Slacker!

So, I was sick for quite awhile, but got better and then didn't have the motivation to post. Whoopsy! Must be the barrage of schoolwork and evening meetings that's keeping me slightly out of whack, because usually I like to write on the blog. It keeps me centered, somehow, less lost in my own thoughts...

Some updates:
* Might be getting hired full-time (as opposed to still being a temp) as of July 1st... and the boss said that they're thinking of adding new, improved health coverage options starting in August... but we'll count those chickens when they're hatched. If I don't get hired soon, or get real insurance coverage soon, I'm going to start looking elsewhere.
* Got some great new work-shirts for only 50 cents each at a yard sale this weekend. Yahoo!
* Ethan's doing great, talking a lot more-- but his doctor still wants to do a check on his speech development, starting with a hearing test this Friday. He'll pass with flying colors, I'm sure; that boy has ears like a lynx.
* Stefanie might be moving out in the next few weeks, finally, into her own apartment that she will share with Leila. Time to celebrate!

And, the big news: Ethan might have a cavity. I noticed it the other day when I thought he had some food stuck on his eye-tooth. Nope-- it was a tiny, ridged, almost concave area on the surface of his tooth. Not my little guy, not so early in his life!! Anyway, our dental coverage for him is pretty minimal because we got it when we signed up for the Kaiser Child Health Plan-- in other words, it's for broke people so it sucks. I don't want to get my kid cheap dental care, so I asked for referrals from other parents and got a lead on one dentist I think might work out. Trust me, I called quite a bit, but finding a pediatric dentist is harder than it looks, and then finding one that you can trust is another step beyond that. His appointment is in a week or so, and I'm hoping I can adjust my work schedule to take him in myself... but this might be a daddy appointment instead. Oh well, time to get involved in your child's health, papa!

On the Road to Recovery?

Well, I went in this morning and spoke with my placement specialist from the temp agency about what was going on at work. As usual for me during a stressful conversation like that one, I ended up crying in front of her. Ugh! I wish I could get a better handle on my emotions during those types of meetings... Anyway, she sympathized with me and agreed that the management was reacting inappropriately and unprofessionally in their communications with me. She suggested that I speak with the vice-president about what was happening and see how she responded to me. I agreed, but after leaving her office was so emotional that I felt unprepared to go in to work that day. I had a blasting headache from the stress and was weepy and tense, and so I called in to work that I wasn't feeling well and that I'd be in around noon that day. I used my time at home to gather my thoughts, calm down, grab some groceries, finish a homework assignment, and just try to bring up the zen factor before going in to work.

When I arrived, I found out that my manager wasn't even there-- he'd called in sick again. So the only other "yuck" factor was the president. The thing is, I think my placement specialist called over and spoke with the company, because everything was different today. The president was cordial, if a bit distant, and his wife (the vice-president) came over several times to check on me, ask if I needed any help or support, and let me know she was here if I needed her. When she asked how I was feeling, because I'd called in sick, I told her it was a pretty good headache. She said, "I hope it's not stress from work..." and then followed it up with "I don't want you to feel overwhelmed or discouraged by anything that's happened; we think you're doing a great job and we know that this is a complicated job to learn." We had a pretty decent conversation after that, and I'm thinking that things might be on the mend. Too early to say yet, but I'm hopeful. :)

Rough day.

Had a pretty bad day at work today. I'm just making so many errors, and feeling so incompetent, and it was tough to keep my composure in the office this afternoon-- especially when I made yet another mistake on the copier right as I was about to leave at 5:00. I came home close to tears and can't believe how bad I felt. After speaking with a friend, I have a new plan of action for tomorrow: Go in with my head held high, admit to my mistakes and then let them roll off my back. Treat myself the way I would like to be treated-- in other words, act as if I deserve to be treated kindly and respectfully and assume the best about what others are thinking. The worst that could happen is that they continue to act the way they've been acting, while I feel okay about my work. The best that could happen is that they begin to treat me better. It's really a positive change in any case, because no matter what happens I'll feel better about myself and satisfied with my efforts to learn this new job. If it works the way my friend hopes, they'll see me in a more positive light because I'll be acting more confident, secure, and pleasant rather than holding my head down out of guilt or shame or just feeling badly about the way things are going. We'll see... and I'll try to get on here more often, too; things are just so stinkin' busy!

No Time...

I feel like I have signed my life away to this MBA program. And not just me, but Joel, too. We are both going to school full-time and working now (thankfully), which means that we see very little of Ethan and even less of each other, not to mention hardly ever catching a glimpse of our friends and family. It's a little bit tougher than I thought it would be, this virtual isolation from our circle of loved ones, and this is only just the beginning of a long, long eighteen-month program. All I keep telling myself is that it'll be worth it in the end, it'll be worth the short-term sacrifice for the end goal... but that seems to be the common refrain of life. When does that fabled end goal arrive, anyway? I think perhaps it's time to start seeing that the process itself needs to be more enjoyable than miserable, or else reaching the legendary end goal becomes too great a burden to bear. We've got to build in some alone time for us as a husband & wife, some family time with our little guy, some get-away-from-it-all time, time with our couple friends and time for a girls/guys' night out, time with our relatives, and-- just as importantly as all the rest-- time to have some peaceful, solitary, all-by-myself solitude to recharge the batteries.

So I'll go ahead and put that plan into action, as soon as I can find some time.

Working Woman!

So, I started at my new job on Thursday, March 31st-- and it's great! The company is an HOA management and real estate firm here in Modesto, just a few blocks down the road from my house. In fact, it's so close that I could actually go home to eat on a half-hour lunch and still get back with time to spare. Not that I really want to do that very often, but it's an option, which is nice. The office is open and friendly yet professional, and seems to be a pleasant place to work. There appears to be some manager-assistant drama brewing between a couple of people, though, so I'm going to do my best to stay out of it and keep a neutral stance at all times. The good news is that I seem to have landed a very competent manager, and the woman I'm replacing is quite good at training me to take her position, so I'm pretty confident that I can do well in this office.

The position is to work as an Administrative Assistant for one of the Property Managers at the company. My particular boss is responsible for managing two professional associations and several other residential associations, some of which are huge (over 330 units!) and some of which are tiny (only 12 units). He basically provides all of the management, meaning he coordinates the custodial care, maintenance, architectural changes to the complex itself (not the homes), and so on. He's also in charge of setting up and running the bimonthly, quarterly and/or annual meetings of the HOA's board of directors. My job in all this is to assist him in preparing for all of those events: Transcribe notes; type up agendas, letters and other documents; print copies and prepare mailings; review, type, print, bind, and mail meeting packets; prepare for seminars or conferences; handle phone calls; order supplies; etc. The usual admin. assistant type of job duties.

I'm glad to be getting this experience in the business/for-profit world, FINALLY. It gets me out of social services and puts a new chapter onto my resume. I don't see myself staying as an Admin forever, because (mainly) it just doesn't pay enough to help support my family, but also because I'd really like to eventually move into a more challenging position. But for now, this is an excellent opportunity to get to know the job well, get a better understanding of the nuts and bolts of business management, and all while being able to pay rent. BINGO! I think we have a winner here. :)

Color Me Employed!

I'm so very happy to announce that I accepted a job offer yesterday from the real estate company that I interviewed with last week and Monday. It felt like a great match from the beginning, and I think the only thing holding them back from offering me the job last week was the fact that the position I'll be replacing is only 25 hrs/wk, whereas I need a full-time job in order to be financially comfortable. But they apparently wanted me on their team seriously enough to re-work the position description, increase the hours, add some job duties, and make me the offer! It's an almost indescribable relief to be employed again after so long, and so close to the cut-off date for my unemployment benefits (as of today, there is only enough money in my award amount to cover three more checks; how's that for cutting it close?).

Even if I were working in a dead-end job with nothing to look forward to but a paycheck, I would be grateful. Instead, I get this great opportunity that sort of comes flying in out of the blue, all because of an inquiry email I sent out to an employment agency just in case they might still have my file open. This is what they call "serendipity"-- or possibly "luck favors the well-prepared" or something like that, considering that I've been honing my interview skills for the past two years and building up an excellent portfolio for sharing with potential employers... Either way, it's a blessing, and I'm truly appreciative of it.

I will be working as an Administrative Assistant supporting a property manager at a real estate firm that specializes in HOA management. The company has been around for 30 years, and because they don't focus on the ups and downs of the market, they've been remarkably stable and profitable during these past few years of ugliness in real estate. I am really looking forward to starting my job this week, especially because I get to dress up for work. Tee-hee! Call me a girly-girl, but I do love to fancy it up a bit at work. Can't wait to wear heels and skirts and dresses and just get all gussied up during the work week. Pictures will be forthcoming, never fear. And on that note, thank you to everyone for the positive thoughts and great energy and prayers, and thank you to God for this wonderful blessing, and thank you to those who spported me in my job search with babysitting and happy messages and other gestures of pure friendship. I love you all dearly!

Surprise, surprise... surprise!

Three big surprises in my life: First, Joel got me an ergonomic wireless keyboard and wireless mouse yesterday... How sweet is that? It is going to be so much easier to type up the multitude of papers and essays required for my MBA program with thiese handy dandy little tools. :)

Second, today is Ethan's first day at daycare! He was able to get in to Miss Janet's daycare, the same one that his buddy Aidan goes to, which is so great because at least he'll have someone he knows there. I've got mixed emotions about it; I know that I'm going to miss him, but I know as well that he is going to really love being around other kids and playing and learning and all of that. He definitely needs the interaction time, and will really benefit from it. I've been so lucky, despite all of these financial woes, because I've been blessed to spend the past two years at home with my little boy. But now it's time for him to take one little step on the path towards growing up, and I'm sure he's going to have a great time!

Third, and perhaps just a teensy smidge more importantly, I have a second interview today at the firm I interviewed with last week. I'm so happy and excited about it! Candace, the placement tech from availABILITY, called and asked me if I'd be available for a 2nd interview at 10:00 on Monday. I told her yes, because Ethan was starting daycare Monday morning so we'd be all set for to start working from this day forward. She responded with, "That's great! Because you just might be working by Tuesday." WOW! Now that's what I call fast service. Well, we'll hope that things go well and that this position works out, but if not-- I'm confident that I'll be working by the end of April. Watch out, world, I'm a woman with a mission and I'm on my way!

Job Hopes!

I think renewing my contact with availABILITY was the best thing I could have done in my job search. Candace, the placement specialist I met with on Tuesday, emailed me back on Wednesday with information about an interview for Thursday. That fast, my job hopes were raised again and I felt a little bit more energy and life flowing through me. I put on my "professional outfit"-- a fitted purple dress that has a dash of Mad Men style to it, a black dress jacket and velvety black heels-- packed up my portfolio of work examples, dropped Ethan off with my awesome parents and sister Adrienne, and headed about four blocks down the road to the company for my interview.

The company is a real estate company that has been in business for about 30 years and focuses primarily on HOA management. They are very stable and are looking for someone who is going to be around for awhile. That might clash a little bit with my plans to move to the Bay Area sometime in the future, but for now at least it sounds like a great place to work. The job duties are challenging, the office seems very well-run and professional yet comfortable, and the people seem friendly and competent. The interview seemed to go very well and I hope to hear back from them very soon... although maybe they could wait a week and let me have some time at home while Ethan's in daycare to get more homework done. It would be like a vacation, at home!

Employment News

Wow, this has been a busy week! On Monday, I was contacted by a placement specialist at availABILITY Personnel, an employment agency just down the road. I had sent them an email indicating interest in a job they'd posted online, and asked them to consider the application I'd filled out and the tests I had already taken back in December 2010. I guess they liked what they saw, because they asked me to come in Tuesday and finish some additional tests in Microsoft Office 2003. Apparently, I did well! In fact, I scored a 93% in Word and an 80% in Excel. Not bad, considering I've been using Office 2007 for over a year now and haven't even seen 2003 in a long time.

When I finished the tests, the placement specialist took me aside for an informal personal interview and asked me several questions about what types of jobs I was looking for, the hours and salary I'd prefer, and so on. I stayed really upbeat and was completely open about the challenges I've had so far in my job search-- being overqualified for the jobs I was applying for, trying to break out of the fields of education and social services, having to work within the 8-5 time frame because of childcare constraints, and having to work for at least $14/hour because I'm the primary breadwinner. If I was the only breadwinner, I'd need a bare minimum of $18-19/hour in order to just squeak by with bills. Anyway, I also told her that I was planning to have Ethan in daycare by Monday so that I'd be available to start work right away. She was so positive and encouraging during the interview and ended it by saying that she was impressed by my attitude and capabilities, and that she was certain I'd be working by the end of April. Woo-hoo! Finally, some good news!

Interview Bust

So, yet another group interview, except this time we all had to get up and tell each other-- the other applicants as well as the interviewers-- why we were most qualified for the job. It just gets more and more humiliating the longer I'm out here, I swear... after all that effort, too, it came down to the very end and I finally got to ask a question about the hours. Thank goodness, too, because there's no way I could have even done the job when they want me there from 1-9 p.m. four days during the week plus Saturday. I don't really think a lot of people understand just how difficult it is to look for work when you have a toddler that needs daycare and a husband who isn't available in the evenings to watch the baby.

I have a new-found appreciation for single parents out there who are trying to make it in this economy. How the heck are we supposed to work for low wages, put our kid(s) in daycare at $550/month for home care (if you can find it) or $990/month for center care, both of which close at the latest by 5:30 (home) or 6:00 (center) every night? How is that supposed to work? And how are people doing it when they have more than one child, too? It's ridiculous, really; sometimes I get so frustrated by the whole thing that I just want to scream.

School + Job Updates

I posted my first assignment in my online MBA class today. What a great moment of excitement, anticipation, and nervousness all rolled into one overwhelming feeling... I think it is going to be really wonderful for me to get back into education for awhile. I need this sort of mental stimulation and the reminder that I am more than just a one-dimensional character at this point in my life. It'll be tough to go to do a Master's degree while still being the primary one responsible for the house, the child, and then also work full-time, but there really isn't another option right now-- so it's full steam ahead, no holds barred, put the pedal to the metal time!

PS, I also got called to come in for an interview tomorrow for a position with Heald College here in Modesto. My friend T. said earlier that, because I just started classes, *now* I'll get a job-- now that I'll have way less time and energy, because that's just how the universe works. We both laughed about it, but then a couple of hours later I got the call from Heald about the interview. Hopefully T. was right! :)

Processing....

Going through the final steps before classes begin on the 22nd... starting to get a little nervous, a little excited, a little curious about what it will be like to go back to grad school after such a long break and this time, with a two-year-old on my lap. Still haven't had any positive responses from the job applications, but I'm trying to stay positive and hope for the best. My unemployment extension runs out at the end of April; that gives me a few weeks left to get things sorted out, right?

And, three for three on the job front

Just heard back from the last of the three job possibilities, the one where I actually got called back to a second interview. They said (as usual, lately) "Thanks but no thanks, we chose somebody else." I was kind of expecting it, actually, seeing as how I hadn't heard anything in awhile from them, but there was still that little inkling of hope trying desperately to stay alive for the past couple of weeks. It's just so frustrating and disappointing. I wish I could ask these interview panels what I'm doing wrong or what isn't working for them, so that I could change it for the next one, but of course they won't say a word for fear of legal reprisals. I just need to know what I'm doing to mess up these opportunities so that I can stop doing it and get a stinkin' job offer. My federal extension on unemployment only lasts another month or two, and then what?? I was so hopeful that one of those three interviews would pan out; I was even thinking I might have to juggle job offers, but to not have even one? What a huge let-down.

Gotta stay positive, but man it's getting tough.

Two No's and a Who Knows...

So far, two of the three jobs I interviewed for in the past couple of weeks have turned out to be a big "Thanks, but no thanks"-- and there's only one left that I still haven't heard back from yet. I know it's only Tuesday, and there's still hope, but I'm trying not to think that it isn't looking good that it's taking this long. Guess it's back to the job hunt, again.

Conflicted...

I'm really torn right now. In the past week I've interviewed for three very different jobs, with three different work schedules and very different pay scales. The first job is a Human Resources position in Stockton, the hours are from 6-3, and it pays about $18/hr. That would give me, if I'm doing my calculations correctly, just about enough to pay our bills without Joel having to work full-time while he's going to school full-time. The second job is an administrative assistant position and starts at $16, but I would try to negotiate up to $18 (their maximum starting pay for outside applicants) if I were offered the job. The hours on that one are from 8-5 p.m., and it's here in Modesto. Both of those jobs are different from what I was doing before because they are office-based and have none of the social work type duties that were making me feel so drained at my previous job.

The third job opportunity is the one that is causing me the most internal conflict. It pays the most ($42,000/year), has the least work days (187 days, as opposed to around 245 with a regular job), and is the one I'm most familiar with in terms of job duties. However, during the interview I found out that it also has the worst hours-- I'm expected to be at work from 9:30 to 6:30/7:00 every day, plus some early mornings every month for different school site meetings and late nights every month for school events, not to mention those days that students' parents are late picking them up, and so on. In the first place, day care closes at 6:30, which means I would have to make special arrangements to be there late every day. Then, Joel is in Stockton every day from 5:00 on, so if I'm going to be even later, or if there's an emergency, there is nobody around to pick up Ethan from day care. Add to that the fact that Ethan typically goes to bed at around 7:45/8:00, and it turns into a week where I only see my son for about an hour a day until the weekend. They also have the worst benefits package, which takes a huge chunk out of your paycheck every month; there's no way I could even add Ethan on to my insurance, for instance, and Joel would be out of luck for health benefits. I just don't know how that job would work out, considering everything, and it's really causing me some serious turmoil just thinking about it.



I wish I didn't have to be the only income here, and the whole conflict would be moot. If we had two incomes, I wouldn't have to sacrifice pretty much all of my weekday time with my child just to bring in enough to pay our bills by myself. I wish that we could have figured out a few years ago what we needed to do to get on track, and then pursued that before Ethan came along, so that we could have had everything where we need it to be career-wise and financially by now. I really hope with all my heart that I receive a job offer from one of the first two companies, so that I won't need to even worry about the third one any more. But, today has begun with blue skies and brightness, so I'm going to shelve my worries for a few hours and take my son out into the world, spend time with him, and enjoy our last few days at home together before I re-enter the workforce. Time to go hold on to him and squeeze out some giggles.

Motivated, and It Feels So Good

Just finished with Interview #3, for company #2, and it felt pretty good. In fact, it felt great, especially because I finally (!) got to use my portfolio and share my previous projects with the interview panel. I bring it every time, but for some reason-- probably because the interviews are so tightly scheduled and there is hardly time to breathe after the questions are all done-- I have never really used it. This time, I actually pulled out examples from my portfolio and passed them around the table when they were pertinent to the question asked. For example, one question had to do with scheduling and coordinating a large-scale conference. I flipped through my binder and withdrew a couple of pages (I had them inside clear page protectors): one that helped to show how I organized the vendor list, one that was a "schedule of events," and one that was a flyer in English/Spanish. The panel was very impressed, particularly by my method of using color and my organizing skills.

At the end of the interview, I mentioned that I had brought the portfolio with additional examples of my skills, and they asked if they could pass it around the table. One member went out of her way to speak up about a flowchart I had created, saying that she really liked how I had designed the chart with color, a legend to explain various symbols, and a clear and concise way of describing the referral process in a visual manner. It was so nice to get that feedback! And now that I've done it once, I'm confident that I can bring out my portfolio again during the next interview... which is tomorrow morning. Can't wait to see what they say!

2nd Interview... plus?

The second interview for the HR position went well... in fact, as I was being escorted to the next room for the skills test, the interviewer who was walking with me leaned in and whispered "Great job, you did great" and smiled at me. What a confidence boost! Then I went in to take the two-part skills test, and as I was getting started on the first section, the other candidate was finishing up hers-- very poorly. I felt a little bad for her, because the HR staff person came in just as the other candidate was starting a flurry of typing and said "Time's up!" in this cheerful voice, to which the woman replied "Oh, I was just starting to get the hang of it!" Oops. As I worked on mine, I realized that she didn't actually understand the assignment, because no typing was required; you could do it all (and in order to finish in time, you really *had* to) using cut and paste. Oops, is right... but that was another confidence booster, for sure.

The other thing that's boosting my confidence is that this afternoon, before heading off to the interview, I got a phone call from a school district that wants me to come in for an interview on Tuesday. That means I'll have interviewed with three different companies in the span of one week... which increases the odds of my getting at least one job offer by quite a bit, right? I'm pretty happy about it. The first company (that I already interviewed for twice) is actually having one more interview before they make a decision. The other two companies usually make their choice that same day and then make the job offer the next day or shortly thereafter. So, if it all works out well, I should be getting an offer of employment from at least *one* of these places by next Friday. Looks like this year is going to be the one!

Interviews Galore!

So, I went to an interview on Tuesday for a position in Stockton... it was the first time in my life that I've been invited to attend a "speed interview." Yes, it's almost exactly what it sounds like; speed dating format, interview setting. I thought that it would be extremely awkward, but it ended up being a process I really enjoyed. The strangeness comes into play when you realize that you are going to get about a 3-minute interaction time with each interview panel member. It feels odd somehow to move from station to station, answering a question as succinctly and thoroughly as possible and then moving on to the next person in line. But when you think about it, it's actually more one-on-one time than you get in a panel interview, where you sit across the table from a committee of five to ten (or more, in some cases) interviewers. At least in this speed interviewing scenario, you get time to personally connect with every interviewer, and so you get to make an impression-- good or bad-- with each one, face to face, instead of across a huge conference table.

Anyway, must have done well, because later that afternoon they called me back for Round 2! My second interview is on Friday afternoon. They'll be doing a regular panel interview, followed by a skills test. I guess the universe heard I was trying to get a job, because on the same day (Tuesday) that I went to the Round 1 interview and got a call-back, I also got a call from another job opportunity; they want me to interview on Monday morning! Isn't that crazy? I think the time has finally come... the world is ready for me to be back in the office. At least I hope so!

Job Possibility...

Now that we're nearing the end of our rope, I think I may have stumbled across a legitimate job opportunity. I don't want to say too much, because I have this ridiculous idea of possibly jinxing myself, but let's just say that it might work out. And it might work out to the tune of still getting part of the summer off, too...

So, enough of that! I'll definitely keep you updated. As to the other jobs, I've so far heard back from two more in the negatory, so we'll just keep on truckin' until we get some good news. And I tell you this: I hope it happens soon, because times are getting pretty tight around here!

Good job news! For someone else...

My sister got a job! She left her very well-paying job with a local utilities company in 2009, when her husband was transferred to a US military facility in Kansas. Unfortunately, not long after packing up and moving out there, things fell apart, and their relationship ended. Since then, she has been looking for work and looking to pick her life back up, and it has been quite a struggle. She moved back to Modesto to live with my parents in April of 2010, and it was great for all of us to get the chance to rebuild a relationship that had been pretty severely damaged for some time. She recently got a call from a former co-worker, who asked, with tentative hope and a bit of wariness, whether or not my sister was currently employed or interested in coming back to work for the company. It was a second chance-- and she jumped at it.

It's taken a few weeks to get it all settled, but last night she was officially offered a job with the company. The wonderful thing is that she will actually be in a better position this time, because she'll be working in a different group and with two people she truly respects and enjoys being around (when she left, the job was actually a big stress factor because she was in a group that was pretty hostile and unhappy). And the best part? Her salary is right back up where it was when she left. We're truly so happy for her; it's an amazing thing when life decides that it's time you were given a second chance to do the right thing and make better choices. I hope our time is on the way, too!