T-minus Three Months

Three months from now I will be just about to plunge into fatherhood (or will already have).  Wow. I cannot believe that in three months Alicia and my life will be forever changed. I don’t know if I’ve even thought hard about how my daily life will change. I know it will and I’ve kind of thought about it briefly. But when I do, I think of one day and how I’ll see our baby in the morning and then when I get home for awhile before bedtime. Oh, and yes, probably in the night at times…at least for the first weeks or so.  But, what is a little overwhelming is that when we go to bed after a day like I just described, we wake up to another one of those days.  And then the next day will be another one fairly close.  I’ve been around kids quite a bit for at least a decade, with my niece and nephew turning 12 and 10 this year.  But now, I’m going to be around a kid for 24 hours a day.  And it won’t be a temporary thing.  Everyone says we won’t have any more time to relax or sleep after having kids. Yeah, I guess I’m a bit nervous (at least that’s what my stomach is telling me).

Ok, I’ve gone through the freaking out section… stay tuned for my post on what I am looking forward to with our little princess…

Another one down…

Well, another potential job went up in smoke today.  I’m smiling as I write this, because I’m actually glad.  I didn’t really want the job. It was for a home improvement lender and I would have been over the dialing system in the collections department. There weren’t many details given to me in the interview and I didn’t even get to meet the gal who I would have been directly under.  It was kind of weird.  Plus, they were afraid that I’d get offended (they saw which colleges I’ve attended) if someone swore at times.

Anyway, God knows what’s going on.  There is a job that hopefully will be posted soon.  I’ll give more details soon (hopefully!)…

Omaha Storm

Ok, so you probably know that Nebraska and Iowa (shoot, pretty much the entire Midwest) have been hit pretty hard with tornadoes and severe thunderstorms.  Anyone getting tired of catchphrases like “tornadic activity,” “super cell,” and “hook”?  Anyway, I’m thankful to be able to say that Alicia and I are safe and sound. Our house is still in good shape.  Two blocks from where it was two weeks ago, but still in good shape. No, not really.

Well, someone sent this picture to Alicia at work and I think it is an amazing picture of Omaha. I do not know if it was retouched but it is amazing nonetheless.  Enjoy…

My Interview

So, I had another interview with a company named Amerifirst. It started kind of weird because the gal at the staffing agency said she had an interview for me with a woman and I interviewed with a man.  A nice man, so that was nice.  I thought he was just the first part because he gave me an official application that I had the privilege of filling out, complete with employment history and places of residence for the last 10 years.

He told me some of the things (quite briefly) he needs from the person filling the position. He explained that the ideal candidate would have experience with their dialing system (for collections) and in collections. I have neither.  But, he said, he can see that I have other things that I bring to the table. After our little interview he showed me an overview of the cubicles of the people do the calling.  Then it was over. I asked him if he had any questions but he said he thought he had all he needed. He gave me a card and said he’d get back to me within a week. I never did meet the lady with whom I was told the interview was going to be. He pointed out her office but didn’t introduce me to her, even though I would probably be reporting directly to her. I think I would perhaps have contact with both of them, actually. Seems a little weird, but who knows…

Hmmm… Another interview where the interviewer doesn’t go very in-depth. Does anyone see a pattern??  Well, am I frustrated?  Yeah, I am. But on the other hand, I know Jesus knows what is best for me. I’ve hopefully got another opportunity coming up in the next week or so at UNMC.  Hopefully they won’t give me a courtesy interview…

Justin Reed, Smoothie Expert

That’s right, baby! I’m officially a Barista. But I don’t really know how to make any specialty coffees. However, I did spend quite a bit of time today making Banana/Strawberry, Strawberry, 4 Berry, and Carmelicious smoothies. I was barely the oldest one working there. Wait a second. No, I was older than the next oldest person by 13 years. That’s makes me much wiser with a calming influence. I had a good time and the two other people (16 year-old guy and 20 year-old gal) were great trainers. Well, I can’t really think of much else to write about. I did tell one drive up girl that she should really try to find bigger sunglasses. She had some really big ones on… you know, the ones that are stylish these days. Actually, in jest she said that they were her grandmother’s (they did look it). One other thing that was cool is that we can play pretty much any music we want so I had tobyMac rockin’ from my iPod for awhile. It was pretty sweet. If you know what I’m saying. Yeah, I’m pretty sure you do.Well, thank the Lord for this work while He’s getting me or my next job ready…

My job search…

Ok, so I had a job interview yesterday that lasted almost 1/5 of the amount of time it took to drive to the interview. The lady barely spent five minutes with me and didn’t ask me at all about my qualifications. She asked why I was interested in the job. We talked about how we both had Psych majors. Yada yada yada… Then she asked me if I had any questions and thanked me for going for the interview.
This morning I received an automated e-mail stating that they decided to go with someone whose background more closely matched what they were looking for… blah blah blah…something about your mom…
Anyway, I’m a little annoyed because the lady probably knew before I even stepped foot in the door that she wasn’t going to hire me. It’s ok Justin. It’s not you. It’s THEIR loss…
Oh well… the Lord knows.
Please pray that something opens up soon. I’m going to start at Scooter’s coffeehouse tomorrow, which will be fun and bring in about half of what I need to bring in. But I’m thankful to the owner for allowing me this opportunity while I’m looking for a job. And, did I mention free coffee??
I’ve tried to contact the gal at the staffing agency but she must not be in today. I know she hasn’t forgotten about me and the jobs I’ve applied for at PayPal. They just take time, perhaps.
Today, I’ve applied for, let’s see… a data entry clerk, an Administrative Assistant position and, oh yeah, a Legal Secretary position. Have I been a legal secretary before, you ask? Uh, no, but I told them in my cover letter that my experience would help me learn the role. Plus my wife has been one before. Ok, I didn’t add that last sentence but the thought occurred to me, soon followed by the thought of how silly it would look.
Thanks for praying and I’ll keep you updated. 
Skinny, sugar-free, decaf what??

What? Another blog…?

Hey y’all! “So, why have another blog when you and Alicia already have ‘Reed Our Thoughts’?”

Great question! Here’s the answer: our mutual blog is more about what is happening to our family as a whole. Like, for the next 7 months it will mostly be about our journey through beginning parenthood. It will be much about the pregnancy and the things we’re looking at, how Alicia is doing, and perhaps pics of her as she gets, uh, more prego…

So, this blog? This will be just my thoughts. We thought that keeping the other blog more about our pregnancy would be fun; it would keep it light. Which kind of makes one of my posts on that blog a bit out of place. I’ll probably insert it onto this blog soon…

I’m Going Down Fast…

Ok, so since I’ve been in Omaha, I’ve seen the doctor for, oh, about 343 different things. I mean, am I deteriorating that fast?? I’ve seen the Psyc dude for my OCD. Excuse me, I gotta think a bit about what I’m writing… no, just kidding.  Or do I should I just say what I’m thinking and write it without thinking? Anyway, I don’t think I really have OCD, but whatever.

Then I’ve had to do a sleep study because Alicia was concerned that going 76 days in a row without a good night’s sleep might be less than ideal.  I guess I sometimes stop breathing.  But only for like 4 minutes at a time.  I don’t think I have sleep apnea.  Oh, and she doesn’t like the fact that I sound like a hibernating bear in January when I get going.  It doesn’t really bother me.  She should probably get over it… So I complied and did their precious little polysomnography.  What’s that, you say?  Oh, my bad!  In laymen’s terms that is a sleep study. So I went and had them hook me up to wires on my feet, chest, chin, nose, and head.  I mean, isn’t that the best way to get a good night’s sleep?  Most of us have all those wires hooked up to us before we go to sleep, right??  Well, they wanted me to go back for a second study because I had a couple apneas (periods of ceased breathing).  Yeah, well, even after insurance they’re still expensivo, so me no go yet for the second one.

Ok, so then I’ve had this weird nose thing where my nose is really sensitive.  Not to smell, mind you.  To touch.  Like one day it will hurt in my nose (under the skin) on my right nostril side.  Then after a couple days or so it’ll go away, only to return to the other nostril.  What up with that??!!  Plus I get these little puss pockets (yes, they’re white) right at the end of my nostril right near the end of my nose.  You got the image? Yeah, gross, huh?  Well it feels as bad as it sounds or looks.  So I had a doctor check that out today… which leads me to the last piece of my falling apart body…

I went to see the dermatologist today to have him check my beauty marks, er, moles that I have on my upper torso.  So he gave me a prescription for my nose ailment and scheduled me to have three moles removed.  Maybe me and Jay should go together and see who has the biggest mole removed… 

Anyway, all that being said, I am very thankful for my health.  Everything I’ve talked about has been quite mild compared to what many people are going through. Thanks, Jesus, for my health and fairly resilient body! I just need to take care of it better by working out consistently.  I mean, how am I ever gonna be a cage fighter if I don’t work out consistently??  Yeah, good question.