MINI Road Trip

I made a run to Portland yesterday to Rasmussen MINI for service on my car - although my warranty expired 4,000 miles ago, they give you three more incidents before 60,000 miles. One of the amps for my stereo went out so I just had static in the back of the car. Not completely unbearable but annoying nonetheless. And since I am looking for full-time work I thought I better take advantage of having a flexible job and get my butt down there.

I took Sophia with me this time - it was to be a pretty short service appointment so not enough time really to see a friend or family while there. She had a bed and toys in the back and got to lay in the sun and nap. Although I don't know how much she slept since she seemed really tired when we got home.

She was a big hit at the dealer - I think I met almost everyone who worked there, from the car washer to the executive. Having her along forced me to stop for breaks, which is good since on the way home I was having trouble staying awake. So getting out and walking around - for her sake - is good for me as well.

One of the best parts of going to the dealer - besides the red-carpet service, is that they wash my car (including the rubber mats inside). And people only notice a clean MINI. As I was headed back to the interstate some people passing in the crosswalk pointed and said "look, there's a MINI", and then another person says "look, with a little dog!" Sophia was leaning on the front dashboard and looking at them through the front windshield. It's been a long time since anyone noticed my MINI it's been so grimy.

Back to the comment about looking for work: I started looking for a full-time job three weeks ago since Steve’s contract at Microsoft is up June 11th and we don’t know what’s going to happen – if he will get another position somewhere or be unemployed. He's required to be away from Microsoft for 100 days, and there aren't many other employers in this area needing what he does. Some of the worry was erased in the last few days, tho. Late last week they offered him his position as a blue badge (real) Microsoft employee. The only hitch is the department manager needs formal headcount approval, which should come with the beginning of the new accounting year after July 1. And then on Monday they gave him a promotion and a raise – they went to his agency and said they wanted to raise him to a Programmer Writer II (he was I) and pay him an additional 30%. It goes into effect next week. Just the raise portion of his salary is more than the additional money I could bring in if I landed a FT job paying more than I have ever made before.

I am waiting to see if I get an offer from Seattle Housing Authority – I had a really great interview on Monday and since it’s a government job in affordable housing and has good benefits (it’s union I believe), and the salary was $38k/annum to start, I would take it if they offered it to me. I am going to keep looking – I am looking for something high paying, in marketing, or something really unique and fun. All three would be perfect of course! But some of the pressure is off of me to find something before June since we’re pretty sure he’ll be going back in July on a perm basis.

Well, Steve left early this morning to drive down to Bimmerfest in Santa Barbara, CA. A few days ago I warned him about speeding and getting another ticket and if he did I would divorce him (of course, if I really meant that I would have left about three years ago...but the threat worked for a number of years.) When I said something to him this morning about not needing a wall charger for his cell phone he said he did since the outlet in the car had something plugged into it already. I asked him, what? He's borrowed a radar detector from someone in the BMW club. Awww, he really DOES love me!!

Anyway, I ended up getting up super early, too, and am off to the office. Besides doing our taxes and volunteering at the animal shelter I have lots of plans with girlfriends all weekend! It's going to be fun, and I won't be sleeping alone thanks to Sophia.