My Final Blog post for 2023

 2023 as come to an end and I'm ready for next year! 

The biggest thing for me in 2023 was being a substitute teacher again.

Actually, I made a soft return in November 2022 (while I was still working part-time at Macy's), but this year, I was all in.

As mentioned in the blog post from May 2023

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-school-year-i-returned-to-school.html

So January, I was back with Kelly Services. I also reapplied with another private sub-agency Hi-Employment. I had a short history with Hi-Employment, for whom I worked with in late 2018. I had a longer history with Kelly Services. (2012-2018). I left both at the end of 2018, to take the library job with Kalākaua Middle School.

By February, I was working with both Kelly Services and Hi-Employment. Kelly Services works with private & charter K-12 schools.  Hi-Employment does that plus the private preschools as well as some Head Start sites. 

Though the bulk of my career is with the public schools, I haven't worked with them this year. The problem is that the DOE (like other state agencies) takes too long with job applications (the private agencies do background checks much faster) and even worse, take longer to pay employees. With the private agencies, I get paid next week Friday. With the DOE (or any state agency), I have to wait until the following month for my paycheck. I'd rather not wait.

If the Hawaii state government decides to start paying employees the following Friday, I'll reapply with the DOE  ASAP! But sadly, the state government is FILLED with people who just don't want to change anything. Meanwhile, they're losing out on people like me who would love to contribute but can't be waiting an eternity for their paycheck. 

I love the flexible scheduling that comes with substitute teaching. I also love going from school to school and working with the different students in different environments.  

The worst thing about substitute teaching (and other gig jobs) is that there's no sick leave or vacation pay.

I had a 3-week illness (the flu, no covid) so that means 3 weeks of not getting paid. Stayed home and rest because I had low energy, but lots of coughing and mucus.  I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

This summer, I still had sub gigs at the various preschools. And this winter vacation, I'm subbing at a Head Start site. But the next vacation has no guarantee of a sub gig! 

I'm on the lookout for a more profitable, full-time job where I can thrive. 

However, finding a steadier job with better pay that matches my talents and my psychological well-being has been a major challenge for me.  

As noted in a blog post from earlier this year....

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2023/03/my-mental-health-career-development.html

I did some have good temp jobs in the past, the problem is that they're temp

Library jobs are a good fit, the problem is people don't want to leave those positions, and I have to wait for someone to retire before a position opens up

When it comes to clerical work, organizing stuff is (usually) easy for me. The problem is having to do call-center duties, which would be too overwhelming for me

substitute teaching is a very good fit for me, the problem is there's no paid vacation or sick leave

I'm very selective in applying for positions so that I don't waste interviewing for positions that aren't a good match for me

it would be a good idea to apply for teaching assistant positions when possible. Just know if it's a good fit before applying

When applying for positions, the job listings usually list the generic criteria (especially true for state positions)  but when interviewing for the specific position, what the employer is looking for is usually more specific than the generic criteria listed in the initial job posting

When it comes to those kinds of interviews, I sometimes aced certain questions (because they match my previous experience) but as soon as they ask about something I have no previous experience with, the vibe of the room changes

When writing cover letters or doing the interview, I'm going to be more upfront about what works for me (ie. written guidelines, polite instructions, etc). This is to inform the employer ahead of time of how to best guide me, and also to weed out employers that don't want to make those accommodations.

I did get some mental health services earlier this year. The problem is that after 9 months, he kept asking me the same questions (we're talking about open-ended questions that require long explanations) about things we discussed multiple times already. It's as if I was talking to the air. 

But sometimes, leaving one service provider can land you with someone even worse, as noted in the following blog post

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2023/12/beware-of-psychologist-dr-mark-scott.html

I do have plans & ideas for further mental health services for 2024! But I'll keep the details private for now as they're still just ideas not yet put into action. 

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This year marked my 2 decade anniversary at my current apartment. 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2023/07/20-years-at-my-apartment-2-decades-of.html

I experienced the biggest rent increase going from 2022 to 2023. I was worried about another big increase for 2024. But lucky for me, 2024 rent is going to be the same as 2023.

But still, I need more revenue to remain in my apartment for the long term.  

I have considered the following options

• look for other apartments to move into
• ask friends if they want to be roommates in a 2+ bedroom apartment
• Apply to be roommate via the Hawaii Homesharing program
• stay in my current location and hope for the best.

I contacted the landlords for 2 affordable apartment units but I got no response.

I asked friends about being roommates, one expressed interest. We had discussions, but we haven't reached a final decision. 

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This year also marked my 2-decade anniversary of this blog and my 1-decade anniversary of having a YouTube channel. 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2023/10/2-decades-of-blogging-1-decade-on.html 

Just reading my earlier blog posts showed how far I have come in developing as a person, as well as how the world has changed over the years. 

Learn more at .

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2023/11/a-brief-reflection-on-old-blog-posts.html

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Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior hasn't released any new music in 2023 and only released one single in 2022. This got people worried that I'm not making music anymore. 

Well, I haven't had as much time to make music, but I did make enough tracks for my next album, which I plan to call "Urban Honolulu Jam 2", a follow-up to my 1st "Urban Honolulu Jams" (released 2016).  I'm still in the process of changing titles for some of the tracks as well as figuring out what order should the songs appear.  Also, I still have to figure out how I'll pay for distribution and CD manufacturing since I already have more than enough debt as it is. I'm open for donations via PayPal  at  at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/pweg

 And don't forget  that Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior  has all kinds of merch (shirts, hats, pillows, postcards, stickers, magnets, and much more) showcasing my designs at RedBubble. They don't make it until you order it. Check out my designs and start shopping 😊 at https://www.redbubble.com/people/madtigerwarrior/explore

And going back to music, here are some of my favorite tracks from 2023

• Smith "Lemon"
• Latto v/Lu Kala "Lottery"
• Coi LeRay "Players"
• Lil Durk & J Cole "All My Life"
• Miley Cyrus "Flowers"
• Miley Cyrus "Jaded"
• Depeche Mode "Ghosts Again"
• Dua Lipa "Houdini"
• XG "Left Right"
• Toosii "Favorite Song"
• Chvrches "Over"
• Saweetie, Tyga, YG "Birthday"
• Big Boss Vette "All the Pretty Girls Walk Like This"
• Megan Trainor "Made You Look"
• Doja Cat "Paint the Town Red"
• Doja Cat "Agora Hills"
• Drake w/SZA & Sexy Red "Rich Baby Daddy"
• Lizzo w/SZA "Special"
• Tate McRae "Greedy"
• Jack Harlow "Lovin on Me"
• The Chainsmokers w/Shenseea - My Bad
• Teezo Touchdown "Familiarity"
• Tiesto, BIA, 21 Savage "Both"
• Post Malone "Chemical"
• Jonas Brothers - "Waffle House"
• Maneskin "Kool Kids"
• That Mexican OT, Paul Wall & Drodi "Johnny Dang"

and the nostalgia tracks

• Tyga, YG, Blxast "West Coast Weekend" 
• Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, RBX, The Lady Of Rage - "West Coast Party  2023"
• Pitbull w/ Lil Jon "Jumpin"
• Paul Russell "Lil Boo Thang" 
• Demi Lovato "Cool for the Summer (rock version)"
• Luke Combs "Fast Car"
• Hannah Laing, HVRR "Party All the Time"
• Bobbi Storm "We Can't Forget Him"

and to end this year, and will probably be more impactful in 2024

• Nicki Minaj w/ J Cole "Let Me Calm Down"