New Job

So, a new chapter in my life is about to begin. I am joining the ranks of the gainfully employed! :) I was not actively seeking employment, but on a whim decided to check Craig's List a few weeks ago. There were several tutoring jobs, and I decided to apply for an interesting one. I wasn't expecting anything, but a few days later I got a phone call which turned into a phone interview, and I was hired! Today, I had my first day of orientation/training. Let me just tell you, it was a crazy morning. First, I decided to give my good friend Krysta a call and see if she was doing anything in the morning. I didn't have to be at my job until 1030, and Krysta was on the way. We were able to have breakfast together, and got to chat. Well, we kind of chatted too much. I was planning on leaving her house at 930, which would give me an hour to get there. It should take 30 minutes, and then I'd have 30 minutes to walk if I had to park far away. All was going well; I got to the area at 10. But, then I had trouble finding the place. The address was on Century Blvd, and I couldn't find the address! I went up and down the street. Finally, I decided I would give up, find a parking spot, and walk up and down the street until I found it. I turned on what I thought was 96th street, the street the directions said to park on. Oops! I was driving on 98th street. Well, as I was trying to figure out how to get to 96th, I looked to the right, and there was the address! Why was it a Century Blvd. address on 98th street? Very confusing! Anyways, I was relieved, but I still needed to find a place to park. So, I drove down to 96th street. A yellow car was right in front of me, and took the last spot on the street. Where to park? I turned down a side street, and 2 more blocks down the road I found a spot. Not a moment to lose! I threw all my stuff in my bag, and raced out the door. I had 13 minutes to get there on time. Not a good impression to be late on your first day! So, what did I do? I RAN! In the heat, in my dress shoes. I ran like the wind! (OK, an exaggeration, but I did run. Until I was out of breath. It is hard to run in those shoes! I would definitely NOT recommend it!) I went the wrong direction on 96th, and ended up going much further than I really had to....Darn! But I made it to the building, found the elevator, and found the office. I walked in right at 1030. Whew! But, now I was standing there in the office, with 30 others, sweating. Dripping with sweat, as a matter of fact. I didn't want to sit down (not that there was an empty seat, or anything) because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to cool down enough. I didn't want to leave a puddle of sweat on the chair: Yuck! A nice gentleman offered me his seat, but I thought it better to stand, a little distant from anyone else. Keep my stink to myself, so to say....

Well, the rest of the training went pretty uneventfully. We learned a little more about the company and the program we'll be working for. I will be tutoring under the umbrella of No Child Left Behind. You know what that means, don't you? Paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. But I don't mind....I'll find out Wednesday who my kids are going to be. What subjects (Math or Language Arts) I'll be tutoring them in. What grades they are in. Until then, I don't know. It could really be anything. I'll be using my laptop to help teach these kids. Each one will get 20 hours total from me between the start of school and April 30th. It is totally doable.

I'm glad my students will be in the Northern Valley area, and not in LA. Holy cow! That commute would drive me INSANE! I left the training at a little after 3 and got home after 5. And it was bumper to bumper pretty much the whole way. I know that a LOT of people do that commute each and every day. I don't know how they do it! I'm grateful that Matt has a job close to our home, and that I'll be working close by as well.

Well, I'm excited. I'll be using my degree, earning some money, and making a difference in the lives of kids who might not have had the opportunity before. I'm ready. Bring it on!

~Pam