Things are looking up, maybe, or maybe I'm just kind of a delusional idiot.

The sale of the business is still being held up. In the meantime, the owners, who had decided to shut us right down, found that they still needed some money coming in, so they are running a portion of the plant with a skeleton crew. On that crew is me. (And some other folks.) My pay is less, but so are my hours. I'm spending virtually all my work time in the lab, which is where all the fun is anyway. And supposedly this keeps the health insurance in place, and so forth. The hypothetical buyers relayed a request for me to be working on the quality program during my truncated workweek. I find that very encouraging.

R and I decided to go through with selling the house in Memphis. It closed yesterday. We got a little money out of it, not a whole bunch, but I'm thrilled to get that done because ...

... yesterday the Memphis newspaper, the Commercial Appeal, reported that the Memphis metro area now leads the nation in violent crime. I can just imagine everybody's property values plummeting in the wake of that report. I called my former boss in Memphis this afternoon and told him I was not coming back. It feels a little strange to do that with my job in question here and R between jobs himself, but I actually have a sense of freedom now. If this thing in Florida doesn't work out there is an entire continent for me to look for a job in. I will always wish Memphis the best and look for every hopeful sign, but it's going to take some time for that city to turn around and it will have to do it without me and my family.

What else. Ummm ... Bonnie (cat) found a chameleon in the yard the other day. I've never seen one change colors before and wasn't totally sure that they really do. But I saw it.

Way, waaay overdue for an update.

I have internet access at home now, finally.

BUT.

The home office in Boston has decided to shut down the plant where I work. Yes, really. Really. Why? I've heard several explanations, none of which make a lick of sense. We found out about all this last Tuesday.

They had an offer to buy. The hypothetical new owners came down and let us all re-apply for our jobs. My interview was Thursday. I am the only person who has been told that I definitely have a job with them ... IF the sale goes through. There have been some last-minute problems and the sale looks like not going through. Hopefully I'll know something by the end of the week.

In the meantime, my former employers in Memphis want me back. They have been so sweet about it. I don't want to go back there, but I need a paycheck, y'all.

Also, in preparation for my re-interview I had called a person I worked with before I went to this last job in Memphis ... the place I left b/c I didn't want to relocate to Kalamazoo. Got an email from her this evening to call someone I know very well at that business. May be something doing in K after all, or possibly Iowa.

We did get an offer on our house, were supposed to close last Friday; R and I talked about that in view of this sudden news and we decided to go through with it. But the sellers had some problem and so we're supposed to close next Friday.

I cannot stand the suspense.