Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in KAJ's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, January 1st, 2009
9:17 pm	newsie stuff Yeah, so my car was totalled a couple of weeks ago. Ron and I are banged up, but not horribly so. I have some pretty awesome neck and back pain going on. We are both going to a rehab/chiropractic therapy clinic. Ron seems to feel much better, I feel like hammered crap after my visits. I'm trying to keep an open mind about this stuff. I do know that my body is not right, and having the adjustments should be a good thing in the long run. I'm just not feeling better day by day yet, and I'm a bit of an impatient person sometimes. I may or may not be employed at Not-Disney, I was supposed to be available during the holidays, but the accident caused me to not want to stand for hours. I will go in sometime this weekend with the doctor's note and accident report and see if they still like me. But my new second job pays me so much more and is a much easier gig, that I don't mind too much if I am terminated there at Not-Disney. I am so looking forward to this year. 2008, I loved you man, afterall I did ditch a job that sucked, had a kickass vacation in Vegas, got to take two (long)trips back to Seattle. My new job rocks me like a hurricane. My new boss gave me the largest bonus I've ever received in my whole working life. I am very happy to go to work everyday, so I really am blessed there. Oh, I got a new car, a 2009 Toyota/Scion xD. Same color as my old car, it's a hatchback with the folding down backseats so I have a little cargo hauling ability. Ron is more impressed with the iPod connection into the stereo, which, I have to admit is pretty dang cool. Looking forward to 2009: Ron and I are trying to get a trip to Seattle together in the next couple of months. My sister,K, may be getting out here to Orlando to see us. Ron and I are continuing to be serious about our finances and now we are committing to healthier habits of exercise and eating better. We may be growing up yet. But considering that our Christmas presents to each other consisted of comic books, Dr Who dvds and action figures, I'm pretty sure we are still kids playing at grown-upness. (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 27th, 2008
11:55 am	Thanksgiving is here This is a day I love! I don't care how much work it is. Last night I baked four pies: 2 Pumpkin, 1 Cherry and 1 Lemon Merangue. I put on to boil: all of the chicken scraps I've saved for the past couple of months, along with a couple packages of chicken gizzards and three extra turkey necks. (I like to get a lot of extra stock going, I use it in the dressings and for gravy) We got the turkey brining overnight, that sucker is going to be juicy. Today so far: Made homemade cranberry sauce. Assembled bread dressing, rice dressing, green bean casserole, cooked the sweet potatoes, Waldorf Salad. Got the potatoes peeled, cut and sitting in a pot of cold water. Got the bird in the oven. In about an hour turkey comes out to rest, all the need-to-be hot dishes will go into the oven, potatoes to boil on stove top, along with getting corn and/or peas on. Did I mention there are only three of us for dinner? Yeah, a lot of food, but we will eat like kings, Damn Hell Ass Kings! (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
10:39 pm	Dinner at my sister's. If you are family, and within the hailing distance of this post, you are invited to dinner on Wednesday, next week. Call me for time. (Comment on this)
Monday, August 25th, 2008
11:25 pm	Vegas done, now in Brier All I can say after a week in Vegas is I'm glad we don't have to keep up with that pace all year. At least on Ron's part, I can't say that *I* overexerted myself. I spent time at the pool, at the spa, shopping, gambling(came away with a few hundred dollars) Ron and I went to a Cirque du Soleil show, Love, set to the music of the Beatles. I loved it! What amazing performances! The rest of the evenings we spent hanging out with Ron's cow-orkers. It was good for Ron to be able to spend time getting to know his people. Being a remote employee, he hadn't met some of them face to face. Everyone I met went out of their way to tell me how much they enjoyed working with Ron, and seemed genuine in expressing how well they thought of him. I was even told that I "must be a saint" in having put up with all of Ron's crazy hours in the last weeks leading up to Vegas. Yeah, me a saint! I probably am more patient than most people, but I can't claim to be perfect to live with at every moment. Ron is doing much more travelling, having been, in the past 6 weeks: Seattle and Oakland(July), Vegas(August), and coming up: Seattle(September 1-3)and South Carolina(September 18-20) I am so proud of him, he has worked very hard to get where he is, and he seems to be happy with his success. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
9:53 pm	Vegas/Seattle trip I have one more day of work and then I will not be working for three weeks! Well, unless I am able to work at my old job in Seattle while I am in town. Ron's company is having their annual convention thingee in Las Vegas. So we are flying down on Friday and spending a week there. He will be busy with work, but I'll be free to explore the city and surroundings. I've hooked up with another wife who will need someone to hang out with. My plan is to spend some time poolside, window shop, and rent a car and go see the dam. I think the Grand Canyon may be a bit far for a day trip. But it would be awesome to see. I'm going to fly from Vegas to Seattle on the 22nd, staying until the 7th of September. You are on notice to spend time with me. Yes, I mean YOU! You know I'm talking to you, don't act like you don't know. While in Vegas, we will attend a formal awards dinner. Ron will have a tux provided to him, but I had to go out and buy a nice cocktail dress This is the dress It should be a fun night, we will take lots of pictures, so you can see how classy we live! So, still loving the new job although the days are a lot longer than I am used to. I don't get home until after 7 most nights. And with Ron's new job taking up more of his time at nights and having Ben every weekend, we don't have couple time lately. I'm just hoping we settle into something a little more normal after this convention. (I've been telling myself this for years now and there is always a new wrench thrown into almost every plan we make, so *crosses fingers* This time it will happen, out life will go as planned. [God laughs at me]) (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, June 20th, 2008
6:05 pm	The little guy wins once in awhile. I never posted about the response I got from the former boss from my first letter. It basically was an admission of the error on the amount, and a reiteration that he was not going to pay me for the other week of vacation. This time he said some bullshit about how I had said I was using that time in July and since I quit before July, I forfeit it. He is such a jackhole. Truly. So I sent back this letter to him: ( Read more... ) So today I received a registered letter from his attorneys. I expected it to say that I don't have a leg to stand on, so go ahead and sue him. But to my surprise, it is a settlement for the final 32 hours due to me. So I don't have to think about this man ever again. Jackhole. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
7:40 pm	Work stuff No word from my former employer. I imagine he's received the letter from me, so I wait. On the flip side: My new job rocks! It is hard, busy work, I really have to move my butt to get things done. My new boss is funny, down to earth, swears like a sailor, generous... I really really like her. She has been very demonstrative in her delight that I am such a great assistant. She tells every patient that she had wanted to get me to work for her for years, but didn't want to poach me, so the second she heard that I was unhappy where I was, she told me that I was working for her. My first paycheck was roughly 5/3 what I had been getting a week, so Yay! Did I mention that it's basically a $15,000 a year raise, if you consider the part-time reality of my previous job. I can quit or at least really cut down my time at NotDisney. They may be fixing to fire me anyway. And that's okay too. I'm loving life a bit more now. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
10:07 pm	Remember me predicting bitterness from my ex-boss? Yeah, so he's being a butthead, he is trying to short me on my unused vacation pay. Florida does not protect workers as well as some states, and legally he has the right to not pay me. But for the fact that he has paid the last two people who left their vacation balances, he has set the precedence that it is his SOP. Today I got home to find my last paycheck mailed to me, which was off by many hundreds of dollars. So this is the letter I am sending him. (Names withheld) ( Read more... ) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, April 21st, 2008
2:57 pm	Notice given. I'm so glad that's over with. I was going to talk to him on the phone from home tonight, but he called the office on his day off and I told him I was leaving in two weeks. He took it very well, he seemed to understand and accept the financial reasons I needed to take the other job. Hopefully, he'll come in tomorrow morning and be over his initial shock. He did not take the last couple staff "desertions" well at all. I fully expect bitterness at some point, but as long as it's behind my back, I'm good. (Comment on this)
Friday, April 18th, 2008
10:16 pm	Highs and Lows of today. From earlier when I was so happy to move on and take another job to how I feeling currently? Like I've been thrown off the Aurora Bridge. I was told a couple of hours ago that my cousin Travis had a heart attack, that his chances of survival were zero, and I just got word a minute ago that he did pass away. He was my hot cousin Travis, only 38, a funny, cool, good man. I'm just so sad about this. Then also a couple of minutes ago, my step-grandmother's health is failing very rapidly. I feel badly for my step-mom's impending loss. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
4:18 pm	Fait accompli I took the new job today, I'm ecstatically enthusiastic about making this very, very positive change. I feel myself releasing stress with every breath. I know I'll have a difficult time giving notice to my current boss, but once that is done I'm free. (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 17th, 2008
11:36 am	Job stuff So I've posted in the past about not being completely happy at my office. I've been hanging on far too long because the prospect of eventually working at the hospital clinic and having the benefits(insurance/holiday/vacation/sick leave)was very exciting to me. I really wanted to do it. But I can't keep holding on to a job I pretty much hate at this point, with a boss I can't respect when it looks like moving to the hospital just isn't ever going to happen. The practice is so slow at this point, I've been cut way down in hours and have taken to working at the theme park more and more, for about a third of the wage. I could fill an entire post about our financial situation, but I can't afford to be underemployed anymore. I applied at a couple of places I've temped at lately. And now I pretty much have a concrete job offer in hand. I was going to jump at a job a couple of months ago at a pretty severe paycut per hour, because it would have been 40 hours and therefore, more money. (But no insurance, no perks) But it looks like I don't have to take an hourly cut and I will be at nearly 40 hours per week. And get insurance, which means if it's a good plan we can drop me from Ron's plan and save that money. Getting this position should mean about a thousand dollars more a month. I can't turn it down, no matter how badly I feel about quitting my current job. It'll be a shock to my current boss, but I have to do what's good for my family right now. Did I ever mention the other employee here is also giving notice next week? I really do feel sorry for my boss. I hope to be able to give at least two weeks notice. There is too much here that is in my head, I've been making myself notes and trying to think of how to make this easier on him. I'm too freaking nice. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, April 6th, 2008
8:35 pm	Hugs and Prayers For my friends Gidge and Scott, I hope all the news is good news tomorrow. I wish a speedy recovery to you Scott. Love to the boys, I miss you all. (Comment on this)
Saturday, December 23rd, 2006
2:47 pm	O Christmas Tree! (Comment on this)
Saturday, November 18th, 2006
1:53 pm	because of everyone's doing it... Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! Last Friday I saved a busload of nuns in Angola (326 points). In August I bought porn for dogwelder (-10 points). Last Saturday I gave bunkadoo a kidney (1000 points). In October I turned boy_asunder in for tearing the tag off a mattress (3 points). In September I didn't flush (-1 points). Overall, I've been nice (1318 points). For Christmas I deserve a Wii! Sincerely, kajagoogoo Write your letter to Santa! Enter your LJ username: (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 4th, 2006
9:46 am	Crocodile Hunter killed in freak encounter with a sting-ray. Steve Irwin dead from a stingray barb in the heart. I fully admit to loving watching this guy, he was, to me, infectious and very obviously loved his job. He embodies the truism that if you love what you do, you will be a success. Some may say he was a show-off who maybe took too many chances with his life, I believe he advocated for this planet's alpha-predators in a way that entertained sure, but more deeply, showed us that there was a place in nature for all creatures. Every living species has a reason to be. Even fire ants. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 3rd, 2006
9:26 am	The little bastards strike again. Our back patio and slider door have become a refuge for fire ants. I've gotten a couple of toes on my left foot bitten/stung by the litte fuckers. My middle toes are so swollen, they push the end toes apart. I've been going barefoot in the house and have my slider sandals to wear when I leave the house. I don't know what I am going to do when I have to wear shoes to work. That won't be until Wednesday at least, maybe I'll have a smaller foot by then. And the pain... and the itch...I can't decide if it's an itchy pain or a painful itch. But sleeping was very difficult last night. It's like a sunburn over your whole body concentrated into a square inch. And something stung my forearm a few days ago, leaving a stinger crater surrounded by a half-dollar size welt around it. That hurts and itches too. And the dog fell on top of me yesterday, raking her toenails across my left inner thigh. So now I've got two long shallow scratches, with raised welts and now the deep bruising is starting to appear. I'm thinking the left leg's gotta go. I started thinking last night about at least taking a cleaver to the toes, they were killing me so. So it's been nothing but misery and malady around here for me lately. Hmmmm... Misery and Malady, Jane Austen should have written that one. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 29th, 2006
5:11 pm	Ernesto I'm getting ready to leave work soon. I was supposed to be working another full day this week but the doctor cancelled our scheduled patients. Ernesto should be up in our area about 10AM tomorrow. It should be nothing but heavy rain and some wind by the time it gets up to us. We aren't in a flood zone, we have some elevation at our house. The most danger we'll be in is if tornados get spun off. It is outside of my previous experience with weather from Seattle. It is a bit creepy to hear the tornado/severe weather alerts and know it isn't a test. I don't think I've ever heard an emergency broadcast signal that wasn't a drill before moving here. We will batten down our hatches, meaning we'll drag in stuff from outside, we don't need a planter flying through our window, or our barbeque rolling around the yard. (I'm writing this in hopes that my husband will read this before I get home and have it done already. I'm truly lazy, if you didn't know.) I don't have to work until next Wednesday, at least that is when we have patients. I have a ton of work to do, but I wasn't told if I'm expected to be here or not. I prefer to come in when he isn't here to clean and do lab work but he likes to not have to pay me very many hours. I have been averaging less than 20 for a couple of months now. Which was fine with me since I hated being here, but the economic reality is I need a full-time gig. I keep saying that I am going to check with the dental society to get on the temp list and put in an application to work some weekends at Universal. But then again, I'm truly lazy. (hey, a theme for today's post! My lazy ass!) Ron and I are looking into being in Seattle for a week in September, if I haven't posted that already. I hope to see more people, I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to the last time. This will be the first time we have been in Seattle together since we got married, I hope to do a big family to-do while we are there. I need to prove to some people that my husband does exist, that I didn't just make him up. I just don't have that good of an imagination! (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 28th, 2006
11:28 pm	Often I am at a loss for words I woke up yesterday and came downstairs to the computer to read the news of the crash in Kentucky. I thought, "how sad for the people who knew and loved them" and I gave another few seconds thought about how nervous I am on planes during takeoff, and how I have a flight coming up soon. I briefly read the story and moved on to the next headline. The rest of the day was busy with everyday life stuff and I didn't think about the crash again. Last night, my friend Bridgette messaged me that she had just earlier in the evening found out that several of her co-workers from her previous company were on that plane. We talked briefly, she was trying to deal with the news, going through pictures, trying to find a way to make sense of what happened. I honestly didn't know what to say to take away any of the pain, and intellectually I know that isn't possible, I guess you can only share it, be a shoulder to cry on or be there if she wanted to talk about it. She has written a little on the subject here: http://livefromthewangofamerica.blogspot.com/ I hope you know, Bridgette, how sorry I am for your loss. As much as I can do for you, I am here always. I hope you don't mind Bridgette: Bobby, I wish I had known you. You will be missed by so many whose lives you touched. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 27th, 2006
5:57 pm	Life is back to normal. Sara is back to being Sara. Friday she sent Ron an email saying how busy she was getting her classroom put together and that she may need to go in early on Monday if Ron could come get Ben and take him to school. She would know if that was necessary later that night after seeing what she could get done then. Ron sent her back an email saying that was fine, but it would be better if we just kept Ben tonight and took him to school from here. *sound of crickets all weekend* No response from Sara either by phone or email, so we don't know if she is coming tonight to get Ben. Ron's attitude is she is either going to be here or not... it drives me up the wall to not have this stuff already settled. Honestly, by the time we went to sleep on Friday night we should already have known if we were to keep Ben over Sunday night or not. It really isn't that hard to type a few words or make a damn phone call. (Comment on this)