the [start] of something new

This summer ended up being somewhat of a stressful, but fun one. At the end of June I was laid off from Med One Medical. They claimed they didn't have a job for me anymore. This happened one month before my lease was up at my apartment. Yes, I started to feel the stress of everything. We were in the process of house-hunting, but the pressure of not having a job and paying for rent really set in. Everything combined was too much to handle. But, it was one of the best things that happened to me.

I spent majority of my days looking for jobs and sending my resume in. But since it just happened to be around the 4th of July and summertime, I definitely took advantage of having the free time. And it also helped that Alisa had the summer off too. We made a few trips to Lagoon a Beach and caught some rays. I went to Colorado and hiked a freaking mountain! Went to Lake Mead and surfed for the first time. And I got to sleep in. Which I really loved. (Though I would still wake up by 9:00 every morning, bleh).

This all happened in the month of July. I was let go on June 30, and went through two and a half weeks of sickening stress. I didn't know what was going to happen- how long I would be unemployed, what I was going to do about moving, etc. Alisa and I planned it out that we could move in with her parents for a few months until I found a job. That way we could get free rent and then still be roommates. Kevin, Alisa's boyfriend found a duplex on KSL. We went and looked at it on Tuesday morning, and by Thursday we were signing the lease and moving in. It's up near the Capitol, right by Beck Street. Nice, quick, easy access to I-15 for me. It's a great central location for Brooke, Alisa, and me.

Back to the Job Searching...

I'd been searching on craigslist, ksl, indeed, jobseeker, etc. I kept seeing an ad for Challenger School and a few different people had mentioned it to me. The requirements were to send a resume, cover letter, and short essay about my views on America. This caused me to get nervous about the essay and what exactly they were looking for, and so I put off sending it in. Signs kept coming around and I couldn't avoid it any longer. So, I finally sent in my resume on July 15th. The following Tuesday morning I got a call from Challenger School. They wanted me to come in for a test at their Corporate office. So, that afternoon, I went in. I filled out an application after taking a test. Oh man did I feel stupid afterwards! When I left I for sure thought I wouldn't be hearing back from them because of my test scores. But I was wrong. The next day, Wednesday, I got a call from Heidi. Heidi is the Headmaster at the Farmington campus of Challenger School. She called to set up a teaching interview. So, the next morning, Thursday, I went in and read a book and taught a little lesson to the 4 year old class. It went very well, and before I left she offered me a job.

Soooooo, now I am a Preschool Teacher at Challenger School in Farmington. I started work last Monday with training. We spent 7 days in Sandy doing workshops. It was very informative, so I hope that I can apply everything to my class when the students come. I spent all day getting things ready in my classroom. So far on MWF I have 13 students and TTH I have 10. I am really excited, but oh so nervous at the same time. It is my first year teaching at Challenger, so of course I am still learning everything. But, I am also all by myself and don't have a co-teacher like most everyone else. So, needless to say, this will be interesting. Tomorrow we have Preschool Orientation, so I will get the chance to meet some of my students and their parents. Exciting!

Well, that is all for now. I need to finish my lesson plans! Hope you enjoyed the update! :)

Bear Lake!

Saturday I was able to spend a beautiful day up at Bear Lake with Tessa and her dad, aunt, and cousin. We got out on the lake around 11:00 and spent the first couple hours wake boarding and enjoying the water. There were TONS of boats on the lake!! Around 1:00 the sky was starting to look pretty dark and scary. We decided to head back to the marina so we could get the tube out of the truck. As we were heading for the marina it was like a swarm of boats doing the same thing. I'm guessing everyone got worried about the sky and thought a bad storm was coming. But, no grey sky is going to stop us! We got the tube and headed back out on the lake. We just stopped and had lunch and by the time we were done, the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds and the sky had cleared up quite a bit! So, of course, the fun continued. Richard and I had a pretty intense tube ride, thanks to Tessa. Yesterday I was feeling it pretty good, my neck and shoulders were very sore! I also got a little sunburned, but that's okay. I had a ton of fun! Bear Lake is definitely one of my favorite places to go! I don't think I can ever get enough of that place, with the blue water and sunshine! Ah, it's perfect!! It helps that I love to swim, too. :)

Here are a few pictures from the day!