new home

I made it to Norfolk. It’s been a journey: four days of driving and over 1500 miles. I arrived in town on Monday afternoon after spending Sunday night in Richmond with my cousins I hadn’t seen since my high school graduation in 2002 (at least that’s the last time we remember…). Friday and Saturday nights were spent in Louisville with some Gamecock faithful. I tend to have been a witness to the most devastating away games that USC has played the last few years. We beat the #1 team in the country one week and then I get to witness them lose to Kentucky the next week. Despite these terrible circumstances, I did get to see a few faces of some good people I haven’t seen in awhile.

I also got to spend a few days in the M-town—sleeping late at my parents’ house and seeing old friends. Never enough time to see everyone or eat all the food I miss when I leave home. I did get some BBQ Shop in and managed to make some money by working an event with BRIDGES. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to escape that job! I started out as a photographer and then got pulled in to lead a group of FedEx execs through some challenges downtown. They had to eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches at the Arcade (Elvis’s fav and oldest restaurant in town), put on full fireman suits at the Fire Museum, and sing Blue Suede shoes at the Rock and Soul museum. Bridges always does such creative stuff! Here’s a picture:

So here I am in Norfolk, sitting in a coffee shop by myself on a Saturday night. Not that this isn’t something I would’ve been doing in Denver (well, if I wasn’t working at Target…), but it’s different when it’s your only option. I do live in an awesome neighborhood where I can walk around, grab some food and a cupcake and do some people watching. At least that way I almost feel social, or less like a hermit. :P

I start the job on Monday, so then at least I’ll be around people! In the meantime, I still have a lot of unpacking to do because I keep wanting to spend my days doing other things…like visiting the beach!

saying goodbye to Colorado

Since I accepted a job halfway across the country, I think the mountains have been teasing me with beautiful sunsets and fall colors for two weeks now.

Today, in an effort to say goodbye, I drove up to Estes Park to get some good shots of the aspens in their full glory. Here are some of the results of my day long excursion. Enjoy!

j-o-b

I've officially accepted a position as Study Abroad Advisor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. Real world, here I come!

Big Days Ahead

I should probably be in bed, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. The reason? At 6am I'll be boarding a flight to Virginia (by way of Ohio...)! Off to be wined and dined for a perfect job on the beach. There will definitely be some less fun parts including the multiple interviews and the public presentation, but I really hope its at least enjoyable. And I really really hope they like me!

I get back super late Monday night and then turn around on Thursday and get another flight to Nashville for an interview just north of there in Kentucky! A little less wining and dining on this one, but at least I'll get to see my sister! The job is a little more administrative than I'd like, but who am I to be picky about a full-time job in the field I'm trying to get in to?

So please be thinking some good thoughts for me this week! And I'll be sure to post here (for my two readers) if I hear any news!

An Important Day in Rachel-Land!

Man, I haven't had a day that I could call a great day in a long time, but today pretty much rocked. As of September 1st, I could've been homeless, unemployed, and uninsured. BUT! I'm not!

It was the last day at the "real" job which might have been tragic if I didn't feel like it was a good thing that they forced me to move on/fired me and that Target wouldn't have let me go full-time. Anyway, I found out they do love me and they brought me banana pudding and THAT, my friends, is a true sign of friendship. You can always buy my love with banana pudding!

Also, managed to find a place to live! One of the sublets I looked at last week ended up working out. It's nice, it's week-to-week and perfecto for my situation, especially since I have two friends coming into town this weekend.

Lastly, I got some short-term health insurance. Not super exciting, but at least I don't have to worry about it anymore.

The cherry on top of the great-day-sundae was getting another interview and this one is for a job in Denver! =no relocation needed! Though the beach in Virginia is still tempting too...

And folks, the fall breeze made it an exceptionally perfect day :)

Hope your day was great as well!

interview!

Will be heading all the way to the East Coast for an in-person interview in a couple of weeks. Not costing me a dime, but I wish I could extend it and make it a real trip! If all works out though, I might be moving to the beach and life will be like a vacation! :)

Good and bad news...

What an interesting day...

I kinda sorta got fired and got an email with kinda almost maybe good news about a job.

I had to give my one job an unofficial resignation a week and a half ago because they were planning their annual out-of-town retreat/meeting. Well it's in New Orleans and after a couple of days of playing innocent and putting it off, I finally had to tell the second boss lady that they should not buy me a plane ticket  because I didn't know if I'd still be there at the end of September, and I certainly have no intention of being there for the rest of the year. This was a courtesy. I didn't have to mention anything, but I'm too honest.

That week the head boss lady was out of the office recuperating from a face lift, which is why I had to tell the other lady. I couldn't give her any specifics about anything since I don't have any, but I was very honest and told her I could not keep working 7 days a week without health insurance (mine is up at the end of the month!). So today, the boss lady called me in and in a pretty nice way told me that if I wasn't gonna be around next year, then they should not waste money "training" me and that my last day should be the end of the month. Well, they're not "training" me as it is...I'm scanning and filing right now, for $11 an hour. So that's it. I guess that's me getting "fired" for being nice and telling them I might not be around much longer, even though I haven't given them a two week notice officially.

On a happier note, not 10 minutes before I went into her office, I got an email from a job in Virginia that I had had a phone interview with telling me that they were seriously pursuing my candidacy for the job and would be contacting my references. Well, I know they've already contacted my references because my references told me! I obviously have no idea how many people they're "seriously pursuing" but it still sounds promising. Of course, I believe the next step is an on-campus interview, but I will take it! Especially if they are paying...it'd be like a beach vacation since this job happens to be on the beach! Holla!

So a little good and a little bad...or maybe not so bad? Now I have to figure out what I'm doing once the end of August hits since I lose my house, my insurance and my main job...that's in 14 days!