the first of many pics of San Diego

Troy and Hautumn on the Tom Sawyer Steamboat, Disneyland 2008


Troy, Hautumn, and me...Halloweentime 2008!

Rodney and me at The Getty overlooking Los Angeles

Keith and Rodney at The Getty, what a day!

Captain Jack Sparrow? AZZIFF...lol.

Hautumn and me at Disneyland October 2008

Happy Mickey-Ween...October 2008

October 19th, Sunday morning

So for the next installment of the great and wonderful adventures of Eileen…ha-ha!!! They indeed ARE wonderful…as in the Wonderful World of Disney! Hautumn, Troy, and I went up to Anaheim yesterday, and spent all day at Disneyland and California Adventure. Disneyland had all the original types of rides, and shows, where California Adventure has the newer rides and shows…like Tower of Terror, and the rollercoaster…not to worry for you Disney World fans, it’s NOTHING like MGM studios and EPCOT—in fact, there’s no comparison! However a fun time was had by all! And it was great to spend some [MORE] time with my daughter!

Two weeks in a row now, I’ve been asked to pick up and extra shift, and have done so…extra money never hurts (especially around here) and I know they need he extra help, so why not? So instead of working only the three twelve hour shifts, I’ve also added 8 hours…so THAT’S always good. On Friday, I went out shopping…not just random browsing believe it or not, but shopping with a purpose!

Before I came out here, Hautumn asked me if I’d go to the Marine Corps Ball as her guest, so—DUH!!! A no-brainer—of course I said yes…but then: now what to do for an appropriate dress!? A minor dilemma. Then again…maybe NOT so minor! Where should I go? What should I look for-color? Length? Price? HA!!! Not so easy now….I mean for goodness sake! I’m in the land of shopping! Beverly Hills is right around the corner! Saks 5th Avenue, Gucci, Bloomingdales, you name it is at my disposal!!! I could have shopped at ANY of those stores!!! BUT---that would have meant venturing out of the realm of “this is where I know and feel safe driving (and NOT getting lost)”…yeah, for those of you who know me, know that if I CAN get lost, I WILL get lost!!! So I did NOT go to Beverly Hills, or Hollywood….but rather I went to what is called Fashion Valley…where there are still several stores like Saks, and Bloomingdales, but there is also a Macy’s, and a JC Penney’s…so I poked my nose into Saks, and Bloomingdales, and decided that I still needed to look at Macy’s and Penney’s…and wouldn’t you know it…I found the perfect dress at Penney’s! True…off the rack. It’s a tea length black taffeta dress that shimmers sort of charcoal in color, with a beaded hem, and a velvet bolero jacket. Best of all—I walked in on a doorbuster sale that took 50% off the original price plus an additional 10% off that….the dress cost all of $50.00 plus tax. Yes, I’m bragging on a deal at JCPenney’s…pathetic, aren’t I? When I go up to BH, I’ll find something to buy, just to say I did, but then it probably WON’T be a sale-or much of one! (I'll put pictures in once I'm IN the dress, it looks so much better on me, than ON the hanger...lol!)

At any rate…the weather here is still nice, though I have to admit, I DO miss the change of the trees, and the apple dumplings from Wallingford’s…and the bulky sweaters, and the wool socks—wait, no, not really the last two…but I thought I’d let you think I did! It’s a bit breezy here today, something about the Santa Ana’s---which are the winds that also bring along the fires that burned up a good part of California last year…so, hopefully they won’t be severe this year like last…

Well I told you I’d keep you posted…and with pictures!!! Woohoo!!!

Where was I??

Oh yeah, I remember now...so here goes for real this time...LOL...

It was a dark and stormy night...wait, no it wasn't...the day I told my boss, Joann, that I had really taken a travel assignment might as well have been a stormy day, though. In light of a meeting that had taken place earlier in the day, there should have been thunder and lightning from the sky, however, she took the news very well; she knew it was coming eventually.

So, how I got to Lebanon, NH to be working at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is nothing short of a whirlwind. I had originally wanted to go to another part of the country, for a "reason" no longer important---really--THAT reason is NOT IMPORTANT TO ME ANYMORE!!!---but when "it" became unimportant, I knew that I still wanted to travel somewhere and now was still as good a time as any! I implored my recruiter to "find me something anywhere in the northeast region" and find it soon!! I'll be darned, but she came through with panache! I wanted to stay in the New England area so that when my daughter comes home in July---that's right, Hautumn will be home from California--Woohoo!!!---I wanted to be close enough to come home to see her, not to mention, that there was no way I could be that far away from my other two kids....OMG....I really didn't think I'd miss them THAT much, but I was wrong! I know, I'm only a phone call away, but I just got a text message from Verizon letting me know that I'm almost over my minutes! (Mind you, I have no idea when the billing month ends, and how many I've even used, but I'm sure that when I get this traveling thing down, I'll be better off.)

Tara came with me to Quechee, Vermont, to help get me settled in and all, and when we first walked in the door to the condo, all seemed okay...until we started opening up the cupboards, and closets...I firmly think that if I'd been prepared to see all the owner's belongings and personal toiletries, and food opened in the cupboards...I may have been able to accept my living arrangement a little better...however with that being said, I wasn't prepared to see all their stuff...food, silverware, dishes, shampoos, etc...oh, yeah...and the underwear in the closet, and other things (nothing gross---well not yet anyhow)....it was just a bit discouraging to think that I was gonna be forced to live here, and I got on the phone immediately with the company. Yes, I know...it was Memorial weekend, but I also knew that they had to be told what was going on. So I figured that the sooner the better. I made the call, spoke with someone who asked me to be patient until Tuesday, when the office reopened. I told her that I could do that, but started looking around at the same time for other options. Let me tell you....THERE AREN'T ANY!!!! Well, okay, that may be a bit dramatic, but it sets you up for what I dealt with for four days, until I succumbed to the notion that I had to lay in a bed that someone else made...and not well either. I had brought queen-size bedding, it was a KING size bed....(twin + twin = KING) I don't really mean to fuss, but I originally asked for a full size bed, so that I wouldn't have to buy anything new, it's what I have at home...and was told that they couldn't switch out the bed. Hence I purchased a Q-size bed in a bag---hahaha, from Wal*Mart!!!...and I returned it and bought the best sheets I've ever owned, in a King size. I figured I'm getting reimbursed, I may as well buy nice-r than what I'd probably do on my own.

So, along with the feeling of house-sitting, and having to pay to do so, the place came with ants. I know, I know....."it's that time of year, what do you expect?" I expect that someone should call the exterminator and get them over ASAP....instead, I'm asked, be it all nicely, to buy what I think will work, and "I'll reimburse you!" so I did...and, guess what? IT WORKED, THANKS MOM! ( It's this stuff called " TERRO", and all you do, is put it down where they trail, and they bring it back to the Ant Hut, and feed the rest of the ants...and sooner or later they die.) Point being...I've done alot to try to make do...from the ant bait, to the clothing in the closet, and ignoring the toiletries in the bathrooms....but I draw the line at wiping out hair from the freezer....and I'm not talking about cat or dog hair, or even human hair from the top of someone's head, either....I'm gonna leave it at that! Suffice it to say that my contact at the DHMC asked me how things were going, and when I told her of "THAT"...she marched me down to an inner office, and spoke to someone, who spoke to someone else...and within the hour, I got a phone call informing me that I was being moved....yippee!!!

Come July 2nd, I'll be moving, to a place only 2 minutes from the hospital, rather than screaming all the way there from 27 minutes away--yes, it was still actually close enough by standards allowed--but two minutes is a whole lot better than 27. I am gonna buy a bike...or maybe have mine fixed up. Not sure if it needs anything, I may just buy a new one from--you guessed it--Wal*Mart! hey, don't knock it, all I need is something that gets me back and forth, and the one I've looked at is only $90. I'll use it for two months, and then sell it so I don't have to bring it with me...or, maybe I'll just buy a bike rack...and bring it home with me. LOL...who knows!

Well there you have it~ the first two weeks in a nut shell....NUT being the operative word...because it's what I am...a NUT...go ahead, it's okay to agree with me. The first week was orientation, and the second week, was an odd shift. The folks on the later shift are nice as can be, and I adopted a girl whom I call my Dartmouth Daughter. She's only 21, and cute as a button....(where DID that phrase come from, anyhow?)...I'm gonna miss working with them. They were fun. But...this week, I'm on my regular hours!!! YAY!!!

Now the fun begins...I'm gonna get out and do some exploring this week. I have Wednesday off..so I should be able to come up with some more news...and pictures. Quechee is a quaint place to VISIT....would NEVER want to live here. The sidewalks roll themselves up by 5:30...for most things, and by 9 for all else! It's not that I don't like the place, but it's WAY TOO QUIET here...for me...I'm not going to buy cable, if I want to watch anything, I can do so by watching the rerun online. (Deb told me about this trick!---all I have to do is plug my ears when I hear people at work asking each other "did you watched ____________ on TV last night"...it's when I go....LA-LA-LA-LA-LA with my fingers in my ears....most know that i am gonna see it later that night! LOL,..I've got them all trained !!! Okay, not really!!!

As for the kind of work, I'm still doing the same thing, only much different. I'm helping with totals using systems that I've never seen, but the reps are always around, so they're a HUGE help for me! Everyone is very helpful, and nice for the most part!

Rioght now, it's stifling in this condo...no, I cannot get an air conditioning unit....the windows aren't the kind that one will fit into! I spent $30 on a couple of fans...and at least the air is moving now. Even with the windows open, it's still dead air. And besides, who really needs AC...it's way over-rated!!! Deb, you're proud of me for saying that, right??? If you could care less about that, then I take it back!!! LOL..

To all my peeps at CMMC...don't you worry, no one could hold a candle to you and all that you mean to me. I miss you ---lots. I miss the little things, like how we know who's having a bad day, and we care enough to let them know we do...or the "hey, can you swap rooms with me...pleeeeeeezzzz......." etc ....

To my church fam...yes, I managed to find a church here, and so far it seems like a good place to go on a regular basis...I'll keep you posted...

To the real fam...I miss you and will try to get together again when I'm there...in July!
To all the friends I've made along the way...from real life, to myspace...thanks for becoming my friends.

To Gary...I'm proud of you for trying something new...you do well at it! wink, wink...

Tara...I know I told you already, thanks for coming down with me to get things moved in...I'm so grateful for your support!

Hautumn...yeah baby!!! Can't wait to see you! July can't come soon enough. I'm glad that you finished this assignment well. We'll see what the next one brings...hopefully you get to stay here...in the US.

Soooooo......phew, are your eyes tired? Mine are...sorry this was so long...the next ones from here on out, won't be...I promise. It' s just that I had so much catching up to do...and I won't write a book any too soon...well I might, but not for posting here....lol.

Toodaloo to You...for now...will post again soon, probably by Wednesday, after I figure out how to get down to the gorge here in Quechee...Love to all, Eileen...= ) ps, I'll have pictures by then, too.

Working up the Nerve...

So...working up the nerve to tell my boss....yikes...that was tres difficile...I'll tell you all more about it soon! It's not like it's 11:45 pm...and I gotta get up in the morning and tell all my co-workers that I've put in my notice....and that I only have two weeks left with them. There were tears that were already shed, I'm sure there will be more... =`(