So all the pieces are finally in place.  Today I got offerred a posititon to produce the 6 & 10 at KODE.  It's basically my old job, but I am more than happy to take it.  It means a job with a paycheck and stuff and it means I get to earn that and still stay in TV.  So it's a win win all the way around.  I didn't get quite the money I wanted out of the deal, but I understand why I got the money I got and maybe things will work out where I can get more money in the future.  So it's a huge relief to finally have that missing piece into place.  I start a week from Monday, but that won't be too bad.  I just have to find things to do until then...which may be easier said than done.  I haven't done so bad the last week or so, but that's because I've been getting settled and back into everything and what not. 

And niow back to where I last left off.  The Wednesday I left...so the night before I ran out of newspaper and couldn't finish packing without it, so I had to get a hole of Sherry and Ortega and ask one of them if they could get some for me.  I did everything I could packing wise before they got there, or should I say before Ortega got there.  I thought it was just going to be a quick drop off and then out, but then she ended up staying for a bit and we talked for about an hour.  Until Chris called to say he was coming overr around 2 to pick up the UHaul so we could start packing it.  Which meant I had to go into rush mode.  I needed to finish packing, finish dishes, clean up, drop off my cable stuff and do some more stuff before Chris showed up.  needless to say not all of that got finished before Chris got there.  But enough that we could start loading the Uhaul.  So the two of us drove to Rio Rancho to pick it up and then went back to my place.  It took forever at the Uhaul place, with getting money straightened out and all that kind of jazz, but we finally got things to work.  Chelsea was already at my house waiting for us...then it was off to the races.  Chelsea had to go to the store to get some cables and bandaids, because I split open my finger.  While she was gone, Chris and I loaded most of my stuff by ourselves.  Which was good, because I had a lot of little stuff that needed to be loaded...and that stuff takes forever.  I ended up loading a lot of that stuff by myself because Chris and Chelsea had to leave to go to dance class, but it was all good.  Micah even came over to pick up the footon.  So that was one less thing for us to load.  Krista came to pick me up and we were going to turn my cable stuff in, but by the time we made it there it was already closed so that didn't work.  So instead we went to Dion's for dinner with Christy.  After dinner, Krista and I went back to my place so I could use her vaccum to clean things up and she took some of the food in my fridge and freezer.  Shortly after Krista left, Chris came over and we left for the airport so we could pick up my dad.  Then it was back to my house for a quiok clean-up and to pick up the cats and then we hit the road...well kind of.  We went over to Chris to get some sleep before we actually ended up hitting the road.  But we only got about 4 hours of sleep or so.

We were up bright and early at 4:30 that next morning....well as bright as 4:30 is.  It was still dark and an adventure to find the interstate, but we did manage to get on the road.  It had snowed in the East Mountains, but the roads were clear.  We stopped in Santa Rosa to eat breakfast at a Denny's.  I dosed off a few times in the car, but finally woke up sometime after breakfast.  Right after we passed through eastern New Mexico we hit freezing rain and ice.  The roads weren't bad, but it was definitely an interesting sight for western Texas.  Then when we got to Amarillo it rained and rained and rained and rained.  So we hit rain, snow, sleet,and sun on our trip....by the time we hit Oklahoma it stopped raining.  I drove from Oklahoma City to home, of course it started raining again outside of Tulsa and rained all the way to Neohso.  Luckily it was nice by the time we got out, so we didn't get wet.  We settled in at Dad's, he went and grabbed us some pizza and we watched some TV, I took a shower and then it was off to bed.  We were tired from our trip.  And we had plenty of time to get things in order.

And on that note, I think Dad wants his computer back and my phone is blowing up so more to come...

On one hand I can't believe I'm going to title this blog this considering this was the song that was played at my best friend Wendy's funeral more than 7 years ago.  But on the other it does totally fit the mood.  So I'm officially back in Missouri, we got here Thursday night around 8 or so.  It actually wasn't too bad of a move and stuff...let me see if I can figure out where I left things off.

I guess last Monday was the last time I blogged and since I didn't really read my last blog there might be some repeats.  But last Monday I did some work around the house and headed over to Jen and Chris' around 3 that afternoon.  I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Jen, Chris and the kids before I moved away....and I had a ton of laundry to do before I left.  And I had to return Jen's book.  So it was a productive visit.  The funny thing about that visit was Tracy brought her new boyfriend over for dinner and stuff and Jen and I traded off tormenting her.  I think I ended up leaving Jen and Chris' before 9ish that night and then went home and started puting my ton of clothes away.  To be honest I can't really remember what else I did that night.  i either called my sister or my sis in law and watched some of the monday night football game.  Other than that it was just a lot of packing and trying to catch up on TV and stuff.

Tuesday was a little more eventful.  I had lunch with Chris from work at 2 that afternoon, before that spent a good time packing and stuff.  After lunch I had a quick errand to run and then went back home and actually took a nap.  I should have done some more packing and stuff, but didn't have the energy or motivation so I took about an hour and a half nap instead.  Then I woke up around 5:30ish or so, so I could go to lunch with Zina at 6ish that night.  I ended up getting to Zina's before she did, but it wasn't that big of a deal...instead I just sat outside her house texting and listening to music and stuff.  After Zina changed clothes then we went to sushi at Sushi King near my house.  We sat around talking and then went back to her house and talked some more.  I think I finally left around 10:30 or so and went home.  And basically went to bed...I was so tired!

anyway, on that note, I'm going to wrap things up for now...Grandma just called for me to come over for breakfast so I'll go do that and then who knows what else.  So peaceout for now! 

So at this point, I've given up trying to catch up on my life.  To be honest there hasn't been too much excitement going on...until the past few days.  So I'm officially pulling out of Albuquerque either late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning and the good-byes have already begun.  

They officially started last Wednesday when I went to go pick up boxes at Brian and June's.  I figured it would be the last time I would see them, so I made sure to say good-bye to them.    I hung around their house for a bit and then afterwards met Christy for dinner at Pei Wei and then the two of us ended up meeting Zina and Krista for dessert at Flying Star.  So needless to say I didn't get much sleep on Wednesday, my plan was to sleep during the day, but Kate ended up moving out that afternoon so there was no way I could sleep that afternoon.  So I ended up taking like a 2 hour nap during the day and then a 2 hour nap when I got home from Flying Star. 

Needless to say, I wasnt that tired at work the next day...but tired enough to go home from work and go to bed.  Which was good, because I went over to Jen and Chris' for dinner and laundry and then wanted to go to the Bridge to say good-bye to everyone.  Unfortunatly, I didn't quite make it to the Bridge as early as I wanted to that day but I did make it before the night was over.  Saying good-bye was also a little awkward.  Louie didn't make any announcements or anything...I tried to say good-bye to everyone, but a lot of people I didn't know and I got caught up talking to Doug so it was hard to move on and talk to anyone else.  I also had a few more chances to make it say good-bye to people so I wasn't totally worried about not getting to say good-bye to everyone.

For a second I didn't think I really had to say good-bye to anyone, but there were the people from the station I wouldn't be seeing the next day or again.  Like Jamie, she actually wished me good luck and hugged me good-bye.  And I got to say good-bye to Bob, Terry, Reed, Sandy and a few other people at the station.  Then after work I went home and packed and watch some TV and actually got around to watching "Pulp Fiction."  Celisa was mordified that I had never seen it before, so she let me borrow it.  And I told her I would watch it before I left...so I had to watch it Friday afternoon so I could take Celisa her movie back Saturday morning.

Saturday was my last day at work.  And all my co-workers threw me this awesome little party!  Shar and Steph bought me a cupcake cake.  Celisa brought chips and salsa, some of the other production folks brought fruit, Val made me muffins.  It was a nice little sendoff.  It was also very sweet that during the show, Val and Shar said good-bye to me on air.  After the show, the hugs and stuff began.  I was happy to say that I didn't cry or anything after I said good-bye.  I ended up sticking around the station for about 2 hours or so and hung out with Steph.  I left the station around 10:30ish that morning, only because I had plans with Krista at 11.  Luckily, she was running late so it gave me some time to get home and get things under control.  Krista and I originally planned to meet Jenny and some other people at the zoo for Jenny's birthday, but Jenny ended up running late and both me and Krista had other plans that afternoon so we left early.  We met Christy for lunch a little after 1 that afternoon and then parted ways.  I had some time to take a quick nap before dinner that night.  Sherry and Patrick picked me up a little after 6, unfortunatly I wasn't completely ready, but it didn't take too long to get ready...and then we were on our way.  We went to Japanese Kitchen for dinner...it was me, Sherry, Patrick, Krista, Eric, Ortega and Andres.  I had never been to Japanese Kitchen before, but it was a pretty cool setup.  It was one of those restaurants where they cook the food at your table, which was entertaining and the food was really good.  Then after dinner, sherry, Patrick and I went to Sandia for drinks.  At first it was just the three of us...but then people started showing up.  Celisa and Chris, Bernie, Austin, Phill, Isias, Val, Ortega, Luis, Kayla and her honey, Cal...to be honest I don't remember who was all there because everyone got me really drunk.  If that partying wasn't enough we went to Chris' afterwards for more drinks.  Ortega finally took me home around 3:30ish.  And I don't remember much about the night...like I said I got pretty drunk.

And man, did I pay the price on Sunday.  I was suppose to be at church around 8:30, but I slept through my alarm and didn't make it.  And then the hangover began!  It was one of only 3 times in my life that I've ever thrown up after drinking.  At first it was one of those things I was going to throw up to feel better and then it just kept coming.  In fact I was still throwing up around 4:30ish that afternoon.  Ortega showed up at my house around 1ish that afternoon and we talked for a bit, during the middle of our conversation I had to get up to go throw up.  While i was throwing up, Chris and Chelsea showed up at my house to pick me up because we had plans that afternoon.  But somehow I managed to get up, take a shower and make it out of the house with Chris and Chelsea.  They took me to the movies and we saw "GI Joe".  The movie was good, though a little off the cartoons, so I was a little disappoited but I still liked it.  After the movie we had "reservations" for dinner at 5:30, but they wouldn't tell me where we were going.  And I wasn't really paying attention to where we were going, until we pulled into Chris' driveway.  He said we were just stopping to get something so I was going to stay in the car, but apparently that wasn't an option.  It wasn't an option, because they threw me a surprise going away party.  It was such a surprise and so sweet!  I just wish I wouldn't have been so hungover for my own party.  But it was still very nice, Krista, micah, scott, Jason and Katie and Hollis were all there.  And Chris cooked for us.   So we all had some foodage and then sat around and talked before we all had to go our separate ways.  When i got home I basically went to bed...I was so tired and trying to work off a hangover.

I was in bed asleep by 9:30 last night and didn't get up until 10:45 this morning.  I did have a few interruptions along the way...my brother and Susie called me at 11:30, I got a test message from Kristen Garcia at 6, Chris from work texted me at 7 and Victoria Secret's called me at 7:30.  Once I did get up I did some stuff around the house and then left around 3 in the afternoon...I went to go hang out with Jen and Chris one last time and wanted to stay for as long as i could.  Before the kids had to go to bed.  I think I left around 8:30ish and then came back home and packed some more and did some more stuff around my apartment.  And here I am, getting tired and ready to wrap things up.  So that's what I'm going to do...peace out until next time!

So I'm struggling a little bit this morning, I am so tired...but I have no one to blame but myself.  I didn't really get any sleep yesterday, Kate was moving out so there was a lot of noise going on in our apartment.  But that wasn't the only thing that kept me awake, when I actually had the chance to go to sleep, I didn't, first I went to Brian and June's to pick up some boxes and say good-bye and then Christy called and asked me if I wanted to meet for dinner.  then dinner turned into meeting Zina and Krista for dessert...by the time I made it home it was after 9:30 and I had to wake up at midnight.  so you do the math and you realize how much sleep I actually got. 

Speaking of sleep, it takes me back to where I last left off...October 4th, the first Sunday of balloon fiesta.  I didn't have to work that morning, but I did have to get up early and go to church to teach the 2nd graders for the 8:45 service...at least that was the plan.  For some reason I woke up around 5 or 5:30 that morning and since I knew the news was on, I turned on my tv and went back to sleep.  Not knowing that I had set my alarm clock for 7 pm instead of 7 am, I didn't realize my mistake until I woke up and heard Nicole say "that wraps up our coverage at balloon fiesta park," that's when I looked at my alarm clock and saw 8:35.  even if I would have woke up and left for church that minute I still would not have made it in time for the 8:45 service, so I texted Hollis telling him I wouldn't be there.  At that point I figured I had time so I just rolled over and went back to sleep and would just go to a later service, I didn't set my alarm because I figured I could just get up on time.  I didn't wake up again until I got a text message from Chris at 10 saying he was running late for church and could I save him a seat...again even if I got up and left at that point, I wouldn't make it in time for the service.  So I went back to sleep...and didn't wake up until 1:45 that afternoon.  I missed church, I missed bible study at Zina's, I missed everything.  I literally woke up, grabbed some lunch and sat and watched football.  And didn't do anything else for the rest of the day, I was even so tired I went to bed early that night.

And spent most of the day Monday, sleeping as well.  It's the price we pay for staying awake so long. 

tuesday I went into work as normal, and apparently missed an exciting day on Monday.  It was a pretty windy day in Albuquerque which caused a lot of hard landings and other chaos at balloon fiesta park.  Including an incident where a balloon clipped a tent, tipping the basket and one of the riders fell out.  Tuesday wasn't that exciting...at least not while I was there.  I no sooner left the station saying I better get out while I still can, about 5 minutes after I left the station all hell broke lose and all these balloons started clipping homes, making hard landings and other things like that.  So again I missed a series of exciting events at the station.

Wednesday I wasn't quite so lucky.  It was kind of a dreary and raining day, which always spells trouble around New Mexico...and it did.  A car hit a guardrail on the interstate, killing the driver and shutting down traffic for several hours.  Chopper was already up getting us shots of balloon fiesta, so we sent it to the crash and did cut-ins live almost all morning.  The interesting thing was Val was anchoring that morning and had never done breaking news for cut-ins before, but we easily made it through and everything was kosher. 

As for everything else for the week, I don't really remember.  I'm pretty sure I went to Jen and Chris that Thursday night and I'm pretty sure I met with Christy and Krista on Wednesday night.  I say that because my weeks become very routine and very mundane and that's just the way it is.  I also say that, because honestly I don't remember much.  Part of that because that was more than 2 weeks ago and part of that is because for some reason Phill and I decided to have a really indepth conversation at work and now my brain is going in a million different directions. 

And on that note, I actually have some work to do so i'm going to wrap things up, do some work and catch up again another time. 

Apparently it's suppose to snow today in New Mexico, not in albuquerque, but in New Mexico.  which means people are going crazy around here, because weather never happens here.  Luckily it's been almost 80 all week so the snow and stuff isn't really going to stick.  Which is good, because I absolutely hate winter and hate snow and hate all that stuff...I always say I moved to New Mexico for a reason and it was to get away from all that stuff.

so the title of my blog is a little misleading, when I moved to new mexico last year it was just as balloon fiesta was starting.  Which meant that i didn't have to work balloon fiesta, but i did get to go and enjoy it.  I went with Chris, Tater and dominic to see mass ascension and that's where I ended up meeting Brian, June and the kids.  The only thing I had to really work for last year's balloon fiesta, I had to log some video for the Friday before the first mass ascension and then I produced cut-ins...which weren't bad, except the very last Friday of balloon fiesta when a ballon hit a power line and blew up....killing one person and critically injuring another.  It was crazy and out of control, but it was a good learning experience and good way to get thrown into the fire.  This year I got to enjoy balloon fiesta (kind of) and worked balloon fiesta.  But before I get to all that, there are a few things first....

Friday october 2nd is the unofficial kickoff to balloon fiesta, several dozen ballons go to schools around albuquerque and rio rancho and launch for the kids.  Unfortunatly that was overshadowed because a young rio rancho girl died of the swine flu.  So we spent a good part of our coverage and our morning following that.  other than that it was a pretty boring morning and a pretty boring day.  After work was over I went home and pretty much went to bed, because I planned to go to June's that night for quilting.  June has been helping me make a t-shirt quilt, while there's no way I'll finish it before I move, I would like to have a good idea what I'm doing before I leave.  I got over there a little before 6 and didn't leave until around 9ish or so.  as I was getting ready to leave I got a text message from Andrew saying he and his girlfriend were coming into town for balloon fiesta and wanted to know if we wanted to hang out.  That text message turned into a phone call and making plans to hang out on Saturday once I got off work.  Before any of that could happen I went home and took a quick nap before going into work.

Work was definitely interesting...usually on Saturday mornings it's just me from 1 am until 4 and then paul comes into edit, production comes in from 5 to 6 and then Shar and Val come in around 7.  But because it was balloon fiesta, there were a lot more people working and coming in earlier than normal.  By the time I got to the station, Kenny was already there, blaise was still at the station because he shot a story about a balloon tank that blew up.  he left around 1:30ish, then Rick came in around 2:30 to edit the show.  I'm not sure what time production came in, but Val, Shar and Eric came in around 4 am and jamie and Mike anderson got in around 3:30 with food.  so even though there were a ton of people at the station there was food.  Overall balloon fiesta wasn't that bad.  Basically from 5 to 7 I went back and forth between the booth and the newsroom doing different stuff for Kenny.  Once 7 came then I sat in the booth until 9 giving chopper instructions and making sure Bess had everything she needed for the live show.  Our balloon fiesta coverage ended around 9, but I had to stick around the station until all the balloons landed...making sure none of them exploded in a fiery ball of death, as Valerie Castro so graciously put it.  Everyone landed fine, but I didn't end up leaving the station until 10:30...we got the okay to leave shortly after 10 but just about the time to leave the phones at the station started blowing up and Kenny and i stuck around for a few minutes helping Steph answer phones.  when I finally left the station I texted Andrew so we could meet up and hang out, but he was at balloon fiesta park so it was going to be a bit.  Once he and Kristen, his new girlfriend, made it back to their hotel, I met them and started showing them around Albuquerque.  We went to Tucanos for lunch, which apparently made the entire trip worth it.  We ate so much that we walked around downtown for a little bit, but downtown wasn't as exciting as andrew and Kristen thought it would be so we went to Coronado mall to walk around.  once we walked around the entire mall it was getting close to time for andrew and Kristen to head back to balloon fiesta park for the balloon glow, by that point I decided I would just stay up and hang out with them as long as I could so I went with them to balloon fiesta park for the balloon glow.  We got there pretty early, parked and walked into the park...once inside the park we walked around some more and waited for the balloon glow...we even went into the beer garden for a drink.  Unfortunatly, it was really windy so the balloon glow got cancelled....but we did get to see the fireworks.  I think we left balloon fiesta park around 8ish and then went to Fudruckers for dinner.  By the time we were all finished it was around 9 or so...that's when I dropped them off at their hotel and headed home.  By the time I went home and went to bed I had been awake for 20 straight hours and I was exhausted! 

and that's it for now, I have to get back to work...I'll update more later!  At this point I'm only 3 weeks or so behind!

So this could be a fairly short blog, because I have to start producing cut-ins at 6 AM...I'm getting a little bit of a break because I have to train Josh.  So it gives me a few minutes to catch up on some stuff.

so the interesting thing is I'm all caught up to the point of where I got suspended from work.  The "weekend" I got suspended I ended up going on a drinking binge...not a bad one, but I figured since I had the time I would make the most of things.  In my last blog I talked about meeting Ortega and Chris at Fox and Hound for Chelsea's last day and then went to work.  Saturday after work, we didn't have Women's Warriors so I went home from work and went to sleep.  And slept until about 6 pm or so and then went to Amy and Hollis' for a scrapbooking event at Amy's.  That lasted until around 10 or so and then Micah and I went to Boston's for some dinner and drinks.  Ortega ended up meeting us out and after the 3 of us ate we decided to go to Graham's Central Station for some more drinking and dancing.  I had never been to Granham's Central Station before and actually I found it not that bad.  It looks kind of ghetto and three are some pretty ghetto people that go there, but for the most part it's a pretty cool set up.  there are several different rooms all with different themes...there's a hip hop room that has a Miami beach theme, then there's a cowboy country theme room and apparently there's a 70's disco theme room though I never saw that one.  But the three of us stayed until it closed and then I took the two of them back to their cars at Bostons and we all parted ways.  Which meant I didn't get to bed until around 2 or so...and I had to get up at 7 that morning to go to church and teach my second grade class.

amazing I wasn't that tired at church, not only did I manage to make it up and teach my kiddos and make it to the 10:15 service...but after church I went with Chris, Chelsea, Fred and Hollis and his family to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  The interesting thing was Chelsea was the one who wanted to go to Cracker Barrel and ended up leaving early because she had some school thing to go to.  Fred also left a little early, but the rest of us sat around and talked for a little bit.  Chris and I even stood out in the parking lot for a little before it got too hot for us to stand out there.  From Cracker Barrel I went home and started watching some football and just being at home.  The good thing was the Colts had the Sunday night game, so I sat in my chair and drank beer and watched football.  Of course the Colts beat up on the Cardinals so all in all it was a very good night.

Monday I sat around my house catching up on some TIVO and packing some boxes and stuff like that.  Dallas had the Monday night game that night, so I invited Chris and Chelsea over to my place to watch the game.  The cool thing was Chris made dinner.  Chelsea got to my place first, so us girls sat around and talked until Chris made it.  Once Chris got there he went to work making dinner and then we sat down and watched some football...and drank some beer.  the good thing was the Cowboys actually won, so Chris was happy.  Chelsea ended up leaving before the game was over, but Chris stayed and then once the game was over he left.  Once they left, I stayed up a little bit longer watching some more TV and drank some more beer.

Tuesday was a lot more of the same deal.  I slept in, then sat around my house catching up on TV and packing some more boxes.  since there was no football game that night I went over to Jen and Chris' house for some dinner and laundry.  And since I didn't have to rush home and go to bed or get ready for work, I went home watched some TV and finished off the beer that was in my fridge.  Or drank wine that was in my fridge...I guess it doesn't really matter, the moral of the story was I went home and drank some more. 

The idea was to drink enough that I stayed up pretty late and then slept all day on Wednesday.  Which pretty much was what I did.  I did have to go back to work on Thursday, so i spent a good part of my Wednesday sleeping...but also watched some more TV and did some more packing.  I have to say it kind of sucked getting suspended, especially from a paycheck standard and because I really don't like getting in trouble.  But it was kind of nice to sleep in, to drink and not worry about things, to catch up on all my TV shows I hadn't seen in a while and to start the packing process.  So while it was rough not working and getting punished and stuff like that, I tried to make the most of things.

I certainly felt refreshed going back to work on Thursday...which was a good thing since Balloon Fiesta was kicking off that weekend which meant a long day, a lot of work and a lot of time working in a row.  I don't really remember much about Thursday, except I didn't go to the Bridge that night.  I think that was the Thursday we decided to have Women's Warriors before the Bridge because we couldn't meet on Saturday because of Balloon Fiesta.  if that was the case, then it was my night to teach...which meant we got to enjoy M&M's and it was very interactive.  The reason I didn't go to the Bridge that night was 1) I didn't really sleep too well that day so I wanted to get some more sleep before work and 2) I ended up telling the group and some people from the Bridge that I was moving, which made me a little emotional and I didn't want to cry in front of everyone so I left. 

And on that note, time for me to get back to work...

I had planned to do a blog with this title on Sunday, but I got a little more intoxicated than I planned and ended up going home drinking some beer and watching football...so I didn't.  But I am really excited about this blog title, because on sunday on my way home from having dinner with Cheryl and Manuel my car reached the 100,000 mile mark...and it's only 5 years old.  It's from all those trips back and forth from Nebraska to Missouri.  The great thing about all this is my car is still in great shape!  Since I've had it, and I think I got it when the car was about 6 months old, I've had to get 6 new tires...4 of those about a month ago...and had to get something on the bottom of my car fixed.  Other than that, I've really had no problems with it.  It's actually a really really good car and am happy I got it.  I was a little worried for it to hit 100,000 miles, but that transition went well and I'm not driving my car back to Missouri so all things will go well.

the one thing I left out from Friday the 18th was I ended up going out that night with Chris to Fox and Hound...we went to dinner and had a beer or something and then I ended up going home afterwards and taking a quick nap before getting up and going to work.

Even with that nap, I was pretty tired at work...but that's usually a given for a Saturday morning.  The good thing was (at least as far as I can remember) I was able to go home and go back to bed.  I think that was the day we ended up cancelling Women's Warriors because it ended up being just me and Krista and we didn't see much point to that.  So I got extra sleeping time.  Other than that, I don't remember doing much else Saturday night.

Sunday the 20th I spent a lot of the day watching football.  I think I actually got up and went to church and taught Sunday School and stuff (this is why I need to do a better job of blogging regularly).  then after church I ended up going over to Jen and Chris' to do laundry.  Chris wasn't there when I got there, because she was playing in a bowling tournament so it was just me, Jen and the kids hanging out.  The funny thing was when I went to the refrigerator to get a drink and noticed they had leftover KFC in the fridge, so I asked Jen if I could have some.  So i grabbed some cold chicken and sat on the couch eating it, which motivated jen and tater to do the same...which was very missouri of us, eating cold chicken and watching football.  for dinner that night, Jen and Chris decided for snack night.  So we all went to Wal-Mart and basically grabbed whatever we wanted for dinner and we could eat it whenever we wanted.  I grabbed frozen pizza, that I shared with Jen and started eating it around 4 or 4:30 that afternoon.  Part of it was because I hadn't really had lunch that day, well minus the cold chicken, and because I was going over to Chris' that night to watch the Cowboys game.  I had to be at Chris' by 6 that night, so I had to book it to make it back to my place, grab some stuff, drop off my laundry, swing by the store and make it over to Chris' and he lives in the Northeast Heights.  so i didn't quite make it there by 6, but I did make it before kickoff and I was the first one there.  Once the game started chaos began, but in a good way.  Chris had a ton of snacks and even made green chile stew.  His big goal was to make me actually like green chile, and I did like his green chile stew, but I can't say I like it outside of that I will ever like green chile.  Chris is also an avid Cowboys fan and really got into the game and it didn't help that the Cowboys lost.  But it was certainly entertaining.  Once the game was over we all went our separate ways and i went home and watched some TV before going to bed.

My Monday's are usually spent sleeping, sitting around watching TV and basically doing nothing.  and that Monday was no different.  So there's really nothing to talk about there...and in fact as far as I can remember I don't really have anything to talk about until Friday the 25th.  All I remember from that week was I spent a lot of time talking to Jamie about work and trying to get things worked out for me to leave.  I did find out in that week that my last day at the station would be October 24th.  I also got an interesting call that week from Mark Baumert, because he heard that I was leaving New Mexico and wanted to offer me a job in Nebraska.  He called me on a Wednesday or thursday or something like that and gave me until Monday to decide what I was going to do.  I guess you can figure I did turn the job down, not because I wasn't flattered with the offer or because I didn't want to go back to Nebraska...but I basically turned down the offer because I think the best thing for me right now is to be back home in Missouri close to my family, even if I don't have a job.  So that's the path I'm taking right now.  But I told Mark that just because I'm saying no now, doesn't mean I plan on saying no in the future because I honestly don't know what's going to happen.

But enough about that...like I said, I didn't really do anything exciting until the 25th.  kristen was out of town that weekend, so Ortega asked me if I wanted to go out.  She and I met Chris at Fox and Hound since it was Chelsey's last night.  we all had dinner and grabbed a few drinks.  I got this massive margarita that was the drink special that night and I think I also had a beer and really I didn't feel a thing.  i even went straight from hanging out with them at Fox and Hound to going to work. 

And on that note, I need to get back to work...at least I'm getting closer to getting caught up :)

so I'm still looking for a job back home.  I only have 7 working days left and then move in 13 days, or something like that.  Everyday i check the job search websites and really haven't found anything positive.  I was planning on sending a tape to a station in Fayetteville, Arkansas but of course I forgot the paper with all the information on it back at home and ortega can't find the listing on TVJobs.com this morning.  I did just search the stations in Fayetteville this morning and found an opening for an associate producer at the ABC affiliate, but for some reason I don't think that's the original job I was looking at.  So I guess it doesn't really hurt to apply for it or anything.  The good thing is I'm going to have Chris copy me a tape today and then I'll start sending stuff out.  I want at least 2 copies, one to send out and one for back-up in case nothing pans out and I want to send out stuff later.  Other than that I don't really have any leads on a job or anything.  I've been filling out applications and stuff online, but haven't heard anything back from any of them.  I guess I'm just going to have to wait until I move back and then hit the ground running looking for stuff.  The thing that I've found is so strange about things is I've worked in television for the past 6 years and don't really know what else to do or even to apply for.  The other problem I've run into is I don't have much experience working in retail or food service because I was fortunate enough to work in media most of my college and adult life.  The last time I did something other than media was in high school when I worked at McDonald's part time...and that was almost 10 years ago.  So I'm hoping and praying something works out in TV for Jolin or even Fayetteville at this point. 

As for the rest of my vacation to Missouri...on Wednesday the 16th I actually spent a lot of time at the station.  I wanted to go back to talk to Jim and Leisha about some stuff as I started thinking about what I should do.  and even though I really didn't get a definite answer, I still decided to move forward with moving back home.  The other big news of the 16th was David and Becky found out they were having a girl, so now I have 2 nieces on the way.  and the only other highlight of that day was we went to neosho to see Dad because he decided to buy and ipod and Jimmy and I had to help him with that.  But at least he bought us dinner out of the deal.  And then we went back to Jimmy and Susie's and played some video games and stuff.  Actually to be honest I can't remember if we went to help Dad on Wednesday night or Tuesday night...it might have been Tuesday night, because I think Becky and David ended up staying for a while and we all watched "Duck Tales the Movie". I know Becky and David came over on Wednesday, because I remember that was Becky's doctor's appointment....but otherwise I don't remember much.  This is what happens when I don't blog for almost a month.

I do remember that Thursday the 17th was the day I went back to Albuquerque.  susie wanted Grandma to take me to the airport, but Grandma couldn't so she gave Susie the money to take me.   And I made it in plenty of time to catch my flight, which took me to a connecting flight in Denver.  I hate the Denver airport, I always have the worst experiences there...but actually this time it wasn't that bad.  I can say it may be the only time I had an enjoyable experience at the Denver airport.  And I made it back to Albuquerque okay.  Except when I got here it was sooooo cold, apparently it had rained almost the entire time And of course I was wearing capri pants and a tank top...and it didn't help that Jen was running a little late so I had to wait outside for her.  the good thing is once she did come and pick me up and I picked up my car at the station I basically went home and went to bed. 

Friday it was back to work and really the beginning of change for me.  After I made it through the day I had to meet Kenny in his office to talk to him about my suspension and that's when I asked him about getting out of my contract.  He told me I had to make a formal request to Jamie, which I did and decided to ask for 30 days.  He called me later that afternoon to tell me she approved my request, but still had to work out some logistics.  He just didn't want me to flip out if I saw my job posted on the website.  and that's how things got started...and on that note, it's time for me to get started working, so I'll wrap things up there and pick things up again later!

As of today I have 2 weeks left in New Mexico.  My last day at the station will be the 24th and then Dad is flying in on the 28th and we're either leaving that night or the next day.  I still have some stuff to do, but I'm making progress.  Like today, I need to get rolling getting my gas, electric and cable turned off.  I also need to get my address changed and then there's the whole packing thing.  My whole packing a box a day routine is actually going well.  I have a little bit of stuff in every room packed so far, all of my decorations and stuff like that.  Yesterday I started packing my drinking glasses, so there's no way I can have any wild parties or anything before I leave.  I'm still looking for a job, but sooner or later that will come together.  Now back to catching things up...

On Tuesday the 15th I had plans to go play tennis with Larry, so I left to go to the station after Susie got finished dropping Jimmy off at work.  While I was waiting for Larry to get finished with the noon show I went into Jim's office and talked to him about some stuff.  By the time I finished with that and talked to some other people around the station the noon show was finished.  Before we could go play tennis Larry had to go and drop someone off at home, so I stuck around the station a little bit and then met Larry at Cunningham Park.  And apparently I came out firing that day.  Our first game was good and I don't want to say it went all down here from there, because I did actually beat Larry in one game but I think because I came out hammering the first match it forced to Larry to step up his game so it was a lot harder to beat him from then on.  then after we played for about an hour or so we decided to go to Taco Bell for lunch.  We hung out at lunch for a little while before we both had to go our own way.  From lunch I went back to Jimmy and Susie's and hung out.  Later that night Andy came over to hand out and we all decided to rent "Wolverine", but I ended up falling asleep on the couch.  We also watched some other things on TV, but really didn't do much but hang out.

And on that note, I have to get back to work.  So we'll have to see how the rest of the day goes...

So one of the things I love about my shift is the fact that I can eat the most obsurd things at the most obsurd times and get away with it.  For instance, right now it's 6 in the morning and I am sitting at my desk eating M&Ms.  So I guess I should enjoy this nonsense while I still can.  As far as everything else is concerned, the clock is ticking for me to go home...15 days and counting at this point...and I still don't have a job.  but I'm still looking and still sending out my resume for stuff.  So I'm definitely hopeful that something will work out.  It just may take some time and stuff.   Now to catch things up...

September 14th:  That was the Monday after I got back from St. Louis and the day after game night.   Like any other time I go to Jimmy and Susie's I woke up nice and early, thanks to Laurah.  But luckily it wasn't too bad of a day.  Susie and I spent a lot of time just hanging out at the house.  It also happened to be Laurah's birthday, so we decided that as soon as Jimmy got off work we would take Laurah out for her birthday.  We were going to take her to Chuckie Cheese, but by the time would have made it there it would have been closed.  So instead we went to CiCi's pizza...and we made it there about 45 to 30 minutes before it closed.  and we were the only ones there.  So we got whatever we wanted and we even got to take some leftovers home.  They basically gave us a box and said we could take home whatever we could fit in the box.  So we had plenty to eat for a few days.  The other thing that was pretty cool was the Monday night game was on and the employees were all standing around watching it and we got to watch the game with them.  and since it was the first Monday night game of the year, it was a double header.  So we watched the New England/Buffalo game at the restaurant and then went back to Jimmy and Susie's to watch the San Diego/Oakland game.  Laurah was even excited to watch football.  But that was about all the excitement there was.  The girls went to bed and we finished watching the game and then we went to bed after a while.  So it was a nice boring day. 

And on that note, I have some work to do at the station so i have to wrap things up, but I might try and get back on later to blog more...we'll see :)