Catastrophic!

Update:

I am now insured (sort of). There's a big deductible, but let's just say if I get hit by a bus after tripping on my long abaya while crossing Central Ave. illegally from the mosque to the Halal market (there really should be a light in the middle of that street...), no one will have to hold a benefit dinner to raise money for my hospital bills.

Too bad this insurance won't pay for the massage I am going to need after spending my weekend painting the interior of my parent's house.

I am excited about punching out of my 24/7 work and hanging with the fan for three whole days though!!

AWOL for good reason

It's funny that I titled this blog A Gentle Shove, because in the last two weeks, it is exactly what I got. When I left my previous job, my health insurance ended on Feb. 28. I was so busy (and annoyed that Health Partners doesn't seem to support any browser except Internet Explorer (I will save you from rant on this) that I hadn't signed up for new insurance yet, which I am buying on my own.

Two days after my coverage ended, I started getting this stabbing pain in my back, above my kidney on the left. I could barely breathe, and I had no idea what was going on. It came and went, and after a while, I realized it was after eating. Long story short (and a lot of WebMDing, friend chatting goes into the long story) I determined that it must be gallstones. I have been eating poorly since I got so busy.

Anyway, this has been my gentle shove back to eating well. I went to the co-op next door and bought the following:

• Beets
• Parsnips
• Butter Lettuce (it's so pretty!!!)
• Watercress
• Lemons
• Gala apples
  
• Organic grape juice (on sale for $2.69—you can't beat that when it's usually like $5!)
• Walleye fillet

All of these things are super yummy and super good for anyone. I don't know why it's so hard for all of us to just say no to the Doritos® and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup® ice cream (my "treat" to myself on Friday, followed by the worst pain I ever experienced in my life for four hours straight...).

I broiled the walleye with a little olive oil and lemon and made a delicious salad with a watercress dressing made by pulsing olive oil, lemon, vinegar, and mustard then adding the cress and pulsing again. I even chopped up half an apple on the salad and it was really good.

If anyone else has healthy eating/living/attitude stories to share, please feel free to comment!

p.s. My insurance should come through soon, but I may skip the doctor if this new diet helps!

Palak Paneer, thick pita, and Fritos®

That is all.

p.s. Fritos are Kosher, so everything's ok.

Things I will not miss about my old job:

• People claiming they have a gifted/mature/talented 6 year-old who just can't possibly take a class in the age group they biologically fit into but must instead jump ahead three years. Also they have hockey camp (in the summer???) during the time of the age-appropriate class so they would miss 4 of the 5 days so as long as that's okay (and we will only charge them for one day) then maybe they will check with Rylan [or insert any other made-up name here] to see if she wants to do it.
• The Baleen e-mails.
• Credit Card Detail Explanation Forms.
• Healthy Benefits updates and that hideous board they are using to post them in a gallery space.
• Nudie art and similar.
• Summer.
  

Pure exhaustion

After waking up for fajr (morning prayer) at 6:30, it was a nonstop day of car shopping with my friend who is looking to buy her first car. Sandwiched in-between two marathon sessions of driving from lot to lot and sliding around on the ice/in the slushy waters of said lots in inappropriate footwear trying to find a good deal (all while avoiding the skeevy guys who work there), I also had training at my new, new job.

This was technical training on how to manage the organization's website, which is easy enough, but when you are on very little sleep and your toes are still numb from test-driving a car with no heat (seriously, people!), it's hard to concentrate.

We finally gave up at 4:00 and she decided to save some more money so she could afford to buy something not gross.

Am now lounging at home in the East African equivalent to the mumu and loving it.

I GOT THE JOB!!!

So most of you know that I gave up my stable (albeit crazy and stressful), full-time job for a part-time position in a growing (read SMALL) nonprofit. It was a big leap of faith, and Alhamdulillah (thanks be to God) it worked out.

I just got an offer for a second part-time position at an organization focusing on providing relief to the Africa and I accepted!

All said, I will make more than at my original job even though the average of the two salaries comes out to slightly less, because it's 40 hours per week instead of 35.

None of that matters. I am going to be doing what I have dreamed of for a long time now—helping two charitable organizations do real work in the areas of humanitarian aid and social services.

I AM BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS AND THERE'S NO ONE HERE TO SHARE THIS WITH, SO I AM TELLING YOU, WHOEVER YOU ARE!!!

OMG, I AM GOING TO GET TO GO TO AFRICA ... This is really too much. I need to calm down.

So productive!

I managed to work on my first emergency assistance case today for my new job, stop by the office for mail and the noon prayer, interview for a second part-time job (it went well!!), grab some groceries, go to a friend's house for a late lunch gathering, and go snow tubing, all before 9:00 p.m.

Did I mention I slept in until 11:00 today?

Sunday will be action-packed too—I have Arabic class in the morning, tubing trip #2 for the weekend (yes, I am obsessed!), then babysitting my favorite little girl at 6:00.

It feels so good to get out and DO SOMETHING on the weekends, rather than sit around. Now if I could just work cleaning my apartment into this schedule...