Google and a Lyft

Good news from today...

1....  I got an email from someone at Google.  Before you all get excited, let me tell you the story.  My friend, who works at Google, must have been talking to some in 'People Operations' (aka Human Resources) and he emailed me to set up a time that we can chat and find out what I'm looking for.  I'm not sure what, or if, he has any pull but I'm excited to talk with him.  Obviously, the more people I keep talking to the better.

2.... I decided to try and make some extra cash by becoming a Lyft driver.  I got approved and decided to active my app to 'driver mode' to see how this goes today.  I got a call and went and picked up this girl.  I drove her to Trader Joe's.  I told her she was my first rider and we had a nice chat.  During the course of our chat, I told her I was looking for a job.  By the end of the ride, we exchanged numbers and she said she's going to check with some people she works with (BTW she's a speech pathologist) and see if she can help me out.  We'll see how this goes but it made me happy.  I'll to you more about this Lyft experience later.

Tell Me Something Good

Well... it's been over six months and it's time for me to update this blog.  As most of you know... it has been a hard year for me.  However, although, its still hard right now, I decided to make an effort to find something positive to talk about each day.  Some days it will be hard but this is my goal for October.  I'm going to do my best to do blog entries to reflect on the positive things going on around me.  So... here we go...

It's still 'early' in the day so I'm going to tell you about last night.  Around 10:30 pm, I started talking to a friend of mine who works for Google.  We had talked awhile ago and he said if there are any jobs that look interesting at Google, let him know and we'll work together on getting a good application submitted.  I've been looking for a new job for about 6 months and it is FRUSTRATING.  The hardest part is knowing where to look for the jobs.  Anyway, long story short.  We had a good 3 hour conversation and find many, many jobs that I would potentially enjoy.  He's only able to refer 3 positions as an internal candidate and obviously there aren't any promises here ... particularly since the campus is HUGE and him and I wouldn't even be close to the same department.  However, what felt good is that he thinks my resume looks strong and there's some good potential.  If nothing else, it's a little bit of a self-esteem boost to know that I still have people in my corner and they see the value in what I've done professional and how I act personally.  Both of these traits can be used in my career.  So... stay tuned...

Sidenote: I told him if I got a job at Google, I'd take him to lunch.  He laughed and said "Okay... Good thing the food in Google's cafeteria is free for employees so I'll take you up on that."  Just a funny comment and not a bad perk.

Google... if you're reading this... I am smart, quick learner and you won't regret hiring me.  Give me the chance to prove it!!!

Coming to Terms

This is really hard for me to admit and come to terms with but I feel like it will be helpful to write this down.  I'm warning you.... This blog is straight from my heart and it's not the most uplifting blog I've written.  READER BE WARNED....

I want to write positive things and talk about how much I love this City, etc., but it's not true.  I don't know what I expected but I was hoping to at least start to feel like I have friends and I'm in a groove.  It's not true.  I told myself that I would give this move 6 months before I give up.  The time is getting close.  Everything felt so right coming here but now I don't know.  I am 5 months, 2 weeks into this new chapter and it's pretty much the hardest thing that I've ever done in my life.  I have never felt so alone as I do right now.  I have always felt that I am good at making friends but now I don't know.  I had a friend that lived in NYC for a short time and he told me that if he was (a) married, (b) had his family, or (c) had his friends, he would enjoy it more.  I thought it was crazy that he only lasted a short while.  It wasn't long after I got here that I completely understood where he was coming from.  (P.S. He moved back to Utah and his life is now exactly where he wanted it to be.)  I've been trying to be patient but this past week I really hit a breaking point.  This is definitely one of the finer trials in my life.  Before coming here, I had ever indication that this was what I should be doing but now it doesn't make any sense.  Last night was the first night (in over five months) that I honestly had someone here to listen to me.  I finally completely broke down to my roommate.  There is a lot of stuff built up and it has been a really hard weekend.  I realize that this is part of life, but that's not what I want to hear. I really was ready for a change from Utah but I at this point, I would take back my static life in Utah where I had people that I can call on, count on, and see to this life where I feel like I could go weeks without hearing from people and have no one here to count on.  It's just really hard to keep being patient and positive when I'm so confused.  How can everything seem to have fallen into place before coming here, from blessings that I received before coming, to inspiration that I personally received that made it seem like this was what I should be doing and now I'm about as sad as I've ever been in my life.   This job isn't working out like I thought it would.  And this week I'm realizing that this might not be a good fit, even though it's exactly the job I wanted and was so excited to take it.  I realize that sometimes things just aren't a good fit but how long do you go before you just give up and start looking around.  I'm not one to throw in the towel but now realize that is my pride talking.  This next week and month is going to be a very telling time and if this is 'rock bottom', this there's only one place to go from here.  Things are bound to get better....