my life is finally starting

Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2010 | 4:59 PM

yes, i am still alive. i haven't been posting because i have been very busy.

two months ago i moved from portland, oregon, the place i lived for the first 22 years of my life, to berkeley, california. the reason being that my boyfriend moved here because he got into the university of california. he rented a room in someone's house, and got the landlord to agree to let me stay with him for two months while i try to get a job and get into a place of my own.

i tried to find a job. i started going to a place called "rubicon." it's a career center that helps people with employment and housing. my goal was to talk to a vocational counselor and a career specialist who could get me interviews. i figured this was my best chance at getting a job. before getting into the program, one has to go through a series of job related workshops. in the resume building workshop, i learned how to create a "functional" resume, which would almost hide the fact that i had never had an actual job before.

i went to work on my resume, adding all of my animal care experience to it. i figured that animal care was the only job i was at least a little bit qualified for, and also the only job i would enjoy.

i continued to go to rubicon, attending workshops and talking to counselors. somehow, the caring people there had be believing that i would get a job, even though it seemed almost impossible. my barriers to employment included lack of work experience, lack of a degree and of course social anxiety.

i continued my own job search as well, sending out resumes and filling out applications for animal care work and entry level type stuff, like being a cashier or a dishwasher. i got a few interviews: with staples, a sandwich shop, and a rabbit rescue organization.

the house rabbit society posted an ad on craigslist, and i sent them an email explaining how i have lots of rabbit experience and would love this type of job. she had me come in for an interview, which was more like just showing me around the place than asking me questions. she told me to come back the next day as a volunteer to see how everything was done and to help out and see how i liked it.

so i went back the next day and cleaned several rabbit "habitats" (they aren't into small cages there), and then sent her an email thanking her for letting me come back and telling her that i really would like the job.

and then she hired someone else.

so for the next month my job search continued, and as time went on, things seemed more hopeless. as the two months came to an end, i was contemplating going to a homeless shelter instead of going back to portland, because i still felt that rubicon could eventually help me get a job. i was in tears over such a decision.

then, on september 22nd, with four days left before i had to leave, i got a call. the person that had been hired at the house rabbit society hadn't worked out. she asked me, "can you start right away?"

i said, "i CAN start right away!"

after getting off the phone, i went to the landlord and told her that i just got a job, and she allowed me another month to stay.

so now i am still berkeley, working at the rabbit center. i have exactly the sort of job i was wanting (although it's a lot of work), and i am going to look at a room tomorrow for $340 a month.

amazing.

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