I'm Back with a Downpour of Good News!

Yes, I'm back again from being on sabbatical from blogging! Well, it's been a slow news day these past few months, until about a week ago when I was 'drenched' with some good news!

I had left work a few minutes early last Thursday. Well, when I came into work on Friday, I started reading my e-mails when I noticed one from the director of our office. She was congratulating me on the article I wrote. I then began to wonder what she was talking about. Hmmm...well, the last article I wrote was almost two years ago and it was for class. I was told that it would get published the following semester, but it never did. I had even e-mailed my former instructor to inquire when it would be getting published. She told me that the newspaper had two new editors, so it was up to them as to which stories made it in. Evidently, mine never made it to print until last week! YAY! Needless to say, I told my "supervisor" the good news and she asked me if I'd leave a copy for the office. Well, it turns out a few days ago, she placed a copy of the newspaper, which had published my article, in the lunch room and placed a Post-It on the front page mentioning my article. What a way to embarrass me; however, I did receive several compliments from my co-workers.

Well, you can guess how surprised and excited I was about the article. But I was also not expecting to hear more good news soon after! About three weeks ago, I went to take a job exam and then the following week, I took another exam for the same organization, but for a slightly higher position. Well, this week, I found out the results for both exams and I passed! However, because there is always a high volume of people applying for these positions and taking these exams, you must pass it and have received a certain overall percentage in order to get on the waiting list. Once you pass the exam, you receive a ranking number and wait until your number is picked, and until you're contacted for an interview. Unfortunately, the list only stays active for a few months. And once the list expires, you have an opportunity to take the exam again when it's offered. Needless to say, I ranked #12 on exam one and #20 on exam two. However, soon after I passed the first exam, I received an e-mail informing me that I qualified for the bilingual vacancies and to call them for an interview, if I was interested. Well, I'm still waiting for the call back regarding the interview schedule.

After having been on a job search for the past nine months, I'm learning to have more patience and I believe it's slowly starting to pay off. I'm going to continue practicing being positive and surrounding myself with positivity so that I may reach my goals. I intend that the next path I'll be on is to become employed at one of these organizations. Disclaimer: I haven't given up on my dreams just yet. I have to put them on hold for the moment, but will try to find time to work around them and hope that they will become a part of my future. :)

Season's Greetings

Well, Christmas is in two weeks and I haven't done anything to prepare for it. At the moment, I'm scrambling to study for my final, which is this Thursday. Unfortunately, since I took a job at my school, I've had to cut back on making purchases. Ok, so I treated myself to two mini vacations and a few concerts this year, so of course I've already given myself several presents this year! The only person I've bought a gift for is my mother because she's always been there for me. My family and I say every year that we're going to pick names, so this year I pick my mother!


I love this time of year and Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, but now that I'm older, it just doesn't have the same meaning as it used to. I know many people tend to get depressed around this time of year and I'm trying so hard not to be one of those people. I think being in the company of other people, you tend not to think about it as much. This weekend, I went to lunch with a group of women, who I shared one thing in common with: we attended the same high school. In fact, the organizer of the luncheon is one of my brother's good friends. She and the other five women were two grades ahead of me, though they're just one year older than me (there's a story behind this that maybe I'll blog about one day). Even though I knew only two or three of these women, I was happy to be included in their group because you can never have enough new friends!

A few days ago, something prompted me to read one of my local newspapers. As I read one of the articles, it mentioned the name of a high school football coach, who had recently lost his older brother. I immediately recognized the coach's name and as I read on further, I was shocked to find out that his older brother took his own life the day before Thanksgiving. You see, back in the summer of 1989, I had a crush on the older brother, "D". I met him at a popular store I used to shop at and would purposely go in every time I was in the area just so I could see him. I actually got the nerve to talk to him a few times and he seemed like a really nice guy. I'll never forget that he had hazel eyes! {What is it with my love for hazel eyes?!} "D" attended a rival high school in the neighboring city and had just graduated. We got to talking about school and he told me that he was attending college in the next county. I think this crush of mine went on for close to two years and of course I never admitted my feelings to him. One time when my brother & I were leaving the mall, which is where "D" worked, he was approaching us and I said something to the affect of, "Hey, how's it going?" and he responded back. Well, my brother would NOT let me live that line down because (1) I stole it from him and (2) he thought I was using it as a pick-up line towards "D"! My curiosity is bothering me because I want to find out what happened. What's ironic is that I have two close relatives that worked in the same organization as "D", so I'm sure they know something. What's really sad is that he had just celebrated his 37th birthday a few weeks prior and he left behind his wife and two young daughters.


Lastly, last week I found out from my Journalism instructor that the profile I recently wrote about on my guidance counselor will be published in the school newspaper after we return from winter break, in January. Also, the short piece I wrote for the publication I just completed an internship with will be published in their January issue. Well, at least now I'll have more clippings to add to my writing portfolio.

Please enjoy this Christmas flashback from 1994. It's one of my favorite Xmas songs and this video is actually one of two versions, which I recently got to see for the 1st time!

My First Article!

Reality has finally settled in! I'm happy to report that my article has now been published!! YEAH!! I just received my copy last Saturday, so the rest of the viewing public will have a chance to read it this next week! :)

I noticed that after I had e-mailed the publication with my final edits in March, they added or changed a few sentences/phrases. One example is the final sentence at the very end of the story. I wrote something different and what they changed it to just doesn't make gramatically sense to me. In addition, I found one or two typos. I know, I know, no one's perfect, but I distinctly remember the editor telling me that they pride themselves in their work and making sure that all their "i's" are dotted and that their "t's" are crossed. Well, I guess this is all to be expected in the publishing world. Overall, I'm pleased with the final product, which came out to six pages. :)

I will e-mail my blog friends the link to the article soon! Unfortunately, the online version of the publication only has room to post the story; therefore, no photos will be included. Hey, what matters the most is that my name is on the story! ;)