A WEEK IN THE LIFE

I lifted this painting from Joyce's blog so I can't tell you who painted it. Sorry. I tried finding it on the web, but I was too tired to continue. That's why I chose the painting in the first place: I'M SO TIRED!! (The lady might be sad instead of tired, but Joyce and I like to think of her as being tired. Or maybe she is tired of being sad because she's been crying her eyes out. You know how tired your eyes feel after crying your eyes out. Anyway, she's all tuckered out.)

(Note added later: See first comment by Joyce.)

I haven't been blogging, reading blogs, commenting on blogs or answering emails. I issue no apologies for the first three, but I am sorry for ignoring emails and I will try to reply to them soon.

This has been my life this week:

My first week on the new job: A half day of orientation, two full days of new software training, then two half days of training. I was excused from attending the break-out afternoon sessions yesterday and today. Yay!

Most of the 15 women attending the training have worked in conference, enrichment classes and event planning for years. The instructor, learning I was brand new at this, told me my training experience would be akin to arriving at a play at the beginning of Act II, all the while trying to find out what went on in Act I. She was right, although it felt more like coming in at the beginning of Act III.

The software we are learning has been used for such massive events as the Olympics. You wouldn't believe how many variables are involved in setting up a conference: registration, transportation, meals, accommodations, break-out events, instructors, contracts, contacting the media, medical condition of participants, setting up websites, receiving money, accounting for money, printing brochures, booklets and pamphlets, etc. etc.

And I cannot BEGIN to tell you how many ways there are - for EACH of these variables - to enter, track and generate reports on them. My mind has been well and truly boggled this week. I am exhausted. I think every one's mind was exhausted.

On the home front:

Gracie is in heat. For those of you who have a female dog who hasn't yet been "fixed", you get the picture. For those of you who don't, I won't go into details.

I attended book club Wednesday night, which is always a wonderful experience, but due to the combination of stimulating conversation, coffee (even though it was decaf) and a huge slice of sinfully scrumptious Bacardi rum cake, I was awake until 3 AM.

Dan needed my car this week, so he had to give me rides to and from work. Every morning, he paced to and fro and and champed at the bit in a hurry to leave the house. "Wait", I wailed, "Give me a minute to check my email!!" It's amazing how much I revel in the freedom of having my own transportation.

On the weather front:

We had a thunderstorm in the wee hours of Monday morning. Unlike most people in Bismarck, I wasn't awakened by the loud thunder. Oh, no, I was already awake, with new-job jitters.

We've received about 2/3 of an inch of precipitation this week. It's a start, but it's not enough to break our severe drought. We need several two-day soakers, NOW! Winter has returned to North Dakota, with some of that precipitation arriving in the form of snow. Wednesday afternoon, it was raining/snowing/sleeting/thundering and lightning all at once. High temps have only been in the 30s, and there is a blizzard predicted for the extreme southeastern corner of the state for tonight.

On the positive front:

Two days off, lunch and a bit of shopping with my sis tomorrow (I need nicer work clothes desperately), good meals all weekend, a terrific book to read ("A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini), blogging and reading blogs, naps and more naps.

This very boring view of a week in my life was written as an all-inclusive answer to those of you who posted or emailed to inquire about the job and the rain situation. Thanks for your prayers and good wishes.