What was that?

It's 2:46am this morning and I wake up with this scratching noise at my front door. Butter is going crazy, running back and forth into the bedroom. I look around the front window and there is this raccoon trying to paw his way into the locked cat door. I knocked on the door to try to scare him away. That didn't work.
Butter starts squeeling and then the raccoon stopped and ran away. Too much going on at this hour.
The only bad thing being waken up that early is that I had to be bright and cheery for an interview this morning.
One of the companies that I had emailed my resume to called yesterday and scheduled me for an 8:30am interview. Once I'm woken up, it's hard for me to settle down again to sleep. So, I stayed awake.
The interview only consisted of me filling out an application and briefly speaking with the office manager.
This interview was with Buffalo Rock. The position was for an office assistant. You needed to have some computer skills, communication skills and be used to working in a fast paced environment.
The computer skills included excell and word. I had worked with this somewhat at UAB, but didn't know all about spreadsheets. They did say that they would train. So, all in all I was happy with the meeting. I'm curious to see if I will get a call back.
I can't believe it's already Sept. 30th. This month has flown by...

Spanglish?

Ha Ha Ha! Thats funny. I speak only a few words of spanish, so I wouldn't call that fluent.
I haven't had much luck so far this week on finding advertisements for jobs. I think it works that way. One week you will find endless jobs, then the next week you won't.
I'm still volunteering. but I did find out from the park that their just now interviewing for the job I had applied for about a month ago. I did call them this morning and they told me that they were calling for interviews this week, so I might hear from them. That would be a fun job. It was working at the information desk. They needed someone to answer the phone and help schedule events at the park.
I went to Lowes today. They didn't have a position that was advertised. I just "cold called" them. They did tell me they weren't hiring, but might be around the holidays. Even if this was temporary, every little bit helps.
I have a neighbor who just got laid off from UAB and is worried that he'll loose his home.
I thank my lucky stars everyday that I have a family who is in the position of financially helping me. I would have been foreclosed on years ago if it hadn't been for my father.
I am truely blessed.

Spanish?

I had an interview this morning with one of the companies that I had filled out an application with on Monday.
It's a job placement firm. I think it went well, but the only thing that is questionable was the fact that I don't speak spanish. This wasn't a requirement, but the manager was interested in this. So, we'll see.
I did check the paper too. Sometimes companies will advertise in the paper and not online. But I didn't see anything that I would qualify for.
I still haven't heard from the people that I gave my resumes to last week.
I did see on al.com that there is another job fair opening up in Bessemer in two weeks. It's a medical job fair.
UAB is also sponsoring a fair, but this is for RN's, LPN's and medical staffing.

Is this luck or what?

It's 1pm and I've had alittle luck today. I found out about this new business opening up this week on al.com. It's actually just 1/2 of block away from my house. I filled out an application and did speak with the manager there as well. It's a temporary staffing service.
I then heard about an opening at a department store at the Summit. The Summit is a shopping mall in the preppy side of town off of Hwy 280. So, I ended up filling an application out this morning.
Then I went to Alabaster and filled out an application at another shop. So, all in all, it's been a good day.
If you count the 7 resumes I gave to associates on Friday of last week and the 3 applications I filled out today, thats a total of 10 contacts I've had in just a few days.
I feel like things are looking up.

job fair

There was a job fair in Leeds, AL on Friday. I went and brought 10 resumes with me. I spoke with 7 different employers that will be hiring for their shops at the end of October. There's going to be a new outlet mall built there.
There were tons of people at this job fair. I met 9 folks who had been looking for a job in the Birmingham area as I have. Some of them were laid off too. Leeds is about a 45 minute drive from my house. It's alittle out of the way, but not too bad.
The ngage team did help with a possible career, but since jobs are so scarce right now, the positions for this company were filled within a few days.
My friends have also offered ideas, but those positions were filled quickly. So, I quess it's all about who you know at the right moment.
I'm lucky to have a computer to browse online. The online advertisements are updated on a daily basis, so this will enable me to get a more precise listing.
As promised I have a few online addresses that others could view. They are:
al.com, monster.com, USAjobs.com and UAB.com. I should be getting another one here soon.
Wish me happy hunting!

Who's Mildred?

For the past week, I have had this woman call me and ask to speak to Mildred. I think she's an elderly lady. Well, today she called again. After I said that she had the wrong number, she said "Mildred is the best friend I ever had."  She continued to talk about how long she's known Mildred, talked about Mildred's nice family and she's a great card player.
I sat patiently as I have for a week and listened. Then I asked this woman what Mildred's last name was and told her that she could call the operator and get Mildred's number. The older woman thanked me and said that it has been nice talking with me. As I hung up, I realized that maybe this woman just needed someone to talk to.
Hopefully she will get Mildred's number, otherwise I might have a new "phone friend." People are funny.
I haven't  gotten anymore leeds for jobs this week. I went back today and called all of the companies back that I never heard from after I filled out applications . One even said that they didn't have my application anymore and asked if I would come back down today to fill out another one. I thought to myself that they probably threw it away, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt and filled another one out.
Of course, there were some that said that they had already filled the position. But, there were others that said they  were still accepting applications. So, it's slow going.
I have a friend whose daughter graduated from college one year ago and she's still looking for a job. I think I'll do some cold calling to see if I get any hits. Otherwise, it's back to "shopping" online.

job front

I've gotten a few hits from Monster.com this past weekend. One of which was from Gateway. Gateway is a drug and alcohol agencey located in Birmingham. They called and wanted a case manager/RN. In most agencies dealing with addictions, a case manager is an RN. This is also true in medical jobs.
My experience was in case management, but the only difference is mine was in grants. Working with grants case managment is more like a case worker. It's in the social sciences, not in the medical arena.
So, there's been a bit of confusion from these companies.
Another hit was from the Pheonix Corporation. They specialize in referrals to mental health agencies in the south east. It's sort of like contract work for the mentally ill. You work with Medicare/Medicaid offices.They are affiliated with JBS [ Jefferson Blount
Mental Health] I've worked with JBS before while working at UAB.
So, we'll see if that pans out. Oh, the position was for a case worker.
AL.com, didn't have too much to offer this morning.
Online jobsites have been a valuable tool for me so far. Their updated twice a day, so you're getting new advertisments daily.
Also being ntouch with the ngage team offers new ideas for the job hunt.

modem

Whew! I finally got my new modem. My other one just died. I forgot all of my passwords to yahoo and I had to select new ones. Oh well...
I've had a pretty eventful week. I applied to four jobs. Three were for sales and one was for a restaurant position. You know it's funny. I was talking with my mother the other day and we were reminissing about how nice it was when I had my career at UAB. And how things have changed from my saleried position to the income that department stores offer. Once I get a full time job, I will probably have to get a part time job on the weekends. Just to make ends meet.
The economy. I had this misconception that the economy was getting better. But it's sad to say that I don't think it's better.  I still hear of people loosing their jobs. I often think of this co-worker of mine that got laid off when I did. He had a dissabled wife and three kids. I quess I'm lucky in a way that I didn't have a family to support.
When I think of the applications that I have applied for, I am reminded that there are probably 100 people applying to the same jobs. So if you get a call back, you're lucky.
I'm still trying to stay optimistic. I just need to continue to see that "it's going to happen." If not today, then sometime soon. Happy thoughts!

My numbers

I did not espect my diabetes numbers to be so good this time around. Because I have gained weight, I thought my A1C was going to be high. But it was 7. My blood pressure was good and cholestoral was good also. I've been back on this diet for now 6/weeks. So, hopefully I can get back down to where I was when this all started.
I saw a friend this past week that I haven't seen in about 2/yrs. It's so nice to reconnect with people. Because I have found that with your day to day life, keeping in touch with folks is a real challange sometimes.
I found out through an old co-worker that there may be an upcoming grant that may apply to me at my former place of business, UAB. Apparently my name was given to the doctor writing the grant and he thought that I may be a good match. I am still puting out resumes and applications with various companies in town. I did find out that there is a new website to look for jobs. I should be getting it soon and will include that address in my next blog.
All in all, I feel blessed that my health is good, I have a supportive family and my friends are all around me.
Life is really good.