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Nov. 17, 2006
Having the best time of my life! (Part 4 - Career 1B)
From there we moved to a smaller city where we could live on far less income and my husband could continue his education.
I started working for a temp agency while I looked for a permanent position. My first temp job was as a receptionist for a company that owned power plants. As I sat answering the phones those first few weeks, I had to hide my tears from those working around me. Constantly going through my mind was the realization that I had left my dream job of my own volition for this? During those months of temping for that company, I went on a few interviews for jobs that seemed more in keeping with my training and experience but none of them were offered to me. Before long, I had an offer for my temp job to go permanent.
I should have been happy. It was a very good paying job for that area. It was a subsidiary of the gas utility of L.A. and its pay scale was consistent with Los Angeles wages - far above what similar positions paid in that much smaller Northern California city. But I hated the work. I was miserable for the whole first year - after that I decided to make the best of it.
I took inspiration from my father. I had watched him turn an offer to teach a single class into a 17 year career and I knew very well that he had done it deliberately, constantly looking for new ways to make himself more valuable to his employer.
I was, because of my past experience, the reigning queen of computers in the office. It was the mid 90s and technology was advancing fast with constant upgrades in both hardware and software. I set out to learn as much as I could about both and I was able to add to my duties technical support services not just for our office, but the 3 power plants we administrated. I enjoyed my new expanded position so much that when the opportunity came to move up the ladder into an accounting position, I turned it down. Soon I was receptionist, tech support, and administrative assistant to a V.P. of the company and highest ranking officer in our office.
Though I did eventually come to find the work very enjoyable, the most remarkable thing about that job had nothing to do with the duties I performed but it was the people with whom I worked. I have never seen a finer team of just really wonderful people. These folks all worked under a fantastic leader who placed more priority on morale than production. The result was an environment completely free of politics that was so enjoyable that everyone did their best to contribute to the success of the company.
The day I resigned my position there, tears fell once again on that same chair behind that same reception counter. Five years and 2 kids later, I was ready to move to my ultimate goal of becoming a stay at home mom but it was very hard to say good-bye to those fantastic people.
It has been more than 6 years since I walked away from that office. Though most of that team has now moved on from that company, we have not lost touch. Our old boss hosts a reunion at his home each August and we all come from wherever our lives have taken us to spend a few hours enjoying each other's company. It was no ordinary job. They are not ordinary people. Those were the best years of my life.
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My Blog
A few years ago, when our oldest was 4 and her two brothers were both in diapers, my in-laws were a few days into a visit from their home 3000 miles away when my father-in-law noticed that the rug under the dining room table was in serious need of vacuuming. He is not prone to domestic duties (his wife is a great housekeeper) but seeing the need, he decided to try his hand with the Hoover. As soon as 'Grandpa' declared his intention to get out the vacuum, four little feet ran for the toy box to get vacuums of their own. We had one toy vacuum and we improvised a second from a 'popper' push toy. The baby, who was not yet walking, was right in the thick of things on all fours, never one to be left out. Grandpa, trying to maneuver the self-propelled 'Wind-tunnel' around the 10 foot rug while avoiding the table legs and dodging his three little helpers, remarked in exasperation, "I just wanted to clean the rug, I wasn't looking to start a three ring circus." Welcome to my life!
About Me
My name is Tiffany. I am a 39 year old mother of 4. My husband, John, and I planned to homeschool even before we married 17 years ago but it would be several years before our oldest would be ready to start on this journey. We had our children in alphabetical order, quite by accident at first, but once we got started, we figured we had to keep it going. They are Alyssa 10, Brendan 8, Chase 6, and Emily 3. Our 4th baby, D, miscarried at 13 weeks. We have no intention of making it to Z.
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Curriculum/Activities
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K4
Sing, Spell, Read & Write K
Saxon Math K
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K5
Sing, Spell, Read & Write 1
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2nd Grade
Pathway Readers 2
Bob Jones Math 3
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Beautiful Feet History
Apologia Astronomy
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Sparks-A-Rama
Brownie Scouts
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3rd Grade
Pathway Readers 3
Saxon Math 54
Abeka Language 3
Spelling Power
Beautiful Feet History
Apologia Astronomy/Botany
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Brownie Scouts
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Softball
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K4
100 Easy Lessons Reading
Saxon Math K
AWANA Cubbies
Floor Gymnastics
T-ball
K5
Sing, Spell, Read & Write K
Alpha Omega Math K
AWANA Sparks
AWANA Grand Prix
Soccer
T-ball
1st Grade
Sing, Spell, Read & Write 1
Pathway Readers 1
Bob Jones Math 1
ACE English/Word Building
Beautiful Feet History
Apologia Astronomy
AWANA Sparks
AWANA Grand Prix
Sparks-A-Rama
Soccer
Baseball - Silver Medal Team
2nd Grade
Pathway Readers 2
Bob Jones Math 2
Abeka Language 2
Spelling Power
Beautiful Feet History
Apologia Astronomy/Botany
AWANA Sparks
Soccer
Baseball
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K4
100 Easy Lessons Reading
Sing, Spell, Read & Write K
Saxon Math K
Beautiful Feet History
Apologia Astronomy/Botany
AWANA Cubbies
Soccer
T-ball
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No music at the moment
Enjoy the silence.
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Posted by John 
Nov. 16, 2006 - Untitled Comment