30 Days: Day 6 - Whatever I want!

Today I get to write about whatever I want, YAY~ Except not really because I have no idea what I really want to use this one precious entry for. I could do something meaningful, like discuss whether or not video games are art per Ebert's declaration that they're not. I could write about how excited I am for PAX. I could give a bad review to Shrek Forever After, or an awesome review for Obasan, a local Japanese restaurant in lower Queen Anne (seriously, awesome). I could talk about my addiction to spider solitaire, why I hate my job, and the stupid things people say to me while at work.

I'd probably lose my job for that, though, so I'll save that for another time.

What I think I'll do, though, is post a series of MS Paint drawings I had done for my friend during our various conversations over GTalk while at work. For context, she's identified as a cow in our group of friends, and I a bunny. It's a long story that's not funny, so I won't waste your time explaining it here, other than the animals are in no way a representation of physical selves or any other part of our character.

I think it also goes without saying that the pictures directly correlate to whatever we were conversing about at the time, and I've put them in chronological order.

That's Shady! - A brief look at finding employment on Craigslist.

It's kind of a given that postings on Craigslist have a chance of being super sketch, even though the jobs section is frequented by many big name companies. The best listings are ones that actually name their company, or at least what their company does. Unfortunately these types of listings are few as employers tend to give the bare minimum knowing full well that us hungry job seekers will apply for anything that sounds marginally plausible. This has led me to my recent email conversation with such an employer, one that I have completely written off as TRAP!

1. Lack of concrete information in posting. Like I mentioned previously, this particular listing presented what they were looking for and benefits, nothing else. This normally isn't a problem with me because I typically ask for more information about the company once they decide to contact me. Unfortunately whoever was behind this email address was being rather tight lipped about the entire affair.

2. Email address. Which leads me to the email address itself. It's nice when companies provide emails to their HR division, but also completely understandable when they opt for Craigslist address instead. However, what's odd is when I company chooses AOL for emailing purposes. Even better when a quick Google search reveals the same address is used to post listings for positions in Colorado. This really can't be that big of a company if they're using AOL, so what's going on with Colorado?

3. Interviews through Yahoo messenger. Oh yeah, you read that right. They decided that due to the high volume of applications they would be conducting interviews through Yahoo messenger since phone calls take too long. You know, I feel phone interviews are about as impersonal as you can get, but at least you can get a sense of presence and tone through articulation...which is nearly void in electronic communication. Plus, Yahoo messenger? Really?

4. Dictation of interview date. In all interviews I have partaken in, normally the company gives you a time frame in which you can set up an interview with them as not to conflict with your schedule. Instead, I was instructed that I would be interviewed at this date, between these times, and not to contact them any sooner than that.

5. Incomprehensible emails. I imagine interviews through Yahoo messenger will be difficult for them as I found it hard to understand exactly what they were trying to tell me with each progressive email that sequentially dropped important components of communication. Like complete sentences, punctuation, spell checking, and specific grammatical conventions like how to write out time. Eventually this all accumulated in a final email from them, one I'm not even sure how to respond to, or if I should even bother. After I asked if it would be possible to reschedule since the date they had dictated did not work for me at all, I was emailed back with one word: booked. But without the period since this person had lost all comprehension of punctuation a few emails back.

Does that mean they're booked this week and I should ask for a different date? That they've already filled the position? Maybe something was Shepard Book-ed? I'm curious to find out, but I have a feeling the next email I receive from them will contain all of the missing grammar from their previous emails.

Wow, I'm a big kid now.

This last week I've been learning what a Big Kid Job entails: long hours behind a desk pretending to be busy. For my position I'd say that's understandable as my work flow is dependent on the work of others-- I can't do much unless the work is delegated to me from a higher up. That's not to say I don't have any work at all, I'm currently in the middle of writing up documents and manuals from the ground up as one wasn't available to me when I first started (and, by the way, I've never worked for a company like this before, so my manual will be interesting).

In the meantime, I'm snacking on an endless supply of Dum Dums (Banana Split does not taste like a banana split) and toffee covered peanuts while surfing Google News...and maybe some other sites like this one that I shouldn't be looking at right now, but too late. ANYWAY, during my Google news exploits there's the general terrorist alerts, Jon and Kate doing some more stupid stuff, arsonist in the U District, and...oh yeah...Miley Cyrus deleted her Twitter.

...WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

...WHY IS THIS EVEN NEWS?!

I suppose it's hypocritical for me to be blogging about being annoyed that anyone gives a shit about Miley Cyrus and her Twitter since it's giving attention to something not worth attention, but humor me here, why do we care?

In the meantime, I'm going to go back to my toffee peanuts, read Wikipedia, and pretend to be working on a training manual for a position I don't quite know how to run yet.

Oh yeah, that Recession thing...

Well, if it isn't Swine Flu keeping me from blogging, it's looking for work.

See, I used to have two jobs. Two shitty jobs, but two jobs nonetheless. Between the two of them I was able to work roughly full time. And then I got laid off at one of them without any notice at all. In fact, the only reason I found out is because I inquired about where the hell my schedule was.

So I've joined many Seattlelites, Americans, and people worldwide on a desperate search for employment. It's not that I haven't been looking these past few months, I have, but there's nothing like rapidly dropping to 10 hours a week to fuel the fire under my ass.

In fact, so well fired that I'm about two hours away from an interview that I was contacted about four hours post application sending frenzy.

In the meantime, I've picked up various shifts from other locations in the company chain. Unfortunately, my eagerness for monies has also influenced me to take graveyard shifts.

Why yes, I just returned from graveyard. Fancy that. I've got my energy drink, a substance completely foreign to me without a shot of Jager, ready to go.

This begs the question, how far are we willing to go in order to make ends meet? Should we ever have to go this far? I've been awake since roughly 2pm Wednesday because, you know what? Life doesn't stop for you just because you have to work graveyard. Your body also doesn't like to cooperate want and need of sleep, either. But most of all, how desperate is it to take any shift available and immediately layer them with interviews?

I'm not even sure if I should go to bed upon return from said interview for fear that it will take a severe toll on my sleep schedule, but my body is screaming at me to close my eyes, and my pillow is taunting me like something obnoxious and delightfully comfortable. Woe.