Noomas

I just saw the Noomas "Dust" and "Bullhorn." I have to say, "Bullhorn" is now a rival of my previously favorite Nooma "Rain." I guess they probably are tied for my fave now. I do like "Luggage" pretty well too. In fact, with the exception of "Trees," I really like them all.

For those of you who don't know, Noomas are these 10-15 minute DVDs by a pastor named Rob Bell. They are short illustrations of biblical concepts that are very applicable to the world today and are geared towards youth and Generation X-ers. Such a good tool for youth pastors to have on hand!

Anyway ... 4 days til Christmas ... even though it totally doesn't feel that way to me!

Employed :)

Well, for those of you still reading my blog ... I did not get the TV station job, but I ended up taking the county job after all. And after telling a few people from church about my new position, they were all in awe that I managed to score a job with the county (apparently, very good benefits; a very coveted position) ... So I'm trying to count my blessings and be appreciative for what I have.

After I gain residency (i.e. next fall), there is a jr. college nearby with some tech programs and associates degrees for $26/credit that I might look into. I would love to learn web design or something computer-related, just to be more marketable and skilled for my career future.

I'm going home to Wisconsin in less than a week and am pretty pumped about that. I think my mom and sister and I are going to take a "jolly bus" tour of downtown Milwaukee, the Third Ward, etc. and check out the lights and sights of the holidays for a buck apiece. Here in Santa Maria, it's been in the 60s and 70s for a while now, and I'm loving it! I thought I'd miss snow for the holidays, but I guess I'm just a mild-climate girl at heart. Besides, at our all-church Christmas party, they brought in a snow machine, and I was freezing just walking near the manmade snow! It was a cool party, though, with real carriage rides, train rides, a giant maze, s'mores over a fire, snow cones, gingerbread houses, etc. Our church specializes in putting on awesome all-church parties and events!

One last note: I just realized, it was 3 months ago today that my dad died. Just like with everything else in life, at times it feels like it's been longer than that and at other times, it seems like I was talking to him just yesterday. I miss him so much!!!

An Offer At Last!

Well, I got offered a receptionist position at the county for decent pay, hours, and location (there were at least 40 people initially in the running for this one, as I saw at the test site over a month ago now) ... but I told them I'd get back to them on Monday. See, I have a 2nd interview at the TV station that I really want Monday morning - the job duties, work environment, and atmosphere are much more desirable there! So I told the temp agency who got me the TV interview about my predicament and they said they'd tell KCOY and see where I stand ASAP ... ugh! I knew this would happen! I figured I would (and rightfully should) jump at the first job offer I got after all this run-around for employment, but now this other, more desirable job is dangling in front of my face. I just don't want to pass up the county job if nothing pans out with KCOY, yet I don't want to settle for the county job if something does pan out with KCOY!! Ok, any advice out there folks? THANKS :)

We are so busy with church stuff this Christmas that I think the next 2 weeks will go by quickly, and then (it's hard to believe, but) I will be flying home 2 weeks from today! Nice!

What a Night!

Yesterday afternoon, 3 Santa Maria teenagers died in a car accident. For some reason, the hospital sent people to our church as a place to go for help/counseling after the news broke last night. As "luck" would have it, the youth group adult leadership team was meeting all together at a nearby home last night, and we were called to come to the church to help deal with the distraught teens. A lot more students than we had expected had gathered in the fellowship hall, and surprisingly, I hardly knew any of them - most of them weren't from our youth group, but they still came to FCC as advised.

It was quite an interesting evening; some of the kids refused to come into the sanctuary and some just stayed in their little groups. But we were encouraged to go around and talk to, or pray for, whoever was willing to open up to us. I have to say, about a year ago, this would have been an extremely intimidating task for me and I would have been super nervous about it. But I prayed with several different groups of students last night and I hardly gave it a second thought. It was cool to see them talking and crying through their feelings, even to people they barely knew, and I felt so bad for what they were going through. It happened so suddenly. I guess 4 guys were driving around 100 mph (on a 45 mph road) right after the first rain we've had in a while. They lost control and hit a lightpost, and the car was literally sliced in half. One of the guys walked away with just a sprained ankle while 2 were killed instantly and the other died later at the hospital. Tonight was supposed to be our youth Christmas party, but I'm not sure what the mood will be like. I think we're planning on having a separate room available for students who want to talk or pray, while the party will probably go on for those not really affected by this accident (i.e. they didn't know the kids who were killed.)

Anyway, it was a pretty long night last night, and a pretty cool "coincidence" that all the youth leaders happened to be in the same place when it all happened! I hope God can use this as a wake-up call to our students that there is no guarantee of how long you have on earth, so make the most of the time you do have!

In other news, I have a second interview at a TV station next Monday. Seriously, don't ask me why I haven't found a job yet. It's depressing - believe me, I know. But since I am coming home for Christmas, I haven't even looked into the idea of retail because they'd never hire me at this time of year without being available to work that entire week. I guess I'll get more desperate come the new year if I'm still unemployed. I keep thinking of all the money I'm missing out on, and it truly is depressing. But Jason is so supportive and understanding, and a lot of people I talk to say they've never seen a city in which it is so hard to find a job as it is in Santa Maria. Just my luck ;)

A Day in L.A. and other sisterly outings

Well, I just dropped my sister off at the busstop to go to L.A.; she's taking an over-night flight back home to Wisconsin. When she arrived on Friday, Jason and I picked her up at LAX and we drove over to Hollywood to check out the "Walk of Fame" ... not nearly as glitzy as we all thought. It was cool to see the stars on the sidewalk and the "Hollywood" sign in the distance, but other than that, Hollywood Boulevard was kind of dumpy. Oh well, I was still glad to see it and the weather couldn't have been nicer! Next, we went to Burbank and the Warner Brother's Studio to watch the taping of an episode of "Joey." While waiting in line, we saw a park-like setting with fake snow -- very beautiful but randomly placed -- that we later learned was for the filming of a Gilmore Girls episode.

We got to see Matt LeBlanc and the other cast members, plus Lucy Lu who was guest starring in the episode (which will be airing this coming Thursday already) ... and the episode was (will be) very funny! Watching them film was a very unique experience, as they had to redo every scene a million times because of screw ups, jokes being rewritten on the spot, and different camera angles needed. And we the audience had to laugh at the same jokes over and over again. But what a fun time! We left after 4 1/2 hours of taping (they fed us and had some giveaways, etc. while the cast wasn't taping to entertain us throughout that long timeframe) ... but they had a couple scenes to go when we left, and there were still people waiting in line outside to get in after we left!!!

Anyway, it was a very cool experience, and one I would repeat with other visitors if the schedule worked out -- but I'd go to a different show; most of them only take 2-3 hours to tape. For some reason, "Joey" takes the longest. Other than that, Rachel and I walked to the church and went to Pismo Beach on Saturday; saw a bunch of surfers there -- pretty big waves, too. The climate here is definitely not helping put me in the "Christmas spirit", but I certainly can't complain! :) And then we rented "Stepford Wives" last night (it's weird ... definitely not the best). I'm glad she came, even for such a short time. She is pregnant, so it's cool to be able to see the progression of her pregnancy even when we're far apart. And we'll get to visit the midwest in just a few weeks too. Yay!

Nice People

People in this city are so nice! J's intern Rocky just gave me directions to LAX (We're picking my sister up there when she flies in this Friday) and he said, "It's a lot more confusing when you're actually in L.A. traffic, though. If you get confused, just call me. Seriously, just call." He honestly wouldn't mind if we called him at any hour to help us find our way around L.A.! And then he offered up directions for on the way home or wherever we were going next (which happens to be Burbank - we're hoping to sit in on the taping of a "Joey" episode, YAY!).

Ok, so maybe that's not off-the-wall "nice." But it's just one example of how friendly and helpful Santa Marians have proven to be. Of course, half of them don't speak English (and that is a true, statistical figure), so maybe I don't have a random sampling of Santa Marians on which to base my findings ... but the ones we've quickly befriended sure are swell :)

Anyway, I'll detail my sister's visit in a future visit, and update y'all on my latest interviewing escapades ...