Annnnd........Relief

*sigh*
The sigh above, is not just a small sigh.
It's a sigh of intense reliefIt's a sigh of having endured months of trudgery and having finally pulled through.

I have a job.

Yes. The other day I went for an interview with a company (who's name I won't disclose, but what I will say is it works with manuscripts put together by senior figures in certain circles). Of course I was terrified. So many times these last couple of months, I've either not quite reached the interview stage, or have been refused a second interview. I've been unemployed for nearly three months now and two months is usually my limit as by then I begin to loose my motivation and get extremely bored not working.
When the confirmation of interview came through, I put a hell of a lot of research not only into the company, but the online system the company uses. When I got to the interview itself, rather than being told what the company does and what my role would be as previous ones have done, I was asked what ideas I had about what the company did.
This is where I rolled off a hell of a lot of information I hadn't realised I'd picked up. The look of surprise when I told them all I knew about the company, computer system and getting pretty much everything spot on provoked such looks of astonishment from both of them, I couldn't help feel smug. As the interview progressed, I began to freak out a little. I kept my cool, but I felt I wasn't answering the questions to my advantage. I then went on to really lay into them that I really really really really wanted this job as it's pretty much exactly what I've been looking for. I left them knowing, not thinking, that I wanted it.
I was surprised to hear that I'd be taking tests as I hadn't been told previous, but then I figured, if I excel in doing the tests that'll prove that I can adjust myself quickly to their working environment.

Then yesterday, I think, I got a call from the recruitment company. Every call I've received so far from companies have been negative so I knew something was different by the tone of her voice. She must have realised her excitement was about as obvious as being beaten in the head with a brick, so she replaced it with a smoother, cooler voice...told me the news...then I think I proceeded to deafen her by squealing like a 14 year old at a McFly concert (I would like to point out now that that's just an example and I'm not a fan of that particular band lol)I then apologised for behaving in such an undignified manner to which she laughed and congratulated me.

ANyway. I beg pardon for laying so much on with the details as I intended this to be much shorter, but as I'm sure you can imagine, I'm extremely happy. It hasn't so much been a light jog for the finish line of job hunting but a crawl through thick mud of uncertainty. I've been hating these past couple of months feeling so disheartened by rejections, that I'd hit below rock bottom (with a pickaxe and a bottle full of GARH!!).It's not been an easy ride, but God it's been worth it. The role in only temporary, a kind of test to see how I do. But I intend to prove to them I'm worth having been taken on by them permanently which is pretty much the point of this job.I would relate my emotion through written word, but I don't think my computer or my blog could take the squeeing and exclamation marks. Let's just say, all my motivation came flooding back and, putting it to good use, I blizted the entire house and it's now nice and shiny.

Well, that's one New Years resolution down...about 5 or so more to go. This is the first New Year's resolution I've actually pulled through with I'd have to say mine for the coming year are:
1 - get a new job
2 - get a new place for Jan
3 - try and maintain a tidy place
4 - write more
5 - draw more

Of course there are a couple of others, but we'll cross those bridges when reached

*sigh*

I'm on a roll this month...

It really is quite remarkable the difference this mouth guard has made. Have been wearing it for...what...a few days and already the difference is massively noticable. I've stopped waking up with my jaws aching, feeling grumpy and lathergic.
I've started drawing and writing again, I've got the energy to do things and I'm feeling in a much better mood of late.
Last night, for some reason my mouth developed a little trick, enabling it to actually remove and spit out the guard whilst I was asleep and completely unaware (like having a petulant child inside me refusing to believe I wouldn't let it grind it's teeth) as I woke up this morning without it and had to give it a good scrub after Tom found it under the bed. Ew.

Also, despite not getting both the interviews I went for, I've learnt from the experiences BUT I've also got another possibility on the pipe line. It's tiny, but it's there.
The recruitment company which got me my first permanent job at Hay House sent me an e-mail with another job, essentially what I'm looking for, asking if I was interested. I wrote back as soon as possible with all the details with a massive yes.
Fingers crossed something will happen with that.

Third time lucky eh? I have to confess I was starting to feel disheartened today at the prospect of going the three weeks of this month without a sign of anything, but it's nice to have a hint of hope pop up with most needed.

Lasting results

As stated in Tom's comment in my previous entry, the mouth guard worked a charm after the first night's use. As it's impossible to grind teeth wearing that piece of plastic, I didn't which means I didn't tense my face all night, which means I woke up in a much better mood, something Tom pointed out to me as soon as he saw me wake with a huge smile on my face.
That and my dreams weren't infested with intensity and nerves.

Another bonus is that if I don't spend 8 or so hours grinding my teeth every night with no stopping, it should reduce the amount of time I spend grinding my teeth during the day, which has a lasting effect on my mood as well as my teeth.
It's surprisingly hard to stay calm and happy when your jaw and face is tense from 'comfort' chewing.

In other words, I think this mouth guard is possible one of the best things I've ever purchased and will save me a lot of angst in the future.