Sexy huh?

I had a really bad feeling something was not right when I woke up the following morning and my neck hurt in every direction. I was really hoping that I didn't have "whiplash" and just happened to be sore. I decided that me not being able to turn my head or look down without sending a shocking pain was not normal. So I decided to go to a chiropractor and get it checked out. Well, to my dismay I indeed did have whiplash. After I dislocated my shoulder over 2 years ago and leaving it untreated for so long and still suffering because I didn't catch it early on, I refuse to do the same with my neck which is much more sensitive. So, I am having to go to the chiropractor on a daily basis for right now (hopefully this doesn't last long). The chiropractor showed me the X-rays and there are 2 slips on two of my disk that slip more when I look downward but still apparent when looking in all directions. So, I have been instructed to put an icepack on it and take it easy, and wear this attractive neck brace. I know things could have been a lot worse but gosh... this really ... is more that annoying!

First Day of Work

I was excited to hear the phone ring this morning and being asked if I could come in to work today. I jumped out of bed and tried to get ready as soon as I could. I was excited that the next day after putting in my official paperwork I called into to sub. Hopefully I get called in often enough to pay for all my bills... that's the drawback to being a sub. Anyways, I had a great day. I got placed with a teacher to be an aid in a special needs classroom and when I got there I had no idea what to expect. I arrived to meet a super friendly and helpful teacher along with 5 preschool cuties. What a day in the park it was... in comparison to having 22 students by myself... I had 5 students with a teacher in the same room. Anyways, I had a good first day of work and was introduced to a lot of teachers that wrote my name and phone down so that they could possibly call me if they need a substitute. Luckily, I was placed with a great teacher today, she showed aloha spirit and introduced me to everyone and gave me a tour of the school. My day was going great and I headed home in hopes to go to this beach that the teacher recommended I go to, but then my day turned for the worst... Nathan and I got into a car accident while heading to the beach. More details will be posted on http://natnnate.blogspot.com/ later.

Working Woman

I will have to admit that I haven't written in a while because I have been sort of sad due to my failure of finding a job. Nathan kept assuring me that I had only been searching for a job for about 2 weeks or so and not to get down on myself because I hadn't found anything yet. It felt like it had been a LONG MONTH of me searching and submitting a million resumes and not hearing anything from employers. I decided I needed to go to a staffing agency and see if they perhaps could help me out. I didn't even have much luck finding these places. May I just say this... that Honolulu is AWFUL with downtown parking and as a result I had a hard time even finding these temp agencies. I was about to give up... I couldn't find a job on my own and here I am a professional with a degree yet I feel that it is useless here, then once I decide to go through a temp agency... I can't find the darn buildings and if I happen to find them... I can't park. I finally was able to locate and park at one and arrived just in time to where I could finish the entire "interviewing process" in one day. I have always thought to be good at computers. And by good I mean, I use them on probably an hourly basis .. haha.. and that I feel secure about using Microsoft Word and not a complete stranger to Excel. I felt like I had a great basis and that I could be a good receptionist. So, the receptionist at the temp agency directed me to a computer and told me that I would be taking several test testing my computer skills, starting with my typing skills. Well, as it turns out my typing... is not good enough. I can type well when I look at the screen the entire time and sort of type what is in my head, but when it comes to copying a document and having to look away from the screen and going back and forth from the screen to the paper... I lose my place and I type AWFUL! Especially since they time you on these things and I just sit there trying to find the line I was typing in the midst of this size 10 single spaced font full page paragraph. Moving on, they test my Microsoft Work skills. I thought, "Finally, something I know well!". Oh, boy was I wrong! This program was my lifesaver while I was teaching and I felt like I knew a bit more than just the basics. Well, as it turns out that there are functions on Word that I never even knew of and it wasn't covered in my computer class in high school so... the one program I felt like I knew to the T... I didn't. I was sitting in this chair just losing about 5% of my confidence with every wrong answer. Even getting the correct answers weren't good enough to cheer me up... I was so down and upset. I did so-so on the Word test, but I was upset because I thought I was going to do great. Moving on to the Excel portion of the test... OK Excel is a lot more advanced than word, everyone knows that. I know how to insert data, use the basic functions, and make a graph and make it look nice. But of course that would not be good enough, I have to know about macros and I don't know what else they asked me. So obviously, that part of the exam did not go very well although I surprisingly guessed correctly on some of the questions. I think at this point God just wanted to give me some peace because I was just in disbelief at my lack of skills. Sadly, the only skills I scored 100% was those that I would hope everyone would get... basic addition and alphabetical order. Upon finishing these test I was just wondering why the heck I was having to go through all of this... I feel I'm a smart, professional, hard working, and loyal person yet it seemed no one would even call me to set up an interview with me. I suppose being a teacher doesn't say much to these people and all my other jobs were college part time jobs that were nothing special at all. Finding an entry level job that paid enough to pay my rent and bills was going to be tough. I waited a bit, then I was interviewed by some girl from New Mexico. She was nice and gave me some hope about finding a job that paid decently. In the meantime she asked me if I wanted to take this one job where I would call people and ask for donations of their time for the MDA association which would be for about a month. I thought to myself, "Am I going to be one of those people that get hung up on a hundred times a day or get told 'no thanks' and do that all day long. It didn't sound promising and decided to call back the next day and turn the offer down.

So, this temp agency was not very helpful and I started thinking that perhaps I should be a waitress. I was thinking that perhaps I could make good tips and I would be alright. Then I started thinking about substitute teaching again. I had ruled it out before because I was hoping to find an entry level job doing or helping with HR/PR and that it could be something I could add to my resume and follow up on in Texas. But obviously this was not going to work out as it turns out people from here are very weary about hiring anybody from the "mainland". So, although I knew that substitute teachers didn't get any medical benefits... at this point I just needed a job.
So I decided to hit the website again and see what the first step was to become a substitute teacher. There was something about a 30 hour class I needed to take, along with a $50 test, and before I even considered taking the 30 hour course I had to be sponsored by an administrator at a school that would approve me to even be considered to take the course. Schools here have their own individual substitute list, not like at the school district where I worked where you were submitted for the entire district. You have to go to the schools individually where you would like to possibly work and see if they have any openings on their sub list to add you. I decided to go for it anyways and see what would become of it.
I went to a nearby school but it seemed that because the Vice principal wasn't there, they didn't know much about the substitute program and I left without any answers. I went to another school and I am happy to say that they were happy to sponsor me. The principal was so nice and friendly and he even offered me an extra possible job of tutoring after school if I felt I didn't make ends meet or whatever because I had expressed my concern of not having a stable income with substitute teaching. He also asked me if I was willing to substitute for aides who were in charge of special education students. While I have no prior experience with SPED kids, I figured it wouldn't hurt to add it to my resume for later and it would give me more of a chance to get called in for a job. So I accepted, I don't know what I got myself into but I pray that it will all work out. I'm still nervous because like I mentioned, substitute teaching isn't a set job Monday through Friday. So, my money is based on other teachers getting sick or unable to go to school and giving me the chance to work. I hope to get on 3 schools' list to substitute and hope that it will provide enough work. The principal said that he sees me being a pretty constant sub once the teachers get to know me and add me to their personal list if they happen to be off. I hope so... this job is risky but at this point like I said I just need a job. So, yall pray for me and that this will work out. I thought about being a waitress like part time since school is over at 3, but I'm not sure if I want to spend most of my time working... then what was the point of moving to Hawaii if it was just going to move to work a lot and pay for the ridiculous rent and leaving me no play time. I'll obviously have to see how it goes because if this sub thing doesn't work out then I obviously have to think of something else, but hopefully after I get my transcript the ball starts rolling and I can get called in to sub and enter the substitute teaching world... which scares me because I here it's completely different than being a classroom teacher but oh well...it will have to work. Oh, and as it turned out that I found out that I am exempt from the 30 hours course and the test, YAY!!

What a bummer...

I was so excited when I heard my phone ring and the caller ID showed an 808 number. I thought to myself, "Yay, someone is calling me about my resume I submitted". I even answer it saying, "This is Natalie *****". That was sort of unnecessary but I figured it sounds more professional. I couldn't hear the lady very well that was talking on the other end, I sort of missed the whole introduction of who the company was and didn't get to really key in till she said, "Are you still looking for a job". Then alas I heard her and said, "Yes, yes I am". She asked me to tell her a little about myself and why I think I would be good for the job. Or this is what I thought I heard. I'm either going more deaf by the hour or the connection was pretty bad, both are a great possibility. I went on about how I am a teacher and that I have a lot of qualities and experience that can transfer over to the office workplace. She sort of kept quiet so I suppose that meant... "keep sharing". In attempting to "sale myself" I mentioned how I was a kindergarten teacher and that in itself shows the ability to be able to multi-task. She said that she would like to set up an an interview for the following day at 11:45 at their office. I asked if this was in Pearl City because I first thought maybe this position was the State Farm Insurance position I applied for and she politely said it was located in Honolulu. At this point I realized it was the Foster Care Agency position that I had applied for because I hadn't really submitted any resumes because I haven't been able to find that many positions that I feel would suit me well. I was excited because this job deals with children and I could still make a difference in their lives in a different way. As she started to give me the directions I scrambled to try to find blank paper and was unsuccessful and ended up writing the directions on the white frame of the closest newspaper, she said I would be receiving an e-mail from them later that day. I was so excited! I wrote up my cover letter and my reference page. Thinking about what I was going to wear and I knew that this job was going to pay enough for me to stay on track with my budget.
I checked my e-mail over and over that day waiting for the e-mail so that I could see if there was any extra information on how to arrive there since my chicken scratch on the newspaper was confusing even to me. I didn't seem to get an e-mail from the agency but I did get this e-mail from some insurance company saying how they are looking forward to meeting with me at our appointed interview time. I was so confused, I let Nathan look at it and asked him what he thought that meant because I KNEW I hadn't made an interview with them. I decided to call the number that called me earlier, it was after hours and as I expected it went to the company voicemail. Well, turns out the same company that e-mailed me was the same company that called me. Wow... how the heck did I just assume it was the foster care agency calling me. I suppose because I really had only put in for those 2 jobs and I think this company sort of called me after viewing my resume online and never even considered that an option. I started to feel uneasy about the interview because I had no idea what this company REALLY did. My boyfriend told me to go anyways to just check it out. I couldn't help but be disappointed but I figured I'd try it out. That morning I woke up and decided to Google more about this company. I type in "I worked for American Income" just to see if anything popped up. Well, it did and the first result was "American Income: a fraud?". I thought to myself, "GRRREAT!". I read a lot of comments of people that had tried the company and others that were thanking the people that let them know to not waste their time going to the interview where they only try to get you to join this company who actually IS a Fortune 500 company but its based on a pyramid sort of scheme, so it's based on making more people join and who knows having to invest money to take their test. Anyways, I had heard enough... this was obviously a waste of my time, gas, and energy. I told Nathan I wasn't going to go because it was a bogus company. He text me back saying I should go anyways but just not to buy anything if they wanted to sell me anything. GOSH... I didn't see the sense in it. He probably just wanted me to get out of the house and give me something to do. Well, I really didn't want to go but oh well... I decided to do it anyways.
So, I started to get ready and really putting more effort into looking nice for my driver's licence picture. So, I get ready and type in the address in my GPS system where it takes me straight over there without any problems. Well there was a problem, but not one that my GPS system could help me with. Parking... oh my goodness this is one of the things that can be very annoying about Hawaii... the lack of parking. I hardly ever have to deal with this issue because I have covered reserved parking for my apartment, I brag about this because sadly some apartments say that parking is not included. But the day of this interview I am in this unknown place with no parking spots left. I circled around so long and had to go around so many blocks to see if maybe I could walk to the office from a distance. But I couldn't even park far away, at this point I was irritated and decided to call the office to let them know I am unable to find parking and to see if they have any suggestions. Ring.. ring... voicemail picks up. OK, I'm sorry but if a company doesn't seem to have a receptionist than I don't want to work there. I left a message that I would be canceling my appointment due to the lack of parking. I really didn't care about this job so I was glad to finally get out of there.
I headed straight to retake my driver's written exam. I passed this time...phew. So, I have my Hawaiian driver's licence now which I think is cool except they took my Texas DL away.
So, no job yet...

Job hunting

I'm not going to lie, I admit I was taking it easy since I arrived in Hawaii. Getting a job was on my list of "things to do" but it was something I was going to get around to doing after I accomplished my priority of taking my much deserved break. I would say that the break is over now unfortunately and it is time to start looking for a job. I started thinking and realized that basically every job I have had was because of a connection I had. I never had to turn in a resume or get in my car and go from place to place. This inexperience of acquiring a job makes it that much more difficult. I can't even hop in my car and drive around to areas I think might have openings because well... I'm in Hawaii and I don't know the area well.

I've posted my resume on a few websites that employers browse through (hope so at least). I've sent off a few resumes so hopefully I will get a nibble. It's difficult to get a job that pays enough to make sure all my bills are paid every month. It's even harder finding a job that wants people with 2+ years experience working in an office setting. I obviously have no office experience and I'm having a hard time selling myself with my elementary education degree. I say I'm having a hard time, but I just started these past couple of says so maybe I'm being too hard on myself because I haven't heard from an employer yet. Anyways, I hope someone sees my potential and can give me an opportunity at proving that my skills as a teacher can transfer to an office job as well. So keep me in your prayers that I find a good job.

Feel 16 yrs old all over again...

I am having flashbacks of my driver's ed days in high school. Ask anyone who was privileged enough to drive with me during my driver's ed class and they will tell you that they were probably scared for their life! I wouldn't blame them I was probably the only one who went to driver's ed who had no idea how to actually drive. Everyone knows how to drive when they take the class, they just take it to get their licence. But somehow my parents didn't know this and sent me off clueless to these courses. Of all the cars that were on the lineup to drive for the sessions, I get stuck with the only VAN. I panicked when I heard my name knowing that I was going to drive this huge vehicle. I brushed it off and figured I would be OK to learn in a bigger vehicle and then transition to a smaller one. There were 2 other students who were lucky like me and got stuck with this van. The instructor takes us to a neighborhood to drive and then it comes to my turn. The two other students in the van already knew how to drive, they didn't ask any questions just listened to the instructor on where to go. So yeah... it was my turn and I sit in the driver's seat with a lot of anxiety. I looked at the instructor and said, "I don't know how to drive". And he said, "That's what we are here for, so you can learn". OK this man didn't understand what I was saying... like I didn't know which one was the gas and which one was the brake much less knew anything else. So, someone else took over the wheel and drove me to a parking lot where I had to drive around in a parking lot. Driver's Ed was quite terrifying for me and all those that were in the van with me. My instructor had to use the brake on his side at least one time that I know of and that was because he had to SLAM on them or else I would hit a parked car because I accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brakes while trying to park. Then the next day, my instructor had me reverse behind a moving train. The other 2 students in the back were literally praying for their life and believe it or not there is still more driving ed stories. Oh the good ol' days... but back to my point.

In a couple of months my driver's license was going to expire and I needed to get a Hawaiian one. I hopped in my car, turned on my GPS system that led me to where I needed to renew my licence. I made sure to look nice, I even straightened my hair so that I would have a nice picture. I get there expecting to just pose and go. But oh no... they made me take a written exam. So yeah... this is where I felt like a 16 yr old all over again. I had to go in this room filled with young teens. I start to get really nervous because some of the questions were phrased in a confusing way and some of these signals they were referring to (which no picture was provided) I had never even seen in Texas. I turn in my form and genuinely nervous that I fail. They call me up... yup I failed. Hmmm back to feeling 16 again... I failed my first driver's test, go figure haha. So I looked over all the questions again and my answers so that next Friday I can pass. Then I'll have a Hawaiian licence which for some weird reason I think is cool.

Oh and may I add that my GPS system has saved my life. I purchased one here because Hawaiian highways and streets are not like in Texas... it can get complicated. I get lost in my own hometown so... yeah Nathan said I didn't have much of a choice but to purchase one and it has been the best investment EVER!

I'm here!!!

It has been a crazy, non-stop time for me. Nathan left for Hawaii on May 6th and I was in San Marcos trying to finish off the school year. I had so much work to do the last couple of weeks and it was tough having no help. I was trying to get my apartment packed up, sell whatever I needed to sell on craigslist, pack up my classroom ALONE, and dealing with "flakers"( the people that say they will buy your stuff but never show). I really never had time to breathe, it was always go, go, go. As soon as I graduated my kinder kiddos I was heading to Laredo to spend some time with my beloved Papi. Gosh I love that man so much! He makes me laugh more than anyone in the world, sometimes because he's funny and sometime because he's just straight up goofy... but I love him regardless. We got to spend a lot of time together, time that I really needed with him. Ever since the divorce my Dad hasn't been himself for obvious reasons. His heart is shattered which in return breaks mine too. But we talked about it and I think we both needed to do some venting and share our emotions that we tend to keep to our self. I had a great time with my Dad, I always do! I really am Daddy's little princess so who wouldn't love that special attention, haha?
From Laredo I followed my grandpa to Del Rio since he was coming in from Mexico. I wanted to spend some quality time with my grandparents too before I came to Hawaii. They are such wonderful grandparents and love me dearly. Santana and I are the only grandchildren so they are very special to me. I love spending time with my Grandma, she always wants to go shopping and I always learn something about cooking . Although, the cooking thing doesn't stick very well... but I love the quality time regardless. She always gives me random hugs and tells me how happy she is that I am there. I also love talking with my grandpa, he always has these stories from his life. I hope to write many of them down one day so I will never forget them. Someone could write a book about his life it's so interesting. I also spent time with my Aunt and Uncle who just recently bought a new wolf. Her name is Sarabi, she's beautiful! I spent some quality time with them as well and enjoyed swimming in the lake in Del Rio, I'd be swimming in a beach in Hawaii soon enough.
I went back to San Marcos and packed up my little apartment. I couldn't help but be so thankful to God for giving me a successful year. I had lived in my own apartment this year and really got the whole "real world" experience. I also was about to embark on a new adventure... one that would be a different chapter in my life. I was very nervous, apprehensive, and for some reason I didn't want to think about the actual move to Hawaii because it was a bittersweet feeling. So, after burning off thousands of calories from loading the Uhaul going up and down my 2nd story apartment, we were ready to head back to Mom's.
I had a task of somehow fitting all my boxes that were staying at my Mom's in Santana's closet. By a miracle I think, it actually all fit! I got to spend some good time with my Mama. I knew she would be taking it just as hard as me just knowing I wasn't in driving distance. I love my mom so much, I have a lot of her crazy spirit which she says scares her. But regardless, she's taught me a lot. The week goes my fast, I am woken up by my Mom at 2:30am after sleeping only one hour, I needed to get ready to head to the airport. I had to tell Mom bye at the door that which I had called home for years and years. I got emotional but I wanted to be strong for her, and I think she was doing the same for me. We shed a few tears but we definitely were holding it in because we knew we would break down if we lingered on for any longer.
Jorge took me to the airport for my super early flight and helped me unload my 68lb and 70lb bags, which by another miracle only cost me $125 because by their policy I was supposed to be charged $325. So thank you to the lady who cut me a break or doesn't know their baggage policy. I walked toward my gate and I boarded my plane a bit later at 5:35am. I was fine, I wasn't crying... everything was ...fine. I sat next to a man who I could tell was a business man but his true passion in life was traveling. He told me all about his traveling experiences to exotic places. It made my 3 hr flight to Phoenix go by so fast. He was encouraging me to travel to Thailand and Malaysia. I could tell that now that he was married with young children, that his passion of traveling has to be put on halt for a while and comes with a lot more sacrifices. Thailand... I'm not sure I'm ready for that but who knows, maybe one day. A visit... not a permanent move, don't worry.
OK, so I land in Arizona and arrive so tired. I only slept that one hour and I had another 8 hours on a plane to fly into Honolulu. I was blessed to get a window seat on my way to Hawaii which I was very happy about because I wanted to see the island as we flew in. Amazingly, the seat next to me was empty so that gave me so much space to relax and ability to take a good nap. Did it happen? NO... I slept for like 20 minutes and that was it. But as I was sitting in the plane it FINALLY hit me. "OH MY GOSH!!! I am MOVING to HAWAII!!! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh for YEAR!!! What am I doing??? A WHOLE YEAR". It was as if it never occurred to me what I was really doing while I was packing. And when I would tell people about moving to Hawaii I would say "It's JUST a year". Just a year?!??! Oh my gosh... a year is a freakin' LONG LONG time. All these thoughts were running through my head. I started to tear up and I was having to breathe calmly to stop myself from having this meltdown that I had not allowed myself to have unconsciously at home I guess. I finally calmed down and sort of kept myself occupied by watching 50 First Dates on my laptop, reading Cosmo, and attempting to close my eyes in hope of falling asleep. The trip wasn't as long as I thought it would take, it wasn't bad at all. But I was spoiled having all that room to myself. So, the pilot announces that we are arriving to Honolulu in a few minutes. I am glued to the window as I see this land fast approaching. It's very green and I could see mountains and the waves in the ocean. I land and after walking a long time I finally arrive to the baggage claim. I knew that Nathan would be on the other side of that door as I was pushing it and all I wanted was his embrace and comfort. It's not long before we meet eyes and he's wearing his linen pants and a blue shirt that compliments his beautiful blue eyes so well. He has a purple lei around his neck. We hugged so tight and all I could smell was this wonderfully smelling plumeria lei around his neck. I was SOOO excited when he put the lei on me and the aroma just captivated me. He handed me the roses that I hadn't noticed he was holding. They were beautiful and I felt so special. I had missed him and finally we were together again. As we drive around, I fell in love with all the trees and flowers here. They are so beautiful! We eat at a Mexican restaurant... I know, I know... Nathan totally misses Mexican food so he's in search of trying to find a good Mexican restaurant here in Hawaii. We head to our new apartment. We get to the door, where he decided he's going to pick me up and carry me into the apartment. It was so sweet!! I LOVE our apartment, it's small but perfect and our view is just so awesome! Hawaii... it's my home now.