homeward bound

so i have been in texas since the 14th and it's safe to say that i'm really ready to be on the road home. :) it's not that i haven't had a good time here, because i certainly have. in fact, i didn't even get to see everyone that i wanted to see. but there's something to be said about sleeping in your own bed and just being back in your own routine with your usual stuff. i'm hoping that there won't be any students at today's conference so that i can head out tomorrow afternoon. usually they fax us the numbers but for some reason that didn't happen...the one time i really want to know. :) punks! maybe that means i don't have any? no idea!

not a lot of excitement lately. i downloaded a trial version of a new WinDVD and it works a lot better though is far from flawless. got a hair cut this morning. heard about a crazy thunderstorm that i missed in ABQ last night. have some tentative plans for tonight. finally ate at freebirds today which i realized i didn't do last time i was here (i know...blasphemy!). SO...it has been nice to be here and the weather wasn't even ungodly hot the whole time. love my texas friends for sure and miss them tons. but, i miss home too. :)

woo friday!

it's friday! woo woo!! :) feeling a lot better...its wacky how conversations until 4 a.m. can do that for ya. but they do. i'm in the office for a few hours today. got my students registered and figured out (again) that i will enjoy working with transfer students quite a bit. parents are a lot less stressed out with their students when they have a few years of college behind them already (most of the time...there are exceptions.)

not too much happening right now. got to catch up with friends for dinner last night and lunch today. good chat with my temporary roommate here. :) have a dinner meeting with my advisor tonight. might grab a beer later on with some people. got some plans tomorrow and sunday too. sticking around town which will be good i think.

in other random news...i really hate WinDVD. it sucks my ass. all i want to do is watch The Sopranos on my laptop and it freezes up every 9 seconds. i have one chapter of an episode to watch and couldn't get it done last night. any better programs or ways to fix piece of poop WinDVD? help me out computer gurus. :)

unexpectedly blah

hi friends....you ever just feel kinda down or tired or whatever and can't put your finger on the exact cause? i've been feeling that way lately. i suspect i know part of the issue, but mostly i should be excited right? i get to hang out with friends in texas for a while. i get to start a new job soon after months and months of waiting for that to happen. heck, i even ordered my aggie ring today which is super cool, right? and yet...blah. i think i'm sorta anxious to get back to my own stuff in albuquerque and i feel like i've been away more than i've been home lately. maybe that's it. i dunno...but i hope it changes. :)

say hi to the newest student program advisor

as of monday, i accepted the position i was offered here in ABQ. i think that this will be a job that i will truly enjoy and get a lot out of. the job i phone interviewed for seemed like it might give my new position a run for its money, but it turned out that they found a more qualified candidate. SO-that validated my decision a touch more...though for the most part i was already pretty certain that i picked the right job. i've been faxing all kinds of info so that my hiring paperwork can go through and i found out that HR has officially given their blessing. i also learned that i have permission to teach my classes in the fall since they won't interfere with the work day and new job. in other words, things are really falling into place. :) i speculated today how long it would take me to pay off debts if i live frugally for a while and continue teaching and working (yikes! dissertation!!!) and it would be mostly gone...other than massive student loan debt of course...in less than a year.

besides the money stuff, i'm just really excited to be back in an office. who knows..in a month i could be ranting about crazy office drama..but i'm going to think positive and relish in my excitement to meet new people and be a part of a new program that's designed to really help students. i can't wait to get started! my first day is july 5th, which gives me some down time to recover from the 12 hour drive back to ABQ and hopefully get my apartment organized and cleaned. but luckily it's not too long and i get to jump in soon. i can't even wait to see my cubicle...how lame is that?! :)

so, i will of course keep you posted about how things go. in the meantime, the texas trip is going pretty well. not too much advising excitement. getting to the rec in the mornings. getting to catch up with friends (which included fun times in houston with jeff this past weekend), which is always a good thing. it's been rainy and thus not quite 22138u1q32 degrees (yes i know there was a u and a q in there). its nice to be back. :)

triangles are NOT octagons

ags....let's talk about what a yield sign is. a yield sign is NOT a stop sign. it means you slow down and see if there is someone coming down the ramp or lane or whatever and you yield to them if they are in fact there. if no one is there, you go. you don't stop unless you will plow into said car in lane or ramp. no STOPPING! this is not hard. it's the difference between a triangle and an octagon. for your reference....

octagon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_sign

triangle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_sign

get it together and stop fuckin' around at 2818 and university. (this rant is probably also supported by mike who knows from experience that you need to differentiate between the two shapes.)

a relief for the uncertainty

i was telling mike the other night that i still didn't really feel like ABQ was home yet. the reason for that was that my world was still swirling in uncertainty. wasn't sure about the job stuff...not sure about crazy boy stuff...not sure when my dissertation stuff will be done. so basically, a lot of pretty major things in my life were unknown which created this sense of being unsettled. like at any moment i would have to pack up and move again. i'm very hopeful that that will now change. though the offer is still unoffical until it gets HR blessings, it looks like i will be taking a job at UNM soon. i'll finally have steady employment and won't have to wonder how i'm going to pay the bills at the end of each semester. i'm still waiting to see if i'll be able to teach, but all in all things are looking good. so though i still have uncertainty (boy..dissertation..etc), i'm hoping this chunk of financial stability will help me feel like i can truly settle in and call ABQ home. :) so as predicted in yesterday's blog post...more good news. now i'll hope for continued patience with the other mysteries in my life. :)

good vibes lead to good things

i had good vibes after my most recent job interview in new mexico...like i had just nailed it and i'd be hearing from them. i told mike that i hoped i would be calling him with job news this week. and guess what...i was right. i got a job offer for that position AND i have an interview for yet another position tomorrow. all my impatient waiting (contradiction?) has...i think/hope...paid off. :) the job offer is still unofficial and i'm working on negotiating a bit more money, so i'm not totally celebrating yet. but i'm hopeful that it will all work out soon one way or the other.

i think the position i was offered could open a lot of doors for me at UNM, which is mostly a good thing. the only bad thing is that i'm getting somewhat close to graduation and will be expected/encouraged to go on the faculty job market. not quite ready to think about that yet...or to think about moving away from ABQ already. (though i was given an interesting possibility by my unofficial graduate school mentor...more on that as it develops.) anywho...i'm happy to finally have an offer. it was a much needed boost to my self-confidence. a girl can only take so much rejection (HEAR THAT MEN?!?!...heehee).

in other news, i'm back in texas to finish up my advising obligation to the sociology department. i was dreading the long drive but found out its not so bad when you have an iPod of sweet music (like informer by snow). should be a fun couple of weeks hanging out with friends, advising, dissertation work (i have a plan!), and going to the rec regularly with sara. all very good stuff. :)

okay..i gotta get some sleep so i'm awake in the morning. more news soon.

:)

rain in duke city

it's been showering occassionally in albuquerque this week. it makes everyone pause for a second and look out the window with a touch of marvel. we haven't seen a lot of preciptitation in any form...rain, snow, sleet. so it's kind of nice to see. sunshine is great and everything, but every once in a while...you need to see some clouds, thunder, and lightning.

trying not to get my hopes up, but...

i found out through the grapevine that my references are being checked for the position interviewed for on friday. good sign right? :)

also...i'm heading to texas again in about a week to finish up my advising stint. i migrate there every two weeks it seems. not looking forward to the long ass drive, but should be fun. :)

cross your fingers

i had an interview on friday afternoon. i think that it went very well and would be a position that i would greatly enjoy. the official title is student program advisor, but specifically i would work with transfer students in their adaptation to life at the university. it's a position that requires academic advisor skills as well as student affairs stuff and it's a new endeavor which is always exciting. i hope to hear something very soon. they did all the interviews on friday and expect to notify people in the next week or so.

i will of course keep you posted but keep your fingers crossed that i hear from one of these crazy jobs soon.

p.s.- kate tip: don't try on suits the day of your interview while in the process of losing weight. totally demoralizing. yay for fun accessories. :)

"you don't go out looking for a job dressed like that? on a weekday?" "is this a... what day is this?"

i am unemployed right now, just like the dude from the big lebowski. in a way, it's nice to have some time to chill and get things done that i should have done long ago (like clean out my big closet and get organized.) i'm hoping to get some more work on my dissertation done now that class stuff for the spring is over. and i've been going to the gym more in an attempt to no longer be a freakin' slug. let's just say that my two weeks in iowa during the winter were not kind and things haven't improved in new mexico for some reason. so, i'm trying to finally reach my goal, since i have time. :)

i've always had a dream of doing nothing, but now that i actually don't have a job, i do not have the solace i would have expected. maybe you need to have some cash saved up before fulfilling that dream. :) in the meantime, i'm really really hoping that the job interviewed for at UNM will come through. or that the interview i have on friday goes well. i'll let ya know. and in the meantime, i guess i'll try to live the dream a little.

:)