lessons from shannon

Lesson #16 – Achievement

2010-04-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

So …. (drum roll please) …. I got a job!

A legitimate job, a good job. I actually achieved one of my goals and accomplished #2 on my list of New Year’s resolutions! I guess now all I have to do is focus on winning that Oscar…

The day I accepted the job was the day I deleted all the emails I had received from various job boards. I realized that it had been almost exactly a year to the date that I started keeping my eye out for a new position. I will unashamedly blame the economy for that one. Well and looking in two different cities didn’t help.

I am definitely excited and ready to get my life rolling here in Austin. I still think it’s crazy that I live here. But I do live here. For now at least.

Lesson #15 - Goals

2010-03-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

Growing up I always hated when teachers made you write out your goals. I have always been a I-just-have-to-wait-and-see-what-happens kind of person. Not necessarily crazy spontaneous, but I was just never sure I could really pick out my “destiny”.

Okay, but goals are good - right? I have always been better with creating short-term goals because those seemed a bit more tangible. More practical. Like pass this exam or find shoes to match the dress I am wearing this weekend. Those goals I can usually achieve and am happy with. It’s the long-term goals that get me. Really, should I want to be a lawyer, doctor, or teacher? Or be married and have five children by the time I am 32? No I don’t want to be a lawyer, doctor, or teacher. Really I am still trying to figure out what I want to be when I “grow up”. And while getting married and having kids would be nice, you just can’t always plan that timing. Besides, at this point it’s a little late for five kids by the time I am 32. Well, unless I have quintuplets.

Ouch.

With all that said, I have decided to narrow down some life goals for me. One short-term and one long-term goal. Just to please the masses*. (*the masses being potential employers and past teachers)

Short-term goal: get a job
Long-term goal: win an Oscar

I would say both of those are very doable. I figure I am making some good headway on the short term goal and I have a little bit of time to achieve the long-term goal. Both very possible and both still maintain my I-just-have-to-wait-and-see-what-happens goal making personality. I am sure the Academy would agree.

Lesson #14 - A Full Time Job

2010-03-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Where has all my time gone? I have been in Texas for a little over a month now and it has flown by. I think I am on the computer just about 8+ hours a day doing lots of research, writing, and arithmetic (okay not really arithmetic.) It’s like a full time job! If only I was getting paid for all this work…

Between applying for jobs, I have started a couple new ventures. First I’ve been doing a little volunteering with my mom’s friend/colleague in developing a new website, database, and potentially a communications schedule. It’s for a non-profit here in Austin called Hope Street (formerly Christian Women’s Job Corp) and it’s been fun. They are pretty much on the ground floor but in a great position to take off. I love applying some of the things I have learned along the way to help them develop an online presence and hopefully grow their classes, volunteers, and donor base. It’s always challenging to figure out ways to help them succeed without a lot of capital. Well challenging, but usually very rewarding. Now if only it had a cash reward that went directly in my pocket…

My other venture is starting a food blog of sorts. My mom and I decided that we needed to make a diet change. A “switch” is actually what we are calling it. Remember my New Year’s resolution of losing 15 pounds? Well I would say I am getting on track for achieving that goal. Check out our new blog and read our tweets as we try to incorporate more superfoods into our diet and leave behind the processed empire that reigns over the grocery aisles. Let’s just say my old roommate, Erika, would be proud.

These three things - job hunting, volunteering, and writing - have really taken over my time recently. But I have mostly enjoyed it (well, minus the job hunting.) Now I am just hoping it will all pay off…

Lesson #13 - The Olympics

2010-02-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

So I finally made it to Austin. I’m sure you have figured that out already. It’s been an interesting change, but I think I am starting to get used to it. Well I am speaking for myself anyway. My boyfriend hasn’t even been here a week and I have a feeling he isn’t even feeling close to settled.

I still have yet to find a job here in Austin. It’s hard because I feel like I have been looking forever and still have no results. And it is true I have been looking for quite sometime, but the reality is I just barely started my search in Austin. So I shouldn’t get frustrated too quickly.

We’ve been watching our fair share of the Olympics lately. Those athletes are really inspiring me. Maybe that is why people love the Olympics so much. I watch them and think how much discipline they had to have to bring them to where they were. I’m thinking that if I put as much discipline into looking for a job or eating healthy as they train for their sport then I for sure will be able to score that job and look hot in a swimsuit.

Lesson #12 - Heartburn

2010-01-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

I have been having some insane heartburn lately. It’s extremely uncomfortable.

I made it to Austin last night and have been weirded out since my mom picked me up from the airport. Even she says it seems surreal that I am here. She also said she is trying to not get too excited in case I actually don’t move here. I wonder what other proof she needs that I am here?

It was sad flying out of Portland yesterday. The sky was clear so I was able to see the many mountains the northwest boasts. I even got to see my Seattle mountain, Mount Rainier, which was refreshing and so appropriate.

On the plane I passed the hours playing the addicting game of Bejeweled and listening to a little City and Colour. Which might not have been the best musical selection because it might have started bringing tears to my eyes. It gave me an I-am-sad-I-am-leaving-the-Northwest-and-I-don’t-want-to-start-crying lump. Although that could have been the heartburn. It’s hard to say.

Well I am here in Texas. A little shell-shocked, a little culture-shocked, and a little curious about what is going to happen next.

Lesson #11 - Rollercoaster

2010-01-07T13:18:00.000-08:00

It’s official. I am moving back to Austin.

I am excited and nervous and happy and sad and ready and scared. All at once.

My family couldn’t be anymore ecstatic, my boyfriend couldn’t be anymore cautious. And I am somewhere in the middle. Maybe a little more on the cautious side mixed with lots of anxiousness and uncertainty as to what to expect.

I haven’t lived in Texas in over 3 years and haven’t been to visit in over 1 year. I know in those 3 years I have attempted to share my love of Texas with my fellow northwesterners but I know I have changed. I am probably a little more liberal, a little more into recycling, and a lot more into hot drinks. Will I get annoyed with the intense conservatism? What will I do with all my composting and plastic bottles? And will I still want to drink hot drinks when it’s breaking 100 degrees outside? These are very pressing questions, people!

In all my crazy anxiousness driving home last night from my boyfriend’s house, a sense of security fell over me. And not security that I would be moving home to the familiar, because in all reality it is far from familiar. The security that Jesus has me strapped in.

You know how everyone always compares life to a rollercoaster and all its ups and downs? And we think it’s going to be okay, because we know rollercoasters are fun. But they are only fun because we trust and have security that the seatbelts we are wearing are going to keep us safe on those ups and downs and sharp turns. If those seatbelts weren’t there, we wouldn’t have fun because fear that we could not hang on would play a huge role. And the fact is we probably couldn’t hang on.

But I am strapped in. And ready to have fun.

Lesson #10 – New Year’s Resolution, Part 2

2010-01-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I have thought about it and realize there is nothing I feel would be beneficial to me if I tried to do something everyday. So I decided to make a list of things I really do want to accomplish over the course of this year. I figured if I write them down and post them on the web for everyone to see, that I would feel accountable to them and possibly reach those goals. Or at least start them.

Goals for 2010:

Lose 15 pounds (cliché, yes)
Find a job that is in my ‘career path’
Complete writing a screenplay
Get followers on a blog (more than just my boyfriend)
Dance more
Study my family history
Pay off all my debt

I think I need to have some sort of thing that will happen to me if I don’t give a good attempt at completing these goals. (Hmm, thinking, thinking, thinking…)

Got it! Shopping. If I don’t complete/give a serious effort in finishing these goals, then my 2011 resolution has to be no shopping for myself.

Now that is motivation.

Here is a toast to the start of this new decade!

Lesson #9 - New Year's Resolution

2010-01-01T14:34:00.000-08:00

2010.

The start of a new year. The start of a new decade.

I am ready for a new year, I am ready for a new decade. And I am really hoping that the year does not feel like I have so far these past few hours of this day.

I do not recall sleeping last night. The sofa bed at the hotel where the night before they offered free booze just didn’t quite cut it. Neither did the all night yelling. Not that I am complaining, just still a little grumpy. So yes, let’s try and forget these first few hours of this year. Well, as soon as I catch up on my sleep…

Truly I am hoping that in 364 days from now I will be able to look upon 2010 and think how much I have accomplished this year. I will remember where I was today and all the flubs of 2009 and think, “wow a lot has changed and I couldn’t be more happy/relieved.”

My boyfriend has decided that his New Year’s resolution is going to be designing something everyday. That is a big feat, but I am sure he can do it and do it well. (It is his job anyway.) As for me, I can’t decide. I have thought about losing 20 pounds, writing a screenplay, paying off my debt, getting a new job, you know the usual. In reality I hope all of those happen. I like the discipline factor though that comes with doing something everyday. So I am still thinking exactly what that will be. My New Year’s resolution might just start a few days later. I will keep you posted.

As for now, over and out and I hope you have a very blessed new year.

Lesson #8 - Breaking Up

2009-12-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

Well Thanksgiving came and went and I am still working in call center. But…

I quit!

Finally. I had dreamed about doing it so many times but for some reason I was still nervous to tell my boss that I was done working there. No matter how much you hate your job, it is still hard to tell someone that you are breaking up with them. Well, that’s what it feels like anyway.

What am I doing now, you ask? Um, looking for a job. There is the potential that I will stay in Portland and the potential to move to Austin. Hopefully this new start will be a little smoother than the previous one. But, we’ll just have to see.

So I have two more days left of answering phones and then freedom! Well at least a week long vacation to the arctic tundra we like to call Wisconsin.

Lesson #7 - When It Rains It Pours

2009-11-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

Endurance. It’s an interesting thing. You know when you are working out and you think you can’t do one more push up or run another second but you somehow manage to push through the pain and finish? That’s what I feel like.

I came home the other night to a wet bed. And no, I did not pee in it. The ceiling did. It was raining in my bedroom. The funny thing is I live on the bottom floor. The even funnier thing is that this is the second leak in our apartment since moving in four months ago.

Portland, so far, has not been my shining moment.

Last week I called in sick to work, mainly because I was sick about the fact that I had to go to work at a call center another day. I would love to report that it is getting easier to go to work each day, but unfortunately it is quite the opposite.

I had an interview last week for a job I would totally love. The only problem is that it is 48 miles away. That makes it a little unappealing. I am really starting to wonder if I am not supposed to be here right now.

We’ll see… Thanksgiving is my ‘deadline’. You never know what can happen by then.

Lesson #6 - Third Time’s A Charm

2009-10-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

You would think by now I would get the hint. But I had to go and apply once more to Whole Foods. And then turn around and get denied almost immediately. Three times! At least they were all at different stores and all different positions. Wait, that means I just got denied three times by three different people. Oh the pain.

Job hunting really gets old after a while. I have been consistently looking for a job here in Portland since April. Let’s do the math – that is 6 months of searching. A half of a year! My goodness, by now you would think I’d be doing something a little more exciting than saying, "Thank you for calling. This is Shannon. How can I help you?" every four and a half minutes.

I seriously never want to look at a job search engine ever again. It’s getting depressing. The listed positions should have a disclaimer that says, "oh and by the way Shannon, there is no possible chance that you will get this job, so don’t even waste your time applying." That would be helpful because then I wouldn’t waste my time. I really hate wasting my time.

I hate wasting time so much that sometimes in interviews when I realize there is no possible chance I am going to get the job I just want to stop and say, "you know this really isn’t going to work out, you and I both know I am not a good fit for this position so lets stop wasting our time, goodbye." But I don’t because I know I shouldn’t. But really I don’t know why I shouldn’t because I know I am not going to get the job. I guess I always hope for that chance. Well that and I’m desperate.

And that brings me to today. Waking up at 2:45 am so I can listen to people from all over the country talk about their petty problems. I guess somebody has to do it.

Desperation, it’s an ugly thing.

Lesson #5 - Crickets

2009-09-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

Waiting. I am getting good at it.

Still haven’t gotten a phone call to let me know yay or nay. In fact, all I have seemed to have gotten is the sound of crickets. Like no one is there. Not even a quick email response. It’s confusing.

In other news, I have made it through Day 2 of starting work at 4:00 am. Waking up that early has been brutal. My body pretty much hates me. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to go to Day 1, but now it looks like I will be heading to Day 3 tomorrow.

Tomorrow I have a phone interview with another organization. I am very thankful the ball keeps moving somewhere. Hopefully it will stop at a really great place to work before I get too used to a 7:00 pm bedtime.

Lesson #4 - The Assessment

2009-09-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

I have officially graduated from training and should be on the phones from here on out 8+ hours a day. How exciting. These past two weeks have seriously been a form of torture and next week starts at 4:00 am. I can’t believe I actually made it this far and not sure how I can muster up the strength to keep at it.

Thankfully I have hopes of better horizons. I had a second interview last week at an organization I would love to work at in a position I would love to do. I am hoping to hear back on Monday if I got it or not. I know they liked me, I just hope they didn’t like someone else more. Oh and I had to take a test, well an assessment, and I am nervous I might have failed. Even though according to the guidelines there are no “wrong” answers. I am not quite sure how it would be possible to pick up on someone’s management and motivator styles in 20 questions, so I don’t quite understand this hoop I had to jump through. All I know is that I answered the questions as honestly as I could, because in all reality I wouldn’t want to work there if they think who I am would not be a “good” fit. Even though I know, and I am sure you know, I would be.

But I am trying hard not to get my hopes up. One thing I have gotten used to this summer is closed doors. Maybe this time it will be different. Please be different.

Lesson #3 - The Verdict

2009-08-31T22:40:00.000-07:00

So I got the job. The job at the call center. I start next week.

I was sick all day waiting for the phone call telling me the verdict. I think I was secretly hoping I didn’t get the job. But I also knew if I didn’t get it, I would probably feel even worse. Lose-lose I guess.

When the phone rang I couldn’t bring myself to answer it so I let it go to voicemail. I was hoping it was someone else telling me they wanted to bring me in for an interview. But it wasn’t. It was just someone telling me they wanted to hire me. I should be excited, right?

When the recruiter told me I got the job, I had to keep reminding myself to sound positive and be thankful. I think I did a decent job. Maybe I should go into acting instead.

Well I have a week before I have to punch in my timecard. Maybe the job of my dreams will call before then. You never know, a lot could happen in a week…

Lesson #2 - Second Interview

2009-08-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I have a second interview at a company interested in hiring me to do customer service in a call center. The woman described it as “open cubicles with 25-100 calls per day each call lasting approximately 3.5 minutes to 4.5 minutes.”

Sounds like a dream job.

My heart is broken about it. Like I want to bawl my eyes out when I think about working in a call center. But I have to go tomorrow whether I like it or not, and I have to try my hardest and shine above all the others in my (eek!) group interview. Even with a broken heart.

I feel like I am being squeezed into a glass jar that is too small for me. I guess I am a bit of a dreamer and always want to make sure I have room to be creative. I wish I would just hear back from at least one of the other jobs I applied to that seem to make my heart jump. Okay, okay, I know I am being way overdramatic and taking this job does not mean forever. It’s just during these “tough economic times”, right?

Aside from the long commute, lower pay, and bad schedule, I am sure the people who work there will be nice since it is, by all means, friendly customer service. And besides, they might not even hire me.

Lesson #1 - Transition

2009-08-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

So since watching a movie last night, I am somewhat inspired to begin a new chronicle of sorts about my journey of transition. Sounds like such a deep thing, but really all that is in my life right now is transition. But on the deeper side, it seems that all your life is transition anyway. So I guess I am writing about life. And I am starting it with my life transition from Seattle to Portland which probably began about five months ago…

Basically, to set it up my boyfriend somehow convinced me to move to Oregon where he is from so he could go to school in Portland. Since I happen to be crazy about him, I agreed. It’s been a less than easy road.

List of challenges so far:

Decided that quitting my perfectly good job in Seattle in the toughest economy since the year I was born was a good idea.
Even with our insanely detailed cleaning job, my previous landlord withheld all of our deposit of $2500. (Who even does that sort of damage? Not four single women!)
Slept in a room with no windows for a month while all my stuff sat out in a trailer in front of the house I was staying at. The mailman wrote me threatening letters claiming I was blocking the mailbox. He probably needed the exercise. Oh and there were cats, which I have come to realize I am allergic to.
Family was slightly hesitant at first to be supportive. Although, it has shaped up and I am very thankful for their encouragement and support.
Lack of much response from the multitude of jobs I applied to. And the few interviews I had provided absolutely no bites. Talk about blow to your self-esteem. Repeatedly.
Changed the phone number I had for over 10 years to a new local number to hopefully boost response from the jobs I applied to. It was a sad day. And I don’t think it helped.
Had several companies say they really liked me, they just either weren’t hiring right now or only hiring internally. Ouch.
Whole Foods and Nordstrom flat out denied me. Still wondering why.
Finally moved into a place but with a roommate I didn’t know. It was on the stressful side getting actually physically moved in. And is on the slow path of actually getting to know each other.
Don’t really have any friends here in my new city. Now don’t get me wrong, who doesn’t like tons of quality time with their boyfriend? All I am saying some new faces in the mix might fill the community sized hole in my heart.
Wish it was easier to find a church. How are you supposed to find a church in a new city, especially in one that doesn’t really like church? Yelp and Google Search have been, unfortunately, no help.
My car reached 100,000 miles, got broken into, and the battery completely died. Oh and I keep forgetting to replace the burnt out light bulb in the back.
Had to venture to the doctor with no health insurance. I was sure it was cancer, my doctor was sure it was heartburn. He was right. Thank you Prilosec.
The kitchen ceiling in my new apartment began leaking this brownish orange liquid. There now are 3 large holes in our kitchen that my landlord seems to be dragging her feet to fix. It’s been over a month. Oh and our refrigerator doesn’t close all the way. Yea for lukewarm milk!
And last but not least, I hate my credit card. Mostly the debt that has been accrued on it since I started this little transition. I just love that hanging over my head.

Like I said, it has not been the most pleasant journey. Although the sun has been shining a lot this summer and I can walk to the mall. And the fact that I think Portland might just be a cool town. Well, once it accepts me and gives me a sweet job and some friends. Until then I hope I don’t have to add too many more items to the list above.