After a few weeks of down time, I went back out into the working world today. It felt great! I was so ready. It was nice to have some free time to be productive (wedding plans, immigration stuff, organizing my crap), get some rest, and be introspective. I definitely feel more grounded and confident, which took some time after the ridiculous and heinous drama in my last job (long story).
ANYWAYS so this new job will be a fun challenge as it is the first real clinical social work job I've had since college. I'm working as a social worker at a long-term care facility, primarily working with older adults. I've worked in medical and long-term care settings in the past but I had moved more to the policy/non-profit management side of things in grad school. It definitely feels like a good fit to go back to doing more direct contact with clients.
My social work "team" seems awesome so far, really cool people with friendly and warm personalities. I think we will work well together. I'm looking forward to learning more about their process and procedures, but today I jumped right in an did some assessments! I was a little rusty at first but my interview/assessment skills came back to me pretty quickly. Thanks, Juniata College social work department! :-D
I definitely enjoyed chatting with a few residents and getting to know their stories. It made me smile!
Seriously, compared to my last job, this is going to feel like a walk in the park. Here are some key differences that totally validated my choice to leave:
1) NORMAL WORKING HOURS. I work 8 hours (m-f), I go home and I have a life. Heck, tonight I went home, went to the gym, did chores, and even had a chance to talk to my family. Shocking, right?! And no work on the weekends....EVER! YIPPEEE
2) REASONABLE CASE LOAD. My last job involved casework, though not in a clinical sense. At that time, my case load was upwards of 100-150 cases at any given time. Now I have 30-40! Which explains why I will be able to leave the office by 5pm every day without nagging guilt :-)
3) MEANINGFUL WORK. This job is good for the soul! I will really feel like I am helping individuals and their families. Sure, as a social worker, I'm not always going to be the "good guy" so it's not going to be all roses and butterflies all the time, but at least I will receive support from my fellow social work team.
4) COMPETENT MANAGERS. In most organizations, the manager is the intermediary between the lower "front lines" staff and the powers that be at the top. A good supervisor/manager will find an appropriate balance between protecting the integrity of the organization, appeasing the big wigs at the top, and looking out for the well-being of the lower staffers. Priorities, roles, and goals are clearly defined and staff feel as though their supervisor is supportive when needed.
5) GOOD STAFF MORALE. It's been a while since I've heard staff laughing in an office. It's refreshing. People take a lunch break. People take a moment to talk about themselves, ask you about your interests, and share a smile. It makes a world of difference.
All-in-all, a very good start! I hope my first day was a good indication of a good professional experience to come!
Case in point--the first day of my former job started with major disorganization, lack of warm welcomes, and a co-worker making me cry. Needless to say, it continued that way for a year. Why didn't I quit that day? I felt frozen, trapped. I still don't have a good explanation for why I endured it for so long before taking action. But I'm glad I finally did.
Regardless of your field, everyone deserves to have the 5 aforementioned qualities in your job (and more, if you're lucky!!). Most studies indicate that people, on average, spend 20-30% of their lives at work (maybe more if you're a work-a-holic like me). That's a lot!! Make it count, people. Find a reason to smile. Find meaning in your work. If it's not a good fit, find a better one. When you're old and gray, do you want to look back and say you were miserable for 30% of your life? Of course not. It's not worth it. Think about it.
Okay enough of my idealistic preaching for tonight, dudes. Thanks to friends and fellow bloggers who wished me luck today and/or sent their positive vibes my way. It seems to have worked!
Have a happy Tuesday, y'all!
Love,
Amanda
About Me
- Amanda
- 20-something American girl from Suburban Maryland/DC and transplanted to England in Spring 2011. After surviving a trans-atlantic relationship, I married my British better half in April 2011 and followed him across the pond! Wedding planning, immigration issues, and adventures in expatriatism! This blog has got it all. Please comment! :-D
26 July 2010
24 July 2010
Smooth Sailing Thus Far!
Folks, today was a great day. Wedding and immigration stuff was all going my way today! First, I took my parents to see Milton Ridge this morning. I was pretty nervous cause I loved the place and wasn't sure if my parents would be on the same page. They were skeptical at first but soon fell in love with the place and its charm. Once I get Kieran's final approval, we'll put a deposit down next week YAYAYAYAYA!! I can't wait to send out "save the date" cards now that we have a place.
Then, I got home and found a notice from USCIS in the mailbox! Unbelievable! I just sent off that application a week ago! I hope this is a sign of fast processing times to come. Basically it was a notice that they had received the application and were processing it. Yay! So far so good
When I got home I also had a long phone chat with a college friend who is getting married in the fall. It was nice to catch up and commiserate with the stress of wedding planning. Definitely made me feel more sane!
I can't even wait to start my new job on Monday. Having some time off has been super restful, useful, and somewhat productive--not counting the 35% of the time spent sleeping (no regrets!). But I love having a schedule and purpose to my day! Plus, I'm going to be doing a job that I think I am really going to enjoy. I am a social worker and my background is in aging. My last job was more political in nature and it just wasn't the right fit for me, even though I am interested in public policy. This job, in contrast, is going to be more direct clinical practice with older adults, so I think it's going to utilize my social work skills and be more rewarding overall. I sure hope so! It's always a little nerve-wracking starting a new job and being the new person, so please send your positive prayers and vibes my way!
I hope everyone is having a great weekend. In DC we are having unbearable heat!! I think I got 2nd degree burns from touching my car's steering wheel! Stay cool, kids.
Love,
Amanda :-D
Then, I got home and found a notice from USCIS in the mailbox! Unbelievable! I just sent off that application a week ago! I hope this is a sign of fast processing times to come. Basically it was a notice that they had received the application and were processing it. Yay! So far so good
When I got home I also had a long phone chat with a college friend who is getting married in the fall. It was nice to catch up and commiserate with the stress of wedding planning. Definitely made me feel more sane!
I can't even wait to start my new job on Monday. Having some time off has been super restful, useful, and somewhat productive--not counting the 35% of the time spent sleeping (no regrets!). But I love having a schedule and purpose to my day! Plus, I'm going to be doing a job that I think I am really going to enjoy. I am a social worker and my background is in aging. My last job was more political in nature and it just wasn't the right fit for me, even though I am interested in public policy. This job, in contrast, is going to be more direct clinical practice with older adults, so I think it's going to utilize my social work skills and be more rewarding overall. I sure hope so! It's always a little nerve-wracking starting a new job and being the new person, so please send your positive prayers and vibes my way!
I hope everyone is having a great weekend. In DC we are having unbearable heat!! I think I got 2nd degree burns from touching my car's steering wheel! Stay cool, kids.
Love,
Amanda :-D
22 July 2010
Culture Shock!
Being in a long-distance relationship for the past four years, Kieran and I are always communicating--daily phone calls, emails, letters, etc. You would think that we would run out of things to talk/write about and would already be experts on one another. But it always surprises me that some of the most simple topics like family, school, work, etc bring out our different experiences. Having grown up on different continents and immersed in our own cultures, we see the world differently. Even still, Kieran will use an English slang word and I will be totally lost.
"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second, Kieran. What did you just say? You went to his gaff? What the hell is a gaff?"
And don't even get me started about the look on his face when I casually used the word "fanny," wrongfully assuming that Brits used that term for a person's butt! oh no!
Anyways, the most recent cultural discovery we made was in all this wedding planning. We are getting married in my home county, but I still wanted to incorporate some British/English traditions into the day. Little did I realize that there were some strange and large differences that I ran into! Here's a few big ones that Kieran clued me into:
1) THE SCHEDULE OF THE DAY:
Generally, because American weddings are rediculously expensive, an American wedding is generally 6-8 hours long. You have a 10-20 minute ceremony and a dinner/reception for the rest of it, depending on how many hours you've rented the space for.
In England, the wedding is an all-day event. I wish I could afford that!!
2) THE CAKE
In America, the wedding cake can be pretty much anything you want it to be. Nowadays, people are opting to have a cupcake tree in lieu of a tiered cake. However, the cake material is always the same--the type of stuff you'd expect when you hear the word "cake."
In England, the wedding cake is fruit cake with marzipan, similar to a Christmas fruit cake.
ALSO, you know how American couples do that annoying thing where they feed each other cake and smear their faces with delicious icing? Not in Britain!
3) TOP TIER CAKE TRADITION
Newlyweds in America will traditionally save the top tier of the cake and freeze/refridgerate it. On their first anniversary of marriage, the couple will eat the top tier for good luck.
In England, the top tier is also saved. However, the top tier is called a "Christening Cake" and is supposed to be shared after your first child is Christened.
4) THE HORSESHOE
It's customary for a British bride to carry a small horseshoe symbol somewhere on her person. Some have a small charm sewn into the hem of their dress. This is to bring good luck and good fortune to the marriage.
5) SIZE AND COST OF A WEDDING
Until very recently, English weddings were usually a modest to small size--70 guests or less. American weddings, in contrast, are considered "small" if there are less than 100 people in attendance. Not surprisingly, the average cost of an American wedding is double the amount that British weddings cost, factoring in conversion rates
It's so amazing how an international human experience like marriage can be celebrated in such different ways!
What other cool international wedding traditions have you heard of? I'd love some input!
Amanda <3
"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second, Kieran. What did you just say? You went to his gaff? What the hell is a gaff?"
And don't even get me started about the look on his face when I casually used the word "fanny," wrongfully assuming that Brits used that term for a person's butt! oh no!
Anyways, the most recent cultural discovery we made was in all this wedding planning. We are getting married in my home county, but I still wanted to incorporate some British/English traditions into the day. Little did I realize that there were some strange and large differences that I ran into! Here's a few big ones that Kieran clued me into:
1) THE SCHEDULE OF THE DAY:
Generally, because American weddings are rediculously expensive, an American wedding is generally 6-8 hours long. You have a 10-20 minute ceremony and a dinner/reception for the rest of it, depending on how many hours you've rented the space for.
In England, the wedding is an all-day event. I wish I could afford that!!
2) THE CAKE
In America, the wedding cake can be pretty much anything you want it to be. Nowadays, people are opting to have a cupcake tree in lieu of a tiered cake. However, the cake material is always the same--the type of stuff you'd expect when you hear the word "cake."
In England, the wedding cake is fruit cake with marzipan, similar to a Christmas fruit cake.
ALSO, you know how American couples do that annoying thing where they feed each other cake and smear their faces with delicious icing? Not in Britain!
3) TOP TIER CAKE TRADITION
Newlyweds in America will traditionally save the top tier of the cake and freeze/refridgerate it. On their first anniversary of marriage, the couple will eat the top tier for good luck.
In England, the top tier is also saved. However, the top tier is called a "Christening Cake" and is supposed to be shared after your first child is Christened.
4) THE HORSESHOE
It's customary for a British bride to carry a small horseshoe symbol somewhere on her person. Some have a small charm sewn into the hem of their dress. This is to bring good luck and good fortune to the marriage.
5) SIZE AND COST OF A WEDDING
Until very recently, English weddings were usually a modest to small size--70 guests or less. American weddings, in contrast, are considered "small" if there are less than 100 people in attendance. Not surprisingly, the average cost of an American wedding is double the amount that British weddings cost, factoring in conversion rates
It's so amazing how an international human experience like marriage can be celebrated in such different ways!
What other cool international wedding traditions have you heard of? I'd love some input!
Amanda <3
19 July 2010
First comes love, then comes the wedding venue
I'M IN LOVE! With a wedding venue, that is!
On Friday, my bridesmaid Rachel and I went to see Milton Ridge, the last of the wedding venues. Part of me was really hoping I would be apathetic so I would have an easy decision to make. But I loved it! So now the booking is prolonged for a week cause I have to take my parents to see it next weekend. I hope they love it as much as I do.
I miss my Kieran so much! I really wish he was here to help with the planning stuff. It's hard for us both to have to share info via emails and pictures. Not quite the same. But I'm excited to be visiting him in England in about a month. Nan and Grandad London are having their 50th wedding anniversary celebrations so I am coming for about a week at the end of August to visit Kieran and the family. It will be a blasty! Meanwhile, there is talk of a BBQ/Engagement Party in the works which is sure to be awesome.
Alright so I have to share a recent phenomenon that is blowing my mind. Ever since we got engaged, I have encountered so many English connections and British-American couples in random situations. It's like fate trying to tell me that I'm right on track. The guy who sold me my engagement ring lived in England most of his life. The manager of a venue I visited was married to a Brit. I happened to meet a British dude on a bike trail in the area a few weeks ago. More recently, I was selling a desk on Craigslist and the dude who came over to my house to get it was saying that his wife is English and they are moving back to England in the winter. (sidenote: why they wanted a uge desk hdesk when they are moving in 6 months, I do not know). Then my mom just called me saying she met a photographer at work who is English and his wife is American. And it turns out his family lives in the same town as Kieran.
What the heck is going on? If this isn't my guardian angels trying to tell me "yay! everything is going to be awesome!" then I don't know what it is. But it's entertaining me.
In other news, I am bored out of my skull and can't wait to start my new job next Monday! I have enjoyed some relaxation time, but too much of a good thing can lead to excessive sleeping and laziness. True story.
Take care, folks!
Love,
Amanda
On Friday, my bridesmaid Rachel and I went to see Milton Ridge, the last of the wedding venues. Part of me was really hoping I would be apathetic so I would have an easy decision to make. But I loved it! So now the booking is prolonged for a week cause I have to take my parents to see it next weekend. I hope they love it as much as I do.
I miss my Kieran so much! I really wish he was here to help with the planning stuff. It's hard for us both to have to share info via emails and pictures. Not quite the same. But I'm excited to be visiting him in England in about a month. Nan and Grandad London are having their 50th wedding anniversary celebrations so I am coming for about a week at the end of August to visit Kieran and the family. It will be a blasty! Meanwhile, there is talk of a BBQ/Engagement Party in the works which is sure to be awesome.
Alright so I have to share a recent phenomenon that is blowing my mind. Ever since we got engaged, I have encountered so many English connections and British-American couples in random situations. It's like fate trying to tell me that I'm right on track. The guy who sold me my engagement ring lived in England most of his life. The manager of a venue I visited was married to a Brit. I happened to meet a British dude on a bike trail in the area a few weeks ago. More recently, I was selling a desk on Craigslist and the dude who came over to my house to get it was saying that his wife is English and they are moving back to England in the winter. (sidenote: why they wanted a uge desk hdesk when they are moving in 6 months, I do not know). Then my mom just called me saying she met a photographer at work who is English and his wife is American. And it turns out his family lives in the same town as Kieran.
What the heck is going on? If this isn't my guardian angels trying to tell me "yay! everything is going to be awesome!" then I don't know what it is. But it's entertaining me.
In other news, I am bored out of my skull and can't wait to start my new job next Monday! I have enjoyed some relaxation time, but too much of a good thing can lead to excessive sleeping and laziness. True story.
Take care, folks!
Love,
Amanda
15 July 2010
Have Woobie, Will Travel
Allow me to introduce a very special inanimate object in my life, the woobie. Yes, I am a grown woman and proud to say I have a security blanket. It all started with my late grandma Yvette who was a knitting/crocheting genius and at the news of my impending birth, she created this masterpiece from wool and love! The name "woobie" originated from a 1983 Michael Keaton film called Mr. Mom. Unlike the movie, my parents failed to successfully wean me from woobie when I was little. And so, the woobie remained!
I never travel without the woobie. The woobie has seen more of the US and the world than the average American! It's gone out west to the Grand Canyon, down south to Mexico, and up north to New York. It's been to England, Wales, Ireland, and Spain. Needless to say, this isn't the end of the woobie's travels so long as I have the travel bug myself!
When I was a kid, my parents and grandma used to joke around and say "hey Amanda are you taking your woobie to college with you? Are you gonna take it on your honeymoon?" You bet your ass I did and I will!! It's like an American Express card--I don't leave home without it!
Fortunately, Kieran understands that me and the woobie are a package deal. He has become accustomed to walking into a room to find that I have wrapped the woobie around my head for comfort after a long day. When I fall asleep on the couch, he wraps the woobie around my shoulders for me. He gets it. And that was surely a pre-requisite for a husband!
What can I say? Being a grown up is hard sometimes! Sure, a woobie doesn't solve my problems, but it's a soft place to rest my head while I am mulling over life's challenges and blessings.
What comforts you?
Love,
Amanda
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