Itty Bitty Baby Steps

I had my two interviews this past week and they both went great. On Wednesday I interviewed at a daycare in Trumbull for a position as a full-time toddler teacher and it went so well that I had a second interview on Friday where I spent a couple hours in various classrooms getting to know the routines of the teachers and kids. It seems like a really good place to work, so that even though I might not always like the work itself, the environment would help make up for that. In many ways it reminds me of Kiddie World and I can’t help thinking that April had this company in mind when she was setting up her centers. It wouldn’t be surprising – It’s a corporation with over 600 centers worldwide. Impressive.

On Thursday I interviewed at Common Ground in New Haven, the agriculture/education program in the state park. I think that one went well too. The interviewer, Rebecca, told me that she’s really looking for someone with experience dealing with preschool and kindergarten children because it’s just not something she’s comfortable with. She’s also been playing with the idea of a program for younger kids that would either be a parent-tot thing or a drop-off deal on the weekends and she’d need someone to make up the curriculum for it.  I also sent her an e-mail after the interview to thank her for seeing me and saying again how excited I would be to work there. It certainly can’t hurt, and I hope it tells her much I want to be a part of the program. And it might make all the difference. Who knows? Enthusiasm is a valuable thing.

Thursday was also Alan’s birthday and we went up to Waterbury for dinner. Well, Alan has neglected to mention to his mother the last two and half months that I haven’t had a job. So she only found out the other night when she asked how my work felt about me taking all this time for interviews. So I told her that I had quit because the center was breaking the law and that despite my repeated efforts to get things changed, nothing was happening and that I couldn’t work for a place that wasn’t doing what was best for the kids. And since she didn’t ask when this all happened, she now assumes that I quit my job after Alan was laid off. The truth of course is quite the reverse, but apparently she was asking some pretty nasty questions this morning when Alan was online… At least, Alan took them in a nasty way, and that’s no doubt how she meant them. I’m not very happy with Alan for not being honest with her in the first place because he’s made me look like a lazy, irresponsible flake to his mother when he knows perfectly well that she already doesn’t much like me. Ugh.

Yesterday we went down to Darien for dinner with Alan’s grandparents, which is both better and worse than dinner with his mom. Better because they love me and are interested in our shared happiness. They know that even if we’re struggling, it’s something that everyone goes through at some point and isn’t because we screwed up particularly. On the other hand, going out with them is a lengthy process. Alan’s grandfather can’t move very fast and he knows everyone in Stamford so he ends up talking to everyone. Still, free food. Yay!

And this morning we got free breakfast from my dad who was down in Norwalk for boat stuff. Normally I like my dad, but he really does have an amazing ability to make me feel like crap. He asked me what exercises I was doing at the gym, and I told him I was alternating days between my arms (upper body) and my legs. He asked what I did for my arms (incline press machine, arm curls) and proceeded to tell me why I couldn’t use that for my triceps, even though I can feel it in my triceps and chest when I use it. I tried to explain that I didn’t have unlimited time and he burst out fucking laughing. Umm… hate to break it to ya, but I am trying to find a job and I don’t really want to spend 2 hours at the gym on top of a nine-hour work day. That means I need to do exercises that work multiple muscle groups. He can be such a jerk sometimes, and even though I was planning on going to the gym and working more on my illustrations, I’ve been mired in depression all day. I’ve told him before how shitty it makes me feel when he picks on my joblessness, but it doesn’t seem to have gotten through his thick goddamn skull. -_- So, very sad today.

I did manage to do the dishes and some laundry. Being broke is a good motivator towards "greener" behavior. Today I washed all my whites in the sink and they are now drying over the tub and on our laundry rack. By the time we’re ready for showers in the morning, the clothes will be dry enough to move into the doorway between the living room and bedroom. No quarters necessary. Score!

Oh! And Alan has two interview this coming week: one at a collections agency in Stamford and one at Key Hyundai here in Milford. I always told him he should be a car saleman. He’s very good at sales and he’s got a trustworthy sort of face and personality. I think he would always try to give the customer the best deal and the best car for their particular needs. So I really hope those go well. If he worked in Stamford he could take the train and Key is only down the street, so he could walk or ride his bike.

I’m still not sure how we’re going to pay the bills the rest of the month, but so far we’re squeaking by. And Alan got money for his birthday, and his grandparents in Florida sent him a gift card for Stew Leonard’s. We’re going to go on Monday afternoon and use it to buy meat that we can just shove in the freezer, because otherwise we’re coming to the point in our poverty where we’re going to be eating a lot of pasta. $50 worth of meat will stretch things out very nicely. And if neither of these jobs works out for me I think next week we’ll have to apply for food stamps, something that absolutely galls me. Still, we need to eat, and Sears is giving Alan the run-around on the pink slip that would have gotten him unemployment insurance for the last two months. He appealed the original decision, but he can’t expect an answer until the end of next week, and it may still be denied because Sears claimed they had "cause." Low sales doesn’t count as cause. Fucking jerks.

Sorry, this entry is a lot more negative than it really should be considering the two good interviews, two upcoming interviews, and money from relatives, but my dad really does know how to get to me, even when he doesn’t mean to.

~Liz