Job Fair

We thought the showing of the condo was going really well at first because 3 people came to see it in the first week and a half. And Barbara said that one of the guys expressed interest but needed to check with his parents. However, we haven’t heard any follow-up on that guy, and no one else has looked at it since. I suppose I shouldn’t worry; it’s only been on the market 4 weeks! People are busy with finals and graduation and end-of-the-semester stuff. And Barbara said that most people go house-hunting during June and July.

Well, it may be better this way anyway. It looks like we may be staying all summer, the way the job market in Texas is. Rex went down to San Antonio a week and a half ago for the Northeast ISD job fair. It turned out to be more like the stock market floor; the place was packed like sardines and after standing in line at a booth for 15 minutes or more, the principal for that booth had no time to talk to individuals but only to collect resumes. Rex concluded that it would be just as effective, if not more so, to simply mail all his resumes to each school. Besides, no one was interested in him anyway because he’s not Texas-certified yet, and doesn’t even have an Oklahoma certificate in hand. He went down there expecting to get interviews at that job fair, and at the very least, the opportunity to make an impression introducing himself in person and collecting business cards. I even had confidence that he’d come home with a contract! But that was far from what happened. Apparently, in Texas, teachers have till mid-July to confirm or reject the renewal of their contracts, so the principals were all saying they had no openings at that time. While this was discouraging, the prospects of a job are not as bleak as they sound; they still expect to hire about 500 new teachers in that district alone! We just have to sit and wait.

Everything is a waiting game right now. We can’t get approved for a mortgage loan till Rex has a contract, nor can we look for a house till we know what area in which he will be employed; now it sounds like Rex can’t get a contract till July or August. However, while this would normally be extremely frustrating and demoralizing, Heavenly Father has blessed us as we prayed for calmness and reassurance that everything will fall into place at the right times. We have done all we can, and now we have to wait and let Heavenly Father do the rest.

Besides, staying here all summer would be the best option financially. We’d still be on food stamps and Medicaid, we’d have a pool and all the Norman parks, and most importantly, we’d have a meager income from Rex’s summer job at the Y.

After the disappointment from the last job fair, Rex was about to write off the Northside ISD job fair this weekend. But after reviewing the flier they emailed us a month or so ago, we noted that the afternoon was completely devoted to interviews! If he might have a chance for an interview, even if they are preliminary interviews and not for contracts just yet, he must make the 8 hour drive down there again.