Life's been weird lately, as you might have guessed from my last post, which was decidedly more Picasso than usual (to understand what I mean, you'll have to go read this post at Red Umbrella). But some interesting discussion was generated in the comments section, the upshot of which I totally agree. Life in general can get messed up but we have to deal with it, hope for the best, and enjoy whatever small pleasures are available.
Most of my angst over the weekend stems from a conversation with the company who holds the mortgage on our two homes in Florida. Like many other people, we got caught smack dab in the middle of the housing market meltdown, and our rental property is now worth less than we owe on the mortgage.
Nasty business, that. I won't go into any of the gory details, but we're faced with some rather tough choices in the coming months.
So I spent the weekend being mad at the world in general and myself in particular for thinking I could make a killing in the real estate market. There really are no free rides, and I know that. Just a lifetime of honest, hard work, which is something with which I'm quite familiar (and by the looks of things will continue being familiar with until I'm at least 80!)
Speaking of work, there's some weirdness going on at my company these days. We've had a rash of new hires who last about three weeks and then bail. My boss, who has been working yeoman's duty picking up all the slack from these slackers, is about to throw in the towel. The latest defection occurred today - a young woman who hired started on the job three weeks ago, left a message this morning stating the job "just wasn't for her," and she wouldn't be returning.
In retrospect, I should have suspected something yesterday when I noticed she had taken the 8x10 glossy photo of her family home with her.
I'm wondering-in a state where unemployment is higher than just about anywhere and the cost of living is pretty steep too, how can people be so cavalier about jobs? And where is the sense of responsibility? Our company is very small, and the presence (or absence) of one person makes a huge difference in terms of profitability.
To top it off, it's a super nice place to work. It's a very professional environment, all women, great teamwork atmosphere, flexible schedule with the ability to work at home, decent pay, 401K program - I just don't get it.
What do women want, anyway?
So, if you know of a good, level headed nurse out there who'd relish the opportunity to work in case management with a group of intelligent women, send her my way would you?
Along with someone who'd like to buy some swampland in Florida (smiles).