THURSDAY NOVEMBER 6
Shhhhhhhh…be very, very quiet…I’m hunting for a job! You might have noticed that I have been at Grace a lot more of late and are wondering how I happen to be there during normal work hours- well, that’s easy. Rainbow is no more! At least for me it’s no more. When my boss told me that I would have winters off really what she meant was that I would be going on unemployment until March. So I’m on unemployment while I am job hunting. In my case my boss wasn’t sure if there would be enough work for me next year because of the state of the economy. Rainbow wasn’t the job i thought so Mike and i decided that now was a good time to look for something more in my area of interest. So i thanked my former boss for the opportunity to work there and not to worry about holding a job for me next year. I won’t exactly miss working @ Rainbow; however, I will miss wearing jeans to work, bringing my dog with me, and running on the bike path for lunch. But I am excited to see what job I will be doing next. Right now I am currently looking for positions in the area of: job coaching (for people with disabilities), caseworker at places such as St Anne’s, Vanderhyden Hall, Parsons. ETC. Although I’m not limited myself to only these jobs. I am also posting for Event Coordinator and Administrative Assistant positions. I really just want to be done and have my degree in Criminal Justice already 
the good news is i have Orientation with a SUNY affiliated school: Empire State College on December 10th. Who knows what will happen next! FRIDAY NOVEMBER 7 My friends (Christi & Jamie) treated me to lunch @ an Indian Restaurant in Albany today to celebrate/mourn my unfortunate job loss. It was good food with good friends…i could get use to this (shhhhh, don’t tell Mike ) WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 12 Today I had an interview at Vanderheyden hall. The problem is i applied for 3 different positions through capital area help wanted and i didn’t know what position i was applying for (oops). On top of that i was late because i couldn’t figure out what to wear, last minute gas filling because level was E, and i missed a turn or two. Thankful my friend P Hustle was looking at for me and located better directions and a phone number for me to call and advise i was running a few minutes late (i can’t believe i was late for an interview of all things- i hate being late, I’m always afraid i will get demerits- that’s for another blog). Thankfully in spite of all that the interviewer liked me and i had a second interview the same day! The position is Case Worker and i would be working with teenagers that have various issues. The work would be hard,but challenging, the pay and hours are not the best but there are lots of opportunities to grow in the “Agency” (that spooked me out at first that’s what they referred to it as). you can check it out at http://www.vanderheydenhall.org/ THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20 i am trying to make good use of all this free time i have so today i burned choir CD’s for Ken Tyrrell (Grace’s Worship Leader) and helped Gary Barton decorate the Grace South Campus for Christmas. What did my decorating entail? fluffing three different trees, talking to everyone on staff, being Gary’s shadow, going to lunch with him and my brother Frank, and taking a road trip to Walmart to purchase another Christmas tree. As you can tell i am having a rough time during this transition period 
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 21 Today my References on my Resume let me know they were called by Vanderheyden Hall. A few of them have to call back because they missed it, but hopefully eveyone can think of something nice to say about me MONDAY NOVEMBER 24 Two thoughts for today: i hope unemployment kicks in soon and maybe i should start looking at waiteressing jobs (although i am pretty sure i would be a terror at it in the beginning and either scald someone with soup or hurt myself). TUESDAY NOVEMBER 25 Are you wondering what an average day of unemployment looks like for me? Welp, wonder no more: I wake up around 8/9am by my noisy animals Vito and Smokie, let Vito out to pee, feed the beast, make coffee, pick up the house, sit down and read a few devo’s followed by checking emails, facebook and everyone’s blog (that can take a while), job search and post for a few on-line positions, go to the gym, lunch with someone, make an appearance at church w/coffee in hand (for half of staff), work on WMD, trip to Angie B’s with Shawna for healthy yogurt, most nights by this time it is almost 5/6pm and i head home to greet the hubby followed by some other event but tonight i will be back to church for WMD/Worship practice. Saturday November 29th Today i received my Unemployment card in the mail. Haven’t done any hunting over Thanksgiving break. Tuesday December 2nd I posted for a few more jobs online today. Still no word on any of the other one’s i applied for. Not even an update on Vanderheyden Hall. i know there is something out there. I have to just be patient and keep posting for jobs. On a positive note next Wednesday is my orientation for Empire State College. Thursday December 11th Today is my first full day back from Cali and i had school orientation with Empire State College from 9-3:30pm. i am checking into how many credits will transfer and how much the overall cost will be. I’ll have to wait t0 see. Right now now not much is going on and i still haven’t found a job 
Saturday December 27th Still no dice. Next week is another Indian food date with my friend and I am going to start up in full looking for a job again after New Years Day. I haven’t done a whole lot of looking during the holidays.
January 21, 2009- A NEW BEGINNING
Today i started college at Empire State College and my job hunt is temporarily placed on hold. So… in the upcoming months i will be posting here about my college experiences…if past experiences and my life is any indication these postings should be amusing and interesting perhaps scary and frightening at times! so be on the look out or hunt, still
January 29, 2009
This semester i am taking two Classes: US History 1 (to meet my Gen Ed Requirements for American History) which meets every other Wednesday between 5:30-7:30 and Page to Stage (to meet my Art Gen Ed Requirement) which meets every other Tuesday between 5:30-7:30. I am also taking what Empire calls an Educational Planning Class. The point of this class is to firm up my program for the rest of my time in skool. In my case i will also being using this class to do what’s called transfering credits by evaluation because a majority of my credits were from BJU which was a non-accredited college at the time i attended. Because Empire is a Public College they can’t take credits from a non accredited college but i can prove that i know that information by writing essays for each credited class that i want transfer and then i will be evaluated by a professional in that field or subject. Doesn’t sound to bad, right? It doesn’t to me either, i just have about 15 classes i need to transfer…sooooo, i will be writing an essay a week on top of my other classes.
February 3, 2009
Today was my first day in my “Page to Stage” class. This is my first art class in college… not really sure why because i love all things artsy….maybe just cause i chose to be a CJ major it doesn’t allow for much of a creative outlet. The class is all about plays from the writing process to presentation. Last night we read a play that we have to see “Beyond Therapy.” Its a weird one but the class was still a lot of fun and if last night was any indication i’m going to really enjoy this class.
February 26th,
Right now i’m kind of bogged down with lots of reading and writing papers. Next week i have a lot of assignments due. I am normally a procrastinator and wait until the last minute to do anything but i’m trying to break that bad habit at least with school and get a head start It’s not too bad but it’s keeping me busy…so what do i have due next week:
- history paper
- drama presentation
- attend a play before Sunday
- church History Paper
- about 12 chapters and a book in for History
- reading of “Death of a Salesman” and another play
March 25th,
School is at it’s crazy point right now, i have a lot of papers due. i’m having a hard time focusing during the springtime, especially the really nice warm weathered days. so if you want to see me at all the best time is usually to see what i am doing for lunch-i almost always need a break by then.
Thursday April 23rd
im starting to freak out a ‘lil bit today. i do this to myself all the time. i know my deadlines and i know im a procrastinator but i don’t change my habits. i know next week i have 2 major projects due for my two last classes of this semester. i also have to submit my immunization records and register for the summer semester. im a ‘lil overwhelmed and not sure where to start. so like the sound of music’s Do-Re-Mi lyrics go “let’s start at the very beginning”….wherever that might be today.
Wednesday April 30th
One essay down…three more to go!
Monday May 25th
Today is Memorial Day, a day of family fun and resting, but because i decided to take summer classes i am studying. My summer semester started last Monday, May 18th. There were a few enrollment issues because of financial miscommunication so i had a rocky start and was unable to get my books until Friday, which found me trying to cram 3 classes with multiple assigments of deadlines by Sunday @ midnight. Thankfully i was able to get it all done and am now working on this weeks work load due next Sunday May 31st, yes the same day as my half marathon. so ill be reading, writing, and running this week. The classes that i am taking this semester are: Communications and the Law, Human Motivation, Education Planning, and Family Violence and Abuse.
October 27th
It’s sad how long it has been since i have updated this section. i am still working on completing my three summer courses. there was a small glitch in the online system and i needed to redo some of my work. it was a bit of a bummer but i should be wrapping up those classes soon. i was hoping to finish in time for the November semester but im not sure if that’s going to be possible. Also i am currently looking at taking the local police exam, going along for a ride along with the Albany Police Station, and checking out the Albany Court House….
Friday November 6th
it’s a year today that i became unemployed. a lot can happen in a year. i finished one of my summer classes receiving an A and am finishing up my other two by the end of this month
