Hiatus over, entries to resume soon…

this song fits me perfectly….

Wake up one morning you realize
Your life is one big compromise (compromise)
Stuck in the job you swore was only temporary (was only temporary)

Well let the sun shine on your face
And don’t let your life go to waste
Now is the time, got to make up your mind
Let it shine on you, let it shine on you

-Shine by Laura Izibor

Can’t find it on itunes, it was playing in the credits of The Nanny Diaries movie

I seriously need a vacation…

…especially when I think an email from my best friend’s 12 year old sister says “call girl”…and at second glance realize its not “call girl” but “cali girl”…

New job’s going alright…except for coworker who treats me and the other person (who started the same day as me) like crap. It was all I could do yesterday to bite my tongue when they not only bit my head off but made an assumption that clearly showed their true personality. It’ll be a very cold day somewhere before I’ll go to them for help after that remark!

After eight days of being sick, I think I’m finally starting to get well. Course, I’ve been thinking that for a few days too…

After three weeks at the new job, I’m officially brain dead. This isn’t totally good in that I have a final coming up in a few days. I’d like to keep my A if at all possible, but seeing as I’m stuffy headed, braindead, and can’t motivate myself to study (I just finally got around to finishing typing out the notes), I don’t see that as likely unless the prof is a slight bit more generous in his grading that he was on the midterm. As for the job, I’m learning a lot and getting to go watch the stuff that occurs prior to when I get the ‘clients’ too. Honestly, that’s the part of the job I like, but I won’t get to do all that much. Anything that gets me out of the office (a crummy building as well) and some exercise, fresh air, and the ability to see some eye candy (a couple of single and cute ADA’s) with regularity is a-oh-kay with me. Along with me, another guy started the same day and a second one started this week. The one that just started is going to rotate on the one aspect of the job that gets us out of the building on occasion, although I’m quite tempted to go volunteer for it on a regular basis rather than rotating biweekly before he does.

Along with the exercise on that aspect on the job is the half a mile round trip walk from the parking lot to the building daily. Its safe to say some of my work shoes are about to find themselves a new home as my feet won’t hold up any time if I continue to wear them. Yesterday I hit JCP and another store that had some sales and invested in some more work clothes since its literally business professional there-blazers and slacks daily. I now have a bland rainbow of blazers (beyond the ones I already had that were part of suits), and adorable black/white/red pinstripe top, and three more pairs of slacks that fit perfectly (i.e. don’t have to be altered on the length!).

Now I just need to stay away from stores for awhile (thankfully my gift shopping is done for a few months) so that my bank account can recover enough that I can start saving up for the furniture fund. Which reminds me, for those of you who’ve gotten a place of your own in the last few years, what essentials did you not think of that you realized were necessary–furniture and accessories (kitchen, bathroom, etc). Leave me comments on what you can think of–I’m trying to compile a list so I can start getting stuff now

First of all…apologies to Amy that her comments just got approved. Apparently WP has been eating the emails I should have gotten to log in and moderate them!

Well, I didn’t get the job that I interviewed for in February, but the director over that agency did recommend that I apply with a sister agency that’s in the city I currently work in. So, once I tracked down the contact information, I called the director and asked if they were still hiring. Indeed they were. He was going out of town for a couple weeks, but would start reviewing applications and setting up interviews once he returned. Mailed my resume and references in to him, and just about when I was ready to give up on hearing back, I got a phone call one Friday evening to set up an interview for the following week.

Went for the interview, which was my first panel interview, and left feeling pretty good about the job. That following Monday, the director called to get some additional information from me. Couple days later, another call to schedule me for a psych eval. And finally, three days after the psych eval, I got the call. Finally!

That was nearly two weeks ago. This Friday will be my last day in my current job and on Monday, I’ll start the new job. Everyone keeps asking me if I’m looking forward to it and am I excited. I am, but at the same time, I’m also quite nervous. Not only will I finally get to put my (graduate) education to use, but the job is in a completely different field/industry (but still in a government agency). I’m still trying to get my current employer to process my paperwork so that I can roll over my retirement and life insurance accounts, and maybe get COBRA set up if its not too expensive for the next few months.

Along with getting work experience in the field my master’s is in (so that I can teach the subject at the college level one day), I’ll also get a pay increase! Initially I’ll be making several thousand more, and after six months, I’ll get a smaller pay increase. Between that and my car being paid off this summer, I’ll be able to afford to move out no later than September (I hope)! So I’m starting to investigate the area apartment complexes, which include utilities, which are closest driving (and traffic) wise, and all that good stuff. I’m leaning towards four complexes right now (out of at least three to four times many as that in this city), and I know people that live at two of them, so I’ll be asking for their opinions on them in the coming months.

Non-work wise, life has been crazy busy lately. The portfolio I’m working on putting together is coming along, with plenty of portraits of the bro, a few of the ‘rents, and a couple I know that took me up on a offer of free prints in exchange for the usage of the photos. There will also be some photos of floral scenes and landscapes as well. I’m in the process of putting the site together and hope to have it operational and ready to go live by the end of next week at the latest. I won’t be posting the link here, but if you’re a regular reader/previously commented here (or I know who you are), just leave a comment and I’ll be glad to share the link with you.

…cause if I hear the phrase Mardi Gras, or anything to do with Mardi Gras for that matter, from my Cajun lovin coworker one more time, I’m gonna take the beads she gave me this morning and wring her neck. I’ve been Mardi Gras’d out since the last day we worked before the Christmas break when she brought all of her decorations to the office for pete’s sake!

Well…I didn’t get the job I really wanted and I still haven’t heard back about the one I interviewed for last month. Frustrating, if you ask me.

In the meantime, a professor of mine recommended that I apply for a local program opportunity that would send me abroad for a year. I’ve contacted the person that is over the application process and am currently awaiting the packet. And I’ve emailed a friend of mine that lives in that country to ask her opinion on it. I realize it would be a great opportunity if I was chosen (there’s only three spots available and 7 people have already applied as of last Friday), but this nagging feeling tells me while its a great opportunity, this might not be the best time for it.

In addition, I’ve been contemplating for several months now pursuing another degree. Call me crazy if you must, but there is something about academia that I enjoy. Granted, the idea has taken me several months to debate whether I wanted to or not, but I figure that if I’m going to pursue another one, I might as well do so now while nothing is tying me down than to wait until I am tied down somewhere and cannot pursue it.

So after months of debating between another masters degree (in library science) or a Ph.D. in the field my masters degree is in, I’ve decided to go the Ph.D. route. I technically have surpassed the application deadline, but the program advisor said I could still apply for the fall semester. So I’m currently working on that during my down time. The only thing about this particular program is that its a good two and a half hours south of where I currently live (over three hours from work), so I would have to move there to go to school. It beats the other two programs I’ve looked into, one up north and one in Florida! So I’m looking into job opportunities as well. The university does have an opening currently available that is identical to what I do now. Granted, I prefer experience in the field my master’s is in, but if it’ll pay the bills while I start the Ph.D., I’m not picky.

Or, Monday on a Friday. It actually began last night, mom was on another anger jag of sorts, mainly directed at the bro. Then dad came home from work, told me one of my tires was flat–one that I just replaced last August. So, since it was nearly midnight, he decided I would take mom’s, she’d take his, and he’d take his backup vehicle. That didn’t go over well with her. So she’s now pissed at me because I have a flat tire. Oh geez, I’m sorry I didn’t realize it before I drove over the piece of steel that embedded itself into my tire, get over it. Honestly, I hate driving her vehicle, I’d rather drive one of dad’s two. And the way she reacted, you’d think she actually paid the car payments on them (she doesn’t). Good thing that he discovered it last night, if it had been this morning, hell hath no fury at her response. So dad spent his morning off taking care of it for me since I couldn’t. To add to it, big box mart charged twenty dollars to replace the tire, even though I purchased the road hazard plan, which supposedly was supposed to keep me from spending money if something like this happened. Jerkwads.

There’s only one downfall if I happen to get the local job that I’m interviewing for next week…its right down the street from where she works part time. When I worked a few buildings away, she constantly called or emailed during the day. And expected me to have lunch with her on the days she worked. So not happening this time around. Occasionally, yes; constantly, absolutely not. Plus, I don’t want to imagine when I move out how often she’ll call…

Time for a well overdue update…

The interview a week and a half ago went well in my opinion, but as of right now, they’ve yet to call me back for a follow up interview with the director. Yesterday was the last day they were taking applications, so I don’t know how soon I might, if at all, hear back on that one. I faxed a follow up letter yesterday (its the only contact info I have for that office). I have a sneaking suspicion on why I’ve not heard back, but we’ll see.

Anyway, when I was asking a friend of mine to see if she knew anything about the office in particular (as she works in a similar field that would communicate with that office possibly), she hadn’t heard anything about them, but knew of a job opportunity in that same field locally. So she referred me on to that office. Resume sent, application packet received a couple days later and returned by the end of last week. Ran into a former professor that is friends with the director over that job late last week, told him I’d applied, so he said he’d call and put in a good word for me there. Hadn’t heard back by yesterday, so I emailed a follow up letter there as well. This morning I got a call to schedule an interview there early next week.

Right now, I would really love that job, the one I interview for next week. Its in the field I really want to be working in for the rest of my career (well both are), its a fifteen minute commute from home (compared with the 50 minute one I have every morning now; the other job would be a 25 minute commute each morning), it would pay more than what I make now and the job I already interviewed for, and it would get me a whole lot closer to affording a place of my own sooner than later if I stay where I am now. Plus, its down the street from my old job, so I’d be able to go visit and have lunch with the former coworkers that I miss seeing. Granted, if I leave where I am now, I’ll miss a few of my coworkers that I’ve gotten to know over the past several months and getting to have lunch with a friend of mine that works nearby.

My plan, when taking my current job, was for it to be a transition type job, the kind that gets you out of a not so great situation and tides you over until what you want (or close enough) comes along. I figured I could do this a year or so, then I’d move on to something in one of two fields. Beyond occasionally looking for federal level jobs, being told about, or getting occasional emails from the state jobs site, I haven’t bothered to really look just yet since I wanted to hold out until the end of the school year.

Well, this morning, rather than automatically deleting one of those emails, I opened it and found a job title that was one that would get me closer to where I want to be. So, on a whim, I updated my resume, drafted a cover letter, and faxed it to the agency as requested. About an hour or so later, I got a phone call from said agency, wanting to schedule an interview. For early next week.

I’m surprised to say the least–I figured since its just under two weeks to the deadline that I wouldn’t hear anything until closer to the deadline or afterwards. So rather than inform my boss why I really need off work (I’d like to stay on her good side until whenever I leave in case this falls through), I’ve just requested off for an appointment. What kind will be left unsaid, but if an offer was to come through, she’ll know when I give my notice. So, to play it safe, I’ll be taking a half day of vacation time instead–that way she can’t raise too much heck about it.