Interview!

I finally have an interview on my calendar!  Although I'm grateful for the interview and I'm hopeful that it goes really well, I have to admit that I am a little bummed that it's not for a teaching job.  I think I have to allow myself to admit that I, more than likely, will not be teaching this year.  Things will work out.  And I will be back in a classroom.  One day.

After thinking about the whole dilemma with grad school, I decided to stick with my plans of getting my Master's at Walden.  Even though the Alabama State Department of Education won't recognize the program for certification purposes, I will still be able to be paid on the Master's scale, which will be good.  I think getting my Master's in Elementary Reading and Math will help me more right now because reading and math are so important in a child's educational foundation, and I think getting all this extra training in those subjects will enable me to teach K-3 more effectively.  Then, in a few years, I can go back, if I want to, and get my Master's in Elementary Education so that I can teach the upper grades.

One day, I will reflect back on this time in my life.  And I will be so thankful that it's over.

Ah-choo.

Heather, Tony, Katie, Jeremy and I were going to go to Six Flags in Atlanta today.  Since I am still without a job and it was going to cost roughly $50 for the day (tickets, parking, gas, lunch), I felt really guilty about spending that much money to go to Six Flags when I had to borrow money from my parents.  Plus there was a 50-60% chance of storming at Six Flags, so I bailed.  Then the four of them decided to bail, as well, because of the chance of rain.  Heather and Tony decided to drive up from Auburn and we all hung out at the house, playing games.  Everyone went to bed before midnight, so Heather and I watched a movie.  Katie and Jeremy went to get stuff for breakfast this morning at Target and while they were there, they bought a couple of outside games.  We played one of them, Golf Toss, today.  We were only able to get through one game because it was so hot outside.  I wish Mary-Katharine had been able to come up here, too.

I still haven't heard anything about a job.  It's really frustrating.  I feel like everyone in my cohort is getting a job.  It's not like I'm a bad teacher or anything.  Even the bank is taking forever to get back with me.  I feel useless and lazy.  I've been without a job for almost two months, and it isn't like I'm sitting here in Birmingham not trying to find something.  I should know on Friday if the school in Pell City had enough Kindergarten students to register for school for anoher class to be made.  Hopefully there were enough new students and I can land that job.

I have not been able to stop sneezing since yesterday afternoon.  Now I feel like my head is disconnected from the rest of my body and I just want to sleep.  Allergies suck like no other.

Mango Mango

I had to go into downtown Birmingham this afternoon to the Regions building to take my teller assessment.  There were about 40-50 people in the conference room taking the assessment with me.  It was an hour long video test where we watched ten different scenarios between a teller and a customer.  Then it gave us four multiple choice options and we had to choose which option was the best choice and which was the worst.  Then we had to compare checks and deposit slips to see how many mistakes we could spot.  The last part of the assessment was a bunch of math problems.  We had 40 seconds to solve each problem.  The problems themselves were easy, but they took a while to solve.  After we all finished, they took our answer sheets upstairs and scored them.  Then they called us out into the hallway, one at a time, to tell us whether or not we passed the assessment.  I was getting really nervous because I sat there for about 30 minutes as other people were being called.  By the time I got called, there were about 12 of us left in the conference room.  I passed the assessment!  And the lady I talked to said I should be hearing from a recruiter in a couple days.  Cross your fingers!!

I have an interview tomorrow evening with a couple about being their full-time nanny for their 16-month-old little girl.  I feel really confident that I could win them over and be offered the job, but if I'm offered a job with the bank, I think that would be a much better job to take, from a professional standpoint.  Plus, if I get offered a last minute teaching job, it'll be easier to quit Regions than it would the nanny position.  The timing of all this, though, is difficult because I don't know when the Regions recruiter is calling, and if passing this assessment means I'm definitely getting a job.  And if it does mean I'll get a teller job, I don't know when I'll be offered it.  I don't want to accept this nanny job and then have to quit later this week or next week.

Ugh.  This will work out.  This will work out.  This will work out.

On a random note, I had a fresh mango for dessert tonight.  It was delicious.  And now I am seriously craving a midnight mango snack.  I've been eating a lot of fruit lately.  And I'm really proud of myself for doing so.  Usually I buy fruit with the intention of eating it, but I would always end up throwing it away because it would go bad.  With the exception of one banana, I've been pretty good about eating the fruit lately.  Now I just need to keep up with the fresh vegetables.  I've been trying really hard to eat healthier since moving down here.  I've lost two pounds and two and a half inches in the three weeks I've been at the gym.  I still have a long way to go, but it's a start and I'm super stoked.

As stressful as this no job thing is, moving down here has been really good for me.  I just have to keep the faith that something will come along job wise and that things with grad school will settle down and work out.

Lucky

Yesterday morning, I got up and was at the gym for 9:00.  I had an appointment with one of the circuit coaches to get set up for the Curves Smart program and to do my first workout with the system.  With the CS program, you have a little card that you can put into each machine and it keeps track of your intensity and the number of reps you do on each machine.  If you're not working hard enough on a machine, a yellow light flashes and you're supposed to work harder until the green light flashes.  After your workout, you put your card into a computer and it tells you how many calories you burned in your workout and whether or not you met your target on each machine.  Yesterday, my first CS workout kicked my ass.  I burned 408 calories, which apparently was impressive to one of the circuit coaches.  She told me that people usually burn around 200 calories on their first CS workout.

When I finally pulled myself off the bed, I got ready to go to Brandi's for her pool party.  We were out at the pool for a few hours with several of her friends.  I had a really good time talking with and getting to know them.  I was only in the pool for maybe the last hour that I was there, and despite my sunscreen, my chest, shoulders, and face got burned.  The redness has gone down a lot since yesterday, but it's still a little bit tender.  I've been putting cocoa butter on my skin religiously in hopes that it will keep it from peeling.

Once I got back to the house, I took a shower and started to get ready to go to my birthday dinner with Jessica, Rick, and Jessie.  Jessie came to pick me up and we hung out for a little bit while I finished drying my hair and getting ready.  Once we were on our way to Olive Garden, I decided I was more in the mood for Mexican food, as I really wanted a margarita with dinner.  We called Jessica and Rick and told them to meet us at Iguana Grill.  The food was delicious and my peach margaritas were fabulous.  Jessie paid for my dinner, and gave me a gift bag with a card, some lotion, shower gel, two fruity candles, and a cute rubber ducky.  Jessica and Rick gave me a card with a gift certificate to the spa I mentioned in my blog a few days ago.  I was stunned that she figured out what spa I was talking about and got a certificate for me!  I have such sweet, sweet friends!

Frustrated

Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up. ~Author Unknown

Just when I thought things were sort of falling into place with grad school, another hurdle pops up.  I was admitted to Walden on Wednesday morning and on Thursday afternoon I found out that, even though getting my Master's degree from Walden in Elementary Reading and Math would certify me to teach grades K-6, the state of Alabama doesn't recognize that particular program for certification purposes.  However, because it is still a Master's degree, I would be able to paid a higher salary for having the degree.  In a nut shell, that means that I would be spending $13,000 on a degree that would allow me to earn more money, but it would not allow me to teach the upper elementary grades.  Being able to teach the upper elementary grades is the biggest reason why I want my Master's degree.

I called the College of Education at the University of Montevallo to ask about their graduate programs.  I was kind of hesitant to do that because when I applied for grad school at Auburn, they told me that any school I go to in Alabama would require me to get my Master's in Early Childhood Education because that's what I got my Bachelor's in.  But UM doesn't even have a Master's in ECE program, so I asked if they made exceptions for those of us who have our undergrad in ECE.  It turns out that at UM, if I have a Bachelor's in anything education, I can get my Master's in Elementary Education.  Getting my Master's in Elementary Education at UM would definitely allow me to teach the upper elementary grades.

Classes start at UM on August 30th, so that gives me 7 weeks and a couple days to study for/take the GRE, apply/get accepted to UM and get my loan stuff taken care of.  I'm going to be having loans coming out of my ears after this.  But I truly look at it as an investment, and I really don't feel as though you can put a price on your education.

I'm taking the GRE on August 2nd and am already nervous as hell about it.  I called the Graduate School's Office of Admissions at UM and asked if I could be admitted on a conditional basis if, for some reason, I don't pass the GRE.  The guy I talked to said I could be admitted and take up to 12 hours this fall, but before I take classes in the spring, I have to have a passing GRE score on file.

There is still no news on the job front.  I'm not only getting stressed out about it, I'm starting to get scared.  I don't know how I'm going to pay my bills here pretty soon.  I want to ask my parents for help, but I know they can't support me.  Dad has made that more than clear.  Although, technically, I don't need supporting; I just need temporary assistance.  Just until classes start and I get my semester loan reimbursement.  And a job.  I pray to the Job Gods everyt night, but apparently they're busy with other customers.

I applied for a job yesterday to be a full-time preschool teacher at La Petite Academy.  I have a feeling it would be similar to the job I was going after in New Orleans.  But at this point, it's a job.  A job = a paycheck.  A paycheck = something.  And something is better than nothing

Spa'd

I had the most amazing thought today.  And I have no idea why I didn't think of this sooner.

In the past, I spent my birthday hanging out at home with my parents and Michael.  But now that I'm not living at home, I rely on my friends more.  However, since my birthday is so close to the July 4th holiday and my friends are either a) back at work or b) still on vacation when my birthday rolls around, I end up spending my birthday by myself.  I usually go to dinner with a friend or two that night and then a couple weeks later, when more people are back in town, a bunch of my friends and I will go out for a big birthday dinner.  But for the most part, the majority of my actual birthday is spent alone.

And seeing as how I love birthdays -- especially since my brain surgery in 2007 (which, had I not had it, I more than likely would not be here today, and as a result, I have cherished every one of my birthdays since my surgery) -- spending it alone kinda sorta really sucks.

So. I have decided that once I get my Master's degree and land a full-time job, I'm going to save money from my paycheck every month.  And every year on my birthday, I will continue to spend my day alone.  But I will spend it being completely pampered at a spa.  How genius is that?!

Armed with a list of things I knew I wanted for sure on my spa day (massage, facial, mani/pedi), I started looking up spas in the Birmingham area tonight.  Within 10 minutes - thank you, Google - I found a spa that offers a package called the Ultimate Escape.  6 hours, $400... Swedish massage, European facial, spa manicure, spa pedicure, shampoo/hair style, a makeover, and a light lunch.  And a take home spa robe.  Score!

I'm so excited about this idea, I almost can't wait to turn 25.  Although, considering I don't know how exactly my job situation is going to pan out, I may not be able to do this next year.  Unless I talk to my parents and have them chip in and help me pay for it.

It's my goal to be at the spa on my 26th birthday, for sure.  Of course, if i can make it happen for my 25th birthday, you won't hear any arguing from me, as I will have, for the day, ultimately escaped reality.

24

Today is my birthday.  And I'm not doing much.

I can't decide if it's nice to spend the day being lazy and doing nothing, or if I wish I had something to do.  I don't have much money to do anything anyway.

Job Gods... I really need you to help me out.

4th of July

This 4th of July weekend just might have been the most boring and laziest one I've ever had.  Yesterday, I spent several hours making and printing stickers for various things in my planner (I was THAT bored), and then putting said stickers in my planner and writing in birthdays/anniversaries and other plans that I have already made.  Today, I didn't leave the house.  I didn't even change out of my pajamas.  I slept in a lot later than I wanted to -- probably got out of bed just before noon.  I've been sneezing for the majority of the day, and I am just miserable.

Despite all that, though, I was able to be somewhat productive today.  Harley has been scratching at his ears for a while and I finally wrapped him up like a burrito and cleaned them out.  I also finally sat down and wrote my goal statement for grad school and sent it to my enrollment advisor.  I think all that is left now is to enroll in classes, get my loan, and have my materials sent to me.