Dare I Hope?

Today I had a second interview with an education software company for the position of trainer. Two weeks ago I met with the training director, and that interview lasted over an hour and covered a lot of ground. I felt pretty good about it, then had to sit and wait. I was relieved to get a call late last week asking me to meet with the regional manager for another interview. I am one of four candidates in the running for this position.

Today's interview went well, in my opinion. I felt prepared for all of the questions I was asked. I think my 10+ years in the field of education and my confidence working with technology make me very well qualified for this particular job. I also think it could be a good springboard to future work in the field of corporate training.

I am keeping my fingers crossed. I was told to expect an answer by early next week. It would be so nice to have some idea of the next step in front of me. The past few months have been uncomfortable for me. Painful, stressful, miserable, and uncomfortable. This is what held me back for so many years and prevented me from leaving teaching sooner, this fear of going through exactly what I've been going through. I'm praying hard that, in the end, it will have been worth it on so many levels: financial, familial, personal, emotional, spiritual, etc.

Speaking of spiritual...it's interesting how things sometimes have to hit me upside the head to get me back on track. I was on the phone with my godfather last week, grousing about the fact that I was so stressed and worried about my job and financial situation. He asked me, simply, if I'd been neglecting "stuff" spiritually.

I sat there stunned on the phone, with no logical way to justify the fact that I had, in fact, put all "that stuff" aside as I spent a bunch of time and energy trying to "deal with things". My sweet godfather reminded me to take a little time to just sit down and be still, and put my prayers out there. He was absolutely confident that things would work out. That's one thing I love about him; he has this total faith that is calm and unshakable.

Guess what? I finally made time to do precisely what he'd suggested last week. As soon as I did so, I mean literally that same day, things started moving again.

Go figure :-)

So Far...

...I have applied for the following jobs:

• Switchboard operator at a local hospital
• Patient transport tech
• Health unit secretary
• Patient registration
• Training manager in HR at a lab services office
• Associate buyer at the same lab services company
• Educational software trainer
• Researcher/writer/editor with a finance forensics firm
• data entry

So far I have not been hired for any of these positions. I have been turned down flat for most of the health care industry jobs listed above, and am waiting to hear back on the lab services positions.

You're probably wondering about the attempted leap from education to health care. For the past 17 months I have been quietly taking classes to meet the prerequisites for admission to a local nursing program. I figured that was a field where I could have a flexible, family-friendly schedule but with greater earning potential than teaching. I hoped to get an entry level job in the field while attending school, especially because most of the hospitals around here offer tuition reimbursement. My plans seem to be thwarted at every turn though, and I have to wonder if someone upstairs is trying to tell me that nursing is not the way to go after all.

It has been weeks of applying, interviewing, and waiting. I am getting more and more discouraged as the days go by. I had hoped to take my children for a short trip to visit my mom out of state this summer, but we can't make any plans while my work situation and our finances remain up in the air. I have also been jonesing for a visit back to California. I haven't been "home" since January of 2007. I really miss my friends and family there and wanted to go back for a quick visit. For now, it looks like we're stuck in Hell, I mean Phoenix, for the summer. Same temperature and atmosphere, different locale...

(sigh)

Frustration

I have decided to crawl out from under my rock and write again, after several weeks which tried my sanity like never before. I knew the process of making major changes in my professional life would be challenging, but I had no idea that so many other obstacles would be thrown my way at the same time. It's a good thing I'm still nursing, because the events of the past few weeks might have driven me to drink!


Crisis #1: The Property Management Company From Hell


Since moving to Phoenix in 2006, we have been renting a comfortable 3 bedroom house in a relatively quiet part of town. We love our neighbors, and are grateful we did not buy a home upon moving here, as property values in this area have plummeted in the past two years. The house's owner moved to Washington, and left the handling of the rental in the hands of a property management company who soon proved incompetent. She transferred her business to another property management company, who eventually tried robbing her blind (eg., they once tried charging her $400 for a repair to the sprinkler system that Kevin was able to fix in lass than 5 minutes and with no new parts or tools necessary!). The owner finally asked if we would be willing to deal directly with her, as by this time we had proven ourselves to be good tenants and she felt comfortable working with us. We were thrilled!

We were notified by the owner in late March that, effective April 30th, we would no longer deal with the property management company and were to begin paying rent directly to the owner on May first and thereafter.

On May 8th (my birthday!!!) we came home to a certified letter from the property management company, notifying us we were delinquent with May's rent, and giving us 5 days to pay or move out. It took two days of frantic phone calls between us, the owner, and the property management company to fix this mistake. The most we got from the property management company was a wimpy two-sentence email that was the equivalent of "Oops, our bad, so sorry." They refused to put anything in writing accepting responsibility for their error and absolving us of any wrongdoing, but they did promise verbally that the matter was resolved and we wouldn't be bothered again...

On May 21st (Kevin's birthday!!!) we came home from dinner to find a COURT SUMMONS on our door. Yes, the property management company was still messing with us. It has now been a week of battling with the property management company to get this matter resolved. The case was dropped, but will forever appear in public record. We have spent the last week trying to get them to just write us a letter, on their company letterhead, for our records...something that will explain their series of errors and absolve us of any wrongdoing. you'd think we were asking them to sacrifice their firstborn sons or something, the way they've refused to oblige us! Well, after threats of serious legal action against them by the owners of our house, and a formal complaint to the BBB filed by us, we FINALLY got a phone call from the owners of the property management company. They apologized, and promised the letter we requested. We'll see if it comes through...



Crisis #2: The Payroll Department From Hell


I have been painfully unhappy teaching in Arizona. Part of this lies in the fact that the district that hired me ranks pretty low on the scale of humanity, sensitivity, and basic decency when it comes to how they treat their teachers. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the fact that, when they messed up my compensation this year, I didn't even get an apology.

As a teacher, I obviously had 2 months during the summer where I was unemployed. I had the option each year of receiving my salary only during the school year (which I did in CA, and had a percentage each month deposited into a summer savings account with my credit union), or distributed throughout the entire year, including a lump-sum payout of the balance to "tide me over" during the unpaid summer months. Since I knew at the beginning of the school year that this would probably be my last year teaching, I did not want to find myself high-and-dry once summer arrived. I also did not want to feel pressure if I did not have a new job lined up and ready to go the day after school ended. I specifically and thoughtfully signed up for the "26 pays" option on my salary for the 2007-2008 year.

My paychecks this year were almost identical to what I received last year (also a 26 pay year). Literally, the difference was about $20 a paycheck. I never even blinked...other than the obvious chagrin at not receiving even a cost of living increase, but that's another story. I assumed my employer was doing their job correctly, and trusted my pay was being disbursed correctly.

On May 23rd we received our final paychecks by direct deposit. I expected to check my bank balance and see a deposit equivalent to 5 paychecks. Imagine my shock when I saw an amount equal to ONE.

I had anticipated having enough cash on hand to enjoy a little breathing room, perhaps a few weeks of less stress, and the ability to find a job that works for me and for my whole family. I thought if I could find a good job I could start in late June or July, I'd be ahead of the game with extra cash we could put toward some debt or into savings. Instead, I am losing more hair (seriously, it's falling out even worse now!) and more sleep because of their error.

When I called the payroll department to find out what happened, I was informed "the computer" had mistakenly put me in for 22 pays instead of 26 and nobody caught it. I suppose the blame is partly mine, since I did not sit down and analyze my paycheck line by line every two weeks. I figured the payroll people were doing their job, just like I am expected to do mine.

Well, they have paid me what they owed me, but not according to the timeline I had counted on. There's nothing for me to do except scramble furiously to find something, anything, to bring in money NOW. I am actually considering hitting the local convenience stores at this point. As I illustrated in my last post, I am not having much luck...

Unqualified

Dear Michelle,

Thank you for your interest in the Switchboard Operator Evenings position 51419 that you recently applied for with (deleted) . At this time, we are considering other candidates for this position. We wish to inform you of this as soon as possible so that you may pursue other opportunities.

If you have already been contacted about a position with (deleted) or offered a position with (deleted) please disregard this letter. Please note that this does not prevent you from still being considered for any other position within (deleted), that you have applied to.

If you would like to be considered for other positions within (deleted), we encourage you to visit our website, to log our Career Center and review your current application status, update your personal information profile and check our current job opportunities.

We wish you success with your career.

Apparently, ten years as a classroom teacher and a Master's degree has made me now unqualified for a job I could have snatched up when I was 20 years old and working my way through my undergrad years in college.

I received an identical letter regarding another position, one involving pushing patients from Point A to Point B in a wheelchair or gurney for X-rays, MRIs, or other procedures. That job required a GED and current CPR card. I am also not qualified for that job.

I have 7 days left as a classroom teacher, and two more paychecks before my income disappears.

I am frustrated and discouraged.

I'm also very, very scared.

Snip Snip!

Following the birth of my third child last fall, I started losing hair.

A LOT of hair!

I think we've gone through 2 1/2 bottles of drain cleaner, and I've pulled dozens of small animal-sized hairballs out of the shower and my hairbrush. I finally realized it's time to quit fighting it and just get a haircut.

I went in today and let the stylist go wild. My previously mid-back length hair is now above my shoulders in a kicky layered 'do that seems to be channeling Katie Holmes.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like my new haircut. I just don't want anyone thinking I look for style tips from someone who'd marry Tom Cruise.

Shameless Plug

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Three Random Things

I had to jump on this one, thanks to Joannah's blog.
Three random things about me...



Random fact #1

I hate these guys:

Seriously, I have a crippling fear of clowns. In 1995, a friend booked a room for us on a trip to Vegas. I didn't know until we got there, but we had reservations at Circus Circus. When I got to the room, I had a panic attack upon discovering the pictures of clowns above each bed. I called to the front desk and asked if they could please do something. A maintenance worker arrived shortly, removed the offending pictures, and replaced them with neutral landscapes. He said they get the same request several times a day. So, I'm not a total freak...or at least I'm not an uncommon freak.

Random fact #2:
I am related, by marriage, to this man. I recall, with horror, the day my grandma called to tell us we all had to vote for him (or rather, his running mate) because he was part of the family. The big problem for me was the fact that I was a volunteer for the campaign of Michael Dukakis (I know, don't go there...).

Random fact #3:

I auditioned for one of the principle roles in this movie when I was much, much younger. This was my parents' idea. They thought it would be a "good experience", but I was mostly mad at having to spend a whole Saturday at a cattle call in L.A. instead of going to the local church carnival. My second chance to go for Oscar gold came about six years later when I was an extra in this movie. Fun stuff.