When I started writing under the Mrsenginerd pseudonym I was in the middle of a career shift. My employer had done a reduction in workforce exercise that had left me jobless a month after my 10th anniversary with the company (The Layoff). As a married woman with no kids, there was a lot of free... Continue Reading →
Ever wonder why people keep throwing parties and inviting you, even when you RSVP and don't show up? When you are doing a really good ghosting job but they don't take the hint? Let me shed some light on their persistence: People are social creatures. We need the warmth of human touch. Intimacy. Compassion. Comfort.... Continue Reading →
For a couple of weeks now I have been listening to very fervent and passionate retirement plan discussions. Half of my teammates will be eligible to pull the rip chord in the next six months to two years. They are all already in countdown mode or STD - short timer's disease - since they can't... Continue Reading →
Funeral arrangements, forms, tax returns, and other important documents are a hassle to wrangle, especially if you are far removed from the day to day operations of your loved ones. When my mother passed away she had spared us the ordeal of sorting it out on our own. However, the meticulous planning of an Army... Continue Reading →
Muffled whimpers echoed in the distance. The long hallway ended up in a moss covered door, deep into the dungeons of the soul. Breaching the locks with all my might, I discovered it's owner, small and weak, starved of sustenance and light, tucked away in a corner. The spark from its eyes was long gone,... Continue Reading →
Fact: My husband stumbles about the world clueless. He doesn't know what he wants, where he is going, and much less how to get what he needs to solve for the other two. Every time a priest mentions in a wedding homily that the wife must follow the husband my spidey senses tingle. What if... Continue Reading →
Bzzz. Bzzz. My Insta friend Cocoa texts me to ask for help with her seizure and cancer meds campaign. It's 7:00 am on a Tuesday but I'm already awake; Zach has been barking intermittently since 4:55 am. The Ring side camera was on a rampage, chiming loudly and constantly even though the video showed no... Continue Reading →
No. Nein. Nee. Não. Non. Niet. Nil. Nah. It was definitely NOT worth it. The group work. The sleepless nights. The tests and point grabs. The neverending facepalms when someone had no clue about foreign politics or the subject matter. We were all guilty of a faux pas, especially the impatient know it alls in... Continue Reading →
The day I turned 23 my military ID expired. In a few months I'd be put of college and off to work full time for a big aerospace and defense contractor thus my mother decided to not renew my credentials. Adapting to life as a civilian, as an outsider, was challenging. As the daughter of... Continue Reading →
