<p>Sending hugs and prayers to Moda and Missy.</p>
<p>@missypie, I hope you are feeling well and @modadunn, I hope ou are coping</p>
<p>@boysx3, the projected cost of school is daunting. I hope one of the things I do is fund college for my grandkids. I’m still working on the general funding project, though things are going well. ln that light, I took the train last night down to NY for dinner with some senior folks at one of their clients about a potentially large assignment.</p>
<p>ShawSon applied to a few grad schools as Plan B. Acceptances and one rejection have trickled in. Soon to be complete. He’ll have two choices: defer or not, and then where. </p>
<p>Finally found some unhemmed pants for D2’s fiance at Nordstrom Rack. I get free alterations so I scooped up 2 pair. They are dry clean only but I was desperate! I also found some Calvin Klein microfiber washable pants on Macys.com. Has anyone ever trued these? They are super cheap as they are 50% off and with a coupon code they come in at $32. I ordered them last night just to see what they look like. </p>
<p>D1 has an interview within the Marketing department of a healthcare system on Thursday. It is interesting to watch her prepare as she takes the approach that she is interviewing them. She is very picky and has turned down several offers. She always tells us she wants a career not a job. 
Oh, to be young again! :)</p>
<p>I’m so proud of D1! NM, you raised a couple of terrific young women.</p>
<p>Believe me…they have their moments…especially with each other! ;)</p>
<p>With D1 working a temp job and looking for a new position we have had lots of discussion about what a “good” salary is for these 20 something “kids” . I know different parts of the country are more/less expensive to live in but I was wondering what it takes to live independently these days. A nice but not luxurious apartment around here runs around $1000 to $1200 a month. I cringe to think of Boston, DC or NYC!!! Does anyone know what the average starting salary is for recent college grads? I think I need to do some Google research!</p>
<p>edit: Found it. <a href=“Class Of 2013's Starting Salary Tracking Higher On Average Than Last Year's Grads' | HuffPost Impact”>HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost;
<p>The class of 2013 will enter an improved economy and is expected to earn more through its first year in the workforce than its counterparts in the class of 2012, United Press International reports.</p>
<p>A report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers says this year’s graduates should earn an average starting salary of $44,928 – a 5.3 percent jump over last year’s average.</p>
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<p>A few weeks ago I heard Neil Bush speak at a lunch meeting. His best lines were about yes, he definitely thought his dad deserved to be president, but he bets that no one thinks that their sibling will grow up to be president. (It loses something in the telling, but it was very funny.)</p>
<p>Daughter is in a complex but the apartments are nice and you need to be “buzzed in”. We are in western NY so don’t confuse it with NYC. 
She with the dog pays $880/month and she has to pay for electricity and internet separately but her heat and hot water are included in that. This is for a one bedroom.</p>
<p>S is in another part of town and a 2 bedroom with a much bigger floor plan with everything included – even cable TR pays about $1200/month with a dog. Just some info.</p>
<p>So of course, now that older D accepted the summer intership offer, she received a call from the To Die For (in my book) company. I’m encouraging her to still set up a Skype appointment and tell them how much she would like to work for them, and that although she has accepted a position for the summer, she would be thrilled to work for them in the fall.</p>
<p>I’m not as well as I thought I was. I hate to say it, however, but I think I am getting more rest at work than I would at home. The house is still a mess from our trip (the first one) and if I’m at home, it bothers me not to tidy.But I do need a nap soon.</p>
<p>Oh MP! Take care! What would be the downside of pursuing the To Die For position?? I think employers don’t have any loyalty anymore… why should an employee??</p>
<p>Good news for NorthMinn D1 - good luck! And shaw, kudos to S on the acceptances! What would he like to study?</p>
<p>In the rent market, S and GF have a roomy 1BR in a 5th floor walk-up in a very nice section of Brooklyn - $2300.
D is in NYC’s Flatiron district in an elevator building with a late night doorman. Two tiny BRs with small living space. Being the designer she is, the place looks really great and the 2 girls split the $2800 rent.
Brag alert, D got a $5K raise at the new job!</p>
<p>Missy, be well! I am sending you an imaginary hot toddy…and a maid! The maid, however, may be delayed as I must first find, hire, and convince her to clean the mc-compound ;)</p>
<p>Moda, sending you my condolences and hugs, though didn’t see a post so assume your news was via the fb group.</p>
<p>Crazy week here but not directly “work” related. Too identifying for a public board these days but years ago we had through misadventure come to own a little side company that does the very occasional museum-related model kit. To make a long story short due to a supplier failure I found myself pulling my first all-nighter in years Monday night fabricating resin parts for a special order and essentially decimated the studio. I actually worked 36 hours straight and basically collapsed into the hot tub last night.
It was a bit madcap. My regular-work lead employee is convinced, after arriving yesterday to find me sleepless, epoxy-splattered and adrenalin fueled (or maybe it was the fumes) with what looked like a lab set up on the studio kitchen that someone should have put it all on time-elapse video and diarized the scene on a blog :)</p>
<p>So today I’m feeling a) happy to have slept and b) happy to be back to the world of desk work. Then again, they say change is as good as a rest!</p>
<p>Mcson is headed to town Friday for mch’s birthday. Looking forward to proof-of-life ;)</p>
<p>^^^^ Ah yes, proof-of-life from S – that’s big in my book, too. We’ve actually spoken to S a couple times in the last several weeks. I can’t say the AF is his favorite place, but I do believe he’s feeling at least a little better about things. He got to drive a Humvee around neighboring Lakehurst Naval Base recently, which he thought was pretty cool. (I was surprised to find out those things have an automatic shift, not standard.) I asked him about Easter and he was his usual noncommittal self – so I flat-out gave him an ultimatum. </p>
<p>D2 had her internship evaluation yesterday and received her official verbal offer for a full time position. Yay! She is very happy. The details are to follow in a letter. She is relieved but now has started to worry about passing the CPA exam. She can never just relax!</p>
<p>Congrats to woody D’s raise! Hooray!</p>
<p>cq…any news with D heading to Chicago?</p>
<p>eddieo…is your D still subbing?</p>
<p>moda…hoping all is going as well as can be expected with the funeral planning. How is moda son doing in NYC?</p>
<p>kmc…you are amazing!!! Where do you get your energy?!</p>
<p>shaw…What is your :gut" feel for shaw son? Will he go to grad school or stay with the company? </p>
<p>FallGirl…hoping all is well with you. Have missed hearing from you.</p>
<p>RM…house hunting also seems to be in D1 and D2’s future . I think both have are planning to search within the next year. Don’t work too hard with that new job!</p>
<p>It is almost a year from our kids’ graduations. It has been so interesting to hear where they are, what they are doing and what their future plans and dreams are. How do you all feel about where they are in their lives and achieving future goals?</p>
<p>Woody, congrats on your son’s raise. And NM, congrats on your D’s offer.</p>
<p>Cbb, glad your son sounds a least somewhat less unhappy.</p>
<p>Kmc, yes, time lapse video would be a great thing to see. Hope you can get some rest.</p>
<p>I am starting to feel really irritated at being sick. The issue of lack of billable hours is always in the back of my mind. I’m becoming antsy and sore from lack of exercise, yet don’t have the energy or lung capacity to do anything. Okay, I will now stop complaining.</p>
<p>Well done to northminnD2!! That’s just great!</p>
<p>Congrats to NorthMinn’s D2 and shawson, and glad that CBBBlinker’s S is doing better with the AF. kmcmom13, I think a time lapse video could have been very entertaining!</p>
<p>Been busy attending more software training this week. The same training that was held 2 years ago, but due to salespeople with a convincing pitch at how user-friendly the software was, those in charge at my institution decided those of us who were doing that particular task didn’t need to do it anymore, and they would just train other users. So now after 2 years of going pretty much nowhere, they are finally training us to use the new software.</p>
<p>The software is fine, but not any easier/more intuitive to use than the old software we were using that this was purchased to replace, on the premise that it was so easy to use anyone could do it, not just those of us in IT.</p>
<p>NorthMinn: in response to your question about almost a year pass graduation: it has not gone as smoothly as I thought it would. Not that it’s been “bad” per se, but I didn’t think it would be such a struggle for D to find employment. I do think there’s a disadvantage for graduates who don’t have the resources to just move where they want to live and job hunt. I think she made some mistakes in her job hunt, being too focused in a particular area, but it was something she had to learn first hand. </p>
<p>My guess is Chicago will be happening in May, if not sooner. She’s flying out for more interviews the first weekend in April. She wasn’t offered the position that required the HS test scores and college GPA, which she’s not sad about, because she had a weird vibe and didn’t think it was a good fit for her. Kind of a “Stepford Wives” impression of the place. She’s earning pretty good $ here through her temp job and at this point is willing to wait to have a job offer in hand before she moves there. Besides, the weather will be nicer the longer she waits!</p>
<p>Ugh…11:05 and D2 is still at work. It just makes me so nervous not to know when she is leaving downtown. Wonder if I will feel differently when she gets married??? </p>
<p>NM, I think my mother STILL worries when I work late downtown. (H doesn’t worry, just Mom.)</p>
<p>Today Son and his GF are celebrating the SIXTH anniversary of their first date. Hope they aren’t sick of each other by the time they’re in a position to get married.</p>
<p>Very good friends of ours started dating in high school…and are still married some forty years later. Rare, but it happens. </p>
<p>Interesting article on some companies choosing to hire employees with Asperger’s because of their special talents:
<a href=“New Hire With Asperger's Finds 'Good Fit' at Freddie Mac - WSJ”>New Hire With Asperger's Finds 'Good Fit' at Freddie Mac - WSJ;
<p>Shawbridge – I’ve been playing around with the notion of funding D’s 529 some more with the thought that if and when she does have a child I’ll designate the child as the new beneficiary of the account – meanwhile, I’d be socking away the funds with tax-free growth years before birth. </p>
<p>NM – those late nights are a stress. I hope she doesn’t have too many of them. </p>
<p>D just executed a lease renewal for her apartment – and managed to negotiate a reduction in the proposed rent increase. I think working in the sales organization for her company is giving her some nice skills. </p>