Friday, May 30, 2008

Lexicon

I want to coin a phrase that will enter into regular use. No, it's not "bitchcakes". Yesterday, I received a couple DVD's from my Blockbuster queue and 1 movie was something I had really wanted to see. The other was not. I was kicking myself for not updating my queue more regularly. That's when it hit me. There are a lot of ways you can update your queue in life.

For example, if you are hanging out with the same mix of friends week after week to the point that you have used up all your stories, you need to update your friend queue! If you are dieting, queue updates are needed to keep you on track and help weight loss. Clothing of course needs a queue update at least every season. Since I have been on the job hunt for several months, I also realize that example stories for interviews need queue updates. Also, I have to say "queue" is A LOT of fun to type.

Good Job Everyone and...

... I need to ask one more favor. That third job interview last week where I was 1 of 4 potential candidates lead to me getting a fourth and final interview! Now I am 1 out of 2. I'd like to thank anyone who sent good vibes my way last time and since it seemed to work, could you please send vibes my way this Tuesday at 8AM? I also think getting to the final interview was helped along by personal hand written thank you cards that I mailed out right after my interview. The things that could be awesome about this job are:

- Good industry: stable and growing
- Excellent commute: little 128 madness mostly Pike and 495.
- Excellent salary and benefits: a nice MBA degree salary range
- Supportive company attitude: they are all about learning and innovating.

Again, I am a bit fatalistic. If this is the job the universe wants me to have, I'll get it while trying my darnedest. If I'm not meant for it, I will still work my ass off and not get it. Something else will be down the road for me.

Monday, May 26, 2008

15 lbs of Love


I cannot let his first birthday pass without writing about how much I love my cat, Rasputin. He is smart, funny, and silly. From snout to tail, he's 36 inches long and weighs about 15 lbs.

For his birthday, I got him one of these and took him outside for as long as he wanted. I also fed him as much food as he wanted rather than limiting him to dietary regulations. Us human get cake, so why can't cats similarly splurge? He didn't act like he felt the day was anything special but I did notice some reversion to kitten tendencies. Like wanting extra attention and snugglies.

Now, I understand all those medical studies that say owning a pet improves one's health. I feel a lot less stressed and even in my foulest moods, I can count on Ras doing something cute to snap me out of it. The other night, I was having trouble falling asleep when I heard Rasputin rustling around a lot in my bedroom so I turned on the lights and saw him circling intently between a couple boxes. Intrigued, I came closer and moved one box. Ugh, there was some kind of centipede under it! Instead of completely freaking out, Rasputin became my knight in shining armor. I urged him to kill it unfortunately, it escaped into my closet. Ras kept guard by my closet door so I could fall asleep.

Half the fun of waking up in the morning is to see what is in my bedroom. Sometimes, the entire room is strewn with cat toys and I have occasionally found some in my bed. Ditto for the bathroom. The bathmat is Rasputin's lounge and he drops toys there as well. Or I will find a toy in his water bowl. Always a surprise and always cute in the morning. I do sometimes wake up realizing he had a bout of diarrhea overnight and that is not so cute. Thank goodness for Febreze.

Rasputin also plays fetch. If I'm sitting on the couch and he's playing with rubber bands, he brings me a rubber band, I throw it and he brings it back. He is soo gullible when I fake him out by pretending to throw the band. I have also learned not to take offense when he immediately starts cleaning the patch of fur I had just been petting. Apparently, cats do that because they can taste the owner's smell better that way. I do get ridiculously pleased whenever he shows me his belly. I have read that cats only do that as a sign of complete trust.

I also come up with some amusing ways to play with him. I have this thing that makes him go batshit. If he is peering at me around a corner or over a table, I maintain eye contact and slowly move out of sight. He edges closer, bum wiggling, and looking crazed. I pop up with one final look and pop right back down which causes him to rush me with his signature trill meow. He has also become QUITE a talker. I probably encourage him by having complete conversations with him.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Rasputin Loves His Rubber Bands

Since he's turning 1 tomorrow, I picked up a bag of rubber bands for him. He found the bag on my printer, picked it up, and carried it to the kitchen. See below.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Third Interview!!

Okay, I am incredibly superstitious but I do have my moments where I realize that its stupid. I have a third job interview this Friday morning!! This is the furthest (is this even a word? Farthest looks wrong) I've ever gone in the interview process for the past 6 months. I really like the job and the company is in an excellent industry.

You know what an interview on Friday means, right? Shopping expedition!! I need new shoes, and a good slim briefcase/portfolio case. I happen to know of a Payless right by a Staples - woohoo!

The interview itself is going to be 3 hours long and I will be meeting with several people. Luckily, it is early in the morning so some bleariness and/or confusion wouldn't be a deal breaker. I hope I won't be nervous but if I am, I know I can perform excellently under pressure. Hell, maybe nerves would be a blessing.

Back to superstition, send me good vibes or a word upstairs to help me get this job!!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Good Days

A bunch of really positive stuff has happened in the last couple of days:

1) I got my stimulus government payment Friday. It paid down two store credit cards and I had money for fun leftover.

2) I've finally found a recruiter who is working overtime to find me a job. He got me an interview last week and is submitting me to two positions this week.

3) Thanks to my mother, I am joining a gym.

4) My unemployment application has been approved and I will be receiving benefits starting this week.

5) There was this cheesily awful Celine Dion biopic on one of the Lifetime channels this weekend. It was truly superb and the chick who played Celine just belted the songs so she sucked. Plus, holy pedo vibe with the husband situation!

Friday, May 09, 2008

Post Office Snapshots

This morning there were 3 people in line at the local post office. A nice middle aged lady, a rough looking middle aged man, and then me. One of the postal workers who was serving a customer said that stamp prices are going up Monday to 42 cents. All of us in line were fairly surprised. I joked that we should go back to the Pony Express. The guy in front of me said, "This is all thanks to the Liberals." I was giving him a WTF look as the wonderful middle aged lady said what I was thinking, "How can that be our fault if we haven't been in power?" The guy, stumped, blamed Liberals for unions which makes no sense in the current context. I could have lashed back blaming Conservatives for Abu Ghraib which would make no sense as well. But I decided to back up awesome middle aged lady by saying, "November 2008, just you wait..." Stamp prices are going up because of rising gas prices, not unions.

As kick ass lady finished her postal business and left she said to me as an aside, "Teaches me to open my mouth..." and I replied, "What did he expect? We're in MA." Which probably feeds into his victim mentality. Luckily, he didn't go postal. Wah waahhh...

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

The Narrow Life

So what is it like not having a full-time permanent job for six months? You have to be pretty focused and imaginative not to go completely off your rocker. Every day, I apply to jobs online and receive email rejections or phone calls for interviews (1 in 20). After the interview, there's a black hole of silence for months where you basically have to accept that you didn't get the job and the fabulous life you had imagined for yourself is dead. I will hug and kiss the next Human Resources professional who actually bothers to contact applicants with rejections! How can you work in HR if you're afraid of conflict/upsetting people?

Besides the job applications, I create chores or tasks that I need to do. This past week, it has been cleaning. A big stove scouring is on my list as well. Without something to do, I just stay in bed until 1:00 PM trying to avoid thinking about my life. The simple act of falling asleep is getting harder and harder while endless worrying about bills, getting evicted, or getting sick keep me up.

The funny thing is temping makes the whole process feel even worse. It's like you get a taste of a real job but you are on a separate, lower tier. No one bothers to get to know you since you're "just a temp". And you drag your germy butt to work because screw everyone else, you need to make rent (yeah that really helps with the whole making friends at work thing). The money and routine are nice but it can lull you into a false sense of security.

On the social front, you are a complete drag. No one wants to hear about the job you almost got and beyond that, life is so narrowed down to the job/money paradigm, you aren't much of a conversationalist. That is if you can actually get out of your place and socialize. Again, it all boils down to money. Can you afford to get a drink? Can your afford gas or a present? Forget about trying to make any plans because you are stuck with the caveat, "... when I get a job" I avoid picking up my mail for days because I really don't need to see any more bills.

As week after week passes, I start to doubt my entire life path and fight with feelings of desperation that are screaming at me "Just get a high paying admin job!" I also look around my place for possible items to auction on eBay. I don't like telling people about my situation because their "helpful" suggestions are basically insulting and dumb. I also don't like feeling like a victim or the last girl with no prom date so flailing my arms and whining, "I don't know what I'm doing wrong" isn't my style.

Monday, May 05, 2008

How the Recession Hit Home This Weekend


Sure, I've been aware of all the news about the rising cost of everything. I am also tracking the cheapest gas in my area. But it was only when I went grocery shopping that I noticed how out of whack prices are. Usually, I do this trick when I shop - I assume everything in my cart costs about $3 to get a rough idea of how much it will come to at check-out. Um, NOTHING costs $3 anymore! Holy hell, I had to pay $8 for Tide. Not even the huge container, the regular one.

This weekend, I had heating issues and to my layman's eye, it looked like I was out of heating oil. I found out that filling my tank would cost me $900 so I asked for much less. Lo and behold, it wasn't the oil supply it was some doohickey on the burner. So I'm out $400 - argh!