What would you change about modern society?
I’m not answering this. I’m taking the day off. There’s not enough room to write what I would change.
Here, look at what my hibiscus are doing. When I’m stressed or upset, I go outside and look at the flowers.
Expect lots of flowers.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Did you know they have edible cookie dough now? It’s true. There are no eggs in it, which makes it impossible for you to get salmonella. (But I like to live my life on the edge and I still eat raw cookie dough with eggs. I’m a rebel.) Technically, you’d have to eat the equivalent of six whole raw eggs to catch salmonella from cookie dough, and even I don’t have enough room in my stomach for that much dough. The best part of ready to eat cookie dough is you don’t have to make a batch of cookies to get it. You can bake some varieties of the new edible cookie dough, but why waste it?
Before you call me a heathen, I don’t eat it straight out of the package. I put non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt into a bowl with some frozen blueberries and strawberries, and then I had a few tiny circles of cookie dough. I need some kind of reward for eating Greek yogurt. The real inedible character in the story is the Greek yogurt, let’s be honest. 
Aside from a few tiny marble-sized cookie dough pieces in my Greek yogurt, I’ve cleaned up my diet in the past several weeks – well…as much as my budget allows. There’s a reason for that, so watch this space.
What is your favorite comfort food? 
What’s your favorite game (card, board, video, etc.)? Why?
My favorite game is the game of WordPress prompt vagary.
The song Wicked Game by Chris Issac is my second choice.
While I’m here, please watch this space for a new undertaking of mine. My last day with the agency is today, and I start my new job in the upcoming days. I have not had time nor inclination to write much, write well, or write at all. While I have not been motivated to write, I have been motivated to enjoy what is happening outside. I have even gotten back on the treadmill, which has for several years been a ghost town.
It’s been a time of tremendous change since March, most of which I didn’t ask for, but that’s life. We move on and we continue to move forward. Sometimes moving forward hangs a quick right, and we recalibrate. I hope you all will continue to give me grace as I navigate The New. Thanks, everyone.
What foods would you like to make?
Dogs or cats?
Get it correct, WordPress. Geez.
And you forgot birds, squirrels, bunnies, lightning bugs, toads…
Everyone is a candidate for the list, except mosquitoes and maggots. 
What bothers you and why?
Because
Back to your regularly scheduled Monday.
List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.
The earth is round.
The sun is hot.
Tears contain salt.
So do the oceans.
If we don’t drink water, we cease to live.
If we don’t eat food, we cease to live.
The only parts of the human body unable to get cancer are teeth and fingernails.
My back hurts.
WordPress needs new prompts.
Are you seeking security or adventure?
I sought security. I’ve sought it since March when I learned my whole department was terminated to save the company money. I was shipped off to an agency which lasted two weeks. I was not interested in working on the account to serve my former employer, thank you very much.
I exited that job for another agency. The people were kind, and the pay was decent, but the insurance costs were steep. And I hadn’t had enough time to grieve the loss of my job, which I held for 14 years and I was really good at. I exited the second agency after a month. I did well and left on good terms. In fact, my supervisor offered to be a reference for me or to be a resource, if ever I should need it.
I took about a week to regroup. One morning, my eyes popped open, and the thought was put into my head to log onto a job search site and look at the jobs. Much to my surprise, there was a job similar to the one I’d held for 14 years. I applied for the job from my bed. It took less than 30 minutes. Within a few days, the first interview took place. Within the next few days I performed the skills assessment that was timed and observed. It was the most stressful skills assessment I have ever taken in my life, and that includes my first examination to get certified in my field. I wasn’t sure if I would pass, but I did. I found out the next day that the department was sending over my information to HR, and were looking forward to me joining the team. I was thrilled. A permanent home. A job that would feel like home because it was an environment that I had known before. The difference was in the kindness. This new company has been nothing but kind since the beginning. My former employer? The word kindness is not in the vocabulary.
Speaking of kindness, I agreed to start at another agency prior to knowledge of this job opening, and obviously prior to me gaining the position. This past Monday, I joined that agency, and these people are also extremely kind and have been wonderful. I am being compensated well, but the cost of insurance continues to try to financially sink me. To stay there would mean bankruptcy for me. I do not exaggerate.
Thursday afternoon my phone rang while I was staring at it waiting for HR to call me with the official offer. As soon as I answered the call, I heard a woman giggling. There must’ve been a funny joke prior to her calling me. Between her giggles, she asked for me. I told her she had the right person. She apologized for her giggling. I knew it was the HR hiring manager from the new job. Please understand, no one ever needs to apologize for giggling in my presence. I told her as much. She made me an offer and we had a pleasant conversation. The next steps are in motion and I have a tentative start date. I have to say, from start to finish this has taken a very short amount of time and feels like an absolute gift.
You may think I’m crazy, or you may just not believe it, but I am convinced my mother had a hand in this job acquisition. I can’t explain why the thought to go to the job search site was placed into my head when I didn’t put it there. I can’t explain why the first interview invitation went to my spam folder and the Director called me from her personal cell phone to be sure that I was interested. I can’t explain why it took less than a month to gain employment at a prestigious company that holds some of the most kind people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
I also can’t explain the giggling, but if you knew my mother, you would know she would be capable of something like this.
You see, I got the verbal offer on the birthday of one of my brothers – the 11th. He texted: “Happy My Birthday to you,” after I informed him of the news. Every year, my mom and I would meet him for birthday lunch. Often, it was on 12th of July. That’s the day in between our birthdays.
He was joking when he wished me a happy birthday on his day. The truth is, it’s a birthday present for me, it simply happened two days early.
Thanks, Mom. 💫✨💫💛
What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?
I reserve the right not to answer these questions, Mom.
*Everyone, I do see your comments and likes and I promise I will return to get back to you guys. This week has been and is a hot bed of activity, with lots of changes happening . I hope to return by the weekend to tell you all about it. I appreciate you all. 
What is your favorite genre of music?
But I’m down with most of the rest.
My favorites are 80s pop, 80s alternative, old-school rap, old-school hip-hop, some older stuff from the 60s and 70s and 80s, Fleetwood Mac and Simon and Garfunkel, the Police, 70s and 80s easy listening, some modern pop, some modern hip-hop, although please miss me with the autotune.
I don’t have a specific favorite genre. I’m all over the place, which makes for a very interesting playlist. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It's Amy,” I said. 