I can't believe I haven't blogged in over a month - that has to be some sort of record for me. The main reason is it's difficult to do it from my Ipad and I'm really not on the desk computer much. David tends to hog it and really the only thing I do on it is obsessively play Zuma Blitz which is cyber-heroin to me. Oh, well - up to speed. I am currently employed as a clinical pediatric manager at Bayada, I've been there 5 weeks and so far, so good. I like my co-workers, the day I arrived my desk had been set up, right down to the pens and a covered water glass, a Bayada teddy bear on the side. I've worked a couple shifts with kids to get back into the swing of things and I have a mentor that sees me twice a week. The mentoring thing is a little bit of a grey area since I'm a returning employee, but have not worked there in 3 years. I'm doing the full week of training in Mt Vernon NJ the last week in April because a lot of things have changed and I've been gone awhile. Pittsburgh is becoming less scary as time goes on, I still get lost but can find my way back (eventually). The drive is improving also, I found a great back way that is 20 miles less than the highway with virtually no traffic - it's an hour and a half but in the grander scheme of things, not a biggie. All in all I'm a much happier camper, no more on call, no more shifting schedules, no weekends. I've visited all but one of the yarn shops (there are five!) but have yet to find an Asian market that does not reek of old fish and desperation. The market in Morgantown WV is bare bones, but it's clean, the food is fresh and I'm not afraid of the cashier - the one in the last shop I visited in Pittsburgh looked like a gang member. I came in and went right back out. Eek! David also bought me a new GPS, mine is suck ass at best, but the final insult was when it deposited me in the middle of a traffic jam on a bridge, RECALCULATED, told me to Make A Legal U Turn and then the little arrow pointed off the side of the bridge. Since it had recalculated 6 times by then I was ready to follow the arrow. David made the unfortunate choice to call me about then and when he asked where I was.....well, a lot of foul words were said and we'll leave it at that. When I got home there was a new GPS on the table.
I did end up going to the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival - it was OK. First off I will never go on Saturday again, that was a mistake! Since I got bailed on the day before (thereby leaving me no time to invite someone else) I ended up going alone, but the upside is you can go when you want. I was glad I arrived early, by noon I was done shopping and saw everything - it was jammed, you could barely move around. But I got some excellent stuff - lace yarn, a new sock book sock yarn, stitch markers, it was really fun. We all know how much I(don't) love a good crowd so I darted off and had a fun, meandering ride back. Before leaving the festival I was playing with my GPS in the parking lot t o find the best route and when I looked to back out there were 3 cars ready to get into it for my spot, off I went gladly.
Now, we are just waiting for the snow to disappear. One of the upsides of changing jobs now I thought was we were past of the worst of it snow - wise. But it just keeps snowing! I did end up spending one night in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago as the roads were predicted to be very icy and snow was coming. So I drove up Sunday and booked a hotel room right across the road. David and I had discussed this possibility right before I started and felt it was worth the money. If I called off I would have been out that day's pay anyhow, so it was a wash financially but I didn't miss a day of work. And let's face it - it's fun to go hang out in a hotel, especially where I work. Did I mention my office building is right across the road from giant mall? Does life get any better than that??
