Hi, My Name Is Carol Weaver...

...and I want and need a job. It's now April 24th and 94 days since I lost my job. To some people that might be totally devastating. I've lost jobs in the past and it definitely wasn't the best thing to have happened to me - at the time.

Many wonderful things have happened since the job loss and I hope that I can remember to record them so that whoever reads this sometime in the future (including myself) will realize how blessed I've been and that I can truly see the hand of my Heavenly Father in things that have occurred.

Let me begin with the actual job searches. I was so sure I'd be hired within just a matter of days. In fact, I felt quite certain I would be hired and working within one month because I have an excellent resume, initiative, wasn't afraid to do whatever, have lots of experience and several great recommendation letters. I don't think it's a matter of being cocky, it's just a matter of confidence in my abilities.

I've applied with the City of Casper, oil companies, drilling companies, a uranium company, natural gas companies, the college, an electric company, a health center, a hospice, medical facilities, pipe companies, a trucking company, a bank, the county, Head Start, and several other places. I've had interviews - not enough apparently, but I've got stiff competition since usually 80-100 people are applying for the same job.

I have at least been working temporary, part-time for an insurance company that allows me to come and go as I wish. Because of that, I've been able to pick Joe up from his dialysis treatments rather than have him ride the bus home in the afternoon. It's also allowed me to spend time with him on the non-dialysis days which has become very special for me. I've watch Joe heal, both mentally and physically, on a daily basis. I've watched him regain some of his strength and stamina and start to become a little happier each day.

My mantra is that Heavenly Father is making me wait for the "right" job to come along or he wants me to spend more time with Joe. Whatever the reason, I guess I'll just have to learn more patience.

Now it's time to get back to the want ads...

Job searching continued - the *conundrum (kə-nŭn'drəm)

*A paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem; a dilemma...That definition pretty well describes the last several days of job searching. This is the conundrum -I could most likely get a job if I had a Wyoming address. But, it's hard to get an address without a job. Hmmm. And, then add in when people come from other parts of the state where you hadn't even been searching. I've turned down the opportunity for two state jobs in other parts of the state in the last two days simply because I won't be in Wyoming next week. I know there is enough of me to divide into two parts, but unfortunately that's not possible.

In between the job searches, I have also proceeded to look for potential housing. That's been fun trying to explain the potential homes to Joe. At least he's been with me to Casper recently so he's aware of the areas where I've searched out a couple of homes. And, I've been taking pictures so he can see them. When selecting homes, I'm having to also take into consideration a proper place for the furry kids and a place that Joe can have access to getting around AND a place that is not priced too much more than our monthly mortgage payment now.

Joe and I will have a lot of talking to do when I get home next week about our future. Do we stay in Georgia or do we pack up and move to Wyoming? This is one of those times when I wish someone would take away my free agency and tell me what I'm supposed to do. Anyone know a church sanctioned physic? I sure could use one.

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Weather note for today: The wind was blowing at least 200 mph today. Forget about fixing your hair. Mother Nature was the only blowdryer you needed today. It's supposed to begin snowing tonight too.

Day Three and Four - Job Hunting In Laramie

I rolled into Laramie late afternoon Wednesday. I had planned on leaving Casper early morning, but plans changed. I got a call to come in for another job interview and wasn't about to tell them "no". Then I spent some time checking out possible house rentals in Casper. Drove to a cute little house which would be very convenient to any job I might get in Casper.

On the way out of town, I stopped in Glenrock which is about 15 miles south of Casper. I was meeting a real estate agent to check out a rental in the country which was next to the Platte River. It was a double wide located on a gravel road with 2.5 acres and a very, very large double garage - a great place to put the car and the dogs when the weather turns cold. I think it would be a great place to live, but what do we do when we have to drive to Casper for work and the roads are covered with snow and ice? (When people talk about the winters up here, it's not really the snow and ice they talk about, but rather the wind. I've noticed that the wind does blow alot around here. It doesn't matter if you fix your hair or not because the minute you step outside - whew, it's rearranged).

Anyway, it was a four hour drive up and down rolling sagebrush covered hills to Laramie. I say that so that you might understand how almost impossible it is to have a conversation on your cell phone. The last part of the trip had the best scenery. It was in the mountains. The elevation climbed to about 8,000 feet and the temperature dropped some 20 degrees and the ears were popping.

First impressions of Laramie - not my favorite place I've stayed in Wyoming. (That's a picture of one part of downtown Laramie). It's a large college town with the University of Wyoming located here and that is the major "industry" here. I'm sure it probably has great qualities, but at this point, I'm not sure I want to find out what they are right now. I don't think this town even has a Wal-Mart, it has a K-Mart, but can I actually live in a town with no Wal-Mart?!?! And pickup trucks. Did I mention the amount of pickups around here? OMG!!! They're everywhere!

Day Four - I had my plan of attack planned for the day...Contact all the people at the University and do follow-ups with them, as well as an attorney and check out the local WorkForce office. That didn't take as long as thought, so for the first time in a very, very long time, I had a little bit of down time. I even actually ate a real sit down lunch today. Wow! That was a big deal for me. No real interviews today with the right people - just telephone conversations and pre interviews with people that might not make a difference. And, the real estate bombed out too. So, unless something changes between now and the time I leave this glorious state, Laramie won't be our new home. BTW - saw a real chipmunk today.

Tomorrow is Friday and it's on to Utah to see the kids. Yeah!

Day One - Job Hunting in Casper

So off I went into the cold, cruel world. And, I do mean cold!!! The wind chill was 14 degrees. When I went out to the car, there was some of the strangest frost all over my car. I used my Piggly Wiggly grocery card to scrap it off - it was so thick and artistic looking.

First stop this morning was to WorkForce which is the equivalent of our Department of Labor. I got some "go sees" set up that consisted of following up on letters already sent and also new places to go. No nibbles on jobs today though. And, the housing situation is looking pretty bleak around here too. There is no shortage of jobs, but certainly is a shortage regarding rental properties.

My funniest experience today was driving around an office park today and coming upon about six pronghorn antelopes or deer (whatever they are). They were walking down the middle of the street like an animal parade with no regard to all the buildings, cars and people around them. You don't see things like that in Omega.

I called seven area bishops tonight picking their brains for real estate contacts. That was fun since I'm sure they were thinking in the beginning that here was an out-of-towner claiming to be a Mormon who was going to need some type of assistance like money, food, etc. I heard all those kind of stories when I worked for David Perry when he was the bishop. Nine out of ten times it was some non-Mormon person dunning for money and giving some hard luck story. I assured these bishops I wanted nothing from them other than names and/or contacts, if possible. It all came out good as I have several names to call tomorrow. We'll see what happens, huh?

Now it's time to go to bed. The clock here may say it's about 10:30 p.m., but my body thinks it's 12:30 a.m.

(Thanks to Susan for the use of her laptop). And, what a wonderful job she did with The Wall. I'll be writing more about that later along with some pictures.