Congratulations, Susan! Good for you. Best wishes - good luck, and be careful!

Suzieque

Congratulations! I'm sure you'll love it... but not the drive.. is it 45 minutes each way? I hope not.

Good Luck! Do you know anyone you can stay with if the weather gets bad? Leave a packed suitcase in the vehicle and if something blows in your set..unless you have animals at home that need to go out.

You'll love the job. Universities are wonderful environments for work, as you know, and the association with the students is great. I do worry about the commute. Make sure you have cell phone, flashlight, etc. in the car, and allow plenty of time so you are not rushing.

Congratulations...you have something extra to be thankful for tomorrow!

Susan

Good luck in your new job Susan. I hope you enjoy it. I know the feeling of having to drive in bad weather. It's no fun. And my older sister and her DH were taking DGD home the other night and hit a deer. Just what they needed (not).
Leslie

~Carol~

Good luck! I worked in a public library for a while and I loved it, I think if I were to choose a perfect job it would be working in a library.

Yes, 45 minutes each way. :-(

My DD used to live just a couple of miles from the school. But then they built that new house . . .

Plus I do have animals at home--two elderly dogs.

I'm glad I didn't start work two days ago. I would have been at work when the wet snow started coming down. The next morning the TV news showed pics of all sorts of accidents, including an overturned tractor-trailer.

With this job there's more pressure than usual to come in, because the only people to cover for me are those who have already worked eight hours and would be understandably reluctant to stay five more.

The pay is decent for around here (a famously low-paying area), but there are no sick days, no personal days, and no vacation days for several years. If and when I do get vacation time, I'll have to take it when the school isn't in session. I didn't realize how spoiled I was with my last part-time job, which offered all sorts of paid time off.

Thanks, everyone!

You go girl!!!!

Trin

Congrats Susan and I hope it's just your cup of tea!!

Great news Susan....wonderful environments those universities...love my job at the local one. Too bad about the commute tho'...but, you'll be fine and the weather will always be perfect, right? Break a leg,girl......

~Kathy~

Good luck. Hope all goes well.

Congratulations Susan. Good for you! I used to drive 42 miles (each way) to work, luckily on flat roads. One thing that I found that made the commute seem short (and something to look forward to) was listening to books on CD. I very rarely have time to read and my eyes aren't so good as they once were, and hearing those books on CD was just as good as reading. I felt like I really had read the books! That won't help the bad weather though. No 'reading' when the roads are bad 'cause you can get too wrapped up in the story and end up not paying enough attention to the road.

Congratulations! Isn't it nice when things work out? You will have to let us know how it goes

Good luck, don't worry a lot about the driving.

Funny you should mention that, Jel. I always have an audio book in the car, but I'm also always turning it off when I have to give some thought to what I'm doing. If I don't, what happens is that my driving doesn't suffer, but my listening ability does.

Oh, and I meant to mention that one factor in my concern about the commute is that I live out in the country (on a dirt road) where the severe winter weather tends to hit. If our local schools are closed, the township pretty much gives up on road maintenance. Meanwhile, down where the university is, the weather is likely to be much better.

Well, we shall see. I agree that it's not a good idea to worry about it. I'm trying to think of it as an adventure!

Susan - How are the tires on your car? Do you have a good amount of tread left? I'd hate to think of you driving on those mountainous roads without decent tires. Make sure your cell phone is fully charged too.

Oh gee- now I sound like my Mother - sorry Susan. You've lived there for 31 years I'm sure you know more about winter driving then I'll ever know.

Just have loads of fun at the library. It's the best place in the world!

Your concern sounded good, Mcmann. Nobody worries about me anymore!

My tires should be fine. I paid $200 apiece for them, so they'd better do the job! One of them is brand new, and the other three are semi-new.

I'll have to look at the box of "accessories" my DD gave me a couple of years ago. I think it has some flares in it. I'm good about keeping a flashlight in the car. And I keep a blanket (actually an old down coat) in the car, as well as a folding snow shovel--although I can't imagine myself shoveling for longer than 30 seconds. I should stick a pair of disposable foot warmers in the glove box. And maybe one of those "body warmers." At 6" square, it doesn't exactly warm the whole body. :-)

Susan, first, congratulations!

Second, Yes, stock up on the disposable hand/foot warmers. Also, pick up a sleeping bag that is rated for below zero temperatures and keep that and some snacks in the car. If you do get stuck, keep the tail pipe clear of snow before starting the car each time to warm up and only run it for a few minutes. And for water, be sure you MELT the snow to drink, don't eat it. I can't remember the reason, but eating snow doesn't work to keep you hydrated. After you have the car outfitted for the winter weather, don't worry anymore! Also, maybe get some sand or kitty litter to keep in the trunk for traction under the wheels if needed.

Tami

Hi alisande,

Congratulations! I'm sure you were selected from many candidates for the position. You must be thrilled to be the one chosen. Based on all my own cold feet at the start of new unknowns, you may be looking at the downsides rather than all the positives, but you will be seeing those shortly - including a regular paycheck :).

We know you will do well & will be pleased with ths new venture (despite road conditions (remember the days will start getting longer by the third week in January - that's what keeps me going.)

We're all pulling for you.

Kathleen

Sounds like a great job for you...Good Luck.....

One other thought, can you have someone on call, to care for the animals if you get detained? One less thing to worry about.
Congratulations. Sounds great.

Here's to a great first day, good weather, and that the job turns out wonderful. Good luck!

Hugs,
SadieSadie

Congratulations. I hope you love your new job.

Linda

You guys are so nice.

Tami, good to know cat litter can be used like that. I almost always have a few small bags of it in the car -- only because I usually buy it in quantity and I tend to be lazy about unloading all of it.

Kathleen, I was thinking about "cold feet" just this morning. I don't remember such resistance to change when I was young. This change--my new job--is definitely for the better. Not only do I need the money, but I'm aware that I also need more contact with people. Although I love the idea of living and writing in my old farmhouse, and do pretty well by myself, too much isolation isn't good for me. So you'd think I'd have no anxiety whatsoever about going back to work. Ha! Sad to say, I guess it's true that as we get older we find it harder to change our ways.

Foggy, my son lives only four miles away, so I could call on him to take the dogs out. I could also call on him to come pull me out of a snowbank. :-)

I second the advice about the sleeping bag and the snacks. Heavy coat, with hood.

Also a metal mug to collect snow and a candle (plus lighter) to melt the snow.

ole joyful

Good for you, Susan. That writer's brain will really be fueled up after spending all that time around the books!
Would I be totally off the mark here if I suggested that with your first paycheque you treat yourself to an auto club membership?
It sure takes the worry out of driving; if you had an incident you could snuggle up in your down jacket and munch on your snacks while you wait for help to arrive.
Hope you really enjoy the job!
Suzan J

Good idea, Suzan--I already have an AAA Plus membership. :-)

I've called them for flat tires, but the one time my 4x4 slid off the road and into the woods (on the route I'll take to work), I never thought to call them. Instead, I called my daughter, who arrived with a friend and his truck.

I guess I'm more worried about having an accident than getting stuck, although the latter has happened more than once. Normally, I prefer highway driving. But around here few people slow down for winter weather, and I'd rather be on sparsely-traveled back roads.

Thanks for the ideas, Ole Joyful. With my mug and my candle, I'm tempted to add a bottle of wine. :-)

Well, I'll be sure to keep you all posted!

Congrats and good luck!
I hope you have a mild winter. Also, I think with practice, your confidence with driving in winter conditions will improve.

Add a stocking cap to the list to keep in the car. It will help keep the heat in your body, just in case!

Tami

Congratulations!! Best wishes with your job. Here's hoping for good weather. I currently have a 45 minute commute each way, but I'm in a coastal area where winter weather isn't usually a problem.

If you don't already have all the items you need for an emergency kit, you might consider buying one of the packaged ones at Wal-Mart. I bought one for $30 - it has jumper cables, a first aid kit & lots of other things.

I'm still waiting to hear about my job. This is a notoriously low-paying area too, so I know it's great in an area like that to score a good job.