Wow, it's been almost two months since I've posted. Well, the last two months have been pretty crazy for me. In October I applied for and got a job at Weber Sate University in Ogden, Utah. I'm the new University Archives Processor, which is a fancy way of saying that I go through university papers, make sure there is some semblance of order, and make it possible for people to find it online. I wasn't really looking for a job, but as part of an assignment I was looking at academic websites and decided to look at the job openings. My goal has always been to work in either a special library (theme, archives, special collections) or an academic library, so I thought it was worth a shot. It's a full time job, which means I now have medical benefits for the first time in two years (which is such a relief!!). It's technically a paraprofessional position, I don't need my MLS to work the job, but I think it was one of the reasons I did get it - b/c I have the knowledge and background.
I started the new job towards the end of October, and it's been a learning experience. It's been awhile since I've worked with archives, so I had to relearn some stuff. I have also never worked with DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard) before, so it's been interesting learning about that as well. When I've worked in Archives in the past, I've worked with smaller collections, or with items that just had to be itemized. My current project is going through the Student Association collection. There must be at least 30-50 boxes, and I've gone through about 10 of them. I've never done anything with Weber before, so this is a great way to begin to learn about the school and its history. The great thing about my job is that I will have job security. The archives were neglected so badly that it will probably take 10-15 years to get it all organized! It's been great learning about the history of the school, as well as some information about what life was like during different eras. One cool thing I learned is that in the past, bands would tour different schools to get gigs. They were part of a circuit, and I actually recognized several of the groups (5th Dimension, Beetles, The Letterman, etc.). I had no idea that universities were such a big part of the music industry.
The reason for the title of this post is that I've decided to keep both jobs. I've only lessened the hours at my other job (SLCC) by about 5 hours, so I'm working about 65 hours a week. Wow, I hadn't realized I was working that much. I still really enjoy working at SLCC, so I wasn't quite ready to give it up. Plus, I bought a car, so I figured it would be a good idea to keep both jobs so I could make a larger dent in the loan than what one job could do. I also will need to start paying back my student loans in the next six months, so having the extra income for that would be nice as well.
To continue with the craziness, I'm going to try to maintain this schedule through at least May of next year. That way I'll be able to do more with the loans I have and make a dent. I have a really hard time focusing where to put the extra money. Now that I have more than I'm used to, I'm not entirely sure what to do with it. I need to pay bills, and I want to save money for future trips. But I also want to BUY stuff now that I have money and have stuff I need to replace. I also need to start thinking about retirement. So much to think about, and no time to think it out and do research.
That's one of the downsides of having two jobs. Not only do I not have much time to do stuff since I'm always working (I have Friday nights, Saturday nights, and Sundays off), when I do have free time I want it to be peaceful and relaxing rather than work. Luckily, I'm almost done with school, so it won't be so bad to relax more.
So, I got a new car! After two days of research, and talking to friends, I bought a Nissan Altima. It's a little bit longer (bigger?) than I would like, but it's great. It is roomy for me since I have long legs, and that is very important. At some point I will need a good sized trunk (all those bodies to bury), and this car has nice trunk space. Also it gets really good gas mileage (especially compared to my last car). I'm staying in the Salt Lake Valley, so I drive about 100 miles a day, which is why I bought a brand new car instead of a used one.
Wish me luck in my new adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment