You've been eliminated!

If you've ever watched an episode of The Biggest Loser or The Amazing Race or Survivor or American Idol, you've probably heard people talk about being eliminated. How badly they want to avoid being eliminated. How they will react if they are eliminated. It all builds the drama. And as viewers, we talk about who we want to be eliminated, knowing that the drama has already happened (except for Idol) and that the participants know who won.

Well, I've never been on a reality show, but I now know what it's like to be eliminated. Last week, 2 of my 3 bosses at Tweedee Productions sat me down and informed me that my position will be eliminated effective July 1. They gave me 6 weeks' notice. That allows me a lot of time to try to find a different job. But I've been looking for work since they cut my hours in half in November. And I am still looking. I've been focusing on teaching jobs, and I remain hopeful that something will come along for me before school resumes in the fall. In the meantime, I also look for non-teaching jobs. To be honest, there aren't many jobs out there right now, though the economists say things are improving. We'll see.

Jobs

This week, I've been struggling with motivation: to exercise and to go to my cleaning job, mostly, but also to mow the lawn and to vacuum the house. I don't know if it's the weather, or if it's the fact that I work 3 part-time jobs for an average of 50 hours/week except for last week and this week when I worked 60 hours/week. I don't mean to complain. I am truly thankful to have each job, since it allows for bills to be paid. I am just getting tired of working from 7am-9:30pm at least once a week. And last week, I worked 7am-10:30pm on Monday, 8am-9pm on Tuesday, and 7am-9pm on Wednesday. That's 40 hours in 3 days. Yuck!

I have applied for and received my Wisconsin teaching license, and I've been applying for teaching jobs when I come across them. But the school year doesn't start until August, so I still have to make it through the summer. And there's no guarantee that I'll be hired as a teacher somewhere. It has been 9 years since I've been a classroom teacher, and in case you haven't noticed, the economy still sucks. There are a lot of people looking for jobs, including teachers. That said, if you have any connections in any school districts, I'd appreciate any advocating on my behalf.

On the upside, I'm spending this Saturday volunteering at Habitat for Humanity with my parents. Hooray!! And without requesting the night off, I'm not waitressing afterward. Even bigger hooray!!

Lake Monona 20K

Well, this past Saturday, I completed the Lake Monona 20K! It's a 12.4 mile run around Lake Monona here in Madison. It's really a very scenic route. It follows the bike route, so if you want to bike what I ran, you can! Just follow the spray painted markers on the pavement that say LMR.

A friend of mine and I had been training together, and we agreed to run together. The first half of the run was good - the wind was at our backs, and we were inspired by all the other runners. We were on pace for an 11-minute mile, which is significantly faster than we'd done any of our long runs (which were consistently 11.5 minute miles). And then we got around the northern side of the lake. The wind was now in our faces. My knees started aching. My upper thighs started chafing. My running buddy got her second wind. I slowed us down. But I didn't alter our run-walk pattern of run 2 minutes-walk 1 minute. Toward the end, I was reminding myself that I only needed to run for 2 minutes. No problem! I can totally run for 2 minutes. And I was singing "Just keep swimming" (from Finding Nemo) in my head, substituting the word running for swimming. I crossed the finished line, with tears in my eyes, 2 hours and 20 minutes after I started.

I'm really proud of myself to undertaking this run. I've never run that far, and it took a lot of training to get my body and my mind ready. Another friend of mine has asked if I might be interested in doing the Madison Mini, which is a half marathon (13.1 miles), in August. I'm considering it. . .

Genetics

Several years ago, one of my dad's brothers told us that he had a genetic marker that increased the likelihood that he'd develop colon cancer (which he already had) as well as several other cancers. His doctor suggested that his siblings get tested for this genetic marker, and if any of them had it, that their kids also be tested. Since my dad had already had colon cancer three times, it was assumed that he had the genetic marker, and my siblings and I had to decide whether or not to get tested.

There are two thoughts on genetic testing. One side believes that knowledge is power and by knowing, you can take steps to prevent illness or catch it early. The other side believes ignorance is bliss and by not knowing, you can enjoy life and let whatever is going to happen, happen. (The two sides are much more complicated than this, of course, but this is the easy simplification.)

I decided to have the test done. I have the genetic marker that significantly increases my risk for colon cancer. So, I've been getting an annual colonoscopy since I was 31. Not exactly my favorite annual event, but I'd rather do that than develop late stage colon cancer, when it is often too late to treat successfully. This genetic marker also increases my risk for developing some other cancers, including ovarian, uterine, endometrial, and stomach. Again, knowing these risks allows me to be proactive with screening.

What do you think about genetic testing? Is it a good idea? Would you want to know if you're predisposed to developing a disease?

He's no April Fool!

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!

Today my big brother celebrates his 40th birthday. If you know him, send him birthday wishes if you haven't already.

Good riddance, March 2010!

March has felt like a very long month. The entire month has been part of Lent, and we've gotten all sorts of unexpected bad news (is bad news ever expected?). I can hardly wait for April. . .

Grandma Carlson

Last Thursday, March 11, would've been my Grandma Carlson's 97th birthday. That doesn't seem right, but I've double-checked my math, and it is, in fact, correct. It also doesn't seem possible that it's been over 5 years since she died. She had a massive stroke in the early morning hours of my 30th birthday, and she died 6 days later, surrounded by her husband and children. I was really missing her last week. I've made "cook 'n' serve" chocolate pudding a couple times over the past month. I reminds me of Grandma's chocolate cream pies. Yum! When I lived in Colorado, I'd often stop for an overnight with Grandma and Grandpa when I'd drive back to Wisconsin. More often than not, Grandma would have made one of her chocolate cream pies for my visit, knowing how much I liked them. That always made me feel so loved!

I had a job interview last week. It was for a half-time office assistant job in Fitchburg. I think it went well, at least from my end. They said they'll be making a decision sometime this week, so I won't have to wait too long to find out if I got it. If so, I'll be quitting the cleaning job (yippee!!) and possibly adjusting my schedule at Tweedee. I'll still have to wait tables a few nights a week, but it's a step in the right direction.

I heard back from the Department of Public Instruction about my application for Wisconsin teaching licensure. I need to take 6 credits (probably just 2 classes) of continuing education coursework in order to get my license, unless I have a job offer from a school district. If I get a job offer, they will grant me a one-year license, during which time I'll need to earn those 6 continuing education credits. I need to call them to find out what sort of classes I should take. Perhaps I could get one of those classes taken care of this summer.

Oh! And I ran the Shamrock Shuffle 5K yesterday. My time was 31:23, which I was happy with, for the most part. The route is fairly hilly, so I shouldn't be too disappointed, but I always want to finish in under 30 minutes. Maybe next year.

March forth!

When I was a kid, every year on March 4th, my mom would remind me that it's the only day of the year that's also a command, and she would send me out the door to march forth. I look forward to it every year! It seems like I should spend March 4th working toward social justice. And I've missed my chance this year. But perhaps, starting next year, I will make March 4th a personal volunteerism day.

I finally got all of my teaching license application components completed and mailed. According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction website, it will take 12-16 weeks for my application to be processed. And that doesn't guarantee that I'll be approved for a license. *sigh* At least I'll know before the last minute job postings come along.

My training for the Lake Monona 20K continues to go fairly well, although I've been having a hard time fitting the weekday workouts into my schedule. Luckily, the training program I am following only requires 2 weekday runs, and I've made sure I fit them in. But I've been a bit lax about the cross-training workouts. I'd really like to find a good at-home strength training workout to do on those cross-training days. This Saturday, I'll be running 9.5 miles with a friend of mine. We did 7.5 a couple weeks ago, and it went really well, so I think 9.5 will be just fine, too. And it's supposed to be relatively warm and sunny on Saturday morning, which always makes running more enjoyable.

Fast, Pray, Give

For Lent, I was considering giving up sweets and alcohol, until a friend of mine on Facebook posted a link to this great Lent calendar. Each day, there is a quote and then suggestions for the day's fast, prayer, and gift. For example, yesterday the quote was: “Easter is the demonstration of God that life is essentially spiritual and timeless.” — Charles M. Crowe And then the suggestions:

Fast from scheduling anything after work today.

Pray: Waste some time with God today. (Preferably not during work hours, i.e. don’t get fired!)

Give yourself a break today.

Some days, the Give portion suggests putting some money into a Fast-Pray-Give bowl, and at the end of Lent, you donate the money to a charity. On Sunday, the suggestion was to fast from lunch, pray for those in poverty, and give the money saved from fasting from lunch.

I like this calendar a lot because it has something new everyday, and they say to follow it, but if you don't stick with it on a particular day, just get back on track the next day. It provides a nice focus for me, rather than the general "I'm giving up sweets" which gets somewhat easy after a few days. If you're still thinking about your Lenten discipline and struggling to find a good way to be introspective, I would highly recommend checking out this calendar and following it with me!

Happy Valentime's!

Last year, just before Valentine's Day, Einar and I watched an old 30 Rock episode which featured a character that kept saying, "Happy Valentime's!" thoughout the episode. It was hilarious! So now, we wish each other a happy Valentime's instead of happy Valentine's.

I had to wait tables all weekend, and even though I'd rather not have to spend my weekend nights working, it's actually kind of fun to waitress on Valentine's day. You get mostly couples who are in a good mood, ready for a nice night out. And because it's a special occasion for them, they are usually quite generous with their tips, which is nice when you've given up your night to be at work.

Speaking of tips, I've noticed a difference in tipping amounts over the past year. It used to be that I'd average 18% tips on a typical night, which I was quite happy with. I'd get some people that would tip exactly 15%, the magic don't-tip-less-than-this percentage. But I'd get quite a few customers that would tip 20% or more. In the past year, those groups have flip-flopped. Now, I get quite a few diners that tip exactly (and I mean exactly) 15% and only a few that tip 20% or more. I'm sure it has to do with the economy. Business at the restaurant where I work is definitely down, despite what the owner tells you - not only in volume, but in what people are ordering. It's been kind of interesting to watch.

I'm hoping the economy, especially the job market, turns around soon. From what I keep reading, it has already starting to improve, but then, why is unemployment predicted to stay above 10% for 2010 and still be above 9% in 2011?