Mommy, I'm getting on a plane!

Well, the three of us are leaving for Austin, TX in 3 weeks, to visit good friends who live there. We brought the plane tickets for this trip back in October, and they were a good price. However, we were doing well financially in October. Now, not so much. If I were planning the trip now, I wouldn't be able to afford the tickets at all. Oh well, what's done is done. We'll have a fabulous time and we have free room and transportation.

The problem is I haven't told my parents yet that we are going! Every time I see my mom, I think "I need to tell her about the trip", but I don't. Eek. She knows that right now money is tight, and she tends to cop an attitude about these sorts of things, which I can't stand. And the longer I wait, the worse it will probably look. Sigh.

I am an adult. I am an adult. I am an adult.

Planes and Cabs

I had my usual 7:10am flight to Boise this morning. Yay me, I slept until 4:30am before waking up and feeling those pre-am-airport jitters start up in my stomach (alarm was set for 5am). Previously, the jitters began at like 2am. A whole 2.5 extra hours of sleep is doing wonders to make my day in Boise easier. Glad I'm getting used to this.

I took a cab to the airport this morning because one of our cars is in the shop. The Green Taxi picked me up. This was NOT the Executive Limousine service. Before I even get into the cab, I detected the faint odor of cigarettes. The inside door handle was loose as I closed the door. The seats had the appropriate amount of comfortable sag. The driver was a balding guy with a body that looked like it had not seen running shoes or the inside of a gym for far too long. As we headed to the airport, the car bounced along, inducing simultaneous feelings of terror (oh my god, this car is about to fall apart!) and total comfort (this is totally what cabs are supposed to feel like). I'm looking forward to getting my car back.

The Cornfields of Idaho

So I'm still waiting to be assigned a new work project and begin traveling. About 2 weeks ago my supervisor informed me that she had found a study for me to work on, a study related to constipation. Not exactly infectious diseases, but more interesting than cardiology. I'll take it.

She also informed me that I would be monitoring sites in Washington, Montana, Nebraska, and Iowa. Nebraska and Iowa??? Those are kind of ... far away from Oregon (considering that we are supposed to be regional monitors. In the past, I never had to go further than Denver or Phoenix, although once I went to Houston, but that was a special circumstance and not my assigned site).

Then last week I got to talk with the director of the project. She informed me that I would be traveling to Washington, Montana and Idaho for the project. Seems that my supervisor, who lives and works in New Jersey, confused Iowa for Idaho. Because you know, all those western states are way out there and the same, even if it is at least 2 hours of additional flight time between Idaho and Iowa. Sheesh. The project director didn't know anything about Nebraska.

So I am relieved. I was not exactly looking forward to flights all the way out to Iowa, especially in the winter time.

Speaking of winter time, when I went shopping for new work clothes I thought that I was going to be going to California for work. So I brought warm-weather clothes. I don't think that will work for Washington, Montana, and Idaho in the winter time!! It's a good thing I didn't remove the tags and still have the receipt.

And the winner is... not me! Yay!

In keeping with the theme that it is a crazy world... I am no longer going to Philadelphia next week. Whew.

My company had assigned me to a project for which there was a 2 day training in Philadelphia. Along with a day of travel all the way out there, that would have meant me being gone for 3 full, long days. I was having major anxiety about this -- the prospect of me leaving Il Tonino for that long, for the first time ever, did not fill me with thoughts of sunshine and flowers.

(I was also having anxiety about the food over there. During the training, breakfast, lunch, and dinner were to be provided, thus eliminating my ability to seek out a vegetarian or at least semi-vegetarian restaurant or natural foods store and fill up on good, healthy food. Visions of cereal with the rice milk that I brought with me, bread-and-lettuce sandwiches, baked potatoes with ketchup, and many, many energy bars packed in my suitcase does not make for a very appetizing 3 days.)

I'm off the project, not because they couldn't find an interpreter, but because they finally realized something that I noticed a few days ago -- they have 3 west coast monitors for 9 sites on the west coast. Typically one monitor will handle 9 sites! So that wasn't looking good and I wasn't sure how that was going to work out. They finally noticed that issue and decided to let me go. I am more than happy about that.

So now we'll wait and see what they find for me next and hope it is a much better fit. (And I'm hoping it is not cardiology, I much prefer working on infectious diseases!)

SAHWM to WOHM

My perfect, beautiful job is no longer perfect. I was informed suddenly on Tuesday by my supervisor ("I need to talk with you about utilization") that I needed to start traveling again (basically my job description) or ... lose my job (not stated in those words, but implied). Gah. And I have only 2 weeks.

So after crying on and off all day Tuesday to grieve the sudden loss of this amazing stay-at-home job where I had a totally flexible schedule and could take care of Il Tonino, I started figuring out costs, options, etc. Basically plan A is for me to resume traveling for work and find some kind of day care for Il Tonino. There is no plan B.

Two weeks to find an in-home nanny (not affordable unless I do nanny-share with another family) or find someone who provides care inside their home. The tricky part will be the hours. Urban Shaman has to be at work by 6:45 every morning, but then is home by 4. Luckily my mom has agreed to watch Il Tonino for 2 half days each week. That will really help with costs.

I asked my supervisor if I could continue being part-time, working 3 days a week. She seemed to think this was an option. So for now that is what I am going with -- I will work/travel 3 days a week (probably Wednesday-Friday). If they change their minds and say it must be 5 days a week... well, let's not go there.

Urban Shaman had surgery yesterday, so Il Tonino stayed with my mom from 10:30am to 1:30pm (when I went there for a lunch break during his surgery) and then again from 3:45 to 5:45. He did amazingly well and never asked for me. I was so very happy and relieved. I have been worried about how attached he is to me and how he will make this transition. It seems, though, I have to worry more about me than him!

Overnight should be okay. Il Tonino just transitioned into his own bed and does well there all night. He has been nursing but then falling asleep on top of me instead, so that will work well for daddy. It's the first nursing session of the morning that I'm most concerned about.

Gah. I had my life all planned out. Then life threw me this curveball. Of course.