So...I haven't posted anything since mid-November 2011. This past
December was rather busy and I had also been suffering from a somewhat
severe case of writer's block which contributed to me being unable to
update in a timely fashion.
At any rate, it's now 2012
and I'm here with the mentality to update more often than I ever
have--and hopefully, that mentality stays with me from here on out.
I've
been in California for just under a month and a half and so far, things
have been going reasonably well. I have a new driver's license, new
plates on my car, a place to live, a furnished bedroom, a school
schedule that's almost complete, a sense of belonging in my new
surroundings, a newish drive to achieve, but unfortunately...I don't
have a new job yet.
Job application after job
application has been sent in and still, I don't have anything to show
for it. I'm getting tired of watching the money in my checking and saving
accounts dwindle and I'm also tired of feeling as if I'm just some sort
of slacker because I can't land one lousy job.
At this point, it doesn't really matter WHAT the job is, just as long as I HAVE one.
Banks, restaurants, grocery stores, specific retail-oriented stores, pet-care...
Out of all of these things, I can't get one job offer. ONE!!!
When I reflect on my current employment issue, I start to wonder whether moving to California was a good idea or not...
But, after the events that took place today, I start to question my initial second thoughts. Lol.
In a nutshell, I saw an ad on www.craigslist.org
for a job opening that I actually qualified for. So, I replied to the
ad with a pleasant e-mail and attached my resume and whatnot. I hadn't
heard anything back and it had been a couple of days, so I resubmitted
my application and then decided to drive myself to this location so that I
could meet with an actual person.
Upon my attempt to
drive to this company's address, my cell phone's GPS thought it would be
funny to play games with me and not cooperate. I pulled into the local
Target parking lot and fiddled with my phone for a good 15 minutes.
Instead of relying on Cordelia (that's the name of my GPS) and her
vocally telling me where to go, I decided to memorize the directions and
just go from there.
I started Alexandria (my car, who
also goes by Lexi for short) and proceeded to get onto the freeway when I
noticed a woman clambering around, looking for something and a man on a
cell phone. And that's when I saw two dogs. I pulled over, put on my
four-way flashers, and got out to see if they needed help. Turns out
that the dogs didn't belong to them, but they had been trying to corral
them to safety and call Animal Control as well.
I got
back into my car and parked in the parking lot that I had just left and
pursued the elusive canine friends. They were darting in and out of the
busy intersection, with me doing the same. I kept following them and
finally got them across said intersection and hopefully further away
from harm.
While I was tailing them, several different
people pulled up to the sidewalk asking if they were mine and so on. I
explained the situation and to my utter surprise, they all came to
help! One very nice man pulled over and handed me a collar and some
food.
My newly formed group of dog catchers and I
situated ourselves in different areas in order to head these dogs into a
secure location. A couple of girls and I passed two groups of marines
and I was sure that they might jump in to help, but sadly, they didn't.
They directed us to where the dogs ran off to, and that was all they
contributed, which is better than nothing.
We kept
after them and almost had them too, but between the crazy drivers and
how evasive and frightened these dogs were, we couldn't contain them.
:(
We were unable to get in touch with Animal Control and before we knew it, the dogs were long gone.
The two girls that ran around with me commented on how "brave" I was for running into traffic and so on.
But should that really be considered bravery or just foolishness? I'm still on the fence about it...
We
went to our cars and drove around looking for the dogs in one last vain
attempt to get them to safety, but I think we all knew that they were
gone.
I sullenly drove to my original destination and
met with a couple of the workers that showed me around. Turns out, the
owner who posted the ad went on vacation as soon as she had asked for
help, which would explain why I hadn't heard anything yet. So I hoping
that since I made the effort to drive to the location and ask about the
status of my application, I'll receive a phone call with a job offer.
And now, for the pièce de résistance:
On my way to seek employment, the car directly in front of me had a sticker on the back windshield.
It read, "Johns Hopkins".
It's a sign, I tell you! A SIGN!!!
That's all I have for now...until next time!
