Finished A Whole Book In One Weekend

Last night I started on The Love Killers by Jackie Collins. I managed to finish the book today and in shortly under two-and-a-half hours. I had set a goal of four hours of reading per day for a read-a-thon that I'm doing. I guess there are some things that have to have a certain amount of time set aside for in order to ensure it gets done.  I may read another book in order to get in the remaining hour and 37 minutes or more.

Saturday

Like any other Saturday, I slept in and didn't have a lot of plans. However, as of next week, unless something else comes up, I might put in more hours at the Doggie Bag. (Supposedly, if anything, it's one of their busiest days.)  I think sometime today, I'll try to put in some reading time for Bookcrossing's read-a-thon.

I weighed myself a few minutes ago. I'm at 151.5 lbs. It's a good thing I was able to get some sweatpants yesterday. I don't live very far from the local YMCA so I may be going there once in a while. I may also be going out for more walks when the weather warms up a bit.


Later today, my sister's corgi Cosmo is coming over. He's two, which, as far as I know, makes him an adult dog, but his personality is such that you'd think he was still a puppy. The same could be said for my stepdad's golden/lab retriever mix Layla, who's four. One of her things to do with Cosmo is push him down like he's an alarm clock. (A friend of mine said that it's a dominance thing.) I don't know whether or not he acts like an alarm clock in his own house. I guess if he did, someone would have to ask Layla where she found the snooze button.

Day 4 At Doggie Bag

I put in some hours at Doggie Bag today. (It turns out that I can come and go at will.) I got off to a rough start with the register for some reason (and I feel terrible about it; I don't like myself when I mess up, especially if it's at the risk of letting someone else down), but I think things got better as the day progressed.

I may be covering for someone tomorrow afternoon. I don't know yet. I am however contemplating going over there in the morning to buy some sweatpants so that I have something to wear to the Y. (I'd hate for my membership there to go to waste.)

Another Day

I went in to check on an application to Maurices. It turns out they're not hiring either. Practically every place I have put in for isn't hiring at this time. However tempted I may be to put the job search aside for a while, it is so out of the question. Not only do I have some financial obligations to fulfill, but if I don't remain on top of this, I am bound to let down a lot of people in my family alone. I'd feel awful if I did that.

It could very well be that every single weekday and possibly Saturday that I have free, I'll have to spend on the job search for months to come. Will I ever get closure on this?

Another Day Of Volunteering

Today was my third day at the Doggie Bag. I got in even more training on the register.

 I had been going in according to the manager's alleged schedule, which included Mondays, but he never showed up today. I stayed anyway. I'll probably be going in Thursday unless requested to do otherwise.

I'm not blowing off the job search by any means. It's just that, despite my best efforts, I have yet to find one, and until I do, I have to do something to keep my resume updated. I'm going to be checking up on my Maurices application tomorrow. (I also need to find out who's in charge of the applications for Wal-Mart.) I'll also see about scoping out more applications while I'm at it.

Just Weighed Myself

I don't know why, but I decided to step onto the bathroom scale. In the last day or two I was at 151 lbs. According to the scale just now, I'm at 150.5 lbs. I've weighed as low as 125 in the past. At least that was at a time when I had opprotunities for exercise. In St. Louis, the opportunities were limited as I had a lot of stuff to do that kept me indoors and in a chair, at least Monday through Friday.

I make a lot of my commutes on foot, especially job hunt related ones. (That reminds me, as soon as it's feasible, I'll need to get another pair of dress shoes.) Also, as of late, I've been taking cans, bottles, etc. over to the campus recycling bins. I'm thinking that when the weather is nicer and possibly when I know what kind of schedule I have to work with, I'll go out and pick up litter in public places. I'll recycle what I can and trash the rest. That ought to burn some calories.

I have a membership to the local YMCA, but I haven't been able to go, partly because of other things I need to do but also because of lack of appropriate workout clothes. (I could maybe go swimming if the parts that show are presentable. If there's one thing that I'd change about the swimsuits on the racks, it's that thigh coverage was an option for females.)

Stuff I Did Today

I was finally able to get over to the daycare center that's diagonal from my house and get an application. They're not hiring right now, but they supposedly hire at different times.  So, I was able to get an application which I'll be filling out and turning in next week.

I also went to the mall to check on my Maurices application. I often pass through the college campus on the way there. I picked up some cans and bottles that were on the ground and deposited them at some recycling bins on campus and then headed off to the mall. It turns out that the manager's out of town, so I'll try again next week.

This weekend I'm hoping to get in more reading and edit my novel from November.

Another Not-So-Productive Day

I got off to a late start today. I had meant to do some job search stuff, but that ended up not happening.  I did get some laundry done as well as release a book at a nearby park and start another book on my reading list (as was mentioned on my other blog, RAB-PIA).  While I was doing my release at the park, I wished that I had a bag on hand to gather up some cans and bottles to take over to the college campus recycling bins. Maybe I'll be able to do that next week.

Tomorrow, I'm going to see about going to the daycare center diagonal from my house to see if they have any openings. I'll also check on an application to Maurices. Next week, I will ask around for more applications.

Second Day Of Volunteering And Some Other Stuff

This has been the second day of my volunteer work at Doggie Bag. This time, I was trained on the register. I have some training to go through still before an actual schedule for me can be confirmed. Also, one of the customers brought in a small poodle. Supposedly, it was a service dog that was featured in the paper today.

Yesterday, I put in an application for Wal-Mart online. I'll probably check on that sometime next week. Tomorrow, I'll probably also see if the daycare center that is diagonal from my house has anything open in addition to checking on a Maurices application.  There's one other place that, last time I checked, was hiring. It's an adult video store (and by "adult" I don't mean sophisticated), not the kind of place I would normally set foot in. For religious reasons, applying to such a place would likely come back to bite me in the butt, but I'm getting more and more to a point where, if it's the only thing that will give me closure on the job search so that I can have a proper income stream, meet some financial obligations, etc., so be it.

Anyway, tomorrow's another day I suppose.

Sorry, Everyone

It seems I'm a bit behind on the blogging. I know I missed two days.

A couple of days ago I picked up a couple of applications: one to Claire's and another to Maurices. I turned the one in to Claire's yesterday. It turns out, though, that they're not hiring. I'm going in next week to check on the one to Maurices.

I've been officially applying to jobs since late October, I think. I have had no luck.

I also have some rewrites to do for some stuff I wrote last year. Maybe I'll get some of that done tomorrow. My dad's been asking about those, and I'd like to give a positive answer.

And, of course, I'm behind on my reading for RAB-PIA. Maybe I'll read a couple of chapters tomorrow or something.  Another bit of reading I had fallen behind on was my Bible reading. I didn't do any yesterday, so I did yesterday's reading along with today's.

Well, my mom and stepdad are out of town until Sunday. Maybe I'll get some stuff done tomorrow when I don't have household noises to distract me.

Out And About Today

This morning, I went out and turned in an application to Super 8 (where my sister had worked at one time). It turns out that they're not currently hiring. A lot of places I have applied to aren't.

I came home and had lunch. I stirred some leftover peas and pearl onions into some soup. (Clam chowder kind, I think it was.) I almost always have leftovers if I'm on my own for lunch or dinner.

After lunch, I took some plastic bottles that I had over to the college recycling bins. I don't drive, and I have yet to be in a position to access a recent bus pass, so I walked over. The school and my house are basically on opposite sides of town. I picked up other bottles and some cans that I found on the ground to put in the recycling bin. (I think when the weather gets warmer, I'm going to start making time to go pick up litter on public territory. I'll recycle what I can and pitch what I can't. I don't think that papers, etc. were meant to be on the ground. Then again, there is a chance that some of the litter is accidental.)

While I was at it, I went to the mall to pick up a couple of applications: one for Claire's and one for Maurices. I've applied to those places before and even checked on said applications but had never heard back. So, I'm trying again. I think I'll fill those out so that I can return them tomorrow, after which time I'll go to the career fair on campus.

Not My Most Productive Day

On weekdays, I set my alarm for 6:00 AM by default. But I'm lucky if I can get myself to get out of bed then and stay out. Sometimes I'll lay back down, and sometimes I'll sit on my bed for a while before starting the day. The only thing I do in my pajamas in the morning is grab a cup of coffee. But before eating breakfast (if I do) or doing anything else, I get dressed, which includes putting on shoes (blue flip-flops with a fuzzy detail at the v-strap if I don't see myself going anywhere that day, Mary Janes if I'm going to be doing something that warrants dressing up, and sneakers for everything else), brushing my hair and pulling it back. After that I'll make my bed (or strip it if it's laundry day). I'll eat breakfast if I'm not in a hurry to go somewhere and if it's not too late in the morning. I'll brush my teeth and wash my face, possibly put on some make-up. After that, I'll take care of any dirty dishes (whether washing them or putting them in the dishwasher). Next comes reading the Bible. (The church I'm currently attending has a "read the Bible in a year" program. I'm in Leviticus at this time.) Then, I basically see where things go from there.

Today would normally be one of those days in which requesting/returning/checking on an application would be on the agenda. But I got off to too late of a start. I did however, go run an errand.  I also got some sweeping done. (But I kept missing stuff.)  Oh, well, there is tomorrow.  I've got to go turn in an application to Super 8 tomorrow so that it doesn't merely dwell within my possession.  While I'm at it, I may go out and request more applications.

What Has Happened So Far

Shortly after I finished college in December 2008, I moved from my mom's house in Pittsburg to my dad's in St. Louis. While in St. Louis, I studied Microsoft Word and had a part in the cooking as well as some assembly projects. Dad and I also joined a church called Compton Heights Christian Church Disciples of Christ where we started some volunteer work for their library. I was also in the process of seeking employment and was up to the stage where I was putting together resumes and cover letters. However, when my dad had to have some surgery undergo rehab, I had to put everything I was doing to St. Louis aside and return to Pittsburg.

During my time in Pittsburg, I have been seeking employment (no interviews as of yet), going to a nearby Baptist Church (the only denomination besides Disciples of Christ that I'm really used to), taken part in a novel writing challenge called National Novel Writing Month, or Nanowrimo for the first time and succeeded (and now just have to find the time to edit the novel for publication), and established a reading project called RAB-PIA for which I wrote my first blog ever. (I've gotten five followers on it but no comments as of yet.)  More  recently, I've begun some volunteer work at a local thrift store called Doggie Bag which is affiliated with the Humane Society in my home region.

 I found out recently that my dad's recovery period is almost up and he will soon be moving into a small apartment for about half a year to a year before seeking out something bigger that will allow me to move in with him should I decide to do so. I don't know yet if I will end up doing so or not. After all, a lot can happen in that kind of timeframe.

In fact, there's a lot of things I don't know about my future. Will I ever find a job? Will I ever find love, whether it's with this guy I met in a corresponding chatroom for Nano Wrimo or anyone else? Will I ever have anything worth publishing? Will I ever drive? Will I ever save the outdoor ground from all the litter? Will I finally get my student loans paid off? It is these things and more that I will encounter as I travel on the road to the rest of my life.