Reflections

You know how they say "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone"? Usually that refers to taking something good in your life for granted and only appreciating it once you've lost it and can't get it back. I was just reflecting the other day that it could also apply to really, really crappy things in your life that sort of creep up on you gradually. You only realize that they're crappy later on.

I am referring specifically to my last job. I knew for a while that I wasn't very happy there, but it wasn't that bad. I just got used to the way things were. Some of you know a little about it, as I did a couple of posts recently about my decision to quit the job and my efforts to find a new (better) one.

I work in the field of ophthalmology, so (obviously) I work in doctor's offices. For doctors. No offense to any doctors who may be reading this (ha ha), but they are a strange lot. They are all different, but they are all strange. Unfortunately, some of them are also assholes - kind of, well, exactly like my former boss.

I had gradually grown so accustomed to long stressful days, revolving door turnover at the workplace, borderline unethical practices, and a boss I detested, that I didn't realize how miserable I was. My poor husband realized it - he was subjected to me coming home in a bad mood almost every day.

When I finally decided it was time to move on, it was actually a little hard to leave the place I had worked at for a year and a half. Even though I hated it. Weird huh?

Anyway, after a few weeks at my new job, I realized that I really appreciated a lot of things about this job. It started to dawn on me how good I had it at this new place. Naturally, the next thing to cross my mind was how bad it was at the old place. As I reminisced a little, I found myself to be horrified at some of the bullshit I tolerated.

Of course at that time, I needed the job, was making enough to make ends meet (barely) and there was no way I could afford to quit without having another job lined up. And I had no time to look for other jobs as I was always working and couldn't afford to take time off. Anyway, I remembered a place that I had been in contact with when I was looking for a job here a couple years ago. I decided to call them and see if they had an opening and if so, see if they would hire me.

Turns out I called at just the right time, got the job, hence quit my hated one. My husband commented recently that it was nice to have me come home in a good mood. That got me thinking.

Point is, a lot of us "settle" into situations where we are unhappy, but they get bad so gradually that we don't really realize it, and by the time we do, we feel pretty comfortable (read: afraid to change) so we decide, "well, it's not that bad." We also don't realize how much this unhappiness shows to those around us. I was pretty bitchy for a while there, but now I am back to my old, laid-back self. Unfortunately, it didn't dawn on me until I had already gotten out of the bad situation.

Take some time to look around and evaluate where you are and what you do. You don't want to spend years and years miserable without noticing it until it's too late.















BE HAPPY!!!


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The Big TWO!

Yesterday was my son Trevor's 2nd birthday. We celebrated by spending the day at the beach - his favorite place.














He got lots of cool presents, a card, a cake and a little bit of a sunburn.

A great time was had by all!

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In other news:


We finally got our other iguana back! A neighbor spotted him in his yard, captured him and returned him to us safe and sound.

Bonnie and Clyde are reunited at last.













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A joke:


A gas station in Mississippi was trying to increase its sales, so the owner put up a sign saying, "Free Sex with Fill-Up".


Soon a local redneck pulled in, filled his tank, and then asked for his free sex.


The owner told him to pick a number from 1 to 10. If he guessed correctly, he would get his free sex. The redneck then guessed 8, and the proprietor said, "You were close. The number was 7. Sorry, no sex this time."


A week later, the same redneck, along with a buddy, Bubba, pulled in for a fill-up. Again he asked for his free sex.


The proprietor again gave him the same story, and asked him to guess the correct number. The redneck guessed 2 this time. Again the proprietor said, "Sorry, it was 3. You were close, but no free sex this time."


As they were driving away, the redneck said to his buddy, "I think that game is rigged and he doesn't really give away free sex."
'
Bubba replied, "No it ain't, Billy Ray. It ain't rigged ----- my wife won twice last week!"

Leapin' Lizards!

Iguana update...












(top is Bonnie , bottom is Clyde)

Remember our fugitive iguanas, Bonnie and Clyde? (no joke, those are their names) Anyway, Clyde hung out in a tree in our backyard for a few days, and eventually disappeared. We had almost given up hope of getting them back, when lo and behold, Bonnie turned up in our yard, just walking around on the ground. Hubby walked over to her, picked her up and put her in the cage. That simple!


So we printed up some fliers about Clyde (still missing) with our phone number and placed them around the neighborhood. The next day we got a call from a nearby neighbor who said that Clyde had been in his yard the day before, but he had disappeared again. So far, he has been spotted a couple times and seems to still be on our block. We plan to continue searching and trying to get him back.





This is a full body pic of Bonnie, just to give you an idea. Both Bonnie and Clyde are about 4 and 1/2 feet long including tails.





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The joys of traveling:


A man and a woman, who have never met before, find themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a transcontinental train.

Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, the two are tired and fall asleep quickly...he in the upper bunk and she in the lower.

At 1:00 AM, he leans over and gently wakes the woman saying, "Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second blanket? I'm awfully cold."

"I have a better idea," she replies. "Just for tonight, let's pretend that we're married."

"Wow! That's a great idea!!" he exclaims. "Good," she replies. "Get your own damn blanket!"

After a moment of silence, he farted.