And aside from the "WTF, I can't believe I don't have a job right now" feeling it has been mostly fabulous. I took lots of naps (the cats are really onto something), did lots of laundry and I planted flowers in front of the house. Oh, and updating this here blog.
What I didn't do:
-Go to the gym
-Clean any part of the house beyond the "basic maintenance" and "let's move some dishes so I can actually cook" level
-Read the stack of library books on my dresser
I am working on getting a paying job. I am still coming to accept that I might not find the perfect job this time, or ever. It just doesn't seem to exist, but in the meantime, let's find something bearable that covers the bills and provides enough for me to save for when I retire and have my time to myself again.
I have been watching Netflix movies (thank you, instant watch) and probably burning up my new laptop battery in the process, but it's been good. Some of the movies are pure duds (I watched a movie called "Neverwas" which is filled with well known actors but it went straight to DVD. See also, "Tiptoes." These would have been career enders, so I can see why they got canned). For every crap movie, there is a hidden gem (okay, not sure if it's a one to one ratio, but I'm sure it's close to that), so if you like space science fiction that involves more thinking and less leaning on expensive special effects to get by, (Armageddon, I'm looking at you), check out Moon.
4.23.2010
4.21.2010
Think way back
Do you remember the commercial with the kids graduating high school? Someone asks one kid what he plans to do after graduation and his answer is, "Go home. Make a sandwich."
It cracks me up to this day. After Monday, I feel like that kid. It has been years since I have been off work, unemployed and with no known follow on job. For today I am fine. I have laundry to do, naps to take and if I were at work, I couldn't have made a quick run downtown to drop off the badges my husband forgot at home. See? It's not all bad. And after that, guess what? I came home and made a sandwich (PB & J).
In the broader scheme I guess I still feel this way. yes, two weeks after my own high school graduation I left for college and stayed there for four years. I graduated with the rare benefit of knowing I would be a second lieutenant in the Army. Then when I left the army, I was that kid. I was home every day, wondering what to do next. I eventually took a job as a contractor working for the Army. That's been my very general job description since then. We moved to D.C. and I did some more soul searching and then I took another contracting job with the Army (notice a pattern?) By then, even my husband had left the Army and worked for a pharmaceutical company. But now he too works as a contractor supporting the (wait for it) Navy.
Most of the time I can accept that this is not who I am. I know that this allows me to pay the bills and fund the things that I enjoy that aren't free and I have to accept that I don't have to love my job, but not dreading it is also a huge plus.
Sometimes you think, "Is that it? Is this all there is?" Sometimes life is pretty good. Sometimes you wish you were that high school kid again, not because you loved high school so much, but because at the time, it really seemed like the possibilities were endless.
It cracks me up to this day. After Monday, I feel like that kid. It has been years since I have been off work, unemployed and with no known follow on job. For today I am fine. I have laundry to do, naps to take and if I were at work, I couldn't have made a quick run downtown to drop off the badges my husband forgot at home. See? It's not all bad. And after that, guess what? I came home and made a sandwich (PB & J).
In the broader scheme I guess I still feel this way. yes, two weeks after my own high school graduation I left for college and stayed there for four years. I graduated with the rare benefit of knowing I would be a second lieutenant in the Army. Then when I left the army, I was that kid. I was home every day, wondering what to do next. I eventually took a job as a contractor working for the Army. That's been my very general job description since then. We moved to D.C. and I did some more soul searching and then I took another contracting job with the Army (notice a pattern?) By then, even my husband had left the Army and worked for a pharmaceutical company. But now he too works as a contractor supporting the (wait for it) Navy.
Most of the time I can accept that this is not who I am. I know that this allows me to pay the bills and fund the things that I enjoy that aren't free and I have to accept that I don't have to love my job, but not dreading it is also a huge plus.
Sometimes you think, "Is that it? Is this all there is?" Sometimes life is pretty good. Sometimes you wish you were that high school kid again, not because you loved high school so much, but because at the time, it really seemed like the possibilities were endless.
4.20.2010
More adventures in job hunting
I actually had an interview last Wednesday. I have already updated my online job profiles, so while browsing through the list of jobs, I applied to one. It sounded like something I could do, so why not?
I'm not kidding when I say that I had an email from the HR person in my inbox within two hours. Wow, I thought, that's a first. Usually you apply to these things and it's like shouting into a black hole. I never expect a response. Yeah, maybe someone got your resume, but there are many others like it and no one really cares if that one is yours. I took it as a positive sign and I contacted the guy to set up a time and date.
I set it up to coincide with a career conference. Have I shared how much I detest job fairs? I really do. I think I have scored two interviews from job fairs and one was a pyramid scheme, I mean "multilevel marketing" career. The big, well known companies usually have a giant crowd around their booth, while the little companies are so specialized that when you talk to them, you can already see their head starting to shake no. It's frustrating.
I printed directions to the interview from my job address (I know, what is this, the 1990's? Our GPS is currently being borrowed and I am too cheap to pay for the iPhone GPS application). But anyway--the directions seemed simple enough. It wasn't too far away, and it should not have taken more than 30 minutes to get there.
45 minutes later...
Yes, I know. Of course I got lost. You didn't think I was actually going to make it there, did you? Anyway--45 minutes later, I was frantically searching my phone's web browser for a phone number for these people. I called and admitted I was lost. Without knowing where I was, I promised I would be there by 10:30 (30 minutes after the scheduled time). I then turned on Google maps on my phone (aka the great battery drainer) and found my way to the office.
The interview was not one of my finer performances. The good news was that this was not a job I wanted anyway. The interviewer was the person I would have been replacing. It started out well enough, but the more I heard about the position, the less interested I felt towards getting it. The title included the word "assistant." What does that tell you? Well, the way the job was described, you were some director's assistant and your job was to do the things she could not handle, simply because her plate was overflowing and there are only a limited number of hours in a day. In the interviewer's words, you were expected to "take" work from your boss. she also mentioned that personality was going to be a big factor in determining the right person for the job. Red flag alert. Personality? Is this code that the boss is some kind of fire-breather? She went on to describe some other "quirks" of the leadership while insisting it was a fun place to work. Nothing she described sounded "fun" to me. I was still frazzled from getting lost finding the place, but I didn't feel too terrible that I was bombing. Before I left, I made sure to say "You know, this is the first thing I applied to on Monster where I actually got a response and an interview." The interviewer replied, "I know! That's how desperate we are!"
OUCH.
The job fair--well--I didn't need to be there at a certain time so of course I was able to find it no problemo.
Getting back to my office--I could either take the toll road (easy, but I didn't know if I had enough quarters and the same person who borrowed the GPS borrowed the EZ pass) or I could take the back roads of Fairfax county. I turned on Google maps and went through the back roads. Why did it take me an hour to travel about 15 miles? Some of the little windy roads were enjoyable but there were also many wrong turns and many suspicions of weird engine noises coming from under the hood.
I have a feeling this is just the start of something "fun."
Jobpacalypse now
Well it finally happened--yesterday when I was in my office minding my own business, the company president and HR director stopped by. I knew exactly what was going on. I was getting canned laid off. I did receive a small severance, and a handy little letter and offers to help carry my stuff to my car, which I declined. I had not officially started the Andy Dufresne shuffle of carrying a little out of my cell office day by day, but I had some things in bags ready to go. I was prepared for the trap door, or ejection seat, or any other method of getting the boot quickly, but for some odd reason, I still didn't expect it to be that day. I mean, who gets laid off on a Monday?
I know, denial is a river in...
Anyway, I was packed up, signed out and headed home by noon. I have never been laid off before. I did get "the letter" before and "notice" at my last job, but they didn't give me the boot that very day. I had a few weeks to hang out. It was like being a prisoner waiting to walk that green mile. I moved quickly, and actually found another job. I wound up turning in a resignation letter to my previous employer, so technically, I was never laid off.
I am kicking myself for not considering other offers. The last company actually made an offer to me in 2007, which I declined. They were the first ones I called when I got "the letter." I quickly accepted a job offer, probably because I had always wondered what would have been had I accepted their original offer. Maybe it was a hasty decision made under the cloud of not wanting to not be paid anymore. I know hindsight is 20/20. Had I known I would be in the same position roughly six months after starting work with them, I probably would have declined the offer. I'll have to add a crystal ball to my birthday wish list.
It was a good company. They had bagels and cookies and fresh fruit daily (with the exception of Friday, which was hot egg and pork product sandwich day). There were no vending machines, you could just take soda or juice from the refrigerator, free of charge. Someone set up new flower arrangements by the elevators every week. For once in my life, I actually had my own office, and a window. I had a MacBook as a work computer, and this didn't require reams of paperwork to justify. The benefits were unbeatable and my retirement fund is 25% larger than it was just six months ago. Oh and the job itself--kind of a pain in the ass, but given the other perks it was tolerable. It was nice while it lasted.
This time I'm going to be a little more cautious and a little less hasty.
I know, denial is a river in...
Anyway, I was packed up, signed out and headed home by noon. I have never been laid off before. I did get "the letter" before and "notice" at my last job, but they didn't give me the boot that very day. I had a few weeks to hang out. It was like being a prisoner waiting to walk that green mile. I moved quickly, and actually found another job. I wound up turning in a resignation letter to my previous employer, so technically, I was never laid off.
I am kicking myself for not considering other offers. The last company actually made an offer to me in 2007, which I declined. They were the first ones I called when I got "the letter." I quickly accepted a job offer, probably because I had always wondered what would have been had I accepted their original offer. Maybe it was a hasty decision made under the cloud of not wanting to not be paid anymore. I know hindsight is 20/20. Had I known I would be in the same position roughly six months after starting work with them, I probably would have declined the offer. I'll have to add a crystal ball to my birthday wish list.
It was a good company. They had bagels and cookies and fresh fruit daily (with the exception of Friday, which was hot egg and pork product sandwich day). There were no vending machines, you could just take soda or juice from the refrigerator, free of charge. Someone set up new flower arrangements by the elevators every week. For once in my life, I actually had my own office, and a window. I had a MacBook as a work computer, and this didn't require reams of paperwork to justify. The benefits were unbeatable and my retirement fund is 25% larger than it was just six months ago. Oh and the job itself--kind of a pain in the ass, but given the other perks it was tolerable. It was nice while it lasted.
This time I'm going to be a little more cautious and a little less hasty.
4.16.2010
Life is a Smiths Album
I watched "Just Like Heaven" yesterday--I am slightly embarrassed that it was in my Netflix queue (but not embarrassed enough to not mention it here). Recently we downsized our subscription (and by "we," I mean my husband) and this eliminated my queue, which means I have to go in and hijack his queue if I want to see anything besides "2012" and "Transformers 2" and any other over CGI'd disaster blockbuster atrocity. I'm kidding. Once in awhile he surprises me, which was why I assumed that this movie was his choice.
I know it's fluff. I knew the ending was going to be "and they lived happily ever after." I still sat through the 90 minutes of movie as if I didn't know this. Iheart like Mark Ruffalo. I like Reese Witherspoon. I like the Cure (the title was nabbed from one of their most popular songs). The reality was that this movie should have been called "Girlfriend in a Coma," which is a Smiths song, and though it gives away a major element of the story, it is closer to the plot. "Just Like Heaven" just sounds nicer. Who wants to go to the box office and say "Two tickets for 'Girlfriend in a Coma,' please?"
I know what people say--Oh they're so depressing. Oh that stupid suicidal Morrissey, he hasn't offed himself yet? Oh all that angst. Oh I hate his voice (my husband).
Tongue in cheek, people! I like it because you know what? Some of those songs ring true. When life turns melodramatic and the world is against you, you really do feel like you just stepped out of a Smiths album. Currently playing for me: "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now."
With my weird non-job still-going-to-the-office-but-not-canned-yet situation, I can't think of a more fitting line than:
Tongue in cheek! I know it's not so bad. Let's just hope that the ten ton truck doesn't come for me next.
I know it's fluff. I knew the ending was going to be "and they lived happily ever after." I still sat through the 90 minutes of movie as if I didn't know this. I
I know what people say--Oh they're so depressing. Oh that stupid suicidal Morrissey, he hasn't offed himself yet? Oh all that angst. Oh I hate his voice (my husband).
Tongue in cheek, people! I like it because you know what? Some of those songs ring true. When life turns melodramatic and the world is against you, you really do feel like you just stepped out of a Smiths album. Currently playing for me: "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now."
With my weird non-job still-going-to-the-office-but-not-canned-yet situation, I can't think of a more fitting line than:
I was looking for a job, and then I found a job
And heaven knows I'm miserable now
Tongue in cheek! I know it's not so bad. Let's just hope that the ten ton truck doesn't come for me next.
First date
You know what is a terrible idea for a first date? The movies. Think about it—you’re in a dark theater making eye contact with a giant screen and you’re not talking (and you’re not supposed to talk). It’s a pretty bad idea.
I am married to a movie lover. We went on a few dates in college but I won’t go so far to say that we were dating. We went to movies. What was the first movie we saw? Are you ready for this one?
Mr. Holland’s Opus. Yes, that’s right, a movie about a high school music teacher who missed out on some of his life long dreams of making it big. You would have thought we were thrice our ages instead of people barely into their twenties.
Our second movie was “Twister,” which admittedly is a little more date-ish. I know at some point future husband bought a drink at one of these movies and asked if I wanted a sip. One straw, people. Of course I said no. He had no idea that I had an issue with backwash--and even if it's just one part per million backwash in a giant vat of soft drink it's still backwash.
It took a few more years, a few more dates and a few more movies before I would say we qualified as “dating.” Not only that but we are both shy and quiet which means things were a-w-k-w-a-r-d (and I am sure there are days when he wishes we could go back to me being quiet but those days are gone).
The lesson is what? I don’t know. Slow and steady? Go bowling instead?
I am married to a movie lover. We went on a few dates in college but I won’t go so far to say that we were dating. We went to movies. What was the first movie we saw? Are you ready for this one?
Mr. Holland’s Opus. Yes, that’s right, a movie about a high school music teacher who missed out on some of his life long dreams of making it big. You would have thought we were thrice our ages instead of people barely into their twenties.
Our second movie was “Twister,” which admittedly is a little more date-ish. I know at some point future husband bought a drink at one of these movies and asked if I wanted a sip. One straw, people. Of course I said no. He had no idea that I had an issue with backwash--and even if it's just one part per million backwash in a giant vat of soft drink it's still backwash.
It took a few more years, a few more dates and a few more movies before I would say we qualified as “dating.” Not only that but we are both shy and quiet which means things were a-w-k-w-a-r-d (and I am sure there are days when he wishes we could go back to me being quiet but those days are gone).
The lesson is what? I don’t know. Slow and steady? Go bowling instead?
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