Celebrity Look-Alike Fun

Thanks to Wino for the link. :)

Has anybody seen my mojo?

I seem to have lost it somewhere along the way. Apparently, I now suck at job interviews. I never had this problem in the past. I mean, not only would I leave every interview feeling as though I'd aced it, but I would always end up with a job offer within a day or two of the interview. Now, I leave every interview feeling like a dolt and kicking myself for not being more confident and articulate. What the hell happened to my awesome interviewing skills?

Well, anyway, I had another interview this afternoon. I think I did marginally better this time than I did on the last two, but I was still way too nervous and timid. Ugh.

This interview was set up for me by the staffing agency I registered with last month, so I may have a better shot at the job because of that. I got the idea that the attorney is interviewing just two or three people for the job. It sounds like it would be a really great spot for me, too. It's the Austin branch of a firm that has offices in several other cities, but in the Austin branch, there is just the one attorney and I'd be the only staff. I'd get the benefits of working for a large firm, but with the small office atmosphere that I love. The attorney seemed really cool, and the work sounds very interesting. My representative at the staffing agency says the firm wants to fill this spot ASAP, so hopefully I'll hear something soon.

Unbelievably cute stuff!

From: Elle has left the building.
Date: Aug 27, 2006 6:40 PM

This little Chi was dumped at the South L.A. Shelter after having a litter of puppies who were probably then sold; she was still engorged with milk.

This tiny unweaned kitten also found herself without a mama at the shelter which usually means a death sentence.

Thinking outside the box, Leslie Correa, South L.A's shelter manager, had an idea. Hmmmm. She placed the kitten with the Chi mama dog; they quickly bonded and became inseparable. When the Chi would be taken out of the cage, the kitten would cry and cry. When the kitten would be taken away from mama Chi, the little mama would furrow her brow with worry.

Leslie decided that they had to be adopted together. Thanks to Leslie and LIFE Animal Rescue, this pair will go to a foster home and then be adopted out together. The end. :)

Some ways to help the animals

Courtesy of my friend Elle:


From: Elle~Assassin
Date: Aug 25, 2006 11:14 PM

KAYTANA! IM HERE TO RID THE WORLD OF CRUELTY!


E ~ For the animals, for the planet


From: ~A Voice For Those Who Cannot Speak~

PLEASE REPOST: click "reply to sender", COPY (select ALL) all text (code) you see, OPEN a new blank bulletin, PASTE what you just copied into the new blank bulletin, don't forget a SUBJECT title, then POST! This will preserve all photos, links and contact info.

Book recommendation

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, having little else to do. I have several stacks of books which I've accumulated over the past few years on recommendations from friends, as gifts, or as impulse buys at Barnes & Noble, and now I finally have time to read them at a pace of two or three per week, rather than just one or two per month.

I recently finished Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, by Mario Vargas Llosa. It is an absolutely brilliant and delightful novel. I highly recommend it.

Family photo

My sister-in-law, Kimberly; my little brother, Tim; my nephew, Jakob; and my niece, Ashleigh, on a recent trip to Disneyland:



Aren't they just too cute?

Slightly less lumpy

Whew! As I suspected, the new lump was just another cyst. It has been aspirated, along with two smaller ones above it, so now I'm less lumpy and just slightly bruised.

I got to watch on the sonogram monitor as the doctor stuck the needle in and drew out the fluid -- it was really cool. A big, black blob on the screen that just shrank away to nothingness. The two smaller ones were buried much deeper than the other one, and it was pretty uncomfortable having a big needle digging around in there, but it wasn't too bad. I'm glad I got them taken care of.

Second time is the charm?

Maybe?

Today's job interview went much better than the last one. I felt much more at ease, and while I still wasn't up to my former interviewing panache, I think I came off a lot better this time. We shall see.

I was interviewed by the attorney I'd be working for, and the office manager, both of whom seemed very nice. The firm sounds like a great place to work, with lots of potential for advancement. Just like the last firm I interviewed with, they told me that they pulled just five or six resumes for interviews from the hundreds they received. If they decide they are interested in hiring me, I'll have to go through a second interview and meet more of the attorneys and staff from the department I'd be working in. It will be a week or two before I hear anything either way.

In other news, I found the ring that I lost last week! Yay! I'm not sure how this happened, since I'd checked the bathtub multiple times, but the other day as I was getting out of the shower, there it was on the bathtub floor. Go figure.

Call me "Lumpy"

Almost two years ago, I had quite a scare when I discovered a lump in my right breast. I have a family history of breast cancer on my mom's side -- her mother was diagnosed at 37 and died at 40, and my mom also has aunts and cousins who died of breast cancer -- so I got it checked immediately. My doctor sent me for a mammogram and sonogram and referred me to a breast surgeon. After a couple of agonizing weeks, I finally got to see the surgeon, and he determined that it was just a benign cyst. Whew!

Well, now it's time for deja vu. Last week, I discovered a (very large!) lump in my left breast. It's so large that you can actually see it if I raise my arm a bit, and it's very, very tender. I'm pretty certain it's just another cyst, because it feels just like the last one, and the surgeon did tell me that it would most likely be a recurring thing. It is still rather disconcerting any time you find a lump, though!

Anyway, I called the breast surgeon's office this afternoon and made an appointment for Tuesday morning. Hopefully, it will be just like last time -- he'll do a sonogram, stick a needle in the lump, drain it, and send me home.

Another interview

I got a call today from another law firm I've applied at, and now have an interview scheduled with them on Monday afternoon. Woohoo! Things are starting to look up! At least people are finally calling me for interviews.

I think I've learned one lesson here: monster.com sucks. I've gotten nothing out of posting my resume there except for annoying calls from temp agencies, a solicitation call from the Republican National Committee (LMAO), some email spam, and a call from some douchebag posing as a recruiter, who wanted me to give him my social security number OVER THE PHONE. There are no good job listings on their site, at least not in my field. I deleted my account with them a few minutes ago.

I'm having much better luck with the online classifieds at my local newspaper's website. Apparently, no one advertises in the actual newspaper any more, because I've checked there, too, with no luck.

Anyhoo, I'm supposed to hear something by the end of this week from the attorney I interviewed with last week, although I don't hold out much hope for that one. Monday's interview may be promising, though.

In other news, I think I've lost enough weight now. I lost one of my favorite rings today -- I'd noticed it was getting increasingly loose on my finger, and it apparently just slipped off at some point between when I went to bed last night and when I got out of the shower after my bike ride today. Dammit. I really liked that ring. It may turn up in the house somewhere, but there's also a chance it went down the drain in the shower, or that it's been eaten by one of my pets.

Millie and Barney

Now that Achilles doesn't use his crate as much any more, my kitties have started to stake their claims to it. Barney (my biggest, fattest kitty, and such a sweetheart) and Millie (the feral cat I rescued last summer after she'd been hit by a car -- you would never know today that she was once feral, and she gets around amazingly well on her three legs) cozied up for a nap in the crate last week.

70% Cat

You Are: 30% Dog, 70% Cat

You and cats have a lot in common. You're both smart and in charge - with a good amount of attitude. However, you do have a very playful side that occasionally comes out!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

Ugh

Okay, so. Today's interview could have gone better. I am really out of practice at the whole interviewing thing, and I was much too shy and quiet. Didn't talk myself up very well, or nearly enough. Didn't say or do anything completely embarrassing or otherwise awful, but I could have done a lot better than I did. I used to just ace every job interview I did. I definitely did not ace this one.

On the other hand, I still have some hope that they will offer me this job. They pulled just six resumes out of all of the ones they received for interviews, and they are looking for someone with pretty much my exact skills and background. I would be the legal assistant for the head of the product liability department. He spent about an hour talking with me about the position, and he seemed like a really nice guy who would be great to work for -- I got the idea that our personalities and work styles would mesh very well. I also got to chat with one of the paralegals from that department, and she also seemed really cool. The job almost sounds tailor-made for me. Let's hope they thought so, too, even if I was nervous and shy during the interview.

It would be a huge change for me to work for such a large firm. The largest firm I've worked for had just twelve attorneys -- this one has over a hundred. It was sort of surreal, sitting in this gigantic conference room for an hour and a half. Anyway, the pay and benefits would be great, and I think I'd really enjoy the job. He told me that he is going to finish interviewing on Monday and will make a decision by the middle to end of next week. I'm going to keep sending out resumes in the meantime, but I'll keep my fingers crossed for this one.

I'm a mermaid!

Which is a little bit odd, since I don't really know how to swim and I'm afraid of the water.

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

Woohoo!

Just when I was beginning to despair, I have (finally!) been called for an interview for one of the legal assistant jobs I've applied for. It's for a large firm in the building right next door to where I was working.

I'm going to try not to get my hopes up too much, but it would be really cool if I got this job. It's in a good location, and the larger firms tend to pay pretty well. I have a couple of days to prepare -- my interview is on Thursday afternoon. Time to study the firm's website and try to brush up on my interviewing skills -- it's been nearly six years since I interviewed for a job, but I've always been told in the past that I interview very well.

Wish me luck!