Waiting for the Rain

The day outside is blustery and gray. Big rain is forecast for this evening and into Saturday, so that's just another thing for which I'm waiting.

One to check off the to-do list: the patio is done. I know that was a couple weeks ago, but it just looks so nice, and we don't have to worry about getting water stains on the slate (since it's the soft variety). So here's a shot of the patio. You can kind of see the sheen on the stone, but it's not overpowering. Also here is a "before" picture when all we had was a cement slab. It really is an improvement.

The other thing I'm waiting for is a response from the places I've sent resumes. The Jim Henson Company has an opening in its creative services department, as does the American Film Institute, and I have resumes out to both of them (I'm giving up my jinx fears and talking). There are nine other places I've applied to this month, as well. I keep telling myself it's just a matter of time, and I only have to land one job.

I received a claims form from the Employment Development Department, so I did have one last extension left. It should take me into late April or early May.

For Valentine's Day, Steve got me flowers in a candy-kiss bowl. I designed him his very own Valentine's Card and got a couple filet mignons, which we had with artichokes and baked potatoes. It was nice and low keyed. (One of the things I like about Steve is he doesn't feel the need to give big or fancy presents; just remembering a birthday or anniversary is enough. I'm very much that way myself.)

And, finally, a nod of the hat to the demonstrations in Wisconsin: it's good to see that the state workers aren't about to have their collective bargaining rights taken away. I think they should realize, though, that paying more into their benefits is kind of a necessity, unless they want thousands of people tossed out of their jobs. If we had been able to take small pay cuts at the Reporter, we could have saved quite a few jobs, but corporate wouldn't hear of it: they wanted heads to roll and an immediate reflection of it on the bottom line.

The story is the same in the public sector, it just takes longer to run out of the money. Something needs to be done, and unions are there to give workers a say. But it's absolutely slimy of the Republicans in Wisconsin to write a union-busting bill and then call it a cost-saving measure. The Democrats walking out was an amazing move and I can't wait to see what happens next.

It seems like the people of the world are rising up and moving toward something. The authority to govern is derived from a mandate of the people, after all.

Some of our Christian neighbors and friends are saying it's the rapture coming, which is allegedly scheduled for May 21, 2011, (I've seen the biblical math laid out on an informative website; the entire thing dependent upon creation being dated to 11,013 BC. It's very twisty and turny, and makes some big assumptions to arrive at the date of the rapture as exactly 7,000 years from Noah's flood).

If this is true, I don't think I have any real problems: I won't need to get a job and my unemployment benefits will run out the week before.

I'm not banking on it, though. I recall similar predictions numerous times in my lifetime and they never came to pass. I think we're all here for the long haul, and we've got to face the fact that we're responsible for one another on this little planet; the only place we have in which to survive.