At any rate, I have made myself breakfast for the past two days in a row. Granted, it was fried egg whites (somewhere between scrambled eggs & an omelet) and frozen waffles (which I cooked in the oven, as opposed to the toaster), it is a start. I've been helping Rob in the kitchen more, which has been nice. I had no idea when I moved in with him that he was such an amazing cook! We've kinda pinpointed my cooking issue(s): I am a very precise 1/2 c. this, 1 teaspoon of that, etc., which is why I enjoy baking. It is more objective; you add this, mix that, bake at this temperature for this long, and voila, but with cooking, it just seems so open to interpretation. Rob calls it "putting the what's-up on it," meaning that he just throws random stuff together (herbs, spices, sauces, etc) and it comes out delicious. I don't feel comfortable doing that yet.
As much as I am enjoying being a house-wife who isn't technically married yet (insert sarcasm), I really want a job. I miss my students. I miss interacting with other people. I miss being productive. Thus, I've been applying for as many jobs as I can and, well, now I'm in a bit of a pickle. As much as I like the Rock Hill/Charlotte area, I just really miss Alabama and I miss working for The University of Alabama, so I've been doing everything I can to get another job there. I am currently being considered for this recruiter job at UA, which I am super excited about & that I want really badly, but today I got an email about a phone interview for a job I applied for at a college in Charlotte. I mean, its a cool job--Director of Involvement--but my heart just isn't in Charlotte. Plus, this is a private religiously affiliated school and while I am quite spiritual (i.e. I have a close, personal relationship with the "Big Guy Upstairs"), I am not what one would call religious, so I don't know how well I would fit into that type of environment. So now I'm torn. Do I take a job that I like, that pays fairly well, but requires me to stay in a place that I am less than happy or do I wait for a job at UA and risk going even longer without a job. Any thoughts?
blogging: force yourself to write. even if you don't think it's great. that's how i got into the habit of blogging more frequently (it may have originally been elizabeth's advice)
ReplyDeletecooking: yuck. baking: yay!!! :) manny is also a great cook who just "throws things together"...i guess i'm in for a rude awakening when he leaves in may.
job: i would go for whichever one is available and/or pays more ;)
ps, miss you tons!!
To continue Christine's thoughts...
ReplyDeleteBlogging: yes, you have to force yourself to write (if not everyday then at least 3 times a week). Set a schedule and pick topics in advance if that helps you. It helps me to know that on Mondays I'm posting my menu, Tuesdays its a recipe, etc. I also keep a running list of topics I want to write about so that when I'm in a funk, I have something I can say. If that fails, I right a list or take a picture of the books I'm reading and call it a day. And if you want more readers, you have to go out and find them! Reading and commenting on blogs is the best way to increase your traffic. Creating an about page and adding your twitter account (which you should start using again) is helpful to.
Cooking: I cook like I bake. Very precisely. As long as you can follow a recipe, you can cook. I've learned over the years how to adapt recipes to my own personal tastes, but that will come as you get used to cooking. Find a couple of food blogs that offer easy recipes and read them. See what they are doing and how they are doing it. I like to look at their sources if they post them because you can tell how they adapted something to better suit their own tastes. But for now, find some recipes (something simple like chicken or pasta) and cook them according to the directions. Then after you eat it make some notes on the recipe about what you would change or add. Then make it again with the changes. Make sense?
Job: Take whatever job you are offered. Now is not the time to be picky. Treat every job you apply for as if it's the perfect job for you. Maybe it isn't, but you get it anyway. So? You are employed and making money. At some point, that becomes the bigger issue. If you had told me a year ago that I would be a medical librarian and actually enjoying it, I would have laughed at you and said that was crazy. But I took the only job I could, even though I didn't want to live in Bham or in a hospital, and it hasn't turned out too badly.
Keep blogging!
Okay, I have way too much to tell you to write a comment. So I'm going to email you my thoughts. :)
ReplyDelete