Back from Slackerdom - Part...what number are we up to? - Spin CIty

I love my Spin City meetup group! One of my favorite things I do every week is get together with them. We did a lot this year - we grew to over 200 members and had some of our biggest meetups ever!

Meetup at Trump Tower:

The Shake Shack:

The Rabbit Hole:

Rhinebeck: - after none of us winning anything last year except for some snarky comments this year we cleaned UP!! Four 1st place, Two 2nd place, One 3rd, 4th and 6th. Yay!

Our first meetup at Highline Park: which got us a write-up in the New York Times!

World Wide Spin in Public Day at Riverside Park: Our first event for which we had to get a permit!

Fibre Fallout: not our event, but a lot of us attended:

And our Holiday Party - our largest event ever!

Back from Slackerdom Part 4 - The Hike

Every time we drive into our driveway during daylight we have this great view of a clearing high up on the mountain. After many times of seeing this and saying "Wouldn't it be fun to hike up there?" we did. We packed up some wine and cheese and pepperoni, some water, and a rope of course and went up. It took most of a November afternoon, but the view was phenomenal.

Back from Slackerdom - Part 3 - Other Assorted Wildlife

Among the outdoor "pets":

Baby deer playing before a rainstorm:

Turkeys:

Frogs:

Turtles:

And a bear (tracks anyway):

Back from Slackerdom Part 2 - The Bunnies

Hef turned 7 on June 18th and NIlla turned 4 on November 3rd. They're still uber-cute and I look forward to the daily head pets and bunny kisses after work.

And, of course, pics from Easter:

Back from Slackerdom - Part I

Wow. It's been over a year since I've posted anything. Face it. I just don't think I'm that interesting. I may be wrong, but I'd rather be wrong this way than like those Jersey Shore tools who think they're ZOMG sooooooo interesting! Bleh.



Anyway, where to start. I mean, it's been a year and a lot of shit has happened, or not happened. Let's start with my previous post. Yeah, remember that job that was so full of awesome and win? Well, it wasn't a job. It was a LIE! Yeah, everything was fine at first. Until the person I "replaced" came back and there were only 2 jobs and 3 of us. After that it was a barrage of being set up and thrown under the bus. Then, two days before my insurance was to kick in, it was "Thanks, but we don't need you anymore." And there I was. Unemployed. Again.



Sad? No. Little did they know a few weeks before I spent my lunch hour going to an awesome job interview at Marc Ecko! So I didn't sweat it much - I figured it would just be a few weeks until I was employed again.



About a month and a half later I took a job at another childrenswear company. I figured Ecko hired someone else because I hadn't heard from them. I was not thrilled about going to yet another childrenswear company, but I was even less thrilled with being broke, so I took it. Of course, right after I accepted, Ecko called me back.

What to do? Give up a job where I know what the atmosphere and the workload are like, that doesn't pay so great but has excellent benefits that I don't have to pay for, yet is in an industry I want to get out of? Or jump ship to go where I don't know the people or the workload, where I have to kick in toward my benefits, but pays much better and is in the industry I want to work in? So after a week at my new job I gave my two weeks notice. Scariest thing I've ever done.

And it was SO worth it! I've been at Ecko almost a year now and I'm so happy! Cool people, cool products, great location, and the benefit deductions aren't as bad as I thought they would be. I definitely made the right decision.

The official end of my summer vacation - I have a job!

I had a few calls and a few interviews over the summer, but nothing substantial. I was enjoying all the spare time, but the lack of $$ and the annoying things like filing unemployment each week and trying to find cheap health insurance were getting old fast. Then Scott had a great idea. Why not call Raymond and see if he knows anyone looking for a Technical Designer? I mean, all the childrenswear company owners know each other, so he might know somebody. I figured what could I lose?

He actually responded with a name and phone # for me. I called and left a message, but wasn't really expecting a call back.

Then I got a call back. Had one interview on a Thursday, a second one on Monday where they offered me the job and I started a week later. Same industry, same job, same building! I'm just one floor lower than I was before - hey, shorter commute!

Anyway, I've been here a month and a half, I really like it and everyone is really nice. Not quite the $$ I wanted, but better benefits - like getting out at 5:15 instead of 6:00. It makes a HUGE difference! And I have a former co-worker here as well.

So being laid off all summer had some positives:

- I got shit done!

- I started riding my bike every morning. The rides are shorter during the week now that I'm working again, but I make up for it on the weekends, like climbing up the great hill of suck on Call Hollow Road.

- It made me budget. I leave the credit cards at home now. And we cook at home more. I've also started a savings account because if this ever does happen again, I want to be ready.

What I did on my summer vacation - Part 5 - Hanging with friends

I have the best hairdresser in the world. Srsly. And it's not just because she's been my BFF since we were little hellions. She dyes my hair BLUE!!! It doesn't get much cooler than that.



So hair appointments are basically social visits. She does my hair for two hours, I go extract Scott from Harbor Freight, and then the four - or sometimes five, or six - of us go out to dinner, laugh our asses off, entertain the wait staff and annoy everyone else in the restaurant until the place closes.