MMXI

One of the things I want to try to do more of this year is update this blog more than twice a year. There are two major obstacles that were preventing that this past year:

1) I've been doing A LOT of writing for TVLatest.com. I've been working on the site since the end of May and I am now at the point where I can generating traffic out of nothing. It's kinda awesome. We aren't the next Google or Facebook (yet), but I'm doing work that I enjoy. Unfortunately, the work is not lucrative enough to actually make it my living, so the jobhunt continues.

2) The other obstacle has been a lack of things happening in my life. I would like to report on my jobhunting, but there's been a lot of silence from places I've applied to. To draw on the dating analogy, this is where you go up to someone you fancy, look them in the eye, ask them to dance/get coffee/introduce yourself and they look at you as if you are from Mars and say nothing. We've all been there?

Instead, I am working on creating a separate blog about my jobhunting experience. I'll post a link here once I get it up and running. It's on WordPress and I'm kind of excited to learn how to work within that system.

So I guess in terms of an update, here are the bullet points:

• I'm still in Dearborn.
• I'm still unemployed (in the traditional sense of the term)
• I miss you all (I'm not in prison, I miss seeing people in person)

How are you doing?

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I flew into New York about 24 hours ago and boy are my arms tired. That's not a joke; it's a run-on sentence. I'm actually kind of sore all over and I think it is from hauling my stuff from LaGuardia to Jersey City during rush hour. First, I'm glad I decided against using my ginormous backpack because that would have been a disaster. Even packing significantly lighter was a lot to haul around on a bus, then through the subway turnstile, down stairs, up stairs, through a revolving exit gate, another turnstile, more stairs, ANOTHER turnstile, and then down the steps to Ben's place. It also didn't help that I was dressed for Late October weather and not the actual mid-70's temperatures. What the frig, climate change?

So far it has been rather uneventful. Ben has this place that he goes to called "work", so today was spent looking up similar places called "jobs". I sent in one application, walked to a nearby store to pick up some provisions, applied to a couple more jobs, then walked around the neighborhood for a bit. Ben lives in the Paulus Hook area of Jersey City, a place that he describes as the next great hipster homestead. I didn't quite get that vibe from walking around, but that was around 3 so it might have been too early in the day.

Tomorrow will be my first excursion into the Apple of Bigness. Originally I called this experience a relocation, but with nothing officially anchoring me down at this point I should get some tourism under my belt. The Paley Center is holding a screening tomorrow afternoon/early evening, so that's at least something to plan my day around.

[Dinner Break]

So I just had Wasabi Gelato. Amazing.

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Follow-up

Sigh. I got a very polite rejection e-mail today. It probably would have been wiser to wait until I got home to check this particular e-mail. Instead, I became aware of it when I was on my way to the grocery store and my iPod's volume dipped for a second, a sign that something landed in my inbox. I get inside the store and check the message and see the bad news.

There's the initial "Aw, maaaaaan," but then it really hits again about 45 seconds later. Of course, the Universe can't leave well enough alone and has to try to make this a friggin' MOMENT. I'm standing in the frozen pizza aisle across from rows and rows of alcohol. I make a conscious decision not to pick up anything named Jack. Then friggin' PIANO MAN starts playing on the PA system. Now I'm just getting angry. Shut up, Universe.

The good news is I now have a contact at ESPN who would like to meet with me when I get to the City. The people I interviewed with were impressed with me, so it is helpful to know that I'm making progress. Still: Aw, maaaaaan.

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Telephone

Many of the career guides I've consulted have equated the jobhunting process with the process of dating. You can understand why my baseline anxiety level, which was already pretty high, has elevated in the last five months.

Right now I'm in the waiting-by-the-telephone phase. The first date interview with ESPN went fine, and I had a second interview that went better. It's taken a few practice runs, but at this point I'm getting the hang of dating interviewing mores. Mores such as the neurotic internal dialogue:

"I thought we had a great time -- why hasn't he called? Maybe he's busy, he'll call tomorrow. Maybe he's out of town. Oh God, was it something I said?" He feverishly replays the entire encounter in his head. "...I thought that was charming, maybe it wasn't...He seemed to respond positively to that...he can't think you're fat, he hasn't even seen you in person..."

I'm blurring the line -- that's not helping.

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Comments

I just finished reading an article on Yahoo News from U.S. News and World Report mentioning more unemployment doom and gloom. Here is the first comment at the end of the article:

"president kennedy was a real hero,the others are just puppets... most politicians today are nothing but fat dirty rats,especially republicans they brain washyou and used u and abused you...it will get worst,starting with arizona "amaricas bigest embarrasment in history>>1070".."

Um, [sic].

Things not mentioned in the article:

President Kennedy

Heroes

Politicians

Republicans

Arizona

Yahoo's default setting is to have the most recent comment posted first, so this is joining in the conversation mid-stream. Let's take a look at the actual first comment:

"Here are the 5 real reasons why companies aren't hiring...

1) obama

2) pelosi

3) dodd

4) Franks

5) Geithner"

Sigh.

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Costume

I realize it's kinda early (4 months or so), but I need to start thinking about what my Halloween costume should be for this year. I am not a half-asser when it comes to these sort of things. Here is last year's costume:



(That's Simon from Frisky Dingo, just FYI)

Other previous costumes have included:







Now I need your help. What should I go as this year?


I've narrowed it down to three options. Here they are, with some Pros and Cons listed.

1) Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood



Pros: My wardrobe will get bumped up a couple notches in the class department with the inclusion of the captain's trench coat and suspenders. Also, there is quite a bit of sex appeal, especially if I really strive for accuracy.

Cons: This will likely be an expensive costume. A couple of people also mentioned the obscurity issue, but considering the previous examples I don't really see it as a dealbreaker except if there are costume contests involved.

2) Lorenzo St. Dubois (LSD) from The Producers



Pros: I think this one will be a real crowd pleaser and probably the most fun of the options. Also, I assume that most, if not all, of the costume will be acquired at thrift stores so it will be super cheap.

Cons: This would require the most dedication to staying in character. Also, I'm not sure if I will be able to find anything close to those boots.

3) Professor Chaos from South Park



Pros: This is probably the least obscure of the three, and everybody loves Butters.

Cons: This might be a little too similar to last year's costume, at least in terms of characterization. Also, careful construction will be required so it doesn't look super cheap.



Cast your vote in the comments! If you have other suggestions (other costumes or where I can find elements for cheap), feel free to share those, too. Also, have you thought about your costume yet?

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Funemployment

I've been hearing that term a lot lately, now that I am back in Michigan. Call me a pessimist if you must, but the glossiness fades very quickly no matter how big your fake grin is when uttering the word. However, there are some advantages that are worth exploring as I wait for callbacks from the job hunt:

I got to update my half.com inventory with book that I've been meaning to get rid of for years.

I ran all the way from Dearborn Heights to Dearborn and back again Friday morning. Yes, my mom lives 2 blocks from the border, but I ran all the way to Outer Drive and back so that was a mile or so.

I got to read semi-recreationally this afternoon (though it was continue a book from one of my classes this semester)

I get to post stuff to my blog again. Aren't you lucky?

I don't expect to hear anything about the Oberlin job until next week. Let's see what happens until then, shall we?

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