I've been reminded how long it's been since my last entry here, so this is one.
Work is going extremely well. I seem to have fallen into a job that pretty well fits my abilities, strangely enough. Much of what I do is about attention to detail, following/creating/refining methods of completing various administrative tasks, and reading...a lot. I'm enjoying the work, even what most would consider boring, but I like the consistency, the stability, the feeling that I'm contributing to an industry that I never would have expected to be involved with. The business I'm with now is a consulting firm that goes into the industrial-type businesses that work with hazardous chemicals; my employer sends industry experts/engineers into these businesses to analyze the potentials for risk of chemical release, danger to the public, and adding safeguards and lowering that risk. I read the reports they write up, check for issues, offer suggestions for improvement to the consultants, and help expedite the process of getting that report back to the client. I also complete administrative tasks around the office: update records, do filing, make copies and bind the reports we send to clients, stay in contact with consultants and keep track of the deadlines for the reports, and various activities like those.
I've been told that sounds boring, and I suppose it can be at times. However, I like organizing and keeping track of details. I don't mind filing and making copies. This job, as not exciting as it can be, suits me, and that's what matters. I don't need excitement at work (I'm not especially excitable anyway). I just need stability at a job I can improve in and in which people appreciate the work that I do (to some extend anyway). So far, that's exactly what this job is. My supervisor constantly tells me how much she appreciates me doing the work I'm doing, especially since she used to do her work and most of mine all by herself, but she's also amazed by how quickly I've picked up the work, how quickly I'm improving, and how quickly we, together, are catching up with deadlines when they were months behind when I came in. I am in no way completely responsible for that improvement, but I have helped my supervisor be able to complete more of her work more efficiently, so I'll take the win.
Before anyone asks, yes, I do miss some parts of teaching (more specifically, tutoring). I liked helping individuals figure out issues they had with writing and improve their work. I liked dealing with so many different people regularly. However, I had enough issues with teaching college that I am happier being out of it than I ever was being in it. There may be another entry here about teaching versus not teaching because I have been thinking about it a bit lately. This entry, though, is all about updating.
Other news: I've been working hard to keep up with my television shows (all of which I watch online since I don't have cable). Full-time work is totally messing with my TV schedule! (I can deal with that, though.) I just bought a new cell phone, and it's pretty awesome, a Moto X, which I've been playing with for a week now and keep finding new features I like. My game, SWTOR, has a big expansion coming in December, and I'm pretty excited about that. I've become interested in anime over the last few months, which I did not expect (more about that another time). Also, with the steadier income and certainty that comes with it, I'm planning to buy a new car soon (still researching and considering to do for that).
I can't think of anything else new with me, but I'm doing extremely well. Life is good, and I'm blessed in so many ways.
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Work. Show all posts
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Big Change
It's been quite a while since I've written anything here, and that's mostly because I feel like I've not been doing too much. I've been tutoring, gaming, watching too much TV (new addiction to anime, but that may be another blog post), and seeing more of some of my friends. With not much new, I don't tend to post too often.
Now, however, as you probably know, a huge change has come!
Since March, I've been job searching seriously, extremely seriously in the last two months or so. I've sent out dozens of resumes online to office and academic positions. Squeaks helped me completely revamp my resume, which actually brought some response (most of which went the wrong phone number because I worked an unfortunate typo into my resume...). I was becoming a little concerned about my financial and employment situation and frustrated with the lack of progress in my job search. I had focused all of my work on tutoring since (as you may remember from previous posts) I've recently decided teaching, especially adjuncting, is not for me. While I enjoy tutoring and I am good at it, there are too few hours in it for me, which means I couldn't work only at tutoring for long. I wouldn't be able to pay the bills without another part-time job, and I'd rather not work two part-time jobs if I can help it.
About two weeks ago, I applied for a position described as editing and administrative work. As it turns out, the company I had applied to was not the employer but a recruitment company. They do the legwork in finding candidates for positions so employers don't have to work so hard to find the best candidates; this company does most of the hard work for them. I had not planned to work with any kind of employment agency, but this seemed like a solid opportunity, so I decided to go for it. My recruiter, Phil, offered advice for interviews and worked as the go-between for my potential employer. Throughout, he's been extremely helpful and taken quite a bit of weight off of my shoulders.
Last Tuesday, I had my first interview with someone from the employer. I thought it went extremely well, but then, I've recently discovered I'm pretty good at interviews and make a great first impression (who would have guessed?), but you never know what the interviewer is actually looking for. I heard from Phil that same afternoon that they wanted a second interview with me! This was new, as I had only had a few first interviews, much less any second interviews. So, last Friday, I had my "second" interview for the job, which was really two more first interviews; I talked to two different people: my potential supervisor/trainer and someone who I would be working pretty closely with on various projects. I thought both of those conversations went well, but, again, I never know how it'll all turn out. Late that afternoon, I heard from Phil, who said that they seemed to like me and they had asked about my availability and whether I'd have to give notice to anyone. I took this as a positive sign; why would they care if I had to give notice unless they were seriously considering hiring me? I spent the whole weekend assuming I had the job, knowing I wouldn't hear anything more specific until at least Monday, but then I tried to force myself to reality on Monday morning. After all, it's possible that they asked the same question of the others being considered for the job and just wanted to have all available information about each candidate before making a final decision. Then, I waited...
Finally, early Monday afternoon, Phil called. He had the job offer! I was relieved and excited that I had finally done it; it felt like this search took forever, but six months isn't really that long for a job search anymore. Phil also mentioned that I had been competing with four or five others for the job; I had thought it was only two--that higher number sure does add a confidence boost, as does the fact that Phil said I had blown them away in my interviews. Wonder of wonders!
So this position (as you may have noticed, I'm going out of my way to avoid mentioning either company by name, for a number of reasons), is part administrative and part editing. The company, as I understand it at the moment, is one that conducts analyses and surveys on the risk potential of various industrial processes and procedures, and offers recommendations for avoiding and limiting catastrophic events and industrial accidents. It involves the work of many engineers and various kinds of industry, so I will have quite a bit to learn. Eventually, my job will focus primarily on editing and proofreading the reports the engineers create at the conclusions of their site visits and analyses. I'll be learning many terms and concepts that are utterly foreign to me know. They're going to give me time to learn all of this, so, meanwhile, I'll be helping around the office with various tasks (filing, organizing, creating and preparing documents and information packets, etc.). I was looking for office work, but this had the bonus of using my knowledge of English and editing, as well as my experience tutoring in and helping with various subjects (including sciences and engineering). I don't think I could have found anything better at this point! I know it will be rough to start a career in a completely different field, but I'm excited at the necessity of learning and the continually evolving nature of the job. I haven't felt the need to learn for a while, and I'm looking forward to the (extreme) challenge this new job is going to bring me.
I'm relieved and happy about this opportunity and the fact that my job search is over! I had many people praying for me and sending positive vibes my way, and I'm extremely appreciative.
Now, however, as you probably know, a huge change has come!
Since March, I've been job searching seriously, extremely seriously in the last two months or so. I've sent out dozens of resumes online to office and academic positions. Squeaks helped me completely revamp my resume, which actually brought some response (most of which went the wrong phone number because I worked an unfortunate typo into my resume...). I was becoming a little concerned about my financial and employment situation and frustrated with the lack of progress in my job search. I had focused all of my work on tutoring since (as you may remember from previous posts) I've recently decided teaching, especially adjuncting, is not for me. While I enjoy tutoring and I am good at it, there are too few hours in it for me, which means I couldn't work only at tutoring for long. I wouldn't be able to pay the bills without another part-time job, and I'd rather not work two part-time jobs if I can help it.
About two weeks ago, I applied for a position described as editing and administrative work. As it turns out, the company I had applied to was not the employer but a recruitment company. They do the legwork in finding candidates for positions so employers don't have to work so hard to find the best candidates; this company does most of the hard work for them. I had not planned to work with any kind of employment agency, but this seemed like a solid opportunity, so I decided to go for it. My recruiter, Phil, offered advice for interviews and worked as the go-between for my potential employer. Throughout, he's been extremely helpful and taken quite a bit of weight off of my shoulders.
Last Tuesday, I had my first interview with someone from the employer. I thought it went extremely well, but then, I've recently discovered I'm pretty good at interviews and make a great first impression (who would have guessed?), but you never know what the interviewer is actually looking for. I heard from Phil that same afternoon that they wanted a second interview with me! This was new, as I had only had a few first interviews, much less any second interviews. So, last Friday, I had my "second" interview for the job, which was really two more first interviews; I talked to two different people: my potential supervisor/trainer and someone who I would be working pretty closely with on various projects. I thought both of those conversations went well, but, again, I never know how it'll all turn out. Late that afternoon, I heard from Phil, who said that they seemed to like me and they had asked about my availability and whether I'd have to give notice to anyone. I took this as a positive sign; why would they care if I had to give notice unless they were seriously considering hiring me? I spent the whole weekend assuming I had the job, knowing I wouldn't hear anything more specific until at least Monday, but then I tried to force myself to reality on Monday morning. After all, it's possible that they asked the same question of the others being considered for the job and just wanted to have all available information about each candidate before making a final decision. Then, I waited...
Finally, early Monday afternoon, Phil called. He had the job offer! I was relieved and excited that I had finally done it; it felt like this search took forever, but six months isn't really that long for a job search anymore. Phil also mentioned that I had been competing with four or five others for the job; I had thought it was only two--that higher number sure does add a confidence boost, as does the fact that Phil said I had blown them away in my interviews. Wonder of wonders!
So this position (as you may have noticed, I'm going out of my way to avoid mentioning either company by name, for a number of reasons), is part administrative and part editing. The company, as I understand it at the moment, is one that conducts analyses and surveys on the risk potential of various industrial processes and procedures, and offers recommendations for avoiding and limiting catastrophic events and industrial accidents. It involves the work of many engineers and various kinds of industry, so I will have quite a bit to learn. Eventually, my job will focus primarily on editing and proofreading the reports the engineers create at the conclusions of their site visits and analyses. I'll be learning many terms and concepts that are utterly foreign to me know. They're going to give me time to learn all of this, so, meanwhile, I'll be helping around the office with various tasks (filing, organizing, creating and preparing documents and information packets, etc.). I was looking for office work, but this had the bonus of using my knowledge of English and editing, as well as my experience tutoring in and helping with various subjects (including sciences and engineering). I don't think I could have found anything better at this point! I know it will be rough to start a career in a completely different field, but I'm excited at the necessity of learning and the continually evolving nature of the job. I haven't felt the need to learn for a while, and I'm looking forward to the (extreme) challenge this new job is going to bring me.
I'm relieved and happy about this opportunity and the fact that my job search is over! I had many people praying for me and sending positive vibes my way, and I'm extremely appreciative.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
No Snow Day!
Usually, I would be among those praying for a snow day. Strangely, I am now among those people who protest the necessity of a day off due to extremely cold weather and expect the school to open unless the roads are extremely dangerous. There is a reason for this abrupt change of attitude.
As you may remember from my recent posts, I decided to focus on tutoring at one of my workplaces this semester. So far, that's been a decent choice. My income is not going to change too much. I'm working basically the equivalent of what I did last semester, so I'm not in worse shape. I didn't receive as many hours tutoring as I had hoped, but there are only so many hours to go around for the many tutors working for these writing centers, so I'm content with what I received. I only have one class at my other school to prepare for, so my off hours are almost always actually "off"! However, holidays and school cancellations affect me much differently than they would if I were teaching. When I teach, and school is cancelled, my life is not impacted significantly. I still receive my usual pay for those hours because the school closed through no fault of mine (...or was it?...). If, however, I am tutoring, that time is not covered during a school closing. If I don't work those hours for whatever reason, I'm not paid for them. This fact has altered my attitude about school closing for one of the colleges I work for.
Today, this school closed until 11:00, a delayed opening. I was a little annoyed by that because I should start tutoring at 9:00, and this steals two hours of work (and pay) from me. I'm not happy about that, but I can deal. I wasn't as upset about that as I was about the prospect of school closing completely today. I work at the writing center about 20 hours per week; 6.5 of those hours are on Tuesdays. As you can see, that is a significant portion of my work week (and income). "Snow" Day now means "No Pay" to me, and I can't handle that. Fortunately, this school was one of the few in the area that didn't completely close for the day, which utterly surprised me, so I only lost two hours for the day.
Now, if my other school delayed or cancelled classes tomorrow, I wouldn't be upset. Apparently, my change in attitude is relative.
I hate how mercenary I seem in this post, but this is my blog and my perspective, so I guess it's better that I'm relatively honest about such things. I write this as much for myself as for those I know are reading (and the public of the internet), and I try not to lie to myself. I have been more concerned about money in the past year than ever before. The past day and the resulting concerns have further reinforced to me the necessity of seeking a new job this year. I still don't know what I'll hope to find, but I do know that security and stability are going to be two key factors in what I do in the future.
As you may remember from my recent posts, I decided to focus on tutoring at one of my workplaces this semester. So far, that's been a decent choice. My income is not going to change too much. I'm working basically the equivalent of what I did last semester, so I'm not in worse shape. I didn't receive as many hours tutoring as I had hoped, but there are only so many hours to go around for the many tutors working for these writing centers, so I'm content with what I received. I only have one class at my other school to prepare for, so my off hours are almost always actually "off"! However, holidays and school cancellations affect me much differently than they would if I were teaching. When I teach, and school is cancelled, my life is not impacted significantly. I still receive my usual pay for those hours because the school closed through no fault of mine (...or was it?...). If, however, I am tutoring, that time is not covered during a school closing. If I don't work those hours for whatever reason, I'm not paid for them. This fact has altered my attitude about school closing for one of the colleges I work for.
Today, this school closed until 11:00, a delayed opening. I was a little annoyed by that because I should start tutoring at 9:00, and this steals two hours of work (and pay) from me. I'm not happy about that, but I can deal. I wasn't as upset about that as I was about the prospect of school closing completely today. I work at the writing center about 20 hours per week; 6.5 of those hours are on Tuesdays. As you can see, that is a significant portion of my work week (and income). "Snow" Day now means "No Pay" to me, and I can't handle that. Fortunately, this school was one of the few in the area that didn't completely close for the day, which utterly surprised me, so I only lost two hours for the day.
Now, if my other school delayed or cancelled classes tomorrow, I wouldn't be upset. Apparently, my change in attitude is relative.
I hate how mercenary I seem in this post, but this is my blog and my perspective, so I guess it's better that I'm relatively honest about such things. I write this as much for myself as for those I know are reading (and the public of the internet), and I try not to lie to myself. I have been more concerned about money in the past year than ever before. The past day and the resulting concerns have further reinforced to me the necessity of seeking a new job this year. I still don't know what I'll hope to find, but I do know that security and stability are going to be two key factors in what I do in the future.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Do Better!
Any of my regular readers know by now about my work woes. Don't worry about me too much. I'm a little worried, but I'll get by, and I'm sure I'll find something decent if start putting in the legwork to do so.
It's funny that I'm thinking so seriously about this now because I feel I'm doing my best as a teacher this year. While I'm putting less evening and weekend time into grading, I'm using more of my between-class-time (when not grading) planning for my classes. I'm creating PowerPoint slideshows to guide my delivery of non-discussion information and preparing better to teach, rather than relying on discussions of readings, as I've most often done in the past. I'm trying more to instruct my students on various aspects of writing itself in different ways, as I've not done quite the same way in the past. Doesn't it always happen that way? Just as I start to figure out a better way of doing something when it's about time for me to move on.
Anyway, I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. In fact, it's often one of the first issues I bring up when talking to someone I haven't seen in a while (if I've done this to you, I'm sorry...I'm trying to cut it out). I'm trying not to obsess or worry, but I can't seem to help it.
Yesterday, while with my parents and one of my sisters, I visited my grandfather. He has a little trouble remembering certain things, but he generally does a great job of remembering at least some of what is going on with his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Just before the visit ended, he asked me if I was going to be teaching. I reminded him that I had already been teaching for a while and mentioned that I might have to stop teaching soon to find a steadier job. I thought he would be disappointed or encourage me to stick with it. My grandparents have all been proud of my academic achievements in the past and admired the fact that I was teaching. Instead, he offered the most supportive advice anyone could have. He said, simply, "Hey. If you can do better, you do it."
I agreed and joked that it would become my new motto. Upon further thought, I don't think I am joking. That should be my thought process moving forward in the job hunt. The whole point in trying to find a new job is to do better. Otherwise, I might as well stay where I am. I will begin this job search soon (as I've just discovered I don't have any classes at one of the places I teach), and I will remember to "do better."
I love my grandfather, and I am reminded regularly how wise, loving, and amazing he truly is.
It's funny that I'm thinking so seriously about this now because I feel I'm doing my best as a teacher this year. While I'm putting less evening and weekend time into grading, I'm using more of my between-class-time (when not grading) planning for my classes. I'm creating PowerPoint slideshows to guide my delivery of non-discussion information and preparing better to teach, rather than relying on discussions of readings, as I've most often done in the past. I'm trying more to instruct my students on various aspects of writing itself in different ways, as I've not done quite the same way in the past. Doesn't it always happen that way? Just as I start to figure out a better way of doing something when it's about time for me to move on.
Anyway, I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. In fact, it's often one of the first issues I bring up when talking to someone I haven't seen in a while (if I've done this to you, I'm sorry...I'm trying to cut it out). I'm trying not to obsess or worry, but I can't seem to help it.
Yesterday, while with my parents and one of my sisters, I visited my grandfather. He has a little trouble remembering certain things, but he generally does a great job of remembering at least some of what is going on with his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Just before the visit ended, he asked me if I was going to be teaching. I reminded him that I had already been teaching for a while and mentioned that I might have to stop teaching soon to find a steadier job. I thought he would be disappointed or encourage me to stick with it. My grandparents have all been proud of my academic achievements in the past and admired the fact that I was teaching. Instead, he offered the most supportive advice anyone could have. He said, simply, "Hey. If you can do better, you do it."
I agreed and joked that it would become my new motto. Upon further thought, I don't think I am joking. That should be my thought process moving forward in the job hunt. The whole point in trying to find a new job is to do better. Otherwise, I might as well stay where I am. I will begin this job search soon (as I've just discovered I don't have any classes at one of the places I teach), and I will remember to "do better."
I love my grandfather, and I am reminded regularly how wise, loving, and amazing he truly is.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
An A with Attitude
I've realized recently that a have a new attitude about work that may not be the most positive. I don't think it affects my teaching, but it certainly affects how I go about using my "down time."
When I had more classes to teach (you know, before one of my employers decided to cut back even further how much adjuncts could work), I would spend entire weekends grading essays. I would take on one class per day, Friday through Sunday, and work in the fourth class throughout the week, if possible. If now, that meant I went by the numbers instead of the classes. That would usually mean around 80 essays to grade over a weekend. I don't like to make my students wait for results longer than absolutely necessary, so I've always imposed a one week deadline on myself for essay turn-around. These were not fun weekends, and I always felt bad for my roomie (sorry, Squeaks!), but I did the work and made it through relatively quickly. However, I was also sacrificing my weekends.
If the other place I teach also had essays coming in, that would mangle my system a bit, but it just meant less free time and a bit more irritation (again, sorry, Squeaks!). All this is certainly not the "glory" of teaching, but it's part of the job I knew going in would be somewhat painful. As an English teacher, it's what I have to do. I was reluctant but willing (mostly).
Now, however, that has all seemed to change. This semester, I haven't spent any weekend time grading (so far), and I've collected essays from all of my classes. I have four classes total (two at each place), while I used to have five or six between the two, so I do have fewer essays to grade. This led me to the theory that I could, in fact, grade all the essays during the week between other required work activities (i.e. teaching classes, tutoring, planning for classes, etc.). I didn't even think I'd have to grade any on week nights, and I really haven't so far. About three weeks ago, my first essays from the newly limited school came in, and I graded about 32 essays only during work hours. I graded around 37 papers from the other school this week, all between Monday and Thursday, and the only time I graded any at home was in the morning, after breakfast, when I'm more patient and focused anyway.
This began as a supposition, an experiment, just to see if I could do it. Frankly, I'd rather spend weekend and evening time on anything except work, especially grading, so I wanted to try it. Now, however, I've determined that this is how I should try to keep getting this time-consuming work done. I enjoy myself more, and I don't have the pressure of always doing work to add to my irritation with my work situation.
I guess I've decided that, if they're not going to give me enough hours and bring in enough money to do much more than make sure ends meet, then why should I give up my free time to do extra work? I still do the work, and I want my students to learn what they need from me and succeed in the future. I want to do the best I can as a teacher in the classroom, which means using some off-time to prepare. I just don't think I should have to work so hard for so many unpaid hours of the day for an organization that doesn't appreciate the majority of its work force.
In case you're wondering, yes, I am beginning the process of finding another job. If you have any leads in this geographical area, let me know.
When I had more classes to teach (you know, before one of my employers decided to cut back even further how much adjuncts could work), I would spend entire weekends grading essays. I would take on one class per day, Friday through Sunday, and work in the fourth class throughout the week, if possible. If now, that meant I went by the numbers instead of the classes. That would usually mean around 80 essays to grade over a weekend. I don't like to make my students wait for results longer than absolutely necessary, so I've always imposed a one week deadline on myself for essay turn-around. These were not fun weekends, and I always felt bad for my roomie (sorry, Squeaks!), but I did the work and made it through relatively quickly. However, I was also sacrificing my weekends.
If the other place I teach also had essays coming in, that would mangle my system a bit, but it just meant less free time and a bit more irritation (again, sorry, Squeaks!). All this is certainly not the "glory" of teaching, but it's part of the job I knew going in would be somewhat painful. As an English teacher, it's what I have to do. I was reluctant but willing (mostly).
Now, however, that has all seemed to change. This semester, I haven't spent any weekend time grading (so far), and I've collected essays from all of my classes. I have four classes total (two at each place), while I used to have five or six between the two, so I do have fewer essays to grade. This led me to the theory that I could, in fact, grade all the essays during the week between other required work activities (i.e. teaching classes, tutoring, planning for classes, etc.). I didn't even think I'd have to grade any on week nights, and I really haven't so far. About three weeks ago, my first essays from the newly limited school came in, and I graded about 32 essays only during work hours. I graded around 37 papers from the other school this week, all between Monday and Thursday, and the only time I graded any at home was in the morning, after breakfast, when I'm more patient and focused anyway.
This began as a supposition, an experiment, just to see if I could do it. Frankly, I'd rather spend weekend and evening time on anything except work, especially grading, so I wanted to try it. Now, however, I've determined that this is how I should try to keep getting this time-consuming work done. I enjoy myself more, and I don't have the pressure of always doing work to add to my irritation with my work situation.
I guess I've decided that, if they're not going to give me enough hours and bring in enough money to do much more than make sure ends meet, then why should I give up my free time to do extra work? I still do the work, and I want my students to learn what they need from me and succeed in the future. I want to do the best I can as a teacher in the classroom, which means using some off-time to prepare. I just don't think I should have to work so hard for so many unpaid hours of the day for an organization that doesn't appreciate the majority of its work force.
In case you're wondering, yes, I am beginning the process of finding another job. If you have any leads in this geographical area, let me know.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
First Day Jitters
When I was a student (at any level), I always experienced nerves the night before classes started. As a youngster (grade school), that was all excitement. Later, my feelings developed more into anxiety of a sort and concern about finding the right room, not looking like an idiot, making sure the teacher liked me (I was a suck-up who didn't know she was one), and finding out how crazy the semester was going to be.
After I finished grad school, I assumed those nervous, sleepless nights were at an end. Reality, however, seems to be the opposite. Now that I'm teaching, I have first-day-of-school anxiety on top of work anxiety. It's all sorts of fun.
Last week was my first week at both schools: one started Monday, the other Wednesday, so I had two nights of rough sleep. I had my syllabi ready, and the first days are frighteningly simple--I go through the pertinent points of the syllabus, start getting to know the students, show them how tough, yet occasionally funny, I am, and start the ball rolling. After the syllabus is together, week one is a breeze, teaching-wise. In spite of all that (and my previous teaching experience; I've been doing this for at least five years now), I still do not sleep well the night before the first day.
What's funny is that I never think I'm nervous. I don't particularly feel anxious or overwhelmed. I know what's coming, and I'm prepared. Yet, my tossing and turning and checking the clock all night, as well as the strange dreams, force me to admit to those insidious jitters. Last Sunday night, before OD started, I had many dreams, three of which stick in my mind somewhat to this point, so I'll share. I think you'll notice a theme. (This is the order in which I remember having these dreams.)
So, first day jitters and general anxiety? Yep, I've still got them! I don't think my jobs stress me out too much, but I suppose I'll always be a little nervous for the first day of school.
[*In the computer game I play, Star Wars: The Old Republic (i.e. SWTOR), there are these bonus objects I can find called datacrons (their purpose isn't important at the moment). There are tricks to finding all of them: some involve jumping to tricky places, others involve puzzles, some are behind high point enemies I have to kill. One is across a lava-filled space, and I have to find a Crusade-like bridge to get to it.
**The leap of faith: in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, part of the final puzzle to the Holy Grail involves Indy finding a way across an enormous chasm. He must take a "leap of faith," believing that God (or the holy men who hid the Grail) would have a way for him to cross, so he takes a step into the abyss. He discovers an "invisible" bridge just wide enough for him to walk across. (Frankly, if you don't already know all that, I'm not sure why we're friends, but I'm explaining just in case.) ]
After I finished grad school, I assumed those nervous, sleepless nights were at an end. Reality, however, seems to be the opposite. Now that I'm teaching, I have first-day-of-school anxiety on top of work anxiety. It's all sorts of fun.
Last week was my first week at both schools: one started Monday, the other Wednesday, so I had two nights of rough sleep. I had my syllabi ready, and the first days are frighteningly simple--I go through the pertinent points of the syllabus, start getting to know the students, show them how tough, yet occasionally funny, I am, and start the ball rolling. After the syllabus is together, week one is a breeze, teaching-wise. In spite of all that (and my previous teaching experience; I've been doing this for at least five years now), I still do not sleep well the night before the first day.
What's funny is that I never think I'm nervous. I don't particularly feel anxious or overwhelmed. I know what's coming, and I'm prepared. Yet, my tossing and turning and checking the clock all night, as well as the strange dreams, force me to admit to those insidious jitters. Last Sunday night, before OD started, I had many dreams, three of which stick in my mind somewhat to this point, so I'll share. I think you'll notice a theme. (This is the order in which I remember having these dreams.)
- Finding the Subway - In this scene, I think was visiting my sister, BB, in NYC, but it was as though the city street was also a large mall, focused primarily in what looked like a food court. I had to get to wherever BB was by a certain time, 11:00pm, I think, but I was having trouble finding the subway station. On top of that, I was convinced that the trains would stop running completely within a few minutes. I ran down what felt like the length of the mall (several city blocks) in the direction I had thought the stop I wanted was in. No luck. So, I ran in the other direction; that's when I found the subway stop just around a corner from where I had started, and I was too late for the train. I knew BB was going to be upset with me, and I was left lost in NYC, the mall.
- Lady on a Plane - Next, I was on an airplane. It was a rather small plane: one side of the plane had three seats across, the other had two. I was seated in the window seat on the two-seat side, when the woman who had the seat next to me appeared. She spoke loudly, in a rather strident tone, and asked/demanded that I switch her seats because she didn't want to sit on the aisle. Next I new, I was in the aisle seat, and the woman (who was also a little heavy) was sitting in the window seat but leaning over in my direction. She was practically in my chair (not that she was too large for her seat, but she was simply invading my space), and she wouldn't stop talking to me extremely loudly. Oh, the irritation. My dream morphed then: it was the same, but we were suddenly in a larger plane that had at least three seats on each side; I think ours had four. I was still in the same row as that same woman, and she was still in my personal space. I guess I couldn't escape her.
- Leap of Faith - [This dream had a few elements that you may not recognize, so I have a glossary of sorts at the bottom of this post.] I was trying to get to something like a datacron*. I don't think it was a datacron, exactly, but I'm not sure because I never obtained whatever I was trying to get. I was on one side of a canyon and had to reach a point partway across, a platform of sorts. I had to "leap of faith"** there, across a narrow, and nearly invisible, land bridge. Once I reached the platform, I realized I didn't have an item I had to have to retrieve my goal item (reward?). So, I had to go back across the perilous path. The needed object was in another place I had to travel to, and the process would take a while. I knew I'd have to go and come back and cross that blasted bridge again, but there was no help for it...I HAD to have whatever was on that platform. Before I could find out what any of those mysterious items were, either to get the goal or the goal itself, my alarm finally went off.
So, first day jitters and general anxiety? Yep, I've still got them! I don't think my jobs stress me out too much, but I suppose I'll always be a little nervous for the first day of school.
[*In the computer game I play, Star Wars: The Old Republic (i.e. SWTOR), there are these bonus objects I can find called datacrons (their purpose isn't important at the moment). There are tricks to finding all of them: some involve jumping to tricky places, others involve puzzles, some are behind high point enemies I have to kill. One is across a lava-filled space, and I have to find a Crusade-like bridge to get to it.
**The leap of faith: in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, part of the final puzzle to the Holy Grail involves Indy finding a way across an enormous chasm. He must take a "leap of faith," believing that God (or the holy men who hid the Grail) would have a way for him to cross, so he takes a step into the abyss. He discovers an "invisible" bridge just wide enough for him to walk across. (Frankly, if you don't already know all that, I'm not sure why we're friends, but I'm explaining just in case.) ]
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Work Flux
I'm now in the midst of my official summer break. The writing center closed with the end of summer term, so even my minimal work hours ended a week ago. This summer has led to many considerations when it comes to my work.
As a part-time college instructor (or adjunct, as we're titled), I don't have guaranteed or steady hours or income at either of the two colleges I work for. I take what they give me and hope it's enough. The uncertainty is scarcely enjoyable, though it does allow me down time to do what I want, when I'm not grading stacks of essays, that is. To supplement, I also work in the writing center.
This year, one of my employers has made the adjunct life even more difficult by changing the maximum number of hours any adjunct can work from 29 per week to 22, as well as the meaning of time. Now, one teaching hour counts as two "clock hours," but they're not adjusting our pay to reflect that; we're paid the same amount per hour we were before. Essentially, they have cut what we can do in half. I guess I'm more quarter-time, than part-time now, which is rather inconvenient, financially.
Anyway, this change has also caused problems for the writing center. They only employ teachers at the college, and now we can't tutor as much if we also want to teach (all the hours are added together). To alleviate that problem, they've created a new "staff" position for people to just work in the writing center. I've always said that, if I could work at the writing center without teaching, I would; I just like the one-on-one work of the writing center more than teaching a large group. Thus, I strongly considered taking one of these positions. I even applied. Unfortunately, they won't be making any decisions about those jobs until just before fall semester begins, and I cannot deal with that level of uncertainty for that long. Even my supervisor at the center, who was quite excited to hear that I would be applying for the staff job, recommended I go for the more "sure thing."
As a result of all this, I'm back where I began a few months ago: taking what I can and hoping for the best.
I've been given two classes at this place for the fall, which equals six teaching hours (12 clock hours), so I can still tutor for ten hours, if they haven't filled the writing center with staffers. I really will need that tutoring work on top of the two classes (and the two at the other place I teach) in order to make ends meet comfortably.
Methinks I'll be looking for different steadier work in the next few years. I just can't see myself dealing with all of this for the rest of my life. Now, I just have to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.
As a part-time college instructor (or adjunct, as we're titled), I don't have guaranteed or steady hours or income at either of the two colleges I work for. I take what they give me and hope it's enough. The uncertainty is scarcely enjoyable, though it does allow me down time to do what I want, when I'm not grading stacks of essays, that is. To supplement, I also work in the writing center.
This year, one of my employers has made the adjunct life even more difficult by changing the maximum number of hours any adjunct can work from 29 per week to 22, as well as the meaning of time. Now, one teaching hour counts as two "clock hours," but they're not adjusting our pay to reflect that; we're paid the same amount per hour we were before. Essentially, they have cut what we can do in half. I guess I'm more quarter-time, than part-time now, which is rather inconvenient, financially.
Anyway, this change has also caused problems for the writing center. They only employ teachers at the college, and now we can't tutor as much if we also want to teach (all the hours are added together). To alleviate that problem, they've created a new "staff" position for people to just work in the writing center. I've always said that, if I could work at the writing center without teaching, I would; I just like the one-on-one work of the writing center more than teaching a large group. Thus, I strongly considered taking one of these positions. I even applied. Unfortunately, they won't be making any decisions about those jobs until just before fall semester begins, and I cannot deal with that level of uncertainty for that long. Even my supervisor at the center, who was quite excited to hear that I would be applying for the staff job, recommended I go for the more "sure thing."
As a result of all this, I'm back where I began a few months ago: taking what I can and hoping for the best.
I've been given two classes at this place for the fall, which equals six teaching hours (12 clock hours), so I can still tutor for ten hours, if they haven't filled the writing center with staffers. I really will need that tutoring work on top of the two classes (and the two at the other place I teach) in order to make ends meet comfortably.
Methinks I'll be looking for different steadier work in the next few years. I just can't see myself dealing with all of this for the rest of my life. Now, I just have to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.
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