k.unwrapped

One minute I’m ready to quit my job, the next minute I like it. One minute I want to relocate…well, uh, I still plan to relocate. I was looking over my resume yesterday and it sort of resembles trash. Two years out of school, 1.5 years at the last gig, 6 months at the current gig…hmm I’m thinking that I should stay put for a bit so that my resume can at least look like something. I’m currently a consultant for a contractor. I’m seeing some VERY interesting dynamics going on, especially since I work at a client site. Firstly, the client employees kind of look at us funny b/c we were hired in part to save money on employee benefits. So they’re kind of looking at us like we’re illegal aliens — driving down the cost of labor so that the employer doesn’t have to pay top $$$. On top of that we’re under extra scrutiny and held to a higher standard than the client employees that do the exact same jobs as we do (excluding the extra responsibilities that come our way). On the other hand, the work environment is more relaxed and working after 5pm is pretty much unheard of…I LOVE that LOL. I guess I’ll stick it out at least until I hit the one year mark, then start plotting my relocation.

This is going to be one hell of a year. My mom is not slated to return from Iraq until next July. My brother will have to choose a high school within the next couple of months, and my sister has to start thinking about colleges. I don’t think she’s completely sold on college but we’re halfway there. She’s a junior now and I’m trying to line up some campus tours for this fall to get her in that mode. She finally started getting the college thing in her head when we ran into my old middle school best friend. My sister and I were headed to my mom’s to pick up some things before she headed off to Iraq and we saw this friend who I’ll call Fatou. Fatou and I have been in and out of touch since my first year of college but from 7th grade til then we were attached at the hip.

I remember when 12th grade rolled around and  we talked about the SATs and Fatou didn’t even want to take the test. She said something about being bad at math and I assured her that I was too but I was taking that damn test. I tried to convince her but she had her own agenda. By November of senior year I’d gotten accepted by the college I ended up attending. They said apply early and I was SO there. All the while Fatou had no plan other than moving in with some silly boyfriend after graduation. Fast-forward 7 years and she’s working two full-time jobs just to make ends meet. One 9a-6p type job, and one at Walmart from 11p-7a just to SURVIVE. I’m so glad my sister was with me when Fatou and I were having that catch-up conversation. Ever since that day my sister has been gung ho about the campus tours and she’s repeatedly said, "I don’t want to end up like Fatou." Previously, talking to her about college was sort of like talking to my damned self. My brother not so much. He’s already confirmed that he’s going to be a lawyer and he just has all the answers (or so he thinks–lol) so I don’t worry about him as much. I am, however, trying to steer him toward this particular high school that’s known for sending about 80-90% of it’s students to college, and the avg SAT scores for that school are high compared to the other schools in the city. It’s kind of tough when they live with their dad who has a GED and isn’t really pushing them that hard because nobody pushed him and he practically raised himself, although I’ll admit he’s doing the best he can.

I KNEW I was going to college sophomore year. West Chester University had a program with my high school where 30 sophomores were chosen to live on campus for 2 weeks in the summer and take classes to get the college experience. We stayed in the dorms, had to go to class every morning, and even had a meal plan. I didn’t know anybody that went to college and was like WOOOOOOW THIS IS WHAT I’M GONNA DO. Seriously. Although I KNEW that I didn’t want to attend WCU that school always has a special place in my heart for that experience. I think I’ll make it the first stop on our campus tour.