Rave: Learned a rad manipulation today. I love it. Rave: I'm so stoked for this weekend! I'm trying to study as much as I can tonight and tomorrow night so that I can go to Austin to visit friends. Yippee!
??? I'm not quite sure how to categorize this since it could go either way. I received some feedback from the staffing agency about an in person interview I had about a week ago. They said that they were very impressed but apparently the answer I gave for my whole "What's you 5-10 year plan bullshit" wasn't what they were looking for. I just kind of gave vague overtures that I'd like to move into a Forensic Accounting type role somewhere in the future. I don't really recall being that adamant about it, but apparently they were put off by it. Honestly, it surprised me. Of all the things I thought they were going to take issue with that didn't even remotely come to my mind. The job description calls for someone with a decent amount of audit/not for profit/investment experience, of which I have little. I thought that was going to be the reason they would be reluctant to hire. Just weird. Hopefully the staffing guy is able to smooth things out since I really would like that job. When I talked with her and did that bullshit question of why she enjoyed working there, her response seemed quite genuine. Not so much the bs "Oh well dynamic growth, exciting opportunities blah blah blah" it struck me as an environment where people genuinely get along and are very much interested and invested in the work they do. Kinda rave I got a call today from a hiring person at a very, very large sized accounting firm that I had been speaking with on and off. They seem pretty interested in moving forward with me. Chances are I'm going to wind up with this job. It wouldn't be too bad. I mean, I won't stay there forever. I'll do a few years and then make a quick exit. Being able to put the company's name on a resume will do wonders for me. I'm just nowhere near interested or excited about this job or the work. At least, nowhere near as much as the previous job I mentioned. I know, I know. It's a job and I should be grateful. Still......just kinda bummed that the other job probably isn't going to work out.
Rant: I think I might just stop looking for nannying gigs. Sorry, but $600/month to take care of two children under the age of 2 in my own home for 40+ hours/week, plus additional hours when your husband is deployed next month, is not something I am interested in. I am worth more than a buck an hour per kid. Luckily we aren't hard up for cash and are saving now, but it just kills me when opportunities for me to make money come up that are so absurd.
Rave: Wasn't looking for a job, but got two cold calls this week. One was a local company that knows me, the other was a referral from someone in the industry I support. I already heard back from the local one, I didn't get the job I interviewed for, but they really wanted me so they made up a new position and offered me that instead. That was amazing and way beyond what I expected. Rant: While the salary they offered was competitive for the job title, it is a full 30% less than I am making now. For once in my life I am ahead of the curve with my pay. Rant? Rave? The other company didn't bat an eye when I told them my salary (which I generously inflated). They are also 1000 miles away from where I live now. Going to talk to them again later this week. Don't really want to move, but if the price is right, I might not be able to say no. All of this got me thinking about renegotiating my current position to allow me to help the company more. They are paying well and I know the product and industry, but my focus is really narrow. I think I can do a lot more for them and help them make even more money.
Rant: So.. I didn't get the assistant manager position for a big corporation I applied for. The state manager was super impressed with me, told me I got through to the next round of interviews, then had the recruitment company call and tell me I didn't have enough experience. Normally, it doesn't phase me, but this time I actually threw a tantrum when I got off the phone. Why don't I have the "experience"? Because I didn't have the title in the previous position I was in. Why didn't I have the title? Because I wasn't fucking my boss or my store manager. What I did have was working fourteen, sometimes fifteen hour days, fourteen days straight and doing my managers job because she had no fucking clue what she was doing, handling all the staff because, again, my manager had no fucking clue what she was doing, handling all the customer complaints because, again, she had no fucking idea what she was doing and would come to get me to deal with them. Sorting out supplies who were trying to short change us, dealing with the staff who kept rocking up to work either drunk, stoned or hung over, finding staff to cover people every fucking day and actually trying to get my manager to do her job. So, because I refused to fuck either my store manager or my boss, I didn't get the manager or supervisor position when they were open, so I missed out on this job that I really fucking wanted. The business values matched mine, it is something I'm genuinely passionate about. Rave: I know I'm good at my job and good at what I do, so just need patience til someone else decides to give me a go, despite not having the pretty title they want me to have on my resume.
Rant: So my cousins young son just named his kitten, "Secret of the Mountain." I told him that's not a real name and he started squealing and carrying on until I accepted that name. I need a drink.
RAVE Had my first interview since I started the job hunt. It was a live phone interview to assess my "personality" before I make it through to the actual interview with the hiring managers. RANT I sent the info on my iphone and typed in the wrong fucking phone number. 5 minutes past the scheduled interview time, when I am wondering why I haven't heard from them, I just double check the email I sent and saw the mistake. I called the recruiter and apologized profusely, and then again to the HR guy conducting the interview, but kind of hard to answer about your "attention to detail" when you start off like that. My husband's comment "that is soooo not like you", of course I know that, he knows that, they do not.
RANT: So, the dog rolled in poison ivy. I know this, because my legs are covered in a delightful combo of rash and blisters. There is not enough weed to make me forget my discomfort, but I'm giving it my best shot.
Rave Heading towards the end of my first week back in the land of college life...it feels strange but it hasn't overwhelmed me like I thought it would. The female eye candy doesn't hurt also. Rant Being back at home, and not working full time is kind of shitty It's going to take some getting use to. Rave Talking to a pretty awesome female the last few weeks. Met her downtown a few months back, and we finally got in touch recently. I invited her to hit up the Oktoberfest with me this weekend and shes very much all for it.
Rave: Met bartender girl for sushi. Went to the bar later on, got drunk, and kissed her. It was nice. I laughed nervously afterward and she thought it was cute. I feel like a complete idiot when I'm around her, and I think that's a good thing. Rant: FWB did a preemptive strike after seeing a picture with her and me on Facebook. I don't regret anything that I did; it wasn't a relationship. But she was good to me, and it hurts to have someone you like think you're a douchebag. On the other hand, she's acting like I cheated on her, which is completely overreacting. And before anyone asks, we made it perfectly clear that we were just biding time before we found other people. I learned a lot from being with her though.
Rave: Three day weekend sans kids. Youngest is going to the Choctaw Nation PowWow in OK with a friend and her family. We haven't had a 3 day weekend at home by ourselves in well over 5 years. Unfortunately, I have a metric fuckton of yard work as the lawn hasn't been mowed in 2 weeks and the hedges in the yard desperately need to be trimmed. Insurance adjuster and restoration team have come to terms. Kitchen, family room, office, and half bath all getting facelifts. I'm going to hate the disruption, but love the outcome.
Rave: All packed up and ready to go down the shore for the weekend. Finished loading up and cracked open a beer at 10:30am. That's ok, right?
RANT: 8 hour drive today in a cramped car, and we can't even leave until my buddy gets off work at like 6. RAVE: This is where we're going:
Rave: Had a great time at the MN State Fair with my girlfriend last night. I hadn't been there for a few years and it hasn't changed at all. Rave/Rant: My great grandma turned 99 yesterday but her dementia is getting pretty severe (she didn't recognize me the last time I saw her). But I hear she had a great day! Super Rave: I'll be goose hunting in about 18 hours. Got my gear packed up and ready to go!!! I may be able to squeeze in two if not three hunting days this (long) weekend. Dove season opens tomorrow too so I can hunt geese in the morning and doves in the afternoon. Fucking awesome!
Rave: Fixed my Macbook Pro for the third time after thinking it was completely broken. I think I'll take the $340 I saved on not buying AppleCare and roll around in it on my bed. Rant: I really loathe Apple for the desire to make self-sufficiency as impossible as they can. You're already going to charge me $120 for a new battery, can you at least give me the ability to fix it myself, and not charge me another $50 to have some hipster reseat a battery that a monkey could insert? And a tri-wing screw holding it down? A TRI-WING?! Are you fucking serious? Fuck you, Apple, you greedy fucks, and fuck me for enjoying your products.
Rave: While working at a water treatment plant today I hear someone yell about 100ft away behind a bunch of equipment and then see the mexican work crew that was working over there scatter in all directions while water randomly shot 50+ feet in the air. Apparently they opened the wrong valve and the one they opened was attached to a firehose laying on the ground that no one was holding on to. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.
Rave: We are going home tomorrow! Vacation has been wonderful, and we saw some beautiful sites, but it will be nice to get home and get settled. And it will only take three days of driving. Rant: Three days of driving. It's amazing how sore you can get from just sitting and traffic on Monday will be brutal. Minor rant since it's vacation--how upset can you really be: Has anyone ever been in an IMAX theater where people took flash pictures? Because that happened. Oh, and this older gentleman at the gym didn't wipe off his machines when he was done.
Rant: I'm starting to rethink this whole roommate thing. One is awesome and super easy to live with. The other (my best friend from last year) is a piece of shit around the house. He leaves shit all over the house, never does dishes, and constantly has his dumb ass girlfriend over. Rant: We're hosting a BBQ tomorrow night at our house that shittyroommate's girlfriend volunteered us for without consulting me and awesomeroommate first. I now have to cook and entertain for people I don't want to see after doing cite checks for law review all day. Rave: Awesome girl I've been talking to lately is coming to the BBQ which should make it marginally better.