First Good News in a LONG LONG LONGGGGGGGGG time!

Well, I did it. I finally had an interview. Well I shouldn't say FINALLY since I did have an interview a couple of months ago but I'm still not convinced it was a real position so alas, my first interview since being laid off! Yay!!!

The way it happened was COMPLETELY out of the blue but it happened and that's the important part right?! I applied for a Director of Marketing & Promotions position at Western Carolina University in June. Didn't hear anything until I got called for a phone interview in August (really?!?! 2 months!). I thought it went really well but when I didn't hear from them in the 2 weeks they said it would take, I assumed they moved on. NOPE! One of my references messaged me about calling the contact back to talk about me 2 weeks ago (end of September, almost another 2 months!).

They obviously liked what they heard because she called me the next day and set up an interview for Wednesday! WCU is in Cullowhee, NC ... 40 miles west of Asheville and in the middle of nowhere! The interview went really well (in my opinion); I met with 11 different people at the school - my would be supervisor, 2 head coaches, 1 assistant coach, 2 media relation folks, ticket office manager, academic director, SWA, AD, and student affairs. To say it was a full day would be an understatement!

The best part of the whole experience was that I wasn't nervous - at all! Everyone told me I would be great in the position (duh!) and to be confident in myself and I think that shined through. They seemed really impressed with the ideas that I was bringing to the table and even tried to get to know me on a social basis (not so professional, ya know?).

It ended with them telling me they have 1 more candidate to bring in (3 of us total) early next week and then hope to make a decision soon after. I'm thinking I'll hear fairly soon - early November at the latest. I have a lot to think about though. I've made some major strides since moving to Atlanta in terms of me as a whole, complete person and I don't know if a move to such a remote area would be healthy for me. I can see myself falling back into bad ways. On the other hand, it would be a GREAT PHENOMENAL EXCELLENT career move. I'd be the Director of Marketing and Promotions at a Division 1-AA school. And from what everyone said, I would pretty much have free reign to do what I wanted to do as long as I got students and paying customers in some seats. There isn't a large budget ... but when is there ever!?!?

I'm trying to do this one on my own ... I asked my family to delay telling me their opinions until I have some time to think about it. I don't want anyone to sway my decision either way. Right now, there's one big pro and one big con ... past that, I'm just not sure.

And as I'm sure you have an opinion, be sure I'll be asking you for it in the upcoming days. Just not tomorrow :)

Deuces.

It's been 7 months ...

I started with "I'm not much of a blogger" so that's my reasoning for not blogging since March. WOAH!!! lameeeee :)

Here's the CONDENSED version of the last 7 months:
- Taylor got baptized, spent the summer globe trotting, and turned 1 year old 2 months ago! She's walking and talking and being a real fun kid!!!
- Skylar has started French pre-school in addition to Spanish AND English pre-school so she's OFFICIALLY smarted than me (it was only a matter of time).
- I moved to Atlanta! I decided I just needed to make the move and at the end of July I did just that. Packed up some stuff and drove down. Obv there's got to be an adventure - I got into a minor fender bender but wasn't hurt. The body shop that the insurance company insisted we take it to held it captive for a month ... YES, I did NOT have my car for the entire month of August :( But, all is well with the car now - minus the smell of gasoline but we're getting that looked at!
- I'm applying for jobs like crazy ... and it sucks. I have a few people down here who are helping me line some stuff up but being at the bottom of the totem pole doesn't get me a lot of work :/ Here's to patience ... and we all know I have NONE of that!
- I joined a few groups from meetup.com ... I LOVE THEM!!!! I met a lot of cool, interesting, different young ladies and love hanging out. One of them is having a Sex in the City party in a few weeks - can't wait!!!! No one will ever replace my loves but these girls are friendly and I'm having a great time getting to know them and try new things.
- My family ... my rock. I absolutely do not know where I would be without my mom's pep talks, my dad's annoying sense of humor, and my sisters' and cousins' positivity and belief in me. All these people keep expressing to me how they "know I will get a job" and to trust in God and just believe in me. It makes me happy to think about :) I don't always like hearing it but I appreciate knowing people believe in me!
- Speaking of God - I've joined an amazing church here. Well, they won't have members until December but I am attending every week and serving on the hospitality committee. Olu, the lead pastor, really has a way of connecting with everyone and I look forward to going to church every week!
- My friends are amazing ... I love them. I miss them. We don't talk nearly enough and we see each other even less but I know who they are and that they will be there for me. They know who they are and know I would be there for them in a second if they needed me :) I really love that there have been some people who have really showed me their true colors - in a positive sense - I never thought they would stick through and they did <3

I think that's it ... in a nutshell! My aunt and uncle are renewing their wedding vows in 2 weeks in Philly and I can't wait to see all my cousins!!! It's going to be like a mini family reunion ... and you know how us Ross' get when we're together!!! ANDDDDD there's a party .... awwww shoot!

Please comment and I promise there will be more posts :)

Mucho Loveo
S.

Update ...

Well, I've continued to apply for jobs (since one doesn't seem to be falling into my lap as I had hoped) but haven't heard back from any companies yet :-/. It's still early so I'm no losing hope yet! Some of my Velocity colleagues are proving to be very valuable in the job search, from having contacts to resume help to generating ideas of where to look. And still others are proving me right and being as I figured - jerks!

My newest pain is my pain in the ass, good for nothing landlord! He won't let me out of my lease early (which is completely in his right but I HAVE NO INCOME! Work with a sister!) so unless I find someone to sublease, I am stuck. And I cannot, with a clear conscience, put someone in my current living situation. I guess I'll just have to suck it up! Lesson learned - check out landlord before signing lease!!!

The new plan is Charlotte or Atlanta :) So, I'm concentrating my search there and if you hear of any jobs ... send them my way!!!

Well I think that's it for now ... keep praying for me!

S.

The beginning ...

I've never been much of a blogger but now with the increased time on my hands, I decided to pick up a new hobby. And work on my writing skills. And give all of you an inside glimpse at looking for a job in your mid-twenties with a failing economy.

For those of you who I haven't told and/or are not smart enough to deduce as much - I was laid off 2 weeks ago. I was rather upset by the turn of events but decided to move on and do something new with my life. Life in CT was eating me alive so here's my chance to get out. Although leaving my cutie niece behind will be a mighty hard thing to do! I had my dream job straight out of college - how long was that supposed to last?

So now that that's out of the way, on to my plan! Well, I've spent the last week in NC with my parents pretty much ignoring the fact that I don't have a job and have yet to apply for a job. Sweet! But I did read a book about a woman who was laid off for 2+ years and never got a job but went into writing. Well, my writing skills are not exactly something that I feel comfortable resting my life on (and I'm sure you would agree after reading this far).

I plan on using Velocity as long as possible and will be in the office searching and applying for jobs for the forseable future - and I am totally comfortable with that. I'm looking for jobs in sports, marketing, event planning, and any combination of the 3! I'm looking anywhere south of where I am now, on the East coast and Chicago (we all know how much I hate the cold so why Chicago is on my life I'm not sure ... go with it!). But, I really think I want to live in Atlanta or Charlotte :)

I can't really take a pay cut (in all likelihood that would put me below the poverty line) but am willing to pay my dues if I were to start a new career (not sports marketing/event planning related). Other than that I will be moving up in this world.

I have this thought in my head that my finding a job is going to be sooooooooooo much easier than all of the other 2832984073928143 people who have been without work for the past 2 years (some say I'm a dreamerrrr ...). Try not to ruin that fantasy for me, it makes me smile :)

I've joined Twitter so please stalk me on there - I'm also on MySpace and Facebook but those aren't nearly as cool as Twitter! I only joined Twitter because I am OBSESSED with Ellen DeGenerges lately and her Facebook told me that she wanted 1 million followers by the end of the day. Lame? Yes! but does it keep me entertained while "at work" with my mom waiting for her revisions of my cover letter? YES!

With all of this extra time, I am going to grow some will power and really commit to the gym. I'm going to do everything in my power to get a good night's sleep, search and apply for jobs, go to the gym, and eat healthy. There's no reason why I shouldn't right? I've got plenty of time!

So that's the deal ... sleep, find a job, workout, eat healthy. Easy enough, right?!

Check back often to see how easy it is ...