A very nice gesture

While we were staying with Papa Funk, and our house was getting coated in a thick layer of sheetrock dust, my guitar (a Martin DM dreadnought, which apparently was discontinued this year) sat forgotten, rescued only from its wet case.

In order to avoid permanent damage, Papa Funk captured my guitar and took it to Great Southern Music, and had them give the guitar a thorough cleaning (including the pickup), new strings, and make sure that the wood wasn't damaged or warped by the water. Before he left for India, he gave me the claim check and told me about it. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I went to pick it up today, and the store reminds me a little of Fretted Instruments, my guitar shop in Birmingham, though without the couches.

I walked in to pick up my guitar and walked out with my guitar, a new case, and a pick. The old case was ruined in the flood, as it was made of pressed board. In addition to taking on water, it was the world's heaviest guitar case. It came with the guitar when I bought it 9 years ago, and I got really tired of lugging it through airports (Amazon.com lists the shipping weight at 40 pounds!). The new case, by my best estimate, weighs about 10 pounds.

As Papa Funk paid for the repairs/cleaning, I didn't stress too much about spending money on a guitar case -- especially one that won't take on water unless the water is high!

Update: the job search

I have 2 job interviews in the next 2 weeks -- one for a part-time position, and one for a full-time position. Both are in retail pharmacies. As much as I would love the flexibility of the PT position, the FT position has much more to offer, including day-1 benefits. Both positions would involved "floating," or working out of more than 1 pharmacy, and not having my own store. I love the idea of being effective support staff to other pharmacists; after all, it's what I did in Brazil!

Interview #1 (PT) is Wednesday, July 1 at 1 pm, and interview #2 (FT) is Friday, July 10 at 1 pm. If you want to know who they're with, leave me a comment or call me. :-)

Reading and book deals!

No, I'm not writing a book.

Barnes & Noble currently has a buy 2, get 1 free promo going with their B&N Classics (selected titles through July 6, with the standard "free book must be of equal or lesser value...."). I got a $15 gift card from Big Shady for my birthday, and I promptly (the next day) went shopping! I searched and searched and finally decided on (drum roll please.....) A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens), The Woman in White (Collins), and The Secret Garden (Burnett). The first two are on this list, which I'm trying to make progress on (you can track my progress here), and the third is one I loved as a kid, and want to read again. I also bought The Yearling (Rawlings), which is on my list of Pulitzer prize-winning novels. All told, after I spent all $15 of the gift card, I paid $5.34 for FOUR BOOKS! That's just as good as going to Goodwill and finding good reads.

HOT

Apparently we have an advisory for extreme heat until 7 PM tomorrow night here in Houston. The heat index has topped 105 (at 108!) and is expected to fall below that (as a high) only tomorrow evening. It's 5:30 and still feels like 103. The actual temp is 97. I must say that I'm glad the humidity level is only 39%. That makes it a little more bearable. Inside, we're running the fans and trying not to max out the A/C. It's thundering outside, and I must say that I would love a little rain, even if it's a 10-minute shower. It hasn't rained but twice since the flood, and the heat is attacking in full force. I am not looking forward to August....

I am beginning to realize that my life as a married woman is boring. I don't mean that in a bad sense, but in a sense that there is so much that passes between D-man and me that is just meant for the two of us. Or that other people wouldn't particularly care about.

Also, I have to admit that I am either a perfectionist or my own worst critic (or both). As a result, my writing isn't getting a lot of attention these days -- not even the introspective kind. Life now involves regularly interacting with at least one other person, and that means that introspection doesn't get a lot of time. Stress and epiphanies come and go without any motivation to put them on paper. The desire not to be interrupted if I happen to be in the middle of a great writing session trumps the desire to write. And so, I don't. Hopefully more inspiration will come soon!

You might be a redneck if....

you, your husband, and your brother-in-law (who was staying with us till last night) hop in the truck and drive after 5 fire trucks and 2 ambulances to see what's going on.

Last night, we were all outside talking (and working on Papa Funk's car) when we heard sirens. The sirens are a normal occurrence in our neighborhood, but these were coming towards us. As we looked for and found smoke, we parked and walked up to the crowd of curious people who had gathered in front of the burning house. The fire, apparently, was electrical in nature (the dryer caught on fire). Just an interesting night with the family in H-town!

Exciting news

THE KITCHEN CABINETS ARE FINISHED!
THE MICROWAVE/HOOD VENT HAS BEEN PUT IN!

I am so, so excited, because our house is looking like it's getting back to normal. The tools are making their way back to the garage, and the dishes and food are making their way back into the cabinets. We still have lots of little chores to do, but they don't seem nearly as large as getting the cabinets taken care of -- the pantry cabinet was the last to go in, and it holds our dinner plates, as they're too big to go in a normal 12" wall cabinet. They are back. The food is back. I'm getting the other cabinets organized accordingly. We can get rid of the piles of stuff sitting around. Now for the backyard....and the garage....

Flood

Nope, not our house. This time, it's the market for pharmacists. Apparently, I live in a city with two pharmacy schools. Everyone just graduated. And everyone wants to stay in Houston. I'm not sure why; it's a popular place for hurricanes, I hear.

The resumé has already gone out to a few chains, and will go out to a few hospitals today. I am so ready to start working. Pray that I will find a job, and quickly!

31

It's just a number. And a fun one, at that!

It's official!

I am a licensed Texas pharmacist! I got a letter from TSBP (Texas State Board of Pharmacy) today and went weak at the knees when I saw the return address. Open now or wait till D-man gets home? I opened it, and the top fold of the letter had my name on it, of course, and the telltale line RE: LICENSE NUMBER *****. Of course, they wouldn't reference a license number that I didn't have, so I kept opening the letter in anticipation. I passed with an 80! 75 is a passing score, and it's not a percentage. I don't know how they score it, so don't ask. I'm just glad that stress is over. Now on to the easy part -- job-hunting! (Yes, I know we're in a recession. I also know that sickness doesn't care. People are sick whether our economy is good or bad. That gives people like me job security.)

Back at home

D-man and I moved back in on Saturday, and we are so glad to be home. I have resumed cooking, and yesterday's lucky winners were BBQ brisket (braised in the oven in my Le Creuset dutch oven) and Texas sheet cake (known as brownies in my mom's house). Both were quite yummy!