Reality Check

Today I am just being. I had the big second interview with Ameriprise (American Express's Financial Services Division) at their offices across the street from the Chrysler Building on Friday. I thought the whole thing went pretty well (even though my phone chops ain't what they used to be), but the recruiter that set it up said her information showed that I aced it. I'm expecting a call from the V.P. some time today, after they have had a chance to confer, etc. I'm trying to keep things in perspective and go through this whole transition to the finance industry (wherever I end up) with my eyes wide open - so we'll see.

I will get around to writing this week's edition of Monkeyshines sometime later in the week, but I will say that I had a wonderful weekend with Zachy and Miranda, and that our family has a new addition: we now have a mouse in the house. Let me explain - I've been wanting to do something about a pet for the kids, and I have not had good luck with fish, so we went out and bought a "mouse" which Miranda is calling "Squeaky." Actually, Squeaky is a white rat of the common variety, that I am now referring to as Socrates (pronounced "so-crates" with a long "O", a long "A" and a silent "E", like in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure - this, along with the reference to Willard, amuses me). Socrates now lives in a cage (a rat condo really) on the kids dresser and it is nice to have another being in the house, which often seems very empty when the kids are not there.

This evening I have an appointment with Dr. Zoe and then I will be celebrating my two years formally, complete with a Carvel ice cream cake. Tomorrow, I get my first exposure to the mortgage business, which actually interests me far more than financial planning. I am very curious to see what there is to see in this arena, and I am going to get to watch (and listen to) a deal go down from soup to nuts. I will also probably learn a lot about credit scores and such - trey cool! The rest of the week should be pretty uneventful - just a bunch of laundry to do, I'll keep y'all posted.