June 28, 1999
On the Job Front

This morning I called the temporary employment agency that my mom’s friend suggested. The first question they asked me was if I would be available for the next four to six months. Reluctantly I had to say no and then they knew I was a student who would be going back to school in August. Apparently they had already hired enough students for summer work and they were not accepting applications for any others. That’s one opportunity that’s not available anymore. My dad has made a few calls already today, but no jobs as of yet. I wish I could find some work on my own so I wouldn't be dependent on my father and so I could prove to him that I am old enough to take care of myself. I know that it will be hard to find a job now, though, since it is already halfway through the summer and most positions are filled. Sometimes I feel like a little kid who can’t seem to do things on her own.

Later...

Ha! I may have a job after all. After my dad has enlisted several people to ask around one of them came up with someone who I could be of help to. The job is at FSU (they may be worried that I am going to compromise their security as a UF student) in Facilities Planning and I might actually be doing some useful engineering work. I have to call someone tomorrow morning about coming in to work, but I think this is going to give me a job for the rest of the summer. It would be great if I could make some money (my main goal in this job search) and get some practical knowledge in the process. I’ll have to let you know how it goes. My biggest fear is that I will not enjoy the work I do and I will hate going to work every morning. That’s what happened last year when I was working at the Magnet Lab over at FSU. Let’s hope it is a good job and I love it.

Yesterday I said that I would relate Stuart’s story of getting back to Gainesville. He emailed it to me today. On Thursday Stu drove to Tampa with his sister’s car (she is in Europe now) and he was planning to get a ride home with one of four people. Apparently he called three of those people at various times during the weekend and never heard back from any of them. The last person was his roommate, Matt, and when they got in touch Stu finally found a ride. Stu was anxious to get back to Gainesville so he could watch the World Cup match tonight, but Matt didn’t pick him up until much later than planned. Here is the end of the tale in his own words. From this email I could tell he was annoyed.

“It gets to 4:45, and I call him. He was up and eating something before he left. He said, "about 20 minutes." So at 6:15 he pulls up; in his brand new Mustang (red instead of black). We made good time back, but it wasn't in time to see the kick off of the game. I did get to see the second half, and that was all that was important. We scored all three of our goals in that half, beating N Korea 3-0. That was my adventure.”

The same kind of thing has happened to me before. I got a ride home with Montse for Thanksgiving in 1997, but when the time came to go back to Gainesville everyone’s car seemed to be full. I called at least four people that I knew were in Tallahassee and none of them could give me a ride. I was forced to ride the Greyhound bus home. It really wasn’t that bad – I had ridden the bus before (and I rode it again in the future), but it made me mad that no one thought about me at all. It seemed strange that I found a ride to Tallahassee, but every available seta was filled for the return trip. I know exactly how Stu felt about his situation his weekend. At least he didn’t have to ride the bus, though. (Stu, there’s your tale related for everyone to read. Is it satisfactory? Did I leave any crucial points out? *grin*)

Here’s a random bit of information I thought I should share with you. When I was at the grocery store with my mom today I saw Caffeine Free Mountain Dew! The only thing I could do was point and laugh. I was under the impression that most people drank Mountain Dew FOR the caffeine. However, I can’t say that I wasn’t happy. I love Mountain Dew, but I have an irregular heartbeat and the caffeine makes my heart flutter. It is not life threatening, but it is uncomfortable and unnerving when it flutters. Just last week I bought a 12-pack of Mountain Dew because I wanted the Star Wars cans and now I can get the stuff caffeine free! I saw the new Star Wars Mountain Dew can has Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) on it and I want one of those! I guess I can end this rambling on a cute, Scottish Jedi moment. Ciao.