Over 3 years
Well, it's been over 3 years since I've last posted a journal.
I realize that most of my friends have now moved on and nobody will read this. That may be a good thing. I was reading through some of my old posts and I think it's fairly interesting to see what was going on in my life back then. If nothing else, this will be a great way for me to look back in another 3 years.
A lot has changed in the past 3 years. Most importantly, I am now a married to the beautiful and amazing Sara Meska-Flatten. I honestly couldn't imagine this happening so quickly after college, but it was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know we still have a lot of growing up to do and I'm glad we will be doing so together.
After I graduated (technically in December of '09), I couldn't find a real job for quite awhile. I completed my internship early in January and continued to work part-time at Barnes and Noble. I started doing some temp work through an agency in February or March. I quit Barnes and Noble at that time because I was only getting one shift a week (and I made less per hour than I did in college). Most of what I did through the temp agency was open new computer monitors at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and deliver the monitors to employees' desks. It wasn't glamorous work, but I was making $13 an hour and could basically pay rent working only two days per week. I applied for working for Universal Music (where my internship was), but I didn't get hired. Of course, had I been hired, I would have had to move to Arkansas.
Finally, in June (literally the day before my wedding) I had an interview at MacPhail Center for Music in downtown Minneapolis. I was called back the next week for a second interview and was hired at the end of that week. It started as only 32 hours/week during the summer, but now I am working full time as a Student Services Assistant. My job consists of registering students for classes, answering questions about MacPhail, and reading a lot of internet articles (except for the two weeks at the beginning of the semester when we are legitimately busy). I recently started taking on some duties from the program services department (creating recital programs, stuffing envelopes, and more to come). I'm really hoping for a raise, but I'm not sure if it's too soon to ask for one. Speaking of raises, I also expressed interest in the Program Services Coordinator position that suddenly became open when the former PSC accepted a position with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. They told me they had someone in mind from outside the organization and that they weren't going to open it up internally at this time. I was fairly upset when I saw that the person they hired was basically a younger version of me (graduated with a degree in Music Industry). I may have missed the boat by not expressing interest sooner, but I'm glad that the people in charge want to sit down with me to ask about what I see myself doing going forward.
Life is a little boring right now. I work 5 days a week (usually Monday-Thursday and Saturday) and because we are open until 9 PM during the week, I often don't get to spend much time with Sara after work. I have to take the bus to work from Burnsville, so I end up spending 10 hours of my day away from home instead of 8. I watch a lot of instant viewing on my Xbox through Netflix and play quite a few video games as well. One new thing I'm trying to incorporate into my life is exercise. I have been lifting for the past 4 months (only 1-2 days a week) and I'm trying to discover a new diet as well. Hopefully by this time next year I will be a little more fit. I am grateful for the time Sara and I get to spend together, but I want to be more proactive about what we do together. Hopefully we can discover a hobby we both have a passion for.
Well, I'm just about typed out for tonight, but if I feel up to it, I may write again tomorrow. Maybe.
I realize that most of my friends have now moved on and nobody will read this. That may be a good thing. I was reading through some of my old posts and I think it's fairly interesting to see what was going on in my life back then. If nothing else, this will be a great way for me to look back in another 3 years.
A lot has changed in the past 3 years. Most importantly, I am now a married to the beautiful and amazing Sara Meska-Flatten. I honestly couldn't imagine this happening so quickly after college, but it was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know we still have a lot of growing up to do and I'm glad we will be doing so together.
After I graduated (technically in December of '09), I couldn't find a real job for quite awhile. I completed my internship early in January and continued to work part-time at Barnes and Noble. I started doing some temp work through an agency in February or March. I quit Barnes and Noble at that time because I was only getting one shift a week (and I made less per hour than I did in college). Most of what I did through the temp agency was open new computer monitors at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and deliver the monitors to employees' desks. It wasn't glamorous work, but I was making $13 an hour and could basically pay rent working only two days per week. I applied for working for Universal Music (where my internship was), but I didn't get hired. Of course, had I been hired, I would have had to move to Arkansas.
Finally, in June (literally the day before my wedding) I had an interview at MacPhail Center for Music in downtown Minneapolis. I was called back the next week for a second interview and was hired at the end of that week. It started as only 32 hours/week during the summer, but now I am working full time as a Student Services Assistant. My job consists of registering students for classes, answering questions about MacPhail, and reading a lot of internet articles (except for the two weeks at the beginning of the semester when we are legitimately busy). I recently started taking on some duties from the program services department (creating recital programs, stuffing envelopes, and more to come). I'm really hoping for a raise, but I'm not sure if it's too soon to ask for one. Speaking of raises, I also expressed interest in the Program Services Coordinator position that suddenly became open when the former PSC accepted a position with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. They told me they had someone in mind from outside the organization and that they weren't going to open it up internally at this time. I was fairly upset when I saw that the person they hired was basically a younger version of me (graduated with a degree in Music Industry). I may have missed the boat by not expressing interest sooner, but I'm glad that the people in charge want to sit down with me to ask about what I see myself doing going forward.
Life is a little boring right now. I work 5 days a week (usually Monday-Thursday and Saturday) and because we are open until 9 PM during the week, I often don't get to spend much time with Sara after work. I have to take the bus to work from Burnsville, so I end up spending 10 hours of my day away from home instead of 8. I watch a lot of instant viewing on my Xbox through Netflix and play quite a few video games as well. One new thing I'm trying to incorporate into my life is exercise. I have been lifting for the past 4 months (only 1-2 days a week) and I'm trying to discover a new diet as well. Hopefully by this time next year I will be a little more fit. I am grateful for the time Sara and I get to spend together, but I want to be more proactive about what we do together. Hopefully we can discover a hobby we both have a passion for.
Well, I'm just about typed out for tonight, but if I feel up to it, I may write again tomorrow. Maybe.