Mushy

Love is the beauty of the soul. ~ Saint Augustine

I'm really in a mushy mood today. I have been all weekend. I don't know what it is or why, but I've been really emotional in a good way. It's hard to blog when I'm mushy because all I want to do is postulate on how fabulous and perfect for me the Boyfriend is---and I know that by now y'all are getting tired of hearing about him.

Anyway, it's my blog so as the Waitress would say, do whatever you want.

He took the news of my new job with such rampant joy, he's even more excited about it than I am. He's told everyone in his family and friends about my coup, with such pride in his voice about how wonderful I am that I'm blushing just thinking about it. He did the same thing when the ESSENCE article came out and when I landed the $2500 bonus last year. He's just so supportive and encouraging, like my own personal cheering squad. I remember after I tanked the first interview earlier in the month and I came home in tears. He comforted me and told me that it was just a practice run for my next real interview. "Now you know what kind of questions they will ask, so you'll be prepared." Of course, with that kind of support I was all confident when I went into the last interview.

He's so finely attuned to my energy and emotions that I don't even have to say a word and he can tell that something is off. Most times he can pinpoint exactly what it is, whether it's pain, anger or irritation, he has such a finely honed radar into my soul.

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. ~Emily Bronte

Dirty

My car is dirty. It's so dirty that you can write dirty on it and still not get through the dust. The Boyfriend keeps his car quite clean, but for some reason, my car---the family car just collects dust like a bunny. What made it worse is that they were doing some construction around the carport this week and that just added more dust unto it. I know I should get it cleaned but I wanted to get it completely detailed and just don't have the loot for that yet. I should probably just get Automotive detailing supplies from Kragen and make it a family affair this weekend.

But---I probably won't. Cos it's cold and I'm tired. Soooooo tired.

Cooking

I sometimes think the chef end of cooking is not the real end of cooking. Cooking is all about homes and gardens, it doesn't happen in restaurants. ~Delia Smith

For the last week, I've been on a cooking bend. Usually I'm a moody cook, moody being that I only cook once in a while when I'm in the mood. However for some reason, my mood has been all in the cooking zone all week...that is except today. My usual routine pre-cooking is bringing my iPod & speakers to the kitchen, cleaning it up, putting the dishes away and only then can I cook a masterpiece. It's a zen thing I guess. I think if anything is stealing my mood though, it's the fact that I don't yet have awesome culinary cookware...something that just begs to be cooked in. In Baltimore, I had a beautiful chef set but I had to part ways with it when I moved out here. I can't wait until I can restock my kitchen with the pots, pans and cookware that I love.

Rock On!

I got it!!! WOOHOO!! Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah!!!

I just got the phone call and pending work approval, I'm in like Flynn. And they are offering pay commiserate with my previous experience, putting me on the level of a year 4 nurse (when I actually only have 3.5 years backed with 2 years of no nursing....I'm so giddy and excited that I don't even know what I'm going to do with myself. I get 4 weeks orientation like I asked, I have to do ACLS all this weekend, which blows but yeah---I got the job!

So thanks for all the positive vibes, they didn't go astray, I got the job!

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!

Cruising

My college roomies and I have been supposedly planning a trip for ages now. It's supposed to be a cruise sailing to a warm, tropical clime but every year someone ends up backing out, we don't have enough money or something happens to block it off. I'm not a cruise lover...have never been on one, but it seems like every season there is some kind of disaster related to cruises. Either someone fell off, went missing, got murdered, got food poisoning or a rare disease. Add all that together plus the stress of traveling international and I'm not the first to jump into line. Perhaps one day I'll get over it...but until then, my Naija self is staying on dry land.

Deal or Steal?

When I was younger, I knew this frugal lady that got all her stuff from North Carolina furniture warehouses. She would rent a van, drive all the way from Maryland to North Carolina, just so she could get discount warehouse rates with no tax. I'm not sure if they still do that (they might) but that's one of the quirky things that I found so bizarre about them. They were frugal to the point of being obscene. You would think that isn't possible, but she actually thought that the gas, rental and stress of driving a 19 hour round trip was worth getting a truck load of cute furniture every year for. Yeesh.

Paradise

My very good friend just bought a new house and is furnishing it quite lavishly. I never thought her a lavish person but this is her first home so I can understand her excitement. She showed me this teak outdoor furniture that even I thought was so absolutely gorgeous and absolutely her. She's always been one to enjoy nature and the elements and apparently her home has a lovely large backyard. Fortunately for her, she doesn't live in the Bay area, for if she did, she wouldn't be able to afford such a lovely, large home. Go Shay!

Waiting

Have patience with all things, But, first of all with yourself. ~ Saint Francis de Sales

The waiting game...the most difficult part of any hiring process. I'm on tenterhooks constantly checking my phone and messages, trying to see if I get that one phone call that will leave me in paroxysms of delight. He's already spoken to my current boss and old boss for references, so now I'm waiting...waiting...waiting.

I'm not a patient person, this waiting is driving me crazy.

Job Interview

Although it may be terrifying to get out of your comfort zone, it's also very exciting to start a new chapter in your life. ~ Katie Couric

Remember last week when I was whining (and I use that word most sparingly) about the job interview that I tanked the week I fell sick? Well, today I had another one with a hospital in Oakland on the same kind of unit that I used to work in back East. I had so much angst heading over there because although it's been 2 weeks since the Interview Freeze I still hadn't gotten my confidence back. I actually came back inside the house and almost called to cancel in a fit of nerves but my roomie whipped me into shape and told me to stop being a punk.

Okay...for the most part I'm not a punk. But I hate to feel like I'm an idiot. I consider myself reasonably smart...perhaps even quite intelligent, so when my brain/memory fails me, especially in situations that I should be able to breeze through, I absolutely detest the feeling. I didn't really go into details about how bad the last interview was on here...it was so bad that I came home in tears and ended up bawling all over the Fiance as I mumbled how many times I had screwed up in a 30 minute interview. I still had flashbacks about it all through the day, and the nursing questions keep playing over and over in my head.

Fast forward to today...I KICKED ASS! Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah! *doing booty shake*. There was this calmness that came over me from the moment I stepped into the office until hours later when I stood outside the pavement jumping up and down. I felt no pressure to perform whatsoever, and just talked to the Supervisor about my previous nursing experience and how I would make a good fit into their unit. He asked me far more questions than the last interview, in much more nursing depth than before as well and I nailed each question leaving him more than satisfied. The best part---no eyes boring into my skull. He was so laid back and chill, it made me more relaxed.

"Why should I hire you?" he asked me towards the end of the interview.

"Because I'm fabulous!" was my first response, which I later segued easily into a list of great reasons that Poetic Justice/Kafo had mentioned the night before during rehearsal. This was the best interview I'd ever had.

He introduced me to the other nurses working that day as Vixen, a registered nurse that will be working on their unit sometime in the near future. Say what?

Oh yeah. He told me twice during the course of the 85 minute interview that he likes me and plans to offer me a position. He is checking my references and then will forward my info directly to HR for a direct hire. This means I skip going to HR to beg for a job from the hospital, this time the hospital is coming to me. It doesn't get much better than that.

Take that, mean lady boring holes into my head with your horn rimmed glasses and PMS-ey attitude. You just lost out on hiring a great nurse. Actually---you just lost out on hiring a fuckin' fabulous nurse.

Boo-yah.

Hunger

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread. ~Mother Teresa

I've been so hungry as of late. I'm not sure why...I feel like I'm still eating the same portions of food that I used to eat last week and the week before but for some reason I'm constantly hungry. Yesterday I had 3 different meals for dinner, one at 4, one at 7 and again at 10. You would think that I was training for the triathlon or something with the frequency of my eating schedule. I had breakfast close to an hour ago, and yet my stomach is growling again. It's so weird almost to the point that I'm staring at a cordless phone battery on my desk contemplating if it will assuage the hunger pangs. What the flip is wrong with me?

I'm hungry.

Offices

This week my boss went through this phase that she totally hated all her office furniture. Considering that she's paid out close to $8,000 to have all that stuff, one would think that she would like it...or come to like it. She hates the way the cherry wood clashes with the mahogany. Apparently on the internet it looked almost similar but in real life they are two different shades. I don't understand what the fuss is about. I've never gone into an office and thought..."Oh my, the desk clashes with the mahogany on the chairs!" Normally I just see if the office is clean or disorganized.

Mathematician...NOT!

There are aspects of my current job that are quite appalling to me. I totally suck at math, and find it hard to compute anything beyond the basic core math principles. Of course the Boyfriend is a math whiz, and then throw in Kafo and you have a math convention worthy of Einstein. Anyway, today I had to do all kinds of computations for the California mortgage refinance for one of her clients. The only reason it's blog worthy is because it was so tedious and I kept flubbing up and making mistakes over and over again until she got frustrated and took it from me, finishing it up in 30 seconds with no errors.

Ugh, pie in my face!

I can't wait to get back into nursing.

Research

I do alot of research on the internet, it's easier for me. ~Carrie Fisher.

One of the main differences between the two of us is the amount of market research the Boyfriend does before he buys any product, whether it's a new shaver or a belt buckle. Ebay is is favorite website in the world, and he can be toddling on there for hours, looking at prices; and concurrently on Google reading everything there is to know about a product.

Me---I just see what I like, buy it and move on. Of course, there is the downside that I might end up totally disliking it or seeing something better down the road, but for the most part that's my modus operandi. My sister Kafo is a market research genie as well. She can research the hell out of something, probably even more than the Boyfriend. She will pull out charts and graphs off the top of her head with pros and cons of each option. Man, sometimes I wish I had a mind like that.

J'adore

Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. ~Aristotle

There is something about the Boyfriend's voice that sizzles me to the core of my femininity. He could be talking about the stock market, reading the Bible, or just talking about his daily affairs. But something in the way he chooses his words, the cadence of his voice, the deep baritone and enunciation of certain phrases definitely makes my insides melt. He has different tones for different occasions, and there is alot of excitement in his voice when he gets psyched about something or another. It's gotten that I can tell what kind of mood he's in just by hearing him put 2 words together.

As you can see I'm in an overly mushy mood. It's been quite a successful day, my car got fixed, I interviewed for a new job, I talked to an old friend from waaaaaaay back in Baltimore that I haven't spoken to in years! On top of that I get to eat Nigerian food/snacks anytime I want. I'm so loving this store. I will most definitely be going there tomorrow to stock up on some grocery essentials. I'm so tickled having a Nigerian grocery store 4 miles from my house. So giddy!!!

Accounts

Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. ~Kahlil Gibran

I don't wanna go to work tomorrow. I'm trying to learn this accounts receivable conversion thingey and it's totally blowing my mind. For some reason, I have never been a math whizz, but that's not reason enough to throw in the towel right? So my boss gives me this project and I"m giving it a whirl, but honestly, it's so over my head that I'm seeing stars. I've called my friend the Accountant in Alabama so many times these last few days just to see if I can get a handle on it. It's a good thing she can explain this stuff to a total dunderhead like me.

*sigh*

I can't wait to get back into nursing!

Honeymoons

My affianced and I recently eloped. We went on a fabulous honeymoon to Europe, and I was able to see and do everything I wanted without worrying about taking it easy. ~Lee Majors

My Almost Married Sis has this quiz on her website for where her and her spouse should head for their honeymoon. I'm leaning towards something different like Greece but I'm sure that she will end up doing it somewhere on this side of the continent. I think that the Boyfriend and I will probably end up somewhere in Italy. Like several Villas in Italy or a lovely cottage in the scenic Siena countryside. Italy is one of his favorite places in the world to go, and as you might know, it's definitely on my list of places to visit. A honeymoon would the perfect time for an international trip, even though it's cliche, I think we would definitely rock it.

Weddings in the Air

Family is not an important thing, it's everything. ~ Michael J. Fox

Speaking of family, my direct younger sis aka the Lawyer is getting married in August. It's so hyped and talked about in my family and in Nigeria, it seems like everyone is revving up big time for the big day. I'm caught up in the excitement as well, probably not as much as some but definitely more than some others. I looked at her registry and noticed that she's really on the home furniture bend. I know that that's what most newlyweds do with their wedding stash is spruce up their home---but I think I would like monetary gifts instead. That way I can find steals on Ebay for things that I really want and pay off some racked up debt. I'm such a cheapo!

Survival

I believe that our very survival depends upon us becoming better systems thinkers. ~Margeret J. Wheatley.

One thing I absolutely hate about being out of the loop for several days at a time is that when I come back everything is in shambles---work, life, school, home, you name it, it's all practically a disaster front because I'm not around. I need to get a survival kits that actually apply to my stay in the hospital like one that is made for Home Management; bills, groceries, laundry, phone calls, business stuff etc. Also I think one that automatically does and turns in all my work so I can still make bank even when I'm ill. And while we are at it, perhaps another one that helps the hospital people to figure out how to deal with my illness once and for all so I don't have to keep going back every 3 months.

Sorry, I'm kinda whiny today.

Baseball Season

The only real game - I think - in the world is baseball. ~George Herman

Remember last year when I was so into the Oakland A's with my friend Cerra that I was a such a baseball nut? I guess I didn't catch the fever with lasting intensity because she was joking with me yesterday that she's scored amazing baseball tickets this season, even better seats than last year, the weather is much better and yet I'm not jumping off to the races. I guess with my illness acting up, bills flying through the mail in an ever growing avalanche and just trying to get this nursing thing off the ground I've been very distracted. Hopefully before the season ends I'll get my baseball mojo back.

Buenos Dias

First I would like to thank my darling sis Kafo for filling in so well while I was away. I'm sure most of you figured it out by now, I rarely talk about myself in 3rd person or use the word mii...that's strictly lil sis. I didn't want the blog to be a total dud and I'm sure that she enjoyed flexing her writing skills to other dimensions. I should get her some lovely concert tickets for a spunky thank you. I'm sure she'll like that.

Chicken Marsala

I am furious, seriously here I am trying to make dinner and I get one of those crazy paper cuts. So now I can’t even wash dishes because the soap stings my hand. I have to tend skin and basically work around it because I have all this stuff planned for dinner. Mercy. So what was I playing to make, I was going for chicken marsala, I learnt how to make it about 2 years ago and now it has become my specialty. O but I can’t use chicken because I am a practicing vegetarian so it was going to be fri-chik marsala. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know there are a lot of haters out there but this can and will be done.
Wish me luck
Later

Bed and Breakfast Fantasy

I recently read this Sandra Brown book in which an author falls in love with the owner of a bed and breakfast, and ever since then I have been dreaming of going to one. Not to fall in love (I think I already accomplished that feat on my own) but basically experience the whole b and b allure. I am not sure if it is real or if it is just an unrealistic fantasy but only time will tell. So yeah, let mii get off this blog so I can go bed and breakfast internet shopping.

Dream Home YIKES

Mortgages, mortgages, mortgages I’ve been thinking of my home with all the trimmings, white picket fence, dog, cat and 2. 5 kids but then somewhere in my musings the word refinance pops up and my day dream becomes a nightmare. California Mortgage Refinance is basically Cali’s way of telling us non-cali people that we need to either earn more money to move out of this wonderful state.I mean my cousin has a place in Indiana and it costs appro. One-fifth of my dream home and it has more rooms.Anyway enough with the whining, I don’t think I am leaving this state any time soon. Ciao.

Missing in action

Hey peoples,
I am MIA.
My wonderful body is acting up again and needs to be checked by those overpricely Doctors.

So yeah
This is actually my sister posting this blog post.

I'll be back soon.

Ciao

Scammings

As some of you may know. I have three sisters and every once in a while they end up on the verge of being scammed. My middle sister paid over 300 bucks for this vacation package and it was totally worthless. I mean a friend had one of those Pigeon Forge vacation rentals and she got mad perks but my wonderful sister paid over 300 bucks and didn’t even get tissue paper in her restroom. My other sister almost gave her personal info to this guy who was from England who needed a tutor for his two kids that were in Australia.SeriouslyThe good thing is that they have mii to point out the foibles.

Boston Legal AGAIN

My sister is a Boston Legal junkie and so at her request, move like her constant hounding, I started watching a couple of previous episodes and I am amazed. Okay, amazed is not the right word, more like appalled. I mean, it is totally ridiculous the amount of sex that goes on in this show. In one of the episodes that I was watching Denny Crane was engaged in some nefarious act under cabinet lighting his justification of course was that he was a man with needs that need to be attended to. HELLO, there is a reason why it is called work. I mean I love relationships and all the drama that they have but it seems now that every TV show’s main focus is the titillating and inappropriate situations that take place (Grey’s, ER, Boston Legal, Desperate) instead of real life issues. SERIOUSLY do we really spend all that amount of time on thinking and engaging in sex.

Boston Legal

I was watching an old episode of Boston Legal and was amazed at Alan Shore’s use of office supplies and gestures to make a point. There was this case in which he was going up against the United State government for a client who was innocent but tortured at Gitmo. In his closing argument Alan stands up and sits down five times. He picks up a pen, puts a down and then he says a sentence and then he sits. And they he starts to talk again and then in the middle of his spiel he stands once again, only to sit down a couple of seconds later. He does this a number of times and if what he was saying was not so tragic and serious it would have been comical.

I'm Alive...

Hey everyone,

I've returned to the land of the living. Tomorrow...I blog.

YAY!