Well, folks, it’s time for the update. Everyone seems to be asking me what’s going on with me lately. And for once, I actually have an answer. A good one.
1) One month from today, I will be the pleased-and-proud tenant of my very own apartment. Why is this big news? Because I’ve been living at home since I graduated from college. But now, I will be liberated!! Well…sorta. The aforementioned apartment is actually attached to a house that—you guessed it—my family will be living in. But the apartment will be all mine, the lease in my name, and I’ll have the joyous (?) responsibility of paying its rent and utilities. Yay me!
Now, none of that would be possible without God. Seriously. The very reason I’ve been living with my folks so long is because the rent is so cheap. But God has provided me with a new job. Which brings me to my second bit of news.
2) I have a new job! I’m still at the Pregnancy Care Centers, and the coffee shop (at least for now), but as of today I am employed by my church, Memorial Park Presbyterian. As what? I’m so glad you asked! I will be the new Interim Worship Leader for Community Worship, the “modern” Saturday night service that I’ve been volunteering with for the last year and a half.
And with these two new responsibilities, I feel like a whole new chapter of my life is opening up. It is both exciting and terrifying simultaneously.
The new apartment—I’m ecstatic about! I can’t wait to get in there and decorate it all my way, and (slowly) buy all the things I need. The packing, moving, and unpacking…that I’m not too wild about.
The new job…I am also excited about, but in a more humbled, nervous, awed way. If you think of it, I could use prayer for it. Often. It is going to be challenging…but in a good, growing way. And after all…it’s interim. As in, temporary until we hire a Worship Pastor for the church, and then to be re-evaluated.
Okay, wow…so that’s like the whole thing. Now you know. SO…if you have any advice—on worship, or owning an apartment—leave me a comment! Or say whatever you want. I’m cool with that. Later! :)
"Once upon a blog...."
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
9.01.2006
6.27.2006
Oh, Shoot. I Should Blog.
Wow. Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, shame on me. What on earth have I been doing?
Well, since you asked:
Yep. I’ve been busy.
I have seen a couple of good movies lately—Walk the Line was pretty good, though hard to watch at some points because he just wrecks his life for a while. Still—Joaquin and Reese did great jobs, both singing and acting. The Lake House was very good. I love Sandra Bullock, and I hope I don’t jinx anything by saying she’s one of the few actresses I unabashedly admire. (Now watch, she’s going to be saying in her next interview that she’s joined Scientology with Tom Cruise.) Well, anyway, the movie was good and I recommend it—if you like that kind of romantic movie type thing.
I’ve also been working on my DVD collection…I made a list of all the movies I own and all the ones I still want to get, and it was rather frightening. I already have close to a hundred movies. And the sad fact is, a vast majority of them are either romance-based or family fluff. However, that is not entirely my fault; in my house, my brother buys all the action/adventure/blow-em-up movies, so I don’t have to. Though I did buy Spider-man 2 and Batman Begins.
Speaking of superheroes, tonight we’re supposed to go see Superman Returns. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will be good. You know how lame DC can be…okay, that was mean. What I meant was, some of the earlier Superman movies were kind of cheesy. So, we’ll see. If it’s good, maybe I’ll dedicate my next post to it. Or maybe just to superheroes in general. You know I loves my heroes!
Well, since you asked:
- re-watching season one of LOST
- emptying baby bottles full of money at the Pregnancy Care Centers
- working on my third revision of “The Jagged Edge of Lightning”
- leading worship (sometimes singing by myself, gulp!) at Community Worship
- working on making a quiz about LOST
- watching movies, both at home and in theaters
- admiring my tattoo
Yep. I’ve been busy.
I have seen a couple of good movies lately—Walk the Line was pretty good, though hard to watch at some points because he just wrecks his life for a while. Still—Joaquin and Reese did great jobs, both singing and acting. The Lake House was very good. I love Sandra Bullock, and I hope I don’t jinx anything by saying she’s one of the few actresses I unabashedly admire. (Now watch, she’s going to be saying in her next interview that she’s joined Scientology with Tom Cruise.) Well, anyway, the movie was good and I recommend it—if you like that kind of romantic movie type thing.
I’ve also been working on my DVD collection…I made a list of all the movies I own and all the ones I still want to get, and it was rather frightening. I already have close to a hundred movies. And the sad fact is, a vast majority of them are either romance-based or family fluff. However, that is not entirely my fault; in my house, my brother buys all the action/adventure/blow-em-up movies, so I don’t have to. Though I did buy Spider-man 2 and Batman Begins.
Speaking of superheroes, tonight we’re supposed to go see Superman Returns. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will be good. You know how lame DC can be…okay, that was mean. What I meant was, some of the earlier Superman movies were kind of cheesy. So, we’ll see. If it’s good, maybe I’ll dedicate my next post to it. Or maybe just to superheroes in general. You know I loves my heroes!
3.19.2006
Trials and a New Toy
So, I got a new phone last week. It’s pretty cool. It’s one of those ones you’ve seen on Verizon commercials, where they play music for someone. Yes. It plays music. It is very cool. I do not have any kind of MP3 player yet, so I’m enjoying the three songs I’ve downloaded. I’ve spent the better part of my free time this week just exploring the coolness of my new phone.
I love when I get something new, and the newness is part of its appeal, and I spend many hours admiring my new thing—whatever it may be: a haircut, a pair of shoes, a CD…. I am also not one of those people who see in evil in new technology. Take the internet, for example. The internet has become something of a tragedy, at least morally, because of i-porn. Yet the ease of communicating with people all over the world, and the amount of knowledge contained on virtually any and every subject, makes it a worthwhile tool.
Technology is like anything else man-made: it has the potential to be used for good, and an equal (perhaps some would argue greater) potential to be used for evil. Telephones—and cell phones—allow us to talk to people all over the world. But they also interrupt our lives with sales calls, and keep us occupied when we ought to be focusing on the world in front of us instead of the person on the other end of the line (*ahem! Drivers! ahem!*). Still, I know that I would have been pretty lost these last few years if I hadn’t been able to communicate—by cell phone—with my best friends from college. Who all live several states away.
Even though I have been pretty occupied with my new “toy,” and enjoying it very much (my default ringtone is the chorus of David Crowder’s “Turkish Delight”!!!) I still have had other things on my mind this week.
One is, I recently had the most challenging day of Lent so far. I was at my Pregnancy Care Centers job, working, I might add, on a major database transfer, because we are switching programs, when we decided to take a tiny break and go take a peek at the yard sale that was going on just around the corner and up a flight of stairs from our office (which you may remember is located in the same church building where my dad works). I was looking around at all the stuff—typical yard sale stuff: stuffed animals, old happy meal toys, mismatched glasses and plates, etc. Then I saw the table of—you guessed it—books. I was immediately drawn to it, thinking surely it couldn’t hurt to look and see what they had. I hadn’t brought any money up with me, so I didn’t get anything—then.
But there was a book called “Colourful England” with pictures of old buildings (my boss showed it to me) that I wanted to come back for. She offered to spot me the money to get it, anmd I should have let her, because when I came back to get it, I ended up with an armful of books. Fourteen, to be exact. (But I got them all for $3.00!!) And as I’d stood there, pawing through the bins, glancing at the titles and occiasonlly the back blurbs, I suddenly got a sense of what it was I’d committed to for the Lenten season.
I bought a boxful of books that I cannot read, not for another twenty-eight days. I thought for the first couple of weeks that this would be no big deal, because even if I was giving up books, there were still movies to be watched. And there were always things to read in magazines, and in articles online; I hadn’t given those up. But being at that yard sale was a challenge: it was like making dinner for everyone, and tasting a tiny bit to make sure it was okay, but not eating any yourself.
I was challenged again, later that night, at the Chinese Church. It was, of course, St. Patrick’s Day, and I brought a little book to help them understand who he really was and why we have a day to celebrate him. I consulted with God on the way there if it would be okay to read it to them. But once there, I asked if anyone else would be willing to read it to the class. Several of my students took turns. (This was very hard for me because I love reading books like that to kids, and you know how children read.) When I had to help Stephen pronounce an Irish word (“shillelagh”) a couple of my kids reminded me that I was not supposed to be reading books.
Just before Lent started, I had been reading “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” to the PCC kids. They were a little dismayed when I told them of my vow to give up reading books for the next forty-seven days. So that later, on the same night I’ve been describing, I asked if anyone else would like to read a chapter to the class. No one did. I asked them if they still wanted to hear some of it. They did. I asked them if they thought it would be okay for me to read a few pages to them. They did. So I read a chapter. I’m not sure if I ought to feel terrible about this; after all, it was only a chapter, and it wasn’t for me, it was for the kids.
But reading is so…part of me. I had to remind myself this morning of why it was that I gave it up in the first place. I’m not going to exaggerate and tell you that this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done; it’s not. Even though I am surrounded by books that I would normally have no qualms about snatching up and reading for several hours, it’s been nearly no trouble at all finding other ways to fill up my time. I have a sneaking suspicion that quitting the TV would be much harder, and that worries me just a little.
Well, this post is long enough for now, even despite the fact that it’s been a while since I’ve written. If you happen to see someone reading, perhaps you could offer up a quick prayer for me, that I’m learning what I’m supposed to be learning through this time. Thanks!
I love when I get something new, and the newness is part of its appeal, and I spend many hours admiring my new thing—whatever it may be: a haircut, a pair of shoes, a CD…. I am also not one of those people who see in evil in new technology. Take the internet, for example. The internet has become something of a tragedy, at least morally, because of i-porn. Yet the ease of communicating with people all over the world, and the amount of knowledge contained on virtually any and every subject, makes it a worthwhile tool.
Technology is like anything else man-made: it has the potential to be used for good, and an equal (perhaps some would argue greater) potential to be used for evil. Telephones—and cell phones—allow us to talk to people all over the world. But they also interrupt our lives with sales calls, and keep us occupied when we ought to be focusing on the world in front of us instead of the person on the other end of the line (*ahem! Drivers! ahem!*). Still, I know that I would have been pretty lost these last few years if I hadn’t been able to communicate—by cell phone—with my best friends from college. Who all live several states away.
Even though I have been pretty occupied with my new “toy,” and enjoying it very much (my default ringtone is the chorus of David Crowder’s “Turkish Delight”!!!) I still have had other things on my mind this week.
One is, I recently had the most challenging day of Lent so far. I was at my Pregnancy Care Centers job, working, I might add, on a major database transfer, because we are switching programs, when we decided to take a tiny break and go take a peek at the yard sale that was going on just around the corner and up a flight of stairs from our office (which you may remember is located in the same church building where my dad works). I was looking around at all the stuff—typical yard sale stuff: stuffed animals, old happy meal toys, mismatched glasses and plates, etc. Then I saw the table of—you guessed it—books. I was immediately drawn to it, thinking surely it couldn’t hurt to look and see what they had. I hadn’t brought any money up with me, so I didn’t get anything—then.
But there was a book called “Colourful England” with pictures of old buildings (my boss showed it to me) that I wanted to come back for. She offered to spot me the money to get it, anmd I should have let her, because when I came back to get it, I ended up with an armful of books. Fourteen, to be exact. (But I got them all for $3.00!!) And as I’d stood there, pawing through the bins, glancing at the titles and occiasonlly the back blurbs, I suddenly got a sense of what it was I’d committed to for the Lenten season.
I bought a boxful of books that I cannot read, not for another twenty-eight days. I thought for the first couple of weeks that this would be no big deal, because even if I was giving up books, there were still movies to be watched. And there were always things to read in magazines, and in articles online; I hadn’t given those up. But being at that yard sale was a challenge: it was like making dinner for everyone, and tasting a tiny bit to make sure it was okay, but not eating any yourself.
I was challenged again, later that night, at the Chinese Church. It was, of course, St. Patrick’s Day, and I brought a little book to help them understand who he really was and why we have a day to celebrate him. I consulted with God on the way there if it would be okay to read it to them. But once there, I asked if anyone else would be willing to read it to the class. Several of my students took turns. (This was very hard for me because I love reading books like that to kids, and you know how children read.) When I had to help Stephen pronounce an Irish word (“shillelagh”) a couple of my kids reminded me that I was not supposed to be reading books.
Just before Lent started, I had been reading “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” to the PCC kids. They were a little dismayed when I told them of my vow to give up reading books for the next forty-seven days. So that later, on the same night I’ve been describing, I asked if anyone else would like to read a chapter to the class. No one did. I asked them if they still wanted to hear some of it. They did. I asked them if they thought it would be okay for me to read a few pages to them. They did. So I read a chapter. I’m not sure if I ought to feel terrible about this; after all, it was only a chapter, and it wasn’t for me, it was for the kids.
But reading is so…part of me. I had to remind myself this morning of why it was that I gave it up in the first place. I’m not going to exaggerate and tell you that this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done; it’s not. Even though I am surrounded by books that I would normally have no qualms about snatching up and reading for several hours, it’s been nearly no trouble at all finding other ways to fill up my time. I have a sneaking suspicion that quitting the TV would be much harder, and that worries me just a little.
Well, this post is long enough for now, even despite the fact that it’s been a while since I’ve written. If you happen to see someone reading, perhaps you could offer up a quick prayer for me, that I’m learning what I’m supposed to be learning through this time. Thanks!
11.23.2005
Seattle
I know. It's about time. I've been sooo sick of seeing my whiny post every time I logged onto the internet--which, granted, wasn't that often, and never for very long. Obviously my life didn't automatically calm down just because I went from three jobs to two...
By the way, I am enjoying my new job, and for those who were wondering, I don't miss my old one. If that sounds horrible, then I apologize. I didn't mean for it to. I'm simply being matter-of-fact.
But at the present, I am on vacation. *Sigh of contentment*
It's the holidays, and I am spending it with family. My parents and I flew to Washington state for Thanksgiving to be with my aunt and her kids (she has six, three of which are still at home and four of whom are younger than me). And I'm so glad to be here. We used to live out here, a couple hours away, actually, and for a time the whole horde of us lived in one house (and shared one bathroom!!).
Earlier this week we went down to Pike Place Market, you know, the big shopping area in downtown Seattle, where they sell the fish? It was in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Then today we went to the dinky town we used to live in, where I spent my senior year. It was interesting seeing how the town had changed...and hearing how the people I used to know had changed, too. It doesn't sound like it was all that long ago when you put it in years, but it feels like a very long time ago. In fact, I was just telling one of my cousins last night that if the Teenage Me met the Me Today, we might not get along too well. And I've been thinking about why I've changed in the ways that I have. All in all, it's been educational. Probably all this introspective stuff will come out in greater detail in one of my books someday, so I won't spoil it for you now.
Till next time, when I will probably talk (read: complain) about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, have a Happy Thanksgiving!!
By the way, I am enjoying my new job, and for those who were wondering, I don't miss my old one. If that sounds horrible, then I apologize. I didn't mean for it to. I'm simply being matter-of-fact.
But at the present, I am on vacation. *Sigh of contentment*
It's the holidays, and I am spending it with family. My parents and I flew to Washington state for Thanksgiving to be with my aunt and her kids (she has six, three of which are still at home and four of whom are younger than me). And I'm so glad to be here. We used to live out here, a couple hours away, actually, and for a time the whole horde of us lived in one house (and shared one bathroom!!).
Earlier this week we went down to Pike Place Market, you know, the big shopping area in downtown Seattle, where they sell the fish? It was in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Then today we went to the dinky town we used to live in, where I spent my senior year. It was interesting seeing how the town had changed...and hearing how the people I used to know had changed, too. It doesn't sound like it was all that long ago when you put it in years, but it feels like a very long time ago. In fact, I was just telling one of my cousins last night that if the Teenage Me met the Me Today, we might not get along too well. And I've been thinking about why I've changed in the ways that I have. All in all, it's been educational. Probably all this introspective stuff will come out in greater detail in one of my books someday, so I won't spoil it for you now.
Till next time, when I will probably talk (read: complain) about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, have a Happy Thanksgiving!!
10.28.2005
3 Job Whine
I believe I mentioned in my VFD post that I am currently working three jobs at the moment. Moment, being of course, a euphemistic term for the past two weeks—and one future week—of my life.
It’s driving me insane.
I am getting sick at the moment (can colds spread over the phone? Or via the web? jk) and I know it is because I have not managed to get more than about five hours of sleep any night this week. My parents are shaking their heads at this, I just know it. Yes, it’s my own fault. Yes, I could go to bed earlier.
[Actually, it’s a lot harder than you’d think. Night Owlish-ness was already a habit before my college days…and I still have not been able to shed it.]
So basically I’m just dragging myself from one place to the next, with hardly a break in between. Which sucks, which is why I’m whining about it. Thursday I actually worked at all three places for a few hours…and I don’t think I was really focused on any of them. Shame on me.
I’m not the greatest multi-tasker to begin with; I don’t like having my attention divided too much. I’m so tired and I just want to get back into a normal routine. I’m on day-off withdrawal; I used to only work three days a week, this past year when I was working only for the dentist. I will miss that part of it. *sniff*
Okay, enough of my pity-party. The good news is, I ended up having the night off tonight, and tomorrow I don’t work (thought I do have CW, hope I don’t lose my voice). Even better, I have the house to myself. I thought it would be a little depressing being home alone while the rest of my family is downtown listening to John Perkins, but after this week’s craziness, the peace is nice. I caught up on this week’s Veronica Mars and Everwood and What Not to Wear (guilty pleasures all!) that I was too busy (!!!) to watch at their regularly scheduled time. And in a bit I’ll work on a short story idea. If I get it finished soon, I may submit to my devArt site. (Of course, I won’t, b/c I’m a perfectionist and I am terrible at short stories. I’ll get maybe another page and give up before heading to someplace random, like Homestarrunner.com.)
You probably won’t hear from me again until my life begins to normalize (Normal? What’s that? And since when is that even an option?). Later.
It’s driving me insane.
I am getting sick at the moment (can colds spread over the phone? Or via the web? jk) and I know it is because I have not managed to get more than about five hours of sleep any night this week. My parents are shaking their heads at this, I just know it. Yes, it’s my own fault. Yes, I could go to bed earlier.
[Actually, it’s a lot harder than you’d think. Night Owlish-ness was already a habit before my college days…and I still have not been able to shed it.]
So basically I’m just dragging myself from one place to the next, with hardly a break in between. Which sucks, which is why I’m whining about it. Thursday I actually worked at all three places for a few hours…and I don’t think I was really focused on any of them. Shame on me.
I’m not the greatest multi-tasker to begin with; I don’t like having my attention divided too much. I’m so tired and I just want to get back into a normal routine. I’m on day-off withdrawal; I used to only work three days a week, this past year when I was working only for the dentist. I will miss that part of it. *sniff*
Okay, enough of my pity-party. The good news is, I ended up having the night off tonight, and tomorrow I don’t work (thought I do have CW, hope I don’t lose my voice). Even better, I have the house to myself. I thought it would be a little depressing being home alone while the rest of my family is downtown listening to John Perkins, but after this week’s craziness, the peace is nice. I caught up on this week’s Veronica Mars and Everwood and What Not to Wear (guilty pleasures all!) that I was too busy (!!!) to watch at their regularly scheduled time. And in a bit I’ll work on a short story idea. If I get it finished soon, I may submit to my devArt site. (Of course, I won’t, b/c I’m a perfectionist and I am terrible at short stories. I’ll get maybe another page and give up before heading to someplace random, like Homestarrunner.com.)
You probably won’t hear from me again until my life begins to normalize (Normal? What’s that? And since when is that even an option?). Later.
10.23.2005
Victorious Female Delighted
So…what a week!
I started a NEW job this week…which means until the end of October, I am technically working three jobs. Which might explain why I have been lax of late in blogging…*sigh*…sorry.
The new job is an office position in the Administration Office for Pregnancy Care Centers. Ironically, it is located in a wing of the church that my dad also happens to work in. So that’s cool. I am happy to announce to those of you who have been following the “Retirement Saga” that I have given my notice to my bosses at the dentist’s office, and it went well. So as of the beginning of November…I’m done.
Now…for those of you who smiled at the title of my blog…yes, I was referring to the Lemony Snicket books, A Series of Unfortunate Events. I was ecstatic to find Book the Twelfth, The Penultimate Peril, at Wal-Mart the very day it came out. I finished it the other day; it was as good and bad as usual. Good, because Mr. “Snicket” (aka Daniel Handler) has a very funny way of writing. And bad, because terrible things really do happen to the Baudelaire orphans. But at least Lemony always warns us ahead of time. The next book will be the last one, and if I do not get a few answers (specifically as to why Mr. Snicket has dedicated his life to researching the events of the Baudelaires) I will be sorely disappointed.
And for those of you who don’t know anything about the books, VFD stands for the name of a secret organization in the stories…but it also stands for just about everything else and is used as a form of code. So I was signaling other volunteers by titling my post the way I did.
Also, I finally sent off my stuff to Red Lead…I will keep you updated as I hear from them to know when production will begin on the printing of “Found Phoebe.” It may take several months before it is available to purchase (and even then it may be pricey). Hopefully everything will go smoothly, and God will use this opportunity to open other doors, and let others read my work. (You can pray about that.)
I have realized recently that this is something I very much want to do with my life—write stories that touch people’s hearts and minds and waken them up to the truth about reality—and I am growing more passionate about it daily. I know is something that is in me to do…I just can’t see exactly where it is going to take me yet.
But when could anyone see the end of his or her own story?
I started a NEW job this week…which means until the end of October, I am technically working three jobs. Which might explain why I have been lax of late in blogging…*sigh*…sorry.
The new job is an office position in the Administration Office for Pregnancy Care Centers. Ironically, it is located in a wing of the church that my dad also happens to work in. So that’s cool. I am happy to announce to those of you who have been following the “Retirement Saga” that I have given my notice to my bosses at the dentist’s office, and it went well. So as of the beginning of November…I’m done.
Now…for those of you who smiled at the title of my blog…yes, I was referring to the Lemony Snicket books, A Series of Unfortunate Events. I was ecstatic to find Book the Twelfth, The Penultimate Peril, at Wal-Mart the very day it came out. I finished it the other day; it was as good and bad as usual. Good, because Mr. “Snicket” (aka Daniel Handler) has a very funny way of writing. And bad, because terrible things really do happen to the Baudelaire orphans. But at least Lemony always warns us ahead of time. The next book will be the last one, and if I do not get a few answers (specifically as to why Mr. Snicket has dedicated his life to researching the events of the Baudelaires) I will be sorely disappointed.
And for those of you who don’t know anything about the books, VFD stands for the name of a secret organization in the stories…but it also stands for just about everything else and is used as a form of code. So I was signaling other volunteers by titling my post the way I did.
Also, I finally sent off my stuff to Red Lead…I will keep you updated as I hear from them to know when production will begin on the printing of “Found Phoebe.” It may take several months before it is available to purchase (and even then it may be pricey). Hopefully everything will go smoothly, and God will use this opportunity to open other doors, and let others read my work. (You can pray about that.)
I have realized recently that this is something I very much want to do with my life—write stories that touch people’s hearts and minds and waken them up to the truth about reality—and I am growing more passionate about it daily. I know is something that is in me to do…I just can’t see exactly where it is going to take me yet.
But when could anyone see the end of his or her own story?
8.26.2005
JOBS
What is it about jobs that are so stressful? Seriously. Even the people I know who actually somewhat enjoy their jobs still come home at the end of the day exhausted and glad to be away from work. There are all kind of theories out there about this.
My dad describes it as the traffic light principle, and I don’t know who he got that from. You know, some jobs have a lot of red lights, things you just hate to do and aren’t that good at, some have a lot of yellows, things you can do but don’t enjoy, and a few greens, which are things you love to do and are good at.
The Christian theory is usually that because we are living in the world after the Fall, we all share in the curse that was given to Adam: that his work would be full of labor and futility. But not all Christians agree on what our “job” or our “purpose” here on earth really is. I’m reading a book right now called “Heaven is Not My Home” by Paul Marshall. The jury’s out, but it is an interesting look at the idea that our job is the same as it was in genesis, to rule and take care of the earth.
My current job is nowhere near that fulfilling. It’s what my dad would call a “red-light” job, full of things I don’t really enjoy. It’s not that they’re hard; it’s just boring. I’ve literally been falling asleep at my desk. And if my boss happens to read this while he’s in recovery from surgery, well, I’m sorry. But you know, Doc, you can’t really blame me since neither you nor the Mrs. exactly enjoy your jobs, either.
I’ve actually noticed that environment makes a huge difference to me in whether or not I enjoy my job. If I get along with my boss and co-workers and/or customers, I can handle a lot of tasks I wouldn’t normally care to try. (Also, I’ll do just about any chore if I can have my music playing.) But if I feel dumped on or boxed in it really stresses me out. I took one of those IFES type tests and the work situation it described as being not a good fit for me was basically my first job out of college.
My résumé reads like a hall of shame; part-time jobs I had for a little while until I couldn’t take it anymore or I was lucky enough to be moving on. I worked in the Cafeteria in college, and the dish room at six am was pretty torturous. When I took a year off between high school and college, I actually worked in a factory. It was horrible. I’ve never felt so much like a robot. The summer after college I worked at a theme park—which sounds fun in theory. But I worked the concessions stands. Outside. I had to wear the long-sleeved dresses, bloomers, and stockings of the 1800’s settlers in the highly humid Missouri summer. All day I got asked, “Aren’t you hot?” by people walking around in bathing suits, tank tops, and shorts. After college I worked at a couple preschools—the Montessori kind. I worked with some great kids and some neat ladies, but I just couldn’t handle all the structure they imposed on the kids. Plus, my job was usually more about keeping the room clean rather than interacting with and teaching the kids. Even now, my job is mostly about cleaning. I don’t have anything against cleanliness; it’s just not what I want to do for a living.
So far in my short life I have only had one job I truly loved, and that was in College. I worked in the Community Service department for three out of four years. It was great. I went into elementary schools, latchkey programs, boys and girls clubs, nursing homes, and a food pantry. I’m not sure if I loved it because it was highly relational, because I had a good balance of routine and variety, because I felt like I was doing something worthwhile, or a combination of all three.
I just applied for a job in a coffee shop this week. I’ve been looking around for another job for month, in part because my boss keeps talking about retiring. Just because he can’t make up his mind doesn’t mean I should be left without a job. I’ve applied at a library, a bookstore, and with a couple of ministries. Nothing happened. I keep asking God what it is he intends to do with me and the gifts he’s given me. Now I’m going to be going in for training at the coffee shop, Café Latte, next week. Did I mention I don’t even drink coffee? I guess that’s not a big deal. I’m not thrilled about the prospects of early mornings and impatient consumers, but it might not be so bad. (I always think that at the beginning of a job. Always.)
What I really want to be when I grow up is a writer. There are a lot of other things I’d like to do: teach, play in a band, record a song, study in another country, make a movie….but I really love to write. I’ve written two books so far. I hope to eventually get a website up about them, but I still might blog about them sometime. I’m also hoping to self-publish one of them in the near future.
I just wish that my sense of self and feelings of accomplishment weren’t so wrapped up in what I’m doing for a living. I mean, I have to pay the bills; that’s a given. But I can have dreams, can’t I? We all graduate from college bright eyed and hoping to land our dream job right away—or at least a job in our field. Some of us do. But I have very few friends who are really fulfilled in their jobs. I’m not just writing this to say work sucks or complain about the economy. I’m just wondering, like I’m sure others are, what went wrong? Is this as good as it gets?
I know deep down it’s not, and I’m grateful that I decided to reread John Eldredge’s “The Journey of Desire.” I love his books so much I will save it for a separate blog. He writes of how we were meant for so much more…but that it’s just possible we won’t get to fulfill it in this life. I’ve heard the saying “Life is not a Dress Rehearsal,” but Eldredge says it actually is. When Heaven and Earth are renewed and we are restored, maybe we will get to do all the things we always wanted to and were meant to—but without the frustration a failure. If you’ve ever been uninspired by the idea of what awaits us in heaven, go read the book right now. Literally. Stop reading this and go find a copy.
What I really want to do is write like that: to capture people’s hearts and minds; to show the truth through a story; to awaken people to the longing inside them; to pull back the curtain on the cosmic drama we are all meant to be a part of. Is it a core part of my being? Is it what I am meant to do? Is it my job? I guess we’ll see.
8.24.2005
Post the First
Welcome to my first ever blog! I was having a conversation with one of my best friends last night (LATE last night) and she suggested I start a blog. And though I have to wonder who really has time to read all the blogs out there, let alone write them, I decided to try it anyway.
The title of my blog is taken from L.M. Montomery's writings. She created the original Drama Queen, Anne of Green Gables. Anne loved to daydream and was always talking about places that had scope for the imagination. I also love to daydream. Especially when I'm at work and I imagine that I'm the kind of person who says exactly what I'm thinking. I don't. I hardly say anything. But that's because I need to keep my job a little longer.
So there you go. I would just like to add that part of the reason this isn't a more riveting post is because I am distracted. Our computer is in the living room, where the TV is also located. And at the moment, my dad and brother are enraptured by an anime movie. A rather loud anime movie. And my cat, Phoebe, keeps meowing plaintivley for attention. So I'll end this for now. But don't worry. I'll have more riveting posts later. Stay tuned...
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