Something you may not know about me: I have dreams of being a published author...

... except I'm an engineering, not an english major. I mean, gosh darn it, people are lucky I can tie my own shoes, forget about abstract thinking! I can't find a good tone and I don't have the patience to stick with one topic for more than a page. Be that as it may, here is a little blurb I wrote sometime in the past 2 years:

I never thought I’d be 24 with no boyfriend, living at home with my parents… Private college dealt a blow to my disposable income, about a mortgage worth… When you end school with a grand total of $80,000 it can really cut your money situation… that and the fact that I am and always have been a spender… 5 credit cards and 14k later, I’m feeling a little akin to Rebekka Bloomwood. But instead of having a closet full of designer duds, I have a Helly Hanson jacket, 7 Kate Spades and about 40 extra pounds on me… What can I say, I like fine foods and wine! So, instead of having my 40k a year to spend smart on a house or an apartment, I’m putting $1300/month to bills, living with the ‘rents, and going out for drinks and dinner about 4 times a week… or as often as I can convince my parents to dog-sit for me.

Like most graduating seniors, I had a rosy view of what life after college would be like. I’ll move home for a few months, maybe a year to “get my bearings in the real world.” I’ll even get a dog, you know, to keep me company and take to the park to meet cute guys and go on lots of dates!

Reality sets in quick. I hadn’t even graduated yet and I had already picked out a puppy on Petfinder.com. A quick ok from my parents and 3 weeks before graduation, my little bundle of fur was on his way from Lafayette, LA! Of course, I could only visit on the weekends because I was finishing up school, so my parents got the early morning potty chore, the coming home at lunch potty chore, the after work potty chore and the before bed potty chore… not to mention the feeding and walking.

But, finally, I was home for good. Accustomed to spending my last 5 years my way, having this 25 pound terror in my life was quite a change. I had to get up at 5am for the 1st potty walk of the day as well as breakfast. Then there was about 12 hours of “don’t do that, don't eat that, what are you doing?” chasing around the house… with a few more walks and a nap in there somewhere. It was practically a blessing to start work after 2 months of that!

I never thought I’d be working in a cubical… all day, every day! They call it the daily grind, because that’s what it does, grinds you down. I sit in my 10 square feet of space everyday working on my computer hoping for a production problem so I can run downstairs and be a hero. Anything to get me away from this desk and the same project day in, day out. Let me tell you folks, engineering is not all its cracked up to be… Its really a lot less glamorous than they tell you. In college, I thought I’d be designing something wonderful, something that would change people’s lives, but what I do is design lights for corporate jets. While it sounds cool, no rich guy’s going to care that I designed their landing light… they probably don’t even know there is a light you are supposed to have on when you land, they clearly have people for that, right? So I chug along, everyday, with my lights and a million pieces of paper for the FAA. Does anyone keep track of what THEY are doing? I mean, you can write yourself in circles before you get approval from them! I think we need a watchdog to monitor their requirement list… use some common sense people. We are making lights here, not engines… we aren’t a mission critical item. If your wing rips off, I got news for you, you aren’t going to be making sure you have proper lighting… you’re going to be looking for your parachute and praying!

So there you have it... that was the place I was in right after I met my husband. I'm in a different place now, but I still have the attention span of a gnat and can't seem to get it down on paper.