Tooting My Own Horn

I jogged seven miles today. I am proud of myself. I can't deny it.
_______________________________________
I went to a dairy farm this afternoon. The farm has a little country store on it where they sell milk and ice cream. I had a yummy sugar cone with chocolate chip cookie dough and enjoyed it on a rocking chair on the store's porch. It was so peaceful and pleasant.

So Far, So Good

Thus far, the temp position is working out fine. The attorney I work under is an easy-going, easy to work for kind of guy. The gal I share an office space with is lovely. The only real down side to this job is the commute. It is about 40-45 minutes from Rodger and Angela's house. When I get my own place I could look for something sort of in between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro, but we'll see how it all works out. We'll see, if they hire me for real it would definitely be worth moving a bit closer.

Temp Job

I have a job starting Monday! It is through the temp agency, but it is a temp to hire position. From my understanding, I would be a temp for the remainder of this year and then (hopefully) be hired at the beginning of next year.

The temp job is $12.25/hr. So that is good and right in the range of pay I was hoping for ($10-$15/hr). I think it is full-time, but I don't really have all the details yet. I would be working as a legal secretary for the County Attorney for Chatham County. And if I were to be hired as a permanent employee I would be earning between $36,500 and $40,000/year!!!! That is like a real job. That is like a job I might actually want to stick around Chapel Hill for quite sometime for. That is like a maybe-I-could-buy-a-house-sometime-in-this-lifetime type of job. That is like a you-can-definitely-afford-to-buy-a-car-that-was-built-in-the-last-ten-years kind of job.

I am trying to not get too excited, as it might turn out that they don't hire me. But in the meantime, it's a job and it's money. Yay!

Our State Fair

Our state fair is a great state fair

Don't miss it, don't even be late

It's dollars to donuts that our state fair

Is the best state fair in our state!

Last night Rodger, Angela, Chris, Carolina, and I went to the NC State Fair in Raleigh. (Chris and Carolina are a college couple who are a part of our little church family.) The highlights of the evening were deep fried coke (proof that you really can deep fry anything), elephant ears (something like a funnel cake, but not quite as good), pig racing (as well as goats and geese!), Chris and Carolina doing the rock climbing wall, posing for pictures with a UFO, and watching a blacksmith do a demonstration. It was fun and it was definitely good to get out of the house and socialize a little.

______________________________________

Also, I am super proud of myself for jogging over 6 miles today! I was jogging a track and at one point I lost count of which lap I was on so I either did 6.2 miles or 6.6 miles. Either way, I was shooting for 6 and I definitely got there. Yay for me! Now if I just wasn't eating crap like deep fried coke and elephant ears, I might be losing some weight too.

Interview Update

I interviewed. It went fine. We'll see what happens. I should hear from them by Monday of next week.

Interview

I have an interview set up for Wednesday! yay! Pray that it goes well.

The First Week

I have officially been here in Chapel Hill for a week now. I have to say that it has not been easy for me. I also have to say that it could be much worse.

It has not been easy because (1) I still have no job, (2) I have very limited funds which prevents me from going out exploring because I will spend money, (3) I am homesick for friends and family, and (4) I am hug deprived.

It has not been that bad because (1) I am living with Rodger and Angela and they are wonderful, (2) I did have a call back on a job which gives me a little hope, (3) I found a coffee shop that I love, (4) I have taken up jogging as my new hobby, and (5) we had an unexpected visit last night from Andrew S. from our old church in Augusta.

Jogging has been fabulous. It helps me deal with stress, fight depression, and pass the time without spending money.

The coffee shop is The Open Eye Cafe. It is a happy reminder of two of my former favorite coffee shops. The ambiance and clientele remind me of the old Orwell's Cafe on Eighth Street. The coffee itself reminds me of Cafe Greko on Road Nine. I made this discovery last night and it really did somehow help the homesick feeling.

All Moved In

I arrived yesterday evening to my new home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It took suprisingly little time to unpack and get settled. So here I am. . . excited and, I must admit, a little scared.

The Unemployment Begins

Yesterday was my last day at work. It was sad. I will miss everybody there. I'll miss having the world's greatest boss.

This week has also been filled with good-byes to people from church. I have plans with a few more people between today and tomorrow, just so we can hang out one last time before I go. Then on Saturday it is down to my family and the hardest good-byes.

I know I will be seeing most, if not all of these people again. But its still sad that I won't be seeing my family day in and day out, and I won't be seeing alot of these people whom I love dearly every couple of days or weeks even. And, laugh if you will, but I seriously require A LOT of hugs in order to survive. I'm slightly concerned that I will be hug deprived.

But on the bright side, I think of all the new people I will meet and all the new friendships to be made. And I'm excited about living with Rodger and Angela for a little while!

Just When I Thought. . .

. . . I could relax a little about my employment/income situation (or lack there of), I take my car to have some maintenance work done. I knew I needed new tires. I knew my brakes needed work. So Phil from church graciously offered to have a look at my brakes (tomorrow) and see what he could do. I took my car to Tire Kingdom today to get three new tires. While they had my car, they called me up to let me know that my brakes were in bad shape and my CV axles were busted. It was already $250 for the tires and they wanted an additional $450 for the axles. YIKES! I opted for just the tires and called up another auto mechanic, who I knew to be fair and honest, about my CV axles. He quoted me $400 for the work. Still yikes, but every little bit helps.

Then I went to pick up my car from tire kingdom. Then the guy there asked me if I had the timing belt replaced recently, because if I had not had that done I shouldn't be spending all this money on axles and brakes and tires. So I called up the former owner and asked about the timing belt. Sure enough. . . it is time for that to be replaced too. So I called my mechanic back up and said forget the axles, let's do the timing belt. Still a $400 job.

So bye, bye to all the money I just received from my church family. But I sure am glad that they gave me the money so that I can have all this work done. It just means that I am back to my former state of freaking out about not having any income after tomorrow. Such is life. God will make a way.

The Inner Bean

I played at open mic night at the Inner Bean Cafe (Davis Road). The place is really nice. Cool people running it. Good coffee (the kind that kicks Starbucks' butt!). Nice atmosphere. Good art work. Comfy chairs. I'm not totally sure if they have free wi-fi or not, but I think they do. Go there. Keep locally owned coffee shops in business!

Also, New Moon cafe (downtown on Broad Street) is great not only for coffee, but lunch too. They have some of the best tomato soup I have ever tasted and good sandwiches.

Okay. I will get off my soap box now.