Costume!!!

I got up early, ready to put the makeup on, etc., and still managed to be ready two and a half hours early. So I went to McDonald's and spread glitter there, drove into work, rode the shuttle (and was a great hit!) and showed up an hour early, touched up the makeup, and now I'm waiting to clock in. Happy Halloween!

I haven't fallen off the face of the planet

but I never seem to make time for writing lately, something I'm going to try to do more towards correcting. Weekends are better than weekdays, of course, as I'm working and often having hectic 8-hour days of staring at a computer screen and hitting drop-down menus and dragging things into coloured boxes. Today was no exception, but even though it was busy, at times five to eight charts deep (and continuously for over two hours that way), lately I've been better at taking things like that which would usually feel me with lots of anxiety and just breaking it down, taking it one step at a time, and going forward. It's all you can really do, really, and keep your sanity. And if you just keep up your spirit and interact with each person in a friendly, yet business-like manner, it seems that most people are pretty understanding when you're piled deep in charts, trying to check people out as quickly as you can humanly do.

After I finally caught up and everyone had gone home, I called one last person about an appointment first thing in the morning to reschedule, as requested by my boss before she left, then closed up shop. I earned my own key to the bay doors today. This is my second week as a regular employee. I also got my last cheque as a contract worker today, and I put it into savings before coming home. My roommate was out meeting someone for dinner, and so I ate (fish cakes, an avocado-cucumber salad, and escarole soup, all cooked by him, and very tasty), fed the animals, and laid down and listened to some music on the speaker rather than my headphones, but I didn't really relax until he came home, tired and needing some alone time. He's in his room reading and drinking tea. I'm in the library with Pandora playing on the computer in my headphones, catching up on some things. I have barely seen any news or for that matter, done much with social media over the last few days. I have been working around the house after work and on the weekends, doing errands, etc. This weekend, on Saturday, I made a special trip to my storage unit to retrieve most of my winter clothes. I then spent Sunday (Brenda was ill, so we didn't play, much to the game master's dismay, as he has a really evil adventure to run next time) taking the old clothes out of the closet, bed drawers, and cedar chest and switching out for warmer ones, while keeping shorts, capris, and tank tops out to sleep in. But the light blouses, skirts, and the like all went back into the two totes I'd pulled out, along with some other things that made it here but should be in storage. Not only was it cold yesterday, YKWIA actually saw some snow and sleet, although of course, it didn't stick. But it's definitely time to break out the winter clothes.

I also opened up my Halloween costume and tried it on (well, I didn't pull the tights on, as I was afraid they'd run, but I checked the sizing, anyway, because I was afraid they'd pair a 4X costume with regular-size tights. It's a dress that has a full puffy black skirt, but it is otherwise covered with bones, with bones across the chest as a sternum/rib cage, and bones down the sleeves. There are gloves with the hand (but not on the thumb, which is a bit disturbing), and then the tights have all the leg and foot bones. I'm going to wear my Mary Janes so that the top of the foot bones show through. I am going to use makeup that I've bought for a skull face and neck, too. I considered spraying my hair white or silver, but the bottle specifically says not to do it on very fine hair, so instead, I found a witch's hat at Kroger that has the same sort of crinoline as the skirt but is tattered on the cone like it's been in the grave. So I'm going to be a skeletal, undead witch. There were only two issues. One, if you look at the picture on the package, the skirt on the model (who is in high heels) goes to mid-calf, whereas for me, it goes to my ankles, but that's a common thing I have with skirts, as I am only 5'4". Also, while the costume itself has lots of silver thread throughout it, rather than glitter, whoever packaged the thing threw approximately a handful of very fine glitter inside for fun, so when I took it out, there was glitter on the inner lining of the skirt. My roommate, who recognises that glitter never truly is removed from the house once it finds its way in, specifically said, there'd better not be glitter. Of course, there was, and without thinking, I twirled in the skirt, and well, glitter went everywhere. I swept up most of it (thank goodness there are no carpets in this house), and I took up the dog blanket that was at the foot of my bed because it was covered before the dogs could roll on it. I then shook the costume outdoors, but there's still LOTS of glitter. Which means I'm going to leave a trail in the car, on the UK shuttles, and all over work, much to the consternation of housekeeping. But hey, it's all in Halloween fun, right?

So the plan is to wake up early, shower, create the skull face and neck with the makeup, put on the tights and dress, then the gloves and shoes, and go to work dressed that way. I'm really excited about Halloween, and I'm glad we're still dressing up and having the kids at work trick-or-treat. To that end, though, I should go to bed pretty soon. I normally get up about 6:15 am to get to work by 8:30. I think I'll have to try for 5 or 5:30 am just to be sure. Hope your Halloween is wonderful and safe.

Place the vessel on the mat...

Went twice today to get my address on my drivers' licence changed (got there and you had to have a piece of mail in its original envelope with your address on it to prove residence, so I had to go back for one, and I was lucky, as I had one with an envelope I'd not discarded, so that worked, when I went back). We don't have a centralised DMV per se in Kentucky (I think that's one reason we still don't comply with the RealID law), but it is still a bureaucracy. Still, they were nice about it and weren't too far away. I also appreciate that the satellite office on Keithshire Way is open in the morning on the third Saturday of the month, as I work till 5 on weekdays and cannot easily get away for something like this.

By the way, 50 points to anyone who got the reference in the title. It's from the show 'Reaper'.

I've been doing laundry and chores

to get ready for the Cthulhu game. We didn't play last week, and I'd already finished the notes, so I've had time to relax this weekend. YKWIA is making a soup that smells divine; it should be ready in less than an hour, and we have those little soup bowl loaves given to us by someone. I am properly caffeinated and have been up and moving quite a bit. I just cleaned the car out and corralled the little drink lids one of my co-workers is collecting for school into a gallon bag, ready to go. I've also put away the folded laundry (my laundry). Right now I'm drying the dog blankets and doing a load of YKWIA's (it's a long story, but he isn't allowed to use his own washer and dryer due to an agreement with someone who helped get them the washer and dryer quite a while ago. That person is now dead several years, but he keeps his word.)

Yesterday we went out and celebrated my having officially been hired, as I start on payroll Wednesday. I'm excited. I'm basically still going to work at checkout, but with some added responsibilities, probably, and a different schedule, as I've been working 8.5-9 hours a day on most days, and now overtime will enter in if I continued to do that. We'd discussed changing my schedule from 8-5:30 to 9-5:30, which would mean having someone to check out the people getting out of clinic late AND it would be nice for me because I wouldn't have to get up at 6 am anymore. And at 9 there's still ample parking--if my trips in from the doctor in the morning have been any indication. Meanwhile, they've hired a PRN person who will be assisting with check out (I've been the only one in there for weeks) and with the phones (hallelujah!) I really like her, and I'm hoping we'll make a good team. She is catching on very quickly. This week we've both got hiring-related things on Wednesday--I have to do my paperwork, and I think she's in the official orientation. I'm not sure if I am. I got an abbreviated orientation when I started as a contract worker, but they may need to let me know of other things that have changed with the move. So only two more days of the higher rate, and seven days' total pay coming at that rate, but on the other hand, my health insurance kicks in from day one. That's amazing. It used to be a wait of a month or so. I have to call UnitedHealthcare and see if there are any considerations regarding moving from COBRA back to the same plan (like are my out-of-pocket expenses still maxed out) and also if there's any chance of a partial refund of this month. I'm not banking on it, but if you don't ask, you don't get, right?

Yay!

So on Wednesday the 11th, I discovered that the only thing holding up my background check/drug test/final hurdle to get a hire date and start the new job was the fact that they couldn't verify my high school graduation (as the job requires a high school diploma or equivalent). Apparently, Danville High School is on autumn break this week. So, I had two choices: wait until Monday for them to get my voicemail requesting a copy of my diploma or a note on letterhead attesting my graduation, or find my diploma.

Now, when I was packing, I remember debating about the diploma. Should I keep it out or pack it up? I ultimately decided to keep my diplomas from my undergraduate (BA) and graduate (MSLS) out, as that might be required by a job, but since my diploma is in a puffy case that I wasn't sure that it would fit into my important papers box, I packed it away with the photo albums. I remember that distinctly. Of course, I also remember labelling the box 'diploma' (more on that below). So I knew the box, but not where it was in the storage unit.

So I went over that evening, after dark, and dug through roughly a third of the storage unit before finding what I thought was the box, but couldn't get that last box off of it easily. Then the lights went out (they're on a timer that only goes up to 30 minutes). Unfortunately, I'd burrowed in with things behind me, so I couldn't back up easily and go back down the hall to set the timer again. So I pulled out my cell phone, taking care not to drop it amongst the boxes, and put it in flashlight mode. Then I was able to read the box (which was not labelled 'diploma'), but nevertheless, had 'photo albums', and opened it to find the dratted diploma. It had taken about an hour since I'd left the house to achieve my goal.

So, this was what I encountered when I opened up the unit (I pulled out things, so I rearranged them, especially the boxes that had leaned against the paintings. My helper on the last day apparently did not realise one should pack heaviest on the bottom and get progressively lighter as you go up.)



Then, Eureka! Success! Or as my cousin wrote on Facebook, 'Behold! Glory!'



Then I put things back as best I could, and streaming sweat and feeling very overheated, made my way back home with the diploma. This is what I looked like. I think I aged 10 years, at least temporarily:



So Thursday I brought my diploma (and, for good measure, my name change court order, as I graduated under my former (birth) name). They made copies of those and now I am official, starting with Wednesday, October 18th as a hire date. Yay!!!

It's a rainy Sunday with no game...

Brenda called earlier to say she had some sort of crud that may just be sinus issues but since both the gamemaster and I can't really afford to be sick, she's going to stay away in case it's something worse. We try not to play when any of us has a plague.

I haven't done anything today beyond running a load of dishes through the dishwasher and playing around, while actually learning some real, verifiable facts (yes, I verified them, hey, I'm a librarian) on Facebook. I may do some reading. I laundered my clothes on Thursday night, but the bed linens, both mine and my friend's, need to be done, so I've started a load of those. Yesterday there were errands to run, an umbrella plant to pot up in a bigger pot, and some chores to do, plus the game notes, of course, all of which have been done. Today I should go get some creamer (read: Land o Lakes half-and-half) for my friend, as it is an essential commodity, along with coffee, for his good disposition. Other than that, there's not much to do. I have a fun audiobook out from the library, a historical mystery called Maisie Dobbs, which introduces a series. And I've got plenty of books to read and a charged Kindle. But I decided to write first, and pay some bills that are due, because I haven't been on the computer much at all lately, except to finish a book review and the gaming notes.

No word yet on the background check and the drug test. The whole process can take something like two weeks. So I don't have an official hire date yet. Our PRN person, who did hers the same day, already has a start date of Wednesday, which will help immensely at work. I just wish I had one already.

Friday was a weird day at work. We had fewer patients, but a lot of odd stuff happened. For example, I had a doctor's appointment at 8 am and got in just after 9 am, and my boss and one of the women from downstairs who is usually doing pre-authorizations for surgeries were instead checking in people, due to two people unexpectedly being out, and there were a few glitches to be taken care of since they weren't used to doing it every day. Meanwhile, there was confusion on the part of the clinic regarding my absence, and so some things had to be ironed out, even though I'd gotten in before anyone normally would have checked out. (Isn't that always the case--I think five people were in and out before I got there that morning). After that all got straightened out, check-out was fine, I scheduled the appointments for those who'd already left, fielded phone calls as I could, returned voicemails, and scheduled surgery patients since the OR scheduler was out. My boss sat in for me for lunch so I could get a break. I was going to actually sit in at check-in yesterday and get some training on that, but of course, with the shortage of staff, that wasn't possible. Maybe next week. I'm more comfortable doing things than I used to be. I'm handling things pretty well nowadays. When I first started I had anxiety dreams where I was scheduling in my sleep. That doesn't happen anymore. I'm interested in learning to go beyond my current skillset. I'd still like to work in a library, but having a full-time job with benefits is my primary goal at the moment, and while I'm still watching the Kentucky job list, there's nothing out there I'd like to apply for right now.