Looking Up from the Bottom of a Well

We're broke. Plain and simple. But, things are starting to look up.

One day two weeks ago, sitting in the Video Production office, I was stressing over finding a summer job. I had applied to God knows how many stores, restaurants, hotels, ect. And no one had replied. No one. Not a one. I was talking to my friend and coworker, Jess, and though I'm not sure what made me think of it, I said, "Wouldn't it be awesome to be one of those carriage tour drivers in the Historic District? Seriously, talking about history and playing with horses, what could be more fun?" And then it hit me. Just because I haven't seen a job posting ANYWHERE on the internet, it couldn't hurt to email one of the many and ask if they were hiring. So, I did. Instantly, I got a reply.

"Hey Kristen! We are always hiring. Why don't you come down to the stables for an interview?"

-Cara

My heart stopped. My one act of silliness, one act of bravery, whatever you want to call it; did I just land myself a job?

I did. I went in for the interview, and I loved my future workplace instantly. Not only are the stables less than a mile away from my home (biking distance!), but when I drove up the dirt road, a goat was staring at me. Just saying hi. I'm still not sure what his name is, but I pet him all the time now. A goat. I've never pet a goat before. He's adorable, with his alien looking eyes. And there are two beautiful dogs that love playing with me.  And two cats I just saw today. And a number of horses, of course. I've only really met about four of them so far, and they are such characters! And everyone I've met so far is really great. Cara, my boss, is awesome. She's a powerhouse of a woman (a single mom) and the kindest person.

It's day three. There is a month and a half of training before I get to go out on my own (fine by me, I've never worked with horses before!), which is most of summer. Today I got to practice driving the carriages around the historic district, Liz, a very sweet woman, teaching me. I sometimes forget which command to use and I need to learn not to be as jumpy as my horse (a semi passed us on the way back to the stables and Flinn, my horse, reared in fear and I almost screamed--oops), but things are going well so far. The funny thing is that I've got more of a handle on the history speeches than I do on the memorization of the harnesses and how to put them on and take them off. I'm not so worried, I mean, it's only my third day.

As fun as it is to sit in the sun (or shade if the roof is on the carriage) all day and listen to history, the process to getting my tour guide license is a huge process. I've got to pay to get a background check, a 7 year driving history, and a $100 test for the license itself. But I've got about 43 more days to it all. I've already started studying. Savannah has such a rich history that it doesn't feel like work, it feels like reading a really good book.

My biggest problem, by far is: what's going to happen once school starts again. Not only do I have an internship this Fall, but I'm going to be going back to video production and having a full school schedule. I really really want to keep this job, and told Cara that when she hired me. Though there is a night shift, it would seriously limit my availability for filming for my school job, not to mention seriously limit my husband and homework time. I would have dramatically less hours, but the money would still be good (and needed!). I'm really hoping that as the summer goes on I'll be able to iron our my schedule and work with Cara to find a way to keep working hours without killing myself, and still helping her company. Anyway, that's a future concern.

For now, I'm just basking in the Savannah sun, eating up the sights, and learning as much history as possible!