the gals I've worked with on and off. She's on the accounts team and has helped me with setting up stuff in the GRS system. We talked about the job situation and what she has seen. We also talked about men. I gave her a copy of Keys to the Kingdom and the Conversations. I think she will learn a lot and be able to use the information with the two men that she has feelings for. In return, since she's going to school to become a personal chef, she'll make me dinner some time.

I did tell her about the boy. She understands the attachment. She also agrees that I need to tell him what a blessing he's been in my life. He's going to get copies of several things - all audio since he doesn't have time to read other than his college textbooks (which I've dangled PhotoReading in front of him to help with.)

His situation has taken a turn. His wife was going to turn in her resignation today. She was a database admin at a local grocery chain corporate office. Things are just as crazy there as they are at our workplace, so it was a matter of who reached the breaking point first. They can make it on just one of their salaries, but to be comfortable both need to be working. Plus they both traded vehicles about a month ago - she traded her Mustang for a Cube and he ditched the Focus for a blue HHR.

So, a third weekend of waiting, hoping, wondering. In between all the work I need to do I guess I need to do some more forgiveness worksheets and move some stuff.

Still waiting

Still waiting to find out the final answer as to what is going on.

Had to wait until Wednesday to find out the meeting with the VP went poorly. My boss is about ready to strangle the VP because he was such an idiot from the start of the meeting. He said no money, no program for now, and funding for ITAM is sketchy even at the start of the next fiscal year - next May.

We have one more chance to keep this program going. The finance director realizes that if we shut this down now, its not a good thing. The finance director has pull with the VP that is directly under the CIO, and above the other VP that said no.
We can self fund this program by charging back for the licenses that were bulk purchased in June 2009. That would give us about $750k to fund the program. That could pay for the program for a couple years. Even if we only charge back for part of the licenses, it funds this - specifically me - until next fiscal year when I can be added to the budget as an FTE.

Emotionally it's been a wild week for me. I've been swinging between grieving, being angry, sad, in tears. Ugh.

Went to see Dr. Rory to get my body worked on. His thing last night was attachment. I'm so attached to the outcome of this. Hello? Tell me how to NOT be attached to this. Help me figure out how to de-tach from this.

I get it consciously that my biggest lesson in this whole mess is how to not be attached to the outcome. What I have yet to find is the method, the HOW of not being attached. For all that I have read and done and worked through, I have yet to hear or read an explanation of the mechanics of not being attached that is understandable.

Add to this my skull being out of correct shape, so I've been dealing with headaches. And not sleeping well. Some of that has to do with the cortisone levels in my body being out of whack, so even if I go to bed at 9:30, I'm not falling asleep until 10-10:30, then waking up at 2:30-3.

Two things to try and fix that. Rory recommended a different sleep aid, so I tried that last night. Fell asleep around 10:30, slept straight through until 5:45, then dozed until 6:15. So I'll try that for a while. The other thing is I'm getting my hands on a Brookstone anti-snore pillow.

I know I snore. Both parents had sleep apnea which didn't help their lives any. I've wanted to try this pillow for a while, but haven't been able to find it locally. One showed up in the Classified Ads the company I work for does every Friday. I was the first one to email about it, so I'll pick it up on Monday.

I've got a lot to do this weekend. I need to work, as there was too much I couldn't get done during the week with all the interruptions and not being able to concentrate. Do what I can in the next 10 days, then hope I have several more years to get done what needs to be done.

Waiting...

Waiting... biding my time. I'll find out late tomorrow afternoon whether the VP says yes to hiring me.

Meanwhile, work on what I can. Do a few forgiveness worksheets. Listen to the audio book of Radical Forgiveness I picked up today. Read through Radical Manifestation, see what I can do there.

Whatever happens, I will be fine in the long term. Short term I may be crabby and pissy and missing the boy.

Thinking of him - he's one of the first I want and need to do a forgiveness worksheet on. Forgive him for not being able to love me like I want and need him to. Be grateful he even considers me a friend. I suspect he will be a gateway into many things that I need to forgive and let go of. Start with the easy one and move into the harder stuff.

Finally got word on when my windows will be installed. Right now they are scheduled for September 6 & 7. Somehow I don't think they will start the install on Labor Day. I'm grateful for windows that are solid, rain right, have working weather stripping. I will have to figure something out with the window in my office. Right now I have Gallery Glass on it - fake stained glass that's plastic. I'm not even sure Gallery Glass is still made. If it is, I'll probably do a new design that lets light in and keeps the nosy neighbors out.

Then there's the garage door. I was leaving for my platelet donation and the garage door wouldn't go down. Took at bit of a look at it and the rollers are jumping the tracks. Get home after the donation to take a really close look at it. The door is bowed out, the track on the right is bowed to the right, so the whole door is tilted and unusable. I've got it closed as far as I can go - getting the bike out will be a pain. I already put in an email to the association to get it fixed, see what happens.

One door closes, another opens?

Challenges

Challenges... It's a word the boy is not fond of (understatement), but it describes where I'm at for this moment.

The people in charge of keeping track of contractors like me are telling my boss I've reached my two years as of August 27 and will not allow her to extend me beyond that date. Doesn't matter that losing me now would be one of the biggest disasters for the program, I'm at two years and need to take a 60 day break.

The only way around it is to get me hired. The VP that my boss needs to talk to isn't back in the office until Monday, so she needs to get on his schedule. She needs to convince him that in order to continue taking IT asset management forward and bring this company into the 21st century they need two people hired now. If she goes after two and gets one, it's me. If she gets both, yeah, we get more accomplished.

My boss has talked to this VP previously about setting up ITAM and funding it. He bought into the idea and approved it at the beginning of the fiscal year. We were waiting on the finance director to get over her need for details and approve it as well to go forward with it. She's been stalling over the last couple weeks.

One obstacle in the path: supposedly IT is $2 million over budget right now. Frankly, IT is going to be even more over budget as Win7 rolls out. Technically, hiring me is not in the budget, even though I've already paid not only for the last 83 weeks of employment, I've paid for a couple years worth. What I'm doing ties right in to bringing Win7 in, locking down the environment, locking down what applications are used, keeping the software companies off our case by being properly licensed from the get-go.

Another obstacle is me. Taking the Gamma class reminded me that I have a lot of core beliefs I need to work through. Beliefs about my worthiness, being love-able, abundance, etc.

When I was out and about on Saturday, I picked up Colin Tipping's Radical Forgiveness. It was a book Dr. Corey and others in the class recommended. Started reading it tonight and am in about 4 chapters. I can see why they so highly recommend it.
The question is, can I work through it fast enough to apply it to this situation? Can I bring peace to myself enough to let this job manifest and happen because I do so deserve it and can continue to make a contribution?

My boss wants me to book extra hours the next couple weeks so I can stay until September 3. That gives me time to pull things together in case we can get another temp in to cover for me until I can come back the end of October.

I am eligible for unemployment this time. It's been over two years since the other job fiasco, so that's cool. I'm looking at getting my writing business up and running to supplement the income as well.

I have faith that this will work out. Somehow, some way, this will work out.

The only question is, do I tell the boy or not? Maybe leave him a letter with instructions to not open it until Christmas - by then we'll know for sure. I feel like I need to let him know the blessings and lessons I've learned from him, with him, the gifts he's unknowingly given me. I've got a couple weeks - and with a little luck that's a letter I won't have to write at all.

Where'd July go?

Aack, August already?

I would say, where do the days go, it's the perception of the passing of time that's the real issue.

What have I been up to? Took another Gamma class this weekend from Dr. Corey Sondrup. This is a repeat of the one I took back in February. This time I just listened, soaked it all in.

Work continues. Had a few wrenches thrown in the works. One of the guys hired put in his two week notice - he got hired full time somewhere else. I'm disappointed but not surprised. Another has been pulled off the licensing project to work on other things so it's down to me and the first gal we hired. She's not the brightest bulb - I need to be very specific with how I want things done, then she will do them correctly. Left to her own devices, the data is a disaster.

To add to the mess, the finance person that is the driving force behind this is now stalling on actually hiring anyone, including me, to make this a permanent thing. I've already shown that in the year and a half I've been working on Project and Visio I've recycled over $1.5 million in licenses, not including what we'll do for Acrobat and other software.

I've got 4 1/2 months left before I'm at 2 years. Technically at 2 years you need to take a 60 day sabbatical, then you can come back. I'm eligible for unemployment at that point, but still...

I need to pull some ideas together for manifesting. I need to manifest the finance person letting go of her (and whoever else is behind it) stalling, buy into the fact that the company needs to do IT asset management and go forward with hiring me. We also need an engineer and I think my boy would be perfect for it. He's done this before and knows what needs to be done. He and I work well together, even if we're butting heads.

Got together with the family the 24th. Met at Bryant Lake Park in Eden Prairie, grilled, had a good time. From there I went to a high school friend's house. Hadn't seen her in at least 8-9 years. She's married and has a 3 year old little boy.

Been going for walks after work. I'm thinking I need to move my walks to the early morning. It's 85 outside with a heat index over 92 degrees and will be worse tomorrow and Wednesday. If I go to bed early tonight, then getting up at 4 to walk won't be so bad. And a whole lot cooler. Walk, shower, then meditate. I think that works.

Get to talk to the boy on occasion. We played tag on the road in one morning, and walked in together. Went for a walk when I got the news the one guy was leaving, and another when word came that hiring me is on hold.
Today he had on a light orange polo. First thing I thought of when I saw him was sherbert, then that he looked like a giant dreamsicle. Delicious, yes, but light orange just doesn't work on him. I'm presuming that's one his wife picked out - bad choice. If he picked it out, then he fully deserves any ribbing he gets about it.

That's things in a nutshell.

Weather woes

Ugh, I am not fond of bad weather, and we are in the middle of ongoing severe weather. It started this afternoon and we have warnings going for at least another two hours tonight. There have already been several tornados on the ground, along with lots of straight line winds.

This line is moving at 55 mph, so it's moving out quickly. Still, it's enough to rattle me.

---
Changes in supplements may not be helping me. I sat down with Bristlecone on Thursday to go over my test results. The results were not good. My hormones are seriously out of whack - estrogen is really high, putting me at risk of ovarian cancer. My cortisol is low, which means my adrenal glands are in exhaustion, which could move to burnout and a very shortened life. My thyroid is putting out reverse T3, so I'm not able to use the T4 I'm putting out. I'm also low in bone marrow iron.

All together, I'm adding about ten more supplements to the ten or so already on my list. Things like ferrochel iron, vitamin C, and betaine HCL for the iron shortage; raw thyroid and GTA to balance thyroid; Isocort to supplement the cortisol; progesterone cream to balance the estrogen overload; flaxseed oil caps and high EPA fish oil to boost Omega-3 levels and help take down the inflammation and reduce the risk of heart disease. They may also want me to add metformin to help keep the glucose levels down. I can do that through diet and more exercise.

I had to create a schedule of what to take when. It's a complex schedule, with different things at six different times of the day. Throw in the progesterone cream twice a day on days 12 to the end of my cycle and... ugh. Short term chaos to provide long term gains. Get things straightened out now so I can have a long life. Be around to spoil 'my' kid's grandkids.

Gaining (losing?) ground

I just realized, after doing some formulas in my weight loss tracking spreadsheet, that I have let go of 26.8 pounds of weight since February when I started tracking.

That is just under 10% of my starting weight I've let go. It's almost all fat - my muscle mass has fluxed about a pound either side of 90 pounds the whole time. If I can keep this muscle mass as I continue to let go of the fat, I'll be right where I want to be when I'm at my goal weight of 175 - and I may be able to go higher than that.

I tweaked my spreadsheet because of something Dr. Rory said Friday night. He asked me if I'd really thought about about what my weight loss means to me, how it really impacts me. When he asked me, I hadn't thought about it. What does letting go of the weight mean to me?

Letting go of the past. Letting go of the toxins that have been stuffed in my body, mentally, physically and emotionally. Letting go of the things I've let hold me back in the past.

What am I gaining? My physical health. I'm physically stronger, have more endurance and cardiovascular health. My acne is pretty much gone. I'm more interested in being active, in trying new things, or in the case of martial arts, going back to something I've been interested in for a long time. I'm also gaining some confidence as well.

Long term, what does that mean for me? As I continue to let go of the fat and gain strength and confidence, almost anything is possible. I re-gain some control over my life, even if it's just an illusion. An illusion can be as real as I want it to be.

One of my first goals on letting the fat go was to hit 250. That is easily within sight now, just a couple of weeks away. I'm better understanding what I need to do to let go of the body fat. Part of it has been following what Bristolcone set up for eating patterns and food. Another part is learning more about the Primal/paleo lifestyle, which is based on the work of Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories. (High protien and high fat, low carb diet like our primitive ancestors ate.)

The next part is to get back to more primal exercise. I've been reading Mark's Daily Apple, the website tied to The Primal Blueprint. The more I read, the more it makes sense to me. The food choices are right in line with what I'm doing through Bristolcone. The exercises get back to the basics, like bodyweight exercise (squats, lunges, pull-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks). So, time for me to do the same.

I've taken the last two weeks off from lifting. One of the last self defense classes left me with bruised knees, so I took the week off to heal. Then I took another week off to see if I could let go of weight without doing any exercise. Didn't let go of any weight the first week, did the second. Now to add in the bodyweight exercises and see what happens.

Listen to my body. Eat when I'm hungry - truly hungry, drink when I'm dry, sprint when I feel like it, lift heavy when I want to, take a nice walk daily otherwise. This is something I can do for the rest of my life.

Now, my body is hungry, so I'm gonna go make some supper.

Well...

Don't quite know where to start. Actually, I do, just where to go with it.

Thursday morning the boy asked me to be a reference for him. He's fed up with the BS enough that if he doesn't get the answers he wants in the next month he's going to start looking for another job.

My heart crashed through the floor when he asked. I told him I don't want him to leave, and he answered that he doesn't want to leave, either. He's reached his limit - he's in the numb, doesn't care, yet the clarity is starting to come in. He's starting to wake up and realize there is so much more to this world.

Professionally, I don't want him to leave. He's still got way more to contribute, not only to the SCCM team but to licensing and ITAM as well. He's been through this before at other companies he's worked for, and he's got a lot of good ideas on where to take things. He's even willing to take a couple days to write a couple scripts for me so I can take care of putting people into and out of the uninstall collections.

I also know he has my back. He's helped me deal with the idiots we're working with, and the jokes about what to do with all the dead bodies we plan on leaving behind has been good stress relief.

Personally... beyond the broken heart and not being able to see him on a regular basis, I'd miss our chats. Motorcycles, the idiots we work with, martial arts, his kids and grandson, his sarcasm and wit. His gorgeous body and face (hey, I'm human, deal!)

I asked him what he wants, how does he want the situation to turn out? At that point he wasn't real sure. I'll keep poking him on that until he does get a clear picture, so then I can focus on it as well.

For now, I'll send him my info so he has it for references. I'll also be asking the universe for an outcome where I get to keep him in my life and he's happy with whatever outcome happens.
---
For some people, this is a three day weekend, given it's the Fourth of July tomorrow. For me, I gotta work. However, I've taken some steps to start being able to comfortably work at home. I hit MicroCenter this morning to buy two-20" monitors and some other goodies to set up my work desk here at home. Now I need to go clean off said desk, set up the monitors, dock, keyboard and other stuff so I can actually get some work done.

I've got a boatload of stuff I need to do. Most days last week I was almost constantly being interrupted by people coming to my desk, phone calls, IM's, one crisis after another. Put one fire out, another flares up. I've got some stuff I need to have done by Tuesday night, but several other things have to be done before I can compile that data. Set up the desk tonight, maybe put in a few hours. I may work all day tomorrow and part of Monday, see how much I can get done.

If I get a lot done, one of the things I may do when I get hired is ask for the ability to work from home at least one day every other week, maybe even every week. Be available by IM only, if you call me it damn well better be an emergency that only I can deal with.
---

Otherwise... Chael is home and running very well. It's a relief to not have to worry about the chain and sprockets. The new Iso grips are helping. Not so much of the vibration comes through to my hands. Now I just need to get the throttle lock put on so I can rest my right hand once in a while.

Another week

Another week gone by. Yikes.

What have I been up to? Well, I'm writing this on my new iPad. Yes, I have invested in a 64 gig wi-fi iPad. I'd been thinking about getting a Nook, but it didn't make sense to me to spend $260 when for a bit more I could get the iPad that can do so much more. So yes, iPad it is.

I've ordered a hard case for it. I know my life, I need a hard aluminum case to protect it. I look at my work laptop and it's all scratched up from being in my backpack. I don't want that to happen to my new baby. There's another case I'm looking at for when I'm at work going between meetings. That one won't be ready until mid to late July, so I'll wait on ordering that one.

The weight loss with the Bristlecone Biology of Burn is working. I dropped 8.6 pounds the first week, gained back 2 the second, then dropped 6.6 pounds this week. I probably would have dropped more this week, but I had a co-workers wedding reception and dance last night. Between a glass of merlot and some chocolate, I had a bit of a carb hangover this morning.

What's a carb hangover? Well, when you've gone high protein, high fat, very low carb, especially no sugar your body gets into a certain groove and moved towards using body fat to provide glucose for the brain's needs. You add in sugar and alcohol and the body goes back to it's glucose mechanism. Not a good thing. It's as bad as a full on alcohol hangover. And like an alcohol hangover, a bit of sugar helps take the headache away.

Rhubarb. I love rhubarb. One of the vendors at the farmers market yesterday had organic rhubarb for $3 a pound, so I picked up 3 pounds. While I was baking the bacon, sausage and pork chops for the week, I chopped up the rhubarb and set it to simmering down. I added only a half cup of sugar, just enough to take a bit of the tartness out. YUM! I've been eating it straight out of the pan. It would be even better with ice cream or some heavy cream.

Chael is in the shop getting fixed. I wrestled him onto a trailer yesterday and got him up to the shop in Fridley. They took him off the trailer, I handed off the Kuryakan Iso grips and flew the trailer back to the rental place. They were supposed to put the new chain and sprocket, as well as the grips, on him yesterday. I'll pick him up on Tuesday, provided the boy can give me a ride.

Haven't said much about the boy lately. He's been up to his eyeballs in his own stuff trying to get the new Reader pushed out and the patches for the older stuff. He hasn't been able to do my RFC's to get the uninstalls done. That's OK, I knew that would be the case. What's been funny is how the SCCM team lead is dealing with it. There's one guy that's just a slacker - compared to the boy who has closed over 400 tickets, this guy has only closed 100 since last September. This guy now has to pick up the slack for not only the boy but the co-worker who got married, as she's out until July 6 and then may be gone for 60 days cause she's at her 2 years being a contractor.

See how things go. I suspect the SCCM team lead found out how hard the boy's job can be on Friday when they were trying to figure out how to put together an uninstall collection.

No plans for next weekend, being 4th of July. Haven't been invited anywhere, so I may just take a day ride on Chael. I've been itching to go hit some of the county parks and lakes that aren't too far out of the cities. I know I'll need to work during the weekend if I want to take Monday off, so I'll have to go see about getting a new monitor or two. LCD this time, no CRT's for this kid. One thing at a time.

I suppose. Need to go take the rhubarb off the stove, get it in the fridge. Take a few more bites before I put it away ;-).

Luck...

Some days I don't realize how incredibly lucky I am.

Case in point: Chael. I've been hearing some noise from him since sometime last summer. I asked the place where I stored it at to take a look at it over the winter. They didn't, and the noise continued. I called today and told them I would be willing to pay for a mechanic to take him for a test run. Bring him in, they said.

Got over there, the mechanic took him for a run. He comes back after the run... The chain is so loose that it's hitting the engine - that's the noise I've been hearing. The links are so weak after the chain stretched that it's a wonder the chain didn't break and take out the engine.

Now to ride home after hearing that? I called on every angel, arch angel and spirit guide I have favors with to get us home safely, which we did. Chael is getting trailered back up there next Saturday.

We ordered a new chain and sprocket while I was there. It will take at least 5 business days for those to come in, so next Saturday will work out fine. They will also put the new Kuryakyn grips that I ordered. They can't put on the throttle lock due to liability issues. Still, the grips will be nice to get done professionally.

More luck than sense... Not always true, but this time... yes. And I am very grateful for it.

Mid June already?

The older I get, the faster the days go by. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not so much.

The good news is that the BOB (biology of burning) diet is working. I've let go of 8.5 pounds from Monday morning to this morning. This week hasn't been the easiest. I haven't been totally craving sugar, although last night would have been very easy to give in to some chocolate or wine.

It's an addiction to sugar. What I'm finding is to not resist it - what you resist persists. It's moreso acknowledging that my body is expecting sugar, wants its desires fulfilled. I understand that and I consciously chose to not fulfill that short term desire in favor of the longer term goal.

Did cheat twice this week. My body was craving milk on Friday, so I gave in and had a glass of 2% milk with lunch. I also had two chocolate disks that I get from Whole Foods - they didn't taste that great. The milk I wasn't worried about - it has enough protein and fat to balance the carbs, and it kept me from being hungry three hours later.

Now that I know this glucagon thing is working - the longer I go between meals the more glucagon can be produced - I can deal with the hunger pangs. Short term vs long term.

Thinking of short term vs long term.... The question came up from the PM this week as to whether I'm going to stay or not. It's been rolling around in the back of my head, but I really hadn't made a decision until it came out of my mouth. I said yes to staying.

No word on when I'll become an employee. The PM and my boss are still trying to work through a budget and anticipate costs on things they know nothing about. They are trying to do that in the middle of my boss trying to get Windows 7 up and running.

Lots of things will be fast tracked in the next couple months. Looks like I'll be in the middle of it.

May I have another, please?

The old saw goes that God/Universe only gives you what you can handle. Some days I wonder about that.

On top of the shenanigans of last week, I got word Monday that I had another funeral to attend this week. An uncle on my dad's side died Monday morning. The funeral was yesterday.

I haven't had much to do with dad's side of the family. There was one Christmas where the clan was at my parents house and I was pretty much completely ignored by all the cousins. That was the end of my associating with them on a regular basis.

Because of that, they were really surprised when I did show up yesterday. No one was expecting me to be there. Talked to the guy that rents my farmland. His daughter is about to give birth to twins next week - first grandchildren and the first I'd heard of it. The family about dropped their jaws when they saw I was there.

After the funeral I went back to the house to chat with the family. Discovered that one of the people I work with is a sister-in-law to my cousin's wife. That will be an interesting conversation.
We talked about the various memories of those who have gone before now. Stories of helping others move, the various sayings, things like that. All the things that made them unique.

As a side note, I went for a walk with the boy Wednesday to talk about the work situation. I wanted his perspective since he's dealt with the PM, he knows our boss and he knows me. I told him about getting hit not only with the PM, but the lockout, the health stuff and then the funeral. He mentioned something about grief.

Here's the catch - I'm not grieving for this uncle or the aunt that died a month ago. They weren't a daily part of my life. I would grieve more for the loss of the boy were he to do something stupid and lose his life than I will for any of my blood family. My created family I will grieve for when their time comes. They have had more impact on my life, shown me what family could be like, and are people I actually care about.

All that may change as I work through letting go of the weight and changing the hormones. More layers to surface, things to deal with.
---
The financial issues will soon be taken care of. The credit union had no problem extending my loan, didn't blink at the request. I've got a call into the association's lawyer to find out how much the payoff to them will be. Then I can get the new windows ordered, pay for the siding, and get them completely out of my hair. Get the other bills paid off and I can breathe a bit easier.

The health issues are already starting to turn. I decided in prelude to starting the BOB diet that I would cut back to three meals a day this week, trying to go at least 5-6 hours between. The idea is to give the glucagon a chance to really burn up the fat.

It's also been a test to see if I can stay away from the sugar and simple carbs to blunt coming off the sugar addiction. So far, so good. Yesterday was a challenge with the off schedule for the funeral. I won't be back on a normal schedule until Monday. That starts the broth fast for two days, then starting the BOB plan.

Now, if there were just enough bandwidth to get the VPN up and running...

Inquire within, indeed

It's been a week of rude wake up calls for me.

Thursday the project manager for the IT asset management team called me into a private meeting. The VP that fubar'd the Vista project has green lighted and fast tracked moving ITAM into it's own sub-department of my boss's department. They want to hire 4-5 people and have it running by the end of July.

The PM and I, however, have had some issues. She sees me as having a chip on my shoulder and that I'm withholding information. To me, she's coming off like the boss from my last job, setting me up for failure. She says she wants me to be the data analyst on the team, since I've been doing it for a year and a half and know what's going on. That is, if I'm willing to open up and essentially do things her way, to follow command structure.

I'm at a choice point. Do I want to continue working this job? I like the company, the ideals, and most of the team I work with. The boy also helps.

The biggest question is, do I want to work through what is causing me to hold back info, or do I want to leave and start over again?

I finally snagged some time with my boss Friday afternoon. We talked for 2 hours about what's going on, what's causing me to hold back info, that I don't trust the PM to do the right thing. A lot of this comes down to trusting management to do the right thing, to know what they are doing. I also need to trust myself to question them when things don't seem right.

Called P Thursday night. Interesting issues with the phones caused some issues at first. (Hmm... communication issues with land lines...) Finally connected on a clear line and talked out what's going on. Mirrors and shadows. The PM and I are reflecting to each other things we need to work on in ourselves. In my case, I'm the one sabotaging myself by consciously holding back info. I'm aware of it now, and of how she pokes my buttons. How do I make her aware of this concept and work through it?

Friday night I get home and I can't get into the garage. The association locked me out because I'm behind on my association dues. So my motorcycle is sitting outside right now. I'm going to leave a note on the door to see if the guy I share the garage with will at least give me my motorcycle cover so I don't have to go buy a new one. It's supposed to rain this afternoon and a couple days this week. Last thing I want is Chael wet if I can avoid it.

Then I get a letter from the association about the siding project. They have managed to knock down the pricing on the siding to a more reasonable level. But they need the money by July 1. If I want new windows and patio door, that money has to be in by June 11.

Given those dollar amounts and what I owe in association dues, I'm going to see if I can get a loan on my land to pay for all this and a couple other things. I have a couple medical bills from last summer and Chael needs some work. The land is worth more than 30 times the loan I would be asking for. I think my credit union at home will let me do that, then roll it into the other loan I have on the land when that one comes due for a balloon payment.

The last rude awakening was yesterday morning. I went to Bristlecone yesterday morning for the Bundle testing. Given my family history and my own history of being overweight, I've been insulin resistant for years. I'm at a much higher risk of cancer, etc, than I thought.

My hormones are way out of whack. We'll find out just how out of whack with a few tests. The bundle isn't cheap. With the additional testing I need, I'm looking at over $900 to start. Ouch. My health and longevity are worth the expense now.

Thing is, I'm addicted to sugar. And sugar withdrawl can be just as bad as coming off caffeine, nicotine and hard drugs. This will be going on at the same time the PM is trying to decide if I'm hired or not.

I've weathered other storms, I can get through this one.

Ch ch ch changes...

Lots of changes going on.

The last aunt on my mom's side died two weeks ago, and her funeral was on the 14th. Went to the funeral, caught up with the cousins that came. For all of us, we're now the oldest generation. We're the grandparents (and great aunts), the ones the kids look up to. The ones that hold the family together.

When I mentioned that to the cousins, it was a shocking realization to them. We are now Grandma Beck. My oldest brother is now the oldest cousin at 68. It may be another 10 to 20 years before this generation starts dying off. Still... It's a shift I'm not sure any of us were ready to make.

I'm the only one out of the 13 of us that doesn't have kids. I'm the youngest by 12 years. I was also the first to lose both parents.

It's an adjustment.

Add to that for me personally trying to let go of the boy. It's been a conscious thing on my part. I'm making the effort to not look at his schedule every day, or to keep track of him via IM, or to look at his desk when I make a trip to the rest room. I've only stopped by his cube twice this week to talk, both business related. The second one did turn into a discussion about martial arts and weight lifting. It was Friday afternoon at 4 so I wasn't too concerned.

It's hard. Something is eating at him. When I talked to him on Wednesday, he admitted he was deflated, and his body and energy showed it. I wonder how much of it has to do with what's going on at home. He's not driving his Focus, he's been driving the Blazer, so I'm wondering if he sold the Focus. I'm also wondering if he sold his motorcycle, because I haven't seen it when I've ridden. I can tell the days he rides because he wears a specific pair of boots, rather than his tennies.

He also admitted he needed some alone time. He said he was about ready to tell the wife to pack up the kids and go see Grandma so he could get some work done. Given there are seven people in the house, there can't be much alone time other than when he's staring at the inside of his eyelids. I ran across a meditation I'm going to make a copy of for him about alone time, encourage him to start scheduling some time by themselves.

He also gave me back the copy of Celestine I'd given him. Actually, he put it on my desk the Friday I was out at the funeral. So I wrote a note, tucked it in the book and put it back on his desk when he was out Thursday. When I talked to him Friday, he gave it back saying he was cleaning up his desk in preparation for doing remote workplace. He had already taken some stuff home, and was taking more home that night.
His reason for giving it back was that he just doesn't have time to read it now, given his college homework, trying to finish up his degree, and all the stuff going on at home. He said he will ask for it back when he has time to read.

The other adjustment in my life is realizing how insulin resistant my body has become. When I kicked over to the body builders diet, I told the trainer that the carbs were too high, and it turns out I was right. The amount of carbs has driven my body into insulin resistance. No wonder I stopped losing weight.

Now that I've had that aha, I've moved back to my high protein, very low carb diet. I've moved back to six meals a day and will work back to five. I've also changed my workouts to three days lifting/cardio/stretching and two days cardio/stretching. I gained almost a pound and a half of muscle this week. I've also noticed I'm not so moody or down.

I'm looking at a couple of online places that have supplements to help change the insulin resistance and get my hormones back into balance so I can let go of the weight, get my adrenals straightened out and stop the periomenopause symptoms. There's a place locally called Bristlecone Fitness that has success turning back pre-diabetic clients. It's not cheap - P said her bundle was $800. I just don't have that at the moment since I'm not allowed to do more than 5 hours of overtime a week. I've emailed them to see if they would let me do some payments ahead, then do the testing and their BOB diet. See what they say. If they are willing to work with me, I'm willing to do it.

Yeah...

What's been happening this week? A near meltdown on Friday resulting in a trip to Dr. Rory.

There is a lot of energetic shifting going on in the universe right now. Given that I'm a kinesthetic empath, I pick up on that and it amplifies what's going on in my own body. Whatever is out of whack get cranked up to a 20 on a 10 scale.

I started noticing it Wednesday night. I was doing dishes and was just stuck and in tears. Got through Thursday, but again Thursday night I was in and out of tears and ended up crying myself to sleep. Friday morning I was an utter disaster, in and out of tears on the way to work, in tears several times at my desk. Had a couple of encounters with the boy that were tense at best, bordering on when we were bickering in early March. I called to see if I could get in to see either Dr. Rory or Dr. Mike, Rory was open at 3 so I took the appointment. While I was working I made a list of all the stuff that was bugging me: an emotional wreck, the depression was overwhelming me, I'd been up several times with nightmares, gained and lost the same pound for six weeks, etc.

Rory read the list and said what a breakthrough. I'm looking at him, what are you talking about? The shadow, the ego is trying to squash the joy in our lives. I was so caught up in the pain that I couldn't see anything outside of it. Rory shifted the energy for me, reminded me about what I needed to know, being flexible and flowing. He suggested a glass of red wine when I got home and to just relax and be this weekend.

So that's what I've done. Cracked open a bottle of Bella Sera 2007 merlot - nice and smooth right out of the bottle. Sat down with a glass and some chocolate and watched TV Friday night. Yesterday I went to self defense class, came home and watched Avatar - The Last Airbender cartoon. Then I went to Best Buy to spend the $30 in gift cards I got for filling out a survey, picked up two martial arts DVD's that have six movies on each. Don't know if they are any good, but something to watch and pick up moves from.

The whole martial arts and eastern ways are coming back into my life again. During class things started to make sense yesterday. I could see the applications for what Eric was teaching us. I didn't have to think about it, the movements just fit.
I want to sit down yet today and make some notes on the various things Eric has been teaching us. The 12 elbows, the handwashing variations, the footwork. Start a list to practice on Monday and Friday nights when the floor is open in the wellness center and things to work on here at home.

Avatar - The Last Airbender is something the boy turned me on to. He and his 10 year old daughter have been watching it and are waiting for the movie to come out in July. I've been looking for it on Nickelodean, not realizing the cable company had a second Nick station. That's where I found it Friday night. I watched an hour yesterday morning, then caught three eps in the afternoon. Caught two more this morning, another three are on in a half hour.
I'll get the lessons I need from them.

Tabby and AB are doing OK. Tabby is starting to loosen up. She will now come out and eat when I'm home. She'll even come so far as to duck under the desk behind my recliner and watch me from there at night.

I'm starting to wonder if she's partially deaf, given her blue eyes. I say that because there have been a couple times in the middle of the night where I've walked into the bathroom, she's been using the litter box and I've completely spooked her. I've also been in the kitchen working away, she come out to eat and didn't hear me walking right up behind her or making noise to get her attention. That might explain why it's taken her so long to warm up - if she can't hear, or hears very little, she's constantly on guard.

I do need to catch her, soon. I haven't clipped her toenails in a while. I know how long they were when I brought her home, so I suspect they need clipping. One thing at a time.