I was just accepted as a contractor for an outsourcing company based in New Jersey - I can’t wait to get started. Today, since I haven’t had much work to do, I spent the bulk of my time outside snapping pictures so I can have before/after articles for the garden in upcoming weeks. It previously looked like hell and now with a little extra work things seem to be pretty nice. I can’t wait to put up the final touches of fencing and other items.

In a few weeks I’m heading out to Big Lots to pick up some new solar-lights to line the garden with and I’m also in the market for a solar spot light to put on the side of the house, it’s very hard to see anything over there and I figure if I can get one with a sensor I’ll be able to accomplish more in the backyard. At least going as far as walking back there at night without worrying what could jump out at me.

This complex is filled with Skunks, Bunnies and other furry-friends so I think the light will help to keep things visable enough so Bella doesn’t go running into a field of skunks at night and come back to me all smelly and what-not, heh.

After a few chilly days, Spring has finally come back to Delmarva.  I woke up today with a lot of energy and hopefully that’ll help me get through the long day of work that I have ahead of me.  I’m almost done on a few templates I’ve been working on and then I’m going to get myself in gear on two that need to be done for Jackie.

When I went outside I was hit with the warm sun an the smell of Miracle Grow - the lady across the street is working on her garden.  I can’t wait until I have enough time to go outside and start working on ours.  I did the basic maintenance the other day but Karen and I went out this past weekend and loaded up on tons of supplies that are still sitting in the back of the van.  We picked up a cute little white fence, then we loaded up on soil and seeds and even some pots and what not so that we could really make the porch and the front yard shine this year.  I’d also like to do some things in the back yard but I doubt I’ll ever get around to it.  It would be nice to be able to setup a fence so I can let Bella run free on the grass, but complex restrictions won’t make that possible for me.  You can do heavy landscaping to block things off but supposedly you can’t put up a full wrap-around fence.  BUT you’re allowed to have a privacy wall.  I wonder what’s the point with that but oh well.

While I do have a lot of energy bursting to get out, the coffee hasn’t kicked in for me to focus it all on what’s important.  Sean is still asleep so that stops me from cleaning up the bedroom.  I do need to get myself into the bathroom and scrub everything down because Karen’s sister is coming to visit sometime within the next few days and since our bathroom is in the main hallway - everyone tends to use it.  Bleach and a little elbow grease are all it really requires, I know I’ll have that done within the next hour though.

I’ve gone back to car shopping and I found a few that I really like.  I’m alternating back and forth with Hyundai and Chevrolet.  I found one for a great price up in Pennsylvania but I’m not sure if I’d actually wish to take that trip.  I found a few excellently priced models in New Jersey.  I was also lucky enough to find one in New York that is only about $6500 and it’s brand new.  It’s one of those Scion tC models, not really a Toyota fan but they have inexpensive cars when you get down to the right level.  It’s got about 2,000 miles on it and it’s the same color and size that I’m interested in.

I think I’m going to stick with either a Chevy Cobalt or Hyundai Elantra.  Icka (remember her?) just picked up an Elantra and it’s absolutely gorgeous.  After talking to Tom I was able to find one that really caught my attention but it happens to be a Dodge Stratus, I’m really all over the place when it comes to this but if it’s going to be a car that needs to last me a few years then obviously I’m going to have to shop around.  The one Elantra that I found, Tom has actually test-drove and as someone who’s into the racing community and knows a lot about cars - I knew his opinion would be valued.  He said it’s a great price for what it has on it but it’s difficult to drive.  He doesn’t drive to race (every time) but he does know how to control a car and when you notice that the car has some trouble when it comes to merging and making right-hand turns is unbalanced, the 2006 Elantra isn’t the route to take.

Either way I’ll figure something out.  I’m hoping to get in touch with my mother later and see what she thinks.  I know she got her Nissan on the Island and I can’t - for the life of me - remember the name of the Dealer she got it from.  A phone call later should clear that all up,  I hope.

In any event, time to get to work.  I think I’m going to lug the extension chord outside and take the laptop out there.  It’s too nice of a day to sit in here!

I’m still waiting to hear back from an Interview I had a few weeks ago.  I’ve called back a few times in hopes to look persistent enough to get the position but I also know they’ve still got the Ad up on both their website as well as many job related ones as well.  I’m sure I’ll hear something soon, it’s the wait that’s taking it’s toll on me though.

I have landed a contract-based job with another company.  So far things seem to be running pretty smoothly.  I haven’t gotten any paid work yet but as far as getting me into the system is concerned, that all went pretty nicely.  I’m working on a sweat-equity kind of template to get me started with them.  I’m trying not to go too crazy with it because I don’t want to have my first template with them to be with such high standards that I’ll never be able to recreate it, on top of that I don’t want to have any kind of ‘overkill’ either.  I’m sure I’ll figure out something over time, maybe I’ll have a spark of inspiration sometime within the next couple of hours where I’ll be able to get my thoughts in order to turn out a fantastic template that’s not only user friendly be easily changable for anyone who needs to change it up a bit after they’ve purchased it.

I have my fingers crossed either way.  It’s my hope that SOMETHING brings in some decent change for me.

After doing some research, I’ve just requested information on earning my Associates from DeVry Online.  It’s my goal to enroll in either Westwood Online or Pheonix Online in the future, but I figure it will cost me less money by enrolling with an Associates in order to earn my Bachelors.  The credits from DeVry would carry over to both of the Bachelor’s based programs so I wouldn’t need to spend so much money to achieve my long-term goal.

As for now, it will get me back into the swing of things and even though I already have a solid background in Web Design, I hope to further my career by adding Flash to the mix.  While I don’t see myself ever mastering it, I know I’ll be able to easily manipulate things so I can bring in some more clients for myself instead of having to outsource that work to someone else who’ll over charge me for it.  I hope things work out the way I see them in my head, I’ll know for sure when the ball starts rolling.

I also know, based on the jobs down here, that having even the associates in computer science will get me pretty far.  A lot of companies are looking for the minimum of a 2-year degree and that’s a starting $40,000 salary for me.  I just hope to get my foot in the door so I could afford school, heh.