I got the home healthcare job!

Today was my first official day of training with the home healthcare agency. I'm so excited to be chosen!

Today I got fingerprinted for the first time ever! It was messy and a bit surreal, the ink is very slimy feeling.

We got to meet the owner and most of the office staff and they all seem like great people. I'm really excited to be working with them! They really made me feel welcome and wanted. This is a great first step in my goal to becoming a nurse. I still laugh at myself for fighting it for so long.  

I also got a call from the hospital job today. He seemed a bit put out that I had found another job, but I told him I could do both and he said he'd get back to me. I'm not sure he will and I wouldn't blame him if he doesn't call, I just couldn't wait for a maybe. I need a job to pay for school and this one is actually in hands on healthcare. I feel a little sad about it though. After all, a month ago it was my dream job and I would still love to have it and be back in the hospital.

When I found out I hadn't gotten it the first time it made me reevaluate my life and my priorities.

Today's lessons were about how to give a bed bath and do peri care. We also learned a lot about communication and how to spot the signs of abuse and scammers. I'm hoping my odd assortment of hobbies and skills makes it easier for me to have something in common with my clients. It would be really cool to learn some new tricks with my Singer 66 or gain new knowledge about obscure pipes. Maybe I'll get a crocheter and we can sit and hook together while we talk. I can't wait to get out in the field and start getting some hands on experience!
The agency has the coolest sock dummy named Buddy. It was fun to watch it flop on the bed as it was gently turned and the sheets were changed. It was a lot more realistic than it should have been. Whoever made Buddy is a true artist. Sadly, I can't take pics there for confidentiality reasons. He is really cool. I might have to try and copy his pattern so I can have one...

We got to watch a video about how to do a bed bath on a client. It was boring , but mildly educational when suddenly it got to the privates washing part. It suddenly went from a real person draped modestly and helping her aide with the process to very graphic and up close drawings of the human nether regions. It was such a shock I almost laughed out loud like a kid, but up until then it had been very PG. I learned a lot after that.

I'm so grateful I got this job and I'm already learning a lot. I'm excited to see what I learn tomorrow.

In a mere 13 days I start school! I'm so excited! I can't wait to begin. Don't forget about my fundraiser!
 In the meantime here's a cute Rory picture from last night. He really loves his free space time!

Hello!

I registered for school today!

I went down to Tucson College today to finish my registration and make the first payment! I was so excited I managed to get lost on the way, but I made it with 5 minutes to spare before my appointment. I still can't believe how Sylvia flies with her new gears!
I got to fill out even more paper work and answer a bunch of questions about why I want to go there and what my goals are. It really helped clarify things in my head to write it out for them. I want to get an education that will improve my life and the lives of others. This is a quick stop on my end goal of becoming a nurse. It's a bit sad that it took me until age 37 to realize I want to be a nurse. I'm still a writer in my soul, but that will be my secret identity. Now I just have to wait for the acceptance letter to be a real student. Have I mentioned that patience isn't my virtue? I hope it gets here fast!

This will be where she waits while I'm in class! Door to door with covered parking!

On the way home from the school the job I wanted at the hospital called. He re-posted the position and wants me to apply then call him immediately. I need to see if they will work around my school schedule before I decide to try for it again. I really wanted that job; I could have ridden to work every day and worn nice clothes. It was in the hospital which is where I want to be and the other phone operators seem great. There's the chance to get benefits and a cafeteria that has the best fried chicken in the universe! A month ago it was my dream job. Then I wasn't selected and it crushed me. I cried and everything. I had wanted so badly to go back to the hospital. However, not being picked really helped my to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

I decided I needed more than just a job, so I hatched my crazy plan to finally get back to hands on healthcare and make a difference in peoples lives. I love my plan, but the siren call of that other job is ringing loudly. It whispers that I would still be helping people and if I get chosen this time I would be making a bit more cash to boot. Plus, I'd never have to drive my car again because parking at the hospital is a nightmare and they have bike lockers.

On Monday I go for orientation with a home health care company. If I survive it they will hire me and I will have a job! It's a great part time job and the shifts are short so it won't interfere with school. They like the fact that I'm getting my CNA and seem almost as excited about it as I am. My fingers are crossed that I survive!

I'm considering doing all three if the hospital will work me around school and I survive the home health care orientation on Monday. I could conceivably make it work, but it would be an insane few months and would take a lot of juggling. Once I start actually nursing school, which I plan to do in a year, something will have to give though. 

On the flip side there's a chance that I won't survive Monday and the hospital won't chose me again. That would suck! I hope at least one of the jobs chooses me, but if not I still have hope for my fundraiser!
In the meantime here's a quick photo update on Rory. He is doing great and is in love with Ginger.

Ginger and Rory

He wants to play ball with her.

An update on the Craigslist employment scams

I went ahead and "fell for" the Yamaha car wrap scam to see what would happen. This is what happens when I'm bored at home. Fortunately, I may have a job that starts next week. That's if I survive orientation. I can't wait to start school next month!
The idiots actually sent me a check for $1900! Like I'm stupid enough to cash it. It was mailed from Phoenix and the return address is for a school in Fort Worth, TX. The check is from a bank in Washington, DC. These people get around.
I called the school and Yamaha and spoke to people there. I gave them all the info I have and I hope it does some good. I emailed the bank because after over 10 minutes on hold I got bored and went off to do something else. They may or may not get back to me.
The lady from Yamaha in California was very glad I called and alerted them. The Detective man from the school in Texas actually took a statement from me over the phone! It was really fun to be doing the right thing and I hope these boogers are brought down!
Meanwhile it's back to boring for me. Don't forget I'm gratefully accepting donations for school so please pass it on.
Have fun!
Betty

Employment scams on Craigslist

Since I've been job hunting I've run into a number of scams aimed at the unemployed. I don't know why but these people obviously think people looking for job seekers are idiots. I hope no one gets sucked in, but sadly I'm sure some will. Here are a few of my favorites:

Jess Steele	10:09 AM (22 hours ago)
to me

Hello

      Good day to you and thank you for your timely response. The
house is a two bedroom unfurnished apartment. I will like you to know
that you will be responsible for general cleaning of hallways
(dusting, vacuuming and mopping), doors, windows, pick up trash in
common areas, sweeping and changing light bulbs etc. I am a consultant
Agent currently working with Fair Trade Organization (FTO). I’m
currently out of the states and I will be arriving to the states soon,
I want the apartment to be worked on and get clean before my arrival.

   I wont be able to make payment to you but i will instruct my
secretary to make payment out to you, She will be sending you the
payment in form of business check, which you will get soonest this is
because i don't want any delay in your cleaning service, I want the
house to look as clean as possible. I want you to know that I will be
paying you $700 every 2 weeks if you are willing and ready to work for
me; cleaning the house. If you are interested in the work, I will
instruct my secretary to email an upfront payment of $400 to you so as
to know how serious I am with the cleaning job I want you to do.

So as for my secretary to send the upfront payment to you; I will like
to have the below information so i can instruct her to send the
payment to you;

1. Full Name
2. Mailing Address ( NOT P O BOX),
3. City
4. State and Zip Code
5. Phone Number
6. Age, Sex and marital status.
7. Current Occupation

Thanks for showing interest in the post and hope all this arrangement
is okay by You, if so do email back as soon as possible so that i can
make the arrangement for the check ASAP, I will really appreciate your
mail and I believe you will enjoy working with me.

Best Regards,

Betty Angleton-Halsey		10:13 AM (22 hours ago)
What is the address that I would be cleaning and how many hours a week would ...

Jess Steele	5:52 AM (2 hours ago)
to me

My apartment agent just got the apartment for me in your area but i
dont have the full address yet. I will get in touch as soon as i have
it. But before then can i have the Information requested so i can
order my secretary to mail out the check to you and the hours of work
is 2-3 hours a day and its a flexible hour that is convenient for
your. Waiting to read back form you asap

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul Skinkis <tlsmith5568@gmail.com>

3:18 PM (18 hours ago)

to me 

Be careful with this message. It contains content that's typically used to steal personal information. Learn more

Report this suspicious message   Ignore, I trust this message

Hello,

I am replying back to your message concerning the job posted on Craigslist in which you're interested in,your application was received, unfortunately the position already been filled, but there's another position to be filled, if you will be interested.I have gone through your email and am quite impressed, i think you are the right person for this job I will deeply appreciate all genuine efforts to help me monitor and keep up to date with all my activities. I Most very often get my hands occupied because am working with many companies both states and outside, so it is imperative for me to have a worthy assistant who can  Monitor and keep me up to date with my activities. As my assistant, your activities among other things will include: Make travel arrangements and Order office  Supplies, running personal errands, Check Processing Filing documents mailing services, receive my mails and drop them off at UPS office, Shop for Gifts, Bill payment  (Pay my bills on my behalf), Sit for delivery (at your home) or Pick items up at nearby post office at your convenience. Posting ads Quality communication etiquette Skills and good organizational skills Serious sense of humor required and mandatory to work with me Ability to handle highly sensitive and confidential information  Perform duties with accuracy, quality, and integrity. You will be working 3 days in a week and you're to choose any 3 days of the week from Monday to Saturday that  Will be preferable to you and you will be working 5 hrs. in these 3 days and that will be from 9 am-1 pm and we will be offering you  $400.00 per week.

 About me: My name is Paul Skinkis I have a family of 3 and i deal with Art craft. I travel alot, hence the reason why I need an assistant to handle my affairs for  Me on the home front when I am away on business which is usually quite often. I would love to meet up with you to talk about this job but I am currently away on a  Business trip. I am in France so there will be no interview this position is home-based and flexible you can be in any location, working with me is basically about   Instructions and following them, I need someone who can be able to meet up with my regular timings. There is also a very sensitive issue on trust and accountability  Which I believe will resolve itself as time goes on.

 This is only an introductory e-mail, as time goes on we should be able to arrange a proper meeting to get things started officially. I do have a number of things you  Could help me with this week if you will be available for me. This can act as a stable foundation to our working relationship. Note: This position is home base office  Work you can be in any location and work with me from your home. Let me know your interest if you are ready to work with me from your home.

So Fill This Application And Email It Back Here ASAP!!!

Full Name: 

Full Address: 

Apartment number: 

City,State,Zipcode:  

Phone Number Cell: 

Phone Number Home: 

Email: 

Current Occupation:

AVAILABILITY:

How often do you check your email daily___________?

Do you have a bank account for you salary? (YES) (NO)

PLEASE NOTE:  Your account details not needed.

I will be looking forward hearing from you and then proceed on the next step forward.

I shall await your response.

Thanks Regards

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eibhir 

4:55 PM (16 hours ago)

to pskinkis 

You may want to work on your capitalization, punctuation and grammar before you try to scam anyone else. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John Owen	Feb 9 (2 days ago)
to me

Hello,
We are currently seeking to employ individual’s in United State Of
America (USA). How would you like to make money by simply driving your
car advertising for YAMAHA AUTOMOBILE.

How it works?

Here’s the basic premise of the "paid to drive" concept: YAMAHA seeks
people -- regular citizens,professional drivers to go about their
normal routine as they usually do, only with a big advert for "YAMAHA"
plastered on your car. The ads are typically vinyl decals, also known
as "auto wraps,"that almost seem to be painted on the vehicle, and
which will cover any portion of your car's exterior surface.

What does the company get out of this type of ad strategy? Lots of
exposure and awareness. The auto wraps tend to be colorful,
eye-catching and attract lots of attention. Plus, it's a form of
advertising with a captive audience,meaning people who are stuck in
traffic can't avoid seeing the wrapped car alongside them.
This program will last for 1 Year and the minimum you can participate
is 1 month.

You will be compensated with $450 per week which is essentially a
"rental"payment for letting our company use the space no fee is
required from you, YAMAHA shall provide experts that would handle the
advert placing on your car. You will receive an up front payment of
$450 inform of check via courier service for accepting to carry this
advert on your car.

It is very easy and simple , no application fees required contact
email along with the following if you are interested in these offer.

Full Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip code:
Age:
Occupation:
Make of car/ year:
Exterior Color of Car:
Telephone numbers       - Home: Cell:
Email:

We will contact you immediately we receive this information.

Kind Regards!

®YAMAHA Automobile Advertisement. All rights reserved™.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 As you can see they all want my address to send me money even though we've never met.

I've gotten a lot more than these and I now look at Craigslist merely for the laugh factor. I'm sharing 

these ones because they have been the most pushy so far.

If you're looking for a job go to the actual website of the company or the actual location you want to 

work. Don't try to get one off of Craigslist. It's just a bad proposition.

Good luck and have fun!

Isn't he cute!

Some cute pictures of Rory. He's turning out to be a really smart guy. He lets me know when his favorite shows come on and he can flip his house right side up on his own.

Roly ball is fun.

He rolls his ball around and can even get it in and out of his house. There's food inside so it makes noise and I can't wait for him to figure out how to open it.

He knows there's food inside.

He will now take food out of your hand and let you pet him while eating it.

He now takes food from your hand. 

He also likes to be scratched behind the ears and will let you do anything if you have a carrot.

He also gives you a look when it's gone.

It takes him about 5 minutes to pull hay out and spread it all over his cage.

Who farted?

He has a great sense of smell and squeaks when ever we pull any thing fresh out of the fridge. He also squeaks when Martha comes inside. He really loves that dog.

It was you!

Coming over to investigate.

I had read that guinea pigs were shy, but he isn't. He comes right over and checks you out if you get near him. I'm still working on the biting issue but carrot bribery works most of the time. He's not mean, it's more of a test bite to see if we are edible. He can modulate his bite pressure and he's only drawn blood a few times, but it still hurts.

I see you human.

Please spread the word about my fundraiser. Every little bit will be very much appreciated. Thanks!

I got to tour the school!

Yesterday my husband and I went to Tucson College to take the tour and the entrance test. It was great! I passed the test with 100%! It wasn't super hard, just some math and reading comprehension, but it still made me feel good.
The school is amazing. The bike parking is covered and right outside the door to my class. The vending machine has cupcakes! They have all kinds of neat equipment for me to learn to use. The teachers are very friendly and have a lot of experience. It has a real library with tables and a librarian! They offer job placement that is more than a paper tacked to the wall and once I'm done with the first half they will start helping me find a job! One of the places I get to go to for clinicals is actually in my to three choices of where I want to work, I even have an application in there already for housekeeping. I wish I could start with this months class, but oh well. I can't wait to start in March!
We've figured out where the first payment will come from and I have my fundraiser running in the hopes of getting help with paying the second half and repaying the first half. I really hope to succeed in raising the money.
It feels so good to have a plan again. I'm still applying for everything I can think of, but now I have a schedule to work around. I hope I can get a job before I start school, but if not they will help me get one while I'm there.
Wish me luck and if you can spread the word about my fundraiser please!
Have fun!

I can see freedom!

I've started a fundraiser on Idiegogo life!

 I was racking my brain on how to raise money so I can go to school and get my CNA (certified nursing assistant).
I've started a fundraiser! I hope this works!

I can see the goal!

My fundraiser is called Thanks for helping me go to school.

I'll need to come up with a better name for it!

I have a crazy plan!

I didn't get the job I really wanted. He said they would be re-posting it though and I really should try again. They went with someone who had more qualifications. I was a bit crushed, but I think I'm over it now and will try again. I'm a glutton for the pain.
I've only had 2 other interviews so far besides that one. I walked out of one before the interview even started because the place was filthy and smelled like a frat house, so I'm not sure I should even count that one. I'm still waiting to hear back from the other one. It will probably be a month or so.
My lack of formal training in most of the things I'm good at is really killing me so I've come up with a plan to fix that.

Bombs away!

I want to help people and have a job I love to do. That is the end goal and I have been doing a lot of thinking about it.
The most satisfying job I've ever had was when I was a CNA. I quit because I was young.  I loved helping them and talking to them and it was great. Sadly, often I would get to work and be excited to see my residents and walk into the room to find them lying there gone. It was heartbreaking and I was also fed up with the way some people treated the patients. After about a year I left; I still think about the residents sometimes though. That place was shut down so long ago that I don't even list it on my resume.
The best paying and longest lasting (10 years) job I ever had was at the hospital and I left it to become a cosmetologist. I don't regret it, but I learned fast that I like cutting hair and helping people look and feel better, but I have little interest in fashion and healthy people kind of suck.
So, my plan is to go back to school and get my CNA license. I always regretted not staying with it, but I have no goals to be a nurse and when I left it I jumped right to the hospital without thinking. I'm a bit odd that way. With my CNA I can get a good job at the hospital that will actually help people and be well paid. Or I could go with a nursing home and soak up all their stories while helping them to be happier. It's a win win win!
Now I just have to get the $900 it takes to do the course and they don't offer financial aid because it's so short. I have faith that we can make it happen though. We are already looking to see how we can get it for the March 10th start date. We get to go tour the campus tomorrow. Wish me luck!

It's an eagle.