Gainfully Employed

Last week I went out my resumes, and I will admit I wasn't very confident about it. I was hoping for a response, but I wasn't really expecting one. To my surprise, I was called by a dental office to have an interview today. The office is in Ramstein, which is an hour drive from where we live. The position I was interviewing for a part-time/fill-in hygienist. I wasn't trilled at the idea of having to drive an hour each way... but I was happy to find something to be a foot in the door, or something to keep me busy/out of the house, and something in my field to keep my skills sharp.

We've been battling colds at our house this past week. Our weekend was spent going between the couch and our bed watching movies and passing out with NyQuil. I've been feeling really tired... yet last night I couldn't sleep. After trying, unsuccessfully, to fall asleep, I turned on a movie and fired up my computer to pass the time. At midnight I was sitting in the dark eating CoCo Puffs watching Avatar. I would have been the perfect woman for some computer nerd somewhere out there. I woke up this morning from the classic "I'm late/I don't have enough time to get ready" dream. A sign that I did have some jitters about my interview.

For the first time in what seems like months, I blew my hair dry and curled it... and then put on makeup. It's not that I've completely "let myself go" since I've been in Germany, but the warmer summer had my hair up in a pony tail, and my lack of human interaction had led my makeup to be minimal. I ironed my clothes. Although Josh was exhausted, he stayed up and talked to me as I was getting ready. He also offered to cook me something or pack me a lunch every 10 minutes - a sign that there is a bit of a worried mother inside of all of us. When in doubt, feed the problem.

After checking (for the fifth time) to be sure I had everything, I finally got into my car and fired up the GPS. I know how to get to Ramstein, but I wasn't sure where exactly the office was. From our house there are a few ways you can get to the Autobahn, but I wanted to take the easiest (read: not a country road) path. The GPS seemed to fight me on this... It kept trying to tell me to make a U-turn as I was headed (in the right direction I may add) to the the Autobahn. To get from our area to Ramstein, it is pretty much a straight shot. You get on one Autobahn, then later shift onto another. Not a big deal. However, my GPS for some reason tried to have me exit soon after getting on the Autobahn to cut across to a secondary highway... which would have basically had me drive an extra 40+ kilometers and do an unnecessary triangle just to get back onto the Autobahn I was already on. Proving again that our GPS always picks the most unreasonable path.

In typical fashion, I showed up for my interview early. Lucky for me I had prepared myself for this and brought along a book to read. When I couldn't stand sitting still any longer, I climbed out of my car and into the office.

The dental office is an office which caters to American military families. All of the staff is American and speaks English (so I fit right in). There are multiple dentists who work in shifts, so the office is open later and works on Saturdays. The office manager interviewed me, and then I met the head dentist of the office (although it wasn't all that formal). I then spent most of the afternoon observing and talking with one of the hygienists. She was showing me the ins and outs of how they do things, and showing me where things were in the office. It was helpful to get a better feel of the overall office. At the end of the afternoon the office manager asked me if I wanted to work in their office, and handed me a hygiene contract. The hygienists working at this office technically aren't employees, they are contractors. Um. Sure, whatever. Doesn't matter to me... I don't get any benefits and I get paid. Sounds great. I filled out/signed my contract... and they asked me to start work on Saturday. Well, okay then. For now I work only "as needed" to pick up days people don't want or to fill-in when someone is sick... however I already have 4 days to work in October (just picking up days from one hygienist). I'm crossing my fingers it turns into more.

My interview started at 1:30, and I left Ramstein around 6. It was easily the longest interview I have ever had. Although I felt okay about finding my way back home, I turned the GPS on just in case (I once drove to Ramstein to go shopping with a friend, we missed our exit, and had quite the time figuring out how to get back home). I was almost home when it told me to exit the Autobahn not in the place where I was planning to exit. I was thinking the GPS was wrong... but... I wasn't sure... so I exited. The GPS did lead me home, but instead of taking me on the nice, straight, high-speed Autobahn it took me winding through unkempt country roads. EFF. The important thing is I did make it home safe. However, the GPS was threatened to be thrown out the window more than once today. I did seriously consider doing so more than once.

I am, happy to announce, that I am once again gainfully employed. And now, I have the fancy title of "contractor."