We were on our death beds

Last week was one of the worst weeks of my entire life. I would venture to say that it was THE worst week of my entire life. The only good thing that could have came from me being down with sinusitis, bronchitis, and the flu at the same time was that Amanda was there right there wrapped in the sweat drenched bed sheets with me. I never want her to be sick, but if we both had to go through it at least we were together.

It all started the week of my parents party. I started getting sick on Tuesday so I immediately went to the doctor for fear of being sick for the party. I got put on a Z pack and I actually made it through the party and started feeling better. I think I ran myself down between the packing, the party and the unpacking afterward because Monday I started feeling even worse. Apparently I had spread everything to Amanda too because when she came home from work on Monday she went straight to bed. We were in the bed all day Tuesday with temperatures over 103 degrees. Trust me, when your temperature is that high it's not even fun to lie in bed and watch TV. It was definitely a miserable day. We were both ready to head to the doctor (my second visit) on Wednesday morning. Amanda's temperature was 104.1 and mine was 102.7 at the doctor. The doctor wrote her 3 prescriptions and me 2 more, which was a total of 4 for me, and off we went. Wednesday and Thursday were miserable days of sweating, sleeping, and moaning. We finally drug ourselves out of the bed on Friday for Amanda's twin sister and her husband and kids to come for the weekend. We still aren't well today, but at least our temperatures are gone and she is working and I am typing this. I am thankful for that!

I did lose almost 10 pounds last week. The only thing Amanda and I felt like eating were peaches. We went through 3 jars worth I think. We watched some crazy TV shows during those miserable days too. Operation Repo was probably my favorite. If you haven't seen it I would say to do so if you want some laughs. I am usually not the biggest proponent for flu shots, but next year I will be one of the first in line. I literally thought I was going to die and was praying for the Lord to take me home last week. It's crazy how fast your world can change from a sickness like that. I hope and pray we never have to go through it again.

Another day of unemployment

I applied to the Transition to Teaching program today. I hope everything goes well with it. Everyone say a prayer for me. I haven't heard anything from Chase yet and this is day 5. The recruiter said it would take a week, but who knows. If I get into Transition to Teaching, I could possibly be in a school next year, but if I don't I may have to go back to school full time for 3 to 4 semesters. I really don't want to have to go through all that again, but I guess I have to do what I have to do. I know I'll be making less money than I have been accustomed to, but the hours will be better and teaching will be extremely rewarding. I am ready for the next step in my life.

It's time to get dinner on the table. I think I am going with turkey and mashed potatoes today. I still have dishes to do and the bed to make though. I should have had this done already, but I can't ever seem to get off the computer, especially since I purchased the new IMac. :)

Mr. Roop

It's been a week now since I found out I was no longer employed with HSBC/Beneficial. I worked my butt off there for almost 3 years and it just ended. I'm not bitter, infact I am a little relieved. The long hours and stress was starting to play a toll on me. My doctor told me months ago that I needed to find a new profession because my blood pressure was way too high.

My job search has kind of stalled. I interviewed with Chase last week and I haven't heard anything yet. The recruiter told me that it would probably be a week before I heard anything, but I tend to believe that the wait is like a jury deliberating; the longer the wait means it's usually not very good news. I have faith that something will come along though.

I've looked into a couple different routes to becoming a teacher. As I have mentioned before, that's what I've really always wanted to be, but I never pursued it for some reason. This would be the best possible time for me to get started because I have absolutely nothing else to do. Amanda is starting to call my Mr. Mom because I clean up the house and have dinner ready when she gets home. I have to do something because the adult ADHD is really kicking in.

The WV Dept of Education has a transition to teaching program that will allow me to go straight to teaching next year if there is an available Special Education position. They will then pay for me to get my certifications. I'll have to teach Special Education for three years, but they will also pay for me to continue school and get certifications in other areas if I need to. I plan to do this if I can get accepted into the program, but if I do not it's back to school to finish up my teaching. I would love to see how high of a GPA I will be able to get since I want to be in college now instead of just trying to get by when I was in the first time.

It's time to get dinner ready. Amanda gets home around 5:00 and I am supposed to have had this slide show finished for my mom and dad's anniversary before Wednesday, but it's painstakingly slow. Hopefully, she will help me tonight. She is so much better than me at doing this kind of thing.

Unemployed

Yesterday, I walked in to work around 8:55 a.m., which is normal for Mondays, but this one turned out to be unlike any I've ever experienced. My district manager's car was in the parking lot and I knew he was supposed to be in the Beckley office that day. I never thought anything about it, though. Next, I walked in the door and the lights were out, but that is not uncommon considering we usually don't have customers that early. I then noticed that my district manager and branch manager were sitting on the desks looking pretty upset. They proceeded to tell me that our whole consumer lending unit of HSBC was being shut down effective immediately. I was pretty shocked to say the least.

I went ahead and walked to my computer because I wasn't sure if they were being serious or not. The consumer lending branch of HSBC employees over 6,000 people. I guess I thought they were just joking or maybe we were downsizing or something. I definitely was wrong. I attempted to log into my computer and my user name and password were no longer valid. I was officially relieved of my duties at 2:00 p.m. I will continue to get paid until April 2 and then I will receive a small severance package after that.

The good news is that I now have several options that I have wanted to pursue for a while.

I have an interview with Chase on Thursday and if that doesn't work out then I am going to go back to school and finish up my teaching degree. I've always wanted to teach and now will be the time to pursue it. Especially since the state will pay for it now!!

Anyway, Amanda and I could use some prayers now. I am sure the lord will take care of us and lead me to what career I need to pursue. I only hope that I can continue to take care of Amanda and live our lives the way Jesus would want.