Our Ward, Job Search Updates, and Other Musings

Where to even begin! Life has been so good for Tim and I lately.  We both spoke in church today in our new ward; I spoke on revelation and the role of the Holy Ghost, and Tim spoke on a specific talk called "Lessons Learned from Laman & Lemuel."  I get so nervous when I have to speak, but I didn't get nervous at all this time!  I think it was definitely a tender mercy.  Tim did a great job on his talk.  He is great at speaking with power and confidence.

Let me tell you a little about our new ward.  We're in a family ward now, which is a little different than what we were used to in our couples ward in Utah.  So far, we have loved our ward so much.  Everyone is so nice and welcoming, and the testimonies of the members are so strong.  Another thing that's interesting about our ward is that most of it is very well off.  (Note: We do not live in that part of the ward boundaries....just FYI.)  But it's funny to look around in Sacrament meeting and see men wearing nice suits, and women with designer purses and shoes and lots of jewelry.  In Sunday school, almost everyone is reading the scriptures on their iPad or iPhone.  It's amazing how humble everyone is still.  They all know each other and all love each other.  There is a lot of good-natured teasing when they interact in Sunday school and Relief Society.

It's always hard moving to a new ward and making new friends.  Luckily for Tim and I, there are a lot of other young couples in the ward even though it's a family ward.  A lot of them are also attending grad school, most at Vanderbilt but some at Belmont or Lipscomb.

Tim and I ate at a restaurant called The Mellow Mushroom last night for date night.  It's a pizza place that's right by the law school.  It's nice living in an area that's so close to restaurants and shops.  We had a pleasant walk to the restaurant, ate, and then walked home in perfect temperature weather.  The pizza was pretty good, but the atmosphere was cool too.  And we got to watch most of the BYU game there...sad that we lost.

So, update on the job search: I had an interview with the regional manager and one of the store managers for Apple.  It lasted about an hour and I think it went really well.  They said they'd get in touch with me in a day or so, and mentioned that the store manager that needs to make decisions would be gone on vacation till Saturday.  It was hard to tell how that interview went overall, because I felt a little nervous and flustered.  But I think it went pretty well.  I felt it went well enough for me to get the job.  The only wildcard I had that I didn't know about was if they were interviewing other people for the position, and how much they liked the other people.  Or if they were just going to hire from within the store.  The regional manager mentioned that they usually promote from within Apple, and at this particular store, they had never hired an outside person to fill an Expert position.  But he also said that they already have 6 of the 7 Expert positions filled, so they have a strong team that is able to take a newbie.  Cross your fingers.

On Thursday, I got a call from another manager at the store (P.S., they have like 4 managers per store...).  He asked if I would be able to meet with the store leader on Saturday at 1.  Of course I said yes.  I realized that this was a very good sign--obviously, they were still interested in me filling the position, or else they would have just offered me the Specialist position.  And they wanted me to meet with the manager over all the other managers at the store, and thus the one who they would need to have me approved by.

 So on Saturday, I was able to meet with her and I think that interview went really well.  We only spoke for about 25 minutes, but I felt very relaxed and comfortable.  She told me she just got back from a vacation to St. John's, and we bonded right away after I told her I lived on St. Croix when I was little.  I can't remember how it got brought up, but she told me that the other managers told her, "You have got to meet this girl! She is really incredible."  That made me feel great.

All I can do is my best, and all I can represent is who I am truthfully, and I feel like so far I have done that.  If they like who that is, then that is great news--because it means that I will love my job and that they will love me.  I feel like my interview went very, very well.  At this point, I think that even if I didn't get hired as an Expert, I would get hired as a Specialist at the very least.  I would be very surprised if I didn't get hired at all.  I'm hoping to be hired as an Expert, but they might say that they really like me but they think I need more experience and then just start me as a Specialist.

So many prayers have been answered and so many worries have been soothed.  It's so great to know that Heavenly Father is watching over us and knows about our concerns and the worries of our hearts.  I love how completely He fills our needs.  At its most basic definition, all I needed was a job. I didn't need a job I loved, or that paid me more than I was expecting, or that was close to my home.  I really just needed something to put bread on the table and a little savings in the bank.  And yet, when we went to the Lord with our burdens, He not only lifted them, but replaced them with something better.  It has been a wonderful journey so far, and one that has increased my faith in Heavenly Father as a merciful being.