Job update

So I've been at my new job for just over a week. People keep asking me if I like it. That is a very impossible question to answer at this point. Training is long and tedious. I spend 95% of my time reading everyday about a portion of the tax code. I'm learning a lot and I know it's necessary but I seriously want to poke my eyes out just so I don't have to read anymore. I'll let you know how it is when I actually am able to start doing my job. I do like the environment and the people that work here. I do like the part of town that I work in (but I don't like the commute). I think I'll like the job. That's all I have to say about that right now.

I start Tuesday

I finally got an official offer of employment from the company I was hoping for. I am so excited to finally have a solid plan. It should be great. I will be working for an investment company facilitating real estate transactions. The company is a subsidiary of a Fortune 500 company which means great benefits. My division only has 11 people, so it is the benefits of a huge corporation with the feel of a small company. I think I will really like it. I'm not excited about the commute to Phoenix every day, but that's really the only down side. Plus, I'll be making more money - WOO HOO! Of course I had to go shopping this week for new work clothes!

Friday Night Freaks

My friend Ally's boyfriend plays in a band called Jed's a Millionaire. They are actually pretty good. Anyway, Ally sent out an e-mail that they were playing last Friday night at Paper Heart Gallery in Phoenix. She said it was part of Phoenix's "First Friday" art walk where all of the galleries stay open late and artists line the street trying to sell their art and there is entertainment, etc. It sounded kind of fun, so Brandon and I decided to make it our date night. HOLY COW! It was not as described. First, Paper Heart Gallery is a bar with an art gallery in the back room. Second, the gallery show was death themed. Third, the place was FILLED with freaks. It was actually a lot of fun, but only because I could not stop staring at all the freaks. When we first got there, we said hello to Ally and a few of my law school classmates who were also there (I met Ally in law school). The band hadn't gone on yet, so we decided to wander a bit.

We went out to the front parking lot and saw the funniest thing I had seen in a long time! There was some sort of belly dancing convention and everyone was dressed like gypsies, taking turns belly dancing for each other. There was quite the crowd. This was made only more interesting by the fact that more than half of the belly dancers weighed at least 300 pounds. There were even troupes of 300 pound belly dancers that performed! I could not look away. They were very proud of their bellies. While this was disturbing, part of me was proud of them for their high self images! We tried to take pictures, but none of them turned out. We watched for quite a while before going inside.

We went back inside to listen to the band and had just as much to look at. There were several very distinct groups there. It was crazy. First, there was our group, which consisted of several attorneys and their friends, spouses, etc. We were pretty normal. Then there was the gypsies, which I previously mentioned. There was also the cross dressers. They were this group of men that tried, but failed to look like women. Well at least I thought they failed. One of the guys in our group was checking one of them out before another guy told him that "she" was a man. Ha ha! There was this one "she-male" that was balding and his hairline didn't start until half way back on his head. It didn't matter. He just grew it out long and pretty and dressed like a woman anyway! That was my favorite! So disturbing. There was also the gray faces. This group all painted their faces gray with dark circles around their eyes. Why do people do these things? I told Brandon I bet they are all regular people during the day, working at the bank and the library, and turn into gray faces at nights. The last group was the lesbians that stood right in front of us and kept kissing while the band was playing. They were interesting too. Brandon kept mentioning the one with the butch hair and the service station shirt on. I don't know why she was so interesting, but she was definitely the boy in the relationship. Her girlfriend was a girly girl.

I guess the summary is that it was good to see some of my friends and the band was good, but I'm so glad I've led the sheltered life that I have. I mean...how do you get on the path that leads you to become a balding cross dresser?

30 only makes you more handsome!

My gorgeous husband turned 30 on Saturday. It was so much fun. He's not accustomed to the multi-day birthday celebrations that I enjoy, so it was fun exposing him to a new way to do birthdays. Last Sunday was the first celebration...a Miller family gathering at my mom's with his favorite dinner and a cheesecake with 30 candles in it! Then on Friday night, he and I went to Carrabas for dinner to celebrate Brandon's Eve. Yummy! Saturday was his actual birthday and I had a lot of work to do. I've had some problems getting him a present that he didn't find out about. I bought him a miter saw a couple weeks ago, but he found it in my trunk a week before his birthday. Then I was going to buy him an electric razor, but he tried to buy one for himself so I had to tell him that it was one of his birthday gifts. So I tried one last thing. We live in a three bedroom house and we each have our own office. A couple months ago, I decorated my office and I think it looks great. His office was still bare. You see, he and I don't have even close to the same style, so he put most of his stuff in storage. Well I went and got a lot of his stuff out of storage and decorated his office. I made curtains made of tan suede. My dad helped me make wood shelves that wrap up high in the room on three walls and I filled every piece of wall space with his decorations from the dead animal, cowboy, southwest design area. He absolutely loves it. Here are some pictures. Tell me what you think.

Saturday night, we had a bunch of friends over for a barbeque. It was fun and I think Brandon had a good time. Happy 30th Birthday love of my life! It's going to be a great year!

Now here's the job search update: My last day of work was on Friday. I had one interview last week with an investment company that helps facilitate 1031 exchanbe property and land transactions for investors. I have a second interview with them tomorrow for lunch. On Saturday morning, a law firm that I sent my resume to called and said they were in a hurry to make a decision and wanted to interview me that afternoon. I told them I couldn't, but went in for an interview on Sunday after church. I loved the firm and felt like it would be a good match for me. I felt like they liked me too. I got an offer first thing this morning from the law firm. It was for a lot less than I was hoping and it's pretty far away (North Scottsdale), but I told him I needed a couple days to think about it. I could start working this week. We'll see how my interview goes on Tuesday. They pay more, but the work would be all transactional and the hours would be shorter. Plus, there would be no billable hours requirement. On the other hand, I don't know if I'm ready to give up litigation work yet. We'll see. Hopefully I have a job by the end of the week. Wish me luck!