that job fair sucked.  the lines were super long! I hate long lines.  i blame my lack of patience on the microwave. but, no one likes to wait so i don’t need to excuse myself on that.

ok the awesome part of the jobfair is that the guy that interviewed me likes to watch Project Runway.  Also, i got to dress up and look all cute.  It rained A LOT which made driving there a nightmare BUT then again it gave me a chance to rock my a raincoat and actually use my umbrella (which matched my cardigan!!!).  as i walked from my car to the job fair site I was really tempted to call Rose just to complain about the seattle-like weather.  that temptation was interrupted by a Gap customer i had that same week…seriously, I’m just too popular.  I felt bad that i couldn’t be in “customer service” mode… Hey! How are you? Let me know if you need anything?! Let’s sign you up for a Gap Card!… yeah right oh well.  I also ran into Grant, my supervisor at Pearson.  a separate post on my essay scoring experience is coming soon.

Anyways, I only got to interview w/ one school Rhodes Middle School.  They had a potential math position.  I wasn’t too too inclined to interview with them because they’re pretty far from where I live and the word POTENTIAL… but it worked out ok I guess.  If i get a second interview it’ll be late june early july…?  that’s a big IF. and do you remember what i said about me and patience?  yeah.

in another note I should mention that travis and i talked about how his realtor and i are the same person.  at first i was way way WAY offended, but then it turns out that she’s always pointing out plans for his mythical boat.  which when he said it like that: OF COURSE, i see how we’re the same person!… no travis, no.

Ok i have to go there’s a guy sitting 20 feet from me that keeps coughing.  that usually makes me want to stare them down until they put a surgical mask on but I am forced to understand that I am at a public library.  I wish I could hose him with Lysol and he would say, “Thank you kind stranger.”  but i know that won’t happen.

peace out homebodies,

lo

Joel Kotkin, Forbes writer, listed California, Ohio and Michigan as the worst places to look for jobs.  Joel:  duh! the list breaks down into worst big, mid size, and small cities for jobs and Florida also made quite an appearance. It does make me sad that Cali’s on the list.  I have love for that state for personal reasons wink wink! Can you say Vitamin D?!  Oh yeah, vitamin d. 

Actually, I was really scared that San Antonio and Austin would be listed.  but no, not yet. 

Ok here’s the weird thing: i don’t live in Michigan (pfftt!!) or Ohio (O-what?) or Cali (tear) BUT, I’m still unemployed.  for money i’m working at the gap (hooray for basics!), and scoring 7th grade Arkansas state writing exams (ask me how i feel about a 13 year old’s penmenship– ask me!) (Do NOT ask me about their writing: it’s torture to read AND THEN discuss it too…No. NO. no.  I can’t believe i even mentioned it.)

On the upside, Texas can breathe for now (because it isn’t Michigan, Ohio, or Cali) and I’ve really decided that teaching Middle School is going to require i accept that basic sentence formation knowledge isn’t gonna be there.

oh woe. and yet, i still want a job.  ANY job.  well career… that pays…with money.

I was charged 1.89 for a diet Pepsi?!?!!  it doesn’t even have sugar in it, and thus, should be cheaper.  i can’t believe it.  I still drank it though.  I had a too.  I had a cup of chili a bag of sun chips and a 20 oz. bottle of diet pepsi.  I can’t believe it was 1.89.  I’ve paid more for pop BUT it was at movie theaters and amusement parks this was Quiznos.  I expect a performance next time i show up…good grief.

in other news, after my traumatizing experience at the aforementioned sandwich place I came home and i noticed a banner for a Helotes festival: Cornyval.  How lame…and yet, I can’t wait to go.  I imagine it’ll be a the most boring and slow moving of trainwrecks in trainwreck history!  I have to be there!!  after all, this tiny town event is competing with Fiesta! San Antonio’s week long festival devoted to gluttony…or something like that, I haven’t finished reading the pamphlet.

www.cornyval.com

ciao homebodies,

lo

Ok so I didn’t work today.  I’m a sub so my schedule is not entitled to be planned.  BUT no excuses were used today to waste my day away.  Here’s what I did:

Diet: i ate a lot of cheese.  I had a really really blacked up grilled cheese for breakfast.  I nixed the coffee this morning because I slept an illegal amount of hours.  Also, I ran out of joe.  Had I had it in the pantry I would have forsaken the time slept policy and had it anyways.

for lunch I had a hefty slice of my sister’s meatloaf and rice…hmm…i guess I didn’t have as much cheese as i could have huh?

ok and for dinner which to be frank i wasn’t even hungering for yet, i had Sonic.  Fast food on the fly is the best when it’s deep fried and filled w/ preservatives so I went with: a Chili CHEESE Hot Dog, and CHED-AH filled jalapeno poppers, and a Route 44 (signature 44 oz drink) 1/2 filled w/ diet Dr. Pepper and 1/2 filled w/ Diet Coke and overflowing because I requested strawberries in my drink.  It was delicious to drink BUT not so fun when you realize you have your work cut out for you the moment one of the strawberry slices gets sucked into the straw.  BUT: i believe because of the strawberry entrapment incident I managed to increase my lung capacity.  The human suction power is almost might reach heroic status one day.

yummmmy! is greasy a smell? it is now...!

aside from my not-so- impressive-cheese-intake-list my day wasn’t that interesting. 

Here’s a breakdown:

1. I filled a loan consolidation application.  I want to thank Direct Loans for making that possible otherwise I would have spent 3.5 hours of my day doing something else.  I also want to thank the internet for saving me a stamp.
2. I applied to teach middle school math at Northeast Independent School District.  In my Letter of Intent Form I spoke of how my fashion background made the greatest use of math by helping me organize my award winning creations on paper…?!  Yes.  I’m serious there.  UNBELIEVABLE.  I don’t know what I’ll do if I get an interview because that is something I AM NOT looking forward to explaining.
3.  I checked my email.  Several times.  TALK about INITIATIVE!!!WOW!!! i’m the best at checking my email.  I don’t think i can be beat.
4. I checked craigslist for a WHOLE BUNCH of jobs that i could possibly be interested in for the summer when the kids are out and the need for substitute teachers is obsolete.  The progress report on that is pending.  However, I did get a rejection letter from some Virginia chick:

Dear Ms. Alvarez:
 
Thank you so much for submitting your resume in consideration of the position as listed above.
 
We have decided to move on with another candidate for this particular position. 
 
I wish you much success,
 
Virginia Balfour
Human Resource Coordinator
Med-National, Inc.

Thanks Ginny.  I actually do appreciate it when they get back to me.  At least I know I didn’t fall for a scam posting.

5.  I studied for my Sunday Mtg…CHECK!

6.  I went to the park and saw a kid and his dad.  The dad was trying to push his kid on the tri BUT what the dad should have been doing is investing on a belt, or a third hand so that he could lift the back of his shorts at LEAST 2 inches.  It was then that i totally though: he must be a plumber.  Then it became understandable.

7.  OH!!! and i registered to test for EC-4 Certification.  You guessed it: one day, yours truly might end up being a KINDERGARTEN TEACHER eeekkkkkk!!! Can you say Cardigans? cos i can!!!

8. I watched a good 40 minutes of Bones.  Yay for science shows that totally downplay the science and crank up the drama…

9. OH!! i weighed myself in this morning.  the results were satisfactory yet i should mention there was a .6 lb increase from last week. 

ugh…this listing option isn’t the best.  alignment is so non-existant.

peace-out my homebodies

so i’ve been trying to find a new purse for about….i guess since January-Februaryish…lets go w/ Feb and put it to rest. So yes. Here’s my dilemma: i need a new everyday and everything bag. HARDEST THING EVER!!!

Having to subject myself to a ‘practical’ item is a pretty traumatizing experience. There are too many feelings of commitment involved. I miss shopping w/ mom because she’d always help me decide. Sometimes I’d decide contrary to her suggestions BUT the point being: i would DECIDE. So far, i haven’t been able to make myself pick anything yet.

Today I was standing at TJMaxx and I thought…I miss school. You took one look around and bam! in school you know exactly what leather piece you should be whining to your parents about. this growing up/transitional stage i’m in sucks. i can’t make decisions. i have NO clue whatsoever what style items are socially acceptable for me. UGH!!! this is drastically annoying!

ok here is my solution:

Dear Superman,

Please run backwards really fast so that I might be back up in Ithaca with all the Gossip Girl wannabees if only so I might gain some insight into what sort of bag I should buy. 

Many thanks,

Lo

AS IF!!!  ok i need to get going.  If i try REALLY hard i might get my sister to go back with me to the store so that she could help me pick out my to be bag.

peace out my homebodies!!!!

ok so i don’t know how i stumbled on the you-tube vid for Goog-411. it’s been posted since SEPTEMBER…how i missed it, i dunno anyways here’s the show… Take a look for yo’-self:

isn’t that awesome!! i love the internet. so many tools. so many freebies. so much google for everyone. it’s just fantastic. love the internet–LOVE IT. but it’s weird in a way. to get stuff free. on some days when i consider how many people are unemployed i stop and NEARLY wish that $4/gal gas was back if it gave everyone’s job back. that’s unlikely to solve the issue which is why i only NEARLY wish. so when google came out w/ this super cool FREE version of 411 i thought: YAY! goodbyyeeeeee 50 cent charges for 411!!! however, what is the regular 411?
people are at the end of that 411…people that get paychecks for 411 operator services and stuff like that, stuff i don’t think to deeply about yet i have a pretty good feeling that it’s going to affect those people not so deeply thought about (that’s such a poorly written sentence above all my poorly written sentences THEREFORE, i should take a moment to call upon my faithful excuse: English is my second language.)
anyways, so even though 411 is this super big or small group of people that get money for their service, what is google doing to them? I seriously love google…i’m torn. what if google turns into the wal-mart of information and takes the jobs of all these people that sell the convenience of obtaining information?

well if that happens i don’t know. I feel bad. but strangley enough…not bad enough to hold myself from programming goog-411 into my cell.

hasta la vista lovies

my address won’t ever be permenant will it? i keep filling out all these applications for jobs and such and i come across what’s becoming controversial with me: my address. I’m waiting for a background check to be done and i’m on pins and needles simply because i can’t remember all my addresses and if i do remember them, the dates i lived there for.

ok so here’s the dl on the job situation. still doing weird stuff but nothing concrete.

1. p/t at the gap still exists for me. i’ve narrowed down my availability big time though. why? please see item No. 2.
2. f/t gig at a daycare. a daycare?! yes, a daycare. it’s ok but the pay SUCKS so much it’s off the scale.
3. i just interviewed at a charter school, La Escuela de Las Americas. after reviewing the results of a pending background check i will begin tutoring math and science on saturdays as well as substituting from time to time. hopefully 1-2 times per week. it beats the daycare pay. but it’s FAR. BUT, it’s ok because, it will grant me the hours i need for in class experience i need in order to complete my alternative teaching certification.

ok so now about why i’m still at The Gap. I like my manager Nic. He’s my lambchop. and hello DISCOUNTS?!!! duh! only travis would understand. even though i rarely buy stuff now i can’t imagine paying full price for stuff i know i can get at a discounted price.

how did i end up at the daycare wiping butts and bugers all day? cos i needed money. and experience working w/ kids at the very least and turns out most school districts only accept substitute applicants only like 2 times a year and i’d missed my boat there so i HAD to settle. However, my boss really likes me. She wants me to do marketing stuff and office stuff. She’s the director and she definitely directs. so she needs someone as an office supplement to the lady that’s already there and that’s where i enter the scene to the audiences surprise ending.

and the job at la escuela…so like i said when i started working at the daycare all i had was a lousy salary and trust me lousy it is. so i thought fo’ get this business i’m out so i kept looking for something else so in comes the tutoring spot i found on craigslist. and ta-da: better pay!!! yay.

my sister won’t let me quit gap cos of the “what if i need to use your discount” possibility. which is understandable, i feel the same way.

ok. i’m out, i need to buy shoes. brown, and it is harder than it sounds. much harder.

peace out homebodies

ok so i’m in the process of applying to teach for america and well, i have a few days to go. but seriously, that program gives me the heeby jeebeees in nervousness and i don’t know why! well, because I want it. But then again if i get it i’m scared of it. i guess it’s my unicorn right this moment and for the past months or so worth of moments. we’ll see. the sad thing is, i realized today: i REALLY like my congregation here yeah it makes me sad because, this is the thing that has endeared me to stay here in san antonio and i’m kinda scared of what kind of a congregation i’ll land in if i do the teach for america thing. regardless of the congregation, my mtg attendance won’t be comprimised. but my attitude will be. and what makes it suck more yet is that i’ll be alone…again. for 2 yrs. no go backs. i guess i shouldn’t get nervous yet. I haven’t gotten it. i have some time before i hear i get rejected hee hee.

i'll pass...

so i figured out why i like austin so much and why i can’t quite come to grips with living in san antonio.  because San Antonio is TEXAS.  Austin is “we’re texas!” but in a non-annoying way.  i dunno what to do?!!!! I really really hope i can get into teachforamerica because, it might be my way out.  or it might make me stay BUT if it does, it comes with a 2 yr disclaimer.  if i know it’s not forever, i’ll deal with it through countless therapy sessions, gymming it out hamster style, and lastly, i can always rely on hulu to get me through a LOT of stuff.  

ok, here’s another weird thing about san antonio and me.  well me.  i don’t trust local places here.  i’ve been looking around for gyms and there are several local gyms and i’m craving, 24-Hour’s and Gold’s Gyms.

I think it’s because I haven’t met people from out of state or from another country that isn’t mexico.  don’t get me wrong. i’m as messican as i can get ( i drink topo chico!) but the thing is…it’s not diverse.  i need to find something that can help me focus enjoying this place.  I seriously hope it isn’t permanent.  I don’t want to bloom here.  Not here.