Vivint and Martha

It is wonderful when the fates align just so to make something happen. For awhile now both Tony and I have been thinking it's time for a change with his job. The people at his company were not really treating their employees like they should. After a failed attempt at a management position and pay cut after pay cut, we decided it was definitely time for a change. On a bit of a whim, we spent some time one evening looking for available positions at other companies. We decided to look at vivint.com because we heard they are a really great company to work for. Tony applied for three positions, and received an email regarding one of them a few days later. Tony emailed back over Thanksgiving break, and got a call on Monday. The interviewer said he would call him back if he wanted an interview. Less than half a hour later (yes just half a little hour), the man called back and said he wanted an interview.

Tony went in today at 12 pm for a job interview, and came out about an hour later with a job. He put in his two week notice at his current job today and they told him since tomorrow was the end of the pay period he could just stop working then. They said they would mark that he had given his two weeks notice and note that he was rehire-able.

He starts his new job on Monday. I am so thankful for this opportunity for a change. I think it will be good for us both. Tony deserves to work in an environment where he is treated well and valued as an employee. Even if they pay is a little less it is totally worth it, and I am excited for this new chapter in our lives.

And for the Martha part, as most of you know I teach an arts & crafts class at an elementary school after school program. I have done this pretty regularly for the past few years, and after awhile the ideas start to run dry. This semester has been particularly difficult because our focus is "Go Green" crafts. Let me tell you that there are only so many projects you can do with egg cartons, newspaper, and paper plates. I was looking for a Christmas craft and came across this site. I was particularly excited about the magazine Christmas trees, and I was so excited to use the idea for class that I made a sample one with the only magazine I could find in the house...thank you State Department internship guide.

I can't wait til my next paycheck when I can go get some spray paint and glitter and make it look a bit more like these:

(It's number 16 on the list of 50 on the link above btw.) There is a nifty little video that explains how to do it and everything. I also can't wait to have some extra funds to buy some doilies to make these! And the best part?!

It is easy enough for my K-2nd graders to do in class on Friday. I am so excited! I am also extremely grateful for all those who have shared their talents online. There are a wealth of resources out there to help poor little busy teachers like me, and I am so happy for it. It makes my job much easier, and it makes my students enjoy class much more. Now I just have to sneak away about 5 magazines a day from various places on campus to use for class.

Life is pretty good these days! I have an interview in Arizona on Dec. 10th for a job I really want. I also have a great Thanksgiving post that I will put up once I get the pictures from my mom's camera.

Break

Taking a much needed break from a massive 4-day workload. Kicking back and watching some Cosby! All seasons on Netflix! Anyone want to join?

I must say I never appreciated this show before, but in light of all the suggestive and less than wholesome comedies out there this one is fantastic. It is wonderful that a show can prove that it is in fact possible to be hilarious and wholesome at the same time. I think this is something the world needs to be reminded of a little more.

Santa Mouse

This morning my husband and I went to breakfast with our good friend JulieAnn. We went to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast and it was delicious. It is also in spitting distance of Barnes & Noble, and in the Torres household you can not be close to a Barnes & Noble without going in...it is just the rule. We went in and browsed around . . . almost bought the hard cover edition of The Hunger Games for about the third time and then thought better of it and put it back.

We awed over the amazing covers Barnes & Noble has for their hard back books. They really are beautiful and if you are stumped for what to ever buy me for a present one of these will suffice . . . just in case you need a hint or something.

Anywho, we then browsed through the games and I looked for Spot It--a game that I have almost bought twice from Blickenstaff's. That was a real favorite on the island of Pediatorcope in the middle of the Volta River in Ghana this summer. And it's only $11. I really need to just suck it up and buy it. Anyways...back to Santa Mouse.

When I was little, we had a book in my house about Santa Mouse. All I remembered from the book was that Santa Mouse travels with Santa Clause and ties small presents to the trees. This is a tradition we have kept in my family for as long as I can remember even though the Santa Mouse book has long since disappeared. It was always one of my favorite Christmas traditions, and I love that it was something unique my family did.

Well today while browsing through the Christmas book section of Barnes & Noble past the frostys, rudolphs, and Santas I saw a book with a mouse on the cover. I got so ridiculously excited. I picked it up and ran to the keeper of the debit card (I never carry my wallet with me these days) and said please, please, please while showing him the book. He looked less than impressed . . . He doesn't have 20 odd years of tradition on his side to support my purchase of the book. However, after a little explanation he agreed and I am now the proud owner of this book:

I am excited to share this book with my mom, Gage and Angela when they come visit before Christmas.This is a tradition I hope to carry on when I have children of my own. Never heard of Santa Mouse? Read the primer here.

Can't you just feel the Christmas in the air? I am so excited. This is always my favorite time of year.

The Coffee Table I Didn't Even Know I'd Been Dreaming About

So Tony took me out to lunch at the India Palace lunch buffet today . . . all the naan you can eat if you please. It was yummy and perfect, and then things got even better. Due to the lunch crowd and all the construction we had to park a block away. We saw the Bijou Market and went in with a $5 budget because Tony needed the change. And we came out with a $5 pair or earrings and this:

It is the awesome pop of yellow our apartment needed to be complete I think. I have somewhere to prop my feet now. Basically it was a good day, and quite a steal for only $60.

Happy day.

I am going to be incommunicado this weekend due to a massive amount of homework . . . like 20 pages worth of writing massive. Wish me luck please.

A Lackluster Kind of Last Week

Last week was a hard week professionally speaking. I recently put in a lot of job applications, and there was one in particular I felt really good about. I mean, I thought I had this thing in the bag. When I got the no last Tuesday I was absolutely flummoxed. Flummoxed.

I have no idea how I could have possibly been any more qualified for a position than I was for this one. This, along with a string of nos from other positions I had applied for, left me with a lot of doubt and a little bit of despair. I took a step back, tried to review my qualifications as objectively as I possibly could, and I am still a little stumped. I have worked with PR firms, nonprofits, lobbying firms, elementary schools, newspapers, external relations offices, alumni relations offices, and summer school programs. I have spent over 4 months in Africa doing development projects and research.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to brag on myself here. The point of this is that I am still not even qualified for assistant positions in companies. I am not actually getting rejected from jobs because they found someone better, I am not even being considered for positions because I don't have the right qualifications. This makes me look back at my nearly two years of graduate education and over $20,000 spent, and wonder  about what it was all for. From what I have seen so far, no one will hire you without at least 3-5 years of experience in exactly the same area you are applying for.

So here's my question to all the hiring officials at all the organizations who have received applications from me thus far:

How in the world do you expect to hire people with experience when no one will hire anyone without already having the experience?

What do you want? It is like this awful vicious circle. It seems like companies prefer someone who has spent the last 5 years working in a minimum wage, paper pushing office position over someone who has a graduate degree in management. This is extremely frustrating for me. I am worried that I may end up forced to accept a low-paying position that I am over qualified for because no one else will even consider me. However, despite all the set-backs, I have not given up quite yet. I am still applying to tons of jobs and looking for new possibilities. I know if I just keep trying something will work out for us.

Here is a little bit of inspiration for the day if anyone is interested. This definitely made me feel better about things after reading it. And not to be a total downer I will say that I have a pretty great life. I might not find a job next year, but I have a great husband, a great family, and great friends. I know everything will work out like it is supposed to, I just need to have the patience for everything to sort itself out.

Here are two picture from Blickenstaff's (i.e. the best toy store every):

 And yes, I now own this lunch box!

And here are some pictures from Halloween (we won a couples costume award!). Sorry the pictures are not any better, but I do what I can. Sadly enough, all my red lip stick had worn off by this time and most of my pouf had flattened as well.

And I saved the best for last folks!!

Here they are! The cream of the crop! The creme de la creme! The pick of the litter!

Well you get the idea. Here are the edited pictures from my wedding, and they include some of my personal favorites from my wedding day.

Now that I have exhausted my supply of wedding pictures look forward to some more posts about current goings on in my life. I will find out if I have a job on Tuesday. Please wish me luck via some positive brain waves!

Happy Friday!