So

I got my first interview. The job hasn't actually closed yet, but we've got the interview set up for almost two weeks away, so I think that's a good sign. It's a public library about an hour's drive away, but it's the county my dad's family is from, so I have great memories and a fondness for the area. Here's hoping! I have a good feeling about it. Wish me luck!

Well, it certainly wasn't the best

interview I've ever done,  but it was by no means the worst,  either.  (That distinction belongs to the old Lexington Community College,  where I not only had to deal with using a laptop and wireless mouse for the first time,  but I actually was late because I ran out of gas on the way.)

I did get a little vaguer in my examples as time wore on, as it became harder to remember specific, certain situations in customer service that I'd handled, but I thought we had a good rapport. I really hope this goes to the next level,  and not just because I need a job.  I want this job because I want to work with this clientele and with the librarians and other personnel there.  Everyone was so welcoming,  too.

At least I did calm down before going in.  About an hour and half before my appointment I was in a very nervous state,  and I was freaking because I'd left my medicine at home and didn't feel I'd be at my clearest.  But I decided  that really,  the interview was going to be conducted by fellow librarians,  who are generally nice people,  and likely will not bite or growl at me. So I just remembered to breathe and went in very calm.

Tomorrow I'll send out my thank yous. Please keep your fingers crossed for me and think good thoughts.

Sadness and joy

Well, my mom is doing pretty poorly. The upshot is that without being on the list for a liver transplant, she'll continue to be in and out of the hospital at best, slip into a coma and die at worst, and if she can't get on it, we need to think about bringing in hospice and letting nature take its course. Due to her health issues and age, she's probably not going to be put on that list. My stepfather was going to call the University of Kentucky today and see if they can see her or at least take a look at some of her tests and see if there's any hope. It's kind of late tonight, so I'll check with him tomorrow to see what happened.

I spent from about 10 am to 7 pm with my mom yesterday, mostly alone. I fed her lunch and dinner (they'd just left breakfast next to her like she was capable of eating on her own). She was confused early in the day, got better after a treatment, and I'm pretty certain she eventually recognised me, and her speech was much clearer by the end of the day and she wasn't struggling so much to be understood by that time. Over the course of the day I helped the nursing staff move her up in her bed and held her as they cleaned her up, etc. It's so sad to see her like this. My stepfather is really having a difficult time taking it all in, how much she's gone downhill in a short period of time.

Once I got home, I was exhausted emotionally and physically. I laid down and I don't remember falling asleep; I was just gone one minute and then heard my phone go off when A called for a ride home from work about two hours later. I don't know how my stepfather has the strength to deal with this (and so much more) on a daily basis. I was thankful he came and took me down there and brought me back up. I needed to see her, and she needed to see me. In a moment of clarity we exchanged 'I love you's. But the experience has clouded most of that evening and today for me.

I did have one bright bit of happiness today, though. I got a call just as I was leaving work and it was the Lexington Public Library calling about a part-time position of Library Associate in the Kentucky Room at Central Library. We set up a time to talk and she called back, asking me some questions and then set up an interview for next week! An interview! Oh, Lisa, please don't flub this! I'm really excited about the prospect of working with the public in genealogy and historical research, drawing from my history background and library training. It's part-time, with a schedule that would work with my current one (I might need to tweak my schedule by about a half hour to an hour, but both of my bosses are flexible and I'm sure would be alright with it). There are actually two positions, the only difference being that one works on Wednesday nights and the other on Thursdays. Please keep your fingers crossed for me! It would mean money coming in before the job loss and then having something part-time, at least, when it happens, and it would be great experience and a foot in the door into public librarianship. I'm really looking forward to the interview, although I have to find something suitable to wear--most of my interviewing clothes are better for summer.

So that's good, anyway. Wish me luck. I'll sign off for now, but I'm going to try to get back on a regular schedule of writing. In the meantime, just in case that's it for tonight, hope you had a good weekend and have a wonderful night.

Yay!

Despite being nervous before the call, I actually enjoyed the phone interview today. Everyone was engaging and it really set me at ease. I am so hoping I make it to the next round, where there will be a face-to-face interviews in both Louisville and Lexington, with the interviewees giving presentations.

Excited

about the opportunity to interview by phone tomorrow for what would be my dream job.  *fingers crossed* 

I got a phone interview!

I've set up a date and time for the interviewers to call me about the job I applied for, the one I did the curriculum vitae for, and they will interview me (they're in Louisville; the job is actually here in Lexington). So what does a librarian do when faced with an interview? She goes to the library and checks out books on asking and answering interview questions. :) I think I cleaned out the Eagle Creek library of most of their books on the subject. I have two days to prepare. I've been doing some research on the institution where the job is, and the institution that oversees the library there. Wish me luck!

I went for my interview

and while I was maybe a little weak on one or two questions out of twelve, I think I did very well, and I was nervous but not paralysingly so. I think I connected personally with them very well. I wore the floral skirt, a white camisole, a white vertical-pleated blouse, a white lacy long jacket, and my grandmother's pearls for luck. :) Apparently sandals are not allowed by the dress code, so if I wanted to wear any dresses or skirts I'd definitely have to get some comfortable dress shoes. But for pants I have black shoes that would fit fine. I am really excited about the prospect of working there. Please think good thoughts and keep your fingers crossed. They were interviewing today and then it goes to human resources. Oh, I hope I get it.

This is my last day off before returning to work on Monday. It's been a long, sad, and, at times difficult, few days. But I'm going to take some time today for recuperation from the stress of the funeral and such. I miss my grandmother, of course, and want some time to reflect. But also I feel drained from the visitation, funeral, and yes, even the interview. So for right now, I'm going to drink some more water, take a nap, and then putter around the house and maybe do something fun like read or watch a show later.

Well, I've done most of my list

I still need to take the trash out, which I'll do right before I go. Of course I'll get the gas on the way. Everything else is ready. In the meantime I'm dressed, having a banana for a snack, and drinking a big glass of ice water. I tried to fix the pump in the aquarium (the power glitched off during a thunderstorm the other day, and while it's not running dry (which would damage it), it isn't running the water through, either.) I tried priming it to no avail, so I unplugged it for now. They're goldfish, so they'll probably be alright. I won't be gone long, after all.

I'm taking some library books on interviewing with me. I hadn't mentioned it yet, but I do actually have an interview for a job on Friday afternoon. Apparently revamping the résumé worked, I got a screening phone call, and I was invited for the interview. So keep your fingers crossed for me. I'm off Friday as part of my bereavement leave, and it happened to work out that they were interviewing then, so I'm taking that as a sign of good things to come. :) It will be a major switch of gears from funeral to interview, but I need to do well. I also need to find something that shows some personality without being distracting for the interview. I'm thinking the floral skirt YKWIA and A gave me with a camisole and the eyelet lace jacket. It's not a suit, so that may be a mistake, but I don't actually have a suit, and I think they're not as preferred anymore. And there are no sequins or bee-baws on it, it's simple yet tasteful. What do you think? I was in a floral dress when I interviewed for my present job 17 years ago, so maybe florals are lucky for me. :)