(no subject)
May. 12th, 2025 10:59 amIn a reminder of just how bloody long the job process can take, a job I applied for 4.5 weeks ago JUST got back to me to schedule an interview.
(no subject)
Nov. 19th, 2019 09:45 pmSlow day at work, so took half an hour off and got a haircut. (And a case of beer.)
That's about as exciting as it got today. Currently trying to motivate myself to update my CV...
That's about as exciting as it got today. Currently trying to motivate myself to update my CV...
(no subject)
Oct. 16th, 2017 09:00 amgrrr bagbiting mechanics are booked up til WEDNESDAY, so the car is out of commission til then.
So no Census work for me til then either... and since Wednesday is, err, "problematic"...that really means Thursday.
(No, before you ask I can't take it to another mechanic. I mean, technically I could, but if--as may be the case--the problem is that the oxygen sensor they replaced last time is acting up, I want a free replacement.)
...I guess I can get some job applications done?
----
Later: Related to that last: Someone please explain to me why "Because I want you to pay me," isn't an adequate response to the question "Why do you want to work at [Name of company]?".
So no Census work for me til then either... and since Wednesday is, err, "problematic"...that really means Thursday.
(No, before you ask I can't take it to another mechanic. I mean, technically I could, but if--as may be the case--the problem is that the oxygen sensor they replaced last time is acting up, I want a free replacement.)
...I guess I can get some job applications done?
----
Later: Related to that last: Someone please explain to me why "Because I want you to pay me," isn't an adequate response to the question "Why do you want to work at [Name of company]?".
Realm: Job Applications
Sep. 13th, 2017 10:34 am@#%%$^, Hahvahd. That History Case Method job for which I applied - two months ago - is now flagged as a "hot job" (i.e., "We're getting desperate.") And yet, my application is STILL just "under review".
For heaven's sake, people: if you're THAT concerned to get the post filled asap, why not just interview me, at least?
In other job search related news, I've gone ahead and gotten myself fully onboarded with the Tutoring Firm.* (My brother turns out to have been right: I CAN just turn pupils down if it looks like a bad fit.)
This, in turn, may be derailed by the other job news of the day. As one can imagine, cleaning up Hurricane Harvey is a massive job for FEMA: so much so that they're looking into the possibility of poaching employees from other federal agencies (since that way, even if they need complete retraining, they don't need to redo criminal background checks or swear 'em in.) Since I sort of WOULD like to do something to help - but have no money - I may actually take them up on this: IF it looks like we'd be paid decently, and IF I can work it out with my responsibilities to G. and P.
Well, and IF Hahvahd doesn't hire me first, I guess.
* Still waiting to hear whether my blog posts over there are my intellectual property, or there's. If the former, I'll start cross-posting them here.**
Which reminds me, I need to find an actual HISTORY topic that's interesting to a broad audience, but isn't fifteenth-century Swiss jokes, or Roman understandings of sexuality, or níð, or other non-G-rated topics. I'm feel like I'm already walking the line by just MENTIONING the fact that much of Catullus ought to have a "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" sticker.
** ETA: sunuvubitch, no, no cross-posting. How am I supposed to put together a writing portfolio for anyone else?
For heaven's sake, people: if you're THAT concerned to get the post filled asap, why not just interview me, at least?
In other job search related news, I've gone ahead and gotten myself fully onboarded with the Tutoring Firm.* (My brother turns out to have been right: I CAN just turn pupils down if it looks like a bad fit.)
This, in turn, may be derailed by the other job news of the day. As one can imagine, cleaning up Hurricane Harvey is a massive job for FEMA: so much so that they're looking into the possibility of poaching employees from other federal agencies (since that way, even if they need complete retraining, they don't need to redo criminal background checks or swear 'em in.) Since I sort of WOULD like to do something to help - but have no money - I may actually take them up on this: IF it looks like we'd be paid decently, and IF I can work it out with my responsibilities to G. and P.
Well, and IF Hahvahd doesn't hire me first, I guess.
* Still waiting to hear whether my blog posts over there are my intellectual property, or there's. If the former, I'll start cross-posting them here.**
Which reminds me, I need to find an actual HISTORY topic that's interesting to a broad audience, but isn't fifteenth-century Swiss jokes, or Roman understandings of sexuality, or níð, or other non-G-rated topics. I'm feel like I'm already walking the line by just MENTIONING the fact that much of Catullus ought to have a "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" sticker.
** ETA: sunuvubitch, no, no cross-posting. How am I supposed to put together a writing portfolio for anyone else?
(no subject)
Aug. 30th, 2017 04:56 pm(Written while sitting around church because I'd forgotten that I'd never gotten the keys to the bell tower back, so I'm extra pissed off.)
So l just accepted a job with a tutoring company, and now my stomach feels like it has a bunch of snakes in it, and I'm kind of wishing I'd written back instead no, on second thought I don't think I want to go forward with this. 🐍
I'd applied because they supposedly pay fairly well, and I figured I had a good chance of actually being hired. (Self-evidently accurate.) But as the reality of the situation sunk in, I realized: this is going to be yet another job that I'm not excited about--which in itself isn't a problem, I've given up actually trying to figure out my vocation, ideal job or purpose in life, figuring that if my purpose in life is suddenly revealed to me in a flash of light, then great; otherwise I'll find meaning and identity in my hobbies and in trying to be a decent human being. But that' probably won't work as well--and it's a shitty way to live--if I have sharply limited free time and am stressed out all the time. And this is going to be another job that I'm not excited about, at irregular hours, where when you have to start and stop working is very nebulous. And that's going to stress me out and sharply reduce my useful free time (since tutoring presumably happens mostly in the evenings, when I want to be doing other stuff.)
Also, it's a job working with people. I hate those. And they tend to burn me out rapidly.
And then there's the mere fact that I have a bad feeling about this. There have been too many times in the past when I had a bad feeling about something, couldn't find a logical reason why, ignored it, and wound up wishing I hadn't. I hate to go all woo-woo or act like I'm claiming to have the least useful form of divine inspiration ever, but I'm starting to think my subconscious mind sometimes figures stuff out before the rest of me does.
So whaddo I do, internet? Take a chance on this job, try to give it a fair chance, and at worst...actually not worst, there are so many ways it can go worse than that...at second-best, then, kick the can of finding a job I don't hate a little further down the road? Or go with my gut and get the hell away from this?
...Maybe I should try to become a bank clerk.
ETA: My brother pointed out that, since it looks like I'm going to have at least SOME control over what tutoring assignments I take on, I can see what's on offer, and then if ALL of them suck (or look like they're gonna suck) for one reason or another, I can just say No to all of them, and say "I'm sorry, I don't think anything you have is actually the sort of thing I want to do."* So I think I'm going to go with that option.
OTOH, I am being reminded that the other thing I hate about part-time jobs is that, given too many responsibilities (and n>3), I tend to either neglect some of them until n≤3, or have my brain seize up and just surf the internet and do none of them.
* He had some super-brilliant phrase for how to do this (because of course he did), but which I've now forgotten.
So l just accepted a job with a tutoring company, and now my stomach feels like it has a bunch of snakes in it, and I'm kind of wishing I'd written back instead no, on second thought I don't think I want to go forward with this. 🐍
I'd applied because they supposedly pay fairly well, and I figured I had a good chance of actually being hired. (Self-evidently accurate.) But as the reality of the situation sunk in, I realized: this is going to be yet another job that I'm not excited about--which in itself isn't a problem, I've given up actually trying to figure out my vocation, ideal job or purpose in life, figuring that if my purpose in life is suddenly revealed to me in a flash of light, then great; otherwise I'll find meaning and identity in my hobbies and in trying to be a decent human being. But that' probably won't work as well--and it's a shitty way to live--if I have sharply limited free time and am stressed out all the time. And this is going to be another job that I'm not excited about, at irregular hours, where when you have to start and stop working is very nebulous. And that's going to stress me out and sharply reduce my useful free time (since tutoring presumably happens mostly in the evenings, when I want to be doing other stuff.)
Also, it's a job working with people. I hate those. And they tend to burn me out rapidly.
And then there's the mere fact that I have a bad feeling about this. There have been too many times in the past when I had a bad feeling about something, couldn't find a logical reason why, ignored it, and wound up wishing I hadn't. I hate to go all woo-woo or act like I'm claiming to have the least useful form of divine inspiration ever, but I'm starting to think my subconscious mind sometimes figures stuff out before the rest of me does.
So whaddo I do, internet? Take a chance on this job, try to give it a fair chance, and at worst...actually not worst, there are so many ways it can go worse than that...at second-best, then, kick the can of finding a job I don't hate a little further down the road? Or go with my gut and get the hell away from this?
...Maybe I should try to become a bank clerk.
ETA: My brother pointed out that, since it looks like I'm going to have at least SOME control over what tutoring assignments I take on, I can see what's on offer, and then if ALL of them suck (or look like they're gonna suck) for one reason or another, I can just say No to all of them, and say "I'm sorry, I don't think anything you have is actually the sort of thing I want to do."* So I think I'm going to go with that option.
OTOH, I am being reminded that the other thing I hate about part-time jobs is that, given too many responsibilities (and n>3), I tend to either neglect some of them until n≤3, or have my brain seize up and just surf the internet and do none of them.
* He had some super-brilliant phrase for how to do this (because of course he did), but which I've now forgotten.
OK, well, I should be putting an Arisia proposal together right now. Well, TECHNICALLY I said I was going to do my Census post-class self-study today, so I should be doing that, but for reasons that will become clear in a few moments, Fuck That.
Sooo... the week before last, I think it was, I applied for a job as a...junior researcher, I think it was, at [Boston Research Consulting Firm]. VERY unusually, from my experience, the department head subsequently got back in touch, albeit mainly to tell me that I was horribly overqualified. (Which was possibly true, but a) I'm switching careers, kinda, so that's expected, and b) Hey, it's a job.) Usually, even if they DO get in touch to tell you you're overqualified, that's the end of it, and you're left feeling like "Well, fuck." In THIS case, though, he said he was going to forward my résumé on to Matt, the head of their Editorial department, because they might have some freelance editorial work down the line. And that could STILL have been the end of it, but Matt actually DID email me, to say "...please let me know your bandwidth (how many hours a week you would be available to edit our research content) and let’s set up a time to talk." So I write back, and then don't hear from him for over a week, while I sit around wondering what the heck has happened THIS time.
On Wednesday, after asking myself What Would My Dad Do?, I took a moment before Census training and called Matt's number to ask more or less exactly that question, and in due course we set up an appointment for this morning.*
-------
So I get there--it's the fifth floor in a faceless office park in Waltham--and have to wait a bit, and then meet Matt and get ushered into a conference room: all of which was expected. And THEN we spend like fifteen minutes chatting about German History--which was definitely NOT--before we get down to the nitty gritty of what the job entails. As I had expected, it was going to be more of what I've been doing for [cheapskate client in Germany], namely taking stuff written by experts and editing it so it's actually decent prose.
What I had NOT been assuming was an on-the-spot job offer.
And then came the moment I had been hoping wouldn't happen. "So what do you think would be a reasonable starting rate?" he asked.
Oh Shit. I mean, I know I've been horribly underpaid in the past, but this is a potentially globalized field, and I don't want to get to greedy, because I REALLY want this job...
"Let's start me at $15?"
Matt actually laughed in my face.** "Well, I'd LIKE to employ you at that rate--or at any rate my bosses would..."
"What can I say, I've been really underpaid!"
Anyway, I somehow managed to recover from this screw-up,*** and we agreed that I should start at their standard starting rate for editors.
...which is $45 per hour.
Pause to let that sink in.
Yeah.
I'm going to be working part time, but still.
wow.
I guess I should have learned from Harvard Business School that any time you add the word "business" to a job description, they jack up the salary.
* At this point in writing this, I took a pause to go look at what was probably a juvenile bald eagle, sitting on a tree about fifty yards down the shore. As you can guess from the preceding, I'm in Maine again.
** You probably just did too, given that $15 was what we figured MRE should have been paying me, and this is a much more highly-skilled job. (Though it's also a much more pleasant one, and you can't outsource [University]'s mailroom work to someone with good English in Mumbai.) What can I say, I panicked. Fortunately, [see above]
*** I should perhaps note at this juncture that Matt is yet another person who got a PhD but then decided he didn't want to teach, AND got it in German studies, so PART of all this was that he took pity on my post-academic floundering.
That sounds more self-pitying than I feel, I guess: the OTHER part is that I'm hella good at editing papers in questionable English, and amply demonstrated that I'm experienced in the same in the course of the interview.
Sooo... the week before last, I think it was, I applied for a job as a...junior researcher, I think it was, at [Boston Research Consulting Firm]. VERY unusually, from my experience, the department head subsequently got back in touch, albeit mainly to tell me that I was horribly overqualified. (Which was possibly true, but a) I'm switching careers, kinda, so that's expected, and b) Hey, it's a job.) Usually, even if they DO get in touch to tell you you're overqualified, that's the end of it, and you're left feeling like "Well, fuck." In THIS case, though, he said he was going to forward my résumé on to Matt, the head of their Editorial department, because they might have some freelance editorial work down the line. And that could STILL have been the end of it, but Matt actually DID email me, to say "...please let me know your bandwidth (how many hours a week you would be available to edit our research content) and let’s set up a time to talk." So I write back, and then don't hear from him for over a week, while I sit around wondering what the heck has happened THIS time.
On Wednesday, after asking myself What Would My Dad Do?, I took a moment before Census training and called Matt's number to ask more or less exactly that question, and in due course we set up an appointment for this morning.*
-------
So I get there--it's the fifth floor in a faceless office park in Waltham--and have to wait a bit, and then meet Matt and get ushered into a conference room: all of which was expected. And THEN we spend like fifteen minutes chatting about German History--which was definitely NOT--before we get down to the nitty gritty of what the job entails. As I had expected, it was going to be more of what I've been doing for [cheapskate client in Germany], namely taking stuff written by experts and editing it so it's actually decent prose.
What I had NOT been assuming was an on-the-spot job offer.
And then came the moment I had been hoping wouldn't happen. "So what do you think would be a reasonable starting rate?" he asked.
Oh Shit. I mean, I know I've been horribly underpaid in the past, but this is a potentially globalized field, and I don't want to get to greedy, because I REALLY want this job...
"Let's start me at $15?"
Matt actually laughed in my face.** "Well, I'd LIKE to employ you at that rate--or at any rate my bosses would..."
"What can I say, I've been really underpaid!"
Anyway, I somehow managed to recover from this screw-up,*** and we agreed that I should start at their standard starting rate for editors.
...which is $45 per hour.
Pause to let that sink in.
Yeah.
I'm going to be working part time, but still.
wow.
I guess I should have learned from Harvard Business School that any time you add the word "business" to a job description, they jack up the salary.
* At this point in writing this, I took a pause to go look at what was probably a juvenile bald eagle, sitting on a tree about fifty yards down the shore. As you can guess from the preceding, I'm in Maine again.
** You probably just did too, given that $15 was what we figured MRE should have been paying me, and this is a much more highly-skilled job. (Though it's also a much more pleasant one, and you can't outsource [University]'s mailroom work to someone with good English in Mumbai.) What can I say, I panicked. Fortunately, [see above]
*** I should perhaps note at this juncture that Matt is yet another person who got a PhD but then decided he didn't want to teach, AND got it in German studies, so PART of all this was that he took pity on my post-academic floundering.
That sounds more self-pitying than I feel, I guess: the OTHER part is that I'm hella good at editing papers in questionable English, and amply demonstrated that I'm experienced in the same in the course of the interview.
Various updates
Jun. 14th, 2017 05:43 pm1. I've realized what the worst thing for productivity is, where job applications are concerned.
It's not trying to map the lost wetlands and burhs and shires of Anglo-Saxon England. It's not listening to Ursula talk about masturbating cats and her IUD. It's not snacks or books or chores or a caffeine habit.
It's when someone is supposed to be contacting you about a job interview for something that might actually pay the bills, but hasn't bloody done so yet.
Arrrggh. (tears metaphorical hair.)
2. Yes, the city did-- eventually--come remove the half a tree that was leaning against my window. No, nothing else seems to have broken in the process, so the only apparent casualty is one of my screens, which my landlady has promised to replace.
3. Yes, I did get my car into the mechanic this morning. The check engine light had--inevitably--turned itself off the moment I made the appointment, but they did put a patch on my muffler and replaced all the [untranslatable mechanic-speak], which they assured me would make a big difference.
And replaced a busted tail light that I'd failed to notice, which would have been the thing that would ACTUALLY have got me into trouble.
The rust was apparently nothing that was going to make my car fail inspection, but just to be on the safe side, I had them do one a month early. So now it's all inspection-stickered and stuff.
I must say, though, it's a bit disconcerting when you can remove bits of your car with your fingernails...
4. Jheesh, what is with me and the MBTA this week? The subway was massively and inexplicably delayed each of the last two days, and today it's apparently the commuter rail's turn.
Sent from my iPhone
It's not trying to map the lost wetlands and burhs and shires of Anglo-Saxon England. It's not listening to Ursula talk about masturbating cats and her IUD. It's not snacks or books or chores or a caffeine habit.
It's when someone is supposed to be contacting you about a job interview for something that might actually pay the bills, but hasn't bloody done so yet.
Arrrggh. (tears metaphorical hair.)
2. Yes, the city did-- eventually--come remove the half a tree that was leaning against my window. No, nothing else seems to have broken in the process, so the only apparent casualty is one of my screens, which my landlady has promised to replace.
3. Yes, I did get my car into the mechanic this morning. The check engine light had--inevitably--turned itself off the moment I made the appointment, but they did put a patch on my muffler and replaced all the [untranslatable mechanic-speak], which they assured me would make a big difference.
And replaced a busted tail light that I'd failed to notice, which would have been the thing that would ACTUALLY have got me into trouble.
The rust was apparently nothing that was going to make my car fail inspection, but just to be on the safe side, I had them do one a month early. So now it's all inspection-stickered and stuff.
I must say, though, it's a bit disconcerting when you can remove bits of your car with your fingernails...
4. Jheesh, what is with me and the MBTA this week? The subway was massively and inexplicably delayed each of the last two days, and today it's apparently the commuter rail's turn.
Sent from my iPhone
(no subject)
Jun. 12th, 2017 05:48 pmI always forget how much the heat saps my sense of motivation.
Ah well. Got sworn in for the Census this morning, and apparently [company] potentially wants me to edit stuff for them, so I'm going to call today a win on the job front, even if I didn't get much of anything else done.
Ah well. Got sworn in for the Census this morning, and apparently [company] potentially wants me to edit stuff for them, so I'm going to call today a win on the job front, even if I didn't get much of anything else done.
(no subject)
Jun. 6th, 2017 03:40 pmOK, time to buckle down and do job applications. (The post-Mailroom euphoria has evaporated, due to the contemplation of my lack of income and structure. Seriously, I always forget how huge that last one is. Either that, or I need to find a career designing anachronistic architecture. And I'm pretty sure those don't exist.)
Also being reminded of the fact that job applicating tends to turn into a giant "WHO can write the best cover letter?" contest. And of how much I hate that fact.
Also being reminded of the fact that job applicating tends to turn into a giant "WHO can write the best cover letter?" contest. And of how much I hate that fact.
Various work-related $#!7:
Fustest: So my boss, after I'd told him I was leaving at some point in the near future, asked me to write out a letter of resignation, because the higher-ups had been asking for one; and so I did, but didn't specify an end date.
Allegedly, since that was the case, they are simply going to PICK my end date, based on when we get my replacement adequately trained. So I could be out of a job as early as next Friday.
The fact that I find it plausible either that my supervisor is screwing me over OR that the upper management of MRE are being a bunch of callous, shooting-themselves-in-the-foot cheese-parers is one more reason why I need to get out of this job.
As D. at bellringing last night put it: "I mean, it's good that you're finally getting out of there! But money is good too."
(Everyone at practice expressed congratulations that I was finally leaving this job. I guess I may have been bitching about it a bit. I guess they thought the bitching was deserved.)
But yeah. Unemployed in the near future. And...
2. I thought I was being hired by the Census. They're not replying to my emails, though.
3. On the other hand, it's a three-day weekend. Or, well, 3+ days, since [University]'s closing at 2 tomorrow.* And nothing planned on Saturday, 'cause practice got cancelled due to practically every ringer in the area road-tripping to Quebec. Anybody want to do a thing?
(Friday afternoon is going to be catch up on chores and make a strawberry-rhubarb crumble, unless somebody talks me into doing something more exciting. Sunday, of course, is choir followed by more choir followed by ringing followed by more ringing followed by Fall Over. Followed by contradancing. Monday, who knows?
More Later.
PS: Everyone remind me that I need to check twiddle pins!
* 3a. Supervisor, in one of his many questionable moves, is actually giving several people the ENTIRE day off; I volunteered to be the one to come in so as to have some leverage for taking half a day off NEXT week, to meet a friend of![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sovay's at his (ridiculously well-funded research-based) place of employment, in the hopes that having some of the people there actually know my face will increase my odds of getting hired there at some point...
Fustest: So my boss, after I'd told him I was leaving at some point in the near future, asked me to write out a letter of resignation, because the higher-ups had been asking for one; and so I did, but didn't specify an end date.
Allegedly, since that was the case, they are simply going to PICK my end date, based on when we get my replacement adequately trained. So I could be out of a job as early as next Friday.
The fact that I find it plausible either that my supervisor is screwing me over OR that the upper management of MRE are being a bunch of callous, shooting-themselves-in-the-foot cheese-parers is one more reason why I need to get out of this job.
As D. at bellringing last night put it: "I mean, it's good that you're finally getting out of there! But money is good too."
(Everyone at practice expressed congratulations that I was finally leaving this job. I guess I may have been bitching about it a bit. I guess they thought the bitching was deserved.)
But yeah. Unemployed in the near future. And...
2. I thought I was being hired by the Census. They're not replying to my emails, though.
3. On the other hand, it's a three-day weekend. Or, well, 3+ days, since [University]'s closing at 2 tomorrow.* And nothing planned on Saturday, 'cause practice got cancelled due to practically every ringer in the area road-tripping to Quebec. Anybody want to do a thing?
(Friday afternoon is going to be catch up on chores and make a strawberry-rhubarb crumble, unless somebody talks me into doing something more exciting. Sunday, of course, is choir followed by more choir followed by ringing followed by more ringing followed by Fall Over. Followed by contradancing. Monday, who knows?
More Later.
PS: Everyone remind me that I need to check twiddle pins!
* 3a. Supervisor, in one of his many questionable moves, is actually giving several people the ENTIRE day off; I volunteered to be the one to come in so as to have some leverage for taking half a day off NEXT week, to meet a friend of
sovay's at his (ridiculously well-funded research-based) place of employment, in the hopes that having some of the people there actually know my face will increase my odds of getting hired there at some point...(no subject)
Apr. 13th, 2017 07:18 amFrom an email to my Mom:
Well, the interview went MOSTLY ok, but I walked away with the feeling that I'd blown it in some way. (Why do interviews have to be such a trial by fire?) But anyway, we'll just have to see; and if I don't get it, well, it was a PT position with no benefits, so I'm going to treat that one as practice...
Meantime, everyone remind me to shave before my next Real interview. The goatee is very me, but I worry that it inevitably makes me look scruffy. Or like I'm trying to look like Lenin and failing.
Spent the rest of the day failing to find a new formal shirt at a price I could afford (Where DO normal people go for that?) and then at Tenebrae. Oh, and reading more trashy YA novels. One of these days I'll actually get $#|7 done, I swear...
Well, the interview went MOSTLY ok, but I walked away with the feeling that I'd blown it in some way. (Why do interviews have to be such a trial by fire?) But anyway, we'll just have to see; and if I don't get it, well, it was a PT position with no benefits, so I'm going to treat that one as practice...
Meantime, everyone remind me to shave before my next Real interview. The goatee is very me, but I worry that it inevitably makes me look scruffy. Or like I'm trying to look like Lenin and failing.
Spent the rest of the day failing to find a new formal shirt at a price I could afford (Where DO normal people go for that?) and then at Tenebrae. Oh, and reading more trashy YA novels. One of these days I'll actually get $#|7 done, I swear...
(no subject)
Apr. 11th, 2017 09:45 pmI am getting sick of job interviews already.
I had one last week: allegedly for some temp.agency job in a vaguely mailroom-like situation (though for a bunch more money); chiefly so that my new...contact?...there could actually meet me in person. (Gotta say, it does not inspire confidence when one's employment agency seems to have problems retaining staff. Nor when some other one of them calls you up a week later, and apparently hasn't heard about the said interview.)
Anyway, tomorrow I have one for a Harvard library job. Which would be pretty decent, except that it's less than half time. sigh.
Also, of course, I have to take time off from work; and likewise inevitably, both of the possible times for this interview were inconvenient, and the one we settled on is going to require some fast driving if I'm even gonna make it. And you all know how much I like driving.
I mean, it's better than job interviews, I guess...
I had one last week: allegedly for some temp.agency job in a vaguely mailroom-like situation (though for a bunch more money); chiefly so that my new...contact?...there could actually meet me in person. (Gotta say, it does not inspire confidence when one's employment agency seems to have problems retaining staff. Nor when some other one of them calls you up a week later, and apparently hasn't heard about the said interview.)
Anyway, tomorrow I have one for a Harvard library job. Which would be pretty decent, except that it's less than half time. sigh.
Also, of course, I have to take time off from work; and likewise inevitably, both of the possible times for this interview were inconvenient, and the one we settled on is going to require some fast driving if I'm even gonna make it. And you all know how much I like driving.
I mean, it's better than job interviews, I guess...
(no subject)
Mar. 29th, 2017 05:19 pmThis week at work, our copy center guy is taking a few days off as paternity leave...
Which means that my favorite coworker, who usually does the deliveries with me, is in the copy center...
Which means that I take over most of HER responsibilities, while still having most of mine...
And of course, this Would be the week when some random bureaucrat decides to play mind games with us, and then raises a giant stink when we (welnigh inevitably) deliver his package to the wrong building. Sigh.
It's that kind of week.
Oh well, bell practice tonight, then have a beer withe the associate rector; and quarter peal on Sunday!
Which means that my favorite coworker, who usually does the deliveries with me, is in the copy center...
Which means that I take over most of HER responsibilities, while still having most of mine...
And of course, this Would be the week when some random bureaucrat decides to play mind games with us, and then raises a giant stink when we (welnigh inevitably) deliver his package to the wrong building. Sigh.
It's that kind of week.
Oh well, bell practice tonight, then have a beer withe the associate rector; and quarter peal on Sunday!
Realm: Bellringing - Subrealm: Meta
Feb. 24th, 2017 01:55 pmOK, I shouldn't ACTUALLY be so negative. I'm making progress, I'm (sorta) ringing Grandsire now, Plain Bob* will probably happen within the next couple of weeks. As I say: it's just weird when you remember when so-and-so couldn't put two strokes together, and now YOU're the one who's an idiot.
And I successfully replaced the clapper on the #5!** Go, me! (Now I just have to check to reassure myself that the weird noise it's making doesn't mean it's about to fall off again!
Now my job situation at the moment: THAT's worth complaining about...
*******
After practice on Wednesday, went out for one last dinner at King and I with various fellow Ephs andlandofnowhere: the latter bore up well as the rest of us swapped stories of how the campus has changed over time, and which buildings we'd broken into for kicks at some point in our irresponsible youth.
Plain Bob, like Grandsire, is one of the simpler Methods in changeringing;
although having just read the comments on an entry by the incomparabletkingfisher, I am now imagining that it is what she'd call her new property if she bought a chunk of North Dakota or something.
** Albeit with a lot of help from fellow steeplekeeper Ricki, and secondarily from Margaret, Austin, and Phoebe; none of whom have DW or LJ accounts that I know of.
And I successfully replaced the clapper on the #5!** Go, me! (Now I just have to check to reassure myself that the weird noise it's making doesn't mean it's about to fall off again!
Now my job situation at the moment: THAT's worth complaining about...
*******
After practice on Wednesday, went out for one last dinner at King and I with various fellow Ephs and
landofnowhere: the latter bore up well as the rest of us swapped stories of how the campus has changed over time, and which buildings we'd broken into for kicks at some point in our irresponsible youth.Plain Bob, like Grandsire, is one of the simpler Methods in changeringing;
although having just read the comments on an entry by the incomparable
tkingfisher, I am now imagining that it is what she'd call her new property if she bought a chunk of North Dakota or something.** Albeit with a lot of help from fellow steeplekeeper Ricki, and secondarily from Margaret, Austin, and Phoebe; none of whom have DW or LJ accounts that I know of.
(no subject)
Mar. 17th, 2016 08:12 am15. March:
Gah, OK, so apparently having had to jump through several hoops to get health care through my current employer...they're now dropping us from their health plan at the end of this month. We have two weeks to jump through ANOTHER set of hoops to get BACK on MassHealth. F---.
(And this is why my lenten discipline took a break today.)
...Yeah. I *really* would like to get that research job. Soon. Then I could stop *worrying* about health care.
(They haven't gotten back since last week. No news is not good news in this case. So this was already a bad week, and then today we found THIS out.)
( Addendum )
ETA, 3/16: The one result of a mostly useless conference call with Corporate on the subject was to learn that they're now waiting until the end of NEXT month to drop us from the health plan. So we have some breathing room.
Still no news.
Gah, OK, so apparently having had to jump through several hoops to get health care through my current employer...they're now dropping us from their health plan at the end of this month. We have two weeks to jump through ANOTHER set of hoops to get BACK on MassHealth. F---.
(And this is why my lenten discipline took a break today.)
...Yeah. I *really* would like to get that research job. Soon. Then I could stop *worrying* about health care.
(They haven't gotten back since last week. No news is not good news in this case. So this was already a bad week, and then today we found THIS out.)
( Addendum )ETA, 3/16: The one result of a mostly useless conference call with Corporate on the subject was to learn that they're now waiting until the end of NEXT month to drop us from the health plan. So we have some breathing room.
Still no news.
(no subject)
Jun. 29th, 2015 02:46 pmAre there words for these?
1. A decadent food item (or meal, or perhaps any item) that you buy because life is horrible and yet you need to be able to face it: e.g. second breakfast of protein and fat and caffeine, between two 2-hour car drives when you're short on sleep and have a job interview at the end of the second one and also you apparently Can't Have Nice Things in other areas of your life.
2. Any truly unnecessary hoop that a potential employer makes you jump. E.g.: job interviews for call-center candidates supplied by a staffing agency; any interview or application question along the lines of "What attracts you about this position?"
(I long for the day when my finances are stable enough that I can give the honest answer: "The money, of course.")
3. Any feeling that is ironic in the circumstances: in this case, rage and frustration because calmingmanatee.com is taking too long to load.
There probably is a word for the feeling where the less-than-ideal-but-ok job/situation you thought you had in the bag suddenly evaporates, though, even though I can't recall what it is.
1. A decadent food item (or meal, or perhaps any item) that you buy because life is horrible and yet you need to be able to face it: e.g. second breakfast of protein and fat and caffeine, between two 2-hour car drives when you're short on sleep and have a job interview at the end of the second one and also you apparently Can't Have Nice Things in other areas of your life.
2. Any truly unnecessary hoop that a potential employer makes you jump. E.g.: job interviews for call-center candidates supplied by a staffing agency; any interview or application question along the lines of "What attracts you about this position?"
(I long for the day when my finances are stable enough that I can give the honest answer: "The money, of course.")
3. Any feeling that is ironic in the circumstances: in this case, rage and frustration because calmingmanatee.com is taking too long to load.
There probably is a word for the feeling where the less-than-ideal-but-ok job/situation you thought you had in the bag suddenly evaporates, though, even though I can't recall what it is.
I called my Dad today. He is now apparently under the impression that I have been super-productive this week, what with getting everything squared away with the Census (I hope), and getting a job interview for something else on Monday.
Ha.
I have NOT been productive this week. I'd blame the heat, but it's really my inherent slackassitude. Instead, I have reread three novels,* modded my plans to extend the Green Line extension (which in turn involved mucking about with Bing maps and image manipulation programs for hours), and suchlike. sigh.
Oh well, at least the job search is going ok anyway?
In other news: was thinking of going strawberry picking tomorrow, but it looks like we're actually gonna plan for the weekend after next, when Peter's** here (and one or two people might be more available, too.)
Really looking forward to Readercon. Which is kinda odd, since I tend to feel a bit of a fish out of water: everyone's always talking about books and authors I've never read. But it's three days of going to friends' panels to cheer them on, and getting to feel useful and accomplished by volunteering, and hanging out with cool people.
But I still haven't pre-reg'd, and the deadline is two days away. I've been dithering, and putting off the decision. Because with my luck, if I register that'll be the weekend that the massive data-entry project gets re-rescheduled for, or I'll have mandatory Census training all four days. ugh.
* OK, I hadn't read The Martian before. But then I reread it (with some skimming) like twice more, so still counts.
** Oh crumbs, and I was supposed to mail him those legos! F---. Well, Monday.
Ha.
I have NOT been productive this week. I'd blame the heat, but it's really my inherent slackassitude. Instead, I have reread three novels,* modded my plans to extend the Green Line extension (which in turn involved mucking about with Bing maps and image manipulation programs for hours), and suchlike. sigh.
Oh well, at least the job search is going ok anyway?
In other news: was thinking of going strawberry picking tomorrow, but it looks like we're actually gonna plan for the weekend after next, when Peter's** here (and one or two people might be more available, too.)
Really looking forward to Readercon. Which is kinda odd, since I tend to feel a bit of a fish out of water: everyone's always talking about books and authors I've never read. But it's three days of going to friends' panels to cheer them on, and getting to feel useful and accomplished by volunteering, and hanging out with cool people.
But I still haven't pre-reg'd, and the deadline is two days away. I've been dithering, and putting off the decision. Because with my luck, if I register that'll be the weekend that the massive data-entry project gets re-rescheduled for, or I'll have mandatory Census training all four days. ugh.
* OK, I hadn't read The Martian before. But then I reread it (with some skimming) like twice more, so still counts.
** Oh crumbs, and I was supposed to mail him those legos! F---. Well, Monday.
(no subject)
Apr. 12th, 2015 11:16 pmOK. Application to the Gardner submitted.
Now it's time to curl up in a fetal ball and wonder how/if I screwed this one up...
Now it's time to curl up in a fetal ball and wonder how/if I screwed this one up...
(no subject)
Apr. 11th, 2015 04:20 pmME: Do you know what sucks about job applicating?
BARRISTA: All of it?
[She officially wins the conversation, and also is my hero now.]
ME: ...Yes! That. But also,
(1) When you have to list "That one time when you were working for your parents" on your résumé...
BARRISTA: Do you really have to list that?
ME: Weeelllll, it would be helpful in this case. Especially when
(2) Two of the people you would otherwise be using as references are dead.
BARRISTA: All of it?
[She officially wins the conversation, and also is my hero now.]
ME: ...Yes! That. But also,
(1) When you have to list "That one time when you were working for your parents" on your résumé...
BARRISTA: Do you really have to list that?
ME: Weeelllll, it would be helpful in this case. Especially when
(2) Two of the people you would otherwise be using as references are dead.
Realm: Moving - Subrealm: Packing
Apr. 10th, 2015 08:20 pmSquigamunk came over this morning, and we packed all the things.
Well, not ALL the things. She came over to help with the books, and we ended up getting most of my library, excl. cookbooks, children's books, and stuff I'm trying to read. In about an hour. So then things kinda spiraled from there, and so now the space formerly occupied by my bookshelf in here is now boxes stacked waist high, there's a box marked "Fragile--Paintings!" on the bottom shelf of the OTHER bookcase, and the trunk of my car has most of my personal china and cooking equipment. (We moved it down because there's no safe way for one person to carry the damn' thing, 'cause we packed it in one of the mid-to-large-sized LL Bean boxes that she'd brought along. And we packed it because I figure I can just use Mitbewohner's stuff for the next couple of weeks.*
Squigamunk rocks. Especially since she was running on less than an hour of sleep.
(I *will* still need help boxing up the last things and hauling everything down the stairs to whatever vehicle I'm using, though.)
Meantime, job applications. Tomorrow: the Gardner; tonight I finished up an application to paralegal for an environmental lawyer, which would ALSO be pretty cool.
Umm, anybody want to proofread it?
( I'm always afraid I've included some obvious typo. )</small
Well, not ALL the things. She came over to help with the books, and we ended up getting most of my library, excl. cookbooks, children's books, and stuff I'm trying to read. In about an hour. So then things kinda spiraled from there, and so now the space formerly occupied by my bookshelf in here is now boxes stacked waist high, there's a box marked "Fragile--Paintings!" on the bottom shelf of the OTHER bookcase, and the trunk of my car has most of my personal china and cooking equipment. (We moved it down because there's no safe way for one person to carry the damn' thing, 'cause we packed it in one of the mid-to-large-sized LL Bean boxes that she'd brought along. And we packed it because I figure I can just use Mitbewohner's stuff for the next couple of weeks.*
Squigamunk rocks. Especially since she was running on less than an hour of sleep.
(I *will* still need help boxing up the last things and hauling everything down the stairs to whatever vehicle I'm using, though.)
Meantime, job applications. Tomorrow: the Gardner; tonight I finished up an application to paralegal for an environmental lawyer, which would ALSO be pretty cool.
Umm, anybody want to proofread it?
( I'm always afraid I've included some obvious typo. )</small
