Vegas, Baby

I arrived in Las Vegas at the end of November and proceeded to job hunt immediately. However, shortly after my arrival, my Dad decided he was going to fly out to Hawaii. He needed to go and help my Mom pack and/or sell all of the belongings from the house we rented so she would be ready to move back home. However, this would leave my two younger brothers home alone. Two teenage boys with a house to themselves... Can you say frightening? So, my Dad asked, since i was currently unemployed anyway, if i could spend a few weeks in Brigham playing chaperon. Eh, why not, I had nothing better to do (well, other than find a job and actually be able to pay my bills.. but that's besides the point). Unfortunately, my car was also sitting in Brigham City. All alone, waiting for me to rescue it. My options of travel were looking like hitch hiking, or maybe stowing away on an airplane... Luckily i had some friends visiting Vegas around the time i needed to get back to Utah, so i ended up being able to catch a ride. Which was much appreciated. Hitch hiking wasn't sounding real appealing. I'm sure i could have found a ride, the question was more whether or not i would ever make it to my destination...

Needless to say, i made it to Brigham in one piece and spent the next few weeks there overseeing the teenage-ness.

Once i returned to Vegas my bank account was... well, bordering on non-existent. I needed a job ASAP. So, i decided to fall back on my trusty hotel experience. Knowing the Hilton computer systems makes it pretty easy to get hired at any Hilton property. I walked into the Hilton Garden Inn not too far from my house and applied, interviewed a day later, and was hired the day after that. As luck would have it, i had also posted on facebook that i was looking for a job in the Vegas area and an old friend happened to be in charge of human resources and hiring at a company working with individuals with disabilities. I interviewed there the day after interviewing at the hotel and within days of being back from Utah, I had too many jobs! Luckily i was able to work out a schedule where i could work at both jobs and still have a sliver of free time (a very small sliver).

Three months later, i am still working both jobs; my weekends are non-existent. I work from 7am to midnight every friday, saturday, and sunday. A schedule i am NOT upset about changing very soon. My second job on the weekends is working with three individuals in a residential setting. In other words, I am a glorified babysitter. It's been fun though, getting the know the guys and spending time with them. It's not bad (for the most part) as far as jobs go. It definitely has it's challenging moments, as one of the residents i work with is autistic and he is not always a joy to work with. When he gets upset or frustrated he tends to bite himself and hit or kick the walls, sometimes damaging the property. In such instances he has to be restrained until he calms down... Lucky for me he is about my height and only slightly bigger, otherwise restraining him would be impossible. Overall, it has been a great learning experience and I'm glad i have had to chance to work there. I am, however, ready to move on to something with more responsibility, something that might actually allow me to use my degree.

On that note, there was recently an opening that i applied for, working in the main office as the Behavioral Assistant. I was just hired and am currently working all three jobs until they fill my position at the house, but i am really excited for the new opportunity. I will be involved with all of the houses (there are about 25 in the Vegas area) and work with all the individuals in the program. I am working with the behavior specialist. They only have one and he serves ALL of the houses, which ends up being nearly a hundred guys. all. by. himself. He has definitely been in need of an assistant. One of his duties that i will be helping with is monitoring behavior patterns and implementing behavior plans. I think the new position will be a great opportunity for learning and gaining experience.

So far, Vegas has been treating me well. I can't complain about the beautiful weather we have been having. I've been soaking up the sun, while many of my friends have been braving blizzards ;) Although, i may have something to complain about this summer when we start hitting the triple digits...