Post by Nienna Greenleaf of Mirkwood on Aug 6, 2009 15:03:09 GMT -6
AHEM!!!! I was trying to name this thread-- "Nienna's slow but steady progress: One Admin's mad journey through the bowls of insanity" but the stupid subject lines just STOPPED!!!!!!!! 
I know, I was shocked too!
So this is what's been going on. Some of you know that I lived and worked in Montana and Yellowstone a little less than 2 years ago. For me, well, it just feels like an eternity. My soul has gone through quite a rollar coaster in that time period to get where I am now. After much denial and trying to acclimate permanetly to life in NJ, I have made the slow but steady progress that this thread so artfully names.
I want to go to Hawaii. I realized that 2 years ago at a retreat when I met someone there who had done volunteering in Koke state park in Kauai, Hawaii. Suddenly my life became all about getting out there. But in making it my obsession, in essence I've kept myself here. I've been trying to calm myself down a lot more lately, be patient, be confident, and try not to be so anti-Lowe's (where I've been working for a little over a year, if you didn't know). I hate Lowe's, let there be no mistake. It gave me an opportunity to make a few bucks when I was unemployed for 6 months and badly needed to have something, but now it has served its purpose. In nearly every interaction I have with employees and customers, I see it. I've saved up a few bucks here and there, and with a little help from some relatives with lots of frequent flyer miles, I'm hoping to be making my leap soon.
I've contacted a few places lately, hoping (not begging) for a job. The Nature Conservancy doesn't have any openings, but didn't flat-out say I didn't have a chance. They just don't have anything at this time. I was just so thrilled to get a reply at all that I almost didn't mind. Today I sent out another e-mail to a place in Kauai called Kauai Nusery and Landscaping Incorporated. It's one of the largest nurseries on the islands. It probably wouldn't be my dream job, but it would be a way to get myself out there and look for bigger and better things for the future.
If anyone's curious what the place looks like, here it is: www.kauainursery.com/index.asp
I'll keep you updated as things progress.
*FINGERS CROSSED!!!!!!!*
I know, I was shocked too!So this is what's been going on. Some of you know that I lived and worked in Montana and Yellowstone a little less than 2 years ago. For me, well, it just feels like an eternity. My soul has gone through quite a rollar coaster in that time period to get where I am now. After much denial and trying to acclimate permanetly to life in NJ, I have made the slow but steady progress that this thread so artfully names.
I want to go to Hawaii. I realized that 2 years ago at a retreat when I met someone there who had done volunteering in Koke state park in Kauai, Hawaii. Suddenly my life became all about getting out there. But in making it my obsession, in essence I've kept myself here. I've been trying to calm myself down a lot more lately, be patient, be confident, and try not to be so anti-Lowe's (where I've been working for a little over a year, if you didn't know). I hate Lowe's, let there be no mistake. It gave me an opportunity to make a few bucks when I was unemployed for 6 months and badly needed to have something, but now it has served its purpose. In nearly every interaction I have with employees and customers, I see it. I've saved up a few bucks here and there, and with a little help from some relatives with lots of frequent flyer miles, I'm hoping to be making my leap soon.
I've contacted a few places lately, hoping (not begging) for a job. The Nature Conservancy doesn't have any openings, but didn't flat-out say I didn't have a chance. They just don't have anything at this time. I was just so thrilled to get a reply at all that I almost didn't mind. Today I sent out another e-mail to a place in Kauai called Kauai Nusery and Landscaping Incorporated. It's one of the largest nurseries on the islands. It probably wouldn't be my dream job, but it would be a way to get myself out there and look for bigger and better things for the future.
If anyone's curious what the place looks like, here it is: www.kauainursery.com/index.asp
I'll keep you updated as things progress.
*FINGERS CROSSED!!!!!!!*
So I decided that if I couldn't have Hawaii right now, I would go somewhere else that I knew I loved--Montana. So that's where I am right now. I really like it here. The weather's a little crazy (80 degrees one day and snow the next), but the atmosphere of the place and the people is what has brought me back. I can bum here for a little while and have another year or so to look for a Hawaiian job without putting added pressure on myself. Just getting out of my parents' house was an ENORMOUS weight off my shoulders. I should never have gone back home the first time. I was only 23, but VERY ready and very able to be on my own. Those 2 years were torture. But now it's all good. 
I'm currently looking for a job. I have put my resume on a few sites and have applied for a position in the financial aid department at Montana State University. They would give me very good benefits and they are only a short bus ride away (still don't have a car