Clearly forgot I had a blog

I have been doing a different version on facebook which I call "Observations of the last week." In fact, if you are friends with me on facebook you will notice that I have Observations on there from my last blog entry until now. Not sure who I'm apologizing to, but sorry about the delay in posting; I've been distracted in life recently.

Here's what's been going on:
August 2009: Left the cushy life of an Assistant Hall Director at the University of Portland at a time when the economy was in the crapper. Wise decision? Well, though I did enjoy my job I needed to get away from the menial complaints of students and the petty arguments of their lives. I probably could have hung on for one more year, but would I have been happy? In the two years I was at UP I managed to anger two students into hating me, face-plant and black out in the shower due to low blood pressure which resulted in a trip to the hospital, choreograph a reproduction of a scene from Enchanted, and impress many people with my creativity and organization. Some fun times were had, but it was time to move on into the world of the unfamiliar.

Life of unemployment, September 2009 to March 2010: Well, I did keep busy, but for the first time in over two years I had time to do nothing and relax. Went to Disneyland - forgot how fabulous that place is! My connections to UP remained as I helped them with a few projects. Put those photography skills to good use with taking pictures of life in the residence halls. They are being used all the time, and if you visit the ResLife part of the UP website you can see my work. I got to spend more time with my little girls, Buffy and Annabel, the craziest and most spoiled rats in the world. I applied to a bunch of jobs; heard back from maybe two. I did get to watch countless episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" and developed a strange love of Disney channel programming (it's so clean and goodhearted!), stay up all hours if I wanted to, sleep in if I wanted to. Had to watch my spending, though.

Employed! March 2010: I'm definitely working below my intelligence level at the moment. Office/welcome desk work is great if you have more to do that sit at your computer and blog or chat or stare off into space. In fact, I'm at work right now, and they don't seem to care that I'm blogging. There isn't a lot of structure or discipline; expectations are low for what they expect from us; and I'm constantly asking for them for more to do. It's almost like stealing, because I really don't do much but they are paying me for it. It's the Clark College version of the front desk of a UP residence hall, meaning a student should really have this job. I generally am disappointed in current performance levels and would love to provide more structure and organization to the desk positions. Even the full time person doesn't have much to do! But luckily...

April 2010: Jetblue came calling, and I said yes! I'm leaving next week to go to the training center in Orlando, Fla., where they will teach me all about being a JetBlue employee. I'm pretty frickin' excited. It's a new adventure: I know no one; I've never worked in this type of industry; and I got the job without any connections. It's sure going to be an interesting ride. At the same time...

Glee auditions: one of my favorite shows is auditioning for new cast members. Since I knew as soon as the show aired that I wanted to be a part of it I, of course, auditioned. Well, by audition I mean they are having people submit videos of themselves singing specific songs. I don't know if they are watching all the videos, just the ones with the most votes, if votes mean that they have priority. I know that if my life led me to singing and performing again I would be so happy. I love to sing! I love to perform! I've realized in the last couple of weeks that it is truly what makes me happy in life, but there are so many struggling actors in the world and I do not have the guts to risk it and try to find work. Plus I don't know where to start. If Glee producers decided I was worth the risk, then what? I'm sure of the thousands of videos I'm probably one of the few slightly above average performers, but whether that's good enough to snag the role I don't know. I know I want it. Heck, if I don't get it I'll find a community theater and start performing again, some sort of creative outlet.

Decision time: "Observations of the last week" will premiere here at Dutranation next week. I've struggled with the last few because I have not been observing as much as I did when I was unemployed and had the time to sit around noticing life. Guess I need to be a more active participant while I'm working... no, I just need to write things down when I notice them.