New userpics to go with my new job
...it's just a part-time seasonal job at Kohl's. But at least that means I'm not unemployed anymore. They might take me on longer after the holidays, if I don't have something better lined up by then. I'm mostly going to be rearranging clothes on the shelves, putting things away, finding stuff for people, that sort of thing, though they're cross-training me to cashier as well. They told me that in the holiday season they will probably rely most on the experienced people to cashier, so they can do it fast--they'll need me to bag, which is fine by me. Hopefully it'll all go okay.
I've been interviewing for various positions at the library--I was really close to getting something full-time at the one I'm volunteering for, I got a second interview and everything, but they ended up hiring someone internally. Still, several of the people who interviewed me/supervise me encouraged me to keep trying for other positions, so that has to mean something. Apparently there's a new branch manager coming in to my branch, and she is really focused on getting the community involved in the library, through groups and events and stuff, so they told me I ought to have some ideas for that going in to interview with her. The only unique sort of group stuff I can think of that I would be comfortable leading is some sort of anime/manga/cosplay/Japan related discussion or activities, but of course the inevitable "mature content" issue would probably get in my way there. Still, the library is starting to have a pretty impressive collection of stuff that would be of interest particularly to teenage Japanophiles, but I'm sure there are kids out there who don't know that. Maybe at least it would show this lady that I have some unique ideas?
In the meantime, I've been so absorbed in that and some other stuff that I haven't been thinking much about the other careers I'd been considering. My mom is very enthusiastic about the idea of me becoming a paralegal... there are some things I've heard about it that sound like it would suit my personality, but I don't have very many real-person testimonies to verify any of it. Anyone know anything about what it's like to be a paralegal?
Other than that, most of the careers I seem to fit with are things where I'd have to be self-employed... as much as I want to be a writer, and I'd love to work from home, I'd have to be making piles of money before I'd consider writing full-time without any sort of back-up job.
For the past two weeks, my mom was in Pittsburgh, so I had to house-sit again. (Dad came home after one, but he was still working, of course.) This time it was my own house, so at least I was in familiar territory and I had some control over stuff, but it got so lonely after a while. Plus, I was doing a bunch of interviews, and then an orientation for Kohl's, and I never feel right driving myself to things when I'm freaking out about that kind of stuff. But I got through it. It was a relief to have so much stuff to do at church (there was a Mass for All Saints and All Souls, and they asked me to cantor for both of them) in the evenings, so I could get rid of some of that pent-up energy.
It was good that my mom was there at that time, though, because her uncle (the one with lung cancer) passed away near the end, and so she was able to help with all the preparations for that. The minute she arrived back home, my dad got a call that my aunt was admitted to the hospital, and she was looking really bad--she's probably next. My grandparents seem to be doing okay for now, though.
Things have been rocky between me and my brother since he left for college and got into a religious group there--one of those Bible-quoting literalist types--but we ended up having a pretty nice time when he visited a few days ago. For once, he came home and actually stayed with us instead of rushing out the minute dinner was over, so we had a good chance to talk. I think he's beginning to learn that even living with close friends can get annoying at times, and he's starting to appreciate how we run things here. I'm afraid that as long as he completely buys into what that group is teaching him, we will not be able to talk civilly about religion, but at least on other things, we still get along okay.
At the same time, though, I have to accept that he's not coming back here to stay. Once he graduates, he's planning to move out and go somewhere else, and I won't be able to rely on him for a social life here anymore. (Besides the fact that his friends aren't that nice to me anymore anyway. I guess they found out that I disagree with the Bible.) I hope that once I'm settled in, I'll be able to find some anime types... I meet plenty of nice people at church or whatever, but I miss fangirling. Or at least being able to talk about what I did over the weekend without stopping to explain every single thing.
I'm doing NaNo this year, or at least I'm trying. It's a prologue anthology to the one I did last year. For one section I did a pretty good job keeping the words going, and I immediately went to a griding halt when I switched to someone else's POV. I have some serious work to do on those characters... Anyway, I'm aerielle on that as well, if any of you want to check my stats or friend me or whatever. ^_^
And then I have a cell phone question, for you tech-savvy people. I have a Samsung SCH U360---one of your super basic non-smart phones--and I'm beyond tired of the default ringtones/text message alerts, but I can't figure out how to get personalized things on there. I tried to get Phillip to help me use the Bluetooth thing to get some mp3s on there, but for one thing, I don't have a program to shorten any of them to a ringtone-sized file, and for the other, it didn't work anyway. For the text alert, I was hoping to find something from Final Fantasy or Zelda, or maybe a scale or chord on the koto--something pleasant--but I don't know a good place to download something like that for free. Any suggestions for 1. a place to download those alert sounds, 2. a good (free) program that would allow me to edit mp3s, and 3. an alternate way to get the files on my phone? It's a dumb phone, so E-mail is out. It's only a few years old, so it should be able to do it somehow. I know it was a fight to get my old phone to do it, but somehow finally someone managed to do it. I hope it doesn't come down to that, but I'm pretty sure I'll smash the thing with a hammer if I hear the current ringtone one more time. >.<
A sick part of me is looking forward to seeing the Breaking Dawn movie. My mother has said she'll go with me (she has no interest in Twilight whatsoever, especially after all I've told her about it. She's just being a very good sport.) I'm sure it'll be terrible, and I'll spend the entire time laughing at it. It'll be fun. Maybe.
(added later): Also, does anyone know much about Cosplay.com accounts here? I finally tried to update mine by filling in my profile info, but none of the stuff I typed in showed up on my page! After the first unsuccessful attempt, I went back to "Edit Profile" and everything I typed was still there, but no matter how many times I tried to click "Save Changes," nothing happened. I posted a new thread on the help forum to ask people for help there, too, but I thought maybe this way would be faster...