Little by Little, but Come On Already

Ever since we came to Katzrin neighbors have asked us how we are settling in. I would tell them what we were up to and they would inevitably respond, "le'at le'at" (little by little). And this has proven to be true of our aliyah. Some things have taken longer than we anticipated, but we are getting settled. Here in katzrin we have a nice house with our stuff and most of the essential furniture. We have joined a wonderful community and have made friends. Netanel is excited to go back to gan in a few weeks (me too) and Odeliya is doing well also. Yitzchak was born (you can read that account here: http://ayelet-wholebodybeauty.blogspot.com/2009/07/why-even-doulas-need-doulas-and-other.html) and is doing great.

But seriously now, I never thought that finding a job would have taken so long. I've been networking since we got to Israel (even before). Once we found Katzrin I began looking for something in that area. There have been very few bites. The problem is that I am underqualified and overqualified at the same time. It seems that I am a jack of all trades and people want "someone with more experience", or with experience in ONE thing only. Communication skills are not seen as a plus, and multi-tasking seems to be frowned upon. Everyone in hi-tech is looking for programmers or people with 12 years experience and everyone else tells me to work in hi-tech. I was about to take a minimum wage job as a start.

But then I saw something on Jobshuk.com. It actually came right to my email. I applied to be a virtual assistant. working from home and doing stuff I am good at. I heard back the next day and interviewed to be a Business Process Specialist. This is essentially the same thing that I was doing with The Organized Office right before we moved, except I was calling myself an Efficiency Consultant. I like BPS better. This all happened during Ayelet's start and stop labor and right after Tzachi's birth. Everything went well and I was (am) all set to start. But this company is in the middle of a big expansion and they told me they need 2 weeks to work out the specifics of hiring several new BPS people. I certainly understand taking the time to do things right, but I was so close to gainful employment.

I am also still following other leads, but it's hard. That position seems perfect for me. I got really excited about the work and I resumed marketing myself for that kind of work as a free-lancer and looking for other jobs as well. So we'll see what happens. I am trying to stay positive, but being so close to something great is really frustrating. I am trying to figure out the lesson here. I've been looking for the right opportunity and I thought this was it. What is God trying to teach me here? Am I destined to start at the very beginning? Should I hang it all and go out on my own? I don't want to spend 3-6 housr a day marketing myself. I hate that. I know what I can do and I do it very well. So what's going on. Maybe the lesson is "le'at le'at," just a little but more patience.

Oh right, I am trying to stay positive. So I'll end like this: I am grateful to God for my (mostly) healthy family, my nice house, new mother's helper that is like a Godsend, lovely community, and so much more. I am open and ready to accept opportunities to use my skills to help others and be fairly compensated in return. I am ready to give back to Israel and be a producer, not just a consumer. I am also ready and open to anyone interested in buying a nice house in New Jersey that happens to have my name on the deed. It's not mine anymore, so someone else should please claim it.

I wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom and a great rest of August.

And the Insanity Continues

It's 12:20 AM and I should be sleeping. Our house has quieted down now that the visiting family members have left. We miss them. Chaviva, a friend from the Merkaz Klitah has come to help out while she gets settled up North. She is starting a program nearby after the chagim. This is great becasue Netanel is finished with camp and has a month off (well now it's only 2 weeks). This week Odeliya is home from her gan, which runs through this week) with bronchitis. Last night was tough.

To add to the craziness, an old friend of mine is crashng tonight and other friends are coming up tomorrow. Soehow, in the midst of all this I expect to spend a few hours a day at the computer looking for work and taking care of other administrative matters. Also I plan to keep getting the house set up. I'm not crazy, just determined. Also, I expect there to be news on a job withing the next week or two.

So that's why Chaviva has been amazing. Also, Ayelet is feeling better and is up on her feet and doing more. She still takes it easy. We're going onthe advice given by her midwife from Odeliya's birth: "Take it easy for 6 weeks." So she's not pushing herself too hard.

So now that you've been updated, I am going to sleep. Hopefully more will be coming very soon.

Good night.