And then my car broke down...

Oy!  I spoke too soon in my previous post about my life heading in a positive direction and jinxed myself!

On Christmas day, I made it maybe 5 miles from my house when it started making a high pitched noise and then died.  I started it back up, went a little ways, same high pitched noise, then D-E-A-D!  Thankfully, I was able to make back home.  I had to restart my car about seven times, but I made it!

I admit, my car is waaaaaaay past due on some routine maintenance (ie, an oil change), but I haven't exactly had a ton of extra cash this year to spend on my car, let alone anything else.  Plus, I dread dealing with anything car related.  Not a good excuse, but how I feel nonetheless.  I was planning on getting my car worked on in the next month or two, I mean the works, by a friend's mechanic up in Cottonwood, AZ.  I guess ol' Indy (that's my car's name) couldn't wait.

So, tomorrow a mechanic is coming to my place to take a look at my car and hopefully fix it.  I'm praying an oil change and maybe a new filter is all I need to get by for another month or two, as I have almost no extra money to spend, especially since rent is due soon and I worked reduced hours around the holidays.  (Not by choice.)  Otherwise, I'll be bussing it for awhile.  Taking the bus to and from work would suck, but I've done it before and I can do it again.  But I can kiss my social life goodbye while having to depend on public transportation!  Boo!

Since my car broke down, I obviously wasn't able to make it down for my long awaited reunion with my sister, Jessica.  We were both pretty disappointed, but we'll hopefully be able to see each other within the next couple months. 

Anyone who happens to read this between now and 11 am tomorrow, I could really use any easy fix car juju you can spare!

Update-o-rama!

Wow, so much has happened since my last blog entry or two!  I feel like my life is finally headed in a positive direction.  Where to start, where to start?

Well...

Most importantly, I am working again!  I work full-time as an admin assistant.  What a change of pace from working in an animal hospital!  No egotistical doctors to deal with.  No clients yelling at you because the doctor won't prescribe any drugs without seeing the patient first (duh!) or without doing bloodwork.  No workplace drama.  Virtually no stress whatsoever!  I work a normal schedule.  The pay isn't great, but it's enough.  Really, my only complaint I have is the job is somewhat boring.  But I'll take boring, low stress employment over no employment!

Technically I am employed by a staffing company, but work on-site at their client's location.  The position is long term, indefinite actually, without any possibility of being hired on by the client.  So, no benefits in addition to a low salary.  My plan is to stay in this position for however long it takes to find a really good position elsewhere that pays well, has benefits, and I'd really like to find a company that offers tuition reimbursement.

Since the beginning of November, I've lost about 18 pounds.  I have about another 60 to go, but am finally feeling a little more "normal" again! 

My social life has picked up drastically.  I'm rarely home on weekend nights.  When I am, it's by choice. 

I've been meeting some new men, which you can read about here.  My younger sister, Carlie, and I started a blog together about our online dating adventures which has been really fun!

I'm still in touch with the previous guy I blogged about, but we STILL haven't been on a date/meeting!  He says he wants to go, but has been extremely busy.  I have my doubts, but we'll see. 

In REALLY big news, my younger sister, Jessica (my mom's youngest daughter), and I have been chatting on Facebook.  I'm pretty sure the last time we saw each other was sometime in 2002.  And I don't think we've spoken (except for a few misguided attempts on either Myspace or Facebook) since 2003.  We had a really long, great chat recently on FB, and it looks like we are both ready to put some past drama behind us and move on.  I'm actually driving to Tucson to see her tomorrow on Christmas!  I'll also be meeting my two nieces and nephew for the first time as well, which I am SUPER excited about!  Let the spoiling begin!  =)