Sore!

So, I played tennis for the first time Thursday night with people from Cornerstone Presbyterian (we recently started going there the past 2 weeks based on the high recommendations from my brother in law & sister in law, James & Grace and so far we really like it). I haven't picked up my racket in 7 years and it was so painful. Surprisingly, it came back to me so I'll try to go each week as they play every Thursday night at a park that's 5 minutes from my house. My muscles are paying for it today as they are so sore in the back of my legs and arms. I didn't even know these muscles existed!

Because I was so tired and sore today, Dan took Nathan and his family to Peace Valley Winery to pick grapes and to the lake at Peace Valley Park. I ended up sleeping for 3 1/2 hours in the afternoon! I don't remember the last time I did that, so it was real nice to get that time. Dan reported that Nathan had a great time eating tons of grapes and playing near the lake. He loves the water so much, we're going to go back to Ocean City, NJ again on Tuesday. Hopefully my muscles will be recovered by then.

The 23rd Psalm For the Workplace

As I'm finishing up my resume, this was a good reminder sent to me by my co-worker:

The Lord is my real Boss and I shall not want.
He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.
He gently reminds me to pray before I speak
and to do all things without murmuring and complaining.
He reminds me that He is my Source and not my job.
He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions
that I might honor Him in everything I do.

Even though I face absurd amounts of email, system crashes,
unrealistic deadlines, budget cutbacks,
gossiping co-workers, discriminating supervisors,
and a struggling body that doesn't cooperate every morning,
I will not stop - for He is with me!
His presence, His peace and His power will see me through.
He raises me up, even when they fail to promote.
He claims me as His own,
even when the company threatens to let me go.
His faithfulness and love are better than any bonus check,
and His retirement plan beats every 401K there is!

When it's all said and done,
I'll be working for Him a whole lot longer
and for that, I bless His Name.

Phillies Game

So I went to the business person's Phillies game today with my company. I've been to plenty of night games, but have never been to a day game before. Wow, the sun was so strong and hot! I got a bit of sunburn from our trip to Ocean City and even though I lathered on the suntan lotion today, I could feel my skin burning again. I ended up standing and watching the 2nd through 5th inning from the platform where the restaurants are in the shade. We ended up leaving after the 7th inning because one of the managers wanted to get back to the office and get work done @ 3:30....why did she even bother coming and have to ruin the day for everybody? She complained so much bcs of the sun that she sat on the bus the whole time! She's such a pain and a control freak....she's always been on a power trip and tries to make others miserable just because she's miserable in her personal life. Anyway, despite her, it was nice to enjoy the game one last time with my company as I know GMAC does not reward their employees with little perks like this so I was thankful they invited me on their last manager outing (we have heard that they are very cheap in their spending).

I saw all these little boys with their fathers and I thought about how I couldn't wait until Nathan gets older so that I can take him to some Phillies game and enjoy them together. Dan doesn't really like baseball and I love watching it when I can catch it on TV. I just wish the Phillies were more consistent in their playing...it's frustrating watching them every year. I always hope every year that this will be the year they'll make it to the Championship, but alas, it hasn't happened since 1993.

Nathan's 1st Time At The Beach

Yesterday I took the day off from work and went to Ocean City, NJ. This was my first trip there ever and Nathan's first time to a beach (I've only been to Atlantic City and Wildwood as an adult). He was so scared of walking on the sand and going near the water as he was clinging to me. But after we put him in our laps while sitting near the water, he started getting used to it. As the water came crashing on us, he would yell "Whoooaaa!". Gradually he got used to his surroundings...eventually he would stand in the water while I was holding both his hands and then he started to actually run into the ocean without stopping! I had to run after him and grab him before he went too far. He was sooo happy to be in the water with me...as he was watching the waves crashing on him, at one point, he just looked at me and puckered his lips towards me. I was so surprised because he only does that with his stuffed animals! So I kissed him back and he kept on wanting to kiss me for a long time....too long in fact that I was almost grossed out! I almost started tearing up as I thought how he was this tiny baby 20 months ago who couldn't show how much he loved me and now he's a toddler with expression, feelings and emotion. He was such a good boy and didn't complain as he put him in the stroller for about 2 hours while strolling the boardwalk in the early evening. We really had such a good time....today Nathan wanted to go back to the beach as he kept asking us to go outside. I think he was disappointed there was no beach outside our house, so he started pulling on my car door handle telling us to drive to NJ again!

We plan on going to the beach again later this month or early September as we all had so much fun. I thought about how going to the beach with a child was so different than going with friends or your spouse in the past. Before it was just lounging around with a book, chatting or sleeping while we tanned. Now it was funny watching Nathan enjoy the beach and water, like he was enjoying God's creation and appreciating the little things.

Interesting note about Ocean City: We had read that Ocean City is the most family friendly beach in NJ as no alcohol is allowed there. But we had also noticed that there were not many Asians or other races there...it was all Caucasians. Don't know if it was coincidence on the day we went, but just something we noticed as we were leaving.

Laid Off

We just got the bad news at work that our whole site in Blue Bell is being shut down and we all have to find work at our sister company GMAC Mortgage or find work elsewhere. Long story short, they decided to merge GMAC Mortgage and GMAC-RFC (where I'm at) into one company to make our company stronger. Well, they have at least 3 GMAC locations right in Horsham, PA so they're going to be moving into the Fort Washington Expo Center late 2007. We all thought we were going to just move in the building with them and keep our jobs, but they also decided to eliminate our jobs as well. They told us that our jobs will be done in our Dallas and Waterloo, IA office.

I'm really sad about it as I've been there for 6 1/2 years and really enjoy the close work environment. I'm not too surprised as we've always worried about them closing us down as we're a small site (90 employees). But to actually hear we're going to close is a shocker. So, we have until February 28, 2007 till we close the doors. My co-workers in our San Diego office were really supportive to me and encouraged me that I would have no trouble finding work and that they would send recommendations if needed. They even have personal contacts with the "big wigs" in Horsham as many of them used to work for GMAC when they had an office in San Diego years ago. I was even encouraged and flattered because the guy who delivered the bad news to us from our Dallas office came up to me personally after the meeting and said not to jump ship and that he's heard good things about me from my boss. He said there are plenty of analyst and reporting positions there that can use my skills. I feel bad for most of my co-workers though as many of them do not have many skills except for being on the phones, so they're at a disadvantage.

So, now I have to update my resume and decide whether to stay as long as possible to get the severance or aggressively look now. If I decide to look at GMAC, I would still have to go through the whole interview process. I really hate that whole interviewing and waiting period. My biggest concern is if anybody will take me. I really would like to get a job there as my benefits and years of service would continue....it would just be a transfer in HR's point of view.

Well, all good things had to come to an end. I was really comfortable at my job and I really had it made....work 7:30-4:30 daily, boss was in Dallas, work from home on Fridays, lots of flexibility and control, nobody looking over my shoulder, etc. It was really perfect. I'm trying to look at this in a positive light and say that this will be good for me as I'll be challenged and there'll be a lot more opportunity there than we had as our site was very limited in jobs. If you can, please remember to pray for me as I am the sole "breadwinner" in our family and we can't afford to have a non-working parent. The thought crossed our mind to have Dan work and me stay at home, but the chances of him finding work after not working for 4+ years is slim. We have a better chance of me finding work and keeping a steady job....plus, we need to have stable benefits....health insurance is so expensive!

Sacred Marriage

My sister-in-law, Grace, recommended this book to me on marriage. I highly recommend married couples (whether things are going great or you're struggling) to read this book as it asks us if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy. It's been a challenge to me personally to draw closer to Him and to trust Him more, more than my husband. I'm so far from being the perfect wife and there have been times my actions/attitudes towards Dan reflect my heart towards God. If anybody decides to read this, let me know your thoughts.

IPOD

So, I finally caved in and joined the IPOD world. Dan has had the 1st generation IPOD for 2+ years and has been trying to convince me to get a new one or use his since he's not working now and has no need for this. He bought it from someone at church for $50 and it's still working great. I kept on saying that I didn't need it and that I'll continue to just bring my CD's in the car and put them back on the shelf when I'm finished with it. Well, this is just the best thing in the world! I just plug it in my car and it's also great to listen to at work to make the time go faster. It's a bit heavy compared to the new ones since it's the first model, but sufficient for now. I have so many CDs I want to convert and it only has 5 GB....I may want to upgrade to a new one later on....maybe a future Christmas or Birthday gift?!! I've been listening to tons of Podcasts from James Dobson's Focus on the Family, Lost and Grey's Anatomy (yes, I just finished watching Season 1 & 2 of Grey's....I can't believe I didn't watch this show earlier! Much better than ER). It's funny how Dan converts to me to new technology....he converted me from using my big old organizer to my Palm when we first got married. My life depends on that! Only downside to technology is that your device is as good as your backup. No backup and everything disappears when it crashes!

Side note: Does anybody watch "The Office"? I just finished watching the first 2 seasons and it's hilarious! I can totally relate to some of the people on the show. It's hilarious what they get away with. I would really enjoy working in that kind of fun environment, although I doubt much work would get done!