Sorry, Peace Corps Bloggers...

To anyone reading this through Peace Corps Journals, my apologies.  I didn't realize until last night that it was still linked there.  So, while you are free to continue reading my entries, I'm sure by now you are aware that very little of it pertains to my time in Turkmenistan.  Though, every once and awhile a tid-bit will arise.

It's been raining.  A lot.  We had a few days of reprieve earlier this week, but otherwise it's been quite wet.  And muggy.  The temperature still gets up into the high 70's, low 80's, most days.  This particular storm started yesterday afternoon, ( I think it's due to another hurricane, but I haven't checked,) about the time I wanted to run to the Red Cross office to volunteer.  On this mornings dog prance, it rained hard enough to soak through my London Fog trench coat.  Or maybe that was the sweat underneath?  It's still hanging up to dry, causing the house to smell kind of musty.  (Actually, the smell is coming from the dog leash.)  All of the windows have condensated, and everything feels damp to the touch.  I'm sure my hair will still be wet when I wake up in the morning.

 Today's adventure has to do with finding a private insurance policy.  The PC is nice enough to offer health insurance to all former volunteers for up to 18 months after their close-of-service.  Which should be more than enough time for any competent person to find a new job with benefits.  Particularly a nurse.  But alas, not for me.  My policy runs out on the 15th of October.  Sure, Karl has a job with benefits, but they only include 'spouses' not 'domestic partners'.  And yes, we are planning on getting hitched, but we weren't planning on having a shot-gun wedding.  Besides, he doesn't have enough vacation time to run off to Vegas yet.

(This is becoming increasingly difficult to type, due to the humidity causing the beer I spilled on my keyboard to become sticky again.  Particularly the 'M' key and the space bar.)

Back to my problem.  I started with the CorpCare website to see if they offered any further insurance, say a short term policy, or a COBRA plan.  They do, but it won't cover pre-existing conditions, i.e. my meds.  So I went online to look into Blue Cross.  Before I had benefits at St. Joes I used to have a Blue Cross policy.  While going through the questionaire I was asked if I had at least tried to get a COBRA plan, so I looked into that.  Googled it, and found what I thought was a legitimate website.  I was wrong.  It was designed to sell your info to other 'insurance' companies.  Middle-men.  I received at least four phone calls this morning trying to sell me insurance.  They admitted that they got my information from that website.  Rrrrgh!  One wanted to meet me to discuss policy options, one wanted to know if I was able to pay for a policy today.  They both plan on calling me back tomorrow.  The second one told me I couldn't get a policy for less than $150.  That's odd, Blue Cross quoted me $74.  Guess that's the brokers fee.  I think I'll be filling out that Blue Cross app tonight.

So much for the new government health care plan helping us poor, unemployed, voting, citizens out.  Actually I think they were on the right track, but congress is really good a screwing things up.  I won't even get started on that one.  Just watch The Daily Show.  They're able to put my thoughts into words.  And video.

In other news, I've just about finished decorating for Halloween.  Yes, I know October doesn't even start until tomorrow, but Halloween is way too cool to cram into one month.  Especially now that Christmas has started creeping into the picture.  Monday I told Mom it was had to think about Halloween in 85 degree weather, today's rain feels just about right.  Except for being muggy.  I have stuffed the scarecrow and he is diligently waiting in my arm chair until the rain stops.  Maybe the rain will make the ground soft enough to stake him into the ground.  I couldn't find overalls last year for him, so he has kid-sized pants.  Sitting here he looks like he has bilateral below-the-knee amputations.  Bayram is confused.  Of course, he's always confused.

And, I finally made an outfit for my mom's old baby doll.  I've been meaning to for years.  Well, she still needs pants, but the teddy bear shorts are working for now.  It's a cute crocheted sweater and hat, but my pride and joy are the booties I designed, all by myself.  I did write the pattern down, so if I ever get around to downloading the pictures off my camera, I'll post it.  To give back to the community I'm regularly stealing ideas from.  Though don't worry, I never sell the stuff I make, and I'm sure to give credit where credit is due.  That said, you can do whatever you want with any patterns I may post here.  I really don't care, because I think with a little thought, anyone can design the same things.  I mean, there are only a few basic stitches and everything is built up from there.  Nothing is really 'new', some of us may just not have thought of it yet.  Or in my case, didn't know how to begin.

Take çeşka (cheshka) for example.  The slipper socks everyone in T-stan has a million pairs of.  I brought a couple home myself, but just by looking, I can't reverse engineer them.  Luckily, someone else has.  Curious as to what I'm talking about?  Check out the "Caspian Sea Socks" on  knittingdaily.com. And even though I couldn't figure out how to make them toe-up, I did make them top-down. I suppose I should post a picture of them, too.  They're really cool, and way more comfortable because I didn't use the super cheap acrylic yarn only found in T-stan.

Time on my hands

Being unemployed and car-less has left me with much free time.  I can't say that I have been using it productively though.  The most productive things I do are walking the dog, vacuuming, and laundry.  And those last two aren't even every day.

Usually I wander around the house, or stare blankly at a wall, trying to think of things to do.  Once and awhile I make headway on my Christmas gift list.  Since I'm broke, I usually make gifts with what yarn and fabric I already have in my stash.  But probably not fast enough that I'll actually have them done by Christmas.

I would watch TV or movies, but not only do we not have cable, but we don't have a TV.  I do listen to NPR quite a bit.  I have to admit I don't like WAMU as much as I liked NHPR.  Too political.  But what else should I expect from a radio station based in Washington DC?

Sometimes (and more often lately) I catch up on my 'soaps' online.  By 'soaps' I mean South Park and The Daily Show.  South Park doesn't resume their season until next week, so right now I've been getting my news from John Stewart.  And sometimes I'll even watch The Colbert Report. 

Did you know they're having co-rallies in DC at the end of October?  I'm not one to promote such things, but I think it's awesome!  We're going, no matter what.  Besides, I've never been to DC before, and what a first experience this will be.  Maybe we can stay the night and be tourists the next day.

When I was in Turkmenistan people thought it was strange I had never seen our president before, let alone never been to the capitol.  It's hard to explain just how big the US is to someone who only knows about it from Hollywood.  Turkmenistan, being a much smaller country (population-wise, if not so much physically), their president visits each capitol more often, appeared in a few parades while I was there, and has his poster everywhere!  Not that most Americans don't know what Obama looks like.  I never saw Birdymuhamadov (sp?) though.  Americans weren't allowed to be at those parades.  No one actually said that, but we were highly discouraged, as in "Oh no, you don't need to come in to work tomorrow, we're going to be out..."  It was too bad, I think it would have been kind of neat to have at least seen him, if not from a distance, through my camera lens. 

Usually I just spend my time wishing I had money, and all the things I would do with it.  I try very hard not to think about what it was like, and what I spent it on when I did have it.  That is too depressing.  Our house would be much cuter if I could have things like matching towels, or curtains in each room, let alone doing some landscaping.  Or I would look more actively into going back to school, but until next fall I'm 'out-of-state'.  I think I'll save the "should I go back to school, and what for?" discussion for another day.

Oh, it appears that the drier has stopped, I'd better get on with my super exciting day.

It wouldn't be so bad if it would stop raining.  This may be the week to find out if the basement leaks. 

Wow. It's been awhile, hasn't it?

The other day Karl found out that his old school would be canceling his web-site, so I went and re-read it while I still had the chance.  It was quite enlightening.  Not as enlightening though, as re-reading my old blogs.  And there were way less of mine to read.

A few thoughts about my old postings:
     1: The language doesn't sound like something I would write.  I can't describe it, but I have a vague feeling someone has been editing it behind my back.  Karl has been known to do that to his brothers blog...
     2: I used to be a lot more interesting.  The biggest reason I haven't posted anything in the last year is not because I'm busy, but rather the opposite.  There isn't much to say about nothing.  Though, that too has changed a bit, and is why I am here today.
     3: Okay, I can't think of a third thing right now, but I will.  Two things are not "a few".

So what have I been up to for the last 14 months?  Well, I left off with the disaster that was moving to New Hampshire.  I will end this post with the not-so-disaster of moving to Virginia.

I never found a job.  At least not as a nurse.  I probably applied to 100 job postings.  Diligently called the HR directors, even went in to meet them.  The few times I got an interview, I sent thank you notes.  But I was always overlooked for someone who had "more experience".  I'm 30 years old, it would be difficult for me to have 10 years of experience, as I was told the people they hired had.  How do you compete with that?  Usually I simply received a generic email saying something along the lines of "Thank you for applying for the (blank) position, we had over 75 applicants.  We didn't choose you, but we'll keep your info on file, just in case."  Never once, did they call me first.

Alas, I was getting desperate, so I began walking around town with a stack of resumes.  Eventually I got a job as a part-time sales clerk at a local toy store.  Granted, it was a very cool toy store.  If you are ever in Dover NH, check out the 'Noggin' Factory'.  Though I loved the place, and the owners, it was difficult to feel comfortable there.  Being 30 years old and owning a cool, successful store, would be much different from being 30 years old and working part-time at a cool, successful store for minimum wage.

Ten hours a week wasn't cutting it, for income or sanity, so when I noticed the American Red Cross was looking for instructors, I jumped all over that.  I worked less hours, but did get paid more, and had more job satisfaction.  My first class had 22 students. Ahh!  It got easier though.  My last class was a Professional Rescuer class for nurses and EMT's.  I didn't tell them I couldn't find a job as a nurse or an EMT.  I didn't want to discourage them. 

So that about wraps up the employment part of this little discussion.  Now lets talk about the house.  Oh, it was a winner alright.  It did have a yard, and was on the first floor.  That's where it's good qualities end.  Every time it rained the bedroom ceiling leaked.  Mind you, we were on the first floor of a two-story house.  The last week we were there our kitchen ceiling leaked too.  The basement was filled with junk from the landlord and all previous renters.  We did find a kitchen table and chairs down there, just like the one I had in my parents garage.  The sump pump stopped working during one storm and created a toxic swamp.  It was lovely.

The upstairs neighbors were in a class of there own.  They couldn't have been more than 20 years old, pregnant, and had a huge Husky named Toby.  There apartment was probably half the size of ours.  They were rarely home and even when they were they left their dog in the crate.  I had to sleep with ear plugs to block out the whining and barking.  I don't know how they did it.  They took Toby out once a day, only to potty, and went right back up stairs to the crate.  They never cleaned up his poop either.  I almost called animal control so many times.  One day they were gone.  I hope they moved in with their parents.  I know most people cringe at the thought, but at least they'd have help for the baby and a yard for Toby.  We never did see (or hear) the baby, now that I think about it.

The new neighbors were an older couple and their grown daughter.  If I thought 2 kids and a dog would make it crowded up there, I can't imagine living in there with my parents.  For them it was only temporary.  The had sold their restaurant in Dover and were opening a new one in Pennsylvania.  They too, had a dog that rarely went for walks and was never cleaned up after, but at least it wasn't a highly energetic Husky puppy.  I loved it that they let 'Shannon' poop in front of our grill and under our kitchen windows.  Manners, people!  And I wonder who gives dog owners a bad rap? 

All this time Karl was desperately trying to finish his PhD dissertation so we could get the heck out of there.  I don't know how he functioned.  Up at 6ish, on the bus by 7, home after 7, and working in his office until 2am.  It made me feel incredibly lazy.  We were hoping for a job in Colorado.  But no such luck.  He had an interview in Albuquerque (yes, I can spell that right the first time), but they told him it would only be for 2 years because his grades weren't good enough.  His grades!?  One, they were fine, but two, he has a PhD and the skills they were looking for, who cares about grades?

Well, there was a second interview.  One he applied for because he was somewhat qualified for, and never actually expected to get a response from.  The USGS in Virginia was looking for someone who knew how to measure stuff in water.  Karl's specialty is air, but air/water same diff, right?  They loved him, and was shocked he didn't want to sign a contract right then and there at the interview.  The problem?  It was in Virginia, about as far away from the Rockies as you can get.  But it was a great job, working with a great group of people, that's kind of hard to brush aside...

Needless to say, we are in Virginia now.  I had never been here before.  We live 20 miles from DC.  I have never been there either.  It's almost October and it's 95 degrees outside, sunny and raining.  All at the same time.  Bayram doesn't want to go for walks anymore.  He's really lazy.  He's also 90+ lbs.  We were told he was probably going to be 45-50 lbs.  Usually he's really sweet, but sometimes he can be a real pain in the ass.  Like when he jumps and growls at little kids and old people.  But not all of them.  We still don't know what the 'trigger' is.

I think that is probably enough to say for now.  It sounds like a lot, but remember, it was over the course of 14 months.

Oh, and I still don't have a car or a job.

But I love my car...

I promise I will eventually post all that interesting info from T-stan I've been talking about. But for the moment I would like to discuss my last road trip.

In an earlier post I described the difficulty in getting my car, my stuff, and myself from NoCal to Illinois. Now I wish to describe my difficulty in getting my car, my stuff and myself from Illinois to New Hampshire. One of those three things never made it. Guess which?

First, it took 2 trips with a Uhaul trailer. They wouldn't rent me the 5'x10' that I had used getting from Cali. They said it was too big. "Must not have had that much weight in it." It seemed easier just to go with it, rather than explain I had hauled all my mom's free weights and my dad's reloading equiptment over 2 mountain ranges on that last trip. But they let me have the 5'x8', which happens to be a foot taller than the 5'x10', so I got the same amount of space. I wasn't able to drive it out of the lot though. Why, you might ask? Because the Uhaul dealer in Eureka installed the wiring wrong. Yes, I drove across 7 states without brake lights. Hmph. He called in his mechanic and showed Dad and I how to rewire the car ourselves. 3 hours later...

All was well, and I drove out of Chigaco very early on a Sunday morning. Less traffic. Bayram (my dog, whom I probably haven't mentioned yet) seems to like long road trips luckily. This first trip was uneventful. The biggest challenge was getting a king sized mattress and a portable dishwasher through the front door. And it rained the whole time.

The second trip was much more 'exciting' shall we say. I felt I had been overcharged for the first trailer, $770, so I argued with Uhaul, and the local dealer gave me the 5'x8' trailer again but for the 4'x8' price, $450. Big difference. Then Dad insisted on changing the oil before I left. It had been to NH twice after all. My car has had an oil leak for the last year or so. Walmart wouldn't touch it. 'Bob' said that Walmart are idiots and it was just a leaky seal. Integrity Auto Care said someone had tried to fix it with a coil of some sort, but they did it wrong and now it strips the oil plug everytime the oil is changed. They said I needed a new oil pan. Dad said yes, someone put the coil in wrong, so he simply took it out and put a bigger drain plug in. It didn't leak anymore.

Again, the drive was uneventful. Until I got to Danbury, CT that is. Then my car made a horrible grinding noise and the service engine light started blinking. Not good. "Well, I'd better get off at the next exit," which happened to be 5 miles down the road. I pulled off I-80 towards Newtown, where one of my many relatives in CT happen to live, but I only made it to the first stoplight when my car stalled, and died, never to move again. It was towed to the auto shop that happened to be 1/2 a mile from where I was. Though towing the car and the trailer proved to be difficult. My aunt, whom I haven't seen in 10 years, came to pick me up and brought me and Bay to my grandma's house. It was already closing time, so they couldn't look at my car that day. They didn't look at it for 3 days. I spent a week with no car, and no money, wandering around Brookfield. I had only $50 left, just enough for gas to NH. I had never walked so much. Bayram and I must have circled the condo complex 20 times in 4 days.

But the car was dead. They looked in the engine and said it needed a new one. They called the junk yards, but none could be found. Not that I could afford it anyways. "It has 270,000 miles on it, it's not worth fixing." Yeah, it's not worth it to you because you have a car. Karl came down in his boat and used his Uhaul hitch for the first time since installation, and we made a slow drive home. This was in June. I still don't have a car, and I still don't have a job, and Bayram and I probably walk 20 miles a week, out of sheer boredom.

I miss my car.

Just another short one.

In case anyone hadn't heard by now, I'm back in the states. A variety of extenuating circumstances led to this decision. So if anyone is actually writing me letters, don't bother paying the extra 50 cent postage. On the other hand there were a lot of letters that never made it to T-stan. Maybe you were writing letters, and do love me (grin).

I will also eventually post the previously mentioned blog entries. And write some new ones to explain all the questions I am undoubtibly raising.

Eventually.