The Ghost of Life Presently

So, my present. This is actually a good day to write this because I am slightly annoyed about today.

When I first came up to Tennessee, I spent a couple of weeks in mourning in bed. I had no desire to do anything. And then I had to pay bills and was left with $25 in the bank. So I got it together and started applying for jobs.

A couple of weeks later, I was hired as a seasonal associate at Bath and Body Works. Not my ideal choice, since I haven't had the greatest experience with retail, but it was a paycheck. I guess I did ok because I have been asked to stay on as a core associate. This store is one of the busiest in the nation and they hired 100 extra people for Christmas, and only 10 get to stay, so I am pretty glad. It really is an alright place to be. Its funny, almost all of the employees are very precious and sweet and Emily-like, which is not me. As a tip, the new Bali Mango lotion is AMAZING. :)

A couple of weeks after that, I got two job offers to choose from. The first was a partial-year secretarial position in the human resources department at Dollywood. The office staff was super nice and loved hearing about Haiti. Then, I was offered a position as the Education Director at the Boys and Girls Club in a neighboring town. I went back and forth, but ultimately decided to stick with what I know and take the job at the Club. I am very glad I did.

I am slightly annoyed with it today, however. When school is closed, we are open full days. And there have been LOTS of inclement weather days. Everyone says winter isn't usually like this, but I don't believe it. IT IS MISERABLE. This morning, I got a call from my boss telling me that school was closed. IT IS NOT EVEN SNOWING AT ALL. IT IS SUNNY OUTSIDE. Blerg. Winter break this year lasted 21 days with all the cancellations, so we had lots of long days.

Working at the Club has been interesting. Definitely a different demographic than my private school kids. :) The last Ed Director was an older guy who let the kids pretty much do whatever they wanted, which is not me. So I have had some issues with kids resisting my authority. But I've managed to win almost all of them over. Every day with each age group, I do a read-aloud (its funny, the kids always groan when I pull out the book, but by the end of the first page they are HOOKED) and some kind of educational activity. I also have my room open for the first couple of hours for homework help and computer skills time. So for all who accuse the Club of just being babysitting, it isn't. I am really growing to appreciate this organization. It is a bit overwhelming to know that I spend more time with these kids each day than their parents, and I don't take that responsibility lightly.

Between the two jobs, I usually work 7 days a week. It is pretty exhausting, but its good. I feel blessed that I was able to relatively quickly find good sources of income.

The only catch is that I don't really have any friends. I genuinely like the people I work with, but haven't really spent any time with anyone outside of work. Angie Shaffer is here, but with our schedules we rarely see each other. So I spend my time hanging out with the folks and the dogs. Which is ok. I am trying to look at this time as a time of quiet and peace for my soul.

Next post: to the future!