Mourning my lost relationships & looking forward

I just finished the zoom interview with the Girl Scouts. Out of 20+ resumes, it was narrowed down to me & 9 other applicants. I will be getting an email notification by the end of the week if I move on to the in person interview. When Viola was explaining the responsibilities for the Customer Care Manager, Volunteer Support position I was thinking "This is just like what I do as a Seneschal in the SCA! I can get paid for what I have been doing for fun the past 2 years? Hells Yeah!"
 
I mean you *do* have your SCA stuff on your resume, right? I know several people who have gotten (much) better jobs that way and have taken at least one class on the translation thereof...
 
I mean you *do* have your SCA stuff on your resume, right? I know several people who have gotten (much) better jobs that way and have taken at least one class on the translation thereof...
Actually I don't. I should update it. LOL
 
Might be of use - the class I was thinking of got recorded.
 
Added to my resume:
Lions End Senechal at Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)
Lions End Herald at Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)

Local Chapter President


The Nassau County Branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Milpitas, CA


International 501(c)(3) Non Profit Educational Organization


Jan 2021- Present


● Legal Representative


● Community Outreach Coordinator


● Recruitment Specialist


● Regional Membership Retention Specialist​


Senior Project Manager


The Nassau County Branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Milpitas, CA


International 501(c)(3) Non Profit Educational Organization


Jan 2019- Present


● Research Coordinator


● Protocol Coordinator​
 
Ugh, the suspense of waiting for an email from The Girl Scouts is excruciating! At least this weekend will be fun filled cause it's our 4 yr anniversary today! Tonight is a date night out at Red Lobster, the restaurant he took me to for our first date night. And tomorrow we are going roller skating at a local roller rink. The funny thing about this rink is we both would go to it frequently when we were teenagers but never met.

We have multiple places like that, until he came into the gaming store I worked at. He asked me out in front of the store owner & I refused. Not that I had wanted to, mind you. The owner had all the employees sign a document agreeing to not date any of the customers or we would be fired immediately. Years later & after the store closed I found out that it wasn't legally binding. I regretted it for so long. Then Angela was dating him & I resigned myself to being a good friend. Years passed & my fantasies abounded, LOL. And then during the end of 2018, Angela took it upon herself to try and be my matchmaker. When that didn't work she decided to ask me to be their third & you can read the rest at the beginning of this blog.
 
Another week gone & still no email. Not even a response to my inquiry. I was going to hold off boosting my soap inventory until I heard something. But now I think the silence speaks more than anything.
 
Yesterday I texted the Girl Scouts with my updated resume through the messaging system on Indeed.com. I hope it got to Ivy, the assistant HR person I saw during the phone interview kerfuffle.
 
No news on the Girl Scouts sigh. But, I last Friday I received an email from Dover Books & Publications requesting a phone interview for today at 1pm!

The interview went really well & Cassey said that I was an excellent candidate. She was going to put me forward for a zoom interview for most likely late next week. I should get an email "No later than Monday." WHEEE! I am on the never ending interview carousel again.
 
Denture wax try in today. It looked really good. I can't wait till the end of the month for the permanent one! YIPPEE.
 
And today Ikea requested a phone interview! Yippee!
 
Dover/Lakeside Publications has chosen me for the next round of in person interviews!! I am squeeeing! So now I have Ikea phone interview on Tuesday, then an in person interview on Thursday at 1pm!
 
The Positives
OK, the phone interview with Ikea went well. So well they want me to do an in person interview for tomorrow at 4pm!

The Negatives
They are requiring that I work weekends, which I expected, since it's a retail position. But since it's part time, 12-20hrs, there isn't any benefits. I could "pay into getting medical/dental/vision." If I do get the position & am working for 6 months or more. If a higher tier position opens up. I could, with manager approval, interview for it.
 
Ikea interview complete.

TBH I went in thinking it was going to be a cashier/register based job. Working hellish weekend hours.
What the job responsibilities are processing email & in person returns using a handheld scanners. Process email & in store purchases for customer pick up & bring the items out to the customers. The closest I'd be to registers would be a self check out associate. While he's not sure if I will be day or night shift. The only requirement is I work one weekend day. Either Saturday or Sunday, but not both.

So now the anxiety inducing interview is over. I feel much calmer for tomorrow's interview with Dover/Lakeside. Don't get me wrong, I am excited, but I don't feel like I am going to vibrate out of my skin anymore.
 
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Dover/Lakeside Interview complete

When I went into this interview I was confident & was convinced I had in the bag, well how wrong I was.
While I did well. But found out that this position will be mostly data entry with some customer service. I would primarily be processing email orders that come in. But I would also be on the phones. So if a phone order comes in while I am entering an email order. The phone order would be the priory & I would have to enter in while on the phone. I explained that I have dyscalculia & would have to take extra care to enter the serial #'s correctly.

They are interviewing others tomorrow & some next week. So they said it would be at least 2 weeks before I know anything.

So now I have done a complete turnaround with how I feel on the jobs. LMCAO Now the excruciating wait begins.
 
Well, I found out on Wednesday that Ikea fell through. According to them "We have received many great applications and this time we have chosen to continue with other candidates that we found were a better match for this position." SIGH

Nothing yet from Dover/Lakeside. The email should come either this upcoming Monday or Tuesday.

But since I haven't stopped putting my resume through Indeed.com. I now have a phone interview scheduled for Tuesday at 1pm. Then a confusing thing happened 2 hours after I had confirmed. Indeed.com sent me an email saying I the same company had decided to go with someone else. I am going to go with the HR email contact. What do I have to loose, 15 maybe 20 minutes on Tuesday?
 
Mid August Update

Every single one the jobs I interviewed for fell through. On top of that, because of the people making Pandemic crafts into small businesses, it became even harder to secure events. JR said that it's ok to take a break, go to Pennsic for the full 2 weeks, regroup to take the upcoming holiday season by storm.

I finally got my permanent lower denture & it's glorious! I should've considered this sooner. I am no longer in any pain. I can bite & chew with ease. Something I haven't been able to do in over a decade.

After coming back from Pennsic I got a notification that the NYS continuing open civil service exams were closing on 8/14. Curious I decided to see what jobs were on the list. The first one is Asst. Workers Compensation Examiner. This is the same job both of my parents did most of my life & both retired in supervisor positions. So I thought, what the hell, let's give this a shot. On top of that I found out that there isn't an exam fee. Plus the exam is all online, so I won't have my usual test anxiety. BUT I did put in that I need accommodations for my PTSD & learning disability, so that won't bite me in the ass like it has so many times in the past.
So now I am waiting for my initial application to be approved.

Therapy is going well. In May my previous therapist found another position. Which was disheartening, but my new therapist is really pushing me to acknowledge my own achievements (there were some tough instances during & slightly after Pennsic, but I will tell that in another post). I got an appointment with a prescriber but found out that I need to get another official diagnosis of ADHD before any meds are prescribed. All because my ex took all of my current, at the time, medical records & burned them in the fireplace. Why you ask? Cause he is a vicious, abusive asshole. And knew when I left that since I was on his insurance, it would be near impossible for me to afford to keep my therapy going. I completely understand but am still bummed none the less.
 
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Pennsic 50: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

We left early in the morning of July 29th. Getting out of NY was uneventful, the usual Route 95 traffic across the GWB. NJ was smooth as well. An hour into PA we notice signs about construction ahead. Some friends made the trip before us & said that the construction traffic was "not bad". We on the other hand encountered dead stop traffic for 3 HOURS for a one mile stretch.
With the stretch breaks & Lunch we didn't get into "Troll" until 7:30pm. We scrambled to unload & set up before daylight was gone. We barely made it in time to get dinner before the food court closed.

~1st problem: I forgot the bed kit, which included all the pillows, sleeping bags & feather comforter.

Thank goodness I had brought two full circle cloaks which are made from blanket material. We both rolled ourselves in them & snuggled together on my cot w/air mattress. Easy fix on the morning. We went to town to Dick's sporting goods and got a sleeping bag with the store credit we had from returning the old tent. I also forgot our camp chairs, so we picked up one for cheap. We also got a 2 pack of pillows at Walmart. The rest of peace week for us was good. We helped out when needed like good campers. I took to cleaning the dishes. JR helped with getting the encampment perimeter staked out, gate up & sheetwalls attached.

War week begins & we are included in the opening ceremonies on Saturday. Sunday comes & we get a notification that rain is rolling it for the rest of the week. We go again to town, do laundry, get a tarp for the top of the tent, some rope & garden spikes to stake it down. We get back to camp & make sure the tent is secure. I even fold the tarp in the back of our tent & use the guy lines to criss cross it for more security.

Monday morning, JR & I are snuggling in bed before we begin our day. I am facing the back of the tent were we left the back window open so we can get air into the tent, but no one can see in (We are on the edge of the encampment right next to a public walkway between the encampments) I can hear people walking along toward the main road, I think nothing of it. Suddenly I see a man's hand & forearm grabbing at the back window, almost as if they were searching for a zipper. My face must have shown my shock , cause JR rolls over & yells. "Hey! Stop fucking around with our tent!" The hand immediately retracts then I hear rapid walking away & a male voice mumbling "Sorry if I lost my balance, dude!" All the while JR was trying to get decent & find the guy. But by the time he got out of the tent, out of the camp & around to the walkway. There wasn't anyone there.
The thing that freaks me out is that this unknown male had to get down on their knees, reach over our encampment ropes & then go under the tarp and up to the window. If he had 'lost his balance' I would have seen is hand shadow before he would have landed on us in bed. I would not seen his hand clearly through the screen. It was strange, but we chalked it up to 'Weird things happening at Pennsic 50' and tried to not let it bother us. That night we go to the Æthelmearc royal encampment party. We had a good time and ended up joining a group to share their weird happenings. Like someone from Singles camping decided it was too sunny where they were, so they moved their tent into Æthelmearc next to their shower.

Tuesday was a busy day. We had some classes and saw some friends. We were to go the the PolyAm Meetup at Cafe Merhabah at 5 so JR left me to go take a shower. About halfway through my class he texts to ask me if I had seen his toiletry kit. I answer that I hadn't but it should be in the tent. He said he checked the tent but didn't find it & asked if I could come back to help. Thank goodness the instructor was going to ask for email to send the worksheets, so I gave her a business card & left. Long story short we looked everywhere for it. But it was just gone. I truly believe that someone, from outside of our encampment stole his kit. Cause unfortunately, the last place he remembers seeing it was right inside the tent the night before after his nightly shower. Pennsic Peace broken. By the time we came to this conclusion it was too late to pack up & leave. So we go and make the best of it: PolyAm Meetup was good. I met a lovely couple & thought I got her Fetlife name down, but I cannot find her. We also got to the DeLondres Bardic & to see one of our newest members to the SCA, who played the bagpipes for Ostgardr at opening ceremonies, win 2nd place at the Mountain Confederation's Annual Bagpiping competition.

Wednesday was bittersweet. We got up, and over breakfast explained why we were leaving. The Camp steward was rightfully upset. And went to make a complaint to the Watch & checked Info point to see if anyone turned in a bag, nothing. I had promised to make my chicken tikka masala dinner that night. So instead I made it for lunch instead. We gave hugs to everyone, packed & left at around 3pm. About an hour later we stop at a Burger King for a stretch/coffee/cigarette/bathroom break. JR is still a little on edge but we are dealing. He is standing on the driver's side by the trunk, hands me a $5 & I go in to get my coffee. It takes forever for them to get it to me & JR comes in to wash his hands, as he does after smoking. We leave & get into the car, he realizes we need gas. So we go across the street to the Sheetz convenience store & gas station. As he gets out he checks his cargo shorts & asks "Do you have my phone?" I get a frisson of fear down my spine & say No. He begins to steadily get more annoyed & I am trying to keep from melting down (back story on why after this post). We go back & forth multiple times to try & find it , again, nothing. We are Sheetz one last time, cause at this point we are burning daylight. He goes inside as I finally figure out why when I call his phone it would ring in the car. I am navigating & am using my Pandora to control the music through my phone. I automatically connect via Bluetooth to the car speakers. I turn it off & viola! it rings as normal. Suddenly, a young woman answers his phone. My brain goes a haywire & I was about to say "Who the FUCK is this?!" when she continues & says she is happy I called her son found the phone on a drainage grate in the Dairy Queen parking lot & didn't tell her until they got home! The same one that is right next to the Burger King. She asked where we were & I described it. She said she would be right over. 5 minutes later, she pulls into the Sheetz, rolls down her window holds the phone up & calls out my name. Overjoyed I say yes I am! JR comes over & hands her a $100. She at first said no but we both insisted. the rest of the ride was totally uneventful & we got home at midnight.
 
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I didn’t think of it, we totally should have tried to actually meet at Pennsic! (I was there most of war week).
 
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