Yes, there was an election. No, it isn’t settled. Even if the worst happens, the world survived before, and it will keep surviving. My story isn’t done, neither is yours.
This is a long boring text-heavy oversharing post, ya been told.
Category: Unemployment
Job interviews
I am very fortunate to have a job interview today. I know that when I’ve had 70 or 80 interviews the odds are good that I will get a job, but it’s hard to be enthusiastic. I barked at the HR staffer on the phone who called me to set up an appointment because I didn’t recognize the number and I’d just had a big long run of writing and wasn’t in, “Hey dumdum you’re supposed to answer the phone like God’s receptionist!” mode. Which -every other time- I have done. And I got an interview anyway. Not exactly sure how to feel.
It’s a reputable company doing reputable things, and it’s a half-hour commute by bus away, just like I’ve wanted.
But I think about job interviews where they love my resume and then they’re like this when I show up because I’m 57.
Or when I ask them about how online reviews say they’re the worst place on earth to work and she snaps, “That’s the factory in the States, not here,” and then THREE TIMES OVER THE NEXT YEAR they run an ad for the position I interviewed for (got a second interview, even), and instead of saying to myself Holy Crapstacks! dodged a bullet! you know what I do? I cry. Because they didn’t hire me. I know I wouldn’t have lasted if it was so bad three people quit in a year, but still there’s me looking at the Craigslist ad, this last time was only six weeks ago, and thinking why didn’t they hire me?
Or I go to a headhunter and get told, “You have to spend money on clothes and wear makeup or you will never ever get a job.”
Or I go to a headhunter and get told by a woman younger than my daughter that I need to freshen up my resumé. I’d certainly like to know how, given that I haven’t worked for pay in 2 years.
“Volunteer! Spend days researching every company you want to work for and then pitch them hard! Go door to door with your resumé! You need to be looking at jobs anywhere on transit and quit with this foolishness about needing a short commute. Take any job however menial or destructive to your hearing, health or sanity, and look for a better one while you’re working! Go back to school and get something buzzy and pointless on your resumé! Have you tried …(a suggestion which implies that the person you’re talking to, whom you’ve known for 15 years, hasn’t actually spent any time learning who the hell you are)? Leave town and go where the jobs are, like Fort St John and Ft McMurray!”
I understand the world has changed; I have never expected to have a job for life. I want a job which will feed me, stop me from destroying my life savings, and not be so demanding that I don’t have the energy to write. If that is too much to hope for, I will adjust my hopes accordingly. But I am not at the point where I can take just any job, because it would not be fair to my employer for me to just quit when presented with a better opportunity. And there is always the possibility, since it’s obviously true, that there won’t be another job, and I’ll work in the dishpit of an Italian restaurant until I dissolve with the steam into a little spot of grease in a uniform, but not before my varicose veins crap out.
But it’s not like I’m the only one.
66350
Very proud of myself. Went to bed last night early, telling myself that I had to get a good night of sleep for the interview today, and I a) blocked out all the light coming into my room b) left the computer in the next room and c) wore earplugs. As a consequence I got seven solid hours of sleep (I remember coming to a couple of times but rolled over and went back to sleep without difficulty.
As one can see, progress continues on the last novel in the trilogy.
Caravaggio masterpiece recovered.
The worm’s eye view
Deleted this craigslist ad to prevent entombment by lawyers
It was an ad for a difficult job paying 12.50 an hour, for a company importing Christmas ornaments from PRC.
Long ago, when I was still equivalent to married and John was living with us, he told a story about a Chinese dissident who after many travails escaped from China and came to live in Golden Mountain (Canada). He went to a dollar store and found the Christmas ornaments he’d been forced to make back in jail in China. Even if your Christmas chachkas are not made by dissident forced labour, there’s still a good chance that somebody not making a lot of money made them. And now, to complete the circle of capitalism, the above noted ad. They want a UNIVERSITY DEGREE, ability to translate back and forth between English and Cantonese/Mandarin, and the ability to work miserable hours for 12.50 of each of those delightful hours. And the hell of it is, this being Vancouver, they will probably get her. And you wonder why I have trouble finding a job.
Sang froid, hot butt
The sang froid is her – she rocks the uneven bars.
The hot butt is me after Paul’s delayed family Indian dinner at Best Quality Sweets on Main St. I am suffering today, although I didn’t yesterday. Yes, it’s Too Much Information. I told Jeff he should be happy there were no leftovers for him or he’d be suffering too. I noticed neither of the kids put their hands up for the check, but since neither of them read my blog, they won’t feel the rebuke. For 60 bucks including tip we ate like ogres. This is a lacto vegetarian restaurant. The mango lassi was suPERB, the chai tea kinda whatever with weird spice sludge at the end. I ate so much I had no room for Indian sweets for dessert, which is FULL.
I am about ready to quit being a Unitarian, having reached my load line on denominational bullshit. I won’t of course, it’s just all part of my engagement with the faith. Nothing’s perfect, including me, and if people want to nice me to death, I can always back away before that last soft word turns into a killing blow. Also, I am one moody individual, so I just need the mood to die back and I’ll be fine. A foolish consistency is what’s asked of us when we believe that organized religion is necessary or even possible.
I am NOT a nice person. I’m nice to my my mother, but so what? Even the guy who kept two women as sex slaves was nice to his mother. It’s not a good test…. What I want more than anything else is to keep all my bad behaviours and still be categorized as nice, and that’s when the crazy train really starts to pick up speed. Woo woo!
Speaking of train whistles, I ran across this article which made me very happy. My room is at a sonic collection point for train noise (it hits the neighbour’s house, bounces against the garage and then slams into my window) so even though the whistles are 2.5 kilometres away sometimes I feel like I am right on Columbia St. If NW Council can make it stop I’ll do handsprings. Mentally of course, I couldn’t even do that when I was little.
There’s a new species of waterbear, from Antarctica. How sweet is that?
My symphysis pubis spasmed in sympathy. Ow ow ow ow ow.
Looking for work – this got barfed up on my screen.
File not found: /information_systems/current_openings.cfm |
|||||||||
Resources:
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
be careful, you!
Helped Katie get a live mouse for Izzy’s dinner yesterday. The last frozen one she fed him ‘exploded’ upon being warmed up (you thaw them in warm water, NOT the microwave, what were you thinking).
I very much enjoyed the ‘Transferrable skills’ workshop at WorkBC yesterday.
I watched “American Primetime” a documentary about four fundamental character types in contemporary tv. Also, Gonzo, which was amazing, and Johnny Depp’s narration is choice, and the archival footage is awesome and freaky, as are the soundtrack choices.
Back to the job hunt
Well that was a nice break, but I gotta find a job now.
Things ta do
I have already applied for two jobs and it’s just gone 6 am.
I will continue to look, however. I’m supposed to hear back about the job in New West today. Hope I do, it’s a fifteen minute bus ride.
Kitchen clean up.
STACKS of church paperwork, but I have been given an energy boost by positive interactions at church yesterday.
Laundry…. the continuing saga.
Trying to figure out a mandolin part for the keeping bears happy song. Or a guitar part, but I hear mandolin.
Justin Timberlake clogs. In a movie, not a drain.
Margot was running around the house doing the crazy cat thing. Since she’s never done this before, she’s now laid up in the cat hotel in the corner of the living room and breathing with an astonishing stertorousness.
I need to find out what those folks are doing with my tax returns.
Chipping away at the hard stuff
Today, Holiday Greeting Cards and a teensy bit of Xmas shopping. Jeff’s insisting on a no fly zone for prezzies so I’ll probably cook him something festive at some point instead.
I applied for ten different jobs this morning. Now to drift down New West way and pick up and drop off various interesting, paper related or comestible items.
Also, Surrey. Really don’t want to go. But I must.
Eye stye with my painful eye
The folks where I interviewed very kindly called back and I have a second chance to demonstrate my willingness to work. I have a stye in my left eye that hopefully won’t look too hideous.
Margot is noisily cleaning herself.
I broke the venetian blinds in my room the other day and have been getting along without window coverings. I am thinking of something steampunk themed for new draperies.
Called back for second interview already
Which is encouraging.
Two jobs
1st is for a high def surveillance camera company. A hell noes!
2nd is in Richmond. A hell noes squared. Druther die!
Must find other jobs to apply for. Reminded somebody they’d be my reference.
Shredding
Is done.
Tried to watch Supernatural. Lousy script, lousy acting, no charisma. I know the show’s been running for a decade so it obviously has die hard fans, but Jeff and I, thinking of Stargate and ER and the Wire and Deadwood and Breaking Bad and Huff – think that someething has gotta be good before we want to commit.
2020 SAYS JEFF NEVER WATCHED IT BUT I SURE DID. IN 2017 I STARTED WRITING DESTIEL FANFIC AND IF YOU ASK ME NICE I’LL TELL YOU WHERE TO FIND IT
So instead we’re onto S4 of ER, which is definitely a drama worth watching. SO many nice touches, the best nice touch being how the writers and actors make silence effective. The loudest noise is silence.
Jerome told me about a kitchen for rent so I contacted them. They haven’t written me back. I have also been applying for jobs, but I am not surprised or hurt that there’s been no response so far.