Control

I guess when the family was away last weekend, I had the illusion of control. The house was vacuumed and stayed neat, the dishes were all tucked away in the dishwasher or cabinets, and all was organized.

When they came back, that illusion quickly evaporated and chaos descended. Oh someone played a message on the answering machine that I never got and when I drove to an evening appointment, no one was there. I was pissed at everyone. Oh wouldn't I have rather relaxed with the family and maybe even had another beer rather than gone out for more driving, after a day of driving. YES.

The next morning I reached for the dog biscuits only to have the whole lot come cascading down the side of the fridge and all over the floor. My husband said it was like a doggie pinyata. Very funny. It seems that one of the boys had carefully placed the opened box upside down - like a booby trap for the next biscuit distributor. So much for control and staying organized.

But I am calming down in general about the job and to feel more settled after one month is pretty damn good. Still a couple of my new co-workers have me scratching my head when they've said (and I quote) "It's not alot of money - but you can't beat the working conditions." Can't beat the money? I don't dare tell them my salary for fear I could upset the apple cart. I think the money is damn good (there's that word again). As Doug reminded me - what else could they be doing and making that much? It's almost dillusional.

When I was at the state there was similar rhetoric about how much money people could make if they left for consulting but alas most never left and instead settled into complacency and mediocrity. Anyway these people, my new co-workers, have never worked at a newspaper. As a result of that experience, I think the pay is great and the working conditions even better. So there. I am not yet jaded about the pay.

And I know I am calming down because I actually started cooking again - which I take as a sign that I am relaxed. Who wants to cook when they are stressed? I rest my point. I made our Friday night pizza and some pancakes for the boys this morning. Is cooking more a good or a bad thing? In this case it's good.

Hey on my rounds for work I met a woman at a school with a daughter named Galen - spelled just like my name. When I told her that I'd never met another Galen - she told me there was a reporter at the local paper with that name. Well I told her that was me, even though I was the EDITOR, which is a much more important position . . .

She proceeded to tell me the story of how her daughter received her name. For the first couple or few months, she had no name and the mom started calling her Angel. One day her husband came home and said he re-arranged the letters to Galen - an Angel in disguise.

An Angel in disguise. I always knew one anagram for my name was Angel but the Angel in disguise thing is pretty cool. I'll try to live up to that. Quite a contrast to the "Little Devil" nickname I had in college.