Catching Up (READ: I’m Alive!!)

I’m so sorry it has been so long between posts.  I have started a few posts over the past few weeks but didn’t get around to finishing them.  Why, you ask?

Well, I think I mentioned this before.  I am doing some transcription work in my own time, and I’m loving it.  I was able to transcribe 3 1/2 days of a trial, and now am transcribing what can be called pre-trial interviews.  I tend to equate them in my mind with what I used to do as a lawyer – depositions! But it’s not lawyers asking the questions, but investigators.  We had investigators with my law firm too, way back in the days.  It’s interesting to me because I also get to learn about different areas of the law that I might not have known before, or on which I had the barest smidgen of knowledge.

NEWS FLASH!!!!  All of this extra work allowed me to make a payment of $1200 to my credit card debt!! Yes!!! A ZERO balance with Capital One WILL be mine by April if not sooner.  I have three paychecks coming in March, and one will be automatically put toward my debt.  That should pay off the balance or pretty damn close to it. And i have been working on my taxes.  Looks like I’m getting a refund this year, woohoo!!!!  And YES, it will go toward my debt!! I’m beginning to think I might even be able to pay off my two credit cards this year!

My friend, Elaine, said I should treat myself to something with my AZ refund.  If I do use it for anything other than debt, it will be for some dog obedience classes for Morgan.  I’d like to get her to be more socialized around other dogs.  Right now, when she sees another one, she freaks out and goes berserk.  Not with Baby O, though.  With her, she is very gentle. I’ve also seen her try to groom HoneyBun a few times, and the Bunster puts up with it (mostly), so it warms my heart to see it.

I did break down and buy an actual chair for my apartment.  I had been using a loveseat folding kind of chair and finally it just got to me how unstable it was.  So I went and looked at several thrift stores before finally realizing that they have a Habitat for Humanity Restore near me, and that’s when I picked up this baby for $33!  Each animal has taken a turn on it (some more than once), so as you can see it’s a big hit.  I I also needed to feel a bit of permanence in my home life, but I wanted something that could be easily moved, come April. And it fits in my car and has wheels!  And fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), Morgan can fit on my lap on it, so now she has this crazy idea that she is a lap dog! (Sigh.)

I started RUNNING again last week!  I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and took Morgan with me, and she did really well.  Yep, she’s my new running partner.  I love her to death, and we both love running in the Bosque (that’s woods for everyone else not in New Mexico.)  She always seems calmer among the trees,  and I know that area has the same effect on me.  So I try to get us over there as often as I can.

I’m going to be volunteering with RoadRunner Food Bank this Wednesday in their warehouse.  I’ve volunteered at a food bank back in the Boston area and really liked the time and work I did while there.  Definitely felt like I was being productive.  And here in Albuquerque, there is a large homeless population, and I’m sure, many who are struggling to get by.  So I’ll see how it goes when I am there, and if I like it, I’ll plan on going back!

I sent in an application to volunteer with the city animal shelter but their training sessions are all while I am at work.  (My “weekend” consists of Wednesday and Thursday.)  So I need to reach out to the coordinator and explain my schedule and see if I can maybe meet with her at a different time.  Or find a different shelter with which to work.

I don’t want to get too political here on this blog, but I know that a lot of people have been upset with the several executive orders that have been signed recently.  I’m scared of what is happening in this country and while I wasn’t alive back then, I have read a lot about the Holocaust.  I’m definitely a liberal, so the idea of discriminating against someone just because of their religion or the way their name sounds, just makes me sick.   So I did apply to be a volunteer at the Holocaust and Intolerance Museum.  They even have a library! So I need to follow up on that application and see how I can be of use.  I don’t have a lot of money to donate but what I do have is my time, and skills, so that’s what I will give.

The news has gotten so depressing to me lately, that, honestly, I hardly turn on my TV anymore.   Instead, I’m loving so many of the SNL skits I see on YouTube, and have been listening to a fair number of financial podcasts such as those that are linked on the right side of my blog.  I know I can’t make change on a large scale but I can look out for myself and try to help others in small ways.  That’s my way of resisting!! And I want to use my writing skills and/or research to help others.

Oh, and one more thing!! The book I worked on for so long with my author has been published!!!!! It is called Presidents’ Secrets:  The  Use and Abuse of Hidden Power, by Mary Graham.  I’m so proud of the work I did on this, and for having been able to work with such a wonderful woman for so many years.  She was incredibly gracious to me in her acknowledgements.  It is such a gratifying feeling to see something that you worked so hard on, come to fruition.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve been working on.  What have you been up to lately?  Please drop me a line and let me know! And as always, thanks for reading!