settling in after being transplanted

Well we moved two weeks ago yesterday, and I am finally feeling slightly settled. I am by no means unpacked yet, but I'm unpacked enough to do day to day stuff like cooking and wearing clothes. The rest will come in time.

We were able to get a new stove from the apartments right away. :) The original one did not work at all, even after messing w/ the circuit breaker. The apartment office was going to have some appliance repair people come out to look at it, but after they called the management company they went ahead and just ordered us a new one. I love my new "toy".

It only took me 3 days to find a job. Well, 2 actually but it was 3 days to find the job I wanted. Here's a short timeline.

Saturday, 21 May - try to visit Tim at his job somewhere in the late afternoon. He is busy so I walk up and down the strip mall. A payday loan place 2 doors down from him is hiring but are closed right then, so I decide to fill out an application with them on Monday.

Sunday, 22 May - buy a copy of the paper and make note of a few other places to apply to, including a titling company.

Monday, 23 May - I go to the titling company first and apply there. He is doing interviews first come first serve while people fill out their applications, so I wait a few minutes and go back. He doesn't have anything available for me since he is looking for someone w/ experience, but gives me a referral to one of his other branches that is looking for a data entry position, which would be right up my alley. I also apply today at the payday loan place and he has me come back on Tuesday for an interview too.

Tuesday, 24 May - I interview w/ the titling place and she said that she filled the data entry position on Friday but they have a typing position. She tells me a little about it and I think it's a job I could do, so I tell her I'm interested. She said that it would take a few days to go over my application and she'd be giving me a call. So I leave and then have my payday loan interview that afternoon. That interview goes well too I think and he said it would take a few days to get my credit report back. I give him my cell phone # thinking that he could call me on my drive to Amarillo over the weekend or something.

Wednesday, 25 May - My cell phone rings in the morning but I don't get to it in time and the caller leaves a message. I check it, and it is the titling company already, and she wants me to call back if I'm still interested b/c they have an offer for me! Wow. So here is a job already, if I want it. The payday loan place would be a better fit for me, so I'm still hoping that I get that position. I called the store but the manager wasn't in. I gave one of the girls the message that I've gotten an offer from another company but that their company is my #1 pick, just in case the manager calls in to check on things, etc. About half an hour later I get a call from the district manager who said that my application is still in process and said he should know something by the end of today or at the earliest, first thing in the morning and wants to know if I can hold on until then. I tell him I can. At 4:00 pm I call the titling agency and she gives me my offer. I ask if I can sleep on it and she says I can. Then at 6:30 the DM of the payday loan company calls back again and wants to know if I can come in and talk with him tomorrow. I hesitate briefly b/c I had been planning to leave early in the morning on a 9-hour drive to visit my family for the weekend. He said that he was leaving town also and wouldn't be back until Tuesday. I didn't want to wait that long so I told him I'd meet with him.

Thursday, 26 May - I go in at 10:00 am for my interview with the payday loan place's DM. He asks me some of the similar questions that the manager already did, and also verified that the manager went over certain bits of info w/ me. At the end of it all, he says that he spoke that morning with the VP based on the feedback the manager gave him of my interview, and that they want to go ahead and offer me a position. :) I was excited. My first day was yesterday and like most first days, it was filled up with a bunch of new hire paperwork. Right after I found out on Thursday, I went home and called the titling agency quick to let her know that I was "pursuing other opportunities that I feel would be a better fit for me right now." She appreciated the call and wanted me to check with her again if this job didn't work out.

So that's what I've been doing the past few weeks. :) Tim and I have already found a congregation to worship with. We are definitely getting acclimated to our new life here.