Take me with you Ashley!

(I have some comp tickets & a free SW flight... just sayin'.) Oh I wish I really could, but I'll be there in spirit. Have an extra fruity drink for me at 'Ohana! That's a fantastic surprise!!
I had a surprise a few minutes ago too... more raccoons! I was up late finishing up my homework and heard my cat growling -- which I usually ignore because Roxy always growls instead of meowing -- but it sounded weird so I checked it out. It was Dusty! She had a raccoon cornered by the cat's water dish! It couldn't have cared less, it was just drinking away.

Then I went out in the garage to lock the pet door and sure enough, there was another guy wandering around in the garage. They are just so nonchalant about it, it's pretty funny actually. These guys are so fat & slow I'd be surprised if they tried to attack. (Not to say I'm trying to befriend them or anything! They just don't bother me that much.) I wonder where they come from, and why MY house?! We live right by a busy main intersection. Weird.
I had my chat with my store manager today, she's going to leave some paperwork for me to review and we'll talk again in a week or so. She does things a little differently and likes to talk in circles - she uses metaphors a lot but often misuses them or gets them mixed up so it can be really tough to decipher what the heck she really means. I think we're making some progress though. She doesn't think I'm ready for the open ASM position (and neither do I, but I'd like to learn) but it sounds like she is considering making me a lead. That would be a step in the right direction, I think. I'd really like to at the very least right now, have ONE job that I can work close to full time and get benefits so I don't have to worry about medical insurance after the COBRA subsidy runs out in Nov, and so I'm not stretched quite so thin. The rest will fall into place if I can get that part figured out. I really don't want to leave the TDS job, so that's the one I'm focusing on developing into full time right now. That's the plan anyway! It's been a year and a half, and I still never have that "Oh, I do NOT want to go to work today" feeling there. That's gotta count for something, right? Anyway... wish me luck for our next "chat"... I'll need it!
Nicole, I'm sorry about the workplace drama. I think that most people just love drama, no matter where they are it follows them around. Drives me crazy! That's a big reason why I keep to myself a lot, I just don't want other people's drama. Hopefully you can get things worked out with YC, that seems like it would be a good way to keep busy over the holidays.
Lin... tell Connor we can't wait to meet him!!
Amber... Spencer might be disappointed to hear that Emma has a boyfriend back home. Justin is 11 and Miss Emma Rose just can't wait to play with him every time she goes to Grammy's house. She gives him special little snacks and they ride bikes together. Well, she rides near him and he tolerates it, but it makes her happy.

Justin's grandma lives next door to Grammy and is Emma's "honorary grandma," and Justin used to visit a lot in the summer but now moved in so Emma is pretty stoked. I keep telling her he's too old and she needs a nice little blond Florida boy!
Gotta run, it's way too close to morning for comfort. At least my homework is all done - for tomorrow anyway. New rules at work: no personal internet except during the newly-reduced-to-1/2-hour-lunch-break. Poop.