New Job?

Last week I had a phone interview with a company and yesterday I went to the company for a face to face interview. The woman who interviewed me said I was her pick for the job, which made me very excited. She said she had one more interview, but was looking to hire me. At one point she asked me a question, I answered and she said, "you know, you just keep saying all the right things. I'm excited because I keep wondering, 'what is Amanda going to say next?'"

The company I interviewed with does back-end processing for pre-paid services such as cell phones and long distance phone cards. The company also has their own network system and my main job would be loading these PIN numbers from the pre-paid services into their system. Here's the job description from Monster.com: "PIN Import Specialist will be responsible for receiving and loading virtual inventory from vendors and customers into the [company name] system." Apparently, there is one guy, in Bogota, Colombia, that handles this job now, but he is moving up in the company, so they need someone to replace him. Part of this job does require being on-call evenings and weekends and from what I understand, there would be a system, such as a text message, to let me know when I needed to import something into the system and then I could do it from a laptop provided to me.

During the phone interview, the woman did say that this would be a trial-and-error type of position, meaning that this would be a new position at their office and from what she knows, it is a full time position. Yesterday during the interview, I made a point of asking again if it was full time and what happens if turns out not to be full time. She said that there were a "billion other things," that she could give me to do if indeed importing PIN numbers wasn't a full time job.

They pay is almost $10,000 more a year than I am getting now and does come with full benefits, 401k and vacation/sick time. It is a bit of a drive, all the way to Foothill Ranch, which is right next to Mission Viejo in South Orange County, but I figure, it might be worth it and once I get settled into the job and if I really like it, I can always look into moving that direction.

The fact that the job is trial-and-error does have me a little concerned, but at the same time, I am willing to try it out and see what happens. I am at a point in my life right now where something has got to change...financially, mentally and physically. I am just run down and exhausted. And even though I have some concerns, I also feel more than willing to try it. Maybe I'll really love it. And maybe I'll realize it's not for me, but in that case, it would give me the experience and move up the pay-scale that would help me find something else if need be. I will also continue to job hunt if I do take this position just in case it doesn't pan out.

I am trying to be smart about this and ask necessary questions, so if any of you out there are reading this and have questions, please ask me. It may be a question I have not thought to ask. Or it may be a scenario that has not crossed my mind. It seems like shakey time, economy wise, to be switching jobs, so I want to make sure I am covering my bases. If you have any thoughts, throw them at me. At the moment, I intend to accept the job if it officially offered.

Ear Infection

Last night after work I decided to go to an urgent care center across the street from work to get my ear checked. It had been hurting since Sunday night, just really sore to the touch. Actually, I wasn't sure if it was my ear or my jaw, since I have been clenching my teeth a lot lately. My jaw is actually pretty tired, now that I mention it. Anyway, the doc said I had an outer ear infection and gave me some drops. Well, he gave me some sample drops and then a prescription for the drops, which he mentioned were "god awful expensive." I was hoping to make the sample drops last, but I missed my ear last night when trying to put the drops in and I wasted some of them. Bah. Which reminds me, it's kinda hard to put ear drops in by yourself. Even the directions for the drops say "the person putting in the drops should..." I tried my best to have good aim and I pretty much had to guess what 3 drops were.

I kept thinking that I had never had an ear infection before, but then I remembered that years ago I spent one summer at my aunt's house and went swimming multiple times a day, which resulted in having Swimmer's Ear in both ears. That was not fun and very painful, so it's a good thing I got this checked out early.

R.I.P. Willie

Well, after about a week of not doing well, Willie is finally gone. :( He was fine about 30 min. ago, but I just walked into the kitchen and he is gone.

I am sadder than I thought I would be. I've felt horrible all week long because I didn't know what to do help him. I even asked around about how to euthanize a fish and the best answer I got was putting baking soda in their water. The baking soda takes away the oxygen, so I guess they would either drown or suffocate, not sure which one. That didn't sound like a very humane way to help him out, but I guess just letting him struggle with his breathing for a week wasn't that humane either. I do feel guilty. I just hope he wasn't in a lot of pain.

I first posted about him 8/13/07, so I've had him for a year. I guess that's a decent life for a little fish. It was a blast having him around, I swear he had a personality, even if he was just a fish. I will definitely miss him.

Troubleshooting Your Coffeemaker

Below is actual text from the manual of my new coffeemaker. I just wanted to show how extremely unhelpful their troubleshooting really is...

1) Problem: The 'on' light does not light up. Possible Cause: The appliance is unplugged; there's a power outage. Solution: Plug unit in; wait for power to be restored.

2)Problem: The coffeemaker only brews water. Possible Cause: There are no coffee grounds in the filter basket. Solution: Add the desired amount of coffee.

3) Problem: The filter basket overflows. Possible Cause: The filter basket is not properly installed; The decanter lid is not on the decanter. Solution: Insert filter basket correctly; place lid on the decanter.

I think this is a sad testament to the common sense of American people if the troubleshooting has to be this dumbed down.

Shitty Day

A blunt title such as the one above is more than appropriate for my day. It's a three parter...

PART ONE: The horribleness started this morning when on my way to work I saw a kitten get run over. I'm guessing it was about 3 months old. It was hobbling in the street and it walked right under a car's bumper and front tire and when the light turned green...well, you get the idea. I drove straight and turned around where I could, parked my car around the corner from where the kitten was and waited for traffic to clear and I ran into the street to try and save it. I thought I could at least take it to work and maybe the doctor could do something. When I got to the kitten, it did not look good and traffic was coming. In a panic of not knowing what to do, I left it there and went back to my car. The problem was it was on a hill, (it was the intersection of Harbor and Valencia for you local folks), and the people coming up the hill on Harbor going south couldn't see me standing in the street, so for fear of my own life, I left the kitten there. I was almost violently shaking the whole time...I got back to my car and drove off, still shaken up. As soon as the adrenaline wore off, I broke down. It was bad enough that I needed to pull into a CVS parking lot and call my parents and let it out. I am pretty sure that most of you will not understand my reaction and part of me doesn't understand it either. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love animals and that I love cats. I think part of why I was so upset was because I do love animals and because I felt guilty for not being able to help. May sound ridiculous to some of you, but that is how much I care. And what I saw happen before and after that kitten was run over will be implanted in my brain forever.

PART TWO: My boss stops by at work today to interview someone to take over my position. After the interview he tells me that he will be unable to give me my same pay if I do step down as Office Manager, unlike a previous post where I mentioned that he said I would be able to keep my pay. So, he wants me to decide what to do and as I see it I have two options: 1) Stay in my position and be miserable until I can get out of there or 2) Step down, have a pay cut and find an additional job to supplement. He knows I'm leaving at some point and it won't be a surprise. I figure I might as well stick it out until I find another job. I've done this job for almost 2 years, whats a little longer, right? But, yeah, I wasn't too happy to hear that. I knew it sounded a little to good to be true.

PART THREE: I get home this evening and I already have a rejection letter in the mail from my interview on Monday (8/4/08). I don't know why they didn't just save the stamp and tell me right then.

So, yeah, the sum of my day and it was pretty crappy. But I will keep trucking along. What else is there to do?

Music: Joan Jett - I Love Rock 'n Roll

Thank You Gift

A client came in today, a younger guy, with his 9 month old dog Rocky, which we have seen since he was 2 months old. The owner was concerned because the pet seemed lethargic, not eating and just wasn't acting like himself. I could tell a difference when he came in because Rocky hopped right onto the scale and it usually takes an act of Congress to get him up there.

The owner goes through the exam w/the doctor and the doctor presents a treatment plan that is $500 so they could figure out what was wrong. This included virus tests, urinalysis, x-rays and blood work. The guy, probably early 20's, signed the treatment plan authorizing the treatment of Rocky. He came up front, where I asked him if he was dropping off. He said yes and asked what time we closed. I told him 6pm and he said, "good, that'll give me time to figure out how I'm going to pay for this." He was very concerned, but wanted to do everything he could for his dog. He and his wife/gf (not sure which one it is), sat down on the bench next to the counter and I could hear him talking to his dad, explaining the treatment plan, trying to find a way to pay for everything. I walked to the back of the hospital and mentioned that I felt bad because this guy was stressing out and concerned about paying this bill. Everyone else felt bad too, so me, a doctor that did not see Rocky and the other manager figured out a way to lower his bill by $400, but allowed him to still get the treatment he needed. He and his g/f were very thankful and profusely thanked us.

Around 530p, he and his g/f came to pick up the dog. It was then that he presented me with two Starbucks gift cards, one for me and one for the other manager, as a thank you for helping him out and allowing him to get the treatment for his dog. I swear I almost cried. I thanked him and told him it was a very sweet thing to do and that we were happy to help out.

This really made my day. It makes me feel so good to help someone out like that, especially for someone who genuinely cares for their pet and is really trying to take care of it. I guess it meant a lot to me because I am rarely included in the many "thank you's" that the hospital receives regarding a pet's treatment. And it's not even the fact that I got a gift card, it is the thought. Speaking for myself, I buy someone something as a thank you because what they did or helped out with really meant a lot to me, so I figure what we did meant a lot to him or else he wouldn't have done it. I am not trying to sound selfish at all, but it just makes me feel so good to know that I helped someone out like that.

Music: Alice in Chains - I Stay Away

Interview Process

I really hate the interviewing process. I understand that it is a necessity and needs to be done, but how many of us are ON when it comes to interviews? Sure, there are people who are just ready for anything and everything, but what about people like me? I had an interview this morning and I thought it went okay. I had answers for each question, really didn't fumble and I felt confident. My last interview wasn't that great; I think I had a "got this in the bag" attitude because of the excitement that employer orginally had about my resume and I am sure that attitude came across, which is why I didn't receive a call back on that one.

Interviews have always been hard for me, partly because I am shy, but I also have a hard time talking myself up. I am also not good at BS-ing when it comes to face to face contact. I can BS w/the best of them on paper or in writing, but when it's person to person, I have a hard time not being who I am. Sometimes I feel that hurts my chances, but I can't help it. If you ask me what my career goals are, I'm going to say that I am not sure because I am not sure. I am not going to lie and say, "oh I want to be CEO of my own company one day...." No, I'm going to say, "honestly, I am not sure, I'm still trying to find my niche, blah blah...." Or, "we do formatting in Word that requires margins, alignment and inserting Excel spreadsheets. Are you familiar with that?" "No, I am not, but I am a very quick learner and if I am shown a process in which things need to be done, I pick up on that very quickly and am able to retain the information." I am not going to say, "Yeah! I can do that." And then when it's time to perform, choke.

So, does honesty pay off? Sometimes I just think that being myself and being honest hurts my chances more than faking things a little bit. Whenever I do fake things, though...like pretending to my bosses that I care even a little about the company I work for, I feel disgusting afterwards and do not like myself. So, what do I do? Unforunately, faking things seems to get you places. I guess all I can hope for is that my honesty might been seen as geniune, that I will be seen to have integrity, and maybe that will win me some points.

The White Stripes - Stop Breaking Down