It's Fall All Right!

Well, we had to turn on the furnace today. I finally had to wear a long sleeved shirt today. I think the high temperature today was about 68 degrees. I am not sure I am ready for fall or winter yet.

I feel like this whole year has been a waste of time. This whole year I have worked about 6 weeks. I worked for Wells Fargo until January 27 and then I worked for three weeks as a temp in April. I am totally fed up with Adecco and Office Team. Last time I called Office Team they didn't have a copy of my resume so they couldn't do anything until they got that. I replied to the e-mail that I was sent to me from the person I spoke with on the phone. I haven't heard anything since. I have applied to four or five position advertised with Office Team. Adecco has been the agency with which I have had the most assignments in the past. All I get when I call any more is that they will keep my name on the list for assignments. I am almost to the point of "what's the point of calling, it won't make a difference.", but I keep calling, just in case I guess.

Fall In the Air?

There was a definite chill in the air today. This evening when I was walking Fawn there were a couple of time when we were in the shade it was almost cold. It is supposed to get down to 44 degrees tonight. It won't be long until we are looking forward to the temperature getting up to that level. And then I can start to look forward to snow.

My belly is still hurting from my surgery. I am starting to think maybe I should call the doctor and see what he says about it. I just wish I could get a job! I am sick of not having a job!

Sunday's Sermons

Yesterday's sermons were about God's judgment on his people. The morning sermon was from Malachi 2:1-9, titled "Taking God Seriously". The main points are that we, as God's people, need to study the bible and then apply that knowledge in our everyday life. God has guidelines for ministers also. they are

1. Stand in awe of God.
2. Study God's word.
3. Give biblical advice.
4. Pray for the people.
5. Turn people from sin to righteousness.

God's top 3 activities for for ministers are

1. study
2. teaching and preaching
3. praying

Here is link to read the passage for yourself. http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?passage=malachi+2%3A1-9&NKJV_version=yes&language=english&x=22&y=4

The evening sermon was Ezekiel 19-21. These chapters are a lamentation over the judgment coming to Israel. God is judging them for their disobedience. Ezekiel has been preaching repentance and the people have been ignoring it. God can tolerate only so much sin before He says "Enough already!". Judgment is coming to America soon too. How long can we ignore God before He has the same reaction? We are killing 3,000 unborn children every day by abortion. The holocaust must stop now.

Evil Wal-Mart

For the 28th time in my life I have donated blood. I am working on my 4th gallon. One of the questions they ask in the pre-screening is if I have been pregnant in the last 4 weeks. Seeing as how I am almost 11 weeks post-op from my hysterectomy it would be tough to have been pregnant in the last 4 weeks.

In other news, I am finally free of the evilness of Wal-Mart!! I received 26 $5 gift cards to Wal-Mart from Wells Fargo for working overtime during November and December last year. I used the last 2 cards today. I never have to step foot in that evil place again. You might ask why I am calling it evil and I would answer that by saying it is because of their attitude toward other businesses and their customers. They have the attitude that because we are so big we can do anything we want. When I worked for them from 1986 to 1988 we used to laugh when "we" drove a small store out of a town. I remember being glad when Pamida left Indianola after the store opened there. When I worked for Place's the store that was in Indianola closed before Wal-Mart ever opened because we knew we couldn't compete. As far as I'm concerned Wal-Mart is trying to monopolize the market and that is why I say they are evil. They also don't care about their employees. I worked part-time as a cashier and gave breaks to the outlying registers and the snack bar. When I asked the Manager to work in a department he told me "As long as you work for me you will never work the floor because you are too slow." What a way to boost morale! Not long after that I gave my notice and quit.

AB FAQ

AB FAQ

My favorite cooking show is "Good Eats". I just love Alton Brown, the host. I think we have similar senses of humor. His show is on Food Network weeknights at 6 and every Wednesday at 9 and 9:30. For more info about the show check out www.altonbrown.com

The Woes of a Temp

So I called my temp agency on Monday and got the same answer as the last 5 months, "We'll keep your name on file and let you know." I am starting to think that they aren't even considering me for any jobs they have. I have told them numerous times that I will do anything, file , stuff envelopes, or anything.

In other news, sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning my belly has started hurting again. Today it has been hurting as much as it did yesterday. I am thinking that if it is still hurting like this on Friday, I will call my doctor and see what he has to say about it.

Great Site

I found this site when I was looking for information to help my sister in New York. This site has a lot of information for pre- and post-op hysterectomy.

More Chemo

My dad had another oncology check up yesterday and he is back on chemo for another two weeks. He was off for two weeks this time in stead of the month like last time.

Doggy Boo Boo

I had to take my dog to the veterinarian yesterday because she was limping and wouldn't put any weight on her rear left leg. I was afraid she had hurt her knee but the vet said her knees and hips are fine. She thinks it was a bee or wasp sting because there was a red spot on her rear left foot and her temperature was elevated a little bit. Dr. Nelson, the vet, gave her an injection of cortisone to counteract the effects of the venom in the sting. She said the effects should last for 24 hours. She said if the limping returned after that she probably strained or sprained something in her leg. If Fawn does start limping again I need to keep as quiet as I can for 2 weeks and hope she heals. Right now she seems fine but the cortisone hasn't worn off yet.

Pet Peeves

I was watching television when a commercial for a local Italian restaurant came on, throughout the entire ad the announcer pronounce it "I-talian" with a long i instead of a short i. My first thought when I heard that was "Do they come from I-taly?" I don't know if this is a local thing or if other areas pronounce it that way too.

Another pet peeve of mine is when people will say "There's 5 people waiting." When it should be "There are 5 people waiting." I guess it's laziness. I have caught myself doing it, I mentally kick myself and swear to not do again.

Hinterlands?

Yesterday, when he was in Iowa, President Bush said "I tell you, the crowds we're seeing out here are really big. I believe something is going on here in the hinterlands, in the heartland, that is going to mean a victory come November." Some of the Democratic bigwigs in Iowa are asking for an apology from the president for his comment.

This is the definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary Web site:
Main Entry: hin·ter·land Pronunciation: 'hin-t&r-"land, -l&nd
Function: noun
Etymology: German, from hinter hinder + Land
1 : a region lying inland from a coast
2 a : a region remote from urban areas b : a region lying beyond major metropolitan or cultural centers

If you look at the first definition, "hinterland" is appropriate for Iowa. We are in the middle of the country, a thousand miles from any ocean. Definition 2a isn't accurate for the whole state but it is for parts of the state. Definition 2b can be viewed from two different perspectives. The first is that since we do have some large cities it is not accurate. The second view is that the whole state is in the hinterlands because we are not a major cultural center. Chicago is 340 miles away from Des Moines and it is the closest "cultural center" and we are over a thousand miles from either coast. While we do have cultural events here we are not a trend setter like LA or New York.

Boredom

It's been a while since I posted anything because not much has been happening. I have been filling out job applications every time I find something I think I have the necessary qualifications, sometimes even if I don't. You have to take a chance, right? Anyway, I applied a Nebraska Furniture Mart and got a phone interview yesterday. They do a credit check so I probably won't get this job because of bad credit. I think I could do this job with my eyes closed because it sounds like the same job I had the last time I worked in retail.

Thursday the 26th -- I went to the dentist for my six month check and cleaning. No cavities, YAY!!

Friday the 27th -- I had an appointment to give blood but my hematocrit was too low so they deferred me for 28 days. My next appointment is September 24th. Hopefully next time!

Monday the 30th -- I finally got my hair cut. It had been three months since my last hair cut. I normally get my hair cut every six weeks. My last scheduled appointment was on July 5th. That was the day I was in the emergency room figuring out what was causing the pain in my abdomen.

Sad News

Monday night, while I was taking a shower, a friend from Wells Fargo called to tell me that another lady I worked with had died late Sunday or early Monday. I still don't know how she died. The last I knew they were going to do an autopsy to find out. The funeral is Friday at 10:30 am. The old wive's tale says that deaths happen in threes. Ruby was one and Donna was two. Who knows who three will be.

Visiting Family

Sunday afternoon my sister and her husband and eldest son got here from New York. They had planned to leave at noon on Friday and arrive here Saturday afternoon but Jeff didn't get away from work until 6:30 pm Friday. They decided instead to leave early on Saturday and get here Sunday.

Saturday I started getting a sore throat and now I have a full blown cold. This is the first cold or flu I have had in four and a half years so I figure I am doing pretty well overall.

The whole bunch of us went to the fair today. It was my little sister Linda, her husband Jeff, their oldest son Cory, my older sister Marsha, Both nieces Kate and Steph. Because of my cold I only made it to about 4:30. We got there around 10 am.

Iowa State Fair

Yesterday was the opening day of the 150th Iowa State Fair. It was also the one month anniversary of my surgery. I went to the fair with my sister and niece, Marsha and Steph. I normally go to the first day of the fair by myself but this year I wasn't sure I could make it by myself so I asked them to come with me. We got there about 9 am and left about 9 pm so I made it about 12 hours. Last year I was there for about 14 hours.

We watched the opening ceremonies and dedication of the new fountain outside the Agriculture Building. We also got to watch a concert at the free KCCI stage. I saw the group Vocal Trash last year and was glad to see they were returning this year. Marsha seemed to enjoy them also.

which rejected character are you?

You are a banana! Good job, captain obvious.

which rejected character are you?
brought to you by

The Year I Was Born

In 1960 (the year you were born)

-Dwight Eisenhower is president of the US
-Sit-ins begin after 4 black college students in North Carolina refuse to move from a deli counter when denied service
-A U-2 reconnaissance plane belonging to the US is shot down in the Soviet Union
-Hurricane "Donna" strikes the East Coast causing over 100 deaths in the US and the Antilles
-John F. Kennedy defeats Vice President Richard Nixon in the presidential race
-Cassius Clay (who later took the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight
-Michael Stipe, Tony Robbins, Bono, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Jeffrey Dahmer are born
-Pittsburgh Pirates win the World Series
-Philadelphia Eagles win the NFL championship
-Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup
-Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is the top grossing film
-To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is published
-The Beatles make their debut in Hamburg, Germany
-The Flintstones debut

New Mouse

For my first big outing since my surgery I went to Best Buy to buy a new mouse for my computer. I went with the intention of just getting the same kind of mouse that I had. What I got was a cordless optical mouse. It seems to work pretty well.

Ruby Is Gone

One of my favorite Sunday School teachers just died. She was 87. She moved to Arkansas several years ago when she retired because her daughter lives there. The grave side service is tomorrow, Friday. I would like to go except for the fact that I know people from my former church will be there and I just don't want to have to deal with them and their garbage. I haven't talked to most of them since I left and most of them haven't even tried to contact me. The obit didn't give a cause of death. I don't remember her having any health problems.

Church Attendance

I went to church this morning for the first time since the end of June. Everyone was surprised to see me. It was nice to be back in church. The message was really good too. The scripture text was Romans 8:28-31. Alan talked about how everything works together for good for the believer, even the things that we might think of as bad or evil. God doesn't force us to obey Him, He leaves it totally up to us. Disobedience causes sin and that is why we have evil things in our lives. But God is able to make things turn out for the best for us.