Where to Start....
There is so much going on all at once that it's hard to figure out where to begin. I spent Labor Day weekend visiting Twitchh in the Tri-Cities, WA area. I'll post about that separately (with pictures).
On the Job Front....
The federal government job I interviewed for in July has been offered to someone else, though I have been encouraged to keep checking the website and to definitely apply again. There's still a chance that the security clearance for the new hire will fail and the job will once again be open. (Not holding my breath on that, but it's a chance.) I'm considering learning a foreign language of interest so as to boost my chances of being hired in the future. I don't, however, really need a new thing to do at the moment, as you'll soon see.
Last week I interviewed for a job with the central office in Nashville. I have already worked with the folks involved and when I said I was interested in the position, they said I'd be ideal for the job. A few days later I got a call out of the blue from a different central office person telling me about a different job with her group and asking me if I'd be interested in that position. The first job would mostly be working with vector-borne disease stuff, but also with zoonotic and food-borne diseases. The second job would primarily be as the state's public health informatics coordinator but also working with the viral hepatitis program and other epidemiology projects to fill the time. Both positions will start in October.
Now I'm smack in the middle of a quandary. Do I pick the vector-borne disease job (which is where my academic background is and which I enjoy very much) or do I pick the geeky, techy job (which I also enjoy very much and which is also a huge growth area for future prospects)? The first job is an executive-service position while the second is a civil-service position. Exactly what that means, I do not know, but will have to find out. I think that's a minor detail, however. I get along well with both groups of people and would enjoy working with either of them. I wonder if it would be possible to somehow combine the two positions. The informatics coordinator tasks are not a full-time thing, so the extra would be filled by other responsibilities. I wonder if that extra could be filled by the vector-borne crew.... I'll have to ask that on Monday.
Regardless of which job I pick, the gist of the situation is that I'll be moving to Nashville. Soon. That means getting back on the express train to decluttering, getting the bits and pieces of home repair tied up, tidying up the landscaping, finding an apartment/house to rent, getting moved and getting my house on the market. Fast. I don't think I'll get things squared away with the house before the new job starts, however. I'm expecting to mostly move to Nashville and come back to the house on weekends to continue working on it. There just isn't enough time to get cleaning/painting *and* decluttering/packing done in the short time frame I expect to have.
To help focus my attention/energies on what needs to be done with the house, I'm making a list for each room in it. The list will contain both the cleaning/repair tasks and the decluttering/packing tasks for that room. I'll post the list on or near each room's door so that I can easily see what needs to be done, then check things off as I go. Breaking everything down by room will help keep the whole process from being so overwhelming. It will also let me see everything at once so I can prioritize appropriately.
One of the things trying to avoid thinking about is plants. There are a number of things planted here that I would like to take with me. That will, of course, require having a yard to put them in at the new place. It would be impossible to have irises, blackberries, raspberries, coreopsis and rose of Sharon in an apartment. Some of these are plants I brought with me from Illinois and/or were gifts from friends. I know that the plants aren't my friends, but they're a nice remembrance of them and I'd like to take them along if at all possible.
Of course, at the moment, all I want to do is sit in my comfy chair and drool. I woke up with a headache this morning. What I really need to do is weed whack the lawn, overseed the lawn, move some more trees (and maybe some more iris) and close down the pool. We'll see what actually gets done....
Oh, and to complicate things a wee bit more, while visiting Twitchh last weekend, we each came to the conclusion that we want to live in the same town again. Basically, it's a matter of life's too short to only see your best friend for a couple of days once or twice a year. We fit each other like a favorite old sweatshirt and it's way more fun to be around each other. We put a target deadline of two years from now on this. Either one or both of us will be moving and we're both ok with that. He's chatted with the folks at work about hiring me on and things are progressing there too. I don't know how far that will go, but it's a start.
So, what have you been up to?
On the Job Front....
The federal government job I interviewed for in July has been offered to someone else, though I have been encouraged to keep checking the website and to definitely apply again. There's still a chance that the security clearance for the new hire will fail and the job will once again be open. (Not holding my breath on that, but it's a chance.) I'm considering learning a foreign language of interest so as to boost my chances of being hired in the future. I don't, however, really need a new thing to do at the moment, as you'll soon see.
Last week I interviewed for a job with the central office in Nashville. I have already worked with the folks involved and when I said I was interested in the position, they said I'd be ideal for the job. A few days later I got a call out of the blue from a different central office person telling me about a different job with her group and asking me if I'd be interested in that position. The first job would mostly be working with vector-borne disease stuff, but also with zoonotic and food-borne diseases. The second job would primarily be as the state's public health informatics coordinator but also working with the viral hepatitis program and other epidemiology projects to fill the time. Both positions will start in October.
Now I'm smack in the middle of a quandary. Do I pick the vector-borne disease job (which is where my academic background is and which I enjoy very much) or do I pick the geeky, techy job (which I also enjoy very much and which is also a huge growth area for future prospects)? The first job is an executive-service position while the second is a civil-service position. Exactly what that means, I do not know, but will have to find out. I think that's a minor detail, however. I get along well with both groups of people and would enjoy working with either of them. I wonder if it would be possible to somehow combine the two positions. The informatics coordinator tasks are not a full-time thing, so the extra would be filled by other responsibilities. I wonder if that extra could be filled by the vector-borne crew.... I'll have to ask that on Monday.
Regardless of which job I pick, the gist of the situation is that I'll be moving to Nashville. Soon. That means getting back on the express train to decluttering, getting the bits and pieces of home repair tied up, tidying up the landscaping, finding an apartment/house to rent, getting moved and getting my house on the market. Fast. I don't think I'll get things squared away with the house before the new job starts, however. I'm expecting to mostly move to Nashville and come back to the house on weekends to continue working on it. There just isn't enough time to get cleaning/painting *and* decluttering/packing done in the short time frame I expect to have.
To help focus my attention/energies on what needs to be done with the house, I'm making a list for each room in it. The list will contain both the cleaning/repair tasks and the decluttering/packing tasks for that room. I'll post the list on or near each room's door so that I can easily see what needs to be done, then check things off as I go. Breaking everything down by room will help keep the whole process from being so overwhelming. It will also let me see everything at once so I can prioritize appropriately.
One of the things trying to avoid thinking about is plants. There are a number of things planted here that I would like to take with me. That will, of course, require having a yard to put them in at the new place. It would be impossible to have irises, blackberries, raspberries, coreopsis and rose of Sharon in an apartment. Some of these are plants I brought with me from Illinois and/or were gifts from friends. I know that the plants aren't my friends, but they're a nice remembrance of them and I'd like to take them along if at all possible.
Of course, at the moment, all I want to do is sit in my comfy chair and drool. I woke up with a headache this morning. What I really need to do is weed whack the lawn, overseed the lawn, move some more trees (and maybe some more iris) and close down the pool. We'll see what actually gets done....
Oh, and to complicate things a wee bit more, while visiting Twitchh last weekend, we each came to the conclusion that we want to live in the same town again. Basically, it's a matter of life's too short to only see your best friend for a couple of days once or twice a year. We fit each other like a favorite old sweatshirt and it's way more fun to be around each other. We put a target deadline of two years from now on this. Either one or both of us will be moving and we're both ok with that. He's chatted with the folks at work about hiring me on and things are progressing there too. I don't know how far that will go, but it's a start.
So, what have you been up to?
Comments
I'm going to be in Franklin over T'giving. . .