LadyGypsy.net – the blog of Kimberly Dowd of New Jersey

While I was waiting for TNP to give me the big “YES!” answer, I kept busy by making jewelry.

For these, I felt like experimenting with hoops and drops instead of the usual “tight” earrings I come up with.

And then I realized that all of the super-cool jewelry designers on Etsy slap their pieces on an old book for photos. Luckily I live with a guy who has filled up our shelves with old books. Unfortunately, these pages feature an apparent peasant riot in France. MOVING ON…

These earrings have a 70′s color vibe to them.

I had these teal ceramic beads for 2 years. I finally figured out something to do with them. I’m also REALLY starting to like copper findings.





A while back I was into bead crochet. Over the course of two nights, I crocheted a large string of my unmatched beads (bought by the scoop at some bead show) onto wire and twisted it up. I finally put it on a chain and wore it out. I got 3 compliments that day. I might make a bracelet or maybe some dangle earrings to match.

This past Tuesday, I gave my notice at the Courier-Post after 8 years of awesomeness. (Note: I’m there for 12 years…do the math.) I accepted a position in the membership department of…TNP. That’s short for The New Place, because I’m not naming company names yet out in the open. TNP is a non-profit trade organization for a certain specialty of doctor. I’ll be working closely with their database of members and non-members, making sure that it’s accurate and growing.

I’ve never done work quite like this before, but I interviewed with 10 people there, and made it through so they think I can do it. I choose to believe them.

So on Monday, January 23, I start my new job. It’s in Philadelphia, so I get to ride the train in every day. My apartment complex runs daily shuttles to the train station, and the office complex runs daily shuttles from the train station. There are even food trucks outside the building! I bought a messenger bag! Right now this all sounds thrilling but I give it 4 months before it starts to get old.

This is truly the end of an era in my life, because I’m also leaving behind “web work” as my day job. My internet love will have to be satisfied by doing jobs on the side, which I’m already looking into doing. And I’ll really miss about 90% of the people at the C-P. But after all of the layoffs and furloughs, it’ll be nice to get into a place that’s actually growing and thriving.

Gannett stock prices during my tenure. Yeesh.

Here’s the ugly part: It’s taken me a year and a half of searching for me to get a new job. Only in the last six months have I really received responses from my resume. I’ve been interviewed and rejected by “Plucky Local Newspaper Company,” (phone interview, in-person interview) “Big SJ Hospital System Who Loves Numbers,” (phone interview, 2 in-person interviews; resubmitted my resume for a related position and got no calls) and “Evil Cable Company” (phone interview, in-person interview). For TNP, I had an informal lunch, a phone interview and 2 in-person interviews, one that consisted of my meeting with 7 people over the course of 2 1/2 hours. I also never would have found the TNP position without knowing someone who already worked there who tipped me off about the job.

That also explains why my blogging has been sparse. Because when your employers are constantly making lists of who to lay off next, blogging that you’re taking another day off to go into Philly to interview isn’t very smart. This has been an 18-month non-bloggable issue.

This coming week will be sad. There will be a cake for me on Wednesday morning, a happy hour for me Thursday after work, and my exit interview at 10am Friday, during which I’ll hand over my access badge. Then at around 11:30am Friday, I’ll walk out the door.

In 2012 I will start a new job, get married, and turn 40. If that doesn’t convince you that it’s all going to end in December, nothing will.

Grab your juggling balls & unicycles, for the end of the world is nigh*. REPENT!

*originally spoken in my 20′s as I flushed a colony of sick and dying Sea Monkeys down the toilet

I grew up doing puzzles every summer. We’d keep a puzzle on the kitchen table and add to it as we passed back and forth. Then, my family being who we are, we’d keep a tally how many pieces each of us properly completed. And when the puzzle was finished, the winner would gloat. Then we’d go and get another puzzle.

Unfortunately, having a bento box sized apartment, we don’t have a lot of space for puzzles. But oh how I yearned to feel that familiar soft thuddy click of a puzzle piece sliding into place. So last weekend we bought a cheap card table and one folding chair at Target.

And a puzzle. Yes, shut up, a Disney puzzle. But what I really like about this one is that the characters are roughly placed in the geographic locations where their stories took place. So Mowgli is in India and Tiana’s in the US Southeast and the rest of the Princesses are taking part in #occupyEurope.

Naturally, the puzzle we chose is too darn long for the card table, so we’re doing it in halves. When we’re done we’re going to glue it together and forget about it in a closet put it on the wall somewhere.

And then we’ll go and get ANOTHER puzzle!

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And hey, tomorrow around 9:15am EST, could you send me some positive “knock-em-dead, champ” vibes? Maybe hum the awesome beginning measures of “Welcome to the Jungle.” Dun-nuh-nuh-nuh! Dun-nuh-nuh-nuh! Dun-nuh-nuh-Dun-nuh-nuh-Duh-nuhnuhnuhnuhnuhnuhn. Thanks, all!