So, I suppose it's time for a proper update. I've been feeling really good lately. It might have something to do with the new routine I've fallen into now that my tutoring has taken a dip in hours. I have more time in the afternoon to focus on myself--eating right, working out, reading, not watching as much television, etc. Fernando is currently taking a summer course and he doesn't get home until after 10pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays. He's already in the third week of the course and it's only six weeks long, so it's not as bad as it sounds. Without Fernando at home, I am not tempted as much to just sit on the couch and veg out, drink beer, and mindlessly snack. With the arrival of my Wii Fit two weeks ago, I have a renewed interest in doing exercise and actually losing some of the weight I've put on since graduation from Cal Poly. I have a goal of thirty pounds and I've already lost five. I haven't exactly seen results in the areas I'd like (upper arms, inner thighs), but my waist has definitly shrunken. Also, without Fernando at home, I have no one to cook me dinner, so my dinners are simple, healthy things like turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread or salads with a little tuna in them.
With the drop in tutoring hours, I've also been reading a lot more. I finished The Time Traveler's Wife on Saturday after a marathon four and half hour reading session. Now, I'm already thirteen chapters into Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Once done with that, I have A Thousand Splendid Suns waiting in the wings. And after that . . . I suppose a trip to the bookstore is in order (unless somebody out there wants to let me borrow a good book they've recently read).
I've been watching a lot less television because most of my regular TV shows are on summer hiatus. The Top Chef finale is tonight, and after that, I don't have anything to watch until the next season of Project Runway starts in July.
Another reason I've been feeling good lately is because I have an honest-to-goodness job interview this Friday! The company is here in Santa Clarita and it is a non-public company that provides behavioral therapy to children and adults with Autism and other developmental disabilities along the Autism spectrum. The position I am applying for is Behavioral Therapist Level 1. It's an entry level job and it usually is reserved for people with Bachelor's degree in Psychology or a related field, but the woman I spoke to on the phone said that having experience working with children can compensate for the fact that my degree is in English. If hired, the company provides extensive paid training and I would be working under direct supervision for my first year. After a year of working for the company, they can promote you to Level 2, after two years, you can become a supervisor. The opportunity for growth and possibility of adding "work with persons with deveolpmental disabilities" to my skills set is definitely intriguing. The work would be traveling to different home or school sites and working directly with students. Milage and time between jobs is paid, and the company has health, dental, life, 401(k), and partial TUITION REIMBURSEMENT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. This is possibly the most important incentive they could offer me since I do plan on pursuing a Master's degree.
My interview is on Friday at 11am. I have to fake a doctor's appointment to get some time off work to attend. Please send some positive thoughts/prayers/vibes my way on Friday. I'm going to be very nervous for this interview--I haven't gone to a job interview for almost two years! If hired, this will have some interesting reverberations in my current work life. I'll obviously need to put in my two weeks' notice here at ATM, but I will also have to quit tutoring for Xamaze. Both of the clients that I have lined up for summer school tutoring this summer are very clingy to me as their tutor. When they talk to me about tutoring, they talk as if I'm going to be a part of their children's lives until they graduate high school. I've spoken to these families many times about my limitations as a tutor (for example, I don't tutor math past Geometry), but they still seem to have a hard time imagining having another tutor other than me. I know if I cancel with them for the summer that they will indeed survive, but I still can't help but feel a little guilty for "leaving" them. Hopefully they'll want to keep me in their back pocket as their "emergency" tutors on weekends and such. I can make a lot more money per hour getting paid directly by my tutoring clients under the table.
All in all, there is a lot of promise for good things coming in the next couple of months. I'm looking forward to this weekend--my cousin (on my dad's side), Michael, is turning 40 and his wife is throwing him a Las Vegas themed party that we will be attending. I bought a new dress and shoes and earrings for the event. It should be a lot of fun. Oh, I almost forgot to mention--my mom and dad are flying up to Portland today to visit my mom's friend, Connie for a few days. We'll be house sitting from tonight until Friday when my parent's get back.
~LOVE~
