NEW JOB!!

Good news blog friends - I have been offered (and accepted) a new job. YEAH. And no, it is not with the Prison. While jumping through all hiring hoops for the prison I have been continuing to interview at other places. On Wed, I interviewed with Assessment and Referral Services. The interview went really well - and I actually recognized the interviewers from a presentation I attended at the 2006 Utah Fall Substance Abuse Conference. It's always positive when you go into an interview knowing about what the agency does, etc. Overall, it was one of the best interviews I've ever had. I left feeling quite confident and pleased. I called Julie when I got to my car - and within minutes I received a call and was offered the job (literally, probably no more than 10 min after I left the office). Apparently they really loved me - so that's a good start. Julie and I spoke about the offer over lunch, and we decided to accept. The pay is better than the prison and as a University of Utah employee, the benefits are amazing. I get like 21 vacation days per year. Crazy. As far as compensation goes, I can't ask for more.

The work, however, isn't my dream position. I don't do ongoing therapy - but rather just clinical assessments for substance abuse and DUI issues. The interviews are apparently 2 hrs long - and then the report is anywhere from 6-12 pages long!! That's a LOT of typing. Actually, it seems like I will spend over 1/2 of my time typing assessments. But, that has it's pros as well. The office is very flexible with scheduling - and I also have the option of writing from home some times too. So, I think that it will balance out well. Overall, I think I'll like it. I'm comfortable with substance abuse populations and feel confident in my skills in that area. Also, if I feel that I need to do some ongoing therapy, I'll find a PT job at LDS Family or somewhere that I can work just a few hours a week.

Best part - I don't have to do POST training. However, I was feeling excited to do the weapons training (odd, huh?). I was NOT excited to do the running 7 miles a day thing. So, I think I can live without playing with guns for a few weeks (Julie says that I can go to the shooting range if I want to). It's all good!!

So now I am waiting to hear what my start date will be. I hope they can start me next week. I really want to start doing something with my life and making money. YEAH. So very happy.

Julie has also promised me that once I found a job I could get a Nintendo Wii (the only game system she will have in our house cause it involves some movement and has the whole Wii Fit system). So - being all excited I had thought that yesterday I could go to Walmart or somewhere to buy a system. Too bad they are still sold out all over the place. I guess Nintendo will only ship a few units every few weeks - so they sell out within one day. BUMMER. I hate being let down. So, now I either have to start stalking electronic stores to find a Wii in stock - or order one online. OR I can protest Nintendo's stupid tactics and not buy their product cause I hate games. Seems silly that they don't send enough product. Ya know - if you have to make your customers stalk after you . . . not cool. We'll see how it goes down.