Another week, more stress.

Another week has gone by without much to show on the job front. I found a couple more positions worth applying for, including the position of Arts and Humanities Librarian with Humboldt State University in northern California. I’m hoping my BA in Technical Theatre helps me a bit with that one. Yes, it’d probably cost me an arm and a leg to move all the way to the other side of the country, but I’m willing to do it for a good job. I’m going to keep looking, of course, and I’ll be branching my search out into administrative- and office-type jobs to try and hold me over until something really good comes through. I took a typing test this Tuesday to get an official record of my typing speed. According to the results of the 5-minute test, I did 60 words per minute with two errors. And those were the two errors I didn’t catch and fix. I hadn’t done anything quite that structured since the typing class I took in middle school. I thank my dad for getting me the program Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing many years ago – that’s how I learned to type “properly.” Before I worked with that, I was doing the old two-finger poke-as-you-find-’em like Mr. Scott in the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (aka The Whale Movie).

Even with my current sad paycheck-to-paycheck existence, I’ve got two things to look forward to: Lunacon and Rockapella. Lunacon is a science-fiction convention currently preparing for its 54th gathering in Westchester County, NY. I’m the pet bibliophile of the Con Chair and Vice Con Chair – I volunteered to help with the Donald A. and Elsie B. Wollheim Scholarship Fund Book Exhibit and Raffle last year, and they welcomed me back for more of the same for this year’s convention. As for Rockapella, a friend invited me to go to a concert they’re doing in Connecticut in April. There was a kids’ game show on TV in the early- to mid-1990s called Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and Rockapella appeared in every episode to sing the theme song and provide other music. I remember watching that show, so it’s going to be a fun concert.

I’m also hoping to be able to attend my undergrad’s coming Alumni Weekend in June. According to the postcard I got in the mail, they’re going to be hosting the “first-ever Theatre Department reunion.” I’d enjoy being able to see some of my old classmates and friends. More significantly, the professor who inspired me to attend there instead of one of the other two schools that accepted me is retiring after 38 years and helping found the department. There’s going to be a roast, and I’d dearly like to be there.

Another week, not so much new

Nothing especially new or exciting this past week. I’m back to shuffling along as a one-job retail minion, and hopefully something will change for the better in the very near future. I’ve sent out a few more applications for library jobs, and nothing has come back yet. There was one job I started applying for over in Connecticut, but I had to stop myself because I ran into an issue with the official application: It asks for three professional references that don’t include previous employers, but that’s all I really have at this point aside from one of my professors from grad school. I emailed one of my previous supervisors from a summer job I had in 2008 to ask for her opinion, but she hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I’ll just have to keep looking for other possibilities, and I’m also seriously considering looking at office-minion-type jobs where there’s a possibility of my getting full-time employment with a regular schedule, higher pay than I’ve got right now, and benefits.

A postcard came on Tuesday that told me about the “first-ever Salem State University Theatre Alumni Reunion.” I graduated from the Salem State Theatre program in 2005, back when it was still a College. This reunion is going to be taking place during the Alumni Weekend coming up at the beginning of June. I truly hope I’ll be able to afford to attend. I’d love to see my old friends and classmates again, but more importantly, there’s going to be a special roast. Professor Whitney “Whizz” White is retiring after 38 years at Salem State - he helped found the department, if I remember correctly. Whizz is also a big factor in why I chose Salem State over Ithaca and Alfred, the other two colleges that accepted me for undergrad. I’m a bit ashamed that I haven’t been keeping in touch with that group and department like I’ve meant t0 – I’ve only been back to visit once since graduating.

Buildup and a not-so-bad letdown

I had my phone interview with the Eastern Monroe Public Library this past Saturday afternoon. I was looking forward to it, and hopefully I gave it my best, but I got an email from the Library Director today saying they chose a “stronger candidate.” I got the feeling that was going to happen when she sent me the job description, which I had misplaced (I applied for the job last September). They were looking for an ILS (Integrated Library System) Administrator with strong IT skills. This was listed as a Librarian I position. I’ll admit to being functionally computer literate with the ability to talk people through certain things over the phone and show-and-tell in person, but no way do I have the skills this library was looking for. I gave the interview my best, but I had to answer her questions honestly. I will admit to being a tad bummed and discouraged that I still don’t have a library job (especially not a full-time one with benefits), but I just have to keep looking. I’ve been told this is the time of year when people are starting to look again, so here’s hoping.

I’m continuing with my project to attempt learning German on my own. Since last week, I’ve gotten a copy of “Langenscheidt’s German-English English-German Dictionary” (recommended by an awesome former high school teacher I met through Lunacon) and Random House’s Living Language page-a-day German Daily Phrase & Culture Calendar for this year. The calendar comes with a CD, which might be a better help than my music with pronuciations. I’m also waiting on a copy of Schaum’s Outline of German Vocabulary, which was recommended to me by someone who claims to have learned German on the go, and I’ll hopefully get my hands on a collection of German verbs that was recommended by the same person.

A tad late, but some good news!

Sorry for posting late this week – I got a little distracted last night, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I applied to the Eastern Monroe Public Library in Stroudsburg, PA, back in September ’10 for a Librarian I position. They contacted me this Tuesday to say they’re still working on filling the position and to let them know if I’m still interested. I got back to them (well, to the Library Director – she’s the one who called) to say yes I am! Hopefully I’ll do well with the phone interview we’ve set up for this Saturday afternoon. Budget’s been pretty tight, but I’ll find the resources to get down there if it’s decided they want me for a face-to-face interview, and I’ve been ready (mentally, at least) to move pretty much anywhere for a good job offer. Here’s hoping I have even better news to share next week!

In other news, I’ve decided I’d like to attempt learning German. I know I’ve mentioned in recent weeks that I’ve been listening to German-language musicals. The point is, I’d like to understand more than a few words of what they’re singing about, or make guesses because I’ve heard the songs in English. I’ve got a copy of German Phrases for Dummies, and I’m waiting on an English/German-German/English dictionary and a book of verbs. German for Dummies was recommended to me by a friend who taught high school for many years, and the book of German verbs by another friend. I was luckily able to find used copies of the three books I mentioned – the first arrived in good condition, hopefully the other two will be similar. Nicht spreche Deutsch, but I’m working on it!