Employed

Well, I finally got a job.
Not the job I had originally wanted but it seems to be working out ok so far.

What did I want?
I wanted to work for the school district as some sort of receptionist/secretary.  I applied for maybe 8 or 9 jobs and interviewed 4 or 5 times I think.  I've lost track.
Every job had a stack of applications.  A big stack.
One of the interviewers told me that he gets tons of applications for any job he posts because all moms want to work while their kids are in school and be home when their kids are at home.
Makes sense.
I tried to make it clear that I, having no children left in school after this year, would not have any of the potential issues like sick kids to keep me home.  Apparently that wasn't enough to make them want to hire me.
I admit that part of the draw to the school district is the fact that I would get weekends, holidays and summers off.
I have had a lot of freedom in the last number of years and I'm quite used to it.

Trip to Alaska? Yes, please.
Drive down to Arizona to help my parents? No problem.
Head up to Northern Utah or Idaho to visit friends? I'm all over it.
Canning for days on end? Yep.

So the thought of having a job that intrudes on my life was hard to get used to.
I know I sound a bit pathetic and spoiled.  What can I say?  I am somewhat pathetic and spoiled.

Another reason I am interested in a school district job is that I just like working with people. I imagine getting to know the other people there and becoming like a family (which is how I felt about my last job...thanks Ink About It!).  I like being friendly.  And I've been to SO many schools where the receptionist/secretary is just NOT friendly.  Why is that?  If you don't like people much, why get a job where you regularly interact with them?  So I want a job where I interact with people.  And I like teenagers/kids so that seemed like a fun perk too.

Anyway, I had two interviews on Friday of last week.
One was for a receptionist job at a middle school.  There were 5 people in the room interviewing me for this receptionist job that pays $8.80/hour.  They did several days of interviews for the one opening. I felt like I did ok but who knows. (PS I got the call today that I wasn't chosen)
The second job interview was for a retail job at a local bookstore.  He offered me the job on the spot.
I took it.  (I figured if I got the school job I would reevaluate my options at that time. Not something I had to worry about, obviously).

I also recently got hired by the school district as a person who helps test kids' ability to read.  This is a job that is temporary (3 weeks long, 3 times a year).  This job sounds fun and pays better than the other jobs but I was hoping for something more regular.  Luckily, the retail job is willing to work around this temporary job so I am doing both. And maybe this job will be a bit of a "foot in the door" of the school district where it seems to help to "know someone".

I get to work with people, though in a different way than I hoped.
The people I work with are very nice so I think that will be good.
And they seem pretty flexible too, so maybe I'll still have some of the freedom I am used to.
I will have to work some Saturdays and summers and some holidays.
Not my favorite.

I have worked two days so far and I work again tomorrow.  Then I have my volunteer job in the Temple that I do every Friday.  So this week, I will "work" 4 days out of 5.
And I am exhausted already!

Someone said that working is similar to working out, in that you get used to it over time and get stronger.  I hope that's true because I'm tired.

I always figured I would get a job when my kids got older...and I've worked part time jobs here and there.
But now I'm thinking about how I am going to be an empty nester in just a few months and will be working from now on.
I really wanted to find that job that would be a career kind of job for me...something I would enjoy for the long term.
I don't think I've really found that yet but who knows.  Maybe I will love these two jobs so much that I will just keep doing both for a long time to come.

I think I will also do some classes or something to spiff up my secretarial skills...for that future job, ya know.  Maybe as a medical receptionist so I can use my nursing vocabulary and knowledge at least a little bit.

Just thoughts I've got pinging around in my head...

Anyway, I am employed!
If you need me, I'll be napping, since it's my day off.