Merry Christmas 2008

I hope everyone had a good Christmas or whichever holiday your family celebrates. It has been a crazy past couple of weeks. Pizza Hut finally contacted me about our past dining experience. They sent me a couple of coupons for free pizzas. In addition, the regional manager contacted me and gave me a $25 credit for my next order. That is fine, just as long as their products improve. I am not going to eat a crummy pizza even if it is free. However, we will at least give them another chance.

Since my unemployment in October, I have been interviewing at various companies. I lost track of the number of interviews. With the economy as it is and with the holidays and it being near the end of the year, I did not really expect any leads until January. I had a few offers before Christmas. But, they were really mediocre offers.

I was all set to wait until January when I received a call from Tri-C (Cuyahoga Community College) on Friday (the 19th). They made a decent offer. Last Monday, I accepted the offer. The next day, I received an employee orientation binder. It has the typical new hire forms. It also covers all of the benefits and such. I go in for orientation next Monday and start work the following day.

I have mixed feelings about working again. It is nothing to do with Tri-C. Since it has been two months since I have been working in an office, it will be a bit weird working again. There will be no more sleeping in for me. At least me commute will be shorter and I will be able to spend more time with my family.

For Christmas Eve, Rachel and I went to her mom’s house. Rachel’s brother and family also came. We brought our Wii and had a lot of fun playing Mario Kart and The Price Is Right. I generally do not like gatherings. But, I genuinely had a good time. Driving home, on the other hand, was a different story.

We were so lost in our merriment that we did not notice the freezing rain outside. Rachel’s brother called from the road to say that accidents on the turnpike forced officers to close it down. The local news said there were similar situations on other nearby roads. One road close to the house had a twenty-five car pile up.

We packed up our stuff and prepared for the drive home. As the driveway was a sheet of ice, I had a difficult time trying to scrape ice off the windows. I am amazed that I did not slip and fall. Our SUV did slide down the driveway though. I was in four-wheel drive and had the brakes on. I just had to wait until it came to a stop. Fortunately, it stopped just before it hit the street. The ride home, though slower than normal, was uneventful. We did slide when we pulled into the driveway. I had stopped in our driveway and the whole rear end shifted about a foot to the right. At least we arrived safely.

The weather here has been crazy these last few days. One day, it is freezing, the next day it hits sixty-five, then it is back to freezing. The wind has been coming virtually non-stop. The wind already blew off a handful of shingles off the roof. Bare wood is not showing yet, but we definitely need a new roof.

Due to our reduced income, we did not splurge for Christmas gifts this year. However, we did buy Wii Fit. We moved the Wii into the living room last night. Now that we have a lot more room to maneuver, playing with the Wii is a completely new experience. Heck, I spent at least an hour playing Wii Fit today. Rachel is not going to be happy about that. But, at least it is some exercise. She cannot complain too much about that.