Un-comfortably numb

Back from the dentist's. Status report:

Six fillings out, six new fillings in. No more metal, yay!

Wallet: a LOT slimmer.

Kids: the big one in good shape, in nursery school; the little one burning up on my lap.

Hubby: on the phone. Work-related.

Me: dying to unpack, but stuck under the little one.

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My home country...

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This is hilarious - and fairly spot-on!

(And about the one-night stands: it's cold here, dammitt!)

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Long time...

Still not working. Sorta looking for a job, but...not really - I have too much to do at home! Seriously!!! We got rid of a few things before our stuff from Korea came, but not enough - now our apartment AND my father-in-law's garage are stuffed with boxes that we don't have room to empty. Plus it's too big of a job for just me, I need hubby's help, but he is still working too much...

I'm so pooped I went to bed at 6:30 PM last night. Before both kids!!! I was awake between midnight and 230 AM, but then slept til 7. Phew...

Well I guess I better go do something, maybe clear out a box or two, ugh.

I don't like it. Trapped in housewife hell...

If anyone hears of a part-time job, doing anything, let me know?

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Stuck

Well, he did it. My new boss, that is. He got me to quit. CRAP!

They just would not cave regarding my request for a reduction in hours. And although my union rep said I had a very good case, I decided that I wasn't willing to be labelled a troublemaker. Bergen doesn't have an overload of laboratory jobs, so I can't afford to be ostracized.

Although I must say it stinks to be labelled a troublemaker for standing up for my rights - but I know employers see things like that from a whole other angle than employees. The wrong angle, obviously.

So. An ambition amputee. Perpetually Palmolive'd. Doomed to domesticity.

Sigh.

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Limbo la-la-la

We're back in Bergen, finally, woohoo! And I am loving it. Except for the fact that hubby went back to Korea to close up shop, so I'm a single mom for a few weeks, and of course the kids are starting nursery school so they're both little germ collectors...last night I had to ask my mom to come spend the night, the youngest woke up with croup (again), and I was worried we'd have to take her to the ER (again)...

The adventures of motherhood eh.

But other than that I'm loving it. Being in the same city as my family and friends is simply wonderful, after over three years on the other side of the world!

I am still at loggerheads with work, no resolution there yet. My union still says I have a good case, so the result will depend on whether or not work comes up with sufficient reason to deny me a reduction in hours. My fingers are crossed that everything will turn out OK, and that afterwards, I can go to work without feeling guilty, and without feeling like the boss is giving me hairy eyeballs behind my back...

As for the housework, don't get me started...trying to empty the apartment to make room for all our cr@p from Korea is hard, hard work, phew.

More on that later...

Doomed??

Well there's a twist I wasn't expecting.

My employer back in the old country is trying to keep me chained to the washing machine/kitchen counter/household appliances...

HOW IRRITATING!

True, I asked to come back part-time, but not because I like being a housewife. I asked to be allowed to work part-time because if I don't have time to do my 'chores' during the day, I'll have to do them during the evening, when the kids are in bed and hubby's sleeping on the couch; and I couldn't bear the thought. I'm pooped once the kids are out, there's no way I'm going to be able to do all the housework alone ('cause you know I'll have to do it alone) after a full day's work AND an afternoon with the kids.

Not able, and definitely not willing. Therein lies the point. I refuse!

Then I get a letter from my employer saying it's all or nothin', babe. Full-time or no time.

HOW FRUSTRATING!

I've contacted my union rep and she seems to think I have a good case. My fingers are crossed for an amicable solution.

One of the biggest advantages to having been abroad these past 3+ years is that we can afford me working part-time while the kids are small. So if my union and I don't 'win', I'm stuck in housewifehood until I can find another job...whoah.

Terrifying.

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The best part

This housewife just had a girls' weekend in Pusan with her good friend K...we had a really great time, and despite the extra-firm Korean hotel bed I got some uninterrupted sleep - which was heeeeeavenly!

Of course I woke up at 6:30 AM. Maybe it was the loud bedspread? Or maybe it was the sound of the bedspread clashing with the wallpaper. Whatever the reason, I turned over and went back to sleep, and slept til 8:30 - which I haven't done in a lohohong time.

I got home to a total disaster area; but the husband and offspring were all alive and in one piece (each), so I was willing to overlook the wreckage that was my kitchen/dining/living room. I didn't even take pics; since I have already posted messy-apartment-pictures on this blog once before...

It has taken me until today, but I'm on top of it now; or as on top of it as I'm likely to get. I will never be completely on top of things, and the sooner I realize that, the happier I will be! (No school today, election day in Korea, so the tidiness factor is already dwindling...)

But I love that even though I had a fantastic time away, and came home to a dreadful mess; far and away the best part of the whole weekend was the homecoming.

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