it's official. i have been unemployed for seven months and have been living with my folks in raleigh for four months (on sunday). i have been having a tough time lately...it's really hard to get excited about a new job post after seven months of looking, applying, interviewing, and ultimately, getting denied. i figured, at seven months, it was time to tally what's what.

as of 7/31, i will have applied for 23 planning positions

1: position frozen for fiscal year 2010-2011

3: denial e-mails

5: interviews (highest honor? making it to the top 5 of 100+ applicants)

7: no response given (even with a follow-up after an interview!)

8: denial letters

three packets were sent last week: durham city/county, kinston and suwanee (ga).

the next round of deadlines are rapidly approaching for: fairfax county (va), cary, ncdot (raleigh), nc dept. of commerce (raleigh), and chowan county.

wish me luck... :/

*day 3*

i was back with drew tonight. another 3 round "game" but different than monday. :) the first round consisted of 1 minute jump rope, 12 burpees (modified), 12 knee lifts and 12 shoulder presses. second round: 1 min. jump rope, 9 burpees, 9 knee lifts and 9 presses. third round: 1 minute jump rope, 6 burpees, 6 knee lifts and 6 presses.

a burpee, if you don't know, is basically when you do a full push up and then jump to a squat and then jump with your hands over your head. my modified burpee was everything except the push up. knee lifts: hanging from a bar like you're going to do a pull up but instead of pulling your body up, you pull your knees up to work your abs (again, modified...the intent is to get your knees to your elbows!). presses: dumb bell presses from your shoulders straight up.

and then of course, you go for speed. i did it in under 10 minutes (the jump rope got me caught a few times).

so in looking at my times, just under 10 on monday; just under 20 for tuesday (the HARD day!) and just under 10 today....so now i have a jumping off point.

this week, i am trying a new gym: forged fitness. it's the same gym where paige & paul train, in the crossfit program (they have other programs like martial arts). i get three free sessions before i decide if it's something i want to pursue (i still have a week free voucher from o2 fitness i won in a raffle at church). yesterday was my first one. drew is my coach and paul, now certified, is my co-coach/cheerleader.
*day 1: i warmed up by running around the building 3 times..man, i am out of shape because i could barely make it around the 3rd time! :( Then, we played a "game". game, my ass. the game consisted of 3 rounds of 30 step-ups, 5 push ups, 10 sit ups and 10 ball squats each. it sounds easy, but it wasn't. step-ups are not regular box step-ups. these, you stand at the top of each step and push your hips forward), the push ups were the knee kind, which made it easier but still hard when you're trying to go fast!. the sit ups were not "normal". you put your legs in the butterfly position with your shoulders on the floor. you do a sit up but it doesn't count unless you sit straight up. and these ball squats...were tough to get a handle on. i'm used to squats that you sorta lean forward..with these, you curl your toes up so that your weight is forced back on your heels. then you push your hips/butt back (like you're sitting down) and down to touch a medicine ball with your butt..using your arms to keep your balance. it took me 10 minutes to do 3 rounds. after the second, i thought about giving up...the idea of doing 30 more step-ups wasn't my idea of a good time..but i did it! i would've been mad if i had quit.

i'm a little bit sore, mostly from the push ups because i stretched my legs quite a bit afterwards...it was fun. friendly faces since i've met quite a few of the members at social functions for the bsd's and paul's birthday. plus, it's a way for me to spend more time (at least in the same space) with paige (& paul). i go again tonight at 7...drew said it's better to go back-to-back so that i don't get as sore. i tried to get some details from paul but all he told me is that we wouldn't be doing the same thing as yesterday. i imagine there's some rowing and kettle bell lifts in my future. :) and, as much as i hated it, i'm actually looking forward to going back tonight...am i crazy or what?! ;)

*day 2: i actually made it around the building 3 times...i was gonna go around for 4 but i didn't want to push it too hard & if i had known what the workout was, i definitely wouldn't have gone 4 times. 4 rounds of: 300m rowing, 10 lunges, 12 wall balls, and 15 kettlebells. rowing on the machine was tough, since we were going for speed. lunges to the wall. wall balls were the squats i did yesterday coupled with throwing and catching a medicine ball above the line on the wall (that was tough). kettlebells are squats with a kettlebell and then swinging it up over your head and then back down. they had to decrease my weight in the balls and bells. i only made it through 3 rounds which i'm kinda disappointed in, but i also didn't want to kill myself! i don't know my time but i know it wasn't fast considering i was doing the class with 2 fit men (father and son) who were able to get through their 4 rounds. i didn't watch them much because i didn't want to get more flustered. i'm alive, but my quads yell at me everytime i walk down the stairs or sit down! today is my off day...and boy do i need it?! i didn't sleep well last night at all, and i have my interview tomorrow morning so i need to be well-rested. we'll see what day 3 will hold tomorrow night. paul won't be there b/c he has band practice...but, i'll be okay. i just want to get the techniques down well enough before i really try to go for time.

i am happy to report that i accomplished most of everything on my july 4 weekend 'to do' list. :) i primed and painted my bathroom in 2 days. it looks great, but very different considering it's always been a little room of color. for the past few years, it's been a bright shade of apple green (almost more like lime)..very bright. now it's a beautiful, subtle shade of eucalyptus from restoration hardware. my dad has to help me hang the towel rack (ikea). i had bought a new stainless tp holder (ikea) but i think i'm leaning towards a stand-alone type...decisions, decisions. once it's ALL done, i promise to post a picture. i don't have a good "before" pic so an "after" will have to do. ;)
the girls went shopping saturday, mainly for my sister's birthday, which we celebrated on tuesday night. i still have to order the last part of her gift..trying to keep it even between how much p&p spent on me for my birthday last month. we did grill out (steaks on the weber grill) and i did have some skinny dip. matt didn't get a chance to stop in raleigh on his way back to charlotte since apparently traffic was a mess on i-40w (no surprise there). but, all in all, it was a great holiday weekend.

this week, i'm working on 4 app packets to go out tomorrow. this round is amherst (va), suwanee (ga), kinston (nc) & fayetteville (nc). i know, no one wants to move to fayett-nam but it's a state job so....it's good practice in the very least. :) more good news, i got a call yesterday morning for another interview. this one's for a town not too far from where my parents live (literally, like 20 minutes driving time). it will remain nameless for now...but, i'm excited. the interview is thursday 7/15. time for some new pictures to add to my portfolio!

hope everyone's having a great week...stay cool because it is BALMY outside (to say the least)!

hope everyone has a great july 4 weekend!

my holiday plans: prime, paint & redo my bathroom with my ikea finds and paint from restoration hardware; shop with my mom & sister; order my sister's birthday gift (& something for me of course!); laundry; some relaxation...grill out with the family, throw in some skinny dip/fat tire & seeing a friend from charlotte on monday and it sounds like a great time! :D

july 1. can anyone believe the year is six months over already? as much as january-june kinda sucked, it also wasn't so bad. i mean, even though i lost my job, had to leave charlotte, lose some of my independence, move in with my parents, have bella be stuck in her crate when she's inside the house, and have applied for over 20 jobs..........i also live rent & essentially bill-free, bella has a yard to frolic across, raleigh's not so bad, i've made it to the top 5 and interviewed for 4 jobs (& the jury's still out on 2). life doesn't suck, it's all in how you look at it. this is my year to learn how to be optimistic and keep the faith in myself and in God's plan. He has something great planned, I just know it. I just wish I could really understand His timing. ;)

goals for july are much the same as june...nothing really seems to change does it?

- keep applying/interviewing for jobs (there are 8 i am waiting to hear about & as of today, 3 more to apply for)

- get a massage (i'm behind...i never got mine in june)

- go to the art museum. for easter, my mom got us a membership...plus, it's time to renew at the mint & it makes me sad.....

- prime my bathroom

- paint my bedroom and bathroom (after a VERY successful trip to ikea last weekend, i really only "need" double curtain rods & a bed frame for my room for the project to be completed).

- put the finishing touches on my room. i am completely excited!

- begin to work on the bonus room. i have great plans...but, i need to get my dad on board (especially since i need him and his saw/sanding skills). ;)

- have a good 4th of july weekend.

- maybe have a date? ;)