Well, I have now been at my new job for one week and three days. I’d say things are going pretty well. I’m starting to pick up on things and slowly, I am getting more responsibilities. This past Wednesday, I got to run a booth at the Career Fest job fair with two of my co-workers. It was pretty fun. From 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, I greeted students and told them about our website and how to use it. We were provided with a small breakfast, and a boxed lunch. It was pretty good, too. I was impressed. Because I had to shake a lot of hands, I made sure to keep slapping some antibacterial gel on.  I didn’t want to take a chance with all the germs I was probably touching. The only thing that sorta sucked was that my feet hurt toward the end.

This next Friday, I will have my benefit orientation. I’ll finally be able to sign up for health insurance, and I won’t have to worry so much about getting sick. I’ve been without insurance for a good long while now. Also, I’ll be able to start saving for retirement. I’ve never had a job that offered any type of retirement plans.

I wish I had something more exciting to write about, but other than working, I haven’t been doing a whole lot. I mean, I get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch some TV, and go to bed at 9:30 pm Monday through Friday. I don’t have a whole lot of time to get caught up in something blog worthy really.

This weekend though, Phil and I went to Lowes and bought the makings to plant some seeds for a little garden. We are going to try and grow some cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, snow peas, green beans, green peppers, and cantaloupes on his patio. If we run out of room on his patio, we will just move them to Phil’s house where his Dad has a yearly garden. I sure hope that the seeds germinate. I haven’t had a garden since I was about 8 years old.

Well, if I want to enjoy what is left of my Sunday, I better get. I’ll try to think of something interesting to write soon. I know reading about me sitting in front of a computer all day can’t be exciting for you.

Because I’m lazy, I’m going to post something I wrote for the Gamecock when I was in school instead of something current.

I had a friend that worked for the school paper. He knew that I was a horror fanatic and that I loved Freddy Krueger more than any childhood doll hiding in my closet. So, he came to me and asked if I would write a review for “Freddy VS Jason”, and I happily accepted. The following is what appeared in the paper. However, whoever edited it misspelled my name. They put an “E” on the end. Grr. That was how my professor’s name was spelled. People probably thought we were related and that I was advertising the class he taught. Hope you enjoy it.

When Titans Collide

by Gabrielle Cooke

In a clash of horror-industry titans, a reign of terror stretching over two decades has come to a carnage-filled climax on the big screen. After championing their genre with a combined total of more than 15 films, Freddy and Jason, two tenacious and seemingly undefeatable villains, have finally come together to face one another in the ultimate horror film showdown.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in the right corner, weighing in at 160 pounds with a record too terrifying to mention, from Springwood, Ohio, we have dream terrorist Freddy Krueger. And in the left corner, weighing in at a hefty 250 pounds with a history of slaughtering sexually driven teens, from Camp Crystal Lake, New Jersey, sits “Friday the 13th’s” silent but deadly stalker, Jason Voorhees.

Such an introduction is just one of the many images moviegoers have envisioned since New Line Cinema began advertising its new horror film “Freddy vs. Jason” a few months ago. But for thousands of horror fans out there, this match was likely imagined even before the first hint that these two might collide was revealed in 1993.

In “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday,” Freddy’s signature glove reaches up and pulls Jason’s mask down to hell. Since that fated moment, fans have eagerly waited for such a film, yet the road to its debut has been paved with countless rumors and false hopes.

The film was delayed by many factors, namely the fact that the horror icons were owned by two different studios. New Line Cinema held the rights to Freddy, while Paramount Pictures laid claim to Jason. “Freddy vs. Jason” might have materialized a lot sooner if the two studios could have come to an agreement when “Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood” was made. The film was originally intended to include the long-awaited match-up. In 1992, New Line bought the rights to Jason and promptly made “Jason Goes to Hell,” where it slipped in a glimpse of what was to come.

In 1997, New Line officially proposed the idea, but the project was shelved for various reasons. After the release of “Jason X” in 2002, Bob Shaye, the president of New Line, confirmed that he had found the right script, written by David S. Goyer, and that filming would begin September 2002. The film was originally planned to be released on June 13, 2003, a Friday the 13th, but was pushed back to Aug. 15.

And so now, after all the hype, the anticipation, the fan frustration – is the film worth it? To some, yes. But before you hand over your $5.50, be aware that this film is not going to win any prestigious Hollywood awards. If you waltz into the theater expecting to be “moved,” besides the sudden jump in your seat, expect to be disappointed. One thing that should satisfy most moviegoers is the amount of blood and gore. Seemingly, there is not a single orifice of Freddy’s or Jason’s that does not ooze blood in this film.

The most popular question is, of course: Who is going to win, Freddy or Jason? And who else better to ask than the horror genre guru himself, USC professor Bill Cooke, who teaches the class 100 Years of the Horror Film.

“Fans of both Freddy and Jason are liable to come after me with finger blades and machetes if I don’t pick their favorite,” Cooke said. “While I always preferred the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ series to the ‘Friday the 13th’ series, I found myself pulling for the underdog Jason.”

And in the end, is Jason the victor? “I won’t give away the ending of ‘Freddy vs. Jason,’ but they found a way to satisfy both camps,” Cooke said.

If you are a horror fan and “Freddy vs. Jason” leaves you wanting more, you might want to sign up for Cooke’s class next spring.

“My goal is to present as complete a picture of the horror genre as I can – to cover, in roughly chronological order, the trends and the talent behind and in front of the cameras,” Cooke said.

The course was also offered last semester and became a student favorite.

In addition to teaching film studies courses, Cooke has written and directed two feature-length movies, “Campfire Tales” (1991) and “Freakshow” (1995). Both are available on DVD. Also, he is a regular contributing writer to “Video Watchdog,” the perfectionist’s guide to fantastic video.

Hopefully, “Freddy vs. Jason” will not be the last film for the feared duo we have all grown to love. Cultural icons like these two tend to slowly fade from the silver screen only to reappear when you think they are down and out for the count. And so the rumors and the waiting begin again. Maybe this time we won’t have to wait so long for round two.

Ugh.

I have a job. I do. I just don’t know when my first day on that job will be. I was initially told that I was going to start on February 1st. Then that date got pushed back to a possible 6th start. Yesterday, I was informed that all of the paper work was in order and was being passed(mailed rather) down the line. The person I was speaking to on the phone said as soon as that was all taken care of, then I could start. But she didn’t give me a date. All she said was that she would give me a call and let me know.

Ugh

Oh, the title of the post is referring to what used to be a high school on USC’s campus. At least that was what I was told once. The school was of course called University High School. It closed down a long, long time ago.

The reason why I can’t bite beef jerky anymore.

People always say that once you’ve been offered a job, and you’ve accepted it, a half a dozen more will be laid at your feet.  Since being offered the job at USC(University of South Carolina) on Friday, I have been offered two different DSS(Department of Social Services) positions.

One was a Human Services Specialist in the food stamps department and the other was also a Human Services Specialist working in the Adult Protective Services department.  The one in the food stamps department only offered $20,248 a year.  I probably only would have taken that one if there were no other offers at the time.  The one in the ADS department was offering $28,000, a fairly nice sum of cash, but I don’t know how much I would have enjoyed old people with dementia trying to fight me.  I am all about helping people, but I don’t know how long I would have been able to do that.

USC hasn’t gotten my background check back in yet.  That should be coming in in the next fews days.  Once they get it, they will give me a definite start date.  I’ll be curious to hear whether or not I got the Blue Cross Blue Shields job.  I don’t really want it, I just want to find out what the salary is for the position.  They didn’t tell me in the interview and it wasn’t listed on their site either.

Well, I better get back to my cross stitching. I want to have this done before I start working. I’ll try thinking of another interesting China story.

I’M SO EXCITED, AND I JUST CAN’T HIDE IT!!!

I’M ABOUT TO LOSE CONTROL, AND I THINK I LIKE IT!!

Are you sitting down? Well, if you aren’t, plop your butt on a chair or a couch or something that has a surface. Float if you can. I don’t care.

I’ve been wanting to say this for a very, very, very long time, and today, I finally can.

I’VE GOT A JOB!!!

Go ahead, read the last sentence again, just in case you missed the key words. That’s right, I’ve got a job, and the best part is that it is the one job I really wanted. I can now shout from the roof tops that I am now an employee of the University of South Carolina as a Human Resources Specialist. That is of course, God willing, that my SLED background check comes back clean. There is no reason that is shouldn’t, but my friend Shaun said that a long time ago he got arrested and told the cops he was me. Since I know that was him just being funny, I know that come February 1st or 4th, I won’t be sleeping in like I’ve become accustomed to. Instead, I will be in pretty business attire, trying my hand in the employment office.

I’m so excited, I really am. When I got the call,I knew it was the University calling because my caller ID gave me the prefix of 777. I closed my eyes and said, “Please, God, let this be good news.”

The woman, who is soon to be my supervisor, I think, didn’t come right out and say that I had the job, so I thought it was going to be bad news. I couldn’t read her voice at all. And then those magical words filled my ears. “We would like to offer you the position.” I probably sounded way too excited. “Are you serious?!” I said. She informed me that she was, and I started screaming internally and jumping silently up and down on my couch.

When I closed my phone, I literally screamed, and then I cried, and then I screamed some more. And then I reopened my phone and started calling every human being I knew.

I’ll close this in saying thank you to all of those who wished me well. I really appreciate it. Now, I can start writing my own version of “The Office”. 🙂

As I see it, I am the closest to landing a job since I first started looking in September.  I had my second interview with University of South Carolina today, and I think it went about as well as it could have. It was a rather interesting interview.  I met the woman I had my initial interview with and she drove me to the office where I was to meet the person who would be conducting my second interview.   It was a first for me, having someone drive me to another location.    It wasn’t very far.  We just had to drive a few blocks down the street.  Basically, she wanted this second person to talk to me and the other remaining candidate before she made her final decision.  We talked for about 50 or so minutes about my strengths, weaknesses, why I wanted the job, a little about my past jobs, a little about my China experience and a few other odds and ends.  He had me sign a few documents.  You know, the one that says if you get hired and we find out you lied, we’ll fire you, and we are going to do a background check on you, if you are hiding anything, we’ll found out about it!  Heh, I’ve got nothing to hide. I have a blog for crying out loud.  🙂

Yesterday, I went and had my interview at the Agape English Language Institute.  The guy is not even sure whether or not he will need someone, but if he does, he’ll find out in the beginning of March.  It would only be for 21 hours a week and he may be able to pay up to $15 an hour.  If you do the math, that would be $16,380 a year before taxes.  I just don’t know if this option is going to work out or not.  Plus, I don’t think there are any benefits.  If it was a full time position, it would be a completely different story.  Also, he asked me a question that I have never, ever been asked in an interview.  He asked me what my religion was.  I wanted to say, hey, that’s illegal, you can’t ask me that.  I really didn’t care though.  It didn’t offend me or anything.  I just thought it was a very awkward question.   I told him that I was raised Christian, and then he wanted to know what denomination I was.  I said that I was a Baptist and thought his religious questions were over, but no, he wanted to know if I had a church home in the area.  I was like, gees, do you want to know when I was baptized, too?  He was asking all of these questions because he wants all the students to be surrounded by people with good values and morals.  That’s understandable, but that question is still illegal!  Grr.

I haven’t heard back from any of the DSS locations or Blue Cross Blue Shields.  I guess I’ll hear from them one way or another soon.  I feel really good about the USC position though.  I haven’t felt this positive about a job yet, so maybe it’s a sign or something.  I’ll supposedly find out next week who they chose – me or the other girl.  I’m gonna attach my phone to my hip and jump each and every time that it rings.  If I get the job, I’ll start either February 1st or 15th.  Things are looking up, though, I guess.  Now, if only things will fall into place.

Well, sushi is calling, I better get going.  Thank you all for your words of encouragement and good wishes.  I appreciate it.  One of these days I’ll get a job, and I’ll be able to change the title of these posts to Update: Employed.  Heh.  That would be nice.

Ok, lets see. What has happened since my last update?

Well, for one, I got a call from Blue Cross Blue Shields, and they wanted me to come in for a professional writing test. I applied for the position of Instructional Writer I some time ago, and I guess they just wanted to make sure I knew my stuff before they decided to even considered me for the position. Fair enough, I guess. The test wasn’t too bad. I had to write one business letter and a memo in a forty minute time frame. Since I have never really written a business letter or a memo in my entire life, I doubt I got points for structure. In the grammar and spelling department, I probably did pretty well. I may not be a perfect English major, but there are a few things I learned in college that refuse to leave me. If you have anything drilled into your brain for four years, it is hard to forget it.

Supposedly, I will hear from them in a week or so. That is when they will tell me whether or not I passed, passed with training, or out right failed. If I pass, I guess they’ll ask me in for an interview and then we will go from there. I think it would be funny if I ended up working for the same company as Phil. If they call me up and tell me I failed, I am going to cry myself into an eternal slumber. I mean, if I can’t pass a simple writing test . . . well, I’d rather not go there. Just keep your fingers crossed for me.

The day after my writing test, I had an interview with the Lexington DSS office. This one is much closer than the Eastover office – 28 miles closer – but the salary is much lower – $8,574 lower. I knew that before going, but I figured considering my current position, I should at least go and talk with them in order to keep my options open. It’s an entry level position, so at least there would be a ladder to climb. While I was there, I did take note of the bars at the reception desk and how every single one of the doors in the building were locked. All of the staff members have a key on this pull cord around their neck. One of the women I was sitting beside said, “I think someone went off.” I just nodded my head. Something must have happened. They should make a decision by the end of this week.

Last night, I got an email from a school called Agape English Language Institute. They are located right here in Columbia, and they teach English to foreign nationals. They are a pretty small school, but they finally may need a new teacher beginning in March. It sounds interesting. I’ve yet to actually sit down and talk to the guy who may or may not hire me, but at least now there is a possibility that I could end up teaching English again.

And lastly, I got a call just a few hours ago from the University of South Carolina. The woman wanted to let me know that I was in the top two for the position I had interviewed for before Thanksgiving. This is the Human Resources job if you are trying to keep up. She said she still had to contact my references and that another guy wanted to speak to me before she made her final decision. She said that she hopes to have the position filled by February first. Maybe she will make a decision sooner.

And that is pretty much it for now. All I got to say is that I never want to have to look for a job again. It is one big pain in the ass.