Changed classes

I found out half the classes I signed up for are not actually part of the AA degree or the certificate course so I had to switch a couple of them out for the more boring requisites, but I figure I had better get them taken care of now while I have the time.

Now I'm doing full days a couple days a week, starting at 7:30am! Ugh, kinda scary, but it will be good for me to jump into a schedule I think. So, I'll be working Friday 11pm-Sunday 11pm and then classes from 7:30am to 5:00pm several weekdays. I'll barely have time to keep up with my gardening! So I'm praying for the energy to keep it all going.

Amanda is coming on the 28th and bringing Danya, whose 15th birthday is the 30th, so we'll go to the beach and maybe camping or some other great adventures. That will be a nice last hurrah before I buckle down. Oh boy, so much happening after such a long period of nothing new!

Got it!

Good news! The interview went very well at LifeHouse, and an hour later they were talking with my references. They called to offer me the weekend position this morning! It actually works out really well, because Marisa told me today that SCC may not actually have all the licensing in order before September, so I can do this on the weekends and take all the classes I want on the weekdays all summer. Then come September, when SCC opens I can either drop my hours at LifeHouse to two weekends, or just quit, if it's too much stress trying to hold both jobs. Either way, this is perfect for the summer, since I have already signed up for several classes. I will have to drop the Japanese cuisine class I think, because it's four weekends in a row. I may keep the other weekend class, since it's only two Saturdays and I can probably just tell them I have previous plans, we'll see. I can always drop it and retake it later if need be.

Susie forwarded her personal reference letter to me, and I was so touched, I am posting it here:

I believe I met Rupa in 1988, or 1989, during what I call my "before-children" years! She lived and worked in a studio in Oakland, where my oldest friend, Kim Anno, also worked.

Rupa struck everyone as the ultimate "can-do" person. She just seemed to have so many skills, ingenuity, and confidence. I admired her.

Fast forward to 90 or 91.

I had a baby, and I also had a new book out. In those days, the publisher sent authors on quite an ambitious tour, 15 cities in about 30 days.

I asked Rupa if she had the flexibility to travel with me for a month as a both a nanny to Aretha and general book tour assistant.

We flew and drove everywhere, from Texas to Northern Canada, and I honestly don't know what I'd have done without her. There were so many new circumstances and unexpected transitions, new people every day... it was unbelievable. And her good spirits and patience kept me going, along with her practical way of getting things done, no matter how intimidating they might seem at first.


Her intelligence, sensitivity, and "making s something out of nothing" was what always astounded me. What a great heart she has.

I really can't tell you what her weak points were in those circumstances, because I was the one who was so "difficult," to tell you the truth! I dont' know how she could stand me by the end, I was so moody, i was nursing, I my hormones were nuts. She was one of the few people who could "handle" me- so I guess I'm the one with the "challenging personality," at least at that time. Hopefully age has mellowed me.

We talked a great deal about her family, her travels in India; I have fond memories of that. We both have family histories from that part of the world. She was an expert "gleaner," who could always shop and find things of the best possible value when everyone else would have given up. She is a great cook; she has remarkable taste in everything aesthetic.


I hope this is helpful!

Susie B...

Amanda's coming!

I'm so excited! Amanda and Danya are coming to visit from the 28th through the 3rd! Excellent timing, since my classes begin on June 18th and work will be starting soon as well, so this will be a great time to take a trip to the ocean and redwoods etc. Danya is going to be 15! Insane. I'll have to find a good gift for her. She's studying Japanese, so maybe I'll ask Jor for some ideas.

Maybe I'll give her Rosetta Stone Japanese course on CD.

Another Job, Another Interview

I interviewed at an agency that arranges assisted living help for adults with developmental disabilities this morning. The man I met with seemed very genuine and responsible, not someone just out to make a living off the disadvantages of others, which is good. I couldn't work for a company that was simply exploiting the needs of others for a profit.

I went only because I had committed to the interview before I heard that I was at the top of the list for the cook job with SCC, and because I really can't count on that until it is final, but it was so hard for me to get out of bed and get motivated to go spend an hour in traffic when I really didn't think I wanted the job at all. Once I got there I was in a better frame of mind and decided it was going to be a good practice interview, if nothing else.

The more I spoke with Michael, the more I started to warm to the idea of the job. By the time I left I was actually hoping I get called back. I would have no question in my mind at all if I am offered both positions that the SCC job is better for me in every way, and I see myself there in the far distant future, but at least this is a nice fall-back, worst case scenario. It doesn't pay well at all, but enough to scrape by while taking classes if need be.

Also they have a schedule option that is all weekend, Friday night until Sunday night, it pays $450 a week and I would have all week free for classes. Heck, I might even be able to it in addition to the SCC job, if they were both okay with it. Michael mentioned there is one position that would only be two weekends a month. Now that I could probably work with!

It seemed to me that the interview went very well, they are already calling my refs and unfortunately having trouble reaching them. They got David, but Mary's number was wrong and Susie didn't answer. Earthlink uses some service to verify employment and they CHARGE people to use it! Of course Garden Botanika is going to be a dead end as well. Hopefully they will be satisfied with what they get.

I'm still taking deep breaths every time I think about the SCC position, I want it so bad!
I keep forgetting to ask if there are benefits at SCC but I can't imagine there won't be, you know? But yeah, that's important to me now, for sure. I'll find out soon enough. If the benefits are good at SCC i could afford to just take a couple overnight weekend shifts at SLP for extra money and for the joy of the experience. It would also look good on my resume to have the experience, in case I end up trying to go for a counseling degree of some kind in the future.

To be totally bold and honest, I hope I never have to deal with a resume again! I would love to carve a niche for myself with SCC and see them grow and succeed and expand and support a future long-term career for myself and others. I'd love to eventually become a counselor of some sort I think. But I'd really like to be cooking and taking classes for the next five years. I could earn a degree by then just taking occasional classes while working full time, I believe, if I really apply myself.

It's a good time to make big changes by way of baby steps.

Cars, trucks and lawnmowers.

We are indeed excessively mobile, it would seem.
My Car. Mom's Truck. Julie's SUV.

We also desperately need to take care of the side yard grass! I'm going to work on the tall grass this week, hopefully I can get it all under control before I get too busy.
I put up that bamboo screen recently so we could put up our low-rent inflatable pool and not have the neighbors blinded by our glaring expanses of moon-glow white skin or the eyesore of the cheap plastic pool itself.

Mom is here with her truck, and she picked up a load of topsoil this morning from the Shamrock place down the street, so as soon as I get finished cutting her hair (which i will do as soon as I am done here) we'll fill the rest of the new wine barrels and plant some more stuff! Yay. I love watching stuff grow. Can't wait to have the first salad from the garden!

If you look closely you can just make out Mom's truck with the blue tarp covering the load of dirt in the back. Our neighbor, Iris, loaned us a prehistoric looking mower called a tall weed mower, so maybe I'll have an "after" photo of this area by the end of the week.

Theres some more of our inherited roses. Those ones are out of control! They smell really good, and look beautiful. Lucky us!