My First Day of Work

Monday was Labor Day, and we simply enjoyed being home.

Tuesday morning rolls around and I just hung up the phone after the Sears repair guy told me he would be another hr. or so. Then, I got a call to sub in the lunch room. I was so relieved that I had a good excuse. They wanted me there by 9:30 and the repair man wouldn't even be here unti then. I just haven't been convinced that I want to work in the lunch room at the public school since I went to the 2nd orientation. Yes, the hours are good because they never need me when the kids have no school , but the pay isn't that great and I'm not looking forward to bleached hands. I promptly filled my day and forgot all about it.

The Sears repair man came and fixed our fridge. It was freezing up on the top half, and icing over the fridge side but keeping the temp too low. They replaced 3 parts and boy was I glad that I decided to do the extended warranty 6 months ago. At that time, they fixed the ice maker that would have cost $200. This time, the bill would have come to $442! Seems like the $60 ext. warranty was a good deal, this time.

We had the micro go out just 1 day before the warranty expired. We moved in Aug. 15. On the 14th, the micro quit displaying numbers. Only the 30 sec. button worked. The Sears repair guy came and ordered a part and came back again the next week only to find that the part ordered was white instead of stainless. However, in the process, he unplugged the micro and found out that when he plugged it back in, it rebooted, and appears all is working fine! He ordered the correct part anyway, and now if it does go back out, even though the warranty is over, we'll have the part and Dave can install it. WHew!

So, Wednesday morning comes around, and I thought I was safe from the school calls because I told them I couldn't work on Wednesdays. (I'm going to the church bible study this year and it's Wed. morning, starting next week.) Well, they were so desperate that they called me anyway. I got myself cleaned up from the gym workout I had just done, and went all the way out to East Boise to Les Bois Jr. High. Turns out it is the newest, biggest cafeteria in the Boise district. That was a relief. I was having a big problem with the space issues they warned us about. Some lunch rooms are the size of our son's bedroom but 3 people work in there and deal with all the appliances and lack of sink space. So, I cut hoggie buns, counted wheat vs. white, served Domino's pizza, cleaned lunch tables, stalked the line watching for kids without lunch cards, and washed up all the dishes when done. It wasn't so bad afterall. The people were nice, and the cafeteria was big and clean. So, now I can get that pay stub that shows I'm a "govt" employ and use that for some needed discount to get Josh a cell phone.

As much as I was pleasantly surprised with my first day, I am still not convinced that I want to work in various schools for $8.50-9.50/hr. I've been watching the job postings, looking for something that is accounting related that doesn't require full time. They are far and few between! The bookkeeping jobs are slow to find, and wouldn't amount to much at first, and would require alot of driving around. Plus, it is another self employed business subject to the pit falls of no holiday, vacation, or benefits.

I did come across this job posting with the Ada County Treasurer's office.: Tax Clerk part time with excellent full benefits! Hmmm.... the benefits of govt. work and accounting experience and benefits, with only part time! After talking to Dave about it, I applied this morning. Everything is online these days, so I have no idea how long it takes for them to route it to the right dept.
Anyway, I think this would be a perfect job for me this winter while Dave will again be struggling to keep busy. This job is 25hrs/week most of the year, and turns full time for 8 weeks when property tax bills are due. Nov-Jan and May-June. Perfect for this winter when we'll need the income, but I'm still hesitant about the summer. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, I guess. But, I'm excited about this job because it has great potential, and sounds like something I would like.

In the mean time, we're anxiously awaiting my mom and Steve to arrive in town tomorrow. It's a short stay, only the weekend, on a stop over from Glacier National Park on their way to Northern Ca. I'm looking forward to seeing them!