Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Life's been crazy. Care to hear about it?

 

(No?  Well, that's a shame.  Because that's exactly what I was intending to talk about.  Sorry to break it to you.)
 
Ahem.
 
I don't know if any of you have noticed but I've been rather absent lately.  Usually I try to post at least once a week, but here we are two and half weeks since my last post!   To say I'm feeling a little behind in my duties as a blogger is a statement not to be laughed at.  It doesn't help either that during the past couple weeks I've been tagged by about a hundred people  (okay, maybe five or six) and am beginning to wonder whether I shall ever be caught up on everything.  (Don't get me wrong.  I love being tagged.  It's just that after awhile...whew.  Answering questions can be exhausting.)  (And I still have two more Ask Me Anything posts to complete! ...Ugh.  We're not talking about this.  Who brought this subject up?)
 
Ahem and ahem
 
To get back to the original point of this post.  Did I say life's been crazy?  Well, it has.  And it all has to do with work.  Jobs.  Employment.  You know what I mean.
 
In fact, another title for this post might well be "How to land yourself a job - Miss March fashion."  (You'll want to stick around for this.  This is going to be very educational.)
 
First off, let me explain to you what my job situation was as of two weeks ago.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings found me working as a Teacher's Aide at a local preschool.  And Saturdays found me a happy (and not so happy sometimes) employee at a farmer's market, selling produce to costumers from 6:00 in the morning to 4:00 in the afternoon.  Due to the school-year being near it's end, my preschool job was just about over.  And due to my love/hate relationship with the market job, I was ready and willing to find something entirely different to replace both those jobs.  However...due to my appalling lack of confidence and sorry lack of spirit in trying new things, that was easier said than done.
 
You mean I have to walk in there, by myself, and apply for a job?  Do you realize what that might do to me?
 
Here you are. 
 
10 easy steps for how to land yourself a job and drive yourself crazy - Miss March style
 
*****
 
1. When driving through a nearby town with your sister, your sister sees a Now Hiring sign outside a small restaurant/coffee shop.  She suggests you apply.  You don't say much because you're thinking.  (Something which takes a powerful lot of concentration on your part, haha.)
 
2.  You finally decide you will apply at the coffee shop.  So you drive past it multiple times in the next week or so intending each time to stop but...circumstances you know.   Circumstances beyond your control.  (Like, uh, plain straightforward cowardice.)
 
3. At last you put your foot down.  YOU ARE GOING TO DO THIS.  You stop.  You walk up and take a closer look at the sign.  "Apply within or send your resume through email."  Send your resume through email?!   What luck!  You're back in the car and heading home.  And your resume is sent off that very afternoon.  (You may feel like an undersized chicken at this point but it is possible to ignore that feeling.  I speak from experience.)
 
4. You get no reply to your application.  Weeks past.  Either they didn't like your resume or they never got it (and it's probably the first option because that would be just your sort of luck).  At last you decide that this coming Friday, after you drop your siblings off at school, you're going to stop again and this time you're going to go in and ask for an application.  (Daring, I know.)
 
5. First comes Thursday evening though, when your mom spots an ad in the advertiser for another job opportunity.  A front desk representative position at a Christian camp/retreat center.  Mom thinks it would be worth looking into.  You think it's way out of your comfort zone.  But the chips are down.  You're already feeling terrible about your status as a coward and decide it's time to do something brave.  So you email the retreat center that evening with more specific questions about the job.  Done.
 
6. Enter Friday morning.  You stop at the coffee shop.  You walk in.  You ask for an application.  (And wonder of wonders, it wasn't even that scary!  Who would have thought?)  You take the application home.   You start freaking out because what is one supposed to write on an application anyway?  This is too hard!  You check your email.  You have a response from the retreat center with very kind answers to all your questions, plus a a ton of information about the job in general which immediately sends you into overload mode.  You cry buckets of tears.  Mom saves the day.  Helps you fill out the application and talks you through the immense amount of information about the retreat job.  You're feeling much better, and head back to the coffee shop in the afternoon to drop off your application.  I said, drop off.  However the "drop off" suddenly turns into an interview with the boss who hires you on the spot, and because you always have your wits about you and are such a very clear thinker, you accept the job right then and there and find yourself scheduled to work on Tuesday afternoon right after your work at the preschool.  
 
Now you're really freaking out because "I just got a job!  I just signed my life away!!"
 
7.  To complicate matters, you realize the job at the retreat center actually sounds rather intriguing.  Now it's time to cross bridges before you get to them and worry about how you're going to work up the courage to give notice at the coffee shop so soon after being hired, (that is, if you did happen to get hired at the other place).  *Heart palpitations* 
 
8.  You calm down a bit over the weekend.  Things are not as bad as they seem.  You decide you will apply at the retreat center.  You'll fill out the application on Monday and take things as they come.  But first you'll have an emotional breakdown when Monday comes along because now you have an application to fill out and beginning paperwork for your new job and YOU HATE PAPERWORK!!  (So...let's cry some more tears, shall we?  Such a fun thing to do.)  And then...and then!  You get a phone call.  From that other place you applied at weeks ago.  They want to set up a phone interview for Friday!  THEY WANT TO WHAT??!  How is this happening?  Three different job opportunities in one week!!   This is too much!  (Here's where you faint dead away.)
 
9.  All the paperwork is finally finished.  You're beginning to breath again.  Then comes Tuesday.  Preschool in the morning, new job in the afternoon (which is a dishwashing job by the way.  Forgot to mention that), and then preschool in the evening again because someone invented ending programs.  You're exhausted by the end of the day which works itself into a regular fit of depressed spirits.  The week is beginning to stretch before you like a dark, foreboding shadow.  Wednesday will be another day with preschool in the morning and dishwashing in the afternoon.  Thursday the same.  You can't do this.  You suddenly realize the dishwashing job is not what you had envisioned and not what you care to be doing right now.  For one thing your hands have a horrible tendency to grow red and cracked when in contact with too much water.  For another, though you love washing dishes, you had hoped for a job that would include a little more people interaction, and this job doesn't have it.  So, all things considered, you go in the second day and give your notice.  (Yes, horrible isn't it?)  You're surprised at yourself but, what else could you do?  You were desperate.  Thankfully your new boss is very understanding.  You finish out the week and breath a sigh of relief that it's over.
 
10. So you gain a job and lose a job in the space of a week.  But it's not such a horrible situation because you've still got those other two jobs pending, right?  You have your phone interview on Friday.  You bomb it.  (At least you're pretty sure you do.)  Things begin to look a little shaky.  You hear nothing from the retreat center.  You begin to worry.  But then!  Tuesday the 16th of May comes around!  And you get a phone call setting up an onsite interview at the Camp for Friday!  Things are beginning to look up.  Mayhap there is a job in store for you yet.  We shall have to wait and see.
 
And so...
 
That's that.  Crazy right?  Oh, the trials and tribulations of being Miss March!  *profound sigh*
 
I'm not really sure why I felt the need to write this all down.  Like who cares about such details anyway?  But there it is, and it would be a waste of my time and energy not to publish it after working on it for so long so despite it's being a lame excuse for a post I'm going to send it forth into the world just the same.
 
And while we're on the subject of jobs and crazy schedules and all that...
 
How are you all doing?  Got any fun plans for the summer?  Do you freak out whenever you go to apply for a job, or do such things not phase you?  (If the second, please tell me your secret.  ;))  What would be your dream job?  And what is one thing you're very much looking forward to doing in the next few months?
 
Enough questions?  Enough questions.
 
T.T.F.N.  Ta ta for now!
 

28 comments:

  1. Wait wait wait--THREE job opportunities? What was the third?? The dish washing job, the retreat center....ohhhh. Was it the theater job? (YOU DIDN'T TELL ME YOU HAD AN INTERVIEW FOR THAT, SHAME ON YOU.) (Just kidding, of course....maybe you did. And I forgot. Which would mean shame on me, then. :P)

    I really loved hearing about all this in an orderly, step by step fashion. ;D (And the pictures you chose were perfect!)

    I will definitely take your advice on how to land on job when I start searching for one again! ;) You know....after my exciting summer is over. (*sob*)

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    1. Yup. The theatre job. :) (Soooory! It was definitely shame on me, not on you. ;) I think with all that was going on it just felt too complicated to explain one more thing through email. And since it was just a phone interview and not a real interview...*gulp* but I begs your pardon all the same. ;))

      Yay. Glad to hear it wasn't boring even though you already knew most of it. :) (Thanks.)

      Awww. DON'T. Are you trying to make me CRY?? ;)

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    2. Oh, okay. (Haha, no problem! I was mainly teasing anyhow, and I know how easy it is to forget the "little" events among all the bigger ones going on. You are duly pardoned. ;))

      No I wasn't! I'm sorry! *starts crying myself* (Just kidding, I'm saving all my tears for when I'll REALLY need them.) (Oh whoops, there I go again....okay I will NOT mention it again. I won't. :P)

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    3. (Haha. I love that kind of teasing. ;D And thank you! It feels so good to be pardoned. ;P)

      Yeah anyway! OUR WEEK HASN'T EVEN BEGUN YET WHY ARE WE ALREADY MAKING REFERENCES TO WHEN IT'S OOOOVER?! *sob sob sob* (I wonder if we really will cry when it's over. Do you think we will?)

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    4. SIX DAYS.

      Hmm, I'm not certain. I teared up when saying goodbye to the girls after Heidi's wedding, though, so I wouldn't be surprised. :'(

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    5. I really wouldn't be surprised either. We're such emotional creatures. ;P

      SIX DAYS YES! :D :D

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  2. I'm glad I'm not the only one with job search cowardice. Quite frankly sometimes (most times?) that actually feels worse than the actual job. Probably the uncertainty. And yes, DON'T stay at a job that doesn't work for you. I know the feeling of grabbing whatever comes first . . . its set me back many a time. Cost me experience. Cost me better opportunities for learning and earning.

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    1. Yes. That's what I've been realizing. Oftentimes the scariest part is simply the anticipation of it. When I actually get down to it and just DO IT, it's not nearly so bad as I feared.

      Thank you so much for your comment, Livia!! It was very encouraging. :)

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  3. Oh, Miss March this was hilarious. And honestly, I could TOTALLY see something like this happening to ME. You're not the only person who feels like an undersized chicken sometimes. ;D

    This cracked me up a lot - especially the "(You'll want to stick around for this. This is going to be very educational.)" HAHAHA.

    And you always manage to capture the perfect expression with your pictures (I love Emma's ;D).

    Congrats though - three job opportunities in one week is an excellent achievement and possibility opener! I hope you find one in those three that suits you and you suit them. ;) But oh wow, that sounds very emotionally exhausting (and not just emotionally)!

    I'm doing well - ridiculously busy also. T'would seem everyone around us is getting engaged and hosting parties and planning weddings and houses etc, and everyone else is having a birthday party and I'm just dead tired. But I love it. :D

    I definitely WOULD freak out if I had to apply for a job, though I've never done that yet! (Seriously, the mention of a job interview is enough to make me whimper and scamper into a corner.) I HAVE worked in places that felt like a job (catering, helping a neighbour garden by myself - taking over my older sisters' job temporarily - and doing experience as a barista which was the most stressful time of my life, haha.) So yeah, it definitely WOULD phase me.

    My dream job would be to have Laura Osnes' job, and act and sing and tell beautiful stories on stage. ;)

    What's something I'm very much looking forward to... um... well there a lot of little things - mostly fun social events we've got planned. :D I'm looking forward to eating my box of chocolates in the fridge, haha. I'm looking forward to going to see movies that are coming out in theatre, possibly... I'm also looking forward to the wedding of someone Rather Close to me. ;)

    (That was a lot of questions, haha. Now I'll have nothing left to say in my email. :P) (Yeah right, like that's gonna happen.)

    Loved the post!
    ~Miss Meg

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    1. MISS MEG! Your comments are awesome!! Like seriously. And this one made me super happy! :D

      Aw. I'm glad you could relate to some of this. Honestly, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who feels like an undersized chicken at times. Haha. ;)

      Yes, three job opportunities at once really is a good thing...but uh...yeah. Emotionally exhausting is also a great description for it. Haha. :P

      Wow! You do have a lot going on. Sounds like fun stuff to be busy with though. :) Glad you're doing well despite being "dead tired." (Honestly though, sometimes it feels like tiredness is just a normal part of life, doesn't it?)

      Ach. Yes. Sometimes I think applying for a job is more nerve-racking than the actual doing of the job. (And thinking about applying even scarier than that! Haha.) (Let's all scamper into a corner!)

      Aww. That would be an awesome job!! DO IT!! :D

      "I'm looking forward to eating my box of chocolates in the fridge." Haha.
      Goodness me. You're a girl after my own heart! (And how you do make me smile. :)) (By the way, did you ever get to eat your chocolates?) A wedding?! Eeep! WHO'S GETTING MARRIED?!! Do tell. (I mean, naturally you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But if you do want to...well. I'm all ears. ;))

      (HAHAHA. ;))

      Thank you!

      ~Miss March

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  4. Miss March, you have already had quite the busy week! Three job oppertunities at once!!?? Wow! I think this summer I might have two jobs, but one will be like two hours twice a week and the other will be babysitting my niece and nephew (not even a job, more volenteering). :) And I might help at an icecream shop once a day. *calculating* A total of 8-9(ish) hours a week. :)

    Also, I can see why you gave up the dishwashing jobs. I am the dishwasher in my house and I wouldn't want to do it anywhere else. ;)

    Good luck this summer Miss March! It sounds like you are going to have fun! :D

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    1. Ohhh. Working at an ice cream shop sounds like fun!! And babysitting your niece and nephew? Why, that's just peachy!! :) Sounds like you have a fun and busy summer ahead. Hope it all goes well for you! :)

      I know right? Who wants to wash dishes for a job? Haha. ;) Actually though, I did sort of enjoy it. Washing the dishes part, I mean. The main problem with the job was just that I really need more people interaction at this point. Something that will force me to get more comfortable at talking to people, you know?

      Thank you so much, MovieCritic! And yes, I have a feeling it's going to be a great summer! :D

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  5. Miss March, this is not 'a lame excuse for a post', this is VERY RELATABLE POST. YES I find 'adulting' scary, and it requires a lot of freaking out. I'm currently studying (online, hahaha! no scary human interaction!) but I once did a few days of teacher aide work at a primary school. And as a homeschooler, that was REALLY SCARY. xD

    And your pictures were perfect. ;)

    Jem Jones

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    1. Aww. Thank you so much, Jem!! I'm glad you found this post relatable. (Even though that means you freak out over these sorts of things too, which isn't fun. But at least now we can sympathize with each other. *hugs*) Ohh! Good luck with your studying! And wow. Working as a teacher's aide at a primary school sounds totally brave!! :D

      Thanks, dear. :)

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  6. Oooooooh!!! You brave soul, you!!! Applying for, what, THREE jobs??? That's amazing! YOU ARE SO BRAVE AND INTREPID. I'd be terrified. Really, I would!

    Actually, though... I'm going to have my first job this summer too!! A woman from my parents' church asked me to babysit her kids... kind of like a nanny position but not year-round... And I'm going to do it! It's not like SUPER official (like yours) but it's bigger than any job I've had before. I've watched neighbors' houses/pets before, but somehow someone's KIDS seems like a tad more responsibility. ;)

    Anyway. I'm rambling.

    But I loved hearing about this! Your life updates are always so much fun! I love hearing about all the fun things you have going on and all your exciting adventures! :D

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    1. Aw-shucks. It was nothing. ;)

      Your first job!! Wahoo! Yay for Kayla!! *claps hands* :D About it not being a SUPER official job, I know what you mean. Most of my jobs have felt more like the "unofficial" type. (The sort of jobs you hear about through a friend and don't actually have to do a "real" application for, you know?) In fact, getting the dish-washing job (which was something I applied for without knowing anyone connected with it) was like a totally new experience for me. (And *whispers* I actually got the job at the Christian retreat center so...eeek! I have a feeling my "official" work life is just about to begin! ;)) Anyway, all that to say, "unofficial" jobs are just as good as "official" ones. Everything suitable to the time you know. I hope it goes really well for you and that you have a lot of fun with the kids. (By the way, how many kids is it?)

      Rambling? What's that? ;)

      Aww, thank you!! I'm SO glad you enjoy them. :)

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    2. No, really! You were very brave! As a fellow extrovert, I know how hard it can be just to march into a store or something and ask for something. Ugh. I hate stores, to be honest. I don't know how I'm going to manage grocery shopping as an adult...

      I have NEVER filled out a "real" application. It's so sad. It seems like I'm just lazy or something, when I tell people I don't have a job and never have, but that's not the case at all? I would LOVE to have a real job and I don't mind hard work... it's just that I'm busy with school all the time... and I don't have my own car... or know how to drive... ugh, so many obstacles! :)

      AHHH CONGRATULATIONS!!! Your first real job (sort of!)!!! *Kate dances around you happily looking like a chicken*

      Three kids. Two girls and one little boy. The girls are seven and eight, I believe and the little boy is five. Which is actually perfect because my nieces and nephews are right around those ages so I have lots of experience. ;)

      Yes! I love life-y updates from you!

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    3. It is very nerve-racking, isn't it? Us poor introverts. :(

      Well considering that I'm (how many years older than you?) and I only just experienced my first success at filling out a "real" application, I'd say if there's anyone lazy around here it's me! Haha. But seriously, I think you're reasons for not having a job at this point in your life are quite legitimate. And there's no reason at all for anyone to think you're LAZY! (The idea.)

      THANK YOU!! :D ("Looking like a chicken" though? Really, Kate. I'm sure you wouldn't look like a chicken!! Haha. ;))

      Oh, that sounds great! I hope you have lots and lots of fun with them!

      I'm so glad! I guess I'll have to write more of those kinds of posts then. :)

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    4. I know. *sigh*

      Um... I'm not very good at math... eight or nine years, depending on when you're birthday is??? I don't know, though!! There are these amazing people in stories who work part time DURING the schoolyear and get amazing grades and are in AP classes and do extra and tutor other kids and raise fifteen siblings and save every penny and do all the shopping and laundry... I just feel like kind of an ungrateful failure in comparison...

      I WOULD DEFINITELY LOOK LIKE A CHICKEN.

      Heh. Well... fun. Sometimes????

      PLEASE DO!!!

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    5. Ha! Well obviously those people are too good to be true! That's why they're only in stories. Seriously though, who could ever manage all that stuff???

      Haha. Well if you insist. :P

      Oh, I hear you! I can totally relate to that from my experience with babysitting. It's certainly not always fun. ;)

      :)

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    6. I don't know but I still manage to beat myself up about it on a routine basis...

      I do! :)

      Definitely not. ;))

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    7. Oh, Kate, don't beat yourself. It's not worth it. Everyone's got their limit to how much they can handle doing, and that doesn't mean one's better than the other. Just do what you're capable of doing and don't compare yourself to anyone else. I'm sure you accomplish much more than you give yourself credit for!

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    8. Awww. You are always so sweet and encouraging, dear. *hugs you*

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  7. MISS MARCH this deserves a longer comment than I am willing to type up on my phone, so I will promise to come back... I will not promise when though; I know this comment is late as it is!

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    1. Aww. You're a dear. AND I DON'T MIND LATE COMMENTS AT ALL! :D Seriously, I love hearing from you anytime. And don't feel bad if you find you actually don't have time to get back to this. Life is busy. I totally understand that. :)

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  8. Oh my goodness! What a situation! That sounds really unnerving. :-P Hehe, I think we've talked about my job ideas, but I'm still trying to decide. For now I'll just stick with the job I have now, despite its rather early hours. :-P

    I'm glad things are working out!! It can be so hard to not stress about jobs, can't it? But we've really just got to leave it with God, cliche as that sounds, mustn't we? :)

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    1. Switching jobs is definitely a big decision. I do hope you can find something before too long that you really, really like. But yeah, until then sticking with what you've got sounds like a wise decision. :) (I sympathize about the early hours though. Ugh.)

      Indeed it can! You're so right though. Cliche or not, it's TRUE! We do have to leave it with God. He knows all the details of our little lives and is fully involved in all of it. And He totally knows what He's doing! :D

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