Welcome to the 21st edition of the screaming pages Thursday Thirteen.

Thirteen random thoughts. Working at my previous company seems like the kiss of death. I’ve only had three interviews this week and I’m getting nervous at all the times I’m being told I may be bored in the position I’m being interviewed for. After my previous job, perhaps boredom would be a good thing for a while. The only people that seem to be really interested in me appear to be head hunters *sigh* I have a tonne of email I need to respond to. The hubby has a four day weekend this weekend. It’ll be nice to spend some extra time with him before he heads off to play in the mud for a month. When you’re a workaholic, it’s really hard to face days off with nothing to do except clean the house. For the first time in days, the sky is blue. Now if only it would stop snowing! I can’t believe how long it takes to find a new career. Sure, it’s easy to find a mcjob, but I don’t want to be asking people if they want “fries with that” for the rest of my life. I think I should just go back to bed for the rest of the day… Perhaps I’ll spend some time writing instead. My dogs are nuts. They refuse to go outside in the snow (and cold) unless I go out with them. Where are my mittens? They also act like big aggressive monsters when the mail is being delivered. However, when you open the door they run away and hide. I need to mail letters to friends. They’ve been written for over a week and I can’t believe I haven’t sent them off yet. I have NO patience with myself these days. Walking on the treadmill while watching a movie seems like a great idea until you stop. Then you ache for hours. Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

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I’ve been tagged! Oh my, I wonder if this means it’s hunting season for unemployed Instructional Designers. Perhaps that’s a good thing…

I was tagged by Laughing Muse from Title Deleted for Security Reasons with a meme started by Lillie at A Writer’s Words, an Editor’s Eye:. To participate, write a post about balance in life and link back to this post. Answer any or all of the following questions or simply share your thoughts about life balance.

It’s interesting that this plopped on my blog-step just days into my unemployment. Why did I quit? Well, there’s a myriad of reasons, but one of the best is that I’m in desperate need of a better work/life balance. What does that mean? I’m not sure. I just know I’m desperate to work fewer hours, spend more time with my husband, and make more connections in my community.

At the moment, I’m balancing the anxiety of being unemployed with the need to be a better wife. I’m re-learning to cook, caring for my cats and dogs, writing, sleeping, reading, and trying to get rid of some of this excess weight.

How do you achieve balance in your life? As soon as I figure that out, I’ll let you in on the secret.

What is your biggest challenge in balancing your life? Learning to say no. One of my biggest problems from a work standpoint was that I had a lot of difficulty saying no to crazy deadlines and walking away after an 8-10 hour day. Many times I nearly killed myself working a series of 16-18 hour days just to meet deadlines and ensure that I never failed at a meeting a project deadline. Sure, I developed a reputation for being the “go-to” girl when a difficult project needed to be completed on a tight timeline, but I had no semblance of a social life. I’ve had the same issues in my personal life.

What are your priorities? Right now they’re simple. Family. Friends. Community. Work. I want to improve my sleeping habits, spend time volunteering in my community (preferably in an adult literacy program), go back to school and finish a few degrees, learn to play dad’s bagpipes, spend more time with my husband, cook, read, and write.

How have your priorities changed over time and why? I am a recovering workaholic. See, the first step to recovery is admission. My world revolved around work, work and more work. When I wasn’t working, I was thinking about work, reading papers and texts relating to work, talking about work, and planning what to do next at work. Finally I’ve grown up. I’m trying to take a step back from the work world and take a moment to relax – perhaps smelling a few flowers along the way. I’m actively looking for new employment since I can’t be unemployed forever. I’ve got a mortgage to pay and all that. On the other hand, I’m being more selective about where I’m applying and the types of jobs I’m considering.

What advice can you share to help all of us balance our own lives? Ha! If I knew the answer to that, perhaps I’d never have allowed myself to get into the situation I’m in now. I think it’s important to know your own limits and to set limits around the time you’re spending on things you do to survive (work, etc.) versus things you do to live (relax, hobbies). Now all I need to do is figure out what my limits are and put it all into practice…

Now it’s my turn to tag five other people. Unfortunately, some of my intended victims have already been tagged. I’ll need to dig deep and beg forgiveness from my new blogging friends for tagging them. It’s always better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. I’m tagging

• Joy T at A Spot of T. She’s going in for surgery and won’t be posting for a while. Don’t expect to see her answers for a few weeks.
• Caylynn at Caylynn’s Contemplations. Us military spouses have got to stick together.
• Haley-O at The Cheaty Monkey. Haley-O just rocks!
• Daisy Mae Maus at DaisyMae Maus & the Feline Americans. I always want to know what the kitties are thinking.
• Christine D’Abo at …Fantasies Unleashed. Fellow Maritimer and an author to boot!

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Welcome to the 20th edition of the screaming pages Thursday Thirteen.

Friday is my last day at work. I’m soon to be unemployed. Since I left school, I’ve been continuously employed for 9 years. This week, my T13 outlines my plans my first few days of unemployed life.

Thirteen things I plan to do next week. Sleep: I’ve completed 200 hours of unpaid OT since Jan 1, 2007. I think I’ve earned a break! Clean: We’ve made a dent in my office/library but there’s still so much more to do. Read: I’ve got a shelf of books beside the bed that need to be read. Perhaps I’ll reach the 52 book mark by the end of April… Cook: I don’t enjoy cooking for one and Drew does the bulk of the cooking normally. However, since I’ll be home while he’s working, I’m pretty sure I can make my way back into the kitchen and serve up some meals. Volunteer: I’ve always wanted to be more active in our community. Having free time will provide the perfect opportunity to help others and get to know others in my neighbourhood. Garden: If the weather holds *fingers crossed* I think I’ll turn some earth and plant some flowers in the planters on my stairs. Mail Books: I actually plan to do this tomorrow, but if I don’t manage it, I’ll be shipping a number of the books I’ve registered on bookcrossing off those who’ve expresssed interest in them. Send MOT on his way: I should have done this over the weekend, but haven’t had the time. If I don’t manage to do this tomorrow afternoon, then I’ll definitely be making a trip to the post office to send MOT on to his next travel destination. He was a wonderful traveling companion and I’m going to miss him. Walk the dogs: I’m sure they’ll love walking in the daylight instead of darkness. The only challenge will be keeping both of them from tripping me! It’s hard enough to keep my feet under me without the assistance *cough* of the dogs. Play with the cats: I’ve been away so much that the cats have really been ignored. Drew’s not much of a cat person and Than’s my baby, so it’ll be nice to spoil her rotten for a while. Scrapbook: It’s addictive. I started one almost a year ago and just haven’t had the time to finish it. Since I’m going to have lots of time on my hands, I just might finish it this decade. Watch a Viggo Mortensen marathon: *Yummy* Perhaps I’ll spend some time re-reading his books next week as well. Take pictures: There’s still a lot I need to learn about composition and taking a good picture. I think I’ll wander around the neighbourhood and get some practice in. Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

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Feast Number One Hundred & Thirty Six

Appetizer: Who is your favorite news anchor/reporter? Why?.

• I’m very partial to the Stewart/Colbert power hour. If I have to explain it, you won’t understand.

Soup: Name 3 foods that are currently in your freezer.

• Bison, Salmon, Ice Cream

Salad: If you were to have the opportunity to name a new town or city, what would you call it?

• I’m partial to Midian.

Main Course: What will most likely be the next book you read?

• Coyote Blue – Christopher Moore

Dessert: What’s the first thing you notice about the opposite gender?

• Eyes, followed almost immediately by hands.

Condiments:

1. How’s your car running?
   The car is running pretty rough, but that’s likely cause it’s a 1990 with close to 200,000 kms on it. The truck runs beautiful though.
2. How’s your blood pressure?
   A little low.
3. How’s work (or school)?
   Work is almost gone. I resigned last week, final day is the 30th of the month. I haven’t found a new job yet. School’s on hold until I get a job so I can pay tuition.
4. How’s 2007 so far?
   I’m reserving judgment for the time being.
5. How’s your hair?
   It’s a bit brittle and dry despite the overload of conditioning treatment it gets each week. I blame it all on the blonde.

h/t to Caylynn’s Contemplations for the FF graphic. I shamelessly swiped it from her site.

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We all have them – cutesy names we call each other. It only makes sense that we’d also find silly names to call the furry children too.

Welcome to the 19th edition of the screaming pages Thursday Thirteen.

Thirteen nicknames for our pets. Thanatos Guppy Cheshire Kittie Cat Than Thannie Thannie-butt Thannie-toes Buddha Belly Beelzebub Bubba Bubbalu Bubushka Fenris Wolf Fen Shedzilla Hypnos Hippy Hypnosis Hippypotomas Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

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