My [So Far Failed] Job Hunt

Yes. I'm looking for a job. A second job. It's not as easy as I thought it would be.

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Mine current job is cool, I've been there for almost 8 years. I love the people I work with, everyone is friendly, productive, and for the most part...into sports. BUT, I'm not working as many hours as I'd like/need to in order to follow through with my resolution/goal of saving money to cover my expenses if/when I enter that teaching credential program. I also need money to pay for my bridesmaid expenses in a wedding I'm in. Lastly, I also need money for baseball season.

So, I need a second job. The thing is...I've never had to look for a job. 

Hear me out.

As I mentioned before...I've worked my regular job for almost 8 years. It was my first real job. I knew the owner/my boss through little league because he has a son my brother's age and I'd always be at the ball fields. Also, my best friend's dad works in the same office. I was offered the job. Kind of had to interview, but it wasn't anything big. It was just sort of handed to me. I don't even know if they interviewed any one other than me for the position. I'm super thankful for my job because I get paid well, they've been super flexible with school, and understanding when I have to leave early take a day off for a baseball game...or trip to LA to see Dancing With The Stars when I did that type of thing. 

The other job I've ever worked was at H&R Block as a front desk person. I've worked there 4 different tax seasons since 2006. It's the job I like to go back to when I need to line my pockets with extra moolah. It's seasonal and open late so I can work nights after my regular job/school. I also had an in there. My best friend's mom worked there...and they needed someone that first year. I've been able to go off and on as the years passed, without really having to interview/submit a formal application. The one year I did intend to actually apply, I stopped by the main office on my way to school wearing Uggs, sweats, and a tee and they were interviewing that day and was asked to come back to interview...in my Uggs, sweats, and tee. I got the job that year but there's a pretty good chance it was because I had worked there before. Either way, I never really had to search for this job either. 

I went into 2014 fully knowing how much I need saved so I applied to H&R back in November, interviewed and thought it was a done deal, I'd be offered my old job immediately. I was offered a position...like 25 minutes away from my house. It's not bad, but the money I'd be making would pretty much only cover gas, and my availability would be cut down because I offered to work nights after my regular job...I'm losing availability time driving from Job A to Job B because of how far of a drive it is.

Two weeks ago I kind of started exploring my options...but I really didn't have any clue where to start. I wrote my first real resume EVER at the age of 25 and figured I'd go from there. 

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Then I saw a Care.com commercial. I signed up, but I'm not sure that site is as great as it's made out to be. This is going to sound dumb...but people don't come to you on that site, you as a sitter have to look for jobs. I kind of don't have time for that. 

I thought about the hotel industry! They are usually open all night and need a over night front desk person to take care of clients if they need help, but none of the ones in my local area are hiring. I submitted applications (and took a long morality/personality test) to some a little further away but still haven't heard back.  

I applied to about 4 beauty/hair salons as a front desk person to schedule appointments, etc. I heard back from 1 telling me I wasn't qualified because I don't have experience in the beauty industry. Makes sense...because I don't. I'm assuming I haven't heard back from the others because they didn't really advertise available positions, I just randomly sent them my resume.

I have moved on to restaurant/retail/grocery stores. Those application suck. They're mostly fill in stuff, not just an easy resume submission. Whomp. One was a sporting goods store, which would rock to work at because I love me some sporting goods/clothes. 

I used to think that people who can't find jobs aren't trying hard enough...but I'm learning that this is a pain in the ass. I'm taking a break from applications for the next couple of weeks because I reallllly need to study for my CSET, which I had to postpone until the 23rd because I didn't think I'd be ready on the 16th. Once I take [and pass!] the test, I'll start the job hunt again [probably in fast food since they're open 24 hours right?] because this "not having money for my future" thing kind of sucks. Wish me luck :] And if you have any ideas that I haven't thought of...make my life a little easier and LET ME KNOW! Please and thanks!

Happy Thursday All!     

  

Resolutions

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Oh hey there 2014. How are you? 

The turn of the year was a good one for me. I was up til 2:00 am celebrating with family, friends, and family friends. Celebrating was followed by 11 hours of sleep, a visit to the [empty!] gym, and then studying for the CSET.

Now onto the point of my post, let's discuss my experience with resolutions. They're something you resolve to follow to complete/attain a goal in any given period of time. A New Year's resolution is one that is prompted with each new calendar year. We all make them. Yes, all of us. We might not all announce these resolutions to the world via social media for everyone to read but we all have something we'd like to change about ourselves for personal growth. And that's not a bad thing. It can be huge things like losing weight, saving money, traveling, etc. or small things like being punctual, spelling correctly, smiling at strangers, etc. No one is totally and completely perfect, and if you are and none of what I just said applies to you...then good for you. Back to me. Let's laugh at my resolutions from last year. I used to think I was above needing an arbitrary date to serve as motivation to get things done. I used to think I didn't need a new year to motivate me to get in shape, or save money. Turns out, I kind of do. I started working towards all my "resolutions" listed below a couple of months ago, but the clean slate that is/was January 1, 2014 lighting the fire under my butt to get everything done so I can move onto the next chapter of my life. 

My 2014 resolutions:     

1- Get into the teaching credential program at CSUSM. I want to be a teacher. I always have. And to be a teacher, you need a teaching credential. For the last 7-ish years, I've been working towards that. The application submission deadline for the Fall 2014 program begins January 15th. I'm still working on getting all of my requirements done for a complete application, and still get anxiety over everything. My not so great GPA plagues me, my CSET is in 14 days, and the big question causes me to lose sleep...what if I don't get in?!! This is something I've wanted since 7th grade and have already killed enough time farting around in college, that postponing it ANOTHER year would kind of just officially suck big time. 

2- Save money. It's on the list every year, but this year it's more significant than those passed. If I do get into the credential program, I'll be in class and student teaching M-F all day! The problem is...those are the hours I work. If I get into the program, I'll have to quit my job, and not have any sort of income August 2014-May 2015. To cover JUST my bills for those 10 months, I will need about $4,000 saved up. That means, I need to put away at least $600 away from my monthly paycheck. With the amount of money I make...that's almost impossible. The rough realization is I do a lot of cool stuff...that costs money. Stuff I won't be able to do in 2014 because of this "saving money" nonsense. To make things even more tight I'm gonna be a god mother, and in a wedding (which includes a trip to Vegas) this year. It might be time to look for a second job. Also time to start looking into financial aid/grants/student loans! I hate stressing about money, but I've got to be realistic and make sure this is a priority if I want to make it out of the program without becoming a bum.  

3- Lose weight. Because, duh. I'm still on the "journey" and haven't totally fallen off the wagon but I'm not where I want to be. The save money thing should help because I won't be able to afford eating drive-thru/restaurants like I do/used to. I've got 60 lbs to lose, something totally do-able. Time to make it happen. 

4- No booze. This one might be rough to do, but something that I would really like to adapt as a lifestyle choice. In 2013 (and in life) I had my fair share of horribly drunken days/nights and didn't like it. They don't happen often, maybe 2 or 3 a year at concerts/ballgames/birthdays, but none of them were good times. The most recent one was Kayyy's birthday in November and looking back...having a buddy pretty much save my life after getting kicked out of a bar is kind of embarrassing. I can usually control my alcohol intake, and have a margarita or two here and there, but when it's time to party, Marty parties too hard. And it's not fun. Sorry to ruin the "Marty with the party" illusion. It's not good for my body, it's not good for my wallet, it's not good for my safety. This should help and should be helped with the previous 2 resolutions. Now to include a exception/loophole...Through this platform, I declare that when I do drink, it's for a special occasion, but I will only allow myself to have 2 drinks in celebrating such worthy occasion. 

That's it. I think. 

What are your resolutions? What suggestions do you have for me to make sure I make mine happen?

Happy 2014 everyone!

Don't Call The Office Today

15 weeks into this weight loss thing, and this morning I officially hit -25 lbs!

I have learned that the squat challenge is no joke after day 7. Don’t fall behind!

I don’t think my booty has grown, but I’ve still got 20 days to go...so we’ll see :] I do know however, that my legs are definitely stronger! Last night I cranked out 40 squats before it started to hurt.

I’ve been going to the gym on the regular since July 9^th, and have managed to rock out 21 miles in the last 15 days! I’d say it’s 50/50 on my run/walk ratio so I’m pretty happy about that! Hopefully I’ll be able to kick up the speed soon and add to the distance I run. My goal with these runs is to add 1 more mile of consecutive running than the week before. We’ll see how long that lasts!

I did an arm workout yesterday and the soreness is kind of killing me at work today each time I reach for the phone to answer it. Moral of this story...don't call my work today.

I’ve gotta stay extra focused this week because I’m taking some time off work next week for a concert and some baseball games and I highly doubt I’ll be watching what I eat.

This pin made me LOL. 

Desperate times call for desperate measures!

Becoming A Gym Rat

Okay, so the title might be a little misleading because becoming a gym rat is not the plan...just visiting the gym on the regular.

I signed up for the gym last week but yesterday was the first chance I had to make it there. I did some cardio on the treadmill, walked 1.5 miles on 3.5 speed with an incline, and jogged 1.5 miles at 4.0 speed without an incline. Not gonna lie, it sucked but felt good to actually get my body moving. The pace was fairly slow so I wasn’t crazy exhausted after 3 miles, but my legs were burning a little since I kind of started cold turkey. The plan is to go after work every day, so hopefully this turns into a routine I like!

One of the other reasons they could have been shaky could be because I started the butt challenge on Monday. Let me tell you…it is not easy! I’m on day 3 and struggled through 60 squats, so I can’t imagine making it to 250 squats by the end of this! Ahh!

After taking an 8-ish month break from softball and soccer, I started back up on both this last week.

Softball: A friend texted me last saying they were going to be short on girls and asked if I could play. I agreed, and then found out it was a double header! It was kind of rough going back after such a long break! To be honest, my team isn’t very good…but it’s fun. Unfortunately, I’m super competitive. Our first game was a blow out, lost by like 12 but I played hard. We barely won our second game, but a win is a win :] I played again last night, and even though I played hard, it was another loss. There aren’t many teams in the league so to make sure teams aren’t playing the same team over and over again, they schedule teams in different divisions to play against each other. We’re a C division team and played against an A division team last night. There wasn’t much hope for us, but at least the other team kept it interesting and swung at the ball instead of everyone walking! I’m cool losing when the other team actually shows up to play!

Soccer: A couple of weeks ago a different friend asked if I could play on their indoor woman’s team and was hesitant on playing since soccer actually totally kicks my butt. I played this last Sunday and quickly learned how out of shape I totally am. At one point, I had a small break away near the goal but completely lost it after my stupid legs gave out because they were tired. There were a few really good players on our team and I’m kind of just a sub on this team, so if I do play with them again, hopefully I’ll be able to hang! We ended up winning the game…with no help from me, haha.

 

It's kind of weird to think that I kind of sat around doing nothing and getting no exercise for the better part of 8 months (with the exception of stairs at school!) so I'm looking forward to keeping up all this movement! A healthy diet is where most of my weight loss focus should be, but it should also be paired up with some fitness! Here's to the long  and active road ahead!

  

Beastmode

One of the good things that came from the lame-o blogswap thing I did a couple of months ago was hearing about this weigh in wednesday link-up…

Like the rest of the world, one of my 2013 resolutions is to lose weight.

Even though I’ve played sports and exercised my entire life, I’ve pretty much always been overweight…I love fatty food way too much.

A few years ago I did really well with watching what I ate and drank for about 6 months and lost 45 lbs, looked awesome for a wedding I was in…and then gained it all back within 5 months. Blah.

  

I started to refocus on April 15, 2013 and 12 weeks later I’ve hit the -20 lbs mark! Also, I fit into my size 11 shorts again :] but it’s probably wise to wait a little longer to wear them out in public.

Unfortunately, “refocus” isn’t too accurate because I still give into temptation a lot (ball park food, fair food, fast food while moving, etc.) but when I do cheat…my portion sizes are smaller, and wash everything down with water instead of soda or booze. One of the other motivators is a group I’m part of on FB, Team Forklift Sexy Time. It’s a group of like 10 people working on their weight loss goals. 2 people crushed their goals and are maintaining and the rest of us are still working towards our goals. It was super active at the start, but these days a lot of people don’t check in much. I still post my weekly updates in there to keep me accountable.  

The -20 lb mark and fitting into my shorts motivated me to join the gym around the corner from my house and plan on attending regularly so I can kick this weight loss thing into high gear.

Besides working out in the gym, I’m really hoping to get out to a field and do some of the Nike Training Club workouts with their free app

 

 

 and some pinned to my beastmode board on Pinterest.

 

 

Now that things have slowed down for me, I have time to get my body moving. Hopefully pairing that with me watching what I eat will kick up my results!

Class Of 2013!

Let’s talk about my first day of college ever. I went to the local community college, Palomar College (UCP!) The year was 2006 on a nice summer/fall Monday morning of September…or was it August? Anyways, my first class was softball practice at 10:00 am. I probably left at 8:45, thinking 1 hour and 15 minutes should plenty time to drive the 25 mile distance, and it was. I remember arriving with 30 minutes to spare but ran into trouble when I pulled into the parking lot…and couldn't find an open spot to save my life. After spending an hour going through all of the lots, I finally found an open space! But now I was at least 30 minutes late to class. I struggled to decide if I should go to class or not and after crying to 2 of my best friends over the phone and talking to my dad, I decided not to go. Yep, I did not go to my first class of my college career. Instead I went to the retired softball coach’s office to talk to him about missing class since I knew him personally and was the reason I had decided to go to Palomar and play ball. He told me the new coach was chill and to just talk to her about what happened and she’ll understand. At that very moment, the new coach had stepped into retired coaches office to talk about her first day and there I was, the chick that didn't go to practice. I had to explain myself and she understood…but I had to pay for it and run sprints the following day.

Fast forward 7 years, I graduated from California State University, San Marcos with a Bachelors of Arts in Liberal Studies with a depth of study in Arts & Education on May 18,2013! 

Check out the grad pics:

Jumbo-tron action!

WOOOOOO!

martywiththeparty

with the parentals <3

grandma (mom's mom) and grandpa (dad's dad)

my family.

some besties!

school loves!

life long friends...and a photo bomber

with moniqueqee!

I seriously couldn't have done this without the support of my parents, family, friends, and work. It’s been a long time coming, but I finally did it!

I've still got a few classes, tests, and credential program to get through until I’m fully legit to become a teacher so here’s to the next 3 years!   

The Rumble: Padres v. Dodgers

Raise your hand if you've failed at blogging lately... [Marty raises her hand.] I usually try to get 2 posts in a week but holy moly life has been a little crazy lately! 

There are 4 more weeks left of school and it's graduation time! This means that I'm about knee deep in papers, presentations, and exams. Also, baseball season started and I'm obsessed with all the action happening with that. Finally, 2 of the CLAMS have their birthdays this month and the way it works with us it's usually a birthweek/weekend celebration so I have to make sure to get stuff done so I can accomodate the celebrations without forfeiting much school work. Oh, and I finally got back on my health kick, time to drop some weight! Which means waking up and exercising before the sun comes out since that's the only "free" (meh, who cares about sleep) time I have! BLAH. As crazy as things are, I wouldn't have it any other way. Life is good.

You know whose life isn't so good? Zach Greinke of the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Dude's collarbone was broken after getting into a fight with Carlos Quentin of the Padres.

In my 24.66 years of baseball fandom and regularly attending games, I have never ever seen a bench clearing fight and I was at the game last week when the brawl and injury happened!

My BFFs and I have season tickets to the Padres and our next game to catch after opening day was Thursday April 11th which was another Dodgers game! Playing against them is always fun because there's a huge rivalry between the teams and the fans.  

We got to our seats Thursday night which are in left center field, closest to the center fielder. My friends and I have this thing we like to do and that's yelling at the (away) teams center fielder that their shoe is untied (even if it's not) to get a peek at their bootaaaaay. Why? 

Alex Rodriguez and I share the same sentiment. 

Baseball pants make butts look good. Real good.

I shouted at Matt Kemp to "tie his shoe" and to my surprise, he obliged! Kind of. He just bent over real quick and touched his toe and popped back up. Better than nothing I guess!

Matt Kemp on the left.

There were some Padres fans heckling Matt real hard. He was getting pretty annoyed with it and doing hand gestures back to the fans and kept looking back at them between pitches. 

Even doing the same thing as Tony Gwynn Jr. below

I was already pretty excited because I've never seen a ballplayer react to hecklers like this...ever and it was sort of making my night.

THEN...this happened:

View of the brawl from my seat.

I. Lost. My. Mind. Lost it. I couldn't believe I was witnessing a bench clearing brawl! As crappy as the situation was, it was SO exciting to see! After like 5 or 10 minutes of "fighting" everyone cleared out and went to their corners, the pitchers walked back to their respective bullpens which is where our seats are. Good thing I was recording on my phone! As they made their way back and through the door up to the bullpen, one (Dodgers) fan was heckling the Padres pitchers and Luke Gregerson took it super personal and was calling out the fan, check it out:

Right before shit gets real between Gregerson and the other fan, ANOTHER FIGHT BREAKS OUT. OMFG! I couldn't keep my cool. I was too excited. I never thought I'd see the day where this happened. Hahaha. After the second "fight" happened the guys were too pumped to go chill out on their bench. They all stood by the fence ready incase another one happened. No such luck.

The internet and sports media was a buzz all that night and the day after over the fight. Apparently Greinke and Quentin have this history and Quentin thought he was hit on purpose. He took a couple of steps towards Greinke and Greinke said something that caused Carlos to charge the mound which started the first brawl. Once they cleared out Jerry Hairston Jr. (a former Padre) heard some of the Padres (who he will not name. Voldemort?) making fun of Greinke's injury and he got pissed and ran to their dugout to call them out on it. Shit went down again and another brawl sort of happened. At the end of it Quentin, Greinke, Hairston Jr. and Kemp were all ejected from the game. Matt Kemp got in Quentin's face in the parking garage talking crap ending it with "We'll see bitch" while being broken up by Clayton Richards and some coppers. We'll see is right. Padres hit up LA Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week and SWEPT them! Whoop whoop. I'm excited for the next Padres/Dodgers series I get to go to at Petco :]