Throwin' you a bone

It's been a little while. (Anyone surprised?) So I thought I'd throw you a bone. Or 15.

15 Random Rachel Facts

·      I wish I could be BFFs with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. We would have some crazy awesome times and laugh all day. (dreamed about Tina Fey last night, and we hit it off. Yeah, we would totally be buds)

·      I’ve known that I was going to marry my husband since I was 16, but I didn’t admit it to myself until 18, and I didn’t admit it to the world until 19 (and I didn’t get married until 21, so I think I did a dang good job ‘waiting’).

·      I also wish I could be/could have been/could ever be BFFs with Anne, from Anne of Green Gables; though she was fictional, she was amazing.

·      I have always liked/loved the color yellow, unlike most people today, who like yellow because it is trendy, and I hate trends. I will dislike something just because it is trendy, even if I secretly like it.

·      I love to do “domestic” things, like cook/bake, sew, knit, and almost anything with pretty fabrics. I’m starting to think I like fabrics better than the crafts or things I make with the fabrics.

·      I would love to own a teacup pig someday

·      I miss my husband every moment he is away from me.

·      I recently got into a sub-category of fiction, about knitting. I call it Knit-Lit.

·      Pet Peeve: I think it’s stupid when people who used to be roommates still call each other Roomie. All. The. Time. Hellooooo, you’re not roomies anymore, you’re just regular friends. Use other names.

·      Another random genre of books I like, of which I can’t think of a clever title, are books that incorporate recipes into every chapter. One I really liked is called “The Gastronomy of Marriage.” Just bought another such-like book at the close out sale at Border’s called Edible Stories

·      I spend more time thinking about and planning new crafts to do and wanting to buy more materials at the craft store than I do actually crafting. I need to change that.

·      I wrote in a journal at least once a week, if not every day, from the ages 15-18. It helped with my teenage angst quite a bit, and being in the habit of writing helped develop my poetry too. When I got to college I gradually stopped journaling, but for the last few months I’ve started up again, and it feels good. Journaling is my version of therapy.

·      Another pet peeve: utensils scraping on plates. Not just the normal diner clatter you hear in movies, but the awful, I just wanna tear me ears off scraping. It’s worse than nails on a chalkboard for me.

·      I have an obsession with aprons. I’m now up to 4; 2 long, 2 little waist aprons. And I sewed my very first little waist apron for my new sister-in-law this summer, blog post to come (so I say!).

·      A few things I hold true:

o    I believe that feel-good music should be blasted from car sterios, not rap or heavy metal

o    I believe that my grandma and I are kindred spirits; I think she is brave, and I admire her

o    I believe that I am connected in some way to my future children; to me, they are tangible, though they do not yet physically exist. I love them, and I feel that when I meet them, a piece of my heart will become complete

My Recent Absence

My Recent Absence

When I created my blog, I envisioned myself being a good blogger. Updating weekly, taking step-by-step pictures of every project, using clever phrasings to draw the reader in. Obviously I have sorely failed. But on a good note, it’s because I was busy living life! This past year has seen me through my first ever full time job, and that really took it out of me. Being a full time student was busy and stressful, but being a working woman was a whole different ballgame. After working all day, I seldom had the energy to do more than park it on the couch.

But when I did get off the couch…

-I worked 40, sometimes 45, hours a week at my job (see the previous post). I’m very proud of what I accomplished for Tulsa Transit. It was a blessing to be there, and a very good first job for me.

-I spent time with my friends! I love being a hostess.

-I cooked and created recipes. Which my husband happily ate.

-I got a baby guinea pig who died within 5 days from a sad small animal disease called Pasturella. A few weeks later I ‘adopted’ a friend’s guinea pig, who is still with me. I call her my garbage disposal, because she eats all of the peels and clippings of my fruits and veggies.

Say 'hi' Miss Gwinny!

-I inherited some gorgeous fabrics from my grandma (still living) and designed some fun hair clips. Soon(ish) I will start selling them on etsy.com. Stay tuned!

-I took up knitting. I have proudly completed 1 and ¾ scarves so far.

-I survived the Tulsa Blizzard of 2011. And when everyone else was getting wonderfully lazy days off work, I was being picked up by the company caravan to spend all day on the phone carefully explaining why snow in the streets keeps the buses from running regularly. (uh, duh?)

-I spent 80 hours in a small car with my in-laws. And I still love them!

-I joined a wonderful ladies’ bible study where we used John Ortberg’s small group study books. We had a blast and learned a lot.

-I taught 2 precious girls piano lessons in their homes on Sunday afternoons.

-I dragged my grandma’s (ancient!) bicycle from Fort Worth to Tulsa in my little car and took all of 3 rides before I let it slowly rust and gave it away at the Dumpster Free-for-all.

-My husband and I cancelled our cable in hopes that it would give us more free time for our hobbies. In addition to that, it gave us more free time to become addicted to Netflix.

And MOST recently:

-I resigned from my job at Tulsa Transit because…

-Schuyler graduated from ORU, Suma Cum Laude(!) on April 30^th, our lease was up May 1^st, and we packed up and moved back to our hometown of Fort Worth.

Proud wifey, that's me!

-We’ve been here about 6 weeks now, and it has been so great being with all of our family again.

So, I’ve started a brand new chapter in my life. Left behind some precious people in Tulsa that I am really missing. Looking forward to what’s in store, but not quite sure what that will mean. And I can’t make any promises, but I plan on being a better blogger this time around! In my current jobless state, I have actually had time for my hobbies. I’ve started a small shade garden, baked (too much!) and sewed my first apron. Stay tuned for posts with pictures of those endeavors.

My New Job!

Only 2 posts in, and I've already been a neglectful blogger. But, I have a good reason - I have a new job! I was hired by the Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority on July 29th 2010. May that day ever go down in history. Prior to that date, I was an unemployed unhappy bum, searching desperately for ANY job. I had something lined up for myself after graduation that fell through 2 weeks after I started it. Long story short - I was thrown into the job search completely unprepared and unaware of how hard it is to find a job these days. If you have a job, be thankful. If you don't have a job, keep praying and search, your time will come!

So here's the job title (deep breath): Bilingual Call Center Customer Service Representative and Hispanic Community Liaison. (exhale) Basically, it's 2 jobs in one. I work in the Tulsa Transit call center, as a customer service rep, but I'm also bilingual. (Para espanol, oprima el numbero 2 - that's me!) AND I'm the Hispanic Community Liaison, which is the most exciting thing to me. They're starting a new program of outreach to the Hispanic community, which involves spreading more awareness about our services to the Hispanic community, and teaching people how to use the buses to their advantage. In the last 3 weeks, I've been attending meetings with business people who are connected to the Hispanic community. Everyone has been so excited about what Tulsa Transit can do for that community. I've been helping to translate some of our informative literature into Spanish. I've also been manning a booth for the last several weeks at the Admiral Flea market. It's been great to get out into the Hispanic community, speak some Spanish with people, meet new contacts, and find out ways that the company I work for can enrich the lives of Hispanic people in Tulsa.

Not sure if it sounds cool or interesting to any of you, but it's been great for me! It's my first full time job - I call it my "I'm-a-big-kid-now" job. My co-workers are pretty cool, for the most part. They've been very helpful to me with my myriad of questions. I feel like my brain has been completely stuffed full of information since I started the job. One of the fun things I get to do is use a walkie-talkie and say "10-4." But that's just a side note.

I wanted to share some of the funny and interesting conversations I've had on the phones. A lot of the time, I'm on the phones answering calls (alllllll dayyyyyy). Half the calls are from people who use the city buses, with questions about what bus to take from Point A to Point B, what time the bus they want arrives, etc. The other half of the calls are to schedule appointments with our Lift Program. That's our paratransit service; it's a curb-to-curb rideshare for mentally and/or physically disabled individuals. We schedule their trips in the computer system. I've been making a list of some of the things people have called me, some sweet, some weird. I've been called baby, sweetie, honey, sugar, any other term of endearment. Some of them are great, from the elderly ladies scheduling their trips to the doctor and to Walmart. Some of them are from smarmy guys who think that my sweet voice is an invitation for come ons. I have to mute the phone to go "gaaahhhhh!!! Grossgrossgross!" And then politely, "Ok, sir, well you have a nice day now buhbye." I've also had a guy tell me I'm just a white woman who doesn't know how to communicate with black people. I'll have him know that a black man the day before thought I was such a good communicator that he was moved to ask me if I had a boyfriend. In your face.

I know I'm getting totally wordy here, and any readership I had before has now fallen off, but anyway - that's my job, in a really big, weird nutshell. I'll keep you posted - today I went to a luncheon put on by the Greater Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and came in contact with a woman who is going to do a televised interview with me this coming Monday! The show is called Temas en Tulsa, which means Topics (or Subjects/themes) in Tulsa. I'm soooo excited and nervous! Not sure what channel it comes on yet. For everyone who prayed for me and encouraged me during my job search, thank you so much. God has blessed me exceedingly beyond what I had hoped for. This is an opportunity for me to serve people who kindness and effeciency, and I really appreciate what I have in front of me.

Sewing Project

I received a sewing machine recently, but haven't really done much with it so far. When Schuyler's home, I always want to be with him, since we're not together all that much. But last night, Schuyler suggested that we bring my sewing machine table into his office, so he could work on computer stuff and I could sew, and we'd still feel like we were spending time together. Great solution!

The project I'm working on right now is a birthday present for my sister Emily. She bought a table cloth for her dining room table, but when she brought it home and tried it out in her dining room, it didn't seem ideal. So we decided that for her birthday, I will turn that table cloth into several pillows to use in her bedroom. She bought a couple of square-ish soft pillows for me to make pillowcases for, and I bought some cotton stuffing and some black linen to make some smaller pillows with the rest of the cloth. Last night I only got around to one pillow, because ironing the cloth took soooo long! I think next time I'll just cut out my squares that I need, and then iron each one, because this is high-wrinkle material.

So here's what the first pillow looks like.

Here I am squeezing the pillow to show how soft and comfy it is.

Close up of the cool bird print.

Updates to come on this pillow project!

Expectations vs. Reality

Education is important in this country. You go to kindergarten with you're 5 years old, sometimes Pre-K before that. And if you keep going, you're in school for the next 13 years. Then comes college. Four years, if you're lucky. So for the last 17 years of my life, I have been a Student. That has been my official title. I've added a few other sub-titles since entering college, like Part-Time Teacher, and Wife. Those have been good titles. But now, for the first time ever... I am no longer a Student. My life is my own! Or is it...

The reason we go to college is to prepare for our careers. I've spent so much time following my passions, because I believe that's what's really important in life. I completed a double major in Music and Spanish. And yes, I did get the same comments over and over again. "So, what are you gonna do when you graduate?" Or, "How are you gonna make any money??" Valid questions. Questions that I'm still answering, nearly three months after the big graduation ceremony.

What I expected of my life post-grad, and what I've experienced so far haven't quite matched up. I expected to graduate, feel a huge sense of liberation and relief, and start a great job that paid well and fulfilled me as a person. Without going into too much detail, I did have a job lined up that fell through, and I've been scrambling ever since. When you're a kid, the adults tell you that you can do anything you want to do! How wonderful! But when you're an adult, life gets in the way of the things you dreamed about doing. You get an apartment or a house, a car, cell phones, and a myriad of other bills, all demanding payment every month. Suddenly your main job requirement is that your paychecks cover your monthly bills.

This summer I've had my first taste of full-time job searching. It hasn't been my favorite way to spend time, by a long shot. Plus, every employer I meet with acknowledges the fact that this is a terrible time to be a new grad searching for a job. We all know that the economy isn't at its best. But I'm young, and I will prevail. I've gotten a few job leads, and with any luck (and blessings and favor!!) my next post will be about my new job.

What I want from life at this stage is a job that I can feel somewhat proud of doing, that has decent hours and decent pay. I want to come home from work, and enjoy the magic of free time that doesn't involve completing homework assignments. I plan on posting about the things that I end up doing with my free time, like cooking and sewing, which are my main hobbies. (The sewing is a brand new venture, though.)

So here it is - my life post-grad. It's been quite interesting so far, and I'm sure it will stay interesting!