Couch Wrangling

OK... I am going to submit a proposal to the Olympic Committee, whom ever and where ever they may be, to include Couch Wrangling as a new 2 person team sport.  Trust me... this sport will have it all: sweat, heart ache, competition, camaraderie, excitement and of course the quest for the Gold.  Oh yes, do  not doubt me.  I have personally tested this sport out and it is sure to be a winner.  Here is the description of what the sport will require and demand:
1. A two person mixed team.  Each team must have one male and one female.
2. One packaged Slip cover that is said to fit 'any couch 74 to 96 inches long'
3. One Couch (or Sofa if you prefer) that is between 74 and 96 inches long
4. A referee to keep the timer and monitor the teams
5. 10 minute timer
Each team will have their own couch and slip cover and at the sound of the gun (yes, this is necessary because at some point, one member of each team will be looking for the gun to either shoot their team mate or the couch), they will begin to attempt to put the slip cover on the couch properly.
Each team must work together and cannot ask anyone else for assistance.
To be considered a fully slip covered couch, the slip cover must look neat and must be properly positioned on the couch.  The ref must be able to tug and pull on the slip cover and very little, if any, movement and adjustment of the slip cover in order for a team to proceed to the next round. 
There is an alternative Love Seat Wrangling in the planning stages, but it is unknown when this style wrangling will be available to test for competition.

End of 1st Week...

Sometimes training for a new job can be a bit overwhelming.  The training for this new job is no exception!  The first day of work I was in Austin by 8 am... nothing says long day like getting up at 4 am and driving 85 miles one way to work!  But I got there and everything went fine.  I actually left work on Monday with, you won't believe this, a box full of things to move into my new office with!  I was given several pieces of electronic components that I have to become familiar with and will be using extensively in this job; this includes a cell phone, digital camera and a tablet/pc. And I was given 2 packets of paperwork that included pre-training training and training exercises.  Wow.
On Tuesday and through the rest of the week, I was in my Home Office and found out that I will have my own office.  The people that I am working with now were super welcoming, even decorating my office.  If you have ever started a new job, you can probably guess how seeing your office decorated and welcoming makes you feel.  I don't think I have ever experienced a more welcoming experience. The rest of the week was full of new situations, watching, taking mental notes and helping when there was something simple that I could do to help someone.  Based on this first week, which I have been told was a crazy week and very rare, I think I am going to like my new job.  Perhaps the only thing I may have to get used to is driving 30 miles to and from work, but this is at least an excellent time to decompress. 
Tomorrow starts week 2..... I'm ready for it!

Got a box

So on Thursday I wrote that cleaning my offices out required more than one box.  My cleaning out my offices was nothing like what you see on TV.  Here is an interesting twist... I received a box today to move into my new office...!  Yup. That's right, a one box move in! HAHA.. Of course, once I scope out my new digs, I will be able to determine what all needs to be taken in to make it a little more me, but I thought it was funny.  I was even told I should keep the box in case I don't like the job, so I can return all of my electronic devices!  I almost laughed out loud, for real! 
My first day was very informative and full of lots of paperwork to fill out.  I think I signed my name at least 20 times!!  It has been a long day though; it started at 4:00 am.  Have several more days like today in my future, at least for the next 3 months.  But it will all settle down quickly... I hope!

Dilemma

The first day at a new job always brings up the question of what do I wear?  I know what the dress code says that I can wear, however is it acceptable on the first day to wear something comfortable and casual? Of course, the other part of that question is if I wear something that is more professional, less casual, will I be over dressing?  Tomorrow is my first day at the new job.  Well, actually, it's my first day but I won't be in my home office.  I will be in Austin participating in a new employee orientation.  So I imagine I will be around the big bosses, instead of my direct supervisor. As I go over this question, this dilemma, in my mind, I'm really considering wearing slacks instead of jeans...
I think trying to figure out what is appropriate to wear the first day, when the dress code varies depending on the job and location of the job, is one of the most difficult things to deal with.

Endings and Beginnings

Well, I've left my office for the last time.  One last look behind me and I'm out the door.

There really isn't that much to say about it, but I am feeling a bit bitter sweet.  I have met with and tried to help over 200 people in the last three years as a probation officer.  I learned early on that I will have no successes because if I have any successes, that means I will also have failures.  If I have failures, then that means I am responsible for them.  But I can say that I have enjoyed watching those that wanted to overcome their addictions to alcohol and drugs begin on a new track in life.  To see those people that are applying and working their recovery plan and learning to be pro-social citizens, participating in their communities by working or going to school and remaining drug and alcohol free is amazing.  While relapse has often happened, those that have been serious have been able to overcome.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my job and will miss parts of it. 
I have had the opportunity to meet a variety of people from different backgrounds, including many law enforcement people, and this made my job even more interesting.
I know that God is in this change and I know that He sees where it is going, so I will trust Him because on my own, I do not think I would have ever, in a million years, considered working as an Investigator for CPS.

I also wanted to include a picture of the beautiful courthouse that was my home away from home for 11 years.

My office was on the 3rd floor, the two windows with the blinds only 1/2 way up.

Now it's time to switch gears just a bit!  Ready for the next path in my life!

Not a one box move

So I'm sitting here in my second office, the office I only visit twice a week, and am looking at the bare walls.  Even in this part-time office I brought a lot of things that made me comfortable to be there.  Several trips to my car later, I'm thinking of the 'One Box Move' out of an office that we always see on TV.  Employees that have been with a company for 10, 15, 20 or more years, are able to pack all of their personal belongings into one box that is twice the height of a boot box.  REALLY?  I've been in this department for six years and within two offices could have used a u-haul pull by bumper trailer!  One Box?!?! 
So this got me to thinking.  Do I bring too much of me to my office?  Do over-estimate the importance of the personal touch?  Or do those folks portrayed on TV just not have anything worthwhile to bring to the office?  Did they begin working at their last place of employmemt with the mind set that they weren't going to be saying long anyway, so why bother bringing anything?  I just don't get it.
I'm sure at my new job, once I have been assigned a work place, within a week I will have as many personal items as I possibly can and am allowed!  But lets face it, even if there is a limit to how many personal items you can bring, it will still be more than will fit into a small box!
And that brings me to the next question about this box.  Where in the world did they get their box so quickly?  I had to empty out reams of paper so I could have one box to use over and over.  On TV, not only does the former employee only need one box, but it suddenly appears from under their desk!  Sorry folks, again, this just isn't reality. 
Tomorrow I will finish emptying my main office.  A nice corner office with three windows on two sides.  Granted, it doesn't cool fast in the summer or heat fast in the winter, but I had a great view and one of the largest offices in our department.  I think I will miss that office more than many other things!  But it is time to go, and I am almost ready. 
Change is never easy. Leaving a job brings with it several emotions, as does beginning a new job.  I think if I were to leave a job with only one box of personal items, I would cry over that fact alone!  So, the next time you see a show or movie and an employee is leaving his job and carrying everything out in one little box, ask yourself why?!

The Guppies

The Basset Hounds, otherwise known as the Bassets or the puppies remind me of guppies. I have a male and a female, they are siblings.  The male is Doc and the female is Bug and they are about six months old. They are still short enough to walk under Samson's belly (The German Shepherd), and when they look up at me from way down on the floor, they remind me of guppies reaching up to the top of a fish tank for fish food.
Sometimes I feel like the Pied Piper when I come home.  That's when I have three dogs and a cat following my every move, waiting for attention.  I'm usually in four inch heels, so walking around them is a very slow and dangerous past time.  Once I get my shoes off and change out of my work clothes, I have to give each animal a treat and then one on one lap time.  Of course, the lap time isn't that big of a deal for the cat, he's a light weight.  And you would think the guppies would be lighter than they are since they really aren't that big.  However, by the time I get to Samson, his 105 pound body on my lap is literally breath-taking!
The guppies, however, are the ones that really demand attention.  If I don't give them attention, they will bite my toes, which doens't hurt too bad when I have shoes on, but when I'm barefooted, that gets my attention! And if biting my toes isn't enough, then they begin to tug on my pant leg or the bottom of my skirt or dress.  This can get dicey.  So I'm usually in a hurry to get away from them to change, and then get them occupied with something other than me.  But the lap time isn't an option and usually can't be avoided.  Both guppies like to put their paws on my shoulders and rest their heads on their paws so I can more easily rub their backs.  But now that they're going on six months old, their bodies are longer and this becomes a wrestling match.  I'm trying to keep them from falling off me onto the floor while they wiggle like a guppy to get the optimal back scratch.  Who needs areobics!
Tonight, though, the guppies are in deep water.  For the moment they are sentenced to the back yard and the dog door is closed.  They have taken my new pair of tennis shoes outside and two balls of yarn that cost $15 each.  I've never met a dog more intent on chewing than these two!  And yes, I've been the good dog parent and gotten them all sorts of goodies to play with and to chew on.  They even play tug-o-war with Sam.  But there seems to be something about my shoes and my yarn.  Their cuteness isn't working on me at the moment, although I'm sure I'll pay for that as well.  They are probably scheming while I'm writing this.
So, I'm sitting here, counting and trying to remain calm and waiting for the inevitable.... the time when they are tired of being outside and begin jumping at the window.  By then I will have to let them in or they will rip yet another screen.  So I'm wondering.... how expensive is cuteness?  And how much cuteness is really worth the expense.  Those two hoodlums better hope the answer is "A Lot" !

Today

For just a second I want to imagine that I am that person who I always thought I would be.  Were that a reality, however, I am just not sure who I would be.  While this seems like circular rationalization, it really is just a reflection of the chaos that seems to be a part of everyday life.
For just a second, let me indulge in this concept of knowing who I am, knowing what I want, and being that person that is confident that things will be as they should be.  Am I the only one that has had these kinds of thoughts, wonderings, wishes, ponderings...?
In all actuality, as crazy as my life is 99 percent of the time, I am not willing to change my experiences, although I must say, some experiences have not been as enjoyable as others.  Take for instance my decision, and what I believe was God pushing me, to find a different job.  I applied for several months to dozens, and I mean multiple dozens, of potential opportunities.  Within that time I had more denial letters than I had interviews, which in and of itself seems a bit odd at times, yet I continued to search and apply with a faith that this is what I am supposed to do and when the position becomes available that God has intended for me to have, I would then have a new job.
Then came the day that I interviewed for a position with Child Protective Services, and was told through an inside source, that I was chosen for the position however there was now a hiring freeze in effect. Once more, God is teaching me He is in control.  Three months later, I am now, finally, getting ready to leave my comfort zone and begin a new career.  Which brings me back to my experiences and how they have shaped me over my lifetime.
To begin again; to start over; to be at the bottom of the rank and file can be intimidating.  To learn something new, even though it can be exciting, is at a minimum, a case of butterflies in the tummy.  The unknown is more often a hazy shadow just out of reach of the sun's rays, but I still seem drawn to it. 
As I am cleaning out the two offices I occupy I wonder how many of these things will I be ablet to take to my new position.  I try to picture what my old office will look like with its new occupant.  Sure this may seem unimportant but it is the last step of leaving. 
I have 2 days left with a department that I have given 11 years to and then, on Monday, it will be an entirely new experience to go to work.  I am excited to move on, and at the same time, am experiencing a bit of grief, perhaps if nothing else, for leaving my comfort zone and leaping into a new experience.
But I am not worried.  God put me on this path to this new experience and while I do not know what it will be like, He does.
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way."  Psalm 37:23