98 Degrees

So, the only new thing happening in my life this weekend is that it's freaking hot. Today it was 98 degrees and that was cool. It is making me think I should find a place with at least the OPTION of running A/C. I was gonna go to a movie to get out of the heat today, but there's nothing out I want to see for theater prices that I haven't already.

So my job is great. It has been a pretty intense few weeks because we just finished week 2 of the new term. The last week and first week are pretty crazy, and I'm still learning my calendar system, so I'm a little behind. I have 100 students on my roster, and about half of them are newbies, so I've been learning a lot of peoples' life stories. Which I love. I work with such a great variety of students.

I have been starting to think about moving. I would love to get an apartment close to work so that I can walk, but I'm not sure that I'll find anything decent for a good price. Downtown living isn't cheap, and I want to live by the riverfront. Pricey. So I've started seriously thinking about buying a house or condo. I still may not be able to afford something withing walking distance to work, but I am thinking Portland is a place I'd like to be for a while (if things work our for me to be here), so I was thinking owning is a good financial move. So I have a lot of thinking to still do, but that's my new obsession this summer. :)

update on my new job

So it has been ages since I blogged and so much has changed since then. Here's an update (and a very long one...sorry).

I went to San Francisco for a week with three other colleagues for training. It was so good, and so challenging. The first day, the trainer told us he expected to push us out of our comfort zone and we would temporarily appear to know less than we did coming in. He said if we allowed ourselves to, basically, "turf (in the immortal words of Dr. Mandeville) and fall flat on our faces, we would eventually soar higher in our skills and knowledge than we had ever imagined. So we had to set aside anything we knew, or thought we knew, about coaching students, so that we could learn a new way to coach. Needless to say, it was a long and draining week. Wednesday night I felt really crappy and wondered if I'd ever learn what I needed to know. But fortunately, we were expected to journal each night about three things we learned that day, and this really forced me to deal with my insecurities and challenges. And each morning, one of us was coached by the trainer to 1) experience coaching and 2) work through one of our "key learnings" we wanted to process further. It was helpful each day because I realized my insecurities and struggles were the same as what the others were experiencing. And the one thing I learned is that I work for an amazing company that had a master plan to the week and is full of genuine encouragement. By the end of the week, I was gaining my confidence and getting real and honest feedback that I can do this job and am already doing great things.

So when I was in San Fran, I didn't really see the city a ton. We stayed downtown, near the cable car line. One day we walked to the east bay to have lunch, and another night I had dinner in The Mission District with Seth and Angela (thanks, Ange, for driving!). But otherwise, I spent a lot of time by myself just relaxing in my hotel room because 1) I was too tired to walk two miles to see the Golden Gate Bridge and 2) too cheap to pay for transportation to go to see it. It just wasn't as important as my personal reflection. So next time I'm there, I'll check out the city a little more.

Since that week, I spent last week training at my new office. I got to learn things specific to the school I'm working for and started to get to know my co-workers. Consistent with San Fran people, they are all so great. I work in an environment where everyone is college-educated and has a passion for helping people. So we speak a lot of the same language and have a similar way of interacting. But everyone's so unique. There are former counselors and teachers, a PhD in Math, an MA in poetry, and other great people. In our meeting today, we started with a "circle of congratulations" for 3 people who were just certified at the next coaching level, and it was just a time to tell them each what we have learned and see as strenghts in them. Total Res Life kind of stuff, but it's in a corporate setting. How great, huh?

As for the work, last week I worked with a coach in San Fran and he and I made calls to several of his students, with him introducing me. I also spend a TON of time getting a handle on my schedule (61 students to meet with each week) and the computer systems. This week, I have started making all calls by myself. I am really enjoying just chatting with students, finding out how they are doing and trying to help them to be more successful. My craziest day is tomorrow. I have appointments EVERY 30 MINUTES for the ENTIRE DAY, except maybe 2 time slots. That is so much. I'm going to be drained by the end of the day. It's a lot of question asking to do in one day! :) But I love that I am doing the stuff I loved as an RD. I used to say I wished I could just get paid to be a mentor all day. This is probably the closest thing I'll get to it.

I know it's not going to be all roses, that I'll have students who are mad at their school and take it out on me, students who don't want to work with me, and weeks when my numbers are bad and I have to push to try to raise my retention rate, but for now, I'm just happy that I'm doing something that uses my strengths (which I discovered through StrengthsQuest a couple of years ago): Adaptability, Strategic, Achievement, Empathy, and Futuristic. I can start to see each of these fitting together in this job, and it's great.

my new job...

This is a link to the new company I will be working for. I will be a Success Coach. When I first applied, I was not sure what to expect from this company because their site and lingo is very corporate feeling. However, the two people I interviewed with were very personable and knew a lot about student development and issues of college students. I got the opportunity (ha!) to do some role-playing in the interviews (including feedback from them) that showed me the values they hold and goals they have. My interview was a lot like the interviewing we did at Whitworth for Resident Assistants, which says a lot about how important hiring good people is to them.

So you can check out the site to get info if you'd like. Basically, I will be working with a ton (like 70 or 80) first year students at one specific school. We'll have regular conversations in which we'll discuss their lives, how they are doing in classes, socially, emotionally, etc. and I'll be helping them with time management and basically helping them to succeed. It's the stuff I loved doing as a Resident Director. I don't know exactly what this will look like because it's all done over the phone from a call center they are developing in Portland. Interesting, huh? Phone one-on-ones. And it works...check out the web site for the impact they've had on schools.

InsideTrack : Company Background

Just wanted to post this until I get a chance to send an e-mail out. Wanted to keep you updated. :)

um...

...I got a new job. yeah, didn't think it would happen. but it did. someone who had no connection to any of my friends or colleagues or my previous schools actually recognized my education and abilities and hired me. and offered me more money than i'm making now. what? there is hope in this world.

shhhhh....i don't tell my boss until tomorrow morning. i'll post more details after that terribly difficult conversation. i have to give them less than 2 weeks notice, which is legal in oregon, i guess. i could legally call tomorrow morning and say i'm done, never coming back....but i am not that type of person, so i will instead have a conversation that will give me ulcers.

gotta go make a game-plan.

FREAKED

hahahahahahahahahaha! This is funny. A tribute? Isn't that for people like Johnny Cash? Of course, I'll probably buy it. And you should, too. True dcTalk fans would.

FREAKED_The_Official_Jesus_Freak_Tribute_Project

For American Idol Fans

Check this out. It's very very funny. I don't enjoy playing Pacman, my game of choice is Frogger, but it's still worth a look. :)

Taylor Hicks PacMan

Favorite Memories of the Past Month

*Cinetopia.  Because once in a blue moon, it's good to go to a posh leather-recliner filled movie theater.

*driving in the snow with my parents to see Mt. St. Helens...and then not being able to see it because snow on the mountain = clouds that hide it from view

*Easter Sunday at Imago Dei

*playing lots of board games with my parents.  I love games.

*discovering downtown Vancouver and the riverfront in Vancouver

*deciding I want to buy a condo...near the Vancouver riverfront, of course!

*lunch with my brother on the Columbia River, 10 feet from the water, watching the sailboats

*pizza and a movie at Kennedy School.  It was my first time ordering pizza while watching a movie there...way fun.

*seeing John Butler Trio at the Crystal Ballroom

*getting trapped in the immigration protest...and driving across the protest line because I had to get back to our office.  Trippy.  And, in Portland, DANGEROUS.

*wine tasting at Daniel Hill Vineyard.  Effing funny to see the wine go to our heads and cause us to eat our dainty picnic food as though we were high.

*getting sick.  ok, not a favorite, but I did get a nasty cold in the midst of the fun memories

*White Trash Ladies Get-Away Weekend Reunion to Renton, WA

*Saturday evening with my friend Denise in Bellevue, WA. We can talk for hours and not get bored or run out of things to talk about.

And now my most anticipated event: a free weekend, all to myself, in a few days.  I need to sleep and get rid of my nasty cold.