9 posts tagged “work”
I'm staying at the house for a few days because Shawn said he'd be busy working on some projects for work over the weekend. I thought it might be nice to spend some time with Mom. Whenever I wake up in the morning, there's this awesome nostalgic feeling of summer. It brings back good memories and makes everything seem simple and happy.
Even when I'm at my apartment, alone during the day, I've been experiencing sudden bursts of happiness. It's so weird! I've been trying to limit my time on the computer and watching TV, because I really want to start doing something more for myself lately. I've been feeling the need to enhance everything that I love doing, meaning that I'm focusing more on painting, photography, and spending time with my furries (kitties + hammy). Doing so has led me to some relaxing, more peaceful, days. I'm not really feeling that stress of needing to find work, which is such a relief now. I figured that I need to work on getting in the right mindset before I jump into the next phase of my life; after all, for the past 20+ years I've been in school working hard. It's time to let loose.
In photography aspects, I've been trying to work more on getting to know my camera better. I found that, after a while, I fell into such a routine with my camera that I didn't really explore all of the fun settings. I think my little experimentations have led to better, clearer photos, like the one above. (Yays!)
Also, on the photography home front, I've been trying to expand my photo subjects. I fell into a rut with that when I only took photos of Plum and a few other toys/dolls. I'm trying to appreciate everything else that I'm surrounded by, including other Blythes (like Utopia and Nami above!) and other little finds that I've been taking in.
This Alice necklace is one of my favorite recent finds to photograph. ^__^ Last weekend, I went on a little trip to Chicago with Shawn, Jeremy, and Kathleen. We went to one of my favorite urban toy stores, Rotofugi, and I picked up a lot of cute vinyls and a special art book signed by a favorite artist of mine. Then the three of us met up with another favorite artist of mine, Jeremiah Ketner, after Rotofugi-- we visited his studio (where I saw all of the amazing pieces he's currently working on) and went out to lunch with him.
Afterwards, Jeremiah suggested a bunch of cute stores that he knew I'd love to explore. In one of the little boutiques, I discovered the Alice pendant. I'm obsessed with everything and anything Alice in Wonderland, so I snatched it up. Later on, I went across the street where I had a chain made and fitted for me. I think the heart clasp (bottom right picture) is one of my favorite parts. Putting the necklace together was so much fun!
On an earlier trip to Chicago (April 10th), I was able to attend my very first Blythe meet. After six or so years of collecting them, I thought it was about time that I finally met more people who share the same hobby. ^^
We met up at a cute sushi bar (with really good fruit smoothies) and talked about Blythes the whole time. Because of other plans Shawn and I had in Chicago that day, I was only able to bring Plum (bottom row, fourth from the left). She was able to meet another Kozy Blythe, finally! Overall, the turnout was great and I was even able to meet Gina Garan, a very well known Blythe collector. In fact, it's because of Gina that Blythes exist today! It was such an honor to talk about Blythes, and tons of other stuff, with her.
So really, my "work" right now consists of working on myself and my life. I'm expanding every type of personal horizon possible, including my physical self. ^___^ I've been working hard at exercising daily so that I stay in shape. I'm feeling fit in every aspect possible!
After I wrap up this post, I'll continue to sit back in my parents' kitchen where the back door leading to the deck is open. The summer breeze is blowing in while I sip on my cinnamon white chocolate latte. Life is good.
I'm currently waiting for a nice day (meaning, good weather) to come along so I can have a nice photoshoot with Shawn outside. I'm looking forward to having more official engagement photos! ^__^ Until then, I thought I'd just stop in and say... "Herro!"
I've been trying to enjoy my time off from all work forms lately, and I've also been sending my resume out like crazy. Sadly, I haven't had any luck on the job front yet. Most of my time is "down time" and I've been trying to keep myself busy with little projects-- like painting, reading, taking photos, spending time with my favorite people, etc. I've also had the privilege of attending some really great events (an artist gallery and my first Blythe doll meet), more of which I hope to talk about in future posts.
I've been trying to enjoy my time off from all work forms lately, and I've also been sending my resume out like crazy. Sadly, I haven't had any luck on the job front yet. Most of my time is "down time" and I've been trying to keep myself busy with little projects-- like painting, reading, taking photos, spending time with my favorite people, etc. I've also had the privilege of attending some really great events (an artist gallery and my first Blythe doll meet), more of which I hope to talk about in future posts.
Like I mentioned on Flickr and Facebook, this necklace has special sister meaning to me. Beth and I often pick out the same, or similar, pieces of jewelry or clothing to buy. (After all, we are the same person.) Other than my engagement ring, it's the only piece of jewelry I wear every day.
Exactly one year to this day, Vox made its public launch. The website opened its doors to the public and let thousands of people into one of the greatest blogging networks around. I'm so proud to be part of such a great community, and I'd like to dedicate this post to Vox and every single Voxer out there.
I've received countless gifts throughout the past year; Vox is to thank for many of them. I think my favorite gift of them all has been the opportunity to express myself to people I've never even met in person. To know that I can use my blog as a creative and personal outlet in so many ways is pretty extraordinary.
My passion for photography was strong before, but it's grown even more since I started posting photos here at my blog. I know that I've mainly focused on a small portion of my life (with dollies, my sisters, Shawn and things I come across in my everyday life), but I've been able to slowly pick up new photo subjects that catch my eye. I think that one of the great things about Vox is how willing to encourage every reader is. With the encouragement and small pushes in new directions from awesome friends here, I find that my confidence is building day by day. I don't consider myself a very social person outside of the internet, but blogging at Vox has made me feel a little stronger. The fact that I can step outside, taken in my surroundings, and then form new ideas about what images I want to capture is a confident step in the right direction. I no longer feel the need to socialize in the way that other college students do anymore. I've realized how great it is to strengthen what I do have and what I really enjoy-- and that's the quiet atmosphere of my blog in the company of people that I call close friends. (That's you.)
My blogging life extends to amazing highs, ones that I can really say I'm proud of. About two months after Vox made its public launch, I hosted my very first Kawaii at Vox raffle. Over 80 people participated at the time. I was ecstatic! Then, only eight months later, I threw my second raffle. By then, after Vox's community had grown even more, over 100 people joined in on my event. Knowing that people in just one community on the internet could have fun through such a simple event like a raffle really made me smile.
It was the events and the dedication Voxers had to their friends here that have made Vox what it is today. Like I've said before, the amount of community participation between each other and Team Vox is incredibly strong. I think that community is what makes Vox stand apart from every other blogging website out there. I've had the pleasure of being able to see both sides of the spectrum. On one hand, I was a simple blogger who enjoyed her occasional blog post, and on the other hand, I was given the opportunity to work with a great group of hard working people who have dedicated their working lives to better the entire idea and vision of Vox. I take a look at the leaps that I've made in my life thanks to every single ounce of luck (and fate) that has come my way, and I can only say one thing: thank you-- to Vox and to every Voxer who has been able to participate in this great blogging experience.
Vox, you are my favorite blogging place and I don't know where I'd be without you today. Watching you grow up into the strong and healthy community you are today makes me so, so proud. Happy anniversary, Vox!
I've been slowly trying to fall back into a comfortable routine in the past week or so. Previous to that, I had been so focused on getting things done that I didn't take any time to just enjoy... life? In between my last post and the one I'm writing right now, I've had some not-so-good experiences, times that I'll be happy to forget about.
I wrote two posts this last weekend. Only one post made it to the public, and even that one stayed just a few minutes. Something about the posts didn't quite click. I'm very particular with what I share with people, and that side of me isn't something I'm proud of. To those of you who caught that post, thank you for the private messages. You will never really know how much I've been soaking in your advice and your concerns about my life, but just know that your words are fueling me to just keep going through all the bad stuff. I'm pushing my way through this bad time in my life thanks to you. Even though I haven't responded to a lot of comments and private messages, I plan on doing so soon. You're all so wonderful-- thank you.
Instead of ranting on and on about the bad stuff, I thought I'd wrap it all up in a nutshell. That way, the reality of everything seems less harsh and somewhat distant.
Basically, the move was more difficult than Beth and I anticipated. Our apartment was one big mess, one in need of a lot of repairs. The air conditioner was broken for a week, leaving Beth and me with an apartment that was 95 degrees after walking (a long walk) home from classes every day. The manager of our building suddenly left her job and left us with no one to contact as far as repairs and Beth's parking space went. In the end, Beth found out that the parking space promised to her from before we even signed the lease was unavailable. This wouldn't be a huge deal, except for the fact that we live in a busy city, on a crowded college campus. Having no transportation is proving to be difficult (and boring).
Since the air conditioner was broken, the only source of ventilation we had was opening the windows to hot, but breezy, weather. The window in my room was broken and let in swarms of flies, spiders and mosquitos. I'm still recovering.
From day one, the cable company has screwed up our phone, wireless internet and cable TV. Over the past week, Beth and I, together, have probably spent over four hours arguing and pleading with the company to get everything around our apartment to work. Tears were involved on my part. (I have a love/hate relationship with technology.)
The good news about my situation is that I was given a few days to rest this weekend. Surprisingly enough, I discovered that working doesn't even seem like real work anymore. Work is more of my getaway from all the crap that classes give me. I've never dreaded working for Vox (the first job that I actually enjoy), but it still seemed more of a structured routine a few weeks ago. I realized that classes make work seem more fun. Work is freedom. In the work world, I'm an adult with responsibilties, not a student who has to do homework assignments. In a way, I've already graduated from college just because I know how ready I am to be in the working world. That's a nice thought, and I think I'm starting to get the hang of this transition-- a little at a time.
One perk about my new place is that the apartment building allows the tenants to have cats. (This is the part where I jump up and down, squeal, dance and make merry.) *dances* As mentioned in past posts on my blog, I live for cats. I have always been drawn to them, but I've never had the opportunity to have one as a companion for myself. This apartment, as horrible as it may seem right now, is giving me that chance to finally have a kitty for myself.
Beth and I went to the Humane Society to check out the kitties this last weekend. Our experience with the people that worked there was anything but good, but in the end, we did get a better idea of what we're looking for as far as cats go. ^__^ For the next few weeks, I plan on checking online ads, newspapers, other animal shelters, and friends of friends who have ads for giving or selling kitties. I know that raising a new kitten can sometimes cause a little more stress, but for me, it's the kind of companionship that I need right now-- with or without the stress. Animals have an amazing calming power on people, and I can only see good things happening with the new addition(s) to our little apartment family.
The only part about getting a cat that made me hold back was Yukimo. Small hamsters don't always bode well with kitties running around the house, but I think I can make the situation work. I'm confident in myself as an animal lover; I can train a cat well enough to not want to eat or "play with" Yukimo. After all, Yukimo is a huge part of my life already. I wouldn't even think about getting a cat unless I was positive that Yuki could handle the change.
Yukimo's a fighter. She can take anything! I think I can, too. (Yukimo's inner fighter must be rubbing off on me.)
I went to the doctor today because of some health problems I've been having for the past week or so. I've had some severe pains in my stomach, and I had no idea what was causing them. Mom and Dad tried to do a mini exam to see if they could figure out what's going on, but even they were stumped. Mom said that if they continued to cause me problems, I would have to see the doctor today.
It's been so hard concentrating on everything I want to get done lately. As if the pain wasn't enough, I feel like my responsibilities as a human being are giving me more and more pressures.
These feelings were the first signs. I really should have known better.
I didn't go to my usual doctor, because scheduling at the last minute usually doesn't work out so well. I went to another physician that I sometimes see, a friend of the family who works with my dad. She was extremely nice and, unlike my usual doctor, she listened to what was going through my head-- probably because she's known me for so long. I didn't tell Mom this, or even Beth yet, but I almost started crying when I was talking to her. I've been hurting so much lately, and then with everything that flowed out of my head and out into the real world-- I began to realize what was wrong. She did, too.
Alice, my doctor, said that my stomach pains are mostly due to the amount of stress I'm undergoing at the moment. I've talked about everything racing through my mind lately (work, classes coming up next week, and moving to my the new apartment this weekend), but I didn't think that my body would react in such a harsh way. I've learned my lesson.
I took off work most of today; I only did what absolutely needed to be done. Right now, I'm trying to sit and relax without thinking about anything stressful. Even though Beth and I will have to move a bunch of stuff this weekend, I'm hoping that the extra day off on Monday (because of Labor Day) will give me that extra zing I need to pick myself up. It's time to rest; it's time to breathe for a while.
It's hard to believe that Shawn and I were running around and taking photos last weekend. I can't imagine myself doing that today. I feel so drained. Alice also gave me some medication that should hopefully help lessen the pain a little. The medicine has a side effect though: it's going to make me extra sleepy. That isn't a horrible thing right now, but I'm really hoping that it won't affect my schoolwork next week.
Another piece of "medicine" (advice) that Alice gave me was to not worry about school so much at this point. She said that since I've found a job that I want to stick with, a real passion for my future, that I can take some of that burden to get straight A's on my report cards off my shoulders. I know she's right, but it's difficult making a change that drastic. My entire academic lifestyle revolves around trying to do the absolute best. I've made it my personal goal to get on the Dean's List and to stay on the list for as long as possible. I want to graduate college English major with honors, and at this rate, it looks like I'll be able to do so.
Basically, I need to start prioritizing my life. I'm doing more than I've ever done before, and part of this is my own, personal evolution, so I figure that learning to juggle priorities is normal. It's just a rough time for me right now, but once I get a better hang of everything, I think I'll be oh kay.
So, here's to an end and a beginning. *raises glass* Goodbye Summer, hello Life.
My hair is so freaking long now. I'm very tempted to get it cut, but I'm resisting that temptation because I know it will just grow out to be this long by the time classes start up again. Now that I'm earning my own money, I'm beginning to realize why cutting back on "unnecessary expenses" is very, very necessary.
I asked Beth why my hair was growing so fast in such a short amount of time, and she suggested that my birth control pills could be responsible. I'm happy that the pills are helping the pain from my Endometriosis, but I wish some of the side effects could be a little less severe. I've noticed my hair growth rate increasing, weight loss and feelings of horrible nausea early in the morning. The nausea only lasts for about an hour, but the sick feeling is still something I've come to dread. I always try to sleep through it, rather than wake up and sit through it alone.
The hair growth and weight loss are side effects that I've come to deal with, and I don't really mind them. Ever since I switched from the first birth control pills I was on to the brand I take now, I've been much happier and a lot more energetic. (At least, that's what Mom tells me every time she sees me when I go to my parents' house.) The weight loss is something that Shawn's been worrying about lately, but I'm trying to make sure that it doesn't get serious in any way. I don't like it that he has to worry about me in that way.
A little over two years ago, I went through a major life change that affected the way I live-- mentally and physically. I'm not going to go into too many details right now, because I plan on writing a post dedicated to staying healthy in the future. My little "life story" kind of goes along with that post. For now though, I'll just say that a lot has changed in the past two years. I was never "bigger" in any sense, but I did have a little extra weight that was unhealthy for me in an emotional way. I wasn't happy with who I was and I couldn't grasp that fact at the time. After realizing that I needed to make a drastic move, the new, healthy part of me started to slowly take its rightful place in my life. I went from weighing 128 pounds to weighing 104 pounds. The loss of weight was slow, so in no way did I just drop the pounds.
The weight loss was completely unintentional. I never thought I was fat, but now that I look back at those days, I realize that I just wasn't the best person I could have been-- I wasn't happy with who I was, which makes me think I was "fat" with unhappiness. Now that I don't eat greasy or fast food like I did before, and now that I watch what kind of meat I eat, I feel fresh and clean all the time. When I first started taking the birth control pills, my doctor warned me that there was a chance that I'd either gain or lose a few pounds, which made me feel uneasy. The very idea that I would be changing who I was, yet again, just didn't sit well with me, especially since it didn't seem like I'd have control over my own body. After seeing that I have control over how I feel now, I don't feel as threatened by the pills. If anything, I feel more in charge. And I'm definitely in less pain!
Another factor that may be weighing in *chuckle* is the amount of work I've been putting into my life. Never have I been so adament at making sure that I'm kept busy during, what used to be, a vacation time. I grew up spoiled with the idea that Summer break means lazying around the house all day, but now that I actually have life goals for myself, I want to make the best of my time by working towards something I love. Knowing that I get to help maintain an amazing blogging site every day makes me so proud. I'm proud because I finally have a job that I enjoy doing, and I get to use my experiences here to throw myself even further into the adult world-- along with the dream of someday having my own life with Shawn. My future with him is what's keeping me going right now. He gives me reason to want to do well.
That's why I owe a lot to Shawn right now. I recently found out that I will be an official Six Apart employee who works full-time! I've been taking on more and more responsibilities with Vox ever since I started, and even though everything with my job has seemed to go extremely fast, I'm happy to know that I get to incorporate myself even more into the blogging network through such a great company. It's nice knowing that what I'm giving to my team and to Voxers really matters and makes a difference. My main objective right now is to get through the school year and then, hopefully, go full-time for good. (I'll have to cut back on some hours when classes start up, but I still plan on trying to maintain a regular work schedule.)
Knowing that I'm working hard has made me smile more than anyone can imagine, and it's made Beth, Shawn and Mom even more proud of me. That's something that means more to me than... anything. Life is good right now-- busy, but oh-so-good.
I wasn't planning on making another post until my Kawaii event, but as it turns out, the "secret packages" that are on their way to me are taking longer than expected. They should all be here within the next few days. I didn't want to fall out of my good routine of posting, so here I am!
I've learned my lesson. I already knew that I wasn't a person who loved to socialize in big groups, but for some reason, I sometimes try too hard to make other people happy... which leads me to do things I know I'm uncomfortable with.
Shawn and I have been dating for almost five years now, and he's sacrificed a lot for me, including time he could spend with other people. Because of this, I've been trying to balance our time alone and the time we spend with other people. We both easily get annoyed with most people (it's true), but he's trying really hard to fit in and do well at his internship-- so part of this means socializing with other interns. Unfortunately, the other interns are party people. They love to go out every night, whether it's a work night or a Friday night, and they love to come back absolutely smashed. Shawn and I just aren't into this scene. I think part of Shawn wants to be, only because he feels left out when the others go out and we stay in. I'm a very introverted person, so the idea of going out with a huge group of mostly drunk people just isn't appealing to me, however, making Shawn happy with his job and his friends means a lot to me. I want him to be happy and to feel comfortable around those he has to work with on a daily basis. Basically, for the past three weeks, I've been trying to sacrifice more of my time to give a little more to our relationship. Plus, that gives me more excuses to spend time with him, even if that means having other people around.
Week 1: There's a nice volleyball court right on campus, so the interns like to go out and play every now and then. I really love playing volleyball, and I know Shawn does, too, so we've joined them a couple of times. Since I hadn't played volleyball in a few years, and because I was no longer up against scrawny high school kids, I wasn't used to the amount of force that goes into hitting and bumping the ball. Before I knew it, my arms were sore, bruised, full of broken blood vessels, and almost unusable. I stayed there, playing, because I'm used to getting a little sore in sports. Sometimes it just takes a few bruises to have some fun, and I don't mind a little pain once in a while-- after all, I was getting exercise. My arms were like that for the rest of the week.
Week 2: I guess I didn't take the hint from the previous week. My arms had actually healed by the next Sunday, so Shawn, his roommate, Nick, and I went to do some simple practice bumps outside-- no harm done. This other guy decided to bust out of nowhere and ask if he could play with us. Because we had four people, we figured we would be able to play a small game instead of practicing. After about an hour of playing, I checked my arms to make sure they weren't too beaten up this time. That's when I noticed how something with my hand looked out of place. My knuckle and wrist areas on my right hand was completely swollen and a bone looked twisted in an unnatural way. I immediately called Mom to see what I should do. (Having both parents in the medical field is extremely helpful at times.) Within the next half hour, I was at the Emergency Room at the local hospital getting X-rays and getting a splint put onto my hand. The doctor said I hadn't dislocated or fractured my finger/hand, but it was probably sprained. I ended up taking two days off of work (since I couldn't type) to let my hand heal, and I felt bad about leaving my team with extra work, so I took off my splint two days early. It's healed pretty well since then!
Week 3: Even though Shawn and I had been out with his friends playing volleyball, he still felt a little left out when it came to the weekends-- when all of the interns head out to the bars. I told him I'd go along and hang out with them (since he's always done that for me when I'm with my friends in the past) when they went out on Saturday. I never go outside of what I feel comfortable with as far as alcohol goes, so I only had a little drink after we ate at a restaurant. The night pretty much included: waiting for over an hour for a taxi to pick us up, eating a dinner when I was already too full, going to a bar to watch the interns play drinking games, a boat ride on a polluted river, and then randomly stopping into a club. Finally, we were able to do what I wanted to do: go home and rest. About and hour after Shawn and I went to sleep, we found out we had food poisoning. We were sick for the rest of the night and morning. It was one of the worst nights I've ever had.
I've learned my lesson. As much as I like to make Shawn happy, I'll just let him do his own thing on his own time, and I can join him when I know we'll have fun in a type of way that I'm comfortable with. I've known for years that I'm not a party girl. I love my time spent inside, on the computer, reading a book, watching a movie, or just... relaxing. Going out for a bunch of drinks to the point where I won't remember what happened the previous night just isn't me. Even though I always stayed within my own personal limitations and tried to have fun in a more sociable way, I realized that I'm so much more content not doing any of that stuff at all. I love the quiet and the simple.
Since my three weeks of revelation, I've been taking every day as easy as possible. I fell back into playing Maple Story, which I've come to rely on yet again for relaxation. I've been buying new little outfits for Roonies, which you can see throughout this post. She also has a new friend-- her pet yeti! I've named him Meep (a word that I fell in love with because of my friend, Misty), and he's pretty awesome to have around to train. One night, after playing Maple Story, Beth and I were too awake to go to bed. We stayed up to six in the morning, talking about how we weren't happy with our living situation. The people (mostly students) in our apartment are too obnoxious, and we've been harassed with people ringing our doorbell while we sleep. We're tired of the immature people on campus, so we've decided to look for another building in the area instead. The location may not be as ideal, but we'll be happier in a quieter place with a little more room than this building provides us. We started our apartment hunting today, and we already have a person interested in subleasing the apartment we live in right now.As if that didn't make life a little more complicated, I just found out that I'll be taking on more hours for work. My schedule will be changing, and I'm looking into going full-time for the rest of vacation. Even what I'll be doing for work will be changing in extreme ways, so I'm a little anxious to see how the next few weeks go with possibly moving and more work.
I feel like such an adult.
The lies. I would like to take a little time in this entry to clear something up. A friend of mine recently notified me that a MySpace (gross) page was put up using pictures of me in it. False information was used, and the user did not have permission to use my own photographs or to pose as me. When clicking on some of the photographs, porn sites were brought up. Let me say this now: I was in no way affiliated with that MySpace page, so don't hold anything you see that's not in my Vox against me! I've had people steal my photographs and samples of my writing in the past and claim it as their own. I'm never happy when this happens, but putting my work up for public viewing is always a risk-- one that I'm willing to take. If you ever stumbles across work of mine (or anyone else's), always inform the rightful owner.
The transition. Whenever summer vacation rolls around, I tend to go through a transition of three: physically, mentally and emotionally. All three types of transition usually revolve around my relationship with Shawn, mostly because our schedules change radically within a very short period of time. About three weeks ago, I helped Shawn move into the my university's dorms. As luck would have it, Kohl's decided to be even more kickass and give Shawn housing right down the street from my apartment. Not only do I get to see Shawn more often, but I get to go over to his place whenever I want. The first week went by fine, but then I started to notice I was hearing from Shawn a little less I usually do. I'm normally just fine with that, but with my daily routine with sleep and work, I noticed that my goal for the day was to get through everything so I could reward myself with a little Shawn time. The problem with my "need" is that Shawn was starting to adjust to his own new life at the dorms-- meaning new friends, new social life, new routine.
At 7 in the morning, I finally got a text from Shawn asking what was up. He, of course, had been sleeping at his new place. Apparently, the connection between cell phones is just bad in his huge building sometimes. He immediately came over, and since then, I've been able to keep myself calm and collected. That kind of small breakdown happens every year around this time for me. It's a scary experience that I hate going through, but my mind and body has never dealt well with change in any way.
The girl crush weirdness. Speaking of dorm life, I've had some pretty interesting experiences at Shawn's place. The girl interns he works and lives with have crushes on me, which I'm not quite sure how to take. (It's all in good fun, but this sort of thing usually happens to Beth, not me!) Since they met me, they've been asking and talking about me with each other and with Shawn. I've never had this happen before, but I think it's really funny. I didn't believe Shawn at first when he told me that two girls in particular are obsessed with me. Then, just last night, both girls blatantly told me: "We have girl crushes on you. No, seriously, we talk about you all the time." We all laughed it off, but then I started to think about the past few days I had been there. They would crash into the room, completely wasted (of course), and come up to my face and talk directly to me. Oh, dear god. Shawn thinks it's hilarious, and I'm completely bewildered. I tend to smile and nod whenever they're around because I honestly don't know what to say.
If anyone is interested in having a Moo card of mine, just let me know by leaving a comment in this entry with your email address and the Moo card you're interested in having. I have a limited amount of each, but I thought it would be fun to give a few away to my Vox friends, since you're the ones who inspire me to keep writing and Voxing!
I have to share this with all of you Voxers, because I am just bubbling with happiness. There's some big news in my life right now and it's all good. In fact, it's so good that I finally feel like I'm going to be doing something meaningful with my life, something that I'm proud of and that I love doing. After a few grueling weeks of waiting, I just discovered that, yes, I will be working for our very own Vox.
About two months ago, the Vox team put a wanted ad up for the position of a Junior Support Adminstrator here at Six Apart's Vox website. I've always wanted to somehow get involved with Six Apart, but every position that I could think of sounded technical-- and only technical. I knew I wasn't cut out for a job where I couldn't expand what I do best: I write. Then the ad was posted and I knew I had a chance at getting a job that was meant for me. So, at 2 a.m. (when I first saw the post), I booted up Kathleen's laptop at my parents' house, and I wrote out an entire cover letter for an application. The next morning, I woke up, took a shower, and then sat down in front of the computer, determined to write out the rest of my resume. It felt so good to be excited about something work-related. That's almost a never with me.
After double and then triple checking my entire application, I sent it all in. I waited a few days after getting an automated "please be patient" response. After about a week or so, I received an email asking for a sample piece of my writing. A day later, I sent in a sample piece, pleased with how it turned out. I had to wait another few days (weeks?) for a response, but sure enough, I received one. There were a couple of weeks of emails being sent back and forth between Kristine, a member of the Vox team, and me, and after a final phone conversation with Kristine and Brenda just a few minutes ago, they excitedly told me that I was being offered the position! I immediately said yes (with probably a little too much eagerness), and that's that. Later this month, after my exams are finished, I shall be starting my brand new job as a Six Apart employee.
I'm all smiles right now.
My job, from what I understand, will consist of working with a few members of the Vox team every day. I will be using my writing skills to provide Vox with news, new information for the database, responding to feedback, and many more tasks. I know that I won't get the total feel of what I'll really be doing until I actually start the job at the end of May, but that's a little summary of what my life will consist of.
I'd like to say that my new job is the only good news, but wait, there's even more to come. When I heard about the open position, I had a brainstorm. I've been going to school as an English major, but a few weeks ago, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my writing skills. I knew I didn't want to become a teacher, but I had no idea what other kind of job opportunities there were for after I graduate. I did a little research, and I discovered that the emphasis of Professional and Technical Writing is offered at my university. Perfect! I went to my advisor and finally declared my English major with my emphasis. Life as I know it is set for the time being. The new job at Six Apart will not only give me great experience in the field I'm going into, but it's a dream job for me. With my major, I can go into web design, copywriting and publishing-- or all of the above. The possibilities are literally endless.
Speaking of jobs... There's even more good news. Just last week, Shawn disovered that he had received an internship at Kohl's Department Store-- something to do with computers and programming. (I guess that would make sense since he's a Computer Science major, tee hee.) Not only will the pay be much better than the icky job he was (yes, was) working at, but Kohl's is a major corporation that will, hopefully, give him a job after he graduates in about a year. After hearing that awesome piece of news, Kohl's called him again a few days later to let him know that the company wants to give (yes, give) him an apartment while he's an intern there. He'll finally be able to move out of his house and into a place with some privacy-- and quietness. Everything that Shawn is receiving is a huge blessing, not only for him, but for me as well. After all the hard work Shawn has put into school and the hours he's put into that crappy job, he is being given something special. I couldn't be happier for and more proud of Shawn. I feel like Shawn and I have part of our future ready for us to fall into and then take on as our own. We can do this. I know it.
I think the best part about Shawn's new apartment is the fact that it will be right down the street from my apartment. Who would have guessed that Kohl's would pick a place right on my own campus? Shawn doesn't even go to school here, but we'll be able to see each other within a few minutes of walking.
So, to wrap this entry up, I just wanted to say how thankful I am for the opportunity to give something back to all of you Voxers-- and to Six Apart. Being able to work for a place that I love and have come to consider a virtual home really makes life feel worth it... times a million.
I work for Six Apart. I work for Six Apart? I work for Six Apart!
Don't tell Mom, but the kids are finally growing up.
