I really thought that my next post would be about developments in Northeast Asia, i.e. North Korea, one of my areas of study, but that's boring. Perhaps I will give my 2 cents later.
Life has really changed into the past few months/half a year! My boys and I are officially back in Maine. While it is good to be back, it has taken some time to really settle into life here. We lived with relatives for almost three months when we first got back. It got old after a while for everyone involved, but we are all still on speaking terms. It seems so long ago now.
I don't consider myself to be a superstitious person but I don't believe in coincidence. I believe that everything happens for a reason and everything will turn out ok, even if I can't see it at the time. Right before I left DC I was contacted for an interview for what I considered at the time to be my dream job with a study-abroad organization in Portland. I had two interviews that I thought went really well to the extent that I even started looking at places to live based on how far they would be from the job. Scott and I looked at several houses that we liked, but without having jobs it is difficult to be accepted as renters. Of course, what happened was that I was not chosen for the job. I usually have good luck with interviews and I have had a few jobs get away from me in the past that I thought I wanted, but this one took a while to get over. So, I went from potentially having a job and a place to live to nothing, right before Christmas. After I got out of my funk, I applied for jobs everyday. As luck would have it, I ended up having 3 interviews on the week of my 28th birthday in December. I not only got offered a second interview for one 4 days after the initial interview, but got a job offer 2 days after another interview. A merry Birthmas to me, indeed! I ended up having one of the best Christmases in VT in recent memory (a good time with my family and reuniting with a lot of my oldest and closest friends) but I was without my boys for the 3 year in a row.
I started my new job at the end of December- looking back, I would have never guessed that a month after being devastated by being rejected, I would start working. I am working at the University of Southern Maine as an administrative assistant in the disability services office. In retrospect, I think this job is the best fit for me right now as adjusting to life here has definitely been a process and my colleagues have been very understanding of the magnitude of my transition. In fact, the boss of the office is a colleague of mine from AU who made the same move earlier in 2012. I like the job in the sense that there is a lot of flexibility and that I can make my job my own- I have more decision-making abilities. The only downside is that, again, I am a Master's graduate working as an administrative assistant outside of my field. I struggle with this mentally, emotionally, and financially. That said, it is a lot easier to handle than in my job at AU as I feel more a part of the team (there are only 4 of us) and that my opinions and expertise are truly valued.
Scott started working as a temp in December and as of January we knew we would be able to find our own place. We looked at a few other places and came across a really cute house that was among the least expensive we looked at-$800 for a two bedroom. We took it and it has been great for us so far. The biggest challenge right now is to get back to a life of "normalcy". Finances are very tight, as they are for most people, so we mostly just work and hang out at the house. It gets kind of lonely, but we have made time/money for hanging out with some friends and those times have been really fun. Once we figure things out more financially, I will start looking more at my career and where I want it to go. My colleagues have been really supportive about professional development and I think being at USM can really work to my advantage. The present is a little uncertain, but the future and its possibilities are very exciting. I recently read an article about making goals and it's something that would be good for me to sit down and really think about. I used to be very goal-oriented, but for the past few years I have felt lost without a "destination". It's good to be flexible, but having a "heading" is equally important. I hope I can decide that for myself soon.
PS I am SO excited to be near the ocean!!!
Life has really changed into the past few months/half a year! My boys and I are officially back in Maine. While it is good to be back, it has taken some time to really settle into life here. We lived with relatives for almost three months when we first got back. It got old after a while for everyone involved, but we are all still on speaking terms. It seems so long ago now.
I don't consider myself to be a superstitious person but I don't believe in coincidence. I believe that everything happens for a reason and everything will turn out ok, even if I can't see it at the time. Right before I left DC I was contacted for an interview for what I considered at the time to be my dream job with a study-abroad organization in Portland. I had two interviews that I thought went really well to the extent that I even started looking at places to live based on how far they would be from the job. Scott and I looked at several houses that we liked, but without having jobs it is difficult to be accepted as renters. Of course, what happened was that I was not chosen for the job. I usually have good luck with interviews and I have had a few jobs get away from me in the past that I thought I wanted, but this one took a while to get over. So, I went from potentially having a job and a place to live to nothing, right before Christmas. After I got out of my funk, I applied for jobs everyday. As luck would have it, I ended up having 3 interviews on the week of my 28th birthday in December. I not only got offered a second interview for one 4 days after the initial interview, but got a job offer 2 days after another interview. A merry Birthmas to me, indeed! I ended up having one of the best Christmases in VT in recent memory (a good time with my family and reuniting with a lot of my oldest and closest friends) but I was without my boys for the 3 year in a row.
I started my new job at the end of December- looking back, I would have never guessed that a month after being devastated by being rejected, I would start working. I am working at the University of Southern Maine as an administrative assistant in the disability services office. In retrospect, I think this job is the best fit for me right now as adjusting to life here has definitely been a process and my colleagues have been very understanding of the magnitude of my transition. In fact, the boss of the office is a colleague of mine from AU who made the same move earlier in 2012. I like the job in the sense that there is a lot of flexibility and that I can make my job my own- I have more decision-making abilities. The only downside is that, again, I am a Master's graduate working as an administrative assistant outside of my field. I struggle with this mentally, emotionally, and financially. That said, it is a lot easier to handle than in my job at AU as I feel more a part of the team (there are only 4 of us) and that my opinions and expertise are truly valued.
Scott started working as a temp in December and as of January we knew we would be able to find our own place. We looked at a few other places and came across a really cute house that was among the least expensive we looked at-$800 for a two bedroom. We took it and it has been great for us so far. The biggest challenge right now is to get back to a life of "normalcy". Finances are very tight, as they are for most people, so we mostly just work and hang out at the house. It gets kind of lonely, but we have made time/money for hanging out with some friends and those times have been really fun. Once we figure things out more financially, I will start looking more at my career and where I want it to go. My colleagues have been really supportive about professional development and I think being at USM can really work to my advantage. The present is a little uncertain, but the future and its possibilities are very exciting. I recently read an article about making goals and it's something that would be good for me to sit down and really think about. I used to be very goal-oriented, but for the past few years I have felt lost without a "destination". It's good to be flexible, but having a "heading" is equally important. I hope I can decide that for myself soon.
PS I am SO excited to be near the ocean!!!
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