News! I got a job! Like ... a REAL job!
It's 12:43 in the morning, I have a 9-hour drive tomorrow, and I can't sleep. Figured I should post here to give some details about the good news I got on Tuesday, since I'm otherwise just sitting here re-reading a very good Naruto fanfiction for the ... um. Probably sixth time? Maybe more.

... wow, that's embarrassing.

Anyway, here's my excellent news, and some details about what comes next.

Tuesday, 2/3: I woke up at 8:40 in the morning, heart pounding, and said to poor mr. Quickly, "Is this Tuesday? What'm I supposed to do today at 9:00? I know I'm forgetting something."

I got a yes it's Tuesday, an I don't know, and a back turned to me, combined with an unhappy growl.

Still, I was convinced something important was scheduled for 9am on Tuesday, and it was really upsetting me that I couldn't remember what it was I was supposed to do. No meeting with my advisor, no work with OPIE or ISFS, no plans to drive one of my parents around or go to the doctor/dentist/vet. Kept my adrenaline up enough that I could not go back to sleep, even though I'd been up 'til 4am the night (morning?) before.

At 9:07am, my phone rang. By 9:08, I had accepted the job offered me by Felician College in Lodi, New Jersey, which is located about 20 minutes west of New York City.

How weird is that?

The job's official title is "International Student Advising and Recruitment." My duties will include attending college fairs, contacting and maintaining relationships with schools abroad, visiting schools in other countries, bringing students to the campus and conducting orientations, and taking students on trips around the Lodi and New York City areas. I will also be responsible for advising students on their rights and responsibilities as immigrants to the United States, hopefully mostly F1 students because I'm super-shaky on the J regulations. (F1 students are students who immigrate to the U.S. for educational purposes and are usually in status only for the duration of their program of study.)

The college itself is small, around 3,000 students enrolled (if my memory serves, which it may not). It's a private Catholic school, founded by the Felician sisters, and oh my goodness they have nuns. That excites me far more than it should, but come ON, they're nuns! That's like, super-cool. *cough* The campus is divided between the Lodi and Rutherford campuses, which lie 3 miles apart and have a shuttle system running between them during the day and evening.

Let's see, what else. I'm going to NJ soon to take a look at some apartments and sign my contract. Rent is expensive over there, being as close to NYC as it is, but the properties so far look very nice, and thankfully there are pet-friendly places close to the college. Everyone wants to know what mr. Quickly is going to be doing; so far it looks like he's going to help me move, then decide if he wants to come with me or stay here after he's got a better handle on how his thesis is progressing, etc. I'm hoping Miss Jaspercats can come with me, keep me company while I'm adjusting to my new home, but I'm not sure if that's going to be possible, because ...

I'm apparently going to Thailand next month. And Taiwan. For a week. *dances* That email came through this evening after I'd gotten home from work, inviting me to go along with the women who conducted my interview, actually, to get some hands-on experience in recruitment (which I have seriously no experience in, but hey, this past September I knew nothing about immigration regulations, and now I can hold my own in a conversation on just about anything F1 visa-related, so I'm not terribly worried).

... that's a complete lie, I'm terrified. Who wouldn't be? But also very happy and feeling exceptionally blessed. This is exactly the kind of job I've been wanting, and it comes at a time when I'm ready to go. Thesis is written and ready to be submitted for signatures (pretty much), I am completely disillusioned with the work I've been doing for OPIE, ISFS doesn't need me (though I loved working with them this winter and am unspeakably grateful for their support and training and serious awesomeness, there's NO way I would have gotten this Felician job without them), and JCon ... well. I love my anime club, but they will be just as awesome without me as they are with me. Maybe even moreso, there's a lot of untapped awesome in that group. ♥

So! That's the story, as it stands now. Any questions about what I'm doing or when I lost my mind or grew another set of balls or both are more than welcome. I'm just plainly thrilled. Out of Ohio at last! :D

~mQ