Spiderman

After 800 miles, turkey, pumpkin pie, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and a glimpse at the smoke of the Malibu wildfires, we are back on Jackson Street. Yair shook hands with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, met Spiderman (though he was deeply disappointed by the fact that his all-time favorite spoke English, not Hebrew like the real Spiderman), pocketed clothes and toys, swept leaves in the backyard, bravely endured endless hours on the road, and made new friends.

And since Spiderman remains popular, Yair got himself yet another present today: Spiderman panties. His first. Panties, that is. What an incentive! He spent his first two hours ever without diapers, going potty three times. An incredible success. The hard part came afterwards, when he insisted on going to sleep without a diaper, too. There was much crying, screaming, ranting, clamoring until he finally caved in. To be continued tomorrow... After school.

Happy Thanksgiving

We are driving down to Los Angeles today, to visit relatives over Thanksgiving.

This week has been a bit hectic, with Yair being sick and me having another job interview on the phone yesterday. But we are now up for the drive.

No news

on the job front. I'm still waiting. I guess telecommuting is not an option, so maybe this first opportunity passed me by. With a little bit of luck, I may get another interview shortly, but this time, I am not going to open my mouth again.

Meanwhile, time is passing by rather uneventful. Today's highlight: An information session on potty training at the Family Resource Center, conducted by an 80-year-old former nursery school teacher. She was lovely. So sweet. Conclusion: Don't train. Wait. I am relaxed, at least about this chapter.

Have I mentioned Yair's imaginary friends, Meshek, Kakas, and Yaram? He's talking to them all the time. In his room. Under the shower. "Why are you crying? What? Don't cry! Mommy will be here soon." It's hilarious.

Tonight our smoke detectors went off. That was hilarious too. It scared the wits out of Yair, who came running to me, screaming. I started counting but eventually called the number for emergency maintenance, and within an hour someone showed up and shut off the noise. Right in time for me to get settled in front of the television, for a chapter of Grey's Anatomy. Now that Yair falls asleep by himself (at times comforted by his indispensable Winnie-the-Pooh phone), this is an option.

Just when you least expect it...

The phone rings. You answer in a rather stroppy way because really, you cannot take another of these commercial calls that usually come in around lunch time. Donate for fire fighters. Help in the war on drugs. Keep our children off the street. And that's just when the hiring manager of the company you interviewed with is on the line, all friendly, seemingly smiling, because guess what?! She really likes you and would want you to join her team, there are just a few little issues to get out of the way beforehand. Such as the distance. How would I feel about driving 50 miles every day? Telecommuting about twice a week? Well, well. Not really common at this company. People show up in the office every day. Hard to manage someone remotely. But you know what? "Let me think about it for a while." When we hang up, I realize that I haven't mentioned I would also like a reduction in hours. Can't do it otherwise. How many hours are we talking about anyway? 40? What about 30? 32? OK, 34 at the most. When I call her back, the mail box greets me. No one home. Is she gone for the weekend? I leave her a message asking to call me back. And now I'm waiting... Should I let this opportunity pass by? Or grab it with both hands to see what comes out of it?

What did I write yesterday? I only wanted to get accepted? Well. I got accepted!!!

Fender bender

And another nuisance. Three weeks ago, this woman bumped into my car. I was returning from school, with Yair sitting in the back, just taking a turn to drive into our parking space. She was backing out of hers, not checking her mirrors or looking over her shoulder (I just passed my driving test yesterday) when she crashed into my car's passenger side.

Grumpy, she got out of her vehicle, asked if "the baby" was hurt, then walked back to her Nissan Pathfinder to jot down her details on a piece of paper. She shortly apologized for not having her business card with her -- they had just stolen her wallet the night before.

To keep it short: I have been in touch with the insurance on an almost daily basis ever since. At least three times I retold the story, provided all the details, even faxed over a drawing of the accident. On Friday, the appraiser finally came to assess the damage. Then yesterday it turned out they haven't even decided on liability! And why is that? Because Mrs. Neighbor claims I was backing up too! I am still too stunned to actually stay calm. This is outraging. She is either blind or bold. I suppose she is both.

By tomorrow, the insurance will close its investigation and make a decision. I don't have any proof. I just hope the pictures of the damage clearly explain who hit whom, which force actually impacted on which car. Clearly, with a damage on the passenger side, I cannot really be the one to blame. Or can I?

Downhill

Did I mention that the interviews went great on Monday? Considering the fact they were my first interviews on American soil. But that was that. No follow-up phone call. No e-mail. And believe me, I wrote really fine thank-you notes to all the interviewers. Maybe not by the book, but surely individual.

I could tell myself that I don't really care. Because, after all, I'm generally convinced everything happens for a reason, and for the better. If they decided not to take me on, then at least I don't have to burden my days with two-hour drives in both directions. It makes life so much easier.

But the truth is: I do mind. Not because I wanted to hit the road so badly, but because I wanted to get accepted. Because now, I have to start all over again. Read the ads, write the cover letters, investigate who's the hiring manager, follow up if company X received my application. Over and over again. Who has power for that?

So for the time being, I'm keeping to books (just finished The Kite Runner and, finally! started the last Harry Potter) and housekeeping. And to the sweetest little boy on earth. No ambitions. I need a few days to put myself together again and dig myself out of the hole. But then I am going to tackle this job thing. Maybe all I really need to do is pass along my friend's line to potential employers, in case of doubt: "It's Jeanne, just hire her at her conditions :-)."

Addendum: Halloween in pictures

My first interview

You may be wondering why it has been so quiet around us ever since Halloween. The reason is that I am preparing myself for a day of interviews on Monday, with a company in Sunnyvale. That's far, yes, but I am totally excited. I'm also scared of what I may get myself into, but I'll think about that later. So please keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

Ooops, I haven't put up the Halloween pics yet. I'll do it after Monday, I promise. I haven't even looked at them myself yet. Oh oh, spaghettios... Yair's new favorite, picked up from his teacher. His English is improving daily: "Trashy town" (a story they read every day), "put the toys away" (part of a song they sing when cleaning up), "one, two, three, four, five," and "Mr. Donkey" (probably also picked up from a story, but I'm not sure).