Wanted: 1 Mechanical Engineering Job

if you have a mechanical engineering job in wichita that you need filled, please let us know.  if you heard that bombadier, hawker, boeing, or beech is hiring, we dont want to hear it.  wekve already applied for every job they have, however, since we dont have ten years of experience, none of them will hire us.  right now im kind of hating wichita.

More Job Updates

so sorry i havent updated in a while.  heres whats been going on...  i heard back from the jewelry store last week, they went ahead and hired me.  i began on monday, making seven dollars and eighty cents an hour plus commission.  i havent made any commission yet because for the first two weeks that im working that im working there i wont have any goals or be expected to sell anything, im just getting used to the job aand the expectations.  its an easy job and fun because i get to walk around and look at beautiful jewelry all day.  also, i get a great discount.  the discount varies by item, but i will usually get between fifty and eighty percent off the customer price, which is amazing discounts.  i can buy gifts for other people, but not buy something then have someone else pay me back.  so if things are reasonable and we have two incomes by christmas time, you might all get jewelry.  we will just have to see what happens.  in other news, i had an interview yesterday in augusta, which is about seventeen miles east of where we live.  they had two para openings, and were interviewing six people for the two jobs.  a para is another adult who comes into the classroom and works with a small group or even just one student in order to help them succeed.  they could need assistance monitoring their behavior or academic assistance.  the interview went well and they told me that they would know by the end of the day and call me.  well, they called me yesterday evening to offer me one of the positions.  so i officially have two jobs now.  now some of you may be wondering, how will that work since i already have one job.  well, i disclosed to both jobs at my interviews that i was looking to do something like that.  at the jewelry store i will probably work nights and weekends during the school year, i am only part time anyway, so it shouldnkt change the number of hours im working each week very much.  the para job is just during the school day, and i will have to do little to nothing on professional development days, as those are designed for the teachers, not the other staff.  so basically, if there are kids in the building, i will be there from eight to three every day.  i dont know what my pay will be yet as a para, they told me that the pay starts at seven dollars and fifty cents per hour, but it goes up with experience and having a degree.  i think with working both of these jobs at around sixty hours each week, we should be able to make ends meet and pay our bills and still have a little money for gas and groceries, even if michael doesnt find anything.  so im less worried about money right now, but not super stoked about sixty plus hours per week.  but we will make do.  i thought it was tough getting by on a teachers salary, minimum wage is even worse.  i guess thats why youre supposed to get a degree and not have to work at a job designed for a high school student.  ugh.  oh well.  this too will pass.  your prayers are always greatly appreciated, especially for michael as he continues to search for a job.  thanks everyone.  much love.

Interview Updates

yesterday i had an interview for an administrative assistant job.  i heard about it because when michael went to his audition for playing violin at church, one of the secretaries at church suggested the job for me.  it was the shortest interview i have ever had, so i have a hard way of telling if it went well or not.  they took my interview and read through it, i explained how i had been a teacher and why i was looking for a different sort of job now, they asked me if i was looking for a career change, i explained that if this job gave me more opportunities to grow and increase in pay, i would be willing to, and that was about all they said or asked.  they told me that they would be in touch.  it was weird that it was so short, but an easy interview.  seemed like a very low key company.  we will see what happens.  in other news, i have an interview today with the regional manager at beldens.  i will let you know how that goes later today.  this will be my second interview with beldens.  finally, the last thing i have to report is that i got another call this morning from a school in augusta who saw my application for a para position, so i set up an interview with her for that job on next thursday.  after everything thats been going on lately and all the different interviews ive had, i think that having a minimum wage job with no benefits like a para job might not work for me.  i might have a better chance pushing my luck with subbing and hoping that i stay busy that way.  we will see what happens.  thats all i have to report today.  thank you again for your love and support and prayers.  i will keep you informed as i know more.  love you all very much.

Job Fair Update

Well, no need to beat around the bush...  The job fair was basically a failure.  There were a lot of military recruiters and colleges advising people to go to college.  That really frustrated me, because I have a college degree and it's not doing much for me right now.  There were a few companies that dealt with children and youth, so I got some information on them and applied with them when I got home.  Michael talked to the same companies he's been talking to since we decided to come to Wichita.  One of the men at the Leerjet booth recognized Michael from the other career fairs he's been to.  That man did mention that someone in the company had recently grabbed Michael's resume and was looking at it, we'll see if we hear anything back about that.  Michael also applied online at Best Buy, he thinks that if he can't get an engineering job, that Best Buy might not be a bad option.

In other news, Michael had an audition today at the church we've been attending (Countryside Christian Church) to join the band playing his violin.  The lady loved him and the tone of his violin.  She's excited to get him into the band in the fall.  She said she would maybe even try to get him in a little this summer.  Michael's very excited to be back in a band.  While he was there the lady asked him about me and what I did.  He explained that I am a teacher, but hadn't found a job yet.  She knew of 2 jobs, a 4th grade job at Bethel School and an administrative assistant.  I called both people.  I then submitted a resume to Bethel and set up an interview for the administrative assistant job for tomorrow.

So, what's coming up...
Tomorrow - Interview for an administrative assistant job
Friday - Meeting with the regional manager from Belden's
Wednesday - Going to see the new Harry Potter movie!  :)  (What?!  I'm still going to enjoy my summer a little bit!)  We also get paid today!  (That will leave the August paycheck from USD 475, then we're completely broke...)

As always, keep us in your prayers.  We're looking in much different places than we planned on, but we need to pay our bills and keep our puppies fed.  So we'll take most anything at this point.  Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!  We'll keep you up to date as we learn more.

Job Updates

trust me, i will keep you informed as i know things...  no need to ask over and over how the job search is going, it just makes us sad and feel bad when we dont have them yet.  so, as promised, i am keeping you updated.  tomorrow michael and i are going to a job fair to continue our search.  today i got a call from beldens, they want me to come in and talk to their district or regional manager who is coming into town on friday for a diamond event that they are having.  i dont know why that person wants to meet me, but thats whats set up right now.  i will let you know more when i know more.  your prayers are always appreciated as we continue to search for jobs.  thanks.

June and July

Oh my goodness!  So much has happened in the past month!  I'm sorry that I haven't kept up here on the blog!

Sis and Adam went to Vegas for Sis' birthday!  We went over and played with their puppies while they were gone.  We also worked on their flower bed with Mama's help!  Things looked great when we left!  However, the hot Kansas sun may have taken it's toll since then...  Stupid sun!

Michael and I added a new family member!  We adopted Gabby Lynn (our name, not theirs...) from the Wichita Animal Shelter on June 16th.  She's a pointer/blue heeler mix.  She was at the shelter as a stay, so we're not sure on the breed or her birthday.  They think her birthday is around April 5th, which makes her about 3 months old.  Her and Harlee are getting along great!  We love her sooooo much!!

Michael and I got a membership to the Zoo here in Wichita.  We picked a random day and it turned out to be the perfect day!  It was overcast all day and wonderful!  Can't wait to head back!  Just have to wait for the summer heat to settle down a little.  :)

Marianne Steen and Melisa Hancock came to town to present the newly adopted Kansas State Standards, the Common Core Standards.  The idea behind Common Core is that in Reading and Math there will be continuity between different states and what they're teaching in each grade level.  Marianne and Melisa stayed with us for 5 days while they were in town.  They took us out to eat and went around town with us.  They also got me into the academy which will hopefully make me more marketable in the job market.  We'll see what happens!

Michael had a job (or so we thought) and lost it (technically he wasn't offered one) in 2 days.  It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions those 2 days.  I was excited to hear that Michael had an interview!  Then it seemed to have gone well, because they showed him his desk and discussed pay and insurance!  So we were ecstatic that he had finally found something!!  They told him they would call him the next day to discuss the details and when he would begin.  He called them when he hadn't heard from them and they told him they didn't have the money to hire someone at this point.  We were crushed.  We've gotten better since then and are back to looking for jobs.  Keep us in your prayers.

We went to Topeka for the 4th of July.  We saw Nick, Maggie, Nathan, Chelsey, and Payden!  (And of course Glenn and Linda)  We did all sorts of things while we were in town: fireworks, farmers market, stockcar races, art museum, and 4th of July party at TJ's.  We fit so much into our short visit, it reminded me a lot of when we would come to Wichita and would run around to visit all of the family members we were expected to see while we were in town.  It was good to see everyone!  Can't wait to see them all again!

Today I had a job interview at Belden's Jewelers in the mall.  I applied at non-school places when nothing was panning out for me for other jobs.  They called me back and set up an interview.  I went there today and the interview seemed to go well.  I will keep you posted!

That's about all that's going on around here.  Love you all!