Well... Here goes...

I have never done this before so it should be interesting...

I have been in the process of recreating myself. I lost my job after 20 years and tho I really liked my boss, I lost so much respect for him at the end of my employment. I totally understood why he was letting me go but it was no excuse to treat me like dirt the last few weeks I worked there. I understand it probably helped him deal with letting me go but it was no excuse.

At any rate, I spent the next two years temping at Michigan State University and finally ended up in a pretty interesting job with a boss who I have the utmost respect for. She is terrific. It is so nice working for someone who respects you and supports you and also expects you to give your best work to. Those high expectations are what make me strive to always do my best. I really like it and appreciate her and her hard work.

I have now been here for 10 months as a permanent employee. With all the layoffs on campus I am holding my breath and hoping I make it past my probationary period at the end of August.

One of the things I have missed most is not being able to just take off when ever I want. I had so much vacation time at my old job it was really easy to just say... Hey, lets go! And I had friends in town who would. It was awesome. Now I have to ask in advance and plan. lol, what a pain.

I was able to do that the weekend before Memorial day this year. My friend Mike got ahold of me in April and said we needed to camp. I totally agreed. So we ended up going for a 3.5 day weekend to Yankee Springs. It was awesome. Matt, Danielle, Mike, Diane and I had a blast. It poured rain Friday night. Mike & I got things set up and Matt showed up late. Saturday Mike went & got the wood, Matt & I went kayaking. Danielle showed up mid afternoon and Diane showed up Saturday night. Food was awesome (thanks Matt) and we had great campfires and the weather was gorgeous! Mike went for a bike ride (he's training for a triathalon). On Sunday we went geocaching and Matt, like usual, took off as the crow flies through the woods. We found a bunch of caches and introduced Diane to caching. We had so much fun and it was so relaxing. I loved it and would do it again!

Thanks you guys! I really needed that!