Job Hunt
No job news. I've applied for a handful of jobs, but haven't had any response. My outplacement help through my last employer expired, and I got in touch with one of the government centers. It sounded good and they set me up with a coach - which is really what I was hoping for.
I had my first meeting with the coach last Monday, and it did not go well. She asked for a copy of my resume, and then talked for 45 minutes about how I needed to change my job titles (which I'm not going to do). She's a big believer in search results, and, while I suspect that works well for someone with a linear job history, my job history is too eclectic to make that a good approach. I decided that approach wouldn't work for me so I told her I wasn't going to continue with the coaching. I may try again with another job center or I may just decide it's not valuable.
New things
I've done a few new things in the last couple of months.
First of all, I went to two career fairs. Oddly enough, I've never done that before. I have a friend who is also unemployed and we went to the first one together. We talked to employers separately, but it was helpful to have someone motivate me to get there. The first career fair was ... kind of a bust, as there were very few employers there. The second one was high-tech specific and was much better.
I also went to a "Women in Technology" evening. It was interesting - there was a general meet and greet, then a short talk, then organized networking where everyone picked a table and discussed the topic that they provided. After 20 minutes, everyone switched tables and discussed a second topic. After another 20 minutes, we switched again and discussed the third and final topic.
I also made mozzarella cheese. I had tried this at my mom's at Christmas, but we didn't have a proper thermometer so it didn't work well. I tried it again and it turned out surprisingly well.
And Chris at boxing guilted me into trying the warrior workout, which is an optional set of exercises after boxing class. I don't do the chin ups or pull ups (my shoulder is still weak and I'm lazy) but I do squats, lunges, push ups, and tricep push ups after class. And then I end up really hungry and start trying to bribe people to bring me cookies.
Quilt
It's getting to the end of the Pathfinder year. Since we meet on Mondays, it seems like the last couple of months always end up being a ridiculous rush. We don't meet during March break, then we take a meeting to sell cookies, then we miss a meeting for Easter, and then it's practically the end of the year.
And this year, one of my Pathfinders had surgery that will put her in a wheelchair for a couple of months. We spent a few meetings this year making polar fleece blankets, and I ended up with the leftover polar fleece. Since this girl is a Harry Potter fan, I used it as a backing for a wheel-chair-sized quilt.
Weather
I currently have sandals, winter boots, shoes, and hiking boots in my front hall. What will I need tomorrow? No one knows.
