I got a job, guys! I just finished my second full week of work. It’s been a bit stressful but mostly exhausting, so I haven’t made a lot of room for blogging this month.
I was offered the job at the beginning of the month, which came as a total surprise. I thought the interview was the worst yet and was convinced that I wouldn’t be hearing anything back. It was so bad that I was actually in tears afterwards. But two days later, I got a call from the staffing company I’ve been working with saying that they offered me the job! I thought it over, talked with Andrew, and then accepted the position.
It’s a contract-to-hire, so I’m contracted to work for three months and at the end of that period, the company can extend me the full-time position, or I can walk away; no hard feelings. The staffing company explained that it gives me the opportunity to see if this job is a good fit for me and lets the company in turn do the same, see if I’m a good fit for them. The pay is alright – a bit lower than I was expecting for my first job, but I figure I have nothing to lose by accepting. So I did. So at least for three months, I am an Accounts Payable Representative at a large healthcare company!
The department is hiring four people total, as the company just made a large acquisition, so they have a lot more work coming in. So I’m glad that I’m not going to be the only new person! I was the first one hired, so I’ve gotten a bit of a head start on the others. I really like all of my coworkers and they’re all recent college graduates around my age. They’ve all been very helpful and kind while I’m trying to learn all my new responsibilities.
It usually takes me about twenty minutes to get to work which isn’t bad at all, but traffic is always awful and I’m a bit of an impatient driver, haha. It’s really nice though because there are tons of restaurants nearby and my department goes out to eat each Friday, so I am excited to try all of the new restaurants in the area (though my wallet might be hurting a bit!). There’s also covered parking so I don’t have to worry about finding a spot, which is nice.
While the position that I’m in currently may not be something that I want to do long term, I at least have a foot in the door. I’ve been lurking a bit at the other open positions and there are quite a few other opportunities that I’m interested in, and my coworkers make it sound like it’s pretty easy to move up or to new positions. So even though it’s just an entry-level position, I’m enjoying what I’m doing. So I’m feeling pretty optimistic about what’s in store in the future. 
It’s also been a bit of a relief to have structure to my days again. When I was unemployed I was so bored and unproductive, so it feels good now to have work to do – and I’m excited about being able to start paying off some of my loans. If we budget correctly (and stick to it), we should be able to pay off all my loans sometime next year!
In other news, I ran my first 5K at the beginning of the month! Blog post on that coming soon. 
I’m a pretty big fan of Neil Gaiman. I looooved Stardust and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, so this happened to be an audiobook that was available to be checked out from the library when I needed a new book to listen to.
I have been very impatiently awaiting for this release! My mother, so a few days later it showed up on my door step! If you’re unaware, this seventh installment is in the form of a screenplay and takes place 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts.
I finally finished up all the books that are published so far in this series. The series continues off where the third book ended, but I don’t feel like there is really a whole lot that is newly introduced in the last half of the series. The character development continues, and each individual book has its own plot which keeps it unique. But it also makes it feel a bit formulaic. It took me a long time to get through the sixth book since it really just all felt a bit stale.