Love:
* Time in the mountains. I’m so appreciative that we’re able to go up there when we want to and have a place to stay, thanks to Tony’s parents. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my in-laws?
* The breakfast restaurant we go to while in the mountains. It’s sooooo good and the staff now knows us and shoots the breeze with us while we eat.
* Participating in surveys rating my shopping experience at various stores (*1) with a chance to win a gift card. Wouldn’t that be something if I did actually win?
* More jobs for which I can apply have started showing up in the ads.
* People who actually know how to interview. Conversational type interviews are the best. Yes, it takes skill to actually be able to work interview type questions into a conversation naturally, but once that skill is learned, it’s less stilted and awkward for everyone involved. And, bonus, the person you’re interviewing won’t resent the fact that you are employed and she isn’t. I mean, come on! Anyone can read a list of questions and write down answers — in fact, if that’s how you choose to interview someone, let me write my own answers, it’ll take less time.
* I’ve started Christmas shopping — oh yes, I have! I’m so excited!
Loathe:
* Scaring myself with computer things. I installed drivers for my mouse and I guess it conflicted with my OS, because my computer kept freezing in the booting process! Eep! All is well now, but note to myself to remember F8 (safe boot) and must back up my stuff for the month of October!
* Still no fish babies. I thought we were in business a couple weeks ago since one of the females was holding eggs. But she dropped them after 2 days which means they weren’t fertilized.
* Waking up with a headache. I hate headaches.
* My aunt Marjorie is ill with a fever… please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We’re waiting to see what her doctor says, but I’m thinking I’ll reschedule my trip to see her to next month (instead of this Thursday), that way she can enjoy our visit and not worry about entertaining when she doesn’t feel good.
One Last Thing:
Back in August I bought one of those small Topsy Turvy (*2) things at the store. I was so disappointed in my tomato plant and it’s production of tomatoes this year, I thought I’d give it a try. $10 was seemingly a small price to pay (for an employed gal) at the time for an experiment. In September, I finally got around to putting a small tomato plant in it, I filled half of it with soil (didn’t figure a small plant needed so much dirt as all that), hooked up a spot spitter into the top, and ignored the thing.
On September 19th… awww, look at the baby plant
On September 30th… it’s already curving upwards…
It’s now mid-November, 85°F today, and look at this plant! It has super thick vines that are about as thick as my index finger, and a whole bunch of new flowers. I love how it’s curving upward and to the side toward the sunlight.
Flowers up the side…
Flowers underneath…
Four good size tomatoes…
Look how thick those vines are…
I am really enjoying my $10 experiment!
*1 — Check the bottom of your receipts!
*2 –As seen on TV.
Jammie J's Quest 
And your in-laws love you too…..and I really love you soooooooo much, I love spending time with you up in the mountains. 🙂
XXXOXOXO
NANANANANANA
Are you getting sappy on me? *muwahh*
xoxo
oooh, that tomato thingie DOES work! interesting…
good luck with the interviews…
hoping your aunt marjorie feels better!
xox
I never saw the Topsy Turvy on TV, but when I saw it in the store, I figured it might work because tomato plants can get so viney! heh.
Thanks… xo
I wanted one of those tomato planters!! I’m so glad you did the experiment first, at least now I know it actually works! Of course, it’s 85 degrees over there and it’s a mild 60-something over here, so you’ll probably have better luck with it.
And I do hope your aunt feels better soon.
I think all the plants and trees are confused, it’s hot one day and then chilly the next. To bloom or not to bloom? Poor plants.
Thanks, I hope so too. She’s on antibiotics now.
Glad you enjoyed your time in the mountains! It’s great to get away.
You probably wouldn’t like my interviewing style. I learned the skills based method. I ask questions to find out real examples of your experience in an area, for example, “Tell me about a particularly difficult customer you had and how you handled it”. I’m not looking for “well, I would…”, I want you to actually tell me about a really pissed off customer you talked to and how you handled it. You’d be surprised how many applicants are totally thrown off their game.
I’ve started thinking about Christmas shopping, but I don’t want to. I have a thing about taking holdiays one at a time but the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas aren’t that many this year and November’s half over….
Hope your aunt gets better quick! Nice work with the tomoato plant!
Nope, I wouldn’t have a problem with that method unless you were writing my answer down while I was answering the question & then asking me to hold on because you were writing too slow. Then telling me you wanted to take notes because you plan on interviewing a ton of people and you want to be able to distinguish one candidate from another.
The skills based method is a very good method of interviewing because it not only allows sharing of real life situations, but also the philosophy behind why I chose to do what I did… and that’s precisely how I answer those questions, with my philosophy first and then an example second.
I can’t believe Thanksiving is coming up so quickly! Eep!
We thought about buying one of those tomato thingies since we can’t grow them upright. Way to go!
Signed,
The Gypsy
Best of all, you can take them with you when you move, you gypsy! 🙂 So far, I’m impressed with my topsy turvy. 🙂