Monday, June 19, 2006

VH1 Vacation

Ok, spammers have driven me to the limit. Sorry, but I had to turn on the word verifier. I'll talk about that nasty comment in my next post. On to my vacation:

I had the most uneventful vacation ever. I did nothing but eat, sleep, watch TV, read and shop. It was nice, but I don't feel like I've accomplished anything. I hate that feeling.

As you probably know, I had absolutely no business shopping.

Which means I absolutely had to shop. I hadn't gone shopping in at least 4 months. Apparently, I cannot do cold turkey or else I have a relapse:

7 tshirts
2 pairs of shoes
1 new straw purse
1 pair of earrings
$40 worth of Bath & Body Works stuff (stupid semi-annual sale!)
$40 worth of Clinique (I was out of necessities! Really!)
1 new lipgloss (because 52 aren't enough)
3 candles from Yankee candle (I got Greenhouse. It smells freakin' awesome. Like plants. I love planty smells.)

Now, to my credit, some of this stuff were replacements. Some of my tshirts were ancient (as in, 1996 ancient), my old straw purse unraveled and I had some shoes that were falling apart. So not all of this was rampant, credit-abusing shopping.

And you know you are due for shopping when you intentionally throw away all the receipts because you are thinking, "Dammit, I am not having buyer's remorse on any of this! I'm not going to return this stuff because I don't want to. And that's that!"

I need help.

I managed to develop a serious addiction to VH1 over vacation. I think I've seen every episode of VH1 All Access. And this season's Hogan Knows Best. (Does anyone else love that show?) What I want to know is, what happened to Behind the Music? That was a great show. I miss it.

Other than that, I did a little cooking. I took a nap with Sammy every day. I went to the gym. I hung out with Repo, Brunette and K. I went out to dinner a few times. Navy Guy's deployment was delayed a week and so he came into town this weekend and went out to dinner last night with me, K and Repo. Other than that, my vacay was a big yawn.

Repo is good. It's going well. He actually turned to me the other day and said, "You've been doing a lot for me lately. I need to do something for you. How about I take you out to dinner?" [Insert shock and awe here.] I swear the man can read my mind. Last night we had so much fun. We drove all over town, drinking milkshakes and looking at cars. (He's looking to buy a new-ish car soon.) Then he took me over to where his house is. He owns it, but he rents it out so he can make extra money on the side. He's so good with money. Stuff like that wouldn't even occur to me. And even if it did, I'd probably mess it up. But it was nice to finally see something that I keep hearing about. His house is so cute.

Re: The job fair. On a whim, I checked out the teacher's job fair. It was pretty frustrating. First of all, there were about 9.4 million people crammed into a building meant to only hold about 1 million people. So it was really hot and stuffy. Then no one would give me the time of day because I'm not certified. One lady actually handed back my resume! I couldn't believe it. It was very discouraging to look at the instructions for how to get certified. It's a 3 year process, involving courses which I'd have to pay for all by myself. On top of taking about a $5,000 paycut. How do people do this??? I mean, are they kidding? After looking at the payscales and certification process, I thought, "I'm sorry, but you have to convince me to quit my current job!" And I left soon after.

I was very discouraged and feeling unsure of myself and depressed about my career path. I went to Repo's house where he let me cry on his shoulder. He gave me a pep talk. I felt better. Boyfriend points scored: 20

So I went to the library to get some books which I'm hoping will help me out. My favorite one is entitled something along the lines of, "I don't know what I want to do, but I know it's not THIS." (I'm reading that one first.)

But before I could check anything out, I had to pay my library fines: $20.40. How humiliating: the librarian with an outrageous library fine.

Speaking of the library...I applied for a (much needed) part-time job at the local public library. The manager is a very cool lady who adores me. Now, considering that I used to work for this library, and left on good terms, you'd think I would have an easy time getting a job there. Well, apparently not. The job has been posted and re-posted and even advertised in the newspaper, and I haven't gotten so much as a phone call. Just a postcard confirming the receipt of my application. I'm puzzled. Any theories?

6 comments:

Modigliani said...

That sucks about the job fair. Getting a teaching job is a pain in the a$$ and a half! You have to jump through a million hoops, and then scale walls and hop hurdles. It's insane! (You can thank George Bush and No Child Left Behind for that one!)

But, if you really want to teach without being certified, there are options.

Try "Teach for America". Google them. If you've got a college degree in any discipline and want to give teaching a try, they'll give you an emergency certificate and place you at a school in desperate need of teachers. It's typically a one or two year commitment. Mind you, this will be inner city, working with kids in desperate need of good teachers. But, hey, it's a start!

With that in mind, you could also do Peace Corps. But that would mean teaching in a 3rd world country or something!

Lastly you could go the private/religious school route. But they pay for serious shit! Might as well work at starbucks at that point.

Good luck finding your way in the career world, VB! I think it's a lifelong struggle for all of us!

Stuck said...

You are officially not allowed to complain about being broke anymore. You can't talk about your shopping spree in one breath and complain about lack of money in the next. :p

Vixen said...

Good luck in your quest!

Gypsy said...

After being unemployed or underemployed for a year, my theory is that job searching sucks and hiring managers are from the devil. But keep trying!

Virginia Belle said...

mo-- i know! tell me about it. it is ridiculous. see, i used to teach pre-no child left behind. but actually, it was kinda the same idea. really, anyone who wasn't an ed major is going to be in the same boat as i am. i don't really mind going back to school(i am a big dork!). my beef lies with the pay. who can afford to do this on their own?? i hate to say it, but it's only possible if you are married. to a guy who makes decent bank. that is really sad. here we are in the 21st century and women are still (sometimes) dependent on men. i love the theory behind teach for america. but i really don't want to move. but maybe i should look into it anyway...and yeah, private schools don't pay squat. as far as 3rd world countries go....um, not really my scene.

stuckey-- yes, i realize how ridiculous i am. go ahead, say it: women are crazy. i know you wanna say it. but i'm going to just take some $ out of savings and then pay myself back whenever i get a pt job. and yes, i will TOO pay it back!!!

miss fire-- it is so nice to have company in this misery. i don't know who is responsible for that stupid law, but it's really naieve. i wish they would repeal it. it's based on the notion that every kid is uber-smart. ummm...that's just wishful thinking. don't get me started.

vixen & gypsy-- thanks guys. i can always count on you for moral support!

Stuck said...

Women are crazy.