Grades are in

I am pleased with my grades from both my classes. I work very hard and put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. Since I do not work, I have the time to devote to my classes. When I finally get a job, I will continue to strive for the best. I set a standard for myself and the person in life I do not want to disappoint is, me.

I am still actively seeking employment. My unemployment extension came through and that pleases me. It is not the same as working, but at least now I can relax a bit and search for jobs in the field I am working towards.

Arizona is my state of choice, but I am now looking for jobs in California. I have a daughter in Temecula, just north of San Diego. She works as a medical office manager for a group of doctors. She may be the link I need to break into the field.

I was going to move to California when I was first laid off but the fear of not having a job and the high cost of living scared me off. I moved to Arizona, where I knew I could afford to live while searching for work. Then, after a month, I started school. School was an afterthought when the job I thought was perfect for me did not work out. So I poured myself into school for the first year and looked for work but was not totally serious. When I started getting serious about working again, it has really been hard.

I have sent my resume to over 500 jobs through job boards on the Internet and direct to websites for employers who were hiring. I have had 3 personal interviews, which none developed into any offers of employment. I have to keep a log of my job search for the unemployment office.

I feel bad that I have not had a job offer. I feel like all the years of experience add up to nothing. When leaving my company I was making a great salary. It was enough for me to afford to own my own home, two as a matter of fact [one a rental], and to be able to not live paycheck to paycheck. I had savings and a padded checking account. I was in a good place financially. I did not like living in Oklahoma, and that was my down fall. When I was laid off, all I wanted to do was get out of Oklahoma and move somewhere warm.

The ice storms and summer humidity where too much for me to handle. I grew up in Colorado, so snow and cold didn't really bother me, but the ice was horrid. And in Colorado, I did not live in a humid climate. While my skin and hair loved the humidity, I did not. I didn't want to go back to Colorado, I only wanted to live where the weather was warm all year round. So I made the sacrifice and moved when my house sold. Little did I know that Arizona was hit so hard by the economy.

It seems the California may be my new home. I will not make a move until I have a job. If I get work, then I will pack up the truck and away I go.

I have many friends in Arizona, and one of my daughters lives here. But by the end of this year, she and her family will be moving back to Colorado. I have a daughter in Minnesota, but no way, it is way to cold there in the winter. My son is now in Texas, and who knows how long he will be there. As many previous blogs, he is not in a good place emotionally. So California is looking good.

As I started, grades are in and I am pleased. It gives me the encouragement to continue college and get my degree. I hope that employers will see the hard work that I have put into school and know that I will work equally hard for them as an employee.