I HAVE A JOB!!!! (AGAIN)

So my stay at the last job lasted all of 2 months... eh.  Turned out he didn't need a legal assistant but a book keeper. 

Anyway, now I am working for a bankruptcy attorney and I have to say the job is quite interesting... thus far I enjoy talking to people on the phone and organizing people's lives into little boxes with numbers.  

Too tired to write much else right now - plus sore throat - which is making me tired. In the hopes that this one will last more than 8 weeks... I guess only time will help.  

Why is it so hard?

Writing a cover letter I mean.  Of course this means I am still looking for a job.  Per the recommendations of a few close ones, I've decided to beat the pavement and start asking around.  That in of itself is a nightmare of sorts.  I think the word "demoralizing" comes to mind. Hence, the cover letter issue.  I just wish it was easier than it is.  I mean if you think about it - who can't toot their own horn? Me apparently.  

Anyway, still looking for a legal assistant position.  

New Strategy

Here I am, just hanging out in my bed - writing about my adventures thus far.  Reminds me of scenes from Sex and the City, Carrie Shaw - except I am not so fortunate to own an overpriced apartment in New York City, or able to have get-togethers like Friends.  

Anyway, so today after much discussion and soul searching I've figured out a few things.  First, I can't didn't whatever the job in Gardena that I thought I should get.  Just like the first date shouldn't determine one's opinion of dating in general - so goes for temp agencies I think.  I wanted to work close to home and they wanted to send me to Gardena.  Ergo, I decided to sign up with different ones downtown - that have clients downtown.  I hope that I will be able to find a way to work in a steady stream.  Not to mention, I hope that I find the right niche for me.  Currently I am very interested in areas of law dealing with elders and animals. I know, not exactly the same sides of the coin.  But really, I think working on wills/trusts might be a good fit.  However, I have a law degree - not a paralegal certificate or legal assistant training.  I don't know where that leaves me, but for the time being, I figure I will simply have to hope that what I do know is enough to continue building experiences.  

So does anyone out there know of anyone downtown L.A. that could use a temp in that area? 

Beware of OSP Communications!

Here’s a new rant. Having just recently been let go from a job, I decided to do things that I had put off. For example, I scheduled all the doc appointments I had been putting off and looking over the pile of crap on my desk that needed to be organized.

Throughout this organization – I found my desk underneath the mess on it, and I discovered something in an old AT&T bill. It was listed under the section “The Billing Resource.” Basically, AT&T allows third parties to charge through them (I guess). So anyway, I had a “collect call” charge to my account from Van Horn, TX. “Billed on behalf of OSP Communications.” I will be disputing this charge when businesses open on Tuesday, but for the time being, I am simply livid that this happened. At first I was totally confused, until I looked at RipOffReport.com where if you click on the following you’ll see that these people have done it to others. CLICK HERE. 

I don’t know anyone from Van Horn TX, I can’t receive collect calls because my home line is only connected to a fax and I realize I should have checked over my bill sooner. Although ebills are more convenient, I am also finding it easy to simply pay it and not worry about the individual charges. So for what its worth, in this day and age when information (private or otherwise) is easily available to anyone, check everything – your credit, your bills, and your mail.

And the Meandering Continues

So, it turns out that veterinary technician school was not for me. Since my last blog - which I realize was written approximately 5 months ago, much has happened.  I volunteered at a vet hospital over the summer.  I don't quite know the reason for my thinking that it would be all about helping the puppies or kittens - after all it is a hospital and things die in hospitals.  

The thing is, I was having a problem with the euthanasia part of it.  I mean really, its okay, I get it if the dog or cat is like 20 years old, incontinent and can't walk without crying.  What about someone who is willing to put down their animal because they don't want to deal with it anymore? That is not okay.  I freaked out.  

So I have gone back to doing what I thought I could be good at - law office.  Not so my dear Watson.  Apparently, even there I can't seem to get my footing. After less than five weeks - I was let go, due to incompatible styles (nice way of saying I didn't agree with the bosses).  

Anyway, so now here I am, its Labor Day weekend and I am job-less.  I have posted my resume and the like online in the hopes that someone, who I can get along with will notice it, and my credentials and maybe offer me a job, preferably downtown, so I can be relatively close to home. 

Anyway, that seems to be the updates for now... not that anyone is reading this, but meh - it gives me a forum to vent and leave it. 

Welcome to my blog

I believe that my life has - meandered, sometimes without direction and other times with direction - but resulting in the need for a u-turn. Discovering that the best way to exorcise demons (so to speak) is to journalize the experiences and hopefully gain some feedback on them - I have begun this blog at a new juncture in my life.

To tell you a little about myself, I was born in a hospital in Flushing, NY. Initially there were only two children and then when I was nine, my second brother, Paul was born. The first nine years of my life I spent in various parts of New York City, Long Island and New Jersey. Being Korean, my mother did what all good Koreans parents do - and sent my older brother and me to Korean school. I distinctly remember thinking - "why do I have to learn this language? Its not like I'm ever going to need it." Well, six months after I made that comment, my brother and I boarded a plane to Seoul, South Korea and my mother stayed behind to have Paul.

Living in Korea had its ups and downs. I attended foreign schools and Korean schools. I learned Korean and cursive writing in English. I spent approximately 8-9 years in Korea. I graduated from Seoul Foreign High School and my parents decided that I would be best served to attend school in the United States. By this time, I had no experience or particular connection with the US. As such, I resisted the idea and truly wanted to attend a college in Korea. Looking back, I am glad that I made it back to the US after all. So, despite the fact that I am a US citizen, according to the people at FAFSA, I am out of state no matter where I go (no residence in the US) which resulted in me looking for a small school.

Small, Christian and in the middle of nowhere - that was my criterion. And that is how I ended up at Freed-Hardeman University. College turned out to be one of the best years of my life. I attended classes, went on missionary trips, made some life-long friends and even dated a few people. I graduated with Honors as a World Cultures major and Spanish & Missions minors. This basically meant - "So Sonia, what grad school are you going to?" It turned out to be one of those majors that one loves to have, but has practically no market value. They even took it off the official majors roster in my last year.


Everyone (meaning mentors and parents) thought it would be a great idea if I got in to law school. So, my mother, who had moved to California by this time, helped me move in with her and my brothers (my father remained in Korea) and I prepared for the LSAT. I made a decent score and applied to various school in California. Pepperdine and Loyola accepted me. I initially decided on Pepperdine but I had to wait something like 8 months to begin. In the meantime, I started a job at OfficeMax, working as a CopyMax associate.

During this period I dated a man much older then me and I at one point, thought we would be married. We met while I served as a missionary assistant in Korea during the summer after my first year of college. He was in the military and I was... well young. Anyway, suffice it to say, our relationship did not work out and instead he gave me the bright idea that I would do great in the military. By this point, I realized I truly did not want to go to law school. So I decided this would be a better deal.

I signed up with the California National Guard as a 97B. I figured I could do my part for God and country. During my training I busted an ankle and they decided that I was unfit for duty and discharged me. I have some good and bad memories of my military experience. However, the best thing that has ever happened to me happened while I was in - I met my husband, Gabe, in my unit. We met, dated for 5 years and then married earlier last year.

In the meantime, I decided to go back to law school. But this time, I chose Loyola Law School instead. I hated it. To be fair - I loved learning about the law and find ways to apply it often. However, with Gabe in Iraq at the time and realizing that I did not (nor ever wanted) to be an attorney, I had a miserable time in law school. The best part became my part-time job in the library. This helped me decide that I probably wanted to be a librarian. So, in my final year of law school, I took one class per semester at San Jose State University's library program. It seemed the logical way to incorporate my law school education and my love of reading.

But in another turn of events, I discovered that I found library work - monotonous. I accepted a job with my school's library after I graduated from law school. Perhaps due to the lack of cohesion with my co-workers or maybe due to the difficulty of maintaining an interest in things that began to bore me, I became very unhappy and depressed. Don't get me wrong, I got along very well with most of the staff. There were just a few persons who seemed to find ways to make my life difficult. Anyway, becoming very dissatisfied, this past Christmas, Gabe and I sat down and thought long and hard about what else I could be doing to have a more nourishing career...

Recently, about a year ago this month, we came upon a puppy (which I will have to post another time) and decided to keep him. We named him Zeus, and he is our baby. Having him reminded me that I loved pets very much. So, that is how we came upon the decision that I would probably be happier (and have a more interesting day) working as a veterinary technician. Thus, my meanderings this far have led me to this point. I begin the RVT program at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills, a week from today. My goal is to finish all pre-requisites for the program between now and the summer. Then, hopefully I will accepted into the program proper and be able to begin that in the fall. If all works out well, I will be done with the program in the Spring or Summer of 2009. At which point, I hope to begin a career in a mid-large animal hospital.

Hopefully, my posts will not always be this long. Just updates and perhaps stories that I do not mind sharing with the world. If you have any comments, questions or concerns - please feel free to post them. As you can see, it has taken me a long time to get to where I am - but hopefully that means that I will have a surer footing for the future.