Bringing it up to speed

I haven't posted in a while and while I'd love to claim being busy is the reason, I think it's been more along the lines of laziness. I don't like posting unless I've got something good to write....and then when I do have something good to write about I never think I have time to give the event/topic justice. As if my life is that interesting.

Mostly things around here are pretty routine. I work around 30-35 hours a week at the Plasma Center and have recently been seeing quite a few applicants through my paramedical job. It's been nice to be back in the swing of a regular job. I really missed my friends at the center and its nice to have people to grab a beer with after work again. Mostly I go to the Vierling with Derek, a co-worker that shares my love of vier-beers. Actually, I think he was the one that got me hooked. So we go once a week or so and unwind after a night of slangin' plasma.

I feel very appreciated at work because I can tell that my supervisors, managers, and even old co-workers are glad to have me back. I completed my "training" in about two weeks (its usually a 6 month process) and should begin cross training sometime this week. I was cross trained when I left so retraining should be a breeze. My supervisor, Michelle, has already approached me about possible promotions. She didn't offer me a position or anything, but encouraged me to apply for the three spots that they'll be hiring for soon. Near the end of the summer they should be hiring for the Training Coordinator/Operational Manager position thats vacant right now and I'll definitely apply for it. It would be a big raise, full time, and I think I'd really enjoy it. One of the nice things about working for Biolife again is knowing I can move up. At Munson there really wasn't much room to advance - when I left I was making more than some of the people that "trained" me (because of my previous experience) and wasn't far from topping out the pay scale for my position.

In the last couple weeks I finally got angry at Joe for not letting me get another dog. I tried really hard not to resent him for saying no but it finally caught up to me. We talked about it and out of the blue Joe agreed we could look for a new pup. He had even tried to go to humane society and look! (They were closed). So we're keeping our eyes open for a small dog that likes people, dogs, and cats and can be trained. Oh, and it can't sleep at the head of the bed like Molli used to - partially because it makes Joe all stuffy and partially because thats where HayZeus sleeps. On my head (see below).
We're also toying with the idea of buying a house. For what we're paying in rent we should be able to find a decent house near Marquette. Now is actually a great time to buy in this area because the real estate market is just starting to pick up after being down for a couple years. Thus, we should be able to find a house that will see a pretty good increase in value by the time we're ready to move. Joe has noted that Enterprise won't let him stay in Marquette forever, but I highly doubt Joe will stay with Enterprise forever either, so we'll see. We might as well invest our money in a house instead of paying rent though...we might even end up saving money.

I've been chipping away at wedding planning. We have our invitations designed and I'm going to go pick up the paper for them today. We're making them instead of buying them because I couldn't find anything I liked and was willing to pay for - they are so expensive!! We also scaled down our guest list a lot, although I'm still wrestling with how to inform my Mom that her friends that I don't know aren't invited. She really wants to invite a few of her and Steve's friends...which I would be fine with if a) money grew on trees b) I hadn't removed some of my own friends from the list and c) I knew these people. Plus there's the fact that Steve is at the top of my "list" (that's what my grandma always said) of people I don't even want at the wedding but must invite. I've never been shy about the fact that I'm not his #1 fan, but recent events have officially moved him to my "people I dislike greatly" list. And I don't see him moving off of it anytime soon.

Joe has been thinking about joining the National Guard. Last winter he informed me that he's always wanted to serve in the military and I basically told him if he enlisted he'd be doing so single. Perhaps I overreacted back then, but I'm still very, very, very against the idea. However, if its something he wants to do as badly as he says, I told him I'd be ok with him joining the Guard or the Navy and nothing else. Truthfully I'm not OK with it, but its not like I can just tell him he's not allowed to do something he's always thought about doing. I just wish he'd wait at least until Bush is out of office or we have some clue at when we'll be leaving Iraq. He hasn't spoken with a National Guard recruiter yet (but did see the Marine recruiter-which I flipped out about) so we'll see. The whole idea makes me want to throw up.

I'm still thinking about getting my masters in public health, but I'm hesitant to drop another 20K on school when I'm not certain its what I want to do. I thought college was supposed to help you figure that out, but I came out more confused than when I went in. So for now I'll be a plasma goddess.

I guess that's about all I have to update on. Our cat is still psycho and is constantly trying to escape for a stroll in the parking lot. We grilled with Joe's Boss, Lori, and her husband this weekend and had a great time. We're excited to have friends that are our age and in a similar spot in life. All of our college friends keep graduating and leaving. :(