For the first 50 years of my life, my perfectionist self mistakenly believed it was all about knowing more, getting it right, planning, attempting to prevent bad things from happening, and keeping all of my chicks in a row. It took me this long to discover that the JOURNEY is all that matters. This quote from Gilda Radner sums it all up:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
"


Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Kerry's First Job



Kerry has a job! 

Kerry will be graduating in May from the University of Vermont School of Nursing.  
She has been in the process of finding a job for the past few months.
In March,  I went with Kerry to Nashville where she had an interview with
Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

While we were there, we had 1/2 day to do some touristy things.

After checking into the hotel, we had lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.
We were greeted at the door by this very TALL girl (on stilts) with a hearty  
"How y'all doin today?"


We were seated and ordered drinks and lunch.



While we were waiting for our food, the TALL girl was talking to the women at the table next to us.  We overheard her saying she was from St. Albans. 
We wondered if there was a St. Albans in TN as well as in VT.
We joined in the conversation and discovered the TALL girl was actually a native of St. Albans, Vermont.  The people at the next table were from Vermont too.
When we told them we were also from Vermont, it was very odd. 

This was so strange!  It had to mean something!  
A good omen of something, maybe?
A Vermonter welcoming us to Nashville!

The TALL girl told us she had to learn how to speak correctly before she could begin her job.  It took her a while to say "y'all"  like a real southerner!  She also told us how much she loves living in Nashville and wished Kerry luck in her interview.



Wandering the streets after lunch, we noticed a lot of Jack Daniels souvenirs.


It was a very interesting little area, with one bar after another along the streets and the sound of country music coming from each open door.   The amazing thing was how really GOOD all of the singers were!


We stopped to listen to this young girl while we had an ice cream cone.  Her mother stood nearby watching.  She probably imagined herself a future Taylor Swift!




We walked by the Bridgestone Arena...


and went to the Country Music Hall of Fame.


We went quickly through the exhibits of the really old timers.  It started to get interesting when we saw Elvis Presley's gold limo and piano.


There were walls of gold and platinum records.


The displays of the more current country singers were more interesting for me.


Brad Paisley's guitar...

Keith Urban...

The dress Carrie Underwood wore when she won American Idol...


and Taylor Swift, complete with home movies.


After walking around a little more, we went back to the hotel.  

Kerry wanted to get a good night of sleep before her interview in the morning.
She had been preparing for this interview and had papers full of facts that she was studying before going to bed.  We ordered room service for breakfast the next morning so she could relax as she got ready to go.

I went with Kerry to the interview, but waited downstairs in the lobby. 
Afterward, she was given an iPod with a self-guided tour of the medical center.


The tour started at the Children's Hospital.



It was amazing!




The hospital was comprised of many different buildings, and I followed Kerry as she took the audio tour.

The grounds were just as beautiful as the buildings.  
There were plenty of areas to sit in peaceful solitude, 
away from whatever was happening
 inside the hospital. 



Kerry thought the interview went well - as far as she could tell.  
But they were interviewing 200 candidates for an undetermined number of positions.
It was hard to know exactly what they were looking for and what her chances were.


Things are so different in this time when social media is so prevalent.  There was a Facebook page for the applicants to join to communicate with each other.  Last week, Kerry read on Facebook about others getting wait-listed or rejected.  The following day, she sent us a copy of the email with an offer of employment!

The thought of moving all the way to Nashville was a little scary, but after much deliberation, Kerry accepted the offer with the support of her fellow classmates at UVM.  I know how hard it will be for her to leave Burlington because I felt the same way when I came to Hartford for my first job at Travelers Insurance Company many years ago.

But I had really good vibes when we were there,
 and I have a really good feeling 
that Kerry is going to love working and living there. 

After all, there was the omen.




Congratulations, Kerry!
















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