Today I had my followup interview with the facility I went to on Monday and it went well as far as I can tell. It was frustrating to have the first question they asked be "is there reason you can foresee not being with us more long term?" and of course when I arrived on Monday, when they asked what brought me to the area and I said "my husband's job has relocated" they automatically asked, "military?" So it goes. I can only hope for the best!
It is great to have Josh's income and I am hopeful that I will be able to begin working once I am all licensed!
The interview involved a lot of tough questions but I found I had an easier time answering them in person than I felt I did over the phone (I had previously had a phone interview with the facility).
The staff all seem very nice and it could be a great place to start out if they liked me and all goes well! More to follow...
On another front, I am finally getting down to the bottom of why I had not heard anything regarding my application to the VA. It turns out they would LOVE to hire an OT (actually, they would love to START an OT department at the VA in Pensacola) but because of the current state of employment affairs nationwide, it is difficult for them to consider increasing jobs. The position I applied for was actually home health (it is not written in the application or description- it makes it sound like it is a rehab setting) but I was so grateful to hear back from someone higher up this morning as to why I had not been getting very much communication regarding my application. The position is still open and the person I spoke with recommended that I reapply, however, it may be one of the jobs that they "un-post" because of other needs.
I am really glad that I've been able to have other opportunties available and I will hope for the best! I will meet with the employment person on base who I met with the other day one more time to go over my VA application. I figure even if I don't apply to this job (or don't get a response), at least I can save the work I have done for another opportunity in the future.
Aside from interviews we are keeping busy and SO looking forward for our visit to CT for the holidays. Josh is settling in nicely and has all sorts of "random" things to do for now (e.g. getting fitted for a helmet, going to briefs to learn more about what to expect, filling out paperwork, etc etc).
We love our new place and we are very thankful for our property managers so far- they have been so prompt with the maintenance requests we submitted. We have never rented a "real" home before and it has been fun discovering all the nuances that come with it. We had been using the water filter on the refrigerator door since last week when we got here and figured we'd replace it soon. Well, we replaced it and we were nearly sick when we looked at the filter our water had been going through! Yuck! No further details necessary. We are just glad to be drinking CLEAN, filtered water now (or at least that's what we've been led to believe :)).
Although we have had many rainy days since we arrived, it has been great to drive around Pensacola in the sunshine too! It is 75 and sunny today. We discovered last night that we need to stop calling the "base" a "base" as that is not what they refer to it as down here. We are supposed to say "on board" or "aboard".
Needless to say, "on board" the base is neat- there is a movie theater for 3 dollars (with 2 kids shows and 2 adult shows), a bowling alley, several gyms (at the different stations), a great commissary (grocery story) and NEX (department store- but more like a MALL down here!) There is also a golf course (a decent deal), 24 hour lighted tennis courts (free), a woodchip running trail (that goes along the sand dunes and water), a working lighthouse (beautiful to see the lights at night), indoor pools, outdoor pools, etc. etc. I'm sure there are more things but those are some of the things that I thought were pretty cool! ....If only I didn't have to go to work- oh the things I could do! Only kidding...:) I am reall getting excited to get my first job and I am even more thankful to be able to go through this holiday season without worrying about taking time off or having to be far from family.
Well, that's all for now! Love to all :)
