Tick Tock

Thursday
4am awake already. is the local news on yet?
6am shower. dry hair. start to straighten hair. put on makeup.
7am is the Today show on yet? wake Austin up to take the Herby Curby (trash can) to the street. finish straightening hair. hope for low humidity.
8am do I have time for another few minutes of Castleville? Which A Baby's Story episode is on? Do Russian tea cookies constitute a "balanced breakfast"?
830am throw a few things in my fabulous 31 gifts large utility tote bag that I bought on accident but love for road trips. hit the road by way of Starbucks (venti hazelnut latte) Ingles (fresh cherries) (the rest of my "balanced breakfast") gas.
835am wonder if i should make one more pit stop before i leave town. contemplate going back home to go potty. decide to tough it out and then stop in Gainesville to go.
935am still toughing it out. so far, so good.
10am screeching halt of Atlanta traffic. still haven't gone to the bathroom. kinda wish i had. also wish I had put my Peach Pass thingy on my windshield so that I could use the fast lane (which is empty)
1030ish arrive in Riverdale. make quick call to the first appointment of the day to find out when I could come by. he is in the office but will be leaving at noon. can i come now? yes. he sounds less enthused about me than in our first conversation. hating this process.
1030ish plus sixty seconds quickly throw on dress instead of tshirt, shorts and flipflops, run brush through hair, apply lipgloss
11am meet with (very unwell) potential employer. realize that his lack of enthusiasm was due to illness, not change of heart. congenial meeting. discuss my plans, experience, etc. talk about mutual acquaintances. hoping he would end with a "when can you start?" and instead he ends with a "I'll give you a call next week". oy.
12pm back to the parental home. daughter in law and grand-dog come to visit. debating cancelling the second appointment. feeling exhausted, deflated, discouraged, unemployable. wishing i had just filed for disability and foregone this process. decide to go anyways.
1230pm stupidly, excessively early for appointment. location is a bit intimidating (next to tag office). nearest handicapped parking place is a long way. work up a sweat walking to the door. go in, hoping to score a few brownie points for my punctuality. realize it makes me look desperate. wonder if the exercise in the noon day sun has made my hair start to frizz.
1pm great interview. realize that I know what to say in these situations. multiple relocations have prepared me in a unique way for this process yet, it's another "making a decision next week". was really hoping for a "you're the best, we must hire you immediately, where have you been all my life" type affirmation. suffer through about the fiftieth standard problem solving timed test that i have taken so many times over the years that i have the answers memorized. answered 48 questions out of 50 in 12 minutes. this means that i have answered four questions per minute or, on average, one question every fifteen seconds. wonder if i assume that statement a is true and statement b is true, does that mean that statement c is true? if the test had lasted 12.5 minutes i could have finished. realize that i am rocket fast on these type tests. wonder if this should be a marketable job skill listed on my resume. feel like i should come with a disclaimer, "don't even bother testing me because i'm so far off the charts that you're wasting our time".
2pm ish. back at the parental home. exhausted. relieved that the "marketing myself" portion of the visit is over. try to play castleville, computer keeps locking up.
4pm pop gets home from work, changes to go play golf, brief discussion of dinner plans, look at a few houses on the internet, pop leaves
430pm son and daughter in law come over to discuss dinner plans. at this point i realize that i have only had four russian tea cookies and three cherries to eat so far today. decide we should have chickfila for dinner
5pm son and daughter in law come back with chickfila - a number one combo for me with half and half tea, polynesian sauce and hot sauce. i don't know what anyone else ate. wonder if we should have gotten dinner for pop.
6pm go next door to meet the new grand-hamsters and to visit with Tommy the cat who, i think, remembers me. discuss moving plans. realize that there is nobody in my orbit who will be available to drive a u-haul. calculate the potential cost of hiring help. mind boggles.
7pm back to the parental home. watch tv. play on the internet.
8pm pop arrives home from the golf course. wonders what we had to eat. wishes he had chickfila too.
9pm watch tv with pop (three shows at once, just like at home) play on the internet, cuddle with oscar the dog (who must have a blanket over his head to sleep) (we specialize in high maintenance animals)
930ish pm go to bed. wide awake. read blogs. read the news. read the gossip pages.
11pm miss my auggie doodle and my trouble kitty. start typing blog entry.
Friday
12am realize that my brother has birthday wishes on his facebook page which means that it is already the 8th. wince at the dwindling number of days before we have to move. wish, for a thousandth time in the past 24 hours that the whole job search process wasn't so discouraging.
130am try to sleep. fail miserably. doze off and on.
4am get up to go to the bathroom. fall asleep for another hour or so.
7am bacon, eggs, grits, toast for breakfast. benefits of being at the parental home - people actually prepare food for you.
8am wait for rush hour to be over so that i can head home. truck accident closes interstate.