A Spring Forward
The clocks have moved forward - but my job search is ticking somewhat behind!
Well I did have my little one-day job last week Monday. Because of the blizzard we had one 1/2 weeks ago, the training session for the job had been postponed twice, but it finally took place. Going into it, I really wasn't quite sure of what to expect. However once I learned what we were doing, it was all very easy. I was to bid on property taxes which hadn't been paid by their owners. The company which I was employed by would purchase these expensive property taxes and in turn charge the original owners (pretty high) interest, giving them the opportunity to keep their land or property instead of losing it.
So, with that acquired knowledge, I rolled out out of bed early Monday morning and was on the road shortly after 4:30 a.m. en route to a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" village in Nebraska. Worried I'd be too tired after a late symphony rehearsal the night before, I actually found the dark morning drive on the winding Nebraska state highways accompanied later by the sunrise, and of course a thermos of coffee, to be a pleasant drive.
After the almost 3 hour drive I made it to the tiny town consisting of a courthouse and a few other buildings. Since I'd arrived twenty minutes early, I hung out in my car until 7:30 a.m. when I got out to go sign in and get my bidding number. An elderly farm couple waiting in their pick-up truck saw me open my car door and they jumped out just in time to beat me to the courthouse door in order to be first in line (the bidding was "first come, first serve"). Although it didn't make any difference to me since I was bidding on completely different things, I was amused by their "skill". As we waited an hour for the county treasurer to show up to hand out numbers, more and more people came in to stand in line. Finally the bidding numbers were handed out and I thought we could begin, but turned out the auction wouldn't start for another two hours.
Luckily amid the few farm buildings and other strange, unidentifiable shacks which made up this town, there happened to be a "cafe" right across the street where greasy breakfasts were to be found. Glad to be able to kill time and put food in my increasingly hungy stomach, I gleefully crossed the street, hopping over snowdrifts, and opened the door of the dark, smokey little mystery cafe. I was happy to see two familiar faces of ladies who had also just gotten their bidding numbers, and we ended up having a nice chat over eggs, fried bacon, and toast smothered in butter and jam. The auction follwed swiftly, and before I knew it, I was on the road back to Iowa. Too bad there's only one property tax auction a year because I'd love to do a job like that full time!
In addition to having orchestra rehearsals in the evenings all last week, with a concluding concert last night, I drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota last Wednesday to audition for the sub list of their orchestra. Though I hadn't felt nervous going there, I found my hands shaking mercilessly after the first few notes I played. I tried to stay focused and blow through the nervousness, and except for a couple bumps in the road, the audition went pretty well overall and luckily I made the sub list. Since the orchestra doesn't currently need any oboes, I may not get called for the remainder of this season, but it's good to just make myself available whenever possible and who knows when they might call.
And referring back to the introduction of this post, my first priority remains, as always, finding a job. While I continue to wait for the job placement agency to work its magic (they keep telling me something will turn up), I have actually just applied for with a nanny agency. I don't necessarily want to be at the mercy of an unknown family, living under a foreign roof and following the rules of surrogate parents at this point in my life, but I do love working with kids. In addition to teaching English/babysitting the 3 German kids in Berlin, I've worked with kids virtually every summer since high school in some form or another. And with a live-in position I could pay back student loans and save money by not paying rent. I'm curious to see what that option holds!
I also received another invitation to a German orchestra, much to my surprise, this one in Cologne. Finding it hard to pass this up, but with absolutely no money to fly over for the audition, I mustered the courage to call the orchestra office last week to ask about the possibility of sending a CD recording of myself playing the audition repertoire. The audition coordinator couldn't give me an answer (I thought they'd scoff at the idea), but very nicely gave me the private numbers of the orchestra's oboists so I could call them and ask personally (was I dealing with a German office person??). However, after many attempts to get past the answering machine, I still haven't reached them but I will certainly continue to try until I get my answer - even if it's a "no". Can't hurt trying!
Well I did have my little one-day job last week Monday. Because of the blizzard we had one 1/2 weeks ago, the training session for the job had been postponed twice, but it finally took place. Going into it, I really wasn't quite sure of what to expect. However once I learned what we were doing, it was all very easy. I was to bid on property taxes which hadn't been paid by their owners. The company which I was employed by would purchase these expensive property taxes and in turn charge the original owners (pretty high) interest, giving them the opportunity to keep their land or property instead of losing it.
So, with that acquired knowledge, I rolled out out of bed early Monday morning and was on the road shortly after 4:30 a.m. en route to a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" village in Nebraska. Worried I'd be too tired after a late symphony rehearsal the night before, I actually found the dark morning drive on the winding Nebraska state highways accompanied later by the sunrise, and of course a thermos of coffee, to be a pleasant drive.
After the almost 3 hour drive I made it to the tiny town consisting of a courthouse and a few other buildings. Since I'd arrived twenty minutes early, I hung out in my car until 7:30 a.m. when I got out to go sign in and get my bidding number. An elderly farm couple waiting in their pick-up truck saw me open my car door and they jumped out just in time to beat me to the courthouse door in order to be first in line (the bidding was "first come, first serve"). Although it didn't make any difference to me since I was bidding on completely different things, I was amused by their "skill". As we waited an hour for the county treasurer to show up to hand out numbers, more and more people came in to stand in line. Finally the bidding numbers were handed out and I thought we could begin, but turned out the auction wouldn't start for another two hours.
Luckily amid the few farm buildings and other strange, unidentifiable shacks which made up this town, there happened to be a "cafe" right across the street where greasy breakfasts were to be found. Glad to be able to kill time and put food in my increasingly hungy stomach, I gleefully crossed the street, hopping over snowdrifts, and opened the door of the dark, smokey little mystery cafe. I was happy to see two familiar faces of ladies who had also just gotten their bidding numbers, and we ended up having a nice chat over eggs, fried bacon, and toast smothered in butter and jam. The auction follwed swiftly, and before I knew it, I was on the road back to Iowa. Too bad there's only one property tax auction a year because I'd love to do a job like that full time!
In addition to having orchestra rehearsals in the evenings all last week, with a concluding concert last night, I drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota last Wednesday to audition for the sub list of their orchestra. Though I hadn't felt nervous going there, I found my hands shaking mercilessly after the first few notes I played. I tried to stay focused and blow through the nervousness, and except for a couple bumps in the road, the audition went pretty well overall and luckily I made the sub list. Since the orchestra doesn't currently need any oboes, I may not get called for the remainder of this season, but it's good to just make myself available whenever possible and who knows when they might call.
And referring back to the introduction of this post, my first priority remains, as always, finding a job. While I continue to wait for the job placement agency to work its magic (they keep telling me something will turn up), I have actually just applied for with a nanny agency. I don't necessarily want to be at the mercy of an unknown family, living under a foreign roof and following the rules of surrogate parents at this point in my life, but I do love working with kids. In addition to teaching English/babysitting the 3 German kids in Berlin, I've worked with kids virtually every summer since high school in some form or another. And with a live-in position I could pay back student loans and save money by not paying rent. I'm curious to see what that option holds!
I also received another invitation to a German orchestra, much to my surprise, this one in Cologne. Finding it hard to pass this up, but with absolutely no money to fly over for the audition, I mustered the courage to call the orchestra office last week to ask about the possibility of sending a CD recording of myself playing the audition repertoire. The audition coordinator couldn't give me an answer (I thought they'd scoff at the idea), but very nicely gave me the private numbers of the orchestra's oboists so I could call them and ask personally (was I dealing with a German office person??). However, after many attempts to get past the answering machine, I still haven't reached them but I will certainly continue to try until I get my answer - even if it's a "no". Can't hurt trying!
posted by Heidi at 9:10 PM
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