BONUS!

Apparently, the policy of ACS (am. cancer soc) is to make the start date 2 weeks after they offer the job. so, instead of starting work tomorrow, i won't start until wednesday.
so, BONUS. i get 2 days off already!!!

i wish i could say i have been doing worthwhile things in these last 2 weeks, but, nah. just the same sorta stuff of the last 4 months.
did i paint the purple room (or furniture) as planned? nope.
does the office look pristine? nope. (much to the Mr.'s chagrin)

but i did wash some baseboards! (can't tell)

i got to stay in touch w/ the teacher-side of me and volunteer at school for my 1st grade team several times.

i also enjoyed last thursday by making dinner for some friends of ours. she wanted to try my chicken paprikas (that's poppycosh for those that have heard us speak the word) and they LOVED it.
2 bottles of wine'll do that to ya.

i've been spending money like a madwoman- i need me some professional clothes for this new profession.

i've been regaling in my new guilt-free laziness. b/c you know, i have a job now. i won't be able to do this much longer.

so, these next 2 days will be spent sleeping late, making dinner from a new recipe, dorkin' around on the computer/ nintendo DS, possibly taking in a movie, and having a lunch feast for tuesday.

and hell, i MIGHT even do a load of laundry (if my drought guilt doesn't kick in)

supportive

The Mr. said to the kittens on Saturday:
hi, guys!!! say hi to mom. she just quit her job for a different job and then she got the new job.

that cracked me up, the way he said that.
definitely sounds interesting in that light. how many people are fortunate enough to be able to be as patient as i was?

YES it was nerve-racking. YES it was difficult to answer questions while also being vague (? how's the job hunt? ! wellllllll, i should make a decision in about a week or so... !-------how many weeks went by & i was still using the same line?)
YES it got pretty old staying home with nothing to do. b/c yes, while i was at home, i did try to take care of the chores/errands. but then what?
YES i needed to start a blog about nothing to occupy my time.

i have not yet forgotten, though, that it was The Mr. who made it possible!!! he supported me the whole way through. he allowed it to happen. i mean, can you imagine???
honey, do you mind if i quit my wonderful paying job and sense of identity to schlupp it around the house for a few months??? i promise i'll pick up whatever bon-bons inadvertently fall to the ground.

he warned me about the ugly side of job hunting. he made me aware that if it didn't happen, it was OK. and that plan b would be just fine. he also wanted me to realize that millions of people don't just land their first job, so i need to be prepared for disappointment.

but he believed in me.

after i came back from the first interview- WAY BACK WHEN in september- i was a little forlorn. he came in from lunch and said: "how'ditgo?"
my reply: " i didn't want that job anyway!" (way to be prepared)

i didn't really expect it to get this far, but he said he thought i had it, and when i got the questionnaire and 2nd interview, he had no doubt!

so, i am anxious and excited about my new adventure to come soon.
and i am very grateful that The Mr. supported the whole thing.
i know he's proud of me, and that makes me even more fortunate!

serendipity

ser·en·dip·i·ty [ser-uhn-dip-i-tee] –noun
1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.
2. good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting thefirst job she applied for.

interestingly enough, the sentence they gave with #2 is serendipitous in itself!!!

so on the anniversary of my crapday, i was interviewing w/ the american cancer society that i had been pursuing since i left teaching. it paid off- they offered me a job.
the exact same position that i applied for when i researched openings in december(and couldn't go thru the interview process b/c i wasn't available then due to teaching)!!! it had come open again.

musta been meant to be, b/c i was not offered an interview w/ a position in june since they filled it internally.

for those newcomers who don't know the story: the quick of it is that my mom died of cancer so this job was especially meaningful to me. i had been captain of Relay for Life for my school for 4 years. it was a "natural" progression.
if you've never heard of RFL, don't worry---- you will if you stick around. (and please do. i'll offer a slice of the delicious snickers ice cream cake from carvel that The Mr. bought for my crap, er i mean birth,day)

soooooo... guess i only have about a week to stock up on my bon-bons.
i definitely get that the blog title is not going to make as much sense now that i'm gainfully employed. but i think i'm sticking w/ the same blog address, just because there's a handful of people that know about it.
and it's still cute.

so, stay w/ me. there's still more to come.....

shopping list...

do i need to shop for more bon-bons????

i feel really good about this 2nd (read: final) interview i had w/ the non-profit. i really didn't even expect a call-back. but, i got that far!

so, 2 interviews and a million yes/no question assessment--- and it's down to me & someone else... come to find out.... she said i did very well on that dern thing.

it would be serendipity if i could write back that i got the job.
it would mean i had come full circle....

well, hopefully the story will be told soon!
wish me luck!

grey matters

for me the world's issues are not black and white. never have been. no doubt it contributes to my indecisiveness. this comes up from time to time. most recently, i had to take some online assessments for the non-profit job i'm looking into.

i answered more than 200 yes or no questions.

problem is...... well, re-read the first sentence.
i'm about as grey as they come. i can see both sides to everything. i am even grey about the spelling of the word gray!!

when i learned a little more about politics in the 10th grade, i was literally confused about the whole party system. i mean, how in the world can you decide if you're democrat or republican? because with that there are like 100 beliefs... education, gun control, abortion, health policies, environmental policies, etc...

i always had a problem w/ that. b/c what if you believe one way about one issue, and the opposite for another. how do you declare which party you are?? how do you know who to vote for?

and then there's me.... i'm so grey on all kinds of issues. and better still, i flip-flop through them.

so, please don't give me a yes-or-no-there's-no-wrong-answer-just-give-me-your-first-response-kind-of-test. especially when it can determine my job status for the future!

and who develops these tests to evaluate our intelligence??? people who use DOUBLE NEGATIVES. what???
i really wish i had copied some of the test questions. but i'm not kidding when i say a lot of them were like this: [actual test question]

You have never had an argument

• yes
• no

nevermind the dumb question--- how in the world do you answer it?? yes- i've never had an argument or no- i've never had an argument. OK now i'm grey on how you can even read that!!!! both ways can say that you have never in your life had an argument. (ok, what???)

i realize it's not the very best example, but several of them used the double negatives.

why couldn't they just say: have you ever had an argument? have you ever had to resolve conflict? have you ever wanted to poke yourself in the eye for answering ridiculous questions for me to judge your employability???

so, not only do i have the issue of not knowing what i feel/how i believe, you throw the confusion in the mix. and for really good measure, they ask the same question more than once, phrase it another way for yet another time, and by the time you know it, you've said yes AND no to the same questions!!!!

so, i'm grey.... fannnnnntastic!

now i know how a zebra feels. he'd rather be a donkey!

D-DAY (does D stand for disappointment??)

well, today's the day i find out if i have a 2nd interview with the non-profit job i've been pursuing... i had hoped that i would have heard early this morning.

i maintain the feeling that tomorrow is the day i concentrate on the "plan b" job...

i was supposed to write about the symptoms of SIS, but here i sit, not able to be funny or creative....

to my plethora [one] of readers-i apologize.
i am stressed on top of sad.
a year ago everything was so very different....

till next time---

updated to add: yeah, still don't know anything. i was asked to do some online assessments. so i guess i will not be going on to plan b so soon.... d stands for diabolical. cuz this waiting is merciless!!!!