New cousin!

My cousin Kelli had her baby Thursday night, a little girl. They live in Florida so I don't know when I'll get to meet the wee one, but mom, dad & baby are doing fine. My sister (she & Kelli have always been close; they are 2 months apart) is going down next week & promises to take tons of pictures. Yay for babies! Hopefully we'll be able to afford one of our own someday.

Thank the Lawd it's Friday!

So what's new you ask? Here's a brief recap of the past week:

Vid had part 1 of his sleep study on Wednesday night; part 2 is next week. The clinicians said he was very talkative while they were preparing him. My husband a "Chatty Cathy"? *snicker* He was most concerned with getting random patches shaved out of his chest hair; thankfully, minimal "manscaping" was required.

He had an interview on Wednesday & another today. He is now working closely with the career center where he got his Masters degree so maybe that will help him find a freakin' job.

In wedding news, I had my second dress fitting last night; just a few alterations. I found that the chocolate melts I need to make the favors are about 1/2 the price online as they were in the craft stores so I ordered them. Plus, I need to pay off the cake. Let's just say although I complain about being poor an awful lot, the next few weeks are going to be a financial challenge. I'm just focusing on the positive, such as the checks we will get from relatives! Go ahead & call me greedy; that's the one Bridezzilla thing I've said ever!

I haven't heard back from my dream job yet but haven't lost complete hope either. I sent them a thank you note & got an e-mail reply acknowledging it. The e-mail also said they had left messages for my references & asked for a writing sample which I gladly gave. In the meantime I'll spend the weekend wondering when I'll hear back & going over in my head the wonderful day that will be when I get to give my 2 weeks notice to my current employer. If I don't get it, I may cry; no, I will.

Now it's time to go pick up hubby from the commuter train. Then, it's time for pina coladas at home!

How could I forget?

They had their 4th trip to the US embassy today & finally got their visas approved. They arrive on 6/8 & will be here for a month. Now DH really needs to get a job so they don't drive him nuts. He is teetering between being thrilled to see them after almost 6 years & a sense of dread that all they will do is yell at him for not having a job; poor dear. "Oh, God", followed by muttering under the breath in Tamil is what I have been hearing as hubby paces the halls lately.

His parents will be staying mostly with his sister up in NH & traveling a bit around before the wedding. I can't wait to meet them finally & hope they don't drive DH to tears at the same time. And they better not ruin MY DAAAAAYYY. For cereal, if they pull any "Why didn't you marry a good Tamil girl" crap I will go ninja on their a$$es.

Just got back from the interview

I don't know what to think. The current director seems to really want me (it pays to know people I guess) but she kind of warned me about the founder of the organization being a difficult person to work with. I must say she was right; I was talked over several times in the interview. Why ask a question when you have no intention of listening to the answer? Anyways, I still think it'd be an interesting job & a great resume builder; getting your foot in the proverbial door is such a tough thing with NGOs. And apparently finding a French speaker has been a problem; this obscure skill may play into my favor. They said they hope to have a decision by the end of the month & the start date would be sometime in July. Hopefully the hubby gets something with health insurance soon so if I do get an offer I can accept as the health insurance is very minimal. I'm hopeful but trying not to be overly hopeful. I'm really looking forward to the day when I get to post something happy on here!

I am so sick of hospitals

My grandpa S (dad's dad) was sent to the ER from his endocrinologist's office this afternoon. My mom & dad are currently waiting in the ER for him to be admitted to the hospital. His legs are super swollen, his sugars are off & he sounds "fluidy". They are leaning towards either congestive heart failure or pneumonia, neither of which are good for a man of 80. This means I will probably be stopping by to see him post-interview tomorrow since the building's just a few blocks away. Uh; when will it ever end?! I want some good news for a change.

Good news coupled with bad news (per usual)

First, the good: I have an in-person interview for the job I posted about previously! It's on Wednesday afternoon 5/21 so I will be coming down with a mysterious illness that day & calling out of work. Bonus: the current director knows my undergrad advisor who I know will give me a good reference. Please, God, please!

The bad: Vid failed his road test. Seriously, I am so pissed. He's had numerous driving lessons that I've paid good money for even though I really can't afford it. He gets so nervous when driving with me I've all but given up on teaching him and honestly, gas is too expensive for me to drive him around for no reason. What really sucks is what errands I do run tend to be over the line in Massachusetts where he can't drive because they don't honor RI learning permits. So now he has to call the DMV & get a busy signal for 4 days to reschedule the test. And no I am not making that up; when he called to schedule this one it took him 4 days to get a real live person on the other end.

I *fuzzy pink heart* my coordinator!

S. is such a nice lady to being with, but she is doing me such a huge favor I want to hug her, squeeze her & name her George.

Background: S. knows how much the hubby's unemployment has been weighing on me lately after almost 6 months. I've also been upfront about the fact if he doesn't get something in the area & soon we are looking elsewhere & I will be following him since, as an engineer, he makes more than double what I do when actually working. Let's just say she doesn't want to have to replace me considering how long it took to find someone to fill my position.

So S. was talking to her hubby one day & mentioned out tale of woe. S.'s hubby is also an engineer who works for a company my hubby applied to back in February but never heard anything back from them. He has been there for like 30 years & is buddies with the owner.

To make a long story short, I forwarded my hubby's resume to S. who then forwarded it to her hubby who e-mailed back with their home phone # saying to call him to set up a time to meet. So Vid is meeting/interviewing with S.'s hubby on Monday.

Whether or not anything comes of this, who knows? But it just goes to show you it's who you know when looking for a job, not what you know. Anywho, I really do *fuzzy pink heart* my coordinator!

St. Cajetan, pray for us

I sent my CV a month ago & didn't honestly think I'd get an interview for it given how much HR sucks in most places. Lo and behold, the person who currently has this job is the one who screened the CV's, which may explain why I'm actually being interviewed & not passed up for someone's cousin. It would be so nice to have a position that actually uses my educational background & is intellectually stimulating! For those who don't know, I'm wrapping up my MA in Medical Anthropology with a specialization in African Studies so this is literally my dream job. My interview is @ 10am on Friday. Vidya also has another interview on Monday. Here's the job posting:

The Global Alliance to Immunize Against AIDS (GAIA) Vaccine Foundation is seeking a highly motivated, organized, and committed individual to serve as the Director of US operations on a part time basis. GAIA is directly involved in the support and implementation of HIV education, treatment, and prevention programs in Bamako, Mali.

This person is responsible for the operational and financial activities that sustain the organization. Daily responsibilities include: interfacing with staff in Mali; processing and translating financial data locally and from Mali; translating important documents, monthly reports, and clinical data; organizing Board of Director activities; and carrying light administrative duties.

The Director is responsible for the management of funds and the daily accounting operations. The Director will lead efforts in fundraising from sources such as our World AIDS Day benefit and symposium, corporate and foundation grants, and individual donors. The Director will coordinate and provide direction to student volunteers, interns, and associated staff. The Director will work directly with the Scientific coordinator.

The Director will also have the opportunity for travel in West Africa and to health related conferences around the world.
Compensation will be commensurate with experience. We encourage soon to be graduated or recently graduated individuals to apply. This position is an ideal stepping-stone to graduate school or medical school.

Qualifications:
-BA/MA in anthropology, community health, or related field
-Strong facility with MS Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
-Working knowledge or the willingness to learn QuickBooks accounting software
-High quality writing and communication skills
-A willingness to work odd and long hours when necessary
-A commitment to global development and grassroots activism
-Multi-tasking abilities
-Highly effective organizational skills
-Competence in French
-Familiarity with public health and development interventions
-The ability to think conceptually, creatively, and strategically
-The capacity to set goals and follow through
-Experience with grant writing
-Keen attention to detail

It's almost too perfect. It's actually only a part time job but with weird hours since I have to be in contact with Mali (5 hours ahead of us). Still, with a slight cut in pay & not having drive all over hell & creation like I do now, I may actually end up making more @ GAIA. Of course, that's if I even get the job. God knows simply having an interview isn't a guarantee of employment or Vidya's have a dozen jobs by now. Anyways, let's hope for the best.

PS
St. Cajetan (a.k.a. St. Gaetanus) is the patron saint of job seekers: http://saints.sqpn.com/saintc31.htm

Vent

Vidya is obviously still unemployed, otherwise the title of this entry would be "Alleluia!" After 5 months of looking in New England, we're now starting to seriously look in other areas of the country. Vidya has some old colleagues from grad school on the West Coast he's contacted for job leads. We are both so incredibly stressed it's putting a strain on our relationship; I feel like I'm going to burst into tears several times per day. I just pray something happens for him job-wise soon; I have no idea what we would do if any major unplanned expense came up. All I can say is thank God for my parents letting us stay with them for the time being.