Weekly Update

Well...this is embarrassing.  I hadn't meant to let it go a week between posts.  I had several ideas for posts, but then never quite got here...

So, let's start at the beginning.  Monday had two firsts...my first day at the new job and my first night run.  As you know, I've been without work for the past 18 months.  For a little while, not having to get up every day and go somewhere to work isn't necessarily awful (minusing out the lack of income of course).  Then...after a few days...it gets old. Well, that's all changed now.  I am now gainfully employed and a productive member of society.  This week was week 1 of training.  I have four weeks of training before I am set loose to do the job I was hired for.  So, week 1 is in the books.  For the next two weeks, I'll be in the office, learning all about my job, the people I'll be working with, where what I'm responsible for stands, what needs to happen, and all that fun stuff.  Then week 4 brings me back to the training facility to go over all the information I gathered during weeks 2 and 3 to determine an action plan going forward. 

Monday, also involved my first foray into night running.  With the new job, my days have just gotten a tad bit busier.  No running during the day for me now.  So, if I want to rock that half marathon I gotta start running at night.  I am now equipped with all sorts of running gear that lets me go out in the dark without getting run over (hopefully!).  I have a nice reflector vest, some new brightly colored running jackets, and a head lamp (kinda like a miner's lamp, just without the helmet).  It wasn't bad going out at night.  It was kinda odd running in the dark.  The plus side was I didn't notice the hills as they came up.  I didn't run up them any faster than usual, but I also didn't notice them.  LOL!  I will say running at night is kinda boring though.  I got my 4 miles in, which I'm pretty happy about for week 1.

And of course, there's a check in with Revised Operation 20.  Had a good running week, even if I didn't get 100% of miles in.  It was a rough week food wise as I was in training all week and lunch was provided by my company.  Trying to stay on plan while adjusting to a new schedule and having no control over my food during the day was difficult.  So, the grand total for the week was down 1.  Yup, after all the upheaval of the week, I was still down a pound.  I was happy.  Had hoped for more, but with all that was going on this week, being down at all is an accomplishment.  With this week's pound, I'm down a total of 4.6 pounds in two weeks.  Not bad.

So, there ya have it.  A quick recap of last week.  At least the major highlights.  ;-)

New Month New Adventures

Well, it's March.  Hard to believe two months have passed already and spring is just around the corner.  I promise it is.  Which corner, I'm not sure, but it's there.

This week had an interview with a non-profit for a temporary position.  Found out today I was selected.  I start Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.  So, there goes my daytime activities.  Maybe it will make me more productive.  Maybe it will push me to get things moving faster with my photographer goals.  Maybe I'll write more and try to publish more.  I know it will keep me from watching Phillies Spring Training baseball games...which I had been looking forward to.  :-(

I spoke with the Career Services department at PSU and am currently working on putting together a CV to submit for teaching positions.  They are pretty cool over there and I'm glad I called.  I am about halfway done writing it, though I have no idea if I'm doing it right.  Ah well.  That's what they're there for, right?

My lovely Lensbaby Composer is on it's way!  Hubby got the email today that it was shipped.  There's hope it could arrive this week.  That would make me feel much better about how this week is turning out. 

And the day would not be complete without some history!  PSU's library has a wonderful collection on Women's History that you should check out.  It's a fantastic resource and has over 7,000 pieces of information.  Alice Marshall Women's History Collection at PSU Capital Campus

Incredibly Productive Day

Wow.  There are days when I feel like I sit on my butt and do nothing but play on the internet all day.  Then there are days like today.  Phew!  It's been busy!

I received my final proof on my logo for my photography business today.  :-)  Sooo excited about that!

But, I had to give the information I wanted on my stationary.  Which means I had to make a decision on a website.  I had looked in January at companies and templates, but never pulled the trigger.  Well, I decided that if I want this to be real and do it right, I better pull the trigger.  So, I purchased a template, a domain, and hosting through Blu Domain today.  Wow.  This is getting real.  Seriously real.

In other employment news, I was woken up by a phone call from the temp service this morning (before 9:00 a.m.) stating the company they sent my resume to was interested in having me come in for an interview.  So, I go Friday at 10:00 a.m. to interview for a temporary fund raising position in Harrisburg.  Wish me luck!  As much as I'm not really wanting to do fund raising anymore, it will be nice to get out of the house.  And since it's temporary, I don't feel  like I'm selling my soul again.

And it wouldn't be a weekday if I didn't have more educational stuff for you!  A new article is up at examiner.com for your enjoyment.

Pennsylvania's Historical Marker Program

What a day!  I feel so accomplished.  Going to try my new My Fitness Coach 2 Wii workout tonight.  Excited because not only does it have workouts, but it has recipes too.  This should be interesting.

What is going right

The whole eating healthy and exercising thing isn't working out as well as I had hoped the last several weeks.  And I have no idea why.  I just can't seem to get the motivation up to do what I'm supposed to do.  It's really rather frustrating. 

And because I don't want to be negative, I've decided to post a few positive things that have happened lately:

* Being the Harrisburg History Examiner has been fun so far.  Finding topics to write on has been a little more difficult than I thought it would be, but it's really been a neat experience.  I'll be posting another article later today.  And if you're in the Harrisburg/York/Lancaster area, you'll surely want to check it out!

* I received an email from a list-serve I belong to about needing judges for a 4th grade history essay contest.  I decided to email back and volunteer to judge.  Yesterday, they emailed back saying they would love to have me and I'll hear more from them at the end of the month.  Yea!  I'm thinking it's resume building.

* I follow a number of photography blogs, in the goal of learning some new things.  One of the blogs the other day listed a website where you can write for AOL and if your article gets picked up, you get paid.  I have so far submitted three articles for consideration.  They have a list of topics and you chose the ones you want to write on.  It's not retirement money, but it's something and experience.

* I received another email from a different list-serve yesterday with a local history position opening up.  I was really excited as I check the website of this organization about once a week or every other week and it is not up.  So, I'm happy that belonging to this list-serve gave me an opportunity I would not through normal channels have heard about.  I'm in the process of putting all the required documentation together - including recommendations!  This is the only organization I have applied to that wants recommendations rather than references.  It makes submitting more difficult.  But, I working hard to get everything in place by Monday's deadline.

* And in the spirit of full disclosure, I emailed an organization that I received an email for requesting authors for an upcoming encyclopedia.  I expressed my interest in writing on several topics and had hoped to hear they would be interested in me writing for them.  Nope.  Their policy is to hire professors or Ph.D. students with prior publishing experience on the topic.  Sad.

So, there you have it, things that are going well right now.  Hoping to turn the diet/exercise thing around in the coming week.  Not sure what the heck is going on with it.  If you have any advice, please share.  I'm all ears!