Moving Forward: Education

I quit school about 6 months into my marriage. We were poor, I needed to work, my loans had been messed up due to some poor educational study habits, it just didn't make sense at the time. Since then we've moved twice, had several babies and medical issues, Jake got back into school, graduated, had a job, lost the job, got another (slightly inconvenient) job, and now we're dipping our toes into the idea of buying a house. (The water is very very cold.)

But once Chucky-Sue was born I was saying "I want to finish school."  Which is of course the most logical thing to think once giving birth to premature and mortally ill twins. Obviously the labor pain drugs were addling my brain.  Now that the drugs have worn off and I'm still thinking about it.

I've hit a roadblock though- what doI want to study? Art? No. French again? Mais non. Education? Naw...

Then, SWOOSH, comes the job from nowhere- My mom knew an author who needed someone to work from home (perfect!) and manage her online profiles for her book. I like books, I like online communities. It was a perfect fit. I love this job, I get to go online and talk to others about how fun the book is, I get to do crafts, design ads and artwork and get paid for it. I got a glimpse inside the world of book publishing, and I think I'm hooked.

I want to go to school for  English and Business degrees. I don't know when or how or where, but I take those degrees and work at home as a full-time online marketing manager and designer for a book publisher (Doesn't that make my job sound so much more fancy?)

There it is, out there in cyberspace. One day I'll look back on the post and either think "Yes, I did it!" or "Where's the delete button so I can forget this ever came out of my fingertips!"

The American Dream

So I had our lives planned up until Jake's graduation. Everything we did was to get to that point. Now? We have no freaking clue.

We found out yesterday that ETSU rejected Jake, no other school has even contacted him either way. He was turned down a job a ways back and yesterday, after hearing the Air Force recruiter go on and on about how it will change our lives and all the benefits that come with enlisting, just to find out that the cut-off age is 28.  He could still apply to be an officer, but they only hire 10% from civilians, and it takes over a year to be accepted or rejected.

It's completely frustrating to go from Plan A to Plan B and all the way to Plan X and still have no idea what we're doing next year. The Air Force in my mind was our absolute last resort, I do not have the personality, spirit or faith to be an Air Force wife. Now I have to change gears and get on board with the possiblity of being an army or navy wife too? Aside from my fear of Jake with and around armed weapons, I could not handle if the army sent him overseas and I was stuck in some lonely base in middle of nowhere Minnesota.

 I guess I was seeing the world through rose-colored glasses before graduation. I just assumed that of course someone would hire him immediately and offer him the benefits and job he wants in the location we want and near the school he got into.  I've gotten to the point where I'll go anywhere he's accepted, wether it be an elisted soldier in the Army, or a 7-11 district manager. I have no standards, no limitations or stipulations. Just get my honey a job.

Also, I've been job hunting, for anything I can walk to or easily get a ride (within a mile or so of the Faz etc.) and I laugh. If a college graduate with loads of work experience can't get a job, how in the world is a high school graduate with some on and off work experience going to get a job? Even the "lowly" fast food jobs are being filled by college grads. One advertisement even put a college degree in their requirements to be a WAITRESS!! 

So if you're reading this Obama, my family would really like a bailout.