New Year, 2006

Ahhh, so came and went another year... 2005 was very interesting... My husband thought of this first, he did a year recap and a look at the new year. So I'm going to do the same. =)

January

My niece Cyndi gave birth to her daughter, Alexis on January 13th.

February

My work hosted the February SCPPOA meeting. I got my boyfriend Charles a phone for Valentines day and put him on a family plan with me. We later got engaged.

March

I went to Las Vegas for the National Aquatics Conference put on by the NRPA (National Recreation and Parks Association). I was going to do the NAMS (National Aquatic Management School) as well, but I decided against it. I figured AFO (Aquatic Facility Operator) would be more marketable in the near future, and they were on the same days. I stayed at the Circus Circus, rooming with an Aquatics Supervisor from a nearby agency. My division manager and I met up there, we actually cooperated to go to different sessions so that we could meet together on it when we got back. That way we'd have twice the learning! Lexie passed away on March 13th. She was buried at Rose Hills on March 21st.

April

April must have been boring, I don't remember it ever occurring at all. I've calculated that it must have been the month that I first went to Ventura county. I carpooled with the colleague that I roomed with in Las Vegas- I was interviewing for a scholarship that day, and she was on the interview panel. The interviews were at City Hall, and the meeting was at a Marie Calendar's because the pool was still under construction. We did do a facility tour, however, and that was the first time I was on the grounds of the pool I now work for. They showed us the mechanical/chemical area and the pools, but the bath house was off limits that day due to construction. I got word via mail later that month that I'd won a $250 scholarship from SCPPOA for any aquatic training that I choose. (I'm going to use it for NAMS/NAC in March of 2006.)

May

At the beginning of May, I took David to his first SCPPOA meeting. I think he liked it. I introduced him to some of my once-a-month aquatics friends, and we showed them our blue shirts. (That was a hot issue, they were dressing the pool managers in the same uniform as the sports people. We looked nothing like safety personnel.) Mid-May, summer begins for us. I picked up my Emergency Response instructor manual and told myself that I wouldn't be out of lifeguard mode for 3 months...

June

June, as expected, all about work at the pools. I did turn 22 in early June, but I was at work that day teaching an in-service training.

July

July, as expected, all about work at the pools. Effective July 1st with the new fiscal year, I and two others were promoted to the Pool Manager position that was vacant since October 2004. At the same time, we also heard that they were going to hire a "Part Time Aquatics Coordinator" making about $7 more than my current pay.

August

August, also all about work! The deadline for the PT Aquatics Coordinator came and went. David and myself both applied.

September

My fiance turned 21 on September 14th. I went to visit him at his apartment and brought him a slice of pie with a candle in it. =) Throughout September, I visited Charles every weekend and started dropping off a box or two of my things each week to make the move easier later. Some time in September, I got a letter in the mail that the deadline for the PT Aquatics Coordinator was extended through October 31st. I had hoped to have word before my wedding, to see if I could afford to keep driving two hours each way to work. Since I wouldn't know, I emailed the Aquatics Supervisor of the pool we went to in April asking if she had any jobs available. (I had met her in October of 2004 at CAMS.) I interviewed for her on my following trip to see Charles, and got fingerprinted the trip after that.

October

Charles and I got married on October 6th in the Las Vegas area. Upon our return, I started my new job on October 13th. I realized that the first two hours of work at my old job paid for my gas for just that day, so I switched to a schedule of two ten-hour days. I was driving there on Monday mornings and coming back Tuesday nights. Of course, that only worked until our '91 Explorer died in the parking lot at work. Charles was out working that day, so I got a ride home. The car stayed in the parking lot for about two months- I even had to have maintenance log it in so that their bosses wouldn't question it. Charles dropped me off on Sunday nights for a while and then picking me up on Tuesday nights. Later on, I started taking the train in on Monday mornings and getting picked up Tuesday nights. He was really cool about it, especially since I wasn't making all that much money really.

November

The whole month of November I was working 20 hours at my old job and 30-40 hours at my new job. In the meanwhile, my husband started a new job on November 1st, so he was keeping busy too. =) I got a letter in the mail telling me that the PT Aquatics Coordinator position was no longer in the budget. It says that when the budget process is complete, they may reconsider. That's when I started thinking about quitting. When you quit, you're not eligible for re-hire for a year (or so we're told, I've never seen this in writing), so I hadn't wanted to quit earlier when I moved to VC because I wouldn't be eligible to interview for that position.

December

I finally cut back on the number of hours that I was doing at my new job, after my husband got a couple of checks from his new job. We started getting more financially stable, and we bought a vacuum cleaner! That's been our most recent household purchase- each time we make such a purchase, I tell him it's getting more and more like a real house. :) The first week of December, I turned in my resignation letter at my old job. It was effective December 31st, but with my Monday/Tuesday 10-hour days, my last day of work was December 27th. We finally had enough money to get the Explorer fixed in December. That was a huge relief, having two cars again. It made me really think about how my parents used to manage with just one car. (It helped that my mom worked at home.)

2006

We got (or should I say I got?) a beautiful kitchen set from Charles's great aunt. That (along with our vacuum cleaner) makes our house almost complete. Before 2006 is over, we will have a couch! I think that may be it, we'd have a real house. =) Also for 2006, I plan to go back to school. I figure by about March I'll do a FAFSA and get financial aid lined up. I probably wouldn't start class until after summer though. I plan to take care of my health a little more. In February, when Charles's probation is officially over, he gets benefits (and we can add me at cost). I can get my knees, back, etc looked at then. I'd like to work out more, but I can't run/jump/etc with my knee issues, and the only sport I can still do (swimming) I have to go incognito (or out of town). I swim free at work, but that rarely works. If I walk in, there's something to be done or someone who wants to talk to me. Charles's OSER project is going to take off in the next year. I'm excited to see how it fares, and I think he is too! My credit card should be back at $0 balance in the first few months of the year. We'll fix up the Explorer some more... fix the driver's side window that's been acting up, as well as fix/replace the stereo. When I first got it, the tape would work but none of the buttons worked. It was either on or off. So I got a car kit and CD player, and that worked great (with my mp3 player too) but now the volume is higher on my internal PDA speaker than the car speakers. That's all I can think of for now. We'll check back in next year to see how we did!