Happy Birthday Baby

So, I'm at a standstill. I had an interview yesterday for a job. I won't say too much because I don't want to jinx it, but I will say this- it would be a lot like my old job, but with more responsibility and more hands on experience (yay!). But I won't know if I got the job for at least a week or so. In the mean time, I was offered a job with the mobile vet, but it would be much less hands on since I'd be working out of her home. So, here's my dilemma. Hold out and see if I get the "dream" job risking losing a sure thing in a time of economic crisis, or take the sure thing and settle for less than ideal. Things are not running as smoothly as desired, but oh well.

In the meantime I called Dr. Sandy today to be completely honest with her, but she's out on calls today so it will have to wait until tomorrow... so today I sit and do laundry and try not to get wrapped up in emotional turmoil (haha). Haha, so the dog has been a pain in the butt. He's so attached to me it makes things tough with anyone else. So I got him an easy leader and he hates in and I LOVE it. Haha, he listens so much better to me now... poor thing.

So, lets see- we covered work, the dog, I guess we should discuss social activities now. So, we (meaning the roommates) decided we were going to make the pizza place down the street "our" place. It didn't hurt that the waiter is a young guy and Melanie is a huge flirt (LOVE YOU MEL!!) haha. No, she's just very sarcastic and funny and makes friends easily, so now we get a discount when we go in. My goal is that when we walk in Kelly (the waiter) brings me a blue moon without me having to ask : ). After dinner (mmmm garlic knots) we came back and decided to turn Mario Party into a drinking game. Let's just say the three of us are ridiculously competitive and probably should not play games. Our friendship may not survive it. I was having taboo flashbacks... WALLPAPER- sorry inside joke. So that's where I stand. I love my roommates and I love the weather. I do miss home, though. It's hard because I don't know when I'll get to see anyone again and it makes me sad. Soooo- COME TO CALIFORNIA PEOPLE!!

Peace and love

oh decisions, decisions

Ok, so it's been a crazy couple days. I really need to try and update this more... So anyway, I had an interview with Dr. Sandy's mobile vet on Tuesday. It went pretty well, so they asked me to come back in on Wednesday to have interview part two with Dr. Sandy herself. It was a pretty intense interview that lasted about an hour and a half. She asked a lot of work related questions as well as personality type questions because she believes everyone should be a happy family and get along and love each other, so she wanted to make sure the personalities didn't clash. The interview ended by telling me I was an earth and metal person, just like her. So, she invited me to go out in the van with her the next day to see how it works and runs.

So, yesterday I got up at 6:15 am to get to work by 8 and they showed me around the van and we headed out on the road. The first appt was just drawing blood for a thyroid test. The second appt was a dental (not under anesthesia) as well as exam/vaccines, the third appt was an exam and broken toe nail, and the last appt was a quality of life appt. We didn't get back to the office/house until 7:30. Then Dr. Sandy and I had a little chat about how happy I would be there since I would mostly be doing office work and wouldn't have to much face to face interaction with the clients. She was really understanding about the whole thing, so she's giving me some time to mull things over.

Meanwhile, I got an email about an assistant position in Pasadena. So, now I have an interview on Monday, but an offer on the table! Crazyness. I don't know, maybe I can work full time in Pasadena but still put some time in at Dr. Sandy's. I mean I could definitely use the extra money. It's all so confusing. I just need a job! Preferably a job I'd enjoy doing and would help me reach my goal of going to vet school eventually. Sheesh. Oh wait, I had that job... and I quit. What a dummy, haha. Things will work themselves out... i just have to be patient. I hope. : )

At least it's the weekend which means roomie fun : )

Time to play catch up

Ok, so I've now been in "sunny" LA (hah it's rained at least 50% of the time since I've been out here!) for two full weeks. I'd like to say I've made more progress than I have but it's going slower than I was hoping. At least I've made some progress. I had an interview and a trial shift last week. The trial shift was very bizarre. I was there for a couple hours and I ended up answering phones and carrying food and things. It was very chaotic and somewhat awkward because they were conducting interviews for the position I was interviewing for...while I was standing there. I really wanted to throw out the turtle but I felt that was inappropriate. So, they said they'd call and let me know later and the week. I haven't heard anything, so I'm going to say they gave the job to someone else. Oh well.

It's not all bad news though, because last Friday I got a phone call about working for a mobile vet in Tarzana. She asked me a bunch of preliminary questions and told me she would be in touch soon. She called me this morning to set up and interview! I'm actually pretty excited about the whole thing because it would definitely be something different. The only downside is that every thing's pretty routine. There's no surgeries to watch or crazy emergencies. But at this point beggars can't be choosers. I do have an interview scheduled in March- but something tells me I'm not quite qualified for that since they need a whole month to interview everyone. I mean I'm going to try anyway, but I think it's a long shot. Hopefully the interview goes well tomorrow and I'll no longer be unemployed!

Anyway, I'll just recap my weekend for those who are interested. So it was Valentine's Day weekend and to be completely honest it was kind of sad for me. Even though I'm moving on with my life and starting a brand new chapter the holidays always make me a little sad for the past. Thankfully, I have amazing roommates who make all that emotional stuff more bearable. So, Mel and I thought we would have a nice quiet Friday night and just grab a beer or two at the Burbank Bar and Grill down the street. So we get there and it's kinda crowded and we kind of awkwardly standing on the dance floor. Then the band comes on. The 80's cover band! It was fabulous. Mel and I just started dancing and singing and it was fantastic. We even met the bass player "Billy Midol" who by day works at an accounting firm (Sara want me to try and get you a job out here??). Long story short we danced the night away to the wonderful sounds of the 80s.

Now, there is a very large network of Syracuse grads out here because Newhouse is one of the top communication schools in the country and LA is where they all flock to. I know some of these grads because I was in Newhouse for a couple semesters (before I became part of the 2% who wouldn't graduate from Newhouse). Some of the SU kids were having a house party on Saturday, so Mel and I figured we might as well go meet up with some of them. It was a little awkward for me because although I knew some of them, I'm not really friends with most of them. I did however meet a very nice man from South Africa named Hein. He was actually really nice and was looking out for me when my roommate disappeared for awhile. At one point he told me "be careful- that guys just not that into you" Yes. He actually said that to me. Thanks for lookin out for me buddy.

Last night was also fun. Jackie didn't have to go to work today since it's a holiday so we thought we'd go play some Bingo. Melanie won the first round she played. I did not win once. Story of my life... haha. It was pretty cool although we were all a little tired from our long weekend. So here I am. Excited for my interview, but still nervous because I don't have tons and tons of prior experience. I miss home and my friends and family- but I still feel confident in my decision to move out here. It's nice to live with friends again.

Here's to hoping the sun comes out soon : )

Over a Week!

So, I've been in LA just over a week. I had a really good weekend. Mel took me out with her Friday night for dinner and dancing with a bunch of her friends. I was a little skeptical at first, but ended up having a really good time. Even when Melanie disappeared a couple times hmm hmm. Then Saturday we spent all day running around doing errands and picking stuff up for the apartment and our rooms. Then Jackie made us a fabulous Mexican dinner with all sorts of good stuff. Then we headed to this pub called Cat and the Fiddle for STRONGBOW <3. While we were there we happened to run into a bunch of SU kids we graduated with... so weird. Out of all the places to go and see we picked the same one, it still baffles me. On Sunday Al came over and we wondered around Melrose for awhile. Then Mel and I found a table and four chairs on Craigslist for $50 and we picked it up and set it up. It's a really nice set too, so we were pretty excited. Once we get a couch, we'll be set : )

Ok, so I was getting up to take the dog out for a walk and go to the gym and I got a call from one of the vet offices I sent my resume to and they asked me to come in and interview at noon. I quickly jumped on the chance and headed towards Santa Monica. I had my interview and I think it went really well. The Chief of Staff was from NJ as well (points!) then the office manager gave me a tour. They have enough room to board 65 dogs! Crazyness. So it seemed like they liked me and the office manager said she would call me later today to confirm coming in for a trial shift tomorrow. They also liked that I have experience as an assistant (more points!). So, hopefully I'll hear from her soon and start work and make money! I mean it's not ideal because it is a little far away, but if Melanie and I have similar hours we could totally carpool. Yay.

So, I think things are finally starting to fall into place. If I get this job such a weight will be lifted off of my shoulders. I may still need to get a second job, but we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I'll have some sort of set shifts so I can get a second job if needed. That's all I got for now. Peace out

Rainy day in LA

Ok, so most of my day today was spent trying to get the wireless internet to work and emailing as many people as possible hoping to find a job! I even sent my resume to a couple cat only clinics...which makes me sad because I love the dogs (plus I wouldn't get a discount for Rusty!) This whole finding a new job thing is hard. But there are about a million places in a 15 mile radius so I'm sure something will pop up right?

Anyway, I thought I would tell the fridge story and give a little description of my neighborhood. So, our apartment came with a washer/dryer and a dishwasher but no fridge. No our kitchen is in a corner and there's a counter top in an l-shape. When Mel found a fridge she measured to make sure it would fit (smart girl). However, the counter top juts out a little bit into the walkway so the fridge did not fit... Then we thought if we took the doors off it might work. After about an hour of tilting the fridge to get to the screws, we had the doors off. Still not small enough. OK- lets put it on its side and slide it under. Perfect! Not quite. We were able to slide it under but when we tried to put it right side up again it hit the corner of the counter top! Only one thing left to do. Lift the damn thing over our heads and over the counter. Which we were able to do. Then we had to put the doors back on. It was hilarious but quite the ordeal. But now we have a fridge and can keep things cold!

Anyway, onto Burbank. Burbank is ridiculously cute. There's a strip that has all sorts of food and shops and it's very chill. There's also a bunch of bigger stores within walking distance like ikea and some department stores. The weather has been absolutely beautiful up until today. There's even a dog park in walking distance (haven't quite gotten to that yet) and I only have to go a couple miles to go hiking! The first day I was here we ran into anothe SU alum crossing the road. Crazy. It's been pretty sweet so far, now I just need a job! I'm currently on phase 1 which is emailing and calling. Phase 2, stopping in with my resume/ refrences will be next week. Then phase 3 will be expanding to non-vet receptionist positions, then phase 4 will be applying to Target. No lie. Hopefully we don't have to get past phase 2 : )

So, that's where I stand. I'm waiting for it to stop pouring so I can take the dog out. The construction workers all love him and think he's amazing and has such a strong will. Oh, one last thing about Rusty. At home people would glance and maybe look confused for a second. Here, everyone points and talks about it within ear shot. They all look mortified... it's very unsettling. And telling to story over and over again is starting to get old.

More updates soon!

California Dreaming

Ok, so we arrive in California around lunchtime on Sunday just in time to head to the corner bar and watch the Superbowl. I can honestly say that one of the things I'll miss most is watching football games with my mom. Seriously, no one here will be as into the game as my mother. No one here will know all the players by their first names. So sad. Anyway, the last couple days have been a whirlwind. I've managed to accomplish some things, ie I now have a bed to sleep in and most of my clothes are unpacked/organized in my new portable closet. I still have to pick up a few things, but overall I'm getting there.

So, I decided that in order to save money I would decorate my room with my old black and white London pics. To make it look more classy I bought black foam board and mounted the pictures on them. Too bad I can't use a box cutter properly nor can I draw a strait line (even with the help of a ruler). Oh well, you can only tell if you stand closely... at least that's what I'm telling myself. This whole moving process is more expensive than I originally thought it would be. I mean I knew it would be expensive but there's no way I would be able to do this without the emotional and financial support of my mother. I'm not very good at expressing my feelings when it comes to my mom, so I hope she knows how much I appreciate all she's done for me in the last 22 years. I can't imagine how different my life would be without my mom. She's pretty much my best friend and confidant. I love her, and I don't tell her enough which makes me sad.

Anyway, I think my dog is more popular with my roomates than I am. They love him and can't get enough. All the things he does that drive me nuts, they find adorable. Go figure. At least I'll know he's being taken care of if I'm working two jobs. Melanie is determined she'll meet boys with him. She's probably right, because he is quite the conversation piece seeing as he only has three legs and all. So, I know there are a lot of minor details (like seeing seals in Santa Monica and funny waiters at the pizza joint), but this post is already too long. I'll give a summary of our apartment and I will tell the story about the fridge tomorrow, but for now I think this has gone on long enough.

Oh, I'm going to fill out an aplication for a job tomorrow. Kind of nervous, but excited at the same time. I just want to walk in there and them be like oh we're super desperate so we'll hire you on the spot! Here's to hoping.