$ Again

I haven't worked in a year, thanks to COVID and school, and now I find myself going from no jobs to two jobs. Kind of.

As coronavirus cases shrink, vaccines roll out, and the world reopens, This Is the Place is reopening as well. They've been open on a very limited basis, but they're having more things reopen this year. I received an email about coming back. I told them I could start fully after May, or I could work there earlier if I had a quiet site where I could do class readings.

At the same time I received this news, my old boss from the Church History Library called me. He is a mission president right now, but he has been working on a book project, and he wants me to edit it! I told him I needed time to think about it, since school takes most of my time right now.

As I thought about it, I remembered that when I first started working for him seven years ago, I was in school then, and I was in school during my first internship. I also realized that my life has been rather unstructured last semester and this semester. If I am working, it will force me to stick to a schedule, which really will be better for my schooling. (Not as good for my exercising schedule, but as the days get longer, I will have more time for running.)

So I accepted the editing job! It is fun to be editing history again. I haven't edited since Sundance 2020, and that was a very different kind of editing. (In case you're wondering, this editing gig is not an official job, and it is not connected with the Church History Department or anything like that.)

I told This Is the Place that I couldn't start until May, since I'm doing editing. But it's still something that occupies some of my time. Yesterday we had an orientation meeting. It felt so familiar and satisfying to drive up there again after a year! 

There have been a lot of changes over the last year and a half. There is a brand-new visitor center, which we got to see before it officially opens. It was lovely and impressive.

Even the old visitor center has a new entrance. 

They have this amazing diorama of the entire park!

There is a special window for looking at the monument.

I will also have to keep going to This Is the Place for uniforms and other trainings. 

It is exciting to know that I will once again be making money from both jobs, which will fund my seasonal eating habits. I will miss all the free time I had last summer, but that sometimes got boring.

I just hope I can stay on top of all my schoolwork now with all these new responsibilities!