Employment

Despite your likely fears, I am here to tell you that no I have not died at the hands of sand bullets or due to frustration in the job hunt (see my previous post). I have just been out and about for the past week.

The good news is, I now have a job - two of them actually. I am still waiting for my drug test results to clear me for a start date at the hospital, but I worked my first day of the summer yesterday at Pine Lake Estates. Nothing like going at it with a 12 hour shift to start things off all happy. Yep, that's right, 12 hours. Those killer shifts are Pine Lake's forte. You either work a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift or the dreaded 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. night shift. Despite the incredibly long day, it's actually kind of nice to think that a 36 hour work week is then only three work days long. My job consists of serving meals, cleaning rooms, filling out charts and paperwork, some random cleaning, and of course visiting with the residents. The residents, I feel, will make the job worth while - most are incredibly grateful for the company and services of the employees. I even had a 93 year old man flirt with me somewhere in those first 12 hours. I pick up my second shift tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. once again and rumor has it I may have to tackle a dark and scary night shift as early as this Friday. AHHH! I declined the work study position here at school due to conflicts in schedules.

Hmm...in the mean time, I was sufficiently drawn in and won over by Dan Brown's Deception Point, the novel I had been reading. In fact I finished it over the weekend and am now begging my friends to read it as well so that I can discuss it with them. I strongly recommend it as a thrilling read!

My bike is still one of my best friends. Feeling adventurous on Memorial Day, I rode it down to Midway beach and around the trails down there. About 14 miles of riding later, I was nearly back to school when I hit the last stretch - a 2 mile straight shot along the highway ending in a monstrous hill. My prize was continuous blasts of hot wind gusts in the face. My glorious bike ride turned sucky when I had to battle the wind and the hill all at once. I attempted to lean over my handlebars to minimize the wind's effects, but I think it was worthless. I wanted more than anything to walk my bike up the hill, but I decided I had made it that far and would not back down at the end. And made it I did...... although, once at the top, I was only a fraction from standstill speed and an elderly couple rode by me on their way down the hill and definitely smirked at what must have appeared to be my sorry shape. I think I just stared straight ahead, refusing to let them break my determination and thought: you just wait. Try coming back UP that thing!

New to my ramblings: we celebrated my dear roommate Briana's 21st birthday this weekend by kicking it off with a scavenger hunt leading her to a friend and his family who had come down to Yankton to surprise her. I was reunited with some of my favorite people who came down for birthday wishes, so it was a refreshing and fun weekend.

Ok. I arrived at school at 11:00 this morning, and two tours, a phone call, email checks, and this blog later, I am ready to go home and have some lunch followed by a long nap. You see, a 6 a.m. shift requires getting up rather early in the morning and if you don't go to bed then until 2:00 p.m., it leaves you with a pretty intense sleep debt headache.....I might have a solid example....

:)