Assorted New Things...

I'm not homeless! Of course, I'm not moved either, but I'm getting closer. I've put a deposit down on the house I'll be renting. Two trips back to Chicago have been scheduled - one to meet the movers for pack and load days and a second, over Easter, when I fly in and drive back for the final move. I need to go in and start figuring out where stuff is going to go, and start measuring things. I was going to do that today, but I ended up having to work.

While I continue to think that more and more of their practices are totally ass-backwards, I am settling into the job. One of the guys I work with forwarded a presentation that I sent as an FYI to him to the big cheese in the global headquarters. *Squeak!!* I chewed him up one side and down the other 'cause that was my first stab at it. An hour later, the big cheese sent something back saying that it looked great and he's going to use it for the basis of a huge meeting in a couple of weeks. So I spent most of today adding data to my spreadsheet to take it from six months to over a year. I didn't go in for that - there has to be a quality engineer in the building if production is running, and I volunteered for today 'cause I'm about the only one left who isn't currently sick. So, next week, I'll make like I know what I'm doing with Minitab and get all statistical on its ass. Take that, data!

I talked to my mom today and learned that my dad has filed the papers to retire from the really big tire company. They offered him a buy-out and apparently, he took it. He doesn't know his last day yet - the company has 90 days to get back to him. And they've still got him working seven days, with a double on the last day. The place is going to fall apart without him. For some reason, this is really throwing me for a loop. I think it's the idea that Dad is old enough to retire. I'd rather not think about him getting old. *sigh* Older. And there's that whole hating-change thing. He's been there, what?, 45 years or so? They try to sell their house and I'll really freak out. I can't even think about that. Next topic!

My poor Sophia is just beginning to forgive me for the car trip down here. Another two weeks and she's moving again. The Peanut was totally fine less than ten minutes after exiting the carrier... not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Sophia? Still not settled completely down.

I broke the washer in the temp housing this weekend. Apparently it locks during the spin cycle. Something happened to it and it just stopped. So I gave it an hour or so and then went to poke at it. I had to pry up the lid - breaking the hold-the-lid-down-thingie that was probably important, and it was full of water. Swell. So I wrung out my clothes, tossed them into the dryer, turned it off and then waited to see if the water would drain out on its own. It did, but I still need a washer. *sigh* Not like I work for a company that makes 'em or anything...

So, in the next three weeks, I will have all of my belongings here from Chicago, will be out of temp housing and into the beautiful house that I'm renting, will have renewed my drivers license and plates (in Ohio, let's not get all crazy with the relocating just yet, thankyouverymuch), found a bank here that isn't totally stupid, gotten a library card, and figured out how far I have to drive to get to a decent shoe store. (Already found the book stores, and the needlework stores.) And and and... I'll be much calmer when it's all done. I don't like being unsettled. But, it's getting there!