A New Day

Bummer

I'm disappointed.  I allowed myself to have high hopes that I would be receiving an offer of at least the next step in the interview process with the Financial Services company.  I still think I'd be good in that position.  But I received a letter today informing me that I was not selected.

I also had a letter from the State of Colorado, but it merely restated some of the information from the last letter I received regarding my rights and responsibilities as an unemployed person.  I still have no check. 

And it's 11 degrees outside.

I'm going to stay home and finish my NaNo book today.  (I'm starting now from the dizzying height of 47,409 words)

This looking for a job thing - it can be brutal.  And I can't help wondering what it is that I'm missing here.  I have a degree.  I'm hardworking and smart and I get along with my fellow humans pretty well most of the time...

I don't want anyone to hire me because they feel sorry for me.  I want to be hired because the person on the other side of that desk believes in my competence and ability to be an asset to the organization.  But if I can't have that, I'd just like a job please.

Adrenaline, Sweat and Sardines, these tracks are FRESH

I'm sorry, my brain has been overrun with the Madagascar (rated PG for some crude humor) Penguins lately.  These little guys are SO stinkin' cute.

They even have a credo - no, not, "Never bathe in hot oil and bisquik" the other credo, "Never swim alone."  Come on people do I have to explain this to everyone?

They have the ability to flex and adapt "(this sucks)"

They know how to blend in, "Cute and Cuddly, men.  Cute and Cuddly."

They know how to make tough decisions, "The private probably won't survive."

And at the end of the day they know the most important thing is to "smile and wave, Boys, smile and wave."

Okay - today I submitted another application.  And I lined up interviews with two different staffing agencies who've advertised jobs that look good to me.  Soooooo I'm keeping my fingers crossed. 

Oh, and I'm still writing but as of right now, I am at 46,247 words.  I'm thinking I WILL make this thing happen. 

"Come on everyone, let's go meet the pansies."

3 Days, 12 Hours, 8 Minutes ...

... left to complete my 50,000 word rough draft of the story I'm working on for National Novel Writing month and it occurs to me that there was nothing on that stress inventory on that last weekend morning before D-Day and realizing that you have 12,500 words to go.  I  lost several days last week for the Thanksgiving hooplah and now I'm in panic mode. 

It happens about this time every year.  I suddenly realize that my book is stupid, I'm stupid, my sentences make no sense, and I was insane to ever consider that I might be able to do this.  It's an annual epiphany that I always forget until the morning I wake up and see it standing there at the foot of my bed shaking its head and tsking with its tongue.

BUT - since I had my epiphany this morning at 7, I've written 2,500 words and my people are beginning to carry me on their collective backs toward the inevitable conclusion of the book.  So I hope that you are all having a fabulous day.  I'll be typing my little fingers off for several more hours. 

I have to

I already bought my celebratory reward

And I will not allow it to sit there gathering dust until next year.

PS _ please keep sending up prayers and good wishes for me as I pursue that just right job that will enable me to support myself and my kids JUST IN CASE this novel doesn't get snapped up with a hefty advance.  (Hey I can dream right?)  I start in again tomorrow hopeful about the result of some of the applications I've put in already but also knowing that if I'm to be eligible for my $71 a week of unemployment benefit (which I still have not seen the first installment of due to a processing lag) I need to find another 5 open positions to which I may submit my resume for consideration.

A Little Stressed

So I was having this conversation with my best friend about my mental state.  Which has been striking me as a little ... precarious lately.  We talked about whether maybe I could stand some medication.  Whether I might be depressed.  And then we got to teh topic of stress.  Have you heard of the Life Stress Inventory?  I googled it and tallied up my score.  It says that anything over 150 points is "high" stress.  My score was an even 500. 

I'm thinking Mary is right.  I need a bubble bath.

Okay - Here's my Question - Why do Curling Irons have 30 heat settings?  Does anyone ever use anything except the hottest one?

A Little Good News

The interview I had on Saturday was with a Financial Planning Services company.  This is a huge company, you see their ads all the time. and I was really nervous that they would look at me and say "pfffft".  Or look at the results of the test I took and say "PFFFFFFFTTTTT".  I got a call late yesterday afternoon saying, "You did REALLY well on that assessment we asked you to take and we'd REALLY like to talk to you.  I know it's Thanksgiving week and everything, but could you come back to Denver tomorrow morning?  At 8:45?" 

Well, YEAH!

Today will be part III of  a five part interviewing process.  At any stage I could be eliminated from consideration, but I honestly feel as though I've already passed the most difficult part for me.  I look better in person than I do on paper.  And to be a Financial Advisor? 

Can you tell I'm doing a little happy dance?

Keep praying folks. 

Long Long Ago in a Galazy Far Far Away

I took a quiz.  I mean a really long time ago, because I didn't remember it at all.  Well, except I kidn of remembered the graphic that went with it.  But my friend reminded me that I'd taken it and even remembered my result.  I was an evil genius type of villian.  I couldn't find it by scrolling through a random selection of five blogs from 3 years ago, so I googled the quiz and took it again, just to see.  I couldn't remember any of the questions or guess what my answers might have been the first time around.  But oddly enough, I'm still an evil genius.  I guess somethings never change.

What Type of Villain are You?
mutedfaith.com.

31,190

I'm just a little behind in my NaNo writing.  Not so far that I can't catch up by tonight with a little due diligence.  The story is at that delicious stage of utter chaos that takes all the creative juice I can squeeze out to keep from feeling like I've lost it. 

The job search - well, I'm still searching.  The interview yesterday went well I think (except that it also included a math test and that kind of freaked me out.  I have a tendency to ... over think these things.)  We'll see if I hear anything back from them

And I'll be back doing more regular posts in another 10 days, 12 hours, 18 minutes. (just typing that is making me feel a little pressure ...)