Yet another quote of the day

The changes in our life must come from the impossibility to live otherwise than according to the demands of our conscience...not from our mental resolution to try a new form of life.
Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)

Today's quote in my little quote widget thingy was yet again filled with words of wisdom very applicable to my current situation. "Changes must come from the inability to live otherwise..." This is so very true. No matter what, most people are at least partially resistant to change, and for many people it takes a real problem to initiate any sort of real change. I've found that while I'm not adverse to change, it's still a difficult thing to do and I really have to gear myself up for it. We've had alot of change at my house over the past year. Most of the changes have been for the better, and we've adapted and enjoyed the additions to our life.
Unfortunately, some of the changes begot changes in our financial status and that situation needs to be resolved pronto.... thus necessitating further changes. At this juncture it is impossible for us to continue to live in our current situation without making some major changes. One change is to find new jobs. Brad has applied to about a bazillion jobs and since the job market is so exceptionally crappy thanks to the glut of unemployed, but very skilled workers, has yet to actually get so much as an interview. With that being said, thankfully he has not joined the ranks of the unemployed and it is pretty certain that he will not land in that boat. The same can be said for me (minus the part where jobs have been applied for). I have applied for absolutely no jobs. I have two jobs as it is, and the flexibility that my primary job affords me is one that I don't want to give up. The flexibility allows me to have the other job (which is the job I really love), while paying the bills (for the most part). Unfortunately my two jobs still does not make up for the budget deficit we're currently facing. Brad is now looking for a second job as well, and I hope and pray that will happen and our financial issues will be resolved.
Yesterday in my daily job hunt (which is generally for Brad), I came across a job that I thought would be better suited for me. It's not a perfect fit, but perhaps a better fit than where I am. I'm pretty sure I'm going to throw my hat in to the ring for a position with this organization, but I need to do some major work on my resume (which hasn't been updated for approximately 2 years). In all honestly I'd just like for things to fall in to place without either of us having to take a job we don't want (just for the sake of the paycheck). It would be great if one of the jobs Brad has applied for would come to fruition. It would be great if a local AT job opened up and I was able to take it (thus saving us the cost of summer child care and plunging me back in to the field I love and went to school for 7 frickin' years to do).
All in all I guess what it boils down to is that I am hoping and praying for change. Major, life altering change. Change that will free us from the terror that is the child care bill, and the stress of going to a job every day that is less than enjoyable.

What's New

I've been a little preoccupied for the past 5 weeks, thus no updates to the blog (aside from the repost when MJ went on to the great big stage in the sky). Here's a quick breakdown of what's been going on.

June 18th, 2009 - Brinley Nicole Snyder finally decided to join us. Can I tell you how happy I was to have that be over with? I don't think there are words to describe my elation. As I've mentioned many times before.... never, ever will I do that again. Thankfully she came out cute and perfect. To give an example, she sleeps through the night (starting at 4 days old). Additionally, she appears to be a Taylor baby (as opposed to Joshua who, according to everyone on the planet except me, appears to be a Snyder baby).

I took a month off from work and spent a considerable amount of time sleeping in and lying by the pool. I've got the farmers tan to prove it. Joshua joined the swim team this year, and after about six weeks of prodding, begging, pleading, and forehead slapping (on my part) he is now a pretty decent swimmer. He needs to learn the strokes, but he does a mean doggie paddle, and is getting better each day with freestyle and butterfly. This is a major accomplishment and frankly it trumps me giving birth in the way of big events because we've been trying to get him to swim (in any capacity) for roughly 5 years now.

Katie came to town in early July and has been quite helpful in the way of baby tending and carting Josh around (not to mention she vacuums regularly and will load the dishwasher). Bekir followed earlier this week and we've been enjoying visiting with them.

Unfortunately I won't be going to Taipei in a month due to financial stress and the need for an additional job to pay for childcare. Anyone looking for help in the evenings or weekends should contact me STAT. In lieu of travelling to Taipei I'll be heading back to Gally to cover for Jonathan (who replaced me when I left) so that he can travel to Taipei (I'm only extremely jealous, but not disgruntled).

Memories and Michael Jackson - again

In lieu of the recent passing of Michael Jackson I'm reposting a blog I wrote well over a year ago about how fond I am of his music.

Monday, February 11, 2008
Memories and Michael Jackson
Do you ever forget how much you loved Michael Jackson? No, not recently loved him, but in like 1st grade loved him. When I was in 1st grade, along with many of you - Michael Jackson was da bomb. He was the coolest, most talented, best entertainer out there. We all loved his songs (go ahead, try and deny it), wanted to do the moonwalk like him, and watched Thriller over and over again. Regardless, I'm not on here typing away to convince you of anything.
So, we've established that I loved Michael Jackson as a kid. I continued to enjoy his music even though Michael, as a person, became the exact opposite of someone who I would admire. The music he made during the early 80's, and even the early 90's was great. Catchy tunes that have been sampled and remade time and time again in the current music scene. This is what leads me to this blog and the recent updates to my playlist.
Rhianna's newest radio release has a nice sampling (or pseudosampling) from Wanna Be Starting Something which in turn leads me to think of Michael Jackson, which in turn leads me to think about a very long trip to and from Connecticut with my partners in crime Ron and Cami (and Will was along that trip which made it even better). We didn't always all agree on what should or should not be on the radio, but we all agreed on Michael Jackson. (BTW, Cami or Will if you happen to read this - one of my favoritest memories ever.) This story has already been recapped in a 2 part blog way down my list called "We're supposed to take 95 north," and "We're supposed to take 95 south." (found on my MySpace blog)
Anywho, all this brought me to today when I finally remembered to add some MJ songs to my playlist - along with Rhianna, and some new Chris Brown. When you have nothing better to do, or need the best playlist ever to get you through your day - check it out :)