A Few Tenuously Related Things

Five days in, the WeightWatchers thing is going well. Which isn't saying all that much, since it's five whole days (it's not even enough time to have a weigh-in report). Except the opposite of that statement would be pretty pathetic, so I guess five whole days is something to celebrate. I went shopping yesterday and, since my shopping bags look basically the same from week to week, I made a point of buying a few newish things. So I bought an avocado. And I picked a new kind of granola bar. I know, I'm such a daredevil! I also bought snack-size ziplocks to portion out my snacks, because 1) it's cheaper than buying pre-portioned snacks, 2) the boxes were taking up a lot of room on my shelf, and 3) I'm more likely to eat it if it's already counted for me. So I put on Firefly and busted out all the bags and boxes of snacks and had a sorting/counting party. Then I realized that the boxes were doing a rather excellent job of containing my snacks and I had no where to put a gazillion slide-y plastic bags. So I ran to Target and bought two cheap wire baskets from the See Spot Save section to keep it tidy. Like this:

One is savory, the other is sweet. I could probably do something Pinteresty to them to label them. Or I could just look at them and then eat some things. That plan seems easier.

The baby has already found them and enjoys dumping them all over the floor and then flinging the granola bars around, which is fun for her and amusing for me so everyone wins. You might notice the numbers drawn on them in purple permanent marker--those are points values (shut up, I know it's "PointsPlus" now, but who are we kidding with this really?). That way, it's a really easy grab-and-go system. That I've set up for such a time as I will actually "go" after I grab.

The OCD part of me would like to go get more bins and separate the items by point value, but is conflicted by the fact that the Target near me only has yellow bins left and then they won't all match so I need different colors entirely so that it looks like it was intentionally not matching. And also, I don't have any FIVE point snacks, but I do have SIX point snacks, so do I just skip the five point bin or do I have an empty bin as a place holder for POTENTIAL five point snacks?  I have problems, is what I'm saying.

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Also on the weight-loss front, I've been walking more lately. I discovered an app that works for me (MapMyWalk) and I've made routes of varying lengths and I actually want to walk them. On Saturday, I plopped the baby in the stroller and walked three (THREE) miles, which I am extremely proud of and I would count as a success if it weren't for a sunburn (Far Northerners are not to be trusted in Texas sunshine, apparently, but don't worry because I bought sunscreen with my avocado) and a blister. Yeaaaaah, my running shoes are causing a chronic blister on my left foot. I probably need new shoes, which I can't really afford right now. But I probably also need to, you know, use common sense and let it heal completely before trying to walk in them again. Which is really lame, because this is the first time in FOREVER that I actually want to exercise and I can't put my stupid shoes on. And yes, complaining about wanting to exercise and "woe is me, I have a small blister. I think I shall die from this!" this is really stupid and I am a walking limping cliche of First World problems, but it IS a problem to me and it's bumming me out.  Maybe I can find a good padded band-aid or something, because I really don't want to lose momentum. Any runners out there know of anything that actually stays put? (I should clarify: I am not and will probably never be a runner, but if it works at higher speeds, it should work for my 20 minute mile pace, right?)

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You know how I mentioned Firefly in the first paragraph? I started rewatching it because I ran out of Doctor Who (I told you these things are tenuously related). That's right, I'm now a Whovian. I have Thoughts and Feelings about all of it, but I don't want to spoil anything for any of you who are still planning on getting into it (I speak from experience when I say it is never too late to show up to this party). Luckily, Bean and her husband and Kammah are all Whovians (how do you think I got hooked in the first place?), so I have outlets for my Thoughts and Feelings. but if any of you are fans and need someone with whom to start an epic email discussion, I am willing to be that someone. 

And if you're someone who wants to watch, but feels like it's a huge undertaking, let me assure you that it's worth it. Start with the 2005 re-start with the 9th Doctor and just forget about the earlier seasons--they'll explain everything you need to know. Seasons 1-6 are on Netflix as "Doctor Who" (whereas the older season are labeled as "Classic Doctor Who"). Two special episodes are missing, but I think you can buy them on Amazon; I haven't seen those and I'm not too lost. The current season is also on Amazon. And I would recommend staying off of Pinterest and Google while you're working your way through it, because I thoroughly spoilered myself on a few important things accidentally.

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In related news, I think I am an official Netflix addict. Far North Internet being what it is (read: stupid), I haven't had the ability to watch online television in a very long time. And now I am watching ALL. THE. THINGS. I'm caught up on all my current shows, I've picked up a few that I dropped after college, and I'm flinging myself into BBC serials and science fiction adventures like there is no tomorrow. As you can imagine, this is making me oh so successful in the finding a job arena.

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But! I have a job interview on Thursday. I got the call three weeks ago. That means I've had three weeks to get my hopes up and freak myself the heck out. I am not exactly in a great headspace right now. And I just realized that I need to find something professional to wear that actually fits me. If only WeightWatchers was a little more...instantaneous (she wishes for the millionth time for the millionth reason). I'm not sure if I'm more worried about screwing up the interview or about doing everything right and them still not hiring me. Mostly, I'm worried about the crushing despair that comes after rejection. I'm trying to keep things in perspective and put my hope in the right things (in a God who is sovereign and loves me and has a good plan for me and will not abandon me but is not a genie in a bottle and will not give me everything I want but will always give me everything I need) and not in the wrong things (my own ability to get a job, since I apparently do not have that ability). But if you're the praying type, I would appreciate some on my behalf around 2:30 pm this Thursday. 

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Because I have been conditioned by a very long stint of unemployment, I know that this interview will likely turn into nothing. Statistics show that to be true. And I know, it only takes one offer, but let's face it, it would be ridiculous if one of the first jobs I applied for here in Texas and the first (only) interview I had was THE job and I was done. I'm still holding out hope, because that would be awesome. But I'm also being prudent and continuing to apply for other jobs. And I am ASTOUNDED by the amount of jobs available here. I think I have applied for more jobs in the last month than I applied for the whole time I was unemployed in Far North. Some of that is the economy. Some of that was my apathy and beaten-downness. But a lot of it is just that Far North is so TINY. Yes, it's a huge landmass, but it's so sparsely populated and there are so few industries. The opportunities here are so amazing to me. I feel like there HAS to be something I'm qualified for here. There HAS TO. Huh. This paragraph started out pragmatically pessimistic, but we ended on a high note. Victory! I think I'll leave it there before I talk myself out of it.