The Job Process

So this is the first time I have really been able to talk about applying and interviewing for jobs. It, blatantly enough, has been rough. Last week from Monday to Wednesday, if anyone even mentioned jobs to me, I would burst into tears. I cried myself to sleep most nights. I was not feeling optimistic.

The end of last week was better (partly because of my birthday, seeing/talking to friends, and just being busier) and now I am feeling better about it all. Still, it has been a hard few weeks.

To summarize what has happened, I applied to Loudoun, Fairfax and Chesterfield Counties in January. I had a screening interview each for Loudoun and Fairfax in February. In April, I screened for Chesterfield, and in May I interviewed for 4 different positions in Chesterfield (a high school, a middle school and 2 elementary positions). I didn't get any and on the day I found out I didn't get the latter 2, I found out Chesterfield had filled every counseling opening. That was why last week was not a good week. I wasn't crazy about any of the jobs I interviewed for, but a job is a job and 2 of them were at schools I interned at! I mean, come on!

So what to do now? Well, in the last week I applied to Hanover and Richmond city schools and sent my resume and cover letter out to one specific high school in Loudoun and 5 schools in Fairfax. Fairfax and Loudoun are doing their hiring starting in July, so I will hear about those interviews probably in late July or August. I have no idea what RIchmond City's time frame is and Hanover is continually hiring as needed. Chesterfield is filled as of now, but as unexpected openings become available they will interview.

Needless to say, this will be a long summer. I have no idea how many interviews I will get in Loudoun or Fairfax since I have no connections, but it will be harder to interview there because I will have to travel. So I might have to call schools to get interviews on the same days. I also will be out of the country for 11 days in July, so I am hoping no interviews will occur during that time frame. It is very likely though that I could get a job last minute and have to do a quick move with little time to prepare.

If I don't get any jobs by the time school starts (the day after Labor Day), I have the option of long-term subbing in Chesterfield for women on maternity leave (there are a few lined up) or look for jobs in other fields. I am very torn and my position on this subject may change as the summer goes on. I can either wait around for a year, long-term subbing, volunteering and gaining experience while working at Brio, or I can completely change my job desire and try to find any type of full-time employment. As of now, waiting around for another year is not desirable. I want to move out of my parents house, get my own place, and be more independent. I feel that if I have to wait around for subbing jobs, I will be stuck in a rut. I could just bite the bullet and more out anyways, using my savings to pay rent, but I hate to waste my hard earned money like that. I am lucky that I have come out of grad school out of debt, but if I can't get a job in what I went to school for, it all seems a waste.

This summer is going to be long and full of anxiety. I have already dropped about 10 pounds from a combination of a stomach bug and all my anxiety/nerves. I am worried I won't be able to enjoy my trip to Italy because of my job uncertainty and I am just always so anxious that I can't enjoy myself.

The only good thing to come from all this is I am getting a lot of interview practice and have learned what to say and elaborate on and how to sell myself better than if I had just gotten my first interview. I also will really appreciate GETTING a job, whereas if I had just gotten one right away, I may have not been as excited or as appreciative of it. It really is true that to really enjoy the highs in life you need to experience the lows. I am at a low right now and am just waiting and hoping for that high that I will TREMENDOUSLY appreciate:).

Last 5k of the season

I competed in my 4th and last race of the spring- the Dash for Donna 5k. This was a local race that ran through my neighborhood, and it took place at my elementary school. It was for a former teacher who got sick and lost both her legs (from septic shock- very rare. It was a bad infection), so this race raised money for her prosthetic legs. I ran with my brother, his girlfriend and my mom and dad. I got the best time AND did my personal best on a 5k- 28:55. I was very pleased and felt pretty good until the last mile, but to be fair it was all uphill. I am now retiring for the summer because of the heat, but I am excited to get back into running in the fall once it cools off. I am definitely feeling better and stronger than I did when I started running consistently last year, so I am optimistic for more races and even better times next year! I will do an occasional run this summer when it is cooler in the mornings, but I am hoping to get some swimming in!

This is how I wish I looked when I run- I actually look like I am in pain and dying most of the time. I'll work on my form more in the fall:)

Birthday...what do I do?

My 24th Birthday. I went to work, talked to a lot of friends on the phone, and ate more food than I have in a while (I've been having some stomach issues). This was worth every single gram of fat and calorie:

Delicious. Now one more year til I hit my quarter life crisis.

Robyn the Runner

So apparently in the past year I have become a runner.

That is not to say that I love and look forward to running a few times a week. But now I can actually do it, which for anyone who knows me, is impressive. See, I always ran but it was for something- like to get to the ball in soccer or to run away from my brothers chasing me. My choice of sport was never running. I swam and rode bikes but never busted out the shoes and went for a jog.

Well that started to change in college. All my roommates were runners, and UVA is known for it's running students. I could jog a mile fine, but I mostly went to the gym instead, though I did start doing the treadmill more and might occasionally run to the gym. After college, though, I decided to enter into a 5k after many of my friends did the 2009 Monument Avenue 10k. It seemed so fun that I wanted to enter a race. So I started running. My goal was to just not stop and to be able to complete a 5k in around 30 minutes. After about 6 weeks of training around the neighborhood, I could do it! I successfully ran my first race- the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure- in May 2009. I ran on and off throughout the summer and fall after wards, but if the weather was ever too extreme (hot or cold) I wouldn't run. I operate best between a temperature of 40 and 70.

2010 came and so did the Monument Avenure 10k in March. I was running about 3 miles once or twice a week or so, and decided to register and walk with my mom. Well, I got so into the race that I couldn't stop! I ran (mostly) the whole race and finished around 1 hour 7 minutes. I was hooked. It was so fun that I knew I had encountered something I was interested in. I still had obstacles to overcome- blisters, bad shoes and randome aches- but I knew I wanted to run more. I did the Race for the Cure again a few weeks ago and finished at about 30 minutes. I did have to walk but only breifly due to some stomach cramps. I am not a pro at working through pain, but I recover quickly and can tackle hills and distance better than I could last year. This past weekend I spontaneously did the Carytown 10k. I finished in 1:02.30! I beat my time from the Monument 10k by 5 minutes (and I didn't train for the distance). I start feeling lously after a 5k, but I am able to push through. I walked for probably .2 miles yesterday, so I felt I did great. I sure am paying for not training though- aches and pains all over!

So I am becoming a runner! I have a 5k coming up in June, and then I will probably retire for the summer until the weather cools off. Heat and pains still effect me pretty easily, but I hope to get better running shoes and start going longer distances.

And I leave you with a photo of me and Marge after the race...

Beautiful Disaster

She loves her mama's lemonade,
Hates the sound that goodbyes make.
She prays one day she'll find someone to need her.
She swears that there's no difference,
Between the lies and compliments.
It's all the same if everybody leaves her.

And every magazine tells her she's not good enough,
The pictures that she sees make her cry.

And she would change everything, everything just ask her.
Caught in the in between, a beautiful disaster,
And she just needs someone to take her home.

She's giving boys what they want, tries to act so nonchalant,
Afraid they'll see that she's lost her direction.
She never stays the same for long,
Assuming that she'll get it wrong.
Perfect only in her imperfection.

She's not a drama queen,
She doesn't want to feel this way, only seventeen but tired

She would change everything for happy ever after.
Caught in the in between, a beautiful disaster,
But she just needs someone to take her home.

Cuz she's just the way she is,
but no ones told her that's ok.


This song is like my anthem to all teenage girls. So beautifully said.

Why do I have to get married to get stuff?!

All during my friend’s bridal shower this weekend I was thinking…what if I don’t get married- do I not get to register and get some house gifts?! It seems unfair that I won’t have the chance to get nice pots and pans or dishes or towels or coffee makers or bedspreads! Why do you have to get married to get all that stuff? I need those things regardless if I am married or not! Just because I don’t have a husband or a family doesn’t mean I don’t cook (well I don’t) or want to live in a nice, decorated home (I do). So I decided that if I am not married by the time I am 30 (which the way things are going is a strong possibility) I am going to have a 30th birthday registry! I won’t go too expensive, but I still will register for all the essential items that I still deserve☺. If I have to buy all my friends gifts when they get married, they should have to do the same for me even if I don’t. If I eventually get married, I just won’t register for things I already have. After all, most of them will get divorced and they will still have all their nice wedding gifts to use in their single life. While I, single, will still have nothing.

You know what I hate...

When people spell my name wrong and the correct spelling is RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM. Honestly, look at what you're writing. Thank you.