I know it’s been a long time since I’ve done much in the way of “real” blogging. Believe me, I know — it’s been bugging me. However, the reason for the delay has been for two very interconnected reasons: I don’t like blogging about things that are happening until they’ve actually happened, and I’ve been a lot busier here than I expected to be. It’s all for good reasons, though — Ellensburg has been treating me very well, as it turns out.
So. Last time I wrote much of anything, I’d just joined Prairie at our little apartment here in Ellensburg, had technically/officially graduated from CWU, and had picked up a temporary part-time job reworking the website for the CWU Department of Law and Justice.
Not long after starting that part-time position, the secretary for CWU’s Math, Writing, and Academic Advising centers left for a new job. Prairie put in a good word for me, and since working on the LAJ website had already put me into CWU’s system, hiring me was easy, so I added a second temporary part-time position covering the secretarial position for those three departments.
Right about the time I was wrapping up my work on the LAJ website, the LAJ secretary put in notice that she’d also accepted a different position. Once again, I happened to present the right combination of availability and ease of hiring — with the added bonus of already having started getting to know the Ellensburg LAJ staff and faculty — so I did a sort of sideways slide from the website work into filling in as the temporary secretary for the LAJ department.
So, for the past couple months, I’ve been working nearly full time in two temporary positions; part-time as the LAJ secretary for half the day, and part-time as the UMC/UWC/AA secretary for the other half of the day. It wasn’t what I was expecting — Prairie and I had both figured that I’d be spending this summer relaxing, goofing off, and generally bumming around Ellensburg — but it’s also felt good to be doing something. Plus, it seemed like both of these positions were great ways to get a foot or two in the door at CWU to see where that might lead.
June was in many ways all about graduation. Early in the month, Prairie and I drove over to the CWU-Kent campus for the annual end-of-year banquet for the Westside Law and Justice students, at which I was awarded Outstanding Graduating Westside Law and Justice Student honors. Then, in mid-June, Prairie and I took a week off of work for the formal graduation ceremonies.
My parents drove down from Alaska, and we started the festivities with the formal Honors Convocation here in Ellensburg, where I was recognized for achieving Dean’s Scholar status. Then we all drove over to the Westside so I could march in the Westside graduation ceremonies with all the classmates with whom I’d actually gone to school. I got my special silver tassel for graduating Magna Cum Laude, marched across the stage, and got my moment on the Jumbotron. Back to Ellensburg for a few days with my parents, a day in Olympia to meet Prairie’s newest niece, and then back to Ellensburg and back to work.
A couple of weeks ago, as soon as the position formally opened, I put in an application for the LAJ secretarial spot that I was filling. Just over a week ago I interviewed, and early this week, I was notified that I was the chosen candidate! Right now, I’m in the midst of my two-weeks notice for my UMC/UWC/AA position as the paperwork goes through for the LAJ spot, then as of mid-July, I’ll officially be the Secretary Senior for the CWU Department of Law and Justice. Not bad at all!
(And as a congratulatory prize, I ordered myself an iPad 2. It hasn’t shipped from Apple yet, but I should have it in another week or two. Yay, new techy geeky toys!)
Meanwhile, Prairie continues to do well running the Writing Center. At this point, we’re sure we’re set to be here in Ellensburg for at least the next year. Though we toyed with the idea of moving up to renting one of the houses nearby, we’ve decided to stay in our little apartment. It’s cute, we have it arranged so that it’s working quite well for both of us, and with both of us working good solid jobs, staying here will allow us to save a ton of money over the next year. At that point, we’ll reassess, decide what we’re going to do and where (if anywhere) we’re going to go, and our next move should be into a home of our own.
So, that’s where things stand at the moment — all in all, pretty darn good.
Congratulations to you both!