A Load Off Our Minds

Brandi called me at work a few minutes ago to let me know that she's been offered a position with a health club in Toledo. Needless to say, we're both pretty stoked about that. She was going to move back to Bowling Green next month anyway, whether she had a new job lined up or not, but it's definitely a relief that she now has one secured and doesn't have to worry about it anymore. I know she was worried about it, but she's done a good job of sticking it out with this particular possibility, and it paid off for her (and us) in the end. She won't be working full-time to start, but she'll be getting some good hours, and she'll be able to pick up extra shifts and move up to full-time status. That means she'll probably be without health coverage in the meantime, but it's really not the end of the world--it shouldn't be for too long. I could tell even in our short phone conversation how relieved, excited, and happy she was, and that's the best part of the whole thing.

She actually had two interviews in Toledo this morning (she was hired at the second one), and found a few minutes in between to visit me here in the office. That was quite a nice surprise. She was wearing a new dress that she got yesterday for her birthday, and she was lovely. I wish I had a picture to share, but alas, I don't.

We went last night to have dinner at Brandi's parents' house. Her stepmom made lasagna, which was really good, and I got to take home the leftovers. Their main present to Brandi was a little grill, which will be awesome to have this summer. We had been talking about getting a grill anyway, after we move in together, and now it's something we don't have to worry about.

As a sidenote, their dog Buster loves the hell out of me.

The new Edwin McCain CD, Scream and Whisper, came out yesterday, and I buzzed into Circuit City on my lunch break to pick up my copy. I've only listened to it once all the way through, so I don't have anything to say about it more profound than "it sounds good." It does sound good, though, and I'll go so far as to say it sounds awesome. All of Edwin's albums are very good, and this one doesn't disappoint at all. On first listen, my favorite tracks are "Shooting Stars" (co-written by Angie Aparo, another one of my favorites), "Say Anything" (the first single), "White Crosses," and "Wild at Heart." I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes quality rock and roll, and I even more highly recommend you go see Edwin perform live if/when he's in your area. They put on a great show.

I mentioned that I bought a new cell phone this weekend, and as I use it, I'm discovering that it has the potential to be great. The sound quality is great, even when I only have one bar on my signal strength indicator. However, many of the features I won't be able to try out for a while. Sprint PCS has a "Vision" plan that includes internet access, as well as access to goodies like ringers, picture sharing (yep, it's a camera phone), games, etc. My phone supports this service and I signed up for it, but I can't use it until July 6 because of the way their system is set up. Essentially, my new plan won't start until the beginning of my next billing cycle, in order to avoid prorated charges. On one hand that's very convenient, but it's also highly irritating because my phone can do all this cool stuff and I want to play with it RIGHT NOW! I suppose I can wait a few more days for it, though.

Things have been picking up a little bit lately here at work. That is to say, I've actually had a few things to do so far this week. It sounds implausible, but it had been a while since I had anything to do, so every little bit is an improvement. We're still a long way from being busy, though.