My life in snippets

**This is my second week at my new workplace. I'm really enjoying it a lot, although I wish it were full time. I'm very happy to be using my degree again, though. And everyone has been really, really nice so far.

**Having three part-time jobs is highly stressful, chaotic, and demanding. Trying to maintain the number of hours I'd previously been working at the two libraries means that I have to rearrange my schedule even more. And since I will eventually be taking on more hours at the new job, this means my schedule is subject to change again. Ai yi yi.

**I stopped in at the newspaper where I used to work for the first time since I'd left there 2 years ago. They had undergone some pretty major renovations, so it was really strange to walk in and see such a big change. I talked to several former co-workers, though, and they all seemed happy to see me. But I've found that the place seems to have had bad luck in the front office staffing. After I left, F took my position. Then they hired M to help out F, when I had been doing the work of 2 people and had been told they wouldn't hire an additional person to help. Then F was fired, and T took her spot. Then MK, who had been my evil supervisor, quit. T took over MK's job, and D was hired to fill T's spot. Apparently they have now fired M, the part-time helper, and hired someone new for that position. I refuse to believe that my leaving that newspaper had been because of something I did wrong. And the fact that they've now gone through so many people in such a short amount of time just solidifies my belief.

**I visited Sharon last night and invited her out for dinner. She was the only person on my reference list that my new employer called, so I wanted to thank her for all the kind and enthusiastic words she'd spoken on my behalf. We went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, then back to her house, where I snooped around her bookshelves. I actually spotted one that was my book! haha So I now have my copy of The Ghost Writer back on my own shelves. :)

**Over the weekend I watched all five hours of the BBC's Pride and Prejudice. I had just finished a fun and quirky book called Austenland the night before, so I needed another Austen fix. This is also a good article I found online today.

**Jersey gets to start a HeadStart program next month! Amanda met a representative of the school to go over particulars and such the other day. The woman revealed that after Jersey had visited the school (in May? June?), all the teachers had argued over who got to have her in their classroom! haha

**On Saturday, my dear friend Krista and her father will be coming up to my neck of the woods to cheer on Krista's brother, Justin, as he competes in a tractor-pull contest. So, for the first time ever, I'll be attending a tractor pull. Hmmm. Anyway, I'm very excited to hang out with Krista! I'm really hoping to get an opportunity to shut the lights off on her when she's in the bathroom!

**On Aug. 14, which is a Tuesday, I'll be driving up to Duluth, Minn., where Kristen and I will be attending our second Wilco concert! Woohoo! Jealous?

**Then that Friday, Kristen will be driving down to my house because on Saturday, we'll be heading over to Jolene's baby shower! Which reminds me, I need to do some more shopping. ;)

**And, as you may have noticed on Kristen's blog, she got us tickets to see Last Comic Standing when it comes to Minnesota in October! I hope Doug Benson will still be one of the contestants at that point. He make-a me laugh!

**Finally, I really, really, really, really hate when a song that I love starts being played on pop radio. I mean, sure thousands/millions of people have probably heard the song if they bought the artist's album, but if it's not on the radio, I can pretend I'm the only one who knows about it. So now, a song that has personal meaning and slices my heart open every time I hear it, is about to be shared with annoying girls the world over. I'll soon be numb.