jobs Jobs JOBS

Today is a pretty good day. Aside from missing Jeremy (who is in California for a couple weeks), today I began my job at the pizza parlor on base. I think in a couple weeks time, I'll have the routine down pretty good. I'm getting 2 days training and working 2 days a week. It's pretty self explanatory. I'm used to working in a kitchen...done it my whole working career, so I'll get it down pretty fast.

The weather wasn't hideous today. Cold, but not raining, so I can't complain. On the DIET front, I weighed myself this morning and I have reached the 10 pound weight loss mark!!! Woo!!! I started this diet June 12, so it has been about 3 and a half weeks. My goal is to lose 35 pounds. If I keep on at this rate, I could be at my goal weight by my birthday at the end of August!!! Wow!!! Just in time to indulge in some cake...lol.

Anyway, I was having a hard time for the past few days losing any weight, but then on the 5th - yesterday - I ran a 10k from the CG Base front gates to the beginning of downtown Kodiak. I've NEVER done anything like this in my entire life...it was unofficially on my bucket list, so I went for it. I didn't run the whole way, but when I wasn't running or jogging, I was speed walking so I averaged the whole 6 miles at about a 13 minute mile. I finished in 1 hour and 23 minutes. Now I'm super motivated to train a bit and try it again next year and do it in under an hour. That would be amazing. Anyway, I think because of that, I was able to jolt my system out of its steadying weight and lost that last pound and a half to make it to the 10 pound mark.

Anyway, this post is entitled JOBS because when written out, it really does look like I'm working a lot OR RATHER I have a lot of jobs.

To lay it all out and view it...

CG Base Pizza Parlor (6 hours a week)

Commissary Bagger (4-8+ hours a week)

Homemade Gourmet Rep (set my own schedule)

Amway Rep (set my own schedule)

Zazzle Product Designer (set my own schedule)

Regular Dogsitter For Boomer (whenever needed)

Making & Selling Crafts at bazaars (spare time hobby)

The commissary and pizza parlor were the most recent to be added and they are a more steady flow of income than the others. And they are the only ones I consider to be an actual job...the others are more like profitable hobbies to me.

Anyway, maybe with these occupying my time, I'll be able to continue losing weight.

Kodiak...Gotta Love It

Lol, so it's 11:56 PM on July 3rd and I'm patiently waiting for it to be dark enough to watch the fireworks. Hahaha. Gotta love Alaska...around town, it's more of a New Years Eve type event. No wonder the big fireworks display is done in the 3rd...because technically, it's only dark from midnight to early morning on the 4th. Hahaha. Gotta love it. It's almost dark enough now...:)

Neighborly Love

I have never experienced such neighborly love in all my life. Though I can't say much for the first 22 years of my life having lived in the country away from people and neighbors.

After getting married, I lived in Waipahu, Hawaii. Our neighbors were friendly and helped us move something heavy to the dumpster. They were a local family, not related with the military.

In Santa Rosa, California, our neighbors kept to themselves...I didn't expect much else...

However, here in military housing in Kodiak, Alaska, I have never believed such compassion ever existed with neighbors. People here will go out of their way to help someone out. There are so many little examples I can think of. Though the drama and nosiness is pretty high if you're not careful, the compassion is strong still. For example, last Thanksgiving several wives got together and made EXTRA food to give to the single guys living in the barracks. Every time of the boats leaves port, some of the wives bake a bunch of cookies to send along with them. If there's a family in need of some extra help...however little the help is needed such as a wife who just had a baby and the husband is underway and all she needs is some help cooking, some wives will make some dinners and freeze them and take them to the family to use when needed. Those are just some of the neighborly deeds happening all the time on the island.

As for my personal experiences, I already wrote one of them here about when my fridge went out and all the food spoiled while on vacation. My neighbor on one side of us took care of the mess, cleaning out the fridge and the floor and having a new one put in...she also mowed our grass while we were gone.

Over Easter, I was perfectly content making a small dinner for Jeremy and I as that is what we have done during the time we've been married. If we're away from family, it's just us. However, for Easter, we were invited to a friend's house. It's such a small thing, but it felt so big. It felt like Thanksgiving. Warm and quiet, surrounded by friends and eating good food.

Now that the 4th of July is here, Jeremy is gone in California temporarily. I'm content in my own mind...I have Delilah as my company. I didn't feel the need to do anything big for the day. I did, however, invite a friend over and planned out a small little BBQ just her and I. I didn't think much of anything bigger than that. Now...I got called up by the same friends we shared Easter with and invited to share the 4th with, too. I respectfully declined because I already have company. (Side note: a few days ago I was invited to dinner by my neighbor - the one who helped with the fridge) Then this evening, my neighbors on the other side came over to invite me to the BBQ they are having. I respectfully declined with the same (valid) excuse that I have a friend coming over...but they still said we could both come over - that there'd be plenty of food if we wanted to. It's amazing how neighborly everyone is here. I feel the urge to bake cookies for people moving in 3 houses down, but I fear I may appear stalkerish. Haha. 2 houses down is fine but 3 is pushing it. It must be in the water, though. I'm a keep-to-self kind of gal, but being here is opening up new experiences. I'm feeling senses of compassion and warmth that I thought I could only feel from family and close friends I grew up with.

Weight Loss

It has been 3 weeks since I started my "get healthy" goal. I must say I'm quite proud of myself. All I'm doing is counting calories, writing down what I eat, and going to the gym 1-3 times a week for about a half hour each time.

At first, it was rough. I had a hard time staying away from the junk. I got super close to my calorie limit for the day, but I still stayed under. A couple times, I went over, but the circumstances were unavoidable.

As the weeks went by, I started feeling satisfied with the food I ate and I didn't feel such a strong need to binge and snack. Though I still have unhealthy cravings that I indulge in, I'm finding it easier and easier to stay well below my calorie limit. On days I go to the gym, I burn about 350 calories and while home, I'll eat maybe 200 calories per meal. By the end of the day, my net calories would only be 250 which is about 25% of my calorie limit for the day.

Thusfar, I have lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks. My goal is to lose a total of 30 pounds by Thanksgiving. Ladies and Gentlemen, I think it's possible. Woot!

Extroverted People

Those who know me would call me introverted...shy...quiet...

Then you get to know me and I come out of my shell more.

As a side note coming from an introverted person...I like my quiet time...alone...escaped in my own thoughts...my own little safe world. Sure, I like to get out and party once in a GREAT while, but I don't need that constant human interaction to stay sane. 

It's always awkward for me to meet new people...especially if they are shy, too. I don't know what to say besides the normal nice to meet you, I don't know how to act besides super polite, and I feel completely awkward. 

Most of the time, meeting extroverted people is fine. I'm still my shy self, but I don't have to worry about starting a subject of conversation...

Then SOMETIMES, you meet an overly extroverted person and though normally an introverted person would slink farther into her shell like a frightened turtle, however, I feel rejuvenated. Though I can't take an extended period of exposure to said extroverted persons, for a few hours, it's exciting. It's the type of person who upon meeting you for the first time runs up and gives you a giant bear hug, calls you hun, and invites you into their family. They never run out of questions to ask you, or things to talk about, and in their mind, you are their best friend during their time with you. They are the type of people who can liven up a dead room just by being there. 

I never have understood the lack of humility this genre of people have, but it's inspiring. I know I'll never be like that, but it's always refreshing to meet someone like that.

A Little Behind...Games With Friends

It has taken me a while to get to writing this, however, I want to make note of a very fun time I had while on vacation...I highly recommend doing this with a group of close friends...preferably coed with couples.

While on vacation, I had a couple of opportunities to hang out with some friends...part of the wedding party from all of nearly 2 years ago..

Known as "The Gang" we have Glen and Cathy, Jon and Jessie, Jeremy and Myself...

There's a board game out there called..."The Game Of REAL Life" It looks and plays similar to The Game Of Life, but it's ghetto. I'm not sure how easy it is to find, but I know it's out there, and it's super fun.

Throughout the game, you are required to keep a journal of what happens throughout your game...

Here's my story...

I'm a dude named Dwight McDaddy

My parents were hippies and fed me organic foods. Unfortunately, they were also drunk and beat me as a child. Then they got divorced, which made me slip into a deep addiction to tobacco. It was so bad that I don't even remember 4 years of my life. After I regained some control over my life, I met my first love...strong and pure. Unfortunately, she drove me into choosing LSD as my second love. My career path in life led me to become a garbage collector, though I didn't make any money at it. I ended up still marrying my first love and we had some healthy sex. It was so good I had a near death experience from it. I suddenly gained some extra time in my life, though I became disabled. Everyone took pity on me so I was able to get double benefits from everything I did. That is, until one day when I caused a civil disobedience and got pepper sprayed in the face. That winter, I quit my LSD comforts, which gained me some extra time in my life and I used that extra time becoming addicted to chocolate. Some scientists tried to clone me but failed. Through that experience I gained some common sense and made peace with the world around me. Just as my life was getting straight, a friend illegally set a nuclear bomb and killed the planet. The End. 

lol hahahaha. ROTFLMAO....hahaaaa....Baaahaaaah. 

It's very fun.

Also, if you don't have a board game, here's one that you can make up as you go and play with a group of close friends...We were trying to come up with a quick game to play without cards or boards or dice or anything. So we made up our own couples trivia game. The girls got together and came up with 5 questions about ourselves with answers and the guys did the same about themselves. Then we got together and asked each other questions. For example: I asked Jeremy question number one, what's my favorite color? He answers green and we get a point as a couple. Then Cathy asks Glen and Jessie asks Jon. It continues until every question has been asked to every person. The couple with the most points wins.

We played two rounds of this and let me tell you, we were able to learn so much about each other...not couples so much as friends. Jeremy and I pretty much knew all the answers about each other, but we learned interesting things about our friends. And vice versa I'm sure...anyway, if you ever need a game to play with friends, that comes highly recommended as it is super fun and super easy...you can make the questions as hard or as easy or a dirty or as figurative as you like. Thought I should share...:)