Posts
I'm in a great mood right now. Yesterday I found out that there is another Christian who works with me. We are few and far between, so it is encouraging to meet others. We've had some good chats in the past two days about some issues relating to godly living and church. That has been fun.
I'm house and pet sitting this week for friends from church. It requires getting up at 6:00 every morning to feed the animals and take the dog out. I then promptly go back to bed for a few more hours. :) The first night I forgot my pajamas and my shampoo and conditioner, so I had to make due with what I was wearing and what they had in their bathroom. I did not forget those things last night, which is good.
My dad's step-father died on Monday. His body was full of cancer and he actually lived longer than we expected. He was always such a cheerful person and will be missed.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I will be working from 1:30-6:00, completely by choice. I want the overtime. I will have more than ten hours of overtime in my next paycheck. I do so look forward to that! I don't like living paycheck to paycheck, but that is where I find myself right now. God is faithful to provide, however, and I find myself lacking nothing.
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Saturday, November 18, 2006
A bit early
Today we started to decorate for Christmas. I really love Christmas decorations. They are so cheerful. Generally I hold to the rule that Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving, but this year my roommate and I were both ready to start it a little bit early.
We have two trees, one small and one medium. They both belong to my roommate and they are both fake. I really do prefer real trees to the fake ones, but I can settle for fake ones when no tree is a realistic alternative. My roommate, you see, grew up with what I consider small fake trees and really doesn't know any different. I grew up with real trees. They both look and smell better and I protested loudly when my mother bought a fake tree a few years ago. That was out for a couple of years and then she bought a real tree again. She said that she was tired of vacuuming up needles for months. My parents no longer have any carpet in their house, so needle clean-up is easier. I was amused to see my roommate's fake tree leaving fake needles on our carpet. :) I think real trees are worth the needle clean-up, but for now I will settle for the evergreen scented candle that I have. I really dislike most of them but found one that I do like and think does smell like Christmas should. I forgot to burn it last year but have it out this year and am appreciating the scent.
One thing I dislike about fake trees is that they look really stupid if the bottom of the "trunk" is not covered with presents. We don't exactly have tons of money around here, so one of my projects will be to wrap boxes to put under the trees. Most boxes will be empty, but there are a few exceptions. Right now there is a bar of soap wrapped up and placed under the small tree, which we put out on our patio just for fun. Fake trees with fake presents underneath. All this for a little ambience!
The almanac said that we were supposed to get a colder than usual winter. I wonder when that is supposed to come. So far we haven't had anything like winter weather. This week we had another rain storm that caused more flooding. It wasn't anything close to what happened when the river flooded so badly in June, but it still caused a lot of damage. The river crested just barely below flood stage, which is a relief to many in this area. That stormy day brought us temperatures in the 60s. That's a bit warm for November in New York! Tomorrow we are supposed to get some snow flurries, but it won't be cold enough for the snow to stick. The overnight lows are supposed to drop below freezing for a few nights, but nothing that really says that winter has arrived for good. I guess we'll just have to wait for December. I'm really quite okay with waiting!
Work is going well. I am not nervous about answering the phone now. I can handle most situations, and if I don't know what to do I ask someone. I ask and I learn and then the next time something comes up I know what to do. I've already picked up a little more than 6 hours of overtime for this pay period and it is only halfway over. I will very likely pick up at least a little bit more and have permission to stay at work late whenever I want to (which really only applies to 3 days every week since I work until closing the other two) and started working Saturday mornings today. It's going to be a nice boost to my paycheck, for sure, and right now I need that!
We have two trees, one small and one medium. They both belong to my roommate and they are both fake. I really do prefer real trees to the fake ones, but I can settle for fake ones when no tree is a realistic alternative. My roommate, you see, grew up with what I consider small fake trees and really doesn't know any different. I grew up with real trees. They both look and smell better and I protested loudly when my mother bought a fake tree a few years ago. That was out for a couple of years and then she bought a real tree again. She said that she was tired of vacuuming up needles for months. My parents no longer have any carpet in their house, so needle clean-up is easier. I was amused to see my roommate's fake tree leaving fake needles on our carpet. :) I think real trees are worth the needle clean-up, but for now I will settle for the evergreen scented candle that I have. I really dislike most of them but found one that I do like and think does smell like Christmas should. I forgot to burn it last year but have it out this year and am appreciating the scent.
One thing I dislike about fake trees is that they look really stupid if the bottom of the "trunk" is not covered with presents. We don't exactly have tons of money around here, so one of my projects will be to wrap boxes to put under the trees. Most boxes will be empty, but there are a few exceptions. Right now there is a bar of soap wrapped up and placed under the small tree, which we put out on our patio just for fun. Fake trees with fake presents underneath. All this for a little ambience!
The almanac said that we were supposed to get a colder than usual winter. I wonder when that is supposed to come. So far we haven't had anything like winter weather. This week we had another rain storm that caused more flooding. It wasn't anything close to what happened when the river flooded so badly in June, but it still caused a lot of damage. The river crested just barely below flood stage, which is a relief to many in this area. That stormy day brought us temperatures in the 60s. That's a bit warm for November in New York! Tomorrow we are supposed to get some snow flurries, but it won't be cold enough for the snow to stick. The overnight lows are supposed to drop below freezing for a few nights, but nothing that really says that winter has arrived for good. I guess we'll just have to wait for December. I'm really quite okay with waiting!
Work is going well. I am not nervous about answering the phone now. I can handle most situations, and if I don't know what to do I ask someone. I ask and I learn and then the next time something comes up I know what to do. I've already picked up a little more than 6 hours of overtime for this pay period and it is only halfway over. I will very likely pick up at least a little bit more and have permission to stay at work late whenever I want to (which really only applies to 3 days every week since I work until closing the other two) and started working Saturday mornings today. It's going to be a nice boost to my paycheck, for sure, and right now I need that!
Friday, November 10, 2006
Memo: From Me, To All Blog Visitors
I thought I would update with a few notes from work. This week I sat in three desks, since I still do not have one of my own. There is a woman out on maternity leave, so I finally asked today if I could just use her desk until they find me a permanent place. They said yes. My supervisor actually asked why I wasn't sitting there all along. The other supervisor for our group was giving me seat assignments prior to that, so it really wasn't my fault. I just don't like being homeless. It took me 30 minutes to get ready to take calls today, and then only half of my work day was actually spent on the phone. The rest of the time I was in meetings and training or following up with issues. I felt so unproductive and got about an hour and a half of overtime in the process. Speaking of which, I will likely start to work for four hours on Saturday morning because I am interested in getting overtime since money is tight and they are low on staff on Saturday morning. I also got permission to work for half of a day on Thanksgiving. Since it's a holiday I will be paid double time and a half for the hours I work. I get paid for the whole day whether or not I work, so it's really just extra money in my pocket. Since I don't have family out here and will be housesitting alone that week I think I will enjoy being at work more than I would taking that time off! Holidays are lightly staffed but fun days to work, since they do like to celebrate. They will provide good food for all of us, so I won't go hungry. There are rumors of pay raises and restructuring due to a recent merger with a larger division in the area. Those are rumors. So far they have mentioned some things that will change or have already changed because of it, but nothing about pay. I agreed to work for my current wage and will accept it if there is no change, but I certainly would not protest against a larger paycheck. I have bills to pay, and commission only goes so far!
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Surviving, and I can do this
I have survived the first two days on my own at work. I have no desk and sit where there is an available desk for the day. I have made errors, but so far I think I have caught them on my own, which means that I know how to do things but am still new at actually doing those things. Last night I came across a situation that really confused me at first, until I realized that something was very, very wrong with a customer's accounts. It bothers me somewhat that I am not going to be at work until noon today because I want to make sure that we get right on that issue and I want to be part of the solution. I feel bad because my brain holds the most information about the problem and I won't be there to explain in detail what an e-mail at 11:00 pm cannot quite express. This situation did give me some confidence since this is an unusual and complicated problem and I was able to figure out what is wrong, although another department will have to fix it. I can do this job, but it may take me a little while to get a good grasp of all of those things that they told us in training that my brain is just not recalling right now!
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Some firsts
On Tuesday I voted for my favorite couples on Dancing with the Stars. I had only watched part of one show that included such a thing as viewer voting before and had never watched Dancing with the Stars. I'm not usually a huge fan of dancing, but that show is really fun to watch. I submitted my five votes by telephone. It was fun. :)
Today I made my first sale for commission at work. I have never worked for commission before, so this is a big thing for me. I sold a DVR to a customer. It isn't a huge commission, but it is still my very first, and I'll take it! :)
Sunday is going to be my first day on the phones with no trainer or "mentor". That's a big step, but I think I am ready for it. Because I start my Sunday-Thursday shift next week I have tomorrow and Saturday off. That will be nice. I am leaving work at the end of the day feeling positive and energized. I help people fix their problems, and that feels good. I love the fact that I leave work feeling so good. :)
Today I made my first sale for commission at work. I have never worked for commission before, so this is a big thing for me. I sold a DVR to a customer. It isn't a huge commission, but it is still my very first, and I'll take it! :)
Sunday is going to be my first day on the phones with no trainer or "mentor". That's a big step, but I think I am ready for it. Because I start my Sunday-Thursday shift next week I have tomorrow and Saturday off. That will be nice. I am leaving work at the end of the day feeling positive and energized. I help people fix their problems, and that feels good. I love the fact that I leave work feeling so good. :)
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Earmarked?
Yesterday it became quite obvious that the young lady who is in charge of training the call center people trusts my ability to handle technical tasks. That's nice. I was also called out specifically to listen to the higher level tech support group's calls while everyone else sat with people who are doing the same thing that they will be doing. I think I've made an impression and that I have been earmarked for performing a cut above the average person hired into my position. That feels nice! I also offered my services to help with the online training course review process. I love to proof read and edit things and have some experience with developing (and teaching) course material for Microsoft Office training. They have some demand for Office training, so they may have me help with that. I would enjoy that a lot and it would probably be a good thing for me to do since I love the idea of getting into training at some point in the future. I think that I managed to make an impression in just a few days at work, and that feels good. It looks like a place where I could make a career until God calls me elsewhere.
I am attempting to adjust to my new schedule, so I am a little bit tired. My body clock is slowly aligning itself with my new hours, which is good. As soon as my laundry is done tonight I will be going to bed! My sleepy state is partly responsible for my lack of blogging of late, as is my generally busier schedule. I must say that I greatly prefer working full time to being in school full time. It just works better for me and I feel so much more productive and responsible.
I went to an event at church last night. It was a tea for the ladies with a special guest speaker as part of my church's month of missions. It was very encouraging and challenging. It reminded me of my commitment to going wherever God wants me whenever He wants me to go to do whatever He wants me to do. Sometimes I need a reminder. Right now I am certain that this is where I am supposed to be, although the what part is still a little bit hazy. I think He has good works prepared in advance for me to do that I have not yet begun.
I am attempting to adjust to my new schedule, so I am a little bit tired. My body clock is slowly aligning itself with my new hours, which is good. As soon as my laundry is done tonight I will be going to bed! My sleepy state is partly responsible for my lack of blogging of late, as is my generally busier schedule. I must say that I greatly prefer working full time to being in school full time. It just works better for me and I feel so much more productive and responsible.
I went to an event at church last night. It was a tea for the ladies with a special guest speaker as part of my church's month of missions. It was very encouraging and challenging. It reminded me of my commitment to going wherever God wants me whenever He wants me to go to do whatever He wants me to do. Sometimes I need a reminder. Right now I am certain that this is where I am supposed to be, although the what part is still a little bit hazy. I think He has good works prepared in advance for me to do that I have not yet begun.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Extra hours and apples
I got a phone call at 7:30 am yesterday. It woke me up. It was a plea for help. They needed someone to fill in for the morning program at the school I work(ed) at in the afternoon. I was there on site within 20 minutes of the call, unshowered and barely awake. I decided to get my drug test for the new job while I was out, so I did that and picked up my paycheck for the first two weeks at the school and then came back home and went to bed for a few more hours. I am glad I was able to help out. It gave me one more hour with the kids and one more hour of pay, too. When I am done with my training I think I will let them know when I can work as a substitute, provided that my new employers don't have any problem with that.
Today Nicole and I went to the Endicott Apple Fest. It is basically a little craft fair in the three blocks that make up downtown Endicott. I found some jalapeño jelly in a candle store that was having a sale (probably to make the most of the increased number of people out today). It's the kind of jelly that makes good dip, especially when served with cream cheese and raspberry jelly. I thought it was fun to actually find something like that out here, so I bought it. I also bought a small jar of someone's homemade pear jelly. I love pears, so I thought I might try this stuff. Since it is homemade I am sure it is good, too. Since there was an apple theme, I got some apple fritters at one place (battered and fried apple rings with cinnamon and sugar - yum!) and Nicole bought some apple cider. I also picked up a few pounds of freshly picked apples and made apple sauce with them this evening. It would have been nice to have an apple corer/slicer/peeler, but I decided to go ahead and make it even without such a contraption. I did all the peeling and cutting by hand, figuring that if they did such things by hand for years, I can certainly do it now. The apple sauce is really good, so I am happy about that.
Today Nicole and I went to the Endicott Apple Fest. It is basically a little craft fair in the three blocks that make up downtown Endicott. I found some jalapeño jelly in a candle store that was having a sale (probably to make the most of the increased number of people out today). It's the kind of jelly that makes good dip, especially when served with cream cheese and raspberry jelly. I thought it was fun to actually find something like that out here, so I bought it. I also bought a small jar of someone's homemade pear jelly. I love pears, so I thought I might try this stuff. Since it is homemade I am sure it is good, too. Since there was an apple theme, I got some apple fritters at one place (battered and fried apple rings with cinnamon and sugar - yum!) and Nicole bought some apple cider. I also picked up a few pounds of freshly picked apples and made apple sauce with them this evening. It would have been nice to have an apple corer/slicer/peeler, but I decided to go ahead and make it even without such a contraption. I did all the peeling and cutting by hand, figuring that if they did such things by hand for years, I can certainly do it now. The apple sauce is really good, so I am happy about that.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Issue: RESOLVED
Who?
Me
What?
Work - customer service, first line troubleshooting ("Repair")
When?
Sunday 2:30-11:00 pm
Monday 2:30-11:00 pm
Tuesday 12:00-9:00 pm
Wednesday 12:00-9:00 pm
Thursday 12:00-9:00 pm
(There are 3 days of orientation starting on Monday and 5 weeks of training, during which time I will work 8-5 M-F.)
Where?
Time Warner Cable, Vestal, NY (it's about a 15 minute commute)
Why?
They need people, I need work
How?
By the grace of God
Speaking of the grace of God, I spoke to my father this morning and he told me about two people who were recently brought to faith in Christ Jesus through the ministry of my church in California. He taught the baptism class that they give a few weeks before each baptism for those interested in being baptized (class was two weeks ago) and then did baptism interviews on Sunday. There was one woman who put her daughter into a Christian school and then decided to go to church to find out more about what kind of school her daughter attended (she heard about "our" church through one of her daughter's friends who happens to be the younger sister of one of my best friends growing up). Apparently she was "mesmerized" by the service the first time she came to church in May and is now a believer and excited about growing and learning more. She is able to go to work on Monday and talk to one of her coworkers about what she learned at church. This coworker had been praying for her salvation and is now able to talk to her about the things that she is learning about God! There was also a young man in the baptism class who apparently before the class thought that baptism was necessary for salvation. My dad emphasized over and over again in the class that baptism is a command for those who believe and is not a vehicle of salvation. The young man met with a man from the church on Thursday night and he was led to the Lord, so now his baptism will be in response to his salvation and not in search of it. God is at work in people's lives, and He still actively saves souls when His people are faithful. How great is our God!
Anyway, about the perks of the job (perquisites, for those of you interested in expanding your vocabulary - good GRE word), since I think I promised more information at some point. They have very good benefits, which is something that I really appreciate. They have medical, dental and vision insurance for a very low (to the employee) price. They have a 401(k) program (retirement account for those of you unfamiliar with the finer points of US tax law). They also give their employees complimentary internet and cable television access in their homes. Darn. I'll have to get my internet for free. The bummer is that they do not allow you to use any vacation time for the first 6 months, but they do give you 2 weeks of paid vacation, 5 paid "personal days", and something like 3 hours of sick time every two weeks. Vacation and personal time has to be used within the calendar year or you lose it (you can accrue sick time, however), so I'll be "forced" to take vacations (anyone care to guess which state I'll visit first?) every year. They are open every day except Christmas, but do give employees holidays off with pay, asking that everyone work one holiday per year and only for part of the day (unless you want to work all day, in which case they'll let you). The holidays you work pay holiday pay plus overtime for the hours you work, so you get 2.5 times the normal pay rate for any hours you work on a holiday. That's nice. I think I'll volunteer to work some holidays! That's it in a nutshell. The pay is not spectacular, but it's a lot better than minimum wage and will be sufficient for my needs. I'm just glad that I have a job to go to on Monday, but once again I am forced to leave my children at work behind. I will miss that!
Me
What?
Work - customer service, first line troubleshooting ("Repair")
When?
Sunday 2:30-11:00 pm
Monday 2:30-11:00 pm
Tuesday 12:00-9:00 pm
Wednesday 12:00-9:00 pm
Thursday 12:00-9:00 pm
(There are 3 days of orientation starting on Monday and 5 weeks of training, during which time I will work 8-5 M-F.)
Where?
Time Warner Cable, Vestal, NY (it's about a 15 minute commute)
Why?
They need people, I need work
How?
By the grace of God
Speaking of the grace of God, I spoke to my father this morning and he told me about two people who were recently brought to faith in Christ Jesus through the ministry of my church in California. He taught the baptism class that they give a few weeks before each baptism for those interested in being baptized (class was two weeks ago) and then did baptism interviews on Sunday. There was one woman who put her daughter into a Christian school and then decided to go to church to find out more about what kind of school her daughter attended (she heard about "our" church through one of her daughter's friends who happens to be the younger sister of one of my best friends growing up). Apparently she was "mesmerized" by the service the first time she came to church in May and is now a believer and excited about growing and learning more. She is able to go to work on Monday and talk to one of her coworkers about what she learned at church. This coworker had been praying for her salvation and is now able to talk to her about the things that she is learning about God! There was also a young man in the baptism class who apparently before the class thought that baptism was necessary for salvation. My dad emphasized over and over again in the class that baptism is a command for those who believe and is not a vehicle of salvation. The young man met with a man from the church on Thursday night and he was led to the Lord, so now his baptism will be in response to his salvation and not in search of it. God is at work in people's lives, and He still actively saves souls when His people are faithful. How great is our God!
Anyway, about the perks of the job (perquisites, for those of you interested in expanding your vocabulary - good GRE word), since I think I promised more information at some point. They have very good benefits, which is something that I really appreciate. They have medical, dental and vision insurance for a very low (to the employee) price. They have a 401(k) program (retirement account for those of you unfamiliar with the finer points of US tax law). They also give their employees complimentary internet and cable television access in their homes. Darn. I'll have to get my internet for free. The bummer is that they do not allow you to use any vacation time for the first 6 months, but they do give you 2 weeks of paid vacation, 5 paid "personal days", and something like 3 hours of sick time every two weeks. Vacation and personal time has to be used within the calendar year or you lose it (you can accrue sick time, however), so I'll be "forced" to take vacations (anyone care to guess which state I'll visit first?) every year. They are open every day except Christmas, but do give employees holidays off with pay, asking that everyone work one holiday per year and only for part of the day (unless you want to work all day, in which case they'll let you). The holidays you work pay holiday pay plus overtime for the hours you work, so you get 2.5 times the normal pay rate for any hours you work on a holiday. That's nice. I think I'll volunteer to work some holidays! That's it in a nutshell. The pay is not spectacular, but it's a lot better than minimum wage and will be sufficient for my needs. I'm just glad that I have a job to go to on Monday, but once again I am forced to leave my children at work behind. I will miss that!
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Still no word
This is starting to feel like one more thing that is dangled in front of me but not given to me. It could still happen, but time is running out. How many things that seem like they are going to happen have to not happen? Have I not learned what God is trying to teach me yet? I want the right job, and if this is not it, then I don't want it. It isn't perfect. Maybe God has something better for me. If that is the case, I will keep waiting, but how long?
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Waiting
I am still waiting to hear back from the company regarding my job interview. I am getting a little bit anxious for my phone to ring!
Psalm 104
The LORD'S Care over All His Works.
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,
Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
He makes the clouds His chariot;
He walks upon the wings of the wind;
4 He makes the winds His messengers,
Flaming fire His ministers.
5 He established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not totter forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke they fled,
At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the place which You established for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
They lift up their voices among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the labor of man,
So that he may bring forth food from the earth,
15 And wine which makes man's heart glad,
So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And food which sustains man's heart.
16 The trees of the LORD drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the birds build their nests,
And the stork, whose home is the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the shephanim.
19 He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about.
21 The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 O LORD, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.
25 There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 There the ships move along,
And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
27 They all wait for You
To give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You take away their spirit, they expire
And return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the glory of the LORD endure forever;
Let the LORD be glad in His works;
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 Let my meditation be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall be glad in the LORD.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth
And let the wicked be no more
Bless the LORD, O my soul
Praise the LORD!
Psalm 104
The LORD'S Care over All His Works.
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,
Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
He makes the clouds His chariot;
He walks upon the wings of the wind;
4 He makes the winds His messengers,
Flaming fire His ministers.
5 He established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not totter forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke they fled,
At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the place which You established for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
They lift up their voices among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the labor of man,
So that he may bring forth food from the earth,
15 And wine which makes man's heart glad,
So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And food which sustains man's heart.
16 The trees of the LORD drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the birds build their nests,
And the stork, whose home is the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the shephanim.
19 He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about.
21 The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 O LORD, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.
25 There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 There the ships move along,
And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
27 They all wait for You
To give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You take away their spirit, they expire
And return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the glory of the LORD endure forever;
Let the LORD be glad in His works;
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 Let my meditation be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall be glad in the LORD.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth
And let the wicked be no more
Bless the LORD, O my soul
Praise the LORD!
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Job update
No job offer yet, but I found out this evening that they are doing reference checks on me. That's one of the things that they said they did if they decided they wanted to hire someone. I like the sound of that! (It pays to work for friends who can tell you if someone calls them for a professional reference.)
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Interview update
The interview went well, at least from my perspective. I will know sometime within the next week or so how well it really went. Thank you all for your prayers!
I also wish to apologize to my visitors whose blogs I have been ignoring for the past several days now. I will try to catch up at some point!
I also wish to apologize to my visitors whose blogs I have been ignoring for the past several days now. I will try to catch up at some point!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
11:00 am tomorrow
I have a job interview at 11:00 am tomorrow. The lady who called last Thursday called me about 20 minutes after the baby went down for her nap, which was perfect timing since she conducted a brief interview over the phone. I will be sure to post an update sometime tomorrow. Right now I have a baby on my lap and she would like very much to help me type, so anything else will have to wait at least until I get home this evening.
Thursday, September 7, 2006
Signs of hope
I had a rather late start to my day today. Once again I slept until after 12:30. I don't know how I manage to do these things, but that's the second time in not very many days. I went to the kitchen to make myself some breakfast/lunch and when I came back to my bedroom to get something my phone was beeping at me. I had a voicemail message from someone regarding my job application and resume, so I returned that call, but the woman who called was away from her desk and I left her a voicemail message. Unfortunately I was not going to be where I could have any sort of conversation for the rest of the day, so hopefully I will have a chance to talk to her tomorrow. This is a positive sign, and I do hope that it means that I will not be unemployed for a very long time. The money in my checking account will only last so long!
My roommate and I did a little bit of work on our living room this evening. She hung some framed photographs on the wall and we both did a little bit of rearranging to make the room look nicer. I moved the unit that holds all of my CDs and DVDs, so I put the DVDs back on it nicely (they were already alphabetized but had a few that needed to be put in their proper place) and finally organized my CDs (they were not organized at all). The room is really starting to look nice and homey now. We still have a few things left to do, but it is much better than it was.
My roommate and I did a little bit of work on our living room this evening. She hung some framed photographs on the wall and we both did a little bit of rearranging to make the room look nicer. I moved the unit that holds all of my CDs and DVDs, so I put the DVDs back on it nicely (they were already alphabetized but had a few that needed to be put in their proper place) and finally organized my CDs (they were not organized at all). The room is really starting to look nice and homey now. We still have a few things left to do, but it is much better than it was.
Tuesday, September 5, 2006
I'm going to say no?
I just got a phone call from the Boys & Girls Club. They need someone to help out from 3-6 every afternoon at one of the local elementary schools starting tomorrow. That means 15 hours per week of work, which isn't much, but is still better than not working at all! One of them wondered if I would want to do it since it is so part time, but every little bit of money helps right now. I have no job at all, so why would I say no to this? I get to be around kids again, too, although it will not be the same without the ones from my group this summer. I'm glad for even this job. Aren't you all glad that I am putting all of my education to such good use? ;)
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Eureka!
Eureka - the motto of the state of California (what a wonderful place that is!) - it means "I have found it"
I found my Social Security card just a few minutes ago. The best part is that I wasn't even looking for it when I found it. One source of stress is eliminated!
I sent my resume in for three jobs this morning, all for the same company, and am almost ready to send in two more to other places. The job I really would like to apply for still has not posted. It is possible that the company I applied to this morning will like my combination of customer service and computer support background. We shall see about that.
I found my Social Security card just a few minutes ago. The best part is that I wasn't even looking for it when I found it. One source of stress is eliminated!
I sent my resume in for three jobs this morning, all for the same company, and am almost ready to send in two more to other places. The job I really would like to apply for still has not posted. It is possible that the company I applied to this morning will like my combination of customer service and computer support background. We shall see about that.
Monday, August 21, 2006
The last week...
This is the last week of the summer program at work. That means that this is the last week that I have any kind of secure income (such as it is). It is the last time my Monday afternoon will be spent at the park, riding the carousel with the kids who aren't swimming. Today I met a lady who brought her grandchildren to the park. She had a bichon frise with her and I was reminded of my own dear bichon frise in California. They are such nice dogs! She mentioned at one point that she has a 23 year old grandson living with her right now who goes to a local church and just spent two years teaching English in China. I did not pursue it any further than that, although I was rather amused by the mention of him after she asked me where I went to church.
The last week at work also means that staffing is a bit difficult for us. We had both 10-12 groups combined today, as we had last week also, and tomorrow we will have to split them up. Today there was a fight between two of the boys and a bunch of the kids were referring to one of the girls as a player. Neither of these things is okay and I think neither of them would have happened (or at least to the degree that they did happen) if all of the kids had not been together. This is the kind of drama I could do without. There are a few really good kids in the group that I will miss after this week, but there are others that I just will not miss at all. The kids are not looking forward to returning to school in two weeks and the staff are all tired and starting to lose their patience, so it is time for a change of pace. I will not regret this summer experience. It has taught me a lot and I almost regret that I will most likely not be able to do it again!
The last week at work also means that staffing is a bit difficult for us. We had both 10-12 groups combined today, as we had last week also, and tomorrow we will have to split them up. Today there was a fight between two of the boys and a bunch of the kids were referring to one of the girls as a player. Neither of these things is okay and I think neither of them would have happened (or at least to the degree that they did happen) if all of the kids had not been together. This is the kind of drama I could do without. There are a few really good kids in the group that I will miss after this week, but there are others that I just will not miss at all. The kids are not looking forward to returning to school in two weeks and the staff are all tired and starting to lose their patience, so it is time for a change of pace. I will not regret this summer experience. It has taught me a lot and I almost regret that I will most likely not be able to do it again!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
May I have one, too?
Today we took the kids to the local baseball stadium for a picnic put on by United Way. There is a minor league baseball team that plays in Binghamton and some of their players were there at the picnic to help out with the kids by doing some baseball-related activities. Two players were autographing baseballs for the kids. I decided that I needed one and so I went up to the table where they were sitting and got a ball from them. I have to say that those young men from the team who were at the picnic were an uncommonly good looking bunch, too. That's always an added bonus. I really like athletes and have since I was quite young, so I enjoyed being around them today. ;)
When I was in junior high school my dad took me to Montreal to see the Dodgers play a 3-game series against the Expos. We stayed at the same hotel that the Dodgers stayed at and saw some of them in the lobby. One of the players we saw there in the lobby I had seen once before in person. We were at the airport in Los Angeles one night to pick up my sister from a trip to the Dominican Republic when I looked up and saw someone I recognized. I said something to my family and my dad looked over and confirmed that I saw who I thought I saw and then he went over to talk to him. Turns out his mother was on the same flight as my sister. That was cool. (The player in question was Ramon Martinez, who was pitching for the Dodgers at the time; he is now probably best remembered as Pedro Martinez's older brother, although he was a good pitcher in his day.) It was even more cool to see more players in the lobby of the hotel, but even then I would never approach any to speak to them. Mike Piazza was playing for the Dodgers then and I think I would have wanted to disappear out of delight and fear if he ever came through the lobby when we were there, but he did not, much to my disappointment. I don't think I have the courage to do more than ask a minor league player for an autographed baseball now and I am much more bold than I was back then!
When I was in junior high school my dad took me to Montreal to see the Dodgers play a 3-game series against the Expos. We stayed at the same hotel that the Dodgers stayed at and saw some of them in the lobby. One of the players we saw there in the lobby I had seen once before in person. We were at the airport in Los Angeles one night to pick up my sister from a trip to the Dominican Republic when I looked up and saw someone I recognized. I said something to my family and my dad looked over and confirmed that I saw who I thought I saw and then he went over to talk to him. Turns out his mother was on the same flight as my sister. That was cool. (The player in question was Ramon Martinez, who was pitching for the Dodgers at the time; he is now probably best remembered as Pedro Martinez's older brother, although he was a good pitcher in his day.) It was even more cool to see more players in the lobby of the hotel, but even then I would never approach any to speak to them. Mike Piazza was playing for the Dodgers then and I think I would have wanted to disappear out of delight and fear if he ever came through the lobby when we were there, but he did not, much to my disappointment. I don't think I have the courage to do more than ask a minor league player for an autographed baseball now and I am much more bold than I was back then!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
General update
I got a lead on a job that has not yet been posted. The lead came from a professor at the university I attended. She was my supervisor when I taught the ESL class. If I use her name as a reference perhaps my application will receive more attention. Perhaps. She was responding to a request I made to get a letter of recommendation for me to submit with substitute teaching applications to local school districts. Substitute teaching is my default plan right now since I know I can make some income that way, but I would prefer something with a little bit more security. I think the job she told me about would be great fun and a lot of work, but it is related to something I strongly believe in. Perhaps when it is posted and I apply officially I will tell you all what it is. Perhaps. ;)
We had two more staff leave to return to school in the past few days. The summer program at the Boys & Girls Club is ending at the end of next week. The time has gone by so quickly and I have enjoyed it a lot. My patience has officially worn thin and I have decided that I am not putting up with anything anymore, however. The last two days the kids have had the opportunity to practice lining up in a straight line, quickly and quietly, keeping their hands to themselves, and then walking nicely down the hallway. It is an exercise in listening (which they cannot seem to do) as well as a not-so-subtle reminder that their behavior is sub-par. When the pastor was telling us about his trip to Japan on Sunday morning, he mentioned that their culture is respectful. They respect other people. I wish our culture had some notion of that. It might save these kids the trouble of walking up and down the hallway and sitting in silence whilst pondering the rules of the program (which I made them do yesterday in addition to practicing walking in lines as punishment for being unable to stop talking when they were asked to be quiet). I will continue to ask them the rules and make the walk until they figure out that perhaps it is best to do it right the first time. They will probably hate me for it, but that's too bad.
We had two more staff leave to return to school in the past few days. The summer program at the Boys & Girls Club is ending at the end of next week. The time has gone by so quickly and I have enjoyed it a lot. My patience has officially worn thin and I have decided that I am not putting up with anything anymore, however. The last two days the kids have had the opportunity to practice lining up in a straight line, quickly and quietly, keeping their hands to themselves, and then walking nicely down the hallway. It is an exercise in listening (which they cannot seem to do) as well as a not-so-subtle reminder that their behavior is sub-par. When the pastor was telling us about his trip to Japan on Sunday morning, he mentioned that their culture is respectful. They respect other people. I wish our culture had some notion of that. It might save these kids the trouble of walking up and down the hallway and sitting in silence whilst pondering the rules of the program (which I made them do yesterday in addition to practicing walking in lines as punishment for being unable to stop talking when they were asked to be quiet). I will continue to ask them the rules and make the walk until they figure out that perhaps it is best to do it right the first time. They will probably hate me for it, but that's too bad.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
I was OUT!
Last night I went to Team Trivia once again. We did much better last night than we did the previous week, finding ourselves in first place going into the final round. Once again we ended with zero points, since we didn't know the answer to the final question and had wagered all of our points. It was fun even in losing!
We are having a multi-cultural week at work, so each group had to pick a culture or country to learn about. It involves a cooking competition, judged by some picky eaters (how does that work?). I chose Israel for my group's country, since I knew I could make some interesting food and know enough about the country that I can help my kids out a lot on the "research" stuff. How it worked is that we made them research stuff and then this afternoon I had the kids share what they learned and then I told the kids more detail about the various things that their peers learned. We did the cooking this morning. I had them help me make Israeli salad, which is tomato, onion, cucumber, red pepper and green pepper chopped up and mixed together with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing seasoned with salt and pepper. We threw some parsley and cilantro in for a little bit of extra flavor, too. I made mejadra, which is a rice, lentil and onion dish. It is a typical Middle Eastern food. The only thing the kids did on that was cut the onions up. I intended to have them help more on that, but they were busy chopping stuff up and I knew that I needed to get the rice and lentils cooking, so I started that and ended up doing all of it. That was probably best, since the lentils required more cooking time than the package said they did. We also made borekas, which are phyllo filled with a cheese or spinach filling. We made some of each. They are really good, but are a mess to make. Phyllo is a pain to work with. Those went over really well, however, so the effort was worth it!
If I had to guess, I would say that the 5-7 year old group had the best tasting food with the best presentation. They made Chinese egg rolls and hot and sour soup. The egg rolls were very good and I hear that the soup was okay but not spectacular. As you might imagine, most of the work was done by their leaders. Our group had the most variety in the food since we were the only group to make three items, and our presentation was good but not great. Our kids did most of the work on our food. One group (or their leader, as I observed) made some Native American flat bread (which I did not get to try) and the other made Irish ham and cabbage with potatoes and carrots, and I think the kids probably helped a lot on that one. It was good, but much less "interesting" than the other stuff made.
I was rather tired all day from not getting enough sleep at night and then from helping the kids cook, so when I came home from work today I went straight to bed for a nap. Two and a half hours later I woke up. My roommate came home and did some stuff around the apartment and then left again before I woke up. I never heard her. My hair was pulled back in a pony tail and looked exactly the same when I woke up as it did before I went to sleep. All of these things tell me that I was out cold! I was really asleep and didn't even move. I haven't taken a nap like that in a long time, but I really needed it today!
We are having a multi-cultural week at work, so each group had to pick a culture or country to learn about. It involves a cooking competition, judged by some picky eaters (how does that work?). I chose Israel for my group's country, since I knew I could make some interesting food and know enough about the country that I can help my kids out a lot on the "research" stuff. How it worked is that we made them research stuff and then this afternoon I had the kids share what they learned and then I told the kids more detail about the various things that their peers learned. We did the cooking this morning. I had them help me make Israeli salad, which is tomato, onion, cucumber, red pepper and green pepper chopped up and mixed together with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing seasoned with salt and pepper. We threw some parsley and cilantro in for a little bit of extra flavor, too. I made mejadra, which is a rice, lentil and onion dish. It is a typical Middle Eastern food. The only thing the kids did on that was cut the onions up. I intended to have them help more on that, but they were busy chopping stuff up and I knew that I needed to get the rice and lentils cooking, so I started that and ended up doing all of it. That was probably best, since the lentils required more cooking time than the package said they did. We also made borekas, which are phyllo filled with a cheese or spinach filling. We made some of each. They are really good, but are a mess to make. Phyllo is a pain to work with. Those went over really well, however, so the effort was worth it!
If I had to guess, I would say that the 5-7 year old group had the best tasting food with the best presentation. They made Chinese egg rolls and hot and sour soup. The egg rolls were very good and I hear that the soup was okay but not spectacular. As you might imagine, most of the work was done by their leaders. Our group had the most variety in the food since we were the only group to make three items, and our presentation was good but not great. Our kids did most of the work on our food. One group (or their leader, as I observed) made some Native American flat bread (which I did not get to try) and the other made Irish ham and cabbage with potatoes and carrots, and I think the kids probably helped a lot on that one. It was good, but much less "interesting" than the other stuff made.
I was rather tired all day from not getting enough sleep at night and then from helping the kids cook, so when I came home from work today I went straight to bed for a nap. Two and a half hours later I woke up. My roommate came home and did some stuff around the apartment and then left again before I woke up. I never heard her. My hair was pulled back in a pony tail and looked exactly the same when I woke up as it did before I went to sleep. All of these things tell me that I was out cold! I was really asleep and didn't even move. I haven't taken a nap like that in a long time, but I really needed it today!
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