Job Search... Taxi Driver?

I've been job hunting.   My om drove Taxi for YEARS, and now I'm thinking of doing it myself.

Why?

Well...    I'm an INFJ personality type in the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator.   About 1% of the population has this personality type, it is the rarest one.  We are your writers, artists, book worms, loner scientists, counselors, etc.  

We are introverted, and we like jobs where we work alone.  Meaning we are the only employee present most of the time.  Or jobs that deal with empathy and helping people.  So you're either gonna find us in "helping" jobs, like:

* Medical (doctor, nurse, P.A., etc.)
* Counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc.
* Social Work

Or jobs where we mostly work independent / by ourselves a lot, such as:

* Driver-- Taxi, chauffeur, bus, delivery, etc.
* Writer / editor
* Artist / usician
* Maintenance 
* Dispatcher
* Security patrol
* Motel clerk
* Librrian
* Toll booth attendant
* Data Entry
* Work from home
* Teacher, coach, instructor
* Small shop clerk 
* Very small office, only one receptionist
* Lab technician
* Accountant 

Honestly, INFJ's usually HATE jobs with lots of other co-workers buzzing around us all the time, or our boss walking by every minute.  We are just VERY good at independent work, we function and perform best that way.  And as you can see from the list above, there is certainly a need for such people.  

I spoke to some Taxi drivers in town today.  They say they love their job, this is not a dangerous town.  They are full time, so with tips, they make like $700 a week.   You don't always start out full time, but after you do well and they like you, it usually moves up.   They told me to go switch my CA license to a PA one and go apply!  lol.  

So I guess I will :)

Multiple Blogs For One Account... YAY!

Ok so...   I don't know why it took me so long to discover this...  Probably because until just a few days ago, I never even bothered to look, lol.   But I am jumping up and down to discover that we can have multiple "google blogger" blogs under the same google account!

I love to blog, and there are so many things I want to blog about.  But I feel like if I tried to put it all on one blog, it would be a scatter-brained mess, lol.   and of course signing up for multiple google accounts and signing in and out of them...  Ugh...   An even bigger mess.

So yeah, this discovery that I can have as many blogs as I want under this one account is just making me all smiles.  :)  This one I will just use as my personal blog, sort of an online journal.  But I also created separate ones specifically for:

* The grief of losing my parents.
* Cooking (which I love).
* Myers-Briggs personality test talk.
* The traveling I have done.

If you visit my profile page, I have links to the others in the "About" section.   And I'm sure I will probably think of others as time goes on.  I guess I just feel like you get better reader counts, and more interest in your blog when it is focused on a particular subject.   So we will see how it goes :)

Long Time, No Read

Goodness me, it has been AGES since I have done a post here!   lol.   A lot of things have changed, so I'm gonna have to sit down and write a post with updates and such.   I would like to get to point where I am posting regularly, but you know how it is when life is just being crazy all around you...  Sometimes you neglect your hobbies,lol.  

Eternal Love

If I get married again, I want it to be the kind of love that anyone would admire.

Have you ever seen those old couples, who are still so in love, even after all these years?  That’s amazing, isn’t it?  I mean really, can you imagine how strong their love must be, if they still have such a bond after everything?

About a month and a half ago, I was standing outside a Rite Aid store, waiting for a Taxi.  Then an old couple (I guess they must have been in their 70’s?) came down the sidewalk in front of me, holding hands.  Their fingers were linked, husband entwining his hand with his wife’s, in a simple but widely recognized symbol of lover’s intimacy.  They walked slow, while they stared amorously into each other’s eyes.

I stood there, still, almost unable to breathe.  I don’t know why it affected me so much; nobody else seemed to notice, or follow my helplessly enmeshed gaze.   It was like watching two silver-haired angels pass by.  Their bodies appeared to be old, but in their eyes there was only youth and adoration.

Their undying love made them ageless.

I actually got chocked up when I saw that, and my eyes just filled up with tears.  They came streaming down my face, and people walking by looked at me funny.  I guess when someone has tears in their eyes, the last thing you expect to see is a smile on their face, lol.  But hey, it was a moment, and you don’t get many of those.  So why not indulge?

Then today, I was waiting out in the car, while my mother was in the store.  And I saw an elderly Asian man park his car beside ours.  The he got out, and walk over to his wife’s side, and opened her door for her.  He even held the door of the store open for her as they went in, and they were arm-in-arm the whole time they shopped.  I could see through the window.

Things like that just pull on my heart strings.  I can only pray to god that I live to a healthy old age, with a man I love, and we are still just as crazy about each other as the day we met.

Silly Song, Or The Anthem Of A Woman's Heart?

Today, I was watching that movie "Shrek 2".  And you know that song that Jennifer Saunders sings at the end, called "I Need A Hero"?  It was originally sang by Bonnie Tyler in the mid 80's.

Well, a family member of mine was sitting close by as we watched this, and he started to laugh when he heard that song.  He said it was "silly and ridiculous."  Like it was one of those goofy 1980's songs, that nobody remembers.

But why?  I mean have you ever actually paid attention to all the words in the song?  I rather like to think  the words are very powerful...  They bring to mind some pretty fascinating images too.  And quite honestly, I think almost every woman is walking around singing that song in her head, even if she doesn't know it!  lol.  Because it is true.  Not so much about "Superman", but every woman kind of dreams of a man who is out there in the world, and is looking for her.  Who wants to move into her life, get rid of all the pain, and basically "save her" from all the bad things she has experienced in the past.

I mean really, just read these words, without laughing.  Without that "hahaha" frame of mind you had when you were 14 years old, and just appreciate them for the truth they hold:

Where have all the good men gone, and where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules, to fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a "White Knight" upon a fiery steed?
Late at night, I toss and I turn, and I dream of what I need.

I need a hero.
I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night.
He's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast,
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight.
I need a hero.
I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light.
He's gotta be sure, and its gotta be soon,
And he's gotta be larger than life.

Somewhere after midnight, in my wildest fantasy,
Somewhere just beyond my reach, there's someone reaching back for me.
Racing on the thunder, and rising with the heat,
Its gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet.

Up where the mountains meet the heavens above,
Out where the lightening splits the sea,
I can swear there is someone, somewhere watching me.
Through the wind, and the chill, and the rain,
And the storm, and the flood,
I can feel his approach like a fire in my blood.

....Really, come on, how can you NOT feel that?  That was obviously written by a woman who knew herself well, and wasn't afraid to be honest and show everyone what was on her mind.  Hats off to Bonnie Tyler, you still rock, honey :) 

Soulmates

Soulmate Definition (semi-borrowed from a fellow blogger): 

A person with whom you have an immediate connection the moment you meet -- a connection so strong that you are drawn to them in a way you have never experienced before. As this connection develops over time, you experience a love so deep, strong and complex, that you begin to doubt that you have ever truly loved anyone prior. Your soulmate understands and connects with you in every way and on every level, which brings a sense of peace, calmness and happiness when you are around them. And when you are not around them, you are all that much more aware of the harshness of life, and how bonding with another person in this way is the most significant and satisfying thing you will experience in your lifetime. You are also all that much aware of the beauty in life, because you have been given a great gift and will always be thankful.
[Compliments of Urban Dictionary.]


I personally do believe in soul mates.  I think that sometimes, people will be lucky enough to meet their soul mate while living here on earth.  But sometimes, your soul mate may have been born in a different time, or a different place.   They may have already lived their life, and be waiting for you in heaven.

I know for a fact that I DO have a soul mate.  I feel very lucky in knowing this, and I feel sorry for anyone who believes that soul mates do not exist, because I know they do.

I understand that some people just don’t believe in it, and that is fine.  Maybe they think that believing in soul mates makes you unable to settle with someone.  But I say that “settling” is not the best thing, whether you believe in soul mates or not.  You should truly believe that there is nobody better in the world for you, than the person you are with.  Otherwise you won’t be very happy.  You might even be miserable.  You should wait until you find someone you have a great connection with.

I grew up in a church that believes you can have an “eternal companion” but not a soulmate…  And I do not agree.  What’s the difference?  An “eternal companion” is someone that you met on earth, with NO preordination of any kind.  And you simply decided later on that you wish to spend eternity together.

But a soul mate is more someone that you were predestined to be with.  Someone that the creator made specially for you, or perhaps made you specially for them.  Or both.

Sure, we all want to spend our earth life with our soul mate.  But  this life on earth really is so short, and spending eternity with them is far more important.  Still, you should always keep your eye out for your soul mate while living on earth, because if you should happen to be lucky enough to meet them here, it would be nice to spend time with them.  Be with them.

I’ve had bad luck in relationships, but I still believe in love and soul mates.  Believing in them makes me happy, and life is too short not to be happy.  Also, I’ve had many, many dreams about my soul mate throughout my life.  Dreams in which he felt so real, he was undeniable!  And I know he is out there in the world.  I believe I will be with him some day. 

Introduction

This is the first time I have ever started a blog purely for fun or personal reasons.  So this should be interesting.  I’ve started other kinds of blogs before, on other websites.  Like for business purposes and such, and I always had a specific goal in mind.  A particular crowd I was targeting, which is why those blogs did so well.  But I’ve never done this--  just speak my mind about random topics, opening my mind and heart to give my uncensored opinion.  I have no idea how well its going to go over :) .

But I’m considering using this as sort of an online journal, as I’m sure some people like to do.

So anyway, before I go sharing any of my thoughts and opinions on life, I guess the first thing I should do is tell everyone who I am, hm?

To start with, I am not currently famous or anything.  Well, at least not outside my line of work…   I think that’s obvious, or else I wouldn’t have to network, lol.

I was born in 1981, in a small bay area town, in California.  My parents met there in a bar one night.  Dad was a divorced U.S. Army Special Forces soldier (Green Beret), who had just arrived home from duty.  Mom was a divorced single mom, struggling to support her 3 young children.  Dad was sitting alone at the bar in his “dress blue” uniform.  Suddenly the bar tender handed him a drink and said,

“This is from the lady down at the end of the bar.” 

My dad looked in the direction the bar tender was pointing, and saw my mother.  He always told me that was the moment he fell in love with her; when she looked at him, smiled, and gave him a shy little wave….

After a short period of dating, they moved in together.  About a year later, I was born.  That’s when they decided to get married.

Our family consisted of me, Dad, Mom, and her other 3 kids Mandi, Aaron, and Bradley.  My brothers and sister were all 4 to 7 years older than I was.   Dad also had 2 other kids from his first marriage, but I didn’t meet them until much later.

So from the time I was born, to the time I was 6, we moved back and fourth between the Mount Shasta area (California, on Native American land):

Back to the bay area.   We struggled a lot in both places.  As a matter of fact, you could say there were times we where almost starving, and living in extremely poor conditions.  But at least up in the mountains, we had some amazingly kind Native American neighbors who helped us so much.  And of course, we had each other.  So I guess you could say it really toughened us.  Made us resourceful.

In fact, I would like to tell you a little story about our neighbors there, just to add some color :)  One winter, it was so cold up there in the woods, and we had NO fire wood.  We were so broke, my mom had actually resorted to using the flour, lard, and abundance of canned tomatoes we had to make "tomato pies".  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner for days...   Oh lord, I never wanna eat one of those again!  lol.

 Well, one afternoon, one of our Native American neighbors (Karuk tribe) noticed that we had several large spools of electrical wire, unused, and just laying around our yard.  He asked if his people could have it, because they used it to extend electricity between homes.  My mother said they could have as much as they wanted, or even all of it!  They got to talking, and my mother mentioned our situation with the fire wood.

The Karuk men went ahead and took all the spools of electrical wire.   And then a few hours later...  We saw about 3 pick-up trucks drive up in front of our house-- each filled with a cord of firewood!  The men jumped off the trucks and started stacking all the wood under the awning beside our house.  They brought some food over for us too, and we were just sooooooo amazed at their neighborly kindness!

Wonderful people, really, I will never forget them.


Later, when I was 6, we moved back to the bay area again, and my father went back into the military, as a surefire way to support the family.  Right away, he was stationed in Germany.  He had to go live there without us for a while, until he got all our paperwork completed, an got a home for us to join him.  Then he sent for us, and we all got on an airplane to fly over there and live with him.  We stayed there in Germany for 4 years.

For the first year, we had to live in a regular civilian German neighborhood.  That was where we met a lot of German friends and learned most of the language.  After that, we spent the next 3 years living on the American Military base.  We kids attended the local U.S. Department Of Defense (DoD) schools.  They were all American kids, and American teachers.  Well except for our German language teachers-- and yes, we were forced to take German classes.  But to be honest, we learned ten times more of the language living in a German neighborhood for that first year, than we learned from any of the classes.  I really appreciated the rich cultural experience we had over there, and I won‘t forget the friends we had.

After our 4 years were over (it was only supposed to be 3 years, but we got extended and extra year when the Gulf War started), we came back home to the USA.  We lived in a nice 3-bedroom house for about a year.  I really loved that house, it was a nice neighborhood and it had big trees with a giant back yard…   But then my parents got a divorce, because dad was struggling with a V.A. pension case, and mom had fallen in love with someone else...  They just decided they were not such a good match after all, and they parted ways.

I was about 10 years old at the time.

The funny thing was, when they split up, Mandi, Aaron and Brad came to stay with me and dad, even though he was not their biological father.  Well it was also because mom and her new husband lived in an “adults only” community, so kids couldn’t live there.   But dad loved Mandi, Aaron and Brad like they were his own, so it was all good.

We stayed in the bay area until I was about 12.  Then my sister Mandi suddenly got pregnant, and living in bay area became too expensive.  So Mandi got a job and moved into her own apartment, while the boys moved in with Grandma.

Then dad and I moved back up the Mount Shasta, to live near his parents.  There, our home was about 20 miles outside town.  We lived in the middle of a juniper forest, and we stayed up there until I was about 23.  I learned a lot living there, how to live a simple life, survive in the wilderness, vegetable gardening, and even went to a community college there.

Then I came back to bay area.  That’s when I met my ex husband, Shawn.  He was a Catholic from India, and was the first actual boyfriend I’d ever had (you don't meet many guys up in the mountains!).  Sure, I’d had some online relationships before then, and a PenPal relationship, but a face to face union is much different.

We got married lived together for nearly 7 years.  For the first half of the marriage, everything was ok.  We never had much in common, but I guess we were both just lonely people.  Then we started to struggle with our finances, and Shawn fell victim to a gambling addiction.  He spent the last few years of our marriage giving away all our extra money to a local casino.  There were many months when we couldn’t buy food or pay the rent, because he lost everything.  Finally, it cost us our apartment, and our marriage.

I'd held on as long as I could, because I had this silly idea that "love is forever" and "the first man I marry should be the last".  But hey...  Life, ya know? :)

So I went to go live with my mom.  That's actually where I currently am, until I finish my education and get back on my feet.  The only job I had living with my husband was my part-time business I run from home, on the computer.

So basically, right now, I’m just staying here at mom’s house, and working on lining up some possible education funding-- either through some VA education benefits via my dad, or maybe through a church sponsored program.  I would like to get into Medical Billing and Coding.   Earn my 1-year certificate, so I can work in any hospital’s office.  A lot of people I know are doing that, and the medical field is one that will always be in business.

Of course, I would love to continue expanding my online business I run from home (selling natural, earth and body-friendly products) until its making a nice income as well.  And regardless of what else I am doing, I will continue with it.

Hmmm, ok so those are the basic details of where I come from.  But there is A LOT more to me and who I have become, and hopefully I can share it all here.  I’m pretty random though, I have to warn you, lol.  A lot of different subjects I tend to think about, often unrelated.  But we will see how it goes!