Craziness and Other News...

There have been a lot of interesting things going on in my crazy little world!

I might be on the news today! NBC did an interview with my boss today, Congressman Payne, and taped Charles and me answering phone calls from constituents regarding the bailout bill. So watch NBC and their affiliates all over the globe today from 4-7pm.

Anyway, I've come to the realization that higher education administration is where I really want to be. Although I love to read and talka bout what I read, I don't know if being a professor is the right fit. I always imagined moving up to department chair as fast as I could anyway, ergo administration.

Two weeks ago, I spent the better part of a week flooding the human resource departments of the local universities with my resume for any job I was remotely qualified for, knowing that I would at least get an admin (receptionist/office manager) position I could use as a starting point, but hoping for something in Student Affairs. I got a response right away with interviews for three admin positions, one in student union, and one in housing.

The student union position at American was my first choice. I felt really good after my second interview and knew there would only be one reason why I wouldn't get the position: if someone was simply more qualified in terms of experience.

Well, that's what happened.

They offered the position to someone else but were so apologetic because they really liked me and said I was so polished in my interview. They wished they had the funding to create a position for me! They asked if I was applying to other positions at American or GW where they all either worked or went to school and I said I was. I have a second interview for a Residential Education Coordinator position at American on Thursday. They asked who I was interviewing with and told me they'd speak to them and recommend me for the position. They also recommended other positions I would be suited for at American and GW.

During this time, I was offered an admin position at Marymount University, which I denied because it would have been an inconvenient commute, but good if I absolutely needed something. I also was interviewed for an admin position at GW, which I thought I was offered but apparently, I misunderstood because when I called today to accept, they were still doing interviews and I'll know in a week.

So now, I don't have a backup job, but I do still have two potential jobs (admin at GW and housing at American), and I made a good connection at American.

Today was my last day on the hill, so I'm kind of in limbo and apparently still waiting for an actual offer.

Wish me luck as I continue my search!

Job News

First of all, I just want to let you all know it's less than 60 degrees and I am wearing fuzzy socks and a sweater!

Anyway, I have applied to 242 jobs since we moved here in March. I started applying in April after a company, "Vandover", built my resume. Turns out that resume sucked. After landing this awesome internship through connections in Ryan's family, my colleague and hill mentor, Stephanie, pointed out that my resume was crappy and way too long and helped me create the beautiful resume I have been using since July. I've applied to dozens of jobs on the hill with one unsuccessful interview and a handful of rejections. I learned that the job I was interviewed for received 200 applications and realized that to get a job in DC, you really have to put yourself out there. So, while continuing to apply to hill jobs (because it's fun, interesting, educational, and good research/writing experience) I flooded the nearby universities with applications, literally applying to over 100 jobs in the last week. While I do feel I am overqualified for some of the positions, I realize that in this current economy, it's a blessing to have anything at all and a huge added bonus if it has benefits. With my student loans going out of deferment in November and December, I need a job that will allow me to pay the $550 a month bill without destroying Ryan's savings account (we do plan on marrying and purchasing a home one day, so we kind of need that!).

My HR flood project garnered immediate results. I was called Monday morning from an application I submitted on Sunday. I interviewed today at Marymount University and was offered an Admin Assistant position immediately. I didn't accept it yet because I left the interview, walked to the car, and did a phone interview with American University for a Facilities Coordinator Position in their Student Activities Center. (For those of you at CSUSB, I'd be like Misty in our Student Union.) It would be a better job, my qualifications would matter more, and it will pay better. At the end of the phone interview, I was asked to come back for an interview with the search committee next week. Plus, American is only 15 minutes from our apartment.

On my way home from the interview, I got a call for an admin position at George Washington U for their business school. Next week I will also interview for an admin position at Georgetown for their evening MBA program and a Student Housing position at American. I'm grateful for the offer from Marymount, it's a decent fallback and I could earn a free second Master's in literature there. The other universities also offer the same medical/dental/metro but also offer literature MA's (American, Georgetown, George Washington), Higher Education Administration MA's (George Washington (which Ryan pictures me getting)) or literature PhD's (George Washington) for me, or MBA's (Georgetown, George Washington, American ) for Ryan, plus they're all closer to where we currently live and have wider known names, which looks good on our applications for future employment and education. So, I guess I'll have to see how next week goes. If I get any other offers, I will probably take them over the Marymount job, but I am so grateful to finally have something after all of resumes I've submitted all over the DC metro area!

I think the positions at American would be the most fun for now and the most like what I was doing at CSUSB, but the George Washington jobs could benefit us the most educationally. I guess I'll wait and see what they offer!

White House Event!

This morning I was able to attend a Welcoming Ceremony on the White House lawn for the President of Ghana and his wife! Although I personally am not a fan of our President it was still pretty amazing to be at the White House for something other than a tour, which I actually have not done, so this was my first time there. I attended with one of my colleagues, Antonina. We arrived with basic tickets and we weren't early so our view was going to suck. We weren't going to be able to see the Presidents until the made a lap around the lawn. We were taking pictures when one of the White House staffers pulled us into the gold ticket section! Suddenly, we were only five standing rows from the red carpet and the podium where they were going to deliver their speeches! We were directly across from Cheney and Condi and were able to see the red carpet proceedings very easily! Most of my pictures were taken with my arm raised so they are not centered and I had to delete about 40 of balding heads, but I think they're good for the most part! It was a great experience!

Six Months

Six months ago today, we moved to Maryland! We can't believe it's been a half a year already. We look back on that time as one of the craziest in our life. Only 5 weeks passed from the time Ryan got a call to interview for a job he didn't even apply for all of the way in DC and the week we moved to Maryland and he began his job. It has been tough at times; we've both experienced homesickness and frustration over a variety of things, but ultimately, we still can't believe we're here and we look forward to every adventure we have experienced since the big adventure of relocating! Although there are many things we miss, in many ways this is beginning to feel like home. We love this first apartment we found and will be sad to say goodbye to it when we move to something bigger in six months; we love our neighborhood, it's interesting to have the urban experience (for example, the fire alarm going off in the building at 5am this Saturday morning, forcing us to evacuate for no reason) in a suburban setting, and everything we need is right on the pike; we love being so close to downtown because there's always something fun to do in the city; we love knowing that we live in a place our friends and family want to visit and we are looking forward to all of the visits coming up in the next few months; and, we love having a never-ending list of things to do here and nearby (like going to the zoo tomorrow and a festival in Adams Morgan). Today we looked into buying bikes because there are tons of bike trails around our area and biking makes many things more convenient, including giving us more options for places to live and we talked about taking a weekend trip to Ocean City next weekend so we can experience the Atlantic Ocean before the summer comes to an end. We're looking forward to the crisp autumn weather and all of the festivals and yummy fall food that will accompany it.

Our vacation to California earlier this month was amazing. It was exactly what we needed to hold off our homesickness til December, when we know we'll be looking forward to an escape from the cold! We spent the first week hanging out with our amazing friends at the beach house in Newport, taking in tons of sun, surf, and lobster burritos at Sharkeez. The second week, we spent time with our families at home and did some of our favorite local things, like eat Wabi Sabi, In N Out, Yard House, and Buffalo Wild Wings, spend the day at Glen Ivy, go to a softball game, go to the LA County Fair, and hang out with old friends.

Here's a slide show of pics from our fabulous vacation!

Has anyone noticed...

Our ticker on the side of the page? Every time I look at it I smile... it's a little white guy and a little black girl! I didn't design it that way, it's how it came! So cute! The numbers below it are the best part! I still can't believe we're counting down to six years! Wow!

Our vacation has been amazing! We can't believe it's over tomorrow! Sadness!! We'll probably get to that post on Monday with photos included!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!