A world of hard work and constant changes

So much has transpired in the last week, and only ten times as much to come in the next few months.

Our new home is ready for us now... quite a bit of work left to do before we can move in, but it's ours to do with as we wish. We spent some time there over last weekend and early this week cleaning and scrubbing away (sweating too... no air conditioning right now)... and are slowly making our way through all the necessary tasks so we can take full ownership.

Cleaning the fridge took me over 3.5 hours, and Trent has spent as much time scrubbing walls down. Em has been diligently (yes, really), working on the floors for me. While her technique could use definite improvement, I'm just pleased she's pitching in to help. We still haven't yet touched the basement, but as long as the upstairs is clean, I'll start carting over boxes and stocking them while I wait for Trent and his crew to get some painting done. My goal right now is to move all of our big stuff (the last stuff to move) on August 20th, and consider the home all ours at that point. Although that's a tight squeeze for Em who returns to school on the 22nd I have no doubt she can cope.

Speaking of Em, she got the pleasure of her first gynecological appointment yesterday morning (luckily no exam required), and we got to have the possible birth control talk. She's eleven, I know! But 12 in less than 2 weeks, and rapidly becoming a woman.

If that weren't torture enough, this morning I got to take her to get her braces put on. Poor kid. I felt bad for her while they were digging around in her mouth, but she needs them, so be it. I cut a check for $650 down payment, and committed myself to $168/mo for the next two years at the same time. I wonder what happens if I default on those payments now that the braces are in... do they stop working on them? Let them stay on forever until they fall off naturally? Or do they come and repossess all the metal in her mouth? It would be interesting to find out, but I think instead I'll just find a way to pay off the added debt. Thankfully - no interest... whew, at least some company isn't completely trying to bleed me dry.

Affina, my career home for the past 12 years is no longer Affina - we are now HGS or Hinduja Global Solutions, and not only changing names but looking to move locations in the near future as well. Quite a lot of excitement at work. At this time, however, none of that excitement has anything to do with a promotion for a diligent, deserving, hard working, loyal, dedicated, intelligent, capably, tenured employee that is in dyer need of additional income and soon to be leaving on maternity leave, so not able to hope for any new opportunities in the next three months. Speaking of bleeding me dry, my place of employment has the ability to do that to me over and over and over again, and yet I still believe that opportunities exist here, and I WILL find them. I can't speak bad of Affina, they've paid my bills for years... unfortunately, my pay has not inflated at the rate of my living expenses, and with a baby on the way, I'm starting to get scared.

That being said, my search for part time work at home (legitimate) jobs, still continues. I've found several in which I'm interested and at which I think I can excel, it's all a matter of selling myself to them now, getting the job, and seeing the compensation. It will happen.

That's all for now folks. I'll try to write again before a week goes by.