Bright and Dark, Still Good - Some people might see the adventures in my life as bad things that have happened to me, like I have a string of bad luck. But I usually see these things, whether bright or dark adventures, as a string of good luck. Everyone has things happen in life. There is no such thing as "when X happens, then I can finally relax." This includes getting that degree, getting married, getting divorced, getting that job, getting that house... it doesn't matter what you think you're aiming for, "getting" something doesn't end the process.

Life is a process. "Something Always Happens." And day by day, we just have today to work with. Yesterday is made up of memories (remembered or forgotten, sweet or painful). Tomorrow can be our link to hope or planning or anticipation.

So why am I going on about this? Well, several bright and dark things have happened, some anticipated some unanticipated. But Life is Still Really Good.

Hit and Run - Wednesday afternoon, I went out briefly to get a quick, cheap lunch. I was in the drive through, and a truck leaving the parking lot pulled into me, damaged my bumper and breaking the plastic cover of my rear lights, and then left without exhanging information. Hit and Run. But I wasn't injured, my car works fine, and even the lights were not broken. Here's the photo: http://yfrog.com/hs3zciaj. It was not good to be hit, but I got their license number, I was able to file a police report, notify my insurance, and return home. This could have been horrible, but really wasn't that bad. Bright spot!

Job Things and the Fiber Retreat - Because of my current unemployment, I was able to head up to the Retreat for Setup day, a Thursday. I was worried I would already have a job that I couldn't leave, or that I might be on an interview, or half a dozen other problems. I cleaned up around the house (for my roomie's planned Saturday party), loaded the car, and hit the road around dinner time. I was only a few blocks down the road when my phone rang, with a call from one of the recruiters. A client wanted to schedule an interview on Friday, 1 pm. It meant I would have to miss the first day of the Retreat, but I had time to set up Coffee Bar, set up my spinning and hand off my Friday class to Bridget, and then spend the night in a tent with my former roomie, Mel. It was relaxing, wonderful, and a great way to get ready for an interview.

Friday morning, I had a lovely time serving Coffee Bar, then I headed back to my house. I filled out all the paperwork for the interview, prepared all my templates and files on a USB key (it was a working interview), and arrived exactly on time. I apparently wow'ed them, and left with the knowledge they planned to write up an Offer Letter. The commute wasn't as bad as I thought it could be, and I was back at the Retreat before dark.

Saturday, I took two fantastic classes: Spinning Luxury Fibers and Spinning Novelty (Textured) Yarns. Sunday I taught Spinning Flax into Linen Thread. The rest of the time I enjoyed the amazing campground, friendships, and opportunity to relax and make things at a leisurely pace. Several friends bought many of my floral hair clips, providing me gas money for the week (woot)! Bright luck, again.

Oh, here's my Luxury Fibers, spun and dipped in indigo: http://yfrog.com/khh8ojj And then there's this photo of all my spinning from the weekend: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28211571@N04/5877583889/in/set-72157626937089235/ The yellow/white ("creamsicle") singles were spun with the thought I needed them for Bridget's class [I didn't]. The small brown skein on top of the yellow/white is made from buffalo down, extremely soft and expensive fibers. The white/blue/brown is a mix from all my samples in Ercil's luxury fiber class: wools including polworth and merino, silk, silk/wool blends, yak [3 varieties], camel down -- spun on my wheel and spun on drop spindle. The white/red was a failed experiment that is growing on me. The red fibers were recycled from a cut up woven blanket, carded back into fluff and then hand-blended with the white wool, spun on my wheel. The purple and pink yarn was plied--the narrow brown is recycled/unraveled from a cashmere sweater; the purple thick and thin was spun from various wool and soy silk materials in my stash, including 2 wool rovings naturally dyed at previous retreats--then these two yarns were plied on my wheel, with pink feather bits added randomly while plying.

The Knee Episode - After my class Sunday morning, I had nearly everything packed to return home. On my second trip to my car while carrying a large box on my head, I accidentally walked into a trailer hitch cover with my knee. The hitch cover was a stylized K, with pointy triangles for the right-side of the letter. It felt like stubbing my toe (only on my knee), except worse. I set the box down, looked around, (saw what I had hit), looked down, and saw a huge rip in my jeans and a pool of blood on the denim. I immediately thought, "Oh, this cannot be good." I managed to avoid falling down or screaming, and I hobbled down the hill to ask for first aid supplies and assistance. I went back into the camp dining hall, announced that I would be taking my jeans off to examine my knee, and promptly sat down on a bench. Friends helped me remove the pant leg from the wound, and brought me wet, clean paper towels to apply pressure, then a bag full of ice. But it was easy to see this wasn't just a scratch. The gouge was below and to the right of the kneecap, about 2.5" long and at least half-an-inch deep. My first fear of going to a hospital was the cost of being uninsured (being between jobs). But friends told me not to worry about that: They would help me out. I don't know all the people who helped, but finances will *not* be a worry (when the bill finally gets here). But I'm getting ahead of my story.

The Boy Scout Camp where we hold our Retreat is in a forested area where there is a Fire Station on the same dirt road we take to the camp. Someone ran down to the station, and very quickly there were six firemen and/or EMTs in the dining hall, assessing my state of mind, vital signs, and wound. They agreed: I needed stitches in a hospital. And here's where the dark spot (an injury) starts to have a series of bright spots. First: The firemen/EMTs were able to be on scene instantly, since they were just next door. Next, Ercil had a van, so she could drive me there with my leg still elevated. Next, tons of friends wanted to help out, so they helped pack my car. Next: I had almost everything packed already. And by taking the time to be task-oriented, giving measured step-by-step instructions for packing my car, I was able to stop thinking about the knee wound. And of course, it was fun to joke that I must have "done this on purpose" just so we could have cute firemen up in the camp. *grin* Next, the nearest hospital was in the same town where I spent my senior year of high school, so it was very easy to give directions. Next, the hospital trip itself took almost no time at all. I was processed, triaged, received a tetanus shot, given 7 stitches, some OTC pain-killers, and discharge papers in less than an hour. Next, Ercil and I took a moment in the van to eat the lunch packed for us by some of our Retreat friends. Delicious! Next, we arrived at my house to find that Lorissa had driven my car home for me, and my roomies were able to park it in the carport for me. My roomies took over, getting me on the couch, leg elevated, ice, and company until my sweetie could pick me up. Since last night, I've been at my sweetie's house, cared for and forced to relax and heal. Bright spot after bright spot.

If you don't mind looking at stitches or cuts, here's my right knee http://yfrog.com/h2vg5hxj.

I'm also happy to announce that today I have signed a Job Offer, and I start on Tuesday, July 5. There is a bit of a pay cut, but the opportunity I'll be able to work more than a 40-hour week. There is a possibility I might be able to regularly earn close to what I was just earning. There is a significantly greater commute, but it's not the largest commute I've ever had. My commute to the Marine Corps base was a 16-month-long job with a 72-mile-one-way commute. Yes, I drove 144+ miles per day, 5 days per week, for 16 months. My most recent job was at 45-mile-one-way commute, for three years. Well, technically less than that, since I moved in December and reduced my commute to only a 25 minute one-way trip.

My new job is 60 miles south of my new home. They really wanted to offer a relocation bonus, to get me to live within 25 miles of their offices. But the recruiter who found the interview for me helped me convince them that a commute is never a disincentive for me. They've changed the relocation bonus to a signing bonus, with penalties (paying back the bonus) if I leave the job early. I'm beyond excited about the ability to use the bonus money for my commuting costs. There have also been some close friends who've helped me get through tough spots, and I'm ridiculously happy to be able to pay them back this summer. *whew* Talk about turning the dark spots (a long commute) into a bright spot. Good luck indeed!

The new job is also a new job title. I had been doing "Courseware Development" when I was writing training materials, but it wasn't until 2 jobs ago that I was hired as a "Technical Writer" at a software company. When that phrase showed up on my resume, recruiters started cold calling me with other Technical Writing jobs. This very title placed me at my last job. This time, I have finally landed a position that says "Project Manager." I've been coordinating various projects in my volunteer work and in my professional jobs for years, but never listed as my job title. But the market for "Project Manager" has much more money and opportunity than "Technical Writer." Bright, good spot again!

I will be a "Business Analyst / Project Manager" but I will be primarily documenting and writing technical materials for a software company. The job is about 10 miles south of my mailing address, making it unnecessary for me to move that box after all. Bright spot! Good things! This also means I'll be in the neighborhood of one of my best friends, so I'll be able to visit my "nephews" more often again, especially now that we have B and baby A. Great bright spot!

So there you go. These could have been considered a string of bad luck. But look at the whole picture: My car still works. The damage was minimal. I got the license plate, and the hit and run is in the hands of the police and insurance. I missed Friday at the Retreat, but Bridget taught my class wonderfully. I had a fantastic job interview, and great traffic. I had time to finish all the paperwork on time, without stressing on-site at the Retreat. I had a fantastic Saturday and Sunday. My accidental wound was not worse, there was quick medical treatment, my friends took care of all my things and my car, and my sweetie has taken care of me since. I got the job offer, the recruiter renegotiated the terms, and I signed on. I have a new job, a healing body, and an amazing life.

I'm ridiculously grateful for all the Bright Spots in my life.

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Today's Blessing That I'm Thankful For: John, Bjo, Ercil, Kevin, Kim, Bridget, Lynnette, Theresa, Dawn, Mel, Ianuk and Ivan, Seelie, Caterina, all of the GDW Retreat folks, Jen, Nena, True, RJ, Ryan, Dan, and everyone else who has made this weekend outstanding.