Monday this week I got two phone calls – one was to schedule my interview with the University for my Masters Program, and the other was to schedule a job interview. On Tuesday I got another phone call for a job interview with a different organization. If all goes well, I could be stepping into full-time work AND my master program at the same time!

Today’s the day. I finished the draft of my writing sample for the master’s program application yesterday and will be polishing it up today and dropping it in the mail. In some ways it feels like a small thing, and in others, it feels like a huge leap. Working on it has confirmed that I’m really looking forward to going to school again, and I really believe it’s the right step for me to take.

I had the opportunity to meet with Derek again yesterday. I feel very fortunate to be working with him! When I went in I couldn’t help but wonder, “What does a financial planner do when there are no finances to plan with?” I was prepared to hear him tell me all the ways in which I should cut back even further, but that wasn’t his approach at all.

When I was hired, I was told that it’d be a part-time position and a temporary one at that, because it slows down in the fall and winter. So even though I knew there’d be no guarantees, at least it was a job and a starting point.

Over the past few months, I’ve continued looking for a full-time, permanent position -- even had a couple of interviews -- but no luck yet. My background in administrative jobs, although extensive, is also fairly generic. Combined with my entrepreneurial experience, which employers don’t tend to like to see, and the economic challenges, the job hunt hasn’t been going well.

And now, I’ve been told I'm being laid off.

As you know, I'm looking for a job. It’s really frustrating to look at! I had applied for a position that I thought would be great -- it was a coaching position with a company that works with college students. It didn’t work out.