February 3, 2015

Weekend Wrap Up and Career Indicision

It was a 3 day weekend for us over here in Japan thanks to the holy grail of football season...THE SUPERBOWL! We watched it at home since it came on so super duper early on Monday morning here in Japan but there was fun, family and snacks and alcohol (even at 7am haha) Before we get to that let's get through the rest of the weekend

If you follow me on instagram then you already know that Friday was our first real snow day in Japan! They had been talking about the snow all week but since the weather forecast said that it would never get below 45 degrees we never thought it would really stick. We were wrong! It snowed all day and stuck just enough for us to enjoy the view from our windows and play in it.


We played inside during the day because Logan was adamant that daddy couldn't miss his first Japan snow fun but when he got home.......boy was it fun!

There was an epic snowball fight

 

I got photo bombed and ambushed by Logan during my winter wonderland picture (RUDE!)



and then I got a snowball right to the eye courtesy of my wonderful husband. Don't worry there was a massive amount of payback
 
Overall it was really fun and a good way to spend an hour outside with my guys
 

Once we got inside and took of our jackets the boys didn't rest for a minute before they started building. Logan loooooves spending time with his dad now that he is home and they are always building Lego towers and homes.


I was pooped from running away from snowball attacks so we went our regular Friday night dinner on base and then headed home to put Logan to bed by 8 so we could catch the new The First 48 episode on A&E haha

Saturday and Sunday were very laid back and boring days for us. Logan hasn't been sleeping well at all and has basically decided that he is only going to sleep in his bed if I sleep with him (in a twin bed and it's not working out well for me) and if I don't he hops into our bed around 11 and basically takes up the entire bed. Sleep hasn't been going well for me

Monday was of course THE SUPERBOWL! I am a Titans fan by marriage #TitanUp but I love Marshawn Lynch and like the Seahawks so I was rooting for them. I almost cried in that last minute. I was so devastated for them an their fans. The halftime show was awesome and even Isaac was glad that Missy Elliot came on! Logan loved the fireworks and I loved the songs lol The only crappy thing about watching it in another country is that we watched in on AFN which means we had NO COMMERCIALS!!!!!!!!!! Don't worry I am planning to look them up on the internet today

After the super bowl I headed to the education center on base to have the dreaded conversation about my future. The fact that I have had a shot at 2 careers, left them both to be a SAHM and now I will be 28 this year and have no idea what I want to do with my life is really bothering me. I love being a stay at home mom but I also loved having a career so I am hoping that when we leave here since Logan will be 6 or 7 I will be able to go back. I took some time over this past month or two to try to figure out what I would love to do. I think in some capacity I would like to work in the healthcare industry but I'm also interested in Human Resources. In the Air Force I was a Maintenance Management Analyst so basically analyzing statistical data from flying hours to man hours to costs, making reports and giving briefings although that happened much less than the mundane adding up flying hours and reporting on aircraft issues. I have my B.A in Healthcare Administration but since I have some downtime here and a G.I just sitting there why not add to it? I decided some time ago that I wanted to get a degree in Communication Studies. That would help me if I ever decided to try to grow my blog into something, maybe go into media at some point but it is also broad enough that it can boost my healthcare administration degree or help me go into another field if I would like (such as HR).

My realistic job would be to become an office manager of a private practice, my dream job would be to become a SVP of Human Resources or Patient Services at a major metropolitan hospital and my not ever gonna happen just for fun if I could be anything in the world dream job would be to become an entertainment news anchor (Like Jillian Barberie from Los Angeles or be on something like GMA) 

 If you know me personally then you know that going back to school is a huge deal for me because I despise going to school. I am not ever very focused when I go and I tend to "phone it in" but I am hoping to change that this time. Here is a little bit of my school history...

I got my Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare Administration in 2013...and that took 5 years of off and on attendance.  I used the excuse that I was active duty military and I was busy and then I used the excuse that I was a newlywed and then the excuse of I had a baby. I finished and then even though I have always been interested in working in the healthcare industry outside of being a nurse or physical therapist there weren't very many opportunities in the area we lived after leaving the military. I was very lucky and got a job as a Banking Center Manager at Bank of America with no banking experience but they liked my leadership skills and the fact that I did indeed have a degree. I enjoyed that career but thanks to an unaccompanied PCS for Isaac and 12 hour days most of the time with an hour commute I wasn't able to keep that career. (Right before we moved away I got a call to interview for dream job which was the Director of a Residential Care Facility but we had already set the wheels in motion for the move and it was too late to stop)

After a few months of being a SAHM I decided to apply for graduate school and was accepted into a MBA program which I later changed to a Master of Science in Management program. I went to school for my masters degree for about 5 months but being a single mom of a 2 year old and trying to stay sane, maintain my relationship with my husband 6000 miles away and keeping Logan busy I became overwhelmed. I stopped going to school and I was so sad. I felt like a quitter.

 Moving to Japan I knew that my school opportunities would be limited. They only have Masters degree programs through University of Phoenix but it turns out they may be leaving and it would turn into a 100% online program. They have Associates degrees through Central Texas College but I don't need one of those and lastly they have University of Maryland: University College Asia Division. They have both Masters and Bachelors degree programs but only offer Bachelor classes on base (since phoenix has the claim on masters programs) So those were my choices if I wanted to ever go back to school in the next 3 years.

I couldn't really commit to starting a Masters program that would end up 100% online because I think I need the face to face motivation for at least 1 class. with that being said I decided to get a 2nd Bachelors Degree in Communications Studies from University of Maryland: University College Asia Division!!



oh I also decided that since I am here and I have always wanted to learn another language besides English and the Spanish you learn from growing up in Southern California and 3 years of H.S classes why not throw in a certificate of Japanese Studies and learn some Japanese an about the history and culture of this beautiful country we live in. I don't know how or if it will help me in the states but its cool and free haha

So looks like beginning Spring 2 session, March 16, I will officially be a student again getting a 2nd Bachelors degree in Communication Studies and a Certificate in Japanese Studies.

That was my uneventful and possibly life changing weekend. How was yours?! DO you have any career or school advice for me? I would love to hear it so put it in the comments below!

Click here to see what awesome ladies I'm linking up with today

1 comment:

  1. It is hard being a grown up sometimes huh? Just the other day I was talking with my husband about this and sometimes it would be nice not to have to make all of these big decisions. I had a a friend that is in England now, but had been stationed in Japan right before that. What a fun chance to experience a totally different culture for a few years.
    Glad you linked up with the #bestoftheblogosphere

    ReplyDelete