just one more today, I promise

yeah, so I've written three times today to make up for the lack of blogs before this.

I just had to share one more thing because it really ticks me off...

MY CREDIT CARD WAS STOLEN!!! Yes, my actual credit card was taken from me and used at several gas stations and at the mall before I cancelled my card.

Here's what happened: after Bible study last week, I stopped by James Coney Island for a late dinner and I used my Amex at the drive-thru. I remember thinking as I signed the receipt that it was funny they didn't return the card, but I just assumed I'd get it with my meal. Of course, I forgot about it until the next day...

JCI insisted there's no way one of their employees took it, that the card should never have been out of my sight. Well, first of all, the guy didn't even ring me up on the drive-thru register, so he already committed a major no-no with that one! Second of all, it's all purchases around the area - it HAS to be someone local and stupid (they used it at a teen store in the mall, so I figure it's one of their flunkie high school students).

Then the GM told me that she'd meet with her supervisor and look over the tape, because the policy is that the cashier gives the card back, or if something should happen, they give it to the manager on duty. Well, huh...POLICY WASN'T FOLLOWED!!! Imagine that! I think she wanted me to back down when they brought up the idea of video tape (maybe I was just looking for a quick dollar or something if they couldn't prove they didn't do it?), but I just said, "Fine. Great! I'd love to see them get caught!"

Surprise, surprise, I didn't hear back today, and I forgot about it until the manager was already off duty for the day. I can't wait to find out more. And I am greatly anticipating handing over the culprit's name to American Express so they can press charges! :o)

I am completely evil?

The thing that ticks me off the most is that I have several large purchases I need to make NOW, and I always make them with this card! Now, I have no way of making these purchases, and I'm running out of money in my bank account! With all my change in jobs, money is going to be tight for the next month, and this little cretin at JCI hasn't made it any better!

• I need new clothes because I haven't had to dress professionally that often for the past year.
• I'm flying to London for Thanksgiving and I need to buy my ticket before the price goes up any more.
• I'm part owner of Clover Country Kennels (started with the 3 lovely danes my sister and I rescued), and one of the dogs is pregnant and needs to go to the vet!
• I want to visit Laura in Virginia as soon as she has weekend leave!

How is any of this supposed to happen without a credit card???

I'll post more after I talk to the general manager tomorrow...

Cure for PMS?

Check this commercial out! It's hilarious because it's true!
http://www.dairymax.org/milk.wmv

:o)

Little bit of fun

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

1. Legal First name: Bethany

2. Were you named after anyone? My aunt was going to
Bethany College when I was born...I was supposed to be
Brooke, but my sister knew a bully at her school with that
name

3. Do you wish on stars? No, but I do on those big search
lights that car dealerships sometimes have. When I was
little, my grandpa told me that those lights were my
brother and the angels playing flashlight tag from Heaven
(needless to say, the day I discovered where they were
really coming from, I was devastated)

4. When did you last cry? 2 weeks ago when a great dane
puppy my sister and I rescued died in my arms

5. What is your favorite lunch meat? Tuna!

6. What is your birth date? July 14, 1981

7. What is your most embarrassing CD? All my ska CDs from
high school (though they're fun to listen to on long road
trips!)

8. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with
you? Probably

9. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Never!

10. What are your nicknames? Hey you, Bessany, Any
(pronounced A-nee), squaredonut

11. Would you bungee jump? I have already, and I
definitely would do it again!

12. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? I
don't wear any shoes that require untying

13. Do you think that you are strong? Stronger than my mom
and grandma...but that's not saying much, is it?

14. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? chocolate 'n
peanut butter

15. Shoe Size? 10

16. Red or pink? Pink is more my color, but I like both

17. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? only
one??? that I get depressed

18. Who do you miss most? my grandpa - we were best buds

19. Do you want everyone you send this to, to send it back?
If they want to - most of them don't fill these out

20. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? No shoes
(of course) and blue jeans

21. What are you listening to right now? the 10:00 news in
the other room, the dogs having their last fight before
bedtime

22. What did you eat for breakfast? pepperoni pizza lean
pocket and iced tea

23. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? bluish
purple

24. What is the weather like right now? humid, muggy,
hot, sweltering...

25. Last person you talked to on the phone? My sister -
she called to tell me that her bulldog died :o(

26. The first things you notice about the opposite sex?
The overall look, then hair and clothes (it's really hard
for me to describe guys because of this...I'm definitely
NOT an eye person)

27. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Tomina's
the best!

28. Favorite Drink? Pepsi with crushed ice or Iced Tea

29. Hair Color? Dark brown with blonde highlights

30. Do you wear contacts? No - I would have to get hard
contacts because I have a scar on my eye, so they're not
worth the hassle

31. Favorite Food? My tastes are changing; i'm not sure
anymore. I crave chocolate ALL THE TIME!

32. Last Movie You Watched? 16 Candles, last night at 2
a.m. (hey, I was working)

33. Favorite Day Of The Year? my birthday - I don't
expect a big deal, so it's always nice when people do nice
things for me

34. Scary Movies Or Happy Endings? Happy endings, of
course!..but don't a lot of scary movies have happy
endings?

35. Summer Or Winter? In Houston, winter...everywhere
else, fall because of the colors and the cooler weather
(but we don't HAVE fall in Houston)

36. Hugs or Kisses? do I have to pick?

37. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? ice cream, especially
frozen custard

38. Who Is Most Likely To Respond? I'm not sure

39. Who Is Least Likely To Respond? Katie or my sister Dana

41. What Books Are You Reading? When I Don't Desire God:
How to Fight for Joy by John Piper; Every Woman's Battle by
Shannon Ethridge; The Copper Beech by Maeve Binchy

42. What's On Your Mouse Pad? my cool blue mouse

43. What Did You Watch Last night on TV? St. Elmo's Fire,
The Breakfast Club, 16 Candles (I was working on my
laptop...there was a marathon on AMC)

45. Rolling Stones or Beatles? probably rolling stones,
but they're both before my time :o)

46. What's the farthest you've been from home? London,
baby! Well, actually...Germany. (I'm going to London for
Thanksgiving!!!!!)

47. Favorite junk food? Snickers is my all-time favorite
candy bar; Nacho Cheese Doritos is my favorite chip (Sour
Cream and Chedder potato chips run a close second)

life and death

Recently, I made an impromptu trip to Waco with my sister. (And right now, you're wondering how a blog with a title about depression can begin with a road trip story...but let me continue.)

Dana has been planning to get a Great Dane from a breeder near Waco whose Dane just had puppies. (18 in all!) So when she called at 10 p.m., wanting to know if I can ditch my job the next day to go to Waco, I assumed she wanted to go pick out her puppy.

Not so. The breeder's mother had a heart attack and a stroke the day before, and the breeder (obviously) spent the entire day at the hospital. While she was gone, the mom dog (Sable) didn't know enough to reposition her kids when they couldn't reach her properly...so by the time the breeder got home that night, they were severely dehydrated. Unfortunately, Sable was having puppies at a young age and didn’t have any idea how to be a mother – she needed help to make sure the puppies were properly fed.

When the breeder called Dana, several puppies were already gone, and they weren't sure how many would make it through the night. To top it off, the situation with her mother was going to be a long-term deal while she recovered from her stroke and heart attack, so the breeder couldn't guarantee that she could properly nurse the puppies and mom back to full health. She offered Dana her ENTIRE family of Great Danes! One American Dane male (the father - Arlo) and two German Dane (straight from Berlin!) female sisters (Sarah and Sable), and whatever puppies made it. She didn't want to break up the family, and she knew that Dana would take great care of all of them.

So we left at 5 a.m. and got the dogs...I ended up taking care of the two remaining puppies on the way home. We called the puppies #1 and #2 so we wouldn't get attached - #1 was the stronger of the two; #2 couldn't control his body temp and he couldn't bottle-feed. When I wasn't feeding them by sticking my finger in their mouths and putting formula drop-by-drop via syringe in them, they were cradled underneath my shirt to get my body heat.

An hour from home, #2 aspirated on the formula and was gasping for breath. He had stopped even moving his tongue when I dripped the milk in his mouth. I was panicked - here I had a dying puppy in my arms. Though I had tried my hardest for the past 4 hours to get warmth and nutrition inside this little body, #2 wasn't going to make it. And we had thought he was actually getting stronger for a while! I totally freaked out about it while Dana calmly told me that I had done all I could. She ended up taking #2 from me because I couldn't bear to have him die while I held him, especially since I was still caring for #1.

My sister is so great - she can handle just about anything. While she was also upset about #2, she was able to comfort me and deal with the puppy when I couldn't. She encouraged me the rest of the way home about how she couldn't have gotten them home without me, that #1 had a greater chance of surviving because of me, that she couldn't even get them to feed when we were at the breeder's house and I'd gotten them both to eat quite a bit.

From that moment until now, I have been so incredibly down. I tried so hard not to get attached because I knew there was an ENORMOUS chance they would die, but I was doing so well! I know it's not my fault, but I still feel like I should have been able to keep #2 alive. Did I let him get too cold? Did I feed him too much formula? Did I suffocate him while I was trying to keep him warm? All these things are flashing through my mind, even as I'm writing this.

The good news is that my sister has three wonderful Great Dane dogs now. The bad news is that #1 didn’t make it either. He lasted another day after we got him to Dana’s, but all of a sudden he started losing his body heat, just like #2. No warning, he just started to weaken after he’d been taking the bottle so well for the entire day.

Yes, I know that they probably would have been greatly damaged because of their extended dehydration at such a young age. Most vets wouldn’t even treat them because it was nature’s way of weeding off the ones that couldn’t survive. BUT IT WASN’T THEIR FAULT THAT THEY WERE DYING!!! They tried their best to get food, but they couldn’t get it! Mama didn’t know what to do, and nobody was there to help her.

This is seriously a tragedy.

Another bit of good news: I’ve decided that my next dog will be a Great Dane. Yes, they’re enormous, but they’re gentle giants. Imagine 150 pounds of a dog…they are a wonder to behold. So I plan to get one of the puppies off the next litter…which will be AFTER Sarah and Sable are 2 years old (a year away). By then, they will know how to be mothers, especially Sable after this whole debacle.

I GOT THE JOB!!!

I don't know what else to say besides "PRAISE GOD!" I was so happy to hear from UCS today and to be offered a job. Money, benefits, experience...Hallelujah! I've included my job description because it's much easier to use what's already written to describe something. :o)

Documentation Trainee
The Documentation Trainee will work on a technical writing team in the documentation department developing hardcopy manuals and on-line reference materials for software products as well as enhance existing software for easier use by clients. You will conduct product testing before documenting new changes and have the opportunity to suggest improvements to existing UCS software. You will make sure your documentation is accurate and complete by working with product software manuals. You will contribute topics for monthly publications covering new features released to clients and you will have some contact with clients to gather information when a request has been made for a product or service we do not currently offer.
A Bachelor's degree is preferred. Basic computer literacy and strong grammar, proofreading, and editing skills are required. You must be, detail-oriented, deadline driven, and organized. Prior experience with computers and desktop publishing is helpful.
Training consists of 4 months of classroom education learning the complete UCS system. This position is based in Houston with no travel required.

a new purchase

I am so proud of myself! Today, I thought wisely and bought a major purchase for my future home. Remember my ode to my Love Sac in my first blog? I got an e-mail from Love Sac saying that there was a major sale this weekend because they are releasing a new product called Sactionals.

A Sactional is a Love Sac couch!!! You get them in pieces - base and side - and you combine them as you please. One base and one side is a chair; one base and three sides is an armchair; two bases and four sides are a love seat; etc.

They're not cheap, but the sale was 40% off! And Love Sac is a seriously quality product. I do not regret in the least buying my Love Sac in the first place (of course, I got an incredible deal on that as well). So Mom and I went to The Woodlands Mall and looked at them. Within a minute of seeing them and sitting on one, I was in love!

And because they are just taking preorders right now, shipping to my house is free. It will come in boxes and I can decide what I want my sactional to look like. I can't wait to try it out!

Unfortunately, I won't be able to use it until I get my own place. And I'm not sure I'd want to right now with two rambunctious boxers who are hard on the furniture. (And c'mon...they're family - they're just as welcome on the couches as we are, in my opinion.) Even if I get the job at UCS, I won't be moving for at least 6 months, so I can save up money. My car insurance will go down drastically in February (BOTH my accidents come off my record!), I'm planning on trading in my car as soon as my car note is right-side-up...I'm trying to be responsible!

just thought I'd share

I just got a call from HTexas Magazine, offering me the
position of Lifestyle Editor!

But I had to laugh...you know what they wanted to offer me?
$20K! I can make more than that by finding a good admin
job! I talked them up to $22K by the time the
conversation ended, but that's still pushing it for me.

AND the benefits pretty much sucked! Well, better than I
have right now because I don't have ANY, but a lot worse
than what UCS offers.

So I declined. No, I don't have an offer from UCS yet, but
anything has to be better than that!

I'm on a high now, though! I just got my first job offer!
They like me, they really like me!

One after the other

So I had an interview this morning at the magazine for an editing position. And it went well! I'm still not sure if that's what I want to do, but it does sound good. I would be writing, editing, interviewing...all of it. BUT I'm not all that fond of writing. That's why I want to stay away from magazine publishing because most of the time you have to do everything if you want to do anything. I am definitely left-brained - I don't like to do the creative writing, etc...I got into English as a major because I like grammar, not writing. I am definitely capable of writing (I was reading over some of my college papers, and I liked them! Definitely a whole lot better than I did when I was writing them), but it's not what I love.

The other opening was for a job at UCS, the computer company I worked for before I interned at the magazine (did I say that earlier?). I would be a "Documentation Trainee" - basically a technical writer. At about 1 p.m., I was talking to my recruiter and I agreed to meet at 2:30 to do some prelim questions. I guess I wasn't really thinking about time because I sat down and started doing some work for NYLF, until I realized that I was dressed for an interview at a magazine...not at a VERY conservative company! I mean, so conservative, I thought it was necessary to put a band-aid over the tattoo on my upper calf and only put in one pair of earrings, instead of the regular two pairs. So I rushed to change and get down there.

Sidenote: Technical writing is very different from what I'd be doing at the magazine. Writing for UCS would be writing manuals for the computer systems they do for car dealerships. I would first have to learn the ENTIRE UCS system so I would understand what I was writing about (4 months training!), so the reason that I'm a little hesitant is the commitment that I would feel obligated to then make (for personal ethical reasons, not because of UCS).

I expected only to meet with my recruiter, but she checked with the supervisor from the department I'd be working in and she was available. After meeting with the supervisor, she called down her boss (the manager of the department), who was sorta a friend. He is sooo nice and he would come into the travel agency and just talk with us sometimes. So the interview with him was really informal. Then he wanted me to go upstairs and do a writing sample, since most of my work is from the magazine. I had to write instructions on how to withdraw $20 from an ATM.

Right after I'd started working on that, he comes back and asked me to talk with the senior manager, since he was about to leave. He didn't have all that many questions for me...just about how I used to work at UCS and how I felt about the position. Then I started working on the sample again, when the manager comes back to take me to the senior VP's office! I didn't really talk about much with him - he just wanted to know how I felt about technical writing, then he chatted with me about his time in college.

I finally got to go back to the writing sample...then the lights went out! And of course, I hadn't saved my work! So I got to do it all over again. Not as good as the first time around, but okay. My impression from the day: if they were THAT eager to have me meet everyone, they must want me. NONE of these meetings were scheduled for today, except with the recruiter. And I know that nothing happens quickly around UCS!

I think I had the supervisor on my side when she found out I had accounting experience. They especially need someone who can handle the accounting software manuals, and most writers aren't that mathematically inclined. But she's talking to the gal who was trying to double-major in math and English! (Until I found out I couldn't...I would have to get two degrees.) She actually TOLD me that I had her vote!

If I had nothing to go on but company alone, I would say that I would enjoy the job at UCS better. I'm not sure I'm cut out for a small company, like that at the magazine. From my experience with small companies, you sort of make your own training. They tell you what they remember you need to know. At a company like UCS, there are procedures in place to make sure you know everything you need to know - there are classes, manuals, etc. to get you trained. Much less frustrating for someone like me! I am most happy when I know what's expected of me or what's coming ahead, which was not the case when I was at the magazine. That's not to say that I don't like a little spontaneity, but only in small amounts. And NOT about important things.

If I ever wondered (which I don't) about God's hand in things, I wouldn't anymore! How could a day go more smoothly as far as interviews go? As I met with person after person at UCS, I knew that there was Someone more powerful at work than just a couple people who were eager to fill a position. Thank You, Lord!

please pray!

Hello all!

This is a mass e-mail, asking for prayers (well, you
probably knew that by my title...)

There are two companies here in Houston that have job
openings that I have applied for. And I have an interview
at one on Monday, and the other will be scheduling me for
an interview on Monday.

First of all, please pray that the interviews go well! I
haven't been on too many interviews, so I'm a little
nervous. Pray that I will be prepared! (along with this, I
have never had to figure out how much I'm "worth" before -
I am very apprehensive about that!)

Secondly, please pray about what I should do in the event
that I get both jobs. In my understanding, they are both
mine to lose, so I could have a very big decision to make
next week. And pray for the next step I'll have to take if
I DON'T get either of these jobs!

The good thing: I have worked for both companies before, so
I know the environment at both and what to expect (and how
to dress!). The hard part is that I already favor one of
these positions more than the other, but the one would look
AWESOME on my resume if I seriously want to continue in the
publishing field.

I am excited to find out what my future will bring, and I
know that the time is coming soon for me to make that
decision where I will live and make my living, at least for
a while.

Please pray that I make the best decision!
thank you all - Bethany