birthday

It was Thursday May 26th 1966 @ 3:15pm EST when I was born. So in about three and a half hours of my writing this, I will turn 48. I certainly don't feel it. Many of my closest friends would say that I don't look or act it. Well, they're not saying that I'm immature so much as I am very young at heart. Today also marks my second week in Kanab which has been both fun and productive.

I was expecting things to take a little longer towards my ultimate goal of getting hired. No, that's not happened yet. However the staff has taken notice of me, know what I"m hoping for, and are helping guide me towards achieving it. My fourth day is when they took notice and the ball really started to roll. I've reapplied for two possible positions. The first is the one I really want which is a Dog Caregiver positions, and the second is for a Volunteer Coordinator position. My prior skills with people and especially computers makes me a strong candidate for the latter position. I was told that once in, transitioning to another position is much easier. My fingers are crossed!

The organization has a process for hiring where you're invited to come and work (paid) on a two week evaluation period. There are three possible outcomes of 1. An offer is extended and you accept, 2. An offer is extended and you decline, 3. You washed out for various reasons. Some who get the job wind up leaving later because they can't handle small town living. Yes the town is small and the people are very nice, but some people just can't handle it. Sometimes it has to do with things. There is a larger town about an hour away if I really need "things" I can't find here. A list and once a month trip takes care of that. I'm hoping my move, and gradual assimilation here will speak to my level of commitment.

In the meantime I am continuing to volunteer while learning anything they're willing to teach me. Over the past two weeks I've volunteered for a total of seven (morning/afternoon) shifts. Everyone in this place is smiling and generally happy. I guess it's hard not to when so many animals appreciate what you're doing for them. Some arrive here in bad shape, but realize over time what you're doing for them.

The place is gorgeous. I mean breathtakingly gorgeous. It's the high desert where things are kind of gritty but no less pretty. I spent the first couple of days here getting adjusted to the higher elevation so I could handle the manual labor, while volunteering, at the sanctuary. It was a good move on my part because I was definitely ready for what they threw at me. I weeded a large outer run on my first day, and it was a hot one. Everything has been progressively easier despite the heat and elevation making what I did a good call.

I'm off to play a little Ingress with some of my teammates out this way today,so I'll leave you with a few highlights from the last two weeks.