This Could Be Life Changing

I've kept this under wraps, but I applied for a job, as I have been for over a year now. And I finally got a call. And it wasn't a rejection! Woohooo! At first I had no idea who the lady was or what she was calling in reference to. I had to go back to my emails and see where I had applied to and what matched up with the voicemail. It turns out that I applied for a Milieu Counselor job. Today, I went to the interview. It is in a gated community so I had to ask the security guard to let me in and I had to ask for directions because I've never been on the campus before. He directed me the best he could and wished me luck. I pulled up to the building with the columns as he had described and called Chancho. I was nervous as all hell. I sat in the car in my newly purchased suit (from Chancho. Thanks babe!) and called Chancho for a few last minute words of encouragement. He told me I'd be fine and to get my butt in there. It would look good if I was early. As I was hanging up I heard a chorus of "Good Luck" in the background. He had told everyone in his office that I was going on an interview and they were wishing me luck. It made me smile as I left the car in search for where I was supposed to be. I walked up to a set of doors and they said to use the front entrance. I would if I knew where the front entrance was! So I went across to another set of doors. Same sign. I stood for a minute looking around feeling like an idiot and then walked out to a parking lot and turned to find huge ass green doors. Third times a charm, it was the front entrance. The lady behind the desk had me fill out another application, which I did the best with because I couldn't remember all of the addresses and phone numbers for everything, but whatever.
Then I had my interview. The lady was unbelievably nice. She was so laid back and did a ton of talking. She explained that I would be working with kids ranging from ages 7 to 20 years old that have been taken out of their homes because their home life was unfit or their parents abused them or there was substance abuse involved or some other traumatic experience that required them to leave their home. I would be in charge of a cottage on campus (there are 12 total) and in one cottage there are 16 kids. I wouldn't be working full time or part time, just on call as they need me. For now anyways because I don't have any experience. So this is me getting my feet wet. She encourages open communication so if I go home the first day crying, she wants to know. Before I can start, I need to go through all the necessary background checks, fingerprinting and drug tests. Then I need to complete a Therapeutic Crisis Intervention class that is 4 days long.
I am not going to lie, but I am nervous about starting this job. I'm nervous because I obviously don't have any experience in this field other than the classes that I've taken in school and that isn't nearly enough to prepare me for what I have in store, but I do know that I want to help these kids. I know that it can be a very rewarding opportunity for me. Am I scared for what's to come? Hell yes I am. Am I excited? Beyond excited. I am ready to see what I am capable of and what else is out there beyond retail.
I was explaining to my mother today about what this job and what is expected of me and unfortunately, I didn't get any support from her. In fact, it was all negative responses. Not one good thing came out of her mouth. I should have expected that from her as she is a hard, honest, cold, person, but I did want some sort of encouragement. I guess that is why I have loving friends and a wonderful boyfriend to say all of those things I need to hear. I can't let her negativity get in the way of what I feel is right for me at this time. Even if it isn't and I wind up deciding after a week that I am not fit for it, then I know. I tried and gave it my best. I can put it on my resume and look towards other things. But for now, this is what I want and I'm going in head first.
TG and Chancho took me out to Olive Garden tonight to celebrate. It was a great night involving wayyyy too much eating.
Quote of the Day: "Never dwell on the past & don’t allow the future to scare u, because it will crush the happiness of your present."

False Alarm

That phone call from the unknown number....NOT from the company I wanted. It was a wrong number. The phone call that I was shaking over, biting my nails, going crazy over? Yeah, that one, it never came. They stood me up. I attempted to contact them, but it was just a recording and I needed an extension to leave a message. I never got an extension. Therefore, I sent out an email. I'm not sure if it's going to get to where it's supposed to go, but hopefully it does.
I'm really bummed out. I was overly excited and ready for this. I thought I had this job already and that was probably my problem in the first place. I always jump before I take a step and get thoughts in my head that shouldn't even be there. I took a nap, ate dinner and then went for ice cream to soothe my disappointment. Tomorrow is a new day and maybe there'll be something better out there for me. Even if there isn't something tomorrow, it will come with due time. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Quote of the Day: "Rejection is a word, fear of rejection is a feeling, overcoming fear of rejection is an action, and actions speak louder than words."
Listening to:  "Crazy Dreams" by Carrie Underwood

Back to the Grind

Chancho is officially back to work today. So here starts the never seeing one another phase. I must admit I was spoiled for the week we spent together, but isn't that how it always goes? I am working mornings and he is working nights = just missing each other.

Anyways, I got a lovely text from him today informing me he made it safely to work on his motorcycle, (I get nervous when he rides it into work) but included in this text was some good news and bad news. The good news was that he got a certificate from the police commissioner for never being sick for one full year. The bad news, he got a command discipline. (His first in 3 years) It turns out that when he worked a shift for a marathon he was told to wear a traffic vest. Little did he know that they were issued a new one two months prior. End result, he wore the wrong one, which looks different and now he's got a CD. Grrrrr More good news though, his captain seems to like him more than other officers and instead of taking away precious vacation time he only gave him a warning and admonished. Phew! I would have been pretty ticked if he got vacation taken away due to a lousy vest. I don't really understand how that system works. Chancho states that he wasn't aware of this "new vest" change. How can he not know that there was a change in uniform? Isn't there some sort of precinct memo that goes around? I mean it could be a possibility that he just ignored it or missed it because he never has the need to wear a traffic vest, but still to lose a vacation day over a vest seems a bit harsh. Who knew they even enforced something like that. To me, I think they would have better things to enforce.

Enough about vests, a little venting needs to be done on the job search. A quick background, I recently graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice, minor Sociology. Therefore I have a wide variety of options to choose from in the job field, but that also makes it tough to narrow it down to what exactly I want to do. I've been searching company sites, job search sites, government sites, city and county sites, and have yet to find anything available to me. I can't even find a civil service exam that I could qualify for or am interested in. I am becoming very discouraged and frustrated. I have been told numerous times that I just need to be patient and something will come my way. Patience is not a strong point for me, I guess this will be good practice. Hopefully I won't be practicing for too long!

Listening to: If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback