New Adventures: Jobs and ... School!?

As a follow-up to this old post ...

In October, I had a chance to be a barista at our hometown coffeeshop. (I worked the bakery/cafe, the main cafe, and the express drive through hut). I LOVED it but I was really BAD at it. What can I say? I am slow and have a terrible memory...? So replicating every drink on the menu and not being able to write down orders really didn't work for me. I felt too stressed out and anxious over it all.

However, I had a great time tasting espresso and learning to pull shots, which lead me to the whole wide world of drinking coffee, which I had never really done. (I was a mocha or vanilla latte kinda girl.) Learning the craft of being a barista was invaluable. It was great timing because I had read The Monk of Mokha for fun, and it taught me the history of coffee and more. (I great, riveting read that Dan and I both recommend. It's specific to Yemeni coffee history and current challenges.)

The people I worked with were great, too, and I still love chatting with them when I get drinks!

When one door closes, another opens, and that's the most tired cliche, but it was true in this case.

A few days after I decided to leave the coffee shop, I got an interview for an office job at Illinois Central College. I was offered the job quickly and traded in my coffee t-shirts and jeans for proper office pants and blouses. (Dealing with my bed-head hair at 6:30 a.m. was a whole other ordeal...)

I noticed during my interview that the team of people that sat around the conference table with me were super kind and seemed to have a great sense of humor and great rapport. While I wasn't sure the job was perfect for me (I was looking for something a little more creative) and it was only the first company I had an interview with, I couldn't help but sense that I would love working with those people. My hot therapist encouraged me 100% to try the job and I followed his lead along with the sense that you just don't get to pick the people you work with...So why pass up this opportunity?

I had orientation at the end of February and began work in the Coroporate & Community Education department at the North Peoria campus that week. Who knew a stay at home/shelter in place order would occur right after that? I only had two weeks to settle into the job but I have to say they have been amazing trying to find work for me to do at home. This week, that includes creative work designing a new logo for the department. I feel SO fortunate and my hot therapist definitely said "I told you so."

In other news...

After contemplating graduate school options, I applied to Pacific Northwest College of Art's low-residency MFA in Creative Writing and I WAS ACCEPTED! 1 of 10 for the summer cohort! See above my acceptance letter with a merit scholarship award. :) I framed it because I always dreamt of the day that maybe I could make it into a graduate program...? The fact that it is PNCA is also ironic because I visited the school when I was 19 (Hattie--remember?) during a quick trip to Portland for a friend's wedding. I was already at school in Indiana at Goshen College, but considered transferring to PNCA. But it was a bit of a fairy tale dream at the time...

Anyway~ !!! I am waiting ANY DAY now to recieve my financial aid package so that Dan and I can determine the best course of action ... There's a possibility that we just won't be able to make this happen. HOWEVER, I am full of hope. So keep your fingers crossed for me!!!