It Has Ended

Well... yesterday was my last day at my job.  I don't think I've realized it just yet.  I've had some wonderful, stressful, fun, depressing, exciting, enlightening, and fulfilling times at that job.  I am so grateful to have had it and to have been a part of the office family.  A wonderful first "professional" job!!

In other news, I started a 365 Day Photo project.  You can read about it at 365project.org, and you can view my photos here.

Goings On

Three items of note:

1. Well, if you've read my past blogs you may be familiar with the fact that we have had some issues with our refrigerator.  Unfortunately it is broken was again.  I'm sure it's the exact same problem.  It has been breaking every six months.  The latest repairman believes that the problem is a slow leak.  That definitely would make sense, because it could be taking the refrigerator 6 months to leak enough freon to where it is no longer cooling down enough.  The repairman is supposed to arrive this afternoon to take our refrigerator, and he's suppose to be bringing us a "loner fridge".  Hopefully he will, and hopefully the problem will be fixed for good.... we'll see.
2. Thursday it was announced at my office that our company is not getting enough work, and that they are going to have to have a round of layoffs.  I work at the branch office of the company.  We are a small office.  Two of the employees at the branch office were laid off.  We are now left with 8 people in our office.  Friday felt very very odd.  Being such a small office we all have grown pretty close.  One of the men laid off had been working there for 13 years, the other man had been working there for 6 years.  It's going to be different without them there, and it's going to feel very different knowing that I was not one of the people who was chosen to be laid off.  It's very interesting the thoughts and feelings that have accompanied this event.  Too much to explain in just one blog.
3. On a happier note... My husband and I finally made it out to our local farmers market today!  It was a lot bigger than I was expecting.  Being the middle of winter (well, nm winter, not really winter), there wasn't a lot of produce.  There was a lot, a lot of arts and crafts, performers, puppies to adopt, lots of foods & drinks, and lots of people.  It was very nice just to get outside in the beautiful weather, to be among a group of people just enjoying themselves, and to see so much that our local farmers, artists, and vendors have to offer.

SNOW!

We have snow!! :) It is quite a rare event here. Especially to receive an entire 3 inches! Lol. Carlos and I went for a walk this morning in the snow (8 degrees, with wind chill of -7). It was awesome! We bundled up enough that it actually felt quite nice. Carlos' grandparents live very close, so we stopped by to say hello to them.

Here are some pics:

The schools are closed, but the office where I work is open. It actually didn't have any power, and therefore my boss said that we could come in late to allow time for the power to come back on. The roads are pretty much pure ice. I have never before driven in these conditions. However, I felt like I was prepared to give it a try for my first time. My car did not feel the same way. I drive a small rear wheel drive vehicle. There are several hills on the way to work. The first hill I came to had a line of cars trying to get up it, and it also happens to be on a blind curve. So... When it came my turn to drive up... I just didn't make it. I tried all I could think of to get my car to get up the hill... I ended up just putting the car in reverse, and headed back home. It was a bit exciting in a way.

I called my job and let them know that I wasn't going to be coming in today. My coworker who answered the phone told me that he saw a lot of stranded cars on his way to the office, and that our secretary was currently stranded on a hill. Of my 11 coworkers, 8 drive trucks. Their trip to work probably was not nearly as difficult.

I am pleased with my decision to have a self proclaimed Snow Day!

Work and Refrigerators

Carlos and I purchased a new refrigerator back in August. It was so wonderful to finally have a freezer that would actually freeze things. It worked like a dream.... for a few months. Now, not only does our freezer not freeze, but our entire refrigerator has decided that it doesn't want to work at all. I guess it would work as a cooler if we packed bags of ice inside of it, hmm...

I'm wondering if the people who are supposed to be repairing (or replacing) our refrigerator realize that as they take their precious time doing whatever they're doing, our food is wasting away, and in the mean time, Carlos and I are going hungry.

I suppose what we really need to do is to go buy a lot of food that does not require refrigeration. We have also been storing some of our food items on our back patio (luckily it's been unusually cold here for NM).

In addition to this story I'd like to share the following:
I was pleased to remember this morning that my job was going to be providing us with breakfast burritos today to celebrate one of my coworkers birthdays. This made me very happy, since we are so low on food at the house. Well upon arriving to work (having not eaten, as I was instructed) I was told that they decided not to order burritos until tomorrow. So... needless to say, I am very hungry! I should learn from this and always, always eat breakfast before coming to work! (or at least take more than an apple with me when I go to work)

Finally a change!

Well after two and a half years of sitting at a desk Mon-Fri in a poorly lit room, I finally get some outdoor time!

This week I started observation on the drilling of a water well. This is also the first time that I've be on a project that also directly corresponds to something that I studied in college. I have been having to work more hours than usual, but it is still a welcome change.